Dungeon 70 – Destiny

Necrozma flapped his wings as he exited the portal, before landing on his feet and grinning. His body continued to glow in the night, and he looked up at the stars, his grin faltering for a moment. In the end, the mortals had tried to fight him anyway. Would they ever stop?

“Sire, I fail to understand…” Scar stepped out of the portal. Immediately, he was shocked to see the same forest where Necrozma was sealed. Without his prison there, the grass looked much more lively. “…Err, Sire, why this place?

“It’s where it all began. Don’t you think it would be poetic to end it here?”

“I suppose…”

The portal was still there. And from it, Lance appeared, jumping out. His ears twitched, but he wasn’t that surprised to see where he was. It was expected. “Hmph. Aren’t you the dramatic one, Necrozma?”

Brian was next, with Meggie grabbing his back. The two sighed in relief, before noticing the forest again. “Aw… I really don’t like this place.”

“Aye. Kinda a shithole, if ye ask me.” Dex whistled, taking in the view. At the very least, the ocean breeze was nice. Not that he had the time to fully appreciate it.

“…I figured.” Lastly, Lilith exited the portal, panting. “This is it, huh?”

Lance stepped forward, putting the most serious face he had. Which meant his usual one. “I remember you saying something, Necrozma. To paraphrase you, here are the stars, fighting to be free once again.”

“Bah! Don’t compare yourself to me! You’re, at most, a king! And what is a king to a God?!”

“Hmph…” Lance couldn’t help but smile. “What is a God to a non-believer?”

“Grrr… I’ll  make  you believe.”

Scar looked up at him, frowning. “Sire, please be cautious. You cannot recklessly spend energy, otherwise, even if we defeat them, we cannot save the others—”

“For your sake, Scar, you better dodge.”

Meggie could feel heat starting to rise. At the same time, Necrozma began to breathe, as deeply as he could, inhaling as much air as possible. The more he did it, the hotter it got. Did that mean—

“He’s planning to use fire! Dodge!”

Lance created a club, looking at Dex. “I need a ride! Follow me! We’re using that jet! And when we get close, throw me at him!”

“Uh… I gotcha, don’t worry, Pup!” Dex ran after Lance, coating his body in water.

Meanwhile, Necrozma unleashed a powerful roar. From his mouth, a stream of pure, hot wind was launched towards the group. Lance anticipated this and jumped, looking at his side to see Dex jumping at the same time. He grabbed the Floatzel’s paw, entering the water coating.

Lance didn’t say anything, but pointed to Necrozma’s mouth. Dex took that as a sign to keep going.

Gotcha, Pup!

Dex let out a roar of his own, advancing through the wind and, with the help of the water, helped cool down the heat wave making its way towards the others. Though he didn’t know what Lance was planning, Dex followed him anyway. He trusted the Lucario.

They continued forward, approaching Necrozma’s open snout. Dex knew they were close enough, and spun, launching Lance even further. The Lucario crossed his arms in an X shape, his claws crackling with dark energy. Even inside the heat wave, feeling his skin starting to burn, Lance didn’t give up. Aiming at Necrozma’s open mouth, Lance launched a point-blank Night Slash… inside of Necrozma.

If his previous attacks didn’t faze the behemoth, this one did. Necrozma screeched in pain, feeling the blades enter his throat, cutting through everything that stood in their way. It was painful, and he stumbled back, but kept his ground.

“You ungrateful whelp!” Necrozma yelled out, moving his wings to slap Lance, making him collide with Dex first, before they both were launched to the grassy floor.

Lance fell with a thud, but Dex’s heavy body helped make the descent bearable. The same couldn’t be said to his Floatzel friend, who groaned and shoved him out of the way.

“That was stupid, reckless and… I dunno, stupid again!” Brian came to his side, punching his brother on the top of his head. “Dumbass.”

“It caused some damage, at least.”

“Good, good, you had ten seconds of rest. And hey, that was a neat little trick, Lance. But that’s all it is; a  trick ! You don’t have  real  power!”

Necrozma’s body started glowing again. By now they knew he was preparing one of his stronger attacks. Lilith watched it, curious. She knew what his weak point was, and hitting it wouldn’t be an issue. All Lilith needed was an opportunity.

Unfortunately, she didn’t get any, as Necrozma fired rainbow-colored beams, like geysers made of pure light, that started to go their way.

“No time to waste!” Lance stood up, looking at his friends as quickly as possible. “Dodge!”

---

And dodge they did, each one moving to a different spot. Lilith had to grab on to Meggie for her part, and the two flew into the air, dodging all the beams as fast as possible. However, there were too many, and as they flew, Meggie saw two homing in on them, and dodging proved impossible; they were simply too close.

“We might need to reduce the damage! Any ideas?”

“Nope!” Lilith didn’t have any ranged attacks, or anything particularly effective against psychic attacks. And to make it worse, the beams were getting closure. Her mind worked hard to come up with something.

But she didn’t need to; a blade of darkness was launched, cutting through the beams like they were nothing. Meggie looked down, seeing Brian zigzagging around to try and take down as much of the attacks as he could.

“Thanks!”

“Don’t mention it! And it’s not over yet!”

Lance had a similar strategy, but he was getting tired. He didn’t know how to use this move until a few minutes ago, so it took a lot out of him. In fact, he wasn’t even supposed to learn it.

“Pup! Get in here! I’ve got an idea!” Dex passed by his side, surrounded by water again. He offered a paw, and Lance took it. “I’mma get as high as I can an’ spin! Ye work on slashin’ them things!”

“I, huh…” Lance didn’t want to say he was surprised, even though he was. It would hurt Dex’s feelings, and he didn’t want that. He just nodded. “Got it, let’s go!”

“Dance, mortals! Dance for me!” Necrozma continued to fire. He was fully counting on their ability to dodge the attacks, or fight back. To be honest, he was also curious. Curious to see how far they were going, how much they would push him.

Meggie continued to fly, but the weight was getting to her. “Urgh… I doubt we can stop to catch our breath…”

“Hey, Meggie? Throw me at Scar! I have some stuff to tell him!”

“Uh, right!” Meggie launched her as much as she could, the Lopunny landing with a graceful kick that cracked the earth, before jumping forward, towards Scar. I need to find his weakness! And Scar’s my best bet right now!

Scar prepared his club, blocking a punch that left the ground behind him cracked. “Hmph, daughter, must we really fight? If only you continued on the right path…”

“The right path is my own. Not yours! And unlike you, I’m not allied with a megalomaniac!”

