Marowak Dojo ~ Hidden Quarters

[Namohysip]

"...I don't think you're that familiar with how things work across realities... but let me tell you this. That Blissey right next door... the one who can see into the spirit world. If Telum was dead, and Maple wanted to make peace with that... why would she not seek them out in the astral plane? Souls are eternal things. They don't just go away. Even if they're destroyed, they are only rejected from the world they were destroyed in. They're still out there, finding new realities.

"So why isn't Telum there? ...It's not gone. It's still alive. Or maybe... someone is keeping it from Maple. Who knows? But I do know... that Maple isn't all that she says. She said it herself. Maple lost some of her powers a long time ago, in exchange for new ones. And now, she can only see the darkness in others. Seems to me like Maple's in denial of what she really is.

"Maybe she's not a Voice at all. Maybe she's just like your boss... just another Dark Matter.

"Heh... but hey. I could be wrong. It's just a theory, after all. But imagine that... Dark Matter and a Necrozma, melding their powers together into something both of darkness and light... Shadows and Radiance... incubating and festering for ages and ages until it's finally ready to be unleashed by some strange trigger. Maybe another dark entity, eh...?"

 

[Flyg0n]

"Sounds like a lot of speculation to me," Koa said finally, after turning the voice's words over in his head a few times. "But yeah, I see your point," he conceded.

By Ho-Oh's feathers, this was a lot to take in. He'd have to try and let the Team know about Maple. Should he try to contact them or- No. Not yet. There'd be time later, he hoped. What now? There was so much he wanted to know. And he did want to help, but he could never hurt his own team like that..

Didn't you already start doing that? You're doing it now, in a way.

"So you're trying to get more Blacklight than Maple, huh? How do you actually plan to do that? What would you need me to do?"

 

[Namohysip]

"All you need to do," the voice said, "is keep doing what you're doing, and keep a close eye on Maple. No way you're going to stop her from attacking the Tree, and y'know, that's alright. That thing's sort of gonna be a big trouble for Cibus anyway, so we'll want to get Eien outta there. Kill her, calm her, do whatever, but you'll have to get in there for sure.

"I think I've got most of this handled. There's just one little thing that I think you should do to help me out. Once you're in the Tree... there's one main entrance. You'll be going in through that one. I did some checks in there already and I have a good idea of where everything is. Eien is a ways in, far up and then far right of where you'll be entering.

"But maybe you should check out the top left... Just a thought."

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa blinked. He hadn't expected that answer. He wasn't sure what he expected, maybe something crazy. Spy on his team, attack them or something else equally preposterous. But all he had to do was keep an eye on Maple? That... didn't sound so bad. Maybe he could just-

"I..." he almost agreed, but he paused. Was he really about to do this?

No, he was just agreeing to do what Team Spectrum already wanted. Keep an eye on things, save Eien. How was that so bad? The top left entrance? why not head down that route, if he could find something to help his own team?

A brief silence fell as he mulled over his thoughts. He thought back, to the Worldcore, and on everything the Entity had said so far. "I don't understand...Team Spectrum are good people. You know that, I think. You saved them at the Worldcore. If what you want is truly good... why not just help them? Help us, and we'll help you! We're trying to save Dark Matter's mate for goodness sake. If we can look past Dark Matter, past Eien and her corruption, past everything Darkwhite did... and everything else that happened.... what makes you think we wouldn't want to help you?" He tilted his head, feeling genuinely perplexed. Sure, his teammates had already tried such things. He didn't believe it would work, but he didn't get it anyway.

"I mean, even purely logically speaking, you can do more by helping us. Just meet us in private, no Maple, no God Squad if you're that worried about it and... show us who you are. Heck, we can at least work together to save Eien for now and then you can still do your thing. Wouldn't that be easier, even from a practical standpoint? There's a better chance of success for everyone." His tone carried more confusion than anything.

Why, why couldn't this entity trust them?

He genuinely couldn't understand why this entity wouldn't want to work with them, at least a little. His chest tighted. "I want to help you," he admitted. There, he'd said it. And it was true, in many ways, he wanted to help this entity, if they could free Eien and help them save Cibus.

