Chapter 28 – Embracing Entropy
by acti_nerdingtonIron Valiant’s metallic footsteps thump against the sidewalk as it walks along the street, its holographic eyes carefully sweeping through the early morning crowds as the sun begins to poke its head up into the green, translucent sky, the shadows of the Iron Moths hovering above snaking across the ground.
Too many days had its targets eluded its grasp, this search was becoming tiresome. Glyph alone was already a chore to track down in the past, but having two additional targets on top of that now was proving more fruitless than ever.
As the machine walks through the crowds, keeping itself moving throughout the early morning commune, one particular conversation between a Weavile and a Floragato caught its attention.
“Did you hear about what happened in the Industrial District last night?” The Weavile asks, taking a moment to lean against one of the buildings to spend a moment talking with their companion.
“Oh, that?” The Floragato tilts their head, arching an eyebrow at the Weavile as they play around with their yo-yo. “Heard a couple of Pokemon talking about it but I couldn’t quite make it out ‘cus they were all talking over each other. What’s this one got everyone in a fuss about?”
The Weavile chuckles softly. “You’re not gonna believe this, but apparently, an Iron Slate from one of the abandoned factories became self aware and went rogue. What’s even crazier, it tracked down an Iron Serpent and stole its Hadron Engine to become a Dracoslate!”
The Floragato blinks, mouth hung open, letting its yo-yo spin just above the ground, before flicking it back up and catching it in its paw. “A Dracoslate? In this day and age? I thought that was some black market human stuff, and you’re telling me it sought to become one on its own?”
“You never know how those machines are gonna tick. One minute they’re fine and the other they’re practically short circuiting.” The Weavile scoffs, rolling their eyes. “Apparently, the usual security force didn’t even take it down. You know what Pokemon it went up against?”
Floragato tilts their head. “A couple random civilians?”
“A Skitty and a Riolu.” Weavile chuckles, laughing to themselves. “Can you believe that! Imagine stealing one of the most vital parts from one of the strongest Pokemon in The Veil to transform into the most powerful version of yourself, and you get wiped by a couple of first-evo Pokemon! That’s gotta be embarrassing!”
Floragato blinks a few times, their pink eyes narrowing. They sigh, rubbing at their head. “Man, now you got me thinking about where I went wrong. Wish I could’ve been that strong when I was just a Sprig.”
“Could always use those drinks they sell at shops everywhere.” The Weavile chuckles.
“You KNOW how expensive those are. I don’t have…”
The rest of the conversation is irrelevant. Iron Valiant, once finished listening in on the conversation, walks to a quieter part of the street, turning a corner into one of the alleys. It opens up a comm link in its HUD. “Master Dusknoir. Requesting access to Iron Moth surveillance footage from last night.”
“What for?” A disgruntled Dusknoir asks from the other end of the comms. “Have you forgotten your mission? You’re supposed to be searching! Not sitting back and-“
“Recent events have transpired that may allow me to track them down more efficiently. Grant me access to the archival footage, and I will bring you results.”
“…Hmmph, very well. Already got my hands tied, making me do even more work. Give me a moment.” The comm link closes, and just a few seconds later, Iron Valiant is granted access to the footage of hundreds upon hundreds of drones in the sky.
Lots of footage to sift through, but that was easy to manage. Process it faster, fast forward, scan footage, repeat. Of course, this wouldn’t take too long at all. Finding the footage of an Iron Moth just by the outer edges of the Industrial District, it had finally found what it was looking for. Footage of a Skitty and a Riolu singlehandedly taking on a Dracoslate, with an Orbeetle seeming to aid.
It fast forwards the footage. The fight itself is completely irrelevant. The only valuable information is where they head after the fast. It speeds through the footage as the two seem to catch a ride on an Iron Serpent, leaving the Industrial District.
Iron Valiant swaps through drone after drone, syncing up the footage so that it’s following the two targets in real time, until finally, they land back in the Central District. They hop off the Iron Serpent by an alley, bidding it their farewells before walking back into the alley. There didn’t seem to be any footage from inside the alley… But that didn’t matter.
It had their location.
And it was time to track them down.
“…What?” Lexxi blinks a few times, rubbing at her eyes as she wakes up, letting out a yawn. “You wanna go after Glyph?”
