Chapter 89: Dragon Your Feet
New
Ambyssin
Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Chapter 89: Dragon Your Feet
It's simply astounding!
Thanks to my studies of the Space Core, I'm making tremendous strides in understanding how the legends of our world operate. The attacks we've come to associate with them in our myths are in fact manifestations of their powers over nature itself!
Take Palkia, for example. The stories surrounding the Hisuian heroes describe crescents of energy that warped the air around them. The Galaxy Team member who befriended them called the attack "Spacial Rend" in Hisui's first pokédex, since the crescents were cutting through space.
But the Spacial Rend spoken of in stories in an incomplete version. At their strongest, Palkia takes hold of the very fabric of space itself and pulls and weaves it in an unfathomable number of different directions. To a human, this would appear as innumerable crisscrossing lines through the air that shatter like glass.
I'm beyond enthralled! To think that space itself can be molded and manipulated like plain old matter! Perhaps we humans could find a way to harness that for ourselves. Space is infinite, so theoretically it could grant us a source of unlimited energy.
I've already submitted the findings to The International Journal of Pokémon Studies. I'm sure they'll accept my manuscript... and then funding will pour in. And with that, I can achieve my dreams: the construction of Celestica Labs, the foundation for a better tomorrow for humans and pokémon alike!
XxX
Night or day, torches gave the Aeon Castle living room a soft, orange glow. The torches were placed a safe distance from the tables pushed aside and the chairs stripped of their cushions to make a haphazard pile in the middle of the floor.
... A pile that two squealing dreepy shot toward at blinding speeds, crashing into the cushions with soft fwumps. They popped out, giggling excitedly.
"Us next! Us next!" Two slightly larger dreepy floated up toward Yuna's triangular head.
"Easy, easy." Yuna held her hands up. "I'm still new to this, guys. I need a moment to focus."
"Booo!" one dreepy said while the other blew a raspberry at the dragapult.
"Okay, okay, fine." Yuna sighed when her younger siblings flew up and squeezed themselves into her horns. It was a bit strange, then it felt oddly natural. Like Yuna was meant to be doing this.
Yuna angled her head at the pile of cushions and shot her siblings forward. Like the smaller dreepy before them, they struck the pile. Their tiny ectoplasmic tails wriggled with delight. They high-fived one another once they were free from the cushions.
"They seem to be enjoying themselves."
Chuckling, Baraz waddled up to Yuna's left. Yuna's two youngest siblings hovered next to him, each clutching matching salandit plushies that she and Yiazmat had made for them. Both looked up eagerly at Yuna's horns.
"You guys want a turn?" Yuna asked.
They nodded in unison.
"Well, I don't think Sweet and Spicy can come along," Baraz said. The dracozolt leaned over and opened his tiny hands.
"Aww, really?" One of the dreepy clutched her plushie tighter.
"Spicy would get hurt if I shot her from my horn," Yuna said, tapping the yellow edge of her triangular head with a golden claw.
Her youngest sisters looked at one another, then reluctantly parted with their salandit dolls. Yuna leaned over to let them fly into her horns. The dragapult shot her sisters into the cushion pile. They squealed in delight, while their four older siblings helped them get free of the cushions.
"Again! Again!" they shouted.
"Oh boy," Yuna muttered.
Fortunately, the door on the other side of the room opened. "Yo, Princess!" Nikki stepped inside cradling a large bag of kettle corn in her arms. "I got what you wanted and—" She cut herself off to stare at the pile of cushions.
"Uhh, I don't think that's how you build a pillow fort, half-pints."
"Guys, look! Your big sister's friend brought you chocolate-covered kettle corn!" Yuna pointed an index claw at Nikki. "Why don't you go help yourselves?"
"Chocolate?!"
"Oooooh! I want chocolate!"
"Yeah! Gimme, gimme!"
The dreepy darted toward the startled toxtricity. Yuna shot Nikki an apologetic look before she was besieged by Yuna's siblings, reaching their arms toward the kettle corn and squirming around Nikki's arms and legs.
Chuckling, Baraz turned to Yuna. "Not that I don't appreciate the unannounced visit, but... I'm guessing this has to do with what happened on the other side?"
Yuna nodded slowly. Baraz had brought Calcifer to an infirmary but hadn't stuck around after that. How much did he know?
"Is the king okay?" the dracozolt whispered.
"I'm not sure," Yuna replied, watching Nikki set the kettle corn bag down for all the dreepy. She stayed near it, scratching her head when, predictably, the bag's contents spilled out over the floor.
"I hope so," she continued. "Especially since I pretty much spilled the beans about Bahamut, y'know, not being benevolent." Yuna wrung her hands apologetically. "And, well, I'm dealing with a lot."
"An escape, then," Baraz said. He offered one of the salandit dolls. Spicy, if Yuna wasn't mistaken.
