Chapter Seventy Nine

Macro stood staring up at the ghostly dragon, his mechanical paw clasped into a fist. Despite the huge advantage he had with numbers, he doubted it was going to be an easy fight. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind, Distortion's entire body turned a shadowy black and he vanished into the floor in a puddle of shadow.

Macro tried to follow him with his eyes, but he'd well and truly vanished. A searing pain shot through Macro's spine and he wailed, flying forward as Distortion reappeared behind him and struck him in the back.

A flash of electricity lit up the swirling dimension as DL retaliated with a discharge attack. It barely phased Distortion. He flapped his wings and went soaring over them, taking on his centipede form. His body curled and twisted as he aimed his head back in their direction. Purple dragon fire streamed from his mouth, searing those close enough to him. Annie's clothes lit on fire and she panicked, beating them with her hands. Web shoved her aside and took the brunt of the attack, grunting as flames licked at her fur.

Zip splashed in his bowl, drenching Annie with water to quench the flames.

"Thanks for that, little fish!"

Purple gas rose from Web's body, a fatal flaw in her strategy given all the fire. Macro frowned. What was she up to?

But she cracked one eye open and smirked. All the gas flew from her in a torrent, lighting up as it struck Distortion's fire. The resulting explosion blew him back with a tremendous force, leaving Macro's team enough time to rally themselves.

"All right!" he barked. "Anyone with a Z-Move left in their arsenal, now's the time to use it!"

He lifted his paw, readying his attack, but a small paw shoved him backwards. Defrag leapt past him, paws glowing with freezing light. DL wasn't far behind.

"Zip!" DL barked. "Once Defrag's hit him with her Z-Move, you're up!"

"Roger!" Zip skittered away from Annie on his mechanical legs, tailing after the two nimble pokemon.

Defrag leapt high into the air, clasping both glowing paws together. She brought them both down towards Distortion's head. He looked up, eyes flashing as he noticed her. Swerving to the side, he dodged the lopunny's Z-Move. Ice blanketed the floor, deadly icicles spearing the air. One clipped Distortion's right front paw and he howled, retracting them to take on his insect form once more.

Zip rose up from his bowl, spitting out his water gun. It warped and twisted into a spinning vortex, engulfing Distortion in its whirlpool. Then DL expelled her discharge. She leapt into it, letting the electricity engulf her body. She zigged and zagged, striking Distortion from all angles. The gigavolt havoc infused the hydro vortex with electricity, amplifying both attacks.

She landed behind Distortion, panting for breath. The water fizzled out, and Distortion drifted from it, sparks dancing across the water droplets on his scales.

His red eyes narrowed and he locked them on Defrag and Zip.

"Very impressive," he spat. "Now it's my turn."

He landed back on his six legs and flapped his wings, whipping up a whirlwind. The pokemon and Ultra Beasts were blown back as the wind increased with intensity. Shadowy mist rose up with it, tearing at their fur, feather and flesh. The nihilego tinkled with pain and Celesteela let out a devastated wail. Macro clasped his paws over his ears, trying his best to brace himself to attack.

The wind petered out and Distortion rose onto his hind legs. The ground shook and eerie glowing spots appeared beneath their feet. Macro's eyes widened with horror.

"Move!" he bellowed.

He leapt to the side as the ground exploded beneath him. Soil and rocks hammered his feet and he grimaced as pain shot up his right leg. He landed beside Annie who stooped to drag him back up by his horn.

"Hang in there, Captain," she said.

Macro thanked her and hissed as he tried to put weight back on his wounded leg. Pins and needles shot up and down it. Dang ground type attacks. Along with fire, they were the bane of his existence. He glanced over at Web who wasn't in much better condition. She stood beside Trojan as she shook soil from her fur, then gave her mate a reassuring nod.

Distortion rose up again for another earth power. His wings whipped up another ominous wind, catching the flying debris in some kind of ghostly sandstorm. His mouth opened in a screeching roar.

