THERE ARE CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER! I’ve put them at the bottom of the post, so please scroll down and check the end of the post before reading if you’re worried about sensitive subject matter.

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Tobias feels as though the whole world is holding its breath as August and Rosalind’s forces surround the dimensional gate. The scene looks otherworldly. The stretch of water around the altar glows orange in the dawn light, wisps of fog cloaking the remnants of what was once a great temple. Will’s Pokemon mill about atop the altar, their numbers large but the size of the crowd still dwarfed by Yveltal’s cocoon.

Tobias’ heart pounds, his muscles tight with tension, and he jumps at every little sound. With each passing second, he becomes more and more anxious that Yveltal will be awoken before August can get everyone into place. Nia and Samir are equally nervous on either side of him. Nia’s aura skims by Tobias’ own every once in a while, brushing past him like a pacing persian.

Tobias startles again when telepathy slides through his mind, smooth as a purr. Rosalind.

There are non-combatants on the altar, including children. If a Pokemon tries to flee without engaging in battle, do not pursue.

As the Pokemon around them exchange wide-eyed looks, Tobias breathes out, shaky and slow. Nia’s head hangs with relief beside him. At least they got that message through before someone accidentally attacked a clueless civilian.

Junie herself returns shortly after the message goes out. She lands on Nia’s shoulder, her presence easing some of the tension there. “Done!”

“Thanks, Junie,” Nia murmurs, bumping her head against the rookidee.

“Good work, Junebug,” Bo whispers. “Now come here. Stay close to me.”

Junie does so, and silence falls again. The atmosphere around the swamp is heavy and restless. Quiet. So quiet that Tobias fears Will or his gang will notice them amassing along the water’s banks, hidden only by foliage. The fact that they haven’t been noticed probably means August or Rosalind have some ‘mon working to cover their tails, masking their presence with the subtle use of floral scent moves and increasing the fog along the forest’s edge with mist. Thankfully, Will doesn’t seem to be expecting anyone, probably confident he’s gotten away with his plan after decimating their forces in Silenfroar.

All Pokemon are in position, Rosalind’s voice says, slipping through Tobias’ mind again. Prepare yourselves, but do not attack until given the signal.

The air is still. Ever so faintly, the ground trembles.

A few of Will’s ‘mon on the altar spin around with cries of alarm, looking out over the water. At the same time, a blur of dark vines shoots from the forest almost too fast to see, rocketing towards the dimensional gate like a giant serpent. Psychic shields are thrown up to block the attack, but the roots manage to break through the first layer before slamming into a protect and sliding across its shell, trying in vain to reach their target. Some of the crowd on the altar below cry out and cower away from the attack.

Was that frenzy plant? August must’ve wanted a more precise move with less destructive capabilities for the first strike, so he could target Will directly without harming any innocent civilians. Attempt to take out the yamask before a battle could even start.

But it didn’t work.

Will turns, looking out over the water and ruins leading into the trees. At his side, a sigilyph and a xatu hover, waiting.

To Tobias’ surprise, August himself comes forward, taking the stone path from the trees and stepping out into the open. The rillaboom holds himself tall despite his injuries, pulling the wooden drum from his back and slamming it onto the stone in front of him. The sound echoes through the quiet morning air.

Will glances past August to the tree line, probably noticing the army of Pokemon on the banks before focusing again on August himself. The yamask’s eyes are a blazing red in the morning light.

“Stand down, Will,” August calls, “and you and your ‘mon will not be harmed.”

Will barks a laugh. “You think I’m going to stand down and quit here, when we’re this close?” He turns his back on August, moving back towards the dimensional gate with a casual wave of his hand. “Kill him. Kill anyone who tries to stand in our way. I will wake Yveltal myself.”

Tobias’ toes curl into the dirt underfoot as a few outlaws peel away from Will’s group, racing down the stone path towards August. Energy crackles across fur and scales and claws, preparing to attack.

August’s calm demeanor shatters. He roars, fangs flashing, and the sound echoes like thunder across the water. He slams a hand onto his wooden drum, and a flash of green energy explodes out from the instrument, rippling across the ruins and water like a wave. In its wake, the ground itself seems to rumble. Roots shoot up from the shallow water like living things, knitting themselves into sturdy pathways leading from the forest’s edge to the stone altar.

“For the world!” August yells, rushing forward to meet the outlaws head-on.

Around the ruins, experienced ‘mon lead the charge for different sections of the guild’s army. Tobias sees the bright pink and green of Azami across the way, before the Pokemon around him surge forward as well with a wordless cry. Some splash directly through the shallow water and hop over and under ruins and stone, and some take the bridges of roots.

Tobias glances at Nia and Samir. “We going for Will?”

Nia’s eyes are already aimed at the altar. Samir nods.

“Afraid we won’t be able to take you by air,” Bo says, his eyes focused past them, on the sky. “Best we’ll be able to do is guide you.”

Tobias follows the skarmory’s gaze, and sees Pokemon clashing in the sky just as viciously as on the land below. As they watch, a corviknight divebombs a swellow with sharp talons, knocking the smaller ‘mon right out of the air to be swallowed up by the mob below.

“Then I guess we’re going through,” Tobias breathes. “Ready?”

Nia and Samir brace themselves. Tobias leads the charge by leaping onto the root bridge August made, his partners close behind. The roots underfoot are slimy and slippery with moss, but more than stable enough to hold the stream of ‘mon that have poured in from every side of the swamp, converging on Will’s forces in the middle.

The battle around the altar is loud even from afar, but the noise is incredible once they reach the heart of the battlefield. Overwhelming. There are suddenly bodies all around Tobias, attacks flashing by and nearly grazing him. He sees snarling and hissing Pokemon no matter where he looks, tearing into each other without mercy. To his right, an absol tackles a vaporeon wearing a white scarf, and the two roll away in a screeching tangle.

A mawile appears out of nowhere and tries to snap Tobias in half with her giant jaws. He’s yanked back just in time by Nia, and Samir charges in to knock the steel type off-balance. Tobias shoots a flame burst that hits the mawile square in the chest, sending her stumbling back into the crowd.

A nearby cacturne pounces on them when a few stray embers hit his skin, swinging a spiked arm at Tobias’ head. Tobias ducks, and Nia takes the opportunity to leap over his shoulders, slamming the cacturne in the face with an aura club. The grass type staggers back with a grunt, blocking against a volley of razor leaves from Samir before Tobias sends him packing with another short burst of fire. This time, some of his embers hit an ally grovyle fighting a few steps away, making Tobias wince.

This is chaos. Tobias can hardly use his flames without risking friendly fire. They’ve gotta just focus on moving towards the altar and not worry about defeating every ‘mon in their path.

Tobias forges on and tries to ignore the battles happening everywhere he looks, dodging around flailing limbs and avoiding enemy attacks when possible. Occasionally, he’s left with no choice but to use his claws and tail to defend himself, sending foes back into the fray before checking to make sure Nia and Samir are holding up okay behind him.

