Prison Realm

[Sinderella]

"Hey!" Nate yelled into the darkness, adrenaline temporarily driving back the constant tug of sleep. "Hoopa! Odette! Steven? Where the fuck are you?"

"̶̳͗O̵̭̽O̸̔̌O̶͐͐O̸̐́O̸̐͘V̷̅͑È̵͘Ṙ̸̕ ̶̈́̕H̸͔͝E̴̍̒R̶̛̎E̴̔̕ ̶̉͝H̷͒͐Ő̵̻Ẻ̷͈Ṣ̷̾.̷̊͐"̸̐̾

It was strange how easily Odile had woken up. She'd felt like such shit after that dreamscape battle, she was expecting to take a solid year to right herself again. But, no. She was up and at 'em. Listening to the Other People scream for her vessel. Who was still dead asleep beside her.

Odile shot a quick look in the direction of the other trainers, only to find the rest of them were still strung up and out. Even Noro and Alakazem, fresh out of that stupid dream battle, were still down and out. Did that mean she took Ice Punches to the gut for no fucking reason? Narrowing her eyes, she peered down at Odette's sleeping body.

"̶O̸.̸ ̷O̷d̶e̶t̷t̵e̸.̵ ̷C̷h̸i̵l̸d̴.̸ ̴V̶e̷s̴s̷e̵l̴,̵"̶ Odile called as she shook Odette's limp body. The latter groaned softly, prompting Odile to inhale.

"̴I̴'̵m̷ ̵n̴o̵t̴ ̴d̷o̷i̸n̴g̸ ̴t̸h̴i̴s̶ ̷a̸g̶a̷i̸n̴.̶ ̸I̴f̶ ̴y̵o̴u̵ ̷s̴t̴a̴r̴t̷ ̶t̸u̷r̵n̷i̴n̶g̶ ̸t̴o̶ ̸s̷t̴o̸n̷e̶,̵ I̸'̴m̸ ̴g̵o̷n̴n̵a̴ ̷d̴i̴s̶m̷e̵m̵b̴e̶r̸ ̵y̸o̷u̵ ̶m̵y̴s̸e̷l̵f̵.̵"̵

Another groan. The eldrith terror huffed. "̸F̴i̷n̸e̸.̵ ̷B̶e̶ ̷l̶i̷k̴e̴ ̸t̴h̵a̷t̸.̷"̵

She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out Lululemon. She gave the rubber chicken a light squeeze, before grabbing it by the neck and proceeding to bash Odette over the head with it. The sound of the impact echoed through the realm. Odette jolted upright, eyes blazing, and without a moment's hesitation, she tackled Odile into the ground.

"HIT ME AGAIN, I'LL STRING YOU UP TOO," she screamed into her partner's face. Odile looked mostly unamused as she slowly ran her pointed tongue across her teeth.

"̴J̶o̸k̸e̶'̵s̶ ̵o̶n̴ ̶y̵o̶u̶ ̸b̴i̸t̶c̵h̸,̷ ̷I̷'̵m̴ ̷i̴n̸t̴o̸ ̶t̵h̸a̷t̸ ̴s̷h̸i̶t̵.̵"̵

Odette opened her mouth to let loose a string of curses, but her eye caught on the others slowly waking up. Her gaze then moved to the Undesireables, still out for the count. Her brow furrowed, and she stiffened to get a better look.

"Is this a prank? No fucking shot that didn't work. We don't have time for this."

 

[Negrek]

Something bounded out of the darkness, and Nate whirled around, Mightyena moving to put herself between him and the threat even though it wouldn't do any good, even though she was as helpless as he was out here--but it was only Neo, eager to share his exploits. Another dream, maybe? Or had they actually managed to accomplish something? At least the espeon and Wes were both awake now, and then Steven came running up (Nate was never going to get used to that, Steven fucking Stone all existing like a normal person and everything), and there was an explosion of shouts nearby--Odette and Odile, too. Everyone was here, at least. The question was whether they'd actually be able to save anyone here--or get out.

"We were talking to Reena," he told Steven. "Saving her, or whatever. But it don't look like it did shit."

Mightyena had turned her defensive stance into more of a friendly bow, but Nate could tell she was still anxious. "I thought it was pretty cool," she said. "I don't know if it worked right, though. Where are your people? Maybe they can help us free the others."

