Chapter Text
Dark Matter, taking the form of a Goodra, turned to face Owen just as he cleared the final set of trees. Void Shadows had no chance to catch up to him, and any attempt at stopping Owen was met by a ruthless slash of golden energy. His body was glowing unnaturally, and Owen didn’t care why. It was, undoubtedly, because of that stored light.
“So, you’re finally here,” Dark Matter growled. “Have you come to give up?”
A dark atmosphere filled the air, filling Owen’s nostrils. The light countered it; nothing weighed Owen down. Wordlessly, he continued to run, closing the gap. They were twenty feet apart.
“You shouldn’t bother,” Dark Matter stated. Ten feet. “Surrender, and I’ll—”
Owen lunged, roaring, and Dark Matter sidestepped him, far too fast for a Goodra’s form. He fired a beam of darkness that Owen reflected with only a flick of his wrist, perfectly parrying the blast into Dark Matter’s face. It only proved to annoy him, but the distortion of light obscured the demon’s vision. Owen seized that opportunity to lunge again, but Dark Matter had predicted it. He hopped away, leaving behind a pulsating orb of darkness that burst in Owen’s face.
Holding his breath, Owen powered through, coating his body in a thin shield. Some of his scales tore off of him from the blast, but the rest of his body was intact. He pressed on, Necrozma’s light fueling his Protects for far longer than they should have persisted.
Every claw slash that Owen attempted was dodged by Dark Matter’s simple maneuvers. He knew each one was coming, but Owen was keeping up the pressure while devising a good way to get him despite the advantage. He already had one plan ready, and just needed time.
When it was clear that they had fallen into a rhythm, neither side tiring, Owen knew persisting was futile. He slowed his pace and shouted, “Why? Why are you doing any of this?! What’s the point, when the whole reason I helped you before… was to fix things! Not make them worse!”
“Your attempt clearly backfired. Everyone’s has. There is no point in trying to help me.” Dark Matter weaved to the left, his body hardening. While the body type was similar, something shifted as he fought Owen. Scales; shorter, harder horns; and something growing from his back…
“We had every reason to help you,” Owen said. “It’s because if we didn’t… then the world would just be destroyed, wouldn’t it?”
“You don’t remember it all, do you?” Dark Matter asked, swinging his lengthening tail at Owen, who hopped over it before landing his first, grazing punch. Dark Matter’s scales were dry and cold.
Owen caught his breath, but kept on his guard. Dark Matter wasn’t attacking, but Owen had a feeling it was because he hadn’t left an opening. “I’m here. Isn’t that what you wanted? Withdraw everyone.”
“You haven’t surrendered.”
Owen was going to say, maybe he would if he withdrew. But once again he couldn’t bring himself to say it. A fire in him refused to allow it. Pride? This felt like more than pride.
Dark Matter’s body shifted again, becoming a little taller. Wings emerged from his back as his slimy body hardened to a proper, scaly hide. Orange scales dotted his sides before becoming the dominant color, as did an off-white front. A black flame emerged from his tail.
“You think that’s going to scare me?” Owen said. “Mimicking my species?”
“You said it was cute, once,” Dark Matter said in a mocking tone. “How things change. How some things don’t change at all.”
Owen held a breath, steadying it. Dark Matter shifted his weight, but Owen quickly refocused, and Dark Matter relaxed again. He was still looking for an opening. He couldn’t let his focus down for an instant.
“If you surrender, I will battle against Alexander. He could be slaughtering your allies as we speak. They won’t be able to defend against his corrupting touch.”
“They’ll be fine against that,” Owen said. “If it’s anything like yours… I’ve protected them. I put some blessings on everything they had.”
“Then all that has to be done is separate them from their trinkets. How many already have? How many already died?”
Owen sidestepped left in a steady spiral. Dark Matter followed the counterclockwise path. Maybe a better angle, a misstep, was what they needed. This would be a gamble, but he had to start moving again.
“If you withdraw everyone, we can start over,” Owen said. “I’ll… vouch for you. We can take Alexander down together. And then we can try again. From the start. My offer… still stands. The Hands of Creation can fix what happened when you were created… If we just talk, they’ll understand. We don’t have to destroy everything to do it!”
“Give me one reason why I should believe you,” Dark Matter said with a growl behind his words. “Anam’s offer. Your own that you can’t even remember clearly. Both times failed. I have no reason to think this will work out any differently. If you want to stop me… it will have to be by force.”
Owen stopped. Dark Matter did the same. A cold, dry wind carried the dust of the Voidlands. No leaves, no ash, only dust from countless dried corpses since Kilo’s creation.
“You won’t have it any other way?” Owen said.
“Surrender, and I will achieve your goal myself.”
They both knew that wasn’t an option. Owen exhaled through his nostrils, a steady, light-warping stream of heat distorting the air in front of him.
“Fine.”
Owen brought his hands forward, collecting a small, golden glow of light, and Dark Matter narrowed his eyes.
“Really?” he repeated. “That was all of the energy you had stored? That won’t do anything.”
A glimmer shined beyond the forest, precisely behind Dark Matter. It got brighter within split-seconds, and by the time Dark Matter could look behind him, it was too late.
The Radiant Tree of Life’s final beam tore through the forest, avoiding most of the trees, deliberately avoiding the ground, and fired directly at Owen. Thanks to their walk, though, Dark Matter was caught in the crossfire. Owen widened his eyes and planted his feet, screaming when that overwhelming power spiraled toward him. The golden light around his claws formed an inverted dome, collecting the light and channeling it through his arms and into his chest. It felt like he was going to explode.
