Chapter 100: Positively Adamant
While Spacial Rend was relatively easy for me to describe in manuscript form, Dialga's Roar of Time is much more... esoteric. Hisuian records suggest a large beam of energy, but that sounds no different from your average Dragon Pulse. Even descriptions from the second Hisuian hero suggest Roar of Time was less impressive a sight than Palkia's Spacial Rend.
I suppose part of it is in the name itself. What does roaring time even equate to? Is Dialga bombarding an opponent with an array of different possibilities? Are they warping time in the area of the attack?
Perhaps the Space Globe can shed some light on this for me. I'll ask Zodiark.
XxX
The restaurant had been open while the group waited for news about Seifer. And it stayed open even after Cyril's outburst, though Guzzie and Guzmelda tried their best to hastily get the remaining patrons fed and out the door.
Throughout the constant scurrying of the black and pink guzzlord couple, Artemis remained coiled next to a corner table. He stared blankly at a flickering neon record hanging above the jukebox. Artemis had no idea how much time had passed. He didn't care, either.
It was Artemis' fault. Seifer was gone because of him. If the milotic had just understood his place... that he'd been sitting on the sidelines for a reason. Artemis had been out of his depth with the toxic swamp that took over the skorps' home planet. Gene knew that. That was why the mewtwo had Artemis work that stupid drone when they went to Eterna City.
But Artemis complained anyway. Let that dumb samurott talk him into going back out in the field.
And now Siefer was dead.
Why hadn't Artemis just stayed behind?
His scales tingled— no, itched.
He hunched over, putting his hands on his thighs to catch his breath. Akari was climbing off Ursaluna to gather the balms scattered at A̸͈͠r̴̛̠e̷̩͌z̸̳̉ȕ̶̖'̴͚̽s̷̼̓ feet.
"What were you thinking, doing all this yourself?" Artemis said. He managed to catch his breath. "Did you think I couldn't help you?"
Both girls shared a glance.
"Right." Artemis' shoulders sagged. "No one would blame you for thinking so. Not much of a leader, am I? I've never even seen almighty Sinnoh with my own eyes."
"Y'square, mate?"
Artemis jolted. His horn grazed the metal wall behind him. Ribbons curling, the milotic hissed in pain.
Wait, ribbons? He looked at them, blinking repeatedly.
"Oi. Artemis, innit?"
He looked up to see that lycanroc mutt standing in front of him, paws on a sleeping Sigurd's wheelchair. Given the direction Sigurd was facing, they were probably heading to the residential quarters.
"I'm fine." Artemis waved Jaeger off with his right ribbon.
"Ain't a good liar, mate," Jaeger said. He lifted his paws off the wheelchair. "Heard about what happened to Seifer. Damn shame."
Artemis looked down guiltily. "It's my fault. He died taking a blow for me." His ribbons curled up as he suppressed a shudder. "All because I... really thought I could make a difference out there. Me, some... some random nobody milotic."
Jaeger scratched his chin. "Easy to blame yourself right now. But it sounds like Seifer chose to run in and take that blow."
"Only because I was careless," Artemis countered. His brows drooped. "I'd been... icy toward him, because of what happened in the past. Never got to a point where I could forgive him." He shook his head. "Then this happened."
"That's the grief talking," Jaeger said. "Sounds like y'need time to sort through it." The lycanroc mutt rubbed his rocky mane. "Wish I could help, mate, but it ain't exactly my forte."
Artemis' eyes narrowed. "And just what is your forte? You're supposed to be one of these Overseers, aren't you?"
"Intern."
"Whatever!" Artemis flicked a ribbon in Jaeger's direction. "Doesn't that make you strong? Why aren't you out there fighting these guys?!"
He slithered up to Jaeger and jabbed a ribbon into his chest. "If you'd gone out there, then... then maybe I wouldn't have! And Seifer would still be—"
Jaeger grabbed the milotic's shout and shushed him. He tilted his head in Sigurd's direction as a warning not to wake the guy up.
"'Fraid it don't work like that, mate." Jaeger let go of Artemis' snout and stepped back. "Overseers get power from entering a world with the help of the local gods. Didn't happen to me, so I don't have that power. 'M like a normal lycanroc."
"Seriously?" Artemis slouched to the point where his ribbons dragged on the floor. "But what about that emerald sheen your fur sometimes has?"
