Words to describe what they witnessed were hard to come by. Artanouk had taken them away, and buried them deep within his dark, corrupted body.

“I’m afraid the time for questions has ended,” the Empoleon droned. “You can piece the rest together, can’t you?”

While the tendrils tore the sky open in the distance, George felt nothing. No shock, fear, not even anger, or bitterness over Artanouk’s true colours. Just indifference over something that had haunted the back of his mind for a long time. All the suspicions he’d had over the last few months, and all the red flags weren’t mere figments of his imagination.

‘Told… you…’ “SO!” The Dewott drew a scalchop in the blink of an eye, and pointed it at the dark Empoleon, teeth gritted with the deepest contempt he could muster.

And all the while, as the blue skies bled into purple, and the tips of the black tendrils turned bright red, Artanouk merely shook his head.

“George…”

“QUIET!” shouted George at the top of his lungs. “You’ve said enough! Nothing but LIES all this time! I knew it! I knew this would happen!”

As Artanouk cracked up, George tugged on Blitzer’s arm, the Charmeleon having been lost in confusion since Mount Stalwart had cracked open. “We need to get out. OUT.”

Coming from George, it was an order. One Blitzer did not know whether to obey, even as the world fell apart all around them. “A-Art… What is…? What is happening? Why do you look like an Anomaly?”

The King held up a flipper. “If you so desperately wish to know more, then have no fear. Everything can and will be revealed to you, if only you submit. Submit to me in the Renegade’s name… the one who has shown the truth of our measly lives. The one who seeks to break the stagnation, usher in a bright new era. Submit, and everything will be clear.”

Blitzer struggled to breathe. The air felt toxic to the lungs. “N-No! What is going on?! What happened to the Seal?! Aren’t you worried?! It’s under Mount Stalwart, and-”

Artanouk smirked. “The Seal has been broken, my friends. We need not worry. Only celebrate. It may be an awkward transition, but all will be well… if only you submit. Listen very-”

Striking with rogue’s speed, a Scalchop struck Artanouk’s arm while coated in a violet glow, before flying back into George’s hand. Artanouk raised his arm, just as a beam of ice came flying at his face.

“We’re leaving!” George growled, before yanking Blitzer’s arms and pulling him into the gutter of the stairs. As they slid down. the back of the Charmeleon’s head touched the top of his own.

Blitzer was gasping, all while trying to keep himself steady on the long slide down, the stone gutter scraping his scales. “W-Why did-”

“NOT NOW! HE’S GOING TO KILL US!” George screamed, eyes wide as they neared the bottom.

And all the while at the top, Artanouk merely shook his head, the voice of the Othersider ringing in his ears as he turned back to the scene over Mount Stalwart. “How terribly clumsy of me. They can’t run forever, can they?”

The wind howled.

George slid onto the bare stones at the bottom of the stairs, Blitzer landing on top of him moments later. He coughed as they scrambled to get off each other, the stress of the situation beating out any pain from Blitzer’s body weight. A quick check as he stood up revealed no burn marks. George sucked in a deep breath, ears flat against his head.

Blitzer had beaten him speedwise, but didn’t take the chance to run ahead. “Where do we go?” he asked. “Is there anything we can do? There has to be others who-”

“Don’t bother,” said George as he took off running. “We can’t trust anyone. Artanouk is not alone.” ‘In fact, we’re probably alone here…’

“What was that, even?” Blitzer said while catching his breath, looking over his shoulder. “Artanouk just… it’s like he’s turned into an Anomaly!”

George shook his head. “I don’t know,” he replied, looking at the hall ahead. “No time to figure it out, just need to ge somewhere safe first…”

“Is there even a safe place left?” Blitzer growled under his breath. “The base is a dead end, city’s going to hell…”

Several doors flanking them had been thrown wide open, the rooms on the other side ransacked. They retraced their steps past the garden. George had no clue where they were going; he hoped an opportunity to flee Luminity would present itself; the best they could do now was get out. Upstairs, a monster’s growl vibrated through the walls, before a colossal bashing sound splintered a door.

“I don’t know,” George said. “Just keep moving…”

Seconds turned to hours as they ran through the broken halls of Luminity Keep. Many of the paintings and statues lay smashed on the floor, with some of the statues having been used like battering rams to breach the walls. It was as if the Alliancemen were trying to bring the buildiong down, despite Artanouk standing at the top. Even the support columns were damaged. In between the holes, Pokemon tore down the building even further, their bodies coated in an inky black hue.

