LAST EPISODE 2: Battle for Order
Over at the Tower of the Tapu, Prem, Queen Magearna, her attendant Azu, and countless other soldiers and Pokémon were gathered at the front of Castle Faernia. All of them besides Prem were staring at the sky, and caught sight of the golden glow that Leos had fired upwards. Amongst the cold darkness, a star had beamed toward the heavens, illuminating the sky the slightest bit.
"There it is. It is just as he told us. The hero of Etheria has made his call for our help," Azu announced.
Prem stopped praying for a moment to gasp, and smiled at it. "That's it. He's counting on us, everyone! Just pray, pray and believe that Leos can pull through and free us from this darkness!"
The Pokémon cheered at the top of their voices and raised their arms in unison. The crowd that had gathered filled every last square metre of the streets, so the noise of their cheer shook the planet. With their cheer came beams of golden, fiery glitter from their arms, all of which shot up into the sky towards the star Leos had shown.
Over at the Stardust Treasury, Rosie had managed to gather just as impressive a crowd of Pokémon around the church of the Constellars. What was once an eerie old building had become a venue of hope and cheer overflowing with the many Pokémon that lived in the city.
"Now it's my moment. Brace yourself, Marshadow, for the sting of my revenge! You'll pay for what you did to Master Lin!" the Mimikyu said, raising both claws with great enthusiasm. Aura released from her and her Pokémon as well, creating another gold beam of light that tore into the darkness.
Even the small town of Marble Rock had gathered its Pokémon enough to fill the space. Mostly centred around Kelsith's mansion, the Sylveon stood on its roof to address them all, holding her feelers together in prayer.
"This will be our last opportunity for salvation. We refuse to fall!" she announced, raising her head with those feelers. Golden light burst from her and her Pokémon, joining the other beams in the sky.
Down in the Second Country, Nier had every Pokémon she could come out of their tents and homes. Even from here, they had full view of the aura that was being gathered. Smiles washed over the Pokémon's faces, and they gathered together in prayer. Nier snickered before joining them, and raised her rapier to the sky.
"I knew you could do it. Let's go little guy!" she shouted on top of the Pokémon's cries. "Now, open up wide Marshadow, 'cos this one's for you!"
And finally, at the peak of the mountains of Castle Eris, King Jyararanga had a brilliant view of the enormous amount of aura illuminating the world. Awestruck by the hopeful glow, he raised his arms, and the Pokémon gathered around him did the same.
"Over two decades in the making. Hold on, young hero. The moment of peace is upon us!" he announced.
One by one, the cities, towns, and villages all over Eris and Faernia lit up the world with their release of aura. Not every Pokémon was helping out, but with every one that was, there was more than enough aura to fill the sky completely. The beams arched as they sped toward Leos, erasing Marshadow's dark aura like a storm of flames tearing through paper. Within seconds, the darkness was no more, replaced by a sunny glow with streams of glittering gold particles.
The spectres disappeared with it, too. The soldiers that had each travelled with Leos' friends had been helping to protect them during their travel to the towns and cities, and had been fighting the whole time. Many were faltering, but were shocked and equally relieved to have the miracle occur right before their eyes. Soon after the golden light filled the sky, the spectres fizzled away into nothing and abandoned the soldiers in the middle of their fight. Cheers of triumph rang out amongst the soldiers, and they soon joined the prayers of the others.
…
Back with Leos, all eyes were on him, staring with angst. He had raised his scalchop with the incantation, but from their spot in the middle of the Psychic Terrain, they couldn't see or hear anything else. And with Leos' aura fading fast, as well as his strength, it was almost as if their call went unanswered.
Yet even Marshadow stared with a glare of concern. He hadn't given an order for upwards of a few minutes, prepared to retreat if some kind of new attack showed. But when nothing did and Leos fell forwards from lack of breath, he snickered and assumed a pose for battle. Rune and Ariala stopped him from falling face flat.
