Game Week of the Multiverse: Overcast Forest

[IFBench]

Around Overcast Village was a forest filled with just as much fog as the village itself. There were trees as far as the eye could see, some bearing apples, some bearing various berries. One may find a few villagers wandering around here, playing in the woods, gathering food, or just taking in the woodland atmosphere.

Sometimes, in recent days, you might hear a twig snapping, or squelching footsteps, combined with a feeling of the temperature dropping. Turning around, however, would yield nothing.

There was a small dirt path in one part of the forest, leading to an area bereft of most trees. It was noticeably more foggy than the rest of the forest. Next to it was a sign reading, "Water Purification Shrine ahead".

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Lillie saw something... Someone moving in the fog out the corner of her eye.

"Nero? Nero, is that you? I-It's me, Lillie."

That got the creature's attention. The figure that emerged from the fog was close to Nero's, but bore the mask of the Nulls she knew. They scrutinized for several seconds. It felt like their eyes were boring into her soul.

"You're Lillie, then?" They paused for a moment. "Come with me for a moment. I need to talk to you."

The Null turned to walk deeper into the woods, but Lillie didn't follow. "Wait! You can't just say that and not tell me why!"

"I want to talk to you somewhere private. I can explain then."

Lillie glared at them. Could they be one of the interdimensional criminals she'd just been warned about? Then again, if the Null took her somewhere private and tried to threaten her, she could just take her disguise off. Curiosity outweighing her irritation, she reluctantly followed.

---

Gladion swallowed nervously. He wasn't sure if Lillie knew or not. He'd given Wicke permission to tell anyone who didn't live on Aether about him. With Lillie disappearing the day of her scheduled escape, he had no clue whether Wicke would've brought her into the loop yet or not. He hoped Wicke had already told her, but he had to start from the beginning, just in case.

"My name is Gladion. I'm-"

"-My brother," she interrupted. "I know."

He relaxed. He hadn't even noticed he'd been tensing until that moment. Though, if Wicke had already told her... what else was there to say?

There was an awkward lapse in the conversation...

Lillie started sniffling. "Why did you have to leave me?" You know why, it's the reason we're having this fucking conversation. "Mother got worse after you left."

Did she, then? Or did she just start doing to you what she used to reserve for me? "You can't blame me for Lusamine treated us. It's not my fault she's your mother."

"We could've dealt with her together. You left me alone when I needed you."

"I couldn't have stayed. It would've meant 4 more years of Lusamine having the final say over who I could be."

Lillie paused. "I guess..."

That was good enough for him. He waited a moment more to see if Lillie would do anything further. She didn't. "That's everything, then?"

It wasn't everything. Not really. There had been four years of things since they'd last spoken. However, he was already emotionally exhausted, so it was everything for now. He went back towards the town to find somewhere to go lie down.

We aren't so identical anymore... It's like we don't know each other at all anymore.

<><><><><>

 

[Navar]

Meggie decided to give herself a break from the village. Sure, it was fun, but everyone need some alone time, and that included her as well.

She brushed her head as she floated around the forest, checking out the scenario. It was quite nice, even if it was all foggy. Not like it would really matter, considering nobody was there. It did kinda feel like a ghost story.

"Heh." she chuckled at the unintentional pun and continued on her way, eventually stopping and sitting under a tree, stretching her body.

"Way to go... now all I need is to... relax!"

 

[Fusion]

Kora couldn't find Lee anywhere, all he could do now was vaguely sense that the wolf was alive. That was good... yeah, that was good... He was safe. Hopefully. It was hard to tell how alive Lee was, which Kora found out was a very important thing to distinguish when it comes to most people.

To try and get himself to normalize, even slightly, he wandered on and on, and on... and on. Walking helped him forget that painful feeling. Eventually... he found himself lost in that forest. Good, great even. He leapt up towards the branch of a tree, swinging around might help even more than walking.

'Lee is fine... He's a tough cookie, basically the brick of all cookies. Maybe even a brick of steel. He's fine...' he kept repeating that in his mind as he aimless swung from branch to branch, not doing anything fancy, just moving.

'Lee is fine.' Kora picked up his pace, leaping from every branch to every other.

'He wouldn't get hurt here, he's way too tough for that.' He went faster. The feeling of the wind through his mane would have been refreshing, if his chest didn't ache.

'Nobody here could hurt him, anyway, let alone...' No. Had to keep going. Even faster. Instead of every other tree, he leapt to every third or fourth.

'...What if he pissed off Nero?' Faster, maybe the wind in his ears could drown out those thoughts.

'O-Or Barky? The Mews?' Faster, fast like his heartbeat. If he could still see the branches, he wasn't going fast enough, and the winds weren't loud enough.

'Wh-What if Hades was a god in hiding? Or something as strong as a god?' Faster. This was helping, right? Right?

'What if he...' Kora froze in mid air, missing the next branch.

