Chapter 51: Rubrum Caelum

Crimson skies marked the start of the Darkest Day. The heavens bled as World Ender set its sights upon our sacred lands, its size without compare. The people, gripped by fear and horror, turned their plights upon Bahamut, our God.

“Save us, please! You must drive the invader back and restore the light!”

Bahamut recognized their pleas. For this land was His home as well. And all were His people, whether they followed His teachings or not. Thus did He summon His Sages and face down the great daemon blotting out the heavens.

But even with the hope of the land behind Him, victory would not be His to take.

From the Book of Aeon

Getting back to the surface required taking a different waypoint that would put the newly-established bureau in Vellguarde. Igneous was surprised his father hadn’t shut down all the waypoints leading directly into cities in the wake of Venish’s ongoing crisis. Was that waypoint in danger? Had Kyoko shut it down when she entered the safe house?

… Feh. Not even worth asking her, Igneous thought, leaning against the glass door of the small building that housed the Ryujin’s Vellguarde waypoint. He stared at the wooden desk and cabinets of the rundown lobby across from him, tapping a claw impatiently.

How long did Yiazmat and Scarlett need? They had already watched news footage back at Ryujin HQ showing the baccer stadium in the southeast now served as a temporary staging area for those who fled Venish. And Igneous knew he would have to take them there. The longer they waited, the closer sunrise got.

Finally, he spotted a shadow amidst the dark lobby. Then another, narrower shadow. Yiazmat opened the building’s inner door and held it for Scarlett. She had a long, tattered cloak draped over her. It made her look bulkier and hid her facial features, sure, but it didn’t exactly hide her entire figure.

“Sorry,” Scarlett muttered. “Had trouble finding a good cloak.”

“A pity your kind can’t learn Minimize,” Yiazmat said, shaking her head solemnly. “Then you could shrink down and hide in one of my horns.”

“The same horn your kind shoots your offspring out of?” Igneous said, a brow raised.

“Dragapult haven’t done that in battle since the days of Bahamut,” Yiazmat retorted, narrowing her eyes. “Save the snark for after we find my daughter.”

“Fine.” Igneous shoved the front door open with his shoulder and held it for the ladies. They headed out onto the smoothly paved street. The grovlazzle shut the door, revealing it was actually one-way glass. “Stay close to me and follow my directions. Got it?”

“As long as you’re polite with those directions, dearie,” Yiazmat replied, an eerily sweet smile on her face.

A chill ran down Igneous’ spine. Is she really Yuna’s mom?

As it turned out, a quiet walk made it easy for Igneous to give polite directions. Vellguarde’s well-paved roads, though cold against his scaly feet, were deserted. None of the stone buildings with their pointed spires had lights on. Sure, people were probably sleeping, but the grovlazzle expected to see something other than streetlights in a supposedly busy city.

Yet the further they went, the more nothing they encountered. Even streetside bars boasting business hours late into the night had their doors locked and their lights off.

“Does this city not have anything for nocturnal pokémon?” Yiazmat looked around. “I was told such accommodations existed the last time I visited.”

“It does.” Igneous crossed his arms, eyes darting from their sidewalk to the one opposite them. “The baccer stadium’s pretty new and there wasn’t enough space to build it up in the commercial district. So, they made it near a residential district. Still…”

“Maybe there’s a curfew in effect?” Scarlett whispered, a slight tremble to her voice. “Because of what happened in Venish?”

So, the grovlazzle wasn’t the only one unnerved. “Where’s the Radiant Guard, then?” he said. “Someone would have to enforce the curfew. And they’d have been on us by now.”

At that point, Yiazmat stopped floating ahead of them. “Valid points.” She backed underneath an awning, clasping her hands together. “As much as I want to find Yuna, walking into some sort of trap accomplishes nothing.” She glanced up. “Perhaps a quick bit of aerial surveillance?”

The ground rumbled. Red light flashed in the distance. Igneous tensed, but instead of screams, he heard… applause?

“What was that?” Scarlett squeaked, coiling up under the same awning as Yiazmat.

“It looked like an energy surge,” Yiazmat said, narrowing her eyes. “Can you fly?”

“Me?” Scarlett pointed her tail at her face. “I, well, yes, but it’s been quite some time.” She pulled her cloak back to show her dulled scales. “They gave me some vitamins and minerals, but I’m not sure if that gives me my full strength back.”

“I see. One moment.” Yiazmat reached into a pocket and produced a few tiny blue gelatin pieces.

