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Grass Continent ~ Treasure Town Beach

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Navar

Professional Mudkip Lover
Location
Brazil
Pronouns
He/Him
Partners
  1. swampert
  2. chesnaught-apron
  3. lucario-mega
"S-Sorry. It's hard for me. Believe in myself, love myself. All that."

Shiron closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed it.

"But the time I've spent here helped. You all helped. So I guess I gotta try more, huh?"
 

IFBench

Rescue Team Member
Location
Pokemon Paradise
Partners
  1. chikorita-saltriv
  2. bench-gen
  3. charmander
  4. snivy
  5. treecko
  6. tropius
  7. arctozolt
  8. wartortle
Saltriv smiled brightly as they watched their friends hug. "I believe in you!"

They turned back towards the ocean. The sun was almost below the horizon now.
 

IFBench

Rescue Team Member
Location
Pokemon Paradise
Partners
  1. chikorita-saltriv
  2. bench-gen
  3. charmander
  4. snivy
  5. treecko
  6. tropius
  7. arctozolt
  8. wartortle
Saltriv's eyes widened, and their smile got even wider. Their petals twitched up and down as they said, "I'd love that!"
 

Sudmensch

Professional Procrastinator
Pronouns
he/him
"G-great! Uh, just wanted to be sure," Dill sajd before lying down, wrapping his arm around his partner and pulling them close in a cozy snuggle as he kept watching the sun set, a wide smile on his ,maw.
 

IFBench

Rescue Team Member
Location
Pokemon Paradise
Partners
  1. chikorita-saltriv
  2. bench-gen
  3. charmander
  4. snivy
  5. treecko
  6. tropius
  7. arctozolt
  8. wartortle
Saltriv snuggled back, laying their leaf on Dill as they put a vine around him. Their tail wagged as they continued to watch the sunset with their partner.
 

Fusion

Oh knee on
Location
Here, silly
Pronouns
Him/His
Partners
  1. zoroark
Shiron hugged Vix tightly, fondling her as much as he could.

"Thank you..."

"Oh haha well this was fun but if you'll excuse me," Vix choked, then collapsed into Shiron's arms. It might've been a cause for alarm, but she hugged the fish back and dozed off with a more pleasant look on her face.

Gonna need a new brain after this. And maybe some soul repair. Too much nice in too little time.

At least it feels good. One of my better deaths.
 

Navar

Professional Mudkip Lover
Location
Brazil
Pronouns
He/Him
Partners
  1. swampert
  2. chesnaught-apron
  3. lucario-mega
"W-Whoa. Uh, you oka--oh, she passed out."

Shiron continued to snuggle, though. That was nice.
 

IFBench

Rescue Team Member
Location
Pokemon Paradise
Partners
  1. chikorita-saltriv
  2. bench-gen
  3. charmander
  4. snivy
  5. treecko
  6. tropius
  7. arctozolt
  8. wartortle
"Yet" Saltriv thought, as they laid another vine on Dill.

<><><><><><><>​
 
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Epilogue ~ Full Circle

unrepentantAuthor

A cat that writes stories.
Location
UK
Pronouns
they/she
Partners
  1. purrloin-salem
  2. sneasel-dusk
  3. luz-companion
  4. brisa-companion
  5. meowth-laura
  6. delphox-jesse
  7. mewtwo
  8. zeraora
The walk down from Treasure Town felt odd. Brisa had expected a mix of nostalgia and anxiety, but it felt unexpectedly new. And peaceful. The sun and wind were perfect, like the town always seemed to be blessed with, made new by her strange body and strange company. She wore her zeraora form, wanting to savour it for the short while she'd still have it. Owen was, of course, still stuck in his titanic ever-burning Blacklight-enhanced body. Jogging and flying ahead were their void eternas, who'd spent most of their short lives in Destiny Village's chill climate.

Brisa stretched out her paws in front of her and gave her knuckles a good popping. Around Owen, you always knew you could get your thoughts in order before speaking; he could tell when you were getting your thoughts together. Brisa took her time, and still she didn't quite know what she meant to say. 'Goodbye', eventually. Probably 'thank you', and 'I love you'. But not just yet.

"This beach was one of the first places I went on Cibus," she recalled, out loud. "Straight to the trainin' dojo, but after that, to get some space? Here. And just up there, y'can see the Sharpedo rock, huh. We had our first real interaction there. You transcribed a letter fer me. I was so dumb an' earnest."

She scoffed at herself.

"Still am."
 

Namohysip

Dragon Enthusiast
Staff
Partners
  1. flygon
  2. charizard
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. sceptile
  6. marowak
  7. jirachi
Brisa wasn't the only one lost in thought. But just as it was easy to read Brisa, Owen himself was easy to read when relaxed. And it was easy to tell when he was relaxed. The slower pace, the lazily folded wings, the slight squint his eyes did. The Charizard's gaze was mostly, but not entirely, focused on Luz and Cal, chatting it up a ways ahead. Occasionally, Cal stretched her arm into the ground and pulled out a cool shell that she'd found, probably looking for one big enough to squeeze inside like a Dwebble.