"Yeh, 's just a glow." Jaeger held his paw up. It flashed emerald for a bit. "Cuz 'm usually a zygarde when I visit a world."
What? The milotic struggled to imagine how one jumped from serpent dragon to rock dog.
Jaeger scratched his ear. "Zygarde got a canid form, mate."
"Oh." Still, Artemis didn't buy it. He straightened up. "Well, we literally have the local god here: Leo. Why can't you borrow some of his power so you can fight? He already shared his power with Cyril and Widget, so..."
His voice trailed off. "He shared... his power with Cyril and Widget..."
Jaeger raised a brow, only to grunt as Artemis shoved him into the back of Sigurd's chair while slithering around him.
"What's the hurry, mate?"
"Leo! I need Leo!" Artemis slithered toward the door. He'd been in such a stupor for so long that it hadn't occurred to him that the cosmic arceus should have been home by now. Which meant that he was somewhere in the outpost.
"What for?" Jaeger said.
"There might still be a way to save Seifer," Artemis said.
Jaeger muttered something, but it was too quiet for Artemis to hear. The metal doors slid open for the milotic. He headed into the glass tunnel.
Yes, Leo was the key. The key to saving Seifer... and to his power woes. Leo was God. He had to have some sort of control over life and death. Now that he had several plates, surely Leo could tap into those powers. And also give Artemis a boost, too.
Blessings for both of them. That was the solution. A way for Artemis to undo his terrible mistake... and to make sure no one would ever get hurt covering for his stupidity again.
It was a solid plan. It was going to work— no, it had to work.
XxX
Widget had initially checked the "main" infirmary area — several repurposed rooms whose walls Gene had broken down — but found no sign of Cyril or Seifer. He asked one of the cyclizar monks carrying around some towels. She told the cosmic silvally they'd taken Seifer into an empty room at the end of the hall.
The first room he tried had Ifrit and Shiva, who were still asleep. The second had Yiazmat beside a slumbering Calcifer. It was the room at the very end, by a glass wall looking out at the asteroid belt and brilliant aurora, that Widget found an ajar metal door.
He lightly tapped the door with his talons. "Hey. Anyone in here?"
No response. Widget leaned over. His head crest nudged the door open. He recoiled upon seeing a charred, vaguely equine body lying on a blue tarp covering the bed. There were scented candles and lilac flowers around the bed. Widget wondered if those were trying to mask the smell of a burnt corpse.
"What do you want?"
Cyril's voice was hoarse, but he still managed to sound harsh. Widget shrank back, his head crest drooping.
The door opened fully. Cyril walked back toward a metal folding chair beside Seifer's body and slumped down into it.
"I, uh—" Widget couldn't take his eyes off the tarp. He wouldn't have even known that was Seifer had he not seen the lightning fry the keldeo. "I just wanted to check in."
"I'm not up for talking." Cyril let his starcloud mane drape over his face. It was more disheveled than usual. And his ectoplasmic pelt was knotted up, too.
"I know he meant a lot to you," Widget whispered.
Cyril's black fur flickered red. Widget's claws scraped against the floor. Had he said something wrong?
The cosmic zoroark stayed silent, still facing Seifer. Though Widget had no idea if he could see the keldeo's corpse through all that fur.
Eventually, Cyril muttered, "This mean Gene's back?"
"No." Widget stepped into the room. Lilac and lavender scents practically assaulted his beak. It was almost suffocating. But better than the alternative, I guess.
"No?" Cyril's fur flickered red again.
Widget tensed. Was honesty the best policy right now? Then again, he wasn't a great liar and lying could just make Cyril angrier.
"He didn't want to come back." The silvally's starcloud neck ruff deflated. "He thought you didn't want him around. So, he's trying to recruit ousted Crowne Ministers over in Radiance. I think he's heading for Blightsmuth."
At first, Cyril didn't respond. Then he smacked his right leg with his right hand. "Oooof course he is. Gotta find some way to salvage this, right?" He flicked his left wrist toward Seifer's body.
"I think he's afraid," Widget mumbled.
"Of what?" Cyril whirled on Widget. His mane still obscured his face but locks of hair rippled like stormy waters. "Me chewing him out for not dropping everything to get Seifer to safety?"
Widget's crest drooped. "That's, uh... a pretty good guess?" He looked down at his gold talons. This idea was turning worse by the second.