“Are those… gummy candies?” Scarlett’s rounded snout twitched.

“They’re energy gummies,” the dragapult explained. “We grow them for times when we have to venture deep into the mountains and can’t take food stores with us.” She leaned forward. “Open up.”

Scarlett tensed. “I’m not so sure I should e—”

Yiazmat shoved the gummies in while Scarlett was speaking. The dragonair’s eyes widened incredulously but she chewed and swallowed them. Igneous wanted to give Yiazmat the business for that move, but that desire evaporated the moment Scarlett’s tiny wings unfurled to their full sizes and flapped in place.

“I… huh?” Scarlett blinked in surprise. “What the hell’s in those gummies?!”

“Aeon secret. Now follow me.” The dragapult scooped Igneous up, ignoring his protests, and carried him into the air. They soared over the pointed rooftops in a matter of seconds and headed further south. Wingbeats behind them confirmed that, even out of practice, Scarlett could follow them. Guess there really was something special in those gummies.

“Slow down!” the dragonair pleaded. “This is… harder than it used to be!”

With a large, metal dome looming in front of them, Yiazmat landed on one of the rooftops, dropping Igneous on its stone tiles. The grovlazzle surveyed the baccer stadium. Though it had lights on, they were yellow and blue. The energy came from elsewhere. But where?

A sudden pain gripped his head. “Nngrk.” Igneous clutched his right temple. Warm. No, hot! Like back in the hospital?

He kept his eyes open and looked right. There were people. Small specks walking to his left.

“Who’s that?”

The grovlazzle turned left. Yiazmat stared at a wooden podium in the distance. Though too far for Igneous to properly make out who was standing atop it, he instinctively tensed up. The hot pain flashed through his head again.

“The ether you believe in will betray you! Rain fury upon your city! But Natus can shield you from it. Accept His love and build something greater as one.”

As one.

As one.

AS ONE.

Igneous doubled over in pain. His back burned. The volcarona wings he spawned at the hospital burst out of his back in surges of orange fire.

“It’s him.”

“H-hey! What are you doing?!” Scarlett cried. “What about keeping a low profile?!”

But Igneous had already leapt from the roof, surging forward on his fiery wings. The figure atop the podium came into view with gray, beady eyes sparkling through the heavy, stone helmet encasing them.

Flames shrouded Igneous as he slammed into Xeromus. The grovlazzle continued forward, the momentum of the blow carrying Xeromus as far away from the assembled crowd as possible. When the attack at last fizzled out, Xeromus dropped down in the middle of a barren field while Igneous remained airborne. The burning under his scales hadn’t gone away. And that was on purpose.

Now Igneous was sure Xeromus and Ahsen were working together. Why else would the powers he got from the glitch react this way?

“Heh. Keh heh.” Xeromus broke down coughing. “Amazing. That you would treat a lowly omen like me to the powers born of your metamorphosis.”

“Shut up!” Igneous summoned flaming leaf blades at his sides. “I’ve had enough of your garbage. I’m not letting you hurt anyone else!”

“Hurt?” Xeromus seemed genuinely shocked. “Think nothing of the sort. I only seek to spread the joy of Natus’ love! To let it blanket the world in a protective cloak!”

Igneous lunged for Xeromus in a burst of fiery speed. He stood his ground, however, erupting in a crimson glow. The grovlazzle’s leaf blades clanged off something hard.

An espeon’s small, pink form melted into a white cloud with a pink figure riding atop it.

The flames died down around Igneous’ arms he staggered back, taking in the view of a crimson, shield-shaped canine head. It fixed empty yellow eyes on him before dissolving into chains that wrapped around Xeromus’ legs.

“You see the rifts in the sky, don’t you? A grand union is upon us!” Xeromus declared, holding his helmeted head up. “Where Natus’ love will shower everyone. No matter how big or small. Weak or strong. Poor or rich. Human or pokémon.”

Human? Igneous tried to reignite his leef blades to no avail. Had that barrier sapped some of his strength?

“Natus offers the same love for everyone. A love brimming with equality,” Xeromus continued. “Yet too many sides want to twist that love into something horrid! I only want people to see the truth with their own eyes and ears!”

“No, you want to poison people with deluded thoughts!” Igneous surprised himself when he spat out a mixture of flames and Bullet Seeds. Bright orbs surrounded Xeromus. Fireballs, ice shards, and small lightning bolts canceled out Igneous’ strike. Tri Attack? The grovlazzle hopped back, trying to look for an opening.

