Chapter Text
Arven continued glaring at the other version of him, fighting alongside the Miraidon who killed his father many years ago.
It felt inconceivable that this guy would track down and find it deep within Area Zero. But from what he heard from him so far, his doppelganger appeared tenacious in getting what he wanted. Extremely vicious in achieving his goals after suffering immense despair for so long.
“You keep staring at me, but that’s not going to help you win. Unlike you, I’ve improved my skills like my life depended on it not only for the chance to bring Florian back, but to survive the ruinous land Paldea had become because of that monster,” Spice remarked.
“And you’d do whatever it took to fix it?” Arven asked. “Sacrificing anyone or anything to make it happen? Are you really okay with that?”
The commander answered without hesitation. “Absolutely. You, your friends, and your world are nothing compared to what we need to do to return the people and Pokemon there to normal. If you can’t accept that…”
His eyes shined with stifling resolve. “Then, you can all perish.”
As if sensing his determination, the older Miraidon growled with fury as it set up an Electric Terrain across the Zero Lab’s inner chamber.
Drayton pressed his arms behind his back, “Guess talking things out is out of the option.”
“Like you were even going to bother,” Carmine remarked.
“Hey, the option would’ve been nice. I’d rather not battle a giant robo-dragon and prehistoric mushroom if I didn’t have to.”
The fiery girl flicked her hair back, “He’s clearly going to battle us if we’re not going to stand down like he said. Not like we’re going to after what he said about sacrificing us.”
Nemona merely responded with a battle-hungry expression. “Then we’re gonna give him a battle he won’t soon forget. I’m gonna pull out all the stops to convince this Arven he’s messing with the wrong powerhouses! I’ll be with ya all the way!”
Arven felt appreciative over Nemona’s gesture. That sort of response was so her, after all. He needed to pull his weight too. His time training with his friend wouldn’t be in vain, even against his alternate self’s newfound power.
Spice sneered in annoyance, “We done talking? Clearly, you guys aren’t going to step aside. Which means I have to use force to make you stop interfering with our affairs!”
He turned towards the professor, watching her movements all the while. But Sada made no effort to resist or attempt to join their conflict.
“Seems like the AI professor’s stepping back to let us do all the work,” Drayton remarked. “Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing, though.”
Sada remained neutral in her expression. “I will remain as a spectator to see how this battle will unfold. Now that the Arven I know is involved and the Paradise Protocol of this world still attempting to override my commands, I cannot allow myself to choose a side. Also, despite his actions, he’s still the professor’s son. I will not hurt him.”
Spice shrugged, “That’s fine with me. It just means I’ll have to win to convince you to join us. Let’s see how you all fare against the power of Synchronization as my power overwhelms you.”
He tapped a few buttons from his gauntlet, an overwhelming green aura emanating all over his body as his suit absorbed the Terestal dense energy flowing around them.
“Something big is coming. And it’s not good,” Drayton warned.
Carmine tried to remember this familiar sensation emanating around them, before stepping back in fear. “He’s going to do the same thing Florian’s Kiki did in Kitakami.”
“Wait, what?! You mean the whole fusing with his Pokemon thing?! That’s what he’s preparing to do?!”
“If you know that much, then you’ll realize this power will completely crush any hopes of you winning,” He declared, infusing himself with mass amounts of Terestal energy before Brute Bonnet was absorbed into his suit as data.
His armour spouted the grass appendages from his Paradox Pokemon, complete with Pokeball style armguards for both offensive and defensive might. It complemented the bright green aura Spice was exuding, creating one of sheer might and intimidation.
The commander meant business and clearly had no hesitation to completely crush anyone that stood in his way.
Even so, they would persist against such a mighty threat.
“Stand strong, guys!” Nemona declared. “If we fight with all we’ve got, even the other Arven’s powers and Pokemon will fall. Ram him down with Close Combat, Komoo-o!”
“Support them with some long-range fire with Flamethrower, Ninetales!” Carmine ordered right after.
“We’ll use Flamethrower too to bring some more fire,” Arven added.
“Guess we’ll bring some long-range hurt with a Dragon Pulse blast.”
Komoo-o rushed against Spice and Miraidon for close-range action, supported by the fiery and draconic attacks from behind.
But Spice had the same smirk as before unfazed by the large barrage of blasts. “Heh. It’s pointless to try. This Iron Serpent and I are more powerful than you’ll ever be. Strike fast and hard with Electro Drift!”
