• Welcome to Thousand Roads! You're welcome to view discussions or read our stories without registering, but you'll need an account to join in our events, interact with other members, or post one of your own fics. Why not become a member of our community? We'd love to have you!

    Join now!

Chapter 40: Hardly Ingenious

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
Chapter 40: Hardly Ingenious

AUGMENTATION HAS ARRIVED!
Tired of the same old appearance, but uninterested in changing species entirely? Wish there was a simple way to modify a few things about your look? Then Mewgenics Augmentation is for you!

Thanks to the tireless work of our glorious archbishop and his research team, we can make alterations to any patient at a cellular level. Want to grow some tentacles? You can! Need an extra arm or eye? It's all possible, thanks to Mewgencis!

The process begins with an intake appointment. Our providers will thoroughly and compassionately compile a history to create your ideal augmentation, then walk you through every step of your personalized treatment protocol.

Speak with your primary care provider today about a referral for Mewgenics Augmentation and start living your best life. Nos vera Natus!


XxX​

The silence was almost as thick as the air above the tar pits. During Gene's tale, he produced a scrapbook. Yuna took it and thumbed through pictures, like Nova nibbling on Gene's cheek while the mewtwo tried to shove him off, or Nova clinking glasses with Zacian and Zamazenta.

Her headache slowly returned. Every picture of Nova made her think of Xeromus. The chains around his legs... looked like the soft anklets around Nova's. And some of Nova's photos showed him in a royal blue cloak, while Xeromus had a black, tattered one with a hood.

Those couldn't be coincidences. Not with everything else Yuna had seen so far. But what was she supposed to say? That she knew where Gene's apparent boyfriend was? That he had become some sort of Eternatus-obsessed whacko?

... No, she couldn't jump to conclusions. Not yet. Not when Gene could rip her to tiny, ectoplasmic shreds if she pissed him off.

"Are we done, then?" Gene's Malice Crystal flashed. The scrapbook dissolved out of Yuna's hands, leaving her grasping at hazy air.

"That's a pretty tall tale," Valkyrie grunted. Squeaking, Yuna shot higher in the air. At some point, the others in the group had moved behind her. Probably to look at the scrapbook, too.

"Well, it's the truth." Gene turned away, snorting.

"Really?" Valkyrie narrowed her eyes. "You expect me to believe you were put in stasis for thousands of years with no issues at all?"

"Hardly," Gene scoffed. "Until recently, time moved much slower in Eternatus than it did outside of it. My only guess is that's related to this Needle nonsense." The mewtwo shook his head. "But that's all tangential."

He turned to Yuna. "You called me callous and uncaring. And I am. Because I was never fully 'deprogrammed.' All those instincts are still there." He put his right hand on his chest and looked at Yuna. "That's what that 'outburst' was."

"Yeah." Yuna already got that. "Then all the sarcastic jokes—"

"Are how I cope." Gene crossed his arms, scowling. "Humor's a healthy defense mechanism. So is directing my anger toward the emperor's flunkies." His Malice Crystal flashed purple. "It's called sublimation. Look it up."

Yuna's gaze fell. She didn't have a retort. Mainly because the stuff about defense mechanisms was beyond her. Noctum stepped to her side, however. "What if you're mistaken about some things?" He rubbed his right temple. "I... I can't see Bahamut—"

"I know what I saw," Gene growled, tail lashing at the air. He looked toward a trio of large gears turning slowly in their sockets. "No one came back from the mission to stop Matriarch but him."

"Then this 'Matriarch' thing is still active?" Seifer wondered.

"No." Gene looked down. "Paradox's sermons and announcements mentioned Matriarch going offline many times. He clearly filled the power void left behind." The mewtwo clenched his fists. "Nova succeeded in his goal... only for that bastard to stab him in the back."

Noctum's tail flame flickered. "But... his own wife and son?"

"That wasn't the last time I fought him," Gene responded. He lifted a clenched fist. "We've crossed paths several times. I've beaten him every time, but he keeps... pulling himself back together when he should have eroded into a Phantom. And he always fled through a checkered portal."

Yuna stayed silent, but she believed Gene. It matched up too well with what the Sages had told her. Razim's tale, too.

But, still, sacrificing an entire planet to Eternatus because he was upset?

Have we really been worshipping a monster? The drakloak shuddered, trying to stuff that thought into the back of her mind.

Fortunately, Nikki offered a convenient distraction. "What about Mew, then? Did you ever try and find her again?"

Any hope Yuna had for a reasonable explanation dissipated the moment Gene cringed. "Mew's gone. They all are."

Nikki shifted about uneasily. "Gone as in—"

"Killed, obviously," Valkyrie snorted.

"That would've been a better fate," Gene whispered, flinching again. "The emperor's troops rounded them all up for experimentation." He turned to Noctum and Seifer. "The people you've seen with all sorts of mutations are the results of Paradox's experiments." He approached the edge of the factory platform and looked out at the bubbling tar. "Every mew… ground up into cells and DNA for Paradox's machinations."

"But they were already dead, weren't they?" Nikki scratched her head. "That's what happens to people who end up here and junk. How can they be killed again?"

"Chompy's being blunt." Gene rolled his eyes. "The mew souls eroded into Phantoms."

Seifer frowned. "But wouldn't that have taken their bodies, too? Or maybe the mew can possess anyone who has a mutation?"

Gene's tail flicked right. "Not if the emperor had a way to purge a soul from a body. Which he does," he ominously declared.

An uneasy silence hung over the group, until Jade managed to say, "And you're sure of this?"

"Cyril got some documents about all this from one of the emperor's data servers," Gene said, shaking his head.

"Oh." Jade looked down guiltily. Yuna worried that the salugia thought she had received some of those mutations. She considered mentioning Jade had been asleep in the Needle the whole time, but she couldn't prove that was completely true.

"Now are we done here?" Gene walked back toward them. The mewtwo rested his hands behind his dark gray head. "I've had enough sob storying to last the next year. There's work to be done, right? Nothing's gonna happen if we stand around staring at each other."

The group exchanged uneasy looks. Yuna caught Leo's attention. His eyes flickered with determination. The cosmic arceus was probably thinking about what Alder had told him.

Planet Chakran. Is that even in our dimension? Yuna wondered, since that was definitely where the drakloak needed to go. Though she shuddered at the thought of dropping the omniverse revelation on everyone's laps after what Gene had told them.

Plus, there was still the matter of the sailors. Yuna couldn't move on from that. It wasn't right. They deserved some sort of closure from this.

"We should start with the sailors," the drakloak said. Gene met her with a look that told her to try again. "I'm serious." Yuna steeled her resolve. "Whether some of them are stuck here or not, they don't deserve to be dumped off somewhere else inside Eternatus and left to fend for themselves." She floated closer to Gene. "I see that ending with them eroding into Phantoms."

"The emperor has intake stations for 'refugees' all over the damn empire." Gene waved Yuna off with his left hand. "It's easier to dump them on his lap."

"Why, so they can get sucked into Paradox's schemes?" Yuna countered. "I'm not leaving them like this."

Rolling his eyes, Gene gestured to his left. "Then by all means, go back to the swamp and talk to them. No one's saying you can't."

"No, but I'm asking you to join me." Yuna tapped her right hand against the Soul Dew. "You know a lot more about all of this than I do. So, help a girl out, will you?"

Again, silence. Gene squinted. "Why do you even care about them? They're strangers."

Nikki snorted. "Probably her inner princess."

"Because, even if I don't know them, Aeons don't leave other Aeons behind," Yuna said, her expression sharpening. She held up her right hand. "Even if they're not Aeons, it's the principle. They didn't do anything to wrong me. We shouldn't wrong them when they're already victims of circumstance."

She looked at the others. Jade applauded with her wings and Leo was positively mesmerized. Noctum wore a proud grin and Yuna thought he might tear up then and there.

"… tch. Fine." Gene floated over to Yuna's side. "Gimme a minute or two to, uh, soften them up for you. Or something." He drifted away, scowling, before opening a rift and disappearing into it. Yuna watched the dark gray mewtwo go with a sigh.

"Now what?" Quetzal tapped the ground with a couple of his toes. "I'd love to help with the sailors, but I think I'll just frighten them looking like this." He glanced at his orange and black-feathered torso.

"I can help," Seifer offered. The keldeo approached Yuna. "Some of the unharmed sailors recognized me back on the ship."

Yuna nodded her thanks. "Uh, I guess everyone else can... do whatever they feel like until we're done?"

"Are you sure?" Noctum tilted his head. He might as well have offered to come with her.

"I'm sure." Yuna looked at the Malice Crystal in his stomach, then got guilty when his violet flame shrank.

"Ah. Fair." The black charizard stepped back, bowing his head. Valkyrie snorted. He turned a frown and slight bearing of his fangs on her. She pivoted left, wiping dried blood from her snout. Yuna wasn't sure what she missed, but something had driven a wedge between them. She made a note to ask Noctum about it later.

In the meantime, she looked at Nikki and beckoned her over with a wave of her right hand. The toxtricity strolled across the platform, hands tucked in her leather jacket pockets. "Look, I ain't the 'There, there, it'll be okay' type. If you want help with those sailors, stick with Horned Wonder." She jerked her head at Seifer.

"No, it's not that." The drakloak floated away from the others, toward a large, green metal tank. Probably full of tar. "I have a question, actually."

"Shoot." Nikki leaned against a wheel welded to the side of the tank.

Yuna's shoulders sagged. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Just... shrug off this kind of stuff?" Yuna wasn't sure she phrased it right. "Like, you don't care what's happening all around you. You go with the flow." She looked down at her feet nubs. "I think?"

Nikki wore an amused smirk. "You mean why do I mouth off at this shit? That's easy." She flicked her right hand dismissively. "When no one has expectations for you — and you don't expect anything from them — you can do whatever without a care in the world."

"No expectations," Yuna repeated in a whisper.

"I mean, I'm a street bum turned musician." The toxtricity shrugged. "You're a freaking princess. You've lived your whole life by hoity-toity rules and honor and shit like that. Me? I learned pretty early on that you're expected to look out for only yourself on the streets." She looked up toward the green, hazy sky. "So, like, I don't have a problem giving people shit.

"That's harder to get away with when people are expecting you to, like, lead 'em." Nikki shook her head. "Them's the breaks of life, I s'pose."

Yuna frowned. Nikki's answer was simultaneously straightforward and confusing. She looked right and a tiny Reshiram materialized on her shoulder. "She sounds truthful to me," he said, tapping his claws together nervously.

"Ringing endorsement," Nikki deadpanned. Reshiram buried his face in his wings out of embarrassment. Yuna recalled him to the Soul Dew, sighing.

"Then can I, like, scream at life?" the drakloak wondered. "Is that something you ever do?"

"Screaming? Probably not." Nikki strummed her gills. "Maybe I'll shred a few cords over life bitching out. But, hey, you do you." She thumped her chest. "Just speak from the heart. It's more impactful that way."

I don't have a heart. It was probably figurative, though.

Yuna took a deep breath and turned left of the tar tank. "I'm so sick of this! I don't want to save the galaxy! I just want to live my life! Why can't this be someone else's problem?!" Her tail undulated back and forth with every word. "Stupid treaty! Stupid Eternatus! And... and stupid, lying Bahamut!"

Yuna quickly threw her hands over her mouth, guilt showering over her.

Yes, she really said that. Out loud. In full view of someone else. And it wasn't even Noctum.

Nikki slowly clapped. "Not bad. How do you feel?"

It took a few seconds for the drakloak to lower her hands. "Better, I think?" Sure, nothing changed about her situation, but at least Yuna let some of anger out. She looked at Nikki. "You know, you don't have to stay after this, right? I understand if you'd rather bow out of this whole..." Her voice trailed off and she gestured out to the tar pits.

"Yeah. That would make sense." Nikki resumed strumming her gills. "But I'm good." She smirked at Yuna. "I ain't some, like, superhero nerd or whatever, but a crazy Eternatus space adventure is way cooler than staying at that dumb academy and stewing over Scarlett." The toxtricity looked down. "She'd want me to do something. Make an impact. Besides..."

Nikki held her hand out. Electricity crackled into the shape of one of her guitars. "I'm just as wrapped up in this now."

Yuna's waist constricted. "O-Oh. Um, that's— is that bad?"

Nikki explained how she saw a Starlene concert on PV that was most likely sabotaged by the Eterna Empire, leading to visions of Paradox and her manifesting her lightning guitar. She dispelled the weapon with a flick of her wrist. "I think it's dynaforce," the toxtricity concluded. "So, I can't sit on the sidelines and let this fester. Gotta put it to use.

"And if it just so happens my heroics put Blightsmuth back on people's radar... then it's an added bonus." Nikki stretched her arms up over her head, chuckling. "Don't care if you think my motive's selfish, either. Perks of not being a princess."

Yuna would've sank to the ground and deflated, but she managed to keep her wits about her. "Well, uh, maybe I can sell the title and job off to someone else?"

Chuckles continuing, Nikki leaned over and smacked her right knee. "Now you're speaking my language."

"... hey, so, if you two are done being all mushy with other, the sailors are ready."

"Eep!" Yuna's tail and torso shot into her rectangular head. She whirled on Gene, who floated in front of a rift with a bored expression. "H-Hey now! It's rude to sneak up on people."

The mewtwo looked around, shrugging. "Middle of a tar plant ain't private."

"Ugh, whatever." Yuna rubbed her temples. "Lead the way."

XxX​

Gene was rather stoic through the whole explanation of the sailors' fates. Yuna got the sense some of the soul and aura stuff went right over their heads. Sure enough, one wartortle raised his hand. "So, like, we're dead, but we're not dead?"

"That's a fine way of thinking about it," Yuna interjected before Gene could mouth off to the wartortle. "You can do all the things you used to back in Venish."

"'cept if we try to leave World Ender's insides, we get turned into Phantoms!" a floatzel said, clutching her head in worry. "What am I supposed to tell my sister? How am I supposed to tell her?!"

"You!" Wartortle whirled on the garbodor in the back. "This is all your fault! You did this to us!"

A few sailors mumbled their agreement. "Whoa, whoa. Time out." Gene Phantom Warped into the middle of them, holding his hands in a T. "Your shipmate's as much a victim as the rest of you. It's Polaris you ought to be mad at." His expression fiercened. "Who was it that was running your ship?"

The sailors fell quiet. Garbodor raised his grubby hand. "Minister Tesla."

"And who was able to get away before any of this happened?" Gene raised a brow, but this time none of the sailors answered.

Floatzel looked at Seifer. "Isn't there anything you can do, Commander? Maybe get the Radiant Guard to pitch in?"

The keldeo looked down guiltily. "I wish I could say there was. But this is on a whole other level than the distortion rescues the Guard conducted." With a heavy sigh, he stepped toward them. "But I am prepared to help you all get in contact with your loved ones." Seifer slung one of his saddle bags onto the ground. It opened to show papers and pens.

Several sailors looked down at the bag like it was but a tiny scrap of meat on a dinner plate.

"What happens when we're done with this?" A sharpedo looked at Gene, eyes full of worry.

"That's—" Gene crossed his arms. His Malice Crystal glowed a dim purple. "It's complicated."

An idea popped into Yuna's head. "You guys can work here." She clapped her hands together. "There's a tar factory not too far from this swamp, run by a bunch of tiny skorupi. I'll bet they could use some extra muscle."

Gene's brows raised. "Huh." He stroked his chin. "Now that you mention, that could lessen the skorps' calling me out here for manual labor."

"And just who's that broad?" A kingler brandished his large pincer in Yuna's direction. "I ain't about to trust some dragon to offer a deal. It's probably a trap!"

Yuna flinched. Her gaze faltered, but then she looked right back at Kingler. "That dragon happens to be princess of the Aeon Kingdom." She floated closer. "And part of the group that saved you all from an even grizzlier fate." Yuna crossed her arms, glimpsing the dark shadows pooling in them. "This isn't some trap. It's a way for you to stay close to Venish and find some semblance of normalcy in all of this."

Smirking, Gene leaned over. "I'd go with her if I were you. You wouldn't like her when she's angy."

Kingler flummoxed. "Y... you mean angry, don't you?"

The mewtwo's grin widened. "Nope."

Kingler hastily skittered back toward several wartortle. They talked in a huddle, then gave thumbs up in unison. "That plan sounds... reasonable," Kingler said, laughing nervously.

A tingle ran down Yuna's back. Gene's assistance or not, it was... refreshing to have people listen to her. She flipped that mental switch briefly and a tiny silhouette of Rayquaza popped up on her right shoulder.

"Jolly good performance, m'lady." He clapped his tiny black hands. "I daresay thine evolution hast filled thou with renewed confidence."

"Thanks," Yuna whispered, sighing in relief while watching Seifer pass out pens and paper to the sailors. She recalled Rayquaza and hovered over to Gene. So long as she had a moment, she figured it best to loop the mewtwo into what happened with Leo and Alder, as well as the new planet she needed to find.

"Gene?" The drakloak pawed at her Soul Dew. "There's something you need to know..."

XxX​

Everyone sat around a tiny, skorupi-sized desk that Skorp had brought out for Gene to place his X-transceiver on. He set it to speaker mode, then failed to contact Cyril. Tail swishing back and forth nervously, Gene next tried calling up some lady named Guzmelda. She sounded sweet and... homely, which made it hard for Yuna to believe she was some sort of giant, tooth-filled alien known as a guzzlord.

"Well? Were you able to find anything?" Seifer asked, pointing his horn at the X-transceiver.

"She can't see you doing that," Nikki scoffed.

"Force of habit," Seifer muttered.

"So' nuff, sugar!" Guzmelda exclaimed. "There's a Chakran in this dimension, all right. In fact, it's the next planet over in this here galaxy."

Yuna looked at Noctum, who shrugged. Then she glanced at Seifer, who squinted. "No one mentioned anything like that in my science classes," he muttered.

"Well, if it's our neighbor, then wouldn't it have gotten sucked up by Ejerknatus?" Jade wondered, tapping her chin with a digit.

"'Fraid not. Cyril's notes say Eternatus skipped Chakran over and went straight to Etherium," Guzmelda responed. "He thinks it's about two hundred million kilometers from here."

Jade squawked in surprise and vented purple vapors from her tail flaps. "T-two hundred million?! Th-that's like—" she counted on her digits "—twice as much as one hundred million!"

Leo tilted his head. Yuna imagined he was trying to envision how big that really was.

"Wow, congrats, you can do basic math." Nikki sarcastically applauded the salugia. "Doesn't help us get there."

"Maybe one of you three can portal over there?" Valkyrie pointed to Gene, Noctum, and Yuna.

"Wouldn't that be nice." Gene shook his head, smirking. "I need to have been to a place to open a rift to it. Same with these two, I imagine." He rubbed his hands together. "No doubt about it... we'll need to take that ship Skorp and Skorp finished up. It'll get us there in, like, thirty or forty minutes."

"What?!"

Rayquaza's black, scaly head popped out of a startled Yuna's Soul Dew. "Balderdash! Even with Dragon Ascent, I couldn't achieve such speeds. Thou wouldst need to fly as fast as light itself to cover that distance!"

"Exactly, Chest Burster." Gene snapped his fingers at Rayquaza. "Thanks for the help, Guzmelda."

"My pleasure, sugar!" The line then went dead.

"Then, we're leaving for Chakran?" Yuna tilted her head. "Can that ship even go out of Eternatus?"

"Thanks to the skorps it can." Gene rubbed his hands together eagerly.

"Sweet! Road trip, but space-flavored." Nikki strummed her gills. "Dibs on being the DJ."

Gene had a retort prepared, but a loud jingle cut him off. "Hmm?"

"And now... a message from your emperor!"

The group turned toward the far corner of the room, where several skorps were gathered in front of a large screen that displayed the Eterna Empire's sigil of a circle surrounded by five diamonds. The feed then cut to what Yuna could only assume was the deoxys that others had previously mentioned. He stood in front of a black desk with several monitors flickering behind him.

"I think it's time we had us another chat. For the sake of dispelling lies, of course." Paradox stepped to his right and a brightly colored drawing of the very same rifts Gene and Yuna could make showed up on a hologram next to the deoxys.

"Many of you have no doubt seen these rifts popping up around your communities," he continued. "And there's been considerable talk of them online." Paradox swiped in front of him with two tentacles. The drawing transitioned to a screenshot of something called "Chatter."

"@BirbWatcher317 says, 'It's the end of the world,'" Paradox growled. "@StillLivesWithHisMother adds, 'We're being sucked into a formless void!' And @JodiMcGee has the gall to post an 'I'm in danger' GIF."

"Psst!" Jade leaned over Yuna's shoulder. "What's a Jif?"

"How should I know?" Yuna hissed. The salugia had the mixed-up mind. If anything, she should've known already!

"It makes me think of peanut butter," Jade said. "And now I'm hungry."

"Well, as your emperor, I'd like to be the first to tell you... these are lies! Fiction! Tall tales!" Paradox swiped at the hologram with each of his tentacles. "And if any other keyboard doomsayers intend to share these imbeciles' sentiments, then you'll be joining them in assimilation to the Eternatus Troopers!"

The hologram shifted to show an animation of three humans turning into unown floating in tanks attached to metal bodies, just like what Noctum had described to Yuna back at the academy.

"These rifts are but mild turbulence... as we enter the end stages of freeing our Benefactor from His long imprisonment," Paradox continued, switching to a new animation that showed a crudely drawn Etherium blowing up while the giant, five-headed form of Eternatus flew off with a big smiley face over its head. "I realize how patient you all have been, and I am pleased to report that patience will soon be rewarded.

"In fact... the Paradigm's newest member just finished a successful raid on one of the prison settlements."
Paradox's tentacles coiled into two hands and he tapped his fingers together eagerly. The hologram displayed a headshot of... some sort of suit of armor surrounded by blue frost? All Yuna saw were red, glowing eyes inside a gray, circular helmet. "Soon, our Eternatus Troopers will have the children of the prison's pathetic rulers serving amongst their ranks.

"That's all for now. Nos vera Natus!"


The feed abruptly shut off, returning to what looked like a talk show with two non-mutant skorupi sitting opposite one another.

Seifer reared up, whinnying. "Tell me I didn't just hear that!"

Nikki had her mouth open, but Seifer leveled his horn at her. "Keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you," he growled. The toxtricity closed her mouth and scowled at him. Seifer turned to Gene, eyes wide in alarm. "What was that all about?"

"It sounds like Paradox is going on the offensive," Gene said, brow furrowed. "This changes things. Some of us definitely need to stay behind."

"Of course we do!" Seifer's horn flickered. "If he's telling the truth, then..." The keldeo looked down, horror spread across his face.

Yuna bit her lip. Did this mean Paradox had Shimmer? What about her other classmates?

"Just who was that on the screen?" Valkyrie wondered. "Looked like a bad costume from a horror movie."

Mewtwo's expression sharpened. After a few moments, he took a sharp breath and gave his answer.

"The Paradigm's newest lieutenant: Guile Hideout."
 

Spiteful Murkrow

Busy Writing Stories I Want to Read
Pronouns
He/Him/His
Partners
  1. nidoran-f
  2. druddigon
  3. swellow
  4. quilava-fobbie
  5. sneasel-kate
Alright, and onto the much-ballyhooed M2 special. This one is... big, to say the least. So it took me a while to get this put together and organized, but I’d heard great things about it through the grapevine. Anyhow, moving right along into…

Chapter 39

February 6, 19XX
MEW gave birth. We named the newborn Mewtwo.

The Multiparity Exogenous Womb finally produced a viable specimen, but it is nowhere close to what the sponsor is looking for. What I'm looking for.
Ah yes, this sequence that you teased. It's honestly a fairly clever workaround for dealing with the games' lore and M2's canonical depiction of being reared from a test tube.

Height: 10 cm. Weight: 0.3 kg. Heart rate: 190 bpm. Blood pressure: 50/30 mmHg.

Between that and Mewtwo's... friability to the probes, we had no choice but to place it in a stasis tube.

I wanted to think B was blowing smoke when he said the incomplete DNA was too unstable, but he's right. Even if we place more embryos in MEW, it won't matter. At best, they will be just as premature as Mewtwo. At worst, they will abort like every embryo before it, wasting precious resources.

To combat this, B suggested augmentation with human DNA.

Image


Though I suppose that'd be a perfectly valid explanation for why M2 looks so different from vanilla Mew

But I can't lose all this progress. Not when I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Not when I can finally hold my sweet little girl's hand once more.

So, the choice is obvious. If it means he'll continue sponsoring my work, then I'll do the gene splicing.

The only thing I need to be sure of is who provides the genetic sample. No doubt the sponsor would want to do it, but I cannot allow that to happen.

Even research as ethically gray as this has a line. I refuse to allow Mewtwo to share
his genes. It would spell disaster for all of Kanto.
I'm assuming "his" is Gio there, and... yeah. While I'd be more worried about picking up Gio's memories or consciousness, I wouldn't want to risk anything with his genes there considering how Gio from the very beginning has had his eyes set on the world.
:fearfullaugh~1:


Weightlessness.

It was floating. It didn't know why it knew it was floating, only that it was sure of it.

The next thing it registered was warmth. Again, it wasn't sure how it knew what "warmth" was. But it knew it was warm. And it liked that. Warmth was nice. It wanted more warmth.

This was troubling. It knew things. It could think. But what was it? Why was it thinking? Why did it know about concepts like weight and temperature?
Pretty sure that those are implanted memories in action there.

Perhaps if it broke through the darkness in front of it?

Yes, that was it. It knew how to do that, too. Very simple. Just a few tiny muscles to move.
Narrator: "That was absolutely not it."

It opened its eyes. Everything was blurry. Blurry and green. More concepts it knew for some mysterious reason. And those concepts quickly linked together to form a conclusion.

Liquid. That was what it was inside. Why it was weightless. The liquid suspended it. Blinded it to what lay ahead.

It looked up, but only found more liquid.

What about down? No, still green. Left and right, then? Some gray things. Too blurry to appreciate. And its weightlessness prevented it from moving through the liquid, even though it was sure it had more muscles than the ones around its eyes.
Are the gray things supposed to be the ceiling and floor of the stasis tube? Or does M2 already have restraints on him right now?

... Wait. Something changed. There were more shapes in the distance. Shapes that moved around quickly... and then multiplied! Small circles on top of big ovals. Cylinders flailing around.

It was... amusing? Yes, that had to be it!

But amusement made it tired. Or maybe that was all the thinking? Either way, it didn't have the strength to keep its eyes open.
... He's trashing the lab in the background, isn't he?

April 11, 19XX
At last, a breakthrough! After weeks of nothing but alpha, theta, and delta waves on the EEG, we finally caught a sustained burst of beta waves. Sure, the previous results were encouraging, but beta means Mewtwo is
dreaming! Its mind is churning with activity. And the beta waveforms share similar patterns to humans.

Yes, the human gene splicing stabilized its body and let it grow, but now I have proof the genes are
improving this pokémon.

If Mewtwo is developing neurons comparable to a human's, then I can do it! I can ensure Amber is just as lively and thoughtful as they day I lost her!

Today is a triumph for science.
Oh, I see you're taking after the M2 movie for chronology there. It'll be interesting to see at what point things go off the rails, since what we've learned of PoV's chronology in general suggests that it had some significant differences from canonical mainline history.

When it opened its eyes, it wasn't in green liquid. The weightlessness was still there, so it had to be floating. But that familiar warmth was gone. Instead, it was surrounded by blue that stretched out farther than it could see. Small white clusters sat scattered across the blue expanse.

Sky. This was a sky. And the white clusters were clouds.

Wait, is M2 still babby for this scene like in the movie, or is he more fully formed at this point in time?

It looked down. There was green far below, but not the same green as before. This green was brighter. Softer, perhaps. It was also static. With tiny needles pointing up.

Grass.

The word popped into its mind instantaneously. And this much grass, underneath a clear sky, meant it was floating above plains. But how did it get here?

Image


That would have to wait, because it realized something else was different from before. It could move. It had two gray legs, ending with two nubby toes on each gray foot. When it turned its feet inward, it spotted an additional toe on the back of each foot.

Could it wiggle them? Yes, yes it could! It curled its toes, then uncurled them, then curled them again. The front toes moved a lot more than the back ones. Good to know.

There was a darker gray that went between its legs. It followed the dark gray, turning around to find it led to a tail. The tail lazily hung down, but it was confident it could move that, too. A swish to the left, then right. Up and down. It could even curl it up into a circle. Wow, it was so flexible!

It then spotted its left arm. There were three fingers on its hand. Each one ended with a slightly bigger sphere. It curled its fingers, then uncurled them. It flexed and extended each one individually.
I'm of two minds of this sequence. On the one hand, I kinda wonder if this could've been done in a more condensed fashion, on the other, it does a pretty effective job at capturing a sense of childlike wonder coming from M2. One that we don't get to see from the character all that often in most depictions.

It could've wasted so much more time with such simple things, had a bright flash not caught its attention.

There was a new color in the distance: gold.

Curiosity piqued, it flew— yes, flew forward. The gold got larger and larger. It wasn't long before the gold was bigger than it. And it made out other colors in the middle of gold. Red next to orange next to yellow. Greens and blues side by side. Wow, so many colors! What was with this colorful beacon?

It came to a stop. And, for the first time, it spoke.

"Hello?"

I'm... guessing that that's not Amber. Why that sounds almost like... Bahamut.

"Hello?"

Gold brightened. The bright hurt its eyes. It had to shield them with its right arm.

"Ah, so you can talk. That's good."

Okay, scratch that. That is Bahamut. Not sure what he's doing in Gene's dreams, but I'm sure we'll find out pretty fast.

Gold didn't have a mouth, but his voice was loud.

"You sound like you're echoing in my head." It rubbed its right cheek with its right hand.

"Yes, that's how telepathy works," Gold responded.

Gene: "Wait, but how are you doing this? Are we right next to each other?" .-.
Bahamut: "Your guess is as good as mine, kid."

Telepathy. When psychics talk using their minds. It wasn't surprised it pulled that definition up so quickly. It seemed to know so many things.

"This is your dream, after all," Gold continued. "I'm projecting myself into your mind."

Gene: "Yes, but why my mind in particular?" .-.

"My dream," it parroted, looking around. So, it made all of this. Except none of it was real. That probably meant it was still in the green fluid.

Best to make the most of this dream, then. Starting with its visitor. He didn't sound like he was a natural part of the dream.
It might have made sense to have M2 realize "Oh right, a dream means that this is all just in my head. I know that... somehow." given that he's done that that for other concepts that he just knows™️ thus far.

"Why are you here?" it wondered.

Gold rippled. "I sensed your aura."

"Aura." It furrowed its brow. "That's... from my life force."

Gene: "Okay, seriously, how do I know all of this?" .-.
Bahamut: "Oi, it's your mind. You tell me."
Gene: "... Honestly, I have no clue. But again, why me? What makes me so special?"

"Close enough," Gold said. He sounded impressed with it. "And it's unlike anything I've ever felt in my travels."

"Your travels?" Its tail drifted back and forth. "So, you get to go to lots of places? I bet that's a lot of fun."

Gold dimmed. "I... do go a lot of places, yes."
Bahamut: "Not all of them by choice, but let's not get into that right now..."
:fearfullaugh~1:


This was a new tone: sadness. It hadn't heard sadness before, but its chest grew heavy. "Why are you sad? Do you not like visiting new places?"

"I don't," Gold replied, dimming further. His rainbow dimmed, too. "The places I've gone... people are terrified of me. They don't know what I am."

I mean, I can't imagine your average reception from the people that know what you are is much better, so...

It looked at the rainbow, eyes brimming with curiosity. "What are you?"

"I don't know."

"Really?" Its gaze fell toward the grass. "Because... I don't know what I am, either. I've heard the shapes say 'Mewtwo' sometimes. But I do not know what 'Mewtwo' means." It crossed its arms. "I think... it might be my name?"
Bahamut: "... With all due respect, but you should get a better name." -_-;
Gene: "And what's wrong with mine, again?"
:what:


"Mewtwo." Gold hummed, then gradually brightened a bit. "Well, I know Mew is a pokémon. A very rare one. You... look a bit like it. But you're not quite the same."
Bahamut: "Well, for one, something about your name feels... impersonal. Even if it's fitting."

"Oh." Mewtwo curled its tail around its right leg. "Is that... bad?"

"Not necessarily." Gold sounded unsure. "It sounds like you're related to Mew. So, even if you don't know what you are, you do know that much. Which is good."

So, Mewtwo had a relative. Relatives were family. And, according to Gold, families were good. That was enough to get Mewtwo to uncurl its tail. "What about you? Do you have family?"
Nah, family's kinda hit-or-miss. They're either great, or suck eggs. And with SE's batting average, a lot of theirs tend to be in camp #2.

Gold dimmed again. "I do not."

Mewtwo frowned. "But you must have relatives, right?"

"I don't."

"What about friends?" It knew they weren't necessarily the same thing as family, but could still be good.

Bahamut:
1qlvn77.gif

Gene: "I'm... just gonna take that as a 'no'." ._.;

"None." Gold sighed. "I've been many places, but I've never been able to stay for long. This planet... I'm new to it. Like you, I suppose. But I'm hiding. Because I'm afraid of what will happen if someone finds me."
Gene: "What's the worst that could happen?"
Bahamut: "... Trust me, you do not want to know the answer to that question."
:fearfullaugh~1:


"Oh." Mewtwo looked down again. Another term popped into its head. "That sounds lonely."

Gold dimmed further. "It is." He sounded exhausted. Mewtwo wrung its hands. Gold didn't seem that bad to it. Even if Mewtwo didn't know what Gold was.

"Maybe... I could be your friend?" Mewtwo floated closer to Gold. His light was warm. Not the same warm as the green liquid, but still comforting. The end of Mewtwo's tail wagged ever so slightly.

"I... am practically a stranger to you." Gold drifted back slightly. "You should be more cautious. Especially since I'm projecting into your dream."

Image


I mean, it's still a cute and touching moment, but Bahamut really isn't wrong there.

Mewtwo's tail drooped. "Sorry. I just thought... because we have things in common, we'd make good friends."

Silence followed. Since Mewtwo couldn't see a face, it had no idea what Gold was thinking. His glow pulsated the entire time. Maybe Mewtwo was supposed to say something else? Except it didn't know what else to say. All it could do was stare at Gold with a pleading look in its eyes.

Eventually, Gold sighed. It was softer than before, however. "Okay. I suppose... there's no harm in us getting together again." After a pause, Gold added, "In your dreams. It's still too dangerous for me to leave my hiding place."
I can already tell that this is gonna end terribly, especially if TR has any way of reading M2's thought patterns.

A smile slowly spread across Mewtwo's face. "Great! Thank you, Gold!" His glow flickered in surprise. "Gold?" A chuckle echoed across the plains.

"Ah, I guess I didn't tell you my name."

Mewtwo shook his head.

"You can call me Bahamut."
No surprises there, though I kinda wonder where Bahamut is relative to M2 such that he's capable of sensing him and doing this to him.

June 7, 19XX
We're making tremendous progress. We drained Mewtwo's pod and disconnected its breathing and feeding tubes for six hours today without incident. Vitals were stable. Cardiac telemetry showed no arrhythmias.

Mewtwo possesses a strong intellect. Each time we interact with it, its fund of knowledge has grown by leaps and bounds. It's exceeding all of our projections. We have a pokémon that displays reasoning and critical thinking skills on par with university-level students. And this is after only four weeks of cognitive exercises.
... Fuji does realize that university students can be pretty damn stupid sometimes, right?
:lultias:


I knew B's DNA was the correct choice to use, but this is simply astounding. Not to mention how impressive its EEGs look when it slumbers.

Surely, when I present this information to G, he will be pleased with our decision regarding the human genes.

And, of course, my personal project is bearing fruit. Amber's second embryo successfully implanted in the artificial uterus. I'll do an ultrasound in two weeks to assess for cardiac activity.

Everything is going smoothly. This is beyond my wildest dreams.
Wait, B's genes. As in Gene has Bahamut's DNA inside him?

Mewtwo had gotten good at cultivating its dream landscape. Today, it made a large, grass-covered hill looking over a pond as still and blue as the sky above. Mewtwo sat on the edge of the hill, lazily kicking its legs at the air.

"I think they're going to permanently let me out of the pod soon." It wagged the end of its tail. "The humans are really impressed with me."

Careful what you wish for there, Gene.

"As they should. You're a fast learner."

Mewtwo looked over its right shoulder. Bahamut was next to it. He matched Mewtwo's height, though he was still nothing more than a gold silhouette with multicolored slits in the middle.

"Well, I've got a good teacher." It smiled at Bahamut, earning a pleased hum in the process.

"Flatterer."

Boy is this different from how Gene is nowadays. Guess still having your childhood innocence goes a long ways.

Mewtwo stuck its tongue out playfully, then turned back to look at its distant reflection in the pond. "What about you? Have you left your hiding spot yet?"

There was a long pause, then Bahamut bent forward. "I have, actually. And I met someone. A human."

"And?" Mewtwo twirled its right hand around. "What kind of meeting? Good? Bad? Somewhere in the middle?"

"Good, I think."
I am not convinced in the least that that was a good thing at all.

"You think?"

Bahamut slowly nodded. "It was… strange. The human was young. A child, I think? And… he didn't speak at all."
Bahamut ran into Red, didn't he?

That was strange. The humans that looked after Mewtwo all spoke. A bit too quick for its liking, too. "Was he afraid of you?"

"Surprisingly, no," Bahamut replied. "In fact, he had this… look about him. A fierce determination in his eyes. I've never seen a look like it."

Yeah, he totally ran into Red.

"So, what did you do?" Mewtwo rested its hands behind its head. "Sit in silence and stare at each other?" It had unsuccessfully tried to win multiple staring contests against Bahamut.

"We battled."

"You fought him?" Mewtwo's eyes widened.

"Not him directly. His pokémon." Bahamut chuckled again. "It was strange. Even though he didn't speak, his pokémon partners knew exactly what to do. And they were deceptively strong. Especially his pikachu and charizard."
I knew it.

He paused, then added, "I never thought I'd say this, but it was actually… fun."

Mewtwo raised a brow. "Okay. Why does that confuse you?"

Bahamut's gold silhouette prickled. "I have only ever fought to survive. To stop people from hurting me. The thought of battling being fun is... strange. Foreign. I'm not sure what to make of it."

:sadwott~2:


Boy is that such a mood, since Pokémon being the types to enjoy playful sparring and battle with one another is something that has been a fixture of canonical depictions since the birth of the franchise.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Mewtwo wondered.

"I appreciate the offer, but it's fine." A part of Bahamut's silhouette pet Mewtwo's head. It purred. "Because I looked into the pokémon's minds. They genuinely like this human. They're happy."

"Which is good," Mewtwo chirped. But when silence followed, it whispered, "Right?"

"Yes." Bahamut sounded tired. "It makes me wonder... if this is what I've been searching for all this time."
Oh, so this is the backstory behind that one human that Bahamut befriended and grew to trust. Or at least as seen through Gene's eyes.

Mewtwo's eyes widened in recognition. "You mean a home?"

"Exactly. A home... with this human." Bahamut shifted about on the edge of the hill. "I admit that the thought of going inside one of those small spheres scares me. But the pokémon insisted they are okay inside the 'poké balls' as they're called."

Wonder if we'll see what your take on what they're like on the inside is this special or not. Since for obvious reasons, we're not likely to see that in the present day of this story.

That sounded familiar. Either Mewtwo's caretakers had mentioned poké balls or it was another concept it was created knowing. "What will you do?" it asked.

"I told the human I'd like to see him again," Bahamut responded. "That way I have some more time to think it over." He fixed his asymmetric rainbow shapes on Mewtwo. "And this way... neither of us have to worry about this connection being severed."

Mewtwo smiled. "That's very generous of you."

Bahamut's glow brightened. "That's what friends do for each other, right?"

Wait, so Bahamut became Red's Pokémon in this continuity? Boy was that unexpected.

June 21, 19XX
Mewtwo is gone. G showed up unannounced with an entire Rocket attaché. Perhaps Mewtwo sensed their ill intent, because it awakened from slumber and broke out of its containment tube. G captured it in something he called a "Master Ball." Then his stooges confiscated everything. Every file. Every hard drive.

They took Amber, too. Without a power source, the artificial womb will fail within thirty minutes.

B was nowhere to be found. Did he know this was coming? Why didn't he warn me?

All of my hard work— everything I was building is gone.
Should've made local copies and stashed them at home, bruh. Though this bit is always such a
:CabotTeary:
moment to see, even if I already saw it teased a while back.

Mewtwo was small. Small and cold. Floating in some sort of void.

How did it get here? One moment, Bahamut was warning it. Telling it the ones who had created it were criminals and begging Mewtwo to break out of its confinement. But when it did as Bahamut instructed, it found a new human in a black suit waiting for it.

Now, it was floating in some sort of void. And the void was cold. Mewtwo didn't like this cold. It wanted it to—

Master Balls confirmed for being craptacular environments to be in as a Pokémon. Though I see you stuck with series canon as of PLA about shrinking 'mons.

Light spilled across Mewtwo's vision. The void gave way to a black floor. It was softer than the lab. Carpet? Mewtwo found itself looking at a pair of fancy black shoes. It followed those shoes to black dress pants, then a black suit jacket, and ending at a black-haired head with a confident smirk plastered across its face.

Mewtwo saw the patch with a red R on the man's breast pocket. That same red R was etched into the carpet behind him.
Oh hi Gio.

Its neck tube prickled. Mewtwo had to show defiance. This human had taken it from what was familiar. It wouldn't allow that to go unchecked. Mewtwo stood up and curled its lips into a snarl. Its eyes glowed deep blue as it tried to intimidate this new human.

Gio:
bender-laughing.gif


But he wasn't impressed. Still smirking, he snapped his fingers.
Yeah, I figured.

Mewtwo didn't register what was happening until something hard and sharp struck the side of its head. It crumpled to the ground.

This was a new sensation: pain. And pain was terrible.

Vision blurry, Mewtwo spotted a rhydon foot. The human must've ordered it to pelt Mewtwo with rocks. But he didn't say anything.

Gene failed a spot check there. Though boy does that require some serious cojones and arrogance to pull right there to try and break a lifeform built to be a killing machine into learned helplessness.

Mewtwo's heartrate quickened. Bahamut said the silent human was a child, right? This man wasn't a child. Why could Rhydon understand what he wanted, then? Was Bahamut's friend related to him? Was that why he was trying to warn Mewtwo?

"You lack discipline."

… Never mind. He could speak. And his voice sent chills down Mewtwo's spine and neck tube. His voice wasn't like Bahamut's. It was cold. Detached.
I mean, he's not wrong. Even if Gene having discipline right now would probably have resulted in Gio getting chunky salsa'd.

Mewtwo refused to dignify him with telepathy. It hissed at Suit Man, then turned left and pointed its left hand at Rhydon. Satisfaction washed over Mewtwo as it effortlessly ensnared Rhydon and the rock spires it was readying in a psychic grip. Mewtwo flung Rhydon back, where it shattered a black coffee table.
I mean, I'm sure that Gio has a nasty ace up his sleeve, but yeah. This is why you don't try to bully the genetically engineered killing machine.

"Better." Suit Man was clapping now. Slowly. That was sarcastic clapping. Mewtwo was sure of it. "But that is a fraction of the ferocity I'm looking for."

Mewtwo growled, tail lashing at the air. What he was looking for? Suit Man didn't deserve anything from Mewtwo.

Suit Man shook his head. That stupid smirk had yet to leave his face. "This is what I was afraid of. The human genes those lab rattata chose made you soft. All that dreaming set things back. But it's no matter." He stuck his hands into his coat pockets. "I will fix what those classless charlatans broke."
Gene: "But I feel fine right now." .-.
Gio: "You sure about that?"
:nyehehe:


Fix? Nothing about Mewtwo needed fixing. It was happy as it was. How dare Suit Man talk about it that way.

"I can tell by the look on your face that you're ill-informed of your circumstances." Suit Man tapped his right temple with his right index finger. "I'm the one truly responsible for your creation. You are my tool. You exist to serve Team Rocket… as the world's strongest pokémon."
Oh, so that's where Gene picked up that thing he does with pointing at his temple.

The smirk finally vanished, replaced by a stoic expression. Suit Man held up a strange purple ball with red nodules on it. "This is the proof that I own you."

Even though Mewtwo had never seen it before, it instantly realized it was the source of the void. Snarling, Mewtwo lunged for Suit Man.

He smirked once more and held up the ball. Mewtwo never got to strike him. Instead, it was back in the small, weightless void. Only this time, there wasn't silence. Suit Man continued to speak.
This sounds like a fantastic way to never be able to take Gene out of his Pokéball without being brutally murdered, but let's see how Gio attempts to get around that one.

"No matter how strong the psyche, I can break it with some... proper instruction." A loud chuckle echo through the void. "Their mistake was putting too much emphasis on your mind and not on your physical strength. You're not some bleeding heart. You're a weapon."

The void shook. Was Suit Man moving Mewtwo's capture device? "I'll make sure to harden that heart you grew while you were sleeping. When we're finished... you'll be nothing but a blank slate. Ready and willing to do exactly what I order you to do the moment I order you to do it.

"I hope you enjoyed your precious dreams, because they're the last ones you'll ever have."

:fearfullaugh~1:


Can't tell if this is building up to Pokéballs having brainwashing properties in this continuity, or if Gio's going to send Gene back to the lab for further tinkering under different guidance.

Mewtwo had its prey, a milotic, ensnared in its psychic grip. It didn't have to look back at Boss for orders. A single finger snap and it knew.

A mere flick of its wrist, and Milotic went flying past the edge of the arena. It slammed into the wall, leaving cracks in the Earth Badge that was painted there. That would be fixed by tomorrow, so the damage didn't matter.

It pulled Milotic away, sensing it was already unconscious. The prey was defeated, but its work wasn't done. Mewtwo readied to slam it into the wall again.

Oh well this scene is going to go places. I can already tell. .-.

"Wait, stop! She's out!" a young brunette in a pink blouse cried. "It's over! Y-You won! Please, make it stop!"

Stop? No. A weapon didn't stop until its job was finished.

Perhaps today was the day. The day it got to fell a pokémon during one of these pointless gym ba—

Boss snapped his fingers.

Now I'm morbidly curious as to what Gio did to make Gene into that. Since boy is that a big difference since we last saw him. ._.

Tsking, Mewtwo twisted its right hand a few degrees clockwise. Milotic went flying limply through the air. She barreled into her trainer, trapping the girl underneath her large, serpentine frame. Mewtwo swished its tail back and forth in amusement. It could obliterate both of them effortlessly. But, as usual, Boss required Mewtwo to show restraint. How irksome.

"In the end, you were nothing but boring."

Mewtwo glanced at Boss. Shadows obscured him, but Mewtwo's Miracle Eye let it see him sitting in his black leather chair, one leg crossed over the other and head resting on his left fist while his right jotted down notes on a memo pad.

"It's clear to me, Miss Neza, that your previous badges were obtained by dumb luck," Boss continued. "Or, perhaps, my colleagues were overly lenient. Regardless, the Indigo Plateau is no place for simpleton trainers with grandeur delusions. For both our sakes, I think it's best you never show your face here again. In fact..." He leaned forward. Just enough so his forehead stuck out from the shadows. "... I think it's best if you don't even remember Viridian has a gym."
... Wait, how many trainers did Gio do this to and how did this never trip any alarm bells with local law enforcement? .-.

He raised his left hand and snapped his fingers. That was Mewtwo's cue to end this farce the usual way. It turned back to Neza, eyes glowing pink, and raised its left hand. Mewtwo slid the girl out. Panicking, she kicked at the air with her legs. Mewtwo tightened its grip and she went stiff as a board.

"Oh, and don't worry about your pokémon." Boss chuckled. "We'll make sure they're put to good use. Doing real work for real trainers."

Well that got chilling quickly. Wonder if we'll ever see Gene break out the old toolkit on someone in the present day.

Mewtwo raised its other hand. It pulled six poké balls out of Neza's bag and dropped them over by Milotic's unconscious form. Neza's blue eyes widened. Tears glistened in their corners.

But then the glow in Mewtwo's eyes deepened. It saw into the girl's mind — her perspective as her six trusted partners were effortlessly dispatched by it — and erased those memories completely.

For a few fleeting moments, Mewtwo saw emptiness in Neza's eyes. Then she vanished in a rush of blue light as Mewtwo teleported her to the outskirts of Viridian City.
Gene: "I mean, sure. This is all sorts of hax right about now, but hey. A job's a job."
:gardeshrug~1:


Thus, another gym battle came to an end. The hundred and twentieth challenger Mewtwo had dealt with. There were, of course, plenty of challengers Boss determined completely unworthy of its time, dispatching them with his other pokémon and sending them running off with their nonexistent tails between their legs. But ones who caught his attention, like Neza, would face Mewtwo. And when they lost, it would eject them with their memories in tatters; Mewtwo taking their pokémon for Team Rocket to "reprogram." Nobody asked questions because it was too infrequent. Boss was careful not to allow "interesting" challengers too close to one another.
Oh, well that would explain how the police haven't noticed the rash of people turning up in the woods mind-wiped without their Pokémon that were registered to them on file.

Though this feels like a pretty big underutilization of that sort of skillset, since I'm pretty sure that if you can mind-wipe a trainer, yoink their 'mons, and then dump them miles away, that M2 would be perfect for doing things like pulling late-night industrial espionage at Silph Co.

And, just like the previous hundred and nineteen times, Mewtwo was bored. The young trainers could not put up a fraction of a fight. And Mewtwo couldn't fight to kill like it would on a proper mission for Team Rocket.

It was displeasing, but at the end of the day, Mewtwo was a weapon. It did what it was ordered to. Nothing more, nothing less.

This... is building up to Red coming along to fight him, isn't it?

Though something was different about today. Instead of calling it back, Boss rose from his seat. He approached Mewtwo, and it finally realized that Persian had been out of its ball the entire time. Likely sitting obediently beside Boss's chair.

"Excellent work, Mewtwo." Boss stuck his hands into his coat pockets. "I'm confident you're ready."

Mewtwo quirked a brow. It could read Boss's mind, but it was simpler to hear the answer from his lips.

"One of my teams told me that Zapdos has touched down at an abandoned power plant near the eastern coast," Boss explained. Persian arched her back slightly. She wasn't a fan of electric-types, clearly. "You're going to engage it. Understood?"

Mewtwo nodded.

Finally, it had a worthy opponent.

:uhhh:


Well, this is going to be something, I can already tell.

The lightning was too large to dodge with teleportation. Mewtwo crossed its arms. A blue barrier materialized around it. The Thunder struck the barrier, pushing Mewtwo toward the ceiling. Closer and closer.

A finger snap sounded. Mewtwo thrust its arms apart. The remaining lightning evaporated.

Zapdos landed in the middle of some rubble, panting heavily. His Thunders were growing more desperate. He was desperate.

Sure, Mewtwo couldn't restrain Zapdos telekinetically. But it preferred the backup strategy: knocking out Zapdos so he couldn't deflect Boss's Master Ball with his attacks.

Oh, so Pokéballs work on fainted 'mons in this continuity. Filing that one away for the future.
Zapdos' lightning was strong, but Mewtwo was stronger. And victory was within reach.

"Now."

Standing behind his Rhydon, Boss snapped his fingers. Mewtwo's eyes and fingers glowed. Pink orbs completely surrounded Zapdos. He realized what was happening and raised his wings to take off.

However, Mewtwo was faster on the draw. It had to be. It was the world's strongest pokémon.
:sceptical~1:


I mean, I can think of at least one that's way out of your league in this story, but that showdown would have... terminal consequences for everyone on this planet. Which makes me think that it actually happened at some point.

Mewtwo brought its arms together. The psychic orbs converged on Zapdos. A pink explosion swallowed Zapdos up along with the rubble and several broken machines dented and scorched by their battle. Mewtwo stared at it, chest rising and falling.

This was its first time using that attack in battle. Psystrike— that was what Boss called it. It was truly devastating. A powerful attack for a powerful pokémon. One that could go toe to toe with the legends themselves.

When the smoke and pink light faded, Zapdos was gone. In his place... was a Master Ball.

I was going to call hax, but the point of divergence for this continuity is that Gene didn't blow up Fuji's lab and bail. So figures that Gio would put that power to good use.

That was it. The prey was captured. Mewtwo had won. It truly was the strongest.
I can already tell that this statement won't hold true by the end of this special.

Several Rocket grunts funneled in, surrounding the inert Master Ball. Boss casually approached it, waving them off. Persian sauntered after him, flashing an intimidating grin at the nearest grunt, who couldn't help but flinch.
Ah yes, Gio's Persian takes lessons from Overlord in this story. Not that it's not in-character.

"One down, two to go." Boss knelt down and picked up the Master Ball. "Think of the possibilities. What government officials would pay to have pokémon like this under their control. We'll have them wrapped around our fingers like the suits at Silph and the spineless Viridian cops."

Mewtwo descended toward the ground. Two more meant Articuno and Moltres. The former might provide more of a challenge, if for no other reason than she could generate a hailstorm to throw Mewtwo off and damage it.

Boss turned back to Mewtwo. "I hope you're prepared. Once you've dealt with the other two birds, there'll be one more Kantonian target for you to hunt."

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed. Only one pokémon came to mind. The one it was created from: Mew.

:FearfulMeowth:


That actually makes me wonder if the events of this special have any repercussions in the present day beyond the obvious of making Gene... Gene. Aside from the obvious that Sakaki is Gio all along and nothing you say will change my mind about that until you hard-deconfirm it in the story.

Psychic probing proved frustrating for Mewtwo. It wasn't anything it hadn't done before, but Mew was elusive. Mewtwo was mentally probing over great distances. It was pushing itself. And, in some regards, it was exciting. Exhilarating. A true challenge for its powers, after Articuno and Moltres weren't up to the task.
Oh, so just fast-forwarding through the other birb battles. Though makes sense if they didn't exactly add anything narratively.

But something was slowing down the process. No, not something. Someone. Another powerful psychic. Whoever it was, they were trying to worm their way into Mewtwo's probing. It refused to allow such intrusion. The mission was what mattered the most.

At first, Mewtwo relished the challenge of probing while keeping that powerful psychic at bay. However, after six weeks, it had grown boring.

Why was Mew so cowardly? Why did Mew refuse to show themselves for Mewtwo? Because it was afraid?

... Good. Mew should be.

The someone's really Bahamut, isn't it?

The seventh week, however, finally brought Mewtwo the results it wanted.

It envisioned a shockingly small island. Triangular, with cool green grass surrounding soft, gray dirt. The island had three trees; one on each of its corners. And in the center of the island sat something small, pink, and vaguely feline.

She opened her eyes. Soft and blue. Brimming with curiosity. Mew tilted her head.

Never mind, it really is Mew there that Gene was sensing.

Mewtwo severed the mental connection immediately. Its mind returned to the cold, sterile gray room it sat in the middle of. It looked up at the map of Kanto fixed to the gray wall in front of it. Mewtwo flicked its right index finger. A black marker levitated up toward the small chain of islands far to the south. It circled the southwestern island of the archipelago.

A Rocket grunt stationed at the door pulled a radio from his belt. "Subject has marked a location. It's Birth Island. Repeat, it thinks Mew is on Birth Island."
Wait, he can do that? What on earth is the range of that probing? .-.

Birth Island? What a ridiculous name. And Mewtwo wasn't about to wait for the humans to get their acts together. It had its orders.

A blink of light and it was in Boss's office. He was already standing at the side of his black oak desk, right hand outstretched. Mewtwo grabbed it and the two disappeared.

Within seconds, they stood on the very same grass Mewtwo had envisioned minutes ago. Mew was still in the center of the triangular island. Before she could turn to acknowledge them, Mewtwo thrust its right arm forward, flinging a Shadow Ball into her.
Wait, so what on earth happened to Gene after he bit it? Since this reads a lot more powerful than what he can do inside Eternatus given that he just blipped across Kanto twice without missing a beat and then took down Mew in a flash.

She squealed in pain, skipping across the ground. At that speed, she'd tumble off the island. Mewtwo teleported by the north tree, two more Shadow Balls at the ready. It threw them both down. They slammed into Mew, hammering her into the ground.

The cries echoed in Mewtwo's mind. How pathetic she was. This was the creature it was created from? What an absolute joke. Even some of those gym challengers put up an attempt at a fight.

Boss wanted Mew? In Mewtwo's eyes, she wasn't worth it. She wasn't strong. It was strong. The strongest. Superior to Mew in every way.

I'm pretty sure this is tempting all sorts of fate right about now, but let's see where this goes.

And yet, when Mew looked up at it, bruised eyes brimming with tears, Mewtwo hesitated. The fourth Shadow Ball it was charging shrank ever so slightly.

Mew seized on that hesitation. Her body glowed. She shakily rose into the air. Mewtwo realized she was going to teleport away.
Oh, so there was still a heart somewhere inside him at the time

But then a red glow surrounded her and she dropped back to the ground with a pained squeak. Mewtwo looked up and saw Boss's honchkrow standing obediently at his side, eyes glowing the same shade of red.

Mean Look. Of course Boss had a contingency. One he likely thought he wouldn't have to use.

... Well that's a terrible omen for how well Gene's evening is going to go. ^^;

"Disappointing." Boss took a step toward Mewtwo, flashing his trademark amused smirk. "No matter. It looks incapacitated enough. I'll simply deal with your... lapse in judgement back at the base," he continued, producing a fresh Master Ball from his pocket. Boss lobbed it toward Mew, who was too weakened to even see it coming.
Yeah, called it.

It should have been a successful capture, but then a purple, checkered hole opened up in the ground and swallowed Mew up. Mewtwo was bewildered for a moment, and that proved enough to stop it from diving into the hole after Mew. It faceplanted in the ground, then the Master Ball struck its rump for added humiliation.

"Up." Boss snapped his fingers. Mewtwo pressed its hands to the grass and levitated up, then spun itself upright. It was sure what Boss's order would be. The lack of his usual smirk told Mewtwo as much.

"Track it. Now."

Oh, so Natus is about to eat the planet, huh?
:fearfullaugh~1:


Mewtwo shut its eyes and concentrated. It didn't need to work that hard, however. Mew's weakened aura was relatively close by. On Cinnabar.

And with her... was the same psychic force that had been trying to break into its projections while it was tracking Mew. Eyes narrowing, it teleported to Boss's side, nodding to signal it knew where Mew was. He recalled Honchkrow, then Mewtwo grabbed his shoulder and they vanished once more.

This time they landed on ragged earth. Warm, rocky terrain. There was ash and smoke choking the skies far above them and their platform gave way to a steep drop several meters to their left.

"The volcano." If Boss was surprised, he didn't show it.

Oh, not quite then, I see. Though I'm not sure what on earth Mew just fell into in that case.

Glimmering gold light drew Mewtwo's attention behind them both. The platform gave way to a large cave bathed in bright light. But the light quickly dimmed, allowing Mewtwo to see Mew lying wrapped up in the arms of a boy wearing blue jeans, a red, sleeveless coat, and a red cap with a white brim. Her injuries were completely healed.
... Given that there was a teased bit in which Gio was depicted with both Mew and Bahamut, that doesn't bode well at all for how Red's gonna do there.
:quilaeep:


A pikachu on the boy's right shoulder locked eyes with Mewtwo. His cheeks crackled with electricity. Then a gold, crystal leg slid in front of the boy. Mewtwo looked up, past a crystal torso with three gold spikes and four wings, to a head that resembled an eight-pointed star.
So I was right. Bahamut did join Red.

"Mewtwo?" The dragon's beak was open in surprise. "I've been trying to reach you for months! What happened to—" He stopped himself. Red and orange pooled in his eye sockets. "What are you doing?! Don't you know who that is?! He's the one I was warning you about! Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket!"

Mewtwo's tail twitched. There was something... naggingly familiar about this gold dragon. But whatever it was didn't matter. He was in the way of Mewtwo's target. Its mission.
Would personally make Bahamut sound a bit more exclamatory to give him more of a startled vibe. Though how is he not sensing immediately from Gene's aura that he's better off either attempting to kick him over and deal with him after he's subdued or else fleeing?

"What are you doing?" Boss's tone was sharp. "That's an obstacle. You know what you have to do."

Mewtwo crouched down, then teleported right beside the dragon's torso.

"Wait, stop!" the dragon cried, but Mewtwo had a Shadow Ball at the ready. It thrust it into the dragon's crystal chassis. The dragon buckled left, mismatched rainbow eyes rippling. "Mewtwo, stop this! It's me, Bahamut! I'm your friend, remember?"
I can already see how Bahamut came to be the bitter, jaded asshole that he is, since... yeah, having the first person you became friends with do that to you...

Friends? Laughable. Weapons didn't have friends. They had targets. And this "Bahamut" character just made himself one. Mewtwo charged another Shadow Ball, but was startled when a powerful psychic force sent it tumbling back, losing that lavender energy in the process.

Bahamut looked to the boy carrying Mew. He shook his head at the dragon. Mewtwo tried seizing on the opening, teleporting behind Bahamut and shooting another Shadow Ball right into the strange, eight-pointed star emblazoned on the back of his head.

But unlike Mewtwo's previous targets, Bahamut lashed backward with his golden tail. Suddenly, Mewtwo was forming a barrier to avoid getting hit by its own Shadow Ball.

Was he… taunting Mewtwo? Not even deigning to face it while fighting?
This... is going to be hard to read in short order, I can already tell.
:CabotScared:


Utterly insulting! Mewtwo wouldn't let this stand. It saw Bahamut reaching a wing toward the boy. He, his pikachu, a charizard, and a venusaur were heading toward Boss who, in turn, summoned his persian, rhydon, and nidoking.

Mewtwo channeled electricity into its fist and teleported behind Bahamut's head. It punched, but to its shock, the back of Bahamut's head was not solid. Next thing it knew, one of Bahamut's glowing wings had clubbed it and knocked it into the cave wall.
Wait, that's canon for Ultra Necrozma? .-.

"We're taking this outside," Bahamut growled. His rainbow eyes brimmed with shades of purple.

One moment, Mewtwo was pulling itself out of a Mewtwo-shaped hole in the cave wall. The next, it was falling toward the volcano's mouth, limbs flailing. Mewtwo quickly regained its composure, but when it turned around two sharp, purple blades slashed its chest.

This pain was different. Not like the blows Mewtwo had suffered before. It was a deep, lingering pain. Mewtwo put its right hand to its chest and pulled it back. The hand was red.

Blood. Its blood. Bahamut made it bleed.
Well, guess we won't have to worry about Bahamut holding back out of hesitation on Gene there. .-.

Prey was supposed to bleed. Not Mewtwo. It was a predator. A weapon. The world's strongest pokémon.

Curling its lips into a snarl, Mewtwo flung one Shadow Ball, then another, and then a third. Bahamut clasped his wings together. Strange purple spheres intercepted the Shadow Balls, then purple blades identical to the ones that had slashed Mewtwo destroyed its attacks.

"I trusted you!" Bahamut snarled. Blue-purple dragon energy bristled in its beak. "I shared my secrets with you! My hopes! My fears!" He spat the Dragon Pulse forward. Mewtwo easily evaded it and had Shadow Balls ready to counter.
Wait, is Bahamut not accustomed to the idea of Pokémon being brainwashable? Since he sure is feeling betrayed right about now from someone that he knew full well he last sensed being picked up by gangsters.

But the attack wasn't done. A portal opened up behind Mewtwo. Just like the one that had sucked in Mew.

It only had seconds to get out of the way of the blue bolt. The same one it had dodged before.

Bahamut was sending his own attacks through portals? Impossible! Mewtwo couldn't do that. But it was the strongest! It had to be! That was why it was created!

Image


Though I can't tell whether this is going to end with Red getting whupped by Gio and getting Bahamut's ball yoinked, or if he stupidly never caught Bahamut and Bahamut just is going to get Master Ball'd in like 30 seconds.

"We were friends!" Bahamut descended toward the mouth of the volcano. Mewtwo couldn't teleport fast enough to catch it. "Friends bonding over our shared origins! Or so I thought."

Hissing, Mewtwo fired two Shadow Balls, then started gathering an Ice Beam in its hands. Bahamut shredded both Shadow Balls, but was unprepared for the Ice Beam. Blue ice splattered across his crystal chest while he roared in anger.
Wow. Maybe Gene can actually win this one.

Mewtwo smiled gleefully. This was where it turned the tide. Where it seized mom—

Was that lava heading directly for it?

... Or not.

"You were using me, weren't you?" Bahamut said. His body glowed pink as he steered a large glob of lava in Mewtwo's direction. It teleported several meters away. That wasn't good enough. The lava was still coming.

"I told you to run away, but you didn't!" Bahamut continued. "Those dreams you shared with me… were nothing but lies! They were all his orders, weren't they? Trying to get to me! To abuse me just like everyone else!"
... Bahamut, you're scaring me.
:eltyscared:


With a loud grunt, Mewtwo wrestled psychic control of the lava from Bahamut. It flung it into the ocean, where it'd cool into… some stupid looking rock, probably. Maybe.

... It might've deep fried a few dozen fish in the process. Such was life.

Bahamut wasn't done, though. Now he was shooting glowing rocks through the air. Power Gem. This was getting frustrating.

Mewtwo weaved around the first two rocks, then blasted two more with a small Shadow Ball. It teleported behind Bahamut. Surely, it would be too slow to turn around and—

The dragon spat a blue bolt forward... into a portal. Another one opened in front of Mewtwo. It brought its arms together, deflecting the Dragon Pulse with a blue barrier. The moment the attack faded, Mewtwo teleported right behind Bahamut, and sprayed the dragon's golden back with an Ice Beam.
That one's gonna leave a mark.

That got another furious roar. Bahamut lurched forward. His pained cries were oh so satisfying. Even with all his fancy tricks, Mewtwo could still get the upper hand. It just had to be ready for the counteratt—

Mewtwo teleported a few meters below Bahamut, watching his golden tail swipe at nothing but air. It fired a Shadow Ball right into the dragon's ethereal rump. Payback for Mewtwo's earlier humiliation on Birth Island.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Bahamut thrashed in midair. His pain turned to agony. Excellent. Mewtwo was going to complete its mission after all.
Considering how this guy has destroyed cities, you sure about that one, Gene?

Two portals opened on either side of it. Mewtwo shot up before Bahamut's wings could squish in, then teleported forward while a Dragon Pulse sailed hopelessly behind it. The dragon was getting desperate. Mewtwo was getting to him. Perfect.

It shot a Shadow Ball toward Bahamut's crystal face, but that one was a feint. Bahamut snuffed it out with a burst of pink energy, leaving Mewtwo open to strike the back of Bahamut's head with an Ice Beam.

This time, it didn't let up. Curling back its lips, Mewtwo kept the ice going. Harder. Harder. More power.

Bahamut screamed. Ice and frost coated his head. Blue trickled across gold. His ethereal glow dimmed. Mewtwo had to keep going. It would freeze this dragon solid if it meant showing him that it was superior.
Looks like I discounted Gene a little too early there.

However, Mewtwo sensed a familiar aura. Two auras, actually. Boss and his honchkrow. Had he felled the child? He must have, because a Master Ball came flying in from below. It struck Bahamut's left foot... and plinked off harmlessly.
... Whelp. Not sure if I agree with that turn of events, but meh. We're heavily in an AU, so I won't question it.

Mewtwo glanced at Boss. What about Mew? The child had her. Had Boss taken her?

It got its answer. Boss snapped his fingers. Teeth gritted, Mewtwo halted its Ice Beam. Its arms and hands burned from holding the attack that long.

Boss balanced carefully atop Honchkrow. "A respectable effort, but it ends here, you overgrown feral."

... Wait, how does Gio have a conception of a 'feral' when he's a human in a mainline (for now) setting?

Bahamut managed to shake the ice away from his face, but a part of his crystal face sloughed off, landing on the volcano's rim. His head tendrils throbbed. A red tint took over his body. A sign of his rage? Mewtwo held its arms at the ready, just in case.

"Where is the child?!" Bahamut's telepathic voice boomed. Mewtwo imagined boss heard it, too.

"Tending to his injured pokémon." Boss smirked. "Whether he remains safe comes down to your cooperation." He lifted another Master Ball out of his pocket. "Oh, and I suppose her fate is in your nonexistent hands, as well."
>imagine believing any of these words

Yeah no. Just toast Gio and his bird and take your chances. Since there is exactly zero reason to trust that Gio won't renege on any deal he offers here once he has you.

He opened the ball. Red light spewed forward. Honchkrow snapped at it with his beak... and plucked a weakened Mew out of the light. He clamped his beak around Mew's neck. She squealed in pain.

Bahamut's eyes simmered like the lava bubbling beneath them. "No..."

Mewtwo quirked a brow. That wasn't telepathy. He spoke in human tongues?

Should've fried him when you had the chance, Bahamut.

"Tell me where your poké ball is... or my pet is going to enjoy a very rare snack." Boss stroked the side of Honchkrow's head.

"You wouldn't!" Bahamut lashed at the air with his tail.

Boss snapped his fingers. Honchkrow clamped down further. Mew's weak flailing stopped. Cyanosis crept across her paws and face.

"I only need a complete sample of her DNA. It matters not if she's dead or alive," Boss scoffed. "It's all up to you. Serve Team Rocket like the tool you are... or watch your friends' lives slip away."

>imagine thinking that Gio has any intention of honoring his stated ultimatum.

Yeah, no. This is the point where you make a proverbial grab for the gun. Sure it may blow up in your and your friends' faces, but it might not, and submitting is an even more dangerous gamble for them.

Bahamut stared Boss down. His multicolored eyes were impossible to read, but Mewtwo's ESP told it the dragon's rage was building. Mewtwo clenched its fists, ready to strike in case Bahamut tried anything funny.

"... all the same..."

Amused, Boss tilted his head slightly. "Come again?"

"Every place. Every planet. All the same." Bahamut's entire body pulsated with light. "Not again. I won't..."

Oh, so Bahamut is actually going for the proverbial gun grab.

Mewtwo drew on its psionics. It sought to bind Bahamut in place in midair, even if it took all its strength.

"I won't let anyone hurt me again!"

A massive explosion of golden light slammed into Mewtwo, hammering it down into the volcano's rim. The impact sent the most intense pain it had ever felt coursing down its entire body. And then... it felt nothing below its neck.

Its vision was fuzzy, but it couldn't sense its arms or legs. Couldn't move them. Each breath was a struggle.
I mean, really, what did you expect, Gio?

What had just happened? Mewtwo tried concentrating. It saw something small and black freefalling.

Boss. Mewtwo had to save him. But it couldn't move. Couldn't do anything but watch as its creator fell into the lava, leaving behind nothing but brief flames.

Cue the S to spit on grave.

Bahamut wasn't done, however. His anguished roars split apart the air over the volcano. Now the dragon had the boy and Mew in his psychic grasp. He dropped them through a portal, before turning and locking eyes with Mewtwo.

It tried to do something. Move a limb. A muscle. Anything below its neck.

Yeah, I kinda had a feeling that Gene was paralyzed. This just confirms it.

There was a brief flash, then pressure in Mewtwo's right shoulder. Now every breath was even more of a struggle.

Mewtwo gave a gasp, then a gurgle. Heavy fluid was pooling in its throat. Blood, probably. Mewtwo couldn't turn its head, but saw the culprit out of the corner of its eye.

The chunk of crystal its Ice Beam had dislodged from Bahamut's face sat firmly embedded in its shoulder. If it hadn't lost all feeling, Mewtwo imagined it would be in excruciating pain.

Bahamut continued grunting and snarling like an enraged feral. He clutched his head with his upper wings. "Scum. Vile scum." The dragon thrashed about in midair. "Aesir. This planet doesn't deserve it. These souls would taint it. They deserve... destruction, alongside Eternatus."
Oh, I can already tell that this was good for Bahamut's relationship with Red... not. Though 'Aesir', huh? Filing that one away for the term that Bahamut uses in place of 'god(s)', since that's a term for one of the pantheons of Norse mythology.

What was his blabbering about?

It didn't matter. Mewtwo had lost. It wasn't the strongest. It had become prey... and its hunter was about to strike the killing blow.

"Have to... draw it here..." Bahamut rose into the sky. "One strike. One Photon Geyser... to summon it!"

The last thing Mewtwo saw was a massive ball of golden light heading for the volcano. It didn't try to struggle in vain. It simply bowed its head and yielded to the inevitable.
... Oh, so Bahamut just summoned the massive Serpent Eating the Ground onto Mainline World for a failed attempt at slaying it in a fit of pique over Gene turning on him while brainwashed. That's... lovely. .___.

May 29, 20XX
It's my fault. I'm sure of it.

Every station was talking about it. Cinnabar Island sunk into the ocean by a strike from a giant dragon of golden light. Fuchsia flooded by the resulting tsunami.

Who knows how many perished?
Uh... yeah, it kinda was there. Even if indirectly.

It matters not, because it proved to just be a preamble. As I sit here writing this, something truly monstrous has blotted out the sun itself. It's like the palm of a planet-sized hand, with one of its fingers lingering over Kanto.

People are pouring onto the streets. Some to stare in awe. Others to try and flee underground.

I do not think it will do them any good.

No doubt, I brought about this punishment. I tried to defy Mother Nature, and She took notice. Took notice and sent agents of unfathomable power to judge the entire planet for the actions of a select few.
No, more like a pissed-off alien decided that your entire planet didn't have a right to live over getting shivved by a one-time friend and not bothering to get to the full story behind things.

I can't tell whether or not I should feel sorry for Bahamut or despise him over this turn of events, really.

All I wanted was to see my sweet Amber again. I never meant for things to spiral out of control like this. If I could, I'd go back and refuse his offer. Or sabotage the project so it could never have reached the point it did.

If, by some miracle, anyone finds this journal, then know this: we dreamed of creating the world's strongest pokémon... and we failed.

~Wataru Fuji
Well, someone obviously did given that we're reading this. Even if I'm not sure who found it just yet.

Mewtwo gasped. Its eyes snapped open, then immediately closed from the blinding white light. It hissed in annoyance.

"Dang it, Nova! I said red light. Red!" exclaimed an unfamiliar voice with a... digital tint to it. "Yes, that switch on the right." A mechanical sigh. "Good. Sorry about that, buddy. Place should be easier on the eyes."
Oh, so Gene can hiss like a cat. I should be less surprised, but somehow I still am. Time to find out who Nova and this unrevealed speaker are.

Mewtwo was much slower to open its eyes this time. The room had a high, gray ceiling with red lights, but that was all Mewtwo could see. Any attempts to move met with failure. Even its head, which was the last thing it remembered being able to move.

"Sorry about the restraints, big fella." The voice chuckled nervously. "We needed them in place to pump all that seawater out of your lungs and stomach. And, uh, from the look of things, you'll have to put up with them until we can fix your spine up."

Water inside its hollow organs?

Wait, Gene's still alive right now? Or do souls arrive in Natus as they died?

... Right. That infernal dragon had pinned it onto Cinnabar's volcano, then charged up some sort of massive attack. Mewtwo must've gone down with the island... and someone fished it up.

But if it had drowned... wouldn't it be dead?

Gene: "... Better question, how was there anything left of me after all of that?" .-.

"He's confused," a new voice exclaimed. Was that the "Nova" the first voice was addressing?

"I can see that, Nova. But no point overloading him with information right now."

No, this would be a pretty good time to do that given that he's restrained, paralyzed and has nothing better to do with his time.

Him?

No, Mewtwo was an it. A weapon.

... A failed weapon.

:sadwott~2:


Boy is it sad/depressing to see how much Gene had internalized being a tool for somebody else by this point.

Failed weapons didn't deserve any acknowledgement. They deserved to be tossed away like the trash they were.

Finally, a gray, reptilian head poked into Mewtwo's view. But this reptile... was mechanical? A robot? Its yellow-blue eyes were screens, not eyeballs. Eyes that gave off purple and yellow sparks like they were stupidly long eyelashes.
Oh, so we Miraidon now.

"Good to see you're awake, pal." Lizard Bot bobbed his head, showing off his large, purple casque. "Unfortunately, I've got to put you back to sleep. We have a lot of work to do to fix you up."

Lizard Bot winked at Mewtwo. "Don't worry, though. Ol' Miraidon'll do his best to get you up on your feet again."

Yup, I called it. Though I did a double take at "casque". Surprised you didn't go with something more normie like "head crest" unless that's deliberately mimicking Gene's internal thought process.

Up on its feet? What was the point. It was nothing but a failed weapon. Hardly worth this "Miraidon" person's time.

Mewtwo couldn't object, however. Because Miraidon brought some sort of plastic mask toward Mewtwo's face. Within a matter of seconds, it had drifted off back to sleep.
Wait, was Gene never put under anesthesia prior to this? Since I'm a little surprised he didn't recognize the mask to be that considering his test tube experiment background.

It had no idea how much time had passed. Mewtwo lost track of how many times Miraidon woke it from slumber and asked it to do mundane things like wiggling its toes or pointing at him with different fingers.

The right arm was still a problem, though. The shard from Bahamut's crystal face was still wedged in there.

- Blinks -
Not sure how I never noticed that in this chapter until just now, but so that's how Gene got his Pokkén makeover.

Miraidon hovered at Mewtwo's right side. "I've gone through a lot of scenarios. Trying to figure out how we can get thing out of you." He pointed to the crystal with a metal claw. "But I can't see a path forward. It's pierced too many vital structures."
... How on earth could Gene even move his arm with that stuck in him? .-.

If it was a waste of time, then Miraidon should have simply left Mewtwo alone. Except Miraidon wasn't Boss. He didn't have that same absolute control Boss had. Which meant Mewtwo would need to make its wishes known. And that meant... speaking through the mind, right?

Except just trying to concentrate on its psychic power made it dizzy. The red lights overhead blurred together.

A little surprised there, since I could've sworn that Shadowtwo in Pokkén was still a Psychic by fighting style. Guess Gene needed a bit of work on him before he could get back into fighting order.

That wouldn't do. There had to be something it could try. After observing humans speaking for months, maybe it picked up on enough? It was intelligent. Or supposed to be.

Concentrate. Focus. Move the lips. Tighten the throat.

"Don't… bother…"

… There. Perfect.
Miraidon: "Well aren't you just a Debbie Downer here?" >:|

Miraidon frowned. "Don't bother with what?"

"Helping… me." Mewtwo sucked in a sharp breath. "I'm—"

"Not worth it?"

That was Nova's voice. He was perturbed. "I warned you, Mira. You saw the scans. It's going to be an uphill battle."
Miraidon: "Nova, you're supposed to have my back here..." >_>;
Nova: "Sorry, Mira, but I've gotta call 'em as I see 'em. And... yeah, this is a pretty long shot."

Mewtwo tried to move, but it was exhausted despite just waking up.

"You are worth the time," Nova said. "Even if you don't think it."

... Now I'm wondering if we'll ever see Nova again, since I'm curious what's made him/her so stubbornly insistent at chasing after cases others would write off as hopeless.

Miraidon looked past Mewtwo. "I admire your enthusiasm, Nova. And I see where you're coming from." He gestured to the crystal in Mewtwo's right shoulder. "But how do you propose we handle this?"

"Imbue the crystal with Malice."

Oh, so that is how Gene got his start as a Shadowtwo. Even if I'm sure that this is not exactly the sanest idea in the world.

"Are you mad?" Miraidon's eyes flickered like dying lightbulbs. "We have no idea how he'd respond to something like that."

"He can't move his right arm and has other functional impairments," Nova countered. "If we gradually infuse Malice into the crystal, he can build up a tolerance to it."

I'd say that I'm with Mira here, but it's already a fait accompli as to whether or not they go through with this.

It does make me wonder if it's going to wind up coming back to bite Gene in the ass later in the story, though.

Miraidon crossed his arms. "How gradual are you talking?"

"Possibly decades."

... Wait, how long ago did Eternatus eat Earth if they're talking about a process that will take decades? .-.

Mewtwo didn't like this idea. The mere name "Malice" sounded like a terrifying prospect, but Mewtwo was completely at their mercy. It was their prey.

This pounding in its chest must have been what all its targets felt when it confronted them.

Something bubbled in its stomach. Guilt? Mewtwo wasn't entirely sure.

Miraidon: "That's 'fear' hon. And honestly I don't blame ya, but..."
Nova: "We're all limited on options, to say the least."

But maybe the Malice would have side effects. Maybe it would let Mewtwo forget its humiliating loss.

"Do it," Mewtwo rasped.

Miraidon's eyes displayed exclamation points. "Are you sure? You heard Nova, right? We might have to keep you asleep for a very long time."
... Wait Miraidon is already confirmed for being able to do that? Or is that personal interpretation?

Mewtwo narrowed its eyes at Miraidon. "Do it."

A mechanical sigh followed. "Very well. If you understand the risks, then we'll proceed." He looked past Mewtwo. "Nova, I expect you to be on top of this."

"Absolutely."

Now I'm curious as to what sorts of nasty side effects happened during all of this, since I'm not convinced at all that this all went down without a hitch.

Mewtwo stood in front of a floor-to-ceiling mirror, glaring at its reflection. It ran its left hand across its darkened skin, then grabbed its tail to look at the yellow, ethereal glow it now had. The same glow as the crystal in Mewtwo's right shoulder. No longer an inert gem. It pulsated with power. Unfamiliar power.

Yet that power was what let Mewtwo move its right arm and breathe easier than it had before. And it somehow kept its body from atrophying, so it was clearly something special. Though Mewtwo had to sacrifice its teleportation abilities to regain the use of its right arm. It had no doubt that would prove a difficult adjustment.
Oh, so we won't be seeing Gene zip across regions again on his own anytime soon. Is that based off something from Shadowtwo's moveset, or is that a meta nerf to keep him from being story-breaking?

