Chapter 57 – Golden Breath

Kilo Village didn't change much from how Jerry remembered it. The early-noon sun was as bright as ever. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, holding it. Then, he breathed out and stretched his wings, soaking in the sun. Step was back to her normal, Rock-Steel form again, and thankfully Enet and ADAM didn't have to change much to blend in. They had been worried about Star at first. Step, the strongest of the three Guardians accompanying them, summoned her, but when she emerged, she was instead taking the form of a similarly-colored, but much more mundane Espeon. Unfortunately, she was still see-through. It would have to do.

"It must be strange," Step said to Jerry. "You are Rock, yet you are also Flying. How do you reconcile your Types' desires?"

"Easy, high mountains," Jerry said. "Caves are nice, but there's no open air. What about you? Steel-Rock, and then Ice."

"Mm. I've grown used to the northwestern tundra. The caves are… not of my Orb's element, but they appeal at least slightly to my primal desires. It will do." Step nodded. "Briefly, I assumed the form of a Kommo-o. Caves and dens were appealing to me at the time. Perhaps some of that remained."

"A Kommo-o, eh?" Jerry said, intrigued. "So, you guys can just alter your forms, just like that?"

"It takes quite a bit of energy and focus to maintain," Step said. "But after a while, you grow accustomed to it. But never completely. It's still easier to be, well… what you were born as."

Enet looked at the nearest building, peering inside, but it looked like a lot of people lived there. She saw three little nests with differently sized Pokémon resting on it. One was being fed a watery, white liquid from a bowl by a Miltank. Another was simply resting. A third was being attended to by an Incineroar. He seemed to have trouble with walking, and the Incineroar was acting as a crutch.

"What's this?" Enet asked.

"Inconclusive," ADAM said.

"Hm? I'm not sure," Step said. "…Ah, wait. I believe it seems familiar to me…" Step suddenly stiffened. She remembered being here, once, only a few decades ago. It was not a happy memory.

"…Are you guys serious?" Jerry asked. "It's a hospital. It's where Pokémon that were badly hurt and couldn't be healed go to recover. I used to go there for my back issues, actually. Threw it out when I lifted something the wrong way back when I worked in construction."

"Construction. For homes?" Step asked, eying the hospital. "Hospital… ah, Cent…"

"Let's not get distracted, guys," Star said. "Let's head to the marketplace! Bound to find a good bed there."

"Are you sure you should be taking the front?" Jerry said. "You look like a ghost."

"Aw, it's fine! I'm just… practicing astral projection."

"Is that even real?"

"They'll believe it if I say it. After all, what else could I be?"

"Literally God."

"What else could I be expected to be?"

Jerry rolled his eyes. Nobody was listening from the Waypoint. They came at a good time. Most of the Hearts were out on their assignments, and most of the civilians were working. Too early for lunch, too late for breakfast. "You're just lucky this is during the lull of the day."

Impatiently, Star tapped her ethereal paw through the ground. "C'mon! Let's go."

Enet tilted her head at Star. "Cute." She pointed at her.

"Cute, eh?" Jerry said, walking with them. "Hmph. She just chose that form because it's got a similar color."

"Hey, I pick different forms all the time! Kinda comes with the job description." She suddenly stopped. "Oh, oh! Okay, actually, can we make a detour for a second? Step, how much did you guys bring?"

Step opened the bag, but before she could speak, ADAM buzzed the answer. "We have been allocated 70,347 Poké."

Jerry choked on air. "H-how much?!"

"Seventy thou—"

"I heard, I heard," Jerry growled. "But why so much?!"

"You will have to ask the Gardevoir that question," Step said. "And perhaps also the polite Lucario. They were the ones who provided the funds."

"How much…?" Enet asked.

"Ah. You do not know how much that can buy?" Step asked.

Enet nodded.

"Hmm, well," Step said. "I do not know, either. ADAM?"

"I am not familiar with the raw purchasing power of Poké. However, I am familiar with the prices of a number of items here. Blessed Berries for the purposes of exploration tend to cost approximately one hundred Poké. They are not very filling. Raw foods, such as apples or potatoes, tend to also cost one hundred Poké. Most plant food items cost that much. Meats cost significantly more per energy unit. The cost of food for a carnivore significantly outweighs that of herbivorous or omnivorous Pokémon."

"Tell me about it," Jerry muttered.

