Chapter 134 – Incompatible

The cell doors opened.

"Well," Qitlan said, gently closing the door behind him. He curled his fingers together, tenting them in a mock-prayer. "I believe you saw all of that?"

In front of the Inteleon was a Mew, bruised and chained to the wall. A specialized metal band strapped around her forehead subdued any psionic powers. Qitlan had made sure of that.

"You could have been saved for a month, a whole month." Qitlan sighed and made a show of his shrug. "One whole month, but Owen decided you were expendable. That's really how it is, you know. That's what he thought of you."

No reply. As usual. The Mew only stared vacantly downward, mouth slightly agape. But Qitlan knew she was listening with the little twitch of her tail.

"There's no point in protecting him. He isn't bothering to protect you. And he's been captured. If you turn first, then you will surely be rewarded."

Yet, no reply.

Qitlan narrowed his eyes, but then looked behind him. Surely their visitor would be arriving soon…

"This will all be over if you just tell us what you know," Qitlan said. "What is the key to resetting Owen? You know the aura signature. We know that's what was done. Show it to us, and you will be released."

It was so frustratingly close. They knew that over the centuries, Owen had been reset over and over, and it was always with some strange aura that could bring him back to an innocent, naïve Charmander. That strange mutation he'd gone through had implanted that backdoor into his very aura.

If they could reset him in that same way, they could convince him that Alexander had always been his father. Oh, how perfect, too, because of course, his father all that time had been an Alex as well. The memories would write themselves!

But none of that would work unless they were shown the required aura key, and Star had it.

And she somehow had grown enough of a conscience to not give it up.

The cell doors opened again, and in came an Alakazam. Qitlan noticed how Star tensed a little when he entered.

"Oh? Bad experiences with Alakazam?" he said.

The Alakazam was gruff and spoke with a low voice, looking annoyed. "Why specifically me?" he questioned. "…Sir."

"She knew an Alakazam in the living world. Perhaps she would be more vulnerable to mental invasions. And, of course, you are one of our best… psionic interrogators. Don't you think, Star?"

No reply, of course.

"…Break her," Qitlan instructed, his words like ice. "She talks, or her mind becomes pudding. One way or the other, we will extract that knowledge. Owen is here. The time for going gently is over."

Alakazam seemed hesitant at first, glancing at Qitlan.

"Well?" Qitlan said.

"This is… against several of my codes." But the words were feeble, and Qitlan knew he would not object in any practical, meaningful way. "And it is dangerous, too. Not just for her, but it risks recoil on myself, as well."

"She has been fatigued for months. You will be fine," Qitlan dismissed. "Begin."

Qitlan stood to the side and took a seat on a nearby stool, watching Star continue to be motionless and Alakazam getting set up. He stood before her ominously, but she still made no eye contact, staring emptily downward. There was a guilty look in Alakazam's eyes. One that, if it persisted, Qitlan would be sure to remind him that Alexander would have his head if he refused.

But, finally, it began. There was a rippling of pink light that connected their foreheads, becoming more and more intense. For a few seconds, Qitlan watched that rippling light turn transparent as a mental link formed between the two minds. They were like transparent skewers going from Alakazam into Star.

Star seemed to be providing no resistance. Alakazam seemed briefly confused, his brow furrowed, and Qitlan waited a little longer. Those seeds of doubt he'd given Star, the sense that Owen wasn't even worth protecting… Perhaps Star had finally given up.

Optimistically, he wondered if they would have the Mew under their ranks.

There was an ethereal ring, and the connection halted. Snapped out of his thoughts, Qitlan looked back at Star and Alakazam. Already?

"That was fast," Qitlan said. "Did you get the signature? Go on, to my mind next." Qitlan gestured toward his temple.

Alakazam's arms slackened. Blood dribbled from his nose. A second later, he fell back, hard, on the ground, convulsing.

And Star, faintly, was smirking.

Qitlan stood up in alarm and rushed to Alakazam. "Wake up," he hissed. "What happened?!"