"Well now, you had me worried there. I have to congratulate you for that. You actually had me afraid of what was about to happen. Using Tapu Lele's terrain as an out to summon some aura – I have to hand it to you! You're not as brain-dead as you made yourselves out to be," he said with a laugh. He swiped an arm aside, and Tapu Lele released her terrain, returning them to his void of darkness. "But a chance to survive is nothing more than that. A chance. You took your chance, and failed."
Leos and Rune uttered a response and grit their fangs at him.
"I'm not going to give you another chance. I doubt I'm going to get one, anyway. My dear heroes, I feel I've received all the entertainment I can from you," he held one hand up. A Shadow Ball began to grow within it, taking seconds to grow bigger than Leos and his family put together. It crackled with instability, surrounded by white bolts. "Farewell intrepid heroes. I'll be sure to remember your little surprise. After all, it's the most excitement I've had in generations."
Thunder boomed in the distance, making him go quiet. Marshadow snuck a glance up at the ceiling, but didn't spot anything out of the ordinary. Leos thought it weird until Marshadow ignored it, regaining his cocky smile. But a few seconds later, the thunder rumbled again, and this time it shook the ground below them. Marshadow glanced upward again, and then let out a petty squeak.
Leos immediately looked up and gasped, too. A pillar of golden light spiralled toward them, the light so glittery and flashy that the short moment he got to look at it was blinding. He barely had a second to shield his face or look away as the light came crashing down and engulfed the whole scene in gold, white, fiery particles and beams of fire. Leos, Rune, and Ariala all took in a sharp breath and shielded their faces from it, even though after a few seconds they realised that they were unharmed by it.
Marshadow on the other hand, wound up screeching at a volume so high pitched that it hurt to hear. The light swallowed him and his dark Pokémon completely, tearing away their dark colours with ease. It looked like Marshadow's skin, his aura, and everything that made up his body was being burnt to nothing. Tapu Lele, Zygarde, and Marshadow's other controlled Pokémon simply had their dark colourations burnt off before they fell unconscious.
The light didn't seem to stop, either. It kept going, striking Marshadow without mercy. What felt like minutes later, the dark god finally began to retaliate against it. His screeches became deeper, darker, and more aggravated than he had ever sounded. Soon enough his voice was so deep and distorted that it frightened Leos enough to not want to know what became of him. But that voice was no longer crying in pain. It growled, roared, and shouted in effort.
A blast of black flames burst from around Marshadow, countering against the beam of light. The light had done its work on him however, leaving him with a look that was so ravaged it was hard not to feel sorry for him. The armoured helmet shape that normally surrounded his head had been reduced to a large, violently flowing wisp of green and yellow flames, where only his livid, pupil-less eyes showed through. The rest of his body struggled to remain intact, becoming melted, patchy, disconnected, and bleeding a black substance all over.
"You… you. What is this? What have you done?" Marshadow shouted. His breathing was hoarse and maddened, and he grew even angrier as he examined his state. He clenched his fists and strengthened his aura even more. "How dare you!"
"He's completely broken," Leos whispered, readying a Razor Shell. Seeing that he was okay to stand, Rune and Ariala stood up and readied their legendary weapons, which were now glowing gold with the aura they had received.
"This is it you three. Leos' plan has surely worked, and Marshadow's nightmare is broken. Now he stands in our world, vulnerable to our weapons," Rune announced, his glare intense. "This ends today!"
"Do not let your guard down, though. This isn't over until it's over," Ariala added.
Leos didn't need to say anything else. His eyes remained locked with Marshadow's until the god made a move, dashing forward at wicked speed. Rune reacted first, standing guard over Leos to protect him from that opening strike. The Sword of Earthly Elements clashed with Marshadow's fists, and the force behind that strike was so strong that a painful gush of fire and embers burst from them, scalding the observing Pokémon.
To everyone's surprise, Marshadow was the one to back off from recoil, and grunted in pain while shaking his fists. Rune didn't let him go with just that though, taking a great step forward to swing his whole body with his sword, both hands on its grip for full effort. He struck Marshadow clean across the front, earning yet another agonising roar. Black blood sprayed out from the cut, which continued until the god was on one knee.
"He's completely powerless!" Ariala gasped.
"This is not an opponent to have mercy on," Rune replied.
