Grass Continent ~ Treasure Town Beach

[Cresselia92]

Hearing those words of glee and admiration filled Icetales’ chest with an overflowing warmth. The Ninetales wagged his entire set of tails, scattering pixie dust and golden glitters. The azure sclerae glowed with a faint whitish light, which easily rivaled his joyful grin.

“How kind of thee to say such lovely things of yours truly, Sir Koamaru. Thy words mean plenty for this humble butler. I… am most grateful.” He gave a gentle pat on the Manectric’s shoulder. “But credit goes where it is due, and thou did a most admirable job, too. When those spheres of aura bombarded the defenses of our opposition… My, what a glorious and dazzling spectacle that was!”

Petram didn’t say anything as he was too busy munching a burger, but he gave a nod of approval and an enthusiastic thumbs-up. The pupils in his eyes turned to stars, and the energy inside his chest swirled like a galaxy. Then, he turned back to the barbecue, wishing to assemble some good hamburgers.

“As of how I have been doing recently…” Icetales leaned back, letting his tails spill around his body. “Um… It has been swell enough? I am used to madness, so all that confusion and chaos that happened in recent times did not faze me too much. If all, the calm after the cosmic storm has been… good. It feels nice to not feel stressed out…”

The Ninetales’ voice became more quiet, just as some of the light in his eyes faded away.

“…Here, in this world, at least.”

And said light vanished almost completely when Koamaru mentioned the Spirit’s Edge. The cheerfulness in the fox’s expression turned into a serious face, just as the memories of his sister rushed back to him. His tails swished behind his back, and the golden glitters were replaced by dark trails.

“Spirit’s Edge… By the heavens, it feels like it has been forever ago…”

Petram glanced at his father, concern starting to deep into his eyes, and he yipped in surprise when a dark pulse blew out the flames of the barbecue. He clicked his claws together and stared at the Ninetales, giving some unspoken mental support. That seemed to help somewhat, as Icetales took a more dignified and composed posture. His face was still serious, however.

“…Right. Quite the mess awaits me at home. Nothing that I am looking forward to, but still something that I must do.” Icetales looked down, running his claws across the grass while his voice took a more venomous tone. “And that something… involves dealing with my father and his crimes…”

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa nodded somberly. His heart twisted with sympathy as he saw Icetales change in demeanor. He knew enough to know that Icetales history was not a pleasant one, not by any measure. He stared down at his paws, studying the fur on them. A thousand thoughts swirled through his mind, a mix of his own memories, and trying to figure out the best thing to say to Icetales. How's the ol demon dad? Didn't seem right. Nor did a 'You got this buddy!'

"It sucks." He blurted out suddenly "Having a family you can't trust. Knowing your heritage comes from something... terrible." He let out a sigh. "How... what do you plan to do, when you go home? I-if you don't mind me asking."

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales took a deep breath. “Assuming that I remember what transpired in this world, and everything I have learned about myself…” He paused, then shook his head. “I… don’t know what I will do…”

The memories of what happened in the Eterna storm slowly returned to him.

The infinity of Chaos, and the suffocating environment, and reality twisting and bending in horrifying ways.

“Or… what I should do…”

Magnificent and his demented laughter. The raw malice and heartlessness in his red eyes. His claws threatening to rip into Petram’s helpless body. Or was that… Firetales?

“…What I… must do…”

The blade of the scythe protruding from the foxtaur’s chest. Black smoke turning into a black stream of daemonic fluid. Life slipping away. The horror in Magnificent’s eyes, mixed with hatred as he shot a silent curse at his bastard son.

“No matter what I choose, at the end of time, I… I will not be free…”

Icetales sighed and looked at the star-shaped tips of his tails.

“If I try to flee, then guilt will weigh me down for as long as I live. If I fight against that… tyrant, then humongous responsibilities will await me. Leading a resistance, and… if I succeed in… well, then I will have to take care of an entire kingdom. Assuming my people accept me, a half-beast, as their leader.”

