Spacemon: Frontier – Chapter 100: Loose Ends

Welcome to the finale of this saga of Spacemon, the tale of a Pokemon TRPG campaign! This is a spinoff of the sci-fi space epic played using the Pokemon Tabletop United (PTU) system, this time GMed by yours truly. You can get caught up on the entire Spacemon saga here!

“Rozovyy, deal with them.”

Everyone in the room stood on edge with their weapons all pointed at each other as the mysterious Pokemon floated above the table. Each of them was just waiting for someone else to make a move. Ace tightened his grasp on his Aegislash as he sized up the new threat. He had never seen a Pokemon like this one before so he didn’t know what to expect.

“The hell is that thing?” Floyd asked what everyone was thinking.

“Oh, this?” Mira calmly asked, seemingly undaunted by all the men pointing weapons around her. “This is Diancie, a rare Pokemon native to this moon. It is an elegant, powerful creature … and the last thing you will ever see.”

Mira clapped her hands, and the Pokemon’s eyes flashed. A loud clatter filled the air as a hail of large pink diamonds began to rain down from above. Ace raised his Aegislash’s shield above his head to protect himself from the falling stones.

“Aw yeah, let’s do this!” Floyd called out as he ripped off his shirt with his cybernetic hand. He then grabbed one of his Pokeballs and sent out his Staraptor.

Things kicked off rather quickly from there. Taraka released his Wailord to the right of the table, while Gaster sent out his Milotic to the left and Lars released his Rapidash behind them. Gunfire began to break out as they all commanded their Pokemon to attack. The Pokemon moved to engage the guards at the door and, in the ensuing chaos, Ace charged at Mira around the edge of the table.

“Sentinel, Iron Head!” he shouted as he lunged at her.

Ace brought his Aegislash down in a vertical slash, but Mira quickly turned away and the blade instead cut into her long, flowing sleeve. Before the fabric even hit the floor, the four nearby guards aimed their guns at Ace and opened fire. Ace instinctively raised his Aegislash’s shield, allowing the much more gunfire-resistant Pokemon take the hits. Unfortunately, Mira was able to slip away and hide behind one of the pillars in the back.

“Take care of this filth!” Mira ordered her men from the safety of the pillar.

Heeding their boss’s command, the guards all sent out Pokemon of their own. The two by the door released a Granbull and a Mawile, the two in the middle of the room sent out a Clefable and an ice variant Ninetales flanking Gaster and Taraka, and the last two released a Primarina and a Siinotic on either side of Ace. Much like the Diancie, as Mira had called it, a trio of floating pink orbs of light appeared surrounding each Pokemon.

“Xuanlu, Sparkling Aria!” the Primarina’s trainer commanded. The Pokemon moved in to attack, unleashing a wave of shimmering water.

Ace mauvered out of the way of the crashing wave, but the Shiinotic’s trainer ordered a follow-up attack, “Mogu, Moonblast!” Regaining his footing, Ace barely had a moment to raise Sentinel’s shield to guard against the blast of radiant light.

Just then, Taraka’s Wailord unleashed a rushing torrent along the right flank, sweeping the two guards there off their feet. As it was starting to seem quite dangerous to remain so far forward, Ace used the opportunity to fall back. Keeping his Aegislash raised, he began to retreat back toward his friends.

“Ariala, Minimize, then use Calm Mind!” the Clefable’s trainer commanded as Ace backed up. The Clefable proceeded to shrink itself down and take cover under one of the chairs, where it began to build up power as the other guards barked orders at their own Pokemon.

The Ninetales fired an Ice Beam attack at Gaster, landing a glancing hit, while the Granbull rushed Lars with flaming jaws. Lars managed to dodge past the charging Pokemon, then he quickly turned and fired his pistol at it, scoring a direct hit. Unfortunately, the Granbull absorbed one of the lights floating around it, which seemed to heal the wound. The Mawile moved in as well, diving at Gaster’s Milotic with an Iron Head attack. The Tender Pokemon was too fast for it, though, and maneuvered to the side, receiving only a minor scrape that was quickly healed by the restorative veil of water surrounding her.

“Francisca, use Hydro Pump!” Gaster responded. His Pokemon then spit out a powerful jet of water at her attacker, sending it flying back across the room. Much like the Granbull, it absorbed one of its lights to restore itself, but the attack had left it pretty hurt.

By this point, Ace had almost made it back to the others, but before he could get there, the Primarina slid across the floor to cut him off and the Shiinotic moved to flank him as the Pokemon’s trainers opened fire on him. Ace blocked the incoming fire with his Aegislash’s shield as he swiped at the Primarina with the blade. The Aegislash cut into the Pokemon, but it fired one of its floating lights back, which detonated in an explosion of energy that sent Ace stumbling back.

Seeing that Ace was in trouble, Lars commanded his Rapidash to come to his aid, “Comet, help him out!”

“Rozovyy, Stone Edge,” Mira ordered her Pokemon from behind her column, pointing out the charging Rapidash.

“Look out!” Ace shouted as the Diancie unleashed its attack. Thinking fast, he threw his Aegislash in front of Lars’s Pokemon. “Sentinel, block it!” The Royal Sword Pokemon rotated in midair, pulling her shield up to block just as a jagged rock formation shot up from the ground. It was still a powerful hit, but Sentinel was a steel type Pokemon and could take it.

As Ace began to move to retrieve his Pokemon, he saw the Ninetails fire a Moonblast at Taraka. While it was focused on Taraka, Gaster retreated back from the table and lined up a shot. The Fox Pokemon dodged as he fired, but allowed Taraka to escape in the process. Once the monk was at a safe distance, he threw up a psionic barrier to protect everyone.

“Shouxing, Crunch!” the Granbull’s trainer commanded his Pokemon, sending it after Taraka. The monk wasn’t fast enough to dodge as the Granbull ran up to him and sank its teeth in, but he did manage to slap it with a disorienting burst of psionic energy, forcing it to release him.

“Carrion, use Brave Bird!” he commanded his Staraptor as he fired on the Granbull’s trainer. The Predator Pokemon then dove down at the guard, slamming into him full force.

“Yachi, Poison Fang!” the other guard by the door commanded his Mawile, sending it after Lars. As his Pokemon attacked, the guard aimed his rifle at Gaster and fired. Gaster dove to the floor to avoid the shot, so the guard shifted his aim to assist his comrade. He fired several shots at the Staraptor, driving the Pokemon off, then turned and fired on Floyd, scoring a hit on his shoulder.

With the Staraptor off his back, the Granbull’s trainer was free to line up his shots. He let loose a spray of gunfire, peppering Gaster’s back as he scrambled to his feet, landing several shots on the former smuggler’s Milotic, and hitting Floyd in the gut. Gaster’s reinforced coat and Fransisca’s scales helped mitigate the damage, but Floyd dropped from the shot to his exposed torso.

