Dungeon 56 – Vessel

Complete.

That’s what the power rushing through his veins made him feel, that was the sensation of freedom , of the wind blowing on his fur, of the gentle breeze, of everything . 

His feelers twitched, picking up auras—a funny thing, he never knew this was how Lucario saw the world, how the melody of auras he could detect felt. Like waves washing over him, bringing with them the emotions of everyone around him.

From Scar, glee, joy. Pure joy in seeing the one he worshiped back into the world. From Lilith, fascination, the stories she heard before coming true right before her eyes. And from Max, enjoyment; he had his doubts, that much was certain, but now he was enjoying it as much as the others.

“Ah… I missed this.” There was no doubt in his words—this wasn’t Lance. He was replaced by something far bigger and better than himself. Someone that the world needed . “You really take things for granted, never knowing what they feel like until… the moment they’re taken away from you.”

“My Lord.” Scar bowed, lowering his head. “…It is wonderful seeing you. After all this time, after all I have been through, you are finally free.”

Lilith was too shocked for words, but the tears of joy running down her face told her God what he needed to know. She got down on her knees.

“Whoa. You’re here, in the flesh.” Max whistled, chuckling both to himself and to Necrozma. Nevertheless, he bowed, much like his teammates.

Necrozma himself was floating, levitating right next to what remained of his prison, the crystal cocoon torn to bits. He took one look at it, grimacing.

“Millennia ago, they trapped me. They could never understand or do what was necessary for the greater good.” Necrozma closed his eyes, sighing out loud. 

He floated downwards, into the rubble of his cage, picking up a crystal, one that stood out more than the others. It was golden, adorned with a black star sigil right at the middle. Despite its golden color, it appeared to be drained.

“Even with the power bestowed to us by our Creator, they were weak. I… am not.”

“Creator…?” Scar didn’t dare to raise his head. “Are you, perhaps, talking about Arceus? Is He real?”

“Supposedly.” Necrozma flew and landed next to them, holding the crystal in his right hand. “But me and the other members of the pantheon never knew if that was true or not.”

Max was the one to stand up first, and instantly eyed the item. “That’s the power He bestowed, I take it?”

Necrozma looked at them, but it didn’t seem like his view was really there. “One you must guard with your lives. This is what stands between me and absolute perfection.” 

“Can’t say I’ve heard of it…” The Lopunny added, now standing like her friend. “Why’s it so dull…?”

“It needs light.” He explained, watching Scar finally stand. “Light, or… I suppose you could call it aura . Regardless, I need it. With enough light, it will resonate with me, and allow me to achieve… salvation.”

---

“Salvation.” Scar repeated it. Oh, how delightful it sounded to him. He could even shiver from sheer joy, if he didn’t contain that. All he did was smile.

“What we were hoping for,” Lilith closed her eyes and chuckled. She then stretched her arms and yawned. “Mhm! After all our hard work, I’m beat. Can we go home and rest a little?”

Max waved her off. “Nah. We still gotta plan on how to get His light back.”

While they were talking, Scar considered his options. “ Ahem . My Lord, I have prepared everything for you. The throne is yours. I suggest we return right away, as to—”

“No.” Necrozma wiggled a finger in denial. He then moved each of his fingers and let out a loud sigh of relief. “Ah… the wind feels so much better when you have fur, don’t you think?”

Scar turned his attention to his teammates, he only had scales, so replying to Necrozma’s statement was… out of his league.

“It is!” Lilith added, shrugging. “You never knew what you were missing!”

“Indeed, I did not.” Necrozma flexed his claws, taking another look at himself. “I am probing through the vessel’s memories as we speak. It shouldn’t take too long to learn all he has. As for returning to the kingdom…”

His sensors twitched. “That can wait. His companions are waking up, and I desire to fight.”

How odd . Necrozma attributed this as being part of the vessel. Lucario were fighters, as far as he remembered.  

“Not to mention I wish to test what this body can do.”

“My Lord,” Scar cleared his throat. “I do not believe this is wise. You might be weakened—”

“Are you defying me?”

“N-No, Sir.” Lilith shook her head, drops of sweat forming. “I think Scar’s just worried. You’re not at full strength…”

Max rolled his eyes and cleared his throat, tapping one foot on the ground. “If you’ll allow me to interject, this might be unwise, but it’s also an opportunity. If we see how great Necrozma is in action, we can get a feel of how long it’ll take to gather His light.”

