Chapter 193 – Light's Apex
It was a grueling, agonizing battle, and it had only just started. Countless Pokémon fell and rose, stomping past their own bodies only to add to the decaying soil. They were gaining ground, but their advance was paved in their own bones.
It took everything in Migami's will to not lose themselves to that absolute thrill.
At least it was easier to stay in control otherwise. This wasn't unstable feral instincts. This was natural Pokémon bloodlust… probably. At least the effects of being whole again—including the Trio of Mind's collective power—meant going berserk was no longer a concern.
But enjoying the battle was good for morale, right?
Migami tried to get another opening to leave. Gahi's impatience was outweighing Mispy's strategic thinking. Owen was in trouble, but the army would be fine; Xerneas would undo the swaths of fallen Pokémon they'd been preventing. They had to help Owen!
Making a final decision, Migami Teleported out of the fray and sped to the heart of the storm. Most of the clouds at this point had become concentrated where Owen and Alexander clashed. Not only did Mispy's aura sight not do anything for Migami, but Gahi's keen eyes couldn't see past the fog, either. The only thing that worked, as they got closer, was Demitri's sense of emotion.
What surprised them was finding three sets of emotions. The first was full of desperation, doubt, and hints of impatience—certainly Owen was trying to hold out until he got reinforcements. The other was thrilled and dripping with bloodlust and nothing more. Migami sensed no idea of a goal in mind from these emotions, simply a pure hunger for destruction. It was a far cry from the calculating tyrant they'd come to know when Alexander had first arrived.
The third… A little fear, a little pain and sorrow. But overwhelming all of that was a head-pounding hatred that burned in Migami's chest from empathy alone. Who was that?
Dark rain bombarded them at high speeds, eating away at their auras. They powered through for a split-second but missed Alexander. Something else had struck the Hydreigon with enough force to send him several meters into the ground as if the dirt had instead been whipped cream.
"What?" Migami whispered.
Shadow Sky polluted the air, obscuring Mispy's aura reading entirely. Migami had to rely on eyes. All they saw was a pink, tiny thing speeding through the rain.
Wait—Star?!
But while Star was pummeling Alexander into the ground, Owen became Migami's top priority.
"Owen!" Migami said. "You alright?"
"Not really." Owen wheezed, finally collapsing to a knee when he had the opportunity.
Migami wrapped several vines around Owen's body and funneled some healing energy through him, stitching wounds together and regenerating flesh. Owen's body filled itself in as blood returned to his veins.
"We have to go," Owen said as he struggled to his feet.
"What? No, we came here to—"
"It won't work," Owen said. "He keeps…"
"What?"
"RRRRAGH!"
Alexander reemerged from his deep grave, leaving behind a pool of void-tar where the crater had been.
"A third one comes to the party," Alexander snarled. "As you like. Let's—"
Suddenly, Alexander rushed for Owen, who dodged left. Migami dodged right, leaving Alexander between them both. Just as Migami was fighting their own momentum, Alexander blasted them in the face point-blank with a Flamethrower, boiling the fluid in their eyes.
Migami roared and slammed their vines into Alexander, yet somehow he'd dodged everything but a few cuts on his side. What, was he psychic now?!
Their Solar Beams weren't charging nearly fast enough. The Shadow Sky blotted out the sun. It was only when Star returned to blast Alexander away—and it was only a grazing shot—that Migami had a second to breathe.
Below. "Watch out!" Migami cried, tugging Owen backward. A pillar of darkness engulfed where he'd been standing.
"I d-didn't even see that!" Owen whispered.
"Energy-based," Star growled. "We can't fight on the ground. We need to fly!"
"Then he'll just speed ahead," Owen said. "We can't let him go straight to the Hearts!"
Star's aura flickered with frustration as dark rain crawled over her forehead, seeping into her ever-thin fur. The parts the water touched looked just slightly darker, like scars newly forming over her body. It was wearing her down. They couldn't fight like this forever.
Owen rushed in and conjured a Protect just in time to avoid Alexander's sudden surge. Migami vanished and reappeared behind Alexander, grabbing one of Demitri's tusks to slice into Alexander's spine.
