Chapter 49: Operation Follow Me

High above the Eterna City skyline, in the thick, black and purple clouds, Gene turned to Jade and her orange zapdos passenger. “It’s going to be quick.” The mewtwo snapped his fingers. “Once the rift opens, I shoot a Fire Blast into the fueling console and light the spa up like an oversized candle. Then we go charging in and you’d best be ready for Troopers to swarm us.”

Quetzal puffed out his feathers. “I still cannot believe nobody told me we were having a strategy meeting! I didn’t even have any time to prepare for this!”

“You were napping. I didn’t want to be rude.” Jade laughed nervously.

“I just forgot.” Gene shrugged.

“You’re a powerful psychic!” Quetzal huffed.

“Oh, gee, look at the time.” Gene glanced at a wristwatch he didn’t have. “Mission’s a go.” He flicked his right wrist, opening a jagged rift. The mewtwo had looked over images of the place to know exactly where to aim his Fire Blast. The five-pronged flame struck a metal tower. Gene threw up a pink barrier, shielding himself and his allies from a fiery explosion while the sounds of mechanical shouts and cries filled his ears.

“Now!” Gene flew into his rift. Through thick black smoke and tiny red embers he saw a huge crater in what was once some sort of pool. Lounge chairs and the remnants of a rooftop bar lay scattered about like big metal pretzels. The blimp was unharmed, displaying weather footage while a castform meteorologist gestured at the weather map.

“It’s the rebel mewtwo!”

Right on cue, Dark Pulses and Signal Beams punched through the wall of smoke. Gene Phantom Warped to his right, the attacks passing harmlessly through numerous mewtwo-shaped afterimages. At least a dozen Eternatus Gunners hovered a few meters away from him and more were floating up from behind.

Gene gathered a large Aura Sphere over his head and… bowled it through midair toward the Gunners in front of him. He quickly Phantom Warped back into the smoke to dodge a fresh volley of Dark Pulses.

“Despicable rebels!” a Gunner shouted. “First they loiter on our rooftops without an approved permit and now they assault our day spa! Is nothing sacred to them?”

Gene surged out from the smoke, flames gathering in his hands. “Sacred? Ha! Do I look like an entei to you?” He tossed a Fire Blast toward several of the Gunners below him. Their Dark Pulses sailed wide of stopping the Fire Blast, which blew five of them up. Their unown pilots careened through the air before disappearing in purple smoke puffs. A pity Gene didn’t have a way of stopping that. Then he could keep Paradox from reinforcing his ranks so quickly.

“No, you look like a disobedient cat that needs a good spritzing!” a much larger, gray Eternatus Trooper with giant cannons for arms boasted. Gene couldn’t fully Phantom Warm away from two Hydro Cannons. A deluge of water blasted him toward the propaganda blimp, but the mewtwo caught himself, wringing his arms out.

Oh, great. Bombardiers, Gene mentally hissed.

“Now! Freeze the rebel!”

“Hey, where’s my backup?!” Gene growled, forming a large pink barrier that barely held against a slew of hail and ice chunks from three Bombardiers.

“Sorry! Sorry! Still getting used to the flying thi—eeeeeeeeeeek!“

Jade crashed into the Bombardier on Gene’s left. “Ah, hello!” the salugia chirped. “Come here often?”

“Every Friday, actually,” the Bombardier responded, before the unown inside narrowed its eye. “Hey, wait a second!”

Jade’s mouth was bright orange. The resulting orange beam effortlessly tore through the Bombardier and both of his companions.

So, that’s Aeroblast. Gene had to admit it was even more impressive up close.

No, wait, this wasn’t the time for that! Not with ten Gunners trained on both of them! “Duck!” he cried.

“Duck?” Jade blinked. “No, salug— aah!“

Gene used Hurricane. Jade barely got out of the way of the ensuing vortex. It sucked up the Gunners like dirt through a vacuum hose, shredding through their bodies and blowing the unown pilots away.

“Cool trick!” The salugia clapped her feet together. “When can I learn?”

“Later!” Gene growled. More Gunners and Bombardiers had taken to the skies. There must have been teleporters nearby. C’mon, Cyril! How much longer do you need, huh?

