Episode 2.5 | UP THE WOLVES

[bloomingdespite]

January 5th, Early Evening...
[With how poorly Overwatch has been treating the inhabitants of Alola, protests and demonstrations have become commonplace. However, none of them have been quite so brazen as the threat—no, promise—posted on the network.]

Overwatch,
You have far overstepped the bounds of your authority on Alola. You have abused your power, terrorized the inhabitants of these islands, and have asserted an imperialist dominion that has no place here.

You have two hours to begin the process of vacating the premises, returning through your portals and bringing the criminal scum that you've hired as soldiers with you. Afterwards, we will destroy the portals and assure that you can never haunt Alola again.

If you do not comply, we will seize your base by force and destroy it.

[Shortly thereafter, a note is found on the front porch of Kahuna Hala's house.]

I've found something to fight for.

January 5th, Late Evening...
"Everyone in position?"

A chorus of rogers and aye-ayes and considerably less formal assurances crackled over the radio, and Zahra took a deep, steadying breath from within the bushes. It was now or never. "Thank you for trusting me," they whispered, before unleashing the Pokémon stored within the pile of balls next to them. A legion of Haunter appears, and giving a nod to their temporary allies, Zahra steps out into the spotlights next to Overwatch Base.

"OVERWATCH! YOUR TIME IS UP!" The guards on patrol startle, but before they can react the Haunters all put them to sleep at once. "If you will not leave the islands by choice, we will eject you by force!" Zahra's duel disk clicks into place, and they take out the deck they had prepared for this very occasion. "Haunters, lend me your strength. It's time to end this."

As the Haunters began glowing with ghostly light, lending Zahra their spiritual power, Zahra begins the ritual. "I draw, then summon a card in face-down defense position," the back of a card shimmered into existence in front of them, "then activate Double Summon from my hand to Flip Summon Scapeghost, filling my field with Black Sheep tokens in Defense Position." Five floating balls of fluff with eerie, glowing eyes appear, ghostly voices mixing with the chorus of the Haunters. "I tribute three of the Black Sheep tokens to Tribute Summon Slifer the Sky Dragon!" three of the sheep disappear, and the sky above begins thundering with an oncoming storm.

"While the Tribute Summon is on the Chain, I activate the spell Flute of Summoning Kuriboh from my hand, summoning Kuriboh from my deck!" Another, different ball of fluff appears, trilling cheerily. "I then activate Multiply, creating two more copies of Kuriboh." Two more appear, joining the chorus. "I activate Card of Sanctity, drawing back up to six cards in my hand, then tribute the three Kuriboh to summon The Winged Dragon of Ra." The three Kuriboh shatter into light, and some of the clouds part to reveal a massive, blindingly bright orb in the sky that slowly begins descending, the screeches of the Haunters around Zahra reaching a fevered pitch as purple light swirls around them.

Zahra's hair burning with holy white flame, they continue. "Finally, I activate Soul Charge from my hand, paying 2000 LP to resurrect Kuriboh and Scapeghost from my graveyard," Zahra's entire being shines brightly as the two monsters reappear, "then tribute Kuriboh, Scapeghost, and a Black Sheep Token to summon Obelisk the Tormentor!" The ground beneath their feet begins to quake, giant cracks appearing.

Clasping their hands together, Zahra closes their eyes and begins to chant an ancient Hieratic prayer, the power of the Haunters making their words reverberate with the force of a hurricane as the layers of unreal holograms that the Duel Disk creates are painstakingly stripped away, forcing the true power of the gods to surface. A cyclone of purple energy blusters around Zahra as the Eye of Wdjat blazes and the Haunters scream with the rhythm of their chant and the gods come ever closer.

There's not much time left to stop them, if there was any at all in the first place. So.

What will you do?

Comments

[luckydragonsfoot]

This. Is the coolest thing ever.

Alright, so calamity is currently striking the land. Z-Power is everywhere. Pokemon are freaking out. The three gods are Literally rising up and looming threateningly around the Overwatch Base.

But?

"WHOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOO!!" It's a shame his pokemon have to be in the balls for this, he thinks- but god, if Yugi and the others could see him now! ...well. They'd probably be baffled actually, but, hey!

He's flying on a bird and the bird is Ra, and ain't that something!

Ra, notably, seems content to let Katsuya have his fun.

After all, once they get to the scene they'll both get serious. "ALRIGH'! LES' PUT A KINK IN THI'S!"

And well, no one said one couldn't have fun while doing their job.

[bloomingdespite]

The storm of Haunters swirls around the locus of this ritual, obscuring it from view... and making the flight bumpy for Ra's incarnation. The ghostly gale-force winds buffet the Pokémon, forcing him back as the Haunters cackle maniacally, reveling in the darkness the gods' appearance are causing.

