#locasol

“Are you ready, child?”, a psychic voice, Necrozma’s voice, asked.

“I think so… I have first aid, clothing, food, rope, supplies, our intel, and my team”, Meta responded, staring worriedly at the large rucksacks on the ground.

They were deep in the forest outside of Gosipi, beyond where any prying eyes would find them. The mushrooms-trees, ferns and other plant-life were devoid of any Pokémon on them, scared of the ferocious beast that had appeared. And ferocious was correct. Necrozma, no longer drained of light, towered over many of the low-hanging plants surrounding them. In its Ultra Form, which they had been able to salvage thanks to Meta, no creature dared to challenge the latent God.

But now there were other matters at hand. The signs of the Ether’s failure were stronger than ever. Recently, the entire continent had begun shaking, as more dark matter had slowly begun appearing. The Ultra-Wormhole network was forcefully shutdown because of an unexpected increase in mishaps. Cosmic radiation had become a major problem for the first time in over a decade, leading to many towns to mandate a state of emergency, and telling people to stay at home.

When Meta had tried to tell the Ultra Recon Squad what was occurring, they laughed at him. Multiversal collapse was nothing but a fool’s dream. Even the Multiversal experts were unconvinced of the possibility of Ethereal Decline. He was beginning to feel like a madman, as time after time scientists turned him away. He’d begun to wonder if this was what Vitch had gone through too, but he immediately pushed that thought way down. He had no time to dwell on his Variant’s actions. 

“And the crystals?” The dragon asked.

“Yes, and the crystals”, he opened a pouch attached to his belt and emptied 18 crystals onto his palms. Each one with a symbol and of a different color. “I still don’t understand why you need these, Necrozma? You’ve said that you didn’t require these back in the past. These were an absolute pain to get… Do you know how hard it is to obtain even one of these?”

“Apologies, but it was the only way. But you are correct, I didn’t need them back then. But the current situation requires more drastic measures”.

“More drastic?” Meta cocked his his, staring up at the dragon’s face quizzically. Showing no emotion, Necrozma stared back. “What do you- AH!”

Meta was cut off with a yelp as the dragon bent down and blew a stream of brilliant light onto the crystals. The Z-Crystals began glowing brightly their respective colors as they floated into the air, circling the pair. Rising to the sky, the crystals created a complex structure that caused the surrounding environment to crackle with latent energy. They sank down, meeting Necrozma’s chest, which had begun to open up, old cracks reopening for the first time in almost a decade. Light poured violently out of the cracks as Blinding One began to shake in pain. The crystalline structure fitted itself into the hole the cracks left, and the light stopped pouring out. The Z-Crystals light became one with Necrozma, their powers returning to their master.

Necrozma had regained a little bit more of its original strength back. More of its Prism Armor was forming around the preexisting pieces. Curiously, a large portion of the back had formed, forming a sort of vertical saddle. Necrozma stopped shaking, and stretched its body, like it was an entirely new thing.

“Necrozma! Are you alright?” Meta asked with immense worry. He had seen what that had done to the Blinging One in the past, but even then, when he restored the Ultranecrozium Z, very little light bleed out. Perhaps it was a sign that the dragon was healing? He felt uneasy that they would have to reopen more wounds if they even wanted to continue restoring itself.

“Yes child. Thank you”, Necrozma bowed its head. It then lowered itself farther onto the ground, “There is no more time to waste. Tie your bags and let us be off!”

Immediately, he began tying his rucksacks to the saddle. It was smooth to the touch, and extremely warm, not to the point of discomfort. The edges were sharp, but not enough to be a problem. Hoping on himself, he used more rope to fasten himself to the saddle. Putting on special light-absorbing goggles, he patted Necrozma’s back, “Alright, I’m ready. Let’s go save the Multiverse”.