Before he could attack again, Marshadow darted forward and split into several copies in the blink of an eye. With each copy throwing Shadow Punches at blinding speed from all over, it didn't take long for Rune to falter, knocked to the ground metres away.
Ariala didn't waste time calling out, she just got involved to protect him from further harm. She cast a Reflect barrier in front of her and then began to charge Moonblast behind it, but Marshadow didn't seem concerned about her strategy. He pummelled away at her Reflect with Shadow Punch, and the sound that each punch made wasn't anything like anyone had ever heard. The sheer volume had Ariala lose concentration a bit, and the crack on her shield that appeared a second later had her rethink.
"Mother!" Leos cried. He couldn't watch as she fell victim to the continuous beating of the Shadow Punches. She stayed on her feet and tried to take the attacks, but was soon sent rolling back across the room at an unrealistic velocity. A scream barely escaped her lungs, which drowned out as she vanished behind him. Fearing the worst, Leos turned back to Marshadow and crossed his arms over his front.
However, Marshadow halted this time. It looked as though he was beginning to smile at Leos, though it could only be seen from the shape of his eyes through the flaming remains of his head. Confused, Leos slowly unfurled his arms, ready to cross them again and brace for the worst pain.
"Don't you get it already? You cannot win," Marshadow said, his voice coming out surprisingly calm. "That's not how I want this to end. That's not how I decided this should go. That's not what I want to happen."
"I won't listen to you!" Leos cried. "Things won't end the way you want them to."
"And you're the one that's allowed to say otherwise? You can't even comprehend what I'm talking about," Marshadow said, glaring at the three royals. The three of them looked beaten up, yet they stared up at him with determination in their eyes.
"It doesn't matter if I don't. The whole purpose of this is to stop you and move on with life," Leos stated. "The attack that hit you was the collected aura from every Pokémon in Etheria. All those Pokémon who pray that they can see peace again, who throw aside everything in hopes that the hero of Etheria will save them from the darkness you cast."
"But peace is a collective effort. Unless everyone wants it and works toward it, true peace will never happen. The miracle we achieved just now was nothing more than evidence that it's what we all want," Rune came forward. He tightened his grip on his sword. "That so many Pokémon could pray in the name of a single Pokémon that they have only heard of, all knowing that in this darkness it could lead to salvation from your twisted accusations… that alone speaks volumes of our growth."
"Faith alone won't bring about peace and salvation. But in the moment of terror you've created, Pokémon have seen and feared the end like nothing they've ever experienced before. This experience has shown them what it means to make the most of their lives. They've gone through the hardship you've given them, and by overcoming it, can work towards the peace they really desire," Ariala added, posing with her weapon as well. "If defeating you means we have a chance to change our world for the better, then I would go through eternal suffering for that chance, no matter how much pain I must endure!"
"You fools, you fools, you fools! Spouting nonsense after nonsense after nonsense. Do I look dead to you, like I'm dying? Like you're winning this fight? The only way this ends is with the death of you," Marshadow ranted. Parts of his face drooled off of him with his movements, like his body really was melting. "I'll kill you. I'll kill everyone, just like you've seen that I can. I'll crush your heroic delusions of hope and salvation!"
Once again, Rune and Marshadow clashed in the centre of the room, smashing blade against fist as they attempted to crush one another. Ariala didn't stand on the outside this time however, she held a Moonblast at the ready and threw it at Marshadow every time she saw she had a chance to hit him.
Already wounded by the aura attack, Rune's prior slash, and then Ariala's well aimed fairy attacks, the battle very quickly shifted into their favour. Marshadow's melting body seemed to slow him down, so he stopped trying to dodge or block the attacks and took them instead, forcing himself to strike through them so that he could wound his opponents.
At one point, Rune had even stabbed his sword directly through Marshadow's chest, earning an agonizing roar from the god, but Marshadow physically ignored it. He held Shadow Punch in both fists instead, taking the chance to punch Rune's chest and stomach at the same time. The force behind the attack stole Rune's breath completely and sent him flying into the wall at the far end of the room. He smashed against it so hard that the whole room shook, and the Dewott fell face flat.
