Chapter 98 – Overwhelming Forces

"Gahi, slow down!" Eon shouted, wobbling along in a Charizard form.

"Dunno what that means," Gahi replied, his feet not even touching the ground as he glided over the floor of the large-Pokémon evaluation building.

"It means," Eon said, panting between breaths, "that you need to let me keep up with you."

"Why do you not transform into Gahi and keep up that way?" Trina asked. "After all, do you not typically turn into whatever is on the forefront of your mind?"

"Yes, and right now, all I can think about is taking care of Owen, and therefore—"

"Well, consider yourself glad you don't become a Charmander." Trina smiled wryly.

"What—"

And just then, Eon started to shrink. "No, no, no, don't say that! You'll make it happen!"

"Eh?" Gahi glanced back. "Charmander Charmander Charmander Cha—"

"STOP!"

Too late. Eon suddenly fell forward and toppled over, rolling over the ground. Before he could right himself, Gahi swept his tail under Eon and flicked him onto his shoulder.

"What—how did you do that?" Eon muttered, wobbling with his new, small form.

"Dunno. I think I did some Psychic pushes ter keep yeh on th' right path." Gahi rounded the corner, going past several larger-than-life potted Void plants. These ones looked more like miniature trees and bushes of dark red leaves, in a perpetual, violet autumn.

"This the one?" Gahi said.

"What?"

"Receptionist lady said two doors from th' right, right."

"I didn't hear that! You were throwing me around!"

"What, you think I'm good at listenin'?"

"But you just—"

The door slid open slowly, with hollow grinding as several gears and pullies within the wall slid the heavy door aside. It was probably meant to be secure enough to keep others from breaking in as well as whatever was inside from breaking out…

"Yer here," Marshadow greeted, taking up barely a tenth of the width of the doorway. "C'mon, we were in th' middle o' talkin' about stuff."

Owen looked back, and he and Eon made eye contact for an instant. Charmander to Charmander. But in another instant, Owen tore his gaze away, taking some of Eon's heart with it.

"We had a breakthrough," Marshadow said once he took a seat. "Y'know Emily?"

"Former Dragon Guardian?" Eon asked.

"How much d'you know 'bout that?"

"Wait, that's the thing she is?!" Gahi said.

"Yes," Eon said. "A Decree was disguising it because apparently, she'd once rebelled against Arceus. But after her power was stripped from her and given to the new Dragon Guardian, she was given a second chance. Her past transgressions and her past role would be forgotten, but she could still use her power to save Pokémon lost at sea. Why?"

"Mostly because all yeh just said was a false story," Marshadow stated.

"Arceus lied about that?" Owen said.

"Preposterous," Dialga interjected immediately, his booming voice overwhelming all other speakers even if it was his normal speaking tone. "Why would Arceus lie about something like that? Every god has dissenters and opposition, and the fact that Arceus was so merciful as to give her a second chance would be a story he'd happily tell."

Eon glanced at Owen, who seemed to be frowning with disapproval, and Eon agreed. Though, at the same time, it did add up. Barky had quite the ego, after all; anything to make him look good, he'd take it, wouldn't he? Then why hide it at all?

"This is good," Marshadow said, getting up from his seat. "Real, real good… I think this discussion is givin' us real insight on what actually happened here. I don't think anybody in this room is intentionally lyin'. In fact, I think all you guys think what you just said was the truth."

"How's that possible?" Demitri asked. "Everything that was said… And Marshadow, you said Emily was Dark Matter's vessel or something, right?"

"…What?" Eon looked between the crowd, realizing that so many of them were following along—aside from him, Trina, and Gahi.

Marshadow paced, then pointed at Dialga. "You say Arceus would never hide somethin' like that from history."

"Yes, absolutely. And in fact, I have no recollection of Lugia being anything short of kindhearted and benevolent."

"And you say that Lugia rebelled against Arceus and was defeated." Marshadow pointed to Eon. "And then made to ferget it ever happened, along with the rest o' th' world."

"Yes, that's how I… think I remember it…"

"An' you," Marshadow said, looking now at Owen, "say she's got Dungeon properties about 'er. A vessel o' Dark Matter."

