Latias found herself in a dark room, lit only by the streetlights shining through the hotel window. She lay curled on the bed, her feathery body rising and falling with uneasy breaths as she stared out at the skyline. She wasn’t quite sure how she ended up here, but a feeling in the pit of her stomach unsettled her, as though all that was good in the world was about to end.
And soon.
The dragon Pokémon was so lost in her own worry as she looked out the city below that she didn’t notice the quiet sound of the door open, nor the soft steps on the carpet. It was only when a warm, familiar hand brushed against the feathers of her back that she snapped out of it, quickly turning her head to the touch.
“Mar—”
The name was cut off as a pair of human lips met her own.
It was only after a long moment that her trainer reluctantly pulled back, smiling softly as he crawled onto the bed beside her and settled against the pillows.
“What’s wrong, Latias?” the young brown-haired man asked. “You have this look in your eyes.”
Latias hesitated, lowering her head with a sigh. “I… I don’t know.”
This was the truth; she wasn’t hiding anything from him, wasn’t holding anything inside. She really didn’t know what had her feeling so… anxious. It was a kind of dread that made her heart sink, as though she’d already lost something she couldn’t possibly vlive without.
The man tilted his head slightly, studying her expression as he caressed the red feathers on her head with his palm. “It’s about my trip tomorrow, isn’t it?”
“Your trip…?” Latias felt herself quivering with a horrible sense of mourning, losing her breath for a second as if it’d been stolen right out of her lungs. Once she finally got a breath in, he calmed herself by pressing herself against her human, nuzzling into his chest like a pet seeking safety from a storm. “...Y-yes. I’ll… I’ll miss you. So much.”
The human wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and stroking her long, silky neck.
“I’ll miss you too, but it’s nothing we haven’t already been through, right? This happens every time we travel to a new region for the first time, and it won’t be for long. I just have to go first, as always, and then I’ll sign all the forms to get the license to transfer you over as soon as I can.”
Latias shifted slightly in his arms to silently glance up at his hazel eyes, still seemingly unsatisfied with this answer.
“C’mon Latias, you know how it is,” he went on, trying to lighten the mood. “Some bureaucratic bullshit about ‘inter-regional laws’, and ‘invasive species regulations’, blah blah blah...”
That earned a slight chuckle from her, at least. He smiled as he caressed her wing. “And since you’re classified as a Legendary Pokémon, that just means even more paperwork for me.”
Latias rolled her eyes slightly as she pressed closer into him, unwilling to let go. “I don’t consider myself ‘Legendary’... my species is rare, but I’m not as strong as a Lugia or a Kyogre. I’m just a—”
She was interrupted for the second time when her beloved human kissed her again, more passionately this time. He reached down to stroke the blue triangular marking on her chest, and her silky feathers ruffled on the back of her neck in a fluster.
“You’re not just anything to me, you know. You’re my Latias. Mine.”
“Yours…” Latias sighed longingly as she crawled on top of him, feeling a pleasant chill down her spine and a tingle of arousal between her flippers as her beloved human’s hands found their place even lower on her body. She did enjoy it when he’d occasionally remind her of his ‘ownership’ of her, even if they saw each other as equals in their relationship.
“All… yours…”
What happened then passed in a hazy blur for Latias—hot, heavy, breaths repeatedly escaping her until what felt like pleasant jolts of lightning shocked her to her very core. But, needless to say, this was no Electric-type move that made her clutch the bedsheets with her claws or made her eyes roll into her head.
She couldn’t tell how much time had passed her by. It could have easily been five minutes, or five hours. But by the time she regained herself, she lifted her head from the bed slightly as she faintly felt his gentle touch against her back, his comforting voice in her ear.
“No matter what happens, Latias, I promise… I will always be with you... always be with you… always… be…”
However, those last words echoed in her ears as they got quieter, as if they were only a fading memory.
Then, the TV across from the bed abruptly flickered to life on its own to a news report showing horrific footage of a smoking wreckage, twisted metal debris strewn across scorched ground as the camera panned over the aftermath.
“Alola Airlines flight 493—kshh—attacked by a—kkksshh—were no survivors.”
Latias’s breath was stolen from her lungs once more at the sight. Her heart lurched violently with dread, but she turned back to her trainer for comfort…
He was gone.