Within a few moments, a large wave of electricity enveloped Miraidon’s body as it spun in rapid succession, dissipating the mass energy attack against it and slamming all four Pokemon back. In their weakened state, they were no match against the wide Energy Ball Spice generated in his palms, knocking them all out without them having time to even notice they were attacked.
“That’s four down. You guys going to surrender now or will I have to get even more vicious to make you understand the price for opposing us?”
There was no way they were going to give up now.
With quick reflexes, Arven took another Pokeball and sent out his new partner. Not needing to speak to state their intentions, Nemona, Carmine, and Drayton released their new Pokemon with fierce looks all around.
Cloyster, Pawmot, Morpeko, and Kingdra stood alongside each other ready for action.
Spice remained unfazed, even shaking his head in disappointment over their continued resistance.
“Hmph. Struggle all you want, but the result will be the same. I’ll show you superior battling skills honed from enduring countless days of despair.”
They moved in to attack simultaneously, but the commander showed no fear over their new assault. In fact, he simply grinned arrogantly.
“Finish them off with Dragon Pulse while I vent out my rage through my Dark Pulse.”
And in just one hit, their newest Pokemon were down too. All of them knocked out by the overwhelming power the Iron Serpent and the Synchronized Spice possessed.
This was not good. They were all already down a third of their Pokemon and both opponents barely had a scratch on them.
Still, they couldn’t give up now. Arven grabbed his next Pokemon with more vigour than before, inspired by the battle confidence Juliana and Nemona had shown in their battles.
The battle-loving girl grinned at her friend’s perseverance, ready to continue fighting alongside him, with Carmine and Drayton displaying the same attitude.
“You’re up next, Garganacl!”
“Burn ‘em to a crisp, Toucannon!”
“Fight hard, Skeledirge!”
“Dragonite, let’s pitch in too!”
Once more, their partners stood alongside their trainers to fight against the aggressive Miraidon and transformed Spice. This time they wouldn’t go down.
Spice merely scoffed at their continued struggle, “You’re just hurting yourselves. They’ll all get crushed just the same. I’ll prove it here now.”
Spice generated another Dark Pulse from his hands before discharging it towards Arven’s group. But this time, they would power through.
Arven ordered Garganacl to shoot a wave of Rock Blasts, while Carmine and Nemona’s Pokemon burned through with their greatest flames. Their attacks pierced through the glob of negative energy, dealing great damage on the fused commander. But that moment of weakness gave Drayton the perfect opportunity to go with the direct approach by slamming Spice with Dragonite’s Breaking Swipe.
Spice immediately jumped back trying to catch his breath from the strain he had undergone from those attacks, his expression turning furious.
“Looks like you’re not all that after all,” Drayton smirked. “You ready to give up and scurry back to your world?”
“Not likely!” He snarled, “You still have to deal with the Iron Serpent, remember? And if you thought it was tough before, you haven’t seen anything yet.”
Spice took out a Tera Orb from his pocket and immediately shot it towards the electric dragon. Rainbow energy infused itself to Miraidon’s body, encasing it with Stellar energy, its instincts magnified to increase its power even more. It let out a devastating roar that created gusts of wind swirling at them, with the AI professor unfazed as she continued watching the battle continue to unfold.
“Great… Now we gotta deal with this crazed Paradox dragon’s Terestal power-up,” Carmine sighed. “At least Arven’s double looks like he’s almost down for the count with how beaten up he currently looks.”
“Don’t worry, we got this! If Juliana was able to beat it with her Miraidon, then the four of us can too!” Nemona encouraged them.
“Nemona’s right. Juliana’s been able to do so much with her strength, that it’s our turn to do the same,” Arven added.
He turned towards his counterpart with a resolute stare, “Just like you’re fighting for your friends in Team Tera, we’re fighting for the sake of our friends too. And we won’t lose no matter how much you throw at us. I bet you’d say the same for Florian if he was here.”
Spice gritted his teeth in anger, “Shut up! Don’t you talk about Florian like you really know him just because you recently met. I’ll show you my resolve and purpose are much greater than your pathetic ramblings.”
With one command, Miraidon fired an extremely powerful Tera Blast towards the other side of the lab, its power far more intense than ever before. Arven felt himself getting chills over the oppressive aura the dragon was exerting, feeling even more dangerous than the last time it clashed with him and his friends that fateful day.
Their partners tried to shield themselves from the ferocious assault, but Miraidon’s blast easily pierced through their defenses to instantly knock them out.
How were they supposed to handle this Pokemon when it took the kinder Miraidon all its power and a Terestal-infused change to defeat it? For that matter, why did it choose to side with the other him so faithfully?
His thoughts were interrupted when Spice stepped forward.
