Chapter Text
Owen, Demitri, and Mispy emerged to a sky carved in two by a Hydro Pump, and then further impacted by purple crescents of energy that cut the water into strange, oblong and jagged shapes. The Hydro Pump stopped, and a Mewtwo reappeared in the middle of the sky, looking left and right with a wide grin. Owen quickly hid behind Mispy’s foreleg, but Aster wasn’t looking for him.
In a blink, a starry Flygon rammed into Aster from behind, digging his claws into flesh. It left barely a scratch by the time Aster propelled himself forward with a kick, Psychic energy bursting from his feet.
“Gahi’s fighting Aster?! When did that happen?” Owen tried to keep up with them, but both Gahi and the Mewtwo were teleporting across the sky every few seconds, occasionally clashing in random spots in the air. It seemed like Gahi was holding his own, but Owen feared that Aster wasn’t taking the battle seriously.
“You two need to help him,” Owen said, staring up. “I—I don’t know what I can do against…”
“No.” Mispy used several vines to wrap around and then guide Owen to her back.
“If we leave you alone,” Demitri translated, “Aster might pluck you right off the ground mid-battle. If we’re fighting Aster, you’re coming with us!”
It was unintuitive, though it was better than hiding and hoping he wouldn’t be found. But what was he supposed to be able to do to help?
“Let’s try to get closer. Follow the streets!” Owen could use the time to think.
Owen could see several townsfolk were either watching from their doorways or windows. Shadows deeper inside suggested more were hiding. The streets were empty aside from guards rushing to secure the premises, but none of them looked eager to fight Aster directly. Owen could imagine why. One strike from him ran the risk of instant death, and then who knows where they’d wake up in the Voidlands—and how much of their selves would remain.
Owen could only imagine that terror… And was thankful, in a morbid way, that he was apparently immune to it. Perhaps that was one reason he could afford to risk himself more.
Think. What could he do? He didn’t have strength behind him. He had already realized long ago that he wasn’t going to rapidly evolve. Whatever happened when he had first died in the Voidlands, it stripped him of his power, even if it couldn’t take his memories. He had to be clever. His most useful technique had been Protect, but what good was that if he couldn’t get into the fray?
They made more turns through the streets but had to stop when a stray Shadow Ball vaporized the ground only a few feet ahead of them. A crater of rubble that crackled with black electricity remained—that wasn’t a normal Ghost attack.
“It’s rot,” Owen said to himself. “We need to be careful. It’s the same power Anam has!”
Balls of psychic energy followed in a rapid-fire line that hammered into several buildings.
“This guy’s way out of our league,” Demitri panted. “What’s Gahi thinking?!”
“He doesn’t,” Mispy concluded, though her serrated flower petals were glowing.
Owen’s eyes widened. “Uh—Mispy?”
“Shh.” Mispy kept following Aster’s movements. She was waiting for the right moment to launch a Solar Beam…
If only he had Perceive. He could have potentially read where Aster would appear, maybe try to sense distortions in the air. Would that work? He didn’t know. It could also overwhelm him.
No use thinking about things he didn’t have. He needed to find a way to get them to Gahi to help. There was a Hydro Pump back there—Zena! Where was she? She had to fire another so they could figure out her location.
Mispy suddenly jerked to the left, changing course mid-stride. Owen fell off and into Demitri’s arms with a yelp.
“Mispy?” Demitri called. “What’s going on?”
Aster managed a powerful kick on Gahi, slamming him into the ground a few streets over. Not even missing a beat, Gahi appeared in a flash of light above Aster and slammed down on him with his cosmic tail, dealing the same blow.
Then, he whipped around and clawed at the air behind him—where Aster had appeared, only to get a slash across the chest. Aster gasped; Gahi smirked. Then, they both disappeared to opposite sides of the town.
“I can’t believe he’s holding his own against him.” Demitri tripped, but regained himself.
Owen tried to ignore the odd warmth in his chest. This was serious. “Aster might be holding back for fun, or something. Or maybe he’s trying to draw me out. This—this isn’t a trap, is it?”
