Dungeon 37 – Mister Fear: Part 2

A loud, electrical wave nearly hit Azumarill, who dodged by rolling to the ground, although she saw the effects behind her; the wooden wall was scorched.

Clefairy wasn’t much better, she raised her arm, crackling with electricity, and released it on Aggron, hoping to paralyze it.

“Art thee well enow, Cleffa?”

“Somewhat!”

The large Pokémon roared in pain, its metallic armor spreading the electricity around its body. This gave them some time to think of a strategy to defeat the two, with Azumarill and Clefairy now side by side.

The blue Pokémon panted. “Good now, good now! Any ideas? It’s like they’re madeth to counter us!”

“None, my most humble apology…”

The canine barked, enveloped in a yellow, electrical aura. It snarled and charged towards them, the glow around it made a fizzling sound. Meanwhile, the metallic body of Aggron began to glow as it was polished.

“Well, anon it’s time to bethink of something!” Azumarill said, fists wrapped in pink energy.

“I has’t an idea. Let’s switch targets!” Clefairy began to run, breathing deeply. She focused her aura in a pinkish sphere, and released it on the floor, sending her upwards into the air.

Aggron didn’t stop. It got on all fours and roared, slapping its tail on the ground. Once it charged, it was way faster than before. Azumarill, feeling she had no choice, and created a wall of water around her body. She decided to fight Aggron head-on, and so rammed against its head.

Clefairy was falling, and aimed at Manectric, the canine suddenly stopping and sniffing the air, making it look up, when she released the beam of lunar energy on the electric Pokémon. The fairy soon landed on her feet, wiping sweat off her head.

Azumarill noticed the collar on Aggron’s neck, distracting her for the right amount of time for her opponent to overpower her, sending her into the floor. Her friend ran to grab her, but only managed to make both crash against each other and fall.

The opponents were together again, both snarling like ferals, while the females stood up, their bodies filled with bruises and wounds.

“We must… we has’t to winneth!”

Azumarill noticed the collars, the items glowing and spreading the energy to their bodies. Maybe those things were controlling them?

“We don’t needeth to, all we needeth is to taketh those things off!” Azumarill pointed to the collars.

“What’s that…? It looks like an emera, but I nev’r did see there.”

“I’m… I’m not sure.” Azumarill panted. “If ‘t be true only we hadst the gems, but the mistress only gaveth to Breloom.”

Aggron charged again, stomping the ground and releasing an earthquake to stagger the two females. Manectric growled, releasing another thunderbolt on the water-type, and she tried to counter by using the fairy energy on her hands to hold off the attack.

It was successful, but Azumarill cringed due to pain on her now burnt hands. Sweat dropped off her body, and she barely felt anything on her arms.

“Azumarill! Art thee well enow?!” Clefairy looked at the burns and gasped, turning to face the two mega Pokémon. “How dare thee! The lady doesn’t deserve this!”

Neither of them had any answer, other than growls and snarls. Clefairy inhaled, releasing a pulse of healing energy on her friend, hoping it would be strong enough to heal her.

---

Blaziken munched on an oran berry he found, sensing the healing properties of the fruit kicking in already. He sighed, cracking his knuckles.

“Well, this was surprisingly easy,” he said, checking out his body. The strong and powerful form he now possessed. “It’s perfect for me. I have to say, I’m glad I decided to work for this guy.”

Water splashing got his attention, so Blaziken went to take a look at the lake, only to find Decidueye just outside of it, panting and with water dripping from him.

“Come on, do these guys ever give up? I’m not in the mood for another fight!”

Decidueye flapped his wings. “Thee fiend… thee hath killed Nidoking, thee did knock out Breloom… what doth thee wanteth from us? We liveth in peace!”

“Uh, I really don’t care!” Blaziken prepared to fight, but to his surprise, Decidueye melted into the ground.

What? Blaziken rubbed his eyes and looked again; the ghost was gone. He heard some rumors about ghosts phasing through solid matter, but there was no way that was true! He heard hooting, a chill, ominous hooting on his back.

“Coward! Face me like a real mon!” Blaziken stumbled back, producing a flame around his left arm.

The ominous hooting continued and this time, it spoke. “Says the fiend who attacks innocents… don’t you think you need to repent?”