"Maybe." Yuna took the doll and turned it over in her hands. Spicy looked the same as it did when she and Yiazmat finished it. No extra stitches or anything to suggest someone repaired it. "It certainly left my head spinning."
"Hey, Mom, am I ever gonna have a brother or sister?" Tessa shouted.
"There's no shame in a quiet break," Baraz said, looking over the other salandit doll. "Going back to familiar comforts."
"Is that speaking from experience?"
"Of course." Tiny sparks crackled around Baraz's beak. "Take that tea you always see me with. The servant who trained me taught me how to make it. The taste is comforting."
Yuna's siblings were scooping kettle corn off the floor and shoving it in their mouths while an exasperated Nikki looked on.
"I wouldn't exactly say shooting them out of my horns like I'm Mom is, y'know, a familiar comfort," the dragapult said.
"Well, it kinda is. Just mirrored," Reshiram piped up.
"Perhaps. But you seem relaxed." Baraz looked across the room. "And they're so happy to see you."
"Should I tell them about Dad?"
"I won't force you."
They quietly watched as the kettle corn disappeared from the floor. Nikki had grabbed the bag with the remaining kettle corn. She walked over, tossing a kernel in her mouth.
"Your siblings are crazy, Princess." Nikki tossed in another kernel. Then another. "Eight of 'em? How'd you stay sane?"
"Well, I didn't see 'em that often," Yuna admitted, holding Spicy up. "Really sick, remember?"
"Fair." Nikki tilted the bag toward Yuna. "You want?"
She declined at first, but the toxtricity shook the bag slightly. Rolling her eyes, Yuna skewered a couple of kernels with her claws and ate them.
"Not bad."
"Don't lie." Nikki smirked. "You liiiiiiiike iiiiiiiit~"
Yuna's tail curled up. "Yeah, I do."
Baraz chuckled at them. "Should I get a spare bed set up for her in your room then, Princess?"
The dragapult tensed. Nikki tilted her head. "Oh, we spending the night here?"
"I was gonna," Yuna mumbled.
"Count me in." Nikki shook the kettle corn at Baraz.
"Very well." The dracozolt took Spicy from Yuna's hand. "I'll prep for your first slumber party in years."
Nikki laughed at that, drawing the attention of Yuna's siblings.
"Baraz!" Yuna hissed in a whisper.
"Kidding!" Baraz turned and headed toward the dreepy. But Yuna's tail was shrinking into her torso from embarrassment.
XxX
Noctum entered the private room Yiazmat retreated to. Calcifer lay on the lone bed fast asleep. The dragapult sat next to him, her right hand by the duraludon's head. Given her body structure, her tail had phased through the folding chair and curled around its legs. She braced herself against a cabinet full of healing supplies with her left hand.
"How is he?" the mega charizard asked, shutting the door behind him.
"Sleeping." Yiazmat traced her hand across the bedsheet. "I don't see injuries, but who knows what's going on inside."
Noctum reflexively looked down at his stomach. He's not the only one.
"You're stuck in that form now?" Yiazmat wondered, eyeing the starcloud fire at the tip of Noctum's black tail.
"Maybe." Noctum scratched the side of his head. Fortunately, a round of deep breathing turned off the starry flames trailing off the edges of his mouth. "Haven't thought about it much." He traced a claw around the top of his belly. "Part of it... feels kinda right? Like it's meant to be."
Yiazmat hummed in thought, drumming her left fingers against the side of the cabinet. "The Book of Aeon says there was a time when charizard always looked like that." She gestured at Noctum. "Well, with blue flames. But you get the idea."
Noctum nodded. He knew the story well. While trying to quell a fury within the charizard, Bahamut caused them to gain dragon-typing. They continued to be restless, creating problems for the Sages. Bahamut then found a way to reverse the change and strip their dragon typing.
"Will you try to change back?" the dragapult asked.
Shrugging, Noctum approached the bedside. He hadn't given it any thought. "Right now, I want to do what I can to help everyone." Noctum grabbed the blanket on the bed and pulled it up to cover more of Calcifer. "How are you holding up?"
At first, there was more tapping of fingers against the metal cabinet. Then Yiazmat bowed her head. "I've had better days." She tilted her head in Calcifer's direction. "I want to pray for his safety, but..."
That won't do anything. Noctum winced. Yiazmat had taken everything from Bahamut's journal to heart. And now all the troops knew the truth about Bahamut, too.
"Well, if there's anything you need, let me know." Noctum leaned over and put his right hand on Yiazmat's shoulder.
The moment he did, blue-purple sparks raced down Yiazmat's torso and Noctum's right arm. Both of them yelped in surprise.
She stood amidst muddy ground. Rain poured all around her. Droplets dribbled off pillars. Some broken, others overturned. Her merchant friend stood beside a pile of rubble and crumbled marble.