Completely unresponsive. His tremors had stopped, but he wasn't even blinking. Qitlan checked his pulse. It was there, but fading fast. He looked at Star again, and then at Alakazam.

She wasn't even saying anything, but he knew everything he needed. Star had toyed with him. His fist clenched and he took aim at her shoulder, firing an extremely concentrated blast of water at it. He pierced a purple barrier that had appeared and shot straight through the bone, to the point where Qitlan could see the stone wall on the other side of the hole. It earned a wince, but nothing more.

That was all he allowed Star to see of his fury. "Very well," Qitlan said evenly. "If your mind is so defiant, then the standard interrogations will continue."

Leaving Alakazam's body behind, Qitlan left the cell to inform the guards.


Plap, plap, plap. Anam's heavy footsteps echoed through the main hall and into the conference room that the Legends had reconvened. He heard a few voices murmuring in his mind, namely those of his parents. James and Madeline had kept him company during his time in the caves, and now they were giving him tips on how to speak to literal Legends. Like they were just important people and not gods.

Remember, Anam. Speak properly, James said gently, and Anam could imagine the Decidueye—or was he a Salandit, now?—straightening his posture.

They are Legends, but they are still of flesh and blood, just as you are, Madeline continued.

Mostly flesh and blood, also just as you are, James went on. Somewhat.

Anam smiled a little at that, but he knew, now, that his body was much more tangible than usual. He still had the power of the Ghost Orb, but the darkness that had once eroded his body into a shapeless mass that only imitated a Goodra had left him. He was weak. Much weaker than the others would know.

Could he even lead Kilo anymore, without Dark Matter telling him who was evil and who was good? But with how Nevren had been, had Anam ever been able to rely on that?

Plap, plap, plap. Just a few more steps, and he would be facing Pokémon far larger than he'd ever been, in more ways than one. He steadied his breathing and put on his smile, but the anxiety never left him. Dark Matter would not be there to tell him if he approved or disapproved, if they were scheming or being honest. He was blind. He'd spent several lifetimes with the knowledge of everyone's darkness, and now he was blind when facing those who had been plunged into it like hot tar.

What if that darkness still corroded them? Would he know? What did people look like when he couldn't sense the darkness, but they still held it inside?

Step forward, Anam. We will help you, Madeline assured him.

Worry about everything else later, James said. Right now, you were summoned for a meeting. That is all that matters.

"Hello?" Anam called. "I'm here…"

He entered the room and saw four Pokémon present, all of them seemingly larger than life. He knew them from the Book of Arceus and quickly bowed.

Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and Xerneas. All in one place. It was straight out of a dream.

"Goodra Anam," Xerneas greeted. "Welcome."

"I do hope you've had time to recover!" Palkia said, waving.

"Oh, yeah!" Anam straightened and waved back. "I had, uh… some time to sleep. I liked sleeping. I don't sleep a lot."

Did they like that comment? Anam wasn't really sure. Palkia seemed openly friendly. He liked him. Dialga looked stern, but his eyes were kind. Giratina scared him a little. And Xerneas looked irritated before he'd even talked for the first time.

The Lifebringer spoke next. "Mm. I sense more than one spirit inside your body. So, it's true. You hold a fragment of Necrozma inside you, energized by fallen spirits." Xerneas look soured. "Quite the necromancer."

"Don't be so harsh on him," Dialga said. "It isn't as if they had any knowledge of that sort of thing."

"Anam, I will be straightforward," Xerneas said. "Summon the spirit of your mother."

"Uh?" Anam blinked, but complied with a confused nod, holding out his arm. A dark wisp of fire dripped from his grabbers, and then coalesced and enlarged into another Goodra. The form shifted and grew, larger and larger, and Xerneas' antlers lit up and channeled further energy into it.

Before long, a Goodra nearly twice Anam's size—which had already been imposing—stood before them, and Giratina's eyes flashed with primal recognition.

Madeline and Giratina stared at one another through some other instinct that Anam didn't understand.

"Well, go on," Xerneas said impatiently. "Reunite."

"Uh?!" Anam stepped forward, reaching toward Madeline. "Mom? M-maybe you should come back." But when he tried, her body was completely solid.

