Chapter 101 – Dark Approach

In the outskirts of East Null Village, Anam stood with the guards at the edge of the encampment that had been formed within the trees. Clearing out the Void Shadows that were hidden in the roots and underground were easy with how practiced the guards were, some of them with centuries of experience.

Anam was ready to confront Dark Matter right then. He wouldn't let Dark Matter take the fight to the innocents. He walked through the hastily formed tents, past the crystals buried in the ground as wards against Void Shadow attacks, and finally beyond the loose ring of guards at the edges of the expansive encampment. It was impressive how quickly they had mobilized to evacuate, considering the fact that the town's size rivaled the basin of Kilo Village. In less than a quarter of a day, according to their clocks, the town was completely abandoned. Dropped everything and left.

They had drills for such a thing, after all. If a Titan came too close, or some other emergency. It was sad, but effective, that they could leave so perfectly.

"I'm glad you have everything taken care of!" Anam said cheerfully, smiling at the guards, who were still unnerved. One of them was the guard that had punched through his chest, and he was avoiding eye contact.

"Er, yeah. So, we have everything taken care of here, I think. Dark Matter is…?"

"He isn't coming right now." Anam frowned, trying to assure them that he was competent. Without Dark Matter's advice, he could no longer tell with certainty whether they had negative feelings about him or not. "He should be here soon, though. So, I'm going to go out and fight him and try to keep him away from your group, alright? It should be safer. If you can see him coming, keep moving. You can do that?"

"Won't be hard," said a Rhyperior to the left, scoffing proudly. "You saw how quickly we moved on our own. We know our formations."

"Great!" That was good enough. Anam turned, flinging a little slime with his momentum. The guards grimaced and distanced themselves. "I'm gonna go, then. I'll fight Dark Matter, and then you'll be safe. I should be back in a few days, but if I don't, um, well, do as usual until Latios and Latias come back. They'll know what to do, right?"

"We were fine without you before and we'll be fine without you after," Rhyperior said, nodding.

Anam could only hope that was true.

That had been at least a day ago. From there, Anam departed from the camp and headed northwest, following where he had last felt Dark Matter. He first checked the abandoned East Null Village for any sign of his twisted aura, but found nothing but abandoned buildings. Chores and tasks had been left completely undone, and only the occasional winds of the Voidlands accompanied the soft, slimy steps the Goodra made.

Did Dark Matter simply ignore the village entirely?

He surely would have sensed Dark Matter if he tried to go past him to the camp. Anam made sure to be careful of that, even making irregular, zigzag-like flight patterns to cover more ground in case Dark Matter tried to go around him. Even with the delay of getting an entire city's worth of Pokémon evacuated, they had had a great deal of a head start.

Do you sense anything, Anam? Madeline asked.

No, I don't.

Then perhaps he has gone someplace else, James said. I was watching your flight path. Dark Matter wouldn't have been able to go past you unless he went so far around that you'd beat him back to camp. Which you should do.

Right… If he delayed for too long, then a clever way around would have led to an ambush. If Anam wasn't there to defend them, he wasn't sure if they'd stand a chance.

Something bothered him, though. He didn't think Dark Matter would be going for the town in such a roundabout way. He was clever, but that was too much trouble. It would surely get him caught; is how Dark Matter would think. Anam knew Dark Matter for five hundred years. There was a thing or two he could deduce from guts alone.

So, where would Dark Matter have gone otherwise?

Anam stopped walking, placing all of his focus on that question. Where could he have gone? He rubbed his forehead, digging his hands into his skull in deep concentration. He pulled out, then rubbed his cheeks, then under his eyes, like it would help him think harder.

…Oh no. Anam stiffened. He saw it in his mind; Null Villages in a circle around Cipher City, in the cardinal directions. Dark Matter had briefly gone to the north, which repelled him. Then, he seemed to be going east, so Anam sped ahead to warn East Null Village.

The map confirmed that, didn't it?

But then, what if he redirected? He couldn't strike Cipher City; Dark Matter always feared that place, or at least knew not to strike directly.