As if the zoroark somehow heard Gene, the weather report abruptly cut out replaced with footage of Cyril standing in front of a camera. Gene turned and hurled two dozen Psystrike orbs toward some newly arrived Gunners. They unleashed their own volley of Dark Pulses and Shadow Balls. Though Gene’s onslaught won out, none of the Gunners went down. Some of them ejected their UFO-like cockpits and flew after Gene.

“Attention Eterna City! This is the voice of the resistance,” Cyril said, the prerecorded message amplified by the blimp’s speakers. They were… a lot louder than Gene remembered. Maybe because he was used to hearing the blimp from a distance?

“For the emperor!” a Trooper shouted, her cockpit glowing brightly. Sensing what was coming, Gene summoned his spoon and whacked the Trooper back into several others. Explosions lit up the sky like orange fireworks.

“This is the voice of the truth. And the truth is… we need to talk.”

“Guuuuuuys, I could really use some help down here!”

Gene looked down. An orange bolt streaked across the cratered ground, narrowly dodging the spiky maces of a dozen Eternatus Brawlers.

“Hey! Even if it’s been blown up, running on a pool deck is hazardous!” one Brawler shouted.

“And illegal!” A second wound up and launched his right mace at Quetzal. Ice swirled around the spikes. Quetzal was running out of room, so Gene dove down and tossed a Fire Blast in the middle of the Brawlers. The five-pronged explosion knocked them off their feet.

“Your so-called emperor is lying to you! First off… those new uPhones you got? They’re full of gizmos to hypnotize you whenever Paradox wants! And the rifts you see in the sky are dangerous! They’re a sign that space and time are collapsing… in a way that not even Eternatus can protect us from!”

One of the Brawlers leaped back to his feet and pointed a mace skyward. “It’s a trick! Attack the blimp! The revolution must not be telivi—”

Quetzal charged forward and delivered a tremendous kick to the Brawler. With a thundering boom, the cockpit dislodged from the robotic torso and skipped across the charred ground, crashing into a second Brawler. Both bots and their unown vanished in a small blue blast.

“Birdbrain, help out Drumstick! I got things up here!” Gene ordered, shooting back up and sniping a pair of Bombardiers’ cockpits with well-aimed Psybeams. “Pool Noodle, you read me? We’re just about done here! Got anything from the drone yet?”

He Phantom Warped left past three Signal Beams, which bounced off one of the blimp’s screens.

“Yeah. Bad news. I, uh, think Paradox might’ve persuaded his captives to join his cause?”

Paradox made Sticky’s instructions perfectly clear: stay offstage in the auditorium until the promotional video finished. So the naganadel hid behind a stage right curtain, glancing between the giant projector screen and the rows of dark, unfilled seats.

A sliver of white light appeared at the far end of the room. Sticky adjusted his headset. “Please take your seats. The program will begin momentarily.”

It was too dark to make out anything other than silhouettes, but Sticky heard the murmurs of uncertainty. Young adults questioning where they were and what would happen to them and why the elevator that brought them here played smooth jazz. A few kept begging someone called Vincenzo to do something.

Sticky wasn’t sure what the emperor saw in this lot. They sounded terrified out of their wits. Why not assimilate them into Eternatus Troopers?

The naganadel shook his head. His Excellency knew what he was doing.

Enough time passed. Sticky drifted toward a control panel in the backstage wall and flicked a switch. He was too far from the rear of the auditorium to hear the projector whirr to life, but he clearly saw the screen light up. And the captives fell quiet. A good start as bright, colorful words appeared on the screen.

Paradox Pictures Presents

An Emperor Paradox Production

Written, Narrated, Produced, and Directed by Emperor Paradox

ETERNATUS AND YOU: LEARNING TO LOVE OUR BENEFACTOR

A tiny dot appeared on screen along with a soft, gentle violin piece. “In the beginning, our universe was a singularity. Unified and in perfect harmony.” Hearts and rainbows peppered the singularity on screen. “But those wonderful times sadly wouldn’t last.”

The color drained from the rainbows and the hearts shattered. The singularity rippled, then an explosion filled the screen with streaks of static and bright colors. Sticky made a mental note to consider a photosensitivity warning for future iterations of this broadcast.

“A cataclysmic event shattered the singularity and flung life and matter to the furthest reaches imaginable! Our universe, it seemed, was doomed to a state of disarray and fragmentation.”

