Dark waves rippled back and forth. Buneary Luke lied down with his paws under his head, but couldn't get comfortable. Togetic Morgan seemed to be able to sleep anywhere, even on hard, cold wood. A looming nausea made him question if he was seasick.
The raft they made held up against the calm sea. They didn't have a plan, but Luke wanted to leave the island long enough to go without one. All they made were two oars and semi-short walls to keep the water out. The Keldeo's horn rested in between them as they lay back on different sides.
Morgan's voice improved at a steady pace, but not enough for her to talk freely. Luke had to wonder and guess what she was thinking most of the time. More than anything, he wanted to know about where she came from. It would be a little while yet: he had something else to ask about first.
During his time on the island, the sky remained bleak and gray from morning to midnight. Tonight, reflected in the dark waves, the sky lit up in a new, unfamiliar way that shook him to the core. A huge band of light shining like the moon stretched out past the horizon like a silver rainbow. It dominated the sky to the point where it resembled daylight around it. He may have been missing his memories, but he knew he'd never seen this before.
Morgan still shuffled around in place. Luke could still ask her.
"Hey, Morgan," Luke said. "That huge light in the sky, I just have no clue what it is. On the island, the sky was always covered because of Lugia. I never really saw the moon or sun."
"The moon is gone," she answered. Her voice's strength surprised Luke.
"Gone? What do you mean?"
"I don't know what happened to it. My parents told me it disappeared one day, and the rings formed around the equator. They're useful for measuring where you are, but I didn't learn how to do that." Morgan's head rose. "Do they scare you?"
"They're, ah... Different."
Morgan's head rested back down. "They're all I've ever known. I've never seen the moon."
"Is it... normal for there to be, like, a dark line over it?"
Togetic Morgan stood up. Buneary Luke copied her. A long, string-like shadow dangled in front of the rings. It blended into the horizon.
"That is a waterspout," said Morgan.
"What's a waterspout?" Luke asked.
"It's a tornado on the ocean."
"I don't even see any storm clouds. How is that possible?"
"It's not. We're under attack."
"I can't swim," blurted Luke. "I'm sorry, this is it. But, uh, please impale me before it hits. Dying by drowning's always been a fear of mine. I think? Actually, can I swim..."
Morgan bent down and picked up the indigo blade. "I'll fight it myself," she said. "You keep moving."
"Uh, hey... Look, I get that you're strong and everything, but I don't think you can cut a tornado."
"We must fight."
Luke grasped his head. As Morgan flew, he collapsed to the floor. The pain in his head spread throughout his entire body.
"Luke, get up. We have to fight."
"I can't. I can't do this. They don't deserve this."
"You deserve to live. They're the ones making you fight. Don't get it twisted."
Luke looked up. His strong, brown eyes stared down at him. His indigo horn cut the sunlight in half. He stood as strong as his words, like he always did.
"Let's go," Keldeo said.
"Where's my brother?" he asked standing up.
"We have to catch up to him. We're going to have to run. Get on my back."
"Thanks."
Luke climbed onto Keldeo's back. His memories failed him. They ran through a white void.
"Mother's forces are coming from-"
The conversation skipped.
"They're trying to flank. Use-"
"Hey, Hikari?" Luke asked.
"Yah?" Keldeo turned his eyes back.
"Did humans fight like we do, too?"
"Of course we-"
"We must fight. Mother has to be stopped. Luke, we're going to need flight-"
A mountain.
"It's ironic. They're trying to see his hands past the edge of the universe, how they're moving."
"To the Valorian royal family, I-"
Luke couldn't figure it out. It lied. He couldn't understand why.
That look of mercy, pure and utter horror at what he had to do.
"As Pharaohs, we have a responsibility to rule the world."
Only one of them could be the Peacekeeper.
"Luke, I need help. Please!"
"Luke! We have to fight!"
Luke's eyes opened. Togetic Morgan's blue eyes closed as she wiped them and hardened. She offered her hand to help him. Luke took it.
It had felt like soil, but the surface they stood on appeared to be a cloud. Above them, the ring drowned the night sky in sharp light. If he had to guess, they were sucked in by the waterspout and taken to a mystery dungeon. A fight could start at any moment.
"I remembered something," said Luke, staring off at the sky. "Not really everything, but I have this feeling. There's something I need to do, and I know where we need to go. I just need to live to do it. I understand you're out for revenge, but I need to survive this. We should prioritize escaping from here on out."