"I'm still not completely sure about that," Owen said. "But she is bigger on the inside, and she doesn't… have—I guess, now that I think about it, she's a lot like Anam. She's just some thing in the shape of a Lugia."

"Oh." Mispy suddenly said, and hearing her speak after all that was so surprising that all heads turned to her. Everyone had been so quiet during this theorizing that her voice actually carried across the room.

"Mispy?" Demitri asked.

Mispy tried to speak again, but all the eyes on her made her freeze up.

"It's okay, Mispy," Trina said. "Everyone, stop staring at her. Let her gather herself."

Demitri held her side and whispered something, and Mispy whispered back.

The Haxorus widened his eyes. "…Marshadow," he said slowly, "do you know how Divine Decrees work?"

"They're like wishes," Marshadow said. "World runs on wishes. Little wishes, big wishes, specific wishes, broad wishes… I dunno, ask Jirachi, he's the expert on that. An' befer yeh ask, no, he's in West Null Village, and we're in South Null Village."

"Get to the point," Jerry said impatiently.

"Right, yeh." Marshadow cleared his throat. "One way to conceptualize Pokémon power is with wishes."

"You mean like how we use aura to perform our techniques and attacks?" Owen asked.

"Aura? Heh, sure. Another term is Infinity Energy, but sure, aura. What, yer technique science run by a Lucario er somethin'?"

"Well, Rhys developed most theories behind how Pokémon techniques work, and he's a Lucario."

Marshadow looked genuinely surprised that he was correct.

"Rhys…" Dialga murmured. Eon heard it, but nobody else did, and the conversation moved on.

"We know the lesson already," Jerry muttered. "Heard it enough in school. Use your power to tap into those techniques you were born with, right? Exercising your aura is no different than exercising your muscles or any other part of your body. What's this got to do with Decrees?"

"Well, a Decree isn't just a wish," Marshadow said. "It's a wish that c'n restrict wishes."

"I read a book about that once," Demitri said, tilting his head. "It was about Jirachi being unsealed from sacred stone, and he was going to grant three wishes. But one rule was that they couldn't wish for more wishes, and there were other restrictions, like they couldn't wish for love, or death of someone, or—"

"A Decree is what made those rules," Marshadow explained simply. "Decrees are rules fer rules. They permeate all reality when they're made. Originally, a Decree was made ter limit what Pokémon do at all, so you don't got a Charmander shootin' Hydro Pumps, er a Haxorus runnin' Play Rough.

"A Decree is the law of reality. Yeh can't break it unless yer strong enough ter rewrite the Decree itself, or yeh got an override. To challenge reality itself."

"Like Mystic power," Owen said. "If I have something that gives me the techniques…"

"Yep." Marshadow nodded. "Workarounds, yeh could say. But we're gettin' off topic. Meganium, eh… Mispy, was it? How come yer askin' about those?"

"Dark… Matter," Mispy replied after a lot of pausing. When she got those first words out, her eyes hardened. "He made a Decree."

"Good," Marshadow said, nodding. "Th' fact you came ter the same conclusion makes me think I'm right."

"But—you can't make Decrees unless you have divine power, right?" Owen said. "And a lot! I'm a Mystic and not even I can do those! Star and Barky have most of the power, and the rest is all scattered around the Orbs."

"Two Orbs isn't enough for a Decree, either," Eon pointed out, gesturing to himself. "I have two, and I'm nowhere near that level of power."

"…Hm." Marshadow looked at Owen. "You mentioned a while back that a Decree sealed your memory, and it broke. What was sealed?"

"My memory of Kanto," Owen said. "I even forgot my native language. There's this feral Zoroark on our team—I started understanding her perfectly after it broke."

"How strong were you when that broke?" Marshadow asked.

"Star possessed me. I think that was enough power in the heat of the moment that it snapped."

"Just Mew?"

"And a little of an Orb."

"Then whatever Decree sealed those memories were at least slightly weaker than that amount of power. One god and one Orb. That's our minimum," Marshadow said. "We can math this out. What's the minimum power needed ter make a Decree that can erase Lugia's true nature from history? If we figure that out, we might have a shot at figuring out the truth. We c'n also say that there's a maximum befer any o' this wouldn't have mattered. If Dark Matter gets enough Hands, he'd've won already."

