They of the Sun
Chapter Thirty-Nine: 'Altar'cations
"This is as far as I can accompany you," Hapu said as she stayed back, doubled over into a bow. I felt myself straighten in surprise. No one in any position of power bowed to a lowly grunt like me. "I have duties to attend to as the Kahuna, whatever lies beyond... the Tapu will guide you. Lillie, you have been lovely," Hapu grinned before puckering her lips and raising a thick brow at me, "Cyra... you could take some notes."
It was always a surprise to see my eyes had not gotten stuck at the back of my head when I rolled them. They really should've by now. She smiled, hoisting herself up onto her Mudsdale and with a wave, she spurred her equine creature forward. We stood there as the echoing of its hooves grew more and more distant. I clicked my tongue, turning to look into the cavern, it was wide enough for us to enter side-by-side. Past this cave was the Altar of the Sunne. Easy-peasy. Right?
I'm sure I'm wrong.
"Do you hear that?" Hau whispered, adjusting his backpack by the straps. It's as if everyone leaned forward, straining our ears for the sound of... anything really. At once we deflated when we were met with nothing but absolute silence. Not even the chirp of a Pikipek. Oddly, it made my heart twist with nerves. The spinning thoughts set in right as Sen gently yanked his friend's short ponytail, scolding him, "It's literally nothing! Don't stress us out like that."
Hau mumbled a few "ow"s, rubbing the back of his head, following as Sen led the way. Being in a dark cave sent us on edge, it was more than the cave itself. Maybe it was the lingering feeling of not knowing what we would find ahead of us. I kept listening for an inkling of what Hau had heard. There was only our footsteps kicking up rocks and the occasional whisper between Lillie and Gladion. Nova sat quietly in my bag, peering out with the same curiosity Nebby had once upon a time. None of us said another word for a while feeling a presence grow heavy in the area; fear.
Sen saw it before the rest of us, bursting into a jog. Lillie quickly followed without hesitation and Gladion checked over his shoulder to see if I had run away yet. He looked away the moment our eyes met as if he wasn't meaning to be caught. A secret. I pretended it didn't happen, picking up my own pace to keep up with the rest of the group. Arceus, I hated running unless it was from my problems. Hah. My eyes widened at the scene I came across.
Before us lay a massive Dragon-Type, covered in layered silver and gold scales and thick blood. It's eyes watched Sen as he kneeled beside the armored creature with concern, examining each wound and bruise. It's mouth hung partially open to allow shallow breathing, smelling of charred meat and bone. Lillie covered her nose while I pretended not to notice. If it weren't for the faint rising and lowering of the dragon's soft belly, it would've looked dead. "Not dead, but fainted.... And look," Sen pointed along the walls, following a path of rock that had been blasted out. Fresh scorch marks surrounded it. The signs of a fight.
"Kommo-o," My Rotomdex burst to life from my bag, taking a scan. "The ZZzz-Scaly Pokemon. This one is in no condition to battle. Zzztt! Proceed with caution."
Lillie, slow and gentle, tended to the wounds she could with the items she had. Not much was left of the Revives and Potions we'd brought along with us.
"It's a Totem." I said, noticing the glowing energy radiating from the beast and the nearby dais, carved from the same stone as the cavern, where a familiar shaped stone floated. Hau had beat me to it, standing right over the floating Z-Crystal. His eyes full of wonder for a moment, his head snapping up in the direction we had been heading towards. Again, I closed my eyes, trying to pull the sounds to me. Not far ahead there were the faint, clashing shouts of a battle and I gasped. Someone was already here. Fighting our fight. Fighting my fight. Hau's holler was white noise in my ears, my heart hammering away in my chest.
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..."
"Using my own Type: Full against me," Lusamine observed as the two clashed. "A failed one at that. How typical. You can't even use your own strength, you have to borrow from me to even begin to level. You're weak."
Her words were like a dagger she had jammed and twisted into her son's chest. His expression stayed stoic, but after hanging around him for so long there was that brief moment where his eyes flashed disappointment. No one would catch it unless they were looking.
"You're wrong!" I heard myself holler, signaling for Pan to fly closer to her. "Gladion is stronger than any of us. He's stronger than you."
"You're the one who made Silvally's prototype fail," Sen added, his Krookodile slithering forward elegantly despite its rather hefty frame. "He's the one who's making it work right now. What does that say about you?"