"Well, we gotta try something." Nate closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose, then realized what he was doing and wrenched them open again. "Odette's right. We ain't got time to fuck around in here. So the chains... they zap you if you touch them, right?" He glanced around at the others, uncertain. He thought he'd heard something about that, but he'd been kinda preoccupied, after all. "So, what? Maybe attacks then? Break them that way? I dunno if they're attached to anything, if we can like dig them up or nothing..." He turned to the nearest of the bound trainers, some kid he didn't recognize--and a scizor? Right, that guy. He didn't look any different under Nate's scrutiny, still asleep, still drifting. What the fuck were they supposed to do now?

 

[Sinderella]

So, what? Maybe attacks then? Break them that way? I dunno if they're attached to anything, if we can like dig them up or nothing..."

Odette sat in place for a moment, mulling over what to do. Everything had faded in the dream, so surely that was a sign that something had worked internally. Maybe, now they had to do something...physically?

She pressed her lips into a thin line, then pushed herself to stand. Fumbling with her waistband for a moment, she withdrew her gun and began to walk over to one of the chains.

"I'm sure Orzo didn't expect any of us to have a weapon," she said, cocking the firearm. "Maybe a bullet or five will do the fucking job."

 

[HelloYellow17]

As soon as Steven spoke, Wes glanced around and felt his stomach drop. It seemed nothing had changed at all—Sigmin and Nox were still suspended, motionless, as were all the other victims.

Wes let out a quiet groan and rubbed his forehead. What the hell had that dream been for, then? Not a damn thing was different.

Then a series of shouts met his ears, though he didn’t bother glancing up. Wes knew by now that if there were two people screeching at each other nearby, odds were good that it was Odette and her freaky doppelgänger. He did, however, look up sharply when he heard the click of a gun being cocked, and shot Odette an incredulous look.

“What—you—are you serious?” he spluttered. “Really, you think a ghost type legendary’s restraints can be done in by a gun? That’s adorable. Tell me more about your brilliant ideas.”

He knew he shouldn’t have been so snippy with her, but frustration and exhaustion were getting the better of him. They were so *close,* only to hit a roadblock right as there was light at the end of this hellish “Friendship Festival” tunnel. As if a damn pistol could solve all their problems—

Predictably, Odette had an equally snarky reply right up her sleeve for him. Just as Wes was about to fire right back, Neo interrupted them both with a bark.

“Stop! Stop yelling!” He lashed his tail, flames flickering, and looked at each of them. “Do you not remember what we have been told? Latios said to my brother that we have bonds with each other, and that they are strong.” He sat up straighter, unfurling his wings. “Hoopa will help us use our bonds!”

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"We were talking to Reena," he told Steven. "Saving her, or whatever. But it don't look like it did shit."

"Reena?" Steven echoed, gaze lingering on the trapped trainers. "I'm glad you were able to speak to her…"

He shook his head. "I called out to Hayes, but I ended up encountering Irene instead. I thought it went well, she seemed determined and yet…"

He stared hard at the starry void beneath their feet, frustration in his eyes. "Did something go wrong? Why haven't we been able to wake anyone—"

The mechanical clack of Odette's gun cut through the silent void, and Steven's head snapped toward her in shock.

"Are you crazy? You can't do that, not with so many people! What if it ricochets? We can't take that risk!"

At least Wes was on his side, albeit for a whole other reason. "There has to be another way," Steven insisted.

Aggron watched the exchange with a scowl. He shook his head, looking warily at Nate. "No, don't touch the chains. They hurt. I don't know if they can be smashed either." He scowled even harder at his own claws.

But then the fancy Espeon piped up, and Aggron raised his head, regarding Neo with a curious expression.

"Latios said that, huh? I thought Hoopa already tried to use our bonds with the trainers, and it didn't work. What else can we do?"

 

[Sinderella]

Odette stopped with her back to the others, gun still raised with intent to fire. Shrugging, she turned her head to look over her shoulder. "I've fired at some ghosts before, I'm not too worried," she announced dryly. "I feel it's worth a shot, and I don't hear any of you piping up with any better ideas."

"̸H̷e̴h̵.̷ ̴W̷o̶r̷t̴h̷ ̷a̸ ̷s̴h̵o̷t̴,̷"̸ Odile snickered.