Then the camera zoomed in toward purple scales. “But what’s this drifting aimlessly where the singularity once sat? Could it be… a remnant of some sort?”

“It’s just a big hand!” one captive crooned.

Sticky fought the urge to reveal himself and scold the heckler. The Benefactor only looked like a giant hand to the unenlightened, after all.

“Yes, it is! Behold: Eternatus! Our universe’s last hope at reunification!” On the screen, Eternatus began to slowly drift through the cosmos. “This is where you now find yourselves within. And I’m sure that sounds rather frightening.”

A few terrified eevee walked across the screen and nodded as if the narrator addressed them directly.

“But worry not, friends. Eternatus is not something to fear.” Eternatus drifted over to the eevee and pet them all. Their fluffy tails wagged in unison. “Eternatus, you see, is our Benefactor. He provides us all with a single home and unlimited energy with which we can live our best lives.”

In a whoosh of blurry special effects, the footage shifted to a flyover of Eterna City, showcasing all the neon buildings, holographic displays, and flying vehicles moving in organized fashion.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” the narrator said. The eevee reappeared in one of the flying cars, all wearing sunglasses. One tilted them down slightly to look at the camera and nod. “Unfortunately, however, our Benefactor is suffering.”

The hovercar screeched to a halt as sinister black crystals emerged from the shadows. “Ages ago, Eternatus came to your planet to welcome it back like an old friend… only to find a vicious monster waiting for it.”

While the eevee all puffed their fur out in terror, silhouettes of dragons appeared around the crystal creature. “That monster — worshipped blindly by the dragons of your world — sent his minions to seal our beloved Eternatus within your planet.”

That earned reactions from the crowd. Sticky dared not peer out from behind the curtain, but there were scattered mentions of things like World Ender, Prince Shimmer, and… a dreepy?

… Right. Cassius had informed Paradox of some sort of dragon exchange student, but the records given by Guile Hideout suggested she wasn’t among the captives. Neither was the ponyta prince.

Back on screen, the eevee stood beside their destroyed car, shivering in terror.

“To make matters worse, your people have magnified our suffering by stealing our Benefactor’s energy and claiming it as your own.” Giant straws emerged from the ground around the eevee, who all scattered in a panic. “Do you want to know what’s in the ‘ether’ you boast of using to power your land?

“Yes, that’s right: our citizens.” Straws captured two of the eevee and sucked them off screen. “And the souls of those who have passed away here.” Straws sucked up the remaining eevee, leaving the streets empty.

“So, what does this mean for you?” the narrator asked as a giant hand pointed its index finger out at the auditorium. “Well, we’re not interested in revenge, if that’s what you’re afraid of. Oh no…”

The camera pulled back toward a building rooftop with an array of different pokémon looking into it. “All we ask is that you consider the wrongs your people have committed… and join us in helping Eternatus claim his freedom. Help us make a better future… for everyone.”

With the rooftop crowd smiling and waving at the camera a large THE END scrawled across the screen, followed by rapidly moving credits listing Emperor Paradox under everything… including the “special thanks” section at the end.

The screen shut off and the projector rolled back into the ceiling, signaling Sticky’s cue. “And now, please welcome our beloved leader: Emperor Paradox!” The naganadel threw another switch on the control panel and spotlights shined on the middle of the stage, where the deoxys had appeared in a flash of light. A dramatic orchestral piece carried through the auditorium speakers.

“Laaaa laaaaa la la la la la la la la laaaaa laaaaa!”

Paradox confidently strode toward the front of the stage.

“So here you are.
A step from the top.
A better life
Your kingdom has not.
Our lengthy story to achieve success
Is a tiring affair
So I’ve one request…”

Paradox dropped to one knee and extended his right tentacles like he was ready to propose to the audience.

“Join me at the top
Why don’t you?
Join me
Where the worlds align.”

The deoxys stood up.

“Yes, join me at top.
Why won’t you?
Join me
And let our powers combine!”

He kicked his triangular legs out.

“I’ll even dance and sing a ditty!
So, join me.
While I extend you pity.
Cause there’s one bit I forgot.”

Sticky threw the final switch and the Eterna Empire’s sigil appeared behind Paradox. He gestured behind him.

