Kut was relieved to see that everybody but Alpha and Fuego had returned unscathed. Now it was a matter of saving their home and preventing any more deaths.

They gathered around the table where stories were exchanged for hopefully the last time and when it came time to talk about plans and the Portal dilemma Zen quickly took over the meeting. "Future Sight has been getting murkier and murkier for me, almost as if something is blocking me from seeing into the future. But I did manage to discern that there was a good chance the Guild would be in danger, so I made sure to stock up on plenty of supplies to build Portals." Everybody instantly relaxed upon hearing this news.

"However, I'm not sure how much survived all of this. Most of it was stored in the Basement Storage Unit." Zen explained.

Gizzit furrowed his brow. "We have a basement?"

Zax nodded. "I kept it secret from the members because it was where we stored most of the Guild's funding as well as Emergency Supplies."

"Well it seems simple enough then," Jet said. "We go to the storage unit and grab whatever we need."

Zen shook her head. "I doubt it's that simple. The entrance was only accessible via the elevator and a special key card. It's not too deep down but digging through all the sand and then the metal doesn't seem too practical."

Kut quickly formed an idea. "We know where the elevator shaft used to be. It should still be mostly clear. We extracted the elevator itself during the base building to add to the scrap metal pile."

Zen grinned. "Perfect! Kut you come with me and we'll retrieve what supplies we can preserve."

Gizzit stood up. "If it's alright with you guys I'd like to come to."

Zen shrugged. "Go ahead, you're more than welcome to Gizzit." She motioned for Kut to lead the way and he drifted to the giant hole in the ground. There was definitely some debris there but nothing major.

They scaled down the shaft without much difficulty and reached a dark metal hallway. A useless lightbulb was stuck to the ceiling and sparks flew from various parts of the wall.

"This is also where we kept the generator for the Guild. I'm assuming after all the attacking the thing went haywire." Zen murmured.

"With any luck," Gizzit said, slipping through the narrow hallway. "We'll be able to salvage that too."

The small party arrived at a small unlit room Gizzit created a small electric ball in his hand to give them some light.

Dozens of electronics and items lined the walls, a couple had fallen on the ground but most of everything seemed to be completely intact. There was a shut door to another room in the back.

"Where does that lead?" Gizzit asked.

Zen was looking for something and didn't turn to respond. "That's the door with the generator and the Guild funds."

"Hey, Kut lets go check it out," Gizzit suggested. Kut supposed he was curious enough to check so he nodded in agreement.

Kut had always been intrigued by Gizzit when he was an Elekid. Intelligent and a Pokémon with great potential, yet he was far too childish for Kut's liking. After Gizzit's evolution, he seemed to have matured quite a bit and Kut was more willing to let him wield the Sword Pokémon.

Gizzit and Kut forced the door open and looked around the smaller room. The generator was sparking and seemed to be going completely haywire, a large chest likely storing the Guild's money was in the corner covered in locked padlocks.

Kut had a bad feeling about this.

Gizzit went over to the generator and began tinkering around with it. Kut wasn't entirely sure what he saw but some sort of murky mass began to appear behind Gizzit.

Kut dashed forward and slashed at the mass. The creature skunk back into the darkness, protecting its green gem.

Gizzit looked up. "Kut? What's going on?"

"If I had to guess, there's a Shadow lurking around here. Must've stayed behind during the attack." Kut replied, scanning the area of the Shadow. "If only I could see it."

Gizzit stood up. "I have an idea." He gripped Kut's hilt and electricity began to flow into Kut. The Sword quickly conducted the electricity and his entire body was engulfed in powerful lightning. Providing light to the room and ensuring anybody hit by his blade was in for a bad time.

The electricity hurt Kut but it was more of a small buzz than anything major. He'd survived much worse for much longer.

The light gave away enough of the room to reveal the Shadow. Which made for the door, but Kut simply released the electricity he had pent up in the Shadow's direction and it was immediately destroyed.

They stepped back outside and Zen asked what had happened, Kut explained that they'd run into a Shadow but handled it.

Zen picked up a handful of electronics and looked over them carefully. "These should be intact. Then all we have to do is set them up. We can come back down here to salvage various materials later. Let's go." With that Zen walked out of the room and back to the end of the hall.

The three of them spent a good amount of time trying to safely get the large delicate electronics up the shaft. They managed to do it after a good 20 minutes of struggling.

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Marshadow silently watched them all discuss various plans around the table and he wished he could be anywhere but here. So he decided it was time to get something that could provide necessary in the battles to come.

"Zax," Marshadow got the Zangoose's attention quickly. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to retrieve an old possession of mine from the Shadow Realm. It's a set of Mirror Ruby Armor. It could really turn the tides of battle." When Zax seemed confused as to how Marshadow explained the properties of Mirror Ruby.

"Like that crown on Shadow Deoxy's head. That's Mirror Ruby. And has probably left a nasty mark on his head." Marshadow explained. Zax was hesitant to approve of the mission.

"Marshadow, if you get caught-"

"You've seen yourself that the majority of Shadows are packed into ravaging this island."

"Just-stay away from Shadow Deoxys." Zax begrudgingly approved the mission and Marshadow grinned, concentrating his energy he warped back to the Shadow Realm.

Words could not describe how dreadful it felt returning to his disgusting place. Even if using his old Shadow Powers had a nostalgic phenomenon to them, this wasn't one he was excited to use often.

Marshadow put his memory to the test as he drifted through the desecrate and empty realm. Marshadow was pretty sure he remembered where it was.

Various landmarks stuck out to him. Once highly populated areas, now the Shadow Villages were barren and empty. Marshadow came upon his Mirror Ruby Armor without much trouble.