Necrozma roared loudly and sprung high into the air, past the canopy of fungi that shielded them from the rest of Locasol. Flapping its wings, Necrozma flew high above the ground, and began to breach the atmosphere. As the air became dangerously thinner, Necrozma let out a large burst of light, which spiraled around Meta. He took a deep breath, and was surprised when his lungs filled with air! Or was it air? It didn’t matter, all that did was that he was fine! To the people below who were happening to look in the area where they flew off, they only would’ve seen the briefest beam of light, gone before they would have been able to react to it.

The pair continued onwards, flying at the speed of light. They past planets and stars. Comets and asteroids. Celestial gasses and other bodies in the expanse before them. Necrozma opened an Ultra-Wormhole, to which Meta could only see flashes of other universes, just blurs of color in a cosmos of color. After what felt like both an eternity and a few moments, the colors surrounding them began to brighten. Slowly, the environment around them began to turn white. Spinning, they exited the Wormhole. Coming to a complete stop, just flapping to hold momentum, the two stared at a large structure, a frame made of some unearthly material. It was larger than anything Meta had seen, being able to fit multiple planets inside the frame.

“This is it… the Arcean Gateway. Through here, the realm of the Genesis. From here, there is no turning back. Do you wish to retreat? There is no shame in doing so”, Necrozma’s voice rang in his head. There was no judgment in its words, only concern.

“No. We’ve come so far! What if Vitch tries to intercept you, and I’m not there to help? If he… If he kills you too, I don’t think I could live with myself. No, we need to push on”.

“Very well. Close your eyes”

Doing so, he felt Necrozma tilt far back, gathering energy for a massive burst… 

Before something collided with them.

Flying backwards, Meta opened his eyes to see another glowing being, shining light-blue, facing them. It looked like Necrozma, same face, same wings, and same claws. But no seeable body, voided out by the stolen brilliance of light. Fear gripped Meta tight as he realized who this being was. This was him, this was the killer. This was his Variant, Meta Vitch.

“You will go no further, Solari! That Necrozma will be mine!”, the amalgamation of god and man shouted as he barreled at the two, releasing a blinding beam of malicious light.

“Hold on tight, child!”, Necrozma’s voice rang in Meta’s head. Barely having the reaction time to hug the saddle tight, the dragon dove, flying past the beam of light, releasing its own in retaliation. The heat from the beams seemed to evaporate the sweat from his skin. The two forces clashed, tearing at each other with claws sharper than glass. Throwing each other off from the momentum, Necrozma fired off a Photon Geyser; a pillar of light appearing from the abyss that surrounded them, curving, and tried to wrap itself around their assailant. Vitch, on an equal speed, managed to dodge the attack and fired off many large orbs of light, which circled around Necrozma, darting at them at random intervals. 

Necrozma continued to dodge the attacks, moving at a speed unnoticeable to the human eye. Releasing a furious Psychic, it traveled and grew in size before it was countered by Vitch with his own Psychic. This continued for a while, both forces unable to surpass the other. Attack after attack parried and dodged, each one doing everything to make the other fall. Becoming more and more infuriated, Necrozma roared, body flaring brilliantly as a tiny star began to form. They released the glowing inferno at the amalgamation of their Alternate’s Chosen. However, instead of dodging or countering, Vitch stuck out his shadowy hand and caught the fiery ball. The star begun to shrink as Vitch’s stolen wings glowed even brighter. He had stolen the light of the star, using it to recover any lost light from their battle.

“Unlike the true Solar God, Vitch doesn’t have an unlimited supply of light, only what he is able to steal from other sources…”, Meta thought aloud to Necrozma, “We can use this in our favor! Use something other than light attacks, and eventually he won’t have anything to fight us with!”

“Very well”, Necrozma seemed to pant, recuperating from the attack, “Let us punish this wretch for his crimes”. Soaring high above, they unleashed several Night Slashes, blending into the darkness surrounding them. Vitch was unable to see the slashes, and was struck on his stolen wings, which bled light. Hurriedly bending the escaping light, he Mende his wing and re-absorbed the light, but not before Necrozma did the same, reclaiming some light for itself. “There’s one better, child. We drain this leech dry before it can escape”.