“We’re everything you’re not!”

The naganadel flew out onstage. “Ha!”

“Aha!” Paradox clapped. “Pretty good, eh?”

“It’s wonderful, sir!” Sticky chirped, remembering the script Paradox gave him earlier.

“Then shall I continue?”

“Of course!”

Paradox folded his tentacles behind his back and paced at the front of the stage.

“Forget about your worthless cities.
Streets littered with panic and frenzied screams.
You’ve all struck great fortune now that you’re here!”

Paradox gestured to the gemstone in his chest.

“Guided by your flawless emperor right heeeere.”

He again dropped to one knee.

“Join me at the top.
Why don’t you?
Join me
Where the worlds align.”

Paradox stood up and stomped his right foot down.

“Since I will never stop.
No I won’t!
So join me.
Go on, fall in line!

“You’ve sat and listened to my reason
To stop your kingdom’s power seizing
So join me at this spot
Because we’re everything you’re not!”

Paradox looked at Sticky. “Who are we?”

“Evolved greatness!”

He pointed out to the audience. “And who are they?“

Sticky frowned. “Oof, I’m not going to say it.”

Paradox stomped his right food down again. “They’re no good without me!”

“Right!”

“How dare they ever doubt me!”

“Yes!”

“Take the final chorus and seal the case!”

Sticky nodded vigorously. “They’ll join you at the top!”

“Yes they will!”

Goodness, Sticky thought his singing voice awful. “They’ll join you where the worlds align!”

“And boy I’m so freaking hot!”

Sticky laughed nervously. “You’re scalding.”

Paradox pointed back to the audience. “I should burn them up!”

Sticky shook his head. “But you will not!”

Paradox nodded. “It makes me oh so glad.”

“And magnanimous!” Sticky flew right beside Paradox.

“To serve a cause so rad!”

“Great Eternatus!” Sticky slung his arm over Paradox’s shoulder.

The deoxys looked back out at the crowd. “So, join me in my plot!”

“Because…” He glanced at Paradox and they proceeded to the final line in unison.

“We’re everything you’re nooooooot!”

“Eternatus on top!” Sticky added, raising his free arm in celebration.

“Ah, that was even more delightful than when I wrote it out.” Paradox’s tentacles coiled into hands for him to clap approvingly. “Lights, please.” He snapped his right fingers and the auditorium lights finally came on… to reveal a barraskewda charging right for the deoxys!

“Sir!” Sticky aimed his needles forward, but Paradox was on top of it. He held up his right hand and Barraskewda suddenly stopped. The weird metal backpack on his torso compressed around his body.

“What’s this?” Paradox tilted his head. “Were you… trying to attack me? And after I rolled out the figurative red carpet for you and your precious students?”

Barraskewda struggled in the emperor’s psychic grip, but managed a defiant glare. “Send us… home.”

The deoxys sighed. “A pity. I really tried being reasonable.” He stepped toward Barraskewda. “But I suppose I shouldn’t have expected much from your ilk.”

Sticky thought he knew what was coming when Paradox unfurled his blue and orange tentacles unfurled and grabbed hold of Barraskewda. But, no, the deoxys didn’t turn Barraskewda into an unown. Instead, his scales pulsated. Brown, crusty masses sprouted up all over his torso, inside his mouth, and across his tail.

The naganadel briefly saw the pain and panic in Barraskewda’s eyes before those, too, were crusted over with bloody scar tissue.

“Minister!” A sirfetch’d raised his leek. “What did you do to him?”

“Riddled his body with cancer, of course.” Paradox stepped forward once again and released his grip on Barraskewda, who dropped to the carpeted ground in front of the stage, twitching. “His heart should stop beating right around…”

Barraskewda went still.

“… now.” Paradox hovered into the air, his tentacles rippling at his sides. “Allow me to properly introduce myself. I’m Deoxys Paradox, emperor of Eternatus. I am a pokémon like you… but one forged from a mutated virus.”

His right tentacles coiled into an arm that he thumped against his chest. “For organic pokémon, cells are your building blocks. Viruses rewrite your DNA to mutate your cells. Which means that I am the essence of evolution itself!”

“You sound like an absolute nutter!” a weavile spat.