Owen wasn’t the only one screaming. A roar of pain cut through the deafening blast as Dark Matter’s body was torn apart; Owen could barely see, so he relied instead on his budding Perceive to get a vague idea of what Dark Matter was doing. Even when the light faded and all had become quiet again, Owen was blind.
But Dark Matter was slouched over, clutching at one of the many wounds that riddled his body. Dark haze poured from every cut.
“You said… you were out of power… You would use it all… against the Titans!”
Owen lowered his shaking arms. His body was a glimmering gold between the ridges of his red scales. He had more than enough power to do what he had to.
“I lied.”
While wounded, Dark Matter still had his new wings. He stretched them, crouching down, and leapt into the air.
Owen mirrored the motion, channeling that same Radiant power. It was the same as Mysticism, after all, but more. The Psychic element of Necrozma, those wings of light, the levitation, and the glow. He would draw from Necrozma’s power once more.
False wings of light sprouted from Owen’s back, anchoring themselves there. He leapt into the air and flew toward Dark Matter at twice the speed, past him, weaving around a blast of darkness that fizzled against the irradiated environment, and reappeared in front of the shadowy Charizard.
“You aren’t getting away,” Owen said lowly.
Dark Matter answered with a gout of black flames. Owen spat a golden Flame Burst in reply, neutralizing it. Then, from his hands, he fired a concussive beam that sent Dark Matter spiraling back to the ground.
The true battle had begun.
<><><>
Nate wasn’t completely sure how everyone else was doing, only that the cute denizens of Kilo Village—and, no, all of Kilo—were counting on him to keep his part of the world safe. To keep the heart of the world safe!
A strange, chimeric Pokémon had approached him only a few kilos ago, offering the life force of countless Pokémon within him. Now, that chimera—Lavender, he called himself—was nestled between several of his eyes, standing gingerly. For someone so strong, he was so gentle! If only he could pet him safely, or if he had the time to try.
No, no, he had to focus. He had gathered all of his Dark spirits again, getting the news from them on how Kilo Village was doing, and also took in all the spirits that Lavender had offered. They were strange spirits, twisted by new properties that felt artificial. Still, a soul was a soul, and they were all so excitable and friendly! They would do well in his realm.
Now, on the darkened horizon, there was Lugia and the shadowy storm behind her. Above all else, he had to protect Kilo Village. They were helpless against her, and he was the only superpower available to truly battle against her. Most of the others had left again for Hot Spot to fight that dark source. Lugia was just a pawn… but Nate sensed something else deeper inside. Was that a piece of that very darkness?
Yes… It was. It was a flame. An unnatural, black, cold flame that absorbed the light and heat around it. That… was what controlled Lugia. If he could blast that out of her…
But how?
“Excuse me, Mister Dark Guardian?”
Several of Nate’s eyes crossed to focus on Lavender, between two of the five finger-like extensions of his front.
“I don’t really know what I can do extra, but I’ll try to fight! I need to protect Auntie Rim, too!”
Right, that Cherrim. Her aura was incredibly weak, but stable. Still, any attack from this darkness could kill her outright. Perhaps worse. They couldn’t afford that. And the strange Houndoom… He was not strong enough for this fight, but something about his and Lavender’s aura was unique. Like those other artificial Pokémon in Quartz HQ. An aura that could slice through other auras. Those spirits provided by Lavender had similar properties. Healing from those injuries was harder; it cut through divine barriers as well and down to the very aura.
That Alakazam was smart to provide him with that power.
The immortal Lugia was finally close enough to attack, just as the sun’s light was blotted out by the incoming clouds.
Stay on me for now, Nate told Lavender.
The chimera nodded happily, crouching. “I’ll jump once I’m needed and I’ll do my very best!”
Protect the town, too.
“Mhm!”
The details of Lugia’s body were starting to get clearer. That was the time to strike.
All but five of Nate’s countless eyes closed. Only the eyes at the very tips of those tendrils on his face remained open, and they were focused on Lugia with an intense glare.
Vague recollections of a fragmented past surfaced. Nate recalled a similar sight, long ago, him curled around a great tree as a looming shadow consumed the rest of the land. He remembered crying out for help… of Xerneas falling into that darkness, yes! He remembered Xerneas! And then, a great light shooting toward him…
And then…
What happened after that?
Lugia’s cry pushed the memories away. The present was more important! And his energy was fully charged. He locked onto Lugia, understanding her movements… She would not be able to sweep away from this one. Though, it didn’t look like she was trying.
Protect the town! Nate begged. Get everyone to shelter! Now! I’ve taken as much power as I can!
“Okay!” Lavender dismounted, shaking off the fatigue. Nate could feel how tired Lavender was beyond his bright smile.
The winds twisted. A Shadow Aeroblast that cut everything in its path, scarring the land far below just from proximity, surged toward Nate. And the Dark Guardian countered with his own blast. Five beams of light concentrated into the palm of his face, one from each tendril. He braced against the mountain, hoping it wouldn’t crack under the pressure, and fired. Pokémon-sized boulders scattered in all directions; a shockwave warped the light and left a wide, tangential fissure at the circular mountain’s base. It sliced through the Shadow Blast, dissolving it, and Lugia shut her mouth to swerve out of the way. Too slow.
