Daniel Bryan

OOC: Are you all ready? Forgive the long wait, but some problems came up, but it's all done now. So, without further ado, allow me to personally welcome you to the finale of the Sombra battle. IC – Hoenn Void Tower: The Void Tower reached out with several dark tendrils, trying to strike down its attackers, but the damage was done. As all present could see, there was a large gaping hole in the center of the eye, as the Tower itself began to crumble and fall to the ground, dark energy escaping into the wind as Sombra’s power from this tower was beginning to go up in smoke. The Tower let out a low roar as it collapsed, vanishing into nothing as the darkness covering the region slowly began to let up. The Void Tower had fallen once more. IC – Darkrai: Sombra raised his hand, Four’s eye glowing brightly as he began to gather energy, ready to unleash a Roar of Time with enough force to destroy the ruins and everything with it, as he drew in all of the energy he could from the Void Towers. With the attacks drawing in close, he prepared to unleash all of his power… Only to freeze in his tracks as he felt a severe amount of power drain away instantly, signalling the destruction of the Hoenn Tower. Unable to comprehend what was happening, Sombra’s attack failed to launch, as the Alpha Darkrai was left at the mercy of the barrage of attacks. Weakened and in shock from the loss of power, Sombra was tossed around, locked in a cycle of pain, the newly energized unity causing more damage than Sombra was able to comprehend. Thrust aside, Sombra struck a wall, where he began to move erratically, before letting loose a roar of pain as Seven and Three were forced from his body, landing motionless on the ground, as Sombra hovered back into the air, coughing, the portions of his body where Seven and Three’s faces had been now taking the shape of pure darkness, as a strange evil mist now filled the air. “Heh... Heh...” Sombra gasped between breaths, as he raised his head, staring at all of the gathered trainers and Pokemon, his eyes shining a bright blue. “Well, I must say, I am very impressed by your power...” The Darkrai spread his ‘wings’ as Two’s eyes began to glow brightly as well, dark particles floating into the air from the ground, as the room began to tremble. With that, the very room itself reached out, wrapping all within it in a blanket of shadows. As the darkness subsided, it left its captives to fall to the ground. Each fell to the ground, unconscious, and trapped in a nightmare, all trapped in a deep slumber. “But impressions can only last so long!” Sombra laughed, as the darkness began to once more consume the bodies of those who have fallen before him. The laughter of the Alpha Darkrai was short-lived as he saw three lights shine from the bodies, as he heard the roars of the Creation Trio. Sombra’s sense of victory quickly turned to frustration as he saw Klim, Evan and Seth rise up, each shining the colours of their respective dragon. “Everybody ready?” Klim asked, as Moriarty emerged from the floor, his eye shining brightly as he rose up behind his trainer, the Dusknoir crossing his arms in anticipation of the fight that was about to come. “You better believe it!” Evan announced loudly, striking a dynamic pose, as a pillar of earth rose from the ground, flames spreading out in a star, Gnip standing tall as she bellowed a challenge at the Alpha Darkrai. “Well then... it’s showdown time!” Seth called out, as Volt appeared in a burst of electricity, the Luxray roaring at the living nightmare that hovered before them. “Well, well, well, what pests you are. Still awake, huh? Ooohh, can't say I like that,” Sombra spat as he let loose a Spacial Rend at Klim. “So why don't you just give up, you know, surrender? “ Stepping forward, Moriarty took the hit, but quickly retaliated with a Shadow Punch followed up by a Brick Break directly to the stomach of Sombra. “It's over, it’s over, and you were always bound to fall!” Klim exclaimed as Sombra was tossed backwards by the punches. “It's over. You’re finished here. You’re about to lose it all! “ Sombra growled with rage as he regained his composure. “They mock me. They fight me. How could this be real?” Sombra muttered to himself, rage building up within his body. “They think that I am worried, but that’s not what I feel!” Rushing forward, Sombra’s wings covered his body, as he crashed into Moriarty, delivering Payback for the damage he had sustained, sending the Dusknoir crashing into a wall. Chuckling, Sombra dipped into the dark shadows, before emerging, alongside multiple copies of himself. “What's this? A trick? I'm not impressed. You're bad and now there’s more,” Klim said, sending a burst of energy to rejuvenate Moriarty, who quickly moved forward, using Fire Punch to try to eliminate several of the clones. “It makes it all the more worthwhile to see you hit the floor!” “Talk, talk, talk, but I'll tell you, this shadow’s going nowhere,” the Sombra’s said in unison, their eyes glowing brightly as they seemed to dance in unison, launching a volley of Shadow Balls towards the ghostly Cyclops. “If I were you, I'd take a hike. There's danger in the air!” At that moment, the Shadow Balls all connected, as Moriarty fell to the ground. “I guess it’s my turn now!” Evan chimed in, striking a pose as Gnip leapt forwards. “Well, aren’t we confident?” Sombra snickered. “Well I'm feeling angry, and there's plenty left to do,” Evan proclaimed with a smile. Gnip leapt forwards, slamming her feet upon the ground as she roared, letting loose with an Earthquake which brought down parts of ruins which struck the clones, finally bringing the total number of Sombras back down to one. “I've fought your most unwelcome help, and now I'm after you!” Sombra himself dodged the attack, but was caught off-guard as Gnip used the momentum of the Earthquake to propel herself into a Dragon Claw. “Even if you catch me, you could never do me in! I'm fought the gods, and I’m just as strong. Which means I'm gonna win!” Recovering, Sombra puffed out his chest, launching a Blizzard from Eight’s face, which struck the Garchomp head-on, sending her flying towards Evan. “Showtime, Seth!” Evan called out, as Gnip crashed into her trainer. Seth nodded as Volt emerged, growling in defiance. “It's over. You’re finished. You'll never have your way,” Seth exclaimed, as Volt leaped forward, mouth crackling with elemental powers, before delivering an Ice Fang to the nightmare. As Sombra reached to throw the Luxray off; Volt reacted quickly by latching on to Sombra’s hand with a Fire Fang. “You? The king of everything? That'll be the day!” “How feeble! How childish! Is that the best you got?” Sombra laughed deeply, before letting loose a barrage of Dark Pulses, which quickly and easily sent Volt crashing downwards. “You think that you're a hero, Seth. But I think you are not!” Sombra began charging up a Roar of Time, the ground shaking as he did so. “Whoooah!” The Alpha Darkrai roared, knocking each of the Heroes off of their feet, bringing them to their knees before Sombra. “Now it's time for you to see what it really means to scare!” Sombra roared in triumph, drawing in energy from the shadows. “You see, I'm the Alpha Darkrai, kid. Although I don't play fair; It's much more fun, I must confess, when lives are on the line. Not mine of course, but yours my friends, now that'd be just fine!” Laughing in triumph, Sombra’s arms glowed as he prepared a Spacial Rend, ready to eliminate his opponents... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IC – Sinnoh Void Tower: The monster reared back in pain, as it felt its very essence being torn at. Instinctively, it drew its own energy from the tower to try to sustain itself. The entire room shook, as the creature lost its balance, before freezing in its tracks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sombra froze in his tracks, feeling the pain of the Void Tower creature, as well as it drawing away some very crucial energy, rendering him unable to continue on out of shock of losing energy. Too connected was he with the Void Towers that he failed to realize what was happening before him, as the three Heroes took a page out of Evan’s book. “Evan, Klim, now!” Seth signalled, as they quickly poured their power into their Pokemon, rejuvenating their fallen allies. With Sombra now exhausted, the three Pokemon rose up, staring down their foe, each of them now infused with the same powers as their trainers. Volt moved first, glowing blue as he moved with amazing speed, slowing down time for those around him, as he charged up a powerful Wild Charge, striking Sombra directly in the chest. Moriarty was next, phasing out of reality itself, until finally emerging beneath the Alpha Darkrai, striking upwards with a Brick Break, which caused Sombra to spin out of control, grunting in pain. Finally, Gnip let out a mighty roar as she began to glow red, charging straight forwards at Sombra, before she suddenly vanished into a portal. As Sombra twisted and turned, trying to locate the Garchomp, Gnip reappeared directly in front of him, following through as she sliced him, her rage showing through. Falling to the ground, Sombra landed with a thud, motionless once more. “Get up,” Evan growled, the fire in his eyes burning brightly, as he slowly struck a dynamic pose. “We all know that it’s not over.” Gnip roared at the fallen Darkrai, shaking the very ground itself, the Garchomp bracing herself for the worst, despite being extremely exhausted. “How perceptive,” Sombra laughed weakly, rising back into the air, as if he was being raised like a puppet upon strings. “You fail to realize just the position that you are actually in.” Extending his arms around him, the Darkrai chuckled weakly. “You see, the entire time that we have been fighting, we have been fighting inside of a Void Tower being born! The Dark Void is spreading, slowly draining the energy of everyone around, given enough time, I can restart my conquest, with enough power to do so! While you three grow weaker, I can only get more powerful!” “He’s right…” Klim muttered, as Moriarty hovered over to help the Hero of Reverse to his feet. “He only gets stronger as this goes on, so we need to end this before he can reach full power.” Klim glanced over, inspecting the states of everyone else, noticing that even the other Ancient Darkrai