"Considering food alone, assuming one does not go hunting and foraging, I expect the cost of food for a full year to be approximately 300,000 Poké at minimum for a carnivore, and significantly less for an herbivore. Omnivores will therefore be in the middle range."

"Sounds about right," Jerry confirmed. "I had to do these numbers pretty often."

"What else must be paid for?" Step asked.

"Well, your house, if you have one and didn't just pick out a cave. But thanks to the Association's whole Beat as One campaign, we still have to pay for any piece of land that we own as a tax. And that's not counting actually building or buying it."

"Is that part expensive as well?" Step asked.

"Depends on the sort of home you want to build. If you wanna live right here in Kilo Village, with the cutting-edge of technology and all that? Get ready to live in debt for the rest of your life." He shrugged. "But me? We lived down south in Pyrock Village. Much cheaper. Not the cheapest in all of Kilo, but it worked."

"…We?" Step said.

Jerry's jaw shut tight from whatever he was about to say.

"Mm. I understand," Step said with a nod. "I will not prod."

The Aerodactyl relaxed, though his dampened mood didn't go away. "Thanks," he mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

"What's Poké?" Enet suddenly asked.

"Uh, money," Jerry said. "You use it to buy things."

Enet stared blankly.

"…Right. Wild." He sighed, rubbing the top of his snout. "Okay. Let's say you want to get an apple. So—"

"Tree."

"Let's say you want an apple, but you don't want to go in the trees to get one."

"Then… no apple."

"Okay, yeah. Normally. But let's say, eh, someone else got an apple."

"Their apple."

"Yeah. But then, you give them this. A hundred Poké." He looked into the bag around his neck, pulling out a little gold coin. He gave it to Enet.

She held it confusedly in her claws, sniffing it. Her snout wrinkled.

"Yeah, uh, lots and lots of Pokémon have touched that over time," Jerry said.

"Gross."

Jerry shook his head and advanced. "For that, I get an apple, and you get a hundred Poké. Now, let's say you do that a few times. You make it a job for you to gather apples. Then, people give you Poké for the apples you give them."

Enet blinked for a while longer, but then nodded. "Apples… Poké. Why?"

Jerry then pointed to a nearby shop. It had much better food items on display there—pastries of some kind. "Now, you can use the Poké you earned to buy something for yourself, without having to do all the work for it."

"I… give Poké… for apples?"

"Not apples. But it can be, if you want. But for other things."

"Apples… becomes Poké… becomes… other things?"

"There, you're getting it."

"…Gets… everything else? From apples?"

"Yeah."

"So… if only apples… I, apples, with… that become Poké?"

Jerry's eyes widened slightly. "Exactly. You're… you're pretty bright, aren't you?"

"Bright?" Her ears flicked.

"Smart."

Enet flinched. "I'm… smart?"

"Y'seem smart to me," Jerry said, shrugging. "You pick up on things fast. That'll do you well, especially since you used to be feral."

Enet lit up, nodding. "Yeah! Smart!"

"Heh." Jerry looked off. "Yeah, smart."

Step tilted her head, making a low, grinding noise when the plates of her neck ground against one another. "You look much better when you smile."

"E-eh?" Jerry struggled to keep his walking pace.

"Intimidation figures decreased significantly," ADAM said.

"Rrff. Well, now I'm gonna think about that every time I smile," he growled. "Thanks."

"You should," Step said. "I wish I could smile."

Jerry looked at the Aggron. "Oh, yeah. Look at that. Your lips can't move."

Step nodded. "I suppose if I socialized, it would be a bit difficult."

"That's odd," Jerry said. "Sometimes, I get the impression that you were smiling."

"Hm." Step avoided his eyes. "How interesting of you to say."

Jerry watched Step, smirking. "Like right now."

Her chin flicked upward, jaws closing tight. "Hmph." She snorted out a puff of ice. "Then perhaps we shall both not smile."

"Guess so."

The further they walked, the more Star picked up the pace. "There!" she said. "Hang on, can we spend a bit on this for a second?"

"Uh, why?" Jerry said, squinting. "What is this place?"

Jerry wasn't very familiar with this part of town. They had gone far north in the crater. Normally, this part was for Dungeon equipment, but even further north held newer buildings for less essential living. The ghostly Espeon stood in front of one of these newer buildings, colored a bright blue, with letters in black at the top. "Smeargle's Sketches." Not very catchy, but it got the point across.

"C'mon!" Star said.

