The battle to decide the fate of the world begins.
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THERE ARE CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER! I’ve put them at the bottom of the post, so please scroll down and check the end of the post before reading if you’re worried about sensitive subject matter.
Tobias feels as though the whole world is holding its breath as August and Rosalind’s forces surround the dimensional gate. The scene looks otherworldly. The stretch of water around the altar glows orange in the dawn light, wisps of fog cloaking the remnants of what was once a great temple. Will’s Pokemon mill about atop the altar, their numbers large but the size of the crowd still dwarfed by Yveltal’s cocoon.
Tobias’ heart pounds, his muscles tight with tension, and he jumps at every little sound. With each passing second, he becomes more and more anxious that Yveltal will be awoken before August can get everyone into place. Nia and Samir are equally nervous on either side of him. Nia’s aura skims by Tobias’ own every once in a while, brushing past him like a pacing persian.
Tobias startles again when telepathy slides through his mind, smooth as a purr. Rosalind.
There are non-combatants on the altar, including children. If a Pokemon tries to flee without engaging in battle, do not pursue.
As the Pokemon around them exchange wide-eyed looks, Tobias breathes out, shaky and slow. Nia’s head hangs with relief beside him. At least they got that message through before someone accidentally attacked a clueless civilian.
Junie herself returns shortly after the message goes out. She lands on Nia’s shoulder, her presence easing some of the tension there. “Done!”
“Thanks, Junie,” Nia murmurs, bumping her head against the rookidee.
“Good work, Junebug,” Bo whispers. “Now come here. Stay close to me.”
Junie does so, and silence falls again. The atmosphere around the swamp is heavy and restless. Quiet. So quiet that Tobias fears Will or his gang will notice them amassing along the water’s banks, hidden only by foliage. The fact that they haven’t been noticed probably means August or Rosalind have some ‘mon working to cover their tails, masking their presence with the subtle use of floral scent moves and increasing the fog along the forest’s edge with mist. Thankfully, Will doesn’t seem to be expecting anyone, probably confident he’s gotten away with his plan after decimating their forces in Silenfroar.
All Pokemon are in position, Rosalind’s voice says, slipping through Tobias’ mind again. Prepare yourselves, but do not attack until given the signal.
The air is still. Ever so faintly, the ground trembles.
A few of Will’s ‘mon on the altar spin around with cries of alarm, looking out over the water. At the same time, a blur of dark vines shoots from the forest almost too fast to see, rocketing towards the dimensional gate like a giant serpent. Psychic shields are thrown up to block the attack, but the roots manage to break through the first layer before slamming into a protect and sliding across its shell, trying in vain to reach their target. Some of the crowd on the altar below cry out and cower away from the attack.
Was that frenzy plant? August must’ve wanted a more precise move with less destructive capabilities for the first strike, so he could target Will directly without harming any innocent civilians. Attempt to take out the yamask before a battle could even start.
But it didn’t work.
Will turns, looking out over the water and ruins leading into the trees. At his side, a sigilyph and a xatu hover, waiting.
To Tobias’ surprise, August himself comes forward, taking the stone path from the trees and stepping out into the open. The rillaboom holds himself tall despite his injuries, pulling the wooden drum from his back and slamming it onto the stone in front of him. The sound echoes through the quiet morning air.
Will glances past August to the tree line, probably noticing the army of Pokemon on the banks before focusing again on August himself. The yamask’s eyes are a blazing red in the morning light.
“Stand down, Will,” August calls, “and you and your ‘mon will not be harmed.”
Will barks a laugh. “You think I’m going to stand down and quit here, when we’re this close?” He turns his back on August, moving back towards the dimensional gate with a casual wave of his hand. “Kill him. Kill anyone who tries to stand in our way. I will wake Yveltal myself.”
Tobias’ toes curl into the dirt underfoot as a few outlaws peel away from Will’s group, racing down the stone path towards August. Energy crackles across fur and scales and claws, preparing to attack.
August’s calm demeanor shatters. He roars, fangs flashing, and the sound echoes like thunder across the water. He slams a hand onto his wooden drum, and a flash of green energy explodes out from the instrument, rippling across the ruins and water like a wave. In its wake, the ground itself seems to rumble. Roots shoot up from the shallow water like living things, knitting themselves into sturdy pathways leading from the forest’s edge to the stone altar.
“For the world!” August yells, rushing forward to meet the outlaws head-on.
Around the ruins, experienced ‘mon lead the charge for different sections of the guild’s army. Tobias sees the bright pink and green of Azami across the way, before the Pokemon around him surge forward as well with a wordless cry. Some splash directly through the shallow water and hop over and under ruins and stone, and some take the bridges of roots.
Tobias glances at Nia and Samir. “We going for Will?”
Nia’s eyes are already aimed at the altar. Samir nods.
“Afraid we won’t be able to take you by air,” Bo says, his eyes focused past them, on the sky. “Best we’ll be able to do is guide you.”
Tobias follows the skarmory’s gaze, and sees Pokemon clashing in the sky just as viciously as on the land below. As they watch, a corviknight divebombs a swellow with sharp talons, knocking the smaller ‘mon right out of the air to be swallowed up by the mob below.
“Then I guess we’re going through,” Tobias breathes. “Ready?”
Nia and Samir brace themselves. Tobias leads the charge by leaping onto the root bridge August made, his partners close behind. The roots underfoot are slimy and slippery with moss, but more than stable enough to hold the stream of ‘mon that have poured in from every side of the swamp, converging on Will’s forces in the middle.
The battle around the altar is loud even from afar, but the noise is incredible once they reach the heart of the battlefield. Overwhelming. There are suddenly bodies all around Tobias, attacks flashing by and nearly grazing him. He sees snarling and hissing Pokemon no matter where he looks, tearing into each other without mercy. To his right, an absol tackles a vaporeon wearing a white scarf, and the two roll away in a screeching tangle.
A mawile appears out of nowhere and tries to snap Tobias in half with her giant jaws. He’s yanked back just in time by Nia, and Samir charges in to knock the steel type off-balance. Tobias shoots a flame burst that hits the mawile square in the chest, sending her stumbling back into the crowd.
A nearby cacturne pounces on them when a few stray embers hit his skin, swinging a spiked arm at Tobias’ head. Tobias ducks, and Nia takes the opportunity to leap over his shoulders, slamming the cacturne in the face with an aura club. The grass type staggers back with a grunt, blocking against a volley of razor leaves from Samir before Tobias sends him packing with another short burst of fire. This time, some of his embers hit an ally grovyle fighting a few steps away, making Tobias wince.
This is chaos. Tobias can hardly use his flames without risking friendly fire. They’ve gotta just focus on moving towards the altar and not worry about defeating every ‘mon in their path.
Tobias forges on and tries to ignore the battles happening everywhere he looks, dodging around flailing limbs and avoiding enemy attacks when possible. Occasionally, he’s left with no choice but to use his claws and tail to defend himself, sending foes back into the fray before checking to make sure Nia and Samir are holding up okay behind him.
They’ve made it to the long stone pathway leading up to the altar when a stream of fire draws Tobias’ eye. At its source, he finds a bold pattern of black stripes on orange fur, longer tufts of cream fur flaring like the sun. An arcanine.
Sulien.
Tobias stops in his tracks.
The arcanine is on the edge of the main battlefield, near some of the more intact ruins. He’s surrounded by the motionless bodies of Pokemon he has already defeated, with only two opponents still left standing: August, and Andyn’s mother.
Freshly-sprouted trees and roots dot this little section of the battlefield, having broken straight through the stone underfoot. They jut from the ground like defensive spikes, like reaching hands, charred and smoking. As Tobias watches, August bangs his drum, and roots as big as a seviper shoot through the stone pathway towards Sulien. One wraps around Sulien’s leg, and Andyn’s mother takes the opportunity to slam into the arcanine’s ribs with a high horsepower attack.
Sulien snarls, unleashing a wave of fire that sends both August and the sawsbuck leaping out of range. Sturdy plants shoot up like shields to protect them from the flames, but the fire eats right through thorns and bark alike.
Tobias doesn’t even think, bolting towards Sulien and away from the war behind him.
“Tobias!” Nia cries, her voice getting lost to the din.
Tobias doesn’t stop to see if she’s following him. He pushes past and ducks under roaring, shrieking Pokemon, friends and foes alike. He knows he won’t be able to help August and Andyn’s mother if the need arises. He has no idea what he could even do against Sulien.
But he can’t just leave, either.
Tobias stops on the edge of the battlefield, next to a small but sturdy tree with scorch marks gouged into the bark. The marks are still warm, smoke rising faintly from the wood.
Tobias’ gaze is drawn to the Pokemon on the ground who Sulien had taken out first. Now that he’s closer, he can pick out all the gruesome details. A pinsir has a still-smoldering hole blown clean through their shell. A florges’ pretty white petals are painted red with blood. A croagunk’s neck is twisted back at an unnatural angle, their eyes blank and empty.
Tobias feels sick.
A snarl drags Tobias’ eyes back to the fight. August and Andyn’s mother are still keeping Sulien on his toes, but Tobias can tell the two grass types are exhausted, injuries and fatigue from last night’s battle finally taking their toll. August’s strikes are just a bit too slow, his fists and vines only glancing Sulien rather than hitting him head-on. The bandaged leg under Andyn’s mother wobbles more than once as she dodges and lunges, until finally, it buckles.
The sawsbuck falls to a knee.
Sulien jumps on the moment of weakness, tearing towards Andyn’s mother with a flame wheel attack that August barely intercepts, leaping in front of her and summoning another wall of trees and roots.
Sulien smoothly rolls out of the flame wheel attack, instead taking advantage of the grass types’ close proximity. He unleashes a fire spin attack that circles the small, protective thicket and traps both August and Andyn’s mother inside, the flames climbing higher and higher into a towering inferno. Then, Sulien himself ignites with flames, before launching into the blaze with a flare blitz attack.
Tobias watches, horrified, as August and Andyn’s mother are sent crashing through the other side of the flames. Andyn’s mother rolls limply across the stone before coming to a stop. August barely catches himself on one bent knee, skidding back and holding his drum in front of him like a shield.
Sulien is on him in an instant, fiery jaws latching onto the drum. The wood splinters and snaps, flames licking up the instrument so fiercely that August is forced to drop it. The rillaboom staggers backwards, putting distance between the two of them.
Sulien tosses the fiery remnants of the drum aside and follows, prowling like a predator on the hunt.
Tobias sees what comes next as if watching from outside his own body. He sees Andyn’s mother stir, trying to pull herself upright. He sees Sulien change course, lunging for the sawsbuck to finish her off. He sees August throw himself between the two, and sees Sulien tackle his guildmaster to the ground.
The arcanine doesn’t hesitate. He goes for the injury left earlier in August’s side, fiery jaws large enough to latch around the rillaboom’s torso and dig into the wound.
August gives a pained roar. Sulien rips his head back, blood spraying in an arc from the massive chunk torn out of August’s side. August’s struggling abruptly weakens, his arm moving up to clutch at his ribs. Tobias sees his legs kick weakly, as if trying to get up.
“A-August!” Andyn’s mother gasps.
Sulien’s ear flicks, and his focus finds the sawsbuck once again. He abandons August, grabbing Andyn’s mother by an antler with his jaws. She gives a pained bellow, before Sulien twists and slams the sawsbuck head-first into the stone underfoot. She goes limp, but he still pins the grass type down, one giant paw on her antlers and another on her torso, leaving her throat unprotected.
Andyn is about to lose her mother.
It’s that thought that jolts Tobias back into his body.
Awful parent or not, and no matter how much he dislikes the sawsbuck, Tobias still doesn’t want to see her die. Doesn’t want Andyn to lose a parent like he did to Sulien’s cruelty. Possibly both parents, if her dad doesn’t make it. Tobias doesn’t want to see Sulien kill yet again, not when he might’ve just seen August—
Sulien’s jaws open, fangs bared and glowing with white-hot heat, ready to tear out the sawsbuck’s throat.
“Sulien!” Tobias screams.
The arcanine’s shredded ear swivels towards Tobias. Sulien’s head lifts almost lazily to see who is addressing him by name. There’s blood soaking the fur of his muzzle from fighting, and his eyes gleam gold in the morning light.
Tobias moves forward on stiff legs, feeling like prey as the arcanine watches him with mild interest. At Sulien’s paws, Andyn’s mother is still, but Tobias thinks he can see her chest rise and fall. He hopes so, at least. He’s too scared to look back at August, who still hasn’t moved.
Tobias locks eyes with Sulien, and the world seems to fade, until all Tobias can see is the arcanine. The Pokemon he’s been searching for for over eight years. The one who took his family away.
Sulien’s head tilts. “You know me.”
It’s a question, posed as a statement. A bolt of fury cuts through Tobias’ chest like lightning. Even Dismas recognized Tobias in Kaleido’s prison.
“You killed my parents,” Tobias hisses, shaking. “My little sister.”
Sulien’s eyes narrow with thought, before recognition finally sparks. “The child from the mountains. I knew that coward Asra didn’t kill you.”
The arcanine looks down at the sawsbuck under his paws, and then back to Tobias.
Tobias doesn’t even see Sulien move. One moment Tobias is upright, yards away, and then he’s slammed onto his back against hard stone as the air is knocked out of him. Sulien looms over him, and terror fills Tobias’ lungs like water. Tobias suddenly feels like he’s ten years old again, back in his home on that fateful night.