To that, Necrozma smirked. “A wise choice, Electivire. Neither me or the vessel thought you acted as smart as you’re supposed to be. I’m impressed.”

…Should I be flattered or angry? Max scratched his chin. “Thank you.”

Scar, defeated, only sighed. “Very well. Do you require assistance, or would you rather fight them on your own?”

Necrozma moved a finger, and his arm was wrapped in a purple aura. Like Lance’s, but it was darker, and there were visible black cracks in it.

“Hm… I do believe I can handle them on my own. Besides, I do not wish for their deaths. They, too, have a part in my perfect world.”

Scar nodded solemnly. “We will watch with great interest, then. Do go ahead, Maxwell will prepare our way back.”

---

Dex coughed up sand, again and again, rolling his body to the side.

“Gah… this is the worst hangover I’ve ever had… not like there were any good ones.”

The Floatzel stood up, coughing more. His legs were weak, but Dex wasn’t about to let that stop him. With a quick glance around, he saw his friends, unconscious like he was.

“Goggles? Popsicle? Damn… we got hit really ‘ard.”

And he was the only one awake! Dex hurried around to find Biran’s bag—they did bring a reviver seed, he was sure of it. He was getting closer, but something was up. Dread creeped inside of him, making his heart jump around frantically.

W-What…?

Something stopped him from looking back. Or maybe it was some one . Dex gulped, a lump forming on his throat. It was large, larget than he wanted, and even breathing was hard. A pressure was forming, but Dex had to push through. He moved his body in the direction of what was causing this feeling… slowly. Inch by inch.

With every inch, the dread grew. Dex wasn’t sure he could keep going, he also didn’t know how he kept going, what was driving him forward.

Dex choked at the sight—Lance, but it wasn’t Lance. It looked like him, yet it did not.

An armor of obsidian crystals surrounded his arms, his legs, even his face. And if that wasn’t a giveaway, there was the grin—the wicked grin that told him that wasn’t him.

“Who… are ye?”

“Ah. I can sense the confusion.” Necrozma looked at his arms, laughing to himself. “I am merely using his body. It is needed for the salvation of this world.”

Dex chose to ignore the fact that, while he could recognize part of Lance’s voice, it was drowned out by something that sounded far more primal and ancient.

“Salvation? Using his body?”

Dex clenched a fist. If before, his body was filled with dread, now? Now he was boiling. 

“I do wish to test my limits. To see how strong I can get. Hm… will you allow me to spar? I will hold back—”

“Go to hell!” Dex clenched his teeth and charged forward, unleashing a flurry of punches…

…But Necrozma dodged all of them. It was easy, moving his body left and right to deflect the strikes. Of course, even if they did connect, it was all fine. He could handle a few punches.

“Hell, hm? It has been a while since I vised ‘tina, and I believe he is what you mortals consider the ruler of hell…” Necrozma jumped back, grinning again. “Not that it matters. You weren’t giving your all. Is it because I’m using your friend?”

“Get off of Pup’s body, ye freak!” Water coated his arms, and Dex lunged in again, with an uppercut.

This time, Necrozma was hit. Or rather, he allowed himself to be hit, as a way of seeing how badly it’d hurt him. 

As expected, the uppercut barely made him move other than an inch. “Ah. I can classify this as… a pathetic strike. Very well, then. Allow me to fight back.”

A single ball of pure aura materialized inside Necrozma’s hand. It shone purple… but soon enough, that was consumed and replaced with pitch black, full of purple cracks.

“Wha—”

Necrozma fired the sphere, and it struck Dex, sending him pummeling back into the sand.

“Ah. It seems I can still use Aura Sphere. Seems it changed to fit me, how curious…”

Dex groaned, barely moving. Necrozma cracked his neck, and began to walk forward.

Until the Floatzel disappeared from his sight.

---

Obviously, it was an illusion. Necrozma was about to sense it, but he had a different idea. What better way to make this fight longer than to purposefully pretend he couldn’t detect the real thing?

So he waited, and looked around, trying to look as panicked as possible. But in reality, his senses were sharp, sharper than Lance’s, and he could already see his three opponents, cloaked inside an illusion aura. It took all of him to not grin from the satisfaction.

