So this was Jake's father. He kinda looked like a Lucario, but... Alien, and REALLY big. Like the nightmare, he had 3 pairs of ears, as well as a moon shaped scar over his left eye. His burn scar formed a jagged cross across his long snout, which peeled open into a silent but wicked snarl.
He wore a tattered vest made of some kind of yellowed pelt that stretched below his hips. Underneath he wore a simple black coat with bucklers on the wrists, red gloves, and a rusty pair of red greaves that reached to his hips. His entire ensemble was covered in blood stains, some fresher than an hour. He passed his fiery red eyes over Denko before taking a step forward that made Jake react like he'd used Magnitude 10.
"Ten years," he began. "Ten long years of running from your destiny. Then, what do I hear but you'd still been using her old ship, to the point of keeping its 'call daddy' button intact! I'm touched, really." A rumbling chuckle leaked out of him. "But then... you go to run again..." his gaze somehow sharpened even more. "...and stomp on what little remains of my heart." Despite the caring words, his voice dripped with a searing heat that’d make a macargo melt.
Denko can't stop himself from speaking out. "Maybe he just doesn't want you on his ass all of the time!"
The Lucario-morph responds with a sinister glare, those glowing eyes sending shivers down his spine along with exuding a murderous aura. "You. Know. Nothing."
...Might be best to keep his mouth shut-
To be quite honest, deep within, Denko was incredibly scared. Not just of the giant fleet of spaceships and the threat their very presence posed to the planet, but that this entire show was dedicated to capturing a single soul.
His... friend.
...No, 'friend' didn't feel like the right word.
He took another look at Jake. Despite the recent hurdles, he'd only felt their relationship build up. Hell, these rough patches may have ended up reinforcing their bond. It only becomes apparent in retrospect, after the strife has calmed down.
It was amusing how that worked.
The alien clears his throat, intending to speak more. "Where was I?"
X.x.X
"One chance to make things easy," Io continues. "Come back, and we can start again."
Jake refuses to look him in the eye. “...I don't care what happened to Mom. I'm not going to give you my powers...” he clenched his fist hard enough, his claws dug into his palm like needles. “...So you can throw a cosmic temper tantrum!” Involuntarily, his fur began to flare out again, before almost immediately wilting as Io’s face somehow became even more wild for a moment.
For so many years, Jake rehearsed what he would say if they were to ever reunite. He knew that Io wouldn't take his words sitting down, every imaginary scenario in his mind leading to a heated argument that always ended with his retreat. He supposes he internalized that this would play out similarly.
The moment that Jake's eyes met Io's glare, he froze.
He couldn't say anything.
He couldn't run.
He couldn't even drown out the situation with whatever happened to be nearby.
"My son..." Io speaks after a moment. His utterance of 'son' prompts a subtle growl that, hopefully, nobody heard. "Your words pain me... and presume my intentions."
Jake still refused to keep eye contact.
"These years of your absence... It's made me think," he continues, "that I must change for the sake of your return."
Huh...? Jake slowly turns his head back to Io, to see...
A blackened streak of fur across his face...
"This proved to me that you were capable. Not only of defending yourself, but of making your own decisions." Io's words felt... sincere, now... "I couldn't be prouder to see that in my son."
What... was going on...? Had he... actually...
"Now, please... Let us start anew..."
He... really...
...!
Jake suddenly snaps out of it! Before him stood... Denko?? Having just thrown a punch.
A few feet away from him, Io was laid on the ground.
"Get out of here with that mind alteration!" Denko shouted. "If you want Jake, you'll have to get through his boyfriend first."
.
Hwat?
X.x.X
...He really just blurted that out-
Okay, adrenaline needs to keep him going. He can't afford to falter, especially with the guards sent down alongside the Lucario-morph having their automatic railguns (or something) drawn on them.
Time to run his mouth again.
"If you really thought about it, you'd have realized that your pursuit of Jake was a giant waste of time!" he shouted. "Yes, I don't know what happened, but I've seen firsthand how badly he reacts to someone who looks like you!" The game and the trainer battle flash through his mind. "That was your fault! You traumatized him! You are the reason he ran away!"
The alien had since gotten back up without so much as a scratch. He wasn't even disturbed by Denko's yelling, simply crossing his arms and scowling at the one who dared talk back to him.