She cried again, a second shockwave leaving a crater a quarter the size of Kilo Village in the fields east of the mountain. The field crackled with a dark power, flecked with white and gold energy otherwise… but Lugia was still flying. She roared weakly and pressed on.
How…? That was a direct hit!
But she wasn’t healing. He felt that lingering, painful energy clinging to her. Lugia couldn’t heal! Not from those strikes!
But… that was everything. Nate had spent so much time gathering and focusing that he couldn’t do that again. He could only fend her off from Kilo Village, now, and hope his attack slowed her enough that the citizens could find safety.
This strange, satisfied feeling… It had been nagging at him. But that moment, expending all of his power… He felt it had been his purpose to do that. A long-dormant feeling bubbled up—duty. It was his duty to protect Kilo.
Another memory flashed in his mind of a great dragon of light. For some reason, Nate felt a sense of anger and horror all at once at this dragon of light falling into a pool of darkness. And then, a gold fragment—a spirit, or part of one—jettisoning away from the dragon of light… piercing through Nate… and then going deeper into Kilo.
Back to his senses, Lugia was too close for comfort. He prepared a weaker blast of energy, his many spirits offering to help with what little energy they had left. But no, he would let them rest; they had done their part.
The world was falling apart, and yet the people within continued to press onward. Their cries to survive, their will to continue, flowed through him. He felt it from all who fought in Kilo. He was their voice… That was how Nate felt, deep within him. He did not know why; it only felt correct. He didn’t mind the details for now; perhaps one day soon it would reveal itself to him, currently sealed behind some divine ward.
But for the first time in centuries, he’d found his purpose. With renewed vigor, the Dark Guardian propelled toward Lugia, two beams of darkness clashing between them.
<><><>
At the rate things were going, the war would be lost.
Nevren stood atop Lygo’s back, staring into the portal, never properly entering it. He would—casting information security to the wind—tell Lygo to count to 90 seconds before taking a risky approach again, saying that he needed just that much time to recharge his Psychic energy. Not entirely true, but technically relevant.
But every glimpse into the Voidlands painted a darker and darker picture. The Titans were almost at the central tree, and Nevren wasn’t sure what would happen afterward, only that there was only so much land for the Null Village residents to take shelter in if the worst outcome became a reality…
Are you adequately charged yet, Arceus? Nevren said.
Nearly, Nevren. You asked that not too long ago… I actually have roughly ten seconds remaining.
Very well.
That would do nicely. He wouldn’t even have to come up with an excuse for his impatience, since Arceus wasn’t going to remember it. It was curious that Owen was able to have a vague recollection of that rewound bit of time, yet everyone else did not. What had interfered with him then? What changed?
He was getting distracted. Five seconds, now, and Lygo was still weaving around shadowy blasts effortlessly while Nevren hung on.
“Lygo, it is time to fall back,” Nevren said.
Do it now, Arceus! The way is open!
This better work…
Even if it didn’t, Nevren could give an alternative strategy next time.
Arceus disappeared from Destiny Tower. The instant he did, the vortex pulsed with power, reacting once again to Arceus leaving his perch, but that was a risk they could afford. Arceus appeared in front of Nevren, staring into the portal while his whole body was alight with power. The wheel around his torso sprouted countless filaments of light, numbering at just over three hundred if Nevren’s guess was correct. Each filament shot a beam of light into the vortex, which Arceus then guided with care to not hit the Tree. Instead, it struck wraiths individually, every filament precisely aimed to deal damage to all nearby foes. Several more struck Titans all over, breaking apart their amalgamated limbs and exposing their Cores. One of them had a Core inside… It looked like a blue body with antlers.
Arceus’ glow was dim, now. “That was my best,” he said. “Dark Matter’s strength… I don’t know what more I can do. I’m… I’m sorry.” He bowed his head in shame.
Nevren pressed his Revisor.
In a blink, Arceus disappeared. Nevren was in a different position, and Lygo was weaving past shadowy beams that sizzled in the air.
Ngh—Nevren! My gathered power… I lost it!
Dark Matter tried to nullify it. I do not think he can do it again. Gather more power! Are you fatigued?
No, I’m fine. I’ll push harder.
Very good. I will tell you when.
A pleased smile crossed Nevren’s face. All according to plan. He tapped Lygo and directed him forward, not caring much for whatever grumbling protests Lygo made, because he wasn’t going to remember it anyway.
The repeated ninety seconds were practically the same, but Lygo had an even easier time dodging the incoming blasts. They were slightly thinner. Nevren also felt less nauseous from less turbulent flight patterns.
“Is it just me,” Lygo said, “or are they getting weaker?”
“They certainly are,” Nevren hummed, counting the seconds, glancing at his gray Revisor for that cyan flicker to return. Closer, closer…
Do it now, Arceus! The way is open! Nevren repeated, his mind quickly falling into a routine. He would be patient. Their thinning numbers would mean this Revisor-Judgement cycle was their trump card. One they hadn’t even discovered until the eleventh hour; this frustrated Nevren.
Even as Arceus blasted the insides of the Voidlands with his second volley, nearly as strong as the first, Nevren ruminated over the fact that this strategy had only been by a fluke of discovery. No careful planning, no coordinated front. He’d happened upon it. Yes, he was a genius for devising the strategy so readily, but he should have discovered it earlier. He could have done so much more! He could have singlehandedly commanded everyone to fix the problem trivially.