“Do you finally understand how outmatched you all are? The suffering you’re currently enduring is just a fraction of the amount we all had to deal with after losing Florian and our world turning into an empty, desolate husk of its former self.”
“What are you talking about?! That doesn’t give you any right to come to our world and do whatever you want!” Carmine seethed.
“I feel a sad backstory comin’ on here,” Drayton noted, leaving Spice to stare at him with disdain. Not that particularly cared as he still had that same casual expression on his face.
“In the middle of a battle, though?” Nemona questioned in confusion.
“What happened to you to make you like this?” Arven asked his counterpart, “If you want us to back down like you keep telling us to, make us understand everything you guys had to suffer.”
Spice took a deep breath, then stared towards the group. “You want to know? Then, I’ll let you in on what happened. In the end, you’ll see why we’re willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to get our happy ending.”
Miraidon went back, its body more relaxed after Spice commanded it to stand down for now. Arven and the others braced themselves for the events they were going to hear from the enemy commander, alongside Sada who was still watching them in silence.
“When Florian’s battle with my AI mom concluded and she and the time machine were supposed to disappear forever, a blinding, white light flashed within the Zero Lab. It only lasted a few seconds, but when it finally cleared, they were both gone.”
“That would explain why I suddenly appeared in this Area Zero,” Sada surmised, “But I am still unsure why Florian and I were pulled here just like that. Even all this time in this Zero Lab has given me no results.”
“I never found out, either. Whatever the case, you two were gone for months,” Spice continued. “We scoured all over Area Zero and Paldea to see if you just got teleported or something, but we couldn’t find a trace. And things became a lot different after Florian vanished.”
Arven raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”
“First of all, Nemona decided to go to another academy to battle it out 24/7, just to escape having to deal with Florian’s disappearance. At least she managed to find someone there to help her through that. Penny just shut down from losing the guy she really cared about, that if we weren’t there watching her, who knows what would’ve happened.”
Nemona glanced at him with concern, “And what about you? How did you cope with how Florian poofed outta your life?”
“I tried to figure out how to get him back,” He immediately replied, “If Area Zero and the Great Crater had a hand in causing their disappearance, I decided to learn all I could to see if Florian and the AI professor could be brought back using its mysterious properties. I devoted all my time towards understanding my mom’s research, sacrificing sleep and time to delve into the mysteries of the Terestal phenomenon until one day I found something.”
Carmine hummed with surprise, “I’m surprised you managed to understand so much about it. Arven doesn’t seem like the type to be interested in anything other than Juliana, his friends, and sandwiches.”
Arven let out an indignant squeak, but Spice just kept talking.
“I guess I inherited my parent’s intelligence on the subject with how much I managed to learn all those months. Anyway… There was an item that my mom had when she studied the deeper parts of Area Zero, a land that went below the Zero Lab itself.”
“You’re talking about the Area Zero Underdepths. Wasn’t a fan of me or Kiki almost getting killed by a Terestal blast back then…”
“I take it you had obtained the Indigo Disk that allowed access to the Underdepths. It was a secret the original professor kept even from the Pokemon League,” Sada added.
“Yeah well, I wish I didn’t get it after all the suffering we had to deal with down there thanks to a certain someone. If we hadn’t been so obsessed with getting Florian back, maybe our world wouldn’t have become such a disaster. And that thing wouldn’t have gone berserk to almost end our lives. Guess we should be lucky most of us only had our eye colour changed while living in its toxic presence.”
Drayton nodded in understanding, “Oh yeah, Malwyrm told us your world’s air was unbreathable without those masks of yours. It must really suck having to be careful all the time to avoid being overwhelmed by dense Terestal energy.”
“Heh. Those days would soon be over now that we have a plan to fix everything. And once we do, every human and Pokemon that had been affected will return. Then, we can create a world for Florian to return to without him having to experience the horrors we faced for so long.”
Spice extended his arm towards the group with one last warning.
“With everything I told you, will you all still fight against us? We’re doing all we can to fix everything that went wrong, and we don’t need any more interference from you guys. Just let us do our thing here, okay?”
Arven couldn’t help but express derision over his words, “And that makes invading our world and grabbing whatever you want okay? That makes letting dangerous Pokemon loose in our region without concern for people and Pokemon involved justifiable? That’s crazy!”
“I agree. There’s no way Florian would be okay with all this either!” Nemona added. “And if you care so much about him, you should respect his thoughts about your actions too.”
“I can explain myself to Florian once this is all over. All he needs to do is step back while we handle our mission. Everything else doesn’t matter. That includes all of you and the land you call home,” He merely answered back.