“Floyd!” Lars shouted.

“I’ve got him!” Ace called out. He began to run to Floyd’s aid, but a hail of bullets from the other four guards stopped him in his tracks. Sentinel deflected the shots away, but Ace was stuck in place.

“Rocklord, use Rollout!” Taraka commanded his Wailord to assist. The large, rocky Pokemon barrelled right over the two nearest guards, giving Ace the chance to keep moving.

“Mogu, Spore!” the Siinotic’s trainer commanded his Pokemon after Ace from the safety of the other side of the room. Ace saw the Illuminating Pokemon closing in on the edge of his vision, but before he could react, he was enveloped in a cloud of spores. His vision was disrupted with static as the spores began to wreak havoc on his system. He collapsed to the ground as everything went black.

“Shit,” Gaster grunted through gritted teeth. He was thankful to have his reinforced coat, but his back still hurt like hell from taking all those shots. There were bigger things to worry about now, though. Two of his friends were down and they were already outnumbered enough as it was.

“Gaster!” Lars shouted, grabbing his attention. “Go for Floyd! I’ve got Ace covered!” Turning to his Rapidash, the bounty hunter commanded, “Comet, run that Shiinotic down! Flare Blitz!”

Coated in flames, the Rapidash charged the Shiinotic, drawing the fire of the nearby guards in the process. Seizing the opportunity, Gaster made a dash for Floyd. The guards near the door were preoccupied with the Staraptor flapping around them so Gaster managed to slip past their notice.

Gaster dropped to his knees next to Floyd, then began to rummage around in his pockets for a Revive. Chancing a glance up, he watched Lars’s Rapidash push through the enemy fire, taking several hits in the process. With a loud crash, the Fire Horse Pokemon careened into the Shiinotic, laying it out flat. Unfortunately, the Rapidash also went down in the process, having succumbed to his injuries.

With the Rapidash down, the guards shifted their focus back to the rest of them. “Shuang, Ice Beam!” the Ninetales’s trainer commanded, directing it at Lars. The icy fox shot out a beam of cold energy at its target, but Lars nimbly rolled over the back of the nearest chair and pulled it over himself as a makeshift shield. Scrambling out from under the table, Lars then returned fire.

Finally locating a Revive, Gaster wasted no time in getting Floyd back up. “You good?” he asked as Floyds eyes opened.

“Look out!” came Floyd’s response as he raised his pistol.

Gaster turned to look where he was aiming just in time to see the Granbull’s trainer drop to the floor only a few feet away, a gunshot wound right between his eyes. “Thanks,” Gaster nodded back.

“Don’t mention it,” said Floyd as he sat himself up and got to his feet.

Standing up as well, Gaster scanned the room with his rifle. Ace being down was still an issue. Even with the android’s Aegislash floating over his body to keep him safe, there was no good way to get to him without getting shot.

“Xuanlu, Hydro Cannon!” the Primarina’s trainer barked out suddenly, giving a series of hand gestures. Retreating back from the Aegislash, the Primarina fired one of its floating lights to keep the Royal Sword Pokemon from pursuing, then it moved to line up its attack.

“Watch out!” Gaster called out to the others in warning, but it was too late. The Primarina positioned itself in line with Lars, Taraka, and Floyd, then shot out a massive jet of pressurized water. Positioned between the two others, Taraka extended out his barrier to protect them, but the attack was powerful. Lars was swept off his feet and knocked to the side, while Floyd was launched back and thrown into the wall. Falling unconscious once more, Floyd sank to the floor in a heap.

“Goddamn it!” Gaster cursed. There was nothing he could do now, as the Granbull and Mawile were closing in. “Francisca, use Frost Breath!” he commanded, directing his Milotic at the former. Francisca maneuvered in front of Gaster to guard him and spat out a blast of frigid air at the Granbull. The attack seemed to do a real number on the canine, but it once again consumed one of its lights to restore itself.

The Granbull leapt at Francisca, electricity sparking from its jaws. It grabbed onto her tail, sinking its fangs in as the Mawile charged in as well, crashing against the Milotic with its false maw. The combined attack might have been enough to bring her down if not for Taraka’s protective barrier.

“Francisca, use Blizzard!” Gaster called out to his Pokemon. The Milotic shook her assailants off, then reared back and spewed out a blast of freezing ice and snow at them. As the attack pelted the two Pokemon, they each consumed one of their floating lights to recover from it. Gaster was starting to get real sick and tired of this continuing to happen, but at least the Granbull was all out of lights now and the Mawile only had one left.

“Rozovyy, Diamond Defense,” Mira calmly commanded her Pokemon, drawing Gaster’s attention back to the so-called Diancie floating above the center of the table. Heeding its master’s word, the gem-adorned Pokemon began to form six crystal chunks surrounding it. As they grew, the crystals revolved around it along with the orbs of light before shooting out from it, each coming to a rest hovering above one of the chairs around the table.

“What now?” Gaster muttered to himself, unsure of what to make of this new development.

He soon got his answer when Ace’s Aegislash passed near one of the floating crystals as she moved to engage the Ninetales. It suddenly shot toward the Royal Sword Pokemon at surprising speed, detonating into tiny shards of crystal shrapnel as it collided against its target, causing her strike to miss the Ninetales.

“Shuang, Foul Play!” the Fox Pokemon’s trainer barked out, ordering it to counterattack. While the Aegislash was still stunned, the Ninetales moved in for the finishing blow. With a swipe of its claws, it took Ace’s Pokemon down.

Meanwhile, the guards were now focusing their fire on Taraka’s Wailord. “Rocklord, keep using Rollout!” the monk called out to his Pokemon, sending it after the men once more. The rocky Float Whale Pokemon rolled along the ground at them, but they all scattered out of the way.

At the very least, with the guards distracted, Gaster was able to move to cover. Maneuvering behind one of the columns, he pulled out a Full Restore and drank it down. Hopefully it would be enough to keep him going.

Lars seemed to have a similar idea, as Gaster saw him find some better cover as well, slipping past the nearby guard that was preoccupied by Floyd’s Starraptor. After applying some healing of his own, he recalled his downed Rapidash and sent out another Pokemon. “You’re up, Broadside!” the bounty hunter captain shouted as he released his Forretress.

“Ariala, Cosmic Power!” the Clefable’s trainer commanded as Gaster poked his head back out to find a target.

“We can’t let that thing build up more power or it will be a problem!” Lars called out as the Clefable continued to charge up. “Broadside, use Rollout!” Retreating fully into his shell, the Forretress rolled at high speed toward the Clefable. The Bagworm Pokemon hit his target hard, but the Clefable seemed relatively unfazed, simply flinging one of its lights back in retaliation.