Morgan stared at him. "Is it worth it?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. Let's try."
A shrill shriek snaked through the sky. It reached their ears in short spurts. A black shadow streaked high over them.
"This one attacked from the sky. It would change the weather in minutes and barely give anyone time to react. It fights like a coward. It'd usually be in the first wave of attackers when they came."
"It'll stay out of reach, won't it?"
"Yes," said Morgan.
"Okay. I'll make it chase me.You land a hit so we can outrun it. Hide using the clouds. I'll try and guide it lower so you can get above it."
"Right."
Luke and Morgan shared a glance before Morgan flew up and away. Luke faced towards where the shadow had appeared and waited.
Wind picked up. Luke's ear swung around under its pressure. It chilled him to the bone. If it fought like a coward, it would come from behind, or through the clouds. His eyes became secondary to his hearing. A tingling sensation on the edge of his fur came from underneath him, then crawled up his back to behind.
Luke ran forward. Heat bore down on his back as he came to the edge of the cloud. He hopped down and landed in a cloud just below it. A ray of hot, red fire soared over his head and dissipated into falling embers.
The cloud bent under his weight. Luke's feet sunk down. He braced as the pressure started to recoil. Even from a short fall, he bounced up in the air and landed flat on his chest. He pushed up to his feet and kept running. Now that he paid attention to them more, the clouds had a very bouncy surface. If he played it smart, he could use them to move faster. He would have to.
Whatever stalked behind him got closer by the second. He needed more clouds to work with. A trail of thin clouds led to a maze of puffy ones. The nearest of the clouds seemed like it could be a mile away, but he had no other choice. He couldn't fight the power bearing down on his back. He had to bounce off as far as he could.
Luke long jumped to the edge of the cloud. He bent down to put as much pressure as possible before the leap. A lot more pressure built up.
Air pushed against Luke's body like nothing before. His ears stuck to his back. He struggled to keep his head straight to match the rest of him.
The powerful force only lasted for a few seconds. He managed to get on trajectory to reach another cloud. He stole a glance backwards.
It could have been the darkness of the ocean below, or the contrast between the sky and the dark clouds; a serpentine shadow wriggled in the air. It flew up out of sight.
Luke stuck a perfect, smooth landing. Even though it had disappeared, he kept running as if it chased right behind him. With a little less adrenaline, he noticed he could see his own breath rising up in a cloud in his face. It came out as a fast, constant stream. The air alone could freeze him to death if they took too long. He ran faster to heat himself up.
A wave of purple light pierced the cloud underneath his feet. Luke entered free fall.
"You don't remember?"
Sunshine buzzed on Luke's fur. He sat next to someone important. He couldn't remember her name, species, or her voice. What they were looking out at was a blur of green and blue. They sat on the edge of something.
"It's nearly her time. It must be hard for you."
"For me?" asked Luke.
"You've noticed it, right? The Madness. Have there been little things?"
"I don't... Want to to talk about it."
"You have to talk about it with someone."
"Everyone wants to talk about it," he snapped. "I want a break. Okay?"
Togetic Morgan grabbed Luke's paw. They barreled down in the sky for a moment until she managed to steady them.
A strong blast of water whizzing Luke's ears signaled there was no time to rest. Morgan flew, but Luke could tell he prevented her from turning as fast as she usually did. The only thing left under them was the ocean, miles down.
Light like the sun grew in the sky. Luke squinted even though it shone directly behind him. With his free arm, he made a pitiful shield with Protect.
A force like a meteor crashed down on them.
________________________________________________________________________________
Sand shifted underneath Buneary Luke's paws. He clutched the sand and pushed himself up.
He found himself on a small, miniature island with a single coconut tree and glittering white sand. The ocean and the horizon beyond surrounded him on all sides. The rings in the sky appeared as a white sheet instead of an onslaught of light.
Togetic Morgan sat on her feet a few paces away; next to her, the remains of a dead crab. She breathed a stream of fire into a pit of water in the sand. Steam rose out of it into the steady breeze.
"Is it stupid of me to ask if we're dead?" Luke asked.
Morgan stopped breathing fire, closed her eyes for a moment, and shook her head. "We're lucky. For now."