"We can't get close enough!" DL lifted a paw to shield her eyes. "The wind keeps blowing us back, and if these ground attacks keep up..."

Macro's jaw went slack and he looked down at her. Of course. He grabbed her in his paws and shoved her towards Switch.

"Get her in the air!" Macro told him. "Anyone with wings, get those weak to ground type moves in the air!"

Waveform soared over his head to grab Web in his talons. He turned back to Macro, but the mawile waved him off.

"You two provide a distraction," he said. "Attack him from the air while I get close enough to strike him with a fairy attack."

"But you'll get trampled!" Waveform told him.

"Forget about me and grab Tracer!"

Waveform soared silently over his head while Macro tried to find the safest route forward. Something trembled beside his leg and he braced himself to dive out of the way of another earth power. His eyes met Cookies just before the ground lit up again. He grabbed the slurpuff and leapt, clasping him to his body as they rolled away. The entire ground shook, peppering the pokemon with tiny rocks. Macro opened his eyes again, finding himself against the swirling wall of distortion. He could see the mansion through it. The windows. Guzzlord fighting against the drifting rocks. Stakataka shattering those barricading its path on the ground. Wildcard Gamma in the distance, drawing ever closer.

Above him, the nihilego struggled against the ominous wind. Several of them had hold of their allies. The xurkitree dangled like damaged wires, sparking as they launched electricity at Distortion. It washed over him like water off a ducklett's back. Another had hold of Tracer as he fired his flamethrower and psychic attacks.

"I'm going to try a shattered psyche," he told the nihilego over the wind. "Get me closer, friend."

The nihilego tinkled in reply then slipped between its allies.

Cookie wriggled free of Macro's arms and pushed himself up. "Look at everyone..."

Macro looked away from Tracer, taking in everyone else as his eyes wandered over them. Panting. Sweating. Pushing themselves on. Everyone was exhausted, yet they were still fighting.

"I need to heal them," Cookie went on. "Please... cover my back, Captain."

Macro gave a curt nod and pushed himself to his feet. His eye went back to the mansion. His ship... it was definitely moving closer. He wasn't imagining it.

A sweet smell filled the air and he turned back to Cookie. The slurpuff's eyes were screwed shut and his tongue poked out of his mouth. The Z-Crystal around his right paw began to glow, infusing his aromatherapy. It spread out across the distortion, washing over their allies. Noses twitched and eyes flitted to the side, resting on Cookie for a moment, but all signs of fatigue washed away.

Cookie doubled over, his paws on his knees, and the sweet scent vanished. The nihilego above them tinkled in triumph and swooped across the sky with Matrix, Buzzwole and Pheramosa. A neon green bug buzz flew out ahead of them towards the dragon. Widget dashed past Macro with a 'whoo!', his tiny paws kicking up debris as he fought against the wind. Poipole swirled beside Web, firing gunk shot after gunk shot. Anchor roared and rushed forward, joining N0ize in a stampede towards Distortion. The incineroar's fists glowed with dark energy.

"This is gonna hurt!" N0ize bellowed.

Distortion's eyes went to N0ize and he screeched, flapping his wings. His body turned a ghostly black again and he vanished into the ground. Tracer's shattered psyche missed its mark, and the delphox grimaced, burying his head in his paws. Distortion rose up behind Macro, slapping the mawile with his tail. Macro rolled backwards with a grunt and landed at N0ize's feet. Anchor tugged him up by his scarf and Macro looked between them. N0ize's paws still glowed with his Z-Power, but his eyes weren't on Distortion anymore.

The dragon opened his mouth wide, purple flames licking at his teeth. But it flew from the side of his jaws as the nose of Wildcard Gamma broke through the distortion field and struck the dragon side on. He landed in a crumpled heap in front of it, and slid along the ground as the ship slowed to a halt. The swirling energy surrounding them flashed away, returning them all to Socket's mansion.

Distortion pushed himself back to his feet, shaking his head to clear the fog.