“Damn, its defenses are already strong,” Lars responded.

“I’ve got an idea!” Taraka shouted. The monk then grabbed one of his Pokeballs and sent out his Togekiss. “Sirius, use Gentle Vibe on that Clefable! But watch out for those Crystals!” Taking heed of her trainer’s warning, the Togekiss flew close to the Clefable, taking care to steer clear of the floating crystals the Diancie had created, then released a cleansing aura that dispelled the energy the Clefable had been storing within itself.

“Blyat!” the Pokemon’s trainer cursed. “Ariala, Calm Mind!” he then commanded it to begin powering up again.

Meanwhile, the Primarina’s trainer commanded his Pokemon to attack, “Xuanlu, use your Liquid Voice! Perish Song!”

Gaster covered his ears as the Primarina let out a piercing cry. He’d had the unpleasant experience of being too close to a Pokemon using Perish Song before, but this seemed different. A wave of light spread out from the Soloist Pokemon as it sang. The wave passed harmlessly over the Xiannus and their Pokemon, but this was not the case for the rest of them. Gaster winced in pain as the wave hit him while his Milotic surely would have gone down if not for Taraka’s protective barrier.

If there was one upside, it was that the attack seemed to provide the shock to the systems needed to bring Ace back online. The android quickly rose to his feet and took stock of the situation. He recalled his downed Aegislash and swapped to his Simisear, then ignited his laser sword. “Scorch, Incini-shot!” he commanded the Pokemon as he released him across the table between the Mawile and Granbull.

Turning to the Ninetales, Ace charged at it, swinging his sword to strike. The Fox Pokemon managed to evade his attack, but his Simisear had more luck, blasting the two Pokemon flanking it with a three-pronged flame attack. The Granbull was now starting to show signs of weakening, while the Mawile absorbed its final light, leaving it more vulnerable to attack.

“Rozovyy, that one is a problem,” Mira directed her Pokemon at the Simisear. “Stone Edge.”

“Scorch, watch out!” Ace called out to his Pokemon as the Diancie shot a line of jagged spikes at him. The Simisear wasn’t fast enough to evade, but the extra cybernetic plating Ace had given him was able to absorb the brunt of the attack. Even so, it was an incredibly hard hit and there was little the plating could do against a focused assault. Moving in on Scorch’s flank, the Mawile clamped its large jaws around the Simisear and took him down.

Meanwhile, the Granbull moved to attack Lars’s Forretress, flames building up in its mouth. Frasica swiped her tail at it as it moved past her, but the canine Pokemon managed to dodge past. Lars’s Pokemon was just as evasive, however, rolling away just as the Granbull attempted to close its fiery fangs around him. With the Granbull distracted, Gaster lined up a shot on it and fired, finally taking it down with a well-placed shot.

They now had one less threat to worry about, but they were still far too outnumbered. Gaster knew they needed backup if they were going to make it through this. He reached for his commlink and said, “We need some help here!”

“I’m on my way to you now,” Sikari’s voice replied. “But there’s more guards coming.”

“That’s not good,” said Gaster.

“Hang tight down there,” Cyrus’s voice sounded on the comms. “We’re on our way with the Paladins. Try not to die before we get there.”

“Easier said than done, Captain,” Gaster muttered to himself as he raised his rifle once more.

Scanning the room, Gaster assessed the situation. The Mawile’s trainer was still occupied with Floyd’s Staraptor, but the other four guards were now focusing on Taraka’s Wailord. The rocky whale was starting to weaken now, so Taraka made the decision to recall him. Moving up to cover behind one of the columns, the monk returned his Pokemon to his Pokeball.

“Sirius, hit that Primarina with Air Slash!” Taraka then commanded his Togekiss. Sirius flew into range, dodging the Primarina’s final floating light as it flung it at her, then let loose her attack, landing a direct hit.

Meanwhile, the Ninetales moved to flank Lars and fired an Ice Beam to drive him out of cover. The bounty hunter dropped into a roll to evade the attack, then rose to his feet and returned fire as he kept moving.

“Broadside, keep using Rollout on that Clefable!” Lars commanded his Forretress as he ran. His Pokemon rolled into the Clefable again, wearing it down further before it could build its defenses up again. The Clefable fired one of its lights back in retaliation, but it failed to do much against the Forretress’s armor.

“Xuanlu, get in there! Sparkling Aria!” the Primarina’s trainer barked out in response, pointing to Lars and his Pokemon. The water Pokemon hopped up onto the table and slid across to the other side. As the Primarina flew off the edge of the table, a burst of sparkling water exploded out from it. Lars’s Forretress managed to roll out of harm’s way just in time, but the attack hit him full force, knocking him backwards.

“Shit,” Gaster cursed as Lars’s unconscious body hit the floor. Quickly scanning the battlefield, Gaster desperately searched for a weak target to take down in order to even the odds. Picking out the Mawile, which had taken quite the beating by this point, he commanded his Milotic to attack, “Francisca, use Hydro Pump!” Francisca proceeded to spit out a powerful jet of pressurized water at her target, launching the Deceiver Pokemon into the Primarina.

As the two Pokemon collapsed in a heap, Ace tossed out his Gallade and ordered him to attack them, “Blade, Slash!” Blades at the ready, the Gallade charged in to attack. One of the floating crystals flew at him as he ran, blasting him with shrapnel as it exploded, but he pressed on through. The Gallade’s blades cut into his targets, leaving the Primarina with a nasty gouge, and taking the Mawile down.

“Now, Moonblast!” Mira commanded her Diancie. The Xiannu matriarch’s Pokemon conjured a blast of energy, flinging it at Ace’s Gallade to deal some substantial damage.

A spray of gunfire from the guards followed. Gaster ducked behind the column that he was using as cover, narrowly avoiding getting hit, but the others were not as lucky. Several shots took out Lars’s Forretress, prompting the Pokemon to release a last-ditch explosion that failed to do anything, while more landed some glancing hits on Taraka’s Togekiss. Ace, meanwhile, deflected one shot with his energy shield only for another to hit him right in a crucial component in his leg. Two more shots hit Taraka, dropping the monk as well.

“This is not good!” Ace shouted as he staggered for a moment, raising his shield to guard himself.

Gaster clenched his teeth in frustration. Ace was right. Their odds were looking worse and worse with each passing second. Even as he returned fire on the enemy, the Clefable continued to build up power while the Ninetales shot down Taraka’s Togekiss with an Ice Beam. Knowing he needed to do something, Gaster charged out of cover and began to make a beeline toward Taraka to revive him.

“Not so fast!” Mira called out, prompting her Diance to float off the table into Gaster’s path, stopping him in his tracks beside his Milotic and Ace’s Gallade.

