The Time Twins and the Lonesome Ogre

by Ri2

After their disastrous final battle in the Zero Lab, time-displaced twins Julie and ANNA are sent to the distant land of Kitakami in hopes they can unwind and relax after everything that happened. However, it's not long before they find themselves involved with a Tsundere, a Yandere, a lonely ogre, and a not-so-loyal trio. Can the Time Twins save another region? Teal Mask AU

10. The Dark Three

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.

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"Is everyone all right?" ANNA shouted, glancing over her shoulder at the others, a glowing force field made of interlocking hexagons generated before her outstretched palm.

"I…y-yeah, I think so," a startled Hohma stammered.

"Did we almost just die? Holy shit. We almost just died," a terrified Aliquis gibbered.

"I am going to need so much therapy after this," Carmine said, a blank look in her eyes. "And we don't even have any of those here."

"There is always the counselor back at Blueberry Academy," Briar pointed out, voice tremulous.

"You mean the one who turns everything into a food metaphor?" Carmine deadpanned.

"… Good point," Briar admitted with a grimace. "I wouldn't trust him either."

"That… Was way too close," a frightened Ohara whimpered, hugging Julie.

"Unfortunately, I do not believe we are out of trouble yet," ANNA said in concern as she lowered her barrier, the Threat Level warning on her HUD flashing brighter and brighter as more and more alarms went off.

"The masks… Where are the masks?!" Ogerpon panicked as Gardevoir lowered her own force field.

"My apologies, I seem to have dropped them in my urgency to protect us," ANNA apologized.

"I managed to get the Teal Mask, mistress," Gardevoir assured the panicking Ogerpon, giving her back her signature mask, to her relief.

"Oh, and there are the other three!" Ohara spoke up, pointing at the masks, which were intact and lying on the ground some distance away, having been previously obscured by the ominous smoke and fire rising from the remains of the shrine. "Let's get them-"

Julie gripped her arm hard. "Nyo."

Ohara blinked. "What-"

"Nyuse senses. Look," Julie said, pointing at the ring of stakes they had planted around the Plaza. All of them had turned to ash. "Smell."

Ohara sniffed the air and nearly vomited. "Oh… Oh Legendaries, it's even worse now!"

Julie nodded somberly. "We too late." Just like mother warned me…

The smoke cleared, revealing three huge black Tera crystals with shadowy figures in each had erupted from the ground where the shrine had once been. One was short and had a big head, one was huge and brawny, and the third looked like some sort of bird.

Ogerpon started hyperventilating. "No…nonononono-"

Cracks started forming in the crystals.

"Gardevoir! Get the masks-"

The crystals shattered, a wave of black energy blasting out towards them. Gardevoir and ANNA quickly raised their shields again, crying out as the wave slammed into them, buffeting them with horrendous amounts of energy which pushed them back a bit.

"No… This malevolence… It's overwhelming!" Gardevoir gasped.

"This is a tachyon/Tera energy wave… But I've never felt one like this before!" An astonished ANNA cried, making sure to record all the data for future analysis.

"Nyot just tachyons, and Tera power," Julie hissed. "Malice. Demonspawn!"

Scar whimpered and hid behind her ineffectually.

As the last of the energy finally faded away, revealing that all the plants in Loyalty Plaza had been utterly destroyed, leaving an utterly dead and lifeless wasteland in its place, three incredibly ominous Pokémon were revealed.

One was a bulky, bipedal canine Pokémon, with broad shoulders, pointy ears, and a large, fluffy tail. Its fur was almost entirely black, except for the green on its muzzle, face, chest, hands, back, waist, thighs, and feet. It had magenta crescent-shaped markings on its face, which also contained yellow eyes, a rounded magenta nose, and sharp teeth. Its ears had magenta insides, and its hands had five fingers each and magenta paw pads. Hanging around its neck was a magenta chain that resembled a leash. It also had the crystalline sheen of a Terastallized Pokemon, only pitch-black, and there was no crown. "Ugh…my head's killing me…the Distortion World did we do last night?" he groaned, rubbing his head, and blinked in confusion when he noticed how shiny he was (not to be confused with a Shiny Pokémon). "The fuck's this?! Why'm I all sparkly?!"

"They are… Terastallized?" ANNA murmured in surprise.

"That's unexpected…" Briar muttered.

"But if they're Terastallized, where are there crowns?" Hohma wondered.

"And what Tera type is that supposed to be? I don't think I've ever heard of one that's black," Aliquis wondered.

"That is because there is not," ANNA said with a frown. "Not even Dark-types. I am unable to determine what type they are. These readings make no sense."

"Nyo," Julie murmured darkly. "They wouldn't."

Ogerpon just trembled.

The second was a blue simian Pokémon with long black fur covering most of its body, except for its face, hands, feet, and part of its chest, the latter forming an arrowhead pattern. Its face had yellow eyes with black striped markings between them, and they had magenta colorations on its rear and ankles. Each of its hands had three fingers, and its feet resembled sandals, each with two toes. Part of its head hair was slicked back, and a magenta chain encircled its head like a headband. It, too, shone black. "Oh, how odd indeed/How did all this come to be?/We've never sparkled."

"We're not supposed to," the dog barked, trying to rub off the crystalline sheen. "Dammit, sparkly things won't come off…"

"No, no, we don't shine/Our hearts are far too blackened/And yet shine we do," the monkey said, curiously examining his skin.

The dog groaned.

"Is he… Speaking in haiku?" A bewildered Aliquis asked.

"I don't remember him speaking haiku in the manga," Ohara said.

"That would probably be because I blocked it out," Ogerpon said in a strangled tone, looking distraught.

"Yeah, I do not blame you," Hohma said.

"Julie prefers tanka," Julie said bluntly.

"Look at me! Look at how beautiful I am!" The third Pokémon, an avian with a small head, a short beak with a magenta tip, and a long neck and legs squawked in delight as it flopped about eagerly, examining itself. Its plumage was primarily black, with white on its head and neck, and bronze accents on its face, collar, and wing tips. It had a pair of long slender bronze-colored legs with three-toed feet with sharp claws, and its tail consisted of a long train of bronze-colored feathers ending in forked tips that gently curled outwards. A single white stripe accented each of its legs and tail. A crest of black feathers resembling a cap sat atop its head, with golden feathers sticking out resembling a royal crown. A pair of magenta plumes also sat just above each of its eyes like eyebrows and extended like long streamers with forked ends. Hanging from its chest was a pair of magenta chains, protruding from a shawl-like feature that wrapped around its body. Like the other two, it also had a black crystal sheen. "Miho will love me for sure when she sees this!"

"It's… Really them," a horrified Carmine gasped. "Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti… The Loyal – no, Lousy Three!"

Okidogi rolled his eyes. "Ugh, will you ever stop talking about her already? You're in love, we get it, you don't hear me talking about my girl that much!"

"You speak of her MORE/with the same words, and so I ask/Could two girls be one?" Munkidori teased.

"NO!" Okidogi and Fezandipiti denied.

"The sooner we get those masks and finish this last job, the sooner we can go our separate ways and I never have to hear your poetry and that one's lovesick rants ever again," Okidogi groaned, rolling his eyes only to wince. "Ugh, my head…"

"Oh come on, you know you'd miss us," Fezandipiti teased, only to frown. "Hold on… Didn't we steal the masks already?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, that's right… How'd that slip my mind?" Okidogi wondered, perplexed. "Where'd we put…" He blinked, noticing the others for the first time. "Hang on… Boys, we got company!"

"Who do we have here?/Strangers and an ogre too/Shall we kill them all?" Munkidori suggested with an evil grin.

"You have done my mistress great harm in the past already," Gardevoir snarled, stepping in front of Ogerpon, who seemed to be in shock. "I will not allow you to harm her any further!"

"Eh? Gonna have to be specific there, love, we've done harm to a lot of people in the past!" Okidogi said proudly.

"Wait… That's right, that human we killed… He was this ogre's companion, wasn't he?" Fezandipiti suddenly recalled. He frowned and glared at Munkidori. "You were supposed to keep a lookout to warn us when he was coming back! You were certain he wouldn't be a problem!"

Munkidori shrugged. "My mind, she wanders/Enthralled by wabi-sabi/Besides, you killed him."

Okidogi laughed. "Ha, yeah, moron thought he could take us on in a fight! Idiot came charging, fists flying… Hah! No human can beat a Pokémon, especially not ones as strong as us!" He bragged, flexing his muscles.

"I remember how the blood splashed across the cavern floor… How splendidly red it was! I wonder if it would've accented my feathers?" Fezandipiti wondered.

"Blood, blood, blood, blood, blood/It's supposed to stay inside/Now it's everywhere," Munkidori composed.

Gardevoir snarled, and Ogerpon froze up.

"… Holy shit these guys are evil," a shocked Hohma exclaimed.

"I'm starting to think 'Lousy' Three may not be a bad enough name for them, Carmine," a terrified Aliquis commented.

"You may be right," she whimpered.

"Sister, we nyeed to retreat," Julie hissed to ANNA, comforting the terrified Scar. "We nyot have resources to fight Demonspawn."

"I fear you may be right," ANNA murmured. "I am unable to determine their Tera type. And the threat indicators I am receiving are… Troubling. I have not seen numbers this bad since Alpha and Prime!"

"Could become worse," Julie warned her sister. "We nyeed to leave. Now!"

"But… The masks-" Gardevoir protested.

"Grab them and go! We go nyow!" Julie shouted.

Gardevoir nodded, reaching out to telekinetically grab the masks-

And gasped as Munkidori grabbed them in his own. "Gardevoir's beauty/Love and strength personified/Are nothing to me," he sneered, eyes glowing.

"No… My mistress has longed for those masks for centuries… They have slipped through her fingers so many times these last few days, you will not take them now!" Gardevoir snarled, eyes glowing as she exuded more psychic force on the masks.