“What?” Arceus said, blinking. “Is that…”
Nevren was about to press the Revisor, but Arceus’ puzzlement overrode his caution. He became curious. Tapping Lygo, he gestured forward.
Arceus’ gaze was focused on a strange wraith in the sky, but it indeed gave off a curiously… divine aura.
“Is that my power?” Arceus sounded insulted.
The wraith had four legs and a dark body, but the shape was unmistakable. That rigid structure around its abdomen… That was just like the wheel around Arceus.
Oh no. Arceus was floating toward the portal. If he did that, he wouldn’t be able to recharge effectively. Just then, the badge turned cyan. Press, press!
Everything reset.
Ngh—Nevren! My gathered power… I lost it!
Nevren exhaled in relief. Good. Crisis averted. Next time, he would make it so Arceus wouldn’t see inside for too long…
Dark Matter tried to nullify it. I do not think he can do it again. Gather more power! Are you fatigued?
No, I’m fine. I’ll push harder.
Very good. I will tell you when.
<><><>
Angelo had done more running the past few days than he’d possibly done for several years combined.
Everything burned. His legs, his lungs, his throat, his eyes. How was he running for so long? How many times had he conjured Teleport gateways to take himself and his team out of the fray? Kilo Village was far behind them.
Somehow feeling even larger than Kilo Village, though, was that leviathan battling against Lugia above it. He’d sent a massive blast Lugia’s way and she still hadn’t gone down! What more could it possibly take to defeat a Legend?
Things were so frantic that it hadn’t registered to Angelo until just then that, yes, Lugia did exist, and she was trying to kill everything. What in the world?!
With him were Phol, Brandon, Spice, and Leo, creating a team of five. A nonstandard size when it came to Heart regulations, but was the Thousand Hearts even a defined organization anymore? Was anything organized? Everyone was running about managing what they could to defend against a demonic foe.
“Angelo!” Phol called.
“Coming!” Angelo panted, but the Incineroar had already turned back to pick him up in a sweeping motion, carrying him like he was a giant squash. “Th-thank you,” Angelo said.
“Rest while you can. How much energy do you need for a Teleport?”
“I’m, I’m a bit out of energy, really.”
Phol nodded. “Spice! Get an Elixir!”
“I don’t have too many of these,” Spice warned as the team slowed down to coordinate. “Let’s try to ration them.” She passed the bottle delicately to Angelo, who took small sips at first, wincing at the bitter taste.
“Strong taste,” Angelo complained.
“Eat the bottle with it,” Spice explained. “Have you never had Heart equipment before?”
“Sorry, I don’t usually eat my cups,” Angelo said with an irritated frown. The bottle was quite small, so he ate it like an ice cream cone, which seemed to annoy the ever-impatient Salazzle wraith. “Why is this… sweet?”
“To make it more tolerable,” theorized Spice, glancing back. The green gem in her chest flickered, as did her eyes, which widened in surprise. “We need to hurry.”
Phol turned back as well, and Angelo followed their gaze. Lugia had blasted Nate clear into the crater—Angelo’s heart leapt, wondering how many buildings had been toppled from that single maneuver—and was advancing their way. Tanneth’s Poké Ball wobbled in Angelo’s bag; she must have sensed her getting closer.
Angelo stuffed the small bottle in his mouth and chomped, a vile mixture of bitterness and sweet, crunchy wax filling his senses, both smell and taste. He whined and tried to down it quickly. The wax shards were mercifully flexible enough not to cut his throat on the way down.
“You Hearts are insane, tolerating that,” he mumbled.
“You don’t have time to have a cup of tea in the middle of battle,” Phol said flatly, setting Angelo down.
The Smeargle carved another Teleport and gestured for them all to follow.
“Okay, so, if we keep up that pace, how far’s this gonna take us?” Brandon asked, hauling a bag over his shoulder that clacked with the sound of six of those strange Poké Balls.
Angelo looked behind him. Lugia was still giving chase, but now Nate was following after, firing downward. It seemed like a conscious effort so he didn’t accidentally strike them, but it left huge, five-circle craters every time he missed, each one shaking the earth. Angelo had lost his footing a few times.
Everything surrounding them was open wilderness. The mutants hadn’t really migrated very far to the east from Kilo Village, and by now they must have all been dispatched if they had.
“Um. I think she’s getting closer at this rate,” Angelo said. “I—I can’t really Teleport faster, though!”
“Well, I guess I’ll have to use some of my energy next,” Brandon said. “How good are you guys with flying?”
Leo whimpered. “I’m not the best at that,” he said, but his mind seemed preoccupied. “N-Nate would protect everyone in the Kilo Village, right? I don’t think Lugia got a good shot in…”
Angelo had seen Lugia get several, but didn’t have the heart to say that out loud. Maybe people got lucky.
“Okay, I’m all set,” Brandon said. The metallic Machoke had planted his feet in the ground, staring at a boulder along the dirt path. “Get ready, boys and girls! I’m gonna pull a sheet out of this hill!”
“You’re what—”
Brandon shoved his fingers into the stone, making a horrible grinding noise. A wave of energy flowed from his chest to his shoulders and then his arms, pulsing through the rock. It glowed suddenly, and then collapsed into itself, along with several parts of the surrounding terrain. At the same time, it seemed like part of Brandon’s arms had become liquid, flowing into the rock, and when he pulled, his arms seemed far larger than they should have.
These arms and whatever he’d taken from the rocks coalesced into a blob of liquid metal, rapidly hardening into shining steel. It flattened out, forming curves at the edges, and Brandon set it down, hopping inside with a loud clang.
