Pokémon Radiant Sun
Howdy folks.
I've got a spicy new chapter for you all as we draw ever-closer to the climax of the story. After this, we've only got three chapters left until the end of this Act and the Aether Arc.
Sidenote, for those who have asked, yes, I am doing somewhat better. The emergency isn't quite over yet, but things are improving and I've had some time to recover from the shock. Needless to say, it shouldn't affect uploads. I've even got the next chapter completely finished and the chapter after planned out completely.
I try to stay busy.
Shoutout to those who have reviewed since the last update, which includes Oragonking, SolanaLeonhart, a Guest reviewer, Sondragon666, BraviaryScout and a new reviewer that goes by Demon Shadow5000.
Let's keep the fun times going.
Enjoy!
Chapter 157: Coronation
"It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness." ― Leo Tolstoy, The Kreutzer Sonata.
Aether Paradise
Pandora shook her head in bemusement at Colress as the scientist stared her down. Dusk the Absol lay on the floor dead as Colress stood beside his Metagross and Klinklang, coated in the blood of his fallen Pokémon. The abomination saw the tears in the man's eyes, the open fury on his face…and it meant nothing to the Mega Umbral Medicham.
"You may try. But you will fail." Pandora responded with a deadly smile, more crimson coating her mouth. Colress snapped his fingers as Klinklang groaned softly, crackling with electricity and sending a Thunder right at Pandora, who charged forward and blocked the bolt with four of her arms, with the remaining two summoning two spears of darkness and throwing them at the two Pokémon.
Colress placed a hand on both of his Pokémon and vanished, causing the spears to embed themselves in the ground. Pandora tilted her head in confusion, only for Colress to reappear behind her while tapping swiftly away at his keypad. A green field of light enveloped the trio as the Mega Umbral Medicham glanced around, a confused expression on her face.
Colress grinned cruelly as Metagross and Klinklang both attacked with Hyper Beam, which struck the unseeing Pandora directly in the back and succeeded in toppling the monstrous Pokémon onto the ground.
"Despite your powers, you're still blind. If I simply mask our presence with this energy field, you won't be able to sense us with your psychic powers." Colress remarked idly, holding out a hand as a crackle of bright blue energy flared along the length of his arm before lancing forward and striking Pandora.
The Mega Umbral Pokémon screamed, throwing her head back as she thrashed on the ground. Colress hummed as his two Pokémon recharged, allowing their Trainer to vent his fury on the monster that had slain their teammate.
"Not bad." Pandora growled as she pushed herself upright, giving the grieving scientist a twisted smile even as the strange blue static continued to crackle around her. "But a moment of suffering cannot overpower a lifetime of torment. The pain that flows through every waking second I breathe."
"By all means, come here Pandora. I'll end your suffering." Colress said in a cold voice, holding out his hands as red light crackled around his wrists. Metagross and Klinklang stirred as they finished recharging and Klinklang's eyes glowed brightly, as did Metagross' legs as it zoomed forward, spinning around and delivering a swift Bullet Punch to the face and chest of Pandora as she slowly pushed herself upright.
"This is nothing. You'll have to try something a bit more clever than that." Pandora remarked, her eyes burning blue as Metagross suddenly went still, getting pulled towards Pandora with a startled shout and promptly being struck with a powerful fist cloaked in flames. The Iron Leg Pokémon slammed into the ground, stirring weakly for a moment before fainting from the Fire Punch. Pandora chuckled as she finally stood upright, finally pushing through the effects of the strange weapon Colress had struck her with.
By that point, however, it was too late.
Colress teleported again, this time reappearing right behind Pandora alongside his Klinklang, who began charging up a sphere of raw electricity before firing it directly into the back of Pandora, who snarled in pain as her body shook with tremors. That was when Colress grinned in triumph, seeing the familiar crackle of paralysis flicker around Pandora due to being struck with Zap Cannon.
The scientist glanced to his left and saw that Ashton was slowly reforming, with Damien having already regained consciousness and dragging himself over to his Trainer. Meanwhile Jackal was trying to wake Wicke up, but both of them looked like they were in rough shape.
"It falls to me to protect them. I won't allow another soul to die today." Colress whispered to himself, causing Pandora to whirl around with a maniacal grin, thrusting an arm forward and blasting the spot where Colress was with a burst of darkness-
Only Colress was now standing on the other side of the floor, tapping away at his keypad and holding out a hand, sending several red pulses of energy at Pandora. Each blast struck the Pandora, dissolving away whatever the blasts struck. Pandora flinched, falling to one knee and lunging in the direction of the blasts, only for Colress to teleport again.
"How is he doing that…?" Wicke asked as she clutched her head, trying to focus on the fight and not the pain she was in.
"Well, if you can avoid being detected by a Psychic-type's mental powers you can avoid its influence. Colress seems to have a gadget that lets him do that, plus he's teleporting around. Add onto that the fact that Pandora is blind and you have an opponent that's insanely annoying to fight." Jackal explained, seeing Colress implement every gadget he had at his disposal to keep the Mega Umbral Medicham at bay. Pandora managed to regenerate each bit of her body blown apart by Colress, but she was growing more and more frustrated with each attack.
"I'm growing tired of this game. My deformities have never been an issue before, but they're a liability now." Pandora mused as one of her hands slowly reformed before their eyes. "Thankfully, I have a solution for this."
Pandora then held out each of her hands in a different direction, swiftly spinning around as orbs of darkness appeared around her and blasted outwards. Colress gasped in surprise and vanished, reappearing elsewhere on the floor before vanishing again, dodging a beam of energy. Colress continued to dodge the attacks again and again, even calling upon Klinklang to blast Pandora with another Thunder. The abomination retaliated by rushing at the Steel/Electric-type and kicking it hard, sending it flying across the room and hitting the wall so hard it remained stuck there.
Colress cried out in distress, causing Pandora to spin around with a manic smile and thrust her hands forward, generating a rush of pure force that blasted Colress into one of the elevator pillars. The scientist dropped onto the ground, twitching a little as he tried to force his limbs to move.
"See what your newfound emotions bring you. Pain. Allow me to end it." Pandora whispered with manic glee as Colress weakly looked up at the writhing form of Pandora as she approached. Colress smirked in response, thinking as hard as possible a very specific string of words since he knew the Umbral Pokémon could read his mind.
Pandora stopped, shaking her head in bemusement. "So childish. What good does telling me to go fuck myself do?"
"Distract you, of course." Colress responded casually as Pandora's expression morphed to confusion.
"Inferno!"
Pandora whirled around, lashing out with Psychic to block the hellacious ball of flames that was rushing towards her. With an audible grunt of effort, the flames were stopped in their tracks and promptly crushed by the sheer power of the Umbral Pokémon, snuffed out with a terrible hiss. But Ashton and Damien were standing upright again, glaring down Pandora.
"Back for more?" Pandora laughed, raising one of her feet, only for an arc of wind to slam into her foot and knock her off-balance. Pandora cried out as she fell to one knee, only for a searing pain to erupt down her back as claws ripped open her flesh. Pandora whirled around, savagely striking Nagato the Kecleon with an Ice Punch and sending him hurtling back into his own shadow.
The Umbral Pokémon then looked up, sensing Raphael the Togekiss flying nearby, and the twisted Medicham raised a hand to deal with her, only for a burning mass to slam into her and knock her to the ground.
Damien snarled as he tore into the flesh of the Umbral Pokémon with his burning maw, ripping away flesh and coating the ground with blood even as Pandora shouted out, lashing out with her arms as Damien raced around her, biting and blasting her as quickly as he could while Ashton barked commands to the hellhound. Pandora swung apart her arms to generate a pure shockwave of force that blasted Damien backwards, landing roughly on the ground but getting up quickly.
"Heh. You're not so tough." Damien growled as Pandora rose, panting with a bleeding smile on her face. She could sense that Damien was in pain. Pandora smelt the blood in the air and knew that the hellhound was fighting through the pain he was in.