Jake, however...
"Stop! Just... Stop..."
Denko forced himself to stop, his paws balling up and trembling with pent-up anger. He needed to step aside for now, the victim wanted to speak.
"I...I've gotten stronger. I'm not a kit anymore, and I-I know the code enough to know that..." He swallows. "...That if I can beat you, I... don't need you anymore. And you have to let me leave."
"...Hmph. This whole mess started when you broke that very code. But fine. I'll humor you."
A duel to decide things...
...He just hopes Jake can get the upper hand. Denko needed to sit down anyway. There was a lot going through his mind. At least it gave him a distraction from the railgun barrels pointing at his head, keeping him from interfering.
Once he was situated, his mind began the process of sorting out his feelings.
X.x.X
...He can't change his mind now.
Somehow, it'd never occurred to his imaginary self to invoke that part of the code, but now that he's thrown himself in, he remembers why.
Jake couldn't believe in himself. To actually stand up to his father and risk all the effort it took for him to get here, the idea terrified him. He'd always run away, because that was something he knew he could do. He's been running away for years, after all.
But... Someone else believed in him. Someone who was genuine with him. Someone who wanted to be with him through thick and thin.
Someone that, the moment he invoked the code, he thought was worth fighting for.
God dammit, brain-
Breathe in. Breathe out. He had no real plan in mind, but that didn't matter. All he had to do was win.
...
Jake runs forward and aims a kick at Io's center. It lands, but his target barely flinches. Before he can back away, a firm grip wraps around his ankle, followed by a blow of energy that throws him back multiple meters. Bad start!
Jake does manage to reorient himself and stick the landing, but too late does he notice Io pouncing at him. Shit, he's out of his element. Hand-to-hand is not his strong suit-
Miraculously, though, he dashes out of the way! This is his chance to gain an advantage, and he takes it, performing a backflip that doubles as a downward kick! Direct hit!
Io easily recovers, using the momentum to put distance between them, before preparing a concussion blast. It left him open, so Jake rushed towards him and aimed another kick to interrupt the charge.
He vanishes. Then... "Gh-" A sharp impact on his back, sending him to the dirt. The charge completes behind him, and is unleashed before he could even stand back up.
BOOM.
He... couldn't do it...
Try as he might, Jake couldn't find the strength to stand back up.
All those years of freedom's taste... Wasted...
His one chance at revenge... Failed...
The... hope that he could finally be happy... Dashed...
"As I thought," Jake heard his father through his ringing ears. Heavy footfalls approached his still body. "You still need me."
Io lifts him up, forcing his blurry eyes to meet his father's gaze. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you're-"
He stops. Or, more accurately, was interrupted. A white mass appears in what little peripheral vision he still had.
"You're not taking him."
X.x.X
It'll be a cold day in hell before Denko ever lets this guy have his way with Jake.
The guards tasked with watching him were all out cold. Seeing this, the Lucario-morph dons an uncharacteristic expression of fear, before vanishing in a similar manner to before, dropping Jake to the ground.
The yelp he lets out prompts Denko to check on him.
"Hey, hey. I'm here, I'm right here."
For years, Denko had been content with himself. Until now, everything he accomplished was for the sake of others. The job of Earth's guardian seemed perfect for him, as the only thing he ever desired was everyone else's happiness. Something had been missing since that day. A peculiar emptiness.
One that was filled the night that Jake stayed over, and emptied once more when he took off on his own. It was only during the duel that he realized what exactly that emptiness was: Desire for his own happiness.
Gazing into those vulpine eyes, there was no more room for debate. He was in love.
Only for his love to be blasted away.
"I..." Jake's words were weak and growing faint. It was obvious that he wanted to cry, but just couldn't, too pained to do anything except mutter a few parting words.
...Wet droplets splash onto his cheeks. Denko's own tears.
He wraps Jake in an embrace, whimpers turning into ugly whines.
Not even an incessant whirring can pull him away from the flood of emotions having taken him over.
The sky behind him shone brighter than the sun itself, as a giant laser easily billions of times more powerful than a hyper beam shot down at Wyndon Stadium.
Denko simply holds his love close and doesn't let go.
The beam's white, pink, and blue converge on top of them, and Denko squeezes his eyes shut.