“In we go!” Brandon said. “I even gave you railings this time so you don’t fall.”
Phol and Spice entered with confused but unflinching expressions; Leo was slower. Angelo was the last of them.
“Can you sketch out wide Teleports?” Brandon asked as he pulled Angelo into the bowl-like platform.
“It’ll take energy, but… I should.”
“Good. Get that ready.”
This was going to be nauseating, wasn’t it?
Brandon led the way once the platform was set, advising everyone to find someone to hang onto. Phol’s grip was strong, and Angelo was able to keep a strong hold around both Leo and Spice. The latter felt cold and a little tingly. Maybe it was her ominous aura.
Speaking of ominous auras, Angelo didn’t even have to look back to feel Lugia getting closer, even as their new platform accelerated to its full speed, the ground a blur below them. Storm clouds were darkening above them and the occasional rumble of earth, audible even from the air, reminded them that two leviathans were only moments behind them.
“Got any good escape ideas?” Brandon asked Angelo.
“Teleport’s my best,” Angelo said. “A-and even then, she can outpace me…”
“Maybe not with this bad boy.” He tapped the front of the metal, flying bowl, and it occurred to Angelo just then how absurd this was.
“Do you regularly go riding on floating disks of your own creation?” Angelo asked.
“Yeah, when I’m bored. Which is a lot, back then, when I’m not just being dormant out in the factory.”
“Factory…” Angelo glanced at his bag. “The place that made these?” He raised the Poké Ball that contained Tanneth, which was still trembling with fear.
“Yeah. Still not totally sure why Boss Man wants it preserved, but maybe it can help us… down the line.”
Lugia roared again, rumbling Angelo’s chest. It was getting to the point where every roar, every blast of darkness that seemed to suck the light out of the air, made it impossible for Angelo to breathe. And this was a long roar, dizzying Angelo.
And then something splashed on his shoulder.
“H-huh?”
It was a dark substance, like water, but he couldn’t see through it. Purplish black. It… stung. He tried to brush it off, but once he managed that, another few drops struck his other shoulder, and then his back.
Brandon visibly winced, closing one eye. “That’s… that’s a bad sort of rain,” Brandon grunted.
Spice looked up, largely unaffected, while Leo shuddered.
“I recognize this feeling,” Leo said. “That storm’s rainwater is… corrupted.”
“Forget corrupted,” Brandon said, focusing on the bowl. “It’s corrosive.”
Angelo checked Brandon’s shoulder. To his horror, the metal on his back and shoulders looked deformed, bubbling and melting in some tiny parts where the water touched.
“Gods—” Angelo glanced at Phol, who looked particularly unwell. “Um—um—” Angelo hastily drew in the air the shape of a sun. It became a solid circle, which he hurled skyward, tethering it by a string of paint that, too, became alight. Like a balloon, this circle glowed and radiated a great warmth, cleaving the clouds immediately above them.
“Thanks.” Brandon sighed, and it just occurred to Angelo then that Leo, Spice, and Phol could all appreciate the Sunny Day.
But the clouds were squeezing that light shut. Lugia’s aura was stronger. It was only a moment’s respite. “Let’s hurry,” Angelo said. “Faster!”
Below them, the rocky terrain gave way to open fields. The dirt path was gone; they were in true wilderness, now, with a forest to their right and plains to the left.
“We’re gonna hide,” Brandon said. “We gotta get outta here. Lugia’s just gonna catch us if we stay in the open, and even at max speed, I’m gonna get outpaced eventually. I only have so much energy under that… that rain. Got worse since last time…”
“You’ve encountered this rain before?” Angelo asked. “What is it?”
“No idea. Did a real number on Rhys before I rescued him. But last time, I fought it off. This time, it’s… denser.”
“It felt like I’d been under a waterfall after just a few drops,” Phol described, finally returning to his senses.
“It wasn’t that bad for me,” Leo said, “but… I’d certainly prefer to avoid it.”
Eyes turned to Spice, who sighed.
“Yeah, yeah, I didn’t mind it at all. I liked it. Can we skip the concerned looks this time?”
Angelo glanced away quickly, catching a glimpse of how terrifyingly close Lugia was, now. He could probably strike her with his farthest-reaching attacks by now, maybe a very precise Hyper Beam from across a large field.
Which meant she could do the same to them. And with more power, too.
“What’s the nearest Dungeon?” Brandon asked flatly.
“Fae Fae Forest to the north.”
“That pastel-lookin’ forest?” Brandon asked, gesturing to their right. “…Yeah. Yeah, we can make that.”
Another roar took Angelo’s breath away and the sunlight above them disappeared.
“Teleport, Angelo!” Brandon shouted.
Angelo sketched a wide circle and willed it in front of them. When they passed through, they escaped just out of the storm’s perimeter. It wouldn’t last.
“Fae Fae it is,” Brandon said. “Anything we gotta worry about?”
“There used to be stories of strange mushrooms attacking travelers… but we know that was just Willow, now,” Leo explained. “It should be safer, aside from the wraiths…”
“Oh, aside from the wraiths,” Angelo grumbled.
“More sun!” Brandon commanded.
“Ah, s-sorry!”
Angelo tried the same cycle, feeling the fatigue already. Something about the rain was making it a lot harder for Angelo to maintain that Sunny Day aura against it, constantly reestablishing its warmth against the oppressive darkness.