“Out of my way!” Gaster shouted. “Francisca, use Water Pulse!” The Milotic fired a jet of water at the Diancie obstructing her trainer’s path, but the attack seemed to do little more than daze the Pokemon and incur a retaliatory strike with one of its floating lights.

“Pathetic,” Mira scoffed. “Rozovyy, Diamond Storm.” The hail of diamonds seemed to intensify as the Diancie focused on Gaster.

“Blade, Wide Guard!” Ace called out in response. The android’s Gallade threw up a protective barrier just in time as a barrage of large pink diamond chunks flew at him, Francisca, and Gaster, shielding all three from harm.

Gaster breathed a sigh of relief. That had been too close. While the barrier persisted, he took a few steps back and moved behind his Milotic, putting her between him and the Diancie.

It was at this moment that the large double doors swung open and Sikari confidently strode into the room. She released her Toxicroak beside her, and the Pokemon ran up to the remaining guard by the door to strike with a Poison Jab.

With that guard dealt with, the Staraptor that had been keeping him occupied flew up into the rafters to Roost. Meanwhile, the remaining guards’ attention was drawn by the commotion Sikari’s arrival had caused. Taking advantage of their temporary distraction, Ace ran up to the Primarina and struck with his sword, finally taking the Pokemon down.

Snapping back to the fight at hand, the guards lined up their next shots, and barked orders to their Pokemon. “Shuang, Moonblast!” the Ninetales’s trainer commanded, singling out Ace’s Gallade. The Fox Pokemon shot its attack at Blade, taking the Gallade down with a super effective hit.

Meanwhile, the Clefable continued to build up power underneath its chair. Moving up to where Lars’s unconscious Forretress lay, Sikari’s Toxicroak spat out a giant wad of gunk at the Clefable as it charged up. The attack seemed to wear it down a bit, but it paid in kind by shooting a floating light back at the Toxicroak.

As her Pokemon engaged the Clefable, Sikari began to make her way over to Taraka. With the Diancie still between him and the monk, Gaster decided to leave reviving him up to her. He retreated back toward the doors and looked for a safe spot to take cover. Slipping behind the nearest column, he paused to catch his breath. He could feel the lingering effects of the Perish Song starting to wear him down. If he passed out now, he wasn’t sure they would have any chance of making it out alive.

He wasn’t going to let that happen.

Taraka’s vision was blurry as his senses returned to him. He wasn’t sure how long he had been out. As everything came back into focus, he could see Skirai crouched over him.

“Oh good, you’re not dead,” she said, flashing a smirk. “Come on, get up.” She reached out and Taraka grabbed her arm, then she pulled him to his feed.

“Thanks,” Taraka nodded.

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Sikari teased. “I didn’t do it because I like you or anything. I just want to make it out of this alive, and we might not, so don’t thank me yet.”

“I don’t plan on dying today,” Taraka muttered, mostly to himself, as he downed a Full Restore and surveyed his surroundings. Floyd’s Staraptor dive-bombed down from the rafters at the Ninetales, only for the Fox Pokemon to nimbly evade the attack and leap up onto the table.

“Rozovyy, deal with that bird,” Mira responded, ordering her Pokemon— Diancie, as she called it— to attack. “Stone Edge!” The Diancie fired its large, rocky spikes up at the Staraptor, but the Predator Pokemon deftly maneuvered in the air, avoiding every single one. Unfortunately, a couple of the mercs began to open fire on the Staraptor, finally shooting him down.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Ace suddenly collapsed, as well as Gaster’s Milotic. Taraka wasn’t sure what happened at first, but then he recalled that the Primarina had used Perish Song. “Not good,” he said.

“You people. Stop going down,” said Sikari, sounding frustrated. She then turned to Taraka and said, “I’ll get him.” She shook her head, then sprinted off to revive their fallen crewmate.

“Shuang, Moonblast!” the Ninetales’s trainer ordered his Pokemon after her. From atop the table, the Ninetales fired a blast of energy at Sikari, hitting her square in the back. Ignoring the attack, she dropped to the floor and slid across to Ace.

As Sikari attempted to revive Ace, the guards fired on her Toxicroak, taking the Pokemon down. Taraka took advantage of the distraction to make his way over to Sirius and give her a Revive. “You know what to do,” he said to his Pokemon as he pointed over to the Clefable, which was continuing to power up at its trainer’s command. “Gentle Vibe!” Once more, the Togekiss flew over to the Clefable and released an aura to dispel the enemy Pokemon’s stored up power.

“Blyat!” the guard it belonged to spat.

“I think you need a new strategy, pal!” Gaster called out as he switched out his fainted Milotic. He then proceeded to send out his Galvantula near the Clefable. As soon as the EleSpider Pokemon emerged, her presence seemed to unnerve it.

With the Clefable no longer posing a threat, Gaster turned his attention to the Diancie. “Nicole, use Electro Ball!” he commanded his Galvantula to attack. The Pokemon fired off a sparking ball of electricity at her target, finally seeming to do some minor damage to it.

By now, Sikari had managed to get Ace back up as well. Not even wasting a moment, Ace recalled his downed Gallade and sent out his Delphox. “Blaze, Mystical Fire!” he ordered, pointing to the Ninetales. The fiery fox conjured up a burst of magical flames to attack its icy counterpart, but the Ninetales dove from the table, evading them as they rushed over it.

“Shuang, Encore!” the Ninetales’s trainer barked out in response before raising his rifle to fire.

“Nicole, use Signal Beam!” Gaster commanded his Galvantula to attack before he could fire. The EleSpider Pokemon shot him with a beam of energy, causing him to stumble back toward the guard next to him.

Before the guard could steady himself, Sikari released her Zoroark beside him. The vicious Pokemon bared her claws as she focused in on her prey. Charging at the two guards, the Zoroark swiped at them, digging her razor-sharp claws in and taking both of them down.

“What a nuisance,” said Mira. “Rozovyy, time to get serious.” The hail of diamonds ceased as the Diancie began to float up higher into the air. Taraka was relieved the hard stones were no longer falling on his head, but he was concerned that something worse was coming.

“Diamond Defense!” Mira commanded, and her Diancie scattered out six more of the floating crystal formations in front of it.

Taraka wasn’t about to wait around for the Pokemon to make another move. While it was focused on setting up its defenses, he drew his knife and pressed it to his palm. As the blade cut into his flesh and he began to bleed, Taraka laid curses upon the Diancie and the nearby Ninetales. The curse seemed to leave the Diancie stunned for a moment, causing it to sink down.

As the dazed Diancie descended, Gaster opened fire on it, landing several shots. Snapping out of its stunned state, the Pokemon fired one of its lights back at Gaster, which just barely missed, detonating against his cover instead. While the Diancie was focused on Gaster, Ace charged in to strike. Snapping its attention to the android rushing toward it, it shot its final light ball toward him. The attack hit Ace dead on, but Ace pressed through and lunged with his laser sword. The Diancie let out a cry as the energy blade cut into its rocky body.