Sounds of chaos wreaked havoc outside. Explosions, buildings collapsing, and animalistic roars that resembled celebrations. The Dewott hurried, still clinging onto that sliver of hope they’d both make it out unscathed.

They reached what had to have been the door they’d come in through. It was a miracle no one had come for them yet.

But luck didn’t last forever. And when it died, it died hard.

An explosion suddenly rocked the building, knocking George off his feet. He fell over forwards, dust pelting him in the back; at the same time, Blitzer screeched to a halt, eyes wide in horror as the wall to their side shattered into pieces. In seconds, the entire section collapsed inwards, rubble crashing into the floor.

By the time George got up, the space in between them was blocked off. Not a single way through remained. George stared in horror, his breathing intensified, his heart rate skyrocketed, and his blood cooked inside his veins.

“Blitzer! Blitzer!! Can you hear me?!”

“Y-yeah!” the Charmeleon shouted on the other side, desperately clawing to find a weak spot in the rubble. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine! Not under there!” George responded. Water surged into his mouth, and he fired several jets at the collapsed floors and pillars. But no matter where he aimed, the rubble was far too congealed to break a path through.

“Damn…” Blitzer growled. “We’ve got no time! Nothing works!” he said, embers rolling off his tongue after several attempts to melt the stone. His efforts were equally fruitless. “What are we going to do?”

The Dewott breathed in deep. ‘No choice…’ “Listen, Blitzer? Please. I know this is not going to be easy, but we have to get out of here, we just have to! No choice but to split up!”

An iron pipe fell from above, and bounced off the rubble; Blitzer fell prone onto the floor, covering his head with his claws as the pipe flew over his head.

“What? George, no, you can’t be serious! We’ll be picked off like berries!”

“Yes, but we’ve got no other choice,” George panted, head going back and forth between the rubble and the way out. One choice, yet it was so difficult. “Listen! Just get out here, we’ll meet up as soon as we can! Just stay alive!”

All the while, on Blitzer’s side of the pile, the Charmeleon watched as a blackened Victreebel entered the corridor, its thorny whips puncturing the walls as it pulled itself inside. Eyes locked soon after, and the Victreebel sounded as if were choking as its eyes turned purple.

“N-No time! I’ve gotta get out!”

“Understood!” George took off running. “We’ll see each other soon! Just get out!”

To think he’d abandon his friend like this. Even with no choice, George felt a pain in his heart, leaving Blitzer to fend for himself. They’d been at it together for so long, it was inconceivable for it to end like this. But the choice made itself, without either of their say.

‘Just go… I’ll see him again when I’m outta here, just need to go. Just need to go… run away. And we’ll see…’

All by himself, George rushed out the door, and ran towards the park they’d stormed the keep from. The streets were ablaze, devoid of civilians and rich in broken wires. Bits of bundled metal were strewn across the place, alongside massive splinters and broken stones, destroyed stands and scorched plants, personal possessions from people’s homes thrown around like garbage. Up above, roofs had burnt away, and thick plumes of smoke poured out the windows.

‘Such a great victory has been won, huh… absolute scum of the earth. This is who I was helping all this time? These animals? Even animals don’t do this! Thugs do!’

A chill crept up George’s spine; Something descended upon him from behind. He leapt aside, just in time for two massive talons to scrape past his fur, courtesy of a shadowy Swellow with a ravenous glint in their eyes. Purple or not, the feelings were clear as ever; George could tell he was on the menu.

“Not today,” he growled, unsheathing a scalchop, readying himself as the Swellow swooped at him once more. He parried the talons, the scalchop almost knocked out of his hand. This wasn’t the time to get into a fight; reinforcements were seconds away. Breathing in deep, George’s eyes went to the floor. Huge splinters lay at his feet.

‘Jackpot.’

Without thinking about it, he yanked on the splinters with his telekinesis, then sent them flying at the Swellow. The bird was struck in the chest, the blue cutting through the black like buckshot. Swellow screeched out in pain, then fell towards the floor, losing the Anomaly-like washout in the process.

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George breathed in deep, the psychic blue pulsating in his eyes. Alas, reinforcements had been alerted, and they arrived like wildfire. A Braviary with a thick neck and a frail-looking Noivern were first on the scene, and they whipped up winds strong enough to knock a tree over.

He first fired a beam of ice at the two, then pelted them with a barrage of broken wires. The result was far from decisive; both were left standing as he fled , leaving the two winged Pokemon scrambling after him.

“Stop right there! This is for your own good!”