It wasn’t until a shard of ice was launched his way that Necrozma stopped, swiftly dodging it and letting the attack fall behind him. At that moment, the illusion was dropped, and a snarling Zoroark lunged in, his claws dripping with dark energy.

“Brother—”

“Shut up! Give him back!” Brian slashed the air, a blade of energy making its way towards Necrozma, while Brian himself charged, blasting spheres away at full speed. “Give me my brother back!”

Tch. He was quite capable of dodging at first, but with so many attacks, the window was getting smaller… forcing him to act instead. 

Necrozma jumped back and focused, his entire body wrapped in the same, dark purple light, before a geyser burst forth, destroying all of Brian’s attacks at once.

Brian stumbled back, shocked, and though his body was shaky from the display, he knew that he needed to fight.

Of course, he had help. Dexter fell from the sky, water—no, ice coated his arms and he rammed the ground, spreading sand upwards, which was enough to obscure Necrozma’s vision for the moment.

“Goggles, now !”

“On it!” Brian didn’t waste time, running on all fours, and this time, both his arms were coated in energy. “Eat this!”

Necrozma had to dodge another blade, two blades in fact. Dodge. Curious… because in the end, he did something else. His own claws crackled with psychic power, and formed into blades of their own, ones that he launched in response to Brian’s Night Slash.

“Huh… how ?!” Meggie floated downwards, stopping next to Brian. “Psycho Cut, but… how?! Lucario can’t learn it!”

“Obviously, he ain’t a Lucario no more!” Dex snarled, flexing and cracking what was left of the ice in his arms.

“Don’t say that!” Brian trembled. He was already crying, tears that seemed never ending. “…M-My brother’s still there! We just need to, I dunno, kick his ass until he returns!”

“How lovely. You care for him until the end.” Necrozma sighed. It sounded genuine, too. “…I almost feel sorry for having to do this. But sacrifices are necessary for the good of the world. Your brother is just another one of them.”

Brian roared. “To hell with your sacrifices! I’m getting him ba—”

Something landed on the ground, unleashing sand everywhere. Once it settled, Lilith cracked her knuckles. “Help has arrived!”

---

“Help…?”

“Know you said you didn’t need it, but—”

Necrozma blasted another sphere, it hit the ocean behind Lilith, and let loose a large splash of water.

“I do not need your help. I am doing just fine on my own.” He said, taking aim at her. “Do you consider yourself at the same level as me? May I remind you that you are powerless to help the world? That you went to great lengths for my assistance? And you dare to say you can help me?”

Lilith didn’t have words or quips to say, despite her open mouth. Not a single sound came from it.

“Good. You have nothing. As a matter of fact, I should take your light, right here, right now.”

Brian looked at his friends. They, too, seemed to be paralyzed from fear. He was too, and he knew that. 

Taking her light…? What does that even mean? Though Brian had no answer, he was sure it wasn’t anything good.

“I-I…” Lilith struggled just to start the sentence, and kept repeating the same thing. “I-I… wanted… w-wanted to help! Because y-you might be weak from the seal, a-and…”

“I’ve heard enough.” Necrozma flexed his claws, slowly walking towards her. Sprinting wasn’t necessary, she was too scared to do anything, anyway.

Brian clenched his teeth. She was his enemy, but… whatever taking her light meant… she didn’t deserve it. A sphere of pure, ghost power. All he had to do was aim right… too early and he’d hit his brother, too late and it was all for naught.

So he waited. Waited for when Necrozma was just close enough, with an extended arm, ready to touch Lilith’s face. There was still space between them, however small. Brian aimed, and right as a drop of sweat fell from his face, he fired the attack.

“Hm?” 

It landed in the middle, the shock momentarily making Necrozma stand back, turning his face to Brian. 

“Hah. Can’t say I expected you to save your enemy, but oh well… seems there’s still some fight left in you. How interesting.”

Lilith didn’t bother to look at Brian, her face was left staring at Necrozma. “S-Sir… I apologize for my transgression. P-Please… forgive me.”

“Just this once, I might.” Necrozma kept his gaze at Brian and friends. “Do not interrupt this again. I will fight until I’m satisfied.”

“You’re giving my brother his body back!” Brian demanded, putting his goggles on. “…We came so far! This won’t be for nothing! Lance… I’m saving you!”

“You will learn that I am the hope for this world. You mortals… you cannot be trusted with your own fate.”

