Mystery Continent ~ Southern Beach

[Adamhuarts]

“Let’s go to Treasure Town,” Astrid declared. “Not now, but sometime soon. Err, no offense, but you look like your body needs more sunlight.

For the first time that day, Cynthian had a genuine laugh in the form of a chuckle. Short lived as it was, it still made him feel just a smidge better. "Yeah, this climate isn't a good fit a plant."

She rested a tail on his shoulder, speaking soberly once more, “We need your power too, Cynthian. I hope you realize that.”

"Thanks Astrid, truly." Starr had told him something similar too, but he didn't think much of it. Hearing it again from Astrid made him start to believe it, and he felt a faint warmth in his heart that had begun to hollow.

"Sometimes, you all remind me that I'm not alone. I've never had a lot of friends in my world, so this is something I'm still getting used to." Cynthian held his flowers together and looked deep in thought. His thoughts about his past, and about his mother were still complicated. However, his mothers would've wanted him to be strong, and he needed to live up to that somehow...

"I hate to make another request, but could you give me a lift? My legs hurt, and I think they're a little frozen too," he said, and then he sneezed with a squeak.

 

[TheGOAT]

“Sure thing.” Astrid looked down and poked at the sand beneath her, flattered. “You’ve always got a friend in me.”

<><><>​

 

[Persephone]

There was nostalgia in this place. The gentle waves reminded her of Alola and Treasure Town. Places where she had begun to live new lives. Where she had made more friends than she'd ever before. She became a trainer and a dragon near beaches. It was a good place to pick heself up after a devastating loss. Hopefully.

"How are you holding up?" Val asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Fine." The reply was terse. As expected.

"Your crush just died and you're fine?"

"She's not..."

"I can feel your heartbeat, y'know? And I have your memories.

"Her heart lies elsewhere."

"Yeah." Maybe for the best. She'd heard that you couldn't love someone else until you loved yourself and Cuicatl was still a long, long ways away from that.

"And she isn't dead. You can get her back. You just need to be strong enough..."

"You?" She had a terrible idea where this is going. "I'm not going anywhere without you. Physically can't."

"People are evolving again. It's time. I can surrender myself, give you the power-"

"Stop."

Cuicatl growled but didn't speak.

"I'm not real. You know that, right?"

"What?"

"I'm not... I don't really feel things. Love. Hate. Loss. I go through the motions. Talk to people. Fight gods. Whatever I'm supposed to do. But there's never really a reason. I just... drift. That's not real. None of it is. Just a mask. A shadow. You're the real one."

"No! You have everything together and I... I don't. If either of us is saving her--"

"It will be the one who cares enough to fight like hell. And... I said I'm not real, right? I meant it. Everything you think I am is just an illusion. A trick of the psychic light or something. I dunno. Metaphors are poetry and that's feeling. Your thing. Point is that you can't be real and perfect at the same time. You have to choose one."

Cuicatl lowered her head to the ground. After a long stretch of silent, Val laid hers down beside her twin's. "Listen," she whispered. "Just because you can't be perfect doesn't mean you can't be better. Lean into other people. Your roommates, your crush, your daughter. Whatever remains of me in your mind. Try to be a little bit better each day and eventually you can be real and very good."

"...it hurts," she whimpered. "I don't want to wait. I don't want to fight for it when I don't have the strength."

"Of course you have the strength," Val said. "You've taken things that would shatter anyone else and trudged through, bent but not broken. You've fought gods while blind. And if you need help, there will always be people to protect and refresh you."

"Fine." Cuicatl muttered. "Do it. Leave me. See if I care."

"Don't think I could leave you," Val said. "I'll always be at hand when you need me."

"That joke's terrible and you know it."

Val laughed. A throaty, screeching thing. Then she shook her head and nudged it into her sister's, giving her one last boost of confidence.

"Now go and show them how strong you really are."

She didn't really care about dying. Fading. Being subsumed. Whatever she wanted to call this. She wasn't made to care about things. But she did feel a hint of pride and a glimmer of hope. It was such a strange sensation for the moment it lasted.

Blinding light tore across the beach An already formidable fighter grew and grew, lifting into the air as power coursed through her. At last she shook the light off and roared. Children on the other side of town shivered in fright at the sound. In it was anger, heartbreak, defiance, joy.

Cuicatl Ichtaca opened her eyes.

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

<><><>

In her free time since when she'd emerged from her Ultra Stone, Melanie had spent the time she'd spent apart from Kate wandering about Destiny Village and its environs to try to get to know them better. One of the places she'd stumbled on was the Southern Beach where the cold winds and water and gray sands had proven surprisingly charming to the Kyurem shade, but for one deficiency...

"Come on..."