A Moonblast struck Marshadow a moment later, causing him to screech and turn in Ariala's direction. The attack tore his body apart, but he maintained enough form to snarl and gallop over on all fours. She prepared to engage him with the Sword of Divine Elements, but he again ignored an agonizing stab to strike her at full force with two fists shrouded in Shadow Punch.
The castle once again shook with the impact, this time hard enough to make Leos lose his balance. He could've sworn he spotted some rubble falling from the ceiling, as well. That was until he realised that it kept going, continual rumbles of the room and the palace around them, soon followed by the crumbling of the ceiling. His eyes widened and panic took over as the ceiling began to fall apart.
"My palace?" Marshadow said, his voice weak and fizzled. He gawked up at all the damage, making easy work of punching or destroying parts of the ceiling that threatened to fall on him.
Meanwhile, Rune and Ariala had to force themselves to their feet once they realised what was happening, and scrambled over to Leos. Ariala did her best to hold a Reflect shield together, and although her barrier protected their bodies, they were soon buried in rubble and huge chunks of magical rock coloured like an eclipse.
It felt like minutes until the destruction of Marshadow's palace stopped, but once it did, all mouths were brought to the floor. The entire the palace had been reduced to nothing but large chunks of eclipse coloured rock. These rocky platforms floated in the air; the fiery lights that surrounded their textures now flowed underneath them like propulsion jets that kept them in the air.
The rest of the world was made up of the golden trails of light and glitter that Leos had summoned before, and all of it spiralled toward a single spot in the sky. It was like they had been transported to a realm of conflicting colours; a beautiful backdrop of sparkling lights and heavenly sky stained by the ruined palace and its sludgy, dark auras.
The reason for the palace's collapse was at least apparent. The Dragon Weapon, Zygarde Complete, soared across this realm with free reign. Its four, snake-like wings had smoke trails coming from them to signify their recent use. It curled around the air and positioned itself to attack Marshadow.
"You," Marshadow said, livid in tone. He was on a stone platform barely big enough to stand on, but he didn't look too bothered by what he was staring up at. "Don't get cocky just because you're a god as well. Your powers don't compare to mine!"
Leos and his family were jaw-dropped by the spectacle. Zygarde ignored the remark and pointed one of its wings down at its target. The wing opened up like the mouth of a snake, and a huge amount of rainbow coloured energy swirled within, charging up a Dragon Pulse attack. With an explosive bang, a huge beam of purple and navy energy shaped like a dragon flew towards Marshadow, looking like it would swallow the platform whole. But Marshadow leapt off the platform to avoid the attack completely. The draconic blast engulfed his prior position completely, leaving nothing by suspended rubble.
Marshadow jumped from platform to platform until he was within range to attack the giant dragon type. Each jump left behind that horrible, black, sludgy blood that leaked from his body, but it didn't seem to hinder him at all. With a final jump straight towards Zygarde's chest, Marshadow cupped both his fists together at his sides and thrust them together to release countless ghostly arms in an overwhelming Spectral Thief attack.
"Zygarde! Not again!" Ariala cried.
They had full view of the giant as the arms of the Spectral Thief attack clawed their way all over Zygarde's body, smothering it in Marshadow's colours. Unlike before when the attack had taken control of Zygarde however, the attack vanished from it after a few moments, showing only signs of lingering damage.
"It resisted it?" Rune gasped. Leos blinked and then looked around for an answer.
"Those lights are the aura we've gathered. Zygarde destroyed the castle so that we'd be fighting within our aura. Like this, Marshadow can be beaten, and his powers don't work," he said, turning back to the battle at hand.
"I suppose that works. But how do we get you to use your Z-Move in these conditions?" Rune said.
"The same way Marshadow is," Ariala said, drawing their focus back to the fight.
Marshadow didn't question the resistance to his powers. He kept jumping from platform to platform at almost random, while Zygarde swerved around the sky. Both combatants flew at high speed throughout the arena to get into a good position to attack each other. The moment they did, their fists or special attacks collided. Shadow Punch met Zygarde's fists, Shadow Ball met Dragon Pulse, and all other forms of attack with deadly intent, all crashing against each other with enough force to quake the world around them. Despite Marshadow's size and his melting form, he was able to hold his own against Zygarde, and some of his attacks even won out against the giant's.