Dex managed to move just a little bit. “Cut the crap! Don’t care about fate! None of us do! Not Goggles, not Popsicle… and not Lance! Yer givin’ him back to us!”

“Interesting. Very well… be ready for the second round!”

---

Scar entered the beach, followed by Max. The two kept to themselves, relegated to watching the fight. And with what happened to Liltih… they knew it was the best thing to do. 

Necrozma motioned for his opponents to get closer. Meggie was the first to oblige, as the swiftest member of the team, she made her way, zigzagging, then spun her body as ethereal energy on her hand shaped itself into claws.

“Not a bad choice.” Necrozma replied, dodging a strike, and then launching another psychic blade, only for her to, like him, dodge. “Not bad at all!”

There was another reason for this fighting. Not only did he need to get used to this body, fighting would only make it stronger. And he needed all the power he could get.

Need to make… an opening for the others! Meggie struck again, this time launching shard after shard of ice in her enemy’s direction. 

He dodged the first few, but then destroyed the other with multiple spheres. Necrozma was busy with it.

Or at least, it seemed that way for Brian. He cloaked himself in another illusion and jumped. With his mouth opened, he unleashed a stream of flames towards Necrozma.

The Legendary Pokémon scoffed, swiftly jumping out of the way without even breaking a sweat. “Just so you know… I can see them. Your illusions.” 

“You can…? Lance could too.” Brian cringed, looking at Dex. So we can’t count on them… damn it!

“Goggles! Keep yer eyes on the fight!”

Meggie kept firing shards, but they weren’t directed at Necrozma. They were hitting the sand, randomly. 

“Oh, c’mon! You’re not even trying to hit me!”

She smiled. “Now!”

Dex rushed once more, letting another flurry of punches make their way. Necrozma watched it and produced a shocked expression…

“Just kidding!”

It disappeared into laughter as he extended his arm forward. The air itself cracked open into a portal, and Dex was sucked inside it.

Before any of them could react, a second portal opened, behind Brian, and out came Dex. This resulted in the punches hitting the Zoroark instead. 

“Ow! Ow! Stop it!”

Dex yelped, ending his attacks. He blinked, confused, and then eyed Necrozma.

“What? Oh, that’s right. None of you know the cards in my hand…” 

Necrozma shrugged, his body glowing brightly again. “And to tell the truth… this game was rigged from the start!”

“I don’t know what that attack is, but if it’s psychic—” Brian didn’t wait for any replies, running in front of his friends.

A burst of light was launched towards Brian, who was sure it would be nothing he couldn’t handle.

He couldn’t be more wrong. Brian screamed, the light pierced through him without any effort at all, and his fur burned all throughout. It was so intense, his screams deafened everything else…

Until he fell to the ground, with no voice to even shout anymore.

---

All he could hear was a loud ringing, and all he could see was a blur. A white blur. Meggie? An orange blur followed; Dex.

They were screaming, shouting at the top of their lungs to try and see if he was alright. He wasn’t, but that was all they could do.

Brian didn’t move. He tried to, but it brought nothing but pain. Just the thought of getting up was too much for him.

And Necrozma? He stood there… thinking about what to do. His victory was already assured, but there was something nagging on the back of his mind. These three still had their role to fulfill in his world, and so, they deserved to be alive, at the very least.

He walked around, checking the sand, until he came across Brian’s bag, pulling out a seed from it.

“I did say the game was rigged, but… what use is a king if he has no subjects?” He threw the seed right at the three, and Meggie caught it.

Lilith sighed, rubbing her arm. And here I thought he was gonna kill ‘em. What’s going on in his mind…?

Dex snarled, twitching his tails. “Ye almost killed ‘im, an’ now ye do this?!”

Why… Did I do this? 

Not even he was sure why. Necrozma decided to ignore it—the alternative that the vessel’s willpower made him do it didn’t sit well with him. “…Even if he’s alive now, it won’t change a thing. Mortals, no matter how much they struggle, can never compare to a God. Take this as an act of kindness.”

Slowly, the seed glowed, bestowing its energy upon Brian, who woke up in cold sweat, gasping for air. Meggie instantly went to his side, hugging him as tight as she could.

“Regardless, I won. Hopefully, you all will realize my power is unbound. Fight all you want.”

He is underestimating their strength. Scar mused to himself, crossing his arms. However… I have faith. I need to trust Him if I want my beloved and my son with me.