“I suppose you’re entitled to your opinion no matter how wrong it is,” Paradox said, chuckling into his hand. “It doesn’t change your situation. Your planet has oppressed Eternatus and His people long enough. We will not sit idly by while you turn us into electricity for your filthy cities.”

“It’s not like any of us are responsible for that!” a luxray growled.

“Really now?” Paradox folded his tentacles behind his back. “Show of hands, class, how many of you have parents or siblings with important positions in your school chancellor’s company?”

At first no one responded. Then an aromatisse’s hand shot up, followed by the right leg of the dodrio standing next to her. Soon there were at least a dozen hesitant limbs raised.

“Top marks for honesty,” Paradox said. He landed back on the edge of the stage. “So then, your choice is simple. Join the Eterna Empire willingly and help Eternatus reunite our universe. Or resist us… and suffer the same fate as your minister.”

Sticky tensed. Barraskewda’s tumor-ridden body pulsated with sickly purple energy. Light streamed out of his body, leaving behind a dark husk that quickly became shrouded in shadows. The newly formed Phantom screeched and lunged toward a bug-eyed sylveon. Paradox blasted it with a pink beam and it exploded in a burst of black smoke.

The students all shared panicked expressions and muttered amongst one another. While they did, Sticky’s fanny pack buzzed. The naganadel back away from the emperor, whispering an apology. He produced his uPhone and clicked the green button on screen to accept the call. “Sticky here.”

“Finally! We’ve been calling for the last five minutes!” a frenzied voice cried. “The resistance has hijacked the propaganda blimp by the Paradox Day Spa. They spilled the beans on the uPhone project and are linking the emperor to the rifts!”

Sticky stiffened. That was bad. Like, the emperor would assimilate poipole out of anger bad. “What are our Troopers doing?” he whispered.

“The rebel Gene has new allies. Strong allies. They can’t get to the blimp. You have to do something!”

“Hang on.” Sticky hovered forward, where Paradox was watching Sirfetch’d argue with a sylveon.

“… seriously considering this?!”

“I am!” Sylveon stepped toward the stage. “And I suggest everyone else does the same. I’m not getting turned into some ugly monster!”

“Your Excellency?” Sticky tapped Paradox on the shoulder. “The resistance hijacked one of your propaganda blimps.”

“What?” Paradox turned, barely staying composed. Sticky hastily relayed what the poipole analyst on the other end of the line told him. The deoxys’ tentacles curled and uncurled. Then he grabbed the uPhone from Sticky’s hands.

“S-Sir?”

“Ready the Seekerskorch,” he hissed into the phone. “A pilot? Yes, I actually have the perfect one in mind. Just prepare the device.” The deoxys hung up and shoved the uPhone into Sticky’s chest.

“Oomph!” The naganadel opted not to question Paradox’s decision. Because he likely knew the pilot Paradox had in mind: a certain type: full who was itching to prove himself.

“Once the sylveon stepped forward, most of the rest of the class joined him,” Artemis explained. “There was a sirfetch’d and a weavile who resisted. The emperor decided to have some Troopers arrest them.”

Gene weaved around three midair Dark Pulses and sliced the nearest Gunner with his spoon. The unown pilot yelped as he tumbled out of his mechanical body. Gene then flung the empty robot into the other two Gunners, who blew apart in a flurry of pink and blue sparks.

“Anything else?” the mewtwo asked.

“No. The emperor teleported away. I’ve got the drone back,” Artemis responded.

“Then lay low. We’ll pick you up shortly.” Gene took a moment to scan for Jade and Quetzal’s auras. Fortunately, they were close together in the ruined spa. Unfortunately, Brawlers swarmed them from all sides.

“Hey!” Jade blasted one Brawler into several others. “Didn’t anyone tell you it’s rude to hit a lady?! I wanna speak to your supervisor!”

“Eternatus Troopers do not discriminate on the basis of species or gender!” a Brawler countered. “We are equal opportunity subjugators!” He wound an electrified mace up and launched it at Jade.

“Ahh!” The salugia took the mace directly to her face… and her body melted into a purple puddle. Gene froze in the midst of readying a Fire Blast.

“The hell?”

The puddle hastily reformed into Jade, who looked around in confusion. “Huh? What happened? Why’s everyone looking at me funny?”