“Gahi will die,” Mispy replied immediately.
“Right, we don’t have a choice…”
Aster was standing still in the air for too long; a second Hydro Pump smashed into him from the forward-left of the town from Owen’s perspective. That was only a few streets off—and Mispy was already running that way to regroup. Aster formed a barrier after getting soaked by some of the blast. The rest of the water split the low clouds. Behind the gray splotches was a bright, crimson sky of even thicker fog. It coated the town in a malevolent, red tint. Aster stood in the middle of it with a wide grin.
“You really are hiding someone!”
He raised his right hand. Psychic crescents whipped around it like a small tornado.
“My turn!”
He swung, unleashing the twister of Psychic blades toward Gahi. The Flygon disappeared in a Teleport’s flash. Aster dramatically swung his arm to the left and the tornado followed, curving toward Gahi again. The Flygon disappeared higher and it curved toward him again. Gahi disappeared next to Aster, but then must have realized how terrible of an idea that was because he disappeared milliseconds before Aster could grab him.
Demitri hopped off Mispy and went below her after some brief communication. He hefted Mispy into the air and threw her onto the rooftop of a nearby building. After a rough landing—and wrapping a vine around Owen to secure him—she reached down and pulled Demitri up next. At this vantage point, they saw a third Hydro Pump coming from two streets over.
Gahi disappeared low to the ground, like he was about to bait the psionic tornado into the ground.
“Gahi, no!” Demitri cried. “There are people in there!”
Gahi seemed surprised that they were there at all, but he hissed and disappeared again, redirecting the tornado toward him.
Aster was preparing a second twister with his other arm, weaving around another Hydro Pump. He launched that second twister toward the source.
“No!” Owen cried.
Then, Mispy fired. Blinding light forced Owen to cover his eyes just in time for the Solar Beam to connect. The explosion rocked the ground and cracked the reinforced rooftops of the nearest buildings. The ringing in Owen’s head didn’t stop for a while, but Mispy had sighed with relief. So, it was deflected? But Aster had prepared it so quickly. Mispy took far too long to charge an attack to deflect it; the next one wouldn’t be so easy.
“We have to do something,” Owen yelled over the ringing.
“They’re flying through the air,” Demitri said. “We can’t fly! And Zena would just be exposing herself if she went out now!”
Demitri threw Mispy over to another rooftop across the road, and Owen heard the rooftop beneath them groan from the force. Mispy grabbed Demitri mid-throw and pulled him along. In the arc above the road, they had a much better vantage point for the battlefield. Owen scanned the roads. Demitri’s throw had been so strong, and Mispy was so much heavier, that even after she picked Demitri up, her momentum in the air had been barely affected. The rooftop once under Demitri, though, had cracked…
Zena was in an alleyway, occasionally peering out to look for Aster to fire. Good, she had cover, though that would be meaningless if Aster teleported.
Trina was on Zena’s head, unable to do anything, so instead she behaved as a second pair of eyes.
On another side street, a trail of shadows that Owen knew was Marshadow ran swiftly toward Aster’s location.
“Marshadow’s alive and heading to Aster,” Owen said quickly.
“Okay, so Gahi won’t be alone, but we still need more help.” Demitri looked up, frantic. “Aster’s too far away for me to hit with my axes. If I miss, that’s it!”
That was it. Aster was too far away. The only way they could even hope to keep up would be if they could Teleport, too! And Gahi only could because of his Psychic Orb. How was he supposed to—
Something clicked at around the same time the ringing stopped, and Owen’s pupils dilated and focused in on Gahi.
He just needed time.
“Distract Aster a little longer,” Owen said, suddenly crossing his legs and grabbing onto one of Mispy’s vines for leverage. “I need to focus.”
Because he had it. He knew he had a way to help. It wasn’t at the forefront of his aura—he needed to tune himself first. Breathe, breathe…
By Necrozma, he hoped this would work.
