[PKMN OPEN] Pokémon Odyssey: Search For Cresselia (IC)

The heart of the beast: Queen Group

With the last of the Agent-fighting groups gone, all that remained was the group escorting the Queen. There were no surprises. There were no misdirections. They knew exactly where to go: they were to take the Queen to where the strongest amount of Darkrai's power, his chaos, persisted, right to the Gold Tribe's Citadel in the middle of the city.

Lady Elewyn sighed as she observed the large tower in the middle of the city. No doubt, many thousands of 'mon were populated inside, standing between them. "Looks like this is where we turn it over to you, Lord Snype," The Ampharos Royal Commander stated to the Sableye. "Tell us what to do, and we will follow."

The Queen nodded in agreement, with Lia floating casually beside her, and Celebi gliding not too far behind. In the Queen's hands was the Soul Stone, the mysterious orb said to contain Cresselia's soul. She glanced at it mysteriously, then up at Snype."We will follow you, Lord Snype."

"And whatever I can do to help, I will," Vee nodded in agreement.

Snype stepped forward wrapped in his standard cloak armed with his Mega Stone. He was fully prepared for the upcoming battle. "We'll need to be careful sneaking in but we have to go in expecting to at least see Darkrai once we make it to the middle. I'm sure he's expecting company in case that distraction doesn't work. Kehehe... he's crafty. Probably expects our move. We'll just to make our entrance as clean as possible." Snype said, looking over to his group and too the Queen. "Kehehe, looking great. Ya all fit in well with the rest of us. Remember what I taught you and these goons won't see us coming. Comon let's get to the heart of this and put an end to this war. I wanna save this powerful and deck that frog with a good one." Snype said, pretty much ready to pull the trigger at any given moment. "We don't know what kind of Pokemon they got there and we definately don't want to go making a scene too soon. Stick to the buildings and stay hidden as long as we can. If we gotta break into a fight well, do what you have to do."

The Queen nodded to Snype, giving him a small smile. "I will do my best."

"Do no worry, my Queen," Lady Elewyn assured the Florges. "We will be here to protect you."

"I'll take us through the least populated ways, based on what energies I feel," Vee insisted, and briefly closed its eyes to get a good grip on what was happening inside the walls of Gold City. "Yeesh, lots of things happening. Looks like some of our allies are breaking out of cells inside. Makes more of a distraction for us. This way." Vee led the group to one of the further north entrances in Gold City. "Well actually... didn't you tell me once about a tunnel you had made in Gold City that you used to get out during the beginning of the war last time?"

"Kehehehe, course! The way in and out of the city got closed off of course the last time we escaped but if Darkrai didn't find them they should be good to use. I'd imagine they'd be noticed sooner or later but you know what? It's probly safer to use those then going through the front door." Snype said, looking around to search for some nearby hideouts. He had hidden bars all over the city and various allyways. "In here... I remember having a hideout in this building. Gonna have to pick through the door though since I keep this stuff nice and locked tight. If yall need something to drink on the way now's the time. Kehehe" Snype said as he'd kneel down and inspect the mostly hidden doorway to the underground bar he had set up. "Used to use these pathways to move all over the city... would get some fun sneak attacks on Guardia all the time. Heh... good times..." Snype smiled at the thought.

The others looked around the hideout briefly, before Vee moved on behind Snype next to the hidden doorway. Vee inspected it. "Looks like as good as path as any to take us right to where we need to go. We're ready when youare." The Queen nodded as well behind Vee, while Lady Elewyn merely stood behind in silence. Lia continued floating beside the Queen, curiously observing the pathway.

As they made their way down to the small bar, Snype would be surprised to see it all in decent shape. Would make for a good backup plan just in case. The Sableye would grab one of the leftover bottles of booze and store it in his pack. "Keheh, might need this later if things go bad." Snype said, giving off a small laugh. "I got tunnels all over the city like this. If we're lucky, the path to the heart of the city should still be open. I wouldn't put it past Darkrai to have found it by now though so keep a lookout ladies."

"I'll keep my eyes open," Lady Elewyn nodded as the tunnel pathway opened, and the group of Pokemon proceeded inside. It was a large, winding tunnel of decent size. Above on the surface, the sounds of fighting were prevalent that they could even be heard from there. Whenever a rumble occurred, the Queen jumped for a moment, but Lady Elewyn reassured her that for the moment, she was still safe. Lia seemed completely immune to any of the fighting, seeming more and more entranced with circling around the Queen instead. Meanwhile, Celebi glided close by Snype, while Vee continuously scanned for energies through the tunnel.

"Surprisingly it's pretty clear here, except..." Vee's voice trailed off as the Victini scanned for energies around. "Well, we may run into a problem the deeper we go in through here. There's 'mon the surface. Lot's of them," Vee warned. "The further we use the tunnels, the more 'mon there are. I... hundreds, thousands maybe. The closer to the Citadel, the more there are. Even now above us there's 'mon gathering..."

"This won't be without sacrifice..." Celebi muttered to herself lowly.

Snype looked over to Celebi, knowing just what she might have been talking about. The stunt back at Karn... she had to know where this was going to lead doing something like that. So far only Snype knew about the whole time reversal that she had done to save Snype's life. "Cel..." Snype wanted to comfort her somehow but was worried about even knowing about the upcoming future. What did she mean by a sacrifice? For now though, Snype needed to pay attention to all of the mon gathering up above them.

"They might already know where we are... or not. For now keep going. Right now getting caved in is a lot less worrying then being up there surrounded by thousands of mon. We have to trust the other groups to make our stealth op as clean as possible. Besides... I have failsafes. There's a few traps down here that haven't been triggered. Watch your step but if we get ambushed those are the first things going off. Kehehe. It's how I escaped and its how I'm going to enter. Kehehe... maybe they know better then to mess with the guy holding a mega stone eh?" Snype laughed. Karn had changed Snype quite a bit since his last outting... he didn't seem so hesitant to get mixed into a battle but he wasn't completely bloodthirsty. Just more confident.

"Then we'd better be ready," Vee added and ponted forward. "I could feel energy signatures further up ahead. We're not alone down here." In the faint distance, the sounds of 'mon talking could be heard, carried over by the echos of the tunnel.

Snype started backing up and moving closer to the walls. There wasn't a whole lot of ways to stealth in this case. Sure Snype could easily merge into a shadow form but he was escorting someone who couldn't exactly do that sort of thing easily and Snype couldn't exactly carry his companions into the shadows. Snype also heard the discussions forward... if they were talking then perhaps they weren't exactly mindless drones like the rest of Darkrai's goons. "Hey Queen, think your ready to put that sleep powder to some work? Kehehe... we don't got alot of places to hide down here. We're gonna have to improvise." Snype grinned

The Queen looked at Snype nervously and nodded her head. "I... I can certainly tr-" Queen Aleena was suddenly cut off. She stopped talking and stared forward blankly. She wasn't staring at anything in particular. Just looking forward. Her eyes seemed to shine a bit more, but didn't seem focused on any object. It almost looked like she was in a trance of some sort.

"My Queen?" Elewyn looked at the Queen worriedly. "What is wrong?" She shook the Queen once, trying to snap her out of it.

Vee walked up to her and glanced curiously. "It's beginning. She's close." Vee noted, glancing also at Lia, who also looked forward. "There's so much chaos here..."

The Queen suddenly snapped out of it and looked at Snyoe again. "Uh... shall I try?" She asked, as she heard the voices grow louder, but she looked as if she almost didn't notice what had just happened.

"Better safe then sorry. Keheh. Can't have anyone sneaking up on us. I got your back. Wait for my signal." Snype said as he'd fade into the shadows and move on ahead to at least scout out and see who could be up ahead. Up ahead, Snype would spot what appeared to be a line of Darkrai's troops, five 'mon: a Hypno, a Treecko, a Diggersby, a Pidgeotto, and a Muk. They appeared to be talking to themselves, and laughing.

"I'm just glad we're away from all the fighting, ain't nothin' gonna happen down there," The Muk laughed loudly. The Treecko jabbed at him.

"Don't jinx it!" He yelled. "You never know what's going to happen!"

"Ah!" The Muk yelled and glared at the Treecko. "You a*s..." He murmured. "So... which way should we go?" He asked and looked around at the various pathways around.

"Won't matter either way, they're all gonna be flooded soon," The Hypno stated with a shrug. "Just to make sure nobody will be getting away from what's comin'. And all the exits are being sealed too, now."

"So nobody's getting out?" The Pidgeotto asked.

"Yup," The Hypno nodded. "Only one way out, and it's through the last exit we kept open."

Well they had their souls intact at least. Even seemed to be a little afraid. Who the heck were these guys? They weren't exactly mindless drones but they sure didn't seem too threatening. Maybe it'd be best to work his thief charm on the situation before doing anything drastic. He'd signal the others to move closer but not sleep them yet. This could be a chance to nab a bit of information. Snype would sneak through the shadows and move up a little closer, showing off those glowing eyes of his. "Kehehe, a one way trip huh? Well I spose I should expect that." The Sableye laughed as he'd leap down behind them, hopeing to grab their attention and keep their eyes off of the rest of the party. The group of 'mon instantly turned in surprise at the appearance of the Sableye. They'd need to act from there to properly surround them.

"Ya jynxed it by the way buddy. Not cool." Snype said, pointing to the Muk. "Sooooo... if you still wanna get away from the fighting, you can either tell me a little more about this exit or I can convince ya. A thief needs the knowhow around this town you know? Especially..." Snype's face got more fierce and serious as he'd walk forward toward the group. Something he picked up in Karn. "...Since this is my home." The Hypno was of no concern. He knew how their kind tended to work in this kind of group but the others would be in trouble if caught by him. Snype would need to target him first worst case scenario. The muk had the risk of blocking passage and making manuvering pretty rough. Worst of all he'd stink up the rest of the group. And just when she got the queen that nice looking cloak as well... The Treeko seemed fairly timid and the Pidgeotto? He didn't have a read on him quite yet but four were present right now. Darkrai would know of their assault by now, no doubt about that. Sneaking into the city was one thing but getting the jump on Gabe himself didn't seem too likely. They just had to get Cresselia into position and act fast.

"What?!" The Muk shouted. "W-who do you think you are! You'll get outta here if you know what's good for you... wait, no! You're coming with us!" The Muk yelled unconfidently.

The Treecko once more jabbed at the Muk. "You idiot! Don't you know who that is?" The Muk looked in confusion at the Treecko. "That's the King of Thieves! He picked apart Bastille with a Mega Stone!"

"Oh... oh!" The Muk's purple face seemed to momentarily pale. He whispered to his allies. "What do we do? Can we take him!"

"Maybe if we all tried to-" The Pidgeotto began, but was suddenly cut off.

"Exit's close to the center of town, a mile down the tunnels and to the left," The Diggersby, who had been quiet until that point, suddenly burst out. "You have to move quickly, they're gonna flood all these tunnels soon. Darkrai's big plan is finally almost in motion." With that, the Diggersby suddenly turned and darted away quickly, leaving the remaining 'mon standing their in collective shock.

Soon after, the Pidgeotto snapped out of it and took off, with the Muk following swiftly behind. Soon after, the remaining troops also left. Vee stepped out of the shadows with the Queen, Elewyn, Cel and Lia. "Well..." Elewyn began with a slight cough. "That was easier than expected."

"He wasn't lying," Vee suddenly shouted out. "There's a high surge of energy coming from across these tunnels. They're going to flood them! We need to get to the surface from that exit. NOW!"

"Tsk, they're going to collapse the city if they do that. No wonder all the traps got set off. Keheh. Must have took a few shots to set this plan off. Comon let's move quickly. If you can grab onto anyone quicker then get to it! Kehehe" Snype said, grouping back up with the gang and making a mad dash through the tunnel. He made sure to stay aware anything else that might get in their way. "Guess Darkrai wants to clear out potential intruders too... kehehe."

"Put mildly!" Vee exclaimed as the group sped through the tunnels quickly, with Lady Elewyn keeping pace with the Queen, Celebi gliding behind Snype, and Lia encirciling Queen Aleena close by. Behind them, they could hear loud rumbling, as exits began to collapse, due probably to some Rock Pokemon sealing them above. Vee turned back, noticing a large flow of water pouring into the tunnels. "They're starting!" Vee yelled, and dashed forward before turning a mile down with the rest of the group as instructed.

When they got there, they observed multiple exits around, perhaps three. Water began streaming powerfully behind them, as Lady Elewyn looked around at each exit. "W-which one is it?" She asked loudly over the sound of gushing water.

As the group would look around at each exit, Snype would suddenly see someone standing next to the furthest right exit. It was a Zangoose, one Snype knew very well, but couldn't possibly be alive. The Zangoose stood there by that exit, and headed up the stairs.

Snype's eyes widened as he saw that familiar Zangoose. The mon from before said it was down the tunnels and to the left but... what was she doing there? She couldn't be alive still... there's no way. Was this some kind of trick? Just some dream or vision? "...This way!" Snype had no idea what he was doing. Trusting some illusion... or was it really her? Maybe those mon from before were just lying to get Snype into a trap? She was right there though... alive and guiding Snype out of the tunnels!

