Episode 32: The power of the Spectre
Marshadow hummed in a familiar tune, and cheerfully twirled as he sung. Every now and then he stopped in place, where he flexed his arms and pushed out his chest as if boast his physique. Everyone else stared intensely, and half expected his movements to come out with a Pokémon attack. But nothing came of his enthusiastic spins and bows, or even when he teased everyone by stopping to point at one of them. He just kept showing off his posh, young voice.
His song eventually paused, to which he bowed and snickered about something. He looked up and bat his eyelids at Rune, who scowled in response. "If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it, anything you want to, do it—"
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Rune finally hissed, and pointed his sword at him.
"Ah. You interrupted me. Can't a guy sing when he's in a good mood?" Marshadow said with a snicker. He stretched his arms and back again. "Just look at me. I'm a marvel! A true figure of manliness and beauty. And it's all thanks to all of you. That I'm out here, able to stretch my legs, appreciate the singing birds and, maybe catch a few z's in the sun."
Rune growled and bared his fangs.
"I'm not gonna lie, considering the appearance of your other form, I was expecting somethin' a lot more intimidating," Nier confessed.
"Size means nothing. Everyone on your guard!" Vincent shouted and stood over Ariala. Nier joined him, but Marshadow ignored their gathering positions. He stretched until his back made a loud click.
"Ah yeah, that's the stuff. Now I'm ready for a good old-fashioned comeback. Yeah the god of the stars is back baby, and he is in full form!" Marshadow announced, making a peace sign with his fingers. "And the lot of you are lining up for the special event already. I feel bad for keeping such a dedicated fanbase waiting for the show, but this one's invite only. The rest of you can watch if you want."
"Okay, is this guy serious? I'm totally confused here." Griselle slumped forward.
"I'm talking about you, darlings. I mean, I'm a literal god! Do you really think I can be hurt by anything other than your fancy little swords? I know the lot of you are just itching to have a good time, but only the royals can compete right now, and even then, do they even compare?" Marshadow bragged. "I have to hand it to you all, though. All of you settling your differences to come together and help 'protect the world' and all that is pretty commendable, considering the show you've put on so far. I was convinced you all were gonna destroy this world for me, what with the faith you all had in the Tapu!"
"What are you talking about?" Leos said in a low tone.
"The Tapu sealed me. When Etheria was built and I came across it, those Tapu fought to protect it from me. Well not really fought, more like, flailed pettily. They put up a good one they did, but in the end, they all fell like Magikarp. Their only way to save you guys was to split me into partitions and then split the planet in two so that those partitions could never meet. But you see, I can do anything I want. I get anything I want. So even with all those efforts, I could watch the world and act through my partitions. So I've seen everything," he explained as he hovered lower to Diantha's side. "Seeing the world through the eyes of this spunky lil' thing was a joy. But like everything, it eventually got boring. So I got my other partition to start spicing things up a bit, maybe influence a war or two, you know?"
"You were controlling her," Rune muttered. He started to shudder as it clicked. "And Mirror. You made Mirror do all those twisted things."
"Everything the Tapu had done, it was all in attempt to keep you sealed and secret," Ariala whispered and covered her mouth.
"And you ate it up like the emotional sucker you are every time. Even now- I mean, how obvious was it that I was Diantha this whole time? And you still walked right along with it all. Your precious sister means that much to you, yet you didn't die before her trying to protect her. Makes for a petty tale, in the end," Marshadow commented.
"You, how can you say such awful things? Do you have any idea how much suffering you've brought upon Pokémon?" Ariala cried. She gripped her sword tightly, but didn't draw it.
"I've seen it all, darling. I'm the god of the stars. Every living thing and world has a star that tells its story, its future. If you can comprehend that, then you understand that I've seen every last possible reality there is," he stated. He slowly folded his arms. "I can do anything I want. I create worlds out of these stars, and get rid of them when they become a nuisance to watch over. And when you can do that, you eventually see everything that can come out of life. Every last possible outcome, ending, beginning, and all the fluff in between – I've seen it all. And those Tapu tried to take it all away from me. But now that I'm back, I'm the one in control again."