“Asra knew I hated loose ends,” Sulien says disdainfully. The paw on Tobias’ chest presses so hard he thinks his ribs are going to snap before Sulien even gets the chance to tear his throat out.
Then a flash of bright blue energy slams into Sulien’s face, causing him to recoil with a snarl.
Familiar paws yank Tobias back by his arms, and then there’s Nia, planting herself in front of him. Her aura extends into a staff, ready to fight. Tobias has a moment of déjà vu, from that forest dungeon months and months ago, when he thought he was going to die during his first mission. Nia was there to save him then, too.
Tobias startles as Samir appears at his side, steadying him with a quiet whistle of, Okay?
“Y-Yeah,” Tobias gasps, putting a hand on the skiddo’s back as he gets his bearings. He’s not dead, at least.
“Don’t run off like that,” Nia says, turning her muzzle just enough to be heard without looking away from Sulien. “We’re in this together.”
“R-Right.”
Tobias and Samir move to either side of the riolu, falling into battle-ready stances. Sulien’s expression is unreadable as he watches them prepare.
Behind them, the war rages on. While Tobias knows they must have allies nearby, he can’t very well just put a timeout on someone else’s bloody battle so that they can come help Team Scarlet instead.
No, they’re on their own here.
Tobias doesn’t know if they even have a shot at this. How can they possibly make it out of this alive when August and Andyn’s parents and Tobias’ mom and dad and half the S-rank Seekers at the guild couldn’t defeat Sulien? For a moment, Tobias considers running. He knows they should run, that August would want them to, but…
Tobias’ eyes flick past the arcanine, to where August is lying motionless on the ground as blood pools around his side, hopefully still clinging to life. Then he looks at Andyn’s mother, still but breathing. Tobias can’t just leave them here to die. He can’t just let Sulien walk away to kill who knows how many others.
But is Tobias dooming his own team if they stay and fight?
Tobias doesn’t have any more time to think it over as Sulien launches forward, flames spilling from his jaws. Nia barely manages to put up a protect in time, grunting as Tobias and Samir part to flank the arcanine on either side.
Tobias spits a flame burst into Sulien’s ribs as Samir does the same with a razor leaf on the other side. Both attacks seem to do nothing, as if the arcanine didn’t even feel them.
Nia breaks her protect and uses quick attack to zip out from under the arcanine’s maw, but Sulien flashes away too a moment later with something similar—extreme speed?—and stays right on her heels. Nia struggles to stay out of reach, dodging around smoldering trees and roots until she can retreat to the water and towering ruins. She darts through a tiny gap near the base to put a wall of stone between her and Sulien’s much larger form.
Tobias chases after them and takes advantage of Sulien’s moment of distraction to surround the arcanine in a fire spin attack. The flames encase Sulien in seconds with a steady roar, and Tobias is relieved that he managed to trap the speedy Pokemon, even if for a moment.
Tobias glances at the ruins, hoping Nia wasn’t scathed by his attack. She should be safe on the other side, but…
Fire spin starts to dissipate, far too soon to be natural. Tobias looks at Sulien, cold confusion crawling up his back as he catches a glimpse of the arcanine standing completely still within the inferno, embers dancing across his fur. Sulien looks serene, his head lifted and his eyes closed, almost like he’s enjoying the feeling. Sulien’s a fire type, but Tobias’ attack still should’ve done some damage, so why does Sulien look as if…
Tobias’ heart drops as he thinks of something Nia told him once, when reading about abilities. An ability that he’d been jealous of himself.
Does Sulien have flash fire? If he does, then fire type moves won’t hurt him at all—they’ll only make him stronger. If the arcanine has flash fire, then…then half of Tobias’ movepool is useless in this fight.
No wonder Tobias’ parents didn’t stand a chance against this monster.
Tobias is yanked from his thoughts by Samir shooting a seed bomb attack at the arcanine. Sulien doesn’t even bother dodging, instead charging at the skiddo and straight through the move with a flame wheel attack that Samir barely avoids.
Sulien wheels around to sweep a flamethrower at the two of them instead, and they both scramble to get out of the way. Tobias ducks behind a half-broken column in the water. Samir nimbly leaps up a crumbled wall of the ruins at their back, sending a small avalanche of stones down behind them.
Tobias’ mind races as Sulien tries to smoke them out, shooting flamethrowers into the crumbling ruins. They can’t fight the arcanine like this, constantly on the backfoot. At the very least, they need a second to breathe and think, to get some kind of advantage.
Time for old reliable. Tobias sucks in a deep breath of air, then leaps out of hiding to release a cloud of thick gray smoke large enough to roll over the entire area, obscuring visibility.
Tobias hears a quiet splash and spots a glint of blue light through the smoke as Sulien’s flames abruptly cut off with a snarl.
Nia. Tobias follows her lead, his sharp eyes tracking her bursts of aura like lightning through storm clouds.
When he gets close enough to see the silhouettes of Nia and Sulien dancing between charred trees and half-standing ruins, the riolu is using quick attack and flashes of protect to get around the arcanine’s snapping jaws. Nia’s eyes are closed, relying entirely on aura to see where she’s going as she slams handfuls of energy against Sulien whenever she gets an opening.
Sulien fakes her out, stepping right before swinging his head left, headbutting Nia deeper into the smoke with a yelp. The arcanine’s muscles bunch beneath his fur as he prepares to follow.
“Hey!” Tobias yells. He channels dragon type energy into his belly, and then unleashes a dragon rage attack at Sulien. For a moment, purple flames fully engulf the arcanine.
Then, orange fire rapidly builds around Sulien in a ring, the arcanine’s own fire spin attack pushing outwards, tearing through dragon rage and dispersing both attacks in a beautiful cloud of embers. Tobias blinks ash from his eyes, struggling to see.
A sharp, piercing whistle sounds from Tobias’ left: Dodge!
Tobias does so without thinking, throwing himself backwards and feeling the heated air and snap of jaws a hair from his throat as his vision finally clears.
Samir slams into Sulien’s side in a take down attack, knocking the arcanine back a foot. Sulien turns on the skiddo, jaws ablaze. Samir dives under the arcanine’s fire fang to slam their hooves into the stone beneath the much larger Pokemon. To Tobias’ surprise, the stones underfoot crack and crater, the ground shaking and tripping Sulien with a growl. Bulldoze? Tobias forgot Samir even had that move.
Nia chucks an aura sphere from the smoke that catches Sulien in the ear, distracting him long enough for Samir to slip back out of reach. Tobias gets to his own feet and backs up, breathing hard. All three of them surround the arcanine, and for a moment Sulien looks between them, his gaze calculating.
Then, as if they’d planned it, Nia attacks with an aura sphere, Samir backing her up from the other side with a seed bomb attack, and Tobias throws in a dragon rage too, all three moves converging on their opponent in an explosion. Smoke bursts outward from the point of impact, and for a moment, all is still.
Cautious hope lifts in Tobias’ chest. Maybe Sulien was more injured than they’d realized?
There’s a flare of light, and Sulien shoots from the smoke like a comet. He rams into Nia, sending her skipping across the shallow water of the swamp like a stone. Tobias gasps and sprints forward to help, Samir doing the same.
Sulien turns to meet them, unleashing a flamethrower that cuts through the air with a roar of heat and a hiss of steam. Samir leaps over the attack while Tobias ducks under it, and Tobias hears the attack hit Pokemon in the distance with pained cries.
Sulien follows up with an extreme speed attack, bowling over Samir and trapping them against the stone underfoot. The skiddo stares up at Sulien with wide, terrified eyes. Sulien goes for their throat, bearing down on them with jaws of flame.
Tobias won’t be fast enough.
A small blur of black and blue drops from the sky and smashes into the side of Sulien’s head, clinging to his ear and sending his attack off course. The arcanine staggers, shaking his head as the blur goes for his eyes.
Tobias yanks Samir to their feet to pull them to safety. The two of them stare as the little blur is thrown off, tumbling across the stone before settling as a very woozy rookidee.
Junie.
Sulien lunges for her.
A screech rings from the sky like metal on metal. It’s the only warning before a flash of silver smashes into Sulien’s face talons-first, blood spraying into the air and coating Bo’s metallic feathers in red.
Sulien snarls and snaps at Bo with electrically-charged fangs. Bo drops under the attack, pushing off the ground with his talons and flying low to snatch up Junie before wheeling back into the sky.
Tobias hears the skarmory shout, “Over here!”
For a moment, Tobias doesn’t understand what Bo is telling them to do. To follow him? But they can’t leave the others here with Sulien, and Nia is still somewhere in the water—
Then Tobias realizes Bo wasn’t talking to them.
Water shoots out from somewhere behind Tobias like a cannon. It blasts into Sulien and bursts on contact, revealing a familiar wartortle inside. Felix lands, then pushes off the ground to spin and whack the arcanine’s bloody muzzle with an aqua tail that actually makes Sulien stagger back.
Just as Sulien goes on the offensive with another thunder fang, psychic energy engulfs Felix. The wartortle grins and wiggles his fingers in a little wave before getting yanked back to safety towards Tobias and Samir.
Relief rolls over Tobias as he looks back and sees Xander, Avery, and Kry behind him, a little scuffed up but otherwise unharmed. Team Shellshock. Junie and Bo must’ve brought them over as reinforcements.
The luxio and fraxure rush past them to go on the offensive, Kry cloaked in the buzz of dragon dance energy and jumping in claws first. Xander uses Kry’s distraction to tap the arcanine with thunder wave, sending static rippling over his striped pelt and slowing him down. Felix unleashes jets of water gun and bubble beam from the sidelines, shoving the arcanine off-balance.
“Made it,” Avery pants, giving Tobias a little smile. The kirlia’s expression falters as they glance over the battlefield. “Where’s Nia?”
Tobias’ breath catches. Where is Nia? Last he saw, she got thrown into the ruins, but—
Right on cue, Nia comes tearing out of the water, eyes blue with fury as she rejoins the fray. She swings her aura staff around so hard that Tobias is surprised she doesn’t break Sulien’s foreleg.
Tobias can breathe again. “She’s fine.”
Avery nods and joins the fight, Tobias and Samir on the kirlia’s heels.
The tide of battle shifts quickly. With Team Scarlet and Team Shellshock combined, they have a full seven Seekers working against Sulien. Two teams of ‘mon who know each other, and who have fought together before.
While they still stumble over one another—and over other Pokemon battling in the same vicinity—more targets means Sulien’s focus is scattered, leaving them more room to attack and recover as needed.
Samir distracts Sulien with volleys of razor leaf and seed bomb, diverting the arcanine’s attention from Nia’s onslaught of quick hits. Xander crashes into Sulien’s side with a volt switch attack, the rebound energy allowing the luxio to spring back out of range and stunning Sulien in the process. Kry rushes in with a breaking swipe, her heavy tail battering the outlaw and lowering his attack. As Sulien tries to retaliate with a crunch, Avery teleports the fraxure out of harm’s way, only for Tobias to quickly take her place, slashing at Sulien’s legs as Felix unbalances the arcanine with a powerful water pulse.
Tobias’ blood sings with adrenaline, watching Sulien grow less and less composed as they chip away at his health. Tobias can tell that the others are wearing down just as much as he is, though, and they do take a few heavy hits in the process. Samir is grazed by a flamethrower after shoving Avery out of the way of the attack, and when Kry takes a hit for Nia, it leaves the fraxure’s arm limp, her protective scales cracked in half by Sulien’s fangs.
But they’re all still standing.
Just as Tobias starts to gain some hope, Sulien braces himself and unleashes a wordless snarl. A wave of dark type energy accompanies the sound, rippling out from Sulien to hit both teams and send them skidding back. Tobias feels his flames falter, weaker suddenly. The attack reaches so far that even the Pokemon battling far behind them cry out.
Sulien takes the moment of weakness to throw his head back with a howl that pierces through the sound of battle. Unease shivers up Tobias’ spine, and he isn’t sure if he’s imagining the way the arcanine’s eyes glow in his bloodied face, muscles rippling beneath his striped pelt.
“Careful,” Avery warns them, reinforcing the bad feeling in Tobias’ gut.
Sulien lowers his head, light gathering in his mouth like a star.
“Move!” Xander yells.
They scatter, leaping out of the way as Sulien launches a flamethrower across the stone. The heat chases Tobias, and he thinks he’s the target until he realizes that the flames are curving around all of them instead of dispersing, corralling them closer together. A flamethrower attack straight into fire spin.
The fire spin grows higher and higher, a tornado of flames with their teams trapped in the center. Tobias stumbles back into Xander as the heat hits him like a wall, and he feels a sick sense of déjà vu wash over him. They’ve gotta get out of here. Tobias saw what this tactic did to August and to Andyn’s mother—
Sulien bursts through the wall of flames with a flare blitz attack. Tobias catches a glimpse of Nia’s aura trying and failing to stop the arcanine as he plows through their group. Tobias is thrown back hard onto the stone path, overwhelmed by heat and fear. It feels like he’s back in the fire in Ghatha, back in his childhood home with his family, and for a moment panic envelops him. He can’t breathe. Is Sulien pinning him down again? Where’s Vivi?
No. Get ahold of yourself, Tobias. He curls in on himself, head ringing, and tries to take bigger gulps of the overheated air as embers brush over his skin. His claws find a crack in the stone to grip, and he tries to focus on the rough texture under his fingertips.
Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Hold. In. Hold. Out. Hold.
Tobias slowly gathers himself, until the heated air feels less choking. He realizes once he squints open an eye and lifts his head that the fire spin itself is fading, letting cool air back in for him to breathe. The others—
The others.