It was somewhere. Somewhere deep. He had to think back. A time when Tim was still training him, a time when he needed to protect him, when he had to learn about his opponents on the fly. When he had to be ready for any Pokémon, not just the ones he’d have an advantage over. When Tim’s whole world was on Owen’s shoulders.
Demitri had, in his desperation, tore off a small fragment of the roof and threw it at Aster, who was now controlling two twisters at an ever-more-tired Gahi.
Mispy’s petals glowed once more.
Zena hadn’t fired another Hydro Pump, but she was certainly on standby.
What was Marshadow doing?
…There. Owen was ready. “Gahi!” Owen shouted, and then said, “Demitri, call Gahi!” Owen, meanwhile, made sure he was hiding behind Mispy’s neck so Aster couldn’t see him.
They both called again, and Gahi, between his dodges, turned to them.
“Come here!” Owen ordered, and then Demitri and Mispy looked at him like he was insane.
But Gahi obeyed without question, disappearing and reappearing.
“What?!” Gahi said. The Psychic twisters were upon them, seconds away.
“Okay, Teleport away,” Owen immediately replied.
The Flygon squinted exasperatedly.
“GO!”
“Alright, alright!” Gahi disappeared, and the Psychic auras twisted away.
Okay, worst part of the gamble was over with. Owen was banking on Mispy being able to take a hit or two, but they didn’t even have to worry about it. He had a Protect ready in case that didn’t work. But now—even more time.
Owen focused on the space that Gahi had once been, feeling a strange, new trace, like a sixth sense, where he had been. Gahi didn’t go far, either, and that residual trace of energy was even stronger when Owen focused on that.
Mentally, he reached for it. Grabbed it, seized it, pulled it forward. That energy was what Gahi used to Teleport. And with that old technique from Ayame…
“Demitri,” Owen said. “I want you to get ready to throw your ax as hard as you can at Aster.”
“But he’s too—”
“Trust me. You’ll know when. Okay? No time.”
“Okay.”
Mispy glanced back at Owen with a combination of recognition and disbelief. Yes, Owen could tell; she was smart enough to figure out what he was planning. But she probably didn’t know how.
She wrapped a vine around Demitri and nodded, then wrapped one around Owen.
“Here goes.” Owen concentrated on that new kernel of energy. Mimic.
That stolen power was his, at least temporarily, and now it was time to use it. He let his mind fall into his instincts, and then let those guide him. He envisioned Aster, dancing with his blades as Gahi’s Teleports became slower and sloppier. He saw where Aster was and then focused on the space above and behind the Mewtwo.
That new part of Owen’s core, malleable and adaptive, coursed a tingling energy from his mind into his claws.
And suddenly, they were behind Aster, in freefall.
Demitri overcame his split second of panic and pulled his arm back. Aster was mere feet away from him.
Owen remembered that Demitri was afraid of heights.
Yet he pulled through. The natural tomahawk soared through the air and lodged itself firmly in Aster’s back with a loud, dull THUD, and Aster went spiraling forward with blood streaming behind him.
“The other one!” Owen barked.
Demitri reached for his second tusk, but then looked down and froze.
“No, Demitri, throw! THROW!”
Demitri’s gaze was frozen at the ground.
“Demitri,” Mispy pleaded, and he snapped out of it.
He squeezed the tusk tight and readied another throw, but when they all looked for Aster again, he was gone. And Owen noticed, thanks to the brighter sky, a shadow above them.
Owen didn’t even look up. He grasped Mispy again and focused, and they were suddenly above Aster instead of below. His body interrupted their descent; Gahi sped toward them and rammed into Aster headfirst, indigo flames coating his body. Mispy wrapped a vine around Owen and Demitri to keep them near, but the impact sent Owen flying. It was only with another quick vine that he didn’t freefall on his own.
Aster curled up into a ball and formed another barrier around him, this one a bright sphere tinged with black ripples. It expanded rapidly, and then bent off of Aster and around Team Alloy.