They’ve made it to the long stone pathway leading up to the altar when a stream of fire draws Tobias’ eye. At its source, he finds a bold pattern of black stripes on orange fur, longer tufts of cream fur flaring like the sun. An arcanine.

Sulien.

Tobias stops in his tracks.

The arcanine is on the edge of the main battlefield, near some of the more intact ruins. He’s surrounded by the motionless bodies of Pokemon he has already defeated, with only two opponents still left standing: August, and Andyn’s mother.

Freshly-sprouted trees and roots dot this little section of the battlefield, having broken straight through the stone underfoot. They jut from the ground like defensive spikes, like reaching hands, charred and smoking. As Tobias watches, August bangs his drum, and roots as big as a seviper shoot through the stone pathway towards Sulien. One wraps around Sulien’s leg, and Andyn’s mother takes the opportunity to slam into the arcanine’s ribs with a high horsepower attack.

Sulien snarls, unleashing a wave of fire that sends both August and the sawsbuck leaping out of range. Sturdy plants shoot up like shields to protect them from the flames, but the fire eats right through thorns and bark alike.

Tobias doesn’t even think, bolting towards Sulien and away from the war behind him.

“Tobias!” Nia cries, her voice getting lost to the din.

Tobias doesn’t stop to see if she’s following him. He pushes past and ducks under roaring, shrieking Pokemon, friends and foes alike. He knows he won’t be able to help August and Andyn’s mother if the need arises. He has no idea what he could even do against Sulien.

But he can’t just leave, either.

Tobias stops on the edge of the battlefield, next to a small but sturdy tree with scorch marks gouged into the bark. The marks are still warm, smoke rising faintly from the wood.

Tobias’ gaze is drawn to the Pokemon on the ground who Sulien had taken out first. Now that he’s closer, he can pick out all the gruesome details. A pinsir has a still-smoldering hole blown clean through their shell. A florges’ pretty white petals are painted red with blood. A croagunk’s neck is twisted back at an unnatural angle, their eyes blank and empty.

Tobias feels sick.

A snarl drags Tobias’ eyes back to the fight. August and Andyn’s mother are still keeping Sulien on his toes, but Tobias can tell the two grass types are exhausted, injuries and fatigue from last night’s battle finally taking their toll. August’s strikes are just a bit too slow, his fists and vines only glancing Sulien rather than hitting him head-on. The bandaged leg under Andyn’s mother wobbles more than once as she dodges and lunges, until finally, it buckles.

The sawsbuck falls to a knee.

Sulien jumps on the moment of weakness, tearing towards Andyn’s mother with a flame wheel attack that August barely intercepts, leaping in front of her and summoning another wall of trees and roots.

Sulien smoothly rolls out of the flame wheel attack, instead taking advantage of the grass types’ close proximity. He unleashes a fire spin attack that circles the small, protective thicket and traps both August and Andyn’s mother inside, the flames climbing higher and higher into a towering inferno. Then, Sulien himself ignites with flames, before launching into the blaze with a flare blitz attack.

Tobias watches, horrified, as August and Andyn’s mother are sent crashing through the other side of the flames. Andyn’s mother rolls limply across the stone before coming to a stop. August barely catches himself on one bent knee, skidding back and holding his drum in front of him like a shield.

Sulien is on him in an instant, fiery jaws latching onto the drum. The wood splinters and snaps, flames licking up the instrument so fiercely that August is forced to drop it. The rillaboom staggers backwards, putting distance between the two of them.

Sulien tosses the fiery remnants of the drum aside and follows, prowling like a predator on the hunt.

Tobias sees what comes next as if watching from outside his own body. He sees Andyn’s mother stir, trying to pull herself upright. He sees Sulien change course, lunging for the sawsbuck to finish her off. He sees August throw himself between the two, and sees Sulien tackle his guildmaster to the ground.

The arcanine doesn’t hesitate. He goes for the injury left earlier in August’s side, fiery jaws large enough to latch around the rillaboom’s torso and dig into the wound.

August gives a pained roar. Sulien rips his head back, blood spraying in an arc from the massive chunk torn out of August’s side. August’s struggling abruptly weakens, his arm moving up to clutch at his ribs. Tobias sees his legs kick weakly, as if trying to get up.

“A-August!” Andyn’s mother gasps.

Sulien’s ear flicks, and his focus finds the sawsbuck once again. He abandons August, grabbing Andyn’s mother by an antler with his jaws. She gives a pained bellow, before Sulien twists and slams the sawsbuck head-first into the stone underfoot. She goes limp, but he still pins the grass type down, one giant paw on her antlers and another on her torso, leaving her throat unprotected.

Andyn is about to lose her mother.

It’s that thought that jolts Tobias back into his body.

Awful parent or not, and no matter how much he dislikes the sawsbuck, Tobias still doesn’t want to see her die. Doesn’t want Andyn to lose a parent like he did to Sulien’s cruelty. Possibly both parents, if her dad doesn’t make it. Tobias doesn’t want to see Sulien kill yet again, not when he might’ve just seen August—

Sulien’s jaws open, fangs bared and glowing with white-hot heat, ready to tear out the sawsbuck’s throat.

“Sulien!” Tobias screams.

The arcanine’s shredded ear swivels towards Tobias. Sulien’s head lifts almost lazily to see who is addressing him by name. There’s blood soaking the fur of his muzzle from fighting, and his eyes gleam gold in the morning light.

Tobias moves forward on stiff legs, feeling like prey as the arcanine watches him with mild interest. At Sulien’s paws, Andyn’s mother is still, but Tobias thinks he can see her chest rise and fall. He hopes so, at least. He’s too scared to look back at August, who still hasn’t moved.

Tobias locks eyes with Sulien, and the world seems to fade, until all Tobias can see is the arcanine. The Pokemon he’s been searching for for over eight years. The one who took his family away.

Sulien’s head tilts. “You know me.”

It’s a question, posed as a statement. A bolt of fury cuts through Tobias’ chest like lightning. Even Dismas recognized Tobias in Kaleido’s prison.

“You killed my parents,” Tobias hisses, shaking. “My little sister.”

Sulien’s eyes narrow with thought, before recognition finally sparks. “The child from the mountains. I knew that coward Asra didn’t kill you.”

The arcanine looks down at the sawsbuck under his paws, and then back to Tobias.

Tobias doesn’t even see Sulien move. One moment Tobias is upright, yards away, and then he’s slammed onto his back against hard stone as the air is knocked out of him. Sulien looms over him, and terror fills Tobias’ lungs like water. Tobias suddenly feels like he’s ten years old again, back in his home on that fateful night.

“Asra knew I hated loose ends,” Sulien says disdainfully. The paw on Tobias’ chest presses so hard he thinks his ribs are going to snap before Sulien even gets the chance to tear his throat out.

Then a flash of bright blue energy slams into Sulien’s face, causing him to recoil with a snarl.

Familiar paws yank Tobias back by his arms, and then there’s Nia, planting herself in front of him. Her aura extends into a staff, ready to fight. Tobias has a moment of déjà vu, from that forest dungeon months and months ago, when he thought he was going to die during his first mission. Nia was there to save him then, too.