“Perhaps he is, perhaps not. But he has results!” Scar ducked, kicking her legs and making Lilith fall. Once again, he had her at his mercy, pointing the club at her head.

“I was incredibly stupid. I… I still wished things were different, and that all the tragedies in our lives didn’t happen.”

“Hmph.” Scar pressed the club further. “Watch your tongue, child.”

“But there’s nothing we could do! Living inside that dream was just running away from it all! Can’t you see that?!”

Scar laughed, shaking his head. “I know what you are planning. It will not work.”

“Eh, worth a shot.” Lilith covered her fists with more fairy energy, punching the ground and raising a dust cloud right on Scar’s face, letting him back off. Now free, she could check how the others were doing.

First, Dex enacted his plan. By propelling himself forward, he had a better view of the beams of light. Now all that was left was count on Lance.

“Go!”

Lance was launched even further up, spinning his body. The more he did, the more blades were launched, going off in all directions and cutting down the geysers. They didn’t stand a chance. In a matter of seconds, they were gone. Finally, Dex grabbed Lance again, landing safely on the ground.

“Hah! Such tenacity… I only hoped you would be—”

“Hush!” Brian fired a Shadow Ball that landed on Necrozma’s chest, right where the crystal was. It exploded, and the dragon groaned in pain. Not just that, but the crystal started to pulse, making Necrozma groan again.

“Haven’t your parents taught you to not interrupt someone?!” Necrozma growled.

“Are you toying with them, Sire?” Scar rubbed the dust off of himself, looking up.

“Don’t lecture me, mortal.” Necrozma yelped, slapping his tail on the ground. “I was. Perhaps not anymore. It was fun, but really, trapping you all in the dream again would be pointless.”

Lance sighed, looking at his paws, bloodied and bruised. He still wasn’t used to the attack. “Everyone, I’m afraid things are going to get worse now.”

“Think so too.” Lilith jumped from her position, landing next to Dex. “What’s the plan now?”

“Keep hittin’ that bloody thing!” Dex answered.

“Climb.” Necrozma pointed at his tail. Scar climbed it, and with a swish, was launched up, landing on top of Necrozma’s head.

Necrozma roared at them, flapping his wings and lifting himself, getting into the air, as high as he could. So much that the only thing left visible was the light he produced.

That, and the multiple draconic waves that were crashing down. The pulses were relentless.

“Dex has a point. But for now?” Lance grunted. “We survive.”

---

It was in the blink of an eye—the pulses rained down like meteors, trying to hit as much of the forest as possible, and all the heretic mortals while at it. However, he really wanted them to survive, and so, didn’t fire as hard as he could.

Was this toying with them? Maybe, but they toyed with his dreams first. It made sense to give them the retribution they deserved. Scar looked down with a frown, hoping that Lilith wasn’t getting hit.

“Come! You challenge me—you interrupted my dream of a lifetime! Surely this won’t be enough to  kill  all of you! After all…”

“I need to make sure you suffer.”

And rain it did. Multiple explosions rocked the earth below, explosions raining down. For all their talk about defeating Necrozma, all the team could do was keep themselves alive.

Lance did this by grabbing Dex and Lilith and zigzagging out of the way of the explosions, feeling his heart race. Even with his increased speed from mega evolving, Lance could still smell the smoke, see the dust rising, and feel the heat. It was getting worse by the second.

“Come on, now, Lance!” Necrozma laughed, launching more projectiles.

He could sense them getting close, and Lance was having trouble figuring out where to go next. Anywhere was dangerous, the pulses could hit him at any second. It didn’t help that he had to carry extra weight.

Brian tried jumping with Meggie in his arms, but that was slowing him down too. What was going on? He had to find a way out, somewhere safe to land and relax. So far, the pulses weren’t showing any signs of stopping. How much energy did Necrozma have? Too much, that was it.

With a grunt, Brian inhaled as much air as possible, unleashing a bigger Shadow Ball, once again aiming at the crystal. Necrozma didn’t have much of a choice, and was hit by it. The attack left him roaring in pain.

“Sire, I suggest you slow down. It might force you out of this form, and we cannot allow that.”

Necrozma considered his options, and with the pulsating gem in his chest, he realized the mortals knew that it was the only weak thing about him. Without it, he’d revert back to his previous form, and lose all his precious light.

“Hush… fine, this was getting boring anyway.”

The attacks were getting weaker, for sure. Brian had to spend less time dodging them, and even less planning where to go. The quantity was still there, but the beams weren’t nearly as deadly as before.

And eventually, even the quantity was getting knocked down, from too many to count, to ten, then five, then nothing. Necrozma stopped firing.

Lance panted, dropping to his knees and letting go of his friends. His body started glowing, and the aura of mega evolution left him, turning him back to normal. He stopped at one of the few places that wasn’t left destroyed by the attacks, a small patch of land.

“That was tiring… and it’s not over yet, right?” Brian jumped to his brother’s side, turning back to normal as well. “And man, I didn’t even have the chance to use that sucking move!”

“Please don’t say that.” Meggie floated to the ground, breathing slowly. They were all tired, yes, but the fight wasn’t over. The looming glow in the sky was very much visible.

“I mean…” Brian showed the crystal. It glowed. “He hasn’t talked to me much. Or at all. I just feel things.”

Dex rubbed the back of his head. “Well, I think—”

Taking a look at the bracelet, he saw it glowing. Dex almost felt a presence near him. A strong, manly presence. The bug from before. It told him… things. A pose, and a vision of a long web appeared before him. “Wait, wait. Fuck… I think the damn bug’s makin’ me feel things too. Sayin’ something about the move.”

“Wait—that’s it!” Lilith had an epiphany, smiling. “You three have the bracelets. You can use the z-moves! They’re strong enough to knock Necrozma down a peg! We hit the crystal enough!”

“Good idea, but last time I tried…” Meggie gulped. It didn’t work, to say the least.

“It’ll work. It has to.” Lance added, looking up. Necrozma was still in the sky, allowing them a brief moment of rest. “Listen, I’ll distract him with Lilith. You three focus on attacking with those moves. If they’re strong—”

“They are.” Lilith answered.

“Then they’re our best shot. However, can we still seal him, even if we use those moves?”

Brian looked at the black crystal he held. It was glowing fiercely. Like Darkrai himself was talking to him. “They’re legends, they have a lot of energy. It’ll have to work.”