Tobias gasps, propping himself up on his elbows to look.
Traces of fire spin still wisp through the air, smoldering on the stone ruins around them. Any plant life nearby has been turned to ash. Even the stone under Tobias is charred a sooty black and steaming with heat.
In the wreckage, Team Shellshock has been brought to their knees. Xander is struggling to push himself to his paws. Kry is doing the same, snarling curses. Avery’s laid out on the ground, unconscious. Felix is the only one to actually make it back to his feet, clearly dazed.
Nia and Samir. Where are they?
Tobias finds them after a moment of frantic searching. Nia is pushing herself up with a grunt, her arms wobbling. Behind her, Samir is shifting groggily, some of the leaves around their neck still smoldering. Some of the leaves are burned away entirely. Nia’s protect must’ve blocked some of Sulien’s attack, though, even if it didn’t work entirely. Tobias isn’t sure the skiddo would’ve even survived that flare blitz otherwise.
The crackle of electricity makes Tobias’ head snap back to Sulien, just in time to see the arcanine grab Felix in a thunder fang attack. The wartortle is tucked inside his shell for protection, but Tobias hears it crack under the pressure of Sulien’s fangs.
“Felix!” Xander chokes, wild-eyed and sparking as he tries in vain to push himself to his paws.
Tobias shoves himself to his feet and runs, leaping onto the arcanine’s back, trying to bite at his neck through thick fur, digging into the outlaw’s pelt with his claws.
Sulien growls and throws Felix aside. The wartortle’s injured shell bounces over stone and rubble at the base of some ruins before settling. Some of the stones atop the ruins shift loose and fall into the water below with a series of loud splashes.
Sulien leaps into a flame wheel attack that flattens Tobias under his body weight and forces him to let go, leaving Tobias wheezing and struggling to sit up. As Sulien unleashes a flamethrower attack, Tobias throws up an arm in front of his face to protect himself.
He hears the flamethrower impact, but doesn’t feel it aside from a fresh wave of heat. He cracks open an eye, stunned to see flames crashing against a wall of blue aura. Tobias whips his head around, spotting Nia standing on shaky paws. Her eyes glow with aura, and she’s gritting bloody teeth with a paw outstretched towards him. Samir struggles to their hooves behind her.
The flamethrower cuts off, Sulien’s jaws staying parted as he takes heavy breaths. The arcanine’s eyes lock onto Nia with growing frustration. Tobias doesn’t like that look being aimed at his partner. They need to regroup. Now.
Tobias takes a breath before exhaling one more cloud of smokescreen, thick and choking, into the air. Sulien’s eyes flick back to him with annoyance. Good
Tobias can only see a bit better than the average ‘mon in the smoke, and he knows his tail flame will be a beacon for Sulien if he decides to go after them, but Tobias just needs a moment. Just a second to slow down and think. He can’t just go charging in, and he’s grateful when the quiet means Nia and Samir haven’t, either. Sulien doesn’t attack, probably taking a breather himself and waiting for them to come to him.
Tobias pushes himself to his feet and quietly shuffles his way around the arcanine, hoping Nia will sense him and meet him halfway with Samir in tow.
They have to take Sulien down here and now. If they don’t, if they turn tail and run, then August, Andyn’s mother, and Team Shellshock are all as good as dead, not to mention anyone else the arcanine would slaughter afterwards. After fighting the lucario and Lexym Guild in the mountains, then fighting August here, and then fighting Team Scarlet and Team Shellshock, Sulien has to be worn down by now, and yet Tobias still fears they won’t be able to beat him with brute strength alone.
They need a plan.
Think, Tobias. If they can’t overpower Sulien through battle, then they’ll have to be smarter than him. What else can they use to their advantage? Tobias’ eyes flick through the smoke, skimming past half-burned trees and landing on the tall, hazy silhouette of the ruins in the water around them. Remnants of a temple long since lost to time.
Nia’s aura brushes by Tobias a moment before she appears at his side, Samir a silent, roughed-up shadow behind her. The riolu’s eyes are closed as she sees with aura, her face pointed towards Sulien. Her ears are turned towards Tobias, though; he can practically hear her asking him what they should do next.
Tobias swallows, glancing back at the ruins and wondering if they could use them to their advantage here. They’ve already been using the broken-down walls and columns to evade Sulien’s attacks, but Tobias is still uneasy about moving around on them too much, since the stone remnants are clearly unstable. Portions of the upper floors and even the roof are still in place, but they teeter dangerously above the rubble at the base of the ruins, ready to crush them if they—
Tobias stops breathing. He thinks of Sulien holding him down under the weight of his paw. He thinks of Asra the crobat, killed in a rockslide that was anything but natural.
Maybe it’s time for Sulien to get a taste of his own medicine.
“Hey,” Tobias breathes. “Remember how many times we’ve been buried alive?”
Nia’s expression pinches, even as she nods. Samir gives him a wary look.
“I think it’s time for Sulien to have a turn.”
Nia’s brows raise, realization dawning as she follows where Tobias is looking. Samir’s face goes slack with a wide-eyed sort of dread.
“Think you and I can keep him busy at the base, Nia?” Tobias asks. “You’ll have to be ready to bubble.”
Nia nods.
“Good. Samir, you climb. Once Sulien is in place underneath, trigger a rockslide at my signal. Don’t worry about us, even if we’re right in the crossfire. Just bulldoze away.”
Samir’s mouth flattens, worry glittering in their gaze, but they don’t argue. The skiddo knows the stakes as well as Tobias does. If they have any kind of plan, they have to take it.
Sulien must’ve heard Tobias’ voice, because a flamethrower cuts through the smoke in their direction. As one, the three of them bolt for the ruins, parting around Sulien’s attack like water around stone. Nia stops to launch an aura sphere at the arcanine, which earns her a snarl from within the smoke.
Tobias keeps running, panting as he reaches the water and throws himself from the path to the rubble at the base of the ruins. He sees Samir take a different route, and even injured, the skiddo’s nimble hooves allow them to leap up the ruins quickly, until they’re out of sight somewhere overhead.
Tobias squints up at the slabs of stone making up what remains of the upper floors and roof of the temple. He positions himself directly underneath them, then looks back towards the smoke just as Nia appears. She launches herself into the shallow water towards Tobias, breathing hard as she reaches his side.
Sulien barrels out of the smoke a moment later, his jaws glowing with heat as he charges at them. Tobias and Nia split up to keep his focus diverted, even as Tobias’ mind races. His eyes flick up towards the stone overhead, then back to Sulien.
What if the arcanine is still too fast? Tobias hasn’t seen Sulien use extreme speed in a while, so he’s hopefully too exhausted for that, but even without that the fire type is quick. Tobias fears Sulien’s sharp ears will hear Samir overhead and flee the incoming rockslide. They’ll only get one shot at this, so they can’t miss. They need to do something to make sure Sulien stays in place, but what?
Nia’s yelp tears Tobias’ from his thoughts, and he looks back just in time to see Nia go flying, slamming into a far ruin wall hard enough to crack the stone. She falls limply to the rubble below, and nauseous fear rolls through Tobias’ stomach.
That fear only grows when Sulien doesn’t look away from Nia, ready to go after her and finish the job.
“H-Hey!” Tobias yells. Get his attention, get him away from Nia. “You’re an idiot if you think Will’s really gonna take you to the human world, y’know!”
It’s enough for Sulien to pause, his ear twitching towards Tobias.
“It’s so obvious that he doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Tobias goads, breathing hard. “I just don’t get why someone like you would follow someone like him.”
Sulien’s head turns sharply. “I do not follow that spineless ghost.”
“Sure seems like you are. You’re acting on Will’s orders, right? To attack Silenfroar? To defend Yveltal?”
“No one orders me to do anything.”
Oh, looks like Tobias found a sore spot. Good. Time to press even harder into that bruise.
“Suuure,” Tobias antagonizes, trying to channel his inner Junie. “I mean, I guess I get why you’d follow him. The world’s ending. You feel as helpless as the rest of us.”
Sulien finally turns away from Nia, snarling, “It has been a great many years since I was helpless, whelp. I am surviving, even if that means playing nice until I reach the human world.”
“And if you do make it to the human world? What then? Will won’t be happy if you hurt any humans.”
“It doesn’t matter what Will wants. That ghost will die by my jaws the moment we cross the barrier, and then I will be free to do as I please.”
Tobias’ head jerks back. “Free to do as you please? All you do in this world is cause destruction and hurt everyone you meet. You can’t tell me you’re planning on turning over a new leaf or something.”
Sulien huffs a laugh through his nose. “Of course not. I’ll do as I always have, and live as I see fit. The Seekers couldn’t stop me in this world, and the humans won’t stop me in theirs.”
Something about the casual way Sulien speaks makes clarity unravel in Tobias’ mind. Answers a question he hadn’t realized he wanted to know the answer to until just now.
This is just…how Sulien lives. How he sees the world. Everything he does is just a sick grab for power, so he can feel strong. So he can do whatever he likes without consequences. He simply doesn’t care what anyone else thinks or feels. He’ll do anything, as long as he remains the one in control.
A gut-churning thought occurs to Tobias.
“You killed my family so we wouldn’t tell anyone about you passing through the mountains,” Tobias says, his voice shaking. “But you…you get something out of it too, don’t you? Killing. You like deciding when someone lives or dies. The power of it.”
“What is there but power?” Sulien asks. “I know what it’s like to live without it, and I will never return to that pathetic state.”
Tobias hates that he kind of understands what Sulien means. Feel helpless enough for long enough, have your weaknesses used against you, and there is a sort of appeal in being on the other side of that dynamic. In being the strong one. Being in control and making the decisions so that you never get hurt. Most ‘mon just don’t go to such extreme lengths to always be the one on top.
“You’re horrible,” Tobias says, his hands curling into fists, “and you’re a coward.”
Sulien doesn’t seem phased by the first insult, but coward clearly hits a nerve. The arcanine takes a threatening step forward, embers drifting from his maw as he rumbles, “A coward? I have fought and killed countless S-Rank Seekers, wisp. I killed your strongest guildmates. Yourguildmaster.”
“And you’re still weak!” Tobias yells, his fangs bared. “That’s what you consider strong?! Playing with people’s lives like it’s all some sick game that you have to win?”
Sulien’s face darkens, smoke trailing from his nostrils. His claws flex into the stone underfoot.
“The strongest ‘mon I’ve ever met have never taken advantage of someone like that,” Tobias says. “They’ve always done good, even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.”
Tobias thinks of his parents welcoming three waterlogged strangers into their home. He thinks of Maggie and August bringing Tobias into the guild without a second thought and raising him as their own. He thinks of Nia, Junie, Samir and everyone they’ve met on their travels, facing the end of the world with trembling legs and heads held high.
“They are strong,” Tobias says. “But you? You’re nothing like them. You’re nothing at all.”
With a roar, Sulien lunges for Tobias. Tobias scrambles back and nearly trips over the rubble of the ruins behind him. He turns, cornered, and climbs the dilapidated side of the once-great temple, clawing his way up a mountain of tumbled stone.
Tobias expects Sulien to attack from a distance, but instead the arcanine gives chase. He’s right on Tobias’ tail, flames shooting past Tobias into the sky and jaws snapping too close for comfort. Tobias climbs faster, scraping up his hands and feet and snagging his claws on rough stone as he goes. The only reason Sulien hasn’t caught him already is because the arcanine’s heavier weight makes some of the stone crumble underfoot, and he keeps sliding down before regaining ground again.
Tobias doesn’t know what his plan is, climbing higher and higher into the remnants of the old stone ruins as Sulien charges after him like a feral in a dungeon. Tobias is just trying to stay alive, but when he leads Sulien to the top, what will he do then?
Samir’s up there.
Tobias staggers to a stop on one of the landings once he remembers that. He can’t just lead the enraged arcanine right to his grass type partner. That’s a disaster waiting to happen.
Sulien leaps up after Tobias, blocking him from going any higher. He looks like a mindless beast, flames licking at his jaws and his eyes wild with rage. At the arcanine’s back, the open ruin wall shows only clear morning sky, bringing a fresh breeze to Tobias’ nose. For a moment, Tobias thinks of his parents, of flying through the mountains with Vivi.
That’s it.
Tobias glances up, orienting where he is in relation to Samir overhead, then back down to Sulien’s paws. The arcanine’s fury, exhaustion and injuries are making him careless. He’s so close to the edge, and they’re a couple stories up by now.
Time to fly, Tobias.
Tobias runs straight at Sulien, towards the fangs that have haunted his nightmares for a decade. He tackles the arcanine’s head, clinging to his face and sending him staggering back in surprise. Tobias’ heart skips a beat as he feels Sulien’s paw slip over the edge, his body tipping backwards and dragging Tobias along with him.
It didn’t feel like a long climb up, quick as they were moving, but the fall seems to happen in slow motion. Sulien drops through the air on his back, his paws twisted above him as if to catch himself on something. Tobias clings to the arcanine’s fur as the ruins blur by at their side. He squeezes his eyes shut, and it’s almost like he’s on his Mom’s back again, taking a dive through mountain air and screaming with delight.
And then Sulien slams into the ground, the air in his lungs leaving him in a rush. Tobias bounces to a painful stop as well, the blow thankfully softened by the arcanine’s body. He struggles to sit up, perched at the junction between Sulien’s chest and neck.
Beneath him, Sulien is struggling to breathe, the wind knocked out of him after such a fall onto unforgiving stone. His eyes are wild as he tries to gasp for air, perfectly immobilized under the ruins overhead.
