20 minutes before the Moonless Night:
Cynthia burst into the Hall of Fame with a flash of brilliant golden light, making the poor guard behind her yelp and choke with the water she'd been drinking a second before.
"Sorry," said Cynthia, out of breath. "Can't waste time. Please don't follow me."
Not that the guard could have even if she wanted to, as Cynthia broke into a desperate run a second later, reaching the other side of the room in mere moments. A dusty and weakened Espeon ran behind her, her fur gleaming with the psychic energy of their last teleportation. Without waiting for orders, she jumped atop her master's shoulder as soon as her hand reached the panel on the wall, surrounded by normally empty sockets, now filled with Barry's badges. She pressed the button, and the walls parted with a rough whir.
"Now, Noria."
Espeon's eyes shone, and suddenly Cynthia was inside the elevator behind those walls. She punched the button, and it came to life around her. Shaking, whirring, it began to descend.
Those few seconds were the longest of Cynthia's life. She kept her eyes glued to the door, muscles tensed, breath rough and heavy. She didn't know how much time she had left. She'd come to Lily of the Valley island as soon as humanly possible, but even so that didn't leave much room for error. Time was running out. Thump. Thump. Like a pendulum, her heartbeat made her aware of every second, every breath. Fear and excitement coursed equally through her veins, making the hair on her arms stand up on end. One way or another, this–
The elevator came to a stop. The doors clicked, then opened just an inch, a slit of darkness.
"Now!"
Another flash, and Cynthia was a few yards further into the tunnel before the elevator's door even finished opening. She ran, flashing in and out, every second another yard Noria teleported them forward. The Espeon's strength was nearly depleted from their fight with Nyss, but even so she used every ounce of it left to shave off even an instant, to get them closer to…
"There!"
The majesty of Arceus' holy ring adorning the mural hit her like every time before, perhaps even more so despite the dire circumstances. The pale glow of those golden veins mixed with the azure hue of the flames burning atop the torches on each side of the mural, forming a strange and captivating hue of light that bathed their bodies as they came closer.
Cynthia's gaze went through the whole ring, seeing every plate, every socket that had been filled over the years, leaving only one still empty. There, in the smaller inner circle. Her breath hitched in anticipation. Her fingers clenched against the rough stone of the tablet in her hand.
This is it. After all this time…
She stopped suddenly before the mural, feet sliding from the momentum of her run, and raised her hand toward the empty socket. Thump. Thump. Two beats of her heart deafened her, sent powerful shivers down her entire body. She took only a single second to breathe, to gather her wits.
Then, she pressed the Dread Plate against the slot and pushed it in, completing the mural.
The cavern shook. The golden veins burst alight, exuding sunlight. The azure flames on either side exploded with a roar.
…the Key will be forged at last.
With a sound like flames bursting down a trail of lit oil, the golden veins that formed Arceus' holy ring started to vanish. No… not vanish. It was more like they were being siphoned back into the center, the light pooling, thickening in a spiral of glowing ribbons, like the opposite of a black hole. After a few moments it coalesced into a glowing orb the size of her fist, like a miniature sun. It floated where previously the center of the ring had been, pulsing with warmth.
Cynthia's jaw fell, and the grey of her eyes flashed with wonder. With familiarity. But it wasn't yet finished. After all, to forge something, heat needed to be applied.
Slowly, and in the same manner as the golden veins, the blue flames of the torches were siphoned toward the orb of light, mixing into it, changing the hue of its glow and setting it ablaze in a great azure conflagration. Cynthia gasped, taking a sudden step back as the flames grew and grew, forming a sphere big enough to eclipse the entire mural behind it.
And from within those flames, the distillation of the golden ring and the seventeen tablets began to shift. To morph, like molten metal being struck into shape. Thin and elongated, somewhat cylindrical in nature. There were a few bumps and protrusions here and there, and for a few moments she couldn't make out what it was. But then it struck her. It wasn't shaped like a key. It was shaped like…
"…A flute?"