"I don't think I can anymore," Madeline replied coolly, not breaking her gaze with Giratina, who was silent and still.

"Madeline and Giratina are two halves of the same soul. We need all of the Legends to be at their full power, and that includes becoming whole. I can already tell I'm going to be very tired with giving this explanation each time, so please, reunite and it will make sense innately."

He made a dismissive gesture with his hoof and looked between them again.

Another stunned silence followed. Palkia and Dialga looked at one another, then at Anam.

"I'm sorry if this is a lot for you, Anam," Dialga said. "How much of this were you aware of?"

"N-none of it!" Anam stuttered. "Mom?! You're… Giratina?! You never told me this! I… I mean, you… what does it mean to reunite? A-are you going to… disappear?"

He felt like he was dreaming. No, it had become a nightmare. Was this some kind of test from Dark Matter to make him give in? Was that possible?

James was saying something within his mind, but his voice was too soft amid his panic.

"Stop staring at each other and do it. Giratina, claim her!" Xerneas demanded.

Giratina's eyes flashed red, and then two black tendrils lunged for Madeline. The Goodra made a simple gesture with her arm, and a wave of light deflected the tendrils like a parrying shield. Giratina recoiled only a few inches, then looked back at Xerneas.

"She resisted," she stated.

Anam trembled and didn't know what to do. This was usually when Dark Matter said to let him take over, or to do some battling, or guidance. But Anam didn't know how to fight anymore. Was he supposed to do something here?

"I don't think I will be reuniting with anyone," Madeline said. "Giratina. I believe I need to be satisfied with what you are, and you need to be satisfied with what I have become. This reunion… what is the nature of it? Will I be disappearing? Will you be disappearing? Or is this just some grand joke?"

"Oh, I assure you, it isn't a joke." Palkia patted Dialga on the back. "Dialga here is already whole. He is Rhys! Ah, was. Was Rhys."

"Rhys?!" Anam's eyes widened even more. "You're Rhys? But you aren't a Lucario!"

Dialga looked disappointed for some reason. "Er, yes, Anam. The memories are faded, but I was indeed Rhys. I'm sure this is a lot for you to take in, but rest assured, you are whole, as is your father."

"Yes. My mate," Madeline said. "Giratina, do you have anyone significant to you? This may become awkward."

"I do not," Giratina replied, and then lazily turned her gaze to the others. Anam wondered if Giratina had even bothered to use her full strength. "Xerneas, I do not think the reunion will work for now. Madeline and I need to get to know one another."

"Just claim her. I know you can overpower her," Xerneas said. "She is a mortal half-soul. She doesn't matter. I am already whole. I can speak with full confidence that my mortal half was nothing but a ball of hubris and regrets."

"It's no wonder you're so bitter," Giratina stated dully. "Let me be clear, Xerneas. If you force anything upon us, we will personally shove one antler into each end of your body."

Xerneas flinched, befuddled. "What is wrong with you? Do you not realize what's at stake here?" He snarled at them both. "The world and beyond is in danger if we cannot combat the dark forces against us, and to—"

"Madeline," Giratina said with a gracious bow, "would you care to tour around Null Village? The scenery is dull, but I have been indisposed for a while. I want to sightsee."

"That sounds lovely, Giratina," Madeline replied with a lengthy enunciation. She gave a polite, diplomatic smile to Xerneas. "This will be goodbye for now, Xerneas. I do hope your antlers remain healthy."

"What does that mean?" Xerneas squinted, leaning forward. Giratina and Madeline began to leave the conference room. "Do not leave. The meeting isn't over! You will explain what that means!"

They, of course, did not respond as they left, and Anam, not knowing what more to do, started meekly stepping back as well. "Um, it was nice to meet you all," he said. "Is… the meeting over for…?"

"Come, Anam," Madeline said. "Perhaps we can use the other Tree to restore James to something more corporeal in this realm. I believe the host of that power is more agreeable."

That struck a nerve. Xerneas, fuming, said, "How dare—"

The door shut, and the walls were soundproof.