Adjusting his hat, the merchant said, "Have a look at this, A̶̫̓͐k̴͙̉̌a̸̳̅r̷̙͌i̴͈̊"
Step by sloshy step, she approached him. With a better look at it through the rain, the crumbled marble... was probably a statue's base.
"This statue has been kept here," her friend said. Holding his hat to shield his smiling face from the rain, he looked past her. "Far from the statues of Ḋ̸͈i̷̞̍̚â̶̞͙̒l̴̼̥̅g̶̭͒a̸͔͇͐ and P̷̭̓ä̷̟̭́͠l̶̗͚͆͑k̴̛̛͚̲i̷̞͍̓́a̶̦̣͑͂."
Shaking his head, he pet the top of the marble pile. "Broken and shattered. And yet it remains." He turned to her. "Do you know what it is?"
She opened her mouth. What came out was muffled. Everything around her flickered. In and out. In and out. In and—
The merchant marched around the ruined statue. Tracing his right hand along the side of it. "You see, ever since I was young, whenever I met with something painful or heartbreaking... I couldn't help but wonder why life was so unfair."
He tilted his head up. Rain cascaded over the somber smile on his face. "Why I was cursed to live through such things." He turned to her.
The look in his eyes... one of understanding. She'd seen it before. Masked by confusion, yes. But it was the same confusion I̷̩͖̽̚n̶̝͗g̷̝̔ͅo̵̭̱͋ had whilst climbing the Highlands with her.
"Of course, I imagine we all go through something like that," he continued, smiling sweetly at her. She focused on the rubble surrounding the ruined statue.
"Eventually, I chose to direct all my energy into my own natural curiosity and ambition."
She flinched. He was by her side once again, gesturing proudly behind her. "And what tickled my curiosity more strongly than anything were the mysteries to be found in legends. In history. And in ruins."
He put his hand on her shoulder. She went as stiff as the shattered statue at her feet. The merchant leaned over and whispered, "You see, I fancied that by unraveling these mysteries, I̷̟̫͘ ̴͕͔͌͘c̴̹̀̈́ò̶̖ù̷̦l̵̤̰̂͊ḋ̶̢̚ ̷̛͉̪̇f̴̗̦̚ḯ̷̯̔n̵̝̈́̐d̵̮͠ ̷̟̈́ǫ̷͑ũ̶̬t̵͔̮̅̃ ̷̼͈͑̓h̵͎͚̋ö̸͓́w̸̝̖̎ ̶̭̱̊̇ț̵͇̕ḩ̵̭̑e̷͍͚̐͘ ̶̡̱̔̚ẁ̷͉o̴̖̠̓̓r̶̼̯̈́l̸̨̬̿͊d̴̞̖̽̂ ̴̬̔ȋ̶̮̱t̴̢̓ș̶̨̃͛e̴͍̓̈́l̴̰̃̚f̴͚̏͋ ̷̡̻̔̓c̸̦̉ͅa̶͚̜̓̓m̶͈̓e̸̲̬͋́ ̵̼̱̉t̸̗͒o̸͚͇͊ ̴͎̊b̸͙̓̕e̷̤͗́."
His smile was full of confidence once again.
"Ǎ̵̟̦̄ñ̶͕̹̎̿d̵̟̞͇͋̂̓ ̶̢̟͎̆͆͋w̸̱̲̲͐̓í̸̙̳̚t̵͍͈̺̃̚h̴̞͒͐̕ ̸͔̈ẗ̶̤̪̓h̴͉͔͛̎̕͜a̷̬͎̖͑̾͝t̷̙̾ ̸̨̫́͊k̸̫̃̎͘ǹ̵̢̳̑ỏ̸̢͉̭w̷͇̫͛͐l̸͙̯̾̓̕è̸̳̈͝d̶̞͈́̿͑ḡ̴̖̼ẹ̶̽,̶̮̉ ̸̹͛ṁ̶̻a̵̲̼̹̿ẏ̷̦̇͝b̵͈̬̲̈́e̴͈͂̕͜ ̵͎͚̊e̸̬̫͘v̶̢̥̦̂ë̶̤́̿n̶̯͋̚ ̴̢͓̳͊̊̚ḟ̴̦̀̓ǒ̵̧͙ŗ̵̡̂͂ģ̵̡̫̓̿́ë̸̮̠̮́͆ ̴̥̳̦̂ȧ̵̮̾͝ ̶̣͈̳͝ṇ̴̡̛͂e̴͚͆w̵̫͗͗,̸̺̝͆ ̵̖̃b̷̛̭̩͍̄e̵̠̥̐t̵̡̏̌͋ṯ̸͂e̴͈̟̼͝r̶͎̪͖̈́ ̶̞͉́͗w̷͉̠̃̍̈́o̷̧̗̣͆̕r̷̲͕̖͋l̴̝̹͊͋d̴̪̥̂͜!̵̢̗͆͊ͅ"
Noctum stumbled back and fell on his rear. Yiazmat's trembling arms were outstretched. Her eyes, widened like a feral facing down a predator, darted around the room. She looked at Calcifer and recoiled.
