Chapter 149 – Nightmare

Hot Spot went from calm to chaos in seconds, because seconds were all they had left. If Alexander got to South Null Village as quickly as Manny said he would, then there was a risk their Waypoints—precarious as they were—would be destroyed. And while they could potentially head to Fae Fae Forest again to go directly to the North, there was no telling if its exit point had shifted since then.

"Gahi!" Mhynt shouted. "How quickly can you get to Kilo from here?"

"With the new Waypoint? Ehhh ten seconds?"

Mhynt leaped several feet into the air and slapped a note on Gahi's forehead. "Get those items and come back in three hundred."

"Eh—sure!" And he vanished, flying out of the cave post-Teleport.

"Can he count t' three hundred?" Manny wondered aloud.

"Someone carry Valle!" Owen shouted, pointing at the statue.

"O-on it!" Demitri said. "Wait! What about our other halves? They're supposed to come with us, right?"

"I put them on the notes," Mhynt said. "Gahi can at least read, right?"

"Hopefully," Mispy said.

"He hasn't picked up a book in a while," Demitri said worriedly.

"Come on, guys, he's not stupid," Owen said, feeling oddly defensive.

"C-can we help with anything?" Alex asked desperately. "Er, more supplies, or…"

"Thankfully, we've prepared for this," Zena said. "We're packed. We have a special bag for our supplies in the main one. I'll get that."

"Good luck, dear," Amia said, nodding. "When you return, we'll have that dinner."

"Right." Owen nodded firmly.

They gathered the rest of their supplies, double-checked what they had on a timer that Uxie personally counted down from, and then had some time to spare while waiting for Gahi. Tension coursed through everyone, leaving Owen feeling sympathy pains in his chest. It felt like everyone's hearts were beating at the same rhythm, and Owen's was part of that same chorus.

Then came Gahi, who was also carrying a few curious badges with him. "Palkia gave these," he said. "Somethin' about better Communicators?"

"Oh! Nevren made…" Owen nodded. "Right. We can use those. Come on, let's go!"

"Partner up, everyone," Mhynt said. "We're flying!"

Gahi, Demitri, and Mispy all got together and fused into Migami, bolting to the sky. Zena flew on her own; Trina, not as adept at flying, wrapped around Migami's body and was carried along that way.

"Owen!" someone cried.

Rushing to the entrance were two Jirachi, waving him down. He winced—there was no time for this. He couldn't—

"Good luck!" one called.

"Hurry! Do your best, okay?!"

He was stunned until Mhynt kicked his shin to get his attention.

"R-right." Owen spat a plume of fire in the air toward Eon and Jirachi in affirmative. He'd know what that meant.

Both of them beamed as Owen flew skyward with Mhynt.

"We'll do our part!" Eon cried, or maybe it was Jirachi.

"Don't give up! Keep fighting!" Jirachi added, but it could have been Eon.

Owen got his last glimpse of Kilo's light before flying up and into the Voidlands' rift. Then, he had to adjust quickly—up became down, and gravity flipped. He tumbled and righted himself with a blast of updraft, then made sure Mhynt was still firmly on his back. The others landed nicely.

"I see him," Mhynt said grimly. "Down!"

"What?!" He obeyed automatically, narrowly dodging a corrosive beam of Shadows that careened far into the horizon, distantly exploding and darkening the sky. "S-someone got better aim!"

"He's locked onto you after last time," Mhynt said. "We don't have time for this. He could have prepared anything…"

Fear was already clutching at his heart. Fear, and a new fire as he remembered Spice. Remi. What Alexander did to them.

Mhynt smacked Owen on the back of his head. "Waypoint, Owen! Waypoint! We don't have time to stare!"

The explosions were still distant. Stray shots and guesses where they landed. But they knew where to go; fleeing was an easy ordeal. Owen could only hope that the others would be able to defend South Null Village once they were gone.

A small part of him wanted to stay. To fight. Surely them at their best, after so many days of downtime, would be enough, right?

But then again, Alexander had time to heal, too, and there was no telling what he'd done to prepare. Did they want to afford to risk it all in a confrontation with him at South Null?

He had to stick to the plan. He couldn't let his emotions, his Battleheart, his fears get the better of him after one setback. Large setback. Catastrophic setback, actually, if Alexander managed to destroy anything valuable.