There's no way Jonouchi is reaching the eye of the storm without punching a wall in the hurricane of ghosts first.

[luckydragonsfoot]

"HEH!" Suffice to say, they're both running on fight and hubris now. "Looks like we got a bit 'f a wall..!" Katsuya shouts, only partly able to remain humerous.

Especially when he clues into what these are. "O-Oi...A-Ain' these...G-gh-"

"MISCHEIVOUS SPIRITS!" is Ra's own shout- and just as he does so, the wall of ghosts slams into them, the bird squawking indigiantly. "YOU feel you can face the MIGHT of the SUN!?"

"NGH- Less talk more walk, big guy! They sure did a number jus' now!"

The bird scoffs. "HMN! I shall show PLENTY! I BRING YOU THE POWER OF FIRE!" Ra roars, shining red as a wave of heat is unleashed. "WE GO-!"

And so they charge, a massive Heat Wave moving forward.

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

The earth screams in agony to Zahra's song.

Z-Power leaks out of the island, desperately trying to stop the madness that was unfolding. The earth feels hot and Wes can smell sulfur faintly in the distance.

His Rotomdex warned him that this was due to the influence of a Faller but he hadn't imagined something as insane as this. Even if this got the Overwatch dumbasses out... this was going to destroy Alola. The healing land that Rui said to protect.

So he's on his way.

Wes' hoverbike roars as he vaults over the treeline and screeches to a halt around the blustering tornado. He jumps off the bike and scowls.

"What the actual hell are you doing?"

Can Zahra even hear them? Will the Haunters even let him approach?

[bloomingdespite]

Wes's yells are lost in the mad cackling of the Haunters as they fly faster and faster, stirring up gales empowered with impossibly-strong ghostly power. They pay no mind to him at all, too caught up in the joy of destruction to pay him any mind.

If Wes wants to punch talk to whoever's behind this, he's going to have to make his way through the tornado of ghosts first.

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

Fine by him. 100 on 2 aren't even the worst odds here. Wes flicks his shades on so he can see through the whipping sand and debris and takes his two Pokeballs out.

"Let's not waste time. Morpeko! Use Bite on the Haunter in front of us. Koffing! Use Assurance!"

The two Pokemon pop out of their balls and charge, despite the intimidating sight before them. Morpeko opens his jaws wide while Koffing reels back and slams right into the ghosts.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

"What the-?"

This is crazy...is this really Z-Power? It's crackling everywhere, like thousands of Z-moves went off at once. His Pokemon are all tense, especially Taka the Pheromosa.

"Guys, can you sense the origin of all this?"

Taka and Portus both point into the distance, in the direction of the Overwatch base.

"Are those guys up to something shady again...?! Let's go deal with them!"

oh, sena. if only you knew.

[bloomingdespite]

As Sena approaches the Overwatch base, chaos runs rampant in the streets. The citizens are screaming, running, and hiding from a titanic hurricane of purple wind and fangs and eyes in front of the military installation; the ghostly gales caused by the phenomenon enough to almost knock him over.

When he finally arrives, he sees three towering figures loom over Overwatch HQ, and a tornado of laughing Haunters behind them, from which he can sense power thrumming.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

Okay.

What the hell.

What are those?! Those don't look like Pokemon at all! Is it even safe to attack those?!

You know what, there's Haunters behind them, those look like a better target. It's probably safer to get those out of the way first.

"Portus! Let's knock them out of the way with a Hail Devil Mary pass!"

Portus conjures up several Shadow Balls, before imbuing them with Psychic power and launching them at breakneck speed. They rocket along the ground before launching up at precise angles, like a sniper's bullets.

[blue_ice]

This...isn't exactly Kaiba's day. Sure, he's riding in on Solgaleo's back, but the otherwise grand entrance is ruined by his mussed hair and Garchomp-print pajamas. Hey, he wasn't exactly prepared for the world to end tonight here!

His companion for today is a walking Stonehenge rock, infused with the spirit of Obelisk the Tormentor.

BY THE POWER OF RA, THIS IS CERTAINLY A MESS. OH DEAR ME, WE'LL NEED TO SMASH OUR WAY THROUGH ON THE DOUBLE. SHALL WE BEGIN, SETO?

Kaiba rolls up his sleeves, grits his teeth, and crouches into position. "Fine by me."

[bloomingdespite]

The Haunters cackle gleefully, swirling around the center of the ritual and creating an impassable tornado. The winds whipping off the ghostly cyclone are almost enough to knock Kaiba off his feet; if he wants to get inside, he's going to have to punch through.