"Your Highness?"
Yiazmat flinched. Dragonfire brimmed in her horns. Noctum froze, fearing any slight movement would set her off.
"You need to leave."
It was barely a whisper. Noctum's tail flame shrank. "I—"
"NOW!" Yiazmat shrieked.
Frightened, Noctum bolted to his feet while the dragapult repeatedly screamed, "Get out!" The mega charizard fumbled with the door, then stumbled out into the hall. A Dragon Dart smacked the door shut. The clap echoed through the hallway.
Noctum staggered forward, clutching his ringing head and bracing his right arm against the metal wall.
He landed on the temple floor. The central space of the humans' monument to the Creator. The two women looked at him, faces full of awe.
He recognized the one on the left. She sent him prayers and the gifts of song. He concentrated on her. She stumbled slightly, resting a hand on her blonde hair.
"A-Almighty Sinnoh?!" She looked to the girl with black hair, then the young man who offered prayers to his sibling. "I think Almighty Sinnoh is speaking with me!"
Distorted cubes flickered around her. A garchomp's silhouette swallowed her up. The black-haired girl vanished, too. Replaced by a dragapult. By Yiazmat.
A loud slam snapped Noctum to attention. He found Valkyrie's claw inches in front of his snout. She scraped it along the wall, then put it on the tip of Noctum's snout. His tail flame flickered.
"You don't get to do that," the garchomp growled. Noctum practically wilted from her glare.
"Do what?"
"Play the big hero in the heat of battle then stumble through here with some faraway look in your eye." Valkyrie pulled her arm back.
"What?" Noctum shuffled back. Thankfully, Valkyrie didn't close the distance.
"Don't play dumb with me." Crossing her arms, she turned away from him. "You were going to let that Dyna Depletion shred you to ribbons." Her voice trembled by the end of that sentence. "And for what?"
Noctum raised a brow. Wasn't it obvious? "To keep you guys sa— ack!"
Valkyrie whirled on the mega charizard, shoving him against the same wall she'd scratched with her claw. "You could've closed that rift while staying next to me!" She brandished a claw at the tip of his snout. "But instead you plopped yourself in the line of fire like... like an absolute bonehead!"
She kept her claw in place. It had a purple tinge. If Noctum even opened his mouth, his snout would graze the poison.
And, threatening or not, she did have a point. In hindsight, he made a stupid decision. But he had to move Valkyrie's arm to say anything. So he reached up and pulled it. She looked ready to rip his face off, so Noctum quickly blurted out, "Yes, you're right! I was dumb!"
The admission sapped the fight from Valkyrie. She stepped back, folding her arms tightly over her torso.
"Don't do it again," she whispered, then walked off to Noctum's right.
"Wait!" He lumbered after her. They couldn't leave things like that. It was beyond awkward. Especially knowing they might work together when another mission popped up.
Valkyrie only quickened her pace, though, rounding a corner and shoving the door to the stairwell open with her shoulder. Noctum flapped his wings and glided after her. She was already up two flights by the time he entered the stairs. He flew up. She took them three or four at a time, then booked it out a door on the third floor.
Noctum kept following and, realizing she was about to close the door and lock it, Phantom Warped. It carried him through the door even as it slammed shut, which sent him barreling into Valkyrie. The two dragons ended up in a heap on the small shag carpet in the middle of her room.
"Get off me you idiot!"
"Ow! Okay! Sor— eeeeee!"
The pain from a rough, scaly knee to his groin was indescribable. It lingered even as Valkyrie rolled him onto his back. She put her right foot on his belly.
"What do you want from me?" the garchomp growled.
"T-to apologize?"
Valkyrie applied pressure. Noctum managed to roll out from underneath her leg and stumble to his feet. "I didn't want to leave things so awkward," he insisted, holding up his hands.
"This is your idea of making things less awkward?" Valkyrie gestured around the room. "Is it an Aeon custom to phase into people's rooms without their permission?"
"No." Noctum folded his wings up and looked down guiltily. "I guess I thought you'd ignore me if I stood by your door." He glanced over his shoulder, tittering. "And it's hard to have a conversation through a metal wall."
The ensuing groan lasted until Valkyrie had flopped down on her bed. Noctum wondered if he should step closer, but got an answer when the garchomp held up her right arm.
"Don't. I just... I can't with you."
Noctum's cheek flames almost reignited, but he kept them under control. "Can't, um, what?"