"What's the point of figuring that out?" Jerry asked.

"Getting info," Marshadow said simply. "If Dark Matter really did make this Decree he had a reason. He hid info. If we wanna beat him, we gotta get that info back. First thing we gotta do is retrace our steps, and maybe, jus' maybe, figure out how much power we gotta gather ter break it. It'll all cascade from there."

Mispy was staring pensively downward, and Demitri nudged her gently. Eon didn't know them as well, but he knew them enough to guess how she was feeling. Mispy wrapped a few vines around his arm and squeezed, still deep in concentration, but needing something tactile to feel and fiddle with. Mispy was very physical like that.

"Well, he couldn't have gotten a majority," Owen said. "More than half of all Hands and Dark Matter would have just beaten us all, right? So he probably had around two-fifths!"

"No," Mispy said simply.

"Eh?"

"Too hasty."

Owen frowned, but Marshadow nodded.

"Think carefully. Don't rule that out just yet," Marshadow hummed.

Eon frowned; he didn't understand. If Dark Matter gained over half of all Hands, wouldn't that have been enough? Sure, there was raw power beyond that, too, like that whole willpower explanation from Manny, but did that apply here? And who would have a greater will than a literal… whatever Dark Matter was?

That silence hung over the group before they could continue with their theorizing. They trailed along for a little while longer, mostly focused on Owen's time as a Heart, the sudden resurgence of Guardian sightings and its odd timing, and then Trina mentioning that she doubted it was a coincidence. To this, Marshadow and the others agreed, but just precisely what mechanisms were at play was still hard to puzzle out.

Owen figured aloud that if they had enough time to sit together and think, they might have found more, or perhaps that was all they could have found. But that didn't matter; their conference was interrupted by five rapid knocks at the entrance to Dialga's room.

"M-Marshadow! Quickly!" called a guard, deep yet cracking with panic.

"Eh? What?"

"Aster!"

That one word made Marshadow's wispy head turn to green flames. "How long do we got?"

"Five minutes, at most!"

Marshadow muttered a quick curse and stared at Owen, then Dialga, then the rest. "Owen, with me. Dialga, do not leave this room. The rest o' you, scatter. Do whatever in town. Blend in, don't get noticed. Got it?"

"What?" Eon asked, but Marshadow did not repeat himself. He instead reached for Owen, held his hand firmly, and pulled him along and out of Dialga's room. Eon yelled for him to get back, but the confusion and sudden urgency left him standing with everyone else.

Marshadow ran Owen along the roads of Null Village's residential district. Pokémon of varying sizes and evolution levels, most of them at their lower or middle forms, watched Marshadow with worried curiosity. The intensity of his flames made them quicken their pace to find a place to take shelter. Rumors of Aster arriving spread faster than Marshadow's pacing through town.

Down one of the paved clay roads, Marshadow stopped when he saw a familiar and trustworthy face.

"Oi! Xypher!"

The Corviknight chirped, having just exited a small building with an entrance just the right size for him. The crystals that embedded the walls were all a bright silver.

"I need yeh ter keep Owen safe, y'hear? Safe and inside yer place."

"Safe? Safe, safe?"

"Aster's coming and we gotta make sure he doesn't get a look. You and Hakk have a place ter hide yer stuff, right?"

Xypher shifted nervously, like he wasn't supposed to answer.

"What's going on?" Hakk called from inside. The icy Sandslash stepped beside Xypher and closed the door behind him.

"Ain't any time," Marshadow said. "Hide Owen in yer place. Aster won't think ter look there, fer one, since this is just some random home out in the residential district."

"What do you—"

"Hide!" Marshadow conjured a large, shadowy hand from the ground that tossed Owen into Hakk's claws, who had cradled him on reflex. Owen blushed under his scales and Hakk dropped him.

After some quick movements, Hakk and Xypher headed back inside to leave Owen, saying for him to stay put for the time being and not go outside. Apparently, they had errands to run, and the best way to keep Owen safe for now was to keep him someplace indiscriminate. While Owen was nervous about being on his own in this home, he also figured that, at least statistically, the chances of this 'Aster' finding him in the residential district among the many other buildings was astronomically small.