“The only poison comes from the ether and those whose minds it has warped,” Xeromus countered, thrashing his head back and forth. “That’s why I’m not striking back at you, even as you press your attack. Because I’m walking the path set out for me.”

“Not striking back?” Igneous spewed more flames and Bullet Seeds. “Then what the hell do you call that stunt back at Herbrides?!”

Xeromus couldn’t react fast enough and staggered backward, tucking his head down to take the attack on his helmet. “A regretful, shortsighted attempt… at bestowing choice upon you and your friends.”

“Stop speaking in riddles, damn it!” Igneous took to the air again, his volcarona wings quickly carrying him up. He spewed flames at Xeromus’ backside, but the chimera’s cloak rippled. The crimson shield dog emerged in shadowy ripples and swallowed his flamethrower like a beverage sucked through an oversized straw. It lingered, empty eyes fixed on Igneous as the grovlazzle’s arc took him past Xeromus and back onto the ground.

“Return, Guardian!” Xeromus called. The shield dog sank back into Xeromus’ cloak. Wheezing, the chimera struggled to turn around and face Igneous. “I bear no ill will. Attacking you serves no purpose. My choices, as those of many others, do not matter.”

“Then why bother doing any of this?” Igneous hissed.

Xeromus simply looked up in response. Purple light bathed Igneous. The grovlazzle threw an arm over his head while looking up. A giant rift had opened over the city and out popped… the head of some sort of giant, robotic trance centiskorch?!

“What the—”

[Attention evildoers! I have come to make an announcement!] An unfamiliar robotic voice boomed throughout the sky. [It is time to bring you all to JUSTICE! Hell yeah! Eat my giant justice laser!]

Red streaked across the night sky. The centiskorch mecha’s face opened, unleashing a giant blue laser that headed right for the baccer stadium.

“No!” Igneous could only look on in horror as it drew closer and closer…

… And banked off a purple, domed barrier. The laser pierced through the red sky until it had died down into nothing.

“Sticky.”

Sitting at a computer terminal, the naganadel jumped to attention. He spun his chair around to find Paradox watching a feed from the Seekerskorch’s cockpit. “Yes, Your Excellency?”

“Did my eyes deceive me… or did the Max Hyper Beam just get deflected by a barrier?”

The deoxys’ chilling tone made Sticky gulped. “That, um, appears to be the case, sir.”

[You were right, Father!] W1-DG3T’s voice crackled through the office speakers. [Our enemies are truly despicable! Using the Benefactor’s power in such an awful way!]

Paradox’s upper right tentacle slammed against his desk. “Then charge ahead already!” he barked. “Tear that barrier apart and bring His captors to their knees!”

Sticky hastily turned back to his computer. Even if W1-DG3T was right, there was no way the Etherians could forge a barrier that strong using Eterna energy… right?

Igneous stood there, arms and jaw slackened, utterly unsure which was more terrifying: the Hyper Beam to end all Hyper Beams or the shield that appeared out of nowhere and effortlessly parried it. The grovlazzle looked over his shoulder, but only saw Xeromus standing there, a twinkle in his gray eyes.

He couldn’t have… could he? Igneous tensed up, ready to strike again.

“Do you understand now?” Xeromus rasped. “Even with the ether sinking its teeth into your planet’s hide, Natus still believes in you all. He shields you with his love!”

“Oh, shut up!” Igneous spat. Xeromus made even less sense than before. “If Eternatus wants free of its prison, why the hell would it block an attack from its innards?!” He brought his fiery leaf blades out and sped toward Xeromus. This time, he feinted left, then banked right and swung to strike Xeromus’ left foreleg.

But even though Xeromus was too slow to move himself away, the shield dog’s red face emerged from his knee and crunched down on Igneous’ leaf blades.

The pink cloud rider summoned a tornado full of hearts and sent it toward a small starcloud while a starry, oversized crobat shot toward it, tears streaming from three eyes.

Igneous’ flames again died down. He staggered back, trying to get the feeling back in his arms. A thunderous boom sounded behind him. By the time Igneous looked over his shoulder, more light had died down and small specs flew around the giant centiskorch robot.

“What are you playing at?” he said to Xeromus. “Enough riddles. I want answers!”

Xeromus thrashed his helmeted head back and forth, staving off a coughing fit. “I see. So, you don’t have a path forward yet. Unfortunate. Perhaps… you need more time.”

Igneous spat another mix of bullet seeds and fireballs at Xeromus. The chimera’s cloak glowed and, in a blink, he reappears a few yards left of Igneous. “It’s as I said before. My choices, like so many others, do not matter.” Xeromus wheezed a few times. “All because of the single truth uniting all worlds no matter how far apart.