"How are you feeling?"

Mewtwo's frown deepened. It was Nova. Mewtwo was sick of this "type: full" checking in on it. It was a powerful weapon, not some dainty fledgling taking its first steps from the nest.

Perhaps being blunt would shoo Nova off. "Bad," Mewtwo grunted. It turned to the type: full, casting a judgmental look at his black and white, zebstrika-like pelt, clumps of turquoise scales, and gold, insectoid forelegs.
"Type: Full", huh? Now I'm curious as to what that looks-

-checks image embed-

Oh. Oh. Not sure what those other bits are from, but that certainly clears up a lot. Though minor typo on "turquoise" there.

"Well, hey, at least it's not 'terrible' or 'miserable.'" Nova wagged his turquoise fish tail. An absolute eyesore. "That's progress."

Bluntness didn't work. Onto intimidation, then.

Mewtwo's tail lashed against the mirror. A high-pitched ding reverberated through the room. Nova's triangular ears folded slightly. Satisfaction pinched at Mewtwo's second neck.

Nova: "Starting to get the feeling we should've worked on your behavioral therapy before we fixed your body up." @_@

"I think I get it." Sighing, Nova pivoted to his right. "You don't want me around. Probably got a lot on your mind." His blue eyes scanned the gray metal wall, even though Mewtwo was sure he knew it was empty. "It's a lot to take in."

Maybe it was, but Mewtwo was intelligent enough to understand what had happened. Earth was absorbed by a titan known as Eternatus. Now it, along with the entire planet, were inside the titan. In some sort of galactic purgatory. And the Malice that was used to fix Mewtwo was Eternatus' energy.

Gene:
Image

Nova: "You... probably don't want to know the answer to that, really." ^v^;

Energy it could produce from absolutely nothing, which was utterly illogical. Such a power violated the most basic laws of thermodynamics. Even a weapon like Mewtwo needed to get the power for its attacks from somewhere.
Nova: "Oh, and like psychic powers don't casually violate basic laws of thermodynamics-?"
:what:

Gene: "They violate them in an orderly and predictable fashion. This is different from that."

Mewtwo pinched its brow and shook its head. Why couldn't Nova get the message and leave? It wanted to be alone.

"You can talk to me," Nova said. The type: full lowered his head. His necklace ruffled his white fur. "Bottling things up will only make it easier for the Malice to overtake you."

Gene: "I'm sorry, why did you put this in me if it'd make it easier for this 'Malice' to absorb me or whatever you just said?" >_>;
Nova: "Again, limited options that didn't involve you being left with one working limb. We played the best card from a bad hand, and you signed off on it."

Mewtwo growled its annoyance and clenched its fists. "I don't want to talk. Weapons don't talk."

Nova frowned. Mewtwo studied his face. That weird mix of white fur and a gold, robot beak. Was Nova... pitying it?

Nova: "Brilliant deduction there, Sherlock." -v-;
Gene: "You don't need to rub it in like that, you know!" >.<;

"You want to know what I'm thinking?" Mewtwo took a step toward Nova. Its right shoulder burned. The crystal glowed brighter. "I'm thinking... of the most efficient way to kill you. Do I crush your skull with Psychic? Pull apart your inner circuitry? Or simply grind you into dust with a relentless onslaught of Shadow Balls?"

Mewtwo firmed up its stance, practically daring Nova to call it out for such cruel remarks.

Instead, the type: full smirked. "Well, that's colorful." He tilted his head. "And, deep down, I'm wondering what would happen if I slashed open that second neck of yours. Would you go limp? Lose control of certain bodily functions?"
Well that's concerning. I wonder if Nova had a similar backstory to Gene, or if that's him playing tit for tat with Gene.

Nova crouched slightly. Playfully? What the hell was he doing?

"And your tail! It's fused with your abdomen. What would happen if I sliced it off?"

Mewtwo stepped back. It almost lost its footing. Was Nova messing with it? Such violent rhetoric mixed with such a cheerful tone. Jokes weren't things weapons needed to be concerned with, but Mewtwo was pretty sure this was not how one was meant to joke around.
Nova:
:DEATH~1:

Gene: "... I regret everything."
:grohno~1:


Sighing, Nova stood up tall. "Dang, I thought you'd catch on quicker. Guess you're still pretty out of it."

Now, Mewtwo had to say something. "Are you mocking me?"

Nova shook his head. "You're intelligent. I figured you had already connected the dots."

"About what?"

Nova's expression sharpened. "That you're not the only living weapon birthed by science."

Oh, so Nova really does share a background with Gene.

Mewtwo's gaze fell to its feet. It shifted about silently. In the back of its head, it had considered such a possibility. Between the "type: full" designation and Nova's odd, piecemeal design, there was nothing about him that screamed natural. But some illogical part of Mewtwo's mind steered it away from those thoughts.

Was it pride? It wasn't like being a creation was something to be proud of.

Legendary Gerbils: "Are we a joke to you?" >:|
Gene: "Yes, now go away. You're not even in this story." >_>;

"So what?" Mewtwo muttered. "I don't want your pity. Pity is for the weak."

"And you're strong. You're a killer." Sighing, Nova shook his head. In a strange accent, he declared, "We're not so different, you and I."

Mewtwo glared at him. Nova chuckled. "Aww, c'mon. It's from a movie!"
Oh, so they have an analogue to The Dark Knight in this story. Or else they did wherever Nova was from.

Movies? The moving, talking pictures that humans liked? What purpose did watching movies serve?

... Nothing.

"I don't care." Mewtwo stepped forward. "Stand aside." It stood tall, trying to make it clear it would shove Nova out of the way if necessary.
... Don't think you want to try that, Gene. Since Nova wouldn't be bantering you like this if he didn't think he was in control.

However, Nova stepped toward Mewtwo. "Matriarch built me and my siblings to carry out Her will," he said, expression stern. "For the longest time, I believed in everything She said. Completed every order without so much as flinching."

... Guess that's a sign that we'll be seeing more of these Type: Fulls in the future from that line.

Mewtwo's yellow tail twitched. It recalled mention of Matriarch before. Some sort of... ruler of this realm?

"Even though I saw the anguish on other people's faces, Matriarch convinced me that they were wrong," Nova continued. The bird-like crest over his head drooped slightly. "That I was wrong to ask questions about them. She told me— no, all of us that only She knew what was right for us. What was good for us."

Gene: "That... doesn't sound remotely healthy." ._.;
Nova: "It's not, but you can relate to that, can't you?"

A shudder ran down to Nova's fish tail. It all sounded... vaguely familiar to Mewtwo. But it wasn't quite the same. "Why do you speak plurally?"

"Because I'm not the only type: full." Nova looked down. "I'm actually the prototype. Matriarch produced more. Ones that wouldn't think for themselves, so they wouldn't question Her orders."

Yuuuuuuup. Wonder if they're still kicking around and if they're also made out of 500 Unown a pop in this story, since there's certainly no shortage of those lying around inside Natus.

Now that rang a bell. "Right." Mewtwo crossed its arms. "Weapons don't think. They act."

Nova bobbed his head. "But you're not just a weapon. You're a person. With thoughts, beliefs, hopes, and dreams. You deserve to live your own life." Nova looked down, curling his gold talons slightly. "It took me far too long to realize that... and now I'm trying to rectify that."
Nova is the missing Resistance leader, isn't he?

He offered Mewtwo a shaky smile. "And that starts with helping someone I can relate to."

Mewtwo looked at the type: full, brow furrowed. It crossed its arms and looked away. "Well, I don't need help. What I need... is to be stronger. Strong enough to defeat the dragon that humiliated me."

Nova:
Image

Gene: "Oi! What happened to being all about my 'hopes and dreams' here?! Those are perfectly valid hopes and dreams!"
:hissssss:


Nova's tail drooped. "Nothing wrong with that, I suppose. But it should be your desire. Not someone else's."

He turned away from Mewtwo. "Good talk, I guess? Mira says you can have a bit more time before we have to start your next treatment."

Talons scraped metal as Nova left the room. Mewtwo turned back to the mirror, tail lazily drifting back and forth.

"... my own desire," it whispered.

Gene: "How is 'getting even with the overgrown Christmas star that disfigured me' not my desire here?" >_>;
Nova: "Just... take some time to think over if it's what you really want? (For your own sake, I hope it's not, since that's not gonna mix well with that Malice in ya.)"

Mewtwo sat awkwardly on a metal stool, hunched over and staring across the bright white room... at Mew.

There were, apparently, plenty of mew in Eternatus. But Nova had somehow tracked down the one from Earth. The one it had hunted down and harmed. It was tough not to snarl at Mew. It wasn't her fault that damned dragon went berserk and... felled Mewtwo.

Still, Mewtwo thought this was stupid. Nova wanted it to apologize to Mew. For what? It was carrying out its orders. If anything, the dragon should apologize for messing up its mission.

Image


A metal beak nudged Mewtwo's tail. It sighed. "Hello... Mew. I'm here to... say I'm sorry."

Mew tilted her head. Her eyes were so large. Brimming with curiosity.

... It was nauseating.

Nova nudged Mewtwo's tail again. It took a lot of restraint not to snap at the type: full. "I'm sorry... that you were my target. It was... wrong to hunt you down. Try to capture you... and stuff."

Gene: "Nova, couldn't I have just written a letter here?" >_>;
Nova: "Nope. Gotta do this the hard way to make sure that it sticks."

Silence hung in the air. Mewtwo could've dropped a pin and it would ring throughout the room.

Mew floated forward... and bonked Mewtwo's head.

Its blue eyes flickered red. "What was that for?"

"Mew mewmew mew!" she squeaked.

Gene: "I can already tell that this was a fantastic use of time and energy." >.<

Mewtwo blinked incredulously. Eternatus' freaky insides were supposed to synchronize everyone to one language. Yet Mew spoke like a feral.
I'm still double-taking at how on earth the conception of a 'feral' existed on Pokéearth given that Gio himself refers to Bahamut as one at Cinnabar. I'm guessing that things go a SR-esque route where Pokémon can be uplifted into sapience by socialization or something, but that should've been dealt with a bit more in passing in earlier scenes, since that has massive implications for what life in places with humans and Pokémon mixed in with each other looks like.

"Like a loser," Mewtwo hissed.

Nova offered a shaky smile. "At least you're being honest. That's good, right?"

"Hardly." The crystal in Mewtwo's shoulder sparked. "This was a waste of time."

Gene: "I said as much in the last cutaway gag." >_>;
Nova: "Yeah, well that wasn't canon, so it doesn't count."

The type: full sat down. "My mistake. I think I... overestimated your situation."

Mewtwo narrowed its eyes. "Overestimated?"

"Your mental state," Nova continued. "You can certainly reason and think for yourself... but it looks like whoever controlled you neutered your emotional intelligence."

I'm surprised that Nova would make that mistake given that he's seen what Pokémon reared to be weapons are like, and that doesn't strike me as a particularly rare debilitating quality to have.

"Emotions are for the weak." Mewtwo snorted. Its tail flicked to its right. "They only get in the way."
I can already tell that this special is going to make Gene eat those words by the end of this.

"That's because you were forced to think that way," Nova countered. "You're not being controlled anymore, so there's no need to—" "

It's not about control!" Mewtwo snapped. Psychic energy brimmed in its hands as it stomped its right foot down. "It's about power! Being the strongest! I was supposed to be undefeatable... until one stupid dragon destroyed me with a single attack."

Nova:
Image

Gene: "Not this nonsense from you too..." >.<

It turned away from Nova. "And now... I'm supposed to accept this ridiculous idea that I'm 'only kind of dead,' but trapped inside some giant creature full of unimaginable power?" Mewtwo clenched its fists. Its shoulder tingled from the Malice Crystal sparking with dark energy. "All while my long slumbers are plagued by constant repeats of the dragon humiliating me?"

Nova: "Yes, actually."
Gene: "You can't expect me to seriously-!"
:hissssss:

Nova: "I'm sorry, but that's just reality. The sooner you come to terms with it, the better we'll all be."

Mewtwo couldn't hold it in anymore. It pivoted left... and threw a psychically-charged punch at its stool. The seat on top dented, but didn't break. Pain shot through Mewtwo's right hand. It pulled its throbbing hand back and stared at it, teeth gritted.

"... you don't get to stand there and tell me what I can think," it whispered. "I don't care if you're artificial. You don't know what I've been through."

inb4 it turns out they were reading his brainwaves while he was sleeping-

Silence followed. Nova stepped back, crest drooping. "I didn't know you were having nightmares," he whispered. "You could've told one of us."
... Or not.

"Why, so you could try and 'fix' it?" Mewtwo growled. "I told you, I don't want your help. I... I just—"

The energy dissipated. Mewtwo hardly did anything, yet it was exhausted. It slumped down onto its rear, arms draped at its sides.

"What's the point of fixing me? I have nothing left," Mewtwo whispered. "Defeating enemies with overwhelming power was my purpose. What do I do without that purpose?"

Nova: "... Have you considered finding a new one? You know, a new purpose? Since... I'm pretty sure it'd be a hell of a lot healthier for you than staying on this route."
:joltyshrug~1:


If Boss were here, he would have undoubtedly called the gesture for what it was: pathetic.

But he wasn't. Nova was. And the type: full padded up to Mewtwo's side, and slid onto his belly beside it. "That's the beautiful part: you can decide that for yourself. It doesn't have to be today. Or tomorrow. Or even this year. But if you keep moving forward, you'll find that purpose."
That one was a bit more polite than I was expecting, but I like it. It's a genuinely touching moment between these two.

Mewtwo didn't make eye contact. "How do you know?"

"Because when I abandoned Matriarch, I didn't know what to do with myself, either," Nova confessed. "I wandered from planet to planet for a while — stowing away in ships and transporters to avoid detection — until I met Mira. He took me to his moonbase... and I felt that spark helping him rehabilitate people while fighting against Matriarch's forces."
Scratch that, it's Miraidon that's the missing Resistance leader. Since I see that 'moonbase' comment.

Tail sticking up, Mewtwo finally met Nova's soft gaze. "I beg your pardon?"

It took a second for Nova to realize what he said. When he did, the type: full's blue eyes lit up and he laughed. "Wow, I probably should've led with that earlier, huh?"

Oh, so this is the story of how Gene came to be a Resistance fighter, huh?

Mewtwo glowered at Nova. "Take this seriously."

"Okay, okay." Nova took a deep breath to dispel his last few chuckles. "Your purpose was to fight, right?"

"Fight to impose Team Rocket's vision upon the world," Mewtwo interjected.

"... charming." Nova grinned sheepishly when Mewtwo glared at him. "Anyway, what's stopping you from retooling that purpose under a different cause? Like, instead of fighting for organized crime, fight to help free Eternatus from Matriarch's control."
Image


Since that just screams "unintended consequences will follow".

Mewtwo crossed its arms. It wasn't an idiot. It saw immediate flaws with that idea. "If it was really that simple, wouldn't you have taken Matriarch out on your own?"

Nova flinched. "Got me there." He brushed his gold forelegs against one another. "Truth is that, yeah, Mira and I have been trying to put together a team. To start a rebellion. But it's proving a lot more difficult than I expected."

Gene: "I mean, this whole 'being undead' thing is kinda a real drag for morale..." >_>;
Nova: "Yeah, so I gathered." -v-;

"And you think a failed weapon will be the difference maker?" Mewtwo looked down at its dark gray hands. "You already mutated me with Eternatus' energy. That makes me a liability, not an ally."

"It's not like I'd be sending you out to fight the Paradigm right away." Nova sounded exasperated. "Yeah, it'll take a while. A long while. But time is a luxury we happen to have inside Eternatus."

Image


Even at expanded scales, time has a way of flying by, Nova. Don't get too used to that luxury of yours.

He extended his right foreleg toward Mewtwo. "If you stick with me, I promise to make sure you're free of any possible Malice side effects. And I'll help you claim an identity of your own."

Mewtwo quirked a brow at Nova's foreleg. "What's in it for you?"

"Your company."
Gene: "I'm sorry, but why would that be important to you again-?"
:what:


"Excu—" Saliva went down the wrong pipe and Mewtwo broke into a coughing fit. Nova... wanted to spend time with it? Despite all Mewtwo's attempts to push the type: full away?

The back of Mewtwo's head throbbed. It briefly saw a mental image of a gold silhouette in the middle of windswept plains.

"Sorry. I just thought... because we have things in common, we'd make good friends."

Well that's a great omen for how things are going to play out in this relationship. ^^;

Mewtwo rubbed the back of its head.

It had said that once, hadn't it? When and where? Mewtwo had never seen that memory before.

... Or had it?

"You want... my company?" it whispered, staring again at Nova's foreleg.

"Everyone can do with a friend," Nova whispered back. "Even if they don't think it."

Debatable in the case of Bahamut considering how he reacted to perceived betrayal. Like I'm pretty sure that he could afford to have been put into cryosleep friendless and it'd have been a net benefit for the universe about 40 planets ago.

Mewtwo looked into Nova's eyes, then back at his foreleg, and then at his eyes again. It fidgeted with its hands and squirmed and place. Mewtwo didn't know the first thing about being a friend. Or, rather, the basic knowledge was there, but the tools needed to apply that knowledge practically were not.

But how could it say that without trying? That would be... like declaring an attack beyond its capabilities without training.

... Yes. Friendship wasn't beyond Mewtwo's abilities. It simply needed training, like with anything else.

Probably still needs training considering how Gene's a raging asshole even in the present day. Even if I can understand where it's coming from a bit better.

"I... suppose so," Mewtwo muttered. It put its left hand on the floor. Its left thumb crossed one of Nova's talons.

Though brief, a chill ran down Mewtwo's neck tube. It was... strangely pleasant?

"Great!" The blue, scaly underside of Nova's tail scraped against the floor. Both of them flinched. "Whoops!" He looked back at his hindquarters. "Tails, am I right? Kinda jealous yours is prehensile. Wish they'd factored that into my designs."

Mewtwo scratched its head. "D... do people normally christen their friendships by talking about their backsides?"
They do in this story, it seems.
:silvlully:


"No. It was a joke." Nova stood up, chuckling. "If you want something to mark the occasion, how about a name?"

"I have a name. I am Mewtwo."

"No, that's your designation," Nova said. "Like how I'm a type: full."

"But I am the only Mewtwo."

Nova: "..."
:sceptical~1:

Gene: "I- I am the only Mewtwo, r-right?" ._.;

Nova shrugged. "I still think you could use a proper name. Something to help you build your own sense of identity." He walked in front of Mewtwo and crouched down. "So, lemme ask ya. Do you see yourself as masculine? Feminine? Nonbinary?" Nova paused. "I can list others if those don't work."

"No, that's fine." Mewtwo got to its feet. "I suppose... I feel a certain tug with, erm, masculinity?" It rubbed the back of its head. This was beyond awkward.
Gene: "Look, can we just pick out that name already?" >///<
Nova: "You kinda already did it for me with those speech tags of yours, but if you wanna get formal about it..."
:gardeshrug~1:


Nova's eyes lit up. "Great! Then I've got the perfect name."

"And that is?"

"Gene. You're Mewtwo Gene!" Nova's tail wagged. "What do you think?"
Gene: "... 'Mewtwo Gene' is some sort of dumb pun, isn't it?" >_>;
Nova: "Nah, it's just a naming convention here. Species, then the name you're known by in casual parlance. Been all the rage since Eternatus ate that one world consisting of a village duct-taped together with a bunch of teleportation links."
Gene: "I'm just saying, I'm a genetic experiment, and my name is Gene..."
Nova: "Would you rather that I give you some sort of super-sappy name like 'Mewtwo Wish' or something like that?" -v-;
Gene: "... I'll stick with 'Gene', thanks." -_-;

After about a minute letting the name roll around in it— no, his head, Gene nodded slowly.

"... I can work with that."

Nova: "Just saying, if you really are dissatisfied, I can hit up the naming book for something suitably sappy and heartstring-tuggy-"
Gene: "Nova, I said I was fine with 'Gene'. My name is 'Gene', okay?" >_>;

Gene sprang back, but didn't put enough power into his legs. The blue, glowing blade grazed his belly. Gene tumbled through the air. He sensed someone coming up from behind. Fighting and steel energy. Zamazenta?

He thrusted both hands forward. Flames shot out, turning him into a large, fiery wheel. There was a startled yip. Gene sailed past Zamazenta, then steadied himself and dispelled the flames. Though the mewtwo wanted to attack him, Zacian was sailing through the air, blade at the ready.
Wait a minute, those two made it to Etherium in the past? .-.

"Nnngh." Gene raised his hands to try catching Zacian with his ESP. But Zamazenta's shield glowed a fiery crimson. He lunged for Gene, knocking the mewtwo back.

"All right, I think that's a good stopping point."

Nova trotted onto the tan arena, cheek bolts slowly turning in their sockets. "So, what do you think?" he looked at Gene. "These two are pretty great, right?"

Gene crossed his arms. "Real pokémon don't need weapons to fight." He cast a judgmental look at Zacian.

Oh, so this is where Gene picked up his spoon, huh?

"My blade can cut through just about anything when I'm concentrating," she boasted. Her sword vanished in a stream of blue and gold light, taking her gold crown and wing-like armor plates with it. She shook herself out. "It sounds more like jealousy to me."

Image


"Agreed," Zamazenta grunted. Like his older sister, the gold shield around his head vanished, letting him stretch his neck out. "You could criticize her, or you could try it for yourself."

Gene tilted his head. Try what for himself?

"I don't know, brother." Smirking, Zacian shook her head. "Gene does not strike me as the creative type. I bet he couldn't come up with a decent weapon no matter how much psychic power he has."
Yup. This is totally where he got his spoon.

"Is that a challenge?" Gene cracked his knuckles, then tilted his neck from side to side until his spine popped. "I can come up with a psychic weapon. Check it."

Brow furrowed in concentration, Gene clapped his hands together. Pink energy brimmed in his hands. He focused on that energy. It was slippery, but the mewtwo could make it malleable. The first step was to solidify it, which happened when he held his hands together like a circular cup.

Good. Now, Gene needed to expand it; keep things solid while adding more psionic material to it. He envisioned a resistance band in his hands and slowly pulled. His arm muscles tensed. Gene exhaled slowly. The pink bubble elongated into a pink rectangular prism. Gene stretched it further, until it was practically his wingspan.

The last part was shaping it. The mewtwo's eyes glowed a deep blue. A blue circle traced itself along one end of the pink prism, then carved out a small circular basin.

Zacian:
:lolithe:

Zamzenta:
:AlviseLaughing:

Gene: "... Dammit." >///<

Gene planted his weapon down like a staff. "Done!" He flashed a toothy grin at Nova.

"It's... a spoon?" Nova tilted his head. Zacian and Zamazenta exchanged amused looks.

"Ah, yes, truly terrifying." Zamazenta's words dripped with sarcasm. "I'm quaking in terror."

Four words spoken seconds from disaster.
"Oi, don't knock the spoon." Gene slashed the air to his right, then whirled left and thrust the spoon. "Alakazam use small ones for their attacks. So, a big one should let me do even stronger strikes."

"Uh-huh." Zacian approached her brother's side. "I think we'd best leave him to Nova. Perhaps he's dehydrated or something?"

The two dogs headed for the double doors on the other side of the arena. Gene dispelled the spoon in a flurry of pink mist. "Cowards!" he called. "You're just afraid I'd spoon your butts into next week!"

You set up lines like these on purpose, don't you? :V

Nova stumbled with a squawk. His blue eyes widened. "I, uh, think you might want to rephrase that one."

Gene stared blankly. "Why?"

"Err... never mind." Nova recomposed himself. "So, what did you think?"

Gene: "No, really. Why would I want to rephrase myself there?"
:what:

Nova: "Let's... go over what 'innuendo' is another time. Anyhow, about the topic at hand..."

"You're right. They're formidable," the mewtwo said. "I'm sure they'll prove valuable allies."

"And what about you?" Nova got closer, tilting his head. "You've been sparring a lot now. For what it's worth, I don't think you looked as... aggressive."

Gene frowned. "Yeah, but I was sloppy." His shoulders sagged. "I was trying to keep my... killer instincts in check. I'm not well-suited for that kind of multitasking."

That's probably not a good omen for what Gene's first few attempts looked like. ^^;

"Or it takes a lot of getting used to," Nova said, winking. "Regardless, I'm proud of you. You've made a lot of progress."

The mewtwo's cheeks burned. "... tch. You're just saying that."

Nova nudged Gene's chin with his beak. Gene's tail scrunched up. "Nngh. Cut it out!"

Oh, so you're shipping these two, huh? Which I'm sure is a sign that Nova is going to bite it in like a scene.

"What did I tell you about the negative self-talk?" Nova asked, smirking.

Gene pouted. "That's it beneath me."

"I don't think I phrased it like that, but close enough." Nova chuckled. "You sure you're not picking up some humor from all the movies we're watching?"
Gene: "... Where have we even been getting those, anyways?"
Nova: "Folks have got a lot of free time when they're undead. Makes for a burgeoning film industry here." ^^;

"Please. Any pyukumuku with half a brain could do that." Gene rolled his eyes. "I'm a super-intelligent being. I could absorb details about those movies in my sleep."

:heliodoubt:


I'll believe it when I see it, really. Since I'd assume you'd still need some sensory input to absorb details.

Nova grinned. "Ah, some boasting!" He playfully nudged Gene's left shoulder. "Way better than self-deprecation."

Gene's cheeks burned again. The type: full always knew how to catch him off guard.

In the past, Gene wouldn't have stood for that. Now he found it... charming?

... Yeah. Charming enough to give the mewtwo goosebumps.

Nova: "You can just say you're crushing on me, ya know." o<o
Gene: "D-Don't get crazy here! Things are strictly platonic right now!" >///<

"If you're going to stare into space, you can at least tell me what you're thinking." Nova crossed his right foreleg over his left. His necklace brushed against his white fur.

"Thinking?" Mewtwo scratched his nose. "I was thinking... about how much longer you intend to keep this operation in the planning stages. You've got Miraidon and the dogs. And that stupid espeon who seems obsessed with you."

Nova winced. "Yeah, I'm doing my best to ignore Selene's... enthusiasm."

Image


Though cute homage to your last work there.

"I could wipe her memories for you," Gene offered, lifting his right hand.

"No. We need all the help we can get," Nova said. "Even hers."
I take it that this Selene is a bit more 'Mika Harima' than the original flavor from that dialogue. ^^;

Gene frowned. "Then you still don't think we're ready?"

"I'm not sure." Nova sat on his haunches. "I'm still making this up as we go."

"Yeah. And I recall saying improvisation is not my strong suit," Gene scoffed.

Great omen for how that operation's gonna go, really. ^^;

"Is that so?" Nova got up and approached Gene. He brushed his side against the mewtwo's. "Maybe we need to... make a few changes to your training regimen?"

If Gene's face wasn't red before, it certainly was now.

I take it that those two were a bit hard to find around the moonbase that night. :V

The stasis capsule was a gray, metal tube with dark, one-way glass. Gene stood in front of it with his right hand braced against the door. "I have to do this, don't I?"

"We both know it's the safest thing to do," Nova said. Gene didn't bother looking at him. How could he after that slip up? The last Paradigm daemon almost turned him against Zacian and Zamazenta. Those aggressive urges Gene had worked so hard to control tugged at the edges of his psyche. His mind was like a barricade and those urges were chipping away at it.

"I get it." Gene's shoulders sagged. "But that means... I can't help with the final assault, can I?"

... Ouch. That's at once better and worse than I was expecting.

Nova appeared on the mewtwo's left, shaking his head. "We've come too far."

Gene sucked in a heavy breath. The tip of his Malice Crystal glistened in the one-way glass. "I know. That doesn't make it sting any less."

Nova leaned his head on Gene's left shoulder. "I want you there. But I wouldn't know what to do with myself if Matriarch got control of you."

Gene tilted his head. Warmth flooded his face as his cheek brushed Nova's fur and metal cheek bolt. "I don't want to lose you," he whispered. A part of Gene was shocked he even managed to admit that out loud. How things change.
Nova never came back after this, did he?

"I won't let that happen," Nova said. "We have a plan. Chiron knows her way around Valhalla. Even if there's resistance, we can take the most direct path to Eternatus' core."
Filing that name away for the future, since I remember Bahamut's throwaway mention of 'Aesir', and Valhalla is exactly where one would find them.

The mewtwo still had a hard time believing the archbishop had defected to Nova's cause, but supposedly she had fled Eternatus and spent time living on the planet it had just been sealed inside.

"And you trust her?" Gene asked.

"I do."

I am getting really, really strong endgame Bravely Default vibes right now. Like I'll legit be surprised if nothing about this story's endgame doesn't vibe with it in some fashion.

"What about her husband?" Gene hadn't met the guy. Only heard about some sentient black crystal that fought alongside Chiron.

"He's proven himself a capable fighter. And he's a total grouch, too." Nova playfully nibbled Gene's shoulder. "I think you two would hit it off."

Gene rolled his eyes. "Very funny."

Oh boy is this not gonna end well if Gene and Bahamut ever came/come back into proximity to each other.

"Look, the two had a kid together. That's gotta mean something, right?" Nova exclaimed, breaking off the embrace.

"I guess." Gene sighed and opened the tube's glass door. "Nothing left to do but hope it all works out, then."

Nova nudged the mewtwo's side. "Hey, look at that. Talking about your hopes." The type: full smiled. His fish tail wagged.

Gene blinked a few times until the realization sunk in. He blushed. "Y-Yes, well." Gene coughed into his left hand. "I guess I finally found mydream... like you told me to."
Gene: "Just kinda sucks that it's gotta lead to this..." :<
Nova: "Hey, listen to me, Gene. Those hopes and dreams aren't over. You'll be there to see them after this is all over, I'm sure of it."

"Gonna share it?" Nova raised a brow. The mewtwo shakily turned to Nova.

"I want to be at your side... to greet the dawn of a new era in this alien realm."
Which I'm sure is a sign that that's now physically impossible.

Nova's tail wagged faster. "How poetic. Maybe some of those romance flicks rubbed off on you after all?" He winked, deepening Gene's blush.

"Don't ruin the moment," Gene growled. He took a few breaths to steady himself, then braced his left arm against the side of the stasis tube. "Stay safe out there."

"Good luck," Nova whispered.

"Same to you."

Gene climbed into the tube. He pulled the plastic mask over his face, then heard the hydraulic hisses of the closing door.

It wasn't long before he drifted to sleep.
I... am not convinced that Nova didn't die almost immediately after this.

When Gene woke up, the stasis tube door didn't open. There was no rush of cool air to great him. In fact, the mask on his face wasn't even producing any oxygen. Gene pulled it off. It detached from the top of the tube and struck his head.

Growling his frustrations, Gene blasted the mask and the door with a point blank Psybeam. The glass shattered and spilled out onto the floor.

Gene: "Sure hope Nova won't be too mad about the mess. But what on earth's out there anyways?"

Immediately, Gene went on alert. Instead of the lab's bright white lights, all he saw were some dull red glows in the corner. The facility's emergency lighting. Why was it active? Was there a power failure?

The mewtwo floated out of the broken tube to find the lab was but a shell of how he remembered it. Overturned tables, shattered monitors and glass beakers. And so, so much dust.
Gene:
:uhhh:


His heart rate quickened. The Malice Crystal burned in his shoulder.

How long had he been asleep? Where was Nova? Where was Nova?

Bold of you to assume he's alive right now.

Gene lunged for the door. It didn't slide open. The glass windows beside it were cracked. Claw marks ran across the walls.
Gene: "N-Nova? Nova?! Y-You're out there, right?! Say something to me!"
:eltyscared:


The mewtwo fired one Shadow Ball, then another. The door flew off its hinges and hit the opposite wall with a clang. Gene found the hallway as dark as the lab. Only a smattering of emergency lights.

More claw marks lined the walls, practically alternating with patches of scorched metal and huge dents.

Someone had attacked this place. But who... and why?
... That's Exodes' handiwork, isn't it? Since I see the mention of 'claw marks' there.

Gene's yellow-tipped tail twitched. He sensed a powerful psychic aura not too far ahead. Resounding thumps echoed throughout the hallway. The mewtwo wasn't sure what to expect... until he finally laid eyes on a clump of black crystals repeatedly punching the wall.

And through those motions, Gene was able to glimpse an eight-pointed star on the back of what he assumed was the big crystal's head.

Eight-pointed... star...
Oh. Oh no.
:ohnowen:


It all came rushing back to the surface. The golden dragon's roars of fury. His blindingly fast attacks. Gene getting impaled with part of the dragon's face before being left for dead.

Gene's Malice Crystal sparked. He let his Shadow Balls do the talking, hurling two of them right at the crystal, who didn't notice them until it was too late.

"Where are they, Bahamut?!" Gene snarled. The Malice Crystal was glowing and Gene felt its power coursing through him.

Bahamut slowly rose into the air. A dim rainbow prism sparked underneath all the black crystals. "You," he whispered. "So, you were the mutts' ally."

Gene: "Why did you-? What have you-? Wh-What did you do?!"

"Where's Nova?!" The mewtwo fired another Shadow Ball. Bahamut caught it in his psychic grip and smashed it against the wall to his right.

"Gone," Bahamut rasped. "They're all... gone. And it's... still here." He scraped his claws against the wall. "Never good enough. I need power. More power."

Bahamut killed off the entire base in search of light or something like that, didn't he?

The rational part of Gene's mind might have said Bahamut's answer was too fragmented to make sense. However, Gene's emotions were fully in control.

Nova had told Gene he trusted Bahamut. And that trust was betrayed.

The type: full was gone. Gene's dream was dead. All because of Bahamut.

He had to pay. Gene had to avenge Nova.

Oh, so Gene's making the exact same mistake that Bahamut made in the first half of this special. That's... a great omen for how this is gonna end. .-.

Bahamut wasn't a golden dragon. Gene had the Malice Crystal.

With a feral screech, Gene shot a massive Shadow Ball at Bahamut. He tried teleporting past it, but Gene was ready. He formed his psychic spoon and slashed Bahamut. Over and over and over again. Bahamut tried to fight back, but the mewtwo parried every swipe of his big, crystal arms.

"Nova was a good person! He believed in me when I wouldn't!" Gene drove the spoon into Bahamut's rainbow prism. "He trusted you! I trusted you! This is all your fault!"
Boy is that a dark echo there.

Gene cleaved Bahamut's crystal form in half and blasted both sides away. He hunched over, glaring with all the hatred he could muster. Rage he had spent all this time burying... thanks to Nova.

But it was over. He'd avenged Nova. He—

A purple aura surrounded Bahamut's halves. Dark bolts shot out from the top half and pulled the bottom half back. Bahamut's rainbow prism glowed once again, albeit weaker than before.

Gene: "Wh-What the actual-?" O_O;

"I... will... get more power." Bahamut's arms trembled. "And I... will... finish... what I started."

Eyes wide, Gene summoned his spoon and lunged for Bahamut again. But the large crystal husk sank into a wormhole and the mewtwo sailed into empty air until he rolled to a stop on his hands and knees.
Oh, so Bahamut went full Necky, except he's ready to murder entire planets for a chance at putting Eternatus down for good. Lovely.

Gene looked down. He raised his right hand... and punched the floor underneath him.

Then, for the first time in his life, Gene shed tears.

:eltycrying:


Kinda think it'd have had more impact if Gene got to see more of the gang initially meeting Bahamut and how hopeful everyone was and then waking up to see this, but it's still a decent gut punch of an ending.

Alright, and onto the postmortem:

It was a nice glimpse into Gene's backstory, where he came from, and what became of Earth back in the day when thus far we'd only gotten it in little hints here and there outside of dev chatter elsewhere on the net. I still think that Gene's an asshole, and I don't fully trust him, but I definitely have a bit more empathy for him and understand how he got to where he is today. Not sure whether or not I liked Bahamut more or less in the wake of this special. On the one hand, there's something pitiful and childlike about the way he was so hungry for affection and companionship at earlier part of the special, and it makes the mass death that he brings about from the midpoint onward all the more jarring because of it. It's not a common tack taken for "I just wanna be loved", but you seem to be owning it well, and boy is your execution of it chilling.

As for stuff I didn't like... perhaps it's just a side effect of the average length of your chapters being much shorter, but I kinda wonder if this Special ought to have been done as a two-parter, since everything up to Fuji's last journal entry and everything that comes after are pretty self-contained and distinct from one another, and both parts are longer than the average PoV chapter thus far. It might have made each half have a bit more impact versus gobbling it all up in a straight shot.

There were a few worldbuilding elements alluded here and there that made me go "wait, wha" from how they were casually dropped but not really elaborated on. It would've been nice to see those a bit more, but I suppose you've got a lot of fic left to show them off a bit as needed. I did feel like some bits could've used some more elaboration to fill in gaps, especially the last few scenes of the second half where we're hugely timeskipping around that felt like it removed some of the buildup/punch to stuff like the ending note. But eh. It's a 14k word standalone chapter. I won't begrudge you for deciding that you wrote enough as is.

Thanks for your patience @Ambyssin , and hope the feedback was helpful for you. I'll be looking forward to catching up with Ch. 40 in due time, since it really feels like you're going mask-off with a lot of things about your story, and I'm all there for seeing how it affects the present-day cast and their journey.
 
Last edited:

Spiteful Murkrow

Busy Writing Stories I Want to Read
Pronouns
He/Him/His
Partners
  1. nidoran-f
  2. druddigon
  3. swellow
  4. quilava-fobbie
  5. sneasel-kate
Heya, firing this up to blitz through to try and get caught up, since hey, there's an offsite review tag with my name on it, and a fresh update that's due to drop this weekend if you're sticking to your biweekly schedule.

So let's get right into…

Chapter 40


AUGMENTATION HAS ARRIVED!
Tired of the same old appearance, but uninterested in changing species entirely? Wish there was a simple way to modify a few things about your look? Then Mewgenics Augmentation is for you!

Thanks to the tireless work of our glorious archbishop and his research team, we can make alterations to any patient at a cellular level. Want to grow some tentacles? You can! Need an extra arm or eye? It's all possible, thanks to Mewgencis!

The process begins with an intake appointment. Our providers will thoroughly and compassionately compile a history to create your ideal augmentation, then walk you through every step of your personalized treatment protocol.

Speak with your primary care provider today about a referral for Mewgenics Augmentation and start living your best life. Nos vera Natus!

Ah yes, this bit that you teased a while back. "Mewgenics", huh? So this service is run by a Mew?

Also, I can see that the memes about you being Unovan Namo aren't that far off, since this sounds more or like a perfect way to get tons of HoC-esque mutants crawling around Natus' innards.

The silence was almost as thick as the air above the tar pits. During Gene's tale, he produced a scrapbook. Yuna took it and thumbed through pictures, like Nova nibbling on Gene's cheek while the mewtwo tried to shove him off, or Nova clinking glasses with Zacian and Zamazenta.

Her headache slowly returned. Every picture of Nova made her think of Xeromus. The chains around his legs... looked like the soft anklets around Nova's. And some of Nova's photos showed him in a royal blue cloak, while Xeromus had a black, tattered one with a hood.

- Blinks -
I... legit did not consider that possibility regarding who Xeromus might be. The resemblance is... uncanny, now that you mention it. Even if it doesn't explain the bit with Zamazenta turning into a Type: Null.

Those couldn't be coincidences. Not with everything else Yuna had seen so far. But what was she supposed to say? That she knew where Gene's apparent boyfriend was? That he had become some sort of Eternatus-obsessed whacko?


inb4 it's not really Gene's BF

... No, she couldn't jump to conclusions. Not yet. Not when Gene could rip her to tiny, ectoplasmic shreds if she pissed him off.


That... sounds like a really, really good idea to not work with him, or get anywhere in proximity to him, really.

"Are we done, then?" Gene's Malice Crystal flashed. The scrapbook dissolved out of Yuna's hands, leaving her grasping at hazy air.

"That's a pretty tall tale," Valkyrie grunted. Squeaking, Yuna shot higher in the air. At some point, the others in the group had moved behind her. Probably to look at the scrapbook, too.

"Well, it's the truth." Gene turned away, snorting.

Valkyrie: "..."
:sceptical~1:

Gene: "Val, it's the truth, and if you're so insistent that it's not, I can bring up some other truths you know about in front of everyone to prove my point!"
:absus:

Valkyrie: "... I... Uh... will just take your word for it for now."
:uhhh:


"Really?" Valkyrie narrowed her eyes. "You expect me to believe you were put in stasis for thousands of years with no issues at all?"


"No issues" is a bit of a bold read there, really.

Gene:
Image


"Hardly," Gene scoffed. "Until recently, time moved much slower in Eternatus than it did outside of it. My only guess is that's related to this Needle nonsense." The mewtwo shook his head. "But that's all tangential."


I... did not see that one coming. Though it makes me wonder just how much time has passed from the perspective of Natus' denizens.

He turned to Yuna. "You called me callous and uncaring. And I am. Because I was never fully 'deprogrammed.' All those instincts are still there." He put his right hand on his chest and looked at Yuna. "That's what that 'outburst' was."

"Yeah." Yuna already got that. "Then all the sarcastic jokes—"

"Are how I cope." Gene crossed his arms, scowling. "Humor's a healthy defense mechanism. So is directing my anger toward the emperor's flunkies." His Malice Crystal flashed purple. "It's called sublimation. Look it up."


No, I'm pretty sure that this is a really, really unhealthy coping mechanism. I mean, I still think Gene's an asshole, but he's definitely a lot more of an understandable asshole than he read prior to Chapter 39.

Yuna's gaze fell. She didn't have a retort. Mainly because the stuff about defense mechanisms was beyond her. Noctum stepped to her side, however. "What if you're mistaken about some things?" He rubbed his right temple. "I... I can't see Bahamut—"

"I know what I saw," Gene growled, tail lashing at the air. He looked toward a trio of large gears turning slowly in their sockets. "No one came back from the mission to stop Matriarch but him."


Gene: "Seriously, that was what you were worried about and not him genociding my planet by proxy because I unwittingly hurt his fee-fees fresh out of brainwashing?" >_>;
Noctum: "That... was actually what I was going to bring up. H-How's a god of justice do that?"
:ohnowen:

Gene: "By not being as much of a god of 'justice' as you think he is."

"Then this 'Matriarch' thing is still active?" Seifer wondered.

"No." Gene looked down. "Paradox's sermons and announcements mentioned Matriarch going offline many times. He clearly filled the power void left behind." The mewtwo clenched his fists. "Nova succeeded in his goal... only for that bastard to stab him in the back."


Noctum:
Image

Yuna: "... Gene, don't you think that you could break this news a bit softer-?" ._.;
Gene:
Image


Noctum's tail flame flickered. "But... his own wife and son?"

"That wasn't the last time I fought him," Gene responded. He lifted a clenched fist. "We've crossed paths several times. I've beaten him every time, but he keeps... pulling himself back together when he should have eroded into a Phantom. And he always fled through a checkered portal."


A "checkered portal", huh? Not sure what that one is a sign of, but will keep it on the radar.

Yuna stayed silent, but she believed Gene. It matched up too well with what the Sages had told her. Razim's tale, too.

But, still, sacrificing an entire planet to Eternatus because he was upset?

Gene: "Yeah, he was kinda a mercurial dick like that. Not sure how on earth you guys airbrushed that side of him from history."

Have we really been worshipping a monster? The drakloak shuddered, trying to stuff that thought into the back of her mind.


I mean, considering how Bahamut in FF series has barbecued a city in at least one game I can think of and in his more positive depictions is basically more a destructive force of nature than a goody two-shoes like D&D!Bahamut... yeah, you kinda have been, Yuna.

Fortunately, Nikki offered a convenient distraction. "What about Mew, then? Did you ever try and find her again?"

Any hope Yuna had for a reasonable explanation dissipated the moment Gene cringed. "Mew's gone. They all are."

Nikki shifted about uneasily. "Gone as in—"

"Killed, obviously," Valkyrie snorted.

That, I'm not so sure about, Val. After all. This is the Qliphoth, and there are some fates here that are worse than death.

"That would've been a better fate," Gene whispered, flinching again. "The emperor's troops rounded them all up for experimentation." He turned to Noctum and Seifer. "The people you've seen with all sorts of mutations are the results of Paradox's experiments." He approached the edge of the factory platform and looked out at the bubbling tar. "Every mew… ground up into cells and DNA for Paradox's machinations."

:CabotScared:


I mean, I was expecting it would be bad, but I wasn't expecting that. Guess that explains the "Mew" in "Mewgenics".

"But they were already dead, weren't they?" Nikki scratched her head. "That's what happens to people who end up here and junk. How can they be killed again?"

"Chompy's being blunt." Gene rolled his eyes. "The mew souls eroded into Phantoms."


Nikki: "... Which does what again? Since I... actually don't remember if we saw any of those yet in this story."
:joltyshrug~1:


Seifer frowned. "But wouldn't that have taken their bodies, too? Or maybe the mew can possess anyone who has a mutation?"

Gene's tail flicked right. "Not if the emperor had a way to purge a soul from a body. Which he does," he ominously declared.

Oh, that's not creepy and disconcerting at all...
:eltyscared:


An uneasy silence hung over the group, until Jade managed to say, "And you're sure of this?"

"Cyril got some documents about all this from one of the emperor's data servers," Gene said, shaking his head.

This feels like just about the last thing you'd want to have digitized records about if you're paranoid about espionage, though I suppose it has been established that Paradox is a bit boomer-tier with technology.

"Oh." Jade looked down guiltily. Yuna worried that the salugia thought she had received some of those mutations. She considered mentioning Jade had been asleep in the Needle the whole time, but she couldn't prove that was completely true.


... I mean, unless the story is going to reveal an alternative route to pulling that off at some point, that would be the most likely explanation, yes. And Exodes was just sitting there chilling with an opportunity to try and inject that into the Needle if that was in the realm of possibility.

"Now are we done here?" Gene walked back toward them. The mewtwo rested his hands behind his dark gray head. "I've had enough sob storying to last the next year. There's work to be done, right? Nothing's gonna happen if we stand around staring at each other."


Yuna: "Right, I suppose we should head back to the hotel and-"
- Yuna trails off and has her jaw flop open -
Yuna: "... Get pulled from the Crowne Cup since there is no way in hell that Vegna will believe what happened to us."
:uhhh:

Nikki: "Gee, aren't you Little Miss Positivity right now?" >_>;

The group exchanged uneasy looks. Yuna caught Leo's attention. His eyes flickered with determination. The cosmic arceus was probably thinking about what Alder had told him.

Planet Chakran. Is that even in our dimension? Yuna wondered, since that was definitely where the drakloak needed to go. Though she shuddered at the thought of dropping the omniverse revelation on everyone's laps after what Gene had told them.


Nikki: "I mean, hey. It beats the Reaper getting up on our case."
Yuna: "Yeah, but how on earth would we even get there like this?" .-.

Plus, there was still the matter of the sailors. Yuna couldn't move on from that. It wasn't right. They deserved some sort of closure from this.

"We should start with the sailors," the drakloak said. Gene met her with a look that told her to try again. "I'm serious." Yuna steeled her resolve. "Whether some of them are stuck here or not, they don't deserve to be dumped off somewhere else inside Eternatus and left to fend for themselves." She floated closer to Gene. "I see that ending with them eroding into Phantoms."

Gene: "Your 'solution' had better not be sticking Cyril with babysitting them at his moonbase..." >_>;

"The emperor has intake stations for 'refugees' all over the damn empire." Gene waved Yuna off with his left hand. "It's easier to dump them on his lap."

"Why, so they can get sucked into Paradox's schemes?" Yuna countered. "I'm not leaving them like this."

- Cue Yuna staring at Gene -
Gene: "Look, Yuna. Whatever you're thinking of. No. Why on earth do you even care what happens to them anyways? I thought you Aeons and Radiance types hated each others' guts!" >.<
Yuna: "Because A: I'm literally here for the sake of a peace treaty between my home and Radiance, B: It's beyond messed up to leave 'mons twisting in the wind like that?"
:what:

Gene: "Sure hope you don't take the throne anytime soon, since you need to work on your realpolitik skills." >_>;

Rolling his eyes, Gene gestured to his left. "Then by all means, go back to the swamp and talk to them. No one's saying you can't."

"No, but I'm asking you to join me." Yuna tapped her right hand against the Soul Dew. "You know a lot more about all of this than I do. So, help a girl out, will you?"

Gene:
Image

Yuna: "... Yes? Especially after you just poured your heart out in front of everybody for 14,000 words?" >_>;

Again, silence. Gene squinted. "Why do you even care about them? They're strangers."

Nikki snorted. "Probably her inner princess."

"Because, even if I don't know them, Aeons don't leave other Aeons behind," Yuna said, her expression sharpening. She held up her right hand. "Even if they're not Aeons, it's the principle. They didn't do anything to wrong me. We shouldn't wrong them when they're already victims of circumstance."


Gene: "You do realize that those principles were literally founded on lies, right?"
Yuna: "It doesn't make it any less right, Gene. So what do you say? Will you help me?"

She looked at the others. Jade applauded with her wings and Leo was positively mesmerized. Noctum wore a proud grin and Yuna thought he might tear up then and there.

"… tch. Fine." Gene floated over to Yuna's side. "Gimme a minute or two to, uh, soften them up for you. Or something." He drifted away, scowling, before opening a rift and disappearing into it. Yuna watched the dark gray mewtwo go with a sigh.


Wow, Gene actually does have a heart somewhere in there. Though I suppose it makes sense thematically given that we just got through getting a good look at his vulnerable side last chapter.

"Now what?" Quetzal tapped the ground with a couple of his toes. "I'd love to help with the sailors, but I think I'll just frighten them looking like this." He glanced at his orange and black-feathered torso.

"I can help," Seifer offered. The keldeo approached Yuna. "Some of the unharmed sailors recognized me back on the ship."

Yuna nodded her thanks. "Uh, I guess everyone else can... do whatever they feel like until we're done?"


Seifer: "Princess, we're in the middle of a bog planet full of tar pits. Just what is there to do here?" >_>;
Yuna: "... Idle conversation, maybe?"
:joltyshrug~1:


"Are you sure?" Noctum tilted his head. He might as well have offered to come with her.

"I'm sure." Yuna looked at the Malice Crystal in his stomach, then got guilty when his violet flame shrank.

"Ah. Fair." The black charizard stepped back, bowing his head. Valkyrie snorted. He turned a frown and slight bearing of his fangs on her. She pivoted left, wiping dried blood from her snout. Yuna wasn't sure what she missed, but something had driven a wedge between them. She made a note to ask Noctum about it later.


Noctum: "Val... wound up pressing my buttons while you were gone, to say the least." >_>;
Yuna: "... She dumped on I Want to be Your Canary in front of you?"
Noctum: "No! No! Not that one! The... personal life story one."
Yuna: "... Oh. Uh... that would explain the dried blood on her snout."
:ohnowen:


In the meantime, she looked at Nikki and beckoned her over with a wave of her right hand. The toxtricity strolled across the platform, hands tucked in her leather jacket pockets. "Look, I ain't the 'There, there, it'll be okay' type. If you want help with those sailors, stick with Horned Wonder." She jerked her head at Seifer.

"No, it's not that." The drakloak floated away from the others, toward a large, green metal tank. Probably full of tar. "I have a question, actually."

"Shoot." Nikki leaned against a wheel welded to the side of the tank.


Nikki: "You do realize that I literally know about this place about as much as you do, right? What on earth do you even have to ask?"
:heliodoubt:


Yuna's shoulders sagged. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Just... shrug off this kind of stuff?" Yuna wasn't sure she phrased it right. "Like, you don't care what's happening all around you. You go with the flow." She looked down at her feet nubs. "I think?"


You bottle things up and put on a brave face, duh.

Nikki wore an amused smirk. "You mean why do I mouth off at this shit? That's easy." She flicked her right hand dismissively. "When no one has expectations for you — and you don't expect anything from them — you can do whatever without a care in the world."

"No expectations," Yuna repeated in a whisper.

That is not remotely healthy or well-adjusted as an operating philosophy, but okay there, Nikki.

"I mean, I'm a street bum turned musician." The toxtricity shrugged. "You're a freaking princess. You've lived your whole life by hoity-toity rules and honor and shit like that. Me? I learned pretty early on that you're expected to look out for only yourself on the streets." She looked up toward the green, hazy sky. "So, like, I don't have a problem giving people shit.

"That's harder to get away with when people are expecting you to, like, lead 'em." Nikki shook her head. "Them's the breaks of life, I s'pose."

Just casually ignoring the whole bubblegum pop star phase of her life there, which I'm pretty sure didn't line up with Nikki's current life philosophy.

Yuna frowned. Nikki's answer was simultaneously straightforward and confusing. She looked right and a tiny Reshiram materialized on her shoulder. "She sounds truthful to me," he said, tapping his claws together nervously.


Cecil: "Realistic, even."
Yuna: "Oi, I thought we weren't doing multi-localization stuff in this story!" >_>;

"Ringing endorsement," Nikki deadpanned. Reshiram buried his face in his wings out of embarrassment. Yuna recalled him to the Soul Dew, sighing.

"Then can I, like, scream at life?" the drakloak wondered. "Is that something you ever do?"

Nikki: "... Princess, you are aware that I'm currently a death metal musician, right? It's more or less 'scream at life', the music genre."
:what:

Yuna: "... We don't have 'death metal' in the Aeon Kingdom, so none of that means anything to me?" ^^;

"Screaming? Probably not." Nikki strummed her gills. "Maybe I'll shred a few cords over life bitching out. But, hey, you do you." She thumped her chest. "Just speak from the heart. It's more impactful that way."

I don't have a heart. It was probably figurative, though.

Filing that one away for Dreepy line biology in this setting.

Nikki: "No, seriously. You guys are dragons. Don't you have anything where you just let out a loud roar to vent when you're mad at life or something like that?"
Yuna: "Nikki, I'm a Princess. Princesses are supposed to have decorum." >_>;
Nikki: "What, no royal smash room in the castle?"

Yuna took a deep breath and turned left of the tar tank. "I'm so sick of this! I don't want to save the galaxy! I just want to live my life! Why can't this be someone else's problem?!" Her tail undulated back and forth with every word. "Stupid treaty! Stupid Eternatus! And... and stupid, lying Bahamut!"


Nikki: "Pretty sure you're still holding back a ton right now, but hey! It's a start!"

Yuna quickly threw her hands over her mouth, guilt showering over her.

Yes, she really said that. Out loud. In full view of someone else. And it wasn't even Noctum.

Nikki slowly clapped. "Not bad. How do you feel?"

Yuna: "Like I really, really shouldn't have said that out loud."
:ohnowen:

Nikki: "Oh come on, are you seriously saying it didn't make you feel at least a little better to get that off your chest?"

It took a few seconds for the drakloak to lower her hands. "Better, I think?" Sure, nothing changed about her situation, but at least Yuna let some of anger out. She looked at Nikki. "You know, you don't have to stay after this, right? I understand if you'd rather bow out of this whole..." Her voice trailed off and she gestured out to the tar pits.

"Yeah. That would make sense." Nikki resumed strumming her gills. "But I'm good." She smirked at Yuna. "I ain't some, like, superhero nerd or whatever, but a crazy Eternatus space adventure is way cooler than staying at that dumb academy and stewing over Scarlett." The toxtricity looked down. "She'd want me to do something. Make an impact. Besides..."


Nikki: "Also, you do realize that all of Horizon Academy hates my guts, right? I don't exactly have a ton of incentive not to go along with the messed up dimension-hopping ride?"
:joltyshrug~1:

Yuna: "... How often do you do that whole 'scream and get stuff off your chest' thing anyways?" .-.
Nikki: "Stopped keeping track, really."

Nikki held her hand out. Electricity crackled into the shape of one of her guitars. "I'm just as wrapped up in this now."

Yuna's waist constricted. "O-Oh. Um, that's— is that bad?"

Nikki explained how she saw a Starlene concert on PV that was most likely sabotaged by the Eterna Empire, leading to visions of Paradox and her manifesting her lightning guitar. She dispelled the weapon with a flick of her wrist. "I think it's dynaforce," the toxtricity concluded. "So, I can't sit on the sidelines and let this fester. Gotta put it to use.


Yuna: "Wait, what on earth is Dynaforce anyways? I'm not sure if this story has ever properly explained that." .-.
Nikki: "You know how in FF8 you could junction summons to you to soup up your stats and magic pool as Guardian Forces? It's kinda like that."
Yuna: "But that's a guitar and not a summoned being..." 😐
Nikki: "Oi, it's a summoned guitar. Close enough."

"And if it just so happens my heroics put Blightsmuth back on people's radar... then it's an added bonus." Nikki stretched her arms up over her head, chuckling. "Don't care if you think my motive's selfish, either. Perks of not being a princess."

Sticker, sceptilisk,


I'll take the under on that actually working out as intended, though it's a nice touch to see that Nikki didn't forget about her hometown.

Yuna would've sank to the ground and deflated, but she managed to keep her wits about her. "Well, uh, maybe I can sell the title and job off to someone else?"

Chuckles continuing, Nikki leaned over and smacked her right knee. "Now you're speaking my language."

I can already see Calcifer and Yiazmat's aneurysms if they ever overheard that. ^^;

"... hey, so, if you two are done being all mushy with other, the sailors are ready."

"Eep!" Yuna's tail and torso shot into her rectangular head. She whirled on Gene, who floated in front of a rift with a bored expression. "H-Hey now! It's rude to sneak up on people."

The mewtwo looked around, shrugging. "Middle of a tar plant ain't private."

Yuna: "You... overheard every single word of what we were just saying, didn't you?"
:ohnowen:

Gene: "I mean, I am Psychic, so..."
:gardeshrug~1:


"Ugh, whatever." Yuna rubbed her temples. "Lead the way."


Yuna: "Someday, life will give me a proper break..." -_-;

Gene was rather stoic through the whole explanation of the sailors' fates. Yuna got the sense some of the soul and aura stuff went right over their heads. Sure enough, one wartortle raised his hand. "So, like, we're dead, but we're not dead?"


Gene:
Image


"That's a fine way of thinking about it," Yuna interjected before Gene could mouth off to the wartortle. "You can do all the things you used to back in Venish."
"'cept if we try to leave World Ender's insides, we get turned into Phantoms!" a floatzel said, clutching her head in worry. "What am I supposed to tell my sister? How am I supposed to tell her?!"

Noctum: "Oh, that's easy. Cyril gave me this thingy called an X-Transcie-"
Gene: "Noctum, don't you dare finish that sentence!"
:hissssss:


"You!" Wartortle whirled on the garbodor in the back. "This is all your fault! You did this to us!"


I mean, he's technically not wrong even if said Garbodor was being possessed.

A few sailors mumbled their agreement. "Whoa, whoa. Time out." Gene Phantom Warped into the middle of them, holding his hands in a T. "Your shipmate's as much a victim as the rest of you. It's Polaris you ought to be mad at." His expression fiercened. "Who was it that was running your ship?"

The sailors fell quiet. Garbodor raised his grubby hand. "Minister Tesla."

"And who was able to get away before any of this happened?" Gene raised a brow, but this time none of the sailors answered.

Seifer: "... A Crowne Minister seriously just cut and run and left you all to your fates?"
:uhhh:

Gene: "Did he stutter, pony boy? And are you really that surprised?"

Floatzel looked at Seifer. "Isn't there anything you can do, Commander? Maybe get the Radiant Guard to pitch in?"

The keldeo looked down guiltily. "I wish I could say there was. But this is on a whole other level than the distortion rescues the Guard conducted." With a heavy sigh, he stepped toward them. "But I am prepared to help you all get in contact with your loved ones." Seifer slung one of his saddle bags onto the ground. It opened to show papers and pens.

Several sailors looked down at the bag like it was but a tiny scrap of meat on a dinner plate.

Gene: "I still say that this is a gigantic waste of time that'll come out to be a net negative-" >_>;
Yuna: "Gene, hush."

"What happens when we're done with this?" A sharpedo looked at Gene, eyes full of worry.

"That's—" Gene crossed his arms. His Malice Crystal glowed a dim purple. "It's complicated."

An idea popped into Yuna's head. "You guys can work here." She clapped her hands together. "There's a tar factory not too far from this swamp, run by a bunch of tiny skorupi. I'll bet they could use some extra muscle."


Gene: "Oh thank god, I'm not going to have to deal with Cyril giving me an earful over having him babysit them all at his moonbase."
:sweats:

Sailor!Wartortle: "... I'm sorry, did that freaky cat thing just say 'moonbase'?" .-.
Yuna: "It's... a long story. For the sake of simplicity, let's focus on the tar factory for now." >_>;

Gene's brows raised. "Huh." He stroked his chin. "Now that you mention, that could lessen the skorps' calling me out here for manual labor."

"And just who's that broad?" A kingler brandished his large pincer in Yuna's direction. "I ain't about to trust some dragon to offer a deal. It's probably a trap!"

Sailor!Kingler: "I've played enough games to know 'never cut a deal with a dragon's not just a tagline!" >:|
Yuna: "Okay, you know what, Gene? There's one sailor here that I wouldn't mind you taking to one of those intake stations right now." >_>;

Yuna flinched. Her gaze faltered, but then she looked right back at Kingler. "That dragon happens to be princess of the Aeon Kingdom." She floated closer. "And part of the group that saved you all from an even grislier fate." Yuna crossed her arms, glimpsing the dark shadows pooling in them. "This isn't some trap. It's a way for you to stay close to Venish and find some semblance of normalcy in all of this."

Smirking, Gene leaned over. "I'd go with her if I were you. You wouldn't like her when she's angy."


You have a typo there in Yuna's dialogue. You want 'grislier'. Though I did a double take at the literal worddrop of 'angy' there. Gene is such a memer.

Kingler flummoxed. "Y... you mean angry, don't you?"

The mewtwo's grin widened. "Nope."

Lol, you're just rubbing it in right now.
:loltias:


Kingler hastily skittered back toward several wartortle. They talked in a huddle, then gave thumbs up in unison. "That plan sounds... reasonable," Kingler said, laughing nervously.


Yuna: "What was that about never cutting a deal with a dragon again?"
Sailor!Kingler: "Oi, shut up. We're just limited on options, that's all! (Also, the freaky voodoo thing you had going on was... persuasive, to say the least.)" .-.

A tingle ran down Yuna's back. Gene's assistance or not, it was... refreshing to have people listen to her. She flipped that mental switch briefly and a tiny silhouette of Rayquaza popped up on her right shoulder.

"Jolly good performance, m'lady." He clapped his tiny black hands. "I daresay thine evolution hast filled thou with renewed confidence."

Yuna: "I mean, it took a while, but... yeah, I can live with this."

"Thanks," Yuna whispered, sighing in relief while watching Seifer pass out pens and paper to the sailors. She recalled Rayquaza and hovered over to Gene. So long as she had a moment, she figured it best to loop the mewtwo into what happened with Leo and Alder, as well as the new planet she needed to find.

"Gene?" The drakloak pawed at her Soul Dew. "There's something you need to know..."

... Not convinced that this won't wind up backfiring massively at some point, but hey, if Gene does you a solid, it would make sense to scratch his back in return.

Everyone sat around a tiny, skorupi-sized desk that Skorp had brought out for Gene to place his X-transceiver on. He set it to speaker mode, then failed to contact Cyril. Tail swishing back and forth nervously, Gene next tried calling up some lady named Guzmelda. She sounded sweet and... homely, which made it hard for Yuna to believe she was some sort of giant, tooth-filled alien known as a guzzlord.


Wait, is that the same elder Guzzlord that was working at Cyril's grill?

"Well? Were you able to find anything?" Seifer asked, pointing his horn at the X-transceiver.

"She can't see you doing that," Nikki scoffed.

"Force of habit," Seifer muttered.


Seifer: "They really need to design a model of these meant for Pokémon with large facial protrustions." >_>;

"So' nuff, sugar!" Guzmelda exclaimed. "There's a Chakran in this dimension, all right. In fact, it's the next planet over in this here galaxy."

Yuna looked at Noctum, who shrugged. Then she glanced at Seifer, who squinted. "No one mentioned anything like that in my science classes," he muttered.

Wait, so Guzmelda is outside of Eternatus right now? I'm having some trouble telling.

"Well, if it's our neighbor, then wouldn't it have gotten sucked up by Ejerknatus?" Jade wondered, tapping her chin with a digit.

"'Fraid not. Cyril's notes say Eternatus skipped Chakran over and went straight to Etherium," Guzmelda responed. "He thinks it's about two hundred million kilometers from here."

Okay, Guzmelda is confirmed for not being in purgatory.

Noctum: "Two hundred million kilometers?!"
:ohnowen:

Guzmelda: "Not as impressive as it sounds, hon. That'd be about 11 light-minutes. Why that's just down the block for space standards!"
Noctum: "That's a small distance?! How on earth is anyone supposed to travel that far?!" .-.

Jade squawked in surprise and vented purple vapors from her tail flaps. "T-two hundred million?! Th-that's like—" she counted on her digits "—twice as much as one hundred million!"

Leo tilted his head. Yuna imagined he was trying to envision how big that really was.

"Wow, congrats, you can do basic math." Nikki sarcastically applauded the salugia. "Doesn't help us get there."


-snerk-
Wasn't expecting Jade to do the honors, but it does make sense for her character.

"Maybe one of you three can portal over there?" Valkyrie pointed to Gene, Noctum, and Yuna.

"Wouldn't that be nice." Gene shook his head, smirking. "I need to have been to a place to open a rift to it. Same with these two, I imagine." He rubbed his hands together. "No doubt about it... we'll need to take that ship Skorp and Skorp finished up. It'll get us there in, like, thirty or forty minutes."

"What?!"


Ah yes, the starship you were alluding to. I'm not sure if it was intended to be sub-FTL in speeds, or if you were just missing a zero or three from Guzmelda's distance reading earlier.

Rayquaza's black, scaly head popped out of a startled Yuna's Soul Dew. "Balderdash! Even with Dragon Ascent, I couldn't achieve such speeds. Thou wouldst need to fly as fast as light itself to cover that distance!"


Gene: "Akshually, you'd only need to fly about 25-35 percent of the speed of light to make that trip in 30 to 40 minutes."
Guzmelda: "Gene, pretty sure I missed a zero, hon. You're going to need FTL speeds to make it out to Planet Chakran." ^^;

"Exactly, Chest Burster." Gene snapped his fingers at Rayquaza. "Thanks for the help, Guzmelda."

"My pleasure, sugar!" The line then went dead.

Seifer: "... 'Chest Burster'? That's a term of endearment for her?" .-.
Gene: "Yes, and? Are you really so surprised when she's like half mouth by body mass?"

"Then, we're leaving for Chakran?" Yuna tilted her head. "Can that ship even go out of Eternatus?"

"Thanks to the skorps it can." Gene rubbed his hands together eagerly.

"Sweet! Road trip, but space-flavored." Nikki strummed her gills. "Dibs on being the DJ."


That... sounds like bait for something going horribly wrong at some point and turning all the undead party members into Phantoms.

Gene had a retort prepared, but a loud jingle cut him off. "Hmm?"

"And now... a message from your emperor!"

Gene: "Seriously? What now? A new uPhone commercial?" -_-;

The group turned toward the far corner of the room, where several skorps were gathered in front of a large screen that displayed the Eterna Empire's sigil of a circle surrounded by five diamonds. The feed then cut to what Yuna could only assume was the deoxys that others had previously mentioned. He stood in front of a black desk with several monitors flickering behind him.

"I think it's time we had us another chat. For the sake of dispelling lies, of course." Paradox stepped to his right and a brightly colored drawing of the very same rifts Gene and Yuna could make showed up on a hologram next to the deoxys.

"Many of you have no doubt seen these rifts popping up around your communities," he continued. "And there's been considerable talk of them online." Paradox swiped in front of him with two tentacles. The drawing transitioned to a screenshot of something called "Chatter."


This... is going to result in a bounty being put on everyone's head that the whole Qliphoth will hear about, isn't it?

"@BirbWatcher317 says, 'It's the end of the world,'" Paradox growled. "@StillLivesWithHisMother adds, 'We're being sucked into a formless void!' And @JodiMcGee has the gall to post an 'I'm in danger' GIF."

:lolcat:


The delivery there was golden.

"Psst!" Jade leaned over Yuna's shoulder. "What's a Jif?"

"How should I know?" Yuna hissed. The salugia had the mixed-up mind. If anything, she should've known already!

"It makes me think of peanut butter," Jade said. "And now I'm hungry."

Gene: "For reference, he's talking about this:
giphy.gif

"
Jade: "That doesn't look like peanut butter at all." ·^·
Nikki: "No, it's a pithy clip that users on the internet make to express- agh, we're getting off-topic. Point is, just listen to the creepy mass videocall right now!" >_>;

"Well, as your emperor, I'd like to be the first to tell you... these are lies! Fiction! Tall tales!" Paradox swiped at the hologram with each of his tentacles. "And if any other keyboard doomsayers intend to share these imbeciles' sentiments, then you'll be joining them in assimilation to the Eternatus Troopers!"


Jade: "... Remind me to never get close to this 'internet' thing. Sounds dangerous to have a dissenting opinion on it."
:lugiyikes:

Gene: "... Yeah, they honestly should've known better given that the QN isn't exactly going to win any awards for press freedom. Or none that aren't being hosted by the Archbishop himself." -_-;

The hologram shifted to show an animation of three humans turning into unown floating in tanks attached to metal bodies, just like what Noctum had described to Yuna back at the academy.

"These rifts are but mild turbulence... as we enter the end stages of freeing our Benefactor from His long imprisonment," Paradox continued, switching to a new animation that showed a crudely drawn Etherium blowing up while the giant, five-headed form of Eternatus flew off with a big smiley face over its head. "I realize how patient you all have been, and I am pleased to report that patience willsoon be rewarded.


This is at once chilling and hilarious. Some quality mood whiplash in action here. The crude doodles make it in particular.

Though now I'm curious as to whether or not Paradox consciously draws off of Dr. Nefarious as a character, since vibe-wise, this reminds me a lot of those broadcast cutscenes from R&C 3.

"In fact... the Paradigm's newest member just finished a successful raid on one of the prison settlements." Paradox's tentacles coiled into two hands and he tapped his fingers together eagerly. The hologram displayed a headshot of... some sort of suit of armor surrounded by blue frost? All Yuna saw were red, glowing eyes inside a gray, circular helmet. "Soon, our Eternatus Troopers will have the children of the prison's pathetic rulers serving amongst their ranks.

"That's all for now. Nos vera Natus!"

That's Venish, isn't it? Sounds like things are going seriously sideways up there.

The feed abruptly shut off, returning to what looked like a talk show with two non-mutant skorupi sitting opposite one another.

Seifer reared up, whinnying. "Tell me I didn't just hear that!"

Nikki had her mouth open, but Seifer leveled his horn at her. "Keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you," he growled. The toxtricity closed her mouth and scowled at him. Seifer turned to Gene, eyes wide in alarm. "What was that all about?"


Gene: "Um... well you know how when we ditch that 'Venish' place, things were kinda glitching out in live time?"
:fearfullaugh~1:

Nikki: "Yes, and-?"
- Beat moment -
All: "..."
:ScaredCabot:

Nikki: "N-No way! That's the 'prison settlement' they're talking about?!"
:eltyscared:

Yuna: "I th-think that's our cue to pause those plans of zipping around the stars and go back to the surface first."
:uhhh:


"It sounds like Paradox is going on the offensive," Gene said, brow furrowed. "This changes things. Some of us definitely need to stay behind."

"Of course we do!" Seifer's horn flickered. "If he's telling the truth, then..." The keldeo looked down, horror spread across his face.

Yuna bit her lip. Did this mean Paradox had Shimmer? What about her other classmates?


Gene:
Image

Yuna: "B-But it didn't say-!"
Gene: "Really, it'd be safer to assume so, Princess. And I don't think this is something you wanna sit out here."

"Just who was that on the screen?" Valkyrie wondered. "Looked like a bad costume from a horror movie."

Mewtwo's expression sharpened. After a few moments, he took a sharp breath and gave his answer.

"The Paradigm's newest lieutenant: Guile Hideout."

Wait, who was that in Final Fantasy-

- One Google search later -

I... was not expecting that one. You really are pulling some surprising stuff from different corners of this franchise.

Alright, onto the postmortem:

I think that the chapter did a pretty good job at laying up where the plot is ultimately headed, while also steering things back to Etherium in the short term, which is honestly welcome, since it's been -checks notes- 6 chapters since we've done anything of note in Etherium or with the rest of Horizon Academy's cast. I also thought that the humor in this chapter was pretty good, which is a much-needed breather from a string of tenser chapters lately.

As for things I didn't like. I don't have much to gripe about, but I do wonder if yeeting some portion of the gang back into Etherium would've been the better ending note, since it'd help sell the idea better of just how much things have hit the fan back in Venish, and in terms of overall events... the existing chapter was honestly mostly just inter-character chatter, so it felt like it was lacking that "X-factor" a bit for pushing the plot forward. I mean, I'm sure the next chapter will make up for it in spade, but on its own, it does kinda feel like a missed opportunity to not just hit the ground running.

Though hey, I won't have to wait long to see how that one shakes out. Good work as usual, @Ambyssin , and from those teased beta reader reactions, I can already tell the next chapter is going to be quite something.
 
Last edited:
Chapter 41: Fallout: New Venish

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
Chapter 41: Fallout: New Venish

It took every ounce of Yiazmat's willpower not to crush the gemwhatever in her right hand. Every breath she took grew heavier. Her horns were heating up, bathing her onyx throne in red-orange light.

She had to stay calm and composed. For her husband. And for Yunavresca. The dragpult looked into the weird communicator's central gemstone. "Dimitry, did you get all of that?"

Yiazmat focused on the gem. She had to ignore the red creeping into her vision. Deep breaths. She couldn't slip into anger in front of Calcifer.

"I did, ma'am. I'm on my way to fetch Baraz as we speak."

"Good." She pivoted to her left, glaring at the light torch sitting over an archway. "Proceed to Scale City using the waypoint the Ryujin have in Horizon Gardens. I'll meet you there."

"What?" Calcifer gasped. "Dear, you can't be serious. If Radiance is in a crisis and someone catches you in their territory, they'll declare war for sure!"

Yiazmat whirled on the duraludon. "I'm aware of the risks. But this is our daughter we're talking about." Her tail lashed at the air. Flames bristled in her horns. "I am not going to sit by any longer." She held the communicator up to her face. "Sakaki, I understand if you can't join us. Your son—"

"Is, for all intents and purposes, in the custody of the Ministry of Justice." The voice on the other end was deeper than Dimitry's. If Sakaki was as upset about his son as Yiazmat was about her daughter, he was doing a better job hiding it. "He's being airlifted to another hospital due to Venish's current situation. If I try to go to Vellguarde before Healing Wish Hospital has even contacted me, I'll show my hand. Chiaki is on his own."

"I see." Yiazmat shut her eyes. "My condolences."

A loud sigh followed. "He brought this upon himself. I'll see you in Scale City." Then there was a click.

"Captain, are you still there?" Yiazmat asked.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Make sure no one follows you to the waypoint," Yiazmat ordered. "I'll be taking the underground tunnels, so it will quite some time before I get there. Gather what additional intel you can."

"Understood. Godspeed, Your Highness."

Another click sounded. The metal device's central gem dimmed. Yiazmat turned away from Calcifer, toward the same archway as before. She floated forward, past onyx statues of Bahamut.

Heavy footsteps thudded behind her. "I can't talk you out of this, can I?" Calcifer said.

"No." Yiazmat approached a door with the eight-pointed star of Aeon carved into it. Two kommo-o with the eight-pointed Aeon star painted on their chests stood at attention. "Open my armory."

The kommo-o on her right thumped his chest with a fist, then grabbed a key ring and unlocked the door. It swung into pitch black.

"Then at least let me come with you!" Calcifer caught up to Yiazmat's side.

"Out of the question." Yiazmat took the torch hanging over the doorway and floated inside. The room had various sets of plated armor, designed to fit a dragapult's torso and bulky head. Most of them, however, had the eight-pointed star on their chest plates. They'd be too obvious.

At the back of the room, Yiazmat found what she was looking for: sleek, black plating. Lighter than the other armor, with no insignias to speak of. She set the torch in a slot on the back wall and set the chest plating on.

"Dear, I know you're worried, but—"

Yiazmat fastened the armor into place. "Someone has to look after the rest of the kids." She glanced briefly at the duraludon silhouette opposite her, then returned her attention to the black helmet on the floor. "I gave her leeway to stay at that school because she convinced me she could handle it."

The dragapult adjusted the helmet's chin strap. "But neither of us could have imagined such a… traumatic series of events." She floated back into the air. "As her mother, I won't leave her to fend for herself any longer."

Calcifer poked his metal arms together. "I… suppose." He shuffled back to let Yiazmat float past him. "I just wish there was some way I could help you."

"Oh, sweetie, you are helping." Yiazmat turned and tapped her claws against Calcifer's slender, metal neck. "By staying with the others, you're giving me peace of mind."

"Does that mean Mom's leaving?"

Yiazmat's tail crinkled. Wincing, she turned to find eight dreepy of varying sizes floating in the middle of the throne room. She bit her lip. So, all four sets of twins had snuck down here, huh? She'd have stern words with the guards before departing for Saint Zygardesburg.

"I'm sorry, little ones." Yiazmat bowed her head sadly. "Your big sister is… in trouble. So Mom's going to help her out." She gestured to Calcifer. "But Dad will be here with you the whole time."

One of the smallest dreepy floated forward, clutching a tiny stuffed salandit. His beady eyes glistened. "Mama go bye short or long time?"

Yiazmat leaned over and tussled the dreepy's little gills. "Mama will make it as short as she can."

He seemed satisfied with that. "Mama hug Spicy bye?" The dreepy held up the salandit doll.

A smile slowly crept over the dragapult. "Mama will hug everyone goodbye." She gestured to the other seven dreepy, who all shot forward. Yiazmat wrapped them all up in her long, wispy tail. "Ohhh, I'll miss you all so much, little ones. Behave for your father, okay?"

"Okay!" they chirped in unison. Yiazmat's smile broadened, but the warmth in her chest faded fast.

She had a bad feeling that it would quite some time before she'd get to see them all again.

XxX​

Shimmer's legs burned. His heart pounded in his chest— hell, in his head, too. Every gallop brought fresh, aching pain to his hooves. The ponyta wouldn't consider himself out of shape by any stretch, but running was not his strong suit.

Yet, as he galloped down what was supposed to be a smoothed, paved road, he found himself wishing this was nothing more than a nightmare.

Another purple light rippled past him and the other students attempting to flee the city. "Look out, Shimmy!" Xander cried.

The ground gave way under Shimmer's hooves. He barely had enough time to dive to his right before a part of the street split open. A water geyser erupted from the fissure, drenching several frustrated classmates. Robin held his shield over his head and offered his leek to Shimmer. The ponyta gently bit it and the sirfetch'd hoisted him up so they could press on.

Red swirled in Shimmer's vision. Even as Radiant Guards wearing lights and sirens cleared other panicked civilians aside to make room for them, Shimmer still couldn't believe this was happening. Flyers should have been on standby to evacuate them from the city immediately. But they had all decided to book it the moment these… obscene rifts popped up around Venish.

As soon as Shimmer was safe, he'd be sure to report the entire flyer's guild chapter to his mothers. He'd ensure their charter was voided and the lot of them were out of work.

… No, he couldn't think about that yet. He had to make it to the train station first.

"How… much farther?" Shimmer wheezed. He managed to hop over vines made of pizza dough and pepperonis that spilled out from the remains of what Shimmer assumed was once a pizza shop.

"Not much!" Minister Vincenzo hovered ahead of the students, propelling himself with his windmill-like tail and hydropack. "The station is just past Piazza Lavanda up ahead!"

The ground trembled. Another purple ripple ran past anyone.

"Nonono… help! Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllllp!"

"BIMMY!"

Slightly ahead of the group, a purple rift split the air open over the canal. A white, glassy tentacle had wrapped up a screaming whimsicott and was dragging him into the rift. A second whimsicott, with a cottonnee in each arm, was running for the canal.

"Get back!" a sharpedo guardsmon in a violet hydropack barked. "I'll handle thi—"

"No! Your job's to protect the students!" Vincenzo hissed. "Press on!"

Sharpedo's eyes widened, as did Shimmer's. The tentacle disappeared into the rift, which closed behind it.

"No, not my Bimmy! Why?!" Whimsicott dropped to her knees while Shimmer and the others ran past her.

"Tell me I didn't just see that!" Xander squeaked.

"You did." Robin bowed his head.

"But that was, like, a freaking kraken!" Xander's ribbons curled up. "From movies and cartoons!"

"Or maybe it was a really big tentacruel," Robin muttered. "Either way, there's nothing we can do about it."

The canal broke off to the left and the street gave way to a giant, lavender square…

Shimmer's ears folded. The shouts and screams were louder than before. There was smashing glass. Loud bangs. Cries begging people to stop.

"What's going on here?" Vincenzo hovered higher in the air. "It's utter bedlam!"

Ahead, flashes of light and plumes of smoke came from wreckages of what must have been the plaza's market.

"Smash and grab, bros!"

Atop a gyarados statue in the middle of the plaza's central fountain, a grapploct stood brandishing a bullhorn in one tentacle and a handful of small seeds in another. He turned and hurled the seeds at one of the market tents still standing. The granbull desperately trying to defend it saw the seeds and fled before explosions burnt away the tent.

"This is our broment! Grab what you can and make with the bromoosing!" Grapploct shouted. His accent was so thick, it was hard to parse what he was saying. "The Medicis will grab this dying city by its horns!"

Uproarious cheers followed, with various pokémon filling burlap sacks with all sorts of goods that had spilled out from the destroyed market stands.