Icetales groaned, his tails thumping incessantly. “It is not something I look forward to, but… if nobody does anything, then many people will suffer. As some philosophers in my world say, ‘inaction is the seed of disaster’…”

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa remained silent, only giving a sympathetic nod and letting Icetales speak. When he finished, Koa didn't say anything for several moments.

"I'm glad your world has you," he said finally. He lapsed into silence again, not wanting to rush his thoughts. Perhaps quiet comfort and listening ear was needed anyway.

"Maybe... maybe fighting will bring its own kind of freedom." He spoke slowly, trying to measure each word. "I mean, there'll be a lot of responsibility but... You'll be free too, in a way. Knowing you became someone you're proud of, and that you made your own path in life. I think your kingdom and your people will accept you. It'll be hard, but maybe not in a bad way. Trying to do right by your kingdom will be like..." He tapped his paw on the sand as he searched for the words, "a goodfight in the colosseum. Challenging, but rewarding too."

He took another sip of lemonade before giving Icetales a wry grin. "Besides, no matter how many mistakes you make as a leader, you could hardly be worse than the previous one, right?"

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales reciprocated the grin, while his tails slowed down. He felt calmer.

“Heh. Mayhaps. Granted, I do not have the basic knowledge of how to govern a kingdom, but I am more than willing to learn." He narrowed his eyes. "Even if that meant... having to find a compromise with my medium sister, Seventh. As the favorite of father, she... got a fair share of privileges, if thou get my gist."

The Ninetales grumbled and left a few trails of ice on the grass. "Not enthused at the idea, but I must do what I must do. Besides, she... will need to be aware. In case there is a... sudden influx of souls treading her Twilight."

There was another pause, almost stifling. Icetales rubbed his face with his leftmost tail. There was still the faint veil of concern in his eyes, but he dispelled his doubts with a swift shake of his head.

"Er-hem! Regardless! I can say one thing for certain," his gaze hardened, showing absolute determination, "I am not afraid of father. Not anymore. If I have to duel him for the control of the kingdom... to stop his reign of terror and despair... then I am ready. I am ready to fight with my teeth and my claws, so that my people will be free from him.

Even if they were to loathe me for my marred blood and for my origins from Chaos... I shall not let that faze me. The knowledge that they would have a time to prosper, to be... happy..." Icetales paused, then beamed a small smile. "Then, that will be repayment enough for my efforts."

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa couldn't help but curl his lip slightly upon the mention of Icetales sister, but he soon relaxed as he continued. A strange, relieved lightness spread through Koa. He'd been worried about Icetales, perhaps more than he realized. After all the ice fox did to look out for others, he also hoped he took care of himself.

"I'm glad to hear it," Koa replied. "It'll be good to get closure."

Something you'll never get.

He did his best to ignore the voice.

A gust of wind ruffled his fur, stirring up the tantalizing scent of the burgers. "I'm gonna miss this place," he murmured.

 

[Cresselia92]

“Hm. Thou art not the only one who will miss Cibus. Many of our comrades have mixed opinions about having to leave this place behind.”

Icetales stared intently at the sea, noticing a few Krabby crawling amidst the foam and the waves. They seemed happy.

“Alongside… All friendships we have forged here. That is probably going to be the part that will hurt folks the most, huh. And if that thing about the hero’s aura is true, about most of us forgetting most of what happened here, if not everything…” He sighed. “Makes me wonder if that is more a curse or a blessing. Perhaps… a bit of both?”

As Icetales contemplated about that, Petram brought a couple of hamburgers to the duo, as well as a few bottles with different sauces.

“Oh! Many thanks, Petram. Much considerate,” chirped Icetales, pulling his plate closer.

The Zoroark grinned. “Ah, you’re welcome! Gotta eat them before they become too cold, haha!” He tilted his head and stared at the other fox. “Though, I bet you wouldn’t mind much.”

“Very true.”