In an instant, the warmth of his presence had vanished completely. Her heart pounded in her chest as she bolted upright in a panic, flying all around the lonely hotel room in an outrage like a bird trapped in a tiny cage as the room was quickly shrinking all around her. In an outburst, she knocked over the lamp, toppled the heavy dresser, ripped up the bedsheets, and smashed the TV, her heart breaking as she cried out in her native, birdlike screech.
As much as she waited for some kind of reassuring answer, that it was just a sick joke… only silence followed.
In her heart, she knew the horrible truth, and a hollow ache cut into her deeper than any pain she could remember. She shuddered in despair, folding her wings around herself as tears stung her eyes. Her destined partner, her soulmate, had been taken away from her… forever.
But as she mourned her loss, out of nowhere, a warm golden light suddenly flared above her, washing away her view of the city, the room, everything. It emanated the sound of a single heavenly tone, like a choir of frozen angels.
And then, the light swallowed her, and all of her memories, whole.
* * *
When her eyes shot open, Latias found herself once again back atop the black tower, her dream quickly fading away like it had never existed. And yet, with an unknown ache still fresh in her heart, she realized she had been crying in her sleep as a single tear trickled down her cheek and fell to the hard, crystalline floor.
She somehow could sense that it was morning now, though the sun’s light never shone through the black veil of dark clouds that stretched endlessly overhead. She lay pinned on her stomach against her will by this unnatural force of gravity like a trapped animal, feeling just as helpless as ever. Against the skyline, she could only make out a sharp silhouette that stood motionless at its post.
Killcure.
But what did that name mean? And what “cure” was he meant to kill? Where did he come from, and why was he here? Despite her attempts to interrogate him, the only answer he ever gave was his name. He was almost like a Pokémon in that way, one incapable of complex speech like herself, or Cobalt, or Jaclyn.
As Latias tucked her claws tighter beneath her body to keep out the cold chill of the tower’s windy altitude, the thought that he might be watching her even now made her feel uneasy. Yet he remained turned away toward the horizon as though he was either looking for something, or surveying his expanding territory.
She blinked, and against the darkness behind her lids, a brief flash of Marcus’s Toa armor briefly flickered in place of Killcure’s like a mirage. But then, she heard a quiet noise emanating from him—somewhere between a grunt and a sigh, a noise that sounded like… pain. Suffering.
Latias stubbornly forced her gaze down at the floor. She wouldn’t let herself believe there was a reason to pity that monster who had taken Marcus from her.
Still, she believed that even now, he was still alive somehow. After all, that was how every fairytale went—a princess held prisoner atop a tower, and a knight in shining armor on a journey to rescue her.
For her own sake, for her own sanity, she held on to that childish fantasy. She had to.
Because now, it was all she had.
* * *
Jaclyn found herself walking daintily along a gravel trail up a craggy hill. She couldn’t recall where she was, or why she was here, but the serenity of this place as several Pachirisu chittered overhead made her forget all her worries. Beside her was a tall shadow that towered over her: a human boy, around twelve years old and wearing a worn red jacket with his backpack slung over his shoulder. Jaclyn only then realized that she was still just a little Kirlia, barely taller than her trainer’s knee.
“Think we’re getting close to the next town yet?” the boy asked as he flipped through the red device in his hand, the digital sounds it made oddly comforting to her.
Jaclyn tilted her head, the flat red horns on her head glowing slightly.
“Hm… I can sense a large quantity of people nearby, probably less than five miles ahead.”
“Perfect,” he said with a grin, shutting the device and quickening his pace slightly. “Let’s stop there for the night, my feet are killing me.”
After a moment, the Kirlia touched her fingers together shyly.
“And could we maybe…”
“Of course we’ll stop at a restaurant!” Her trainer replied, as if he could read her mind just as much as she could read his. “I know you can’t stand that hard Pokéchow like the others. I kinda hope there’s a Dolliv Garden, I could definitely go for some of those unlimited breadsticks!”
Jaclyn smiled at that.
“Knowing you, you’d probably eat them out of stock, Master.”
“C’mon, I don’t eat that much,” her trainer scoffed jokingly, picking her up and giving her a piggyback ride. “I’d leave at least two or three just for you, of course.”
