Screams echoed all throughout the valley, but none of them could drown out the roar of the flames. Inyssa heard it inside her head, then felt it as it pierced through her skin. It didn't feel like something physical. More just… pure energy, sharp and crystallized willpower wielded like thousands of arrows of light and heat. Her shoulder was first. Then her left flank, right under the last of her ribs, and finally her right leg, right under the knee. It didn't pierce the skin, but seared through it, so deep and powerfully she felt the pain in her very soul.

She screamed. Legs failing, she slid a wobbly step forward then fell to her knees as a dozen other trails of heat passed over her. The world blurred around her, nothing but bright, incomprehensible colors and breaths that wouldn't come, the buzz of her own heartbeat in her ears drowning all sounds around her.

"A-ah… f-fff…"

By the time she came back to herself, the ribbons of flame had been replaced by ribbons of smoke. Seared rock and fur and flesh trailing wisps of ashen grey into the air, the only other movement that could be seen being that of bodies shaking, deep in pain.

"N-Niss…"

She looked up hazily, and saw Barry wavily standing next to her. Cynthia and Metchi were a few feet to the left, both on their knees, hacking and coughing, dots of heat-pierced clothing and flesh all throughout their bodies. The two of them had been hit lightly in comparison.

"W-what… the hell…"

She dragged herself to her feet with Barry's help, her stomach doing a flip by the mere movement alone. The pain was piercing, unbearable. But she could still breathe, could still see. And though her right leg was a little unsteady, she could still stand. Flaring her eyes and looking around, even through the smoke and ash she could tell their Pokemon were in similar conditions.

Many remained conscious, although only Enma, Wrathia and Garchomp were fully unharmed. Razen, Paulette, Johnny and Cynthia's Roserade seemed to have lost consciousness, but they clearly still breathed. From what she could see, none of those strands of heat had pierced vital organs. None of them had been intended as fatal. Was Nyss…?

"I certainly hope you're not under the naïve pretense that I'm going easy on you."

Nyss' words were like a gust of wind across the smoking chasm that was the valley. Immediately, all eyes shot to her. She walked out of the black cloud surrounding her, eyes a piercing golden, blade now devoid of that deep ebon shade. It, much like her armor and her scorched arms, were now replete with veins of glowing red and white, pumping heat and power like a heart would pump blood. It showed as she moved, as she stepped closer. Hazy afterimages trailed behind her body and blade, and immense heat emanating from her every pore.

"Like I said, I've simply finished warming up." She smiled cockily, but not cruelly. It was the same expression Inyssa had worn countless times during her toughest battles. A mask, yet one she'd been born to don. "As such, I believe it is only appropriate for me to finally fight uninhibited."

She looked down, eyes closed, and pressed a hand against her chest plate. Then, words as heavy as mountains left her lips.

"I will make reality bend to my Will."

And the storm came to life. The gold behind her eyes burst, solidified, and her body finally lost what little transparency it still had. A ring of golden flames spun at her feet, pushing down against the rock and expanding outwards like a shockwave, a gale that grew and grew until it had encompassed the entire valley.

Inyssa recoiled, expecting pain, but none came. Instead, she felt a… strange and energizing shiver run down her spine, a warmth that made her skin tingle and her blood come alive within her veins. It was the same warmth Metchi usually emanated, only immeasurably more intense. It imbued all she could see, wisps of luminescent energy rising from the ground like steam.

"T-this…" Cynthia couldn't help but gawk, fear and excitement mixed in her expression. "The power of your Spirit, even after so long…"

Metchi scoffed. "What a show-off."

"S-so this is her at her strongest?" asked Barry.

Inyssa nodded. "Yeah. And it's just a shadow of what she was once capable of."

It was far and beyond that incredible pressure Cynthia had exuded the last two times they'd fought her. There was simply no comparison. And yet they had to emerge victorious here, where before they had failed.

How could Inyssa not smile at such a prospect? She didn't need to look to the side to know the same expression was on everyone else.