Down the streets, into the town hall, and then the basement. That was where they'd placed the Waypoint. Owen saw a trail of Shadows careen over the rooftops once, but it was so wide that he was confident Alexander had no idea where they'd gone.

But then Owen heaved and collapsed down, a horrible, searing cramp wracking his whole body.

"Owen!" Zena shouted.

"What happened?!" Mhynt called back. Everyone else stopped.

Owen tried to stand again, but another Shadow Blast raced over the sky. After another explosion, Owen wailed, the pain doubling.

Their heads turned to something Owen didn't have the strength to see. It was like Alexander was pulling out his living guts where he stood.

"The Tree," Zena whispered.

"Demitri, carry Owen!" Mhynt ordered.

"What?"

"They're linked," Mhynt hissed. "Owen, why?! Why did you leave part of yourself in the Tree?!"

"Needed t-to… because… the rift…"

"You were sustaining it?!" Mhynt asked. "I thought it… sustained itself!"

"Tree…"

Demitri heaved Owen and continued to run. Mispy helped with her vines, stabilizing him, as they raced into the building. There was another boom, another horrid pain that resonated past his mind and into his spirit. The reaction flowed through his body, bile dripping down Demitri's back.

"Sorry," Owen wheezed.

"Hang in there," Mispy said, looking so helpless. She couldn't heal this. It was all in his head.

"Withdraw your spirit, Owen," Mhynt ordered. "You can't handle this. Let the rift close, we're already inside!"

"Can't…" Owen braced. "I can't. Not until… the team makes it. That's when… I—"

Another rumble, but this time, there was no pain. He braced for it, but none had hit him.

Someone roared. Owen wasn't sure who; he couldn't recognize the distantly familiar sound. He sifted through his memories one by one as the temperature of the air raised. Outside, everything was a bright blue.

Reshiram…

Manny must have gotten started on his squad early. Or maybe they had been opportunistic.

But it saved the Tree from a few blasts. Bought them all precious seconds. As Owen's mind drifted off, too fatigued from that onslaught of pain and primally desperate for a reprieve, he smiled.

It was going to be alright, at least for a little while longer.


"Sorry I'm late," Reshiram grunted, blue fire dancing around his wings as the turbine of his tail whirred.

"So, you're me, huh?" Brandon remarked, balanced atop his back. "Gah!" He pointed ahead.

Reshiram blasted the incoming Shadow Blast with his Fire energy, deflecting it downward and into a random building. He winced. "Sorry about that!" he called. "This place was evacuated, right? I sort of just woke up."

"And you don't feel like you're at your full strength," Brandon said.

"Obviously not. You're still here." Reshiram smirked, but then he glanced back to the rift. Every strike against the Radiant Tree had distorted it to the point where it seemed like another strike or two would close it completely—and destroy the Tree.

Brandon sighed. "Things sure are dire," he said as Reshiram deflected another Shadow Blast, but he was getting slower. Tired.

Brandon felt within himself, his team of six that watched from within the Steel Core. Little whispers of encouragement and apprehension. He knew them well.

"Hey, look, just tell it to be straight," Brandon said. "Will I still be… me?"

"Quite the opportune time," Reshiram hummed. "If I had to guess, we'll be us. I don't think either of us will complain about it when it's over."

"How about our bonds?" Brandon asked.

"Bonds." Reshiram studied Alexander as he got closer. A few hundred seconds now. "Oh. Your team, from the human world." He shook his head. "It sounds like that's stronger than anything I formed if you ask me. And I vaguely remember them, too. They'll be fine."

"Heh." Brandon brought a gently closed fist to his chest, then nodded. "Alright. No more wasting time. Let's—"

Reshiram deflected one last blast, and at that, he grunted with strain.

"Hurry, please," Reshiram wheezed.

"A-alright, alright!"

Silence.

"So how do we—"

Brandon suddenly erupted in light, as did Reshiram, and halves became whole.


By the time Owen was aware of his surroundings again, he'd been laid in a bed and covered with heavy blankets. He could hardly breathe, but he heard muffled talking coming from the other room. He tried to feel around for his horns, knowing his Perceive was off, but couldn't find them. Panic settled in—it was too dark to see—and he groaned a little louder before finally grasping at his horns again. They'd been on the table.

"Ah! Not yet," Zena said, suddenly bringing a ribbon over his hands.

Owen yelped in reply and rolled out of bed, landing hard on the carpeting beneath and onto his arm. "Ow—Z-Zena, are we… where are we?"