Rickety nods his head, albeit a bit shakily. “I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday, Lexxi, about not depending on my aura for everything, about having to give the robot Pokemon a chance. And, well…” He rubs at the back of his neck. “That also got me thinking. Glyph had to have gone back in time somehow, right? So if we find him, maybe we find our way back home.”
Lexxi tilts her head curiously, letting that idea stir around in her mind for a moment. “Oh… Oh yeah, that would make sense! If he goes back in time, we could go back in time with him, too!”
Rickety nods his head once again, expression growing a bit more serious. “I’ll admit… I still don’t completely trust him, but he’s the only chance we’ve got at going home. Maybe he’s already gone back to the past, considering how long we’ve been separated, but we still need to try looking for him, find him as soon as possible.”
Lexxi nods in response. “…I’m proud of you, Rickety. I really am.” Rickety’s cheeks blush a faint shade of red, rubbing at his neck and smiling awkwardly, while Lexxi gets up on all fours, walking over to Current, who was standing by the stairway, looking over the Sanctuary. “Hey, Current? We’re probably gonna be heading out today. We’re going to find our way home.”
Current’s holographic eyes flick towards Lexxi, his antennae twitching. “Oh? So soon? Part of me does wish you could stay with us a bit longer, you two have been wonderful to have around, but I understand.” He smiles, nodding his head. “If you’re traveling back to the past, then… It seems very unlikely that we will see each other again, huh?”
Lexxi’s ears droop a bit, turning away for a moment. “That is true, yeah…” She smiles softly as she looks back at Current. “But if everything turns out okay, maybe there’s a small chance we will be able to meet each other again. Too early to be sure, you know?”
The robo-Pikachu chuckles softly, the holographic cheeks on his screen lighting up. “True enough, I suppose! Well, I wish you both luck in-“
POUND-POUND-POUND!
The entrance to the Rodent’s Sanctuary rattles violent as someone can be heard pounding on it from the other side. Current lets out an annoyed sigh, shaking his head. “Is that Iron Bundle again? I thought he’d already learned his lesson.” He turns back to face Lexxi. “Why don’t you two grab a bite to eat while I handle this? You two must be starving after last night.”
Lexxi rolls her eyes. “Guess some things never change… Thank you for everything, Current.” As Current heads up the steps to confront their visitor, Lexxi gestures for Rickety to follow her over to the snack bar, Iron Pouches already up at the counter, eagerly waiting for them.
“Couldn’t help but overhear, you two’re heading out?” They ask, already digging under the counter to start getting their food ready.
“Hopefully. If things don’t go as planned we miiiiiiight come back? But only if we have to. We’re basically gambling on a chance here.” Rickety says, stretching his body, still a little tired.
“Well, no problem with that! You’re our welcome guests, after all.” Iron Pouches chuckles, glancing back up at them. “So what’ll it be? Waffles again?”
Lexxi hums to herself, tail idly swishing back and forth. “I guess waffles does sound-“
TUMBLE-TUMBLE
“Ghhaaahh!”
Current yells as he falls back down the steps, crashing back into the wall, drawing everybody’s attention, especially the attention of Lexxi and Rickety, their eyes widening in shock when they see him hit the floor.
“Current!” Lexxi shouts, rushing over to his side with Rickety right beside her. They kneel down, Current’s screen having been cracked during the fall, face a tad distorted. “Are you okay?”
“Bit… Busted.” Current mutters weakly, groaning. “Gonna take forever to get that fixed…”
The sounds of heavy footsteps come from the creaking stairs, Lexxi and Rickety turning around, their hearts stopping, eyes going wide in fear as they see Iron Valiant slowly making its way down the steps, double-edged halberd firmly gripped in its hand, its cold, holographic eyes staring down the duo.
“Oh no…” Rickety mutters worriedly under his breath. “They found us? No, no no no, this is bad this is really, REALLY bad.”
“There’s a… Fire escape in the back, through the stage door.” Current says, weakly smiling at Lexxi and Rickety. “I dunno what kinda beef that guy has with you, but… Urggh, who am I kidding, just run.”
“Are you going to be okay?” Lexxi says worriedly, glancing back between Current and Iron Valiant.
“I’ll be perfectly fine, just go. Hurry.” Current says, scooting back towards the generator for safe keeping.
Lexxi and Rickety look to Iron Valiant, then at the door right back by the giant stage. Not wasting another moment, the two begin to book it, with Iron Valiant sprint right after them, following swiftly behind, knocking away anybody unfortunate enough to be in its path.