were now trapped in a slumber. Their lives were now in the hands of the three heroes, as they stared down their true enemy. “So, here we are once more, Darkrai,” Seth stated, as he looked into the eyes of Sombra, his mist-like form hovering in place. “Except now we wait, to see who makes the first move.” Seth, to the surprise of Klim and Evan, merely put his hands behind his head, as he relaxed, taking his time to do any action, while Volt curled on the ground, the Luxray never taking his eyes off of Sombra. “Indeed,” Sombra sarcastically admitted, himself hovering quite casually. “Any single movement could decide upon the result of this battle. Let us take a moment to rest and regain our breath before we resume combat, shall we?” “How can you be so relaxed at a time like this?” Evan exclaimed, slightly losing his cool and patience with Seth. Seth merely snickered and walked around, taking care to step over the bodies of those who were trapped in their nightmares. “I refuse to let my guard down for something like that!” Klim responded by placing his hand upon Evan’s shoulders. “Evan, I don’t fully understand it myself, but I can sense that these two are actually at the top of their guard. Isn’t that right, Sombra?” Klim asked sternly. The nightmarish creature responded by nodding, smiling disturbingly. “Yet again! Your perception truly impresses. Truly you are the greatest of the heroes,” Sombra replied. “While most would let their guard down at this point, it is the time you must keep it up the most, as you never know who is more exhausted than you are. As well, it gives you the time to actually sit down with your foe and converse, as you normally wouldn’t.” Silently, Seth walked over to each of the people who had chosen to come with them, placing his hand upon their heads in a systematic order, while Evan and Klim distracted Sombra, all three of them blissfully unaware of what Seth was getting up to. The stand-off was a perfect opportunity for both sides to get some sort of lull in combat before what was sure to be the final struggle. Sombra eyed Seth with curiosity, as Seth made his way back to rejoin with his two friends. “It’s time,” Seth stated, not just to his companions, but to Sombra as well, as the Darkrai straightened his posture, ready for battle. “All of us together now!” Evan exclaimed, as he, Klim and Seth moved forward, their eyes glowing with the power within them… Sombra watched in slight shock as two of those lights were extinguished by strikes to the back of the head from the third light. With a thud, Evan and Klim fell to the ground, unconscious, as Gnip and Moriarty quickly moved to protect the bodies of their partners. Seth stared at them, a sorrowful expression in his eyes as he placed his hand to their heads, channeling his memories to them, revealing to them his true intentions, and the risks associated with it. With a reluctant nod, the two Pokemon stepped aside as Seth reached down to the two, placing his hands upon their chests, directly over their hearts, as he began to drain them of their powers, combining it with his own, and the power that he had retrieved from his sleeping allies. Arcane lines began to appear on the body of Seth, glowing blue, before glowing purple and finally gold before settling on a piercing bright white. “If you wish to borrow the power of your allies to give yourself power, Sombra… I’ll do the same to you,” Seth said quietly, the voices of past heroes speaking with him. A bright white light began to radiate from the Hero of Time as he faced down the Ultimate Nightmare. “In the honor of the heroes past… I swear upon their hearts that I will strike you down here and now. The nightmare is about to realize that in this dream… We are in control!” For the first time, Sombra hesitated in fear, as Seth stepped towards him. “You… Fool… You can’t stop me, no matter how much power you absorb from your so-called friends!” Sombra stuttered, setting forth dark energy in an attempt to overpower Seth’s light. The Hero merely stood his ground, as the darkness failed to affect him. A single smirk emerged over the face of Seth, as rage began to overtake the mind of Sombra. Firing off multiple Dark Pulses, the attacks struck Seth, yet he refused to back down, merely continuing to make his way forward. Shocked and confused, Sombra hovered backwards, gathering energy from the room, and drawing in all possible energy that he could from the other Void Tower in Sinnoh. “Very well… If that is the game you wish to play, then we shall see who remains standing when I destroy this entire area!” Raising his hand into the air, Sombra created a massive ball of darkness, preparing to unleash the most powerful Dark Pulse that he could. “Not even you can survive this attack!” Breaking from his form, Seth placed one foot back, bracing himself for what was about to come. Not even Seth was prepared for the force of the attack that Sombra launched, as Seth held out both hands, fighting with all of his might to keep the attack from reaching his friends. Even now, Seth could feel his hold over the attack slipping, along with his own power. ‘This is it.’ Seth closed his eyes. “You are all going to be destroyed!” ‘It’s not the end.’ ‘This is how it all ends.’ He felt the power beginning to slip, as the pain in his hands became much more apparent. “Your fates are all sealed!” ‘It’s far from over.’ ‘Shame, I had so much more that I wanted to do. So much more that needed to be done.’ Seth began to be absorbed into the attack, his entire body beginning to visibly peel away. “You could never defeat me alone!” ‘You’re not alone.’ ‘I never did get to test out the power that I thought I had…’ Seth’s form began to fade. “Nobody can help you now!” ‘We’re here with you.’ ‘And who might you be?’ Seth entered his mind as he began to lose his grip on reality. ‘We’re everyone. We’re the Heroes of the Past.’ A long line of people appeared in Seth’s mind, each of them grouped in three. Each seemed to glow the colour of their respective dragon except for one in each group, who glowed white. Finally, Seth saw the appearances of Evan and Klim, in addition to the appearances of those who fought against the Darkrai, including those present at the ruins, and those who were farther away, some of whom Seth did not recognize.. ‘And the Heroes of the Present.’ ‘How can you help me?’ ‘We’re here to support you. You’re the only one who can do this right now. You’re the only one who can fight further. You need to beat him. You can’t give up yet.’ ‘I can’t…’ Seth’s limbs began to fade ‘You can.’ ‘I can’t…’ Seth’s torso began to fade. ‘You must.’ ‘I can’t… give… up!’ As Seth’s face began to fade, his eyes suddenly burst open, as his form suddenly returned, with newfound power, as Seth began to push back the attack. Sombra looked in shock as his attack was being pushed back towards him. The bright light began to overtake the Dark Pulse, forcing it back to Sombra. “Impossible!” Refusing to be defeated, the Darkrai put more and more energy into the attack, becoming more mist-like in the process. Soon, the two forces reached a standstill, trapped by the force of the attack. “How did you manage to survive!?” “It was my will to fight on against the likes of you! It was my desire to see you wiped from this planet, and see you fall with your darkness!” Seth exclaimed, struggling with all of his might to keep himself from being overtaken again. However, Seth quickly realized that he was losing, as Sombra, true to his word, began to draw energy from the Void Tower, gaining the upper hand. “Your will is not enough, you can’t will yourself to a victory, only death! Now, perish!” Sombra exclaimed, putting all of his effort into the final push. Too focused was he on the attack, that he failed to notice Nine rise, having been able to force himself awake, partly thanks to his own ability to draw in nightmares, giving himself enough energy for one final attack. His hand glowing with a green flame, Ilios launched the ball at Sombra. “From me to you… Choke on it…” The attack struck Sombra directly in the side of the head, breaking his focus for a brief moment. That was all Seth needed. ‘NOW!’ With one mighty push, Seth forced the attack back into Sombra, forcing the Alpha monster to absorb all of the force of the attack, including Seth himself. “Impossible! No one person could defeat me!” Sombra roared in rage as his form began to fuse with that of Seth, creating a strange amalgation of Seth and Sombra, resembling that of Sombra’s previous herald. “That’s the thing, Sombra...” Seth said, as his light began to shine through that of Sombra’s darkness. He closed his eyes as he saw the faces of all that fought against the darkness, past and present. “I’m not just one person.” Sombra screamed in pain as he felt the light burst forth from within. A massive burst of darkness shot out into the sky, before it was torn apart by a beam of light which shone brightly throughout the dark skies, as the shadows that were created by the Ancient Darkrai began to dissipate, the massive and imposing Void Towers hanging over Sinnoh and Hoenn finally fading away to nothingness. Sombra himself screamed in pain as his form was consumed by the light, reaching out towards whatever, with nowhere to go. With that, Sombra and his corrupted minions were no more. The threat was finally ended. “I… did it…” Seth smiled as he felt himself fade away once more, giving a sorrowful look towards Volt, who watched in sadness, knowing all along what was to happen. Seth glanced over towards Nine and smiled, nodding as the Hero of Time finally faded, his flute falling to the ground, the only remaining sign that Seth was there. All over, people began to awaken from their slumber inflicted by the Darkrai. Five weakly rose, and glanced at Nine, who gave a nod that signalled that it was over. Five stared at the flute, and then at where Seth had just stood, a sorrowful expression. Five then saw Seven and Three lying unconscious, the two of them being fortunate enough to have been spared a horrible death with their other siblings. Five wrapped them in tendrils of darkness to contain them until judgment could be passed. Nevertheless, Daseos breathed a sigh of relief. The fighting was over, the darkness was subsiding. After what seemed like a lifetime, the threat was finally vanquished. Sombra was no more. ~Det