The Kyurem shade breathed out a sharp puff of icy breath over the water, but much to her disappointment found that her body couldn't seem to channel the elements as well as she'd expected to. She had heard that Ultra Shades were supposed to not have the full strength of a Pokémon, but this was just ridiculous. She had been made in the image of Kyurem and she couldn't even make a few chunks of ice to better suit her liking?

The shade eventually decided that her efforts were perhaps wasting her time and energy and laid down against the sand, looking out at the water with a sullen scowl.

"I don't get it. How can using attacks be this hard when I'm not even trying to use it to attack anyone?"

 

[Ambyssin]

“Because you are an eternatus larva, not a kyurem.”

Bahamut was flying around aimlessly as usual, trying not to think about what the idiotic hellspawns were trying to do with the moon, when he noticed the fake kyurem out. Was this one anything like Cibus’? And, for that matter, who spawned such a bizarre form for a familiar?

The necrozma landed, hovering a few centimeters off the water. “Did you not hear the news? You’re going to grow up to be Eien. Assuming you don’t wither away when we leave or get destroyed by those who view eternatus as threats that should be dealt with.”

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

“Because you are an eternatus larva, not a kyurem.”

Bahamut was flying around aimlessly as usual, trying not to think about what the idiotic hellspawns were trying to do with the moon, when he noticed the fake kyurem out. Was this one anything like Cibus’? And, for that matter, who spawned such a bizarre form for a familiar?

The necrozma landed, hovering a few centimeters off the water. “Did you not hear the news? You’re going to grow up to be Eien. Assuming you don’t wither away when we leave or get destroyed by those who view eternatus as threats that should be dealt with.”

Melanie bristled at the Necrozma's introduction as he settled down beside her. Well, he was certainly a personable one, though what was he going on about for being an Eternatus larva? Or potentially withering away if Kate left Cibus? Weren't shades meant to try and take the properties of the Pokémon they took after? It's not as if this 'Eternatus' would constantly want to be around the cold and ice...

Would it?

"I... don't know what you're talking about," the Kyurem shade said. "Even if this 'Eternatus larva' thing is really true, why would I grow up to be Eien? I'm me. Even if I were to transform into something else, why wouldn't I be the same Pokémon? It's not as if a Slakoth stops being the same Pokémon after evolving and becoming a bit hyper as a Vigoroth."

 

[Ambyssin]

What was she blathering about? “Of course it stops being the same Pokémon. That’s the whole point of evolution.” He coiled his tail around his waist. “Or are you from a world that doesn’t consider Pokémon to be people?” He shook his head glumly.

“Your personality is the way it is because your egg spent too much time around one of us,” he continued. “You were shaped by the thoughts and beliefs of that person... or you are literally a reproduction of someone from another world. You don’t think you’ll change when you become a daemonic-looking monstrosity? I expect a change.”

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

What was she blathering about? “Of course it stops being the same Pokémon. That’s the whole point of evolution.” He coiled his tail around his waist. “Or are you from a world that doesn’t consider Pokémon to be people?” He shook his head glumly.

"Eh? I think you must be getting confused here. My entire point was that for Pokémon as people, they don't change after evolving," Melanie explained. "Their bodies change sure, and sometimes it affects their moods such as making them quicker to become grumpy or the like, but the person they were doesn't change unless there was something deeper going on with them."

Melanie wavered for a moment after making her rebuttal. Her point certainly held true for what she'd seen of Kate, but on the other claw... a Sneasel turning into a Weavile was a very different beast than a Pokémon transforming into an entirely unrelated one. That she'd never heard of before, much less what became of a Pokémon that went through such a transformation.

"At least I'm pretty sure they don't..." she murmured.

“Your personality is the way it is because your egg spent too much time around one of us,” he continued. “You were shaped by the thoughts and beliefs of that person... or you are literally a reproduction of someone from another world. You don’t think you’ll change when you become a daemonic-looking monstrosity? I expect a change.”

"I just don't see why anything should change. If I went back to Kate's world, there'd already be Pokémon who'd call me a demonic-looking monstrosity for looking like this since I don't exactly look natural for a Kyurem, who isn't always popular to begin with," she rebutted. "I'm pretty sure there's Pokémon you consider normal that others would call demonic, too. For example, Kate's from a land called Varhyde in her world, and there's no shortage of Pokémon there who'd call Zekrom a 'demonic-looking monstrosity' because throughout its history, it's known mostly suffering and destruction from its encounters with him."

The Kyurem shade shook her head back and stiffened up, seemingly more determined in her words.

"And there are Pokémon that dwell in the land of his roost, Edialeigh, that would say the exact same thing about Reshiram, the patron goddess of Kate's land. So 'demonic monstrosity' is really in the eye of the beholder there," she said, before giving an aside glance at Bahamut.

