Queen Fyra flexed her paws, claws unsheathing and glinting in the light passing through the large windows of the throne room. She sat on a large ornate throne framed of gold and with velvet cushions. Hope sat silently beside the throne. A long red carpet stretched from the throne to the door, sitting atop the cold, grey cobblestone.
One wall held three large windows, separated by coloumns protruding slightly. The other wall was adorned with paintings, colourful ribbons, and tapestries as well as a small door, which served as the servant's entry. A large wooden door sat opposite the throne and was the main entrance to the room.
Royal advisers, a scribe and several servants were scattered across the throne room. Four menacing Pokémon waited silently at the foot of the throne. Their quiet demeanour was unnerving, and they exuded powerful auras.
Loc and Autumn had been chained and thrown to their knees before the Queen's guards. Autumn was strangely quiet, a distant look upon her face as she stared at the ground. Loc glared spitefully at Fyra, earning himself a slap from a Poliwrath, standing guard nearby.
"Regard the Queen with respect!" Poliwrath demanded, stepping back into line beside the others.
Sighing with disdain, Fyra shook her head and clucked her tongue. "Loc, Autumn, did I ever wrong you? I paid you well, made you important, put you in charge of many troops. Why did you turn against me?"
Loc took a deep breath, and the anger left his gaze for a moment, replaced by sorrow. "I am sorry, your majesty. You gave us many things. You gave us a comfortable bed, but we could not sleep. Not after what we saw. So much pain, and suffering; this is wrong."
Fyra exhaled slowly. "The question was rhetorical, and your opinion is irrelevant. You were useful to me once. I believe you can be again. Say that you'll come back and serve me. It would be a shame to dispose of such valuable tools."
Finally, Autumn lifted her head. Staring into the Luxray's eyes, Braixen smiled sweetly. "I'll see you in hell."
Scoffing, Loc nodded. "What she said."
Fyra merely smiled. "Disappointing, but not surprising." She waved a paw, and several guards began to advance on Loc and Autumn.
Hope's gaze turned downwards, and she sighed away from the scene before her. If only she was stronger. If only she hadn't left Grace that night, all those years ago. If she had just stayed with David, perhaps she could have been happy.
Those in the throne room froze as an explosion outside shook the windows. The din of battle could be heard nearby. Pokémon hurried to windows, desperate to find the source of the carnage.
Hundreds of Pokémon battled across the town. Already, houses were going up in flame. A once beautiful fountain lay destroyed. A stray energy beam scored the castle walls and shattered the windows, showering the throne room in glass.
Another explosion sounded nearby, and the massive doors were blown open, barely remaining on their hinges. In strode Grace, at her side were Ty and Soul, Evie, and Kin. Arlin rode atop Ty's shoulder and squealed a battle-cry.
Loc's jaw fell open and he stuttered, desperate to say something. Autumn's eyes lit like flames and a wicked smile crossed her face. The fight was on.
Using her psychic powers, Autumn unlocked the shackles on her and Loc – There was hope now. Bolting upright, Autumn struck outwards, sending a stream of fire directly at Fyra.
One of the four Pokémon, built of leaves and twigs, sluggishly moved in front of the fire, taking the attack head-on, and shielding Fyra. When Autumn's attack died out, the Pokémon was left standing, its body singed and wisps of smoke trailing off it, but it seemed otherwise unharmed.
Kin raised a steady paw. "Those four, they're strong."
Rolling his shoulders and stretching his neck, Ty said, "The Ruinous Pokémon, Chi-Yu, Chien-Pao, Ting-Lu, and the one that took that hit was Wo-Chien. They don't speak so we can only guess, but it's said they follow Fyra because she spreads ruin."
"Well, this'll be fun," Evie said, unsheathing her claws.
"I couldn't agree more," hissed Fyra. The Luxray roared a challenge and Ting-Lu slowly lowered its head, tapping the ground gently. In an instant the floor cracked and split; fissures ran up the walls. The window side of the room began to crumble and fall into the courtyard below. Chi-Yu leapt outside, moving swiftly past the falling debris. Ting-Lu followed it, moseying to the edge before stepping off. It landed with a heavy thud and began trudging through the debris.
"We've got them, you handle this!" Evie yelled, leaping after them.
Soul's brows creased. "But, what about-"
"Soul!" Kin yelled. "It's alright. We'll see you soon." Without waiting for a response, Kin leapt after Evie.
"He does know he's blind, right?" mumbled Ty.
Soul smacked Ty lightly before turning towards their opponents. "We'll take Chien-Pao and Wo-Chien."
Grace nodded, her face set in a firm grimace. "Thanks, I'll bring the others home."