That only left…

"South Null Village is in danger," Anam said to himself. "Ohh, I hope my friends aren't there…"

What do we do? Madeline asked.

I suggest we return to camp to make sure Dark Matter isn't nearing it, proposed James. Then, perhaps we should play catchup.

That was sound advice. With a nod, Anam turned and rushed back for the East Null Village camp. Dark Matter couldn't have gotten to the South by now, right? Though, the time to travel from the North to the East, compared to the North to the South, with only a small bend to avoid the center…

No, no! Dark Matter couldn't be that fast. It was fine. He'd just have to be faster.

Anam refused to acknowledge the fact that it might have already been too late.

Marshadow couldn't sleep. Aster was too noisy.

It was supposedly nighttime, but all Aster could do was toss and turn in the bed that Marshadow had provided for him. The Mewtwo's tail flicked. Marshadow rested within the darkness of another bed, though even if his eyes were closed, he could feel the Psychic radiance of his guest at all times. Fighting Pokémon were naturally sensitive to that sort of thing.

He'd never felt so trapped before. In mere days he'd gone from the monotony of keeping Null Village afloat to finding a slew of radiant spirits, and then Aster came and threatened to take them all with him.

What was he supposed to do about that? And not only were they radiant spirits, one of them was Owen. This would have been a whole lot easier if Owen had found Jirachi in West Null first.

"Marshadow?" Aster asked.

Marshadow's thoughts froze like the rest of his body.

"I'm sorry. For being here, and everything."

Too little, too late, buddy. Marshadow didn't know what he could actually say in response. Aster may have been a victim in all this like everyone else, but the difference was Aster was still following Alexander's orders. In the end, that made them enemies.

"I know you know where that big power is."

He figured it was obvious. After all, Marshadow was only playing with Aster's mercy here. If he got reckless, he could simply destroy the place or kill the civilians until he found what he was looking for. The fact that Alexander sent Aster meant he wasn't taking this seriously yet.

"Please," Aster begged. "I don't want to do anything bad. Just tell me…"

And let Alexander get one of the few hopes in upsetting this balance? Marshadow thought not.

"It isn't like it's enough to beat Alexander anyway," Aster dismissed. "Please? He just wants it. And if he does, maybe he'll help out this place in return, right?"

Didn't need it. Didn't want it, either.

"Okay," Aster finally said, and it just occurred to Marshadow that he might have been trying to read his mind. That wasn't good. "If you aren't going to talk, I'll tell Alexander that you did. That you were really nice. That you eventually decided it was better to give it to me."

What? Where was this—did he figure it out? How? Marshadow would have sensed an intrusion on his mind.

Aster got up. Marshadow did, too. The height difference was the least of the shade's problems.

"Yer makin' a mistake," Marshadow said. "It ain't worth it."

"If Alexander says so, it's worth it to me," Aster said with dull eyes. "I'm sorry," he went on, his voice trembling.

There was a small, blue orb in the Mewtwo's right hand. At first he thought it was an Aura Sphere, which would have been a useless effort against someone like him. But then he realized it had a solid appearance to it—glassy, smooth, rounded. Wait—that was one of Leph's orbs. There wasn't any light inside, though. It could become anything Aster wanted.

"Aster," Marshadow said steadily, "this ain't you. You don't gotta do this."

"Please tell me where it is." Aster held the orb tighter. It started to glow, wisps of light swirling inside. It was listless, resembling a lazy pond of stagnant water.

Marshadow braced for whatever torment he was about to endure. Aster wasn't going to get it out of him.

The orb shattered and a wave of energy coated everything but Aster in a fuzzy, blue light. It seeped into Marshadow's body and left him feeling muddled and groggy. He stepped back and sighed, his clenched fists loosening as he stared dimly at the ground.

It was suddenly so hard to care.

"Marshadow, where are you hiding it?"

Marshadow continued to stare down, though his mind wandered to that little Charmander, where he'd carried him off to Hakk and Xypher's home, the tiresome route he took to avoid detection. So much effort, and for what? To draw out the inevitable?

But he couldn't tell Aster, right? He felt the Mewtwo's presence in his mind. He was going to find out. Did that matter? It did. But fighting him off was so tiring.