It was an insufficient description. To call the instrument before her a simple flute was like referring to a stick as a sword.
Once its shape solidified, the ball of flames engulfing it disappeared for good, leaving behind only their brilliant azure hue as it coated the entire instrument. It was like a tiny sliver of heaven. And as Cynthia reached to grab it, she felt its power course through her skin, like prickly electricity. It weighed about as much as a feather. Cynthia stared at it in her hands for a few seconds, eyes alit with awe.
And familiarity.
For some reason she couldn't identify, an anxious, gnawing thought formed in the back of her mind.
I feel as though… I've seen and held this before. But how could that…?
"Mrraw!"
Noria's cry brought her to reality with a jolt. Right, there was no time to lose; she could worry about that odd feeling later, after they'd stopped Cyrus and averted the great twilight.
"Let's go," she said, turning away from the now empty mural. "Lucian must've instructed them to leave an Alakazam in the building to teleport us closer to Mt. Coronet. We should be able to make it in time."
"Mraw!"
The Espeon jumped atop her shoulder once more, and they were off. The way back from the long tunnel felt like an eternity this time, but Cynthia didn't feel quite as anxious as before. The calm radiance of the flute in her hand eased her worries. It sent a pulsing warmth throughout her body, like a reassuring whisper. Things would be okay. Now she had the ultimate trump card; no matter what happened, she'd be able to fix things.
And yet, that thought persisted in the back of her head. Why did she think she'd seen this object before? It itched in her mind, and she couldn't put the words together but…
Something felt wrong. Off. Like some variable she'd forgot to consider.
No time for that now, she reminded herself. We're on a time limit here.
The old elevator whirred to life as she punched the button once more, rising into the League building and spitting her up into the Hall of Fame. As she stepped outside, she was glad to see people already waiting for her. The guard from before, and another woman she remembered as one of Lucian's assistants. They stared at her in surprise and… worry?
"Did Lucian prepare an Alakazam for me?" she asked bluntly, taking a step toward them. "I need to make my way to–"
"Y-yes, yes, right here!"
The League employee nodded nervously and raised a Pokeball she'd been holding. She swallowed, as though unsure of how to continue.
"B-but… we've been trying to contact Lucian and the rest of the Elite Four, but it seems… they're busy with their mission," she said. "There's… there's been an incident. Here in the building, it's…"
Cynthia furrowed her brow, confused and irritated. What now? Couldn't this wait until later?
"I don't have much time to waste," she clarified, almost spitting out the words. "Contact the Jubilife branch and have their representative deal with it for the moment."
"Y-yes, of course!"
It was touching, in a way. Despite the fact she was no longer the Champion or even employed by the League, the woman still treated her as though she were her boss. She might've smiled, were she not on such a hurry.
She walked toward her and took the Pokeball from her hand, giving her a small reassuring smile.
"I'll make sure to inform Lucian when I get there," she said. "What happened?"
"Well… there was a break-in. D-deep in the vaults… where dangerous Pokeballs and Pokemon are kept for a time," she explained nervously. "Someone… impersonated one of our employees? They stole some Pokeballs. I don't understand, they looked just like him in the camera's footage, but that same employee was also seen somewhere else at the exact time! A-and there was a fight when they tried to escape and a few guards were wounded and one of them…!"
The more she listened, the more her expression darkened. She knew well of what vault the woman spoke of, and she knew whose Pokeballs would be resting there, until Lucian figured out what to do with the Pokemon inside. And… someone impersonating one of their employees, somehow looking exactly like them? Only one person came to mind.
We never did end up catching her, did we?
Cynthia pursed her lips and swallowed. "Like I said… contact the person in charge at the Jubilife branch and warn them about Mars, tell them to take all necessary precautions in case she tries to sneak into HQ as well."
"Y-yes! Of course, miss Champion."
"I'll be off. Good luc–"
Then, at that exact moment, it happened. A pain like a lightning bolt stabbed through her head, and Cynthia fell to her knees violently, screaming and holding her temples.