"Lots of things changed," Owen said, "myself included. Back then, when I'd first arrived here... I barely knew who I was. In fact, even when I got my memories back, I still didn't know. That's how Wishkeeper was born. But even after all that... I guess some things don't change as easily. I guess I'm also still pretty earnest." Bahamut still called him a child, despite him probably being the oldest on the team aside from Diyem himself; and Bahamut, in some ways, had a point.

"Sometimes, when I'm home, when I didn't have my memories, I had this sense of feeling lonely. Like there were people I left behind that I couldn't remember. With all my memories now, I know why, but..." He glanced at Brisa. "I think I'll have that feeling about you when I go back, too."
 

unrepentantAuthor

A cat that writes stories.
Location
UK
Pronouns
they/she
Partners
  1. purrloin-salem
  2. sneasel-dusk
  3. luz-companion
  4. brisa-companion
  5. meowth-laura
  6. delphox-jesse
  7. mewtwo
  8. zeraora
Brisa turned to meet Owen's eye and felt a tightness by her sternum, a pressure behind the eyes.

"Yeah... Me too, fella. Me too."

She looked away and blew out a long, low whistle. No point in hiding your emotions around a guy who may as well be an empath. Kinda freeing, really, what with how non-judgmental the guy was.

"I'll have that feelin' 'bout a lotta people, but you're pretty special," she confided, her voice thick. "I'm gonna go back to bein' singularly lonesome, and if I have even a sliver of memory of you and the others I've come to love..."

Her voice cracked.

Goddamnit, ranger. Get a grip.

"I'm really, really gonna miss you. Maybe fer ever. I got this funny li'l hope that maybe this ain't the end, but . . . it's outta my control." She sniffed, and laughed a little. "Ain't everythin', though, really? Everythin' that I'm grateful fer right now... That stuff was outta my control, too. But hey. I'm real glad I got to know you as long as I did, pal."
 

Namohysip

Dragon Enthusiast
Staff
Partners
  1. flygon
  2. charizard
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. sceptile
  6. marowak
  7. jirachi
There was a low fizzle from Owen's tail. That was a new noise, like a flame that wanted to go out, but refused to. Owen's expression was a little strained as well, imperceptibly, but so clearly thanks to his flame.

"I'm glad, too," he said. "...One way or the other, I think we'll meet again. It's just a matter of... when, and how long from now. But forever is a long time, and I've got that ahead of me. One way or another." He nodded, firm. "I'll find you if I can help it. It wouldn't be the first time I set my sights on someone a world away. And if my plans work out, I'll get what I want."

He tried to give a confident smile, but it was a front. Even if reunions were in his plans, the time away would mean they'd be different people when they met again. Just as Wishkeeper was 'gone,' so too, one day, would the Owen speaking to Brisa now. This was goodbye. Owen knew this plainly.

"Just... try to find ways to change to how you are now, when you go back. That's what I'm going to hope for, too. And maybe some of Cibus' hope will follow me home."
 

unrepentantAuthor

A cat that writes stories.
Location
UK
Pronouns
they/she
Partners
  1. purrloin-salem
  2. sneasel-dusk
  3. luz-companion
  4. brisa-companion
  5. meowth-laura
  6. delphox-jesse
  7. mewtwo
  8. zeraora
Brisa nodded. "I ain't afraid of what's ahead of me. It's gonna suck, but I really do believe I'm gonna change."

The sand felt warm underfoot. A thin crust of dried sand covered the softer sand beneath, and where she stepped, it cracked. Like frost. Like leaves. Nature's patterns repeating. Things repeating... Destiny might be uncertain, but some things were predictable.

"That other Owen is gonna become like you, a universe away from yours. In two different copies of Cibus, a reformed Dark Matter brought a team of misfits together, and though some fell along the way, many made it to the very end of a fight to save a soul from unimaginable power. In this world, I learned to fear neither myself, nor anyone else; I learned that I can love and be loved."

She smiled at Owen, and it matched his. Sorrowful, despite the optimism.

"I can do it again."
 
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Namohysip

Dragon Enthusiast
Staff
Partners
  1. flygon
  2. charizard
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. sceptile
  6. marowak
  7. jirachi
"That's the spirit," Owen said, and despite the fact that it seemed like Owen had been waiting for Brisa to say it, he, too, had been looking for validation.

"I want to think I'll do the same at home, too. I'm too stubborn to let all my troubles keep me down forever. I'm always making sure I can fix things... I get too restless if I'm not trying to make something better. Guess that's something we have in common, huh?"
 
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