Draco: Oh, Alpha, it felt shamefully good to finish the previous chapter with that #WhamLine. Or maybe #WhamShot? It would be a shot of the camera in a visual medium, do you describe it the same way when it's a narrative depiction or does that make it a line? Whatever. It feels good anyways.

PRE-SUBMIT EDIT: Frick everything! The one time I have a good reason to delay an upload, and the universe punishes me by making FFN inaccessible for, like, two days straight centered on my usual upload time. Sorry this took so long. END PRE-SUBMIT EDIT

Pokémon and protagonist © Nintendo. Character designs © Koei. Ransei © somewhere in the middle.

Ultra Kingdom - Rainbow Road: Invaders from Otherworlds

"An organization of Trainers, and a single letter..."

Shingen crossed his arms. "I'm inclined to agree with Kenshin. Seems our foes are something of an established group."

"How come we didn't hear about these guys before?" Kai argued.

"Because we only went to three regions of Trainers between the nine of us," Magoichi pointed out. "And Nobunaga didn't exactly cover the entire world during his own trips. We can't expect to have encountered every possible emblematic organization with such a narrow frame of reference."

"To say nothing of the fact that this is happening between worlds," Nagamasa pointed out. "We've seen Warriors who come from otherworlds; who's to say these Trainers are any different?"

Nō crossed her arms. "Trainers come from Ultra Space... What could they want?"

Something cracked from outside - a sound like metal striking stone, repeated five times.

"Warriors of Ransei! I am taken to understand that you have arrived! Come out, that we might address you!"

Hanzō narrowed his gaze at the front door. "They would tell us."

Evia turned to Kaguya. "Are you okay?"

"...Yeah," Kaguya insisted. "I'll be fine."

The Aurorans got to their feet, and Evia turned to Nagamasa. "Did your device translate that, from that distance?"

"No," Nagamasa admitted, "it did not."

"Then how about you and yours stay in here for now," Evia suggested. "Sounds like he wants to address the crowd."

Kenshin and Shingen seized the doors, pulling them open as Evia, Oichi, and Kaguya stepped forward, their Pokémon following close behind. As the other Warriors followed them out, they found their aggressors standing on the prismatic surface that extended outward from the courtyard; on closer inspection, it seemed to form a solid plane around Aurora Castle, and then extend outward into roads that vanished into the aurorae of Ultra Space.

Most of those gathered ahead were dressed in the same uniform, indicating a very strict dress code; all-black, with grey gloves and boots, hair cut short under a forward-brimmed black cap. The men were wearing trousers, while the women had short skirts and higher boots; all wore grey belts on which their Poké Balls were mounted, with two rainbow stripes running the length, and upon each's shirt was the same rainbow R as stained the courtyard where the Warriors were now gathering.

The man at the front was also dressed in black, but that was where the similarities ended. He was instead consumed in a high-collared black mantle that was scattered with eye patterns; it seemed designed to be buttoned up the front, but most of the buttons were undone. Beneath he wore more black, though still not matching the others' uniforms; one eye was covered by an eyepatch, though it didn't seem to be bound around his head so much as mounted on his face. His pale blonde hair was mostly cut short, but sported three strange antennae-looking strands that reached out and back; a pair of golden bands were wrapped around his left arm, and his hand was closed on a cane that looked like the helm of a ship... with a shield mounted in the center that bore blue patterns over a surface of black and white.

"And who might you be?" Ujiyasu demanded.

"My name is Ghestsis," the man in the mantle replied. "I am here representing Team Rainbow Rocket."

Mitsuki turned to Kaguya. "Is that him? The old man?"

Kaguya shook her head. "No. The old man had darker hair."

Ghetsis stepped forward onto the courtyard, coming to a stop once his feet and cane were firmly on the tile.