The two burst through the door, running as fast as their bodies would allow them as they rush through a maze of abandoned props and discarded instruments, hearing the sound of Iron Valiant kicking down the door behind them, making their way through another door, leading them down a narrow corridor.
“Okay! Slight change of plans!” Rickety shouts between pants, him and Lexxi quickly climbing up the steps at the end of the corridor. “Run, hide, and then we find Glyph!”
“Easier said than done!” Lexxi says, glancing back to see Iron Valiant still in swift pursuit of them at the other end of the corridor, the tip of its blade dragging along the walls, making an agonizingly painful creaking noise as the two rush up the steps.
They break through another door, this one leading outside to a different alley. Spotting a lone dumpter in the corner of the alley, Rickety begins to push it in front of the door, Lexxi assisting him, pushing it over until it remains firmly sat in front of the fire exit.
And not a moment too soon.
BANG! BANG!
“Probably won’t hold them for long, let’s move!” Rickety says, Lexxi nodding as the two rush out of the alley, trying to put as much space between then and Iron Valiant as possible.
Rickety and Lexxi manage to catch their breath for a moment as they duck into another alley on the side of one of the winding roads. Neither of them had any idea where they were now, all they knew were they were somewhere on the outer edges of the Central District, on the run from a killer robot.
Rickety leans against a wall, panting heavily as Lexxi sits down beside him. “Alright, hoooooo, okay… Maybe this plan isn’t as good as I thought it was.” Rickety says in-between pants, slumping down and sitting down. “We’ve got no idea where to find Glyph, where to even begin looking for him, or if he’s even still here.”
Lexxi sighs, scooting a little closer towards Rickety. “We’ll… We’ll find him, even if we have to search the whole city for-“
CRASH!
The glass from the building above breaks, a lone figure jumping through one of the windows. It’s a bit hard to make out from the figure with the sun shining above, but… That familiar body structure, the floating arms detached from the shoulders… It’s Glyph!
He lands down on the ground with a loud thud, causing some of the little pieces of glass to rattle on the ground. He pants heavily as he looks up at the building above, taking a few steps back.
“…Or he can find us.” Lexxi says flatly, her and Rickety staring in bemusement at Glyph.
“Hmm?” Glyph’s attention is drawn away from the window, down towards Rickety and Lexxi as they lean against the building. “You two? You’re still kicking?” He scoffs softly a faint smile curling up on his lips. “I’m rather impressed.” His expression turns serious again, taking a small step closer. “…But I get the feeling us running into each other again isn’t coincidental, is it?”
Rickety shakes his head, standing back up. “N-No, uh…” He stammers, trying to get ahold of himself. Just stick it out. It’ll be fun. It was your idea, after all. “You know a way back to the past, right? A way to get back home?”
“That would be correct.” Glyph nods. “I was planning in returning, but the preparations hadn’t been finished yet, and I got caught up in some messy business that I didn’t intend.” He squints up at the window again, scoffing and shaking his head. “If you want out of the future, now’s your chance. Everything should be almost ready and I’ll be returning back to take care of unfinished business. But I need to know if you’re going to trust me.”
“Well…” Rickety rubs at his head nervously. “I don’t trust you fully yet, but,” Rickety puts his hands up, looking Glyph in the eyes. “I’m willing to hear you out and make my own judgement on the situation. Tell us what’s going on, why Dusknoir is after us and what he wants with us, and we’ll decide whether or not to keep going with you.”
Glyph considers this for a moment, turning away from the Skitty and the Riolu for a few seconds, contemplating their words. “…Good enough for me.” He turns back to face the duo. “I’ll tell you everything-” He catches something in the corner of his eye. A blend of white, green and pink, rushing straight towards them with a weapon drawn. “When we’re not being killed. We need to make it out of the city! Follow me, the city limits shouldn’t be too far away!”
Catching sight of Iron Valiant just down the alley, Lexxi and Rickety get up and start following Glyph, running behind him as fast as they can, trying to weave their way through the crowds of Pokemon watching everything happen, confused and bewildered by everything going on.
“So, how exactly do we plan on getting back home anyway?!” Lexxi shouts as she tries to catch up with Glyph, running alongside Rickety.