"Oh, this is so exciting!" Palkia clapped his hands. "I can finally put my first experiment to use!"

"Well, I suppose we have to start somewhere," Dialga stated dully, prodding at the necklace he'd been given with a hoof. "It's not exactly an invention, though, is it?"

"Perhaps not, but it's the theory behind it that I want to test!"

They stood at the base of the Radiant Tree of Life, each of them wearing a necklace that held a light crystal, both an indigo hue. Apparently, the theory was that as creatures of darkness, they required a source of light to sustain themselves in the living world, being the source of power that had created Kilo in the first place.

And if that failed, they would evaporate and wake up near-powerless in the Voidlands, if they weren't quick enough. Palkia certainly liked his high-risk experiments… He could still remember that time he'd turned himself into a Dwebble for a few days.

"Well, this will be a very simple excursion. And after that awkward reunion between Madeline and Giratina, perhaps we can beat her to the punch and unify with Nevren." Palkia pressed his palms together. "I wouldn't mind rubbing it in Giratina's mandibles that I came first."

Dialga sighed and lifted off of the ground, levitating toward the portal.

First, they braced for any burning sensation. When that didn't happen, Palkia eagerly checked their necklaces and saw that the gems were glowing faintly. His arms trembled with his delight.

"It worked! It resonates! We can exist outside of the Voidlands!"

Despite everything, Dialga smiled at Palkia's contagious enthusiasm.

"Ah! But the next step, now. I still do not quite have my power for extreme long-distance spatial distortions, so perhaps some divine intervention is in order… Oh, Arceus! I call upon your aid!"

Five seconds. Ten seconds. Nothing. The two Legends floated above Hot Spot Ruins.

"I think you did the intonation wrong," Dialga said. "You should be giving it with more, er… grandeur."

"Ah, of course. A proper prayer would be the answer. Ahem." He coughed into a closed fist, and then raised his arms high. "O, Arceus! I call upon Your aid!"

Two seconds. Then, a distortion of light twisted the air, and a flash later, Arceus stood before them with a surprised look in his eyes.

Dialga hid a smirk by bowing deeply. "Apologies for being absent for such a long time, Arceus," he said. "If you do not recognize us, we are Dialga and Palkia, under the Void's curse."

"I see." Arceus nodded back. "At ease, then. It is good to see you of sound mind, even if you are not of sound body."

"We look like Void Shadows to you, I imagine?" Palkia asked. "That's a shame. I hope to fix that later without need for being within the Tree's radius."

"Palkia has not yet gained his strength to travel where he pleases," Dialga explained. "Would you be able to warp us to Nevren's current location? We shall be able to take it from there."

"Of course." Arceus paused. "I was… about to deliver some news to Elder, if you wished to go there as well."

"Ah." In all honesty, Dialga had forgotten. "Yes. After we speak with Nevren, we shall do that next."

"I would like to request that you take on Nevren's research duties when the time comes, Palkia," Arceus said. "Will you be able to?"

"Oh, with great pleasure," Palkia said with a hungry spark in his eyes. "I foresee no grief in our reunion if Nevren is the great inventor I've heard he is."

"And treasonous, don't forget treasonous," Dialga muttered. "If what we were told during that debrief was accurate, and what I recall is not distorted, Nevren had been working to usurp Arceus for quite some time."

"That's just a sign of good ambition!" Palkia said with a wide smile. "A little friendly competition is nothing harmful, yes?"

Dialga and Arceus shared a hopeless look.

"Just don't slip into the same habits," Arceus said. "I will have no choice but to smite you otherwise."

"Understood!" Palkia saluted, and despite everything, Dialga had a sense that he was genuine. Somehow.

"Nevren is currently performing research in Quartz HQ. I will take you there. Come near, please."

They huddled together, and in a flash of light, the temperature went from cool to tropical, and the winter ocean air filled their senses.

"Ahh, a wonderful location. He has good instincts," Palkia said, pacing around.

Arceus nodded. "Call upon me when ready. I shall be… preparing things in Kilo Village." And with another flash, he disappeared.