"We of Team Rainbow Rocket seek to conquer the world. And we would begin our efforts in the region of Ransei, where conquest is a way of life! Of course, we are not so ignorant as to believe that you Warriors of Ransei would stand idly by and let us conquer, which is why the boss of Team Rainbow Rocket has chosen to extend to you an invitation! The Tera Crystals that have manifested throughout Ransei serve two purposes. The first is a declaration of war; we would have all the region understand that Ransei is under attack!"

Ghetsis raised his cane and brought it down upon the tile - and the aurorae behind him seemed to fade, revealing where the rainbow road led.

The Warriors of Ransei were shocked at the sight; the remaining sixteen castles were visible in the distance, yet they seemed to have been merged. It was as though each castle had been bisected - seemingly on a random axis - and the gap brought into the opposite half of another castle, with no effort made to ensure the architecture of one would line up with the other... yet each castle seemed twice as large as they were in Ransei, which begged the question of what the hell the interiors might have been like. Six of the structures were pairs of castles, while the remaining four seemed to be combined into a single structure behind the rest.

"The second is to provide you with a familiar stage on which to struggle against us!" Ghetsis proclaimed. "Our boss has graciously decided that we shall clash with the Warriors of Ransei on their own terms. We have done our research, and understand well the customs of Ransean warfare." He turned to one side. "And I'm sure you have taken notice, from our prior assaults, just how well we have followed them."

"So that wasn't a coincidence," Oichi murmured.

Ghetsis turned back to face them. "Per our boss' orders, so long as you and yours adhere to the rules of battle, so too shall we! Six members of Team Rainbow Rocket shall await you in each castle, and shall each bring one Pokémon to the battlefield - so long as a company of no more than six Warriors marches to meet them, and each only enters battle with one Pokémon for themselves!"

He turned his gaze towards the horned sigil of Aurora that stood atop the castle. "Would that we could have greeted you with a battle, to begin the war by knowing our enemy. But we shall settle for the declaration, and depart now to await you. Thank you one and all for your attention."

He slammed his cane to the tile again, and the uniformed members all moved to surround him as they began to march back down the rainbow road.

+x+x+x+

"It would seem Nagamasa's theory holds true, after all."

The army had convened in Aurora's mess hall to discuss Ghetsis' message. Nobunaga's remark drew a nod of agreement from Evia. "Indeed," she admitted. "They claim to want to conquer the world, but if they were from our world, they wouldn't have attacked Ransei from Ultra Space."

Nobunaga shook his head. "Not only that," he insisted. "If they were from our world, Ghetsis would not exist as part of Team Rainbow Rocket."

Ranmaru turned to him. "Lord Nobunaga, have you... met this man?"

"Not personally," Nobunaga confessed. "But during my time in Trainer lands, I ventured to the region of Unova." He folded his hands before him. "There, I heard tell of an organization called Team Plasma. One which had risen, fallen, and risen again, only to fall once more. And both times, a man named Ghetsis held a prominent position in that organization.

"Yet the man did not - would not - have his way. Both times, an up-and-coming Trainer crossed paths with his organization, put a stop to its machinations, and defeated him personally. The first time, when he played the role of an unimportant advisor, he cast the blame for the failings on his figurehead king even as he himself was defeated by one he had dismissed as unimportant. The second, when he made no secret of his role and that king opposed him, he had no one else to blame, and they say his mind broke in his refusal to accept his failings." Nobunaga raised his gaze. "Even if Team Rainbow Rocket were to approach that Ghetsis, he would be in no condition to even prepare for battle, let alone give such an elegant and showy speech."

Masamune crossed his arms. "That emblem, on his cane..."

"The emblem of Team Plasma, yes," Nobunaga confirmed. "That he bears it still suggests he did hold such a role in the same organization in his own world. Which begs the question of how he came to be involved with Team Rainbow Rocket."

"Perhaps you can ask him yourself," Evia admitted.

Everyone turned to her.