"M-MISS!?"
It was like firecrackers bursting inside her skull. Like some deep, primal part of her being had been stabbed, slashed, cut into pieces, all in a single instant. Cynthia knew, this was no physical pain. Her eyes flew wide open, and with a horror she hadn't felt in years, she felt as that crackling, stormy energy behind them dulled, then went out completely.
Cynthia felt a part of her soul die, and suddenly she understood how the pieces were laid out.
And most importantly, just what a monumental mistake she'd made in lending Riley that ring.
----------------------------------------
15 minutes before the Moonless Night:
Riley stood before the mural of pure obsidian deep within the Celestic ruins, Arceus' ring in one hand, Nyss' sword hanging from the other. The former glowed with a pale light. Through its power, the fresco before him shifted and changed, a product of the singularity resting upon this very spot. The singularity that had for so long influenced the people of Celestic, giving them their famous stormy grey eyes.
A saddened smile fell to his lips. It was a shame, truly. But this was an opportunity that would not present itself again, and his current mask would never dare waste it.
Languidly, he raised the ebon sword forward, until its tip was only inches from the ever-changing fresco. The colors seemed to bleed out from that spot. Like two magnets repulsing each other.
"A blade forged from a soul… so it really is the only thing that can destroy a singularity for good," he whispered, then let out a dry chuckle. "I'm sorry, Cynthia. I hope you will forgive me for this."
But of course, he couldn't do the deed himself. When he'd exchanged the info about the Griseous Orb's location for this relic, this ring in the Artemis family's possession, he'd swore to Cynthia that he would not use it for any nefarious purposes. And despite the many differences between his masks, there was one thing they all had in common.
They were all men of their word.
As such, someone else would have to swing this blade. And who better than someone already so close to death?
"Well?"
A step rang behind him. Quiet, only hearable due to the echo of the cavern. Then another. Riley knew them well. They were the silent steps of an assassin.
Riley looked over his shoulder and smiled at the woman behind him. The dark splotches of blood all over her body were as red and as lifeless as her eyes. She took another step forward, then raised her hand, palm up, waiting.
"This will be our way in. But unless a miracle occurs, there will be no way out for you," he said. "Are you sure about this?"
Mars' lips quirked up ever so slightly. The smile of a dead woman.
"Do you really need to ask?"
"…I guess not."
The sword fell into Mars' hand, and she wielded it with such ease it was a wonder it hadn't been glued to her hand before. She swung it once through the air, then twice. Testing its weight, its strength. Then, she gave a small nod, and took another step toward the fresco.
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And drove the sword into it, burying it to the hilt.
At first nothing happened. Then a crack. And another. Thin, spiderweb-like veins of golden light spreading through the surface of the mural, growing and growing until they reached the edge. The stone rumbled, then collapsed onto the floor with a dusty, dead sound. The light within it rose into the air in wisps, vanishing. Another one of Sinnoh's singularities, gone.
And what stood behind it welcomed them with open arms. A swirling vortex of darkness entropy, one Riley knew would only stay there for a few moments.
A portal to the World of Distortion.
"…Well? What are we waiting for?" Mars asked.
He turned to the side and gestured toward it with a smile. "Ladies first."
----------------------------------------
1 minute before the Moonless Night
It was a feeling the likes of which Cyrus hadn't experienced in a long time, ever since his first meeting with Azelf so many years ago. One powerful enough to break through the shell of apathy covering him like armor. It was entirely alien, incomprehensible, as though a mere Caterpie was given, if only for an instant, the ability to feel and think as humans did, and was then stripped away of it, forever thinking about that one taste of what –to it– must have been divinity.
Only this time, he'd made sure to seize it for good. To thrust his hands into heaven and take back what humanity was owned.