Demitri, coming to his senses, pulled his fist back and readied a punch. Aster hurled the sphere into the town below. Owen’s stomach was in his throat as they went tumbling in the air, the ground rapidly getting closer.
“Sorry, guys,” Owen said, and then crossed his arms, forming a Protect that pushed the others away from him. He could afford a rough landing, but risking a crushing landing from any of his larger teammates wouldn’t do.
It was surreal. Aster was probably trying to pull out one of Demitri’s axes from his back; they were plummeting to the ground in tense, prepared silence. Another crystal-clear beam of water soared through the air and Aster shrieked like he’d been doused in ice after a warm shower. Mispy held Demitri a little tighter. Demitri held his breath and closed his eyes.
Gahi muttered, “Get ready ter heal.”
Mispy replied with a silent, “Mm.”
“Get ready, Owen,” Gahi added.
“I’m ready.”
Within his golden barrier, Owen smiled. He knew they would survive the landing. An odd serenity washed over him, because that brief silence in the battle let him finally stop to think. Was this what he had been looking for all this time? A team he could put his complete faith in? Someone he could trust completely, who’d always shared the same goal as him—to be together.
Together…
A Flygon stood in front of him, barely half his height. Flygon had his hands on his hips and his tail flicked irritably; just behind him was a Meganium and Haxorus. Meganium shuffled her feet, kicking at a nearby pebble.
“So, how’s that sound?” Flygon asked. “You’ll join our team. And you aren’t allowed to worry about us dying off while you get to live with Legends. And in exchange… you train us to climb Destiny Tower, just like you.” He held out a hand. “Deal?”
Owen had blacked out. He hoped it had only been for a few seconds. Demitri groaned to his left; Mispy’s vines writhed to feel for everyone.
“Get your butt outta my face,” Gahi said, muffled.
“That’s me,” Mispy grunted; she moved as if something in her chest had broken.
“You have one?”
They rolled off of each other, Gahi in particular wheezing.
Healing energy washed over them, and Owen remembered where they were. He shot up into a sitting position; the sky was still a bright crimson and Aster was inspecting the ax that had once been tossed at him. It had a small trickle of blood on it, but little more. That had been a direct hit from Demitri…
But they were still standing, and they were together. Together, that word, why did that…
“Guys!” Owen stood. “I think… I think it’s time to fuse. You three.”
“What? Fuse?” Demitri glanced at Mispy, who shook her head.
“Yer nuts,” Gahi stated flatly. “We’ll lose it! Never fused since we got ‘ere, an’ this place messes with yer head, I swear!”
“It’s our best shot!” Owen pointed skyward. “We gave them everything we had and even new tricks and—”
“Look out!” Gahi tackled Owen, but Gahi was struck in the back by a stray Shadow Ball. He roared and curled up, squeezing his eyes shut, and Owen smelled something exposed on Gahi’s back. Demitri looked horrified, but Mispy was reflexively channeling healing energy into her ally.
By the time Owen was unfocused on Gahi and looking for Aster, Demitri shrieked next.
“Hi!” Aster had appeared right next to him.
Demitri threw a punch, hitting air when Aster appeared on his other side. Mispy tried to grab him next, but a Psychic barrier blocked her advance.
“You did a nice shot on me,” Aster said, turning around to show the vertical scar where the ax had once been. It must have been a hasty heal to leave a mark at all…
Demitri stepped back, his foot slipping on a patch of loose dirt. Aster appeared next to Demitri again and grabbed his tail. He grinned wider. Demitri did not.
And then they both disappeared.
Aster appeared several houses away, holding Demitri by the tail like he was a toy. He lifted him up, swinging, and made a motion like he was going to slam him on the ground, despite being in midair.
Another flash and Aster was suddenly just above a rooftop, slamming Demitri hard onto it. Demitri cried out, but before he could flail out of Aster’s hold, the Mewtwo swung him in the opposite direction and disappeared, smashing him into the wall of a separate building. Aster’s laughter filled Owen’s ears with each hit, the disorienting movements leaving Demitri no room to figure out how to block the blows or where the next one would take him.