"Though who are you? And where are you from if you're so worried about me maybe becoming the same sort of Pokémon as Eien? Is Eternatus an enemy to your land in your world?"

 

[Ambyssin]

The gray light in Bahamut's body contorted and writhed, almost like it was a separate entity. He tilted his head and projected up a small orb. "This is my home planet." Another burst of light, this one primarily purple and red. What appeared was a much larger projection with what seemed like a massive hand surrounding the orb. "This is Eternatus. It is an unflinching, unyielding, and unthinking entity that has wiped out life from innumerable planets. It would be more accurate to call this one an otherworldly force. It produces infinite energy from nothing. That energy is potent enough to vaporize whatever it comes in contact with."

His tail cracked like a whip. The projections receded into his body, which brightened up once more. "Obviously, the fact that you can speak and think for yourself means you're not quite the same. But from what I understand of Eien, that is precisely what you can look forward to in your future." Bahamut paused. "Well, I doubt you'll be planet-sized. But the point still stands. Even the gods I've seen on Cibus that do not exist in my universe, like whatever the hell a kyurem is supposed to be, have some sense about their designs. As do Ultra Beasts like Flesh. Eternatus does not."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

The gray light in Bahamut's body contorted and writhed, almost like it was a separate entity. He tilted his head and projected up a small orb. "This is my home planet." Another burst of light, this one primarily purple and red. What appeared was a much larger projection with what seemed like a massive hand surrounding the orb. "This is Eternatus. It is an unflinching, unyielding, and unthinking entity that has wiped out life from innumerable planets. It would be more accurate to call this one an otherworldly force. It produces infinite energy from nothing. That energy is potent enough to vaporize whatever it comes in contact with."

His tail cracked like a whip. The projections receded into his body, which brightened up once more. "Obviously, the fact that you can speak and think for yourself means you're not quite the same. But from what I understand of Eien, that is precisely what you can look forward to in your future." Bahamut paused. "Well, I doubt you'll be planet-sized. But the point still stands. Even the gods I've seen on Cibus that do not exist in my universe, like whatever the hell a kyurem is supposed to be, have some sense about their designs. As do Ultra Beasts like Flesh. Eternatus does not."

Melanie froze at Bahamut's images of Eternatus and felt a chill run through her body, something she didn't even know was possible to happen to a Kyurem. That was what Eien was? What she was? A- A parasite that lived merely to destroy and move onto other hosts? But Eien had a friendship with Diyem! How could that just be some sort of consuming force of nature? Those didn't build friendships!

... Wait a minute, they didn't. Whatever horror this Eternatus was from Bahamut's world, there was no reason why if the Necrozma was right about who she was, that she had to be like that!

"But if I can think for myself, then if there was ever any real danger that I'd become something like that, I could ask for help!" she insisted. "I could seek out the guidance of a hero who could help me reel things in and we could-!"

The Kyurem shade trailed off as her own thoughts turned back to Kate's own world. It was hard to argue with a straight face that in life, the Taos had exercised much restraint as gods of their world. And if their heroes had made any attempt to try and sway them to reel things in, they'd clearly failed pretty miserably given that Reshiram and Zekrom flew into battle against each other on opposite sides of a war!

Would she know when to restrain herself? When she hadn't even thought of a simple matter of not making the house feel like an ice cave while Cabot was still in it on her own?

"I... there's a chance at least?" she murmured. "I just can't accept that there's nothing I can do there."

 

[Ambyssin]

You could hurl yourself into the sun, is what Bahamut wanted to say. But he was initially silent, keeping an unreadable expression. "You stay on Cibus, I suppose. Where they, essentially, know enough about the various people who created you."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Melanie raised her brow back at Bahamut after his noticeable pause followed by his suggestion. That... wasn't what he was initially going to say to her at all, was it? But whatever his real feelings were, it did seem to make sense, but even so...

"... I'm surprised you suggested that after everything you had to say about Eternatus earlier instead of running away into the Reverse World or something like that," she said. "Is... there a shade that you're friends with that you're worried about? And now that I think of it, you never did introduce yourself to me."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Yes, hello, I'm the one everyone on the team not named Owen either ignores or hates. For good reason, I suppose." Bahamut slowly bowed. "As far as your question, the answer is the exact opposite. Most of you gremlins seem to be based on decent people and I suppose you can get a measure of friendship and kindness or whatever from this planet. I'd argue that, under normal circumstances, Cibus would actually be far better than the worlds we hail from."

The necrozma's eyes and face darkened. "But the shade who raves like a lunatic about Eternatus is associated with me. And I do intend to make sure it's disposed of once this whole situation is wrapped up."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

"Yes, hello, I'm the one everyone on the team not named Owen either ignores or hates. For good reason, I suppose." Bahamut slowly bowed. "As far as your question, the answer is the exact opposite. Most of you gremlins seem to be based on decent people and I suppose you can get a measure of friendship and kindness or whatever from this planet. I'd argue that, under normal circumstances, Cibus would actually be far better than the worlds we hail from."