"This." She pointed both arms at him. "Tossing yourself at devastating attacks for my sake, then cracking nervous jokes with me." Valkyrie smacked her right arm against the bed. "What am I to you?"
"My teammate?" Noctum blurted out.
The glare that followed told him to think harder. He shifted nervously. Tried to look away from Valkyrie's glare.
What was Valkyrie to him, really? If they weren't on a mission, then they tended to verbally spar. That... wasn't a good thing, right? To say nothing of what happened between them on Chakran.
And yet, she kept standing by Noctum. Even as his world kept getting flipped on its head, she was always there. With some harsh words, sure. Still...
"I guess... you're my friend," Noctum whispered.
Valkyrie's glare practically dissolved away. After a protracted silence, she whispered, "Why?"
"Do I need a reason?" Noctum tried keeping his tone soft. "We look out for each other, so—"
"That's not good enough, damn it!"
Noctum flinched. His starry tail flame flickered. As he considered a response, the mega charizard slid down to sit on the floor. The way she kept pushing back... Noctum could only draw one conclusion.
Sighing, he tucked his head down. "I think... you'll be upset no matter what I say." Noctum took a deep breath. "But you have helped me. Even if you're terse." He paused. "And callous."
The garchomp surprisingly flinched. Noctum took that as a cue to continue. "But if it wasn't for you, I don't think I would've gotten past learning the truth about Aeonism." He looked at the ceiling. "Or a lot of the stuff we've learned about the world as a whole.
"So, yeah, I think you're my friend." He held his right hand up and crossed his claws. "Even if we're not buddy-buddy."
Noctum grabbed his tail and pulled it beside him, watching the starcloud fire swirl around. He waited for Valkyrie to respond. Or snap at him and tell him to leave.
Nothing happened, however. All Noctum heard were short, sharp breaths. He glanced at Valkyrie. There was confusion sprawled across her face. Something else was there, too. Something he didn't recognize at first. Because Noctum wondered if Valkyrie was even capable of it.
Fear.
Did he dare scooch closer to her?
... She locked eyes with him. He recognized that look. It was plastered over his face when, as a charmander, he wandered somewhere he shouldn't have... and found himself running for his life.
"I can't," she whispered, rubbing her wiry arms against her thighs. "I can't. I can't."
This time, Noctum stayed silent because he was genuinely at a loss for words. She kept rubbing her legs. Breathing sharply. The mega charizard feared she was going to nick herself with her own claws.
Valkyrie squeezed her eyes shut. Dug her claws into the sides of her bed. Cotton and feathers spilled out. Then, bit by bit, her breathing slowed. Her expression sharpened.
Finally, Noctum found his voice. "Whatever's wrong... you can tell me."
The garchomp pivoted away. Noctum's heart skipped a beat. All that time to come up with something and he blew it!
"You don't get it."
What wasn't he getting? Noctum barely managed to stop himself from scooting forward. What was he missing?
... Wait! The stuff she said back at the monastery. Was that it? Was that why it was hard to get her to open up unless she was angry?
"It's because of what happened to you before." Noctum fidgeted with the end of his tail. "Medicis turning on you to save their own skin."
Valkyrie nodded, trying to hide a pained expression. "The last time I ever opened up to anyone... my ass got hauled off to Citadark." She looked at her claws. A purple tinge overtook them for a split second. "After that... I told myself it'd never happen again."
Noctum resisted the urge to squeeze his own tail. But he had to know. "Becoming an assassin—"
"Was my decision," Valkyrie cut in. If she was ashamed, she hid it well. "Sakaki offered me different options to pay off my debt to the clan. And I chose that one."
Because it would keep everyone else at a distance, Noctum realized.
She wasn't prickly because of the job... but because she was trying to protect herself. So, their other arguments, then. Was she trying to understand him? Was that her crying for help?
"... I admit it."
Noctum blinked. "Huh?"
"I'm jealous of you." Valkyrie folded her arms in her lap. "Of the life you found. And what you made for yourself." She sighed. "I thought... even if you had people who loved you, I was still stronger. And that was what mattered with this whole dimensional crisis.
"But that?" The garchomp gestured to him. "I can't compete with that."
Static rippled across Noctum's vision, replacing Valkyrie with that blonde woman.
"I can't compete with that. Not Mighty Palkia," she said, yet there was a serene smile plastered on her face.
"Why does it have to be a competition?" Noctum said. His words pushed the static away, restoring Valkyrie and her slightly torn bed.
Valkyrie tensed. "I didn't mean it like that. I just... I'm supposed to be strong enough to handle myself. That's what I trained for." She looked away. "Getting caught off guard in battle like today... it's embarrassing."
Oh, so it was a pride thing. Noctum opened his mouth, but Valkyrie brandished her left claw at him.
