Chapter 48: Trial by Fire-Type

The transformation they called mega evolution is possible in my new home, too. I guess it truly is a facet of nature, woven into the universe itself. I had to get involved to stop a few transformed charizard and blastoise from tearing each other apart. They were quite formidable, but even with their transformations I could see the fear in their eyes when I rained a Prismatic Laser on them from above.

It’s frustrating. I want to keep this world safe and to do so, I need to keep my power in check. But what else am I supposed to do? Let these berserk pokémon go on rampages?

I guess all those years in isolated meditation couldn’t quell my own violent tendencies.

I’ll look back through my notes. I think the Overseers had a means of helping pokémon control the transformations.

Oh, right, one other thing. Even when I knocked them out, the charizard stayed the same. Blackened scales, jagged wings, and blue flames trickling out of their mouths. Their souls still brimmed with dragon energy. This is not the same as Earth. Something’s definitely wrong.

… Did my light do this? Did I screw this up?

When Noctum thought of mountains, he thought of the bulky ones back in Aeon. Some ending in volcanic mouths and others having jagged, ashen peaks that pierced the smog-filled skies. Neither of these applied to Mt. Osohi. With its slender base and rock outcroppings spiraling around it, Noctum thought it closer to a giant paper towel roll than a proper mountain.

Perhaps he focused so hard on it in an attempt at ignoring the massive ravine that surrounded the mountain’s base.

“Jeez, how deep does this fissure go?” Nikki was propped against a barren tree, tossing a pebble to herself. “All I see is smoke and dust down there.” She tossed the pebble into the abyss, then leaned over, waiting to hear some sort of impact.

Nothing happened. Noctum’s wings instinctively opened, as if he needed to take off at a moment’s notice. The monks came to such an unsafe place regularly?

“Why do you think this is the Gauntlet of Peril and/or Doom?” Archie laughed as he hopped over to a stone archway with a dusty gemstone in the middle. “If you can’t push yourself to get through peril, then you’ll meet your doom! Fwahaha!”

Maxie flicked the side of Archie’s head. “Can the theatrics.”

“Killjoy,” Archie grumbled, rubbing the spot Maxie flicked.

“Someone has to keep you in line,” the purple typhlosion scoffed. “Anyway, are you three ready to proceed?”

Proceed with what? Noctum hoped Maxie would explain how this worked.

“Are we supposed to scale this thing?” Valkyrie stood beside the mountain base. She tapped the rock with her claw. “I guess it’s firm enough for me to climb.” She shot Noctum a stink eye. “But that lug’s got wings. He’d get up there in a matter of minutes.”

A smirk tugged at Maxie’s lips. “Yes, you’re climbing up the mountain. But scaling it that way won’t work.” He gestured to the archway behind him. “You have to follow the arches. They’ll guide you.”

Nikki pushed herself off the tree, scowling. “You mean the arch that leads right into the ravine?” She casually approached it. “Oh, yeah, sure, just walk right off this cliff here. That’ll get you up the mountain no problem.” She whirled on Maxie, mohawk sparking. “What am I, an idiot?”

The look in Maxie’s eyes said he thought so. “Oh ye of little faith.” He nudged his goggles up. “The gauntlet asks you to push past your basic instincts to achieve a greater power.”

Well, Noctum’s instincts told him to stay far away from the arch. The charizard wasn’t about to ignore them. He shuffled across the dusty ground.

“Oh no you don’t!”

“Gah!” Startled, Noctum’s tail flame fwooshed. Archie’s jagged horn sat centimeters from his shoulder.

“You’re the scamp who needs this the most. Don’t go running off on us,” the samurott scoffed.

Noctum approached the arch, fidgeting nervously.

“What are you scared about?” Valkyrie scoffed. “You can fly.”

True. Yet Noctum had a sneaking suspicion it wasn’t that simple.

“Well then? You’re burning daylight.” Maxie approached the arch. He pressed his right hand on it and the stone in his goggles shimmered with multicolored light. The entire arch glowed turquoise. In the blink of an eye, floating turquoise platforms appeared over the ravine.

“What the—” Noctum’s Malice Crystal flickered.

“Kinda freaky.” Nikki scratched her head.