"What on earth?" he wheezed.

Macro and his crew stared up at the ship aghast. Axle and Sparky waved to them from the window then vanished as they scurried to the hatch.

Distortion shook out his wings and fixed his eyes on his targets. He began to whip up another ominous wind, screeching with rage.

"You think you can stop me with a cheap trick?!" he roared. "This ship is nothing but a hunk of metal! And like this mansion, I will turn it into part of me! I'll make you regret every moment of this! Every moment of your pathetic lives!"

His body turned to shadow, but it flickered back as a nihilego wrapped its tentacles around his neck. Another fastened itself to his shoulders. He bucked and swung around, dislodging the symbionts.

"You can't control me, vermin!" he screeched. "This world is mine!"

The nihilego rushed him again, joined by the xurkitree. Kartana soared over his head, nicking his scales with their blades. He roared, causing the walls to tremble, and ghostly tendrils snaked up from the ground to grab at the Ultra Beasts.

Axle scampered around the distracted dragon, tailed by Sparky and the porygon-z. The Zero Day model appeared stable, its eyes rotating left and right as it took in its surroundings. He joined Macro's side and cleared his throat.

"I've got it finished," he said. "I can have it find a world licketty-split and we can send this dragon away from System, along with this mansion if we have to."

Zero Day chirruped and swung its legs back and forth. Its head span in a dizzying fashion that Macro couldn't look at for too long.

"Well find an empty one," said Macro. "I don't want to inflict this thing on someone else's world, or the past for that matter."

"Or the future," said Anchor. "We're headin' that way, and I don't know about you, but I ain't willin' to put up with this guy's nonsense again."

Yobi staggered from the shadows, buckling slightly under the vikavolt's weight. He stared at Zero Day, his mouth curling into a sneer.

"Who brought that thing here?" he spat.

"I did." Axle turned to face him. "You asked us to find you one."

"Well I want it destroyed," said Yobi. "Those things... all of them! They've caused me too much trouble."

"No." Macro cut in front of Zero Day. "We need this. It can send Distortion out of System."

"But it can't bring her back, can it?" Yobi flashed a canine. "It can't restore System!"

"No, but it can give us a chance at surviving!" Macro retorted. "Back off and let us try, all right?"

Yobi lifted the vikavolt and aimed it at Macro. Sparks danced along the coil that ran up his arm between the pincers. A black paw fell on top of it and yanked it aside. Yobi looked up into N0ize's sneering face and let out a pathetic 'eep!'

"I've got enough experience dealin' with railguns," said N0ize calmly. "I suggest you aim it elsewhere, rodent."

He shoved the vikavolt away from him, knocking Yobi off balance. Searing dragon fire narrowly missed his tail and he whipped it back, curling it around his body.

"If you're gonna wave it around," N0ize went on, "then aim it at the rampagin' dragon!"

One of the nihilego landed in a crumpled heap between them, tinkling weakly. A xurkitree joined it, followed by a kartana. The small bladed creature arced away from them towards the ceiling in a bid to avoid spearing its allies. It scraped its arms together in frustration and leapt back towards Distortion, only to be buffeted away like a tennis ball by one of his tendrils. Its blades sliced through it, severing its tip, before the kartana found itself sticking out of the wall behind Macro. The brick spun around to reveal one of the many eyes and Distortion howled with pain.

Macro stared at the wounded eye for a moment, then looked back at Distortion, bucking and howling as he tried to dislodge the nihilego. The pokemon around him lashed out with every move in their arsenal. Acid rained down from the ceiling, unfazing the symbionts while the xurkitree ran for cover to attack from a safer distance. Web's Z-Move had been activated. Poipole circled over her, firing gunk shots at the dragon's face.

"Like this building, I'll turn it into a part of me..." Macro muttered.

Anchor clenched his fists and looked down at him. "What's that, Cap'n?"

"This building is part of Distortion," said Macro. "That kartana hurt him when it struck it."

The kartana bobbed beside his head, listening intently.