"What're you doing?" Jerry groaned. "I thought we were getting a bed. Don't tell me you're the sort to go on some sort of shopping spree the moment you have a bunch of money on you."

"No, no," Star said. "Trust me, give me this, okay?"

"Look at that, God telling us to 'give her this,' like she's some kind of little kid. Hey! Are you listening to me?! I'm calling you a kid!"

The interior of the blue building was littered with papers and cloths dusted with paint, and the air itself smelled of the same paint. There was a hint of sweetness to it, too, like bits of berry juice was used to make some of the pigments. No windows. Near the back, they saw a Smeargle working on a large canvas almost as big as he was, standing on a wooden stool to get some extra height.

"Uh, hello?" Star called.

The Smeargle tilted to the left. "Hm? Oh. How long were you there?"

"Not long. Can we get a commission from you?" Star said.

He was so inattentive that he didn't even realize Star was transparent. "Sure. My prices are on the wall."

Star craned her neck to see the prices. A large, full portrait went all the way up to 25,000 Poké, and Jerry, fearing for his funds, was about to speak up.

"That one," Star said. "Small frame, full color. That's about big enough to put on a little shelf, right?"

"Oh, that's a popular one. Sure. I'd love to do that. What of?" He stopped his painting and sighed, rubbing the hat-like fur atop his head. "I need a break from this one anyway. I'll put it on pause. If it's a small frame, I can probably get it done by the end of today. How's that sound?"

"Sounds perfect! Actually, I can give you an exact idea of what I want here. Can you lean forward? Close your eyes. I'm gonna give you a vision."

"A vision? You must be an incredibly powerful Psychic—I've never heard of that before."

"Yep, I'm pretty talented." Star stuck her nose in the air, earning a muted growl from both Step and Jerry.

Smeargle put his tail down and leaned forward, closing his eyes. Star stared at Smeargle, the little gem in the middle of her forehead flashing once. Smeargle opened his eyes a bit wider than usual. "I see," he said, nodding. "Of course. That'll be 5,000 Poké. I'll take half now, and half when I'm done."

"Deal," Star said, nodding at Jerry, who, figuring that it wouldn't be too much out of their supplies, obliged, pulling out two gleaming, silvery coins and five gold ones.

"Okay. If I had to guess, I'll be done by the evening. I want to get this in while my mind has that vision fresh."

"Don't worry, it'll last a while," Star said, nodding. "Thanks!" She spun around. "Let's go back."

"Sure." Jerry said. "I take it you aren't telling us what you had him draw?"

"Nope. It's a surprise!"

"I'm getting really tired of these surprises," Jerry said, following Star out with the others.

"Okay," Star said. "Let's go back to what we were supposed to do. Jerry's bed! And then let's just hang out in town for a while, huh? Wait for his picture to finish."

"Oh, it's a picture for me?" Jerry prodded.

"Uhh—no, I didn't say that," Star said.

"You're terrible with secrets," Jerry said. "Actually, you know what, I—uff!" He bumped into Step's back, dinging his jaw against one of her armored plates. "What're you doing, stopping in the middle of—"

ADAM blared an alert signal, flailing his body. Enet covered her ears and glared at ADAM, muting his general area with her illusions.

Across the road, exiting out of a nearby building with a bag overfilled with little snacks and trinkets, was a familiar, tiny, deadly Espurr.

"So what? It's just some kid on errands," Jerry muttered.

"Th-that's Rim," Star said. "Oh, of course she'd visit here during the down time." She looked at the others. "We need to go."

Rim turned her huge eyes toward them—it looked like she wasn't expecting to see them, either, based on how they bulged even wider.

Jerry rolled his eyes. "Honestly, the way you're being, I wouldn't doubt it if…" His voice trailed off in a long drawl. Jerry felt, for just a split-second, a sharp pain in his back, but that faded as quickly as it came. Also fading was his general ability to feel anything. His legs gave out from beneath him, and his wings refused to cooperate. Enet yelped and ran toward Jerry, trying to wake him up with ineffectual slaps.

The Aerodactyl was awake, but paralyzed. His body twitched and convulsed, a pointed, iron spike sticking out of his back, laced with some sort of potent venom.

"Got you."

Star and the others spun around—Step slower than the rest—and saw a Salazzle clutching another iron spike, just in case it was needed. Step glanced back at Rim next. She was drawing nearer.

"How bold to try to hide among the crowd, Jerry," Salazzle said.

"S… Spice…" Jerry grunted.

