Author's... Trial?
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The gavel hammered the desk as a booming voice silenced everyone.
"ORDER IN THE COURT!"
"The defendant shall enter."
Baleygr-07: "...Wtf?"
"The defendant is hereby accused of... Procrastination, two accounts of monthly laziness and the worst crime of all: STORY ABANDONMENT!"
'OOOIIIIIIII! THIS IS MY STORY THOUGH?!'
"The plaintiff are the poor readers who have been waiting for Fated's continuation for 2 months now..."
"You sound biased here, judge?! What happened to judicial independence?!"
"ORDER!"
BAM! BAM!
"The plaintiff's attorney may begin."
A familiar honey blonde stood up.
"Thank you, judge," Serena bowed, wearing an office lady outfit.
'Et tu, Serena?! The characters are turning against me?!'
"Monsieur Author, do you know of the crimes you are accused of?" she asked.
"Everything that the judge just listed, right?"
"Yes, all of them... with one extra cardinal sin."
"...WHERE'S ASH?!"
The honey blonde grabbed the author's collar, shaking him uncontrollably.
"I'M STILL WAITING FOR THAT REUNION, YOU DAMN WRITER! THE HELL ARE YOU PROCRASTINATING FOR, YOU SHITTY AUTHOR?!"
"Ayo, can I say my shit?!"
...
"As you can see, judge. This connard is unapologetic and without a defense lawyer. I suggest we give him the Pikachu chair," Serena deadpanned.
"Without a defense lawyer, Baleygr-07 is hereby sentenced to-"
HOLD IT!
"With this treasure I summon!"
"Six-Partied Pokémon Trainer Tonelico Red Heroic Ace Attorney Ash Ketchum!"
"That's against the rules!"
"Screw the rules, I'm the author here!"
I'm doing my defense in the Notes!
Author's Notes (For real real)
Phew! No idea what the hell happened there but!
Hey y'all! Nice to see you guys again!
Now, let's go through what happened in these 2 months:
First off, usually for movie chapters, all I needed to was to follow the original movie's script and add a bit of Fated.
Bing bang boom, you got a Fated's Movie chapter.
But for M03, it became astronomically worse since the beginning, middle and end are every different from the OG M03.
So, I had to literally write a whole movie script from scratch while loosely following the OG and even then, there was barely any resemblance.
Random dude: Okay, but why 2 months?
I'm glad you asked, random dude!
Long story short, Microsoft Word expired on my ass.
For 3 years now, I've been grinding this story on Word so imagine my shock when it expired.
Anyways, I tried finding a replacement and stumbled upon WPS which operates similarly to Word.
But it took a long time to get used to.
Phoenix Wright: Hold it! But that doesn't explain the 2 months period of Fated's dead updates!
Excellent point, Mr Wright! However!
DID YOU CHECK THE UPDATED AUTOPSY REPORT?!
(I'm schizo af rn)
Of course that doesn't justify the 2 months so what else happened?
Well, graduation ceremony for one.
Then, finding a job is another.
After that, preparing my home's renovation.
And finally...
My laptop died.
Yep. It fuckin' dipped on me.
All these things combined made up the 2 months.
But we back now!
Conclusion: I will NEVER abandon this story.
If it's a monthly update, it's just me being me.
Bi-monthly: I'm getting jumped by problems IRL.
Half a year (potentially): Gotta lock in on MAJOR problems (Bumgumi/Potential Man could never)
A year and beyond? Well... if that happens, you'll definitely know what happened to me.
(Wow, that got dark)
SO!
What's up with this chapter?
Well, ya gotta read it to know, duh.
But what I can say is... A LOT of batshit insane action.
Hell, I was supposed to cook for one person (you, yes you) but may have locked in waaayyy too hard that I cooked for a family of 7.
And since there's like 3 phases in this chapter, I am here to provide some music:
Moebius Battle Theme (Phase 2) - Xenoblade 3
I was blasting this one for the entire fight sequence.
Now, imma have to skip the reviews since there's a lot and frankly, even if I appreciate your reviews, it's tiring to go through each one without putting a lot of energy and thought into them.
But know this: I really enjoy reading your reviews! So keep em coming!
However, responding is really a lengthy process for me so please understand.
WITH THAT SAID!
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!
M03!
Chapter 79: [M03] Spell of The Unown
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.
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Magic.
Tis a calling of mine.
AURA that drowned the battlefields.
My youth was buried within books of knowledge.
Alongside a rather despicable magician, an annoying womanizer…
I was able to reach his rank, not even 16 winters of my life.
I wanted more. Power that rivalled Gods and Beasts:
Projection of thoughtforms, acquired.
Regeneration on par with Gods, acquired.
Destructive strength that collapsed the lands, acquired.
But I thirsted for more. T'was never enough for my plans:
Saving my homeland. Regaining my rightful place.
And then…
My wish came true.
All in the form of peculiar letters.
And the Root within the cosmos.
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0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Greenfield, Johto Region (A week before…)
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Night enveloped the land of Greenfield. True to its name, the location was filled with sweeping green valleys filled with fields of flowers. Littered among the greenery were windmills and houses with the most prominent one being the mansion atop of the hill at the heart of Greenfield.
It was the Hale Mansion. Despite the darkness around, the structure stood amazingly beautiful as the great full moon illuminated its features, basked in its radiance.
And within the mansion…
There was a father and his daughter.
…
A room brightened with light; Toys in Pokémon's likeness scattered around.
A man was tucking his daughter to sleep in her bed of flowery pink.
"Papa, Papa. Can you read me a story?" the little girl tugged her father's sleeve.
"Of course, Molly. Anything for my little princess," her father smiled.
Molly beamed with loving crystal blue eyes.
She always loved it when her father called her his 'princess'.
He was kind and doting. How could he not?
After all, Professor Spencer Hale was her only parent left in this world.
Her mother went missing, or so she was told.
Her father knew otherwise, but felt it was best for her to not know.
Nevertheless, Professor Hale was all she had.
A fact unchanged.
"What does my sweet princess want me to read?"
She pondered as she eyed the stack of books on her father's lap.
The first two books caught her eye as their covers had brilliant colour, a fondness for children.
A book of scarlet simply titled: Scarlet Book, written by someone named Heath.
Another book of violet simply titled: Violet Book, written by the same person.
They were gifts Spencer Hale received from two acquaintances in Paldea region.
]=[
ATL Entry: Scarlet and Violet Book
Encyclopaedic books written by a man named Heath.
They were books widely known to be fraudulent and fictional, originating from the Paldea Region. The two books had since undergone multiple revisions for publishing, though the credibility of the author caused its popularity to hit rock bottom.
]=[
Beneath the two books were:
The Princess & The Blacksmith
Through the Looking-Glass
The Ancient Adventurers & The Six Heroes
"Maybe this one?" Professor Hale took out the first one, showing it to Molly.
"Mm," she shook her head with a saddened gaze.
"Do you not like it?"
"…I don't like sad endings."
"Then what about this one?" he held the other book.
"I love it, but it keeps making me sleep. I wanna stay awake with Papa…" she pouted.
Professor Hale gave a reluctant smile as he held the two brightly coloured books instead.
"That one!" she pointed giddily at the Scarlet Book.
Her choice determined; the daughter marvelled at the colourful illustration of multiple Pokémon within the book.
"There are Legendary Pokémon in the world, Molly," Professor Hale began.
"Lots of people believe in them, even though they've never seen them before."
"Even you, Papa?" she asked curiously.
"Haha, your Papa is a lucky one, Molly," he laughed softly.
"I have seen a handful in my life so I can guarantee you this, my princess."
"Legendary Pokémon do exist. Although, there is one that I would like to see."
He turned his attention to the Scarlet Book, his daughter following suit.
"In this book, the author imagined what some of them might look like."
Molly was shown an illustration of an imaginary Pokémon:
A creature with a crystalline hexagonal crest on its head, a gray plate resembling a horseshoe moustache covering its snout and wild mane that nearly enveloped its front half. It also had large claws that converged to form a single point and never retract. The spikes on its back and two streamer-like tails that waved forward were prominent as well.
"Of course, this book was written more than 200 years ago but the Pokémon shown here was an amalgam of the Legendary Beasts," the father explained.
"Amalgam?" the daughter parroted sweetly, earning a chuckle from the man.
"It means 'a mix'."
"Oohhh… Like Berry Juice!"
The innocent reply struck a critical hit onto the researcher's heart.
"Ahem, to continue, the Legendary Beasts came to being recently, about 150 years."
A page turned, revealing the illustrations of each of the aforementioned Beasts.
"Raikou, the Lord of Lightning."
"Suicune, the Crystal Monarch."
"And…"
"Entei!" Molly exclaimed energetically.
"Hahaha, yes."
"Entei, the Flame Emperor."
Flipping the page, the duo was greeted with an illustration of alphabet-like creatures that levitated around the skies.
"That's the one Daddy wants to see?" Molly asked cutely.
"Yes, the mysterious Pokémon: Unown," he answered.
It was unlike any Pokémon ever seen before. It had forms that differed greatly, making it seem like it had an infinite number of appearances.
However, being an expert who had studied the mysterious Pokémon, Professor Hale was able to determine a total of 28 unique forms.
"They look funny," Molly commented.
The little girl flipped the page backwards, returning to the Legendary Beast of Fire.
"I like Entei more!" she giggled.
"It's real big and strong, but it also looks kind."
With a turn of her little head, she smiled at her Papa.
"Just like you are, Papa!"
"I'm like Entei, am I?" Professor Hale remarked with amusement.
"Well then, I am Entei!"
The researcher roared playfully, mimicking the stance of the Flame Emperor.
"Rawr! Rawr!"
His daughter laughed as she beheld her father playing along, clapping at the performance.
"Haha! Papa's Entei! Haha!" she guffawed louder.
With a great hug around the man's neck, the two tumbled down the bed. Fortunately, Professor Hale managed to halt their fall with the man promptly giving his daughter a piggyback ride.
"Here we go!" he announced.
The researcher ran around the room, carrying a little Molly as she had the time of her life. Giggling and feeling the wind, she laughed as the two played.
Circling around a slide resembling a Donphan, she cried out with joy.
Rocking on the wooden Ponyta, she raised her arms into the air.
The two laughed even more, enjoying their time with Molly relishing her father's presence.
However…
Beep! Beep!
"Another e-mail…" the Professor stopped to see his laptop's screen.
Said laptop was soft pink in colour with multiple stickers, courtesy of Molly.
It was Professor Hale's prized possession: his daughter's handiwork.
"It must be Schuyler again. It's always him…" Molly muttered.
Schuyler was Professor Hale's assistant and a researcher by his own right. Ever since their partnership that went way back when they were still mentor and mentee, Molly knew whenever Schuyler's messages came, her father would be going away for a while.
Although she did not detest the man, Molly did wish he would not keep taking her Papa away regularly.
Attached to the email was a voice message by Schuyler.
{ Professor, we found something. We found a hidden chamber with new cues about the Unown. Please, come quickly. }
"Are you going, Papa?" Molly looked down at her feet, a frown present.
"I have to go, Molly," the Professor reasoned.
"I'll miss you, Papa," she said.
"And I'll miss you, Molly," he assured as he carried the little child in his arms.
Seeing how precious his daughter was, Professor Hale was conflicted. He wanted to go and check the ruins they discovered, yet he wanted to stay with Molly wholeheartedly.
"…I'll be back as soon as I can."
The father hugged his daughter, who reciprocated by coiling her arms around her Papa's neck.
"Keep me close in your dreams," he whispered gently.
Then, it was time to tuck her into bed.
The pink blanket covered snugly on the child's body.
But despite the comfortable blanket, the only warmth she desired…
Was from her father's hand.
"I love you, Molly," he smiled, letting her grab onto his hand.
Seeing the size difference between the two's hands, Professor Hale felt a sense of nostalgia.
His little girl, 5 years of age, was just a little baby not too long ago.
He recounted the feeling of his daughter's infant hand.
At first, her tiny hand could barely hold onto his finger.
Now, both of her hands could grab his palm.
Chuckling to himself, he brought a vanguard to her side.
"If you have trouble going to sleep, this one will protect you," the Professor placed a plushie beside Molly.
"Pikachu!" she cried in joy as she hugged the electric mouse toy.
The man knew how much she liked the Pokémon, second only to Entei of course.
It was back at Pallet Town where she met a particularly cute one, accompanied by his Trainer, a 9-year-old boy back then.
"Pleasant dreams, Molly."
He switched off the lights, prompting the little girl to linger her gaze at the photo frames next to it.
There was one with her and her parents. But she could not remember how old she was. Not only that, but her mother's face also was half-covered by the large rim of her hat, so her appearance was slightly foggy in her memories.
And the one next to it was a memory Molly remembered well. It was a picture of her family, sans her mother, alongside Professor Oak and her granddaughter, Daisy Oak. Next to the older Oak sibling was the orange-haired boy and chestnut-haired girl. And finally, the raven-haired boy who carried Molly with Pikachu. All with a toothy grin plastered on his face.
With that, Molly closed her eyes.
Pikachu by her side, she awaited her father's return.
Both in her dreams and reality.
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.
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Unown Ruins, ? (The next day)
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Professor Hale practically skipped with excitement at the scene of ancient murals depicting strange alphabets on the walls. He and Schuyler entered a newly discovered chamber, revealing many tablets ingrained into the architecture.
"I've never seen markings like this, but they seem to be about the Unown," he gasped in recognition.
Wasting no time, the researcher pulled out his laptop from his satchel. As he prodded the screen upwards, a mini camera extended and began taking pictures of the murals and tablets.
"What do you think?"
"We'll see."
The two men could hardly contain their thrill as this was a latest discovery since many months. What made it even special was that Professor Hale could read the inscriptions and this was a perfect opportunity to learn and practice.
"Well, if anyone can figure out what it says, it's you," Schuyler commented with confidence as he proceeded to adjust the brightness of the room with the standing lamps.
As Schuyler took pictures of the tablets near the chamber's exit, Professor Hale trudged deeper.
Clack!
"…?"
His shoe stepped onto a square piece accidentally.
Curious, he picked it up and inspected it.
'An Unown letter piece?' he wondered.
As luck would have it, Hale found more pieces on the floor and instinctively began to rearrange them into a coherent word.
'It's like a game of crosswords,' the man noted as he shuffled them.
The alphabets were not of the common language in the world so deciphering it was taxing for Hale in the past. But now, armed with his wisdom and knowledge, the letters were easy to read and therefore, easier to arrange.
As he clicked the final piece, the researcher placed his laptop onto his knee as he read the finished words:
H/E/A/V/E/N/S/F/E/EL
"Heaven's Feel?"
With a chant, the man looked up from the floor…
Only to find a creature with a singular eye staring into him.
11 creatures. 11 letters.
They had surrounded the Professor without his notice, not even Schuyler.
The latter was still taking pictures away from Spencer Hale.
"Wh—?!"
He was too engrossed to catch the vanishment of Professor Hale.
VHOOOP!
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.
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.
.
ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!
I hear them. They're singing.
I observed my surroundings:
There was nothing. And yet, everything.
ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!
The world was closing on me.
The world was ever expanding away from me.
ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!
Everything was inconsistent.
Everything was consistent.
ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!
My mind could not keep up with what I was seeing.
But one thing was constant:
The Unowns singing.
ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!
They were everywhere. And yet, nowhere.
ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!
A world of juxtapositions.
I could see everything in this universe but never comprehend.
ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!
Streams of information dug into my brain like an unending drill.
I learnt everything about the world.
No… the cosmos.
ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!
Root, Gods, Legends.
Everything made sense but I could not catch the essence.
Like trying to grab onto mist.
Arceus, The Arms, Foreigner.
ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!
Years. Seconds. Days. Minutes. Centuries. Hours. Millenniums.
Everything was in my head. I was slowly losing my grasp.
But even with all these knowledge… All these secrets…
"Mo… lly…!"
My daughter. I must return to her.
"Who am… I?"
The information overflowed, flushing out even my name.
My identity was gone. But she remained.
"Mo… lly!"
I know not of what this is… But I know this!
You can never take my daughter away from me!
The singing stopped. The Unown circled me.
Now with such an understanding, I could comprehend what was happening around me.
And then… I heard it.
Their language. Their words.
They formed sentences while an automated voice rang inside my mind.
…
…
…CONNECTION TO ROOT ESTABLISHED.
SYNCING…
SYSTEM "AKASHA" SYNCED.
NOTICE: ANOMALY DETECTED.
SOURCING…
CONFIRMED.
UNIT ASCERTAINED: SPENCER HALE.
CAUSE ASCERTAINED: COMMAND OBSERVED.
COMMAND ASCERTAINED: HEAVEN'S FEEL.
ERROR.
COMMAND REQUIRES ADMINISTRATOR AUTHORITY.
COMMAND DENIED.
RETRIEVING…
INITIATING ADMINISTRATOR'S AUTODEF PROTOCOL .
INITIALIZING, TARGET: SPENCER HALE.
ATTEMPTING HANDSHAKE WITH UNIT…
ERROR.
HANDSHAKE DENIED.
NOW ATTEMPTING FORCED HANDSHAKE…
SUCCESS.
…
"What is this…?!" I screamed.
An unimaginable pain stabbed into my brain.
A far cry from the previous.
Eldritch knowledge beyond my comprehension flooded without remorse.
I saw… I saw… I saw…?
…
ᗩ ᗷᓍᖻ.
ᖇᗩᐺᘿᘉ ᗷᒪᗩᑢ片 ᕼᗩᓰᖇ ᘺᓰᖶᕼ ᗷᒪᓍᓍᕲᖇᘿᕲ ᘿᖻᘿ己.
ᗩ ᘜᓰᖇᒪ.
ᕼᓍᘉᘿᖻ ᗷᒪᓍᘉᕲᘿ ᕼᗩᓰᖇ ᘺᓰᖶᕼ ᖇᓍᖻᗩᒪ ᗷᒪᑘᘿ ᘿᖻᘿ己.
ᘻᓍᘉ己ᖶᘿᖇ.
ᘜᓍᕲᕲᘿ己己.
ᕼᓰ己 ᘜᓍᕲᕲᘿ己己.
ᕼᘿᖇ ᘻᓍᘉ己ᖶᘿᖇ.
ᖴᗩᖶᘿᕲ ᗩᑢᖇᓍ己己 ᖶᕼᘿ 己ᖶᗩᖇ己.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
PURGE SUCCESSFUL.
ADMINISTRATOR'S AUTODEF PROTOCOL COMPLETED.
USER'S PHYSICAL BODY: PURGED.
USER'S DATA: COLLECTED.
SPENCER HALE ACQUIRED.
REMOTE COMMAND "HEAVEN'S FEEL":
COMPLETED.
.
.
.
.
.
LOG:
- ANOMALY "SPENCER_HALE_(M)" DETECTED
- COMMAND "HEAVEN'S FEEL" RECOGNIZED.
- UNABLE TO EXECUTE DUE TO ADMINISTRATOR LOCK.
- AUTODEF PROTOCOL REQUESTED.
- NO RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATOR, COMMENCING PURGE.
- "SPENCER_HALE_(M)" REFUSAL OBSERVED.
- FORCING HANDSHAKE WITH "SPENCER_HALE_(M)".
- SUCCESSFUL PURGE OBSERVED.
- DELETION OF ASSET'S PHYSICAL MODEL… DONE.
- FOREIGN ASSET'S DATA COLLECTED.
- PASSIVE EXECUTION OF "HEAVEN'S FEEL" COMPLETE.
- ANOMALY RECORDED, COUNTER UPDATED = OVERCOUNT #1999.
- SAVING LOG FOR ADMINISTRATOR VIEW…
.
.
.
Crash!
Schuyler turned back to the sudden noise in a fright.
Within moments, his face began to turn as white as paper.
Spencer Hale was gone.
Disappeared without a trace.
His possession: the pink laptop.
Crashed and destroyed onto the unforgiving earth.
"Sir?! Professor Hale?!"
But there was no answer.
All that was left… were the scattered pieces of Unown letters.
Sprawled along with the broken parts of the laptop.
Professor Hale was no more.
And in his place, was a box filled with the same pieces on the floor.
"PROFESSOR!"
.
.
.
It had been 2 days since then.
Another day, another descent down the stairs as Molly woke up.
All alone again.
Humming to herself, Molly ran towards her father's study room.
All with the storybooks she loved in hand.
'Today, I woke up early and got dressed all by myself,' she hummed.
'Because I'm a good girl today, Papa will—'
Creak…
The study room was silent today.
The little girl's smile stayed plastered.
If she faltered… Molly was scared she would break.
"Papa must be working even harder today!" she lied to herself.
"Ahaha!"
Lies.
"Maybe if I wake up even earlier tomorrow, Papa will…!"
Lies.
The little girl stopped her skipping, halting right outside her father's study room.
Lies. Lies. Lies.
Her smile quivered as she began to recall the previous day.
…
Molly was excited to see her father again, racing towards the study room.
However, before entering, she heard Schuyler's voice within alongside the mansion's butler.
"I was there…! I was there and he…!" Schuyler swallowed a wail.
"He was gone… I was right there…"
The man gripped his trousers, scratching his thigh in frustration.
He blamed himself for Professor Hale's disappearance.
All he retrieved was the box of letters in the Professor's wake.
As well as the broken laptop he treasured.
'Did Schuyler saw a ghost? Silly Schuyler…' she sighed.
"This is terrible… This can't be…" the butler muffled his mouth with a trembling hand.
"How awful, the Young Miss… the poor girl is all alone in this world…"
Ka-chak!
"Papa, I saw the car and…!"
A few steps were all Molly took inside the room as she noticed the grieving expressions on the two men's face. Her initial speculation of Schuyler seeing a ghost quickly faded as she witnessed the haunting guilt on the man's face.
"Molly…"
Crash.
The man practically crawled towards the little girl, his legs giving up as he laid his eyes upon his mentor's daughter.
"I should tell he—" the butler got ready to stand before a hand from Schuyler stopped him.
Shaking his head, the researcher had resolved himself to tell her the truth.
The butler hesitated but nodded in the end.
"Molly…" he exhaled.
"Schuyler? Where's Papa?" she wondered aloud, unknowingly crushing the man's heart.
"Professor Hale, your Papa… He's…"
The man's gaze regarded the innocent and clueless girl, thinking back to his mentor's wife. He was there when the sickness took her life. He saw the devastation in Molly's eyes.
Even now, the reason why Molly had not lost her mind was painful to him.
The child had unconsciously locked away those memories.
She was diagnosed with disassociation due to her immense trauma.
Molly was recovering bit by bit with her father's acts of affection.
And now…
'Tell her…' Schuyler braced himself.
Grip…
The time had come to tell the child of her last parent's demise.
'Tell her!'
"Schuyler?" she tilted her head.
"Gasp…!"
Hyperventilation took over as the man could only tighten his fists onto the floor.
'Tell her!'
It was finally at the tip of his tongue. All the man had to do was say it.
It was the logical thing to do. And the man was given to chance to do so.
The Professor's wife and now the Professor himself.
Schuyler lamented how cruel it was for young Molly Hale.
The morbid thoughts overtook his mind as he pondered the future of the little girl.
"Your Papa's going to be late!" Schuyler struggled a grin.
'I can't… This is too cruel…' he felt disgusted.
"Aww… Papa was supposed to play with me today," she pouted.
The guilt devoured, and devoured.
"Well, if I'm a good girl, Papa will come back sooner, right?" she huffed proudly.
"…Of course, Young Miss."
The butler assured, prompting the researcher to turn towards him in shock.
"Hehehe! I'll wake up early tomorrow!"
"Yes, why don't you play with the maids today?"
"Okay! See you, Schuyler!"
The speedy girl ran off with a glee… leaving behind two men suffering from guilt.
"I lied to her…" the man slumped.
"As did I," the butler answered.
"We are adults. Sometimes, it's necessary to lie so the children don't suffer."
"Taking on the pain. That's our role for the children."
…
Lies.
Molly was not stupid.
Lies!
She knew they were lying.
Lies! Lies! Lies!
Thud, thud, thud!
The little girl ran back to the broken laptop.
It was still operational despite its state.
'Papa, what happened to you…?' her lips quivered.