“He’s here! HERE! The Othersider is trying to get away!!”

George gritted his teeth as he ran between alleys and streets. ‘Some friends I’ve made, huh… knew it was too good to be true.’

* * *

Leaves withering on its vines, Victreebel stalked Blitzer as he ran for his life. The shadowy Pokemon pulled itself through the castle in pursuit of Blitzer, producing sounds no Pokemon had ever heard, let alone wanted to hear. It sounded as if they were choking on their own blood, photosynthesis be damned.

Blitzer rushed through the halls of the keep, passing every sideroom without a second thought. He needed not hide. He only needed to get the hell out of here. All the while, Victreebel’s vines nipped at his heels. He spat loogies of flaming saliva at the floor, setting the carpet on fire. It wasn’t a defence, but what options did he have? No George, no chance.

‘Just need to get out of here! Lose him somehow! Think, Blitzer, think…’

As he turned another corner, one of the side doors slammed into the wall. A rocky hand grabbed onto the frame, shedding salt crystals in the process. Blitzer hopped over as they landed. This wasn’t a fight he’d win.

One look over his shoulder revealed a Garganacl pulling its legs into the corridor, before joining Victreebel in the pursuit. Just like Artanouk, a black glow had snuffed out the light from the rockling’s body, the purple eyes and the old black scarf sticking out like knives.

And so the situation deteriorated further, for other doors burst open, the Anomalied Pokemon behind joining forces in pursuit of Blitzer, some out for blood, some taunting him.

“Come, come! It’s the moment we’ve all worked for. You know what’s best for you~”

Blitzer growled; the ringing in his ears and the aching in his legs kept him going, if only out of spite. “Know what’s best for me? You don’t even know what’s best for yourselves!” he snarled out, the fear and frustration teeming in his voice.

“Aww, isn’t he adorable?” one of the voices behind said, much to the amusement of the others in the pursuit. Blitzer bit his tongue and kept going, setting the carpet on fire and knocking a vase over by accident as he ran past. It didn’t matter.

‘Wish I could just… ngh! Wish I could turn around and tear their FACES off! I trusted these people! I trusted them!!’

Pain behind his eyes, Blitzer reached a door whose edges were wet. A few browned leaves littered the carpet. He gritted his teeth, then threw it open. The cold air struck him straight on. Without a moment’s hesitation, he rushed outside. Greeting him was a wide street, littered with frayed bits of wire and Pokemon bodies.

And that wasn’t all greeting him. Someone called out to him… from behind.

“OI! KID! Get back ‘ere! ”

Blitzer’s blood ran cold. “S-Skal?” he whispered, as he looked over his shoulder. And in that split second, doom washed over him upon seeing the Aggron in a black cloud.

“HAHAHA! Ya better get back ‘ere! I’ve wanted to celebrate it all with ya!”

The sheer hatred in those eyes shook him to the core. Just like all the other Alliancemen that now chased after him, Skal showed no mercy in his chase. He shoved the others out of the way, he smashed through the door as Blitzer ran into the alley, stomped his legs to crush Blitzer with the very cobblestones he walked on.

“ARTANOUK AIN’T GIVIN’ YA ANOTHER OUT, KID! C’MERE!”

The Aggron’s roars echoed through the city streets. Blitzer just ran. He just had to run. Through alleys, streets, anywhere. Even the hole leading into the sewer in an alleyway. He had just turned the corner, and the alley was short. No one had turned the corner yet.

He leapt inside, shadows hiding him as dark clouds pulled overhead…

* * *

Skal’s roars reached George’s ears before long, and the Dewott’s eyes widened. That growly voice in all its boisterous glory, with a sadistic touch behind it all. George knew.

‘Even him…’

He’d been fighting his way through the streets, ducking and dodging past Alliancemen as he ran for the walls. Whichever came afterwards, he didn’t know. Survival instincts had kicked in, and escaping past the walls was his best shot.

Sadly, it was a long shot. The vast amount of roadblocks and Alliancemen made it a literal hell. Dead ends left and right, most of which he spotted in time… until he did not.

He had run into a street blocked off by barricades on the other end. From a distance, it looked possible to climb over, but to no avail. Neither water nor telekinesis worked their magic, the wood too stubborn to budge. No alternative existed. Nowhere to place his feet, no alley to cut through. Just a wall of wood, stone, and live wires.

“Halt.”

Destiny had come. George turned around, and found himself surrounded by three Pokemon. One was a Scrafty, another a Mienshao, and in between them stood a Gardevoir. One who George could match to the voice telling him to stop.