“Better get moving. You scamps are on a timer!” Archie declared. Noctum looked up to see a luminescent hourglass hanging over the archway… and it was counting down quickly!

The black charizard spread his wings and took off… only for an unseen weight to firmly press on his back, sending him crashing into the ground with a holler. Noctum rolled across the floating platform, getting a mouthful of dirt for his trouble.

“Oh, did we forget to mention? There’s artificial gravity,” Archie called. “So, no flying! Fwahaha!”

Anger bubbled in Noctum’s belly. He turned toward the samurott, snarling, but composed himself when Nikki and Valkyrie passed him by, both running along the floating platforms. The garchomp leaped a gap between two triangular rocks. So, jumping was fine, but not flying? Noctum knew that wasn’t how gravity worked. Maybe it was magic, like the Malice Crystal?

“What are you doing, idiot? Get moving!” Valkyrie shouted.

“R-Right! Sorry!” Noctum scrambled to his feet. Running was not the charizard’s forte. He stuck to the biggest floating rocks, hopping from a circular one to a square one, then running forward. The rock path curved around the mountain and its incline steepened. Noctum could stay on his feet, but he had to time his jumps carefully. The fourth gap he jumped was much larger than the others.

“This way!” Nikki waved at Noctum from a second arch that sat on a small plateau. The hourglass hung above it, ticking down. And as it did, the rocks trembled under Noctum’s feet. Was time running out? He’d have to make a break for it, then!

Noctum tucked his head down and folded up his wings to lower his drag. The black charizard scrambled across a long, rectangular rock. As he went to jump, the rock shuddered and struck him under his tail. Noctum yipped and jumped forward with more force than he intended. He sailed through the arch and struck a tree branch. He crashed into the base of the tree in a pile of dirt and splinters.

“Oww…” Noctum rubbed his head, whimpering.

“Nice landing, dweeb.” Nikki mockingly applauded. “Looks like you’re ready for the high dive.”

Noctum sat up, shielding the embarrassment on his face with his right wing. Luckily, he didn’t feel a welt on his forehead. “Shouldn’t you guys be climbing?” he grumbled.

“This is a safe spot,” Valkyrie scoffed. “Now get off your ass. You’re not really hurt.”

Despite the condescension, when Noctum lowered his wing he found Valkyrie extending her right arm to help him up. “Err, how do you know this is a safe spot?” Noctum took the garchomp’s arm. She yanked him up, then pointed behind her to an oversized bedsheet with “SAFE ZONE” and several smiley faces painted onto it.

“Oh.” Noctum blinked. “That’s… something.” His tail flame flickered. “I guess some of the monks like doing arts and crafts?”

“The more you think about it, the weirder it gets.” Nikki walked away from them, shaking her head. “Let’s get the rest of this dumb hike over with quickly.” The toxtricity approached a third arch. It glowed like the first one and a new floating rock path built itself in front of her, curving up and around the side of the mountain. She took off running.

Noctum sighed and followed, wishing he could’ve taken more of a break to massage his feet. Like before, he kept his wings folded. The wind was harsher now than before and giant tree roots wove themselves between the floating rocks, forcing Noctum to hop them like small hurdles.

Every time he landed, a tingle ran to the charizard’s belly from his feet. After the fight with Valkyrie, this climb should have exhausted Noctum. But every hop and leap over a large tree root invigorated him. And Noctum had no idea why, but he wasn’t complaining.

The stupid floating rocks didn’t even get the chance to shake and tremble like last time. Noctum easily cleared the fourth arch, then turned to watch the rocks disappear in streams of multicolored light. “Say, does anyone else feel, um, energized?” He hopped from one foot to another.

Valkyrie scratched her neck. “Guess so.”

“Yeah.” Nikki rolled her right arm. “‘s like I finished chugging a pot of coffee.”

Noctum’s initial trepidation over this so-called trial faded away. As he approached the fifth arch, he wasn’t remotely worried about any peril and/or doom…

… Until the next floating pathway assembled itself and revealing glowing boulders rolling right toward him!