Tobias startles as Samir appears at his side, steadying him with a quiet whistle of, Okay?

“Y-Yeah,” Tobias gasps, putting a hand on the skiddo’s back as he gets his bearings. He’s not dead, at least.

“Don’t run off like that,” Nia says, turning her muzzle just enough to be heard without looking away from Sulien. “We’re in this together.”

“R-Right.”

Tobias and Samir move to either side of the riolu, falling into battle-ready stances. Sulien’s expression is unreadable as he watches them prepare.

Behind them, the war rages on. While Tobias knows they must have allies nearby, he can’t very well just put a timeout on someone else’s bloody battle so that they can come help Team Scarlet instead.

No, they’re on their own here.

Tobias doesn’t know if they even have a shot at this. How can they possibly make it out of this alive when August and Andyn’s parents and Tobias’ mom and dad and half the S-rank Seekers at the guild couldn’t defeat Sulien? For a moment, Tobias considers running. He knows they should run, that August would want them to, but…

Tobias’ eyes flick past the arcanine, to where August is lying motionless on the ground as blood pools around his side, hopefully still clinging to life. Then he looks at Andyn’s mother, still but breathing. Tobias can’t just leave them here to die. He can’t just let Sulien walk away to kill who knows how many others.

But is Tobias dooming his own team if they stay and fight?

Tobias doesn’t have any more time to think it over as Sulien launches forward, flames spilling from his jaws. Nia barely manages to put up a protect in time, grunting as Tobias and Samir part to flank the arcanine on either side.

Tobias spits a flame burst into Sulien’s ribs as Samir does the same with a razor leaf on the other side. Both attacks seem to do nothing, as if the arcanine didn’t even feel them.

Nia breaks her protect and uses quick attack to zip out from under the arcanine’s maw, but Sulien flashes away too a moment later with something similar—extreme speed?—and stays right on her heels. Nia struggles to stay out of reach, dodging around smoldering trees and roots until she can retreat to the water and towering ruins. She darts through a tiny gap near the base to put a wall of stone between her and Sulien’s much larger form.

Tobias chases after them and takes advantage of Sulien’s moment of distraction to surround the arcanine in a fire spin attack. The flames encase Sulien in seconds with a steady roar, and Tobias is relieved that he managed to trap the speedy Pokemon, even if for a moment.

Tobias glances at the ruins, hoping Nia wasn’t scathed by his attack. She should be safe on the other side, but…

Fire spin starts to dissipate, far too soon to be natural. Tobias looks at Sulien, cold confusion crawling up his back as he catches a glimpse of the arcanine standing completely still within the inferno, embers dancing across his fur. Sulien looks serene, his head lifted and his eyes closed, almost like he’s enjoying the feeling. Sulien’s a fire type, but Tobias’ attack still should’ve done some damage, so why does Sulien look as if…

Tobias’ heart drops as he thinks of something Nia told him once, when reading about abilities. An ability that he’d been jealous of himself.

Does Sulien have flash fire? If he does, then fire type moves won’t hurt him at all—they’ll only make him stronger. If the arcanine has flash fire, then…then half of Tobias’ movepool is useless in this fight.

No wonder Tobias’ parents didn’t stand a chance against this monster.

Tobias is yanked from his thoughts by Samir shooting a seed bomb attack at the arcanine. Sulien doesn’t even bother dodging, instead charging at the skiddo and straight through the move with a flame wheel attack that Samir barely avoids.

Sulien wheels around to sweep a flamethrower at the two of them instead, and they both scramble to get out of the way. Tobias ducks behind a half-broken column in the water. Samir nimbly leaps up a crumbled wall of the ruins at their back, sending a small avalanche of stones down behind them.

Tobias’ mind races as Sulien tries to smoke them out, shooting flamethrowers into the crumbling ruins. They can’t fight the arcanine like this, constantly on the backfoot. At the very least, they need a second to breathe and think, to get some kind of advantage.

Time for old reliable. Tobias sucks in a deep breath of air, then leaps out of hiding to release a cloud of thick gray smoke large enough to roll over the entire area, obscuring visibility.

Tobias hears a quiet splash and spots a glint of blue light through the smoke as Sulien’s flames abruptly cut off with a snarl.

Nia. Tobias follows her lead, his sharp eyes tracking her bursts of aura like lightning through storm clouds.

When he gets close enough to see the silhouettes of Nia and Sulien dancing between charred trees and half-standing ruins, the riolu is using quick attack and flashes of protect to get around the arcanine’s snapping jaws. Nia’s eyes are closed, relying entirely on aura to see where she’s going as she slams handfuls of energy against Sulien whenever she gets an opening.

Sulien fakes her out, stepping right before swinging his head left, headbutting Nia deeper into the smoke with a yelp. The arcanine’s muscles bunch beneath his fur as he prepares to follow.

“Hey!” Tobias yells. He channels dragon type energy into his belly, and then unleashes a dragon rage attack at Sulien. For a moment, purple flames fully engulf the arcanine.

Then, orange fire rapidly builds around Sulien in a ring, the arcanine’s own fire spin attack pushing outwards, tearing through dragon rage and dispersing both attacks in a beautiful cloud of embers. Tobias blinks ash from his eyes, struggling to see.

A sharp, piercing whistle sounds from Tobias’ left: Dodge!

Tobias does so without thinking, throwing himself backwards and feeling the heated air and snap of jaws a hair from his throat as his vision finally clears.

Samir slams into Sulien’s side in a take down attack, knocking the arcanine back a foot. Sulien turns on the skiddo, jaws ablaze. Samir dives under the arcanine’s fire fang to slam their hooves into the stone beneath the much larger Pokemon. To Tobias’ surprise, the stones underfoot crack and crater, the ground shaking and tripping Sulien with a growl. Bulldoze? Tobias forgot Samir even had that move.

Nia chucks an aura sphere from the smoke that catches Sulien in the ear, distracting him long enough for Samir to slip back out of reach. Tobias gets to his own feet and backs up, breathing hard. All three of them surround the arcanine, and for a moment Sulien looks between them, his gaze calculating.

Then, as if they’d planned it, Nia attacks with an aura sphere, Samir backing her up from the other side with a seed bomb attack, and Tobias throws in a dragon rage too, all three moves converging on their opponent in an explosion. Smoke bursts outward from the point of impact, and for a moment, all is still.

Cautious hope lifts in Tobias’ chest. Maybe Sulien was more injured than they’d realized?

There’s a flare of light, and Sulien shoots from the smoke like a comet. He rams into Nia, sending her skipping across the shallow water of the swamp like a stone. Tobias gasps and sprints forward to help, Samir doing the same.

Sulien turns to meet them, unleashing a flamethrower that cuts through the air with a roar of heat and a hiss of steam. Samir leaps over the attack while Tobias ducks under it, and Tobias hears the attack hit Pokemon in the distance with pained cries.

Sulien follows up with an extreme speed attack, bowling over Samir and trapping them against the stone underfoot. The skiddo stares up at Sulien with wide, terrified eyes. Sulien goes for their throat, bearing down on them with jaws of flame.

