Tree of Life ~ Exterior

[Shiny Phantump]

"The hell do any of you know about me? I barely fuckin' know about me!"

Soul's tails drooped.

I don't even know who I am...

It had been easy to hate Cola a moment ago, but... not anymore. She approached the place Cola was imprisoned.

"You're going to be okay. You made a terrible decision, but... you will be fine. You can be someone. You just... you can't do this. This isn't the way you make a place for yourself in the world. There is a place for you, but... you have to find it. You can't, uhh, steal someone else's spot. We still kinda need your dad."

 

[Namohysip]

Cola was glaring at Icetales, but despite this, he wasn't yelling or attacking back from within the barrier anymore. Instead, he paced and then curled up, flicking his little, wispy tail. Soul's words did little, as far as the others could tell, but he at least listened.

"I don't know what any of you are talking about," Xerneas said. "Why am I corrupt? Last I checked, I'm not the ones literally tied to Dark Matter. His glare intensified, looking at cola, then at Pop, who was looking at him with a contemplative expression.

"We will cover this later," Maple said, frowning. "I think we should focus on the revival process for now... The roots here seem safe enough."

"They do," Diyem said, though he glanced at Bahamut, who still appeared to be entranced by what the roots were telling him. He wondered... was he talking to Eien, right now? With his psychic abilities, perhaps...

"...But Arceus, you plan to return first, do you not?" Xerneas asked.

Cola trembled within the shield. He looked utterly defeated. And Pop, perhaps weighing his options, looked down in thought.

"Y'know," Soda said, "as much as it seems pretty cool and all for Arceus to be all powered up... dude doesn't look like he's totally up for it anymore."

"I must," Pop replied, sighing. "But... I would like Diyem to revive Team Spectrum first."

A wave of quiet shock went through Destiny Village's natives. S'more's fire had flared up with alarm; Zinc--who had been brought there to quickly evaluate the restoration process's success or not--covered her mouth; Soda nearly dropped the badge he'd been scrolling through.

"You're literally gonna let Dark Matter take hold of the Tree before you heal yourself in case he's setting up for an ultimate betrayal?" Soda narrowed his eyes. "Zinc, he still broken in the head?"

"I was never broken in the head," Pop said. "But I do not want to waste any more time than necessary. And while Diyem works on that process... I would like to speak to Cola."

Cola yipped and looked for a way to seem even smaller.

"Go on," Pop said to Diyem. "I trust you."

Even Diyem looked surprised, followed to a wince of disgust as Shadows leaked from the corners of his mouth. "You're trying to kill me."

"Ah." Pop let out a small chuckle. "My apologies. You are a vile creature."

"It doesn't work if you don't mean it." Diyem grunted and turned away, but then looked expectantly at Xerneas. "Well?" he asked, stabilizing his voice to conserve his energy. "Your divine leader has given the all-clear for me to go first. Will you allow it?"

A tense silence. He looked at Puddle, then at Cola, then at Pop. And then, with a sigh, he stepped back. "Fine," he said. "I will open a root. Do not let that one out." He jabbed a hoof in Cola's direction. "Nobody else get close. I am going to watch Dark Matter closely. If I see anything strange..." Xerneas prodded a hoof at Diyem's tiny chest, pushing him back. Diyem flinched, looking oddly off-put by the gesture as he held his chest, then looked up at Xerneas, who remained steely.

"...Right." Diyem muttered. "Then... I will prepare."

---

"Hmph..." Xerneas watched Diyem a little too closely. Still, he did nothing else, even as the roots opened, a rainbow energy radiating out of it, pure and untainted. At least in this far perimeter, the Tree did not appear corrupt...

"I will be summoning everyone one at a time," Diyem said, stepping toward the roots. "Slowly... And I will stop once they have all returned. This may take time... Please be patient."

Diyem's tail blackened. He seemed to be muttering something to himself. Incantations? Focusing? Annoyed curses at how closely Xerneas was looming over him? they were too far to tell.

Team Spectrum's representatives watched with bated, hopeful breaths. Poppin' Arms watched for any strange activity. God Squad did the same, but with less caution. They seemed to trust Diyem more than the Guild did.

--

"I can smell your breath," Diyem grumbled to Xerneas.

