Arms of Arceus

Master Ryu was furious. He stalked the shadows of the castle in silence, his anger forcing him to seclusion. This was how he dealt with his emotions on the rare occasions when they threatened to overtake his senses. This was one of those occasions when all he wanted was to stay hidden until the moment passed and he had regained full authority over himself. It kept him from being rash and making mistakes. Yet this time was different. He didn’t have the choice of seclusions, at the moment. He knew that, once he arrived at the war room, he would have to reveal himself to the creature he now called his leader.

He saw her standing before the doorway to the war room nervously. The mail skirt of her armor swayed as she turned left to walk back into the war room. After a minute, she returned to the doorway to peer down the castle corridors once more. She looked down both sides of the hallway, anxiously awaiting his arrival. Silently, Master Ryu observed her, allowing his anger to grow. He wanted to ignore her orders, but he knew that King Siebold had entrusted her and her kind with the city’s future. This thought was at the forefront of his mind, like a soft, warm light of truth piercing the wall of his hatred. Even as he desired nothing more than to abandon her, to lead a revolt against her leadership, he knew that he wouldn’t. It was this thought that eventually led him to reveal himself to the young alicorn.

“You called?” Master Ryu said coldly as he leapt from his hiding place to kneel before the princess.

“Master Ryu, thank you for coming,” Princess Twilight said as she bid the Greninja to rise with a hoof. Master Ryu did so, his piercing gaze fixing on Twilight as she turned to walk into the war room. So focused was she on her thoughts that she failed to noticed the anger in his eyes.

“I’m sorry to ask this of you, Master,” Princess Twilight said, her voice cracking slightly from stress. “But I need you to take your ninja, go outside and explore the above ground area. I ask this of you, only because you are the greatest master of stealth in God’s Breath. I’m sure you know about our situation.”

“I am quite aware of our situation, princess,” Ryu said, putting extra emphasis on the title. His tone seemed to have gotten through to the pony where his furious stare failed.

“Is there something wrong?” she asked as she turned and looked at him. Her eyes scanned the Greninja slowly, as if looking for an injury or sickness.

“You know quite well what is wrong,” he said, dangerously. Twilight Sparkle considered him for a moment. Then she sighed.

“I’m guessing you’re one of the many who are upset about the loss of Dark Arceus. I understand your anger, and I’m truly sorry. But I can’t do anything about this situation on my own. Please, Master. I need your help.”

“We needed your help, pony. We needed your leadership. We needed success. Instead, you gave us failure. Our sacred charge was stolen from us, and it is only a matter of time until it is released. If you can’t even seal the thing properly, how do you expect to save our lands from destruction when Dark Arceus is bearing down on us in all of its terrible might?”

“By hoping it doesn’t come to that, and having faith that the magic of friendship will see us through if it does.”

“Perhaps Pokémon should stick to their own kind,” Ryu said, angrily. “Perhaps we shouldn’t have made you our leaders, afterall.”

“Would you really have ignored your king’s final wish like that?”

The words struck Ryu like a knife. He wasn’t one for big displays or flamboyant outbursts. It wasn’t a trait common to Greninja. But in that moment, he wanted to hit Princess Twilight Sparkle. He wanted to explode with anger, draw his water katana and force the princess into a death match for spitting on his honor with her words. But that warm light of truth that sat resolutely within the roiling emotions of his heart kept him from doing anything less than agreeing to her wishes. His words were short and clipped, and he refused to give her the chance to respond. His anger dulled and he began questioning himself as he disappeared into the shadows once more.

Of all the types within God’s Breath, the bug-type had taken the hardest hit during the Siege of Octaria. The aerial enemies they had faced had been both large, and extremely vicious. Their ground-borne counterparts had been no less destructive. Suzuki had taken solace in the fact that, despite their horrible losses, by all accounts they had given as good as they got. Bug-types replenished their numbers far more quickly than those of other species, and were always the most numerous of the types within the armies of God’s Breath. Suzuki had no doubt that they would return to full capacity more quickly than the other types. Even so, such heavy losses were hard to accept, and though none had given her the impression that the losses were indicitive of anything, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that her type had something to prove.