Raspy laughter followed. "No reason to worry." Cyril slapped his right leg again. "Because he was right. As usual."
"Huh?"
"There was no reason to rush him back." Cyril's laughter continued. The gems in his limbs flickered erratically. "That lightning fried him. He was... he was..."
His laughter faded to choked back sobs as Cyril slumped off his chair and onto his knees.
"C-Cyril..." Widget took a step toward the cosmic zoroark... only to jump back when Cyril punched the tarp.
"Why?" He punched again. "Why, damn it?" And again. "Why did this have to happen?" And again.
Widget had to say something, right? "He was trying to save Artemis. Trying... to be the hero he always saw himself as."
"I get that!" Cyril snapped. Widget caught a quick glimpse of the zoroark's puffy eyes before his hair obscured them again. "But the last thing that happened before that was his asshole father disowning him because I let him rile me up!"
He turned and punched the tarp again. Cyril's right arm rippled with static. "I screwed up! I loved him and I... I'll never..."
The cosmic silvally's neck ruff deflated further. Those static ripples meant Cyril would erode into a Whisper if Widget didn't do something.
"It's not your fault." He quickly went to Cyril's side and sat down next to him. "Between the pirates and Xeromus, everything was out of control. I'm sure if Seifer were here, he wouldn't blame you for losing your cool."
"But he did blame me!" Static briefly replaced Cyril's mane and torso. "He scolded me. And I never got the chance to apologize..."
Crap! Widget was making it worse!
"W-Well, um..." He had to think. Think. Think. "If he was, y'know, really mad at you, would he have gone with you and Artemis?"
Widget flinched when Cyril turned to him. His hair was still covering his face, but at least the static wasn't showing up this time.
"I dunno," Cyril whispered. He slumped to his right so his head and upper torso were lying on the chair. "But he's gone now. I'll never get to make a proper apology."
"There might still be a way!"
Widget turned to find Artemis in the doorway. The milotic leaned against the door, trying to catch his breath while also shoving Leo's side with a ribbon.
"Hey! C'mon, dude, my fur's not even dry!"
The cosmic arceus hesitantly entered the room. Water dribbled off his blue-purple, starry pelt. The towel draped over his torso dropped onto the floor.
"You pulled Leo out of the shower?" Widget asked.
"Of course not." Artemis finished catching his breath, slithered inside, and shut the door. "I pulled him out of the shower area while he was drying off." He pointed a ribbon across the room. "Because this is important! Leo can save Seifer!"
Cyril's head snapped in Leo's direction. Leo turned to Artemis. "What?"
"A blessing should totally work!" Artemis sounded awfully sure of himself for what sounded like a complete wild guess. "Look at what it did for Cyril and Widget." He gestured to both with his ribbons. "And you have a ghost-type plate, right? So, you should totally be able to revive a soul. If you're the creator of the universe, nothing's impossible for you."
Widget looked down at the floor. All those concerns he brought up to Gene about Leo's blessing rushed back to the surface. Could Leo really bring Seifer back? Or would he end up putting an entirely different spirit into Seifer's body? Did the cosmic arceus even understand how his blessings worked?
"Wait." Cyril held his hands up. "No, something about that ain't right. Seifer was killed back in Radiance. His soul shouldn't be here anymore. It'd be... claimed by Eternatus, wouldn't it?"
"Maybe?" Leo shrugged. "TBH, I'm not really sure."
"TBH?" Cyril pulled his starcloud hair aside to squint at Leo. "Seriously, dude?"
The two cosmic fuzzballs' ensuing bickering barely registered to Widget, who was repeating Cyril's claims over and over in his head.
Souls claimed by Eternatus. Claimed by... Eternatus...
"I might be able to help with that."
Widget hadn't realized what he said until he saw three sets of eyes on him. Artemis wrapped his tail around one of the cosmic silvally's hind legs. "Don't just stand there. Explain!"
"I, uh—" Widget blinked several times. "Well, y'know, the emperor built me to interface with Eternatus. So, um, I might be able to locate Seifer's spirit. If it's, like, adrift and stuff."
"You don't sound too sure of yourself." Cyril crossed his arms and tapped a foot on the floor.
"But he can try." Artemis let go of Widget's hind leg. The milotic pet the leg with his tail. "For everyone's sake, right?"
"Does that mean I can go back to drying off?" Leo reached a foreleg toward the towel he dropped.