Vee and the rest of the group quickly ran behind Snype as they dashed toward the hopeful exit. The waters bursted through the tunnels and fast approached the group, as Vee stopped for a moment, and raised its hand. Vee's small hands glowed, and a bright purple barrier temporarily held the water at bay as the group headed toward the exit. Lady Elewyn reached the hatch, and sighed a breath of release when it turned and opened. The light of the burning sky was in full view, and the group exited and rose up into a house close to the middle of Gold City. Vee panted heavily as he came out last, and looked around. Vee looked outside and saw their target very much in sight: Gold Tower. It was less than a mile away. However, the noise outside signalled that there was also many of Darkrai's followers around. They were close, but as Snype and the others looked around the house, no one else seemed to be there.

"Good call, Lord Snype," Lady Elewyn nodded her head at the Sableye. "What made you choose that exit?"

"I..." Snype hesitated a moment. "You really think I was going to trust Darkrai's cronies on an exit? I know these tunnels better then anyone in this city. They must have been stupid as hell to think they could fool the guy who made em. I'm the King of Thieve's for a reason" Snype winked confidently before looking around to see if Guardia was here. What house was this? With everything destroyed it was hardly recognizable... but he took a close look to make sure. Was he supposed to tell them that he saw Lyn's ghost and followed it here? That couldn't have been her... "You uh... you guys didn't see anyone else on the way up here did you? I-In case anybody of Darkrai's goons were trying to get out too." Snype lied.

"I didn't see anyone," Vee shrugged as the Victini scanned the outside area for a possible route to take.

"Nor did I," Elewyn chimed in.

The Queen looked at her Ampharos protector and the Victini and blink a few times. "... You did not see her?" She managed to say in a voice barely above a whisper.

Vee turned his head to the Queen. "See who?"

"Ah... never mind," The Queen suddenly looked down on the floor and quieted.

Snype looked at the Queen with wide eyes before looking around once more. "...Let's plan our next move. The city has definately changed in all the destruction. We'll need to make sure we have room to get through while avoiding too much fighting. He knows we're here and all." Snype said. It'd at least give the Sabelye time to at least ask the Queen. He didn't want everyone else worrying about him. "You saw her too then...?" Snype asked in a whisper. "Lyn... Guardia...was she showing me the way maybe?"

Queen Aleena's eyes also widened and she nodded her head slowly. "I... I did not want to say anything in case I was mistaken... I have been having many strange visions and hearing voices lately... I thought it may have been that..." The Florges's voice lowered toward the end.

Vee nodded at Snype's first suggestion. "It's gonna be tough... there's so many 'mon here and... it's hard to focus on the energies because... argh," Vee clutched its head. "So powerful... there's a massive energy signature coming from that big tower. I... that is definitely the spot to awaken Cresselia at. The question is, how to get there? There's hundreds, maybe thousands of Pokemon on the streets. It's less than a mile away, but still. It's a lot. It may take something very big to do it."

"Then I guess we've both been seeing it... Kehehe... guess we both have some pretty wild connections with the higher ups don't we?" Snype said with a small grin. The Queen returned a small smile to the King of Thieves as the thief continued. "Lyn's still here looking after us. I got a promise to make that I'd see this through to the end. Heheh... wonder if she's been talking to you?" Snype looked out to the crowd. It'd be easy enough to go beserk and mega evolve but he needed to save this kind of power for Darkrai himself. And even alone that may not be enough. "He already closed out the tunnels so our stealth op is out of the question... I had a route to go closer to the tower but thinking of it now, that would have been way more dangerous. We'd be leaping into the heart of the beast without a plan... though..."

Snype looked around for any sign of Lyn. Maybe she was guiding them. If there was any trace of her nearby... well Snype would trust her.

As Snype would scan out to the sea of various Pokémon around the tower. Everywhere he looked, there were enemies around. However, as he continued to scan the area with Vee, various explosions began to occur across the city. Some were further away, seemingly to the west of the city.

Others seemed a lot closer to the Citadel, with several large explosions actually occurring close by their hideout in the house. Elewyn went to cover the Queen, while Vee hid under the window, with Cel backing up from the windows to the center of the room. Lia spun a bit and frowned.

Smoke filled the outside of the house, as many of Darkrais followers yelled and tried to find the culprits.

"Freed prisoners!" One mom shouted, as clashes began to occur between the freed rebels and Darkrais mon.

From across the smoke and fighting, Snype would be able to see the same Zangoise figure, this time standing on a pile of rubble from the aftermath of one of the explosions, and a part of the citadel exposed and open, with an opening inside! The Zangoose took the path and disappeared into the enormous building.

"There... that's where we need to make it too." Snype pointed out far to the Citadel. It really was her... that shortcut could lead them straight into the citadel without needing to knock on the front door. "We should move while everyones fighting. I'd love to stay and fight but we got a job to do. Let them have their fight. We got our own to do." The Sableye said as he'd start to make his way out of one of the windows and search for an opening of some sort. "We might have to stick to the roof tops for awhile. The ground level is swarming. Just gotta watch our step. Any of ya not comfortable in your parkour skills by chance?" Snype said, searching for a good route that wasn't set on fire by now.

"My parkour is probably gliding, so is hers, Celebi murmured and pointed to the floating Lia.

Lady Elewyn nodded. "I should be fine and I'll carry Her Highness too, of course."

"Yeah, I'll be good," Vee glanced at the open space created by the explosions. "Hmm... good timing, I guess. Alright, ready whenever you are. Best maybe not stop before we reach there, in case anyone sees."

"Got it. Watch your step. It's a one way trip from here." Snype said as he made a leap toward the next building. At least he wasn't going completely crazy what with seeing Lyn. The Queen was able to see it too. Was it really some kind of ghost? She wasn't steering him wrong... Snype needed to have faith in her...

Thunder, Mountain, Kaveri, and John - The Hunt for Wyatt

"Hmm," Vee murmured as he searched for the Abamasnow Agent known as Wyatt, for Kaveri, John, and the two Beatrucian Gold Tribe members, the Mountain and Thunder. It didn't take long for the Victini to locate who they were looking for.

"Can't mistake it. He's down south-east," Vee explained. "He's close to the south gate," the Victini pointed to the map in front of them. "Looks like he's in a watchtower of some sort."

"What's his surroundings look like?" John asked.

"It's a watchtower, so it's full of other 'mon. It'll be a fight to get in. And since he's in a watchtower, it'll be a smaller area. Not as much to move around," Vee shook its head.

"We won't have to fight our way in if we just bring the whole tower down," Kaveri said, tails twitching as she thought. "I'll Rain Dance the area to soften up the ground, then Dig underneath to destroy it's support. If that doesn't topple it, then one good hit to the structure should finish it off. Maybe from an Earthquake or something?" The Floatzel looked inquisitively around at her comrades.

"I can bring an Earthquake," Mountain answered in his deep low voice. The Torterra stomped the ground with his front left foot in approval of the plan.

"That works for me," John added. "I can help with the Rain Dance too."

"There'll be a lot of bodies coming our way from that commotion if we do this," Thunder interjected, seemingly on edge.

Kaveri shrugged. "We've got a Torterra stomping around with us. We're gonna cause a commotion no matter how we go about this," she pointed out. "No offense meant, big guy," she added, patting the Mountain on his solid back. Mountain responded with a smirk. "I guess we could just bust our way in. If it's a contained space, they won't be able to use their numbers properly. But one of us should stay by the exit, to make sure no one gets past us. Otherwise someone's gonna run off and bring back a pile of bodies anyways."

"I probably won't be doing a lot of good inside one of them watchtowers anyway," Mountain added. "I can stay outside if we go that route."

"Use the confined space against them," John nodded. "I like that. It has its disadvantages, but at this point any plan will. I'm game."

"Same!" Thunder exclaimed.

---

The group of Pokemon targeting Wyatt made their move, figuring they would make the specifics of the plan as soon as they were closer to their target. They elected to hug closer to the outer parts of Gold City and proceed near the wall. With that, there was less of a chance to run into large portions of enemies. They still ran into a few, including pools of Pokemon moving across the city on patrol, or another few dozen making their way to the armies outside. However, thanks to a large number of the armies already outside the walls, most of the others near the Citadel, and from some apparent other explosions and distractions happening in other parts of the city, they didn't have too much trouble. Any 'mon they did run into couldn't stand up long against three Gold Tribe members and a tough Karnian fighter.

Eventually, they had managed to reach near the southern walls of Gold City. It was a gradual process to reach it, taking up sometime. However, they saw their apparent target (or where he would be inside, at least) in sight: one of the southern watchtowers.

"That's it, then?" Mountain asked as he looked at the watchtower from their perch near the walls. The watchtower was distinct from others around. It was a bit larger, reflecting its importance strategically for any armies who would come near the southern gates. It also distinctly looked... colder. There appeared to be winds spiralling around it, and bits of frost and snow fluttered through the air around them. "Yeah... there's no mistaking it. He's gotta be around."

John nodded. "This watchtowers right near the gates," John commented, noting that the gate, where Pokemon were sitll coming out of to charge at the allied force's distraction army, was close by. "If we make commotion at the watchtower, there's likely gonna be reinforcements coming at us from behind. We'll be surrounded, even if we do manage to beat Wyatt inside there. And if we Earthquake like we agreed earlier, then all those Pokemon around will be comin' too. We ready for that?"

"If any of ya have any ideas on how to keep things quiet in there, I'm all ears," Kaveri said. "Otherwise, let's just do what we can. As long as Wyatt's taken out, we've done what we came here for, and that's enough for me."

"I don't think any of us are necessarily the quiet type," Mountain commented as he gazed down at his large to front feet. "And at this point, we probably don't need to be. Our job is to take out Wyatt, but it's also to serve as a good enough distraction for the team escorting the Queen. Noise may be better in the long run."

"Even if it won't be for us," John chimed in.

"This is the endgame now," Mountain replied, gazing at the Poliwrath fighter from Karn. The large Torterra made two large steps forward. "All that matters is winning. We do this now."

"What? Wai-" John began, but the large Torterra Gold Tribes'' mon made a running start and leaped into the air. He was more faster and agile for his size than one could see, something probably to be expected from someone of the Gold Tribe. The Torterra landed directly in front of the Watchtower, causing the ground to shake from the weight and strength of the mountainous Torterra. The Mountain further belowed as he made contact with the ground, further accentuating the powerful Earthquake. The ground shook violently, and fissures from the ground ruptured and made their way toward the larger Watchtower. Along with the wall nearby, the watchtower shook violently. Any homes around broke apart and crumbled at the intensity of the attack. As the group had previously ensured no civilians were nearby, Mountain went all out. Pieces of the watchtower began to break off from the stem, and collapse. Pokemon who were at the very top of the watchtower fell off due the the powerful attack, while others tried to cling onto something solid on the tip. Mountain, unsatisfied with the effort, then charged full speed at the watchtower, ramming it at its weakest points.The Torterra crashed directly at the watchtower, but kept going until his frame past directly through it. The mammoth defensive building finally began to give way, and collapse from its own weight and damage. Dust flew across the area as the building collapsed in front of the group.

"So much for the quiet approach!" Kaveri cackled. She flung first one, then two blue orbs up above the wreckage of the watchtower, and within moments a dark cloud form and rain came pouring down. The dry earth around the rubble quickly became a muddy, mushy mess that the stones began sinking into, and any who survived the tower falling would have struggle through to get to them. The Floatzel then collected a Water Pulse in each paw, waiting for first enemies to appear from the wreckage.

A few screams could be heard among the wreckage, as a few 'mon struggled to escape among the sinking piles of the watchtower remains. A Paras and a Pidgey were hit by the water Pulses, and more came through as they were attacked by Thunder. A large arm emerged from the back of the watchtower, and heaved itself into the air. The surrounding dust and debris mixed with a strange mist, cover this enormous 'mon from full sight until he landed with a loud thump, outside of the afflicted area. The piercing eyes of the Abamasnow Wyatt glared at the gathered 'mon sent to defeat him.

"That's him," John muttered. He had heard of the Abamasnow's strength and brutality. He knew even with three Gold Tribe members and his own strength, the Agent's strength, along with the vast amount of his allies he expected to see may shift the tide.

"I am ready for him," The Mountain bellowed confidently. "I'll set the first waves, the rest of you go in!" The Mountain began stomping his feet and causing the ground to crack toward Wyatt's direction. The city shook violently from the torterra's powerful Earthquake. Wyatt wobbled momentarily, and other Pokemon drawn to the area seemed to fall and collapse from the power.

Thunder instantly took off toward Wyatt, as did John. The Poliwrath fighter unleashed a powerful torrent of water toward the Abomasnow, while Thunder struck a Thunderbolt right after. The Abomasnow raised his arms, freezing the water as it came toward him, the entire torrent solidifying just before it reached him. The Thunderbolt then collided with the frozen water, shattering it apart. "A water move won't work on me boy. It only gives me more strength. The Abomasnow glanced down at the ground, walking a few steps forward before he looked under at a grate right beneath him. Wyatt clenched his large fists. "Can you hear it?" He asked the group.

Mountain cocked an eyebrow while John furrowed his brows and glanced at Thunder, who shrugged.

"Ah, pay it no mind, you will know what I am talking about in a moment," Wyatt continued as he clapsed his hands behind his back. "Suffice to say, this day will not be going as you planned."

"We're here to stop Darkrai! And you!" John shot back.