"Tsk. Forget it, you're just as mad a god as the Tapu. I'll tear you shreds!" Rune shouted and raised his sword.
"Father!" Leos cried and stuck an arm out as Rune charged at Marshadow. Diantha dove in the way, making him stop just short of an overhead slash.
"Wait Rune!" Diantha cried. Rune shuddered before her, and Marshadow burst out laughing.
"Look at him, Ariala! And you can honestly say you love this delusional dolt? He's unfit to even be a guy!" Tapu Lele laughed as well.
"Stop it!" Ariala cried.
"Oh man up. You're not going to stop me by whining about it, darling," Marshadow grinned. Diantha and Tapu Lele said the same words as he did just there, and all in his voice. "You know how you're going to stop me. By fighting. That very thing you seemed to avoid whenever you could."
Ariala moaned a bit, but stood tall and never took her eyes off of him. Snickering at her determination, he floated away from Rune and right up to her, to which she didn't even flinch. Leos and Rune were in shock, but trembled with dread.
"You're a unique one, if I had to give any praise. Underneath all your non-violent preferences, you actually have a shocking amount of power. And that's even without my partition in you. So show me that. Show everyone what you can really do," Marshadow challenged, looking up at her with that cheeky grin. He floated back to stretch his arms to his side. Diantha and Tapu Lele made space. "I want you to hit me as hard as you absolutely can. Just you. Then the rest of you can fight."
"You're giving her a free hit?" Rune asked, sceptical.
"Yep. Ariala. Me. As hard as you can," he stated, smiling in glee. There was silence.
"I- I can't," Ariala replied with a whisper, and looked down.
"You can't," Marshadow said. His tone was sympathetic, yet not condescending, and a smile never left his face. "Here you are faced with the god of the stars you tried so desperately to stop from coming to life, and now you can't even attack when given the opportunity? Not even a Pound attack? Huh. At least you're not giving up like the peasants who don't get their way."
He turned to Rune, who was growling at him. "Well then Dewott, that just leaves us. We do as tradition does, don't we? Have ourselves a little fist to fist. But do know that I mean business, Prince. If you lose, you won't like to hear what'll come next."
"Tsk. Don't bother, because you won't even get the chance!" Rune shouted as he charged again.
This time the army of Pokémon scattered, Tapu Lele and Diantha included, and Marshadow engaged him in a real battle.
Rune swung at him with a furious overhead slash with so much force that the ground was left with a large indent. Marshadow had dodged it with a simple lean to the left, and then took a small step to avoid the following horizontal slash. The dodging continued for a while, but each attack had Rune shouting and grunting as he tried, and every time he hit something by accident, it broke apart from the force.
"You weren't kidding about wanting to tear me to shreds. A sword that can smash rock like yours is nothing to shake a stick at," Marshadow praised, and then jumped away. He started thrusting his palms forward at high speed, and each thrust sent a Shadow Ball attack flying at Rune. The Dewott slashed the first one in half and then blocked the rest, guarding his face with his sword. "Can't you do better than that? I can keep this up all day."
And he wasn't lying. The Shadow Ball attacks kept coming, forcing Rune to plant his feet to stand his ground. But each one that hit his sword blew up into sparks and smoke, which crackled over him and singed his arms.
"Mother, do something!" Leos cried.
Before she could, Rune finally left his pose and disappeared from sight, reappearing as a blur for the briefest moment possible. That blur faded into a gush of wind that struck Marshadow hard enough to knock him backwards, to which he snickered and started dodging again.
"Oh yes, that one! You're quite something, you know?" Marshadow continued. Now he appeared excited as he hopped and stepped in various directions to avoid Rune's wicked speed. "Double Team, right? The act of moving so fast that one creates the illusion of being in multiple places at once. But rather than using that power to throw off the eye, you use it to actually out-speed your opponent! Marvelous fighting tactics!"
"That's what that was?" Leos gasped. He couldn't see Rune at all, only the swipes of light that indicated when he was attacking.
"The big issue with that strategy, my prince," Marshadow said, and shut his eyes. He came to a stop and clapped his hands, which caused the entire scene to silence. Rune was stopped in place in front of Marshadow, and his sword was between the ghost type's hands.