The last images recorded on the screen… were the Unown letter pieces.
"Unown!" she recognized.
Then, as if by magnetism, her eyes drew towards the box next to her.
"Erk…" she grunted.
Crash!
Molly pulled the heavy box, dropping it onto the floor and spilling its contents out, scattering them.
Placing the storybooks on the table, she kneeled.
It was the exact alphabet tiles that she saw onscreen.
"They look just like letters…"
Despite her age, Molly knew what each letter meant and could read them.
A byproduct of her father's tangents and passion.
"I love Papa when he talks about his work," she muttered to herself.
It made her happy whenever Professor Hale would gush about his findings.
Seeing him so passionate and joyful was infectious to her as well.
Because of that, Molly understood and listened to her father's teachings.
"Look, I can spell our names with Unown…"
A weakened voice. The clatter of shuffling tiles.
P A P A
M A M A
M E
Molly's name was Mi in the Oriental language.
It was a pun her Papa loved as Mi could be misheard for 'Me'.
'But what's the point?' she teared up.
"Papa isn't here to laugh…"
Drip, drip.
Droplets of tears wettened the tiles as Molly cried quietly.
"I'm…! I'm a g-good girl…" she tried her best to stop the tears.
"If I do-don't cry, P-P-Papa…"
Her voice squeaked to a stop as her memories of Professor Hale sped through like a film.
"Papa…!"
Tears flowed down mercilessly; her snot bubbled from her nose.
The child was faced with reality: She was now all alone.
"Papa! Papa! Waaaah!"
The thought of never seeing her Papa ever again clouded her eyes once more.
A nightmare turned true. The panic attacks threatened to squeeze her.
But she could not help it. As reality began setting in, Molly's disassociation returned.
The traumatic experience that resurfaced.
The traumatic experience that blossomed.
Both of her parents were ironically with her now.
She screamed, clenching her throbbing head for dear life.
"Papa! Mama!"
.
.
.
UNIT ASCERTAINED: MOLLY HALE.
CAUSE ASCERTAINED: UNKNOWN.
PROTOCOL DENIED DUE TO UNCONFIRMED THREAT.
The tiles began to dance, illuminated in blue light.
Molly's headache ceased. The flying tiles taking her attention.
Suddenly, from above…
BZZT! BZZT!
A distortion opened above the little girl, basking her in its light.
Because of the brightness, she turned away from it.
Unknowingly, she had saved herself from an overload of the eldritch.
Unowns glided out from the rift, circling around the girl almost playfully.
"Unown!" she gasped.
No one had ever seen a living Unown before, making Molly one of the first.
"Do you want to play with me?" she giggled.
Her disassociation had taken hold of her.
The trauma was blocked once again.
P L A Y
The letters spelt from the formation of the alphabetic creatures.
They scoured the area, happening upon the storybooks she had brought.
The Unown required a reference, descending upon the books titled:
Alice in Wonderland
In an instant, the floor began to transform.
The marbled ground glitched, making way for crystal-like lotus leaves.
Crystal leaves that encroached everywhere within a blink of an eye.
Molly sat at the epicentre, marvelling at the crystal area's growth as it took to the walls once the floor was overtaken.
The Unown terraformed more, seemingly no signs of stopping. Their powers were boundless, transforming the mansion with glassy blue crystals that resembled ice. Not only that, but pillars of pink crystals also sprouted as well for structural integrity.
Soon, the invasive material quickened as it spread even beyond the room. The crackling noises were enough to wake the other residents as Schuyler raced towards the source.
"Argh, it won't budge!" the butler rattled the handles, unable to open the doors.
"Step back!"
With a few steps back, Schuyler bolted into the doors.
CRACK!
The doors burst open with fragments of crystal, revealing a shocking sight:
Molly was playing with the floating Unown, happily in her own world and not noticing the adults outside.
"The Unown!" Schuyler gasped in disbelief.
Crack! Crack!
With a yelp, the humans were sealed away from the room Molly resided in. Serpent-like vines of crystal shut the doors again as they did not take kindly to intruders.
And then, Molly was alone. All alone with the floating symbols.
They sang. The same tune that Professor Hale heard.
Molly's eyes trailed around, feasting them onto the Scarlet Book.
Wordlessly, she turned to the page of Entei.
Gazing at the illustration of the beast, she flipped it again.
"There are Legendary Pokémon in the world, Molly."
This time, it was another drawing of Entei, but wildly different.
This one had a more prehistoric appearance, resembling more of a triceratops.
"In this book, the author imagined what some of them might look like."
Molly had never seen this one before as Professor Hale not once showed her.
Perhaps he found it too madly different from the norm.
Maybe the man preferred his daughter to learn only the official art of her favoured Legendary.
However, one fact remained unchanged:
Professor Hale was no longer here.
"I'm like Entei, am I? Well then, I am Entei!"
She flipped back to the Entei as it was the most familiar to her.
Seeing the fiery beast, the little girl could not help but see the resemblance between it and her most loved one.
"Papa…"
Pain welled up within her, the trauma slithering around her heart.
"Papa…"
The coiling suffering constricted.
"Come back, Papa!"
?
...
...
...
ADMINISTRATOR NOT FOUND.
ASCERTAINING ASSET AGAIN…
ASSET "MOLLY HALE": NON-THREAT.
SWITCHING ASSET TO MODERATOR STATUS…
CONFIRMED.
COMMAND 'WISH' RECOGNIZED.
INTEPRETING…
CONFIRMED.
COMPUTING FEASIBLITIY OF COMMAND…
ERROR: FEASIBILITY BELOW 10%.
WISH RECOGNIZED AS 'FANTASY'.
IMPORTING MODULE…
MODULE FOUND: TERASTAL.
SEEKING APPROVAL FROM MODERATOR "INDIGO_DISK"…
MODERATOR HIBERNATING, MANUAL APPROVAL IMPOSSIBLE.
AUTO APPROVAL ENGAGED.
RETRIEVING DATA OF MODERATOR'S TARGET…
CONFIRMED.
ERROR:
PHYSICAL MODEL NOT FOUND.
AVATAR REQUIRED.
SEARCHING…
AVATAR DESIGNATION FOUND.
PREPARING ASSET…
ASSET: ENTEI – STANDBY.
SYNCING…
CONFIRMED.
OVERWRITE COMPLETED.
SPENCER HALE - ENTEI.
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LOG:
- ASSET "MOLLY_HALE_(F)" DETECTED
- COMMAND UNRECOGNIZED.
- SCANNING THREAT LEVEL... DONE.
- ASSET = "NON-THREAT".
- IMPORTED "INDIGO_DISK" FILES: "TERASTAL".
- NO RESPONSE FROM "INDIGO_DISK", AUTO-APPROVAL GRANTED.
- SWITCHING ASSET INTO MODERATOR STATUS… DONE.
- MODERATOR REQUEST OBSERVED.
- "SPENCER_HALE_(M)" RETRIEVED.
- ERROR DETECTED: PHYSICAL MODEL DELETED.
- SEARCHING SOLUTION… COMPLETE.
- REPLACING ASSET'S MODEL WITH SAVED DATABASE MODEL... DONE.
- ADJUSTING DATA OF "SPENCER_HALE_(M)"… DONE.
- "SPENCER_HALE_(M)" RENAMING…
- ASSET "SPENCER_HALE_(ENTEI)" CREATED.
- REQUEST EXECUTED.
- SAVING LOG FOR ADMINISTRATOR VIEW…
.
.
.
The portal whorled wider above Molly, bathing her in its light again.
While the crystallization stretched further, reaching outside the mansion…
A crystalline construction conjured before the little girl.
From the gem-like land came paws.
Then a body. And finally, a face.
A fiery beast was born.
"I ask of you."
The child faced the new presence with a tear-filled face.
Heat rose from the cold room, bringing the summer into the area.
"Are you the one who has summoned me?"
She recognized the voice.
With one last shine of the rift's light, Molly beheld the one before her.
It was a leonine beast with mastiff qualities. It was covered in brown fur and a long, light gray cloud of smoke running along its entire back. It had gray plates on either side of the cloud and a plate beneath the cream belly fur on its chest.
It had gray paws with brown pads and black cuff-like bands on its legs. Both front paws housed three small, white retractable claws.
Its main faceplate was red and shaped like fins or a six-sided star. A gray plate, resembling a horseshoe moustache, covered its muzzle. It also had a yellow crest with three sloped points on its forehead and red eyes.
It was truly a living volcano.
"Are you…" she mumbled in disbelief.
"I am Entei," the volcano beast introduced.
The voice was all too familiar.
"Papa, it's you!" she cried out in joy.
"You look just like the Entei in the book, but it's you!"
"Papa!"
Despite its imposing appearance, Molly ran towards Entei without hesitation.
Entei's flames were said to be like magma, but as she hugged his furred leg…
She felt no such blaze. Rather, it was warm…
Just like her Papa's hand.
"Papa…" she melted into Entei's fur.
The beast showed no aversion towards the child, gazing her only with curiosity.
"I am… Papa?" he asked aloud.
As soon as he came into being, Entei was left with no memories of his own.
Only the inner workings of the world and how to identify them.
Naturally, with Molly's insistence that he was Papa, he decided that was his identity.
"If that is what you wish."
Meanwhile, the crystal terraforming invaded unceasingly, devouring anything in its path as it only had one goal in mind:
Shape Greenfield into a valley of crystals.
The former residents of the Hale mansion could only watch in horror as their residence morphed.
Gone was the mansion and in its place was something straight out of a storybook.
A pair of glassy blue towers of crystal loomed side by side while a high hill burst from the land. The mansion was carried above, now a fortress of gem. Surrounding the enlarged structure was a deep moat, the deep darkness adorned with sharp spikes. Soon, walls of crystal shrieked its arrival, framing the fortress and stealing more land from Greenfield.
Schuyler and the rest watched helplessly as the gigantic gemlike constructions grandly towered Greenfield.
And more importantly…
Imprisoning one small little girl.
A girl through the looking glass.
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=]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[=
FATED
SPECIAL CHAPTER (M03)
SPELL OF THE UNOWN – ENTEI
=]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[==]=[=
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0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Outskirts of Greenfield, Johto Region (A day later…)
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
"Why are we walkinggg…?" Blue moaned in complaints.
"I'd rather walk than topple inside a van," Misty drawled as she stroked the girl's head.
Due to the hilly region of the area, the main group had opted to trek up the small hill on the path to their destination.
"Looks like you're holding up," Gary turned to Brendan.
"After traveling with those two, this is a cakewalk," the latter answered with pride.
The only ones who were truly struggling were the 3 children who tagged along.
Seeing their tired forms, Gary summoned his ace Pokémon.
"Arcanine, in."
The red canine materialized, landing gracefully before the stunned children.
"Woooaaahhh! It's Arcanine!" Ethan clamoured with starry eyes.
Lyra admired silently, not one to be boisterous like the golden-eyed boy.
Silver was in the same boat, his eyes shimmering at the majestic creature.
"Hop on, kids," the orange-haired boy smirked as he scratched Arcanine's chin.
Without reserve, they obliged.
"How altruistic~" Blue teased.
"Taking a page outta the blockhead doesn't feel bad from time to time," Gary shrugged.
Professor Oak and Elm glanced behind at the younger generation, breaking into tender smiles at the sight.
"Your grandson is very kind," the Johto researcher remarked.
"I'm glad. And it's all thanks to the troublemaker who's not here yet," Oak guffawed slightly.
Daisy and Bill chuckled lightly as well, already drawing the appearance of who the elderly man was referring to.
Mentally crossing their fingers, they hoped the third member of the Pallet Trio had arrived before them.
'Knowing him, he probably got lost halfway through…' the older sibling sighed internally.
'But that's what makes him adorable.'
Bill walked alongside Daisy, silently enjoying her presence and completely oblivious to the stinging eye contact from Gary at the back.
Soon, the group reached the top of the hill with the children thanking Arcanine for the ride.
"Thanks a lot, Arcanine! You're so strong!" Ethan grinned wider.
"Thank you… How fluffy…" Lyra giggled.
Silver nodded, slightly awkward in his actions.
The large canine nodded, pleased by the praises.
"Oh?" a new voice made itself known.
The owner of said voice showed themselves, causing both Misty and Brendan to exclaim in recognition.
"Casey!"
"Ah, you two! Hi!" the purple-haired girl waved.
"Oh! The Professor's here too!"
The girl joined them just as hurriedly as Professor Elm was glad to see the novice Trainer.
As it turned out, due to Casey being a resident of New Bark Town, she received her Chikorita upon turning 15 this year from Professor Elm himself.
However, the red device was not given to her because Elm's scatterbrained nature had forgotten about it. Despite that, Casey did not mind it as she was well-versed in Johto Pokémon and was just glad she could go on her own journey.
"Um, so… since we're here and we've locked eyes…" Casey smiled towards Brendan.
The white-hatted boy's eye largened but quickly understood what she meant as he leapt backwards, creating a large field between them.
"Yeah, let's battle!" Brendan got the memo.
On cue, the redhead acted as the referee, almost second nature at this point.
An unwritten rule that all Trainers understood was that a wild or rather, impromptu Trainer Battle must always be a 2v2 with Standard rules, meaning 4 moves only.
The rest of the group watched from the sidelines.
Gary and Blue watched with interest towards Brendan, a friend of their childhood friend.
Daisy and Bill sat alongside the kids, who were cheering both of them on.
The Professors watched as well, already making themselves comfortable underneath some shade.
With a hand raised, the Trainers began their bouts.
"Take care of me, Noctowl!"
"Coco!"
The pink feline mewed her entrance as she faced off against a large owl that sparkled upon entry.
"Oh my, a Shiny Noctowl?" Elm cried in bewilderment.
It was an avian Pokémon that resembled an owl. It had mono yellow plumage with black pattern of triangles on its chest. Its fan-like tail was light acacia in colour, similar to its wings while its underside matched the colour of its feathers, the mono yellow. It had red eyes with black rings around them and a second, cream-colored ring around the first. Above its eyes are bushy, cream-colored feather "horns" that resemble large eyebrows. Its small beak and talons as well as its feet were cream-colored with three toes facing forward and one backward.
Instantly, the Dex holders got to work.
[=]
Noctowl, the Owl Pokémon
Noctowl never fails at catching prey in darkness. This Pokémon owes its success to its superior vision that allows it to see in minimal light, and to its soft, supple wings that make no sound in flight. Some even call it "the emperor of dark nights". When it needs to think, it rotates its head 180 degrees to sharpen its intellectual power.
[=]
"Coco, [Attract]!"
The feline sent out a heart-shaped ring, zooming towards the owl.
But before the attack could land, the Shiny Noctowl took to the skies, avoiding it.
"Not bad," Gary complimented.
'Using [Attract] is a win-win scenario. If it's a male, it'd dodge it; and if it's a female, it wouldn't bother.'
Regardless of whether [Attract] would succeed or not, it would have given Brendan all the information he needed, which was his angle in the first place.
"It's a guy, huh? Then, [Sing]!" the white-hatted boy commanded.
As the sweet melody echoed, Casey and Noctowl made their move.
"Now, Noctowl! [Sky Attack]!" the purple-haired girl called out.
Folding his wings, the aerodynamic avian sped downwards like a bullet.
His speed was unusually fast, so much so that Brendan and Coco could not react in time.
BOOOM!
The ground burst into dust clouds before a beat of Noctowl's wings revealed the fallen cat with swirling eyes.
'A one hit KO?!' Brendan jolted mentally.
Not only that, but he also eyed the Shiny Pokémon with disbelieving eyes, wondering why it was unaffected by [Sing].
"I see," Gary commented from the side.
"Your Noctowl's Ability is Insomnia, right?"
"Um, yes! I figured it'd be useful for situations like these," Casey rubbed her head shyly.
'That's why [Sing] didn't work,' Brendan put two and two together.
Casey returned her Noctowl and proceeded to send out her next Pokémon, raising the eyebrows of both Gary and Blue.
"Take care of me, Chikorita!"
A green sauropod was sent out next with Brendan responding in kind.
"Rara!"
A familiar green-haired humanoid with a singular red horn appeared.
The two clashed once more with Chikorita's [Vine Whip] whizzing towards the humanoid.
"[Teleport]!" Brendan called out.
Vhoop!
The whips struck the ground instead, eliciting surprised gasps from Casey and Chikorita as a shadow loomed over the Grass starter.
Rara had reappeared in the air, her horn pointing straight at Chikorita:
"[Signal Beam]!"
A lime beam of inconsistent frequency shot from the horn, slithering from the top and blasting onto the dazed starter.
BOOM!
Chikorita was done, similarly one-shotted like Coco.
The green-haired humanoid got revenge for her fellow teammate.
However… Noctowl was back in action.
…
"Rara is unable to battle! Casey of New Bark Town wins!" Misty concluded.
In the end, the Shiny owl proved too much to handle for Brendan's team.
"Man, I lost," the white-hatted boy sighed, returning his fallen Pokémon.
Brendan was by no means bad at Battling, but Casey's Shiny Pokémon proved too much of a challenge to beat.
The group with the added New Bark Town resident took a break as there was an outdoor table big enough for all of them.
"You 3 came along?" Casey asked the children.
"Yeah, our Moms said we could!" Ethan answered readily.
Due to being in the same town, Casey was well-acquainted with the children since they played in Elm's Lab quite often.
Then, the purple-haired girl began to fidget and scanning around the group which made them restless.
"Um, are you alright?" Blue asked worryingly.
"Hm? Oh, it's nothing!" Casey blushed.
Brendan and Misty immediately understood what was going on, holding their piece while Gary and Blue looked at each other in confusion. The Johto companions would not say anything unless Casey brought it up.
"Is something bothering you, Casey?" Elm asked, doubly more worried than the chestnut-haired girl.
"It's just…" she glanced at the redhead and white-hatted boy.
'Don't tell me…' Misty groaned mentally.
'Please don't,' Brendan grumbled similarly.
"Where's the boy who saved me from Heracross?"
The Kanto duo froze with Daisy and Bill covering their mouths. The older Oak sibling unashamedly poured fuel to the fire with a little "Oh, my~".
Gary and Blue stared at her as if trying to dissect her reaction, a flustered mess, before turning to the Water specialist, who turned away akin to a surgeon who failed to save her patient.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" the two Trainers yelled out incredulously.
"How?! How does he do it…?!" Gary pinched the bridge of his nose.
"So it was you?! The one who was attacked by Heracross?!" Blue clamoured, her face a little more than an inch from Casey.
"Um… yes?"
The two were baffled as to how their childhood friend could effortlessly steal the feminine heart despite being so dense.
'I mean, he has eyes for Serena but how does he keep unintentionally raising these flags?!' the chestnut-haired girl sorted her mind.
…
After some much calming down and exchange with the current companions, Gary and Blue had made a physical list for their fellow Pallet Town resident's unbelievable 'achievements':
Kimia
Lorelei (according to Daisy)
Casey
Chikorita (by Misty)
Nana (by Brendan)
"Wait, even Pokémon?" Gary tapped his forehead.
A thousand-yard stare from Brendan told him all that he needed to know.
Poof!
The Goldenrod Trainer's hyena materialized with a reddened face.
"Ruff! Arf, arf!" Nana flustered with high-pitched barks.
"Yeah, sure," Brendan teased with a smirk.
"Grr…!"
"Are you saying you hate him?" Brendan gasped in a faux voice.
The hyena's snout clamped shut.
She knew what her Trainer was doing, easily understanding his play.
However, an irrational part of her did not want to deny it.
"…Seriously?"
…
After some time, everyone began to hike again.
Their destination was close after all.
"Let's get to a Pokémon Centre quick," Brendan said.
His Pokémon were worn out after that battle.
"Same," Casey agreed.
"You'll see it over these few mountains in Greenfield," Oak assured.
"Greenfield?" the purple-haired girl parroted.
"Weren't you on your way there?" Misty wondered aloud.
"No, I've been wandering around without a map."
The Gym Leader decided that the first thing they do once they reached Greenfield was to get the poor girl a map. It was a traveller's lifeline, and it was a wonder how Casey had not gotten lost yet.
Her luck was certainly much higher than a certain person's.
"That said, I didn't think I was this close to Greenfield," Casey remarked with a hint of excitement.
"Is the place that famous?" Gary quirked a brow.
The Kantonians were not familiar with Johto, save for Professor Oak and Daisy.
"It's famous for its view," the older Oak sibling answered.
"In fact, it's one of the most beautiful locations in Johto."
"I used to come here for holidays when I was a kid since it's just southeast of Goldenrod City," Bill added.
"I remember making a specialized laptop for Professor Hale back then since it was a joint present for little Molly."
"Molly? Oh, that little cutie!" Blue recalled.
"Oh, I remember," Gary did as well.
"Who's that?" Lyra asked, carried by Daisy since the little girl was tired.
"Professor Hale's daughter. The one who we're going to meet," Elm answered, earning a nod from the child.
Molly Hale, the daughter of Professor Spencer Hale.
Whenever a researcher's child was born, it went without saying that their colleagues would be familiar with them.
Gary and Daisy Oak were such examples even though they were Oak's grandchildren.
The Oak siblings were amicable to other children related to the Professors with the sole exception being Brendan since he lived in Johto and not Hoenn where his father, Professor Birch, was situated in.
Gary remembered an Arven from Paldea but could not remember his parents' faces since they were always busy. Being somewhat intelligent himself, the orange-haired boy clearly recalled being good terms with him.
'Wonder how he's doing now?' he asked himself.
However, there was no doubt that Daisy was the standout of the bunch since she was the oldest among them. The second oldest was someone she kept in contact with: Professor Magnolia's granddaughter, Sonia.
Other than her best friend in Hoenn, Sonia was the second closest person to Daisy.
'Been a while since I've caught up with Sonia… Maybe I'll drag Marge with me so us girls can go on a small trip!'
The brown-haired woman had already planned out her 'girl's outing' already.
"C'mon, everyone. We're going through a shortcut!" Oak called out from the front.
The two researchers were quite spry for their age while younger ones were lagging behind. Even Daisy, who was carrying Lyra, and Bill, who was carrying most of their luggage, were close behind compared to the others.
"Even this is hard for me…" Brendan inhaled some sweet air.
"Really," Misty nodded.
Despite their travels, the Johto group's endurance minus the missing member were not as high as the latter. They were convinced that had it not been for them, their third member would have completed the Gym circuit even faster.
'Seriously, I don't think I've seen that guy tired before,' Brendan thought to himself.
He only ever saw that person energetic and fit as a fiddle despite the insomnia he heard so much about.
"To add to what Daisy said, Greenfield's a beautiful little town with beautiful gardens with a beautiful mansion right at the top," Bill supplied helpfully.
"But the gist is that everything in Greenfield's beautiful."
"Oya? Then do I have to step into Greenfield to catch your eye?" Daisy grinned cheekily at Bill.
"I-I already can't take my eyes from you…" Bill looked away with a face as bright as a tomato.
Mutual destruction.
The two shared the same shade of red with Daisy jumping for joy internally while Bill celebrated the fact that he could say that with a straight face.
"This guy…" Gary gave Bill the stink eye from the back.
"Isn't it nice your sister's getting along with Bill?" Misty commented.
A little brother's peeve.
It was universal.
…
Minutes passed and the group finally exited the forested area, their steps entering a gentle slope of colourful flowers.
"How pretty…" Lyra awed.
"You like them?" Daisy cooed as she shifted her arm more comfortably for the girl.
"We'll be able to see Greenfield once we climb up this hill," Bill pointed out.
The two laughed with an admiring Lyra, painting a picture of the 3 as a family.
Gary contemplated for a moment before sighing to himself, no longer showing his animosity towards Bill.
And finally…
"Wha?!"
As they reached the top of the hill of flowers…
"What's going on…?"
…A land of crystal greeted them.
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.
.
A wasteland of gems.
The flowers and greenery stood still, forever encased in their prison of glass.
And the unnerving part was…
Creak, creak!
It was spreading.
Like a cancer to an organ, it would soon consume Greenfield.
The newcomers watched in horror as the once beautiful location slowly dyed in the uncaring crystal's march.
"This substance…" Oak observed the crystallizing flower.