She had joined the rest of her city in grieving over the loss of so many faithful warriors, as well as the loss of Dark Arceus. Princess Luna’s dreams had revealed that a Gourgiest had taken the dark god to the underworld, and the undead that had been captured by Moon Shrine had divulged the location inbetween fits of laughter at what they saw as a futile struggle against their god. There seemed little hope for the alicorns to retrieve the prison before Dark Arceus found a way to free itself, but they had vowed to try nonetheless. It had been a day since Mistress Mora and Mistress Cloe had taken them past the Black Gates, and Princess Twilight Sparkle had been left in charge. Like the rest of the High Council, Suzuki admired all of the ponies for their bravery and the magic they possessed, but she feared that this young ruler was a bit in over her head. Even so, the city would survive and Suzuki’s swarms would proudly answer the princess’s call to battle.

“There you are, Lady Suzuki,” Princess Twilight said as the Mega Scizor walked through the palace gates.

“I am at your service, majesty,” Suzuki said, as she bowed before the princess.

“I’ve been told you can be quite fast when you want to be,” Twilight said. “I’ve also been told that you’re the stealthiest member of the High Council.”

“I can be both stealthy and fast, but I will not claim to be the best at either skill. I have lost my fair share of battles to my peers.”

“I respect your humility, but I need your speed and stealth for a very serious mission.”

“I will serve with all that I am,” Suzuki said, her body tensing in the anticipation of glory. Too distracted by her fears, the princess didn’t see the change in Suzuki’s posture. Twilight Sparkle sighed, her face growing more troubled as she spoke.

“Ninja Master Ryu is an honored member of the Elder Council, but he seems to be a bit… belligerent since we lost the prison of Dark Arceus. Our psychics tell me that the city is below a wasteland full of human zombies, many with terrifying powers. I sent Master Ryu and his team of Greninja on a simple scouting mission, to see what was above the surface with their own eyes. An hour after they left, all of his ninjas returned but he didn’t. The scouts told me that he went to search a giant wall to the north. It’s been two hours since his troops returned, and he hasn’t come back. I need you to find him.”

“It will be done, princess,” Suzuki said. “If I may ask, what has Bartholomew found during his exploration of the seas?”

“Quite a bit, actually. There haven’t been any discoveries that the Pokémon are familiar with, but much of what he’s found resembles ancient creatures from pre-historic pony times. It’s fascinating, but I don’t have the time to study them at the moment. Fluttershy is doing that.”
Princess Twilight’s face furrowed in concern, and her body sagged as if the weight of the world was dragging her down. Despite an upcoming party planned by Pinkie Pie, the atmosphere of the city had been dour and mournful in the wake of the Octaria campaign. The ponies had been no exception to that.

“Is everything alright, majesty?” Suzuki asked as tears welled up in the pony’s eyes.

“I just…” Twilight began as she looked up at the ocean beyond the shield. She paused, as if considering whether to ask what was really on her mind. After a moment, she turned to face the Pokémon and spoke. “Do you think we did the right thing on Octaria?”

“What do you mean, majesty?” Suzuki said. “We fought and we survived.”

“But all of the death we doled out, was it necessary? Those creatures were real, living things when we fought them. Now we’re surrounded once more by unspeakable evil, and we’ll have to fight again. We’ll have to put them down if we want to survive, but I hate it. So many died, and I fear that many more will die if I don’t make the right decisions. I’m not used to…”

The princess’s words trailed off and her gaze fell to the ground.

“Have your lands never seen wars? Has Equestria never had to fight tooth and claw for its very survival?”

“Not often… Not in my lifetime. Not like that. Though I know Princess Celestia has seen battle in her many years of ruling.”

“The city desires peace for as long as we can have it. We have had a month of rest, but years are required to recover from what we have experienced. Even so, we are strong and we are prepared. We have seen wars before, and we have lost our loved ones, too. Octaria was nothing new, in that regard. We will not have peace for much longer, and we know it. The fate of God’s Breath, as determined by its sacred duty, is to always fight, to always sacrifice. It is for this reason that the city will always stand ready to defend itself.”

“Have you… Have you ever killed anything before Octaria?”

Suzuki considered her princess for a moment before responding. The pony was clearly distraught by her actions, and the Scizor wasn’t sure if she should be concerned or empathetic.

“Dark Arceus employs both the living and the dead to its service,” Suzuki said as she turned to watch the battle-scarred guards patrol the palace garden. “I have taken lives when it was necessary. As for the monsters on Octaria, though we hold many scars from our confrontations with them, they were the soulless products of a paradox, nothing more. Worry not, your majesty. So long as your love and friendship guide you, you will remain righteous in our eyes. Focus on what is right, and let your soldiers focus on what needs to die.”
Eager to to begin her mission, Suzuki bowed and excused herself from the palace.

