‘The day has come.’

Those words were delivered to George and Blitzer on one fateful morning, ten days after their return from Whitiara. It had been a tense time, awaiting the call they and so many others had anticipated for so long. The day on which the Crest, Eravate’s long standing despot kingdom, would disappear into the dusty annals of history. The final gasp of dusk before dawn. And if all failed, then at least it would be a valiant effort.

Of course, plans weren’t so simple as waltzing in and doing the dirty work. Fighting had started days earlier on the first lines of defence. Since George was needed for one task in particular, no one would throw him early, even today. Morning turned to afternoon, and they were still in their room, killing time.

“So how much longer do you think it’ll be?” Blitzer asked, laying half sleep and kicking his legs about.

Several footprints ran up the wall by George’s bed. “However long it takes for the Queen to come out, that’s how long. Don’t know what else to tell you.”

Blitzer sighed. “Man. The base must be empty by now, huh…”

George snapped his fingers. “Almost empty. Gotta keep things running. Can’t imagine whoever’s left is too psyched. They all joined up specifically for today, right?”

The Charmeleon let out a soft chuckle. “Pretty much. That’s what happens when you step on everyone’s toes. And the Crest just stepped on everyone’s head instead.”

“Eyyup.” The Dewott rolled over. “Maybe everyone left volunteered to keep us cozied up in here. Right up until we’re needed.”

“...What?” Blitzer shot a dull glare at George. “C’mon, don’t be ridiculous. Where are you even getting that from, anyway?”

George pressed the palm of a hand against his forehead, and gently stroked the hair on top of his head while thinking things over. “For starters, they did tell us we wouldn’t be fighting anything in the first few stages, didn’t they?”

“Yeah.”

“Exactly. Because we’re too important. But putting that aside for a moment, we’ve talked about this before. About how suspicious some people in the Alliance act.”

Blitzer frowned. “Yeah, but… come on, what are the odds everything they’ve done for us was all fake? And that we’ve been told nothing but lies? If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be alive right now. I mean, me maybe. But you?”

“Call me ungrateful, paranoid, whatever.” George sat up straight, “I don’t like questions left unanswered. I want to know what’s going on. We have a right to. Everyone does. And when the man leading this whole Pokemon uprising can’t be consistent about who I am and what he wants out of me, you can’t just leave that be.”

“But he’s been better with that lately, hasn’t he?” Blitzer asked. “You said so yourself. That only you can play the flute. Make it do things. No ordinary Pokemon can do that.”

George groaned. “All Prince Art said is that it’s mostly up in here.” He pointed at his head. “Physically, I’m still unexceptional. His words, not mine. Maybe he’s right, but every time we talk it’s the same. He says one thing, then the exact opposite a few seconds later. And besides, he’s far from the only one.” His ears flicked back, and he began waving and gesturing all over the place, making the shadows of hand dance over the wall. “I mean, hello? Skal? Why I can’t get a hold of Terez? The whole Smaugus fiasco?”

Blitzer gritted his teeth as he struggled to suppress a churr, his tail flat on the bed without passing an inkling of heat to the sheets. “I’m… not sure this is the best time to have this conversation, George. Honest. Shouldn’t we be focusing on today?” His throat vibrated as he swallowed. “Look, I agree that there’s a lot of fishy, weird stuff going on, and we don’t know why. But whatever it is, there has to be some rational explanation behind it. My dad told me this a thousand times. That superstition can mislead you into the craziest things.”

With a deep breath, George spat some water on his hands, then splashed it onto his face. “Okay,” he said, fur dripping wet. “I know this isn’t what you want to hear. But…” He choked up. “I-I’ve been nervous. What if things go terribly wrong? What if-”

“Stop.”

The Charmeleon drummed his claws on his legs, each digit tapping a separate scale. “That’s not going to happen. We’ve been through worse, right?”

George rolled his eyes. “Doesn’t get much worse than war.”

“Even that!” Blitzer shouted. “C’mon. Have a little faith, yeah? We can do this!”

He held both arms out. Just a simple hug to cement a promise. They’d stick through the storm together, like they always had. Always at each other’s side, always got each other’s back. Always smiling like they did now, always optimistic in the toughest times. George got up to walk across the room, arms slowly spreading.

But any hugging plans were put on hold when a knock came on the door. Loud and heavy, almost as if someone was throwing rocks against it.

“Kiddos? Ya there?”