"Yeah? That's what the other guy said… Want to see what we did to him?" Okidogi sneered, he and Fezandipiti having moved to flank Gardevoir while she was struggling with Munkidori. She scowled and unleashed an omnidirectional wave of psychic power to fling them back…

And was startled when it had no effect. "What?! But… You're Poison-types!"

"Uh… That's a good point," Fezandipiti remarked, looking just as surprised. "Munkidori, why didn't it do anything to us?"

Munkidori stroked his chin, intrigued. "If I were to guess/This mysterious black shine/Is the cause of this."

"Haha! Beautiful AND functional! Just like me!" A pleased Fezandipiti squawked.

Gardevoir gasped. "What?!"

"Julie SAID! We can't fight them!" Julie shouted.

"But we can fight you," Okidogi sneered. "Hey, Fezandipiti, Gardevoir are weak to Poison, aren't they?"

Fezandipiti grinned. "Oh, you know they are."

"Now, what shall you do?" Munkidori wondered as his companions began charging up a Poison Jab and Cross Poison. "Save yourself and let us win?/Or die for these masks?"

"NEITHER!"

Just before Okidogi and Fezandipiti could attack, Ogerpon launched into motion, hitting Okidogi in the face with a Low Kick before backflipping and Slamming her face into Fezandipiti's forehead, knocking him back. "I won't let you hurt her! Or anyone else-"

She wobbled and collapsed to one knee, shooting pain racing up one leg and blood oozing down her forehead. "Mistress!" The horrified Gardevoir cried.

"Wha? Wha's happening?" Ogerpon slurred, dazed.

A puzzled Okidogi rubbed his face, then burst into laughter. "Ha! Was that supposed to hurt?"

"Not even a scratch!" Fezandipiti bragged. "I heard the ogre of Kitakami was supposed to be powerful… But clearly the stories were exaggerated!"

Impossible! A shocked Ogerpon thought. I've shattered mountains with blows weaker than that! I may be little out of practice, but that should have still done SOMETHING! She winced. And not hurt that much! I don't remember their faces being that hard…

"No effect?!" An astonished Carmine cried.

"Julie said! Can't fight!" Julie shouted in frustration. "Why she nyot listen?!"

"Mistress-" Gardevoir started, only to cry out in agony as Munkidori struck her from behind with a Sludge Wave.

"Gardevoir!" Ogerpon cried.

"When fighting we three/Never turn your back to us!We never fight fair!" Munkidori bragged.

"No!" Ogerpon shouted as she struggled to her feet, panicking as Okidogi and Fezandipiti gleefully struck her partner with Poison Jab and Cross Poison, the elegant psychic screaming as she collapsed in an ungraceful heap, her skin turning purple from extreme poisoning. "I won't… I won't let you hurt her!"

"Bit late for that," Okidogi sneered, planting a foot on Gardevoir's back and causing her to gasp and cough up blood. "You can barely protect yourself!"

This was proven true as Munkidori hurled a Shadow Ball at Ogerpon. She barely managed to dodge in time, then had to roll across the ground to avoid Fezandipiti swooping down with his claws, gasping as her bad leg buckled underneath her. "You know, we planned our raid to take advantage of your absence, since we heard you were pretty tough!" Fezandipiti boasted. "Clearly we shouldn't have bothered! You're so weak, we would have easily killed you along with that human of yours!"

"If I'm so weak… Then how did I kill you before?!" Ogerpon snapped fiercely.

To her astonishment, they stared at her with confused looks before bursting into laughter. "You? Kill us?" Okidogi guffawed.

"Ridiculous! Do we look dead to you?" Fezandipiti sneered.

"If you had killed us/I think we would remember/And since we do not…" Munkidori trailed off.

Ogerpon blinked. "You… You don't… Remember?"

"Wait, they don't remember her killing them?" A confused Ohara asked.

"Dead nyot always know they dead," Julie explained.

"Oh yeah, there's tons of ghost stories like that," Hohma realized.

"What happens if they realize they did die?" Briar asked.

"Nyothing good," Julie said anxiously.

"Wait… Hang on a second… Didn't… Didn't Ogerpon kill them so thoroughly there was barely enough left to put in a single coffin?" Carmine suddenly remembered. "So why do they look perfectly intact? Not like zombies or rotting corpses or anything?"

"Power of Malice-" Julie started.

"No," ANNA interrupted. When everyone looked at her, she elaborated. "When we examined the grave yesterday, I noticed three more or less intact bodies buried here. This was BEFORE we visited the Crystal Pool and possibly triggered this outpouring of malevolent energy here. So… What restored them before?"

Julie's eyes widened. "Julie… Julie doesn't knyow…"

"Wonderful. Now it's even more horrible somehow," Aliquis said cheerfully.

Ogerpon started trembling with rage. "That night… The worst night of my life… You MURDERED my friend… Stole my masks… And I flew into a rage so terrible I can barely remember it myself… And you just… You think you got away with it?! You don't remember?! Well!"

She slapped on the Teal Mask. "How's THIS for a reminder!"

She started screaming at the top of her lungs. The mask started glowing, her leafy cloak beginning to blow upward as the ground cracked beneath her feet and energy crackled around her body. Startled, the Loyal Three took a few steps back.

"Wh-what?" Okidogi gasped.

"No… No no no, that didn't happen, that… That wasn't…" Fezandipiti stammered, horrific, nightmarish images flashing through his head.

"The masked face I see/Why does it fill me with dread/How could I forget?!" Munkidori whimpered, eyes wide with terror.

"Mistress… Get them…" Gardevoir whispered weakly.

The mask grew bigger and bigger, until it completely dwarfed her entire body, numerous green leaves and vines growing up from behind the sides, the mouth opening up wider in a terrifying grin. Ogerpon thrust a limb out to the side, vines and leaves exploding outwards and wrapping around themselves to form a MASSIVE spiked cudgel even bigger than the mask, glowing with green energy. Howling with fury, she charged towards the trio, who screamed and hugged each other in terror as the demonic visage from their darkest nightmares loomed over them.

"Holy crap!" Hohma exclaimed.

"Incredible! Her ultimate move, even MORE ultimate thanks to the mask!" Carmine gushed gleefully.

"Is this it? Is she about to beat them?" Briar wondered hopefully.

"Nyo," Julie said bluntly.

"What? Why not?" Aliquis asked.

"Only few things kill Demonspawn, and Ogerpon has nyone of them. Also, mask unfinished, remember?" Julie pointed out.

"… Oh shit. OGERPON! YOUR MASK ISN'T-" Carmine began to shout as Ogerpon jumped into the air, cudgel drawn back to crush her foes…

Only for her mask to suddenly shrink back to its usual size with a shattering sound, her Ivy Cudgel drastically reducing in size as well.

"Finished," Carmine finished lamely.

"Seriously! What part of 'we can't fight them' so hard to understand?!" Julie ranted. "Why nyobody listen to Julie?!"

Okidogi's hand suddenly shot out and grabbed the Ivy Cudgel before it could connect with his head, the spikes splintering in his grip.

Beneath her mask, Ogerpon's eyes widened, realizing she'd made a terrible mistake.

"You know," Okidogi said slowly, eyes shadowed. "I think I do remember now. You did kill us. And it was the most painful, horrifying thing that I – that any of us – have ever experienced."

His eyes started glowing red. "How's about we return the favor?"

And then, Malice wreathed around his form, he struck Ogerpon in the gut with Poison Jab, the force of the blow so great that Ogerpon was jackknifed so hard she nearly broke in half, mask flying as she was flung backwards. Fezandipiti swooped in and brutally attacked her with Play Rough, followed by Munkidori grabbing her with Psychic and slamming her into the nearby mountainside so hard she cratered it, the sound of several bones snapping filling the air. Before she could even take a second to catch her breath, they struck her with Cross Poison and Sludge Wave, bathing her in so much poison she was practically stained purple.

She gasped, eyes bulging, and vomited a truly copious amount of blood and purple acid.

And then she slid down the cliff face and hit the ground with a dull thud, breaking more bones. She lay there in a puddle of increasingly growing blood and bile, unmoving.

Everyone stared in horror.

"MISTRESS!" Gardevoir screamed.

Okidogi started laughing… As did Munkidori, and Fezandipiti, and gradually their cackles grew more and more hysterical, their voices deeper, practically demonic.

Malice started swirling around Munkidori and Fezandipiti as their eyes turned red as well. The crystalline sheen on their body shimmered, darkened, and cracked, jagged spurs and branches suddenly bursting out all over their forms. Okidogi obtained spiked knuckles, knees, elbows and shoulders while horns jutted from his forehead, and everything green on him turned red. Munkidori started levitating into the air, his head swelling to grotesque proportions as little spikes grew around the forehead while more spikes formed on the underside of his sandals and everything blue on him turned red. Fezandipiti's feathers grew longer, sharper, like blades, with a second set of wings made of pure black crystal sprouting beneath them; his talons growing bigger and sharper and crueler, the plumes growing from his eyes becoming even longer as everything white and bronze on him turned red.

In addition, red lines appeared on their chest forming the crude visage of a monstrous, vaguely porcine and draconic creature with too many eyes, as crystal crowns resembling the head of a similar creature at last materialized atop their heads, looking as if they were made from darkness and Malice made solid. Somehow, the visage and the crown were the most terrifying thing about them, striking them all with dread on a deep, primal level.

It felt like they were staring at them.

"Wh-what?!" Briar gasped.

"Julie said! Nyothing good happen from dead learning they dead!" Julie shouted.

"You kind of understated it, Mewstress!" A panicking Ohara screamed.

"Nyot my fault, nyour language terrible!" Julie complained. "Practically impossible to say anything important!"

ANNA gasped, eyes widening in horror as her HUD started filling up with rather a lot of increasingly frantic warning signs. "What?! This… This makes no sense!"

