Silence pooled into that dark hallway amidst two empty hangars in the docks of Pastoria, so thick and heavy it could have been mistaken for the unbearable humidity in the air. It felt like breathing through a thin layer of water. A problem that had greatly exacerbated, now that the two young trainers were breathing harsh and heavy, their entire bodies shaking at the sight before them.

Cyrus and Cynthia looked down at the human, immobile figure collapsed against the narrow end of the corridor, surrounded by three others, smaller and more Pokemon-like. The silence gathered the heaviest around them, perhaps because they were the ones least likely to break it, all semblance of life gone from their wide, empty eyes.

"I-I… o-oh god…"

He was the first to collapse against the weight of that silence. Hands bloodied, shaking, Cyrus stumbled back and leaned against the nearest wall for support, looking down and holding his head tight. Cynthia and Lorencia looked at him, though neither of them moved. The blood covering them was much more substantial, as was the shock and emptiness in their expressions.

"I c-can't… dear Arceus, what have we…?"

His voice cracked and shook with every word, almost sobbing. That seemed to bring Cynthia back to reality. She blinked away the tears gathering in her eyes and hurried to place her hands on his shoulders, firmly, reassuringly.

"You… you saved my life, Cyrus."

All of the usual strength and bluster was gone from her voice, and even though hers wasn't on the brink of collapse, it still sounded raw, frayed, as though it were hanging on by a thread. There was a hint of delirium behind those grey, stormy eyes.

"W-we…" Cyrus held on to her as though she were the only thing keeping him afloat. "Cynthia, we just… she…"

Cynthia gave Kayn's body a side glance, although it only lasted a moment. She couldn't bear to look at the corpse for any more time than that. She was… about as disturbed as she would've expected, considering what she'd just done. But then, where was the panic? Where was the horror so present in Cyrus' voice?

"She… was trying to kill me," Cynthia assured him. "And she would've killed you too if she had the chance. We only… we only defended ourselves. No one can blame us."

Mouth hanging open, Cyrus shook his head in disbelief, like he couldn't process her words.

"That's… that's not the…"

"It was me." Cynthia said that with firm, violent conviction, the grey of her eyes flashing. "It wasn't you, Cyrus. I finished her off. This wasn't… you can't blame yourself for this, do you understand?"

Because if you do, then… then I would be the one who…

"Please, promise me," she whispered. "You saved my life, that's all that happened. I did the rest, so… so don't…"

She couldn't finish, and Cyrus couldn't have answered anyway. Bloodied, their nerves and emotions frayed, both teenagers stood in that dark hallway, holding each other, trying to keep the other from falling.

Finally, after long, arduous seconds, Cyrus looked at the body. His throat dry, but he managed to get some words out nonetheless.

"What… what do we do?"

Cynthia looked as well, this time managing not to look away. This was a problem, something with a solution. This, she could do. She had to. If she didn't do something right now… if she didn't jump into action, then…

"If… if they find her here, I doubt they'd be able to parse us out as the culprits without the knife," she said. "Even so… they'll probably use this for their own gain. This will just be another way they can push the pro-war narrative all across the region. A dead Gym leader… they couldn't dream of a better scapegoat."

Cyrus swallowed. Still mostly out of himself, eyes wide and unseeing. It took him a good ten seconds to be able to talk.

"Then… because of us…"

"No."

Cynthia's grip on him became tighter. Pursing her lips, she looked up at the boy's face and, again, the grey of her eyes flared with something powerful and foreboding.

"That will only happen… if they find her as she is now."

"What…" Cyrus gulped. "What are you saying?"

"…Cyrus. Do you trust me?"

He blinked, unsure of how to reply. "I… yes. But why…?"

His question hung there for a moment, as Cynthia looked away from him and gazed at the body, cold and lifeless, the silence around it still bearing upon them like liquid, suffocating air.

The words that finally cut that silence were the most terrifying Cyrus had ever heard coming out of Cynthia's mouth.

"There are… a few hours left until dawn. Until then… until they have a chance to find her… the ball is in our court." She smiled a terrible smile, full of delusion and desperation. "We can use her before they do."

----------------------------------------

Inyssa took a sudden breath, and immediately had to cough it out, smoke and ashes making her choke and tear up.