No—no! He wasn't supposed to let it happen! How much did Aster find out? Marshadow repelled Aster from his mind with a halfhearted effort, but it was enough. Aster's hold on his mind was gone.

"You're hiding… a Charmander?" Aster said, frowning. "Well… alright. I guess I'll have to see for myself."

"Wait," Marshadow said, but made little effort to go after him.

"It's okay," Aster said. "This way, everyone will be happy. I'm sorry I had to use an Apathy Orb on you. It'll wear off soon, but don't go after me, alright?"

The door opened. Marshadow stood up, forming a ball of darkness in his hands. He fired too late; the door closed, scattering the attack into a small blotch against the stone.

Hakk awoke to three taps to the front door. And then three more. The icy Sandslash groaned and rolled to look at the clock, which showed in its digital lights a bleary three in the morning. So, this was what it was going to be like, was it? Now he just had to wait for a third set of three—

There it was. Perfect. Now he could begin his ungodly-hours morning with everything lined up perfectly.

"Hang on, hang on," Hakk called, sitting up. Xypher was already looming over him and waiting anxiously for Hakk to answer. Xypher was never good at talking to strangers. Maybe when he was Class C he'd be better at it, but he needed more of his sanity before that happened.

Hakk gently pat Xypher on the head. Satisfied, the Corviknight trotted down the short hall and in the center of the living room, looking, uncharacteristically, graceful. Reminded Hakk of a proper guard, and he let a tired, small smile trace his lips.

Before opening the door, he glanced to the door's left. Buttons to open and close. Then he looked to the right. A third button, which he silently pressed. A small square in the middle of the door lit up, revealing who was standing on the outside through a video feed.

Hakk's stomach dropped.

Mewtwo Aster.

What.

Why?

How?

Was Marshadow okay? Did he follow those team members? They better know how to fight, because he wasn't about to risk his hide for them.

Or was he? That was Marshadow's orders. But this was Aster. He didn't stand a chance.

"Uh, yeah?" Hakk dumbly said when his thoughts finally sorted themselves into something coherent.

"Can I come in?" Even though Aster was asking, what was he supposed to say? No? And have him blow the house up? If Aster wanted something, he was going to get it.

"Sure." Hakk did his best to stay calm and prayed to the god that couldn't hear him that Aster wouldn't read his terror.

The video feed disappeared and the door slid open, revealing the Mewtwo that towered over him. At least twice his height. That helped nothing. Gods, why was he so huge? Wasn't Mew supposed to be adorably tiny?

Aster moved past Hakk without so much as a nod and looked left and right. "Where is he?" Aster asked. "The one you're hiding."

"Guest room," Hakk replied immediately. He glanced up at Xypher, who may as well have been a metal sculpture. Aster disappeared into the guest room and the door closed behind him. Hakk shakily stood near the exit to their home, not sure what else to do.

It wasn't that he wanted to help Aster. He just didn't want to turn into a brick. And between having Marshadow be angry at him and Aster killing him or worse, he picked angering Marshadow. Besides, if Aster figured out where the kid was being held, then that probably meant Marshadow already failed his part of the plan. Or he was dead. That'd be wonderful; this crummy place could finally collapse in on itself! He'd be able to ruin his life all over again. Maybe he'd take up a soldier position under Alexander.

No, that'd never happen. Xypher didn't like Alexander, and even though the southern settlement of Null Village was technically a large town, Cipher City would be way too large and overstimulating. Pretty sure they didn't allow Class D Pokémon either. Also, Alexander was evil. Nobody who could control Titans was a good person. Not to mention his iron rule. Any challenge would be faced with death. Hakk wasn't sure if he could get over that part yet.

Aster reemerged from the guest room and Hakk was fully expecting there to be a Charmander struggling in his arms. Yet the Mewtwo emerged with nothing, and Aster frowned at him.

"He's not there," he said.

"…What?"

"Nobody's in there."

"But I—but they're—what?"

