Game Week of the Multiverse: Riverside Plaza

[Ambyssin]

"Oh, it was an arcade? Huh." Shane would've been over the moon to see something like that, but it didn't do any good to walk off so he could play games by himself. "Anyway, he wanted me to use my portals to try and get everyone home, but for some reason I can't seem to open any rifts to Ultra Space. Something must be jamming my powers." He sat down and scratched an ear. "It's frustrating, but I guess I'm stuck here for the moment."

 

[Navar]

"Yeah, an arcade," Lance raised a brow, listening to Shane talk about portals and Ultra Space. It all felt familiar, even if it was a different world. The most interesting thing seemed to be that this particular Ninetales could open it by himself.

"Ultra Space? That interdimensional realm? You can just... open up rifts for it?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"Of course! It's what I was trained to do." Though Shane's ears drooped. "Well, under normal circumstances. There's something funny about this world. I'd investigate and stuff, but I don't want to cause a scene or anything. Not when I'm kind of an unintentional guest." He laughed nervously. "But, hey, at least you know what that is. That's a step above a lot of folks we try and help." His tails wagged asynchronously.

 

[Navar]

"I see," Lance rubbed his head. "Don't worry about investigating, it should be fine. Everyone here seems chill enough to allow that."

Lance shrugged. "And I sort of had to know, considering a mission my team had to take."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Oh?" Shane quirked a brow. He must've been an explorer, then. Typical for a lucario in some strange, cosmic sense. "What kind of mission?"

 

[Navar]

"Taking care of a Cosmog with amnesia," he explained. "Cosmog look like space clouds. In our case, he evolved into a Solgaleo, and things got a bit complicated."

He quickly checked both hands and sighed in relief. "That was my teammates' mission. I sort of... got my body hijacked. By this black Pokémon."

 

[Ambyssin]

... oh.

So, this guy was more than intimately familiar with that sort of stuff. Shane subconsciously rubbed his forelegs together. His eyes flickered purple. "You're, uh, talking about necrozma, I take it?"

 

[Navar]

"...Looks like a giant crystal, speaks like he's yelling, and talks about light all the time? Yeah, that's him."

Oh, so there was someone else in a similar position to him. What were the odds?

"Took over my mind. I could only watch as he did whatever he wanted in my body. We got separated, eventually, but I still have some part of him in me."

 

[Ambyssin]

“That so.” Shane clicked his tongue. “Well, most Blinding Ones are very aggressive when they’ve been deprived of their light. It’s very painful. My teacher told me I’d turn into a big angry crystal husk if I got too carried away with my powers.”

The look on his face left little to suggestion.

 

[Navar]

"Correct me if I'm wrong. Are you saying you're like him? A... Blinding One, as you call it?"

Lance frowned.

"I can only... shapeshift a bit. If I'm too stressed or something similar. It's awful and painful. Is there a way to stop it? I wish I could be normal again."

 

[Ambyssin]

“Like one? I am one.” A gold wing popped out of Shane’s back and waved at Lance. “I wouldn’t know the first thing about removing that kind of power from a soul. I’m pretty sure I’d do more harm than good if I tried anything.”

He certainly didn’t want to get Lance’s hopes up for no reason.

 

[Navar]

"...Fine. It's no big deal, just wished I could get it off me. It's more of a curse than anything," he looked away. Of course things wouldn't be so easy, they never were.

 

[Ambyssin]

“I’m sorry,” Shane mumbled. He seemed a bit dimmer. “I imagine it’s not very easy for you.”

 

[Navar]

Lance's ears drooped. "No. Felt trapped inside my own mind, while that psycho ran around using my body. I could only... watch."

 

[Ambyssin]

Shane walked up to Lance’s side. “I had to go through a similar ordeal. And I made it out the other side. Don’t give up hope.” He nudged Lance with his snout. “I know necrozma have bad raps. It’s not something I can fix on my own. But if you need any help while we’re here, I can try my best.”