Tobias won’t be fast enough.

A small blur of black and blue drops from the sky and smashes into the side of Sulien’s head, clinging to his ear and sending his attack off course. The arcanine staggers, shaking his head as the blur goes for his eyes.

Tobias yanks Samir to their feet to pull them to safety. The two of them stare as the little blur is thrown off, tumbling across the stone before settling as a very woozy rookidee.

Junie.

Sulien lunges for her.

A screech rings from the sky like metal on metal. It’s the only warning before a flash of silver smashes into Sulien’s face talons-first, blood spraying into the air and coating Bo’s metallic feathers in red.

Sulien snarls and snaps at Bo with electrically-charged fangs. Bo drops under the attack, pushing off the ground with his talons and flying low to snatch up Junie before wheeling back into the sky.

Tobias hears the skarmory shout, “Over here!”

For a moment, Tobias doesn’t understand what Bo is telling them to do. To follow him? But they can’t leave the others here with Sulien, and Nia is still somewhere in the water—

Then Tobias realizes Bo wasn’t talking to them.

Water shoots out from somewhere behind Tobias like a cannon. It blasts into Sulien and bursts on contact, revealing a familiar wartortle inside. Felix lands, then pushes off the ground to spin and whack the arcanine’s bloody muzzle with an aqua tail that actually makes Sulien stagger back.

Just as Sulien goes on the offensive with another thunder fang, psychic energy engulfs Felix. The wartortle grins and wiggles his fingers in a little wave before getting yanked back to safety towards Tobias and Samir.

Relief rolls over Tobias as he looks back and sees Xander, Avery, and Kry behind him, a little scuffed up but otherwise unharmed. Team Shellshock. Junie and Bo must’ve brought them over as reinforcements.

The luxio and fraxure rush past them to go on the offensive, Kry cloaked in the buzz of dragon dance energy and jumping in claws first. Xander uses Kry’s distraction to tap the arcanine with thunder wave, sending static rippling over his striped pelt and slowing him down. Felix unleashes jets of water gun and bubble beam from the sidelines, shoving the arcanine off-balance.

“Made it,” Avery pants, giving Tobias a little smile. The kirlia’s expression falters as they glance over the battlefield. “Where’s Nia?”

Tobias’ breath catches. Where is Nia? Last he saw, she got thrown into the ruins, but—

Right on cue, Nia comes tearing out of the water, eyes blue with fury as she rejoins the fray. She swings her aura staff around so hard that Tobias is surprised she doesn’t break Sulien’s foreleg.

Tobias can breathe again. “She’s fine.”

Avery nods and joins the fight, Tobias and Samir on the kirlia’s heels.

The tide of battle shifts quickly. With Team Scarlet and Team Shellshock combined, they have a full seven Seekers working against Sulien. Two teams of ‘mon who know each other, and who have fought together before.

While they still stumble over one another—and over other Pokemon battling in the same vicinity—more targets means Sulien’s focus is scattered, leaving them more room to attack and recover as needed.

Samir distracts Sulien with volleys of razor leaf and seed bomb, diverting the arcanine’s attention from Nia’s onslaught of quick hits. Xander crashes into Sulien’s side with a volt switch attack, the rebound energy allowing the luxio to spring back out of range and stunning Sulien in the process. Kry rushes in with a breaking swipe, her heavy tail battering the outlaw and lowering his attack. As Sulien tries to retaliate with a crunch, Avery teleports the fraxure out of harm’s way, only for Tobias to quickly take her place, slashing at Sulien’s legs as Felix unbalances the arcanine with a powerful water pulse.

Tobias’ blood sings with adrenaline, watching Sulien grow less and less composed as they chip away at his health. Tobias can tell that the others are wearing down just as much as he is, though, and they do take a few heavy hits in the process. Samir is grazed by a flamethrower after shoving Avery out of the way of the attack, and when Kry takes a hit for Nia, it leaves the fraxure’s arm limp, her protective scales cracked in half by Sulien’s fangs.

But they’re all still standing.

Just as Tobias starts to gain some hope, Sulien braces himself and unleashes a wordless snarl. A wave of dark type energy accompanies the sound, rippling out from Sulien to hit both teams and send them skidding back. Tobias feels his flames falter, weaker suddenly. The attack reaches so far that even the Pokemon battling far behind them cry out.

Sulien takes the moment of weakness to throw his head back with a howl that pierces through the sound of battle. Unease shivers up Tobias’ spine, and he isn’t sure if he’s imagining the way the arcanine’s eyes glow in his bloodied face, muscles rippling beneath his striped pelt.

“Careful,” Avery warns them, reinforcing the bad feeling in Tobias’ gut.

Sulien lowers his head, light gathering in his mouth like a star.

“Move!” Xander yells.

They scatter, leaping out of the way as Sulien launches a flamethrower across the stone. The heat chases Tobias, and he thinks he’s the target until he realizes that the flames are curving around all of them instead of dispersing, corralling them closer together. A flamethrower attack straight into fire spin.

The fire spin grows higher and higher, a tornado of flames with their teams trapped in the center. Tobias stumbles back into Xander as the heat hits him like a wall, and he feels a sick sense of déjà vu wash over him. They’ve gotta get out of here. Tobias saw what this tactic did to August and to Andyn’s mother—

Sulien bursts through the wall of flames with a flare blitz attack. Tobias catches a glimpse of Nia’s aura trying and failing to stop the arcanine as he plows through their group. Tobias is thrown back hard onto the stone path, overwhelmed by heat and fear. It feels like he’s back in the fire in Ghatha, back in his childhood home with his family, and for a moment panic envelops him. He can’t breathe. Is Sulien pinning him down again? Where’s Vivi?

No. Get ahold of yourself, Tobias. He curls in on himself, head ringing, and tries to take bigger gulps of the overheated air as embers brush over his skin. His claws find a crack in the stone to grip, and he tries to focus on the rough texture under his fingertips.

Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Hold. In. Hold. Out. Hold.

Tobias slowly gathers himself, until the heated air feels less choking. He realizes once he squints open an eye and lifts his head that the fire spin itself is fading, letting cool air back in for him to breathe. The others—

The others.

Tobias gasps, propping himself up on his elbows to look.

Traces of fire spin still wisp through the air, smoldering on the stone ruins around them. Any plant life nearby has been turned to ash. Even the stone under Tobias is charred a sooty black and steaming with heat.

In the wreckage, Team Shellshock has been brought to their knees. Xander is struggling to push himself to his paws. Kry is doing the same, snarling curses. Avery’s laid out on the ground, unconscious. Felix is the only one to actually make it back to his feet, clearly dazed.

Nia and Samir. Where are they?

Tobias finds them after a moment of frantic searching. Nia is pushing herself up with a grunt, her arms wobbling. Behind her, Samir is shifting groggily, some of the leaves around their neck still smoldering. Some of the leaves are burned away entirely. Nia’s protect must’ve blocked some of Sulien’s attack, though, even if it didn’t work entirely. Tobias isn’t sure the skiddo would’ve even survived that flare blitz otherwise.