“I said fuck off!” Blaziken fired the flames forward, hitting the tree. It merely grazed the wood, barely leaving a scratch mark.

“Oh, anon thee attack a sacr’d spot f’r us? You’re disgusting.”

From his back, Blaziken was hit by a dark ball. And then another, in front of him. Then another on his back. And so forth. Each time he tried to find the Decidueye, he was already gone.

This drove him mad. His blood boiled with anger and more flames appeared all around Blaziken the more he was hit by the spheres.

“Fuck off… fuck off… FUCK. OFF!” he exploded, releasing an enormous heat wave on the area, burning through the grass in a spherical shape.

As he did so, he let out a scream, and his voice slowly turned more… primitive. Reduced to a snarl, Blaziken stopped to catch his breath. That proved to be a difficult task, because, due to the previous attack, he was tired, and dizzy.

“I-I said fight me… like… like a mon. You… bitch.”

“Thee burn’d yourself out, fiend,” Decidueye showed up in front of Blaziken, pointing a feathery arrow to the fire Pokémon.

“That… that was your plan?! Your stupid plan?!” he snarled, stomping the ground until a small hole appeared. So, so angry. Blaziken looked at the ghost with rage on his eyes, and simply charged at him.

“W-Wha—” the punch was too fast to dodge, and before he knew it, Blaziken had grabbed Decidueye’s face.

“Oh, you prick! You bastard! Wanna know what I’m doing with you! And your precious tree?! Wanna defend it so badly?! Fine by me!”

Decidueye shivered, trying to get away from the grasp, but screamed due to the heat surrounding Blaziken’s hand. It burned his flesh and made an immense headache appear.

“R-Release me!”

“Alright, then!” Blaziken continued to charge, approaching the thick wood trunk the tree had. He threw Decidueye there with all he had, and the ghost crashed, bones cracking and popping, until he fell on the ground.

Meanwhile, the red Pokémon was still pissed, he was sweating, but it evaporated instantly on his arm, so he was surrounded by steam. Slowly, he calmed down as the energy of mega evolution left his body.

“D-Damn it… not now…”

“You… thee shall not win…” Decidueye coughed up blood, too weak to move. “The tree is indestructible. T’s did connect to our mistress. As long as she’s standing, the tree shall liveth!”

Blaziken tried to ignore it, but a nagging sensation on the back of his neck stopped him. Why… why was that tree so important?

“I’m asking you somethin’, and you’re listening!” he shouted to the ghost. “What’s so damn holy about this thing? Or about Xerneas?”

“She’s… she’s the embodiment of life itself! We’re only hither because the lady so desires. It’s mine own duty to serveth her…”

“Oh, Arceus dammit. I don’t care about your life story!” he rolled his eyes and walked off into the tree’s entrance. Maybe Morgan needed his help during this entire mess.

Before he entered, however, Blaziken tried something a bit different. He tried burning the wood once more, but like his previous attempt, it didn’t have any results. Weird.

“Well, I’m not paid to think about mystic stuff.”

---

Gyarados landed on the island’s shore, where he dropped off the team. The large water-type smiled at the passengers, a sharp contrast to how he acted before.

Lance was the first to step foot on the grassy terrain. He stretched his arms and inhaled. The tree could be seen in the distance, while the aura… the powerful aura of Xerneas made his sensors twitch.

“This is insane. How powerful is she?” Brian asked, climbing down Gyarados. “Good thing we’re not her enemies, huh?”

“Exactly, congratulations,” Meganium raised her head, but even she was trembling.

The others soon joined them, with Gyarados simply staring. Scar looked at the large Pokémon, to talk with him and arrange the way back.

“Mister Gyarados… I’m sorry, I don’t remember your name. Will you wait for our mission to end? Our boat is still missing.”

“Of course!” he said, slapping the tail on the water and splashing everyone but the Marowak. “I need to rest anyway, so I’ll wait to bring you guys back! It’s the least I can do after, well… after everything!”

“Good. We should be ready now,” Scar raised his club. “All we need to do is travel across Primeval Forest, correct?”

“Urgh, I can’t stand forests anymore. Not after that weird one with vines!” Meggie whined, looking down.

“Y’all got lucky back then,” Lilith pointed out. “But it’s best not to think about those things. Let’s just move on!”

“Yeah! Move on and kick some Gallade ass!” Max clasped his fists together, chuckling.