"It's okay, everything's okay," Zena assured him.

"What happened? Null Village—"

"—is fine," Zena said. "We're in North Null Village. We put you in a room in Darkrai and Cresselia's home until you woke up. We had to, err… clean you up. But something must have happened in South Null to save the Tree."

"Something must have… Right, I think it was… Reshiram, that fire and light I recognize…" Owen tried to grab his horns again, but Zena held firm and shook her head.

"You're still feeling weak. Don't use your horns for now, okay?"

Reluctantly, Owen pulled away and relented. "…What did I miss?"

"Nothing too much. We've just been preparing for the trip," Zena said. "We got word from the others about what happened. The Tree of Life is fine. You've… been asleep for a little while, and…"

"Asleep?!" Owen shot up, but was slammed with another wave of nausea and wobbled back. Zena swiftly circled Owen and caught him.

"It's okay," she whispered. "We have it all handled. We aren't behind schedule."

"We… we aren't?" Owen asked.

Zena giggled. "We didn't need you for most of it!"

Owen winced, glancing away.

"Oh, I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way," Zena said. "Anyway, er, come. Let's go see the others. We're going to be training soon."

"Training? What?" Owen squinted. "We're training? I thought we were going to the Abyssal Sea."

"We are, but to do that, we need to be strong enough to withstand the monsters within the black waters. Otherwise… well, we'll become one of them."

"Oh."

Zena nodded. "I already did some training myself. You should get a round in."

"But, without my Perceive…"

"It's just raw strength," Zena said. "You'll be fine. You're stronger than me, right?"

"I don't know," Owen admitted.

Zena gave him an odd look. It almost seemed disappointed.

"Z-Zena?"

"Why would you think you're weak?" Zena pressed.

"No, I mean… it's just been a while, you know?"

Her expression twisted a little in puzzlement at first, but then she offered him an encouraging smile and gestured for him to follow.

Soon, Owen found himself in another room, past a hall, through a street he couldn't quite remember the details of, and then into an open field. Dusty, light purple, and the sky was its usual red, and it finally dawned on him that he had subjected himself to entering the Voidlands once more.

"Losing heart?" Zena asked.

"No, of course not," Owen replied. "It's just… always a little tough to look up and not see the sun."

"Hm." Zena had that disapproving look again and she continued to slither forward. There, on the opposite side of the field surrounded by gnarled black trees, Demitri and Mispy stood. Gahi must have been away doing scouting with Mhynt, or something.

"Where's Darkrai and Cresselia?" Owen asked.

"They're scouting. They helped to train us, but I think for now, we'll just have to train you ourselves. You're a little behind, but you're a fast learner, aren't you?"

"I, uh, I think so," Owen said. "Zena, is everything alright? You seem tense…"

Zena sighed. "Sorry. I've been restless, waiting."

"O-oh." A pang of guilt coiled around his gut. "Yeah. Sorry."

"You couldn't help it. Not your fault."

"Hey," Demitri called over, waving. "So, I think it's time we got to training, huh?! Zena, you should start. Oh, and avoid using your Water against him, yeah?"

"Of course," Zena said.

"I can handle that," Owen said, frowning. "I can just shift to Grass and deal with it."

"Let's start with ice. It isn't augmented by my Orb and is neutral against your base form," Zena said. "We've had some training for this; can you trust us?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure."

Zena nodded and slithered to the other side of the field. Only then, as Owen focused on his aura, did he realize how feeble it felt. Was he still recovering?

"Something wrong?" Zena asked.

Mispy's eyes were closed and she had a pensive frown.

"I think I'm still a little out of it," Owen said.

"Hm." She sighed. "Well, if you are, maybe we shouldn't train."

"No, I—we can still train! Just… let's see first?"

"Hmm. Okay, Owen. Attack me with…" She raised her ribbons in a shrug. "Anything."

"Okay. I'll, uh…" She could handle a Flamethrower easily. "Okay. Let's go!"

He crouched and flared his wings, then surged forward. Fire erupted from his throat as he aimed for her chest, but Zena didn't even move. She stared at the flames and concentrated; a small barrier split the flames effortlessly and Owen had to veer to the side before he could do anything to her.

"Wh—" Owen shook his head. "Wow! Zena, that was amazing!"

"…What was that? Was that your best?" Zena asked. "Owen, was that all?"