“She’s cheating!” the Brawler that attacked Jade shouted. “I’ll have to punch her harder!”

An orange streak rushed by, knocking the Brawlers back and destroying them in a flurry of loud kicks. Quetzal skidded to a halt beside Jade. “You turned into liquid poison,” he squawked.

Jade blinked. “I did what?“

“You didn’t intend to do that?!” Quetzal’s feathers puffed out.

“No!” Jade looked back at her tail. “I don’t wanna be some goopy monster! I can’t snuggle with Cece that way!”

“Save the bickering for later,” Gene interrupted, pinching his brow. Startling or not, Jade’s unwanted skill could prove useful. He’d have to remember it. “Our broadcast is finished, so it’s time we took our leave.”

“Yes! You need to get out of there right away!”

Gene’s tail crinkled. That was Cid’s voice. “Something the matter?”

“The scanners are picking up a massive Malice energy signature!” the orbeetle cried. “It was so big it shorted out Cyril’s machine!”

“What?! That’s impossible!” Cyril growled.

The air above the team brightened. A loud hum reverberated in Gene’s ears. The mewtwo looked up in time to see the largest Hyper Beam he had ever laid eyes on utterly decimate the propaganda blimp and bathe the surrounding buildings in blinding white light.

“Shit! Everyone into the rift!” Gene shouted, his Malice Crystal glowing purple as he threw open a rift on the ground. Quetzal shoved a squawking Jade throguh and jumped in after her. Gene quickly followed, glimpsing burning debris raining down on what remained of the day spa.

He stumbled across the rooftop Cyril and Seifer were waiting on. Neither of them acknowledged Gene’s return, and the mewtwo quickly figured out why.

A gigantic mechanical mega centiskorch flew over Eterna City, blanking out what little light the purple and black sky overhead offered. It slithered and undulated away from the team’s rooftop position.

“Wh… what is that thing?” Quetzal stumbled backward. “It reminds me of a trance centiskorch, but they’re not that big!”

“I have zero desire to be squashed by a bug,” Jade said, tail flaps curling up in fright. “I’m a flying-type now. I should be doing the squashing!”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Cid said. “Cyril, do you have any idea what that could be?”

The zoroark stood in front of his laptop, slouched over in disbelief. “No,” he muttered. “Whatever that is… I have nothing to go off of. We’re flying blind.”

“And it looks like it’s heading away from the city.” Seifer hesitantly approached the edge of the rooftop. “What do we do? What can we do?”

Everyone looked expectantly at Gene, but the mewtwo had nothing. The emperor had pulled a giant battleship out of nowhere. He wasn’t about to try charging after it.

“Nothing right now,” Gene said, gripping his right shoulder. The Malice Crystal pulsated weakly. “Let’s get Artemis… and regroup back on Outpost R3X.”

He heard no objections, so Gene raised his right hand a threw a rift open in the middle of the group.

CDL-201B: Eternatus Gunner
The standard Eternatus Trooper model. Because every evil army needs its grunt-level soldiers, right? Their blasters are augmented through Hidden Power mechanisms, so no matter who they face in battle, they’ll always fire off the most effective attacks to harm their opponents. And the blasters have some sort of security mechanism in them, since even when Boss Kitty’s made off with one in the past, I haven’t gotten it to fire or work. And I can’t replicate the technology either.

Sure, they’re not terribly powerful on their own, but when you can surround a lawbreaker with two dozen of ’em, they’ll fold like a poker player in an unlucky streak.

CDL-201C: Eternatus Bombardier
The physical embodiment of “death from above.” These units sacrifice Hidden Power augmentation for quad-barreled blasters capable of firing off devastating attacks like Hyper Beam and its various elemental cousins without the need for recharging! It’s hard for anyone to think straight when they’re trying to dodge Hydro Cannons and Blast Burns raining down on them.

I hoped I could repurpose their blasters and sell them to other lawbreakers, but the recoil is far too strong for any average human or pokémon to deal with. The Bombardiers’ arms must have shock absorbers in them.

Path of Valor Almanac
Paradox’s song is spoofing “Join Me at the Top,” with music by Mark Mothersbaugh and Wataru Hokoyama, lyrics by Lauren Mee and Nick Folkman, and vocals by Robin Atkin Downes and Armin Shimmerman.