Destiny Village ~ Central Crossroads

[Sudmensch]

"Ah. Well, uh, the right one's gotta be somewhere, right? Lead the way," Dill waved them on. As he started back on the road, he glanced after the rogue Zygarde again. "What was that badge thing he had?"

 

[IFBench]

"I...don't know. It doesn't look quite like our badges," Saltriv said.

They hesitated, then began walking after the Zygarde again. "Let's keep following them. Maybe we can get some answers."

 

[Sudmensch]

"I'm not sure that's a good... agh. Alright," he sighed, clenching his jaw as he followed Saltriv again.

 

[Namohysip]

Zygarde continued down the road, taking a few minor turns, and it became rapidly apparent where he was heading after one last turn. It narrowed down the odds and paths familiar to Team Spectrum, and it was too specific in these offshoot roads to be anything else.

Zygarde was heading to Diyem's abode. And based on how Diyem was reacting in their group telepathy, something about it had him jumping out of his scales.

 

[IFBench]

Saltriv's eyes widened.

"This...this is sounding really bad," they said. "We need to hurry!"

They began sprinting after the Zygarde, looking back at Dill, their petals tensed up.

 

[Sudmensch]

"What? What, what's happening?" Dill asked as he ran after him.

 

[IFBench]

"He's headed to Diyem's house, and Diyem seems really worried about him!" they answered.

 

[Sudmensch]

"Ah, Grimer slime... uh, o-okay! We'll find Bean later, let's rock!" Dill said.

 

[Namohysip]

Zygarde was on the main road, now, toward Diyem's house, which looked like it was completely empty. No life inside, not even Diyem's flame. But he certainly hadn't fled; there was a weak, instinctual tug from Saltriv and Dill that suggested their leader was still there.

He stopped only a few houses away from his destination, looking back at Saltriv and Dill. No expression. He could have been thinking anything.

Then, he marched onward. In front of the house, now, which still gave no reaction nor sign of life.

 

[IFBench]

"STOP!" they shouted racing towards the Zygarde.

They had no idea what they could do, but they had to do something!

 

[Sudmensch]

Dill clenched his fists, his eyes darting between Diyem's house and the Zygarde.

"H-hey, ugly!" he eventually managed out, already preparing an Ice Fang.

 

[IFBench]

Hearing Diyem's telepathy, their eyes widened in horror, and they immediately stopped in their tracks, wrapping a vine around Dill.

"We can't provoke him," they said to their friend. "We need to be careful."

 

[Sudmensch]

Dill's Ice Fang dropped as the telepathy hit him just a second too late.

"Uh... r-right. Noted."

 

[Namohysip]

To this, Zygarde stopped. He was only a few steps away from the front, which made Dill a direct block between him and the door.

Finally, the first sense of expression came from the Zygarde, through his flickering eyes. It was only a flash. What it meant couldn't be discerned.

"Hello."

Flat, even tone. It was not like a computer; it had an organic quality to it. It wasn't stilted or jittery. It flowed as normal speech would. Yet it was devoid of any sense of emotion whatsoever.

"You are a Spirit of Darkness. Please move aside so I may speak to your patron. I apologize for the inconvenience this may cause."

 

[IFBench]

"Wh-what are you going to do to him?" Saltriv asked, trying their best to suppress any fear, anger, and hostility from their voice, though they nervously glanced over at Dill.

He was the only thing standing between Zygarde and Diyem, and if the Zygarde tried to-

They didn't want to think about that.

 

[Namohysip]

"There are five items detailing the purpose of this meeting. Item 1: Routine Wellness Check, delayed after several unresponsive results when contact attempts were made. Item 2: Class-V Multidimensional Threat Detection. We have reason to believe that he is involved with its creation or perpetuation. Item 3: Per the United Overseer Calendar, it is Darkness Dark Matter Diyem's 250th anniversary of his Negative Adjustment Therapy as of three UOC days ago. Item 4: Due to failure to respond to wellness checks, a delayed gift is to be delivered to Darkness Dark Matter Diyem's location for his birthday as of two UOC months ago. Item 5: Knowledge check and verification of planet Cibus' world leadership, reality administrators, and spirit flow."

For only Saltriv and Dill to hear, someone was growling softly before being shushed from within the home. It sounded like Toast.

 

[Sudmensch]

Dill's heart raced, but with another glance back, he gulped the lump in his throat down.

"He... what does that even-? I- sir, can't this wait a couple weeks until we...?" he asked with as neutral of a tone as he could manage.

He bit his lip, praying quietly that someone would pick up his telepathic call for assistance in this position.

 

[IFBench]

That list sounded mostly innocuous, but...

"We...we have urgent matters to do soon! We need to stop the Eternal Blacklight!" They protested, trying to keep their tone neutral, though they slipped a few times.

They hesitated, then added, "A-are you going to hurt Diyem?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Please move aside so we may address our items and his outstanding wellness check. This will be your last verbal request. We apologize for any inconvenience."

 

[Sudmensch]

Swearing under his breath, Dill looked to Saltriv for help. Was he really about to let this thing in after Diyem? Should he step aside? The odds were stacked against him, but someone had to do something...