Destiny Village ~ Parfait Way

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa's expression shifted rapidly through a subtle gauntlet of confusion, surprise, delight, and then back to dry composure. Still, her face softened a little at Soul's earnestness.

"A mon has the right to keep their thoughts private," she admonished gently. "But there's no doubtin' that's a nice thing, yeah."

Luz beamed from ear to ear. "Well, ain't this swell? If only everyone was this decent to each other every day."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Soul looked alert. “What’s everyone like on other days? What’s special about today?”

Celeste laughed. “Well, everyone has good days and bad days. It depends on the person. Not everyone can be in a good mood all the time. As for what’s special about today... Well, you started trying to exist today. That brightened up our days.”

“I wanna exist every day, then. I like existing.” Soul stayed where they were on the ground, but their mass shifted to face Luz. “You just started existing, too. How do you feel about existing? I think it’s scary, but also kinda fun.”

 

[Namohysip]

At some point during the conversation, Puff had wandered between the two familiars' conversation and jotted down a few notes, having lost much interest in what Cal and her group was talking about. That Zangoose was not at all helpful, either, and he had no intention of letting him disrupt his investigations. He seemed to only hear what he wanted to hear, and had told him off that Reshiram was not some game developer.

But before he could get to asking Luz and Soul anything, his badge let out a small beeping noise and his eyes widened a little. "What the f..." He tapped away, then brought the badge to his ear. "Cream? What's wrong? ...What do you mean? Out in the middle of--are you okay? Are you safe?"

The party had fallen into relative calm by that point, so Puff's words quieted them further. Puff glanced around, then scowled, but returned to his talk.

"...Okay, you get out of there. I'll swap in."

"Cinderace," Maple spoke up, directing Potluck toward him. "Did something happen?"

 

[Ambyssin]

At some point after hearing where Esper had settled, Bahamut dropped by to scoop him up from his hiding place in a bowl of punch, then paused when he heard the commotion. "Is there a problem here?"

 

[Namohysip]

"...Right, y'know, I guess it's fine for you guys to know," Puff said, looking at Bahamut. "Something just exploded in a big way in the Sand Continent. Like, literally. A whole dune turned to glass."

"Excuse me?" Maple said, ready to get off Potluck, but her body wouldn't respond properly and she fell toward Potluck's neck instead.

 

[Jedi Shulk]

“An explosion?” Fay asked Puff.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Well, if you superheat sand and apply enough pressure it could turn to glass." Bahamut spoke as if he'd done something like that before. "But such an event would wipe out any life in the vicinity. Do we need to evacuate nearby residents?"

 

[Namohysip]

"It was in a remote area of the dunes, but if there were any Pokemon nearby, that'd be pretty bad..." Puff hummed. "Either way, I want to investigate. I get the feeling some of you might want to come along, too?"

Maple tried to conjure a portal, but her light faded when she tried. She winced and looked down; Potluck mumbled something assuring to her, but it didn't have any effect.

"I'm taking the Waypoint way. It'll be a bit, but it's better than standing around."

"Have you considered talking to Palkia?" A Charmander approached, sparing a glance at Bahamut in greeting. Wishkeeper continued, "He may have been calmed by Arceus by now, and short of Maple, that third of the Creation fusion could help us."

"Y'think so, huh..." Puff considered this. "Alright, sure. And you're, eh..."

"You may call me Tamato," Wishkeeper replied with a formal nod. He supposed, for convenience, he would go by the title that the public would know him by. The Charmander apparition behind him bowed as well, though it didn't look like Puff could see it.

"Oh, good, a normal name." Puff started for Destiny Tower. "Alright, I'll give your theory a shot. I'm not waiting up for anybody, though."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

“You just started existing, too. How do you feel about existing? I think it’s scary, but also kinda fun.”

Luz gave it some thought, rubbing her chin with one massively oversized paw.

"I've been havin' a splendid time since I woke up, to be perfectly honest. I don't even know what it's like to be scared, yet. The Luz from the myths was never afraid, so maybe if I'm supposed to be her, I just won't experience fear? That'd be a mighty shame, to miss out on a whole real emotion like that. Ain't bein' scared of stuff part of the whole of bein' alive?"

Brisa watched the familiars talking with a softer smile than she usually allowed on her face.