Our words didn't seem to reach the blond haired boy, his hand gripping at his jacket over where his heart should be, frozen. His green eyes glued to his feet; a child being scolded by his mother. I had to do something or else we were all dead. They would all be dead. This was my fault. My eyes caught Sen's in the briefest of glances, hoping he understood what I wanted to do.
"Spirit Shackle, Pan!" My Pokemon flew above me, outstretching his cape-like wings to release shadowy chains that clasped around Nihilego's body. "Swing!"
Pan let out a coo, the gust from his wings kicking up dirt as he began to swing the bound Nihilego towards us. I covered my ears, missing Sen's cue. His Krookodile, eager to oblige, rushed forward with glowing fangs. The hit landed and Krookodile flew back on its feet, Pan's chain's breaking from the force of the attack. Dismay fell on my face when we realized the attack had hardly done anything to the alien creature now surrounded by glowing blue rocks. They struck Pan's wings, forcing him out of the air. I cringed at his pained cries.
"Enough games! Now witness true power!" Lusamine bellowed, raising her arms to the sky. Nihilego gathered around her, the one we had been fighting glided back towards the Aether President until it was floating inches above her. The hair-like tendrils extended threatening to engulf the dazzling woman. A wicked smile placed on her lips gave me the chills.
"Stop! Please!" Lillie cried out with determination from behind us, her usually neat hair was now a sweaty matted mess against her head. Her eyes were blurry with tears and her face red from the exertion of plowing into the woman's torso and knocking her out of the way the moment Nihilego moved towards them. Instead of Lusamine, it made contact with Lillie, merging together before any of us could do a thing.
"Lillie!" Hau and Gladion cried in unison, Lusamine staring up at her daughter writhing with pain as the Ultra Beast took over her body, tendrils injecting themselves along her arms and legs. I'm not sure whether it was the clarity of a Mother's instinct or whatever little humanity was left in her that struck, but the horror of comprehension fell upon the woman's face as she watched her own daughter's contort with pain before her eyes lost light in them. The color of her sun-gold hair faded into pitch black, darker than my own.
My legs lurched forward, disbelief settling in where anxiety had once been. I rushed towards Lillie, my fingers digging into Nihilego's surprisingly tough skin. She let out a shriek, slapping me away with a tentacle. I gasped as it stung even through my clothes, pressing a little too hard against my ribs. I wasn't sure if I had heard a pop.
The contents of my bag scattered across the mosaic floor as Lillie threw me with ease, my skin burning where she struck. A pew escaped from Nova. The pain in my stomach was sharp, nearly unbearable. My throat was beginning to burn from the bile. Through blurred vision I could see the shining steel body of the flute as it clattered several meters away towards Gladion. Lillie's flute had fallen with her bag closer to Sen. The little dust bunny of a Pokemon lay next to my flute. I coughed, "Nova!"
Gentle hands pulled me up to my knees and I turned to see Hau give a reassuring smile, despite bearing a swollen eye and bloody nose. My mouth twisted to fight back tears and throbbing pain, wishing I could return the gesture. I wished... Our heads snapped up at the sound of harmonic whistling; notes intertwining together in the air. The world around us stopped. Gladion, eyes closed, had the blue and silver flute near his lips and Sen mirrored him with a matching golden instrument. From the corners of my eyes I could see Lillie's bag begin to stir.
In an invisible whirlwind the bag flew upwards to the center of the ruins, aligning with the gigantic sun monument. With a burst of light the pink bag tore away from Nebby's sleeping form. For a moment, Lillie fought against Nihilego's parasitic grasp to cry out for him in a distorted voice. "Nebby!"
Almost as if to respond to the girl's pleading, the creature's eyes opened. Nebby's body seemed lit from within as his small features began to expand and morph into features befitting a Pyroar. His hot-white mane burst out, mimicking sun rays and atop his star-filled forehead was a symbol matching the Lunala from the Lake of the Moone. This one was a motif of the sun. A powerful roar escaped Nebby's maw as he landed in front of his former caretaker.
Awe turned to panic when Nebby set his burning gaze on Lillie, the symbol on his forehead glowing anew. None of us could say a word as his roar reverberated around us, a beam as bright as the sun shot from the insignia and washed over the girl. We watched the parasitic creature separate itself from Lillie, allowing her to drop to the ground in a heap. All of the creatures retreated back into the shuttering and creaking Wormhole before disappearing all together. All fell silent again aside from the hammering of my heart in my ears.