Cyrus took the first step into the realm of the gods, the golden ruins of Spear Pillar, and collapsed to his knees with a smile on his face. The vats containing the lake siblings fell alongside him, though thankfully they didn't roll away. He knelt there for a few moments, tired, giving himself just enough time to gather his breath. Then, swallowing on a dry throat, he looked up and felt that uncanny sense of wonder wash over him.
It truly was a different realm altogether. The highest peak in the world, a perfect, unblemished picture of heaven itself framed by a pair of golden pillars, like doors to the home of the gods. The smallest sliver of sunlight still filtered through the horizon, bathing the auric stone with its light.
"I've… finally made it. Here…"
Booms and screams resounded behind Cyrus, bringing him back to reality. He looked over his shoulder. M3's psychic barrier still held, but it wouldn't remain that way for long. He heard the whirr of helicopters and the roar of Pokemon heading his way. There was no time to waste.
Hurrying, he half stumbled and half wobbled to his feet, standing before the three vats containing the sleeping legendary siblings. With shaking fingers, he thrust a hand into the right pocket of his jacket, pulling out a trio of coin-sized crimson jewels. An eerie glow pulsated from within them. Cyrus looked at them for a moment, and smiled. Then, with a shake of his shoulder and a tug from his other hand, he let the scorched and cumbersome jacket fall to the ground, baring his arms as he shakily started lifting them toward the skies.
Pale silvery scars ran through the length of his arms, arching off of each other like lightning off of a pillar of thunder, now taking on a brighter, almost red hue due to the jewels resting upon his palm. As though they were absorbing their light. Cyrus couldn't help but twitch his lips in something akin to amusement. Was it fate, he wondered, that saw it fit to have Inyssa give him these scars during their last encounter, all for the flimsy purpose of making history rhyme? It was funny, he had to admit. Shame he'd been stripped of the sense of humor by the very deity who'd set all of this up.
Was that the joke? Or had the punchline not arrived yet, perhaps? Regardless...
He heard crackling, shrieking behind him. The barrier was starting to shatter. Cyrus clenched his teeth and hissed a crackly sound, a pity laugh for a cosmic joke he couldn't yet understand, but would soon do. That hiss turned into a chuckle, and then a true fit of cough-like laughter from within his belly as he looked up at the skies, and cried out.
"The flowing time… the expanding space… can no longer stop my ambitions. Let humanity's shackles be broken, and the world be born anew! Answer to my cry; Dialga, Palkia! With this key, I…!"
He stood up straight and thrust his hands toward the darkening sky, eyes shooting wide, voice booming. The lake siblings within the vats exploded with light. It flowed into him, filling him with the distilled power of humanity's Spirit, then bled upwards like veins, bleeding out of his scars as though he were offering his own life force to ascend to divinity.
"I OPEN THE DOOR!"
A multitude of things happened at once. The barrier surrounding Spear Pillar shattered into thousands of minuscule slivers, disappearing in puffs of light and giving way to Lucian and his army. Trainers, Pokemon and armed personnel came barreling up toward him. With a flash of purple light, Lucian and his small army of psychic Pokemon materialized in front of him, ready to strike.
But they were too late.
Cyrus' cry echoed, shot up like a crimson arrow fired at the heavens, splitting the sky in two, making it appear as though it was bleeding. But no… it wasn't blood. It was a long, beautiful chain of flowing red. It climbed and climbed, cutting through the air, at some point splitting into two. The blood-red chains shot up for a few more moments until, finally, they crashed against something solid.
Reality itself.
Lucian's jaw dropped. Cyrus' eyes met his, and a truly deranged grin formed on his face.
"Too late," he said. "Even now, you stand in her shadow. Begone."
A wave of incredible force exploded from those chains, slamming against Lucian and his Pokemon with the force of a storm, sending them flying in an instant. All around and down the peak of the mountain watched in horror as the sky shattered like glass, large panes of barely-lit twilight falling to pieces around Spear Pillar. And what emerged from above was… indescribable. Black holes in reality. Swirling spirals of black and blue and pink, crackling and flashing with the energy of a dimension that was not their own. The chains cut through those spaces too, extending further and further. As though looking for something.