"Hey, Celeste. It's good to see ya, y'know? I hope you understand y'can ask my company of me if you ever want it."

 

[Jedi Shulk]

"Either way, I want to investigate. I get the feeling some of you might want to come along, too?"

“Yes I will join you Puff.” Fay said to Puff.

 

[Ambyssin]

I'm not waiting up for anybody, though.

"Don't be naïve." Bahamut's eyes went from blue to orange. "If you go gallivanting off on your own, the source of the blast will bring you under its control." He raised his black arms, one of which held Esper, and clenched his fists. Esper spat up punch onto the ground. "If this is like the other phenomenon spreading across the planet, you won't be able to do anything to the one responsible. But the people here surrounding you can."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Luz gave it some thought, rubbing her chin with one massively oversized paw.

"I've been havin' a splendid time since I woke up, to be perfectly honest. I don't even know what it's like to be scared, yet. The Luz from the myths was never afraid, so maybe if I'm supposed to be her, I just won't experience fear? That'd be a mighty shame, to miss out on a whole real emotion like that. Ain't bein' scared of stuff part of the whole of bein' alive?"

“I... I don’t know. I really wouldn’t mind being scared less. It makes everything so... so hard. If I weren’t scared all the time, then... then...” Maybe then I wouldn’t have spend days trying not to exist. “Maybe then I’d feel better. About existing. Right now it’s really... mixed.”

"Hey, Celeste. It's good to see ya, y'know? I hope you understand y'can ask my company of me if you ever want it."

Celeste smiled. “Heh, I might just have to take you up on that. Apparently it’s not safe for me to stargaze alone, because... well... Darkwhite. Still, you’ve got some friends amongst the ladies that are closer than I am, so I’d not want to pull you away from them.”

 

[Namohysip]

"Who said I was gonna fight?" Puff said, though he did nod anyway. "Some extra guard would be helpful."

"I'll come," Wishkeeper said, though he glanced over his shoulder toward the apparition, who nodded back. "Right. I suppose it's time to return to normal, isn't it?"

He closed his eyes and the dark cracks along his lower body faded away. The Charmander over his shoulder disappeared next, and then Owen ran after Puff, calling to Bahamut, "Are you able to do any portal warps yet?" Though he suspected that was not the case.

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut scowled. "... no. You can thank our dear leader for that one."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa's ears burned. "I don't have to spend all my time with Curio and Astrid. It'd be my pleasure to stargaze with you of a cloudless night."

Luz grinned and gestured discreetly at Brisa. "That one's scared all the time," she whispered to Soul. "Probably a mite too scared if y'ask me. But bein' scared gives her the chance, sometimes, to be brave. I'd like to see you bein' brave, y'know."

Luz cocked her head, listening out for something.

"Say, ya'll. I take it that there's been some kinda incident our posse oughta take an interest in. You fine folks wanna cut this shindig short and go take a look?"

Brisa scowled for a moment, but relented immediately. "Yeah, Luz ain't wrong. Just about everythin' of note in this world turns out to need us misfits to put it to rights."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Soul wriggled and bounced a little. “Thank you. I don’t have a face, but I’m smiling... but like, on the inside.”

Celeste laughed. “I suppose we probably should... It’s like we’re the protagonists of some kind of novel. All the threads will tie into us eventually. Best to know what they are before they affect us.”

 

[Phoenixsong]

The change in topic seemed to settle whatever brief flash of nerves had come over Tricky, and at least the last few minutes of their conversation were more relaxed, if a little mundane. Talking about simple, unrelated things made for a decent distraction, if nothing else. The fennekin excused herself after a while to go find some snacks more to her liking than a fruit bowl, and Skara and Limax were alone on the table again.

The stone wagged tentatively, ventured a few question-thoughts about the charjabug's mood. Of course, thinking about why one might've needed to take one's mind off of something has a tendency to bring that reason right back to the front again, and Skara could really only sigh in response. It had been nice while it lasted, at least. And it had been interesting to learn that... well, no. She hadn't really learned anything. If Tricky really had been upset, it could've been over anything. Nice to imagine, though, that perhaps in the middle of this team full of seasoned explorers and rangers and fighters, she might not've been alone after all.

 

[Cresselia92]

A line of blue light aimed to the sky. And then boom! Colorful streaks descended toward the earth, resembling beautiful shooting stars. Other lines, other streaks, until the sky was filled with a shower that filled the hearts of the participants with awe, thanks to the fireworks show.