“Uh…” Meggie stopped, touching her own crystal to see if the weird-looking clown talked to her. He didn’t. However, she could sense something. Approval of their plan. “…It’s gonna work.”

“Well, I ain’t got a clue how them things are supposed to work, but I’ll try me best.” Dex tried to reassure both them and himself, even grinning, but he knew it was fake. That was a shot in the dark, but it was all they had.

“Just… focus on the move, the bug one, and on the energy you feel. Then, let that energy go. Something like that.” Brian tried explaining, wiggling his fingers. “I’ll go first, since I actually used it before.”

Just then, Necrozma swooped down, but remained airborne, looking at them with a giant grin.

“Color me surprised, you survived. How about round two? And I’d say… somewhere else.”

He opened another portal behind him, getting inside. Instantly, the team followed.

---

The first thing that came to Meggie’s mind was the heat. It was almost unbearable, and her body started doing the closest thing it could to sweat: melt. She floated off the portal, eyes almost closed, and floated to the ground, making her notice the second thing.

Sand. Lots and lots of sand. She opened her eyes, and it extended as far as she could see. There were pillars of rock around the area, and a few cacti, but for the most part, there was sand. That, and the giant dragon flying in the air in front of her, grinning at the sight.

“Hm… I fail to see the point, Sire. May I ask for an explanation?” Scar sighed, watching the others come through. Creating so many portals could be a waste of energy, but Necrozma made it clear he didn’t care. Whether that was arrogant of him, or just a display of confidence, Scar didn’t know.

“One moment.”

Lance landed on the sand, panting. He started to sweat, only now noticing how thicker his fur was after so many months without grooming it. Unfortunately, his friends were all in similar positions.

“This is just awful…” Brian, in particular, was going through it the worst out of them. His long mane made it even hotter.

“I’m hearing a lotta complaining from you two…” Lilith grumbled. She had been through worse.

“Let’s just get it over with so we can be gone, ye filthy rock!” Dex coated himself in water to cool a little, but it only lasted a few seconds. He was getting tired.

“Why bring us here anyway?” Lance asked the dragon himself.

“This is a special place, you know.” Necrozma looked around. Contrary to his words, it was just a desert. There was nothing in particular that could give it significance. “You said you saw some of my memories, Lance. Tell me, what could it mean?”

His memories? Lance thought about it. To be honest, he didn’t see everything, and a few parts involving Giratina he wished he didn’t, but none of them were the real answer.

“Is this… Necrozma, is this the village?”

“What’re you talking about…?” Brian muttered, though Lance didn’t reply. He’d just have to get the answer later.

“It was. I created a portal by thinking of it. Seems time wasn’t so kind to it.”

In a way, it still hurt him, seeing what the place had become. A barren wasteland, not even ferals populated it. He had many hopes for that village, but they were squandered, destroyed. Would it be poetic to defeat them in this very spot, that reminded him so much of the past?

It was. Necrozma started flying backwards. “But enough talk! I’m going to enjoy seeing your pitiful efforts here! Be wary of my might, for it is the last thing you’ll ever see!”

“Ah…” Scar held on as much as he could to Necrozma, watching the five start running, as fast as possible.

“Let’s roll!” As he said it, Brian transformed into his fused state, checking the pillars; if he had a way to get an impulse, he could jump on them, making it better to attack, and to use that fancy move.

Luckily, Lance had a similar idea, charging ahead and tapping the emera, a purple aura coating him as he mega evolved. “Meggie, Dex! I need you to support me and Lilith! We’re giving Brian an opening!”

“I don’t know what that means, but it’s not happening!” Necrozma flapped his wings, launching more dark blades towards them.

“On it!” Lilith bounced in the air, before falling down with a kick. It gave her enough momentum to keep going. She could try one thing, one small thing. All the pent-up frustration bubbling inside her was driving her mad. It was, in its own way, part of her strength.

“Get here, I’ll pick you up!” Meggie said, floating on Lilith’s sight.

She jumped, grabbing Meggie’s hand. The Froslass started spinning to pick up speed, before launching Lilith forward. Now with both her fists closed, she headed towards one of the pillars. Lilith unleashed all her frustration on that one pillar, splintering it into chunks of rubble that spread, some of which collided with the blades, stopping them in their tracks. Not all of them, though.

“Such an attack…” Scar grimaced. How badly was she hurt?

But they didn’t have time to waste wondering about it. Dex flew using the propulsion given by his water aura, with Lance standing on his back, both arms extending forward as a massive array of Aura Spheres was launched towards the dragon.

Unfortunately, even as they landed, they didn’t do much damage. At least, individually. Lance continued firing, letting his attacks pick up pace. Eventually, they created a medium-sized explosion on Necrozma’s stomach. That was felt, forcing him back.

---

“Keep pushing! We’re getting Brian all the time he needs!” Meggie declared, clapping her hands together and inhaling as much air as possible. She exhaled, her breath painful to Necrozma’s scales, though the attack wasn’t that strong. He still felt it, however.

“Sire, they seem to be hoping Brian will do something.” Scar said from the top of Necrozma’s head. He started looking around, eventually seeing the Zoroark jumping into a pillar and standing there, putting his goggles on. “I advise precaution.”

“They say they’ll keep pushing… I’ll just have to push back!” Necrozma raised his head, converging all his energy into his mouth, and launched another pulse towards the five.

“We’ll keep—keep pushing!” Lance shouted, running towards the pulse. He had to give Brian time. More time than possible. Not that he thought of what was possible or not.

Before Meggie could go to help him, Dex jumped ahead, his feet sinking in the sand. However, he was prepared. With a crack of his knuckles, he roared, fists glowing red.

“I got yer back, Pup! Popsicle, Carrots, go! Keep pushin’!”

“On it!” Meggie grabbed Lilith, pulling her up. “C’mon, let ’em handle it!”

“No other option…” Lilith checked the pillar Brian was standing on. He wasn’t moving, but his body glowed, and she knew he was preparing the attack. They just needed more time.

Lance didn’t know what Dex was planning, but the pulse was getting there. He took a deep breath, focusing his energy on his fists. They had a metallic tint to them, and the power of a meteor. Now all Lance had to do was… mash.

The pulse was near them, ready to destroy anything in its path. But the two had other plans. Lance started punching the wave as soon as it was close enough, moving his fists at an incredible, perhaps extreme, speed. He combined that effort with a signature move of his species to make it more powerful.