"We'll be back after we get some groceries," Hakk said. "Don't go outside. The walls should keep Aster from looking inside for mind reading or anything."

"What? How?"

"Insulated walls. Privacy, y'know?"

"You guys have that here too?"

"Something tells me Null Village is more advanced than Kilo." Hakk dismissed Owen with a shooing wave and stepped out with Xypher.

Marshadow stopped near the center of Null Village, where the great anti-Titan spire loomed above all the other buildings. It was a dark obsidian color, embedded with several crystals in a lattice pattern in a rainbow gradient of colors. Near the top, the crystals stopped, replaced instead by thin lines that glowed dimly with its radiant power. The bottom of the spire was the width of a great oak tree, with several control modules on the southern side, though it didn't activate nor even reveal itself without the right person in front of it. It was mostly for overrides anyway; the spire was controlled remotely from the lookout towers instead.

The spire sat in the central plaza, behind a gate that Pokémon were not allowed to tread unless they had authorization. Even Marshadow did not enter if he didn't have to, if only for safety; the spire's energy was extraordinary. So, Marshadow stood about ten feet away from the spire, eyes skyward as he waited for Aster's arrival. Any second, now.

"Marshadow, is he there yet?"

Marshadow pulled out his badge and spoke into it. "Nope. How many seconds?"

"Are you sure? He's right there!"

Marshadow stared at the badge, then sighed, eyes closed. "Aster," he said aloud. "No tricks, c'mon."

Someone giggled from the other side of the spire.

He was not in the mood to be playing one of Aster's games. A hyper Aster was an unpredictable Aster. Though, he supposed it was better than an Aster who was afraid of getting in trouble with Alexander; then they wouldn't be able to distract him. Perhaps he should count his blessings.

"An' to what do I owe yer visit this time? If yer waitin' on Null Village taxes, we sent 'em a few days ago." Marshadow sank into the ground and swiftly dashed around the spire, where he saw a flicker of light and a bit of the Mewtwo's tail before it disappeared.

"No, no, we got those!" Aster replied, now on the original side of the spire Marshadow had been. "Where'd you go?"

Marshadow hopped out of the ground and casually walked around. "Was lookin' fer yeh. Alright, so not taxes. What fer?"

"You need to give me whoever did that really powerful Infinity Energy explosion!"

"Eh?" Marshadow mentally cursed; Alexander had noticed. Still, Aster wasn't a good mind reader. Marshadow knew how to defend against even the subtlest mental invasions. Type advantage or not, Aster wouldn't find out if he tried to peek.

"Yeah, Down south in the Nil Plateaus! Big, big explosion of energy, way more than what a Z-Spire can do! So what is it, huh? Who did it? Is it someone really cool? Or a new weapon?! It'd be really great to use when Alexander's too busy to take down Titans on his own!"

"Dunno what yeh mean by all that," Marshadow said. "Been sending scouts around down there ter gather up spirits that fell from th' sky. Maybe something happened."

"Scouts, huh?" Aster flicked his tail, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. "How long does it take for all your scouts to come back?"

"Their trips can go from days to weeks," Marshadow said.

"Oh. Well, how about the strong ones? I dunno if Alexander can wait that long…"

Cornered. But it would buy them time. Aster was looking for someone powerful. Alexander knew. If they had a decoy, or an excuse, maybe that would work, but right now they needed time, and if he could at least keep Aster from looking around town…

"Maybe a week," Marshadow said. And this was true, even if the premise was a lie. "Send Alexander a message saying that. A week. If he wants ter be mad, he c'n be mad at me."

And at this, Aster's happy gleam had dulled a little. Good, that vulnerability was still there.

"What, was he cross with yeh?" Marshadow prodded.

"No," Aster replied immediately. "Alexander's always friendly. He's just a little strict because he cares a lot for Cipher City and the Void Kingdom! So, I have to work extra-hard to make sure he's happy, because he works extra hard!"

Marshadow gave a disapproving frown, making sure he exaggerated his features. Aster understood those easier. "I really wish he wasn't so hard on yeh. Yer doin' yer best."