Just popping in here to say that I apologize profusely for the lack of activity, but I shall have you all know that I am currently typing up a MONSTER of a post, with which the fight will draw to a close. As a side issue, my laptop will be heading into the shop for repairs, as a result of a D key that hardly works. But I should be able to have it up fairly soon, depending on how things go. So, don't fret too much ^-^" ~Det

OOC: First off, I apologize profusely for my lack of activity. Been fairly occupied with other things, i.e. Anime North/laptop being on the fritz/my body system being on the fritz, as well as a case of writer's block, but now I have returned. IC - Sinnoh Void Tower: The creature roared as the Luxray latched onto its arm, tearing away at its essence. Shaking the lion Pokemon free, part of its being was torn, as the tower quickly moved to regenerate itself. Suddenly, it froze briefly, sensing Sombra far away draining it of energy for his own goals. The creature noticed the Rhyperior's Flash Cannon, aiming directly for its eye. Raising a shield of darkness over its core, the creature howled as the attack burst through part of it, forcing the monstrosity to begin the process of regeneration once again. It's eyes glowing bright white, it unleashed a row of pillars, aiming directly towards the invaders. All the while, it tried to fix itself from being exposed. IC - Sombra: The Ancient Darkrai laughed, as Seven's eyes began to glow once more, creating a shield around himself. "My, my! What happened to all of that fight that you just had not even a few moments ago?" Sombra chuckled. crossing his arms, before thrusting them back, as he let loose with a blizzard from Eight's face upon his chest. As the attack came forth, ready to freeze all present, it was suddenly cut off by a wall of falling rocks as Five moved forward to defend the group. "Insignificant whelp! Why must you and your brother choose to defy me!?" "We've realized that your actions are far from what you originally said that they were. They have not brought the unity and peace among Pokemon and Humans, as you once said they were. You became so corrupted by your power, that you've become the very thing that you originally sought to fight against!" Daseos growled. "Corrupted? No, I merely sought a more... permanent solution to squabbles. If the others had done their job right, there would be peace on this world!" "If you had won, there would be no world!" Seth roared back, having enough of Sombra's words. Sombra merely hovered in place, silent. "Look at yourself! Using your brothers and sisters as if they were pawns!" "You are all pawns! You've all just been mere players in my game! The Void Towers! The ascension of the human known as Shade! The temporal and spacial distortion he caused! It was me, Vicens! It was me all along! I planned everything leading up to this, just so that I could have the very Heroes chosen to destroy me, be the ones who would unleash my power upon the world!" Sombra bellowed throughout the room, his rage beginning to take hold of him as he used Nasty Plot to become stronger, his own blank eyes growing a bright blue. "I planned throughout time and space for this moment! I will not allow worms like you to ruin my plans as they are now!" With that, Sombra unleashed a Roar of Time from Eight's face in his chest that reverberated throughout the room, bringing everyone down to the floor. What the Alpha Darkrai failed to notice was that Daseos had once more dropped down rocks, which the Darkrai instinctively responded to by raising Protect once more. Turning in a rage, Sombra slammed into Daseos with a Giga Impact, sending Five crashing towards Kyle. The Darkrai weakly raised himself, turning to the young man. "He fights... in a pattern... he's limited... Now's your chance... hit him with... everything..." Daseos whispered, before collapsing to the ground. OOC: To make up for it, I will have you know, that we are in fact drawing towards a close. ~Det