Drayton shrugged, “Then there’s nothing more to talk about. Clearly, neither side’s gonna budge an inch. So, all we gotta do is keep pushing and win. Time to seize victory once and for all, Archeludon ol’ buddy.”
“You head the bozo. Let’s get this done. You’re finally up, Sinistcha!”
“Don’t count us out either! Arven and I will make Juliana and the others proud with our breakthrough performance. Let’s do this, Milotic!”
“Right! We’re not going down without a fight. We’ll keep fighting together, Mabosstiff buddy!”
Once they sent their final Pokemon to the fray, Arven and the others grabbed their Tera Orbs and gathered as much Terestal energy as possible, shooting them up high towards their partners to infuse them with even greater power.
They adorned themselves with their crystalline forms and Tera Jewels acting as their crowns, ready to unleash their full might against Team Tera’s steadfast commander and the aggressive Miraidon standing against them.
And with that, they ordered their most powerful attacks in tandem.
“Hydro Pump!”
“Electro Shot!”
“Dark Pulse!”
“Matcha Gotcha!”
All their Pokemon unleashed their energy attacks towards their foes, swirling together to create a combined attack that Spice attempted to deflect with his own energy. But in the end, it became too much and sent him back, his breath becoming more ragged from the strain of trying to maintain his fused form.
Even then, Spice remained undeterred. In fact, he seemed even more resolved to win as his eyes blazed with fury towards them.
“I will not lose here! I will annihilate you once and for all! Destroy them all with your strongest Tera Blast!” Spice declared.
Miraidon charged its Terestal attack with all its might before shooting it towards their foes. Spice generated both verdant and dark energy from his palms, shooting them in the same direction as both attacks swirled into one combined blast.
A large explosion formed within the white space, blasting Arven and the others back as they were sent back meters away by their sheer force.
Their power was simply unbelievable as Spice simply stared at them with a neutral expression, unconcerned over the injuries that they sustained from his actions.
Carmine and Drayton were lying on the ground unconscious, their Pokemon alongside them. He could see Nemona barely struggling to stand. But in the end, the strain of their combined attack had taken its toll on her.
She fell to the ground with a loud thud, leaving him the only one left with Mabosstiff struggling to move just like he did.
Not showing any guilt for his actions, Spice readied himself to fire another blast to eradicate any perceived resistance.
“You only have yourselves to blame for what’s going to happen,” He pointed out, their attacks ready to fire in a few moments.
But then…
“That’s enough! Cease this at once, Arven!”
Sada finally moved towards Arven and the others, her body and stance acting as a shield against the commander’s next attack, while Spice gazed with intrigue over this recent development.
“I’m surprised you care so much about them when they’re not even in the same world as us,” Spice commented amusingly.
“Even if we do not belong to this world, that boy is still the original Sada’s son in a way. And I cannot allow you to continue with your aggressive onslaught against them. Even if you are her true son.”
“Then accept my offer and join Team Tera as an ally. If you do, I’ll leave them alone. I have no other reason to engage them otherwise if they can no longer fight.”
Sada closed her eyes without saying a word. Then, a few moments later, she started walking towards Spice a firm resoluteness in her step.
“Very well. If you can confirm their safety, then I shall go with you.”
“Mom, no!” Arven shouted, but Sada didn’t look him in the eyes.
“If this will ensure my Arven won’t do anything more to cause destruction to you and this world, then I will accept this choice. I hope you can understand.”
Meanwhile, Spice nodded happily over her words, “You’ll be a great help to saving our world, and I’m sure Master Chronos will be pleased to meet you too. And hopefully the rest of you will understand the price for standing against us.”
Arven gave one last defiant look as his body could muster in his state, prompting Spice to shake his head in disappointment. “Guess I should’ve expected my alternate self to be so stubborn until the end. But that doesn’t matter. I got what I came for and now Team Tera’s goal is one step closer to becoming a reality.
After undoing his Synchronization technique, Spice opened a Terestal portal and stepped through right after, Sada following him from behind with one final relieved smile towards the tall boy before they vanished completely.
Arven couldn’t even slam his fist in frustration as the pain finally caused him fall unconscious alongside his other friends.
He hoped Juliana, Florian, and the others were faring better with their mission.
A large Terestal portal appeared in the outskirts of the mysterious island. It had taken them a while to pinpoint its location in the other world, but Thorn was very meticulous in using all viable methods to advance their research.
So, when they emerge first and gazed upon the forbidden land, they were simply ecstatic to put it lightly.