It didn't take long for them to reach their targets.
The chains stopped. Tightened, constricting around something no one could see from down below. Then, from within those abnormal holes in reality, a pair of beings cried out.
The sound cut through humans and Pokemon like a knife. Each one of them fell to their knees, all air leaving their lungs, all strength drained from their bodies. Those roars snuffed out their Spirits like a candle's flame being drowned by an ocean's worth of water.
Only Cyrus remained standing, eyes full of wonder and delusion. He stared up at the two pair of eyes, one a brilliant azure, the other a shining pink, and withstood the weight and anger behind them, ignoring its toll on his mind and body.
"You… are mine!"
Cyrus pulled down with all his strength, and despite the impossibility of something so small being able to affect such beings, the two were pulled down by the crimson chains. It was an incredible sight. Dialga and Palkia, the guardians of space and time, being dragged out of their realm by a pair of human hands. As they lacked physical form, they looked like only shimmers of energy from behind the portal, but as they were pulled through, bodies materialized around that energy when they crossed the threshold, making them truly real, a part of their world.
Many had to divert their eyes. Even Cyrus, with the lake siblings' power flowing through him, could barely squint at their gargantuan forms as they materialized upon the sky. It was like trying to look at the entirety of the firmament all at once, with just a single pair of eyes. Impossible. He could only focus on a single spot of the two beings at once. The silver pieces of what looked like armor covering them, the veins of blue and pink running through their bodies, the enormous gems encrusted onto their chests and elbows, shining with unfathomable power…
Cyrus smiled. It didn't matter what they looked like or how massive they were; they could do nothing to stop him. The beings struggled and bellowed with all their might, shaking the sky and the earth, sending waves of distortion that echoed throughout reality itself, but they could not break the chains. And Cyrus was starting to feel it already. The power. The godlike energy of the two deities flowing into him, spiraling together like two strands of DNA, neither complete without the other, neither able to exist unless the other did as well.
Time and space were becoming one at last, using the pale man as their vessel. The crimson chains lit up like live wires, and as Cyrus took his next breath he suddenly… understood. Power and knowledge crashed against him in such quantities he could not parse it all out at once, like millions of movies playing out before his eyes at the same time. All knowledge became his.
"Ah… I see. Our second chance, is it?" He whispered to no one, chuckling. "So Cynthia was the one to make those three small nudges to time and space. But it doesn't matter anymore. Even with her meddling, she could not stop me. Now I possess the power that Nyss failed to control! Now I shall destroy Spirit once and for all and…!"
Something fell on Cyrus' nose, light and wet like a drop of rain. He blinked, confused, then looked down to the spot where the 'liquid' had splashed onto the ground.
It was pitch black.
"W-what is…?"
Confused, Cyrus looked up, expecting to see some cloud that might've produced the precipitation, but what he saw instead made his heart freeze inside his heart.
"W-WH…!"
A third hole had appeared upon reality, high above the other two. It was massive, much wider, seemingly stretching from horizon to horizon, like someone had unrolled a cloak of black feathers upon the night. At first, Cyrus just stared in confusion and horror. But it was then that he realized.
The sun had finally set. The moonless night had risen, and it hung there in the center of that massive vortex, like the center of a black hole.
More and more of that black substance started to drop from the sky. It fell upon the chains in thick droplets, severing them as though they'd never been there. Cyrus screamed out, bellowed in horror as his chains were snapped without difficulty, releasing their hold on the deities above. All the power vanished from him in an instant. Dialga and Palkia disappeared back into their realms as though pulled by magnets, closing the shattered holes in reality behind them as they did so.
"N-no, NO! W-what is this, what is happening!? What…!?"