"Y—uh, well, I… huh?"

"Let's… try that again," Zena said tentatively, gesturing for him to come at her again.

He tried again, this time going for a Flame Burst instead, startled at how easily he'd conjured it up from before. He realized that he had no idea which of his techniques were tuned to his aura anymore. They were all just floating around in his mind freely…

But the Flame Burst bounced harmlessly off of Zena's simple deflection barrier, and she wiped the rest of the embers from her scales nonchalantly. Demitri and Mispy, on the sidelines, tilted their heads in unison.

"Let's try it the other way," Zena said, water energy collecting in front of her mouth. Owen flew backward and crossed his arms, conjuring a shield of light.

What Owen didn't expect was the sheer force behind it. Zena's Hydro Pump slammed into his shield and sent him flying far, far, far back, into one of the buildings. The barrier shattered and everything went dark.

The next thing Owen knew, he was staring at the red sky on a dusty field. Mispy withdrew her vines and nodded at the others, who seemed relieved.

"Owen," Zena said, "I'm sorry. I had no idea you were that weakened."

"How did… how did that happen?" he croaked. "I can't even… protect against… That was just a warning shot, wasn't it?"

"It was, Owen," Zena said. "I think that attack on the Tree, or something, made you a lot weaker. You… can't really do anything anymore."

"What're we supposed to do about that?" Demitri asked worriedly. "If Owen's this weak, he won't be able to last against the Abyssal Sea. No way!"

"This is just temporary!" Owen said. "I'm sure I'll get my strength back! By the time we're there, it'll be just fine, definitely!"

But Zena and Mispy, as they exchanged a look, seemed much less confident.

"Guys?"

Zena sighed, ribbons curling around themselves. "Owen… I think we need to confess something."

"Wait, Zena," Demitri said, "maybe we don't have to worry about it. We can—"

"This is exactly what they warned us about," Zena said.

Mispy nodded. "He can't come," she concluded.

Owen's heart sank, chest feeling cold. "What?"

"Owen… This little test," she said, "it's… just to find out if you actually lost your strength or not. And you did. We're going to have to go to the Abyssal Sea without you, and…"

Whatever else Zena had to say was a strange blur. Owen reached toward her, but then he found himself sitting at a table in Darkrai and Cresselia's room, realizing that they'd been brought to lunch. At first, Owen was startled, but then he remembered they'd just walked him back. He'd gone into some kind of mental shock at losing all of his power.

He took a few bites of the tasteless plate of rice and meat in front of him.

Zena and Demitri passed by and gave apologetic nods; Mispy had already gone ahead. Last was Gahi, who sped by before Teleporting backward to float next to Owen.

"Hey, see yeh," he said, tapping Owen on the shoulder before disappearing again.

"W-wait! What?" Owen sprang up. "I thought this was just a lunch break?"

"Forgot already?" Demitri asked, looking concerned. "Get some rest, Owen. We told you we were heading out, remember?"

"No, I don't—we were just—weren't we just training? What?"

"That was yesterday, Owen," Zena said. "Oh, he's slipping again…"

"Slipping? What do you mean?" Owen muttered. "We only trained for a little while! …R… right?"

"We've been training for a while, Owen," Demitri said, wincing a moment later. "Oh, I wasn't supposed to say that…"

"A… a while?" Owen asked. "What are you talking about? My strength definitely should have… come back by now, then…"

The sad looks continued, and eventually, they all turned and continued to walk away, out of the home and into the forest. Owen shambled after them, feeling heavier and weaker with every step. "This… isn't right," he said. "Let me come with you. I… I may not… remember things… or have my strength… but I still need to be there. For Necrozma, for… everyone! This isn't right… none of this is right!"

They weren't listening. They only looked back at him again with those cold, tired, pitying stares.

What was going on? Ever since he'd woken up in North Null Village, everything had spiraled completely out of control, after all his planning. None of it added up, it was all…

The realization struck him all at once. Owen squeezed his fists and thumped his tail. "Wait!" he roared, his voice finding new strength. "Zena. Hello?"

The first step was the heaviest and got lighter after each push forward. "Even if I'm reduced to just a shell, this was my plan to march forward. I can't fall back anymore. So, if… if I'm too weak to be at the front, then at least let me give you my strength before I go back. My advice! I may not remember the past few days… but I remember the past! I remember everything else! And that knowledge is what… will help. A communicator, I can still talk to Necrozma through that!"