"No, he's fine!" Aster said desperately, and then he laughed wildly. "Alexander's funny! I stole his desk and he said he'd count to three, and it was fun because then he gave me a mission where I could do anything I wanted as long as I brought back the source of that power!"

"Anything?" Marshadow repeated.

"Mhm! And then he leaned all close and smiled and said, aaaanything!"

Marshadow let the silence sink in.

"So," Aster said, immediately trying to fill it, "that's why I have to."

"Have to," Marshadow replied, nodding. "Yeah, I guess that's how it is. Don't wanna have Alexander punish you."

While he probably didn't mean it, Aster had let out a squeak anyway, and that happy façade melted like butter in a desert. He hastily slathered it back on. "I'm gonna get to do anything I want!" He smiled wider than ever, but his eyes reminded Marshadow of Class Ds trying to fake recollections to fool themselves.

"You want a place to stay until then?" Marshadow offered. "Yeh c'n stay at my place."

"No," Aster said, spinning around rapidly as he leaned back. "I'm gonna look for, uhhh… a cool place where I can strike cool poses!"

"Well, alright," Marshadow said. "you know where I live if yeh wanna relax a li'l. Don't ferget ter tell Alexander."

And again, Marshadow saw that hesitant look in Aster's eyes. Now he knew that Aster was hoping to get in and out. He was going to get desperate if things weren't careful, but…

"How about you tell him?" Aster asked with that same, cheerful tone. "You're way more articulate than I am and stuff!"

"Would he approve that?" Marshadow asked. "Dunno if he's real happy with my, eh, articulate way o' talkin' an' all that."

"It's okay!" And before Marshadow could object further, something landed in Marshadow's free hand—Aster's badge. Still good with Teleporting, it seemed.

With a suppressed groan, Marshadow navigated the badge's interface, knowing that if he did anything suspicious, Aster would panic. Without any shenanigans, he went to the contacts menu and—

"Okay." Marshadow didn't know what he expected. "Which one is Alexander?"

Grumpybutt. Pewpew. Hackerslasher. These nicknames were absurd.

"Oh, you need to pick Darkeyes!"

Wordlessly, Marshadow initiated the conversation and waited for an answer. It showed what appeared to be a doodle of a Haxorus for the profile picture, which pulsed with a little white ring as it waited for a response.

"Aster," called a voice that gripped Marshadow's chest with ice.

He refused to let it show in his voice. "Aster wanted me ter call. He's right by me."

"Hi, King!"

"Why?"

"Yer really gonna ask?" Marshadow said.

Alexander growled lowly. "Speak with respect. Why did you call me?"

"From what Aster told me, he's here ter get the source o' some great power detected way down south, right?"

"He is to get the most powerful entity he can find there, which is going to be the source of that unprecedented spike of energy."

"Yeh, figured." Marshadow looked to Aster, who smiled, though he looked very relieved. The Mewtwo's eyes looked tired, and Marshadow couldn't help but feel pity.

"And how long will you be stalling?" Alexander said.

"Ain't like that. They're still out on a scouting mission, and it ain't gonna be an easy call back that far out. They're scheduled ter return in a week. What's the plan?"

"Then they will return in a week?"

"Yeh. Well, around a week. If yeh wanna be safe, ten days."

"Aster."

"Yes!" Aster straightened and saluted nothing.

"For each day wasted, kill one resident."

"Oi, hold on," Marshadow said, masking his panic with anger. "It ain't their fault they're on a scouting mission. They're doin' their thing as fast as they can!"

"I know you are lying."

It was a bluff. It had to be a bluff. So Marshadow would bluff back. "Look, you've got one of the Voidlands' strongest standin' right next to me with a giant type advantage ter boot. Why'm I gonna lie? All yer gonna do is stir up unrest and then it'll make future collabs worse."

"Send your fastest scouts to get the ones out there to bring them back," Alexander said. "How much will that reduce the wait?"

"I dunno the numbers off the top of my head fer that. We can't spread our resources thin without risking the village."

"You really want to take this lie to the end, do you?"