Jaclyn giggled at his joke as the breeze stirred a few stray leaves, carrying a chill autumn breeze. But then, their journey was suddenly interrupted as they both heard a muffled whine from behind a boulder.
“What was that?”
Jaclyn hopped down and walked over to the noise, carefully peering around the large rock as she braced herself for anything. But what she was not expecting was…
“A Lucario.” The Kirlia’s eyes widened as her nose caught the scent of burnt fur, and her eyes caught the deep red trickling from its throat. “Master, it’s injured!”
Her trainer rushed to it, reaching in his bag for a potion, a berry, anything that might help it. But he never got the chance, as the Lucario sank limply with its final breath.
“Shoot… look away, Jaclyn,” He said firmly. “You’re still too young to see this.”
“So are you…” Jaclyn replied with a pout, though she did as he asked. Though she’d never experienced life in the wild herself, she’d seen a few nature documentaries before. Somber as it was, this was sometimes just a cruel part of life as a wild Pokémon—a world she didn’t envy in the slightest. It was then that she noticed the body of what appeared to be a Houndoom just behind a tree. It was obvious that the Lucario had taken its rival down with it, at least; as a Fire/Dark type against a Fighting/Steel type, they had been equally-matched. It was difficult for her to judge which one would have started the fatal fight, however.
“Oh no…”
“What is it?” Jaci asked, turning up to him while still averting her eyes from the dead Lucario before her. What she saw in his hands was a large white oval with green splotches.
“...An egg?!” She shouted, perhaps a little too loudly.
“Yeah, I think I know why the fight started now,” Her trainer replied in a hushed tone as he raised it carefully. “I wonder if it’s a Riolu or a Houndour… but either way, we can’t just leave it here. It definitely won’t last long on its own, especially since there are supposedly Arbok in this area…”
He was about to stuff it into his pack when the Kirlia gently tugged on his pant leg.
“Um, may I carry it, Master?”
“Uh… sure, I don’t see why not. Just make sure not to drop it, okay?”
“I’m less clumsy than you, you know,” Jaclyn replied confidently. “If anything, this egg will be safer with me. But as your guardian, I will still be sure to protect you if any wild Pokemon show up.”
“Guardian?” He shook his head, brushing off the notion as they walked. “Jaci, I appreciate you looking out for me, but I really don’t need a guardian. That term just feels like a… I dunno, like I’m just using you.”
“A Gardevoir will give its life to protect its trainer,” Kirlia quoted from her trainer’s Pokédex. “If I’m going to be a Gardevoir someday, then that’s just a part of me you’ll have to deal with, okay?”
“That’s not fair…”
“Why’s that?” Jaclyn asked.
“Because if it ever comes down to it, I’d give my life to protect you too. Because I love you, Jaci.”
This caught Jaclyn off guard, her porcelain white face turning a light pink as she turned away. But before she could say it back, he went on.
“A-and would you stop calling me “Master”, we’ve talked about this like 20 billion times,” he groaned, wiping sweat from his forehead as the sun beat down overhead.
“Why?” Jaclyn asked, furrowing her brow a little to pout. “You are my trainer, after all. It’s a proper formality among refined Pokémon such as myself,” she said elegantly, with more than a hint of pride in her voice.
“Because you’re a Kirlia,” her trainer retorted, “a female Kirlia, and unlike most Pokémon, you can actually speak human.” He grimaced as he chose his words carefully over his awkward explanation. “It’s gonna to get us some weird looks if you keep calling me that in public, and… I just don’t want people getting the wrong idea about me, let’s just leave it at that.”
‘The wrong idea?’ Jaclyn thought curiously, though she didn’t know just what he meant by that. “So what do you expect me to call you, then?” she asked, sounding almost annoyed.
“Just my name is perfectly fine,” the young man said with a shrug, matching her annoyance. “I do have a name, y’know. Why make things more complicated than they need to be? I’m just plain ol’ Mar—”
“B-but that feels much too forward!” the Kirlia replied frantically, shaking her head. “I look up to you far too much to consider that!”
Her trainer lifted his head to the sky for a moment with a sigh, then back down at her. “Jaci, you might be considered my first Pokemon, but you’re a lot more to me than that. I ‘m an only child, and my parents got you for me as a playmate for my first birthday and you were practically a newly-hatched Ralts.”