The espeon--Neo, right?--chimed in with some deescalation shit. And of course, Steven wasn't a fan of the sight of the gun either. As much as her anger wouldn't allow her to admit it out loud, she figured they both had decent points. She could aim right at the chains, but if they were as impossible-to-break as Aggron was implying they were, surely it would bounce off and hit some poor sap still strung up by them. They'd already gone through the ringer against Orzo, so there was no need for stupid friendly fire.

With an agitated breath, she returned the gun to its holster and turned back toward the others.

"So, what? Is this 'sit and wait for instructions'?" she asked, flaring her arms out to her sides. "I'm not exactly the waiting type, especially not when I have friends out there getting their asses beat as we sit here and chitchat. If it didn't work, send me back into Noro's head again, and I'll fucking make it work."

“̶N̷o̵ ̸w̶a̸i̴t̵ ̶g̴u̸y̸s̸,̶”̶ Odile declared, raising Lululemon above her head. “̷I̵ ̴f̶u̸c̷k̷i̸n̴g̶ ̷g̶o̵t̷ ̷t̵h̴i̵s̶.̸"

She approached one of the chains, say down, and once more swung the rubber chicken. It made contact with the chains, but did nothing. So, she did it again. And again.

“̵I̸’̷m̶ ̴w̷e̴a̷r̷i̶n̵g̴ ̶t̷h̷e̶m̶ ̶d̴o̴w̶n̸,̵ ̶I̸ ̴s̵w̴e̵a̸r̵.̴”̶

 

[Negrek]

It wasn't long before the little rescue party descended into arguing and desperation. How fast everyone had started freaking out might even be more disturbing than how fast Odette had decided to pull a fucking gun.

"Neo's right!" Mightyena said. "We have to work together to figure this out. We know that friendship is what Orzo hates the most. That's what he's weak to! We must be able to use it to rescue everyone somehow."

Not that anybody listened. Nate wasn't exactly feeling very friendship-and-hope-will-fix-it himself at the moment, either. And when Odile just pulled a rubber chicken out of God knew where and started smacking the chains with it, he knew: this was all a dream, wasn't it? This was some kind of shitty dream within a dream, he'd probably passed out right after landing in this fucking place, and everything after that had been Orzo's spell or whatever keeping him under. And now it was just getting fucking stupid.

"Fuck this," he said, turning on his heel and stomping towards the nearest captive. "Can't really hurt me anyway. And if I'm lucky, maybe I'll finally wake the fuck up." He reached out and dragged on the chains as hard as he could.

 

[Flyg0n]

A cold shock would run through Nate, ice through his veins and fire across his skin, and for a brief moment he would feel the pure empty hunger of the void, endless, all consuming. Hollow. Then the sensation of something grabbing at him, dragging him down, every horrible memory, every darkest moment all at once, rushing through him -

Blinding silver light blotted out the darkness, rippling from the group and from Nate, to the captive trainers, surging out from the four trainers and their partners, overtaking the golden chains until the whole mass glowed with bright light. The entire void seemed to pause, holding its breath. Then the chains shattered into shards of light. And one by one, the tiny lights flickered to life in the darkness above, forming a patchwork of stars, propers stars of living light.

The captive trainers began to wake properly. Dazed, but aware. Exhaustion obvious in their posture, but an anger burning in their gazes nonetheless. It seemed they remembered how they had come to be here, and what had happened to them.

Hoopa watched, looking exhausted from the mental toll, but delighted nonetheless.

The first trainer to speak was Hayes.

His voice was low and level, yet trembling with emotion. “Orzo tried to take everything from us. Turn our bonds against us, and this world.” He rested a hand on his Nosepass head. “We won’t let him.”

“Damn right,” Irene growled. “I got him once and we can do it again.”

“He needed us to enact his stupid plan. He doesn’t have the strength to stand up to us,” Noro said coldly.

Sigmin nodded. “We’ll make him pay. He’ll never forget us.”

More cries of agreement and assessment came from the rest of the trainers, their pokemon’s angry cries joining in. Manectric’s Bao’s howl joined with Arcanine, and even the normally cheerful nurse Joy looked ready for a fight.

Dragon fire flickered in Drampa’s jaws as he curled protectively around Reena. “Time to depose a king.”