“Skal?” Blitzer asked. Both him and George had turned to the door, hugs be damned. “Uh, come on in?”

And so the door flew open, with a huge Aggron standing on the other end, head tilted back. “More like, get yer lazy rears outta there, ‘cause it’s showtime. Yer needed.”

“Uh-huh.” George patted the fur on his chest down. “Spend enough time tussling around in the grass?” he asked, then gulped. A silly question to lighten the mood, God knows his nerves needed it.

Skal stared him down right as his lips closed. “Ain’t the time to start jokin’ around. ‘Mons are getting killed out there, yeah?”

“Killed?” Blitzer asked.

“Yeh! By the damn Queen, that’s who!” Skal growled, his heavy body stomping and turning around. “Been waitin’ all damn day to hear, ye ain’t gonna screw us all now! Quick! RUN!”

Any and all attempts to break the tension were lost in a daze, as George and Blitzer followed Skal across the base, not looking back to close the door, or even watch their step for oncomers. There were no oncomers. The whole base had been deserted, and all the ambient noise had vanished with it. No commotion, no screechy minecarts, or food being chewed. No smells from exotic fruits and vegetables, or other Pokemon loudly smacking their lips. Just the distant rumble of the underground.

“OI! Speed up, will ya! My brothers are gettin’ killed out there, ya hear? Ya wanna see ‘em die? HURRY UP!”

By the time they reached the Main Link, the seriousness of the situation had sunk in. Skal growled on every laboured breath. Blitzer grimaced as he stuck close to the Aggron, so afraid to anger him that he didn’t say more than ‘yes’ in a hushed tone. And far behind was George, fleeting thoughts rushing through his head.

‘It’s like he’s become someone else… No more happy Skal. Just anger. How bad is it there?’

Without further delays, Skal hopped onto the pad. And lord have mercy on anyone who didn’t follow. Blitzer dove right after, and George hopped on with gritted teeth. Whatever was on the other side, no one knew. Only that fate was no longer in their claws.

* * *

A hoarse roar filled the air, as the chaos of war appeared before George. Mud splattered all around the trench they had teleported into, the aftershocks of exploding Pokemon attacks causing the ground to slide towards the ditch. He nearly tripped the second he realised where he was. The sounds and smells hadn’t even registered yet.

Within a few seconds, however, all confusion had cleared. For despite the chaos, what little information one had in war was more than enough to know you had made a terrible mistake. Death and destruction reigned here: The trench and nearby fields reeked of soot, mud, rot and iron mixed together, the grass upturned and shredded, water pooling in the scars running through the terrain. Smoke rose from burning carts, whilst nearby explosions added fuel to the fire.

“OI! KID! GET YER REAR MOVIN’!” Skal screamed straight into George’s ear like a drill sergeant.

The Dewott’s whole body spun around, and came face to face with the full toothed scowl the Aggron pointed straight at him. George bit his lip for a moment, the muscles in his hand twitching.

“Aye!” ‘Damn! We’ve been here for just a few seconds and Skal’s absolutely livid. What the hell happened to him?’

Blitzer anxiously stood at the Aggron’s side while his tail hung close to the mud, the fire at the end dim. George caught him in the corner of his eye, maintaining eye contact with Skal whilst running towards the two, until Skal stomped off. George’s ears went flat, just as something snapped in the distance.

‘Guess Blitzer wasn’t expecting this from him either, huh.’

The Charmeleon ran half as fast as he could, teeth sticking out of his mouth as he looked towards George for guidance. Seeing it as a cue to speed up, George ran through the trench, passing by Blitzer to follow Skal towards the frontlines, tossing whatever rocks had landed in the trench aside with a flick of his fingers. Usually, using telekinesis for the mundane was something to smirk over. But today was not a day worth smirking over.

Raindrops splashing around, and mud splattering across their legs, Skal suddenly leapt over the trench walls, straight into the battlefield before of Luminity’s walls. “UP AND AT ‘EM!” he roared, George and Blitzer jumping after him in a hurry.

George expected to get pelted the second he jumped, with Skal’s tank-like body being the only thing protecting them from certain death. Instead, nothing landed nearby. No heavy balls of fire, psychic energy, electricity, or any kind of elemental energy, for that matter. Just the rain.

‘Battle must’ve moved closer to the city, huh… what were those explosions near the trenches, then? Do they know the teleporter is there?’