Owen could only watch in horror. He had copied the Teleport for now, but he had no idea how to keep up with that. Aster had lifetimes of experience with the technique. Owen had just learned it, fleetingly.
“You’re strong and sturdy!” Aster said, lifting Demitri higher. He let go, a Psychic grasp keeping him in place so they stared face-to-face, Demitri upside-down. He was barely conscious, one eye open. “I think you’re the one I’m looking for. I’m gonna take you to Alexander!”
Bad to worse and Owen still had no idea how to counter it. Demitri—he was going to take Demitri away? Teleport, he could Teleport and try to—no, he had no power. Where was Marshadow? Waiting for an opening? There was no time to wait anymore!
A vine wrapped around Owen’s torso and pulled him up. He had been so involved in planning how to take down Aster, or at least free Demitri, that he didn’t realize Mispy and Gahi had already planned something. What were they—
That wasn’t Mispy or Gahi.
The petals that had once been around Mispy’s neck had migrated to the fusion’s back as wings, lined and reinforced by vines. Several more trailed behind him, ready to block or jab at anything that came their way. The two antennae that Mispy used to have were now merged with Gahi’s, which turned a yellower color, longer and thinner.
While the base body was still a Flygon, the legs and arms were longer and thicker—just more of Mispy’s base form. Owen wasn’t sure how they were going to run in a form like—
Owen lost his breath when the fusion jumped into the air, massive acceleration pinning him into the vine that had wrapped around his torso. Then came a rapid deceleration, his balled up left ‘arm’ smashing into Aster’s chest in less than a second’s time to move. Owen wasn’t even sure if they’d Teleported or if that was just Gahi at full speed.
Aster was equally surprised, his grip on Demitri loosening enough in that split-second for the fusion to grab Demitri and disappear.
“Ah!” Zena flinched.
They were in the alleyway where she had been hiding.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t help,” Zena said quickly. “I can’t find an—"
“Guard him,” the fusion said, shoving Demitri into Zena’s hold.
Were they about to hand Owen off? No, he couldn’t let that happen. He still needed to help, and being thrown around like this was giving him an idea. “Mispy, Gahi, we—”
“Gami.”
“Whatever, just, keep me with you! I can help!”
“I know.”
And then they disappeared, and then Aster was right in front of them again.
“Oh!” Aster tilted his head. “You look different.”
It was like Gami knew their body innately. Tendrils rose from over his shoulders and split open, revealing black mouths that parted four ways. A bright light formed in the back of each one’s throat, and then blasted where Aster had once been with a scattered Solar Beam—Gami had charged it so fast! But Aster had already disappeared. Gami’s antennae twitched, and both Gami and Owen disappeared, reappearing several feet away, right behind Aster. Gami went for a swift jab, but Aster disappeared again, and Owen started to get dizzy with how often they tried to out-Teleport each other.
At some point, they’d both landed a strike and blasted each other away. Aster stopped earlier and Gami could only hold a vine forward on reflex. Owen’s vine, and now he was the only thing between a ramming attack from Aster and the prone fusion.
His trained reflexes kicked in and he crossed his arms, staring Aster down. A golden shield blocked Aster’s advance with an ethereal clang. The Flygon-Meganium then swung forward, parrying Aster and staggering him back.
Finally, something connected: another Solar Beam sent Aster flying back, and then a shadowy blob struck Aster from below. The Mewtwo’s eyes bulged—a sign of actual pain?—and he reappeared a few streets down, rubbing at his plexus.
Gami appeared below Marshadow, letting him land on his head. “Took you long enough.”
“Feh, waitin’ fer an opportunity,” Marshadow replied.
Gami’s antennae twitched and she glanced to the northeast. Owen tried to follow his gaze, but it wasn’t very easy with all the vines in the way. Through the dreary crimson light, something red flew toward them from the town outskirts. Owen recognized that general shape from books, but he couldn’t recall the name. But it was certainly a Legend.