IC – Sinnoh Void Tower: “Beeeeeeeeeeegooooooooooone…” A dark voice emanated from the Tower, as tendrils burst forth from the ground, wrapping around each other, as it became obvious what was happening before the eyes of everyone present, as a dark aura began to radiate from the eye of the tower. The tower was forming a body to fight for itself. As the tendrils snaked and slither up each other, like some strange twisted ritual, they clasped together, forming a solid figure. Massive and humanoid in shape, the creature was pitch-black, with a face that seemed to be covered in dark bandages of sorts. Upon its back was a mass of small twisted wings, while two long arms ended in massive claws. The being had no lower body, being connected to the room itself. “Faaaaaaaaaace meeee….” The sound emanated from the eye watching the room, as it closed, before appearing upon the chest of the creature, which reared its nightmarish head, before slamming down upon the ground, sending a shockwave towards those that would dare enter the tower. IC – Sombra: The Master Darkrai was struck by the multitude of attacks, being strangely tossed around to take the force of each blow. Any who could see the face of the nightmarish creature would only see an eerie calmness overtaking the monster’s face. As Three’s eye glowed, Calm Mind helped to raise his resistance to special attacks, while at the same time, boosting his own power, though the Alpha could still feel a strange pain, unnatural to him. As Sombra recovered, while appearing battered and bruised, merely drew in power from the darkness around him, adjusting his posture, a low laugh coming forth from him. However, to only the keenest of eyes, one would notice how something seemed strange about Sombra’s current state, almost becoming more mist-like than before. “That was a cute little display that you have put on for me, humans,” Sombra hissed, his voice betraying the damage he had been forced to withstand. “That actually hurt me, I shall have you know. Pain such as that is something I have not felt in a long time. Your unity works for you, see you not what you can accomplish as a team? But I shall have you know, that teamwork will mean nothing to me!” Raising his hand, Four’s eyes glowed with a bright purple energy as a sphere formed within the Darkrai’s claw. Swirling with pure darkness, the Dark Void rose up into the air, before bursting into multiple smaller orbs, aiming to put as many of the Pokemon present to sleep as it could. “Submit!” Sombra roared, as already Seth’s Kirlia and Klim’s Jaydes were struck by the spheres, instantly falling asleep, into a tormenting nightmare. ~Det

IC - Sombra: As Sombra was about to use the Spacial Rend, he suddenly cancelled the move, One's visage sending out a dark force as Sombra turned to face the Pokemon aiming towards him.. "How brave, you all attack me at once, thinking that's going to do any damage. Well then? Go on!" Sombra Taunted. Extending his arms outwards, he allowed the force of every attack to strike him, creating a burst of energy. When the dust cleared, Sombra still stood, visibly damaged, but not showing any sign of slowing down. "Perfect. Now let me try." From Sombra's back, Two's form emerged, his form almost winglike. "How about a little payback?!" With a flap of his 'wings', Sombra let loose a wave of energy, aimed towards Ryan's Pokemon, spreading out the damage in order to try to hit a wider area. ~Det

IC - Sombra: Sombra had no time to react, unable to throw up a Protect, meaning that the nightmarish Darkrai was forced to take the full force of the attack. Spinning backwards, Sombra crashed to the ground, clutching his face and unleashing a horrible sound, a scream made up of each of the absorbed Darkrai. As Sombra hovered briefly, a low chuckle emitted from the Alpha, raising his head to reveal his empty eyes, merely cracking his neck. Around the room, the darkness began to swirl and grow upwards, though what was happening was not obvious to those within it. "Please, sir, may I have another?" Sombra mocked, showing no sign of being injured as much as he made himself appear. "Ilios... How disappointing, how my right hand has fallen from my favor. We could have brought about utter peace, and yet here we are, with you siding with those who would choose to fight against us and our ideals, while I remain here, uniting our siblings for the cause we so strove for." Extending his legs, containing the eyes of Two, Sombra kicked towards his former ally, unleashing a Spacial Rend at Nine with his legs, aiming to try to further weaken the one he had analyzed as his single largest threat. "But as you can see, I no longer have a need for one such as you!" ~Det

IC - Sombra Battle: Seth growled, as he released Elegan from her Poke Ball. The Kirlia stared in shock at the monstrosity that hovered before her, but a calming pat from Seth brought her focus. “Magical Leaf!” Seth called out, as Kirlia let loose the leaves, aiming to add her own attack power to the united forces. Sombra laughed as the attacks came towards him, extending his arms in a welcoming motion. As the attacks all came closer to him. However, at the last second, he shield burst forth from Seven’s face, saving Sombra from the force of the attacks. “Is that the best that you have for me? How pathetic… What happened to the power that I faced earlier?” Sombra taunted, signalling with his hand once more. Bursting from the shadows, Five emerged at high speeds, aiming to deliver a Brick Break to his former master. Sombra simply turned, snickered, before fading into the blackness that was the walls of the room. Five gazed around in shock, frantically searching for where Sombra could have ended up, only to have his search come to a halt by Sombra bursting forth from the wall, delivering a Focus Punch with his right hand, which featured Four’s eye. ”Ugh!” Five exclaimed, as he was knocked down, while Sombra merely continued onwards, disappearing into the wall again. As everybody searched and braced themselves, Sombra appeared once more, this time beneath Jaydes, raising his other hand, featuring Three’s visage, from which an Icy Wind was launched. “You may now cease your incessant singing!” Sombra growled, aiming to take out the Ghost-type and put a stop to the Lucky Chant which had previously limited his power. ~Det

IC - Seth/Shade/Sombra: Stepping forward, Shade clutched his head, his face showing his tiredness and wear. His eyes gaunt and empty, due to the darkness within him leaving his body as a result of Sombra’s apparent defeat. “Damien, get back!” Seth called, having regained his composure, sensing that Damien’s intentions had As Damien opened his mouth to speak, his eyes suddenly widened as the remaning darkness within him was instantly sapped from his body, which brought the former Rocket Executive to his knees. Seth rushed over to catch the fallen man, a strange sadness surging through his body as he felt the heartbeat of Damien slowing down, until it reached a slow stop, stealing away from Damien and Seth their only chance to speak as normal. “A shameful thing, isn’t it, Seth?” asked a familiar dark voice. “How he was so tied to the darkness, that it was one of the only things keeping him alive.” Seth cradled Damien’s body tightly, for some reason now feeling a sense of family with his relative from the future. With rage seething through every ounce of his core, Seth raised his head, only to witness Sombra pick himself off of the ground, darkness radiating from his body as he hovered, his arms swinging from side to side. “You… You’re a monster!” Seth hissed, carrying Damien’s body back away, aided by Klim. “A monster you say?” Sombra growled, mockingly. “Allow me to show you what a monster really is!” As the Darkrai hovered in place, several dark tendrils burst from Sombra’s back, grabbing hold of each of his fallen comrades, lifting them from the ground, and drawing them in near, in addition, several of them gathered the 17 Elemental plates. “Brothers and sisters! Grant me your power so that I may quell this rebellion, and bring our kind to superiority once more!” With a mighty roar, darkness burst forth from Sombra’s back, clouding the entire room in a layer of darkness, blocking out all sources of light. Before the eyes of all present, the tendrils holding the fallen Darkrai and plates drew closer to Sombra, before absorbing those Darkrai into the essence of Sombra, a dark explosion knocking everyone onto their knees. As everyone gathered themselves, they bore witness to the monstrous being before them. “Welcome to the ultimate nightmare, humans!” Sombra laughed. (OOC: Forze Del Male from Kingdom Hearts, if you will.) The fusion had made Sombra grow in size, now nearly double the size of a normal Darkrai. Now, instead of resembling a single solid creature, Sombra now seemed as if he were made of darkness itself, almost fused to the room. Six extra sets of eyes littered his form, those of the absorbed Darkrai. His shoulders themselves were the faces of Seven and One, their ‘hair’ forming the plumes of Sombra’s shoulders. His claws sharper than ever, now with access to most of the power of his fallen allies, as well as being rejuvenated by the absorption of the plates, Sombra faced down those who dared oppose him. “Manda, go forth!” Seth called, sending his Milotic forwards. Paying no heed, Sombra let loose a Thunderbolt from his chest, from which Eight’s face was present. The blast knocked the massive Pokemon backwards easily, as Seth stared in shock at what had just transpired. Mockingly, he extended his hand in a motion signalling that the battle had only just begun. “Give it your best shot!” OOC: The epic foreshadowing (Get it?) has finally come to fruition, as Sombra has become superpowered, meaning this fight is going to be FAR from easy. :0 Think something along the lines of this old drawing. Not exactly what I have in mind now, but it gets the point across, really. I should make an updated one at some point... ~Det