X.x.X
...Welp. At least now he couldn't have his powers drained now or whatever the hell Io had planned. In all honesty this was the best rest he'd gotten in... well, since the last time mom held him.
The cold unfeeling void meant no feeling tired, or scared, or hungry, or hurt or…
Or joy. Or satisfaction. Or... Or fresh air. Or warmth. Or-
...Actually, he did feel some kind of warmth, still. A little bit, on what he was used to calling his face... And it was, growing? Intensifying, spreading across his body. The longer it went on, the less familiar that this warmth seemed. It felt... Powerful.
Then, another new sensation. This one was quick to flood his veins like fire. It wasn't one that he could really feel, however. It was more like... something he was, as if space-time itself was changing him.
Suddenly, he felt alive. More than alive. Antsy. Hyperactive.
Powerful. Unrestrained.
His eyes shot open. All he saw was pink and all he felt was a mountainous power. He rolled from on his back, planting all 4 paws on the ground and CRACKING it. He ran his tongue along his teeth, they were sharper and much more numerous, and he couldn't stop a manic smile from forming on his face.
His head snapped upwards, throwing a dense, matted mane out of his face, leaving him eye to eye with Io even from his low and wild stance. He didn't look right. Dilated eyes, mouth agape, tense stance….
"Finally."
In an instant his claws were buried deep in ‘his’ chest. The illusion flickered and distorted, before SHATTERING into a billion shards. He stood to his full height of who the fuck cared he was BIG and he set his eyes on his old home, the White Comet blotting out the sun.
“IOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!” He roared, sending a few ships tumbling from the force of the bellow, before he leapt towards the biggest and closest one and tore into it. Its skin sheared like tinfoil and he RELISHED it.
Fire erupted from it but he didn't care. He flew to a bigger ship and then it wasn't bigger than one hand. Crushed like a fruit. And he had at least ten more to rampage through until he could finally destroy that white stain on his life with one claw.
A deep chuckle escalated into an insane cackle as he burst through two city sized superdestroyers at once, sprouting something that vaguely resembled wings that lanced through at least a dozen carriers. This was an absolute rush. To hell with everything else, none of that mattered. He craved destruction, and his form was more than happy to fulfil it. Any smaller ships he passed were pierced with building sized strands of malicious fur.
At the edge of the atmosphere sat the final ship, a weaponized rouge moon covered in guns that felt like being poked at most as they fired at him in blind panic. It was little more than a grape to him.
Perfect.
He reaches out two claws, closing in on opposing sides to crush the last remnants of his past. He'd finally be free.
But….
Something disagreed. A very FAST something, flashing in front of his eyes before smashing into his gut. Drunk on bloodlust, Jake wasn't able to stop it from dragging him back down to Earth, into the deep ocean waters. The tsunami splashing onto his face snapped him back to reality, and he saw…
Denko.
X.x.X
The center pitch of Wyndon Stadium had been replaced by a smoldering pit of dirt and stone. Sat atop the debris were two gigantic hind paws belonging to Denko.
He looked up to see the devastation that Jake was causing, multiple torn up smoldering wrecks either floating listlessly or burning up entering the atmosphere. At least, that was the case for the bigger ones, too much was going on that he couldn't process everything that was going on.
Still, one thing was obvious. He had to calm Jake down, and it just so happened that he'd been inflicted with a load of dynamax energy as well.
...What he had in mind was risky, but there was no changing his mind. Plus, Denko had just promised himself to always stick with his new partner. Jake going bloodlust kaiju mode wouldn't change that, nor did any risk of his own life.
A deep breath, a crouched stance, and with a crash of thunder he hoped didn't damage the stadium any more, he leapt between a few ships that escaped the rampage and came to a stop just before the biggest one.
Jake was in front of him. Still multitudes larger than him, and he probably should've tried asking Stella for some sort of atmospheric protection. But it didn't matter, Denko could still do this. He rammed himself into Jake's center and aimed their descent into a desolate patch of ocean. The splash of cold water cleared his head, and a Dynamax sized gulp of air cleared his space headache.
Phew…Looking around and not seeing any land or ships nearby was a similar relief. But where was-
FPLOOSHM
A hoenn sized amount of water surging over him and a deep reverberating gasp for air answered his query. There was Jake.