“Latias?” Marshadow said.
Sounded familiar. “Is she here to help?” Owen asked.
“Probably, but she ain’t s’posed ter be here,” Marshadow said. “No time!” He pointed left, but Gami already held Owen up. He cast another Protect just in time to parry another of Aster’s strikes. Marshadow tried to follow up, but Aster offset his own position a few feet up. Then came a Psychic blast that rumbled Owen’s chest and sent Marshadow into the streets, upending the tiles and leaving a crater upon impact.
“Aster knows it’s one of us,” Owen said. “We can’t beat him. We have to run!”
“But how?” Gami said. “We can’t just leave everyone behind!”
“They’ll chase us,” Owen said. “Aster wants me!”
Far ahead of them, Latias and Aster were in a Psychic power struggle. Latias didn’t seem that strong, and she moved like she wasn’t used to her own Psychic attacks. Owen didn’t have time to think about why. For all he knew, she had been flying for days.
“I can’t outrun Aster like this,” Gami said. “I’ve got speed but I’m too heavy—I don’t have the stamina to…”
Owen refused to let this hope of escape slip him by. They had Gahi in there! Psychic Gahi! There had to be a way to power that up and make up for the lost weight.
Power…
“Demitri,” Owen said. “Let’s get Demitri! T-triple fusion!”
Gami gasped.
“Either that or fight Aster.”
“But what if we…”
Owen hesitated for only a second, but then he twisted himself around to face Gami, staring him in the eyes. He saw their fear—he knew what that was like. He knew that fear of losing himself. But he also knew how to combat it.
“You’ll make it,” he said. “Just think about all we went through. Now and way back. Because we’re Team Alloy, right?”
Gami stared, then smiled wryly. There was a snide comment in his throat, but he never said it. Instead, they were suddenly on the ground in a flash, startling Zena again.
“Will you please give advance warning when you Teleport?” Zena begged.
“I don’t think you can warn for that,” Trina remarked.
“What’s happening?” Demitri asked, delirious. He was covered in crushed scales.
“Hi.” Gami tossed Owen to Zena, who caught him in her ribbons. “Demitri. Fusion time.”
“Just a short nap…”
“Too long.”
The vines wrapped around Demitri and pulled him under, but Zena was more focused on Owen, whispering, “What’s happening up there?”
Aster cried out, dull thuds popping their ears. A nearby building’s wall cracked from the shock.
Owen scaled Zena’s neck and used her horn as a pillar to hold while looking up. From where they were standing, they couldn’t see anything. It sounded like three people were fighting, and Aster and Marshadow were the ones in melee.
“Latias is here,” Owen told Zena. “She’s helping fight Aster, so I think we should ask her what’s going on when we can, but we need to run.”
“But what’s our end plan?” Zena said. “How can we outpace them?”
Owen gestured to the fused Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi, trying to shake off the nerves. He had faith in them. If he showed weakness now, it might make them panic, and their mental state would collapse. This was the closest they’d ever come to the Alloy, under a time of stress, in the middle of a fight between three Legends. There was far too much that could go wrong for him to lose his nerve now.
“Guys?” Owen called. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”
“Shh.”
Owen flinched. New voice. Gahi and Mispy together was already strange—his voice had been like sandy winds, or a grassy beach. But Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi together all at once had a deeper undertone to it. It had Mispy’s soft whisper with Gahi’s sharp cut, but Demitri’s gentle depth.
Owen searched for the parts he could recognize. Gahi’s eyes and general head shape was there, but his scales had toughened and yellowed to match Demitri’s hard armor. The Flygon’s swiftness remained in the generally lean build for the upper half, but it thickened and transitioned into a Meganium’s, green vines along his lower half. Jutting out from the rear was a tail that had a Flygon’s length but a Haxorus’ colors, with three pairs of blades flexing at the tip like fans. His arms seemed a little longer and thicker, and Owen feared that he’d be snapped into a thousand tiny pieces by a single punch. A punch that, he was sure, would smash through even his Protect…
And he’d been silent for a while. Owen dared not speak. Trina and Zena had the same idea.