And this time, it was a direct hit. Alexander roared in anger and swung his arm back; Migami easily dodged it and countered with an ax to the arm, slicing Alexander's right head off cleanly.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Alexander lunged for Migami. But once again, it was an easy dodge, and Migami countered with a barrage of Dragon Pulse blasts to Alexander's back, straight into the wound still stitching itself together.
"Heh, where're those reflexes now?!" Migami taunted.
"Migami!" Owen shouted.
Alexander was on the retreat.
They wanted to pursue, but Owen's call took priority. "What?" they asked, appearing next to him.
"It's Nevren."
"What about him?"
"He's—he's doing his Revisor. I don't think Nev's doing it on purpose, but Alexander can remember each one. He's… he's predicting our moves because we already did it to him before. He's waiting for it to happen again."
Alexander always made sure to stay close enough that the Shadow Sky was inescapable. It ate away at their auras. Migami, noticing this, sent healing light toward Star and Owen… but it seemed like it wasn't healing them all the way. These attacks ate at the aura itself just as it eroded the body… It wasn't easy to recover from that without getting out of the Shadows.
"So, what, he's waiting for the next one?" Migami asked. "Then let's beat him up now!"
"Each time it happens, Alexander recovers," Owen said. "I can see it. His body… stitches itself together. Even hitting his head isn't enough. We need more. We need to exhaust all that power. Get Radiant hits on him. Necrozma's too hurt to do anything, but…"
Great pillars of Shadows rose from the ground, each one aiming at Star. The little Mew weaved between each blow, conjuring a pink barrier of Psychic energy around her body. The black rain ate at the shield like it was made of cotton candy.
"We gotta help Star," Migami said. "Strategize later!"
"Wait, Migami—"
Impatient, Migami vanished and clashed with Alexander again. Star, panting heavily, fell back to Owen.
Migami smashed directly into Alexander, forehead to forehead. Shadows seeped into their scales… but inner Radiance from Gahi's old blessings had reawakened. They could heal it off.
"Hey," Migami greeted.
"A shame I can't control you in the sun," Alexander whispered. "Just a hint of that ball of light is making this… cumbersome."
"Guess we gotta kill you before evening," Migami whispered back as their healing outpaced Alexander's crawling rot.
Alexander's storm thickened in the sky. For a moment, Migami thought they saw doubt in his eyes. But even deeper, past his pupils, they saw countless souls fueling his body. Even as they spoke, all his wounds had cleared up.
How were they supposed to defeat a dark god whose body was a suggestion?
Nevren sat, trembling, in the corner of one of Quartz HQ's few untouched upper rooms. Emily hadn't ruined this one by pure happenstance. He had been spotted several times by passing mutants who hadn't gone into the fray, too inexperienced or unreliable to join Trina's army, and had instead elected to help repair their home. Each time, Nevren Revised that moment so he could avoid them.
They didn't need to see their father like this.
Then, he'd stumbled into the room and used those few seconds to relax and unwind. Breathe. Focus on every breath. Every so often, his breath jittered. It startled him. And he realized it was because, as Alexander's countless assaults on him played back in his head, it was triggering his Revisor's distress signals. He'd jumped back a moment in time, a full ninety seconds. And he'd feel his heart racing again, his breath a little shorter.
But each time, he calmed down faster. He recovered. He always recovered.
"I'm calm," Nevren said quietly, uncurling from the corner of the wall. He stared at the button, still gray. "I'm… calm."
He watched it flicker to cyan again. The moment had passed. It judged him, indeed, to be calm, alive, and nearby.
BANG BANG BANG
Nevren screamed and stared at the door.
Nothing. Nevren slowly crept to the other far corner, knowing that it was a few feet further from the entrance. Maximum distance. Who was that? Was it Alexander?
…No. No, why would he knock? There would have been an uproar. Why was nobody saying anything?
In Nevren's hand, the button had become gray.
He didn't even feel it. The scare had triggered the Revisor automatically.