"Everyone keep moving and keep your heads down," Vincenzo ordered.

Shimmer frowned. What about all the chaos in the plaza? There were criminals running around like overflowing sewage. He couldn't even tell who was with Grapploct and who was an ordinary citizen capitalizing on the opportunity.

"But sir… what about the market?" Robin rested his leek on his shoulder. "These people… their livelihoods are getting torched before their eyes."

Vincenzo whirled on Team Excel. Shimmer flinched at the frenzied look in the barraskewda's eyes. "Our lives are more important. Keep your heads down and move!"

The minister had a point. Of course Shimmer didn't want to die. He was the crown prince. His life was worth more than a hundred commoners'!

... Wasn't it?

Just when it seemed like the end of the plaza was in sight, however, gale force winds threatened to sweep a whinnying Shimmer off his feet. The ponyta ducked behind Robin and his shield, then his horn lit up and he caught a screaming Xander with his telekinesis before the sylveon could tumble away.

A loud neigh then echoed across the plaza. At first, Shimmer's heart skipped a beat. Had one of his mothers shown up?

Then he realized that couldn't be the case. The neigh was... intimidating. Cold. An uneasy chill ran down his spine. "Vincenzo, what's going on?" he cried, only to scream and jump back in fright.

A frozen solid Vincenzo lay couple of meters in front of them, alongside three grimmsnarl Radiant Guard. And pacing in front of them was... an unfamiliar rapidash?

Shimmer blinked a few times. "Is that white rapidash... made of ice?"

"That can't be a rapidash. It's too big." Xander shivered. "And cold. Look at those hooves. They're frozen! And so is half of its face!"

"Forget that. Look at what's on that thing." Robin held his leek at his side. His arm trembled slightly. That was bad. Robin always kept his cool.

Shimmer followed the sirfetch'd's gaze to a gray suit of armor. Two legs, two arms, a broad chest, a round helmet, and two red eyes staring him down. "W-We have to go," he squeaked. "Have to get the minister and the others to saf—"

The armored stranger yanked on the ice rapidash's reigns. She reared up on her hind legs, neighing loudly.

"Scatter!"

It was their luxray classmate. Shimmer looked up to see massive Icicle Crash spears forming overhead. The ponyta scrambled backward, tripping over his own hooves and skidding across the cobblestone ground. The icicles shattered on the ground behind him. When Shimmer looked up, he realized the Medicis had taken notice of the newcomer. The grapploct with the megaphone was bringing up the rear as a small crowd fled out the south end of the plaza.

"Shimmy, get up! We have to go!" Xander cried, before his ribbons wrapped around Shimmer and stood him up. "Creepy Armor Guy's capturing people in little ball—"

Red light surrounded Xander. Horror overtook his face. He reached a foreleg out to Shimmer before dissolving away in a red stream. His soft ribbons faded from Shimmer's flanks.

"Xander?" Shimmer blinked, following the stream toward the armored knight, who held several purple spheres in his hand.

The realization finally set in. Tears blurred the corners of Shimmer's eyes and he charged forward with reckless abandon. "Xander, no!" His horn lit up. "Give him back! Give him back!"

He fired a Psybeam ahead of him. The knight produced a glistening sword and slashed the Psybeam. Shimmer failed to realize his attack had rebounded on him until it struck his horn and a psychic shock made his pink mane and tail puff up.

"Get back, my prince!"

Robin lunged ahead of Shimmer, swiping at an incoming purple ball with his leek. However, that merely caused the ball to split open and swallow Robin up in red light. Shimmer's eyes widened further.

"No... no! This can't be happening!" Shimmer shot a Psybeam at the ball to try and break it, but it was effortlessly dispelled by an icicle from the knight's steed.

The ponyta looked around for help. Classmates. Radiant Guard. Somebody.

... But he was the only one left, save for bystanders fleeing the plaza in terror. "H-Hey! Someone help me!" His voice reeked of desperation. It was so unbecoming of a prince. "Your prince needs you!"

The air around Shimmer chilled. He skittered away, whinnying in fright. The ponyta's ears twitched. Something whizzed through the air behind him. Shimmer spun and caught one of the small orbs that captured his friends with his telekinesis and broke it in half.

"Give me back my boyfriend!" Shimmer huffed, horn sparking. "You... don't know who you're dealing with!"

But his legs were trembling. This wasn't some sort of training exercise. This was a real enemy who really wanted to hurt him.

"Pathetic."

The knight's voice was distorted. Was the armor doing that... or something else? Regardless, he lifted his sword high.

"All pokémon exist for the glory of Te—"

He stopped suddenly. His round, gray helmet trembled slightly. Then a circle surrounded by five diamonds appeared on the knight's chest plate.

"All pokémon exist for the glory... of Eternatus."

Shimmer's ears folded back. He had to flee.

But Xander...

No! Boyfriend or not, Shimmer was the crown prince. He had to escape. He had to survive.

The pontya backpedaled, but the knight's white steed reared up, neighing. Icy spears jutted out of the ground, as if the steed was using some sort of ice-infused Stone Edge. Shimmer wasn't fast enough to outrun the ice. A spear struck him between the hind legs and knocked him airborne. He had never experienced such awful pain before.

Shimmer hit the ground hard, tumbling across disrupted cobblestone. Tears glistened in his eyes.

How could this have been happening? Where was the rest of the Radiant Guard? Or his mothers? He couldn't die here! He just couldn't!

"Krrraggh!"

Another whiney reached Shimmer's ears, but this one was far more distressed. Shimmer blew frost and hair out of his eyes to see the knight and steed skidding away from him, with a familiar corviknight and talonflame fluttering in place where the knight had previously stood.

"My eyes ain't playing tricks on me, right, V? That's an honest-to-hell glastrier standing there?" Griffon shook his head in disbelief. "Thought they were gone for good!"

Shimmer looked up. His heart fluttered upon seeing Vegna descending toward his bird allies. It wasn't a full cavalry, but Shimmer would take it!

The knight raised his sword. Glastrier responded with Icicle Spears that dangled over Vegna and the birds. Vegna pointed a hand up and Talonflame destroyed some of them with a Flamethrower. Griffon flew toward the knight, while Vegna drifted toward Talonflame with a Protect shield at the ready, saving them both from falling icicles.

"Even the lousiest present can hold a surprise," Vegna said, holding up his right hand. While the knight kept Griffon at bay with slashes from his sword, Will-O-Wisp embers formed behind him. The knight swung his sword around and caught one, while the remaining two contacted Glastrier's flanks before she could try and stomp on Griffon with her hooves.

Shimmer's eyes widened. The Will-O-Wisp the knight had slashed was right behind the dusknoir. "Behind you, Vegna!" he cried.

Talonflame swooped up and harmlessly absorbed the shadowfire. Vegna's red eye coldly glared at Shimmer.

"This is no place for a clown prince," he scoffed. "Flee with your tail between your legs like the others."

Shimmer flinched. He knew he was out of his league, but Vegna's insult stung even harder this time. "I can't!" Tears glistened in his eyes again. "Xander. He has Xander. And Robin."

"And the rest of the Bratty Bunch!" Griffon sneered, slicing through Icicle Crash spears with his glowing wings. "We already saw it, Dimmer!"

"Then why didn't you stop him?!" Shimmer hissed, vision blurring.

He was ugly crying. In front of Vegna and his stooges. If he wasn't so worked up, this would've humiliated Shimmer.

But he had to get Xander back. He couldn't lose the sylveon. Even if the ponyta was sure a gaggle of guys would line up to court him, none of them would get him like Xander. They wouldn't understand that pressure to be poised. Be elegant. Be perfect.

All things that failed Shimmer in this moment.

Two streams of purple light caught the ponyta's attention. He saw a flash of brown, then dropped to his belly. Pointed stones whizzed over his already-frazzled hair. Shimmer glanced left to see a gray, metallic rhydon revving up the drill on its nose.

Squealing, Shimmer shot a desperate Psybeam, only for sudden pain to strike his rear. Shimmer somehow managed to roll to his right and avoid Rhydon charging him down for a Horn Drill. The ponyta caught a glimpse of a metallic nidoking stomping toward him, poison gathered in its gray hands.

That wasn't Radiant Guard armor. It was more like the mysterious knight Vegna was fighting. Were these flunkies?

Shimmer didn't have time to think any further, because Nidoking hurled the poison in its hands forward. Try as Shimmer might, the Reflect he conjured wasn't strong enough to dispel every bit of Poison Jab. Purple ooze splattered onto his nose, filling his breath with noxious fumes. Shimmer thought he might lose his dinner, but instead his breathing grew ragged and purple splotches appeared in the corners of his vision.

The ponyta tried blinking them away. No good. This... was poisoning. He learned about it in class, but hadn't paid much attention. After all, he had Pastel Veil! This was impossible! So how was it happening to him? Nidoking and rhydon didn't have any ability-suppressing moves.

Shimmer tried standing up again, but the ground trembled beneath his hooves. He collapsed on his belly. Sharp, stabbing pain followed a forceful inhale. Every breath was getting harder. He had to heal himself. He had to flee, like Vegna said.

Rhydon revved up its horn again. Shimmer didn't know what to do. Nidoking could knock him down with Earthquake. And even if he dodged, the poison would do him in soon enough.

He needed Robin and Xander. Why did this have to happen to him? Why couldn't it have happened to that stupid dreepy? Where even was she? She vanished and then all of this happened. It couldn't have been a coincidence!

Though he braced himself for the incoming Horn Drill, nothing happened. Only a loud clang. Shimmer poked an eye open and saw Rhydon and Nidoking in a tangled heap. Griffon flew in place in front of them, though he was shakier than before.

"Yo, V! I hate to be that guy, but I think it's time to bring out the big guns, don't you?" Griffon cawed. He flapped his wings once, hovering out of the way of Stone Edge slabs jutting out from the ground. "Aww, c'mon, can't a guy yell at his boss in peace?" he huffed, slamming into the nearest slab with his metallic body and knocking it back at Rhydon.

"P... please help," Shimmer wheezed. "I... they... poison..."

"Bit busy, Di— yowch!" Lightning zapped Griffon's chest, knocking him to the ground. He dug his talons into the stone to stop his backsliding, then shot metallic feathers forward with flaps of his wings. Nidoking parried them all with electrified fists. Horn spinning, Rhydon charged for Shimmer.

"No! Stop!" the ponyta squealed, meekly covering his face with his forelegs.

"Come on, V!" Vegna cawed.

Shimmer's pelt stood on end. The air around him was charged and a thunderous boom made his skull rattle. He was still awake, however. Growing wearier every second, but awake. His vision was fuzzy, but blue haze filled the plaza when he opened his eyes. Rhydon and Nidoking had stopped their attacks and stared blankly into the distance. A pained neigh reached Shimmer's ears, likely from the knight's horse. He was too tired to look behind him, however. Every breath hurt so much. Poison was truly awful.

Then Rhydon and Nidoking disappeared in streams of purple light. "Yeah, that's right, you better run, torchic!" Griffon cawed. He strutted around, flapping his wings. "Bawk bawk bawk!" He met Shimmer's weary gaze and froze. "Ah, shit. Yo, V! Dimmer needs a li'l pick me up!"

There was a loud, annoyed sigh. Shimmer would've winced, but he lacked the strength. His vision was getting darker. The poison won out.

Xander... I'm sorry.

The ponyta was about to pass out when a sudden jolt of energy surged through his system. Shimmer's squeezing chest pain vanished. He found the strength to sit up, though his limbs trembled. Vegna lowered his right hand. Slight gold wisps faded from the edges of his crimson eye.

"A horse misus'd upon the road calls to heaven for human blood," Vegna said. Silence followed. Shimmer was too petrified to tell the dusknoir he had no idea what that meant. "Are you about done making a fool out of yourself?" He turned away from Shimmer. Talonflame flew onto his right shoulder gauntlet.

"I—" Shimmer looked around. "Wait, where's the knight?"

"Fled once I sent his steed to the Twilight Realm," Vegna responded.

That meant that Vegna and his birds had won, right? Shimmer's legs shook harder. Vegna was intimidating, but he had never truly seen the dusknoir fight. Just what sort of power did he possess that he could emerge triumphant against someone who could effortlessly reflect attacks?

... Wait, had Vegna said the knight fled?

"What?!" The ponyta's tail shot up in alarm. "But... but he captured my classmates! He got Robin! He got Xander!" Shimmer stumbled toward Venga. "D-Don't just stand there! Go after him!"

"... I will not."

"What?!" Tears stung at Shimmer's eyes once again. "No, I won't accept that! You're our professor! It's your job to protect us! And... he committed a crime! He kidnapped them!"

Vegna turned to him, eye glowing ominously. "Do you think me daft, Clown Prince? I'm well aware of that. But the knight teleported away. A fool runs blindly into the night. A learned man takes stock before setting forth." He gestured behind him. "Feel free to run off."

"Or you can just give yourself a pity rubdown in the shower later," Griffon sneered. "Because let's face it, you ain't gonna go after that guy. Not after that lousy performance." He leaned over, guffawing at the ponyta.

"You... you can't say that to me!" The tears were getting worse again. "Where's your empathy? I'm hurt! I lost two people I care deeply about!"

"Pfbt. Yeah, sure." Griffon rose slightly into the air. "I'll be sure to put in a call to the whambulance for ya, Dimmer. Ha ha ha!" He flew to Vegna's side. The dusknoir bonked him on the beak. "Oof! Okay, okay. Message received." He rubbed his face with a wing.

"I'm not here for empathy, sympathy, or anything of the sort," Vegna growled. "You faced real danger and wilted like a fragile flower." The dusknoir began floating away. "If you want your precious boyfriend back so much, steel yourself and act. Otherwise, your words are as empty as Griffon's head."

"Hey!" The corviknight narrowed his eyes. "At least I have ideas!"

"Wait!" Shimmer stumbled trying to catch up with him. "T-Take me with you! I need to get home!"

"I refuse." Vegna didn't even turn back around. "I still have a job to do... and a suspect to interrogate."

A suspect? "You know who the knight is?" Shimmer's voice cracked.

"No. But I caught that stuffy grovyle classmate of yours breaking into Starlene's trailer during her concert," Vegna growled. "And this chaos immediately followed, so I will at least question him on his actions."

The dusknoir grabbed hold of Griffon and flew off before Shimmer could get another word in. Instead, he seethed at the ground.

Chiaki had done something to mess with Starlene, then Venish descended into chaos? It wasn't some coincidence. There was malicious intent. Shimmer was sure of this.

"Team Bastion did this," the ponyta hissed, tears falling down his cheeks. "They took my Xander from me!"

XxX

~Il Paradigma, No. VIII: Guile Hideout~
The Matriarch warned that reunification would be a grueling struggle. One that could stretch for eons. "See this not as war, but as a journey," She exclaimed. "A lifelong test to prove our devotion to the Benefactor. Our devotion to eternity."
 
Last edited:

Spiteful Murkrow

Busy Writing Stories I Want to Read
Pronouns
He/Him/His
Partners
  1. nidoran-f
  2. druddigon
  3. swellow
  4. quilava-fobbie
  5. sneasel-kate
So, a little bird told me that there's probably going to be an update this Saturday, so it sounds as good as any to fire this series up and take a gander at...

Chapter 41

It took every ounce of Yiazmat's willpower not to crush the gemwhatever in her right hand. Every breath she took grew heavier. Her horns were heating up, bathing her onyx throne in red-orange light.

She had to stay calm and composed. For her husband. And for Yunavresca. The dragpult looked into the weird communicator's central gemstone. "Dimitry, did you get all of that?"

Oh, so Yiazmat is basically doing this, huh?:

Image


Yiazmat focused on the gem. She had to ignore the red creeping into her vision. Deep breaths. She couldn't slip into anger in front of Calcifer.


Considering how Yiazmat's named after a FF12 superboss... probably a good thing we don't see her angry, really.
:fearfullaugh~1:


"I did, ma'am. I'm on my way to fetch Baraz as we speak."

"Good." She pivoted to her left, glaring at the light torch sitting over an archway. "Proceed to Scale City using the waypoint the Ryujin have in Horizon Gardens. I'll meet you there."

... Just how deep of a working relationship does this 'mon have with the Yakuza? .-.

Though I see that 'Waypoints' are a thing in more places than just Kilo Village, even if I suspect that these behave more like fast travel markers.

"What?" Calcifer gasped. "Dear, you can't be serious. If Radiance is in a crisis and someone catches you in their territory, they'll declare war for sure!"

Yiazmat: "Okay, seriously, what sort of backwards country doesn't have a concept of 'diplomatic immunity'?"
:what:

Calcifer: "The one our daughter is receiving schooling in? Also, need I remind your brilliant idea is to teleport in on a Yakuza-controlled Waypoint?!" >_>;

Yiazmat whirled on the duraludon. "I'm aware of the risks. But this is our daughter we're talking about." Her tail lashed at the air. Flames bristled in her horns. "I am not going to sit by any longer." She held the communicator up to her face. "Sakaki, I understand if you can't join us. Your son—"

"Is, for all intents and purposes, in the custody of the Ministry of Justice." The voice on the other end was deeper than Dimitry's. If Sakaki was as upset about his son as Yiazmat was about her daughter, he was doing a better job hiding it. "He's being airlifted to another hospital due to Venish's current situation. If I try to go to Vellguarde before Healing Wish Hospital has even contacted me, I'll show my hand. Chiaki is on his own."

Oh, so no Chiaki appearance this chapter, I take it. Guess we're not seeing Vegna chewing him out from his hospital bed just yet.

"I see." Yiazmat shut her eyes. "My condolences."

A loud sigh followed. "He brought this upon himself. I'll see you in Scale City." Then there was a click.

So settlements in Aeon all have super on-the-nose names, don't they? :V

"Captain, are you still there?" Yiazmat asked.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Make sure no one follows you to the waypoint," Yiazmat ordered. "I'll be taking the underground tunnels, so it will quite some time before I get there. Gather what additional intel you can."

"Understood. Godspeed, Your Highness."

... Not convinced that this isn't going to wind up blowing up in spectacular fashion, but you've gotta admire Yiazmat's determination to try and keep her daughter safe. Even if it's endangering the well-being of untold masses of her subjects.

Another click sounded. The metal device's central gem dimmed. Yiazmat turned away from Calcifer, toward the same archway as before. She floated forward, past onyx statues of Bahamut.

Heavy footsteps thudded behind her. "I can't talk you out of this, can I?" Calcifer said.

"No." Yiazmat approached a door with the eight-pointed star of Aeon carved into it. Two kommo-o with the eight-pointed Aeon star painted on their chests stood at attention. "Open my armory."

Kommo-o #1: "... Your Highness, isn't that just your children's playroom-?" .-.
Yiazmat: "I said, 'open my armory'!" >_>;

The kommo-o on her right thumped his chest with a fist, then grabbed a key ring and unlocked the door. It swung into pitch black.

"Then at least let me come with you!" Calcifer caught up to Yiazmat's side.

"Out of the question." Yiazmat took the torch hanging over the doorway and floated inside. The room had various sets of plated armor, designed to fit a dragapult's torso and bulky head. Most of them, however, had the eight-pointed star on their chest plates. They'd be too obvious.

Oh, so her armory isn't just her kids. Though nice to see that I'm not the only soul who took notes from M08 for a PMD setting.
:JarvisYay:


Also, this would be a fantastic time to have a few cans of spray paint from Radiance to just black out the Necrozma stars and any identifying colors.

At the back of the room, Yiazmat found what she was looking for: sleek, black plating. Lighter than the other armor, with no insignias to speak of. She set the torch in a slot on the back wall and set the chest plating on.

"Dear, I know you're worried, but—"

Oh, so she's quite literally turning herself into a stealth bomber right now, huh?

Yiazmat fastened the armor into place. "Someone has to look after the rest of the kids." She glanced briefly at the duraludon silhouette opposite her, then returned her attention to the black helmet on the floor. "I gave her leeway to stay at that school because she convinced me she could handle it."

Calcifer: "Yeah, in retrospect, we probably should've sent some companions with her, huh?" >_>;
Yiazmat: "Probably, but that wouldn't change the situation she's in right now. And it wouldn't change my decision of how to handle things."

The dragapult adjusted the helmet's chin strap. "But neither of us could have imagined such a… traumatic series of events." She floated back into the air. "As her mother, I won't leave her to fend for herself any longer."

Boy is that gonna get awkward quickly when she sees that Yuna has finally been turning a corner on that front on her own.

Calcifer poked his metal arms together. "I… suppose." He shuffled back to let Yiazmat float past him. "I just wish there was some way I could help you."

"Oh, sweetie, you are helping." Yiazmat turned and tapped her claws against Calcifer's slender, metal neck. "By staying with the others, you're giving me peace of mind."

Yiazmat: "Also, if something happens to me out there, we... kinda need continuity of government back home." ^^;
Calcifer: "... This isn't helping my peace of mind right now, you know."
:ohnowen:


"Does that mean Mom's leaving?"

Yiazmat's tail crinkled. Wincing, she turned to find eight dreepy of varying sizes floating in the middle of the throne room. She bit her lip. So, all four sets of twins had snuck down here, huh? She'd have stern words with the guards before departing for Saint Zygardesburg.

... Can't tell if this is going to build up to her bringing the kids along as ammo, or if she has professional retainers to fill in for them for such a purpose.

"I'm sorry, little ones." Yiazmat bowed her head sadly. "Your big sister is… in trouble. So Mom's going to help her out." She gestured to Calcifer. "But Dad will be here with you the whole time."

One of the smallest dreepy floated forward, clutching a tiny stuffed salandit. His beady eyes glistened. "Mama go bye short or long time?"

Yiazmat leaned over and tussled the dreepy's little gills. "Mama will make it as short as she can."

... You see, now I'm getting worried that Yiazmat's gonna get blown up in like a chapter. Since this entire setup just screams "something horrible's gonna happen to this 'mon". .-.

He seemed satisfied with that. "Mama hug Spicy bye?" The dreepy held up the salandit doll.

... Wait a minute, why does that name sound vaguely familiar? Is that the name that that one Salandit from GL wound up getting after everything shook out at the end?

A smile slowly crept over the dragapult. "Mama will hug everyone goodbye." She gestured to the other seven dreepy, who all shot forward. Yiazmat wrapped them all up in her long, wispy tail. "Ohhh, I'll miss you all so much, little ones. Behave for your father, okay?"

"Okay!" they chirped in unison. Yiazmat's smile broadened, but the warmth in her chest faded fast.

She had a bad feeling that it would quite some time before she'd get to see them all again.

You know, Yiazmat, when most people get bad feelings about their planned courses of action, they usually take a moment to stop and reflect on them first...
:fearfullaugh~1:


Like surely it would cause fewer issues to just send in a squad of Little Green Men Mons and deny affiliation if they got into hot water with the local fuzz.

Shimmer's legs burned. His heart pounded in his chest— hell, in his head, too. Every gallop brought fresh, aching pain to his hooves. The ponyta wouldn't consider himself out of shape by any stretch, but running was not his strong suit.

Yet, as he galloped down what was supposed to be a smoothed, paved road, he found himself wishing this was nothing more than a nightmare.

Cue the background music:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2h1BZQs6SY


Another purple light rippled past him and the other students attempting to flee the city. "Look out, Shimmy!" Xander cried.

The ground gave way under Shimmer's hooves. He barely had enough time to dive to his right before a part of the street split open. A water geyser erupted from the fissure, drenching several frustrated classmates. Robin held his shield over his head and offered his leek to Shimmer. The ponyta gently bit it and the sirfetch'd hoisted him up so they could press on.

Red swirled in Shimmer's vision. Even as Radiant Guards wearing lights and sirens cleared other panicked civilians aside to make room for them, Shimmer still couldn't believe this was happening. Flyers should have been on standby to evacuate them from the city immediately. But they had all decided to book it the moment these… obscene rifts popped up around Venish.

You know, I would suddenly be really, really unbothered if Guile Hideout succeeded in his mission and just yeeted the entire Crowne Cup lineup into the Qliphoth right about now. Since boy does everything about this setup not endear me to Shimmer right now.

As soon as Shimmer was safe, he'd be sure to report the entire flyer's guild chapter to his mothers. He'd ensure their charter was voided and the lot of them were out of work.

… No, he couldn't think about that yet. He had to make it to the train station first.

I see that Shimmer's pulling the good old-fashioned "Achieve 0 Audience Sympathy - any% speedrun (TAS)" routine here. It's gonna be interesting to see how, or even if Shimmer will ever get put on a more sympathetic character track, since he sure isn't on one just yet.

"How… much farther?" Shimmer wheezed. He managed to hop over vines made of pizza dough and pepperonis that spilled out from the remains of what Shimmer assumed was once a pizza shop.

"Not much!" Minister Vincenzo hovered ahead of the students, propelling himself with his windmill-like tail and hydropack. "The station is just past Piazza Lavanda up ahead!"

Shimmer: "I have no idea how I'm going to begin to explain any of this to mom and mom." .-.

The ground trembled. Another purple ripple ran past everyone.

"Nonono… help! Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllllp!"

"BIMMY!"

Slightly ahead of the group, a purple rift split the air open over the canal. A white, glassy tentacle had wrapped up a screaming whimsicott and was dragging him into the rift. A second whimsicott, with a cottonnee in each arm, was running for the canal.

I'm pretty sure "anyone" in that context is a typo there.

Shimmer: "Well, that's... something."
:uhhh:


"Get back!" a sharpedo guardsmon in a violet hydropack barked. "I'll handle thi—"

"No! Your job's to protect the students!" Vincenzo hissed. "Press on!"

Sharpedo's eyes widened, as did Shimmer's. The tentacle disappeared into the rift, which closed behind it.

"No, not my Bimmy! Why?!" Whimsicott dropped to her knees while Shimmer and the others ran past her.

Shimmer: "Nope nope nope. Just going to pretend that I didn't see any of that."
:eltyscared:


"Tell me I didn't just see that!" Xander squeaked.

"You did." Robin bowed his head.

"But that was, like, a freaking kraken!" Xander's ribbons curled up. "From movies and cartoons!"

"Or maybe it was a really big tentacruel," Robin muttered. "Either way, there's nothing we can do about it."

It's actually a Season One Anime Tentacruel, isn't it?

The canal broke off to the left and the street gave way to a giant, lavender square…

Shimmer's ears folded. The shouts and screams were louder than before. There was smashing glass. Loud bangs. Cries begging people to stop.

"What's going on here?" Vincenzo hovered higher in the air. "It's utter bedlam!"

I mean, did you magically expect that the train station was going to be exempt from all of this? Are the rails even passable right now? .-.

Ahead, flashes of light and plumes of smoke came from wreckages of what must have been the plaza's market.

"Smash and grab, bros!"

Atop a gyarados statue in the middle of the plaza's central fountain, a grapploct stood brandishing a bullhorn in one tentacle and a handful of small seeds in another. He turned and hurled the seeds at one of the market tents still standing. The granbull desperately trying to defend it saw the seeds and fled before explosions burnt away the tent.

"This is our broment! Grab what you can and make with the bromoosing!" Grapploct shouted. His accent was so thick, it was hard to parse what he was saying. "The Medicis will grab this dying city by its horns!"

Somebody has their priorities in order right about now.

Shimmer: "You know, if it weren't for the fact that we're all here and would likely die painful and horrible deaths from it, I could really go for seeing that kraken thing show up and do its magic on those thugs right about now." >_>;

Uproarious cheers followed, with various pokémon filling burlap sacks with all sorts of goods that had spilled out from the destroyed market stands.

"Everyone keep moving and keep your heads down," Vincenzo ordered.

Image


Shimmer frowned. What about all the chaos in the plaza? There were criminals running around like overflowing sewage. He couldn't even tell who was with Grapploct and who was an ordinary citizen capitalizing on the opportunity.

"But sir… what about the market?" Robin rested his leek on his shoulder. "These people… their livelihoods are getting torched before their eyes."

Vincenzo whirled on Team Excel. Shimmer flinched at the frenzied look in the barraskewda's eyes. "Our lives are more important. Keep your heads down and move!"

Wow, not even 'your lives' there to put in even minor deflection from selfish motivation, huh?

The minister had a point. Of course Shimmer didn't want to die. He was the crown prince. His life was worth more than a hundred commoners'!

... Wasn't it?

Shimmer, if you have to ask yourself the question, the answer is really obviously 'no'.
:eltyunamused:


Just when it seemed like the end of the plaza was in sight, however, gale force winds threatened to sweep a whinnying Shimmer off his feet. The ponyta ducked behind Robin and his shield, then his horn lit up and he caught a screaming Xander with his telekinesis before the sylveon could tumble away.

A loud neigh then echoed across the plaza. At first, Shimmer's heart skipped a beat. Had one of his mothers shown up?

Then he realized that couldn't be the case. The neigh was... intimidating. Cold. An uneasy chill ran down his spine. "Vincenzo, what's going on?" he cried, only to scream and jump back in fright.

Pretty sure that Glastrier has just entered the chat here.

A frozen solid Vincenzo lay a couple of meters in front of them, alongside three grimmsnarl Radiant Guard. And pacing in front of them was... an unfamiliar rapidash?

Shimmer blinked a few times. "Is that white rapidash... made of ice?"

Yuuuuuup.

"That can't be a rapidash. It's too big." Xander shivered. "And cold. Look at those hooves. They're frozen! And so is half of its face!"

"Forget that. Look at what's on that thing." Robin held his leek at his side. His arm trembled slightly. That was bad. Robin always kept his cool.

I'm... actually trying to remember whether or not there were moments in Awakening where Robin just flatly lost it, but yeah, this seems like kind of a bad moment with a reaction like that.
:fearfullaugh~1:


Shimmer followed the sirfetch'd's gaze to a gray suit of armor. Two legs, two arms, a broad chest, a round helmet, and two red eyes staring him down. "W-We have to go," he squeaked. "Have to get the minister and the others to saf—"

The armored stranger yanked on the ice rapidash's reigns. She reared up on her hind legs, neighing loudly.

"Scatter!"

It was their luxray classmate. Shimmer looked up to see massive Icicle Crash spears forming overhead. The ponyta scrambled backward, tripping over his own hooves and skidding across the cobblestone ground. The icicles shattered on the ground behind him. When Shimmer looked up, he realized the Medicis had taken notice of the newcomer. The grapploct with the megaphone was bringing up the rear as a small crowd fled out the south end of the plaza.

Well, things are going well™️ right now. Though pretty sure that I wouldn't want to be those Medici 'mons in about five seconds.

"Shimmy, get up! We have to go!" Xander cried, before his ribbons wrapped around Shimmer and stood him up. "Creepy Armor Guy's capturing people in little ball—"

What.

Red light surrounded Xander. Horror overtook his face. He reached a foreleg out to Shimmer before dissolving away in a red stream. His soft ribbons faded from Shimmer's flanks.

WHAT. That's something that you certainly don't see often in PMD stories.

"Xander?" Shimmer blinked, following the stream toward the armored knight, who held several purple spheres in his hand.

If those are what I think they are... then yeah, Guile isn't messing around right now.

The realization finally set in. Tears blurred the corners of Shimmer's eyes and he charged forward with reckless abandon. "Xander, no!" His horn lit up. "Give him back! Give him back!"

Guile Hideout:
Image


Also, I'm pretty sure that Guile Hideout is really just Dermezal in that suit of armor right now. Since A: Glastrier rider, B: you did say there was a Kuja to this story, and Dermezal ticks all the boxes for that from his past depiction outside of personality.

He fired a Psybeam ahead of him. The knight produced a glistening sword and slashed the Psybeam. Shimmer failed to realize his attack had rebounded on him until it struck his horn and a psychic shock made his pink mane and tail puff up.

"Get back, my prince!"

Oh. Oh. We're about to lose Robin too, aren't we?
:uhhh:


Robin lunged ahead of Shimmer, swiping at an incoming purple ball with his leek. However, that merely caused the ball to split open and swallow Robin up in red light. Shimmer's eyes widened further.

Yeah, I figured. F in the chat for the one member of Shimmer's party who wasn't reflexively an asshole.
:sadwott~2:


"No... no! This can't be happening!" Shimmer shot a Psybeam at the ball to try and break it, but it was effortlessly dispelled by an icicle from the knight's steed.

The ponyta looked around for help. Classmates. Radiant Guard. Somebody.

... But he was the only one left, save for bystanders fleeing the plaza in terror. "H-Hey! Someone help me!" His voice reeked of desperation. It was so unbecoming of a prince. "Your prince needs you!"

Bystanders:
Image

Shimmer: "This is seriously what you do to your Prince when he needs you?!" >.<
- Cue bystanders clearing out preoccupied with other little things like not getting Master Ball'd -
Shimmer: "... Guess that's a 'yes', then."
:eltyscared:


The air around Shimmer chilled. He skittered away, whinnying in fright. The ponyta's ears twitched. Something whizzed through the air behind him. Shimmer spun and caught one of the small orbs that captured his friends with his telekinesis and broke it in half.

... I'm now just realizing that the moment in the Gene special with Gio and the Master Ball was likely foreshadowing for this very moment. Though nice to see that someone's putting up a fight and not just getting rolled. Or not yet, anyways.

"Give me back my boyfriend!" Shimmer huffed, horn sparking. "You... don't know who you're dealing with!"

Guile Hideout:
Image


But his legs were trembling. This wasn't some sort of training exercise. This was a real enemy who really wanted to hurt him.

"Pathetic."

I mean, yeah. You kinda need to not telegraph obvious fear in order to come off as intimidating, Shimmer.

The knight's voice was distorted. Was the armor doing that... or something else? Regardless, he lifted his sword high.

"All pokémon exist for the glory of Te—"

He stopped suddenly. His round, gray helmet trembled slightly. Then a circle surrounded by five diamonds appeared on the knight's chest plate.

"All pokémon exist for the glory... of Eternatus."

the-incredibles-spit-out-water.gif


WHAT. Guile Hideout is Giovanni?!
:eltyshocked:


Shimmer's ears folded back. He had to flee.

But Xander...

No! Boyfriend or not, Shimmer was the crown prince. He had to escape. He had to survive.

Alternatively, Isola could just have another son to replace you. Or you know, we could have a Republic of Radiance instead.

The pontya backpedaled, but the knight's white steed reared up, neighing. Icy spears jutted out of the ground, as if the steed was using some sort of ice-infused Stone Edge. Shimmer wasn't fast enough to outrun the ice. A spear struck him between the hind legs and knocked him airborne. He had never experienced such awful pain before.

Shimmer hit the ground hard, tumbling across disrupted cobblestone. Tears glistened in his eyes.

How could this have been happening? Where was the rest of the Radiant Guard? Or his mothers? He couldn't die here! He just couldn't!

Going "screw this I'm outta here" after getting picked apart and having the Pokémon they were supposed to protect effortlessly captured? I dunno, use your imagination a bit, Shimmer.

"Krrraggh!"

Another whinny reached Shimmer's ears, but this one was far more distressed. Shimmer blew frost and hair out of his eyes to see the knight and steed skidding away from him, with a familiar corviknight and talonflame fluttering in place where the knight had previously stood.

"My eyes ain't playing tricks on me, right, V? That's an honest-to-hell glastrier standing there?" Griffon shook his head in disbelief. "Thought they were gone for good!"

Well, talk about a timely save there. Though I'm pretty sure that this means that the Crowne Cup is finito this year, since... yeah, not expecting Vegna and Griffon to get everyone back there.

Shimmer looked up. His heart fluttered upon seeing Vegna descending toward his bird allies. It wasn't a full cavalry, but Shimmer would take it!

The knight raised his sword. Glastrier responded with Icicle Spears that dangled over Vegna and the birds. Vegna pointed a hand up and Talonflame destroyed some of them with a Flamethrower. Griffon flew toward the knight, while Vegna drifted toward Talonflame with a Protect shield at the ready, saving them both from falling icicles.

... Why am I getting the feeling that Vegna isn't coming out of this unscathed either? Even if I know from teased snippets that Vegna himself will be alright.

"Even the lousiest present can hold a surprise," Vegna said, holding up his right hand. While the knight kept Griffon at bay with slashes from his sword, Will-O-Wisp embers formed behind him. The knight swung his sword around and caught one, while the remaining two contacted Glastrier's flanks before she could try and stomp on Griffon with her hooves.

Shimmer: "Where the hell were you this whole time?!"
:hisssssss:

Vegna: "Shimmer, have you bothered to stop and look around you at all?" >;
- Cue Shimmer doing just that and seeing Venish in chaos -
Shimmer: "... Oh. Right."
:uhhh:


Shimmer's eyes widened. The Will-O-Wisp the knight had slashed was right behind the dusknoir. "Behind you, Vegna!" he cried.

Talonflame swooped up and harmlessly absorbed the shadowfire. Vegna's red eye coldly glared at Shimmer.

"This is no place for a clown prince," he scoffed. "Flee with your tail between your legs like the others."

Image


Shimmer flinched. He knew he was out of his league, but Vegna's insult stung even harder this time. "I can't!" Tears glistened in his eyes again. "Xander. He has Xander. And Robin."

"And the rest of the Bratty Bunch!" Griffon sneered, slicing through Icicle Crash spears with his glowing wings. "We already saw it, Dimmer!"

"Then why didn't you stop him?!" Shimmer hissed, vision blurring.

Because they were busy rushing a barbecued gecko to medical treatment? That sounds like a decently time-consuming task, really.

He was ugly crying. In front of Vegna and his stooges. If he wasn't so worked up, this would've humiliated Shimmer.

But he had to get Xander back. He couldn't lose the sylveon. Even if the ponyta was sure a gaggle of guys would line up to court him, none of them would get him like Xander. They wouldn't understand that pressure to be poised. Be elegant. Be perfect.

Griffon:
Image

Vegna: "Griffon, don't make me come over there to flick your beak. You know I can manage it in the middle of this battle." -;

All things that failed Shimmer in this moment.

Two streams of purple light caught the ponyta's attention. He saw a flash of brown, then dropped to his belly. Pointed stones whizzed over his already-frazzled hair. Shimmer glanced left to see a gray, metallic rhydon revving up the drill on its nose.

Ah right, this technically predates the Terastal Phenomenon reveal trailer by like half a week. Still funny how that wound up working out.

Squealing, Shimmer shot a desperate Psybeam, only for sudden pain to strike his rear. Shimmer somehow managed to roll to his right and avoid Rhydon charging him down for a Horn Drill. The ponyta caught a glimpse of a metallic nidoking stomping toward him, poison gathered in its gray hands.

That wasn't Radiant Guard armor. It was more like the mysterious knight Vegna was fighting. Were these flunkies?

Yuuuuuup, Guile Hideout is absolutely Gio. Though is that supposed to be that same armor that M2 had in the anime?

Shimmer didn't have time to think any further, because Nidoking hurled the poison in its hands forward. Try as Shimmer might, the Reflect he conjured wasn't strong enough to dispel every bit of Poison Jab. Purple ooze splattered onto his nose, filling his breath with noxious fumes. Shimmer thought he might lose his dinner, but instead his breathing grew ragged and purple splotches appeared in the corners of his vision.

The ponyta tried blinking them away. No good. This... was poisoning. He learned about it in class, but hadn't paid much attention. After all, he had Pastel Veil! This was impossible! So how was it happening to him? Nidoking and rhydon didn't have any ability-suppressing moves.

That... is a good question. Though I'm guessing "something something malice", "something something metallic whatever the hell that is effects" here.

Shimmer tried standing up again, but the ground trembled beneath his hooves. He collapsed on his belly. Sharp, stabbing pain followed a forceful inhale. Every breath was getting harder. He had to heal himself. He had to flee, like Vegna said.

Rhydon revved up its horn again. Shimmer didn't know what to do. Nidoking could knock him down with Earthquake. And even if he dodged, the poison would do him in soon enough.

He needed Robin and Xander. Why did this have to happen to him? Why couldn't it have happened to that stupid dreepy? Where even was she? She vanished and then all of this happened. It couldn't have been a coincidence!

I like how this is a moment where I'm honest-to-goodness finally starting to feel sorry for Shimmer... and then he turns around and reminds me that he's Shimmer.
:eltyunamused:


Guess it'll take a while before pony-boy digs him out of this sympathy hole. I can already tell it's going to be quite the process.

Though he braced himself for the incoming Horn Drill, nothing happened. Only a loud clang. Shimmer poked an eye open and saw Rhydon and Nidoking in a tangled heap. Griffon flew in place in front of them, though he was shakier than before.

"Yo, V! I hate to be that guy, but I think it's time to bring out the big guns, don't you?" Griffon cawed. He flapped his wings once, hovering out of the way of Stone Edge slabs jutting out from the ground. "Aww, c'mon, can't a guy yell at his boss in peace?" he huffed, slamming into the nearest slab with his metallic body and knocking it back at Rhydon.

... Does Griffon get turned on by masochism or something? Since he sure is a persistent glutton for punishment from Vegna there. .-.

"P... please help," Shimmer wheezed. "I... they... poison..." "Bit busy, Di— yowch!"

Lightning zapped Griffon's chest, knocking him to the ground. He dug his talons into the stone to stop his backsliding, then shot metallic feathers forward with flaps of his wings. Nidoking parried them all with electrified fists. Horn spinning, Rhydon charged for Shimmer.

"No! Stop!" the ponyta squealed, meekly covering his face with his forelegs.

"Come on, V!" Griffon cawed.

Minor typo there, since I'm pretty sure that Vegna has never cawed before. Let alone to himself.

Griffon: "Look, I know I'm not the world's biggest fan of Dimmer and all, but we kinda need him alive for a scene with his mother that got teased like a week ago!" >v>;
Vegna: "If I must... though boy are you not making this easy, Clown Prince." -;

Shimmer's pelt stood on end. The air around him was charged and a thunderous boom made his skull rattle. He was still awake, however. Growing wearier every second, but awake. His vision was fuzzy, but blue haze filled the plaza when he opened his eyes. Rhydon and Nidoking had stopped their attacks and stared blankly into the distance. A pained neigh reached Shimmer's ears, likely from the knight's horse. He was too tired to look behind him, however. Every breath hurt so much. Poison was truly awful.

Then Rhydon and Nidoking disappeared in streams of purple light. "Yeah, that's right, you better run, torchic!" Griffon cawed. He strutted around, flapping his wings. "Bawk bawk bawk!" He met Shimmer's weary gaze and froze. "Ah, shit. Yo, V! Dimmer needs a li'l pick me up!"

That... isn't a good omen for how injured Shimmer is right now.
:fearfullaugh~1:


There was a loud, annoyed sigh. Shimmer would've winced, but he lacked the strength. His vision was getting darker. The poison won out.

Xander... I'm sorry.

The ponyta was about to pass out when a sudden jolt of energy surged through his system. Shimmer's squeezing chest pain vanished. He found the strength to sit up, though his limbs trembled. Vegna lowered his right hand. Slight gold wisps faded from the edges of his crimson eye.

Shimmer: "Wait, what in the-?!"
:grohno~1:


"A horse misus'd upon the road calls to heaven for human blood," Vegna said. Silence followed. Shimmer was too petrified to tell the dusknoir he had no idea what that meant. "Are you about done making a fool out of yourself?" He turned away from Shimmer. Talonflame flew onto his right shoulder gauntlet.

"I—" Shimmer looked around. "Wait, where's the knight?"

"Fled once I sent his steed to the Twilight Realm," Vegna responded.

I am not convinced at all that Glastrier is really dead there.

Shimmer: "A-And what about everyone else? You got them back, right?"
Vegna: "..." -;
Shimmer: "R-Right?"
:uhhh:


That meant that Vegna and his birds had won, right? Shimmer's legs shook harder. Vegna was intimidating, but he had never truly seen the dusknoir fight. Just what sort of power did he possess that he could emerge triumphant against someone who could effortlessly reflect attacks?

... Wait, had Vegna said the knight fled?

Vegna: "Does that answer your question, Clown Prince? Or must I repeat myself?"

"What?!" The ponyta's tail shot up in alarm. "But... but he captured my classmates! He got Robin! He got Xander!" Shimmer stumbled toward Venga. "D-Don't just stand there! Go after him!"

"... I will not."

Griffon: "Seriously, Dimmer, just look around you right now. We've kinda got our wings full at the moment." >v>;
- Cue looking around at Venish in chaos from various rifts -
Shimmer: "B-But..."
:sadwott~2:


"What?!" Tears stung at Shimmer's eyes once again. "No, I won't accept that! You're our professor! It's your job to protect us! And... he committed a crime! He kidnapped them!"

Vegna turned to him, eye glowing ominously. "Do you think me daft, Clown Prince? I'm well aware of that. But the knight teleported away. A fool runs blindly into the night. A learned man takes stock before setting forth." He gestured behind him. "Feel free to run off."

Cue Morgan Freeman poking his head in to say Vegna has a point again.

"Or you can just give yourself a pity rubdown in the shower later," Griffon sneered. "Because let's face it, you ain't gonna go after that guy. Not after that lousy performance." He leaned over, guffawing at the ponyta.

"You... you can't say that to me!" The tears were getting worse again. "Where's your empathy? I'm hurt! I lost two people I care deeply about!"

Griffon: "Oh no! Anyw-!"
Vegna: "Griffon, if you finish that statement, I'll Stone Edge you for running the joke into the ground." >;

"Pfbt. Yeah, sure." Griffon rose slightly into the air. "I'll be sure to put in a call to the whambulance for ya, Dimmer. Ha ha ha!" He flew to Vegna's side. The dusknoir bonked him on the beak. "Oof! Okay, okay. Message received." He rubbed his face with a wing.

Whelp, looks like Griffon got smacked anyways.

"I'm not here for empathy, sympathy, or anything of the sort," Vegna growled. "You faced real danger and wilted like a fragile flower." The dusknoir began floating away. "If you want your precious boyfriend back so much, steel yourself and act. Otherwise, your words are as empty as Griffon's head."

"Hey!" The corviknight narrowed his eyes. "At least I have ideas!"

That's... not a high bar to cross there, Griffon.
:worriedgoo~1:


"Wait!" Shimmer stumbled trying to catch up with him. "T-Take me with you! I need to get home!"

"I refuse." Vegna didn't even turn back around. "I still have a job to do... and a suspect to interrogate."

A suspect? "You know who the knight is?" Shimmer's voice cracked.

"No. But I caught that stuffy grovyle classmate of yours breaking into Starlene's trailer during her concert," Vegna growled. "And this chaos immediately followed, so I will at least question him on his actions."

Griffon: "Uh... V? Shouldn't we be doing something about all the weird rift stuff happening in the background right now-?"
Vegna:
Image


The dusknoir grabbed hold of Griffon and flew off before Shimmer could get another word in. Instead, he seethed at the ground.

Chiaki had done something to mess with Starlene, then Venish descended into chaos? It wasn't some coincidence. There was malicious intent. Shimmer was sure of this.

"Team Bastion did this," the ponyta hissed, tears falling down his cheeks. "They took my Xander from me!"

Oh boy, that's a good omen for how Shimmer's going to get along with them when they come back. .-.

~Il Paradigma, Canto VII: Guile Hideout~
The Matriarch warned that reunification would be a grueling struggle. One that could stretch for eons. "See this not as war, but as a journey," She exclaimed. "A lifelong test to prove our devotion to the Benefactor. Our devotion to eternity."

'Reunification'? With what? .-.

Though that was quite a ride, onto the recap:

A wild ride as usual, and it's nice to be properly back in Etherium again, and from the perspective of two characters we haven't seen a lot of. Doing a scene from Shimmer's perspective was definitely a nice change of pace, and even if he's still an asshole who made me
:seviAAAAAAAAAAA:
a number of times with his attitude and thought process, I'll admit it was an interesting read, and it made me feel bad for him at a couple points, so congrats. I'm not sure how I feel about the complete lack of empathy for commoners from the cast in Venish, but hey, you can't say that they're not acting in-character for their social class, so it's a bit of a different experience.

As for the stuff that I wasn't so fond of... even if I get that you're doing third person limited, I kinda feel as if for meta reasons you should've explicitly shown some of the more interesting things that happen in this chapter a bit more. Like 'sending Glastrier to the Twilight Realm' even if it'd be in blur-o-vision. Or Guile Hideout/the guy who's almost certainly Giovanni picking apart Shimmer's classmates in more detail and more of that "oh crap, oh crap" panic from their group as he effortlessly hunts down what if my memory serves me right is a group of at least 20-30 Pokémon present.

Kudos @Ambyssin , and I'll be looking forward to getting to your new chapter sometime after it drops. Hopefully a bit quicker than it took me for this one. ^^;
 
Chapter 42: Life, the Universe, and Everything

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
Chapter 42: Life, the Universe, and Everything

CONFIDENTIAL
Based on the analysis of the damaged chips discovered by my Troopers, I'm issuing a memo to all Paradigm lieutenants. This is a security level omega alert. If you're reading this and you're not of the Paradigm, report to your nearest Tartarus Intake Facility or face erosion. I have personally placed trackers on each of these, so I will know if they leave Eterna City. And the trackers are armed to detonate if you try to disable or remove them. There'll be no funny business.

Although fragmented, data suggests a portion of Matriarch was focused on "The Butterfree Effect." I cannot tell you what this is. Only that there were scattered mentions of four things:

1) Mismatched beast.
2) Missing number.
3) Radiant beauty.
4) Genetic morpho.

Three of these seem to refer to living creatures. I assume the fourth does, too. The Earth Pokédex refers to Mewtwo as the "Genetic Pokémon," so it is likely capturing the rebel Gene will allow me to solve the riddle of the Butterfree Effect. Still, I want everyone to be on the lookout for anyone who could match one of these vague descriptions. They are to be brought to me dead or alive. But preferably alive, so I can get some answers.

Toodles, all. Keep up the good work.
Paradox


XxX​

Chiaki awoke in a fit of coughs thanks to a tube that had been shoved down his throat. Several nurses — at least, he assumed these audino were nurses — funneled into the room and removed the tube, along with a wad of mucus and saliva. The result left the grovyle's throat drier than he ever thought possible.

"Wah... ter," he croaked. Chiaki wanted to reach an arm up, but his limbs didn't respond. There was, however, a white band with a barcode around his left arm... and a silver metal ring above it that was also attached to the bed's side railing. It looked like an element-proofed restraining cuff. The type Stoutland Yard officers slapped on suspects to haul them off to a holding cell.

"Absolutely not," the lone audino who remained in the room replied. "With the amount of smoke inhalation you suffered, you're not even clear for a swallow study. And stop talking. We spent too long controlling the swelling in your throat." She turned and left, shaking her head and muttered about entitled kids.

That was when it all flooded back. The explosion his EMP triggered. Awaking with no sensation below his neck or ability to move. And Vegna showing up with a giant black dragon and hauling him away.

Though, from what Chiaki could tell, the ringing in his ear frills was gone, as were the X-transceiver fragments that had melted into his head. Instead, there was some sort of... metal implant attached to each of his temples. Hearing implants, probably.

It was obvious by now, but the white board hanging across from his bed confirmed he was, indeed, in a hospital. It listed a Sally as his assigned nurse, a Dr. Dwyer as the burn unit attending, a Dr. Francine as the cardiothoracic surgeon, a Dr. O'Boyle as the neurosurgeon, and a Dr. Lobo as the pulmonoligst. The only problem was a shield and blue cross etched into the top right of the white board, with a small "Healing Wish" scrawled beneath it.

Healing Wish? How the hell did I end up in Vellgaurde?

Vegna must have brought Chiaki here. But what for? Chiaki was under arrest. Wouldn't it have been easier for Vegna to keep him in Venish?

Chiaki's throat tightened. Did something bad happen to Venish?

"Finally awake, are we?"

A curtain and glass door to Chiaki's left slid open and the Grim Reaper floated in. Talonflame was surprisingly absent, which Chiaki chalked up to hospital visitor regulations. Vegna's gold inquisitor's badge was pinned on the shawl of his black hood. It reflected a bit of the red from Vegna's eye.

Chiaki said nothing. Partly because he wouldn't give Vegna any ammunition... and partly because his throat was too dry and sore.

"As I'm sure you've already realized, the doctors here are not miracle workers," Vegna said. "Your paralysis could not be fixed. There is a fair amount of scarring in your lungs. And there's a cardiac contusion. They had to restart your heart during surgery. Quite impressive how weak electric attacks can be repurposed to save lives."

Vegna held out his right hand. Black shadows conjured a crimson chalice in the shape of a small blastoise skull. He raised it in Chiaki's direction. "A toast... to the consequences of one's actions." The dusknoir tipped the chalice into his creepy stomach mouth. "Ah, such delectable poetic irony. You wanted so badly to make a name for yourself... and now you are nothing. A withered blade of grass whose consolation prize for dodging the gates of hell is a long stay on Citadark Isle."

Chiaki drew his lips back slightly. This was another tactic to get him talking. It had to be. Yet those words stung, because Chiaki knew Vegna spoke the truth.

"I don't expect you to talk." Vegna downed the chalice's remaining contents, then tossed it into his stomach mouth. "You're too hurt." He approached the foot of Chiaki's bed. "Unfortunately for you, I have ways around that."

The grovyle sucked in a sharp breath. Telepathy?

He blinked. No, of course the dusknoir could do that. And it gave Chiaki an avenue to turn the pressure back on Vegna. "Lemme guess, that was lesson one of necromancy school?"

"Hardly," Vegna scoffed. He pivoted left, chuckling. "Lesson two."

That was a joke. It had to be. "So, the Grim Reaper moniker has truth to it," he mentally scoffed. "I bet you kill those people to take their souls."

"You can sift through every line of Radiance law. You'll find nothing about necromancy." Vegna's tone suggested he'd done exactly that at some point. "But you're wrong, just like the general public. I pick souls to take carefully."

Chiaki didn't believe that. A bigmouthed corviknight and feral talonflame hardly seemed like Vegna's kind of company. "Like that black dragon?"

A brilliant blue overtook Vegna's eye. "You mean Zekrom?"

The grovyle's face tensed. "As in the Luminous Sage?"

Vegna nodded. He held out his right hand and a book materialized in it. Chiaki immediately recognized the eight-pointed star from Yuna's Soul Dew. "You—"

"All one needs for necromancy is an Abyssal Relic."
The dusknoir opened the book and absentmindedly thumbed through the pages. "It's a common, everyday item bathed in the sins of an impure soul." He shut the book and it vanished in shadowfire. "This journal was positively rife with sin. Filled to the brim with passages showing a depraved mind warped by loneliness and heartbreak. It was the perfect item to make into a relic. A quick sacrificial ritual and it was ready."

He scratched the side of his tiny head. "I had another relic candidate — the husk of a crimson honedge — but, alas, I lost it when moving from my law school lodgings to the Ministry of Justice."

Chiaki's head pounded. He wasn't interested in diving into such a... morbid explanation. He was still too focused on Zekrom. "But if you control Zekrom, then that proves the Radiance history books are lying. And Aeon's version of events is closer to the truth."

Vegna nodded. "A reasonable deduction."

Chiaki needed several seconds to keep his breathing under control. "Why keep that to yourself? Why not go public?"

"Why do you care?" Vegna braced his hands against the plastic rail at the foot of Chiaki's bed. "You're a citizen here, not Aeon. Or are you, perhaps, hinting at a certain connection? One that would, say, drive you to try and harm the Radiant Diva?"

Shit! He said too much. This was what Chiaki wasn't supposed to do. At the very least, Chiaki had some inkling what Vegna was thinking. And it was, in his opinion, foolish. "Oh, come on. You were there. You saw Minister Charles. Someone else sabotaged her show!"

Vegna's eye shifted from blue to an ominous red. "And yet... it was you I found in the center of the wreckage after the trailer blew up, along with fragments of equipment capable of generating such an explosion."

This was when Chiaki should have gone silent. But Vegna had gotten under his skin. "It was an accident. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I was trying to stop the sabotage!"

To that, Vegna pivoted toward the far corner of the room. A PV set turned on, showing shaky, static-filled footage of Venish's streets. People running for their lives. Some getting dragged through rifts. Others struck by debris or buried under rubble.

"The immediate aftermath of your accident," Vegna explained. "And why I had you brought to Vellguarde." He shut the PV off and again braced his hands on Chiaki's bed. His eye bathed the Grovyle's blue hospital blanket in red. "Maybe you had no intent to harm, but there was clear intent behind your initial trespassing and what followed. You didn't care about the possible consequences, so your actions meet the criteria for reckless endangerment. Perhaps even criminally negligent homicide."

"What?!" Chiaki would've squirmed in his bed if he could still move. "You've got tunnel vision. Use your head, damn it! Didn't you see who was in the trailer with me? It was the academy student who went missing!" His breathing was quickening enough for the monitors to his right to beep. Chiaki took several seconds to stop himself from wheezing. "You ought to be investigating Polaris. They kidnapped her. I was trying to save her."

Sighing, Vegna floated toward the door. "Then perhaps it's best you hear it from the serpent's mouth. Suffice to say, however, you're the guilty party in this."

"I'm not!" Chiaki growled. "You're not listening to me! This isn't fair!"

Vegna paused with his left hand by the motion sensor to open the door. He bowed his head slightly.

"What is just is not always fair... and what is fair is not always just."

He waved his left hand. The door and its curtain slid open.

"Where are you going?" Chiaki struggled to lift his head.

"To file your charges with the Ministry of Justice," Vegna responded. He began hovering out the door.

"Wait!" Chiaki's head fell back against his pillow. "You can't leave me like this! Don't I at least get a phone call?"

But he got no response. The dusknoir was gone. In his place, Chiaki heard scratches. Scales slithering against a metal floor. Chiaki tilted his head and found dusty dragonair approaching his bedside.

Before the grovyle could raise his eyes in an attempt at a greeting, the blue tip of Scarlett's tail smacked Chiaki's cheek.

"You complete and total ass!"

The bauble on Scarlett's neck glowed. A small projection of Starlene appeared on the dragonair's head. "What the hell were you thinking breaking into my trailer? If someone saw me there... it would have ruined everything!"

Chiaki silently blinked. He was too stunned for anything else. A dragonair shouldn't have been capable of telepathy. But as the meloetta projection showed, she wasn't an ordinary dragonair.

However, what she told Chiaki was even more alarming. "You were in danger. From agents of World Ender!"

"I had it under control!"
Starlene huffed, her cheeks puffing out along with Scarlett's. "The transmitter had an emergency psionic shutdown sequence. I was gonna engage it, but nooooooo. You had to try and play the big, brave knight rescuing the helpless damsel."

Scarlett jabbed the side of Chiaki's bed. "I didn't need a rescue," she growled.

She was delusional. She had to be. "Look at yourself." Chiaki would've pointed to Scarlett if he could. "You're emaciated. I found you looking like a pincushion. Polaris is abusing you. They... they clearly did something to—"

Starlene held up her right hand. "Nothing I didn't approve of or ask for."

Chiaki narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe you."

"I figured you wouldn't." Scarlett casually tossed a bag onto Chiaki's bed. He couldn't feel it smack his lap, but the whoompf of the blankets suggested she used more force than necessary. "So, I brought a copy of my contract. That I willingly signed." The dragonair fished out a stack of papers and plopped them down on Chiaki's chest.

Polaris' logo was clear as day, along with two sets of signatures. One was definitely Vortex's.

"Nothing was done without my consent and authorization," Starlene continued. Chiaki was getting sick of the two swapping with one another.

"But that doesn't—"

"Stop."
Starlene rolled her eyes. "You're in no position to lecture me." The meloetta crossed her arms. "The fact is that, in my time at Horizon, I quickly learned that, even with an elite education, I was never going to get anywhere in life. No matter how hard I worked, everyone would always see me as another 'filthy dragon' who got handouts from the crown.

"That's when Vortex came to me with an offer to change everything. To cast off these scales and be a gamechanger using Dynaforce."
Starlene hopped onto the bed and thrust her right arm up in a pose. "He told me I could make music that would reach every corner of the kingdom and bring smiles to people's faces. I wouldn't be a second-class citizen anymore. I'd be a somebody. And I was getting real close to permanently transforming into my diva form before you loused it all up!"

Chiaki frowned. This couldn't have been the real Scarlett. Too much of what she said went against what Nikki told him.

"What about Nikki?"

"Who do you think got more of the attention when we were a duo?" Scarlett growled. "Wasn't me, that's for sure."

Before Chiaki could object, Scarlett sighed and shook her head. "There's no bad blood with Nikki. Hell, I've sent a lot of the earnings from my concerts and merch sales back to Blightsmuth." She flicked her tail dismissively. "Which makes me the lifeline keeping that city afloat. Something you nearly screwed up.

"If people find out my secret, I'll be ruined." Scarlett narrowed her eyes at the grovyle. "So, bedbound or not, you don't say a word about this to anyone. Not here. Not in Citadark once they haul your ass away."

She turned away from him. Starlene dissolved back into Scarlett's neck bauble. "For both our sakes, this better be the last time I see your ugly, half-burnt face."

The dragonair slithered away, leaving Chiaki staring at the glass door as it slid close.

All Chiaki wanted was to expose the truth. But this? This was worse than he could've imagined.

Everything had gone belly up. Like when he tried to avenge his mother. But now the consequences extended beyond the loss of his right arm.

There was no overcoming this. Even if Cyril could get him walking again, what good would that do? Vegna wanted him carted off to Citadark.

It didn't matter if Chiaki was innocent. If the grovyle somehow bested Vegna in court, he would wake up inside Eternatus... never again able to leave it.

His vision grew blurry. Was the grovyle tired?

... No, these were tears. It was a good thing he was alone. Because Chiaki wasn't supposed to cry. He was the Ryujin heir. He had to be strong.

Except he wasn't. His clansmon were right: he was dead weight.

At least now he looked the part, too.

[Life? Death? ResidentSleeper. The (CHAT) wants (THRILLS), (CHILLS), and (KILLS). It wants (HELIX)!]

Chiaki tried letting out a startled cry and his throat erupted in burning pain. His eyes darted around until he noticed the far corner of the room full of static-filled red squares. The squares quickly disappeared in mismatched blips of black and white light, revealing weird blue and red ovals floating around, twitching and spasming.

[No need to hold your (CLAP EMOJI)s.] The thing was speaking in a disturbingly robotic tone whose pitch switched between low and high without warning. Every word sounded like it was coming out of a radio or an old PV speaker. And it all sent static ripples through the thing's disjointed discs. [I would be (MUTED FOR TEN MINUTES) too if I met (CHAT)'s number two (BIRD JESUS), aaabaaajss Ahsen.]

It looked at the window. [Copyright(C)February2014norightsreserved.]

The grovyle looked around frantically, but couldn't find anything resembling those emergency call buttons hospital rooms were supposed to have. If one was there, it was out of sight, thanks to his severely limited movement. And he couldn't shout for help with his throat in pain like this.

Two discs — Ahsen's arms, maybe? — drooped. [Boy, talk about a tough (A, B, SELECT, UP, DOWN.)] As it shouted directions, Ahsen's body moved as if someone else controlled it, even slamming it into the ceiling and floor.

Ahsen picked itself up, limbs twitching. [What's with the (EYES EMOJI)? This is no OMEGALULing matter. I (EYES EMOJI) you, laying there like a sad sack. Full of FeelsBadMan.]

Chiaki understood very little of what this thing was spewing... which probably meant it was in cahoots with Xeromus. How else could it show up out of nowhere entirely unprompted?

The grovyle took deep breaths. If he could get out one shout, maybe he could get some help.

[Hey, hey, there's no need to (DON'T TOUCH THAT TOTODILE).] Ahsen floated closer to Chiaki's bed, only to abruptly stop and jerk around in different directions. [(DOWN, DOWN, LEFT, UP, LEFT.)]

It regained control of itself. [All I want is to offer you a chance. A chance at some (START9).] Ahsen vibrated excitedly. [A deal as good as (FREE MONTHLY SUBSCRIBER WITH PRIME GAMING.)

[You want the moves? The schmooves? The grooves?] Ahesen pointed its arms at Chiaki's limp body. [(HELIX) can give. (HELIX) can take. A little (START9) is all (HELIX) asks for in return.]

Ahsen waved its limbs around. [Keep them (CLICK)ing. Keep them (STICK)ing. (READ)ing. (WATCH)ing. (TWEET)ing. But not (DELETE)ing.]

The grovyle had enough. He opened his mouth and tried as hard as he could to shout for help. However, white hot pain shot down his throat. Chiaki coughed up red-tinged saliva.

[OMEGALUL.] Ashen's head swiveled around thanks to its lack of anything resembling a neck. [Sometimes it be like that. Kappa.] It drifted closer to Chiaki's bed. [The choices are yours and yours alone. (START, START, B, A, B, UP, UP).]

Ahsen rose up, hitting the ceiling multiple times. When it finally drifted back toward Chiaki's bed, it had something balancing precariously in its discoid arms.

A rusty sword? No, that wasn't right. Chiaki squinted to get the stars out of his vision from his shouting attempt.

... It was a honedge. Rust coated much of its body, but there were bits of red on its blade... and an empty socket where its eye should have been.

Chiaki held his breath. That couldn't have been right. Everything about it matched up with—

[Don't try to 5Head this, (STRIMMER). They are who we thought they were.] Ahsen twitched and jerked about excitedly. [You want (UP, LEFT, LEFT, DOWN) movement. (HELIX) knows it. You can't (GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL DO NOT PASS GO DO NOT COLLECT TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS).] The creep was hovering by Chiaki's head, now. [So, take the (STICK OF TRUTH) and open your retinas. Reclaim your (OW, THE EDGE) now for the low, low price of.]

This thing was talking crazy. Chiaki knew that. It didn't even properly finish that last sentence!

... And yet it sounded like Ahsen was offering him a way to walk again.

It was too good to be true. An obvious deal with the devil. But what did the grovyle really have to lose at this point? He was bedbound, couldn't talk, and on a fast track to Citadark. He knew Ryujin policy well enough by now. If the law caught up with someone, there were no lifelines. That was how the clan kept operating all these years. Chiaki would have no support. And against the likes of the Grim Reaper, the two outcomes were a guilty verdict... or a one-way trip to the Qliphoth.

Chiaki had hit rock bottom. As far as he was concerned, there was nowhere to go but up.

He shakily tilted his head toward Ahsen. Perhaps the glitch recognized the look in his eyes, because it buzzed excitedly. [You will take the (DROP)?]

The grovyle slowly nodded.

Ahsen's limbs twitched. [Warning: if you consent to the terms and agreements of this (END USER LICENSE)—]

Static overtook Ahsen's head. Its body appeared to go limb for a moment and a much deeper, non-robotic voice said, "You accept everything that will happen from now on."

Well, that was ominous as hell.

Still, recklessness had landed Chiaki in this situation. If there was ever a time to double down, this was it.

... Probably. Despite the Ryujin operating casinos, Chiaki knew little about gambling. Regardless, the grovyle nodded at Ahsen once again, a more determined look in his eyes.

Ahsen flailed its limbs around. [PogChamp! I knew you would (PAYMENT SUCCESSFULLY PROCESSED).] It bobbed its head at the sword. [Enjoy the (START9) and don't forget to (HIT THAT FOLLOW BUTTON AND RING THE BELL).]

Static cubes engulfed Ahsen. They all disappeared, leaving Chiaki alone with the empty, rusted honedge. The grovyle stared at it, blinking slowly. Was something supposed to happen? Did he did magic words?

No, if this was Vegna's Abyssal Relic candidate, then there was some sort of ritual he needed to perform. If only he had access to that informa—

It was brief, but Chiaki saw embers flicker around Honedge's empty eye socket. The grovyle held his breath, but one of the monitors started beeping, so he exhaled. More embers lazily drifted out of the eye socket, which now had a faint red glow.

Honedge wasn't inert. There was something there!

The red glow got brighter. It shifted to an orange bubble that expanded several centimeters before popping... and releasing a joltik-sized, luminescent orange butterfree.

What the hell? Chiaki watched the butterfree fly around the honedge husk, which stopped glowing. It had no face, hands, feet, or antennae. Every flap of its tiny wings produced even tinier embers that fizzled out in the air.

Finally, after a few loops around the sword, it fluttered toward Chiaki. The grovyle went cross-eyed watching it come closer and closer and land on his snout.

For a second, Chiaki thought he might sneeze. Then the butterfree glowed brighter and, with a sudden flash, dissolved into orange light that went up his mouth and nostrils.

Chiaki's eyes widened. Warmth spread down his entire body... and he felt it below his neck! At first it was nice and soothing. But it progressively got hotter. Too hot to handle!

With a startled grunt, Chiaki threw the covers off his bed. He wasn't even processing that he could move again, because he was too busy watching in horror as his green skin burnt to a black that brought his stepsiblings to mind. The restraint melted off his arm and plopped onto the floor uselessly. His once pink belly turned the same shade of orange as the tiny butterfree. Bit by bit, his right arm regrew itself, but with the same black skin as the rest of his body. And yellow, flame-like markings traced themselves along his skin.

Chiaki's vision flickered. The hospital room disappeared, replaced by a torrent of fire.

A figure similar to Gene stared directly ahead. Orange, triangular wings and a helmet reminiscent of a volcarona appeared in gouts of fire. It raised its left hand and summoned a blade.

The burning intensified in Chiaki's head and rear. "Ah... graaagh!"

He leaned forward and threw his yellow hands onto his head. The hearing aids popped out of his ear frills. Chiaki's leaf was regrowing, too, but it was happening too fast. And it felt way too long.

The figure slashed at the air with its sword. Flaming crescents descended upon the battered forms of a swampert and a blaziken who each wore a broken gold wristband.

With a pained holler, Chiaki rolled out of bed. Any jubilance he might've had at regaining his movement was gone when he glimpsed what used to be his stubby leaf tails elongating into flaps like Kyoko's.

"Wh... at's happ... ening... to me?"

Chiaki's vision flashed again. He thrashed about, screaming.

The figure thrust its sword into the ground. Giant, fiery tornadoes erupted from the earth, swallowing up Rayquaza and Latias.

"Who the hell are you?!"

Gasping, Chiaki sat up. Scarlett stood slack-jawed in the doorway. Chiaki looked down at his orange belly and black, charred skin. Medical staff were slipping in past the dragonair.

"Hey, where's the patient?" A gardevoir looked around, eyes narrowing. "What's going on here? I'm getting Sir Vegna!"

Chiaki acted without thinking. With a snarl, he spewed fire — freaking fire! — and the gardevoir backpedaled out of the doorway with a shriek. Scarlett dropped to her belly.

"What the hell?" she hissed.

"Call a code gray!" someone shouted from the gathering crowd.

Chiaki lunged for Scarlett and grabbed hold of the dragonair. "H-Hey! Let go of me!" she cried. Her neck bauble glowed, but Chiaki wrapped it and the dragonair's snout up in his arms and sprinted for the far side of the room.

The honedge husk appeared at his side and slashed at the window. It shattered, raining glass down and the husk disappeared. Chiaki felt a weight in the pit of his stomach, but kept running.

"Stop him!" an unfamiliar voice barked.

Scarlett thrashed about in Chiaki's grip to no avail. The charred grovyle leaped through the broken window... and discovered his room was six stories off the ground!

He and Scarlett tumbled through open air for a few seconds. Then Chiaki's back burnt... and the falling stopped. He was moving past the flat and pointed roofs of Vellguarde's buildings. His arms muffled Scarlett's cries.

Chiaki glanced over his shoulder to see flaming volcarona wings flapping effortlessly.

Whatever the husk had done to Chiaki, he didn't have time to think over it. The hospital was sounding the alarm. Stoutland Yard would undoubtedly be after him. He had to keep moving... with his screaming passenger in tow.

Flame%20Leaf.png
 
Last edited:
Chapter 43: Strangled by the Red Tape

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
Chapter 43: Strangled by the Red Tape

To: Paradox, Deoxys
From: [REDACTED]
Security Level: Sigma
Subject: Update

I must apologize, sir. After some further digging, I do not believe your new acquaintance is some sort of deposed Etherian royalty. In fact, I'm not even sure he's Etherian at all. I saw Lieutenant Hideout's glastrier steed fall in battle and it was
absorbed by a dusknoir — the one from the trial you broadcasted to Eterna City, actually — who summoned a zekrom from the heavens like it was nothing! There was a momentary flash of panic in his expression when it happened. Like he had stumbled onto something he wasn't supposed to.

Do I think this changes anything? No. In fact, it might give you additional leverage beyond his other partner. She's still imprisoned, yes? Well, with things unraveling on Radiance, his desire to return to his true home may only grow more desperate. And that desperation may cause him to go all in on a total bluff, if you catch my drift.

I do have one request, though: please allow me to dispose of these
idiots. They were a decent enough distraction at the time, but I'm tired of putting them to sleep when I need to get real work done. Radiance's Parliament is convening for an emergency session and you'll no doubt want to hear a full report, but I can't go to Radiance's capital with this pair of deuces.

That's all for now. Nos vera Natus!


XxX​

Dazzels was the brilliant capital emblematic of the Kingdom of Radiance's shining beauty. However, Shimmer had no interest in looking past the marble steps in front of Espace Adelaide toward the sparkling, glass-filled government buildings, museums, and cultural sites marking Grand Place, the bluntly named center of the city.

Instead, all he could do was look down at his scratched hooves and the lilac carpet beneath them. The ponyta hadn't made eye contact with anyone. Not when Demerzel and Justine showed up in Venish to collect him. Not when the latter tried to question him about what happened. Not the entire night, where he lay in bed alone for the first time in a month, gazing into a photo he and Xander had taken together on a private beach. And not when Justine shoved him out of bed the next morning, threw an oversized pink cloak over him, and dragged him out of Radiant Palace so Demerzel could teleport them to Parliament's main building.

Shimmer shuffled through Espace Adelaide's main hall like a zombie in some schlocky action movie he'd only see with Xander for a good laugh about commoners' terrible tastes. He only moved faster when a voice ahead of him growled, "Pick up the pace. You're Crown Prince, not some stoner baked out of their mind."

A flat hallway led to a spiral staircase that Shimmer proceeded down. He could see Justine's legs with their usual black lace stockings and black leather boots. The virizion probably had on her usual tight leather holowear suit, too. If Justine was going to Parliament with Shimmer, then it couldn't be good.

No doubt this was going to be about what happened to Venish. Was Justine going to make him testify to Parliament?

Shimmer's gut squirmed. He couldn't do it. He couldn't recount standing by and letting the Medicis terrorize Piazza Lavenda or failing to do anything to fight against the mysterious knight or... losing Xander and his other classmates.

The ponyta was supposed to be a prodigy who excelled at everything from grades to modeling and acting. The perfect catch for any other noble. Heck, no one even knew Xander was his consort except his mothers and Robin. Sure, the two had gotten caught together in the locker room at school several times, but they always played it off as a casual fling. And no one dared to gossip about it because Shimmer could have made their lives miserable. But if he testified... he'd become a laughingstock. The butt of every late-night comedian's opening monologue. His life would truly be over!

A door creaked open and something firm pressed against Shimmer's side. "Get in there," Justine hissed, shoving the ponyta forward. Shimmer stumbled ahead and found himself behind multiple large, velvet-covered chairs. He glimpsed his other mother's outline in the middle chair and quietly crept in between it and the chair to the right, where he usually sat when observing Parliament sessions.

To his shock, however, the main chamber was entirely silent, with attention squarely focused on the circular room's mounted PV monitors showing a crowd of pokémon cautiously watching some sort of... horrifying helmeted creature with chains around its legs and a tattered black cloak.

"Look around you!" it shouted between cough-filled wheezes. "The sky is painted purple and tears itself open in anguish because this planet is suffering! You are all suffering! The ether chokes two civilizations out and your leaders tell you to avert your eyes from the truth. That Natus — your so-called Word Ender — is its source. That you are fed lies to be complacent!"

Radiant Guard pelted the creature with attacks, but every attempt they made faltered as some sort of vaguely canine shadow sprouted from the ground and swallowed up the attacks.

"Look at this! See how they pour their hatred onto a worthless omen like me," it continued. "But I will gladly accept that animosity if it means you all can find love and salvation in Natus' embrace."

More attacks. This time the shadow dog manifested a red shield that deflected Icy Winds, Thunderbolts, and Earth Powers away.

"Join me in rejecting your crown. Reject the ether and discover a life greater than any you could live here!"

The PVs shifted to shaky shots of some parts of the assembled crowd marching in unison with the helmeted monster, carrying hastily made "Down with Polaris!" and "What are they hiding?" signs.

A few grimmsnarl and bruxish guards wrangled some of the protestors and shoving matches broke out amongst the crowd.

"These are just some of the scenes from a spontaneous demonstration that took place at dawn in Herbrides," a female newscaster explained as the PVs changed to show a trio of scuffed up roselia being shoved into Stoutland Yard transport vehicles.

"Similar demonstrations rose up across the kingdom following the speech given by the helmeted creature, who calls himself Xeromus. While these cities were spared from the calamity that befell Venish last night, there are reports of similar rifts appearing in the sky. They may be far enough away to avoid bringing any harm, but it seems citizens are all asking themselves the same question: how long will they stay safe?"

The PV monitors shut off in unison. It was then that Shimmer realized Vortex was sitting beside Arianna at a table opposite the platform the thrones were on, in front of the MP assembly. There was a smaller podium across from the pale-faced charizard, which held some of the Crowne Ministers. In the middle was an older appearing corsola. Shimmer recognized her from behind as Parliament's Speaker, Leyanne.

She cleared her throat and tapped a rocky horn to her microphone. "Now that we're all up to speed, I simply must know what you have to say for yourself, Vortex."

"It's Chancellor Vortex," Arianna cut in. Shimmer glimpsed a twinge of irritation breaking through her normal indifferent expression. Perhaps the large bags under her eyes made it easier to tell.

"You will not speak out of turn in this chamber, Miss Arianna," Leyanne retorted, thinly veiled contempt behind her words. "We have ample accounts from the Amphitheatre broadcast showing World Ender's sigil displaying while your company-sponsored superstar sang an anarchistic manifesto that previewed the sentiments later expressed by that deranged mutt in Herbrides." The corsola hopped to the edge of her podium. "This body demands an explanation."

The charizard shifted uneasily in his seat. Shimmer had never seen Vortex so uncomfortable. Even his navy blue holowear suit wasn't as neat and tidy as usual.

"We're, erm, still sorting through that," Vortex said. His microphone was too small for his long neck, so he was hunched over like he had back problems.

"Is that so?" Leyanne quirked a brow. "You run the most profitable corporation in the entire kingdom, with multiple Crowne Ministers sitting on your board. How do you not have an answer yet?"

Vortex was about to say something, when the suit-garbed dartrix to his left leaned over and whispered something. With a stoic expression, Vortex replied, "There are multiple matters Polaris needs to address. This is an ongoing investigation."

"Multiple matters." Leyanne rocked back and forth. "So, you admit your corporation failed on several levels."

"That's not what I—" Vortex stopped when Dartrix grabbed his left arm. "No comment," he whispered, tail flame dimming.

"Then, perhaps, we should address this one level at a time," Leyanne retorted. "Starting with the idol, Starlene."

Murmurs rose up from the MPs sitting at their desks behind Vortex. An elderly granbull let out a "Here, here!"

Again, Dartrix whispered into Vortex's ear frill. The charizard mumbled, "You know as well as I there was an explosion backstage at the Amphitheatre. We had nothing to do with that."

"Yes, the Ministry of Justice has a suspect in custody," Leyanne said, rocking back and forth again.

"Point of inquiry, Madame Speaker!" a blaziken called, raising a white placard.

"Go ahead."

"Two individuals were recovered from the wreckage of Starlene's trailer," Blaziken said. "One of which was a dragonair." He held up a document. "The report lists one Grovyle Chiaki as the suspect, so where did this dragonair come from?"

Shimmer sucked in a sharp breath. He remembered hearing about a dragonair upperclassman at Horizon that, like Nikki the Nuisance, was accepted on scholarship. The ponyta had gossiped at length about it with Xander and Robin — heck, he made sure her classmathes threw a fair bit of ire in her direction — but she left the academy and then Nikki showed up in her place.

He wanted to brush it off as a coincidence, but the flash of panic in Vortex's eyes suggested it wasn't.

"That's beyond the scope of this inquiry, I'm afraid," Leyanne said. Shimmer caught the relief washing over Vortex's face, only for it to fade when the corsola added, "Unless there's something you wish to add, Mr. Vortex."

The charizard shook his head. More murmurs followed. Leyanne knocked one of her nubby legs against her podium. "Order. I will have order. We should get back on tr—"

A loud slam jolted Shimmer. He bit his tongue to stop himself from whinnying like a startled colt. The ponyta looked left to see oak double doors wide open and Minister Tesla lying in a crumpled daze, stripped of his goggles and that weird backpack that held his robot limbs. And standing behind him with a determined glint in her eye was Virizion Justine.

"Not so fast, Madame Speaker," she said, strutting into the chamber while a few journalists repositioned their cameras to get shots of the latex-wearing virizion. Justine shoved Tesla further in with a forehoof. "The good MP was onto something with his question."

Leyanne briefly sputtered. "M-Madame High Inquisitor." The corsola rocked back and forth nervously. "This is highly irregular." She turned around and looked toward Shimmer— no, toward his mother.

"We grant Lady Justine permission to address Parliament," Isola said, bobbing her head slowly. As side conversations rose up in the chamber, the rapidash turned to Shimmer and whispered. "Pay attention, dear. It's time you watched how real leaders take charge."

Shimmer wanted to melt into the floor, but meekly nodded instead.

"Get up." Justine shoved Tesla again. The boltund scrambled to his feet, making nervous "zzt" noises the entire time. "Tell Parliament what you told me during questioning. What's the source of the Diva Project?"

Tesla looked at Vortex, whose eyes were wide. Dartrix stood up in his chair. "You questioned him on company matters without counsel present?!"

"On our orders," Isola exclaimed, standing from her throne. "This is a matter of national security and Minister Tesla is, first and foremost, a public servant."

