It had taken a few days, and it was a long and sow recovery, but eventually Diyem had become strong enough earn a discharge from Zinc. The first thing he did, of course, was get away, saying that he wanted not only a change of scenery, but to get away from the nurturing care that Zinc had been providing. Nobody really tried to stop him.
Very convenient.
Everyone. Meet me in the northern pine forest at noon. I will send another message later. Bring nobody. Whoever's Ultra Shade has Cola, get them to send him off to someone else. There is something important I have to discuss.
Though, granted, it was very likely that everybody knew little tidbits by now about what was going on.
And so, the little Charmander stood and waited, arms crossed while he sat atop a conjured hammock of Shadows between two branches. He had given up some time ago on looking foreboding while stuck in such a weak form. Several had asked him why he had been a Charmander specifically, but he never gave a specific answer.
"That's enough people for now. I see a few others walking along." He squinted into the distance, then looked down at the team.
"Is this about the Tree? Is this why you're so far out in the woods?" Cal asked, arms crossed. The Charmeleon flicked her tail, still a little on-edge ever since that incident in Moonlit Forest a few days ago, but... at least Diyem wasn't out of sorts anymore.
"Yes. I have a lot to go over. And I also wanted to demonstrate something I am now capable of, now that some of my strength is back. Several of your team are waiting to be summoned to the living world as phantoms... Not the best, not very solid, but enough that they can communicate. The hope is that I will be strong enough to give them more solid, temporary bodies should we need them for battle... and, ideally, the Tree can be used to restore their bodies completely."
"Well, that seems straightforward. Maple's gonna allow you to go to the Tree and talk to Xerneas, you can maybe take a little bit of that power, and that's it, right?" Cal tilted her head. "What's the big deal?"
"Let me summon them first, for now."
Diyem clasped his hands together, still sitting on his Shadow hammock, and then made a waving motion forward, as if sweeping the view before him. Spectral shapes conjured from nothing, wisps of darkness that clumped together before growing little ember eyes and limbs... He did that for several of them--those who were on standby, a few who looked around uncertainly, and others who waved. They were floating, free from gravity, but they were present. Their voices were distant, distorted whispers.
Diyem grunted when the first thing that happened was a rush of everyone trying to talk to them even as their bodies started to form. "Stop, stop, stop," he shouted, and then threatened to disappear the phantoms right then. "I am still recovering. An outpouring of love when I'm not ready will hospitalize me again. Back away. We are strategizing. Now..."
"Where's... Owen?" Cal asked, frowning.
"He is busy with something else," Diyem said dismissively. "But I expect he will be ready soon. They are all listening to this conversation anyway."
Cal didn't seem very satisfied, but she said nothing.
As more of Team Spectrum arrived and materialized, Diyem finally opened.
"It goes without saying that the Tree may not have enough power to do everything we want," he started. "I know the Tree from experience and I have spent enough time here to know what powers are needed for what. We need four things. First, to restore Arceus to good health. Second, perhaps to give Cola some power so he is not so vulnerable. Third, to bring back your allies. And fourth, to restore my power. From what I know about the Tree..." He looked gravely at them. "I think only two of these choices can be made, and the other two will need to be neglected. And if we do this to the Tree, we will run out of so-called 'backup power' should we need it for the future. We simply do not know.
"Most of this will be discussed with Maple, Arceus, and certainly Xerneas. But we have bargaining power here. They need us to fight Giovanni and what plans he has. Therefore, we need to have our stories and our demands consistent across the team, now, before we go there formally.
"And in order for us to do that..." Diyem closed his eyes, sighing. "I need to tell you something that they yet do not know. I do not know if sharing this with them will help, hurt, or completely destroy our chances."
He waited until he was certain they were all paying attention. Then:
"I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that Eternatus is deep within the Tree's core. And if we want to stop the Blacklight, we will have to infiltrate the Tree, and possibly destroy it with the very power we are going to siphon away. We won't be strong enough to do it now... I'm certain. But this visit will help us scout out its power. If we can siphon its power, perhaps we can also weaken Eternatus.
"But the debate here is what we ask, what we say, and what we keep to ourselves. As a team."