"I can smell your evil," Xerneas growled back.

"Let me concentrate."

"I'm watching you."

"I can tell. Everyone can tell. There is nobody who cannot tell."

Xerneas tensed more. His hoof dug into the ground. "...I don't understand why you are moving so gently."

"Because the Tree is important to everyone. I know this. I do not intend to harm it."

"I did not think someone like you could be... tender."

Diyem briefly stopped his ritual to glance at Xerneas. "Excuse me?"

"It's impossible, isn't it?"

"...No. Because I'm doing it now. Let me concentrate."

"Hmph." Xerneas scoffed and pulled away. But despite his behavior... he gave Diyem more space. And then... "For those revived, I will grant them some of my energy. They will... be at a battle-ready condition that way.

--

And then, something rose from Diyem's shoulders like a fine mist. The black flame on his tail increased in size, adding even more of that haze above him. He grunted, looking strained, and the roots brightened further. "N-ngh... this... is difficult when I am... weak..." But he knew that using the power on himself would set off too many alarms. He'd have to strain through it.

First, a wad of darkness formed in the sky. A Void Shadow. He had quietly explained this to the others. And then, as it twisted and churned, gained features and solidified... Legs, wings, a tail, a long neck, and finally the horns...

Diyem collapsed to his hands and knees, panting, as a silhouette of a Charizard gained its colors.

---

Cal was not there--she'd stayed behind in Destiny Village to not overcrowd. So it wasn't a surprise when, even as the Charizard's colors slowly returned from black to orange, he seemed disappointed at her lack of presence. But then another idea occurred to him.

Cal?

Silence at first, but he could feel it. She was far, far north, far away in Destiny Village, but...

Dad? W-wait, how are you--I couldn't--

I'm back.

More silence. Owen couldn't really imagine how she must have been feeling. Only a guess, if anything. But he had a good enough idea when she finally replied.

Her thoughts were like sobs. For real?

Scales and all.

And then more silence as Owen nodded and greeted the others, walking a little weakly to a tree to sit down. His thoughts were elsewhere, but he said little thank-yous and small statements to those who checked on him.

Finally, Cal spoke again. Okay. That was all. But Owen could feel her relief. She was sobbing again, sobbing even though her kind weren't supposed to be capable of it. She must have learned it somewhere, internalized it.

I'll be home soon, Owen said. Let's watch a Colosseum match together.

Okay.

And she laughed, then. And that was all he wanted to hear.

Diyem started to work on the next revival...

 

[Adamhuarts]

Shortly after Owen emerged, a tuft of darkness sprung forth from Diyem. It spun like a top in the shape of a floral bud, hovering just a few feet of the air as it grew larger and the petals became more vibrant before descending to the ground.

Nothing happened for the next few seconds that followed. Then, the flower blossomed and fanned out its petals to reveal Cynthian's figure within. She blinked her eyes from the brightness of her surroundings, hardly noticing the flower she sprouted from dissolving into darkness and forming the cape behind her.

"It worked?" Cynthian asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. However, the tingling of the sun's rays falling on her skin and the gentle caress of the calm breeze solidified her thoughts.

Cynthian's eyes lit up, her heart raced with excitement her mind swept with relief. "Icetales..." She uttered his name and immediately looked at the crowd to find him, and she did.

Completely ignoring Diyem and even Xerneas, Cynthian made a beeline for Icetales and tackled him in a tight hug and filling his nose with the scent of strawberries.

"It's so good to see you again," Cynthian said in a hushed voicr, barely holding back the tears welling up in her eyes. She'd missed his warmth and the softness of his mane. "I waited for you, and held out hope. And now we're together once more."

She wiped her face and gazed at him with a soft smile. "I won't let anything tear us apart again, my love." Cynthian embraced him again, and it didn't seem like she wanted to let go any time soon.

 

[Disco]

Raven watched this quietly, but kept glancing over at Diyem. This was clearly taking a lot out of him...

 

[Cresselia92]

So, Cola didn’t seem very willing to listen to reason. At least, not for the time being.

Icetales sighed, feeling somewhat displeased, but said nothing as he pondered what other angle to tackle. Perhaps, if they worked on some act of good faith, the small god would understand that they truly meant no harm? But… how to do that?