Seemed like everyone was pumped for the mission, one way or the other, so Lance didn’t worry much. It took nine years for this to happen, but he was going to do it. Get closure on the torture, move on, and protect the future.

I can do this. With my allies, with my friends… we can win this fight. I know it. I just… know this is true.

“Let’s go.” Meganium said. “I should probably warn you that, since I don’t have my credentials, Primeval Forest might be a bit… aggressive towards us. It wards off intruders.”

“Credentials?” Meggie tilted her head and waited for the explanation.

“Well, it’s pretty simple, let me tell you about this… and please, pay attention!”

As Meganium said, the forest was protected against intruders by a badge, one that Morgan took out once he captured her. And that was only the first level of security the dungeon had. This was a bit of a shock so the team, but regardless, they went on inside the woods.

Lance waited for the others to go, leaving only him and Scar on the shore. Well, Gyarados was there too, but he was resting, so that wouldn’t be much of a problem for him. With that in mind, he had to chat with the Marowak, so the two eyed each other.

“Hm. Good decision, speaking to me in private,” Scar nodded. “However, my team knows all about this, you could have called them to this meeting, no?”

Lance shook his head in denial, sighing. “Well, you’re my mentor here. I think it’s only fair I talk to you, and you only.”

“…Understandable, mister Williams,” Scar smiled brightly, putting his club on his back. “Now, what would you like to talk about?”

The Lucario crossed his eyes and gave his mentor a smug grin. The events that happened in the forest were still fresh on his mind, and more importantly, they were important for his future.

“I’ve met the one you worship. Necrozma is on the island we were stranded in.”

Scar nearly dropped his jaw in shock, but cleared his throat soon enough. That was a shocking revelation, but much like all the things Lance shared with him, he dealt with it with respect and trust. Despite all of this, Scar was unable to contain his smile.

“I-I cannot believe it, Mister Williams…” Scar let out a laugh, a genuine, heartfelt laugh. “H-How? We arrived at the place I was searching for almost my entire life! This is fascinating!”

“Right now, I’m not sure why,” Lance shrugged, thinking about the options. One of them was that Necrozma himself drew them to the island, but that one seemed unlikely. The other one was… not one he wanted to believe in. “Perhaps… perhaps it was fate.”

Scar continued with his cheerful expression. “I thought you were some sort of liberator of fate, judging by the name of your team and that speech your brother gave!”

“Oh, I don’t like the idea of fate. I don’t like not having control of my life,” Lance explained, looking up at the tree. “That Gallade took it away from me, it’s one of the reasons I’m fighting this battle.”

Not wanting to lose control? That was interesting to Scar, but he didn’t press on the subject further. He patted Lance’s shoulder and walked towards the other, before looking back.

“I suppose once we’re done with this mission, we will speed up our plans. I’m not sure what my lord talked about with you, but I know he’s a benevolent legend. Now, shall we go?”

“Yes, let’s go…”

---

Clefairy tried to dodge multiple attacks at once. Sometimes, it was Aggron charging at her, other times it was that Manectric letting out electrical charges. The only protection she had was a wooden barricade, where Azumarill was, still being healed.

“Come on, come on! This can’t be that hard!” she pressed the wounds, using most of her energy to heal the burn scars.

Azumarill coughed. “Cleffa… thee shouldst alert the others. Those ferals… they’re too stout f’r us to square!”

“I’m not leaving thee behin–” a loud explosion threw them both towards the walls. It was a fiery one.

Blaziken, with flames on his hand, let out a laugh. So the walls inside were weaker? That was pathetic, of course, but at the same time, fun for him.

“Ladies, I’m sorry I have to beat the crap outta you two, but a job’s a job!”

“A-A Blaziken…?!” Clefairy stood up, even if it was barely, and entered combat position, aiming her fairy beam at Blaziken.

“Seriously? Come on, it’s three against one! You cannot be that dumb, lady!” Blaziken snapped his fingers.

The other two Pokémon joined Blaziken, standing at both his sides, and on all fours. The fire-type laughed, activating the emera on his body once more and mega evolving.

“Coequal if ‘t be true kills me, I might not but defeat you…!” Clefairy panted and launched her moonblast, but all the injuries from before made her cry out in pain and miss the shot that hit the wooden wall instead.