"No, we still need you," Artemis said. Leo brought his foreleg back, an unamused look on his face.
"Uh, right." Widget stepped toward Seifer's body. His form shifted back into his original, Eternatus-esque look. His glassy, red-pink torso was... strange after not experiencing it for so long.
"Here goes." The eternavally shut his eyes and concentrated. What was it the emperor had told him to do?
His fur bristled. No, forget him. Do what feels natural.
Widget took one deep breath. Then another. And another.
Even though his eyes were closed, a dully, hazy outline of the room painted itself in front of him. There were two bright, white-blue flames to his right. A gold flame sat between them. It was so intense, it almost broke Widget's concentration. It had to be Leo's spirit.
Focus. Deep breaths. Widget had to think beyond the—
"What?"
Widget's eyes opened. He stumbled toward the bed, shaking his head and blinked stars from his vision. "That doesn't—" Widget looked at the bed where Seifer's body lay.
"Did you see something?" There was a spark of hope in Cyril's voice.
"A crystal," the eternavally whispered. "A gray and blue crystal... right on the bed. Which I don't understand. Cuz you guys looked like ethereal flames to me when I was concentrating."
Cyril hummed in thought. Artemis slithered between him and Widget. "That's a good thing!" the milotic chirped. "That's gotta mean his spirit's here. Which means Leo can help!" He turned to the cosmic arceus. "I bet all you gotta do is 'break' that crystal and you'll free Seifer's soul!"
Leo's damp starcloud mane dimmed. "Gray crystal? I dunno..."
"Please, Leo, you have to try!" Artemis beckoned him with his tailfins.
"Uhh..."
Artemis nudged Cyril with his left ribbon. "You agree with me, right? You really want Seifer back!"
The cosmic zoroark's mane dimmed. "Yeah. I do."
"Then what do we have to lose?" Artemis looked between Cyril and Leo.
After a few seconds of silence, Leo stepped forward. "Fine. I'll try." He approached the bed. "Maybe it is that simple. And I have a lot of plates now, so that's bound to help."
Widget shuffled back. His fur stood on end. Something about the crystal bothered him. He wasn't sure why, so he kept his beak shut. Widget silently watched golden filaments unravel from Leo's wheel. They gently touched Seifer's corpse. Leo's wheel and starcloud mane sparkled with a blue-purple aurora. The dampness from his shower turned to small bits of steam above his head.
Though tempted to tap into that spirit sensing power again, Widget feared he'd break Leo's concentration. He stood as still as a statue.
... And then the filaments twitched.
Leo's eyes opened. They were full of panic.
The filaments twitched again. Artemis and Cyril didn't seem to notice, gazes locked on Seifer's body. Its hooves were... glistening?
This time the filaments jerked. Was Leo trying to pull them away?
Something's wrong.
Widget had to speak up. "Leo?"
"I can't, nnngh, get them back," he said. The filaments jerked again, but remained attached to Seifer. The glistening had spread over the keldeo's charred body.
"Wait, what?" Cyril stepped up to Leo. "If there's a problem then stop."
Leo's wheel and starcloud mane flickered. "I can't! It won't— why isn't this working? Stop! Stop!" He kept jerking the filaments.
Widget's head crest glowed. He shifted back to his cosmic form. "Do you want me to slice them? I'm sure I can—"
"No! Get back!" Leo stuck his left foreleg out.
Artemis finally seemed to register the problem. He was reaching toward Leo when the cosmic arceus suddenly tensed.
The filaments were ripped from Seifer's body. They flailed about like rapidly deflating balloons. Leo staggered back, eyes wide. Cyril dove onto the floor, narrowly avoiding one.
Widget jumped over one of the filaments just as another smacked Artemis across the face. Despite being thin, the filament's slap slammed the milotic into the wall. His golden scales darkened to black and his ribbons turned into starry nebulas that matched Cyril and Leo's hair.
(Art by Inku.)
Artemis slumped down onto the floor and lay still.
"Artemis!" the cosmic silvally cried. "Leo, you have to make it stop!"
The filaments — no, they were more like tendrils now — continued lashing at the air. Leo staggered back, his wheel dimming and brightening erratically. "I can't! Nothing's working!"
"Then try something els— auugh!"
A tendril slapped Widget's right cheek bolt. Like Artemis, he was flung into the corner of the room. A resounding clang echoed in the room, but Widget didn't hear it. His ears hadn't stopped ringing.