I should have brought Petram. Perhaps he would have had an easier time getting through this little fellow…

While the real Ninetales was busy cogitating, Keo’Keo watched the revival process with keen interest. The sight of the darkness bending and giving shape, then the shadow becoming more lively and alive… he wondered if they would have been able to master that sorcery back in their homeworld.

Not that it was all that relevant in that moment. There was something else that piqued his interest: a bud-shaped shadow emerging from Diyem, which sprouted like some kind of dark flower. Keo’Keo cocked an eyebrow, then his eyes widened when he saw the shadow taking a familiar shape…

“Should I warn him…?”, he wondered, before glancing at his host. After few seconds of thinking, he shook his head and smirked. “Ha, I shall let him receive the surprise personally.”

Keo’Keo laid on the floor, flashing a mischievous smirk. Oh, that was going to be something glorious to behold!

And then… it happened!

Completely ignoring Diyem and even Xerneas, Cynthian made a beeline for Icetales and tackled him in a tight hug and filling his nose with the scent of strawberries.

“Bejirah!” cried out Icetales, startled, as something or someone tackled and ensnared their appendages around his neck made them both fall to the floor.

Blades of grass scattered everywhere and spread a soft fragrance, which got mixed with a scent reminiscent of… strawberries?

Strawberries. Where did he smell… wait.

No way. Was it really…?

"It's so good to see you again," Cynthian said in a hushed voice, barely holding back the tears welling up in her eyes. She'd missed his warmth and the softness of his mane. "I waited for you, and held out hope. And now we're together once more."

It was really her! Cynthian! She… she was back! She was back for real! She was… alive once more!

“M-Miss Cynthian…?” stammered Icetales, still in disbelief.

Even thought he had worked hard in looking for ways to bring their comrades back, he still wasn’t ready for that whirlwind of emotions.

He wasn’t ready for that moment. Nobody would have been ready, that was for sure. It was… so much in a single go, and yet it was also so good.

The Ninetales felt his heart hammering inside his chest, while his tails wagged and spread out golden sparkles. Gingerly, he moved his paws on Cynthian’s back.

No spectral matter. None at all. Any remaining doubt was dispelled quickly. He breathed out a harsh noise, almost like sobbing, and started shivering.

No words came out of his mouth. What could he even say? What he was feeling couldn’t be translated to words.

He was so happy. So very happy!

She wiped her face and gazed at him with a soft smile. "I won't let anything tear us apart again, my love." Cynthian embraced him again, and it didn't seem like she wanted to let go any time soon.

He stood in silence for a few seconds longer, and then his own paws hugged her back. All his tails lost their coldness and wrapped around them, the frigid energy unleashed on the grass underneath them and freezing the blades instantly. The frost glowed under the sunlight, and Icetales rubbed her face with his muzzle.

“…Welcome back. I… I missed thee…” he whispered, before holding her tightly. “I shall… never let thee go through that again. I am not letting anyone tear us apart ever again. I swear it… on my honor…”

From the darkness, black embers became blue… and they didn’t change back.

 

[Ambyssin]

The connection had gotten strong enough to blot out whatever chaos was happening in the background. Bahamut's guard remained up at first. It was a trick. Something to lull him into a fall sense of security and then prey on him the moment he showed any weakness.

But then images played out in his mind. The first thing was something... all too familiar. How many planets had he gone to and tried to help, only to be chased away? How long had it been since his days traveling. Was Eternatus aware of this? Was this what she was doing to try and get to him?

They gave way to images with Diyem. More twinges of familiarity. There was a time... when he had others to rely on.

Bahamut's limbs grew heavy. Something was tugging on them. Gravity?

No, water.

He was back. Back where he'd seen—

"What happened to you?"

Bahamut looked through the water. Ripples obscured everything, but there were swathes of purple and gold ahead of him. He tried to reach forward. His limbs wouldn't move. "What do you mean?"

"You're not the same person I fell in love with. You've forgotten how to have compassion for others."

He looked down. "Why wouldn't I? I have nothing. No one." His tail was too stiff to lash at the water. "You expect me... to show compassion toward that... that thing?"