“Gee, I don’t even think I’ll need to fight much in order to kill you two!” Blaziken chuckled, a feral look on his face as he drew more of the emera’s energy.

Azumarill showed no signs of waking up, so Clefairy was all alone. Against three Pokémon, with a power she never saw before… the odds were certainly against her. How she found the inner strength to stand her ground and continue the fight was unknown to her. Whether it was adrenaline, pure willpower or a combination of the two, she didn’t care.

“Putteth up a square? I’m putting up a square f’r me, and f’r mine own friend, and all of those thee did hurt, Blaziken!” she screamed, dashing towards the fire-type. As she did, her hand was enveloped in some form of energy, colored black.

Her main opponent didn’t bother to dodge, letting her get near him. Once she did, he tried to punch the fairy. That attempt failed when Clefairy ducked and punched Blaziken’s chest with the dark energy from before.

“F-Fuck!” he suddenly cringed, but kicked her anyway.

The fairy was dragged across the floor, injuring her more than ever before. Still, she remained awake, merely raising her eyes to look at Blaziken.

“Now, now. I really hate to hit a lady, but considering I did that already… it’s fine by me!”

Blaziken was stopped by a massive pain on his chest, like his energy was being drained out. During the clash, he didn’t notice what move Clefairy used on him, but now? Now he knew what it was: Knock-Off. She took out the emera from him, and now the energy he absorbed from it was being returned to the stone, turning the fire Pokémon back to normal, and exhausted.

“Huff…” she mumbled, holding the stone on her hand, almost like her life depended on it. And, judging by Blaziken’s reaction, that was very much true.

The red Pokémon pointed to the fairy, ordering his servants to attack her. Without even questioning it, Aggron and Manectric went on their way to attack Clefairy.

She tried to move, to escape, or at the very least, to dodge. Her body didn’t agree with that, and refused to move, no matter how much she tried to. Manectric was the closest one, she saw its fangs. Sharp teeth that could puncture her whole body. Clefairy closed her eyes.

A splashing sound forced her to snap her eyes open, seeing that Azumarill was back in the fight, ramming against Manectric and sending it all the way to Aggron, electrifying it and knocking the canine out.

“I-I’m my most humble apology. And, I’m back…!” Azumarill smiled at her friend, but held on to the wall. “Whoops, looks like I still can’t walketh much.”

“Don’t worry about that… we’re almost out of energy, and yond Gallade is nowhere to beest seen.”

Blaziken was still lying down, unable to move. He still tried, and extended his arm, trying to grab the emera, but the distance was too long for that to happen, and soon his limb flopped down.

Aggron grabbed Manectric and tossed it to the side, roaring loudly. It still had enough energy to fight, and didn’t plan to give up anytime soon.

“Wherefore didst thee doth? Why… wherefore risk thy life f’r this, Blaziken?” In that moment, Clefairy decided to reason with her enemy. It was what her mistress would want.

He snarled, forcing himself to stand up. “W-What…? I’m your enemy. I don’t need your pity! All I need is power! And that’s just what I was offered!”

“I’ve hath heard whispers about what yond Gallade doest. He kidnaps innocent mon, tortures those folk, abuses them… wherefore supporteth such a thing? F’r a feeble thing such as power? That’s… pitiful.”

The fire-type raged, enveloping his whole body in flames like he did outside the tree. He cracked his knuckles and began to walk towards Aggron and Manectric.

“What do you know? I’m a mercenary. This is the exact type of job I’m meant to do!”

“T hurts the balance of the world!” Clefairy shouted. “Why…? I don’t understandeth!”

“You… you don’t need to understand, Clefairy. None of you do. I’m just doing… what I need to do.”

He yanked off the collar from Aggron, grabbing the emera. That beautiful, sparkling stone. It called out to him, like a light source called a Frosmoth. He smiled wider than it should be possible, deaf to all that occurred around him. As long as he had that stone, it would give him power!

Clefairy, meanwhile, held on to her friend’s hand. “I’m too weak to doth aught, Blaziken. And thee haven’t did answer any question so far. But if ‘t be true you’re going to killeth us anyway… can thee answer me one thing?”

Hearing that call made him frown and shift his gaze towards Clefairy. Ah, another one of those stupid questions. He had no need to answer them, or even care for them. He didn’t even need to care about that stupid job! He could take the three emeras and leave. Not like anyone could hope to stop him.