“But Natus’ love can rewrite that truth. The truth of stagnation,” Xeromus continued. “My choices are set in stone. A lowly omen like me can only watch and wait. But you… you can lay your own path forward. To forge the new singular truth.”

Yeah, I’m done with this. Igneous turned away. “My path forward will be getting rid of you and your stupid floating disc crony. Consider yourself lucky there are bigger fish to fry right now.”

“Keh heh.” Xeromus staggered backward. “I do look forward to seeing what happens next.”

Igneous glanced over his shoulder. Spectral hands emerged from the ground, enveloping Xeromus. He was gone the moment the grovlazzle took to the air again. Igneous hovered there, squinting at the small figures flying around the robot centiskorch.

[I should have known the despicable rebel would show his face!] the voice boomed. [It does not matter how many people you trick into working for you. I will defeat you in the name of JUSTICE!]

Rebels? Oh, shit, it’s Gene?! Igneous focused and, sure enough, he could barely make out the mewtwo charging some sort of attack alongside Reshiram. Yes, Igneous would recognize that fuzzball of a dragon anywhere. So, was Yuna here, too? And is Valkyrie with her?

“What are we supposed to do against this thing? It’s the size of a damn skyscraper!” Nikki shouted from atop Reshiram’s back.

Yuna was plenty used to things outsizing her from all her years as a dreepy, sure, but she was so not prepared for this. And all of its red and yellow segments shot fireballs into the air independent of one another. The drakloak stayed out of range of it all, thankfully, but none of her piddly little attacks would make so much as a scratch against the machine.

“I don’t get it either.” Gene zipped between flaming pillars, tossing strange pink orbs that harmlessly plinked off the metallic exoskeleton. “If this thing’s some kinda battleship, there’s no way that many blasters could fire independently! Not without a bunch of people working different controls and coordinating in unison. The empire isn’t capable of that.”

“Then how do you explain this, huh?” Valkyrie snarled as a gout of fire swallowed her and Noctum’s tandem Dragon Pulses whole.

“I’d rather not!” Jade squawked, stopping in midair and yanking her tail out of the way of a steam burst. Probably a Heat Wave. “I might’ve liked it hot back in the day, but this thing’s too spicy for the pepper!”

Reshiram paused beside her. “What does that even mean?”

“I don’t know, but I’m confident this is too spicy for the pep— GAH!”

Reshiram shoved Jade aside, taking the brunt of a second Heat Wave. Nikki hollered atop his back, struggling to cling to his neck. “Hey, Crotch Fuzz! Don’t forget your very squishy passenger who could fall to her death up here!”

“Sorry! I— back!” Reshiram’s tail revved up. A gout of Blue Flare barely managed to hold off a massive fireball.

Yuna bit her lower lip. “Cyril? Professor Cid? Is there anything you can give us? We’re in a serious bind here!”

“They have to fall back!” Seifer paced nervously in front of multiple monitors, stealing panicked looks at Cyril and Cid. The orbeetle sat on stacked milk crates, with several electrodes connected to his head spots and hooked up to Cyril’s monitors. “They’re hopelessly outgunned!”

He was conflicted between their wellbeing and that of Vellguarde’s, but the mystery barrier made the keldeo’s priorities clear. “Tell Gene to retreat! We need an actual plan here!”

Cyril’s spots glowed blue. “I think it’s coming into focus for me.” He pinched his brow. “That thing is called the Seekerskorch. Gene’s right about it not being organic.” The orbeetle squinted. “But he’s wrong about how it’s being controlled.”

Artemis quirked a brow. “In what way?”

“There’s a single pilot.”

“You’re kidding!” Gene flummoxed, then shot in front of Yuna and managed to turn away a spiraling Heat Wave with a burst of pink energy. “No Paradigm lieutenant can handle something like this! Their brains are just little togedemaru running around on tiny rodent wheels!”

[Give up, evil rebel!] the pilot said. Yuna winced from the volume, ectoplasm rippling. Leaving Leo back on Bogdan was the right decision. [Your days of terrorizing the brave souls of Eternatus are over!]

The Seekerskorch’s head coiled back toward Team Bastion. Its fiery face split apart, revealing flames and electricity gathering within it.

“Holy shit!” Gene threw his right arm out. A rift appeared in front of him. Yuna darted in behind him. They reappeared beside Reshiram, Jade, and Nikki. Seconds later, plasma surged through the air. The crimson sky briefly lit up as blue as daytime.