"Oh great, what now?" Carmine groaned.

"I still cannot identify the Tera type… But whatever it is, it has complete immunity to all Types!" ANNA cried.

"WHAT?!" everyone yelled.

"This why Julie say we can't fight! Demonspawn completely invincible to all but few things, nyone of which we have!" Julie shouted in exasperation.

"You could have mentioned that sooner!" Aliquis protested.

"What part of, 'we can't fight, run away' so hard to understand?!" She snapped back.

"Heh… Heheh…HAHAHAHA!" Okidogi laughed madly, shattering the ground with a single stomp. "I thought I was strong before, but now? NOW?! I feel fucking invincible! I bet I could take on a Legendary and win!"

"You already did/Ogerpon is a Legend/As are we all," Munkidori pointed out, floating about on his own power.

"Well, yeah, but a big-name one!" Okidogi clarified.

"My wings! My claws! My plumage! This crown!" Fezandipiti gushed. "I'm truly beautiful now! Irresistible! Miho will take me back for sure!"

"What is this power?/Are none of you curious?/What price must we pay?" Munkidori, the only one who seemed to have a sliver of doubt – and not much of one at that – expressed.

Okidogi shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time we sold our souls for power, and the last time turned out great. Speaking of, let's get that final mask so we can FINALLY complete our last job and get our promised reward."

He grinned and cracked his knuckles. "After we kill Ogerpon, of course. Fair's fair. She did the same to us."

The three of them stepped forwards…

"Scar, Flamethrower!"

The trio grimaced and reflexively took a few steps back as a massive wall of fire rose in front of them. "I sorry! Please not kill!" The Koraidon, shaking in terror, bellowed at the monsters from the darkest legends of her own era.

"What happened to 'we can't fight them?'" Hohma demanded.

"Julie nyot fighting! Julie buying time!" She shouted back.

ANNA skidded to a halt next to Ogerpon and Gardevoir, her wheels converting back into legs as a very anxious Viola hovered over her, occasionally glancing at the demonic trio, who, despite their new invincibility, on some level still instinctively feared getting burned, though she doubted it would last for long. "Hurry, mistress!"

ANNA quickly scanned the two Pokémon. "They are in critical condition. We do not have time to get them to a Pokémon Center seeing as how Gardevoir is in no state to Teleport. They will die from their injuries in a matter of moments if not treated immediately.

"Fortunately, the medical technology I am equipped with vastly outstrips any in this era. I can stabilize them at the very least. Do I have your permission to inject you with nanomachines and a pharmaceutical cocktail which is not, strictly speaking, legal at this time which will permanently alter your biochemistry?"

They both groaned and vomited blood.

"I will take that as a yes."

Her index fingers transforming into syringes, ANNA prepared to inject them…

Only to gasp as she was telekinetically lifted into the air, Munkidori hovering before her, eyes glowing as he used Psychic.

"Never have I seen/Beings quite like all of you/Just what are you all?" He wondered.

"I am a techno-organic life form from a distant future in an alternate timeline, while my sister is a prehistoric cat girl from the distant past in another alternate timeline," ANNA immediately responded.

Munkidori frowned. "Your words I do not grasp/How much has changed since we died?/Why don't we find out?"

His eyes glowed as he exuded more force, attempting to pull her apart to see what made her tick. She cried out in agony.

"Sister!" Julie exclaimed in horror, she and Scar barely avoiding a Brutal Swing from Okidogi and a Dual Wingbeat from Fezandipiti.

"No! Mistress!" Viola roared, launching herself at Munkidori with Electro Drift.

The simian rolled his eyes and didn't bother defending himself. "Are you all dullards?/

Weren't you paying attention?/I am invincible-"

He was mercifully cut off when Viola smashed into him… And sent him flying, howling in pain and surprise as chips of crystal flew off him, his Terastallized skin cracking as his Malice aura flickered.

"You hurt him?" ANNA asked in astonishment as she landed and quickly injected Ogerpon and Gardevoir. Priorities, after all.

"She hurt him?!" Julie and Scar exclaimed.

"She hurt him?!" The rest of the group cried.

"She hurt him?!" Okidogi and Fezandipiti demanded in disbelief.

"She… Hurt him?" Ogerpon and Gardevoir whispered, already beginning to recover thanks to the nanomachines.

"I hurt him?" Viola realized, stunned.

"What… What… What is this?!/I've become invincible!/How did you hurt me?!" An anguished Munkidori demanded.

"I-I don't know! Mistress?" Viola pleaded.

"I do not know," ANNA told her, shocked. "My scanners indicate you have somehow done damage to Munkidori… But it also says he is still immune to all attacks, including Electric. How is this possible?"

"Maybe sensors wrong?" Scar suggested, only to cower when ANNA shot her a baleful glare. "Or not."

"… Scar, use Flamethrower," Julie ordered as her mind raced, pointing at Okidogi and Fezandipiti.

"Uh, okay," Scar said, exhaling fire at Okidogi and Fezandipiti, who flinched, clearly worried their own invincibility had run out…

Only to blink as the flames harmlessly washed over them. "I'm okay. Not even a feather singed!" Fezandipiti marveled in relief.

"Maybe it's just Munkidori then?" Okidogi suggested.

"It is not just me-" Munkidori protested.

"Scar, Flamethrower!"

Munkidori shrieked in panic as the flames engulfed him… Harmlessly.

"There, you see, it did no good/Nothing's wrong with me!" Munkidori huffed, badly hiding his relief.

"Wait, did he just break his haiku?" Ohara asked.

"No, he used it to complete his previous sentence, it still counts," Briar said.

"Sister, have Viola attack again!" Julie urged.

"Very well," ANNA said, perplexed but wanting to see where this was going. "Power Gem!"

"Wait, why me again-" Munkidori protested just before Viola blasted him with Power Gem, causing him to cry out in pain, more crystal chips flying off of him.

"It happened again?!" An incredulous Fezandipiti exclaimed.

"Oh my… Are they using the scientific method?" Briar asked excitedly. "How splendid!"

"It looks more like they're just picking on Munkidori," Aliquis pointed out.

"That too!"

"Fuck him," Carmine said unsympathetically.

"Good, nyot a fluke!" Julie said excitedly. "One last test! Sister, attack him nyourself!"

"I do not entirely understand why, but if we are following the scientific method, I see no reason not to," ANNA agreed, transforming one arm into a buster.

"Wait, attack me yourself? How?/You're just a human-" Munkidori protested, only for ANNA to fire an energy blast into his face, the monkey howling as he was flung back again, more of his crystal hide splintering.

"No, as I already told you, I am a techno-organic life form from the distant future in an alternate timeline," ANNA reminded him, smoke rising from her cannon. "Also, I must compliment you on so rigidly sticking to your haiku format in your speech despite getting hit in the face repeatedly, it is nearly as impressive as Gardevoir continuing to translate Pokémon speech for everyone else despite being on the verge of death just moments ago."

"I'm feeling a little better now, and aside from that, I am very dedicated to my job," Gardevoir said weakly with more than a hint of pride.

"That's my girl," Ogerpon said fondly.

"What the fuck are you?!" Okidogi shouted.

"I just told you," ANNA said in frustration, giving him an unimpressed look. "Why is it that so many people have so much trouble understanding this?"

"How did you do that to Munkidori? And… Can you do that to us?!" a panicking Fezandipiti demanded.

"That is something I wish to know as well. Sister?" ANNA asked, glancing at Julie. "You seemed to imply that it was impossible for us to harm the Loyal Three at this juncture, something that my scans confirmed. What has changed?"

Julie grinned, a triumphant look on her face. "Starmetal! One of only things that can hurt or even kill Demonspawn!"

"Yes, I am aware, but as I told you, I left my meteorite collection at home-" a confused ANNA started, only to be interrupted when Julie burst into laughter.

"And people think nyou the smart one! Silly ANNA! Lots of starmetal right here! What nyou think nyou, Viola, and Alita made of?!" Julie declared.

ANNA and Viola stared at her for a moment, bewildered…

And then realization dawned on them. "Oh…" ANNA whispered. "Of course… How did I not see it myself?!"

"What is she talking about?" Ohara asked.

"Wait… Of course!" Hohma cried, snapping his fingers. "ANNA and Viola were manufactured in space, which means they're by definition made of space metal, or rather, Starmetal!"

"Wait, were they manufactured? ANNA said she's techno-organic, so does that mean she was born, or grown, or built…?" A confused Aliquis wondered.

"That is a question I very much want to know the answer to!" Briar said eagerly.

"Sister, so you are saying… The three of us… Are the only ones present who can defeat the Loyal Three?" ANNA demanded.

Julie nodded rapidly. "Nyes nyes! May nyot nyeed darkest spell after all! Hit them with everything nyou have! Put them back in ground!"

ANNA frowned dubiously. "Sister, you recall that we promised Director Clavell that we would try not to kill any Legendary Pokémon on this trip."

"They already dead, nyot count!" Julie insisted. "Also, super evil so it okay."

"I am uncertain that is correct, but we used similar logic to justify killing Alpha, Prime, and the Treasures of Ruin," ANNA admitted. "I suppose at the very least I can try to incapacitate and capture them. Can they be captured?"

Julie sighed in irritation. "Nyes, it possible to seal away Demonspawn, but only until materials nyeeded to kill them available! The longer they exist, the bigger a threat they are! That why it best you kill nyow!"

"Understood," ANNA said, ejecting another Pokéball and catching it in one hand. "This should be a three-on-three battle, then. Come forth, Alita!"