“Yes, I remember,” Jaclyn replied. “I remember every day I’ve ever been alive.”
“Right, so we basically grew up together. I’ve never really said this before, but…” The young man paused. “I’d like it a lot if you think of me as like… your brother.”
“My… brother?” Jaclyn asked, tilting her head. “So that would make me like your little sister then?”
“W-well, hopefully you won’t be a little sister for long,” her trainer rubbed the back of his head, having not quite thought this all the way through. “So how does that sound? Sounds a lot better than ‘Master’, doesn’t it?”
“I guess so… ‘ big brother’.”
“Still, if you could just call me by my name, that’d be great…”
“Or what about, ‘Onii-chan’?”
“Call me that in public, and I swear to Arceus I will keep you grounded in the PC box for a hundred years!”
They both laughed together as they walked on. Every now and then, Jaclyn would hum softly to the egg, her psychic energy cradling the faint heartbeat she could sense within.
But then, she sensed they were being watched from afar. She shot a quick yet subtle glance to the bushes, then to the trees, then to the sky. It was a feeling she’d had on more than a few occasions in her life, but these feelings had become more and more frequent over these past few weeks that they’d been travelling. Perhaps she was just being paranoid, or perhaps whoever their stalker was could somehow turn invisible at a moment’s notice. But she tried to put it out of her mind for now, focusing on the thought of delicious food.
Then, almost as soon as they finally set foot into the city limits, a large crack suddenly split the shell.
“It’s happening!” Jaclyn gasped, holding the egg out in her arms.
Her trainer’s gaze jerked in surprise towards the egg just as the top half began to glow a bright blue and broke away, revealing the face of a tiny black and blue puppy Pokémon. It sneezed cutely, shook its head, opened its large red eyes for the first time, and looked up directly at the Kirlia before him.
“...Bwark!”
* * *
The Gardevoir’s mind was still a fog when her lids finally lifted, the soft swaying motion lulling her half-asleep again for a moment. It wasn’t until she heard the rhythm of footsteps beneath her that she realized she was being carried.
Jaclyn looked down and saw the back of Cobalt’s head, her arms still loosely draped over his shoulders. His fur was warm with heat from the long night of travel, and she could smell a faint mixture of earth and his unique canine scent.
“Good morning, Jaclyn” he said quietly with a clearly strained voice, not turning his head. “I was beginning to worry you might never wake up.”
She blinked in confusion, then slowly remembered the night before. “Cobalt… you didn’t have to… all night…”
“You carried me out of danger. It’s only fair.”
Jaclyn’s cheeks warmed. “But I was the one who knocked you out in the first place, remember? And I only used telekinesis then, that barely cost me any strength.”
He shrugged with a faint smile, not wanting her to worry about him.
“Well…” Cobalt scoffed light-heartedly. “...This doesn’t either. ”
Jaclyn studied the slight shudder in his hunched posture, the weariness he tried to hide. He clearly hadn’t slept a wink all day or night, yet he had carried her without complaint for hours without rest or food. She buried her face gently into his shoulder, letting herself savor the fur on his fluffy neck for even just a moment.
“You smell like…” The Lucario’s tail self-consciously lowered for a moment before she finished with,
“...Home.”
Cobalt huffed out a tired breath, but there was a slight chuckle hidden within it. With her sweet and sleepy words, he found an extra stride in his step as he silently vowed to carry her for as long as she needed.
Meanwhile, Kopeke walked near the back of the group, the faint glow of his holo tablet screen casting blue light across his dark gray Kanohi Matatu. His miniaturized Chronicler’s staff tapped softly as he wrote circular glyphs, muttering under his breath.
“Just when the treacherous Makuta was finally defeated for good, a mysterious new threat has suddenly shown itself…” He frowned and shook his head before he erased the line with a frustrated flick.
“With Makuta gone, peace was finally achieved, yet danger arises once more…”
Though he was still new to being the Chronicler, Kopeke was used to revisions from his old ice-sculpting job. Truth needed clarity and detail, just as his statues did. But lately, clarity was hard to find, and everything felt more uncertain than ever. Even his words looked unsure of themselves, and it made him feel more than a little insecure about his new position as Chronicler.