"Oh, come on!" Star roared. "Jerry! You stupid—I thought Anam cleared your—"

"Sorry for the suddenness, you guys," Spice said, twirling the spike in her claws, "but Aerodactyl is a very dangerous outlaw. I needed this little activity, anyway. I'm restless. Aerodactyl Jerry! By the power of Team Alight, you're under arrest!"

Rim stood right behind them.

"Who's the kid?" Spice said.

"N-now, hang on," Star said. "Let's not freak out about this, okay? Let's just—"

Step instantly became transparent, covering the ground in a thick layer of ice.

Jerry now knew what it was like to have a layer of snow over his entire body. He made sure to avoid the north thanks to the intense cold. He was always wary of Ice Types. Even when he preyed upon the weak and unsuspecting for their change and their equipment, he avoided the Pokémon he'd have a natural disadvantage against. He had the fortune of never having to deal with Icy attacks in his life.

Now he was three feet deep in a layer of slush that froze him like nothing else. He screamed a muffled scream from beneath the snow, beating his wings to break out. By some miracle, he found the surface and clawed his way out and onto his feet. When he emerged, he noticed a distinct lack of Star—Step's initial blast must have dissolved her spirit, sending her back to the spirit world.

"What—"

"GET DOWN!" Step roared.

Jerry reflexively hit the snow with his body again, wincing at the stinging cold against his front. Just then, a beam of icy energy brushed mere inches above his head, leaving behind a snapping layer of frost.

Kilo Villagers screamed in panic from their buildings, hiding inside. Jerry dared to peek out from his snowy shelter. ADAM was still blaring his alert signal, but he was also concentrating a bright light at the tip of his beak. Enet had disappeared completely—he had no idea where she went. Step held her hands forward, shooting Ice Beams from each palm at something in the sky.

"What is that thing?!" Jerry shouted over the icy blasts. He struggled to stand, but then realized that the poison in his system was still hampering his movement even more than the snow. He struggled to dig through his bag, hoping he had a Cheri Berry on him.

Something touched his left wing. "Spice!" Jerry said.

"You need to explain to me what in Mew's name is happening right now," Spice hissed.

"Oh, like I'd know!" Jerry hissed. "These people are insane! Get—get out of here. It's too dangerous."

Rim dodged every single Ice Beam. Bags and bags of groceries floated around her. Apples mingled with Oran Berries. Pages of books turned on their own in the wind, large novels trapping smaller comics within. Little trinkets and toys bumped against each other in a cloud above the Espurr.

"Hyper Beam at fifty percent," ADAM announced.

"What? He's charging a Hyper Beam? I thought that technique went in reverse!" Spice said. "Just fire already!"

"Normal Hyper Beams are not enough for the Hunter," ADAM reported. "Supercharging."

"What does that even mean?!"

"Don't question it!" Jerry said. "Get this Mew-forsaken spike out of my–AGH!"

To her credit, Spice obeyed, having yanked the spike out of him without a second thought. Blood dribbled from the open wound. Spice slipped a small vial made of sugar into Jerry's mouth and said, "Bite."

Jerry obeyed without thinking. Energy surged through him and his wound closed instantly. "Ungh—" He winced at the strong, bitter aftertaste.

"Aggron!" Spice yelled. "Stop disturbing the peace!"

"The Hunter is dangerous," Step replied, pointing at Rim.

"That little thing? Come now, she's adorable! A little creepy, but c'mon! And you just froze the entire street! I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Step disregarded Spice's existence and stared at Rim again. She was still watching them, unblinking.

Step kept her right hand aimed at Rim but knew that the moment she fired, she'd just dodge it again. She used it as leverage. "Why are you here?!"

Rim finally blinked at Step, but then motioned to the groceries behind her, as if it was obvious.

"Tch… a likely story," Step said. "Where are the mutants, then? You surely have them nearby."

Rim shook her head.

"Oh, really? You just happened to come to Kilo Village at the same time we do? To get groceries?"

Rim fidgeted with her paws, nodding. The various items scattered behind her rearranged themselves into their respective bags, clicking shut once full. Rim accidentally dropped an apple, losing her focus. She looked back.

That was Step's chance. She slammed her tail on the ground, sending a huge wave of snow behind her. It buried both Spice and Jerry, and the hulking Aggron flew straight into the air. Her fist enveloped itself in frosty air; despite her bulky frame, she moved from the ground to the air right in front of Rim in a fraction of a second. Rim only had time to stare back at Step and gasp.