Aster studied Hakk momentarily, and the icy Sandslash felt something wash over his thoughts. It was like a stifling static, like he was waking up all over again. Then, the haze was gone, and Aster was leaving the house.

"Sorry," Aster said. "I guess he ran away already."

The door closed and the two were left alone.

Hakk had never seen Aster look so serious before. Didn't even bother smiling. He had that same, cheerful tone, but his expression was like he'd seen a dead body.

Or would Aster just smile at that? Hakk didn't know.

"I made a mess," Xypher whimpered.

Hakk glanced at Xypher, then below, and then frowned back up at him. "It's alright," Hakk said gently. "C'mon. Let's wash up and go back to bed."

Or try to.

Owen had let Mispy smuggle him out when Hakk and Xypher fell asleep. He felt a little bad about betraying their trust, but it would have been for their safety, too, if this all went badly. Mispy seemed to have a hunch that Aster would have figured out where they were soon.

They went the long way around where they thought Marshadow had gone and navigated to the large evaluation buildings. The secretary and guards had apparently been prompted to allow them through without a fuss, and they soon gathered together with the others to discuss what to do. Eon, however, hadn't made it, and while Owen wondered why, he didn't think it was worth it to go searching for him when time was a factor.

Dialga was surprisingly accurate on where he sensed Palkia. Not only did he know the direction that Palkia was held, but also how far away he was. That, combined with some estimation on travel time, led to an inconvenient conclusion: Palkia would be seven days' travel into the Nil Plateaus, and by then perhaps another day simply searching for his Titan.

But what if they had Gahi? By their estimates, even if they were inexperienced with the plateaus, if Gahi went out with the others, travel would perhaps only take four days. Though, that was in itself a big unknown…

Still, if they could get Palkia in time, perhaps that meant they would be able to return instantly with the help of his warping. They were putting a lot of faith into that possibility—did they actually know if Palkia could warp them?

They only had five days to get this done. After five days, according to Marshadow, his hand would be forced. They would either take on Aster, let Owen be taken to Cipher City, or let Marshadow go in their place.

When they found it safe enough to leave, Mispy snuck Owen from Xypher and Hakk's home to Dialga's abode by stuffing him in her vines. Aster must have been distracted by Marshadow, because they hadn't run into him along the way there, and they quickly hashed out their plans from what they knew.

They could easily assemble a small team to go after Palkia. They knew how to defeat those Titans. Weaken them with Owen, and then strike with Crystal-enhanced moves. They were weak now, but by the time they found Palkia, their strength would have returned. They knew that Eon and Gahi were a sure success in landing one, but perhaps there were other combinations they weren't aware of.

They had to go as one or two flying units. They had to be fast; Eon would be able to mimic Gahi's form, but what of the others? Jerry would be too slow to fly and too large to carry; the same went for Zena. They would have to stay behind in Null Village, perhaps to keep an eye on things.

They seemed to have everything settled on what to do, except for one snag.

"Alright," Jerry said, sitting across from Owen in the large circle in Dialga's room. "Seems like an easy plan. Gahi and some passengers take down the Titan. We can grab Marshadow and make it like before, right?"

"Gah! Marshadow. I forgot." Owen rubbed his forehead. "No, we need Marshadow to take down that Titan. I don't think we have the strength on our own. But there's no way Marshadow is going to let us go. Aster's right here, and if Marshadow's gone…"

"Hold on," Trina said, holding up a tiny hand. "What exactly are your options here? This Aster apparently wants to take you to Cipher City, correct?"

"Cipher City being the Voidlands' capital," Dialga clarified. "Ruled by one Hydreigon Alexander, whom we know little about, though he sounds both powerful and, well, not someone with your best interest in mind."

"Right, yeah." Owen kept his arms and legs crossed, staring at the floor in front of him like it had an invisible map. "So, I can't get caught by Aster, or it's all over."

"Of course. And therefore, your top priority should be to get away from Aster, yes?"

"Yes…? But we can't really do that out in the open. He'll know for sure if scouts leave, right?"

"That is a possibility," Trina said.

"But the alternative would be hoping he goes away," Zena pointed out, curling her ribbons worriedly. "Or… fighting him."

