Moonlit Forest

[Negrek]

"Wait, Sword! Goddammit," Nate snarled, taking a step towards where the charmander (more fucking charthings?) had disappeared, but of course, she was gone. And the mewtwo with her--so it had been the weird familiar mewtwo after all. Maybe Giovanni really was out of commission, if those two were running interference.

One way or another, it looked like they were done here. Certainly Soda was done here. Nate glanced at the zoroark, who was still frozen with a thousand-yard stare, then hastily looked away again. Mr. Cool Unflappable had some real dark shit going on under all those layers of illusion, huh?

Nate edged a little closer to Starr. "Hey, uh, nice shot," he said. "That's new, right? Don't remember seeing something like that before."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr stood there, breathing heavily as the wisps of Radiance faded from her body. The familiar burning pain that it left in its wake wasn't anything new, nothing she couldn't handle. The vague, empty longing was harder though.

Giovanni was gone. Gone because he'd never been there. This place was bullshit and she wanted out.

Nate edged a little closer to Starr. "Hey, uh, nice shot," he said. "That's new, right? Don't remember seeing something like that before."

The voice was a small tug back to reality. Something grounding. Starr gave Nate a sideways glance, forcing a shadow of what might have been a grin. "Thanks. Don't know what it was. Didn't feel like normal Radiance."

Her eyes drifted over the Maple and the Escape Orb. "Let's get the fuck outta here."

 

[Negrek]

"Yeah. Let's." But even as he stepped closer to Maple, prepared for the Escape Orb to whisk them all away, he couldn't help but look back into the trees, where the path of Blacklight fumes still glowed. For now.

<><><>​

 

[Namohysip]

"I dunno why I got signed up to come to this damn place again," Soda muttered. "What was it? Experience? That I'd been through it the first time? This is bullshit."

"Could have been worse," Shield said, arms crossed. "I don't want to know what the Worldcore would have in store for us. That's not my expertise either."

"And why the hell did they send you here?!" Soda said, jabbing a claw at Shield's arm. "You've got enough demons with a whole world falling on your shoulders, what the hell?! This forest's gonna eat you alive!"

"Maple turned out fine."

"Maple's fucking insane," Soda pointed out.

"And, by your standards, I'm not?" Shield smiled wryly.

"Don't give me that," Soda growled. "Ugh. You really are like her."

He stormed on ahead, toward the forest's edge, while Shield leisurely followed behind. His playful smile slowly transitioned to a serious one as he reminded himself of the mission. Signs of Sword, corruption, traces, revisiting things with a clear head. Moonlit Forest still held signs of massive corruption. If they could find a way to trace that back to Sword...

 

[IFBench]

Saltriv stared into the entrance of the forest. One of the many mystery dungeons filled with Charmander apparations. They were certain that those apparations were Sword.

Sword had called to them for help, and they'd answer that call.

A telepathic message ran through their head from Burhalla.

Will you be ok out there?"

"I will. I'm going to find Sword, no matter what," they thought back.

"Good. Take care, I'll see you when this is over."

As the message left their mind, they looked back towards the forest.

They took a deep breath, and then another. They Rejuvinated themselves with the sunlight above and their Radiance, preparing themselves for whatever may lie within.

They could do this.

 

[Navar]

Shiron gulped, staring at the forest's entrance. Just standing there gave him chills and he seriously considered backing away from that. That place was odd, haunted, who knew what was waiting for them inside that area?

Fear won't help anyone.

Oh, shut up!

You know I'm telling the truth. We need to go, you can do this.

Well, his shade was actually talking today, what a pleasant surprise. Shiron took a deep breath and let it all out, pushing his fears and anxiety away. He could do this. He could do this. It would be fine, they would all be fine.

 

[Negrek]

Nate paced around near the forest's edge, eyeing the pokémon coming through the portal. There would be plenty of backup for Shield and Soda. Maybe too much backup. Nate scowled. More people meant more chance somebody'd bring in some truly nasty thought that would fuck all of them over. He didn't know most of these people much at all; hopefully they could keep it together.

Based on what they'd seen in the other dungeons, Nate was starting to doubt that they'd even find anything in Moonlit Forest. Maybe this was where Sword had started off manifesting, but these days her presence seemed as strong anywhere else as it did here, and they'd never gotten her to engage the way she had when she was out here fucking with Soda. But Shield was adamant that they give the creepy nightmare forest a shot, and who knew, maybe they'd find some other clues around where Giovanni'd had to hunker down after getting blasted by Joule. Maybe this was even where his secondary base was. Whatever.

Meanwhile, he couldn't believe Soda had shown up at this place again. Nate hadn't even considered asking him, after what had happened the last time. Maybe he felt like he had something to prove now or some shit. That was another thing they didn't need.