"The time is ripe," Nyss' voice echoed, booming, all-encompassing. "Now…"

She started to run. Slowly at first, picking up speed with every ground-shaking step as both her hair and her hazy after-image trailed behind her, flames and cinders licking up her body. Her remaining opponents rose to meet her, in her eyes but a row of paper dolls attempting to stop a storm. She smiled a proud, terrible smile and suddenly fell into a crouch, a ring of flames spinning around her feet for only a moment before she leaped.

The ground cracked. Her foes looked up, seeing only a blur, only the flames trailing behind her. Then they saw her fall. Quickly, far more than should have been possible with gravity alone. She fell toward them like a flaming cannonball, blade held high.

Orders echoed through the air. Several figures jumped to meet her descent, and several more filled the air with attacks in an attempt to slow her momentum. It was pointless. Kuro's lightning and Pedri's water somehow… missed her, despite how sure they'd been of their aim, and Wrathia's flame did little more than momentarily blind her. She streaked past them and onto the blood-hungry streak of Lorencia's scythes.

Nyss parried them with minimal force, only enough for the slash to streak under her by an inch. Her momentum carried her forward as she drove her elbow onto the Garchomp's face. She growled and was thrown back, a blotch of purple on the dark blue where she'd been stricken, but she did not let that stop her. With incredible speed, she closed her claws around the woman's right arm and spun in place, throwing her straight down onto her companion's path.

Shadi and Kitsune flew up toward her, jumping on what appeared to be invisible panes of psychic energy. Nyss readied her blade. She was about to swing at them when the fox' eyes shone, and about a dozen of those same panes materialized before her, fusing together into a powerful barrier.

Nyss tore through it like fire through paper. That gave Kitsune pause, eyes wide in shock. His movements slowed, but Shadi's did not. She met the arc of the ebon blade with a skillful parry of her own, then jumped off nothing to the side with some of her stored momentum, using the strength of her wings to spin in mid-air and slash at Nyss' side with her scythes.

Once, then twice she was parried, but the speed and unpredictability of her blows was enough to keep Nyss on the defensive for a few moments. Shadi had to fly back and away as they finally met the ground. The impact of the woman's fall was followed by a shockwave as she immediately shot forward, falling into a crouch as she ran, twin streaks of red and blue streaking toward her from opposite directions.

"Force Palm!"

"Close Combat!"

Enma and Lucario fell upon her, battering her with a storm of kicks and punches as the rest of their companions hurried to join them. Nyss moved through them like a Vaporeon in water. Like smoke through the fingers of a closed fist, she weaved with inhuman speed and accuracy through the blur of light and flames, emerging behind the two Pokemon only an instant later. Enma and Lucario froze, eyes widening. They turned around just in time to see the arc Obsidian made toward them.

"RHAAAAAA!"

Pedri cut through the battlefield in a mantle of swirling water, pushing the two of them aside as he met the slash of flame with one of his own. A sound like a gong being struck resonated. Pressurized steam exploded in a cloud as he and Nyss were thrown back by the force of the impact. Pedri wobbled a step back, fins shaking, but his opponent did not wait. There was a yellow blur behind her, and as the air crackled with electricity she lazily slashed at the air behind her, re-directing Kuro's lightning away from her. Then she fell into a crouch and leaped forward, onto her enemies.

She was a blur, a frenetic chaos. The sheer speed and ease with which she dodged one attack, parried another and struck back against a third opponent all in the same moment was… unfathomable. There was no doubt, no delay to her movements. Her fighting style was nothing short of perfect, and even as all the front-fighters threw themselves at her again and again, and even as the others around the battlefield tried to slow her down with vines or pelt her with bolts of energy, none of it worked. Nothing slowed her down. Nothing… hit the mark.

A worried look began to cross Inyssa's face. They weren't landing hits anymore, but Nyss was getting closer with every second that passed. Thin streaks of blood cut through the blur of combat every few moments. As Nyss flowed and weaved between the small army of Pokemon attacking her, she made sure to strike back, more often than not finding its mark, although not yet striking a vital point.

