[Bahamut] Ritual Chamber

[Namohysip]

Familiar swirls of red and general chaos and malice surrounded Bahamut on all sides, and yet it felt like, just beyond the storm, there were proper walls that enclosed the area. Crystals and prisms jutted out from random parts of the ground with a strange, purple energy running through them. Just a cursory glance would reveal what it truly was, but even more was how it seemed to be converging toward a center point deeper within the chamber.

"Hey, hey! What's going on here? What kinda cultist work are you doing here, huh?!"

Wheezing, raspy laughter only answered the first voice. "Finally... oh, finally, I am witness to..." More raspy laughter, shaking with mirth and bliss.

"Hey! He-help! Someone?! Hello? Baha Blast?! I know you're there! My name's Esper, of course I know you're there! HELP! This lunatic's got me in some sort of... thing!"

They weren't quite talking like themselves. There was a tinge of a crackle to their voices; was something else controlling them, or were they under the influence of a different force...?

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut stared in silence. It was a familiar sight. But this wasn’t home. He wasn’t in the wrong form. He didn’t have his power.

But he was alone. Which would be nice if Eternatus wasn’t trying to destroy the planet.

“Sick of this planet.” Bahamut floated ahead, ignoring the voices he had heard.

 

[Namohysip]

A wheezing, rattling laughter echoed in Bahamut's head. He had a vague sense that it was where he was going, even though it truly sounded like it was coming from all over. "Soon, soon... soon, you will become far more than even I could hope... soon... a beacon of hope... you shall be not only its beacon... but its vessel..." More strained laughter.

Ahead, a Poipole with red markings and eyes was bound in enchanted chains, pinned to the ground as an ominous, five-pointed mark of some kind, like a great palm, rested around him. The more he struggled, the brighter the chains became. Meanwhile, the Ultra Shade that Bahamut was now acquainted with, the nameless, paced around, encouraging the lights to grow like wind to a rising flame.

Nameless is starting a ritual!
Nameless: 1,000

The ritual is nearly complete!
Nameless is guarding Esper!

 

[Ambyssin]

It had finally happened, then. Was this not precisely what Bahamut had warned about... all the way back when a miniature eternatus burst forth from Darkwhite's chest like the guzzlord hatchling in those stupid films by Rhydon Scott and Jangmo-o Cameron? That the shades could wind up getting corrupted and turning on them. But of course he had been dismissed. Why listen to Bahamut? So dour and depressing. He was full of crock as always.

Bahamut had his badge out, recording the footage to show off when this was over. Maybe it was just this shade because of how warped its thinking was. Then everyone could turn around and go "Well, maybe if you weren't such a terrible person, your shade would've turned out better."

But with Team Spectrum's luck, he strongly doubted it. And some of them had grown close to their shades. Too close. It was all going to add up to more mental anguish for his fragile teammates. The mankey's paw curled another finger. Their powers came at a great cost.

Of course it was Eternatus' sigil around the chains. The real Eternatus; not this offshoot that Bahamut regrettably had to call his counterpart.

Was the shade trying to summon it? Was that even possible?

... and why did that almost sound appealing?

Cibus takes so much for granted. Everyone leading such disgustingly happily lives with weaponized hope. Bahamut's head tendrils frazzled. He was working to save a planet that didn't care about him. Just like the old times. The times of endless rejections.

Maybe he should have just let the shade proceed. Summon the real monstrosity. Let Cibus see what true terror was like. It wasn't like Eternatus would actually wipe them out. Just absorb them all into its collective... where their wills for freedom would erode until they accepted their fate and assimilated into the Qliphoth.

Because if it's summoned here... my dimension will finally be free. And Etherium will be safe.

Bahamut lay down on his side, looking at the chains. "Idiot. Aren't you remotely familiar with quicksand? The more you struggle, the harder it becomes to free yourself."

He didn't really want to do anything. But light... light disrupted Eternatus back home. So, light would certainly affect the ritual somehow. Bahamut supposed if he had do anything, he could generate some light. He had procured an orb for such a purpose, because he expected to wind up separated from his team eventually. It was time to deploy it. But Bahamut shoved the orb into his ethereal form and broke it there so the shade couldn't see it.

Bahamut used a Sunny Orb.
Changes: Sunny

 

[Namohysip]

"Yes, yes... You shouldn't really be struggling. This is going to be a wonderful... wonderful day for us all! For everyone, for all worlds..." More wheezing laughter. "I had told them all in Destiny Village, all who would listen. I am sure... that they would welcome His love..."

"Not like they have a CHOICE!" Esper cried. "Hey, Baha, buddy, pal, friendo, you wanna help a guy out here? C'mon, I know maybe you have a knack for genocide and maybe you blew up a planet or ten or more, but hey, that's all the past, right? You're gonna help me... right???"