Max didn’t know what to think or do, so he simply looked at Lilith. She was just as unsure.

“Scar. Prepare the entercard. We’re done here.”

“Yes, my Lord,” he turned to Max. “…Set the coordinates.”

“On it.” Max pulled the card out of his bag and began fiddling with it.

Better not to portal us there. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m weakened. I doubt I’ll be able to open another one. For now. Necrozma thought, and decided to wait instead, focusing his attention on his subordinates.

Brian watched it, struggling to stand up. There had to be something he could do. His eyes darted to Lilith, and to her bracelet.

“Dex… I need you to launch me at her.”

“G-Goggles. Doubt we can do much ‘ere, but…”

Meggie continued to hug him. “D-Don’t! I’m not sure we can do anything right now!”

“Just do it, Dex!”

Closing his eyes, he grabbed Brian, aimed at Lilith, and launched him with as much power as he could.

---

It all happened too fast. Brian landed on the sandy ground, right under Lilith, then blasted her with a Shadow Ball, knowing it would hardly deal any damage. She was distracted, and Brian used this opportunity to lunge and yank off the bracelet.

Or try to. Weakened, he was hardly able to stand up, nad when he did, she was back in action, kicking him in the stomach. Brian, despite the pain, pressed on, using the adrenaline rushing through him to pull it away, right as she kicked him back.

“Back off—wait…” Lilith looked at her arm, seeing he had taken it from her.

Scar was well on his way to strike, but Necrozma stopped him, extending an arm to the side. 

“N-Now… now I can fight you properly, you monster!” Just keeping his eyes open was difficult. He tried pulling the crystal out, but found out he had no strength to do it. However, Brian kept trying. “C-C’mon! Get off! I-I need… I n-need to save him!”

“Your tenacity is admirable, but pointless.” Necrozma scoffed. To prove his point, he snapped a finger. “Show them the emera.”

Max threw the looplet that belonged to Lance right in front of Meggie, chuckling as he did so.

“Now, I don’t know much about evolution, that was someone else’s job. However… I do believe this was your best shot.”

Brian looked at the bracelet, only barely holding it with his shaky hands. “S-Still… I need to try.”

He put it on, and the band clicked into place. Just putting it on made Brian’s fur poof up, and he felt stronger, just a little bit.

“Again, admirable.” Necrozma sighed. “Max, are you done? I don’t have time for this.”

Max nodded, holding the entercard in his hand. “Just say the world and I’ll pop it up!”

Meanwhile, Brian stood up. An amorphous mass of ghost energy flickered in his hand. It was about to fade.

“S-Shut up! I can still fight!”

True. Brian was still standing, somehow. Whether it was adrenaline or his own willpower, he kept his ground. 

Necrozma prepared another sphere, but chose to dissipate it instead. “…I’m going to humor you just a little bit, then. Come at me. I won’t even strike back. I want you to realize how hopeless everything is.”

“Nothing is hopeless… not until you try!” Brian charged forward, launching the sphere. Unfortunately, it dissipated before even getting close to hitting Necrozma.  

Who, in turn, let him get close. Brian resorted to punching, but the parasite dodged it, and then another punch. He didn’t need to do much, at this point, Brian was on the verge of collapsing. 

“This is impressive, for a mortal.” He blocked a punch with his hand. “But that’s all you are. A mortal. And you cannot hope to outclass me, not even in a thousand years. Therefore, this little scuffle… is over.”

He kicked the Zoroark back, not bothering with any moves.

---

And Brian fell, hitting his back on the sand. He panted, vision turning blurry again. Yet, he could still see that black blur, the thing that possessed his brother—his best friend.

“I can’t… give up now…”

Brian, once more, stood up. Once more, he tried a punch. And once more, he fell.

“Hmph.”

Meggie ran ahead to hug her boyfriend, holding on to him. Dex, on the other hand, grabbed Brian’s bag, shuffling around for an oran to heal his friend.

“Let this be a warning sign to all of you. You are all lucky I have good intentions. The world needs me—” He paused. “A God, to rule over, to make sure no more sorrow, no more wars are fought.”

Scar nodded, first to Necrozma, then to his teammates. The three walked together towards their leader.

Meggie started to cry, hugging Brian as much as she could. “Monster! A-All of you! Why do all of this? Who cares about fate?! A-All we can do is our best!”