"I ain't lyin'," Marshadow snarled. "Don't go making orders ter kill my people." Marshadow felt his flames turning green. In the rush of it all, he let slip something that, even as he said it, he wondered if he should have kept it inside. But instead, he let it go anyway, fueled by so much pent-up anger. "If Aster tries, I'll fight 'm back myself, and then we'll see if you'll ever get cooperation from me again."

Silence from the other end. Marshadow's flames were humming in his ears. If Alexander gave the order, he'd be fighting a Mewtwo in seconds. If he didn't die then, Alexander would send Leph. He'd be fighting God's forgotten daughter. And if he somehow, somehow evaded that, he'd have to deal with that Treecko. He wasn't prepared for that.

Aster looked nervous, shifting from left to right, and the soft sting of Psychic waves ran across Marshadow's back. Yes. Marshadow knew he was readying for an order he did not want to follow.

"Aster."

"Yes!" This time, it was a squeak, and he did not salute.

"If powerful scouts do not return in five days, take Marshadow instead."

"Okay. Five days!" Aster looked visibly relieved, but his voice didn't show it. That same old enthusiasm.

"I'm sure you will figure out how to get them back by then, Marshadow. Do not call me again unless they've returned early."

And then it disconnected.

Aster's shoulders slumped over, but when Marshadow turned to face him fully, he straightened right back up. "He's nice, isn't he?" Aster beamed.

Marshadow didn't return the false smile. Instead, he stared up at the strange Legend, green flames finally returning to their wispy black. Aster continued to smile—even wider than before, in fact—and finally Marshadow sighed.

"Hey," he said. "How about yeh come back ter my place and rest?"

"Oh, sure!"

"It ain't far," Marshadow gestured for him to follow, and indeed, it wasn't very far. After a short walk down the roads, which were barren from all the Pokémon holing themselves up in the nearest building they could find. Marshadow was glad that Hakk and Xypher lived on a different street; he didn't have to take any suspicious routes.

He approached a building embedded with crystals, most of them a deep, spectral purple. "Hope the colors don't bother yeh too much," he said, pressing a hand against the wall. An imprint glowed against the obsidian stone, which faded a second later when the door slid open. He gestured for Aster to enter first, and then Marshadow followed.

The second the door closed, Aster's shoulders slumped and he sighed. Marshadow didn't acknowledge it; instead, he headed to the fridge, kicked it open, and tossed Aster a small container of Pecha juice. Without looking, Aster caught it in a gentle Psychic grip.

"You remembered," Aster said, his voice suddenly soft and noticeably deeper. "I love this flavor."

"Eh, I don't, but they come in variety packs. Save 'em fer last when I'm desperate, may's well give 'em ter you." Marshadow pulled out a Cheri soda next. "Make yerself at home, relax a little" he added. Not like yer allowed to anywhere else.

"Oh, but I'm always relaxed!" Aster said, his voice defiantly energetic and squeaky.

Marshadow tilted his head, but then nodded. "He can't hear yeh."

"I—I know," Aster replied, his eyes dulling. "But I'm always relaxed. Well, not relaxed, I'm energetic, but I'm always happy."

"Never said yeh weren't."

Aster's jaw clenched. He looked down, squeezing his fingers; he couldn't maintain eye contact with Marshadow. "I'm… happy. I have to be. And smiling is fine. It's just a smile, right?"

Marshadow frowned, deciding that this was not something he would be able to fight on his own. "Juice'll get warm."

"Right."

Marshadow left the Mewtwo to his own devices, quietly wondering if there was a way he could use his mask against him. Aster didn't want to fight for Alexander, but he was also afraid to fight against him. How could he get Aster to cooperate and not scare him into complying with the orders?

Marshadow hopped onto a cushion several times his size and sank in, closing his eyes.

Five days… Aster would have no choice after that.

The skies of Kilo's oceans were black with a shadowy storm. Occasionally, bright violet lightning bolts crossed the clouds and struck the water, and Rhys could only hope that the aquatic Pokémon had long since sought refuge in the depths or far away from this part of the world.

The rain was weakly ebbing, and that was going to be the best opportunity they had to get out while they could.

Rhys had lost track of the days, but it had been more than enough to lose his mind from some mixture of anxiousness and boredom, only able to temper himself with idle chats with Brandon in person and Elder from afar. Arceus was insufferable and he didn't bother.