Widget collapsed. The room spun and spun and spun. The gray walls and ceiling melted away into a swirl of reds, purples, and violets.
"Wha?" He blinked rapidly, but the sea of colors wouldn't disappear. "Leo? Cyril?!" Widget tried to lift his head, but found he couldn't move it.
The sea of red and purple rippled. One by one, silhouettes drifted toward him. He spotted a charizard, then a decidueye beside it, then a xatu floating behind them both.
Silhouettes kept popping up. Soon there were ten— no, twenty? Widget had quickly lost count. He tried to move away from them, but he couldn't.
Widget couldn't open his beak, either. Only stare at the silhouettes.
Some larger ones stood behind the others. A reshiram loomed over them all. A miraidon floated beside it. And behind them both... a familiar silhouette resembling a giant hand.
The cosmic silvally tensed up. Those three... were parts of the transformations he used. Widget never thought about why he could transform like that. He figured the emperor had built him that way.
All the silhouettes' lifted their heads. Hollow blue eyes stared Widget down from all directions.
Again, he tried to get his beak open. Nothing happened.
Widget trembled. Why was this happening? Was this because of Leo's power? But it had already helped him before... hadn't it?
One of the silhouettes was right in front of Widget's face. Three heads. Three sets of hollow blue eyes.
Hydreigon stared Widget down. Its main head looked over its shoulder at the silhouettes. Then it turned back to Widget.
Finally, Widget's beak moved. "What do you want from me?" he squealed.
Silence. Hydreigon continued staring.
(Art by Yereren.)
"Puh-please." Widget was able to look around. Everyone was staring. Boring through him with their hollow blue eyes. "I don't... understand..."
Voice.
Widget tensed. His claws dug into... the purple and red swirling beneath him. "Who said that?!" He looked around in a panic. "Was it you?" Widget eyed Hydreigon.
Voice.
It was louder this time. And coming from all around Widget. "Voice what?! I'm talking! You can hear me!"
Hydreigon inched closer. So did the other silhouettes.
Voice. Together. Voice. Together.
"Stop it! You're not making any sense!" Widget pleaded. He tried conjuring an attack to ward off the silhouettes, but the energy fizzled out the moment it reached his beak.
"Stop! Get away!" Widget rapidly shook his head, as if that could somehow force the silhouettes back. "Get away from me!"
Hydreigon placed one of its smaller heads on Widget's crest.
We carry the wills of slumbering lives. We are their Voice.
Melding together, the silhouettes funneled into Widget's chest. His starcloud ruff swelled up.
Widget screamed. A wall of blue light swept away the red and purple ocean, but his screams didn't stop. Not for an unconscious Artemis. Not for Cyril, who was slumped on his knees beside a keldeo-shaped blue and gray crystal.
When Widget's screams died down, his gaze fell on Leo. The tendrils were gone, but the cosmic arceus looked around the room with increasing horror on his face. Rapidly shaking his head, Leo slammed the door open and bolted from the room.
The metallic thumps of Leo's galloping echoed in Widget's head even as they grew steadily farther.
Widget shakily took one step toward the door. Then another. Then a third. He tried to will himself to go after Leo, but that one piercing word kept echoing in his head.
Voice. Voice. Voice.
He managed one last step, before falling over on his side and blacking out.
XxX
Shane lifted his head off the glowing root of the crystal tree surrounding him. Its prismatic branches and leaves turned the small cavern's walls into a rainbow mosaic. It was practically a sky shifting from the soft blues of morning to the orange and reds of sunset. It was a sight Shane had taken in so many times it had practically lost all meaning to him.
Besides, it wasn't important. He had a visitor. The icetales got up, stretching out a hind leg... only to sharp in a suck breath when the leg cramped.
"Ow! Ow! Charlie— gah!"
He fell over on his side, disheveling his chest ruff and exposing the rainbow crystal underneath.
A crystal the summer form deerling that stood at the opposite end of the cavern eyed intently.
"Angel! Hi!" Shane blurted out her name a bit too loudly as he scrambled to his feet. He winced from his own echo. "Uhh... I wasn't expecting you here. Right now. At this very moment." He awkwardly punctuated his wording while he dusted himself off with four of his tails.
"Well, spontaneity can be one of life's many joys," Angel said, slowly walking further into the cavern. "How's the Tree of Light?"