"Even with all of this, Marshadow is still this powerful," Ariala said, sounding the slightest bit disheartened. Rune clicked his fangs and clenched his fists.
"Come here, boy!" he said, and scooped up Leos before the Oshawott could get a chance to respond. He stomped his feet and surrounded them both in Aqua Jet, then used the move to fly from platform to platform in similar vein to Marshadow.
"Rune! Argh," Ariala cried and stuck a hand out. She swallowed her fears and gave chase, having to crouch and carefully plan her move before jumping. Thanks to her wings and lightness, she was able to float right over to another platform.
"Now this is an exercise. A god versus a god, an opponent truly worthy of my skill level!" Marshadow smiled again as his fists collided with Zygarde's. He used his speed and size to his advantage, and punched twice before Zygarde could rear back for another punch. The direct hit tilted Zygarde's body so that Marshadow could land on its knee, where he sprinted up past its head just as it righted itself to grab hold of one of its wings.
Lingering in the air a bit, Marshadow kept his grip tight and used the momentum of his fall, as well as all of his strength, to pull Zygarde over his head. To everyone's surprise, he had enough strength to pull Zygarde perfectly, and tossed the enormous dragon overhead into the world below.
His moment of triumph was short lived however, as Rune crashed into him not even a second later. Rune's Aqua Jet was inaccurate, but it did push him across the air, where he only had the time to gawk at Rune's cupped fists. The Dewott hammered him down as hard as he could, sending Marshadow flying.
"Wait that worked?" Leos gasped.
"The water," Rune said, skidding to a halt on another platform. Marshadow righted himself in the air and skidded to a halt on another platform, where he snarled at them. His melting form kept bleeding, creating an ugly puddle where he had skidded.
"Why are you still alive?" Marshadow roared as he surrounded both fists in Shadow Ball attacks. He started firing them at a rapid pace, forcing Rune to Aqua Jet away again.
"We need to get close enough for you to strike him down for good," Rune said, realising where he was about to land. Marshadow had zipped over to the platform he was heading towards, both arms surrounded in Spectral Thief. Just as he cursed Marshadow's speed, a Moonblast smothered the god and turned its attention to Ariala, who was surprisingly close to them. She was flying with her wings.
"You as well?" Marshadow said, becoming even more furious.
He leapt after her, throwing her into a slight panic. Rune and Leos landed, both in the mind to use Water Pulse at the earliest chance to try and stop him from aiming after Ariala, but Zygarde soared in between the combatants to intercept everything. Ariala wound up latching onto Zygarde, though she was so surprised that she couldn't hold on properly. After a few flips, she righted herself in the air, but was left staring at Zygarde's back.
"Leos, ready your Z-Move," Rune said.
"Wait what? But I'll never hit him in all of—"
"Just do it! You've got one shot at this," he raised his voice, using Aqua Jet to leap away again. Leos could only stick a paw out to stop him, but with how fast everything moved, he decided not to question it and try Rune's gamble. He crossed his arms, stomped his feet, surrounded himself in aura, and then observed the battle.
What followed was just as unplanned and crazy. Rune and Marshadow flew across the platforms to try and attack each other with their physical attacks, occasionally stopping to attack with Water Pulse or Shadow Ball. All the while Zygarde and Ariala soared through the air, firing special attack after special attack in hopes of wearing down their target. There were direct hits, dodges, clashes that had to be won, even moments of fearful combat where the combatants landed on the same ground and had to hack at each other from close range.
The whole time through the battle, Leos' heart was heavy. Whenever an attack hit Marshadow, he hoped that would be it and that the god would falter, where he could finish it. Every time attacks clashed, he prayed that Marshadow would lose and he'd get a chance to strike.