"You stand beside a monster. Protecting him. Shielding him from the world he tried to ruin. You murdered an infant, Damien, for the sake of your insane Trainer. How could you ever call yourself good?" Pandora demanded of the Houndoom, who simply shook his head.
"I never said I was good. I also never said my Trainer wasn't a monster. We both have done pretty terrible things. What matters is trying to make amends." Damien responded firmly, crouching low and offering the Umbral Pokémon a grim smile. "Unlike my Trainer, I don't have forever. So I'll have to make due with what I can do in the here and now. Burning away the final sin of Cipher sounds like a good way to start!"
Pandora cackled as she rushed forward, swiping her hands forward and summoning a wave of darkness from out of nowhere, forcing Damien to leapt forward to dodge the move. Pandora screamed with frustration, breathing heavily as she began to chase down Damien and launch attack after attack at the hellhound.
"~I'll kill you all! Bathe in your blood! Murder everyone in this fake little paradise and tear those children you care about so damn much to ribbons!~" Pandora sang as she punched and kicked at Damien, who forced himself to frantically evade the devastating moves that could easily take him out of commission should he falter for a moment and allow any of them to land. It was a testament to the strength of the hellhound that he was able to stand his ground against Pandora's overwhelming might.
"And then…I'll help poor deluded Lusamine tear open the Ultra Space! Even after I'm gone, Alola will be torn asunder by the creatures from beyond! How delightful…" Pandora sighed happily as she blasted the floor beneath Damien with Psychic, sending him skidding backwards and forcing him to dig his claws into the floor to keep himself from flying.
"How could you ever keep letting Ashton do whatever he wants, Damien? How can you continue to protect him, even now?" Pandora asked the hellhound, who gave the Umbral Pokémon a bored look.
" I don't need to protect him so much these days. By all means, slap him around a bit. Might control his ego." Damien remarked, causing Pandora to visibly shift with irritation.
"You trying to get into Damien's head is a lost cause, Pandora. He's a lot stronger than I am." Ashton said with a crooked grin, causing Pandora to snarl softly before lunging at Damien, leaping forward to deliver a brutal spiky kick, only for a watery blade to slam into her forehead, causing her to stagger back.
Zorro the Greninja dropped to the ground and pressed the attack, lashing out with a Night Slash before leaping away to avoid a devastating blast of darkness. Pandora whirled around, aiming all six of her hands and firing a series of black spheres at Zorro as it dashed away, barely avoiding the spheres as they struck the ground and released a small explosion. Pandora stopped as she heard the sound of something rushing behind her, and managed to duck to avoid a Dark Pulse from Damien. The Mega Umbral Medicham turned to face Ashton and his two Pokémon, as well as the Deoxys that hovered protectively behind him.
"How can you all stand by him…?" Pandora whispered with distaste, clenching her fists in frustration.
"Can you just shut up and die already?" Damien remarked with a sigh, a plume of smoke escaping his mouth as Deoxys flew forward, lashing out with a Psycho Boost. Pandora tanked the attack and lunged forward, swiping at the Legendary and barely missing it. But this allowed Ashton to press the advantage.
"Damien and Zorro, use Return!" Ashton bellowed as Zorro and Damien dashed forward, glowing a righteous bright white color before slamming into Pandora. The Mega Umbral Medicham stumbled backwards with a howl, losing her balance and falling into the ground with a grimace on her face. That was when Colress, Wicke and Jackal unleashed a wave of attacks, bombarding the Umbral Pokémon.
"Keep overwhelming her! She can't hit them all at once!" Colress called to the others, having called out his Rotom and Beheeyem and having the both of the use Thunderbolt while he sat on the ground clutching his arm. Unfortunately for all of them, Pandora was not done.
"Umbral Nightmare!" Pandora shrieked as she held out four of her arms, which all began to glow with a pitch black aura. Pandora then crouched on the ground and punched the ground as hard as she could with all four fists, sending a massive whirling blast of energy outwards that knocked back all of the Pokémon and sent most of them crashing down onto the ground senseless.
Those that weren't knocked unconscious weren't much better off. Deoxys went spiraling into a pillar, stunned at the impact but recovered within a few seconds. Damien crashed down hard beside Wicke and Jackal with a whine of pain, with Ashton looking towards his Partner in concern. Zorro was barely conscious on the ground, panting softly as he eyed the monster that had taken them all down.
However, a pained gasp caught Ashton's attention as he saw Pandora struggling to move, looking down at her four bloodied and broken arms that looked like they had imploded at the wrist and elbows.
"The same arms she used with that Umbral Attack. Interesting…they should have healed by now." Ashton murmured as he sent a mental command to Deoxys to attack, which it responded to by lashing out with Psycho Boost.
Pandora tensed as she sensed Deoxys approach, throwing up her hands and taking the blast directly. The Umbral Pokémon responded by summoning two spheres of darkness and firing them at Deoxys, who teleported away with ease. Pandora turned her attention to Ashton, swiftly firing a sphere at him. The former Cipher leader dove to the ground to avoid it, but was still blown across the floor from the sheer force of the blast. Deoxys flew to its Trainer, allowing Pandora to recuperate. She noticed that her arms were slowly generating, but the bones hadn't reset themselves, which explained the current agony she was in.
"No no no! Reform! R-Reform!" Pandora hissed, holding out her two good arms and throwing up a wall of shimmering glasslike darkness around herself.
"It seems we have a moment to breathe." Ashton panted, getting back to his feet with the help of Deoxys. Jackal, Wicke and Colress turned to the former Cipher leader with questions as he walked over to Damien and helped him stand up.
"Ashton, are you certain that the only way to truly kill this thing is to lop its head off? Because we tried that before and it didn't work." Jackal asked Ashton, who scowled as he thought quickly about it.
"Yes, that's the only method that serves to end all vital activity within an Umbral Pokémon. The fact that Pandora is strong enough to psychically command her body to pick up her head and reattach it, triggering the regeneration process…" Ashton trailed off, realizing how he sounded before sighing. "What a fool I was."
"There has to be some way to kill this thing! Nothing is invincible." Colress pressed Ashton, who thought about it as he began to call out the reminder of his team. Puffy the Wigglytuff, Rooto the Trevenant, Lee the Hitmonchan and Creed the Toxtricity. Wicke had finished healing all of the unconscious Pokémon while also restoring Damien and Zorro to full health. With his entire team assembled, Ashton looked back at Colress.
"No. If she can reattach her head, she can seemingly repair the damage decapitating her would do. So what we need to do is two-fold." Ashton said as Pandora turned her furious gaze to the group that stood between her and absolute destruction. "One, we exhaust her. Pandora is many things, but she is not a long-lived project. She was on life-support for a time, and her body cannot handle the amount of stress she's currently putting on it."
"So that comment about herself dying was true, then." Colress remarked archly as Ashton nodded grimly.
"She was too powerful even then, barely able to survive the transition to becoming an Umbral Pokémon. Add onto that the fact that constantly regenerating fatal wounds takes a lot of time and energy. The more we attack, the slower she'll repair herself. Eventually it'll get worse until she can't heal herself at all, and then we deliver the fatal blow." Ashton said with a dark smile coming to his lips. "Even now, we're able to catch our breath and talk while she slowly heals behind that shield."
Wicke, Jackal and Colress realized that Ashton was right. Pandora snarled softly in response, waving a hand to dispel the barrier before firing off a sphere of energy at the cluster of Trainer's, only for Deoxys to lash out and direct the attack off to the side where it exploded violently against the side of the wall.
"And two? You mentioned two things." Wicke asked Ashton, who's smile widened as he pointed a finger at Pandora.
"We cut her damn head off. Unless you brainiacs have a better idea. Now let's go!" Ashton barked as he sent his team of six Pokémon into the fray as Jackal sighed with annoyance and a bit of nostalgia. Some things never changed.
"Surely there must be a better method than throwing ourselves at that thing again and again!" Wicke protested quietly, eyeing the Umbral Pokémon as she faced off against Ashton's team and launched a pulse of shadowy energy at the horde of Pokémon.
