A New Dimension, A New Threat

by ZeroChill

Decisions

The group of Pokémon and Fluttershy stood around in the briefing room. With the exception of Fluttershy, each member of the group was all garbed in their uniform. Mono glanced towards Lith’s direction, but turned his head away from the instant she met his gaze.

“Lith, can I tell you something?” He asked in a quiet voice.

“You can always ask me anything, Mono. We are twins after all.” Lith responded in a deadpan tone, not looking at Mono.

“First off, I want to apologize for how I acted last night. I should have never screamed at you like that.”

“Well… that was a bit out of character for you. But, why did you erupt like that? All I asked was a simple question.”

Mono remained silent, rubbing the top of his right paw with his left paw. His eyes glanced towards the ground and a solemn frown was etched onto his face.

“I… get very defensive when someone asks me a question like that. I mean, I don’t really have any sort of rebuttal against it because I will only know that I am lying to myself.”

“So it is true; you do have romantic feelings for Sophia.” Lith stated.

“All of our Pokémon know apparently, but yes. I’ve been spending a lot of time with Sophia when no one else is around. She understands the kind of person I was when no others could. She is one of the only things that actually made me feel like, well, a feeling individual. But, Poképhilia is banned and I was kind of afraid how everybody at the lab would feel.” Mono revealed.

“Well, I won’t think any differently of you. And that isn’t because you are my brother.” With a smile brimming with light, Lith responded. “I always believed that we should be with the ones we love, even if our choices are questionable.”

Mono forced a smile, giggling underneath his breath.

“You have always been the hopeless romantic, Lith.”

“Yep. Besides, you’re doing me a favor by going after Sophia. After all, with her out of the picture, Fei will be all mine.” Lith said.

Mono looked at her, imagining that she was a one-eyed being with three heads.

“Fei loves Sophia?”

“It’s only rumors, but I don’t want any sort of competition. Also Mono, can you please tell Gnasher to not read my diary anymore? She’s been snooping as much as she wants through it.”

Gnasher glared at Lith with a stare that frosted over her soul.

“Gnasher, why?” Mono asked.

“No reason. I just get bored from time to time.” Gnasher shrugged off.

“I would appreciate if you wouldn’t look through the private property of others without their permission next time, Gnasher. It just isn’t right under any circumstance to do so.”

“Alright, Mono. But, you have to find more ways to keep me entertained.”

“Will do.”

Spitfire walked into the room with an unmoving expression on her face. She tilted her shades to all of the Pokémon in the room. She walked up to Fluttershy, whose legs were trembling and cold sweat breaking out of her coat. She walked past her and stopped in front of the briefing table.

“Everyone break into this new world of yours yet? Because today, I’m giving you a mission.”

“What kind of mission?” Stereo asked.

“Simple; I want you to go out to the southeastern portion of the Terraformed Wilderness. One of our travel probes is off-line, and I want you eight to clear away the monsters infesting the area.” Spitfire explained.

“That seems a bit sudden.” Jasmine responded.

“It has to be sudden. Developing a new probe out of schedule is expensive and inconvenient for us. Therefore, we have to keep as many probes possible as active. Plus, if the monsters aren’t cleared away, then those new probes will also be destroyed.”

“That seems a bit dangerous.” Fluttershy noted. “Are you sure you want someone like me to venture into dangerous territory?”

“You aren’t a stranger to danger, Fluttershy. In fact, you’ve seen more danger than try to avoid it. Plus, someone’s going to have to be there to be their guide, and I cannot think of anyone else fit for the position.” Spitfire said.

“Well… that’s true. And, I really don’t want to see any of my new friends get hurt. Plus, someone has to drive the buggy. Very well, I’ll join on their trip.”

“Excellent. You can begin your mission at any time, but it has to be before eleven.”

---

The seven Pokémon sat in the open back of a black vehicle. They all sat with their limbs stretched out. The cool wind whisked off of their bodies and they were greeted by the scent of wild flora in the air.

“You know, sometimes I forget that this place was home to a warfront from aliens in space. It actually seems like a cool spot for a vacation.” With a content sigh, Rondo stated.

“There is a reason why we are in the back though. Spitfire says that the wilderness carries some nasty monsters that would love to ruin our plans.” Stereo noted.