Dartrix puffed out his feathers. "But Your Eminence, due process is essential to a functional judici—"

"Are you questioning our authority on the matter?" Isola narrowed her eyes. Her golden, shield-shaped breast armor glistened under the glow of the chamber's chandeliers.

"O-Of course not." Dartrix obscured more of his face with his large, green, drooping feather. He sat back down and whispered to Vortex.

"No more interruptions," Justine growled. She stomped a forehoof in front of Tesla. "Talk. Now."

"The Diva Project... involved a young lady whose music had Dynaforce powers," Tesla said, staring at the chamber's purple carpet. "The project team treated her with special ether-based formulations to amplify that power and allow her to manifest it as the idol, Meloetta Starlene. The design was based on old historical records of a pokémon that would fight battles using her voice, but sadly succumbed to the Darkest Day."

Several gasps echoed through the chamber. A few MPs even stood up at their desks, shouting about experimentation.

"Order!" Leyanne used her right foot as a gavel once again.

"Where did you get your subject?" Justine asked.

"Well, I— zzrt zzvrt." Tesla robotically swiveled his head around. "She was... a Horizon Academy student."

The shouting resumed from the MPs. Dartrix hurriedly grabbed Vortex's microphone. "I will have you know that this student agreed to everything in writing. We can produce every contract, along with affidavits she was signing them of her own free will!"

"That's supposed to make it better?!" a pinurchin MP called from the back of the circular room.

"Order!" Leyanne struck her podium again. "The High Inquisitor still has the floor!"

Shimmer's gut squirmed. That dragonair commoner who left Horizon was a singer. Even if Nikki didn't shut up about it, he would have remembered. He and Xander thought her songs were catchy, though it was hard to look past a dragon singing them.

Did that mean that Starlene... was actually a dragonair?

"What other effects did these ether treatments have, Minister?" Justine continued, pacing circles around the panicked boltund. Tesla looked at Vortex who shook his head, but Justine stepped in between them.

"I, uh—" Tesla descended into squeaky pretend robot noises.

"Minister," Justine growled.

"I don't remember!" he blurted out.

"You don't remember telling me that Starlene's music exerted suggestive influences on its listeners?" Justine said, raising a brow.

A tense silence fell over the entire chamber. "E-Excuse me?" Leyanne gasped.

"Suggestive influence?" the same blaziken from earlier gawked. "That sounds like brainwashing to me!"

"N-No! Never!" Tesla rapidly shook his head. "It's more comparable to hypnosis, really, and—"

A fresh wave of shouts emerged from the MPs. A couple of morgrem were pointing at Vortex and Tesla.

"O-Order!" Leyanne's call failed to stop the shouting.

However, Justine had no such trouble. "So, in your opinion, it's possible that these ridiculous protests are a result of citizens being exposed to Starlene's hypnotic effects?"

Tesla nodded. Shimmer's ears folded. He did recall moments while the concert played on the hotel suite PV where he and Xander were hallucinating. And that wasn't like the time the ponyta had tried tiny mushrooms, either. There was some sort of blue and orange tentacle creature talking about World Ender.

No. Shimmer shrank down. Polaris was manipulating people? Justine didn't seem to know about it, but what about Isola? How much was shared with her regarding the project?

And how did Team Bastion find all this out? Shimmer wondered, glaring at the floor. Was it the grovyle? His father ran some sham newspaper that constantly slandered the government. Maybe they dug something up for the Aeon princess to put into effect?

At last, the shouts died down. Justine had formed a Sacred Sword and held her head high. "I share your frustrations, everyone. But there are two other points that must be discussed." She dissolved the attack and whirled on Tesla. "What's the source of the ether powering our kingdom?"

The color drained from Tesla's face. Vortex dug his claws into the table. Dartrix lunged for the microphone. "Th... that delves into proprietary technology! We have a right to protect our assets!" He pointed a wing toward the journalists in the front corner of the room. "This line of questioning necessitates a closed meeting with full confidenti—"

"Very well." Isola raised her head. Her horn and the gem in the middle of her Crowne Shield glowed pink. "All press and other visitors are ordered to vacate posthaste."

Rumbles of protest rippled through the chamber, but ultimately everyone standing along the room's circular borders shuffled out. Isola's horn glowed brighter. Pink, heart-shaped locks covered each of the doors. Shimmer looked around at the chamber. Even though it was much quieter, many MPs were still standing. Some, like the morgrem, glared at Tesla.

"Satisfied, counselor?" Justine said.

Dartrix shuffled uneasily. "We still object to these disclosures."

"Noted, and overruled," Isola exclaimed. "The kingdom's security trumps corporate patents."

Again, Justine turned to Tesla. "Well?"

"Zrrrrttttt." Tesla mechanically staggered back. "Ether comes primarily from... World Ender. The Needles are not markers for underground power systems, they are part of the seal on World Ender. Their destruction would, according to our calculations, release World Ender from its imprisonment. It could then proceed to destroy the planet as it attempted in the Darkest Day."

When Tesla's rapid response finished, Justine formed her green Sacred Sword to immediately silence cries from the MPs. "Who created the seal?"

"Powerful pokémon," Tesla whimpered. "My research suggest they are revered by the Aeon Kingdom as so-called 'Luminous Sages.'"

Justine's glowing horn wasn't enough to silence the protests this time. Neither were Leyanne's attempts to restore order.

"Outrageous!" a togekiss shouted.

Blaziken stood up yet again. "So, this entire time we've been lying to the populace, through our schools and history books?!"

"It would appear that way," Justine stoically responded.

Blaziken blinked in bewilderment. "Your Eminence, did you know about this?"

Shimmer's throat constricted. World Ender truly was alive? The very feat that gave his family claim to the throne... was really accomplished by Aeon leaders?

"We did not." Isola cast her gaze down. "This is... truly heartbreaking news to behold."

"What do we tell the public?" Togekiss called.

"Nothing," Isola replied, her voice sickeningly sweet despite the shocking news.

"Excuse me?!" Blaziken flummoxed.

"We cannot give the people any more reason to believe the manipulative words of these World Ender agents," Isola sternly declared. "For the sake of the kingdom's stability, we must ensure this issue is dealt with before telling the public the truth."

The ponyta's head pounded. His ears rang. Yuna... that stupid dreepy must have realized the truth! Or her parents did, and sent her into the kingdom under false pretenses!

Yes, that had to be it! They had no hope of outmuscling Radiance's larger size and better technology, so they wanted to dismantle it from within! And she would totally be able to convince a couple of punks like Chiaki and Nikki to ally with her. Vortex likely fixed her team, except it ended up backfiring spectacularly!

"... disingenuous to withhold the full truth from them?"

Shimmer telekinetically brought his mother's microphone down when Blaziken finished his question. "If I may?"

Abrupt silence fell over the room. Justine's eyes were wide and Leyanne had no idea what to say. Shimmer took that as his cue to continue. "Is it not possible that the Aeon Kingdom arranged for this?" the ponyta wondered. "On a recent trip to the Herbrides Lines, their princess detailed their kingdom's version of the Darkest Day. It sounded awfully close to what Minister Tesla described.

"If they are confident we forced them into the mountains under false pretenses — but had constantly failed to make any progress through war — why not send a saboteur to destabilize us and turn the public against us?" The more he said out loud, the more Shimmer truly believed it. "I think the Aeon Princess is at the root of all of this."

An unseen force grabbed Shimmer's dark cloak. Within a second, he was back beside his mother's throne.

"Thank you for that, dear." Isola's voice was stoic. Shimmer thought she was perturbed. But surely she understood. He was onto something!

"You're sorely mistaken, Your Grace."

The ponyta flinched. He had forgotten about Demerzel! The giant-headed mutant whimsicott floated out to the right of the raised platform and headed for Leyanne's podium. He politely gestured to the microphone and the corsola handed it over.

"The Aeons have no reason to work against us," Demerzel said. "And now that Justine has dragged the truth out, I'm sure you all can understand why." He tapped his bulbous head. "Where does ether come from? World Ender. Our kingdom's channeled World Ender's energy... and we've lost huge swathes of land — entire cities, even — to distortion. Meanwhile, the Aeon Kingdom has no ether and has lost almost no territory to distortion."

"Because they have some sort of technique to stop it!" Shimmer countered.

"Or they're not tampering with World Ender like Polaris clearly is." Demerzel pointed accusingly toward Vortex. The charizard glared back. "Regardless, the point remains unchanged: all Aeon needed to do is wait out the clock. Then Radiance would be overrun by distortion and forced to yield to their terms.

"But they came to the bargaining table... because they knew the truth and wanted to work with us." Demerzel shook his head. "Instead of vilifying them, we should work with them even closer now that the situation is more dire than ever."

Fresh murmurs arose. Vortex slammed his fists on the table and stood up. "Absolutely not!" he hissed. "This is ridiculous!" The charizard ignored Dartrix's attempts to calm him down. "You're accusing my company of driving this kingdom toward ruin? I'm the reason we're prospering! And only Polaris can find a solution to—"

"You mean Icarus?" Justine cut in. She shoved Tesla toward Vortex with her foreleg. "Where were you developing it, Minister?"

"Cita... dark."

Justine's expression darkened. "The same Citadark that Polaris scanners report a strange shockwave radiating out from immediately before rifts started appearing across the kingdom?"

The fire in Vortex's eyes faded as quickly as it appeared. He leaned over his table. "Th-That's—"

"Where is Icarus now, Minister?" Justine asked.

Tesla stiffened. "I, um— I haven't been to Citadark lately, but I imagine it must be—"

"Do you really expect us to believe that?" Demerzel calmly folded his arms behind his back and floated away from Leyanne's podium. "Parliament funded this project. You agreed to update it on the project's status."

Several cries of agreement rose up from the MPs. Tesla shrank down with the saddest "zzts" Shimmer had hear.

"Gone," he whimpered.

"Gone?" Justine marched into the boltund's line of sight. "Is it not a machine? Are you implying someone snuck into our maximum security prison and stole a device?"

"No! It's... it's..." Tesla's eyes darted around.

"Also related to World Ender, isn't it?" Demerzel said. "And may have reacted to Starlene's sabotaged song. Like a beckoning siren of sorts."

Tesla practically sprawled out on his belly, then nodded in defeat.

Shimmer shrank back from a wave of shouts and protests. This was all too much. He was still reeling from losing Xander. Now the ponyta had to contend with all of this?

This was supposed to be the best time in his life. Shimmer was going to handily win the Crowne Cup, then announce Xander as his consort to the kingdom by proposing at the trophy ceremony. But now there was no Xander. There would be no Crowne Cup. The popstar he loved was revealed for a fraud, just like his ancestors.

How did everything manage to crash and burn around him so quickly and so spectacularly?

The protests continued. Leyanne couldn't quiet them. Neither could Justine.

Yuna. This is her fault! I know it is! It has to b—

"ORDER!"

A chill ran down Shimmer's spine. He had never heard that tone from Isola before. Sure, Justine could get angry, but his other mother was never one to let such ugly emotions show through. Even in the private comfort of their castle.

The rapidash approached the edge of the platform and braced her right forehoof on the banister. "We've heard enough. This is... a grave situation. One that should not have transpired. We admit that it was foolish of us to grant such a close working relationship to a single company. But that does not excuse the actions that have transpired."

She looked at Justine. "Arrest Mr. Vortex."

"What?!" Dartrix squawked.

Vortex stiffened in his seat. "Me? What for?"

"Fraud. Against Parliament. Against the entire kingdom, actually," Isola exclaimed. "Oh, and arrest Tesla, too."

"Hey!" The boltund jumped to his feet. "It's Minister Doctor—"

"No." Isola's eyes flickered blue, as did her horn and Crowne Shield. "In fact, that goes for the lot of you. In accordance with the Radiant Constitution, we are hereby stripping all Crowne Ministers of their titles. Those of you with known financial ties to Polaris will have your assets frozen until they can be properly investigated by the Ministry of Finance and Stoutland Yard."

"You can't be serious!" Minister Xiao knocked his chair over standing up. The urshifu bared his fangs. "Some of us haven't gone anywhere near that company!"

"We are deadly serious," Isola responded, holding her head high. "If any of you try and oppose us, we shall arrest you and charge you with treason."

"T-TREASON?!" Dartrix's feathers puffed up so much they obscured his face. "This is utterly ridiculous!"

"Would you care to join your client, counselor?" Isola coldly countered while Justine ushered Vortex out of his seat.

"You can't do this to me!" the charizard roared, flaring out his wings. "I brought progress and prosperity to this kingdom!" He whirled on Justine as the virizion tried to shove him toward Tesla. "Get your hooves off me, you latex-wearing hussy!"

Shimmer watched the scene unfold with increasing disbelief. He was getting nauseous and he hadn't even eaten anything since before the attack on Venish.

"See that, Shimmer?" Isola lowered her head into Shimmer's view. "That's how a leader's supposed to act. Understand?"

The ponyta was thankful for his cloak, which hid his trembling hind legs.

"Yes, Mother," he squeaked, but all he could think about was fleeing back to his room and, with Xander gone, hiding under his covers until his frayed nerves calmed down.

XxX​

Path of Valor Almanac
Dazzels is loosely based on Brussels, Belgium, the de facto capital of the European Union. Similarly, Espace Adelaide is based on Espace Léopold, one of the meeting places of the European Parliament. And Corsola Leyanne is based on Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.
 

Spiteful Murkrow

Busy Writing Stories I Want to Read
Pronouns
He/Him/His
Partners
  1. nidoran-f
  2. druddigon
  3. swellow
  4. quilava-fobbie
  5. sneasel-kate
Heya, a bit later than I'd like, though figured it wouldn't do any good to fall behind too much on this story, so sounded like as good a reason as any to knuckle down and get that review of...

Chapter 42

(Cute The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy nod, btw):

CONFIDENTIAL
Based on the analysis of the damaged chips discovered by my Troopers, I'm issuing a memo to all Paradigm lieutenants. This is a security level omega alert. If you're reading this and you're not of the Paradigm, report to your nearest Tartarus Intake Facility or face erosion. I have personally placed trackers on each of these, so I will know if they leave Eterna City. And the trackers are armed to detonate if you try to disable or remove them. There'll be no funny business.

'Tartarus Intake Facility', huh? Wonder what those are supposed to be. Though... yeah, Paradox reads like he'd suck pretty hard to work under.

Although fragmented, data suggests a portion of Matriarch was focused on "The Butterfree Effect." I cannot tell you what this is. Only that there were scattered mentions of four things:

1) Mismatched beast.
2) Missing number.
3) Radiant beauty.
4) Genetic morpho.

Oh, so Paradox needs Xeromus, Ahsen, and Gene. Or at least that's what I think that's pointing to. Not sure who #3 on that list is, though.

Three of these seem to refer to living creatures. I assume the fourth does, too. The Earth Pokédex refers to Mewtwo as the "Genetic Pokémon," so it is likely capturing the rebel Gene will allow me to solve the riddle of the Butterfree Effect. Still, I want everyone to be on the lookout for anyone who could match one of these vague descriptions. They are to be brought to me dead or alive. But preferably alive, so I can get some answers.

Toodles, all. Keep up the good work.
Paradox

Whelp, guess that's a sign that we're finally revisiting Ahsen this chapter. Time to see where things go, since the last time he was onscreen was super trippy.

Chiaki awoke in a fit of coughs thanks to a tube that had been shoved down his throat. Several nurses — at least, he assumed these audino were nurses — funneled into the room and removed the tube, along with a wad of mucus and saliva. The result left the grovyle's throat drier than he ever thought possible.

"Wah... ter," he croaked. Chiaki wanted to reach an arm up, but his limbs didn't respond. There was, however, a white band with a barcode around his left arm... and a silver metal ring above it that was also attached to the bed's side railing. It looked like an element-proofed restraining cuff. The type Stoutland Yard officers slapped on suspects to haul them off to a holding cell.

Oh, so Chiaki's cuffed to his hospital bed, huh?

"Absolutely not," the lone audino who remained in the room replied. "With the amount of smoke inhalation you suffered, you're not even clear for a swallow study. And stop talking. We spent too long controlling the swelling in your throat." She turned and left, shaking her head and muttered about entitled kids.

Didn't know that that's what happened to people hospitalized for smoke inhalation, but I'll take your word for it. You're really putting your day job to good use for sequences like these.

That was when it all flooded back. The explosion his EMP triggered. Awaking with no sensation below his neck or ability to move. And Vegna showing up with a giant black dragon and hauling him away.

Though, from what Chiaki could tell, the ringing in his ear frills was gone, as were the X-transceiver fragments that had melted into his head. Instead, there was some sort of... metal implant attached to each of his temples. Hearing implants, probably.

Wait, those are just sitting on the shelf ready to go in this setting? Is that a science fantasy thing in action, or have hearing implants really advanced that much in recent years?

It was obvious by now, but the white board hanging across from his bed confirmed he was, indeed, in a hospital. It listed a Sally as his assigned nurse, a Dr. Dwyer as the burn unit attending, a Dr. Francine as the cardiothoracic surgeon, a Dr. O'Boyle as the neurosurgeon, and a Dr. Lobo as the pulmonoligst. The only problem was a shield and blue cross etched into the top right of the white board, with a small "Healing Wish" scrawled beneath it.

Healing Wish? How the hell did I end up in Vellgaurde?

I'm guessing that those names are all pretty on the nose, since yeah, 'Lobo' sounds like a wolfmon. Though right, the health system in Radiance is apparently an American-style mess.

Vegna must have brought Chiaki here. But what for? Chiaki was under arrest. Wouldn't it have been easier for Vegna to keep him in Venish?

Chiaki's throat tightened. Did something bad happen to Venish?

Huh, I thought Vellgaurde was just the name of the hospital, but it's a flat-out settlement... I think, anyways.

"Finally awake, are we?"

A curtain and glass door to Chiaki's left slid open and the Grim Reaper floated in. Talonflame was surprisingly absent, which Chiaki chalked up to hospital visitor regulations. Vegna's gold inquisitor's badge was pinned on the shawl of his black hood. It reflected a bit of the red from Vegna's eye.

Chiaki: "... Great, just what I needed right now."
:grohno~1:

Vegna: "Quite. Though considering your present circumstances, I'd suggest that you mind your words carefully."
:dusknoir_smirk:


Chiaki said nothing. Partly because he wouldn't give Vegna any ammunition... and partly because his throat was too dry and sore.

"As I'm sure you've already realized, the doctors here are not miracle workers," Vegna said. "Your paralysis could not be fixed. There is a fair amount of scarring in your lungs. And there's a cardiac contusion. They had to restart your heart during surgery. Quite impressive how weak electric attacks can be repurposed to save lives."

Chiaki: "... How on earth am I supposed to go on in the story like this?"
:uhhh:

Vegna: "You're not. Or at least, not like this."

Vegna held out his right hand. Black shadows conjured a crimson chalice in the shape of a small blastoise skull. He raised it in Chiaki's direction. "A toast... to the consequences of one's actions." The dusknoir tipped the chalice into his creepy stomach mouth. "Ah, such delectable poetic irony. You wanted so badly to make a name for yourself... and now you are nothing. A withered blade of grass whose consolation prize for dodging the gates of hell is a long stay on Citadark Isle."

Well someone's really rubbing things in right about now.

Chiaki drew his lips back slightly. This was another tactic to get him talking. It had to be. Yet those words stung, because Chiaki knew Vegna spoke the truth.

"I don't expect you to talk." Vegna downed the chalice's remaining contents, then tossed it into his stomach mouth. "You're too hurt." He approached the foot of Chiaki's bed. "Unfortunately for you, I have ways around that."

Chiaki: "I really, really don't like where this is going right now."
:eltyscared:

Vegna: "Good. You're not supposed to."
:dusknoir_smirk:


The grovyle sucked in a sharp breath. Telepathy?

He blinked. No, of course the dusknoir could do that. And it gave Chiaki an avenue to turn the pressure back on Vegna. "Lemme guess, that was lesson one of necromancy school?"

"Hardly," Vegna scoffed. He pivoted left, chuckling. "Lesson two."

Wait, why exactly would necromancy be associated with telepathy again? Though that actually makes me wonder if Vegna can cross language barriers with that ability like a certain other Dusknoir out there in the fic scene.

That was a joke. It had to be. "So, the Grim Reaper moniker has truth to it," he mentally scoffed. "I bet you kill those people to take their souls."

"You can sift through every line of Radiance law. You'll find nothing about necromancy." Vegna's tone suggested he'd done exactly that at some point. "But you're wrong, just like the general public. I pick souls to take carefully."

He's... going to take Chiaki's soul in about two minutes, isn't he?

Chiaki didn't believe that. A bigmouthed corviknight and feral talonflame hardly seemed like Vegna's kind of company. "Like that black dragon?"

A brilliant blue overtook Vegna's eye. "You mean Zekrom?"

The grovyle's face tensed. "As in the Luminous Sage?"

So... 'Sage of Ideals' then? Or did you hit up the alt-localizations for this one?

Vegna nodded. He held out his right hand and a book materialized in it. Chiaki immediately recognized the eight-pointed star from Yuna's Soul Dew. "You—"

"All one needs for necromancy is an Abyssal Relic." The dusknoir opened the book and absentmindedly thumbed through the pages. "It's a common, everyday item bathed in the sins of an impure soul." He shut the book and it vanished in shadowfire. "This journal was positively rife with sin. Filled to the brim with passages showing a depraved mind warped by loneliness and heartbreak. It was the perfect item to make into a relic. A quick sacrificial ritual and it was ready."

Oh that's not creepy and worrisome at all there.
:ScaredCabot:


He scratched the side of his tiny head. "I had another relic candidate — the husk of a crimson honedge — but, alas, I lost it when moving from my law school lodgings to the Ministry of Justice."

'Crimson Honedge, huh? So Vegna just had the corpse of a shiny chilling around up until recently?

Chiaki's head pounded. He wasn't interested in diving into such a... morbid explanation. He was still too focused on Zekrom. "But if you control Zekrom, then that proves the Radiance history books are lying. And Aeon's version of events is closer to the truth."

Vegna:
Image


Chiaki: "Look, am I right or not?" >_>;

Vegna nodded. "A reasonable deduction."

Chiaki needed several seconds to keep his breathing under control. "Why keep that to yourself? Why not go public?"

Vegna: "Because I'm dependent on this Kingdom for my day job that gives me my cover as a necromancer? Why, pray tell, would I want to do something that might destabilize it?"
:what:


"Why do you care?" Vegna braced his hands against the plastic rail at the foot of Chiaki's bed. "You're a citizen here, not Aeon. Or are you, perhaps, hinting at a certain connection? One that would, say, drive you to try and harm the Radiant Diva?"

Shit! He said too much. This was what Chiaki wasn't supposed to do. At the very least, Chiaki had some inkling what Vegna was thinking. And it was, in his opinion, foolish. "Oh, come on. You were there. You saw Minister Charles. Someone else sabotaged her show!"

I didn't see that one coming. Unless if Vegna is talking about the Aeon royal family's link to his dad. In retrospect, I suppose I ought to be less surprised if it turned out that Chiaki is or has blood ties to the Aeons since... well, he is in the right egg group for that.

Vegna's eye shifted from blue to an ominous red. "And yet... it was you I found in the center of the wreckage after the trailer blew up, along with fragments of equipment capable of generating such an explosion."

This was when Chiaki should have gone silent. But Vegna had gotten under his skin. "It was an accident. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I was trying to stop the sabotage!"

I'm pretty sure that this is going to end terribly, but given that I heard through the grapevine that Vegna puts Chiaki through some sort of freaky transformation, let's see where this goes.

To that, Vegna pivoted toward the far corner of the room. A PV set turned on, showing shaky, static-filled footage of Venish's streets. People running for their lives. Some getting dragged through rifts. Others struck by debris or buried under rubble.

"The immediate aftermath of your accident," Vegna explained. "And why I had you brought to Vellguarde." He shut the PV off and again braced his hands on Chiaki's bed. His eye bathed the Grovyle's blue hospital blanket in red. "Maybe you had no intent to harm, but there was clear intent behind your initial trespassing and what followed. You didn't care about the possible consequences, so your actions meet the criteria for reckless endangerment. Perhaps even criminally negligent homicide."

Ah yes, so we get our first hard-confirmed "Squeenix protagonist cockup" of the story. I don't fully buy Vegna's version of events there, but... yeah, that definitely isn't a good look for Chiaki.

"What?!" Chiaki would've squirmed in his bed if he could still move. "You've got tunnel vision. Use your head, damn it! Didn't you see who was in the trailer with me? It was the academy student who went missing!" His breathing was quickening enough for the monitors to his right to beep. Chiaki took several seconds to stop himself from wheezing. "You ought to be investigating Polaris. They kidnapped her. I was trying to save her."

Sighing, Vegna floated toward the door. "Then perhaps it's best you hear it from the serpent's mouth. Suffice to say, however, you're the guilty party in this."

Wait alchemy is a thing in this setting too? I suppose I should be less surprised given that there's necromancy, though that still made me double-take. And I'm now suddenly fairly worried about what those Nova clones are made out of, since I remember how Type: Null/Silvally worked in your other story with alchemy in it.
:fearfullaugh~1:


Also, can't tell whether or not that line from Vegna is implying that Scarlett is alive right now or not.

"I'm not!" Chiaki growled. "You're not listening to me! This isn't fair!"

Vegna paused with his left hand by the motion sensor to open the door. He bowed his head slightly.

"What is just is not always fair... and what is fair is not always just."

Sure talking big about morality there for a guy who's casually dabbling in black magic.
:eltyunamused:


He waved his left hand. The door and its curtain slid open.

"Where are you going?" Chiaki struggled to lift his head.

"To file your charges with the Ministry of Justice," Vegna responded. He began hovering out the door.

"Wait!" Chiaki's head fell back against his pillow. "You can't leave me like this! Don't I at least get a phone call?"

That actually makes me wonder what the rights of arrested persons in the UK are now. Was this sequence based off of that?

But he got no response. The dusknoir was gone. In his place, Chiaki heard scratches. Scales slithering against a metal floor. Chiaki tilted his head and found a dusty dragonair approaching his bedside.

Oh, so she is alive and well enough to speak.

Before the grovyle could raise his eyes in an attempt at a greeting, the blue tip of Scarlett's tail smacked Chiaki's cheek. "You complete and total ass!"

Chiaki: "O-Ow! Hey! I'm paralyzed right now!" @.@

The bauble on Scarlett's neck glowed. A small projection of Starlene appeared on the dragonair's head. "What the hell were you thinking breaking into my trailer? If someone saw me there... it would have ruined everything!"

:wtfuckle:


That... does not seem natural or normal there.

Chiaki silently blinked. He was too stunned for anything else. A dragonair shouldn't have been capable of telepathy. But as the meloetta projection showed, she wasn't an ordinary dragonair.

However, what she told Chiaki was even more alarming. "You were in danger. From agents of World Ender!"

"I had it under control!" Starlene huffed, her cheeks puffing out along with Scarlett's. "The transmitter had an emergency psionic shutdown sequence. I was gonna engage it, but nooooooo. You had to try and play the big, brave knight rescuing the helpless damsel."

... Scarlett's an empty husk being possessed by Starlene or something like that right now, huh? Meaning that everything that Chiaki did at the concert was all for nothing.

Also, how is this room not being surveilled right here and now?

Scarlett jabbed the side of Chiaki's bed. "I didn't need a rescue," she growled.

She was delusional. She had to be. "Look at yourself." Chiaki would've pointed to Scarlett if he could. "You're emaciated. I found you looking like a pincushion. Polaris is abusing you. They... they clearly did something to—"

Starlene held up her right hand. "Nothing I didn't approve of or ask for."

Okay, I'm really not convinced that that's Scarlett there that's actually speaking.

Chiaki narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe you."

"I figured you wouldn't." Scarlett casually tossed a bag onto Chiaki's bed. He couldn't feel it smack his lap, but the whoompf of the blankets suggested she used more force than necessary. "So, I brought a copy of my contract. That I willingly signed." The dragonair fished out a stack of papers and plopped them down on Chiaki's chest.

'Willingly' doesn't mean a whole lot, since you can get misled into signing a contract of your own free will. And the legal system in Radiance honestly strikes me as retrograde to allow for that to happen without instantly nullifying the contract.

Polaris' logo was clear as day, along with two sets of signatures. One was definitely Vortex's.

"Nothing was done without my consent and authorization," Starlene continued. Chiaki was getting sick of the two swapping with one another.

"But that doesn't—"

"Stop." Starlene rolled her eyes. "You're in no position to lecture me." The meloetta crossed her arms. "The fact is that, in my time at Horizon, I quickly learned that, even with an elite education, I was never going to get anywhere in life. No matter how hard I worked, everyone would always see me as another 'filthy dragon' who got handouts from the crown.

... Okay, never mind, maybe Scarlett really did consent to this and that's really her.
:uhhh:


"That's when Vortex came to me with an offer to change everything. To cast off these scales and be a gamechanger using Dynaforce." Starlene hopped onto the bed and thrust her right arm up in a pose. "He told me I could make music that would reach every corner of the kingdom and bring smiles to people's faces. I wouldn't be a second-class citizen anymore. I'd be a somebody. And I was getting real close to permanently transforming into my diva form before you loused it all up!"

Everything about that explanation sounded all sorts of
:CabotScared:
. Though I suppose it makes sense that there'd be Pokémon who drew the short stick in life who'd be open to trans-speciesist experimentation for a shot at not being behind the 8-ball for their entire lives.

Chiaki frowned. This couldn't have been the real Scarlett. Too much of what she said went against what Nikki told him.

"What about Nikki?"

"Who do you think got more of the attention when we were a duo?" Scarlett growled. "Wasn't me, that's for sure."

I honestly can't tell whether or not it'd be more shocking if this really is Scarlett or if she's not. Since if she is... uh... yeah, Nikki isn't going to take finding this out well.

Before Chiaki could object, Scarlett sighed and shook her head. "There's no bad blood with Nikki. Hell, I've sent a lot of the earnings from my concerts and merch sales back to Blightsmuth." She flicked her tail dismissively. "Which makes me the lifeline keeping that city afloat. Something you nearly screwed up.

Oh yeah, Nikki's gonna love finding this one out.

"If people find out my secret, I'll be ruined." Scarlett narrowed her eyes at the grovyle. "So, bedbound or not, you don't say a word about this to anyone. Not here. Not in Citadark once they haul your ass away."

She turned away from him. Starlene dissolved back into Scarlett's neck bauble. "For both our sakes, this better be the last time I see your ugly, half-burnt face."

The dragonair slithered away, leaving Chiaki staring at the glass door as it slid close.

That... was painful to read. So everything Chiaki did really was for nothing. .-.

All Chiaki wanted was to expose the truth. But this? This was worse than he could've imagined.

Everything had gone belly up. Like when he tried to avenge his mother. But now the consequences extended beyond the loss of his right arm.

... Wonder when we're going to see the full story behind that one. Since boy does that sound like there's a wild, messed-up story behind it.

There was no overcoming this. Even if Cyril could get him walking again, what good would that do? Vegna wanted him carted off to Citadark.

Image


It didn't matter if Chiaki was innocent. If the grovyle somehow bested Vegna in court, he would wake up inside Eternatus... never again able to leave it.

His vision grew blurry. Was the grovyle tired?

... No, these were tears. It was a good thing he was alone. Because Chiaki wasn't supposed to cry. He was the Ryujin heir. He had to be strong.

Except he wasn't. His clansmon were right: he was dead weight.

Wait, wait, wait. So that entire mafia group that the Yiazmat and Calcifer do business with is some sort of dragon clan of some sort?

You'd think that that'd have come back to bite the Aeons a lot sooner if any link between the two could be proven.

- Cue the lookup of backstory after noticing that the kanji in 'Ryujin' from 'Ryujin Rapiers' in FF14 mean 'dragon god' -

Oh. Oh. This is that mythological entity that Lugia is based off of. So then this is a roundabout way of saying 'Lugia Clan'? That's pretty clever if so, since Lugia was a sage, while not quite a dragon. It'd actually thematically work quite well for a faction that's linked to Aeon but not fully of it.

At least now he looked the part, too.

:sadwott~2:


[Life? Death? ResidentSleeper. The (CHAT) wants (THRILLS), (CHILLS), and (KILLS). It wants (HELIX)!]

Yeah, I figured that some sort of weirdness would barge in and give Chiaki a second wind. Wasn't expecting this to be it, though.

Chiaki tried letting out a startled cry and his throat erupted in burning pain. His eyes darted around until he noticed the far corner of the room full of static-filled red squares. The squares quickly disappeared in mismatched blips of black and white light, revealing weird blue and red ovals floating around, twitching and spasming.

[No need to hold your (CLAP EMOJI)s.] The thing was speaking in a disturbingly robotic tone whose pitch switched between low and high without warning. Every word sounded like it was coming out of a radio or an old PV speaker. And it all sent static ripples through the thing's disjointed discs. [I would be (MUTED FOR TEN MINUTES) too if I met (CHAT)'s number two (BIRD JESUS), aaabaaajss Ahsen.]

I kinda wonder if you should do something like bold Ahsen's dialogue, since admittedly I had more trouble than I expected separating the brackets from the rest of the embedded sentence, and it'd play up the 'unnaturalness' a bit more.

It looked at the window. [Copyright(C)February2014norightsreserved.]

Chiaki: "... This is a despair-induced hallucination, right?"
:wtfuckle:


The grovyle looked around frantically, but couldn't find anything resembling those emergency call buttons hospital rooms were supposed to have. If one was there, it was out of sight, thanks to his severely limited movement. And he couldn't shout for help with his throat in pain like this.

Two discs — Ahsen's arms, maybe? — drooped. [Boy, talk about a tough (A, B, SELECT, UP, DOWN.)] As it shouted directions, Ahsen's body moved as if someone else controlled it, even slamming it into the ceiling and floor.

Yuuuuup, that sounds like what I remember of TPP back when it was current.
:loltias:


Ahsen picked itself up, limbs twitching. [What's with the (EYES EMOJI)? This is no OMEGALULing matter. I (EYES EMOJI) you, laying there like a sad sack. Full of FeelsBadMan.]

Chiaki understood very little of what this thing was spewing... which probably meant it was in cahoots with Xeromus. How else could it show up out of nowhere entirely unprompted?

Wait, so is Ahsen literally saying the names of memes there? Or is he projecting images or something like that in the middle of dialogue?

The grovyle took deep breaths. If he could get out one shout, maybe he could get some help.

[Hey, hey, there's no need to (DON'T TOUCH THAT TOTODILE).] Ahsen floated closer to Chiaki's bed, only to abruptly stop and jerk around in different directions. [(DOWN, DOWN, LEFT, UP, LEFT.)]

It regained control of itself. [All I want is to offer you a chance. A chance at some (START9).] Ahsen vibrated excitedly. [A deal as good as (FREE MONTHLY SUBSCRIBER WITH PRIME GAMING.)

Chiaki:
200w.gif

Ahsen: [Getting into it already FeelsGoodMan So... (START9)?]

[You want the moves? The schmooves? The grooves?] Ahesen pointed its arms at Chiaki's limp body. [(HELIX) can give. (HELIX) can take. A little (START9) is all (HELIX) asks for in return.]

Ahsen waved its limbs around. [Keep them (CLICK)ing. Keep them (STICK)ing. (READ)ing. (WATCH)ing. (TWEET)ing. But not (DELETE)ing.]

Image


The grovyle had enough. He opened his mouth and tried as hard as he could to shout for help. However, white hot pain shot down his throat. Chiaki coughed up red-tinged saliva.

[OMEGALUL.] Ashen's head swiveled around thanks to its lack of anything resembling a neck. [Sometimes it be like that. Kappa.] It drifted closer to Chiaki's bed. [The choices are yours and yours alone. (START, START, B, A, B, UP, UP).]

... This is what transforms Chiaki, isn't it?

Ahsen rose up, hitting the ceiling multiple times. When it finally drifted back toward Chiaki's bed, it had something balancing precariously in its discoid arms.

A rusty sword? No, that wasn't right. Chiaki squinted to get the stars out of his vision from his shouting attempt.

... It was a honedge. Rust coated much of its body, but there were bits of red on its blade... and an empty socket where its eye should have been.

Chiaki held his breath. That couldn't have been right. Everything about it matched up with—

Chiaki: "How in the hell did you get this?!"
:grohno~1:

Ahsen:
Image


[Don't try to 5Head this, (STRIMMER). They are who we thought they were.] Ahsen twitched and jerked about excitedly. [You want (UP, LEFT, LEFT, DOWN) movement. (HELIX) knows it. You can't (GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL DO NOT PASS GO DO NOT COLLECT TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS).] The creep was hovering by Chiaki's head, now. [So, take the (STICK OF TRUTH) and open your retinas. Reclaim your (OW, THE EDGE) now for the low, low price of.]

This thing was talking crazy. Chiaki knew that. It didn't even properly finish that last sentence!

... And yet it sounded like Ahsen was offering him a way to walk again.

I'm pretty sure that this is making a deal with a meme-spewing devil, but... yeah, Chiaki kinda needs a way to stay active in the plot, so...

It was too good to be true. An obvious deal with the devil. But what did the grovyle really have to lose at this point? He was bedbound, couldn't talk, and on a fast track to Citadark. He knew Ryujin policy well enough by now. If the law caught up with someone, there were no lifelines. That was how the clan kept operating all these years. Chiaki would have no support. And against the likes of the Grim Reaper, the two outcomes were a guilty verdict... or a one-way trip to the Qliphoth.

You see, you having to ask that is all but guaranteed that there's going to be some sort of horrible, horrible cost from all of this.
:fearfullaugh~1:


Chiaki had hit rock bottom. As far as he was concerned, there was nowhere to go but up.

He shakily tilted his head toward Ahsen. Perhaps the glitch recognized the look in his eyes, because it buzzed excitedly. [You will take the (DROP)?]

The grovyle slowly nodded.

Whelp. Let the chaos begin, then.

Ahsen's limbs twitched. [Warning: if you consent to the terms and agreements of this (END USER LICENSE)—]

Static overtook Ahsen's head. Its body appeared to go limb for a moment and a much deeper, non-robotic voice said, "You accept everything that will happen from now on."

Well, that was ominous as hell.
Chiaki: "Is- Is it too late to back out right now?"
:fearfullaugh~1:

Ahsen:
589897202890047522.png


Still, recklessness had landed Chiaki in this situation. If there was ever a time to double down, this was it.

... Probably. Despite the Ryujin operating casinos, Chiaki knew little about gambling. Regardless, the grovyle nodded at Ahsen once again, a more determined look in his eyes.

Narrator:
Image

Chiaki: "Shut up already! I'm not agreeing to getting written out of the plot by being a paraplegic in a hell prison!" >_>;

Ahsen flailed its limbs around. [PogChamp! I knew you would (PAYMENT SUCCESSFULLY PROCESSED).] It bobbed its head at the sword. [Enjoy the (START9) and don't forget to (HIT THAT FOLLOW BUTTON AND RING THE BELL).]

Static cubes engulfed Ahsen. They all disappeared, leaving Chiaki alone with the empty, rusted honedge. The grovyle stared at it, blinking slowly. Was something supposed to happen? Did he did magic words?

No, if this was Vegna's Abyssal Relic candidate, then there was some sort of ritual he needed to perform. If only he had access to that informa—

Chiaki: "W-Wait a minute, didn't Vegna specifically say that those relic things specifically required a 'Sacrificial Ritual'? Th-Then does that make me the-?"
:eltyscared:


It was brief, but Chiaki saw embers flicker around Honedge's empty eye socket. The grovyle held his breath, but one of the monitors started beeping, so he exhaled. More embers lazily drifted out of the eye socket, which now had a faint red glow.

Honedge wasn't inert. There was something there!

The red glow got brighter. It shifted to an orange bubble that expanded several centimeters before popping... and releasing a joltik-sized, luminescent orange butterfree.

That... was more creepy than I was expecting, and it was just the start of this ritual. Also wait, is this also an Ultra Volcarona there?

What the hell? Chiaki watched the butterfree fly around the honedge husk, which stopped glowing. It had no face, hands, feet, or antennae. Every flap of its tiny wings produced even tinier embers that fizzled out in the air.

Finally, after a few loops around the sword, it fluttered toward Chiaki. The grovyle went cross-eyed watching it come closer and closer and land on his snout.

For a second, Chiaki thought he might sneeze. Then the butterfree glowed brighter and, with a sudden flash, dissolved into orange light that went up his mouth and nostrils.

Chiaki: "Hey, wait! I didn't sign up for-!"
:AlviseScared:


Chiaki's eyes widened. Warmth spread down his entire body... and he felt it below his neck! At first it was nice and soothing. But it progressively got hotter. Too hot to handle!

With a startled grunt, Chiaki threw the covers off his bed. He wasn't even processing that he could move again, because he was too busy watching in horror as his green skin burnt to a black that brought his stepsiblings to mind. The restraint melted off his arm and plopped onto the floor uselessly. His once pink belly turned the same shade of orange as the tiny butterfree. Bit by bit, his right arm regrew itself, but with the same black skin as the rest of his body. And yellow, flame-like markings traced themselves along his skin.

Chiaki's vision flickered. The hospital room disappeared, replaced by a torrent of fire.

And there's our transformation. Though he really does look like a humanoid Galboros with that described pattern.

A figure similar to Gene stared directly ahead. Orange, triangular wings and a helmet reminiscent of a volcarona appeared in gouts of fire. It raised its left hand and summoned a blade.

The burning intensified in Chiaki's head and rear. "Ah... graaagh!"

He leaned forward and threw his yellow hands onto his head. The hearing aids popped out of his ear frills. Chiaki's leaf was regrowing, too, but it was happening too fast. And it felt way too long.

The figure slashed at the air with its sword. Flaming crescents descended upon the battered forms of a swampert and a blaziken who each wore a broken gold wristband.

Wait, are these visions of a GL AU? Since I'm pretty sure that that was Ginji and his partner getting wiped in that last paragraph.

With a pained holler, Chiaki rolled out of bed. Any jubilance he might've had at regaining his movement was gone when he glimpsed what used to be his stubby leaf tails elongating into flaps like Kyoko's.

"Wh... at's happ... ening... to me?"

You're becoming the M-Salandit evolution that GF has got buried in the design vault pending release in like a decade. :V

Chiaki's vision flashed again. He thrashed about, screaming.

The figure thrust its sword into the ground. Giant, fiery tornadoes erupted from the earth, swallowing up Rayquaza and Latias.

"Who the hell are you?!"

Oh, it’s that moment again. I initially completely forgot about it before looking up ‘orange butterfly’ in GL and having everything come flooding back. Also, it should go without saying, but no refunds, Chiaki.

Gasping, Chiaki sat up. Scarlett stood slack-jawed in the doorway. Chiaki looked down at his orange belly and black, charred skin. Medical staff were slipping in past the dragonair.

"Hey, where's the patient?" A gardevoir looked around, eyes narrowing. "What's going on here? I'm getting Sir Vegna!"

Chiaki acted without thinking. With a snarl, he spewed fire — freaking fire! — and the gardevoir backpedaled out of the doorway with a shriek. Scarlett dropped to her belly.

That... doesn't bode well for Scarlett's life expectancy, really.
:fearfullaugh~1:


"What the hell?" she hissed.

"Call a code gray!" someone shouted from the gathering crowd.

Huh, so 'Code gray' legit means something in medical parlance, specifically regarding patients causing violent disturbances. TIL.

Chiaki lunged for Scarlett and grabbed hold of the dragonair. "H-Hey! Let go of me!" she cried. Her neck bauble glowed, but Chiaki wrapped it and the dragonair's snout up in his arms and sprinted for the far side of the room.

The honedge husk appeared at his side and slashed at the window. It shattered, raining glass down and the husk disappeared. Chiaki felt a weight in the pit of his stomach, but kept running.

Well, Chiaki didn't just casually torch / run Scarlett through so things are turning out a bit better than expected? ^^;

"Stop him!" an unfamiliar voice barked.

Scarlett thrashed about in Chiaki's grip to no avail. The charred grovyle leaped through the broken window... and discovered his room was six stories off the ground!

He and Scarlett tumbled through open air for a few seconds. Then Chiaki's back burnt... and the falling stopped. He was moving past the flat and pointed roofs of Vellguarde's buildings. His arms muffled Scarlett's cries.

Oh, so he can fly in this form, too. That's definitely an upgrade from being a paraplegic.

Chiaki glanced over his shoulder to see flaming volcarona wings flapping effortlessly.

Whatever the husk had done to Chiaki, he didn't have time to think over it. The hospital was sounding the alarm. Stoutland Yard would undoubtedly be after him. He had to keep moving... with his screaming passenger in tow.

Wait, what is he even planning on doing with her? Or is he just in full chaos mode at the moment? .-.

Spoiler: The Transformation

Huh. That looks a lot more naturalistic than what I was expecting from the description. Though it really does look like that one M-Salandit evolution that is buried on a hard drive somewhere in Carrot Tower or wherever GF's current offices are.

Alright, time for the recap:

This chapter was definitely different to say the least. Especially since I don't think you've ever done a one-scene chapter prior to this one. I already got spoiled somewhat that something drastic would wind up happening with Chiaki, but I still was surprised by where things wound up at the end. It also was a neat chance to get a better read on Chiaki and Scarlett and... boy was Scarlett a lot different from what I was expecting as a character. .-.

As for criticisms... Ahsen's dialogue was a bit confusing in formatting, even if that was kinda the point, I suspect. Like I get what you're going for, but it is probably worth fiddling around with trying to make his dialogue stand out more visually. I admittedly was kinda lost at what was going on in the GL AU sequences. Like I suspect that those will wind up being a bit less random given future context, but I kinda wish there were a few more hints given to the reader behind what on earth just happened to Chiaki and this Butterfree Effect.

But altogether, I thought it was a fun chapter, and I can't say it didn't keep me on my toes. Kudos on the work as usual, @Ambyssin . And I'll be looking forward to picking up your next chapter in the very near future. ^^
 

Spiteful Murkrow

Busy Writing Stories I Want to Read
Pronouns
He/Him/His
Partners
  1. nidoran-f
  2. druddigon
  3. swellow
  4. quilava-fobbie
  5. sneasel-kate
Heya, got a bit of downtime, so figured it was as good an occasion as any to try and catch up with your most recent chapter of PoV to try and get back to a more "day and date" schedule. So let's jump right into things with…

Chapter 43

To: Paradox, Deoxys
From: [REDACTED]
Security Level: Sigma
Subject: Update

Security level 'Sigma', huh? Wonder just how many Greek letters get used in QN's security classification system given that Sigma has a designation in it.

I must apologize, sir. After some further digging, I do not believe your new acquaintance is some sort of deposed Etherian royalty. In fact, I'm not even sure he's Etherian at all. I saw Lieutenant Hideout's glastrier steed fall in battle and it was absorbed by a dusknoir — the one from the trial you broadcasted to Eterna City, actually — who summoned a zekrom from the heavens like it was nothing! There was a momentary flash of panic in his expression when it happened. Like he had stumbled onto something he wasn't supposed to.

Oh, so Glastrier is really just dead dead. And possibly a new plaything for Vegna. Though that's an ominous sign about him if even Paradox's lieutenants are freaking out about him and have no clue what on earth Vegna is.

Do I think this changes anything? No. In fact, it might give you additional leverage beyond his other partner. She's still imprisoned, yes? Well, with things unraveling on Radiance, his desire to return to his true home may only grow more desperate. And that desperation may cause him to go all in on a total bluff, if you catch my drift.

I see Fraud is writing this letter. Since I can see those card game metaphors there.

I do have one request, though: please allow me to dispose of these idiots. They were a decent enough distraction at the time, but I'm tired of putting them to sleep when I need to get real work done. Radiance's Parliament is convening for an emergency session and you'll no doubt want to hear a full report, but I can't go to Radiance's capital with this pair of deuces.

That's all for now. Nos vera Natus!

Yuuuuuuuup, though that's not a good omen at all for the life expectancies of Carpaccio and Rookie or Isola's court as a whole, really.
:madness~3:


Dazzels was the brilliant capital emblematic of the Kingdom of Radiance's shining beauty. However, Shimmer had no interest in looking past the marble steps in front of Espace Adelaide toward the sparkling, glass-filled government buildings, museums, and cultural sites marking Grand Place, the bluntly named center of the city.

Well, you can't say that the capital isn't aptly named for a kingdom of light. Even if considering the absolute state of affairs, 'Luxendarc' or 'Penumbra' would be a more apt name for Radiance as a land.

Instead, all he could do was look down at his scratched hooves and the lilac carpet beneath them. The ponyta hadn't made eye contact with anyone. Not when Demerzel and Justine showed up in Venish to collect him. Not when the latter tried to question him about what happened. Not the entire night, where he lay in bed alone for the first time in a month, gazing into a photo he and Xander had taken together on a private beach. And not when Justine shoved him out of bed the next morning, threw an oversized pink cloak over him, and dragged him out of Radiant Palace so Demerzel could teleport them to Parliament's main building.

Surprised that a pretty boy like him doesn't have a bunch of polish precisely to hide those. Though I suppose Shimmer wouldn't exactly be in the right state of mind to try and make himself look presentable right now.

Shimmer shuffled through Espace Adelaide's main hall like a zombie in some schlocky action movie he'd only see with Xander for a good laugh about commoners' terrible tastes. He only moved faster when a voice ahead of him growled, "Pick up the pace. You're Crown Prince, not some stoner baked out of their mind."

I am at once
:sevicry:
and
:seviAAAAAAAAAAA:
at this horse's thought process, so good work there.

A flat hallway led to a spiral staircase that Shimmer proceeded down. He could see Justine's legs with their usual black lace stockings and black leather boots. The virizion probably had on her usual tight leather holowear suit, too. If Justine was going to Parliament with Shimmer, then it couldn't be good.

No doubt this was going to be about what happened to Venish. Was Justine going to make him testify to Parliament?

Justine:
589897202890047522.png

Shimmer: "In case if you haven't noticed, but I'm not in a mental state to do much other than curl up on my bed and cry into my pillows right now." >_>;
Justine: "You're the Crown Prince. You'll manage."

Shimmer's gut squirmed. He couldn't do it. He couldn't recount standing by and letting the Medicis terrorize Piazza Lavenda or failing to do anything to fight against the mysterious knight or... losing Xander and his other classmates.

No, no, I'm pretty sure you can. I mean, I'm sure that it'll be a massive source of public shame and you'll probably need to be drug to it kicking and screaming, but you can absolutely recount all that.

The ponyta was supposed to be a prodigy who excelled at everything from grades to modeling and acting. The perfect catch for any other noble. Heck, no one even knew Xander was his consort except his mothers and Robin. Sure, the two had gotten caught together in the locker room at school several times, but they always played it off as a casual fling. And no one dared to gossip about it because Shimmer could have made their lives miserable. But if he testified... he'd become a laughingstock. The butt of every late-night comedian's opening monologue. His life would truly be over!

Image


Boy does this kid have some warped priorities in life. And I see he really does take after Bede in mindset.

A door creaked open and something firm pressed against Shimmer's side. "Get in there," Justine hissed, shoving the ponyta forward. Shimmer stumbled ahead and found himself behind multiple large, velvet-covered chairs. He glimpsed his other mother's outline in the middle chair and quietly crept in between it and the chair to the right, where he usually sat when observing Parliament sessions.

To his shock, however, the main chamber was entirely silent, with attention squarely focused on the circular room's mounted PV monitors showing a crowd of pokémon cautiously watching some sort of... horrifying helmeted creature with chains around its legs and a tattered black cloak.

Ohai, Xeromus

"Look around you!" it shouted between cough-filled wheezes. "The sky is painted purple and tears itself open in anguish because this planet is suffering! You are all suffering! The ether chokes two civilizations out and your leaders tell you to avert your eyes from the truth. That Natus — your so-called Word Ender — is its source. That you are fed lies to be complacent!"

... Can't tell whether or not Xeromus is meaning to say that Natus is the source of Ether, or that Natus is the source of all Etherium. I mean, we already knew the first, but the second... .-.

Radiant Guard pelted the creature with attacks, but every attempt they made faltered as some sort of vaguely canine shadow sprouted from the ground and swallowed up the attacks.

Which I'm pretty sure looked suspiciously like a Zamazenta there.

"Look at this! See how they pour their hatred onto a worthless omen like me," it continued. "But I will gladly accept that animosity if it means you all can find love and salvation in Natus' embrace."

... I don't know how it took me this long to realize it, but Xeromus is basically running a death cult that may or may not be trying to hasten the end of the world. That's just.... lovely.
:unquag:


More attacks. This time the shadow dog manifested a red shield that deflected Icy Winds, Thunderbolts, and Earth Powers away.

"Join me in rejecting your crown. Reject the ether and discover a life greater than any you could live here!"

Yup, that's totally Zamazenta there. I see he's totally had a normal one in the past 1100 years.

The PVs shifted to shaky shots of some parts of the assembled crowd marching in unison with the helmeted monster, carrying hastily made "Down with Polaris!" and "What are they hiding?" signs.

A few grimmsnarl and bruxish guards wrangled some of the protestors and shoving matches broke out amongst the crowd.

On one level, I'm surprised that Xeromus was able to wrangle such a large audience. On another level, I really shouldn't be given that everything that's been mentioned in passing about the lives of 'commoners' in this setting has sounded fairly dystopian.

"These are just some of the scenes from a spontaneous demonstration that took place at dawn in Herbrides," a female newscaster explained as the PVs changed to show a trio of scuffed up roselia being shoved into Stoutland Yard transport vehicles.

"Similar demonstrations rose up across the kingdom following the speech given by the helmeted creature, who calls himself Xeromus. While these cities were spared from the calamity that befell Venish last night, there are reports of similar rifts appearing in the sky. They may be far enough away to avoid bringing any harm, but it seems citizens are all asking themselves the same question: how long will they stay safe?"

I'm surprised that Isola didn't phone some friends and demand that the news not air any segments about Xeromus' protest, since that sort of media blackout is literally SOP for trying to suppress unwanted grassroots movements IRL even among places that aren't outright autocracies.

The PV monitors shut off in unison. It was then that Shimmer realized Vortex was sitting beside Arianna at a table opposite the platform the thrones were on, in front of the MP assembly. There was a smaller podium across from the pale-faced charizard, which held some of the Crowne Ministers. In the middle was an older appearing corsola. Shimmer recognized her from behind as Parliament's Speaker, Leyanne.

Vortex: "... Boy is this not a good look right now."
:ohnowen:


She cleared her throat and tapped a rocky horn to her microphone. "Now that we're all up to speed, I simply must know what you have to say for yourself, Vortex."

"It's Chancellor Vortex," Arianna cut in. Shimmer glimpsed a twinge of irritation breaking through her normal indifferent expression. Perhaps the large bags under her eyes made it easier to tell.

Vortex: "(... Arianna? Why on earth are our stations even airing segments about the protests and the rifts in the sky right now? They're our stations!)"
:unimpressed:

Arianna: "(I'm pretty sure that some portion of them have gone rogue over the past 24 hours, Vortex. And what did you expect the heads of the media division to do? Just turn down free ratings and leave it all to the second fiddles like the Radiant Beacon?)"
:gardexhausted:


"You will not speak out of turn in this chamber, Miss Arianna," Leyanne retorted, thinly veiled contempt behind her words. "We have ample accounts from the Amphitheatre broadcast showing World Ender's sigil displaying while your company-sponsored superstar sang an anarchistic manifesto that previewed the sentiments later expressed by that deranged mutt in Herbrides." The corsola hopped to the edge of her podium. "This body demands an explanation."

Image


Vortex: "... I plead the fifth and the views expressed by our employees aren't reflective of Polaris as a whole? Pretty sure we have some sort of legalese CYA for that-"
:joltyshrug~1:

Arianna: "Vortex, we live in a constitutional monarchy modeled after Britain. I'm not sure if we even have a written constitution ensuring rights such as those."
:gardexhausted:

Vortex: "... Oh, well this is awkward, then..."
:fearfullaugh~1:


The charizard shifted uneasily in his seat. Shimmer had never seen Vortex so uncomfortable. Even his navy blue holowear suit wasn't as neat and tidy as usual.

"We're, erm, still sorting through that," Vortex said. His microphone was too small for his long neck, so he was hunched over like he had back problems.

... Don't Charizard already look like that by default though?
:loltias:


"Is that so?" Leyanne quirked a brow. "You run the most profitable corporation in the entire kingdom, with multiple Crowne Ministers sitting on your board. How do you not have an answer yet?"

Vortex: "(Arianna, how do we not have a legalese CYA ready to go for this?!)"
:ohnowen:

Arianna: "(Vortex, would you seriously expect the crown to accept it in these circumstances even if we had one?)" >_>;

Vortex was about to say something, when the suit-garbed dartrix to his left leaned over and whispered something. With a stoic expression, Vortex replied, "There are multiple matters Polaris needs to address. This is an ongoing investigation."

"Multiple matters." Leyanne rocked back and forth. "So, you admit your corporation failed on several levels."

"That's not what I—" Vortex stopped when Dartrix grabbed his left arm. "No comment," he whispered, tail flame dimming.

Leyanne: "... I'll just note that down as a 'yes' there." >:|

"Then, perhaps, we should address this one level at a time," Leyanne retorted. "Starting with the idol, Starlene."

Murmurs rose up from the MPs sitting at their desks behind Vortex. An elderly granbull let out a "Hear, hear!"

Pretty sure the phrase from parliamentary proceedings is "Hear, hear". But I might be tripping.

Again, Dartrix whispered into Vortex's ear frill. The charizard mumbled, "You know as well as I there was an explosion backstage at the Amphitheatre. We had nothing to do with that."

"Yes, the Ministry of Justice has a suspect in custody," Leyanne said, rocking back and forth again.

... Wait, when exactly is this set again? Since I thought that Chiaki bailed from Vellguarde on the night that everything went to pot in Venish. Isn't this set the morning after?

"Point of inquiry, Madame Speaker!" a blaziken called, raising a white placard.

"Go ahead."

"Two individuals were recovered from the wreckage of Starlene's trailer," Blaziken said. "One of which was a dragonair." He held up a document. "The report lists one Grovyle Chiaki as the suspect, so where did this dragonair come from?"

Whelp, there goes Scarlett's career there.

Shimmer sucked in a sharp breath. He remembered hearing about a dragonair upperclassman at Horizon that, like Nikki the Nuisance, was accepted on scholarship. The ponyta had gossiped at length about it with Xander and Robin — heck, he made sure her classmathes threw a fair bit of ire in her direction — but she left the academy and then Nikki showed up in her place.

He wanted to brush it off as a coincidence, but the flash of panic in Vortex's eyes suggested it wasn't.

Oh, so Vortex is actually going to have to explain what's going on with Scarlett, isn't he?

"That's beyond the scope of this inquiry, I'm afraid," Leyanne said. Shimmer caught the relief washing over Vortex's face, only for it to fade when the corsola added, "Unless there's something you wish to add, Mr. Vortex."

The charizard shook his head. More murmurs followed. Leyanne knocked one of her nubby legs against her podium. "Order. I will have order. We should get back on tr—"

Vortex: "(Oh thank god. Arianna, remind me to go through the records of the Diva Project after this and torch everything talking about the test subject.)"
:sweats:


A loud slam jolted Shimmer. He bit his tongue to stop himself from whinnying like a startled colt. The ponyta looked left to see oak double doors wide open and Minister Tesla lying in a crumpled daze, stripped of his goggles and that weird backpack that held his robot limbs. And standing behind him with a determined glint in her eye was Virizion Justine.

"Not so fast, Madame Speaker," she said, strutting into the chamber while a few journalists repositioned their cameras to get shots of the latex-wearing virizion. Justine shoved Tesla further in with a forehoof. "The good MP was onto something with his question."

Vortex: "T-Tesla?! What in the hell are you-?!" O_O;
Arianna: "Well, this hearing could be going better right now..." >.<

Leyanne briefly sputtered. "M-Madame High Inquisitor." The corsola rocked back and forth nervously. "This is highly irregular." She turned around and looked toward Shimmer— no, toward his mother.

"We grant Lady Justine permission to address Parliament," Isola said, bobbing her head slowly. As side conversations rose up in the chamber, the rapidash turned to Shimmer and whispered. "Pay attention, dear. It's time you watched how real leaders take charge."

:burned~1:


On one level, Isola's being a terrible mother here. On the other hand, Shimmer kinda deserved that, so...
:wellyousee:


Shimmer wanted to melt into the floor, but meekly nodded instead.

"Get up." Justine shoved Tesla again. The boltund scrambled to his feet, making nervous "zzt" noises the entire time. "Tell Parliament what you told me during questioning. What's the source of the Diva Project?"

Oh boy, so that actually is going to come out in public here.

Tesla looked at Vortex, whose eyes were wide. Dartrix stood up in his chair. "You questioned him on company matters without counsel present?!"

"On our orders," Isola exclaimed, standing from her throne. "This is a matter of national security and Minister Tesla is, first and foremost, a public servant."

Dartrix puffed out his feathers. "But Your Eminence, due process is essential to a functional judici—"

"Are you questioning our authority on the matter?" Isola narrowed her eyes. Her golden, shield-shaped breast armor glistened under the glow of the chamber's chandeliers.

Well that totally sounds like a totally healthy and properly functioning legal system and not a glorified Star Chamber... not.

"O-Of course not." Dartrix obscured more of his face with his large, green, drooping feather. He sat back down and whispered to Vortex.

"No more interruptions," Justine growled. She stomped a forehoof in front of Tesla. "Talk. Now."

"The Diva Project... involved a young lady whose music had Dynaforce powers," Tesla said, staring at the chamber's purple carpet. "The project team treated her with special ether-based formulations to amplify that power and allow her to manifest it as the idol, Meloetta Starlene. The design was based on old historical records of a pokémon that would fight battles using her voice, but sadly succumbed to the Darkest Day."

Whelp, I see that Scarlett's career is ending in live-time right about now. Though guess being able to have a plan B if something like this ever happened is probably why Vortex invested in those Genesect, huh?

Several gasps echoed through the chamber. A few MPs even stood up at their desks, shouting about experimentation.

"Order!" Leyanne used her right foot as a gavel once again.

"Where did you get your subject?" Justine asked.

"Well, I— zzrt zzvrt." Tesla robotically swiveled his head around. "She was... a Horizon Academy student."

I can't tell whether this is actually going to blow up on Vortex right here and now, or if he's going to get away by throwing Tesla and his team under the bus.

The shouting resumed from the MPs. Dartrix hurriedly grabbed Vortex's microphone. "I will have you know that this student agreed to everything in writing. We can produce every contract, along with affidavits she was signing them of her own free will!"

"That's supposed to make it better?!" a pinurchin MP called from the back of the circular room.

Well, it'll keep Vortex out of prison, so from his perspective... yes?
:joltyshrug~1:


"Order!" Leyanne struck her podium again. "The High Inquisitor still has the floor!"

Shimmer's gut squirmed. That dragonair commoner who left Horizon was a singer. Even if Nikki didn't shut up about it, he would have remembered. He and Xander thought her songs were catchy, though it was hard to look past a dragon singing them.

Did that mean that Starlene... was actually a dragonair?

Narrator:
589897202890047522.png

Shimmer: "I'd... have really rather not have known that about my idol, thanks."
:grohno~1:


"What other effects did these ether treatments have, Minister?" Justine continued, pacing circles around the panicked boltund. Tesla looked at Vortex who shook his head, but Justine stepped in between them.

"I, uh—" Tesla descended into squeaky pretend robot noises.

-snerk-
That's definitely a memorable character tic there.
:LULgia:


"Minister," Justine growled.

"I don't remember!" he blurted out.

Tesla: "Look, can't I just plead the fifth here-?"
:grohno~1:

Justine: "No, because this is a monarchy with a British-inspired legal system." >:|
Arianna: "Yes, yes, we know. I literally mentioned that about 20 cutaway gags ago."
:gardexhausted:


"You don't remember telling me that Starlene's music exerted suggestive influences on its listeners?" Justine said, raising a brow.

A tense silence fell over the entire chamber. "E-Excuse me?" Leyanne gasped.

"Suggestive influence?" the same blaziken from earlier gawked. "That sounds like brainwashing to me!"

"N-No! Never!" Tesla rapidly shook his head. "It's more comparable to hypnosis, really, and—"

It was totally brainwashing effects. Though I would suppose that would explain how it was that Xeromus got such a big audience in such short order.

A fresh wave of shouts emerged from the MPs. A couple of morgrem were pointing at Vortex and Tesla.

"O-Order!" Leyanne's call failed to stop the shouting.

However, Justine had no such trouble. "So, in your opinion, it's possible that these ridiculous protests are a result of citizens being exposed to Starlene's hypnotic effects?"

Tesla: "I- I suppose in theory it could be something that'd-"
:fearfullaugh~1:

Justine: "Out with it, already!"
:seviAAAAAAAAAAA:


Tesla nodded. Shimmer's ears folded. He did recall moments while the concert played on the hotel suite PV where he and Xander were hallucinating. And that wasn't like the time the ponyta had tried tiny mushrooms, either. There was some sort of blue and orange tentacle creature talking about World Ender.

No. Shimmer shrank down. Polaris was manipulating people? Justine didn't seem to know about it, but what about Isola? How much was shared with her regarding the project?

... So Polaris is either a front for the QN, or it's been penetrated by the QN and used as a vehicle by which to carry out its designs on the surface.

And how did Team Bastion find all this out? Shimmer wondered, glaring at the floor. Was it the grovyle? His father ran some sham newspaper that constantly slandered the government. Maybe they dug something up for the Aeon princess to put into effect?

I mean, it's more because of Vegna that any of this is becoming public, but... technically Chiaki helped with that?

At last, the shouts died down. Justine had formed a Sacred Sword and held her head high. "I share your frustrations, everyone. But there are two other points that must be discussed." She dissolved the attack and whirled on Tesla. "What's the source of the ether powering our kingdom?"

Well, this day just keeps getting better and better for Polaris and Vortex here.

The color drained from Tesla's face. Vortex dug his claws into the table. Dartrix lunged for the microphone. "Th... that delves into proprietary technology! We have a right to protect our assets!" He pointed a wing toward the journalists in the front corner of the room. "This line of questioning necessitates a closed meeting with full confidenti—"

"Very well." Isola raised her head. Her horn and the gem in the middle of her Crowne Shield glowed pink. "All press and other visitors are ordered to vacate posthaste."

... Not fully convinced that Vortex is going to be able to leave the room in one piece after this. I mean, on one level the plot was building him up to be fairly prominent as a character, but I just have trouble seeing how he'd bounce back from the Awful Truth coming out short of mounting a coup d'etat on the spot.

Rumbles of protest rippled through the chamber, but ultimately everyone standing along the room's circular borders shuffled out. Isola's horn glowed brighter. Pink, heart-shaped locks covered each of the doors. Shimmer looked around at the chamber. Even though it was much quieter, many MPs were still standing. Some, like the morgrem, glared at Tesla.

"Satisfied, counselor?" Justine said.

Dartrix shuffled uneasily. "We still object to these disclosures."

"Noted, and overruled," Isola exclaimed. "The kingdom's security trumps corporate patents."

Vortex: "A-And when the patents are a matter of national security?"
:fearfullaugh~1:

Isola: "That's literally more reason to open this line of questioning! Not less!"
:absus:


Again, Justine turned to Tesla. "Well?"

"Zrrrrttttt." Tesla mechanically staggered back. "Ether comes primarily from... World Ender. The Needles are not markers for underground power systems, they are part of the seal on World Ender. Their destruction would, according to our calculations, release World Ender from its imprisonment. It could then proceed to destroy the planet as it attempted in the Darkest Day."

Audience:
:uhhh:
:uhhh:
:uhhh:

Justine: "There's more. Keep going."

When Tesla's rapid response finished, Justine formed her green Sacred Sword to immediately silence cries from the MPs. "Who created the seal?"

"Powerful pokémon," Tesla whimpered. "My research suggest they are revered by the Aeon Kingdom as so-called 'Luminous Sages.'"

Justine's glowing horn wasn't enough to silence the protests this time. Neither were Leyanne's attempts to restore order.

"Outrageous!" a togekiss shouted.

Blaziken stood up yet again. "So, this entire time we've been lying to the populace, through our schools and history books?!"

I'm surprised that nobody's tried to make the argument of "are you seriously taking the dodgy corporate scientist at face value when for all you know he's blowing smoke out his ass?" right now considering how existentially threatening this is to the legitimacy of Radiance's government.

"It would appear that way," Justine stoically responded.

Blaziken blinked in bewilderment. "Your Eminence, did you know about this?"

Shimmer's throat constricted. World Ender truly was alive? The very feat that gave his family claim to the throne... was really accomplished by Aeon leaders?

Guess it's about time for a Republic of Radiance to take the stage, huh? Since if the raison d'etre of the crown is a crock...

"We did not." Isola cast her gaze down. "This is... truly heartbreaking news to behold."

"What do we tell the public?" Togekiss called.

"Nothing," Isola replied, her voice sickeningly sweet despite the shocking news.

"Excuse me?!" Blaziken flummoxed.

Isola: "I'm sorry, but the kingdom is in the middle of an existential crisis right now! Do you seriously expect me to just roll over and insist that we shred what little credibility this crown has left over the testimony of a mutt that makes robot boops when he's stressed?!" >_>;
Tesla: "Oi! It's an endearing trait!"
:sweats:


"We cannot give the people any more reason to believe the manipulative words of these World Ender agents," Isola sternly declared. "For the sake of the kingdom's stability, we must ensure this issue is dealt with before telling the public the truth."

Image


The ponyta's head pounded. His ears rang. Yuna... that stupid dreepy must have realized the truth! Or her parents did, and sent her into the kingdom under false pretenses!

Image


Yes, that had to be it! They had no hope of outmuscling Radiance's larger size and better technology, so they wanted to dismantle it from within! And she would totally be able to convince a couple of punks like Chiaki and Nikki to ally with her. Vortex likely fixed her team, except it ended up backfiring spectacularly!

... I like how this kid's mentally readying himself to declare war on a nation over getting his fee-fees hurt from an Awful Truth coming out.
:fearfullaugh~1:


"... disingenuous to withhold the full truth from them?"

Shimmer telekinetically brought his mother's microphone down when Blaziken finished his question. "If I may?"

Abrupt silence fell over the room. Justine's eyes were wide and Leyanne had no idea what to say. Shimmer took that as his cue to continue. "Is it not possible that the Aeon Kingdom arranged for this?" the ponyta wondered. "On a recent trip to the Herbrides Lines, their princess detailed their kingdom's version of the Darkest Day. It sounded awfully close to what Minister Tesla described.

Oh. Oh. He's actually going there.
:CabotScared:


"If they are confident we forced them into the mountains under false pretenses — but had constantly failed to make any progress through war — why not send a saboteur to destabilize us and turn the public against us?" The more he said out loud, the more Shimmer truly believed it. "I think the Aeon Princess is at the root of all of this."

An unseen force grabbed Shimmer's dark cloak. Within a second, he was back beside his mother's throne.

"Thank you for that, dear." Isola's voice was stoic. Shimmer thought she was perturbed. But surely she understood. He was onto something!

No... you're really not, Shimmer. And boy are you nuking those earlier pity points from earlier hard right about now.

"You're sorely mistaken, Your Grace."

The ponyta flinched. He had forgotten about Demerzel! The giant-headed mutant whimsicott floated out to the right of the raised platform and headed for Leyanne's podium. He politely gestured to the microphone and the corsola handed it over.

"The Aeons have no reason to work against us," Demerzel said. "And now that Justine has dragged the truth out, I'm sure you all can understand why." He tapped his bulbous head. "Where does ether come from? World Ender. Our kingdom's channeled World Ender's energy... and we've lost huge swathes of land — entire cities, even — to distortion. Meanwhile, the Aeon Kingdom has no ether and has lost almost no territory to distortion."

I mean, they also eke out a medieval existence in Death World-tier terrain, so...

"Because they have some sort of technique to stop it!" Shimmer countered.

"Or they're not tampering with World Ender like Polaris clearly is." Demerzel pointed accusingly toward Vortex. The charizard glared back. "Regardless, the point remains unchanged: all Aeon needed to do is wait out the clock. Then Radiance would be overrun by distortion and forced to yield to their terms.

I... don't like where Demerzel is going with this. Especially since I'm pretty sure he's the 'Kuja' of this story you mentioned in the past, and I remember the things that Kuja in FF9 got the queen under his influence up to in that game
:fearfullaugh~1:


"But they came to the bargaining table... because they knew the truth and wanted to work with us." Demerzel shook his head. "Instead of vilifying them, we should work with them even closer now that the situation is more dire than ever."

Okay, so what's the catch to all of this?
:absus:


Fresh murmurs arose. Vortex slammed his fists on the table and stood up. "Absolutely not!" he hissed. "This is ridiculous!" The charizard ignored Dartrix's attempts to calm him down. "You're accusing my company of driving this kingdom toward ruin? I'm the reason we're prospering! And only Polaris can find a solution to—"

748926129339105330.png


Dude, your power source is literally worse for this planet than Mako. Sit down and shut up for a while.

"You mean Icarus?" Justine cut in. She shoved Tesla toward Vortex with her foreleg. "Where were you developing it, Minister?"

"Cita... dark."

Justine's expression darkened. "The same Citadark that Polaris scanners report a strange shockwave radiating out from immediately before rifts started appearing across the kingdom?"

Fantastic work there, Vortex.

The fire in Vortex's eyes faded as quickly as it appeared. He leaned over his table. "Th-That's—"

"Where is Icarus now, Minister?" Justine asked.

Tesla stiffened. "I, um— I haven't been to Citadark lately, but I imagine it must be—"

"Do you really expect us to believe that?" Demerzel calmly folded his arms behind his back and floated away from Leyanne's podium. "Parliament funded this project. You agreed to update it on the project's status."

Tesla: "I-I mean, I've been detained for the past night, so it's kinda hard to give an update of any sort, don't you think?"
:fearfullaugh~1:

Dermezel:
:whodarespostthis:


Several cries of agreement rose up from the MPs. Tesla shrank down with the saddest "zzts" Shimmer had hear.

"Gone," he whimpered.

"Gone?" Justine marched into the boltund's line of sight. "Is it not a machine? Are you implying someone snuck into our maximum security prison and stole a device?"

"No! It's... it's..." Tesla's eyes darted around.

"Also related to World Ender, isn't it?" Demerzel said. "And may have reacted to Starlene's sabotaged song. Like a beckoning siren of sorts."

Image


Okay, seriously, Polaris at this rate has to have at least even money odds of being an outright front for QN given how everything they've been up to has played straight into Paradox's tentacles.

Tesla practically sprawled out on his belly, then nodded in defeat.

Shimmer shrank back from a wave of shouts and protests. This was all too much. He was still reeling from losing Xander. Now the ponyta had to contend with all of this?

Sounds like a good argument to leave it to mom and mom and go back to cry into your pillows for a while, really.

This was supposed to be the best time in his life. Shimmer was going to handily win the Crowne Cup, then announce Xander as his consort to the kingdom by proposing at the trophy ceremony. But now there was no Xander. There would be no Crowne Cup. The popstar he loved was revealed for a fraud, just like his ancestors.

How did everything manage to crash and burn around him so quickly and so spectacularly?

Because that's how stories like these work, son.

The protests continued. Leyanne couldn't quiet them. Neither could Justine.

Yuna. This is her fault! I know it is! It has to b—

This kid, I swear...
:eltywtf:


"ORDER!"

A chill ran down Shimmer's spine. He had never heard that tone from Isola before. Sure, Justine could get angry, but his other mother was never one to let such ugly emotions show through. Even in the private comfort of their castle.

The rapidash approached the edge of the platform and braced her right forehoof on the banister. "We've heard enough. This is... a grave situation. One that should not have transpired. We admit that it was foolish of us to grant such a close working relationship to a single company. But that does not excuse the actions that have transpired."

She looked at Justine. "Arrest Mr. Vortex."

incredibles2-choke.gif


Wow, Vortex really is getting yeeted out of the plot. Maybe. Possibly. Either way, I legit didn't see that one coming.

"What?!" Dartrix squawked.

Vortex stiffened in his seat. "Me? What for?"

"Fraud. Against Parliament. Against the entire kingdom, actually," Isola exclaimed. "Oh, and arrest Tesla, too."

"Hey!" The boltund jumped to his feet. "It's Minister Doctor—"

Well things are certainly moving fast here. Time to see whether or not those Genesect Vortex were working on are going to be used as a trump card or not.

"No." Isola's eyes flickered blue, as did her horn and Crowne Shield. "In fact, that goes for the lot of you. In accordance with the Radiant Constitution, we are hereby stripping all Crowne Ministers of their titles. Those of you with known financial ties to Polaris will have your assets frozen until they can be properly investigated by the Ministry of Finance and Stoutland Yard."

"You can't be serious!" Minister Xiao knocked his chair over standing up. The urshifu bared his fangs. "Some of us haven't gone anywhere near that company!"

That... sounds like a really dodgy constitution if Isola can just do this unilaterally. .-.

"We are deadly serious," Isola responded, holding her head high. "If any of you try and oppose us, we shall arrest you and charge you with treason."

"T-TREASON?!" Dartrix's feathers puffed up so much they obscured his face. "This is utterly ridiculous!"

Whelp, looks like there really was a coup d'etat. Just not in the direction I was expecting. .-.

"Would you care to join your client, counselor?" Isola coldly countered while Justine ushered Vortex out of his seat.

"You can't do this to me!" the charizard roared, flaring out his wings. "I brought progress and prosperity to this kingdom!" He whirled on Justine as the virizion tried to shove him toward Tesla. "Get your hooves off me, you latex-wearing hussy!"

Oh yeah, that's totally helping his case right now. Not.

Shimmer watched the scene unfold with increasing disbelief. He was getting nauseous and he hadn't even eaten anything since before the attack on Venish.

"See that, Shimmer?" Isola lowered her head into Shimmer's view. "That's how a leader's supposed to act. Understand?"

Sticker, sceptilisk,


No, I'm pretty sure that this is close to a textbook example of an authoritarian power grab, so...

The ponyta was thankful for his cloak, which hid his trembling hind legs.

"Yes, Mother," he squeaked, but all he could think about was fleeing back to his room and, with Xander gone, hiding under his covers until his frayed nerves calmed down.

I... am not convinced that we've really seen the last of Vortex and the Ministers so soon especially since Vortex was sitting on those WIP Genesect. Can't tell whether this is about to end with him and some chunk of the Ministers pulling a coup over this, or if Isola is about to become the Queen Brahne of the story. I could honestly buy either outcome right about now.

Path of Valor Almanac
Dazzels is loosely based on Brussels, Belgium, the de facto capital of the European Union. Similarly, Espace Adelaide is based on Espace Léopold, one of the meeting places of the European Parliament. And Corsola Leyanne is based on Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.

Huh. Would've expected something a bit less continental as a source of inspiration, but it's a fun bit of trivia there.

Alright, onto the recap:

I... honestly have no idea where this story is going to go on the Etherium side of things. Like I can't tell whether or not Vortex is about to pull a coup d'etat with those Genesect that were mentioned in passing like 15 chapters ago, or if Isola is about to go full mad queen from here while under Dermezel’s influence. I... could honestly buy things coming down in either direction especially since Shimmer needs his life wrecked a little harder before he's properly humbled enough to join Team Bastion, so it's a testimony to your ability to keep your audience on their toes.

As for complaints... I honestly don't have a whole lot beyond the little errors here and there I found in my readthrough. I was honestly too busy being glued to the edge of my seat watching stuff go down to notice much that I'd change about the chapter.

Kudos on the chapter @Ambyssin , had a lot of fun with it and I can already tell that next weekend’s update is going to be wild. ^^
 
Last edited:
Chapter 44: Go Ahead, Mesa My Day

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
Chapter 44: Go Ahead, Mesa My Day

Entry 1041
It's a strange place. So many weird buildings made from hexagonal tiles and filled with big gears and satellites.

And the inhabitants — these Overseer people — aren't afraid of me. They keep calling me "Necrozma" and saying more of me are out there. Just not in this universe. Which implies there are
other universes.

I'm not sure how to feel about that. And after what happened on Earth, I don't know I can trust them. It could be another trick. They might want me to lower my guard so they can hurt me. Just like everyone else.

Why am I even bothering with this place? I should just leave. I can't take any more heartbreaks or betrayals.


XxX​

The spaceship was a repurposed imperial cargo transporter. All the Eterna Empire colors and emblems were still in place, but the inside had extra leather seats and a couple of mewtwo sized bunkbeds built into the rear. Valkyrie immediately grabbed one and wedged her face into the corner of the ship.

After traveling through one of Gene's rifts back to the sea east of Venish, they took off. Yuna had to admit, it was mystifying watching the ground grow further and further away, until the whole of Etherium was a round sphere with its pale moon behind it.

Rayquaza was on the drakloak's shoulder, protesting the "blasphemous bucket of bolts" as some sort of affront to nature. But as the trip went on, his protests died down. Reshiram, on the other hand, was unreachable. He was probably upset Yuna had to leave Jade behind with Seifer, Quetzal, and Artemis.

"This mixtape's not bad." Nikki sat in the passenger seat opposite Gene, tapping her right foot on the dashboard. "Never took you for someone who likes more ambient pieces."

"Nova made this for me," Gene said, tightening his grip on the steering mechanism slightly.

"I can see that." The toxtricity grabbed the cassette case. "Lofi beats to travel the cosmos to." She smirked. "Aww, there are li'l hearts around it, too."

The mewtwo ripped the case out of Nikki's grip while she made a kissy face. "Knock it off," he growled.