"What the? How did you?" Rune coughed, trying to pull back.
"You put all your energy into your speed, so you lose that wonderful power that had you crushing rock earlier. Such low power won't even scathe me," Marshadow said. He quickly removed one hand and punched Rune's stomach, sending him rolling backwards. "C'mon now. Don't let that get you down. You were doing so well, so keep it up."
"Grr, curse you," Rune snarled as he rose to his feet. He tried Water Pulse next, forming the watery orb at the tip of one palm and firing it in a similar fashion to Marshadow's Shadow Ball earlier. He shouted as he threw multiple, but he fired then hardly as fast. Marshadow lazily rose one arm to guard his face, and flicked the back of his hand to knock away every single Water Pulse.
"Really?" he said with a bored expression. He flinched when Rune popped up in front of him amongst the Water Pulse attacks, shrouded in water himself. Rune crashed into him with Aqua Jet while holding his sword at the front, piercing Marshadow right through.
"He actually- oh my goodness! He actually did it!" Leos gasped on top of everyone else's surprise.
Rune was pushing the duo back into the wall with the force he was put into his attack, and both of them growled as they pushed against each other. They hit the wall hard enough to make it break down, but Rune flipped to kick his feet off Marshadow to escape the impact.
"Don't underestimate me. I have the power to protect," Rune stated as he landed.
The broken stone and rubble moved to reveal a snickering Marshadow. He didn't look like he had suffered any damage at all. "Good good, just like that. Keep it up, make me put some effort into this. Fight like that and I might have to start trying!"
"Enough of this. Just keep being cocky, I dare you!" Vincent shouted, charging in.
"Wait Vincent, only the swords can- aw darn!" Nier cried and flew after him. Rune was surprised to see them take his place in the battle, but could only stick out an arm.
"You two? I already told you, you can't compete with me," Marshadow laughed while holding his hands out. He didn't attempt to block Vincent's attack at all, but the hybrid ended up passing right through him as if he wasn't there.
"What?" Vincent gasped. Marshadow punched him in the back right afterwards, hard enough to wind him and bring him to the ground.
"And if me being god status wasn't enough, you forget that you're a hybrid. That sickening mess of biology you try to call a Pokémon. Without Pokémon attacks, you can't even touch me," Marshadow added.
"Then try this on for size!" Nier shouted and thrust both arms. Her eyes lifted high, and a blast of pink force hit Marshadow. He flinched, and then cringed in attempt to try and resist it. "Not so tough now, are we?"
"Oh no, the invincible lord Marshadow defeated by a mere pawn's normal attack, what dramatic irony, ohohoho- no," Marshadow said, suddenly breaking free of the attack. His right hand burst with dark energy briefly, which expelled as a large, smoky black hand. Nier cried out as it flew at her at high speed, too fast for her to avoid. She guarded herself with her arms, but the shadowy hand flew right through her, smothering her in its tainting colours. She fell quiet after a few moments, but a dark aura surrounded her. Marshadow laughed at everyone's hesitant poses as they waited for the result of his attack.
Once Vincent stood up and growled at him, Nier began to move. She drew her rapier and engaged Vincent in a close quarters fight. If he wasn't as into the fight as he was, he would have been stabbed right there and then. He desperately blocked her stabs and slashes a few times before realising what was going on, and retaliated with a slash aimed at her sword. The two clashed and push against each other.
"Nier what the heck? It's me!" he shouted in her face. She didn't respond at all.
"Spectral Thief. Her soul and actions are all mine. I guess you'll just have to kill her," Marshadow sighed and shook his head. He turned back to Rune. "Now then, where were we?"
"Let her go!" Ariala cried.
"I told you darling, whining isn't going to do anything," Marshadow groaned.
Ariala scrunched herself up and growled, and then looked up with a glare that showed her fangs. With a hard flap of her wings, she leapt off the ground and flew towards Marshadow in a single jump, drawing the Sword of Divine Elements in the process. "That's enough you vile fiend!"