Wyatt brought his red eyes right at the Poliwhirl and sighed. "Poor fool. You think in coming here, you would defeat me and be one step closer to stopping Gabriel." There was a sloshing, a powerful sloshing heard by John. He looked around for the source of the sound, which almost sounded like rainfall. "You have only come to be one of the last cogs. The last bits of energy, of chaos, he needs." Wyatt's eyes glowed a familiar, mysterious purple/blue color, and he began to raised his hands in the air. The sloshing grew louder. John looked down and through the grate not too far from his feet. It looked like the sewers, or whatever tunnels were underneath them were completely flood.

"There's water!" He cried. "We need to move, now!" He shouted. Mountain and Thunder both looked down, seeing the immense waves begin to rise, and slowly freeze over.

All at once, the waters rushed into the city above, kicking down John, Mountain, and Thunder like rag dolls and knocking them off their feet. It was like being hit by a boulder of water, and now John could see one giant pool of water now floating above them. It was the largest pool of water John had ever seen outside of an ocean or sea. It covered nearly a fourth of the entire city. And it was slowly beginning to freeze over. The droplets of water formed into shards of ice. Then, as the Abomasnow watched, he launched the enormous collection of ice to the city below. "Ultimate Blizzard."

And at once, the entirety of the water collected under the city dropped as a thousand ice shards onto the citizens below, covering one-fourth of Gold City in a frozen tomb.

Callimer Vian, Darren, Prime, and Popous - The Juggernaut

With the armies now gathered in preparation, the various Agent-seeking groups took off to find and defeat their Agent. Vee remained with the final group, the group set to find Grett, without a doubt the strongest of the Agents. Vee concentrated for a moment, finding it somewhat harder to find the 'mon admist all of this fighitng. Vee's eyes closed and fidgeted, before finally opening. Vee frowned, and looked across the other's faces.

"What? What?" Prime, leader of the Beatrucian Gold Tribe, demanded impatiently.

"It's... not the best news," Vee replied with a small shake of its head. "He's not in the city like Alai or the Abamasnow. He's... " Vee's finger trailed to outside the city, pointing towards the large army of Darkrai clashing with the smaller distraction army of the Allied Forces. "... there. Deep in there. Right in the middle of the fighting, looks like. So-"

"So what you're saying," Commander Darrell, leader of the Hellguards. "Is we have to go through the army, their thousands, to try and find him. Am I gettin' that right?" He asked Vee, who nodded.

"This forces us to take the route that would probably create the most chaos along the way..." said the Emerald Sentinel, tail waving in annoyance. "Buuuut it also means we can hit their main force from behind and do some serious damage as we dig through, which will make a big difference in the longevity of our own forces distracting them from the front."

"You're going to attack them?" Vee asked Callimer, somewhat incredulously. "Just with you four?"

"I've had worse odds in Beatruce!" Prime cried out and puffed out his chest. "This is exactly what I signed up for!"

"Well, it sure as hell ain't what I signed up for," Commander Darrell grumbled. "But f*ck it."

"I believe it's a sound plan," Popous, the Monferno warrior from Tollen concurred. "I do not wish to see our distraction forces punished too hard. Besides, we're all seasoned warriors, am I right? I think we can hold our own against Darkrai's flanks," He grinned.

"Aye, that we can." Callimer agreed. "We'll cut through them efficiently and safely with a small phalanx." He began to explain. "Everyone stays close together, watches each other's backs. You start to struggle tap someone next to you and trade opponents, take each enemy you see down quick and don't take any unnecessary risks. We wanna make a dent in them but we can't afford to tire ourselves out before we reach Grett. Sound like a solid plan?" He finished firmly, awaiting his teams response but fully prepared to argue his points if anyone disagreed.

Commander Darrell looked over to the others. The Feraligatr crossed his arms then nodded in affirmation.

"I'm ready," Popous added, as he cracked his knuckles.

"I've been ready since we got here," Prime bellowed loudly, turning toward the large army mustering against the distraction army in the distance. "No more time to lose! Grett falls today!"

---

Captain Jerns was not a great leader. He wasn't even a good one. He had his moments while assigned to the fourth leading Pentosarr Holy Force. But those were vastly overshadowed but a very mediocre performance record. The Delibird wasn't a hardline believer in the Pentosarr way of life. That was probably why he wasn't in any prestigious position. Even now, he was dead in the center of the armies attacking the Valkarian invasion force. He was content there. His main objective was to sit out on the side for as long as possible and avoid any injuries. If he'll be damned, he was going to survive this war.

The Delibird watched as countless Ancients smashed into the Allied Forces, sacrificing their bodies like they were rag dolls. Jerns shook his head. He would never understand the suicidal tendencies of those Ancient Pokemon. They were nothing but mindless servants for Darkrai, in Jerns's mind. At least the Royal Knights had some sense, though they too fought loyally. The Bandit Clans mostly looked out for their own, but they were at least smart enough to follow Darkrai's orders. But Darkrai's orders didn't involve standing anywhere near the front lines. So from here is where he intended to lead.

"Sir!" A Tangela reported to Captains Jerns. "All is going well on our front. Most of our soldiers are throwing longer range attacks and fighting off to the sides, as you ordered."

"Good," Captain Jerns nodded, and continued watching the Bizarre Ancient behavior. "The less lives we lose in this scuffle, the better. Just kill the pesky forces from a distance. They'll all fall eventually."

"Yessir," The Tangela saluted with a group of its tangles pressed just above its eyes.

Captain Jerns watched the front forces silently. The battle progressed relatively favorably so far. He only hoped that the rest of the fight would be this eventless.

But alas, others had different plans for this battle. Captain Jerns, as well as many others, turned at the sounds of screams and yells coming from the right rear of the invasion force. Captain Jerns squinted his eyes as he tried to adjust to what was going on in the distance. He turned down to the Tangela. "What the hell is going on?" The Delibird questioned.

"S-sir!" The Tangela stammered "I-it's..." His voice trailed off as he pointed.

The vine led Captain Jerns' gaze to a bright light followed by a loud bang and bodies flying every which way, revealing a very sudden, very large empty space in his forces with four pokémon nearly back to back at the center of it. "Forward!" The oversized green Dragonite at the head of the micro-phalanx shouted. It began to flap its wings where it stood, its allies only managing to stay in place because of their prodigious strength, the winds whipped fiercer and fiercer until a massive Hurricane bushed forth from the group, piercing right into another clump of fighters. The Hurricane flung anyone one the edge of it away harder than any catapult could, but they were the lucky ones. The 'mon that found themselves inside got massive cuts all over their bodies at best or were torn apart at worst and in no time Jerns' mass of meatshields had a huge line of empty space cleaved through his army.

Captain Jerns' face paled. He had been given a list of names and descriptions prior to this battle of 'mon that he ought to avoid, if possible. Popous was on the list, as the Monferno tore through part of his armies with an extraordinarily-sized Fire Blast. Pokemon were charred and burned to a crips by the intensity of the heat, leaving nothing but ash. He had been known as one of the best fighters in Tollen, and it clearly showed. Commander Darrell was on the list, as the Feraligatr unleashed a torrent of high-powered Hydro Pump, completely decimating anyone who stood in his path. As the leader of the Hellguards, he was in the habit of getting the results he wanted, no matter the cost. The hyperactive Prime was most definitely on his list. As the leader of the Beatrucian Gold Tribe, Jerns knew he not only was one of Beatruce's best fighters, but he was also more than willing to avenge most of his tribe's deaths at the hands of Darkrai. And, of course, Callimer, who was at the very top of his list. The 'mon needed no introduction, and his strength spoke for itself.

In a voice barely above a whisper, Jerns looked over at the Tangela. "G--Grett. Inform him what's going on, and who is here." He muttered. The Tangela sped off, and Jerns took in a deep breath. "SOLDIERS!" He shouted, his voice cracking a bit. "On me! Everyone, destroy the attackers!" He cried. "Kill them all, kill them all, KILL THEM ALL!" His yell caused waves of Pokemon to head toward the direction of the four warriors. There were dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands on the prowl.

Commander Darrell cursed under his breath, while Prime grinned. "Looks like we got their attention!" He howled with laughter.

"You're a crazy f*ck, you know that?" Darrell questioned the Hawlucha.

Prime continued to howl with laughter. "Some call it crazy! I call it necessary!" Prime's claws glowed as he prepared for the coming horde.

"You call this necessary?" Darrell scoffed. "This'll be the end of us."

Prime laughed again and pointed at the large force incoming. "Look at 'em! I got pretty good eyes, but just look at them!" He pointed. "They saw what we just did to 'em. They know what we can do. They're scared. Shitting their pants, if they have any on!" He laughed again. "Four 'mon, all who they know, are taking them out like they're weeds. Sure, there's a lot more than us. Sure, we probably won't be able to keep it up forever, and are probably gonna die," He said matter of factly. "But we don't needa keep it up forever. They're gonna demoralize themselves eventually, and the final hit? Once they see Grett fall. And believe me, he's comin'."

Popous nodded. "I see," The armies were on fast approach. "Shall we again, then?" The Monferno want back in formation, awaiting another strike from Darkrai's hordes. He saw them all: feral 'mon, Ancients, Pentosarrs, Bandit clans, Morrians, and others. His fists grew flames around them. Prime's claws continued to shine as he once more used a Swords Dance. Darrell began forming balls of water in his fists.

Callimer took advantage of the empty space they'd cleared to take a deep breath and begin forming a sphere of pure, primal draconic energy above his mouth, expanding more and more until it was far beyond its normal size. The sphere went from snow white to void black and grew a coating of dark blue flames - the very same flames that Wildfire had once burnt her enemies to ash with. The sphere rose up into the air and then instead of exploding all at once, began to fly around over the battlefield, raining down a constant assault of Draco Meteors upon all of Darkrai's forces unlucky enough to end up beneath it. "I call that one Draco Meteor Shower. Keep it up, fellas. Conserve your energy, efficiency above all else, if we get tired, we're done. And I know this may be hard for any warriors as strong and as proud as the four of us but...When Grett finally shows his face...let me take him. There's no way Darkrai's mon will be content to just watch us dogpile him so you three need to keep tearing the rest to pieces while I handle Grett. The crazy ones won't hesitate to throw their lives away to stop us and the sane ones will know their morale is toast when Grett falls so don't let them interfere."

"Not a chance, brother!" Prime quickly responded. The Hawlucha Gold Tribe leader leaped high into the air, which was covered with a vast amount of flying Pokemon. The upwards motions caused the Hawlucha to ram directly into an unsuspecting Fearow, knocking it out in a single blow. Prime quickly maneuvered through the air, grabbing hold of the unconscious Fearow and rode him down toward the land. He maneuvered the Fearow so that it was right above a large group of Darkrai's soldiers. At the last moment, Prime jumped off of the knocked out 'mon and into the pile of Pokemon in front of him, using a Bounce to unleash mayhem on those around. The powerful attack caused the Pokemon to literally be blown away from its sheer force. In the center, Prime leaped up, emerging unscathed. He turned toward the large dragon."You don't get to tell me what I can and can't do. I'm a Gold Tribe leader, same as you! But it's not about that, it's about settling something way more personal than that," The Hawlucha gritted his teeth and glared menacingly at the armies.

"He may have been traveling with you for the past year, but before that, he was my brother," Prime said in a lower voice, not mentioning anyone by name. It wouldn't take long for Callimer to know who the Gold Tribes'mon was referring to. "He was my second in command. And he was my oldest friend. Grett will pay for what he did to Abel. And I will personally make sure of that."

"I understand what you're saying, Callimer," Popous chimed in, as he unleashed an enormous flaming wheel, encircling a large group of unsuspecting Morrian 'mon, and burning them through the sheer intensity of the heat. "But as I've heard, Grett is perhaps the strongest fighter on Darkrai's side. You will need help. At least while he doesn't transform into Mega Evolution. After that, he may be beyond us. But for now... we will do what we can."

"Well shit, I'm not opposed to holdin' off the armies instead of facing the dude," Darrell commented, his high-powered water blasts tearing through countless 'mon as he did. "You can at least count on me for that..." The Ferligatr frowned as he looked onward at the enormous crowd of enemies around. "But something tells me that we won't be getting that chance just yet..."

Immediately in front of them, the crowd slowly began to part. Every Darkrai follower, from Morrian, to feral, to Pentosarr, to bandit, to fallen royal knight, to Ancient, to the many more gathered, parted as a single 'mon walked among the countless bodies. There were others bigger than him. There were others appearing more menacing than him. There were others who appeared tougher than him. Yet no single Pokemon dared stand in his way. The Sceptile passed through the hordes of Darkrai as if he were taking a casual stroll. He didn't just command respect, his very presence demanded it. And no one dared question it. This was the effect that the strongest of the Agents had.

The lone Sceptile approached past the armies, and toward the four gathered warriors. Darrell couldn't help but gulp as a bead of sweat headed down his forehead. Popous looked more serious than he ever did, while Prime appeared furious. Eventually, Grett stopped about ten meters from the four, glanced at them in silence. All around, the fighting continued with severe intensity. Pokemon died by the dozens every second. But here, in this burned, scorched part of the plains of Valkaria, it was as if the battle was frozen. There was no great war, no endless hordes attacking. There was only the five warriors, squaring off with one another.

"I've been waiting for you to come!" General Grett shouted toward his four opponents. He looked around at the armies fighting and extended his arms. "This was your great plan? Trying to match us strength for strength? I would have except better, to be honest. But then again, maybe you got overconfident? After all,you've been on a hot streak against the Agents. First Tyren, then Bastille, then Roxanna, Xander, and James. Maybe you think I'm next... is that it?"