Not yet…

The thought made her stomach sink. The Kricketune was holding her own against that monster… no, more than that. If Nyss was a storm then Shadi was a red ribbon caught up in it, not resisting its pull, instead flowing alongside it, searching for its center. Wild trails of blood-red mist exuded from her body with every movement like steam from a kettle; a mere drop of the momentum she'd accumulated throughout the fight. Combined with the hazy after-images left behind by Nyss' attacks, it made for a breathtaking sight. Two mirages of ebon and crimson crashing again and again, making sharp, frenetic music like a violin's bow being feverishly dragged across its strings.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Yet there was not denying it. Shadi was getting slower, the momentum she absorbed from each blow too powerful to keep inside her body. She gave back as much as she could, strike after strike, but it wasn't fast enough. Even with the other Pokemon assisting her, she couldn't keep up for long.

Inyssa opened her mouth to yell something, but stopped herself. Was it really okay to interfere? Hadn't she failed Shadi time and time again by pulling her out of fights she didn't think the Kricketune could win? And after promising her so much, no less. She frowned, teeth nibbling at her lower lip. This was…

She felt a hand on her shoulder. When she turned around, Metchi's smile met her, all pained and bloody, yet just as genuine as always.

"It's gonna be okay," she said. "We can beat her."

It might've been something in Metchi's voice, but she believed it. Feeling a bit of that anxiety die down, she looked toward the battlefield.

"Are you still insisting on fighting too?" she asked.

"I gotta pay her back for that head butt somehow, don't I?"

Inyssa smiled. "Then I think I've got an idea. Here."

"What are…?"

Metchi was surprised when Inyssa took off one of her gloves and grabbed her right hand, the tips of her fingers touching the knife she was holding. Her eyes glowed as she infused the weapon, and there was a small crackle between them. A wordless conversation.

"Ah… gotcha," said Metchi as she let go of her hand. "That's… not gonna be easy."

"You never know, might as well try," she shrugged. "Now go, see if you can give Shadi some space. Steven!"

The Staraptor's talons grabbed onto Metchi and they were off, wind exploding in shock-waves around every beat of his wings as they joined the fight once more.

Yells and orders echoed at her side, Barry and Cynthia's voices joining together as they tried to find a way for their Pokemon through the chaos of the battlefield.

"Pedri, Rock Slide!"

"With him, Lorencia!"

Jumping back, the two Pokemon positioned themselves on opposite sides of Nyss and roared as they slammed their hands down against the ground, sending waves of energy powerful enough to make it crack and explode. All the other Pokemon stepped back. Nyss shook, her foothold suddenly unsteady as it began breaking apart from under her, sharp spires of rock erupting like spikes.

She dodged the first two and slashed at the third as though it were made of butter, but soon she realized that the attack wasn't entirely meant to harm her. Looking around, she realized that the spires had risen all throughout the battlefield, a hundred miniature protrusions erected in rows with her at the center. She frowned in confusion, only a second before seeing the red blur.

Nyss' eyes widened. She'd been astounded before that a simple Kricketune could move so fast, fight so deftly, but this was beyond her wildest expectations. Calling her a blur would've been insufficient. She was nothing more than a streak, a crimson arrow that whistled through the battlefield, jumping from spire to spire in wild, erratic patterns. Nyss' eyes flew as she tried to follow her movements, but she couldn't keep up, it was too…

"Now! Obsidian Overture!"

Were it not for the quick feeling of the Pokemon's gaze setting on her, Nyss wouldn't have been able to react in time. Even then, she was only able to raise her sword a few inches. Just enough to meet the blow. Shadi flew toward her, spinning on herself with her scythes outward like a saw. When the two met, a horribly shrill screech of sharpness against sharpness echoed through the air, and sparks flew in all directions as the two vied for control.