She pressed her elbows against the ground and pushed herself up, the world spinning around her. If she'd lost consciousness from the heat, it couldn't have been for longer than a few seconds. Everything before her, the valley… it was unrecognizable. Nothing of it remained, only scorched, shattered stones as far as the eye could see, serving as little more than spots for the score of unconscious Pokemon to lean against. Though even they were hard to make out, just as smoking and blackened as everything else.

"W-wh…"

Inyssa blinked, and just then the transparent barrier she hadn't even noticed shattered into a thousand pieces, burned away. A second after, the mantle of light engulfing Noria and Kitsune vanished, and both Pokemon crumpled to the ground, utterly spent of energy.

So that's why… if it hadn't been for them, we'd be…

The others were starting to rouse up around her. Just like her, they'd probably been blown back and momentarily knocked out by the explosion of heat, but other than a few singed patches of clothing here and there, none of them had been burned too badly.

"F…f-fucking hell," Metchi could be heard not too far away. "That was…"

"Is… is everyone alr-?"

Cynthia's question was interrupted as a heavy step, iron against stone, echoed through the valley. All eyes shot toward the noise. It came from the middle of the valley, from within the thick column of smoke and ash. There was another step, and a figure could finally be made out.

"I-it's…"

Nyss stepped out, slowly, weakly. Every inch of her bled smoke, trailing past skin and armor and hair much like the hazy afterimage did before. Only now, she…

"S-she's weakened."

Barry was right. Nyss shuffled toward them as though she were carrying a mountain on her back, every step slow, laborious. Her breathing was heavy and no hint of gold could be seen past the curtain of black that was her hair, covering her face.

That sight was enough to motivate them all to their feet. But even so, even if she was weakened…

"O-our Pokem–"

Another figure rose to its feet. Pebbles and rocks echoed as they slid off the top of her body and fell to the ground, getting Nyss' attention. The legend stopped, tilted her head to the side and found herself face to face with the only Pokemon still standing. A wounded, bloody Kricketune, scythes held high.

Inyssa's heart sank.

"I see… it will be you, then?" asked Nyss, the echo and power of her voice waning, yet still a smile formed on her lips. "You want the honor of defeating me… then come. Snuff this flame out, once and for all!"

One last flare, one last burst of strength. Feet dragging across the shattered rock, standing amidst a blackened, smoldering chasm, human and Pokemon stared each other down, falling into a crouch as they prepared to strike. White, luminescent heat rose from the ground to coil around Nyss' arm, coating her blade. Dark, blood-red steam exuded from Shadi like mist, all the remaining energy she'd accumulated bleeding into her scythes.

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

The two warriors shone each other a quick, simple smile, and threw themselves forward as a terrified scream echoed.

"SHADI!"

Inyssa's eyes burst alight, and time slowed to a crawl. Her sight true, her senses enhanced like never before, Inyssa saw through every twitch, every small movement and adjustment of their weapons as they flew closer and closer to impact, and knew… knew that Shadi would win. She would kill Nyss… she would emerge victorious.

But at the cost of her life.

In that moment that stretched into eternity, the deepest fear stabbed into Inyssa's heart like icy claws digging into flesh. And yet… she froze. Stopped herself from interfering.

Hadn't she promised Shadi this? A chance to stand where no others had stood, to show the world that any Pokemon, no matter how weak and frail, could rise above all others? And here she was, moments from taking down the most renowned warrior that had ever lived. This was her moment of glory, her chance to be immortalized for all time as the strongest of her species.

This was what she'd trained and suffered so much for. It wouldn't be right for her to…

To…

You're seriously the best.

The words and the feeling of that memory echoed in her head. The tears running down her cheeks, the feeling of holding an exhausted Shadi against her, hugging her so tight, pride dripping from her every word. A smile she couldn't contain.

I love you.

Time sped up again. Inyssa's body moved automatically, fueled by pure fear and desperation. Her eyes flared, her body burst into light and she vanished, reappearing with a puff in between the two, one hand raised toward each.

There was no sound, no shockwave of impact, only a sudden burst of light. Nyss and Shadi squinted, equal looks of confusion on their faces. Their momentum was completely gone. They could feel something warm and ethereal wrapped around their arms, stopping them in place.

"Be…lele?"

"Inyssa?"

Inyssa knelt between them, looking small and frail within the creature of light that surrounded her like a suit of armor. A familiar presence, one she'd summoned twice before. The glowing Golurk moved as she did, seizing both Nyss' blade and Shadi's scythes, holding them firmly in place with its massive hands.

There was another, subtler glow, golden in hue, that bled from one of the hands to Nyss' sword, though Nyss failed to notice, as it was there for only a moment.