"Well! Dialga, would you care to do the honors of introducing us to one another? I do believe you have memories of Nevren in the present day, through Rhys."

"Faded, but yes," Dialga replied with a pang of guilt. "I do wonder if Nevren cares. There's a small part of me that is still quite upset at him."

"One way to find out, yes?" Palkia asked, still smiling with that eager curiosity in his eyes.

It only took a few steps before a surge of foul energy stopped Dialga in his tracks. The air was stagnant. There was a scent like electrocuted fur. Even the ground felt filthy just then. No, all around. It was everywhere.

This was—

"Dialga? Are you all right?"

Dialga accelerated his pace, but when he did, that foul sensation became even worse and he snarled. The line of brighter scales along his body pulsed a dark orange with his throbbing heart.

"Time," Dialga said in a low snarl. "We have gone through this time already."

"…I'm afraid I do not get that particular pun, my friend."

"Someone… has tampered with the flow of time. And it was not me. It has been tampered with several times, over and over…" He snarled into the air. "This era has been rewound and rewritten, this very moment, countless times. Who dares abuse this kind of—"

But then, the memory came back. He recalled giving Palkia a piece of his own gem, and Palkia the same in return. He had been given it as a Lucario, taking on a mortal form. And then… the memory was too faded after that. And he was too enraged to think about what Palkia's mortal half had done with that parallel blessing.

"Inside. We must find it," Dialga said, his rage driving him forward. "We must—"

But in a blink, Dialga was no longer in front of the hidden., underground facility, and was instead by the beach. The air was still foul, everything was foul, and he could sense the source of the distortion made.

"Palkia," Dialga snarled. "How dare you—"

"Is this ocean not wonderful?" Palkia asked, pointing at the vast horizon, startling Dialga into silence. "Why not take a few breaths and… enjoy the view, Dialga? Let some time pass."

"Time… pass…" Dialga could still feel that headache coming on. No, not a headache, some kind of… fury at…

"When was the last time you saw an ocean, Dialga?" Palkia said again, his voice a little lower.

He took a few breaths and humored him, staring at the horizon. The ocean sparkled with light and warmth. The sand was a hot white. Nearby, terrified beachgoers were fleeing the shores.

"I suppose… I haven't in a while," Dialga relented. His vision was clearing. He hadn't even realized it was tunneling in. "Seeing the sky through the Radiant Tree must have… helped me transition to it again."

The foul atmosphere was fading away. It had only been for roughly ninety seconds, perhaps some extra time afterward. He could hear his thoughts clearly again. Apparently, his muscles had relaxed visibly as well, because Palkia gently patted him on the shoulder.

"Feeling better?" Palkia asked.

"…I'm… I'm sorry for that," Dialga said shamefully. "That was… unlike me. I lost myself."

"It's quite fine," he said. "It seems that we must have done something to cause time to loop repeatedly upon approach. Do you have a way to recover what had been undone and redone?"

"It's my own power," Dialga said. "I can't counter it until I reclaim it. But… I need some time to relax."

"Of course." Palkia nodded, taking a seat. "Come! We shall construct a grand castle of sand!"

He seemed like a huge child just then. But, as Palkia leaned forward and began to scrape together wet sand into a lumpy pile, it slowly dawned on him that the Spacekeeper was a little nervous.

"Fine," Dialga said with a placating smile, sitting next to him. "A grand castle it shall be."


Gahi and Mispy had spent a surprising amount of time as a fusion deliberating what their new name was. Eventually, they settled on Gami. They figured, absentmindedly, that meant the second 'mi' in 'Migami' was Mispy, and the first one was Demitri. These useless, distracting thoughts annoyed the Mispy half, but were apparently commonplace in Gahi's half.

It was a miracle they'd stayed fused at all.

Their form was monstrous and accomplished neither of their proper roles. Mispy's half took the form of tendrils for the lower half of their body, made from vines that lashed out at any attackers, strong and powerful. The upper half was that of a Flygon's, though with floral shoulder blades.

