They of the Sun | Pokémon

39 | 'Altar'cations

     The time to mentally prepare for this moment was long gone. But I knew that. It was gone the moment I set foot on the bridge to save Nebby. I couldn't have known so long ago. This whole time I had moved without thought and now that I wanted to think, the option was gone. Old regret washed over me as I felt a hand grab onto my shirt and another slip into my own to drag me along. Propelling me towards my fate. I could vomit. How could I do any of this?

     You're not alone, dumbass. The voice screamed at the back of my mind, reminding me. The light from outside blinded me just as I caught sight of Sen with his hand tucked in mine and Gladion dragging me by my shirt. Smoke and dust blew into our faces, making them let go of me to cover their eyes.

     The tremor and debris subsided enough for me to catch a glimpse of the ancient ruin. Similar to the Lake of the Moone, the Altar of the Sunne seemed to float above the void, a giant cracked staircase rose towards a monument of the sun. Gladion, smart as he was, already had Silvally out and was half-way up. Sen not far behind him. The fire of Hau's Incineroar burst high into the sky. That fast... He had moved into action that fast.

     "Not in a million years." A mighty roar replaced the Litten's terrified shriek from my memory. Just how far behind had I fallen? I bit the inside of my cheek and reached into my bag to release Pan into the air, ready for whatever was to come. I could wallow later. Gathering whatever little sense of courage and willpower I had I ran up the stairs and ignored the burning of every muscle in my body. Hau and his Incineroar exchanged blows with their opponent. A familiar crouched shadow stopped me in my tracks. Incineroar had been flung against Hau, leaving them both immobile for the time being.

     "Sorry, kid," Guzma wheezed, kneeled on the ground, and Golisopod in a heap beside him. Even with his back to me, he knew I was there. It clicked then why Plumeria and the Grunts were on Poni Island. She had been buying him time to get ahead of us. Guzma knew Lusamine's plan from day one, a plan that had probably been put in motion years before I had evers set foot on these cursed islands. "I really thought I could stop her... I thought I could..."

     He said nothing more. I don't know if he couldn't or wouldn't, but it was an apparent struggle for him to voice. He raised a finger to point ahead with his head hung low.

     "She is a monster."

     Backlit by an Ultra Wormhole, she stood surrounded by the same dainty creatures we had seen back on her sham of a paradise. I shuddered at the coldness of her gaze and the aura emanating from her.

     "Finally," Lusamine grinned to the corners of her green eyes, twisting her face into a ghastly expression. The hunger in her eyes was an insatiable one. She ignored her opponent, because she had been expecting us. The click of her heels echoed into the deep darkness below us and the vast blueness above us. "Our hero has arrived."

***

     "Do you think we're idiots?" Lusamine questioned, her eyes not once leaving mine. A gaze of authority I would once avoid thinking that it proved my defiance. It had only proved my cowardly tendencies. She gave a giggle, eerily smiling down at us. "Giovanni knew you'd come here. He sent me to take you out. Isn't that so sweet?"

     Guzma gagged, whether from pain or disgust I couldn't figure it out. "And now you will beg and plead with me to save your pathetic egos! One good deed doesn't change that you are the scum of the earth beneath my heels!"

     Without waiting and without a word, Gladion's Silvally rushed forward in an attempt to take out the dainty creature. The thing shook the tentacles around the brim of its hat-like head, moving to dodge the attack while one tendril extended out to tag Silvally's back. A purple glow grew across Gladion's partner and it shuddered in pain. It wasn't enough to stop the chimera from whipping around for another attack. I could hear Hau groan out a soft ,"Careful..."