‘Terez… you too.’

He gave his mentor a stern look, one hand on the Azure Flute, the other inching towards a scalchop. All Terez did in response was wink, and let the other two shadowy Pokemon do the talking for her. Somehow, the black glow hadn’t covered her body yet. And the two Pokemon with her didn’t seem to notice.

“Time to give in, human boy,” the Scrafty said, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. “Can’t deny you did good work. But we don’t need you anymore.”

George stomped a foot. “Over my dead body…”

Scrafty scoffed. “So be it, then-”

The dark Pokemon sparsely could blink before lunar energy struck the back of his neck, and he keeled over like a broken chair. Mienshao was taken aback by the explosion of colours.

“What are you-”

Mienshao fell silent. It sounded as if her neck had been squeezed, and she couldn’t so much as choke out another word. A grey hand materialised around her neck, a mass of ectoplasm emerging behind her not long after, floating shoulder to shoulder with Terez as he let go.

“What a mess.”

Hovering over what remained of Scrafty and Mienshao was a Dusknoir, dusting off his arms. “Not the best way to introduce ourselves, no?”

George reached for his scalchops, yet held off the moment his fingers touched them. “Terez? What is happening here? Why is he here?” he said, backing himself against the barricades. He kept his eyes trained on the Dusknoir, whose victim grew cold on the street, the black glow draining from their bodies.

Terez sighed, and got to work shoving the barricades out of the way. “It’s a long story. But rest be assured. I promised I’d get you out of here, remember?”

“You didn’t say that old bastard would be with you...” George steeled his frown, which remained trained on the Dusknoir; all he got in return was a dismissive wave.

“Be honest with yourself, George.” Hein shook his antenna much like one would shake their head, a ripple passing through his body. “I know exactly what you are thinking. You think I came here to kill you, like the Alliancemen you’ve been mingling with. But think.”

George gritted his teeth, his tail smacking against the ground. “You’re not making me confident,” he growled, as Terez shoved the barricades aside.

Hein tilted his head back, the yellow bands on his arms glowing. “Don’t you think I’ve had multiple chances to do anything earlier?” he asked. Blackwinged Pokemon circled overhead. George’s eyes narrowed, and he spun around.

“Fair enough,” he said. ‘For now. Better not be hiding anything from me… not that I can force anything out of him now, egh…’

“Stop arguing,” Terez said. “We’re getting out of here. Fast. Sorry for how abrupt this is, George, but we’ve got no time. Look above.”

One glance at the hungry birds above, and the expanding purple void told the whole story. Luminity had exchanged one master for another, and to stick around would be suicide.

George swallowed his nerves, and choked on his pride. “We need to find Blitzer.”

Terez shook her head. The shame beamed off her face. “It’s too late for us to-”

“NO!” The Dewott shouted. “I promised I’d get him out of here!”

Shrieking came from the skies, as the circling birds opened their attack with spread talons. George looked up, and tried channelling water to respond. By the time he could, it was too late; Hein stuck two fingers into the air, shadowy bolts firing out of the tips and striking his targets dead on. With a light zigzag, they pierced straight through the enemy, and they fell.

“Rest be assured we don’t work alone,” Hein said. “One of our companions is taking care of Blitzer. She will make sure he gets out of here. Don’t be concerned.”

George was left with a sinking feeling in his chest. Did he trust Hein? No. Did Terez reassure him otherwise? Not really. Did he have any better options but to follow them, the only two Pokemon who hadn’t been turned into anomalies? Not in a million years. And with further Alliancemen running into the street, figuring it out wasn’t an option.

“Quick,” Terez said, conjuring up illusions of broken buildings falling into the street. “While there’s still time. Hein, the wall.”

“Of course,” the Dusknoir deadpanned.

* * *

For a brief moment, the pain of hitting the ground after a fall numbed Blitzer’s senses to his environment. It didn’t last for long, though. The pungent smell of the sewers punched him square in the nostrils, and he was left scrambling to get up, and get out.

“Mrph!” ‘Stinks…’

Pain taking a hold on his spine, the Charmeleon limped his way through the sewers. Dark and damp with a noxious odour, yet not a single cobweb to be seen, Blitzer found himself in an underground labyrinth. He used his torch as a guiding light, looking for a way out of this mess. But his pursuers weren’t far behind. Their voices echoed in the pipes as they lowered himself down, drowning out the sound of Blitzer’s footfalls.