"I'm… calm," he hissed at the button. "How dare you accuse me of… losing my composure. I'm fine. This is only a small setback. This is nothing, I'm not going to let that brute defeat—"
BANG BANG BANG
Nevren was sitting in the other corner again. His hands trembled. He hurled the Revisor at the wall. It skidded on the marble floor, its gray light taunting him, reminding him of another failure.
At least only he remembered it. And if he never acknowledged it, then it never happened. He picked up the Revisor.
He counted the remaining seconds. Keeping his mind calm became his only focus. And then in three… two… one…
BANG BANG BANG
"Hello?" someone called just beyond the door. "Is someone in there?"
"Ah, yes!" Nevren called gently, slipping the Revisor in his bag. "Apologies. I'm…" He trailed off. "I'm, ah…"
The door opened, revealing a serpentine Malamar with puffy eyes.
"…Oh, hi, Papa Nevren."
"Right… hi, er, hi. Hello."
"Are you… okay? How come you're in this empty room? That's kinda wei—"
Nevren tapped the Revisor.
He was curled on the ground again. Feeling better this time. It was fine. This was fine. He wasn't sure how long it had been this time; more than a moment had passed, so the bang would be sooner.
Only a handful of seconds later, as Nevren got to his feet…
BANG BANG BANG
"Ah, hello!" Nevren called.
"Hello—oh, is that you, Papa Nevren?"
"Yes! Apologies, I'm inspecting the repaired rooms so they're up to standard."
The door opened, revealing the mutant Malamar, more serpent than squid. A fusion.
"Oh, okay. Yeah, um, we did our best… I think that monster ignored this room, though."
"Yes, but there are always cracks that could form in the foundation. Very dangerous for underground, yes?"
"Oh, right…"
Nevren stared at potential imperfections he knew weren't there. Then, with a nod, he said, "Well. That's all fine, then. Did you need anything?"
"Oh. Um." The Malamar coiled around themselves. "…I thought I saw you, and, um…"
"You did, of course. Is something wrong?"
"…Will everybody come home soon?"
"Ah. Well, I don't really know," Nevren replied automatically. "It's a bit of a—"
"Y-you don't know?" the mutant said, tears welling up in his big eyes. "B-but you always know! What are you talking about?!"
"Ah, that's not what I—"
"Are they coming back? You said they would! You—"
BANG BANG BANG
Nevren sighed to himself, pocketing the Revisor again.
"Hello?" called the mutant on the other side.
As the door opened, Nevren greeted them with a nod. "Ah, hello. I was inspecting this room for any missing faults from the attack, but it's fine. Is all well?"
"Papa Nevren… Yeah, um, we did our best… I think that monster ignored this room, though."
"Residual attacks could have disrupted the structural integrity," Nevren replied patiently. "But thankfully, everything is sound. Is something troubling you?"
"Oh. Um… yeah… You can see right through me, huh?" The serpentine Malamar looked down. "I was just… worried about if everyone was coming back soon."
"They will," Nevren assured, kneeling to scratch under the Malamar's beak. The fusion leaned into the gesture. "This will be the day everything will go back to normal. Ah, but I do need to get a few final things in order."
"Oh! Okay." Immediately cheerful, the Malamar scooched out of the room to let Nevren through. "What should I do, um, until then? I w-wasn't sure about fighting something that strong, so I've just been with the others here…"
"That will do fine," Nevren replied. "Keep everyone calm. Why don't you rest in the Reincarnation Chamber? The extra energy from your spirit can help with rebooting things."
"Okay! I can do that! Not for too long, right? I get restless if I'm inside for more than ten days."
"Oh, this will hardly be ten days. Just until morning."
"Oh, that's easy!" Malamar giggled and slithered off. "I'll go and get the others!"
Good. Now he'd have some quiet to recompose himself… Though, talking to the mutant calmed his nerves. It reminded him of what he was fighting for. It was so they could all live stable lives for once. A world where gods and tyrants didn't rule with their emotional and selfish whims. He could rule with perfect order. He'd done well enough with Kilo Village and all it touched. Expanding that to such a tiny world was only a modest extrapolation.