The crackle of electricity makes Tobias’ head snap back to Sulien, just in time to see the arcanine grab Felix in a thunder fang attack. The wartortle is tucked inside his shell for protection, but Tobias hears it crack under the pressure of Sulien’s fangs.

“Felix!” Xander chokes, wild-eyed and sparking as he tries in vain to push himself to his paws.

Tobias shoves himself to his feet and runs, leaping onto the arcanine’s back, trying to bite at his neck through thick fur, digging into the outlaw’s pelt with his claws.

Sulien growls and throws Felix aside. The wartortle’s injured shell bounces over stone and rubble at the base of some ruins before settling. Some of the stones atop the ruins shift loose and fall into the water below with a series of loud splashes.

Sulien leaps into a flame wheel attack that flattens Tobias under his body weight and forces him to let go, leaving Tobias wheezing and struggling to sit up. As Sulien unleashes a flamethrower attack, Tobias throws up an arm in front of his face to protect himself.

He hears the flamethrower impact, but doesn’t feel it aside from a fresh wave of heat. He cracks open an eye, stunned to see flames crashing against a wall of blue aura. Tobias whips his head around, spotting Nia standing on shaky paws. Her eyes glow with aura, and she’s gritting bloody teeth with a paw outstretched towards him. Samir struggles to their hooves behind her.

The flamethrower cuts off, Sulien’s jaws staying parted as he takes heavy breaths. The arcanine’s eyes lock onto Nia with growing frustration. Tobias doesn’t like that look being aimed at his partner. They need to regroup. Now.

Tobias takes a breath before exhaling one more cloud of smokescreen, thick and choking, into the air. Sulien’s eyes flick back to him with annoyance. Good

Tobias can only see a bit better than the average ‘mon in the smoke, and he knows his tail flame will be a beacon for Sulien if he decides to go after them, but Tobias just needs a moment. Just a second to slow down and think. He can’t just go charging in, and he’s grateful when the quiet means Nia and Samir haven’t, either. Sulien doesn’t attack, probably taking a breather himself and waiting for them to come to him.

Tobias pushes himself to his feet and quietly shuffles his way around the arcanine, hoping Nia will sense him and meet him halfway with Samir in tow.

They have to take Sulien down here and now. If they don’t, if they turn tail and run, then August, Andyn’s mother, and Team Shellshock are all as good as dead, not to mention anyone else the arcanine would slaughter afterwards. After fighting the lucario and Lexym Guild in the mountains, then fighting August here, and then fighting Team Scarlet and Team Shellshock, Sulien has to be worn down by now, and yet Tobias still fears they won’t be able to beat him with brute strength alone.

They need a plan.

Think, Tobias. If they can’t overpower Sulien through battle, then they’ll have to be smarter than him. What else can they use to their advantage? Tobias’ eyes flick through the smoke, skimming past half-burned trees and landing on the tall, hazy silhouette of the ruins in the water around them. Remnants of a temple long since lost to time.

Nia’s aura brushes by Tobias a moment before she appears at his side, Samir a silent, roughed-up shadow behind her. The riolu’s eyes are closed as she sees with aura, her face pointed towards Sulien. Her ears are turned towards Tobias, though; he can practically hear her asking him what they should do next.

Tobias swallows, glancing back at the ruins and wondering if they could use them to their advantage here. They’ve already been using the broken-down walls and columns to evade Sulien’s attacks, but Tobias is still uneasy about moving around on them too much, since the stone remnants are clearly unstable. Portions of the upper floors and even the roof are still in place, but they teeter dangerously above the rubble at the base of the ruins, ready to crush them if they—

Tobias stops breathing. He thinks of Sulien holding him down under the weight of his paw. He thinks of Asra the crobat, killed in a rockslide that was anything but natural.

Maybe it’s time for Sulien to get a taste of his own medicine.

“Hey,” Tobias breathes. “Remember how many times we’ve been buried alive?”

Nia’s expression pinches, even as she nods. Samir gives him a wary look.

“I think it’s time for Sulien to have a turn.”

Nia’s brows raise, realization dawning as she follows where Tobias is looking. Samir’s face goes slack with a wide-eyed sort of dread.

“Think you and I can keep him busy at the base, Nia?” Tobias asks. “You’ll have to be ready to bubble.”

Nia nods.

“Good. Samir, you climb. Once Sulien is in place underneath, trigger a rockslide at my signal. Don’t worry about us, even if we’re right in the crossfire. Just bulldoze away.”

Samir’s mouth flattens, worry glittering in their gaze, but they don’t argue. The skiddo knows the stakes as well as Tobias does. If they have any kind of plan, they have to take it.

Sulien must’ve heard Tobias’ voice, because a flamethrower cuts through the smoke in their direction. As one, the three of them bolt for the ruins, parting around Sulien’s attack like water around stone. Nia stops to launch an aura sphere at the arcanine, which earns her a snarl from within the smoke.

Tobias keeps running, panting as he reaches the water and throws himself from the path to the rubble at the base of the ruins. He sees Samir take a different route, and even injured, the skiddo’s nimble hooves allow them to leap up the ruins quickly, until they’re out of sight somewhere overhead.

Tobias squints up at the slabs of stone making up what remains of the upper floors and roof of the temple. He positions himself directly underneath them, then looks back towards the smoke just as Nia appears. She launches herself into the shallow water towards Tobias, breathing hard as she reaches his side.

Sulien barrels out of the smoke a moment later, his jaws glowing with heat as he charges at them. Tobias and Nia split up to keep his focus diverted, even as Tobias’ mind races. His eyes flick up towards the stone overhead, then back to Sulien.

What if the arcanine is still too fast? Tobias hasn’t seen Sulien use extreme speed in a while, so he’s hopefully too exhausted for that, but even without that the fire type is quick. Tobias fears Sulien’s sharp ears will hear Samir overhead and flee the incoming rockslide. They’ll only get one shot at this, so they can’t miss. They need to do something to make sure Sulien stays in place, but what?

Nia’s yelp tears Tobias’ from his thoughts, and he looks back just in time to see Nia go flying, slamming into a far ruin wall hard enough to crack the stone. She falls limply to the rubble below, and nauseous fear rolls through Tobias’ stomach.

That fear only grows when Sulien doesn’t look away from Nia, ready to go after her and finish the job.

“H-Hey!” Tobias yells. Get his attention, get him away from Nia. “You’re an idiot if you think Will’s really gonna take you to the human world, y’know!”

It’s enough for Sulien to pause, his ear twitching towards Tobias.

“It’s so obvious that he doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Tobias goads, breathing hard. “I just don’t get why someone like you would follow someone like him.”

Sulien’s head turns sharply. “I do not follow that spineless ghost.”

“Sure seems like you are. You’re acting on Will’s orders, right? To attack Silenfroar? To defend Yveltal?”

“No one orders me to do anything.”

Oh, looks like Tobias found a sore spot. Good. Time to press even harder into that bruise.

“Suuure,” Tobias antagonizes, trying to channel his inner Junie. “I mean, I guess I get why you’d follow him. The world’s ending. You feel as helpless as the rest of us.”