Shane glanced over his shoulder. "Same as it was the last time you asked. You know we don't have to do the small talk stuff, right?"
When he turned back around, gone was the simple summer deerling. In her place stood a xerneas with a golden pelt, gold antlers, gold crystals on her chest and legs that brought Shane's true form to mind. Her vibrant glow melded with the Tree of Light's aurora to spread a golden tinge around the cavern.
(Art by Digivolvar.)
"True." Angel's gaze drifted toward the Tree of Light's branches. "But I was concerned." She continued forward. Her crystal hooves plinked softly on the cavern floor with every step. "I poked around Ginnungagap. By 2020."
Shane's tails puffed out. "I, uh... I know I'd suggested it, but you didn't have to go do that right away."
"You were distressed," Angel said." She stopped by the icetales and leaned over. Her golden antlers dimmed along with her rainbow eyes. "Still are distressed." She sounded quite sure of herself.
They looked at each other in silence for a few seconds before Shane turned back to the tree. "Maybe a bit," he conceded, pawing at the ground.
Sighing, Angel shrank back down to a summer deerling. She brushed against Shane's side and sat next to the edge of a nearby tree root.
"Something happen?"
"You remember that world that got me in trouble over the whole 'protecting ogerpon' thing?" Shane asked. Angel nodded as he sat down next to her. "One of Zodiark's mystery dungeons targeted that place. 2020's new arceus managed to settle things down, but he... did something surprising."
"What kind of surprise?" Angel wondered. "Not a pleasant one, from the sound of things..."
"He took Vince."
Angel leaned into Shane's line of sight, flabbergasted. "You're kidding."
"Wish I was." Shane sighed. A tired smile spread over his muzzle. "Besides, weren't you the one who said I only know how to be unintentionally funny?"
That flummoxed the summer deerling. Enough for her golden antlers to flicker in and out of existence. "Well that's—" Angel shook her head. "I'm sure I've told you that friendly ribbing — whether from friend, family, or partner — is a small way for two souls to share in the joy of life."
"Maybe." Shane playfully poked Angel's side with a tail. "But I'm not exactly known for being a good listener."
They shared a look and then a quick laugh. Then Shane's ears folded down. "Anyway, it turns out that the Reverse World guardian for that dimension was helping 2020's new arceus."
Angel tilted her head. "And that was?"
"The fuzzy mewtwo-zoroark mishmash." Shane curled two of his tails together. "He, uh, remembers me from when I helped with his ascension."
"I see." Angel put her left forehoof over Shane's right forepaw. "That must have been awkward."
"Well, it did make me feel like I was a dolt," the icetales conceded. "And I betrayed Vince's trust." The gem in his chest flickered. "Not exactly a great quality in an Overseer."
"True." Angel took her forehoof off Shane's forepaw and instead placed it on the rainbow root to her right. She still wore a calm expression. "Still, mistakes are as much a part of life as love and lust. Whether you let them define you or rise above them will determine the sort of person you are. That goes for gods or mortals. Overseers or interns." She conjured a small mote of light that she placed on the tree root. A tiny blue flower sprouted from the root.
"I know." Shane had heard that from Angel before. "This one's... different. Because of all the 2020 stuff." He winced. "And how I contributed to it." He sucked in a sharp breath. "It's... hard not to let it all get to me. Especially when I can only try and help indirectly."
Angel grew back into a golden xerneas. She leaned over and gently licked Shane's back.
"H-Hey!" His tails puffed out.
"You poor thing~" she said. "You've been talking with one of the Dark Matters again, haven't you?"
Shane shook himself until Angel pulled away. "Tama, actually," he said.
"Well, he does still lean cynical on these things," Angel said, shrinking back to deerling. She climbed onto the tree root and playfully nudged the flower she'd grown.
"I know... and he is trusting me on this." Shane got up and stretched in a downward dog pose, fanning out his snowy tails. "But he does have a point about how thin a tightrope I'm walking."
"In what way?"
"It's... dangerous for me to get close to 2020's divine energy," Shane said. As he finished his stretch, he slowly expanded into his necrozma form. He stretched his upper half toward the Tree of Light's trunk. Shane rested an upper wing against it. "There was a reaction when the new arceus showed up. I'm not sure he realized it... maybe because he doesn't have a full grip on all his powers."