A pair of eyes opened upon the moonless night, answering his question. They were as large as the moon itself, yet glowed with a hungry red hue, looking down straight at him. Soon, other red shapes followed. Sharp, mountain-sized spikes unfurled from the darkness, extending throughout the horizon on wings of darkness, bleeding down upon the land. The wings extended backwards, as though reading themselves to beat, and it was only then that Cyrus understood.
Whatever it was, it was coming for him.
"CYRUS!"
A voice rang out behind him. Its familiarity and the sheer power behind it were enough to break him out of his trance. Fearful, he looked over his shoulder and saw an impossible sight. Cynthia, landing with her Garchomp atop the steps leading up to Spear Pillar, a horrified look on her face. She jumped out of her Pokemon and shot straight toward him with wild abandon, flying up the golden steps.
"Cyrus!" she cried out, eyes wide, terrified. "Get out! Here, take my…!"
That's when the shape above bated their wings, and fell down upon him. There was no time to move, to react. Cynthia extended her hand toward him, screaming. And despite it all, moved by a deep terror he hadn't felt in years, Cyrus parted his lips as though to say something and extended his hand as well, reaching for hers.
But he was swallowed by the pillar of nothingness before their fingers could touch.
----------------------------------------
Six minutes before the Moonless Night.
Barry and Metchi's hearts practically leapt to their throats when the two girls fell out from inside Giratina's formless body.
"N-Niss!"
"Pint-size, are you…!?"
Inyssa took the first step forward, but her knees shook and her legs gave out, unable to support the weight of her body. She wobbled as though about to collapse. Barry and Metchi jumped to action, ready to catch her before she reached the ground, but there was no need. The woman beside her raised her left arm over Inyssa's chest, stopping her fall and keeping her on her feet. She held her for a few moments, until she could regain her balance.
"T…thanks."
"…Yeah."
The other two could only stare, aghast, for a few long seconds before looking at each other, making sure they were thinking the same thing. That woman next to Niss, she was definitely…
"Niss? I-is she…?"
Inyssa lifted her chin and turned her head to the side to look at her sister, but Shadi pointedly avoided her gaze.
"Yeah," she said, voice barely a whisper. "It's fine."
There was something in that answer that didn't fully satisfy Barry and Metchi. The silence that stretched from it was heavy and uncomfortable, and for the duration of it everyone seemed to forget about the endless landscape of nothingness expanding all around them, focusing only on the small patch of land they were standing on. Barry opened his mouth to say something, but then promptly closed it. Metchi alternated from looking at Shadi and Inyssa, her expression varying greatly between the two.
Finally, and unexpectedly, it was Shadi who broke the silence.
"I can't keep her up much longer," she said, somehow sounding more exhausted than her sister. "I'm… not in a great shape either. So how about you move your asses and help the girl that just saved your lives and everyone else's?"
That brought them back to reality. With a yelp of consternation Barry shot toward Inyssa, grabbing and placing her hand over his shoulder as he lifted her up. Metchi approached to do the same with Shadi, who didn't look as though she could stand on her feet for much longer.
As she passed the two lovebirds, Metchi heard a few hushed whispers between them. Some 'Oh thank god's and 'I'm so glad you're okay's mixed in with questions regarding what had happened. But Inyssa only kept replying the same thing, over and over. A single sentence, spoken as though it was the greatest blessing she'd ever received, a light to fill her heart.
"It's… it's fine now. It's fine, f-finally…"
Metchi made an unpleasant face as she knelt to help Shadi up. Once the woman's arm was secured over her shoulder and she pulled her up, she whispered something she made sure only Shadi could hear.
"You should be weeping for joy you have a sister like her."
A click of the tongue was heard. Shadi looked away, expression hidden by the shadow of her ashen hair.
"…I don't weep," she whispered, guilt clear as glass in her voice. "And careful with the goods there. You're holding Sinnoh's most eligible villainous bachelorette, in case you haven't noticed."
A dry chuckle left Metchi's lips. "You would be quite a catch if you weren't such a piece of shit. I'm tempted to drop you off the side of this cliff and just see you fall, if I'm honest."