The Emerald Sentinel was strangely calm when he stepped forward to look into Grett's eyes, no trace of his hatred for the Sceptile or frustration at his past crimes showed on Cal's face. "So nice of you to show up, 'general'." The affectation he put on the last word made it clear he was speaking of a time when Grett was a very different sort of general, not what he was now. "It's funny that you say 'next' because really it's more like you're the first. My first chance to finally kick an agent's ass." Cal smiled ruefully before continuing and the sphere on his neck glowed softly as if sharing in his memories. "It seems like every single time we got one of you cowards in a position to actually have a real fight, my chance got taken away from me. I wasn't around for Tyren, Snype dealt with the Bastille while Prime and I were... laying some good friends to rest....Xander and I somehow missed each other at every opportunity...Roxanna and James both got taken out in the tournament at Karn. First Roxanna, that stupid, psycho bitch... Even after we caught her... even after all those times I talked to her... even after it seemed like maybe she was starting to see something in my words, she got away and sank right back into Darkrai's scum and then Percival finally stopped her from hurting anyone else.

James got ripped away from the fight we'd been preparing for ever since we met, the kill got stolen by my own sister... James was so much more than an agent. We trained together a lot, we even had some real conversations here or there and he taught me the true weight of Mega Evolution, what it really means underneath the godlike power and the flashy effects. I feel like I understood him, at the end, but he'd made up his mind a long time ago and nothing would divert him from the path he walked and eventually... it was Guardia that paid the price for the time I spent trying to understand James and learn from him instead of eliminating a threat... and my atonement came in the form of taking her mantle, of finishing the fight she never started but had to guide us all through anyways. That wasn't a responsibility I wanted to have for years to come, years rebuilding what you all destroyed and learning from her... but now here I am and even though this all came at the worst possible time, even though I never felt ready and it was terrifying, that responsibility anchored me. That responsibility reminded me that I couldn't let anything stop us because now I'm responsible for all of it and I've managed to keep it all going because of all the pokémon I've had supporting me and supporting our fight, our survival."

The Gold Tribe's young leader stepped forward again without a trace of apprehension, with all doubt of his worth in carrying his mentor's torch dashed away by his experiences throughout this journey. "Even you, Grett. You were always where I couldn't reach you. You vanished in the chaos that first day this all started up again and after that every time you showed your ugly face it was at some critical moment to make a surgical strike and run away or some behind the scenes shady crap. The only time you ever dared to be somewhere I might have finally faced you it was when I was stuck trying to convince some nihilistic, moronic hermit gods of just the kind of crisis we're facing even as they shut themselves away and pretended they understood it all, imagined they were still a part of some unchanging and unending cycle... when I couldn't even have known you were there, you showed up, tried to make my brother turn on what was left of his family...and you failed, but he was still taken away from us. Every single time I've missed my chance, but not today. Maybe the cycle does need to end, maybe its time really is over... but if it's ending, the world isn't going away with it. You are, and Darkrai is. You cowards who think you can just press a reset button and throw everything away just because you don't like how things are, because you aren't smart enough or strong enough to actually fix anything. Today, the greatest force of pokémon from all walks of life, from all over the world is assembled to stop you, and we will."

"You will try," The Sceptile General replied. "And believe me, I wasn't running. I was just always one step ahead of you," He cracked his neck and he prepared for the upcoming bout. There wasn't a single casual feeling in Grett's body. He was as serious as can be. "Even now, I know you have improved. I know you're getting good as using that stone around your neck. But I was good at it before you ever knew it existed. I know you've fought alongside and against legendaries. But I fought for and against them long before you knew they could even be fought."

From above, Prime came crashing down, using the entire force of his bounce and the momentum of the fall to strike at his opponent. Moments before he fell, Grett observed the incoming Hawlucha and crossed both of his arms above his head in a defense. A large shockwave impacted the area, sweeping closerby mon off their feet, and cracking apart the ground.

The two clashed for a few moments, before the Sceptile General clenched his teeth, exerted loudly, forced Prime up, and yelled, "You're all just one step behind me!" Prime was sent hurling through the air with immense force, crashing down on the plains beside the other fighters. Grett then unleashed a torrent of sharp leaves, strong enough to slice apart the ground and stone in its path like it was butter.

"Oh I don't call you a coward because we keep missing each other or you do things behind the scenes, Grett, that's just the nature of war." Cal began, spreading his wings fiercely enough for a gust of wind to knock over several of the 'mon watching from the sidelines. The Mega Stone on Callimer's neck pulsed with a soft light and he shot at Grett in a green blur, darting around the Leaf Storm and slamming a fist into the Sceptile agent's guard hard enough to send them skidding together, leaving a thick scar in the earth where they'd passed. "What you're running away from is this life! From the world itself!" Another punch transmitted enough impact for more of the spectators to fall over. "You and all of Darkrai's followers are too cowardly to really face the problems of this world, too afraid to keep up the struggles, scared enough to want to escape it all! And arrogant enough to think you can do a better job when it's all gone!" A third punch finally separated the two and the Dragonite's wings spread again. "A bunch of bloodsoaked murderers and cowards make a better world? Don't make me laugh!" His wings glowed brightly with the same light as the mega stone and and slammed together in front of him, creating a small tornado that rapidly expanded with the force of a full fledged Hurricane as it flew for Grett.

The expanding Hurricane collided with the Sceptile, but the 'mon braced himself, even as many other 'mon around blew off and were forced by its power. Grett clenched his teeth and exerted a loud yell, which formed another Leaf Storm, which passed through the Hurricane with pace enough to disrupt its spin and decimate it. The surviving leaves from his attack were sent at the gathered 'mons's direction. Prime, who was already on his feet, leaped out of the way of the attack.

"Make a better world?" Grett repeated Callimer's statement. The Sceptile chuckled. "You still don't know, do you?" He began chuckling some more, before he quickly stopped, seeing Popous flying in from the side with his foot completely engulfed in flames. Grett lifted his guard and blocked the powerful thrust; Popous was indeed representing Tollen well by this exhibition of strength. Yet even with the type advantage, Grett seeing his arm charred by the flames, the Sceptile managed to push off the Monferno, and sliced at his body with a powerful Leaf Blade. The attack struck Popous directly on the chest, passing through his armor and slicing him to the point of reaching blood, and quite a lot. Popous yelled, and Grett kicked the warrior to the side, causing him to slide along the plains.

While the rest of his team dodged out of the Leaf Storm's path, Cal furled his wings in front of him like a shield until the Leaf Storm crashed into them, then thrust the tips of his wings through the attack like a blade, then rapidly opened them outward, splitting the attack into and scattering the leaves to flutter harmlessly on either side. "I'm sure there will be things about this whole mess I can't possibly understand until it's over, but I know what I need to push on." The air around the Dragonite started to shimmer as his body began to heat up, more and more until the light bent strangely around him. "And you won't stand in our way!" His Outrage swelled and seemed about to explode when Popous was wounded but he took a deep breath and relaxed, though the strange shimmering heat continued to emanate from him and he left scorched, smoking footprints behind when he began to march towards Grett. His speed picked up with each step until he leaped at his opponent, frost coating his fists in contrast to the heat the rest of him exuded for a flurry of Ice Punches.

Grett, meanwhile, sped forward and charged at the Dragonite just as he came toward him. He raised up his fists, meeting the large Dragonite's Ice Punches with his own fists, as part of a devastating Close Combat attack.

The two clashed together, as pieces of ice shattered at the ferocity of the mons punches. Each punch pushed back any surrounding fighters, clearing out the field, and the plains as the behemoths unleashed their entire arsenal of moves.

Grett threw one last powerful punch toward Callimer, this last one thrown with enough force to push Grett back himself. He readjusted himself and prepared for another attack, but a sound to the distance temporarily caught his attention.

Darren, who has just taken down another dozen mon, turned as well, cursing under his breath as he quickly relayed to the others. "Reinforcements! A lot of them! I can't tell who they're with yet. They're coming from the north, looks like! Be watchful!"

Callimer's antennae stood up but he kept his eyes on Grett. "Stay mindful and keep watch for identification, but don't let up on these guys either!"

"I shall not keep you guessing!" A voice called out as a large set of claws collided with Grett from his side. The Sceptile brought up his own claws to match the ferocity of the familiar Garchomp's attack. The new Gold Tribes'mon Percival struck at Grett, forcing him back along the grass terrain as the dragon took up position beside Callimer. "My friend, Callimer. I have come to your aid. And with me, Karn has joined the fray!"

"Haha! Good to see you, Percival!" Cal called out to his friend while he spared a glance back to see their Karnian allies following in the Garchomp's wake. The Emerald Sentinel spread his wings to their full size and roared. "Let's not disappoint them! Show Karn's warriors the greatest fight they've ever seen!"

Raz, Cythera, Fen, Rattles, Silence and Pyre - Alai

Vee closed its eyes, using its vast energy to try and look for the Simisage Agent, Alai. It didn't take long for the Victini's eyes to open and look across the faces of Raz, Pyre, Silence, Cythera, Rattles and Fen. Vee spoke, "Looks like Alai is the closest in the city. He's beyond the west wall, on the west side of the Citadel. It looks like he's moving east slowly, though, toward the center Citadel. There's a lot more forces there, so you'll want to catch him before he gets there."

"Are there other forces around him?" Pyre, a Beatrucian Gold Tribe member, asked the Victini.

Vee nodded. "There's some forces moving with him, but not a whole lot. And some occassionally break off from him. Looks like maybe three dozen or so."

"Of course we'll have to deal with the mooks," Razathiel scoffed. "It's not like they'll help him much anyway. What's his proximity to the rest of the garbage going on?"

"Depends what you mean by garbage," Vee responded. "If you mean the main battle, it's in the city walls so he's not there. But he's heading toward the Citadel it seems, so very soon, there could be a lot more enemies around. Fighting him may not attract too much other armies as long as he's not too close to that. So the sooner you move, the better. If you mean by his proximity to others..." Vee paused for a moment to concentrate. "... I don't feel like Alai is around any other Agents. Grett and Wyatt do not appear to be nearby, and I am... unsure of where Gabriel is."

"Let's get going, then," Cythera said curtly.

"Agreed. The sooner we can kill the prick, the better," Raz nodded.

Vee nodded. "Good luck to you," The Victini added, before the group headed toward the gate. They could faintly hear Vee talking to some of the other groups, before eventually the sounds of fighting nearby completely shut off anything else happening. Pyre took a look back and no longer saw their allies, who were further down the plains of Valkaria. In front of them was Gold City. It wasn't exactly like they saw it those months back. Its walls were worn and cracked. Its gates were bashed in and ruined. It stood proudly still, but signs of prolonged battles could be seen. Normally, Gold City was one of the most fortified places in Valkaria, but with this major battle underway, few would easily spot a smaller group of 'mon making their way into the city. Not with all this other commotion going on.

The group found themselves in front of one of the western entrances of Gold City. A worn, partially broken gate was in front of them, while chips and pieces of the wall left areas of the wall climbable. Two watchtowers were nearby the gate, but seemed to be preoccupied by something going on within the city.

"We could try scaling the wall to get over," Pyre recommended. "That would probably be quieter. Or we can simply break in the gate and go inside, but I am unsure of how much attention that would attract. I am ready either way."

"I say we go over," Silence declared. "There's no telling who might come running if we smash that gate in, and I'd rather not have to deal with any distractions."

"Over seems more prudent in general," pondered the ralts. "I can certainly scale the wall with little effort, what with levitation existing, though I'm not sure how confident the rest of you poor sods are in climbing."

The samurott said, "One moment," and took a couple of steps toward the wall. She felt it with one hand, then drew one of the black-and-red blades from her side and plunged it into the stone brick. She tested her weight on it before confirming, "I can scale this."

"Over it is," Pyre agreed. The Ninetales stepped back, surveying the wall. She noted the cracks and missing pieces of stone that would serve as decent places to grab hold of. Pyre then took a running start, leaped onto the wall, and grabbed hold of the stone with her paws. She darted from one position to the next, using her front paws as leverage for each next jump. It took four pauses before she managed to reach the top. She quickly scanned for any nearby 'mon, and seeing the coast temporarily clear, she jumped over and landed gracefully on her feet as she awaited the rest of her comrades. Rattles gripped the stone with her feelers and climbed it effortlessly as any Ferrothorn would after growing up on a cave ceiling. Cythera scaled it effortlessly as well, firmly seated on the Ferrothorn's head. Silence quickly and agilely scaled the wall to stand next to her, using her claws to cling to every little crack in the wall and lever herself upwards. The Wyvern's blades added their own cracks to the wall as she used them like ice picks to scale the stone barrier. Razathiel's approach was to float up nonchalantly.

Pyre nodded as the others made it through. She then turned and took in the sight of Gold City for the first time. It was in turmoil. Commotion could be heard all across the city. Pokemon were screaming. It was a mixture of those shouting orders and those suffering injuries. She could also see smoke in parts of the city. Most of the noise came from the main gates as hundreds could be seen still exiting the city to fight the Allied Forces outside. But even inside, some commotion was going on.