What do we do? What do we do? I don’t wanna die! I don’t wanna die! Yuna’s entire body trembled. Was this what it was like for the Sages when they faced down Eternatus on the Darkest Day?

How was she supposed to help Leo save the omniverse like this?

“Cid! Can your freaky-deaky scan tell us how warm that machine’s back is?” Gene wondered.

“What’s that supposed to do?” Cid responded.

“Taking potshots at a distance isn’t getting us anywhere,” Gene growled, tail lashing the air. Seekerskorch’s head slowly turned toward him and Yuna. The drakloak opted to fly away, recognizing the mewtwo was the primary target. “I’m thinking we have to try percussive maintenance.”

“You can’t be serious, Boss Kitty,” Cyril said.

Another plasma beam split the air. If Yuna had hair, it would have undoubtedly stood on end. And sure enough, a prickly Reshiram flew toward her, his hair puffed out like a pom-pom oricorio’s wings. “That sure sounded like his serious voice to me,” Reshiram squeaked.

“The hell you on, Crotch Fuzz? He doesn’t have a serious voice!” Nikki huffed.

“If I may interject?” Cid said. “My analysis suggests that the Seekerskorch’s cannons are mounted on the edges of its segments, where a normal centiskorch’s legs would be. Its exoskeleton is heat resistant, so you should be able to land on it safely.”

“Works for me!” Gene shot forward in a pink blur. “Crotch Fuzz, follow me!”

“Stop calling me that! It’s a beauty tuft!” Reshiram whined, flying after the mewtwo. Yuna shielded her face from the heat given off by his tail turbine. The drakloak had no idea what Gene wanted, but she needed to give him a better opening, right?

She waved her arms around, hoping Noctum and Jade would pick up on it. Or maybe Valkyrie. Yuna then shouted, “You’re wrong! We’re not doing anything evil! We’re trying to help people!”

The Seekerskorch head paused. [Ha! Funny joke, but I knew you would say something like that. Your mind games will not work on me, captor. I am a paragon of justice!]

Three huge Flamethrowers cut through the air. Yuna was far enough away to weave between them. “You keep using that word, but we don’t even know what you mean by it!” she called back.

[Then that makes you stupid!] the pilot countered. [You trapped Eternatus against His will. And now I am going to free Him so everyone living inside Him can be happy.]

Yuna frowned. The pilot spoke with a childishness that reminded her of Leo. It couldn’t be an actual child, though. Probably someone whose mind was messed up by the emperor. But he wasn’t attacking Gene or Reshiram, so Yuna’s distraction was working!

“How is that justice?” Yuna shook her head. “If you free Eternatus, then you destroy our planet!”

[No, Eternatus will absorb you guys. And you will learn to be happy like all of His citizens.]

Paradox hunched over the communicator on his desk. “What do you think you’re doing, W1-DG3T?! The rebel is on your ship! Attack!” He smacked the desk with his tentacles. “Fire everything!”

The Seekerskorch’s many cannons crackled with fire and lightning. And the fiery antennae on its metal face darkened with ectoplasm. [That was a mean trick!] the pilot growled. [And I am going to make you all pay for it!]

Yuna braced herself for the worst when the Seekerskorch violently lurched to its left. Its head spewed giant spectral… pieces of furniture? Regardless how stupid it looked, the attack sailed higher into the red sky until it faded away. The drakloak cautiously flew closer and saw Nikki’s electric guitar planted squarely into the middle of one of the Seekerskorch’s segments. Purple sparks danced around it.

“No tricks or gimmicks here, tin can!” Nikki sneered. “Just a good old fashioned drum line, baby!” She stuck her tongue out and made metal horns with her fingers while a yelping Reshiram flew away. Gene shot down from the air and whacked the lightning guitar as hard as he could with his psychic spoon, driving it fully inside the Seekerskorch’s middle segment. Purple sparks spread across the metal exoskeleton.

[What the— that is impossible!]

Smirking, Gene saluted the Seekerskorch’s head and hopped back into a rift, transporting him over Yuna’s head. Seconds later, the middle segment exploded in a massive cloud of purple, red, and yellow. The segments behind the destroyed one plummeted from the sky. Jade and Noctum flew further from the rest of Team Bastion in tandem.

“Ahh, I love me a good fireworks show,” Gene said, applauding his handiwork. “Now if we can just replicate that at the head of what’s left, we might have a shot at this.”