Yuna rolled her eyes. She looked down at Leo, who was napping in the drakloak's lap. Yuna absentmindedly ran a hand through his starry fur. It sent a tingle up her arm and Leo's starcloud hair and tail dimly glowed.

"Even in all my years orbiting the planet, I never saw this many stars," Rayquaza said, tiny face pressed firmly to one of the glass windows. His black tail wagged side to side. "Mayhap this is why Sir Bahamut and Lady Chiron would go off on flights together."

Yuna raised a brow at that. If the two frequently flew together in outer space, then wouldn't they have been able to see Eternatus coming and prepare for it?

"Planet Chakran dead ahead."

Yuna's head snapped forward at Gene's announcement, but she tilted her head. There were four gray spheres getting closer. "Hang on. Which one's Chakran?" Her ectoplasm rippled. Leo's eyes opened and he lifted his purple and gold head up.

"The middle one, probably." Nikki shrugged. "It's the biggest."

Indeed, one gray sphere grew faster than the others. Much faster. Too fast, if Yuna was honest.

"Wait." Noctum stood up, Malice Crystal sparking in his chest. "That looks a lot bigger than Planet Etherium!"

"Shocker." Gene waved his right hand dismissively. "Some planets are larger than others. And this one has three moons to Etherium's one."

"Whoop-de-doo." Valkyrie groaned from the back of the ship. "Why am I here, again? I said I'd stay back to take part in... whatever the hell you're planning to do in Eterna City once you've dropped everyone off."

"Not happening, Chompy. You and Zardy need to work through your little spat," Gene said, snickering to himself. "What better place than a monastery?"

Nikki joined the mewtwo's laughter, only for it to die down while she sat up. "Wait a tic. If this planet's massive, how the hell are we gonna find this monastery?"

Silence followed, with everyone slowly looking at Nikki. Leo stood up and hopped onto the ship's dashboard.

"Woah, hey!" Nikki leaned forward. "What do you think you're doing?"

The cosmic arceus' wheel glowed. A thin trail of gold light trickled toward the northern hemisphere of Chakran's ragged, dusty-looking surface.

"Leo?" Yuna leaned over Nikki's seat.

"I think I sense him." Leo's tail wagged. "The nice birdie from before."

"Good enough for me." Chuckling, Gene tilted the steering mechanism forward and the ship sped off in the direction of the golden light.

XxX​

"Son of a— another desert? Are you freaking kidding me?!"

Nikki dropped to her knees and punched the brown dirt with a fist. "What kind of dumbasses put a monastery in the desert?! Why couldn't it be on a tropical isl— hey!"

Gene grabbed Nikki by the neck of her leather jacket and hoisted her back to her feet. "Enough with the theatrics. This ain't a desert."

Yuna agreed with the mewtwo. It wasn't sweltering... or even frigid like Aquardah. Instead of sandy dunes stretching out into the distance, brown, dusty trails ran off in different directions. Bedrock clusters and huge stone spires jutted out of the ground. Several had bits of rusted metal interspersed with them. Some pipes here, a few broken satellite dishes there. The strange mixture of nature and dilapidated machine stretched toward rocky hills in the distance.

In some regards, it reminded Yuna of home... if someone filed off the tops of the volcanoes and cleared all the ash from the air, of course.

"Then what do you call this shit, huh?" Nikki freed herself from Gene's grip and stomped over to a patch of crabby gray grass. "Looks pretty dead to me."

"This is a mesa." Gene tapped his temple. "Makes sense a slacker would mistake it for a desert, I suppose."

Nikki's mohawk crackled. "Gee thanks, professor."

"A mesa?" Noctum walked to Yuna's side. He was transfixed on one of the raised areas in the distance. A large dome sat behind it, reflecting light from the two moons sitting high in the planet's orange sky. "Is that like a plateau?"

"Ehh... close enough." Gene flicked his right hand dismissively. "It's got a lot to do with the composition of the raised ground. Don't need to bother with the details." He turned away from the others, yawning. "Anyway, I should head back. Have fun."

"Wait, what?" Nikki's mohawk sparked again. "You're not seriously dumping us in the middle of freaking nowhere and hightailing it!" She shot Yuna an accusatory look. "Come on, Princess, back me up here."

Yuna was about to do that when Leo hopped up onto her head. He looked at the same dome in the distance. "There." He pointed his forehoof ahead. "It's like it's speaking to me."

"Then send it to voicemail," Nikki scoffed. "The adults are talking."

Gene smirked. "See? You've got better directions than I can offer." The mewtwo's yellow-tipped tail lazily drifted back and forth. "Plus, you got two rift-makers who could portal you back to Etherium at a moment's notice."

Noctum and Yuna exchanged skeptical looks. Their portal abilities weren't that strong, were they? That would be on par with Bahamut himself!

Then again, if Eternatus can produce infinite energy from nothing, Gene might be right. Gulping, Yuna rubbed her Soul Dew. "Just... tell me what you're planning that makes you want to go back to the Qliphoth so quickly."

Gene's expression hardened. "I'm going to attack Eterna City. While I do, Cyril's going to spread the word about the rifts. And hopefully the others can figure out what happened to the people Guile Hideout supposedly abducted."

"Attacking by yourself?" Valkyrie snorted. "Sounds like an idiotic move for a so-called genius psychic ty—"

The spaceship whirred to life behind Team Bastion. Squeaking, Yuna hovered higher in the air. Leo tumbled off her head, but simply floated in front of the drakloak like nothing was wrong. By the time she turned around, the ship was already halfway through a closing rift.

"Kitty didn't say goodbye. Rude!" Leo puffed out his cheeks despite lacking a mouth.

"It's okay, Leo." Yuna pet the cosmic arceus' shoulder. "Let's go and find Alder."

To make things as simple as possible, Yuna summoned Rayquaza to carry Nikki and Valkyrie while whipping up some wind to help the group fly across the plains faster.

Dirt, gray grass, and dry brush passed below Team Bastion as they flew. The further north they went, the more ruined buildings they passed. Rusted pipes and decaying towers with dented remnants of metal structures littered the slopes and hilltops. Some were even built into the bedrock sheets that formed the mesa's raised areas.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Nikki shouted over the wind. "This place is abandoned!"

"Mayhap that is why Eternatus passed it over," Rayquaza thought aloud. "There doth be so little life here, the daemon thought it useless."

But Yuna looked ahead toward the nearest platform, squinting. "Explain that, then." She pointed ahead, where the ruined buildings had multicolored cloth on some of their outer walls. Rope ran between some buildings. Assorted fabrics flapped in the wind.

Nikki shrugged. "I guess they ditched this place so quick they never finished their laundry?"

Yuna rolled her eyes. That had to be sarcasm, right?

"Whoa!"

Rayquaza suddenly corkscrewed through the air, narrowly avoiding three purple fireballs. Yuna looked behind him, blinking.

Yes, they were purple fireballs! What was that about?

The drakloak stopped and looked down. A couple of figures stood at the edge of one of the rock structures, but Yuna couldn't make out any details. "There are people down there!"

Rayquaza was busy looking his black, serpentine body over. "Thou speaketh the obvious." He looked down. "We art under attack! A weird, purple-furred typhlosion and a samurott whose helmet is purple instead of yellow." He coiled the tip of his tail around. "Say the word and I shalt send them flying."

Nikki quirked a brow. "You can see that far? Cripes, you got like luxray vision or something?"

"A good knight always eats his carrots." Rayquaza proudly snorted some dragonfire.

"Uh, how about I deal with it?" Yuna offered, not wanting to create any unnecessary headaches when they hadn't found Alder yet. She encouraged Leo to stay back with the others and started descending.

"Watch out, Princess!"

Noctum swooped by her and blew apart a black beam with a Flamethrower. "Stop!" the black charizard shouted. "We're not your enemies!"

At least, I hope we're not. Nevertheless, Yuna pressed forward. Or down, in this case. And Rayquaza was right. There were some typhlosion in Aeon. Samurott, too. None of the typhlosion had purple back fur... or a collar of purple flames. And this samurott's armor-like shells were lavender with strips of red. His long, wavy beard and whiskers rippled in the wind.

Samurott leveled his horn at Yuna. "Not enemies, eh? There ain't no one livin' on this planet 'side me and me shipmates. So, how did a little scamp like yerself and yer cap'n end up here? And with a frightening fella like that?" He pointed a flipper skyward toward Rayquaza. The large golden anchor he wore around his neck jingled like a line of bells.

Yuna flinched. Atrocious accent aside, she had half a mind to tell Samurott she called the shots, not Noctum. But that wasn't going to accomplish anything. Honesty was the way to go. "We're here to see Alder. It's about, um, a dimensional crisis?"

"Are ye asking me or telling me?" Samurott narrowed his eyes. To Yuna's shock, there was dark energy crackling around his jagged, branch-like horn.

But then Typhlosion stepped forward and put a paw on Samurott's shoulder. "Calm yourself, Archie." He nudged the goggles over his eyes with his other hand. Curiously, they held a similar glowing stone as Archie's anchor. "It sounds to me like this child—"

"I'm not a kid. I'm a princess," Yuna growled, ectoplasmic tail rippling. A pang of self-directed guilt followed. So much for keeping her attitude in check.

Typhlosion smirked in amusement. "Quaint." He took his hand off Archie. "As I was saying, she sounds like one of the people Brother Alder met in the anomaly."

"Yer too trusting, Maxie," Archie growled, horn still trained on Yuna.

"No. I'm simply using my head for more than slashing things." Maxie shook his head disapprovingly. "Forgive my boorish compatriot's attitude. He gets feisty if he doesn't get to fight something."

Archie scowled. "We guard a monastery on an abandoned planet. Ye should be just as jumpy as me when someone be showing up outta the deep blue. Especially when one of 'em got a might cursed looking doubloon in his belly!"

Yuna offered Noctum a sympathetic look, but he wasn't bothered. In fact, the black charizard had a slight grin. Perhaps because this bickering was familiar to him. It certainly reminded Yuna of when she argued with her little siblings.

"Hey! What're you scamps smiling about?" Archie growled.

"Nothing." Noctum shook his head. "But, uh, I think it's probably best we head to the monastery. Don't you?"

Yuna nodded her agreement. "Alder was the one who told us to find him on Planet Chakran."

"He said much the same." Maxie nudged up his goggles. "Very well. Summon your overpowered taxi and we'll take you to Brother Alder."

Noctum and Yuna snickered. Neither of them would let Rayquaza know about that comment.

XxX​

Sticky didn't like having to leave his tablet unattended when in Paradox Tower. Sure, it was behind a naganadel-specific locker with stinger, voice, and claw identification, but the rebel mewtwo was a crafty one. If anyone could find a way to get access to Sticky's files, it would be him.

Nevertheless, his emperor told him to report to the tower's underground facility with absolutely no equipment, so here Sticky was. Floating in the middle of the small room with his head swiveling from security cameras connected to wall-mounted Hidden Power turrets to a giant metal vault door whose latches slowly unfastened.

The gray door slid open to reveal a red door. The red door retracted into the ground to reveal a purple door with the Eterna Empire sigil. The purple door lifted into the ceiling to reveal steel bars, which slid into the ground and left a long glass tunnel stretching ahead of Sticky.

He hovered forward. Lights clicked on underneath the naganadel. Every click echoed all around him. The lights illuminated a black, hazy abyss beneath the glass tunnel. Sticky faintly saw outlines of more turrets swiveling around. Their muzzles trained on him. They must have had aura-seeking sensors on them.

Sticky always knew Paradox Tower was a stroke of architectural brilliance, but this was on another level. The building had to go as deep underground as it rose high above Eterna City's streets.

After several minutes, Sticky finally saw the end of the tunnel. Another metal door with a red "W1-DG3T" welded into it. There were no handles or doorknobs, however. The naganadel approached the door and looked around, before he finally noticed a small doorbell painted to look like a deoxys. He gingerly pressed a claw to the dooroxys' head.

Four pleasant chimes sounded, reverberating down the glass tunnel.

With hydraulic hisses loud enough to make Sticky drift back nervously, the bunker door opened. Paradox stood on the other side.

"Good, you made it." The deoxys' right tentacles coiled into an arm. He beckoned the nagandel forward with his right hand. "Oh, W1-DG3T! Be a good boy and say hello to your father's assistant."

Father? Sticky was fairly certain that if Paradox could reproduce, he would've done it long ago. He hovered through the door cautiously, unsure what to expect.

The massive computer terminal, hive of wires, and Eterna energy tubes sitting in the center brought the poipole hive Sticky was born in to mind. What Sticky wasn't expecting was everything surrounding the terminal and the large glass pod it was connected to.

Comic books — or were they manga? — strewn all over the floor. Posters of buff pokémon like incineroar and hawlucha in brightly colored spandex, masks, and capes haphazardly stuck to the bunker's floor and circular wall. Tiny Eternavision screens showing what appeared to be old reruns of Pokémon Superfriends and Ultra Dragonite Ball. A bizarre juxtaposition, but no doubt the kind of show a kid would like.

Did that mean Paradox truly had a secret child? Who was the mother, then?

"Hello, father's assistant!"

The voice was so high and shrill it startled Sticky. He nearly shot paint out of his needles in surprise, but managed to steady himself and locate the voice's source: an honest-to-life type: full unit loafing next to a cabinet, scribbling with crayon on a piece of paper. But this type: full was littered with dark purple spines along its back and... empty torso.

Sticky couldn't keep his jaw from dropping. Type: Full's red body was glass-like and transparent. There were no organs. Or even mechanics! Only a glowing white sphere that remained suspended inside the unit's torso even as he approached the naganadel. If there was fluid inside, Sticky couldn't tell. Nothing sloshed around.

Aesir%20BG%20by%20floof%20chomp.png

"I am W1-DG3T and I am going to save the universe!" the type: full chirped, his luminescent red fish tail wagging. "Oh, right." He bowed his head respectfully. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Assistant. Would you like to engage in the traditional handshake? Or are you more of a 'fist bump' person?"

"I'm... good, thank you." Sticky kept his arms by his sides. He was still in disbelief.

"Oh, have we moved on to exchanging pleasantries already?" W1-DG3T's tail wagged faster. "I will update my protocols to allow for occasional skipping of formal greetings." He turned to Paradox. "I am doing quite well today. Son Golurk and his friends just defeated Golden Mewtwo! It was great! That nasty evildoer tried to destroy their home planet, but they rewound time to stop him. I will stay vigilant for any sneaky planet-busting desperation attacks from evil mewtwo!"

Sticky didn't know which of the two EV shows W1-DG3T referred to, but it wouldn't surprise him that a caricature of Gene would serve as the bad guy. Had to instill in kids from a young age that the resistance was nothing but trouble.

"That's good to hear," Paradox said, coiling his left tentacles into a hand to pat the top of W1-DG3T's navy blue beak.

"So, Father, when will I have the opportunity to bring our enemies to justice?" W1-DG3T wondered, cheek bolts glowing bright red in their purple sockets.

"That's actually why I'm here," the deoxys replied, folding his arms behind his back. "Our Benefactor's captors know all about us. And I believe they're going to mount an attempt at stopping us from freeing Him."

W1-DG3T's eyes lit up. "And you would like me to deliver justice onto their evil plans?"

"Precisely." Paradox snapped his right fingers. "I have the perfect test assignment for you, actually. But first... why don't you give Father's assistant a little demonstration?"

"Hell yeah!" W1-DG3T's tail wagged again. "I will prepare the demonstration immediately." The type: full turned and trotted toward the computer terminal. Sticky couldn't take his eye off the guy.

"Sir, I don't understand," the naganadel whispered. "I thought all type: fulls were indefinitely out of commission."

"Oh, that's still true." Paradox hung his head and shook it. "Try as my science division might, they've remained inert wastes of space since Matriarch went offline. They're collecting dust in a separate bunker."

A loud klaxon sounded. W1-DG3T stepped away from the terminal while a portion of the bunker floor opened.

"Then how do you explain this?" Sticky gestured toward the type: full.

"The culmination of agonizing research using the mew DNA I've harvested and what little information we salvaged from Valhalla before we were completely locked out," Paradox explained. "What you're looking at... is a prototype for a new, mobile Matriarch. W1-DG3T is the codename, but you could consider him the alpha build for Zodiark 2.0!"

Sticky paused for a moment, before realizing the deoxys was using Matriarch's real name. That kind of information was off limits even amongst his Paradigm lieutenants. The naganadel was honored the emperor considered him worthy of knowing it.

"I am ready!" W1-DG3T announced, hopping back from a raggedy mewtwo doll tied to a metal pole. It was covered in bite and claw marks.

"Show the move that Father taught you," Paradox instructed.

"Command acknowledged!" W1-DG3T widened his stance. "Eterna Justice Beam!"

The type: full's torso filled with blinding light. A giant purple and red beam enveloped the doll. A giant "KABLAM!" appeared within the beam.

"Uh, sir... am I seeing things or is that attack displaying an action bubble?" Sticky had his right arm held up slightly to shield his eyes from the intense light.

"Ah, yes. He is, perhaps, a bit too eager." Paradox chuckled. "But it's a harmless little thing that amuses him. Go along with it."

When the attack finally died down, there wasn't a trace of the mewtwo doll left. The pole was vaporized too. Ash and purple sparks drifted aimlessly around the room. W1-DG3T hopped about excitedly. "Hell yeah! I totally schooled him!"

"Well done, W1-DG3T." Paradox golf clapped. "Now, be a good little type: full and clean up the mess you made."

"Understood." W1-DG3T bobbed his head. "I do not deserve to fight crime if I cannot fight grime."

Then his legs and tail vanished in bursts of red and purple light, replaced by hoses that wouldn't look out of place on various vacuum cleaners. Sticky almost hid behind Paradox out of surprise. "Sir?" he squeaked.

The deoxys pat Sticky's circular gut. "Like I said... the mew DNA experiments are finally bearing fruit. A stable, shapeshifting biosynthetic framework that can interface directly with the Benefactor."

Sticky watched W1-DG3T scoot across the floor, sucking up ash and bits of metal debris. "Yes, but why did you need this?" he wondered.

"The seal on Eternatus is releasing... but my efforts to complete the broken Red Chain are stalling." Paradox shook his head, tsking loudly. "That Phantom remnant continues to vex my efforts at taking his fragment. And that's not even accounting for the ones I have no leads on." His arms uncurled into tentacles. "As much as I hate to say it, we have to acknowledge the possibility that Matriarch will remain inert even once the Benefactor is free."

Sticky gulped. "And no Matriarch means—"

"No guiding the Benefactor through the cosmos," Paradox grimly declared. He turned away from the naganadel. "Thus, I'm pursuing a backup. If W1-DG3T continues to show promise, I will iterate on him until we have operational replacements for Matriarch."

The type: full dinged like a vintage toaster. "Grime successfully collected. Proceeding to emptying phase." He turned and hovered further away from Paradox and Sticky, who frowned and clicked his claws together nervously.

"If the goal is to make Zodiark 2.0, then why does this type: full have the mind of a child?" he asked.

"Oh, Sticky, Sticky, Sticky." Paradox chuckled and shook his head like a parent watching their child make a fool of themselves. "Because your brilliant emperor learns from other's mistakes."

"I don't follow."

"The original type: full unit was an AI," Paradox said. "He developed a conscience— a twisted conscience that led him to rebel against Zodiark and lay the groundwork for the traitor, Chiron, to deactivate Matriarch in the first place."

Off in the distance, W1-DG3T connected himself to a nozzle in the wall. All the dirt he sucked up went through the nozzle.

"The type: fulls that came after it were nothing more than programmable machines," Paradox continued. "Unable to think for themselves. And, of course, completely useless after Zodiark went offline." The deoxys leaned forward. "You see where I'm going with this?"

Sticky tapped his chin. "Zodiark wasn't a machine. So, you can't expect a machine to replicate how she interfaced with the Benefactor?"

"Exactly!" Paradox's right tentacles merged into a hand whose fingers snapped. "But I can't risk my creation rebelling against me. So, I thought it better to start from scratch. An infantile, blank slate of a mind that I could cultivate precisely to my liking."

The way Paradox phrased it unsettled Sticky. But he believed in his emperor. The deoxys knew what he was doing.

W1-DG3T dinged again. He disconnected from the nozzle, then his limbs reappeared. "Clean up complete." His fish tail wagged. "What shall we do next, Father?"

"Aren't you worried about sending him out into Etherium?" Sticky whispered. "Couldn't that undo all your, um, hard work?"

"No. He's far enough along that my views are entrenched within his psyche," Paradox whispered back. He cupped his hand around his face. "That's going to be all for now, I'm afraid. Father and his assistant have a very important meeting to attend."

"Okay." W1-DG3T didn't sound bothered. "Then I will return to watching Son Golurk's battle against the evil forces of the universe!" He happily trotted back toward the EVs.

"He fully believes he's a superhero that will save the galaxy by restoring our Benefactor to His former glory," Paradox continued to Sticky in a whisper. "And besides, he's the prototype. If things go awry, I'll simply destroy him and immediately begin building the next model. I have encrypted copies of everything I've done with this project, so it will be much faster."

The deoxys turned toward the door. "Now, come along. I wasn't lying. We have some very important guests to greet."

Right, the Etherians. Sticky took one last look at W1-DG3T before following Paradox toward the bunker door, wondering what the emperor had in store for his captives.
 
Last edited:

Spiteful Murkrow

Busy Writing Stories I Want to Read
Pronouns
He/Him/His
Partners
  1. nidoran-f
  2. druddigon
  3. swellow
  4. quilava-fobbie
  5. sneasel-kate
And it's been long enough since my last review, and got an event on TR that I need to get receipts to show within a few days, so let's get right into things and jump straight into…

Chapter 44

Also that chapter title pun is physically painful.

Entry 1041

It's a strange place. So many weird buildings made from hexagonal tiles and filled with big gears and satellites.

And the inhabitants — these Overseer people — aren't afraid of me. They keep calling me "Necrozma" and saying more of me are out there. Just not in this universe. Which implies there are
other universes.

Oh, so this is an out-and-out multiverse fic. I'll need to note for the future that pre-release commentary doesn't necessarily jive with where things wind up going, since you smokescreened pretty hard for a while against this being the ultimate direction of the story. It will be interesting to see where you take it. Since multiverses can get cuh-ray-zee when taken to their logical extremes, which feels right in this story's wheelhouse.

I'm not sure how to feel about that. And after what happened on Earth, I don't know I can trust them. It could be another trick. They might want me to lower my guard so they can hurt me. Just like everyone else.

Why am I even bothering with this place? I should just leave. I can't take any more heartbreaks or betrayals.

Y'all should've penned the giant light dragon of death up while you could've. Fantastic job there, Overseers.

The spaceship was a repurposed imperial cargo transporter. All the Eterna Empire colors and emblems were still in place, but the inside had extra leather seats and a couple of mewtwo sized bunkbeds built into the rear. Valkyrie immediately grabbed one and wedged her face into the corner of the ship.

Gene: "Yeah, I should probably get around to giving this thing a makeover, but eh. Helps with keeping a cover."
:gardeshrug~1:


After traveling through one of Gene's rifts back to the sea east of Venish, they took off. Yuna had to admit, it was mystifying watching the ground grow further and further away, until the whole of Etherium was a round sphere with its pale moon behind it.

Aw. No double moon like in FF9?

Rayquaza was on the drakloak's shoulder, protesting the "blasphemous bucket of bolts" as some sort of affront to nature. But as the trip went on, his protests died down. Reshiram, on the other hand, was unreachable. He was probably upset Yuna had to leave Jade behind with Seifer, Quetzal, and Apollo.

I... didn't get a vibe of Gallian being hostile to technology in earlier chapters, so that was a little surprising to me. I suppose violating his traditional airspace probably has something to do with why he finds it so "blasphemous".

"This mixtape's not bad." Nikki sat in the passenger seat opposite Gene, tapping her right foot on the dashboard. "Never took you for someone who likes more ambient pieces."

"Nova made this for me," Gene said, tightening his grip on the steering mechanism slightly.

... Wait, where is there any mention of music playing in all of this? Though what should I be imagining as playing in the background ATM?

"I can see that." The toxtricity grabbed the cassette case. "Lofi beats to travel the cosmos to." She smirked. "Aww, there are li'l hearts around it, too."

Oh, well that answers that. I still think that this would've been nice to see some internal commentary from Yuna about, since I'm not sure if they even have this genre of music in Aeon.

The mewtwo ripped the case out of Nikki's grip while she made a kissy face. "Knock it off," he growled.

Nikki: "Hey, could be worse, you could be playing a mixtape of 40 year old best-sellers."
:joltyshrug~1:

Gene: "You know, I suppose it would've been pretty fitting to ape Guardians of the Galaxy's soundtracks given that we're pulling from newer MCU movies, but eh. Been undead for over a thousand years. Makes it hard to keep in touch with pop culture outside the Serpent Eating the Ground at times."

Yuna rolled her eyes. She looked down at Leo, who was napping in the drakloak's lap. Yuna absentmindedly ran a hand through his starry fur. It sent a tingle up her arm and Leo's starcloud hair and tail dimly glowed.

"Even in all my years orbiting the planet, I never saw this many stars," Rayquaza said, tiny face pressed firmly to one of the glass windows. His black tail wagged side to side. "Mayhap this is why Sir Bahamut and Lady Chiron would go off on flights together."

Oh hey, cue the BGM for those flights:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_jgIezosVA


Though, yeah. Being able to get away from the light pollution for a while would certainly do wonders to lift the spirits of a pair of interstellar wanderers.

Yuna raised a brow at that. If the two frequently flew together in outer space, then wouldn't they have been able to see Eternatus coming and prepare for it?

Unless it came through something like an Ultra Wormhole anyways. Since Natus sure showed up quickly after Bahamut's photon geyser in the special.

"Planet Chakran dead ahead."

Yuna's head snapped forward at Gene's announcement, but she tilted her head. There were four gray spheres getting closer. "Hang on. Which one's Chakran?" Her ectoplasm rippled. Leo's eyes opened and he lifted his purple and gold head up.

inb4 it's all of them collectively.

"The middle one, probably." Nikki shrugged. "It's the biggest."

Indeed, one gray sphere grew faster than the others. Much faster. Too fast, if Yuna was honest.

Whelp, guess that resolves that question. Though I wonder what the other three celestial bodies around it are.

"Wait." Noctum stood up, Malice Crystal sparking in his chest. "That looks a lot bigger than Planet Etherium!"

"Shocker." Gene waved his right hand dismissively. "Some planets are larger than others. And this one has three moons to Etherium's one."

Okay, filing those notes away for the future. Though if the planet's noticeably bigger than Etherium, doesn't that imply that Yuna and the others are about to have fun times™️ with heightened gravity?

"Whoop-de-doo." Valkyrie groaned from the back of the ship. "Why am I here, again? I said I'd stay back to take part in... whatever the hell you're planning to do in Eterna City once you've dropped everyone off."

Gene: "Bold of you to assume you've got a choice right now, Val."
:nyehehe:

Yuna: "I... am just going to pretend that that was totally normal between you two and not ask questions." .-.

"Not happening, Chompy. You and Zardy need to work through your little spat," Gene said, snickering to himself. "What better place than a monastery?"

Valkyrie: "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" >_>;
Gene:
Image


Nikki joined the mewtwo's laughter, only for it to die down while she sat up. "Wait a tic. If this planet's massive, how the hell are we gonna find this monastery?"

Silence followed, with everyone slowly looking at Nikki. Leo stood up and hopped onto the ship's dashboard.

Nikki: "Wait, we seriously just shot all the way from one planet to the other without any direction of where to land on it?"
:what:

Leo: "Don't worry, I'm working on it!" ^^

"Woah, hey!" Nikki leaned forward. "What do you think you're doing?"

The cosmic arceus' wheel glowed. A thin trail of gold light trickled toward the northern hemisphere of Chakran's ragged, dusty-looking surface.

"Leo?" Yuna leaned over Nikki's seat.

Leo: "Don't mind me, just pointing the way forward!" ^^
Yuna: "Wait, but how are you even-?"
:ohnowen:


"I think I sense him." Leo's tail wagged. "The nice birdie from before."

"Good enough for me." Chuckling, Gene tilted the steering mechanism forward and the ship sped off in the direction of the golden light.

Yuna: "Wait, but you just-! And-!"
:grohno~1:

Leo: "Something something Arceus powers? I dunno, mom. I just know the nice birdie's down there somehow. Don't question it too much."
:cosmug:


"Son of a— another desert? Are you freaking kidding me?!"

Nikki dropped to her knees and punched the brown dirt with a fist. "What kind of dumbasses put a monastery in the desert?! Why couldn't it be on a tropical isl— hey!"

Because monastic orders in general tend to emphasize asceticism and as such they tend to yeet their followers to places light on distractions from man or nature?
:gardeshrug~1:


Gene grabbed Nikki by the neck of her leather jacket and hoisted her back to her feet. "Enough with the theatrics. This ain't a desert."

Yuna agreed with the mewtwo. It wasn't sweltering... or even frigid like Aquardah. Instead of sandy dunes stretching out into the distance, brown, dusty trails ran off in different directions. Bedrock clusters and huge stone spires jutted out of the ground. Several had bits of rusted metal interspersed with them. Some pipes here, a few broken satellite dishes there. The strange mixture of nature and dilapidated machine stretched toward rocky hills in the distance.

Nikki: "Oh, so it's a wasteland that apparently had civilizational collapse sometime in the past. That's so much better." >_>;
Gene: "Well hey, you were the one complaining thinking it was a desert..."
:wellyousee:


In some regards, it reminded Yuna of home... if someone filed off the tops of the volcanoes and cleared all the ash from the air, of course.

That actually makes me wonder if and when we're going to see Aeon properly on-screen, since boy does everything we've heard about it from the story thus far make it sound like Mordor.

"Then what do you call this shit, huh?" Nikki freed herself from Gene's grip and stomped over to a patch of crabby gray grass. "Looks pretty dead to me."

"This is a mesa." Gene tapped his temple. "Makes sense a slacker would mistake it for a desert, I suppose."

Nikki's mohawk crackled. "Gee thanks, professor."

I mean, it's literally an arid environment, so close enough? Nobody said deserts had to be hot all the time.

"A mesa?" Noctum walked to Yuna's side. He was transfixed on one of the raised areas in the distance. A large dome sat behind it, reflecting light from the two moons sitting high in the planet's orange sky. "Is that like a plateau?"

More or less, yeah. Though they tend to have more visually impressive dropoffs.

"Ehh... close enough." Gene flicked his right hand dismissively. "It's got a lot to do with the composition of the raised ground. Don't need to bother with the details." He turned away from the others, yawning. "Anyway, I should head back. Have fun."

Nikki: "Wait, what?! Hold up, I didn't sign up for this-!" O_O;

"Wait, what?" Nikki's mohawk sparked again. "You're not seriously dumping us in the middle of freaking nowhere and hightailing it!" She shot Yuna an accusatory look. "Come on, Princess, back me up here."

Yeah, I figured Nikki's reaction would be something like that.
:loltias:


Yuna was about to do that when Leo hopped up onto her head. He looked at the same dome in the distance. "There." He pointed his forehoof ahead. "It's like it's speaking to me."

"Then send it to voicemail," Nikki scoffed. "The adults are talking."

Yuna: "Uh, Nikki? I'm pretty sure that Leo just found our destination-"
Nikki: "Not now! Need to keep us from getting stuck on this awful desert rock-"
Gene: "Mesa rock." :V
Nikki: "Whatever!" >.<

Gene smirked. "See? You've got better directions than I can offer." The mewtwo's yellow-tipped tail lazily drifted back and forth. "Plus, you got two rift-makers who could portal you back to Etherium at a moment's notice."

Nikki: "Wait, two? Isn't it just you here and-"
Yuna: "I'm pretty sure Noctum is also with us right now? Even if he's been shockingly quiet for the ride over..."
:joltyshrug~1:


Noctum and Yuna exchanged skeptical looks. Their portal abilities weren't that strong, were they? That would be on par with Bahamut himself!

Yuna: "... Actually, how have you not said anything all this time, Noctum?"
:what:

Noctum: "Sorry, princess. I've... kinda been going through a lot from everything I've known about my world and my life having turned out to be a lie in the course of an evening. It makes it hard to get in the mood for smalltalk." >///<
Yuna: "... Right, that would explain it, actually."
:ohnowen:


Then again, if Eternatus can produce infinite energy from nothing, Gene might be right. Gulping, Yuna rubbed her Soul Dew. "Just... tell me what you're planning that makes you want to go back to the Qliphoth so quickly."

Oh, so that's how Natus yeets himself around and catches planets unawares.

Gene's expression hardened. "I'm going to attack Eterna City. While I do, Cyril's going to spread the word about the rifts. And hopefully the others can figure out what happened to the people Guile Hideout supposedly abducted."

Image


Like I get that you're a seasoned Resistance member, but this just feels like an absolutely terrible idea in light of everything we've discovered about what Paradox and the Eterna Empire have been up to lately.

"Attacking by yourself?" Valkyrie snorted. "Sounds like an idiotic move for a so-called genius psychic ty—"

Oh, so I'm not the only one who's channeling Bubsy right now.

The spaceship whirred to life behind Team Bastion. Squeaking, Yuna hovered higher in the air. Leo tumbled off her head, but simply floated in front of the drakloak like nothing was wrong. By the time she turned around, the ship was already halfway through a closing rift.

Yuna: "... Whelp, I sure hope Gene knows what he's doing there."
:fearfullaugh~1:


Valkyrie: "... Probably wanna work on practicing those rifts of yours for a while, Princess." >.<

"Kitty didn't say goodbye. Rude!" Leo puffed out his cheeks despite lacking a mouth.

"It's okay, Leo." Yuna pet the cosmic arceus' shoulder. "Let's go and find Alder."

To make things as simple as possible, Yuna summoned Rayquaza to carry Nikki and Valkyrie while whipping up some wind to help the group fly across the plains faster.

Cue the theme music:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxKuWBIR8ps


Dirt, gray grass, and dry brush passed below Team Bastion as they flew. The further north they went, the more ruined buildings they passed. Rusted pipes and decaying towers with dented remnants of metal structures littered the slopes and hilltops. Some were even built into the bedrock sheets that formed the mesa's raised areas.

Boy has civilization seen its better days in this place. Though I wonder what on earth happened here? .-.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Nikki shouted over the wind. "This place is abandoned!"

"Mayhap that is why Eternatus passed it over," Rayquaza thought aloud. "There doth be so little life here, the daemon thought it useless."

Yuna: "... I mean, the alternative is that they killed everyone that used to be here, but let's not think too hard about that right now..."
:fearfullaugh~1:


But Yuna looked ahead toward the nearest platform, squinting. "Explain that, then." She pointed ahead, where the ruined buildings had multicolored cloth on some of their outer walls. Rope ran between some buildings. Assorted fabrics flapped in the wind.

Nikki shrugged. "I guess they ditched this place so quick they never finished their laundry?"

Yuna rolled her eyes. That had to be sarcasm, right?

Yuna: "For crying out loud, have you never seen a prayer flag before?" >_>;
Nikki: "... No, because Radiance is a pastiche of various European countries and I'm pretty sure that's a Tibetian thing? Besides, do I look like the religious type to you?" ^^;

"Whoa!"

Rayquaza suddenly corkscrewed through the air, narrowly avoiding three purple fireballs. Yuna looked behind him, blinking.

Yes, they were purple fireballs! What was that about?

Sounds like y'all aren't terribly welcome at the moment at this place.

The drakloak stopped and looked down. A couple of figures stood at the edge of one of the rock structures, but Yuna couldn't make out any details. "There are people down there!"

Rayquaza was busy looking his black, serpentine body over. "Thou speaketh the obvious." He looked down. "We art under attack! A weird, purple-furred typhlosion and a samurott whose helmet is purple instead of yellow." He coiled the tip of his tail around. "Say the word and I shalt send them flying."

Waaaaaaait, but I could've sworn that you said that Hisuian 'mons were universally "weird" in this setting. Between that and how depopulated this place is, I honestly am starting to strongly suspect that this place had a run-in with Natus and that somehow it survived. If obviously at a cost.

Nikki quirked a brow. "You can see that far? Cripes, you got like luxray vision or something?"

"A good knight always eats his carrots." Rayquaza proudly snorted some dragonfire.

I mean, most predatory fliers do have sharp vision. There's a reason why the saying 'eagle eyed' exists, so...

"Uh, how about I deal with it?" Yuna offered, not wanting to create any unnecessary headaches when they hadn't found Alder yet. She encouraged Leo to stay back with the others and started descending.

"Watch out, Princess!"

Yuna: "Well, I guess 'not dying' would be a start, now wouldn't it?"
:uhhh:


Noctum swooped by her and blew apart a black beam with a Flamethrower. "Stop!" the black charizard shouted. "We're not your enemies!"

At least, I hope we're not. Nevertheless, Yuna pressed forward. Or down, in this case. And Rayquaza was right. There were some typhlosion in Aeon. Samurott, too. None of the typhlosion had purple back fur... or a collar of purple flames. And this samurott's armor-like shells were lavender with strips of red. His long, wavy beard and whiskers rippled in the wind.

I... was not expecting that one given how we've heard almost diddly of non-draconic life in Aeon in the past.

Samurott leveled his horn at Yuna. "Not enemies, eh? There ain't no one livin' on this planet 'side me and me shipmates. So, how did a little scamp like yerself and yer cap'n end up here? And with a frightening fella like that?" He pointed a flipper skyward toward Rayquaza. The large golden anchor he wore around his neck jingled like a line of bells.

That... is not a good omen for what happened to the original inhabitants.
:fearfullaugh~1:


Yuna flinched. Atrocious accent aside, she had half a mind to tell Samurott she called the shots, not Noctum. But that wasn't going to accomplish anything. Honesty was the way to go. "We're here to see Alder. It's about, um, a dimensional crisis?"

"Are ye asking me or telling me?" Samurott narrowed his eyes. To Yuna's shock, there was dark energy crackling around his jagged, branch-like horn.

Yuna: "Asking! We're asking!" O.O

But then Typhlosion stepped forward and put a paw on Samurott's shoulder. "Calm yourself, Archie." He nudged the goggles over his eyes with his other hand. Curiously, they held a similar glowing stone as Archie's anchor. "It sounds to me like this child—"

... I really should've seen that coming, though I suppose that that makes the stoat Maxie? And that these are all various transformed human NPCs who have gotten dumped here for reasons?

"I'm not a kid. I'm a princess," Yuna growled, ectoplasmic tail rippling. A pang of self-directed guilt followed. So much for keeping her attitude in check.

Typhlosion smirked in amusement. "Quaint." He took his hand off Archie. "As I was saying, she sounds like one of the people Brother Alder met in the anomaly."

"Yer too trusting, Maxie," Archie growled, horn still trained on Yuna.

Yuuuuuup, I instantly knew things were going here when the Samurott was mentioned as being 'Archie'.

"No. I'm simply using my head for more than slashing things." Maxie shook his head disapprovingly. "Forgive my boorish compatriot's attitude. He gets feisty if he doesn't get to fight something."

Archie scowled. "We guard a monastery on an abandoned planet. Ye should be just as jumpy as me when someone be showing up outta the deep blue. Especially when one of 'em got a might cursed looking doubloon in his belly!"

Noctum: "A might cursed looking what now?" .-.
Nikki: "'Doubloon'. Type of gold coin? Staple of pirate fiction?"
:joltyshrug~1:

Noctum: "On what planet does a crystal look like a gold coin to anyone?" >_>;
Archie: "On this one, mate. And I still don't trust ye." >:|

Yuna offered Noctum a sympathetic look, but he wasn't bothered. In fact, the black charizard had a slight grin. Perhaps because this bickering was familiar to him. It certainly reminded Yuna of when she argued with her little siblings.

"Hey! What're you scamps smiling about?" Archie growled.

Yuna: "... Wow, those two really do remind me of my siblings." .-.

"Nothing." Noctum shook his head. "But, uh, I think it's probably best we head to the monastery. Don't you?"

Yuna nodded her agreement. "Alder was the one who told us to find him on Planet Chakran."

"He said much the same." Maxie nudged up his goggles. "Very well. Summon your overpowered taxi and we'll take you to Brother Alder."

Noctum and Yuna snickered. Neither of them would let Rayquaza know about that comment.

I can only imagine the
Image
faces that would be had if Gallian heard about that there. ^^;

Sticky didn't like having to leave his tablet unattended when in Paradox Tower. Sure, it was behind a naganadel-specific locker with stinger, voice, and claw identification, but the rebel mewtwo was a crafty one. If anyone could find a way to get access to Sticky's files, it would be him.

... Is there a reason why you can't just shovel it into a bag that you keep on your person at all times? ^^;

Nevertheless, his emperor told him to report to the tower's underground facility with absolutely no equipment, so here Sticky was. Floating in the middle of the small room with his head swiveling from security cameras connected to wall-mounted Hidden Power turrets to a giant metal vault door whose latches slowly unfastened.

The gray door slid open to reveal a red door. The red door retracted into the ground to reveal a purple door with the Eterna Empire sigil. The purple door lifted into the ceiling to reveal steel bars, which slid into the ground and left a long glass tunnel stretching ahead of Sticky.

Sticky: "... I really need to propose to the Emperor that we make these secure areas less obviously ominous to go through." ._.

He hovered forward. Lights clicked on underneath the naganadel. Every click echoed all around him. The lights illuminated a black, hazy abyss beneath the glass tunnel. Sticky faintly saw outlines of more turrets swiveling around. Their muzzles trained on him. They must have had aura-seeking sensors on them.

Sticky: "Oh yeah, I really needed to see that right now."
:grohno~1:


Sticky always knew Paradox Tower was a stroke of architectural brilliance, but this was on another level. The building had to go as deep underground as it rose high above Eterna City's streets.

How on earth is that even architecturally feasible? .-.

After several minutes, Sticky finally saw the end of the tunnel. Another metal door with a red "W1-DG3T" welded into it. There were no handles or doorknobs, however. The naganadel approached the door and looked around, before he finally noticed a small doorbell painted to look like a deoxys. He gingerly pressed a claw to the dooroxys' head.

Oh, so something in a Leetspeak way of saying "Widget" is down here.

Sticky: "... 'Dooroxys'? Really? Must not be getting enough sleep as of late." @.@

Four pleasant chimes sounded, reverberating down the glass tunnel.

With hydraulic hisses loud enough to make Sticky drift back nervously, the bunker door opened. Paradox stood on the other side.

Sticky:
giphy.gif

Paradox: "... Seriously, Sticky?" >:|
Sticky: "With all due respect, Your Highness, but don't startle me like that!" >///<

"Good, you made it." The deoxys' right tentacles coiled into an arm. He beckoned the nagandel forward with his right hand. "Oh, W1-DG3T! Be a good boy and say hello to your father's assistant."

Father? Sticky was fairly certain that if Paradox could reproduce, he would've done it long ago. He hovered through the door cautiously, unsure what to expect.

Sticky:
Image


The massive computer terminal, hive of wires, and Eterna energy tubes sitting in the center brought the poipole hive Sticky was born in to mind. What Sticky wasn't expecting was everything surrounding the terminal and the large glass pod it was connected to.

Comic books — or were they manga? — strewn all over the floor. Posters of buff pokémon like incineroar and hawlucha in brightly colored spandex, masks, and capes haphazardly stuck to the bunker's floor and circular wall. Tiny Eternavision screens showing what appeared to be old reruns of Pokémon Superfriends and Ultra Dragonite Ball. A bizarre juxtaposition, but no doubt the kind of show a kid would like.

Was more of a fan of Crimgan Cube myself, though that's at once cute and really concerning as to what Paradox's 'son' is going to be like.

Did that mean Paradox truly had a secret child? Who was the mother, then?

"Hello, father's assistant!"

The voice was so high and shrill it startled Sticky. He nearly shot paint out of his needles in surprise, but managed to steady himself and locate the voice's source: an honest-to-life type: full unit loafing next to a cabinet, scribbling with crayon on a piece of paper. But this type: full was littered with dark purple spines along its back and... empty torso.

Sticky couldn't keep his jaw from dropping. Type: Full's red body was glass-like and transparent. There were no organs. Or even mechanics! Only a glowing white sphere that remained suspended inside the unit's torso even as he approached the naganadel. If there was fluid inside, Sticky couldn't tell. Nothing sloshed around.

Wait, so W1-DG31 is a Heartless-?

-checks spoiler image-

Oh, that clears things up quite considerably. Though boy is it concerning to imagine that cooped up with a room full of comics and TV shows being a little kid.
:unquag:


"I am W1-DG3T and I am going to save the universe!" the type: full chirped, his luminescent red fish tail wagging. "Oh, right." He bowed his head respectfully. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Assistant. Would you like to engage in the traditional handshake? Or are you more of a 'fist bump' person?"

"I'm... good, thank you." Sticky kept his arms by his sides. He was still in disbelief.

Sticky: "... Would I even still have a hand or fist left after taking him up on his offer?"
:fearfullaugh~1:


"Oh, have we moved on to exchanging pleasantries already?" W1-DG3T's tail wagged faster. "I will update my protocols to allow for occasional skipping of formal greetings." He turned to Paradox. "I am doing quite well today. Son Golurk and his friends just defeated Golden Mewtwo! It was great! That nasty evildoer tried to destroy their home planet, but they rewound time to stop him. I will stay vigilant for any sneaky planet-busting desperation attacks from evil mewtwo!"

Those punny names, mang
:PainedCabot:


It's at once awful... and amazing.

Sticky didn't know which of the two EV shows W1-DG3T referred to, but it wouldn't surprise him that a caricature of Gene would serve as the bad guy. Had to instill in kids from a young age that the resistance was nothing but trouble.

Oh, so the propaganda division literally cranks out pop culture ripoffs for the purpose of brainwashing more impressionable locals. That would explain a lot, really.

"That's good to hear," Paradox said, coiling his left tentacles into a hand to pat the top of W1-DG3T's navy blue beak.

"So, Father, when will I have the opportunity to bring our enemies to justice?" W1-DG3T wondered, cheek bolts glowing bright red in their purple sockets.

"That's actually why I'm here," the deoxys replied, folding his arms behind his back. "Our Benefactor's captors know all about us. And I believe they're going to mount an attempt at stopping us from freeing Him."

... I can't tell if Paradox is displaying honest-to-goodness affection, or if this is just Kahran from Xenogears all over again where he's being reared as a tool/weapon.

W1-DG31: "So... really soon, then?"
:silvgrin:


W1-DG3T's eyes lit up. "And you would like me to deliver justice onto their evil plans?"

"Precisely." Paradox snapped his right fingers. "I have the perfect test assignment for you, actually. But first... why don't you give Father's assistant a little demonstration?"

I can already tell that things are going to get firmly into
:eltyscared:
territory very fast.

"Hell yeah!" W1-DG3T's tail wagged again. "I will prepare the demonstration immediately." The type: full turned and trotted toward the computer terminal. Sticky couldn't take his eye off the guy.

"Sir, I don't understand," the naganadel whispered. "I thought all type: fulls were indefinitely out of commission."

"Oh, that's still true." Paradox hung his head and shook it. "Try as my science division might, they've remained inert wastes of space since Matriarch went offline. They're collecting dust in a separate bunker."

Oh well that's some creepy imagery to keep in mind there.
:unquag:


A loud klaxon sounded. W1-DG3T stepped away from the terminal while a portion of the bunker floor opened.

"Then how do you explain this?" Sticky gestured toward the type: full.

"The culmination of agonizing research using the mew DNA I've harvested and what little information we salvaged from Valhalla before we were completely locked out," Paradox explained. "What you're looking at... is a prototype for a new, mobile Matriarch. W1-DG3T is the codename, but you could consider him the alpha build for Zodiark 2.0!"

Oh, so that's who Matriarch was. And holy crap, this kid really is shaping up to be Kahran from Xenogears, especially since 'alpha build' implies that he's going to be discarded at a later date after outliving his usefulness.
:unquag:


Sticky paused for a moment, before realizing the deoxys was using Matriarch's real name. That kind of information was off limits even amongst his Paradigm lieutenants. The naganadel was honored the emperor considered him worthy of knowing it.

"I am ready!" W1-DG3T announced, hopping back from a raggedy mewtwo doll tied to a metal pole. It was covered in bite and claw marks.

"Show the move that Father taught you," Paradox instructed.

"Command acknowledged!" W1-DG3T widened his stance. "Eterna Justice Beam!"

I am snerking hard at this sequence. You can't say that W1-DG31 isn't a kid at heart right now...

The type: full's torso filled with blinding light. A giant purple and red beam enveloped the doll. A giant "KABLAM!" appeared within the beam.

"Uh, sir... am I seeing things or is that attack displaying an action bubble?" Sticky had his right arm held up slightly to shield his eyes from the intense light.

"Ah, yes. He is, perhaps, a bit too eager." Paradox chuckled. "But it's a harmless little thing that amuses him. Go along with it."

:mewlulz:


I can already tell this kid's gonna be a riot at times. Which if he is kicked to the curb down the road as an 'alpha build', I'm sure is going to be painful to witness.

When the attack finally died down, there wasn't a trace of the mewtwo doll left. The pole was vaporized too. Ash and purple sparks drifted aimlessly around the room. W1-DG3T hopped about excitedly. "Hell yeah! I totally schooled him!"

:uhhh:


Oh, well that's concerning...

"Well done, W1-DG3T." Paradox golf clapped. "Now, be a good little type: full and clean up the mess you made."

"Understood." W1-DG3T bobbed his head. "I do not deserve to fight crime if I cannot fight grime."

Then his legs and tail vanished in bursts of red and purple light, replaced by hoses that wouldn't look out of place on various vacuum cleaners. Sticky almost hid behind Paradox out of surprise. "Sir?" he squeaked.

Sticky:
Image

Paradox: "What, the research? The outcome of this prototype? Or...?"
Sticky: "Any of this! But most of all why you would make something that has vacuum cleaner legs?!"
:grohno~1:


The deoxys pat Sticky's circular gut. "Like I said... the mew DNA experiments are finally bearing fruit. A stable, shapeshifting biosynthetic framework that can interface directly with the Benefactor."

Sticky watched W1-DG3T scoot across the floor, sucking up ash and bits of metal debris. "Yes, but why did you need this?" he wondered.

Paradox: "Why not, really? That's the better question."
:gardeshrug~1:


"The seal on Eternatus is releasing... but my efforts to complete the broken Red Chain are stalling." Paradox shook his head, tsking loudly. "That Phantom remnant continues to vex my efforts at taking his fragment. And that's not even accounting for the ones I have no leads on." His arms uncurled into tentacles. "As much as I hate to say it, we have to acknowledge the possibility that Matriarch will remain inert even once the Benefactor is free."

Sticky gulped. "And no Matriarch means—"

"No guiding the Benefactor through the cosmos," Paradox grimly declared. He turned away from the naganadel. "Thus, I'm pursuing a backup. If W1-DG3T continues to show promise, I will iterate on him until we have operational replacements for Matriarch."

... They have to keep Natus moving along or else everyone's going to die eventually or something like that, huh? Since I know how conquest-based empires work. They start to unravel when they run out of places they can kick over and loot.

The type: full dinged like a vintage toaster. "Grime successfully collected. Proceeding to emptying phase." He turned and hovered further away from Paradox and Sticky, who frowned and clicked his claws together nervously.

"If the goal is to make Zodiark 2.0, then why does this type: full have the mind of a child?" he asked.

"Oh, Sticky, Sticky, Sticky." Paradox chuckled and shook his head like a parent watching their child make a fool of themselves. "Because your brilliant emperor learns from other's mistakes." "I don't follow."

I can already tell that this is about to get extremely creepy in short order.

"The original type: full unit was an AI," Paradox said. "He developed a conscience— a twisted conscience that led him to rebel against Zodiark and lay the groundwork for the traitor, Chiron, to deactivate Matriarch in the first place."

Off in the distance, W1-DG3T connected himself to a nozzle in the wall. All the dirt he sucked up went through the nozzle.

"The type: fulls that came after it were nothing more than programmable machines," Paradox continued. "Unable to think for themselves. And, of course, completely useless after Zodiark went offline." The deoxys leaned forward. "You see where I'm going with this?"

So in other words, he needs an AI that is naive enough to believe anything it's told and do anything asked of it without questioning things like Nova did. That... definitely got really dark really fast.

Sticky tapped his chin. "Zodiark wasn't a machine. So, you can't expect a machine to replicate how she interfaced with the Benefactor?"

"Exactly!" Paradox's right tentacles merged into a hand whose fingers snapped. "But I can't risk my creation rebelling against me. So, I thought it better to start from scratch. An infantile, blank slate of a mind that I could cultivate precisely to my liking."

Yuuuuuup, I knew that that was exactly where this was going. Though that is a horrible omen for what's going to become of W1-DG31 if for whatever reason he stops being useful for Paradox.

The way Paradox phrased it unsettled Sticky. But he believed in his emperor. The deoxys knew what he was doing.

W1-DG3T dinged again. He disconnected from the nozzle, then his limbs reappeared. "Clean up complete." His fish tail wagged. "What shall we do next, Father?"

"Aren't you worried about sending him out into Etherium?" Sticky whispered. "Couldn't that undo all your, um, hard work?"

Paradox: "Am I supposed to be?"
:joltyshrug~1:

Sticky: "Yes?"
:grohno~1:



"No. He's far enough along that my views are entrenched within his psyche," Paradox whispered back. He cupped his hand around his face. "That's going to be all for now, I'm afraid. Father and his assistant have a very important meeting to attend."

That's a bold assumption if I ever heard one, though I suppose by Paradox's own admission W1-DG31 is an 'alpha build'. Alpha builds are the ones riddled with bugs that get stamped out in betas, and then subsequent versions going up to release candidates, so...
:fearfullaugh~1:


"Okay." W1-DG3T didn't sound bothered. "Then I will return to watching Son Golurk's battle against the evil forces of the universe!" He happily trotted back toward the EVs.

"He fully believes he's a superhero that will save the galaxy by restoring our Benefactor to His former glory," Paradox continued to Sticky in a whisper. "And besides, he's the prototype. If things go awry, I'll simply destroy him and immediately begin building the next model. I have encrypted copies of everything I've done with this project, so it will be much faster."

Wow, he really is Kahr from XG, except mentally 12. Complete with disposal plans if he doesn't live up to his intended purpose.

Sticky: "(Your Highness, why are you mentioning this while he's still in the same room as us?!)" >.<

The deoxys turned toward the door. "Now, come along. I wasn't lying. We have some very important guests to greet."

Right, the Etherians. Sticky took one last look at W1-DG3T before following Paradox toward the bunker door, wondering what the emperor had in store for his captives.

Nothing good, obviously, but probably something involving a lot of:
:unown_f:


Alright, time for the recap:

This chapter felt a bit more transitional in nature. Basically, we've moved Yuna and the gang a step along towards Alder, while we've gotten a glimpse at things to come from Paradox's end of things, with the hint that some stuff is about to go down on both ends. A little slow, but honestly, considering how the last dozen chapters have been an almost continuous string of shocking developments, a lesser surprise isn't the end of the world, especially since I'm pretty sure that Paradox is about to turn the entire rest of the Crowne Cup lineup into a floating alphabet.

As for things that I thought could've been done better. There's not that much, but maybe a bit more description? Also, a few of the characters in Yuna's party had so little of a presence in this chapter that I honestly had to double-check to see if they were present at times, Noctum being the prime offender for the first half of the Planet Chakram scene. Even passing acknowledgement of them being around and how they're doing would go a long way to reminding the readers that they didn't go anywhere, IMO.

But honestly, those aren't terribly big bones to pick with the chapter. Especially since it's very obviously building up to things spiraling on Etherium in short order. I'll be looking forward to seeing how that plays out, and I won't have to wait too much longer for it if your release schedule's anything to go by.

Great work, @Ambyssin . And hope you had fun with the review. ^^
 
Chapter 45: Igniting New Sparks

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
Chapter 45: Igniting New Sparks

No matter the change, the end is the same.
No matter the change, the end is the same.
Stave stagnation. Unite them all.
Stave stagnation. Unite them all.


XxX​

Flying was not natural to Chiaki. He was a grovyle. Birds were bad for grass. Every fiber of his being should have screamed in protest at what he was doing. However, as his new volcarona wings flew him over the pointed roofs and steeples of outer Vellguarde, Chiaki didn't mind one bit. Every flap happened without any thought on his part.

... Which was alarming in its own way. That honedge couldn't have been the same Abyssal Relic that Vegna mentioned. Unless the dusknoir was once another species or something, and the ritual he did with his book transformed him.

But Vegna doesn't look much different from a typical dusknoir, Chiaki figured. The only thing that stood out were his sinister hood and the skull-shaped shoulder pads, which had to be a part of the whole Grim Reaper persona.

And why the hell did the honedge transform him into some salazzle hybrid? If he didn't know any better, Chiaki would assume one of his siblings did this as a prank. He tightened his grip on Scarlett — the dragonair had apparently passed out while freefalling — and pressed on.

The city gave way to railroad tracks streaming out across stone bridges seated over a flowing river. Wild magikarp and basculin hopped out of the water. Chiaki wondered if they even knew about the purple rifts opening and closing at random in the sky. Nothing was going in or coming out of them, but they were still unsettling. Though, if the fish were ferals, they were probably too dumb to realize there were rifts in the first place.

Chiaki did his best to steer clear of all the bridges, aiming instead for a peninsula jutting into the river. The grovyle descended toward rows upon rows of evergreens. He weaved around pine needle branches — Chiaki couldn't believe he was doing this — and did his best to avoid startling some of the feral bidoof and bibarel carving out bits of downed trees.

It only took him a minute of flying to find what he was looking for: a small log cabin perched on a hill. The trees around the cabin stood tall. The tiny brick chimney wore enough pine and sap to suggest no one had used it in ages.

In fact, no one ever used it. Because the cabin was empty. Just a wooden floor, wooden walls, and a brick fireplace that held what Chiaki was looking for: the transporter that would take him to the Ryujin's secret underground city.

When the grovyle landed, his fiery wings disappeared in puffs of smoke. Disturbing, but he could think about it later. Chiaki walked up to the door and threw it open. The cabin was empty and dusty, including the fireplace.

Sighing in relief, Chiaki dragged Scarlett to the fireplace and fit her in, then squished himself beside her. Chiaki felt around until he located a loose brick, which slid right to reveal a keypad. After typing in 8-6-7-5-3-0-9, the keys lit up green and the floor beneath him began to glow. All the burnt grovyle had to do was place himself and Scarlett on the transporter and it would whisk them underground.

Chiaki slid the brick back over the keypad and took a deep breath, preparing himself for what would follow.

XxX​

As a rule of thumb, all Ryujin waypoints deposited their passengers within different tunnels of a large catacomb system deep underneath Radiance. Deep enough to stay off the authorities' radars. After all, when your city was below even the nearest sewer system, the odds were strong no one would ever think to dig down and find you.

Scale City itself wasn't visible from the catacombs. It was hidden behind metal barricades disguised as natural rock formations. Chiaki wasn't sure if his family had Cyril to thank for that, but he wouldn't be surprised. Who else could get electricity working so far underground? Chiaki always assumed ether was pumped down from the surface, but now he wasn't so sure.

What the mutated grovyle did know was that the security checkpoint was an issue. They'd question his appearance and his passenger. Fortunately, the walk to one of the hidden checkpoints had given him enough time to build up a cover story.

Chiaki slipped into his routine, hobbling through a brown tunnel until he reached what looked like a dead end. He tucked his head down, adjusted his grip on Scarlett, and continued forward. The rock wall was nothing but air. On the other side of it was a metal checkpoint with a seviper and a drampa standing guard.

"Halt!" Seviper held out its tail. "Identification."

"I don't got none," Chiaki whispered, shuddering. "B-But you gotta help us! Me and my cousin... we got caught in a distortion blast!"

Seviper eyed him skeptically. His bladed tail glowed purple.

He pointed at his orange belly. "C'mon, mac, look at me! Ain't no grovyle supposed to look like this. Ya gotta let me in! Crummy landlord kicked me outta my place! I got nowhere to go!"

"A likely story," Seviper growled. "I know an illusion when I see one."

Damn it. Chiaki had to think fast. "Salazzle Kyoko told me about the safe house in Guardhenge Forest to get here!" He believed his stepsister's name carried more weight around Scale City than his. "Told me the Ryujin can protect me in exchange for me working for 'em!"

Seviper's tail twitched slightly. Drampa stuck his long neck out from his comically undersized seat. "You got a name?"

"Grovyle Igneous." He looked at his backside and the salazzle-like flaps that were there. "Or, at least, I used to be."

"I can see that," Drampa scoffed, looking at Seviper, who'd gone to a small phone booth beside his desk. Seviper flashed Drampa a panicked look as he hung up the phone.

"Terribly sorry for the trouble, Igneous," Seviper said. "Miss Kyoko has asked to see you at her loft. Let me get you the directions."

Chiaki avoided sighing in relief. The gambit had paid off. Igneous was one of a few codenames he used with his sister back when she was more active in the family business. Specifically, one he defaulted to when he was in trouble. Which he certainly was.

When Seviper finished explaining everything, he handed Chiaki a map of Scale City and opened the metal gate and door that led inside.

The grovyle immediately wrinkled his black snout upon stepping through. It had been a while since he was around Scale City's... pungent odor.

Even though Chiaki kept his head down as he walked through the narrow streets, trying to avoid bumping into people or small stone and wooden street shops, he got the distinct sense people were staring. Yes, the grovyle was hardly a normal sight, but the city took in poor souls mutated with distortion all the time. Yet there was unmistakable scorn behind their looks.

It wasn't until he rounded a few corners, passing crammed apartment buildings where windows were opening one after another that he realized he wasn't who they were staring at: Scarlett was.

Chiaki heard murmurs, too.

"Is it really her?" "Dunno." "Who's the burnt grovyle?" "Bet he's bringing her to Sakaki." "Good riddance!" "She's a disgrace to reptiles everywhere!"

Quickening his pace, Chiaki found the building he was looking for. It was hard to miss, with a neon sign jutting over the street reading "The Naughty Salazzle" in cursive, neon letters. Dingier compared to some of the bright signs on the surface, but Chiaki was sure the club's owner didn't care much. At this hour, it was closed anyway.

He scurried through an alley to the back of the building, where he knocked on a metal door. After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal Kyoko standing there in a pink silk shirt that barely reached her thighs. She blinked once. Twice. A third time.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Chiaki's response was shoving Scarlett into his sister. "Hey!" the salazzle barely kept her balance while managing to grab hold of Scarlett. "What's the big idea, asshole?!"

He rushed right past her, taking grated metal stairs two at a time until he reached another door that he flung open. Chiaki quickly pivoted left and staggered into a bathroom whose door he shut while his stepsister shouted, "Get back here!"

Chiaki shuffled across scuffed, dull gray tiles. He barely managed to grab the shower faucet and turn the hot water on before falling over into the tub.

Whatever energy had powered Chiaki's escape had worn off, leaving him curled up in a ball, shuddering as hot water pelted him. Steam quickly filled the bathroom. Chiaki wasn't sure if that was from the water temperature, or his new inner fire clashing against the shower.

Everything came flooding back. Ahsen, the strange amalgamation of floating discs who spoke in total nonsense. Vegna's missing Abyssal Relic. The tiny orange butterfree and the intense pain it produced when it went inside Chiaki. And those strange visions—

Chiaki's head pounded. With every throb, the burnt grovyle heard the same thing over and over: "Butterfree Effect."

He inadvertently tugged on his head leaf, trying to will the pain away.

What did that thing do to me?

But if he hadn't acted so recklessly at Starlene's concert, Chiaki wouldn't have needed to meet Ahsen in the first place. So, really, this was all just a continued consequence of his actions.

He wanted to prove he wasn't a dead weight, and instead he'd turned himself into a freak. And not the kind who could hide his freakiness, like Cyril or Yuna.

Chiaki continued to lie in the tub, staring at his knees. He lost all sense of time passing around him. In fact, he didn't even realize someone else had shut the shower off until a hand that clearly wasn't his grabbed his head leaf and dragged him out of the tub.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Chiaki swatted his arms, hitting only air. He glimpsed Kyoko's unamused face before she let go and his head fell by her feet.

"Next time, when I tell you to stop, you stop," she hissed, stepping on Chiaki's orange belly and pressing her right foot down.

Chiaki's face scrunched up. His chest glowed. Eyes wide, Kyoko quickly stepped off of him, positioning herself between Chiaki and the door. "Start talking. You show up out of nowhere with Starlene herself in tow, then lock yourself in the bathroom and try to use up all the hot water!" She wrinkled her snout in disgust. "To say nothing of your godawful salazzle cosplay. You think that's funny? I ought to bathe you in pheromones 'til you're twirling around the poles downstairs for ladies' night!"

"I—" Chiaki stopped himself. "Wait, Starlene? No, that's a dragonair named Scarlett."

"Don't try to change the subject." Kyoko jabbed his left thigh with her right foot. "What do you think I was doing before I came up here?"

The grovyle decided that was a rhetorical question.

"It's all over the news." Kyoko leaned over, pink vapor drifting out the corners of her mouth. "Starlene's really an ex-Horizon student who willingly let Vortex's company pump her full of ether so her music brainwashes people."

That was already on the news?! What had Chiaki missed, some sort of Parliamentary inquiry?

To Chiaki's surprise, his sister straightened up and crossed her arms over her chest. "I suppose, in that regard, I owe you an apology."

Chiaki held his breath. There were too many tricks and traps as of late. He said nothing.

"You really were telling the truth. That something was up with Starlene," Kyoko whispered.

The grovyle was pretty sure that was genuine. "Well, I—"

Kyoko then stepped on his groin. "But what the hell were you thinking blowing up her trailer?!"

"Gah!" Pain shot up Chiaki's spine. He scooted back across the floor. "It wasn't me!"

"The Ministry of Justice doesn't feel that way." Kyoko stared him down, hands on her hips. "They're calling you a fugitive. Stoutland Yard has a hundred and fifty thousand radian bounty on your head."

Color drained from Chiaki's face. Was that Vegna's call... or one of his bosses? The grovyle winced. "It was an accident. Think about it." He curled his claws. "Why would I have brought Starlene here if I was out to harm her? World Ender's agents were behind the sabotage. I tried to free her... but Cyril's tech made the already-sabotaged equipment blow up."

Kyoko again crossed her arms, but her expression softened slightly. "So that's why you look like you a sorry salazzle impersonator?"

Chiaki looked down at his orange belly. "No, that's not quite it..."

He lapsed into an explanation about waking up in the hospital, getting accosted by Ahsen, and receiving the corrupted Abyssal Relic that transformed him and allowed him to escape.

Kyoko facepalmed. "God, you really are hopeless." She rubbed her temples, then tugged at the collar of her shirt. "What kind of idiot accepts a gift from someone who's partnered with a World Ender cultist, huh?"

"The kind of idiot who's a quadriplegic and staring at Citadark or death by the Reaper's curse," Chiaki flatly responded.

"And how do you know the creepy cultist didn't plant some sort of seed in you to turn you batshit crazy whenever he wants?" Kyoko leaned forward, vapor trickling out of her nostrils.

Chiaki tensed. He didn't have an answer. How could even prove something like that? A good psychic-type, perhaps. But the only one that sounded strong enough to approach the idea was Gene and Chiaki had no idea what he was currently up to.

"So what are you going to do?"

"Hmm?" Chiaki blinked a few times. Kyoko was looking at her reflection in the slightly grimy mirror, brushing wrinkles out of her shirt.

"You can't stay here when, for all we know, you're a ticking time bomb," the salazzle said, eyes narrowed.

"But I'm a wanted 'mon."

Kyoko side-eyed her stepbrother. "Don't give me that. Like we didn't both learn how to make covers for ourselves."

The grovyle's face scrunched up. "You're right." He lowered his head. "I guess... Igneous has to be more than a codename."

"Damn straight." Kyoko bobbed her head. "Grovlazzle Igneous. Or Salvyle. I dunno. You'll figure something out. Plenty of folks out there messed up by the distortion. You can count yourself amongst their ranks."

It hurt for Chi— no, it hurt for Igneous to hear that. However, the grovlazzle had been similarly blunt to Nikki and Yuna in the past. He couldn't say he didn't deserve it.

"Can I at least... take a bit of time to collect myself before you kick me out?" Igneous hated groveling, but he wasn't ready to leave.

"On one condition." Kyoko turned and put her right hand on the doorknob. "You do something about Miss Diva. She saw the news and went catatonic." The salazzle slowly opened the door. "Either she's got acting chops... or she had no idea Polaris was using her to brainwash people."

Kyoko didn't wait for Igneous to respond. She left him on the bathroom floor. The grovlazzle pondered his stepsister's claims as he sat up. If Kyoko was telling the truth, what would Igneous even say to her? He doubted "Sorry Vortex used you like a tool," would carry any weight.

Not to mention she'll at least know me as the guy who kidnapped her.

Igneous trudged out the bathroom door and down the hallway, wincing with every squeak the floorboards made under his feet. He stayed outside the living room door for a full minute, weighing his options while he looked at the dragonair lying on the black couch with her head and tail draped over each armrest and drooping onto the floor.

Rubbing his right shoulder, Igneous shuffled across the shag carpet. "Uh, hey." He looked at the old CRT PV set sitting in a busted wooden cabinet with stacks of videotapes and discs littering the other shelves. Though muted, it showed footage of a midday lycanroc, swampert, indeedee, and eldegoss sitting at a roundtable. The swampert and eldegoss glared at each other. Igneous recognized it as "Lycanroc Blitzer's Situation Room."

Scarlett was silent. Sighing, Igneous walked toward the PV and hit the button to shut it off. "Look, I'm sure what you saw there was, uh..." His voice trailed off and looked down at his feet. God, why was this so hard?

Maybe if he imagined Nikki in her place?

... No. Over the last couple of days, he managed to make the toxtricity look like the responsible one.

Igneous sat down on the coffee table, facing the PV. "It's me, Scarlett. The guy in the hospital bed you were yelling at yesterday. It's... all my fault." He rested his hands on his lap and kneaded his thighs. "I was selfish. I wanted to... expose you as a fraud to impress my family." His long tails curled like salazzle tail flaps. "No, that's not right. That's what I told myself to justify it. But I think... I was doing it because I believed it could somehow fix the things I've always blamed myself for."

He dug his claws into his scales, avoiding breaking any skin underneath. "It was stupid. I was stupid. And I blew up both our lives because of it. Literally and figuratively." Igneous lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I'm sure it doesn't mean much to you. If I could, I'd try to make it up to you, but I understand if you never want to see me again. Or want to turn me into Stoutland Yard."

The grovlazzle couldn't come up with anything else. He waited for Scarlett to say something. Anything. However, the dragonair stayed silent. Igneous deigned to look at her again. Scarlett hadn't budged an inch. She still stared blankly at the ceiling, the pearl on her neck dimmer than back at the hospital.

"Can I get you something to eat?" Igneous offered, hoping maybe there was a fatigue element at play.

No response.

"Some water, perhaps?"

Still nothing.

Igneous was fighting a losing battle. Better tell Kyoko, I guess.

When the grovlazzle stood up, however, he heard a soft, "I only wanted... people to love me."

He paused, unsure whether to say something or make eye contact. Igneous didn't even move his arms. Did he tell her it was okay? No, no, that was way too corny.

"My classmates hated me," Scarlett continued. She sounded... broken. "I wanted to go back to Blightsmuth... but I couldn't. The people there looked up to me and Nikki. I couldn't go back a failure. So when Vortex offered me a deal, I... I..."

The dragonair's attempts to choke back her crying hurt Igneous. It was so painfully familiar. Because it wasn't much different from his motives.

Love. Respect. The desire for each driving them both to do stupid things.

Only Scarlett's stupid thing lasted a hell of a lot longer than Igneous'. And his stupid thing brought the revelation of her stupid thing to light.

"I'm sorry," Igneous whispered.

More silence followed. The grovlazzle finally got the courage to glance at her. His chest tightened from Scarlett's watery eyes.

"I want to scream," she said. "To wrap you up and squeeze you until your head pops off."

Igneous cringed. He'd had enough serious pain to last a lifetime.

Scarlett laughed bitterly. "I should've caught on sooner. All the songs I came up with were so corny. But Vortex told me that was what the people wanted. So, I listened. Like a big, fat sucker." More laughter.

Igneous figured it was time to excuse himself. "I'll, uh... leave you to your thoughts." Again, however, his attempt to take a step away from the coffee table failed.

"Please don't go."

He hesitated. The doorway was still the more tempting option. "I'd rather not get strangled."

"I just... need some company. For a bit."

More silence, until the desperation got to the grovlazzle. He sat back down on the coffee table, awkwardly fidgeting with his hands in his lap.

"Never got your name, by the way," Scarlett whispered. Igneous heard scratching fabric behind him. The dragonair must have pulled her head off the floor. Igneous waited a few moments before he responded.

"Igneous. I'm... Igneous."

XxX​

"Go away!"

Shimmer glared at his pink bedroom door. He sensed a strong psychic aura on the other side, but not his mother's. Probably Demerzel. Perhaps if he glared at the door long enough, the mutant would get the message and leave.

Instead, more knocks assaulted Shimmer's ears.

"I said go away!" The ponyta levitated a heart-shaped throw pillow and hurled it at the door. It made the saddest whumpf before bouncing onto the floor and showering sparkles onto the violet carpet.

This time, the door handle jiggled and met resistance from the lock. "Get it through your oversized skull!" Shimmer hissed. "I'm not accepting visi—"

The lock clicked. Shimmer scrambled to pull himself out of a pile of blankets before the door swung open to reveal Demerzel floating there. "Rough day?" he said with a polite tone that suggested he already knew the answer.

"I ought to have you disciplined for insubordination," Shimmer growled. He tried to make his horn glow to look intimidating, but it could only fizzle and release a few sad, sorry pink sparks.

Sighing, Demerzel pivoted and leaned against the open door. "I don't blame you for wanting to be alone. You've had quite the last twenty-four hours."

"Then why are you here?" Shimmer growled, slinking down onto his belly and burying his face into his pillow. A psychic force yanked his head back up, however.

"To put a stop to... all of this." Demerzel gestured at Shimmer's bed and the mountain of tissues piling up next to it.

"I'm mourning," Shimmer countered.

"Of course you are." Demerzel folded his arms behind his back. "And that small outburst during Parliament's session was part of your mourning process?"

The ponyta flinched. "Yes?" He looked at his pink blanket.

"You don't sound sure." Demerzel narrowed his eyes. "Do you have any idea how foolish you sounded? Throwing such a libelous accusation out with not a shred of evidence?"

Shimmer squirmed against his bedsheets and blankets. "It made sense in the moment," he mumbled.

"You're not doing yourself any favors." Demerzel shook his head. "Several MPs went up to me, asking if you were drunk or on something. To say nothing of your mothers."

"I don't need you to tell me they're disappointed in me," Shimmer said, smacking a larger pillow with a hind leg. "They're always disappointed. Nothing I do is ever enough for them. Even though I'm top of my class, have done several—"

Psychic energy clamped Shimmer's mouth shut. "Stop." Demerzel held up his right hand. "You really don't know, do you?"

Shimmer blinked. Know what? That his mothers had sticks up their bums? One would have to be blind not to see it.

Demerzel sighed and floated away from the door. "I think there's something you ought to see, then." He reached under his cloak and produced a small crystal that he set on the floor. The mutant's eyes glowed. Before Shimmer knew it, he was looking at footage of his mothers' bedroom. Justine shut the huge oak doors and approached Isola, shaking her head.

"How are you holding up?" the virizion asked, a softer expression on her face than Shimmer had ever seen before.

Isola telekinetically ran a brush through her long, pink hair. "I'm keeping it together. What about you?"

"You know me. I've been waiting to see Vortex get taken down a peg."
Justine continued forward, laughing. When she reached Isola's side, she took the brush in her mouth and gently moved it through Isola's hair. "Buh ah'm not thuh one in hah wahtuh."

The rapidash took the brush back from Justine's mouth. "Yes, well, that is— something I'll have to deal with." She lowered her head. "What were my ancestors thinking? And just what did Adelaide do during the Darkest Day?" Isola turned around and approached a white vanity dresser with a large mirror in front of it. She levitated a pink silk cloak off a chair and through it over her back.

"What is this?" Shimmer narrowed his eyes at Demerzel. "Were you spying on my mothers?"

Demerzel's expression remained neutral. "Keep watching, Your Grace."

"Is that a raboot hole you really want to go down?" Justine wondered, approaching the dresser herself.

"I don't have a choice." Isola stared at her reflection in the mirror, then continued, "Well, I do. But one of the choices isn't feasible."

"Yeah, well our 'brilliant' son didn't help matters."
Shaking her head, Justine reached the rapidash's side.

"I should've cut him off." Isola looked down at her gold shield. "I had no idea he was going to spew such paranoid bile." She dropped the brush into the top right drawer. "Honestly. That dreepy princess is so sickly. Anyone with half a brain would realize she's not a threat. She couldn't even fight off a feral."

"I wasn't being paranoid!" Shimmer's horn weakly sparked. "It's... perfectly logical. Yuna was missing from the whole Venish debacle. That's suspicious!"

"Then I think it's time we told him the truth." Justine leaned over, expression stern. "Don't you?"

Isola's shoulders sagged. "I don't know. His mind's frayed enough. This could make him snap."

"Good."
Justine stomped a forehoof on the ground. "I'm tired of treating him with kiddy gloves. You ordered Horizon's students return home for their safety. His school year is finished." The virizion paced around Isola. "We've been handed a golden opportunity. Better to tell him he has eviolitis now than during some festivity where he tries and fails to evolve."

Evi... olitis?


The word echoed in Shimmer's head over and over and overandoverandoverandover.

... He must have misheard.

Shimmer couldn't have eviolitis. It was impossible, because—

Because if that were true, then...

I can never evolve.

"NO!" Shimmer slammed his hooves against his mattress. "No, no, no! Stop feeding me lies! Eviolitis is... a commoner disease! I'm royalty! I can't— that's not—"

The ponyta descended into rapid, shallow breaths. His vision grew red. Demerzel's expression remained unchanged. The mutant simply resumed the gem's playback.

"I can't imagine he'd react well," Isola whispered. "He'll fly off the handle at us."

"I can take it."
Justine squared up her stance. "It is my fault. Given my species, I assumed my half of the family tree was clean of the gene." She hung her head. "Perhaps that bit of guilt was what made me so willing to buy off all his perfect grades." The virizion sighed. "It's a good thing Vegna ignored meeting requests regarding his law class. He would've gotten all the evidence he needed to go public. Could you imagine the scandal? The country's highest law enforcement official bribing a subordinate?"

Shimmer's ears rang. He sucked in a sharp breath. There was no shouting this time. Only a dull, steady ache that ate away at the pit of the ponyta's stomach.

Every grade... bought and paid for. He wasn't the top of his class. Was Shimmer even smart? Vegna and his bird minion treated him like an idiot. Even if they had no evidence, they must have assumed that was the case.

"I do so wish I could fire him," Justine continued. "But you've seen the numbers for yourself. Crime rates have steadily declined since the media branded him the Grim Reaper. The Yakuza are the only ones really causing trouble for us."

Shimmer couldn't care less about their thoughts on Vegna. It paled in comparison to what Justine admitted. The ponyta couldn't stop his mind from racing.

What else had Shimmer's mothers hidden? Was his modeling and acting also a result of backdoor deals? His club leadership positions at school?

... Was the Crowne Cup going to be rigged in his favor?

"Honestly, I'm kind of glad that sylveon got taken." Justine sighed again. "I know that's awful to say, but he was a terrible influence for Shimmer." The virizion shook her head. "I see that look, Izzy. But you know I'm right. That sylveon was squandering what little potential Shimmer had. C'mon, you saw those shoots he was in. How is anyone supposed to take him seriously when he's showing up on the cover of Playpunny in fishnets and a corset?"

The gem abruptly shut off. Demerzel levitated it back into his hand. He tucked it into his cloak. "I'm sorry, Your Grace."

Shimmer's legs trembled. He couldn't stop shaking. "Sorry. You're... sorry?" His right eye twitched. "Haa... aha... 'sorry.'"

The pontya hopped up, nostrils flaring. "Shove your false sympathy up your ass!" His limbs shook harder. Shimmer was amazed he was still standing. "You don't care one bit about me! My boyfriend is gone! My entire life is crumbling around me! I can't evolve! I'm apparently a total fraud!"

With every shout, he stomped a forehoof down, until it broke through the top of the mattress and Shimmer faceplanted with a squeal, hind legs flailing around. Another psychic force pulled him upright and unceremoniously dropped him at the foot of the bed.

"Fine. You're right." Demerzel folded his hands behind his back. "No false sympathy, then. Instead, let me ask you something." The mutant loomed over Shimmer, eyes glowing blue. "Do you intend to just roll over and take this abuse? Or will you actually stand up for yourself?"

How could the ponyta fight for himself? He was nothing but an embarrassment in Venish. Vegna had said as much to Shimmer's face.

"I can't fight," Shimmer whispered meekly. "I'm... I'm nothing, aren't I? Not smart. Not clever. Certainly not strong. I'm—"

"Pathetic? Of course," Demerzel sneered. "But, as you've now heard, there are always shortcuts to be taken."

Shimmer tilted his head, blinking slowly. "What do you mean by that?"

Demerzel's eyes darkened. "I'm saying that you should never underestimate the power of desperation."

For a brief second, the ponyta saw strange purple energy crackle around Demerzel's oversized head. Then an awful, brutal chill ran up Shimmer's legs.

The last thing the ponyta remembered was frost filling up his field of vision.
 