Sulien finally turns away from Nia, snarling, “It has been a great many years since I was helpless, whelp. I am surviving, even if that means playing nice until I reach the human world.”

“And if you do make it to the human world? What then? Will won’t be happy if you hurt any humans.”

“It doesn’t matter what Will wants. That ghost will die by my jaws the moment we cross the barrier, and then I will be free to do as I please.”

Tobias’ head jerks back. “Free to do as you please? All you do in this world is cause destruction and hurt everyone you meet. You can’t tell me you’re planning on turning over a new leaf or something.”

Sulien huffs a laugh through his nose. “Of course not. I’ll do as I always have, and live as I see fit. The Seekers couldn’t stop me in this world, and the humans won’t stop me in theirs.”

Something about the casual way Sulien speaks makes clarity unravel in Tobias’ mind. Answers a question he hadn’t realized he wanted to know the answer to until just now.

This is just…how Sulien lives. How he sees the world. Everything he does is just a sick grab for power, so he can feel strong. So he can do whatever he likes without consequences. He simply doesn’t care what anyone else thinks or feels. He’ll do anything, as long as he remains the one in control.

A gut-churning thought occurs to Tobias.

“You killed my family so we wouldn’t tell anyone about you passing through the mountains,” Tobias says, his voice shaking. “But you…you get something out of it too, don’t you? Killing. You like deciding when someone lives or dies. The power of it.”

“What is there but power?” Sulien asks. “I know what it’s like to live without it, and I will never return to that pathetic state.”

Tobias hates that he kind of understands what Sulien means. Feel helpless enough for long enough, have your weaknesses used against you, and there is a sort of appeal in being on the other side of that dynamic. In being the strong one. Being in control and making the decisions so that you never get hurt. Most ‘mon just don’t go to such extreme lengths to always be the one on top.

“You’re horrible,” Tobias says, his hands curling into fists, “and you’re a coward.”

Sulien doesn’t seem phased by the first insult, but coward clearly hits a nerve. The arcanine takes a threatening step forward, embers drifting from his maw as he rumbles, “A coward? I have fought and killed countless S-Rank Seekers, wisp. I killed your strongest guildmates. Your guildmaster.”

“And you’re still weak!” Tobias yells, his fangs bared. “That’s what you consider strong?! Playing with people’s lives like it’s all some sick game that you have to win?”

Sulien’s face darkens, smoke trailing from his nostrils. His claws flex into the stone underfoot.

“The strongest ‘mon I’ve ever met have never taken advantage of someone like that,” Tobias says. “They’ve always done good, even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.”

Tobias thinks of his parents welcoming three waterlogged strangers into their home. He thinks of Maggie and August bringing Tobias into the guild without a second thought and raising him as their own. He thinks of Nia, Junie, Samir and everyone they’ve met on their travels, facing the end of the world with trembling legs and heads held high.

“They are strong,” Tobias says. “But you? You’re nothing like them. You’re nothing at all.”

With a roar, Sulien lunges for Tobias. Tobias scrambles back and nearly trips over the rubble of the ruins behind him. He turns, cornered, and climbs the dilapidated side of the once-great temple, clawing his way up a mountain of tumbled stone.

Tobias expects Sulien to attack from a distance, but instead the arcanine gives chase. He’s right on Tobias’ tail, flames shooting past Tobias into the sky and jaws snapping too close for comfort. Tobias climbs faster, scraping up his hands and feet and snagging his claws on rough stone as he goes. The only reason Sulien hasn’t caught him already is because the arcanine’s heavier weight makes some of the stone crumble underfoot, and he keeps sliding down before regaining ground again.

Tobias doesn’t know what his plan is, climbing higher and higher into the remnants of the old stone ruins as Sulien charges after him like a feral in a dungeon. Tobias is just trying to stay alive, but when he leads Sulien to the top, what will he do then?

Samir’s up there.

Tobias staggers to a stop on one of the landings once he remembers that. He can’t just lead the enraged arcanine right to his grass type partner. That’s a disaster waiting to happen.

Sulien leaps up after Tobias, blocking him from going any higher. He looks like a mindless beast, flames licking at his jaws and his eyes wild with rage. At the arcanine’s back, the open ruin wall shows only clear morning sky, bringing a fresh breeze to Tobias’ nose. For a moment, Tobias thinks of his parents, of flying through the mountains with Vivi.

That’s it.

Tobias glances up, orienting where he is in relation to Samir overhead, then back down to Sulien’s paws. The arcanine’s fury, exhaustion and injuries are making him careless. He’s so close to the edge, and they’re a couple stories up by now.

Time to fly, Tobias.

Tobias runs straight at Sulien, towards the fangs that have haunted his nightmares for a decade. He tackles the arcanine’s head, clinging to his face and sending him staggering back in surprise. Tobias’ heart skips a beat as he feels Sulien’s paw slip over the edge, his body tipping backwards and dragging Tobias along with him.

It didn’t feel like a long climb up, quick as they were moving, but the fall seems to happen in slow motion. Sulien drops through the air on his back, his paws twisted above him as if to catch himself on something. Tobias clings to the arcanine’s fur as the ruins blur by at their side. He squeezes his eyes shut, and it’s almost like he’s on his Mom’s back again, taking a dive through mountain air and screaming with delight.

And then Sulien slams into the ground, the air in his lungs leaving him in a rush. Tobias bounces to a painful stop as well, the blow thankfully softened by the arcanine’s body. He struggles to sit up, perched at the junction between Sulien’s chest and neck.

Beneath him, Sulien is struggling to breathe, the wind knocked out of him after such a fall onto unforgiving stone. His eyes are wild as he tries to gasp for air, perfectly immobilized under the ruins overhead.

It’s time to end this.

Tobias whistles Go! loud and piercing, watching Sulien’s eyes snap to him at the sound. Even as Tobias tries and fails to get his weak legs underneath him, he hopes Samir doesn’t hesitate. Tobias doesn’t want to die anymore, but he’s willing to if it means taking this monster with him.

“Tobias!”

Nia’s voice. Her yell is almost lost to the sudden shift and rumble of stone overhead.

Then, something—someone—tackles Tobias off Sulien, rolling them both into the rubble at the arcanine’s side. Tobias opens his eyes to find Nia above him, blue aura appearing overhead. An instant later, stone crashes down on them like a falling building, like Bethoc Bluffs, raining against Nia’s shield and burying the sky.

Darkness envelops them completely.

Tobias pants, his heart pounding as he stares up at Nia in the dim light of his tail. Nia stares back as the two of them wait for the sound of clattering stone to settle. When it finally, finally does, it feels like they’re in their own world, surrounded by black silence.

They’re alive.

“A-Are you okay?” Nia whispers.

Tobias swallows and nods, glancing at the barrier as he slowly sits up. Nia shifts back to give him room, and he takes the opportunity to look the riolu over. “Are you okay? You took that last hit pretty hard.”

He gestures her to tuck her head to her chest, and she does so without question so he can prod at the back of her skull, beyond relieved to find her perfectly intact.