His hair was a mess, and his vest and pants didn't survive but he was okay. And still frucking huge, woah-
It was, kind of hard not to blush, seeing him like this. All wild, and buff and
Gah Denko stop being gay and ask if he's okay-
“Jake?!” He called.
…
He called again. A twitch of the ear, and…
“...Denko…”
For being the size of Alola, his voice sounded quite small... Slowly, Jake turned to face him, and Denko noticed his eyes were particularly wet. Denko starts to climb up a leg, but Jake spares him the effort by lowering a paw for him to mount before steadily raising it to eye-level.
The moment that his gaze met the full scale of Jake's gigantic presence, his feelings won out. Words could not do justice how much Denko wanted to just leap onto and splay his arms over his nose in an attempted embrace.
So, he gave in. Denko bounded from Jake's paw onto his snout and wrapped his arms around as much surface as he could reach. Jake was okay, and nothing else mattered.
...Funny, despite Jake's recent dunking into the ocean, it was... warm. Getting warmer, too.
Denko wasn't able to notice, but Jake was blushing just as hard as he was.
He never wanted this to end.
X.x.X
...
hHHH getting back to land took WAY longer than he would've liked. Didn't help that the frigid ocean waters flooded his lower body which, while ultimately harmless, was still an awful feeling-
Jake didn't mind the cold, but cold AND wet AND naked AND like a thousand times the surface area? Hell-
…wait. He was just flying through the upper atmosphere. The hell is he wading for? His wings were even still out-
With a moment to sigh at his failings, he takes to the air, and soon enough they are back at the coooooooooooh right.
A mile tall.
As he approached the shore and started passing over buildings, he gradually dwindled down from country to merely building size, and thankfully none of the galactic criminals remaining in airspace were feeling particularly opportunistic after about a million of their fellows were ripped apart. He also moved Denko from clinging to his snout into his arms.
It took a lot of restraint to not flash a toothy grin and thrust his hair at them. He... cringed a bit after seeing the remains of the stadium, which thankfully wasn't completely leveled but wasn't great either, having the first few rows of seats be either charred or melted.
But, no other ideas where to go, and still wanting his ship back, he touched down, set Denko down, and scanned for any sign of singed blue paint. A shrill, if quiet, digital whistle pulled him forward, and he was an inch from ripping his baby’s hull open to get Hay out when a low whirring hit his ears.
He recognized that engine, and his face peeled back into a grimace and snapped upwards. High above floated a small ship, angular, red, and….not pointing its frontal cannon at them? Huh?
Well, whatever. “Io, get your cowardly ass back down here. For real, this time.” To his surprise, he actually obeyed, bringing the ship down and opening the door to step out.
He didn't get one step before he was bound and strung up by innumerable strands of fur and dragged eye to eye with his lost son. “...I suppose you win the duel, th-”
“Shut up.”
With a flash of white Io was pinned to the ground, then again, and again, and again.
“That's for the 10 years. That's for the hundred hitmen. That's for the glassed planet. That's for all the repair bills.
Now get the fuck out of my sight.” With a flick of a meaty paw, the old bastard flew back into his ship and dented it. “If I ever catch a whiff of any of your goons in this solar system again, I'll beat you worse than that.” He turns and makes way for the Ion.
“...And if YOU ever come near this star system again.” Jake darts his gaze back, making his eyes glow like blood red spotlights as they bored into Io. “I will PERSONALLY come and smash that ball of ice you call a warship into itty. Bitty. Pieces. Doesn't matter where you hide it, I WILL find it. And I will make you watch as your head explodes in vacuum."
With a huff, he again turns away. The vhirring of plasma engines and a sonic boom was all he needed to hear to know that Io took his threats to heart.
...He was tired. Nay, exhausted. After what he had just finally accomplished, all he could think about was curling up in something comfy and taking a day-long nap. Usually, he'd waddle into the Ion and collapse, letting Haywire or George drag him to bed.
This time, though?
This time, he fell himself right into Denko's arms.
He wanted to say something to him, but didn't quite have the energy to do so. Though, judging by Denko's reciprocating embrace and a gentle peck onto his forehead, he knew.
“Jake, I-”
“Don't call me that anymore…I-It’s…it's a reminder.” Mom wasn't the one to name him. He…never did learn what she wanted to call him. Unconsciously, his meaty new paw reached for his neck.