IC - Darkrai: Arthes’s eyes widened as Sheik’s attacks cut through her Blizzard, but she managed to brace herself in time to survive the onslaught. As she readied a second Blizzard, the Eighth Darkrai suddenly found herself struck by Entei’s Lava Plume, sending the weakened Darkrai reeling forward, before she fell to the ground, finally defeated. Three, meanwhile, had found herself unable to dodge Entei’s Fire Fang this time, taking the attack to her arm, feeling the burning sensation surging through her body. Once the Darkrai had regained her composure, she sent a final blast of psionic energy directly at Entei, hoping the Psychic attack would do some damage as she too, fell to the ground. Sombra roared with rage, rising upwards, seeing his allies falling before him. “It’s far from over, I will not allow this to end yet!” Refusing to accept defeat, Sombra stood his ground, firing off a futile barrage of Dark Pulses, only to find them blocked by falling rocks, as Five used Rock Slide, shielding those fighting, while also bring down damage upon Sombra, now with nobody left to use as a shield. “Traitor! This is not the end!” Sombra growled in defiance. Even as he found himself unable to block any of the attacks coming at him, the combined forces of each attack finally bringing Sombra to the ground in a spectacular explosion of power. To the shock of nobody, Sombra still refused to fall, using Nasty Plot once again, further raising his strength as he channeled up a Roar of Time. “I am Sombra, master of Nightmares and Shadow! I am the ultimate Darkrai, I am all-powerful, I refuse to fall to the likes of you!” In his rage, Sombra had completely paid no heed to Ilios behind him, having been blinded by hate and defiance. Just as Sombra unleashed the Roar of Time, he was struck from behind by Ilios’s Dark Pulse, causing a second backfire, finally bring Sombra to the ground, motionless. As the dust settled, the darkness in the room began to subside, scattering back into the chamber walls, as the bodies of the defeated Darkrai lay about the room. Daseos flew down, inspecting the damage that has been done. “Strange… I never would have expected that Sombra be defeated that easily… I assume that it has to do with having been sealed, in addition to the absence of as many Void Towers as once littered this world.” ~Det

IC - Sombra: Sombra turned to see Landorus launch Four his way. "What?!" Sombra exclaimed as he was struck directly in the torso by the frozen Darkrai, disrupting the attack, and launching it skyward, before it fell back down, aimed directly at the Alpha Darkrai. "Impossible..." Sombra muttered to himself as he watched the attack fall back downwards. Before the attack could connect, however, One leaped in the way, taking the brunt force of the misguided Dark Pulse. Sombra watched in genuine shock as One fell to the ground, motionless. A further ignited fury sparked in Sombra’s eyes as he turned furiously in the direction of Landorus. “You… How dare you…” Sombra hissed, arms crackling with pure raw darkness as he narrowly dodged the Inferno from Jaeda, only to be struck from beneath by Daiga. Still, Sombra focused not on them, but kept his beeline directly towards Landorus, as the two powerful Legendaries collided. While it seemed that Landorus might actually manage to overpower Sombra, the tide quickly changed as Sombra drew power from the darkness and quickly gained the upper hand. With unprecedented power, Sombra seized Landorus by the tail, sending a burst of shadow energy through the Abundance Pokemon’s body, before tossing aside his foe, and sending forth a Shadow Ball, which sent Landorus crashing through a wall. Arthes briefly panicked at the sight of Raikou absorbing the energy from her Thunderbolt, but regained her composure in time for a counter, as she used Blizzard in an attempt to save herself from the oncoming attacks. ~Det

IC - Darkrai: “Am I truly wrong, human? You just admitted yourself that we in fact bring about unity among the inhabitants of this planet,” Sombra stated to Ray. “And should you, through some miracle, manage to defeat me, the rest of your species will merely continue their petty squabble which has done naught but cause destruction to this world. I am fully aware of what your so-called ‘Heroes’ did to Unova. Are these the kinds of people that you choose to follow into battle?” As Sombra spoke, he noticed Seven was suddenly the target, but before he could move to rescue his insane ally, he was caught off-guard by the assault from Ellen’s team, rendering him unable to protect Seven from taking the full force of all attacks. “Uh oh!” exclaimed Seven weakly, fading in and out of consciousness as he found himself unable to use Protect, leaving him wide open. Sombra watched in rage as one of his higher ranking members was felled by the combined attacks. A dark aura emanated from Sombra as the Darkrai began to use Nasty Plot once more, even further raising his power. “Child, you say you would never use your teammates as shields, yet you force your Pokemon to fight for you, and watch as they take the hits that are meant for you!” Sombra roared. “What makes you better than I?!” Seething with anger, seeing that already, Four and Seven had been taken out of the equation, with Three and Two currently under attack. Three quickly sidestepped the Fire Fang, before letting loose an ear-splitting Roar of Time at the Entei, the force causing her to tire out and force her to begin to play passively. Two, on the other hand, was not having a better time, as he could already feel his arm freezing solid from Rukia’s Ice Beam. With his other arm, his fist began to glow purple as he prepared to use Payback, but before Two could launch any form of retaliation, he was suddenly sent crashing into a wall as Daseos appeared, using a well-placed Brick Break to incapacitate his brother. “Careful, don’t underestimate any of my siblings. You’ve been lucky so far, and you’re going to start finding yourself losing your Pokemon if you’re not careful.” As Sombra growled with rage at seeing his brothers fall, he flew backwards, raising his hands into the air, crackling with energy as he prepared a second Dark Pulse barrage, this one, thanks to the two previously used Nasty Plots, going to do some major damage. “Try to escape this one, humans!” ~Det

OOC: For a battle theme, right now in mind I have A Fight to the Death from Kingdom Hearts II - Wait, why am I getting caught up in this? >.> IC - Sombra/Seth/Daseos: "I appreciate it," Seth said, rising to his feet. "As for how we go about it..." Glancing upwards, Seth noticed Nine incapacitating Four, which Sombra seemed to pay no heed to. "If he's going to be using the other Darkrai to fight his own battles... We should take out his method of attack." Seth winced, as he realized just how much pain his body was truly in. "We should also spread out our attacks more, otherwise he'll keep using Seven as a shield." Seth noticed Evan, still unable to properly form a mental link with him, therefore rendering him unable to strategize properly. ~~~~~~ Flying over, Daseos caught Ilios, helping his fellow Darkrai regain his balance. "Are you alright, brother?" Daseos asked. Glancing over towards Four's frozen body, an idea began to form in his head, as he glanced over towards Landorus. ~~~~~~ Sombra was hit by Sheik's Thunderbolt, causing the Alpha Darkrai to grunt. "Heh... The first actual hit I've taken in many years... Now, feel it returned!" With that, Sombra created a wall of shadows, from which Three emerged, letting loose with an Icy Wind aimed at the Raikou. Turning to face Ellen and Ryan, his aura began to go purple, as he began to use Nasty Plot. "Not suited for being a leader? My brothers follow me out of their own loyalty, because they believe in my purpose! You speak as if I am using them as puppets, but they fight for me out of their own free will!" Shadow energy crackled out of Sombra's arms as he prepared to launch twin Shadow Balls. "They choose to fight for the future that they believe in, what makes them different than you?!" With a mighty roar, Sombra sent the attacks forward, as they smashed through the ground, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. A sinister cackle emerged from one of the orbs as Seven's hand emerged, letting an Ice Beam run wild, while Eight's hand rose from the other, sending a Thunderbolt forward. "Your pathetic Legendaries choose to fight for a world which has done nothing but wrought chaos upon this planet! We fight for a world in which we will bring about a final peace!" ~Det