"Oh, I guess we're finally doing this now? I'm not gonna complain," Marshadow replied. He crashed into her with a barge of equal force. The two pressed their right arm and head against each other, while their free arms were drawn back with Pokémon attacks at the ready.
"G-guys, help out Vincent! We can at least stop Nier with status," Leos ordered, glancing at the rest of the army. They nodded in response and made space, leaving Rune, Ariala and Marshadow to do their battle alone.
The fairy and ghost kept pushing against each other for a while, until Marshadow finally found the strength to punch with his other hand. His Shadow Punch sent her skidding across the ground, but she stayed on her feet. Rune rushed in with Aqua Jet the moment she was punched away, forcing Marshadow to hop about to avoid him.
"Excuse me, it was the lady's turn!" Marshadow huffed. He charged up Shadow Punch again and then collided his fist with Rune's Aqua Jet head-on, sending the Dewott flying into the air. With Rune knocked away, he went to resume his fight by charging at Ariala with a Shadow Punch still at the ready.
"Psychic!" Ariala cried as she thrust an arm at him. It was a repeat of the effect from Nier's attack, only this time, it seemed to actually take Marshadow by surprise and pin him to the spot.
"What?" he screeched and trembled from pain. Ariala didn't waste her chance, and quickly stood up. She charged at him with hands glowing with white energy. She tore into him with a variety of punches, slaps, scratches, and more, finishing it off with punch that knocked him down onto the ground.
"Play Rough?" Rune gasped and gawked.
Ariala didn't stop there. Marshadow was floored at her feet, yet she pulled back her divine weapon and then whipped it, to which a sparkling strand of energy came out and wrapped itself around him. She pulled back again to lift him above her head, and then with a great shout, threw him back down, sending him into a ditch within the crumbling ground of the temple. Smoke surrounded them both for a moment, which soon disappeared to reveal only Ariala.
"Gah! Dang, ahaha, ow! The heck is happening, how did that work?" he cried furiously. Ariala pointed her right palm at him in the ditch, and charged a far larger than normal Moonblast. "Okay, now I see the light."
"Walk towards it!" Ariala shouted, letting it loose. A huge blast erupted from the ditch she had made, this one big enough to cover everyone in dust and smoke. When it began to clear up, only Ariala was standing.
"D-damn Ariala, where the hell did that come from?" Rune said with his jaw still on the floor.
She slowly turned to him and laid a hand on her chest, looking down at the ground. "I've been trained by the Tapu and the finest knights of Faernia. I was always capable of that kind of combat, but I never wished to go that far. But when he threatened Nier and Vincent…"
At the mention of her name, all eyes turned to the couple. Nier was knelt down and fatigued, but clearly no longer under Marshadow's control. In the corner, Master Lin was slowly edging away from the army, gawking and staggering to say a word.
"Prem's Thunder Wave worked a little too well. But she's fine," Leos informed.
"That's- no! That's impossible!" Lin screeched and grabbed his head. "The god of the stars, felled in mere moments? The two of you cannot possibly be that powerful!"
Rune snapped his sword at the ground, making the monster flinch. "If the swords were forged to fell gods like him, then this is only natural. Unfortunate for you, devoting your whole life to that cause."
"This- this isn't over, you fools! While you were busy fighting, I to-took advantage. In this particular location, a backup plan was always a given!" Lin guarded himself with one arm. His breath was erratic, and he was shuddering hard. The others gathered around Rune to intimidate him further, but he shook his fear away and sprinted backwards. It wasn't until where he stopped that they realised what his 'backup plan' was, and froze. "Tha-that's right! You daren't make a move, lest you want my revenge."
"The Dragon Weapon," Rune mumbled, staring at him. Lin had his palm on the green hexagon in the middle of the room, and it was reacting to his touch.
"What do you think you're doing?" Jyararanga shouted.
"What does it look like? If Marshadow falls to you, then I'll succeed his plan to destroy Etheria with the only other power that can!" Lin's eyes twitched. "Come forth O mighty spirit of Eris. Gather the many and bring forth the complete Zygarde! Destroy everything in your path and force this star to reset!"