It just wasn't happening. Marshadow's vulnerable appearance made no difference to his ability to contend with all these opponents. Three on one, all with a legendary status that made it possible to harm him, and yet he just kept going. He blocked, dodged, and destroyed every attempt they made to bring him down. Unlike Rune and Ariala who shouted and roared with each attack they took and dealt out, Marshadow didn't make a sound or show any hint of fatigue. The rate they were going, Leos wouldn't get the chance to target Marshadow at all, and that kept his fear at its peak and his eyes watering.
Minutes later, Rune and Ariala were on Zygarde's back and had to be carried across the darkening world. The stone platforms were getting destroyed, reduced in number so much that they would have to jump off Zygarde, fight Marshadow in mid-air, and then be caught by Zygarde again to avoid falling. It made no difference to Marshadow though, as he leapt off or shrunk into every shadow he could, melding with the tiniest bits of rubble to gain footing before jumping off into the air again.
"Damn it, give up already!" Rune roared at the top of his voice, clashing with Marshadow's fists yet again. They met face to face this time, butting their heads together as their fists and weapons pushed against one another. Marshadow screeched, his face shrouded in maddening joy. This made Rune lean back, and he knew he wouldn't be avoiding this next hit.
Out of nowhere, a new attack struck them both, a heavy tornado that shook them both off balance. Rune cried out as he was helplessly flung into the air, while Marshadow fell backwards, knowing he was heading towards another rock that he could sink into.
"What?" Marshadow hissed, realising that the surprise attack didn't come from Zygarde or Ariala. It was a tornado of grey wind, and it lingered for a little while. Another one appeared right in front of him, and before he had time to react, a dark Meowth sprung from within, holding his claws back and ready to use Night Slash. Marshadow didn't block it, and Meowth's attack sent him flying right through the rock that he intended to land on.
"He's right in front of you!" Tapu Lele's jovial voice called out.
Marshadow spun around during his fall, eyes widened at the sight of Tapu Lele physically holding up Mirror. The Absol raised his head and let out a Dark Pulse from his mouth, hitting from point blank to send Marshadow straight in the opposite direction.
"That's Charle? Tapu Lele and Mirror?" Ariala cried, surprised to see them all. Zygarde showed no surprise, and caught Charle before he fell, while one of his wings opened up to let out a Dragon Pulse. Marshadow could only turn around and cry out once again as the draconic blast engulfed him completely.
"Charle?" Ariala said.
"No time to chat, your highness. Time to pay this guy back a whole plate of revenge!" Charle replied, getting ready to leap off Zygarde.
Leos couldn't believe it, even though it made sense. The aura in the area freed Zygarde, so it was only a matter of time before the other Pokémon that were under Marshadow's control would wake up. But to have them join the battle, that was a miracle he didn't realise he needed.
Observing more closely, Charle still had the dark colouration he'd developed through his years under Marshadow's control, while Tapu Lele was still covered in damage, cracked shell parts, and more. She could still carry the blind Mirror without trouble, though.
"What… what is happening to my body?" Marshadow said, his voice muffled by gurgles and echo more than before. He examined himself with a fearful look before staring up at his enemies, who weren't holding back in their oncoming onslaught. "Th-this doesn't end here. This can't- this is not the way- this ends!"
But his words fell on deaf ears. Zygarde stopped a good distance away, but glared down at him alongside all the other Pokémon, who were just as beaten down and furious with him. He gave them a panicked shiver and then masked it with an attempt to laugh.
He tried to jump towards them, but his body would no longer let him. His arms dripped constantly, smothering the floor below him in sludge. He could barely make out the shape of his legs, which were mostly squashed in with the rest of his sludgy waist. He still maintained his dark colour scheme, but the only part of his body that seemed stable and maintaining a form was his head, and even that was engulfed in fiery aura that failed to mask his melting lips and eyes.
"Leos!" Rune and Ariala called out.
They're right. This has gone on for long enough, Leos said to himself, glaring at Marshadow's sorrowful state. He wiped his eyes and tensed his body to renew his aura. It's time to bring this to a close.
"Mother, Father, quickly! Before he tries something!" Leos shouted, crossing his arms.
"Go for it," Rune said, doing the same.
"Do you best," Ariala said, doing her best to cross her arms as well.