“I don’t see any monsters yet. I don’t think they’ll come to us at all.”

From the distance, a large roar sounded out. A giant whale-dragon beast with green wings and luminescent flesh appeared in the horizon, aiming towards the buggy the group is in. Its six eyes were red with uncontrollable anger.

“You just had to say something, didn’t you, Rondo?” With a fire burning in her voice, Lith shouted.

“Now is not the time to argue; it is time to fight!” Mono called out, jumping on the top of the hood.

“You are not alone, Mono. I shall assist.” Lith stated, jumping onto his side.

Mono and Lith both unfolded their ears, revealing their extra eyes. They flashed their respective colors, causing all the Pokémon in the buggy to hide just behind the driver’s area. A massive shockwave emanated from the two siblings, knocking the behemoth outside of the sky and onto the ground. The buggy skidded to a stop and Fluttershy hopped out of the open door.

The rest of the Pokémon leapt off of the buggy and engaged the beast in the front.

“Fluttershy, you wouldn’t happen to know what this creature is would you?” Mono asked.

“It’s a brachyix, and it’s not too happy to see us.”

The brachyix let out a paralyzing roar, causing everyone to place their front limbs over their faces.

“Stereo, stun it with a supersonic!” Mono called out.

“Way ahead of you, Mono.”

Stereo took a deep breath of air in and screamed. Red sonic waves struck the brachyix, stopping it in midair. Shaking its head, it opened its maw. A blue gust of gasses blew out from it, covering the entire area in smoke.

“Rondo, fly up into the air and scan for the brachyix. We cannot let it have the edge over us.”

“Got it, Mono!”

Rondo flapped his wings several times, flying upwards. The gas thinned for him, allowing him to breach through the surface into clean air. With his sharp eyes, he detected a shadow moving quickly to the center of gas from the northeast. Rondo flapped his wings, unleashing a Heat Wave towards the direction. The glass cleared away and the brachyix was revealed from its guise.

“Good job, Rondo!” Jasmine shouted.

“Thanks, but you have to be-“Rondo began saying when the brachyix appeared from underneath him and crashed its head against his body. Rondo winced, but flew out of its way by using the force launching him. “That was a close one!”

Jasmine’s body flashed, unleashing a dazzling gleam towards its direction. It stood in the air, twitching from the strike.

“Whatever it is, it’s weak to Fairy-type moves. It doesn’t look like a Fighting-type and its body betrays a potential Dark-typing.” Jasmine informed.

“I got just the thing to bring a chill into its nerves.” Stereo said, opening his massive maws. A light blue beam shot out of it, striking the brachyix. “Hah! The Ice Beam is working!”

The brachyix broke free from the ice and turned towards Stereo’s direction.

“You might have spoken too soon, Stereo.” Custard said.

The brachyix cloaked itself in scorching flames and charged itself towards the crowd. Mono held up both of his arms, creating a light blue shield around everyone. The strike from the beast knocked everyone back and their clothing suffered slight scorching.

“That was an Outrage. Wait, Custard!” Lith shouted, running over to the downed Custard.

“I’m fine, Lith. It’s just a scratch.” Custard responded, smiling but with wobbling legs. Gnasher hopped up off her feet and punched her open set of left claws with her right claws.

“You see, now that means I have to hurt it.”

Gnasher sprinted towards the brachyix, slashing it with a Dragon Claw. It roared, but torqued its body and swiped its tail across Gnasher’s face, knocking her over. Mono’s eyes flashed and grasped the beast in his psychic hold.

Custard got off the ground, unleashing a Dragon Pulse straight from his mouth and into the scratched portion of the brachyix’s body. Mono lifted the brachyix into the air, which became shot by Stereo’s Ice Beam. The center of Lith’s paw charged with a Signal Beam, firing into the damaged area of the brachyix.

“Down you go!” Mono shouted, thrusting it down with a telekinetic slam. The brachyix lied on the ground, motionless.

“Is it… dead?” Lith asked.

Fluttershy galloped to its side and placed her hoof on its face.

“It’s just unconscious. I just don’t understand it.” She stated.

“What don’t you understand?” Lith asked.