It’s time to end this.
Tobias whistles Go! loud and piercing, watching Sulien’s eyes snap to him at the sound. Even as Tobias tries and fails to get his weak legs underneath him, he hopes Samir doesn’t hesitate. Tobias doesn’t want to die anymore, but he’s willing to if it means taking this monster with him.
“Tobias!”
Nia’s voice. Her yell is almost lost to the sudden shift and rumble of stone overhead.
Then, something—someone—tackles Tobias off Sulien, rolling them both into the rubble at the arcanine’s side. Tobias opens his eyes to find Nia above him, blue aura appearing overhead. An instant later, stone crashes down on them like a falling building, like Bethoc Bluffs, raining against Nia’s shield and burying the sky.
Darkness envelops them completely.
Tobias pants, his heart pounding as he stares up at Nia in the dim light of his tail. Nia stares back as the two of them wait for the sound of clattering stone to settle. When it finally, finally does, it feels like they’re in their own world, surrounded by black silence.
They’re alive.
“A-Are you okay?” Nia whispers.
Tobias swallows and nods, glancing at the barrier as he slowly sits up. Nia shifts back to give him room, and he takes the opportunity to look the riolu over. “Are you okay? You took that last hit pretty hard.”
He gestures her to tuck her head to her chest, and she does so without question so he can prod at the back of her skull, beyond relieved to find her perfectly intact.
“At least I didn’t fling myself off the top of a building,” Nia mutters, half-scolding as she sits up again. “I’m okay. I-I don’t know if I can lift all this rock off of us, though.”
They both fall silent, gathering their thoughts.
Nia murmurs, “Do you think we got him?”
Tobias takes a shaky breath. He doesn’t know. Sulien feels…unkillable. An unstoppable force. Wouldn’t Tobias know if he’d beaten him? Wouldn’t he feel it, somehow?
“If that didn’t do it, I don’t have a backup plan,” Tobias admits.
He slumps to rest his forehead on Nia’s shoulder. Nia immediately wraps Tobias in a tight hug, and he doesn’t hesitate to sling his own arms around her in return. Her heartbeat pounds against his own, her overworked body nearly as warm as his.
Tobias tries to calm down and just enjoy the fact that he and his partner are both still here. Still alive.
Then, something above them shifts, the sound muted through Nia’s aura. They look up.
The darkness above them splits, a slab of stone tumbling aside to reveal the brightening sky. In the gap, Samir and Junie’s frantic faces pop into view, and Bo’s sharp, metallic beak follows, still covered in a spray of dried blood from his attack on Sulien. All of their expressions lighten with relief when they see Tobias and Nia through her aura.
After the three of them push aside enough stone to make sure it won’t cave in and kill Tobias and Nia, Nia finally drops her aura. The two of them climb out into cool morning air, the distant sounds of battle reaching them once again.
Samir flings themself at Tobias and Nia so hard that they’re nearly knocked over by the sudden armful of trembling skiddo. Junie is close behind, letting out an emotional cry before diving right into the middle of the group hug. The four of them take a moment to soak in each other’s presence, breaths hitching and tears slipping free.
They’re alive. They made it.
But…
“Sulien?” Tobias finally asks, pulling back to look over his shoulder at the mountain of stone.
As if hearing him, something in the rubble shifts. Pebbles tumble down into the water below.
Tobias tries to shove away his fear and pulls himself from the group hug to pick his way over to the sound. He hears the others follow behind him. Once he splashes down into the water on the other side of the rubble, Tobias spots him.
Sulien.
The arcanine is almost completely buried under heavy rock, with only a small patch of his face and neck visible between two slabs of stone.
Tobias cautiously steps closer. Sulien watches him with a bleary, half-lidded eye. Shallow water laps at his wet, dirtied fur, making it float limply around his face. He’s breathing heavily, on the brink of consciousness and seemingly too weak to move.
Tobias wars between mind-numbing relief, a residual sting of fear, and tired anger, staring down at this Pokemon that he hates so, so much. For a second, he thinks, I could kill him.
He could. Sulien’s clearly on the brink of consciousness, and completely pinned. Tobias could dig his claws and teeth into what little is exposed of Sulien’s throat and tear until he’s gasping for air. He could do to him what he did to Tobias’ family. To August. Tobias wouldn’t feel bad taking him out of this world, and he probably wouldn’t even be blamed for it. But…
But.
Tobias doesn’t want to let Sulien decide his life for him anymore. Of all Pokemon, Sulien shouldn’t be the one to make Tobias someone he doesn’t want to be. The arcanine has already haunted his thoughts for years, for half of his life, and he refuses to give Sulien that kind of power over him or his actions. Not anymore.
“I’d rather see you rot anyways,” Tobias murmurs.
Sulien doesn’t respond, probably too far gone to even register what Tobias said. After a few more rasping breaths, his head goes limp, his eye sliding shut as he falls unconscious.
Tobias stares, still trying to decide how he feels. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know how he should feel. He’s grateful for Nia, Samir, and Junie at his back, a steadying presence when he’s feeling so unstable.
“I swear to Palkia, Felix, if you die here I’m gonna make your shell into armor!”
Kry’s sharp voice knocks Tobias out of his thoughts.
Tobias and the others spin around, returning to the present. They splash away from the mountain of stone and through the shallow water to the other side of the ruins where they’d left Team Shellshock.
Xander is at Avery’s side. The luxio’s paw is pulling away from the kirlia’s neck, like he’d been checking for a pulse, but Tobias sees the psychic type stirring as Xander’s terrified gaze moves to look out over the water instead.
Tobias finds where Kry is crouched next to Felix’s shell, still half-submerged in the swamp’s water after Sulien threw him aside. The fraxure is struggling to move the wartortle to dry land on her own with only one good arm. Tobias and the others hurry to help, wading to Kry’s side. There’s a bit of blood clouding the water around Felix.
“You got him?” Kry grunts. Tobias, Nia, and Samir nod.
Together, the four of them lift the wartortle’s shell an inch from the bottom of the swamp and float the wartortle over to the stone path. There, they gently lift him up before pulling themselves out as well.
“Felix, I’m serious. You’d better not be dead in there,” Kry says, her gruff voice breaking for a moment as she puts a hand on the wartortle’s shell, careful to avoid the large crack spanning the top of it from Sulien’s teeth. Tobias can see blood and muscles through the break, and he fears the worst.
But a moment later, a familiar blue head and fluffy ears pop out the top of the shell to rest on the stone, Felix’s expression pained but undeniably alive. “Good to see you’re all right too, Kry.”
And suddenly, Tobias can breathe again. Kry just barks a relieved laugh, helping the wartortle ease his other limbs out of his shell before stopping him from trying to stand.
“Felix?” Xander calls, looking terrified.
“Still alive, bro,” Felix calls back, facedown.
Xander laughs, tears brimming in his eyes as he helps Avery sit up.
Thank Arceus. That accounts for Team Shellshock, so the only ones left to check on are…
Tobias quickly finds the motionless brown lumps of a sawsbuck and rillaboom. He pushes himself to his feet and runs over to them, praying, Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead. He tries not to think about the confidence in Sulien’s voice when he’d said that he killed Tobias’ guildmates and guildmaster.
A quick check reveals that Andyn’s mother is breathing, and seemingly just unconscious. Tobias sighs in relief, before rushing past her to August.
August is laid out on his back. Blood and viscera spills out from the crater in his side in a puddle, breaking the clean silhouette of the rillaboom’s body.
“August?” Tobias chokes, shaking the rillaboom’s arm a bit too roughly.
Relief floods Tobias’ body when the guildmaster stirs. August coughs, his eyes fluttering open but hardly seeing. Tobias chooses not to focus on that, because he’s still alive. August has a chance.
“H-Here,” Junie flaps over and drops a yellow sitrus berry at Tobias’ side. “Bo said to give him one of these. I’ll go grab another!”
“Thanks,” Tobias murmurs. He leans forward and pats August on the cheek to get his attention. “August? Hey, it’s Tobias. Eat this, okay?”
August mumbles wordlessly, blood on his lips. His eyes slip closed again.
“Hey, c’mon,” Tobias says, a little sharper. He holds the berry against the rillaboom’s mouth. “Y-You have to eat this first, then you can sleep.”
August’s dark eyes roll open again, and this time Tobias catches him saying something about Maggie.
Tobias’ heart squeezes. He bites a chunk out of the sitrus berry and spits it back out in his hand. He pokes the piece between August’s lips, until the rillaboom finally takes it in his mouth, slowly chewing.
“Good,” Tobias praises, hurriedly biting off another chunk of sitrus berry.
August chokes and coughs, spitting out bloody lumps of half-chewed berry.
“No no no!” Tobias hisses under his breath. He holds a fresh piece to August’s mouth. “C’mon, August, you’ve gotta swallow it. Y-You…”
August’s eyes slide shut again. Tears choke Tobias’ throat as he shakes his head.
No. No, this can’t be happening. They did it. They saved Andyn’s mom before Sulien got to her. They beat Sulien. They won! August can’t—he can’t…
“Help,” Tobias croaks. Then, louder, he calls, “Help!”
Xander bounds over first, the luxio stopping in his tracks with bristling fur when he sees the state of their guildmaster. He whips his head over his shoulder and cries, “Avery! It’s August!”
Avery? Does the kirlia have a healing move? They must, if Xander is calling them over with such urgency.
Avery still seems woozy when they appear, but as soon as they see August, their eyes go wide with alarm. The kirlia rushes forward, collapsing into the blood at August’s injured side. They lift slender, shaking hands, and indigo energy glows brightly as they try to stitch August back together.
Slowly, silently, the others make their way over too, until the rillaboom has a flock of his Seekers gathered around him. Even Felix manages to join them with Kry and Bo’s help, before the skarmory steps back to stand guard. Most of the ‘mon have moved on from this edge of the battlefield, bodies left in their wake that Tobias hadn’t wanted to look at too closely, but he’s grateful for the older ‘mon’s caution regardless.
Nia settles at Tobias’ side, taking his hand and squeezing. Tobias can’t look away from August’s injury and Avery’s unsteady hands. Not until they suddenly fall to the kirlia’s lap.
August’s injury remains open. A gaping sea of red and pink. Tobias stares at it, uncomprehending, and then looks up at Avery’s face.
The kirlia is crying.
“Ave?” Xander murmurs.
“I can’t fix this,” Avery whispers. Their slim shoulders jump with a sob. “He’s too far gone, it’s too much damage, I-I can’t…”
No. No no no, this…can’t be real. Not again.
“What do you mean?” Tobias asks, desperate. “He’s still alive, so you should—you can fix him!”
Avery’s head bows. “I can’t. I’m sorry. I-I tried.”
Tears flood Tobias’ eyes. He stares at the kirlia, grief and anger unfurling in his chest.
No. No, August can’t die. That’s Maggie’s best friend. That’s the guildmaster who took Tobias in without a second thought, all those years ago. The ‘mon who teased him and guided him over the years, and who has always been a kind, supportive presence, even when Tobias had done nothing but snap at him in return. August is strong. He’s so strong, so he can’t…he…
A sob rips from Tobias’ chest as he looks back at the rillaboom, sprawled almost peacefully across the stone if not for his injuries. Around him, the others bunch closer. Avery is weeping into Xander’s shoulder, and the luxio has silent tears streaming down his cheeks. Kry’s head is lowered in respect. Felix sniffles quietly, in little hiccupping breaths, watching August’s face like it’s the last time he’ll ever see it.
At Tobias’ side, Samir and Junie look teary-eyed too, but it’s Nia who cries with Tobias. She understands just as well as he does what it’s like to come to the guild scared and lost and alone, only to be met with such warm, welcoming arms.
Tobias lowers his head to brush against August’s arm. His fingers curl into August’s coarse fur, cherishing the warmth still left in his body. For a moment, Tobias thinks he imagines the familiar touch of calloused fingers on his hand, much larger than his own. But when Tobias lifts his head again, he locks eyes with August through his tears.
The rillaboom is clearly fading, but in this moment, his gaze seems clear. Slowly, he takes in those gathered around him. The scared children he’s taken under his wing over the years. He has to know he’s dying, but somehow, he doesn’t look scared. He looks…happy.
“I’m glad you’re all safe,” he says, almost too soft to hear.
“You aren’t,” Tobias says, his voice breaking. “I’m sorry, August. I-I’m so sorry. I couldn’t—”
“Is Adira alive?” August interrupts, his head tilting in the direction of Andyn’s mother.
Tobias swallows. He casts another look over his shoulder, just to make sure. “…Yes.”
“Good. You did that, Tobias.”
“W-What?”
“You saved someone’s life,” August murmurs. “Remember that. Don’t focus on those you couldn’t save. Focus on those you did. That’s how a Seeker lives.”
Fresh tears sting Tobias’ eyes. He wants to deny it. Wants to admit how terrible of a Seeker he is, because he would trade Andyn’s mom for August in a heartbeat, no matter how much it would devastate the deerling left behind.
But…August wouldn’t want that, would he? A life is a life. His guild members are his, no matter who they are. He gave his life for the sawsbuck without a second thought, and Tobias…Tobias helped make sure his sacrifice wasn’t in vain.
August hacks a cough that’s wet with blood. He looks again at Tobias. “Can you tell Maggie that I’ll say hi to Fane for her?”
Tobias takes a sharp, shuddering breath, trying and failing to keep more tears at bay. He nods, even as he wipes at the tears rolling down his face.