"Don't you dare say 'I'm sorry.'"
Eyeing his shrinking tail flame, he shut his mouth. Noctum wasn't sure how else to respond. Things were only going to get tougher, weren't they?
But this wasn't a problem they could solve in one sitting. Noctum figured Valkyrie knew that, too, judging by the apprehension on her face.
He could keep pushing. And maybe that was the right call. Noctum couldn't bring himself to do that, though.
"Okay." The mega charizard got to his feet. "No apologies. Instead, how about a 'can I sit next to you?'"
There was a flash of that earlier, almost feral fear in Valkyrie's eyes. She managed to stuff it down. "Fine."
Noctum slowly approached her bed and sat down on her left. The bed creaked from the added weight. Noctum said nothing. Valkyrie stayed silent, too.
There were no clocks around. Noctum doubted much time had passed. Yet it might as well have been an eternity.
Eventually, though, rough scales brushed against his shoulder. Instincts screamed to react in some way, but Noctum remained still. He caught Valkyrie's head on his shoulder out of the corner of his eyes, avoiding the spikes there.
One part of Noctum begged him to return the gesture. Another said to push her away, reminding him of what happened with Yiazmat.
But as Noctum glimpsed the garchomp slowly relaxing, that first part won out. Slowly, he extended his right wing.
Valkyrie didn't move. She'd shut her eyes.
Though a small gesture, it was clear. She was trusting him.
Carefully, Noctum draped his jagged wing underneath Valkyrie's dorsal fin.
Her rough scales hurt his wing membrane. But the warmth that flowed through his chest made it all worthwhile.
(Art by @Adamhuarts)
XxX
As the night rolled on, Leo found himself unable to sleep. At first, he thought maybe there was too much nervous energy from having more plates. So, he tried shifting his appearance around. He was even able to take on the guise of other pokémon with the plates' power.
It was cool, until he tried to think about why he could do that. Which gave him a headache.
The cosmic arceus decided to take a walk in the hopes of clearing his head. He left his room, headed down a metal hallway, and took the stairs down to the same sublevel as the hangar.
Leo walked down the gray, windowless corridor. Maybe if he floated out in space he'd fall asleep?
But then I'd worry everyone when they wake up.
He rounded a corner and continued down another drab metallic hallway, starcloud fur dimming.
Would it have killed Gene to do something with the residential side of the outpost? All this gray sucked ass. Maybe the sheer monotony of it would lull Leo to sleep.
He froze mid-step.
Two spirits were nearby. What if they sensed him?
Shit, this was bad. The last thing he needed was an earful from Yuna for wandering around at night.
... Wait! There was an easy fix. He just had to concentrate. C'mon, focus.
Leo's wheel flickered blue. In an instant, the cosmic arceus melted into a tiny puddle by the edge of one of the metal doors. Perfect timing, too, since the spirits in question rounded the corner.
Gene and... that Veggie guy! Leo couldn't remember the dusknoir's name, but that felt close enough.
"That's your plan, is it?" The shadowy mewtwo's arms were crossed. He wore an unusually stern expression. "Do what you can to help, then disappear into the afterlife forever?"
"I figured you'd be happy to hear that," Veggie said.
They both stopped. Leo tried to keep his puddle as still as possible. Could they sense him? Was the jig up already?
"Hard to take anything you say at face value," Gene said. His tail twitched in irritation.
"And yet, despite ample time to reveal the truth, you haven't," Veggie countered. His eye flickered blue.
Still creepy, Leo thought. He had to focus, though. Puddle. He was nothing but water. Too many thoughts and they'd sense his spirit.
Gene's Malice Crystal flickered. "Unlike you, I have a bunch of people to look after. Causing a panic in the outpost isn't productive for the resistance."
"Nor is the distrust you'd sow amongst the Aeons," Veggie cut in. Now his eye glowed a solid, steady blue. "Fascinating. Your convictions have changed."
"The situation's changed." Gene leaned back against the wall and crossed his right leg over his left. "You clearly understand that, too. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here."
"I truly mean it." Veggie turned away from Gene. "If the last Needles are pulled, I'll die. Necrozma shall truly become invincible."
Gene raised a brow. "Implying he isn't right now? You told Yuna we'd have to locate Necrozma's 'lost spirit' to defeat him."
"I've reconsidered our approach."
Leo concentrated hard on staying liquified. Veggie had lied about that? Why hadn't Reshiram said something to Yuna, then?
"There's a chance." Veggie held up an index finger. "If you accept Arceus' blessing—"
Gene's eyes and shoulder crystal glowed purple. "You mean your son's." He pushed off the wall and moved to walk away. "I knew you were full of it."
Veggie stuck his arm in Gene's path. The shadowy mewtwo stopped, glaring at Veggie. If Leo had proper ears in puddle form, they'd be ringing.