With only a split second of panic, he crashed painfully into a tree, letting out a pained wheeze as he fell to the ground head first. "F-Fucking hell..." he squeaked, falling onto his back.

 

[Navar]

Meggie squeaked in shock, not even processing what had just happened until she saw the fox right in front of her.

Who was it? Her first instinct was thinking it was her friend and teammate, but something seemed... off.

"Brian? No... you're not him! You're... Lance's friend, right? Kora, is it?"

Regardless, it was clear he needed help, so she floated right next to him, tilting her head.

"Are... you okay in there? Nothing broken?"

 

[Fusion]

Kora slowly picked his head up off the ground, then let it drop back down. That was normal pain, not broken pain. Awesome! "N-Nope... nothin's broken this time. Maybe if it was a rock or somethin'..." he said, chuckling weakly. "Hooray..."

He took a second to see who was talking to him, he didn't recognize whoever it was at first, and his vision was blurred from the... everything that just happened, so he saw nothing but a white blob before him with purple splorches on its face. "Yeah, also, I'm Kora... I uh... can't see yet. Who are you?"

The comment this person said about Brian and Lance went entirely over his head, apparently...

 

[Navar]

Kora slowly rose picked his head up off the ground, then let it drop back down. That was normal pain, not broken pain. Awesome! "N-Nope... nothin's broken this time. Maybe if it was a rock or somethin'..." he said, chuckling weakly. "Hooray..."

This was more awkward than it should be, but she pressed on. He seemed to be fine...ish? Well, she didn't know any healing moves... better make some small talk, it might help.

"Yeah, also, I'm Kora... I uh... can't see yet. Who are you?"

"Uh, ghost girl with ice powers," she demonstrated by making a small snowflake over her hand. "Or Meggie, if you're asking names. I went here to relax a bit... and you?"

 

[Fusion]

Meggie? Meggie... Oh! That Froslass that came with Lance! Kora immediately popped up off the ground, putting on a grin. "Meggie! Right!" he said, realizing he popped up the wrong way and awkwardly turned himself around. "M-Meggie, haha... Howdy!"

"I went here to relax a bit... and you?"

"Me?" Kora tilted his head, humming. For some reason... he couldn't remember. And his head hurt, too. He shrugged, letting out a yip. "I have no idea! Probably wasn't important then, hehe!"

Then something did come to mind. "Oh, right, I gotta ask you something..." he held out his paw, flexing it slightly. A black, inky aura seeped all around it, parting to reveal a Lucario arm. "Ok, this is Lance's arm, right? I wanted to know about this-" he flexed is Lance-Paw again, and it suddenly sprouted jagged crystals. It... felt empty. "...What happened to him? If you don't mind? I feel like this might be a lot to ask about but... I'm worried."

 

[Navar]

She chuckled a bit, lowering down to sit, freezing the area around her. That Zoroark was fun, no wonder Lance talked about him so much. To her, he was kinda like an adorable dork.

A black, inky aura seeped all around it, parting to reveal a Lucario arm. "Ok, this is Lance's arm, right? I wanted to know about this-" he flexed is Lance-Paw again, and it suddenly sprouted jagged crystals. It... felt empty. "...What happened to him? If you don't mind? I feel like this might be a lot to ask about but... I'm worried."

Her smile instantly wavered, turning into a frown, and even the wind seemed to be colder. Before she answered anything, Meggie took a look around. They were all alone. Good.

"Okay, okay... I can explain this, but uh, how good are you at keeping secrets?"

 

[Fusion]

"Do you know anything about me?" Kora asked, semi smug. "B-Basically, yeah, I can keep secrets, hehe..."

He scooted a bit closer, both to whisper and because he enjoyed the cold a bunch. "Ok, this sounds serious. Really serious. Whenever you're ready..." he nodded.

 

[Navar]

"Well, I kinda only saw you... three times?" Meggie shrugged, shoving him a bit further away from her. "Okay, okay. I'll explain this in the most simple way I can think of. Yes, I know what happened, I was there."

It was so long ago, but it still hurt to talk about it. She had to take a few breaths to calm down and properly explain it.

"He was possessed by this legendary called Necrozma..." she looked away, almost guilt-struck. "It took... a pretty huge amount of time for him to go back to normal after they separated. But like... he's not fully recovered yet. Nobody knows if he ever will. From what he told me, it happens on high emotions, like stress, or... sadness? You're on the same house now, did that happen?"

 

[Fusion]

Kora scooted closer again. "Necrozma..." his brow furrowed as he scratched his chin with the jagged paw crystals from Lance's paw. "It ain't ringing any bells, but it certainly sounds strong. And it possessed him?" Kora flinched slightly. "...Yikes."

"Yeah, we're in the same house together, but he didn't get like this while we were there, I was kinda just... uh..." he rubbed the back of his head, chuckling nervously. "I-I was, er, practicing my shapeshifting? And when I tripped and banged my head on the table, this happened."