When the circle flickered at last, he switched to Teleporting instead.
“We gotta gain enough ground where we enter long after she does,” Brandon said.
“Right. That way, maybe the distortion will pick us up and put us in a different spot than her…”
“Last thing we need is her following us successfully in the Dungeon, too,” Phol said.
“All right. If you guys can maybe attack back?!” Brandon leaned forward. “I’m gonna put my hundred percent into this. Final push!”
But he wasn’t the only one. As if sensing their desperation, Lugia let out a roar louder and longer than before—Nate was so far behind it didn’t even matter anymore—and fired a beam at the closest range yet. It obscured where Lugia was until Brandon swerved out of the way, but part of it nicked their ride. It was only due to Spice bringing up a deflecting, dark Protect that they hadn’t been spun through the skies.
She cursed. “My arms are numb,” she muttered.
“Your form is off. You shouldn’t dedicate a body part like that. The recoil strikes your body’s aura,” Phol said.
“What are you, some kind of tutor?” Spice growled.
“Sorry. You’re clearly just inexperienced with Protect. Take the advice.”
“Fine. What should I do?”
“A compact stance. Arms crossed, crouched down, like you’re bracing. Don’t lock any joints.”
Lugia was readying another. Phol stepped behind the team and demonstrated, crouching down, holding his arms out. Then, he crossed them, forming a golden shield. Then, he reached his arms out and expanded the shield just in time to block the next blast. But unlike Spice’s, this golden barrier was eaten away like paper and Phol shouted in pain. The recoil looked like black electricity that ripped through his arms. Blood exploded out from each one and he collapsed, unable to move them at all.
“Phol!” Angelo cried.
“Another one’s coming!” Leo shouted, and then the rain began to fall.
“On it!” Spice snarled.
The blast went wide after bouncing off of Spice’s barrier, carving a fissure of darkness through a portion of the forest ahead. Brandon’s platform lurched and plummeted ten feet, putting Angelo in a screaming freefall. By the time they all landed, Brandon said, “Sorry, I—ugh, just that thing’s aura gets to me…”
“It’s strong against you Guardians, isn’t it?” Phol said. “And me… Why does it hurt me so much?” He flexed his arms to summon another barrier, but he winced and it fizzled instantly.
“Here comes another!” Angelo cried.
“I can’t make another barrier,” Spice said, struggling to conjure one. Phol could barely move. Leo didn’t know any proper barrier techniques. And Angelo was out of energy to try the same.
“C’mon, we’re almost there!” Brandon shouted.
But they weren’t going to make it in time. Thinking hastily, Angelo said, “Dive down!”
Brandon did. “What’s your plan?!”
The whole metal plate lurched and Angelo’s feet suddenly felt horribly cold. He looked down and his breath caught in his throat—the whole plate had been eaten away, and the bottoms of his feet were narrowly spared a rotten death. The rest of the bowl was blown through, the whole team hanging on the edge… but it was at least one barrier.
Brandon struggled to maintain their flight, but had to make an emergency landing. He grunted something and said, “Everyone, brace!”
Angelo blacked out for a few seconds before the landing. The next thing he knew, everything about his body hurt, and he was staring blurrily at a two-headed, steel Machoke.
“Angelo, wake up!”
“What? What?”
The two heads merged into one as he was shaken awake.
“Get up already! I can’t carry everyone!”
“We were falling…”
“Yes, and now we’ve fallen, let’s GO! The Dungeon’s right ahead, and—”
A roar cut the air. Lugia was upon them, charging her final blast. There would be no escape. Brandon’s melted shoulders sagged. In Angelo’s bag, Tanneth trembled within her capsule.
And then… she stopped. Lugia’s whole body flashed with gold sparks and she screeched, tumbling into the ground with a mighty tremor. She struggled to her feet, but another spark left her shrieking again, but this one didn’t make her flinch as much.
Finally, back to his senses, Angelo found everyone else was also on their feet, even Phol. Their platform lay in ruins on a downward hill. “What happened to her?”
Distantly, ethereal shockwaves to the east—north of Kilo Village—boomed like thunder.
“Don’t know, don’t care,” Brandon said. “Let’s go. Whatever miracle just happened, it bought us time. Now, NOW!”
Angelo didn’t have to be warned again. The team fled into the relative safety of Fae Fae Forest, leaving, for now, the corrupted Legend behind.
<><><>
The winged Charmeleon weaved between spires of darkness and surges of black flames. The very landscape was trying to bring him down, but he was too fast. Even with just one horn, even as a mere Charmeleon, this temporary power he’d gathered from the Tree and whatever else was empowering him put his Perceive into overdrive. He could see everything; he could handle everything. He knew where Dark Matter was fleeing, where every attack was coming, and precisely where to go to avoid it all and strike where he had to.
Dark Matter was struggling. The beam had hit him when he’d least expected, and his attempts at evasion were stopped by blasts of light from Owen. He didn’t even have the energy to fly away anymore. He half-expected backup to arrive to make the challenge even greater, but when Owen glanced toward South Null Village, he saw divine spears raining down upon Titans and Void Shadows from the Hot Spot portal. Owen didn’t know how Arceus was gathering the energy to put out such massive blasts so rapidly, but by the fourth volley, the numbers had thinned to less than a third.
It was over. Dark Matter had lost. Now, all Owen had to do was deliver the final blow.
The final blow…
The dark Charizard dived down, feinting a blast before swerving away and down.