Spiteful Murkrow

Busy Writing Stories I Want to Read
Pronouns
He/Him/His
Partners
  1. nidoran-f
  2. druddigon
  3. swellow
  4. quilava-fobbie
  5. sneasel-kate
Heya, took a bit longer than I'd have liked, but squaring away my next review of this story before the new update drops later today:

Chapter 45

No matter the change, the end is the same.
No matter the change, the end is the same.
Stave stagnation. Unite them all.
Stave stagnation. Unite them all.

... "Unite" is going to become something like a multiversal collapse/singularity event, isn't it? ^^;

Flying was not natural to Chiaki. He was a grovyle. Birds were bad for grass. Every fiber of his being should have screamed in protest at what he was doing. However, as his new volcarona wings flew him over the pointed roofs and steeples of outer Vellguarde, Chiaki didn't mind one bit. Every flap happened without any thought on his part.

Chiaki: "... How is nobody seeing me do this right now, anyways?" ^^;

... Which was alarming in its own way. That honedge couldn't have been the same Abyssal Relic that Vegna mentioned. Unless the dusknoir was once another species or something, and the ritual he did with his book transformed him.

You see, now that you bring that up, I'm convinced that that's exactly what happened to Vegna.

But Vegna doesn't look much different from a typical dusknoir, Chiaki figured. The only thing that stood out were his sinister hood and the skull-shaped shoulder pads, which had to be a part of the whole Grim Reaper persona.

I mean, looks can be deceiving. If the likes of Transfer Orbs cleanly turn one Pokémon into another species with no visual standout cues even temporarily in this setting, Chiaki wouldn't have reason to expect the same to not apply to a transformed Vegna.

And why the hell did the honedge transform him into some salazzle hybrid? If he didn't know any better, Chiaki would assume one of his siblings did this as a prank. He tightened his grip on Scarlett — the dragonair had apparently passed out while freefalling — and pressed on.

I mean, the name of your clan of origin is a veiled reference to Lugia, and we know the Lugia of this setting was a Salazzle, so...
:wellyousee:


The city gave way to railroad tracks streaming out across stone bridges seated over a flowing river. Wild magikarp and basculin hopped out of the water. Chiaki wondered if they even knew about the purple rifts opening and closing at random in the sky. Nothing was going in or coming out of them, but they were still unsettling. Though, if the fish were ferals, they were probably too dumb to realize there were rifts in the first place.

I actually wonder what the backstory of how ferals came to be in this setting was anyways? I know you've said -ahem- parentage played a role in it, but the concept is very much alive and well on multiple worlds in this setting, so it makes me curious if they shared an origin from somewhere.

Chiaki did his best to steer clear of all the bridges, aiming instead for a peninsula jutting into the river. The grovyle descended toward rows upon rows of evergreens. He weaved around pine needle branches — Chiaki couldn't believe he was doing this — and did his best to avoid startling some of the feral bidoof and bibarel carving out bits of downed trees.

It only took him a minute of flying to find what he was looking for: a small log cabin perched on a hill. The trees around the cabin stood tall. The tiny brick chimney wore enough pine and sap to suggest no one had used it in ages.

Hidden entrance to Scale City, I presume? Or is that just a hangout his family kept around?

In fact, no one ever used it. Because the cabin was empty. Just a wooden floor, wooden walls, and a brick fireplace that held what Chiaki was looking for: the transporter that would take him to the Ryujin's secret underground city.

Yup, I figured. Though how big is the Ryujin Clan if they have a whole city for themselves? .-.

When the grovyle landed, his fiery wings disappeared in puffs of smoke. Disturbing, but he could think about it later. Chiaki walked up to the door and threw it open. The cabin was empty and dusty, including the fireplace.

Sighing in relief, Chiaki dragged Scarlett to the fireplace and fit her in, then squished himself beside her. Chiaki felt around until he located a loose brick, which slid right to reveal a keypad. After typing in 8-6-7-5-3-0-9, the keys lit up green and the floor beneath him began to glow. All the burnt grovyle had to do was place himself and Scarlett on the transporter and it would whisk them underground.

Chiaki slid the brick back over the keypad and took a deep breath, preparing himself for what would follow.

Oh you. You can be really shameless about your pop culture references sometimes, you know.
:hoodLUL:


As a rule of thumb, all Ryujin waypoints deposited their passengers within different tunnels of a large catacomb system deep underneath Radiance. Deep enough to stay off the authorities' radars. After all, when your city was below even the nearest sewer system, the odds were strong no one would ever think to dig down and find you.

Oh, so we do just have a teleportation network in the style of HoC. Complete with shared terminology, even if its reach is obviously not quite as comprehensive as Kilo Village's network.

Scale City itself wasn't visible from the catacombs. It was hidden behind metal barricades disguised as natural rock formations. Chiaki wasn't sure if his family had Cyril to thank for that, but he wouldn't be surprised. Who else could get electricity working so far underground? Chiaki always assumed ether was pumped down from the surface, but now he wasn't so sure.

Geothermal energy, son. It's the perfect power source for this sort of setup, especially if ether production carries local destabilizing effects.

What the mutated grovyle did know was that the security checkpoint was an issue. They'd question his appearance and his passenger. Fortunately, the walk to one of the hidden checkpoints had given him enough time to build up a cover story.

Chiaki slipped into his routine, hobbling through a brown tunnel until he reached what looked like a dead end. He tucked his head down, adjusted his grip on Scarlett, and continued forward. The rock wall was nothing but air. On the other side of it was a metal checkpoint with a seviper and a drampa standing guard.

Both Dragon Egg Group 'mons, huh? I'm feeling pretty good about my prediction that the Ryujin Clan has a link to the Aeon Kingdom, guess we'll find out fast if it pans out.

"Halt!" Seviper held out its tail. "Identification."

"I don't got none," Chiaki whispered, shuddering. "B-But you gotta help us! Me and my cousin... we got caught in a distortion blast!"

Seviper eyed him skeptically. His bladed tail glowed purple.

Chiaki: "Look, we did, alright?" >.<
Seviper: "Yeah, and I'm Queen Isola. Start explaining yourself unless you feel like getting cut up, hothead."
:absus:


He pointed at his orange belly. "C'mon, man, look at me! Ain't no grovyle supposed to look like this. Ya gotta let me in! Crummy landlord kicked me outta my place! I got nowhere to go!"

"A likely story," Seviper growled. "I know an illusion when I see one."

Chiaki: "I-I can prick a finger or something to prove this is my body and it'll bleed?"
:grohno~1:

- The Seviper brandishes its tail and hisses -
Seviper: "You can make illusions of that too, nice try." >:|

Damn it. Chiaki had to think fast. "Salazzle Kyoko told me about the safe house in Guardhenge Forest to get here!" He believed his stepsister's name carried more weight around Scale City than his. "Told me the Ryujin can protect me in exchange for me working for 'em!"

Seviper's tail twitched slightly. Drampa stuck his long neck out from his comically undersized seat. "You got a name?"

Oh, well this is gonna get interesting.

"Grovyle Igneous." He looked at his backside and the salazzle-like flaps that were there. "Or, at least, I used to be."

Drampa: "'Igneous'? For a Grass-type?"
:heliodoubt:

Chiaki: "Look, my dad was a Charizard, okay? Just let me through already!" >.<

"I can see that," Drampa scoffed, looking at Seviper, who'd gone to a small phone booth beside his desk. Seviper flashed Drampa a panicked look as he hung up the phone.

"Terribly sorry for the trouble, Igneous," Seviper said. "Miss Kyoko has asked to see you at her loft. Let me get you the directions."

Oh, so Chiaki's actually used that as an alias in the past. Well, you can't say that it's not fitting for him now, but I wonder what the backstory behind him ever getting that to begin with was.

Chiaki avoided sighing in relief. The gambit had paid off. Igneous was one of a few codenames he used with his sister back when she was more active in the family business. Specifically, one he defaulted to when he was in trouble. Which he certainly was.

Oh, there's the explanation.

Chiaki: "(I told her I wanted something like 'Osmund' but noooo...)" >_>;

When Seviper finished explaining everything, he handed Chiaki a map of Scale City and opened the metal gate and door that led inside.

The grovyle immediately wrinkled his black snout upon stepping through. It had been a while since he was around Scale City's... pungent odor.

... 'Pungent odor', huh? Just how deficient is the local sanitation here? .-.

Even though Chiaki kept his head down as he walked through the narrow streets, trying to avoid bumping into people or small stone and wooden street shops, he got the distinct sense people were staring. Yes, the grovyle was hardly a normal sight, but the city took in poor souls mutated with distortion all the time. Yet there was unmistakable scorn behind their looks.

Getting some Midgar slums vibes right about now. Though take in mutated Pokémon, huh? Just how frequently does that happen, anyways?

It wasn't until he rounded a few corners, passing crammed apartment buildings where windows were opening one after another that he realized he wasn't who they were staring at: Scarlett was.

Chiaki heard murmurs, too.

"Is it really her?"

"Dunno."

"Who's the burnt grovyle?"

"Bet he's bringing her to Sakaki."

"Good riddance!"

"She's a disgrace to reptiles everywhere!"

IMO, you should chop up the murmurs into distinct lines, since the current formatting feels a bit muddled. Though I certainly didn't peg Scarlett also being part of the Ryujin Clan herself. Or at least I'm pretty sure that's the implication from that chatter.

Quickening his pace, Chiaki found the building he was looking for. It was hard to miss, with a neon sign jutting over the street reading "The Naughty Salazzle" in cursive, neon letters. Dingier compared to some of the bright signs on the surface, but Chiaki was sure the club's owner didn't care much. At this hour, it was closed anyway.

Well, somebody's certainly shameless about naming their establishments. All that's missing is the red lanterns hanging in front of the entrance.

He scurried through an alley to the back of the building, where he knocked on a metal door. After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal Kyoko standing there in a pink silk shirt that barely reached her thighs. She blinked once. Twice. A third time.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Chiaki: "Long story, but I might've sold my soul to a livestream audience which may or may not have had something to do with this."
:fearfullaugh~1:

Kyoko: "(Pretty sure you just took a Hyper Beam to the fourth wall there.) But how in the hell does that make any-?" O_ó;

Chiaki's response was shoving Scarlett into his sister. "Hey!" the salazzle barely kept her balance while managing to grab hold of Scarlett. "What's the big idea, asshole?!"

He rushed right past her, taking grated metal stairs two at a time until he reached another door that he flung open. Chiaki quickly pivoted left and staggered into a bathroom whose door he shut while his stepsister shouted, "Get back here!"

Chiaki:
Image


Chiaki shuffled across scuffed, dull gray tiles. He barely managed to grab the shower faucet and turn the hot water on before falling over into the tub.

... How is he not in agony right about now from his newfound typing? .-.

Whatever energy had powered Chiaki's escape had worn off, leaving him curled up in a ball, shuddering as hot water pelted him. Steam quickly filled the bathroom. Chiaki wasn't sure if that was from the water temperature, or his new inner fire clashing against the shower.

Everything came flooding back. Ahsen, the strange amalgamation of floating discs who spoke in total nonsense. Vegna's missing Abyssal Relic. The tiny orange butterfree and the intense pain it produced when it went inside Chiaki. And those strange visions—

Chiaki: "In retrospect, I probably should've thought things over a bit more before that whole 'deal with the devil' thing."
:fearfullaugh~1:


Chiaki's head pounded. With every throb, the burnt grovyle heard the same thing over and over: "Butterfree Effect."

He inadvertently tugged on his head leaf, trying to will the pain away.

What did that thing do to me?

Turned you into a chaos agent and a target for the QN once they get wise to your nature, obviously.

But if he hadn't acted so recklessly at Starlene's concert, Chiaki wouldn't have needed to meet Ahsen in the first place. So, really, this was all just a continued consequence of his actions.

Should've gone in with backup, bruh.

He wanted to prove he wasn't a dead weight, and instead he'd turned himself into a freak. And not the kind who could hide his freakiness, like Cyril or Yuna.

Chiaki: "I-I could use makeup to try and disguise things?" ^^;
- Cue the water hissing off Chiaki's scales -
Chiaki: "... Oh, who the hell am I kidding?"
:grohno~1:


Chiaki continued to lie in the tub, staring at his knees. He lost all sense of time passing around him. In fact, he didn't even realize someone else had shut the shower off until a hand that clearly wasn't his grabbed his head leaf and dragged him out of the tub.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Chiaki swatted his arms, hitting only air. He glimpsed Kyoko's unamused face before she let go and his head fell by her feet.

"Next time, when I tell you to stop, you stop," she hissed, stepping on Chiaki's orange belly and pressing her right foot down.

Chiaki: "You know, most families are supposed to have each other's backs and not get physical with each other!" >.<
Kyoko: "Yeah, well. We're not a normal family, and you're not normal right now. So are you going to tell me what the hell's going on, or...?" >:|

Chiaki's face scrunched up. His chest glowed. Eyes wide, Kyoko quickly stepped off of him, positioning herself between Chiaki and the door. "Start talking. You show up out of nowhere with Starlene herself in tow, then lock yourself in the bathroom and try to use up all the hot water!" She wrinkled her snout in disgust. "To say nothing of your godawful salazzle cosplay. You think that's funny? I ought to bathe you in pheromones 'til you're twirling around the poles downstairs for ladies' night!"

Yeah, I kinda figured that a place called the 'Naughty Salazzle' would get up to that sort of business. Chiaki: "... Wait, those pheromones work on other Pokémon outside your species?!" O_O;
Kyoko: "Do you really wanna bet it won't work on you right now?" >:|
Chiaki: "... No, no I don't."
:uhhh:


"I—" Chiaki stopped himself. "Wait, Starlene? No, that's a dragonair named Scarlett."

"Don't try to change the subject." Kyoko jabbed his left thigh with her right foot. "What do you think I was doing before I came up here?"

The grovyle decided that was a rhetorical question.

"It's all over the news." Kyoko leaned over, pink vapor drifting out the corners of her mouth. "Starlene's really an ex-Horizon student who willingly let Vortex's company pump her full of ether so her music brainwashes people."

Chiaki:
the-incredibles-spit-out-water.gif

Kyoko: "Have you been living under a rock all night? How do you not know this by now?" >_>;
Chiaki: "Look, I've literally seen all of about 30 seconds of news footage since this all happened to me, okay?" O_O;

That was already on the news?! What had Chiaki missed, some sort of Parliamentary inquiry?

Image


To Chiaki's surprise, his sister straightened up and crossed her arms over her chest. "I suppose, in that regard, I owe you an apology."

Chiaki held his breath. There were too many tricks and traps as of late. He said nothing.

"You really were telling the truth. That something was up with Starlene," Kyoko whispered.

Chiaki: "Gee, thanks for coming to that conclusion now of all times..." -_-;
Kyoko: "Would you rather that I harp on you about how big of an idiot you were instead?" >_>;

The grovyle was pretty sure that was genuine. "Well, I—"

Kyoko then stepped on his groin. "But what the hell were you thinking blowing up her trailer?!"

"Gah!" Pain shot up Chiaki's spine. He scooted back across the floor. "It wasn't me!"

Chiaki: "A-Agh! That's not supposed to hurt like that when you're a reptile!" @.@
Kyoko: "You're bipedal, that'd have worked just from the sheer amount of nerve endings down there. And the hell do you mean 'it wasn't you'?!" >:|

"The Ministry of Justice doesn't feel that way." Kyoko stared him down, hands on her hips. "They're calling you a fugitive. Stoutland Yard has a hundred and fifty thousand radian bounty on your head."

Chiaki: "Wow, that chintzy of a reward, huh-?" >_>;
Kyoko: "Look, it's still a big deal! Seriously, Chiaki, what the hell happened out there if that wasn't you?"

Color drained from Chiaki's face. Was that Vegna's call... or one of his bosses? The grovyle winced. "It was an accident. Think about it." He curled his claws. "Why would I have brought Starlene here if I was out to harm her? World Ender's agents were behind the sabotage. I tried to free her... but Cyril's tech made the already-sabotaged equipment blow up."

Kyoko again crossed her arms, but her expression softened slightly. "So that's why you look like you a sorry salazzle impersonator?"

Chiaki: "That's... where the whole 'selling my soul to a livestream' comes in, really." ^^;
Kyoko: "What the hell kind of livestream does that to a 'mon?!"
:scaredlazzle:


Chiaki looked down at his orange belly. "No, that's not quite it..."

He lapsed into an explanation about waking up in the hospital, getting accosted by Ahsen, and receiving the corrupted Abyssal Relic that transformed him and allowed him to escape.

Kyoko facepalmed. "God, you really are hopeless." She rubbed her temples, then tugged at the collar of her shirt. "What kind of idiot accepts a gift from someone who's partnered with a World Ender cultist, huh?"

Chiaki: "Kyoko, I was about to get shipped to Citadark! As a quadraplegic! I was short on options at the time, alright?!"
:grohno~1:

Kyoko: "And yet, you still came out worse from that freaky deal with the devil you made there."
:unimpressed:


"The kind of idiot who's a quadriplegic and staring at Citadark or death by the Reaper's curse," Chiaki flatly responded.

"And how do you know the creepy cultist didn't plant some sort of seed in you to turn you batshit crazy whenever he wants?" Kyoko leaned forward, vapor trickling out of her nostrils.

Oh wow, literally the very next line mirrors the last gag.

Chiaki:
Image


Chiaki tensed. He didn't have an answer. How could even prove something like that? A good psychic-type, perhaps. But the only one that sounded strong enough to approach the idea was Gene and Chiaki had no idea what he was currently up to.

"So what are you going to do?"

"Hmm?" Chiaki blinked a few times. Kyoko was looking at her reflection in the slightly grimy mirror, brushing wrinkles out of her shirt.

"You can't stay here when, for all we know, you're a ticking time bomb," the salazzle said, eyes narrowed.

Chiaki: "Kyoko, you don't know that!"
:grohno~1:

Kyoko: "Chiaki, this is a secret city. We haven't kept it a secret by taking blind gambles, and you know it!"
:judgemander~1:


"But I'm a wanted 'mon."

Kyoko side-eyed her stepbrother. "Don't give me that. Like we didn't both learn how to make covers for ourselves."

The grovyle's face scrunched up. "You're right." He lowered his head. "I guess... Igneous has to be more than a codename."

Kyoko: "Oh my god, you're seriously trying to guilt me into letting you stay, aren't you?" -_-;

"Damn straight." Kyoko bobbed her head. "Grovlazzle Igneous. Or Salvyle. I dunno. You'll figure something out. Plenty of folks out there messed up by the distortion. You can count yourself amongst their ranks."

It hurt for Chi— no, it hurt for Igneous to hear that. However, the grovlazzle had been similarly blunt to Nikki and Yuna in the past. He couldn't say he didn't deserve it.

Ow. Ice cold there.

"Can I at least... take a bit of time to collect myself before you kick me out?" Igneous hated groveling, but he wasn't ready to leave.

"On one condition." Kyoko turned and put her right hand on the doorknob. "You do something about Miss Diva. She saw the news and went catatonic." The salazzle slowly opened the door. "Either she's got acting chops... or she had no idea Polaris was using her to brainwash people."

Chiaki: "Wait, but she told me that she was informed about the experiments that were being done on her." ._.
Kyoko: "Well, she wasn't informed about all of them, apparently. So what's it going to be, huh?"

Kyoko didn't wait for Igneous to respond. She left him on the bathroom floor. The grovlazzle pondered his stepsister's claims as he sat up. If Kyoko was telling the truth, what would Igneous even say to her? He doubted "Sorry Vortex used you like a tool," would carry any weight.

Not to mention she'll at least know me as the guy who kidnapped her.

Oh, so we're getting an identity retool, huh? Since I notice that the narration is no longer calling Chiaki 'Chiaki'.

Igneous trudged out the bathroom door and down the hallway, wincing with every squeak the floorboards made under his feet. He stayed outside the living room door for a full minute, weighing his options while he looked at the dragonair lying on the black couch with her head and tail draped over each armrest and drooping onto the floor.

Rubbing his right shoulder, Igneous shuffled across the shag carpet. "Uh, hey." He looked at the old CRT PV set sitting in a busted wooden cabinet with stacks of videotapes and discs littering the other shelves. Though muted, it showed footage of a midday lycanroc, swampert, indeedee, and eldegoss sitting at a roundtable. The swampert and eldegoss glared at each other. Igneous recognized it as "Lycanroc Blitzer's Situation Room.

So they had a similar evolution of display technology in this setting, huh? Wonder if there's also CRT nuts snapping the things up for retrogaming in Etherium, too.

Scarlett was silent. Sighing, Igneous walked toward the PV and hit the button to shut it off. "Look, I'm sure what you saw there was, uh..." His voice trailed off and looked down at his feet. God, why was this so hard?

Maybe if he imagined Nikki in her place?

... No. Over the last couple of days, he managed to make the toxtricity look like the responsible one.

That's... quite a mean feat, honestly. Since Nikki is more or less consummately impulsive, but... yeah, kinda hard to disagree with Chiaki's conclusion there.

Igneous sat down on the coffee table, facing the PV. "It's me, Scarlett. The guy in the hospital bed you were yelling at yesterday. It's... all my fault." He rested his hands on his lap and kneaded his thighs. "I was selfish. I wanted to... expose you as a fraud to impress my family." His long tails curled like salazzle tail flaps. "No, that's not right. That's what I told myself to justify it. But I think... I was doing it because I believed it could somehow fix the things I've always blamed myself for."

Oh, so that was his motivation for outing Scarlett. While it makes sense, for whatever reason, I don't remember this being hinted at firmly in the chapters leading up to the concert. If you ever do revisions of them, it might be something worth considering.

He dug his claws into his scales, avoiding breaking any skin underneath. "It was stupid. I was stupid. And I blew up both our lives because of it. Literally and figuratively." Igneous lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I'm sure it doesn't mean much to you. If I could, I'd try to make it up to you, but I understand if you never want to see me again. Or want to turn me into Stoutland Yard."

The grovlazzle couldn't come up with anything else. He waited for Scarlett to say something. Anything. However, the dragonair stayed silent. Igneous deigned to look at her again. Scarlett hadn't budged an inch. She still stared blankly at the ceiling, the pearl on her neck dimmer than back at the hospital.

Chiaki: "That... didn't move the needle at all for you, did it?" ._.;

"Can I get you something to eat?" Igneous offered, hoping maybe there was a fatigue element at play.

No response.

"Some water, perhaps?"

Still nothing.

Scarlett:
1qlvn77.gif


Igneous was fighting a losing battle. Better tell Kyoko, I guess.

When the grovlazzle stood up, however, he heard a soft, "I only wanted... people to love me."

I mean, I kinda figured that Scarlett wasn't doing well, but that line still hit harder than I expected.
:sadwott~2:


He paused, unsure whether to say something or make eye contact. Igneous didn't even move his arms. Did he tell her it was okay? No, no, that was way too corny.

"My classmates hated me," Scarlett continued. She sounded... broken. "I wanted to go back to Blightsmuth... but I couldn't. The people there looked up to me and Nikki. I couldn't go back a failure. So when Vortex offered me a deal, I... I..."

The dragonair's attempts to choke back her crying hurt Igneous. It was so painfully familiar. Because it wasn't much different from his motives.

Oh hey, it's the second scene I've seen where an emotionally gutted Dragonair bares her soul to a Dragon Egg Group 'mon. It's similarly
:CryingCabot:
, if for different reasons.

Love. Respect. The desire for each driving them both to do stupid things.

Only Scarlett's stupid thing lasted a hell of a lot longer than Igneous'. And his stupid thing brought the revelation of her stupid thing to light.

"I'm sorry," Igneous whispered.

I mean, it wasn't as if Scarlett's dynamic was remotely healthy, but I suppose that now's not the right time to bring that up.

More silence followed. The grovlazzle finally got the courage to glance at her. His chest tightened from Scarlett's watery eyes.

"I want to scream," she said. "To wrap you up and squeeze you until your head pops off."

Igneous cringed. He'd had enough serious pain to last a lifetime.

Chiaki: "Also, I'm pretty sure you're going to give yourself third-degree burns if you try that on me right now."
:fearfullaugh~1:


Scarlett laughed bitterly. "I should've caught on sooner. All the songs I came up with were so corny. But Vortex told me that was what the people wanted. So, I listened. Like a big, fat sucker." More laughter.

Chiaki: "Wait, but I thought that you stole them from-" ^^;
Scarlett: "Look, can you not right now?!" >_>;

Igneous figured it was time to excuse himself. "I'll, uh... leave you to your thoughts." Again, however, his attempt to take a step away from the coffee table failed.

"Please don't go."

He hesitated. The doorway was still the more tempting option.

"I'd rather not get strangled." "I just... need some company. For a bit."

🚢detected.

More silence, until the desperation got to the grovlazzle. He sat back down on the coffee table, awkwardly fidgeting with his hands in his lap.

"Never got your name, by the way," Scarlett whispered. Igneous heard scratching fabric behind him. The dragonair must have pulled her head off the floor. Igneous waited a few moments before he responded.

"Igneous. I'm... Igneous."

Whelp, guess we really are getting an identity reboot for Chiaki. Not that it doesn't fit his present circumstances right here and now.

"Go away!"

Shimmer glared at his pink bedroom door. He sensed a strong psychic aura on the other side, but not his mother's. Probably Demerzel. Perhaps if he glared at the door long enough, the mutant would get the message and leave.

Instead, more knocks assaulted Shimmer's ears.

Shimmer: "Look, can you just leave me alone to cry myself to sleep in peace right now?!" >_>;
Dermezal:
Image


"I said go away!" The ponyta levitated a heart-shaped throw pillow and hurled it at the door. It made the saddest whumpf before bouncing onto the floor and showering sparkles onto the violet carpet.

Wow, Shimmer really did go maximum twink for his lifestyle, since that's more glitter than a little girl's birthday party.

This time, the door handle jiggled and met resistance from the lock. "Get it through your oversized skull!" Shimmer hissed. "I'm not accepting visi—"

The lock clicked. Shimmer scrambled to pull himself out of a pile of blankets before the door swung open to reveal Demerzel floating there. "Rough day?" he said with a polite tone that suggested he already knew the answer.

Shimmer: "(... Right, should've known he could force the lock like that.) Y-You're going to be hearing about this from my mothers, you hear me?!" >.<

"I ought to have you disciplined for insubordination," Shimmer growled. He tried to make his horn glow to look intimidating, but it could only fizzle and release a few sad, sorry pink sparks.

Sighing, Demerzel pivoted and leaned against the open door. "I don't blame you for wanting to be alone. You've had quite the last twenty-four hours."

Shimmer: "Good, now just let me go curl up in a ball and cry for a while." >_>;
Dermezel:
Image


"Then why are you here?" Shimmer growled, slinking down onto his belly and burying his face into his pillow. A psychic force yanked his head back up, however.

"To put a stop to... all of this." Demerzel gestured at Shimmer's bed and the mountain of tissues piling up next to it.

Shimmer:
Image


"I'm mourning," Shimmer countered.

"Of course you are." Demerzel folded his arms behind his back. "And that small outburst during Parliament's session was part of your mourning process?"

The ponyta flinched. "Yes?" He looked at his pink blanket.

I mean, it was super unhealthy as a mourning process, but... Shimmer's technically not wrong there given that it was him attempting to rationalize his life falling apart and find someone to blame for it?

"You don't sound sure." Demerzel narrowed his eyes. "Do you have any idea how foolish you sounded? Throwing such a libelous accusation out with not a shred of evidence?"

Shimmer squirmed against his bedsheets and blankets. "It made sense in the moment," he mumbled.

"You're not doing yourself any favors." Demerzel shook his head. "Several MPs went up to me, asking if you were drunk or on something. To say nothing of your mothers."

I mean, he was drunk on sorrow and self-pity? Does that count?
:joltyshrug~1:


"I don't need you to tell me they're disappointed in me," Shimmer said, smacking a larger pillow with a hind leg. "They're always disappointed. Nothing I do is ever enough for them. Even though I'm top of my class, have done several—"

Psychic energy clamped Shimmer's mouth shut. "Stop." Demerzel held up his right hand. "You really don't know, do you?"

Shimmer: "K-Know what?"
:wtfuckle:


Shimmer blinked. Know what? That his mothers had sticks up their bums? One would have to be blind not to see it.

Demerzel sighed and floated away from the door. "I think there's something you ought to see, then." He reached under his cloak and produced a small crystal that he set on the floor. The mutant's eyes glowed. Before Shimmer knew it, he was looking at footage of his mothers' bedroom. Justine shut the huge oak doors and approached Isola, shaking her head.

Shimmer: "I'm sorry, how do you have this again?" .-.
Dermezel: "Perk of being a trusted advisor, really."
:gardeshrug~1:


"How are you holding up?" the virizion asked, a softer expression on her face than Shimmer had ever seen before.

Isola telekinetically ran a brush through her long, pink hair. "I'm keeping it together. What about you?"

"You know me. I've been waiting to see Vortex get taken down a peg."
Justine continued forward, laughing. When she reached Isola's side, she took the brush in her mouth and gently moved it through Isola's hair. "Buh ah'm not thuh one in hah wahtuh."

Wait, so Isola is the one in hot water? From what?

The rapidash took the brush back from Justine's mouth. "Yes, well, that is— something I'll have to deal with." She lowered her head. "What were my ancestors thinking? And just what did Adelaide do during the Darkest Day?" Isola turned around and approached a white vanity dresser with a large mirror in front of it. She levitated a pink silk cloak off a chair and through it over her back.

We're about to find out, aren't we?

"What is this?" Shimmer narrowed his eyes at Demerzel. "Were you spying on my mothers?"

Demerzel's expression remained neutral. "Keep watching, Your Grace."

Shimmer: "That doesn't excuse you-!" >.<
Dermezel: "Ah-ah-ah. Pay attention for a while."

"Is that a raboot hole you really want to go down?" Justine wondered, approaching the dresser herself.

"I don't have a choice." Isola stared at her reflection in the mirror, then continued, "Well, I do. But one of the choices isn't feasible."

"Yeah, well our 'brilliant' son didn't help matters." Shaking her head, Justine reached the rapidash's side.

Whelp, time to watch Shimmer's ego get murdered in live-time. Even more than it already has been.

"I should've cut him off." Isola looked down at her gold shield. "I had no idea he was going to spew such paranoid bile." She dropped the brush into the top right drawer. "Honestly. That dreepy princess is so sickly. Anyone with half a brain would realize she's not a threat. She couldn't even fight off a feral."

[ ]

"I wasn't being paranoid!" Shimmer's horn weakly sparked. "It's... perfectly logical. Yuna was missing from the whole Venish debacle. That's suspicious!"

Someone's a bit genre blind right now, given that I'm pretty sure that Yuna just flatly has cosmic power slumbering inside of her right now. Not that Shimmer's read of things is dramatically better.

Though I feel this would've benefitted from lingering on Shimmer's body language / mental state / internal thoughts a bit more.

"Then I think it's time we told him the truth." Justine leaned over, expression stern. "Don't you?"

Isola's shoulders sagged. "I don't know. His mind's frayed enough. This could make him snap."

"Good."
Justine stomped a forehoof on the ground. "I'm tired of treating him with kiddy gloves. You ordered Horizon's students return home for their safety. His school year is finished." The virizion paced around Isola. "We've been handed a golden opportunity. Better to tell him he has eviolitis now than during some festivity where he tries and fails to evolve."

WHAT.

Though I suppose it'd explain a few things about how badly Shimmer was jobbing in that one scene when Gio strolled up and Master Balled the rest of the Crowne Cup's lineup.

Evi... olitis?

The word echoed in Shimmer's head over and over and overandoverandoverandover.

... He must have misheard.

Dermezel:
:eltyunamused:

Shimmer: "L-Look, I don't have eviolitis, okay?! I-I'm the crown prince! I've literally got access to the finest doctors, a-and-!"
:grohno~1:


Shimmer couldn't have eviolitis. It was impossible, because—

Because if that were true, then...

I can never evolve.

Yeah, I figured. Though did you come up with that wholecloth for this story? Or were you inspired from a similar narrative device from elsewhere. Though hope this guy likes his Eviolites. He'll be needing them.

"NO!" Shimmer slammed his hooves against his mattress. "No, no, no! Stop feeding me lies! Eviolitis is... a commoner disease! I'm royalty! I can't— that's not—"

Can't tell if this is pointing at Radiance's royal line being significantly less pure than advertised, or else if Shimmer is just this story's significantly more assholish analogue to Garnet from FF9. Though I suppose I'll get an idea either way in short order.

The ponyta descended into rapid, shallow breaths. His vision grew red. Demerzel's expression remained unchanged. The mutant simply resumed the gem's playback.

"I can't imagine he'd react well," Isola whispered. "He'll fly off the handle at us."

Considering how Shimmer is reacting in live-time... yeah, Isola's pretty prescient there.

Though I am seriously
:absus:
-ing at why Dermezel feels a need to show this off to a guy who is teetering on the edge of going off the deep end right now. Smacks of "nefarious ulterior motives".

"I can take it." Justine squared up her stance. "It is my fault. Given my species, I assumed my half of the family tree was clean of the gene." She hung her head. "Perhaps that bit of guilt was what made me so willing to buy off all his perfect grades." The virizion sighed. "It's a good thing Vegna ignored meeting requests regarding his law class. He would've gotten all the evidence he needed to go public. Could you imagine the scandal? The country's highest law enforcement official bribing a subordinate?"

I can already see Shimmer's sanity and sense of self-worth evaporating in live-time.

Shimmer's ears rang. He sucked in a sharp breath. There was no shouting this time. Only a dull, steady ache that ate away at the pit of the ponyta's stomach.

Every grade... bought and paid for. He wasn't the top of his class. Was Shimmer even smart? Vegna and his bird minion treated him like an idiot. Even if they had no evidence, they must have assumed that was the case.

Shimmer, if you have to ask yourself the question, the answer's most likely 'no'.

"I do so wish I could fire him," Justine continued. "But you've seen the numbers for yourself. Crime rates have steadily declined since the media branded him the Grim Reaper. The Yakuza are the only ones really causing trouble for us."

I mean, it helps when every case you handle either results in a prosecution or the untimely death of the accused, so...

Also:

Shimmer:
200w.gif


Shimmer couldn't care less about their thoughts on Vegna. It paled in comparison to what Justine admitted. The ponyta couldn't stop his mind from racing.

What else had Shimmer's mothers hidden? Was his modeling and acting also a result of backdoor deals? His club leadership positions at school?

... Was the Crowne Cup going to be rigged in his favor?

Image


I mean, it'd just be completely on-brand with what we've just found out, so...

"Honestly, I'm kind of glad that sylveon got taken." Justine sighed again. "I know that's awful to say, but he was a terrible influence for Shimmer." The virizion shook her head. "I see that look, Izzy. But you know I'm right. That sylveon was squandering what little potential Shimmer had. C'mon, you saw those shoots he was in. How is anyone supposed to take him seriously when he's showing up on the cover of Playpunny in fishnets and a corset?"

Shimmer: "T-Turn it off..."

The gem abruptly shut off. Demerzel levitated it back into his hand. He tucked it into his cloak. "I'm sorry, Your Grace."

Wow, I did that as a joke. Though I figured that there wasn't much room left for Shimmer to slip left.

Shimmer's legs trembled. He couldn't stop shaking. "Sorry. You're... sorry?" His right eye twitched. "Haa... aha... 'sorry.'"

The pontya hopped up, nostrils flaring. "Shove your false sympathy up your ass!" His limbs shook harder. Shimmer was amazed he was still standing. "You don't care one bit about me! My boyfriend is gone! My entire life is crumbling around me! I can't evolve! I'm apparently a total fraud!"

I'm... starting to worry that I misread who would become the Queen Brahne of this story. Since if Dermezel wanted to have a puppet who'd listen to his instructions, he's done a very thorough job at cutting Shimmer off from his parents just now.

With every shout, he stomped a forehoof down, until it broke through the top of the mattress and Shimmer faceplanted with a squeal, hind legs flailing around. Another psychic force pulled him upright and unceremoniously dropped him at the foot of the bed.

"Fine. You're right." Demerzel folded his hands behind his back. "No false sympathy, then. Instead, let me ask you something." The mutant loomed over Shimmer, eyes glowing blue. "Do you intend to just roll over and take this abuse? Or will you actually stand up for yourself?"

:eltyscared:


I... do not like where this is going.

How could the ponyta fight for himself? He was nothing but an embarrassment in Venish. Vegna had said as much to Shimmer's face.

"I can't fight," Shimmer whispered meekly. "I'm... I'm nothing, aren't I? Not smart. Not clever. Certainly not strong. I'm—"

"Pathetic? Of course," Demerzel sneered. "But, as you've now heard, there are always shortcuts to be taken."

Oh, so Dermezel really is the Kuja of this story. Since... uh... yeah, those 'dude's gonna manipulate someone into being his Queen Brahne' senses are kinda going into overdrive right now.
:ScaredCabot:


Shimmer tilted his head, blinking slowly. "What do you mean by that?"

Demerzel's eyes darkened. "I'm saying that you should never underestimate the power of desperation."

For a brief second, the ponyta saw strange purple energy crackle around Demerzel's oversized head. Then an awful, brutal chill ran up Shimmer's legs.

The last thing the ponyta remembered was frost filling up his field of vision.

... Or he could turn out to be Phantom Fraud all along. That works too, and I legit didn't see that one coming.
:eltyshocked:


Alright, onto my final thoughts:

I... did not see any of that coming. So kudos on managing to surprise me in a transitional chapter that seems to be built in mind for teeing up character evolutions. Since I get the vibe that Shimmer's role in this story is going to change radically in short order. To say nothing of Chiaki's or Scarlett's.

As for complaints, it's mostly just the stuff I pointed out in my writeup. I did brow-raise a bit at Chiaki getting his identity-reset since something about that felt like soft killing-off a character... though that might very well be intentional, since the Chiaki we knew in a certain sense functionally is gone, and it's unlikely he'll ever come back. Which is as good a time as any to roll an alter ego and start building it up. So I'll give it a chance.

Though good work, @Ambyssin . And I'll be looking forward to your update tomorrow, even if from your teasers, it sounds like we'll be focusing on some characters closer to Yuna for a while. ^^
 
Chapter 46: Running Amonk

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
Chapter 46: Running Amonk

Monasteries were not something Yuna was innately familiar with. Her only frame of reference for comparison's sake was Aeon temples. Brick and cement buildings that gave way to colorful interiors decorated with warm art pieces celebrating Bahamut and the other Sages.

... Boy would the dedicated service attendees hate to hear about what I've learned.

The drakloak shook the sour thoughts from her head, focusing instead on the approaching monastery. Even with no exposure to such places, Yuna was confident Shaftra Monastery wasn't so much built as a place of worship, but rather repurposed from something else.

Large, gray-blue metal spires jutted out of the ground. Huge, gear-shaped machines sat atop the spires, coated in thick layers of rust. Their colors muted from ages of exposure to dust and other elements.

Like some of the rundown buildings she met Archie and Maxie in, the spires had colored blankets and tapestry nailed to their exteriors. Rope crisscrossed the spires, with diamond and crescent-patterned cloth flapping in the dusty wind. Beneath them sat shacks made of stone and wood. Yuna quirked a brow, wondering why anyone would use such sad little huts when there was a massive building right behind them.

"You call this a monastery?" Nikki scoffed from Noctum's back. "Where are all the monks sitting cross-legged and going 'ooooooohm' or whatever?" She cupped a hand over her eyes and scanned the mountaintop.

"Mind your manners," Maxie scolded, pressing his goggles firmly to his face. "It's mid-morning, so acolytes are probably doing some exercises out back with Brother Kora."

Noctum smiled. "Organized exercises, huh? That sounds like fun."

"It ain't about fun, scamp!" Archie brandished one of his jagged seamitars and waved it in Noctum's direction. "It's about discipline. Of mind and body and stuff."

"Right. Sorry." Noctum rubbed the back and laughed nervously. "I guess we should fly around back, then?"

"Yeah!" Leo was already running through the air ahead of the group. "I think Mr. Alder's there, too!"

"Hang on, Leo!" Yuna picked up the pace, ducking underneath one of the ropes. "Don't wander too far ahead. We're guests, remember?"

The cosmic arceus stopped in place, his glow dimming slightly and tail drooping. "Sorry, Mom." He brushed his hooves together sheepishly.

Yuna guiltily winced. Even with no mouth, Leo had a deceptively good apologetic face.

The group weaved through the ropes — Yuna had no idea if they were for decoration or hanging laundry and wasn't inclined to ask — and flew past the last of the metal spires. They didn't have to look hard to find the monks, because they were on a raised bedrock crop fifty meters behind the last spire.

"Wow!" Noctum's tail flame brightened. "Look at all those dragons and lizards! Hakamo-o, kommo-o, goodra, helioptile, shelgon, druddigon." He flapped his wings excitedly. "I think there are a few lucario and mienshao, too."

"Hey, watch the merchandise, dumbass!" Nikki grabbed the back of her leather jacket and hiked it up, eyeing Noctum's tail flame.

"Relax, Nikki." Yuna waved the toxtricity off. "He's just excited. It's been... a while since we've been in a place with so many other reptiles."

"Uh, hello?" Nikki pointed at her head. "What am I, a pretty face?"

Valkyrie snorted and rolled her eyes. "What's up with those green lizards in the middle down there? They look like they have wheels jutting out of their necks."

"Those are cyclizar," Maxie said, tone suggesting disbelief at Valkyrie not knowing that. "That part on their neck is a dewlap."

"Do lap? I hardly know lap!" Nikki sniggered when Yuna and Noctum gave her confused looks.

"Feh. The cyclizar ain't nearly as impressive as Brother Kora," Archie scoffed. The dark samurott pointed to the end of the bedrock. Someone vaguely similar to the cyclizar stood on top of a boulder with his right leg raised and both arms balanced steadily out to the side. This one's scales were mostly red, with a white belly and a head brimming with white and purple feathers that even put Alder's puffy crest to shame. The braviary stood off to the side, looking out over the mesa.

"Hiiiiii Mr. Alder!" Leo shouted, his wheel glowing brightly.

Several of the dragons stumbled out of their poses, a few crashing into each other. Some of them looked up and pointed at Rayquaza with bewildered expressions. Yuna facepalmed. Guess I need to teach him how to greet individuals in a crowd.

Alder looked over his shoulder. His pink forehead feathers stood on end. "Leo! And Yuna, too! You both made it!" The braviary floated into the air and flew toward the group. "And you brought company, I see." He looked around. "Splendid! Oh, if I had known you were coming this soon, I would've readied something for you. I'm sure the trip left you famished."

"We ate before we came." Noctum bobbed his head.

"Yeah. This lug makes decent scrambled eggs," Nikki added, noogieing Noctum's head over the black charizard's protests.

"Mayhap we can talk on the ground?" Rayquaza pointed to his passengers. "Methinks this lot is getting antsy. Also, mine strength is weaning. A result of the princess summoning me for quite some time?"

Yuna looked down at her Soul Dew to find it much dimmer than usual. So, there is a limit on this thing. Good to know.

The group landed. The rows of monks broke away, giving them ample space. While Yuna recalled Rayquaza to let him rest, Nikki hopped off Noctum and idly kicked up some dirt. "Tch. It'd be nicer to be on land again if it wasn't some dusty old plateau."

"It's a mesa," Noctum reminded her.

A vein bulged out of the toxtricity's head. "Whatever!"

Amidst all the commotion, Kora had glided — his coiled feathers apparently unfurled into wings — to the group. His wings folded back up and he dropped onto his tail while sitting cross-legged several centimeters off the ground. How Kora was balancing on that thin tail was beyond Yuna. Was that the kind of discipline Archie referred to?

"Welcome, travelers. I am Koraidon." He clasped his red hands together and slowly bowed. "I oversee the monks of this humble monastery." Koraidon locked eyes with Yuna. "Brother Alder told me about his chance meeting with you and your son."

Yuna was ready to correct Koraidon, but seeing Leo hopping around the braviary and some of the other monks gave her pause. "Err, right." She cleared her throat. "Leo, let's not get into other's personal space without their permission."

"Okie dokie!" The cosmic arceus trotted over and sat obediently in front of Yuna. He looked at Koraidon, starcloud tail swishing against the dirt. "I like your feathers. They're pretty."

"Thank you, little one." Koraidon smiled politely. Yuna swore his dewlap got a bit bigger, though it could've been her imagination. "How about the four of us adjourn somewhere private so we can talk about this in more detail?"

Yuna glanced at Noctum, frowning. "Do we have to?"

"Oh?" Koraidon looked between Noctum and Yuna. "Not at all, miss. I was merely worried about... overwhelming your friends."

"Yeah, I'm not interested in this 'dimensionality' crap." Valkyrie rested her arms behind her head, yawning. "Like I said, it was stupid to drag me here." She arched her back slightly. "Maybe I'll soak up a few rays or something. Sun's much dimmer here than Etherium, but the big moons are good enough. In a creepy way, I suppose."

Noctum huffed scarlet fire. "Would it kill you to decline politely? This concerns us, too."

Valkyrie narrowed her eyes. "Your precious princess wants you to go with. So, go with." She lowered her right arm to wave him off dismissively. "Even if it'll soar right over your head, at least you can pretend you're being useful."

Yuna's chest tightened. Noctum told her about his altercation with Valkyrie, but Yuna figured the garchomp was above taking petty verbal potshots. "Noctum," the drakloak whispered. "It's okay. You can come with—"

The black charizard stepped defiantly toward her. The glow in his Malice Crystal made Yuna uneasy. "Did I wound your pride that much you feel the need to resort to putdowns like some hatchling?" he growled.

"Please." Valkyrie lowered her stance. "So, you sucker punched me. Big deal. If it wasn't for that dumb gem in your gut, you'd never get the drop on me."

"That's enough."

Koraidon coiled his tail and sprang in between the two of them. He held up both his hands. "This sort of tension... is counter to our peaceful way of life."

"Don't blame me." Valkyrie raised her arms innocently. "He started it."

Leo scooted over beside Yuna. "Chompy's being a meanie," he whispered.

The drakloak tried hard not to giggle at that.

"Archie, Maxie." Koraidon beckoned them forward. His dewlap and feathers shimmered with a strange blue energy. Then, to Yuna's utter shock, a rift opened behind Koraidon. It bathed the nearby monks in soft blue, compared to the sinister purple glows Yuna was used to seeing from these rifts.

"Lemme guess: you want 'em to settle their differences like 'mons?" An eager grin spread across Archie's face. The samurott slapped a flipper when Koraidon nodded. "Now we're talking!"

"Settle... what?" Yuna hovered forward worriedly.

"He means having 'em go at it until they've beaten the anger out of each other!" Archie's eyes lit up.

Noctum's tail flame shrank. "E... excuse me?"

"Aww, shit! Round two?" Nikki jogged toward Maxie, rubbing her hands together. "Lemme cop a ticket, dude!"

"Now, hold on a second," Noctum started, only for Maxie to shove him toward the rift. "Battling won't solve anyt—"

He and the ghostly typhlosion disappeared in a blue flash.

"... eh, sure." Vakyrie stomped toward the rift. "I'll bite. Idiot won't know what hit him."

"Wait!" Yuna darted toward Valkyrie. "This isn't necessary! We're supposed to be a team!"

Valkyrie hopped into the rift beside Archie, completely ignoring the drakloak. Her tail and shoulders sagged. "Seriously?" Yuna groaned and turned to Koraidon. "Why'd you do that?"

"I've seen this situation many times." Koraidon casually approached Yuna. "It may seem counterintuitive, but it will be better for them in the long run."

Yuna bit her lip.

I sure hope so...

XxX​

This was beyond stupid. The sort of desperate stunt Noctum would've resorted to back when he was homeless. Why did he have to open his big mouth? The charizard had no desire to fight Valkyrie, especially if she was pissed.

Despite his protests, however, Maxie kept shoving Noctum until he stood opposite Valkyrie on a spacious dirt battlefield.

"I don't suppose you guys keep any soda around here?" Nikki asked a poncho-wearing kommo-o, who looked at a sliggoo in confusion. "Guess not." The toxtricity sighed and sat on a wooden stump.

"All right!" Archie shouted from the sidelines, rubbing his flippers together. "Rules are simple. Fight until one of ya bites it!"

"WHAT?!" Noctum's tail flame grew in alarm.

Maxie cleared his throat. "The big oaf means until someone faints." He nudged his goggles. "And no foul play, like attempts to maim or break limbs. This should still be a clean battle."

Archie's stance slouched. "G'arr, where's the fun in that?" He earned a cold look from Maxie. "Cripes. Ya sure ya ain't supposed to be a sneasel or something?"

"Fine by me." Valkyrie tilted her neck left, then right. Noctum heard the cricks and flinched.

The black charizard tapped his claws together. "Um, do I really need to—"

"Three, two, one... go!" Archie shouted far too quickly for Noctum's liking. Valkyrie wasted no time in shooting a Dragon Pulse at Noctum while moving to close the distance.

"Yipe!" Noctum flew up, watching the blue-purple beam streak past him. "Valkyrie, please! I don't want to fight!"

"Too late." The garchomp stomped the ground. Rock spires shot toward Noctum. He flew even higher, squeaking when Valkyrie blasted straight through them with another Dragon Pulse. Noctum couldn't dodge all the rocky spikes filling the air. A Flamethrower burnt through some, but a few pelted his wings and knees. He hissed from the stinging pain.

"Where's that ferocity from earlier, huh?" Valkyrie had a large rock slab under each arm. "Guess you can talk a big game if you feel like it, but when push comes to shove, you're as pampered as the princess!"

She hurled the rock in her right arm at Noctum. He had enough time to fly right, but found the second rock heading right for him! The charizard's claws lengthened. Metal coated them while he thrust his arms forward. His Metal Claws split the rock in half. Each half landed with a heavy thud, one even rolling a bit before dropping on its side. The monks offered some oohs and ahhs.

Noctum flew higher, biting his lip. His heart ached more than his body. Valkyrie fought beside him. Even with a bit of an attitude, she knew he was good for something. Why was she belittling him so much?

"Look alive, Charizard!"

Archie's call snapped Noctum's gaze down to the ground, where more Stone Edge spires sat... with Valkyrie leaping up them, Dragon Claws at the ready!

Noctum desperately shot a small stream of dragonfire. Too slow! He tried a Dragon Pulse, but Valkyrie spread her arms out and glided right over it. Noctum had no choice but to raise his Metal Claws to meet Valkyrie's Dragon Claws in midair.

The garchomp's attack won out, with Noctum tumbling back through the air. He managed to spread his wings out and catch himself before he hit the ground. However, a sudden malaise washed over his body. His breath hitched in his throat. The charizard looked down to see purple splotches on his black scales.

Poison? Ho—

His eyes widened. This wasn't the first time Noctum had seen this. The snorlax!

"You," Noctum shakily pointed an arm at her, "laced your attack with poison? How? Why?" An aching pain gripped his whole body.

Valkyrie bared her fangs. "Helps a non-poison assassin stay in the shadows."

"Oh snap! Plot twist!" Nikki scooched forward on her tree stump. "Kick his ass, Chompy!"

A wince. Noctum staggered back. "Wha—"

"Did I stutter?" Blue-violet sparks danced around Valkyrie's mouth. Noctum rolled right. A Dragon Pulse swept past him, kicking dust into the air.

"A... an assassin?! B-But that's someone who—"

"Kills people. Yes. Very observant."

Noctum spotted a growing silhouette in the dust. Rather than flying up to dodge Valkyrie, however, he flapped his wings in place. A deluge of Air Slash blades broke through the dust and forced Valkyrie back, arms held up to try and absorb some of the strikes.

The charizard tensed from the poison sinking deeper into his scales. "Why?"

"Because that's what the Ryujin needed," Valkyrie growled. She dropped to all fours. Stone Edge spires shot out of the ground. Noctum learned from last time, however, and stayed low, flying clockwise only a few centimeters off the ground. He spat dragonfire at Valkyrie while he strafed the Stone Edge.

"You think your sob story was gonna tug at my heart strings? Fat chance!" Valkyrie swung her tail at the nearest Stone Edge spire. It toppled over into a makeshift barricade against Noctum's dragonfire. "My parents sold me to the Medici to pay off their gambling debts!"

Noctum's stomach churned. Was it the poison or what Valkyrie told her? He knew she'd try to do something with the rock spires, so he dove down to one of the still-standing slabs and drilled into it with Metal Claws.

"The Medici turned me into a common burglar until— gah!"

The broken boulder tumbled down toward the garchomp. Noctum remained atop the broken rock, rubbing his chest as if he could will the poison away. Even though the broken slab struck Valkyrie, Noctum was too tired to seize on the opening.

"Call it off!" the charizard begged, waving his hands around.

"Fat chance!" Archie wore an eager grin. "It's getting good!"

"Like hell you're doing that!"

The downed boulder split apart and all the rocky debris rumbled. Noctum glided off his perch before the Stone Edge remnants crumbled into dirt clumps. Valkyrie stared him down, wiping spittle from her mouth.

"I don't want to hurt you," Noctum said, cringing from the poison sapping more of his strength.

"It's not about hurting. It's about finishing what you start," Valkyrie growled. She lowered her arms to her sides. "You tried to tug at their heartstrings by selling yourself as a sickly runt. Well, it beats getting dragged off to Citadark!"

Noctum's tail flame flickered. He recognized that name. Radiance's prison was there, right? "Wait, but that doesn't make any sense."

The charizard ducked, yelping. A Dragon Pulse streaked by his right shoulder.

"I was property to the Medici. A few of them turned me over to save their own hides!" Valkyrie snarled. She readied Dragon Claws and charged Noctum down. Still on his rump, the charizard flapped his wings. Air Slash crescents haphazardly littered Valkyrie's path. She stopped her charge to unleash a flurry of her own slashes on the wind blades.

"You know what happens to reptiles who end up on Citadark?" the garchomp shouted amidst the fervent slashing. "Tesla experiments on them!"

Noctum put more distance between himself and Valkyrie. The poison was really taking its toll, however. His legs shook. The charizard could maybe last a couple of more minutes, but one strike from Valkyrie would knock him out for sure.

... Wait, who was Tesla?

Never mind. He had to keep Valkyrie talking. "Experiments?"

The garchomp stared him down. "Things like poisoning a gabite to see if she can lace her own attacks with toxins."

She opened her maw wide. Purple-tinged saliva dripped onto the dirt, sizzling and bubbling at Valkyrie's feet.

Noctum's eyes darted about. "O-Oh." He folded his wings. "I... I had no idea."

"How the hell did you escape then?" Nikki shouted.

Valkyrie spat some more toxins to her right and wiped her mouth. "I reached a point where I knew I could evolve. Then I bided my time until Tesla took me down to his lab for one of his experiments, triggered the evolution, and overpowered him and his dumb machines.

"I thought I could swim back to Venish, but the sea was too harsh." Valkyrie's face scrunched up. "I'd have drowned out there if a Ryujin-controlled ship hadn't picked me up. The sailors smuggled me back into Radiance."

Nikki was off her stump, standing beside Archie and Maxie. "Lemme guess. They said you owed some kinda life debt, so they put you to work for them?"

Valkyrie didn't respond. Instead, another Dragon Pulse charged in her mouth.

A lightbulb went off in Noctum's head just as the garchomp fired the blue-violet beam. He only had the strength to dive to the ground to avoid it.

"That's why I won't let this glorified maid tell me off," Valkyrie said, stomping toward Noctum, ready to claim her victory.

"I get it," he said between wheezes, struggling to prop himself up. Noctum's gaze fell toward the dirt as he hesitated whether to say anything further. "You're jealous, aren't you?"

Valkyrie's approach hesitated for only a moment, but it was long enough for Noctum to tell he was right. And even though his better judgement knew that was the wrong thing to say, he didn't care. Noctum wasn't sure if it was the Malice Crystal or the poison or some sort of deeply rooted dragon instinct bubbling to the surface, but he defiantly got to his feet.

"You hurl... all these insults... toward me." The charizard's arms swayed from side to side. The poison wasn't hurting Noctum anymore. In fact, his arms grew a bit thicker. His claws longer and sharper. "But you don't... think I'm pampered. You just... want what... I have."

Were those blue embers in the corners of his eyes? Noctum wasn't sure. He was poisoned, right? Why did he feel so... invigorated?

Blue spilt over the creamy parts of his belly. With a stronger flap of his wings than he'd experienced before, Noctum closed the distance with Valkyrie in an instant. And his claws were so big! They weren't Metal Claws, they were Dragon Claws!

Yes, Noctum felt it in his blood. Under his scales.

Dragon dragon dragon dragon dragon dragon—

"Well you can't have it!"

Valkyrie was too stunned to react. Noctum's Dragon Claws slammed her flanks. The garchomp violently lurched to her left, then crumpled over. Noctum landed next to Valkyrie. That hit was good. Satisfying, even. He wanted more. Noctum needed more. He was going to beat her! He was going to show her up! One more strike! One more blow and—

Something warm struck Noctum between his shoulder blades. The charizard whirled around and found Maxie firmly pressing his goggles to his face.

"This battle is over."

Over? But Noctum was about to win! Besides, he hadn't felt this good in ages! "Back off," Noctum growled, more blue flames painting the edges of his vision. "You said we fight until someone faints."

Sighing, Maxie shook his head. His purple flame collar pulsated and, next thing Noctum knew, eerie shadowfire orbs surrounded him. Noctum was about to ready his Dragon Claws when the shadowfire closed in. A brief, fiery pain, then the charizard was out cold.

XxX​

"Nngh. What... happened?"

Floaters clouded Noctum's vision. His head throbbed. He instinctively massaged his forehead between his horns. It took a bit of time before Noctum managed to sit up. Maxie knelt next to him, his stoic expression showing the slightest bit of disapproval.

But why? Noctum only did what they wanted. They told him to fight. And he was tired of Valkyrie belittling him, so he fought back. Why had this typhlosion attacked him? And with a ghost attack, of all things? Could typhlosion even use ghost-type moves?

"You'll be fine." Maxie stood up, nudging his goggles. "You're lucky I intervened when I did, though. A few more seconds and you would've lost control of your mega evolution. We don't need a berserk charizard around here."

Noctum blinked. "Mega... evolution?" He'd never heard of it.

"You couldn't tell?" Nikki said, walking up to Maxie with her hands in her jacket pockets. "Your shoulders grew these big spikes and your wings got all segmented. And you had blue fire streaming out the sides of your mouth. Ptoo! Ptoo!" She held her hands up by her lips and wiggled her fingers. "It was freaky shit, dude!"

So, the charizard had transformed? "Wait... I used trance?"

"Sure as hell looked like it," Nikki said. "Though I thought tranced charizard were supposed to have their wings and horns turn into pure fire."

Maxie loudly cleared his throat. "If you two are finished, might I continue?"

Nikki rolled her eyes while Noctum looked down guiltily.

"I imagine we're discussing the same thing. Different worlds refer to mega evolution using different terms." Maxie slowly paced back and forth. "It's nothing more than a temporary transformation that powers up pokémon who are capable of it."

"Capable of it?" Nikki crossed her arms. "So, what, not everyone can do it?"

Maxie nodded, clearly irritated Nikki cut in again.

"That's a raw ass deal," Nikki snorted.

"Yes, well, the issue is that these transformations are difficult to control." Maxie pivoted slightly to show the gemstone in his goggles. "Typically pokémon rely on bonds with humans holding these key stones to stabilize the transformation and stop them from going berserk. But clearly that's not an option here."

"Why don't we just use yours, then?" Nikki asked.

"Do I look human to you?" Maxie narrowed his eyes at the toxtricity.

"No, you look like an egghead," Nikki responded, smirking. "What's so special about humans, anyway? They're, like, squishy people who can't do shit on their own, ain't they?"

"Humans have certain other characteristics," Maxie countered, his purple flames rippling to emphasize his growing irritation. "It's believed they help strengthen pokémon at rates far faster than we can achieve on their own."

"Feh." Nikki waved the typhlosion off. "What's the point of all this, huh? You saying Zardy can't fight or something because he'll go berserk?"

Noctum looked down at the Malice Crystal in his stomach. It was responsible for this. Trance came from Dynaforce, but Dynaforce was simply Malice, right? The charizard was right to fear it, then. What was he supposed to do? What if Noctum started going berserk without battling?

"Only one thing we can do about this."

Archie's voice drew Noctum's attention behind him. The samurott had gotten Valkyrie back on her feet, but she was clearly shaken. Noctum couldn't peg what the look in her eye was. Defeat, maybe? At least she didn't seem as resentful as before.

Too bad Noctum couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not.

Maxie frowned. "Please tell me you're not suggesting—"

"Oh, I am." Archie grinned eagerly. He unsheathed a seamitar, turned around, and pointed it due north. "We gotta take 'em to Mt. Osohi!"

"Excuse me?" Noctum wasn't sure he could take that name seriously.

Archie laughed. "The key to you scamps mastering your transformations lies on Mt. Osohi!"

"Wait... scamps? Like plural?" Nikki pointed to Noctum. "He's the one that couldn't keep it in his nonexistent pants."

"The key stone doesn't lie!" Archie thumped his golden anchor with his seamitar. "You three all have that power bubbling up inside of you." He hopped forward, nodding at a couple of kommo-o monks. They clasped their hands together and a blue rift appeared in front of Archie.

"Get moving, scamps! The only way we'll get things under control is to have you three pass the Gauntlet of Peril and/or Doom!"

Noctum stared at the open rift, blinking slowly. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"You cannot be serious," Valkyrie growled.

"I'm serious as the salt in the ocean!" Archie laughed again.

Nikki approached the rift, shoulders sagging.

"Man, I hate and/or doom."

XxX​

OSL: Shaftra Mesa, Planet Chakran (Dimension POV-2020)
We established a dimensional outpost for POV-2020 within a temperate mesa on this previously uninhabited planet after tracing a Category A space-time anomaly to this universe. Overseer Zygarde Tromeer and interns Necrozma Shane and Solgaleo Nebulon oversaw supply transportation and construction of our facilities. Resources included copies of the Dimensional Archive and Dimensional Map.

Fifty Overworld cycles after its establishment, a necrozma arrived on the planet and made contact with the outpost's inhabitants. Initial reports indicated it as the source of the space-time anomaly, however its aura was described as "irregular" and "difficult" to accurately assess. Our analyzers could not definitively match it to the space-time anomaly. Furthermore, the necrozma claimed that an eternatus was going around absorbing life-bearing planets.

Subject remained at the outpost for ten Overworld cycles. We attempted to rehabilitate it through various means. Eventually our monitors detected a distant energy signature that matched the space-time anomaly. Subject insisted we provide all available resources to combat it. After thorough discussion, we deemed the operation too high risk to omniversal stability and ordered a covert evacuation of the outpost. The subject attempted to interfere with the evacuation. Numerous pieces of equipment were left behind, but the outpost head is confident the subject will not be able to use them on its own.

Regrettably, a follow up inventory check further revealed one copy of the Dimensional Archive and Dimensional Map unaccounted for. Despite the risk of that information falling into unauthorized hands, POV-2020 was isolated per standard protocol to ensure the anomaly would remain contained in that dimension.
 

Spiteful Murkrow

Busy Writing Stories I Want to Read
Pronouns
He/Him/His
Partners
  1. nidoran-f
  2. druddigon
  3. swellow
  4. quilava-fobbie
  5. sneasel-kate
Heya, back for more of this story, this time a bit earlier than the last few chapters. Sounds like as good an opportunity as any to get caught up and sink my teeth right into…

Chapter 46

Monasteries were not something Yuna was innately familiar with. Her only frame of reference for comparison's sake was Aeon temples. Brick and cement buildings that gave way to colorful interiors decorated with warm art pieces celebrating Bahamut and the other Sages.

... Boy would the dedicated service attendees hate to hear about what I've learned.

Yuna: "... I sure hope that mom and dad made sure to maintain a separation of church and state back home, otherwise, uh... that's probably got some implications for the legitimacy of their reign."
:ohnowen:


The drakloak shook the sour thoughts from her head, focusing instead on the approaching monastery. Even with no exposure to such places, Yuna was confident Shaftra Monastery wasn't so much built as a place of worship, but rather repurposed from something else.

Noctum: "Whuh? Princess? What makes you so sure-?"

Large, gray-blue metal spires jutted out of the ground. Huge, gear-shaped machines sat atop the spires, coated in thick layers of rust. Their colors muted from ages of exposure to dust and other elements.

Yuna: "Well, for one, I can't think of too many places of worship that have that in them."

Like some of the rundown buildings she met Archie and Maxie in, the spires had colored blankets and tapestry nailed to their exteriors. Rope crisscrossed the spires, with diamond and crescent-patterned cloth flapping in the dusty wind. Beneath them sat shacks made of stone and wood. Yuna quirked a brow, wondering why anyone would use such sad little huts when there was a massive building right behind them.

Because the massive building is likely structurally unsound with random chunks of floor and stuff collapsed internally after untold ages of lack of maintenance?

"You call this a monastery?" Nikki scoffed from Noctum's back. "Where are all the monks sitting cross-legged and going 'ooooooohm' or whatever?" She cupped a hand over her eyes and scanned the mountaintop.

Nikki: "Seriously, if we were going to have a weirdo monastery, why couldn't we have one where the monks were into hockey or something like that?" >_>;
Yuna: "You know, that sounds like a place I've heard of for some reason, but I can't put my claw on it..."

"Mind your manners," Maxie scolded, pressing his goggles firmly to his face. "It's mid-morning, so acolytes are probably doing some exercises out back with Brother Kora."

Noctum smiled. "Organized exercises, huh? That sounds like fun."

"It ain't about fun, scamp!" Archie brandished one of his jagged seamitars and waved it in Noctum's direction. "It's about discipline. Of mind and body and stuff."

Yuna: "Noctum, we're in a monastery. Where the attendees are part of an ascetic order." -_-;
Noctum: "... Right, guess I should've remembered that from stories, huh?" ^^;

"Right. Sorry." Noctum rubbed the back and laughed nervously. "I guess we should fly around back, then?"

"Yeah!" Leo was already running through the air ahead of the group. "I think Mr. Alder's there, too!"

inb4 this goes hilariously south in short order.

"Hang on, Leo!" Yuna picked up the pace, ducking underneath one of the ropes. "Don't wander too far ahead. We're guests, remember?"

The cosmic arceus stopped in place, his glow dimming slightly and tail drooping. "Sorry, Mom." He brushed his hooves together sheepishly.

Yuna guiltily winced. Even with no mouth, Leo had a deceptively good apologetic face.

inb4 he weaponizes that face at some point in the future. Since if Yuna's noting that it's 'deceptively good'...

The group weaved through the ropes — Yuna had no idea if they were for decoration or hanging laundry and wasn't inclined to ask — and flew past the last of the metal spires. They didn't have to look hard to find the monks, because they were on a raised bedrock crop fifty meters behind the last spire.

They're totally for hanging laundry, aren't they?
:lultias:


"Wow!" Noctum's tail flame brightened. "Look at all those dragons and lizards! Hakamo-o, kommo-o, goodra, helioptile, shelgon, druddigon." He flapped his wings excitedly. "I think there are a few lucario and mienshao, too."

Oh, so it's basically Dragonspiral Tower 2.0, just with a more expansive definition of 'dragon'. Oh, and less Golett/Golurk.

"Hey, watch the merchandise, dumbass!" Nikki grabbed the back of her leather jacket and hiked it up, eyeing Noctum's tail flame.

"Relax, Nikki." Yuna waved the toxtricity off. "He's just excited. It's been... a while since we've been in a place with so many other reptiles."

"Uh, hello?" Nikki pointed at her head. "What am I, a pretty face?"

Noctum: "(More like a perpetual pain in my backside, but let's not get into that right in front of Princess Yuna right here and now.)" >_>;

Valkyrie snorted and rolled her eyes. "What's up with those green lizards in the middle down there? They look like they have wheels jutting out of their necks."

"Those are cyclizar," Maxie said, tone suggesting disbelief at Valkyrie not knowing that. "That part on their neck is a dewlap."

Yuna: "That's a dewlap?!"
:wtfuckle:

Maxie: "Well, yeah. What did you think it was? An actual tire?"

"Do lap? I hardly know lap!" Nikki sniggered when Yuna and Noctum gave her confused looks.

"Feh. The cyclizar ain't nearly as impressive as Brother Kora," Archie scoffed. The dark samurott pointed to the end of the bedrock. Someone vaguely similar to the cyclizar stood on top of a boulder with his right leg raised and both arms balanced steadily out to the side. This one's scales were mostly red, with a white belly and a head brimming with white and purple feathers that even put Alder's puffy crest to shame. The braviary stood off to the side, looking out over the mesa.

Oh, so Mira had a counterpart. Though I suppose it makes sense. Wonder if we're going to find out whatever happened to her in the past from this update.

"Hiiiiii Mr. Alder!" Leo shouted, his wheel glowing brightly.

Several of the dragons stumbled out of their poses, a few crashing into each other. Some of them looked up and pointed at Rayquaza with bewildered expressions. Yuna facepalmed. Guess I need to teach him how to greet individuals in a crowd.

Nikki: "Wait, why is Sir Noodle even out right now if the entire point was to try and keep a low profile?"
:what:

Yuna: "Shut up, it's not like it'd turn out much better with just Leo present." >_>;

Alder looked over his shoulder. His pink forehead feathers stood on end. "Leo! And Yuna, too! You both made it!" The braviary floated into the air and flew toward the group. "And you brought company, I see." He looked around. "Splendid! Oh, if I had known you were coming this soon, I would've readied something for you. I'm sure the trip left you famished."

Yuna: "No, no, I think that we're fine-"
- Cue Noctum's stomach growling and everyone staring at him -
Noctum: "... What? Being stuck in a realm of the undead builds up an appetite!" ^^;
Valkyrie: "I... hope that didn't do anything with that evil crystal you've got stuck in your gut right now."
:uhhh:


"We ate before we came." Noctum bobbed his head.

"Yeah. This lug makes decent scrambled eggs," Nikki added, noogieing Noctum's head over the black charizard's protests.

Noctum: "I-Is this really necessary?" >.<
Nikki:
Image


"Mayhap we can talk on the ground?" Rayquaza pointed to his passengers. "Methinks this lot is getting antsy. Also, mine strength is weaning. A result of the princess summoning me for quite some time?"

Yuna looked down at her Soul Dew to find it much dimmer than usual. So, there is a limit on this thing. Good to know.

I can already tell that that limit's going to come back to bite her in the ass at some point. Since why else establish that it exists if you're not going to do something with it eventually?

The group landed. The rows of monks broke away, giving them ample space. While Yuna recalled Rayquaza to let him rest, Nikki hopped off Noctum and idly kicked up some dirt. "Tch. It'd be nicer to be on land again if it wasn't some dusty old plateau."

"It's a mesa," Noctum reminded her.

A vein bulged out of the toxtricity's head. "Whatever!"

Ah yes, taking advantage of the less self-serious setting to go full anime here. :V

Amidst all the commotion, Kora had glided — his coiled feathers apparently unfurled into wings — to the group. His wings folded back up and he dropped onto his tail while sitting cross-legged several centimeters off the ground. How Kora was balancing on that thin tail was beyond Yuna. Was that the kind of discipline Archie referred to?

Yuna: "I'm sorry, but how the actual-?"
:wtfuckle:

Kora: "
Image


Also, Great Maccaos do this day in and day out in Monster Hunter, so good enough."

"Welcome, travelers. I am Koraidon." He clasped his red hands together and slowly bowed. "I oversee the monks of this humble monastery." Koraidon locked eyes with Yuna. "Brother Alder told me about his chance meeting with you and your son."

Yuna was ready to correct Koraidon, but seeing Leo hopping around the braviary and some of the other monks gave her pause. "Err, right." She cleared her throat. "Leo, let's not get into other's personal space without their permission."

Leo: "But mom, if you make funny faces at them, they don't do anything!" ^^ Yuna: "Leo. Stop." >.<

"Okie dokie!" The cosmic arceus trotted over and sat obediently in front of Yuna. He looked at Koraidon, starcloud tail swishing against the dirt. "I like your feathers. They're pretty."

"Thank you, little one." Koraidon smiled politely. Yuna swore his dewlap got a bit bigger, though it could've been her imagination. "How about the four of us adjourn somewhere private so we can talk about this in more detail?"

Somebody is a bit self-conscious about his looks. :V

Yuna glanced at Noctum, frowning. "Do we have to?"

"Oh?" Koraidon looked between Noctum and Yuna. "Not at all, miss. I was merely worried about... overwhelming your friends."

Yuna: "Wait, 'overwhelming' them? Just what exactly are we going to be talking about?" ._.;

"Yeah, I'm not interested in this 'dimensionality' crap." Valkyrie rested her arms behind her head, yawning. "Like I said, it was stupid to drag me here." She arched her back slightly. "Maybe I'll soak up a few rays or something. Sun's much dimmer here than Etherium, but the big moons are good enough. In a creepy way, I suppose."

Everybody Else: "..."
:unimpressed:

Valkyrie: "Oh come on, I didn't ask to come here, alright?" >_>;
Noctum: "You literally never protested all of this!" >.<
Valkyrie: "No, I did, you just weren't around for it." >:|

Noctum huffed scarlet fire. "Would it kill you to decline politely? This concerns us, too."

I see that Noctum is starting to boil over, since barring him snapping after getting his background brought up, I don't think I've ever seen him get testy like this.

Valkyrie narrowed her eyes. "Your precious princess wants you to go with. So, go with." She lowered her right arm to wave him off dismissively. "Even if it'll soar right over your head, at least you can pretend you're being useful."

Yuna's chest tightened. Noctum told her about his altercation with Valkyrie, but Yuna figured the garchomp was above taking petty verbal potshots. "Noctum," the drakloak whispered. "It's okay. You can come with—"

Noctum: "..."
:unimpressed:

Yuna: "Uh... Noctum?" ._.;

The black charizard stepped defiantly toward her. The glow in his Malice Crystal made Yuna uneasy. "Did I wound your pride that much you feel the need to resort to putdowns like some hatchling?" he growled.

Yuna: "Uh, Noctum? Not that I'm not happy that you're standing up for yourself and not being a doormat, but... uh... you're kinda scaring me at the moment." ._.

"Please." Valkyrie lowered her stance. "So, you sucker punched me. Big deal. If it wasn't for that dumb gem in your gut, you'd never get the drop on me."

17 words spoken seconds from disaster.

"That's enough."

Koraidon coiled his tail and sprang in between the two of them. He held up both his hands. "This sort of tension... is counter to our peaceful way of life."

Translation: "Keep this up, and we'll kick you from the monastery."

"Don't blame me." Valkyrie raised her arms innocently. "He started it."

Leo scooted over beside Yuna. "Chompy's being a meanie," he whispered.

The drakloak tried hard not to giggle at that.

Valkyrie: "Is this really necessary?" >_>;
Yuna: "
Image


Not least of all because you really are acting like a hatchling right now, Valkyrie. Seriously, 'he started it'?"

"Archie, Maxie." Koraidon beckoned them forward. His dewlap and feathers shimmered with a strange blue energy. Then, to Yuna's utter shock, a rift opened behind Koraidon. It bathed the nearby monks in soft blue, compared to the sinister purple glows Yuna was used to seeing from these rifts.

"Lemme guess: you want 'em to settle their differences like 'mons?" An eager grin spread across Archie's face. The samurott slapped a flipper when Koraidon nodded. "Now we're talking!"

Yuna: "W-Wait just a minute here! They're our friends! Don't we have a say in this-?!" O_O;

"Settle... what?" Yuna hovered forward worriedly.

"He means having 'em go at it until they've beaten the anger out of each other!" Archie's eyes lit up.

Valkyrie: "Tch, bring it on." >:|
Noctum: "... Honestly, Princess. If it really is per the traditions of this place..."

Noctum's tail flame shrank. "E... excuse me?"

"Aww, shit! Round two?" Nikki jogged toward Maxie, rubbing her hands together. "Lemme cop a ticket, dude!"

Yuna: "Oh my god. Nikki. Stop. Talking. Already." >_>;
Nikki: "Oh come on, you can't say this wouldn't be prime entertainment right now!"
:pikachupopcorn:


"Now, hold on a second," Noctum started, only for Maxie to shove him toward the rift. "Battling won't solve anyt—"

He and the ghostly typhlosion disappeared in a blue flash.

"... eh, sure." Vakyrie stomped toward the rift. "I'll bite. Idiot won't know what hit him."

Sticker, sceptilisk,


Based off what I've heard through the grapevine, I'll heavily take the under on that panning out.

Yuna: "Oh my god. Did you three seriously pit my loyal bodyguard and childhood friend against a trained assassin?!"
:grohno~1:

Nikki: "Don't we not know that canonically at this point? Plus if he's a bodyguard, shouldn't he be trained to deal with trained assassins? I'm sure Noctum will be fine..."
:joltyshrug~1:


"Wait!" Yuna darted toward Valkyrie. "This isn't necessary! We're supposed to be a team!"

Valkyrie: "Again. I. Never. Signed. Up. For. This."
:absus:

Yuna: "Th-That doesn't negate that we're supposed to be a team now! I-It's for the best interests of everybody!" O_O;

Valkyrie hopped into the rift beside Archie, completely ignoring the drakloak. Her tail and shoulders sagged. "Seriously?" Yuna groaned and turned to Koraidon. "Why'd you do that?"

Kora:
giphy.gif


"I've seen this situation many times." Koraidon casually approached Yuna. "It may seem counterintuitive, but it will be better for them in the long run."

Yuna bit her lip.

I sure hope so...

I can't tell if Kora's onto something or if this is going to be the start of things going horribly, horribly wrong.

This was beyond stupid. The sort of desperate stunt Noctum would've resorted to back when he was homeless. Why did he have to open his big mouth? The charizard had no desire to fight Valkyrie, especially if she was pissed.

Noctum: "O-Oh my god. I-I talked myself into a fight with a trained assassin."
:ohnowen:

Valkyrie: "(Wait, when on earth did I tell you about that?) And tch, I warned you, zardy. Now it's time for you to learn your lesson." >:|

Despite his protests, however, Maxie kept shoving Noctum until he stood opposite Valkyrie on a spacious dirt battlefield.

"I don't suppose you guys keep any soda around here?" Nikki asked a poncho-wearing kommo-o, who looked at a sliggoo in confusion. "Guess not." The toxtricity sighed and sat on a wooden stump.

Yuna: "Nikki, take this seriously right now!" >.<
Nikki: "I was! I was completely serious about wanting a soda for this!"

"All right!" Archie shouted from the sidelines, rubbing his flippers together. "Rules are simple. Fight until one of ya bites it!"

"WHAT?!" Noctum's tail flame grew in alarm.

Valkyrie:
Image

Noctum: "Oh my god."
:eltyscared:

Yuna: "H-Hold on a minute! None of us agreed to any of this!"
:CabotScared:


Maxie cleared his throat. "The big oaf means until someone faints." He nudged his goggles. "And no foul play, like attempts to maim or break limbs. This should still be a clean battle."

You had me worried for a second there, but I suppose that would be more thematically fitting, yes.

Archie's stance slouched. "G'arr, where's the fun in that?" He earned a cold look from Maxie. "Cripes. Ya sure ya ain't supposed to be a sneasel or something?"

Noctum: "Remind me to stay far, far away from that Samurott, really."
:ScaredCabot:


"Fine by me." Valkyrie tilted her neck left, then right. Noctum heard the cricks and flinched.

The black charizard tapped his claws together. "Um, do I really need to—"

Kora:
Image

Valkyrie: "Just saying, backing out now after talking yourself up so much would be beyond pathetic. Why don't you just roll over and beg for mercy while you're at it?" >_>;
Noctum: “B-But I literally wanted to back out from the moment this fight came up canonically!” O.O

"Three, two, one... go!" Archie shouted far too quickly for Noctum's liking. Valkyrie wasted no time in shooting a Dragon Pulse at Noctum while moving to close the distance.

"Yipe!" Noctum flew up, watching the blue-purple beam streak past him. "Valkyrie, please! I don't want to fight!"

Valkyrie:
Image


"Too late." The garchomp stomped the ground. Rock spires shot toward Noctum. He flew even higher, squeaking when Valkyrie blasted straight through them with another Dragon Pulse. Noctum couldn't dodge all the rocky spikes filling the air. A Flamethrower burnt through some, but a few pelted his wings and knees. He hissed from the stinging pain.

"Where's that ferocity from earlier, huh?" Valkyrie had a large rock slab under each arm. "Guess you can talk a big game if you feel like it, but when push comes to shove, you're as pampered as the princess!"

Noctum:
AQzXuN5.gif


She hurled the rock in her right arm at Noctum. He had enough time to fly right, but found the second rock heading right for him! The charizard's claws lengthened. Metal coated them while he thrust his arms forward. His Metal Claws split the rock in half. Each half landed with a heavy thud, one even rolling a bit before dropping on its side. The monks offered some oohs and ahhs.

Noctum flew higher, biting his lip. His heart ached more than his body. Valkyrie fought beside him. Even with a bit of an attitude, she knew he was good for something. Why was she belittling him so much?

Oh, I suppose that didn't set him off that time around. Though I suppose "Oh god, I'm gonna die here
:uhhh:
" is a good mind-clearer.

"Look alive, Charizard!"

Archie's call snapped Noctum's gaze down to the ground, where more Stone Edge spires sat... with Valkyrie leaping up them, Dragon Claws at the ready!

Noctum desperately shot a small stream of dragonfire. Too slow! He tried a Dragon Pulse, but Valkyrie spread her arms out and glided right over it. Noctum had no choice but to raise his Metal Claws to meet Valkyrie's Dragon Claws in midair.

The garchomp's attack won out, with Noctum tumbling back through the air. He managed to spread his wings out and catch himself before he hit the ground. However, a sudden malaise washed over his body. His breath hitched in his throat. The charizard looked down to see purple splotches on his black scales.