“At least I didn’t fling myself off the top of a building,” Nia mutters, half-scolding as she sits up again. “I’m okay. I-I don’t know if I can lift all this rock off of us, though.”

They both fall silent, gathering their thoughts.

Nia murmurs, “Do you think we got him?”

Tobias takes a shaky breath. He doesn’t know. Sulien feels…unkillable. An unstoppable force. Wouldn’t Tobias know if he’d beaten him? Wouldn’t he feel it, somehow?

“If that didn’t do it, I don’t have a backup plan,” Tobias admits.

He slumps to rest his forehead on Nia’s shoulder. Nia immediately wraps Tobias in a tight hug, and he doesn’t hesitate to sling his own arms around her in return. Her heartbeat pounds against his own, her overworked body nearly as warm as his.

Tobias tries to calm down and just enjoy the fact that he and his partner are both still here. Still alive.

Then, something above them shifts, the sound muted through Nia’s aura. They look up.

The darkness above them splits, a slab of stone tumbling aside to reveal the brightening sky. In the gap, Samir and Junie’s frantic faces pop into view, and Bo’s sharp, metallic beak follows, still covered in a spray of dried blood from his attack on Sulien. All of their expressions lighten with relief when they see Tobias and Nia through her aura.

After the three of them push aside enough stone to make sure it won’t cave in and kill Tobias and Nia, Nia finally drops her aura. The two of them climb out into cool morning air, the distant sounds of battle reaching them once again.

Samir flings themself at Tobias and Nia so hard that they’re nearly knocked over by the sudden armful of trembling skiddo. Junie is close behind, letting out an emotional cry before diving right into the middle of the group hug. The four of them take a moment to soak in each other’s presence, breaths hitching and tears slipping free.

They’re alive. They made it.

But…

“Sulien?” Tobias finally asks, pulling back to look over his shoulder at the mountain of stone.

As if hearing him, something in the rubble shifts. Pebbles tumble down into the water below.

Tobias tries to shove away his fear and pulls himself from the group hug to pick his way over to the sound. He hears the others follow behind him. Once he splashes down into the water on the other side of the rubble, Tobias spots him.

Sulien.

The arcanine is almost completely buried under heavy rock, with only a small patch of his face and neck visible between two slabs of stone.

Tobias cautiously steps closer. Sulien watches him with a bleary, half-lidded eye. Shallow water laps at his wet, dirtied fur, making it float limply around his face. He’s breathing heavily, on the brink of consciousness and seemingly too weak to move.

Tobias wars between mind-numbing relief, a residual sting of fear, and tired anger, staring down at this Pokemon that he hates so, so much. For a second, he thinks, I could kill him.

He could. Sulien’s clearly on the brink of consciousness, and completely pinned. Tobias could dig his claws and teeth into what little is exposed of Sulien’s throat and tear until he’s gasping for air. He could do to him what he did to Tobias’ family. To August. Tobias wouldn’t feel bad taking him out of this world, and he probably wouldn’t even be blamed for it. But…

But.

Tobias doesn’t want to let Sulien decide his life for him anymore. Of all Pokemon, Sulien shouldn’t be the one to make Tobias someone he doesn’t want to be. The arcanine has already haunted his thoughts for years, for half of his life, and he refuses to give Sulien that kind of power over him or his actions. Not anymore.

“I’d rather see you rot anyways,” Tobias murmurs.

Sulien doesn’t respond, probably too far gone to even register what Tobias said. After a few more rasping breaths, his head goes limp, his eye sliding shut as he falls unconscious.

Tobias stares, still trying to decide how he feels. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know how he should feel. He’s grateful for Nia, Samir, and Junie at his back, a steadying presence when he’s feeling so unstable.

“I swear to Palkia, Felix, if you die here I’m gonna make your shell into armor!”

Kry’s sharp voice knocks Tobias out of his thoughts.

Tobias and the others spin around, returning to the present. They splash away from the mountain of stone and through the shallow water to the other side of the ruins where they’d left Team Shellshock.

Xander is at Avery’s side. The luxio’s paw is pulling away from the kirlia’s neck, like he’d been checking for a pulse, but Tobias sees the psychic type stirring as Xander’s terrified gaze moves to look out over the water instead.

Tobias finds where Kry is crouched next to Felix’s shell, still half-submerged in the swamp’s water after Sulien threw him aside. The fraxure is struggling to move the wartortle to dry land on her own with only one good arm. Tobias and the others hurry to help, wading to Kry’s side. There’s a bit of blood clouding the water around Felix.

“You got him?” Kry grunts. Tobias, Nia, and Samir nod.

Together, the four of them lift the wartortle’s shell an inch from the bottom of the swamp and float the wartortle over to the stone path. There, they gently lift him up before pulling themselves out as well.

“Felix, I’m serious. You’d better not be dead in there,” Kry says, her gruff voice breaking for a moment as she puts a hand on the wartortle’s shell, careful to avoid the large crack spanning the top of it from Sulien’s teeth. Tobias can see blood and muscles through the break, and he fears the worst.

But a moment later, a familiar blue head and fluffy ears pop out the top of the shell to rest on the stone, Felix’s expression pained but undeniably alive. “Good to see you’re all right too, Kry.”

And suddenly, Tobias can breathe again. Kry just barks a relieved laugh, helping the wartortle ease his other limbs out of his shell before stopping him from trying to stand.

“Felix?” Xander calls, looking terrified.

“Still alive, bro,” Felix calls back, facedown.

Xander laughs, tears brimming in his eyes as he helps Avery sit up.

Thank Arceus. That accounts for Team Shellshock, so the only ones left to check on are…

Tobias quickly finds the motionless brown lumps of a sawsbuck and rillaboom. He pushes himself to his feet and runs over to them, praying, Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead. He tries not to think about the confidence in Sulien’s voice when he’d said that he killed Tobias’ guildmates and guildmaster.

A quick check reveals that Andyn’s mother is breathing, and seemingly just unconscious. Tobias sighs in relief, before rushing past her to August.

August is laid out on his back. Blood and viscera spills out from the crater in his side in a puddle, breaking the clean silhouette of the rillaboom’s body.

“August?” Tobias chokes, shaking the rillaboom’s arm a bit too roughly.

Relief floods Tobias’ body when the guildmaster stirs. August coughs, his eyes fluttering open but hardly seeing. Tobias chooses not to focus on that, because he’s still alive. August has a chance.

“H-Here,” Junie flaps over and drops a yellow sitrus berry at Tobias’ side. “Bo said to give him one of these. I’ll go grab another!”

“Thanks,” Tobias murmurs. He leans forward and pats August on the cheek to get his attention. “August? Hey, it’s Tobias. Eat this, okay?”

August mumbles wordlessly, blood on his lips. His eyes slip closed again.

“Hey, c’mon,” Tobias says, a little sharper. He holds the berry against the rillaboom’s mouth. “Y-You have to eat this first, then you can sleep.”

August’s dark eyes roll open again, and this time Tobias catches him saying something about Maggie.