They all turned in unison, staring him down, cold gazes. Owen didn't falter. A fire drove him. "Accept what I can give, please. I'm going to give everything if…"

"You really will keep fighting, even if you can't follow us?" Zena asked.

"Even when you're weak and helpless…" Demitri frowned.

"Stubborn," Mispy remarked.

"Hmph. You were so much stronger before," Mhynt said. "Well… physically."

"I'm a Heart. It's all about having strength—and not just physical strength. Internal strength, too." Owen balled up his claws and formed a golden light. "Take this, then. It's as much as I can give. Okay?"

He held the light forward, but all of them suddenly recoiled at that, hissing like it was some plague.

"Uh—guys?" Owen asked. Their forms were hardly recognizable… His vision clouded like a haze had always been there. He squinted and tried to wave it away, but then he realized it wasn't his vision. It was the world around him.

"What's… happening…" Owen looked at the light in his hands, then at the apparitions. He was ready to give everything to empower those who could still fight. That had been his resolve. But in the process, what did he do? What… broke? Why was the world falling apart?

In a surge of primal desperation, he ripped at the air with claws of light, and indeed, he caught something. Reality bent to his will, and he clawed forward, Zena and everything else of the illusory world dissolving into swirls of watery color. He heaved through the distortions, his arms growing heavy as he clawed his way out, puffing fire, growling, snarling…

And then, Owen found himself on his back, smothered in a blanket. He groaned and sat up, pupils dilating and narrowing until he focused on a phantom reading a book in the corner of the room. Still half-feral, he snarled and sprang from his bed, rushing blindly toward him.

"Hm?" Darkrai glanced up. He dropped the book. "AYEEEE! NO! WAIT! MERCY!"

The ear-splitting cry was enough to startle Owen into three-quarters sensible. "What?" he growled, puffing more fire on the ground. Some of the embers licked at Darkrai's arms.

"Ah—sorry, please! It was… part of your plans! Remember? Owen? Test of resolve? Mental fortitude? Owen? H-hello?"

The Charizard snorted again, trying to recall. He had no memory of this… but it did add up. The King of Nightmares had been born to help Pokémon face their fears, and against someone like Alexander, a crash course of confronting that would be useful.

"Oh, wait, that wasn't you," Darkrai murmured. "It was… a-ah, it was that Mhynt Treecko…"

That explained it.

Owen let out another irritated growl. It finally registered to him that he couldn't Perceive anything. He felt for his horns—missing.

"Oh, ah, table."

There they were, gently in place next to where he'd been resting. And next to the table was Zena, brow furrowed in discomfort, still deep asleep. The same went for Demitri, Mispy, their counterparts, Trina, and even Mhynt.

"Did you see what I was dreaming about?" Owen asked.

"No. And you don't need to talk about it if you don't want to," Darkrai said. "You woke up. You fought through it; that's enough. If the others aren't able to… well, I won't stop them from going to the Abyssal Sea, but it will be harder for them."

"They will," Owen said.

"Such confidence," called a new voice. Cresselia drifted into the room, her demeanor stern, though she was deliberately keeping her distance from the slumbering Pokémon. "Is that from somewhere, or are you just puffing out your chest?"

"Somewhere," Owen asserted, still riding the high of his conquered nightmare. "We've been through more than enough to handle a little bad dream."

Cresselia's intense gaze didn't falter, but she did nod. "We'll see how much that follows through. But, Owen, I'm surprised you were the third to wake up."

"…Third?"

Owen counted the heads again and realized Gahi and Azelf were missing. Of course.

"Yes, ah, Gahi and Azelf were… defiant right from the start. I suppose we shouldn't have expected any different in their dreams… They went on a stroll to shake off the negative thoughts. Would you like the same?"

"I'm fine." Owen crossed his arms, mildly curious about what Gahi and Azelf dreamed about. But that seemed too private to ask. He'd let them talk about it when they were ready if they ever wanted to.

"Are you sure?" Darkrai asked. "Mhynt said to use the worst I had, and I don't know how that… would manifest."

"Your worst wasn't terrible," Owen replied. "I've already had worse in Alexander's castle." With a slight, encouraging smile, he said, "I think you're too nice to give a true nightmare, Darkrai. You're meant to give something… conquerable. Not oppressive."