OOC: It's actually kind of funny, I got the name Daseos by just tossing the word Five into Google Translate. :3 Six was in fact a red herring, and trivia: My first choice actually wasn't going to be Five. >.> Well, now that I'm kinda done being sick, I apologize profusely, as we begin this battle once more. IC - Sombra: Each of the unleashed attacks ended up hitting, releasing an explosion of dust from the resulting combined attacks... The target hit simply wasn't exactly the one which was intended. As the smoke and dust cleared, it became obvious as to just what type of creature those present were dealing with. Sombra stood untouched, holding up Seven before him, having used the insane Darkrai as a shield, Seven being forced to use Protect to save his master. A dark laugh emerged from the Alpha Darkrai, as he tossed aside Seven like a sack of trash. "How cute that you feel that you can beat me like that," Sombra chuckled. With a quick turn, Sombra waved his hand, opening a portal of darkness, from which was launched Four, using Giga Impact, aimed directly at Ilios. "You of all people should know better than that, Ilios!" Turning his attention to the others, with a sinister glint in his eyes, he raised his hand into the air, as a dark orb began to form around his dark claw, crackling with a powerful energy. "As for the rest of you... Begone!" With those words uttered, Sombra unleashed a Dark Pulse, with multiple beams each heading in the direction of those present... "Everybody, dodge or block it!" Seth called out weakly. Rising to his feet, he was forced to use his powers over time to move, but the strain was too much for him in his current state, and he collapsed once more, only managing to recall his Lucario in time. ~Det

IC - Seth: "Look around you, Shade," Seth hissed, as their battle raged. Grasping Shade's fist, the Hero of Time tossed his foe over him, catching him in a headlock, trying to control the motion of Shade. The darkness-filled man struggled intensely. rolling around until he could break free, launching a blast of shadow into the eyes of Seth, blinding the young man. With a well-timed kick, Shade sent Seth reeling, before unleashing a flurry of punches, and sending his father to the ground with a blast of shadow to the chest, leaving the 'patriarchal' of the Vicens writhing in pain and gasping for air as he lay on the floor. "I look around me, and do you know what I see?" Shade asked. "I see a group of fools who challenge the might of reality itself. Sure, they may have brought down the Darkrai, but you see, it's too late. The portal is already opened, it can't be stopped, and you know exactly what it takes to stop it." Seth slowly struggled to his feet, before being kicked in the stomach, sending him reeling once again. "You see... We've already won. Sombra will arrive into this world once more, and nothing can be done to stop it!" Seth suddenly felt extra weight hit his chest as his own Lucario was tossed onto him by Ryo, the power of darkness having given it the strength to easily defeat his foe. "That may be so..." Seth coughed, rising to his feet. "But that doesn't mean that any of us will stop trying. We may all die here, the first victims of a pure monster, but there will always be others. As long as his threat looms, the power of the trio will find more Heroes to be born into. And they will rise up and defeat him! But until then, we will fight against Sombra, until our dying breath. And even then, I can assure you, Damien, that I will be present when the last of his essence finally fades away!" Shade grinned menacingly, extending his arms. "Imbecilic child, how can you afford to stand up to his might when you can hardly even defeat me? Let the might of my master strike down all of this pathetic world!" "Your heart was meant to be filled with light, not darkness, Damien..." Seth coughed, his eyes glowing a bright blue as he mentally scanned the past of Shade. "I can see that, now. When you first came back... It was corrupted, by Sombra himself. He turned you into this, a mere pawn in his game of chess with the world. And like a pawn, you expect to become a more powerful piece under his leadership, but you allow yourself to be controlled, merely another of his hosts, to be tossed aside. You were to fight him alongside us, not fight for him... You were supposed to understand the dark, not allow it to control you!" "I am not being controlled!" roared Shade, sending forth a tendril of darkness, a strange feeling stopping it directly over Seth's eye. Shade was taken aback. "I can sense it within you, Shade, you must resist!" "I... I can't! I WON'T!" Shade growled, his voice echoing with the wind, symbolizing his descent into the shadows. With a motion of his hand, Seth was knocked to his knees, tendrils of darkness holding him in place. Elsewhere in the ring, each of those who arrived to face the Darkrai suddenly found themselves bound as well, forced to gaze into the portal. "Now... You will all bear witness to the return of the most powerful being ever witnessed!" With a dark smile, Shade looked towards the darkness, seeing the distinctive green glow of the ninth Darkrai. "Now, Nine, do your part, and begin the end of the world!" ~Det

IC - Seth: Seth's Lucario managed to match blow for blow that of Shade's Ryo, the mirror match an amazing spectacle to behold, regarding their speed and skill. As the fight raged on, a tendril of darkness launched itself from Shade's own shadow, latching into the back of Ryo, corrupting it with Darkness and empowering it. "You underestimate my abilities, father," Shade growled. Seth's Lucario finally got close enough to Ryo, letting loose with a Force Palm... Only for Ryo to dissolve into the floor, reappearing directly underneath of it's opponent. A dark glint appeared in the of Shade's Lucario as it delivered it's own, darkness-empowered Force Palm to the chest of Seth's Lucario, sending it flying upwards. "And you overestimate yours!" Seth hissed, as Lucario quickly recovered, sending forth an Aura Sphere. As the sphere dashed towards Ryo, the attack suddenly swung around, narrowly missing the head of the dark Lucario. "Your aim is off, father." "It's far from off, and never call me that again!" Seth roared. Shade suddenly realized exactly what Seth's words meant as he realized that the Aura Sphere never intended to hit Ryo, instead traveling past and squarely hitting Shade in the chest. However, despite what it seemed like, Shade somehow caught the attack in a ball of shadows, quickly compressing it until it was no more. Taking advantage of the distraction, Seth ran across the battles, tackling his future 'son' to the ground. Staring into his eyes, Seth was taken aback, seeing just how corrupted Shade was becoming through his use of darkness. "You..." "Enough!" Shade proclaimed, kicking Seth off of him, before delivering a swift kick to the jaw of the one he calls his father. "Now, you are going to see just how powerful I have become!" ~Det