Lance would probably never wear a dress and Kora really wanted to see what he'd look like, ok? But admitting that felt embarrassing... and he almost never felt embarrassed.

 

[Navar]

Meggie rubbed her arm. Why was she telling him that? Well, Kora seemed close enough for that...

"Yeah. It was like an entirely different person. Agressive, sadistic, kinda like... a zombie? You do know what a zombie is, right? Anyway, he, well, Necrozma wandered around, absorbing... any aura he could get in touch with. Like a Parasect! Or that's what I've heard from Lance."

Even saying that stung like hell. Of course, she faked it as best as she could, forcing a smile.

She frowned again. "Look, don't tell him I told you this, okay? If he feels okay, he'll tell you about it. It's not exactly a good memory. I've been told that he felt like he was caged on his own mind, constantly struggling to regain control of his body..."

"Yeah, we're in the same house together, but he didn't get like this while we were there, I was kinda just... uh..." he rubbed the back of his head, chuckling nervously. "I-I was, er, practicing my shapeshifting? And when I tripped and banged my head on the table, this happened."

Didn't Zoroark use illusions? Maybe it was different on other worlds. Still, she laughed, covering her mouth.

"I-I'm sorry. What does your shapeshifting have to do with him? I assumed you'd have to know about the possession stuff to do that."

 

[Fusion]

Parasect

"Did you really have to say that one Pokemon specifically..." he muttered sheepishly. God he hated that 'mon, almost as much as Orbeetle. Fuckin' Orbeetle.

She frowned again. "Look, don't tell him I told you this, okay? If he feels okay, he'll tell you about it. It's not exactly a good memory. I've been told that he felt like he was caged on his own mind, constantly struggling to regain control of his body..."

Kora let out a quiet whine, holding his arm. "It's really strange how much he and I have in common, you know... hehe..."

"I-I'm sorry. What does your shapeshifting have to do with him? I assumed you'd have to know about the possession stuff to do that."

A proud, smug, goofy grin was slapped right on Kora's snout. "Oh, I'm a special Zoroark. Probably the bestest Zoroark there ever was across the multiverse!" he beamed, snickering. "I'm so powerful, that I don't just look like other people, I become them! And all I need to do..." He leaned in close, probably uncomfortably close. "...is give 'em a lil boop." And as he said that, he booped Meggie's nose, or wherever it woulda been, and rolled back.

With a snap of his claws a dazzling flash of black aura engulfed the fox entirely. The air grew even colder than before, causing the grass to get frost-tipped and crackle if you were to simply touch them. Even the immediate fog around the two started to sparkle and shimmer as it slowly turned to ice.

A burst of ghastly-ice type aura flowed from where Kora was, dispersing the aura around him. In place of the trickster stood a lone, elegant, beautiful Froslass. With the biggest shit eating grin on her face imaginable.

"See?" Keggie snickered. "And you can inspect me yourself, I'm entirely you now! Hehe!"

 

[Navar]

Well, at least the possession theme was shut down. She sighed in relief at that, rubbing her head. Meggie gasped, watching that magical girl transformation while clapping her hands.

"Right... I bet the Zoroark I know would be jealous of this," Meggie laughed again. The mood was lighter and she appreciated that. "So you just touch them? 'Cause I know that Lucario, he's veeeeeery private about touching him. What did you do?"

 

[Fusion]

"That's, er..." Keggie's cheeks turned a bright purple. "We k-kissed, and got drunk, and kissed again..."

There was nothing to elaborate on, that is simply what happened and no one can prove him wrong.

 

[Navar]

"...Oh. That makes a lot more sense."

She patted Kora on his(her?) shoulder.

"Well, congrats! Did he ask you out?"

 

[Fusion]

Keggies eyes lit up with purple colored stars. "He did! I was so caught off guard by it too! I, like, I knew he liked me an' all but he just asked me out completely outta nowhere!" she giggled, holding her cheeks and bobbing her head from side to side. "Gods, I hadn't felt so special in years! He's such a sweetheart!"

"I-I almost still can't believe it, I have a boyfriend, an honest to gods boyfriend~!"

 

[Navar]

"I'm happy for you two. Congrats, I guess!" Meggie giggled, holding her doppelganger's hands. She had a bright smile on her face.

"Just uh... take care of him okay? And if you do decide to talk about the, uh... possession thing, be subtle, alright? I'm sure he'll understand."

 

[Fusion]

"I'll do everything in my power to keep him safe, I swear," Keggie nodded, giving Meggie's hands a confident squeeze. "I know better than anyone that being a hero is... painful at best. I just want him to be happy, because he makes me happy! Honestly... I'll probably want to keep the possession thing under wraps, he doesn't need more stress on this vacation."

Oh yeah, speaking of which. "Oh yeah, speaking of which, me and a few others found out about this arcade place, and we were thinking of having some truth or dare games there to help everyone relax! Would you wanna join if we manage to ever actually did?" she asked, smiling sweetly. "It'll be fun!"