However, they leapt apart and narrowly dodged the wave of energy and began peppering the Umbral Pokémon with a barrage of attacks, with Damien taking the monster's attention by blasting her with Flamethrower. Deoxys dashed in and out of the fray, drawing Pandora's attention away for just long enough so that the Houndoom could dodge any lethal counterattacks.
"No. This is going to be a swift and brutal fight. Either we wear down that thing and kill it, or she murders us all and then leaves the Alola region so broken there won't be anything left for Lusa to destroy." Jackal remarked bitterly, readying his pistol as his long-suffering Kecleon sighed beside him. "Besides, I trust Ash…despite everything he's done."
"You think he knows what he's doing?" Wicke asked, causing Jackal to burst out laughing. Meanwhile, Pandora hissed and threw up a second barrier, blocking a wave of attacks with a bloody scowl of fury.
"I wouldn't go that far. Let's just end this so I can go home and take a nap. It's been a really long day today." Jackal remarked as Ashton and Colress had their teams unleash a wave of attacks against the shield, shattering it completely. But by now the Umbral Pokémon had healed, and it retaliated against the group as the onslaught began.
Damien started things off by bounding forward, firing off a Flamethrower and diving into his own flames even as they reached Pandora, causing her to cry out in pain as they smashed into her. Damien compounded the pain further by launching himself at the monstrous Pokémon, using Crunch on her neck and attempted to rip off her head.
Pandora shrieked in agony as she staggered backwards, frantically grabbing Damien with her arms and ripping him off of her in a shower of flames and blood before throwing him onto the ground violently, much to Ashton's horror. However, Damien's teammates were quick to capitalize on the distracted Pandora and began to attack.
Creed fired off a Thunderbolt as Puffy launched an Ice Beam, blasting Pandora with two powerful attacks that caused her to hiss with displeasure, even as Lee dashed forward and delivered a suite of flaming punches to the Umbral Pokémon's legs and chest, even leaping upwards to deliver an uppercut. Pandora growled audibly with annoyance, which was compounded further when Rooto rose up from behind her and attacked with a Shadow Ball, knocking Pandora forward and into a Night Slash from Zorro. The attack ripped open Pandora's chest and spattered the ground with crimson, and the Greninja swiftly got behind the Umbral Pokémon and repeated his brutal attack on her back, slicing it wide open.
Zorro saw Branch Chief Faba trapped within the back of Pandora's deformed body and grabbed the man, ripping him free from Pandora with a shout of effort and leaping away from the Umbral Pokémon as she tried to strike him down. Zorro set Faba down on the ground and rushed back into the battle, watching as Damien slowly got back to his feet.
The Houndoom grinned bloodily at the Umbral Pokémon before adding a Fire Blast to the ensuing chaos and making Pandora suffer even more. Jackal and Wicke urged their Pokémon to help, and Nagato and Raphael fired off a Psybeam and Air Slash into the mix as well. Soon Pandora was enveloped in a cloud of smoke as the attacks continued to pile on relentlessly.
Suddenly a shining blue light shone through the smoke and a force erupted outwards, clearing the smoke and blasting back all of the Pokémon nearby. Pandora's body was mutilated, bleeding and barely holding itself together. But still the Mega Umbral Medicham stood tall, unwilling to falter against her opponents.
"You think you have a chance…You think you can be redeemed? There's no hope left, little humans!" The Mega Umbral Medicham sneered, her three eyes wandering even as her bleeding smile began to fade. "I didn't want to do this…But if it ends this farce then I'll show you the true meaning of pain. Fall to the dark and embrace your end."
"Brace yourselves!" Ashton shouted as the others tensed, worried about what the monstrous Pokémon was going to do next. Pandora tensed, looking down at the ground and inhaling deeply.
"UMBRAL RUSH!" Pandora roared as her body exploded with a shockwave of raw power, shattering the ground beneath her as she charged into the horde of attacking Pokémon with a twisted smile. Lee and Puffy tried to hold their ground and gang up on the Umbral Pokémon, only to be taken down by two powerful punches to the chest that sent them hurtling backwards, crashing onto the floor unconscious.
Creed and Rooto tried to attack from afar, but Pandora closed the distance with ease and kicked both Pokémon violently, causing a loud cracking sound to erupt from the Toxtricity as the two Pokémon went flying. Damien lunged at Pandora with a burning row of teeth barred, only for a fist to connect with the Houndoom, followed up with a devastating roundhouse kick that sent Damien to the ground with a yelp.
Nagato and Raphael attempted to help, only for Pandora to drop the two Pokémon with a kick and a punch each. Pandora's chuckles turned into a cackle of glee, even as a barrage of watery stars embedded themselves within her back.
Zorro continued to lash out with Water Shuriken as Pandora laughed, turning around and swaying erratically as she stumbled forward, barreling through the attack as if it was doing nothing to her. The Umbral Pokémon punched at Zorro as her terrible aura flickered out, forcing the Greninja to dive into his shadow with Shadow Sneak, reappearing beside Ashton.
Pandora chuckled as she held out a hand, snatching up Jackal, Colress and Wicke within her Psychic grasp. The two Trainers began to scream as an enormous amount of pressure began to crush them from all sides. Ashton ran towards them, only to be disdainfully slammed into the floor by another wave of Psychic.
"So pathetic." Pandora sighed, though she tensed upon sensing a familiar Legendary Pokémon teleport back into the fight, sending a Psycho Boost directly at her. The Mega Umbral Pokémon growled with annoyance at the powerful attack, forcing herself to devote more effort on healing the damage done to her.
"I've had enough of you…" Pandora breathed raggedly, holding up a fist as it began to glow bright purple. "Umbral Strike!"
Pandora kicked off of the ground with tremendous force, rushing towards Ashton Aupuni with an animalistic shout. Deoxys teleported in front of its Trainer, shifting into its Defense Forme and summoning a barrier around itself just as Pandora punched it. To the horror of everyone, the shield shattered like glass and the Umbral Medicham's fist, cloaked in darkness and sparking wildly with black static, kept going forward and connected with the chest of Deoxys. The Legendary's eyes went wide as the sound of something breaking reverberated through the room.
"DEOXYS!" Ashton screamed at the shockwave of pure darkness erupting from the sheer force of the punch delivered by the monstrous creature. Deoxys groaned as it went flying backwards, crashing violently into the nearest concrete pillar. However, all eyes were on the jewel in the center of its chest.
And the massive crack running down the length of it.
Deoxys slowly broke free from the wall, drifting slowly to the ground with its eyes opened in stunned surprise. It then let out a soft hum as its body slowly began to disintegrate before their eyes. Soon enough, only a broken green gem was lying on the ground as Pandora chuckled with mirth.
"Finally! I was getting annoyed for a few moments there. Dealing with that pest was more trouble than it was worth." Pandora remarked, turning towards the horrified Ashton with a gleeful smile of malice even as she shambled towards her Master, her broken limbs swaying limply at her side. "And now to kill you. Again. And again. And again-"
A purple sphere of darkness exploded against the side of Pandora, causing her to snarl in pain and whirl around towards a familiar yellow figure that was standing beside Faba's unconscious body. The Branch Chief's trusty Hypno glared at the Umbral Pokémon with a hateful expression on his face.
"I was wondering where you scampered off too…" Pandora groaned, stumbling forward as one of her mangled hands glowed and swiped at Hypno, sending out a wave of darkness that he teleported away from, sending another Shadow Ball to Pandora who casually smacked it away with one of her broken limbs.
"You're just like Damien, you know. You could have stopped Faba from doing all of this. But you didn't…You enjoyed being his little assistant. Watching as he got even with those you both saw as beneath him." Pandora accused the Hypno, who looked down at the ground for several moments before looking up at Pandora with a stern expression.
"Elias Faba was the one who committed all of the sins that led to this moment. He was always capable of evil. All I did was merely suggest certain courses of action." Pandora said to the Pokémon, her tone mocking. "I allowed Faba to control his fate. He chose to indulge his hatred and embraced the darkness within his heart. In that regard he's a monster, just like Ashton."