"Oh." Darkrai dipped his head, the wisp that drifted off of him slowing.

"It was a compliment, honey," Cresselia cooed, rubbing his shoulder before nodding. "Well, if you're awake, would you like an update from South Null?"

"Oh. Right, uh—how long have we been out, actually?" Owen asked nervously. He wondered how much truth there was in his nightmare.

"Only a few hours," Cresselia said. "To stay on schedule, you'll want the team to be up and ready by our next sleep. You have time."

Perhaps he should have been less obvious with his sigh of relief, but at that moment he had to let it out. "…What happened at South Null?"

"Well… they're fine, mostly. They drove Alexander off," Cresselia said.

"Okay, that's good… Mostly?"

"Alexander… likely got what he wanted."


Reshiram nursed the scorch mark on his left wing with a strange mixture of dust and berries of the Voidlands, glancing skyward with a scowl. "So much for full power," he grunted, thumping his back against the wall.

"Don't say that." Marshadow casually strode by Reshiram and sat next to him against the ruined town hall, its rooftop caved in and sparking with residual Shadow energy. "Yeh saved lives. That's important, too."

"Yeah, well…" Reshiram glanced at the tree. It was still on fire, and it had been long dead. Above it, the rift that connected the Voidlands to Kilo Village was completely closed. Just as it had been before.

Traces of Owen's spirit within the Tree had also disappeared. He could only hope that Owen was whole and at full strength all the way across the forest.

"Guess there's no going back for us," Reshiram said.

"Hey," Marshadow added. "What's yer name?"

"Uh? Brandon?"

"Heh." Marshadow smirked. "Nice. Marshadow Manny."

"Oh, we're doing this conversation." Reshiram rolled his eyes. "Look, just because my immortal Machoke half and my immortal Legend half became the same person again doesn't mean I'm gonna just toss aside my name again. I had good memories tied to that name!"

"Nah, nah, I get yeh."

"…And my team's pretty pleased, too," he said. "I'm probably gonna miss, you know, having them around if we have to return this power to Necrozma. Turn him into the proper spirit repository again."

"Ehh, somethin' tells me that's not gonna happen," Marshadow said. "The new afterlife formed across the aura sea works well, I heard. Maybe it doesn't gotta be a forever nap in the lightbulb's body."

"He's pretty traditional," Brandon warned. "Think he'd be interested in that?"

"Not like he's been doin' it fer all that long," Marshadow pointed out. "Eh, whatever. We'll figure it out. Ah, yeh! That reminds me. Fergot. Jirachi made it in, an' he's gettin' everyone set, too. We're gonna head out fer some Titan hunting… jus' like we did fer you."

"Yeah, yeah." Brandon groaned and stretched his back. "Alright. Let's get going. One Titan at a time…"

Marshadow hopped onto his back, which earned an annoyed grunt from Brandon, though he didn't object. The Dragon of Truth made one last glance at the burned Tree of Life. "…You guys better keep up your part, too," he said. "Don't fall back now…"

Part of him wondered who really heard his murmurs.


Mispy was next to rise, looking shaken but stable. After keeping her from blasting Darkrai with a Solar Beam, they filled her in on what had happened, and her hostility toward Darkrai was reduced from blasting to simply glaring. Then came Mhynt, Trina, Zena, and lastly Demitri, who awoke screaming about falling from the sky.

Their counterparts, perhaps not by coincidence, woke up at the same time, with Mesprit hugging Uxie tightly and saying something about falling. Uxie reminded him that he could float.

"I'm sorry for all of this," Darkrai finally said as he set down a tray of freshly baked cookies for Team Alloy. "But it was just to make sure you wouldn't give in to despair. The Abyssal Sea's fumes amplify that sort of thing, and if you couldn't handle a basic Nightmare, the fumes would surely turn you into more of them."

"M-more of them?" Demitri asked.

Cresselia nodded gravely. "The endgame of most Void Shadows is to eventually seep into the Abyssal Sea, where they, as a collective, try to drag more and more into themselves. It's a sea of madness, surrounding and separating Necrozma from the rest of us. Even if you managed to get on the small isle that is his prison, he's guarded by Titans."

"Well… if you wanted to make sure we were all okay, why didn't you test Valle?" Owen asked.

"Hm?" Cresselia tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

Owen gestured to the Shiftry statue.

"…Oh, Owen," Cresselia said apologetically. "Yes, we tested Valle. He did very well."