“Anyway, huh… I’ll go work on some sandmon. Feel free to catch up with me whenever!”

And so, the Zoroark left to carry on with his task. Icetales stared at the shade until he was out of earshot, and exhaled a cloud of mist.

“Golly, if there is someone I wish I could bring with me… it would be Petram. But… he has already his siblings here and everything, and he is tied to Cibus, and…”

Icetales sighed and shook his head, then glanced at Koamaru. “But enough sad memories. What will thou do as soon as thou will return back to thy world? Still working on looking for some legend to befriend? And dost thou have some trace to follow?”

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa's stomach rumbled gratefully as he took the burger from Petram. He watched the eager Zoroark trot off and smiled. He couldn't imagine how it would feel to lose someone like that. At least he had another Echo to go home too, and he knew this Echo was happy to stay. "Maybe forgetting some of it is a good thing... In a way, at least. It protects us." It still hurt though. "Petram will be happy here though," he reassured him. "And maybe one day you can still meet again."

He shook himself slightly, not wanting to sadden his friend further. After all, he was luckier than most - the home he was returning to was still a good one.

"Yeah, I still really wanna find a legendary! Before I came here I was thinking about trying to find a Latias. I'll probably have to travel to Hoenn for that though." He frowned in thought.

"But other than trying to catch one, I'd love to meet the Lake Guardians - you know, Mesprit and them, if I can." The light of challenge glowed in his eyes. "Not to catch them though. I doubt they'd let me anyway. It would just be cool to actually meet then, you know?"

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales

"Maybe forgetting some of it is a good thing... In a way, at least. It protects us." It still hurt though. "Petram will be happy here though," he reassured him. "And maybe one day you can still meet again."

“I have no doubt that he will be happy…” mused Icetales, before biting a piece off of his own burger. He chewed slowly and silently, his gaze contemplative as if he crafted new words in his mouth. His ears flicked and a pulse of darkness flashed on his pelt - a light tone of sadness. “Howbeit… I shall be ready for the eventuality that the might not meet again, and enjoy what time we have left. We want to depart with happiness in our hearts, not despair.”

"Yeah, I still really wanna find a legendary! Before I came here I was thinking about trying to find a Latias. I'll probably have to travel to Hoenn for that though." He frowned in thought.

"But other than trying to catch one, I'd love to meet the Lake Guardians - you know, Mesprit and them, if I can." The light of challenge glowed in his eyes. "Not to catch them though. I doubt they'd let me anyway. It would just be cool to actually meet then, you know?"

Icetales tilted his head, analyzing those words. Hoenn… Lake Guardians… Mesprit… Oh!

“Ah, Mesprit. Talking about the Embodiments of Being? Yes, I have heard tales about them in my own world, too. They would be… cool to meet, indeed.”

He took a sip of his lemonade, his tongue lapping gently. Then, he stared at the hamburger, once more focused in his thoughts.

“Hm. Now that I think about them, I wonder why they did not assist us in handling Dialga, Palkia and Giratina while they were corrupted by Blacklight. From where I am from, their powers are almost on par with the dragons, and can calm them down.” He tilted his head on the other side. “But it does make sense. After all, they have psionic powers…”

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa nibbled on his hamburger as his thoughts drifted, brushing against less than pleasant memories. "Maybe they're not as strong here?" he said finally. "On my world... they're powerful I think, but not on that level. They couldn't take one one of the dragons or anything. Except-"

He grimaced slightly. That wasn't quite true. "But Team Galactic figured out a way to use them on my world. They made something called the Red Chain. That's how they were able to control Dialga and Palkia. It took Giratina to stop them."

The memory made his skin prickle. "I guess its different here though. Maybe they're not as strong? With all three of the dragons fused... And because of the Blacklight I guess. A lot of legendaries seem weak to it," he mused. He was glad nothing like the Blacklight existed on his world.