Hypno responded by charging up and firing off another Shadow Ball, which Pandora swatted aside with a derisive snort before her eyes flashed bright blue, blasting the Hypno across the room with a dark chuckle.
"Dazzling Gleam!"
Pandora glanced casually to her left and allowed her blind gaze to tear apart that shimmering pink sphere of energy rushing towards her, courtesy of Wicke's Togekiss Raphael. The Assistant Branch Chief gasped in surprise, with Pandora raising her broken hands with a cruel smile before a gunshot ran out and struck the Umbral Pokémon in the chest, causing her to swipe her hand aside with a careless motion and blast Jackal to the floor with a wild eruption of sheer force.
"You really do think you matter. That you can turn the tide. Foolish. No one can escape their fate." Pandora chided them gently, fresh crimson dripping down her face as she laughed at them. It was then that Pandora felt a strange surge of energy, and turned around. She could sense the energy, but she couldn't sense where it was coming from.
If Pandora had been able to see, she would have seen Colress performing several poses before finishing them in sequence, with a fiery orange glow surrounding him as energy flowed between him and his newly-revived Metagross. Colress grinned as he felt the righteous Z-Power flow between him and his Pokémon. "Metagross, channel Meteor Mash…and use Corkscrew Crash!"
Pandora made a move to dodge the attack, but as she did she felt something in her right leg snap, causing her to fall to one knee. The immobilized Umbral Pokémon was struck by the shining and spinning mass that was Metagross, empowered by the Z-Move to deliver a devastating attack that sent the Umbral Pokémon crashing down hard onto the floor with her eyes tightly shut.
Colress swayed on his feet and nearly toppled to the ground, but he was panting with a broken smile on his face as he admired his handiwork. The power of the bond between humans and Pokémon had once again been achieved by himself, and it was an incredible testament to the power of Z-Moves that it had seemingly taken down the Mega Umbral Medicham.
"I…HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!"
Colress felt cold fear roll down his spine as he watched Pandora, who had slowly rolled onto her stomach and lifted her body upright with Psychic. Her body was bloodied and torn apart, with her chest in particular looking the most damaged with some of her internal organs visible in her chest. Despite the agonizing pain the Pokémon should have been in, Pandora refused to go down.
The Umbral Pokémon took a slow shambling step forward, only for a Shadow Ball from Hypno to explode against her back, causing the monster to grimace as she glanced backwards and sensed the Hypno some ways back.
"Umbral…aaagghhh…BLAST!" Pandora screamed with frustration, holding out her shattered hands as a flickering beam shot outwards, with Pandora sweeping it across the floor as the Hypno teleported away and dodged the attack completely. Pandora staggered forward, panting heavily before turning around and swiping the beam past Colress and his Metagross, blasting them both to the ground with what remained of the attack.
"C-c-c-can't…stop noooow…" Pandora's words were slurred, blood pouring from her mouth as she laughed softly. However, her skin was no longer repairing itself and she fell onto her hands and knees, panting from the sheer effort of withstanding the power of her own move and the agony of the injuries sustained by her hands, arms and chest. She laughed despite the pain as Colress twitched slightly on the ground beside his unconscious Pokémon before finally passing out.
"She's taking longer and longer to recover." Wicke remarked to Jackal and Ashton, watching as Pandora slowly got back to her feet again, shaking violently at the effort. By this point Ashton had swiftly healed his team, having taken some time to steel himself and force away the panic at Deoxys' fate.
The former leader of Cipher saw that Pandora was currently trying to hit the teleporting Hypno as he appeared and reappeared all across the floor, but her attacks were too slow to touch Faba's Pokémon. Ashton also took note of the fact that Pandora was sitting on the ground, seemingly unable to heal the damage done to her legs.
"Let's take a page out of Sun's book…" Ashton exhaled softly, his mouth curling into a fierce grin as all six of his Pokémon braced themselves for a command. Ashton's eyes caught Damien's and the Trainer saw that his Partner was grinning alongside him, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "Everyone, get ready. She's not healing anymore, so this is our chance!"
"Ready!" Jackal and Wicke said in unison, preparing themselves. Ashton turned forward and his smirk widened slightly as he recalled exactly how his own child had done what he was planning on doing.
"Fire Blast, Water Shuriken, Shadow Ball, Hyper Beam, Stone Edge, Thunder! Hit Pandora with an all-out attack!" Ashton commanded his team with booming authority, a wicked smile on his face as everyone leaped into action.
Pandora's head snapped up, shock on her face as Ashton's team suddenly rushed her from all sides. She tried to take a step forward, only for something to suddenly collide with her back and send pain rippling through her body. She whirled around in surprise and anger, sensing Nagato the Kecleon retreating away from her and even further away…Commander Jackal. The Umbral Medicham didn't see the gun in the Commander's hand, but she certainly heard the pistol as it fired.
Bam!
Pandora screamed as the bullet slammed right into her forehead, not truly causing any permanent damage to the mighty monster, but stunning her just long enough for Raphael the Togekiss to attack with a Dazzling Gleam. The Fairy-type attack struck Pandora hard, but more importantly it allowed Ashton's team to swarm her from all sides.
Zorro dashed forward and leapt skyward, delivering an almighty swipe at Pandora's head, slicing it clean off with his Water Shuriken. Meanwhile Lee the Hitmonchan sped forward, spinning quickly before punching the ground as hard as he could and launching a massive Stone Edge at the main body of the Umbral Pokémon, knocking it across the room.
The headless form of Pandora landed on its feet and tried to retaliate, but that was when a Thunder struck it from above thanks to Creed the Toxtricity, who let out a shout of effort while wearing a wild grin. The main body twitched violently, stunned by the electricity thrumming through its body and keeping it still long enough for Rooto the Trevenant to attack with Shadow Ball, blasting the headless corpse further away from the screaming head of Pandora.
Pandora's furious eyes burned with blue flames as she tried to use Psychic, only for a Hyper Beam to blast the head even further away from the body, with the Wigglytuff responsible screaming all the while. The Umbral Pokémon screamed in agony the entire time as she tumbled away through the air, unable to make sense of what was happening as pain struck all of her senses.
Damien finished things off by aiming a devastating Fire Blast at the body of Pandora, immolating it completely in raging hellfire. The body of the Umbral Pokémon thrashed in the flames, falling to the ground even as the inferno swirled around it.
"F-Fools…I shall not fall so easily…" Pandora whispered, narrowing her useless eyes as Damien and the rest of Ashton's team kept an eye on the two segments of the Umbral Pokémon. Despite the fact that the main body of the Umbral Pokémon was burned beyond recognition and hadn't even twitched since being attacked, Pandora would not be deterred. The Umbral Pokémon's eyes shined bright blue-
And then the light flickered and vanished.
Ashton exhaled deeply as he watched Pandora's expression turn to confusion. Her eyes flickered again, but she again felt the power she had once commanded falter and then fail.
"H-h-how…?" Pandora whispered, looking towards the sound of roaring flames as Damien launched a Flamethrower at her destroyed body, further burning it away. The light of Mega Evolution finally faded from her body, reverting her back to her previous state as Ashton looked down at her. That was when the truth dawned on Pandora, even as she felt her connection to her body fade away, along with her psychic powers.
"I'm sorry, Pandora. That may mean nothing to you, and it doesn't make up for any of the terrible things I've done. But I am truly sorry for what I subjected you and so many Pokémon to." Ashton said quietly to the Umbral Pokémon, kneeling down to look her in the eyes. "If I could give my life to fix things, I would. But the Tapu have cursed me to live in Alola forever in order to atone for my sins. And so I must live and hope that someday I will be able to redeem myself, even if that will never make things right."
"That's not fair! None of this is f-fair!" Pandora snarled, shutting her useless eyes. "This world is doomed. How could I lose…to you monsters?"
