Destiny Village ~ Parfait Way

[Ambyssin]

Oh, he had teammates. Forcibly conscripted teammates. A fact that Bahamut would keep to himself. "Duly noted."

 

[Namohysip]

Cal frowned. He was just trying to get her to go away. How much did Bahamut know what he was doing was the wrong path, and how much did he try to justify it was the only one despite that?

Still... he wasn't going to change from her words alone. She could only hope someone in his world could convince him some other way.

"Let's sunbathe," she concluded.

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut hadn't moved that much from lying on his back to begin with. "As you wish."

<><><>​

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut knew he'd need to speak with Maple eventually. However, the information in Shield's latest message shifted the course of what he expected to talk about. At least all the Eterna energy was apparently out of that gremlin of a mew. Not that Bahamut found that particularly reassuring. That latest colosseum match still showed a sense of immaturity that made him hesitant to trust her with any sort of power.

Whatever. That was a matter for another time. He was at Maple's house. The shade said it thought she was heading there. Though there was always the chance that dumb mutt with the hots for her would be there, too. Didn't matter.

He banged the front door with his leg four times.

 

[Namohysip]

Maple opened the oversized door. She looked up, holding her tail as usual, and waved with her free hand. "Bahamut," she greeted, and then stepped aside so he could enter. "You caught me at a convenient time. Nobody's home at the moment. Joule is sightseeing while I recover; he gets restless."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut did not appreciate such a casual demeanor. He remained out in front of the house, stoic as ever. "So, you're choosing to hide from the truth by using that disguise again?"

 

[Namohysip]

Maple frowned. "No," she said. "This form is easier to get around town with. My true form is no secret; I can just enter shops properly this way. In this form, it is also easier for me to recover quickly, similar to Chip's findings when Pokemon reside within those capsules."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Convenient." Bahamut slithered into the house. "I hear that Sword remembered exactly what happened to her before she woke up on Cibus."

 

[Namohysip]

Maple nodded, making one great leap to get onto a seat far too large for her. She crossed her legs and nodded. "I heard. I spoke with the Hydreigon Blade within me--my other half--about the matter. That memory was sealed with him. I've been meditating so we can return to form."

 

[Ambyssin]

"We?" Bahamut frowned and crossed his upper wings. "The way Shield described it, you sound like an eternatus with a case of mistaken identity. How else would you be able to swallow up an entire planet and its inhabitants? I'm something I'm well acquainted with."

 

[Namohysip]

Maple chuckled. "Really, I'm an Eternatus?" she said. "I don't have any memories of being an Eternatus, and I'm sure something that powerful wouldn't be so easily taken over by me as a Voice... But perhaps I acquired its power during some subconscious struggle."

 

[Ambyssin]

Frowning, Bahamut held his badge up to Maple, showing Shield's explanation, along with Brisa's abridged version. "Maybe your persona doesn't reflect it... but the body and siphoning powers certainly do." He paused. "The monks used to tell me that if you repeat a lie for long enough, you can trick yourself into believing it to be the truth."

 

[Namohysip]

"What lie am I repeating?" Maple crossed her arms. "How would I have possibly done all this if I wasn't a Voice? Just because Hydreigon and I are separate now doesn't mean we're..." She trailed off, pensive. "Well... I must certainly be a Voice in some capacity. I can change my form the same way as one. I've never manifested Eternatus-related powers until now..."

 

[Ambyssin]

"You're asking the wrong person." Bahamut glanced toward a nearby window. "Voices and their bizarre powers are not a thing where I'm from."

Silence. This wasn't going how he was hoping. But when did that ever happen to him? Just because Cibus was brighter and happier didn't mean anything for him. "I apologize if I'm... terser than usual. Given my experiences, these revelations about you and Telum are... dredging up unpleasant memories."

 

[Namohysip]

"I understand," Maple said with a nod. "But I am glad that you are approaching me anyway with your concerns. There is a chance that Eternatus in some form is... related to how I am now. The fact that Diyem and I can enter similar forms is proof enough for me. But the possibility that I am not truly Blade... I don't know how to grapple with that."

 

[Ambyssin]

"The Telum memories?" Bahamut frowned again. "A skilled psychic could partition those, if it was necessary." He continued looking out the window. "Besides, does that really have an effect on what came after? You still met and fell in love with Joule, didn't you? And traveled to numerous other worlds as a team."

Which would be extraordinarily in line with how Dark Matter's mate acted prior to this, he reminded himself. If anything, it was more evidence that Maple is the eternatus and Blade did some sort of stupid godly mind-melding thing.

The necrozma slowly turned his head back. "Or do you fear that, if the real Blade must be separated, you will revert back to whatever personality you had before the events on Telum?"

 

[Namohysip]

"...Well, I didn't fear that until now," Maple muttered, squeezing her arm. "What I do not fully understand, if your premise is true, is how Blade within me seemed to understand what had happened to me externally. He was vaguely aware of what I was doing. When he 'woke up,' he spoke to me like an old friend, or a forgotten caretaker. The side of me that I'd lost. We... innately recognized one another. That must mean something..."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Well, it could've been a symbiotic relationship." Bahamut curled his tail up to rest his head on it. "You know how shellder will bite slowpoke tails, leading to evolution? The shellder share their strength, making the newly-minted slowbro far more capable of protecting themselves. In exchange, the fragile shellder get protection... and can absorb nutrients through slowbro tails. The slowbro is entirely unaware it has another lifeform attached to it, but the shellder is fully aware. However, trying to interact with others would break the symbiotic connection, so they don't."

 

[Namohysip]

"Perhaps..." Maple leaned back, thinking it over. "...Perhaps... there is a way that we can tell definitively. Diyem has a Voice, after all. He'd acquired the powers of a Voice. He can sense life and manipulate spirits. Perhaps he can tell if I have more than one, now that the Parasite is no longer masking it. Or Buffet, too, can tell..."

She fidgeted with her hands, thinking. "Joule is confused about this. He's worried about me. But he assured me that he would be by my side. But I do wonder... if he would want to stay, if Telum is restored." She sighed. "I would go back to being a Voice. Bound to Telum--I certainly cannot, and wouldn't want to, leave it again..."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Nor do I think you should." Bahamut again turned away. "I spoke with the other eternatus. Told her that if she can be saved, that she should 'retire' from her current world-travelling gig." His head tendrils shrank. "Regardless your outcome, I'd recommend the same for you."