Sure, there was a somewhat heavy air of concern and tension among some of the folks attending the party — between Diyem’s disappearance and Puff’s report — but at least the festival ended with a last hurrah.

And then, it was the time to clean everything. Most of the locals were quick to gather their things and wrap up some of the remaining food in doggy bags, while others took the youngsters at home to take them to bed.

Members of Team Spectrum, Icetales included, participated to the cleaning duties as well. The Vulpix smiled at his good folks Celeste and Cuicatl, who were so kind to lend a paw. Then, he looked at the others.

Teamwork. Union. Happiness. Yes, this… this was precisely what he was aiming for…

Thou know that this is merely temporary, right? Everyone will forget everything about this. Was all that effort worth it?

Icetales glanced at the shadow of Father, but quickly diverted his gaze. Father would never understand how truly rewarding is to see folks being friends and helping each other. To have a good time in the middle of a maelstrom of dangers.

“Yes, Father,” responded Icetales, without a single ounce of doubt, “it was.”

The Vulpix cradled Petram in his tails, who had become suddenly quiet (Was it tired?) and took one last stare at the night sky. Only the stars knew how things would go from now onwards, but he was confident that with hearts full of hope they would have taken anything in stride.

<><><><><>​

 

[Negrek]

Parfait Way was pretty swank, and ordinarily not the sort of place Nate wanted to be hanging around. But there weren't all that many places in Destiny Village that weren't all upper-class, and of course there were some houses that were sitting empty because rich people were fucking insane and whoever owned the place was presumably off in Bullshit Fantasy Alola for the winter. Nate didn't even touch the house itself, outside of snagging a few essentials; the garden shed was already like a fucking mansion and a half by his standards, and it wasn't like his little heater would be any good in a big place anyhow.

As it was, with some blankets tacked up to cut the drafts coming in through the poorly-insulated walls and a pile of cushions lifted from the house itself, the place was downright cozy. Plenty of space for one plus their psychic rock companion.

Although the way Rocky was going on, he wouldn't be content much longer. "What, you want to go check out that plains place?" Nate asked while the shade bumped insistently at one wall. "We can see about it, yeah. Only..." Only it was going to be tough. Rocky wasn't exactly blazingly fast, but then, neither was Nate. And if he couldn't keep up with the shade, well, they were both going to have a bad time. "Well, we'll see."

Nate watched while Rocky backpedaled away from the wall and made a lazy circuit of the shed, easily pushing aside empty food containers as he went. What the hell had gotten into the guy lately? Was he going to evolve or something? He wasn't sick or nothing, was he? Anytime Nate tried to reach out and see how the shade was feeling he got back a cheerful response. Apparently the guy was loving life, but that didn't mean whatever was going on with him was actually a good thing. Nate oughta visit Chip or something and see if he could sort out what was up.

Should, should, should. So much fucking stuff to do. Silver had mentioned remembering a lucario, after all, and lo and fucking behold, who'd popped up to cause trouble now? Nate ought to go follow up on that as well. And the whole DarkWhite thing, of course. It'd been real nice, the first few days after the last battle, resting up and watching battles on his badge and not giving a shit about pretty much anything. It wasn't bad, heading out to the Colosseum, trying some of the super posh restaurants he'd never be able to afford back home, just wandering the city without anything in particular to do. But shit was clearly going down out there, and it wasn't like Destiny Village was where he wanted to be spending the rest of his life anyhow. It was time to get back to work.

Rocky clattered to a halt next to Nate, spinning in place and rattling against the floor. Nate smiled and reached out to pat the shade, then drew his hand back with a frown. Rocky actually felt... warm to the touch. Maybe he'd just spent too long over by the heater. Nate reached out for another experimental poke, but Rocky rolled playfully out of reach, projecting excited thoughts at Nate.

"Ah, sorry," he said. "I'm fucking wiped." Too much talking. He must have spent upwards of an hour grilling that old "Voice of Life." "I've gotta crash. But we'll see about those plains tomorrow, huh?" After a visit to Chip's, probably. "For now I've gotta sleep."