"Wildcard Gamma and Celesteela have both taken a chunk out of the walls," Macro went on. "When the ship crashed, that strange world we were in vanished. So we should also attack the building. If you can't reach Distortion, attack the building!"

Macro leapt backwards to strike the exposed bricks with an iron head. Eyes locked onto him as he approached it, spewing dragon fire. It washed over Macro harmlessly. He brought up his horn and smacked the bricks, shattering them into rubble.

Distortion howled again, jerking to the side. Two of the remaining three nihilego soared across the room to land beside Celesteela's dazed body. The huge Ultra Beast slowly pushed herself up, sending rubble raining down around her. Distortion hissed at her and kicked off the remaining nihilego. Its gelatinous body bounced across the floor, striking Trojan and knocking him off his feet.

Macro readied himself for another attack on the walls. The flames intensified, taking on a deep purple glow. They seared across his fur, burning it away to expose his flesh. He wailed and leapt backwards away from them, stumbling into Anchor's tail.

The granbull steadied his captain then threw a sucker punch at the wall. Flames washed over him, burning his pink fur to a charcoal grey, but he ignored them, focusing all his attention on the attack. The bricks exploded, creating a gaping hole in the wall.

Distortion's shadowy form rose up behind Anchor. Four sets of claws leaked an eerie, shadowy glow and he brought them down on Anchor's back. Anchor howled and staggered forward. Blood ran down his back and he crumpled to the floor.

"Anchor!"

Macro leapt over his friend, bringing an iron head up into Distortion's jaws. The dragon's head snapped back and he teetered on his two back legs. Then he vanished into the floor again.

Macro stared at the point he'd vanished, his fur on end. He was going to rise up behind him again. Not this time. Macro trotted forwards towards the shattered window and Wildcard Gamma's huge nose. Black shadow pooled beneath his feet. It exploded into the dragon's form and shadowy claws struck him in the chest. He careened backwards, briefly closing his eyes. But he saw Distortion vanish back into the ground once more. It trailed behind him like a dart, ready to attack.

...

Annie watched as Macro flew backwards from Wildcard Gamma. The little emolga cowered beside the giant wishiwashi with Zero Day and Sparky. She was almost certain they were planning something. But she couldn't very well watch Macro being tossed back and forth in the dragon's solo game of volleyball. Web and Zip's long range attacks fell short as the dragon vanished and reappeared too quickly and too unexpectedly to aim. Trojan and Waveform raced back and forth to avoid the purple flames in their desperate bid to attack the walls, like Macro had said.

But she couldn't even do that. All she could do was dive out of the way whenever the flames decided to target her. Which was almost never. As if Distortion didn't perceive her as a threat.

She clenched her fist. Useless. She was useless in this human form.

The brown Z-Crystal about her wrist sparkled and her eyes went to it. It hadn't done that before. Not outside being used for her Z-Power, however. Had she imagined it?

No. It sparkled again. More brightly this time. She stared at it, mouth slightly open. That sparkle grew with intensity and a warm feeling spread up her arm. She began to shrink down as feathers exploded across her body. She lifted her wings and let out a triumphant laugh.

"I'm back, baby!"

Huge rocks rose up before her as she summoned her ancient power. The Rockium-Z infused it, merging the rocks together into one gigantic continent. She threw her wings forwards and the rock surged towards Macro. He struck it, bouncing away from it towards Annie. Distortion appeared from the ground beneath it and his red eyes widened as the continental crush smashed down upon his head, sending him back into the floor. He grunted, the sound coming from the walls as each red eye flinched and blinked out of existence.

Annie stared at the rock for a moment, then cheered. She stooped to drag Macro to his feet and he dusted down his scarf.

"Thanks," he said. "That was getting a bit annoying."

...

Macro stared at the huge rock in disbelief. The glowing eyes flitted across the walls as Distortion tried to gather himself. Macro clenched his fists and looked up at each of his allies. Exhausted. Beaten. Sore.