Sensing the tides of battle turning against him, Vitch let out an animalistic screech and charged straight at the two, sending them tumbling. Vitch used his wings’ talons to cut the ropes keeping Meta on the saddle, and flew off before Necrozma could regain momentum in flight.

“You win this time, Solar God”, his voice boomed in the deafening space, “But next time we meet, you will not survive. Good luck trying to open the Arcean gate once I do this!”, he used what light he had left to send a monumental explosion hurdling at the gateway. 

“You? You?! YOU DARE STAND AGAINST ME, MORTAL?!”

Meta Solari stood in front of Vitch, feeling small against his opponent.

“It’s over, Vitch. This isn’t worth it-”

“SHUT UP! YOU HAVE NO IDEA OF WHAT YOU SPEAK! I HAVE TRIED TO CONVINCE YOU. I HAVE TRIED TO INFORM YOU OF THE DANGER THAT HAS BEFALLEN US, BUT YOU DIDN’T LISTEN. YOU HAD TO GO AND FREE THE BEAST, AND NOW LOOK AT THIS PLACE!”

And Vitch was right, Meta had freed the imprisoned Necrozma, giving it enough light to restore its body, if only for now. The mask Vitch normally wore, the face of Necrozma was gone, showing a ghastly sight. His face was being consumed by void. Blacked out and glowing with hatred and pain.

“YOU TAKE MY BODY AND STEAL MY SOUL, ALL TO TRY AND HELP A CORSPE! I AM TRYING TO SAVE YOU, DAMNIT! I AM TRYING TO SAVE EVERYONE! NO MATTER THE COST! SO WHAT IF I’M THE MONSTER?! NO ONE WILL BE COMPLAINING WHEN THEY GET TO LIVE OUT THE REST OF THEIR LIVES! NOT WORRYING OF AN APOCALYPSE THAT NONE WILL SURVIVE!”

“Enough! You haven’t saved a singed thing! You could’ve opened the Gateway long before this! You were too blind-sided to realize then, and you still are now. I cannot let you do this. You cannot go any farther”. Meta stared down his foe. His counterpart. His glimpse into a world where all abandoned him and the fate of creation fell on him. He had failed there, but not now.

You’ve always said that the difference between us is that I run away from my problems, that I never took action. I disagree. We both ran away that day before finding Necrozma. We both took upon the weight of the world when it felt like all was crumbling. We both sacrificed the things we cared for to help others. No, we are the same in that regard.

Where we are different is that you don’t allow others to help you. You want to be the one to fix everything, because you don’t trust anyone else to do it. Not me, not your followers, not Necrozma, not Arceus, no one. You walk alone despite others walking the same path. This all could’ve been avoided if you-”

“SHUT UP!”

Vitch created a beam of light that flew towards Meta, threatening to kill him. But instead, it condensed into a single small sphere that flew into the amulet. The light condensed, reflecting across off the room, glowing violently before exploding outwards, surrounding Meta.

“WHAT?! THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE! HOW DID YOU HARNESS THAT LIGHT WITHOUT A Z-CRYSTAL!?”

Meta didn’t respond, just looked up with clenched fists eyes glowing bright.

Letting out a ferocious roar, Vitch flew at Meta, arms stretched to strangle him.

“NO MATTER! I HAVE THE POWER OF THE THREE GODS UNDER MY CONTROL, YOUR LIGHT ALONE IS NO MATCH TO ME!!

Meta dodged the attack, his light colliding with Vitch’s tainted light. The two traded blow after blow of condensed supernovas, mini suns, and light the scorched the heavens upon their foundation would be built.

