Destiny Tower

[Ambyssin]

"In what way?" Bahamut had a feeling the guy wouldn't take well to the worst case scenario, but the way that would happen was still a mystery to him.

 

[Namohysip]

"Diyem was once the embodiment of evil and hatred, yes, but I recently learned that he also acquired the powers of a Voice. Not only that, he has become like one. I should have deduced as much early on, frankly..." He sighed. "But... that means he probably has lost his killing touch, at least compared to how he used to be. I fear that not only would be be unwilling to kill Eien once he gets the opportunity... but he may hesitate to fight her at all."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut hummed in thought. "Unfortunately, he's also the one who'll be able to most easily locate her." He tucked his head. "I might be able to given we've spoken through a mind dive previously." He rubbed his chin with a wing. "If I were to stick with Owen and these two stayed with us under the guise that Owen might be vulnerable due to the parasite he previously had, perhaps we could locate her before Dark Matter even needs to intervene."

 

[Namohysip]

Pop nodded. "That storm will be difficult to navigate," he said, "but perhaps with some effort you will be able to guide Diyem if he loses his way."

The light flickered.

"Ah... They are about to wake up. This will take some time. Feel free to observe..."

Their bodies within the spheres were bright lights, growing and changing shape. From Pop, streams of light flowed into each sphere, along with the energy signature that Eien had provided. It looked like it was properly latching on and activating whatever else Pop had put into the two bodies before...

 

[Ambyssin]

It was fascinating... ly sickening. A perverse distortion of nature, in Bahamut's opinion. Maybe on Cibus this kind of stuff was normal, but for Bahamut it just reminded him of countless souls mutated and twisted beyond recognition by Eternatus' corrosive energy. Yet another difference between the dimensions. He silently observed.

 

[Namohysip]

Light coalesced and changed their forms, ribbons and fur and some kind of steel hide hardening and forming on once had been a descended Mew and a Lucario. The spheres collapsed over their bodies, granting a silver sheen, and then dispelled outward in a rapidly diminishing haze.

There they were--two four legged canines, one red, one blue. Silhouettes of a blade and crest appeared in front of them, echoes of their unleashed forms. The lights disappeared into them and they finally opened their eyes.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Good morning." Bahamut nodded curtly. "Zacian. Zamazenta. It's been quite some time."

 

[Namohysip]

Zacian yawned. "Good morning," she said with a sigh. "...Wait, why did I answer to that?"

"Your species names," Pop replied. "You are Sword, correct?"

"Yeah, I am..." She pawed at the ground, testing her new weight, and then glanced at Zamazenta.

"Definitely feels like it's been some time," Zamazenta added, taking only a single step forward before falling onto his face. "Urgh..."

"Perhaps we should take some time to... let your dreams catch up to you," Pop replied. "Bahamut, do their energies feel correct?"

Zacian was already hopping from her left feet to her right feet, clearly more used to a four-legged form. She seemed cheerful, and barked a taunt at Zamazenta for being so slow up the uptake.

 

[Ambyssin]

"They do, yes." Bahamut had to admit it had been a very long time since he'd felt their auras. Well, their natural auras, anyway. Though he really hoped the dreams or whatever would catch up to them quickly. Nevertheless, Bahamut stuck his lower wing in front of Zacian. "I'm going to ask that you reign in your more... rambunctious attitude until we have brought a stop to Eternatus. We've been doing this all without any of Team Spectrum's knowledge, including our Dark Matter."

He bent down so his head was between the two of them. "I hope things will not come to the worst-case scenario, but have either of you ever had to kill another before? It is not something to be taken lightly. You should mentally steel yourselves."

 

[Namohysip]

Zacian's smile faltered, but she nodded. "I... we have. But that was, you know, that was a long time ago--before the current-era Dark Matter stuff." She glanced at Zamazenta, who nodded gravely.

"We aren't strangers to things like that. But... we will still prepare. And Zacia--uh..." He paused. "...Sword, you'll remember to behave, right?"

"Um--yeah! Totally! Besides, this is really important power and stuff, so..." She looked down, her voice trailing off. "Yeah. I'll behave. This is important."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut wasn't entirely convinced, but a level of trust was... necessary. "I'd have taken the burden on myself if it was possible, but things are never that straightforward here." He lifted himself up. "Ideally, I can at least introduce you to the rest of the team once we're closer to going back to the Sea of Wonders," he continued. "From a strategy perspective, it's best if you two group up with Owen, Dark Matter, and me. I have been able to connect with Eternatus, so I might be able to track her down if Dark Matter falters." Bahamut glanced at Arceus. "Which is something we might have to be concerned with."

 

[Namohysip]

They both nodded.

"That should be everything, then," Pop said. "You two should start training your bodies in thye physical world for the coming days."

"Okay, sure." Zacian looked at Zamazenta. "So you're the defender. How about we just go at each other and see what happens?"

"That could work." Zamazenta hummed, like something was bothering him. Zacian felt the same way.

"So, uh, what about food?" Zacian asked.

Pop looked, briefly, startled, like he'd forgotten. "I'll, er, I'll arrange."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut sighed. "I can get some." He rubbed his forehead with an upper wing. "One thing, though. It's all well and dandy to practice against one another, but you two need to to learn to recognize Eterna corruption. I can offer my mind space as a sort of... psychic simulation. To at least give you a taste of cutting through such distortion."