"I'm sorry," he blurted. "That was my fault. It's just... I suddenly remembered things, and I just couldn't even get my mind together."
"What was it that you remembered? That's worth surviving for?"
"I dunno' if you'll believe me."
"Go on."
Morgan returned to breathing fire into the water. Luke conceded.
"I was born in a place called Stargazer Castle. It's somewhere around the tallest mountain in the world. There's something there I have to do, or something's waiting for me. I don't know."
"Answers worth surviving to know," Morgan said. "So, you want to go there?"
"Yeah. I do."
Morgan pulled six long, red crab legs from the pit. With one hand, she held three of them out to Luke. He stood up and accepted them.
"The tallest mountain in the world is on the dead side of the planet. The seas are emptying. Animals are going extinct. The ground looks like the surface of the moon, and it's starting to mimic it with a lack of oxygen and disappearing atmosphere. Right where it's the worst is where the tallest mountain in the world is."
Luke quieted. He watched Morgan snap the crab leg and pull out a long, thick strand of meat. She raised it over her head and ate it.
"Can we make it?" Luke asked. "Is it possible?"
"It's a one-way trip, if we hurry. The atmosphere is disappearing faster and faster. Come winter, it will be gone. I also can't stress enough how many more enemies there will be, some in such close proximity that it's very realistic we would have to fight them at the same time."
"So it's possible. We can make it."
"If you focus. I can't do it alone."
"Right."
Luke copied Morgan and snapped the crab's leg. He pulled out a wad of meat and raised it over his head. His arm stung him when he did, but he ignored it. It tasted soft and sweet. He sighed as he chewed.
Morgan finished in seconds. Luke continued to savor his.
"It will come back," she warned. "It will chase us until we defeat it or are defeated. If we run, it will come back and be a major problem. Neither of us seem very capable at long range, but I can fly."
Luke swallowed. "I can't let you fight it all alone, though."
"There is no other option. You're injured, and you can't do much to it. In the meantime, let's recover our strength."
"Right."
________________________________________________________________________________
Togetic Morgan carried on and found more crabs. She split them all with Buneary Luke. She insisted on it repeatedly, even though she'd be the only one fighting. At the very least, Luke observed how energetic she felt through her quick, furious movements. It helped him feel a little better knowing that his block actually helped.
Sunlight putred down relentlessly. They used the tiny shadows the coconut tree cast to keep from under it. They each had a coconut to themselves to drink from. Their simple, sweet taste glued a small smile on Luke's face. They both got some sleep.
The waves' rhythmic splashing confused Luke for a moment. His eyes opened when he realized a stronger sound invaded.
A plume of water rose in the air off the short side of the island. Morgan stirred awake and rose to her feet. She grabbed the Keldeo's horn from the sand and rotated her neck. Luke stayed leaning back against the tree with his arms raised.
"Y'know, last time you fought one of them alone, it didn't go well," Luke warned.
"I was ill-prepared," she admitted. "And lacking motivation. But since there's something left in this world after all, I will win."
Morgan flexed her wings. They raised up and started to beat down towards the ground. Her jump off alone left a dent in the sand. Luke stood up and gazed until she became too small to see. It only took half a minute.
The cold air tickled Morgan's wings. The sunlight spared her from the same cold needles that pierced her skin last night. She didn't have a trajectory on where the attack came from, but continued to climb. Air currents were the likely reason it missed them.
Her strategies and speed both sharpened. The knowledge that Luke counted on her just below made this flight to battle feel different; dangerous and exhilarating.
Small, red meteors were falling in her direction. They were so far away and moved so fast, she couldn't scale how far she should move to dodge. The wind could make their movement unpredictable. If any hit her, her best bet would be slice clean through it.
A glint of light hit Morgan's eye. It came from a puffy, white cloud. She readied to dodge an attack. The light grew into a white ray heading straight for her. Morgan dodged it with ease.
She became a shadow in the light of the Hyper Beam. The red core of the white laser seemed like it could end the world by itself. Morgan stared in awe. She could never hope to match its power in her life, but she had to beat it anyway.
Rayquaza revealed itself. The red flames fell far away from Morgan. She stopped flying up and floated in place. Contrary to her expectations, Rayquaza flew down to attack. Combined with its bloodshot eyes and elongated claws, it seemed it had also lost its sense. Morgan steeled herself to win a quick draw.
"Not like that."