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales stayed silent for a moment, observing carefully the behavior of the Manectric by his side. There was some tension for sure, he could tell. And that mention of that Team Galactic… hmm. He debated inquiring further about that, but without potentially upsetting his friend.

“Hm. Mayhaps it is for the best that this Blacklight is not currently infesting other worlds. If borderline almighty legendaries were to be corrupted by such power, and become even more powerful and volatile…”

He shook his head, grimacing at the thought. “That would be… chaos, and I am not talking about the hellscape in my world. I wager it could even break the very fabric of time-space.” Sure, he couldn’t quite tell if that were true, but that wasn’t something that sounded impossible, either. “I do not even desire to fathom the possibility. If there are indeed humans who could misuse those powers, like… Giovanni…”

 

[Flyg0n]

At Icetales words, his nose wrinkled and his lips curled distastefully. "People like them would destroy the word if they could. Team Galactic already tried once. And if they had the power like Blacklight, power to stand up to something like Giratina..." he shuddered. What would have happened that day, if Giratina hadn't risen from the shadows and swallowed him?

Taken him.

The thought sent a strange chill through Koa, which he did his best to shake off by taking a few bites of the burger. "Maybe there would be heroes, like here though..." he mused, half out loud. In different circumstances, would he have been one of those heroes? Or would he have chosen something else?

 

[Cresselia92]

“…Mayhaps. Only the heavens know, but I reckon thou wouldst have been a hero, regardless.”

Confidence, not a single trace of doubt. Icetales meant every single word he said. He bent down to take a bite of his own burger, his gaze lost in thought. Soon, he knew what he wanted to inquire about.

“So, hm, this Team Galactic. Pardon me for asking, but… why did they even want to destroy thy world? I could understand trying to corrupt it so that it could become the new land for creatures of unholy dimensions — which is something I despise, mind thee — but destroy… Why do that?” Icetales rubbed his chin with his leftmost tail, struggling to come up with some reasonable logic. “What was this team aiming to do to… wish to destroy the world? Were they corrupted by some kind of force, too? Like Sir Soda?”

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa snorted. "Corrupted? Ha!" He shook his head. "I wish. No, they were all aware of what they were doing. Or at least, the higher ups or whatever were. The commanders."

No harm in hiding things now. Everyone would forget what he said here anyway. He took another sip of lemonade, finishing off the glass before continuing.

When he spoke again, his tone turned somber. "Their leader, Cyrus," the name came out with a hiss, "-did it because he thought the world was imperfect. Flawed. Filled with suffering and cruelty. His solution was was to destroy everything and start over."

He shivvered a little, remembering the deranged words of Soda at that underground dojo. They were too close what he'd heard before. Except Soda had said that because his mind was warped by Blacklight. Cyrus... Cyrus had simply done it because he wanted to.

 

[Cresselia92]

“Well! If that isn’t the most inane balderdash to have ever graced my ears!” exclaimed Icetales, his tails stomping the floor and scattering blades of grass. “So, what? Just because of a few rotten apples, the solution is to cut down an entire orchard?”

A dark smirk appeared on the fox, borderline sneering. “And who gave him the right to determine whether someone is… ha, ‘perfect’? Who made him judge to determine whether something or someone should be spared or destroyed? I bet he gave himself that role and called it a day, did he not? It would not surprise me at all!”

…Sounds like a sociopath, if not a psychopath. Very lethal combination, if he were to be given immense power.

Indeed. Like a certain individual who has far too much power in his tails.

Father.

Father.

“I sure hope that sirrah got what was due to him for jeopardizing thy world’s security,” mused Icetales, before eating the last bite of his burger. “Mayhaps permanent isolation, but I reckon that a misanthrope like him wouldn’t have minded to stay away from civilization and… ha… all those ‘imperfections’ at all.”

 

[Flyg0n]

Old anger flashed through Koa. "He got what was due to him alright," he growled. "Giratina dragged him straight into the Reverse World." He stared down at the ground and drew circles in the sand with his paw. "I guess he got away from all those 'imperfections' he hated so much," he said softly.