She threw out the Pokéball, releasing a mechanical, bipedal Pokémon whose appearance shared numerous visual traits from both Gardevoir and Gallade. Its arms consisted of gauntlets with large magenta blades protruding from the sides, which it detached and combined to form a deadly double-edged weapon. Its head spiked outward twice from both sides and was covered by a green curved piece resembling hair with two cone-shaped structures at the back of its head, and a teal head crest, somewhat akin to a gladiator's helmet. A hollow magenta core served as a centerpiece on its chest. Five petal-shaped white and green guards tinged with magenta at the ends adorned its torso, resembling a dress. "I am combat-ready," it said calmly.

Gardevoir's eyes bulged. "Oh my."

"Is that a future Gardevoir?" An amazed Hohma wondered.

"Or a future Gallade?" A confused Aliquis asked.

"Whatever it is, it's beautiful!" Ohara exclaimed, blushing.

"Incredible," Briar gasped, flipping through the pages of the Violet Book. "My ancestor saw one of these! He called it Iron Valiant! So this must be the Paradox Pokémon you were allowed to take with you when you were forced out of Area Zero!"

"But seriously, is it a Gardevoir or a Gallade? I'm pretty sure I'm completely gay but I'm attracted to it anyway, so…" Carmine murmured, looking confused.

"Male Gardevoir exist," Briar pointed out.

"Not helping!"

"I am both, and I am neither. I am descended from both species," Alita explained, twirling her weapon. "While I technically have components pertaining to both genders, I choose to identify as female."

"Oh, good," Carmine said, not entirely sure if she should be relieved by this or not.

"Much like Gardevoir, Iron Valiant are very popular in my time," ANNA said, smiling at Alita, who nodded demurely.

"Because they're powerful and loyal companions, or because everyone wants to… You know?" Hohma asked awkwardly.

"… I cannot lie, so I choose not to answer that question," ANNA said after a moment.

"The answer is nyes," Julie said cheekily.

"Sister!" ANNA hissed.

"Nyo nyeed to be ashamed, sister. Nyot like they don't knyow what nyou two do in private or think about doing themselves-"

"Releasing all limiters! Triple battle routine, set! Execute!" ANNA shouted quickly, dashing forwards with her Pokémon on either side as they leapt into battle.

"… So, um, Mewstress, have you and Alita ever…?" Ohara asked timidly.

Julie grinned and started purring, causing the other girl to squeak and blush, tail wagging furiously.

---

All right, so this broad is some sort of… Regional variant of Gardevoir or Gallade or something? An uncertain Okidogi thought as Alita dashed towards him at alarming speeds. What type does that make her… Him… It…them? Gardevoir are Psychic/Fairy and Gallade are Psychic/Fighting… This thing looks like it's made of metal, so maybe Steel? Probably Psychic as well… Steel types are immune to Poison, so… That leaves…

Blurring forwards, he threw a blistering series of punches and kicks at the Iron Valiant as he used Close Combat. Alita danced backwards, effortlessly dodging every single blow and making it look disgustingly easy. "You were trying to work out my typing, weren't you?"

What? Oh right, she's Psychic… Maybe… Did she read my mind? An irritated Okidogi wondered.

"And no, I did not read your mind," she said with amusement as she continued weaving around his attacks. "You're not the first opponent of this era I have faced, and many of them also found themselves second-guessing themselves when confronting me. They had almost the same expression, in fact." She smirked. "I can assure you, though, whatever combination you think I am…"

Suddenly she shot forwards, rays of pink light coming out of her torso, and drove her weapon into his chest with a Spirit Break, the blow so strong it cracked his crystalline skin significantly and caused him to cough up a great deal of saliva and blood. "You're incorrect."

The look of pain on his face immediately turned to one of triumph. Got her! An opponent is at their most vulnerable when they think they've won!

Roaring, he slammed both his fists into the sides of her head with a double Brutal Swing, a terrific clanging sound echoing across the desolate Plaza…

Followed by the sound of more breaking crystal. "Graaaah!" Okidogi howled as he stumbled back, shaking his cracked hands in pain.

"You'll need to try harder," Alita said, charging up her weapon and viciously slicing into the air in a blistering barrage of Psycho Cuts.

Charging Dark energy to his limbs, Okidogi retaliated with Brutal Swing, smashing each blade with his fists, noticing that her weapon seemed to be flickering more and more with every strike he countered. Whatever that thing is, I seem to be disrupting it… Just a little more, and-

One more punch connected with the blade, shattering it in a burst of plasma.

Now!

He quickly shot forwards, striking her in the chest with Close Combat, a shockwave blasting out her back, and quickly gripped her arm with Crunch, pulling back with all his might to rip it out of its socket.

To his surprise, it came free a lot easier than he expected. So much so, he overcompensated as he tried to regain his balance, and Alita, looking more annoyed than agonized by the loss of a limb, shot forwards and struck him in the chest with Brick Break, further cracking the area where she had landed a Spirit Break before and forcing him to spit out the limb. She jumped into the air, the arm reattaching itself in her shoulder, a pair of magenta energy blades immediately emerging from the sides of both her arms as she brought them down in a vertical twin Psycho Cut which cleaved him from head to groin, the Retainer roaring in agony as deep scars were cut into his crystallized skin.

"What… What ARE you?!" He shouted in disbelief and more than a little fear.

"I am the loyal weapon of my mistress, her protector, her guardian, her companion," Alita declared as she reformed her weapon. "I was ripped from my home as part of the honor guard and harem of Mother Computer and forced into a battle without honor against my will. My mistress saved me, and so I shall serve her dutifully until we can return to our home fleet together. But I do not expect a cur like you to understand."

"…Heh. You'd be surprised," Okidogi said with a grin, flicking his chain. "It may surprise you to know we have more in common than you think."

"I find that hard to believe," Alita said skeptically. "I am a noble warrior, the sword of my mistress… And you are a thug, a monster who needs to be put down."

"Oh, absolutely!" Okidogi said cheerfully. "Thing is, that already happened to me once, and I'm not too inclined on a repeat. So, what do you say we finish this?"

He tensed, strength building up in his muscles for one last charge. Alita narrowed her eyes.

And then they launched themselves at each other simultaneously. She drew back her weapon, energy crackling around it, while Okidogi pulled back his fist, Dark energy crackling around it. At the last possible second, he swung his fist at her head…

Only to reveal it to be a feint at the last second, striking her hand with a Close Combat kick and flinging her weapon into the air. As she looked up in surprise, he lunged into the air, grabbed the weapon by its shaft, and brought it down on the Iron Valiant's head. At the last second, she caught the blade between both hands, metal groaning as she struggled to hold it back, the tip edging closer and closer to her face by the second, Okidogi grinning with malicious glee as he pressed forward with all his strength…

Only for the weapon to dissipate just before he could drive it between her eyes. Startled, he began toppling forward, and Alita slipped right past his guard, reforming her weapon…

Right through the huge crack on his chest, tearing out through his back.

Okidogi's eyes widened, bloodshot, as he hacked up blood and poison. Alita leaned in close and whispered into his ear, "By the way, I'm not a Steel type. If you had used any Poison moves, you might've almost stood a chance."

Okidogi bellowed his fury and agony to the heavens.

---

Fezandipiti tackled madly as he danced through the skies, an irate Viola chasing after him, firing Power Gem beams from her eyes, none of which hit their target, the Retainer elegantly evading all the beams, making sure to dramatically flourish his feathers stylishly and spread his wings every time. "Too slow, too slow by far! You're certainly not a Flying type, not with those moves!"

"I was designed to ride the solar winds, dive into nebulae and gas giants," Viola retorted, firing more eye beams. "This planet's atmosphere was never my intended habitat."

"Excuses, excuses," Fezandipiti sneered as he flapped all four of his wings in a Dual Wingbeat, making sure every feather was spread to catch the sunlight just so as the Miraidon was buffeted back by the wind. "I have never seen a creature like you before, but whatever you are, you're too slow, too drab, too UGLY to stand a chance against me!"

"How's this for drab?" Viola snarled, rushing forwards with Electro Drift.

Fezandipiti waited for the last second and then dove to the side, his feathers crackling as he just barely evaded the attack, the close-up electricity causing his crystalline surface to sparkle marvelously, to his delight. He pirouetted through the air, feathers flying behind him before evening out with a flourish, flapping his wings and striking Viola with a Cross Poison just as she came out of her Electro Drift, causing her to grunt. "So that hurt you! That means you aren't a Steel type after all… I wasn't certain, but it seems that appearances really can be deceiving!"

"Not always… When I look at you, I see exactly what you are," Viola snarled, firing Power Gem again.

Fezandipiti laughed as he dodged the blast, firing another Cross Poison at her, which she twisted through the air to dodge, her serpentine form coiling around herself. "And what would that be? The most ravishingly beautiful Pokémon you've ever seen?"

"A small, pathetic, ugly little bird trying to convince the world and himself that he's something he's not," she said coldly.

"That's! You! How-how DARE you!" Fezandipiti shrieked, livid. "Does THIS look ugly to you?!" He shrieked, spreading his wings, his entire body sparkling before unleashing a massive omnidirectional Dazzling Gleam, the rainbow-colored energy field blasting out from him and slamming into Viola, the Miraidon crying out in pain as she was flung away, thrusters roaring as they tried to keep her from being knocked out of the sky. Fezandipiti cackled madly. "You see! You see! Even my attacks are gorgeous!"

"Actually," Viola said as she righted herself. "I thought it was fairly gaudy."

"G-gaudy? Gaudy?! GAUDY?!" Fezandipiti screamed. "You! You, you troglodyte Dragon! You know nothing of beauty! I'll make a masterpiece out of your carcass!"

For some reason, Viola smiled at this. "Troglodyte? No, that's my sister."

"I heard that!" Scar yelled at her.

"You don't even know what a troglodyte is," Viola called to her playfully.

"I know it not compliment!"

"True."

"DIE!" Fezandipiti screamed as he flung himself bodily at the Miraidon, clouds of smoke enveloping them as he repeatedly hit her from every angle with his claws and wings and beak using Play Rough-

"Analysis complete."