Owen grunted and sped after him, ducking to graze past two giant trees that tried to collapse around him. Then, he rolled left and perfectly avoided an upward spire of Voidland stone. He’d closed half the distance between himself and Dark Matter.
The demon glanced back and blasted light-eating flames toward Owen next; he countered with a beam of gold fire and held his fist forward for the rest. A golden, drill-shaped Protect cleaved the beam of flames apart. A quarter of the distance remained.
He was going to do it. He was going to kill Dark Matter.
Next, Dark Matter flared his wings, trails of shadowy haze filling the air. It all dissolved against Owen’s temporary wings. Like a candle in a dark room, he illuminated this portion of the forest in one final blaze.
Up close, Owen realized how malleable and weak Dark Matter’s body was. He wouldn’t even have to cut through. His Perceive saw within his chest a red sphere where his heart should have been. That was ‘him.’ That was Dark Matter’s core.
Owen thought he saw fear in his eyes just then. He almost, almost, hesitated.
But just as another column of stone rose from the ground, Owen surged forward with a final burst of strength, channeling the light for his wings into propulsion instead, and plunged his fist directly into the false Charizard’s chest.
His claws wrapped around something hard like glass.
Got you.
The golden wings disappeared completely. Dark Matter gasped, breath hitching, as his flight failed him. A tree was just ahead; they both crashed, but Owen kept his grip around that glassy core. It pulsed in his palm, faster and faster with panic.
They struck the ground hard but Owen held strong even after that. Dark Matter groaned from the pain, taking most of the fall as Owen landed on top of him. They skidded to a stop in a quiet spot just beneath a looming, dead tree.
He was frozen. They both knew what positions they were in. Dark Matter, if he made any hostile action, would be filled with light and shattered completely, wouldn’t he? Would Owen have enough to do that? It seemed even Dark Matter didn’t know, because he wasn’t trying to overpower him anymore.
Necrozma’s words echoed. Follow your heart…
Owen remembered seeing Dark Matter in his dreams. That frightened, scared little nebula that didn’t know where to go or what to do, trapped and lost in an abyss of his own creation.
You will make the right decision in the end.
He knew Dark Matter was woven into the fabric of Kilo itself, down to its very laws. That only with the collective power of all gods would he be unwound from it, freed and released… or if the world itself was destroyed. Even if Owen destroyed him right here, he would only buy a few centuries. And what then? Would they have even recovered from this clash by then?
I have faith in you.
“Give me one reason,” Owen said. It was completely silent. No wind. No thunderous booms. Everything was far, far away.
Dark Matter said nothing. He only stared, wide-eyed. The first sense of true emotion Owen felt from him.
“Give me one reason… not to kill you.”
“What…?”
“You have three tries.”
Dark Matter’s influence was gone. None of that could affect Owen anymore. This was all him. These were his memories. He remembered pleading to Necrozma, and getting cold indifference. He remembered talking to Dark Matter, offering a name. He refused it, wanting to die. And Owen urged him to press on.
Dark Matter had listened, somehow. That meant there was hope. Right?
“Why?” Dark Matter said.
“Give… give me a reason. One good reason.”
Dark Matter wasn’t even trying to push Owen away. Was he afraid? Did he know that, if he did, Owen would kill him right then? Did he believe that?
The fallen demon opened his mouth and closed it several times. He was flustered, vulnerable. He looked exactly as he had when they’d first met.
“I’ll… restore Amia. She is sealed, but not gone. That is the nature of Void Shadows.”
“But she won’t be the same, will she?” Owen said. “She’s spent too much time as one. Her past will be like a dream.”
“With time… there is a chance of return.”
“You’ll only use her… to control me. A bargaining chip, because she’s under your control.” Owen tightened his hold, just as his throat, too, constricted. “Two chances.”
How had it come to this? Why did Necrozma give him that memory? What was he trying to say? All this time, Owen thought Necrozma, with his light, wanted Owen to destroy Dark Matter utterly. Push him into the very depths of Kilo once more to buy time to fully eradicate him later. So why that memory, where Necrozma seemed to have been at his cruelest?
You do not need my answer.
“You… you need me to defeat Alexander. I’ll fight for you. With you. And the Voidlands will be freed of his influence.”
“So you can have the power for yourself. So you can continue it all… uninhibited. Then it will all be gone, won’t it? You’ll destroy everything… That’s your answer. That’s what happened when you betrayed Anam.”
“That isn’t why I—”
“One chance.”
Owen had started a whole war against Necrozma to save Dark Matter, this demon who was now trying to destroy the world. All because he tried to help someone who didn’t want his help. And now he was broken, about to plunge everything into oblivion had Owen not stepped in. He could end it. Kill Dark Matter; defeat Alexander; then, with that extra time, purge Dark Matter from Kilo’s fabric, somehow. It would all be over.
Do not lose sight of your purpose.
“You hate me.”
Owen winced. Did he? No… Dark Matter could feel that. Dark Matter wasn’t lying. This was the truth. He hated Dark Matter… But that, that wasn’t right. Not entirely. Because Dark Matter only saw that negative.
“One… chance,” Owen said, voice wavering.
Owen hated Dark Matter… because of what the world made him. And if Dark Matter was destroyed, it would only repeat the cycle. Dark Matter would come back more vengeful than ever… irreparably so. Would anything they tried work then? How many more would die, or worse? How much more history would be lost, lives destroyed, societies felled?
Dark Matter, finally, closed his eyes. “Do it.”