And yet, it was just like Clefairy said. Just a single question. He smiled. “Alrighty, then. What do you want to know?”

“Where… nay, I don’t bethink thee did get those emeras on thy own. Whither didst Morgan receiveth those folk?”

“I still don’t understand most of what you’re saying, but… he said it was a remnant of his former world or something. Don’t really know, something about… emera dust being a mega stone? Honestly, I don’t really care about it.”

Now that he answered it, Blaziken activated the emera one last time. Oh, how good it felt when he absorbed the energy. It flowed throughout his body and he couldn’t help but laugh like some sort of maniac, drunk in the bliss and power it gave him.

“Well, I think you’ve gone on long enough with this nonsense. I don’t care about the job anymore, but right now? I’m ending this. I need to taste the full extent of this power!”

He slowly approached Clefairy, and with each step he took, it left a burn mark on the shape of his feet on the wooden floor. During the entire way, he smiled. Blaziken was loving this.

The time had come. He was just a few inches from the two, and pointed a flaming hand towards them. Blaziken continued to smile, without a single care in the world. But first, he took the second emera from Clefairy. Its power wasn’t needed at the moment, but he liked to keep that thing with him.

“Good..by–ARGH!” a powerful and devastating punch was blown on Blaziken’s stomach. He looked down, only to see none other than… Azumarill.

She screamed as loud as she could, wrapping her body in water, and with both hands glowing pink. She pushed Blaziken backwards with as much power as she had, all while punching him. The combination of her fairy and water moves was too strong, and Blaziken ended up coughing up blood from the sheer impact.

“Y-You little… bitch!” unable to resist, he was dragged across the floor, sending both emeras he held into the wall beneath him, and finally resting.

The battle was over. At least for now. Azumarill collapsed on the floor, screaming for Clefairy, who didn’t respond. Her mind thought of the worst, and so she crawled over to her friend, shaking her body.

She was breathing. Barely, but breathing nonetheless. Azumarill cried in joy, letting the tears drop as she hugged her friend.

To her complete shock, she heard a grunt behind. Blaziken held the emeras on both of his hands, and let out a primal, guttural roar, absorbing both their energies onto himself. The result was a massive rainbow light that covered the area.

Whatever was happening, it culminated with Blaziken on his mega evolution, topped with a blazing red aura and a wicked grin. He said something, but all that came out was a feral growl. His pupils were slit now, and his feathers seemed scruffier, giving him an almost ragged look.

Blaziken finally opened his mouth, and showed his teeth. Sharp, blade-like teeth. Azumarill trembled. If before she was barely able to defeat him, now? Now it was hopeless. She had no way of winning that battle and so collapsed on the floor.

---

Far away from there, the sudden rush of aura made Lance tremble on his feet, nearly falling over, if it wasn’t for his brother holding him. A single drop of sweat fell on the grassy floor, and they continued. Their walk was cut short, as a massive wall of roots and trunks appeared in front of them, blocking their way.

“Ah, this is the countermeasure I mentioned before,” Meganium sighed, giving one step forward. “Do not worry, this won’t stop us anytime soon, I assure you. All it needs is… to analyse me, for lack of a better word.”

“You mean like some sort of scan?” Brian raised his arm.

“…Yes, Brian. Like a scan,” Oh, that one hurt her very pride. Meganium touched the roots with her vines and stood there, motionless and silent for what felt like hours to the others, when in reality, only a minute had passed.

The blockage retreated, and the team moved on into the forest. Lance could still sense the powerful aura from before, and clenched his fist. Whatever it was, he would meet it soon enough.

---

Morgan was done with all the resistance he was facing. Waves after waves of Pokémon trying to stop him, only for the Gallade to teleport away. Spending his energy fighting fodder was pointless, as he needed to be in his best shape for the next step of his plan.

So he went on another set of stairs. According to Morgan’s calculations, this should be the last one before the top of the tree, where Xerneas was waiting for him. He barely remembered who was there the last time he visited this area of the world, but he knew it was someone, some… thing. Yes, a thing. Much like all the other creatures on the planet.

The room was large and empty, but possessed open windows where one could look at the entire forest. It was kind of… fascinating for him. On the end of the large room was a single door, where one Pokémon stood, waiting for Morgan.