"We don't really know enough about this place to make an informed move," Jerry said. "And let's face it, if we can't stand up to Marshadow, then we can't stand up to Aster. We should ask the guy what our options are and have him help."

"I guess so," Owen said. "You don't think he's going to cave to Alexander's pressure, though, right?" Saying 'Alexander' still felt odd on his tongue. He had to remember it wasn't his father.

"If he does, we're done anyway," Jerry said. "Then we go with the old plan of flying on our own."

"Right…" Owen looked to the others. "Can one of you get Marshadow? I probably should stay here for now."

"Shouldn't we smuggle you back to Hakk's place before they panic? By whatever they call 'morning,' since that'd probably be when Aster would've tried to find you." Demitri looked at the ceiling, and then through it, as if he was trying to judge the perpetually dim sky. "I don't really know their sleep patterns, but…"

"Right, er, sure. I guess, Mispy, hide me again?"

Mispy wrapped a few vines around Owen and pulled him under, where the Charmander tried to position himself in something at least vaguely comfortable among the thorns. Mispy was courteous enough to form a small dome under her belly that allowed for something less precarious, and his fire kept the hideout well-lit.

Owen heard Zena's characteristic slither. "Well, Dialga," she said, "I suppose we shall leave you to continue your recovery. Thank you for the directions."

"Of course. Take care. I do hope when Aster leaves, I can leave this dreary room."

"Are you coming with us?" Demitri asked. It sounded like he was on top of Mispy.

"If it isn't any trouble," Zena replied. "As long as Aster doesn't see us, right?"

The door opened and closed, and Owen leaned back with his hands folded over his abdomen. There wasn't much he could do, now, and it had been a long walk just to get to the facility. This village, like the so-called Kilo Village, was a lot larger than it had any right to be with that name. Maybe he could try some meditation. He knew that Klent and the others were there, but he couldn't hear them yet. That must have been terrifying for them—he hoped they'd come back soon so they'd at least have something to do.

Owen tried anyway for the whole trip back, which proved fruitless. Couldn't even turn his scales green, or dim his flame into a flower. Though, the thought of losing that flame, and therefore the darkness that would follow, awakened a primal fear. Could that be holding him back?

Suddenly, after what Owen estimated was three quarters of the trip, Mispy jerked to the side and Owen tumbled around in his dome, bumping his head against a few thorns. He suppressed a squeak and clutched at his chin. No blood.

"What's going—"

Vines wrapped around his head, silencing him.

Owen really wished he had his Perceive right about now. When was he going to evolve, anyway?! His old track record was only a few days before that came along. This whole Charmander schtick was getting really old.

Now that he thought about it, he wasn't nearly as strong as he used to be, either. Perhaps even weaker than when he'd first become a Heart.

Had being killed in the Voidlands actually stripped him completely of his power? It could take years to evolve at that rate… No, there had to be a way to accelerate it.

Mispy's frantic shuffling finally slowed down. Good, because he was pretty sure he had a few new cuts under his scales from all the stray thorns. She finally let go of his face and he took deep, long breaths.

"What was that for?"

"Aster," Mispy replied simply, and Owen thought at first that he'd misheard.

"What? But Marshadow should have…"

Could Aster have spotted them? Now that he thought about it, Mispy really stood out… Aster couldn't read auras, right? Was his aura disguised if he was hidden under Mispy?

By the time Owen was done sorting out all of his questions, though, they all came tumbling out when Mispy rolled him onto the floor into Hakk and Xypher's home. Hakk, looking annoyed, and Xypher, looking frazzled, stood before him, and Owen realized they were back in their home.

"Alright," Hakk said, "so I don't know whether I should call you lucky or stupid."

"Wait, I—"

"What do you think you're doing, getting smuggled out in the middle of town where you could have been caught?" Hakk jabbed a claw in Owen's chest. "But you know, maybe that was the right choice, because during sleep hours, guess who visited? Freaking Aster."

He spun back and puffed out a frosty, snowflake-riddled breath into the air away from them. Something about those cyan eyes of his made Owen look down, apologetic. "Aster came here?" Owen asked, glancing back worriedly.