“Aah!” Noctum turned to flee, when Valkyrie skidded in front of him and, shouting, destroyed the boulder with a swipe of her Dragon Claws. The charizard peeked his head over his shoulder to find Valkyrie sprinting forward with her Dragon Claws at the ready.

“Well?” Nikki shoved him forward. “You gonna let her do all the dirty work? Get a move on!”

Noctum scrambled forward without even thinking… but God were those boulders massive! Could his Metal Claws even put a dent into them?

“Pay attention!” Nikki shouted from behind him.

A glowing green boulder bounced toward them. Swallowing his fear, Noctum wound up and thrust his arms forward. His Metal Claws struck the boulder, which vanished in streams of rainbow light. That same spark from the tree roots shot up his arms. Noctum leaped to another floating rock and struck another boulder with his Metal Claws. The shatter sent a satisfying tingle toward his Malice Crystal.

Up ahead, Noctum spotted Valkyrie slashing one boulder after another with her Dragon Claws. Even though she could get rid of them, new ones appeared too quickly for her to continue forward. And the floating rocks shook underneath both of them. Noctum had to hurry!

He leaped forward, closing the distance and striking a boulder before it could blindside Valkyrie. “Come on!” the charizard called. They ran forward side by side, slashing at green boulders in tandem. After the third strike, the strange surge of energy from the fight with Valkyrie bubbled up from Noctum’s gut. His Metal Claws grew to shining blue Dragon Claws. Blue embers trickled in the edges of his vision.

He slashed another boulder. It was satisfying, but not overwhelming. Yes, he could do this. Noctum could control this!

The charizard slashed one final boulder and cleared the sixth arch. Nikki sprinted past him, seconds before the rocks dissolved away. The toxtricity hunched over, wheezing. “Man… when do… I get the sick transformation?”

“Hmm?” Noctum looked over shoulder.

“These look ridiculous,” Valkyrie said, holding up bladed arms that would make a scyther blush. “Better for cutting things, I guess.” She swiped at the air, growling to herself.

Noctum watched, a hand on his chest. He wasn’t sure whether to blame the garchomp’s added white spikes, her more angular jaw, or both… but something inside him stirred at witnessing Valkyrie’s transformation. So, that’s tranced garchomp. Or mega garchomp.

“Dude, is your tail wagging?”

“Huh?” Noctum tensed and looked at Nikki. “N-No, of course not! Charizard tails don’t wag!”

“Yeah, sure.” Nikki rolled her eyes. “Your snout practically grew longer, dude.” She walked forward, cracking her knuckles. “Okay, we’re pretty high up now. Can’t be much further, right?”

The air was even thinner than before. Noctum thought it best not to look off the side of the plateau and see how far the drop was. Mt. Osohi lives up to its name, I guess.

A flash of light caught his attention. Nikki stepped through the next arch. While another floating rock path arranged itself before them, giant, thorny vines immediately grew in to block them off. An ethereal purple liquid dripped from the thorns, sizzling against the glowing rocks.

“That doesn’t look good,” Nikki said, stepping back through the arch cautiously.

“Move.” Valkyrie almost shoved her. “I’ll handle this.”

However, the nearest vine sucked up the ensuing Dragon Pulse like water through one of those bendy straws Noctum thought were so cool. “Oi, you’re the fire-type.” Valkyrie pointed a scythe arm at Noctum. “Do something! Clock’s ticking!”

“Right.” Noctum took a deep breath. He spewed bright blue flames — hotter than any Flamethrower he’d ever used — that struck the nearest vine… and disappeared inside it as pathetically as Valkyrie’s Dragon Pulse. The mega charizard blinked. “Uhhhh…”

“Oh, brother.” Nikki squished past the two dragons. “I guess this trial is sentient or something. Telling me I gotta pull my weight.” The toxtricity held her hands out. Her electric guitar materialized in a yellow and purple flash. “Pull on this, you overgrown garden weeds!”

She swiped at the middle of the nearest vine. Purple and yellow lightning surged through the thorns, which burst apart in showers of purple mist. “I’m the most badass weed whacker you’ll ever see!” Nikki moved forward, slicing apart more thorny vines. Every downed vine grew the size of her electric guitar. Noctum shielded his face as he followed behind her.