“Break through it!” Dex did a similar thing, unleashing a flurry of punches, each one faster than the previous one, so much so that his arms were getting numb. He didn’t care, they were defeating that pulse! “ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA!”

He’s getting too into it… Lance chuckled to himself, continuing the punches. He didn’t even feel his arms anymore, focusing all his strength in punching the attack away, until Necrozma felt like canceling it.

“Impossible… how are they doing this?!” Scar questioned, followed by a snarl. They were just mortals, much like him. How were they pushing Necrozma this far?

“Push!” Dexter screamed, punching more and more. He could faintly smell blood coming off of his fists, but that didn’t stop him.

“Almost…” Brian muttered to himself, putting his claws forward. The aura surrounding him moved to his claws, and he started to chuckle to himself. It wasn’t done, not yet.

At the ground, the Floatzel and Lucario duo continued to push, much to Necrozma’s delight. His grin got wider, while the pulse got weaker… and dissipated. Necrozma flapped his wings, laughing.

“Impressive, I have to say! But that’s simply not enough to save this world! Your methods will  never  bring true peace! Have you ever thought about that?!”

“Can’t say I ever did!” Dex fell to his knees, groaning. He didn’t dare look at his arms, knowing it wouldn’t be anything good. The talk about peace was out of his league, but he still had to give his opinion. “All I know is that yer idea o’ peace is crappy as hell!”

Lilith let go of Meggie and landed on her feet, the Froslass following.

“I’m with Dex here, it’s a shitty idea.” Lilith said.

“Hmph… I don’t think you’d ever understand.” Lance rubbed sweat off of his face.

“Sire, ignore them. Those are simply ideas coming from mortals. Mine, however, will help. Deal with Brian!” Scar pointed to the pillar.

“Megs! Distraction, now!” Brian shouted from afar, jumping as much as he could.

Necrozma was attentive, seeing the Zoroark slowly approaching. More importantly, the energy he held. Brian clapped his hands together, joining the energy from his claws into a small, black-and-red sphere that increased in size in the span of a second. Then, it compressed, leaving a small sphere.

“Now!” Lance screamed, his arm wrapped around Dex’s shoulder.

“Take this, you son of a bitch!” Brian shouted. The sphere he held was unstable, constantly fluctuating its size, going from small to big, then to small again, and the cycle continued. He fired it towards Necrozma.

However, their plan failed. Necrozma moved an arm to his head, grabbing Scar…

“S-Sire?”

“You were right. I  should  deal with it.”

And launching him at Brian’s attack, making Scar the main focus of it. The sphere collided with him, and he was sucked into it, before the orb collapsed again, seemingly disappearing.

“Dad?! Dad!” Lilith cried out, running ahead. She had no logical reason to go pursue him, to see what was about to happen. Unfortunately, her thought process wasn’t logical.

From where the sphere disappeared, it appeared again, increasing its size to three—no, four—no, five times the original size, exploding in a shower of black and red particles. It was so bright that everyone but Necrozma was forced to cover their faces.

From the shower, Scar fell, his eyes closed, his body bleeding ectoplasm, and his breath, raspy. He fell on the sand and didn’t move anymore; was he…?

“Dad!” Lilith ran towards him as fast as she could, getting on her knees next to him and checking his pulse. It was weak, but still there. Luckily, Brian didn’t shoot to kill, probably because he knew he couldn’t actually kill Necrozma.

“Son of a…” Brian looked at Lilith, knowing she wouldn’t even get close to him right now, her mind clouded with too many thoughts. “I-I’m sorry.”

“Dad…” Lilith continued close to Scar, pressing her paws on his chest to try and wake him up. “He’s alive. I know he’s alive, but—”

“How sad. Anyway!” Necrozma landed on the ground again, smiling. “Does that show how hopelessly outmatched you five are?!”

Lance pressed his headband tighter inside, shaking his head. “No. This changes nothing, Necrozma. He’s alive, and so are we. We’ll defeat and seal you.”

“Still insisting on that…?” Necrozma gasped. He knew they were resisting, full of tenacity. But it was going to be their downfall.

“Until the end…” Dex grinned, but the truth was that he could hardly stand anymore. If he could take a few minutes to rest, then maybe.

“…”

Necrozma opened another portal, one behind him, leading back to Cydonia. “Very well. No more playing around, then. I know I must get rid of you all.”

There wasn’t much of a choice, especially after Necrozma entered the portal. They were forced to follow, with Lilith in particular carrying her father in her arms.

---

They were back at that place again, at the ruined stage Scar built. Necrozma was, once again, the first to leave the portal, flying above the ground and waiting for them.

“I thought defeating us on the island was “poetic”. Perhaps not.” Lance said, leaving the portal, slowly. His arms were still numb, but he couldn’t let that show. His body was coated in a purple aura again, and he returned to normal.

“Perhaps it was, but I’d like to see your final stand against me.” Necrozma closed his eyes. His aura started flaring again, but now, even the crystal in his chest was glowing, gleaming with energy. It was such a sudden increase in energy that Lance fell to his knees, panting.

“Of course, with this next attack, this island won’t even exist anymore.”

“Fuck,” was all Dex said. Could they prevent it from happening? It was obvious they would try, but actually accomplishing it?

“D-Don’t worry!” Brian seemed a little more confident, but not by much. He was sweating with fear, or perhaps the heat from the desert didn’t leave him entirely.

Lilith was last, sitting with her father by her side. She checked his pulse again, and though the injuries looked bad, he still had one. With a sigh of relief, she decided to remain there. “We…”

“We got it.” Meggie said, floating to Lilith’s side and holding her arm. “I’m sorry, our plan failed, he’s really hurt, and Now Necrozma’s planning on… I dunno, something bad. Worse.”

“I-I know!” Lilith said, putting her head on Scar’s chest to hear his breathing. It was slow and unstable, but definitely there. Why was she caring so much? He was allied with Necrozma; she wasn’t. They were enemies. Yet, she wanted him to be okay. Was her decision the wrong one after all?

“Calm down.” Lance said that not just to his friends, but to himself as well. Keeping calm and collected during this was essential. He slowly stood up, thinking. About what he saw in Necrozma’s memories, about what he knew, about everything. What was Necrozma planning?

I need to find out. He’s not invincible, that’s certain. Lance gulped, feeling a drop of sweat fall. What’s this attack? Why is his energy increasing? Is he planning on using it all? Think… Lance, think of what Scar said, to not waste energy. Is he doing that?