"It's not the same," Veggie whispered.
"Come again?"
"Even if there are traces of the soul I remember, it will never be the same." Veggie bowed his head. "He's not my son."
Gene put his hands on his hips. "And what about Yuna? Y'know she told a bunch of us she's Chiron, right?"
Leo was still in as much of a daze as he could afford whilst suppressing his spirit to maintain puddle form. But something about the way Gene phrased that...
Veggie rested his right hand on the wall. The blue glow faded from his eye. "She's not my wife." Blue electricity swarmed his eye once again. "I cannot get attached. If I do, I'll fall back into old habits. Seek to recombine and—"
"Seriously?" Gene's tail lashed at the air. "So, better you off yourself? Take this secret to your grave?"
"Times on times he divided, and measured space by space in his ninefold darkness." Veggie slowly shook his head. "You of all people should understand this is the correct decision. I've made too many mistakes. I'm long past the point of redemption—"
Gene's glare turned to indifference. "Yeah. Sure. You're right." The shadowy mewtwo laughed bitterly. "Screw me for thinking your brush with mortality had changed anything."
He started to walk off. Veggie's eye faded back to red. "Where are you going?"
"To bed. I gotta meet with that ponyta twink tomorrow."
"We're not finished here."
The shadowy mewtwo whirled on Veggie. His shoulder crystal crackled with red and black energy. A blade of shadows manifested in his right hand. And there was... something behind him.
Leo was trying his hardest to keep himself and his aura hidden. But that shadowy blade... felt like it was trying to claw Leo's spirit out into the open.
And that thing behind Gene — a black, crystal sphere with a glowing red core — made Leo want to reform and run. Run far away.
Why was it... familiar? Was Veggie seeing it, too? He had to be, right?
(Art by @Adamhuarts)
"We are finished." Gene leveled the blade at Veggie. "I'm not taking the kid's power. I'll do this my own way."
The dusknoir drifted back. "This... this is..."
"You spent a while around Overseers," Gene growled. "I'm sure shadow-type came up once or twice."
Veggie's eye dimmed. "How long... have you had this power?"
"Too long." Gene brought the blade closer. "But I can't control it. I keep it suppressed." He jerked his head at his glowing Malice Crystal.
Leo felt that awful clawing again. When he looked at the crystal sphere behind Gene, he saw a chilling emptiness. How was Veggie not reacting to it?
"The reason I didn't go to fight Matriarch was because I couldn't control it." Gene's shadowy blade rippled. Crackled with red and purple lightning. "Nova was afraid I'd turn against the team. And then I lost him."
Veggie started to drift further away, but Gene's psychic grip took hold and brought him closer. The dusknoir tried to keep his head away from the blade. "And so... you've feared... calling on it?"
"Until today," Gene said. His eyes flashed blue. "I used that power on those damn birds. Can't keep hiding it now, can I? I'll—"
The crystal sphere behind Gene pulsated. His face contorted in pain, then the shadowy mewtwo brought his hand back as if he was going to spear Vegna with the shadow blade.
"—Perhaps I should kill you after all. The fear and panic it would cause... it could grow my power. Enough to pull off the impossible and destroy Necrozma."
Leo lost sight of the hallway. He saw a dark, starry sky. A black miasma surrounded a rainbow tree whose colors were fading into the black mist.
"All this fear. All this anguish. The world cries out for its suffering to end. I shall grant that wish. Burn away all the suffering in the fires of the sun!"
"One shot. One chance," Leo said. He flung a delphox and a meganium toward the tree. "The world's hope rests with you!"
Gene locked eyes with where Leo was hiding as a puddle. He released Veggie and staggered back, clutching his head and shaking it.
"I, nngh, told you..."
The glow in the shadowy mewtwo's Malice Crystal faded. And the crystal sphere vanished, too. "Hard to... control."
He glanced in Leo's direction again. Veggie looked over his shoulder. Leo did his best to remain as still as he could as a puddle, but the dusknoir raised his left hand. Blue sparks crackled around it.
"How long were you hiding there?" Veggie said.
Leo reformed from the puddle. The cosmic arceus looked down guiltily at his golden hooves. There were things he could say, but the words weren't coming to him.
"You tell no one what you heard," Veggie said. The sparks spread along his right hand. "Understand?"
Leo looked over to Gene, but the shadowy mewtwo had vanished. Had he disappeared into a rift or fled toward the staircase?
Small blue bolts peppered the ground by Leo's forelegs. He hopped back, starcloud mane flickering.
"I asked you a question, boy." Veggie's eye cast an eerie blue glow over Leo.
"I understand," Leo squeaked. "I won't say anything."
Veggie turned away. The sparks disappeared, but gold mist and ectoplasm melted off the dusknoir's right arm. "I'm holding you to that."