Distantly, one of the Judgement barrages rumbled the earth, destroying even more of Dark Matter’s army. If Dark Matter was defeated, the army wouldn’t return. Null Village would be safe. But… he’d come back later. They might not find a way to destroy him without destroying the world… just like what Necrozma wanted.
Just as Necrozma had planned.
“Why?” Owen pressed.
Dark Matter said nothing, resigned.
“Give… give me a reason,” Owen whispered.
“There is none.”
“I need… I need a reason,” Owen said. “I can’t… there’s…”
Nothing.
“Give me… a reason. Please, I…”
Nothing.
“Give me a reason! Please! There has to be a way!” He pressed a little harder.
He saw himself reaching out to Dark Matter, day after day, until the nebula had finally reached back. It was possible for Dark Matter to hope for something. It was the only way to end the cycle. He knew it was. He could still save Dark Matter and, therefore, the world.
And yet, Dark Matter wasn’t answering him. His eyes stayed closed.
“Just give me a reason, damn it!”
He squeezed too hard. A burst of light turned the flame on his tail gold. Before Owen could stop it, a weak pulse of light went from his chest to his arm to his claws, dancing over the core. A little went inside and Dark Matter’s mouth opened a little in pain. It was melting him from the inside. His face screwed up from a new, deep pain.
Owen yanked his hand away. Shadows that clung to his claws evaporated and he dispelled the gold light. A dim glow radiated from the false Charizard’s open chest, most of it that ominous red, but some of it a faint gold. Dark Matter stared emptily skyward.
“You… st… stopped…”
The wind was back. Bits of dust fell in the open wound on Dark Matter’s chest, but he didn’t seem to care.
“I can’t destroy you,” Owen said, voice trembling. “It’ll lead to Alexander taking over and bringing everyone else down. It’ll throw everything off balance. Necrozma will try to destroy the world again, won’t he? Star and Barky might go back to fighting over who deserves that power, too. And then you’ll come back, too… because you’re part of this world’s strife. And it’ll happen all over again.”
“…You have those memories…”
“I… hate you. After all I did to help you… this is what you’ve done. Coercing me into siding with you. Scaring my friends into giving in. Killing others, and… and all of this that you haven’t even told me.”
He gestured to the Voidlands around him. “If it was anyone else, anything else, I… I don’t think I’d spare you the same way. But I need to save this world. That’s… the purpose I was given. A-and it’s the only one I agree with. Kilo gave me a second chance. This whole world is a second chance. And… you’re part of it… so you had a second chance, too.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “Even if you’ve squandered it.”
More rumbling. This one was harder, like it was running out of targets and was instead bombarding raw earth. Owen’s light had all but faded by now… but, somehow, perhaps from some mutual resonance between the two, Owen knew that Dark Matter was done fighting.
“I’m so tired.” Dark Matter’s voice was slow but not deliberate, and it was like his whole body had deflated. “Every second, I can feel the pain of the world. I can’t stop it. I am… this world’s negativity. And I cannot feel… these mythical things called joy, or contentment, or even… safety. It’s only absence… emptiness. Why… must you force me to continue this? Please… let it end… please…”
The sound that came afterward was… familiar, yet foreign. A mournful, weak roar, maybe even a cry, but it was so filled with despair that the already dead trees sagged around them, sharing his grief.
Owen couldn’t stand to hear it for very long. Wincing, he stepped closer and, when Dark Matter’s long, drawn-out weep had subsided, he said, “It’s not fair. But… that’s how it is. And I’m here to change it. And I need your help. Please… I’m not going to show you some new way like Anam. And I’m not going to defend you like I once did.”
Owen held his hand out. The wind picked up again, carrying a charge that he didn’t recognize. It felt like neither his nor Dark Matter’s power. “I’m going to fight. Just… do it with me. One last time. I’m not trying the same thing again.”
He stared Dark Matter directly in the eyes, and neither could look away.
Owen kept his hand extended. “Please.”
They could have stayed like that for an eternity and Owen would not have been able to tell. Dark Matter, staring at the hand. Owen, staring at the demon’s eyes, a mixture of hatred, resignation, understanding, patience… He didn’t know how much of that was out of compassion and how much out of obligation. But it was enough.
Dark Matter reached for Owen’s hand, and Owen was almost positive—maybe it was a trick of the eye—that Dark Matter smiled just then. He held Owen’s firmly and looked him in the eyes.
He was about to say something. But then his expression washed into a mixture of alarm and horror as he stared at something over Owen’s shoulder. The next thing Owen knew, Dark Matter yanked Owen to the ground and pushed himself forward, holding his arms and wings wide.
Dark Matter conjured a black barrier in front of him, but it shattered just as quickly. A javelin of light plunged through Dark Matter’s chest, through his core, and then into Owen’s own chest right after. A horrible, searing pain of his own light used against him blotted out all senses. Some of the shards of Dark Matter’s core dug into Owen’s scales, but it narrowly missed his heart. Dark Matter’s body had stopped its advance by mere inches.
“D… Dark…”
The false Charizard’s body crumpled lifelessly to the ground.
And, with him fallen, Owen saw the source. As the javelin dissolved and as Dark Matter’s body liquefied into a colorless sludge, a lone Hydreigon descended a stone’s throw away. His right head was partway dissolved from where he’d thrown the javelin. There was a mad grin spread across the two remaining heads.
“Hello,” Alexander said, “Owen. So glad… to see you again.”