Grass Continent ~ Amp Plains

[Namohysip]

They were greeted immediately by thunderclaps in the sky, Zeraora perhaps challenging them more openly, as the first bolt of thunder rocked the earth only a few feet in front of them. It had a tell; the ground where the lightning was about to strike had flashed a brighter cyan color. It'd take less than a second to react, but it wasn't normal lighting.

They were in the right place.

The area just below Cal lit up in the same way.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Looks like I'm bein' challenged to a duel," said Luz, reverently. She couldn't resist.

Then the cyan light indicated an attack against Cal, and Luz yanked her out of the way. Not a duel, then!

"Get clear of the light," she cried. Then she advanced, grinning wildly. Why shouldn't she have fun?

 

[Namohysip]

Bolt after bolt rained down on them, sometimes two at a time. Cal lost an arm during one, but thanks to Luz and her vigilance, that was all she had lost. Not a single bolt struck Luz during that until near the end, when, right near the apex of the final hill, a wall of bright lights surrounded them, followed by a single blast in the middle.

"Uhh--!" Cal, panicking, froze where she stood. There wasn't enough time for the both of them to dodge.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"If she wants to come, I'll protect her."

Luz knocked Cal to the ground and threw herself over the other shade, holding herself over Cal on all fours. Hey, it was like Cal had said, right? Shades were close to indestructible. She'd probably be fine.

And if she wasn't, well . . . that was fine too.

 

[Namohysip]

CRASH!

Luz would feel the strangest sensation of electricity stabbing painlessly through her body, and then, perhaps for the first time, the faintest sensation of a dull pressure somewhere that counted. It was fleeting, but there, and then it faded away.

Luz's body, however, had been completely spattered in all directions, ectoplasm evaporating in a sick fizzle. She fell against Cal's chest, where she lay snug against the intact projection.

Cal shouted in terror and held Luz there, secure, and ran toward the hillside. She tumbled out of the way of another blast and staggered through another before finally reaching the top.

There, she fell to her knees and held Luz again. "Are you okay?" Cal asked softly. "Please be okay..."

Thunder boomed distantly...

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

I'm okay, Cal. Jus' gonna need a minute or so to generate a new body. Are ya safe? Keep safe fer me, darlin'.

Come on, come on, come on...

She tried reaching for Luz, to ask for more power. If she could only have more power, if she only had her real body, if she only had–

Come ON, damn it, by wind and thunder she just needed her STRENGTH–

Come on. I need this.

Luz was born from a need to be better. To meet expectations. To be there for others. She couldn't fail now. She strained to generate a form, any form at all...

 

[Namohysip]

Luz could see, barely. It was hard from such a strange angle, and her vision seemed blurry, too. Or maybe that was because Cal's embers were encircling Luz to hear her better.

Thunder boomed again, and then footsteps...

Cal spun around. "Y-you!"

"Tsk..." It was a wispy, airy voice accented by an electrical pop. "So you're those Ultra Shades I've heard about..."

Taller than Luz by perhaps a head. The proper colors as well, though in the erratic lights of the plains it was hard to tell. But there she stood, the Zeraora of Cibus. Her right fist was strangely dark and gave off a dark haze.

"What do you want?" she asked. "Might not've been able to tell, but I usually like being alone."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

I am heir to the Wanderin' Light, the zeraora of another world, and have come here to learn what it is to be one. Can y'tell her that fer me, Cal?

 

[Namohysip]

"Can you say that again?" Cal whispered back, staring at her feet.

"Oh? So you can still hear her."

"Of course I—What do you care? You tried to kill her!"

"Hey now, I gave fair warning. And I know you guys are durable." She shrugged, nonchalant, as the thunderclouds quieted further. "So, what does your hero have to say?"

"M-my..." Cal shook her head, but then repeated, with a few stumbling errors, what Luz said. Nervous, she tried to look for a place that seemed more secure. But there was nothing.

"Heir to an alien Zeraora," she repeated, an amused smile crawling across her muzzle. "You've got a gold heart, I'll say that much. I've been watching for a while." She brought her darker paw up and gestured behind her. "Overheard some of your... chatting."

Cal's ectoplasm rippled with anxiety, and it felt like Luz could practically grab onto some of it.

"Not really sure what I can do to help. In the end, don't we only share a species?" She looked Cal up and down. "If that."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Cal, darlin', may I borrow some of your gel? It'd help.

An' tell her . . . she's the closest thing I got to an ancestor.

 

[Namohysip]

"She's the closest—I mean, you're the closest that she has to an ancestor. She's gonna use some of my body to form up again, by the way."

She quirked a brow. "You can do that?"

Cal nodded. "She just really came out all this way so she can have a sense of... I don't know, identity. I think we're all trying to figure that out. We don't have proper parents or histories or upbringings, we were just... created. Can't we just talk?"