He lifted his lower wings. They darkened and staticky red energy pulsated through them. "If we'd stayed together a bit longer, we'd have caused another mystery dungeon to form up. Right after he'd sealed Zodiark's." Shane lowered his wings and the energy dissipated. "And I tried to track down some of his missing plates after leaving 4940, but every time I thought I sensed one... I lost it."
Angel tilted her head, but then her eyes slowly widened. Her golden antlers flickered in and out of existence. "Wait, you don't mean..."
"That divine energy I banished from home must be baked into 2020's." Shane squished his eight-pointed head against the tree trunk. "It still, like, remembers me. And so my presence repels it." His face slid down the tree trunk until he was lying face down on the ground. "I guess it wasn't a problem back when I visited the old outpost because all that energy was sealed up. But now that it's free and spreading around—"
"You can't get close to it without risking a reaction," Angel cut in. Hoofbeats suggested she was walking on her tree root toward Shane's head. "And not the fun kind, either."
Shane half-grunted, half-laughed at that last comment. He turned his head left and saw gold, crystalline forehooves dangling off a tree root.
"Pretty much," he said. "It's like my wings are tied." A pause, and then he added, "And that's not the fun kind, either."
"Oh, you." Angel nudged his left upper wing with her forehoof.
"You started it."
"God of life perks."
Shane turned his head further to find Angel winking and sticking out her golden tongue. "Fine." He rolled over on his back, folding his four wings across his crystalline chest. "At least there's an upside to this. If I could feel that strong a reaction to the new arceus... then it's possible that shadowed soul I mentioned to you might finally be able to let go."
Several seconds of silence followed. Shane was going to elaborate when Angel said, "That silvally?"
He nodded slowly. His head tendrils shriveled slightly. "He's been drowning in shadows for so long. All because I've told him he needs to hold out for the right moment." Shane's tendrils extended. "And I think that moment's here. If I'm right... he may be able to help the new arceus stop Zodiark."
"And if you're wrong?"
Shane's whole body dimmed. "That's... what this backup plan's for."
More silence followed. Enough for Shane to believe Angel decided against pressing him further on that subject.
But where did that leave them? Heck, they'd gone off on such a long tangent that Shane had forgotten why Angel had even dropped by. "So, uh, what were we talking about before?"
"My little 2020 drive by." Angel got off the root. Her golden antlers glowed brighter. "I think its Voice has awakened to their true nature."
"What?!" Shane sat up so quickly his head tendrils whipped back and forth. "Hang on. Shouldn't there be multiple—"
"It was only one energy spike I sensed," Angel said. A shudder ran down her golden body. "But it was... an intense spike. Almost too much to handle." There was a bit of... excitement in her voice. Shane's rainbow eyes swirled around as he tried to come up with an explanation.
Eventually, something sprang to mind. "You don't think..."
Angel nodded. "I do. Mashed together into one entity. A Super Voice, if you would."
"I see." The necrozma traced his wing claws around his chest spikes. "That's... hmm. Not really sure what we can do with that right now. If anything."
"I take it you don't want me telling the higher-ups?" Angel leaned forward, practically resting her head on Shane's top chest spike. His rainbow eyes turned shades of red.
"Uh, well... they'll probably figure out I had something to do with it." Shane laughed nervously. "So, um, maybe we keep it our little secret? I'm sure they'll sense it soon enough."
"Oh my~" Angel fluttered her eyelids. "How scandalous. And yet it's quite exciting. I heard you had a wild streak about you."
"H-Hey now." Shane nudged Angel's golden snout with an upper wing. "Do I need to toss you in a cold shower?"
"Are you threatening me with a good time?"
Shane's head went from gold to bright red. He opened and closed his crystal beak several times.
Angel smiled sweetly. "You've got nothing."
"I've got nothing."
The golden xerneas pulled her head off Shane's spike and stood up. "Well, as much as I'd like to celebrate life with you right now, I should probably get home before I lose track of time." She glanced back at Shane. "If anything else pops up or you'd like any more of my help, you know where to find me."
She sauntered across the cavern for a few seconds before breaking into a gallop. Once her hoofbeats had faded away, Shane slumped back onto the ground, groaning loudly.
He really wished Nero was still around. The old fella would have been perfect for a situation like this. But alas, that wasn't the case. Shane had a feeling he'd need folks like Angel and Tama to get through this crazy situation.