 

[Namohysip]

"...Heh... you're too trusting," the voice said. "I didn't give you anything. I gave you no solid info. Just words that you're choosing to believe or maybe tell the rest of your team. ...Whatever. I think this was worth it. Do what you want with the info, but be careful who you tell it to. Tell the wrong people, and it might leak to Maple, or Pop... and then we're all doomed. This is sensitive stuff.

"I'm gonna go. Don't think I need to stay here anymore. But let me just say this one last time, so at least you'll understand..."

The haze slowly appeared. Slowly, slowly... That reddish form again, flecked with Blacklight, too. But this time, it seemed to be a little more solid. Was he actually there?

"I'm the result of a god who had second thoughts about giving up his power."

It shifted and changed and churned... Eyes formed. Something that was crouched down on all four legs. It looked wounded, but standing.

"I'm someone who was already due for divine power, but then it was ripped away from me, left to drift, lost, through the Overworld." The haze drifted closer to Koa. "Do you know what it feels like to have your soul destroyed, piece by piece, from the wrath of Judgement? ...I do. And now I'm never allowed in that world again; it no longer recognizes me as alive. Not unless I force it back open."

The haze... looked a lot like Cola, but larger. But it was bleeding some strange energy from various parts of its abdomen. The circular eyes were not red rings, but a dark black. They stared into Koa, like he wasn't truly there.

"Nobody at the top wants their power to be shared. If they find out what I want to do, they would never allow it. That is why I can never work with them... I will not be destroyed again."

Koa couldn't move. Something was holding him in place, and yet it was no true force that was doing it. It was like his body simply refused to move. And this creature, this reddish-black Arceus Haze, reached toward Koa's forehead.

A vision. Koa was suddenly staring at the sky with an unimaginable anger, shouting, screaming, but he was too wounded to move. Far above him, there was an Empoleon standing next to Arceus himself. It didn't look like Pop. The fur was a little longer, the pattern of his ring was just slightly different... This was another Arceus. But he was too far to see the expression.

Lights rained down upon Koa, piercing his body, and then his spirit. He screamed and roared at the heavens. He launched his own attacks to the sky, but they fizzled instantly. Empoleon looked away. Arceus did not. The bombardment continued--

And then Koa was standing, unharmed, in the room again.

And, finally, he was alone.

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa's hackles rose as the haze began to manifest, its words sending chills down his spine. A growl built in his throat. It began to warp into some terrifying shadow of something, almost an Arceus but not quite, almost looking like someone or something trapped in between. Not fully mon, not fully a god.

The entity drew closer, and Koa tried to back away, but suddenly he couldn't. Fear seized him, but his body refused to respond. And then suddenly, he found himself somewhere else. Facing down a god, an Arceus, powerless. He screaming, crying out, raging at it with all his might - yet he was also watching himself, as if trapped outside his own body like a dream.

Attacks, raining down on him, tearing him apart, shattering his entire being. As if he were being ripped apart, losing himself. Trying to fight back, his attacks doing nothing-

Almost as soon as it began it ended. He was back in the room at the dojo, alive, unharmed. His heart rattling in his chest, barely able to breath, his entire body shaking uncontrollably.

For a long time he didn't move, not until he finally felt his body was his own again, and he could breathe properly and not feel his own heartbeat in his ears. His mind, however, couldn't slow. He didn't know what to make of any of what the entity had shown him. Was the vision fake? A memory? Something conjured to scare him, or some aspect of the truth? How much could he trust the thing at all? He'd come here to try and get information to help his team, but now he just felt more confused than ever.

Who was the hazy entity? His mind raced through the possibilities, but one kept coming back to him. Something about its mannerisms, its attitude, the way it tried to present itself one way but act another... Someone that fit with the team's suspicions already. More thoughts plagued Koa. Who were they supposed to trust? Maple kept so many secrets, yet had helped them too. And this entity... This entity he couldn't bring himself to trust, even if he felt bad for it. Seizing power like that felt wrong.

But more than that... who could he tell? Almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he berated himself. That answer was obvious - the only mon here who had fought alongside him and faced every trouble together. His team. It was just a shame that the one mon he wanted to go to first was the one he'd been trying his hardest to avoid. Still, this was more important.

Slowly, he left the room, though he couldn't help but risk a final look back. The vision still lingered in his thoughts, and a deep sense of dread began to grow in him at the thought of what lay ahead.

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