Following in Skal’s footprints, the boys made their way across the blasted landscape towards the city, the source of the chaos unfolding. Several blackscarved Pokemon passed them by, either carrying supplies or injured Pokemon with them. All the injured were fellow Blackscarves; what became of the Crest’s wounded remained a mystery, one George didn’t want to get to the bottom of. Not while he was running to war.

Skal growled with every step. Despite his enormous size and weight, he was fast. Far beyond what anyone expected from a hulking metal dinosaur. Adrenaline must’ve been surging through his veins. George struggled to keep up; even Blitzer had trouble living up to his name.

‘He must really care about his friends. Even then, that’s not normal. Ngh, come on George. Don’t think about it. Just don’t. There’s a reason. There’s gotta be.’

Hard as it was to forget everything, George pressed on. He just had to do one thing. Then was the time to ask questions. Once the queen was gone, any reason to hide would vanish with her. Skal would drop the attitude, Terez could probably speak with him again; even Artanouk might come to the table. Once the mud had stopped splattering, and the ground outside could be patched back together, all should be good.

But those were dreams for now.

After hopping over several other trenches, George found himself in a crowd of Pokemon taking cover behind the skeleton of a barn. Two Electabuzz fired bolts of electricity at the colossal walls of Luminity, their efforts coming up short. Behind, a Wobbufett groaned, straining to keep up a Mirror Coat from all the counter fire responding to the Electabuzz, several shots making their mark against the barrier. And behind one intact piece of wall, a Chatot lay twitching on the ground, a Primeape trying to tend to them.

Skal took cover behind the wall, nearly stepping on the Chatot’s tailfeathers, teeth bared at the Primeape. “Where is she?”

“Who? Sorry I’m-”

“Spit it out, fool! Ya KNOW who I’m talkin’ about!”

“Eek!” Primeape squeaked. “S-she was here only ten minutes earlier! W-we had to retreat, there’s so many-”

“Where’d she go, HUH?!” Skal gripped onto the wet mud, claws puncturing through as if it were foam. A thunderbolt fired off; someone roared in the distance.

“North! B-but-”

“BOYS!” Skal growled at the two in cover with him, Blitzer gulping, George shielding his vitals with an arm. “Stay ‘ere! We’re gonna order an attack. Lure ‘er out. She’s not gettin’ away so easily…”

“Wait!!” begged Primeape. Chatot eyes looked devoid of light. “W-we’re in serious trouble here, we can’t attack! We’ve lost so many already-”

Skal yanked his arm out the mud, then seized Primeape by the face, mud staining his shaggy and unkempt fur. “D’ye think it matters? We’re tryin’ to win ‘ere! If that means throwin’ ye face first into a space beast’s maw, then that’s what we’re gonna do! YA HEAR ME?!”

“Y-Yes!!” Primeape cried out, just as Skal dropped him back in the mud.

As Skal rushed out into the open, then roared like a monster, the earth underneath rumbled. His feet and claws were covered in mud, and his maw looked and sounded like the world crying out in pain.

George and Blitzer were left to fend for themselves by the skeleton of the barn, trying to comfort the whimpering Primeape a little; Chatot had been a dear friend of theirs. Had been.

George tried to comfort Primeape by scratching his ear, then peered at Skal from the corner of his eye. ‘God, what the hell is wrong with him… talks all about watching his friends die if we don’t hurry up, then he yells at other people going through the same!’

Blood and thunder reigned across the battlefield as Skal continued to shake the earth, Crest Soldiers pelting balls of water and aura at him from the city walls. Pandemonium had broken loose, and the genie wasn’t going back into the lamp anytime soon. It was a fight to the death, one where Soldiers fell from the walls, and Blackscarves were sent up flying as the ground under their feet was yanked out from underneath.

* * *

On the other side of the city, Gareda had thrown herself into the trenchworks. She didn’t care about how dangerous of a role that was, nor any of the hopes she had for the future. What did it matter? Luffy had made her demands clear. Either Gareda would bleed for Luminity, or she would bleed from her soul.

The choice was an obvious one.

Striking and snarling, she slashed at a Rapidash’s neck, cutting the black scarf around their neck into pieces. All the while, she kept a Scyther at bay. The mantis Pokemon parried her attacks, struck her in the gut, tore a few scales out - nevertheless, Gareda wasn’t going down so easily.