“Time machine, simply put! It’s better shown than explained!” Glyph says, the two seeing a giant, massive wall just in the distance. “Come on, we’re almost there!”
“What do you mean we’re almost there?!” Rickety shouts. “All I see is a giant wall in the way! Call me blind but I sure don’t see any door on that!”
“Hmph! You forget who you’re talking to.” Glyph glances back at Rickety. “You! Grab her, carry her like you did back in the sewers!”
“O-On it!” Rickety rushes over to Lexxi’s side, scooping her up into her arms and holding onto her tightly, Lexxi clutching herself against Rickety as tightly as she can. “Now wh-” Rickety starts, but is interrupted when he notices one of Glyph’s vines wrapping around his body.
Glyph launches another vine from the palm of his free hand, reaching out to the top of the wall. “Hold on!” The vine makes contact with the very top of the wall and the whole group finds themselves quickly being hoisted up into the air at a rather frightening rate. Lexxi and Rickety make no effort to suppress the urge to scream as they fly through the air, only held by the grip of Glyph’s vines.
Upon reaching the top of the wall, they’re able to see that beyond The Veil lies a barren, deserted wasteland, devoid of life. Nothing but rocks and cliffs as far as the eye can see.
Glyph lands with a thud, letting the two go and pulling his vines back into the palms of his hands. “We should be good for a while! Move!” Glyph shouts, taking off into the distance once again, Lexxi and Rickety quickly following behind him.
…
Iron Valiant stares up at the wall its targets had vaulted themselves over, looking left and right for any alternative methods of traversal. Climbing the wall would take far too long, cutting through the wall would attract more attention than they’ve already desired.
It opens up the comm link in its HUD once again. “Targets have fled, outside of the city, Master Dusknoir.”
“Send me your coordinates. I’ll have one of the Iron Moths cloak itself and head off in their general direction.” Dusknoir says over the comms. “For now, I want you to return to base. We’ve got some… Delightful developments happening, and I’ve got the perfect plan for our dear friends, hmhmhm…”
“How much, haaahhh… Longer do we, haaaahhh… Have to keep running?” Rickety stammers weakly, having slowed down after what felt like hours of running, but couldn’t have been that long.
“Just about there.” Glyph says, eyeing a building embedded into a cliff just in the distance. “Should be home free any minute now.”
Lexxi eyes the building, another odd, overwhelming sense of deja-vu overcoming her. This one stronger than all the other ones before. But… How? That didn’t make sense, even less sense than this one did. She had to be from the present, not the future, right? How could she…
As the three approach the building, Glyph quickly inputs a code into the keypad next to the main entrance, the doors hissing as they slide open. The machine beckons them to come inside, finally giving them all a chance to catch their breath.
As the door closes behind them, the outside world is silence, leaving just the humming of old machinery and lights buzzing around them, the walls having lost most of their color over the years.
“What… Is this place?” Rickety says, still taking everything in as he tries to catch his breath, setting Lexxi back down.
“We’re not entirely sure, it’s been here for as long as we can remember.” Glyph says, walking through more of the doors, leading the two down the dimly lit hallways. “Some of the old computer suggest someone named Professor Turo used to live here, supposedly after being outcast from the Veil. He’s not here now, no idea where he is, or if he’s even still alive.”
Rickety and Lexxi exchange a knowing glance with each other, a nervous expression crossing their face as they follow behind Glyph.
“Pixie, is everything ready?” He asks, leading the two into a room full of catwalks and cables spread all throughout, very dimly lit.
“Ninety eight percent done, Glyphy!” A voice can be heard echoing throughout the massive room, a lone figure hovering by a massive, swirling vortex embedded into the wall. It… Looked like a Celebi, but not a traditional one.
Not a robot either. Perhaps some regional variant of Celebi? But no, that wouldn’t make sense either… Pixie was a noticeably bigger than a typical Celebi, her wings large, massive, able to be heard buzzing and flapping. Her body a bright pink, dressed in some kind of trenchcoat with leaf-like patterns running down its sides, her hands and feet ending in yellow highlights.
Rather than two small antennae like a normal Celebi, she had what could only be described as wing-like antlers sprouting from her head. She places her hands behind her back, smiling innocently at Glyph as she eyes him. “And I’m coming back with you this time.~”
Glyph stops in his tracks, staring at the Celebi, letting out a mildly annoyed groan as he starts walking up to her, Lexxi and Rickety staring, bewildered by Pixie’s almost otherworldly appearance. “Pixie, I already told you that you need to stay here, for your sake.”