Thankfully, he has the power of god and anime on his side.

[blue_ice]

Kaiba grits his teeth and crouches low.

"FISTS OF FURY!"

...and the power is not on his side, as Stonjourner is still getting the hang of this Obelisk thing. You can't...punch...wind...

So he's getting thrown, but Stonjourner is standing. Somehow.

Part II: EARTHSEA BOREALIS—Megathread

[bloomingdespite]

In the eye of the storm stands a young adult, hands clasped together as they bark out the words to an ancient spell in a forgotten tongue. The wind whips at their coat as it barely clings on to their frame, and their hair blows wildly from the ghostly gale. Their eyes glow a solid white, and the Eye of Wdjat, crowned on their brow, burns bright.

It's Zahra, of course. Who else could it be? Who else even has all three God Cards in Alola? But they don't seem cognizant of the chaos and destruction around them, focused on the ritual as they are. They don't even notice the arrival of the other Fallers. Somebody needs to wake them up.

[luckydragonsfoot]

There-!

Down to the ground where Kaiba has fallen, a shadow rises up; with pokemon and first aid aplenty, skirting through the chaos to focus on the help. Yuume can be there for her relative-

That much Katsuya knows, even if he can't quite see them. Instead his focus is on the chanting. His head pounds as his soul strains to try and join in, less to help but more from habit.

"FIRM, little ANCIENT! Hold FIRM, and RESIST the call of a TIME no longer YOURS!"

The blond nods, and does his best. "Nh... I don' wanna hurt them... But we gotta snap 'm outta th's..! Ra!"

The bird does not need a command. He takes them closer, and Katsuya prepares to leap.

[blue_ice]

Most of the team got here through skill, expertly taking down the Haunters and leaping into action.

Not Kaiba and Obelisk. The Haunters had easily trounced them, and it was a painful throw that had landed them in a heap. He'd just narrowly avoided Stonjourner shattering his bones, but he was still paralyzed by the force of the blow.

The ringing starts in his ears again, and darkness creeps across his vision. Is he blacking out, or...no, the shadow has his niece's voice. Her fairies work at helping Obelisk recover, and she grounds him with a gentle hand.

The god recovers first, naturally, a strange expression on that face. "Oh gracious. Seto, are you all right? I'm afraid I'm unused to being bound in this form, and there are some...difficulties."

"I...figured," he coughs, face red with anger and shame. "They'll pay for this."

"You mustn't!" Obelisk chides. "Poor impulse control is what started this crisis in the first place! You must focus and provide your guidance to the king if we're to save this island!"

Yuume agrees. Kaiba can feel it in the tension in her arms. He sighs and grits his teeth, giving a reluctant nod. One last check and he's finally released from the shadowy hold. The disgruntled duelist pulls himself up, leaning on Obelisk's leg for support.

"Fine. But next time I call out an attack, could you at least aim for the general ballpark of the target?"

"I shall endeavor to do so."

Seto trails behind the group, grimly watching and waiting. He's learned his lesson about leaping in without a plan.

OTA | SPECIFIY FOR JONOUCHI OR YUUME

[luckydragonsfoot]

The aftermath of the fight is a quiet sort of chaos, as everything settles. Somehow, damagewise, there actually wasn't much done...yet somehow, it feels far from the case. No one could have missed the Z-Energy coursing through the land, the power of the gods run rampant.

No one.

Standing and seething, Yuume's fists are clenched as she stares at where the mockery of her uncle disappeared, the shadows themselves lifting and misting around her. Eventually the armor fades however, and she falls to her knees as she pounds the ground with her fist. "NHHh..! This..!"

Words are lost to her. It'll be a moment before she remembers herself, or rather, the surroundings.

Katsuya however, is barely recovering. "Hhhg...Hhhuahhh...hhgg..." The headache finally fading, he twitches and reaches for the egg that was once Ra, holding it tight as Amar the Wooloo bleats and offers comfort. "Nhh...th' hell...what w'...what did 'e mean...by th' serpent..." he manages, voice bleary and vision struggling. It is then that he realizes who's near- Kaiba to one side, where he was depositied with care. Ryou to the-

Wait.

"Nh...B'kura..? Hahh...Shit... ...hell 'f a time t' come here I guess... ...wh..."

What's everyone doing...how is everyone...

He feels ready to collapse....

niece time

[blue_ice]

Kaiba is...holding up a little better, but the sight of Yuume so distraught stirs something in him. She's not far from where he is on the ground now, so he crawls forward, gently nudging her with his shoulder.

"Breathe. Come on."

niece time....

[shadowslipping]

She's quiet. Quiet, shoulders slumped as she slouches. "...Shouldn't that be my line?" she ultimately says without looking up. "You were the one hurt after all. I...."