Brian trembled, watching Necrozma slowly float upwards. “Uh, Shorty? Whatever you’re doing, do it faster! I don’t like where this is going!”

“Pup! We’re all countin’ on ye! Think!” Dex snapped a finger in front of Lance’s face to bring him back.

“I know, I know! I’m working on it!”

“Work all you like, I’ve had about enough of you. If I need to use it all here… I will.” Necrozma was higher than before at this point, and his entire body was coated with a purple aura that slowly turned golden.

Use it all… Lance repeated it in his head. He must be planning one final attack, something that uses a lot of energy—

Then it hit him: Necrozma was planning on using the same type of move as Brian did: a Z-move. Except his version was different, and potentially—no, it was fatal, for sure. Not to mention Necroma was better at it, and being a proper legend, the devastation would be unprecedented.

“He’s planning on blowing us all up with that attack.” Lance said. “And we need to find a way to stop it.”

“Stop it?! Hah! I can’t even laugh at this!” Necrozma only grinned, his light burning ever brighter.

Lance didn’t know what this move was, for sure, but for some reason, he felt as if that light of destruction could scorch heaven itself. It was visible, too. The longer Necrozma charged the attack, the more the earth shook. They saw specks of rubble start to float in the air, before dissipating, evaporating into nothing. Not just that, but everything started to get dark. Or perhaps, Necrozma was simply glowing so much that everything looked dark in comparison to him.

Everything was shaking. Thunder clapped in the distance, but Necrozma’s booming voice was far louder. It reverberated in the air, far and wide. It was almost as if he was talking with the entire world. Even his presence was intimidating, and the team started asking themselves how they were able to keep standing.

All except for Lance. Down to Lance’s very core, everything hurt—everything was loud, from his friends insisting on him to create a plan, to the sizzling of Necrozma’s aura, to the dragon’s voice. It was too much to bear. His breath turned raspy as well, and fast too. Lance’s chest raised and lowered with his breathing. He trembled, not really being able to focus on anything.

I-I’m having… I’m having a panic attack? Now? Lance closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. In… and out. In… and out. He was fine, the panic wouldn’t kill him. It was an easy way out of the attack, but not easy enough for him to believe it. Lance tried to focus on the rational side of things, knowing that instead of being worried about the irrational, Necrozma’s attack would surely kill him.

Not just him, but all his friends, and everyone in the kingdom. Because of his fear, they would be gone, and Lance couldn’t allow that. He panted, grabbing his knee. Trembling, Lance stood up, using all he could to keep himself up. With a clenched fist, he was ready.

“We’re… everyone, listen up. We’re stopping it. Whatever he’s planning, we’ll stop it.” Lance told both them and himself. Maybe that way he could believe it.

---

 

“By all means, just try and stop it!” Necrozma laughed, the aura surrounding him moving to the front of his face, forming into a small sphere. However, it wasn’t safe to be hit by it.

Surrounding him were sparks of light that, every once in a while, fizzled out, hitting the buildings nearby and tearing them into bits. Necrozma didn’t care. His aura was wild, unkempt, ready to destroy them.

Lance could feel it all. Not just him, but his friends as well. The pressure of Necrozma’s attack was bringing them all to their knees. Even the earth was shaking, such was his strength. With this attack, he’d win. Necrozma knew it, Lance knew it, they all knew it. Even with all their combined efforts, could they stop that thing?

“Uh, Pup, what should we do?! We can’t just stand around, doin’ nothing!”

Brian gulped, Meggie started hugging him, and he hugged her back. His energy was almost depleted by now, and to be honest, Brian wasn’t sure how he was still awake. All he could do was count on his brother’s ability to formulate a plan, any plan that would save them.

“I-If this is the end…” Meggie held tighter.

“…Our destiny is ours.” Lance said. To his friends, to Necrozma, but most of all, to himself. Whatever might happen, Lance decided it by himself. If this was their final shot at stopping Necrozma, then he’d do everything in his power, and then some. I’m not even sure we can do it…

Without hope.

Nobody’s here to watch this…

Without witness.

…And even if we win, the citizens will hate us.

Without reward. Just the way a true hero would be like. Not that Lance considered himself one. Not ever.

“No. Your destinies—and your lives, they all end today.” Necrozma said, flying even higher. He raised his head, and the sphere alongside it. It was golden, glowing with such an intensity like the sun itself. Then, it began to grow. It was expanding, first, slowly, but as the seconds passed, the growth accelerated, more and more. By the end, the sphere was so large it covered a big chunk of the sky.

“Just so you know, I’ll have my way. When you’re gone, I’ll save them again—you  will  fail. There is no escape from your fates.”

“I…” Lance looked at the sky; at the glowing ball of destruction. At that light that burned through the skies themselves. Giving up would be so, so easy—

Someone slapped his face.

“Don’t, Pup.” Dex said, his hand on Lance’s face. “Doesn’t fit ye. Besides, yer smart. Ye can figure somethin’ out.”

Amidst the constant sparks of light destroying the city, Lance could hear Necrozma’s attack charging, the citizens screaming, running, doing everything they could to stop whatever Necrozma was planning. They didn’t give up, neither did his friends. Dex wanted him to keep trying. Brian too, so did Meggie. Even Lilith was pleading for him to try. None of them wanted to die.

And they wouldn’t. Lance knew it; he knew he had to try. He wasn’t panicking anymore, and not willing to stop fighting. Not yet. All he needed to do was think, come up with a plan like he always did.

Right, that thing is near his mouth. It’s strong enough to level this island, but there must be something we can do. Not block it, not dodge it, something else. Something…

“Meggie, Dex, I have an idea. If it works, great!” Lance stood up, tapping the emera one more time. He mega evolved. “If it doesn’t… I’m happy to have met you all.”

“You still want to try?” Lilith asked. She didn’t leave her father’s side. “I… I wanna help too, what do you need me for?”

Brian raised his arm. “I’m assuming I’m part of it too?”

“Basically, yes.” Lance created an Aura Sphere in his right paw. “Meggie, Dex, I need you two to use the z-moves you have access to. Hold him off as long as possible.”

He glanced at Lilith. “I need you to throw us as hard as you can, we’re reaching Necrozma’s face.”

Meggie nodded, adjusting the bracelet. “Gotcha!”

“What’re ye doin’ when ye get there, Pup?”