The purple ahead of him intensified. "If it wasn't for Eternatus, I would never have existed in the first place."

"But that's different."

"And so is this. Different world. Different rules. Different people."

The lights grew farther away. "I can't. I'm... too far gone."

"And too bitter to let anyone believe in a happy ending?"

"Dark Matter does not believe in happy endings."

The lights faded even further. "Then why did you try to save Joule?"

"... I made a promise."

"You saw yourself in his wife." The voice was getting more distant. There were just tiny speckles of light left. "And you see yourself in Dark Matter's partner, but you cannot reconcile that."

Bahamut looked left and right. His wings shrank into his torso. "I—"

And then the images stopped. Two words came. They were desperate and primal, like Eternatus didn't want to say them. Yet they were there before the connection was severed:

Help me.

There was a flurry of activity around the necrozma. Though he had no lungs, he couldn't help but gasp the moment he became aware of it all. Dead teammates getting revived. Reunited friends embracing. Cola — wait, what was he doing here? — inside a bubble while some of the shades were in a tizzy.

He stared in silence at the tree. Then, slowly, Bahamut turned his head until he could see Maple, Joule, and Owen. His beak slowly opened.

"... Eternatus is focusing to ward off the corruption."

 

[windskull]

Another shadow emerged, twisting and churning in the sky. It began to take the form of a small, curled up sneasel, then grew larger, as if readjusting. The shape of a crest of feathers exploded from its head, and then it began to solidify, colors returning.

And then Nip fell to the ground with a yelp, landing hard on his back.

"Ah c'mon I was having the best drea-" Nip cut off as he opened his eyes, seeing the form of antlers that he'd only seen in drawings. He blinked once, taking a long breath, and slowly sat up. Many faces were there - some that he recognized and others that were total strangers. Owen and Cynthian were already there.

He gave a nod to the two he was the most familiar with - Bahamut and Celeste - then climbed to his feet, testing his strength.

He was very much alive, and he had every intention to stay that way.

 

[Virgil134]

During the team's travel to the Tree of Life Pleo had mostly hung around Kate and Melanie. Cola's attempt to take the tree's powers for himself had been unexpected and more than a little alarming, but thankfully things got resolved before Pleo even had a chance to try and stop him. With everything having settled down, Pleo was now focused on Diyem as he started to revive the others one by one.

After Nip was brought back another wad of darkness formed in the sky. The Void Shadow began to grow, Pleo's eyes lighting up as it took on a bipedal form with spikes around its head and a small tail. For a moment it seemed it was gonna split in two, only for it to merge back together as it lit up with a brilliant light. The light grew into a bulkier form with a longer tail and larger head spikes, quickly filling out into the form of a Rampardos. Cabot looked down at his arms in a mixture of disbelief and amazement. Not only was he alive again as one Pokémon, but he also now looked just like he did back home.

"I am... myself again..."

"Cabot!"

The Rampardos looked up to see Pleo rushing towards him, his mouth curling up into a large smile upon seeing his friend.

"Pleo!"

The two embraced each other, Cabot hugging Pleo as hard as he could with his new Rampardos body. For a moment they just stood there and hugged tight, until eventually Cabot let Pleo go and looked at him with a small grin.

"Told you I'd give you a super big hug."

"I-I missed you so much!" Pleo sniffled as he wiped away some tears. "But you're finally back! And you're even a Rampardos again!"

"Heh, well it certainly took long enough," Cabot chuckled. "I'm just happy to be back together again, though. Being split in two was definitely strange..."

The Rampardos looked over his body again, a warm smile forming on his face as a memory from his time within the Void Lands flashed through his mind.

"Together as one... just like it should be," he said to himself quietly.

Cabot turned back to Pleo. "Though, I hope you've been doing alright since the last time we talked. I was worried about how you were doing with me gone."

"I mean... I was really sad when you had to leave again, but everyone here looked out for each other while we were waiting for you all to be revived," Pleo replied. "And I had a lot of fun with Kate especially!"

The young Lugia pointed off with a wing at Kate and Melanie's direction, prompting Cabot to look over.

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

"Hey, it's Cabot, right? Welcome back to life," Kate said, sizing up the newly-evolved Rampardos before she rubbed at the back of her head with a sheepish smile.