While his crewmates kept the Diancie busy, Taraka turned his attention to the other enemy Pokemon. Seeing the Ninetales evade another fiery attack from Ace’s Delphox, Taraka commanded his own Pokemon to assist, “Sirius, use Thunder Wave!” Flying above the ice fox, the Togekiss shot down a wave of electricity at it, leaving it stunned.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Sikari ran in to attack, dodging past one of the Ninetales’s floating lights as it shot it at her. The nimble assassin leapt over the Fox Pokemon, slashing across its back with her psionic blade.

“Nicole, Electroweb!” Gaster then commanded his Galvantula. As the EleSpider Pokemon moved into position, one of the floating crystals flew at her and exploded, blasting her with shrapnel. Toughing out the wounds it inflicted, the Galvantla lined up and shot out an electrified web onto the Ninetales, leaving it trapped. The Ninetales struggled against the web, but was helpless to evade as Ace’s Delphox doused it in flames. All it could do was launch another of its light orbs back at its assailant, but the fiery fox managed to evade.

“Almost there,” Taraka called out. “Keep hitting it!”

“Got it!” Gaster responded. Turning from the Diancie, he lined up a shot and fired. The Ninetales absorbed its final floating light orb in an attempt to keep itself going, but then Gaster fired a second shot, taking it out.

With the Ninetales dealt with, Taraka’s attention shifted his attention to the Clefable. Its trainer seemed to be focusing on a strategy of building up power first before attacking, and they had done a good job of interfering with it so far, but Taraka knew it could become a serious threat if they left it alone. Sikari seemed to have the same idea, because her Zoroark was already moving in on it. The Clefable retreated back as it fell under the Zoroark’s tormenting gaze, but there was no escape. It barely had a moment to catch its breath before Sikari’s Pokemon had closed the distance between them.

The two remaining guards opened fire on the Zoroark as she pursued her target, but the Illusion Fox Pokemon swiftly dodged through the gunfire, only taking a single glancing hit. Now on top of the Clefable, the Zoroark struck with her claws, digging into its flesh. “Ariala, Moonblast!” its trainer barked out in response. The Clefable fired off a blast of radiant light at point-blank, launching the dark type Pokemon away from it with the super effective attack. Sikari’s Pokemon picked herself back up, but the Zoroark was visibly injured now.

“Sirius, use Air Slash on that Clefable!” Taraka ordered his Togekiss to assist.

As Sirius flew in to engage her target, Taraka’s attention was drawn back to the Diancie by a bright flash as it conjured up a fresh trio of floating pink light orbs. Ace staggered away as one of the crystals exploded on him and it looked like he could use some help.

“I’ve got your back,” Taraka said as he created a psionic flame in his hand. Focusing upon his target, he sent the wisp of flames flying right for it.

Ace shrugged off the damage as the light ball detonated against his body. Tightly gripping the hilt of his laser sword, he moved in to return the favor. The Diancie cried out as the blade cut deep. He then dodged to the side as it fired back a retaliatory Moonblast. As Gaster turned his focus away to help take out the Ninetales, Ace kept pressing his attack, repeatedly slashing at his foe.

Suddenly, the Diancie made a cutesy face at him as three new light orbs flashed into existence around it, catching him off guard and causing him to misjudge his swing as a result. Ace stumbled forward as he attacked past his target, straying too close to one of the floating crystals. Before he could react, the crystal flew toward him and exploded into a thousand tiny shards that cut into his armor plating.

As Ace struggled to regain his footing, he could hear Taraka calling out to him. He turned to see the monk fling a wisp of psionic flame at the Diancie. The wispy ball of fire passed right through the Pokemon’s rocky armor to burn it, but it did not seem to mind it at all. Fortunately, it was enough of a distraction for Ace to recover.

Gaster took advantage of the opening as well, commanding his Galvantula, “Nicole, use Spider Web!” While the Diancie’s attention was drawn, the former smuggler’s Pokemon shot out a web at it, knocking it to the ground and trapping it in place.

With the Diancie tangled up in the web, Ace shifted his focus to the remaining guards. Tightening his grip on his weapon, he charged the pair. He lunged to strike, but the guard managed to dodge back and evade. As Ace pressed his assault, Sikari moved to flank the guard. However, as she closed in to strike with her blade, one of the floating crystals flew at her and exploded, causing her to miss her target.

“Blaze, Flamethrower!” Ace ordered his Delphox to assist. The Fox Pokemon shot out a jet of flames at the guard, but he continued to evade the barrage of attacks that were being thrown at him.

Suddenly, the Diancie let loose a wild Stone Edge attack as it frantically struggled against the webs holding it down. Ace managed to dodge as the jagged rocks came his way, but Blaze was not as lucky. Fortunately, the extra cybernetic enhancements Ace had given the Delphox helped to mitigate the damage they inflicted.

Quickly springing back to his combat stance, Ace raised his energy shield in front of him as the two guards opened fire on him. While they were focused on him, Sikari’s Zoroark moved in on the flank and lunged at the nearer of the two. The guard staggered back as her claws ripped into him, right into Sikari, who plunged her blade into his neck for the kill.

“Blaze, go for the Clefable!” Ace called out to his Delphox as he turned his attention to the final guard. Sikari sent her Zoroark in as well, and the two Pokemon closed in to attack with Taraka’s Togekiss. The Clefable fired off its remaining light orbs in an attempt to hold off its assailants, but it was quickly overwhelmed. The Togekiss rained down a Swift attack from above as the Delphox used his psychic power to throw the Clefable at the Zoroark, who delivered a punishing final blow with her claws.

Ace nodded at Sikari, then moved in to attack the guard with her. He raised his shield as he led the charge, deflecting the guard’s shots away as he fired upon them. Soon closing the distance, Ace slashed through the guard’s gut, then Sikari followed up with a stab to the chest.

As the guard stumbled back, Gaster maneuvered around the table to get an angle on the guard. Pushing on through an explosion of shrapnel as another floating crystal detonated near him, the former smuggler moved into position and lined up his shot. The laser bolt struck the guard right in the shoulder, but somehow, he remained standing.

“Sirius, take him down with Air Slash!” Taraka commanded his Togekiss to finish him off. Flying overhead, the Jubilee Pokemon shot down a cutting blast of air, finally taking the guard down.

Looking up as the guard hit the floor, Ace locked his gaze on Mira. For the first time, a look of concern appeared on the Xiannu matriarch’s face. Propelled by anger, Ace gave chase as she turned to flee. Easily overtaking her, Ace lunged and cut her down. Standing over Mira as she looked up in fear, he raised his sword to deliver the final blow.