The necrozma's eyes and face darkened. "But the shade who raves like a lunatic about Eternatus is associated with me. And I do intend to make sure it's disposed of once this whole situation is wrapped up."

Melanie let her mouth fall into a small frown at Bahamut's reply, and shifted uncomfortably his mention of 'disposing' his shade. Surely he didn't mean that in the sense of wishing his own shade harm, did he?

"Uh... what exactly is wrong with your shade again? Don't shades form based off of your friendships and desires?" she asked. "So isn't that shade that 'raves about Eternatus' a friend of yours too in your world?"

The Kyurem looked over the Necrozma and gave a tilt of her head back as she realized that all this time, he'd still dodged the simple question of what his name was. Was it really that hard for him to spit out?

"Though is 'The one everyone on the team not named Owen either ignores or hates' also your name in your world?" she asked. "I mean, I kinda doubt it, but you haven't exactly been forthright about your name thus far."

The shade trailed off as she thought back to her own memories from Kate. Even though she preferred to go by 'Kate the Quickpaw', there was the matter of her patronym: 'Snibunnas'. The shade couldn't think of many memories she'd carried over where Kate didn't get testy from hearing another Pokémon say it out loud, especially the formal, uncontracted form of 'Snibunnastochter' that'd be used when speaking in Hightongue.

If names were inherently like that in this Pokémon's world, maybe that was the reason why the drake was being so evasive here.

"Oh! Are names in your world just something that are inherently kept to a 'mon's self? Since there are some from Kate's world that are like that," she mused. "If so, then yours would be something like... 'Lichts' maybe? Or 'Lichtsohn' if we're being formal and not using contractions?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"You are mistaken if you think that you familiars were solely built off foundations of happy, pleasant memories," Bahamut growled. "The one tethered to me is based on a cultist who lures people to their deaths at the hands of Eternatus' distortion. So, you can see why it would be a significant problem if it was allowed to acquire the kinds of power that Eien, Joule, and Diyem have access to."

And this time he imagined most of his teammates would shove their objections down their throats. Or just ignore him. That worked too.

"Name doesn't matter. Some people on the team learned it but it's pretty useless when I haven't gone by it back home in quite some time."

He noticed a glimmer out of the corner of his eyes and glanced up to see something racing skyward. And judging by the aura...

I doubt there's a single responsible Spectrum member among them.

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Melanie frowned and was at a loss for words at the Necrozma's explanation. Why of all things would he want his familiar to be fashioned from his negative memories? And was he really so averse to making friends that he wouldn't even share his own name?

... Had he been betrayed by a close friend in the past? Was that what his "Eternatus cultist" familiar was? Lingering thoughts of better times gone by mixed with later resentments? It would make some sense and explain why he was so standoffish... but if this 'mon was really going to just butter up like a withdrawn Clamperl, just what was there to do other than to part ways and move on?

Melanie thought to open her mouth to ask for certain, when she noticed a glint of light streaking up into the sky, and Bahamut stopping to glance at it with a brief flicker of annoyance over his face.

"Oh? That light something you recognize?" she asked.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Your siblings are trying to go the moon." Bahamut crossed both sets of wings. "You should pray they aren't atomized in the processed. I doubt there's a responsible one among that lot. Only the troublemakers and naïve ones with the temperament of hatchlings."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Melanie stared back blankly at Bahamut, before looking off at the light in the sky baffledly.

"But how is that even possible?" she asked. "Since when did Pokémon of any sort manage to go off to the moon?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"Fool. You have no organs. Which means you have no lungs." Bahamut pointed at Melanie's chest, then his. "You don't need to breathe. Like me. So of course your idiot siblings would try to do this. Some of them think themselves invincible. With any luck, this will prove them—"

The necrozma thought he saw something twinkle high up in the sky. His head tendrils twitched. "Yup. Right on cue. Idiots."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Melanie stared back in confusion as she couldn't help but wonder how not having lungs would've obviously implied anything about being able to go into the space beyond the skies. Much less why she'd be the fool for not thinking of that.

"... If you say so," she grumbled.

Still, it wasn't that big an issue. Or at least it wouldn't have been if Melanie didn't get the distinct sense that Bahamut didn't want her to be around him. And she clearly had been out of the loop for some things in town to be so surprised by this moon mission. But perhaps it was best to put out one last claw forward before taking her leave...

"Guess I haven't been paying that close of attention. Did they tell you why they wanted to go to the moon?" she asked. "And how come you didn't go along with them if you thought they might get into trouble? You... don't exactly seem like you trust shades like us, so how come you don't want to keep an eye on what they're up to?"