"Though I didn't remember you being quite this big originally," she remarked. "Go through a lot on the other side?"

Melanie similarly looked over the Rampardos, her eyes lighting up in realization that this was none other than...

"Ah! So you're the Pokémon that gave Pleo his form!"

 

[Phoenixsong]

By the time Araun had collected himself after Cola's break for freedom and scooped his passenger back up again, Skara had missed seeing most of the commotion. Being dumped unceremoniously into a clump of tall, shimmering grass would do that to a box. As far as she could hear, at least, it... sounded like things had calmed down? Yeah, something like that; now, up on Araun's back, she could see that Cola was contained, Xerneas was hovering over Diyem but not interfering, and Diyem...

Ah. So they were going to go ahead with the transfer of power now after all, rather than waiting until after the scout. Probably for the best; she wondered whether Xerneas would be in the mood to let them come back a second time after this whole fiasco. There was Nip now, and Owen, and—Cabot, probably? he must have evolved, too, then—and over there, moving to embrace Icetales, was Cynthian. She really did seem to be doing better, in spite of whatever she'd gone through after dying.

Skara gave Cola one last concerned glance, just to be sure he wasn't going anywhere, and then, trying not to burden herself with worrying about what to do with him next, she asked Araun to move a little closer to Cynthian. Not so close as to intrude on her moment with Icetales, but close enough to be heard if she spoke up when it looked like a reasonable time. "It's good to see you again, Cynthian," she said, nodding as cordially as a stiff shell would allow.

No matter if the roserade was too absorbed for much of a response right now; if she'd made actual friends here, she deserved to focus her attention on them after everything that had happened.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

In Brisa's dreams, lightning arced across her body, over and over, restless, seeking ground. But falling through the void's core, there was no ground. Only Brisa, and Brisa's thoughts, and Brisa's lightning. There was no rest in the voidlands. Merely a brief reprieve from expending effort. Even the reprieve was a struggle, filled as her heart was with emotions she was used to pressing down. Feelings she would normally postpone.

I want you by my side.

The dreams continued long enough that she became conscious of it, watching herself dream, wondering whether it would end soon—and perhaps it would. The struggle changed.

The blackness gave way to shapeless light, and then to impressions of sky, earth, standing figures. Her body shifted, from darkness and electricity and longing, into something vaguely feline, and at last into a mountain luxio.

She blinked away the fuzz and glare of the light, and gasped at fresh, dustless, sunlit air, and bowed under the weight of solar brightness, chattering sound, the scent of dozens of pokémon. She tried the trick she normally used in towns and such, like Ma had taught her: focus on just one scent, one sound, one sight.

A particular scent—something like woodsmoke, she thought—cut through the rest. The sound from the same spot was like crackling fire. A campfire? It certainly smelled . . . familiar. Comforting. But no, that wasn't it—

Brisa pawed at her eyes, and forced them to focus on red fur, feline movement, the light of a warm flame.

Her heart leapt.

"...Starr?"

 

[Virgil134]

"Hey, it's Cabot, right? Welcome back to life," Kate said, sizing up the newly-evolved Rampardos before she rubbed at the back of her head with a sheepish smile.

"Though I didn't remember you being quite this big originally," she remarked. "Go through a lot on the other side?"

Cabot shifted uneasily and gave Kate a hesitant look. While he barely knew the Sneasel and hadn't really talked much to her before, Pleo did tell him that she got him to shoplift. Even if it was hard to feel sorry for the shopkeeper with how mean he'd been to Pleo, Kate still decided to help him by teaching him how to steal. How was that not something a common pirate would do?!

... then again, if what Pleo said was true then it meant that she went above and beyond in trying to help stick up for him and look out for him. Even if he wasn't necessarily a fan of how she'd done it at times, he supposed he could at least give her the benefit of the doubt if she'd been this nice towards Pleo.

"I guess you could say that," Cabot answered. "Even if Diyem's Void Lands aren't all that bad I did get split in two somehow. One half dark and one half light, so... that was certainly something."

"Ah! So you're the Pokémon that gave Pleo his form!"

The Rampardos looked over at Melanie and nodded back at her. "He technically picked that form himself, but yeah, he got that from me. Though... I don't think I've seen you before. Are you Kate's Shade?"