"What-"

Without warning, Viola wrapped herself around Fezandipiti, squeezing tightly to bind his wings to his sides. "Wh-what? What is this?!" he shrieked.

"I must thank you for using that attack on me," Viola told him, smiling despite the numerous scratches he made in her body. "It was the last thing I needed to complete my profile on you. Now your defeat is inevitable."

Fezandipiti sneered as he started powering up Dazzling Gleam. "Oh really? Which of us was stupid enough to allow an opponent that can use moves they're weak against get in close?"

"You," Viola said, blasting him with a point-blank Power Gem.

The attack blasted chips off Fezandipiti's body and flung him from her coils. "You! You damaged me! My beautiful body!" He howled in rage. "I'll kill you!"

He unleashed his Dazzling Gleam, the Fairy type attack exploding out from him in every direction, slamming into Viola…

Who used Endure, crossing her arms in front of her and forming a shield at the last second, the attack buffeting her but failing to down her. "Incorrect."

She fired Power Gem again. Startled, Fezandipiti attempted to dodge, only to fly right into it, squawking as the beams blasted more crystal off him. "Y-you hit me!"

"I have finished compiling my profile on you," Viola bragged. "Your flight patterns. Your abilities. Your attacks. Your personality. I now know everything I need to destroy you."

"You know nothing-"

"She's not going to love you, you know."

Fezandipiti started. "Wh-what?"

"The one you are in love with. Miho, was it? She's not going to return your feelings."

"You don't get to speak her name!" Fezandipiti shrieked, streaking towards her to use Play Rough again, only to get blasted back by a Power Gem shot.

"As I predicted. You have an unhealthy fixation on this 'Miho,'" Viola said smugly.

"That's the beauty of the heart, something you would know nothing about-" Fezandipiti screamed.

Viola fired another Power Gem. Fezandipiti tried to dodge it, only to somehow fly right into it again.

"No, it is obsession," Viola corrected him. "If she didn't love you before you were beautiful, what makes you think she will now?"

"She already loves me!" Fezandipiti protested furiously, flinging a Cross Poison at her. "You have no idea what you're talking about!"

Viola calmly lashed out with her claws, destroying the attack. "If she loved you as you were, why are you not with her now? Why did you feel you had to make yourself beautiful? Was it because you thought she deserved someone more worthy of her?

"Or because you already knew deep down, it wasn't you?"

"Shut up! Shut up shut up SHUT UP!" Fezandipiti screamed, furiously flapping his wings and pelting her with Dual Wingbeats.

The winds, while strong, buffeted Viola but did so little damage she didn't even bother evading it. Instead, she blasted Fezandipiti with Power Gem. Once again, he dodged, and once again, he flew right into the blast. This time the beams hit an area that had already been struck several times, causing a rather more serious injury, cracks spreading across the wicked bird's body.

"How do you keep doing that?!" he screamed, starting to get more than a little worried.

"It's simple, really. You keep raving about beauty. How beautiful you are. How everyone else is dull and ugly compared to you. You make unnecessarily dramatic, flashy, and flamboyant actions when you dodge, when you attack, when you fly… Once I take all that into account, my targeting software can hit you every single time," Viola bragged. "Your pathological need to let everyone know that you're the most beautiful Pokémon around is not only making you easy to predict, but it also just makes it clearer than ever that you are a sad, desperate bird trying to convince the world, and yourself, that you are gorgeous and worthy of love… Because deep down, you don't think you really are."

Screaming incoherently, Fezandipiti lunged at her with another Play Rough. As the cloud engulfed them both, he swiped a claw at her side-

She blocked it.

He tried to bury his beak in the back of her head-

She dodged at the last second.

He tried to bite her tail-

It smacked him in the face.

He shot up at her underbelly-

Her thrusters pointed down and blasted him in the face with exhaust.

Screaming, he thrust a razor-sharp feather at her eye-

She caught it between two claws. "Are you quite done?"

"… HOW?!" he screamed.

She sighed. "Weren't you listening? You are painfully easy to predict. Of course, it doesn't hurt that I also have infrared vision."

He stared at her blankly as the cloud faded.

She rolled her eyes. "It means I've been able to see what you've been doing all along."

"Impossible! Then how was I able to hit you the other time I used Play Rough?!" He protested.

"… Have you been paying attention to anything I've said? At all?" she asked incredulously. "It was so I could collect enough combat data to determine the best way to defeat you. Almost every hit I've taken since this fight started is one I've allowed you to make."

"That's… That's not possible!" He squawked in disbelief.

"The difference between what I know is possible and what you think are possible is wider than the distance between this planet and its star," Viola bragged. "… Wait, you do know this planet revolves around the sun, right? I forget if they knew that back in your day-"

"Shut up shut up shut up!" Fezandipiti shrieked, lashing out with Cross Poison, the attack striking her in the chest. Viola grunted as she was forced back… Breaking off the feather she'd been gripping in the process.

"No! No no no no! My wing! My beautiful wing!" He cried in horror, staring at the broken feather. "You ruined it!"

"It'll grow back," Viola commented, examining the feather she'd broken off, fascinated as the crystalline sheen faded and it suddenly crumbled to dust. "Interesting…"

"You said you've let me hit you all those other times… Are you going to let me do it now?!" Fezandipiti screamed, charging up and unleashing the strongest Dazzling Gleam he'd fired yet.

The Miraidon immediately crossed her arms and generated an Endure barrier, grimacing as the energy field slammed into her, trying to overwhelm her. "You know, you remind me a lot of my creator," she commented.

"I don't care! DIEDIEDIE!"

"He was also a narcissist. Convinced he was the apex of creation, a perfect life form," Viola continued, ignoring him. "He made us in his image so that he could be surrounded by equally perfect beings… Except his ego couldn't tolerate equals, of being just another face in the crowd, and so he made all of us lesser, so none of us dared to outshine him. And he hated us for it. Because we were proof that he was imperfect, that deep down, despite the great power he had managed to obtain, he hadn't really changed at all.

"Just like you."

"SHUT! UP!" Fezandipiti yelled, putting every ounce of power he had left into the Dazzling Gleam…

And came up short. He gasped, having trouble breathing as the energy field dissipated.

And that's when Viola slammed into him with Electro Drift.

"My creator fell. And now, so will you."

Crystal shattering all over his body, his second set of wings vaporizing, most of his feathers dissolving, he plummeted, screaming, towards the ground below.

---

"Fighting is pointless/You can't think you can beat me!/You're just a human!" Munkidori cried as he levitated back from ANNA, who was speeding towards him on her wheels, juggling Shadow Balls which he telekinetically flung at the girl.

"You think me human?/Have you not been listening?/I am no human/From a distant time I hail/One beyond your feeble dreams!" ANNA shot back, rapidly dashing across the ground, leaving trails of light in her wake as she dodged the dark orbs, which exploded all around her.

Munkidori gritted his teeth, a vein swelling on his forehead. "Tanka?! How dare you!/I'm the one who speaks in verse!/Are you mocking me?!" he demanded, conjuring many more Shadow Balls and flinging them at ANNA.

"Poetry is free/it belongs to everyone/human, Pokémon/a way to express ourselves/And yes, I AM mocking you!" ANNA retorted, weaving around these new Shadow Balls while opening fire with her Buster Cannon.

Munkidori's eyes glowed and the shots froze in the air before they could strike him. "Tanka is awful!/Too many lines to compose!/Haiku is simpler-" he started to rant, only for the frozen projectiles to flash and explode, causing him to shriek as the blast buffeted and temporarily blinded him.

ANNA leapt into the air, drawing back a fist, energy charging up in it. "You are such a snob/thinking that speaking like that/makes you an expert./No one asked you to gatekeep!/Now, behold my Photon Punch!"

She drove her fist into the center of Munkidori's incredibly punchable face, fracturing the crystal there and sending him flying back, toppling end over end through the air before he could right himself.

"How, how can this be?/That strength is beyond human!/What creature are you?!" he demanded, one hand over his face as he summoned even more Shadow Balls.

ANNA started strafing around the Retainer, rapidly firing her Buster at the Shadow Balls and causing them to explode in midair. "I said this before/I am techno-organic/why must I repeat/I have said this many times/will nobody understand?"

"Stop talking like that!/You believe yourself clever?/You're just a nuisance!" An irritated Munkidori growled, concentrating hard as he abruptly enclosed ANNA in a huge dome made of Shadow Balls that started rapidly firing at ANNA one after the other.

ANNA quickly shifted both of her hands into their blade modes and began rapidly spinning about, blocking, deflecting, and slicing through every Shadow Ball that came at her. "You are one to talk/take a look in the mirror/if you even fit!/You think that you are clever?/You can't take competition!"

"You, a threat? You fool!/While you fought, I have prepared/a truly Nasty Plot!" Munkidori sneered, eyes glowing as he used Nasty Plot to increase his power, grabbing ANNA in his Psychic grip and lifting her into the air, forming even more Shadow Balls around her.

ANNA grunted and ground her teeth as Munkidori pulled her limbs to their sides, trying to rip her apart and make it easier for his waiting Shadow Balls to destroy her… Then laughed. "A Nasty Plot? This?/Kieran's fanfics are much worse!/You think you have me/but this fight has just begun!/Now, Dark Matter cell, online!"

Her eyes flashed and the various lines on her body turned a dark purple, almost black, black particles swirling around her. Munkidori gasped as he suddenly lost his telekinetic grip on ANNA, immediately unleashing his volley of Shadow Balls at her as he struggled to manage a sudden migraine. "How did you do that?!/How did you break free of me?/What magic is this?!" He demanded.

"Not magic, science," ANNA said with a smirk as she used thrusters in her legs to start spinning 360° in place, swords flashing through the air as she tore through every Shadow Ball that came at her, the black particles extending to her blades as well and somehow making it even easier for her to rip apart the ghost-type projectiles. "My people have met mad minds/such as you before/and for them, some dark matter/works as well as a Dark type!"