Nate jumped up on a stump and called to the gathering members of Team Spectrum, "Hey! If you ain't heard yet, this dungeon is some kind of fucked-up cursed place. It throws shit at you based on what you're thinking about, like your thoughts have special power here, I guess. It can even try to hurt you with happy thoughts, so keep your mind as blank as possible, huh? Focus on this being a normal place without any power to hurt you, and you'll be fine. Stick close to Shield and Soda. Let's go!"

He hopped down again and followed Shield towards the trees. Was that Blacklight trail still around here? Nate focused on the ground, hoping for some sign to guide them deeper into the dungeon.

Nate used Foresight!

 

[Namohysip]

The Blacklight trail had faded almost entirely. There wasn't much hope in getting anything back there until, perhaps, they went further inside.

Shield led the way and Soda followed behind, not quite hiding his snarl at the forest just ahead of them. When they passed through, the ominous feeling of dread that the forest seemed to naturally radiate immediately hit them. Soda closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind.

"Not gonna get me this time," he muttered,

"I've been through enough of these," Shield said. "This may be the epicenter... maybe it was corrupted by Blacklight..." He glanced left, thinking he'd seen something. He saw an Espurr and a Goomy staring at him. He shook it off.

"And who're they?" Soda asked.

"Village friends back at Telum. They're dead," Shield replied flatly. "Who's that one?" He gestured to an Empoleon that was staring at Soda in particular, standing behind the shadows of a few trees.

"Wife," Soda said.

"Dead?"

"Nah. That's me, to her. Forever."

Empoleon frowned, looking away. Soda grunted and kept his gaze forward, and Empoleon disappeared.

 

[Dragonfree]

Of the three investigation expeditions, none sounded fantastic, but if he trusted any of the God Squad it was probably Soda, and then Brisa'd asked him if he'd come with them, and, well, whatever.

After his trip to the Voidlands, he'd found himself softening on Mia. Nothing terrible'd happened while he wasn't around, and honestly being a helicopter parent was exhausting and by the time he got back from the dead he'd just lost the will to argue with her about where she wanted to spend her time. Even told her he was sorry, not that that even meant much to her. He'd half-expected her to want to head elsewhere, but no, this time she did want to accompany him.

"It's a dungeon that changes depending on what you're thinking," she'd said. "I can control what I think." Then she'd frowned. "Is it going to be a problem with your brain?"

"No," he'd said, gritting his teeth, and had been happy to just think about this as a normal dungeon expedition ever since, all the way until the fucking Mudkip had to go and yell at everyone about it. Jesus, had he ever heard of 'don't think about a pink elephant'. Nice job making everyone think about their worst nightmares. What an ass. And yet somehow Mia liked him, for some contrived reason. Fuck that guy.

He glanced at her; she looked perfectly content, glowing eyes alert, looking curiously around the forest and at the apparitions within.

 

[Navar]

I have to keep going.

Shiron breathed in, and began to walk. As he did, his gaze met two humans, a man and a woman, who stared directly at him. Although he couldn't make out their faces, he saw a disappointed look on them. They looked at each other and then at him, unmoving, and without saying a single word. Shiron knew what that was about, and looked away.

"Mom? Dad? I--" he shook his head and closed both eyes. "I'm sorry."

The two humans faded into nothingness and he kept walking, now panting. Things had already gone wrong, but he had to hold on. Just a little bit more. He was fine. Everything was fine.

 

[Namohysip]

"Don't lose it," Soda said to Shiron. "They aren't real. This is all in your head. Your parents, your whatever, they're all far and away from Cibus, got it? The Dungeon is just feeding off of your thoughts."

"Like that?" Shield asked, gesturing forward with a more braced stance. "Can it also replicate power?"

"No idea," Soda replied, but he was just as braced. His paw was trembling.

Arceus. It looked different from Pop. The fur was a little longer and the eyes a little colder, staring directly at Soda. Taking full advantage of his height.

"What?" Soda asked. The sky was dark, now. Moonlit Forest had eaten away at all the sunlight that had tried to reach the forest floor. "Alright, guys. Nobody panic. If anybody panics, we're sending you back to the entrance... You'll be a liability. Lean on someone you trust or whatever sappy bullshit you guys need to stay afloat here, alright?"

 

[Negrek]

The trail was gone, of course. Nate forced himself not to think too hard about that and simply follow Shield and Soda into the trees. They'd find it when they found it. That's all he was going to think about that.

People were already starting to get distracted by the forest's strange power, though. Nate stared at an array of what were apparently the dead, then glanced uneasily at the people they belonged to. It felt pretty fucked up, seeing into other people's darkest thoughts like this. And Jesus Christ, Soda.

Lucky Nate didn't know anybody who'd died. Or, well, not really knew. Like maybe he'd seen some people die, like, a few times, but it wasn't like he knew there names or--but he could see the shadows moving under the trees, drawing together into what were distinctly humanoid shapes, and--no. Fuck's sake, this was stupid.

Nate shook his head, then glared at the phantoms, spooky scary shadows. They didn't mean nothing. They were just fucking illusions. Fuck them. Fuck the stupid forest and its fucking stupid gimmick. Fuck the trees. Fuck the stupid night sky, like was that supposed to be fucking scary?