August smiles, his eyes skimming past all of them before sliding shut again. “Good. Thank you all, for being such good Seekers. Such good kids. A guildmaster couldn’t ask for more.”
Tobias waits for the rillaboom to continue, the lump in his throat painful from trying to hold back another sob. He doesn’t realize there won’t be more until the hand over his own grows heavy and slips off, resting on the bloodied stone at August’s side.
Tobias wails, burying his face in August’s pelt. It’s not fair. It’s not fair for someone so loved to suddenly be gone. Tobias feels like he’s ten years old again, crying over his sister. Mourning his parents and so scared of being left in a world without them.
He doesn’t know how he’s going to tell Maggie.
On either side of Tobias, Nia, Samir, and Junie press close, holding him together. Tobias is reminded that this time, he isn't alone in his grief. It's a comforting thought, even through the painful loss.
It helps that August died happy. Died proud of them, for doing what they did. For saving a fellow guildmember, and for stopping Sulien before he could kill anyone else. For surviving that battle to live another day.
Tobias doesn’t know how long they cry, hunched over their guildmaster’s body. How much time the universe grants them before continuing on. It feels like hours. It feels like seconds. It’s likely only minutes before their sorrow is interrupted.
A chilling, otherworldly cry shatters the morning air and echoes out over the ruins, a ripple of cold energy accompanying it. Tobias lifts his weary head, the skin of his arms dimpling with unease.
The distant fighting behind them abruptly stops. Unearthly silence falls across the battlefield as every Pokemon turns to stare, all eyes on the altar and the dimensional gate.
In front of it, Yveltal’s cocoon has been cracked open, a ray of red light bursting through. Will laughs, loud and delighted in the stillness.
Tobias’ bruised heart drops. The guild didn’t stop Will in time. They failed.
Tobias wakes to howling wind and the rattling of the leaf blind over their window. His eyes flutter open, and he squints into the darkness around him, looking over his shoulder at the blind as it settles back against the wall. Around its edges, the sliver of sky outside is a deep gray.
Tobias isn’t sure what time it is. He assumes it’s dusk at first, but judging by how quiet the Seeker floor is outside their door—none of the chatter or laughter heard through the walls that’s usually present around supper time—it must be just before dawn instead. They must’ve slept all day and then on through the night. Tobias isn’t too surprised by that considering he and Samir did pull an all-nighter rescuing Nia, and Nia herself was already exhausted from her imprisonment.
Nia. Tobias looks forward again, eyes adjusting to the low light to pick out his partner. She’s still fast asleep a few inches away on the bed, her face smushed into her arm and a bit of drool on her fur. She’s stolen half of his blanket in her sleep, curled up with it tangled around her limbs.
Tobias feels warm as he thinks about their talk last night. About how the painful amount of love he has for Nia, for his best friend in the world, was returned to him via her aura, blinding in its intensity.
He’s so lucky.
The leaf blind is hit by another howling gust of wind, bowing inwards before slamming back against the wall loudly.
Nia jolts. She blinks, eyes trying to adjust in her disoriented state, and Tobias flicks the blanket off his tail to offer a bit of firelight.
The riolu relaxes when she sees Tobias’ face, smiling sleepily as she flops back onto the mattress. “M’rning.”
Tobias snorts. “I see you’re wide awake.”
Nia mumbles something unintelligible, rubbing her face into the bed. “Cut me some slack, I spent days sleeping in the least comfortable prison cell.”
Tobias’ smile falters. He swallows a lick of angry flames in the back of his throat. “You feeling okay?”
“I’m fine,” Nia yawns. A paw drifts up to scratch absentmindedly at her cheek, where the gash there has started to scab over. “Wish this didn’t itch, though. It’s—”
Nia freezes, her eyes opening fully as something comes to mind.
“What?” Tobias asks.
Nia focuses on Tobias, and her ears pin back.
Tobias props himself up on an elbow. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing—well, not nothing, but…” Nia chews on her lip for a moment. “I…I feel like I should tell you something, but I’m worried it’ll just upset you.”
That sounds promising. “Well, now I’m gonna be worried either way, so you might as well.”
“I guess it would be good to know, just in case he gets captured or something,” Nia murmurs to herself.
Tobias’ throat goes dry as he sits up fully. “What?”
Nia looks at him almost guiltily, before slowly pushing herself up, too, careful not to disrupt Samir still sleeping behind her. She takes Tobias’ hands.
“I, uh. Ran into someone at Will’s. When I first tried to escape. I didn’t see him after that, but he was working with Will so he’s probably still around, and—”
“Nia,” Tobias says.
Her eyes lock onto his face again. “I met Sulien.”
The arcanine’s scarred face flashes through Tobias’ mind. His breath catches and his stomach turns. Nia’s paws squeeze his own, and he closes his eyes to take a deep breath. Then another.
“Did he hurt you?”
Nia’s paw starts lifting to her cheek before she catches herself, and her mouth opens and closes.
“Your face. He did that?”
Nia’s fingers trace the healing gash on her cheek, the scab still visible through her short fur. “Not…on purpose?”
Tobias growls, low and wordless.
“He’s the one who caught me when I tried to escape,” Nia admits, looking away. “I just hit my face on a rock on the way down.”
Tobias takes another breath, and this time a few embers and a wisp of smoke sneaks through his teeth.
“I’m okay, Tobias,” Nia soothes. “Really. He threw me in jail and I haven’t seen him since. I just…I thought you should know, just in case.”
Just in case Sulien is captured by August and the ‘mon on the mountain in their plan to intervene and stop Will. Just in case Tobias has the chance to see the outlaw for himself.
Tobias only gives that a few seconds of thought before his mind circles back to Nia, at the mercy of Sulien, of all ‘mon. She was a literal breath away from death, face-to-face with the same arcanine who killed Tobias’ family.
…The universe has a terrible sense of humor, huh?
Tobias dips to rest his forehead on the back of Nia’s paw. He squeezes it, trying to quell his shaking, whether from rage or fear.
“I’m sorry,” Nia says, hesitantly petting the top of his head with her free paw. “Should I not have told you?”
“No,” Tobias says. His voice breaks, so he clears his throat. “No, I’m glad you did. I’m just…trying to calm down.”
Nia hums, either giving him space or just not sure what to say. Tobias takes the moment of quiet to gather himself, listening to Samir’s snoring, barely audible over the wind outside.
It feels like the world itself is swaying, and Tobias thinks he’s just getting dizzy until Nia gasps. Then he realizes that the world is actually swaying, pitching like a ship on rough waters.
An earthquake?
Samir’s head jerks up, the skiddo looking around wildly as they’re suddenly yanked from sleep. Somewhere near the foot of the bed, he hears a familiar voice cry out. Junie? Are she and Bo in the room, too?
Tobias grips Nia with one hand and the bed with the other, holding his breath as the world shakes and shakes before slowly shuddering to a stop. For a minute, Tobias isn’t sure that the movement has actually stopped. He stares at Nia, his heart pounding. Her eyes are equally wide, round with fear.
“W-Was that an earthquake?” Junie’s voice asks. Everyone’s eyes go to the little rookidee clinging to Bo’s back. The skarmory’s metallic feathers gleam in the light of Tobias’ flame just past the edge of the bed, where he must’ve been sleeping on the floor.
“I think so,” Nia says. Her paw drifts to her chest as her eyes flick back and forth. They aren’t looking at Tobias, though, but through him, tracking something he can’t see.
“What is it?” Tobias asks.
“The barrier,” Nia breathes, fear flashing across her face. “It had another ripple. The threads have loosened even more.”
“What does that mean?” Tobias asks, dread rolling through his gut. “August and the others should’ve sent Seekers to the mountains already, so if they stopped Will, then…shouldn’t the world be getting better? Not worse?”
Nia’s ear swivels towards the door, and she looks over at it a moment later. The riolu pulls away and clambers out of bed, stumbling on stiff legs to the door to open it. A quiet, hushed clamor of voices drifts into the room from the hallway. The other Seekers on the floor must be checking on their neighbors and talking about what’s happening.
Tobias exchanges a worried look with Samir, Bo, and Junie, and slips out of bed himself, following Nia to the door.
“Something’s wrong,” Nia says, almost to herself.
Before Tobias can answer, Nia hurries out the door. She’s nearly running as she makes her way down the hallway towards the stairs, pushing past other Seekers without checking on their wellbeing or apologizing. That, more than anything, puts Tobias on edge.
“Nia!” He charges after her, even more uncaring of how he barges past other ‘mon in his haste to keep his partner in sight.
“Where is she going?!” Junie asks, swooping down from overhead to land on Tobias’ shoulder.
“Maybe to check on Xander’s team?” Tobias says, unsure.
But Nia rushes right past Team Shellshock’s door, picking up speed as she runs to the staircase and heads up the tree. Tobias’ heart races as he struggles to keep up, Junie’s little claws digging into his shoulder. As they leave the Seeker floor, Tobias hears Samir’s hooves thunking against the wooden floor just behind him, as well as the unfamiliar clanking of Bo’s claws.
Nia doesn’t wait for any of them, rushing up the stairs, and Tobias’ stomach churns as he follows her. He doesn’t know what she knows, or what she senses, but…it can’t be good.
The riolu turns onto the medical floor. Tobias follows her, stopping on the landing as the scent of herbs and blood hits his nose. The wing is busy, unfamiliar medical ‘mon who must’ve been called in to help running back and forth with supplies and water, Fen and Sage’s voices calling out from somewhere to direct them.
Nia’s ears perk and her head snaps in the direction of a specific room. A moment later, Tobias hears Maggie’s voice, raised with emotion.
“August, sit down before you bleed out or so help me I will knock you out myself!”
Tobias feels himself pale, darting after Nia to follow his mom’s voice to one of the medical rooms. Once he reaches it, stumbling to a stop by Nia’s side, a chill runs up his spine.
August is sitting on the ground, cross-legged. The rillaboom’s leafy mane is charred, and his dark fur is matted black with patches of dried blood. Here and there, angry red skin is visible where his fur was burned clean off. He has a hand pressed tightly to his side, and Maggie is using her vines to try to hold him still and wrap his torso with bandages. August’s tense posture says that he’s a moment away from pushing himself to his feet regardless.
The injuries are alarming enough, but it’s August’s expression that make Tobias’ blood go cold. The rillaboom’s jaw is gritted in pain, his sharp fangs on display, but even more striking is how haggard he looks, regretful and angry. Like he can’t stop trying to get up and fight to right an impossible wrong, no matter how much he needs to rest.
“What happened?” Tobias whispers.
August and Maggie finally notice them in the doorway. Maggie has a wild light in her eyes that Tobias has never seen before, and August growls under his breath.
“Tobias,” Maggie starts. Her voice shakes. “W-We…”
“We failed,” a new voice says, bitter.
Tobias suddenly realizes that there are other injured ‘mon in the room with them: high-ranking Seekers from the Lexym Guild, as well as some powerful-looking strangers he doesn’t recognize. Tobias is shocked to realize the owner of the voice is Andyn’s mother.
The sawsbuck is folded into a nest. Blood coats her pretty brown pelt and face, even if her injuries seem minor in comparison to some of the other Pokemon. Her expression is distant and angry as she stares down at her bedmate.
At her side, Andyn’s father is unconscious. His middle is wrapped in bloodied bandages, rising in quick, shallow breaths that make Tobias worry they’re about to stop entirely.
“W-What?” Nia asks, her voice warbling. “But…”
“We sent the absolute strongest Seekers to the mountain to intercept Will,” Tobias says, in disbelief. “I know Will had Pokemon stationed there already, but…but you had the ‘mon from the village and the lucario, too!”
“That’s how they gained the advantage,” August says quietly, clearly frustrated with himself. “The outlaws attacked the village and lured the lucario and enough of our own forces away to divide us.”
“But—even then—"
“We had an army of grass, steel and ice types,” Andyn’s mother interrupts, her dark eyes locking onto Tobias. “We were no match for fire.”
Tobias takes an unconscious step back, his stomach rolling.
“Will expected us after your escape, Nia,” August says. “He sent backup to the mountains. Outlaws, to overwhelm us.”
“An arcanine took out a third of the guild and the lucario on his own,” Andyn’s mother murmurs, looking again at her mate with a tight expression. “He didn’t care if he killed, as long as we were out of his way.”
Tobias distantly feels his team’s eyes land on him. In turn, he stares at the pair of injured sawsbuck.
An arcanine. That…that has to be Sulien.
“S-Someone died?” Junie whispers.
“The dead are still with the village, atop the mountain,” August says quietly. Tobias can see the guilt lining his face as he shuts his eyes and rubs at the bridge of his nose. “The Matriarch’s medics had enough to care for amongst their own, so we teleported the guildmembers here to be treated.”
Oh, Arceus. It hits Tobias all at once that Pokemon he knows could’ve been killed during all this. What if they lost someone? Azami? Val? Eira or Carnelian? The Matriarch? Soren? Rora? He doesn’t want to ask. Doesn’t want to know.
Tobias feels panic press into his lungs, threatening to unmoor him completely. A hand finds his own, intertwining their fingers and squeezing. Tentatively, Nia’s aura wraps around his like a protective cocoon, gently prodding at him to keep him present. Tobias latches onto the sensation, realizing after a moment that Nia is murmuring for him to breathe. He does his best to follow her instructions.
For a moment, Tobias thinks he’s about to faint as the world sways, until he sees everyone around him crouch down and cry out in alarm. Another earthquake.