Morgan's confidence shattered. She flew away and dodged it before it could crash into her with the steaming, green energy around its body.
"Loosen up. There. Like that. Now try. To dodge wind, flow with it like a leaf."
Morgan didn't realize how stiff she had been. She could move a lot better in the air. She winded around two blasts of fire from Rayquaza's maw and dove down.
No time came for her to react. She raised up her sword to defend. A Hyper Beam eclipsed the speed of the fires and drowned her in stinging, burning power.
________________________________________________________________________________
"And then, they joined on their quest."
As the story finished, the fireplace crackled and coughed. Togetic Morgan woke up from the edge of slumber. The veil of heat on her face from facing the fireplace acted as a pillow. Her mother's arms reaching around her and holding up the book near her face were the blanket.
Morgan turned around as the gray arms with long fur retreated. She sat up and turned around. A Cinccino with deep, blue eyes folded the book in her paws.
"Mom?" asked Morgan. "I'm tired."
"I know," Cinccino said. "Sorry training was so tough on you today, but it will get easier." Her eyes turned down to the dark floorboards. "Just remember to stay loose, and you can handle anything. I know everything's uncertain but-"
"How am I supposed to stay calm when we don't even know where dad is? Or uncle? They were supposed to be back by now."
"You have to have faith. You will make it to Stargazer Castle. We're all waiting to see what you do with the sacrifices we made."
"Do you really think we could make it?"
Cinccino walked forward, bent down, and hugged Morgan. Morgan's arms hung limp at her sides.
"I know so. Your grandmother and I are right there with you. Open your eyes."
________________________________________________________________________________
Morgan opened her eyes and loosened up. She pushed off of the edge of the beam and got out of its way. As Rayquaza wheezed, she took the opportunity to close the distance. She let her wings stay still as she dove down. Rayquaza recuperated too slowly to move out of the way. It opted to charge skyward to meet her.
Gravity took Morgan's side. Even as Rayquaza's maw, twenty times her size, threatened to swallow her up and blow her to pieces, she still had options. Morgan chose to go for an early fatal blow. She arched her wings and entered a spiral flight down. She rotated around its mouth and struck its forehead.
Morgan stabbed the horn into Rayquaza's eye. She hooked it deep and swung its face down. She pulled it out at the peak of its momentum. Its entire body fell towards the ocean. She continued diving towards it.
It stopped. Morgan pulled back, but gravity worked against her. Its one-eyed face rose back up.
It chomped down at her. Morgan's foot got caught. Pain didn't follow behind, but she couldn't get free. She smacked and slashed at its mouth with the blade. Purple flames leaked out of its maw.
Morgan had no way to brace. Rayquaza aimed its face down as pressure built up.
On the ground, Buneary Luke watched, shading his forehead with his arm. The sound of a twenty-ton boulder crashing into steel pounded on his ears. A ray of vicious, white light as bright as the center of the sun shot into the ocean. Luke bounced up in the air from the impact.
In the blink of an eye, a wave double the height of the coconut tree started barreling towards him. Luke ran over to the tree and hugged it as tightly as he could. He took in deep breaths to get as much air into his system as possible.The wave crashed down when his lungs were full.
The island was completely submerged, and Luke with it. His legs were yanked off the tree, but his arms clung on. He closed his eyes and hoped nothing would hit him. He exhaled when warm air hit his face again.
No part of him was left dry to wipe his eyes, but they didn't sting when he did. They were greeted with wet sand around him and a white lump sticking out of the sand. Luke staggered over to it, rubbing the pain and tension out of his shoulders. He reached down and yanked it out of the sand with a heave.
Togetic Morgan coughed and opened her blue eyes. Black ashes coated her face. Luke wiped saltwater off his face as mest he could and cleared her face.
"Ow," Morgan groaned.
"Looks like we need a new approach," Luke said. "Right?"
"You wouldn't happen to know Helping Hand?"
"Helping hand?" he repeated, confused. "I, uh..."
"It's a move," she explained. "You give your body's energy to me. That's the only way we can fight together."
"It sounds simple enough. What do you want me to do?"
Morgan pushed up to her feet. Luke noticed they burned and had small cuts on them.
"It only takes shots at us from far away," Morgan breathed. "So, we need to strike before it can react and fly away while it's preparing an attack. I need you to lend me some of your energy so it will be enough, and then I need you to throw me. Hard. You need to leave yourself with enough power to do that."