The light is disrupting the ritual...

"Hmm, that's odd... Are you trying to distract me?" The nameless Ultra Shade hummed, prodding at the sigils. He stood in the way of Bahamut, using his own shadow to shield it.

"Hey, hey! I don't need to see that! Isn't this show supposed to be Teen?"

Nameless: 1,000

The ritual is progressing evenly...

 

[Ambyssin]

"Be silent." Bahamut shot a nasty look toward the nobody trapped in the chains. Frankly, he found the shade to be quite stupid if he thought his body was really going to do much given the size difference.

"You want to summon the real Eternatus?" Bahamut tilted his head. "You're using the wrong sacrifice for whatever ridiculous stunt this is supposed to be." He rose into the air, flaring up his body with the help of the sun that orb had created. "That thing is powerless. A pointless sacrifice. After all, is it not my power Archbishop Paradox was after? The power Eternatus needs to absorb Aesir and break down the walls between dimensions?"

The colors of Bahamut's eyes swirled to form makeshift pupillary slits. "I'm the target you should really be after. And you are mistaken if you think I truly oppose such actions. In fact, I welcome such a shortsighted decision." Bahamut held a lower wing out. Gray light coalesced in the tip.

"Did you not consider exactly what you'd be summoning your precious benefactor into?" he continued. "A world with tangible gods that can alter reality just as it can. An unstable energy source that could corrupt the Qliphoth and all the souls dwelling within it in ways you cannot possibly fathom. There's the moron sitting on the moon with his massive moon laser."

A grin as twisted as the shade's wove onto Bahamut's beak. "And that's not even considering Team Spectrum. So, yes, summon Eternatus here. The combination of all these ridiculous miracles... will finally destroy it. And free my home from its eleven century nightmare."

Bahamut whipped his wing forward, hurling the light toward the shade... only to open a small, short ranged portal. A feint. The other portal... opened right next to the chains.

Bahamut uses Photon Geyser... on the chains!
Changes: -20 stamina

 

[Namohysip]

The chains rattled harshly, several strands vanishing from that single strike, but it seemed like there were still several more remaining. The nameless Shade's eyes widened with shock, but it melted into a twisted glee. "Ahhh... so is this your hope? Is this your answer?"

"Whoa, hey, watch the merchandise!" Esper said, a scorch or two on one of his tiny arms.

Bahamut's Geyser seemed stronger than expected...

"Ahh, but you don't understand. This one, so weak, so useless, is a vessel because of this. Because of how similar he is... to me. Ohh, how lucky I am, to be borne as an imitation of someone who dreams of my very reality... The dream of becoming one with Natus' Love." His voice trembled and devolved into a wheezing laughter. "It's time... oh, it is time... Time to bring him forth! Even with so few chains, I won't let you stop it now, when it's so close!"

The Nameless Shade attacked Bahamut! Chains shot from the ground and pulled!
Bahamut took a grazing 57 damage, and narrowly resisted being Trapped!

"Just one more try..."

The light beneath Esper brightened. The red colors in both Esper's and the nameless one's eyes brightened. "He-hey, does anything feel kinda funny here? I... I..." Esper's voice trailed off. His struggling slowed... "Baha... this is... why does it feel... so..." His body hardened in places.

Something got into Esper!
The ritual is about to finish, but the result looks like it was weakened!

Nameless: 1000

 

[Ambyssin]

"Hmph." Bahamut flew in circles around the site, flaring his light as if he was trying to push away the edges of what he was sure was a distortion storm. Eterna energy shaping into a temporary reality. Synergizing, perhaps, with this shade. "There's a little problem with your comparison, Professor."

Bahamut stopped in front of the shade. His body was sparking with light. A Shining Blade formed. "You don't have the real Eternatus' power. Only some cheap knock-off's. You'll never get 'His love,' because you're tainted with the stench of something lesser. Something inferior."

He raised the blade to strike, but it was a faint yet again. Another portal. Directly over the center of Esper and all the chains.

"You're better than this!" Bahamut roared, and it was clear that he wasn't just addressing the shade, but the one at the center of the distortion. "You are stronger than this! Show me real power! And I will... show you... enlightenment!"

Bahamut used Shining Blades... on the center of Esper!
Changes: -40 stamina, +40 rad

 

[Namohysip]

It was like everything had briefly stopped. The light, the ritual, even Esper himself had gone silent as the blades pierced through his center.

"B... Baha..."

The nameless Shade wasn't smiling anymore. It was total shock, like he hadn't expected the portals to be such a nuisance. "What... is that light?" he wheezed. "This is... different... from the light here. What have you done... to this perfect summoning?"

"That's always what you did... isn't it?" Esper asked, reaching weakly toward Bahamut. "I don't understand... What are you saying? I... I..."