“This is for Erik, bitch.”

As the final guard dropped, Taraka turned his attention back to the Diancie. By now, it had managed to break free of the webs trapping it. While Taraka raised his rifle and lined up a shot, the enemy Pokemon fired off a Moonblast attack at the Galvantula that had ensnared it. Taraka squeezed the trigger and his rifle shot a jolt of electricity at the Diancie, but it didn’t even seem to penetrate its defenses.

Meanwhile, Gaster had moved to flank the Pokemon. As Taraka drew its attention away, his crewmate got behind it and shot it right in a soft spot. The Diancie let out a pained cry, for once showing signs of serious injury.

“Nicole, hit it with Gastro Acid!” Gaster then commanded his Galvantula. Moving in once more, the EleSpider Pokemon spat out a glob of acid at the Diancie. As the acid washed over the Pokemon, Taraka could perceive a shift in its energy. It was like some protective aura had been eaten away and he could now sense its vulnerability.

Pressing the advantage, Taraka fired a stunning ray of psionic energy at the Diancie, leaving it dazed and confused. It attempted to retaliate, firing off stone projectiles wildly, but in its dazed state, it only managed to wear itself out, allowing the curse Taraka had placed upon it to take a greater hold.

Suddenly, a scream rang out. Looking toward its source, Taraka saw a flash of movement as Ace brought his laser sword down on Mira Xiannu. The Xiannu matriarch’s Diancie let out a shrieking cry as its trainer’s life was cut short. Snapping fully from its stunned state, it fired off all three of its light orbs at the Pokemon surrounding it, hitting the Galvantula and the Delphox while just barely missing the Zoroark.

Responding quickly, Gaster and Ace commanded their Pokemon to attack.

“Nicole, use Electro Ball!”

“Blaze, Fire Spin!”

The Galvantula shot a ball of electricity at the Diancie, hitting it dead on, then the Delphox conjured a spinning vortex of fire surrounding it. As the flames swirled around it, Gaster peppered it with his rifle, chipping away at its rocky armor. Stone spikes shot up from the floor as the Diancie let out a cry of rage and pain. More and more continued to rupture forth, destroying the room as they emerged in a line moving toward its assailant.

“Watch out!” Taraka called out to his crewmate as the attack closed in on him. Fortunately, Gaster had quick reflexes. The former smuggler dove out of the spikes’ path just in time to avoid being impaled. Gaster tucked in as he hit the floor and rolled to safety.

This failed act of vengeance had only served to wear the Diancie out further. Through the spinning flames, Taraka could see it was tiring. “Time to end this,” he said as he grabbed Roma’s Pokeball off his belt. Sirius had done well so far, but there was not much she could do against the Diancie, but Taraka knew one or two more good hits from his Tangrowth would do the job.

As Roma emerged, Sikari’s Zoroark moved in and landed a devastating strike on the Diancie that left it wide open to further attacks. Aiming to capitalize on the opportunity, Taraka called out, “Roma, use Shadow Punch!”

Striking dead-on with her vine arm, his Tangrowth delivered the final blow. The Diancie’s rocky exterior began to crack under the force of the attack and then, suddenly, with one last shrieking cry, the Pokemon exploded into countless crystal fragments. A cacophony of shattering noises followed as the remaining floating crystals dropped to the floor and exploded apart.

Immediately, Sikari rushed to begin collecting the fragments. Taraka looked on with confused curiosity as she gathered up the larger shards of the broken crystals and the Diancie itself.

“What are you doing?” Gaster asked what Taraka was thinking while looking just as confused.

Sikari looked up at the pair and shrugged her shoulders. “What?” she asked. “These crystals are clearly worth a lot of money.”

“Well don’t take too long,” Gaster told her. “We should get the hell out of here.”

“Right,” Taraka said, giving his crewmate a nod before turning his attention to their injured companions.

Ace was already in the process of helping Lars up so Taraka walked over to where Floyd lay on the floor and crouched down beside him. Placing a hand on Floyd’s chest, he released a pulse of healing energy into him.

“Wha- what happened?” Floyd asked as his eyes flickered open. He sat up and took a look around the room. “Did we win?”

“Yeah, we won,” Taraka said as he pulled the bounty hunter to his feet.

“Aw hell, I missed it,” Floyd responded.

“Just be glad we didn’t all die,” Gaster said. “And we still might if we don’t get moving.” Then, reaching for his commlink, “Captain, how close are you? We’re gonna need extraction.”

“Almost there,” Cyrus’s reply came in over the comms. “We ran into some obstacles, but the Paladins are taking care of that.”

“There’s a landing pad on the estate,” Gaster told the captain. “We’ll meet you there.”

“You’ve got it.”

As the comms went silent, Taraka heard the sound of shouting echoing down the hallway. “Sounds like we’ve got more company on the way,” he said to his companions.

Gaster looked back at him and said, “I think that’s our cue to leave.”

Moving through the hallways of the Xiannu estate, Gaster kept his rifle raised as he checked every corner. So far, they hadn’t met much resistance as they fought their way back to the landing pad. They had only been confronted by small handfuls of men that they quickly dealt with, but that could change at any moment. Gaster wasn’t about to let his guard down.

Continuing to lead the charge, he rounded a corner where he was faced with two more guards. Reacting swiftly, Gaster lined up a shot on one and pulled the trigger. Before he even had a moment to react, the guard dropped from a shot right between the eyes. Gaster quickly shifted his aim to fire on the second, but only managed to graze his shoulder as he moved to take cover.

Before Gaster could fire again, a shot rang out behind him and the guard dropped to the floor, dead. Gaster glanced back over his shoulder and received a nod from Lars. “Got your back,” the bounty hunter captain said as he lowered his pistol.

“Thanks,” Gaster replied, taking one last glance at the fallen guard before leading the team onward.

The group pressed on, facing no further resistance before reaching the staircase. Quickly but carefully, they descended. Stepping out onto the ground floor lading, Gaster found himself walking right into a trap. A group of several armed guards stood waiting, rifles raised to fire. However, before the guards could fire, the thud of heavy footfalls drew their attention away. Suddenly, a Drapion burst from around the corner and tore into the men with its claws and tail.

Not one to waste an opportunity, Gaster raised his rifle and began to fire into the guards as they scattered in disarray. The Red Riders joined in as well and together they managed to drop a few while the Drapion took care of the rest. In mere moments, all the guards were dead.

“There you are,” said Gordon Garth as he stepped out from around the corner. “Thought y’all might’a got lost.” Then, turning to his Drapion and giving the Pokemon a nod, he added, “Nice work, Imperator.”

“Thanks for the save,” Gaster told the bounty hunter.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Gordon said. “We ain’t outta the woods. C’mon, let’s go.”

