Marowak Dojo ~ Hidden Quarters

[Fusion]

Vix looked at Zane, then at Zane, then at Soda. "Well you aren't as mad as I thought you'd be. Or at all, for that matter."

 

[Tanuki]

Zane hurled himself back the moment his eye met his own. He botched his landing, but scrambled and scooted as fast as he could away from the door. Words didn’t register, only that they’d addressed him.

His shaking paw rose to point at the door. He stuttered, stammered, tried desperately to say what horrors he faced. He could barely force out, “Ghosts!”

 

[Fusion]

"Alright, first, that's offense," Vix said, stone faced for all of three seconds before letting out a snicker.

 

[Namohysip]

"Zane, buddy, pal." Soda swooped over the terrified Zangoose and held him by the shoulders. "You're really out of it. Don't you see? There's nothing wrong." He motioned to the way out, which had a third Zane now stepping through the door, smiling evilly at the real Zane, if he truly was real. Then, a fourth Zane peeked out behind the door and tapped the third one on the shoulder, and they both slipped away, shutting the door behind them.

"How about you get some rest before the fight, huh? You must be seeing things from being so sleep deprived." Soda ushered Zane to his bed.

 

[Tanuki]

Zane swiped Soda’s paws off him the moment he stood up. “Look! Idiot! Are you blind? Stupid? Both?” he screamed right at the zoroark’s face. Rage mixed horribly with fear, twisting his stomach like a speed-cube.

He looked to Vix and the other himself, desperation bleeding from his eyes. “Look! Th-the-there’s clearly something! A—” his eyes shot to Soda again. “Was this place built on a zangoose burial ground?!”

 

[Namohysip]

"Burial ground? No, no, not at all." Soda shook his head, but still ushered Zane back to his room. "You see, this place was actually once an execution facility for some of the worst criminals known to monkind. Centuries ago, generation upon generation, when Treasure Town was nothing more than a cliff side, these outskirts were meant to hold the most horrible criminals... And among them... was a band of ten Ditto."

Soda's face suddenly became serious. "These Ditto were the worst of the worst. I can't repeat their crimes. Only that they often transformed into their victim before delivering the final blow. They say... that trying to run away once you see them is a death sentence. The only way to fend off their spirits, which still haunt this place, is to stay until yo're escorted out by the warden. Truffle, my partner? He's the descendant of the warden. If you wait for him to escort you out, you'll be safe." Soda pat him on the shoulder. "You'll be just fine. Just make sure you never see two Zangoose at the same time. If you do... they say you only have ten days to live. One for each Ditto."

Soda smiled warmly. "Buuuut that's all just a big rumor. Don't sweat it! Anyway, Magikarp battle's soon. Get some rest and Truffle will come here to escort you out for the fight, eh?"

 

[Umbramatic]

Mithos put his Mew paws disguised as Zoroark paws disguised as Zane's paws to his face in shock. "That's terrifying! I'm not sleeping here. Later!"

He vaulted out of the room, or at least attempted to.

 

[Fusion]

Vix shuddered, as candles were known to do. Call it irony, but she was never one for horror stories. Living one was more than enough, if you asked her.

"Y-Ya know, I think I won't be sleeping again for a while. Not because of anything that was just said, um, it's just a uh... strange feeling, ya know?" Vix cleared her throat. "Uh-huh, juuuuuust gonna keep both eyes open at all times. F-For safety."

 

[Tanuki]

This sounded like a complete lie. Obviously fabricated just to get Zane back into the hidden quarters. Nobody other than an utter buffoon would fall for it.

Zane shook from his paws to the tips of his ears. Terror ravaged his body as if it had bought the hour, invading every entrance, every inch of his body. It consumed even his mind, barely a thought possible while he stared into his own eyes. The legend rang in his head over and over until it had etched itself permanently in his mind.

With this permanence, his heart stopped. For just one moment, it all became clear. "Ten days... one for each ditto." The facade fell. He finally saw his doppelgangers for what they were: illusions. Illusions that stupid zoroark made. There were only four of him in the room total! Not even half of the legend, and one of them was Mithos!

"Back off, brainlet!" he shouted, shoving his shoulder into Soda before dashing headfirst into the very first "ghost" in his path.

 

[Namohysip]

It was solid.

The first Zangoose that Zane had run into was completely solid. Not only that, but when it reached for Zane, it smiled mischievously and pulled him close. "Yeah... one for each of us," the solid Zangoose replied.

"Oh, what do you know," Soda remarked, half-surprised, half confused. "They're real after all. Didn't expect ghosts to be that solid, though."

The Zangoose cackled and evaporated in the air in a sinister haze, squeezing into the ceiling as nothing remained behind. Suddenly, Zane's world went dark.

"Whoa, who turned out the lights?!" Soda shouted, looking around. "Hey, Zane! C'mere! you're agitating them, you idiot!"

 

[Tanuki]

It was solid. It was solid. Illusions weren’t solid. Ghosts weren’t either, but Zane didn’t think about that while he hurled himself backwards.

In a miraculous feat of acrobatics, he managed to trip over his own tail. He tumbled back, head over heels, too many times to recognize front from back. He didn’t know where he was. He didn’t know where they were.

Only that they were after him.