The triple fusion slowly breathed in, then slowly breathed out, even amid the clashing above. Aster had no idea where they were.
“Thank you,” the fusion finally said. “I’m Migami.”
“Not surprised,” Trina said with a mixture of disappointment and relief. “Never had a talent for creativity…”
“Hey,” Owen growled.
“I wasn’t referring to you,” Trina replied.
“I know.”
“Shh.” Migami held up an arm. “No arguing.”
“Right, sorry.” Owen nodded.
“We’re running?” Migami asked.
“We need to. It’ll draw Aster away. So we—”
“Nah.”
“Uh—”
“Fight first.”
Owen held his arms up. “Okay, hang on—”
“Convince him we’re strong.”
Owen’s fingers flexed in the air, and then he looked down at Zena, who tried looking up.
“They have a point,” Trina commented.
Migami smirked at Owen.
Oh, no, Gahi’s attitude was still there.
Owen had to be the voice of reason. “Only enough to guarantee he goes away from town.”
“Why?”
This was bad. There was a manic grin on their face. They were losing themselves.
“Guys, breathe. Calm. Remember, we need to protect people. No fighting. No fighting.”
Migami grinned a little wider, stretching his wings. “Fine,” he said. “Zena, Trina, go hide. We’ll be fine on our own.”
“What? But what if Aster catches up?” Zena asked.
“Catch up? Pfft.” Migami grabbed Owen by the scruff of his neck and used a vine for extra security. The fusion’s wings seemed to expand with petals, reinforced by vines to catch even more updraft. “I’m gonna drive him away.”
“Just hide,” Owen said, defeated, to Zena.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Trina lectured, pointing a tiny hand their way.
“I won’t, I won’t,” Migami lied.
Zena left with Trina, and once they did, Owen turned incredulously to Migami, ready to lecture him. Gahi’s side was far too strong, and—
“Tell me when to run,” Migami said. “I’m gonna be too involved. I’ll listen.”
Migami looked skyward, waiting for the right opportunity, and Owen sputtered. “What? What was all that bravado, then?”
“Bravado.”
“Oh.”
Just then, Marshadow shot across the sky, and Migami caught him like a ball. Owen didn’t even remember going to the sky. Was that a Teleport or did he just move really quickly? He would have felt the force involved in moving, right? Or was this part of his power?
“What the—” Marshadow tried to fight back, but Migami tossed him in the air.
“Oi, oi!”
“It’s just us,” Migami said, and then held Owen up. “Help us fight As—”
Migami thrust Owen forward and he reflexively formed another Protect, narrowly parrying another barrage from Aster. Aster disappeared behind Migami, but Migami answered with a cutting tail whip. With a flick of his tail, the three twin blades went spinning off and in midair, converging toward Aster in a wide arc. He disappeared, but a Psychic glow course-corrected the blades toward Aster’s new spot.
“How’d you know you could do that?” Owen formed another Protect, which Migami used to block a flurry of Shadow Balls.
“I guessed.” Migami then beamed Owen at Aster, which was a genuine surprise, but he had complete faith in Migami by now. He readied a ball of fire with his momentum. Aster and Owen locked eyes, and a flash of confusion crossed the Mewtwo’s expression.
He was getting used to Migami’s lightning movements. He didn’t understand—Gahi used to be a lot slower when part of Owen. But perhaps as a triple fusion, they covered their weaknesses?
Migami appeared beside Aster and rammed into him. With a connection, Migami fired a Solar Beam point-blank into Aster’s chest. Aster yelped in surprise, but not before Marshadow slammed into Aster from below with rapid Shadow Punches, sending him sky-high and into the ashen clouds.
“You dropped this,” Latias said, catching Marshadow on her back.
“Oh, sorry,” Migami said. “Thought Marshadow could take the fall.”
“I can,” Marshadow defended, green flames rising. “Still real rude!”