She collided with the barrier, shattering her own fist upon impact. Step hissed and drew her other arm back. Rim's eyes flashed purple. Step realized too late that she wouldn't be able to dodge it.

The Psychic blasted her to the ground in a spiraling motion, drilling into a building across town. Reinforced rocks and mortar fell on top of her, along with the surprised screams of the inhabitants. They scrambled out of the crumbling home.

Rim hastily gathered her supplies and shut her eyes, ready to disappear.

Spice crawled out from the snow. She puffed a plume of fire into the ice and pulled Jerry out next. The Aerodactyl, shivering and wet, only had a few seconds of what he could call stability—as he was at least on his feet—before a new disturbance ruined his balance.

ADAM fired.

The Hyper Beam was dense and narrow, but the light it emitted made it appear to be almost a fourth the radius of Kilo Village itself. A white core surrounded by yellow and orange swirls, accented with unstable red sparks, slammed against Rim's barrier. She shut her eyes tight and held her paws out.

The Beam scattered across her barrier, blowing huge holes in the clouds above Rim. Some stray beams deflected back to the ground, scorching rooftops. Others carved new dips in the streets like the claw of some titanic Garchomp.

Step jumped out of the building and then slammed her foot on the air on an invisible platform, reorienting herself straight for Rim. Her fist was healed, and she shattered it for a second time on the Espurr's barrier. This time, she broke through.

"Got you," Step hissed, wrapping her claws around Rim's throat with her remaining hand.

Her eyes widened with panic. Psychic, swirling energy churned around Step, but the Aggron squeezed her claws, digging into her throat. That was all she could do. The Psychic blast tore her arm into five icy chunks. The hand remained latched onto Rim, stuck in its clenched position. Desperately, Step slammed her remaining, handless arm down onto Rim and pushed her toward the ground.

They landed on top of the grocery store, breaking through the roof. Berries, fruits, and vegetables scattered in all directions. An innocent southern Vulpix became buried in the scattered produce. A Froslass and Tangrowth running the shop fled for their lives into the streets.

Step didn't even take the time to ask Rim for last words. She brought her one arm down onto her skull. At the last second, a final barrier blocked Step from finishing her off. Her eyes glowed and blasted the icy Aggron out of the shop, breaking the entrance apart. She tumbled across the ground and stopped on her back, too disoriented to get up.

Rim gathered up her groceries—somehow mostly intact—and emerged from the shop, staring at Step unblinkingly. Step's icy claws fell from her neck, leaving behind a small patch of blood.

"Urgh…" Step tried to stand, but a force kept her held in place. "On my back against a Psychic… just like Ra…" She growled out a curse, blowing another puff of frost into the air. "How appropriate."

Rim's eyes flashed—but then her entire body suddenly jerked to the right. The Espurr yelped, a bloody wound abruptly forming on her side. A second one appeared next to the first, slashing down her arm. Rim's eyes flashed to the right, twisting the air, but whatever was attacking her was completely unaffected. A third slash slammed against Rim's barrier, but then a fourth cut diagonally across her back. She screamed and fell to the ground, panting.

Lithe footsteps kicked dirt into the air. That was enough for Rim to flash her eyes again, this time firing a strange beam of Bug-imbued energy toward the steps.

Enet's illusion dropped instantly. The once-invisible Zoroark went flying across the street, tumbling and twirling on the ground until she stopped in a dusty, dizzy heap.

Step managed to get to her feet. In the little time she had, she rushed Rim and raised her remaining arm. The Espurr didn't have time to react, only to turn and stare at the icy death that awaited her.

"NO!"

A concentrated plume of fire slammed into Step's back, turning a portion of her tail into water. Then, it exploded violently, sending Step clear over Rim and on her partly-melted back. Her left leg shattered, absorbing most of the impact.

"Who—?!" Step hissed.

Standing on the opposite side of Rim, rushing to her side, was a Typhlosion, nuzzling the tiny Espurr's cheek. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Lavender," she said quietly. "Go away…"

"No! I'll save you!"

"I'm… fine…"

"Get away from the Espurr, child!" Step shouted. "Or die with her!"

Step rose to her one remaining leg, holding herself up with her one arm on the opposite corner of her body. A cold wind spun around them, snow gathering and compacting around her missing limbs. In mere seconds, Step's body was in one piece again. She held out both hands toward Rim and left no time for either of them to answer.