“Uh, Gene?” Cid interjected. “I think whoever’s piloting is in the head. You’ll have a much tougher time getting there.”

“Got any other ideas, then, Professor?” Gene scoffed.

“I do, actually,” Cyril said. “If you can open rifts like that, why not turn its own attacks back on it?”

Yuna’s tail crinkled. That sounded difficult to pull off, but potentially effective. Too bad the remaining part of the Seekerskorch had chosen to switch tactics. Instead of Flamethrowers and Heat Waves, it launched bundles of flaming webs… that were homing in on their position!

“Gotta go!” the drakloak squeak, diving toward the ground. No good; the web missile kept giving chase. “You can’t be serious!” she groaned. Yuna tried opening her mouth and spewing some dragonfire, but the web missile barreled right through her Dragon Breath.

Do what Cid suggested, dummy! she told herself. Concentrating, Yuna tore a rift open between her and the fireball. It was too small to fully redirect the web missile, but large enough to break the attack. Unfortunately for the drakloak, the missile’s remnants rained over her. Strands of fiery webbing covered her rectangular head. Hissing, Yuna frantically rubbed her head, but that spread the flames onto her hands.

With no other recourse, Yuna dove onto the grass and rolled around. That put the flames out, but left the webs — and plenty of grass blades — stuck to her head.

[You really think that was clever, huh?] the pilot sneered. [Well, enjoy your little victory while it lasts, because you will not pull the wool over my eyes again. For great justice! For Eternatus!]

The Seekerskorch unleashed another missile barrage and… either Yuna was crazy or she really did see sound effects like “BAMF” and “KABOOM” project themselves over the Seekerskorch while it fired.

Either way, she figured the ground was the safest spot to stay to deal with this. So, the drakloak prepared herself to dodge… only for a sharp, stabbing pain to grip her head. Yuna sucked in a sharp breath. She had to focus on the fight. On staying in one piece.

Dark, shadowy tendrils wrapped themselves around a golden Needle planted firmly in the ground.

A Needle? No, that didn’t make any sense. What was happen— oh, God, her head hurt.

And, wait, why was her Soul Dew glowing brighter? Was Reshiram at his limit or something? He hadn’t been out that long!

“Return to me…”

Right as two web missiles homed in on her, the pain grew to be too much. Vision blinded by the Soul Dew’s light, Yuna could only muster a single scream.

Crystal tendrils sliced through Eternatus Bombardiers, sending their pilots careening off the stone rooftop. Off in the distance, more Bombardiers pressed their advance. Necrozma didn’t care, however. His prize was right in front of him. There was nothing these weak, insignificant machines could do to him. No matter how many the dumb, metallic midnight lycanroc standing in front of his Needle summoned, he’d destroy them.

Necrozma strode forward on his large, misshapen crystal legs. The shadows swirling around him gave him a strange, humanoid appearance.

“Don’t you dare!” Lycanroc hissed. He dug his hands into the ground, tearing up chunks of the metal roof and hurling them forward.

“Pointless,” Necrozma said. He flicked his right wrist. Two orbs of distorted light raced to meet the metal shards, blowing them apart. Necrozma turned and stomped the ground. Electric geysers raced behind him, catching the charging Bombardiers off guard and blowing them apart.

Lycanroc thought Necrozma was distracted. He thought wrong. A crystal tentacle lurched out of Necrozma’s shadows and coiled around a charging Lycanroc.

Necrozma turned back around. He hefted Lycanroc up to eye level. “Weak. Pathetic,” he growled. “You guard power that isn’t yours. Power you don’t understand.”

Lycanroc squirmed in Necrozma’s grasp, but he tightened his grip. Shadows covered Lycanroc’s mouth before he could retort.

“No words.” Necrozma strode closer to the Needle. To his power. “You only delay the inevitable. I will destroy this realm…”

The tentacle unfurled, whipping Lycanroc back toward more oncoming Eternatus troopers. He hurled a distorted light ball after them, bathing them in a rainbow geyser. Necrozma reached forward with his right arm and grabbed the needle. An emerald flash pushed his shadows apart briefly.

“Return to me… Zygarde.”

Necrozma pulled the needle. A burst of emerald light shot up, then a thousand glistening spears rained down all around him. The roof crumbled to dust while Necrozma floated where the Needle once sat. He glimpsed a fresh wave of Eternatus Troopers approaching.

As nice it would be to give them all a taste of the power he just reclaimed, his efforts were better spent elsewhere. He slashed the air in front of him with his left arm and vanished into a jagged rift.