Tobias’ heart squeezes. He bites a chunk out of the sitrus berry and spits it back out in his hand. He pokes the piece between August’s lips, until the rillaboom finally takes it in his mouth, slowly chewing.

“Good,” Tobias praises, hurriedly biting off another chunk of sitrus berry.

August chokes and coughs, spitting out bloody lumps of half-chewed berry.

“No no no!” Tobias hisses under his breath. He holds a fresh piece to August’s mouth. “C’mon, August, you’ve gotta swallow it. Y-You…”

August’s eyes slide shut again. Tears choke Tobias’ throat as he shakes his head.

No. No, this can’t be happening. They did it. They saved Andyn’s mom before Sulien got to her. They beat Sulien. They won! August can’t—he can’t…

“Help,” Tobias croaks. Then, louder, he calls, “Help!”

Xander bounds over first, the luxio stopping in his tracks with bristling fur when he sees the state of their guildmaster. He whips his head over his shoulder and cries, “Avery! It’s August!”

Avery? Does the kirlia have a healing move? They must, if Xander is calling them over with such urgency.

Avery still seems woozy when they appear, but as soon as they see August, their eyes go wide with alarm. The kirlia rushes forward, collapsing into the blood at August’s injured side. They lift slender, shaking hands, and indigo energy glows brightly as they try to stitch August back together.

Slowly, silently, the others make their way over too, until the rillaboom has a flock of his Seekers gathered around him. Even Felix manages to join them with Kry and Bo’s help, before the skarmory steps back to stand guard. Most of the ‘mon have moved on from this edge of the battlefield, bodies left in their wake that Tobias hadn’t wanted to look at too closely, but he’s grateful for the older ‘mon’s caution regardless.

Nia settles at Tobias’ side, taking his hand and squeezing. Tobias can’t look away from August’s injury and Avery’s unsteady hands. Not until they suddenly fall to the kirlia’s lap.

August’s injury remains open. A gaping sea of red and pink. Tobias stares at it, uncomprehending, and then looks up at Avery’s face.

The kirlia is crying.

“Ave?” Xander murmurs.

“I can’t fix this,” Avery whispers. Their slim shoulders jump with a sob. “He’s too far gone, it’s too much damage, I-I can’t…”

No. No no no, this…can’t be real. Not again.

“What do you mean?” Tobias asks, desperate. “He’s still alive, so you should—you can fix him!”

Avery’s head bows. “I can’t. I’m sorry. I-I tried.”

Tears flood Tobias’ eyes. He stares at the kirlia, grief and anger unfurling in his chest.

No. No, August can’t die. That’s Maggie’s best friend. That’s the guildmaster who took Tobias in without a second thought, all those years ago. The ‘mon who teased him and guided him over the years, and who has always been a kind, supportive presence, even when Tobias had done nothing but snap at him in return. August is strong. He’s so strong, so he can’t…he…

A sob rips from Tobias’ chest as he looks back at the rillaboom, sprawled almost peacefully across the stone if not for his injuries. Around him, the others bunch closer. Avery is weeping into Xander’s shoulder, and the luxio has silent tears streaming down his cheeks. Kry’s head is lowered in respect. Felix sniffles quietly, in little hiccupping breaths, watching August’s face like it’s the last time he’ll ever see it.

At Tobias’ side, Samir and Junie look teary-eyed too, but it’s Nia who cries with Tobias. She understands just as well as he does what it’s like to come to the guild scared and lost and alone, only to be met with such warm, welcoming arms.

Tobias lowers his head to brush against August’s arm. His fingers curl into August’s coarse fur, cherishing the warmth still left in his body. For a moment, Tobias thinks he imagines the familiar touch of calloused fingers on his hand, much larger than his own. But when Tobias lifts his head again, he locks eyes with August through his tears.

The rillaboom is clearly fading, but in this moment, his gaze seems clear. Slowly, he takes in those gathered around him. The scared children he’s taken under his wing over the years. He has to know he’s dying, but somehow, he doesn’t look scared. He looks…happy.

“I’m glad you’re all safe,” he says, almost too soft to hear.

“You aren’t,” Tobias says, his voice breaking. “I’m sorry, August. I-I’m so sorry. I couldn’t—”

“Is Adira alive?” August interrupts, his head tilting in the direction of Andyn’s mother.

Tobias swallows. He casts another look over his shoulder, just to make sure. “…Yes.”

“Good. You did that, Tobias.”

“W-What?”

“You saved someone’s life,” August murmurs. “Remember that. Don’t focus on those you couldn’t save. Focus on those you did. That’s how a Seeker lives.”

Fresh tears sting Tobias’ eyes. He wants to deny it. Wants to admit how terrible of a Seeker he is, because he would trade Andyn’s mom for August in a heartbeat, no matter how much it would devastate the deerling left behind.

But…August wouldn’t want that, would he? A life is a life. His guild members are his, no matter who they are. He gave his life for the sawsbuck without a second thought, and Tobias…Tobias helped make sure his sacrifice wasn’t in vain.

August hacks a cough that’s wet with blood. He looks again at Tobias. “Can you tell Maggie that I’ll say hi to Fane for her?”

Tobias takes a sharp, shuddering breath, trying and failing to keep more tears at bay. He nods, even as he wipes at the tears rolling down his face.

August smiles, his eyes skimming past all of them before sliding shut again. “Good. Thank you all, for being such good Seekers. Such good kids. A guildmaster couldn’t ask for more.”

Tobias waits for the rillaboom to continue, the lump in his throat painful from trying to hold back another sob. He doesn’t realize there won’t be more until the hand over his own grows heavy and slips off, resting on the bloodied stone at August’s side.

Tobias wails, burying his face in August’s pelt. It’s not fair. It’s not fair for someone so loved to suddenly be gone. Tobias feels like he’s ten years old again, crying over his sister. Mourning his parents and so scared of being left in a world without them.

He doesn’t know how he’s going to tell Maggie.

On either side of Tobias, Nia, Samir, and Junie press close, holding him together. Tobias is reminded that this time, he isn't alone in his grief. It's a comforting thought, even through the painful loss.

It helps that August died happy. Died proud of them, for doing what they did. For saving a fellow guildmember, and for stopping Sulien before he could kill anyone else. For surviving that battle to live another day.

Tobias doesn’t know how long they cry, hunched over their guildmaster’s body. How much time the universe grants them before continuing on. It feels like hours. It feels like seconds. It’s likely only minutes before their sorrow is interrupted.

A chilling, otherworldly cry shatters the morning air and echoes out over the ruins, a ripple of cold energy accompanying it. Tobias lifts his weary head, the skin of his arms dimpling with unease.

The distant fighting behind them abruptly stops. Unearthly silence falls across the battlefield as every Pokemon turns to stare, all eyes on the altar and the dimensional gate.

In front of it, Yveltal’s cocoon has been cracked open, a ray of red light bursting through. Will laughs, loud and delighted in the stillness.

Tobias’ bruised heart drops. The guild didn’t stop Will in time. They failed.

Yveltal is awake.

___________________________________________________________

CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:

Blood and injury.

Major character death.