Lance closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He could hear all the citizens trying to run, he could hear his own heartbeat, as well as his friends’. By now, only the adrenaline was enough to keep their bodies moving. If they stopped—if they faltered, it would all be over. They only had one chance at this. There was no time for messing things up.

“We’re redirecting that thing.” Lance said, opening his eyes. “We might not be able to take a hit, or even dodge it, but we can send it elsewhere. Somewhere it won’t hurt anyone. Like, let’s say, the sea.”

Necrozma continued charging, putting as much of himself as he could. The sphere kept growing, reaching a humongous size. Then, it started shrinking. Sparks flew to the sides as the sphere was compressed, shrinking to a size that, while small compared to Necrozma, was still larger than all of them.

“I don’t know what any of you are planning, but go ahead! Do your  worst !”

---

“Go!” Meggie shouted, before she raised herself, levitating once more. She lifted her right arm and focused all she could on the bracelet, on the energy within that crystal. It called her, resonated with her, wanting to be free. To pop open like a balloon, something she assumed was because of that weird clown. Multiple shadowy hands materialized next to her, and she controlled them, making them grab Necrozma’s right side.

“Hm?! You pests!” Necrozma moved his arm to try and escape, but once that stopped working, he tried with his free arm.

It wouldn’t be free for much longer, as Dex concentrated as well. His body was surrounded by a dark green glow and he shot out a giant web from his mouth, wrapping it around Necrozma’s other arm.

“Imbeciles! What are you trying to accomplish?!”

Lance started running, with Brian by his side. They both dodged many sparks of light, making their way towards Necrozma. Meanwhile, Lilith ran too, keeping up with the two, but gave a quick glance at her father, just to make sure he was alright. She clasped her paws together, and continued to run.

“Jump here! I’ll launch you two at him!”

Lance backflipped, jumping on Lilith’s paws. She lowered them, before raising them, launching Lance far away, towards Necrozma. Next, Brian did the same thing, being thrown the same way as his sibling.

“Hah! Tenacious as always, mortals!”

Necrozma continued to charge, even as the siblings landed on his left arm. It was paralyzed due to the web, but he still felt their presence. He couldn’t move enough to cast another Night Slash, however.

“We need to be precise, Brian!” Lance said, climbing the arm. “Maybe we can combine our attacks again!”

“Uh, you sure we can keep slashing? You’re not used to it—”

“Not that!” Lance extended his arm to the side, creating another Aura Sphere. “Combine it with your Shadow Ball! We can do this!”

Brian extended his left arm, creating a Shadow Ball and touching Lance’s. The two attacks clashed, before combining into one single sphere that was unstable, like it was about to burst.

“You can’t!” Necrozma roared again, his voice shaking the earth Lilith stood on.

“C’mon, guys! Hit him!” Meggie cried out, creating more arms. Necrozma’s resistance was taking its toll, and her movements slowed down a little, focused on suppressing him for as long as possible.

“Mmmf!” Dex said, his mouth filled with so many webs he didn’t say anything coherent.

“Bah!” Necrozma continued to resist the web and the hands holding him down, shaking both of his arms, but the one where the twins were was shook the most. “Get off of me, mortals!”

“You get off our world!” Brian shouted, aiming together with Lance. The two let their attacks hit Necrozma’s neck at full force, creating an incredible, bright glow of purple and black that pushed the dragon’s skin.

“U-UWORGH!” Necrozma roared again, but this time, it was due to pain. The attack clashed against his skin, grazing it and even going as far as removing a few of his scales.

“You’re almost there, keep going!” Meggie cheered them on, but she was at her limit. The hands started dissipating, and as much as she tried to replenish them, it just wasn’t enough.

“D-DO YOU  SERIOUSLY  THINK SUCH AN ATTACK WILL AFFECT  ME ?! I AM A  GOD ! I WILL NOT BE DENIED BY  MORTALS !”

“…You sound like a child throwing a tantrum.” Lance sighed, before roaring and pushing the attack forward, along with Brian. Their pressure was getting higher, as was the glow the attack produced.

Little by little, Necrozma’s face was being shifted, to look elsewhere; towards the ocean. The dragon watched this with his eyes widening like never before in his life. It was impossible to believe.

“Go, Pup, Goggles!”

Lilith trembled, closing her eyes. “Go!”

“N-No! No! You cannot—”

It finally snapped, and Necrozma screamed, unleashing the attack. The sphere near his mouth was propelled at such an incredible speed that anyone blinking would miss it. It flew away from Cydonia, more than the twins thought it would, and finally…

The sphere exploded in the ocean, creating a massive pillar of golden light that could be seen despite the enormous distance between them, raising a column of water on the surrounding area.

Necrozma didn’t move. He didn’t say anything, move, or even breathe. His gaze was solely on where the attack landed. His strongest attack, a move capable of vaporizing them all…

Gone, defeated by two children, two mortals that could never compare to him. They were a thorn on his feet ever since he left that prison. Mortals that he failed to kill before, due to his own mercy.

Have I underestimated them…? No, it can’t be. They’re not—they shouldn’t—HOW? How did they…? I shouldn’t have lost! I should have finished them long ago! Why did I bother giving them a chance? I failed, yet again, and it’s my—no, I’m not at fault. I can’t be… I just  can’t  be at fault here!

Their attack was still going, however, and Necrozma moved his eyes down to look at it. He tried to increase his aura again, but found it impossible to do it. Too much energy was spent, and he had little left.

“You fools…” Necrozma muttered, though even a mutter was loud enough for them to hear. “FOOLS!”

Another roar shook the skies and sent both Brian and Lance back to the ground, while the restraints holding him back disappeared, Dex and Meggie falling to their knees.

“Fuckin’ hell… I didn’t know that took so much outta me.”

Meggie caught Brian and hugged him, panting. “Never ask me to do that again. Too tired…”

“F-Focus!” Lance fell on his back with a groan, before he stood up. He couldn’t feel either his arms or legs, nor his tail. But it wasn’t over. It was close, but not yet. First, he checked Necrozma. The dragon’s aura was definitely weaker, a lot less intimidating than before. Could they defeat him now?

---

Regardless, Necrozma didn’t wait for an answer this time. He roared again, fixating his gaze on them. His tail raised, before stomping the ground.

“I’m… I’m just done. Very well,  mortals . You pushed me to my absolute limit.”