“YOU ARE NOTHING TO ME! I AM A GOD! YOU HAVE NO HOPES OF DEFEATING ME! I KILLED LIGHT, DARKNESS, AND MATTER ITSELF! WHAT HOPES DO A PUNY HUMAN CHILD HAVE AGAINST ME?!”

Meta let out a cry as he unleashed a ball of pure photon power, almost unseen in the sea of light surrounding the two. Vitch easily dodged the attack, but it blew a giant hole in the wall of the room, from which two sets of glowing eyes could be seen against the light pouring out from the confines.

“No…”

Vitch looked in fear at the ghost of his past, now doubled in their hate.

“You thought you could get rid of me, BOY?!”

One of them telepathically shouted

“YOU SORELY MISTAKE THE POWER THAT I HOLD! IT IS TIME I RECTIFY THIS EGREGIOUS ERROR OF MINE!”

One of the Necrozmas, shining a godly blue collided with a frozen Vitch; who was petrified in fear. The Necrozma tore off his stolen Z-Crystal with its immaculate jaw, causing Vitch to scream.

A supernova exploded from Vitch, utterly destroying the temple surrounding them. The four of them found themselves standing in a field of rubble, with nothing but darkness surrounding them, the only light coming from themselves.

“It is done. You’ve lost, wretch. The world you know is gone, because of you”

The two Necrozmas began to overlap, as if there powers were becoming one, as if the original Necrozma birthed from Arceus’s grand design had once more been awoken from a long forgotten past.

“This world is in ruin. Nothing is left of it. Those who had once lived here are either no more, or displaced in universes not their own. What do you have to say now?”

Vitch didn’t respond, bleeding out glowing ichor that had replaced his mortal blood. He only stared, kneeling as the life was draining out of him.

“I thought you were someone of good, child. I had believed you could’ve shown me a brighter future than the one your kind had shown me long ago. Perhaps you did… but at what cost?”

“…I…” he croaked out, coughing violently.

“Save your breath. It is too late to undo what has been done”

With that, the now merged Necrozma created a portal between the decayed universe and the Arcean Gateway with their enhanced powers.

“Come, Meta. There is one last mission to be done”

With that, they left, casting the world into enshrouding darkness.

Meta began to follow them, but stopped when he heard Vitch croak out.

“Wait…”

He turned his head to him, looking at the twisted version of himself with a mix of pity and disgust. He had no reason to wait for him, after all he had done, but something kept him there. Some unknown feeling, like a wheel turning endlessly in the course of the future, gave him pause.

“I have… done so much… wrong… to this world… I never wanted this… no… I went too far…”

“That you did”

“The… Gateway… will not… open in its current state… it’s sealed shut”, Vitch coughed out.

“…”

“Take my hand… I have something… to give… you”

********************************************

Meta didn’t know what was going on. Arceus, a being beyond his creation and Necrozma, the God of his faith conversed in a manner unknown to the likes of his human brain. Something he couldn’t see, hear, touch, feel, or smell imposed upon his very being, making him feel small and insignificant. Much more than the laymen of his own species.

Time was foreign. Seconds passed as freely as eons, yet none moved in the lack of space that filled with realm. He knelt, still pondering what Vitch had told him. How could two souls so identical go on such different paths? Was the real difference between himself and a monster the death of all he cared for? It chewed at him, knowing upon the brain and usurping the serenity of his thoughts.

“Child. The Genesis offers you a choice. They can ease your soul of your worries caused by this horrific oversight. It will be like this never happened, never met your alternate, never learned of the Ether, never had to endure the hardships of your captivity. You’d be at peace, unaware of the pain these last two months have caused. Will you accept?”

Meta thought hard. He doubted that he could live the rest of his life in peace knowing what he knew, but even so, he didn’t want to forget. After everything Vitch had done, he was still him, and denying that would be denying a core aspect of himself. No, forgetting wasn’t the answer, but neither was remembering the way he currently did.

“I thank you, the omnipotent Arceus for your offer. If I may, I’d like to request a course of action of my own…”