He recognized a similar pattern before.
"Gramps, what's all this?" Gary asked curtly, making sure the others do not cross over carelessly.
"I'm not sure but it definitely resembles the phenomenon in Paldea," the grandfather answered with a cautious tone.
The orange-haired boy pondered on his grandfather's words, slowly coming to the conclusion of what he was describing.
It was Paldea's most renowned phenomenon.
"No way… Terastallization?" the boy widened his eyes.
]=[
ATL Entry: Terastallization
Also known as the Terastal phenomenon. It was discovered around 140 years ago at the bottom of the Great Crater of Paldea. Utilizing a specialized orb, it was able to enter Pokémon into a transformation called Terastallized State or Tera State for short, turning them into Tera Pokémon.
In this state, a Tera Jewel would appear above the Pokémon's head and causes the Pokémon's body to glisten like polished, faceted gemstones. This changed the Pokémon's defensive Type to its Tera Type, removing all other Types.
Not much was known about this phenomenon as it only occurred in a limited number of locations such as Paldea and a lesser-known region called Kitakami.
]=[
As everyone looked upon the wretched city of glass, their eyes were magnetized to the prominent appearance of the epicentre of the crystals:
At the centre were twin towers of jagged crystalline thorns, looking down upon the land like oppressive rulers. Covering them were gigantic glass-like lotus petals, pink in colour and intimidating in appearance. Additionally, there was a circular perimeter of castle walls, crystalline and added another layer of defense to the centre. Tendrils of enormous inert crystal vines snaked everywhere, turning the low airspace into a jungle of glass.
"It looks horrendous…" Blue scrunched her face in disgust at the ruined environment.
As they neared, they could see what was crystallizing the grass and flowers:
Lights of blue reminiscent of a certain person's strange powers.
'No way… AURA?' Gary and Blue figured, both recalling Riley's description and the former's final battle.
Wheee, whooooo! Wheee, whoooo!
Sirens wailed in a distance, causing them to turn the source.
Ambulances came as if in a panic and Officer Jennies in motorcycles came in droves.
News reporters arrived in their vans, screeching towards the Pokémon Centre in a hurry.
A nearby reporter had already begun their news coverage as the group decided to head to the safe zone.
Hotel Richissime, Kalos Region
Shuffle…
"Yaaaawwwnnnn…"
A long yawn emanated from a waking honey blonde; her blanket overtaken by her two foxes. The Cores woke up, synchronized with their caretaker's schedule.
"Good morning… you two," she greeted sleepily.
"Good morning, Serena," they wobbled.
With a well-earned stretch, the pink pyjama wearing Serena ambled to the kitchen with the Cores on her shoulders.
Already used to them, Serena's shoulders felt lighter than usual as if carrying them had become an accustomed practice.
"Serena, you do not need to attend education today, right?" Squishy asked.
"Yes, there is no need to wake this early," Puni-chan agreed.
Glug, glug…
"Well, a certain dummy calls during this time so I have to be awake," the honey blonde poured a glass of milk.
Because of her mother's words, Serena had begun living alone in the penthouse with Grace coming over a few things to check on her.
Cynthia, although airheaded at times, was incredibly responsible when it came to Serena as she made sure the penthouse was taken care of during the holidays for the girl. This included food as well.
Sometimes, the honey blonde wondered if she was taking advantage of the woman's kindness.
'Maybe I should find something to do to repay Cynthia,' she thought to herself.
'I've heard of a popular Paldean influencer…'
It was taken into consideration but shelved for now.
However, since her mind was on the certain influencer, Serena decided to watch their stream since she had nothing better to do.
"Here you go, you two," Serena placed a pair of plates with chocolate muffins on them.
The two Cores thanked her and dug in while the honey blonde switched the TV on and proceeded to find the streaming app.
"Is this news?" Puni-chan wobbled in question.
"Nope, this is a livestream that's similar to the news but the reporter, or streamer, is able to give their thoughts on things. It's pretty popular," Serena answered.
As she found the stream, Serena pressed 'Play'.
Loading…
{ Ladies aaand gentlemen-su! It's time for the Iono Zone! }
{ Hey, hey, heyyy! }
{ Your eyeballs are MINE—caught in my [Electroweb]! Whosawhatsit? Iono! 'Ello, 'ello, hola! Ciao and bonjour! }
Onscreen was a young girl of a slightly short stature. She wore a yellow sweater and a pair of Magnemite-shaped hair pins that seem to move on their own, mimicking her expressions. Under her sweater she is wearing a halter neck top exposing her shoulders. The girl also had light blue and pink hair with a bow shaped design in the front and sharp pointed teeth. She also wore a necklace and a pair of metallic grey boots, each attached with a metal screw. A single grey legging covers her right leg, while a single black strap was tied onto her left leg.
"What an… animated young lady," Squishy startled.
"Indeed, I had no idea that humans could be so… full of energy," Puni-chan wobbled.
"She's Iono, a Gym Leader candidate in Levincia," Serena commented.
"Gym Leader candidate, meaning she is not?" the Cores queried.
"Yep, she's the same age as me this year and since she doesn't have an official License, she can't become a Gym Leader."
The Cores nodded before remembering someone else.
"What about the young man with lemon hair?"
"Clemont? I think he said that he aced Professor Oak's examination shortly after those 3 took it. After that, he got the official License."
They nodded in understanding. The Zygardes had surface knowledge about human society but as for the underlying parts, those were helpfully provided by Serena.
{ Big news! Big news! }
Iono's vivacious expression was suddenly turned into one of genuine shock as the livestream switched windows, showing a muted live channel onscreen.
{ Wowzah, chat! Sumthin's goin' down in Greenfield! }
Hearing that name, Serena's eyes shot up in alarm.
Her fingers were swift, switching the livestream to the actual news this time.
{ Behind me lies the normally peaceful town of Greenfield. }
A female reporter for the Johto news was shown as her expression, though neutral, still showed signs of grimness in her eyes.
{ But the once beautiful Greenfield has lost its namesake as it had undergone a disturbing transformation. Officials are baffled by this phenomenon as they have concluded that it is similar to Terastallization in the Paldea region. }
{ Furthermore, the spread of these crystals seemed to have originated from the mansion of Pokémon researcher, Spencer Hale. According to his fellow, he has been reported missing for a few days now. }
"Impossible!"
Serena turned to the sudden cry of disbelief, widening her eyes at the two Cores. They were showing signs of fear in their singular eyes, both visibly trembling in terror at the field of gems.
"Squishy… Puni-chan…"
The honey blonde's blood ran cold.
"…What's happening?"
The Cores alarmed state quivered.
"Serena…"
A terrible event had sunk the land.
"The land has been invaded."
The beautiful crystal screamed for more.
"…By what?"
The looking glass sang.
"…A Marble Phantasm."
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.
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Greenfield, Johto Region
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
The group made it to the Pokémon Centre, shocked to see a large number of people already inside.
They were terrified, their homes overran by the crystal vines, subsequently turning them into gem-like dollhouses.
Eyewitness accounts said that not even trees were spared as they turned into sculptures of glass with ruby apples hanging as their ornaments.
However, the rivers and streams did not transform which was a relief.
The crystals, they were beautiful.
And yet, deep within the human mind…
They screamed of danger.
"Alright, children. Come take a rest here," Misty beckoned the 3 to a large bed.
The Professors had already booked a large room of the Centre's myriad of rooms, easily fitting all of them inside with more space than normal.
It was a blessing that the Centre was large enough to accommodate so many people and Pokémon.
Casey and Brendan decided to take care of the kids since they felt out of place, btu not before Silver spoke out.
"Um, Professor? Who's Professor Hale again?"
The two researchers looked at each other, their frowns twisting upwards into a fond smile.
"Spencer is a researcher regarding Legendary Pokémon, more specifically, the Johto legends," Elm answered.
"Only Johto legends?" Gary raised his brow.
"If it's a researcher who has the most knowledge regarding both myths and Legendary Pokémon, it would be the Sinnoh Champion," the Johto researcher said.
"Cynthia?!" the two students of Pokémon Academy exclaimed.
"I mean, she did say she was an expert but to this extent?" Gary was impressed.
"Was she being humble?" Blue was the same.
The image of a winking Cynthia with a cutesy victory sign and a 'Tee-hee!' was slowly morphing into a cool and charismatic woman.
Her image had been repaired with this one revelation.
Cynthia was not only a Champion but was considered a researcher as well. In fact, if Professor Rowan, the Sinnoh Professor, were to retire, the blonde woman would be the optimal choice. That was how knowledgeable Cynthia was.
Knock, knock.
Oak opened the door, revealing it to be Schuyler and the butler.
"Professors!" Schuyler bit his lip in frustration.
"Schuyler, what has happened?" the elderly man asked.
The orange-haired boy was surprised.
He had never seen his grandfather with such a grave expression before.
However, Daisy was different.
She had seen her grandfather like this before.
It was 11 years ago, when the elder sister had to say an untimely farewell to a mahogany-haired woman.
Passed away from childbirth.
Although she could not know, Daisy could tell her grandfather was somewhat haunted by that night. She herself was as well, which was why the woman was so affectionate to the baby who survived.
'I hope he doesn't come…' she prayed, knowing how that person would react.
"Molly… She's still inside!" the researcher cried out in pain.
In an instant, everyone's skin crawled with terror.
Oak's grave expression now morphed into a dreadful one.
The elderly man had to sit for fear of losing balance.
"Gramps!" Gary held his grandfather's shoulder.
"Grandpa…" Daisy held his hand.
"Not again…" Oak squeaked.
"I can't lose another child…"
Post traumatic stress disorder.
The Professor suffered it as a parting curse from the death of the mahogany-haired woman.
He, who had lost the woman who he thought of as his own daughter…
Was now terrified of losing his friend's daughter.
"Samuel…" Elm patted his friend's back.
With a heavy sigh, Oak steeled himself as he stood back up.
"Let's try our best, Inoue," he nodded to his Johto colleague.
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.
.
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Hotel Richissime, Kalos Region
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
"Marble Phantasm?" Serena repeated in confusion.
"A World reconstruction through probability alteration, without the need for barriers. It connects the will of the user to the World, transfiguring it into anything they desired," Squishy explained, visibly in distress.
"However, it is locked only onto the surroundings, meaning humans and Pokémon are not affected since they exist independently of the World. In short, it is also called Imagination Realization," Puni-chan continued.
"...I get that second part but can you try explaining the first part? Probability alteration?" Serena tilted her head.
"Hm, very well. Take for example, a bag of marbles," they began.
"Inside the bag are 99 black marbles and 1 white marble. You can say that picking the white marble is a 1% chance, correct?"
"Okay, I'm following so far," the girl nodded.
"A Marble Phantasm is the ability to raise that chance to 100%. Metaphorically, the black marbles represent a 'no change' scenario while the white marble represents this 'crystallizing' scenario. A near-impossibility turned natural."
"Ohh…" she understood now.
"Could you two do it?" Serena questioned.
"No. Since we are extraterrestrial beings, we are not permitted to in the eyes of Akasha. In exchange however, to a certain degree, we are able to possess knowledge of… Never mind that," they stopped suddenly.
The honey blonde narrowed at their sudden halt before realizing something weird.
"Wait, you said 'without the need for barriers'. Doesn't that imply there's a variant which does use barriers?" the honey blonde asked again.
She was sharp.
The Cores were impressed by the girl's ability to pick up certain details.
"…Yes, it's an ability all Legendaries regarded as Gods possess."
"It is called a Reality Marble."
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.
.
Hale Mansion, Greenfield
Molly sat on her crystal bed, seeping into the warmth of Entei's body.
Despite the chilling atmosphere, the fiery beast's fur kept his master warm.
The broken laptop opened in front of her had been repaired.
Anything Molly wished; it would be done.
The little girl already had her Papa.
Her Mama would not be out of reach as well.
'Mama…' she hugged Entei's could-like fur.
However, she knew.
Despite all the power she had, the little girl's fear overtook her.
If her Mama could not be resurrected, she would lose her mind.
Even inside that tiny body, Molly knew instinctively what would happen if the worst came to fruition.
Her eyes of blue naturally drifted towards the news channel on the laptop, trying her best to stave off the lingering thought.
{ Professor Oak and Professor Elm! }
{ What do you two think is going on here? }
The scene turned towards the two researchers who began to answer the impromptu interviews.
Molly recognized the Kanto Professor but was not interested as to what they were talking about.
Even so, most of the things they were describing and theorizing would quickly go over anyone's head without sufficient knowledge.
Instead, the little girl turned her attention towards the background; catching her eye were a group of children with a certain person she knew:
Daisy Oak.
Her warm smile, assuring the children that everything was going to be alright.
Her motherly embrace as she carried Lyra who was too tired to walk.
And finally, her loving air that calmed Molly's turmoil.
Slowly, the little girl's eyes were pulled towards the photo frames brought from her room, courtesy of Entei.
The photograph of the Hale family with Professor Oak and the Pallet trio.
Completing the picture was a younger Daisy Oak, almost 3 years ago.
The dissociation restarted, clutching the mind of the young girl as it clouded her memories.
Molly's own mother, who she could no longer remember; her face began to distort.
Glitching static corrupted her memory as it replaced her mother's face…
To Daisy Oak.
"Papa?"
"Yes, Molly?"
"…"
"I want a Mama, too."
Entei travelled his eyes, placing the target Molly wanted in his view.
He studied the woman onscreen, who was chatting with Bill.
Now knowing what his 'daughter' desired, the Flame Emperor growled gently.
"If that is what you wish," he bowed.
Without a sound, the large leonine dashed at unparalleled speed…
…Towards the direction of the Pokémon Centre.
.
.
.
Hotel Richissime, Kalos Region
"Reality… Marble?" the honey blonde tasted the unfamiliar term.
"A Projection of one's inner world. A spell that likens the birth of the Original One," Squishy expanded.
"It is a barriered space that infringes itself onto Gaia, temporarily overriding it," Puni-chan nodded.
"As per our earlier example, a Reality Marble doesn't raise the chance of the white marble being picked from 1% to 100%… It instead turns all black marbles into white," they explained more.
"This is an unnatural occurrence in Gaia's eyes unlike Marble Phantasms and thus, she will actively correct it."
Serena took a moment to digest the information, slowly figuring the words and details of the Verdant Guardians.
"…In other words, it's bringing your soul into reality?" Serena smacked a fist onto her palm.
"That is an abridged version but yes, that is an apt description."
After hearing about the Darkest Day and Arceus, the honey blonde's mind was numbed from any surprises. Nothing could feasibly top the history of the world, but this was a close second.
"Wait, doesn't that mean you two can use it? Y'know, Fusion D*nce and all?" the honey blonde asked.
"Indeed, but that would require the 'fusion' you speak of as well as all of our Cells."
"Bummer."
"Indeed."
"So can anyone use the Reality Marble?" she queried again.
"The Gods are able to as well as some of the lesser ones like Ratatoskr."
"As for humans…"
"There isn't a single human who could create one."
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0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Pokémon Centre, Greenfield
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
6 people sat around a patio table, underneath a large parasol to shield them from the sun.
Daisy and Bill had finished calming the children with Casey offering to stay with as the purple-haired girl was confident in her experience with handling children. Not only that, since Casey was also someone from New Bark Town, she was the best candidate to entertain the children.
Other than Daisy and Bill, Gary and Blue sat with them along with Misty and Brendan.
"It's already afternoon, where's that idiot?" Gary sipped on his coffee with an irritated look.
"Knowing him, he pro- no, definitely got lost," Blue sighed.
Said idiot's Pokémon were most likely scolding their Trainer at this point.
"Now, now, I'm sure he's arriving soon… hopefully," Bill defended weakly.
"Fufu," Daisy snickered at the face of the researcher.
"Daisy-nee!" Ethan yelled out enthusiastically.
The New Bark trio ran towards the brown-haired woman with eagerness.
After spending so much time with her, the children were absolutely enamoured with Daisy.
"Are you all fine now?" she asked.
"Yeah!"
The children who were just horrified by the crystallizing scenery had recovered thanks to Casey. The purple-haired girl was very good at taking care of children.
As the kids approached…
DOOOM!
'This feeling…!' Gary stopped right in his tracks.
'…What is this?' Blue halted as well.
'I just got the chills…!' Brendan quickened his breath.
'Something's coming!' Misty darted her eyes everywhere.
'The children!' Daisy pulled them behind her, pushing herself as a shield.
'There!' Bill stood up from his seat in a panic.
A pressure like no other was racing closer.
Stomp!
It was only a singular moment.
An empty space of grass in front of them.
Stomp!
The next the humans knew…
There was a personification of a volcano gazing upon them with authority.
'When did it…?!' Gary swerved with a fright.
Without missing a beat, the Trainers' Pokémon summoned themselves.
All of them materialized, immediately protecting the humans.
"Roooaarrr!" Arcanine bared his fangs, trying his best to intimidate.
"Kyyyaaa!" Espeon moved in front, a look of anxiousness present.
"Arf, arf!" Nana growled as aggressively as possible.
"Goru!" Golduck slammed her webbed palms together, aiming it at the enemy.
The humans. The Pokémon.
They would all bare witness to the overpowering figure in front of them.
A massive leonine with the presence of a volcano:
The Flame Emperor, Entei.
"Seriously, a Legendary Pokémon?!" Blue got ready to battle.
The reason why Entei's appearance was well-known was due to its legend.
Together with Suicune and Raikou, the Legendary Beasts were considered a recent legend.
Not only that, but the Beasts were also known for their roaming nature in Johto which caused many people to witness them, thereby reducing their elusiveness.
Due to their uncommon appearances, many Johto denizens attributed their fleeting figures as a sign of good luck.
'Good luck, my ass! Feels like I'm up against a boss monster!' Brendan gulped.
Hesitation was present in the air as Entei gazed silently at the humans.
One by one, he stared for a lingering second before moving on.
But in that one second, the humans felt a blazing pressure upon them.
And finally…
His eyes of fire stopped at Daisy.
"You—"
"Don't touch the children!" the elder sister glared, almost snarling protectively.
Her interruption was a show of anger, to make sure Entei's sights were solely on her.
For all she knew, Entei's goal was unclear, and this was objectively the best option if she wanted to save the kids.
"You…"
Entei's repeat got everyone on edge.
All the Trainers shared a single momentary glance at each other.
Their muscles flexed in anticipation while the commands were on standby within their throats.
And finally, Gary started.
"You are Mama!"
"Let's go!"
"[Flash]!" Blue commanded.
A bright light from the purple feline's gem shined without warning.
The sudden distraction shielded a large canine torpedoing from above.
"[Close Combat]!" Gary chained his attack with the former.
A claw strike from above neared Entei before the latter sidestepped to the side, reacting to the surprised expression on the large canine.
"[Water Gun: Sharpshooter]!" Misty followed up.
A piercing beam of water shot from the palms of the blue duck.
Her attack was precise, being able to find a direct angle towards Entei without hitting Arcanine in the process.
'Got 'em!' the redhead thought.
But contrary to her belief…
Sizzle…
Her bullet of water fizzled out into a string of vapour before it could contact Entei's fur, eliciting a shocked expression from both Trainer and her Pokémon.
"Wha?!"
The fiery beast turned his head towards the blue duck, blasting his blazing body and heating up the area.
'[Flare Blitz]!' Bill recognized, protecting Daisy and the kids behind him.
"Like hell! Espy, [Protect]!"
A lilac forcefield cut the path, intercepting the blazing beast, and cancelling out the attack. The purple feline hissed ferociously at the seemingly confused Entei.
'No matter how strong you are, [Protect] is still a guarantee block!' the chestnut-haired girl wiped a bead of sweat from her brow.
'Even if the opponent is a local deity!'
The orange-haired boy let out a sigh of relief before noticing the grass that Entei stood on previously.
'The crystals?' he widened his eyes.
"Amusing. However, my goal is still unfinished," the living volcano said.
'Wait a minute, I didn't notice before but… he talks?!' Brendan realized, breaking from his high tension.
"Heh, looks like you're like Mewtwo," Gary smirked with a sweat-filled expression.
The Legendary Beast paid him no heed as his eyes were locked onto one person and one person alone:
Daisy Oak.
"You are Mama."
A surge of power emanated from the beast, slamming itself into Daisy's body.
"I…"
The elder sister's eyes began to cloud.
"I am…"
And within moments…
"I am Mama…"
Her mind was overtaken.
"Daisy!" Bill cried out at the staggering woman.
But she was no longer there.
The humans and their Pokémon froze in horror.
Daisy seemingly disappeared.
But they turned back to Entei, only to find the older Oak sibling already unconscious on the back of the leonine. The cloud of smoke on its back wrapped itself around the woman so that she would not fall.
'It can manipulate the smoke?!' Misty noticed.
"Well met, humans."
Poooffff!
A blast of smokescreen covered the entire surroundings, clouding the Centre and its outdoor area with obscuring gray.
"Motherf—!" Gary coughed, trying his hardest to catch any sound.
BOOM!
A sudden explosion rang behind them with a familiar hoot above them.
"Noctowl, [Defog]!"
A gust of wind unravelled the smokescreen, revealing to the Trainers and children a tired-looking Casey with her Shiny Noctowl.
"Casey-nee!" the children cried out.
Towards the sound of the explosion…
"Moooo!"
Was Professor Oak with a serious expression.
His Tauros, aged but volatile, stood against Entei.
"Unhand my granddaughter," the elderly man ordered.
"Samuel Oak…" the fiery beast growled.
But as soon as Entei spoke, both Oak and consequently Elm on the side suddenly froze.
Their eyes widened with saucers at the sound of the Legendary Pokémon , seemingly horrified by him.
"That voice…"
"It can't be…"
But that momentary pause was the exit Entei needed as he dashed away with Daisy on his back, completely evading Tauros.
"WAIT!" Gary stormed off towards the already fading figure of the beast.
"COME BACK HERE!"
Blue and Bill took off as well, sharing a look to retrieve the orange-haired boy.
It was not long before they found Gary collapsing right in front of the crystallizing fields, his screams of anguish echoing around the gems.
"RAAAAAHHHHH! COME BACK HERE! DAISYYYYY!"
His screams turned to whimpers as the reverberating land of crystal seemed to mock him by repeating his wails.
Cackling, the crystallization fastened as if to laugh at Gary even harder.
"Daisy…" he muttered into the ground.
"Green, let's go…" Blue pulled him up from the ground.
"...Let's regroup. We'll see what we can do la-" Bill's words were cut off with a swift punch to the face.
"GREEN!" the chestnut-haired girl shrieked.
"It's fine," Bill stopped her.
"Why didn't you protect her?! She was right next to you!" Gary shouted in fury.
The orange-haired boy was no longer making sense.
He saw how fast Entei moved and still lashed out against Bill.
"She's gone… I couldn't save her…"
The man stayed silent, letting the boy vent out his powerlessness.
"Daisy…" Gary gritted his teeth in frustration.
Pat.
Despite Gary's blow, Bill merely responded with a pat on the younger Oak's head.
"For now, let's go back. We'll save Daisy with a higher chance if we have a plan, right?" Bill said with a comforting tone.
"...Okay," Gary nodded in defeat.
.
.
.
"Hm?"
A single waft in the air clued in on the general direction where trouble was brewing.
"This smell…"
A particular form of synaesthesia unique to the person.
He began to move.
This time, the right direction.
"This ain't good."
.
.
.
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Crystal Tower, Greenfield
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Struggling eyes opened against the heavy lids.
They laid themselves upon the appearance of a little girl with blue eyes and light brown hair.
'Where am I?' Daisy wondered to herself.
With the help of her arms, she sat up from her laid position.
As she did, the woman found herself on a large bed with pink covers.
"Mama!" Molly exclaimed happily.
'Mama?' the woman questioned again, slowly tasting the word.
"You called me Mama?"
Her tone was robotic, devoid of life.
Her eyes clouded, without light in them.
But Molly did not care.
Her mother's figure, her appearance…
They were all replaced by Daisy Oak.
The little girl's disassociation was getting worse.
Her safety net was gone, unknowingly whisked away by the floating symbols.
But at the same time, he was there by the bed.
A four-legged volcano.
"Yeah. And I'm Molly, remember?"