Radiance was pouring through Esper's body and into the distortion below him. Something had been stirring, but the light changed something, and now it shrieked distantly.

"No... I won't let you stop it! Certainly not now!"

The Nameless Shade attacked Bahamut! More chains shot from the ground and pulled!
Bahamut took a grazing 55 damage, and was tugged onto the ground by force! He can't move!
The chains are digging into Bahamut...

Nameless: 1,000

The ritual is changing...? It's filled with light!

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut's body simply shined brighter, as if taunting the new chains to grapple with his light. "You are a full, if you think these can stop a psychic." He was staring at the ceiling. "I know you're listening to me! Whether intentional or not... you cannot call yourself strong if you let worthless parasites drive you to carnal actions like this."

More light formed. Another Photon Geyser... that he slammed into Esper. "I... will... show you... power!"

Bahamut uses Photon Geyser on Esper!
Changes: -20 stamina

 

[Namohysip]

Light overwhelmed any other energy in the room; the chamber's general darkness had briefly given way, evaporating like cotton candy in water. Esper screamed as the last of him was enveloped in that light, and through him, it went into the portal before striking whatever had been trying to push through. It roared and flew away, its body disintegrating before it even had the chance to fully form.

Esper curled into a little ball of light. "So... bright..."

He melted into the portal. The nameless Shade's eyes widened with a brief horror, and then the light darted toward him. He tried to flee, but it was too fast--it slammed into his core and he shrieked. Was it agony? Bliss? Surprise? It could have been anything. The whole ritual was reacting to Bahamut's light.

A massive explosion ripped through the room! Bahamut took 188 damage!

Nameless: 1
The ritual is complete...?

The portal's light faded. The nameless Shade had been separated from his Core, which lay where the nameless Shade had once stood. The thing's ectoplasm was rapidly dissolving. He wheezed out one more laugh. "A-ahh... so that... is how I have received... His Love..."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut eyes smoldered with red and orange. He levitated the Ultra Stone toward the ball of light Esper had become.

“Eien.” Bahamut clenched his jaw. “Cease this madness. You have a family waiting for you.”

Blue overtook his eyes. “Don’t become me. Don’t lose your family.”

Bahamut pressed the A button on the shade, striking it with his tail!

 

[Namohysip]

The nameless Shade wheezed once as his body was squished under Bahamut's weight. "A-ahh... thisssss... isssss... a new... feeling..." It was like watching a pool toy deflate. "...I hear her... Eien... that one... Her influence... on me... is fading... Aaahhh..."

Esper's bright light flowed into the core. "...Baha...? Is that you...? It's... warm. Something's... changed..."

"It is Eien... who has changed. Perhaps... she heard us... Was I mistaken...? All this time...? Or... is this merely... more... of Natus'..." He wheezed again.

"...I think... I'm going to sleep now, Baha. I dunno what... I'll wake up as. But..." He paused. Perhaps it was a sigh, or some equivalent, because the light dimmed to something more stable. "...I... think I forgive you. For what you try. For what you did. Because maybe... in some way... you meant to do better... or something."

Was this Eien? Or was this Esper? Or something between? Neither Shade seemed to be entirely themselves.

"Ahh... I am... fading..." The nameless one's body was evaporating. The smoke was going toward Esper, but it dissolved so readily that it was a wonder how much would make it. "I hope... that I can at least remain... as a flash... of memory... so I can see... what... I..."

And then, he was gone.

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut walked over to the stone and light and picked them up. He wrapped them gingerly in a wing. “You don’t deserve to be chained to a mind as warped as mine. You have parents waiting for you. And I... have to see to it that you can keep your family intact.

“You are your own person. You should form into something that you want. Not that my pessimistic memories dictate.” He bowed his head. “Don’t chain yourself to a monster. Because that’s what I am. It’s what I will return to.”

 

[Namohysip]

The ball of light did not respond, not immediately. But it felt as if the chains that bound them together loosened. They did not sever--would it ever be possible to remove such bonds?--but they loosened. Just enough that they were no longer a firm binding, but something only there, adrift but present.

Something ethereal and invisible touched Bahamut's shoulder. "Don't sell yourself too short..." It sounded like Eien. "You may be a monster... where you are from. But here... you are a hero. You have given light... to so many people. Long ago, and today. Perhaps, one day, you may do that again. It may not be in your nature any longer... to feel that kind of hope. Perhaps turn that into a drive... to find what you have lost. If there is anything you can take from this world... perhaps it is that. Somehow, some way..."

The touch faded, as did the voice. Could there be another over his other shoulder...? It was a whisper in the winds as the skies began to clear. "Perhaps that light will give birth to something new..."