Gahi's and Mispy's thoughts continued to swirl around, never quite coalescing, as they flew in search of any kind of sign of Step's movements. The problem was, she moved with ice. Ice melted and dissolved and evaporated. And even though this place didn't have a proper sun, and even though it was technically some kind of netherworld divorced from the living realm, it still seemed to follow basic physics. And water evaporated into drier air. And it was certainly dry.

When was the last time it actually rained? Where did the water come from?

One convenient thing about the Voidlands was that its horizon curve was a lot further. Gahi didn't know what that meant, but Mispy did. And the fact that they had to spend days flying in the past just to get to a new location meant the Voidlands was vastly larger than Kilo. Impossibly so. Was it even normal for a world to get this large? They could see for miles, even from the ground!

They had to stop getting distracted. With an annoyed grunt, she sped forward again, tendrils curling before unfurling and straightening for better aerodynamics. Then came the Teleporting. Much easier after the first few times.

Then came the aura sense. So far, nothing. The sensation for auras had migrated from Mispy's antennae to Gahi's, though the sense didn't improve very much.

But then she felt it, that horrible rot—a Titan was near. But there were also occasional bursts of something else… familiar energy. Cruel and cold, imposing and commanding. That was Step's Ice energy.

Silently, Gami sped up, the ice against rot becoming more and more acute until they no longer needed their aura sense to see what it was.

A flying Titan clashed against an Aggron of ice straight ahead. The Titan blasted the Aggron with beams of reddish black energy that deflected off nothing more than glowing ice shields. The forest all around them was torn apart and riddled with gashes and fissures from previous blasts. Columns of ice were surrounded by fields of snow. Whole, gnarled trees had been frozen and shattered to accent the cold wastelands. Portions of the land were flecked with spattered Void Shadows and dark sparks.

How long had they been fighting? Step was truly a force to be reckoned with… or that Titan was weakened ever since Dark Matter's fall. Or was something else driving her?

What were they supposed to do? Latias wasn't here yet. Or had she already gone back, and they happened to miss one another?

She'd been traveling for a handful of kilos at this point. Traveling back would be shorter with a direct route, but would it be too late? She had to fight now!

No, but that was reckless. They had to get backup. Someone with light powers, like Owen, or dark, like Diyem, to subdue it.

But didn't they also have a light crystal of their own? In fact, now that they'd fused, they had two. One glowed with the violet radiance of psionic energy, and the other was a calm green like the forest they'd once lived near, in times gone by.

She knew Gahi's side was what encouraged her to fight. But the Mispy side didn't feel right about falling back when Step was already locked in battle.

They could at least get in to heal her.

"Step!" Gami cried, but her voice was too soft amid the blasts of ice and shadow. The Aggron was snarling at the beast twenty times her size or more, behaving as if it was just another common foe.

And the way Step was parrying those attacks, it may as well have been.

With another resounding crack! the Aggron struck the flying Titan in what might have been its head with a log of ice, hurled toward it like a giant javelin. Its malformed head split open and Void Shadows spilled onto the ground like blood; no longer able to keep flight, it spiraled downward and crashed into a cluster of brittle trees.

She didn't stop. More and more volleys of ice coated over the thing as it fell, and Step's grunts were audible enough that Gami slowed down to get a better vantage point.

Step held her arms up and swung them together. The ice that had collected around the flying Titan squeezed and levitated up, pinning the thing inside. Step slammed her arms down and the ice did the same, shattering apart and sending the Titan's wing parts scattering. It broke down into even more Void Shadows, and Gami spotted what appeared to be a solid core in the middle.

That was it! "Step! Move!"

Only then did she realize they were there. Her icy eyes were wide and frenzied, but there was enough lucidity in her to step away as Gami channeled Grass energy through the green crystal.

Radiant flower plumes and leaves encircled the downed Titan as it tried to gather itself up. Swirls of light further brightened the patch of green in the wasteland of a forest before a blinding explosion overtook it all, accompanied by a great screech. Gami bowled over and tried to tune it out, but it rattled her head.

Eventually, it was safe to open her eyes. The ground had become a beautiful field of flowers, pinks and lilacs dominating the landscape amid the bright green plants. Gami was… drained. She didn't have it in her to walk for a while.