"He said as much - Team Rainbow Rocket is waiting for us to battle them. Those things that used to be the castles - one looked larger than the others, but there were six of those others." She looked up at the army. "And we've got six legions to fight with. He told us to follow the terms of battle, but he said nothing of the month of courtesy - and they haven't been respecting it anyways. So let us all march against Team Rainbow Rocket, one to a castle - and crush them all swiftly, that we might return to Ransei together."

"I saw him going towards the one that used to be Nixtorm," Mitsuhide proclaimed. "I entrust its reclamation to you."

Evia turned to Nagamasa. "Will you fight with us?"

"I will," Nagamasa promised. "Let my Warriors keep this castle safe, to preserve your road home; I shall march with you."

"You'll need to tell Driftwalker," Yoshimoto pointed out. "You promised her she could come once we understood this place."

"Gah, I was gonna try and ping her when I arrived," Evia muttered. "Thanks for the reminder." She raised her com-crystal bracelet to her mouth. "Driftwalker, respond."

Silence.

"...Guess it was too much to ask that it reach her through the Wormhole," Evia admitted.

Gracia got to her feet. "I'll go get her," she offered. "Just in case."

+x+x+x+

The sounds of fighting echoed out of the training room.

Oichi's heart was heavy as she stepped into view, finding Kaguya with her back to the door. The young Warrior was beating on one of the training dummies with her bamboo pole, looking very dishevelled; Gardevoir was standing in one corner of the room with a concerned look on her face, though she noticed when Oichi and Wigglytuff entered.

Kaguya noticed as well, coming to a stop and lowering her weapon. "...Mama Oichi."

"Look at me, Kaguya," Oichi pleaded.

Slowly, Kaguya turned around, revealing there were streaks down her face from the tears that had flowed.

With a sigh, Oichi stepped towards her, kneeling down to put herself on her daughter's level. "You don't have to keep going, you know."

Kaguya shook her head. "I already said-!"

"What you already said doesn't matter," Oichi insisted. "When you said you wanted to fight with us, we didn't know the old man was involved. Now the situation has changed, and we know what's happening. You told us the old man treated you badly; you don't have to make yourself deal with those memories." She set her hand on Kaguya's shoulder. "It's like Evia told you back in Aurora. If you're scared, you don't have to fight with us."

"But I don't want to be scared!"

Kaguya's yell caught Oichi off-guard. "I don't want to hide away because the old man's here! I want to fight with you, Mama! I want to help you stop him!"

"Is that really what you want," asked a voice behind Oichi, "or is it something you're making yourself do?"

Both of them turned to find Evia standing in the doorway. "Mama Evia?"

Evia stepped forward. "There's a difference between being scared and being hurt," she insisted. "It's one thing to try and overcome your fear. It's another thing to force yourself through it. Do you want to fight him? The old man? Do you want to end up face-to-face with him, and have to go against him and everything he can do? Or are you trying to make yourself do this, because you think it's better than admitting it's too much?"

Kaguya shook her head. "No," she insisted. "I want to. I promise, I want to do this! I want to fight him, so I don't have to be scared of him anymore!"

"Then you can fight him with us," Evia conceded. "But only if you promise me something." She knelt down. "Promise me that if we face him, and you're too scared, you'll stop. If your whole body is shaking, and it feels like you have to fight just to take a step forward... then promise me you won't take another step. That you'll stop before it's too much, instead of making yourself keep going until it hurts."

"...I promise, Mama Evia."

"Okay." Evia got to her feet. "You make sure you rest up before we go, okay? It's alright if we're a little bit behind the others."

"Alright." Kaguya started out of the training room, and Gardevoir made to follow.

Once she was out of earshot, Oichi turned to Evia. "You're the last person who should be talking about not forcing yourself to do something," she scolded.

Evia's gaze fell. "She has the freedom to choose. I didn't."

Draco: Well, following up a satisfying Wham with a painful reflection scene wasn't totally on my itinerary for today, but that happened.