Nia pulls Tobias down with her, and a bubble of protect forms around them, larger than Tobias has ever seen it. It’s big enough to encompass not only the two of them, but also Samir, Bo and Junie, August, and Maggie. The noise of the rest of the medical floor muffles behind the blue of Nia’s aura.
Is this it? Did Will break through and now the world is falling apart? Is this where they die?
Tobias buries his face in Nia’s shoulder, taking shallow breaths and still trying to ward off a panic attack.
The rocking of the world feels endless, rattling Tobias’ brain around inside his skull. Then, slowly, it stops. Tobias is only convinced it’s over when Nia lets her aura drop.
The air is still. Everyone looks around, taking in the damage. Some of the room’s supplies have fallen to the floor and scattered, but otherwise the tree is still in one piece. Andyn’s father hasn’t stirred, but his mate has her neck craned over him, as if trying to protect him. The other occupants of the room seem equally shaken, but unhurt.
“Is everyone all right?” August asks.
There’s a quiet murmur of assent.
The rillaboom nods and tries to push himself to his feet, only for Maggie to shove him back down. “Sit. You are going to stay here until I’m sure your insides won’t become your outsides.”
August looks like he wants to argue, but he settles again for now.
“The barrier is growing more unstable,” Nia says, her eyes distant again as she looks at the aura of the world around them. “But…it hasn’t broken yet. I don’t think so, at least.”
“Will didn’t wake Yveltal in the mountains,” August says, surprising them. “I didn’t even see him. The outlaws took Yveltal with them.”
There’s a stunned moment of silence.
“Uh. That thing was the size of a bus,” Junie says, bordering on hysterical. “How could they just take it with them?”
“And why?” Nia asks, flabbergasted.
“That’s the question of the hour, isn’t it?” A familiar voice asks from behind them. The serene tone is a stark contrast to the tension in the air.
Tobias turns, and he’s somehow shocked by the sight of Rosalind standing in the doorway, despite the fact that he’s the one who brought her here. Zag the zigzagoon is close at her heels, and plops down at her side.
The hatterene’s dark eyes skim over August and the others before landing on Tobias and Nia. She smiles pleasantly. “Hello again, Team Scarlet.”
“Okay, did I die?” Junie squeaks after a long moment. “Are we dead? ‘Cause this is a weird afterlife.”
Rosalind giggles. “I’m surprised you’re so surprised, dear. After all, I was invited here by our favorite little charmander.”
“Invited by..?” Junie squawks, whipping around to stare at Tobias. “Your letter was to Rosalind?!”
Tobias shrugs. “Told you it was crazy.”
But it worked.
Tobias looks back at the hatterene, her presence a beacon of calm amidst the quiet chaos of the medical floor. “And if you’re here, that means you want to help.”
“Well of course, dear,” Rosalind says. Her voice takes on an edge as she adds, “I have a little unfinished business with our mutual friend Will, after all.”
Oh, she is mad mad.
“You…aren’t going to the human world with him?” Nia asks, hesitant, as if afraid that Rosalind will do just that if she’s reminded of the option.
“Putting aside the fact that Will is a lunatic and his plan can’t be trusted,” Rosalind says sweetly, “I would rather stay in this world than move to another. I have…assets here that I can’t recreate.”
Tobias has no idea what to make of that, but he knows better than to ask.
Rosalind’s eyes flick past Team Scarlet to focus on August, who’s watching the psychic type with careful neutrality. “Hello, Guildmaster. I apologize for intruding, but Tobias thought I may be of assistance and requested my presence.”
“Is that so.” August’s gaze moves to Tobias, and he has to resist the urge to hide. August clearly doesn’t know Rosalind, but the rillaboom isn’t stupid. Tobias bets the experienced guildmaster can practically feel the dangerous intent rolling off the hatterene in waves.
“And I’m so very grateful for the invitation!” Rosalind chirps. “Now, on to more important matters. How exactly was Yveltal removed from the mountainside?”
Ah. She must’ve caught the end of their conversation. Tobias’ stomach sinks as he remembers what they were discussing.
“Teleport, most likely,” August grunts, moving back into business mode. “So we have no idea where they would’ve taken him.”
“Isn’t Yveltal a dark type?” Junie pipes up. “I thought there was something weird about dark types and psychic energy.”
Nia’s head whips up, her eyes going wide with realization. “Ring targets.”
Tobias frowns at her. “What?”
“Ring targets!” Nia repeats, groaning as she plants her head in her hands. “That little disk thing that Ezra had. Dark types need them to teleport, and Will had a bunch of them at the settlement and was, like, taking them apart or something.”
“Figuring out how they work,” Bo guesses.
Nia nods, lifting her head and visibly fighting off regret for not catching on sooner. “Probably.”
“That answers the how, but not the why or the where,” August says as Rosalind steps fully into the room, Zag her ever-present shadow. “If Will plans to use Yveltal’s power to destroy the barrier of this world, doing it then and there in the mountains would’ve been the best way to avoid risking capture or delay.”
“You think he was worried about being interrupted?” Tobias asks.
“Possibly,” August says, a hand going to his chin in thought. “But if he was already looking into ring targets and planning to teleport Yveltal before Nia broke free, then it was likely always the plan to move him.”
Rosalind hums. When she speaks, her usual saccharine tone is gone. “Then location must matter. Will must be under the assumption that his plan will have a higher chance of success in a particular area—perhaps where his target is weakest. I wouldn’t be surprised if the barrier was more vulnerable in particular locations.”
Once again, Nia straightens with realization. “A gate. Will mentioned a gate, when he talked about meeting Giratina.” She looks at Tobias. “Edme mentioned something about it too, right? In Shivergleam. That Giratina has a…a shrine or something. Somewhere where the border between worlds is weakest.”
“And do we know where this gate is?” August asks.
Nia hesitates, her tail and ears drooping, and Tobias shakes his head.
“Couldn’t you just ask Giratina?” Junie asks.
There’s a moment of stunned silence in the room as the ‘mon not in the know digest the rookidee’s casual question. Right. Legendary. Not the usual chatting buddy.
“He was growing pretty weak last time I saw him, but…” Nia bites her lip, then looks around. “I need something reflective.”
“I have the perfect human ware for that.” Rosalind reaches into her…hair? Coat? Body? And pulls out a small pink disk with a line along its outer edge.
To Tobias’ surprise, Nia seems to know what it is immediately as her shoulders fall slack with relief. She takes the object with a murmur of thanks and a delicate touch, popping it open to reveal a polished reflection inside. Huh.
“Giratina?” Nia asks, hesitant. Then, louder, “Giratina! Are you there? It’s important.”
For a long, long moment, there’s no answer. Fresh fear rises up in Tobias’ chest as Nia grips the item harder, so hard that Tobias is afraid she’ll break it and they’ll owe Rosalind thousands.
Has Giratina fallen dormant since they last spoke to him?
Just as Nia opens her mouth to say something, there’s a flicker in the reflection, and then the faintest glow of Giratina’s eyes, barely visible even in the darkness of the dimensional rift.
“Giratina,” Nia breathes. “We know what’s causing the break in the rift. It’s Will, a yamask who’s trying to go back to the human world with Yveltal’s power. He’s trying to take Yveltal to a place Edme mentioned—a dimensional gate, I think? Wherever the border between worlds is thinnest.”
Giratina’s narrowed eyes widen at this sudden drop of information. He looks away, as if to dash off to the spot and guard the barrier himself.
“Wait! We need to know where the gate is,” Nia says quickly. “We’re going to try to stop Will too, but we don’t know the location.”
Giratina looks at Nia with irritation. He opens his mouth, mandibles moving with words, but Tobias hears nothing.
Nia’s ears pin as she realizes the problem. “We can’t hear him. The connection is too weak.”
For a moment, there’s a renewed surge of despair before Tobias remembers something.
“Nia, when you were…” Tobias trails off, trying to figure out how to word this. “When you talked to Giratina in the river the other day, you connected to him for a moment, didn’t you? You did something and I could suddenly hear him.”
Nia blinks at Tobias, clearly confused, and then surprised. “You’re right. I-I…I forgot I did that. I was just so angry and I needed to talk to him. How did I..?”
Nia looks down at her paw.
“Was it aura?” Tobias asks. He doesn’t know exactly how that would work, but he can’t think of any other reason Nia would be able to do that.
“Yeah,” Nia murmurs, looking into the mirror, and then through it, as if seeing something in the distance. “Giratina is the one with the ability to make a portal through reflections, but it looks like he does so by forming a sort of temporary bridge between the fabric of this reality and the distortion world. Like…sewing a tunnel between the two with those threads of aura.”
Nia touches a fingertip to the glass of the mirror, the blue glow of her aura lining her body and shining in her eyes. “Giratina still has enough power to connect, but not enough to stabilize that connection for travel, or even sound. But if I can stabilize those threads with aura…”
Around Tobias, the others are silent. Deathly so.
Nia closes her eyes, her aura glowing brighter. Tobias startles and takes a step back as the floor beneath him seems to…warp. The wood cracks, flaking, drier suddenly than it was before, as if the liquid is seeping right out of it.
Tobias looks up at Nia in awe, understanding what’s happening as he sees the patch of dry, almost dead wood spread around Nia’s feet. She’s…taking life energy from the Lexym Tree and siphoning it into the connection.
His partner is incredible.
Nia’s eyes open, still glowing with energy. “Giratina?”
“Riolu.”
Nia’s mouth twitches with a smile. “I hear you. Where’s the gate?”
For a moment, Tobias thinks Giratina is going to ignore her and zip away, probably thinking of how little they’ll be able to do. But after a beat, he relents. “It’s south of Shivergleam. Follow the river and consult Edme if need be.”
“South of Shivergleam. Got it.”
Giratina nods, and Tobias sees him turn to go—probably straight for the gate—before the connection flickers out. Nia closes the item with a click and hands it back to Rosalind.
“August, don’t—”
August pushes himself to his feet, strongarming past Maggie’s attempts to keep him seated. “I’ll put out an alert and arrange for travel to Shivergleam. Send any medical ‘mon you can spare to the flight floor.”
“You are not going to fight in this condition!” Maggie says, running to block the door and glaring at her old friend. “You’re going to get yourself killed, August.”
August’s eyes darken. “Our guildmembers already have, Maggie. I will not sit back and send the rest to their deaths alone.”
“Verene—”
“Is at death’s door on the other end of the hall,” August snaps.
Tobias’ heart skips a beat, and at his side, Nia’ paws lift to cover her mouth.
Maggie flinches. Her golden eyes are glossy with tears. “August, I…I can’t lose you, too.”
August’s face softens, but he doesn’t back down. “I’ll do my best to come back, Mags. You know I will.”
It’s not a promise. Tobias feels fear and preemptive grief kick up in his throat.
A few tears roll down Maggie’s face. Wordlessly, she steps aside, wilting like a dying flower.
August gives her one last look before pushing out the door, limping and still holding his side, only half-bandaged. Rosalind and Zag follow him out.
“He acts like we’re going to war,” Junie murmurs.
“Aren’t we?” Tobias responds. “Will has an army of outlaws ready to fight off any attempts to stop him.” Even if that means killing their opponents.
Maggie sniffles, biting back sobs and trying to calm herself down. Tobias moves to her side and puts a cautious hand on her leg, unsure of what to do. He’s not used to seeing her break like this.
Maggie uses a vine to pull Tobias into a tight hug, the petals around her neck jumping and shivering with quiet, hiccupping cries. Tobias presses himself further into her embrace, wishing he was bigger so he could enfold her for once.
In what seems like only seconds, a yell from the hallway makes Maggie reluctantly pull away. Her eyes are red and wet, and she can’t even seem to muster a smile. Instead, she lowers her head to brush her snout over Tobias’ cheek before hurrying off to help. Tobias watches her go with a lump in his throat.
The rest of them are suddenly left aimless. Through the walls of the tree, the wind howls.
“What do we do now?” Junie asks, her voice small.
“Wait until August puts out an announcement,” Tobias says.
He glances around the room at the larger, stronger, more experienced Seekers who are laid up in nests, some so injured that Tobias has trouble picking out whether or not they’re still breathing. He doesn’t know how the guild is going to fight back if Will’s outlaws tore through their most powerful fighters like this, even if they were at a type disadvantage. Tobias is sure that August won’t want to bring along younger, lower-ranked recruits, but…
That might be all he has left. No guild is close enough to summon an army of fighters in an instant. It would take hours to notify, inform, organize, and transport them. Hours they don’t have if Will is planning on pushing his plan through immediately.
Nia crouching down pulls Tobias from his bleak thoughts. She’s frowning at the spot on the floor where she’d drained the tree of its life energy, leaving behind a dark patch like a bruise.
“What’re you thinking?” Tobias asks.
Nia’s mouth twists. “I was wondering if it would be possible to strengthen Giratina’s portals enough with aura for us to go through ourselves and get to Shivergleam faster, but…”
“But?”
“That would take a lot of aura. Especially if we need to bring a lot of Pokemon. Between that and Giratina’s weakened state, I think we’d be at serious risk of the connection destabilizing in the middle of everything and trapping us in the distortion world.”
Junie shudders at the thought, and Tobias agrees with the rookidee. “Let’s not risk it.”
Nia sighs. Then she gives the floor a little pat. “Sorry for taking your energy, tree. If we figure out how to fix this, you should be able to heal up in no time.”
Tobias snorts as his partner rises, endeared despite the turmoil of the moment.