Turn after turn, nothing led anywhere. There were deadends, false leads, all kinds of misfortunate down here beyond the terrible smell. By some luck, he found a thin tunnel that read ‘To Outer Site and Power Plant’, which he went down. Alas, the chatter wasn’t far behind. And as luck would have it, iron bars blocked off the pipe.

‘Crap… this can’t be happening…’ he thought, grimacing as he spun around. He was going to have to fight his way out of here…

…only to find himself yanked backwards, right through the bars. He growled out in surprise as he fell back on his rear, seeing nothing but a black void on the other side. A smoky smell crept into his nostrils.

“What the?”

“Where did he go?! He ran in here!”

“Egh, I can’t see anything! It was a trap!”

“Damn!”

The voices stomped away, leaving a bewildered Blitzer behind . For he might have escaped the Alliancemen - or what was left of the Alliance - for now, but if they hadn’t been the ones who shoved him through the iron bars, then who did?

He flopped around, trying to keep the smoke out of his nostrils, only to find himself face to face with a black imp, whose head bubbled as if on fire.

“‘Ey. Been looking for you-”

“Marshadow?!” Blitzer stammered out, his claws anxiously clicking on the stone.

The imp pinched herself between the eyes, and pulled a sour face despite being unable to smell. “Leave the silliness for later, dumbo. Ain’t the time to get all surprised over things. Thought you had enough surprises already.”

The Charmeleon tittered. “S-sorry, what are you doing here-”

Marshadow snapped her fingers. “Told you already. I’m here to make sure you ain’t about to get bounced around like a knockball. Name’s Sisu, by the way.”

Blitzer blinked. “Sisu?” ‘Why does it feel like I heard that name before…?’ “Err, my name’s Blitzer, and-”

The ground suddenly shook hard, with force strong enough to break the stones lining the sewer walls. As if someone was pounding the world with a massive battering ram.

Sisu threw her fists up.“Look. We gotta get out of here ASAP. Doesn’t matter if you got any objections to that, we’re not livin’ for much longer around here.”

Blitzer didn’t want to believe it. He attempted to bury the thought as deep within his mind as possible, all while looking at the ceiling for the source of the quakes. It had to have come from above. “My friend is still out there. We promised to-”

“Forget it,” Sisu said. “Got some pals lookin’ for him, I’ll say that much. But can’t promise they’ll get out. C’mon, let’s go-”

A second, far stronger quake struck the area. The stones in the ceiling cracked, and before Blitzer could so much as break out of his grimace, or bite his way through the pain, his claw was grabbed

“C’mon! Fast! I know the way outta here, let’s go!”

The Marshadow yanked him along, and Blitzer followed regardless of whether it was the right thing to do. And with every step and breath he took, and with every little aftershock that struck his surroundings, there was but a single thought that silently screamed in his head.

‘George…!!!’

* * *

By some miracle, Terez, Hein and George managed to break out of the city First Hein managed to phase them all through the outer wall, then Terez floated them across the battlescarred countryside, then George used a makeshift wooden raft to cross over a flooded field. They went south, facing off attacks from black-essenced Pokemon with no respite. Every attack was a battle to the death it seemed, and no matter how often the Alliancemen were struck down, they kept on returning. Soldiers they were not.

By the time they reached a hill in the late afternoon, nothing had changed. Seeing the plains between Luminity and the south in its drenched state, populated by nothing but former allies affected by the same corruption that had affected Artanouk struck George deep. They resembled Anomalies, shambling away like mindless beasts. Except they weren’t mindless. Just… turned. Showing their true colours.

And he had left Blitzer among them.

“George?”

Terez called out to him. He didn’t look back.

“This… You know what all this is, don’t you. You know why this is happening.”

“Yes… we do,” Terez said, Hein turning his eye away. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have predicted this. We tried to prevent it, but we failed. We’ll… we’ll tell you more when we get into safer territory. But we have a long way to go.”

George sighed, and looked towards his feet. “Blitzer…” he muttered, a tear sliding out of one of his eyes.

Two hands touched his shoulders; one the same size, the other large enough to dwarf his back.

“You’ll see him again. We promise,” Terez said.

“This has been a long war,” Hein muttered. “One I have fought and suffered through for a long time. They will not lay a finger on that friend of yours. If they did…” he said, his voice taking on a sinister tone.

Whatever was said next, George spaced out for the duration of it. One look at the sky dispelled any promises made.

For when the black tendrils had broken through Mount Stalwart, and the blue skies were drowned out in a purplish vapour, it was clear that a very different age had dawned upon Eravate.

One George wished he could wake up from.