"Yeah, and you know what, so what? I didn't sign up to harbor someone that the Void King wants. Waaay above my pay grade. You want my opinion on this craziness? You're dead. Stop thinking about escape, alright? You don't just come back from the dead."

"I've done that, like, twice."

Hakk squinted. Owen tittered.

Xypher lectured Owen. "Danger. Danger, danger."

"Look," Hakk went on, claws pressing into his wrists. "Maybe Alexander would give you a good life, y'know? He clearly needs you for something and he'd want you to stick around, and I heard he gives a pretty cushy life to his immediate subordinates."

"Sorry, that's not really something I want to do," Owen replied with a hint of venom. Mispy and Demitri shared a glare toward Hakk, who, outnumbered, backed down with a scowl.

"I know it was dangerous," Owen went on. "Sorry, but it was even more dangerous for us to do nothing at all. And we have a plan. Dialga told us where Palkia is. We can find him, take that Titan down, and—"

"That's way freaking easier said than done." Hakk looked at Owen like he was denying basic math. "You took down one Titan. One. With the help of Marshadow and a whole ton of luck and at least two different flukes. And you almost dying. Do you really think you're going to pull that off again?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"We know their weaknesses and we know how to take them down." Owen refused to back down and carried his momentum. "With that knowledge we can—"

"Alright, wise guy, listen to me again, and this time I want you to put your big boy brain on."

Owen glared, flame popping a few times, but he listened in silence.

"It takes huge amounts of Z-Energy to take down a Titan the way you did. That was the very thing that drew Aster here in the first place. No other reason he'd be making a weird visit like this. So, if that happens a second time, what do you think follows?"

That was a good point. They'd know for sure that something was wrong then. Once was a coincidence, or at least something that might have a little doubt. Twice? That would be enough for someone like Alexander to send a lot more than Aster.

Owen glanced around for what the others might have to say, but then realized that Mispy and Demitri were alone. "Where'd Gahi and Zena go? And Trina?" Sure, she was a lot smaller, but she had been on Gahi's shoulder again. Probably out of habit.

"We split up to lose Aster," Demitri said. "Which means… they probably didn't know how to get back to us."

"Should we look for them?" Hakk asked. "Aster's on the prowl for you. And he can read minds. If he finds out that they helped smuggle you away…"

Silence followed, Owen looking at the flame of his tail.

There wasn't really any backing out of this, was there?

"Oh, no, don't get that look," Hakk immediately said, grabbing Owen by the shoulder before he could think to act on his morale. "I'm under orders to keep you here and I already failed that once. Aster checked here so he's less likely to check again."

"But what if Aster attacks the city?" Owen countered immediately, gears turning in his mind. "Hiding me would just cause even more bloodshed, wouldn't it?"

Hakk narrowed his blue eyes, then looked to Xypher, who squawked confusedly.

Finally, Hakk stared at Owen again, and the Charmander, staring up, didn't look away. "You aren't going out until it looks like that's what'll happen."

The timing was too perfect; the moment Hakk turned to leave for his room, the ground shook, and the Sandslash groaned.

Xypher chirped curiously.

A mixture of self-satisfaction and dread filled Owen—he was right. And that was bad.

Demitri pressed the button to open the door. Gahi's war cries mixed with water cutting through the sky filled the town's atmosphere.

"Get out," Hakk relented.

"Stay here," Owen replied. Nodding to Demitri and Mispy, the Charmander rushed for the exit.

Have to hurry, have to warn Marshadow, I can see the beacon! It's right there!

Latias had flown nonstop over the Voidlands for the past few days, only slowing down to powernap mid-flight. It was risky, but it had paid off. High altitudes were risky—the clouds in the sky weren't hospitable—but just below allowed her to avoid most Titan blasts, or sense them coming.

Once, she had to stop briefly to rest, and she was sure she'd gotten a far enough head start that Dark Matter or a Titan or anything else wouldn't have found her. That was the advantage of being a small Legend. Long ago, most of the larger Legendary Pokémon had been simply too big to hide from Titans and Void Shadows. No matter how much strength they had, a few decades of constantly whittling them down and waiting for an unguarded moment was all they needed.