Dissenters would be forced to listen to him. A small evil… but one only he would know.
Nevren knew how Owen and the others behaved. They would be glad Nevren was gone, they'd take care of Alexander, and then they'd seek him out. But by Nevren's estimate, they were going to take a while before Alexander was defeated.
He had time to plan. And if he ever felt a bit rushed…
The Revisor would give him some extra time, as it always did.
The sun was high in the sky and the Void Shadows suffered. This was the prime moment for the Hearts to advance, and they took full advantage of it.
"There he is," Aramé growled, soaring above the ground forces with a wrathful grin.
"Ooh, I see him!" Aster said, speeding just by Aramé. "He's scary as ever!"
"Then why do you sound so cheerful?" Leph growled, trotting through the air beside them both.
"Trying to keep my spirits up!"
Leph shook her head. "Do not approach too closely. Once we go under those storm clouds, Shadow Sky will deplete our stamina. We don't have his blessing active in us anymore. It will hurt."
"Y-yeah…" Aster's enthusiasm dampened like he'd already gone under the rain. "But then, how do we get close enough to do real damage?"
Leph eyed the battle. It seemed that Owen, Migami, and Star were leading the fight for now.
"Why aren't they fusing?" Leph murmured.
"Migami fusing with Owen has never been tested," Aramé said. "We didn't have the time nor opportunity."
Aster crossed his arms. "We would've if you didn't put them through that test."
The Zekrom snarled. "If the results were not genuine, their powers granted would have gone awry. You know how the divine operates with willpower."
Aster pouted anyway.
"If they get desperate, they might," Leph said. "But that could be catastrophic for us."
"Owen's too calculated for that," Aster said. "If it's risky, he might not take it!"
"It's still strange," Aramé said. "I would've expected him to try. What's keeping him from doing the obvious?"
Leph looked down. "The army will be within striking range in about fifteen minutes," she said.
Aramé stared at her.
"Um. Half a kilo, or so."
"Hmm…" Aramé watched the battle from afar. As much as she wanted to leap in, Star and Team Alloy being in the way made that difficult. Her Draco Meteor would hurt them, too…
She didn't want to admit it, but close-ranged fighting was not her specialty. She didn't want to risk summoning her spirits in this rain, either.
"I'm gonna go in," Aster said. "Mom needs help!" And just like that, he vanished.
Leph grunted and flew in next. "Wait for an opening. I'll try to get Alexander's attention."
Aramé nodded. Leph strode into the rain next, the dark water already seeping into her formerly pristine fur.
Breathing steadily, Aramé focused on her inner fire. An elite few spirits remained within her, led by Dragonite Ire, roaring for her to fight, and so she complied. From that ember of Dragon pride, she called to the skies for a meteor—one that would annihilate the field and leave nothing but a smoldering crater behind. It might hurt her allies if they couldn't get out in time… but it would hurt Alexander more if she infused it with Radiance.
And while Alexander was distracted—
The Hydreigon stared directly at her.
"What—"
And then fired a beam directly at her before her Draco Meteor had become visible. Aramé ducked, the blast grazing the top of her head with an icy, bitter chill. Her black scales sparked with blue electricity.
"I won't let you do that," Alexander snarled, hatred in his eyes as if she'd already struck him once. Aramé released a destructive pulse of electricity instead—not as strong as her Dragon powers, but more than enough to shock Alexander. He hissed as Aramé gained that extra distance.
"Aramé!" Owen shouted. "Watch out! I think he's—"
Alexander kicked up a swirling tornado of razor-sharp winds laced with Shadows. The field below, of what little grass remained, shriveled into a torn-up garden of rot. Whatever Owen had to say was drowned out by the whirlwind.
For better or worse, Alexander was out in the open. Alexander sped toward her—he was too fast! He grasped at her throat, chomping hard, but not hard enough to break through her muscle and scales. Not yet. Radiance in her blood sizzled against his teeth.
He thinks I won't fire if I'll get caught in the blast, Aramé thought. It shows how selfish you think everyone is…
The sky lit up. Blue embers cut through the storm clouds, boiling away the Shadow Sky's rain. Alexander stared at the storm with wide surprise in his eyes. His jaws loosened on her neck.