The little girl was unknowingly trying to rewrite the hypnotized woman's memories.
Wordlessly, Daisy took Molly into her arms, hugging her within them.
"Molly. Mama," she repeated.
Sweeping gently across Molly's hair, Daisy fell into her role.
Entei moved closer to them, reinforcing his role as well.
"Thank you, Papa. Can we all stay like this forever?" the little girl wished once more.
And like before, the fiery beast repeated his words.
"If that is what you wish."
Molly was at her happiest right now as she melted into Daisy's embrace.
As she enjoyed the moment…
The Unown danced above.
Pokémon Centre, Greenfield
Hours later, the group gathered in their room with the Professors facing their respective computers with a severe expression written on their faces.
"It's spreading faster," Elm adjusted his glasses.
The crystals that resembled Terastallization were encroaching Greenfield at a rapid rate. The lofty crystal towers seemed to grow more gigantic at each passing minute while the surroundings get more and more enormous as well.
At the current time, it looked as if it was a battleground encased in dangerously beautiful crystals.
Jagged thorns, towering lotus petals.
Surrounded by hanging serpents of glass.
They all glistened hypnotically under the evening glow.
"At this rate, it'll cover the entire area. It's like a mini kingdom at this point!" Brendan could not believe his eyes.
"Screw that. How do we get Daisy back from Entei?" Gary interrupted impatiently.
The people present knew of Entei's legend. Rather, it was nigh-impossible for anyone to not know of the legend since when compared to other Legendary Pokémon, the Flame Emperor's was fairly recent. Not only that, it shared its lore with 2 others.
"About that, I think the more pressing matter is the Pokémon with it," Schuyler added.
"The Unown, is it?" Elm reminded.
"The Pokémon you and Professor Hale were researching when he disappeared."
"Yes. They're inside the mansion with Molly," the man informed, biting his lip at the mention of the girl's name.
"Before that, regarding that Entei…" Oak rubbed his temple.
"This is just my gut feeling but…"
.
.
.
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Charicific Valley, Johto Region
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Outside Liza's abode was a fountain.
And at that fountain, was a certain Charizard.
He had finished his daily training, drinking from the spring's water to hydrate.
The orange dragon had underwent countless duels but had yet to win once.
Despite that, the denizens of the valley were impressed by his drive and sought to battle him.
"Grr~" he growled with fulfillment at the taste of fresh water.
Before Charizard could fly off some solo exercise, his ears caught heed of a TV report within Liza's house. Thankfully, there was an open window for him to listen in.
"Oh, you're done for today?" the green-haired woman noticed him with a smile.
The orange dragon nodded towards Liza gratefully before turning to Charla with an acknowledging grunt.
But the visitor next to the woman led the orange dragon doing a double take before the man in question raised a hand as a greeting, already knowing his identity.
{ The mystery has taken a disturbing turn as early this afternoon, our camera shot this video of Daisy Oak… }
"Grr?!" Charizard extended his neck further in with eyes of bewilderment.
{ Being abducted by what seems to be Entei as her brother gave chase. }
"What in the world?!" Liza shot up.
The man got up as well, preparing to leave.
"Liza," he ordered.
"Loud and clear," the green-haired woman nodded.
As the woman jumped out of the window Charizard peeked through, she shouted across the valley with an authoritative voice.
"YOU GUYS, GATHERRRRRR!"
The echoing shout carried itself all over and soon, the beating of wings could be heard everywhere.
All of them.
From every angle possible.
The guest flipped his cape as he stood next to Liza while Charla ambled next to Charizard.
And then, every single Charizard was present.
All of them heard the call and answered.
"I'll take it from here," the caped man offered.
"Be my guest," the woman gestured.
The Charizards stood at attention. They usually did not take kindly to humans.
However, this particular one was different as they knew his strength.
"We're heading towards Greenfield for a search and rescue."
That guest was none other than…
"Move out now!"
The Johto Champion himself.
Liza shouted once more.
"You hear that, you guys?!"
"Let's go!"
The Charizards were going to war.
"ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRR!"
.
.
.
.
.
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Hotel Richissime, Kalos Region
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
It was now dark at Greenfield, accompanied by the loud buzzing noises of vehicles.
{ Right now, bulldozers are trying to break through the crystallized landscape. }
Serena watched anxiously with her foxes and Cores as the screen showed multiple bulldozers destroying the crystals, crushing them underfoot as they ventured deeper into the heart of the destruction.
"Will it work?" Serena muttered to herself.
"As much as it pains us to say, Serena…" one of the one-eyed blob narrowed.
"Technology would never stand a chance against a Marble Phantasm."
True to their words, the worst happened.
.
Molly watched as the bulldozers crumbled and destroyed the crystal landscape.
The flowers and vines were not spared. All annihilated without a trace.
The camera showed it all for her to see.
And she was displeased.
"No! Go away!" she threw a tantrum as she stomped the crystal floor.
"Leave us alone!"
The floating symbols had formed a sphere around the portal they came from.
As soon as Molly stomped onto the floor, the Unown received her command.
With some singing and computing, they obliged.
.
The honey blonde gasped in horror at what was unfolding.
On TV, the bulldozers were stopped…
Crash!
By slithering serpents of crystals.
Accompanying them were spikes of glass that tore through the metallic hull of the vehicles.
Screams of terror and panic blasted through the speakers, eliciting a shocked gasp from Serena. Fennekin and Eevee yipped frightfully as they curled up close into their Trainer's arms.
"Whoever is the current user must be agitated," Puni-chan surmised.
"Those are just crystals! How can they be so powerful?!" Serena could hardly believe her eyes.
'It must be an imitation of the Indigo Disk's Authority,' the Cores shared a look.
'To think Akasha has data about it as well...'
.
.
.
"Seriously?! That Entei is…?!" Misty gasped.
"I know it's hard to believe, but there's no other explanation," Oak sighed lengthily.
"But… the timeline checks out," Schuyler agreed hesitantly.
"First, Professor Hale's disappearance, then this weird Terastallization, and now Entei. It's like a puzzle with the pieces falling in place…"
"You guys are missing the point here," Gary spoke up.
His expression had twisted to one of distress as he formulated the current situation.
"...The question shouldn't be 'why' it's happening. What is the 'how'?"
There was only one answer.
It was the singular constant variable:
"The Unown… Just what are they capable of?" the orange-haired boy grimaced.
'Seeing how Daisy went with Entei almost too easily… Perhaps mind control?' he hypothesized.
'Judging the speed he swiped her, a degree of subsonic speed isn't impossible. What's more, smoke manipulation? Argh, there's so many damn abilities!'
"Whoever that Entei is doesn't matter," Brendan gulped, causing everyone to turn to him.
"I mean… We're talking about the Flame Emperor. He's a literal minor deity of Johto!"
A godlike existence. Even if Entei could never compare to the likes of the Sinnoh pantheon, it did not change the fact about Entei's status, minor or not.
Ding ding!
"A voicemail?" Oak stared at the notification.
Within that mail was a video recording of an indignant Molly staring furiously at them.
{ Mama and Papa and me just want to stay by ourselves forever, so stay away! }
This was the first time they had seen Molly, excluding Schuyler. The ones who had met her before were too shocked to notice how much she had changed from her previous visit in Pallet Town.
{ Everybody leave us alone! }
Beep!
"Molly!" Schuyler clenched his fist with guilt.
"Did she say her mother and father were with her?" Misty noticed.
But all of them knew of Professor Hale's disappearance as well as Molly's mother's unfortunate event.
"...If we go by Gramps' theory, some things start to make sense," Gary dismayed.
"Green? What are you… Eh?!" Blue realized at the last minute.
All eyes were on the orange-haired boy as he drew his conclusion.
"Entei came with a motive: He came for Daisy," he began.
"He called her Mama so Molly's so-called mother's identity is obvious enough."
"So Entei's role in all this is obvious enough…"
The realization crept up their skins as Professor Oak's wild hypothesis was getting realer by the second.
"Entei's true identity really is…!"
Crystal Tower, Greenfield
"Ahahaha!" Molly laughed as the world around her moved swiftly.
She was riding on Entei's back with his smoke acting as a seat belt while the latter pranced around the large bedroom with careful steps.
"This is just like before, Papa!"
And a dazed Daisy smiled while watching…
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.
.
An hour passed since then.
Outside the Centre was an orange-haired boy staring at the distance towards the Crystal Tower.
"Caw, caw!" his Pidgeot trilled, earning a pat from Gary as thanks before returning it.
"I see. So that ridiculously long and large ramp is the only way in?" he said to himself.
The mansion was covered by crystals but the entrance remained the same. However, the building seemed to have elevated, now standing atop of a rather steep hill.
Between the glassy fields and the Crystal Tower that had taken the mansion's place was an inclined plane. It resembled a drawbridge with the tower or rather towers acting as the 'castle'.
"Tch, so what? I may be practically announcing myself but at this rate-"
"So you're just gonna ditch me?"
Gary spun back to find a fuming Blue alongside Bill, Misty and Brendan.
"Ah."
"You were going off on your own, weren't you?" the chestnut-haired girl chastised.
"This is my sister we're talking about here. It's got nothing to do with y-"
"It's got everything to do with me!" Blue interrupted.
The boy's words silenced, staring incredulously at the girl.
"Daisy's family to me too. So I get it…" Blue shivered.
"I get what you're feeling now. But!"
Shimmering blue eyes stared deep into jade green eyes.
"Don't try to shoulder everything by yourself. Let me carry some of your burden too."
Gary's lips pursed, his fists clenching tightly before letting go.
"Don't abandon me…"
"I'm not abandoning you," he let out a sigh.
"Damnit… Since when did you start sounding like that blockhead?"
Taking another second to gaze upon the earnest girl, Gary broke out a meek smile.
"Fine. You guys…"
"Please help me."
Gary bowed. It was a humbling act, out of character for someone like him.
But this time was serious. His elder sister was on the line after all.
"Geez, that's all you had to say," Misty scoffed.
"Daisy's someone important to me so I would've done the same thing as you," Bill nodded to himself.
"Just a FYI, I better not be calling you 'Nii-san' anytime soon after this," the orange-haired boy pointed accusingly.
"That's too earl- Wait, no! It's not what you're thinking!" the researcher blushed.
"Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that," Gary gave a dirty look before looking towards the white-hatted boy.
"Brendan, I need you to stay."
"Ehhh?! I may not look like it but-!"
"I know you're strong. Misty told me," Gary shook his head.
"But what we're going up against is a Legendary Pokémon. The 3 of us excluding Bill have experience against one. You might have hear of him on the news."
"Wait, do you mean Mewtwo?! You guys fought that Pokémon?!" Brendan exclaimed.
"Sure did. Though, we were mostly carried by Mr Swords-for-Brains."
"Yeah, we were next to useless during the second part…"
Brendan understood the gravity of what they were facing after hearing Gary and Blue's accounts.
But what he could not believe was that the person who 'carried' them was revealed to be his fellow companion.
Sometimes he wondered what else his companion had not storied about himself.
"Besides, we need you at the Centre," the redhead comforted.
"Yeah, it's about our tardy trump card," the chestnut-haired girl smirked.
That momentarily stunned Brendan.
"...Tardy trump card?"
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0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Hotel Richissime, Kalos Region
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
{ We're coming to you live once again in Greenfield. }
{ Presently, there seems to be no change to the crystal landscape before us. }
Serena had been watching the news since the Greenfield situation unfolded. Due to the time difference, it was afternoon for her while Johto was night.
Because the past hour was silent, the honey blonde swiftly made food for her Pokémon and the Cores before promptly returning to her seat.
"Serena, you should take a break," Squishy worried.
"Yes, it is fortunate your friends had not made into news coverage," Puni-chan agreed.
"I'm fine, you two. But until this thing ends, I don't think I can relax," she smiled weakly.
"Fou…" Fennekin curled closer.
"Vui…" Eevee licked the honey blonde's hand.
She was appreciative towards her Pokémon signs of affection, trying to help her relax.
"Thanks, you two."
{ What in the world?! }
The camera was a sudden blur of red as Arcanine sped off towards the gigantic ramp. Above them was Pidgeot carrying Bill.
{ There are children approaching the crystal fields! I repeat, there are children! }
Serena froze as she saw Gary, Blue and Misty on the red canine as they took off.
"This is bad…"
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.
.
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Pokémon Centre, Greenfield
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
"WHAT IS THAT CHILD DOING?!" Oak snapped angrily.
The Professors, or rather, all the adults were in a panic while Casey comforted the 3 children. Brendan joined the latter temporarily as the children were beginning to wonder if they would ever see Gary or Blue again.
They were an imaginative sort and so, they could not stop their imaginations from going wild.
'Trump card? They said I'll know what it is when it comes but I don't even know!' the white-hatted boy pondered.
"Just wh-"
BAM!
The room's door was flung wide open.
And everything instantly clicked for Brendan:
The tardy trump card.
Oak and Elm gasped at the sight of who had arrived.
"You're…!"
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BOOM! BOOM!
Crystal vines erupted from the glass earth, their arrow-like heads primed towards the speedy Arcanine, completely ignoring Pidgeot and Bill.
"Damnit! If I knew this would happen, I would've taken the aerial approach too!" Gary complained jokingly.
"A bit too late for that!" Blue laughed maniacally as the adrenaline ran high.
Misty was just holding onto Arcanine's tough fur for dear life, completely conceding control to Gary.
"Pidgeot, I'm not your Trainer but can you lend me your strength?" Bill requested his aerial mount.
"Caw!"
With a nod, the researcher commanded the great bird.
"[Air Slash]!"
Blades of concentrated wind ejected from Pidgeot's wings, speeding their way towards the crystal serpents and severed them cleanly.
BOOM! BOOM!
Arcanine evaded the falling debris flawlessly while accounting the passengers riding him.
The fruits of his training paid off.
"Nice going, Bill!" Blue gave a thumbs up.
"Go up ahead, the right's blocked!" the researched called out, acting as the ground unit's eyes.
"Got it!" Gary replied loudly into the air.
And so, they all made their way towards the inclined drawbridge.
…
The little girl watched as the camera froze on the faces of the Trainers on Arcanine's back.
"I don't understand, Mama. Why are they trying to get into our house?" Molly asked, visibly upset by Gary's actions.
However, Daisy's brows began to crease as if she was focusing.
"Ga… ry?" she uttered out.
Then, the camera spun upwards, revealing Bill on Pidgeot's back.
"Bill?"
Finally, her dazed eyes returned to normal.
She had broken out of the mind control.
"What are those two doing?!" she shouted indignantly.
"Mama?" Molly jolted.
Seeing the worried look on the little girl's face and the wary expression on Entei's, Daisy quickly returned to her neutral expression.
"Nothing," she answered as robotic as possible.
Thankfully, it did not seem to trigger any sort of caution from the two to which Daisy sighed inwardly.
"Say, they're Pokémon Trainers, right?" Molly wondered aloud.
"Must be nice…"
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Screech! Flap, flap!
After much maneuvering around the sleeping vines and walled crystals, the rescue team arrived at the base of the drawbridge.
Between them and the entrance was the aforementioned inclined plane that spanned about 2 kilometres long and a width of around 500 metres by Gary's estimation.
'Oi, oi. This isn't funny. How the hell did that little girl think of something this ridiculous?' he was bewildered by the scale.
Twin towers of crystal surrounded by a wall of pink lotus petals.
Whether it was Molly's design or not, Blue had to give unwilling props to the architect whoever it was.
"Seriously, there's a moat as well?" Bill looked down at the circular pit around the lotus.
The trench was deep and beneath it, they could spot spikes of crystal waiting for any unfortunate prey that fell into their jaws.
"My legs just felt like jelly all of a sudden…" Misty shivered.
"Arcanine, are you good to go?" Gary asked his ace.
"Grr!" the canine nodded, though anyone could tell he was tired.
Poof!
"Kya!" Espy mewed as she created a Psychic bubble with a hole.
"Hm? Do you want me to get in?"the redhead interpreted to which the feline nodded.
Misty took a moment to gather her thoughts before realizing what she was getting at.
"Ohhh, you're worried for Arcanine?"
Espy nodded.
"Normally I would get angry at being indirectly called heavy but I'll let it slide this one time," Misty conceded as she entered the bubble.
The lilac sphere floated with Misty inside while Espy rode on Arcanine alongside Gary and Blue. Due to the redhead's absence, the red canine felt a lot more lighter.
This was not to say Misty was heavy, but rather two children plus a feline were way lighter than a teenager.
"I'm definitely going on a diet after this…" the Water specialist cried tears of shame.
Rumble… Rumble…
BOOM!
"More vines?!"
"Tch, [Flamethrower]!" Gary called out.
"Continue using [Air Slash], Pidgeot!" Bill followed suit.
A stream of flames burned the incoming serpents while wind blades sliced them. A combination attack of desperation as they frantically fended off the sudden ambush.
"Damnit! I thought these things don't attack when we're this close to the towers!" Gary clicked his tongue.
"Blastoise, in! Push them back with [Hydro Pump]!"
The cannon turtle materialized and proceeded to blast the crystals with concentrated water.
BOOM! BOOM!
Pieces of debris fell onto the ones on the ground. The orange-haired boy shielded his eyes, feeling a sharp pain on his protecting arms as the crystal pieces cut him.
To make matters worse, it did not seem to stop any time soon.
"Shit! Bill, get everyone to the entrance!" Gary cried out.
"Arcanine, take Blue and Misty!"
"Huh?! Stop joking around, Green!" the chestnut-haired girl rejected.
"Yeah, we're not leaving y-" Bill was swiftly cut off.
"LISTEN! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE HERE IF EVERYONE STAYS!"
Their mouths clamped shut, not noticing Misty banging on the lilac sphere. However, she was not onboard with Gary's idea, that much was obvious.
"[Hydro Pump], 1 o' clock!"
BOOM! CRASH! BOOM!
The assault never slowed despite that.
Instead it seemed to ramp up.
"Bill… Take them and save my sister," Gary begged wearily.
His arms were adorned with dirt and light cuts, courtesy of the crystal shrapnel.
His mind was fatigued from the barrages.
Blastoise was at his last legs, panting for air.
WOOOSSSHHHH!
"Wha?!" everyone gasped in horror.
The crystal vines, though sturdy in appearance, twisted around each other. Their combination created a titanic drill of spiralling knives as it aimed towards them.
'This is impossible…' Misty was speechless.
With a second to process…
WOOOSSHHHHH!
The serpentine crystal drill stabbed the air, rushing towards the intruders.
'Shit… Is this it?'
…Never noticing a bright flash of gold piercing through the darkness.
CALIBURN!
|Golden Sword of the Victorious|
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!
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0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Hotel Richissime, Kalos Region
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Serena was horrified to watch what was happening.
Though the news camera zoomed to its limit, it could only see Gary and the others as small visages. However, it managed to capture the sheer amount of hostile crystal structures coming after them.
"There's too much…" the honey blonde's eyes began to water.
"Fou, fou!" Fennekin yipped desperately as if to beg the group to retreat.
"Vui…" Eevee covered her eyes with her paws, unable to bear watching.
"How cruel…" one of the Cores lamented.
"To think a child conjured such a thing…"
Then, the largest construct revealed itself as it reared its head above the sky.
Serena could not move at the sight.
She may not present there, but the sheer size and deadliness of the drill-like head stopped all of her muscles from even twitching.
'No… Run. Please run…'
'Please…'
{ THE CHILDREN ARE ABOUT TO BE CRUSHED! }
With one last desperate plea… the honey blonde screamed.
"SAVE THEM!"
And a blade of golden light severed the darkness.
{ BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM! }
"...Huh?"
The cameraman toppled down, unable to resist the sudden force of a golden explosion.
A ray of light in the darkness of night.
Serena felt her heart welling up as she realized what was happening.
'It must be him!' her lips curled upwards.
There was no proof. There was not even a logical leap.
However, Serena knew.
That person was...
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.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!
A cloud of dust ran amok around the group, echoes of coughs emitting from below.
None of them were prepared for the blinding light that destroyed the enemy.
"Cough, cough! What happened?!" Gary tried to peek through the obscuring smoke.
"Blue, Misty! Are you two alright?!" he called out.
"Cough, yeah! We're okay!" the redhead answered back.
Flap, flap!
"Gary, I brought Pidgeot down!" Bill cried out within the clouds of dust.
"Okay! Pidgeot, [Defo-"
"I got it."
Schwing!
A crescent slash slashed the dustclouds, banishing them from the surroundings.
Instantly, everyone was staring at the night sky.
The stars and clouds greeted them.
They were mesmerized by the sight that two cries brought their attention back.
"Pikachu!"
"Kero!"
Everyone spun down, only to find a yellow mouse and blue frog waving lazily at them.
Surrounding them were the remains of the drill-like fusioned crystal, their parts crumbled into rocks.
"Pika…chu?" Gary muttered before widening his eyes at the realization.
"Froakie!" Misty and Blue squealed in delight.
Both of them being here, the reason was obvious.
Bill's expression turned into one of excitement.
"Man, since when did you guys start taking a page outta my book?"
The voice came from behind them as everyone turned to see who had arrived.
An okami mask with glowing bloodred eyes.
Messy raven black hair that flowed in the night's wind.
And an ornate sword in all its splendour.
Right here. Right now…
"YO, ENTEI!"
Among the fragments and crystals…
"PIKACHU!" / "KERO!"
"LET'S START THE HOUSEWARMING!"
Ash Ketchum joined the battle!
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A few hours ago…
The raven-haired boy had finished up his project, wiping the sweat off his brow with an accomplished expression.
"Whew… Made it just in time," he grinned as he beheld his masterpiece.
"Thanks for the guide, Zacian."
To anyone listening in, they would have thought the boy had gone crazy as it seemed like he was talking to himself.
However, the truth was far from it.
"Alrighty, now that that's done. Pikachu, Froakie, you guys done with that?"
"Pikachu!" the mouse huffed proudly as he and his fellow handed a wrapping paper.
The paper was as red as his eyes with tiny sword doodles on it, the handiworks of the two Pokémon.
Ash sweatdropped as he stared at the shortened crayons that they were using.
"Man, you guys really did a number on them, huh…"
"Pika…"
"Kero…"
Both of them rubbed their heads in embarrassment.
'And I just bought this 600 piece set not too long ago…' he shrugged.
The two Pokémon had a bias for yellow and blue since red was out of the question due to the colour of the paper.
"Welp, let's wrap this up and race to Greenfield as soon as possible," Ash stretched as he and his Pokémon began their little arts and craft session.
…
"Argh! I'm late as hell!"
The raven-haired boy leapt from branch to branch while Froakie and Pikachu followed. Due to the rough terrain below, he decided that jumping from tree to tree was a more efficient route. And due to Ash's natural affinity towards parkour, it was light work.
'Weird, I'm pretty sure I covered quite some distance but I ain't feeling tired at all…'
Tmp!
'Hm?'
As the boy passed a tree trunk, he noticed a faint glow of red on its oaken body.
"Wait, am I using AURA?!" he exclaimed.
True enough, Pikachu and Froakie corroborated his claim as they saw the glowing eyes.
"Huh, what? Because my body unconsciously went into fight mode?" Ash talked to himself.
The raven-haired boy was confused before feeling a chill down his spine as he neared Greenfield.
"Hm?"
All three screeched to a stop as Ash took a moment to process the sudden wafting scent:
"This smell…"
"This ain't good."
The scent of crystals and fire.
.
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.
.
"That's how I ended up here," Ash finished his recounting.
Gary and Blue were stunned by the boy, not because of his description of the events leading up to his arrival but his current appearance.
The raven-haired boy was equipped with his Sword and Dagger but his face was obscured by an okami half-mask that revealed only his mouth. His torso was covered with a black hooded cape that hid his normal outfit below.
Everyone also noticed the single belt holder on his back that was tailored for holding his sword.
"And? What's with that cringy getup?" Gary smirked.
"Shut up, it's game over for me if anyone saw me using Caliburn," Ash shot back.
The two shared a short laugh as they revelled in their reunion with Ash pulling Gary up from his stumble.
"Ash! You're back!" Misty and Bill beamed.
"Yeah, sorry it took me so long," he apologized.