“Boulder coming at you!” Valkyrie warned. Noctum dropped his arm to his side. One Dragon Claw slash split the boulder and dissolved it into dust.

“Almost there!” Nikki said. Purple mohawks had grown on either side of her yellow one. The rocks trembled beneath the trio. Noctum almost stumbled off but spread his wings to catch himself. He jumped to the next platform right as Nikki broke through the last vine. The backmost spike around her waist had grown to practically look like one of those fancy power lines.

The toxtricity leaped through the archway and tossed her electric guitar to herself. “Ha! Peril and/or doom my ass. That was a breeze.” She caught the guitar and dispelled it, looking at the glowing spikes around her wrist. “Hmm.” Nikki turned to Noctum and Valkyrie. “So, how do I look?”

Her hollow yellow eyes unnerved Noctum. Though the mega charizard said nothing, the damage was done. Nikki frowned. “What? What’s wrong?”

“It’s, uh—” Noctum tapped his claws together.

“You look like you got crossed with a low key toxtricity and someone jammed a power line up your ass,” Valkyrie bluntly responded, shaking her head.

“Seriously?!” Nikki looked over her right shoulder, then her left. “What the hell? This totally blows! Why do you get badass megas and I’m stuck looking like some B-tier horror movie prop?”

Valkyrie shrugged. “I’m not the biggest fan of this, either. My jaw feels too bulky.”

Noctum’s familiar ba-dump from earlier returned. He rubbed his chest and pivoted away from the mega garchomp, eager to change the subject. “O-Oh, hey, look! We made it to the peak.” Noctum pointed toward the circular mountaintop, which held nothing more than some gray rocks pushed together to vaguely resemble chairs and benches. Like with the break areas, a tarp with “CONGRATULATIONS!” and several smiley faces painted on it flapped in the wind, nailed to the largest rock in the group.

“Wow. Anticlimactic much?” Nikki walked forward, tucking her hands into her jacket pockets. “The could’ve at least given us a prize or something.”

“A prize?” Valkyrie snorted. “What are you, seven?”

“The prize is the control over your transformations, scamps!”

“Gah!” Noctum shot into the air, no longer bound by wonky gravity. Below him, Archie and Maxie appeared through a rift alongside one of the kommo-o monks from earlier.

“Seriously?” Nikki’s shoulder sagged. “What was even the point of this if you could warp us up?!”

“Weren’t you listening?” The samurott shook his head. “Look at y’all. Standing there, mega evolved and fully in control! You’re not ripping each other’s faces off!”

Noctum gulped. “That’s… something that happens when people can’t control their megas?”

“Not literally.” Maxie facepalmed. “You already experienced what happened. People lose control of themselves. Become disinhibited.”

“Yeah, but ripping faces off sounds cooler,” Archie grumbled.

Maxie sighed. “Why do I even bother?” The typhlosion shook his head. “In any case, you should have all felt that sense of control as you went through the course.”

Noctum landed beside them. “Uh, right.” He scratched his head. “Now how do I turn it off?”

“You’ve gotta relax your body and spirit,” Archie replied. “Like you’re meditating, but not.”

That was hardly descriptive, but Noctum could give it a try. He took a deep, calming breath. That surge of energy left his body. Noctum turned around and saw his wings were no longer serrated. “Oh. I guess it is that simple.”

A couple more orange flashes followed. Nikki and Valkyrie returned to normal as well. The toxtricity approached, resting her hands behind her head. “So, uh, what would’ve happened if we weren’t fast enough?”

“Oh, that? Pfbt!” Laughing, Archie hopped toward the final arch and jumped through it with a loud whoop.

“What the hell?!” Nikki’s eyes widened. “Is he crazy?!”

A rift opened up behind Kommo-o and dropped Archie out of it. The samurott was no worse for wear.

“You really think we’d let you fall to your deaths? Ridiculous.” Maxie shook his head. “We had monks ready to catch you.”

“Then why call it the Trials of Peril and/or Doom?!” Nikki fumed.

“Dramatic effect!” Archie raised his flippers and gave jazz hands. Kommo-o joined in.

Nikki facepalmed. “Why the hell does this thing even exist, then? Do you guys use it?”