Tanneth hadn't moved at all from within her tiny capsule, and showed no willingness to emerge even after all this time. She needed immediate medical attention, and the only thing possibly keeping her alive was the ball's properties putting her in some kind of semi-stasis.

Rhys wasn't the only one leaving. Arceus had given an order, after observing the storm from Destiny Tower through some kind of far-sight, to leave the factory. This surprised and unnerved Brandon, but the instruction to gather the strongest and most operational Poké Balls meant that Arceus still had his basic mission in mind, even if he still wasn't sure why he needed them.

"Guess this'll do," Brandon said, holding a bag that was filled nearly to bursting with miniaturized spheres. "You got Tanneth?"

"I do."

"Alright, now where's Hecto—oh, wait, no, he's not around anymore…"

Rhys didn't recall seeing a Hecto anywhere around the factory. That was always strange, and he finally asked, "Do you know where he went?"

"No clue. Saw him running off, so he probably went for a swim and never came back… Kinda weird. He's not all that strong, but he's probably got enough energy to get to the mainland after a few days."

Rhys wondered if Hecto knew Star had disappeared. While stoic, the Zygarde certainly would feel distraught about that, wouldn't he? What would he be doing all this time?

"Let's go," Brandon said, "before the dark rain starts up again."

"Of course."

Most of his strength had returned, so the flight was much faster than Hecto's hypothetical swimming trip. Rhys learned once they could see the horizon that they had left at the top of noon, and their flight—courtesy of Brandon's flying steel plates—took the bulk of the day. Rhys occasionally tried to communicate with Tanneth, reading her aura from within, but she did not want to emerge. Elder helped pass the time with more small talk, his voice feeling closer and closer with each second.

Speaking with him was nostalgic, in a way. So many decades with nothing but telepathy to link them. Being away for a few days shouldn't have bothered him, but he missed the Torkoal's warmth.

The stormy skies were behind them, but were unsettlingly still along the horizon. Much closer than before at this point. Was half the world under this shroud of darkness, now? Would it expand, or would it stay put now that Arceus could deflect it?

That was what he planned to do, right?

"Hey, look. Land," Brandon commented, snapping Rhys out of his thoughts to look down. No more ocean, only a brief strip of sandy beach, and then the southern forests. They had passed by Zero Isle Spiral without him realizing. To the right was the now emptied Chasm of the Void, and far to the left, beyond the horizon, was Void Basin. It was so strange to be back on land after so many days of recovery.

"Land indeed," Rhys said, looking at Tanneth's Poké Ball. The sooner they could get her healed, the better.

They flew the rest of the way in silence aside from some idle comments to break it up. Brandon would comment on the trees and how green it was, and how that unnerved him. He asked Rhys if his Steel body would throw anyone off, and Rhys said probably not, since there were already a few abnormal Pokémon around thanks to the company they keep. Still, looking normal would be wise as well, since he could be mistaken for a mutant.

Brandon hesitated, then relented, though he also added that he hadn't gone to his normal form in a very long time. He spent the next few minutes poking his own arms, frowning at the sudden give it had.

When they landed in the southern entrance to Kilo Village, Rhys got off first with shaky steps. The entrance was a wide crevice in the mountainside that allowed for easy entry after a bit of a climb. Brandon had the courtesy to land near the top, where, at the bottom of Kilo Mountain's steep crater edge, a Torkoal waited. Despite how far away he was, Rhys felt his smile and conjured what aura energy he could to slide down in a makeshift sled.

He ignored Brandon's 'showoff' comment and hopped off with a graceful landing, followed by a small stumble.

"Elder," Rhys breathed, and then he let out a strained laugh. "Elder…"

"Rest, Rhys," the giant Torkoal cooed. He turned, letting Rhys press his head against his shell, and then smiled at Brandon. "Good to see you as well… Brandon, was it?"

"Yeah." Brandon looked him over. "…Weird pair. But y'know, I think I see why you two got together." Then, he clapped his hands together and said, "Anyway! Glad to see you. Steel Guardian, yadda yadda, hey, where can I drop off these things where absolutely nobody can get to them?" He raised his inventory of capsules. "Arceus calls it insurance. Who knows? Maybe we can catch Emily in one or something if we play our cards right. Just need to figure out how to get close…"

"Ye—"

"Elder!"