And finally, Bahamut felt that he was alone with the light again. The ball coalesced; the core that had once housed this power dissolved into nothing. It expanded, brightened, dimmed, and became a strange haze of blackness.

There was something... deeply familiar about this shape.

 

[Ambyssin]

Indeed the haze and light coalesced. Swathes of purple painting across the black. Red dots popping up. Two small nebulas.

Bahamut had to resist the urge to twist his crystalline face into something... other than stoicism. Of course this was what was happening. Perhaps a sign from this Eternatus. If Team Spectrum could do the impossible over and over again here, why couldn't he make the impossible happen on Etherium?

Fine. There was no sense fighting it, no matter how awkward it would make him feel.

"Pew!"

Bahamut's tendrils frazzled. The two beady, purple eyes staring from the small purple sphere blinked at him. Then a small purple mouth curled into a smile.

"Only kidding!" It bapped Bahamut's top chest spike with a pom-pom. "Would be pretty ridiculous if that's all I could say after all this time, eh?"

Bahamut was silent. He was looking at it... or looking past it? Even he wasn't sure at this point.

"Okay, okay." It pushed itself onto his top chest spike. "There'll be time to catch up later. We've got work to do, don't we? Gotta save Mom so the big dogs don't have to do what they were really brought for, am I right?"

The necrozma managed to nod this time. "Yeah."

"Oh, and don't worry." It hovered into the air. "I won't start calling you Dad like Cal does. You're more like... the weird uncle who gets invited to all the family parties but everyone ignores."

... okay, that one kind of hurt. Bahamut sighed. "I've... been called worse, I suppose."

"That's the spirit!" It bobbed through the air. "Stiff upper lip." It paused. "Okay, I guess having a beak made of crystal means it's always stiff. But it's the thought that counts, right?"

To Bahamut's surprise, he chuckled briefly. "I suppose so." He floated after it. "Now then... let's get back to business."

 

[Namohysip]

The pair walked quietly through the remains of the fading ritual circle, inert and powerless. Nothing but memories remained in this brief stronghold of Eterna.

There was a stronger, yet severable bond between Bahamut and the reborn Ultra Shade. They could now stand independently of one another, yet, as all bonds worked, they strengthened when together. Their light shined the way through.

Bahamut's Eternal Spirit awakened!
"Your efforts... are useless." - Once per battle, when Bahamut is in the same zone as an ally who is about to be KOed, Bahamut instead takes the blow, nullifies the attack, and heals for the amount of damage he would have taken, and half as much into his stamina.

Far ahead, Bahamut would hear something. Howling... A call to action. It didn't sound too far away...

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut's head tendrils twitched. "I hear something up ahead. Perhaps the path forward is about to become clearer." He glanced at the shade. "Are you ready?"

"For the most awkward family reunion ever?" The shade rubbed its top with a pom-pom. "Oh, wait, I haven't actually been to any, have I? I'm just going off the ones you've seen in movies and TV shows." It laughed nervously. "Hmm. Feels like I should be gussied up for the occasion or something." It glanced at Bahamut's bag. "Don't suppose you've got, like, an itty-bitty bowtie in there, do you?"

"That's a no," Bahamut answered. They continued forward. "So, what should I call you now?"

"Eh?"

"You're going to need a name," Bahamut said.

"Yeah, but all the other Spectrum guys picked our names out." It poked its pom-poms together.

"I think you should pick one for yourself." Bahamut rubbed the back of his head. "My naming skills are... bland, anyway. I named my son after one of Jupiter's mo—"

The shade's eyes lit up. "How about... Polaris? That's the star people on Earth always said could guide them back home, right?" It looked up at Bahamut. "And what your trainer called you, right?"

... his trainer. Right. There had to have been some sort of irony to that. Bahamut always assumed Nero was using that name ironically. But he was stoic unless he was talking to Zacian and Zamazenta. Did this mean things were coming full circle on Cibus? Best not to think about that one.

Sighing, Bahamut nodded slowly. "Polaris it is."

 

[Namohysip]

Through the clearing storm, the howls centralized around the top of a hill. Zamazenta turned his head to stare at the incoming Bahamut and his Ultra Shade. He nodded.

"I thought I sensed someone," Zamazenta said. "I guess the old aura sensing is still with me." He jerked his head to the left. "The eye of the storm is too far away to get to on foot from here, but... let's combine our powers. We need to get there immediately. I'm sensing that whoever is fighting Eien right now is about to lose--they need our help. Now." Zamazenta turned, nodding. "Make the portal near me and it should work. The eye of the storm is there; do you see it?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"Right." Bahamut flew to Zamazenta with Polaris teleporting a short distance to his side. Guess that was something it could do now. "She spoke with me again... briefly. I don't think the hexes truly have a full hold on her."

He whipped an upper wing forward, throwing open an Ultra Wormhole. "Time to go..."