Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Hands of Creation

Chapter 123 - Grasping at Gold

Owen had enough time to launch two Radiant Beams—attack names he coined—at incoming Titans. The first was on the advancing Giratina, this time so thoroughly that it seemed to take her down completely. There was a rumble from most of its disintegrating body smashing into the dust, but it was softer than expected. Most of the body was already its component Void Shadows, and the core—Giratina herself—was much smaller than the Titan it had once been.

The second Radiant Beam was to that same Titan from before that had gotten even closer, destroying it for a second time. Without a core, the rumble was more like a wash of Void Shadow bodies for the ground troops to take care of with a bombardment of elemental attacks.

Afterward, Alex returned with a team of fliers. Owen wasted no time, and asked the others to hold their ground for as long as they could while he went to the source. In the end, Dark Matter was right. If they continued to play defense, the infinite army would gain more ground. This was when Dark Matter was the least protected, presumably, when he was dedicating resources to offense. It was now or never.

He flew on Alex, who was a slower but safer flier, while Gahi scouted ahead with his speed uninhibited.

Palkia was using what he could of his diminished power to keep an entire side of the town safe, warping swaths of Void Shadows and its accompanying Titan further away, stalling for time.

On the other side, Dialga was slowing the onslaught in the most literal sense, allowing Null Villagers to attack Void Shadows with little fear of a counter. They were even knocked back in slow-motion.

"Let's keep going," Owen said quietly. "It's a risk, but... But we have to try." He held onto Gahi's shoulders, looking at the others who had come with him. Alex was opposite from them, along with Eon, who took the form of another Alex. Owen suspected that Eon wanted to replicate a Charizard form, but in the heat of battle, wasn't able to concentrate enough. He'd shifted through countless forms while battling, and his mind was frazzled. Flying behind Alex must have been his attempt at keeping focus on a single, stable form.

On the ground, Zena led the charge with Demitri and Mispy. Owen wasn't sure where Trina had gone, but it was probably someplace safer. She couldn't fight in that state. He wasn't sure where Jerry had gone, but he was still fighting with the others to the west; maybe they'd pass by on the way.

Owen had to be at the Tree in order to help it charge at its best, but the Tree could charge on his own, too. Just slower. They had enough power for one charge in case of an emergency, but really, if they could attack Dark Matter directly while his army was pressing inward, that could turn the tides. And that was Owen's ultimate goal. Defy Dark Matter's predictions of huddling by the Tree... and lash out into the heart of his domain.

The plan sounded so obvious when he laid it out to them. Perhaps that was why they were eager to put it in motion. Owen only hoped it would be as simple in practice.

"We need to clear the way fer the ground," Gahi said, like he was reciting something told to him. "How're we gonna do that?"

Below and ahead, Null Villagers were holding back a thick sea of wraiths that spilled over the corners of ruined houses and through the once beautiful, if not dreary, streets. He couldn't recognize the district anymore; they were ruins flooded with black, squirming waters.

They were just about to breach the blurry line that delimited the Null Villagers and the Void Shadows. Then, a horrid roar caught their attention.

"What?" Owen winced. Even as a Charmeleon, it shook his chest.

Something was wrong with Dialga.

He was crouched down as the cyan lines along his body pulsed with a deep red instead. Lines of darkness flowed like blood through that scaly armor.