“As part of our ascetic training,” Kommo-o responded, bowing his scaly head politely. “We did not create it. We merely found it. The Overseers probably used it when they inhabited this outpost.”

Blank stares followed. Noctum tilted his head. “Overseers? Are they pokémon?”

Nikki rubbed her forehead. “Why do I get the feeling I don’t like what the answer to that will be?”

As if to respond to her rhetorical question, a new rift appeared in the middle of all the chair-like rocks. Koraidon poked his head out. “Ah, so this is where you ran off to.” He glanced at Archie and Maxie. “I trust things went well?”

Maxie nodded.

“Splendid.” He beckoned everyone toward the rift. “Come along. There’s much to discuss and I figure you could all do with a bite to eat.”

Noctum glanced at his Malice Crystal. It sparkled as if it understood Koraidon’s statement. The charizard shrugged, then approached the rift, thankful he was finally getting the chance to rest.

Seifer paced across the concrete rooftop, gaze transfixed on the purple and black sky with colorful smears from Eterna City’s bright, colorful lights. Cyril pointed out a skyscraper with a giant, circular platform far in the distance. Something black and metallic floated next to it, displaying footage of a traffic report.

“When Gene told us you were going to hack that thing, I expected we’d need to, y’know, get closer,” the keldeo said. He looked over his shoulder at Cyril, who was disguised as a normal zoroark. He sat next to something he called a laptop, which had a few small satellites plugged into it.

“Nah.” Cyril waved him off. “Only reason we even came to Eterna City is to throw off the Troopers if they do trace the signal back to me.” He smirked at Seifer. “Why, you itchy to get your hooves dirty?”

Seifer frowned. “No. I just— don’t understand why I’m here with you.” He approached the edge of the building. The people and vehicles down at street level were tiny dots. “Wouldn’t it make more sense for me to deploy your drone, instead of Artemis?”

“I asked for you,” Cyril responded. “And get back from the edge. Don’t need anyone down there seeing you.”

Seifer held off on retorting that plenty of taller buildings surrounded them. He walked back toward the zoroark, his frown deepening. “Look, if you have a problem with me, then say it to my face. I’m tired of your stupid teasing.”

“A problem?” Cyril sounded hurt. “Not at all.” He pulled his goggles down around his neck. “I just… wanted you for company.”

The keldeo almost rolled his right forehoof and tripped, but managed to catch himself. Cyril was yanking his tail, right? That was what zoroark did.

“Why, so you can belittle me more than your boss already has?” Seifer scoffed, flicking hair out of his eyes. Gosh, when was the last time he had a proper brushing?

“The opposite.” Cyril typed away at his laptop. His ears drooped and Seifer bit his lip.

A convincing performance, he told himself.

“I’m sure between that Venish ship’s crew and Boss Kitty talking down to everyone… you’ve seen and heard a few things that’s shaken your faith,” Cyril whispered.

Seifer’s brow furrowed. “Aeons are the ones with religion.”

Sighing, the zoroark twirled his pink, heart-covered bandana around. “Look, I’ll admit it. I did think you were a bit of a pompous ass at first. But it also sounded like life knocked you down a peg or two.”

“So, it’s pity, is it?” Seifer looked down at his hooves. Something about a zoroark who couldn’t even use any attacks pitying him felt rather pathetic.

“No, I—” Cyril pinched his brow, groaning. “I get where you’re coming from, okay?”

Seifer squinted. He wasn’t buying that. “Because of the Malice mutating you?”

“More like… getting thrust into all of this.” Cyril gestured to the buildings behind him with their glowing signs advertising sports drinks and movies. “You’re a proud guy. Raised around honor and virtue and stuff. But I…” His voice trailed off as he looked around. “I’ve seen the doubt in your eyes. About how you were raised. If you were really on the right side of things. I had a lot of doubts about myself early on.”

Cyril chuckled awkwardly. “Hell, even after I agreed to work with Boss Kitty I wondered if we were going about things the wrong way. If maybe there was a less… aggressive way to work toward his goal.”

The keldeo shuffled about uneasily. Now this was really reminding him of when Cyril made his prosthetic horn in his workshop. “I wanted to serve my kingdom… as my family did stretching back generations.”