Pyre gazed across the city. It didn't take long to spot the Citadel in the distance. Remembering that Alai was heading toward that location, she knew the path to take. However, a sudden scream from her side caught her attention. There, a group of Sandshrew were being dragged from their home, literally, by half a dozen soldiers of Darkrai, a Raichu, Elekid, Tyrogue and two Machoke. Knowing that they had a specific target in mind, the Ninetales Gold Tribe warrior couldn't help herself. She dashed toward the group, and struck at them with a Take Down to separate their hold from the Sandshrew citizens.

"What the f*ck are you doing?!" Silence cursed, teeth bared angrily. The Weavile turned back towards everyone else. "We don't have time for this sh*t, let's just leave her and get on with our mission."

"This can't be allowed to get out of hand," the Wyvern said lowly. "Go to Alai, I-"

"I'm off," muttered Razathiel, heading toward the Citadel with barely a moment's hesitation.

"- I will see to it that there are no stragglers," Fendrala finished, beginning to skirt around the wall for a good place to get the drop on those below. "We will rendezvous later."

"That works." Cythera followed after Raz without another word. Pyre could be seen fighting against more of Darkrai's fighters, with the commotion of the fight bringing more followers toward her direction what started as half a dozen quickly turned into a dozen, and then two. She seemed to be holding her own, as Gold Tribe members were expected to, but the group would quickly lose sight of her as they proceeded toward their target.

A few streets later, and Pyre was completely out of sight. There was more commotion throughout the city, with screams and yells being heard all across. It was difficult to tell exactly where they would be coming from, unless they would investigate further. Up ahead, a dozen armored soldiers headed down the path the group headed up. Lead by them was a Combusken. "You don't look like citizens!" The Combusken shouted. Each one of his men behind him seemed to be wearing similar garb. Those who had visited Tollen would recognize the group as from the forrested nation: fallen Royal Knights. "What faction are you with?" He demanded, as the others behind him seemed ready for a battle. If these were formerly Royal Knights from Tollen, then their strength would be on par with most regular Gold Tribe member's strengths. Meaning, they weren't pushovers.

As soon as the soldiers had come into view, Silence left a Substitute to walk silently along at the back of the group while she herself slipped into a sideroad. From there she climbed briskly up to the rooftops, keeping low until she was behind the group of soldiers. The Weavile considered for a moment just continuing onwards and leaving her comrades (if she dared even call them that) behind, but she knew she would need help to fight Alai. So instead she charged up a Focus Blast and launched it directly towards the center of the group of soldiers, where it would cause the most confusion. "The faction of 'F*ck You'!" she'd yell down at them, only after the Focus Blast either reached - or missed - it's mark.

The Focus Blast hit directly on a Mightyena right beside the Combusken. He was propelled back by the strength of the attacked and crashed at a nearby building. The other royal knights quickly moved into action. A Wartortle blasted forward with a water gun. A Vibrava meanwhile began rapidly flapping its wings, causing a twister to form in the area to attack the group.

"Ah, for fuck's sake," muttered Razathiel.

A Rapidash, a Magmar, and the Combusken meanwhile launched a trio flamethrower on the allies, while a Weepinbell and Gloom sprayed acid along the group. Behind them, a royal knight Kadabra meditated as it seemed to prepare for some sort of attack. Near the Kadabra was a Tyrogue who waited for the longer range attacks to reach his enemies before he made his move. Two other royal knights, a Haunter and Dusknoir, were no where to be seen.

With a cry of, "Be thankful I am too busy to prolong your suffering!" Raz leapt into action. He lowered his head and reached out to feel the swirling mass of conjured fire the knights had produced. In his mind he took hold of as much of it as he could; a stolen inferno covered his advance to smother the grass type 'mon who had been so comfortable alongside the stream of fire as it came out. The ralts' small form ducked beneath the flame and smoke to reappear behind the Weepinbell and Gloom, twin Psychic blasts forcing them against their allies' flames.

The two grass 'mon yelped from the powerful flames. The trio flames users tried to stop burning their comrades, but not quick enough to damage them severly. The Rapidash and the Combusken turned to look for the Ralts again, and fired another set of flames. The Magmar glanced at Cythera, meanwhile, and decided to target her with a Flamethrower instead of Raz.

The blast of fire crashed against an impenetrable wall of Rattles' Protect. Cythera sighed. "I'd been hoping to avoid wasting energy here, but I suppose that was too much to ask for." She floated off of Rattles and hid herself away with Camouflage. Rattles instead opted to roll straight toward the Magmar, barreling through the flames with no fear or regard for her own safety. A small patch of Grassy Terrain followed underneath the Ferrothorn as she rushed forward for a Power Whip.

The Magmar was struck by the powerful Power Whip, and forced through the alley wall toward the inside of another house. The Dusknoir and Haunter that were previously missing suddenly reappeared and launched Shadow Balls at both Raz and Rattles.

"Because the fire worked oh so well last time," Razathiel taunted, launching himself up on a cloud of phychic energy as he somersaulted, fanning the gout of flame below him onward to the Kadabra and Tyrogue at the back of the knights' ranks. He caught sight of the shadow balls as specks of darkness, blotting out more and more of the fire below him as they approached - he fired a blast harmlessly into the sky to rocket himself to the right, and another followed to break apart a portion of wall into the relative cover of one of the houses.

The Tyrogue became embroiled in the flames, but the Kadabra managed to staved off the fire with a psybeam, forcing himself back to avoid being burned. While the Ralts flew into cover, the Kadabra then shot another powerful blast of energy directed at Rattles and Cythera. As the Haunter and Dusknoir would try and join in and fire another set of shots at Rattles, a powerful fire burst at the two of them from behind, with Pyre finally catching up to the group and setting the ghosts on fire. The Ninetales Gold Tribe member had a cut along her shoulder, but otherwise seemed alright. However, as Pyre returned, the Rapidash caught sight of her and charged forward to Take Down.

Rattles rushed to cover Cythera and took all three attacks head on. Her assailaints watched as Rattles' bruised and battered shell restored itself in front of them thanks to the Grassy Terrain. Cythera dispelled her camouflage, looking very cross. "You're getting really annoying," she said. She gripped the Haunter's gaseous body with a Psychic attack, trying to crush it. Meanwhile, Rattles stayed close to her, shooting a barrage of Pin Missiles at the other two.

As the Rapidash drew ever closer to Pyre, a shadow descended upon them from above. The Wyvern buried twin seamitars into the neck of the flaming horse as she dropped and in one motion swung about their head before she could land. Her body twisted sharply, launching the royal knight sideways through a crumbling window. As licks of flame from the Rapidash's mane entered the building from the bottom, an explosion of fire exited the building from above; The Dreadmage blew apart another portion of wall and wreathed the shattered brick in fire.

"Don't you just love rubble?" Razathiel asked the Gloom and Weepinbell. Presumably assuming that they did, he promptly launched a barrage of flaming debris at the two.

Screams of pain filled the alley as the tough Royal Knights took the attacks from the group. The flaming debris struck both the Gloom and the Weepinbell, and spread across their bodies. The close proximity of the alley made it difficult for any meaningful dodging. Rattles's Pin Missile's meanwhile collided with the Dusknoir and pushed him onto the ground. Pyre panted heavily and gave Fen a thankful nod, and looked around for any other enemies. It seemed all of the Royal Knights had fallen, and the alleyway was finally clear.

"I definitely thought I heard something going on here," A familiar Simisage's voice was heard from the top of the alley. There, Alai was glancing down at the group while kneeling over. He frowned and shook his head. "I really wish you guys wouldn't have come here. But I guess it's to be expected. You can't run from your destiny same as I can't run from mine."

"Oh! That's convenient," the Dreadmage chirped, wasting no time in gathering more flaming rubble from the battered building below him. "I'll be honest: as much as I'd love to make a show of killing you, I do have rather bigger fish to fry, so let's not tarry about too much with the delicious intricacies of your fate at my hand and just cut to the chase, already."

Alai smirked as he began to respond to Razathiel, only to be interrupted by a sudden, fierce rumbling occurring from the east of the city. There, a giant blue wave of water seemed to rise from under the city and quickly grew in length, until it seemed to cover a good portion of the city. The water slowly began separating into droplets, and from there, swiftly froze over until thousands of the shards were above the city. All at once, the ice rained down on the city below, to the cries of the many Pokemon in their path. Though everyone present now was out of range, it was quite the large spectacle to be seen.

"It looks like Wyatt may have found your friends," The Simisage commented and looked back at the group. "Which means I've got to get started on my part of this bargain too. I am truly sorry for how things ended up, this is going to be the end for you."

Snype, Lia, Cel, Elewyn, Vee, and Queen Aleena - Cresselia

The rest of the group followed quickly behind Snype, with Lia and Cel floating from rooftop to rooftop, while Elewyn carried the Queen. Vee hanged back toward the back of the group, observing the immense outpouring of Pokemon towards the left and right around them. It was frightening, even for the legendary, because of the mass quantity of Pokemon around. Luckily, there was a lot of smoke around that masked their movements, and having those prisoners freed definitely helped to distract them.

But Vee was slowly seeing that the smoke was going to dissipate soon. It wouldn't last long enough before they would reach the entrance to the citadel. Vee looked forward and saw that the area the group was about to the through was not going to be covered, from any side. Vee also saw the mass hundreds, perhaps thousands of Pokemon that would slaughter them if they would be seen. The Victini frowned, making this realization. It was unfortunate, but there was only one option to take. Vee took one more glance at the group in front of him. Snype, Lia, Elewyn and the Queen were all darting forward as fast as they could.

Celebi, however, was looking back as she was gliding forward, looking right at Vee. The Watcher had a tear in her eye, and frowned at the Victini. Vee widened his own eyes at her reaction, but said nothing. Instead, Vee took a deep breath, gave the Celebi a nod, and smiled weakly. Celebi nodded back. No words were exchanged, and then suddenly, Vee skidded to a halt, and turned back toward the massive armies. Then, the Victini powered up its arms, and fired energy fields into the house below it, propelling its small frame toward the armies. And, in one powerful flash of energy, Vee landed on the ground, demolishing Pokemon nearby it with a Psychic. Nearly two dozen Pokemon fell from the attack, but it attracted the attention of hundreds more. Many now surrounded and charged toward the Victini.

"Vee! What the hell are you doing?! I..." In all honesty, this was a move Snype was tempted to recommend earlier. But he wasn't even sure if Vee could take on such a large group. "I know your powerful but even this is a not much! Not a very graceful sacrifice! He was worried. Judging from Cels expression she might have seen something bad. He could Mega evolve now and save everyone now in the moment. But then he wouldn't be able to fend off Darkrai.

"One goal, Snype, one goal!" Vee yelled, and lifted up its arm, unleashed a powerful Fire Blast than enveloped the area and prevented the group from seeing anything. Yelling from pain and commotion could be heard in the large flaming cloud of energy. Celebi tugged at Snype's arm and frowned. "Come on, Snype. We... we have to keep going," The legendary 'mon said in tears as she gestured toward the entrance in front of them.

Snype hesitated for a moment. "...Alright Vee. Don't you do anything else stupid though! We're here for victory! You know that best! Don't go dying on me!" Snype said, turning with the rest of the group to follow the path that Lyn laid out for them. He hoped the others were ok still... If Darkrai wasn't defeated everyone would be gone. Snype needed to focus on his one goal.

As explosions occurred throughout the courtyard and in front of the citadel, the group managed to reach the broken entrance to the side of the CItadel, and hopped right into it from their spot on the closest rooftop. Everyone managed to get inside, as commotion continued on the outside. Because the hole was on the side of the citadel, and they were on a roof, the group appeared to have jumped in on the second floor.

Gold City tower's second floor had some commotion toward the end of the hall, but mostly didn't seem too heavily occupied, as most of the 'mon appeared on the outside. In front of them was a large hallway that led to the other side of the tower, and to their right continued the stairs up -- a winding staircase which led to the very top of the tower. The Queen's gaze was very noticeably at this staircase, as if she was enthralled by it.

"Almost there... You all ready?" Snype said as he moved beside the Queen, reaching out to hold onto her hand. "You got this. Lets go save the world yeah? Kehe." Snype smiled, and the Queen blinked a few times out of her trance, and looked down at Snype's hand on hers. She took in a deep breath and nodded. Snype glanced down the hallway. Might not be too smart to charge right upstairs immediately. "Careful might be more of them down the hall..." Maybe the specter of Lyn was fighting. Probably wishful thinking... Fighting on the stairs could get awkward"

"I can't sense energy as well as Vee can," Cel frowned. "I don't know what to expect."

"Eyes sharp, then," Elewyn commented. "There's no other path but up, I assume?" She asked, being in the tower for the first time.

"This is..." The Queen began as she walked toward the stairs purposefully. "... the only way up."

"How can you be sure?" Elewyn asked the Queen. "You haven't been here before, My Queen."

"I.... I just know it," The Queen continued as she proceeded toward the stairs and walked up them slowly.

"Kehe, well then lets get moving before any other unwelcome guests show up." Snype said staying by the Queens side. They were so close now... All they needed was to summon cresselia and end this war once and for all.

The Queen continued forward, no longer acknowledging the others as she proceeded up each individual stair. She pulse quickened as she felt a knot develop in her stomach. She was nervous, even frightened. But something drew her forward. Something pulled at her body and almost seemed to call her. It felt like a voice, coming both from within her mind, but also from just above... just another level above. And as she got to the next level, that voice beckoned her up another set of stairs. The Queen continued upward.