Aramé reached for him instead, grabbing him by his tendrils with one hand and his left arm with another.
Owen shouted something at her. She only smiled and braced for impact.
Her time in the battle was short. But the damage she dealt… That was ideal.
The world for them both became nothing but Dragon flames.
"Yow!" Reshiram Brandon covered his eyes with his wings just as the sky exploded from Aramé's blast, flying with the backup fleet as they picked away at Void Shadows in the below clashes. "Talk about a flashbang…"
"Oh, yeh got that term too," Marshadow Manny said. He had used Brandon's neck as a shield from the light and then eyed the battles below.
Leph and Aster were already on the retreat, carrying Aramé with them, but Alexander had taken serious damage from that direct hit.
"Oi, squad ter the right."
"Those guys again?" Brandon growled. He spread his wings and opened his mouth, spewing five flaming embers toward a struggling group of Hearts. He didn't recognize them, but his aim struck true, incinerating five of the most dangerous Void Shadows there. The tides turned quickly in their favor again.
"Runnin' low here," Brandon said. "Maybe I oughta step back and down another of those Elixirs…"
"Startin' ter hate th' taste," Manny admitted. "Shoulda made'm pills."
Normal Elixirs wouldn't do, though. Anam had blessed a whole palette of them for the battle. For a mortal, it would last them the whole day. But the divine were burning through them at an alarming pace to keep up their maximum output.
"It's clear enough," Brandon concluded. "Let's land to refresh."
Near the backline, Angelo, and someone who looked an awful lot like Angelo-but-confident, were doing some strange ritual involving a Shedinja, a Porygon, and a whole crowd of Electric Pokémon surrounding a ghostly Zoroark.
Brandon landed first, bringing his wings in to take up less space on the ground. Manny hopped off him afterward.
"Interrupting something?" Brandon asked. "I need a refill. How many more Elixirs we got?"
"Less than half," Angelo said worriedly. "But take them. We need that air support."
Brandon took a few and nodded gratefully. "And what's going on here?"
"An advanced strategy!" said Confident Angelo. "All we need is for Diyem to get here for the finishing touches."
Brandon eyed the squad setup and quietly spoke to the spirits within him about what it could be. It felt nostalgic; these strategies reminded him of the odd gimmicks of old trainer battles for show when he was human. Shedinja… Electric Pokémon… a Porygon… And Diyem?
"Oh," Brandon whispered. "That's clever. But will it work against a god?"
"One way to find out! We're throwing everything we can at him," the confident Angelo explained.
"We've also sent a few other strategies to get ready, too." Angelo breathed softly. "The Void Shadows are thinning, so we have time to strategize and arrange. I hope it works…"
"Hey, you've already been helping us a ton. Speaking of which… can I get a boost?" Brandon gestured to himself.
"Oh—right."
With practiced ease, Angelo drew a few doodles in the air, and the incoming energy spiked Brandon's power. "There we go." He revved up his tail engine. As Angelo did the same to Manny, Brandon took a few steps back.
"Oh, wait!" Sera called. The ghostly Zoroark pumped her fists forward, feigning a few punches, and then nodded at all the Electric spirits. They faded into embers and flowed into her mane. "Can I get a lift? Not that good at flying yet."
"…Yet?" Brandon asked, not detecting a single lie from her.
Sera hopped onto Brandon and got situated.
Brandon sighed and took to the skies. He surveyed the ground and charged another Blue Flare, becoming a red-and-blue comet in the sky.
"Ahead, right!" Manny shouted over the rushing air.
He spotted an area where Diyem was fending off a cluster of Void Shadows numbering about twenty. His Blue Flare explosions took out ten at once, clearing the way for the dark Charizard to incinerate another five. Anam, bursting out from a pile of Void Shadows, blasted the remainder, save for one straggler that Brandon stomped on upon landing.
"Ugh." The Reshiram flicked his feet of ichor. "Hey, Shadowzard. We need a favor."
"Do not call me that."