“Mm-mnn, not doing that anymore, Glyphy.~” She playfully waves one of her fingers back and forth. “I’m not letting you out of my sight this time. After leaving aaaaalllll those times without so much as paying a visit, I think I deserve to help you a little bit more than I already am.~” She giggles, but her expression becomes more serious as she floats over to Glyph.
“It’s getting bad, though, Glyphy. Things are getting so unstable, I can’t access my powers anymore. I wouldn’t be able to go back on my own, even if I tried.” She frowns, poutily. “And like heck if I’m staying stuck in this glowy, disorientingly nauseating future if if means I don’t get to see you again.”
Glyph’s eyes narrow a bit, before he turns away, sighing as his arms reattach back to his shoulders. “Of course it’s getting worse…” He turns back to Pixie. “You still feeling alright?”
“Mmhm! Preservation tube kept me in tip-top shape, at least! Funny thing, I can still feel all the base controls in my head!” To demonstrate, she brightens one of the lights by the portal, making it glow brighter. “Neato, huh?~”
“Uhh…” Rickety clears his throat awkwardly, walking up behind Glyph with Lexxi, curiously eyeing Pixie. “You don’t look like a normal Celebi… Never seen anything like you before.”
Pixie’s gaze glances over to Rickety, arching an eyebrow at him in a playful, pouty manner. “A little rude, don’t you think? Just because I’m from millions of years in the past doesn’t mean I actually look millions of years old.” She places her hands on her hips, sticking her tongue out at Rickety. “I don’t actually look millions of years old, do I, Glyphy?”
Glyph sighs, rolling his eyes. “No, Pixie, you look perfectly fine.”
“I know, I just wanted to hear you say that.~”
“Millions of year in the past?” Rickety repeats, slowly turning towards Lexxi. “…There’s not more to this time stuff, is there?”
“Could barely even comprehend the future, I dunno how I could comprehend the past.” Lexxi says, ears drooping. “Getting a headache just thinking about it.”
“Well… It’s very fortunate that you won’t have to think about it for much longer.” A familiar voice comes from behind them, echoing throughout the room, all four of them turning to the doorway, a certain Ghost Type Pokemon floating right through.
Dusknoir.
“You’re kidding me…” Glyph mutters, immediately standing in front of Pixie as his arms detach, the leaves spinning around.
“YOU!” Rickety shouts, getting into an offensive position as he clenches his hands into fists, Lexxi’s tail puffing out beside him. “If you’re here to fight, we’ll give it to you! I don’t care! I’ll beat the explanation out of you if I have to!”
Dusknoir scoffs, rolling his eye as he slowly drifts closer towards the group. “My, you’re much feistier than you were in the past. What happened to the calm, awe-inspired Rickety I used to know, hmm? Ah well, if you really have become so violent, then perhaps you’ll make an even better machine than I thought…”
“Shut up! You know exactly why.” Rickety growls, baring his teeth. “Is that what you thought when you saved us back at the Amp Plains?! Or when you saved us from Glyph at Crystal Lake?! Did none of that mean anything?!”
“Please, that’s all in the past. Quite literally, in fact. I simply had to keep up appearances.” His eye narrows, the mouth on his stomach smirking. “And you all played straight into it.”
“So, you’re the big meanie, huh?” Pixie chuckles, her wings flapping and her antlers fluttering slightly. “So what? It’s only one of you, four of us, we could take you on no problem.~”
Dusknoir scoffs, the smirk only growing. “Can you, now? Let’s see about that.” He slowly raises his hand into the air, snapping his fingers with an overly dramatic flair.
One by one, a number of Dimensional Holes begin to crop up around the room. The group of four quickly back up against each other as they watch dozens of robot Pokemon pour out from them. Donphans, Delibirds, Hydreigons, Hariyamas, Tyranitars and Volcaronas alike all emerging from the Dimensional Holes, covering almost every inch of the room, leaving just the platform the group were standing on.
“This… This shouldn’t be possible!” Glyph shouts, gaze narrowing towards Dusknoir. “Dimensional Holes in places you shouldn’t have access to, what is this?!”