In the courtyard below, flowers lay smashed under fallen debris. Dirt and stone littered the ground. Chi-Yu moved slowly back and forth, eyeing Kin and Evie. Ting-Lu stood still, waiting.
Evie glanced at Kin; her brow cocked. "You sure you're up for this? I can handle it myself."
Kin's neck itched and he chuckled quietly. "Somehow I doubt that."
Evie recoiled in mock insult. "Oh yeah? Watch this!"
Darting forward, Evie charged at Chi-Yu, but the fish Pokémon dodged swiftly aside. Angling left, Evie leapt at Ting-Lu. She flipped and struck Ting-Lu's head with an Iron Tail. Ting-Lu didn't even flinch but raised its head slowly. Launching herself backwards, Evie put some distance between them.
"Okay, I might need some help," she muttered.
Kin smirked and knelt, placing a paw against the earth. Breathing slowly, he reached out with his senses, awakening his latent aura. He'd tasted this power once before, in the fight with Mewtwo. Since then, he'd practised control, but hadn't been able to manifest anything special.
Now, his sight was gone, yet he could see clearly. The pulse of the land, the breath of the wind, the very heart of nature was revealed to him. Releasing his breath in a long, slow exhale, Kin stood, and smiled.
Kin launched towards Ting-Lu and fired a flurry of Force Palms. A dark aura whipped outwards from Ting-Lu, but Kin felt it and dodged cleanly. Quick to cover him, Evie waited a moment and lashed out with Iron Tail again, but Ting-Lu merely shrugged it off. Skipping backwards, Evie growled, her frustration growing.
Chuckling, Kin shook his head. "Vee, you're a Sylveon now. Fight like one."
"Oh, like you would know," Evie drawled, rolling her eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Evie narrowed her eyes and reached out with her ribbons. Drawing power to her chest, she focused, and fired a Moonblast. The attack struck Ting-Lu dead on, and the beast roared.
Evie leapt in celebration, but Chi-Yu came charging. Unable to dodge in the air, Evie could only watch as Chi-Yu fired a Lava Plume. The flames broiled and writhed, reaching for her.
Evie felt a pressure against her side as she thrown out of the way. Kin was devoured by the flames, and she screamed his name. The flames died as Kin slammed Chi-Yu's maw shut. Power erupted from his paws and the shockwave knocked Evie over. Chi-Yu flew backwards, slamming into a wall and collapsing.
Evie raced to Kin's side as he fell to his knees. Patches of fur were missing from his chest and scorch marks covered his body.
"Kin! Kin, what were you thinking?"
Kin coughed, exhaling black smoke, before smiling weakly at Evie. "You jumped off Temporal Tower. Now, we're even."
Evie's jaw dropped. "Endure, and counter? Just to make a point?"
"Well, I wanted to defeat Chi-Yu too, but yes, mostly to make a point."
Evie groaned. "We're going to have a serious talk when we get home."
"You might have to deal with that first," Kin said, pointing weakly at the slowly approaching Ting-Lu.
Sighing, Evie shook her head. "Alright, just wait here."
Ting-Lu growled and the ground shook. A tremor ran towards Evie, Ting-Lu's stomping tantrum knocked her from feet.
"Oh, that is it!" groaned Evie.
Darting right, she led Ting-Lu away from Kin. Ting-Lu swung its mighty head and a blast of wind raced towards her. Evie pushed through it and used Skill Swap. Their abilities switched; Evie felt some of her power return.
"Not sure what that did, but it feels better!" She cheered.
Wasting no time, Evie launched a barrage of Moonblasts. Ting-Lu made a rumbling sound in its throat as it tried to lumber out of range, but Evie kept up. Changing tactics, Ting-Lu struck out with Ruination, its dark aura sapping Evie of her strength.
The endurance match didn't last long. Evie fell to her knees under Ting-Lu's assault but didn't let up. Ting-Lu ceased its attack, rumbled once more and slowly collapsed sideways.
Grunting with effort, Evie staggered back to Kin's side and lay beside him. "We need a holiday."
"Agreed," Kin muttered, his voice raspy. "How do you think the others are doing?"
"I have complete faith in them."
*******
I was trying to find a way to make this last big fight more dramatic and interesting. The Ruinous Pokemon really came out at the perfect time.
Soul: I suppose they make interesting opponents, they're pretty tough though.
I was careful in how I matched the pairs.
Soul: So why am I fighting the Ice type?
Kin: *coughing* At least it wasn't the fire type.
Evie: For real, the heat made my fur all sweaty and gross.
Ty: That's rough buddy. You jealous of my pristine coat.
Evie: Honestly? Yeah, a little.
Soul: Don't encourage him.
Ty: Woo! I'm going into battle and looking great doing it!