"But if I don't give you enough," Luke added, "you'll die. Or, well, we both will."
"There's no time. Let's do this."
Morgan was right. Up in the sky, Rayquaza began to descend towards them. Luke didn't have the faintest idea on how Morgan survived that blast, but it wouldn't happen again. They had to win the quick draw cleanly, or they would both drown in its energy.
Gray light gathered around Morgan's wings. Luke placed his paws on her back. The gathering energy seemed to burn his paws for a second, but he kept them on and started adding to the inferno. As Rayquaza closed in, he asked himself how to throw Morgan far and fast enough for the plan to work. He would only have scraps of energy left to work with at this rate. He wished he could make those clouds.
Maybe he could pretend. Luke could act as a spring if he played it right. Once he finished pouring his fuel into the growing fire, he angled himself for the encroaching serpent. He bent down and tensed every muscle in his body, including his ears as they wound into tight circles.
"When you're ready," Luke said, "jump on my head."
Luke was sure she heard her, even though she focused too hard to formulate a reply. He squinted to be able to see past the light pouring off her body. He left it to her to pick the timing.
Morgan jumped in mere seconds. Luke grabbed her feet and made a split second preparation to use his whole body. He leaped up. Simultaneously, his arms and ears extended out and released the burning pressure welling up. He shot Morgan into the sky like a lightning strike.
The explosion seconds after didn't offer Luke an answer. He looked down at the sand and covered his eyes. He pushed his head up as the light faded to see where Morgan was.
Yellow bulbs of light falling like snow were a good sign. They fell and faded into the ocean. Along with them, a small splash plumed up in the water. It had to Morgan.
"Dang it..." Luke muttered. "I hope I can swim."
Luke only had his will left to push forward and wade into the ocean. Despite his piling worries, he had to pace himself so he wouldn't drown. The motion his body entered by itself moved him at a reasonable enough pace. He would make it before Morgan drowned, at least, but he had to find her first.
Sunlight didn't penetrate far underwater. The white color of Morgan's large wings helped. Luke swam faster to get her from underwater. She sunk down head-first, close to the ocean floor by the time Luke reached her. Even though she seemed unconscious, her grip on the Keldeo's horn didn't fail as Luke swam back to shore. More and more of his confidence was restored when she coughed repeatedly when their heads popped over the water.
They dragged themselves to the beach, only making it far enough to get past the edge of the water before collapsing on the sand. The only further movement Luke did was his chest rising and falling as he sucked in air.
"That was..." Luke huffed, "hard."
"Yeah..." Morgan's voice cracked. "That sucked."
Luke pushed himself onto his back for a better view. He stared off at the clouds. Some of them were moving fast enough for him to notice.
"We'll reach Stargazer Castle," Luke resolved. "We'll find out why the world's ending."
"We... will."
Luke watched as Morgan's eyes closed. His own drooped.
________________________________________________________________________________
Hours could have passed. Still, plenty of usable daylight was left to work with. Luke cooked up a plan.
He practiced while Morgan slept and remembered how to use Ice Beam. With enough practice, he made a cold, ice raft. Floating in it in the ocean, though, made him realize it was more just a box of ice rather than a raft. As time passed, he had to use Ice Beam to make sure it didn't melt them into the ocean, but it was an easy job.
Morgan's survival skills kept them going. She fished and properly cooked fish with nothing but her bare hands and Flamethrower. In Luke's opinion, they could make it across the entire world like this, but according to Morgan, they wouldn't have to.
And so, just as she said, land appeared as the sky turned yellow. They come on shore when hints of red revealed themselves. Past a tiny mound of sand, the forest loomed over them. They had to hurry and secure a safe place to sleep before nightfall.
Morgan floated over the rough foliage and prickly weeds. Luke made do. As luck would have it, they happened upon a small cave with time to spare to make something to sleep on out of the dry, green maple leaves lying around. They assembled it on the once dry cave floor before rain came.
Not quite ready to sleep, Luke sat up next to Morgan and stared out at the rain. A wall of droplets fell from the entrance and darkened the grass and soil. More tap danced on the ceiling.
Morgan lied back and went to sleep first. Luke followed minutes later. He stared at the ceiling, digging deep for anything to remember. A foggy, far off image of someone important came. Someone.