Away from those imperfections....

Away from you.

He clenched his jaw a little harder, and suddenly found himself studying the grains of sand very intensely. "He got what was coming to him," he repeated softly, almost to himself.

 

[Cresselia92]

That conversation was bringing up a mixture of feelings into the noble fox. Having to deal with a sociopath who wanted nothing more than to bend things in the way he wanted, merely because he can…

But ultimately he paid the ultimate price, no? He got repaid despair for sowing despair.

Hmph. If only that worked with Father. He feeds on despair, on the negative emotions coming from creatures with a heart.

No wonder he wanted to keep me trapped for all eternity in Chaos, miserable and lonely. All he desired was to drain my negativity and empower himself. As I wasn’t negatively adversed sans from mine mind and I have a heart…

Yes. We were his battery. No more than that.

Icetales growled, after a few seconds spent in silence. It was truly bizarre to see his gaze so dark all of a sudden. “I suppose… fate always finds a way to fix matters, even on the most unlikely and creative ways, if someone is loony enough to attempt some foolish balderdash.” He tilted his head. “Giratina took that task themself, and we have been brought here to face the Blacklight. At least thy world is safe now, no?”

If only fate could fix matters in mine world, too. If only Father would get what is long due. If only… we could save everyone from him…

He shall get what is due. We will make sure of that, and we shall not fail. For our people.

Right. Indeed. Things would have gone for the better, no doubt. And yet, how he dreaded that future fateful moment…

 

[Flyg0n]

"Yes... it's safe," he said, trying to inject some kind of happiness into his tone. He'd always be grrateful that legendaries intervened, that the world was safe. And yet...

"Icetales-" Koa murmured, not quite looking at him. The question burned in his throat, but the words didn't come for several moments. He knew Icetales struggled with his own issues. His own father, a maniacal ruler, a wicked fox. Nothing like Icetales himself. And to have to fight him, he could never imagine what that felt like. His eyes prickled, anger and fear simmering beneath his skin.

"Do not look for me."

There was nothing he could have done, he knew that-

When he spoke next, his voice was low, mixed with emotions he couldn't identify. He could only manage to force out a single question. "Do you ever wish you could have saved him?"

 

[Cresselia92]

Time froze. Icetales became as stiff as an ice sculpture, while shadows and snowflakes danced around his tails.

“Save him…” he parroted, his voice halfway between a growl and a sneer. “Thou mean Father? After everything he did to me?”

Despite being sunny, the aura radiated by the fox was powerful enough to make it look as if nighttime fell suddenly. He inhaled deeply, then breathed out a dark cloud. Powerful emotions stirred inside his chest, as flash pains returned into his bones and flesh. His eyes narrowed, his ears flicked, and his tails flailed.

The darkness surfaced from underneath his body, molding into his pelt… and then, it stopped. The dark aura receded, and the sunlight shone brightly once more. Icetales’ muzzle was crumpled into a snarl for an extra second, and then he relaxed. The pale azure had returned into his pupils, and he sighed. Deeply.

“…Yes. Assuming that there was a way to redeem him, I… I would save him… from himself…”

Icetales narrowed his eyes and looked away, contemplating if that was truly what he would do. Wondering if he should change his answer. But… no. There were no doubts in his mind.

“I would save him,” he turned again to Koamaru, “because I am not like him. My resentment might be immense, but my will to prove that I am not like him nor I ever will is much greater. And also… because I have something he never had: a heart.”

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa nodded, taking in Icetales words. He let them steep for some time, listening to the waves and the wind. The anger, which felt so familiar, yet washed away by hope, and the unwavering will that Icetales posssesed. It was perhaps one of the things Koa liked best about him, the way he always strove to be that light in the darkness.

"Sometimes I wonder. I wish I-" his words caught, almost out of habit than any real hesitancy to be forthright. There was nothing to hold back now , especially from Icetales. "I wonder if I could have saved my father."