"What? No, don't you dare," Marshadow shouted with widened eyes. He raised his sludgy fists and held Shadow Ball attacks in them, but they took much longer than usual to charge. They were hardly at the size of a regular Pokémon's Shadow Ball after a few seconds, filling Leos and his family with confidence in their act. He'd been bleeding ever since the aura had struck him, and finally, he was too weak to stop them now.
"All together now. Nobody left out in the act!" Charle cheered, copying their movements. Tapu Lele just watched from a distance, keeping a hold of Mirror.
All the Pokémon that crossed their arms had an aura around them flare up, and the symbol of the Aries star sign appeared in front of Leos briefly. They all unfurled their arms in perfect sync, stretching them forward and crossing them over again. Once they did, the aura around Leos spiked, flowing just like the flames around Marshadow.
"St-stop! I can end it all. You're fools. You're only fighting the inevitable! I c-cannot… this is not… the way I want this to…" Marshadow said, straining between words to continue charging his attack.
He didn't stop rambling, but Leos and his group ignored every word, carrying on with their movements. The trio tucked their arms in, crouched, spun and unfurled them as they rose back up to pose in the shape of the Aries star sign. Their synchronization was perfect, and it fuelled Leos with a blinding, explosive gush of golden light, comparable to that which struck Marshadow before. The energy kept streaming from Rune and Ariala for a while as well, all until it began to strain them and they fell on one knee. At that point Leos flashed, and swiped his Razor Shell aside to cut the energy flow.
He glared at Marshadow for a moment more, just hoping for that one signal of mercy from the dark god. Marshadow didn't beg or plea or show anything other than confidence however. He growled and roared in expectation of the continued battle.
"In the end, you're pitiful." Leos shook his head. Upon stretching his feet out, countless clones of himself spread out around him, all of which dove toward Marshadow with double-sided Razor Shells made of golden light. Each one took a stab at Marshadow, some getting knocked away by his melted arms which held Shadow Balls, while many cut him up ever further, each slash tearing away at what little of his body wasn't sludge.
It all happened in the blink of an eye as well, degrading the ghostly god until he was nothing more than a puddle of black and grey substance with arms and a head desperately trying to maintain form. Yet still Marshadow continued to fight back, punching and throwing those Shadow Balls at the army of Leos clones. Leos himself tensed up after a few seconds, enlarging his blades until they were twice his height, and then dove down toward Marshadow
"Finish him!" everyone shouted at the top of their voices.
With their shouts and enthusiasm backing him, Leos roared triumphantly, stabbing the ground just below the Marshadow. With all his strength summoned up, he pulled his sword up in a wide arc in front of him, ripping the blade through the ground, then the puddle of Marshadow's body, until it was finally slicing through his head, free and pointing toward the heavens. When the Razor Shell had fully sliced him in half, the flames around Marshadow's head disappeared in a flash, revealing his wounded, melted, and terrified face.
Marshadow let out another heart-wrenching screech, left with both arms raised and his eyes wide in agony. A white glow lined the centre of his body from head to toe where he had been cut, and the liquid appearance of his body solidified, becoming flaky and fragile. He attempted to utter words, but nothing but struggled breaths and weak noises came out. In the end, his body split before he could say anything. He burst into black particles which filled the air all around.
Leos stayed in the same pose for a while, keeping his golden blade pointed upward in expectation of some kind of reformation. When he was sure that nothing else was going to happen, he warily pulled back and stared at where Marshadow had just been. His Razor Shell quietly faded back into a normal scalchop.
"Is it really over?" Leos said. The uncertainty in his voice was shared by everyone else, who watched on, unmoving. The mixture of dark and gold that had illuminated the area during their battle started to fade.
"The ruins!" Ariala cried and pointed down.
Leos turned his attention to broken platforms, worried as they disintegrated right before his eyes, including the platform he was currently stood on. He spun around to look for a way out, finding Zygarde ten steps ahead already. The Dragon's arm was held out to let him climb on, so he scrambled over and joined his parents on its back.