He glanced up from the screen, catching sight of the two Pokémon ahead; those two were such strange new creatures in an even stranger new world. Kopeke’s staff hovered for a moment before scribbling a thought:
“Two organic outsiders have joined our little group of survivors, neither Toa nor Rahkshi, yet their strength rivals both. Only time will tell if they—”
He stopped, quietly deleting it with a sigh.
‘Writing is really hard… how in Karzahni did Takanuva and Hahli ever do it?’
The Matoran’s glowing blue eyes shifted up to his surroundings as he reflected. This alien planet was Spherus Magna, a world that had shattered over a hundred thousand years ago, and had become whole again only yesterday. Once, he’d believed Mata Nui was the whole of all existence. But now that The Great Spirit was gone, the world had become far greater—and far darker—than Kopeke could’ve ever imagined.
He frowned, lowering the tablet for a moment. Everything about his life had changed so quickly in such a short amount of time, and he wasn’t sure if he liked the way it was being written so far.
Still, he had a job to do. The role of Chronicler was entrusted to him by Hahli when she became a Toa, and he wanted to do his best to be deserving of this duty. If he didn’t write this story, then no one would. He again began to type quietly, more carefully this time:
“Though our world has changed beyond recognition and the Great Spirit is gone, the noble task of the Chronicler remains. I must remember this, even when all else seems lost.”
He read it twice, then nodded slightly to himself. That one, at least, he could keep.
“Still muttering to yourself, Chronicler?” Pohatu’s voice rumbled warmly from just ahead, breaking Kopeke’s train of thought. The Toa of Stone turned his head slightly, a small grin tugging at his mask. “It does the mind good to take a break every now and then, you know.”
Kopeke blinked, caught mid-mutter. He quickly dimmed the glow of his tablet and gave a small shrug. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t think I was muttering. I was just… revising.”
Pohatu chuckled, heavy footsteps crunching against the earth. “You’ve been ‘revising’ all night! You’re even harder on yourself than Hewkii after Kohlii practice!”
But before Pohatu could speak further, Helryx suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.
“Everyone down. Now.”
Without question, they all abruptly crouched low, sinking into the tall grass and brush at the edge of the treeline.
Kopeke held his breath, listening. At first, only the usual sounds of the wilds reached his ears—the rustling of leaves, the faint cry of some wild animal in the distance. Then came the deeper sound: crashing, tearing, like something vast forcing its way through the forest, and the ground trembled with each approaching step.
Kopeke tightened his grip on his tablet as a shapeless shadow shifted behind the trees. None of them moved an inch.
And then, a dark figure with black and silver armor burst through the undergrowth. The figure’s bright green eyes glowed through his mask, and the sound that followed erupted like something between a war cry and a bellowing laugh.
“Pohatu!”
Before the Toa of Stone could react, a dark figure closed the distance and scooped him up in his arms, lifting him off the ground with a bone-cracking squeeze.
“B-brother…” Pohatu wheezed, already short of air in the embrace.
Kopeke clutched his chest in stunned relief; the black and silver figure was Onua, Toa of Earth, and he was already crushing Pohatu in a powerful bear-hug.
“Release him immediately.”
Onua reluctantly loosened his grip on Pohatu at the stern voice until he let go completely, keeping his hands up in surrender and backing away slowly as Helryx kept her Toa tool aimed towards him.
“Toa Helryx,” the Toa of Earth said cautiously, “It is… good to see you, I think? You know I mean no harm, so why do you aim your weapon?”
“Forgive me, but we do not know who we can trust right now. We believe we encountered the Archives Beast last night, set free after Makuta's fall. Surely you understand why I have to keep my guard up.”
“That is serious…” Onua gulped. “In that case, I admit you’re wise to be wary of me, but I can promise you that—”
“Promises mean very little,” Helryx interrupted, “Either prove beyond any doubt you are the real Onua, or I will defeat you here and let the dark crystals consume you.”
“How do you propose I do that?” Onua asked.
“I’ve got an idea,” Pohatu said once he regained his breath. “Brother, we fought together when Onu-Koro fell. Tell me which Rahkshi were there when it happened. Only the real Onua would know.”