It took a moment, but the hexagon reacted to Lin's order, flashing and releasing a black, smoky aura around itself and his arm. Rune, Ariala, and Jyararanga barely reacted while the others flew into a panic, speechless as the world around them began to rumble and shake.
It started with the bursting of the black aura around Master Lin, which was filled with the pattern of black and green hexagons, millions of tiny hexagons close together enough to irritate the eye. This dark aura kept bursting and enlarging every time it popped, enveloping the whole temple and possibly more around them in its cold, windy embrace. Even Master Lin began to get unnerved by its frosty grip, and nervously looked around.
Then, beams of green light soared across the sky to one spot directly in the middle of the temple, each beam coming from countless miles away. It was like a swarm of insects had been magnetically pulled into a single spot by a command from their queen, where they fused together right before all their eyes. The figure it was creating was big enough to force everyone to run away and distance themselves, as just its foot was larger than the temple itself.
"There it is," Master Lin snickered, but stared up in awe.
Zygarde stood tall in a humanoid shape, the black and green hexagon theme carrying across every scale of its body. Long, draconic wings jutted from its shoulders and back like serpentine dragons, flowing from an invisible flow of wind. Its bulky hands were tipped with three nails each, those nails flat and sharp as a sword. It bore an unusual face of white hexagons that resembled eyes, while a ring of green ones made up a 'mouth' like the protective armour of a helmet. There were green hexagons making armour plates on different parts of its body, such as its hands, chest, and knees.
"Perfect Zygarde! At long last, you stand again!" Lin raised his arms. He pointed at Rune and his army, his face a mixture of madness and joy. "Unleash your wrath upon this sinful world. Destroy everything in your path, and wipe out this mortal realm!"
"Um, Father, Mother?" Leos cried as he pushed his way to the front. The two of them didn't say a word despite him and the army's panic, and simply put their arms out to block him.
Leos choked and span around, anticipating a new crisis to befall them. He wanted to shout and scream for his life, but then he noticed King Jyararanga just as unbothered as his parents were. The Kommo-o had his arms folded and stared straight forward. Seeing that, he turned back around, realising that several moments had passed without Zygarde doing a thing.
"Did you not hear me? Zygarde!" Master Lin raised his voice.
"Don't waste your breath. It won't obey you," Rune said.
"But how? It is the Dragon Weapon, a creation made to destroy Faernia and Etheria itself!"
"Use your head," Jyararanga said, and stepped forward. "Do you honestly think that we would keep such a dangerous weapon in a place that can be reached this easily if any old codger could command it?"
"Gah- I- but you—" Lin choked.
"The Dragon Weapon was created and controlled by the ancients, Erinians from god knows how many generations ago. Despite that, it's a living Pokémon. I'm privy to give you this information, but… there actually isn't anyone in this world that knows how to use Zygarde anymore. It is useless," Rune informed.
Master Lin's mouth dropped, and he stumbled backwards, uttering sounds of disbelief. "B-but it worked! I summoned it. I brought it to life. It should obey my every command!"
"Why did you tell him that?" Leos said.
"Because trespassing here and messing with the Dragon Weapon is punishable with death. On top of the many other crimes you've done, and your current being here on Erinian soil," Rune began walking forward. "I suppose Vincent would prefer to do the honours."
"N-no! You can't! I have the protection of Lord Marshadow, anyway. I am invincible! And my faith in the stars is unyielding. I am next in line to become that god. Defeating Marshadow only gifts his powers to me!" Lin shouted. Vincent ignored every word, readying his naginata as he approached. "Don't you dare come closer!"
"So your true colours show at last. You poor, poor thing. The misguided devoted are the least devoted," Marshadow's voice echoed, mostly coming from Tapu Lele and Diantha. Rune and Ariala spun around in shock this time, and grit their teeth as the ghost type floated out of the ditch. He appeared to be totally unharmed. "You just wanted my power, didn't you?"
"I will put your power to use and set this world straight. I will do your handiwork for you, my lord! I will control the mortals, destroying all who aren't Constellars. I will guide all using the stars, all in your name!" Lin promised, and held a hand out. "But I can only do it with further gift of your power. A mere invisible barrier isn't enough."