"Simple. You yourself said that your body was failing. We simply forced you to keep taxing your body to the absolute limit. Once you reached that limit, we just had to try to decapitate you again. And separate you from your body while damaging both parts of you so badly you couldn't recover." Colress said matter-of-factly to the Umbral Pokémon, who scowled in anger at the scientist's tone as he shuffled over, leaning heavily against Wicke who was now supporting him. "Your body is too far away and too badly damaged to make its way to you, and you're too weak to do much more than communicate with us telepathically for the last few remaining seconds of your life."
"NO! I'm…I wasn't supposed to die yet! I have to kill you. All of you!" Pandora snarled, her head twitching slightly. But the movement was weak and Ashton placed a hand on the Umbral Pokémon's head.
"Rest now. Your suffering is over." Ashton said quietly, earning a growl of fury from Pandora. Colress knelt down beside the fallen Umbral Pokémon and stared at her for several long moments, his gaze drifting to the slain form of his Absol.
"I feel obligated to thank you for allowing me to finally break through the mental block in my mind that forced me to wallow in apathy for an entire lifetime. I'm…processing these new emotions and the grief is terrible right now, but for the first time ever I have a clarity I never would have dreamed of had you not inflicted this trauma upon me." Colress said to the Umbral Pokémon, who chuckled darkly in response.
"Good. You will carry that scar with you forever." Pandora sneered as Colress turned on his heel and walked away several steps.
"That was unnecessary." Jackal remarked archly, scowling at the head of the Umbral Pokémon barely clinging to life. Pandora grit her teeth in frustration at the words of the Commander.
"There is no happy ending for a monster like me…Just like there won't be for you all. You think you won't go bad again, Borlath?" Pandora asked as she turned her attention back to her creator, the Umbral Medicham's voice laced with scorn. Jackal and Wicke glanced at one another for a moment in response while the man in question considered it.
"Forever is a very long time. The human mind isn't meant to last that long. Especially not one with as much blood on their hands as you. Your beloved child will grow old and die. Your ex-lover will perish as the years turn by. Your friends and those precious to you shall fall one by one, and yet you will endure."
"The Tapu will hold your strings forevermore. You will endure, living with the fact that you caused so much suffering. You will always be a pariah. Do you really think someone like you can be redeemed?"
"And even if you can be. Even if this world, through the passage of time, somehow forgives you and you do find a way to make things right…What makes you think you'll never stray? That you won't break your promises once again? Tell me, Borlath, what makes you so sure you won't embrace the darkness once more?" Pandora demanded, her voice growing weaker with each word. Ashton closed his eyes, thinking about the words of the Umbral Pokémon.
"Do you know why I named you Pandora?" Ashton asked after a long pause, glancing away from the Pokémon.
"I can speculate." Pandora said in a bored tone, uncaring of where Ashton was going with this.
"Because Cipher knew well in advance just how powerful you would become if you survived the process of becoming an Umbral Pokémon. And that just like Jojo, you would retain your sapience and become an absolute menace to all who encountered you unless you were kept behind lock and key. However, you were still given a name…Pandora."
Ashton's expression twisted with sorrow as he reflected on the events of that night. The night he was defeated and cursed by the Tapu. Losing Amber. And having Damien turn on him. And then battling the person who loved most in the entire world in a fight to the death.
"Even in my darkest hour, when everything had gone wrong and I had no hope left…I never considered unleashing you. Opening that vault and siccing you upon my son and those who were willing to fight alongside him was never something I considered." Ashton explained quietly to the Umbral Pokémon, who finally went quiet. "I named you Pandora because you were that absolute last resort I never used no matter how bad things were. Even when all hope was lost."
Ashton allowed a silence to linger for several moments before Pandora said, "You were a coward…Just like now."
The former Cipher leader nodded in agreement. "If I had used you that night, you would have killed me and everyone else in your path. But that was the point. You were my way out of everything. A plan I prayed that I would never have to use. But then…"
"But then…?" Pandora said expectantly, voice dripping with condescension.
"My son taught me a lesson. That despite how strong we may be, humans and Pokémon require bonds to truly flourish. With Lillie's help, he managed to defy the odds and defeat me. And it was one of the proudest moments of my entire life, because my little boy taught me what it truly means to be strong." Ashton responded softly, unable to help the smile on his face. "And that hope is always there, even in the bleakest of moments. And that's why I have faith. I have time on my side. I have forever to make this world a better place and make things right. Not just for Sun and Laura…But for everyone in this world. Alongside the Tapu, I will strive for a better world for humans and Pokémon alike."
"Sentimental foolishness…Do you really believe the words coming out of your m-mouth?" Pandora spat back at Ashton, who chuckled softly.
After a few moments, the former Grand Master of Cipher responded. "Maybe it is foolishness. But it's how I feel. I'll create new bonds. I won't be alone, because the Tapu are holding my strings. Keeping me from falling off the edge and into the dark. I'm not too worried."
"Hmph. I guess we'll see one way…or another…" Pandora mused softly, shutting her eyes. And then finally, the presence that they had all felt since the Umbral Pokémon had been called out of her Poké Ball had finally ceased.
The monster had been slain, and Pandora was gone.
Ashton collapsed onto his knees, heaving a deep sigh of relief before sitting down on the ground. Jackal limped over to the younger man and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"You did good, Ash. You fought like hell and you helped fix an awful mistake." Jackal said quietly as Ashton nodded, breathing in and out to steady himself. He was surprised when he felt something wet lick his face, and opened his eyes to see Damien in front of him.
"You're safe. We're with you." Damien said to his Trainer, who noticed that his team was clustered around him. The loyal Pokémon who had been fighting by his side ever since he had sacrificed his own team to Project Umbra. They all looked at him with relief, with Zorro even coming forward to tightly hug his Trainer. Ashton's eyes filled with tears, his eyes flickering golden as he returned the embrace before hugging Damien.
"Thank you. All of you. I-I'm so grateful to still have your trust…" Ashton whispered, shutting his eyes with a smile as Damien chuckled softly.
"Some things never change, you big cry baby." Damien said with a wry smirk, causing Ashton to let out a watery laugh.
"Even as bad as things were getting for you, unleashing Pandora was never an option for you. In the grip of madness, even then you refused to give in. Perhaps somewhere deep down you were asking someone to stop you. To help you, show you the way." Wicke thought as Jackal walked over and began to talk with the younger Trainer. "Perhaps there's hope for us all."
"W-w-what…where…" rasped a familiar voice from nearby. The group turned towards the voice and saw Branch Chief Faba, slowly pushing himself upright as his Hypno lingered nearby with open concern on its face. The man had certainly seen better days, coated in black ichor and blood with his coat in tatters. But he was more or less unharmed, save for a bloody nose.
Colress' expression twisted into anger as he staggered forward and delivered a sharp kick to the face of Faba, who tumbled across the floor with a cry. Colress stalked towards Faba, holding out his hands as they became wreathed in fiery red energy.
"You demented little fool! Do you have any idea what you've done?!" Colress snarled at Faba, who tried backing away from the furious scientist, only for Colress to snap his fingers and have his exhausted Metagross use Psychic to hold him in place. Faba shut his eyes, trembling in fear as Colress glared down at him with a murderous expression.
"What are you doing!?" Jackal demanded, with Colress turning away from Faba to give them all a polite smile that barely contained the fury he had displayed mere seconds prior.
"Can I please kill him? Seriously, he won't be missed." Colress politely asked Wicke and Jackal, who exchanged a brief look before shaking their heads. With that, Colress dropped all pretense and frowned with frustration. "All this newfound fury and I have no way to channel it. Why shouldn't I murder him!?"
"Colress!" The scientist glanced back and saw Ashton carefully scooping the remnants of Deoxys into a pile, his expression troubled. Then the former Grand Master of Cipher walked towards Faba and Colress, seeing the sheer fury and heartbreak in the eyes of the scientist.
"No. Faba needs to die! He almost doomed everyone and everything here in Alola. All for the selfish sake of his own ambitions." Colress shouted at Ashton, who gave the man a sympathetic look before gesturing to what was left of Deoxys.