"Uncle Diyem, I need some Shadows," Sera said, reaching a hand toward him.
"…I'll accept that title," Diyem said, crossing his arms. "What do you mean by 'need some Shadows' in this case?"
"I gotta get Shadow-Type so I can resist it. It'll help us against Alexander."
"You realize—"
"Yes, yes, subject to your whims, look, I'll just break out if that happens anyway, can we skip the disclaimers?"
A Void Shadow tried to jump Sera from behind. An Electric Spirit popped it with a lightning bolt.
"…Whatever." Diyem looked offended as he formed a ball of deep, purplish-black darkness in his palm and shoved it into Sera's chest.
A wave of darkness coursed through her white fur. It collected into her crimson accents and the gel-like nodules along her body, shifting it from red to purple. "There we go," she said, "now we can go in strong."
Brandon stepped back. "Uhh—"
The Zoroark melted into a Void Shadow with clawed limbs, her mane still intact, as she dashed all on her own toward Alexander and the eye of the storm. Occasionally, she transformed into black electricity and jumped several meters ahead.
"…She's gonna be fine, right?" Brandon asked Diyem.
Diyem sighed. "I've never seen a reaction like that before. We'll learn."
"RAAAAGH!" A Void Shadow jumped Diyem from behind, only to be bisected vertically an instant later.
Mhynt—still a Treecko—landed shortly after and sprinted after Sera.
"H-hey!" Brandon shouted.
"Mother-daughter bonding," Mhynt called back.
Brandon raised a wing to object, then sighed and shrugged.
"Our forces are insane, you know," Diyem said.
"Yeah." Brandon smirked, glancing at Manny. "But insane's what's needed for this fight. Let's back them up."
Manny flashed a grin and hopped onto Brandon's back. "Wouldn' have it any other way."
Every time Nevren did some arbitrary Revisor action, Owen's head buzzed with the aftermath as the bloom of timelines stretched in front of him, and then all vanished in an instant when ninety seconds had passed. Sometimes, a few timelines lasted a while longer—or had they started late? Ugh, this was a mess, this wasn't working, and—
"Augh!"
That was Star's cry. The little Mew pinwheeled through the air; Migami Teleported in her way and caught her gently, funneling healing energy into her body. But, as usual, the wounds didn't heal all the way.
"H-how?" Star whined. "How is he still fighting? I should've…" she coughed, blood trickling down her jaw. "I should've killed him ten times over by now…"
"The sun is as high as it gets," Migami stated. "But those clouds… they're blockin' the way!"
"Every time we take a breather, he just heals it all back," Owen said. "Every time Nevren does some stupid Revision wherever he is, he forces us to play defense, and Alexander heals up…"
This wasn't working. They had to choose—either beat Alexander down at a point where Nevren would not accidentally give him an advantage, and do so fast enough that Alexander couldn't recover… or they had to take Nevren out, or at least tell him to stop, and leave Alexander to have free reign on the army that stayed behind.
Forrest's advice echoed.
"There is going to be a point where you have to make a choice in where you divide your efforts," he had said. "Owen… you must have confidence in your abilities. But at the same time… you must have confidence in your allies."
"Can you give me anything more specific?"
"…The more I say, the more things will diverge unpredictably. You will know."
Owen's first instinct had been to push Alexander back to a point where he'd be forced to flee. Or, perhaps, bring Migami with him to take out Nevren extremely quickly—if that would work. But… Migami needed to be here to fend Alexander off. They were by far their best fighter. Could they risk becoming The Alloy, and take away all of Team Alloy for Nevren? Was that wise? What if, even with the Trio of Mind's full powers, it wasn't enough to stay sane? Were they sure?
Owen didn't know what Forrest wanted otherwise, though! Owen had no way to defeat Nevren one on one.
"Feeling tired?"
Migami, Star, and Owen all faced Alexander as he approached. The storm was still weak, but the fields were already barren and dusty. In the distance, Owen saw… cliffs that weren't supposed to be there. The landscape was shifting and changing right before their eyes, ever so gradually.