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"Fuck this," he said, turning on his heel and stomping towards the nearest captive. "Can't really hurt me anyway. And if I'm lucky, maybe I'll finally wake the fuck up." He reached out and dragged on the chains as hard as he could.

"No, wait!"

Steven cried out, but there was no time to stop Mitch before he grabbed the chain closest to him. Aggron barely made one lunging step toward the bone-headed trainer before a bright light erupted from out of nowhere, engulfing them all. Steven and Aggron had to shield their eyes from the light, but even without sight, there was a sound that cut crystal clear through the empty realm.

The sound of something shattering.

Steven lowered his arm as the light faded out, and his eyes widened in surprise. "Rayquaza above," he breathed, a giddy grin spreading across his face, "it worked."

Aggron rushed forward to the freed trainers, hovering worriedly near Hayes and Irene. "Little Nugget! Roserade! Are you guys okay?"

Following in his partner's wake, Steven arrived at Hayes's side, sheer disbelief fighting off the ever present fatigue of the realm. Or maybe the incessant drain was lessening instead.

"Hayes, am I glad to see you," said Steven, giving the young man a relived smile. "And you, too," he added, turning to Irene. "And that you're alright. Well, perhaps not alright, but awake, and free from Orzo's grasp."

He regarded the two of them for a moment, the paleness of their faces, and the tremble of fatigue in their limbs. Whatever he was feeling from being in this realm, they must be going through it tenfold.

Steven glanced around at the weary trainers, as steadfast and determined as they were, it was as Hayes had said; Orzo had stolen so much from them. If only there was a way to get it back...

Before he could say anything more, something else caught his eye. The stars in the sky were shining brighter, twinkling with life instead of flickering like dying flames.

Beside him, Aggron frowned as he looked over the two pokemon. "You don't look okay," he rumbled, worriedly noting the way Nosepass's magnetic pull was muted, and the way Roserades's petals drooped. Their spirits were burning bright, but their bodies... "I know a friend, they can help. They already helped us once, when Clink..."

Aggron trailed off and glanced at Roserade, a sorrowful look passing over his face. But he quickly shook it off. It was an accident, she was fighting for her life. They all were. And it was alright in the end. "They can definitely help," he said, determinedly.

At that, one star shone bright, and like a meteor, a light shot across the sky. He and Steven watched as it streaked across the starry void, and then suddenly, there was a glow at Steven's chest. The light grew brighter, warmer, like sunlight, and they watched in stunned silence as it faded out, leaving behind a single, pristine gracedia flower.

Steven reached up, awestruck, and plucked the gracedia from his lapel. He paused, sharing a sidelong glance with Aggron. His partner nodded in return. Wordlessly, Steven closed his eyes and brought the gracedia to his lips.

"Shaymin, we're still fighting-- all of us-- for everyone's sake, for Clink. But we're tired and weary, and Orzo has taken so much."

He opened his eyes and looked skyward, toward the star that seemed to twinkle brighter at his words.

"If you can hear me, if there's any way to restore what was lost, we could really use your help right about now."

 

[Flyg0n]

A gentle breeze blew through the void. It carried with it the scent of new grass, flowers, and spring. And then, a voice. Soft and sweet and full of hope.

"I hear you, Steven Stone."

Overhead, the sky grew lighter, soft colors rippling across the firmament. A single beam of light formed around Steven, still holding the gracidea. "You cared for my flower, tended to it like your own, and restored it. Now I shall restore you and your friends. Hold on to hope, you are almost at the end... just a little further."

And then, from the darkness underfoot, a tiny patch of green. A bit of moss and grass, straining against oblivion. Then, like sun after a storm, the darkness receded, fought back by green. By determination, by life. The carpet of grass grew, slowly at first, then faster and faster, and faster, sweeping across the darkness. And with the grass came life giving energy, seeping into the bones of the weary and exhausted trainers, granting them back a degree of their strength, both mental and physical.

Hoopa grinned in delight, spinning the golden ring in his hands before tossing the ring out ahead of the wave of green. It grew, bigger and bigger, big enough for all the trainers. Just beyond the ring, the scarred battlefield was visible. Vibrant green poured forth and through the ring, spilling out, out across the field beyond...

And then, beside Steven, stood Shaymin herself, eyes alight with determination. She gazed up at Steven for a moment, smiling. "Thank you, Steven."

Then, flanked by all the freed trainers, she charged toward the ring.