“Brachyixes are normally docile in nature, only attacking when it is aggravated. I was driving at a safe speed, and this particular one flew from the direction of the probe.”

“So, what you maybe are saying is that there is something at the probe that is causing these creatures to go berserk?” Mono asked.

“It’s a theory, but it could be true. This gives us even more reason to make haste towards the probe.” Fluttershy said with a surprising burst of dedication in her voice.

“Wow, Fluttershy, you sound confident all of a sudden.” With her eyes widened to dinner plates, Lith commented.

“Even if these are monsters that have the capability of hurting others, I cannot stand something that is driving these normally docile creatures insane. We have to make it to that probe under every possible circumstance. Now.”

---

The buggy cruised along the bumpy plains, shaking the benches of the Pokémon. Rondo gripped the cushion of his seat with a crushing hold, not letting his body launch out of the vehicle. Gnasher looked to her right and eyed a darker patch of purple over the left shoulder of Custard’s cloth.

“Custard… your shoulder.”

Custard glanced towards his shoulder and touched it.

“It doesn’t hurt as bad as it looks. I’ll just have it patched up and be good as new.”

“You idiot! That was a direct Outrage you took from the Brachyix when jumping in front of me! We don’t know just how strong these creatures are. You could have gotten yourself killed!” Gnasher snapped.

“Maybe I just wanted to protect you. I may not have the most durable body, but I will not stand to see you or any of my family harmed like that. I will gladly shield everyone with my body if I could.” Custard replied.

“Just try not to get too beat up, alright? I don’t want to have to be the one to bury you.”

“I’ll try not to get too hurt, then. But, you’ll have to promise me that you’ll try to not bring yourself into much danger as well.”

Stereo looked over towards Rondo’s wings and saw darkened patches underneath his feathers.

“Rondo, are you alright? You look hurt.” He asked.

“It’s just the dangers of doing some risky things. I don’t really mind, though. I’m just glad I am able to help.” Rondo responded.

“I may have known you for years now, Rondo, but I always forget how tough your small bird body is.” With lighthearted laughter bellowing out of his mouth, Stereo commented.

The window behind the driver’s seat scrolled down and Fluttershy looked back towards the Pokémon.

“We’re almost at the probe. I want you all to be prepared for whatever may be there, if that is okay with you.”

In the distance was a white structure that towered some of the larger buildings in Neo Canterlot. It had a white dish at the top and several open passages leading into its heart. The buggy stopped and Fluttershy disembarked from her seat. The Pokémon all hopped and flew over the edge of their seats.

“Something is a bit… off here. Shouldn’t this place be swarming with monsters?” Mono asked.

“That is weird. Where could they all be?” Fluttershy questioned, placing her left front hoof underneath her chin.

A shadow the size of a moon descended upon the group. Everyone looked into the sky, eyeing a hoard of brachyix and one that is at least five times bigger than normal.

“Awww, come on! We had trouble dealing with one brachyix! How are we supposed to beat a whole hoard of them and their alpha?!” Rondo shouted.

“This may be a good time to run inside the probe now.” Lith suggested. She looked behind her and saw that everyone made haste towards a nearby passage. She sighed. “I would have loved it if you waited for me!”

---

The lights in the hallway flickered on and off with an erratic pattern. Sparks of blue electricity flickered throughout the broken wires and open bulbs. A feeling of dread and suspense gripped the group’s nerves, walking through the hall with the atmosphere of a haunted house.

“What happened in here? I knew that those brachyixes outside are destructive, but I never imagined that they can fit inside this place and do direct damage.” Jasmine said.

“Now that I think about it, the structure outside is relatively unharmed. If anything, this implies that there is an intruder aboard the probe.” Fluttershy theorized.

Saying these words, her heart stopped and fear gripped her wings. Jasmine glanced towards Fluttershy with her eyes jolted open in surprise.

“Fluttershy? What’s wrong?” She asked.

“There are Equusians working on this particular probe! We have to make sure that they are okay.” Fluttershy shouted, running into the hallway.

“Wait, Fluttershy!” Mono screamed, following Fluttershy in a sprint. The rest of the Pokémon soon followed suit.