"You made yourself Dark?!" Munkidori shouted incredulously, trying to grab her once more with Psychic again, only to wince as his migraine worsened. "Think me beaten? Think again!/There's more I can do!"

He inhaled deeply, and then proceeded to vomit a truly prodigious amount of purple sludge, wave after wave of horrible-smelling toxic ooze spilling out across the ground, hissing and bubbling as it ate through the soil and corroded the already-despoiled earth even further.

ANNA's eyes widened for a second as the Sludge Wave rushed towards her. Rather than turning and running in the other direction as Munkidori expected, she set her mouth in a grim line and kept going. Munkidori hooted, certain she'd finally lost her senses as she jumped, her arc taking her over the forefront of the Sludge Wave and guaranteeing she would land right in the middle of it where the deadly toxins would eat her alive (probably, he wasn't actually sure what her armor was made of)…

And so was flabbergasted when her wheels rotated 90° to form discs beneath her feet, projecting waves of force right before she could land in the poison and suspending her mere millimeters off the surface. Smirking at the outraged look on Munkidori's face, ANNA started skating towards him with the elegance and grace of a master ice skater, unloading her Buster at him as she zigged and zagged just above the bubbling poison.

Munkidori gritted his teeth, attempting to grab the projectiles with Psychic so he could fling them back at her – having learned his lesson from when he tried to hold onto them for too long before – only for his eyes to bulge when nothing happened, noticing at the last moment that these energy blasts were also enshrouded in black particles. He tried to levitate out of the way, but his giant head was too big a target, and he cried out as the shots exploded against his forehead, cracking more of his crystal shell and giving him such a headache. "You're… a tricky one!" He snarled. "But even Thievuls get caught!/'Ware, death from below!"

The bubbling sludge started bubbling even more, and suddenly geysers of filth erupted from the poison. ANNA very nearly flew right into one such geyser, only managing to swerve at the last second, wincing as some droplets landed on her arm and started sizzling against her limb. Grinning maliciously at this proof that she could be harmed, Munkidori concentrated his Psychic power further, forcing more geysers to burst up all over the place, while also erecting a curtainwall of sludge to protect him from her energy shots.

ANNA frantically skated all over the place, gritting her teeth harder with each near miss at a close encounter with a geyser, and those were adding up by the second. Her sensors checked the toxicity levels of the surrounding poison, and helpfully suggested she not touch any of it.

The wonders of modern – for her, anyway – technology.

Oh, and to make matters worse, Munkidori was flinging out more and more Shadow Balls to try to trip her up, even planting some in the sludge as mines because of course he did. In a desperate attempt to evade a geyser at the same time as she was shooting at an incoming projectile, she accidentally clipped one such mine, which went off, the blast flinging her into the air…

And for a split second, allowing her to glimpse over the wall Munkidori had built.

And ANNA knew what to do.

Thankfully, she managed to keep from losing her balance and falling into the poison when she 'landed' from her involuntary jump and quickly had her software run a program to try and determine when and where the next geyser would erupt.

Her threat avoidance systems told her this was a terrible idea.

She ignored them.

With a path plotted out for her and helpfully highlighted on her HUD, she quickly skated over to the indicated spot just as the bubbling started to increase there.

Munkidori cackled, seeing where she'd wound up. "You fool! I've got you!/You walked right into my trap!/And now, you perish-"

ANNA combined her hover discs into a single platform beneath her feet just before the geyser went off. The poison struck the bottom of her disc…

And flung her skywards, soaring high into the air and giving her a perfect view of the astonished Munkidori floating in the center of his enclosed area. Realizing he was vulnerable, the Retainer tried to turn his wall into a dome.

She didn't give him a chance. She slammed her palms together, her arms combining to form a massive cannon almost longer than she was tall. Not even bothering to wait until she had a confirmed lock on her target, she fired, sending a massive energy beam streaking through the air right towards the horrified Munkidori, lancing through the open hole in the far-to slowly closing dome and striking him right in the face, the resulting explosion blasting all the sludge away accompanied by the very welcome sound of shattering and a screaming monkey.

"Julie insisted/that you fiends could not be fought/and yet here I stand/beating you at every turn./So far, you fail to impress!"

"I. Have. Had. ENOUGH!" Munkidori shouted when ANNA landed, his forehead covered in cracks, eyes red, Malice swirling around him. "Of you, your tricks, but mostly/I just hate your verse!"

As he levitated back into the air, he started forming a MASSIVE Shadow Ball, one much larger than he was. ANNA braced herself as he grinned wickedly…

And threw the Shadow Ball at the ground beneath him, levitating even higher as it exploded, surrounding himself in a shield of Psychic force to protect himself as the blast rapidly expanded outwards in every direction.

Eyes widening, ANNA turned and started dashing away as fast as she could, wheels slicing through the ground beneath her, already feeling the heat of the explosion at her back.

"You think you can run?/You think that you stand a chance?/This is where you die!" Munkidori chatted, using Psychic…

On the ground beneath ANNA'S feet, shattering the earth, ripping it apart, telekinetically flinging huge chunks away and leaving huge cracks, fissures, and incredibly uneven terrain in its place.

ANNA growled as she frantically tried to pick up the pace, using broken land as platforms and steppingstones, hopping between the rising walls of crevasses, quickly searching for any piece of land stable enough and angled just right for her to escape.

She had only seconds left. The explosion was almost upon her.

She just needed one thing. Just one. Where-

THERE!

Seeing a platform that had been so broken and twisted it was practically a natural ramp, she skidded down the side of the column she was on, leapt off just before it was enveloped by the explosion, and landed at the base of the ramp, the thrusters opening on the backs of her legs as she accelerated up the ramp as fast as she could. She leapt off the top just before it was consumed by the explosion and launched into the air. Munkidori laughed, believing that she'd only sealed her fate, for when she fell, she would either land in the still-expanding explosion or break herself on the jagged rocks below.

He did not, however, expect a pair of metallic limbs to unfold from her back, more thrusters igniting as she rose still higher into the air, the sun glinting off her metal form as she flew into the blue sky.

Munkidori's jaw dropped. "No… No, no, no, NO!/All this, and you can fly too?!/Why won't you just DIE?!"

The air between them suddenly became filled with Shadow Balls, the dark orbs hurtling towards ANNA. The future girl ignited her thrusters and shot forwards, both of her hands converting into energy blades as the exhaust from her wings spread out to look almost like wings of light. "My kind live in space/augmented to withstand things/you could not dream of," she replied as she weaved through the bullet hell, lashing out with her blades, deflecting and slicing through any Shadow Ball in her path. "I have battled many foes/and here I stand triumphant!"

"Is that all I am?/Just another foe to beat?/No! I will not lose!" Munkidori shouted, more and more veins throbbing on his forehead as he conjured still more Shadow Balls, but instead of throwing them at ANNA he had them revolve around him in a triple layered protective sphere, spewing Sludge Waves through occasional gaps that opened in the barrier. "I've just been reborn/I won't die, not to someone/who uses TANKA!"

ANNA circled the encased Munkidori, dodging around Shadow Balls and avoiding Sludge Waves while trying to calculate a plan of attack. One more good strike should end this. Unfortunately, that sphere of his has too many layers, and by the time I slice or blast my way through, he could detonate the Shadow Balls around me, replenish the spent ones, and/or blast me with poison. The only vulnerability in that shield of his is whenever he opens it to use Sludge Wave, but it doesn't last for long.

She smirked. Fortunately, I think I know just the way to make him lose his grip and give me the opening I need.

"And you really think/that your own verse is all that?/None of the stories/I have heard mention it. I think/no one liked it then or now!" She taunted.

Screeching in rage, Munkidori flung all his Shadow Balls outward, opening his mouth and inhaling deeply, preparing to fire a truly massive Sludge Wave. "Critics, all the same!/I will silence you all/for wabi-sa-"

He choked on the last syllable, spitting up blood rather than poison.

ANNA, now behind him, her back to him, retracted her blades. "I will give you this/you were quite persistent/and might have won./I will remember this fight/as well as your AWFUL verse."

Munkidori screamed in agony and humiliation as he was suddenly jerked violently about, the delayed effects of dozens of sword slashes hitting him all at once, crystal shattering all over his body as he fell out of the sky.

---

"… Okay, Julie, I think I'm in love with your sister," Carmine admitted, very red.

"I think everyone knew that already," Hohma told her.

"Shut it!"

"Mewstress? What's wrong?" A concerned Ohara asked Julie, noticing a frown on her gorgeous features. Oh no, had she sensed that she was attracted to ANNA now too?! She would never betray her Mewstress, ever! It was just a crush, honest!

"Something wrong."

"What are you talking about? They're winning!" Aliquis pointed out. "You might say they've already won, in fact!"

Julie shook her head. "Shouldn't take this long. Starmetal kill most Demonspawn in one hit. Strongest in record only withstand maybe half a dozen blows. Only Demon King beat that, and he Demon King! Disloyal Three should be dead dozen times over by nyow!"

"Well, maybe it's because most of them are using attacks rather than Starmetal weapons?" Briar suggested.

Julie shook her head. "Doesn't matter. They made of Starmetal, so their attacks have similar properties. Something nyot right."

"Maybe it's because they're Terastalized?" Hohma suggested. "They don't have that back where you come from, right?"

"Nyo, we don't," Julie admitted. "Nyot sure how that affects things… Nyot sure Julie wants to know. Sister!"

ANNA, who had landed next to Alita, Viola swooping down to hover beside her, glanced her over her shoulder. Across from them, the exhausted and badly injured Loyal Three had clumped together, their crystalline shell cracked and broken in several places. "Yes?"

"This go on too long! Finish it!" Julie shouted.