“And sometimes, your best is not enough.” Necrozma stated, giving her a stern look. “But that’s alright. You’re only a mortal. You could never hope to achieve the same level of perfection as me.”

And she felt the need to blast him with another shard, but given the situation, that was an awful idea. Dex returned with the bag, and picked the berry in-between pants.

“We fought, an’ we fought. Again an’ again. To save Pup.” Dex shivered, feeding Brian the oran. “But now ye… ye have ‘im under yer control.”

“Tough luck.”

Necrozma closed his eyes. Just in case… checking for any signs of resistance, any voices in his head. But the only voice he heard was his own. How peaceful.

“I wouldn’t say he’s under my control. I prefer the term… enlightened. We’re one and the same now.”

“To hell with that!” Dex shouted, and the only reason he didn’t go for another attack was Brian holding him back, though weakly.

“You need light, Sir.” Scar pointed out. “…Why not get your light from them ?”

“I judge them worthy of being part of my world.” He added. After seeing Lilith approaching, likely to grab the crystal again, he shook his head. “Leave them be. Their spirits are already crushed enough.”

“Y-Yes, Sir.” Lilith then stood in place, waiting.

Brian hardly moved, grunting and groaning were the only things he could do. I promise you, Lance, I… I’m gonna save you. Just you wait.

Finally, Necrozma clapped his hands together. “Anyway! I do believe we have something on our schedule. Shall we head back to Cydonia now?”

Max cleared his throat. “Aye, aye. Everything’s ready to go. Are we leaving them here?”

“Indeed, we are.”

With another nod, Max activated the card, opening a portal that led directly to the throne room. “You first, my Lord.

Necrozma grinned, hopping inside. The others followed.

Team Liberators… was left alone.

---

Alone together. Brian only looked at his mate, enjoying how her skin, while rough, felt as she rubbed her hand on his mane.

“What’re we gonna do now…?” Dex asked no one in particular, hoping to get an answer out of at least one of the two.

And to answer, Brian had to take deep breaths. Both to calm his anxiety and to gather the strength to say anything without causing too much pain. Even if the oran was healing him, he still felt pain. Physical and emotional, as the tears demonstrated.

“Keep fighting. Against fate, against God itself… we fight . Because I want my brother back, and I’m not interested in having a piece of rock candy as a ruler.”

“That’s good, that’s good, honey.” Meggie kept rubbing Brian’s mane. “But we need a plan… and we can’t do anything from here. We gotta get out.”

“We ‘ave an escape orb inside the bag. Failsafe, I guess. And Goggles’ got the thingamajig crystal.”

Meggie sighed. “Ah, true.” 

“Lemme… activate it.” Brian slowly sat down, wincing. “We gotta think of home when using it. Doubt Bright Dawn’s our next goal, so we think of the warehouse as our home.”

“Don’t mind that, but if Pup—Lance’s gone, do ye think ol’ crystal is gonna know where we were hidin’?”

“Probably.” Brian bit a lip. “But hiding won’t help. And dad’s… I dunno where he is, but I did send some letters along the way.”

“How about this…” Meggie said, taking a pause. “…We go to Cydonia just to rest, we get another escape orb and warp to Bright Dawn. There, we regroup and… I dunno, try figuring out what to do next?”

“Not something I’m a fan of, but sounds like the only choice we got.” Brian grimaced. “Dex? What do you think?”

“I’m bad at thinkin’… so ye’ll ‘ave to do it fer me. I’m in anyway.”

“Does sound like we have at least some plan.” 

Brian wanted to lay down again, but he knew that if he did that, he would take even longer to wake up. So he grabbed the sphere instead.

“Everyone, touch it. Then we think of the warehouse. We all gotta think about it. Got it?”

The other two nodded. Brian sighed, watching them touch the orb.

Alright. Home. The warehouse where we were for the past week. That’s home, that’s home…

Dex thought as hard as he could about the warehouse, about the food they ate there, about the fight they had when Brian himself was possessed by the crystal. Meggie thought about it as well, but of when they were preparing to go to the shrines, and of course, about the company. Her boyfriend, and her teammate.

“Alright, ready? On the count of three. One… two… two and a half… and… three!”

Brian smashed the orb on the ground. The trio were enveloped in a bright flash of light… and they were gone.