Smaller Legends, though. They were the lucky ones. But this was the riskiest move they'd made in a while. Latias was surprised at how eager her brother had been to take it. Sure, Dark Matter had changed around his strategy, and Alexander was making weird moves, but why now? What set it all into motion?

Oh, what did it matter? She'd spent too many hours ruminating over that. Now that South Null Village was in sight, she could focus on the task at hand. Warn Marshadow that Dark Matter was approaching, maybe about finding some of Anam's allies, reunite them, and they could make more decisive moves.

Easy, easy, easy.

She tried to ignore the fact that they had no idea what those decisive moves were.

A strange energy was coming from Null Village. Tasted like purple. Latias focused a little harder, furrowing her brow, and saw a flash of a smiling, happy face in her vision and her heart skipped a beat.

Aster's here!

What was she supposed to do now? No, no hesitating. She was here on a, what could she say, scouting mission! That would do it. Wait, no, no! That was the exact opposite thing she was supposed to say!

Maybe she—

Something dark caught her lower vision and she swerved left in a spiral. A dark beam of energy scorched her left wing, shriveling the very tip into a dry husk whose feathers flaked off in black ash. She winced and maintained her course, but a second blast forced her to twist in the air again. Time slowed and the beam, the same size as her neck, grazed her arm, leaving another black scorch where it touched.

She lost her momentum. Countless thin wires snapped from the ground and into the air, wrapping around Latias by the neck and body, and an overwhelming force pulled her from the skies.

The black strings slammed her hard into the ground and her inertia toppled over a few trees in the way. Up was down and she couldn't see well. The nausea left her dry-heaving, but for better or worse, she hadn't eaten in a while.

Making a sound somewhere between a groan and a whimper, she lifted herself off the ground, only for more of those shadowy threads to hold her in place. They were cold. Too cold. Her body felt like it'd been flying through a blizzard.

"H-help!" Latias cried. "Someone! I'm tr—brother?"

Were her eyes playing tricks on her? She saw her twin, blue feathers and red eyes, yes, that was him! Latios!

"Try again."

Her relief mutated into horror.

The Latios form melted and changed, thinning out into a lighter frame and red feathers until Latias stared at an expressionless double of herself. It drifted toward her idly like a predator after its injured and trapped prey.

Latias conjured a ball of psionic mist above her. It hummed in the air and illuminated the dark, but when she fired, she missed completely in her panic. It flew past Dark Matter's head and into the tree behind him, disintegrating the parts that it touched and then flew further ahead. It finally exploded, shredding several trees and creating a new clearing where they'd once been. Ashen splinters rained down on them both.

So, she fired again. Not only did he take the blow, but he made no effort to dodge out of its path. The attack had simply been absorbed into him. Nullified. Like she didn't even matter.

"Hello."

"Please, don't… I…"

"No."

Dark Matter's arm reached out to Latias' forehead.

That was when she screamed. She didn't know how far the cry would go or how long she could hold it, but that was all she could do. She readied another Mist Ball, and then his claw tapped her on the forehead. Why was she attacking Dark Matter? She stopped screaming, feeling silly. The Mist Ball evaporated on her own volition.

The threads of Shadow Hold released her. Latias floated up, shaking her head and coughing.

"You're very loud," Dark Matter commented.

"You didn't have to be so rough," Latias muttered back, poking her claws together.

"Mm." Dark Matter seemed annoyed at something, but then shrugged it off. "Stay here. You'll know if you're needed."

Dark Matter continued to Null Village, and Latias waited patiently. Though, she was curious about something. "Did you get my brother?"

"No. He must have taken another route."

Latias shrugged. Probably. "If you talk like that, they'll find you out immediately," she pointed out.

"…Right." He cleared his throat and something about him changed. The oppressive aura swirled around him, but it was compact, hidden. "Better?"

"I guess so…" She didn't really care for him using her voice, but he could do what he wanted, she supposed.

Without another word, the disguised Latias took to the skies and flew for South Null Village.