Lavender brought his arms forward and held his head down. A shield of light blocked Step's onslaught, protecting Rim just behind him.

"Do you really think a mere Protect barrier is enough for me?!"

She kept firing. She delved into the depths of her Mystic strength to press even when the Protect barrier started to fade. Lavender grunted and held his hands forward again. The Protect barrier flickered and shattered.

Lavender yelped in pain, the Ice Beam freezing his chest, leaving large crystals behind that made it hard to move his arms forward again for another Protect.

"Rim… run away! I… I'm not allowed to hurt them… Dad said so!"

Rim struggled to stand, looking behind her. She nodded.

"As if I would allow such a thing!" Step said. She looked up and spotted ADAM finally approaching from the air. She could only tell because of the multicolored blast flying down from him. Freezing, shocking, and burning energies all mixed into one and slammed into Lavender from behind.

He howled, falling forward. That left Rim open to attack. The Espurr wobbled toward the downed Typhlosion, completely vulnerable. "Now!" Step shouted to ADAM.

"Target locked." The Proygon-Z fired another Tri-Attack for Rim. At the same time, Step unleashed her final Ice Beam at her. If those two connected—based on how Rim's body was so strained, her barrier depleted—it would kill her. It had to.

"STOOOP!"

Lavender lunged over Rim and enveloped her body in his fur. Ice wrapped around his left side and the mixed auras of the Tri-Attack scorched, shocked, and froze his right. The flames on his back erupted and melted the ice away, sending plumes of steam into the sky.

Step saw him move away. She grunted frustratedly. At this rate, they'd escape. She squinted, trying to read their auras through the steam, but something about Lavender's aura made looking at them sting. It was blinding. Staring at Lavender was like staring into the sun with wide eyes.

"Ugh, to the void with this," Step muttered. Her normal sight was more reliable at this point, even with the steam. With a splitting headache from looking at Lavender's glowing spirit, she opened her eyes.

She saw a shadow in the rising vapor. She had no idea what it was, but it could only be Lavender and Rim. The icy Aggron readied her hands, taking aim.

Something jumped out of the steam. Something Step had never seen before. It moved so quickly that she couldn't get a good look at it—only that it went on four legs, with a white head and neck, a black body, and green forelegs like talons.

Lavender moved so quickly that Step didn't have time to change her aim. She fired out of reflex. To Step's fortune, it hit the creature right between the eyes, split by the strange crest atop its head. To Step's misfortune, it didn't even slow him down.

The talons of the strange creature glowed with a fiery, orange aura. Still in the air, Lavender swung his forelegs down onto Step. The fire melted the top layer of her icy body and the impact shattered the rest of her shoulders, leaving her armless. The forward momentum carried into Step, knocking her backward.

"Ungh—!"

Lavender jumped in the air again; his form eclipsed the sun from Step's vantage point. She only saw his silhouette—and then his eyes, narrow and glowing with a golden light.

A spirit emerged from Step's chest—a large Kommo-o. And then two more appeared right beside him. All three of them slammed their chests in unison, sending clanging shockwaves toward Lavender all at once.

It was barely enough to disrupt his strike; he fell to the ground and shook his head.

"R-Ra—"

The largest Kommo-o looked back. "Pull yourself together."

The other two went to either side of Step and helped her up.

Enet, finally awake, struggled to her feet, severely hunched over.

ADAM's beak was glowing with a halfway-charged Hyper Beam.

Jerry and Step finally rounded the corner in time to see what had happened on the opposite side of the street.

Lavender was completely surrounded, yet it didn't look like he was anywhere near finished. His eyes glowed, fierce and fiery, like his flame-imbued talons.

Rim sat up. "Lavender…"

He looked back. The golden light in his eyes dimmed. "H-huh?" Suddenly, his body convulsed. He bowed his head in a retch, and then a cough. A golden, ethereal cloud spewed from his throat and onto the ground, comprised of tiny orbs of light. Lavender gasped and clamped his jaws on as much as he could, practically breathing them back in. Despite this, some evaporated away anyway. Lavender coughed again, expelling even more of that golden fog.

In the chaos, Rim crawled to Lavender. She tiredly pulled out a strange device from her pouch—Step caught sight of it. A shining Badge—identical to the ones Team Alloy carried with them.

Step fired another Ice Beam, this time from her mouth, but by the time it got to their positions, the pair vanished in a golden light.