“But Boss Kitty is bluntly shoving truths in your face that run counter to those beliefs, am I right?”

Silence. Seifer swallowed hard. “Yes.” He sat down, avoiding the zoroark’s eyes. “I can’t stop going over things in my head. If there were ulterior motives behind everything I did for the Radiant Guard.”

He didn’t realize Cyril moved from behind his laptop until a fuzzy paw touched his right shoulder. Seifer’s tail shot up and his horn sparked. He nearly whacked Cyril with his horn when he turned his head, but the zoroark managed to duck underneath it.

“You’re not a bad person,” Cyril said.

“You barely know me,” Seifer whispered.

Cyril offered a smile. “I know you enough to tell your heart’s in the right place.”

Seifer pulled away. “You can’t be certain of that.” He looked down. “Like, when they first assigned me to guard Yuna, I was… silently resentful toward her and Noctum. May have even insulted them a few times.” He shook his head. “An honorable soldier shouldn’t do that. And in hindsight, it’s clear I held that attitude about Aeons and openly shared it with the soldiers serving under me.”

“But the fact that you’re acknowledging it now shows you want to do the right thing,” Cyril countered. He gently nudged Seifer’s chin back in his direction. The keldeo stiffened, nearly lashing out on impulse. Why was there a tingle running down his spine?

“I know it hurts to consider it, but you have to try and view this as, uh…” Cyril rested his chin on his wrist. “Oh, right! As the chance to be that valiant defender you always viewed yourself as.”

“By becoming a criminal?”

“By stopping the emperor.” Cyril scooted back to his laptop, hiking his leggings back up his thighs.

Wait, why am I watching him do that? Seifer quickly turned his attention to a metal grate with smoke trickling out of it.

“Think about it,” Cyril continued. “Defeating Paradox doesn’t just save Etherium, it saves all the planets suffering under his rule. Even if we have to use some deceptive tactics, isn’t that a cause worth fighting for?”

Silence hung in the air. The keldeo had to admit Cyril was right. This was bigger than his kingdom. And certainly bigger than the Radiant Guard. He turned back to the zoroark. “It’s just… hard to break old habits,” he said. “I’m used to… following the rules to a T. Not straying from the path. That kind of stuff.”

“I know.” Cyril braced his hands on the rooftop. “I can help you, if you’re willing.”

Seifer quirked a brow. “Help me?”

“Get past those teachings,” Cyril said. “And, y’know, lose control a little.”

The keldeo blinked slowly. “Lose… control?” Control of what?

“Yeah. Not be so rigid and uptight and stuff.” Cyril sprang up and crouched down in front of Seifer, smirking. “You don’t gotta be the life of the party or anything, but I bet we can get you cracking a few jokes now and again with a little practice.”

He playfully flicked Seifer’s nose. Blood rushed to the keldeo’s cheeks. “I— that’s—” He rubbed his forehooves together. “Perhaps I can… entertain that notion.” Why was he stumbling over his words so badly? “What does it entail, exactly?”

“Well, what’s something you’ve always wanted to try but never gotten the chance to?” Cyril wondered, with a tilt of his head.

Seifer looked at his forehooves. Something he hadn’t tried but wanted to? The keldeo had eaten plenty of exotic dishes, so that was out. He’d gone to theater showings, too. Was that what Cyril meant? This was harder than Seifer expected.

“Could be anything,” Cyril said. “A holowear outfit, a new hobby, fighting in the arena back at the outpost, smooching a certain zoroark, or— oops, did I say that last part out loud?”

“What?!” Seifer went stiff as a board. That was definitely on purpose. “That’s not funny!” he huffed.

“Then why’s your face as red as a cherrim?” Cyril wondered, a sickeningly sweet smile on his face.

“Because I—”

A thunderous rumble echoed in the distance. Seifer looked over his shoulder. Smoke and fire drifted into the sky from the top of the building where the propaganda blimp was.

“Oh, shit, that’s the signal.” Cyril hopped over his laptop and crouched down behind it. “Watch my six.” He cracked his knuckles. “It’s showtime.”

Seifer was still staring at the distant skyscraper in disbelief.

What kind of signal is that supposed to be?!