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

"I guess you could say that," Cabot answered. "Even if Diyem's Void Lands aren't all that bad I did get split in two somehow. One half dark and one half light, so... that was certainly something."

Kate raised a brow back at Cabot's explanation, as she shook her head back.

"Yeesh, remind me not to bite it out here unless I've got someone to bring me back," she said. "Though then again, I suppose it wouldn't be that bad if I got to evolve without a Razor Claw out of it, so who knows?"

The Rampardos looked over at Melanie and nodded back at her. "He technically picked that form himself, but yeah, he got that from me. Though... I don't think I've seen you before. Are you Kate's Shade?"

"That's right, I'm Melanie!" the Kyurem shade answered. "With all the things that Pleo had to say about you, I'd really been looking forward to finally meeting!"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Nothing mattered until that moment when Diyem finally reached the roots of the Tree of Life. Not Cola. Not Xerneas. Nothing. Starr held her breath as the black-flamed Charmander reached into the rainbow energy, and even then, her brain couldn't stop generating all the ways it could go wrong.

But it didn't. The shapeless darkness above Diyem was forming into a Charizard, and it took more than a few seconds for Starr to realize that it wasn't just any Charizard, but Owen (he'd evolved!)

He was back. This was really happening.

The next shadow, a Roserade--Cynthian, already rushing into an embrace with Icetales. The next one, barely taking shape before dissolving into white light and re-forming as a Rampardos, and Starr felt a mixture of relief, joy, and pride when she realized it was Cabot.

Still, the back of her mind burned with anxiety, refusing to relax until--

The next shadow crackled with the subtle buzz of static, and Starr froze. She stared wordlessly as the shadow grew legs and finally settled to the ground as a Luxio, and then, only then, did the moment feel real. Her throat clenched, eyes welling with tears.

Spoiler: "Brisa...?"

Before she knew what she was doing, Starr had run forward and thrown her arms around the Luxio.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

​

Starr. Here, with Brisa. Starr's arms around her. Starr's ragged breaths beside her, together with her own. The thought occurred to Brisa, as tears streamed from her eyes and her teeth clenched with her jaw pressed against Starr's collarbone, that she'd cried more in the last four days than she had in the last four years. Gods.

It didn't matter. What mattered was Starr holding her tight, pulling her close, making her feel safe, and wanted, and real. The warmth of Starr's fire making her feel alive.

Brisa tried to choke out something, anything, to tell Starr what she felt.

"I thought I'd n–never get to see you again," she sobbed. "I th— I thought it was right, I saved you, I—" A keening sound tore from her throat. "I don't wanna do that again," she wailed, "I don't wanna let go of you—"

She wouldn't. She wouldn't let go again. She'd stay right there. With Starr.

The warmth . . . was not only from Starr. There was something else, something inside her—

Spoiler: Huh?

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr held tight, refusing to let go, still half-expecting Brisa to slip through her fingers like smoke. But no, she was here. Solid. Warm. And even as the Luxio grew and changed shape in her arms, she didn't let go.

"Welcome back," she choked.

 

[Namohysip]

Owen stood up in brief amazement, realizing that an evolution was taking place right there, right then. He held his breath and smiled a little--for all of them, really--even as he collected himself off to the side. Wishkeeper hovered around nearby, smaller than usual, looking mildly embarrassed for one reason or another. Perhaps he was reflecting on how he'd behaved while in the Voidlands.

"... Eternatus is focusing to ward off the corruption."

But this caught his attention next, and Maple, too, glanced at Bahamut. "What?" Owen asked. "You're talking to Eternatus right now?"

But what surprised Maple more was that it was Bahamut who said it. She knew--everyone knew--how much Bahamut despised Eternatus. He'd be the very last person to so much as hint at the idea of this Eternatus being different unless he was totally certain...

"You mean that Eien might still be trying to fight back?" Maple asked. "Do you think she can be saved?"

Owen perked up, but tried to subdue himself. Instead, he tried to ask something more productive. "What did she tell you? Is there anything we can do right now, or do we need to prepare?"