But for once, Nyss' parrying was sloppy. Angled as it was, her blade couldn't keep the impact at bay and flew out of her hand, spinning through the air erratically before falling to the ground. But Shadi's scythes kept going. They went past Nyss' arms and slammed against her chest plate, sawing into it, going past metal and cloth and digging into skin and flesh.

"GHK-GAAH!"

Nyss' punch was quick and desperate, wholly different from her calculated movements before, which caught Shadi off-guard. Unable to block, it caught her on the side of the head like a blow from a hammer. She was thrown aside and to the ground while Nyss took an unsteady step back, teeth clenched. There was a thick gash down the middle of her chest plate, dark blood starting to stain its edges.

"Obsidian, w-where's…"

There were flares behind and above her, and she moved instinctively, jumping back as Lucario landed in her previous spot, driving a stake of glowing energy against the ground. From behind him streaked Infernape, flames exploding off every pore of his body, boosting his speed considerably as he threw himself at her. Red and white licked at Nyss' own fingers as she raised her palm and caught the punch with it, heat and force expanding in a shockwave around the impact. She tried to grab at his wrist but he was fast, throwing another two punches that were but smokescreens for a roundhouse kick at her side, the centrifugal force of his flames giving him enough speed that she had to focus wholly on blocking for a couple seconds. And a couple seconds was all the other Pokemon needed to reach her side.

Away from her blade, Nyss could only duck and weave in between the storm of blows and slashes as she tried to reach for her weapon, but every inch gained was a hit taken, a drop of blood sprayed. But she was close now. She threw herself forward and slammed her forearm on the inside of Garchomp's elbow, stopping her slash, then punched her in the face and used the confusion to slid past her.

There. Obsidian rested on the ground, not too far. She heard the crackling of flames and psychic energy; Infernape and Alakazam would be upon her soon, but she could get there in time, she could–

She noticed something odd then, out of the corner of her eye. The Luxray, the one that had been blasting away at her with bolts of lightning. She'd seen him running around the battlefield in circles, and figured he might be waiting for an opportunity to strike, but… no, that wasn't it. There was something on top of him. A Pokemon, a… Roserade? It stood atop his back, shooting vines in all directions, wrapping them around the many jagged spires of rock littering the battlefield and connecting them together. What on…?

"HGHAH!"

In her short-lived confusion, Nyss failed to notice as Metchi came flying in and slammed against her with the full brunt of her momentum, falling on top of her. They hit the ground hard and rolled forward, limbs entangled. By the time they stopped, Nyss found herself on her back, Metchi kneeling, almost collapsed on top of her, hands pressing her wrists tightly against the ground.

Their faces were close, too close. For the shortest moment, fluster kept Nyss more pinned than Metchi's strength ever could.

"Hey," Metchi whispered. "Miss me?"

Nyss kneed her in the stomach. With a gasp and a wretch Metchi was thrown back, freeing her wrists. She twisted in place and stretched her hand to grab Obsidian, fingers closing tightly around the sword's hilt. Then, without thinking, she raised the weapon and slashed at Metchi's ches–

The blade stopped in place, its momentum slowing with great difficulty, then dying completely. Eyes widening, Nyss looked to the side, finding the culprits. Espeon and Alakazam were ablaze with their own psychic energy, using every ounce of it to stop the swing of her arm.

She felt a pull, like a vacuum of space, and her arm was pulled up like a puppet from its strings, pushing her to her feet in an instant. Nyss grit her teeth, focused her strength and smashed through the psychic hold like a hammer shattering glass, but she couldn't do it fast enough to avoid the Pokemon barreling toward her.

"Wild Charge!"

With a roar that boomed like a gunshot, Luxray slammed against her, head digging into her stomach. The high voltage running through his fur instantly transferred to her armor and Nyss' limbs went limp as she was thrown through the air, the world spinning around her. She tried to move, but her body wouldn't list–

One of the taller rock spires cracked as her back crashed against it, stopping her flight and embedding the back of her chest plate onto it. Nyss shook her head, swatting away the confusion. And as she looked down, two things surprised her.