Fluttershy wandered into a larger room with computer monitors everywhere. A horrified gasp escaped her throat, seeing a blue-coated earth pony stallion in a lab coat with a light blue mane and tail, both were roughed up and pink eyes sprawled on the floor. His legs were swelled with liquid and inflammation in several places, his joints were dislocated in acute angles and his spine was twisted three times over. He moaned out in pain.

“Blue Land!” Fluttershy stated, kneeling down by Blue Land’s line of sight.

“F-Fluttershy…?” He said in a decrepit tone.

The rest of the Pokémon sprinted into the room. Jasmine’s head backed away and she sealed her mouth. A slight gag was heard from her voice.

“Good Arceus! What happened here?!” She shouted.

“It doesn’t matter… who you others… are. But please… hear my story.” Blue Land responded. “A… member of the… Van’Goth came in and… began destroying this place. I tried confronting him… but he left me… in this state.”

“Oh my!” Fluttershy said. “Then… this place is sabotaged?”

“Not… necessarily. But… the alien brought a weird stone… that is causing this place to be… under attack.” With a yelp in pain, Blue Land explained.

“Mono! Please help me help him. He is in very bad shape.”

Mono shied his head away. A flash of melancholy appeared within his eyes.

“Fluttershy… he’s badly injured. Even if we get him emergency help and surgery now, these injuries will guarantee that he will never be the same pony he was before the incident.”

“Wh-what?” Fluttershy uttered out, a stray tear falling from her right eye.

“As much as I’d hate to say it, Fluttershy, Blue Land is beyond saving. We have to euthanize him.” With a heavy tone filled with regret, Lith suggested.

“N-no! We can’t kill him. It’s not right!”

“P-please! This pain… it’s horrible… every waking moment… is in agony…” Blue Land uttered out.

“Please, Blue Land! I don’t want to lose you. You are one of my closest friends!” Fluttershy pleaded.

“I appreciate… the thought. But the pain… it hurts so much. I want it… to end. Please, Fluttershy… as a friend… do me an act of kindness… and end my suffering.”

Fluttershy’s heart ripped in half by Blue Land’s request. Her cries were stifled by her throat. She shut her eyes, letting her tears pool underneath her eyelashes. She walked up to Blue Land’s head and grasped it with the gentle hold of a caregiver.

“Breaking your neck… will be instant, Blue Land. You won’t have to suffer anymore.” She said in a voice steeped in sadness. A weak smile appeared on Blue Land’s face.

“Thank you… Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy jerked her hooves with an unhesitating force behind them. A loud crack echoed throughout the area. Blue Land’s body twitched for a moment and stopped moving. She opened her eyes and turned to the direction of the group with rivers flowing down them.

“That must have been hard to do.” With his voice void of any joy, Rondo replied.

“I never hope I have to do that again. I think a piece of my heart died when carrying that out.”

“You did… what was right.” Lith said.

Mono shook his head.

“I apologize that you had to do that. I would have done it so that you would not have the blood of your friend on your hooves.”

“No… it had to be me. Blue Land would have wanted to die in the care of someone he values.”

“I’m sorry if I sound like a jerk about it, but don’t we have a mission to complete? We can’t focus on someone’s death if it gets in the way of our mission. In fact, I think this Blue Land would want us to resolve the issues here.” Gnasher said.

“You’re right Gnasher, and I know just the place where it could be. In the lowest possible level of every probe, there is a command center that processes information and sends it to HQ. If that stone he mentioned is here, then it must be there.” Fluttershy said.

“Then let’s make head there before the situation worsens. I do not want to fight all of those brachyixes outside.” Mono replied.

---

The group sprinted down a series of closed-in staircases, running a marathon against the clock. At the end of the stairs was a shining light that beckoned their objective. At the base of the stairs, the group was greeted by the sight of three monitors the size of billboards. The monitors each displayed several images outside, showing the brachyixes’ on-screen attacking the probe. The rumbling of their attacks shook even the base of the probe.

“Now, if I was a weird stone, where would I be?” Rondo wondered aloud.

Stereo flipped the dashboard of the central monitor open, revealing a black and shimmering stone betwixt the wiring.

“Maybe in here?”

Fluttershy hovered towards the gem, picking it up. The rock was icy to the touch, almost freezing a hole through her hoof. She dropped it on the floor, waving her hoof with clenched teeth.