OOC: Let the games begin. IC - Seth: "I can sense them up ahead," Seth said, motioning to an ornate doorway, which time seemed to have ignored. "Ready or not, we're heading in." As the group entered, they discovered a massive chamber, covered in many different carvings and symbols. At the other end of the room, the Ancient Darkrai had gathered in a circle around a stone tablet. "Too late, humans," laughed Shade. "The ritual has already begun!" With the motion of his arm, the former Rocket Executive signaled for the Darkrai to begin the return of Sombra. With that, the gathered Darkrai let loose a terrifying sound, as time seemed to fluctuate, throwing off the sense of all present, primarily Seth, due to his connection with the element of time. The force was enough to bring the Hero to his knees, as he could only watch as a tear in time began to grow in the center of the room. The spatial distortion previously caused by the other nine Darkrai began to show as the room began to flow, the tear shaking and stretching. "We're missing only one other, who should be on his way relatively soon," stated Adam Sombra. "Even if he chooses not to be free, it does not matter, as the Master will be reborn regardless!" A dark aura began to emanate from the rift in dimensions as a dark cloud began to cover the floor. A sinister chill was sent down the spines of all present, even those of the Darkrai. "In the mean time..." Shade held out a Poke Ball, motioning towards Seth, as the man of darkness sent forth his Lucario, now also seemingly corrupted by the darkness of the Darkrai. "We have some unfinished business to attend to." "As do we," growled Arthes, scanning all of those present. "While we await the arrival of Master, we may as well prepare for him a sacrifice!" "Alright..." Seth growled between gasps, clutching his head, as he turned to his allies. "Choose your opponents, because it's time to get this battle started with! Let's see just how much damage we can do before the final Darkrai shows up!" Volt burst from his Poke Ball, as did his own Lucario, echoing the challenge of his future self. "Use your powers well, because this will not be easy at all!" OOC: Darkrai, Movesets, traits and those who have claimed them One - Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void, Taunt, Toxic, Swagger - Calm (Evan Tierra) Two - Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void, Payback, Dark Pulse - Rude (Ray and Summer) Three - Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void, Calm Mind, Icy Wind, Psychic - Intelligent Four - Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void, Giga Impact, Focus Punch, Swords Dance - Power-focused Five - Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void, Shadow Ball, Brick Break, Rock Slide - Quick-Witted (Klim Prizak) Six - Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void, Psychic, Focus Blast, Sleep Talk - Never speaks Seven - Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void, Shadow Ball, Ice Beam, Protect - Insane Eight/Arthes - Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void, Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt, Blizzard - Brutal (Kyle) ~Det

IC - Seth: The Hero of Time stood as the cold bit at his neck, staring into the abyss of the ancient ruins. "Everyone, be prepared. We're about to head in to the fight of our lives." Seth motioned for the others to follow him as he made his way inside to escape from the snow. "Don't let your guard down for anything," Seth said with a strange calmness in his voice. IC - Darkrai: Deep within the Sinjoh Ruins, the eight Darkrai gathered together, awaiting for the outsiders to traverse the ruins. Shade stood off to the side, eying the Darkrai. His face betrayed his tiredness, his visage having changed from being youthful and full of passion to being pale and visibly corrupted by the darkness. Adam Sombra paced around, examining the soon-to-be battleground. The Darkrai, on the other hand, had already begun to try to make up their mind as to which of the humans they should each battle. "I want the one of Space," One announced, claiming a rematch against Evan, in an attempt to finish the job she started in Hearthome. "What of the rest of you?" "Then I want the Hero of Reverse," Five said, lazily drifting about, watching with disdain as Seven almost seemed to be swimming through the air. Arthes rose up, the mighty Darkrai making her presence felt, and ready of announce her choice. "If you two are getting those Heroes, then it should be only fair that I get the Hero of-" "I get Vicens," Shade proclaimed, as the Eighth Darkra quickly dashed over, lifting the young man off of his feet, seething with rage at being interrupted. "How dare you-" "Silence, Arthes," Adam Sombra chimed in. Arthes glared at the phantom, before reluctantly dropping Shade, who landed upon his feet, a grin upon his face. "Mr. Vicens here has some family issues he wishes to resolve, can you blame him for wanting to see his 'father' one last time?" "Bah," Arthes spat. "Fine, I'll fight whoever is foolish enough to challenge my might. Either way, I'll see each of those who defy us in their death throes." Gliding over to the corner, Arthes began to mutter to herself. Six merely watched her sister silently, not speaking a single word, as usual. The rest of the Darkrai continued to chatter, IC: The Void Towers in Hoenn and Sinnoh ominously stood, a storm beginning to form overhead, rendering the skies even darker than normal, as a strange army of various Pokemon marched toward the towers, as if summoned by some mysterious force... OOC: And so, once everybody is ready, the battle will begin at last. ~Det

IC - Seth: Seth nodded at Evan. "Indeed. A long and ancient struggle is finally coming to a close..." Seth suddenly looked down at his feet. "You know what this means, right?" Evan nodded at Seth's words. "Once this is over, once the Darkrai are defeated, our quest will be done. And our powers..." Klim began. "We'll go back to normal. But it is a small price to pay for their defeat..." Seth finished. Gazing out the window, the Hero of Time could see that they were now flying over Johto. To the north, Seth could see Sinjoh Ruins, still in an untouched, ancient state, yet flooding with darkness, as Seth could see the beginnings of a Void Tower being formed.. "They're already here!" Seth slammed his fist, his rage towards the Darkrai. Grabbing a radio, Seth sent out a message to the other helicopters. "Everybody, get ready to land. We've arrived at Sinjoh Ruins, clear your minds, and get ready, because we are in for the fight of our lives." Getting to his feet, Seth opened the door as the helicopters began to descend. Looking down, he could see the figure of Shade down below, alongside the appearance of Adam Sombra, both of the shadow wielders watching in amusement as the strike team descended. A look of rage came across the face of Seth as he stared down, desperately wanting to leap down, but could only watch as they retreated back into the ruins, a blizzard covering their tracks. "Everybody ready? Things are about to get interesting." ~Det