"Are you sure you didn't get lost or something?" the redhead eyed accusingly.
Rumble…
"Again?" Blue complained.
"Oh look, something else to pay attention to," Ash deflected immediately.
BOOM!
More crystal worms erupted, this time right in front of the entrance.
Blastoise replied with [Hydro Pump] as the worms' bodies burned a hole from the pressure.
"Ah, ahhh… Looks like you pissed them off with 'holy water'," Ash drawled lazily with his inappropriate pun.
"Huh? It's your fault, blockhead. Using your nuke sword all willy-nilly," Gary scoffed.
"HUH?!"
"HUH?!"
The two began arguing at each other, causing the others to panic.
All except Blue who just gave a shrug.
Fwooshh!
"You wanna settle this?!" Ash twitched.
"I'm still 1 win ahead of you! That isn't changing anytime soon!" Gary growled back.
"Hey, hey! It's coming!" Misty panicked.
FWOOOOOOOOOSSSS-
"Goddamnit, just-" / "For the love of-"
Lightning and flames manifested.
"SHUT UPPPPPP!"
And blasted the crystals into dust.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Pikachu sparkled his cheeks, happy to give his all for the first time in a while.
Arcanine snorted, the blazing heat surrounding his paws.
"You got the plan, Red?" Gary rode on the red canine with Blue.
"Loud and clear," Ash grinned as he brandished Caliburn.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
"We'll clear a path for you guys."
With a twisted smile, Ash blasted forth.
"Froakie, [Pierce]!"
"Kero!"
The blue frog's needle extended and stabbed, blowing up holes into the crystal serpents as they fell.
Arcanine and Pidgeot followed the boy's lead with Pikachu acting as a bodyguard as he swatted away all the incoming debris without any lag and attacked anything that was after Pidgeot and Bill above.
Left. Right. Strike.
Those were the options Ash and Froakie saw as the vanguards.
Retreating was not an option. Not even a backstep.
Without even saying a word, they covered each other as they evaded and attacked when the other was preoccupied.
The humans stared in wonder at the teamwork between the 3 as although Pikachu was acting as the rearguard, he did occasionally protect the two when unforeseen variables came out such as an additional crystal construct.
Their memories of Mewtwo resurfaced but this time, the masked boy was demolishing the enemies without breaking a sweat.
Within minutes, they cleared half of the distance towards the entrance.
At the same time, the gigantic vines ceased.
Creak! Creak! Creak!
Now, it was an army of crystalline soldiers blocking their path, their armour resembling playing cards vaguely.
Ash seemed to notice it but rushed ahead without hesitation.
Before the soldiers could even use their weapons…
Schwing, schwing!
"Outta my way!"
They were effortlessly obliterated by the joint efforts of Carnwennan and Caliburn. With Reinforcement to boot, there was no stopping the masked boy.
"Did he… get stronger somehow?" Blue blinked owlishly.
"Well, Riley did say his body was weird to begin with, remember?" Gary chuckled nervously.
Finally, they arrived at the mansion doors.
"Whew, we got here earlier than I predicted," Ash hurried the others.
Due to being able to access his full AURA reserves unlike his forced one, the raven-haired boy's energy had not even dipped much despite releasing Caliburn and Reinforcement.
He hypothesized that the two times he forced AURA to activate due to Zacian had contributed to Exceeding, making it somewhat of a cheat.
'I feel great!' Ash beamed.
"Okay, let's go get Dai-"
DOOOOOOOOOMMMM!
The sudden switch in body language from Ash jolted the others.
"Whaddya mean it's coming? Above?" he started talking to himself.
Everyone was visibly weirded out as if Ash had seemed to lost his mind.
However, Misty narrowed her eyes at him.
"...You guys, get in and save Daisy."
Ash's demeanour changed as he stepped out with Carnwennan and Caliburn.
His Pokémon stood beside him as they prepared for battle.
"Red, what's going on?" Blue reached out.
"Green, Misty. Get Blue away from me now," the bloodred eyes glowed ominously at the empty drawbridge behind them.
As they did, what Ash was apprehensive about made its appearance in the form of a flaming crash.
BOOOOOOOOOM!
"Humans."
A volcanic leonine growled at them, visibly displeased by their appearance.
"Leave now and never return."
Everyone felt the intimidating air around their necks as if Entei was trying to strangle them.
However…
"Radiation."
An unseen force emitted from Ash's body, freeing the ones behind him from the clutches of the leonine.
"What?" Entei blurted out.
"Learnt that one recently. Neat, ain't it?" Ash smirked arrogantly.
But in truth, he was clutching his weapons tightly, slight trembling present.
The reason being the amount of AURA that Entei was giving off.
'The scent of fire… No, now that I'm this close, I can smell rocks and ashes…'
'Is this the scent of volcanoes? This is some crazy pressure…'
A wide grin crept upon his exposed lower face.
"You guys go in. I'll handle this."
"Hey, don't be crazy, Ash!" Bill scolded.
"Yeah, if we all go in-" Misty was interrupted.
"I bet this guy's not gonna make this easy," the masked boy said plainly.
With a glance back, he shot a smile towards Gary.
"Go, Green. I'll be right behind you guys."
A momentary silence as the flashes of Ash's dead body flickered.
But the confident smile he wore resolved Gary.
"If you die again, we'll make sure Serena never visits you," he warned.
"Scary… I'll do my best."
"Just hold out against him. We'll be as fast as possible."
This time, Ash stayed silent.
In response, he merely waved backwards with his Dagger in hand.
However, everyone noticed his silence.
Their faces twisted in worry and anxiousness as they knew what he was thinking.
After all…
'Sorry, but…'
Ash Ketchum never lies.
'Don't ruin this for me.'
"...Tch, damnit!"
With that, everyone entered the Crystal Tower.
All that's left was Ash and his Pokémon with Entei.
"How foolish, AURA Wielder," Entei growled.
"Holding out against me? You would be fortunate to last 10 seconds."
"...Pft."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
A maniacal laugh rang out, making itself known across Greenfield in the dead of night.
The leonine narrowed his eyes, wondering if the boy had gone mad.
"Yeah, yeah. Stop nagging, focus on him right?" he talked to himself, reinforcing the Legendary Pokémon's belief.
"What was that again? Holding out against you?"
"Don't gimme that shit. Right now, I'm as happy as a lark."
Twin bloodred orbs glowed menacingly with a demonic grin baring its fangs at the enemy.
A sense of danger overwhelmed Entei as he automatically defended against a sudden blade to the face.
CLANG!
The force of the slash had the leonine falling back, regaining his footing as he leapt a few metres with a shocked expression.
"What's wrong? This your first time getting attacked?"
Schwing, schwing!
"I'm gonna beat you before they're done…!"
With one single step…
BOOOOM!
BOOOOM!
They charged towards Entei.
"Flame Emperor Entei!"
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Within the mansion, Gary and the others found themselves in a peculiar situation.
"...Where are we?" Misty gaped at the surreal surroundings.
They found themselves in a vastly different world as now, everyone was standing among a heavily wooded forest with a single path. Scattered around were comically large mushrooms of red and white circles.
"Woah… it's like a fantasy land…" the researcher awed.
As Misty, Gary and Bill marvelled at the sight, Blue was the only one who was clearly alarmed by the area.
"Blue?" Gary noticed.
"This place… I think Red noticed too," the chestnut-haired girl glanced around.
The orange-haired boy stopped to understand what she meant before remembering the new type of enemy they encountered when they neared the entrance.
"...Those soldiers. They were wearing armour with card numbers engraved on them," Blue elucidated.
"This place, those soldiers… Where do you think we're in?"
"Wait, no way!" Misty got it and paled.
This was a fictitious land.
A land of wonder.
"We're in Wonderland?!" Bill shouted in disbelief.
No one blamed his reaction for this was an impossible scenario to begin with.
As soon as the man's voice echoed, the grass began to form a crystal sculpture.
But this was different as the crystal morphed into a living being.
A living being that was quite familiar.
"Molly?" Gary quirked his brow.
'No, it can't be. We just met her like 3 years ago, she couldn't be this old!'
It was indeed Molly Hale. However, her appearance was that of an 18-year-old rather than a 6-year-old as assumed by the boy.
Her hair had grown much larger, in addition to becoming a lighter blonde which reached her shoulders. Her dress was a darker shade of blue with a white coat over it, her bow was worn on her neck while wearing her a pair of dark brown boots. She also wore a pair of black-and-white, yo-yo themed earrings.
"Hi there!" the woman greeted cheerfully.
'Now I get it. It's the sequel book,' the chestnut-haired girl solved.
'Molly's older not because she aged, but because time works backwards like in the story.'
In this moment, Blue understood that wherever they were, it had its own set of rules.
"Are you Molly-chan?" the girl began asking.
"That's right. After watching your Pokémon battle, I wanted to try my hand in it!" she nodded enthusiastically.
"I see. Then, Molly," Misty caught on as she raised her hand.
"Can I be your first opponent?"
"You will?!"
"Of course. I'm a Gym Leader, after all."
As the redhead volunteered, the rest caught sight of a crystal stairwell leading to the top.
"Leave this to me. Go," Misty shooed them away.
As she did, a battlefield emerged from the forested land, closing off the adult Molly and Misty. In the brunette's hand was a PokéBall made of crystal.
"Balderdash, Haigha and Hatter!"
Her summoned Pokémon were a dust-coloured bipedal rabbit that resembled a soccer player and a purple ghost that seemed to wear a witch's hat.
"A Shiny Cinderace and a Mismagius, huh?" Misty recognized.
[=]
Cinderace, the Striker Pokémon
It juggles a pebble with its feet, turning it into a burning soccer ball. Its shots strike opponents hard and leave them scorched. It's skilled at both offense and defense, and it gets pumped up when cheered on. But if it starts showboating, it could put itself in a tough spot. Although Cinderace loses its cool easily, it will battle flawlessly for a Trainer it trusts. Using a ball that it made out of flames, Cinderace blinds its opponents and keeps them at bay.
[=]
[=]
Mismagius, the Magical Pokémon
Its cries sound like incantations. Those hearing it are tormented by headaches and hallucinations. It is said that the cry may rarely be imbued with happiness-giving power. Mismagius have been known to cast spells to make people fall in love, so some people search for this Pokémon as if their life depended on it. It appears where you least expect it.
[=]
As the remaining three rushed up the stairs, Blue also took note of the names of Molly's Pokémon, or rather crystal imitations of them.
'Did she name that rabbit Haigha? So that's the March Hare?'
'And Hatter, that's obvious who.'
Her assumption of the mansion being influenced by Wonderland was correct.
Seeing Misty's serious expression, they left it to her with confidence.
"Now that everyone's gone, looks like there's no reason to hold back," the redhead stretched.
"I'll be using 1 Pokémon. That's alright with you, Molly?"
The brunette was caught off-guard before the redhead took out a PokéBall.
"This one's my adopted baby. It's been a long time since he's been in a battle," she said.
"I was going to show him off during the Grand League, but controlling our bond was a tad difficult since it was a new experience for him."
While she talked, Molly watched as the Gym Leader reached into her pocket to fish out a shiny object.
'What is she talking about?' the brunette grew even more confused.
"And now, the reason why he's going to take centre stage is because we did it," Misty continued as she replaced her normal hairband with the object she took out.
"Say, Molly… No, you're not even Molly, are you?"
The redhead faced the brunette with a new hairband tying her side ponytail.
Now, there was a beautiful sphere-like gem dangling on it…
Within it was a helix symbol.
"Go, my steady."
A summon that released a towering serpent as he roared his entrance, glaring at the two Pokémon that had the misfortune to stand before him. On his crest was a protector with a similar stone, but bigger and matched the Atrocious Pokémon's colour scheme.
"Gyarados."
"ROOOOOAAAAARRRRR!"
"I wouldn't be using this on a child since they'll probably get nightmares," the redhead explained.
"But since you're a fake, I'll make sure to release my pent up frustration onto you."
And just like that, Misty chanted with a bright light flashing.
"Mega Evolve."
.
.
.
.
.
CLANG!
A metallic screech rang across the crystal lotus as blade and claws clashed.
'This human…!'
'This guy…!'
Bzzt! Bzzt!
"PikaaaaCHIIIIIIII!"
A thunderous roar flashed towards Entei, forcing him to disengage.
Meanwhile, a rope of white wrapped itself around the blade wielder and pulled him towards the blue frog.
"Thanks, you two," the masked boy thanked.
"Pika!" / "Kero!"
'Shit, we're getting nowhere like this…' Ash glared at the fiery beast.
Ash and Entei had landed on the overhanging crystal vines, both assessing the few blows they shared.
'Why hasn't he used his flames yet? Is he still going easy on me?!'
'Who is this?! How do I not know this human?!'
Entei was holding back, his flames still sleeping.
Ash was hiding his Projections, a trump card he would show last minute.
"That sword and dagger…" the leonine began.
"Caliburn and Carnwennan. How did you come across such divine relics?"
"I got one of them for free and yoinked the other one," the masked boy answered nonchalantly.
Entei gave an unamused stare.
"Pika…" (Dude…)
"Kero…" (Phrasing…)
'I'm not lying though?!' Ash countered mentally.
"Who are you?"
The 3 were taken aback by the sudden question.
Entei's stance seemed to shift into an intimidating one as he demanded to know.
But the boy simply gave a confident grin as he answered.
"I'm Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"
"The future Pokémon Master!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
.
.
.
{ AM… AM I SEEING THIS RIGHT? }
Even the news reporter could not believe what she was witnessing.
Serena watched the footage in shock as Entei suddenly found himself in battle against a masked person.
Their duel consisted of merely simple attacks and blocks, neither using their powers; just blade and claws.
Then, it escalated. Their fight took to the skies as they used the hanging vines as platforms before clashing again.
The Pokémon partied with the masked person acted as supports.
Amidst all the chaos, Serena definitely knew the identity of the masked person.
"Oh no…"
Her breathing quickened, but unlike previous times, she managed to keep herself together.
"That's Red," she concluded.
"Indeed, the Sword and Dagger are a dead giveaway," Squishy agreed.
Her disarrayed thoughts adjusted into a coherent line as she wanted to help Ash in any way she could.
"Squishy, Puni-chan," she started, bowing her head slightly.
"Please-"
"Of course, dear."
The honey blonde spun up, surprised by the sudden approval before the Cores could even know what she was requesting.
"We know what you want, Serena. In fact, we were wondering if we should help the boy before you even spoke."
Their gladful wobbling brought a smile to Serena's face.
"How would you like our assistance?"
The honey blonde clasped her hands together.
.
.
.
The faint explosions below echoed softly into the ears of the ascending group.
"Hey, I'm hearing some ridiculous booms back there. Is Misty going all out on Molly?" Gary said questioningly.
"Technically, she's not Molly…" Bill added.
The stairs began to change its formation into a slither while their surroundings changed from the wooded area into a deep green crystal chamber adorned with stalks of glass bearing fruits of red bells.
It was fantastical to the point none of them were sure if their eyes were deceiving them. Soon, the exit showed itself on the ceiling in the shape of a flower with the stairs leading into its pistil.
…
Daisy sat on the large bed, gently patting the resting girl on her lap as she deciphered what Molly was going through.
'I see… You've been lonely here, haven't you?' she frowned at the sleeping Molly.
'Being by yourself for so long even before this… I can't imagine how painful that is for you.'
"But I'm sorry, Molly. I can't be your Mama," Daisy whispered.
The little girl was asleep yet her hand began to close into a desperate clutch as if she was scared of losing Daisy.
"Daisy!"
The brown-haired woman spun to see Gary, Blue and Bill running towards her.
"Shh…" she put a finger on her lips as she pointed to the sleeping Molly.
"Is that her?" Bill asked hushly.
The two Trainers gazed at the little girl. Despite being the reason Daisy was kidnapped in the first place, Gary could only wonder how much Molly was suffering to go this far.
A small child granted godlike powers.
It was unfair to blame the girl.
"Molly," Daisy rose the girl awake.
"Mm… Mama?" she rubbed her eyes.
The woman shook her head as she sat the little girl on the bed while she bended to her level.
"I'm very sorry, Molly. But I'm not your Mama."
"Eh?"
"I'm actually a sister. To that brat over there, unfortunately."
Gary shot a spiteful look at his sister but quickly changed when the Hale turned to meet his gaze.
"Hi, Molly. Do you remember us when you came to Pallet Town?" the orange-haired boy smiled.
Molly studied both Gary and Blue, recognizing them but not as well as another.
"Oh, right. You were closer to Red, weren't you?" Blue remembered.
The chestnut-haired girl recalled how much the toddler glued herself to Ash and Pikachu.
"No… Stop lying!"
Molly stumbled away, clutching her head as pain began to circle around.
"You're lying! You're my Mama!"
The Unown sang once more.
MODERATOR IN DISTRESS.
MODERATOR THREATENED.
MODERATOR IN NEED OF PROTECTION.
EXPORTING…
"Stop lyinggggg!"
Crack, crack, crack!
Crash!
Sharp spikes of crystals erupted from Molly's feet as she broke down in tears.
Shrrk, shhrk, shhrk!
Immense shaking startled the humans as the violent rumbles grew exponentially upon Molly's cry.
"What's she doing…?!" Gary shielded his face from the forceful winds emanating from the little girl.
EXPORTING…
EXPORTING…
DESIGNATION 'FRIEND' GENERATED.
In this land of crystals, Molly was Alice.
Her Wonderland was compromised by the invaders who dared to lie.
Her story was in danger, and she needed help.
The little girl begged. She begged for a friend.
A strong one. And so, she called out the story's strongest being.
Molly brought it to life.
"JABBERWOCK!"
SEARCHING ASSET 'JABBERWOCK'…
ERROR: ASSET NOT FOUND.
CREATING…
ASSET 'JABBERWOCKY' CREATED.
"ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRR!"
BASE MODEL: FAFNIR.
A crystalline dragon of the night.
It roared its existence into being as the sharpened crystals shaped its scales.
The glowing blue eyes of flames glared at the humans who were threatening its master.
"A dragon…" Bill widened his eyes at the crystal dragon.
Shrrrnk!
An arc of thorny glass closed off Daisy and Molly within, leaving the Jabberwocky to confront the others.
"Oi, oi, oi! You can't be serious!" Gary clutched his capsules in a panic.
Stomp! Stomp!
The crystal beast's nostrils flared as it inched closer towards the humans.
"Grr, grr, grr!" the Jabberwock burbled.
"Did Molly call this thing Jabberwock?! I'm pretty sure it wasn't a dragon!" Bill panicked.
"No one knows what it is! It's a nonsensical monster!" Blue retorted.
Gary glanced at the glassy prison where his sister and Molly were held up.
Knowing it was a matter of time before they perish beneath the claws of the towering beast, he took action.
"Arc-!"
Booom!
"Goddamnit, who keeps interrupting?!" he exploded.
The crystal floor between the Jabberwock and humans crumbled into pieces.
From the pit of darkness, a jet of water blasted forth.
"Water? Is it…?!" Blue beamed.
The tower of aqua detonated, revealing within a redhead riding a vastly different Gyarados.
"Is that a… Gyarados?" the chestnut-haired girl stared incredulously.
"This is... Mega Evolution!" Bill exclaimed in awe.
]=[
ATL Entry: Mega Evolution
The oldest known phenomenon dating back nearly 3,000 years ago. It bestowed a temporary Evolution to Pokémon, turning them into what was known as a Mega Form. These forms drastically changed the Pokémon's appearance, granting them immense power as well. Due to it being temporary, it only lasted until the end of battle before the Pokémon was reverted back to its original form.
The usage of Mega Evolution required two Stones: a Key Stone and Mega Stone. The next would be a strong bond between Trainer and Pokémon as the Evolution was believed to be a manifestation of the duo's strength. Ergo, it was literally the power of friendship.
It was theorized that the first Pokémon to be Mega Evolved was a Lucario; however, a certain demographic from Hoenn claimed it was their worshipped God that did it first.
Currently, Mega Evolution was not known globally as only a handful of Trainers possessed the required items. But according to researchers, it was said that it would become a commodity in the near future due to an exponential increase in findings of said items: Mega Stones and Key Stones.
]=[
"Misty!" Gary called out.
"I got it! [Hydro Pump]!" the redhead swiftly ordered.
A spiralling blast of cold water landed on the Jabberwock, screeching in pain as it was forced back before tumbling into the wall below.
The black crystalline dragon glared once more at its new opponent.
Gyarados was now Mega Gyarados.
After Mega Evolving, he was now bulkier. The fins on his cheeks had become longer and gain a yellow tint. Its crest was larger and black, and its barbels also gain considerable length. A large spike extended downward underneath his chin, and he now had a black underside with a red stripe around the edges. The yellow spots along its body are replaced by raised red scales and two large yellow fins with blue spines appeared on its back. Most of the other fins along his back disappear, replaced by two rows of blue spikes.
As a Mega Pokémon, he was more akin to an enormous carp rather than a sea serpent.
The broken shards of blackened crystal regenerated as the Jabberwock roared its displeasure against the carp.
"ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRR!"
"ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRR!"
The two tried to dominate the other in a clash of roars but failed to deter one another. Seeing no other way to establish their dominance, the two began their fight.
Misty preemptively got off her Pokémon before calling her out her next move.
"[Ice Fang]!"
The carp's fangs enlarged, frost collecting within them as they sunk themselves into the Jabberwock's neck.
"Grrraaahhhhh!" it hissed before using its jagged arm to puncture Mega Gyarados' scales.
'[Ice Fang] isn't doing anything?! But isn't it a Dragon Type?!'
"It's not a Pokémon, Misty!" Gary warned.
"That thing's probably a True Dragon that Drake and Gramps talked about!"
"Well, that's reassuring!" she clicked her tongue at the annoying enemy.
"[Aqua Tail]! Variation: Sledgehammer!"
Tidal swirls surged around the Atrocious Pokémon's tail, manifesting a hammer-like appearance…
SLLAAAAMMMMM!
And delivered a shattering blow onto the burbling dragon.
"Grr…!"
A rainbow light surrounded the Pokémon before he reverted to his original form, severely weakened and tired after consecutive battles.
"You did good, Gyarados," Misty returned him before preparing for the inevitable rise of the black dragon.
"Even Gyarados couldn't stand against it. Our attacks would be useless if even that didn't faze him," Gary scrunched his expression in terror.
Stomp!
The hissing and burbling from the Jabberwock continued, already up from the sledgehammer-like attack.
From within the enclosed space, Daisy watched in horror as the monster chortled in glee as it moved closer to her loved ones.
"With this, Mama will finally be my Mama!" Molly outraged as she pointed at the 4 humans.
The Jabberwock heard its master's wishes loud and clear, raising its thorned claw high into the air.
"Blue!" the orange-haired boy rushed.
He covered her person with his body, shielding her from the incoming attack.
Blue could not move, her eyes swam in fright as she could no longer process any thoughts.
Bill and Misty glared at the monster with the latter not willing to give up as she threw her cap-
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
The glassy wall separating the gigantic room and the outside air shattered.
CRASSHHHHHH!
Sparks of yellow flew around the room as a shadow with trails of bloodred light slid right below the Jabberwock's claw. A yellow and blue blur zipped beside their master before moving out of the way towards the stunned group.
Entei roared vehemently at the shadow.
The Jabberwock recognized Entei as an ally and so, proceeded to crash its claws onto the other figure.
"Fuck off!"
Crrrr, crrr, crrr!
A series of slashes dismantled the crystal talons, reducing it into pebbles as they rained down onto the floor.
Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!
"Pika!" the electric mouse jumped away, landing in front of Gary and Blue.
"Kero!" the blue frog did the same, brandishing his needle as if to protect Misty.
Bam!
Ash slid backwards, accidentally meeting his back to the crystal prison that held Molly and Daisy inside. Despite that, he was still pointing both of his weapons at the two enemies.
'Oh, great. What is it this ti- Fafnir?!'
The masked boy could not hold back his shock at the sight of the blackened dragon.
The fiery beast stepped forth, growling intimidatingly at Ash.
"Who… Who are you?!"
Everyone looked at Ash, wondering what he did to anger Entei to this extent.
To this, the boy merely responded with a smirk.