Zeraora hummed with the thunder, then sighed. "Oh, damn it all," she muttered. "Taking advantage of that angle, are you? ...Fine. But don't expect a hug. I know how your sort are."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Thanks, partner.

Luz took a little of Cal's body and what power she'd stored up inside, and let the dark molasses pour out from her stone...

The body she formed was smaller than before. About Cal's height, all told. Proportionally, she looked like a kid. Big paws; big eyes.

"Howdy, ma'am," said Luz, rubbing the back of her head. "No hugs, I hear ya."

Well, they'd made it. Time to make use of the opportunity.

"My name is Luz," she said, "but if that sounds strange in yer ears I go by Zest in this world. I know about the zeraora whose form I share through folklore, not personal acquaintance. I guess I figured that if I gotta be a zeraora, I should at least know what's inevitable and what's down to bein' my own person. Fer instance... Y'ain't a tenth as sociable as the Wanderin' Light."

 

[Namohysip]

"Sociable?" Zeraora let out a single, sharp laugh like it was lightning itself. "No, I'm not. Never was. When I ascended to this form, I gave the furry god a nod and a farewell and he was fine with that." She shook her head. "I'm a lesser god in this world, no huge responsibilities, just a hand in combat if trouble comes about. Well. Trouble we can handle." She glanced at her darkened fist.

"...One thing you should know about a Zeraora, then? Guard your weakness." She gestured to her ponytail. "It's easy to grab it, but you need it for balance. Consider charging it with electricity to give anyone but a Ground a good zap if they try."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz grinned. "I'll be sure to do exactly that. I'd bet that was a hard-learned lesson. Makes me wonder what kinda 'mon you were before ya picked up yer new body."

She raised a brow and cocked her head at the darkened paw.

"Y'got Shadow troublin' ya? There might be somethin' we can do about that."

 

[Namohysip]

"Yeah, Shadow trouble. But I've got it handled." She held up the paw so she could see. "Had it since this Blacklight crisis began. I'm kinda used to it. And I've got it perfectly under control, too. Took a little practice. Lost my mind a bit. But that's all done and behind me, now. And if necessary..." Zeraora clenched it, black electricity swirling around, before a bit of golden energy flecked around with it next. With a forceful shove, she fired a bolt of Blacklight into the ground. Afterward, her arm trembled a little, and she looked quite winded. "...Still... need some time. But it's very useful. I don't think it's a problem to deal with."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Colour me impressed. That ain't somethin' any of the more prominent gods could deal with. How'd ya get hit with the stuff in the first place?"

Luz clenched a fist and imagined being able to wield the Blacklight like that, or like Brisa...

 

[Namohysip]

"Well, I figure it's nothing that abnormal," Zeraora said, shrugging. "I was in the Amp Plains and saw something falling through the sky. It was clearer weather, got lucky, and you can usually catch a feel for disturbances in the air when you're always working with it. Whatever it was, it was pretty big. A small building, or something, possibly. Well, I had to investigate that one. Took me pretty far, though. Far, far south a little north Lush Prairie I think."

She hummed, trying to recall. It must have been several months ago by now. "When I got there, I saw... a meteor, maybe. Big, big meteor. Ominous red energy. And I smelled someone else in the air, too. And then I was attacked! They were no match for me, though. Coward. Couldn't even see who I was fighting. I had to get away, but they couldn't take me down."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Cal, darlin', would ya mind lettin' the team know that a massive Eterna meteorite went missin' from the impact site north of Lush Prairie, please? Ask Maple who investigated the site first, too."

Luz' mind buzzed. Had someone nicked the darn thing before the team had found the ultra stones? Had the stones been planted?

"Ma'am, can you recall anythin' else about yer unseen attacker? What kinda type they mighta been, fer instance, their size, or their voice? This ain't what I came to discuss, but it could be critical to the defence of our world."

 

[Namohysip]

Zeraora seemed relaxed, maybe bragging at first, until Luz phrased her question in that way. After that, her countenance had changed completely, stone cold and dutiful. "That won't be a problem." She crossed her arms, eyes closed, and the thunder was nearly totally absent. "...It was an invisible foe, but I still felt a presence. A distorted presence. The same feeling like when you step into a Dungeon and you know what to look for. I was hit with a barrage of different kinds of attacks... All energy-based, so I don't really know what my foe's build was like at all. But it was strong. Very strong..."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz snapped her digits in frustration.

"A magic specialist, then? An' strong enough to match ya with Blacklight and Eterna energy to strengthen 'em. Did ya see anythin' else peculiar? Fer instance, any pokémon actin' suspicious, or . . . or anythin' like this?"

She reached inside her chest and retrieved her core to show.