“It hurts holding it. We should destroy it.” She suggested.

“Good idea. But… where do we go to destroy it?” Lith asked.

“Every probe has a built-in furnace for incinerating scraps and other products to destroy sensitive objects. It is actually over there.” Fluttershy responded, pointing over to a box in the wall that crackled with red electricity.

“That might be too convenient. I’d be wary about that thing if I were you.” Mono said.

“It’s not like this stone can turn into some sort of Dark-type and Ice-type Ninja, right?” Rondo asked.

The strange rock floated into the air, gaining more mass and developing razor limbs and a needle head. Its eyes flashed in a grim red and it crossed its arms.

“Now look at what you did, you dumb bird! Didn’t you know to never invoke Murphy’s Law?” Gnasher chastised.

“Ummm… what’s Murphy’s Law?” Fluttershy asked.

“Basically, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Now, we have to fight a Dark-type and Ice-type Ninja because Rondo implied that it wouldn’t happen.” Lith explained.

“Ohhhhh. Oh.”

The strange being sharpened its blades on each other, dashing forward with its arms held out towards Fluttershy. Mono raised a Reflect over Fluttershy, shielding her from most of the damage. The blow from the strike sent her flying towards a monitor. She shut her eyes, expecting the feeling of glass shattering through her body to arrive. But, it never did.

She opened her eyes, finding herself levitating in the air and Lith’s left paw extended out.

“I won’t let you die, Fluttershy.”

“Thanks, Lith.”

Lith lowered Fluttershy onto the ground and faced the strange being.

“Mono, I suggest you stick to healing us and buffing our defenses against this thing.”

“Understood, Lith.”

The strange being’s eyes flashed for a moment, creating an X-shaped slash with both of its arms. A raging gust of frozen wind enveloped the battlefield.

“Allow me to counter that!” Rondo said, whipping out a Heat Wave with his wings.

The Heat Wave and the Blizzard collided against each other, not allowing one to win over the other. Lith fired a Signal Beam towards the direction of the strange being, chipping away at the stone. Gnasher broke through the temperature barrier, biting the being with her Crunch. She tossed it into the air, where Jasmine unleashed a Dazzling Gleam and struck it. It vanished within a veil of darkness.

“Where did it go?” Stereo asked, moving his head everywhere.

The being reappeared on top of a monitor, slashing away chunks of black ice towards Stereo. Mono erected a Quick Guard, protecting him from the shards of ice. The being vanished again.

“Great, where is it now?” Lith wondered aloud.

A cloud of darkness appeared behind Custard, disappearing and giving way to the being. Custard turned around and a sudden gasp escaped from his throat.

“Oh no you don’t!” Stereo shouted, holding out his two arms and placing them to his right side.

A light blue sphere of energy built between his hands, pulsating with power. He threw the ball of energy against the being. The being took a step backwards, dodging it. The ball crashed into the dashboard of a monitor, causing an explosion of dust. Stereo grimaced.

“Don’t feel bad, Stereo. That was still a good Focus Blast.” Mono comforted.

“Thanks, but I would have liked it if it hit.” Stereo admitted.

“I got this now!” Custard shouted.

A dark purple ooze with a foul smell formed around him, twisting in several directions. Extending his right arm outwards, he directed the sludge towards the being in front of him in a wave. The sludge osmosed into the being, shattering half of its left shoulder. Its back faltered and its eyes turned a dark shade of purple.”

“Good hit, Custard!” Lith said. “Now it’s time for me to finish it off.”

She fired a Signal Beam from her hand, striking the writhing being. The being’s body turned into glass, cracking from the legs and up. It shattered, releasing a black shockwave the buffered everyone back.

“Did we… win?” Fluttershy asked, her voice seeping with uncertainty.

The active monitors on the screen displayed the brachyixes outside stopping in their assault. Their red eyes turned into a peaceful blue. They all floated away from the probe. Rondo let out a quick smile.

“We did it!” He screeched.

Lith walked over towards one of the pieces of the dark glass on the floor, picking it up and humming.

“It’s not deathly cold anymore, that’s for sure. Mono, would you mind sending this to R&D for analysis for me?”