Elewyn walked before the Queen in silent worry. She knew the Queen was not being herself, and worried for her now more than ever. But it wasn't her place to question the words of legendaries and prophecies. If this was the only way, then she would see that the Queen got there safely. Celebi meanwhile was close to Snype, silently gliding beside him. Lia, on the other hand, floated more calmly beside the Queen, as if pushed by something in the same way the Queen was.

Snype felt uneasy letting the Queen lead. He had trust issues in general to this day. So he stepped ahead to be in front of the group as they made their way up the stairs. "Why aren't there any of Darkrais cronies? Youd think there would be more resistance... Something isn't right." Snype said as he kept ahead of the group to look for any potential enemies.

"Guess we have Vee to thank for that..."

"I guess we do," Elewyn added with a nod of her head. Even from this point, the sounds of battle outside were prevalent. Yet still, the Queen and the remainder of the group ascended to the very top of the Citadel. They did not see many 'mon along the stairs, if any, and mostly had a steadily, relatively quiet walk up. The Queen's party ascended another level, and now were just one away from the very top.

"We're close," The Queen mumbled softly. Lia began to float much closer to Aleena, making tiny circles around her. It was rhythmic, almost trance-like. As if the both of them thought this was exactly what they needed to do at this moment.

Snype took the lead and moved up to the top floor. This was the final stop. Where was Darkrai now? This was a huge threat to his plan and yet there had been very little resistance so far. He was uneasy but if this was truely where cresselia was to be reborn then so be it. He just wanted to be sure the coast was clear.

As the group took their final steps at the very top of the citadel, the top floor finally came into view. Snype would remember this very floor as the same one where he had fought Darkrai thirty years ago, when he was first released back into the world. It was a very different set of circumstances to be here now, as someone retaking the city. However, the sight at the very top floor was surprising. There were no soldiers. There were no guards. There were no Agents. There was no Ancian. There was no Darkrai. There was nothing but the dark hall at the top of Gold City.

"This... is unexpected," Elewyn commented. "I would have thought there would be something here. Anything. Even other soldiers," Elewyn shrugged.

"It... it was here," Celebi murmured quietly, as she felt out the area with her hands. "It was moved. Very recently. But the energy here is still very strong. Even I can feel it, through all of this."

"Moved? You mean Cresselia?" Snype looked around the empty hall, pondering for a bit. "Hrm... guess it'd make sense if he knew we were coming. But no traps or anything like that? This is too easy... "He blew up the whole underground so highly doubt he'd have went to ground level. Something like this would need to be way more grand. Kehehe... though Gabe isn't exactly theatrical." Snype stepped forward and looked around some more. "Kehe, Damn Lyn, wanna drop us one more hint for your buddy?" The Sableye said to himself.

Not Cresselia," Celebi explained as she floated forward. "The Ancian. It was here. It was..." Celebi floated a bit more forward, and stopped at a particular point toward the center of the large hallway. "... right here. It was moved. Very recently. Maybe even right before we came to the city. But the energy here... the amount of chaos and power is still so strong. It is still a good spot to do it, I think. To bring her back." Celebi nodded, and turned to Snype. "It may be one of the best spots, even. If you want."

"Well, the mission was to revive Cresselia, and eveyone's still waiting for that signal. If this is one of the best spots then may as well put on a show huh?" Snype said confidently. "Can't hold off too long searching for the number one spot and besides, this looks as good as it gets right now in the middle of it all. Keheh." Snype said. They were dead center. "But... why is it so easy? I can't help but feel like something's off..." Snype concentrated on the area around him and honed his senses using Detect. Were they being watched? Perhaps someone was waiting for the very moment of the revival to completely ruin it... Snype wasn't going to let some sneak ruin their one chance at winning.

"Kehehe, or... Darkrai knows if we get too close, Cresselia is only going to get stronger. More chaos the better eh?"

Yet as Snype looked around, he neither detected anyone nor saw anyone. There didn't appear to be anyone watching, and no traps appeared to be set. None, at least, that the King of Thieves was unable to spot. It truly just seemed like an empty, large hall at the top of all of this chaos.

"More chaos the better," Celebi repeated lowly, looking around at Snype, and then at Lia and the Queen.

"Then... I guess... it is time?" Queen Aleena asked the others.

"It would be dangerous to go hunting for Darkrai and expect it to be easy. And I won't put you at risk like that my Queen." Snype said, looking around the room once more. Nobody was up here... guess the other groups really pulled their weight to make their lives that much easier. "Let's do it. No use keeping the others waiting after everything they've done."

It was an ominous feeling to behold, to stand at the very top of the Citadel in anticipation of what was about to happen. Queen Aleena did not entirely know how to go about beginning it. Was there words she says, or some internal feeling that must envelop her? Was there a place she was to stand? She wish she had more guidance in this moment.

And as if her thoughts were a cry for help, the strange, happy Musharna Lia suddenly stopped floating around her, and moved right in front of the young Florges Queen. Lia faced directly at the Queen, gazing into her eyes. Queen Aleena looked back nervously, wondering what Lia was doing. She was just… looking. No words, no usual giggle or curious expression she would usually give. She was only looking.

Then, the Queen just looked back, and the same, mysterious voice asked her the same question she had been asked many times in dreams and visions over the past few months. Only this time, all of the others in the room also heard. The voice… it was not a male, and neither was it female. Rather, it felt like both at once, and at the same time neither. It asked, simply,

"Are you ready?"

The Queen blinked once more, simultaneously with Lia. Doubt had plagued her for months. Worry had continuously crossed her mind. Fear was prevalent in her thoughts. But at this moment, at this time-pausing moment where she gazed deep into Lia's eyes, those thoughts disappeared.

The Queen nodded and stepped forward, and Lia also broke from her gaze and began floating in a circle around Queen Aleena. She took a few steps forward, stopping at the exact spot that Celebi said the Ancian was previously positioned.

And she looked up.

All around her, a sudden, powerful and illuminating light flashed, seeming to come from beyond the ceiling directly from the sky. The white light sparkled around her. Aleena closed her eyes, feeling the mystical energy whirl around and through her. It was calming, soothing, like a peaceful sleep that she didn't want to wake from. It felt like a swift sunrise, a warm fireplace, the serenity of white shores. It felt like harmony.

Lia gasped and giggled, and slowled found herself being drawn up and into the very top of the white light. Aleena's body, shrouded in this mysterious white light, also began to rise. As Aleena opened her eyes, both Lia and Aleena's eyes glowed white, and their bodys spun around together. Aleena extended her arms and let it all happen. The white energy went from around her, to around Lia, to around them both. Eventually, the sheer brightness of this energy made it impossible for the group to see what was going on, and had to cover their eyes to not be blinded by the light's intensity.

The Soul Stone which sat across Aleena's neck began to slowly dissolve. Soon after that, Lia's body began to disintegrate in the white light. Aleena's body also dissolve, leaving white energy as remains from the three sources. The three gathered together in the white light, right toward the center. A powerful blast of energy suddenly rocked the entire Citadel, as the light exploded and was far throughout the Citadel. Snype, Elewyn, and Celebi all felt something… miraculous about this energy. It was an indescribable feeling, like a wave of calmness had washed over them. As if their troubles had all become a bit less heavier on their shoulders. It was invigorating. It was inspiring.

It was hope.

And it swept across the land, affecting all Pokemon far and wide. To many, its effects brought the same feelings the group in the tower felt. To the forces of Darkrai, a very different feeling occurred. Many felt themselves demoralized, many felt weakened or uneasy. 'Mon directly linked to Darkrai had it even worse. Those with chaotic power suddenly felt it being rushed away in one fell swoop. Ancients created directly by Darkrai would suddenly dissolve under the power of the white light.

And as the wave of white energy swept through the lands, the core of the energy finally revealed herself. The Queen's Florges body was gone, as was the Soul Stone and Lia. There was only one Pokemon.

Finally, after centuries, Cresselia had finally been awakened.

Kaveri, John, Thunder, & Mountain - The Fight Against Wyatt

It was a brutal sight. Wyatt's Ultimate Blizzard wasn't just widespread, it was thorough. The ice spears rained down in citizen's home, it rained on the streets, it rained down on every 'mon that stood in its way. It broke apart homes from above, destroyed statues and trees on the streets, and killed 'mon where they stood. It was perhaps one of the single-most terrifying and powerful events that had happened thus far in the war. The scars were left on the group gathered to defeat the Abomasnow too.

John coughed up blood. The icicles pierced his back at multiple punctures, causing him to bleed onto the street. He struggled with his breathing as he focused his eyes to what was around him. Wyatt appeared to be panting heavily and recovering from the powerful attack, as he now scanned with his red eyes at the damage he had just caused. Mountain was riddled with ice shards along his back, seeming to suffer quite an extensive amount of damage. The Beatrucian Gold Tribe member's eyes were closed, and he was unmoving. John hoped the 'mon wasn't dead. Thunder seemed just as bad as the rest of them, with a few ice shards still attached to his shoulder and arm. Kaveri, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found.

"My, my, you're still alive," Wyatt called out as he gathered his breathing and clasped his hands behind his back. "I would have for sure assumed this would have ended you."

A vague rumbling sound came from the ground beneath where Wyatt stood, the only brief warning the Abomasnow would receive before Kaveri erupted from the ground directly below him, coated in the Ice Spear she'd first used in the Tourney in Karn and aiming directly between his legs where no Ice Spear should ever go.

"Hnngh!" Wyatt grunted, as he only barely caught sight of the Ice Spear below him. The spear struck along his leg, piercing into the Abomasnow's muscle and causing him no small amount of pain. The Abomasnow tried to bring his large fist down on Kaveri while she was nearby in the hopes of delivering a powerful Hammer Arm.

Kaveri scrambled backwards behind Wyatt, out of the way of the Hammer Arm, the Ice Spear snapping off in his leg. She cast a quick glance over towards her allies and, hoping to give them a moment to recover and take Wyatt's attention way from them, prepared another Ice Spear and this time aimed for Wyatt's back.

Dark purple energy rushed to combine with thick ice that veiled around the Abomasnow. The energy stopped the Ice Spear before it could pierce Wyatt's back for another attack. Wyatt then swiftly twirled, using the momentum to strike at Kaveri with his elbow, an alternate Hammer Arm attack. This time, however, the dark purple energy had combined with his own attack. The strike was only momentarily halted, as John, who had managed to get onto his feet, fired a Water Gun forward at Wyatt's chest. Wyatt twitched from it, but ignored it to try and finish his own attack.

Still encased in the icified-Aqua Jet, Kaveri was semi-protected from the blow but wasn't able to avoid it due to the angle of her attack. The ice and water encasing her cracked and burst from the pressure and the Abomasnow's elbow hammered into Kaveri's side, sending her flying into the wall of a nearby building (or what remained of the rubble of one after Wyatt's blizzard). Dust flew up from where she'd fallen, and after a moment Kaveri shot out of it in an Aqua Jet, zipping around the Abamasnow in an attempt to confused him.

Wyatt tried to track Kaveri through the Aqua Jet, shooting out an Ice Beam from his arms. The Ice Beam's color was similarly distorted as his other attacks, being infused by the dark purple chaotic energy likely supplied to him by Darkrai. His attack was long and sustained, but a hit on his shoulder from the side by a water gun, once more by John, caused Wyatt to lose the Ice Beam in one of his hands. He turned his hand toward John in anger, and fired one Ice Beam at him, while trying to continue the attack on Kaveri with the other.

In the moment that Wyatt turned part of his attention away from her, Kaveri sprung above the Ice Beam aimed at her then came down towards Wyatt's head feet first. Tucking her feet in as she approached him, she used her two tails to slam a Water Pulse down towards his head, then would attempt to push off of his face with her feet to get out of his reach once again.

The Abomasnow felt the powerful strike along his head in the middle of his attacks, causing his Ice Beams to whirl around and fire off in random directions. It was lucky for John, who was only winged by the Ice Beam thanks to Kaveri's heroics. Wyatt ended his attacks and tried to grab at Kaveri's feet before she left, but the Floatzel was too fast for him, even in his powered state. In anger, Wyatt surrounded himself with a dark purple mist. The mist formed quickly, and slowly started to expand in the area as his Blizzard grew. Wyatt then unleashed the entirety of the powerful ice attack across the area, targeting the warriors trying to stop the chaos-infused Agent.

Kaveri took cover underground once again. Though she was worried about her companions up-top, especially Mountain since she hadn't seen him move since Wyatt's initial attack, there was nothing she could do to help them. The icy could followed her down the hole, but at least it was better than being hit with the full force of the Blizzard. She was getting an idea on how to mimimize the Agent's movements, and set to work putting it into action. It would be sometime before she would be seen again, as she would dig down in a spiraling path, further and further into the earth below Wyatt.

The Blizzard rained across the block in Gold City, with ice shards raining across the streets. It wasn't quite as powerful and large as the one he had done earlier, but it was still tremendous. While Kaveri was protected, John did his best to avoid being damaged by the Blizzard, but was too wounded to avoid getting caught in the powerful attack. Shards of ice rained on him as he cried out, but to no avail. Eventually, the shards continued to drop, but John was no longer yelling.

Mountain had not moved since the powerful Blizzard, and continued not to move here. Thunder had finally stirred thanks to Kaveri's attacks keeping Wyatt's eyes away, and dodged into one of the nearby houses that weren't completely destroyed. When the Blizzard had calmed, Wyatt looked across the disaster he created, and nodded in satisfaction. He looked for Kaveri but did not see her. He did, however, see Mountain and John among the shards, and Thunder running into the building.