ANNA hesitated. "By finish it, do you mean-"

"Yes! Kill them! Julie make it very clear! Demonspawn must die!" An exasperated Julie yelled.

"Yes! Take back this stolen life of theirs! Put them back in the ground!" Ogerpon snarled.

"Are we absolutely certain catching them is off the table-" an uncertain Briar started.

"YES!" Julie and Ogerpon yelled.

"I'm, uh, not sure I can watch this," Ohara admitted anxiously.

"Then close eyes," Julie suggested.

She did just that, covering her face with her hands, though she couldn't resist peeping through a crack.

ANNA nodded. "Very well. I just wanted to be certain we were completely rejecting any and all nonviolent options. Viola! TERASTALLIZE!"

Viola roared as she Terastallized, gleaming like a diamond, in stark contrast to the three blackened villains before her.

"She's beautiful," Aliquis gasped.

"Yeah, she is," Carmine said dreamily as ANNA jumped onto the Miraidon's back.

"Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti!" ANNA called out as Viola rose into the air, gathering power. "Your revival in this age was caused by an unforeseen anomaly, one which I tend to correct this instant! Viola, end this with Tera Blast!"

Viola opened her mouth, roared, and fired an incredibly powerful blast of dazzling, sparkling, shining Dragon fire at the trio.

Okidogi's shoulders slumped in resignation as the end came towards them. "Well… Crap. At least it won't hurt as much the second time, right?"

Munkidori nodded. "No, I don't think so./What she did to us is by far/worse than Dragon breath."

"At least," Fezandipiti declared, trying to strike a pose. "I shall leave behind a fabulous corpse!"

"Don't think being vaporized by Dragon fire will leave much of a corpse behind," Okidogi pointed out.

Fezandipiti's eyes widened. "Wait, no, hang on-"

The blast engulfed them in midsentence, encasing them in statues of Tera Crystal, Fezandipiti in particular frozen in time with a hilariously awkward expression on his face.

"Are… Are they dead?" An astonished Hohma asked, making sure to snap a picture of Fezandipiti's face.

"Not yet," ANNA said. "Ogerpon, do you wish to do the honors, or-"

Ogerpon was already on her feet and rushing towards the petrified trio.

"Okay then."

"Mistress, wait, you haven't finished healing!" Gardevoir protested, trying to stand up only to collapse, gasping for breath.

"I still have enough strength left for this!" Ogerpon growled, forming an Ivy Cudgel. "I killed you once… And now, again! When you get to the Distortion World, tell Giratina Ogerpon sends her regards, and to keep a better eye on you to make sure this never happens again-"

The crystal shattered in a tremendous explosion, Malice blasting out in every direction, knocking Ogerpon off her feet and shoving ANNA, Alita, and Viola back. "No!" Gardevoir cried.

"What?! That nyever happen before!" Protested a shocked Julie.

"No… How is this possible?" ANNA gasped. "Not even the Treasures of Ruin managed to escape crystallization!"

"No… No! WHY?!" Ogerpon screamed in frustration.

"That… Is something I want to know as well," a confused Okidogi admitted. "I actually thought you had us there for a second."

"And yet they still might/I sense this boost won't last long/we should flee, swiftly!" Munkidori agreed in a panic.

"I'll go first, as the most beautiful-" Fezandipiti started to flap his wings.

the masks

The trio stiffened, their chains glowing. They knew that voice. "Boss?" Okidogi whispered hopefully.

use the masks

The trio exchanged glances.

"Well, that's good enough for me," Fezandipiti said.

"Boss has never steered us wrong before," Okidogi agreed.

"And if we should fail/we have died and returned once/so why not again?" Munkidori agreed, passing the Cornerstone Mask to Okidogi and the Hearthflame Mask to Fezandipiti while keeping the Wellspring Mask for himself. In unison, they nodded at each other, then slapped the masks on.

Immediately the masks started glowing, and the trio cried out, red, blue, and gray energy crackling around their bodies, clashing with their Malice auras.

"What? Are… Are they using Ogerpon's masks?!" A shocked Ohara asked.

"But that's not possible! Only she can use them!" Carmine protested.

"Heh…hehehe…HAHAHAHAHA!" Ogerpon cackled joyfully. "That's right, I can! Everyone else? They get killed by the curse their maker built into them!"

Fezandipiti's eyes widened. "Wait, what was that about a curse-"

All three of the Demonspawn started screaming as the masks seemed to partially dissolve, melding with their faces, smoke rising as they burned into their flesh.

It smelled horrible.

"Well, that's another year in therapy," Hohma said blandly as Aliquis threw up.

"Wait, your masks are magic?" Carmine asked Ogerpon in surprise. "And… My ancestor had magic?!" She blinked. "Wait, does that mean I have magic?"

"Huh? Yeah, wasn't it obvious?" Ogerpon asked in surprise. "How did you think they allowed me to change types?"

"I assumed it had something do with the Tera crystals, but I suppose you must have noticed right away, right, Julie?" ANNA asked her sister.

She didn't respond.

"Sister?"

"Ogerpon," Julie said very slowly. "What were exact terms mask wizard said about curse?"

Ogerpon frowned. "Huh? Well, um, remember this was a few hundred years ago… He said that anyone but me who tried to use the masks would die."

"That exactly what he say?" Julie pressed, the urgency in her tone starting to worry the others.

"Mewstress, what-" Ohara started.

"This important! Think hard," Julie insisted, seeing the uncertain look on Ogerpon's face.

"Uhhh… He said… He said… What was it…" Ogerpon muttered.

"Mistress, let me help," Gardevoir said, eyes glowing as she touched Ogerpon's forehead.

"Oh, thanks… Right, I remember now!" Ogerpon exclaimed. "He said any living being other than myself or those I deemed worthy would die if they tried to use the masks. Naturally I granted my master permission right away." Her heart sank. "If only he'd had one on him that night…"

Julie groaned. "Julie was afraid nyou'd say that."

"Why? She just said the masks would kill-" Gardevoir started.

"Any living being," Julie emphasized. "They already dead!"

Ogerpon shook her head. "No, my master asked about Ghost-types and the mask maker said they didn't count since many of them aren't really spirits of the dead but alternate forms of life-"

"Julie nyot talking about ghosts! Ghost-types part of cycle of life and death! Demonspawn aren't!" Julie shouted. "Which means…"

The Loyal Three shouted, and suddenly the elemental auras were completely swallowed up by the Malice.

"They can nyuse masks!"

The trio's screams of agony turned into hysterical laughter again as, once more, their forms changed. Okidogi's face now had features resembling the Cornerstone Mask, gray with tusks and a blue mustache, his crystalline shell now had more of a grayish sheen, and his fists and feet were encased in stone, with rocky armor covering his shoulders and torso. Munkidori now had a face resembling the Wellspring Mask, pale and surrounded by blue hair with tears constantly streaming down his cheeks, rings of water floating around his wrists, ankles, and forehead, and his crystalline shell now had a blue sheen. Finally, Fezandipiti now had a red face with a blue lined beak with a pair of fangs and three-pointed crest resembling the Hearthflame Mask while his wings, tail, and plumes were ablaze, and his crystalline shell now had a red sheen. In addition, all their Malice auras had changed to take on the consistency of the elements empowering each of them and all the damage they'd taken from their previous battle seemed to have vanished.

"Ha…haha…HAHAHAHA!" Okidogi roared, smashing his fist to the ground and causing massive stone spikes erupting all around him. "Oh yeah! OH YEAH! This is what I'm talking about!"

"I have become like a phoenix! More brilliant and beautiful than Moltres… No, Ho-Oh!" Fezandipiti declared blasphemously, flames dripping from his plumage and burning on the ground.

"Now the tables turn/the ogre's strength is now ours/ready for round two?" Munkidori taunted, telekinetically juggling balls of water.

ANNA hesitated then glanced back at her sister as her Pokémon exchanged uncertain looks. "Sister? Do you think we can still take them?"

"Uhhh… Ogerpon?" Julie asked.

Ogerpon stared at the Loyal Three, a blank look on her face. Her eye twitched. "… You know, I think retreating might not be such a bad idea after all."

Carmine swallowed. "Oh crap… If you're saying that, then…!"

"This must be really bad!" Aliquis exclaimed.

Briar scribbled in her notebook.

"Gardevoir?" Ogerpon asked, glancing at her loyal servant.

Gardevoir nodded. "As you wish, Mistress."

Her eyes flashed, and they were all teleported away in a flash of light.

The Loyal Three blinked, suddenly finding themselves completely alone.

"… Well that's no fun," Okidogi complained.

"Hey, they took the Teal Mask with them!" A dismayed Fezandipiti realized.

Munkidori chuckled. "No need to worry/we'll get it back in due time/and crush them for good."

"But I want to crush something now," Okidogi whined.

"Say, aren't we near that drab little village?" Fezandipiti recalled. "Why don't we pay them a visit? See how… Hospitable they are?"

They grinned malevolently, Malice swirling around them, the demonic faces on their crowns and chests seeming to cackle as well.

---

Nemona hadn't let go of Penny for even a second since her arrival. She was currently seated in the smaller girl's lap while cuddling her as a somewhat resigned Penny sat at a table on one of the outdoor patios of her new mansion – which was way better than her old one and felt much more lived in and welcoming! – And purring happily. "I missed yooooouuuuu," she moaned, rubbing against her cheek.

"So I can tell," Penny said flatly.

Nemona glanced at her, hurt. "Didn't you miss me, mi pequeno centavo?"

"… Yeah, I did," Penny relented, smiling and stroking her hair, causing Nemona to arch her back and squeal happily before purring even louder. "My, your evolution has grown quite a pace, hasn't it?"

"Yes yes yes! I can't wait to show Mewstress and Mistress!" Nemona said eagerly.

Penny raised an eyebrow. "Mewstress and Mistress?"