Owen's flame sparked. "He's not my imaginary friend! He's literally Necrozma!"

"Hello," the Shiftry statue said.

"KYAAAA!" Darkrai flew behind Cresselia, who also flinched. "Wh-why didn't you talk?!"

"I wasn't addressed."

"W-well…" Cresselia sighed. "Valle will be fine if he's Necrozma. He'd be immune to the fumes' effects."

"Wouldn't that mean I'd also be fine? I have his direct blessings," Owen said.

Cresselia nodded. "Your presence, and Valle's, will be a boon for everyone. But it doesn't hurt to be too careful. But… well, now that Valle knows about the Nightmare trick, that won't work out."

Valle continued to not move. "If Radiance is the antidote to the Abyssal Sea, I will be fine."

Owen sighed. "Alright. Then let's leave after a good rest. How long is it from here to the Sea?"

"Unfortunately," Darkrai said, "you'll probably only get there just after your next sleep if you go straightaway."

"Oh." That was a lot of traveling. The sheer size of the Voidlands was always startling after spending centuries in Kilo.

"Aah, it'll be fine," Gahi dismissed, crossing his arms and spreading his wings confidently. "We've got speed. You already have the boat ready?"

"Yes! That, we do," Darkrai said. "It was constructed and hidden, but once you go on your way, we'll reveal it right at your destination. Just make sure you follow 'north' that way."

"Can do," Owen said. "Right. If that's the case… One last question. How's Tanneth?"

"Tanneth? Oh! The Vaporeon. She's… mostly recovered, but not nearly at her full strength." Darkrai sighed. "She has her own place here, and while it isn't the… best place to live, it's safer than Kilo where Lugia might try to get her. Would you like to see her?"

"Yes, please."

"Owen?" Mhynt asked. "Is something the matter?"

"…She and I go back," Owen said. "I have scattered memories of it, but she was… a friend of mine during the Dark Matter days. I just wanted to try to catch up and see if that would jog any of those old memories back. That's all."

"I'd like to see her, too," Zena said. "She and I were friends, too. But, that sounds like it was after her memories were wiped of that time…"

"Well, that's all fine," Cresselia said. "I'll give you her address. . ."


Tanneth's temporary abode was very close. One floor, only three rooms or so, and sparsely populated with essential furniture. Tanneth herself was reading a book, so she wasn't busy. Owen gently rapped his claw against the door and waited.

"Tell me about her," Zena said while Tanneth got out of her seat.

"Emily? I happened to convince her about Dark Matter during the first war," Owen explained. "That's probably how she wound up having those powers—and a piece of Dark Matter—to begin with. Diyem must have gotten desperate once I was taken out of the picture because I don't remember a whole lot beyond that."

The door opened, the little Vaporeon reflexively stepping back upon seeing the much larger Charizard and Milotic on the other side.

"Hey," Owen greeted with a nervous wave.

"Hi…?" Tanneth stared, but then her eyes bugged out. "Owen! Zena!"

"Yep!"

She looked mournful. "You're… back."

"Oh, it's not like that!" Owen said. "We're here on purpose! Off to rescue Necrozma soon."

"Oh." Tanneth sighed, brightening afterward. "Okay, that's way better than what I was thinking. I thought my… my other half ate the world."

"No. She's sort of been aimlessly wandering around and stays away from places with too much of Necrozma's light, so she's… under control. Er, we just wanted to talk and catch up. May we come in?"

"Yeah—um, sure. I don't… have any seats except for my own, so—"

"That's fine. We can just settle by the wall."

Tanneth treated them to some tea made of strange plants of the Voidlands and a surprisingly sweet fruit, though a little overpowering. Owen offered to heat the kettle faster, and soon they were all relaxing with cups of a steaming, sweet-tart brew.

"Um, if it's not a problem, can you call me Emily?" the Vaporeon asked.

"Oh… that's right." Zena curled her ribbons loosely. "You're…"

"Yeah. I… There was something that happened… during the war. The longer I stay in the Voidlands, the more I remember what happened."

"I wasn't around for it," Owen said. "Can you give me the rundown?"

Emily glanced at Zena, then at Owen.

"She can hear, too," Owen said. "We're all in this together. Anything I know, I'm going to summarize to everyone."

"Oh." That made Emily less enthused, like she was looking for different words to say than before.