But in the middle of all that life was a curious thing. A bird with long, narrow wings and a red-black body, as well as a long, prehensile-looking tail that acted like a hand. The Mispy half of Gami recognized it in moments—and the realization that followed made her hop back in the defensive, barely able to keep from collapsing.

Yveltal, the Deathbringer.

"Mmnhh…" Yveltal groaned, flopping onto the grass. All around her, the plants so freshly grown instead wilted and died.

Step looked between Gami and Yveltal.

"Who are you?" Step commanded an answer.

"Me?" the Deathbringer replied. "I, ah… oh, please give me some time…"

Quite soft-spoken, Gami noted silently. Oddly enough, Step and Yveltal shared a slightly odd enunciation.

"I am Yveltal. How long have I been…? Oh, you probably would not know… Who are you?" She gazed at them, tilting her head. "I would like to thank you for… waking me up. I believe that is what happened… It was all a long nightmare…"

"Then, you are not hostile?" Step cautiously approached, holding out a hand. "Where is my mate, then?"

"Your… mate? I'm sorry, I do not know what you're talking about."

Step's tail slammed into the dirt, making Yveltal flinch to attention.

"His spirit went flying in the direction of two Titans. When the first one was felled, I did not find him. Surely, then, he is within you. I felt a particular draw to you. Answer me, now. Where is my mate? He is Ra, a Kommo-o. You will answer."

Step was, if anything, brave. And possibly stupid, to be speaking in this way to the embodiment of death itself.

"I am very sorry," Yveltal said again, bowing her head. "I would not know. I was… filled with so many strange thoughts, I could barely see myself for a while. I don't recognize any of them anymore. They were never my own, but those of the poor souls attached to me." She gestured to the Void Shadows around her, now milling about aimlessly, or laying there, inert. "If you cannot find him, then he may be one of them."

"Absurd," Step said. "You… are hiding him somewhere. My Ra would not be so weak as to become those so easily!" But despite her voice, Gami sensed a flare of anxiety in her aura. She was trying to convince herself.

But they already knew where Ra was, didn't they? Mispy had deduced it a while ago already, and Step's remarks confirmed it. Step was drawn to Yveltal, and Xerneas was already whole. If Ra was missing, then…

"Let's return," Gami proposed. "We found Ra."

"What?!" Step whirled around. "How?"

"That's why we wanted to find you," Gami said.

Step stared at them for a little while longer, but then snorted and looked at Yveltal. "Can you fly?"

"Oh, I, er, yes. Eventually. Can I have a moment? And… what of all these poor souls?" She gestured to the Void Shadows.

Step shook her head. "They are too far gone. Not a problem for us, for now. We have more important things to deal with."

"But to be abandoned…" Yveltal protested, already bringing her wings over a few to scoop them up.

"And how will you fly with your wings full of them?" Step pressed, looking unamused.

"Well, I…" Yveltal paused while squeezing them against her chest. "I… suppose they could go on my back."

"They will, at best, wander and slide off, and at worst, try to… corrode you again," Step growled. "Leave them. They do not care."

Yveltal seemed conflicted for a few more seconds, but finally relented. The shapeless, blobby things milled about, still dazed.

Gami wondered if Yveltal and Xerneas had somehow switched roles at some point. They simply didn't match their career choice. Was that intentional? A question for Barky later.

"He-ey!" someone new called, and all heads turned to see Latias revealing herself. "I saw a huge light, and—oh! Yveltal!"

"Latias!" Yveltal bobbed her head. "I am… weak, but better. Thank you for freeing me. Is this part of some larger effort…?"

Latias seemed overjoyed, but caught herself and nodded. "Y-yes. Something like that, ah, I… Why don't we go back to Null Village? There's so much we can, er, talk about, catch up on…"

Gami looked awkwardly between Yveltal and Latias, and then decided not to intrude on their catchup. After a glance at Step, she took to the skies and returned to Null Village, all the while thinking to herself how Step would take the news of Ra's fate.