 

[Ambyssin]

The color gradually faded from Bahamut's eyes until they were patches of mismatched gray hues. "Not anymore. She flooded my mind with memories. Memories of her time with Dark Matter. There was a sense of joy and... l-love. I think she is meditating on that."

He glanced around the area. Teammates were coming back. There were tearful embraces and choked back sobs of joy. These people... had formed bonds in the span of months that Bahamut needed years to get anything close to. And even then, they were torn from him.

There would be no reunion for him. Not on Cibus and certainly not on Etherium. He had no friends. Bahamut knew he didn't deserve them. He was the team's least emotional but most messed up member. A destroyer whose aura was warped into that of a healer, but he wasn't even all that good with healing.

"She is struggling, though. Those memories were hidden under a warped aura. One far too familiar. Full of hopelessness. I only got through because there was a momentary lapse." He glanced in Cola's direction. "All she said was two words: 'help me.'"

He looked at the Tree, but Maple and Joule might've been able to tell that his gaze seemed distant. "If she's not fully corrupted, maybe she can have some of that corruption drained. I've been experimenting... but I would think you two would be far more suited than any of us."

Bahamut pointed to Maple... and Diyem, who he wasn't even sure was aware of what he said. "Emotionally, this team is in no state to try anything. But if you want me to take a stab at it, I can." His body dimmed. "There are no reunions for me to take part in. I'll just bring down the mood staying here."

 

[Fusion]

Puddle tried its damnedest to reach Cola, inch by inch, blade of grass by blade of grass, but it was just... thoroughly exhausted. It wasn't made of flesh and bone but there was this unmistakable feeling of sore muscles and aching joints all throughout the familiars form. It stopped at Truffle's feet, raising its hand in another attempt to help the tiny goat god, but didn't get to say anything before collapsing once again, and not really getting back up.

It was so focused on trying to help Cola that it barely paid any attention to Diyem or the others, up until the revivals actually started happening. Some Charizard, a Roserade, Ramparados... oh, and Brisa and Nip too. Everyone else seemed, alright. Nothing happened to them, but... what about Vix? It's not that Puddle was worried about her, well maybe just a teensy bit, but everyone else was fine, why wouldn't she be?

Then, just to give the Scraggy some peace of mind, a purple flame flickered onto Diyem's shoulder. It grew bigger and brighter, then beneath the flame appeared a lavender clump of wax. That too grew larger, and larger, until it simply popped right off of Diyem's body. The wax swelled at an even faster rate before bursting to reveal a... not a lamp. It had arms, and legs, and a big ass tail, and fire on its head.

"V-Vix..?" Puddle muttered, although it's voice was too quiet to hear from where it was.

Regardless of that, however, the not-a-lamp heard it. It turned, staring at the ethereal soup with piercing yellow eyes. Then it tilted its head and rolled its eyes, pointing behind Puddle.

"...What?" Puddle... well it didn't have eyes right then so it didn't blink, but it would have if it did. All there was behind it was Truffle and some glass dome thing it had never see befo-- "...Hol up, what..?"

Vix rose up partially from the ground, an actual smile on her face for once. "I was getting worried you might have gotten cold feet and never came, but luckily for me, you don't even have regular feet anymore."

Puddle jumped, partially reforming before melting again. "Wh-What?! Y-You ain't, I mean, how did... huh?"

"Like the new look? Made it myself," Vix grinned, smug. She didn't know if she actually did but she wasn't a normal Chandelure, so no one could say she didn't.

"I mean, I do but... how did you get here? And who is that?" Puddle asked, pointing at the weird tall things an-- oh it was standing over Puddle now. What the hell was going on with its chest? And also its everything else?

"Don't worry about that, we got a lot to catch up on, right now, I kinda just wanna not do anything," Vix chuckled, lowering a bit. "We can save the hugs for when you have a body to hug."

Just to prove her wrong, Puddle oozed around Vix in an old fashioned Puddle hug. It helped ease the pain, at least a tiny bit.

 

[Disco]

Raven smiled at the scene. Despite it all, things had worked out. At least so far. It seemed they would continue to... But she glanced at Bahamut and paused at what he said. She replied without really thinking about who she was speaking to.

"You might not have been waiting for anyone, but it's still a happy moment. You can appreciate the others returning even if you don't really know them."