“Call me…Call me Gem, now.”
X.x.X
It's been around a week since then. They've been quite busy, with all the repairs needed for the Ion, the publicity from everything that's happened, and what their plans would be next. They've been approaching things one step at a time, no need to make things overwhelming.
"Den Den," a familiar voice calls out from the other room. "You up yet?"
Shoot, he was still in bed messing on his tablet-phone-
Not wanting to keep his love waiting, Denko gets out of bed and exits to the kitchen with a big yawn. "Mhhmorning-"
A jackal-like giggle exits his boyfriend, who was sitting across the table with a device in one hand and fresh toast in the other. He looked fairly different now, having abandoned his old form for something to match with the new name.
"Hey sleepyboo," he teased. "Mind helping with some of the new configs?" Plasma Corp was willing to fix up the Ion once more, and had it done ridiculously quickly! The damage had been relatively minor, but it was still incredible that they managed to pull it off!
What was left was configuration, which Gem opted to complete in his own time. It made sense, he still wasn't entirely trusting and he knew the mechanics much more.
Denko pulls up a chair next to Gem to check out the holographic display, showing a variety of configuration settings. Before he could properly parse the text in front of him, though...
Smooch.
He blushes, smiling from whisker to whisker.
Gem had been enthusiastically reciprocal to Denko's feelings, going so far as to say that he's never been happier than now.
Denko, too, was happy. Happy that Gem was happy, of course, but a new kind of happiness.
Denko was finally happy for himself, and he hoped it would never change.
...
The apartment door, all of a sudden, SLAMS open, spooking both Denko and Gem. A visitor this early in the morning?? Who would...
Nevermind, Denko recognized her as Cynthia. Come to think of it, Gem hadn't met her yet-
What was up, though? Her tails were flared, she was visibly out of breath, and looked ready to strangle someone to death! Not to mention the front door having nearly been torn from the hinges! Blaze and Zera came down to welcome her in, only to pause at her borderline feral presence.
"Celphix is gone!" She yelled, before slumping to a knee from exhaustion.
"Come on!" Valeri begged Denko, struggling to drag him to safety. "They're gone, we need to run."
Run...
That word snapped him out of disbelief. At another yank from the hybrid, Denko stood and easily pulled Valeri up to see them eye to eye.
"Why did it never occur to you to do that earlier?" Denko snapped, before shoving him to the floor. "My need to break in, the massacre of your backlines, this entire bloody situation! It could have all been avoided if you just came in peace."
23 seconds until the emergency implosion. He probably could rush in, retrieve Jake, and get out before it goes off, but he only had a vague idea of the Ion's layout. To run to the end and make a return trip whilst carrying an alien lifeform in such a strict time limit was an incredible risk.
However, Denko figured such a risk should be unnecessary. With the right words, he might be able to persuade the scientists to abort and give him ample time to complete the mission.
He just had to talk like hell.
"Listen, if I follow orders and abandon Jake, then there's nothing stopping me from collapsing your organization and publicizing your crimes," he began. "If I go in right now and fall, I have powerful allies who will be looking for me. They will discover this place and the ones behind it, and their vengeance shall be much greater than my own."
If Plasma Corp really was reformed, no longer the takeover that the Plasma of years ago had aimed for, then such consequences should disturb them. Though, those threats wouldn't be enough to convince them. Knowing the behavior of corporations like these, their sacrifices and reputation matter not as long as they get what they wish for.
"However, should you decide to help, I'll help ensure that the articles promising a diplomatic agreement will hold true." He strongly doubted Jake would agree after something like this, but the mere suggestion of the possibility should be too good for Plasma Corp to pass up.
At least, he hoped.
Denko turned away to face the rippling darkness of the Ion. In reality, he didn't care what their answer would be; He'd already decided what he'd do next. Rescue Jake, or die trying.
9 seconds until detonation. He prepares his mind and soul, ready to embark, when he hears footsteps coming from behind.
Multiple pairs of footsteps, coming into the room and circling the Ion's entrance.
"Hold! Allow the Zeraora entrance!"
Shit, they actually listened. Denko took a glance back to see dozens of guards, scientists, and who looked to be their lead, if the black jacket and formal tie they donned were any indication. They locked eyes for a moment, but simply exchanged nods.
A smirk. They're welcome.
