[attr="class","skullbody"]Even the sparks popping off of Cil's Luxray in its retreat were enough to singe Pandora. Just how powerful were the Pokemon Cil had at his disposal? Just how many of them were there?[break][break]
Just how much had he been holding back in the past?[break][break]
Isaac would to have loved to ponder these questions, but he was a little preoccupied with trying not to die. He scrambled back on his hands and feet, desperate to build up distance between him and the eerily still Genesect looming over him. Crystal, rain, and miasma ate at his vision, making it increasingly hard to make out what was going on.[break][break]
The last thing he saw was a stinger, the length and thickness of his arm, slowly unfolding from MUGEN's abdomen.[break][break]
Isaac tried to push himself back into a sitting position. Perhaps he did so just in the nick of time. Had he been a second slower, the stinger that slammed into the ground before him would have gone clean through his stomach. Instead, it hung uncomfortably close to the space between his legs, fear and adrenaline leaving his chest heaving.[break][break]
There was only one Pokemon that could reasonably give MUGEN trouble, and Cil knew it. The whirlpool on the battlefield was hijacked in an instant, growing into a tempest that threatened to consume damn near half of the island. Its goal was simple; stop Hearth from interfering with MUGEN's kill command through any means possible. Hearth tried his hardest to scramble away from the water's edge, but it was to no avail. Second by second, he was dragged closer to the riptide, the force of the tempest threatening to overwhelm him entirely.[break][break]
Just as he shut his eyes and prepared to embrace his fate, heavy hoofbeats crashed through the darkness.[break][break]
Buffaloman had arrived just in the nick of time, sheltering Hearth with his massive bulk. A protective bubble of water danced around him, the force of his
Aqua Crash dampening as much of the incoming whirlpool as it possibly could. With each swirl of the whirlpool, more water was sheared off of the attack; before long, spurts of thick fur and crimson blood took its place.[break][break]
Vines wrapped around Hearth before he could try to intervene. Buffaloman's fate had been sealed since that damned Aerodactyl first dashed him against the rocks. Hearth had a far more important role to play than that of a mourner. Their understanding, while unspoken, was unanimous. Hearth curled into a ball, wisps of purple flame building around him as Sanford spun him 'round and 'round.[break][break]
Whirr. Crash. Whirr. Crash. Plunged in the darkness as he was, only the sound of servos straining and metal crashing let Isaac know that his former Genesect was on the prowl. Occasionally, its stinger shot out through the darkness, each time missing Isaac by mere millimeters. His outfit was torn. His breathing was ragged. All he could do was count the footsteps, each attempt on his life coming quicker and quicker than the last. If he didn't act soon, they'd count down to a quick and brutal end. But what was he even supposed to do at this point?[break][break]
He was out of options. But that didn't mean his team was.[break][break]
A brilliant violet fireball careened through the darkness, smashing into MUGEN's back with enough force to send it stumbling. The Genesect's eyes pulsed hatefully as it turned to face the new threat; Hearth, caught in Sanford's vines and spinning up for another pass. This time, its
Flame Wheel wouldn't go unanswered. MUGEN folded into its jet form, crimson flame erupting around its body as it engaged its
Flame Charge.[break][break]
Their collision was enough to shine a light through the black crystal. For a brief moment, they seemed evenly matched, their flames licking at each other as they pushed back and forth. However, MUGEN had no interest in lingering on this test of strength. Its jetlike body unfolded, the Genesect balancing itself on its hands so it could donkey kick Hearth up and away.[break][break]
MUGEN folded back into jet mode, prepared to pursue, but found itself stopped in its tracks. Sanford's
Anchor Shot dug right into its carapace, the Dhelmise's entire body straining as he tried to hold him back. Once more, MUGEN retaliated; unfolding back into his combat form, he grabbed Sanford's anchor chain, swinging him back and forth to dash him against the unforgiving Sootopolis stone.[break][break]
Their fate was mercy compared to what Buffaloman was forced to endure.[break][break]
The dark sandstream stung Buffaloman's eyes and engulfed the outside world. He could never see his fate coming. The icy winds bit at his joints and devoured his body heat. Even if he could, he could never avoid it. That meant, when the rush of power surged down from on high, he could only turn to his demise and face it with dignity.[break][break]