She huffed snowflakes. "Pathetic," she said, though it was hard to tell—even for herself—who that was targeted toward. And then, she fell.

"Mom!" one of the Kommo-o spirits said. She caught Step under the right arm. "Kana—help—"

The other daughter held Step up by the other arm.

The largest Kommo-o walked briskly to her side. "How are you?"

"The Hunter got away," she hissed. "Ra…" She glared at him. "Thank you for helping."

Ra nodded, offering a proud smile. It faded seconds later. "We must regroup. That thing was not normal. Another weapon of the Hunters." He looked back at the others. ADAM was dispelling his charged Hyper Beam gradually with a soft glow. Enet had collapsed onto her back, breathing steadily. Jerry and Spice caught up to them.

"You're explaining to me everything," Spice said.

"I'm gonna tell the same thing to that cursed Mew," Jerry hissed back.

"Mew?!" Spice said. "You're kidding."

"I wish I was."

Spice looked between them, rubbing her head. She addressed Jerry. "The… ice-Aggron is showing signs of aura fatigue. We need to bring her to the hospital."

"Sure," Jerry said.

"After that, we're gonna get you and these three processed."

"Excuse me?" Jerry said. "Didn't you hear me?! I said my name was cle—"

"Fine, maybe not you, but certainly the Aggron and Porygon-Z." She pointed to them. "They clearly assaulted the Espurr to cause all of this mess!"

"Are you—" Jerry paused. With Spice's perspective, Step did initiate the strike. But there had to be a good reason for it. Step was one of the most reasonable Pokémon he'd ever seen in this insane collection of nutcases. Was she a nut, too? Perfect.

"Safety first," Spice said. "Let's take her to the hospital. If you can explain it to me then, I won't arrest them, but I can't say the same for all the other Hearts when they see the damage she did. The—" Spice hissed. "I need to check the other buildings for anybody injured, too. Jerry, you're helping me."

"What—"

"I'm putting my faith that you aren't lying to me when you said your name's cleared. Help me with this. Besides, isn't this what you've always wanted?"

Jerry grunted. He dug through the bag around his neck and pulled out his Provisionary Badge. "Guess so."

Step's eyes bulged. "You idiot," she said, shoving him back. "Show me that at the beginning. Now I don't have to threaten you with my poison." She pointed to the right street. "Check that side. I'll check the left. Okay?"

"Alright. And what about them?" Jerry said. "They don't know the way to the hospital."

"Oh—I do," Cent spoke up. "I used to work there."

"Of course you did." Jerry sighed. "Fine, then you bring him and the Zoroark to the hospital, got it?"

"Okay. Dad! Carry Enet!"

"…Must I?" Ra asked.

"It's only fair," Step replied. Despite her exhaustion, her eyes shined with amusement.

A smirk that only Ra recognized. "You're enjoying this."

"I am."

He awkwardly approached the Zoroark, hesitating to get any closer. She locked eyes with him briefly and growled.

"Hello, Enet," Ra greeted.

A dark aura enveloped her claws. Ra expected as much.

"I'm here to help," he said, pointing behind him. "I'm with the Ice Guardian. I cannot hurt you." A simple lie to get the feral to cooperate.

Enet stared at Ra. "…You're mean."

Ra swallowed his pride and lowered his head and upper half in a bow. "I'm sorry."

Enet huffed and got up to her feet, taking a few stubborn steps past him. She couldn't keep it up, stumbling over her own feet. Ra held his arm out and caught her. She growled at him again, but finally snorted, resigning herself.

They walked along the icy roads. The snow was rapidly melting. The overabundance of water drained effectively through the drainage ditches that lined the edges of the streets.

"Mnngh…" Step groaned. "Golden…"

"What?" Kana asked.

"Star's… telling us to be careful," Step said.

ADAM fell in line with the other two injured Guardians. Up close, it looked like the Porygon Z's beak had somehow deformed from the overexertion of his attacks.

"I was unable to detect aura readings during the battle," ADAM reported. "Attempting to scan user 'Lavender' resulted in a sensor overflow. The scanner had to be rebooted. Three attempts were made with the same results. When light sensors detected a golden color, aura sensors were briefly operational. A large number of individual auras were detected for three seconds."

"Souls…" Step tried to walk normally again, but she heard her icy joints creak. "Star is saying… that those lights… were souls…" Unable to remain conscious, the Aggron finally passed out, leaving her daughters to carry her the rest of the way.