“This is—” Lance closed his eyes, breathing deeply. Necrozma’s aura was still a little intimidating, but comparing that to when they started the fight, Lance felt they actually had a chance now. If they acted fast. “This is our only chance. We need to go, now! Brian, we’re taking that crystal off!”

“Y-Yeah, on it!” Brian started running, and Lance did the same.

“You think I’m defeated because you made me waste that much power?! No! I can still fight!” Necrozma lowered his head backwards and unleashed another pulse towards them.

However, Meggie caught Brian, and Dex, Lance. They moved out of the way just in time, before letting the siblings go on their way.

“We’re doing this together!” Meggie shouted, flying as fast as she could.

“All o’ us!”

Lilith was left behind. She watched them go, impressed with their effort, their tenacity, and their willpower to keep fighting. Especially now that they were so close to winning.

“Go! You guys can do it!”

“Just try me!” Necrozma shot another pulse, but it was weak and frail, dissipating before even hitting them, so the team continued on.

Meggie, while in the sky, unleashed another cold breath. Unlike her previous attempts, this one caused Necrozma to scream in pain, backing off a few steps.

“Keep going!” Dex was next, spinning his body while another water coat wrapped him. He headbutted Necrozma’s stomach, and while the attack was weaker than before, it still made the dragon wince, though Necrozma swatted him away with an arm not long after.

“ Stop  and let me save the world! I’ll change it! I’ll make it better! WHY CAN’T YOU  UNDERSTAND ?!”

Again with the tantrum… Lance jumped, firing two Aura Spheres directly at Necrozma. He didn’t feel much pain, mostly just annoyance, and heat rose on the dragon’s body.

A powerful heat wave was unleashed, hitting both Lance and Meggie harder than it did with the others. However, despite the pain, they all continued running.

“Why?! Why are you trying so hard?! Where does that strength come from?!”

Not that Lance knew the answer himself. His body moved on its own, trying to protect his world, his home. It was as good a reason as any, and it was the one he picked.

“Because… I have loved ones here! I’m not giving them up to live a fantasy!” Meggie shouted, despite the burns in her, she breathed more cold air, and Necrozma winced once more.

“We’ll have our own dreams! Our own future! You don’t get to decide it!” Brian roared, launching two dark blades towards Necrozma. The impact left a small wound and a few of his scales fell down.

“There’s only one team that can stop ye, an’ that’s us!” Dex said, dodging another draconic pulse by jumping over it.

“Fools! Incompetent mortals! You’re not saving anyone!” Necrozma closed his eyes and roared one more time, photonic beams erupting from his body in a desperate attempt to hit all of them. However, the attacks weren’t directed at anyone, firing randomly. This made them easy to dodge.

“Pup! I’m throwin’ ye!” Dex clasped his hands together like a fist, and Lance jumped at it, before Dex launched him, much like Lilith had done earlier.

“Brian! Your turn! Go get ’em!” Meggie lowered enough to grab Brian’s paw, before spinning and letting go of him.

The brothers advanced together, side by side. Lance created another Aura Sphere in his right arm. In response, Brian created a Shadow Ball on his left. Their attacks combined once more, into an unstable mass of energy.

Lilith clenched her fist on the ground, grabbing a bit of dirt. She took a deep breath and screamed. “Y’all got this! Take him down!”

“A-As if…” Necrozma felt a single drop of sweat form on him. Was he afraid? Of mortals? No. It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be true. “Grrr! You’re all dying today!”

But they clashed. Lance and Brian, both holding the attack, hit the crystal on Necrozma’s chest. The object that held his power together, that granted him that dragon form. They attacked it, fully intent on pressuring the thing to come off.

It didn’t. However, the attack did hurt Necrozma. Striking at that particular spot made the dragon unleash a mighty scream of pain and stumble back, trembling all over.

“I-I will not… I WILL NOT LOSE TO MORTALS!” Necrozma lowered his head, slowly, because he didn’t have the strength to do it any faster. He raised his left arm, and it crackled with black aura. “You’re both—”

“Not on my watch!” Meggie appeared on his left side, both her fists coated with ectoplasm. She started punching as fast as possible, screaming.

Meggie punched and punched, never letting go, never slowing down. It was just enough to distract him, as Necrozma had to keep spending energy using his geyser attack to slow her.

“Don’t ye forget about me, crystal bastard!”

From the right side, Dex came, his body surrounded by water. He was also punching repeatedly, his arms barely visible from how fast he was going.

“N-No…” Necrozma tried to suppress all the attacks, from left to right, and even beneath him. But they were getting to him. He didn’t have energy to finish this. Not enough of it, anyway.

With so much pressure, the z-crystal started being pushed up, Necrozma’s skin attached to it, but ripping all the same. It wasn’t off yet, but close. Very close.

“I won’t ever stop believing in my friends! Our bonds will pull through! They’ll break through the hardest of crystals!” Lance said, pressing even more. His arm was starting to crack from the pressure, and his bones were snapping as well. Still, he had to keep going.

“This is the end!” Brian shouted, doing the same thing as his brother did. The effects were also the same, and his arm trembled, bones cracking, snapping and popping.

“We’re the masters of our own fate!” Meggie declared, still punching. She was slowing down, but at this point, did it really matter?

“I can’t let some bunch o’ crystals try to control me!”

“I-I won’t… I, a legend, an immortal God. I can’t… I can’t be losing… not to…!”

Necrozma screamed, and their attacks finally connected, the crystal finally pushed out of his body, just inches above the brothers’ paws. It floated in the air, taunting them, begging to be caught. If Necrozma got it again, then the effort would all be for nothing.

“T-They…” Lilith watched it in awe, open mouth and all. “They actually did it…”

“N-Now…” Lance caught it, holding on to it tightly. At the same time, Necrozma’s body started to release beams of light, but they weren’t attacks.

No, they were out of his control. Light itself was leaving him, and with it, the rest of his energy. It was all seeping through like a leak.

“N-No…! No! I refuse! I refuse!” Necrozma tried to control the light, trying to keep it together, and even stopped the assault on Meggie and Dex. He trembled, opening his mouth like he was about to throw up.

And a burst of light illuminated the entire area, sending everyone back with a powerful shock, all while Necrozma screamed.

---

…

…

…

Lance opened his eyes, his eyes staring at the sky above him. Though his gaze was there, his vision was blurry, too blurry, and he didn’t see any stars. It was just a black sky all around. Lance also realized his body didn’t move, and that he didn’t feel it. Nothing, in fact.