Dusknoir laughs to himself, drifting closer towards the group. “Only the beginning of what the Time Gears are capable of, Glyph. No longer bound to specific locations to specific times. Just soon, oh, so soon, we’ll be able to go anywhere. Any time we want.” His smirk only grows, drifting right in front of the four. “It was so kind of Uxie and Azelf to let me handle the Time Gears. Gave me plenty of time to take a closer look at them, myself.”
Rickety’s brow furrows, clenching his hands into tighter fists. “You slimy, twisted…”
“…There’s no way we can take them all down. It’s an army.” Glyph huffs, closing his eyes. “…Very well, Dusknoir. I give up.”
“WHAT?!” Lexxi, Rickety and Pixie all turn to face him, all equally shocked. “B-But Glyphy! We’re so close! We can-“
“No. I see what’s going on here.” He shakes his head, slowly looking towards Dusknoir. “It’s useless to resist… But there’s still one thing left.”
“Really?” Dusknoir tilts his head curiously. “And what would that be?”
“My partner.” Glyph says firmly. “I know she’s out there, somewhere. I know not where she is, but she’s still alive, I just know it. She’ll make it to the past and recollect the Time Gears, putting a stop to you for good.”
“A partner?” Rickety says aloud, glancing back at Glyph. “You mean you had someone else working with you besides Pixie?”
“We were planning on heading into the past together, but she got caught in one of those rifts that have been popping up because of his meddling.” Glyph sneers angrily at Dusknoir. “But I know she’s alive, I know she’s strong, and she WILL make sure you don’t succeed!”
Dusknoir seems to stay silent for a few moments, before letting out a single, simple scoff. “Well, that’s an amusing theory, Glyph. Very entertaining. Do tell me, what’s your friend’s name?”
Glyph’s gaze narrows more intensely. “You track us down, intend to kill us, convert us, whatever your plan is, and you don’t even remember her name? To be so insulting…”
“Go on, Glyph, it’s just a name. There’s no problem in saying it, is there?” Dusknoir tilts his head to the side, staring at Glyph in a twisted, mockingly innocent manner.
Glyph glares at Dusknoir, letting out a huff. “Lexxi.” He says. “My partner’s name is Lexxi.”
Lexxi feels her heart stop in her chest, the whole world seeming to stop and shatter before her very eyes in that one moment. The color had all but drained in her face as her blood ran cold, her ears drooping against her head. She can barely make anything else out. She can make out the faint, muffled sounds of Rickety speaking to Glyph in a surprised manner, Glyph talking back.
“B-But… My name is Lexxi…” She stammers quietly, her breathing growing uncomfortably shaky as her entire body trembles in place, tail drooping down between her legs.
Glyph immediately turns to her with a surprised look in his eyes, glancing down at Lexxi, then back at Dusknoir, then to Lexxi again. “…No.” He says, dumbfounded. “No, that can’t be right. The Lexxi I know isn’t a Pokemon, the Lexxi I know is a human.”
As if the shock of the first wasn’t enough, her whole body may as well have been sent into a full-on paralysis. She couldn’t move, couldn’t bring herself to think rationally, to speak. She just looks down at herself again, a million panicked thoughts firing through her brain.
“Have you begun to piece it all together yet?” Dusknoir asks snidely, mouth curled up into a devious grin. “The Pokemon you see before you right now is in fact that exact same Lexxi that used to be a human. I will admit, when I initially sent Iron Valiant into the past to find you, I had initially thought you two had merely split up.”
He places his hands behind his back, smirking as he stares at Lexxi. “When our search for you turned up fruitless, I sought to become personally involved with the world of the past and search for you myself. So when I learned that not only had you turned into a Pokemon, but had also lost your memory! I… I pondered if I even had to do anything at all!”
Dusknoir laughs aloud, tauntingly. “You failed to recognize me, remembered nothing of me, and the icing on the cake? You didn’t even remember the very robot that you had cherished so dearly! Convinced that he was your enemy!”
“No…” Lexxi sits down, clutching at her head. “No, n-no, that can’t be right. You’re lying- You’re still lying to us, trying to get into our heads, I-I’m not-“
“You can try to deny it all you want, but it remains a simple fact that you’re a human from the future.” Dusknoir scoffs amusedly. “I’ll admit, I had initially kept you alive because you were useful to me. You did lead me to capturing Glyph, after all. I could’ve left you in the past, but you were strong enough in this form that I saw potential in you.”