Roll hauled the body of a hole-ridden Megaladon out of the water. Each step the massive Snorlax took caused the ground to shake as he lazily pulled the shark behind him. It was the second of its species that Master Shen had killed, but it was the largest. At first, Fluttershy had been shocked to hear of the Pokémon killing innocent creatures. She had planned on giving the Master a strict talking to, but as teams of Floatzal and Tentacruel hauled the shark into the city’s Wailord receiving bay and handed it off to Roll, she had seen why they had done it.

The shark’s flesh was rotten and decaying, but it moved as if it were still alive. Even though Master Shen had severed its spine and cracked its skull, its mouth flapped open and closed in an effort to eat the Pokémon nearby. Fluttershy sighed sadly as she realized that they had traded one nightmare for another.

“Well, this was never going to be a pleasant journey,” Harmony said as her mate tossed the zombie shark onto a massive dissection table. “Afterall, Dark Arceus wanted us to suffer before we died. Now it seems like we’re surrounded by monstrosities wherever we go, but at least these creatures aren’t as dangerous as the ones we just escaped from.”

“I have a feeling this is only the beginning,” Fluttershy said as she looked down at her notes. “This one is just like the other one, and reports indicate that all of the sea life in this area are either zombies, or are fleeing through a cave system nearby. Perhaps we should follow them.”
“That might be necessary, but for now we just need to figure out what’s going on here. Roll, go grab the next… Hey, wash your paws before you eat!”

Harmony dashed to the instrument cabinet where her mate stood and slapped a loaf of bread out of his paws. The giant Snorlax bent down to pick it up, only to be kicked in the stomach by the Mega Audino. He coughed as he stumbled backwards, and the entire room shook as he fell.

“I just wanted a little snack, is all,” he rumbled as he pulled himself back to his feet.

“Physical contact isn’t enough for contamination to occur, but ingesting matter could be!” Harmony yelled in distress. She took a deep breath and calmed down as she resumed her familar, gentle tones. “Now, go to the next room and haul the third specimen inside. And if I catch you so much as thinking about licking your paws, I’ll lock you in a cell until the contamination risk is over!”

“But I haven’t eaten in an hour! Besides, we don’t even know if it’ll affect us.”

“I don’t care. We don’t have a cure for this yet, and until we do I’m not going to risk getting the city, or you, infected. Now go!”

“Fine,” Roll grumbled as he obeyed Harmony’s orders. The large steel doors to the next bay opened and he walked through them, dragging his feet as he did so.

“I’m sorry about this, Fluttershy,” Harmony said, nervously. “Gentlness doesn’t work well on Roll when it comes to food. Would you mind dealing with things here? I’m terrified that my lumbering mate will eat the next shark he hauls inside.”

“Of course not,” Fluttershy said with a friendly smile. “I’ll begin the examination of this specimen. You can take the next one after you finish keeping Roll out of trouble.”

“Thank you so much,” Harmony said. “Kuma and Lee will help you with anything you need, and I’ll send a team of nurses to you right away so you can begin the dissection.”

Fluttershy waved goodbye to her friend as Harmony ran through the doors. She turned to the giant, undead shark and sighed at the thought of dissecting it. Her only hope was that, if she could use this animal to find a cure, she could save the rest of the animals and its death would not have been in vain. As she approached the creature its stomach bulged outward. She stopped in her tracks, hesitating to go any further. Her guardians walked forward, their paws raised in defense as the water-types that manned the hospital bays ran from the zombified creature.

At the sounds of their movement, the monsters inside the shark’s gut howled and its stomach was torn open. Out walked a horde of zombies led by a large, green one with patches of exposed muscle and bone on its arms and torso. Fluttershy screamed as the monsters charged and her guardians took their battle stances. The water-types began exchanging fire with the monsters, determined to keep their distance while hitting them with Water Pulses and Hydro Pumps that tore new holes in their necrotic flesh. The zombie leader ran towards the pegasus, each step denting the steel flooring beneath him. As the hulking green abomination brought his fists down to smash the two Lucario, a lithe body landed atop his head and a pair of red and white claws took hold of his arms. With some effort, they crushed the monster’s elbows and tore the forearms free of his body.