“Will do, Lith.” Mono replied. “It’s just so weird though; why does the Van’Goth have such interest in this place that they went through the trouble of putting this inside here?”

“The probes are our connection to the outside world.” Fluttershy stated. “They allow us to gather information so that we can plan out our missions in each region. They also allow for field agents to teleport directly to a probe as well.”

“That is interesting, but it still leaves answers as to why they couldn’t have just destroyed it themselves. Why did they have to insert this thing inside?” Jasmine asked.

“It seems like we have many unanswered questions, and I expect that having them answered will only lead to more questions. For now, let’s just say that our mission is completed.” Lith announced.

---

Fluttershy appeared in Spitfire’s Command Room, saluting with a stone-frosted eyes and mouth on her face. Spitfire smiled.

“I trust that the issues involving the probe have been resolved?”

“Yes. We found a foreign object in the command center of the probe and battled it. It is sent to R&D for analysis, but it was the cause of the monsters going berserk and attacking it.” Fluttershy reported.

Spitfire glanced into Fluttershy’s eyes, seeing them twitch and eyeing a dash of red within them. She frowned.

“So there were no survivors it seems.”

Fluttershy slanted her eyes, frowned and looked away.

“There was one… but he was in so much pain. Mono and Lith said that he would never be the same pony that he was even if we put him under intensive care. I… had to euthanize him.” On the verge of tears, she said.

“It was Blue Land, wasn’t it?” Spitfire asked, taking off her shades and revealing her empathetic eyes. Fluttershy nodded. Spitfire walked around her table, hugging Fluttershy by her neck. She felt the moisture of Fluttershy’s tears running down her shoulder. “Just let it all out. It does no one good to hide their feelings.”

“I never thought… I would have to kill someone… to help them. Especially not a good friend like him.” Fluttershy blubbered out.

“I know how it is like to lose a friend. I’ve already lost several friends during this war, some of which I had no choice but to execute myself.”

Fluttershy backed away from Spitfire. Tears ran down her face, but the clouds of sadness in her eyes were replaced with raging suns.

“Spitfire, I want to learn how to use a rifle.”

---

Mono sat within the Pokémon group’s room, staring down on the ground. He took in a deep breath, exhaling a shaken air.

“Mono, are you all right?” Lith asked, walking into the room.

“I’m fine, Lith. I’m just trying to rest my nerves over what happened in our mission.” Mono responded.

Lith sat down next to Mono, craning her neck down and looking at his eyes.

“There wasn’t much we can do for that stallion, if that is what you were referring to. I have never seen anyone that had their anatomy mangled that badly before.”

Mono sat up and looked onto Lith with lidded eyes.

“Lith, if I was ever in that much pain; would you have mercy killed me as well?”

“What?!” Jolting her back upwards and her eyes and mouth widening to their peaks, Lith shouted. “Why would I do that?!”

“Just imagine it. I had my spine broken in several areas, my limbs were shattered and my body will never be able to recover. Do you think it would be better to leave me alive like that, or would it be better just to end my existence?”

“I… I don’t know. If you were anything less than family, I would have done it for you. But… you are literally my twin. You are the only family I have left in this world. I would lose a part of my heart if I did that. Without mother… without father… without you… I would end up being insane with grief.”

Mono turned his head the opposite side, frowning.

“I’m sorry I even mentioned it, Lith. But, seeing how Fluttershy killed her friend because of his condition… it leaves much to think about.”

“I don’t blame you, Mono.” Shaking her head, Lith uttered out. “But, it would be an even more difficult decision for me to make if you were in Blue Land’s condition.”

Mono placed his left paw on Lith’s shoulder, caressing it with a fairy’s grace.

“If it would make you feel better, I would feel the same way if that happened to you as well. Fate just has some twisted mechanisms meant to hurt people. But, I promise that I will never let you be hurt like that.”

Lith looked into Mono’s eyes with a wide, but tearful smile.

“I promise that I won’t let you be hurt like that either, Mono. I promise that with the bottom of my heart.”

The two siblings embraced each other.

---

Wilhelm walked through the command center of the probe, eyeing the glass spread out throughout the floor. A devilish smirk covered his entire lower face.

“It seems that the little bug I planted here was removed and destroyed. Nonetheless, I got what I needed; valuable information on those new creatures.”