"If you will not fight," Wyatt began as he limped toward the Beatrucian Gold Tribe member try to retreat. "I will simply find new prey," He concluded and menacingly made his way toward his enemy. "Even in my injured state, with Darkrai's power, I ca-"

Wyatt was cut off. It wasn't exactly clear what had cut him off. The sight was too indescribable. Perhaps Wyatt saw it as a wave of bright energy. Perhaps it was a glint from the sun. Perhaps it was something else. Whatever it was, it washed over Wyatt as if it passed through him. The Abomasnow literally felt as if a part of his was taken away with him. He looked down at his hands, in disbelief. He made a few flakes of snow in his hands, and checked. White. No flicker of darkness snow, no deep purple hue. Gabriel's powers were no longer inside him.

The Abomasnow looked up at Gold City tower. "Cresselia," He murmured lowly, with a hint of worry.

Kaveri paused in her downwards descent as she felt as if something had changed. Where just moments ago this had felt like a desperate battle where they were meant to just survive for as long as they could, suddenly she felt invorgorated and confident again, as if there were no question that they could win this fight. Clenching her fists, she shouted, "Let's do this then!" She was too deep underground for anyone to hear her clearly, though they might hear a muffled echo way up above. Abruptly switching direction, Kaveri dug straight upwards and behind the spiraling maze of tunnels she had created began to cave in as they lost all support. She launched out of the ground around where Wyatt hadbeen before he started limping away, and leaped as far as she could, as the ground where she'd tunneled crumbled away into a deep pit.

Wyatt watched Kaveri jump out and his reflexes caused him to reached out for her. However, a moment later, he felt the entire ground beneath him begin to collapse down into the tunnels below. Wyatt tried to jump away, but as the ground cave, so did too any momentum he could use for the jump. Wyatt fired off random Ice Beams in each direction as he fell into the crumbling pile of ruin.

One of the Ice Beams came whirling towards Kaveri, and as she spun to the side to avoid it, she let out a grunt as it grazed her side. She realized with a surprise that she'd been bracing for a much more powerful counterattack, and though the Ice Beam had left a coating of ice where it touched her fur, it wasn't as painful as she would have expect. Looking down at the falling Abomasnow, she realized that she didn't see any of the chaotic energy around him any longer, and understanding dawned on her as she figured out where that earlier morale boost had come from. "Guys, I think they did it! Cresselia's awake!" she called out to her comrades excitedly. Leaping into the air, water swirled around her then gradually froze as she infused it with an Ice Fang, and she bore down towards Wyatt with another Ice Spear.

Wyatt struggled to stand as he pulled off the debris around him. Barely did he have a chance to recover when he saw Kaveri spiralling in his direction. He stuck out his arms, prepared to intercept her, but a quick bolt of lightning struck at his arm, pushing his left arm into his right and over to the side, giving Kaveri a clear shot at his chest. The spear punctured through his suit, and right into his chest. Wyatt widened his eyes and looked down at his chest in disbelief. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth. His red eyes gazed over to Kaveri's. "Nggh..." Was all he managed to say as more blood came from his mouth.

Kaveri dropped to her feet in front of Wyatt. "Not so tough without Darkrai's power, huh?" She shook her head, mildly disappointed. "I hope whatever you were hoping to get from all this chaos was worth this."

"Apparently... not..." Wyatt managed to say as he closed his eyes and exhaled a loud, deep sigh, the final breath he would take. Thunder sighed deeply in relief and collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion. He turned toward his other allies, seeing Mountain and John appear to be dead. Thunder frowned slightly, upset that his allies would not get to see the fruits of their labor. He was hoping at least they were now in peace.

Obsidian - The Ancian and an old Mystery

Still, he had no answer. Obsidian couldn't see any explosions, points of impact, or other things going on around the perimeter of the city. He figured by now that Cal would have shattered something, yet he was clueless on where to head. That left but one destination. It made sense to the Weavile that Gabriel would head to the Gold Tribe's former base in the city to unleash his attack upon the world. The guy definitely had issues in terms of not being subtle about revenge. With a mass of pokemon around the area, he would have to be sneaky on his way inside. Of course, going mega was always an option... and one that would waste one of his charges on his stone. He only had two tries with it before death, and he had to make them count. Readjusting his pack on his back, he began to scramble along the rooftops again, letting out soft huffs as he performed a few bits of parkour, using his ability and speed to move forward. However, something was feeling off to the ice-type. The weather here in this part of Valkaria wasn't enough to make him sweat uncomfortably, but it was still noticeably warmer than the icy peaks of Karn. He wasn't sure if it was because he was moving closer to the tower, but he could feel a sudden chill in the air. Was Darkrai's power so vast now that even he, a regular pokemon, was able to sense just a bit of it? The answer soon became clear to the Weavile as, during his next jump, he ended up falling back on his rump as waves of gushing water flowed up past him and into the sky.

Was Darkrai finally acting in the battle? It made sense, given that the army was here now. He reflected on the conversation that Alai had with his follower back in Karn, regarding how close they were to finalizing Darkrai's power. All they needed was one final battle in the city to seal the deal. If Darkrai tried to flood the army and drown them all, that would be more than enough to ensure his victory. Obsidian quickly got back on his feet, snapping his head up to see where the water was heading. If anything, he could possibly try to freeze a portion of it to buy the army some time. Before that thought even finished in his head, he saw the water starting to harden, taking shape in the air. Snow was denser than water, was he going to try and suffocate the army instead? It wasn't even that. Obsidian took a shaky step back as he saw that sharpened icicles now loomed over head. He was out in the open, but they weren't coming down yet. His eyes snapped to the edge of the building as he rushed over, using a newly released surge of adrenaline to fall into a skid, grasping the rooftop edge with a single hand. He knew the buildings of Valkaria well enough to aim his downward angled body to skid into an opened window, grunting as he slammed into a wooden table, knocking it over along with a few plates that had been left behind. A few more seconds passed before a loud clattering sound echoed over head, the icicles slamming harshly into the rooftop. Thanks to their downward angle, none found their way into his temporary refuge. And then, the noise stopped. No more icicles were falling outside of his window. He peeked out, looking down as he saw several unlucky mon who had been in the heat of battle now laying upon the city streets, very much dead.

Oh no... was that enough to give Darkrai the last surge he needed? Obsidian felt his stomach twist in a knot. If that wasn't enough, then the others fighting still near the outskirts of the city would be! The Weavile bit his lower lip, thoughts cascading about in his mind. What should he do now? Head to the perimeter and try to end the fights as quickly as possible? Or try to find Darkrai and at the very least distract him long enough so he couldn't use the tremendous advantage he now had? No no... he had to trust Cal. Well, okay, he didn't put all of his faith in that green dragon, but everyone else was. If they were taking on the generals, then he should at least buy them some time. He hauled his pack off of his back, opening it up as he pulled out a small leather pouch. He unbottoned it, hauling out a round black mass that acted as a cushion, parting it open to reveal his mega stone. He eyed it warily, knowing that if his plan failed, he would have used up one of his much needed charges. Taking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes and began to focus. This was his first time using the stone, but given it was already attuned by Kyogre's hand, then surely it wouldn't be difficult at all to use!

A black wind swept through the room, the Weavile feeling something coursing through his very veins. Dimly in the back of his mind he heard a cacophony of soft whispers that felt like an icy chill that rushed all over his body. Every nerve froze as his hair stood up on end, Obsidian not quite used to this level of freezing. This was what one felt if they were dropped into a frozen lake, something that could even kill ice-types if left for too long! The darkness flew away from him, the Weavile letting out shaky gasps as he found himself falling to a knee. He blinked his eyes open, looking down at his much larger clawed hands. His head certainly felt different, as if his hair had grown out. Glancing down, he saw that a red collar now encircled his neck, giving it some extra protection. And... he felt something. He made his way to the window, finding his movements to be far quicker as he actually slammed into the windowsill itself. He grit his teeth, grabbing at the opening and leaping up far easier onto the rooftop. He glanced up, noting that icicles were still falling into some areas of the city... and there was something down there. He could feel it just barely. Was it Darkrai? Impossible...

He narrowed his eyes, bracing his legs as he aimed his hands down toward the roof. He was more powerful... meaning he might be able to pull a theoretical acrobatic trick off. He slowly bent a knee, then snapped his hands to the edge of the building. Ice poured out, building up a steady thick ramp. Flexing his claws, he took a few steps back, then ran forward, blowing an Icy Wind behind him to increase his speed. With his much faster form, the Weavile pushed off the slickened ice, and up into the air toward the cloud. "Take this!" He shouted out, holding his hands out as he threw out a Blizzard at the cloud to disrupt it.

Obsidian's efforts were rewarded, as his newly improved, powerful Blizzard shattered a large portion of the shards in the sky, dismantling them with relative ease. Though many had fallen into the city and affected a large area, Obsidian's attacked prevented a decent area of shards to collapse and be destroyed.

Okay, that was done! The Weavile found himself falling down toward a building. He shot out some ice, building a ramp as he froze the water in the air that allowed him to essentially slide away from his intended destination, and down to the ground. Okay.... this was very very cool, no pun intended. HIs eyes snapped to the side, feeling that power once more. He threw his hands forward, making ice upon the ground as he slid along his new pathway, taking a few turns here or there. He could feel that sensation... it was getting stronger and stronger.

Along the way, a group of surviving Darkrai followers from Tollen spot the sliding Obsidian. The team of grass and fire Pokemon, four Gloom and two Growlithes, fired off flamethrowers to cut off his path, while the leaf pokemon fired razor leaves directly at the Weavile.

Obsidian managed to twist to the side, being far faster than the four as he redirected his icy slope to head up a building, now freezing a new tract up above the two as he kept on going. If they were so eager to stay in this area, after all of the mon who had died, then it was clear that they were trying to protect something.

Beyond the stragglers, Obsidian would see the area to be mostly torn up, the icicles seeming to be very potent. Many buildings in the area appeared to be riddled with holes, and dozens of 'mon unfortunate to be on the street were dead. Luckily, many of the citizens were indoors, meaning that quite a few of the dead were Darkrai's followers. It didn't change the fact that some citizens were among the dead. In the distance, however, there was some commotion happening in the city. It seemed to be in this commotion of attacks that the feeling Obsidian was getting was coming from. As the Weavile got closer to the apparent battle, he could feel that same feeling growing stronger. It was most certainly coming from the same direction. At least, that is what it initially appeared to be. However, as Obsidian was a few blocks away, something changed. Obsidian could now see who were fighting, it was the group sent out to find and defeat the Abomasnow Agent Wyatt. Yet now Obsidian could feel that the energy he was feeling wasn't coming from that battle. Rather, it was coming from below his feet. Seemingly below the city.

Obsidian could feel it... that energy. It didn't feel like Darkrai... but it was powerful none the less. Was this the fabled Ancian? They had brought it to the city, after all. Perhaps this was a hiding spot for Darkrai? He doubted that any of the others could feel it under their feet. He pulled his two hands back, letting out a grunt as he threw forth a more massive Dark Pulse at the street, shattering it. Parts and pieces fell into the watery tunnels as Obsidian hopped down, landing among muk. He moved fast once more, his ice form far easier thanks to the leftover water. It was all coming together now. Darkrai would be somewhere in the city, perhaps battling to get some more chaos, teleports back to the Ancian when the time is right, and essentially has his trump card always hidden. No doubt he would become a target once he started tampering with the Ancian, but if it could distract Darkrai or bring him out of hiding faster, then it was worth it!

It didn't take long for Obsidian to move through the damp tunnels dripping with water before a structure became prevalent. It was... old. That much could be told just by looking at it. It wore the resemblance of the type of structures found in Anatellia, with their sturdy, but rusty ancient stone covered with moss. This structure, appearing as some sort of stone square gate, seemed deeply entrenched into the group. It was a wonder what force it would take to move the object. What was even more mysterious about this was the middle, the path through it. It felt... distorted. As if the other side was blurry. It truly felt like a doorway to somewhere else, even if Obsidian could see the continuation of the tunnels beyond it.

Okay.... this thing was opened. Wide open! Did... did that mean Darkrai was already inside it? Or had he just opened it, waiting for someone to go through first? Everyone said Arceus was inside of it, yet nothing had changed yet. Laws were still in order, and it wasn't as if Obsidian or anyone else felt like they had to go on a murdering rampage. Wait... if Darkrai was on the other side... did that mean if they activated Cresselia, he wouldn't be affected? Was he hiding in there perhaps? Obsidian frowned, looking the gate over. There were no buttons, no levers... just an open doorway. It didn't help that they knew essentially nothing about the Ancian. Still... if Gabriel was there...

He knew he was going to hate himself for this. Obsidian took a deep breath, and made his way forward. Obsidian would continue forward into the blurry, shimmering wave of energy around the stone structure. For a moment, seemingly the briefest of moments, he thought he felt a small whisper call his name. But it passed so quickly after that. Obsidian passed through the energy... but surprisingly merely walked forward to the other side of the stone structure, still within the tunnels of Valkaria. Obsidian blinked in surprise, looking back as he could still see through the Ancian. Wait... was it activated or not? Or maybe... this was some kind of other realm? There was the afterlife, after all. Wouldn't that look exactly like the city of Valkaria as well in the same area? Frowning, he walked forward a bit more, glancing about for any changed details. The moment he saw hanging corpses, or spirits running around, he would be plenty sure that he was in some other sort of reality.