Couldn't do anything to stop it. Help it.

It was as if she was only watching.

Sup Jou

[gm_of_my_own_soul]

Bakura is exhausted too. He's not sure what's happening but he's suddenly really drained and hungry. Still, the young man supports Jou up while holding his egg, though he staggers a little.

"No talking from you. You're exhausted and I barely understand what you're saying," Ryou says. He guides Jou towards a tree... a rock... somewhere they can sit down. "If you have a place you'd rather me take you to, start pointing, okay?"

[crazy_d_healing]

Josuke had come running to the sounds, close enough to familiar to cause his heart to beat out of control. Even without friends here, the worry that someone could be badly hurt was pounding through him.

Of course he told himself he was just going to find out what all the noise was about. By the time he arrived everything was over, not even the figure still visible. But there were people here and it seemed like some were injured. He was quick to head toward them, Crazy Diamond beside him, invisible to those who weren't attuned to seeing ghosts. He was close to Josuke, so that only a real empathy would notice the duplication of the teens worry and anxiety.

He headed toward the first person or creature he could see in need of healing, intent on fixing whatever he could. If he limpped more than he should be ignored it, and the stinging in his side, they didn't matter right now.

[luckydragonsfoot]

"MMMMMEEEEEEEH!"

The first one in line is, congrats..! ...A sheep?

Alright not really. It just bleats, and then rolls in the direction of a blond teen over at the side, an egg wrapped in his arms in a death grip. Physically, he seems mostly fine- inwardly though...not so much. Could use some fixing.

And yes, roll was literal.

[blue_ice]

Yeah, this one probably needs it.

There's a tall, lanky teenager strewn on the ground in his Garchomp pajamas (don't ask), muddy and bruised and obviously worse for the wear. The rest of the group has tried to help him, but they'd only been able to do so much in the heat of battle.

He's barely conscious, but he still registers an unfamiliar person nearby.

"Don't worry, I'm sure the apocalypse will be back sooner or later," he jokes, but he flinches as a coughing fit starts.

ota

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

A world without spirit.

That was what that man with Kaiba's face and that man's eyes had said. He couldn't have mistaken it. After all, that kind of world...it was something Sena himself could never forget.

They'd managed to drive off the strange man who'd come out of nowhere, and the gods had been stopped from rampaging, but...it didn't feel like a victory at all. No, they'd been stolen, locked away behind red chains; and all in all it feels like he's been transported back to that time in Celestic Town three and a half years ago. He hadn't been able to do anything back then, either...

After the battle, Sena can be seen staring intently into all his Pokemon's eyes. It's hard to see what he's looking for, but he's constantly seen sitting back in relief only to anxiously look at them again seconds later. It's like he's not entirely convinced he's seen what he's looking for.

Not to mention the lack of supervision he's giving them. Usually, he at least makes halfhearted attempts to rein them in when they start getting rowdy, but this time he seems content to just let them run and fight each other, working out their energy. The only one who doesn't really engage with the rest of the team is Taka, who stands by his side like a dutiful sentry.

"...I'm sorry, Taka. I didn't really lead you all well back there."

The Pheromosa tilts its head, like it's not quite sure what Sena means by those words.

"Hah...I guess you wouldn't really understand, what they've seen. This kind of thing...I think it bothers all of us. If that's what he really said, then..."

Sena looks pensive, even as Taka looks on.

[blue_ice]

The Seto Kaiba they know is alive, carefully leaning on a tree, but that's about all he can say. The group's finally had time to tend to his wounds, but he hasn't really felt like moving. He stares up at the open sky with Obelisk's egg in his lap, his future self's parting words echoing in his mind.

What scares him is how easily he can imagine himself in the other's shoes. He's always been like that, hasn't he? Extreme. Obsessed with having the most powerful cards, so that no one could stand against him. Fancying himself a god...and with his business empire, he had been, in a way.

And here he was again, holding the threat of the apocalypse over their heads. Would he become that? Kaiba wasn't a believer in predetermination, but just the possibility was worrying enough. Not that he'd likely live long enough to become that menace.

He'll head back home to try to sleep eventually. But not right now.

[gm_of_my_own_soul]

Ryou's tired.

He's been here for less than an hour but he's completely and utterly tired. A lot of things had happened and Ryou had so many questions he wanted to ask. Like who were these people? What were these monsters? Who was that old(?) Kaiba? What was going on? However, everyone is injured and tired so Ryou doesn't want to bother anyone.

The young man lays back on the ground, egg on his chest as he stares up at the now blue sky. He gives a long and tired sigh.

"... If nothing else... this whole ordeal has been terribly exciting."