"They're overlapping," Owen whispered. "No, they're… That's…"
"The Voidlands," Star said.
But not all of it. Alexander was still benefiting from Nevren's Revisions, and they had no idea when that would stop. Alexander was certainly stationing more
Rays of sunlight occasionally broke through Shadow Sky's blight. And the top of noon had passed. From here on…
…The battle would only get harder.
Alexander was already covered in cracks and wounds. Black ichor leaked from parts of him that didn't completely connect back together. It was like looking at a cracked, ceramic imitation of a Hydreigon, stuffed with melting tar. He was damaged and yet not. Unimpeded, unbothered. If anything, it only made him more frenzied, more violent, with every wound he healed.
The timelines bloomed again. Owen's spirit could only watch helplessly as his body followed the cause-and-effect of each one, a thousand bodies flying in every direction. Star, Alexander, Migami, and a hail of blue fire from Reshiram above. Then Manny came down like a meteor, hitting Alexander half of the time, completely missing for the other half.
Owen saw himself get struck several times, his Protect shield shattering from Alexander's full assault. Alexander was aiming for the horns in a few of those times. In one of those instances, Alexander looked surprised, as if just learning something new. And it was just his luck that as the timelines collapsed, the one to survive—
In a snap, Owen lost his Perceive. A cold sting ran across Owen's scalp, knocking loose both of his horns as he skidded through the ground, leaving a great fissure in the dirt for several meters.
What surprised Owen was he'd modified his body to keep those attached and not removable. Alexander had broken them off despite that.
"We've got ya covered, Dad!" someone shouted—at first, he didn't recognize the voice. His vision was blurry from tears—the shock of losing his Perceive was a lot more painful than he'd like to admit. But he saw a blur of purple and white. The vague shape…
"Remi—I mean, Sera?"
But there were so many others with her. The crackle of sparks and the smell of ozone… Electric spirits had joined the fray. Bringing up the rear was Mhynt, only a Treecko, yet with the power to match Sera, though she seemed frozen in the back of the reinforcements. There was a paralyzed fear in her eyes that had caught her the moment she'd seen Alexander.
"No! Don't get close!" Owen cried. "He'll—"
"We know!" Sera had no such paralysis, nor did her Electric squadron.
Alexander blasted Sera with a direct Shadowy beam. Owen's stomach dropped. Yet, when the smoke cleared, Alexander was already fending off countless Electrical zaps while Sera stood completely unharmed.
"What—how are you—" Alexander snarled, punching past several Electric Spirits, only for them to Discharge and send more sparks roaring through his body.
Owen felt that these electric attacks weren't as strong as they should have been. In fact, despite the sparks flying, the attackers themselves lacked any form of electricity.
"Enough of this!"
Alexander flew a few feet into the air and then slammed into the ground. Owen knew what that was and quickly jumped into the air; Migami and Star followed, but the cascading tremor of the earth sent rocks and debris flying upward. The shockwave deafened Owen, knocking out yet another one of his senses. Migami seemed unharmed.
But that Earthquake would devastate Sera and her spirits. Panicking, Owen tried to restore his Horns, channeling Grass energy and Synthesis, but the Shadow Sky severely hampered the efforts.
…But Sera stood tall. Not a single scratch on her—or her spirits. A mysterious sheen had deflected the attack entirely.
"Nice try," Sera growled, standing her ground as the dust settled.
Just as they were getting their bearings again, the Shadow Sky's rain sapping at their stamina, Migami gasped and Teleported forward—only to, in their carelessness, take a direct hit from one of Alexander's Shadow Blasts. They shouted and careened to the side and into the ground.
"No!" Owen shouted, flying to assist. But as he did, a glimmer on the ground caught his eye.
For just a moment, his mind froze.
At the center of the crater where Alexander had struck so precisely, pinned by one of Alexander's lesser heads, was Star. She desperately reached forward, trying to escape his clutches, reaching for a rescuer who wasn't there, as Alexander's jaws tore the Hands of Creation out of her body.
Author's Note: FFN does not support image attachments. I recommend you seek out this fic on other platforms to see an image that was posted in this chapter!