Onua paused for a moment, turning away from them all to clear his throat. He put his large black hands on his waist and let out a heavy sigh, kicking a sizable rock like it were nothing more than a pebble before turning back to Pohatu once more.
“I still see them in my dreams sometimes, Pohatu. Don’t ask me to relive them now.”
Helryx and Bomonga began to position themselves for a fight, but Pohatu held his hand out to keep them back for the moment.
“...Turahk… Vorahk… and Kurahk,” Onua finally said in a quiet voice, his fists tightening. “The Rahkshi that took my home from me.”
The others paused, looking to Pohatu for approval.
“I knew it was you all along, brother,” The Toa of Stone said as he firmly clapped his open hand onto Onua’s sturdy shoulder. “No one else could put me in a death-grip like that!”
Jaclyn looked to Cobalt and smiled as the group’s tension eased, only for it to quickly fade as she watched him slump over before completely collapsing from sheer exhaustion.
“Cobalt?!”
* * *
“COBALT!”
What had once been a tropical paradise was now crumbling to ashes before the Lucario’s very eyes, and a familiar Gardevoir was looking back at him with a piercing ruby glare. Her arms were held out as she used Protect, holding back an abstract yet immensely powerful Pokémon clad in pitch-black crystalline armor.
“Grab the Z-Ring! Now!”
Cobalt glanced over at the horrific sight of who he assumed was his trainer’s body on the ground. Not thinking to question the Gardevoir’s command, Cobalt rushed over with Extremespeed and pulled the device off his Master’s wrist.
“What do I—”
“The black Z-crystal!” she shouted. “Put it in! Hurry!”
Cobalt had a sinking feeling in his gut as he shuffled his paw through the nearby bag, pulling out a small gem that was as dark as the emptiest void of space.
The Gardevoir grimaced, forcing out Dark energy through her palms.
“You know what to do, Cobalt… it’s the only way to stop it for good.”
The Lucario’s body seemed to move on its own as he put the Z-Ring on his own wrist, widening his stance and slowly bringing his arms up in a menacing pose like a predator about to strike. Suddenly, an intense heat flared up in his whole body as the Z-Crystal’s power coursed through him like a conduit before striking the Gardevoir with a shadowy aura. The Dark type Z-crystal sent a chill into their hearts and minds as they worked together to unleash a move so powerful that nothing could stop it.
Not even themselves.
“BLACK… HOLE… ECLIPSE!”
A deafening, blood-curdling scream rang in Cobalt’s ears as a miniature black hole formed in the sky high above them, rapidly increasing in size as large masses of land and debris floated up and were absorbed into the event horizon. Cobalt felt weightless as he slowly lifted off the ground, the black hole’s pull dragging not just the malevolent Pokémon of Light before them, but himself and the Gardevoir in as well. He reached out for her in desperation, tears in his eyes, grabbing her hand and pulling her tight as they fell together into the infinite event horizon.
“If this is the end… I… I love—” He was cut off by something soft pressing against his furry canine muzzle.
And then, all was enveloped in a warm, golden light.
* * *
Cobalt opened his eyes again. As he sat up and looked around, he soon realized he was in a completely different place than he was before. In this hastily-crafted camp, weary and already battle-scarred Matoran carried heavy crates of salvaged supplies. An elderly orange and red Turaga leaned on his staff, speaking soft words of reassurance to a pair of shaken Agori. A small group of docile Mahi goats nestled near a fire pit, warming their metal shells. Everyone looked equally exhausted, and seemed braced for the end-times.
In short, to say morale was at an all-time low would be putting things quite generously.
It took a moment for Cobalt to process that Jaclyn was already by his side, staring at him with those huge eyes of hers. Those same ruby eyes that had pierced into him in that… dream? Memory? Either way, it was undeniable now that her aura gave him a certain sense of love and familiarity, like he’d known her his whole life.
“How are you feeling?” she asked. “Cobalt?”
But before he could give her a response, a tall and burly figure in black and silver armor emerged from the multitude, his shoulders broad and intimidating, yet his aura one of kindness. A familiar face, the Toa of Earth known as Onua, walked toward them with a gentle and compassionate smile on his mask.
“Glad to see you’re finally up, organic one. We need all the able bodies we can get.” Toa Onua gestured out to the disheveled little camp.
“Welcome to Earthsend.”