“Right,” Gaster nodded.

The final push to the landing pad was relatively easy as it seemed that Gordon and his Drapion had taken care of most of the guards already on their way in. The Sunrise was waiting for them, engines hot, when they arrived.

“Anya, time to go!” Gordon shouted down the corridor as they boarded.

By the time Gaster reached the cockpit, the ship was already halfway to space. Laser fire flashed across Shanhu’s skyline as the Paladin ships that had accompanied them engaged with the Xiannu ships in orbit. With the element of surprise, the Paladins seemed to have the upper hand, but the sensors were detecting that several Union Navy ships were en route to assist.

“That’s our cue to leave,” Cyrus said. “Let’s get you boys back to your ship then get the hell out of here.”

“Forget the Vermilion,” Lars told the Maverick’s captain. “It’s too dangerous. Let’s get out while we can.”

“Oh, well you heard the man, Anya.”

“Already on it,” said the pilot. And with that, the Sunrise jumped to the safety of warp space.

“I am pleased to hear that your mission was a success,” the hologram of Boris Yong addressed the group. “I am already receiving reports that the Xiannu Family is in disarray.”

Only now that the Sunrise was safely docked on a space station in Yong-controlled space was Gaster able to breathe easily again. It was finally over, at least for them.

“However, it is only a matter of time before they regroup,” Minister Yong continued. “I fear greater conflicts may be on the horizon … But I will not forget everything you have done for me and my family.”

“Well we didn’t exactly do it out of the kindness of our hearts,” Gaster told him.

“I understand that,” Boris nodded. “And I have seen to it that you have been handsomely rewarded. Five-million credits have been transferred to your account, Captain,” he addressed Cyrus directly. “Feel free to divide the funds however you see fit.”

Hearing the number, Floyd let out a whistle. “Damn, we can easily replace the Vermilion with that much.” He wasn’t wrong. Gaster was sure that was enough money for at least three ships.

“That is very generous of you, Minister,” said Cyrus.

“Of course,” said Boris. “Now, there are several things I must see to, but if you ever need anything, please, do not hesitate to ask. I owe you the deepest of gratitudes, as does my family.”

“We understand, Minister Yong,” Ace replied. Then, once the call was over, he turned to the captain and the rest of the Maverick crew and asked, “So are we going to use the money to buy a new ship?”

“No,” Cyrus said, shaking his head. He let out a sigh, then eased himself down into a nearby chair. “No, I think it’s time for me to retire. You can replace my leg, but you can’t replace a man’s ship.”

“Oh, I see,” said Ace, sounding a bit disappointed.

Gaster could understand where the captain was coming from. The man had lost his best friend, his ship, and his leg all on the same day. No one could fault him for wanting to hang it up after that.

“Maybe it’s time for me to settle down,” Cyrus continued. “You know, I think Axel might’ve had the right idea,” he chuckled. “Found himself a nice woman, started a family, got out of this life in one piece.”

“Well you’ve still got three limbs. I’m sure the ladies won’t mind,” Gordon teased his old friend.

“There’s only one lady I’m concerned with,” said Cyrus.

Gordon let out a laugh. “Some things never change, I see.”

“No, I suppose not,” the captain nodded, chuckling slightly. “It’s well past time I rekindle that old flame.” He paused for a moment and looked over his crew. “So, sorry boys, but I’m afraid you’ll have to find a new employer.”

“I understand, Captain,” Ace replied. “I feel like I still have a lot to learn about living in this new and wondrous universe and I think I would like to continue exploring it. Maybe I’ll join up with Simon and become a Paladin. That might be a good way to see the Galaxy.”

“That is certainly an ambitious goal,” Taraka smiled. “I’m sure you’d make a good Paladin, my friend.”

“Thanks, Taraka,” Ace told the monk. “What about you? What will you do?” he then asked.

“Hmm,” said Taraka, taking a moment to think about his answer. “I think that I’m just going to catch a bunch more Pokemon, and then open, like, a Pokemon sanctuary or something like that.”

“Typical Taraka,” Anya smirked.

“You know it,” Taraka said, breaking into a grin. “What about you, Anya?”

“I’m going to link up with Jun and his friends back on Nocturne,” she explained. “I’m sure they could use a good pilot.”

“I guess that leaves you Gaster,” Ace said. “What are you gonna do next?”

“You know, I’m not really sure,” the former smuggler admitted. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead, to be honest. One thing’s for sure, though: I’m done with smuggling.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” Cyrus told him. Then, turning to the Red Riders, he asked, “What about you guys?”

“We avenged our friends and now we can rebuild,” Lars replied. “I know Bobbie Jo and Jim Bob would want us to carry on.”

“Y’know,” Gordon spoke up. He rose from his seat and walked over to Lars. “Y’all are pretty good in a fight and I got space here on my ship. I’ve been thinking about it, workin’ together like this, and I have to say, I forgot what it was like to have a good team at my back instead of flyin’ solo.”

“You’re not so bad in a fight yourself, Gordon,” Lars nodded back at his fellow bounty hunter. “It won’t be the Red Riders without Bobbie Jo and Jim Bob, but together we can start something new.” He extended his hand toward Gordon and asked, “Partners?”

“I can agree to that,” Gordon smirked, clasping Lars’s hand in his and giving it a firm shake. “Partners.”

“So then what’re we gonna call our new team?” Floyd asked.

“Hmm, good question,” said Gordon. “I used to run the Gold Sun Gang … Y’all are from the Red Riders … How about the Red Suns?”

“It has a good ring to it. I like it,” said Lars. “But we’ll need more than just the three of us.”

Gaster suddenly found their gaze turning upon him. “You’re pretty handy with that rifle, Gaster,” Gordon told him. “And if I heard right, you ain’t got anywhere else to be.”

“A former smuggler with knowledge of the criminal underworld would certainly be an asset to the team,” Lars added. “Whaddya say?”

Gaster thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. “Eh, why not? You Outer Colony people can’t watch your backs for shit. You need someone to protect you. Might as well be me.”

Lars chuckled and extended a hand. “Welcome aboard.”

“That’s four,” said Gordon. “The Sunrise has bed space for one more. What about yer stabby friend? Where’d she get off to anyway?”

Gaster took a look around and realized that Sikari was, in fact, nowhere to be seen. Of course, he thought to himself. He let out a sigh and muttered, “Damn it, Sikari.” Glancing at his Pokedex, he noticed an unread message addressed to the entire crew. Sure enough, it was from Sikari. He opened it up and read what it said.

I did what you asked and helped you deal with your little problem so now it’s time for us to part ways.

“Something tells me she’s long gone by now,” said Cyrus after reading the message for himself.

“Yeah, probably,” Gaster agreed.

“Can’t say I’ll miss her,” Taraka said.