And he floated off, leaving Leo alone in the hallway once again. The cosmic arceus' head pounded.
That shadowy blade. That crystal sphere. What was that vision? Was that... something that happened? Was he a reincarnated soul, too?
How could he talk about this with anyone if he promised not to say anything?
Vision fuzzy, Leo staggered toward the stairwell.
He needed time. Leo couldn't make any decisions yet. He had to think things over. Try and make sense of all of this... even if it was on his own.
Leo's head spun too much to levitate up the stairs. So, he clumsily climbed them.
Sleep was definitely off the table now.
XxX
"Y'shoulda seen it, Maxie! I was slicin' 'n dicin' bots left and right! Hyah! Sha-ha!"
Artemis wasn't sure what he was expecting as he slithered through the hangar in search of the bag he'd left there. Archie slashing the air with a jagged seamitar wasn't anywhere near the top of the list.
Shaking his head, the ghostly typhlosion looked up from the book he was reading. "I know you were. I was there."
Archie froze mid-thrust. "Oh yeah. Suppose yeh were."
"You were too busy jetting around to notice." Maxie nudged his goggles. "I was with some of the dragons keeping their distance."
He noticed Artemis. "Can I help you, Milotic?"
Artemis' ribbons curled. "Ah, no. Not at all." He spotted his bag beside some boxes and slithered toward it. "Just, y'know, grabbing my bag. Forgot it when I left."
"Uh-huh." Maxie returned his gaze to his book.
As Artemis grabbed the bag, however, Archie said, "Yer antsy."
"Huh?" The milotic coiled up. "Well, it's kind of hard not to be after what we heard."
"Not about that." The dark samurott leveled a jagged seamitar at Artemis. "Yer itching to do something. I can feel it in my bones." Archie looked over his shoulder. "C'mon, Maxie. Back me up here."
Maxie silently turned a page in his book.
Archie scowled. "Lousy killjoy..."
"I heard that," Maxie scoffed, nudging up his goggles.
"Whatever." Archie sheathed the jagged seamitar. "Point is, yer tired of sitting on the sidelines. Yeh need to do something. It's written all over yer face."
Seriously? Artemis doubted some weird-looking samurott could tell that solely from his expression. It was a bluff. Artemis wouldn't entertain it. He uncoiled and slithered for the door to the residential quarters.
"Yeh can lie to yerself all yeh want!" Archie bellowed. "Yeh'll just keep getting antsier and antsier until yeh pop!"
At the laughter that followed, Artemis whirled around. "So, what of it?" The milotic's ribbons bristled. "You've seen the insanity for yourself! I can't stand up to any of that." He raised his right ribbon. "Everyone's on an entirely different level. Yeah, I helped hold the line against that crazy sneasler, but that was pure luck!"
He lowered his ribbon, shaking his head. "I'm a dishwasher, for pity's sake. Any training fell by the wayside once the Radiant Guard and Vortex screwed me over."
Before Artemis could continue to the door, Archie said, "So, yer not even gonna try to fix it?"
Artemis froze. "Fix it? What's there to fix?"
"C'mon. I ain't summoning no giant dragons outta a gem in my chest." Archie thumped his armored chest with a foreleg. "Maxie ain't, either. Not stopping us from fighting."
"Indeed." Maxie turned the page in his book. "And what of all the Aeon soldiers?"
"They're soldiers," Artemis countered. "Their whole job revolves around this." His brows drooped. "I lost my chance at being a soldier."
"And it'll stay lost if yeh don't do anything about it," Archie scoffed.
The milotic's brows and ribbons crinkled. "Like what?"
"Lendin' a fin, o' course!" Archie slapped a foreleg against the metal floor. "Even if yer just fightin' the dumb bots, it's more than sitting around here." He rocked back and forth. "Yer a pokémon. Battlin' is in yer blood, whether yeh like it or not."
"Not doing anything to change your feeling of worthlessness is naught but learned helplessness," Maxie added. The ghostly typhlosion still hadn't looked up from his book. "And that's rather pathetic for a milotic."
Artemis flinched. They were right. He was repeating the same mistakes that kept him stuck in his dead-end job back at Horizon. Back then was too afraid Vortex had blacklisted him, so he just... stayed there, bemoaning the hand life had dealt him.
"Okay, fine." Artemis turned away from them. "I'll give it a shot."
"Aye, that's the spirit!" Archie raised a jagged seamitar. "Why don't yeh join us fer some training tomorrow? I can whip yeh into fighting shape!"
Given the twinkle in Archie's eyes, Artemis wondered if actual whipping was involved. "I'll, uh, consider it." He turned toward the door. "Thanks."
The milotic slithered out of the hangar and into the hallway. He had a lot to think about. So a nice, hot shower was in order.
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