His front-left leg, already on the edge of breaking from his heavy impact with the earth, shattered as he was pushed into the Sootopolis stone. His mane, thick and luxurious, was incinerated by peal after peal of pure energy. His horns began to crack. His stance began to waver. Even as he lowed his head to try and brace himself, he was pushed back hard enough to leave a scar in the surface of the earth.[break][break]
Buffaloman lay their, agonized and trembling. Despite that, despite everything, he shuddered to his hooves and let out a furious bellow.[break][break]
Had he beaten all the odds? Or had he only delayed the inevitable? The longer he shouted, the more his last challenge turned from defiant to mournful. His breath became strained, almost smothered, as if the air in his lungs was starting to freeze solid. Permafrost died what little fur remained a pale white. His proud, muscular frame began to warp and distort, his own body threatening to rupture his own biochemistry turned against him. The swishing of his tail died down, its enraged thrash becoming the last feeble ticks of a dying metronome.[break][break]
Sound, motion, even those final, feeble heartbeats. It all drew to a close as Buffaloman died on his feet.[break][break]
Plunged into the darkness, almost none were there to witness his last stand. One, however, did. Pandora had fought side by side with Buffaloman in the most difficult leg of Isaac's gym challenge. They battled to a draw, only Isaac's good nature claiming their badge in spite of coming up short. She'd always believed they'd be back to give it another go. Now, the heart of a champion stopped beating before he could ever claim his crown.[break][break]
A hateful screech tour through the air, so loud that it threatened to deafen Lugia's storm. Rainbow energy shimmered around Pandora as she stared down the Hyper Beam's final, fading wisps. Her eyes narrowed with pure hatred, every ganglia dotted along her body screaming in unison;[break][break]
She craved revenge.[break][break]
Pandora's body curled into a tight ring, her
Speed Boost finally powering through Lugia's bitter chill. Each rotation sped her up, faster and faster, the ice beneath her coils starting to melt from the friction. Each rotation tightened her coils, closer and closer, her carapace becoming as hard and heavy as stone.[break][break]
Pandora had always been somewhat of a trickster, using her speed and cunning to befuddle her opponents. Her dear Buffaloman had always preferred the direct approach, goading opponents into a direct confrontation and careening into them with a single, overwhelming blow. Perhaps, in his memory, she could try doing things his way.[break][break]
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The sound of rolling chitin on melting ice practically screamed as Pandora launched herself skywards, prepared to smash the predator who killed her greatest friend clean out of the sky.[break][break]
It almost felt pathetic. Isaac's team was out there fighting for their lives - for his life - and all he could do was cower. Yet in Cil's looming shadow, the Miasma clogged his lungs and the Pressure squeezed his heart. A part of Isaac wondered if he should just lay down and die already. At least it might spare the rest of his team from sharing Buffaloman's fate.[break][break]
He shook the thought as quickly as it came. Hearth was peeling himself off the ground after that nasty kick. Sanford was continuing to do his damndest to wrestle MUGEN to the ground. Pandora was taking vengeance into her own hands. They didn't keep fighting the good fight so he could throw himself a pity party. Even as his leg trembled and his chest heaved, Isaac forced himself to join them.[break][break]
"I'm only still here 'cause I was stupid enough to trust you!" His voice cracked shamefully. His body refused to rise to its full height. Even on this heavily obscured battlefield, it was clear he was shaking like a leaf. Despite this, Isaac forced himself to settle into a fighting stance.[break][break]
Was it admirable? Or was it just another form of suicide?[break][break]
TEAL DEER;[break]
Hearth is body blocked by Buffaloman, allowing him to fall back and challenge MUGEN directly. His
Flame Wheel is his greatest, and maybe only, weapon in this confrontation.[break]
Sanford spends his time playing playmaker; dragging Hearth out of harm's way, slinging him into MUGEN for extra momentum, and grappling the big bug with his
Anchor Shot to stop it from going on a rampage.[break]
MUGEN fends the two of them off by himself with relative ease. However, they're keeping him far too busy to close in on Isaac and go for the kill.[break]
Buffaloman body blocks the whirlpool and endures a dead-on, ultra-powered Hyper Beam. However, the Freeze Dry is too much for him, and he is left dying on his feet.[break]
Incensed, Pandora unleashes her Z-Move, putting her own spin on her fallen friend's headlong charge strategy to blast his killer out of the skies.
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