And, not a second later, Denko dashes into the mass of darkness like a bolt of lightning.
. . .
Diving into the haze was kind of like diving into jello. Weirdly fluffy jello...Was this Jake's fur? If Denko remembered correctly, Hisuian zorua’s illusions were kind of made of their fur, but this was...very strange. He could move, but it was like a dream. He told his limbs to move, and they did, just...after a delay.
His senses were hazy, like his nervous system had been blurred in an art program. He could feel a force pushing him backwards. He would not bend to it.
‘Jake…!’ One of his paws finally landed on what he hoped was ground…It was cold, but not like the steel floor of the Ion. ‘Jake..!!’ His voice became audible, but…Was it still his voice?
Whatever was going on, it wasn't about to keep him from Jake's side. He should remember the Ion's layout well enough to...
...Okay, this definitely didn't look like the Ion's interior. It looked... somewhat like the desert in the Isle of armor at night, but grey, and he didn't recognize the moon.
'Illusion?' He asked himself. Surely, altering the perception of one's own body, senses, and surrounding environment with illusions should be impossible! It must be the Ion's security system at work, intent on disorienting intruders so the pilot could work to manually eject them.
...For his own sake, that's what he's going to believe. Why is he even wasting time thinking about it, he needs to go! He crouched to bound forward, but noticed something. A small, familiar red paw where a huge white one ought to be. ‘Wh…?’ Jake's paw. He looked down at himself, vision filling with a mane of white fur around his neck, with a prickly feeling on top of his head and back of his neck.
He tentatively grazed a claw across it, hoping the trick would be revealed. It squished like mochi, and the nerves on that fingertip reacted accordingly.
"He's there!" A booming voice rang through the air and into his ears. Then a wave of searing pain drilled into his back. Without a second thought, he's caught by the red paws palming the floor which then propel him into a run. Dreadfully slow, but... He had to work with this.
In spite of knowing he wasn't really here, getting shot at and the top of his hair grazed by another very REAL feeling haze of plasma, he felt breath hitching in young lungs. Tears stung the corners of his eyes, blurring his vision further after a stumble knocked a pair of beat up square glasses off his eyes.
Even with these new and uncomfortable sensations, all he could do was run. No way to fight back, nowhere to take cover, no one to come help. Denko just had to hope he could reach Jake before things could get any worse.
It wasn't long before he spotted some cover, so there'd be a reprieve from the lasers being shot at him, however brief. It was just enough time for him to feel for Jake's presence.
...Or, so he thought. Turns out, the sheer amount of illusive energy surrounding Denko severely clouded his elemental abilities, to the point where he could barely muster a spark!
Just swell.
Again, not something Denko could afford to dwell on right now. Taking a breath, he looked around the landscape for... any possible sign of Jake. There were a few buildings in the distance, but the text above the entrances defining them were too far and blurry to make out.
However, something catches the corner of his eye. The movement of a shadow that appeared to be quite foxlike, turning a corner and ducking into one of the buildings. Again, the details were blurred, but he was confident of that shadow's owner. Without a second to waste, he dashes out of cover and makes a beeline for the building that the shadow had seemed to enter.
Surprisingly, he was met with little targeted fire, not that he was complaining. He dove into the building, which he now saw looked to be a futuristic cargo bay, complete with a dozen or so spaceships in varying degrees of wear. Guess these were less of a priority for repairs.
There was one ship that looked pristine, however, at the far end of the garage. The moment he took notice, his legs seemed to act of their own accord, rushing towards the ship of interest. Actually, now that he's getting closer... It looked a little like the Ion!
He turns the corner before his apparent destination, when he sees a familiar shadow standing before him.
“The mind is a beautiful, wretched, fascinating thing.”
Denko paused. That... didn't entirely sound like who he had been expecting. ‘...Jake?’
“Poke the right pressure point, prod the right nerve, squeeze the right neuron, and it will believe anything.” The massive tail flicking before him smoothed.
The shape raised a hand, gazing at it, still not facing the cat. “Why, if you could convince someone's brain of it thoroughly enough…” It flexed its hand, snapping it back open with a crack as one finger bent way too far back. It almost looked like a large spike driven through the hand. “You could maim them in an infinite number of ways.”
Eugh...