“And here I thought you were starting to like her,” Cyrus teased.

“Pshh. Whatever, Captain,” Taraka playfully retorted.

Gaster couldn’t help but smirk as his crewmates broke into laughter. He wasn’t the sentimental type, but he had to admit that he would miss life aboard the Maverick. However, times were always bound to change and he had a new venture to look forward to.

“Alright everyone,” Cyrus said once the laughter had died down. “How about we get the hell out of here?”

Boris Yong stood at the large window in his office, gazing out over Zolotaya’s gloomy evening skyline as a light rain began to fall on the city below. Everything had gone according to plan. He turned as the door slid open. A well-dressed man in an expensive suit strode into the room. He removed his stylish hat and slightly bowed his head in respect.

“What have you to report?” Boris asked his agent.

“The strike against the Xiannus was a success,” the man explained. “With the head of the family gone, they have been dealt a heavy blow. The Family is rallying around you, and you will be named acting governor in the morning.”

“And what of the mercenaries?”

“The Paladin continues to stick his nose where it doesn’t belong.”

Boris’s lip curled ever so slightly. “His meddling cannot be allowed to continue,” he said. “See to it that his digging leads him to his grave.”

“It has already been done.”

“Good. What of the rest?”

“They are no longer a threat. They suspect nothing.”

“Then almost all loose ends have been tied off,” Boris said decisively.

“Almost all loose ends, Sir? I—”

The man’s words were abruptly cut short as he began to choke. Out from the shadows, the armored assassin silently stepped forward. The man’s hat dropped to the floor as she telekinetically lifted him off his feet, his body gone limp. Once the life had been choked out of him, she cast his body aside and slowly approached her master.

As she kneeled before him, Boris wordlessly turned to gaze out the window once more.

Spacemon: Frontier is dedicated in memory of ClarissaGavin, who played Ace for the latter half of the campaign, as well as Morgan in the original Spacemon campaign. If you are in crisis or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, please reach out for help. If you’re in the US, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be reached at 988. You are never alone.

Notes: As you can gather from the above message, we lost a member of the Spacemon family. I didn’t want to get into it in the previous chapter’s notes, but that was the reason I took a year-long hiatus from writing. I just felt it was best to wait until the series was done to share. We’ve all had our time to mourn and to heal, and I know Clarissa wouldn’t want this story left unfinished so it seems right to dedicate it to her.

This chapter was already mostly done last year, so it was just a matter of finishing things off when I returned to writing. The big fight scene I had at least managed to finish before the break, so there wasn’t too much left to do. The chapter picks up where the previous one ended and covers the rest of the final session. I considered adding some extra scenes, one at the beginning and one in the middle, showing what Sikari and Gordon were up to, but the chapter was getting long and it didn’t seem necessary.

Kicking off the fight, it turns out the mystery Pokemon was Diancie. I did add some extra dialogue of Mira introducing it for the chapter for the sake of the story and having the characters know what to call it. This final boss encounter was something DragonStorm and I cooked up and it was a lot of fun, but I was certainly glad to have him to help run everything. He handled running Mira and her Diancie as well as the guards’ Pokemon, while I managed the guards themselves and the party’s NPC allies and their Pokemon. Even with two of us, it was still a big encounter to manage and some mistakes did occur, like Primarina using a move on the turn after it used Hydro Cannon when it should have been exhausted and forgetting to apply bonus damage from the guards taking aim. There were some clutch moments too, such as Aegislash getting hit with a Terrorize maneuver that prevented it from using King’s Shield when it needed it and Gallade using Wide Guard at a very opportune moment. Other than that, there’s not too much I remember from writing the fight since it was a year ago. I think it was mostly the usual process of cutting and rearranging stuff for the best flow, and figuring out where to shift the perspective character to highlight the best moments. I do remember it being a bit of a slog to work on because it was such a long fight with a lot of combatants and different stuff going on.

After the fight, it was time to get out. I did narrate their escape a bit in game, but I fleshed it out with some dialogue and that helped make it a good scene. Then it was time to wrap up. Now that the party was back to safety and it was time to get paid, and I wanted to give the players a chance to decide what their characters would do after the campaign. I also had some stuff to set up with NPCs. It was a few separate moments I tied together into one conclusive scene to wrap it all up in place of doing an epilogue, which didn’t seem like the right choice for this story. The main thing I wanted to do with this campaign was to make sure each player character had a legacy of some sort within the Spacemon lore, even those that weren’t there the whole time. Axel has his family, Kasey and Roland have their work with shards, and Taraka has his holoscroll. Ace was connected to the scroll as well, and Clarissa wanted him to become a Paladin. That just left Gaster. I’d tried to set up some other ideas over the course of the game, but nothing panned out. I was a bit stuck on how to have him leave his mark on Spacemon history until I realized the solution. I knew from early on in the game that the origin of the Red Suns, the bounty hunter team from the original campaign, was a side plot I wanted to explore and I was planning to set up their founding at the end already, so I thought why not have Gaster get invited to join and be one of the founding members? And unknown was totally down with the idea. As for the NPC crewmates, it seemed right for Cyrus to retire and for Anya to meet back up with Jun Azarov. For Sikari, meanwhile, it made sense for her to go her own way. In game, I just mentioned they found a note, but the way I handled it for the writing made the most sense to fit it into the scene.

Last but not least, the final scene with Boris. I actually wrote the scene ahead of the session and read it at the end as the final twist for the finale. That’s right, Boris was the real villain all along! I’m still impressed with myself for having Markovic straight up tell the party Boris was the villain and then convincing them he wasn’t. Given it was a pre-written scene, I just stuck it onto the end of the outline and simply converted it to prose once the chapter was done.

And that’s it. Spacemon: Frontier is done. It took six years since I began writing it, but it’s finally over. Thanks for coming along for the ride, with all its ups and downs. I’ll see you soon with more Spacemon goodness!

Post-Chapter Challenge: It’s been a bit since we did one of these, but it seems fitting to have one here for the final chapter. Since this game is totally over now, how about an idea for a new one? Pitch a new campaign that takes place in the Spacemon setting! It’s not like we have more ideas for Spacemon games than we can possibly run already or anything. I look forward to hearing your ideas.

That does it for this series. It’s been a long road to get here. As always the Spacemon gang and I will be monitoring the comments to foster discussion and answer any questions. Feel free to give feedback and critiques of the writing so I can improve it for the future, or just leave a comment with what you think about what went down in this chapter or what you think might happen next! You can also revisit past chapters, check out the rest of the Spacemon saga, join the Spacemon Discord server, or like our Facebook page to stay updated on all things Spacemon! Thanks for reading until the end of yet another Spacemon series. Click here for the next exciting entry in the official Spacemon reading order and stay tuned for an all new adventure!