With Rapidash down, she focused her efforts on Scyther. Hit after hit was parried. Both Pokemon had their teeth bared, Gareda growling, while Scyther chittered. No taunting, no cursing, just fighting and snarling like animals.

While the fight played out, globs of fire passed over Gareda’s head, pinning other Blackscarves further down the trench. No one dared vault over the trench and into no-man's land - both sides had Pokemon further back keeping an eye for stragglers. And much of the landscape had been torn apart as a result. One such Pokemon was none other than Luffy.

The heat from the Magmar erupted like a volcano all around as she put up huge smokescreens, then launched attacks further down the trench. Thanks to her, Gareda had no distractions from the Scyther she battled. With their scythe-like arms, they resembled grim reapers competing for the souls of the dead.

And that happened to catch a lone eye watching from far beyond the field of battle, their body obscured by a ghostly mist.

“She should have ran while she had the chance, Sisu.”

The Marshadow blinked. “Huh. You met her before, Hein?”

“Not in a million years. And I am not interested now… but I digress. We must keep looking. The Queen is moving. The Othersider could be here any moment.”

“Looks like she’s going… eastward!”

* * *

The earth rumbled for ten minutes straight. Skal had remained standing, defiant in the face of thousands of Soldiers aiming for his life. Still George and Blitzer cowered behind the skeleton of the building, waiting for the right moment. They didn’t even know when the right moment was.

By now, the Electabuzz from earlier had been injured. And after burying his best friend, the Primeape from earlier had run off into the trenches, never to be seen again. Blitzer bid him farewell; George could only manage a wave. He would’ve said goodbye as well. But all the explosions, all the roaring and screaming had gotten to him. He put on a miserable frown, hard pressed for any way to change the situation. To stop all the death.

‘Thinking about stopping this… yeah right, George. As if you won’t be next in a few minutes.’

By some stroke of luck, however, the Alliance did seem to be on the move. They had punched a hole through Luminity’s walls, and were approaching it trench by trench. Looking at it from a distance, the trenches resembled a Mystery Dungeon. Just narrower.

But alas, positivity was scarce today. And just when things seemed to look up…

“OI! BOYS!! C’MERE! SHE’S COMIN’!”

Skal roared at the two to join him out in the open. George hesitated for a moment, until Blitzer zipped right past him. “Let’s go!” the Charmeleon said without a moment’s hesitation.

George jumped to his feet. “Hold on!” he said, holding onto the incomplete Azure Flute with one hand. His heart raced in his chest as he walked into the open, towards a growling Skal and an increasingly terrified looking Blitzer. Their eyes were drawn to the wall; or rather, something slithering down the wall.

A Serperior with a purplish glow running down her body, eyes glowing an ominous red.

“Play it,” Skal grumbled.

George fumbled the flute in his hand, struggling to keep a steady grip in the moment that it mattered. All the while, the Serperior Queen coiled her head up, two enormous vines breaking off from her body. They were serrated, like tendrils from a flesh-eating abomination. She shed leaves from her scaly coat as she slammed the vines down, then swung them across an entire trench. Screams filled the air moments later.

“OI! GEORGE! HURRY UP!” Skal roared, frustration drowning out any fear. “SHE’LL KILL US!”

George clenched his teeth, before wrapping his lips around the mouthpiece of the Azure Flute. As the Queen prepared to send her leaves down on what was left of those in the trench, and everything in the nearby vicinity…

A fast string of notes, bundled together.

A high note, and then a low note.

High, and low.

High, and then a final.

The leaves wilted away as they flew, a yellow light burning the darkness away. As the notes of the Azure Flute echoed across the land, the warring Pokemon perked their ears up, trying to search for the source. It was a song no one had heard, and yet it felt so familiar. Soothing to the ears. For a brief moment, the world was at peace.

A peace broken by an ear-piercing shriek.

Up on the walls, the Anomaly-like void that swirled around the Queen was being torn off her serpentine body, yellow cracks running up and down every last tendril and vine. It looked as if a large, invisible hand was tearing her skin off, then flinging it towards the north west, where the peak of Mount Stalwart stood lonely in the skyline. And in the wake of this force, one which George felt coming off the Azure Flute, all that was left was whatever was left of the queen, frantically scrambling back across the walls. It was such a pathetic sight for someone so powerful.

“It’s DONE!” Skal roared. “ONWARDS, RENEGADES!”

At Skal’s beck and call, war broke loose once again. George and Blitzer looked each other in the eye, and nodded. Time to finish this.