But it wasn't over. They needed to be ready.

The problem was, any plan needed to be voiced. The pokemon around him weren't telepathic, and couldn't communicate to one another's minds like Rave or Poipole. He glanced over at the blacephalon, doubled over beside Wildcard Gamma as he tried to catch his breath. The wall around him was shattered, evidence of his battle with it. It had been struck over and over by his exploding head. The result left him with a cranium the size of a gum ball, slowly increasing in size as he gathered his strength.

Oh how Macro wished he could somehow get his plan to him so he could broadcast it to everyone except Distortion.

A white tentacle brushed his shoulder and he looked back at a nihilego. It softly placed its tentacle on his head and began to pulse with a white light.

Macro's eyes widened. Had it read his mind? Well... whether it had or not, he could at least try. He thought only of his plan. A desperate bid to defeat Distortion once he reappeared amongst them. To tell everyone as fast as he could so they could wail on the dragon before he gathered his full strength.

The nihilego released him and rushed to Rave's side. It placed its tentacles on his slowly growing head and he froze.

Maybe it had worked? Or maybe the nihilego just wanted to leech on everyone's strength to recover its own? Macro didn't feel any different, but regardless he hugged himself, bracing himself for the dragon's sudden angry reappearance. The entrance hall was silent save for everyone's gasping. They knew it wasn't over. The vanishing and reappearing eyes were enough to tell them that. Distortion was still here. The world outside was still warped.

Rave stood up to his full height, placing one paw on Wildcard Gamma's hull to steady himself. Then Macro heard his voice. Everyone froze to listen.

"Everyone, this isn't over," said Rave. "All those who still have Z-Moves, ready them. When Distortion reappears, strike. If you don't have Z-Moves left, you aren't useless. Attack any way you can. Ghost moves, dark moves, ice moves... use them on Distortion. Otherwise, destroy the mansion as quickly as you can-"

A purple tentacle wound up beneath Rave's feet, knocking him off balance. He quickly regained it with a little athletic hop. But the tentacle wasn't after him. It plunged deep into Wildcard Gamma's jaws and they opened and closed, snapping at the air. Distortion's head appeared above the large rock as his ghostly form manifested, flickering between insect and dragon. His red eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth in an ear-splitting screech.

"He's taking over Wildcard Gamma!" Macro barked. "Kartana, the rest of the Ultra Beasts! Stop him! Everyone else, you know the drill!"

N0ize leapt in first, his fists seeping dark energy. Distortion spotted him and let out a low growl, lowering his body to vanish back into the ground.

"Oh no you don't!"

A flurry of sticky thread flew from the ceiling above him and Macro spotted Matrix launching string from the proboscis in his chest. The string wrapped around Distortion, plastering his wings to his back. He screeched and thrashed, his long body fighting back.

N0ize laughed and brought up his glowing fist. "Thanks for that, bug!"

His fist crashed down on Distortion's head and the air around them exploded with dark energy. It swirled with red and black, spinning Distortion around like a rag doll. He came crashing back down on the giant rock and shattered it on impact. Shrapnel went flying, peppering the pokemon and Ultra Beasts around it.

Waveform brought up his wing, shielding himself, Annie and Macro. Then he readied his arrow.

"Never ending nightmare," he said quietly, almost drowned out by the dragon's screeches. "Once I've fired, Macro, you run in. He'll never see you coming."

The arrow flew. It struck Distortion in the nose then vanished into the floor. Black, ghostly tendrils rose up around him, dragging his tangled body into the ground. Macro's Z-Crystal flashed pink and he leapt through them, dodging between the thrashing tentacles. His body sparkled and he met Distortion's furious eyes. The dragon let out another loud screech, stinging Macro's ear drums. But he grit his teeth and powered through it. He brought up his horn and brought it crashing down on Distorion's head. Pink sparkles exploded around him like a firework display. The shadowy tendrils retreated and Distortion broke free, staggering back and shaking his head.