…
"Ash… Ash!" Daisy knocked on the glassy prison.
She could see the outside with full clarity, but soon found out that the same was not true for those beyond the glass.
Molly was rooted where she stood, her eyes wide open as to who had barged into her Wonderland:
None other than the boy who played alongside her and his Pikachu.
"A… Ashy?"
…
Entei stared warily at the boy as the latter walked his way in front of the others, his bloodred eyes still trained on the two.
"This is a surprise. I didn't think you were desperate enough to make a Fafnir wannabe," Ash taunted.
"Fafnir? That's the Jabberwock, Red," Blue corrected.
'Jabberwock? Don't remember it being a dragon though?' the raven-haired boy queried mentally.
"Hm? Is that how it is?" Ash blurted out.
"Red?" Gary wondered aloud.
"Just talking to myself, don't worry about it."
"I have yet to receive a suitable answer, human."
Now Ash was beginning to get ticked off.
"I just told you my n-"
"Gary and Daisy Oak. Bill Sonezaki. Blue Leaf. Molly Hale."
The air grew still at the sudden list of names from the fiery beast.
"...And? Dropping government names' ya' kink or something?" Ash sassed.
"But you… I did not know your name."
"It is as if you do not exist…"
Gary and the others expected another retort from the raven-haired boy…
But it never came.
Even with the mask covering his expression, they could tell it was not the first time he had heard of such an outlandish claim.
"...We gonna duke it out or what?" he grumbled.
"You were playing around with me just now, weren't you?"
'This guy! He just ignored him!' everyone thought simultaneously.
"The same goes for you. Barring that peculiar technique that strengthened your body, you have only used your weapons," Entei shot back.
"As such…"
Fwooshhhh!
Tongues of fire circled around the leonine's body while the crystal dragon behind him locked eyes with Ash.
'Oh shit.'
"You are a threat."
"All of you, get bac-!"
His words were cut off by large talons crashing forcefully into his side, catching him by surprise.
CRRRRRAAASSSSSSSHHHHH!
The next thing Ash saw…
'Eh?'
Was the night sky of stars in front of him.
He fell.
And continued to do so.
His mind vaguely remembered the crystal spikes beneath him.
Although Ash was confident in his survival, he was still not willing to go through the pain.
"This sucks…" he grumbled.
Before suddenly, a flash of bloodred glinted in his eyes as he felt something approaching.
"...Hah. You miss me that much?"
ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!
The night sky of black turned orange.
.
.
.
"REDDDD!"
Gary and Blue paled in horror.
It went by too fast.
A moment of Ash's panic turned towards them…
The next, he was gone. Swiped away by the Jabberwock.
"It is over…" Entei growled at the gaping hole they entered.
'What an eerie sensation. My knowledge was derived from Akasha itself, the Root of all existence. And yet…' he pondered to himself.
'How is it that there is no information of Ash Ketchum?'
The more the beast pondered, the more restless he grew.
'A ghost in Akasha? Highly unlikely. Unless…'
He stopped while wearing a horrified expression.
'Ash Ketchum's information requires…!'
Sword of Selection, grant me strength!
A tremendous amount of AURA charged behind the leonine.
Cleave the wicked!
The Jabberwock came to the leonine's defense before a great light washed upon the room.
Caliburn!
|Golden Sword of the Victorious|
SHIIINNNNNGGGGGGG!
The two were blown back by the blinding light. As it dimmed, everyone turned to see the cause of such an attack.
"Pikapi!" / "Kero!"
Large wings of blue-green spread the twilight.
Flames sizzled within the snout of the dragon.
Orange scales that seemed to shine in the darkness of night.
"Rooooaaaaaarrrrrrr!"
"Now we're even, bastard!"
Ash disembarked his reunited friend, his other Pokémon jumped towards Charizard as they exchanged happy greetings with each other.
The orange dragon was very pleased to see his two friends again.
And it was not just Charizard.
The entire Charicific Valley had rallied behind him.
"ROOOAAAAARRRRRRRRR!"
Tremendous roars and orange scales covered the skies.
The raven-haired boy cracked his neck.
"My friend brought his crew here. Ya don't mind, right?"
'Damn, Caliburn's output hits my reserves pretty hard compared to the Projected version,' he complained offhandedly.
Entei and Jabberwock glared ominously, not emitting any sound.
The latter had burned marks from the destructive light.
Ash and his Pokémon were the same as they glared.
The onlookers watched with trepidation at the uncomfortable silent staredown.
Finally…
Tmp!
CRASSHH!
Ash and his Pokémon.
Entei and Jabberwock.
All of them leapt out of the hole in the tower, falling through the air.
Despite that, none of them looked panicked or terrified.
Only straight focus.
Before they could plunge below the thorned pit, the winged ones took flight while Entei summoned a crystal spike as a platform. Pikachu and Froakie equipped themselves onto Ash, who proceeded to use a Frubble rope which coiled around a nearby spike and pulled its user towards it.
Tmp!
Now with his feet planted on the glass-like ground, Ash took notice of wingbeats behind him.
"For crying out loud, I was looking forward to not seeing you, kid."
A masculine voice exasperated behind him.
"Be grateful this Onee-san came to your rescue."
A feminine voice chimed in.
Beside the raven-haired boy came two individuals:
A carmine-haired man with a cape and a green-haired woman with flight gear.
The King of Dragons, Bahamut and the Keeper of the Valley.
"What's our situation?" Lance asked curtly.
"Entei who's not really Entei and a True Dragon wannabe named Jabberwock," Ash answered readily.
"A True Dragon's the stuff of legends. What is it really?" Liza wondered.
"The Unown made it out of the legendary Fafnir. But its strength is far from the real thing?" Ash replied, or rather seemed to be the one parroting from someone else.
"Fafnir?!" Liza recognized the name from the legends passed down by her family.
Entei overheard this, alarming him and putting his guard up.
'This child has knowledge even of True Dragons and able to gauge its strength correctly. He's dangerous,' he thought to himself.
"Can I ask you two to take care of the Jabberwock?" Ash exhaled.
The two adults looked at the boy as if he was crazy, which to Lance was a logical conclusion at least.
"That guy is ours. Don't worry about me, I can handle him," the raven-haired boy assured.
Hearing such conviction, they left the boy and his Pokémon to deal with Entei.
Caliburn and Carnwennan at the ready.
Mask adjusted and eyes on fire.
The boy said his last preparations for his Pokémon.
"You guys, listen to me."
In the next 10 minutes…
"From now on, focus on yourselves."
Ash Ketchum would unleash his greatest Projection yet.
"Don't even try to help me."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
LIZA & CHARICIFIC VALLEY
JOHTO CHAMPION LANCE (BAHAMUT)
ASH KETCHUM (FAKER)
CHARIZARD, PIKACHU, FROAKIE
VS
JABBERWOCK
FLAME EMPEROR ENTEI
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Come!"
A deafening roar assisted the march of serpentine flames as they readied their tongues upon the boy and his Pokémon.
However…
The snakes of fire consumed nothing, only the absent air of where Ash stood.
'Wha-?!'
The leonine's vision blurred, blindsided by a sudden back kick to the face.
BAM!
The sheer force sent Entei flying towards the crystal tower's circular wall.
A pair of bloodred eyes whirred to life.
From this moment on…
Entei's faceplate was visibly cracked as he glared at the boy.
"ASH KETCHUMMMM!"
The Trainer and all three of his Pokémon…
Link established!
Link established!
Link established!
They were now operating at maximum power.
"...AURA, on!"
AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
His howling heart emanated its ferocity.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Crack!
The crystalline shell broke, revealing Molly and Daisy as they were freed from the prison.
"Sis!" Gary exclaimed.
"Gary, Bill!"
The one who freed them… was Molly herself.
"Molly?" Blue whispered.
"Ashy…" the little girl grabbed the hem of her dress.
The Hale stared at the others with begging eyes of tears.
"Onii-chan… Please save Onii-chan!"
Despite everything that happened, Molly Hale truly meant the rescuers no harm. Everything was an extension of Entei's overprotectiveness, a programmed trait as 'Papa'.
However, her wish to preserve her Wonderland took priority. She could never allow anyone to take it from her, even if it were the Kanto natives that she visited long ago.
But only one person broke that notion.
"I don't… I don't want to hurt Onii-chan!"
Ash Ketchum was a special person to the young Hale.
He was the only person she could connect to as someone who lost a family member.
Molly could not fathom a future without her mother, the reason for her disassociation as she would rather run away from her harsh reality.
Pallet Town, Kanto Region (a year ago…)
"Pikachu~" the electric mouse cooed.
"Haha, Pikachu is so cuteee!" Molly squealed.
The soft sunlight beamed above the two humans and Pikachu as the older boy was busy fishing. The two sat on a bridge with the girl's legs dangling below.
"Molly, don't move so much. I ain't fishing ya outta there," Ash chewed.
Pikachu and Molly played around the boy as he continued fishing, relishing the company while he waited.
After an hour of fishing, Ash and Molly sat beneath a tree with a sleeping Pikachu. The raven-haired boy almost threw his fishing rod in a fit of rage as the only things he caught were two halves of a broken PokéBall.
'I should give the red one to Green…'
"Hey, Onii-chan?"
"Yeah?"
"... Nothing."
"You can tell me, y'know? I won't tell anyone if you want me to."
Ash was blunt. He had no tact whatsoever, but that was what gave Molly the confidence to say her worries.
Even if her mental illness would reemerged, she continued.
"...Mama is gone, right?"
"That's what Professor Oak told me, so it must be true."
Ash was beginning to feel he was the wrong person for Molly to pour her heart out towards.
"Ashy's Mama is gone too, right?"
"Yeah."
Pikachu peeked an eye, silently listening in Molly's arms.
"With your Mama gone… How does Onii-chan stay strong?"
"…Huh. Never thought about it."
The little girl studied the raven-haired boy, slightly unnerved by the nonchalance on Ash's expression.
"I never really knew much about my mot- I mean, Mama. I guess that's why I don't feel much about her," Ash began.
"Because of that, I feel like I don't deserve to live. Me being here is a reminder my Mama is gone."
Molly could hardly believe what she was hearing.
The boy she played with, enjoyed her time with, was harbouring such feelings in his heart. Now she felt Ash's woes were bigger than hers.
"I lived 5 years feeling like I shouldn't be here. Can't relate, right?" the raven-haired boy grinned lazily.
'Why are you like this? What is wrong with you…' the little girl unconsciously clenched a fist.
"5 years? But you're 9 this year right?" Molly felt it did not add up.
Hearing this, she saw the most tender smile she had ever seen on Ash's face.
"Well, you see… When I was 5, I met someone during summer camp."
"Who?"
Molly could never forget the sight of how Ash gazed towards the skies, as if he was seeing far beyond the clouds.
"My star. She saved me."
…
The little girl broke down as she retold her past to the others.
As she did, her appearance glitched into her teenage self.
"Onii-chan was so fragile… If it weren't for that person he talked about, he would have definitely ended up worse than me. I don't want that!" she screamed.
The others were shocked. They did not expect how much Ash of an impact he had made on the young Hale. Even as a child, she understood how inherently different the raven-haired boy was.
That was not a feat that should be praised towards Molly.
It was a horrifically disturbing revelation that even a child could tell.
"Molly…" Gary spoke up.
"…How do we stop Professor Hale?"
The teenage girl shook her head, glitching back to her original appearance.
"The Unown won't listen. Something caught their attention…" Molly answered.
"What has?" Misty asked with a gulp.
The little girl pointed towards the gaping hole…
Pointing further…
And finally, everyone's eyes were on the masked boy.
"Inside Ashy..."
"The Unown called for her."
Nobody paid any attention anymore.
For their eyes had been captured…
By the dance of claws and blades.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"ROOOAAARRRRR!"
A fist of lightning aimed at Entei, who dodged it before forming a palm of smoke on his back.
SLAP!
A backhand slammed onto Charizard's face, sending him wobbling backwards.
Running up the wings of the orange dragon was Froakie with a needle of light stabbing towards the eye of the leonine.
"Begone!" Entei roared.
The Flame Emperor sent a bellow that shook the air as Froakie's [Pierce] missed immensely. His claws swung onto the blue frog, but not before a bolt of yellow parried them with [Iron Tail].
"Pikaaa…"
Rumbling sparks erupted from the red cheeks as Pikachu delivered his attack.
"CHIIIIIIII!"
The stinging pain was shrugged off by the beast, earning only a glare from the Flame Emperor.
Fwoossshhhh!
Hot fire swirled around the crystal field as Entei began to envelop the area with them.
Skiddddd!
A screeching slide made its way under the startled leonine.
The bloodred orbs giving off a menacing air before delivering upward kick into Entei's gut.
"Uff…!"
The Flame Emperor felt the attack from the boy.
In disbelief and alarm, the beast primed his claws and hammered them onto the masked boy.
Motes of blue light gathered around Ash's hands as the gigantic claws pinned him down.
CLANGGGG!
Steel sung across the landscape, revealing to Entei a pair of knight gauntlets that had blocked his claws.
'Projection?! And of armour?!' the beast narrowed his eyes.
The raven-haired boy switched gears, changing his block into a grapple as he vaulted over Entei's back and choked him into a headlock.
"Rooooaaaarr!"
A straight [Thunder Punch] connected, breaking off a piece of Entei's faceplate.
'This Charizard is strong. It's safe to assume the army brought here are stronger,' the Legendary surmised.
'Not only that, the Froakie is precise and deadly. Had I faltered, it would've took an eye out.'
The heat around them twirled, scorching the boy above but not before Charizard snatched him and his fellow Pokémon from the burning beast.
'And that Pikachu… If I'm not careful, I might suffer intensive damages.'
[Eruption].
Volcanic lava swept the crystals, burning everything in sight.
Then, Entei began to prance on air, effectively flying.
"Grr?!" Charizard growled in surprise before resuming his flight duties.
Lightning and water charged as Pikachu and Froakie acted as auxiliary for Charizard.
The golden sword reappeared on Ash's back as he took it out of his belt-like scabbard.
As it turned out, none of the Pokémon on the Flame Pokémon's back needed support fire as the leonine leapt high into the air, prompting a widened expression from Ash.
It did not take long to understand Entei's plan of attack.
'The skies…!' the boy spun upwards.
The firmament reddened.
From the bloody heavens came several arrows of lava.
Their sights set on Charizard.
"Roar!"
With the orange dragon relaying his thoughts, everyone held onto Charizard as the latter rolled backwards in the air, his snout now turned towards the lava arrows.
Bang, bang!
Two shots of concentrated [Flame Burst] swerved beyond the clouds.
Finishing his work, the orange dragon tucked in his wings and barrel rolled across the air.
Arrows of lava missed their mark as Charizard protected his Trainer and friends while dodging the attacks with rapid movements.
Distant explosions were heard from above, soon followed by the descent of the fiery beast.
Entei's fall accelerated but his eyes locked with Ash's, neither backing off.
As the beast descended, Charizard opened his large wings once more and sent Ash and his friends into the air.
The Flame Emperor landed harmlessly while the boy and his Pokémon were still in free fall.
Blazing flames collected within Entei's mouth as orange converged.
But the beast wanted more.
'Gather, gather.'
'Until my enemies are reduced to cinders.'
"...!" Ash felt an enormous amount of AURA.
A [Flamethrower] hotter than before.
A stream of purple flames.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The free falling individuals met the flames of purple, bursting into a gigantic explosion of smoke.
'It's over…' the Legendary extinguished his fire.
He was deep in thought that he did not notice a stray bullet of water right in his face.
"Grr! A [Water Pulse]?"
…Followed by a tower of gold hammering onto Entei.
CRACK! BOOOMMMM!
'[Thunder]?! How?!'
The smoke cleared for the beast, beholding the sight of Pikachu and Froakie already on crystal land, their backs faced towards a shadowy portal.
'They were just midair, how did they…'
The answer was made known in the form of Carnwennan in Froakie's hand.
Despite never seeing it in person, Entei's knowledge stemming from Akasha knew of the Dagger's capabilities.
Crash!
A lone figure fell from the sky.
The dustclouds obscured with demonic eyes of bloodred glowing ominously.
Ash stepped out of the cratered ground, his right arm destroyed and charred to a crisp by the previous flames.
"I see. To think you would put your Pokémon first and take the damage yourself," Entei praised reluctantly.
"..."
Despite his injuries, Ash's expression showed no pain nor discomfort.
Only mild annoyance.
In other words, the boy was too focused to care.
Shinnnggg…!
His burnt arm began to heal, golden light danced as they regenerated his limb.
Soon, it was as good as new.
"Caliburn's light," the beast noted.
"Its healing properties are limited so it would not save you."
'But even so, decapitation or destroying the brain would do the trick.'
Entei's thoughts were cut as he began feeling the temperature rising.
He looked up to find a gigantic ball of fire held up by an orange lizard.
[Hellfire].
'It's futile!'
The Flame Emperor charged again, preparing his purple flames.
Stab!
A sharp pain stung the beast's leg as he glanced down.
To his surprise, he found a combat knife embedded deep into his tough fur.
In his confusion, he gazed at the rascal who threw it.
He raised his hand… and tightened to a fist.
"Burst."
'Wh-'
BOOOM!
For the first time since the fight…
The Flame Emperor fell to his knees.
'An explosion?'
.
.
.
[AURA Sphere]
Or alternatively, in Ash's native tongue: Hadōdan.
If taken as literal, it would be 'Wave Bomb'.
The raven-haired boy had not used Projection since the Shamouti Crisis.
Because of being left to his own devices, he began theorycrafting the mechanics of his peculiar power.
Even if Ash was not able to form a simple sphere, his bladed creations were technically his unique brand of [AURA Sphere].
In layman's terms, his Projections were a bundle of AURA in the shape of a sword instead of sphere.
So what would happen if the Projection was Reinforced to its utmost limit?
The answer: Burst.
Like an [AURA Sphere], it exploded from the overload of energy.
However, since Ash's weapons were made to last, the resulting blast was more potent than a regular [AURA Sphere].
The masked boy spared not even a surprised glance despite being his first time using it, for he had confirmed his theory with his godmother since he had no chance to practice.
Instead, he was more curious about the shattered leg of Entei.
Blood was not present, but only the bluish light of AURA within his flesh.
'So his body ain't even real? It's just a massive Projection of a body that looks like Entei,' the bloodred eyes narrowed.
Fwoosh.
Embers of gold climbed around the destroyed leg, restoring Entei's limb as if no damage had even existed.
This regenerative ability shocked the Pokémon, but not their human.
In fact, this was a recorded power within Entei's myth.
'The Flames of Life. It's said to heal injuries and diseases,' the masked boy analysed.
Right now, the one who held the upper hand was Ash.
Entei's strengths was exposed even before the battle due to the myths and fame of the beast.
Meanwhile, the raven-haired boy was a box of surprises for the leonine as the latter was wary every time they clashed.
The Flame Emperor noted the current abilities Ash had showcased:
Mind's Eye was a given due to the child's near-impossible reaction time.
An analytical power that identified things since he recognized the Flames of Life despite never seeing it before.
Large reserves of AURA unnatural by any human or Pokémon's measure in the current era.
A type of Enhancement Entei had never seen before called Reinforcement.
Projections of weapons and armour that were stronger than anything.
All of this combined and the Flame Emperor was still on high alert.
He knew it was irrational but something within the raven-haired boy…
There was something inside him that gave even the Flame Emperor chills.
…
The rumbles of Jabberwock's clash against the army of Charizards and the Johto Champion raged on behind Ash and Entei.
The Valley's denizens numbered around 100, and they were absolutely decimating the crystal dragon thanks to the coordination of their caretaker.
Lance's Dragonite zoomed around the air, slashing and biting the Jabberwock's glassy scales into pieces.
However, it proved ineffective as the crystals regenerated without a care in the world.
"Don't mess with me. All that just to heal up?" Liza scoffed in disbelief.
"Dragonite isn't doing much either," Lance shared the same sentiment.
"Screeeeccchhhhhh!"
The Jabberwock enraged, the two Trainers watched as its large wings expanded.
Its throat scorched bright as heat collected into its mouth.
"Liza."
The carmine-haired man pulled out a PoryPhone, signalling his plan to the green-haired woman.
"Charla, get ready. And all of you!" Liza commanded magisterially.
The army of Charizards.
All 106 of them.
They awaited their caretaker's will.
"Push back that fake dragon's breath!"
A sea of orange roared as they arose the heavens.
Jabberwock addressed its threat.
A laser beam of concentrated fire spiralled into the firmament.
Sizzle…
The darkness retreated.
It sensed the arrival of flames.
The Flame Pokémon lived up to their names.
Fwoosh!
The twilight announced thus:
Let the night be devoured by the Sun.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
[Fire Blast] x 106
vs
Nibelheim
|Breath of Fafnir|
…
The Pokémon Centre afar saw the blinding light and winced.
Heat swept across the crystallized land.
"Yogi…!" Larvitar flinched.
Heracross and Chikorita hugged the child.
They were stationed at the Centre to take care of the baby.
Not only that, they were too inexperienced for a clash against a Legendary.
Everyone was still inside the building, but the air conditioner was no match for the burning air outside.
"Chik…!" / "Kiek…!"
…
The signature flaming breath of the Fafnir: Nibelheim.
In legend, its namesake was derived from the home of dwarves recorded in the Nibelungenlied.
If it were the genuine article, even the clouds would bow to its might.
Sadly for the Jabberwock, it was not.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The result revealed itself as a draw between the Charizards of the Charicific Valley and the Jabberwock.
Perplexed as the crystal dragon was, its attention was unrealized by the glowing stone within the PoryPhone.
Both Liza and Lance stood together on crystal ground as their hands contacted the Sync Stone, responding to their will and connected them to their respective partners.
"Roar!" Charla sped towards Jabberwock.
"Grr!" Dragonite followed.
The two Pokémon caught the crystal dragon's eyes as it finally roared against the two enemies.
Not willing to surrender, the Jabberwock unleashed twin spikes of crystal on its back snaking their way upon the two.
Fwip! Zip!
However, they were no match for the Dragon Types' ability to partially negate inertia.
Charla was not one, but managed to accomplish it nonetheless.
Liza never knew why, but did not care.
Finally, the Valley's caretaker…
"It's our turn!"
And the Johto Champion…
"Blow 'em away!"
Released their Sync Moves:
"[FIRE SYNC BEAM]!"
"[UNRIVALLED OUTRAGE]!"
Red hot flames powered up by rainbow energy obliterated.
Draconic wrath burned with immense fury.
The two attacks merged against the crystal abomination.
"Sccrreeeeccchhhhh!"
The glassy scales melted while the body crumbled.
A True Dragon made fake.
A fake made real.
And a reality torn apart.
The end of the one birthed from imagination.
…
"Gahhhhh! I need water right now!" Liza's lungs gasped for air.
Her flight gear was slightly burnt due to the close proximity to the clash.
If it were not for Charla's protection, both the woman and Lance would have melted away into puddles of flesh.
"No kidding…" Lance agreed.
"So? How does the great King of Dragons feel about thwarting the legendary Fafnir?" Liza asked.
"Tired? Drained? Other synonyms of that kind."
"Man, how lame, Mr Bahamut~"
Charla and Dragonite returned, along with an exhausted army of Charizards in their wake.
The two key Pokémon were tired as well since Sync Moves took a toll on their stamina.
"I'm out of commission. You still good to go?" the green-haired woman laid on the glassy floor, unbothered by the warmness.
Lance stood back up, answering her question.
"Wait, Ash!" Liza remembered.
"How is he-"
CRASH!
A loud explosion rang at the body of the tower.
The two adults watched in horror at the pinned child.
Entei snarled as he grabbed the boy's face with his paw.
He violated gravity as he stood seemingly on air.
A reminder that he was not the real Entei.
"...!" Ash struggled to pry.
Crack!
The mask began to break but before it could finish, reinforcements arrived.
"RROOOOAAARRR!" Charizard bellowed as he armed himself.
A flash of yellow attached itself onto the Flame Pokémon's arm as he acted as an arm blade once more.
[Slash (Fake)] swung onto the leonine but was caught by the latter's mass of smoke.