It was actually weirdly peaceful, listening to Rocky rolling around and the wind in the pine trees that lined the yard Nate was squatting in. A lot quieter than the places he usually had to grab some shuteye. It wasn't a bad deal, really, slumming it out here. Maybe if it wasn't for Cibus' everything else, Nate could actually get used to it

<><><><><>​

Nate woke to two huge, yellow dots looming overhead.

The dots blinked. Eyes. They were eyes. Hanging about two inches above his own.

"Gah! What the f--?!" Nate flailed in his pile of cushions, sliding unceremoniously onto the floor.

Overhead, the eyes' owner giggled. "You're awake! Great! I was getting hungry!"

Nate scrambled to right himself, sending cushions flying, and tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Yellow eyes, dark purple face... and body... and limbs. A purple infernape weirdly hazy around the edges, with a streaming orange-flame crest and armor glowing the same reddish color. Floating in the middle of its torso was a darker clot of shadow, an irregular lump with a familiar shape. Nate stared, his mind trying to catch up with his panicked awakening. That was... "Rocky?"

"That's right!" The infernape puffed out his chest, hands on hips. "Betcha didn't know I could do this! Awesome, huh? I can talk now! And walk around! And fight, and watch TV, and pick things up, and eat. Whenever I want, I don't have to wait for you to feed me anymore. You should keep
more food around, though. You didn't even have very many berries or anything. I'm still pretty hungry. It's pretty hard making a body like this, you know!"

Nate looked, dazed, over to where his pack lay on its side, looking markedly emptier than usual. The shade had... evolved? Into an infernape? An infernape that ate all his supplies?

"Also, I can't get this thing to work," the infernape said, holding up Nate's badge. "I know the password, but it still won't start up for me anyway! It was so boring waiting for you to wake up. I want to see what kind of TV they have here, since you're so boring and always watch all battles." The infernape giggled, sparkling flames rippling. "Do you think they have something like Transformozords here? Do you think they even know what a zord is? I guess all the rangers would have to be pokémon, too. That would be so weird!"

And was obsessed with shitty kids' shows?

"It's so much fun to be able to see with my own eyes now," the infernape went on. "It's really funny how different things look than they do in your memories." The infernape leaned down over Nate, grinning broadly. "I'm taller than you."

Nate pulled himself to his feet, his confusion condensing into icy certainty. "You."

"Hmm? Oh, are you ready to go? I can carry the bag now. Isn't that great? You don't have to haul it everywhere anymore!"

"What the fuck are you doing here?!"

The infernape paused in the act of dragging the bag over, sunny smile faltering. "I don't..."

"You! Freak. What the fuck are you doing here? How the fuck did you find me?"

The infernape's ears flattened. "I just said. I'm Rocky, remember? It's kind of confusing, but I needed to make a body, so... I looked for people you remembered, and then made one like theirs. Pretty great, right?"

"You--you were fucking around in my memories, and you decided you were going to make that--that--?"

"Well, yeah!" The infernape flashed another smile. "You kept thinking about me, so--"

"I was fucking thinking about how I never wanted to see your fucking face again, you fucking dumbass murdery piece of shit!"

The infernape jumped, spectral fur bristling. "But--"

"Get out!" Nate took a step forward, raised up as tall as he could make himself on his stubby mudkip legs, braced to charge.

The infernape glanced back over his shoulder. "Umm, why?"

"Out!" Nate spat a water gun at the infernape, which punched through its shoulder and then the wall beyond.

"Hey!" The infernape clapped a hand over the hole in his shoulder, which was already starting to fill back in with wispy purple haze. "What was that for?"

"Get out! Out! Get the fuck out!" Nate launched himself at the infernape, catching him in the leg with a headbutt. The weird purple flesh gave slightly in the face of the attack, and the infernape stumbled back.

"Ow! Stop it! What are you--stop it!"

"Fuck off! Get the fuck out of here!" Nate kept advancing, tackling whatever parts of the infernape he could reach and soaking those he couldn't, until the infernape's back bumped up against the wall and, feeling blindly for the door while trying to fend Nate off with one foot, he managed to pull it open and fall backwards into the outdoors.

"And don't fucking come back," Nate yelled, and slammed the door shut again after him.

He turned back to the small room. breathing hard and glancing from one corner to another. He had maybe two minutes before that asshole tried to barge his way back in. Out a window, maybe?

"Can I come back in now?" The infernape's voice was slightly muffled by the door.