Migami tittered a little, but then looked up. Latias flew around Migami and touched him on the shoulder. “Be careful,” Latias warned. “If you can’t see Aster, he might see you from another place.”
Migami stiffened and Latias drifted away, Marshadow readying for another rapid Shadow Punch.
Then came Aster, this time from the left. Migami took a hit—Psychic powers twisted at the scales along his side and the rest of his body followed, spiraling downward. Owen screamed and held tight, crossing his arms for another Protect out of panic.
“Ghh—” Migami lost focus somehow. He slammed into and then through a building’s reinforced wall. Owen smelled something cooking, a passing scream, and then they were outside the house again.
“S-sorry,” Owen mumbled. “Guys? Are you okay?”
They were in a garden of red void plants, gnarled things that resembled mourning, bipedal creatures. Migami was letting out slow, shaking, deep breaths. Owen searched for a wound but couldn’t find any. Had Migami already healed from it? Then what was getting him all shaken up?
“Is he too strong?” Owen asked.
Latias floated high above, but couldn’t descend in time. She clashed with Aster again, and then Migami grasped Owen by the shoulder.
“That’s not Latias,” Migami said. “I… We need to go.”
“What?”
But then they were in the outskirts of town, and Migami jumped into the air. The wind blinded Owen; by the time he could see again, they were speeding away from Null Village, going south. Far along the horizon was the edge of Nil Plateaus.
“Migami!” Owen shouted. “What about everyone else?!”
“You said they’d chase us, right?!” Migami went faster. “Then let them! But we can’t fight now!”
“Why?! What’s going on?!” This made no sense. Only a little while ago, Migami was saying he’d wait for Owen to say to run. They could have at least waited for Zena and the others to rendezvous somewhere!
They were so far away that he couldn’t see Null Village through the trees. Instead, when Migami sighed in an impossible mixture of relief and dread, they saw Latias flying after them. It was odd, because she’d come from a direction away from Null Village; had Aster knocked her far away?
“What do you mean, that isn’t Latias?” Owen said. “Are you sure we shouldn’t slow down?”
Something black was glowing in the back of the pursuing Dragon’s throat. Seconds later, a Shadowy blast flew toward them, easily dodged by Migami.
“Okay!” Owen squeezed at the vine around him. “Run away time!”
And while Owen wasn’t sure if leaving everyone behind in Null Village was a good idea, they also knew that Aster wanted them, and that some kind of Dark Latias was after them, too. Fighting in Null Village was out of the question. With luck, they could circle back and meet up again.
But right now, Migami was too shaken to fight, and Owen had to find out why.
<><><>
The clash could have gone better. Even as Aster slammed Dark Matter into the ground from yet another Psychic pulse, Dark Matter bided his time and calculated his next strategy.
“Huh?” Aster stopped the onslaught and turned around. “Wait! Where’re they going?!”
Perfect opportunity. He left Marshadow behind and jumped into the air, touching the distracted Mewtwo on the arm. Contact. Finally.
Aster looked at Dark Matter with a confused blink. He lifted his other arm and conjured a Shadow Ball.
What—
It exploded in Dark Matter’s face and Dark Matter lost his grip. He spiraled into the wall of a nearby building, leaving a Latias-shaped imprint in the stone as the rest of the wall cracked and collapsed. The crystals of light embedded within them stung his feathers like solid acid.
Dark Matter stared in disbelief. From his angle, he could barely see the Mewtwo flying after Latias, whom he’d sent to pursue Owen.
And then it hit him. “Alexander,” he hissed, slamming his fist into the wall, which shattered the rest of it.
“Hey,” called an annoyed-looking Sableye from within the broken home. “I hope you’re gonna pay for—”
“Shut.” Dark Matter flicked him on the forehead and he stopped talking. He floated up and levitated higher, scanning the horizon.
He growled lowly. This was less than ideal. But no matter. Owen was effectively his, now. All that was left was a little insurance.
Marshadow, Dark Matter called. Contact Alexander and tell him I’ve come to say hello.