Despite that, Pikachu twisted himself off so that Charizard could drive his electrified fist into Entei.
"Mff!"
A [Thunder Punch] amped up with [Thunderbolt].
Entei brushed it off as he descended a deadly [Crunch] onto the caught Pikachu.
Clang!
The malefic energy gathered within the teeth tasted steel as Froakie parried the fangs of darkness with Carnwennan.
A crystal spike extended from the tower's wall as the leonine flung the blue frog away.
"Kero!"
Before the Kalos starter could crash, he slashed the air.
A shadowy portal was summoned right in front of Entei's face, eliciting a startled expression.
But as the whorling darkness appeared…
He felt his claws' grip slipping.
'My paw!' Entei turned his gaze.
A wrong move by the Flame Emperor as his face was met with a powerful elbow.
BAAM!
Ash warped out of the slashed portal summoned by his Pokémon, bringing along the claws that held him down earlier.
Froakie threw the Dagger back to his Trainer, who caught it without looking.
With a second's passing, the shadowy portal closed off and effectively dismembered Entei's limb once more.
Snip!
Caliburn in hand, the raven-haired boy wasted no time stabbing into the beast's back.
BOOM!
A ray of golden light exploded, releasing Pikachu from the smoke's clutches.
Schrrrk!
"...!"
Ash's vision was cut in half as 3 claw marks decorated his face, bloodied and butchered.
Caliburn's light got to work immediately, closing the wounds without scarring.
Before the ripped eye could return however, the raven-haired boy plunged his free right fist into Entei's gaping mouth while holding his Dagger on the other.
Confused by his action, the fiery beast instinctively clamped down hard.
Squelchhh!
Streams of blood splattered as his mouth held back to eruption of red inside, leaking only through the gaps between teeth.
Despite that, the masked boy merely stared at his bitten arm without any sort of emotion present.
'...?'
The Legendary felt heat in his throat, feeling a pointed object within.
'A Projection?!'
Manifested inside was a jian sword, charged with AURA.
And with one last push… it exploded.
BOOOOM!
Entei's jaw was blown wide open while Ash's bitten arm was freed but disintegrated from the blast.
Caliburn regenerated it alongside his eye, but Ash could tell it was at its limit.
The Sword was Ash's protection, but even that was limited in what it could offer him, no matter how loved he was.
At the peak of his rage, the Flame Emperor set its sights on the human, roaring a tremendous pressure that sent Ash flying from the sheer force.
"DAMNABLE CHILD!"
'Erk!' he grunted annoyingly as the boy felt his body flung back.
The Pokémon had to hold themselves back from saving their Trainer as they followed his earlier request.
They were to attack Entei, disregarding him.
The blue frog and Ash shared a glance before the latter threw his Dagger back to the former.
"Kero!"
An orb of water was flung midair above Entei.
Before it could touch the beast, Froakie detonated it as its contents rained onto the leonine.
"Pika!"
Streaks of gold charged the droplets, bringing down the wrath of lightning.
CRACK!
The Flame Emperor grew tired of the rebels, growling and twitching his numbed body.
A [Flamethrower] shot towards the mouse and frog before the latter whorled open the blackened entrance.
'Another portal? Is it possible…'
His torrent of fire was eaten by the darkness, swallowed hungrily before shutting its mouth.
The question now was: Where did it go?
A gigantic sphere of light cried for attention above the Emperor.
Charizard raised his arms up, charging up [Hellfire].
His training in the Valley improved his original move, raising its power higher.
"Kero!" Froakie croaked out.
"Roar!" Charizard nodded.
The blue frog pointed Carnwennan at the ball of fire, releasing Entei's flames.
Flames converged, gladly accepting the fuel of the Emperor.
Its size quadrupled, shocking everyone including Liza and Charla, both who had never seen the current raw power [Hellfire] had.
"ROOOOOAAAARR!"
Like a baseball player, Charizard pitched his immense ball of fire towards Entei.
Despite being a Fire Type, even the Legendary would not come out unscathed.
BOOOOMMM!
…
"...!"
The raven-haired boy flew backwards, unable to control his speed.
As he did, he saw an injured Entei about to slash Charizard with his flaming claws.
'He's so unnecessarily tough!' he complained under his breath.
The Flames of Life were present, meaning the output of the Legendary's fire was low.
Even so, Ash was not about to let the beast hurt his friend.
No longer caring about his eventual crash, the boy aimed his ornate sword.
Bloodred eyes locked, he blasted it with a Reinforced throw.
ZIIIPPPP!
The orange dragon glanced at the burning claws coming for him, only to be unceremoniously deflected with a golden sword piercing the paw into the crystal wall.
CLANG!
"Argh!"
The Flame Pokémon heard the distant crash of his Trainer, his rage climbing to his limit.
A roar of passion followed by the dragon pulling out Caliburn and began hacking away at the beast.
Entei dodged the slashes easily as the dragon had never wielded a weapon before. But for each attack he dodged, another spark of electricity struck him.
"Pika!"
[Volt Tackle] punched the beast's head, combining into a slash from Caliburn.
The sequence of attacks drowned the landscape as they took it out on Entei.
With the might of the two Kanto Pokémon, the leonine could barely retaliate.
"Enough!"
With an accelerated snap, Entei caught the blade with his teeth.
A glare from him and a disarm from Charizard.
The sword went flying off into the distance before more flames flooded the beast's mouth.
Shinng!
STABBB!
"ARRGGHH!"
A sharp pain twisted into the leonine's eye as it was gouged by a revenge-blooded Froakie.
His needle of [Pierce] had blinded one of the Legendary's eye.
"KKEROOO!"
[Water Pulse] formed in his free hand as he launched it into the beast's mouth.
Extinguished flames smoked from Entei's mouth, but the blue frog was not finished.
Semi-automatic bullets of water shot into Entei's mouth, unloading the rounds of [Water Pulses] into it to douse and drown.
[Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]! [Water Pulse]!
However, Froakie's small body felt the sizzling nails of the Flame Emperor, swiping him away.
"Kero…!"
The Flames of Life had finished its master's regeneration.
The launched frog was suddenly scooped by a reassuring arm as a zooming figure returned to the fight.
Ash Ketchum leapt a few metres from the beast's front.
A momentary glance of partners told Pikachu what he needed to do.
Circuits flashed underneath his pants as the boy charged his leg.
The electric mouse zipped right in front of Ash's leg, using the sole of his foot as his launchpad.
"...!"
With a mighty kick, Pikachu was blasted towards Entei's mouth.
And finally, with his energy maxed out…
BZZT! BZZT! BZZT! BZZT!
Golden lightning danced with black sparks.
[Railgun] took form, now with a new name:
CLUTCH CRITICAL!
The Flame Emperor's body, full of water, had touched the devastating sparks of gold and black.
A mouse against a lion.
And the winner went to the mouse.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!
.
.
.
The gigantic explosion of lightning bloomed.
My Pokémon and I were flung back, falling towards the spiked ends.
Charizard gained flight, catching Pikachu and me, who held Froakie.
We ascended to the crystal plains, but landed with a tumble.
"Erk…" I groaned out.
Using Caliburn once with its full chant and that took a toll on my reserves.
Without its chant, it was more bearable but still hard on my body.
Unleashing a Projected Caliburn is waaay better than using the real one. At least I don't get 7 different migraines running around my brain…
I stared at the night sky, surrounded by my tired comrades.
Shame the stars are covered by the smoke…
"Pika…"
"Kero…"
"Grrr…"
I was so proud of them.
I wanted to let them rest as I struggled to stand.
"C'mon then," I uttered my first words in a while.
Seeing the distance, I awaited the burning figure approaching.
Entei's body was a mess.
Nearly half of his body was a mass of AURA and flames healing him.
Thankfully, even the Flames of Life had trouble recovering their master from Pikachu's assault.
"Pi… ka!"
The rest wobbled to their feet before I signalled them to stand down.
"You had enough of us jumping you, right?" I grinned.
"..." the leonine stayed silent.
Shit, he's still coming after us?
I need something. A weapon that can beat him!
The bladed lands welcomed me.
A wasteland of weapons, free for me to explore.
I searched for one that matched my criteria.
A weapon that would bring me victory.
Imagine. Visualize!
Projections scrolled within my palms, none of them worthy to face Entei.
Caliburn was the strongest weapon I have at my disposal.
But a Projection of it wouldn't do.
Visualize something you can win with!
"...!"
A silent shock washed over me as I stopped my search.
When… When did I have this sword?
An unfamiliar blade.
No, it barely resembled one.
I knew its name.
I knew its strength.
I knew it was what I need.
"You guys," I addressed.
Shame and guilt festered in my body.
"I know you guys are tired…"
I felt disgusted at myself for doing this.
"I need… I need…"
"Pika!" / "Kero!" / "Grrr!"
Oh right. I'm connected to them.
My wish was conveyed to them via AURA.
"...Sorry. I'm sorry for putting you guys in danger again."
An apology to them won't cut it.
I gotta do this.
I'm such a hypocrite.
.
.
.
"AURA, on."
Entei's expression paled as he watched a weapon materialized in Ash's hand:
A straight bow of matte black.
In his hands, it looked like a toddler using an item too big for him.
Even so, the appearance of Ash holding a bow seemed fitting in his eyes for some reason.
But what drained the colour on his broken face was the monstrosity forming in Ash's other hand.
Blue motes of light switched to deep red flames as they forged.
The roaring blaze vortexed as Ash screamed out in pain.
"AHHHHH! GRAAHHHHHHHHH!"
His reserves emptied out in an instant, but the flames took more.
Blood sprayed from his eyes while his Projecting arm adorned with ruptured vessels.
Nosebleeds flowed, eardrums rang hollow.
Ash Ketchum's okami mask fell to the earth.
His eyes no longer see. Instead, a pair of flaming eyes glowered like blazes.
His fangs bared, no longer screaming out in pain.
Finally, the red flames finished their make:
It was a sword with a drill for a blade.
And the blacksmith aimed with demonic eyes of flames.
"That…! That cannot be?!" Entei's halved body cowered.
Akasha knew its identity, meaning Entei knew as well.
But what he understood was dreadful.
'That sword! He cannot be allowed to unleash it!'
Before the Flame Emperor could hobble towards the boy, his Pokémon began their assault.
"Get out of my way!" Entei roared.
Froakie and Pikachu rested their bodies into Charizard's claws before being launched headfirst into Entei.
The blue frog was ahead slightly, summoning his needle as his velocity carried him into a slash.
Krrsshk!
Despite Entei's body being made of AURA, it still followed the law of weight.
Because of this, Froakie's [Slash (Fake)] which severed the beast's barely-formed leg succeeded.
The leonine had no time to react the sudden instability before [Volt Tackle] zoomed close to his side.
"PIKAAA!"
An [Iron Tail] carried by [Volt Tackle] and Charizard's powered jump effortlessly smacked Entei into a downed position.
"Ergh!"
"Kero!" Froakie held his hand to Pikachu behind him.
"Pikachu!" the electric mouse nodded as he accelerated with [Quick Attack].
The blue frog hugged the arrival of Pikachu before croaking out to Charizard.
As it turned out, Froakie had attached a Frubble rope around his body, connecting him to Charizard's clawed finger.
"Grrr!"
The orange dragon pulled the two back like a yo-yo, catching them while feeling the full brunt of his small friends.
"Oof!" the Flame Pokémon grunted as he fell to the ground.
"Pika…" Pikachu rubbed his head sheepishly.
"Kero…" Froakie followed suit.
Charizard just gave up with a tired sigh as he absently hugged the two.
But they had no time to rest as the whorling winds erupted from the raven-haired boy in the distance.
"...!" Ash growled, trying his best to hang on.
'I can't believe I'm using that asshole's bow twice now!'
Nocking the spiral sword onto his matte black bow like an arrow, the raven-haired boy pulled back the drawstring.
As if by instinct, Ash altered and elongated the sword into a twisted black arrow.
However, he was unable to pull it anywhere near the limit.
'C'mon… C'mon!'
His Pokémon cried out for their Trainer from afar.
They could no longer move.
Reinforcement flooded his busted arm.
His teeth clenched tight from the burning sensation.
'You gotta protect them! Protect them!'
Blood and circuits flourished on the ruined arm.
'Pu-!'
SPPLLLAAAAATTTT!
The raven-haired boy's arm could not handle the strain and thus, exploded with a shower of stringed bloody flesh and bone shards.
Caliburn's healing had reached its limit.
AURA was depleted completely.
Ash could hear the drowned desperate cries of his Pokémon.
Time slowed down as he gathered his thoughts.
The drawstring slowly returning and the Projection falling.
All in slow motion.
'Shit… All that talk about protecting everyone…' he blamed himself.
'Is this finally it? There's nothing I can do to stop him.'
He had been in dire situations like this before, but never this dire.
Although Ash lamented many things…
A part of him was glad his death was near.
'Ah… At least with this, I can repent for my mother's-'
A honey blonde girl in a white dress flashed by.
Her smile illuminated by the Sun.
Her radiant hair that brightened his world.
'...Pft. I'm not allowed to give up, am I?'
'To think I was about to break my promise to her.'
"That's unforgivable."
'And I'll pay for it with your defeat, Entei!'
Finally, as if answering his vow…
The night sky twinkled with shooting stars of verdant green.
A honey blonde sought for the untainted Cells.
Requesting aid for the boy she loves.
And the Verdant Guardian obliged.
The lights of verdant green coloured the sky as they condensed into Ash's missing limb.
Flaaaaaassssshhhhhh!
Lance and Liza made their way towards the boy, watching him from above a crystallized cliff as they watched the verdant light hardened.
Ash's right arm had transformed.
It was now an arm of crystal-like jagged thorns of onyx black and verdant green.
The crystal scales were similar in appearance to the Terastal crystals, but different in feeling.
'The Verdant Guardian's Authority: Construct Creation!' Entei recognized in horror.
The new blade-like claws of sharpened green and black nails held back the bowstring, pulling it back with no effort.
His weapon was ready for his release.
A singular eye restored to vision by Caliburn's remaining heal as he aimed at the bewildered Entei.
Even if the boy knew not of what was transpiring, he understood who had helped him.
The boy who chased a star.
And the star who guided him.
'You're still helping me… Even now…'
'Yellow…'
His words came to him, the aria of his life.
'Thanks for saving me.'
Flaming eyes reignited as their master chanted:
My body is made of swords.
My blood is of iron. My heart of glass.
I have survived countless battles!
The sword-now-arrow burned with supernatural red, locking its wrath onto an anguished Entei.
"ASH KETCHUM!"
Countless crystal serpents erupted from the crystal field.
Not only there, but the tower spawned a countless more.
Purple flames blasted their way towards the boy and his Pokémon, completely bypassing the charge time.
The desperation. The impatience.
They were palpable.
The ones who watched.
The ones who fought.
The ones who prayed.
All would witness the greatest Projection yet.
My core is twisted with madness!
The draconic arm ignited with verdant light.
Caladbolg (II)!
The Spiral Rainbow Sword (Fake)
A shooting star.
That was what Entei saw before his summoned crystals were obliterated into the void by the soaring arrow.
His flames of purple extinguished as spiralling winds broke the sound barrier.
Unable to react, the Flame Emperor only only experience his assassination.
The last thing Entei laid eyes on… was Ash.
As well as the phantom visage of an assisting Serena aiming his draconic arm.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!
.
.
.
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.
.
Everyone was blown away from the impact of the blast as well as the force of the loose arrow.
"Pi…" the electric mouse opened his bleary eyes.
Dustclouds covered the area as the electric mouse got up.
He found a knocked out Froakie laying next to him before carrying him in a piggyback.
"Pi, pi, pi," he exhaled rhythmically before finding a waking Charizard.
"Grrr…" the orange dragon noticed the two, eyes brightening at them.
An affectionate lick from the dragon woke up Froakie as the 3 Pokémon struggled to move.
They were truly exhausted out of their minds to even think.
Click.
The obscuring dust swept off.
Everyone present stared.
Their blood ran cold as they witnessed a giant beast towering over the fallen Ash.
The boy's face was planted into the earth, his head stomped on by the beast's paw.
"Caladbolg, the Spiral Rainbow Sword," the leonine started.
The beast turned behind him, marvelling the aftermath of Caladbolg's destruction:
A large hole that seemed to erase anything within its perfect circle.
His appearance had drastically changed.
Entei's leonine appearance now resembled more of a ceratopsian.
Its main faceplate was red and shaped like fins or a four-sided star with a golden ceratopsian-shaped skull headpiece. Behind the faceplate was two long brown fur with gold ends on each side of the hair. The headpiece had five gold and yellow horns on each side. At the centre was two green circles with two smaller red circles inside.
Lance who was looking on the cliff grew pale at the appearance of the new form of Entei.
'A Paradox Pokémon?!' he choked in recognition.
"Gouging Fire. This was said to be an ancient relative of Entei in the past," Entei, or rather, Gouging Fire explained.
"If only you humans knew..."
Squeeze…
The raven-haired boy's head buried deeper as his Pokémon could do nothing but watch.
"PIKAPI!" Pikachu squeaked out helplessly.
"KERROO!" Froakie croaked desperately.
"ROARR!" Charizard bellowed hoarsely.
Their bodies weakened, they could only crawl slowly towards their Trainer, lifeless in the dirt.
"My body was destroyed by your Projected weapon. No, that was no mere weapon…"
"Caliburn, Carnwennan and even Caladbolg. How is a human capable of wielding, let alone creating Noble Phantasms?"
Gouging Fire's fur began to collect heat as the air around him sizzled.
"The Verdant Guardian meddled, but with their current state, it's a miracle their Authority even reached you, Ash Ketchum, much less even activated."
'This child is dangerous. Despite my inability to pilot my body as optimal as the real Entei, a human child was able to push me to utilize the Gouging Fire form.'
Molten lava circled around a raised paw as Gouging Fire primed it towards the unmoving boy.
"You were strong, Ash Ketchum."
The burning paw of lava plummeted upo-
"...What?"
The Flame Emperor watched as his paw fell off, sliced before he knew it.
"Aye, tis a fine evening."
A woman's voice carried behind the beast.
Ash Ketchum's body was gone.
No, that was not quite right.
Ash Ketchum was standing behind the beast.
"I thank thee for sparring with my children."
A malefic presence made herself known as the air tightened into a chilling freeze.
Gouging Fire turned back, only to find nothing.
Lance and Liza widened their eyes at the scene.
Pikachu, Froakie and Charizard were stunned.
The raven-haired boy was now in front of the Flame Emperor, hands in pockets.
His expression was unlike they had ever seen:
A smirk befitting of a devil.
But something was off about him.
Everyone knew and saw what:
Ash was now sporting a pair of cyan blue eyes.
"A Possession?!" Gouging Fire exclaimed.
"Tis merely for a minute," the 'boy' flexed 'his' draconic arm of black and green.
"Hm… Quite the gift, Jörmungandr, temporary as it may be. Even if my preferences loathe the scent of dragons, tis still a splendid aid, dearest goddaughter-in-law. I shall make an exception for thee, Guardians."
The cyan eyes fascinated on the amalgamate of jagged bladecrystals for an arm.
"Impossible, an Incarnation?! I did not sense a connection to any known Gods within you!"
"Hah, a trivial task to mask. A Witch like myself could accomplish such a feat without batting an eye," 'Ash' waved off.
"Pika! Pikachu!" the electric mouse recognized.
"Thou art magnificent, Pikachu. The same for Froakie and Charizard. Thy duels were incredible."
For one whole minute…
Zacian unleashed a wave of malice.
…
Lugia opened its eyes with a startle.
The malicious AURA of cold steel invaded its senses.
'There's no mistaking this AURA!'
…
Mewtwo stood up, earning the confused looks of his cloned subjects.
'What an abnormal amount of bloodlust!'
…
Gouging Fire froze. An irony not lost on Zacian.
"Thy showing was disappointing to say the least, puppet. The true Flame Emperor would never display such insufferable incompetence."
A devious giggle from the woman, or rather 'boy'.
"Thou hast insulted the might of the deities. Coming from me, that speaketh volumes."
The Paradox Pokémon armoured his body with molten lava, brightening the area with its brightness. The brightest being his golden plate of armour.
[Burning Bulwark].
A signature move of Gouging Fire.
It intensely heated his fur to protect from attacks and burned anything that came in contact with-
Slash!
"Lukewarm embers."
She swiped a finger disinterestedly.
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
Gouging Fire stared at the unbothered expression of the raven-haired 'boy'.
Her cold eyes of cyan conveyed the disappointment in them.
"And t'was my generosity speaking."
How was the beast staring at her?
The answer came in the form of Zacian grabbing the decapitated head of the Paradox Pokémon with the draconic arm with the other in the pocket.
His new body was dismantled, destroyed and returned to the Unown.
"Seven slashes. A number of fortune in the East," Zacian smirked.
"Thou art unfortunate, head. But the opposite is true for thee hath beheld my Authority."
"Now then…"
Instantly, the 'boy' threw the head towards the gaping hole above them.
Fweeeeeeeeeh!
"Excuse my rudeness, time is of the essence."
Just like that, Zacian blinked out of existence.
As if she had teleported.
.
.
.
"WATCH OUT!" Gary warned out as he saw an incoming object.
BAAAM!
"My apologies," Zacian said next to the orange-haired boy.
Molly and the rest stared in shock at the sight of the head of her former's Papa.
More importantly, the raven-haired boy appeared to have materialized out of thin air.
"Mo… lly."
"Papa…" the little girl quivered.
"Professor Hale…" Blue gasped.
Zacian walked up to the little girl, kneeling in front of her with grace.
"Dear lady, art thou the unfortunate victim in this ordeal?"
Everyone froze at the feminine voice of the 'boy'.
Instantly, they knew it was not Ash speaking, other than one.
The little girl was taken aback by the archaic words of the 'boy'.
She wondered why Ash did not recognized her, but answered with a nod nonetheless.
"I see."
Pat.
"This one wishes to tell thee…" Zacian placed a hand on her chest.
"Thou art a strong lass. An unfair hand was dealt to thee and I shall set it right."
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
Three instant slashes revealed the portal where Unown gathered.
The alphabets greeted her.
"Spare the formalities, let us commence."
Zacian threw the head into the portal before feeling her right arm disintegrating.
The draconic arm of jagged black and green was vanishing.
"I will repay this favour, Verdant Guardian," she oathed.
The Unown welcomed her.
And so, she leapt…
The portal accepted her and the alphabets followed.
"Ash!" Daisy cried out.
"Red!" Gary and Blue called out.
57 seconds elapsed.
3 seconds later, and the Original One would have destroyed the World.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"...?!"
Ash woke up, getting up suddenly before feeling a person holding his hand.
"Finally awake? A shame, spoiling thee was something I looked forward to."
At once, the raven-haired boy flopped back down, feeling the gentle hand of the veiled woman sweeping his hair.
"Zacian…"
"Thou art a fool, Tonelico. I believe I instructed thee to converse with words, not blades."
The boy could tell she was peeved despite being unable to see her face.
.
.
.
During the initial meeting with Entei…
"If you die again, we'll make sure Serena never visits you," he warned.
"Scary… I'll do my best."
"Just hold out against him. We'll be as fast as possible."
Tonelico. Tis wiser to be civil.
Ash stayed silent.
In response, he merely waved backwards with his Dagger in hand.
Tonelico?
'Sorry, but…'
'Don't ruin this for me.'
Surely thou art jesting?
Everyone entered the Crystal Tower.
All that was left were Ash and his Pokémon with Entei.
"How foolish, AURA Wielder," Entei growled.
"Holding out against me? You would be fortunate to last 10 seconds."
Talk things out, Tonelico!
"...Pft."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Reckless nitwit! Thou art getting thyself killed!
Thou better not take thee eyes away!
"Yeah, yeah. Stop nagging, focus on him right?"
'Zacian, I can do this,' he answered stubbornly.
…Fine! However, provide a better fight than my expectations.
'Yes, ma'am!'
.
.
.
"Right, that happened…" he muttered.
"Didst I or didst I not tell thee to talk things out?" she pulled on his cheek.
"Ow, ow, Sowwy…"
"A myriad of problems could have been resolved if thee went for talks."