Dusknoir’s gaze sneers. “But clearly, allowing you to live was nothing more than a mistake, causing you to become an even bigger thorn in my side than usual. In hindsight, leaving you in the past, blissfully unaware of your identity, would have been the better, more sensible option. Which is why, with you and Glyph here… I will rectify that!”
A Dimensional Hole opens up from behind Glyph, Iron Valiant rushing right through, its halberd crackling with electricity. Before Glyph has any time to react, he only manages to turn around, just to catch sight of Iron Valiant before it thrusts its halberd into Glyph’s chest, electrocuting him.
“GGRAAAGHH-!” It all he lets out before his circuitry is overloaded, causing his arms to drop down to the floor, inactive, possibly overheated beyond repair.
“Glyphy!” Pixie shouts out in terror, watching as Glyph is stabbed through the chest.
The rest of the robot Pokemon begin to close in around them, Lexxi and Rickety’s eyes wide in panic as Pixie tries to tend to the defeated Glyph, backing up against each other. This isn’t right, this simply wasn’t right! It can’t be this way!
Rickety, panting and breathing unevenly, glances down at his necklace, grasping at it firmly. “Come on! Come on come on come oooonnnnnn! Do the reverse thing! B-Bring Glyph back! Come on!” He starts shaking at it frantically, panic overhwelming him. It was sensory overload, he could feel himself growing dizzy as he feels Lexxi’s tail wrapping around him for comfort.
“Finish them off! Now!” Dusknoir shouts, the rest of the Pokemon all encroaching on the platform, Iron Valiant in particular pulling its halberd out of Glyph’s chest, eyeing Rickety and Lexxi. It starts making its way towards them, metallic footsteps thudding against the catwalk.
Lexxi’s eyes scrunch tightly shut as she wraps her tail around Rickety, burying her face into his shoulder as she tries her best to look away.
Rickety keeps shaking his necklace frantically, trying to enter some flow state, anything he could do to get it to activate as tears begin to stream down his face, his attempts to activate the necklace only becoming more desperate. “Come on come ON! Of all the times you don’t work why’d it have to be now?! JUST WORK!”
Iron Valiant steps right up to Rickety and Lexxi, its cold, holographic eyes gazing right down at them. It raises the tip of its blade up into the air, Rickety scrunching his eyes shut and preparing for the worst. Iron Valiant begins to thrust its blade right down upon both Lexxi and Rickety, but everything around them begins to slow down, slower, slower, coming a complete halt…
…tlah etelpmoc a gnimoc ,rewols ,rewols ,nwod wols ot snigeb meht dnuora gnihtyreve tub ,ytekciR dna ixxeL htob nopu nwod thgir edalb sti tsurht ot snigeb tnailaV norI .tsrow eht rof gniraperp dna tuhs seye sih gnihcnurcs ytekciR ,ria eht otni pu edalb sti fo pit eht sesiar tI .meht ta nwod thgir gnizag seye cihpargoloh ,dloc sti ,ixxeL dna ytekciR ot pu thgir spets tnailaV norI
“!KROW TSUJ !?won eb ot evah ti d’yhw krow t’nod uoy semit eht lla fO !NO emoc no emoC” .etarepsed erom gnimoceb ylno ecalkcen eht etavitca ot stpmetta sih ,ecaf sih nwod maerts ot nigeb sraet sa etavitca ot ti teg ot od dluoc eh gnihtyna ,etats wolf emos retne ot gniyrt ,yllacitnarf ecalkcen sih gnikahs speek ytekciR
.yawa kool ot tseb reh seirt ehs sa redluohs sih otni ecaf reh gniyrub ,ytekciR dnuora liat reh sparw ehs sa tuhs ylthgit hcnurcs seye s’ixxeL
.klawtac eht tsniaga gnidduht spetstoof cillatem ,meht sdrawot yaw sti gnikam strats tI .ixxeL dna ytekciR gnieye ,tsehc s’hpylG fo tuo dreblah sti gnillup ralucitrap ni tnailaV norI ,mroftalp eht no gnihcaorcne lla nomekoP eht fo tser eht ,stuohs rionksuD “!woN !ffo meht hsiniF”