"Yeah! You know, Julie and ANNA?" Nemona said. "It just came to mind. You never thought about calling them that?"

"… Well I am now," Penny …hahaha…f

Nemona squealed in delight and hugged her. "But what about you? You barely look like you changed all! Though you smell different… realmente bueno…"

"Since I'm currently in prison, I decided to focus most of my changes internally so as to stand out less," Penny explained. "Most of my innards are fully techno-organic now and my brain has been heavily augmented to boost my IQ even higher."

"Oh," Nemona said.

"… And, well, there's this," Penny admitted as a pair of cat ears popped out of the top of her head and a blue and red striped tail curled out from her rear.

Nemona stared at her, eyes glistening in awe. "…QUE LINDO! Oh my gosh you're so fucking adorable I love you so much centavo," she moaned, squeezing Penny even tighter while trying to bat at her girlfriend's tail.

"I don't remember you being this… Physical? No, that's not the right word," Penny murmured. "You've always been a cuddle bug, but this feels different."

"I had to go several weeks without any sort of affection whatsoever in an environment devoid of love. I was a pequena gatita triste and am extremely touch starved," Nemona whimpered, suddenly on the verge of tears.

Penny cringed. "Oh geez… I'm sorry, Nemona. I knew things were bad for you, but I… If I realized how bad, I'd have gotten you out of there sooner. Well. I'd like to think I would have," she admitted. "I've disabled certain parts of my brain to free up processing power, so…"

"That sounds horrendously unhealthy," Nemona said, shocked.

"Yeah, it probably is," Penny admitted. "I just… I've just got a lot of balls in the air right now, and I really, really cannot afford to drop a single one of them, and I'm the only one I trust to be able to keep it all together."

"What about Mistress?" A concerned Nemona asked. "She's even smarter than you!"

"She is," Penny agreed. "But I have one advantage over her that she doesn't: I'm human, which means I'm capable of duplicity and can think in ways someone as honest and straightforward as her would never even consider." She hesitated. "I… Hope she won't be upset at how I've been using the gifts she granted me when she finds out what I've been doing."

"She'll forgive you," Nemona said immediately. "You know she will. And I forgive you too. That's what love is, right mi amor?"

"… I missed you, Nemona," Penny admitted, voice getting choked up. "More than I allowed myself."

Nemona hugged her tighter, her purr growing louder. "I'm really glad you're here."

There was a high-pitched squeal from nearby.

"Your parents are watching us," Penny pointed out.

Her parents. It thrilled Nemona to hear those words come from her girlfriend's mouth. "So?"

"You, uh, sure you want to get this close with them watching?" Penny asked awkwardly.

"They'll leave us alone," Nemona said dismissively.

"And will the giant scary knight in wolf armor?"

Nemona blinked and reluctantly tore her eyes away from Penny to glance at the massive figure in black armor with a flowing cloak and a helm resembling the head of a wolf who was standing behind the very giddy Lillie and Selene as they poked their heads out from around the corner.

Nebby was also sticking her head out from around the corner. It was adorable.

"Oh, that's Lyra, she's a big softy," Nemona said dismissively.

"She's wearing very scary armor and has a greatsword bigger than me – wait, Lyra? As in Tohjo Champion Lyra?" Penny asked in disbelief.

"Oh, is that who that is?" Nemona asked in surprise. "Okay, I definitely have to battle her later. And mom. And mama."

"I'm genuinely surprised you haven't done that already," Penny confessed.

"I'm still recovering from weeks of psychological trauma. I'll probably do it in an hour or two," Nemona said cheerfully.

"Right. May I ask why Tohjo Champion Lyra is here wearing armor from some kind of dark fantasy game or anime?" Penny asked slowly.

"Oh, she's the family bodyguard," Nemona said breezily.

"The what."

"Okay, so, you've heard all the stories about her being a werewolf, right?" Nemona asked her.

"I had, and discounted all those as hearsay, which, in retrospect, seems incredibly foolish after meeting Julie and ANNA," Penny admitted.

"Well, they're all wrong, she's not a werewolf, she's a half-wolf," Nemona explained. She frowned. "Or is she a quarter-wolf? Since her mom's human? Lyra, are you a half or quarter-wolf?"

"Half, Princess!" the massively intimidating Knight said in a surprisingly girlish voice.

"Right, she's half. So, her dad is apparently a werewolf – sorry, half-wolf Faller from a dark fantasy world like in a game or anime after dying – so like a reverse-isekai thing, or is this just plain isekai? – Fell in love with a woman he met in Johto, got married, had a kid, and that kid is Lyra," Nemona explained.

Penny blinked. "It says a lot about my life as it is now that that story is not only totally plausible but absolutely mundane. That does not explain why she is here, in a suit of armor, in your parent's house."

"Oh! So, apparently in his old world, her dad was the sworn servant and protector of lunar royalty, so he raised Lyra to do the same except there wasn't any lunar royalty here and apparently Cresselia and Darkrai don't count, but then Mom became Champion and had Nebby and something went 'ding' in her head and she got into the armor her dad made for her and rushed all the way to Alola to immediately profess her undying loyalty to Mom," Nemona babbled.

"Oh," Penny said. "Doesn't she have Champion duties back in the Tohjo League though?"

"Nebby helps her commute."

"Oh, that makes sense." Penny paused, then loudly said, "For anyone who might be listening, I have no ill intentions toward your daughter. At least not while she's under your roof."

"I wouldn't mind doing something untoward with you under this roof," Nemona teased.

"M-maybe later," Penny murmured, looking flustered, cheeks red.

Nemona blinked, surprised. "Wait, you're saying no? Why?! Is… Is there something wrong with me-"

"No! No, not at all!" Penny stammered quickly. "I, uh, dialed down my sex drive immensely to free up more processor space."

Nemona blinked. "You can do that?"

"Yes."

"Huh." Nemona shrugged. "Well, I'm certainly never doing that. Wait, then what's with the girl in Espeon fetish cosplay?"

"Oh, that's my new Espeon, Vanessa. Say hi, Vanessa," Penny instructed.

"Hi, Vanessa," Vanessa, leashed to Penny's chair, sat obediently.

Nemona burst into laughter. "Gorgeous, and with a sense of humor!"

"She wasn't joking, actually, due to an unfortunate encounter with Mesprit and Azelf when she was younger, she is utterly selfless and completely lacking in any free will whatsoever," Penny explained.

Nemona cringed. "Oh, geez. Wait, then why was she in prison – nevermind, figured it out, girl as hot as that without the ability to say no, people must have been taking advantage of her her entire life. Pobra cosa. Good thing you found her."

"… Yes. A good thing," Penny muttered, absentmindedly petting Vanessa's head, her pet purring happily.

"Now you just need a Glaceon and you finally have the complete set! That must make you happy, right?" Nemona teased. "Speaking of happy, not that I'm not happy to see you, but… What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in prison?"

"I am in prison," Penny said calmly.

Nemona booped her nose. "You don't feel like you're in prison. You don't smell like you're in prison." She kissed her. "You don't taste like you're in prison. You taste deliciosa by the way."

"Yes, but I have several dozen witnesses and hours of footage proving that I am, in fact, in prison, as I have been every day since my internment," Penny said calmly.

"Which means you have time to spend the rest of the day? Maybe longer?" Nemona asked hopefully. "Maybe dial up your sex drive up a bit… Or maybe even battle?" She shuddered and moaned rapturously at the thought.

"Unfortunately, Vanessa's the only Pokémon I have on me right now and as I'm sure you can tell, she's not made for battling," Penny said. Vanessa whimpered and Penny quickly said, "No, it's no fault of yours, you're fine just the way you are. In any event," she said, turning back to Nemona. "I'm sorry to say this, but I'm not here for simple pleasure. You are by now familiar, of course, with our mutual acquaintances from beyond?"

"Oh, you mean Team Star in their new getups? Yeah, of course," Nemona said. "Which one were you?"

"That wasn't Team Star and I wasn't there, I was in prison," Penny claimed.

Nemona smiled, nodded, and winked. "Riiiiight, just like you're in prison right now. So seriously, who was who? Were you Alcor? No, or maybe you were actually Dubhe or one of the others to throw off suspicion? And Polaris and Benetnasch can't possibly be real people, I'm betting they're either animatronics or you stuffed a bunch of your VeeVees in a big suit-"

"Nemona, we know and love an actual alien, is it really that hard to believe the Septentriones are the real deal?" An annoyed Penny asked.

"Considering they share the same stellar theme as Team Star and the rather obvious coded message at dinner last night, seems pretty obvious to me they're just guys in costumes," Nemona said candidly.

"Some of them look utterly inhuman."

"Really good costumes."

"They are not Team Star," Penny insisted, getting frustrated. "And look, we're getting off topic. You remember how they said that they planned to take down your parents and the Rotom phone company?"

Nemona immediately straightened up. "Yes, and I'd ask how you knew that if you weren't there and why you would be involved in all this if they really aren't Team Star, but I already know that's a stupid question because you know just about everything and they totally are Team Star."

"They aren't-"

"Are they ready to make a move?" Nemona asked giddily. "Do they want my help? I don't care if they don't want my help, I'm helping anyway."

"As it so happens, yes, they do want your help," Penny confirmed.

"SI!" Nemona cheered.

"And us?" Selene asked, she, Lillie, Lyra, and Nebby were suddenly standing right next to them.

"You too," Penny confirmed.

"What do we need to do and does it involve me giving Mencia to a Buzzwole as a punching bag?" Lillie asked viciously, Selene shooting her a besotted look.

"That will, regrettably, have to wait until after her trial," Penny said apologetically, causing Lillie to pout adorably. "However, Nemona's family – sorry, her former family will be returning to Paldea in a few hours. This provides us with a unique opportunity which we simply cannot afford to pass up. Listen carefully…"