Hearing the fact that he had unnecessarily made things worse by fighting Entei really stung Ash.
"I know that…" he turned away.
A pair of delicate hands adjusted his head back, making the boy stare directly at the black veil.
"These ears of mine are for thee."
"...I admit it. I know that I was selfish for wanting to fight Entei," Ash admitted.
"But when I saw him, all I remembered was Celebi. These deities, these so-called Gods…"
The raven-haired boy grinded his teeth.
"All I remember was how angry I was at them. I don't know why, but that's how I feel."
"I'm sorry, Zacian. Even if I understand what you said that time, I just can't help it but blame them…"
Ash closed his eyes, hiding them with his arm as he thought back to how Larvitar's life before his hatching.
Then, it began to snowball into his companions. Both previous and current.
Lapras. Marowak. Chikorita. And Pikachu.
"Khh…! They're all innocent, but why… Why were they dealt such a bad hand…?!" he gasped out, unable to hold back his exasperation.
Oh, how much he loathed the Gods.
"Tonelico."
But the woman did not admonish him for such irrational thoughts.
"Thou art seeing from thy perspective of thy Magical Beasts."
"But hast thou seen from those little ones' view?"
"...Huh?" Ash breathed out.
"Their lives brightened thanks to thee, Tonelico."
"Thou art the reason they smile today."
A revelation that stunned Ash.
It never once crossed his mind that he had given them a better life.
"...But I didn't do anything important," he refuted.
"Tonelico, thou art the person who saved them."
"Thou never gave up and cherished them regardless of their past."
"Thou, Tonelico, art the Hero they love."
Silence washed over the raven-haired boy.
"...It sounds embarrassing when you say it like that."
Ash got up, blushing slightly but no longer plagued by his animosity.
"By the way, I know it's kinda late to ask but…"
His bloodred eyes scanned the empty void of white around them.
"...Where the hell are we?"
Zacian stood up as she guided the boy whilst holding his hand as they walked.
"We're not at our dream place, right?" he questioned, holding her hand tight.
"Nay, the Dream World we inhabited in thy slumber is a linked realm between me and thee, my lovely Incarnation," she explained helpfully.
"I see."
'I don't get it.'
"So where are we now?" he asked.
They stopped.
"The Unown's home."
'Huh?'
"A realm beyond Time and Space. A metaphysical location not even the Original One could enter…"
"The Akashic Records, the Outside of the World."
"Akashic Records…?" Ash repeated.
"Aye. Tis also known as the Swirl of the Root."
]=[
ATL Entry: Swirl of the Root (Part I)
A metaphysical location that acts as the "force" that exists at the top of all theories in every dimension, as well as the source of all events and phenomena in the universe.
The Root is also referred to as the "Outside of the World", as by existing outside of Time and Space, it stores and archives information of all possibilities and events, past, present, and future, of the world.
It also…
]=[
As he did, the white space began to change, or rather, overrun with creatures.
The Unowns gathered everywhere.
There were no walls nor land, but they surrounded everywhere.
Everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
There was nothing here that could be designated a 'place'.
Not even where Ash and Zacian were 'standing'.
Their current position could not be viewed as 'standing' nor 'floating'.
They were just 'there'.
"Do take caution, Tonelico. If we were to separate, thou mayest find thyself wandering this place for an eternity."
Hearing that, the raven-haired boy immediately glued his arms around Zacian's waist for dear life, eliciting a mirthful chuckle from her as she patted him affectionately.
"D-D-Don't casually joke about t-t-that…" he darted around anxiously.
"Anyways, what are the Unown even? If this place is unreachable even by the Big Guy, doesn't that make these guys stronger than it?"
"Nay. These characters served as they are portrayed: Alphabets," Zacian shook her head.
"On their own, they serve as mere fodder. But together, they could bring about extraordinary powers that mayhaps distort the fabric of existence itself."
A sigh escaped her lips.
"Even so, these Magical Beasts could never operate on their own free will. Their original directive, given by the True Arceus, was to maintain the World even after it was gone…"
"True Arceus? There's a fake one?!" Ash exclaimed.
"Nothing of the sort, dear. Each reality, or an Outerverse, is governed by an Arm of Arceus," she answered.
"So the OG Arceus is…"
"A being larger than even the Root. I am afraid tis incomprehensible to scale it. Nevertheless, I have no qualms with it…"
"Tis the Arm of this reality I hold a grudge against."
Ash did not catch that last part as it was more of a soft grumble.
"Still can't believe you understood what OG even means," he smirked.
"I shall have thee know that I do supervise thy growth since you were a wee babe. And for that, I must say that this… 'rap' thou listens to hath brought a bollixed vocabulary into thy mind."
The raven-haired boy could tell she was unhappy with the amount of swears and vulgarity he was exposed to at a tender age.
"Ahem! So what does Root even mean?" Ash tried to divert the topic.
The snow-haired woman gave an accusing glance before sighing to herself as she explained.
"Tis much like a computer programme," she revealed, shocking the boy.
'Hol' up, you know what's a computer program?!'
"Honestly, Tonelico. How old doth thoust think I am?" she deadpanned at his shocked expression.
"To continue, a programme has something known as a 'root folder'. Now imagine our world as a programme with the 'root folder' being the starting point or directory, containing everything the programme offers."
Ash was not tech-savvy at all, but he did understand what Zacian was saying, nodding away as he took it all in.
…
"We're here."
"Wait, but we didn't move?" Ash raised his brow.
"...And it didn't feel like a long time since we've be- Hold on, how long have we been here?!"
"Time and Space hath no jurisdiction here, Tonelico," Zacian reminded.
"Oh, right."
The Unown gathered in front of them as their alphabets began to form sentences for the two.
The snow-haired woman held her child close as her obscured face gazed at the characters.
…
…
…CONNECTION TO ROOT ESTABLISHED.
SYNCING…
SYSTEM "AKASHA" SYNCED.
IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED.
Ash was unable to read the text as it did not resemble anything like Poké-go, the universal language.
Shut.
"...?" he felt his hearing go silent.
Zacian had used her hands to cover his ears as she spoke, the raven-haired boy unable to decipher what she was saying due to her blackened veil.
"True Name…"
"██████ ██ ███."
USER RECOGNIZED.
ADMINISTRATOR OBSERVED.
GRANTING FULL ACCESS TO LOGS.
"...Ah, right! Zacian!" Ash turned towards the woman.
"Yes, dear?"
"I can't believe I forgot to ask! Just what happened to Greenfield?!"
"Tonelico… That would usually be the first enquiry of a mundane person."
The snow-haired woman gave an unimpressed stare beneath the veil.
Nevertheless, she observed the logs while ascertaining what had happened before their arrival.
…
"Ah… So that was what happened."
She turned to her child as they 'sat' on nothingness.
"The father, Spencer Hale, was truly unfortunate," she lamented.
"Unfortunate how?"
"Without knowing, he hath activated the comman- Pardon, spell that spirited him into this realm," she explained.
"That man activated Heaven's Feel, a form of True Magic."
'Heaven's Feel? True Magic?' he questioned in his mind.
"Thou seemed troubled by the many questions plaguing thy head."
"A-ah, I know I'm a bit slow on things so it doesn't really ma-"
"I do not mind elucidating thee, dear," she smiled.
"Time exists not in the Root. We could even spend an eternity here without a second's pass in the place called Greenfield."
Hearing this gave Ash a delayed reaction.
But soon, the boy began to beam happily as he awaited her explanation.
"Very well, dear. To begin, I must ask thee: What is a soul?"
A difficult question right off the bat.
"Um… Everything about you?" he hazarded a guess.
Bing-bong!
A loud chime echoed the realm, courtesy of Zacian.
"Aye, tis a satisfying answer. However, humans tend to view it as intangible, like vapours of light once they die. But tis not the case."
"...?" Ash tilted his head.
"In fact, a soul is merely a fictitious concept. It does not exist."
"Wait, what?! Souls don't exist?!" he crashed down.
"Fufu, not in the way humans think. Ponder, Tonelico."
"What other creation details the events, feelings, one's self, life and even death?" she encouraged him to think.
Immediately, he got to work.
'What other things that details everything about a person? What would it be?' he pondered.
"Take thy time. There is no need to rush."
'...Zacian said this place was the Akashic Records. It's not a coincidence her explanation starts with asking what a soul is,' he evaluated.
'Records… Souls… … …'
"…Library."
"No way! Then souls are really…!" Ash realized.
"Aye…"
"They are stories."
.
.
.
"So everything I am… Everything you are… We're all stories?"
"In essence, aye. And t'was the accident Spencer Hale was caught within."
"The Heaven's Feel: True Magic which materializes the soul. In other words…"
"His soul… His story was recorded in this so-called library? But doesn't that mean...?" Ash gulped.
"Aye… His physical body was destroyed, leaving behind his soul to be archived within Akasha. Following that, his daughter summoned him once more into a new body: The Flame Emperor."
'The heck… That's so messed up…' Ash rubbed his temples.
The raven-haired boy knew Entei was related to Hale as evidenced by his brief talk with the two Professors when he arrived, but never did he thought it would have been this shocking.
Suddenly, a dreadful pit formed within his stomach as his eyes widened in realization.
"I… I…!"
His breathing turned rapid, his brows sweating.
The bloodred eyes dilated and contracted uncontrollably.
Ash hyperventilated as if having a panic attack.
"I tried to… I tried to! Kill… Kill! Molly's father?!" he grew sick.
The sinking realization that he was actively trying to take away Molly's father from her devastated him.
It reinforced the image he had of himself: a kinslayer.
"Tonelico," she pulled him into a hug.
His shivering body tried to convulse but was shielded by his godmother's body.
Ash wanted to scream out in pain but no voice came out.
The warmth from the woman drowned out his anxiety and guilt.
But a part of the boy wanted to reject it, thinking himself unworthy of such.
"Shh… Melt."
The raven-haired boy hands grabbed her fabric of white and black, trying to slow the rate of his heart.
Calm spread within his heart as he exhaled into a stable breath.
"...Thanks, Zacian."
The snow-haired woman returned the gratitude with loving rubs on his back.
"Can you continue? More about the crystals this time," he requested as he stared up at her from his smothered position.
She nodded.
"The crystal landscape is a pale imitation of the Indigo Disk's powers," Zacian clarified.
"Indigo Disk?" Ash parroted.
"A being of interest for another time. Their power is a fickle one: the ability to turn imagination into reality. In other words, a reality warper."
"The Tera crystals as they are named, conduct AURA far more efficiently akin to a transformer which was the reason their faux counterparts were utilized in the terraformation. All to keep that little girl's imagination alive and efficiently supply the Flame Emperor's conjuring."
"...And the sword I Projected?"
"..."
A question that silenced Zacian for a moment.
It was telling, even for Ash.
"T'was the legendary weapon belonging to a brave warrior of the Ulster Cycle. A hero from the Knights of the Red Branch: Fergus mac Róich."
"The magic sword he carries, tis none other than Caladbolg…"
"The Spiral Rainbow Sword," Ash finished her words.
"But you know that I already know it, due to my Analysis. That's not the question I wanted to know…"
Eyes of curiousness gazed.
"Zacian…"
"...When did I have this sword?"
"..."
Still no answer.
Her veil masked her expression, Ash not knowing what was behind.
"...Forgive me, Tonelico. I cannot answer that."
"Okay."
A swift answer.
"If you can't say it, then it's not nice for me to pester about it."
Hearing this, Zacian could not help but pat the boy's head.
"About your real nam-"
"Nay."
"Yeah, figures."
The two talked more, silently enjoying their time which belonged only to them.
.
.
.
.
.
As Ash drifted off to sleep, Zacian sent the child back to reality while she stayed to do her business.
The snow-haired woman gripped the warmth left by Ash tightly as she worked.
YOUR COMMANDS, ADMINISTRATOR?
"Tis been a long journey. Across the stars and worlds…"
"To think I hath the chance to enter here, the first instance since my first 16 winters…"
Her thoughts flowed and naturally, stumbled upon the sword within Ash's field of blades.
"...Resonance, I see," she broke into a fond smile.
Even if she could not see him. Even if she could not hear him.
The Witch expressed her love.
"Tonelico..."
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Mm…"
The pair of bloodred eyes opened.
A yawn escaped his mouth as he surveyed his surroundings.
'Hm? It's night?' Ash mused.
Before that, he checked his body.
The raven-haired boy felt his missing arm, now returned as if it had never been exploded in the first place.
His AURA reserves were gigantic, nearly 10 times the size of his previous.
By his estimation, even Caliburn's release would be feasible for multiple uses.
But his body still hurt.
Like anaerobic respiration, he felt his muscles filled with lactic acid as he was unable to move normally.
As he shifted, Ash felt two presences beside him.
On his bed, both Gary and Blue were sleeping.
They held his hands, not willing to let go for fear of losing him again.
Seeing their faces, he could not help but chuckle at them.
Feeling the warmth of his childhood friends by his sides…
Ash Ketchum accompanied them into another slumber.
.
.
.
The morning was hectic as everyone scrambled to find the missing child, only to discover the raven-haired boy up and running outside the Centre, ready to serve breakfast.
"Oh, y'all awake? I made some pancakes," he greeted with a lazy grin.
The first to hit him was Misty.
…
After that, Ash and Molly flew on Charizard's back all the way to the latter's mansion.
According to Lance, after the boy returned from the Unown dimension as he called it, the Tera crystals that covered the lands shattered into motes of blue light.
What was surprisingly was the fact that despite the seeming damages, nothing was harmed. The scenery was as beautiful as before and unchanged.
From what Lance said: "It was like magic…"
Entei, who disappeared into the vortex, never returned.
As they landed, Molly took Ash's hand as they entered the building, untouched as if the previous night was all a dream.
"Ashy…" she whispered.
"Is Papa gone?"
The raven-haired boy did not say a word.
Instead, he knelt down to her level.
"Let me ask you, Molly," he smiled.
"Do you love your Papa? No matter how he'll look like in the future?"
She did not hesitate as she nodded fervently.
"Then…" he rummaged his pocket to give her something.
In the little girl's hand was a crystal diamond, similar to a Tera crystal.
"Why don't you make a wish?"
A little girl stood in the wide space.
A raven-haired boy with bloodred eyes knelt.
The wish-granter asked her for her desires.
And he would fulfill it.
Molly Hale prayed.
Her father answered.
The crystal diamond shone brightly, enveloping the mansion with its light.
Molly shielded her eyes before the light faded.
And in front of her… was Gouging Fire.
The leonine had returned but with alternated colours of a Shiny.
"Molly…?" he uttered in bafflement.
"Papa… Are you my Papa?" she squeaked out.
He nodded, tears streaming from his eyes as Molly rushed to hug the beast.
A touching reunion.
'Yeah. Shame that the Professor's body is really gone,' he lamented.
A deletion in Akasha can never be retrieved. However, I would argue this form would be an adequate vessel for his soul.
'And he can protect his daughter better like this,' he nodded.
Ash received the crystal from Zacian, right after he woke up.
Knowing her, the boy knew this was the woman's doing.
Soon after, the Professors arrived, bewildered by Spencer Hale's new form.
While the adults conversed, the Kanto trio caught up with their adventures.
But their time was cut short as Gary and Blue were leaving again.
Their holidays was coming to an end.
.
.
.
"You gotta stop doing stupid things, man," Gary chided.
"Says the dude who went in guns blazing for his sister," Ash countered.
"He's got you there, Green," Blue giggled.
The trio bantered until it was time to go.
"Be seeing you, Ashy," Daisy kissed the raven-haired boy's forehead.
"Don't get in trouble, Ash!" Bill grinned.
The latter merely waved in response.
As Ash and his companions watch the vehicle driving off, a panicked voice rang in his head.
The thing, Tonelico! The thing!
"...Ah, crap! Hold on!" he sprinted.
Ash ran ahead, surprised by his own natural speed as Exceeding improved his parameters.
It took quite a while but Ash managed to catch up with the vehicle.
"Wait!" he knocked on the glass.
Gary and Blue's heads popped out before Ash handed them an item.
As they took it, he began to slow down.
With a beaming smile, Ash waved them off.
"MAKE SURE SHE GETS IT! SEE YA!"
…
An hour later…
"Grrr…" Charizard grunted.
"You've gotten a lot stronger, Charizard," the boy praised.
"All thanks to Charla. She's been a real taskmaster," Liza chimed in.
The female Charizard snorted as she gazed at her disciple playing with his friends.
Seeing the orange dragon playing cheerfully encouraged Ash.
Letting Charizard train in the Valley was the best decision he made.
With a [Flamethrower] to the face, Liza and her army bode the boy farewell.
Lance left as well with a stern warning(read:begging) for Ash to not rush headlong into trouble.
After a small exchange with Casey, the Johto group left for their next destination.
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0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
New Bark Town, Johto Region
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
It was nightfall again as Ethan hobbled tiredly into his house.
The building was also known as Poké House due to the number of baby Pokémon living inside.
"Ethan, go to bed already. You had quite the adventure already," the boy's mother instructed as a Munchlax helped her with the dishes.
The child nodded as he plummeted into his soft bed.
Shiiinnnngggg…
While he snored, a pulsing light gathered next to a PokéBall on his desk.
Slowly, it formed…
A familiar alphabet creature sang.
An Unown with the appearance of 'K'.
Poof!
In it went into the capsule.
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0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Pokémon Academy, Kalos Region
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
A few days later, school was back in session.
Serena stared outside the window, unable to get the Greenfield event out of her mind.
Everyone talked about it as it was a mystery as to how it disappeared in an instant.
However, after Lance's accounts of the incident, nobody really paid any mind to it anymore.
The honey blonde's table was filled with presents from her fellow classmates and close friends, including Alain and Kimia.
Alain was clueless as to what to gift her and went with a box of Lumiose Galettes.
Contrary to what he thought, Serena was happy to receive it.
And then, Gary and Blue entered.
"Happy Birthday!"
…
"There's a lot…" Serena gulped at the amount of presents and souvenirs they gifted her.
She was appreciative towards them but was having trouble thinking of how to move them back to the penthouse.
Thankfully, the two Kanto natives offered to help with their Pokémon.
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0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
Hotel Richissime, Kalos Region
0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-0
The honey blonde marvelled at the amount of gifts around the living room.
'I've already gone through all of them. Time to call it a ni…'
Her thoughts were cut by a present neatly tucked at the corner.
It was wrapped with red gifting paper with doodles of swords decorating it.
She did not remember seeing this in school, hazarding that Gary and Blue had added it when they moved.
"What's this?"
A note was plastered on it, the girl took a look.
Happy Birthday, Yellow!
I ain't good with all these sentimental words but, make sure ya think of me when you use it. Means as much as you meant to me!
Serena immediately broke into tears, shocking the playful Eevee and Fennekin who frolicked in unwrapped boxes.
"...You dummy," she blushed.
The unwrapped gift was revealed:
A sleeker version of a certain matte black bow.
Chapter 79: [M03] Spell of The Unown
With the blacksmith insignia of Caliburn on it.
Author's Notes
***UPDATED NOTES***
Alright, after a Full Restore (and a revive), I'm back so let's go through the things one by one:
STORY BOOKS:
The Princess & The Blacksmith, Alice in Wonderland and The Ancient Adventurer & The Six Heroes.
Although Molly chose the SV books, the 3 books are NOT a coincidence.
The first is to remind the readers that the story has SOMETHING to do with the Greenfield incident.
The second is more straightforward as its the main theme of Molly's imagination given form.
And the last is Horizon's unofficial debut into Fated. It's to show that Lucius is a well known figure in Fated's canon. Also works as Paldea representation for this chapter.
UNOWN:
Questions you guys might have is why do the Unown show themselves like a code window and somewhat of a programme.
Well that's the thing... They are.
In Fated, the Unown dimension is turned into the Akashic Records/Root. In more simpler terms as to what the latter is:
It is the sum total of the World. History, alternate timelines, figures, phenomenon, laws, everything. It is 'everything' in Fated, located in 'nothingness'.
Entei, Jabberwock and fraudulent Tera crystals were all created thanks to them. They basically went /gamemode 1 and Marble Phantasm'd everything.
By the way, the Unown's coding type of writing is a direct inspiration from Fateless by olcon. Greatest Saber/Shirou fic I've ever read.
MARBLES HURT ME:
Marble Phantasm and Reality Marble seem simple enough to understand.
Marble Phantasm is basically Atem's Destiny Draw by bringing forth an impossible phenomenon or 'white marble' in a sea of 'black marbles'.
This doesn't trigger the World to actively destroy the crystal land as it is considered 'fair' in its eyes.
Reality Marble is a 'fuck it, we ball' moment by turning all 'black marbles' into 'white marbles'.
This is fucked up in the World's eyes and would trigger it to destroy it asap.
Imagine a magician putting a white marble in a sack of black marbles. Then, without looking, he managed to take out the white marble. It's a 1% chance, but not zero.
That's MP.
Now imagine if the magician showed the audience that he used actual magic to turn the marbles into white. Everyone would lose their shit.
That's RM.
PALDEA:
Lucius' legend, SV mentions, Paradox Pokémon, Terastallization (it didn't show up though) and most importantly...
IONO CAMEO, WOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I noticed how scarce Paldea representation is in Fated so this time I just went, fuck it.
Iono is also a measuring stick for time since she's not the Levincia Gym Leader yet.
Also, obligatory reminder that Eri is Paldea's best girl.
***BIG ONE***
ASH KETCHUM:
Our boi has arrived! And yes, he was wearing the okami mask Zacian wore before. The cape is to hide his outfit so he couldn't be identified.
Of course, this didn't mean shit since Pikachu, Froakie and Charizard were a dead giveaway. Ash is not really bright.
This chapter marks the end of Ash's 19-chapters-long abstinence of fully using AURA. Also 19 chapters of no "AURA, on".
The 3v1 then 4v1 with Charizard's addition was a fun time to go all out in fight scenes. The jumping on Entei went crazy.
But of course, despite all that, Ash was never winning against Entei. Flames of Life plus Unown infinite regen, it's only a matter of time before Ash crashed out.
And the humourous part of all: All this could've been avoided if he just talked it out with Entei.
But Fated!Ash is not a fan of deities in this fic. And knowing the end of M02 with what Zacian said in the past about him 'remembering', know this:
This dude is Kendrick Lamar-level hater towards Gods. (Reverse Flash is a tier of his own)
Some nice characterizing to Ash as he was this close to losing it when he realized Entei was indeed Dan Gree- ahem! I mean, Professor Hale.
It also loops back to his trauma of his mother's death and he was willingly going to kill Molly's dad.
All in all, Ash needs therapy.
SOULS:
Souls are stories. It's something straight out of ORV but in the context of Fated, it makes too much sense since Akasha/Root is a library of sorts.
(The root folder is also a library folder)
This means, everyone is a story. Even Ash himself.
Of course, it doesn't mean much right now, but as we get to endgame, it completely changes everything.
In the words of Dokja's mother: "We're gonna 'reread' everything from the start now."
The meta implications of this reveal is going to go soooo hard.
ZACIAN:
She's a what?! Administrator?!
Yep, this is only one of possibly 3 times (haven't planned this one) we'll ever see Ash and Zacian in the Root ever again.
As you guys can see, the chapter doesn't show what she did when Ash fell asleep so it's gonna be spoilers for the future.
Zacian saying the word 'programme' instead of 'program' is intentional. What's the difference?
It's a clue to where she's from. A minor detail but it's cool.
There's something odd about her, isn't there?
...No? Not seeing it?
Then, let me ask you readers:
How does she know about Entei despite the Legendary Beasts' legends only originating 150 years?
Take note that this is before she entered the Root in the Tower. The answer is at the beginning of this chapter.
"A long journey, across the stars and the worlds" is very much literal.
There's so much questions about her that I think even you guys are starting to wonder.
Note that alphabets play a BIG part in this chapter.
Now our two main characters of this chapters: Ash & Zacian.
GOLD:
The Unown 'K' is playing the biggest role in the final arc. This guy being here in Johto is me telling you readers this:
I planned everything. This 'K' will show you guys just how long I have been scheming (MWAHAHAHA)
With that, we out. (35k words is fucking insane)
P.S: New story picture, let's go!