Is this… the end? Is this my redemption? Have I finally atoned for my sins? Pity. I thought there would be stars.

Slowly, his vision returned, and he looked down to see he was at the ground, near the rubble. However, everything else was still numb. Lance tried moving, but despite his internal effort to do so, his body didn’t respond. His breath returned, and his chest raised, Lance inhaled air, and then, his chest lowered, exhaling the air he took in.

What…? I’m alive…? How…?

As it turned out, he wasn’t alone. Lance could hear grunts coming from all around him. Though his positioning didn’t help, Lance saw a large golden glow that was enough to cover his vision.

“Urgh… Shorty, you there? I can’t feel anything. Like…”

“Worst hangover ever.” Dex added. He was on the ground as well, coughing.

“We’re okay! I think…” Meggie whispered.

“I don’t think it’s over…” Lance panted, trying to move. His arms didn’t respond, but his legs did, and he sat down. “…Still need to seal him again.”

“We’ll do that.” Another voice. Lilith. She ran towards them, before catching her breath. “Brian, Meggie, Dex. You three need to use the z-crystals again. Do you have the energy for it?”

Brian considered what he could do. His body wasn’t answering to his commands. However, that wasn’t the time for it. He needed to act, and fast. With that in mind, he forced himself to stand up, taking strength from places he didn’t even know he had. “We’ll manage, I think.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it—and I hate that sentence now.” Meggie stuck out her tongue. Taking the conscious effort to levitate was too much, so she held on to Brian and slowly raised herself, using his arm as balance.

Dex was the last one, lazily raising his arm. He didn’t take too long to stand, unlike the others. “Aye, aye, we can do it.”

Right, the crystal. Lance still felt Necrozma’s in his paw, and looked at it; it was closed, still grabbing the object. He stood up, barely, trembling as he approached the hole. “I’ll keep an eye out.”

“Ah…” Necrozma cried out from inside the hole. His body was cracked, and he wasn’t a dragon anymore; he was back at his usual form. The cracks were spread all around him, and he could hardly stand, let alone raise his head. “How did this… I’m supposed to be a savior, how did this happen?”

Lance sighed, looking to the side. “We’re mirrors, you and I. That is why I could understand it all. Your fears, your pain, I’ve seen it all in me. And I knew I could defeat you. We’re the same.”

“We’re not—I am  not  a mortal! Don’t compare yourself to me!”

Then, Lance looked up. “I can’t deny it, I almost wondered if I would ever be able to stop you, and I wanted my body back. Yet, here we are. You lost, Necrozma. That is the truth.”

Brian’s ears twitched, and he smiled. “We did it all together! That’s where our strength lies!”

“Even so, this world is still broken. Can you look me in the eyes and say you’ll fix it? With those bonds of yours.”

“…No.” Meggie answered. She shook her head. “I doubt we can fix everything.”

“Only thing we can do is our best. I don’t think ye realized that.”

Necrozma clawed at the dirt beneath him, snarling. Despite his efforts, his body was too broken to do anything; all their attacks had a toll, a bigger one than he wanted to imagine. With enough effort, he raised his head—which was more like half his body—to look at the mortals that defied him. In the distance, he saw a single green flame.

“Seal him already! I’m gonna watch over this place—” Lilith looked behind her, where she left her father’s unconscious body. To her shock, it was gone. “Uh, guys? I—”

Scar appeared on her side, his body coated in flames, punching her to the ground, and then flicked his arm. “Pathetic… Sire, let me handle them. One last time.”

“Is… Scar, is that you? F-Finish them!”

Scar moved his club around, lunging in towards Meggie. However, Lance stepped in at the last second, clashing against Scar’s bone weapon with one of his own, made of aura.

“I’m s-sorry, mentor, but we’re not losing just yet!” Lance glanced back. “Start it! I’ll hold him off!”

“You will do no such thing! I need them back! I need my family back!” Scar’s flames burned brighter, but Lance wasn’t fazed by any of it.

“Like I said, I’m sorry.” Lance shouted, putting more pressure. A crack was heard, and Scar’s club was split in half.

Brian frowned, raising his arm. The crystal started glowing. Dex and Meggie did the same, and so, their crystals glowed as well. All of their bodies were enveloped by the crystal’s energy, sending a beam towards the hole. A crystal materialized, forming around Necrozma.

“NO! The light is  mine ! I’m this world’s  savior ! It cannot end like this!”

“S-Sire!” Scar jumped, focusing all the fire in one arm, and punched right on Lance’s eye, burning it and forcing the Lucario back. He fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

“Gah!” Lance didn’t attack anymore, simply covering where he could feel the burning. With only one eye to look out for, he couldn’t do much.

Lilith groaned, recovering from the attack, just in time to see Scar trying to attack the others. At that moment, everything slowed down, and she knew it was time to make a judgment call. Would she side with team Liberators, or her father? She was the closest one, one kick and Scar would be knocked out again.

But who was to say he wouldn’t escape again? As hard as it was to make this decision, Lilith made it all on her own. She jumped, landing one final fairy-energized punch on Scar’s stomach, launching him towards the hole.

“Lilith…” Lance muttered, not having the energy to do much more.

“Uh, Lilith?” Brian asked her, confused.

“Do it.” Lilith said, looking at them.

With a nod of approval, Brian and the others continued to work on the seal.

“Daughter?!” Scar asked, falling down to the hole, rolling until he was right next to Necrozma.

Necrozma himself was paralyzed, seeing the crystal prison forming around him and Scar. He looked up, raising an arm, as if trying to touch heaven.

“Have I made the wrong choice… after all?”

Scar tried to escape the prison, but the energy kept him tethered to it, and he screamed in pain, reaching out an arm to try and escape one last time.

She introduced me to them! If that was not the case… would things have been different?

A flash appeared, and the seal was done. Another prison had appeared, with Necrozma and Scar trapped inside of it. In fact, Scar’s arm could still be seen, but the crystal covered it.

“W-We did it!” Brian fell on the ground, his exhaustion catching up to him. “W-We finally did it!”

“I can’t believe it’s over…” Meggie grimaced, falling on top of Brian.

Dex just chuckled at them, then glanced at Lance, giving him a thumbs up before passing out.

Lance knew it wasn’t the best of solutions, and that things were still a mess. His sins weren’t atoned just yet, and he still had work to do. That was something he would do, of course.

He looked up again, to see what his world was like. There were stars.

“It’s… over.”