First, she was not alone. The Roserade that had been riding atop Luxray's back now held on to her chest plate as tightly as he could, apparently having been thrown alongside her. And second, she could feel the texture of vines against her elbow and the back of her forearm, lining the outline of the rock.

"I…"

It was too late when she realized what was happening. Someone cried out in the distance, and the small Roserade placed its bouquet hands against her chest, his whole body bursting with a greenish white glow.

Then, vines exploded in all directions. They grew fast, violently, the full might of life's essence pouring forth from Roserade's hands. In an instant they covered Nyss' torso whole, wrapping around the rock behind her and securing her tight. She gasped and attempted to break free, but then more vines, longer and thicker, shot out from the clump keeping her in place. They cut through the air like whips and joined with the ones wrapped around every other jagged spire littering the battlefield. They were all joined together by vines, with her at the center.

As realization dawned on her, Inyssa's scream cut through the air.

"Now! Thorn Burial!"

The vines went taut, pulled inward. Espeon and Alakazam flared psychic energy once more and lent their power as well, making every single one of the spires dislodge itself from the ground and shoot toward the bound Nyss as though by a great magnetic force.

She could only stare, dumbfounded. Roserade jumped out of her chest just as the dozens of boulders converged and slammed against each other as well as every inch of her body, dull and sharp edges denting and piercing through her armor and onto the skin and flesh below. The crackling of the impacts and the massive cloud of dust that rose up from them did wonders at masking the wet, broken gasp that left Nyss' lips, as well as the mouthful of blood that came with it.

A scream broke through the pain. Cynthia's. It boomed like lightning throughout the valley.

"NOW!"

Nyss saw them through a haze of pain and blurriness, her own heartbeat echoing in her ears, deafening her. Multiple figures leapt high into the air and fell straight toward her. Gleams of red and gold and blue covered their fists and scythes and blades, all that they could bring to bear against her, the peak of their power. They intended to finish her off here and now.

That thought brought clarity like a hot iron pressed against her skin. Nyss inhaled sharply, eyes shooting wide. She tried to free herself but couldn't; her right arm was crushed and bloody in between two large boulders, tightly keeping it in place. She couldn't free it in time. They were almost upon her, she could see them through the corner of her eye.

Nyss pursed her lips, and raised her blade. Only one thing to do.

There was a blur of movement, a spray of red, and then the impact came. Like a whirlpool being overflowed, the clump of sharp boulders were half shattered and half buried from the sheer power of their combined assault, only for that same momentum to explode outwards a second later, dust and steam and shattered pebbles flying in all directions.

But as the Pokemon recoiled from the impact of their own attacks, they realized. There was no blood. No screams of pain, no… presence where Nyss' had been before. But she was there. She had to be, that pale thing sticking through two of the boulders…

Realization came a moment too late to them. What lay on top of the wreck was indeed an arm, crushed and bloody and bent unnaturally, but it was not attached to their opponent.

"Wh… crap! Up, up!" Cynthia's scream brought them back to reality, shrill and fearful. "There, above!"

All the Pokemon looked up, and felt their breath leave their bodies. Time slowed to a crawl. There, about twenty feet above them, hovered Nyss, reaching the height of her previous jump. She hung in the air for a moment, her previously ornate and beautiful armor now little more than scrap, dented and pierced all over, stained almost entirely with the woman's blood. It trailed behind her as she fell; long, thick ribbons of dark red not only from her wounds, but from where her right arm used to be.

Her expression was darkened, eyes wide and terrifying, gleaming with nothing but death. She raised her sword and pointed down as she began to fall. Then, she parted her lips and screamed.

Every drop and trail of blood ignited. Nyss became a falling star, a pure source of luminescence and heat that slammed against the ground with force unfathomed, her roar shattering the air just as her blade shattered the ground.

The light was the last many of them saw, as the ground erupted like the surface of a volcano and flames engulfed all.