"It's not the answer. It won't bring them back." Ashton said quietly, putting a hand on Colress shoulder. The scientist took a long while to stare into Ashton's eyes, and was surprised at the sincerity he saw in them.
Finally, Colress sighed and stepped away, lowering his hands and allowing the energy flowing through them to fade away. Ashton nodded in approval and looked down at Faba, who seemed to not understand that he was being spared.
"Are you alright? I can't imagine being absorbed by Pandora was a fun experience for you." Ashton asked politely, earning a confused look from the Branch Chief.
"Why…after everything I've done to you. How could you spare my life? I don't deserve it." Faba whispered, staring at the hand of Ashton Aupuni with unbelieving eyes.
Ashton nodded in understanding. "Because I know exactly how you feel. You did what you did because you felt the pain of loss. Because you wanted to avenge those whose lives were unfairly snuffed out. That loss was twisted by ego and the desire to get revenge on those who wronged you."
"You killed my friends…" Faba hissed at Ashton Aupuni, his eyes narrowing in anger. Ashton's eyes flickered a deep blue color, and the man bowed his head.
"And I will never be able to make that mistake better, Elias Faba. Your colleagues at the Orre Pokémon HQ Lab are dead and I am responsible. I am truly sorry for everything I've done to you and your friends." Ashton said quietly, kneeling down to Faba's level. The Branch Chief stared at the object of his hatred, someone who had nearly torn the world to pieces and thousands of people.
"But violence is never truly the answer. Revenge never truly satisfies, and at the end of the day death will stain your soul in a way that will haunt you for the remainder of your days. But that doesn't mean you still can't try to make things better. That you can change." Ashton went on, closing his eyes. "I will never be able to make things right. All I can do is atone. What I ask, Branch Chief Faba, is that you walk this path alongside me. You've made the same mistakes I did. You can stop Lusamine from destroying this world. Please help me make things right."
The Branch Chief of the Aether Foundation stared at Ashton Aupuni, the man formerly known as Borlath, for several long moments. And then lowered his head, taking a shaky breath before looking back up at Ashton with a scowl.
"You deserved everything I did to you."
"I did. I deserved more than that for what I've done."
"You killed my friends. Friends who were trying to make the world a better place!"
"Yes. I had Amber kill them all. Parents, scientists…even the children. I had them all die to further my own ends."
"You deserve nothing more than death!"
Ashton smiled ruefully at Faba, nodding in agreement. "I tried to give my life to make things right. My son showed me the foolishness of such thinking. The Tapu took away any chance I had of escaping my sins, Faba, and so I must find some way of making things right. I may never succeed. But I have the rest of forever to keep trying. Besides, you've killed me many times over while I was your captive. Surely that evened things out quite a bit between us, right?"
Faba glared at Ashton Aupuni, and then turned his gaze to Jackal, Wicke and Colress in turn. His gaze then drifted to the slain form of Pandora, her head still gazing up at the ceiling.
"I unleashed that monster. I was weak…nearly doomed us all." Faba sighed as he took off his glasses, rubbing his face roughly and wiping the blood off. "You all cleaned up my mess. And didn't kill me for my stupidity. You saved my life, even though I didn't deserve it."
"You're right. We did. Now what?" Jackal asked pointedly, tapping his sidearm against his side with a stern expression. Faba's gaze flicked to Wicke, who put her hands on her hips.
"Well, I obviously don't think you should die. I do think you should resign as Branch Chief and figure out a way to fix the damage you caused." Wicke said to the scientist, who flinched at the suggestion and then sighed deeply before nodding.
"Perhaps that may be a good…oh shit! The attacks are still happening!" Faba realized, his expression horrified.
"Idiot." Colress stated bluntly before walking away from Faba, who blinked twice in surprise before slowly reaching up to his collar, revealing a small communication device.
"Attention all Aether Foundation members! This is Branch Chief Faba. All units stand down. The facility is no longer under lockdown and we are to resume normal operations immediately. President Lusamine has also ordered that the power and communications network be restored in the Alola region and that all Faux Cipher Squads return to their safehouses until further notice!" Faba barked into the radio before ending the transmission and letting out a heavy sigh.
"So, now what are you going to do with me?" Faba remarked sourly, looking towards the several dead Aether Foundation members who had been taken out by Pandora. "Arrest me? Have me tried for murder and treason?"
"We should, but I don't think that's a good use of your talents." Jackal remarked, offering the scientist a calculating smirk. "It's the same situation with Ashton here. Yeah, you do deserve to be locked up for what you did. But at the same time, that won't assuage the guilt you feel or make things right. So how about we work out a deal while the authorities aren't around?"
"Ah…I forgot, you're a member of the International Police." Faba grimaced, wondering just what sort of nonsense he was in for. Faba tried to sit up then, only for Ashton Aupuni to punch him in the jaw hard and send him crashing back down to the ground with a yelp of pain.
"That was for torturing me and Colress. Now consider us even." Ashton said with a smirk as Faba writhed on the ground for a moment. The moment he regained his composure, he glared up at Ashton before the former Grand Master of Cipher offered Faba his hand.
"If you're sincere in wanting to make up for your mistakes, then let's help one another, Elias Faba. Let go of the hurt and focus on making this world truly a better place for others." Ashton remarked as Faba stared at the hand for a long time…and then slowly reached up to grasp it.
"So, what now? Ashton goes back to jail, you file a report…?" Wicke asked the others, genuinely
confused.
"I think we have more pressing matters. Sun and his friends are still battling their way towards Lusamine. It's been quite some time, too, so I wonder if-" Colress began to say, only for a distant booming sound to erupt from somewhere in the distance. It was then that it occurred to several of them that the danger wasn't over quite yet.
"Sun!" Ashton whispered, raw terror in his voice before whirling around to face Colress. "Open the door!"
The scientist nodded, turning on his heel and limping towards the large door to unlock it. Ashton exhaled as he ran a hand down his face, approaching the door anxiously before casting a look towards Wicke and Jackal. As the door leading to the rest of the Paradise slowly began to open, Ashton issued several orders to the group.
"Jackal, gain control of the situation here! Deal with Faba and work something out! And make sure no one touches what's left of Deoxys' core. Faba and Colress, don't murder each other!" Ashton barked out to them before turning to the Assistant Branch Chief. "Wicke, you're with me! Let's go!"
With that, the door leading to the rest of the Paradise was now open, and the two of them ran towards the President's Mansion to help the brave children sent ahead to confront the true evil lurking at the heart of the Paradise.
Alola was still in danger, and the mastermind behind all of this tragedy was moments away from unleashing hell upon the region.
Meanwhile…
President's Mansion Depths
Sun and Lillie reappeared in a different room than the one that they had been in before. It was a large white room filled with monitors and various panels lining the walls, with water entering the lower section of the room from grates that allowed the sea to flow inside. Several large containers were on display, but Sun couldn't quite make out what they were.
"Wh-what is this place?" Lillie whispered, taking in the sight of the strange room and looking around with a worried expression. She then gasped as she saw her mother standing in front of a holographic screen. Lusamine turned around and gave the children a dark grin.
"Hurry. This way." Lusamine purred softly as she put a hand to her chin, beckoning them forward with her other hand. Sun scowled at the coy attitude while Lillie felt a small wave of dread wash over her as she and Sun walked into the sanctum of the Aether President. Lusamine walked forward to greet them, and that was when Sun noticed the strange container sitting on the ground beside her, a crate of some sort.
"What do you think? It's my private collection." Lusamine said to the two children, who then realized what was in the strange cube-like containers around the computer consoles. " My precious babies…They will all be preserved for eternity here."
Lillie felt a shiver roll down her spine and Sun's eyes turned white with terror as he realized what was truly going on. All around him inside of the strange containers were Pokémon. Starmie. Pyukumuku. Pikachu and more. All frozen solid, cryogenically frozen within the containers and preserved in stasis for all eternity.