The monster roared as he turned to face his attacker, but Suzuki had already darted away. The other zombies redirected their powers and began firing lightning bolts and beams of energy at her as she flew toward them, but she was far to quick for their decaying limbs to track. With a single X-Scissor she cut down the smaller zombies, sending rotten flesh and bits of spandex flying in all directions. Lee and Kuma grabbed Fluttershy and led her to the bay doors as the sounds of battle erupted in the room Harmony had entered. The hulking zombie leapt in the air to bite at Suzuki. Dodging with a speed the creature wasn’t accustomed to, she darted below him and crushed his rotten legs. The monster fell to the ground, immobile but still screaming in rage. Her final strike severed his brain stem, and the beast went still.

“Why do we go to places that are so awful?” Fluttershy cried. “I hope this is all just a bad dream…”

“I’m afraid it’s not,” Suzuki said as she landed before the crying Pegasus. The sounds of fighting had ceased in the room next to them, to be replaced by the frustrated sounds of Harmony ordering Roll not to eat the remains of their foes. The door on the far side of the room opened and they turned to see Lord Bartholomew walking toward them.

“I see you’ve had the same problem,” the Mega Swampert said as he looked down at the mess on the floor.

“Unfortunately,” Suzuki replied. “This universe is looking to be just as bloody as the last one. Were any of your water-types bitten?”

“None. We attacked from a distance and wore them down. By the time their strongest had gotten close, they were too damaged to be any threat.”

“Your favorite tactic,” Suzuki said, smiling. “I need a breathing device to make it to the surface. Master Ryu is missing and Princess Twilight has ordered that I find him.”

“Oh, I hope he’s safe!” Fluttershy said. Her tears had subsided, though she was still shaking slightly.

“Don’t worry, madam,” Bartholomew said. “That old Greninja is a living shadow. He’s almost impossible to find when he has his mind set on hiding. As for you, Suzuki, you’ll be more vulnerable in the water. It’s best that we escort you to the surface.”

“Of course,” Suzuki said as a Buizel brought her a facemask and oxygen tank. “I suspect Her Majesty will want to move us to a better location soon. I don’t know if I’ll be back before then.”

“Just don’t get bitten,” Fluttershy said, her voice full of concern. “And be extremely careful! I don’t know much about this particular pathogen, but zombie stories always claim that the virus is highly infectious. It’s best to play it safe!”

“You’re quite right,” Suzuki said with a smile. “I promise to be careful. Perhaps we should pull our water-types back into the city, for safety’s sake. They can’t find us if we don’t bring them in.”

“Quite right,” Bartholomew said, gruffly. “There’s nothing to see out there but monsters, anyway. I’ve already given the order. I doubt a spirit can be infected by undeath, so only my Frillish and Jellicent are allowed to roam the seas for now. It’s a shame these humans are so… lost. I can’t help but feel that they once had much to live for.”

Lord Bartholomew began walking toward the exit pool, though his muscular shoulders sagged a bit. Fluttershy knew sadness when she saw it, and she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Swampert. She noticed a small piece of paper in his large paws and felt a sudden curious urge.

“Lord Bartholomew,” she said as she walked over to the Pokémon, who stopped and turned to face her at the sound of his name. “I couldn’t help but wonder… I hope you don’t mind my asking, but what is it you have there?”
Bartholomew looked down at the bloodstained paper he held, and his shoulders sagged even more.

“I found it on the body of a zombie,” he said as he handed the paper to Fluttershy. “It appears to be a note written by a man for his wife.”
Fluttershy carefully took the paper with a hoof and read it aloud, her heart breaking with each sentence she read.

“Dear Sue, I’ll be home from the conference soon. I look forward to dinner with the whole family together again. We seem to have grown apart, lately, but I know that this gathering will make everything better. Tell the kids I love them, and tell Johnny and Ben that I can’t wait to see them. All my love, Reed.”

The group stood in silence for a moment as the emotion of the words sank in.

“I wonder,” Bartholomew said, his voice heavy with restrained tears. “Maybe I’m overthinking this, but… I wonder if he enjoyed his time with his family before he… before he turned. I hope he did.”

“I hope so, too,” Fluttershy said. She tucked the note in a pocket of her lab coat as Bartholomew led Suzuki into the water to escort her to shore.