Inyssa lifted her chin shakily, looking at the dumbfounded Kricketune. Every inch of her body shook with effort. The gold of her eyes flickered on and off, like a faulty light bulb.

"I'm… sorry," she whispered, her voice echoing as though at the end of a long tunnel. "I'm the one that s-sent you down this path, and still…"

A frail, shaking smile formed on her lips, and when she spoke Inyssa's voice cracked.

"I… don't w-want you to die," she breathed out, almost like a sob. "What good is winning if I can't celebrate it with you? I want you here, alive… by my si… de…"

Her voice trailed off. The giant of light broke apart, then poofed away entirely, bleeding into the air like white mist as Inyssa collapsed, limp, all strength gone from her. She was surprised to feel something soft and warm stop her fall. Shadi held her, shakily, carefully, against her own body. Looking through lidded eyes, she saw her face only inches from hers, an indescribable expression on her face.

"I'm sorry…" Inyssa repeated, sounding almost delirious. "I love you too much… to let you go. G-guess that makes me a pretty selfish trainer, ha…"

For a few seconds that felt like minutes no one said anything, the heated battle seemingly frozen in time as Pokemon and trainer held each other, hurt and exhausted. Even Nyss stood there, staring, an uncharacteristically distraught look on her face. Despite being covered in blood and curls of ash, despite looking like a demon straight out of anyone's worst nightmares, there was something terribly human and vulnerable about her face just then. It looked as though she'd just seen a ghost.

"S… Synn…"

It was barely a whisper, so small that not even Shadi and Inyssa could hear it. Nor that they could have even if it wasn't, because just then another voice cut through the silence. A growl, a scream.

"Hhhaaaaagh!"

Fueled by nothing but fear at the sight of Nyss' blade so close to his girlfriend, Barry stomped the ground and barreled straight toward them, eyes gleaming, ominous. Nyss blinked away the shock and tried to react, but she couldn't. It was as though the wind were pushing against his back, driving him forward, because he reached her in only a second and, turning to the side in the last moment, slammed his shoulder against Nyss' side strongly enough to knock her off her feet. She fell to the ground, landing on her shoulder with a surprised grunt, the rock cracking under her weight.

And just like that, the heat and desperation of battle returned, like a sudden gust of wind upon the valley.

A lot of things happened at once. Nyss spat out a mouthful of blood and tried to push herself to her feet, Shadi screeched in warning and placed her scythes protectively in front of her trainer, and Metchi began to run, quickly picking up speed, her one remaining knife held firmly in front of her.

"Half-pint!"

Inyssa perked up, blinking away the haze of exhaustion. Metchi was calling to her. She looked up, and saw her running like a stampede of Tauros straight at Nyss. She saw Nyss get up just in time, breathing harsh, back hunched forward, wet and reddish streaks of ashen hair stuck to her face like a bloody spider web. Eyes wide, terrifying, she turned her gaze to Metchi, and began to move. A wobbly, exhausted step, followed by a quicker, perfect one as she threw herself forward, raising her sword.

Then her eyes met Metchi's, and she gave a short, weak nod. Just like they'd planned.

The ground seemed to shake as both women raised their weapons, so close they could see each other's faces perfectly. Nyss brought her blade down in a diagonal slash. Metchi stabbed up with her knife, straight at her foe's chest.

And in the instant before they connected, Inyssa raised her hand and squinted, one last, weak burst of energy flashing behind her eyes.

Re…lease…

There was a quick, almost imperceptible flash, and both weapons switched places with one another.

"WH–GHK!"

Wet and crackly like stepping on wet branches, Obsidian made a horribly unpleasant noise as Metchi drove it straight through Nyss' chest, piercing skin and bone and flesh and coming out the other side, black stained a deep red.

Nyss froze for a moment, eyes wide, somewhat hidden by locks of ashen hair. Slowly, shakily, she looked down, and laughed.

It was a weak laugh, one could have easily mistaken it for the cough that came after, wet and violent and with a mouthful of blood. But it was a laugh nonetheless. As though the sight of her own blade piercing her through the chest were the funniest thing she'd seen in thousands of years.

Metchi shared in her laughter, though in her case it was more of a shaky sigh accompanied by a smile.

"There's a very crude joke I could make right now," she whispered, hands still holding on to the sword. "But I wouldn't want to ruin the occasion."