"Stay the fuck away from me!" Nate screamed and threw a pair of garden shears at the door.

Yeah, out the window, and then the infernape would be able to catch up to him in about two strides with those fucking long legs he had. It was a known fucking issue. Nate dove into his pack, cursing under his breath and digging around in a desperate bid for attention. Not that there was even that much left in here after some dickweed went and ate all the seeds and berries.

"Hello?" The infernape knocked on the door.

Fuck. Okay. He needed a distraction. Nate grabbed an iron thorn from the bottom of the bag. It rolled out onto the floorboards, and Nate stood looking morosely at it for a moment, and his own reflection in its gleaming side.

Yeah, he should have seen this one coming. What the fuck did he expect? He went and fucked Rocky up, just like he'd been bound to do. No wonder the guy hated him. No wonder he decided to turn into that. He was only getting what he deserved.

Nate reached for the iron thorn.

"What are you so mad about?" The infernape had opened the door just far enough to poke his head in. "Isn't this great? Now we can battle together and everything!"

"Stay the fuck away from me!" Nate yelled. He hurled the thorn at the infernape's face, and the shade drew back with a yelp. Nate charged while
Rocky was distracted, slipping around the door, through the infernape's legs, and off down the garden path. He just had to find a hedge or some shit. somewhere the infernape was too small to fit through. That would be enough to--

Something went tight in Nate's head and wrenched him off his feet. He toppled over on his back, ears ringing, head pounding, the sky whirling overhead. What... the fuck? Nate tried to stand up again and felt like he was going to be sick.

Rocky's face appeared overhead, blotting out the sun. "I can't leave you alone, remember?" the infernape said, smiling warmly. "We still have a psychic link!"

Nate groaned and closed his eyes. "Now come on," Rocky said from somewhere overhead. "Let's go into town! I want to see it for myself now. And meet everybody else! They're going to be so impressed. Do you think any of the other shades chose their forms yet? I bet mine is the best one!"

The best one. The very best one. Sure. Maybe they could pay a visit to Destiny Tower. Rocky would love to meet Arceus, and maybe Nate could convince the guy to actually kill him this time.

<><><><><>​

 

[Torchic]

They didn't know who was more anxious about this thing.

Tary had wanted to stop Cino from getting back his memories, yet was sad that he had lost them. It didn't make sense. Normally Tary should've been happy, jumping from joy, ecstatic, that his one and only best friend was getting back his memories. Then Cino would see what they had done in their childhood. At home. With their families and neighbours.

Cino already missed them, as well as his teammates. They were like a makeshift family of some kind. He didn't know he was alone and needed someone to talk to after having travelled so much without stopping anywhere or meeting anyone where there were other Pokemon. It was like he was hiding from them.

After their talk with S'more, he thought back really hard those couple first days. His first memories were on a bed, and an Ariados was taking care of him. She even brought him a bowl of berries. What a nice lady she was. Then... suddenly blank again.

He also couldn't remember how or when exactly he met the Shinx and his partner. They were just... there. It couldn't just be him forgetting these things, right? How would anyone forget when they have met new people they were travelling with?

Tary noticed that Cino was deep in his thoughts again. He decided not to be a disturbance this time.

Owen was accompanying them, too. He probably knew just by looking at them both that they weren't feeling alright.

He didn't know why, but he was getting increasingly more nervous by the second. He finally was going to find out who Tary was and what he was talking about.

But there also was this... weird feeling lingering inside his body. He thought it was just the monster trying to cause more mischief with him. But... it could've been something else. He didn't know.

Cino stopped for a second and went over his body with a paw. The Torchic leaned onto him, as if he was feeling that Cino had been feeling uneasy.

It might've not been the real Tary — or a real Torchic, for that matter — but Cino still could feel the warmth they were radiating when they were near someone else, like a warm fire in a cold winter night.

"Are you nervous?" Tary asked. "I can understand if you don't want to do this..."

Cino brought his free paw over Tary's shoulder. He breathed in deeply, before answering, "Of course I'm nervous. I don't know why, but I just have this uneasy feeling that... I don't know, something's wrong. It's hard to say... Let's just hope it'll be quick."

He was wondering how exactly he was going to regain lost memories. He was also wondering why it was a service that existed. Was memory loss a common occurrence in this world?

"Was it... this way, Owen?"