“The rumours were true! This land filled with pink crystals that is said to be the Treasure of Eternity. I will have to thank that man from Exceed for providing me such incredible information on this find. If we can harness its power, we may finally subjugate Terapagos’ rampage and free our world from its effects. I can wait to perform some special experiences, heehee!”
Rose inwardly sighed. If Thorn was going to be obsessed with yet another new find, this was going to be one long trip.
At least Azure was here with her. She could use something to talk to after the harrowing events that had happened with Noir and Florian’s reappearance.
Would she meet him again too? Malwyrm and Azure had already seen him in Paldea, but from the looks of things, he wasn’t going to stay back anytime soon.
She clutched her fist. If he was determined to stand in their way, then Rose would be resolved to stop him.
She’ll make him eat dirt at the very least to get him to back down.
They continued walking down the path they were sent to, moving step by step until they reached a large barrier shining with a plethora of colours. Just like the colours emitted by the Stellar Terestal phenomenon. Nothing could get in and out from the looks of it, and its range appeared extremely wide.
Whatever this Laquium was, someone or something had made sure to keep it well guarded against any intruders.
Thorn gently touched the barrier, making it crackle loudly in response. But the head commander wasn’t fazed by such opposition, merely humming with fascination over the result.
“Looks like it’s going to be difficult getting through this barrier,” Rose confirmed, “What are we supposed to do now?”
Thorn gave a reassuring smile. “Not to worry. There is a way to dispel the barrier surrounding the treasure we seek, albeit temporarily.”
“What?! How do we do it then?”
Thorn pulled out a certain object from their suit, “We’ll make use of these. The shards that have been constantly released by Terapagos thus far. It’s only a theory for now, but I’ve discovered that this barrier has similar properties to Terapagos’ Terestal energy. It is the ancestor of all Terestal energy found in the world. Therefore, if we have its shards interact with the barrier, it should cancel it out for a while.”
Azure pondered over the information she had heard, “If it gives us a chance to get into this Laqua place, then we might as well try it.”
“Agreed. Let’s try testing it now. Ooh, I can’t wait to see the results!” She gushed.
Thorn pressed the shards towards the barrier, eliciting even greater crackles than before. But once they made contact, small ripples started expanded throughout the targeted area. They grew wider and wider, causing the once impervious shield to fizzle, allowing the three commanders to safety walk past for the few seconds they had to get through.
And as they continued walking through the dense land, observing vast amounts of Pokemon living together in harmony, did they see the Laquium they were looking for.
Thorn’s smile turned ecstatic once she gazed in jubilation over the mass amounts of pink crystals they could collect. She took out a few orbs from her pocket, pressing the top portioned before they started floating to gather as much energy as possible.
“Considering the amount of Laquium crystals and mist being produced in this paradise, it will require hours to gather the necessary energy to bring back our world,” Thorn remarked. “I’ll need you two to ensure the collection process is uninterrupted by any unwanted guests.”
Azure knew exactly who they were referring to, “You mean Florian and his allies. You think they’ll somehow figure out our intentions with this place and try to stop us.”
“Indeed. They appear to be the tenacious bunch and one can never be too careful,” Thorn commented.
Rose looked at her partner with concern, “You sure you’ll be okay with battling Florian again? He’s still your friend and I doubt he’s going to back down now.”
But her fellow commander stood resolute, “He decided a while ago he wouldn’t accept our actions, and I respect that. That’s why I treasure him as my friend and rival. Even so, I’ll make sure no one gets in our way to restore our world. For every person and Pokemon that were lost, we can’t fail here.”
Azure remained resolved as Rose stared at her, making the commander admire her even more. She smiled brightly with hope burning within her, grasping Azure’s hand towards hers as their fingers became entangled with one another.
“As long as we’re together, no one will stop us.”
Elsewhere, Juliana, Florian and the others continued heading towards the mountain village that Briar had mentioned before.
Florian gripped tightly on the armrest of his seat. This time, he would stop them from getting their way. Even if he had to potentially fight another one of his friends to do so. For the sake of his new friends, he would do whatever it took to save their world from being used as a sacrifice for Team Tera’s ends.
“You going to be okay?” Juliana asked while approaching him.
Florian sighed, “No. But I know I have to do this. I won’t falter here.”
“We’ve got your back, Florian. No matter if you have to face off against another of your friends, we’ll support you all the way,” Kieran encouraged him, and Florian couldn’t help but let out a faint smile.
That’s right. He wasn’t alone.
As long as they were here with Florian, he could do anything. He could confront his dear friends and convince them that there was another way.
He would do anything to make that happen.