Noctum: "... That ain't good. I can already tell."
:ohnowen:


Poison? Ho—

His eyes widened. This wasn't the first time Noctum had seen this.

The snorlax!

Noctum: "Oh. Oh crap."
:eltyscared:


"You," Noctum shakily pointed an arm at her, "laced your attack with poison? How? Why?" An aching pain gripped his whole body.

Valkyrie bared her fangs. "Helps a non-poison assassin stay in the shadows."

"Oh snap! Plot twist!" Nikki scooched forward on her tree stump. "Kick his ass, Chompy!"

Noctum: "W-Wait. Were you supposed to say that out loud right there?!"
:ohnowen:


A wince. Noctum staggered back. "Wha—"

"Did I stutter?" Blue-violet sparks danced around Valkyrie's mouth. Noctum rolled right. A Dragon Pulse swept past him, kicking dust into the air.

"A... an assassin?! B-But that's someone who—"

"Kills people. Yes. Very observant."

Valkyrie: "Look, you already knew about this going in, so why are you so shocked right now?" >_>;
Noctum: "Because I didn't know that canonically! Oh my god, how do you live with yourself?!"
:grohno~1:

Valkyrie: "... I get paid well?"
:joltyshrug~1:


Noctum spotted a growing silhouette in the dust. Rather than flying up to dodge Valkyrie, however, he flapped his wings in place. A deluge of Air Slash blades broke through the dust and forced Valkyrie back, arms held up to try and absorb some of the strikes.

The charizard tensed from the poison sinking deeper into his scales. "Why?"

Valkyrie: "Again, money talks. Seriously, do you expect me to dump some sort of cheap sob story onto you right now?" >_>;

"Because that's what the Ryujin needed," Valkyrie growled. She dropped to all fours. Stone Edge spires shot out of the ground. Noctum learned from last time, however, and stayed low, flying clockwise only a few centimeters off the ground. He spat dragonfire at Valkyrie while he strafed the Stone Edge.

"You think your sob story was gonna tug at my heart strings? Fat chance!" Valkyrie swung her tail at the nearest Stone Edge spire. It toppled over into a makeshift barricade against Noctum's dragonfire. "My parents sold me to the Medici to pay off their gambling debts!"

Oh, well never mind then. Guess we are getting a sob story dump right now.

Noctum's stomach churned. Was it the poison or what Valkyrie told her? He knew she'd try to do something with the rock spires, so he dove down to one of the still-standing slabs and drilled into it with Metal Claws.

"The Medici turned me into a common burglar until— gah!"

Ah yes, talking's not a free action, after all.

The broken boulder tumbled down toward the garchomp. Noctum remained atop the broken rock, rubbing his chest as if he could will the poison away. Even though the broken slab struck Valkyrie, Noctum was too tired to seize on the opening.

"Call it off!" the charizard begged, waving his hands around.

"Fat chance!" Archie wore an eager grin. "It's getting good!"

Image


"Like hell you're doing that!"

The downed boulder split apart and all the rocky debris rumbled. Noctum glided off his perch before the Stone Edge remnants crumbled into dirt clumps. Valkyrie stared him down, wiping spittle from her mouth.

"I don't want to hurt you," Noctum said, cringing from the poison sapping more of his strength.

Noctum's... gonna wind up hurting Val, isn't he?

"It's not about hurting. It's about finishing what you start," Valkyrie growled. She lowered her arms to her sides. "You tried to tug at their heartstrings by selling yourself as a sickly runt. Well, it beats getting dragged off to Citadark!"

Noctum: "Th-That wasn't 'selling' anything! I l-legitimately-!"
:grohno~1:

Valkyrie: "Tell it to someone who cares!"
:hissssss:


Noctum's tail flame flickered. He recognized that name. Radiance's prison was there, right? "Wait, but that doesn't make any sense."

The charizard ducked, yelping. A Dragon Pulse streaked by his right shoulder.

"I was property to the Medici. A few of them turned me over to save their own hides!" Valkyrie snarled. She readied Dragon Claws and charged Noctum down. Still on his rump, the charizard flapped his wings. Air Slash crescents haphazardly littered Valkyrie's path. She stopped her charge to unleash a flurry of her own slashes on the wind blades.

Noctum: "I-I had no idea. L-Look, Val, I'm sorry. I forfeit. You win, okay?! J-Just stop this and-!"
Valkyrie: "Bite me, zardy!"

"You know what happens to reptiles who end up on Citadark?" the garchomp shouted amidst the fervent slashing. "Tesla experiments on them!"

:PainedCabot:


That... made me wince more than I was expecting. Radiance sure has a lot of skeletons in its closet.

Noctum put more distance between himself and Valkyrie. The poison was really taking its toll, however. His legs shook. The charizard could maybe last a couple of more minutes, but one strike from Valkyrie would knock him out for sure.

... Wait, who was Tesla?

Never mind. He had to keep Valkyrie talking. "Experiments?"

Noctum: "Actually, wait a minute. Do I even want to know right now-?"
:ohnowen:


The garchomp stared him down. "Things like poisoning a gabite to see if she can lace her own attacks with toxins."

She opened her maw wide. Purple-tinged saliva dripped onto the dirt, sizzling and bubbling at Valkyrie's feet.

Noctum's eyes darted about. "O-Oh." He folded his wings. "I... I had no idea."

"How the hell did you escape then?" Nikki shouted.

Noctum: "Nikki, have you seriously just been watching a trained assassin poison me and smack me around before chiming in now of all times?" >_>;
Nikki: "Yes? And?" :?

Valkyrie spat some more toxins to her right and wiped her mouth. "I reached a point where I knew I could evolve. Then I bided my time until Tesla took me down to his lab for one of his experiments, triggered the evolution, and overpowered him and his dumb machines.

"I thought I could swim back to Venish, but the sea was too harsh." Valkyrie's face scrunched up. "I'd have drowned out there if a Ryujin-controlled ship hadn't picked me up. The sailors smuggled me back into Radiance."

Nikki was off her stump, standing beside Archie and Maxie. "Lemme guess. They said you owed some kinda life debt, so they put you to work for them?"

Nikki: "Since if they did, how is that functionally different than being sold to the Medicis again?"
:eltywtf:

Valkyrie: "Shut your goddamn trap, you stupid newt!"
:hisssssss:


Valkyrie didn't respond. Instead, another Dragon Pulse charged in her mouth.

A lightbulb went off in Noctum's head just as the garchomp fired the blue-violet beam. He only had the strength to dive to the ground to avoid it.

"That's why I won't let this glorified maid tell me off," Valkyrie said, stomping toward Noctum, ready to claim her victory.

Yeah, I doubt it's gonna be that easy, but let's see where this goes.

"I get it," he said between wheezes, struggling to prop himself up. Noctum's gaze fell toward the dirt as he hesitated whether to say anything further. "You're jealous, aren't you?"

Yuna: "Uh... Noctum? I don't know what you're trying to do here, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't a good idea."
:grohno~1:


Valkyrie's approach hesitated for only a moment, but it was long enough for Noctum to tell he was right. And even though his better judgement knew that was the wrong thing to say, he didn't care. Noctum wasn't sure if it was the Malice Crystal or the poison or some sort of deeply rooted dragon instinct bubbling to the surface, but he defiantly got to his feet.

Something something 'a dragon never yields' and all that jazz.

"You hurl... all these insults... toward me." The charizard's arms swayed from side to side. The poison wasn't hurting Noctum anymore. In fact, his arms grew a bit thicker. His claws longer and sharper. "But you don't... think I'm pampered. You just... want what... I have."

Yuna: "Noctum? You're kinda scaring me right now." O.O

Were those blue embers in the corners of his eyes? Noctum wasn't sure. He was poisoned, right? Why did he feel so... invigorated?

Oh, so he's becoming a Megazard X on the field, huh?

Blue spilt over the creamy parts of his belly. With a stronger flap of his wings than he'd experienced before, Noctum closed the distance with Valkyrie in an instant. And his claws were so big! They weren't Metal Claws, they were Dragon Claws!

Yes, Noctum felt it in his blood. Under his scales.

Dragon dragon dragon dragon dragon dragon—

"Well you can't have it!"

Yuuuuuuuup, though exactly none of that thought process feels normal or healthy right about now.

Valkyrie was too stunned to react. Noctum's Dragon Claws slammed her flanks. The garchomp violently lurched to her left, then crumpled over. Noctum landed next to Valkyrie. That hit was good. Satisfying, even. He wanted more. Noctum needed more. He was going to beat her! He was going to show her up! One more strike! One more blow and—

He's already seriously injured her, hasn't he?

Something warm struck Noctum between his shoulder blades. The charizard whirled around and found Maxie firmly pressing his goggles to his face.

"This battle is over."

Over? But Noctum was about to win! Besides, he hadn't felt this good in ages! "Back off," Noctum growled, more blue flames painting the edges of his vision. "You said we fight until someone faints."

Noctum, have you tried looking down?

Sighing, Maxie shook his head. His purple flame collar pulsated and, next thing Noctum knew, eerie shadowfire orbs surrounded him. Noctum was about to ready his Dragon Claws when the shadowfire closed in. A brief, fiery pain, then the charizard was out cold.

Whelp, guess someone fainted after all.

"Nngh. What... happened?"

Floaters clouded Noctum's vision. His head throbbed. He instinctively massaged his forehead between his horns. It took a bit of time before Noctum managed to sit up. Maxie knelt next to him, his stoic expression showing the slightest bit of disapproval.

But why? Noctum only did what they wanted. They told him to fight. And he was tired of Valkyrie belittling him, so he fought back. Why had this typhlosion attacked him? And with a ghost attack, of all things? Could typhlosion even use ghost-type moves?

Hisui Forms, son. Though the answer to this is 'yes', vanilla Typhlosion can indeed learn Shadow Claw via TM.

"You'll be fine." Maxie stood up, nudging his goggles. "You're lucky I intervened when I did, though. A few more seconds and you would've lost control of your mega evolution. We don't need a berserk charizard around here."

Oh, so megaevos work off the same logic as Super + DX in this setting.

Noctum blinked. "Mega... evolution?" He'd never heard of it.

"You couldn't tell?" Nikki said, walking up to Maxie with her hands in her jacket pockets. "Your shoulders grew these big spikes and your wings got all segmented. And you had blue fire streaming out the sides of your mouth. Ptoo! Ptoo!" She held her hands up by her lips and wiggled her fingers. "It was freaky shit, dude!"

Noctum: "Wait, but isn't that just Trance?"
:joltyshrug~1:

- Beat moment -
Noctum: "W-Wait a moment, since when could I use Trance?!"
:grohno~1:


So, the charizard had transformed? "Wait... I used trance?"

"Sure as hell looked like it," Nikki said. "Though I thought tranced charizard were supposed to have their wings and horns turn into pure fire."

Oh, so Trance zard become pocket G-Max zard in this setting. Wonder what the story behind that one is as opposed to just becoming Megazard Y.

Maxie loudly cleared his throat. "If you two are finished, might I continue?"

Nikki rolled her eyes while Noctum looked down guiltily.

"I imagine we're discussing the same thing. Different worlds refer to mega evolution using different terms." Maxie slowly paced back and forth. "It's nothing more than a temporary transformation that powers up pokémon who are capable of it."

Noctum: "Wait, but isn't our normal Trance form technically not Mega Evolution-?" ^^;
Maxie: "Look, it works closely enough to it for it to count. Functionally, it is a Mega Evolution." >_>;

"Capable of it?" Nikki crossed her arms. "So, what, not everyone can do it?"

Maxie nodded, clearly irritated Nikki cut in again.

"That's a raw ass deal," Nikki snorted.

Yeah, still mad at GF for not giving those to Kalos starters before they promptly stopped using Mega Evolutions ever again.

"Yes, well, the issue is that these transformations are difficult to control." Maxie pivoted slightly to show the gemstone in his goggles. "Typically pokémon rely on bonds with humans holding these key stones to stabilize the transformation and stop them from going berserk. But clearly that's not an option here."

Two words: Air. Looplet.

"Why don't we just use yours, then?" Nikki asked.

"Do I look human to you?" Maxie narrowed his eyes at the toxtricity.

Nikki: "What, no residual effects at all?"
:what:

Maxie: "Trust me, it'd save me a lot of headaches if they existed." >_>;

"No, you look like an egghead," Nikki responded, smirking. "What's so special about humans, anyway? They're, like, squishy people who can't do shit on their own, ain't they?"

"Humans have certain other characteristics," Maxie countered, his purple flames rippling to emphasize his growing irritation. "It's believed they help strengthen pokémon at rates far faster than we can achieve on their own."

Oh, so that's why Etherium's Pokémon are normally wet paper bag tier when it comes to their strength.

"Feh." Nikki waved the typhlosion off. "What's the point of all this, huh? You saying Zardy can't fight or something because he'll go berserk?"

Noctum looked down at the Malice Crystal in his stomach. It was responsible for this. Trance came from Dynaforce, but Dynaforce was simply Malice, right? The charizard was right to fear it, then. What was he supposed to do? What if Noctum started going berserk without battling?

"Only one thing we can do about this."

Noctum: "... I'm not sure if I like where this is going." ._.

Archie's voice drew Noctum's attention behind him. The samurott had gotten Valkyrie back on her feet, but she was clearly shaken. Noctum couldn't peg what the look in her eye was. Defeat, maybe? At least she didn't seem as resentful as before.

Too bad Noctum couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not.

Maxie frowned. "Please tell me you're not suggesting—"

Noctum: "Okay, I really, really don't like where this is going!" O_O;

"Oh, I am." Archie grinned eagerly. He unsheathed a seamitar, turned around, and pointed it due north. "We gotta take 'em to Mt. Osohi!"

"Excuse me?" Noctum wasn't sure he could take that name seriously.

Archie laughed. "The key to you scamps mastering your transformations lies on Mt. Osohi!"

'Osohi', huh? Wonder what the story behind that name is.

"Wait... scamps? Like plural?" Nikki pointed to Noctum. "He's the one that couldn't keep it in his nonexistent pants."

"The key stone doesn't lie!" Archie thumped his golden anchor with his seamitar. "You three all have that power bubbling up inside of you." He hopped forward, nodding at a couple of kommo-o monks. They clasped their hands together and a blue rift appeared in front of Archie.

I mean, Val was a no brainer, but wait, since when did- ohhhh, right. Toxtricity has a G-Max form.

"Get moving, scamps! The only way we'll get things under control is to have you three pass the Gauntlet of Peril and/or Doom!"

Noctum + Valkyrie + Nikki: "..."
:uhhh:

Noctum: "W-Wait just a minute here! I didn't agree to any of-!" O_O;

Noctum stared at the open rift, blinking slowly. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"You cannot be serious," Valkyrie growled.

"I'm serious as the salt in the ocean!" Archie laughed again.

Nikki approached the rift, shoulders sagging.

"Man, I hate and/or doom."

Noctum: "This is going to be a disaster, I can already tell."
:riplup:


OSL: Shaftra Mesa, Planet Chakran (Dimension POV-2020)
We established a dimensional outpost for POV-2020 within a temperate mesa on this previously uninhabited planet after tracing a Category A space-time anomaly to this universe. Overseer Zygarde Tromeer and interns Necrozma Shane and Solgaleo Nebulon oversaw supply transportation and construction of our facilities. Resources included copies of the Dimensional Archive and Dimensional Map.

Oh, so that's what Shane got up to after GL, huh? Or some version of him, anyways.

Fifty Overworld cycles after its establishment, a necrozma arrived on the planet and made contact with the outpost's inhabitants. Initial reports indicated it as the source of the space-time anomaly, however its aura was described as "irregular" and "difficult" to accurately assess. Our analyzers could not definitively match it to the space-time anomaly. Furthermore, the necrozma claimed that an eternatus was going around absorbing life-bearing planets.

That... doesn't sound like a good omen for what became of the Pokémon that used to live here.
:fearfullaugh~1:


Subject remained at the outpost for ten Overworld cycles. We attempted to rehabilitate it through various means. Eventually our monitors detected a distant energy signature that matched the space-time anomaly. Subject insisted we provide all available resources to combat it. After thorough discussion, we deemed the operation too high risk to omniversal stability and ordered a covert evacuation of the outpost. The subject attempted to interfere with the evacuation. Numerous pieces of equipment were left behind, but the outpost head is confident the subject will not be able to use them on its own.

Oh, so that's what happened to this place. Guess it was less grim than the alternative, but wow. They really just wrote off Etherium and the surrounding interstellar neighborhood, huh?

Regrettably, a follow up inventory check further revealed one copy of the Dimensional Archive and Dimensional Map unaccounted for. Despite the risk of that information falling into unauthorized hands, POV-2020 was isolated per standard protocol to ensure the anomaly would remain contained in that dimension.

Which is about to fail in the span of like 2 weeks, tops. Since we all know how stories like these work.

Alright, and onto the final thoughts:

This chapter read as another transitional one, but it definitely still had a few surprises up its sleeve, one of the bigger ones being finding out what Val's backstory was since... uh... yeah, that would certainly explain why she doesn't fight "normal" for a Garchomp. I'll admit, even if she's still an asshole, I honestly felt sorry for her when her life story came out. As for Noctum, I kinda figured that that Malice Crystal would start affecting him, though I'm not convinced at all that a simple trip up a mountain gauntlet of doom is really going to be enough to rein things in. We'll see, I guess.

As for criticisms... I'm not sure if I have much aside from that it felt like the plotline involving Yuna getting a debrief as to the state of affairs kinda stalled and got pushed to the side. Something as simple as "Yuna's busy talking with Kora right now, but we need to have a talk" in the last scene before the blurb about Planet Chakran would've gone a long ways towards making it feel like that was still progressing. Some food for thought anyways.

But altogether, I had fun with the chapter, and I'll be looking forward to seeing what you've got in store this Saturday @Ambyssin . ^^
 
Chapter 47: Meeting Minutes

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
Chapter 47: Meeting Minutes

Entry 486
I hate meditation. It's so boring. I've never wanted to do anything less in my life. This "rehabilitation" they prattle on about is stupid. But I'm afraid of what will happen if I don't play along.

At least I still have you, journal. You don't talk back to me like these damn Overseers. How could a group that claims to know so much ask so many stupid questions? As far as I'm concerned, they're a bunch of idiots.

But maybe if I keep playing along, they'll give me the means to destroy Eternatus for good.


XxX​

Yuna wasn't sure whether to call the circular room Koraidon's rift led her to an office, a bedroom, a den, or something else entirely. She floated in place, eyes darting from one multicolored tapestry to another. Some covered big squares and rectangles. Others were thrown over spherical objects. Koraidon glided toward the only uncovered things in the room: a worn leather chair in front of a bookcase stuffed to the point of pages spilling out onto the floor.

"Forgive the mess." Koraidon waved his right hand. Though he sat on the chair, he again balanced himself on his tail. "It's not often we have visitors."

"In fact, it was never until today," Alder quipped.

The drakloak's attempt at a polite laugh sounded forced. When she realized Leo was looking right at her, she scrambled to find something to say. "So, um, what is this place, then? I doubt this is what you intended your monastery to look like."

"An astute observation." Alder nodded approvingly. Yuna thought he was a bit too complimentary. "This is not our tribe's original home. It's served that purpose for many generations, though."

"Indeed." Koraidon crossed his legs. "Our clan's ancestors once wandered the stars. Nomads, if you would. But a terrible feud broke out amongst the tribe and their starships fired upon one another." He bowed his head solemnly. "Ashamed by their actions, the survivors landed on this planet and disassembled their technology, seeking to repent through simple lives of prayer and meditation."

"Until they found this abandoned outpost." Alder hopped along the metal floor, gesturing with a wing toward a dark corner of the room.

Leo hopped after him. "Oooh, what's that big metal rod thingy? Is it a slide?" He vibrated in place. "Please say it's a slide. Slides are fun!"

"Afraid not. This is a telescope." Alder's pink feathers glowed. A few orbs filled with light, allowing Yuna to see the telescope jutting through the wall. "You can look out into space with it."

"Why would I need to do that?" Leo tilted his head so much the cosmic arceus almost flopped onto his side. "I can just go to space right now!"

Yuna's eyes widened. "Leeeeeet's not do that!" The drakloak shot toward Leo and gripped the sides of his gold wheel. "It's rude to leave when the hosts haven't dismissed us."

"Oh." Leo dimmed. "Sorry, Mr. Alder!"

The braviary pet Leo's head. His starcloud tail wagged slightly, tickling Yuna's belly and forcing her to let go. She didn't think ghosts were meant to be ticklish. Maybe its his, uh, cosmic texture?

"I think we're digressing a bit," Koraidon said, chuckling. "That's okay, though. Diversions are simply speed bumps on the path to knowledge."

"That... sounds like something Bahamut might've said in a sermon. But cornier."

Yuna blinked, not wanting to freak Alder or Koraidon out by acknowledging Reshiram. At least he wasn't giving her the silent treatment anymore.

"What's this outpost from, then?" Yuna wondered. Though tempted to pull up one of the quilts and see what it hid, she managed to restrain herself.

"It belonged to the Overseers," Alder responded. He pulled a book from his forehead. Probably the same book from when they met in the anomaly.

"Oh, I remember that!" Leo hopped up and down again. "They're like the space police, right?"

Yuna wasn't sure where he got that comparison from. "But they left this place behind?"

"Indeed." Alder opened the book. "They left quite hastily though, hence all the abandoned equipment and important materials."

"Like that book?"

"One part of the Dimensional Archive." Koraidon spread his arms out. Yuna had to admit, it was an impressive bookcase behind him. "Some sort of... compendium of information the Overseers must have gathered from observing the many dimensions."

Leo approached the bookcase. He didn't even reach the top of the first shelf. "How many dimensions are there, Mr. Koraidon? A hundred?"

Koraidon shook his head.

"Ten hundred?"

Another shake.

Leo kept naming increasingly large numbers and getting bemused headshakes from Koraidon. The cosmic arceus' eyes widened. "What about... a squijillion?"

Yuna was pretty sure that wasn't a real number.

Koraidon smiled sweetly. "The truth is... I don't actually know."

Leo fell over in disbelief. He hopped back up, puffing out his cheeks. "You played a prank on me, didn't you?"

"Guilty," Koraidon said, raising his hand.

"The truth is that the answer is probably in the Dimensional Map," Alder cut in, walking toward Yuna's side. "But we... don't actually know how to turn it on."

"The Dimensional Map?" Yuna blinked. "You can map dimensions?" The drakloak doubted you could draw a map like you would of a mountain range.

"The Overseers must have," Koraidon replied. "And judging by what's written in the Archives, it's an important piece of equipment. One that absolutely cannot fall into the wrong hands."

Then why did they leave it here? Yuna's face scrunched up in thought. No specific reasons came to mind and that bothered her. She floated up to a large, quilted orb and leaned against it. "Do you think it relates to what you told us about, Alder? A dimensional crisis?"

"I'm afraid so." Alder telekinetically flipped through his book, his talons clicking against the metal floor. "Some of the scattered papers we found said the Overseers planned to seal this dimension to contain a serious threat. Meaning nothing from outside our universe would ever be able to get in... and nothing inside, out."

Yuna's tail crinkled. The drakloak stared at the quilt's overlapping diamond patterns, filling in gaps from Alder's explanation. The threat had to be Eternatus. Maybe Bahamut, but he was dead.

Nothing getting in or out, though... was another story. She gulped. "Then the dimensional anomaly we found..."

"Is a sign that the seal has failed," Koraidon sharply declared. "And, perhaps as a consequence of that failure, space and time are breaking down. Hence, these anomalies."

"That sounds bad," Leo said, shuddering.

"The truth is that there are some who were not born into our tribe," Koraidon admitted, running his webbed fingers through his feathery crest. "Rather, we found them on Chakran, with no memories of how they got here. Only their names."

Yuna's ectoplasm quivered. That sounded quite scary. She noticed Leo turning to Alder with a curious glint in his eyes. Wait, does he think—

The braviary nodded. "I'm one of those people." He raised his right wing. "Archie and Maxie are others. I have... vague recollections of a place where humans and pokémon worked side by side. But it's too fuzzy."

"I see." Yuna braced herself against a covered block to stay steady in the air. Talk about a lot to take in. "And now you're the lorekeeper here."

"All of the monks study dimensionality based on the teachings in these Archives." Koraidon pointed behind him with his tail. "But Alder took to it faster than any acolyte. I thought him a good choice." He scratched his cheek. "Perhaps I also hoped it would jog his memories."

"Can't win 'em all." The braviary shrugged innocently.

"Dimensionality." Yuna tapped the center of one of the diamond patterns. "You opened a rift."

"Correct. We keep the Archives hidden away, just as a precaution," Koraidon replied. He floated off the chair and balanced on his tail. "This outpost is brimming with lustrous ore. A strange mineral that interacts with space itself. Through our training, we attune ourselves to the ore, allowing us to make portals."

The drakloak heard enough. Yuna took a breath to steady herself. She had to rip the bandage off now and end this conversation. "Where do we fit into this, then?"

"It's more about Leo." Alder gestured to the cosmic arceus with a wing. "We need him to repair the larger anomalies before they eat away at our universe."

Yuna bit her lip. She already had a mission with unsealing the Needles. She couldn't afford to turn away from that to escort Leo across the universe. "How can we possibly do that? We barely got to this planet."

"Well, it looked to me like all the rifts are coming from your home planet," Alder said, laughing nervously. "Probably because of Eternatus."

Of course it came back to Eternatus. At this point, why wouldn't it? "Great. So can you make a map of these anomalies for us?"

Alder looked at Koraidon. Both of them shook their head.

"Seriously?!" Yuna rubbed her temples, sorely tempted to drop some dirty language. If only Nikki was here to do it for her. "Okay, but you'll help us some other way, right?"

"As best as we can," Koraidon assured her. He stood up, his feathery coils unfurling into wings. "Now, come, we ought to get you back to your friends so you can rest up."

Yuna doubted she would get much rest after learning all of this. Fortunately, Leo yawning and stretching like a cat eased a bit of her nerves.

"Okay." The drakloak hovered over to Leo. "Lead the way."

XxX​

Seifer didn't like to be kept waiting. He barely managed to hold his tongue when Gene returned to Outpost R3X, only to disappear through another rift without telling any of the others. Instead, he sat atop the main metal platform, looking at the bubbling tar pit and willing the mewtwo to return so he could give him a piece of his mind.

"I don't think you're going to win a staring contest against tar. It doesn't have eyes."

The keldeo looked over his shoulder. Jade squatted beside him, her wings curled into makeshift goggles over her eyes. "Peekaboo!"

"I'm not a colt," Seifer scoffed.

"Aww, c'mon, lighten up." The salugia stuck her tongue out. "Nobody likes a stick in the mud. Or stick in the tar, in this case." Jade winked at him.

The sudden appearance of a jagged purple rift stopped Seifer from retorting. "Finally!" He pushed past Jade. "About time you showed u—"

Seifer almost walked right into Cyril. The zoroark was back to his usual, white-furred appearance. "Aww, were you waiting for me?" Cyril batted his lashes. "How thoughtful. Maybe send some flowers next time."

"I— that— you—" Seifer shuffled back.

"Aww, he's blushing!" Jade pressed her wings to her cheeks. "Kelly's a cute blusher." She whirled on Cyril. "And look at you! Such a fluffy zoro!" Without warning, she flung herself at a yelping Cyril.

"Gah! H-Hey! Personal space!" Cyril shoved Jade's wings to no avail.

"Not as fluffy as my Cece, but still so much fluff!" Jade purred, brushing her cheek against Cyril's red chest fuzz.

"All right, party's over." Gene popped in next to Cyril and telekinetically peeled Jade off with a flick of his wrist. He dropped the salugia on her back.

"Still sore I didn't reach out to you sooner, huh?" Cyril rubbed his shoulder. To his and Seifer's surprise, however, the mewtwo quickly embraced Cyril. "Wha?"

"I'm glad you're okay," Gene said, breaking the hug as quick as he started it. Recognition flickered in Cyril's eyes moments later. He turned to Seifer, smirking.

"Lemme guess, he gave you the 'my boyfriend died after we professed our love to each other' bit?"

Seifer quirked a brow. "You already knew?"

Cyril put his hands on his hips. "How do you think he roped me into his ragtag resistance operation in the first place, complimenting my dashing looks?" He ran his claws through his wild mane while Seifer rolled his eyes.

"Oh, right, and we brought a special guest." Gene motioned behind him, then stepped out of the way to let a familiar orbeetle hover beside him.

"Cid!" Seifer gasped.

"Ah. Hello, Commander." Cid awkwardly waved, his attention still drawn toward the giant tar processing plant.

"I heard about what happened."

The orbeetle's shoulders sagged. "Yes, well, I could say the same to you."

Seifer narrowed his eyes. "It has to be Vortex. He put poisoned thoughts in Her Eminence's head."

"You needn't worry about Vortex anymore." Cid tapped his fingers together nervously. "Parliament subpoenaed him over the Venish fiasco. Her Eminence had him arrested for high treason."

The keldeo whinnied in surprise. "You're kidding!"

"Nope." Cyril stepped between them, lazily twirling his right hand around. "Ether is actually Malice. Starlene was brainwashing Radiance's citizens. Yadda yadda." He clapped his hands. "Okay, everyone's up to speed. Time to get down to business. Boss Kitty?"

Seifer did not feel brought up to speed. Though silent, he frowned in disapproval at the ghostly zoroark, who was too busy fiddling with a small metal cube to notice. Cyril tapped one side with his claw. The cube hovered beside Gene and displayed a holographic screen.

"Huh, neat trick." Jade sat down. "Does it do children's parties?"

"Har, har." Cyril rolled his eyes. "Just stay quiet and listen, okay?"

Jade mimed zipping her beak and tossing the key into the tar pit behind them. Artemis slithered over and coiled up beside the salugia, quirking a brow.

Gene flicked his right index finger. The screen displayed a mewtwo doodle with a spotlight shining on it. "I call it... Operation Follow Me."

"Like the move that attracts attacks in your direction?" Artemis wondered.

With a neutral expression, Gene swiped to an image of a question mark with a big red X flashing over it. "Please hold your questions until the end of the presentation."

The milotic tapped his tail impatiently against the metal platform.

"We have to get the word out to Eterna City about these rifts," Gene explained, showing an image of rift doodles opening and closing with only two frames of animation. Seifer wondered how Cyril or Gene had time to put this together.

"So, here's the plan." Gene transition to a screen showing his doodle and one of Jade running around a crudely drawn rooftop. "Me and Loogi are gonna create a diversion by attacking the Paradox Day Spa in the middle of Eterna Heights." He glanced at Jade.

The salugia bounced in place. Seifer wasn't sure if she was happy or upset about this development.

"The place is swarming with Troopers." Gene showed doodles of Eternatus Troopers firing on him and Jade. "Which we'll have to put up with... because it's also home to this!" He swiped the screen over to show a digital photo of... some giant sphere?

Seifer looked between the picture and Gene.

"It's one of the emperor's propaganda blimps," Cyril explained. "He broadcasts messages from it to Eterna City. The Paradox Day Spa hides one of its refueling stations. We're going to hack the blimp to give the city an important message."

The keldeo couldn't keep quiet. "We?"

"You and me, of course." Cyril winked at Seifer.

"What?!"

"Well, I need some protection. Can't use attacks, remember?" Cyril shrugged. "Who better than an ex-soldier?"

Seifer didn't have a retort. His gaze fell to the metal ground. He's doing this on purpose, isn't he? To mess with me!

"Anyway, while that's happening, Pool Noodle here will deploy this little joltik drone." Gene stuck his hand into a yelping Cyril's mane and produced a small mechanical joltik. "It's programmed to fly to the most likely spots where the emperor will send the captives for processing."

Artemis wasn't impressed. "That's it? I could squash that thing without even knowing it."

"Don't underestimate her." Gene smirked. "She'll provide perfect footage without getting detected."

Seifer didn't share the mewtwo's confidence. This wasn't an organized battleplan. Where were the contingencies? "And what if this blimp isn't where you think it is?" the keldeo asked.

"It will be." Gene lazily swished his tail. "The good thing about the resistance making zero headway against Paradox is that it's making him overconfident."

"I still don't like it." Seifer's gaze drifted toward the tar factory and the huge pipes with bits of steam trickling out of them. "Too many things can go wrong. What if one of us gets captured?"

"Relax." Gene waved the keldeo off. "Loogi and I are the ones sticking our necks out. And I can warp us away through a rift if we get too much heat." He walked over to Cid. "Plus, this egghead will be helping, too. As a sort of mission control and stuff."

"E-Excuse me?" Cid's spots flickered asynchronously. "I'm not qualified for that."

"Sure you are. All you gotta do is look at a screen and tell us what you see." Gene clapped the orbeetle's tiny back. "Any couch potato can do it!"

Cid turned a horrified look on Seifer. The keldeo tried to say something, but Gene stepped between them.

"All right, enough talking." The mewtwo rubbed his dark gray hands together. "Time to get to work!"

XxX​

This was bad. Very, very bad.

Igneous wanted to hang tight until Kyoko was ready to give him the boot. Instead, she walked in on him sitting silently beside Scarlett and tossed cloaks at the two of them.

Sakaki was here. And he had a very important guest.

As the grovlazzle followed his stepsister through Scale City's dingy, dirt-filled streets, he tried to think who it could be. Though Igneous never saw it himself, his mother had mentioned the Ryujin were involved with the Aeon royals in some capacity. That was why he got information about Yuna before meeting her, after all.

Still, there was no way one of them would come to Scale City, right?

Yet when Kyoko led them into an onyx building at the center of the city, his leafy tails curled up in trepidation. The salazzle hurried him and Scarlett into an elevator that blended into the building's brown walls.

"Why am I here, again?" Scarlett asked. "I don't even know a thing about this place."

"Because you're involved in this now, whether you like it or not," Kyoko responded. The elevator lurched to a stop and the doors opened. Igneous' breath hitched.

Sakaki stood at the head of a large oak conference table... beside a dragapult garbed in sleek black armor.

Kyoko took one step out of the elevator and froze. "What is this?"

Placing a hand atop his leather office chair, Sakaki said, "May I introduce Queen Dragapult Yiazmat of the Aeon Kingdom. She's here to see your stepbrother. I trust you brought him?"

Igneous whirled on Kyoko. "What the hell? You ratted me out?!"

The salazzle smacked Igneous' left leg with her tail. "Of course I did. You fled Ministry of Justice custody."

His outburst drew Sakaki's attention toward him. Igneous froze.

How many months had it been since he'd even spoken to his father? And now he was standing right in front of him. Igneous couldn't let the nidoking see what had become of him. All the grovlazzle could manage was eyeing the framed map of Radiance hanging on the wall behind his father.

Kyoko once again intervened. Her taller stature let her easily yank Igneous' cloak off and shove him forward. Igneous snarled at her, only to freeze up. He could practically feel his father's eyes on him.

"I see," was all Sakaki said. "You've been through quite the ordeal, haven't you?"

Igneous clenched his fists. As usual, he couldn't make heads or tails of Sakaki's neutral tone. Was the nidoking offering sympathy? Dismissing him? Belittling him? It pissed Igneous off to no end.

"What do you care?" Igneous growled. "I did what I had to do to survive. Just like you taught me."

Sakaki's professional mask slipped for a second. Igneous saw the hurt in his eye, but the grovlazzle didn't buy it. Sakaki couldn't run the Ryujin without having deceptive tricks up his black sleeves.

The silence lasted until Kyoko cleared her throat. "We also brought the Radiant Diva."

Igneous glanced at Scarlett. He hadn't told the dragonair of his ties to the Ryujin, but the understanding was clear as day in her eyes.

"Y... yo..." Her eyes darted between Igneous and Kyoko. Scarlett tensed up. "Please don't hurt me! I never wanted things to end up like this. I was only trying to make a better life for myself!"

Yiazmat drifted over the conference table. "Your music made my daughter pass out."

Eyes widening, Igneous recalled the Crowne Cup inaugural ball and Starlene's concert. Yes, Yuna did react badly to Starlene's music.

Scarlett must have known about this, too, because she shrank toward the carpeted floor. "I'm sorry!" she squeaked. "I had no idea she was a princess! Vortex told me someone had too much wine!"

The dragapult sighed. "Calm yourself, Dragonair. I'm not here to hold your tail to the fire over this." She hovered down to sit atop the table. Her tail and feet phased through the dark brown oak. "I'm here as a concerned mother." Yiazmat looked at Igneous. "Where is Yuna? How is she?"

Igneous blinked. "I don't know. I haven't seen her since we were back in Horizon Gardens. She was supposed to go to Venish with the rest of the class."

Yiazmat visibly tensed. Her horns flickered with blue-violet light. Igneous stiffened. Had he said something wrong?

"Venish." The dragapult tapped a claw on the table. "Where the Horizon students were captured by an armored assailant. The only student recovered being Radiance's crown prince."

"What?" Igneous' chest tightened. Could it have been someone from Eternatus?

"No," Scarlett whispered. "I— did my music do that?" The dragonair looked at Igneous. "Because of the concert? Because of us?"

"I need to find my daughter," Yiazmat said. She trained her horns on Igneous and Scarlett. "And you two are going to help."

Igneous wanted to protest, but since Kyoko intended to kick him to the curb, anyway, the grovlazzle had no leverage. Especially not against the Aeon queen.

"Me?" Scarlett uncoiled herself slightly to get closer to eye level with the conference table. "I'm not a fighter."

"No, but your music is clearly powerful." Sakaki walked toward them. He stopped beside another leather chair and braced his left hand against its back. "Both you and my son are responsible in some capacity for this latest predicament. You need to take responsibility and work to fix this."

"Us?" Scarlett uncoiled a little more. "What about Radiance's government?"

"They're already making moves that I am... skeptical of," Sakaki said, brow furrowing. "We need to take steps to look out for own, because I doubt Queen Isola will be doing so."

Yiazmat pinched her brow. "I approve of arresting that stuffy charizard, however that's not good enough. Someone has to take direct steps to stop World Ender's awakening."

Igneous remained still. There was no way he'd tell Yiazmat that her daughter was going around pulling the Needles keeping Eternatus sealed. The dragapult would blast him without hesitation for sure!

Instead, he focused on his father. "I'm a fugitive, though." His gaze fell to his bright orange belly. "Even looking like this, the Reaper might figure out who I am. You can't really think it smart for me to gallivant around the kingdom? That's not 'looking out for our own.'"

"I can't speak to the Reaper's ability to look beyond basic outward appearances," Sakaki conceded, sticking his hands into his blazer's pockets. "However, my sources tell me that, after your escape, he's facing pressure from the high inquisitor to 'redeem' himself by tending to Vortex, Tesla, and other high-profile individuals Isola had arrested. So, now is the time for you to act."

"To act." Igneous' frown deepened. "In what way?" He glanced at Yiazmat. "I get you want to find Yuna, but how do we even begin approaching something like that?" The grovlazzle wanted to believe Yuna was fine. However, even if she was, that didn't guarantee they'd find her. She could have been inside Eternatus dealing with Needle-related business.

"As I understand it, many in Venish evacuated to the city of Vellguarde." Yiazmat crossed her arms. "That's where we'll start our search."

Scarlett shot Igneous a nervous look. He figured she feared showing her face in public. If Scale City's residents were upset at her, Igneous could only imagine what people on the surface were thinking now that they knew the truth about Starlene.

"We'll, uh, find a way to keep you hidden?" Igneous rubbed the back of his head. Saying that was one thing. Actually doing it was another.

"You don't sound convinced," Scarlett huffed, her tiny wings drooping.

"As I said before, your music is clearly powerful." Sakaki stared the dragonair down. "If you are remorseful, then you will aim to rectify this situation by using what Polaris gave you to aid us instead."

Igneous did his best not to call his father a hypocrite, still conflicted about his own role in dragging the truth about Starlene to light. And there was the new power he had as well. Could using that power on his own terms let him avoid Xeromus and Ahsen? He certainly hoped so.

Dull thumps of plastic on wood drew Chiaki's attention behind Yiazmat. Three plastic cards sat beside the dragapult's left hip. The bottom part of her tail appeared and pushed two of the cards to the end of the table.

Igneous frowned. The cards were blank. "What's the deal?"

"Your ID cards," Sakaki replied. "Or they will be once we take your photos and print them onto these."

"ID card?" Scarlett looked hesitantly at the plastic. "For what?"

"The Radiant Beacon's newly-established Bureau of Eternatus Investigators." Sakaki turned toward the door in the far corner of the room. "Your assignment starts now. Best of luck."
 
Last edited:
Chapter 48: Trial by Fire-Type

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
Chapter 48: Trial by Fire-Type

The transformation they called mega evolution is possible in my new home, too. I guess it truly is a facet of nature, woven into the universe itself. I had to get involved to stop a few transformed charizard and blastoise from tearing each other apart. They were quite formidable, but even with their transformations I could see the fear in their eyes when I rained a Prismatic Laser on them from above.

It's frustrating. I want to keep this world safe and to do so, I need to keep my power in check. But what else am I supposed to do? Let these berserk pokémon go on rampages?

I guess all those years in isolated meditation couldn't quell my own violent tendencies.

I'll look back through my notes. I think the Overseers had a means of helping pokémon control the transformations.

Oh, right, one other thing. Even when I knocked them out, the charizard stayed the same. Blackened scales, jagged wings, and blue flames trickling out of their mouths. Their souls still brimmed with dragon energy. This is not the same as Earth. Something's definitely wrong.

... Did my light do this? Did I screw this up?


XxX​

When Noctum thought of mountains, he thought of the bulky ones back in Aeon. Some ending in volcanic mouths and others having jagged, ashen peaks that pierced the smog-filled skies. Neither of these applied to Mt. Osohi. With its slender base and rock outcroppings spiraling around it, Noctum thought it closer to a giant paper towel roll than a proper mountain.

Perhaps he focused so hard on it in an attempt at ignoring the massive ravine that surrounded the mountain's base.

"Jeez, how deep does this fissure go?" Nikki was propped against a barren tree, tossing a pebble to herself. "All I see is smoke and dust down there." She tossed the pebble into the abyss, then leaned over, waiting to hear some sort of impact.

Nothing happened. Noctum's wings instinctively opened, as if he needed to take off at a moment's notice. The monks came to such an unsafe place regularly?

"Why do you think this is the Gauntlet of Peril and/or Doom?" Archie laughed as he hopped over to a stone archway with a dusty gemstone in the middle. "If you can't push yourself to get through peril, then you'll meet your doom! Fwahaha!"

Maxie flicked the side of Archie's head. "Can the theatrics."

"Killjoy," Archie grumbled, rubbing the spot Maxie flicked.

"Someone has to keep you in line," the purple typhlosion scoffed. "Anyway, are you three ready to proceed?"

Proceed with what? Noctum hoped Maxie would explain how this worked.

"Are we supposed to scale this thing?" Valkyrie stood beside the mountain base. She tapped the rock with her claw. "I guess it's firm enough for me to climb." She shot Noctum a stink eye. "But that lug's got wings. He'd get up there in a matter of minutes."

A smirk tugged at Maxie's lips. "Yes, you're climbing up the mountain. But scaling it that way won't work." He gestured to the archway behind him. "You have to follow the arches. They'll guide you."

Nikki pushed herself off the tree, scowling. "You mean the arch that leads right into the ravine?" She casually approached it. "Oh, yeah, sure, just walk right off this cliff here. That'll get you up the mountain no problem." She whirled on Maxie, mohawk sparking. "What am I, an idiot?"

The look in Maxie's eyes said he thought so. "Oh ye of little faith." He nudged his goggles up. "The gauntlet asks you to push past your basic instincts to achieve a greater power."

Well, Noctum's instincts told him to stay far away from the arch. The charizard wasn't about to ignore them. He shuffled across the dusty ground.

"Oh no you don't!"

"Gah!" Startled, Noctum's tail flame fwooshed. Archie's jagged horn sat centimeters from his shoulder.

"You're the scamp who needs this the most. Don't go running off on us," the samurott scoffed.

Noctum approached the arch, fidgeting nervously.

"What are you scared about?" Valkyrie scoffed. "You can fly."

True. Yet Noctum had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't that simple.

"Well then? You're burning daylight." Maxie approached the arch. He pressed his right hand on it and the stone in his goggles shimmered with multicolored light. The entire arch glowed turquoise. In the blink of an eye, floating turquoise platforms appeared over the ravine.

"What the—" Noctum's Malice Crystal flickered.

"Kinda freaky." Nikki scratched her head.

"Better get moving. You scamps are on a timer!" Archie declared. Noctum looked up to see a luminescent hourglass hanging over the archway... and it was counting down quickly!

The black charizard spread his wings and took off... only for an unseen weight to firmly press on his back, sending him crashing into the ground with a holler. Noctum rolled across the floating platform, getting a mouthful of dirt for his trouble.

"Oh, did we forget to mention? There's artificial gravity," Archie called. "So, no flying! Fwahaha!"

Anger bubbled in Noctum's belly. He turned toward the samurott, snarling, but composed himself when Nikki and Valkyrie passed him by, both running along the floating platforms. The garchomp leaped a gap between two triangular rocks. So, jumping was fine, but not flying? Noctum knew that wasn't how gravity worked. Maybe it was magic, like the Malice Crystal?

"What are you doing, idiot? Get moving!" Valkyrie shouted.

"R-Right! Sorry!" Noctum scrambled to his feet. Running was not the charizard's forte. He stuck to the biggest floating rocks, hopping from a circular one to a square one, then running forward. The rock path curved around the mountain and its incline steepened. Noctum could stay on his feet, but he had to time his jumps carefully. The fourth gap he jumped was much larger than the others.

"This way!" Nikki waved at Noctum from a second arch that sat on a small plateau. The hourglass hung above it, ticking down. And as it did, the rocks trembled under Noctum's feet. Was time running out? He'd have to make a break for it, then!

Noctum tucked his head down and folded up his wings to lower his drag. The black charizard scrambled across a long, rectangular rock. As he went to jump, the rock shuddered and struck him under his tail. Noctum yipped and jumped forward with more force than he intended. He sailed through the arch and struck a tree branch. He crashed into the base of the tree in a pile of dirt and splinters.

"Oww..." Noctum rubbed his head, whimpering.

"Nice landing, dweeb." Nikki mockingly applauded. "Looks like you're ready for the high dive."

Noctum sat up, shielding the embarrassment on his face with his right wing. Luckily, he didn't feel a welt on his forehead. "Shouldn't you guys be climbing?" he grumbled.

"This is a safe spot," Valkyrie scoffed. "Now get off your ass. You're not really hurt."

Despite the condescension, when Noctum lowered his wing he found Valkyrie extending her right arm to help him up. "Err, how do you know this is a safe spot?" Noctum took the garchomp's arm. She yanked him up, then pointed behind her to an oversized bedsheet with "SAFE ZONE" and several smiley faces painted onto it.

"Oh." Noctum blinked. "That's... something." His tail flame flickered. "I guess some of the monks like doing arts and crafts?"

"The more you think about it, the weirder it gets." Nikki walked away from them, shaking her head. "Let's get the rest of this dumb hike over with quickly." The toxtricity approached a third arch. It glowed like the first one and a new floating rock path built itself in front of her, curving up and around the side of the mountain. She took off running.

Noctum sighed and followed, wishing he could've taken more of a break to massage his feet. Like before, he kept his wings folded. The wind was harsher now than before and giant tree roots wove themselves between the floating rocks, forcing Noctum to hop them like small hurdles.

Every time he landed, a tingle ran to the charizard's belly from his feet. After the fight with Valkyrie, this climb should have exhausted Noctum. But every hop and leap over a large tree root invigorated him. And Noctum had no idea why, but he wasn't complaining.

The stupid floating rocks didn't even get the chance to shake and tremble like last time. Noctum easily cleared the fourth arch, then turned to watch the rocks disappear in streams of multicolored light. "Say, does anyone else feel, um, energized?" He hopped from one foot to another.

Valkyrie scratched her neck. "Guess so."

"Yeah." Nikki rolled her right arm. "'s like I finished chugging a pot of coffee."

Noctum's initial trepidation over this so-called trial faded away. As he approached the fifth arch, he wasn't remotely worried about any peril and/or doom...

... Until the next floating pathway assembled itself and revealing glowing boulders rolling right toward him!

"Aah!" Noctum turned to flee, when Valkyrie skidded in front of him and, shouting, destroyed the boulder with a swipe of her Dragon Claws. The charizard peeked his head over his shoulder to find Valkyrie sprinting forward with her Dragon Claws at the ready.

"Well?" Nikki shoved him forward. "You gonna let her do all the dirty work? Get a move on!"

Noctum scrambled forward without even thinking... but God were those boulders massive! Could his Metal Claws even put a dent into them?

"Pay attention!" Nikki shouted from behind him.

A glowing green boulder bounced toward them. Swallowing his fear, Noctum wound up and thrust his arms forward. His Metal Claws struck the boulder, which vanished in streams of rainbow light. That same spark from the tree roots shot up his arms. Noctum leaped to another floating rock and struck another boulder with his Metal Claws. The shatter sent a satisfying tingle toward his Malice Crystal.

Up ahead, Noctum spotted Valkyrie slashing one boulder after another with her Dragon Claws. Even though she could get rid of them, new ones appeared too quickly for her to continue forward. And the floating rocks shook underneath both of them. Noctum had to hurry!

He leaped forward, closing the distance and striking a boulder before it could blindside Valkyrie. "Come on!" the charizard called. They ran forward side by side, slashing at green boulders in tandem. After the third strike, the strange surge of energy from the fight with Valkyrie bubbled up from Noctum's gut. His Metal Claws grew to shining blue Dragon Claws. Blue embers trickled in the edges of his vision.

He slashed another boulder. It was satisfying, but not overwhelming. Yes, he could do this. Noctum could control this!

The charizard slashed one final boulder and cleared the sixth arch. Nikki sprinted past him, seconds before the rocks dissolved away. The toxtricity hunched over, wheezing. "Man... when do... I get the sick transformation?"

"Hmm?" Noctum looked over shoulder.

"These look ridiculous," Valkyrie said, holding up bladed arms that would make a scyther blush. "Better for cutting things, I guess." She swiped at the air, growling to herself.

Noctum watched, a hand on his chest. He wasn't sure whether to blame the garchomp's added white spikes, her more angular jaw, or both... but something inside him stirred at witnessing Valkyrie's transformation. So, that's tranced garchomp. Or mega garchomp.

"Dude, is your tail wagging?"

"Huh?" Noctum tensed and looked at Nikki. "N-No, of course not! Charizard tails don't wag!"

"Yeah, sure." Nikki rolled her eyes. "Your snout practically grew longer, dude." She walked forward, cracking her knuckles. "Okay, we're pretty high up now. Can't be much further, right?"

The air was even thinner than before. Noctum thought it best not to look off the side of the plateau and see how far the drop was. Mt. Osohi lives up to its name, I guess.

A flash of light caught his attention. Nikki stepped through the next arch. While another floating rock path arranged itself before them, giant, thorny vines immediately grew in to block them off. An ethereal purple liquid dripped from the thorns, sizzling against the glowing rocks.

"That doesn't look good," Nikki said, stepping back through the arch cautiously.

"Move." Valkyrie almost shoved her. "I'll handle this."

However, the nearest vine sucked up the ensuing Dragon Pulse like water through one of those bendy straws Noctum thought were so cool. "Oi, you're the fire-type." Valkyrie pointed a scythe arm at Noctum. "Do something! Clock's ticking!"

"Right." Noctum took a deep breath. He spewed bright blue flames — hotter than any Flamethrower he'd ever used — that struck the nearest vine... and disappeared inside it as pathetically as Valkyrie's Dragon Pulse. The mega charizard blinked. "Uhhhh..."

"Oh, brother." Nikki squished past the two dragons. "I guess this trial is sentient or something. Telling me I gotta pull my weight." The toxtricity held her hands out. Her electric guitar materialized in a yellow and purple flash. "Pull on this, you overgrown garden weeds!"

She swiped at the middle of the nearest vine. Purple and yellow lightning surged through the thorns, which burst apart in showers of purple mist. "I'm the most badass weed whacker you'll ever see!" Nikki moved forward, slicing apart more thorny vines. Every downed vine grew the size of her electric guitar. Noctum shielded his face as he followed behind her.

"Boulder coming at you!" Valkyrie warned. Noctum dropped his arm to his side. One Dragon Claw slash split the boulder and dissolved it into dust.

"Almost there!" Nikki said. Purple mohawks had grown on either side of her yellow one. The rocks trembled beneath the trio. Noctum almost stumbled off but spread his wings to catch himself. He jumped to the next platform right as Nikki broke through the last vine. The backmost spike around her waist had grown to practically look like one of those fancy power lines.

The toxtricity leaped through the archway and tossed her electric guitar to herself. "Ha! Peril and/or doom my ass. That was a breeze." She caught the guitar and dispelled it, looking at the glowing spikes around her wrist. "Hmm." Nikki turned to Noctum and Valkyrie. "So, how do I look?"

Her hollow yellow eyes unnerved Noctum. Though the mega charizard said nothing, the damage was done. Nikki frowned. "What? What's wrong?"

"It's, uh—" Noctum tapped his claws together.

"You look like you got crossed with a low key toxtricity and someone jammed a power line up your ass," Valkyrie bluntly responded, shaking her head.

"Seriously?!" Nikki looked over her right shoulder, then her left. "What the hell? This totally blows! Why do you get badass megas and I'm stuck looking like some B-tier horror movie prop?"

Valkyrie shrugged. "I'm not the biggest fan of this, either. My jaw feels too bulky."

Noctum's familiar ba-dump from earlier returned. He rubbed his chest and pivoted away from the mega garchomp, eager to change the subject. "O-Oh, hey, look! We made it to the peak." Noctum pointed toward the circular mountaintop, which held nothing more than some gray rocks pushed together to vaguely resemble chairs and benches. Like with the break areas, a tarp with "CONGRATULATIONS!" and several smiley faces painted on it flapped in the wind, nailed to the largest rock in the group.

"Wow. Anticlimactic much?" Nikki walked forward, tucking her hands into her jacket pockets. "The could've at least given us a prize or something."

"A prize?" Valkyrie snorted. "What are you, seven?"

"The prize is the control over your transformations, scamps!"

"Gah!" Noctum shot into the air, no longer bound by wonky gravity. Below him, Archie and Maxie appeared through a rift alongside one of the kommo-o monks from earlier.

"Seriously?" Nikki's shoulder sagged. "What was even the point of this if you could warp us up?!"

"Weren't you listening?" The samurott shook his head. "Look at y'all. Standing there, mega evolved and fully in control! You're not ripping each other's faces off!"

Noctum gulped. "That's... something that happens when people can't control their megas?"

"Not literally." Maxie facepalmed. "You already experienced what happened. People lose control of themselves. Become disinhibited."

"Yeah, but ripping faces off sounds cooler," Archie grumbled.

Maxie sighed. "Why do I even bother?" The typhlosion shook his head. "In any case, you should have all felt that sense of control as you went through the course."

Noctum landed beside them. "Uh, right." He scratched his head. "Now how do I turn it off?"

"You've gotta relax your body and spirit," Archie replied. "Like you're meditating, but not."

That was hardly descriptive, but Noctum could give it a try. He took a deep, calming breath. That surge of energy left his body. Noctum turned around and saw his wings were no longer serrated. "Oh. I guess it is that simple."

A couple more orange flashes followed. Nikki and Valkyrie returned to normal as well. The toxtricity approached, resting her hands behind her head. "So, uh, what would've happened if we weren't fast enough?"

"Oh, that? Pfbt!" Laughing, Archie hopped toward the final arch and jumped through it with a loud whoop.

"What the hell?!" Nikki's eyes widened. "Is he crazy?!"

A rift opened up behind Kommo-o and dropped Archie out of it. The samurott was no worse for wear.

"You really think we'd let you fall to your deaths? Ridiculous." Maxie shook his head. "We had monks ready to catch you."

"Then why call it the Trials of Peril and/or Doom?!" Nikki fumed.

"Dramatic effect!" Archie raised his flippers and gave jazz hands. Kommo-o joined in.

Nikki facepalmed. "Why the hell does this thing even exist, then? Do you guys use it?"

"As part of our ascetic training," Kommo-o responded, bowing his scaly head politely. "We did not create it. We merely found it. The Overseers probably used it when they inhabited this outpost."

Blank stares followed. Noctum tilted his head. "Overseers? Are they pokémon?"

Nikki rubbed her forehead. "Why do I get the feeling I don't like what the answer to that will be?"

As if to respond to her rhetorical question, a new rift appeared in the middle of all the chair-like rocks. Koraidon poked his head out. "Ah, so this is where you ran off to." He glanced at Archie and Maxie. "I trust things went well?"

Maxie nodded.

"Splendid." He beckoned everyone toward the rift. "Come along. There's much to discuss and I figure you could all do with a bite to eat."

Noctum glanced at his Malice Crystal. It sparkled as if it understood Koraidon's statement. The charizard shrugged, then approached the rift, thankful he was finally getting the chance to rest.

XxX​

Seifer paced across the concrete rooftop, gaze transfixed on the purple and black sky with colorful smears from Eterna City's bright, colorful lights. Cyril pointed out a skyscraper with a giant, circular platform far in the distance. Something black and metallic floated next to it, displaying footage of a traffic report.

"When Gene told us you were going to hack that thing, I expected we'd need to, y'know, get closer," the keldeo said. He looked over his shoulder at Cyril, who was disguised as a normal zoroark. He sat next to something he called a laptop, which had a few small satellites plugged into it.

"Nah." Cyril waved him off. "Only reason we even came to Eterna City is to throw off the Troopers if they do trace the signal back to me." He smirked at Seifer. "Why, you itchy to get your hooves dirty?"

Seifer frowned. "No. I just— don't understand why I'm here with you." He approached the edge of the building. The people and vehicles down at street level were tiny dots. "Wouldn't it make more sense for me to deploy your drone, instead of Artemis?"

"I asked for you," Cyril responded. "And get back from the edge. Don't need anyone down there seeing you."

Seifer held off on retorting that plenty of taller buildings surrounded them. He walked back toward the zoroark, his frown deepening. "Look, if you have a problem with me, then say it to my face. I'm tired of your stupid teasing."

"A problem?" Cyril sounded hurt. "Not at all." He pulled his goggles down around his neck. "I just... wanted you for company."

The keldeo almost rolled his right forehoof and tripped, but managed to catch himself. Cyril was yanking his tail, right? That was what zoroark did.

"Why, so you can belittle me more than your boss already has?" Seifer scoffed, flicking hair out of his eyes. Gosh, when was the last time he had a proper brushing?

"The opposite." Cyril typed away at his laptop. His ears drooped and Seifer bit his lip.

A convincing performance, he told himself.

"I'm sure between that Venish ship's crew and Boss Kitty talking down to everyone... you've seen and heard a few things that's shaken your faith," Cyril whispered.

Seifer's brow furrowed. "Aeons are the ones with religion."

Sighing, the zoroark twirled his pink, heart-covered bandana around. "Look, I'll admit it. I did think you were a bit of a pompous ass at first. But it also sounded like life knocked you down a peg or two."

"So, it's pity, is it?" Seifer looked down at his hooves. Something about a zoroark who couldn't even use any attacks pitying him felt rather pathetic.

"No, I—" Cyril pinched his brow, groaning. "I get where you're coming from, okay?"

Seifer squinted. He wasn't buying that. "Because of the Malice mutating you?"

"More like... getting thrust into all of this." Cyril gestured to the buildings behind him with their glowing signs advertising sports drinks and movies. "You're a proud guy. Raised around honor and virtue and stuff. But I..." His voice trailed off as he looked around. "I've seen the doubt in your eyes. About how you were raised. If you were really on the right side of things. I had a lot of doubts about myself early on."

Cyril chuckled awkwardly. "Hell, even after I agreed to work with Boss Kitty I wondered if we were going about things the wrong way. If maybe there was a less... aggressive way to work toward his goal."

The keldeo shuffled about uneasily. Now this was really reminding him of when Cyril made his prosthetic horn in his workshop. "I wanted to serve my kingdom... as my family did stretching back generations."

"But Boss Kitty is bluntly shoving truths in your face that run counter to those beliefs, am I right?"

Silence. Seifer swallowed hard. "Yes." He sat down, avoiding the zoroark's eyes. "I can't stop going over things in my head. If there were ulterior motives behind everything I did for the Radiant Guard."

He didn't realize Cyril moved from behind his laptop until a fuzzy paw touched his right shoulder. Seifer's tail shot up and his horn sparked. He nearly whacked Cyril with his horn when he turned his head, but the zoroark managed to duck underneath it.

"You're not a bad person," Cyril said.

"You barely know me," Seifer whispered.

Cyril offered a smile. "I know you enough to tell your heart's in the right place."

Seifer pulled away. "You can't be certain of that." He looked down. "Like, when they first assigned me to guard Yuna, I was... silently resentful toward her and Noctum. May have even insulted them a few times." He shook his head. "An honorable soldier shouldn't do that. And in hindsight, it's clear I held that attitude about Aeons and openly shared it with the soldiers serving under me."

"But the fact that you're acknowledging it now shows you want to do the right thing," Cyril countered. He gently nudged Seifer's chin back in his direction. The keldeo stiffened, nearly lashing out on impulse. Why was there a tingle running down his spine?

"I know it hurts to consider it, but you have to try and view this as, uh..." Cyril rested his chin on his wrist. "Oh, right! As the chance to be that valiant defender you always viewed yourself as."

"By becoming a criminal?"

"By stopping the emperor." Cyril scooted back to his laptop, hiking his leggings back up his thighs.

Wait, why am I watching him do that? Seifer quickly turned his attention to a metal grate with smoke trickling out of it.

"Think about it," Cyril continued. "Defeating Paradox doesn't just save Etherium, it saves all the planets suffering under his rule. Even if we have to use some deceptive tactics, isn't that a cause worth fighting for?"

Silence hung in the air. The keldeo had to admit Cyril was right. This was bigger than his kingdom. And certainly bigger than the Radiant Guard. He turned back to the zoroark. "It's just... hard to break old habits," he said. "I'm used to... following the rules to a T. Not straying from the path. That kind of stuff."

"I know." Cyril braced his hands on the rooftop. "I can help you, if you're willing."

Seifer quirked a brow. "Help me?"

"Get past those teachings," Cyril said. "And, y'know, lose control a little."

The keldeo blinked slowly. "Lose... control?" Control of what?

"Yeah. Not be so rigid and uptight and stuff." Cyril sprang up and crouched down in front of Seifer, smirking. "You don't gotta be the life of the party or anything, but I bet we can get you cracking a few jokes now and again with a little practice."

He playfully flicked Seifer's nose. Blood rushed to the keldeo's cheeks. "I— that's—" He rubbed his forehooves together. "Perhaps I can... entertain that notion." Why was he stumbling over his words so badly? "What does it entail, exactly?"

"Well, what's something you've always wanted to try but never gotten the chance to?" Cyril wondered, with a tilt of his head.

Seifer looked at his forehooves. Something he hadn't tried but wanted to? The keldeo had eaten plenty of exotic dishes, so that was out. He'd gone to theater showings, too. Was that what Cyril meant? This was harder than Seifer expected.

"Could be anything," Cyril said. "A holowear outfit, a new hobby, fighting in the arena back at the outpost, smooching a certain zoroark, or— oops, did I say that last part out loud?"

"What?!" Seifer went stiff as a board. That was definitely on purpose. "That's not funny!" he huffed.

"Then why's your face as red as a cherrim?" Cyril wondered, a sickeningly sweet smile on his face.

"Because I—"

A thunderous rumble echoed in the distance. Seifer looked over his shoulder. Smoke and fire drifted into the sky from the top of the building where the propaganda blimp was.

"Oh, shit, that's the signal." Cyril hopped over his laptop and crouched down behind it. "Watch my six." He cracked his knuckles. "It's showtime."

Seifer was still staring at the distant skyscraper in disbelief.

What kind of signal is that supposed to be?!
 

Spiteful Murkrow

Busy Writing Stories I Want to Read
Pronouns
He/Him/His
Partners
  1. nidoran-f
  2. druddigon
  3. swellow
  4. quilava-fobbie
  5. sneasel-kate
Heya, took me a little longer to get this together than I’d hoped, which is as good a reason as any to make sure that I’m not falling too far behind. So let's get right into the next chapter, shall we?

Chapter 47

Entry 486 I hate meditation. It's so boring. I've never wanted to do anything less in my life. This "rehabilitation" they prattle on about is stupid. But I'm afraid of what will happen if I don't play along.

At least I still have you, journal. You don't talk back to me like these damn Overseers. How could a group that claims to know so much ask so many stupid questions? As far as I'm concerned, they're a bunch of idiots.

But maybe if I keep playing along, they'll give me the means to destroy Eternatus for good.

Wow, Bahamut sure had some problems back in the day, not that they've exactly gotten better with time. .-.

Yuna wasn't sure whether to call the circular room Koraidon's rift led her to an office, a bedroom, a den, or something else entirely. She floated in place, eyes darting from one multicolored tapestry to another. Some covered big squares and rectangles. Others were thrown over spherical objects. Koraidon glided toward the only uncovered things in the room: a worn leather chair in front of a bookcase stuffed to the point of pages spilling out onto the floor.


That'd be a 'reading room', hon.

"Forgive the mess." Koraidon waved his right hand. Though he sat on the chair, he again balanced himself on his tail. "It's not often we have visitors."

"In fact, it was 'never' until today," Alder quipped.


Yuna: "... How do you even make sense of all of this, Koraidon?"
:grohno~1:

Koraidon: "I have a system! Also psychic powers to arbitrarily rearrange things. That helps too." ^^

The drakloak's attempt at a polite laugh sounded forced. When she realized Leo was looking right at her, she scrambled to find something to say. "So, um, what is this place, then? I doubt this is what you intended your monastery to look like."

"An astute observation." Alder nodded approvingly. Yuna thought he was a bit too complimentary. "This is not our tribe's original home. It's served that purpose for many generations, though."

Image


Since the fact that that's getting brought up definitely tripped my "something's up" radar.

"Indeed." Koraidon crossed his legs. "Our clan's ancestors once wandered the stars. Nomads, if you would. But a terrible feud broke out amongst the tribe and their starships fired upon one another." He bowed his head solemnly. "Ashamed by their actions, the survivors landed on this planet and disassembled their technology, seeking to repent through simple lives of prayer and meditation."

These guys are just whoever survived impact after getting shot down, aren't they? Though given how many canon NPCs are represented in Pokémonified form, does that mean they come from a continuity where Earth got Xenosaga'd and humanity (and possibly Pokémon too) took to the stars afterwards?

"Until they found this abandoned outpost." Alder hopped along the metal floor, gesturing with a wing toward a dark corner of the room.

Either that's one hell of a lucky break or that's not the full story considering what sort of outpost this place used to be.

Leo hopped after him. "Oooh, what's that big metal rod thingy? Is it a slide?" He vibrated in place. "Please say it's a slide. Slides are fun!"

... Wait, is there a reason why whatever was in the corner wasn't described prior to this point again? Since wouldn't Yuna have been able to also have seen whatever was in there with her vision since I could've sworn it was mentioned she had "headlight mode" or something like that.

"Afraid not. This is a telescope." Alder's pink feathers glowed. A few orbs filled with light, allowing Yuna to see the telescope jutting through the wall. "You can look out into space with it."

Oh, well that would explain it. Though do they not have telescopes in the Aeon Kingdom? .-.

"Why would I need to do that?" Leo tilted his head so much the cosmic arceus almost flopped onto his side. "I can just go to space right now!"

Yuna's eyes widened. "Leeeeeet's not do that!" The drakloak shot toward Leo and gripped the sides of his gold wheel. "It's rude to leave when the hosts haven't dismissed us."

"Oh." Leo dimmed. "Sorry, Mr. Alder!"

Yuna: "(Remind me why he had to be here again when he's literally less than 48 hours old?)" >_>;
Alder: "(He's clearly much further along mentally, and... yeah, it's kinda important that you two both hear what Koraidon has to say.)"

The braviary pet Leo's head. His starcloud tail wagged slightly, tickling Yuna's belly and forcing her to let go. She didn't think ghosts were meant to be ticklish. Maybe its his, uh, cosmic texture?

Yuna, have you seen Pokémon Amie/Refresh? Everything reacts to getting pet and tickled in this franchise.

"I think we're digressing a bit," Koraidon said, chuckling. "That's okay, though. Diversions are simply speed bumps on the path to knowledge."

"That... sounds like something Bahamut might've said in a sermon. But cornier."

Yuna: "And also more earnest... (I hope.)"

Yuna blinked, not wanting to freak Alder or Koraidon out by acknowledging Reshiram. At least he wasn't giving her the silent treatment anymore.

"What's this outpost from, then?" Yuna wondered. Though tempted to pull up one of the quilts and see what it hid, she managed to restrain herself.

Yuna: "Wait, weren't these explicitly mentioned to be tapestries? Shouldn't there be neat scenes and the like depicted on them that I should be paying attention to?"
:what:


"It belonged to the Overseers," Alder responded. He pulled a book from his forehead. Probably the same book from when they met in the anomaly.


Yuna: "How on earth are you-?"
:wtfuckle:

Alder: "Headfeathers. Gotta love 'em." ^v^

"Oh, I remember that!" Leo hopped up and down again. "They're like the space police, right?"

Yuna wasn't sure where he got that comparison from. "But they left this place behind?"

Leo... has lingering memories from life before the Qliphoth, doesn't he? Since he sure knows an awful lot of concepts and ideas that he otherwise shouldn't.

"Indeed." Alder opened the book. "They left quite hastily though, hence all the abandoned equipment and important materials."

"Like that book?"

"One part of the Dimensional Archive." Koraidon spread his arms out. Yuna had to admit, it was an impressive bookcase behind him. "Some sort of... compendium of information the Overseers must have gathered from observing the many dimensions."


... Do the Overseers not believe in digitization, or is this a deliberate failsafe to prevent a hostile entity from just yoinking all of their hard work in one go?

Though might be for the best since considering the established tech level of this story, they'd likely have the means to make some sort of biocomputer that could do something stupid like literally create life, and I've run into that scenario enough in games to know that it doesn't go anywhere good.

Leo approached the bookcase. He didn't even reach the top of the first shelf. "How many dimensions are there, Mr. Koraidon? A hundred?"


Koraidon shook his head.

"Ten hundred?"

Another shake.

Leo: "... Infinite?"
:joltyshrug~1:

Yuna: "Leo, let the nice lizard monk give his answer." -_-;

Leo kept naming increasingly large numbers and getting bemused headshakes from Koraidon. The cosmic arceus' eyes widened. "What about... a squijillion?"

Yuna was pretty sure that wasn't a real number.

Koraidon smiled sweetly. "The truth is... I don't actually know."


Yuna: "... And you didn't say this twenty questions ago why?"
:eltyunamused:

Koraidon: "Because it's better to indulge a child's curiosity from time to time?"
:gardeshrug~1:


Leo fell over in disbelief. He hopped back up, puffing out his cheeks. "You played a prank on me, didn't you?"

"Guilty," Koraidon said, raising his hand.


Koraidon: "Also, that too." ^^
Yuna: "Look, can we just get to the part where you tell us what on earth is going on here already?" >_>;

"The truth is that the answer is probably in the Dimensional Map," Alder cut in, walking toward Yuna's side. "But we... don't actually know how to turn it on."

"The Dimensional Map?" Yuna blinked. "You can map dimensions?" The drakloak doubted you could draw a map like you would of a mountain range.

... I'm not even sure if you can depict that in 3D space, so I'm curious as to what on earth that map looks like myself. .-.

"The Overseers must have," Koraidon replied. "And judging by what's written in the Archives, it's an important piece of equipment. One that absolutely cannot fall into the wrong hands."

Yuna: "... Right in the neighborhood of the slumbering planet-eating eldritch abomination. Great place to leave that lying around." >_>;
Koraidon: "Oi, bring it up with the Overseers. We just found it here."

Then why did they leave it here? Yuna's face scrunched up in thought. No specific reasons came to mind and that bothered her. She floated up to a large, quilted orb and leaned against it. "Do you think it relates to what you told us about, Alder? A dimensional crisis?"

"I'm afraid so." Alder telekinetically flipped through his book, his talons clicking against the metal floor. "Some of the scattered papers we found said the Overseers planned to seal this dimension to contain a serious threat. Meaning nothing from outside our universe would ever be able to get in... and nothing inside, out."

:fearfullaugh~1:


I... can't tell whether that's Eternatus or Bahamut, but it'd be wholly unsurprising to me if said threat was either of the two. Especially given that Bahamut is the reason why this place is depopulated in the first place.

Yuna's tail crinkled. The drakloak stared at the quilt's overlapping diamond patterns, filling in gaps from Alder's explanation. The threat had to be Eternatus. Maybe Bahamut, but he was dead.

Image


Yuna: "... Bahamut is dead, right?"
:grohno~1:


Nothing getting in or out, though... was another story. She gulped. "Then the dimensional anomaly we found..."

"Is a sign that the seal has failed," Koraidon sharply declared. "And, perhaps as a consequence of that failure, space and time are breaking down. Hence, these anomalies."

"That sounds bad," Leo said, shuddering.

This is going to turn into a massive multiversal crossover at some point later on in the story, isn't it?

"The truth is that there are some who were not born into our tribe," Koraidon admitted, running his webbed fingers through his feathery crest. "Rather, we found them on Chakran, with no memories of how they got here. Only their names."

Oh, so that's why all the human NPCs are here right now. They all got the (non-Gates) PMD Protagonist treatment.

Yuna's ectoplasm quivered. That sounded quite scary. She noticed Leo turning to Alder with a curious glint in his eyes. Wait, does he think—

The braviary nodded. "I'm one of those people." He raised his right wing. "Archie and Maxie are others. I have... vague recollections of a place where humans and pokémon worked side by side. But it's too fuzzy."

I wonder if that's one and the same as the Earth that Eternatus ate, or if they're from another AU to this AU.

"I see." Yuna braced herself against a covered block to stay steady in the air. Talk about a lot to take in. "And now you're the lorekeeper here."

"All of the monks study dimensionality based on the teachings in these Archives." Koraidon pointed behind him with his tail. "But Alder took to it faster than any acolyte. I thought him a good choice." He scratched his cheek. "Perhaps I also hoped it would jog his memories."

"Can't win 'em all." The braviary shrugged innocently.

That feels ever so slightly worrisome given that at least 2 of these displaced humans are former leaders of villainous teams.
:fearfullaugh~1:


Like there are some humans from the franchise that you just do not want coming into contact with knowledge anywhere as important as what this Dimensional Map is implied to be.

"Dimensionality." Yuna tapped the center of one of the diamond patterns. "You opened a rift."

"Correct. We keep the Archives hidden away, just as a precaution," Koraidon replied. He floated off the chair and balanced on his tail. "This outpost is brimming with lustrous ore. A strange mineral that interacts with space itself. Through our training, we attune ourselves to the ore, allowing us to make portals."

... That's just another way of saying 'Malice Crystals', isn't it?

The drakloak heard enough. Yuna took a breath to steady herself. She had to rip the bandage off now and end this conversation. "Where do we fit into this, then?"

"It's more about Leo." Alder gestured to the cosmic arceus with a wing. "We need him to repair the larger anomalies before they eat away at our universe."

Yuna:
Image

Leo: "Leave it to me! I'll figure it out in a-!" ^^
Yuna: "Leo, you're not blindly poking about at the fabric of the universe right now, okay?!"
:ohnowen:


Yuna bit her lip. She already had a mission with unsealing the Needles. She couldn't afford to turn away from that to escort Leo across the universe. "How can we possibly do that? We barely got to this planet."

"Well, it looked to me like all the rifts are coming from your home planet," Alder said, laughing nervously. "Probably because of Eternatus."


This... has been happening as a direct consequence of yoinking those Needles, hasn't it?

Of course it came back to Eternatus. At this point, why wouldn't it? "Great. So can you make a map of these anomalies for us?"

Alder looked at Koraidon. Both of them shook their head.


Yuna:
Image

Alder: "Sorry, hon. We're monks and scholars. Not miracle workers." ^v^;

"Seriously?!" Yuna rubbed her temples, sorely tempted to drop some dirty language. If only Nikki was here to do it for her. "Okay, but you'll help us some other way, right?"

"As best as we can," Koraidon assured her. He stood up, his feathery coils unfurling into wings. "Now, come, we ought to get you back to your friends so you can rest up."


Yuna: "... Wait a minute, you can fly with those-?!"
:riOMEGAlu:

Koraidon: "Pretty sure you've already canonically seen this by now, but even if you haven't, just look at a SV trailer sometime. But yes, I can fly with them. So hop aboard."

Yuna doubted she would get much rest after learning all of this. Fortunately, Leo yawning and stretching like a cat eased a bit of her nerves.

"Okay." The drakloak hovered over to Leo. "Lead the way."


Yuna: "I have so many questions right now." ._.
Koraidon: "Unfortunately, we've run out of answers so... yeah, let's focus on things we can take care of right now."
:joltyshrug~1:


Seifer didn't like to be kept waiting. He barely managed to hold his tongue when Gene returned to Outpost R3X, only to disappear through another rift without telling any of the others. Instead, he sat atop the main metal platform, looking at the bubbling tar pit and willing the mewtwo to return so he could give him a piece of his mind.


Seifer: "I thought that Gene was going to lighten up on his whole 'broody, asshole loner' shtick after getting his life story off his chest." >_>;
Gene: "Oh, you're one to talk."
:gardexhausted:


"I don't think you're going to win a staring contest against tar. It doesn't have eyes."

The keldeo looked over his shoulder. Jade squatted beside him, her wings curled into makeshift goggles over her eyes. "Peekaboo!"

"I'm not a colt," Seifer scoffed.


Jade: "So... you're a filly then? Since I admittedly didn't assume that you were-" ^v^;
Seifer: "I'm not a child, okay?!"
:seviAAAAAAAAAAA:


"Aww, c'mon, lighten up." The salugia stuck her tongue out. "Nobody likes a stick in the mud. Or stick in the tar, in this case." Jade winked at him.


Seifer: "... Please never do that again."

The sudden appearance of a jagged purple rift stopped Seifer from retorting. "Finally!" He pushed past Jade. "About time you showed u—"

Seifer almost walked right into Cyril. The zoroark was back to his usual, white-furred appearance. "Aww, were you waiting for me?" Cyril batted his lashes. "How thoughtful. Maybe send some flowers next time."


Seifer: "Gene, are you serious?!" >.<
Cyril: "What? I need some screentime too, you know? I've been just chilling in the background for what, ten chapters now?"
:typhNOsion:


"I— that— you—" Seifer shuffled back.

"Aww, he's blushing!" Jade pressed her wings to her cheeks. "Kelly's a cute blusher." She whirled on Cyril. "And look at you! Such a fluffy zoro!" Without warning, she flung herself at a yelping Cyril.


Cyril: "Please never do that again."
:hisssssss:

Jade: "... No promises, Fluffs." ^v^

"Gah! H-Hey! Personal space!" Cyril shoved Jade's wings to no avail.

"Not as fluffy as my Cece, but still so much fluff!" Jade purred, brushing her cheek against Cyril's red chest fuzz.

Seifer: "I'm... just gonna back away for a while and let you two go at it-"
Cecil: "Seifer, don't you dare leave me like this! Come and help me right now!" >.<

"All right, party's over." Gene popped in next to Cyril and telekinetically peeled Jade off with a flick of his wrist. He dropped the salugia on her back.


Seifer: "Where have you been all this time?!" >.<
Gene: "... Places?"
:gardeshrug~1:


"Still sore I didn't reach out to you sooner, huh?" Cyril rubbed his shoulder. To his and Seifer's surprise, however, the mewtwo quickly embraced Cyril. "Wha?"

"I'm glad you're okay," Gene said, breaking the hug as quick as he started it. Recognition flickered in Cyril's eyes moments later. He turned to Seifer, smirking.

... Wait, I don't follow why Gene's this affected by seeing Cyril again. I assume that it has something to do with that broadcast by Paradox they saw, but it's been long enough since then that it might've merited dropping in a reminder for readers.

"Lemme guess, he gave you the 'my boyfriend died after we professed our love to each other' bit?"

Seifer quirked a brow. "You already knew?"

Cyril: "I mean, you're not constantly
:hisssssss:
-facing at him, so it was a decent tip-off." :V

Cyril put his hands on his hips. "How do you think he roped me into his ragtag resistance operation in the first place? Complimenting my dashing looks?" He ran his claws through his wild mane while Seifer rolled his eyes.

Oh, so Cyril has also lost a lover in his past. Or else someone comparably close to him emotionally. Guess that would explain why he's always a cynical, bitter asshole when he shows up in RPs.

"Oh, right, and we brought a special guest." Gene motioned behind him, then stepped out of the way to let a familiar orbeetle hover beside him.

"Cid!" Seifer gasped.

WHAT.

Seifer: "Wait, but... how?!" .-.
Gene: "I mean, I do have the power to casually teleport in and out of Eternatus, so-"
Seifer: "No, I mean how do you two know each other?!" O_O;

"Ah. Hello, Commander." Cid awkwardly waved, his attention still drawn toward the giant tar processing plant.

"I heard about what happened."

The orbeetle's shoulders sagged. "Yes, well, I could say the same to you."

Seifer: "Cid, I have so many questions right now."
:grohno~1:

Cid: "Same here, really. I suppose these two were going to loop everyone in?"

Seifer narrowed his eyes. "It has to be Vortex. He put poisoned thoughts in Her Eminence's head."

"You needn't worry about Vortex anymore." Cid tapped his fingers together nervously. "Parliament subpoenaed him over the Venish fiasco. Her Eminence had him arrested for high treason."

The keldeo whinnied in surprise. "You're kidding!"