Before they can decide what to do next, telepathy snakes through Tobias’ brain, echoing in his thoughts: Attention, all Seekers. All teams B-rank and above come to the flight floor immediately. Be prepared for battle.
Tobias looks at his teammates once the grim announcement is finished. “Are we going?”
“You’re not B-rank,” Junie points out.
“No,” Nia says, softly. “But…I feel responsible for this, in a way.”
Tobias nods. “And August needs all the help he can get. Samir?”
As one, Tobias and Nia look at Samir. The skiddo’s expression is conflicted, clearly worried about how dangerous this could be, so Tobias expects them to put up a fight. Instead, he’s surprised when the grass type just nods and whistles, Yes. Mission.
“Really?” Nia asks, clearly as surprised as Tobias feels.
Samir doesn’t look happy about it, but they nod. Danger, they whistle. Help.
Right. The stakes are too high and their forces too sparse for even the most cautious member of Team Scarlet to try and bow out.
Samir locks eyes first with Nia, and then Tobias. They whistle, Caution.
“Right,” Tobias nods, “we’ll be careful, and we’ll watch each others’ backs.”
“We’ve been taking on B-rank level enemies anyways, right?” Nia says with a weak smile. “We’ve practically been preparing for this.”
“I’m coming, too.”
All attention goes to Junie, standing next to Bo’s foot.
Bo is the first to speak, “What? No, you—”
“You’re going, aren’t you?” Junie challenges, glaring up at the much larger flying type.
“Yes, but I can fight if need be,” Bo argues.
“And I can get a bird’s-eye view and direct people where to go next,” Junie says. “I’m coming along.”
“Junie—” Nia and Tobias start at the same time.
“No!” Junie stomps her foot, her feathers fluffing up. “You’re all putting your lives on the line to help save the world, and I’m not just gonna sit back where it’s safe like I always do. I’m tired of being deadweight. I’m gonna help!”
Everyone falls silent, exchanging wary looks. Tobias already feels sick thinking about Nia and Samir facing outlaws like this, let alone a tiny thing like Junie. But…he knows Junie. And he can’t imagine being able to convince her to stay behind now that she’s made up her mind. They could knock her out, maybe?
Junie must be able to sense Tobias’ thoughts, because she hops back a step with a furious look. “And if one of you traps me here or something, I will literally never forgive you. Ever.”
Tobias has a feeling she means it, too. Still, if it means keeping her alive…
To Tobias’ surprise, it’s Bo who speaks up, quiet and sharp. “You stay with me at all times. I mean it. Right by my side.”
Junie perks up, nodding.
Nia and Samir both look at the skarmory with something like betrayal for putting his charge in danger.
“I am not risking her following us and getting caught up in the fight with no one around for backup,” Bo explains. “I’ll watch her. We’ll be scouts—give you all some direction.”
Junie nods, fluttering atop Bo’s head. “Right. I’ll find Will and lead you right to him so you can punch him in his stupid face.”
The joke doesn’t land, all of them too unhappy with this turn of events for humor.
Nia speaks up again, her paws wringing together nervously. “Junie, are you sure—”
“Yes. Don’t try to convince me, Nia.”
A small crowd of Pokemon moving past the doorway and down the hall distracts them from their conversation. Tobias spots some familiar S-rank Seekers among them, injured but well enough to move. To fight. Heading back into the fray.
Off to the side of the room, movement draws Tobias’ eye. It’s Andyn’s mother, getting to her hooves. The sawsbuck lowers her head to brush her nose over her mate’s cheek, and Tobias realizes for the first time that a large tine on one of her antlers has been broken off. The sawsbuck also has burned patches marring her sleek fur, and bandages wrapped around a leg, but she steps past their group without hesitation to join the crowd in the hall.
Tobias takes a deep breath. “We’d better go, too.”
No one answers, so Tobias leads the way. Their group slips in amongst the crowd like a school of magikarp heading downstream.
It feels like they climb the staircase and reach the flight floor faster than usual. The space is already packed with teams, murmuring to one another anxiously and all geared up for a fight. The teams stare at the injured S-rank Seekers with wide eyes, hushed voices picking up as everyone tries to figure out why they’ve been called here. Cold, unnaturally harsh winds blow into the room and ruffle fur and feathers and cloth, despite the clear pre-dawn sky outside.
The pounding of August’s drum catches everyone’s attention, and all heads swivel to focus on the rillaboom. If Tobias tiptoes, he can see the guildmaster on one side of the room, looking out over the crowd and waiting for them to settle. At August’s side, Tobias is relieved to see Azami the tsareena. She too is all bandaged up and her expression is unusually serious, but she’s alive. Val is resting against the wall in her shadow, the medicham’s arms crossed over her chest.
When it’s quiet enough, August speaks, his voice ringing through the morning air. “Thank you for your quick response, Seekers. I’m afraid time is of the essence, so I won’t delay in explaining the situation.”
Tobias sees a few of the Pokemon around him exchange nervous looks.
“A mission was carried out last night by our S-rank Seekers, to intercept a Pokemon and his followers who are aiming for the destruction of our world. Unfortunately, we failed.”
The crowd’s whispers increase tenfold, ears pinning back and faces tightening with fear and confusion. Some Pokemon glance at the visibly ragged S-rank Seekers scattered throughout the crowd. A few call out in alarm, asking August what he means.
August’s expression is pained. He closes his eyes for a moment to gather himself, a cloud of steam puffing from his mouth as he holds up a hand to silence the crowd. Slowly, they do.
“I contacted the nearest guilds before our departure last night to inform them of the situation, but I do not know if backup will arrive in time, or if they even have the ‘mon to spare amidst the world’s decay. But this Pokemon and his followers must be stopped for our world to remain safe, and we must move out immediately to have even a chance at success. A battle likely lies ahead.”
More panicked questions. August tries to answer the first few, and then tries to wait them out so he can be heard, but they seem endless, a wave of noise and fear crashing over the room.
Finally, it’s Azami at August’s side who acts, rearing her leg up and slamming it into the floor with a resounding BANG. Grass type energy spreads throughout the room in grassy terrain, sending shoots of leaves and moss sprouting underfoot in a shimmer of green light. Tobias and the others jump, lifting their feet to look at the soft plant life that has sprung up through the wood. The move catches everyone off-guard enough for August to be heard again.
“Thank you, Azami.” August lifts his head, looking both noble and exhausted. “We are not fully alone in this. We have with us the members of the lucario tribe who are well enough to fight.”
Tobias follows the rillaboom’s gesture to the side, and Nia tiptoes to see better, too. Tobias spots Soren standing near the rillaboom, with ten or so other lucario at his back, all of them already injured and hastily bandaged. Soren’s face is dark with rage, but he jerks his head in a nod. His dad must be holding down the fort in the mountains.
Tobias is just relieved to see him alive.
“Additionally,” August adds, looking at Rosalind on his other side. The hatterene smiles out at the crowd, a silky white scarf tied stylishly around her neck. “If you see anyone unfamiliar wearing white scarves during the battle, do not attack them. These are allies—reinforcements from Ghatha.”
Tobias’ jaw drops. Reinforcements from Rosalind? He knows he’s the one who asked her for help, but he didn’t really specify aside from letting her know that Will was on the move and putting his plan into action, and that they might have a fight on their hands. Who could she have possibly brought on such short notice?
Nia nudges Tobias’ arm. “Look! Over there, behind Rosalind.”
Tobias follows her lead, and finally spots what caught her eye: a vaguely familiar zangoose, with a white scarf tied around his neck. That’s…Keiko the pachirisu’s father. The outlaw whose daughter they escorted back in Ghatha, when they had to fight off those seviper.
Well, guess that answers that. Rosalind brought her own network of connections with her—or at least the ones that she could call in immediately for a favor or to blackmail into following her orders. Tobias isn’t sure whether to feel relieved or not that a good chunk of their allies are probably criminals themselves. He’s sure they’re strong, but…
“Rosalind brought outlaws as allies?” Junie whispers, echoing his thoughts. “That’s insane!”
At her side, Samir nods, looking troubled.
“I don’t know,” Nia says, her brow furrowed. “I mean…they are strong, and surely they don’t want this world to die either, right? I’m not sure it’s such a bad decision, actually.”
She…has a point. Tobias notes the intensity in the outlaws’ eyes as they listen to August speak. It seems like something is driving them, more than just following Rosalind’s orders. They’re outlaws, sure, but they’re still Pokemon. They also have homes and loved ones they don’t want to lose, just as much as the guild members do. Keiko might even be here at the guild as they speak, stashed away in the nursery.
“Even then, we’re still in a guild! That’s like a wanted criminal waltzing into a police station and breakdancing right under the chief’s nose!”
Tobias glances at August, and shakes his head. “I don’t think August cares right now, quite frankly. This is more important than the law. We have to take any help we can get.”
Junie makes a thoughtful sound at that, and she and Samir begrudgingly stop arguing the point. The end of the world is a bit of a special circumstance.
“Even with their assistance, however,” August continues, “I expect a difficult fight. We will do our best to neutralize the threat without starting an all-out battle, but…”
The guildmaster trails off, forcibly lifting his gaze to meet the crowd’s eyes. “I will not lie to you, and I will not force you into this fight, Seeker or not. This is a bigger threat than you should have to face at your current rank. A potentially fatal threat. S-rank Seekers can and already have been killed by the group of outlaws we are facing.”
The crowd is suddenly deathly silent. The wind rattles the boards of the flight docks outside.
“But if our initial attack fails, then it is a fight that must be had. If you are able and willing, I call upon you now to protect our world. If not, please return to your quarters and put your energy into protecting those here at the guild. You will not be penalized in any way for this decision.”
The Pokemon in the crowd look at each other, quiet conversations breaking out anew between teammates. A handful of teams do eventually squeeze their way past everyone to reach the staircase, their heads lowered in shame as they flee. Tobias doesn’t blame them for leaving, though. Part of him wishes he could do the same.
Slowly, the crowd settles again, tense and fearful, but listening.
August looks out over the remaining Seekers with a pained sort of pride. Tobias has no doubt he wishes he could send them all back to their rooms, where they’d be safe and sound. “Thank you for your bravery, Seekers.”
August takes a breath and stands taller. “Now. Logistics. We have called in every flight ‘mon available, and there are more on the way. The psychics are ready and waiting as well. Your teams will be assigned to a flight ‘mon or two, and will then be teleported by our psychics to the southern boundary.”
As August speaks, he gestures towards the flight ports, where Tobias sees most of the guild psychics already waiting, including Alistair the gardevoir. Past that group, flight Pokemon are arriving in spades, fluttering in to crowd along the edges of the room. Tobias doesn’t spot Fliss, but he bets she’s around here somewhere.
“After teleportation, the flight ‘mon will continue the journey south and carry us to our destination, following the guidance of our scouts. When we land, we will make the final leg on foot, where we will attempt to neutralize the threat. If that is unsuccessful, I expect Will’s forces to attack, and we will be ready to meet them. Any questions?”
In stark contrast to the crowd’s previous responses, no one speaks.
August nods. “We will move out immediately. Do not go lightly on your opponents, and stay safe.”
It sounds more like a prayer than an order. As if August already knows it won’t be entirely possible, and is instead hoping that they’ll just stay alive. Tobias’ stomach twists.
As August and some of the upper-rank ‘mon begin organizing teams to funnel out onto the flight docks, Tobias feels a terrible sense of déjà vu, remembering a very similar gathering on the night of Bethoc Bluffs. If it’s possible, the tension in the room is even worse this time around.
Nia takes Tobias’ hand again, startling him out of his thoughts. She’s watching him with concern, and leans close to whisper. “Will you be okay? If we…if we see Sulien out there?”
Oh. He wasn’t thinking about that before, but now he is. Tobias takes a calming breath as his heart rate spikes even higher.
“Y-Yeah. Yeah. I’m…I’ll be fine.”
Nia doesn’t look like she believes him and Tobias can’t blame her, considering he doesn’t really believe himself, either. Maybe they won’t see Sulien at all, and some other ‘mon will take him down. Even if he did rip through the S-rank Seekers like it was nothing.
Tobias squeezes Nia’s paw tighter.
“Nia? Tobias?”
Tobias looks over his shoulder and locks eyes with a worried Xander, Felix at his side. Behind the luxio and wartortle, Kry is standing on her toes to search for someone in the crowd.
“You aren’t B-rank,” Xander accuses, his voice low. Tobias hears the second meaning, scared for their safety: You shouldn’t be here.
“The pipsqueak isn’t even a Seeker,” Kry grumbles, still not looking their way. Junie scowls.
“Yeah,” Nia admits, her ears slanting back. Still, she meets her friend’s eyes. “But…we’re at the center of all of this. We’re going.”
Xander doesn’t look happy about that, his tail lashing once and the fur along his spine bristling, but he must know he won’t be able to talk them down from this. He glances at August, as if wondering if he could have the guildmaster make them stay here, and anger sparks in Tobias’ chest. He suddenly understands what Junie felt earlier, about being left behind.
“We’re going,” Tobias says firmly. “We’re low enough on numbers as is.”
“He’s right, Xan,” Felix says, running a hand over his friend’s back to smooth down his fur.
Xander closes his eyes, his shoulders falling with resignation. “I should’ve guessed as much, honestly. Just…be careful. Please.”
“We will,” Nia promises, pulling the luxio into a hug. He holds her tightly with a foreleg, burying his muzzle into her collar for a moment. When they part, Nia’s eyes are watery. “You all be careful too, okay?”