‘What are you...?’ The shadow turned to look at him with an eye scrunched into an angular glare. Red pupils glinted within like blood diamonds. Cream fur began to show as the shadow faced him fully. “With that kind of power, why... You could do anything. Do you realize what that means, boy?” A different voice. Venomous. Refined.
Broken.
"The galaxy that callously STOLE her away would be brought lame before us. Before... you. We would be gods."
By now, it was clear as day that the figure before him wasn't Jake. Remembering that his body currently resembled the fox, he could piece together exactly who this was and what they intended to do. This was the creature that the Ion was truly protecting her captain from.
His lips move without any input, and without any output. The shadow, however, knew exactly what had been said. And, whatever it was, it enraged them. They rush forward, aiming to grab 'Jake' by the throat.
Denko screamed at his legs to move, but what little movement he could feel felt like he was deep, deep underwater. In an instant his neck was squeezed and he couldn't breathe. The shadows' eyes bored deeply into his, revealing a long jagged scar almost as big as the eye itself splitting his face.
Suddenly it was 50 feet tall and he was 2 inches, and its booming voice shook ‘Jake’ to the bone despite being barely a whisper. The words themselves were hard to make out over the ringing in his ears but some words did make it through. Ingrate, Coward, Do One Useful Thing. He couldn't breathe. Understand. Pain. He was losing feeling in his whole body.
Waste.
All at once, his body surged. Fire raced all across him, and a deep roar reverberated through him. The shadows one eye widened as a giant blue claw swept in from above, slashing across the shadows body and blowing it back.
Denko was back to his full height. He could feel and even see his own body again. A second after confirming it, he heard a deep hydraulic hiss. Spinning around, he saw the proto ion hovering off the ground as a roof hatch peeled open. In a blast of blue flame that swept harmlessly past Denko and blew the shadow back with a scream, it screamed away into the alien sky.
A hoarse cough pierced the ensuing silence. “You….” Spinning around, Denko saw the shadow, a canine beast of a man with 3 pairs of ears - 2 on the side of his head - and a fresh blackened streak of fur on his wild face.
Compared to before, his height was comparable to Denko's own. It opened its mouth to speak, but Denko was faster. In one fell swoop the illusion finally dissipated, though Denko still struck it with a half dozen bolts just to be safe.
God. What a rush to be back in his own fur.
Still, he had a job to finish. Find Jake.
...Which didn't take very long. Where the pristine Ion once sat, now stood a vulpine that he was sure to be the real deal. This was reinforced when the environment began to appear indistinct, the distortion converging on the figure's flailing fur. The illusion was beginning to fall, with the only figures remaining clear being he and the fox.
"Jake!" Denko yelled out.
X.x.X
He could feel everything. His senses stretched and strained and wailed. His body had long since gone numb, replaced with a limp doll strung in midair by his own despair.
This was it. His whole life, ten whole years of being on the run, all undone by one panicking earthling finding the one thing he couldn't destroy without bricking his whole ship.
It proved difficult to think rationally. All his mind could do was rush with memories of his nightmare.
His father was coming to reclaim him.
"Jake."
He snaps up his arm and blasts at the source of the voice. A kneejerk reaction, but he didn't even care. He wanted to disappear, at least that would be better than going back to THAT FUCKING-
"Jake!!"
The voice, while shaken, was unharmed. Slowly, he mustered the will to raise his head and saw….a shining, white and gold light. Everything stopped, and he felt the strings snap, making his legs finally fail him. However, before he could feel his body meet the floor, his descent stopped.
A pair of pillow-like white paws wrapped around him.
The rest of the nightmare melted away.
He damn near joined it too, but the soft paws grounded him enough to not pass out. Unfortunately, with all his adrenaline spent, the only thing he could do was further bury himself into Denko's embrace.
...It was nice...
X.x.X
For a moment, nothing else mattered. The illusion had fallen, revealing them to be within the cockpit. That... nightmare, what he figured the illusion was, couldn't hurt them anymore. Jake was safe.
"H3y! St1LL g0t s7uff t0 d0!"
Haywire breaks the moment with its charming retrofuturistic sounds. Right, there were still some things to handle. Denko takes a look over Jake, immediately recognizing his total exhaustion.
"Let's get out of here, alright?" He spoke softly. The vulpine was still recovering from the experience, but a nod told him all that was needed.