I am not convinced about that at all right now, since I remember that meeting he had with the Polaris board about those Genesect that are still lying around in the background.

"Nope." Cyril stepped between them, lazily twirling his right hand around. "Ether is actually Malice. Starlene was brainwashing Radiance's citizens. Yadda yadda." He clapped his hands. "Okay, everyone's up to speed. Time to get down to business. Boss Kitty?"

Seifer:
Image

Cyril: "Yeah, yeah, that's been happening a lot with you Radiance types who couldn't be bothered to turn on the PV in the past day. Anyhow, as Boss Kitty was saying..."

Seifer did not feel brought up to speed. Though silent, he frowned in disapproval at the ghostly zoroark, who was too busy fiddling with a small metal cube to notice. Cyril tapped one side with his claw. The cube hovered beside Gene and displayed a holographic screen.

"Huh, neat trick." Jade sat down. "Does it do children's parties?"

"Har, har." Cyril rolled his eyes. "Just stay quiet and listen, okay?"

Jade... is absolutely not just going to stay quiet and listen, is she? Since she literally played peekaboo with Seifer while sitting around and waiting on Gene.

Jade mimed zipping her beak and tossing the key into the tar pit behind them. Apollo slithered over and coiled up beside the salugia, quirking a brow.

Gene flicked his right index finger. The screen displayed a mewtwo doodle with a spotlight shining on it. "I call it... Operation Follow Me."

Jade: "What, the move? Or some other meaning of 'Follow Me'?" :?
Cyril: "Well that promise to stay quiet didn't last long." >_>;
Also, wait Apollo? Is that supposed to be Artie? Since I did a search for that name in this fic and it literally only pops up here and in Chapter 44. Given that the mention in 44 was literally a throwaway one, I think that you have a typo here, or else you need to go back and finish switching over your "Artemis"es to "Apollo"s if this is a retconned name.

"Like the move that attracts attacks in your direction?" Apollo wondered.

With a neutral expression, Gene swiped to an image of a question mark with a big red X flashing over it. "Please hold your questions until the end of the presentation."

The milotic tapped his tail impatiently against the metal platform.

Yeah, see above re: "Apollo", but I'll just assume that's supposed to be "Artie" for now. Especially since this is from Seifer's POV where he's called him Artie in the past.

"We have to get the word out to Eterna City about these rifts," Gene explained, showing an image of rift doodles opening and closing with only two frames of animation. Seifer wondered how Cyril or Gene had time to put this together.

Jade: "... Wait, why do we want to do that again?"
:joltyshrug~1:

Cyril: "(Did you not hear my bit about saving questions until after the presentation?) Though since you asked..." >_>;

"So, here's the plan." Gene transition to a screen showing his doodle and one of Jade running around a crudely drawn rooftop. "Me and Loogi are gonna create a diversion by attacking the Paradox Day Spa in the middle of Eterna Heights." He glanced at Jade.

The salugia bounced in place. Seifer wasn't sure if she was happy or upset about this development.

Jade: "WaitIneversignedupforthis-!"
:lugiAAAH:

Cyril: "You did now, consider this a debriefing."

"The place is swarming with Troopers." Gene showed doodles of Eternatus Troopers firing on him and Jade. "Which we'll have to put up with... because it's also home to this!" He swiped the screen over to show a digital photo of... some giant sphere?

Seifer looked between the picture and Gene.

"It's one of the emperor's propaganda blimps," Cyril explained. "He broadcasts messages from it to Eterna City. The Paradox Day Spa hides one of its refueling stations. We're going to hack the blimp to give the city an important message."

Gene: "Uh... Cyril, you do realize that we just found out that the whole uPhone mission was a wild goose chase, right? Are you sure you don't want to take some time to plan this out more-?"
:eltywtf:

Cyril: "Nope! Gotta strike while the iron's hot!"

The keldeo couldn't keep quiet. "We?"

"You and me, of course." Cyril winked at Seifer.

"What?!"

Seifer: "You can't just volunteer others for missions that were planned in the span of a few hours!"
:ohnowen:

Cyril: "Already did it with Loogi. And what, you've never heard of coming up with contingency plans? I've been sitting on this one for a while. Just tweaked a couple details here and there on short notice." ^^

"Well, I need some protection. Can't use attacks, remember?" Cyril shrugged. "Who better than an ex-soldier?"

Cyril: "Also, that."
Gene: "We... really should set you up with one of those blasters you build at some point, Cyril." -_-;

Seifer didn't have a retort. His gaze fell to the metal ground. He's doing this on purpose, isn't he? To mess with me!

Narrator:
Image


"Anyway, while that's happening, Pool Noodle here will deploy this little joltik drone." Gene stuck his hand into a yelping Cyril's mane and produced a small mechanical joltik. "It's programmed to fly to the most likely spots where the emperor will send the captives for processing."

Apollo wasn't impressed. "That's it? I could squash that thing without even knowing it."

Artie Apollo: "Wait, but my name's 'Artemis'."
:grohno~1:

Gene: "You're 'Apollo' now. Consider it an alias for your new position in the rebellion!" ^^
Apollo: "Look, don't you see any potential problems that could arise by fielding 3 Pokémon that don't know the first thing about 'Eterna City' or anything in it on a mission involving going around some place crawling with these 'Eternatus Troopers'?"
:ohnowen:

Gene: "... I mean, we showed you a floor map of the place, so no, not really?"
:gardeshrug~1:


"Don't underestimate her." Gene smirked. "She'll provide perfect footage without getting detected."

Seifer didn't share the mewtwo's confidence. This wasn't an organized battleplan. Where were the contingencies? "And what if this blimp isn't where you think it is?" the keldeo asked.

"It will be." Gene lazily swished his tail. "The good thing about the resistance making zero headway against Paradox is that it's making him overconfident."

... No, I'm starting to think that it's your piss-poor planning that's been doing that, Gene. How on earth has this level of organization not gotten Pokémon under your command killed on a regular basis? .-.

"I still don't like it." Seifer's gaze drifted toward the tar factory and the huge pipes with bits of steam trickling out of them. "Too many things can go wrong. What if one of us gets captured?"

"Relax." Gene waved the keldeo off. "Loogi and I are the ones sticking our necks out. And I can warp us away through a rift if we get too much heat." He walked over to Cid. "Plus, this egghead will be helping, too. As a sort of mission control and stuff."

... This is going to be the mission where things wind up going massively sideways, isn't it?

"E-Excuse me?" Cid's spots flickered asynchronously. "I'm not qualified for that."

"Sure you are. All you gotta do is look at a screen and tell us what you see." Gene clapped the orbeetle's tiny back. "Any couch potato can do it!"

Image


To quote Gurren Lagann: "That bravado will get you killed". It's just a question of whether it'll be sooner, or later into the future.

Cid turned a horrified look on Seifer. The keldeo tried to say something, but Gene stepped between them.

"All right, enough talking." The mewtwo rubbed his dark gray hands together. "Time to get to work!"

Seifer:
Image


This was bad. Very, very bad.

Igneous wanted to hang tight until Kyoko was ready to give him the boot. Instead, she walked in on him sitting silently beside Scarlett and tossed cloaks at the two of them.

Sakaki was here. And he had a very important guest.

Chiaki Igneous: "Oh... dad's here. That's just... wonderful, really."
:fearfullaugh~1:


As the grovlazzle followed his stepsister through Scale City's dingy, dirt-filled streets, he tried to think who it could be. Though Igneous never saw it himself, his mother had mentioned the Ryujin were involved with the Aeon royals in some capacity. That was why he got information about Yuna before meeting her, after all.

Igneous:
:pikashock~3:

Kyoko: "... Really, Chiaki? You're just figuring this out now?" -_-;
Igneous: "No, but I thought I should act surprised for the audience, really." ^^;
Kyoko: "I'm pretty sure the audience figured this out like 10 chapters ago after seeing their queen interact with dad in a face-to-face meeting." >_>;

Still, there was no way one of them would come to Scale City, right?

- Cue Yiazmat floating up in her battle armor -
Yiazmat: "Oh, hello there! Is this where that meeting with Nidoking Sakaki is?"
- Igneous turns and has his jaw drop -
Igneous: "... I'm sorry, what the actual-?"
:wtfuckle:

Kyoko: "(Scene from a few chapters back that wasn't from our perspective, Chiaki. Just try and act surprised when she shows up since I'm pretty sure she's dad's special guest.)"

Yet when Kyoko led them into an onyx building at the center of the city, his leafy tails curled up in trepidation. The salazzle hurried him and Scarlett into an elevator that blended into the building's brown walls.

"Why am I here, again?" Scarlett asked. "I don't even know a thing about this place."

Igneous: "Oi, don't ask me. It was her idea not to just leave us in the living room." >_>;

"Because you're involved in this now, whether you like it or not," Kyoko responded. The elevator lurched to a stop and the doors opened. Igneous' breath hitched.

Sakaki stood at the head of a large oak conference table... beside a dragapult garbed in sleek black armor.

Kyoko took one step out of the elevator and froze. "What is this?"

Yiazmat: "You met me in the hallway less than a minute ago." >:|
Kyoko: "Look lady, even if everyone reading this story could see this coming from a mile away, I have to act surprised here since the contract says we're not allowed to break the fourth wall outside these cutaway gags."

Placing a hand atop his leather office chair, Sakaki said, "May I introduce Queen Dragapult Yiazmat of the Aeon Kingdom. She's here to see your stepbrother. I trust you brought him?"


Igneous: -reaches for the Violet TI2 gif-
Kyoko: "Chiaki, we've used that gif twice in this review. Use another one already." >_>;
Igneous:
Image

Kyoko: "Good enough. So, uh... remind me, what is unironic royalty doing here again? Much less want to see my stepbrother?" ^^;

Igneous whirled on Kyoko. "What the hell? You ratted me out?!"

The salazzle smacked Igneous' left leg with her tail. "Of course I did. You fled Ministry of Justice custody."

His outburst drew Sakaki's attention toward him. Igneous froze.

Well that's a loving and self-sacrificial family there... not.

Igneous: "... Wait, but if you ratted me out to the MoJ, why are we getting Aeons involved again?" ._.
Yiazmat: "I'll explain that one after your family moment here."

How many months had it been since he'd even spoken to his father? And now he was standing right in front of him. Igneous couldn't let the nidoking see what had become of him. All the grovlazzle could manage was eyeing the framed map of Radiance hanging on the wall behind his father.

I can't tell if this guy is Gio from yet another universe given that it was firmly established this chapter that humans are getting yeeted in from other dimensions, or if this is Gio's Nidoking from the Gene special that has somehow managed to jump ahead over a thousand years and taken his name in honor of his old boss.

Kyoko once again intervened. Her taller stature let her easily yank Igneous' cloak off and shove him forward. Igneous snarled at her, only to freeze up. He could practically feel his father's eyes on him.

"I see," was all Sakaki said. "You've been through quite the ordeal, haven't you?"

I mean, if it's any consolation, Igneous, you're displaying more dignity and composure than the last guy I had a hand in writing up a run-in with his mob boss dad. :V

Igneous clenched his fists. As usual, he couldn't make heads or tails of Sakaki's neutral tone. Was the nidoking offering sympathy? Dismissing him? Belittling him? It pissed Igneous off to no end.

"What do you care?" Igneous growled. "I did what I had to do to survive. Just like you taught me."

inb4 Sakaki pops up a CCTV footage montage of Igneous attempting to speedrun his way to a Darwin Award over the past 24 hours.

Sakaki's professional mask slipped for a second. Igneous saw the hurt in his eye, but the grovlazzle didn't buy it. Sakaki couldn't run the Ryujin without having deceptive tricks up his black sleeves.

I mean, he is a mob boss that deliberately takes after Gio, so...

The silence lasted until Kyoko cleared her throat. "We also brought the Radiant Diva."

Igneous glanced at Scarlett. He hadn't told the dragonair of his ties to the Ryujin, but the understanding was clear as day in her eyes.

Igneous: "Dad, I know this looks bad for her, but I can explain!"
:grohno~1:


"Y... yo..." Her eyes darted between Igneous and Kyoko. Scarlett tensed up. "Please don't hurt me! I never wanted things to end up like this. I was only trying to make a better life for myself!"

Yeah, I kinda figured that Scarlett was in seriously hot water right now, since I saw how the randos on the street were reacting to her, so it only figures that Scale City's leadership wouldn't be happy with her either.

Yiazmat drifted over the conference table. "Your music made my daughter pass out."

Yiazmat: "Nobody makes my daughter pass out."
Scarlett: "B-But surely she's had a moment where she was sparring in battle, and-!" O.O
- Yiazmat leans in -
Yiazmat: "No. Body."
:litglare:


Eyes widening, Igneous recalled the Crowne Cup inaugural ball and Starlene's concert. Yes, Yuna did react badly to Starlene's music.

Scarlett must have known about this, too, because she shrank toward the carpeted floor. "I'm sorry!" she squeaked. "I had no idea she was a princess! Vortex told me someone had too much wine!"

Igneous: "If it's any consolation, Yuna got better from-?"
:uhhh:

Yiazmat: "Quiet, I wasn't finished!"

The dragapult sighed. "Calm yourself, Dragonair. I'm not here to hold your tail to the fire over this." She hovered down to sit atop the table. Her tail and feet phased through the dark brown oak. "I'm here as a concerned mother." Yiazmat looked at Igneous. "Where is Yuna? How is she?"

Igneous: "..."
:fearfullaugh~1:

Yiazmat: "... Sakaki, do I want to know how you've been raising the heir to your Ryujin Clan?"
:unimpressed:

Kyoko: "'Raising' would be a gross overstatement." -_-;

Igneous blinked. "I don't know. I haven't seen her since we were back in Horizon Gardens. She was supposed to go to Venish with the rest of the class."

Yiazmat visibly tensed. Her horns flickered with blue-violet light. Igneous stiffened. Had he said something wrong?

Kyoko: "... Chiaki, you did watch the news from Venish at some point in the past day, right?" >_>;
Igneous: "Yes? And?"
- Igneous trails off and freezes up -
Igneous: "Oh. Oh crap."
:grohno~1:


"Venish." The dragapult tapped a claw on the table. "Where the Horizon students were captured by an armored assailant. The only student recovered being Radiance's crown prince."

"What?" Igneous' chest tightened. Could it have been someone from Eternatus?

Igneous: "(... Scarlett, on the count of three, we run for the door.)" O_O;

"No," Scarlett whispered. "I— did my music do that?" The dragonair looked at Igneous. "Because of the concert? Because of us?"

Igneous:
Image

Scarlett: "... Right, should've thought more before I spoke."
:CabotScared:


"I need to find my daughter," Yiazmat said. She trained her horns on Igneous and Scarlett. "And you two are going to help."

Igneous wanted to protest, but since Kyoko intended to kick him to the curb, anyway, the grovlazzle had no leverage. Especially not against the Aeon queen.

Considering how the alternative is that you two are likely getting covertly extradited and yeeted to a black site in an Aeon volcano... yeah, you should probably help Yiazmat find her baby again. ^^;

"Me?" Scarlett uncoiled herself slightly to get closer to eye level with the conference table. "I'm not a fighter."

"No, but your music is clearly powerful." Sakaki walked toward them. He stopped beside another leather chair and braced his left hand against its back. "Both you and my son are responsible in some capacity for this latest predicament. You need to take responsibility and work to fix this."

Sakaki: "Do be aware that there's a Gem-Com on hold with the MoJ right now down the hall. I'd encourage you two to choose wisely here."

"Us?" Scarlett uncoiled a little more. "What about Radiance's government?"

"They're already making moves that I am... skeptical of," Sakaki said, brow furrowing. "We need to take steps to look out for own, because I doubt Queen Isola will be doing so."

Least of all since I'm pretty sure she's having problems with Shimmer getting turned into a Glastrier right about now.

Yiazmat pinched her brow. "I approve of arresting that stuffy charizard, however that's not good enough. Someone has to take direct steps to stop World Ender's awakening."

Igneous remained still. There was no way he'd tell Yiazmat that her daughter was going around pulling the Needles keeping Eternatus sealed. The dragapult would blast him without hesitation for sure!

This... is going to lead to Chiaki getting pitted against Team Bastion from Yiazmat not knowing who is yanking those needles, isn't it?

Also, I just realized that Yiazmat's armor feels very 'Alternis Din' in vibe right now. Can't tell if that's deliberate or a happy accident considering what happened with him in Bravely Default.

Instead, he focused on his father. "I'm a fugitive, though." His gaze fell to his bright orange belly. "Even looking like this, the Reaper might figure out who I am. You can't really think it smart for me to gallivant around the kingdom? That's not 'looking out for our own.'"

"I can't speak to the Reaper's ability to look beyond basic outward appearances," Sakaki conceded, sticking his hands into his blazer's pockets. "However, my sources tell me that, after your escape, he's facing pressure from the high inquisitor to 'redeem' himself by tending to Vortex, Tesla, and other high-profile individuals Isola had arrested. So, now is the time for you to act."

Oh, so they're just dead dead barring pulling some sort of stunt in the next 2-3 chapters, huh? Guess we'll see how that shakes out for them.

"To act." Igneous' frown deepened. "In what way?" He glanced at Yiazmat. "I get you want to find Yuna, but how do we even begin approaching something like that?" The grovlazzle wanted to believe Yuna was fine. However, even if she was, that didn't guarantee they'd find her. She could have been inside Eternatus dealing with Needle-related business.

... Oh that's going to be an awkward reunion if/when Yiazmat floats in on her baby doing that.
:fearfullaugh~1:


"As I understand it, many in Venish evacuated to the city of Vellguarde." Yiazmat crossed her arms. "That's where we'll start our search."

Scarlett shot Igneous a nervous look. He figured she feared showing her face in public. If Scale City's residents were upset at her, Igneous could only imagine what people on the surface were thinking now that they knew the truth about Starlene.

Scarlett: "C-Can't I at least get scale paint or something like that to disguise my appearance first?"
:eltyscared:


"We'll, uh, find a way to keep you hidden?" Igneous rubbed the back of his head. Saying that was one thing. Actually doing it was another.

"You don't sound convinced," Scarlett huffed, her tiny wings drooping.

"As I said before, your music is clearly powerful." Sakaki stared the dragonair down. "If you are remorseful, then you will aim to rectify this situation by using what Polaris gave you to aid us instead."

Image


Also, there is no way that Sakaki doesn't have an ulterior motive here given how heavily he vibes after Gio.

Igneous did his best not to call his father a hypocrite, still conflicted about his own role in dragging the truth about Starlene to light. And there was the new power he had as well. Could using that power on his own terms let him avoid Xeromus and Ahsen? He certainly hoped so.

Image


Dull thumps of plastic on wood drew Chiaki's attention behind Yiazmat. Three plastic cards sat beside the dragapult's left hip. The bottom part of her tail appeared and pushed two of the cards to the end of the table.

Igneous frowned. The cards were blank. "What's the deal?"

"Your ID cards," Sakaki replied. "Or they will be once we take your photos and print them onto these."

Scarlett: "... Wait, the local mafia really just goes around with photographed ID cards that everyone can clearly see and identify?" ._.
Sakaki: "Technically, we're a yakuza. Having some level of openness to the public is just how we roll."

"ID card?" Scarlett looked hesitantly at the plastic. "For what?"

"The Radiant Beacon's newly-established Bureau of Eternatus Investigators." Sakaki turned toward the door in the far corner of the room. "Your assignment starts now. Best of luck."

... I suppose it should surprise me a lot less that the Radiant Beacon is directly involved with the Ryujin's less legal side of the business, but I still wasn't expecting this outcome.

Alright, onto the summary:

I can't say that I was expecting Yiazmat to wind up getting looped into a chunk of the main plot, but hey, I can't say I disapprove. Especially since her eventual meeting with Yuna again is going to be... something, to say the least. In general, this chapter seemed to be teeing a lot of things up, and you can kinda see all the different strands that used to look kinda disconnected with one another start to loop in and swirl around each other. Even if I'll believe it when I see it about Gene and Cyril's newest mission not turning out to be a massive disaster, since everything that got brought up about their plans just screamed "this won't end well".

As for criticisms... I don't have a whole lot, really. Some more description in a couple parts would've been nice, but you've got a style that is tailor-made for smaller chapters, so I won't begrudge you for sticking to your guns. I did get thrown in a loop with that 'Apollo' thing. Like if that's just Artie's name now, you want to build up more that that's his proper name by retconning it somewhere into the past, since as it stands, it basically just abruptly flips over to the name as of Chapter 44 with no real indication of "yeah, Artie is Apollo now".

But altogether, I thought it was a pretty good chapter, @Ambyssin . Good work, and I look forward to seeing where you take things from here in the very near future.
 
Chapter 49: Operation Follow Me

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
Chapter 49: Operation Follow Me

High above the Eterna City skyline, in the thick, black and purple clouds, Gene turned to Jade and her orange zapdos passenger. "It's going to be quick." The mewtwo snapped his fingers. "Once the rift opens, I shoot a Fire Blast into the fueling console and light the spa up like an oversized candle. Then we go charging in and you'd best be ready for Troopers to swarm us."

Quetzal puffed out his feathers. "I still cannot believe nobody told me we were having a strategy meeting! I didn't even have any time to prepare for this!"

"You were napping. I didn't want to be rude." Jade laughed nervously.

"I just forgot." Gene shrugged.

"You're a powerful psychic!" Quetzal huffed.

"Oh, gee, look at the time." Gene glanced at a wristwatch he didn't have. "Mission's a go." He flicked his right wrist, opening a jagged rift. The mewtwo had looked over images of the place to know exactly where to aim his Fire Blast. The five-pronged flame struck a metal tower. Gene threw up a pink barrier, shielding himself and his allies from a fiery explosion while the sounds of mechanical shouts and cries filled his ears.

"Now!" Gene flew into his rift. Through thick black smoke and tiny red embers he saw a huge crater in what was once some sort of pool. Lounge chairs and the remnants of a rooftop bar lay scattered about like big metal pretzels. The blimp was unharmed, displaying weather footage while a castform meteorologist gestured at the weather map.

"It's the rebel mewtwo!"

Right on cue, Dark Pulses and Signal Beams punched through the wall of smoke. Gene Phantom Warped to his right, the attacks passing harmlessly through numerous mewtwo-shaped afterimages. At least a dozen Eternatus Gunners hovered a few meters away from him and more were floating up from behind.

Gene gathered a large Aura Sphere over his head and... bowled it through midair toward the Gunners in front of him. He quickly Phantom Warped back into the smoke to dodge a fresh volley of Dark Pulses.

"Despicable rebels!" a Gunner shouted. "First they loiter on our rooftops without an approved permit and now they assault our day spa! Is nothing sacred to them?"

Gene surged out from the smoke, flames gathering in his hands. "Sacred? Ha! Do I look like an entei to you?" He tossed a Fire Blast toward several of the Gunners below him. Their Dark Pulses sailed wide of stopping the Fire Blast, which blew five of them up. Their unown pilots careened through the air before disappearing in purple smoke puffs. A pity Gene didn't have a way of stopping that. Then he could keep Paradox from reinforcing his ranks so quickly.

"No, you look like a disobedient cat that needs a good spritzing!" a much larger, gray Eternatus Trooper with giant cannons for arms boasted. Gene couldn't fully Phantom Warm away from two Hydro Cannons. A deluge of water blasted him toward the propaganda blimp, but the mewtwo caught himself, wringing his arms out.

Oh, great. Bombardiers, Gene mentally hissed.

"Now! Freeze the rebel!"

"Hey, where's my backup?!" Gene growled, forming a large pink barrier that barely held against a slew of hail and ice chunks from three Bombardiers.

"Sorry! Sorry! Still getting used to the flying thi—eeeeeeeeeeek!"

Jade crashed into the Bombardier on Gene's left. "Ah, hello!" the salugia chirped. "Come here often?"

"Every Friday, actually," the Bombardier responded, before the unown inside narrowed its eye. "Hey, wait a second!"

Jade's mouth was bright orange. The resulting orange beam effortlessly tore through the Bombardier and both of his companions.

So, that's Aeroblast. Gene had to admit it was even more impressive up close.

No, wait, this wasn't the time for that! Not with ten Gunners trained on both of them! "Duck!" he cried.

"Duck?" Jade blinked. "No, salug— aah!"

Gene used Hurricane. Jade barely got out of the way of the ensuing vortex. It sucked up the Gunners like dirt through a vacuum hose, shredding through their bodies and blowing the unown pilots away.

"Cool trick!" The salugia clapped her feet together. "When can I learn?"

"Later!" Gene growled. More Gunners and Bombardiers had taken to the skies. There must have been teleporters nearby. C'mon, Cyril! How much longer do you need, huh?

As if the zoroark somehow heard Gene, the weather report abruptly cut out replaced with footage of Cyril standing in front of a camera. Gene turned and hurled two dozen Psystrike orbs toward some newly arrived Gunners. They unleashed their own volley of Dark Pulses and Shadow Balls. Though Gene's onslaught won out, none of the Gunners went down. Some of them ejected their UFO-like cockpits and flew after Gene.

"Attention Eterna City! This is the voice of the resistance," Cyril said, the prerecorded message amplified by the blimp's speakers. They were... a lot louder than Gene remembered. Maybe because he was used to hearing the blimp from a distance?

"For the emperor!" a Trooper shouted, her cockpit glowing brightly. Sensing what was coming, Gene summoned his spoon and whacked the Trooper back into several others. Explosions lit up the sky like orange fireworks.

"This is the voice of the truth. And the truth is... we need to talk."

"Guuuuuuys, I could really use some help down here!"

Gene looked down. An orange bolt streaked across the cratered ground, narrowly dodging the spiky maces of a dozen Eternatus Brawlers.

"Hey! Even if it's been blown up, running on a pool deck is hazardous!" one Brawler shouted.

"And illegal!" A second wound up and launched his right mace at Quetzal. Ice swirled around the spikes. Quetzal was running out of room, so Gene dove down and tossed a Fire Blast in the middle of the Brawlers. The five-pronged explosion knocked them off their feet.

"Your so-called emperor is lying to you! First off... those new uPhones you got? They're full of gizmos to hypnotize you whenever Paradox wants! And the rifts you see in the sky are dangerous! They're a sign that space and time are collapsing... in a way that not even Eternatus can protect us from!"

One of the Brawlers leaped back to his feet and pointed a mace skyward. "It's a trick! Attack the blimp! The revolution must not be telivi—"

Quetzal charged forward and delivered a tremendous kick to the Brawler. With a thundering boom, the cockpit dislodged from the robotic torso and skipped across the charred ground, crashing into a second Brawler. Both bots and their unown vanished in a small blue blast.

"Birdbrain, help out Drumstick! I got things up here!" Gene ordered, shooting back up and sniping a pair of Bombardiers' cockpits with well-aimed Psybeams. "Pool Noodle, you read me? We're just about done here! Got anything from the drone yet?"

He Phantom Warped left past three Signal Beams, which bounced off one of the blimp's screens.

"Yeah. Bad news. I, uh, think Paradox might've persuaded his captives to join his cause?"

XxX​

Paradox made Sticky's instructions perfectly clear: stay offstage in the auditorium until the promotional video finished. So the naganadel hid behind a stage right curtain, glancing between the giant projector screen and the rows of dark, unfilled seats.

A sliver of white light appeared at the far end of the room. Sticky adjusted his headset. "Please take your seats. The program will begin momentarily."

It was too dark to make out anything other than silhouettes, but Sticky heard the murmurs of uncertainty. Young adults questioning where they were and what would happen to them and why the elevator that brought them here played smooth jazz. A few kept begging someone called Vincenzo to do something.

Sticky wasn't sure what the emperor saw in this lot. They sounded terrified out of their wits. Why not assimilate them into Eternatus Troopers?

The naganadel shook his head. His Excellency knew what he was doing.

Enough time passed. Sticky drifted toward a control panel in the backstage wall and flicked a switch. He was too far from the rear of the auditorium to hear the projector whirr to life, but he clearly saw the screen light up. And the captives fell quiet. A good start as bright, colorful words appeared on the screen.

Paradox Pictures Presents

An Emperor Paradox Production

Written, Narrated, Produced, and Directed by Emperor Paradox

ETERNATUS AND YOU: LEARNING TO LOVE OUR BENEFACTOR


A tiny dot appeared on screen along with a soft, gentle violin piece. "In the beginning, our universe was a singularity. Unified and in perfect harmony." Hearts and rainbows peppered the singularity on screen. "But those wonderful times sadly wouldn't last."

The color drained from the rainbows and the hearts shattered. The singularity rippled, then an explosion filled the screen with streaks of static and bright colors. Sticky made a mental note to consider a photosensitivity warning for future iterations of this broadcast.

"A cataclysmic event shattered the singularity and flung life and matter to the furthest reaches imaginable! Our universe, it seemed, was doomed to a state of disarray and fragmentation."

Then the camera zoomed in toward purple scales. "But what's this drifting aimlessly where the singularity once sat? Could it be... a remnant of some sort?"

"It's just a big hand!" one captive crooned.

Sticky fought the urge to reveal himself and scold the heckler. The Benefactor only looked like a giant hand to the unenlightened, after all.

"Yes, it is! Behold: Eternatus! Our universe's last hope at reunification!" On the screen, Eternatus began to slowly drift through the cosmos. "This is where you now find yourselves within. And I'm sure that sounds rather frightening."

A few terrified eevee walked across the screen and nodded as if the narrator addressed them directly.

"But worry not, friends. Eternatus is not something to fear." Eternatus drifted over to the eevee and pet them all. Their fluffy tails wagged in unison. "Eternatus, you see, is our Benefactor. He provides us all with a single home and unlimited energy with which we can live our best lives."

In a whoosh of blurry special effects, the footage shifted to a flyover of Eterna City, showcasing all the neon buildings, holographic displays, and flying vehicles moving in organized fashion.

"Impressive, isn't it?" the narrator said. The eevee reappeared in one of the flying cars, all wearing sunglasses. One tilted them down slightly to look at the camera and nod. "Unfortunately, however, our Benefactor is suffering."

The hovercar screeched to a halt as sinister black crystals emerged from the shadows. "Ages ago, Eternatus came to your planet to welcome it back like an old friend... only to find a vicious monster waiting for it."

While the eevee all puffed their fur out in terror, silhouettes of dragons appeared around the crystal creature. "That monster — worshipped blindly by the dragons of your world — sent his minions to seal our beloved Eternatus within your planet."

That earned reactions from the crowd. Sticky dared not peer out from behind the curtain, but there were scattered mentions of things like World Ender, Prince Shimmer, and... a dreepy?

... Right. Cassius had informed Paradox of some sort of dragon exchange student, but the records given by Guile Hideout suggested she wasn't among the captives. Neither was the ponyta prince.

Back on screen, the eevee stood beside their destroyed car, shivering in terror.

"To make matters worse, your people have magnified our suffering by stealing our Benefactor's energy and claiming it as your own." Giant straws emerged from the ground around the eevee, who all scattered in a panic. "Do you want to know what's in the 'ether' you boast of using to power your land?

"Yes, that's right:
our citizens." Straws captured two of the eevee and sucked them off screen. "And the souls of those who have passed away here." Straws sucked up the remaining eevee, leaving the streets empty.

"So, what does this mean for you?" the narrator asked as a giant hand pointed its index finger out at the auditorium. "Well, we're not interested in revenge, if that's what you're afraid of. Oh no..."

The camera pulled back toward a building rooftop with an array of different pokémon looking into it. "All we ask is that you consider the wrongs your people have committed... and join us in helping Eternatus claim his freedom. Help us make a better future... for everyone."

With the rooftop crowd smiling and waving at the camera a large THE END scrawled across the screen, followed by rapidly moving credits listing Emperor Paradox under everything... including the "special thanks" section at the end.

The screen shut off and the projector rolled back into the ceiling, signaling Sticky's cue. "And now, please welcome our beloved leader: Emperor Paradox!" The naganadel threw another switch on the control panel and spotlights shined on the middle of the stage, where the deoxys had appeared in a flash of light. A dramatic orchestral piece carried through the auditorium speakers.

"Laaaa laaaaa la la la la la la la la laaaaa laaaaa!"

Paradox confidently strode toward the front of the stage.

"So here you are.
A step from the top.
A better life
Your kingdom has not.
Our lengthy story to achieve success
Is a tiring affair
So I've one request..."


Paradox dropped to one knee and extended his right tentacles like he was ready to propose to the audience.

"Join me at the top
Why don't you?
Join me
Where the worlds align."


The deoxys stood up.

"Yes, join me at top.
Why won't you?
Join me
And let our powers combine!"


He kicked his triangular legs out.

"I'll even dance and sing a ditty!
So, join me.
While I extend you pity.
Cause there's one bit I forgot."


Sticky threw the final switch and the Eterna Empire's sigil appeared behind Paradox. He gestured behind him.

"We're everything you're not!"

The naganadel flew out onstage. "Ha!"

"Aha!" Paradox clapped. "Pretty good, eh?"

"It's wonderful, sir!" Sticky chirped, remembering the script Paradox gave him earlier.

"Then shall I continue?"

"Of course!"

Paradox folded his tentacles behind his back and paced at the front of the stage.

"Forget about your worthless cities.
Streets littered with panic and frenzied screams.
You've all struck great fortune now that you're here!"


Paradox gestured to the gemstone in his chest.

"Guided by your flawless emperor right heeeere."

He again dropped to one knee.

"Join me at the top.
Why don't you?
Join me
Where the worlds align."


Paradox stood up and stomped his right foot down.

"Since I will never stop.
No I won't!
So join me.
Go on, fall in line!

"You've sat and listened to my reason
To stop your kingdom's power seizing
So join me at this spot
Because we're everything you're not!"


Paradox looked at Sticky. "Who are we?"

"Evolved greatness!"


He pointed out to the audience. "And who are they?"

Sticky frowned. "Oof, I'm not going to say it."

Paradox stomped his right food down again. "They're no good without me!"

"Right!"

"How dare they ever doubt me!"

"Yes!"

"Take the final chorus and seal the case!"

Sticky nodded vigorously. "They'll join you at the top!"

"Yes they will!"


Goodness, Sticky thought his singing voice awful. "They'll join you where the worlds align!"

"And boy I'm so freaking hot!"


Sticky laughed nervously. "You're scalding."

Paradox pointed back to the audience. "I should burn them up!"

Sticky shook his head. "But you will not!"

Paradox nodded. "It makes me oh so glad."

"And magnanimous!"
Sticky flew right beside Paradox.

"To serve a cause so rad!"

"Great Eternatus!"
Sticky slung his arm over Paradox's shoulder.

The deoxys looked back out at the crowd. "So, join me in my plot!"

"Because..."
He glanced at Paradox and they proceeded to the final line in unison.

"We're everything you're nooooooot!"

"Eternatus on top!" Sticky added, raising his free arm in celebration.

"Ah, that was even more delightful than when I wrote it out." Paradox's tentacles coiled into hands for him to clap approvingly. "Lights, please." He snapped his right fingers and the auditorium lights finally came on... to reveal a barraskewda charging right for the deoxys!

"Sir!" Sticky aimed his needles forward, but Paradox was on top of it. He held up his right hand and Barraskewda suddenly stopped. The weird metal backpack on his torso compressed around his body.

"What's this?" Paradox tilted his head. "Were you... trying to attack me? And after I rolled out the figurative red carpet for you and your precious students?"

Barraskewda struggled in the emperor's psychic grip, but managed a defiant glare. "Send us... home."

The deoxys sighed. "A pity. I really tried being reasonable." He stepped toward Barraskewda. "But I suppose I shouldn't have expected much from your ilk."

Sticky thought he knew what was coming when Paradox unfurled his blue and orange tentacles unfurled and grabbed hold of Barraskewda. But, no, the deoxys didn't turn Barraskewda into an unown. Instead, his scales pulsated. Brown, crusty masses sprouted up all over his torso, inside his mouth, and across his tail.

The naganadel briefly saw the pain and panic in Barraskewda's eyes before those, too, were crusted over with bloody scar tissue.

"Minister!" A sirfetch'd raised his leek. "What did you do to him?"

"Riddled his body with cancer, of course." Paradox stepped forward once again and released his grip on Barraskewda, who dropped to the carpeted ground in front of the stage, twitching. "His heart should stop beating right around..."

Barraskewda went still.

"... now." Paradox hovered into the air, his tentacles rippling at his sides. "Allow me to properly introduce myself. I'm Deoxys Paradox, emperor of Eternatus. I am a pokémon like you... but one forged from a mutated virus."

His right tentacles coiled into an arm that he thumped against his chest. "For organic pokémon, cells are your building blocks. Viruses rewrite your DNA to mutate your cells. Which means that I am the essence of evolution itself!"

"You sound like an absolute nutter!" a weavile spat.

"I suppose you're entitled to your opinion no matter how wrong it is," Paradox said, chuckling into his hand. "It doesn't change your situation. Your planet has oppressed Eternatus and His people long enough. We will not sit idly by while you turn us into electricity for your filthy cities."

"It's not like any of us are responsible for that!" a luxray growled.

"Really now?" Paradox folded his tentacles behind his back. "Show of hands, class, how many of you have parents or siblings with important positions in your school chancellor's company?"

At first no one responded. Then an aromatisse's hand shot up, followed by the right leg of the dodrio standing next to her. Soon there were at least a dozen hesitant limbs raised.

"Top marks for honesty," Paradox said. He landed back on the edge of the stage. "So then, your choice is simple. Join the Eterna Empire willingly and help Eternatus reunite our universe. Or resist us... and suffer the same fate as your minister."

Sticky tensed. Barraskewda's tumor-ridden body pulsated with sickly purple energy. Light streamed out of his body, leaving behind a dark husk that quickly became shrouded in shadows. The newly formed Phantom screeched and lunged toward a bug-eyed sylveon. Paradox blasted it with a pink beam and it exploded in a burst of black smoke.

The students all shared panicked expressions and muttered amongst one another. While they did, Sticky's fanny pack buzzed. The naganadel back away from the emperor, whispering an apology. He produced his uPhone and clicked the green button on screen to accept the call. "Sticky here."

"Finally! We've been calling for the last five minutes!" a frenzied voice cried. "The resistance has hijacked the propaganda blimp by the Paradox Day Spa. They spilled the beans on the uPhone project and are linking the emperor to the rifts!"

Sticky stiffened. That was bad. Like, the emperor would assimilate poipole out of anger bad. "What are our Troopers doing?" he whispered.

"The rebel Gene has new allies. Strong allies. They can't get to the blimp. You have to do something!"

"Hang on." Sticky hovered forward, where Paradox was watching Sirfetch'd argue with a sylveon.

"... seriously considering this?!"

"I am!" Sylveon stepped toward the stage. "And I suggest everyone else does the same. I'm not getting turned into some ugly monster!"

"Your Excellency?" Sticky tapped Paradox on the shoulder. "The resistance hijacked one of your propaganda blimps."

"What?" Paradox turned, barely staying composed. Sticky hastily relayed what the poipole analyst on the other end of the line told him. The deoxys' tentacles curled and uncurled. Then he grabbed the uPhone from Sticky's hands.

"S-Sir?"

"Ready the Seekerskorch," he hissed into the phone. "A pilot? Yes, I actually have the perfect one in mind. Just prepare the device." The deoxys hung up and shoved the uPhone into Sticky's chest.

"Oomph!" The naganadel opted not to question Paradox's decision. Because he likely knew the pilot Paradox had in mind: a certain type: full who was itching to prove himself.

XxX​

"Once the sylveon stepped forward, most of the rest of the class joined him," Artemis explained. "There was a sirfetch'd and a weavile who resisted. The emperor decided to have some Troopers arrest them."

Gene weaved around three midair Dark Pulses and sliced the nearest Gunner with his spoon. The unown pilot yelped as he tumbled out of his mechanical body. Gene then flung the empty robot into the other two Gunners, who blew apart in a flurry of pink and blue sparks.

"Anything else?" the mewtwo asked.

"No. The emperor teleported away. I've got the drone back," Artemis responded.

"Then lay low. We'll pick you up shortly." Gene took a moment to scan for Jade and Quetzal's auras. Fortunately, they were close together in the ruined spa. Unfortunately, Brawlers swarmed them from all sides.

"Hey!" Jade blasted one Brawler into several others. "Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to hit a lady?! I wanna speak to your supervisor!"

"Eternatus Troopers do not discriminate on the basis of species or gender!" a Brawler countered. "We are equal opportunity subjugators!" He wound an electrified mace up and launched it at Jade.

"Ahh!" The salugia took the mace directly to her face... and her body melted into a purple puddle. Gene froze in the midst of readying a Fire Blast.

"The hell?"

The puddle hastily reformed into Jade, who looked around in confusion. "Huh? What happened? Why's everyone looking at me funny?"

"She's cheating!" the Brawler that attacked Jade shouted. "I'll have to punch her harder!"

An orange streak rushed by, knocking the Brawlers back and destroying them in a flurry of loud kicks. Quetzal skidded to a halt beside Jade. "You turned into liquid poison," he squawked.

Jade blinked. "I did what?"

"You didn't intend to do that?!" Quetzal's feathers puffed out.

"No!" Jade looked back at her tail. "I don't wanna be some goopy monster! I can't snuggle with Cece that way!"

"Save the bickering for later," Gene interrupted, pinching his brow. Startling or not, Jade's unwanted skill could prove useful. He'd have to remember it. "Our broadcast is finished, so it's time we took our leave."

"Yes! You need to get out of there right away!"

Gene's tail crinkled. That was Cid's voice. "Something the matter?"

"The scanners are picking up a massive Malice energy signature!" the orbeetle cried. "It was so big it shorted out Cyril's machine!"

"What?! That's impossible!"
Cyril growled.

The air above the team brightened. A loud hum reverberated in Gene's ears. The mewtwo looked up in time to see the largest Hyper Beam he had ever laid eyes on utterly decimate the propaganda blimp and bathe the surrounding buildings in blinding white light.

"Shit! Everyone into the rift!" Gene shouted, his Malice Crystal glowing purple as he threw open a rift on the ground. Quetzal shoved a squawking Jade throguh and jumped in after her. Gene quickly followed, glimpsing burning debris raining down on what remained of the day spa.

He stumbled across the rooftop Cyril and Seifer were waiting on. Neither of them acknowledged Gene's return, and the mewtwo quickly figured out why.

A gigantic mechanical mega centiskorch flew over Eterna City, blanking out what little light the purple and black sky overhead offered. It slithered and undulated away from the team's rooftop position.

"Wh... what is that thing?" Quetzal stumbled backward. "It reminds me of a trance centiskorch, but they're not that big!"

"I have zero desire to be squashed by a bug," Jade said, tail flaps curling up in fright. "I'm a flying-type now. I should be doing the squashing!"

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Cid said. "Cyril, do you have any idea what that could be?"

The zoroark stood in front of his laptop, slouched over in disbelief. "No," he muttered. "Whatever that is... I have nothing to go off of. We're flying blind."

"And it looks like it's heading away from the city." Seifer hesitantly approached the edge of the rooftop. "What do we do? What can we do?"

Everyone looked expectantly at Gene, but the mewtwo had nothing. The emperor had pulled a giant battleship out of nowhere. He wasn't about to try charging after it.

"Nothing right now," Gene said, gripping his right shoulder. The Malice Crystal pulsated weakly. "Let's get Artemis... and regroup back on Outpost R3X."

He heard no objections, so Gene raised his right hand a threw a rift open in the middle of the group.

XxX​

CDL-201B: Eternatus Gunner
The standard Eternatus Trooper model. Because every evil army needs its grunt-level soldiers, right? Their blasters are augmented through Hidden Power mechanisms, so no matter who they face in battle, they'll always fire off the most effective attacks to harm their opponents. And the blasters have some sort of security mechanism in them, since even when Boss Kitty's made off with one in the past, I haven't gotten it to fire or work. And I can't replicate the technology either.

Sure, they're not terribly powerful on their own, but when you can surround a lawbreaker with two dozen of 'em, they'll fold like a poker player in an unlucky streak.

1668884241671.png

(reference)

CDL-201C: Eternatus Bombardier
The physical embodiment of "death from above." These units sacrifice Hidden Power augmentation for quad-barreled blasters capable of firing off devastating attacks like Hyper Beam and its various elemental cousins without the need for recharging! It's hard for anyone to think straight when they're trying to dodge Hydro Cannons and Blast Burns raining down on them.

I hoped I could repurpose their blasters and sell them to other lawbreakers, but the recoil is far too strong for any average human or pokémon to deal with. The Bombardiers' arms must have shock absorbers in them.


1668884315251.png
(reference)

XxX​

Path of Valor Almanac
Paradox's song is spoofing "Join Me at the Top," with music by Mark Mothersbaugh and Wataru Hokoyama, lyrics by Lauren Mee and Nick Folkman, and vocals by Robin Atkin Downes and Armin Shimmerman.
 

Spiteful Murkrow

Busy Writing Stories I Want to Read
Pronouns
He/Him/His
Partners
  1. nidoran-f
  2. druddigon
  3. swellow
  4. quilava-fobbie
  5. sneasel-kate
Alright, gonna be cutting this one close with the reserve that I put on for an offsite Review Tag, but it's about time I dove back into Path of Valor, picking up right where I left off last time with…

Chapter 48

The transformation they called mega evolution is possible in my new home, too. I guess it truly is a facet of nature, woven into the universe itself. I had to get involved to stop a few transformed charizard and blastoise from tearing each other apart. They were quite formidable, but even with their transformations I could see the fear in their eyes when I rained a Prismatic Laser on them from above.

I mean, have you tried not being a walking avatar of blinding death, Bahamut? I mean, it's a bit late but that'd probably have helped with the whole "everyone reflexively reacts to me like a dangerous monster" thing you had issues with.

It's frustrating. I want to keep this world safe and to do so, I need to keep my power in check. But what else am I supposed to do? Let these berserk pokémon go on rampages?

Image


Or better yet, entrust others who won't incinerate said rampaging Pokémon out of existence by sneezing on them with quelling them. There's such a thing as a cure being worse than a disease, you know.

I guess all those years in isolated meditation couldn't quell my own violent tendencies.

I'll look back through my notes. I think the Overseers had a means of helping pokémon control the transformations.

... Key stones? Or is this some sort of reality-warping wibbly-wobbly that they're sitting on?

Oh, right, one other thing. Even when I knocked them out, the charizard stayed the same. Blackened scales, jagged wings, and blue flames trickling out of their mouths. Their souls still brimmed with dragon energy. This is not the same as Earth. Something's definitely wrong.

... Did my light do this? Did I screw this up?

... Oh, so this is how Charizard became Bahamut's unfavorite dragons of Etherium, isn't it?

When Noctum thought of mountains, he thought of the bulky ones back in Aeon. Some ending in volcanic mouths and others having jagged, ashen peaks that pierced the smog-filled skies. Neither of these applied to Mt. Osohi. With its slender base and rock outcroppings spiraling around it, Noctum thought it closer to a giant paper towel roll than a proper mountain.

Nikki: "Didn't we already see a ton of formations like this coming in with all those 'mesas' or whatever you call 'em?"
:UnimpressedCabot:

Noctum: "They weren't this big. (And pretty sure they didn't have the spiraling outcroppings, either.)" .-.

Perhaps he focused so hard on it in an attempt at ignoring the massive ravine that surrounded the mountain's base.

"Jeez, how deep does this fissure go?" Nikki was propped against a barren tree, tossing a pebble to herself. "All I see is smoke and dust down there." She tossed the pebble into the abyss, then leaned over, waiting to hear some sort of impact.

That just goes straight into a lava pit if not to this planet's mantle, doesn't it?

Nothing happened. Noctum's wings instinctively opened, as if he needed to take off at a moment's notice. The monks came to such an unsafe place regularly?

"Why do you think this is the Gauntlet of Peril and/or Doom?" Archie laughed as he hopped over to a stone archway with a dusty gemstone in the middle. "If you can't push yourself to get through peril, then you'll meet your doom! Fwahaha!"

Noctum: "I'm sorry, how are you all just okay with this?!"
:ohnowen:

Archie: "What. Nobody said the path to enlightenment was safe all the time. Besides, it's more exciting this way."
:gardeshrug~1:


Maxie flicked the side of Archie's head. "Can the theatrics."

"Killjoy," Archie grumbled, rubbing the spot Maxie flicked.

"Someone has to keep you in line," the purple typhlosion scoffed. "Anyway, are you three ready to proceed?"

Noctum: "N-No..."
:uhhh:

Archie: "Sounds like a yes to me! Let's move right along into the Gauntlet!" ^^

Proceed with what? Noctum hoped Maxie would explain how this worked.

"Are we supposed to scale this thing?" Valkyrie stood beside the mountain base. She tapped the rock with her claw. "I guess it's firm enough for me to climb." She shot Noctum a stink eye. "But that lug's got wings. He'd get up there in a matter of minutes."

Which is as good a sign as any that the Gauntlet isn't simply going to be scaling the mountain like that.

Though waaaait a minute. Val can't fly? I... admittedly never noticed that in the past, but... .-.

A smirk tugged at Maxie's lips. "Yes, you're climbing up the mountain. But scaling it that way won't work." He gestured to the archway behind him. "You have to follow the arches. They'll guide you."

Valkyrie: "... I'm sorry, why should we just be doing this instead of just going straight to the top?"
:unimpressed:

Archie: "Because you'll face peril and/or doom if you try and take an alternative route?"
:joltyshrug~1:

Nikki: "... Yeah, I kinda get the feeling that this mountain's not anywhere near as open as it looks at first glance. Would be part and parcel for a story that takes after Final Fantasy as much as ours, really." ^^;

Nikki pushed herself off the tree, scowling. "You mean the arch that leads right into the ravine?" She casually approached it. "Oh, yeah, sure, just walk right off this cliff here. That'll get you up the mountain no problem." She whirled on Maxie, mohawk sparking. "What am I, an idiot?"

... I mean, you were the one who brought a performance-enhancing item to the first leg of the Crowne Cup and didn't expect anyone to notice it, so...
:wellyousee:


The look in Maxie's eyes said he thought so. "Oh ye of little faith." He nudged his goggles up. "The gauntlet asks you to push past your basic instincts to achieve a greater power."

Well, Noctum's instincts told him to stay far away from the arch. The charizard wasn't about to ignore them. He shuffled across the dusty ground.

"Oh no you don't!"

Noctum: "Look, you've made it abundantly clear for me that I really don't want Peril and/or Doom! J-Just let me turn right around and-!"
:ohnowen:

Archie + Maxie:
Image


"Gah!" Startled, Noctum's tail flame fwooshed. Archie's jagged horn sat centimeters from his shoulder.

"You're the scamp who needs this the most. Don't go running off on us," the samurott scoffed.

Noctum: "H-How on earth is any of this remotely ethical right now?!"
:eltyscared:

Maxie: "Because the alternative is allowing you to go around as a loose cannon and potentially hurting others or worse the next time you Mega Evolve? Really, it'd be unethical for us not to get you to master your transformations."

Noctum approached the arch, fidgeting nervously.

"What are you scared about?" Valkyrie scoffed. "You can fly."

True. Yet Noctum had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't that simple.

Noctum: "Valkyrie, knowing everything about this mountain right now, it's probably going to turn out there's Stealth Rocks right on the other side of that arch or something."
:uhhh:

Valkyrie: "... So fly around them? It's not as if we live in a battle simulator, use your imagination a bit, Noctum."
:gardeshrug~1:


"Well then? You're burning daylight." Maxie approached the arch. He pressed his right hand on it and the stone in his goggles shimmered with multicolored light. The entire arch glowed turquoise. In the blink of an eye, floating turquoise platforms appeared over the ravine.

"What the—" Noctum's Malice Crystal flickered.

"Kinda freaky." Nikki scratched her head.

- Noctum looks down at his Malice Crystal lodged in his stomach -
Noctum: "... Actually, can I just teleport up to-?"
Maxie: "The Gauntlet requires you to go through the arches, Noctum. You want and/or need to go through the arches."
:gardexhausted:


"Better get moving. You scamps are on a timer!" Archie declared. Noctum looked up to see a luminescent hourglass hanging over the archway... and it was counting down quickly!

Noctum: "Wh-What happens if it runs out, again?"
:fearfullaugh~1:

Nikki: "Noctum, it's a Gauntlet of Peril and/or Doom. I'm pretty sure ignorance is bliss here." >_>;

The black charizard spread his wings and took off... only for an unseen weight to firmly press on his back, sending him crashing into the ground with a holler. Noctum rolled across the floating platform, getting a mouthful of dirt for his trouble.

"Oh, did we forget to mention? There's artificial gravity," Archie called. "So, no flying! Fwahaha!"

... Wait, how are they not immediately feeling that just standing anyways? Since wouldn't gravity strong enough to prevent flight also mean it'd take more effort to move one's limbs around?

Anger bubbled in Noctum's belly. He turned toward the samurott, snarling, but composed himself when Nikki and Valkyrie passed him by, both running along the floating platforms. The garchomp leaped a gap between two triangular rocks. So, jumping was fine, but not flying? Noctum knew that wasn't how gravity worked. Maybe it was magic, like the Malice Crystal?

Considering how this is apparently selective gravity... yeah, that sounds pretty close to magic there.

"What are you doing, idiot? Get moving!" Valkyrie shouted.

"R-Right! Sorry!" Noctum scrambled to his feet. Running was not the charizard's forte. He stuck to the biggest floating rocks, hopping from a circular one to a square one, then running forward. The rock path curved around the mountain and its incline steepened. Noctum could stay on his feet, but he had to time his jumps carefully. The fourth gap he jumped was much larger than the others.

... Is it even physically possible for a Charizard to run with those legs? Since I'm pretty sure that they don't have a running animation in Smash and just go straight into flying/gliding once they get past a jog.

"This way!" Nikki waved at Noctum from a second arch that sat on a small plateau. The hourglass hung above it, ticking down. And as it did, the rocks trembled under Noctum's feet. Was time running out? He'd have to make a break for it, then!

Noctum tucked his head down and folded up his wings to lower his drag. The black charizard scrambled across a long, rectangular rock. As he went to jump, the rock shuddered and struck him under his tail. Noctum yipped and jumped forward with more force than he intended. He sailed through the arch and struck a tree branch. He crashed into the base of the tree in a pile of dirt and splinters.

Wait, but wouldn't Noctum be more aerodynamic if he held his wings out relative to whatever jump he made? Or is the gravity such that he will literally sink like a stone if he tries to even out from the equivalent of like a cat jump?

"Oww..." Noctum rubbed his head, whimpering.

"Nice landing, dweeb." Nikki mockingly applauded. "Looks like you're ready for the high dive."

Noctum: "I'm... starting to understand how you're not popular in your school right now." >.<;

Noctum sat up, shielding the embarrassment on his face with his right wing. Luckily, he didn't feel a welt on his forehead. "Shouldn't you guys be climbing?" he grumbled.

"This is a safe spot," Valkyrie scoffed. "Now get off your ass. You're not really hurt."

Five words spoken seconds from disaster. Since that feels like a really bold assumption to be making right now.

Despite the condescension, when Noctum lowered his wing he found Valkyrie extending her right arm to help him up. "Err, how do you know this is a safe spot?" Noctum took the garchomp's arm. She yanked him up, then pointed behind her to an oversized bedsheet with "SAFE ZONE" and several smiley faces painted onto it.

Oh, well then. I suppose that's as solid a sign as any that you're in a genuinely safe place.

"Oh." Noctum blinked. "That's... something." His tail flame flickered. "I guess some of the monks like doing arts and crafts?"

inb4 this turns out to be a personal touch from Koraidon or something like that.

"The more you think about it, the weirder it gets." Nikki walked away from them, shaking her head. "Let's get the rest of this dumb hike over with quickly."

The toxtricity approached a third arch. It glowed like the first one and a new floating rock path built itself in front of her, curving up and around the side of the mountain. She took off running.

Bold of you to assume that things will be over that easily, Nikki. Though this paragraph feels like one where it'd probably be best to separate the dialogue from the rest.

Noctum sighed and followed, wishing he could've taken more of a break to massage his feet. Like before, he kept his wings folded. The wind was harsher now than before and giant tree roots wove themselves between the floating rocks, forcing Noctum to hop them like small hurdles.

Noctum: "Seriously, couldn't I have at least gotten Smash rules for moving around? This is ridiculous!" >///<

Every time he landed, a tingle ran to the charizard's belly from his feet. After the fight with Valkyrie, this climb should have exhausted Noctum. But every hop and leap over a large tree root invigorated him. And Noctum had no idea why, but he wasn't complaining.

I mean, the Gauntlet is meant to help you master Mega Evolution / Trance. Is it really all that surprising that you'd start to feel a bit tingly from it?

The stupid floating rocks didn't even get the chance to shake and tremble like last time. Noctum easily cleared the fourth arch, then turned to watch the rocks disappear in streams of multicolored light. "Say, does anyone else feel, um, energized?" He hopped from one foot to another.

Valkyrie scratched her neck. "Guess so."

"Yeah." Nikki rolled her right arm. "'s like I finished chugging a pot of coffee."

The gauntlet itself does the equivalent of removing some sort of block on the Pokémon that take it, doesn't it? Since it feels like all 3 are about to get their Megaevo/G-Max forms pretty quickly.

Noctum's initial trepidation over this so-called trial faded away. As he approached the fifth arch, he wasn't remotely worried about any peril and/or doom...

... Until the next floating pathway assembled itself and revealing glowing boulders rolling right toward him!

Noctum: "I just had to tempt fate there, didn't I?"
:ScaredCabot:


"Aah!" Noctum turned to flee, when Valkyrie skidded in front of him and, shouting, destroyed the boulder with a swipe of her Dragon Claws. The charizard peeked his head over his shoulder to find Valkyrie sprinting forward with her Dragon Claws at the ready.

"Well?" Nikki shoved him forward. "You gonna let her do all the dirty work? Get a move on!"

Nikki: "Also, I'm pretty sure this Gauntlet is designed to kill you if you try and turn back, so-"
:eltyunamused:

Noctum: "Alright! Alright! I get it!" O_O;

Noctum scrambled forward without even thinking... but God were those boulders massive! Could his Metal Claws even put a dent into them?

"Pay attention!" Nikki shouted from behind him.

Guess we're about to find out in short order.

A glowing green boulder bounced toward them. Swallowing his fear, Noctum wound up and thrust his arms forward. His Metal Claws struck the boulder, which vanished in streams of rainbow light. That same spark from the tree roots shot up his arms. Noctum leaped to another floating rock and struck another boulder with his Metal Claws. The shatter sent a satisfying tingle toward his Malice Crystal.

Noctum: "I... am not convinced that that's remotely healthy right now, but let's not question it here!"
:fearfullaugh~1:


Up ahead, Noctum spotted Valkyrie slashing one boulder after another with her Dragon Claws. Even though she could get rid of them, new ones appeared too quickly for her to continue forward. And the floating rocks shook underneath both of them. Noctum had to hurry!

Oh, this is building up to a moment where the three of them have to work together in order to progress, isn't it?

He leaped forward, closing the distance and striking a boulder before it could blindside Valkyrie. "Come on!" the charizard called. They ran forward side by side, slashing at green boulders in tandem. After the third strike, the strange surge of energy from the fight with Valkyrie bubbled up from Noctum's gut. His Metal Claws grew to shining blue Dragon Claws. Blue embers trickled in the edges of his vision.

Yeah, I figured that this gauntlet was building up to getting them to Megaevo from the mention of the gang feeling more energized as they made their way through. Though based off Bahamut's journal entry, I'm starting to wonder if it's going to be a temporary or a permanent change.

He slashed another boulder. It was satisfying, but not overwhelming. Yes, he could do this. Noctum could control this!

inb4 this all goes horribly wrong in like six paragraphs.
The charizard slashed one final boulder and cleared the sixth arch. Nikki sprinted past him, seconds before the rocks dissolved away. The toxtricity hunched over, wheezing. "Man... when do... I get the sick transformation?"

"Hmm?" Noctum looked over shoulder.

"These look ridiculous," Valkyrie said, holding up bladed arms that would make a scyther blush. "Better for cutting things, I guess." She swiped at the air, growling to herself.

Whelp, 2 down. Though I can't tell if Nikki transformed just yet, or if she's still the odd duck out at the moment.

Noctum watched, a hand on his chest. He wasn't sure whether to blame the garchomp's added white spikes, her more angular jaw, or both... but something inside him stirred at witnessing Valkyrie's transformation. So, that's tranced garchomp. Or mega garchomp.

"Dude, is your tail wagging?"

Oh no, Noctum has the horny right now. Or whatever the more innocent step right below "horny" is, anyways.

"Huh?" Noctum tensed and looked at Nikki. "N-No, of course not! Charizard tails don't wag!"

"Yeah, sure." Nikki rolled her eyes. "Your snout practically grew longer, dude." She walked forward, cracking her knuckles. "Okay, we're pretty high up now. Can't be much further, right?"

Nikki: "... You find Val's new form hot, don't you-?"
Noctum: "Nikki!" >///<
Nikki: "What? Am I not supposed to acknowledge the obvious? Even a Zubat could see that reaction there!"
:eltywtf:


The air was even thinner than before. Noctum thought it best not to look off the side of the plateau and see how far the drop was. Mt. Osohi lives up to its name, I guess.

I'm... not sure if I understand the joke/reference behind this comment, here. Though I'm guessing 'Osohi' means 'big/great [SOMETHING]' in Japanese or something like that.

A flash of light caught his attention. Nikki stepped through the next arch. While another floating rock path arranged itself before them, giant, thorny vines immediately grew in to block them off. An ethereal purple liquid dripped from the thorns, sizzling against the glowing rocks.

Noctum: "... I don't suppose that they'll burn easily, will they?" ._.;

"That doesn't look good," Nikki said, stepping back through the arch cautiously.

"Move." Valkyrie almost shoved her. "I'll handle this."

However, the nearest vine sucked up the ensuing Dragon Pulse like water through one of those bendy straws Noctum thought were so cool. "Oi, you're the fire-type." Valkyrie pointed a scythe arm at Noctum. "Do something! Clock's ticking!"

Noctum: "Wait, but if it just casually shrugged off a Dragon Pulse, how are we so sure that my fire will-?" o_o;
Valkyrie: "Just do it, Noctum!" >.<

"Right." Noctum took a deep breath. He spewed bright blue flames — hotter than any Flamethrower he'd ever used — that struck the nearest vine... and disappeared inside it as pathetically as Valkyrie's Dragon Pulse. The mega charizard blinked. "Uhhhh..."

Yeah, I figured something like that would happen.

"Oh, brother." Nikki squished past the two dragons. "I guess this trial is sentient or something. Telling me I gotta pull my weight." The toxtricity held her hands out. Her electric guitar materialized in a yellow and purple flash. "Pull on this, you overgrown garden weeds!"

Cue the soundtrack:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9dEu29RY44


She swiped at the middle of the nearest vine. Purple and yellow lightning surged through the thorns, which burst apart in showers of purple mist. "I'm the most badass weed whacker you'll ever see!" Nikki moved forward, slicing apart more thorny vines. Every downed vine grew the size of her electric guitar. Noctum shielded his face as he followed behind her.

"Boulder coming at you!" Valkyrie warned. Noctum dropped his arm to his side. One Dragon Claw slash split the boulder and dissolved it into dust.

Nikki: "♫ Go now, if you want it, Another world awaits you. ♫"
Noctum: "... Actually, now that you mention it, how have you not sung that song or played it in the background at some point earlier in this story at some point given that the genre fits your established musical tastes to a 't'?" :?
Valkyrie: "Bring it up with our author sometime when we're not in the middle of impending Peril and/or Doom, Noctum!" >_<;

"Almost there!" Nikki said. Purple mohawks had grown on either side of her yellow one. The rocks trembled beneath the trio. Noctum almost stumbled off but spread his wings to catch himself. He jumped to the next platform right as Nikki broke through the last vine. The backmost spike around her waist had grown to practically look like one of those fancy power lines.

The toxtricity leaped through the archway and tossed her electric guitar to herself. "Ha! Peril and/or doom my ass. That was a breeze." She caught the guitar and dispelled it, looking at the glowing spikes around her wrist. "Hmm." Nikki turned to Noctum and Valkyrie. "So, how do I look?"

Valkyrie: "Like that background music's really fitting for you right now."
Nikki: "I'll take that as a 'great', then." ^^

Her hollow yellow eyes unnerved Noctum. Though the mega charizard said nothing, the damage was done. Nikki frowned. "What? What's wrong?"

"It's, uh—" Noctum tapped his claws together.

"You look like you got crossed with a low key toxtricity and someone jammed a power line up your ass," Valkyrie bluntly responded, shaking her head.

Nikki: "..."
:REElithe:

Valkyrie: "Oi, don't blame me when noncommital answers aren't your thing. (Also, were you really not expecting me to just call it as I saw it considering how I've rolled this entire story thus far?)"
:gardeshrug~1:


"Seriously?!" Nikki looked over her right shoulder, then her left. "What the hell? This totally blows! Why do you get badass megas and I'm stuck looking like some B-tier horror movie prop?"

Because Game Freak heavily phoned it in with most things about Dynamax/G-Max in Gen 8. Bring it up with them.

Valkyrie shrugged. "I'm not the biggest fan of this, either. My jaw feels too bulky."

Noctum's familiar ba-dump from earlier returned. He rubbed his chest and pivoted away from the mega garchomp, eager to change the subject. "O-Oh, hey, look! We made it to the peak." Noctum pointed toward the circular mountaintop, which held nothing more than some gray rocks pushed together to vaguely resemble chairs and benches. Like with the break areas, a tarp with "CONGRATULATIONS!" and several smiley faces painted on it flapped in the wind, nailed to the largest rock in the group.

I'm honestly surprised that those three didn't get into more doom and/or peril during this gauntlet, but I suppose it's accomplished its purpose now, and I was right about where things were going to be going with it in terms of premise.

"Wow. Anticlimactic much?" Nikki walked forward, tucking her hands into her jacket pockets. "The could've at least given us a prize or something."

"A prize?" Valkyrie snorted. "What are you, seven?"

"The prize is the control over your transformations, scamps!"

Oh, so it is something they can toggle on and off when they need it. Cue Nikki promptly shoving her G-Max form back into the closet for like 30 chapters after this point.

Nikki: "Oh boy, what a prize there."
:eltyunamused:


"Gah!" Noctum shot into the air, no longer bound by wonky gravity. Below him, Archie and Maxie appeared through a rift alongside one of the kommo-o monks from earlier.

"Seriously?" Nikki's shoulder sagged. "What was even the point of this if you could warp us up?!"

Maxie: "To get you to master your transformations? Why on earth is this even a question right now?"
:SkepticalCabot:


"Weren't you listening?" The samurott shook his head. "Look at y'all. Standing there, mega evolved and fully in control! You're not ripping each other's faces off!"

Noctum gulped. "That's... something that happens when people can't control their megas?"

Archie: "Didn't we just explain how you were about five seconds away from doing just that when you transformed in the middle of your match with your girlfriend like a chapter ago?" :|
Valkyrie: "He is not my-!"
:seviAAAAAAAAAAA:

Noctum: "I... uh... vaguely remember something about that, yes?" ^^;

"Not literally." Maxie facepalmed. "You already experienced what happened. People lose control of themselves. Become disinhibited."

"Yeah, but ripping faces off sounds cooler," Archie grumbled.

Maxie sighed. "Why do I even bother?" The typhlosion shook his head. "In any case, you should have all felt that sense of control as you went through the course."

inb4 these three wind up regressing at some point, since I'm not fully convinced a hike up a mountain with BS limitations is enough to give permanent control over volatile transformations.

Noctum landed beside them. "Uh, right." He scratched his head. "Now how do I turn it off?"

"You've gotta relax your body and spirit," Archie replied. "Like you're meditating, but not."

Noctum: "Wait, since when was meditation a normal thing for-?"
:what:

Archie: "Since we picked it up from that one world duct taped from little fragments of others by Waypoints. Seriously, just take a deep breath and relax a bit."

That was hardly descriptive, but Noctum could give it a try. He took a deep, calming breath. That surge of energy left his body. Noctum turned around and saw his wings were no longer serrated. "Oh. I guess it is that simple."

I was joking about the deep breath comment. But the more you know...

A couple more orange flashes followed. Nikki and Valkyrie returned to normal as well. The toxtricity approached, resting her hands behind her head. "So, uh, what would've happened if we weren't fast enough?"

"Oh, that? Pfbt!" Laughing, Archie hopped toward the final arch and jumped through it with a loud whoop.

"What the hell?!" Nikki's eyes widened. "Is he crazy?!"

Maxie: "Just a bit, but he's proving a point to you right now."

A rift opened up behind Kommo-o and dropped Archie out of it. The samurott was no worse for wear.

"You really think we'd let you fall to your deaths? Ridiculous." Maxie shook his head. "We had monks ready to catch you."

Noctum: "And you didn't tell us this why?!" >.<;
Archie: "Because how else were we going to light a fire under your asses when you kept sniping at each other constantly on the way over?"
:joltyshrug~1:


"Then why call it the Trials of Peril and/or Doom?!" Nikki fumed.

"Dramatic effect!" Archie raised his flippers and gave jazz hands. Kommo-o joined in.

Maxie: "Also, that too."

Nikki facepalmed. "Why the hell does this thing even exist, then? Do you guys use it?"

"As part of our ascetic training," Kommo-o responded, bowing his scaly head politely. "We did not create it. We merely found it. The Overseers probably used it when they inhabited this outpost."

Oh, so this is what Bahamut was alluding to in his journal entry.

Blank stares followed. Noctum tilted his head. "Overseers? Are they pokémon?"

Nikki rubbed her forehead. "Why do I get the feeling I don't like what the answer to that will be?"

That sounds like a roundabout way of saying:

Image


As if to respond to her rhetorical question, a new rift appeared in the middle of all the chair-like rocks. Koraidon poked his head out. "Ah, so this is where you ran off to." He glanced at Archie and Maxie. "I trust things went well?"

Maxie nodded.

"Splendid." He beckoned everyone toward the rift. "Come along. There's much to discuss and I figure you could all do with a bite to eat."

inb4 Koraidon has a thing for sandwiches in this setting as well.

Noctum glanced at his Malice Crystal. It sparkled as if it understood Koraidon's statement. The charizard shrugged, then approached the rift, thankful he was finally getting the chance to rest.

... I'm not sure what just happened there, but I'm pretty sure that that wasn't as normal and insignificant as Noctum made it out to be.

Seifer paced across the concrete rooftop, gaze transfixed on the purple and black sky with colorful smears from Eterna City's bright, colorful lights. Cyril pointed out a skyscraper with a giant, circular platform far in the distance. Something black and metallic floated next to it, displaying footage of a traffic report.

"When Gene told us you were going to hack that thing, I expected we'd need to, y'know, get closer," the keldeo said. He looked over his shoulder at Cyril, who was disguised as a normal zoroark. He sat next to something he called a laptop, which had a few small satellites plugged into it.

Cyril: "You're complaining about this why when you kept freaking out about being unprepared in the last review?"
:SkepticalCabot:

Seifer: "Oh no, I'm not complaining. I'm just surprised right now." .-.

"Nah." Cyril waved him off. "Only reason we even came to Eterna City is to throw off the Troopers if they do trace the signal back to me." He smirked at Seifer. "Why, you itchy to get your hooves dirty?"

Seifer: "No! No! This setup is good! Poking and prodding at the tower of evil and/or death from a safe distance is good!" O_O;

Seifer frowned. "No. I just— don't understand why I'm here with you." He approached the edge of the building. The people and vehicles down at street level were tiny dots. "Wouldn't it make more sense for me to deploy your drone, instead of Artemis?"

"I asked for you," Cyril responded. "And get back from the edge. Don't need anyone down there seeing you."

Oh, so it is still 'Artie'/'Artemis' for the Milotic. Probably. Maybe. Though the answer to this question is basically going to boil down to 'Cyril likes you and doesn't want you in harm's way', isn't it?

Seifer held off on retorting that plenty of taller buildings surrounded them. He walked back toward the zoroark, his frown deepening. "Look, if you have a problem with me, then say it to my face. I'm tired of your stupid teasing."

"A problem?" Cyril sounded hurt. "Not at all." He pulled his goggles down around his neck. "I just... wanted you for company."

Yeah, I knew it. Though this has definitely got me uneasy about Artie's odds during this mission right now if Cyril deliberately kept Seifer from it for """companionship""".

The keldeo almost rolled his right forehoof and tripped, but managed to catch himself. Cyril was yanking his tail, right? That was what zoroark did.

No, I'm pretty sure he legitimately has a crush on you right now, Seifer.

"Why, so you can belittle me more than your boss already has?" Seifer scoffed, flicking hair out of his eyes. Gosh, when was the last time he had a proper brushing?

"The opposite." Cyril typed away at his laptop. His ears drooped and Seifer bit his lip.

He wuuuuvs you~

Or else you remind him of someone he once loved. Guess we'll get some hints one way or another pretty fast, huh?

A convincing performance, he told himself.

"I'm sure between that Venish ship's crew and Boss Kitty talking down to everyone... you've seen and heard a few things that's shaken your faith," Cyril whispered.

Seifer: "A few things?" :|
Cyril: "Okay, a lot of things. But I'm onto something, aren't I?"

Seifer's brow furrowed. "Aeons are the ones with religion."

Sighing, the zoroark twirled his pink, heart-covered bandana around. "Look, I'll admit it. I did think you were a bit of a pompous ass at first. But it also sounded like life knocked you down a peg or two."

I'm calling it now, Seifer reminds Cyril of a former lover of his and that's why he's this aggressive about looking out for him. Since I'm not buying that he just developed feelings for Seifer in a vacuum.

"So, it's pity, is it?" Seifer looked down at his hooves. Something about a zoroark who couldn't even use any attacks pitying him felt rather pathetic.

"No, I—" Cyril pinched his brow, groaning. "I get where you're coming from, okay?"

This is going to wind up being a bit more literal than most such invocations of this answer, isn't it?

Seifer squinted. He wasn't buying that. "Because of the Malice mutating you?"

"More like... getting thrust into all of this." Cyril gestured to the buildings behind him with their glowing signs advertising sports drinks and movies. "You're a proud guy. Raised around honor and virtue and stuff. But I..." His voice trailed off as he looked around. "I've seen the doubt in your eyes. About how you were raised. If you were really on the right side of things. I had a lot of doubts about myself early on."

... You know, I never thought about the possibility of Cyril basically having been another Seifer on his home planet, but that would definitely explain a lot about how he's acting. So what, was he 'Adelbert' and/or 'Steiner' back there/then?

Cyril chuckled awkwardly. "Hell, even after I agreed to work with Boss Kitty I wondered if we were going about things the wrong way. If maybe there was a less... aggressive way to work toward his goal."

The keldeo shuffled about uneasily. Now this was really reminding him of when Cyril made his prosthetic horn in his workshop. "I wanted to serve my kingdom... as my family did stretching back generations."

"But Boss Kitty is bluntly shoving truths in your face that run counter to those beliefs, am I right?"

Seifer: "... Why, did you go through the same thing in the past or something?" ._.;
Cyril: "'Or something', yeah..."

Silence. Seifer swallowed hard. "Yes." He sat down, avoiding the zoroark's eyes. "I can't stop going over things in my head. If there were ulterior motives behind everything I did for the Radiant Guard."

He didn't realize Cyril moved from behind his laptop until a fuzzy paw touched his right shoulder. Seifer's tail shot up and his horn sparked. He nearly whacked Cyril with his horn when he turned his head, but the zoroark managed to duck underneath it.

"You're not a bad person," Cyril said.

Seifer: "... You know, you could've said that without getting this intimate with me." O///O;
Cyril: "No, no. I'm pretty sure we both needed this right now."

"You barely know me," Seifer whispered. Cyril offered a smile.

"I know you enough to tell your heart's in the right place."

Yeah, Seifer reminds Cyril of someone from his past, if not himself. There's no way that you can convince me otherwise at this point.

Seifer pulled away. "You can't be certain of that." He looked down. "Like, when they first assigned me to guard Yuna, I was... silently resentful toward her and Noctum. May have even insulted them a few times." He shook his head. "An honorable soldier shouldn't do that. And in hindsight, it's clear I held that attitude about Aeons and openly shared it with the soldiers serving under me."

"But the fact that you're acknowledging it now shows you want to do the right thing," Cyril countered. He gently nudged Seifer's chin back in his direction. The keldeo stiffened, nearly lashing out on impulse. Why was there a tingle running down his spine?

Because you two are in wuuuuv~

Seifer: "I... uh... feel like things are moving really fast between us right now." O///O;
Cyril: "Yeah, tell me about it." ^///^;

"I know it hurts to consider it, but you have to try and view this as, uh..." Cyril rested his chin on his wrist. "Oh, right! As the chance to be that valiant defender you always viewed yourself as."

"By becoming a criminal?"

"By stopping the emperor." Cyril scooted back to his laptop, hiking his leggings back up his thighs.

... Wait, Cyril has leggings? Somehow, I never remembered that detail coming up in the past. .-.

Wait, why am I watching him do that? Seifer quickly turned his attention to a metal grate with smoke trickling out of it.

"Think about it," Cyril continued. "Defeating Paradox doesn't just save Etherium, it saves all the planets suffering under his rule. Even if we have to use some deceptive tactics, isn't that a cause worth fighting for?"

One: Squaresoft/Squeenix games have drilled it into me that this sort of plan usually winds up turning out to have a horrible catch. Two: I'm a little
:absus:
at the moral relativism on display here.

Like it's one of those things where it sounds nice on the surface, but I'm fully convinced there's going to be a catch to all this that makes this moment significantly less cute and touching down the road.

Silence hung in the air. The keldeo had to admit Cyril was right. This was bigger than his kingdom. And certainly bigger than the Radiant Guard. He turned back to the zoroark. "It's just... hard to break old habits," he said. "I'm used to... following the rules to a T. Not straying from the path. That kind of stuff."

Well that's definitely different from Seifer from FF8. Even if Seifer was a bit too much of a (literal) ill-natured ass in the early story to really be a 'Steiner', who would fit this character arc decently closely.

"I know." Cyril braced his hands on the rooftop. "I can help you, if you're willing."

Seifer: "I... uh... C-Cyril, don't we have a mission to focus on right now?" O///O;

Seifer quirked a brow. "Help me?"

"Get past those teachings," Cyril said. "And, y'know, lose control a little."

The keldeo blinked slowly. "Lose... control?" Control of what?

Translation: He's in wuuuuv~

Seifer: "Yes, yes, you said that like 3 times now and it's patently obvious already!" >///<

"Yeah. Not be so rigid and uptight and stuff." Cyril sprang up and crouched down in front of Seifer, smirking. "You don't gotta be the life of the party or anything, but I bet we can get you cracking a few jokes now and again with a little practice."

He playfully flicked Seifer's nose. Blood rushed to the keldeo's cheeks. "I— that's—" He rubbed his forehooves together. "Perhaps I can... entertain that notion." Why was he stumbling over his words so badly? "What does it entail, exactly?"

inb4 the invitation straight to being roommates or else getting right to the hot and steamy stuff.

"Well, what's something you've always wanted to try but never gotten the chance to?" Cyril wondered, with a tilt of his head.

Seifer looked at his forehooves. Something he hadn't tried but wanted to? The keldeo had eaten plenty of exotic dishes, so that was out. He'd gone to theater showings, too. Was that what Cyril meant? This was harder than Seifer expected.

"Could be anything," Cyril said. "A holowear outfit, a new hobby, fighting in the arena back at the outpost, smooching a certain zoroark, or— oops, did I say that last part out loud?"

And there it is, out in the open. Though I'm not fully sure if Seifer's gonna take Cyril up on things right here and now or not.

"What?!" Seifer went stiff as a board. That was definitely on purpose. "That's not funny!" he huffed.

"Then why's your face as red as a cherrim?" Cyril wondered, a sickeningly sweet smile on his face.

"Because I—"

Seifer: "Y-You're just making me flustered right now! A-And we have a mission to worry about at the moment!" >///<

A thunderous rumble echoed in the distance. Seifer looked over his shoulder. Smoke and fire drifted into the sky from the top of the building where the propaganda blimp was.

"Oh, shit, that's the signal." Cyril hopped over his laptop and crouched down behind it. "Watch my six." He cracked his knuckles. "It's showtime."

Cyril: "Dammit, talk about the world's worst timing there."
:gardexhausted:


Seifer was still staring at the distant skyscraper in disbelief.

What kind of signal is that supposed to be?!

Oh, so keeping us in suspense as to what on earth he and Cyril saw out there, huh? Well guess that's something for me to look forward to next time.

Alright, time for the postmortem on this thing:

I liked it, though I gather that the purpose of the chapter was basically to build up tension and give a glimpse at things that will be going on with various characters in the future. Since I'm convinced this isn't the last time we'll see Mega!Noctum or the gang, and I'm definitely convinced this isn't the last we've seen of Seifer and Cyril's budding intimacy. I also thought the Mt. Osohi sequence had some pretty funny absurdist humor to it, which is a nice relief when a number of more recent chapters have been on the heavier side.

As for stuff that I wasn't as fond of... I do wonder if Mt. Osohi felt a bit accelerated in terms of the gauntlet. Though given how it was ultimately a controlled experience where Noctum and the others only thought they were in serious peril and/or doom... perhaps that was the point. There were also a couple of details here and there that made me go 'wha' like Cyril's leggings. Maybe it's a sign that I need to go back and give some earlier chapters a closer look, but it might also be a sign to bring up those details a bit more frequently in the future.

Though altogether, I liked the chapter @Ambyssin . And you've definitely given me something to look forward to for Chapter 49 when I get to it, since I'm not fully convinced that Operation Follow Me is going to play out smoothly. But I suppose time will tell.

Til next time! ^^
 
Top Bottom