It was a Noctowl, a single Pokémon, who didn’t even look like he would put up much of a fight. The bird was just… staring at Morgan.

“Move. I don’t have time to deal with you.”

“And yet, you’ve dealt with all our forces, judging by how you managed to get here,” Noctowl said. Or rather, sent the words to Morgan’s mind.

His reaction was to put his hand on his forehead and growl. Morgan’s other hand glowed once more, but he breathed and calmed down, removing the glow.

“I did what I had to. You wouldn’t understand, none of you would! I just want to go back home! This place isn’t for me!”

“This is not the point, Morgan Jones!” Noctowl squawked, flapping his wings. “Through your years in this world, you’ve tortured, murdered and kidnapped countless Pokémon. Your reason for doing this is not justifiable!”

“…So what? I’m superior to all of you! I deserve to rule!” Morgan slammed his hand against the wooden wall, releasing a loud noise.

Noctowl sighed, shaking his head in denial. “If only things were different… and my mistress wouldn’t have hunted you. And neither would our forces be dead.”

“Forces?!” Morgan scoffed, laughing loudly. “They were pitiful! Or rather… my scientific genius unlocked the secrets of mega evolution!”

“Incorrect,” Noctowl retorted. “You stole the secret from our archives. No wonder one of your subordinates is going insane down below. You have the incomplete version.”

Morgan ignored that little comment. He still had the advantage, and no, his work wasn’t incomplete! He did not spend years for it to be unfinished.

“Are you trying to be on the moral high ground here? If your forces are so important, why are you letting them die in this battle?”

“Sacrifices are necessary for the sake of our mistress,” Noctowl flapped his wings. “They know that, and accept it.”

Ah, sacrifices. Something Morgan knew very well. That conversation wasn’t leading anywhere, other than a few retorts from both of them. He stepped forward, towards the door.

Noctwol stepped out of the way, letting Morgan in. “I see. Well, I am not a fighter, Morgan Jones. My mistress will see you now. She told me this.”

“Very well.”

---

Her sanctuary didn’t change over the years. A beautiful place, where the leaves from the top of the tree covered the ceiling, and where Xerneas stood, the large quadruped Pokémon was in front of what seemed to be a throne.

The pressure was very much still present. Just the simple imposing figure of Xerneas was enough for Morgan to flinch, even if it was slightly. And she never said one word. Not even one. Her eyes met Morgan’s.

“You know why I am here, Xerneas,” Morgan said, picking up the pokéballs. “I’m returning home, and you’re helping me with it.”

“The fact you’ve slaughtered countless lives just to get here… I pity you. You poor, poor soul.”

“I don’t need your pity, scum!” Morgan shouted, now raising his hand. “Don’t think you can understand me! What I’ve lost! All of you can just die, for all I care!”

“And I cannot allow that. If you use force, I shall use it as well.”

Her antlers began to glow, and Xerneas stepped forward, tapping one of her hooves on the floor. Morgan’s heart thumped faster each second. He didn’t know if it was fear, panic, or excitement, or somehow a mixture of all the three. All he knew was that he needed to do this.

“…Haha! You think you can best me? A human?! Don’t be mistaken! I’ve prepared myself for this moment for all these years!”

“Morgan Jones. Today your crimes shall be punished as they should be. Do you think those souls you’ve murdered had peace? They do not.”

From her antlers, Xerneas shot a pink beam on Morgan’s forehead, and he soon fell to his knees, screaming in pain. Flashes of the pain each of his experiments went through went on inside his mind, until he was clawing on the floor, nearly throwing up.

“Do you repent?” Xerneas asked, but shook her head. “On second thought, you do not deserve this. No. Death would be too kind for you, Morgan Jones.”

“I… do… not!”

He stood up and roared, raising his arm where he held an emera. The energy of the stone began to flow throughout Morgan’s body and change him. His entire body turned white, except for his head, that continued to have shades of green in it. Two cape-like protrusions flowed behind him,flapping in the air. Finally, his blades extended and sharpened in the process.

“I… have no time for your petty mind tricks, Xerneas,” the mega evolved Gallade said, letting out the final Pokémon he caught: a Glalie, a Blastoise and a Pidgeot. “This is what I’ve been waiting for… during all these years. Today is the day I get to go home! Today I leave this filthy world behind! And… it starts now.”