The armor was on a stand, located in a small nook of the pillar Marshadow used to live in. Rooms had been carved into the wall and ran throughout the pillar. Under a sort of balcony that had been installed was a small hole that led to where he was hiding the armor.

He couldn't bring himself to look through the now destroyed home, and instead simply slipped into the hole holding his armor.

The armor consisted of two shin braces, two wrist braces, a helmet, and a chest plate that covered both his front and back. The armor was all a dark crimson color.

He took the armor off of its stand and put it on. "Good to have this stuff back," Marshadow remarked and he left his home, trying to get back to where he'd originally come from so that he wouldn't have to make a long trek back in the real world.

His eyes drifted and he saw Shadow Deoxys on the central pillar. The Phantom King stormed around the pillar. He was shouting so loudly that Marshadow could hear him from his distant position.

"You mean to tell me you haven't squashed a single rebellion! Must I really do it myself?" He was screaming into a portal, likely at Shadow Rayquaza.

Marshadow drifted in closer and closer so that he could hear the conversation clearly.

"Lord Deoxys, please understand, it's quite hard to weed out all of the resisting Pokémon when the majority of our military might needs to be preserved for the rest of the invasion." Shadow Rayquaza pleaded.

Shadow Deoxys roared with rage. "Squash the bugs! If the Shadows can't do it in three days time, blow it all up yourself! Get off your lazy dragon ass and do something!"

Marshadow could kill Shadow Deoxys there. He could probably handle the Pokémon alone. Deoxys was missing an entire arm. Marshadow could get revenge for years of torture.

Revenge would feel nice.

But he couldn't get the image of him losing miserably and ruining all of the Malenen Pokémon's chances of freedom out of his head. Marshadow slowly and carefully backed away.

He eventually drifted to about where he thought he'd come from, so he warped back and found himself outside the Guild.

A large portion of the Guild was outside, glaring at an Electivire, a Clefable, and a Gengar. Gizzit was up front with Kut in his grasp.

"Get out of here you bastard!" Gizzit growled, pointing his sword friend at the Electivire.

The Electivire nervously looked around and spotted Marshadow. "Marshadow, good to see you've turned over a new leaf. Please don't let them kill us!"

Marshadow tilted his head. "I'm sorry but who in the Distortion are you?"

————————————————————————

Alpha's eyes slowly began to open, he wanted to turn over but found that he was simply on his knees. He tried to move his hands but a loud metal clank brought the memories of yesterday back to him.

He looked out in the real world. The Shadow controlling him was patrolling around some sort of camp. Shadows drifted all around the various tents, joking, laughing, and bragging about the destruction they'd laid upon the island.

Alpha struggled against the binds for a good few minutes before finally stopping and crumpling to his knees. "Shadow Scum." He murmured.

A gigantic metallic titan materialized before him. Its entire body was made of purple mist. Its two eyes were glowing yellow orbs and it towered over Alpha.

"Be careful what you say when you are at my will Pokémon!" The titan boomed.

"So you're the one keeping me prisoner here? Figures it's a giant robot thing." Alpha snapped. Meeting the eyes of the giant Pokémon.

The Titan got close to his face. "Impressive how you assume you have any power here and that you shouldn't grovel at my feet."

Alpha didn't flinch his gaze. "This is all in MY mind, Shadow." Alpha reminded him.

"A mind that you can't effectively wield. And therefore you are at my will. I can torment you in this world you pathetic Heatmor." The Titan clarified. "I'm in your head. I know everything about you. All your fears. All your secrets."

Alpha steeled his face. "I'm not scared of some eternally damned villain."

The Giant began to laugh. "Villain? I'd hardly consider myself a villain. I only want to survive."

"And your solution is to invade a realm of innocent Pokémon and posses them?" Alpha responded.

"Let me tell you why you're so wrong about us Pokémon. I was a Pokémon who did nothing wrong in my life, yet I ended up in a Crumbling Realm."

Alpha was suddenly transported to the Shadow Realm. Dozens of Shadows were fighting over a Pokémon who had wandered into the realm. One Shadow smashed the gem of another and claimed his prize.

"Every time a victim wandered in, the Shadows would fight desperately to control it. Because the vessel would prevent us from being on the bottom of the food chain. None of us asked to be Shadows. We were brought there out of chance, put in a Realm meant to hold devilish criminals throughout the Multiverse. Yet with every truly awful Pokémon, dozens of innocent Pokémon ended up in there. Trapped and angry." The Giant Pokémon explained to Alpha. Showing him scenes of Shadows desperately fighting for a Pokémon or for a home.

"Shadows have to fight for real estate. Especially when the realm crumbles and dozens of homes are destroyed." He showed a memory of a Shadow pillar collapsing into the It's an unstable place, but our 'King' wouldn't listen. Even when we told him of the Missing Palace's similar problem, and how one MissingNo managed to do what we wouldn't. He failed but he was one Pokémon. We all knew drastic measures had to be taken, but Marshadow refused. And we found someone willing to. Now, we all have a home to claim thanks to our new leader."

"By taking the homes of others!" Alpha pointed out. Yet, he couldn't fight their points. Marshadow had screwed up big time.

The misty Pokémon seemed to grin. "You know it's true. You know we've been wronged. Now, hopefully, you'll think before you insult your warden." With that he and the environment faded away, once again suffocating Alpha in darkness.

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And another chapter done and out just like I promised! This time featuring us jumping perspectives. I'm sorry for everybody who doesn't like when stories change change POVs in the same chapter but it just won't be possible to accomplish what I want to accomplish without an obnoxious amount of chapters without this writing tool.

I hope everybody enjoyed this chapter, thanks for reading this story so far and let me know if you're enjoying it! Have a great day everybody, bye!