 

[Namohysip]

"Hmm, sure. We can practice that way, too. How about that, Pop?"

It seemed agreeable enough. "We can go for regular sessions of that for the coming days," he said. "Thank you for your help, Bahamut."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut nodded. "You're welcome."

<><><>​

 

[Ambyssin]

It had been quite a while since Team Spectrum had assembled in Destiny Tower as a unit. It might have been an understandable change had it come from one of the authority figures. But it hadn't. It was Bahamut who sent the telepathic request. Though it was phrased more like an order.

The main hall's pristine floor and walls seemed a bit less vibrant than the team's previous visits to the location. Whether that was a side effect of Arceus hiding away or Bahamut being front and center to dampen the room's color with his dull, gray glow would be left to Team Spectrum's members to decide. Bahamut had requested Zacian and Zamazenta be warped in and twisted himself around to hide them while his team members slowly filed in. He hadn't exactly rehearsed any official explanation. The only thing he told himself was not to mention the fact that he believed the team had too many talkative and irresponsible types to safely disclose Zacian and Zamazenta's existence to anyone. He'd just need an alternate explanation.

Bahamut didn't bother to do a headcount. When he was reasonably certain Team Spectrum was present, he uncoiled himself to reveal Sword and Shield's new forms. "This is Zacian." He pointed to the sword-wielding dog. "And her partner, Zamazenta." Bahamut moved his tail right. "Or, as you might have known them previously, Sword and Shield.

"While you lot were off partying it up in Maple's Voidlands, Owen, Nate, and I located a weakened Eternatus bound inside the tree." Bahamut had to resist the urge to cringe at his word choice, but there was no taking it back now. "I did a mind dive on her and discovered the parasite-corrupted Mewtwo had bound her using hexes far stronger than the one we found in Owen." He nodded respectfully toward the charizard. "She told me there was nothing we could do to save her at that given moment. Instead, she gave me the aural templates to make two pokémon with the innate ability to fight against Eterna energy."

Bahamut shifted right. "Eternatus wanted these two to be created because she knew she would lose control of herself. With their help, we should be able to cut a path through the storm directly to her, rather than getting bogged down by phantoms and corruption like in the Worldcore and Tree of Life."

He sighed, eyes turning blue. "I'm sure most, if not all of you are frustrated I did not disclose this earlier. It's likely bitter for several of you coming off the heels of all the secrets surrounding Soda and his merry band of clones." He cast a quick glance at Dave. "I had my reasons. Certain untrustworthy individuals can still look through our badge conversations... and, to be honest, neither Arceus nor I were entirely sure we'd be able to create Zacian and Zamazenta here successfully. Using Sword and Shield's souls as bases allowed for some corner-cutting. But even then, I didn't want anyone knowing until I could successfully train them to sense and respond to Eterna energy."

Bahamut shrank down a bit. "I know that I do not usually speak up regarding strategies. However, Diyem and I have both have a connection with Eternatus. Similarly, Owen might have a connection by virtue of the parasite that was in his mind." He tilted his head and scratched his chin with an upper wing. "I was thinking that, together, the three of us might be able to figure out the fastest route to the eye of the storm. And Zacian and Zamazenta can ward off the Eterna energy."

He flicked a lower wing at the group. "Okay. Now you can make with the questions."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa nodded as she listened. So, Sword and Shield, huh? Their names could hardly be more appropriate. It was enough to make one believe in destiny.

"That all seems eminently sensible t'me, partner," she drawled. "So, I take it these two'll play a role in our strategy fer our combat with Eien? Anythin' we oughta know about their fightin' styles in their new forms an' how best t'support 'em?"

She eyed the canine bodies of her oddball friends, wondering how they felt about their strange new duty.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Their signature moves are particularly powerful against anything that exudes Eterna energy," Bahamut responded. "Which, uh, might as well be the entire Sea of Wonders. Possibly more? I don't know how far the storm's spread. But don't expect simple rain and winds with this one."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Sword and Shield. Ascended. Was that why the colosseum match with them had been a way bigger deal than Starr had originally expected? Some kind of test?

...Yeah, she could kinda see why the people in charge might've wanted to wait and see if Sword was... a good fit for this.

“So how’re those new forms treating you?” she asked the two.

(Some of the group had a connection with Eternatus, huh. Was Starr going to have something like that now? Ugh...)

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian blinked slowly at Zacian and Zamazenta, or what used to be Sword and Shield rather. That certainly was a lot to take in, still she'd come with expectations. What she witnessed certainly did not betray that.

"So, you two got ascended? Is that the case?" Cynthian asked, scratching her cheek. She made eye contact with Zacian-Sword. The blue fur coat looked pristine and clean, but— "Weren't you already a Mew? I didn't know it was possible for legendary pokemon to still ascend further."

Then again everything she'd encountered since coming to Cibus had been unusual, so who's to say that was anything out of the ordinary either. Still, more than anything, she was relieved to see them both. Perhaps she ought to have a little more faith in Bahamut…

"Do we know if Eien has any of those parasites herself?" She pinched the edge of her mask and groaned. "We'd have to go into her mind scape or something if so."