"You're insane…Miss Lusamine, what the hell is all of this?" Sun whispered hoarsely as Lillie mutely shook her head as Lusamine smiled horribly at them.
The Aether President then gestured grandly at the frozen Pokémon around her. "My dear Sun, you wouldn't understand. The loneliness I felt when my husband was taken from me. The pain I felt every waking day as I felt myself grow more and more distant with my darling children. I needed something constant in my life. Something that would always be by my side."
"You never once asked those Pokémon if they were happy being stuck inside of a block of ice forever." Sun pointed out, causing Lusamine to shrug.
"I don't care for their happiness. Merely my own. Sometimes you have to think for yourself sometimes and be a little selfish." Lusamine responded smoothly, with Sun shaking his head at that.
"Coming from the woman who runs a sanctuary for Pokémon. Doesn't this fly in the face of what you made the Aether Foundation for? What happened to you, Miss Lusamine?" Sun asked the woman, unable to keep the hurt out of his voice. Lusamine's expression wavered for a brief moment, her gaze drifting to Lillie's pleading eyes behind him…
The Aether President then shut her eyes and inhaled deeply, exhaling smoothly as she regained her composure. She had gone too far. There was no turning back now. And so Lusamine opened her eyes and offered the children a mocking smile. After all, their concerns were nothing compared to what was mere moments away from happening.
Salvation.
"You focus too much on the details, rather than the full picture. But my poor beast…What confusion, what rage must it feel, arriving in this strange world?" Lusamine remarked, her expression becoming contemplative. "It would not be right to confine its feelings in such a small case as these ones…It will need to express itself."
Lusamine's sickening grin returned, chilling Sun and Lillie to their cores. "I think I will let it express all its fury upon the Alola region as it will!"
Sun opened his mouth to speak, only for the sound of the teleporter going off behind them to stop him. Lillie and Sun glanced backwards to see Hau standing there, a bewildered expression on his face before he caught sight of his friends and gave a cheery wave.
"Whoa! Sun!" Hau cried out, jogging over to them. Behind him, Gladion appeared in the teleporter and sprinted over to them as well. Hau tackled Lillie into an affectionate hug, which she returned with a soft smile. "Whoa-ho! And Lillie! Man, I'm so glad to see you're okay!"
"You…Hau, thank you so much." Lillie whispered, hugging her friend tightly and fighting back more tears. Hau winced in pain at his injuries being aggravated, but ignored that to continue hugging Lillie. The girl then spotted Gladion, who was now walking slowly towards the President with a resolute expression.
"Ah. Sweet Hau. So you came, too?" Lusamine crooned, still wearing her twisted grin of amusement. She then turned her attention to the blond-haired boy glaring defiantly at her. Lusamine sighed and shrugged her shoulders, disdain dripping from her voice as she said, "Hmph. And Gladion. Must you be so untidy?"
"Will you listen to me at least?" Gladion said archly, putting his hands on his hips. "You mustn't open the Ultra Wormhole. You cannot let the beasts run wild!"
Lusamine slowly stepped forward, her expression unreadable as she stared down the boy. She cast her gaze to each of them in turn before shutting her eyes. And then the woman's expression shifted into one of abject fury.
"The daughter who stole my Cosmog from me and the son who took my Type: Null! All I ever did was give you two all the love I had, and all you did was betray me! You have no right to ask for my attention now!" Lusamine screamed at Gladion, who weathered the woman's fury while Sun and Lillie flinched. Hau looked hopelessly confused, putting his hands behind his head and looking back at Gladion.
"What? Daughter? Son?" Hau asked with an easy grin on his face. And then the gears in his head began to turn, because he looked at Lillie for a few moments before looking at Lusamine, and then turned around to Gladion before suddenly letting out a yell.
"Wait! You all are a family?!" Hau shouted, his eyes wide in shock. Lusamine's rage ebbed away, replaced with a frown of disgust.
"Perhaps once we were…Sweet Hau. But those wretches beside you left me." Lusamine responded bitterly, shaking her head frantically. "But it doesn't matter now. None of that matters now!"
Lusamine turned on her heel and marched towards the strange capsule that rested on the ground. "I was able to open the Ultra Wormhole using just the gases we extracted from Cosmog when it was in Aether Paradise, wasn't I? The Ultra Spheres we created were icing on the cake too. However, they were a mere preview to the main event!"
A familiar cry rang out from the capsule, causing Lillie to gasp softly. Lusamine continued relentlessly, saying, "But now I have Cosmog itself inside this crate here…If I use its entire body, how many Ultra Wormholes will I be able to open? How many sweet beasts will come to me then?"
"Just one of those things was horrible. You'd destroy the entire region if you let those things pour into Alola!" Sun shouted at Lusamine, who responded with a delighted grin at the mere thought of such wanton destruction.
Lillie stepped forward, trembling with horror as she moved past the others. "Please…Stop…If Nebby isn't-If you make it use up too much of its power…you don't understand what will happen!"
Lillie shut her eyes as it began to dawn on the others what Lillie was talking about. "Like when we ran away from the Paradise…it couldn't even move for ages after that…"
The girl opened her eyes and cried out, "If you use too much of its power, it will die!"
Lusamine responded by picking up the strange crate that Nebby was trapped inside and brandished it at the children, her terrible smile widening. "Watch…I will open the Ultra Wormhole for you…Come to me, my sweet beast!"
Sun and Gladion suddenly ran towards Lusamine, who tapped her foot on the ground. Suddenly both Sun and Gladion were enveloped in a harsh blue glow and slammed down onto the floor hard enough to cause them to scream in pain. Hau tried to help them, but only Lillie saw the head of a familiar fox poking out from behind the center console.
Fiaro the Ninetales padded over to Lusamine's side, its eyes burning with blue flames as Lusamine pressed the button on the side of the container, causing the entire device to glow brightly. To the horror of them all, Nebby began to shriek in pain, writhing within the device for several horrifying moments…and then the device fell silent.
Lusamine held the crate into the air just in time for a familiar-looking blue sphere of smoky energy to rise from the device and into the air, where it struck the ceiling. As soon as it made contact, the Ultra Wormhole burst forth, tearing through the air and creating a rift between this world and another one.
Lusamine grinned as a sinister wind blew through the room, bursting into joyful laughter as the familiar shape of an otherworldly jellyfish crept out from the Ultra Wormhole, letting out a soft cooing sound as Lillie and her friends watched on in abject terror.
"You see! All over Alola!" Lusamine shouted as the entire building trembled from the force of the Ultra Wormhole being inside of the compound. Meanwhile Hau had called out Duke the Alolan Raichu and was using his powers to slowly pry away the Psychic holding Sun and Gladion to the ground.
"P...ew…" came a soft sound from the crate that Nebby had been stuck inside of. To the horror of the children, the cry was extremely weak compared to the usual noises Nebby made. Lusamine looked down at the crate with disgust.
"Ugh…Must you be so noisy, even inside there? What an annoying Pokémon. The only thing I need from you is your power!" Lusamine shouted at the Cosmog, though moments later she gave the children a smirk. "But I will admit…it looks like that power has served me well. There should be plenty of beautiful beasts appearing all around Alola as we speak!"
Lusamine turned around, watching various monitors that showed several Ultra Wormholes open over various cities and locations throughout the region. "Look! On Akala and Poni…Even on Melemele Island! Ho ho ho ho!"
"Jrrr-rrr-rrr…" the Nihilego crooned, drifting through the air. Lusamine looked upon it with adoration, ignoring the expressions of terror and fear on the children behind her.
"Hee hee! My sweet beast." Lusamine giggled with delight. She then glanced behind her at the sound of the teleporter going off again, this time with Guzma walking towards them all with an awed expression that turned into a satisfied smirk.
"Madam Prez…the experiment was a success, huh?" Guzma observed, watching the Ultra Beast float before him and seeing everyone bathed in the eerie glow of the Ultra Wormhole. Guzma grinned wolfishly and said, "Looks like it's time to catch this wicked Ultra Beast to beat down these annoying upstarts!"