"Not yet, silly!" A voice called out behind the Obsidian. There, a Butterfree was roaming around fluttering its wings excitedly in the air as it approached the Mega-Evolved Weavile. "But you look good! You've got the walk for it!"

Obsidian frowned, not looking too concerned, "... Where exactly am I then?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips, "Well... first introductions." He gave a bow, "I'm Obsidian. I'm supposing that since the doorway is open this is some other plane of existence, given you answering my unspoken question." He pointed out at the Butterfree, "So um, again, where am I?" He asked. "Because I'm plenty sure I passed somewhere else now."

"You're in the tunnels of your city you're fighting in," The Butterfree replied with a slight giggled, as it approached the stone structure and passed through it to the other side, and waved at Obsidian with one of its small hands. Though the Butterfree appeared slightly blurry, it was visible. "It's not ready yet. The energy is forming, but it's not open. Only activating. Powering up. Gabriel is out getting the last of what he needs, before he opens it. Oh... and my name is Wem!" The Butterfree passed through the stone structure once more and approached closer to the Weavile.

Obsidian frowned, ".... I take it you are one of his minions then." Obsidian stated, still standing still, not wanting to look flustered. "And given your knowledge and placement here... a scientist or researcher then?" He inquired. "I'll just have to move this then before Gabriel can use it. I don't want to hurt you, honest." He flexed his claws, "But... I have to make sure his plan doesn't happen. I'm not sure what will happen... and that's making me frightened, I won't lie about that."

The Butterfree giggled, and twirled around quickly, as it form suddenly transformed from the Butterfree into a Cacnea. The new Cacnea dropped to the ground and giggled a second time. "You're funny, like your friend Paul!" The Cacnea shook its head. "No, no, not with Darkrai, not with Gabriel. I'm with the walkers, I guess. I don't fight, I already told Paul. But I help!"

As the creature transformed before him Obsidian watched on. This was no Zorua or Ditto... it was... "Mew." Obsidian murmured out. He relaxed a bit, "... Why not?" He asked, frowning at the legendary, "Why not help?" He sighed, shaking his head, "It's too late to convince you but..." He looked at the Ancian, "If... if Darkrai's plan goes through, if he wins." He frowned, focused on the Cacnea, "What... what happens to us? To this world?"

"But I do help!" The Cacnea protested, as it once more transformed into a Wartortle. "I'm not a fighter though. I try, but I don't do it," The Wartortle frowned, but then beamed again. "So I help instead! I'm here to help you too! Help you fight Darkrai. Help you stop Darkrai and his plan... his plan. I don't know his plan. I hear from my pal Vee he means to destroy Arceus and stuff like that... so that's not good. But I know that we can stop him! We just need to try together. The rest are on their way... are your friends coming? Paul and the others? Do they know where to go?"

"... Help?" Obsidian felt his expression sour. "What do you mean help? Help as in what we needed YEARS AGO!?" The ice-type snapped at the legendary, unable to help himself. "You mean the rest of the cowards that hid away while we DIED trying to fight off Darkrai?" He gestured with his hand off to the side, "What are they going to do now? Ask Darkrai nicely to not kill us all!? I've been praying for so long, and no one bloody answered!" The Weavile narrowed his eyes at the Mew, "This is just some sort of sick joke on your part. It's not fucking funny." He turned away, regarding the Ancian. Okay... it was buried in the rubble. Normal pokemon had moved it here... and by theoretical thought, it should be possible for a mega evolved pokemon to move it out of the city. Or at least out of the tunnels. If he could get this up above, and manage to get Cresselia's attention, then maybe they had an ace in the hold on their hands? Judging by how embedded it was, he would have to work a bit to get it free. Flexing his claw tips, he started on the left part of the structure, slashing at the rocks to start loosening them up. If he had to use up a charge of his stone for anything, it might as well be this.

Yet even in his mega form, as Obsidian would try to slash at the structure, it drew no cuts, apparently of any kind. The Wartortle transformed into a Swinub and planted itself beside Obsidian. The Swinub looked at the Weavile with a frown. "It can't be moved now, Obsidian. The activation process began," Wem explained as it pointed to the stone structure at the bottom. Obsidian would notice the roots of the stone structure seemed deeply entrenched into the ground below now. "You can't bring it somewhere else. You can only bring others here. He is coming here soon too. Here is where you will stop him. And where we will all help. But nobody knows about this yet. Nobody but you and me. We have to tell them!"

Obsidian gritted his teeth, looking down at the roots. "... This isn't fair you know." He snapped at the Mew, glaring at the Swinub, "It isn't. What you all left us with. Having to clean up your mess." He slashed at the walls again, "You just... you all just left us to rot here and die." Slash. "Ran off like cowards." Slice. "The only reason I can guess is cause you all really hate us." Slash. "ONly Kyogre had the balls to try and help, giving us an ace of sorts." He stared at the wall, struggling to think. "For all my life... I heard mon say all you had to do was pray." He clutched a hand into a fist from anger, turning back to the Swinub, "You know what's the shittiest thing about this? The worst part? I don't know WHY this is all happening! Why everyone hates us! I don't know why you legendaries sat back, smugling smiling while we died on the battlfield! I don't know why Gabriel is doing this! I don't know why you all sent him after us after making him a god! DAMMIT MY FATHER'S FUCKING DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU ALL!" He screamed at the Swinub. A bit of ice had swept out from Obsidian's body, just barely covering a small portion of the tunnel as he released only a portion of the anger he had been feeling for the past few months, anger that had only multipled with every day that had passed. He wiped at his eyes, "I just... I don't know why. And I know that even if we win here and now, even if we somehow manage to do the impossible and beat Darkrai... it'll happen again. I know it will. Because even someone like Celebi thinks that this system... this thing you all have going... that it's the most perfect thing ever. I know it isn't. I know this is going to happen again. What's the point of fighting or trying to stop it if a a hundred years from now it'll just happen again." He put a hand to his chest, "Please tell me that this can never in a million years ever happen again. Tell me with the straightest, most truthful face you can. Please... I need that much."

The Swinub silently made its way to directly in front of the Weavile. It wordlessly watched the mega-evolved Weavile released slash after slash, which didn't damage the stone structure, but did wonders on the structures around them. When he was finished, the Swinub glowed again and transformed once more. This time, the form it took was a Mew. Wem floated in front of Obsidian, and smiled at him. "Okay," It beamed. "This can never in a million years happen again," Wem replied in a completely and truthful face. "And if you beat Darkrai, then you can make sure it won't. All we have to do is beat him first!" Wem pipped happily.

Obsidian could feel tears starting to form along his eyes as he fell to his knees. He began to cry, though it wasn't from sadness. Wem would easily sense utter relief flowing through the Weavile's body. "S-Sounds good to me." Obsidian smattered out, wiping his eyes again as he sniffled. "But this tunnel." He looked around, "This is the worst spot to defend." He stood back up, wiping his eyes again, "If we're down here, we're going to be cut through like cheese."

"Well yeah," Wem agreed, looking around. "But we're not defending here. We're gonna defend inside," Wem explained, and pointed to the Ancian once more. "In the Realm of Arceus. That's where we make our stand. Only problem is right now, no one else knows where this hunka junk is! We gotta tell them." Wem used his foot to kick the structure lightly.

Obsidian thought for a moment, ".... Where is Darkrai right now?" He asked. "You said he was out of the area? Will Cresselia's awakening affect him harshly enough then?" He thought for a moment, "If he's far enough away..." He glanced up. "What if I don't hack into the roots..... what if... what if I hack around them? Make a impromptu skylight. I have enough ice in me right now. I could theoretically make an ice tower to attract everyone to this position."

"Skylight, huh? I like that idea!" Wem beamed as it looked at the tunnel ceiling. "Think they will know what it means? Oh, I'm sure he's around somewhere," Wem added as the Mew eyed the Ancian. "Probably gathering up the last of the energy to make it open. Where exactly, I can't say. But I kn-" Wem was suddenly caught off as the ground around them shook. The Mew was floating in the air so he wasn't affected as much, but the shaking began violently. "Ah!" Wem shouted, as a sudden burst of energy swept through the area, forceful enough to knock both of them down on their feet, even if Mew was a legendary and Obsidian was Mega Evolved. Wem recovered soon after, and sat up on the ground, with its eyes closed.

Obsidian quickly got up, looking around, "... Earthquake?" He asked, glancing at the Mew. "Is he trying to collapse the tunnels on us?"

With its eyes still closed, Wem answered the mega-evolved Weavile. "He isn't trying to do anything," Wem opened its eyes, seeing a string of yellow energy momentarily surround him. The energy was across the tunnels, spreading around and expanding, before moving on and down again. It was... peaceful, harmonous. It gave off a very pleasant feeling, like all the troubles one was carrying was suddenly thrusted on a velvet cloud. "Rejoice, rejoice..." Wem began to say. "A hymn do I sound. With darkness afoot and chaos abound. Rise, rise! To the light! Which in blackness was drowned.... rejoice, rejoice, Cresselia is found!"

Obsidian blinked in surprise at his reaction, looking around, "Er....." He waved a hand in front of Wem's eyes. "You okay there?" He asked. "Is this... something that all legendaries do?" He thought for a moment, "Wait... if Cresselia is awake..." He glanced at the portal, "Then that means his power is weakened. Which means your plan of fighting in Arceus' realm... isn't going to be happening." He thought for a moment, "I have to open a skylight, a huge one." He began to form a Shadow Ball in his hands and flung it upwards at the ceiling. "I'll have to expand the tunnels as well, give everyone more fighting room. And if she's awake now, then that means more legendaries might come our way, right?"

Wem beamed happily. "I can't believe it. It's been so long..." The Mew glanced around and looked up at the Weavile. "It is only in the realm where we should fight," Wem repeated again. "We just have to wait for the portal to open. And my guess is it will soon. Even with the Dream Guardian returning, there's still enough chaos in the Ancian to force it open. Cresselia will have affected his own power, and that of his armies. But that which he already infused inside is still there... you have to tell your friends, and I have to tell mine!"

Obsidian's eyes widened at that as he paused with his next Shadow Ball, "WOAH, HOLD THE TAIL!" He cried out, dissipating the ball, "You mean... he's throwing chaos INTO the Ancian!?" He paled. "... Is he trying to make Arceus a chaos being or something? Why would we fight in it if he's pouring his power into it? Won't it make him stronger once he slips inside then!?"

"It won't give him any boost he won't already have," Wem replied and touched the Ancian. "Mmm... yeah, that's a lotta chaos... " Wem turned to Obsidian. "Chaos Arceus, huh? That's scary... I hope he's not doing that... unless he himself wants to be chaos Arceus?" Wem questioned with a paw on its chin. "The thing is, Obsidian, we have no choice. We have to fight in here for two reasons. First, if we don't, everything you know and love here in this city will be gone. The power of those walking combined with the power of Darkrai and Cresselia... it's too much for this place to handle. It will be destroyed, along with everyone living here. I have seen it before, years ago, with Giratina. Second... I made you a promise. That this can never in a million years happen again. And the only way to ensure that is in here," Wem pointed to the Ancian. "Even if you do defeat Darkrai, there is still something else important that you all must decide together. And you can only do it in there."

Obsidian looked at the Ancian, "... Alright, here's the plan." He said looking at Wem, "If you are bringing those other legendary friends here... I want to make sure everyone one of us has a clear path into this Ancian. I'm going to make a huge skylight, open the tunnels a bit as well. I know I asked for that first promise... but that was for me. My second promise I ask for are answers after." He gestured out toward the ceiling, "It wasn't just me affected by this, Wem... every single mortal on this continent was as well. Dragged into a war they never knew about, nor started. I want your promise that, after this blows over... and we're not dead," He added as more of a mutterance, "I want to answers delivered to them." He readied another Shadow Ball, this time not throwing it but holding it with his hands as he erected an icy platform underneath him that rose to the ceiling. He held the Shadow Ball against the ceiling, grinding it against stone as he opened up more of the passage. Obsidian would find that doing so was exponentially easier in his Mega-Evolved form.

"Someone will answer those questions, I can promise that," Wem nodded, and looked on as the Weavile expanded the tunnels at a large rate. "The ice skylight... will your friends know to look for that? I think I need to tell mine... how do I do that?" Wem crunched its nose and frowned. "Why can't I send any telepathic messages?"

Obsidian broke through the ceiling far quicker than he wanted, making a wide straight line. As he moved to the side to expand it a bit more he answered, "I think Darkrai." He stated. "He is a dark-type, after all. That chaos filled Ancian isn't helping." He gave a nod to Mew, "I would suggest leaving the city for now and messaging them." He thought for a moment, "Not sure if it's, uh, too much to ask. How MANY legendaries are we talking about here? Please tell me that someone like Palkia or Reshiram is coming! Also on the tower... I know a way to get everyone here." He said with a chuckle.

"Okay, if you say so," Wem shrugged and mumbled under his breath. "Grr... leave the city... all for a dang message... alright, I'll be back!" Wem glided toward the exit, and looked back at Obsidian. "So how are you gonna get everyone here?"

Amid his shearing of the tunnel, Obsidian flashed a grin at Wem, "You'll know when you see it. As a mortal talking to a god... I ask that you trust me."