He grinned. His moment has come. "
Alright, listen up, lady! You are giving real bad vibes! What's with all the pink? You look like you got sunburns all over! And those fat lips! Did you get stung by a Beedrill? Did you ask for it? If you ask me, yer lookin' real ugly tryin' super hard at lookin' pretty with all that stuff on ya! 'Sides, pretty sure you got no taste in music! 'Cause if you did, you'd be beatin' us up over the piano instead of tellin' us we ain't gettin to Meloetta! Heck, are you even real? Last I saw, you were ghosting when I smacked ya! And that makes you a total faker!"
Enamorus' yellow eyes widened in a manic look as she hurled a Moonblast Jo-Jo's way.
Confident, aren't we? And what do you think you're going to accomplish here? Even if you defeat me, what will you really have gained?
Can do, Ichiro thought back. He bounded for the crystals and let loose another fiery blast.
Enamorus didn't have the opportunity to clarify what she meant have meant by that, because while she was preoccupied by Jo-Jo, Ichiro and Melody had been preparing further attacks. Ichiro's fire washed over the crystals, cobwebbing them with tiny fractures. When Melody came barreling through with another Rollout, they shattered easily, and Enamorus' face twisted up in pain before she vanished from sight. This time, she didn't return.
The broken crystals leaked a sludgy purple mixture into the soil and a faint haze of miasma into the air. Gradually, the wind that had been swirling through the clearing subsided. It was quiet, save for the melodica, which continued to play on its own, nestled in the remains of the shrine.
Potdeer being a ground type probably wouldn't handle the water well. Unless the tentacool had some way of doing it? Maybe they were going to create a giant bubble they could use as a submarine. And, he figured if they were suddenly about to be drowned then Luni could teleport them out of the way. He waded into the water, asking, "How are we going to do that?"
Like this! the tentacool said, reaching up and pulling Tomomichi under the water with their tentacles.
"Really now?" Rachel raised a brow as she walked towards the Tentacool. "Well, however you're gonna do it. We'll be glad to have you with us."
The warmth fluttered like Butterfrees in her chest. Luni clapped, enjoying herself as she sung. So Potdeer's intuition was correct! She knew she could count on the big Pokémon.
Though it didn't seem like they could do much here. Thankfully, the Tentacool was offering their help. Luni nudged Kricketot. "Come on, Kricketot! Let's go save Meloetta!"
Save Meloetta? By going down there? Kricketot didn't sound entirely enthusiastic about the idea, but the second tentacool didn't give him a chance to object, either. Not wanting to be left behind by its friend, the water-type likely pulled Rachel under without waiting for further confirmation.
Once submerged, the humans would find themselves wrapped in large bubbles of air, which would provide them with air while underwater, though since they didn't cover the trainers' entire bodies, they wouldn't keep all their extremities dry. Down and down the tentacool Dove, skimming the sandy bottom of the bay. As they continued forward, the water darkened around them and the ground continued to slope down and away. Ahead, a dark structure loomed, the strange music they'd heard before emanating from it.
There were fewer pokémon here in the deep water, but a few wishiwashi darted in and out around old stone pillars, and of course there were always magikarp, here as anywhere, peering in through the trainers' bubbles to see who had decided to join them in the deep. And rarer pokémon yet: a great shape of writhing seaweed ahead, a dhelmise dragging its anchor across the ocean floor, and a corsola toddling across the sand. In Rachel's bubble, Kricketot's antennae let out a faint shimmer of notes as they trembled with nerves.
The strange music was clearly coming from the ruin of a building up ahead, what might once have been a pyramid and which now had partially collapsed, so any point at the top was now long gone. In through a ruined archway, and the group would find themselves plunged into near-total darkness in the ruin below the waves.
The tentacool had come prepared, however, and the large jelly orbs on the sides of their heads lit up, casting the surroundings in a dim ruby glow. The inside of the pyramid was a maze of interior walls, many of them decorated with symbols similar to the ones on the potsherd they'd found. With long exposure to the ocean currents, though, many of the walls had acquired holes or fallen away entirely, allowing more easy access to the center of the old pyramid. Always there was the sound of music, louder now, calling them forward.
In the darkest heart of the old pyramid, they finally found it. The source of the music was a blue harmonica set into a niche in the wall, surrounded by statues whose features had long been worn away, the walls around it adorned with more mysterious symbols. The harmonica played on, apparently entirely by itself, letting forth a constant stream of notes and bubbles.
Nori lowers his head. So it was that. Stage fright isn't really something he can relate to. Well, maybe...
"You are!" he blurts, before squinting his eyes shut. "We know you're one of the best flutists here. This music is... really great. I don't think anyone can do a better job than you. Expectations are hard to deal with, I know that. Especially when you might humiliate yourself for no reason." That was something he could relate to. He clutches himself. Thank goodness that worked.
---
"You're worried about looking bad? You're going to look worse if you give up," the Demon bluntly says.
---
The boy looks up. "But..." he tries to say, faltering for a bit. "Sometimes... you just have to try. Jump in and do it, even if you're afraid of failing. You never know. But you'll never ever know and always will fail if you don't try. So please..."
---
"I abandoned my colony," the Demon continues, growling on the word 'colony'. "I was scorned, and you will be too. What will make running from this worth it?"
---
Nori takes another deep breath, voice shaking as he tries to fight back some tears. He really has no idea if this is working or not. Like, his lack of confidence is really obvious. But he's trying. "I know you can do this. Believe in yourself, and just try. We'll support you any way we can. But...you have to try. For everyone's sake." He looks at the Charcadet's dad as he says that. Surely, the flutist knew what was on the line here. It was for the entire colony, which he lived in. Without a colony...
---
And the Demon nods in concurrence. "Stand tall, and I'll stand with you."
The charcadet's gaze roamed back and forth from Nori to Demon. He seemed uncertain, although the pair's words were beginning to have an impact. Charcadet stood a little straighter, although his voice still quavered a little when he said, "But... If I mess this up, then we might never see Meloetta ever again. And it will all be... my fault." He blinked. "And, ummm... Are you okay?" He was looking at Nori.
Ceruledge nodded solemnly. "We'll be no worse off if you fail than if you don't try at all. And I don't believe you will fail."
"But then everyone will know! Everyone will know how bad I am at this! And they'll blame me, too."