He curled up. He was trapped. Lost. Doomed. He curled even tighter, burying his knees into his chest. His eyes closed to block out the darkness. He prayed to whatever would listen, please help, please help, please help, endlessly while horror shook him. He wanted to scream, but could only whimper, “Mommy.”

 

[Namohysip]

Giggling filled Zane's ears. Giggling of his own voice coming from two different places. The illusions, the ghosts, whatever they were, they were back, and they were closing in, and then...

Zane was on his bed. How had he gotten there? It was the same position he'd taken when curled in the darkness, yet now everything was dimly lit again. Soda was near the entrance, leaning against the wall while reading through a comic. Vix had disappeared somewhere, or maybe she'd just left, too spooked by the ghosts, or maybe Soda had told her to go. Had Zane even passed out? No time had passed. Or did a lot of time pass? Underground, it was impossible to tell.

Soda turned the page, looking bored. The tremors were stronger, and Soda perked up. "Eh?" he mumbled. "Mm." He closed the comic. "Sounds like it's about time to get ready for a fight. What's taking Truffle?"

"Right here!" Truffle declared, bursting through the door. "Come, Zane! Your house arrest is temporarily lifted! It is time for your valiant battle against the Magikarp duo!"

Whether he liked it or not, it was time to go. Hopefully the Ditto would show him mercy on the way out.

 

[Tanuki]

<><><><><>

 

[Ambyssin]

The week had been... quiet. Perhaps that was for the best. While his teammates had slept and rarely left their living quarters, Necrozma didn't want to stay in those dark, barren rooms. Besides, his awkward body structure wasn't well-suited to lying down. He'd propped himself up against the side of the dojo and sunbathed. Necrozma wished there was a more eloquent way to phrase it, but that was what it was. He sometimes floated into the dojo's main room, but didn't venture off into town unless he was going with Truffle to provide an extra set of hands. Which, really, was all he was good for, anyway.

No one believed him. He was so sure about the source of the giant magikarp, but it had fallen on deaf ears. It would take the giant, five-headed daemon spawning in the heavens to convince everyone at this rate.

That was all he could think about as Maple summoned him to the part of the dojo hidden away from everyone else. He floated in with his usual slouched posture with his arms limply hanging behind him.

"Good morning." He wasn't sure if it was really all that good, but best to be polite.

 

[Namohysip]

"Good morning," Maple replied.

This had become somewhat of a routine. While Maple was quiet about why she knew that his kind needed light, and while she only said that it was a gift from Arceus when pressed on why she had such powers, it seemed clear that Maple was more keen on assisting where she could than explaining her life story.

"I think I'm going to try something different this time," Maple told Necrozma. "I wanted to do this with your team in general to... test something. But I would like to try a weaker version of it first, and you would be the best candidate. Perhaps this will give you more light so you aren't constantly uncomfortable."

 

[Ambyssin]

"You want to test something?" Necrozma looked into his right hand. "Fine. But such gestures are two-way streets. I would ask something in return." He stuck out his right arm. "I'm not going to do any digging this time. I just want to understand something about this Arceus character. Did he really just... create this world from nothing?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Arceus," Maple said, "is a creature with a unique ability across all worlds. They are a species that appears spontaneously, often as nothing but a puff of thought. There are many worlds that behave like this, but Arceus is unique in that it is a conscious thing that appears instead. I have asked Arceus about what he remembers of that era, but it was so far away that even he does not remember.

"They have the power of creation. The ability that, if they are in a place with nothing, they can make it whatever reality they wish. One thing led to another... and here we are now, a world under an Arceus."

Maple held up a paw, facing it toward the ceiling, and an apple-sized sphere of light formed. "Let's start here, as usual," she said, offering it to Necrozma.

 

[Ambyssin]

"It just... doesn't make any sense. It defies nature itself." Necrozma took the sphere of light in his right hand. "The only creature I know of that is capable of producing something from nothing is World Ender. And, even then, it does not create matter. Merely energy." His core's triangles flickered asynchronously. "To create life from nothing... it sounds dubious. Are the creatures of this world even flesh and blood? Or are they simply beings of energy? The latter would explain how... easily you can replicate my powers."

 

[Namohysip]

"Were you not also spawned from nothing?" Maple asked, tilting her head. "A happenstance of the stars. Be it by chance or by design, I do not think we differ very much. Though, I do not know how much of us is of energy, and how much of matter. I certainly would not consider you to be someone of flesh and blood--" Maple cleared her throat, interrupting herself. "I'm sorry. In any case, my powers were gifted to me. I had met one of your kind long ago, and my adaptable nature--even more than the average Smeargle--allowed me to replicate it. With some practice, I am where I am now, as one of Arceus' primary servants."

I do not believe a word she says, Diyem muttered. No normal Smeargle can replicate powers of that magnitude. Be careful of her. Is that light she's giving you dangerous?

 

[Ambyssin]

"I wasn't spawned from nothing." He dug his claws into the light and, like a sliced citrus fruit leaking juice, light trickled down his hand. "I witnessed the end of my creation as I was gaining sentience. A giant star grew close to a dwarf star. It erupted in a supernova and the dwarf star absorbed the energy given off in the explosion. Thus, I was 'born.'"

Necrozma's shoulders sagged further. "I have heard rumblings. Whispers back home about the powers I have and what I am capable of. But they are not true. If you say you met another of my kind, then they are far more powerful than I am."