"T—Emily, they already know all about Wishkeeper and what I did, and they forgave me." Mostly. "We're working to right wrongs for good. We need to know what happened."

This Vaporeon was so different from the one they'd met only a few months ago. The Voidlands had dampened her spirits even more than she'd already been. Then again, with how they'd found her… maybe she wasn't recovered.

Would she ever, after this? How deep did the damage to 'Emily' go, even after she was saved?

"Dark Matter," Emily began, "wanted me to… save the world in your place. As Lugia, I was one of the few Legends—along with Rayquaza, Giratina, and Azelf—to receive Necrozma's blessing. But of the four of us, I was the only one who directly, you know, went against, uh, against Necrozma's plan to… uh…"

"End the world," Owen finished.

"Y-yeah."

"Why in the world would everyone else agree?" Zena asked. "I still can't understand it. Why end everything, end all life?"

"It wasn't all life," Emily answered ruefully. "We're just a teeny tiny 'pocket world' that's only a little bit away from the 'main world.'"

"And… we were here in the first place," Owen said, "because Mew had been possessed by some weird technology in the human world, and Arceus found out and… in a fit of rage, smote the whole island. The first lives of Pokémon that could speak and have societies like you guys… Those were all originally humans. And the feral Pokémon were all the wild Pokémon on that island. But this tiny world was meant to be temporary. Arceus only planned to make it for a few decades or something, but then Star felt bad? I think? And… just let the world live on because suddenly the first generation had kids, and they had kids, so on so on."

"Well, of course," Zena murmured. "That's part of life, isn't it?"

"And that's the problem," Owen said. "Necrozma's answer was to stop new life from being born, so the last generation would just fade out, and Legends could handle the gaps a small population could no longer cover, with their greater powers. Then once every soul was dead… that's it. The world would end, and they'd be able to focus on the 'main' world again." He sighed. "Instead… the people who were born in Kilo wanted to keep living. I became their figurehead."

"…Was it all a mistake?" Emily asked. "Should we have just… let it end? Look at all the suffering it's caused…"

"I… don't know," Owen said. "But I do know that I want to make things right and at least rescue everyone from here. What happens after… we can talk about with Necrozma and the other gods. But I think everyone—even Diyem—agrees that we need to empty the Voidlands."

It wasn't the perfect answer, but it at least relaxed the Vaporeon in front of him, who nodded.

"Anyway," Owen said, "I want to catch up a little, too. So… you and Zena, huh?"

"Oh! Um. Right…" Emily smiled nervously at Zena. "It was just a coincidence, practically. Running into her, I mean. I don't even remember how we met specifically anymore. We just started hanging out near one of the undersea villages. After the dark war, something… defeated me and split me in half. But unlike all the other Legends, my Lugia half didn't get sucked into the Voidlands. Maybe I was lucky, being the strongest one with Diyem's power."

"At least the most defensive," Owen agreed.

"I guess with amnesia, we were just taken care of down there."

"None of the Legends had amnesia, though," Owen remarked. "Why did Emily—Lugia forget?"

The Vaporeon sighed. "No idea. But if the memories were sealed into the Voidlands by some crazy Decree, then that means they would've left my halves and gone straight here. No half here, neither half remembers. Until I spent time in here, at least…" She curled up a little in her bed. "…And… I'm going to have to recombine with her, too. Even though I was trying to run away, she almost pulled me in…"

"Yeah. Rhys rescued you," Owen said.

"How is Rhys?" she added.

Cold gripped his chest. Gods, did nobody tell her?! "He's alright," Owen half-lied. "He and Dialga merged, so he's a little different now. But you know, that's how it goes."

"Then… it'll be okay when I combine with the other me. After… you find a way to purify her, right?"

"It's a deep darkness, but that's the plan," Owen said. "Necrozma could help."

"Thanks…" She still was uncertain, but the smile she gave was at least a little more genuine.

It was just another reason for him to go and take this risk and cross the sea. He only hoped the rest of his team would have the same resolve.

"We should get ready," Owen finally concluded. "Let's check with the others using the communicator."

"Take care, Emily," Zena said. "You'll get to see sunlight again in no time."

"Be careful," Emily said. "And… thank you."

A warm tightness filled Owen's chest as he left, knowing that he was responsible, indirectly, for Emily's mess all the same. But just as much, it was another reason he had to keep going.

Just a little longer. That was the hope.