OOC: Forgive my lack of posts. College preparation getting in the way. IC - Seth: The Hero of Time nodded at the new arrival. "Any help that we can end up receiving is more than welcome with us." With that said, Seth turned to the rest of the gathered agents, raising his hand to signal for their attention. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to head off to what may be one of the most important missions we have had as of yet, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. The Ancient Darkrai are about to unleash their leader, quite possibly one of the most powerful Pokemon known." Straightening his posture, Volt emerged from behind him, the mighty Luxray looking as if he had been hiding within the coat of Seth the entire time. "Our goal as a team is to make a direct assault upon Sinjoh Ruins in order to defeat these Legendary monsters. Our goal is not to immediately defeat them, but try to stave them off as best we can, while a second team consisting of Legendary Pokemon we have recruited and other forces heads off to Sinnoh and Hoenn to take down the Void Towers, which should manage to weaken the Darkrai to the point that they should be on our level." Rolling his knife between his fingers, the Hero of Time once more examined the faces of the gathered. A strange glint appeared within his eyes, as the smallest smirk came across his face, almost unnoticeable to most. "However, even with the destruction of the Void Towers, these Darkrai will still be far from pushovers. For many of you, this will be your most difficult challenge yet, and whether or not you survive depends on your bond with your Pokemon, the strength of heart that you carry within you, as well as your will to go on. Fear not, we are not alone, as I have been recently been discussing with an informant as to a secret weapon with which the Darkrai can be defeated..." Seth motioned to his fellow Heroes. "Even we, with the powers we have been given, and which these two have shared with you, are uncertain as to whether or not we will in fact succeed. Nevertheless, the world has seen days which have been just as dark. Some, in which the darkness has nearly all consumed this planet, and yet here we still stand, ready and willing to fight for what we believe in, and prepared to take the risks and sacrifices that will come with this battle." "You are all aware of the risks that you are all taking, correct?" Seth asked. He watched with pride as all present nodded. He closed his eyes, as Volt did the same, a smile coming across the face of the usually stoic Hero of Time. "Very well, my comrades. Let us head off to Sinjoh, where the Darkrai await, and allow us to put an end to this all-consuming darkness." IC - Darkrai: "The time is now," stated Adam Sombra, hovering over the ocean of Hoenn. The phantom's white hair flowed with the wind, almost seeming to blend into the air itself, as if it were mist. His black cloak made it seem as if he was wearing darkness itself, which, given his origins, wouldn't be far off from the truth. "Master has decided that now is the time for him to be released from his prison for good. Those are your orders. You are to now meet up with Shade at the Sinjoh Ruins. Others will be on their way there. Do not take them lightly." The phantom faded away into the wind, leaving the eight Darkrai to fly off towards Sinjoh Ruins, to prepare for the true return of their master. ~~~~ "The time is now... Ilios... Make your way to Sinjoh... He awaits..." The words of Adam Sombra echoed throughout the brand left upon the Ninth Darkrai. IC - ???: The creature beneath the earth crawled about it's prison, having now achieved some higher form of sentience, nevertheless, the madness within it still being channeled. "Your body submits to my whim... Your heart succumbs to my darkness... Yet why does your mind still resist my temptation?" The creature growled, as it let loose yet another scream. IC - Daseos: As the Darkrai flew alongside the others, throughout it's mind, it went over the many different possibilities as to how the upcoming battle will occur. It let loose a heavy sigh, knowing that there was no way that some casualities could be avoided. Nevertheless, it would need to be for the best. OOC: IT BEGINS ~Det

IC - Seth: "Indeed, I was," Seth said, walking out into the helipad. Examining everybody who was gathered, he made a mental note of everybody who was present. "Now... Is everybody who is willing to go on this mission currently present?" Seth crossed his arms, strangely acting quite confident and in control, as opposed to his usual passive and rebellious attitude. ~Det

IC - Seth: Seth entered into the training room, scanning across the various battling trainers until he spotted those who he was searching for. Walking up to the Sinnoh Gym Leaders, the Hero of Time straightened his back, a stern look on his face as he stood his ground, facing Fantina, Volkner and Byron. “So, you three have yet to take place in an official Team Liberty mission. How would you like to take place in quite possibly one of the most significant ones yet?” Seth stated, hands behind his back. “And what exactly did you have in mind?” asked Volkner, raising an eyebrow at Seth’s words. “You three will be joining me on a siege on Sinjoh Ruins, in addition to a select few others, in order to stop the return of the leader of the Ancient Darkrai, while we send a select group of Legendary Pokemon towards Sinnoh and Hoenn to take down the Void Towers, which should significantly weaken the Darkrai.” Seth stated. “Are there any questions?” Each of the Gym Leaders opened their mouth as if to say something, but it seemed to take almost forever for them to produce any sound. “No? Good.” With that, Seth turned his back, heading to exit the room. “Hey, kid.” Seth stopped, turning back towards Volkner, who was holding a Pokeball. “I’ve been hearing that you’ve been getting yourself into quite a bit of trouble, being a Hero of Time and all, and it’s been fairly boring around here. How about you show me a bit of your power?” Seth shook his head. “Sorry, I would, but unfortunately, I don’t quite have the time for it right now. But once all is said and done, I’ll be sure to give you that battle.” With that, Seth left the room, not speaking another word. ~Det

IC - Seth: The Hero of Time watched the training battles silently from a window in the Alamo. Seth sighed and shook his head at the fact that Evan and Klim had chosen to share their powers with those below. While he knew that sharing his own powers would greatly help in the coming battles, he had chosen to keep his powers within himself. He refused to allow any to enter into his mind and witness his own memories, something he himself had blocked off from even Evan and Klim. His past was his own, and the three Heroes were chosen to wield the power of the Dragons themselves, not to share them like candy amongst friends. With that, Seth set off to the training room. He needed to locate the Gym Leaders to brief them on what was going to go down, which he was on his way to do before he had become distracted by watching the fights down below. Still, it was interesting to realize that there was something that had changed about Evan. His connection didn't feel as strong as it used to, and Seth only seemed to have limited access to his mind. In a way, it somewhat worried him, but in another, it somewhat intrigued him as to how it happened, bringing him to the thought that it may have been the result of Evan's death and subsequent resurrection by Dialga. "We only get one..." Seth said to himself, realizing that with Dialga being in a weaker state than the other two Dragons may have limited how much the Temporal Pokemon can do. "I guess I gotta make this one count..." Seth began walking down the halls, making his way towards the training room, so he could begin to set things into motion. ~Det

IC - Seth: Seth rose to his feet. "Once we have the word out, and all volunteers gathered, we can brief them, and immediately set out for our respective tasks," Seth explained. "Plus, from what I have learned, we also have two secret weapons on our side. So, we have extra firepower which should give us a chance against the Darkrai." ~Det

IC - Seth: "Well," Seth replied, putting his feet up. As informal as he was acting, a very serious tone came from his words, with a very obvious respect towards his superiors emanating from him. "I came across information telling me two things of great use to us." Seth paused to let out a yawn. "The first being, that we know where they are going to be. They're going to head for the Sinjoh Ruins, where they intend to use the Elemental Plates in order to gain more power and unleash their master, quite possibly the most powerful Darkrai known. How they really plan to go about it, I have no idea." "Second of all, they are gathering energy from the Void Towers. So, if they something were to cause them to be taken down... Well, they would have nowhere to gain power from, and without the Towers being there to sustain their Dark Void, people would begin to wake up." Seth lowered his feet, and stood up, stretching. "So, the plan is simple. We have a group head out to take down the Void Towers, while we have a second team, lead by myself, as well as my accomplices Evan and Klim, which will head out to Sinjoh Ruins to take the Darkrai on ourselves." The Hero of Time reached into his back pocket, pulling out a hair band, and tied his hair back into a ponytail. "Preferably, the first group would be primarily Legendary Pokemon, as they would be able to travel faster between the regions. The second group would be on a voluntary basis, considering how dangerous this is actually going to be." Seth glanced at Evan. "I can sense that my friend here has a couple suggestions, so I'll hand over the reins to him right now." With that said, Seth fell back into his chair, putting his feet up and leaning back with his hands behind his head. ~Det

IC - Seth: A strange feeling filled Seth's body, the Hero of Time unable to determine exactly what it was. Nevertheless, he ignored it as he glanced around the room. He was still trying to comprehend exactly what had just happened. Seth glanced towards the television and saw the destruction caused by the battle between the dragons. He felt his insides sink as he watched the land get ravaged by the attacks. He was used to witnessing collateral damage and casualties in his time, but something about seeing this made him feel uneasy. Even still, his face merely showed signs of wear, not allowing anyone else to see how he felt. As he glanced around more, he noticed Klim was standing nearby. Seth's eye twitched. Even more confusion filled his mind as he tried to comprehend what he was witnessing. The last time he had seen Klim, he had watched Shade send him into another dimension. How he managed to escape was beyond him. But considering he had just watched his other best friend die and resurrect, he found himself able to deal with it. Despite how he felt on the inside, Seth kept his cool, as usual. ~Det