Together, the group stared and watched in awe as the ruins faded away completely, leaving nothing but the streams of aura. As natural colour began to take over the scenery, a heavy layer of white clouds lined the area below them, while the streams of aura were difficult to look at with the amount of sunlight. Staring down below, the distant lands of Faernia below them could just about be made out, foggy thanks to the distance.
The sight may have been heavenly, but the reality of what had just happened hit Leos like a truck. They must have been on the border of space, as he could hardly breathe. He was freezing cold, and even though he hadn't done much of the fighting himself, his body ached all over. Soon enough he collapsed, his last sight being the streams of aura.
…
It felt like hours before Leos came to but when he did, he sprung right awake, filled with energy. He was laying back on cold, stony ground, and staring up at a deep, black, starry sky. He shook himself off and sat up to find his parents, relieved to see them getting up just as easily as he was.
"Mother, Father!" he cried.
"Not so loud, please," Ariala moaned, and raised a hand. Rune watched her until she looked comfortable and then smiled at Leos.
"Well well. For the first time in a while I can say that this is a good morning," Rune joked. Leos raised an eyebrow. "For the first time ever, I'm waking up beside my wife and my son. And for two, you're calling me Father instead of Rune."
"What? I," Leos mouthed and looked away.
"Never mind that, you oaf. It isn't even morning. Where—" Ariala said, glancing around. She stopped and gawked quickly, and Leos and Rune joined her when they spotted Tapu Lele watching over them. The normally pink goddess had a very pale, ghostly blue colour scheme around her, and looked as weak as a Magikarp. She was still battle worn as well, covered in large cracks and marks of damage.
"Tapu Lele!" Ariala cried.
"Do not fret for me, your highness," Tapu Lele replied, sounding as weak as she looked. "Hear me now. You have all done exceptionally."
"What do you mean? What's happening?" Leos said. "Yo-you're the one that saved us!"
"Marshadow is no more, and his influence is gone. As is our rule over Etheria. For the first time in many a thousand years, the baton is passed onto you," she declared, shutting her eyes. "When gods pass away, they return to the part of nature from whence they came. Many generations later, they will be reborn… for you see, we Tapu govern this world when are reborn. Should the world not require our guidance and power, we will sleep."
"It's like what Shaymin told me," Leos whispered.
"All of the gods that protected Etheria are now part of the planet, and their blessings will be cast in silence. This is our gift to you; our reprieve. It is down to you, your highnesses. You fought for your chance at freedom from our rule; now lead your world to the peace which you so rightly deserve. Should we awaken in a world where our blessings and powers are no longer needed, the events of this genealogy will not transpire ever again."
"So if we fail, you'll go back into power," Leos said. Tapu Lele didn't move or make a sound, so he laid a paw on his chest and nodded. "You have my word, Tapu Lele. I'll do everything in my power to see this through in my lifetime. Etheria will no longer rely on the blessings of the Tapu. We'll make our own fate."
The goddess didn't say anything else. She shut her eyes and tucked her arms into her shell, which closed up and began to fade into nothing right before their eyes. The trio watched in awe until she was nothing but barely visible particles which faded into the air, leaving them in the middle of Fairy Hill. Around them were the unconscious bodies of the Pokémon that Marshadow had taken, minus Zygarde.
"Argh, the heck man. I feel like I slept on a Graveler," Charle grumbled as he stood up. Rune and Ariala exchanged glances and watched him get to his feet, soon followed by a just as grumpy Master Lin.
"H-huh? Wait a minute, why are you alive?" Leos gasped at him. The human-esque monster stood up and flinched back in just as much surprise, but he didn't say a word. He examined himself in disbelief, barely making a sound. Mirror soon stood as well, his unexpectedly young voice coming through.
"Wait, if those two are alive, then does that… could that mean?" Rune gasped.
All eyes turned to Diantha, who was still face flat on the ground. Surely enough, seconds later, she began to squirm and groan in discomfort. Rune flinched forward but Ariala stopped him with an arm, continuing to observe.
With a moan and a slow, childish stretch, Diantha sat up. She blinked and shook herself off, then looked around, stopping when she saw all the Pokémon gawking at her. She locked eyes with Rune, but neither said a word.