Nate held his head high and his irritation close and marched forward. "Sword!" he yelled into the trees. "Heard you were bored out here by yourself. I brought friends!"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa kept her mind as calm and empty as she could manage. No conclusions. Just what she saw in front of her, sensory awareness of the environment, the task ahead. Don't speculate. Don't fear. Don't remember. Just search.

There's so much in yer head that could hurt you, here.

Was there? Huh, she hadn't considered that! Ugh.

She prowled forward, not keen on keeping up unnecessary conversation while there was a job to do.

 

[IFBench]

Saltriv leaned against Shiron, their leaf drooping as the sunlight faded away.

Deep breaths. In, and out. In, and out.

They breathed in the forest air, before soon spotting a Meganium and Torterra in the distance. Near them, was an Oshawott wearing a red reunion cape, and a Charmander with a pecha scarf.

"Come home, Saltriv!" the Meganium said. "Dinner's ready! Your teammates have been looking for you? Why have you left them? Why have you hurt them?"

The Meganium's voice became more and more like Saltriv's own voice as it continued on. Saltriv shivered, leaning more against Shiron.

They're not real. They're not real.

Soon, the manifestations faded away. Saltriv continued on, their expression already wrought with stress.

 

[Navar]

"I'm fine! I'm... I'm fine."

He wasn't fine, but if he kept repeating it, then it might help. Or not. Another human appeared, but this one looked like a teenager with red hair, and Shiron saw a big smile on his face.

You're not real. You're dead.

Shiron continued walking, trying to distract himself with all he could think of. It was hard, considering how that last manifestation didn't disappear, it kept laughing at him, and to counter that, Shiron began to hum a tune to himself.

The Meganium's voice became more and more like Saltriv's own voice as it continued on. Saltriv shivered, leaning more against Shiron.

They're not real. They're not real.

Soon, the manifestations faded away. Saltriv continued on, their expression already wrought with stress.

Then he noticed Saltriv, and looked at the same manifestations as they did. Those must be Saltriv's parents!

"I'm here for you, Saltriv. Let's go. We can do this, right?"

 

[Dragonfree]

An Arceus appeared out of the darkness, looming. Not Pop, a different Arceus, Soda's Arceus. The one who'd tricked him and ensured he could never go home. A sudden chill ran through him and--

--fucking gods, Pop might have been sort of okay but that didn't excuse that guy, who'd just used his omnipotence for sheer cruelty. Not that he was even real, this was just some dumbfuck illusion coming out of the forest. He glanced at Mia as she tilted her head at the image of Arceus, fearless as always. She really was the perfect person to send to this place, wasn't she. He was pretty sure nothing'd faze her at all, up to and including the...

No, no, no, fuck off, fuck off. He glared at Nate instead as he was yelling out for Sword. Why would she even be here at this point, this was like the one place in Cibus right now that didn't have grinning Charmander appearing out of thin air. Why the fuck were they even here. He took a deep, forceful breath. Why'd he let Brisa drag him here in the first place. Goddamn waste of time. What was the Arceus going to do, just stand there? Being godly? Was that supposed to be intimidating?

 

[IFBench]

"Thanks, Shiron," Saltriv said, wrapping a vine around the Marshtomp in a hug.

They focused what little light fell on them into their leaf, and then with their leaf, released a soothing aroma to calm the group.

 

[Namohysip]

"You don't even deserve to be in my head after what you did," Soda said with a low snarl.

The foreign deity stared him down further. There was no telling if it was saying something for only Soda to hear, or if Soda was using his very illusions to shut it up, or if it really was saying nothing.

"Let's keep going," Soda muttered to the others. "This is nothing. Just stay calm and don't react to it."

He walked through and past the Arceus apparition, which evaporated after only a moment of stubborn resistance. "Maybe we can trace Giovanni's movements through here."

"I wonder what they saw in this place," Shield remarked.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Somethin' tells me Giovanni ain't bothered by much," growled Brisa. "Fella don't seem t'feel fear or doubt or self-censure of any kind."

Not like you. You're nothin' but self-censure. Endless recriminations fer yerself, no matter how good you give it. Never enough. Never enough.

Brisa's hackles went up. It felt like Sombra, but something was off.

{You can't be complacent. Even when it seems like y'got yer life clean an' perfect, keep sharp. You mustn't slip.}

The buzzing in her head . . . was the last thing she needed right now.

"Fuck off," she muttered, under her breath.

 

[Navar]

The same manifestation as before appeared again, standing right in front of him. Shiron, however, ignored it, and decided to focus on the task at head. Probably the better option.

"If Giovanni was here before, he had to be tough to endure all those... things."

Something I'll never be.

Shiron shoved the thought asside and sighed, looking at his hands, opening and closing them. What would Giovanni expect to accomplish in that place, anyway? He raised his head, trying to think of other things again.