"Duke, hit 'em with Thunderbolt!" Hau shouted suddenly, with the Alolan Raichu charging up and sending a bolt of electricity towards Lusamine. The Aether President gasped in surprise, but to her shock the bolt struck the space directly to her right.
Fiaro the Ninetales went flying backwards, slamming hard into the frozen tank containing Starmie. Lusamine growled with annoyance as Sun and Gladion gasped with relief, slowly pushing themselves upright before Lusamine looked towards the children with frustration.
"Miss Lusamine…" Hau said quietly, his tone pleading. "Don't do this. You're better than this. We can just talk this out. Right?"
"You're right…I am better than this." Lusamine remarked quietly, turning around to face them all with a stern expression. "Guzma. Quiet those children for me. I don't want to hear from them again."
Behind Lusamine the Ultra Beast drew closer, hovering almost protectively behind the Aether President. Guzma chuckled as he approached them, only for Duke the Raichu to suddenly lash out with a Psychic and blast the gangster backwards. Sun and Gladion got to their feet, shaking slightly but otherwise fine. Gladion then sprinted forward, calling out Type: Null while Sun sent out Oliver, who took in the sight of the Ultra Beast with a startled gasp of surprise.
"I'll stop the beast! My Partner Null was born to be a beast killer!" Gladion barked as the Ultra Beast shrieked in response. The boy then looked back at the others, flashing them a wild grin. "Hau, you take Guzma! Kick his fucking teeth in!"
Hau looked shocked at the command and whirled around to see Guzma laughing darkly, stepping towards them with a menacing grin as he called out Goliath. Gladion then turned to Sun, his expression desperate as his smile vanished.
"Sun! You're the strongest Trainer we've got. Stop the President!" Gladion shouted as Type: Null crouched low, snarling ferociously as the Ultra Beast loomed overhead, cooing softly. Black venom dripped from its tentacles, causing Oliver to shudder slightly besides Sun. "If we don't, Alola will be flooded with beasts!"
"Sun! We have to get Nebby back!" Lillie cried out, grabbing onto the boy's shoulder with a panicked expression.
Sun looked back at Lillie, once again taking in the battered appearance of the kindhearted girl who had been mentally tormented and physically attacked by her own mother. It was insane. How could they not have seen this coming? Had all of this been a lie? Had President Lusamine ever been their friend?
"Miss Lusamine, this is crazy! Please, just…" Sun trailed off, unsure of what to say as he turned back towards the Aether President, who simply smiled sweetly at the boy.
"Just what? Surrender the Cosmog? Leave my Ultra Beasts in misery within the depths of their worlds? Leave Team Skull to wallow in squalor for the remainder of their days?" Lusamine asked Sun, amusement flashing across her features as her sharp green eyes narrowed further.
"I just don't get why you've changed so much! What happened to the woman who risked her life for mine against Roran? Who comforted me about my father? What happened to the kind woman who I respected so much!?" Sun demanded, hurt in his own voice. Not just at the betrayal of Lusamine. But because of the fact that she had been the one ruthlessly hunting down Lillie. The source of all of his best friend's fears and pain had all come from the person who should have been looking out for her daughter.
Lusamine shook her head, a disgusted frown on her face. "That person was someone who got distracted with unimportant matters. Even your father feared what I could do with the powers of the Ultra Space at my disposal."
"I'm not surprised. I've seen what those things can do! If they get unleashed on Alola, who knows what could happen!" Sun barked out at the woman, who's frown softened into merely one of annoyance rather than disgust.
"What a disappointment. To think that you are all so small-minded…You're going to startle my sweet beast!" Lusamine sighed, shaking her head as she stepped towards Sun.
"Sun...It looks like I'll have to silence you first." Lusamine said as her voice turned cold as ice. There was no trace of the kindly woman who had saved his life. No flicker of motherly affection. Only a woman hellbent on achieving her goals, no matter the cost.
A terrible smile crept across the woman's face, even as she unclipped an Ultra Ball at her waist and called out her Clefable, who smiled at them before looking at Lusamine in confusion.
"I guess we're done trying to negotiate. If you won't listen to Lillie or Gladion...maybe I can force you to listen to me." Sun said as Oliver braced himself for another battle, with the mighty owl stepping forward calmly.
"It's all fine Sun. I do this because I love my children. Lillie. Gladion. The Ultra Beasts. I love you too, my sweet child." Lusamine said as her Clefable held out a finger, readying itself for an attack as Lusamine held out her arms with a serene smile, almost as if she was beckoning Sun to embrace her.
"I do this because of love. And I love you...to death." Lusamine replied softly, a tinkling laugh escaping her that fooled no one.
Lillie felt Sun's hand grip hers as the boy pointed towards Clefable, with Oliver himself ready to leap into action against the woman they had fought alongside. A woman who had comforted them. Protected them. Cared for them…
Now consumed within her own madness. Just like Dawson. Just like Roran. And just like Borlath.
"I'll deal with you like I did the rest of them. I'll save Lusamine just like I saved Dad!" Sun thought before Rotom Dex popped out of his backpack, playing an intense piano theme. Sun ignored this, and focused only on bringing the Aether President back to her senses while Hau held Guzma back and Gladion battled the Ultra Beast.
"Oliver, use-" Sun began to say, only for Lusamine to shout out, "Hyper Beam on the boy and girl! Now!"
Sun and Lillie recoiled in surprise, and even Clefable hesitated for a moment before pointing a finger directly at Lillie and Sun and firing off a massive beam of energy directly at them. Lillie shrieked in fear as Sun shielded her with his body. Oliver stepped in front of them both and summoned a Protect, blocking the direct attack while glaring down the woman responsible for attacking two of the humans he cared about the most in the world.
"Just like his father...You have failed in your duties as a parent." Oliver said quietly, his voice low with anger.
"You all seem to be under the impression that I was playing around…let me assure you. Nothing and no one will stop me from saving my Ultra Beasts." Lusamine said firmly as Oliver swept his large wing aside, dispelling the Protect he had summoned to shield the two children standing behind him. Lillie was openly shaking in terror at the sight of her mother while Sun grit his teeth in anger.
"I don't understand. But at this point...I don't think I want to. I'm going to stop this. Right here. Right now." Sun growled as he held up his Z-Ring. Lusamine's mouth twisted into a beautiful but dangerous smile. The boy could hear the sounds of Hau battling Guzma's Pokémon and of Gladion and Type: Null dueling the Ultra Beast, but Sun faced down the madness of Lusamine with determination burning in his eyes.
"Then by all means, Sun...Try. I'll teach you the same painful lesson I taught Lillie." Lusamine purred as her Clefable finished recharging. Oliver notched a shadowy arrow and took aim, awaiting Sun's command as the battle between the boy and Lusamine began.
NEXT TIME: The Ultra Beasts invade the Alola region, and its defenders make their final stand…
The next three chapters will be absolute bangers. You won't want to miss any of this!
Q & A
From: Oragonking
By the way, why did Pandora absorb Faba inside of her?
Mostly for the sake of tormenting the man further.
But for the sake of practicality, she was also keeping him safe for future use since she can't utilize Mega Evolution on her own and requires a human counterpart for the process. That being said, she's intelligent enough to brute force her way into Faba's mind and initiate it on her own.
From: Sondragon66
Finally, the chapter i have been Waiting for, For so long! Sun and lillie's Love relationship is the most heartwarming thing in this story, I just hope said relationship does not face any issues during the upcoming battle with lusimane...will it?
You'll have to wait and see! The showdown with Lusamine will be the chapter after next, and you better believe that Sun and Lillie will be having a conversation about a possible relationship sooner rather than later.
Now, whether or not Lusamine will attempt to exploit that in some way remains to be seen! She's already made some mean comments about it already to Lillie in order to hurt her.
That's all for now everyone! Please Review, Favorite and/or Follow the story to show your support and stay updated with the story and my nonsense. I also have a Discord server and I answer questions in the review section below!
Take care and stay awesome!
Until next time, FlygonNick out!
