-Blessed by Divinity: Eternity-

No Control

"Hmph. Even Shadow Mewtwo has its flaws." Cyrus looked up from the field as he recalled the psychic pokemon, a serious look on his face. He paused before continuing, "This trial of strength, you passed with ease. He will be glad to see you come this far."

Dragonite was riddled with fatigue but I managed to keep her upright before she collapsed. I thanked her for the battle, recalling her to her pokeball so she could rest.

I looked across the war torn island, Cyrus standing at the other end expectantly. No words were needed as I crossed the field, a stern expression on my face.

"You said there was someone else. What are your true intentions Cyrus?"

He didn't reply at first, turning on his heels to face away from me as I walked to his side. "Four years ago, I pursued the renegade pokemon, chasing it through the endless void. But as I stood facing the legend, Dawn and Cynthia caused it to flee, allowing them to leave the Distortion World."

There was a momentary silence before Cyrus took a step forward, nearing the edge of the island. As he looked over the empty void, a small block of land appeared below the curb of the floating island. He didn't say anything, but I knew what he was doing.

"I was trapped, here, in this world for more years than I can remember. Time doesn't flow the same here and the concept of space does not exist. This world is only governed by one pokemon and he controlled it."

"This person you're talking about. Who is it?"

Cyrus shook his head as if to say he didn't want to answer the question. But his expression told me more. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer my question, it was that he couldn't. This person was a complete mystery but there was only one way for me to find out more.

"The world I desired to be created, without humans and pokemon alike, was this world. But the years I spent here made me realise it was a foolish idea to begin with."

Before Cyrus continued, another block of land appeared below the first. Then another floated out of the void, a winding staircase spiralling into the depths of the void forming at the edge of the island.

"As long as I returned to the overworld, I would be under his control, enacting what he wanted and needed for his return. The world above would be one with the Distortion World, allowing him to rule just as he was promised."

Slowly, Cyrus turned to me, looking at the bag on my shoulders. I already knew what he wanted, pulling out the book of mythical pokemon.

"All of those pokemon in that book are connected by something. Something that is beyond both human and pokemon understanding. Something that could grant anyone unimaginable strength and power..."

"Enough to end a war, even." I finished Cyrus' sentence, seeing where this was going. My mind was made up and there was only one way out of this world.

Without saying much, I turned to the spiral staircase. Cyrus wished me luck, fading into the void before I could react. Within a moment, I was all alone in the void, the blue haired man nowhere to be found.

I felt the six pokeballs around my waist twitch slightly, each of them reassuring me as I made my way down the endless staircase.

---

"Guys! Up here!"

I called out to the two girls below. They were making their way up the side of the mountain, the snowstorms had cleared up allowing them to catch up to me quickly. As May and Elaine looked up to where I was stood, a second wind fuelled them up the cliffside, joining me in less than three minutes.

"Woah, it looks like you had a good time up here Dawn."

May's characteristic smile warmed me on the inside. Both girls stood opposite me looked completely tired out. May's skin was burned in some areas, numerous bruises and grazes all around her body. Elaine didn't look much better, her legs cut badly, her hair completely drenched and worn.

As I looked at the two of them, I realised I probably didn't look much better, feeling the adrenaline wear off. My body felt tired but the summit of Mount Coronet still loomed overhead meaning there was still more to go.

The journey up to Spear Pillar felt much longer than my first time, even though I knew the way. Four years ago I had to deal with waves of Galactic grunts but this time the after effects of dealing with two legendary titans in their primal forms was much more overwhelming.

The three of us were silent on the way up, retaining all of our remaining energy. We could talk all we wanted to after this whole ordeal was done. For now we needed to get to the summit to help out Red and Aaron any way we could.

At least half an hour passed before I reached Spear Pillar, a certain heaviness hanging in the air. As we climbed the stairs up to the plateau, Red was stood facing away from us, Charizard and Snorlax by his side. Both pokemon looked extremely tired out, both laying down on the stone tiled floor.

"Red! Wh-Where's Aaron?"

Elaine took off from our side, running across the open plateau. As May and I looked around, there were no signs of the wine haired boy no matter where we looked.

As the light blonde neared the silent trainer, he turned around, a serious expression on his face. Red was usually the serious type but this was different. The heaviness in the air wasn't a coincidence as I slowly realised what was happening.

"..."

Red muttered quietly, but I still heard what he was saying. My mind flashed back to four years ago when I stood at the top of Spear Pillar, face to face with Cyrus and Team Galactic. But this time, something felt different.

The portal that lead to the Distortion World should have stayed open, especially if Red tried to follow after Aaron. Ever since we stepped foot in the caves of the mountain, I felt something was off and so did everyone else. It felt as if everything we did was being watched by someone else.

This whole situation was bizarre, as if everything we did was already pre planned. The thought was scary to say the least but that also meant Aaron was always going to be separated from the four of us.

His whereabouts were unknown and from what Red had told us, narrowing his location down to the Distortion World didn't help. Right now, he was beyond our help, in another world entirely that we had no ability to access.

"The Distortion World. That's where Aaron is."

The other three trainers looked my way as I felt my gaze drop to the tiled floor. The severity of everything was settling in. All of the legendary pokemon that had been sent our way were all distractions to separate us.

May facing off against Kyogre and Groudon was always going to happen, the result of the fight meant nothing. The same went for Elaine and the Tower Duo and for myself and the Celestic Duo. Red arriving at the summit of the mountain and standing against two of the strongest pokemon of all time was all going to happen.

Elaine spoke up, her eyes showing how serious this was, "We've been had. Whoever's behind all of this has been in control the whole time. But what could they want Aaron for?"

"..."

Red was right. Any number of possibilities could be the answer and there was nothing we could do about it. All we could do was hope for the best and trust that Aaron would pull through against this mysterious puppet master.