Xander and Felix nod. Kry doesn’t answer, still looking out over the crowd, towards the psychics. She flicks Xander’s heel with her tail. “Avery’s done talking to their dad. Let’s go.”
Oh. Now that Tobias is looking for them, he spots the kirlia threading back through the crowd towards the rest of Team Shellshock, their cheeks wet and their eyes downcast. Behind them, Alistair watches his child for a long moment before tearing himself away to talk with the other psychics.
Tobias looks away, too, his throat closing up.
Xander and Felix give Team Scarlet one last bid to be safe before following their fraxure partner into the crowd to meet Avery halfway.
“Nia! Tobias!”
Another familiar voice. Andyn?
The deerling pushes her way through the crowd to reach their side, panting. Her eyes are wide. “You’re going with them?”
Tobias really hopes the deerling isn’t about to pick a fight about this.
“Yeah,” Nia murmurs.
Andyn’s ears fall. She swallows hard, looking down at her hooves. For a moment, she doesn’t speak, before finally choking out, “Be careful. Please.”
Nia’s anxious expression melts into something much softer. She pulls Andyn into a hug too, and the deerling sniffs and hooks her neck around Nia’s shoulder to reciprocate.
“I want to go too,” Andyn admits, her voice trembling. “I want to help. But…the guild needs me here. Ezra and Jaz need me here, in case something happens.”
Nia nods, pulling away. “If something happens, but the guild is still here…they’ll need Seekers like you guys to keep it safe.”
Andyn’s lip trembles. “Don’t say it like that, like something is gonna happen.”
Nia smiles through her tears. “Sorry.”
Andyn bumps her head to Nia’s cheek once more before pulling away and gathering herself. Her eyes jump from one member of Team Scarlet to the next. “Ezra and Jaz told me to tell you good luck. All of you. Come back safe, okay?”
They nod.
Before Andyn can run off, Nia reaches out a paw. “Oh! Andyn, y-your mom, she—”
“I know.” Andyn doesn’t look at them, visibly trying to keep her emotions under control. “That’s why I came up here in the first place. I-I…I already talked to her.”
The deerling doesn’t elaborate. None of them ask her to.
“Be careful,” Andyn says one last time, before slipping away through the crowd of Pokemon.
Nia stares after her friend. Tobias gently takes her paw to move their group forward in the queue of teams. Ahead of them, nervous Seekers board flight ‘mon before being teleported away by the guild psychics to the edge of the Haven’s territory.
It feels like no time at all before it’s their team’s turn. Tobias is disappointed that their flight ‘mon isn’t Fliss, but the noivern assigned to them looks capable, standing strong despite the winds blowing against his sail-like wings and large ears. He nods to them in greeting and crouches to let them aboard his back, swinging his long tail out of the way.
Bo, seeing that they have a reliable ride, says, “I’m going to see if a small team needs me as a flyer. Junebug, you going with them or with me?”
Junie shuffles nervously on her feet. “Will you come find us when we get there?”
“Of course.”
Junie still seems unsure, but glances at Nia and Tobias and Samir before nodding. “I-I’m gonna go with Nia and the others, then. See you soon?”
Bo smiles and leans down to bump his beak against her entire body. “See you soon. Be careful.”
“You too.”
The skarmory gives them all an encouraging nod before moving towards one of the guild organizers to ask where he’s needed, the clinking of his metallic feathers getting lost to the din.
Team Scarlet climbs onto the noivern’s back. Samir settles at the front, nestling into the dragon-type’s fluffy mane with Junie tucked close against their side. Nia sits behind the skiddo, with Tobias at her back.
When they confirm that they’re ready to go, the noivern plants his winged arms wide, as if ready to pounce forward. The two psychics standing on either side of the dock lift their arms—an abra and a duosion.
“Good luck,” the duosion says quietly.
That’s the only warning they get before psychic energy envelops them. The world swims and turns for a moment, and then they’re in open air, the muffled cold of the flight floor swapped for the roar of biting wind.
The noivern’s leathery wings snap out, flapping frantically for a few seconds to regain balance. When they’re steady again—or as steady as they’re going to get—Tobias squints open an eye, tears bubbling up from the wind. The sky around them is a deep gray, dawn still an hour or so away, but Tobias spots other flyers nearby, all heading in the same direction like a fleet of ships sailing across a stormy sea.
They must’ve been teleported to the very edge of the psychics’ range, because below them, the forest is already shifting from the bare branches of the Haven’s more deciduous trees to the temperate trees of the south. Cutting between them is a large river reflecting the sky, and Tobias realizes after a moment that it must be the same river they took to return from Shivergleam with Cordelia’s crew. That feels like it was so long ago now.
Tobias pulls his focus away from their surroundings to check on his teammates instead. Junie is sitting up, pressed against Samir’s leg and watching the other flyers. Nia and Samir aren’t looking around much, still uneasy about heights thanks to their typing, and Nia’s petting Samir’s leafy mane in a gesture probably soothing for both of them. Tobias leans forward to wrap an arm around the riolu’s middle, hoping to ground her and keep her warm. Nia gives Tobias a grateful, nervous smile over her shoulder, and Tobias tries to return it, even as fear rolls through his gut.
Tobias knows August will try to stop Will before resorting to an all-out battle, but a fight is still very possible. What if Tobias loses someone today? What if he loses all of them today? If they fail to stop Will, they’ll lose everything.
Tobias takes a deep breath and rests his head on Nia’s shoulder, trying to stay sane. He can’t think like that, or he’s going to drive himself crazy.
They’re going to stop Will and save the world, and they’re all going to make it back home safely. He won’t let today turn out any other way.
It’s when dawn is just starting to lighten the sky on the horizon that Tobias notices the noivern’s flight pattern change. Tobias lifts his head, and sees that the flight ‘mon is slowly descending in altitude, heading towards the trees below. The other flight ‘mon that Tobias can spot are doing the same thing, probably following the guidance of a psychic ‘mon’s telepathy.
The noivern descends over a stretch of swampy water that’s relatively clear of trees, touching down where a group of ‘mon are already gathered along the edge of the water. Behind them, wetland trees climb into the gray sky, vines and lichen hanging between them to blot out the already dim light. At their base, swampy water threads between patches of solid ground.
Tobias’ muzzle wrinkles as he slips off the noivern’s back and lands on cold, wet mud. Great. He helps Nia and Samir off as well, and the group of them thank their ride before the noivern nods and takes back to the air.
Their little group joins the crowd of Seekers, lucario, and outlaws nervously milling about the trees. Tobias guesstimates there are maybe 60 or so here already, but he could’ve sworn there had been more who had left the guild before them.
A ‘mon joining the group from between the thin, scattered trees catches Tobias’ eye. It’s a servine from the guild who Tobias had seen directing Pokemon before, during emergencies. They say something to another ‘mon who Tobias doesn’t recognize: a grumpig, the psychic type wearing a white scarf around their neck to mark them as one of Rosalind’s crew.
“Nia?”
That’s another voice Tobias knows. All of Team Scarlet turns, and Nia perks up.
“Fidel!”
The zoroark squeezes between the crowd to reach them. “I suppose I should’ve known you all would refuse to stay out of this.”
“You know us,” Junie jokes. “Trouble magnets. We just can’t resist it.”
“Are you going to be okay, Fidel?” Nia blurts. “If…if you have to face Will?”
Fidel’s eyes darken for a moment. He shakes his head, then his whole body, as if to rid himself of the melancholy thoughts clinging to him like spiderwebs. “I’ll be fine, Nia. Thank you for your concern, but…I’ll do what has to be done to protect this world. I just wish you didn’t have put yourselves into harm’s way as well.”
“Join the club,” Junie mutters, before perking up as she spots someone else in the crowd. “Bo!”
The rookidee flutters off Nia’s shoulder to meet the skarmory walking their way, his talons sinking into the mud with every step. His irritated expression lightens when Junie reaches his side, immediately chattering away.
Tobias is startled when telepathy rings through his head, a little less…smooth than it usually is. More abrupt, like someone suddenly talking in his ear without any warning.
This group is moving out soon. Get in a line, get ready, and be quiet. You’re following the servine to the gate.
The Pokemon around Tobias look equally caught off-guard by the gruff tone of the message. Tobias notices the purple glow of psychic energy receding from the grumpig he’d spotted earlier, specifically around the black gems on its head and belly. Ah. Well, that explains the clunkier tone. The outlaw probably isn’t used to smoothing out his telepathy, especially for such a large group.
The crowd slowly fumbles its way into some semblance of a line, with the S-rank Seekers leading the charge. Team Scarlet slots itself into the mix, Fidel and Bo at their backs.
It’s not long before the grumpig sends out the signal for them to move out, and the servine leads them through the trees, following a path that the first scouts must’ve mapped out for him. Slowly, in anxious quiet, everyone follows.
Nia takes Tobias’ hand again as they start moving, her expression grave as she looks ahead. Tobias keeps an eye on the terrain underfoot, trying to avoid any large puddles.
It’s difficult to see the full extent of the area they travel through in the pre-dawn gloom. It’s damp, the ground underfoot muddy and threaded with roots that threaten to trip them up, and they pass by long stretches of placid, swampy ponds where fog sits low over the surface. Trees grow right out of the water like silent sentinels, their boughs draping like a delicate veil.
The tension in the air is palpable. The crowd of Pokemon are quiet as they duck under branches and vines, stumbling through mud and over fallen trees. Tobias is grateful for the small bubble of light his tail flame offers, cutting through the darkness and giving them a bit more visibility.
Tobias isn’t sure how long it takes before a new telepathic voice snakes through his thoughts, smoother than the grumpig’s.
Stay quiet, go where you’re stationed, and brace for battle. Our target is just ahead.
Tobias’ heart pounds in his ears. He watches as the Pokemon in front of them get divided up, team by team, to split along a body of water at the discretion of a simisage who Tobias recognizes from the guild. The simisage is an S-rank Seeker, so she too is bandaged up and injured from the previous battle, but she holds herself tall as she directs Team Scarlet to go to the right.
Fidel is directed to the left, so he gives Team Scarlet a reluctant bid to be careful before following the simisage’s order.
Tobias follows the team ahead of him, trudging quietly through the swamp’s weeds. They must be circling the gate where Will’s forces are, surrounding the yamask from all sides.
Nia gasps quietly somewhere behind Tobias. When he looks back at her, she’s staring in the direction of the water they’re skirting around, seeing through the foliage blocking their vision.
“I found Yveltal,” Nia explains, her voice shaky. “And the barrier here is…thin. Really thin.”
Tobias’ stomach flips. Well, sounds like they’re in the right place.
“Will’s here too,” Nia adds, “he has…a lot of Pokemon with him.”
Tobias doesn’t know what to say to that. Any comforting platitudes will sound empty right now, so he decides not to say anything. Instead, he tries to stay calm as they reach their stopping point and are urged to quietly, carefully move closer to the water’s edge through the tall grass. Tobias does, until he can finally see what their forces have surrounded.
It’s a vast, open stretch of water reflecting the morning sky. Stone ruins from a long-gone temple are scattered throughout the shallows, half-dilapidated walls and columns broken into piles of rubble. The structures that are still upright look alarmingly unstable, like they’re about to tip over at any moment. Between the ruins, a stone walkway extends from one end of the water to the other like a great bridge, and in the middle of the walkway, stone steps lead up to a giant altar. Atop the altar sits a structure of stone built into a ring, broken away at the top.
The dimensional gate.
In front of the gate sits the shape of Yveltal’s cocoon, dark and unnervingly still, like a bomb waiting to detonate. Around the legendary, a massive crowd of Pokemon mills about—easily a couple hundred, which makes Tobias’ chest tighten. They don’t have nearly that many fighters with them, even if Tobias doesn’t know their exact numbers. How many of the ‘mon up there are outlaws, experienced fighters ready to kill?
Tobias squints, glad that his sharp eyes can at least pick out some of the details even if they’re hundreds of feet away. Some of the Pokemon on the altar look excited, some are standing guard, and some just look…nervous. Tobias’ breath catches as he realizes that one of the more uneasy groups isn’t just composed of small species of Pokemon. No, those are children.
“There are kids here,” Tobias whispers.
Nia and Samir look at Tobias, horrified.
“What?!” Nia asks. “Why would—” She stops, her eyes going wide as she looks back at the crowd in the distance herself. “The humans. The ones from the settlement who weren’t in on Will’s plan. Th-They must be here too, but they don’t know. They don’t know what’s happening.” Her head whips around. “Junie!”
The rookidee flaps forward, landing on Nia’s shoulder expectantly.
Nia glances back at Bo. “Can you find a psychic ‘mon real quick? Tell them to send out an announcement to our crew that there are innocents in the crowd who don’t know what's happening. Kids too. If someone doesn’t want to fight and tries to run, don’t pursue them.”
Junie nods and salutes with a wing. “Will do.”
“Be quick, stay low, and come right back,” Bo orders.
Junie gives a “Yessir!” before darting into the crowd of Pokemon still stationing themselves around the body of water. The rookidee skims right through a pair of horns and vanishes, swallowed up by the other Pokemon.
Tobias tears his eyes away and looks back at the ruins ahead of them, his body tense.
The wind is unearthly still here. As dawn finally breaks on the horizon, spilling rays of orange light over the fog-cloaked ruins, the image reflects across the swamp’s clear waters like a grand mirror. The crumbling stone gate is framed by the brightening sky, Yveltal’s cocoon at its epicenter.
This is it. This is where they decide the fate of the world.
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