From behind, an Incineroar stepped toward the Torkoal and slowed once he was at speaking distance. "We have a somewhat… urgent problem. Are you busy?" He nodded to Rhys. "It's good to see your return."

"Of course, er…"

"Phol," the Incineroar introduced. Then, looking back to Elder and barely acknowledging Brandon, he said, "Elder, our main food supply lines have stopped."

"What?"

Rhys looked between them, feeling the urge to step forward. He didn't even take one step when Brandon held his shoulder, giving him a disapproving look. Rhys growled, but relented and let Phol continue.

"Eastern supplies have stopped for three days. We're supposed to get them daily, and if this keeps up, Kilo Village will run out of food within another three. There's a chance that mutants caused some problems on the supply line, or… Yotta Outskirts itself."

"Yotta Outskirts?" Brandon said. "What's that, major supply line?"

"Largest farmland in Kilo," Phol said. "When Waypoints broke, it was essentially our primary source of food since it was nearby and along easy paths. But now that supplies have stopped, our reserve foods are rapidly running out."

"What have you done already?" Elder asked.

"I gathered some talents to come with me to investigate," Phol said. "I don't think I'm needed at the hospital for now. I trained some new staff and they've caught on, and it's not like I know any healing techniques. I'll be fighting if I need to." He frowned. "I'm also going to bring Angelo for flight and utility. Seems to always have a technique ready when we need it, and right now food is a higher priority than healing."

"Hang on, hang on, healing?" Brandon asked. "How many of you guys're hurt?"

"A lot. The wounds that mutants deal are much more long-lasting than typical injuries. Not to mention, anybody injured by wraiths in Dungeons are no better." Phol grunted, looking down. "Blessed items are rare and rationed. I'm pushing for more of them to be used on civilians, but the Hearts do still need a supply of them for rescues. And there are just too many missing Pokémon that we're starting to triage missions."

"Right." Brandon stepped forward, glancing skyward. "I can help."

"What?"

Brandon raised his bag. "This technology can preserve dying Pokémon until they can be safely healed. Don't ask where it came from. Does it matter? No? Then bring me to the hospital and I'll preserve your most severely injured Pokémon. After that, send me to wherever the most missions there are and I'll clear out the whole place. I'm stronger than I look."

"You're not even fully evolved, how can you—"

"What did I just say?" Brandon snapped.

Phol and Brandon stared at one another, wordless for a few intense seconds. There was a hint of recognition between the two of them.

"Do you know where Pyrock Village is?" Phol asked.

"You have a map?"

Phol pointed to the Heart building, which—despite everything—still stood strong. It was a constant reminder to Kilo that they could still stick together even in the toughest times, and despite the Elites' absence, and the Heart of Hearts himself, they could carry on and forward.

"Do you need anybody else to go with you?" Phol asked.

"I've got a team."

"You do?" Phol looked Brandon over, but then added, "Never mind. I'm not questioning it. The past half-moon has been nothing but strange Pokémon after strange Pokémon coming out from whatever hole you spawned from. Do what you want." He nodded at Brandon, then said turned after a few more parting words with Elder.

"He seems busy," Brandon commented. "Nurse and explorer?"

"Mm. Quite a few talents," Elder said. "He used to have aspirations to go into exploring, and I'm certain he would have passed the exams. I remember seeing him training as a youth. But at some point, something changed… and he became a nurse instead. He doesn't really have the species for it… but, well, as the Book of Mew states, we should not let that restrict the dreams of a soul, hm?"

"Well, if he's still got the job, he must've found some way to make it work," Brandon said. "Right, hospital. Point me there. We gotta get this one looked at, too." Brandon showed Elder one of the Poké Balls. "Emily's… whatever she is, Tanneth, the Vaporeon? Not sure what their relationship is but she was badly hurt. Not normal injuries, either. If there's anything you guys can do to help that out…"

"Of course." Elder nodded to Rhys. "Lead him there. I will catch up."

They all departed, though Rhys made one last glance to the south. The horizon was dark with shadowy clouds, but it wasn't advancing. Not yet.