He looked down at Macro, gasping. "You... this isn't over!"

Distortion's wings flew out to the sides, discarding the remains of the sticky thread that had bound him. Purple tentacles exploded from the floor, groping at the pokemon and Wildcard Gamma. The kartana fought them off, slicing them, but they reproduced faster than they could destroy them. Electricity danced from the xurkitree's bodies, paralyzing the tendrils only briefly.

Celesteela let out a deathly wail and raised her cannon.

"Get down!" shouted Rave.

The cannon exploded in a torrent of flames. They engulfed Wildcard Gamma, melting its hull. The wires sparked and sputtered, then the entire ship erupted in an almighty blast of flames and shrapnel. Macro covered his head, feeling heat wash over him. Rocks peppered his body as the mansion rained down around them. He braced himself for death. But it never came.

He glanced up to find Celesteela and Omnom standing over him. The huge dragon gulped down the rocks as they rained down, protecting those below him with his gargantuan body. Just beyond them stood Stakataka, masking everyone else inside his heavy walls. They'd finally got through the rocky barrier.

Macro chuckled and pushed himself to his feet. "Bon appetite, pal."

The guzzlord roared and lunged forward, sinking his toothy tongues into the bricks and pulling the mansion apart faster than Cookie could demolish pancakes.

Distortion screeched, turning his tentacles onto the dragon. Celesteela fired off another flamethrower, burning back the tendrils. She wailed again.

"Everybody move!" Rave told them. "Otherwise you'll get caught in her attacks!"

Celesteela wasn't interested in fighting the dragon. Her efforts were aimed at the walls and the pesky tentacles. She swung her cannons about, shattering rubble and firing flame throwers and seed bombs. Distortion hissed, his body blinking in and out of existence.

"No!" he said. "This is my world! Mine!"

Macro dove for the nearest opening. The world outside was gradually returning to normal. The purple haze fading. The land returning to where it should be.

Axle tapped him on the shoulder and nodded to Zero Day. The porygon-z's shell was peppered with pits and scuffs, but it seemed otherwise okay.

"We're gonna open a gateway," said Axle. "You might wanna get everyone out of here. We don't want any accidents, do we?"

"I'll do it."

The two pokemon looked up to see Yobi leaning against the rubble. He panted heavily, struggling to keep the vikavolt weapon aloft.

"You?" Macro snorted. "Why should we trust you?"

"Because this is my fault," said Yobi. "I made BackDoor. I caused all this. I'm the reason Socket's dead. Sending Distortion back... it's sort of a redemption. To right my wrongs. To restore System. Please... Let me do it."

Macro stared at him for a moment, meeting his eyes. The pokemon staring back at him was clearly wounded, and not just physically. Part of Macro understood. Years of pain, wanting to make things right... He nodded.

"What?" Axle stuttered. "After I-"

"Go with him," said Macro. "I think he's being honest... but it doesn't hurt to have a guard, now, does it?"

Yobi nodded and ushered Zero Day ahead of him. Axle glanced back at Macro and cracked a half smile.

"All right, Zero Day!" said Yobi. "Find somewhere uninhabitable!"

Zero Day's nose lit up and unleashed a beam. Its head craned back slowly, and Macro felt a soft warmth at his side. White fur, glowing with a warm sunlight. He glanced up at Solgaleo. The lion's paw rose up with Zero Day's head, then stopped. He pointed a claw, and the beam cut through reality. A spinning vortex unlike BackDoor's gateways hovered in the air. It flickered with electricity, and it spiraled away from them like a tunnel through reality.

Distortion's screeches intensified as the vortex pulled him in. His shadowy body flickered in and out of reality. He thrashed in the air, dragon fire seeping between his teeth. The vortex swallowed him up, and with a flick of Solgaleo's paw, it was gone.

Silence.

Macro looked back up at Solgaleo. The lion gave him a warm smile and nodded. Then he vanished. The purple haze faded away, returning Seed City to normal. Save the ruins that filled it.