"Wire," Denko calls for Haywire's attention as they put themselves in the pilot's seats. "I'd like to address Plasma Corp and organize our leave. Can I do that from here?"
"Y3s," Haywire replies, before following up a moment later. "1 H4v3 c0nn3c73d t0 th3 0u7d00r sp34k3r5, so jUS7 pU7 0n tH47 h34d537." Denko followed its instructions before pausing.
No longer were Haywire's beeps just going in one ear and out the other. It was now possible to parse meaning from those sounds.
Huh.
Oh well, wasn't the time to be curious. Denko puts on the headset and enables the mic.
"Situation resolved," he begins. Then, a pause, thinking about what to say next.
"We ask that you move this craft outside. Once Jake has recovered, we may negotiate a partnership." Denko glances over to Jake and shakes his head, hoping he gets that it's mere sweet-talking. Jake, thankfully, seemed to understand.
No response. Denko repeats himself.
He disables the mic. "Life scanner, please?"
A radar is pulled up on a holographic display off to the side. Immediately outside the Ion, there's no signs of life. Great, nobody wanted to wait-
An annoyed Jake groaned. The only way out would be to push, which wouldn't be fun for anyone involved. The radar's range increases to the entire complex to plan the safest route.
"...Where did everyone go?"
Denko mirrored his confusion. Something was up. This hidden, incredibly guarded, place had a short-notice evacuation without them noticing.
Though, in his own confusion, Denko failed to notice Jake's expression turn to one of horror. Once he does, the realization hits as the radar zooms further out, reaching the edge of Earth's atmosphere. Not only was it detecting life up there, but technology. A surplus of it.
All of a sudden, Jake scrambles on the controls, executing a quick takeoff despite their location. Even if the panic hadn't set in, Jake couldn't care less about collateral. His mind was set on one thing, and one thing only.
Getting the fuck out of here. And Denko was all for it.
The Ion's propulsors lift it up, aim the nose skyward, and the thrusters accelerate the Ion to dozens of times the speed of sound in a fraction of a second, drilling through the natural elements with such force that it was a miracle they felt no turbulence.
They burst through the ground, scattering dirt and large scraps of metal everywhere. Now outside, the two could bear witness to Jake's nightmare becoming a reality.
Scratch that. This was hundreds of times more terrifying than that nightmare vision.
The sky was dotted with black-purple craft of all shapes and sizes decorated with enormous bones. From mere specks of hoverboards and their riders to a literal moon sized THING covering up the sun, and everything in between.
No time to awe. They needed to get off of this planet. Earth did not need to get caught in the crossfire. With a strangled squeak, Jake started moving his paws so fast it was hard to tell he was running on fumes, filling the cockpit with a cacophony of clicks and hums before the Ion blazed through the sky. All Denko could do was keep an eye on the map and radar, which didn't even mean anything at this point.
Over the ocean they soared, continuing to rise through the atmosphere at supersonic speeds. There was no getting through that monstrous fleet, their only hope of escape being the other side of the planet. No doubt were there reinforcements on the other end, but hopefully it would be less of an ordeal?
Who is he kidding, one courier vessel versus hundreds, if not thousands, of pristine warships was a one-sided battle. It'd take a miracle to-
THOOM.
They've been hit! The Ion was quickly losing altitude as incessant warnings flashed on the holo, all showing different messages indicating failure. Jake thought quickly, decelerating so the crater they'd be making wouldn't tear away the planet's crust. Denko scanned the map for the best place to make their crash landing - A populated area was obviously not going to take this well.
...Crap, they're headed straight for Galar. Denko took the steering and aimed themselves as far away from civilization as they could. They'd just be able to miss Galar if-
CRASH.
Another hit, throwing them off course and directing them right into-
PRRRSCH.
SHHHHHFFFFFM.
The Rondelands clock tower and the field of Wyndon Stadium.
X.x.X
Why was the nightmare still going? Where was Denko? Why did that fUCK HAVE TO PUSH TH-
Jake's racing thoughts were interrupted by a rude shock of an awakening. Even so, the voices around him were indistinct. Still, he tries to survey the surrounding area. A field- No, a stadium. Dirt and debris scattered around. The Ion wedged into the ground, in even worse shape than before.
And... the one person he'd been running from his whole life.
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