"Oh-ho that's just sweet. But I'm afraid there are plenty more mortals that I'd give my powers to before I'd lend them to you," Marshadow snickered, drawing back a fist. Everyone shielded themselves while Lin slid backward, letting out more sounds of shock. "And your kind is the sort that makes me sick, to be honest. You were only in this so that you might become equal to me, weren't you? And let me guess, you planned to try and overthrow me in the process?"
More struggled sounds came from Lin, and he flinched even harder. "Thought so," Marshadow sighed.
In a flash, Marshadow sped through the air and passed right through Lin with his fist pointed forward. There was a pause as everyone couldn't believe how suddenly it had happened, nor what Marshadow had actually done, but once it became clear, many faces turned away or eyes were covered.
Master Lin couldn't utter even a word. Marshadow's attack had left a gaping hole in his chest, a clean hole that didn't even begin to bleed until a few seconds later. He didn't say anything or even let out another breath, and fell forward flat on the floor, eyes open and body frozen in the position he was in when Marshadow struck him. His flesh and organs seemed to stay within him, but blood soon began to overflow from beneath his body, forming a dark puddle.
"You- you just," Ariala whispered and shuddered.
"Oh don't get all petty on me now. You were literally about to execute him yourselves. I just saved you all a bit of trouble," Marshadow shrugged.
"You! Why are you still alive?" Rune shouted.
"I'm the god of the stars. I can do anything I want. You can't kill me, but I can make it so that you guys think you can kill me. Whichever one does a better number on you," Marshadow repliedd. He snickered and shrugged. "And for my next trick, I'm going to shred every last hope for survival you all have."
"You won't. As long as we have these swords, we can defeat you," Ariala replied. Marshadow shook his head.
"Like so," he said. He let out a cry as he stretched his body tall. An aura of golden energy erupted around him, which flowed vigorously like a flame. He strained for moment, and then pulled back both arms, charging them with ghostly power. He thrust both arms to unleash a storm of ghostly claws that tore through the air at high speed.
"Spectral Thief again?" Rune growled, barely reacting in time. He swung his sword upwards and it cut away the hands, pushing them away from the army. Ariala did the same with her divine weapon, only with a cry of effort.
The storm didn't stop however, even with the swords protecting the Pokémon. Before they knew it, a draconic shriek took over the area, echoing throughout the distance. All eyes turned to Zygarde, who the Spectral Thief attack was swarming. The giant dragon was helplessly engulfed by the claws from all over, and soon began to grow discoloured.
"The Dragon Weapon!" Leos gasped. Within moments, Zygarde's black and green hexagons had been replaced with Marshadow's colour scheme, while an aura of darkness surrounded it. Its white eyes had the same glow as Marshadow's, gold but faded and ghostly.
"You insane—" Rune growled. Marshadow floated out of reach and shrugged as he glared down at everyone.
"Stop for a moment and think. Even if all of you were to attack me now, Zygarde there would just crush you all. And you've seen that you can barely harm me as it is. You would just be killing yourselves," he explained. Rune shuddered and grinded his teeth together, but shifted backward. "That's right, stand down like the good little toy you are. You said no one could control Zygarde, but here I am gaining perfect control over it. I've taken away every last shred of hope you have, yet you're alive, because I'm sparing you, with one condition."
He held out a palm, and then reduced his fingers so that three were pointed up. "Three days, excluding today. You have three days to find a way to challenge me. I'll be waiting at the Stratos Palace in outer space."
"To find a way to challenge you?" Ariala repeated.
"I'm not gonna explain that to you. But if those three days are up, I'll wipe out this world and all of its stars. You won't stand a chance, but this wouldn't be entertaining if I didn't give you one anyway," he snickered. He tensed to flare up his aura again, and Zygarde did the same movement.
"Wait!" Ariala cried and jumped forward. He was about to fly away, but halted. "Why? Why are you doing this?"
Marshadow hesitated, and then gave her a gleeful look. "If you can comprehend that," he said, and then darted off at high speed. Zygarde took off as well, but its movement caused a small quake and a heavy wind that threw everyone to the floor.