"Ha, how con…siderate of y-you…"

Knife sliding from her fingers to the ground, Nyss took a shaky step back and fell to her knees limply, like a puppet who'd been cut free of its strings. Small strips of blood fell from the tip of the blade sticking out of her back. She didn't attempt to pull it out. For a few long seconds, she simply knelt there, breathing slowly, eyes hidden in darkness.

Metchi stepped back. The others said nothing for a few heartbeats, though they all wondered the same thing.

"Is… is it… over?"

Barry's hopeful whisper was met with a pained chuckle. Slowly, Nyss looked up from where she was kneeling, eyes and body wracked with pain and exhaustion, almost all of her energy spent. But she wasn't gone yet.

"As long as I still breathe, I will continue to fight," she whispered with a smile. "But I believe… you three have done more than enough already."

The clear confusion on their faces was cleared up as Nyss looked over her shoulder. It was harder to see now, amidst all the smoke and destruction, but what they had come here for was still there in the other extreme of the valley. Almost hidden, a small entrance, little more than a crack in the rocky wall.

"That's right."

Cynthia stepped forward, just as exhausted and covered in wounds and soot as everyone else. Her hair was a frizzy mess, and for once they could see her left eye, the one usually hidden by a large golden tuft of hair.

"You've all done more than I could have ever hoped to ask of you," she said through harsh breaths. "But this is not what you came here for. Our time is running out."

Nyss nodded, as best she could. "It… won't be long now, until the moonless night. I can sense others fighting on Mt. Coronet's peak. They are doing what they can to delay this eternal twilight, and you three… must now do the same."

Inyssa and Barry exchanged a look, the same expression on both their faces. Metchi, however, just chuckled and rolled her eyes dismissively.

"Wanna steal my victory that badly, huh?" she said. "Fine… I guess it can't be helped."

"I…" Barry frowned, looking from Cynthia to Nyss. "Are you sure? I-I mean yeah, I know we have to go but…"

As Inyssa was helped up to her feet by Shadi, a clear look of worry crossed her face, one that Cynthia didn't fail to pick up on.

"You needn't worry," she said, shining Inyssa a warm smile. "I will not let any further harm come upon your friends. You can trust me."

As much as she would have loved to complain, Inyssa figured there wasn't much more to be said, not with such a heavy time limit hanging upon our heads. So she swallowed down her worries and answered the smile with a reluctant nod. Then she turned to look at Shadi. She was prepared to apologize again, but something in the bug's eyes… there was nothing but love and understanding there. There were no unsaid words between them.

Inyssa smiled, and pressed her forehead against Shadi's, smiling. "T… thank you…"

Metchi and Barry were quick to help her up at last, hooking her arms around their shoulders and helping her stay on her feet. It still hurt terribly every time she put weight on her singed leg.

"W-well…"

All three of them looked at the battlefield around them, the destruction, the unconscious bodies all over. Then they looked at Nyss, brought to her knees at last. And even so…

"Ha… you three are… so kind. But it's just like Cynthia said. You needn't worry."

Nyss looked to the side, toward them, and underneath all the blood and iron and smoke, they saw a kind, warm expression. Motherly, almost.

"I can't ever hope to thank you enough. If I finally leave this world, I will do so with the knowledge that all I cherish is left in good hands," she told them. "The bitter sight of death would ill-suit the victory you've earned… so go. Go, and do what I, in my foolishness, could not. Ensure a tomorrow for all that live."

"I…" Barry swallowed, then gave a firm, determined nod. "We will! I promise!"

"Thank you. For everything, and…" Inyssa gave her a tilted, exhausted smile. "… and for such an unforgettable battle."

"Just go on and get that well-deserved rest, and leave everything else to us," said Metchi. "And make sure to doll yourself up there on the other side. 'Cause when I die I'll be there to sweep you off your feet, even if I gotta blast through the doors of hell to reach you."

"Ha… I will look forward to it."

And with that, there were no more words to be said. Looking back one last time, Metchi's gaze lingering the longest, the three walked away, stepping over craters and walking under arcs of jagged rock until they reached the other side, the small opening that led further down the valley, and onto the World of Distortion itself.

The opening called to them. Drew them deeper like air being breathed in, like a magnet to iron. Whispers danced in their minds as they got closer, until they were practically staring down the abyss, one step away from entering it.

"Well… here goes nothing."

And with that whisper, Metchi stepped forward alongside Barry and Inyssa, disappearing past the opening and onto the endless darkness.