.trofmoc rof mih dnuora gnipparw liat s’ixxeL sleef eh sa yzzid gniworg flesmih leef dluoc eh ,daolrevo yrosnes saw tI .mih gnimlewhrevo cinap ,yllacitnarf ti ta gnikahs strats eH “!no emoC !kcab hpylG gnirB-B !gniht esrever eht oD !nnnnnnoooo emoc no emoc no emoC !no emoC” .ylmrif ti ta gnipsarg ,ecalkcen sih ta nwod secnalg ,ylnevenu gnihtaerb dna gnitnap ,ytekciR
!yaw siht eb t’nac tI !thgir t’nsaw ylpmis siht ,thgir t’nsi sihT .rehto hcae tsniaga pu gnikcab ,hpylG detaefed eht ot dnet ot seirt eixiP sa cinap ni ediw seye s’ytekciR dna ixxeL ,meht dnuora ni esolc ot nigeb nomekoP tobor eht fo tser ehT
.tsehc eht hguorht debbats si hpylG sa gnihctaw ,rorret ni tuo stuohs eixiP “!yhpylG”
.riaper dnoyeb detaehrevo ylbissop ,evitcani ,roolf eht ot nwod pord ot smra sih gnisuac ,dedaolrevo si yrtiucric sih erofeb tuo stel eh lla tI “!-HHGAAARGG”
.mih gnitucortcele ,tsehc s’hpylG otni dreblah sti stsurht ti erofeb tnailaV norI fo thgis hctac ot tsuj ,dnuora nrut ot seganam ylno eh ,tcaer ot emit yna sah hpylG erofeB .yticirtcele htiw gnilkcarc dreblah sti ,hguorht thgir gnihsur tnailaV norI ,hpylG dniheb morf pu snepo eloH lanoisnemiD A
“!taht yfitcer lliw I …ereh hpylG dna uoy htiw ,yhw si hcihW .noitpo elbisnes erom ,retteb eht neeb evah dluow ,ytitnedi ruoy fo erawanu yllufssilb ,tsap eht ni uoy gnivael ,thgisdnih nI .lausu naht edis ym ni nroht reggib neve na emoceb ot uoy gnisuac ,ekatsim a naht erom gnihton saw evil ot uoy gniwolla ,ylraelc tuB” .sreens ezag s’rionksuD
…
Rickety gasps, his eyes wide, eyes darting around, trying to get his bearings. He hears Dusknoir still rambling on, he turns back and- Glyph! Glyph is alive! He’s okay! He- He’s about to die GLYPH IS ABOUT TO DIE RICKETY DO SOMETHING!
“Glyph, behind you!” Is the only thing Rickety can think to shout, just blurting it out as loudly as possible in the hopes that it’s the right thing to do.
Glyph casts a confused glance at Rickety, before making a realization. He swiftly turns around just in the nick of time, a vine quickly extending from the palm of his hand as he strikes at Iron Valiant, knocking the killing machine away as it skids back against the catwalk, colliding with the railing as it firmly grips its blade.
“HOW?!” Dusknoir shouts, angrily grabbing onto the railings. “There’s no way you should have been able to have known that!”
“Maybe I’m not as ready to give up as I thought I was.” Glyph smirks a bit, retracting the vine back into his hand.
“Passage of Time is at one hundred percent, Glyphy!”
“Perfect. Pixie, overload the machine. Make sure they can’t follow us through, and ensure everything here is destroyed so they can’t use any of it.”
“A little bit of self-destructing? Can do, Glyphy! Really gonna miss the place, though.“
The swirling vortex begins to glow brighter and brighter, Glyph jumping backwards straight through the portal. Rickety picks the still shell-shocked Lexxi up in his arms, holding onto her tightly as he jumps through the portal after Glyph.
“Nice knowing you all! Hope you have a blast!~” Pixie winks, blowing a kiss to Dusknoir as she flies back into the portal. “Geronimooooooooooooooooo!~”
Alarms begin to blare as the whole facility begins to shake, the generators powering the Passage of Time sparking with electricity shooting out all over the room. Dusknoir grows angrily, gripping the railing tightly. “Everyone! Evacuate and return to base! NOW!“
The swarm of robot Pokemon all begin to head back into the Dimensional Holes that they had come from, Iron Valiant taking one last look at the explosions slowly beginning to envelop the facility, slowly walking back into its Dimensional Hole.
As the facility crumbles down, so does the Passage of Time. Never to be used again.
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