It was only then that Shadi picked up on the dangerous edge to Metchi's voice. She didn't say it out loud, of course. But from her previous words, she could tell how much Metchi cared about Inyssa, and how much she despised Shadi as a result.
Shadi had to stop herself from swallowing. Keeping her voice from showing fear was an even greater ordeal.
"…I doubt Niss would appreciate it much, after all she went through to bring me back."
"Yeah, well. She's the kinda girl who rarely knows what's best for her. But I'm willing to hold off on the whole throwing you off a cliff thing if you behave yourself and don't give me any more reason to remember how much you hurt that poor girl. Got it?"
"I… understand, yes."
"Good girl."
They reached the lovey-dovey couple, who thankfully hadn't heard anything, too preoccupied holding each other and whispering sweet nothings, ecstatic that the other was still alive. Both Shadi and Metchi rolled their eyes in unison, unknowingly.
"So… now that we have what we came here for," said Metchi, glaring to the side at Shadi. "Are we ready to go?"
"Well…"
"A-almost," said Inyssa frowning with effort. "The… moonless night should come soon."
Shit. Inyssa really didn't look good. She was sweating, her face so pale it was almost like marble, and was breathing like she couldn't get enough air with each inhalation. The golden light bathing her, protecting her from the nothingness around her, seemed much thinner than on her or Barry. Metchi pursed her lips, and looked back at Shadi.
"How long?" she asked.
"I… can feel it growing," said Shadi. "Only a few minutes at most. We'll make it. Once the portal opens, we just have to step through it. S-since you have me with you, the… the moonless night will stop. Giratina won't… agh, won't be able to invade our world."
That was enough for her and Barry to let go of the breath they'd been holding. The boy seemed incredibly relieved. And she was sure it had everything to do with the possibility of returning Inyssa to the real world as soon as possible.
"T-that's good," he said, doing his best to smile. "Then it'll all be over soon."
"Yeah," said Shadi, looking down. "Just hold on for a minute and we'll–"
"Why the hurry?"
There was a delayed reaction in the group. At first, they all froze up and looked amidst each other, to make sure all of them had heard it. Their identical expressions told them the answer. They all recognized the voice.
The four jumped back and turned around, Inyssa and Barry reaching for Pokeballs that weren't there, while Metchi just let go of Shadi and jumped in front of everyone, protecting them.
"Now, what kind of reaction is that to an old friend?"
The smile that accompanied those words made their blood freeze. Behind Metchi, Shadi stumbled back a step and swallowed, eyes opening wide.
"M… Mars?"
The woman's eyes twitched in a way that sent shivers down their spines. She stood there, on the edge of the floating platform, barely recognizable from how she looked before. She no longer wore that torn Galactic uniform, and her hair was longer, messier, falling over her shoulders in dark red curls. She looked tired, emaciated, almost all life gone from her eyes. A long, thin ebon blade rested on her right hand.
The man beside her, however, couldn't have been more different. He was cheery yet imposing, looking almost ecstatic despite the nature of the realm they were trapped on. He stood behind Mars, carrying something… no, someone over his shoulder. Was that a woman? She seemed to be unconscious, as she didn't mind being carried like a sack of potatoes. Metchi didn't recognize either of them. And judging from their looks of confusion, Inyssa and Barry didn't either. Only Shadi's eyes had that glint of recognition, but she didn't dare speak up, looking terrified out of her mind.
"Ha, don't mind me," said the man, with a voice that unnerved Metchi by how much it seemed to want to ease her nerves. "I'm just passing through, picking up a little something that got lost in here. I got no business with youl, I will leave as soon as that portal opens. My friend here, though…"
"Ha… haha…"
Mars took a few uneven steps forward, the look on her face delirious, almost feral. When she spoke, her voice barely sounded human.
"Oh, how I've waited for this moment. Waited, and waited and waited, Shadi…" She growled that last part, eyes growing wide like saucers. "I'll finally know… what it was you felt… back then."