Reverse World ~ Core

[Namohysip]

"Do you mean you literally didn't see anyone, like they were invisible?

"I don't know..." Most of them disappeared by now, with only three remaining, looking tired and hopeless. Perhaps Sword was trying to extend as much of herself as possible to speak just a little longer with them before the madness took over again. She seemed, briefly, lucid.

do you remember anything at all about what the mewtwo and his allies were doing? Before all this happened, before this person took you to the Worldcore. Anything about who was there? We know there was a second, strange mewtwo, and we think there were at least two others—one of them might have been a small pokémon and one a little bigger. Maybe one of them might've sounded masculine, and the other difficult to identify? Does that ring any bells? If there's any chance one of those people did this to you, then figuring out who they are means we can figure out what they did.

"I... I..." So many questions, and now there were only two that remained. And then, the one on the left said, "I don't remember what anyone looked like. I saw a Mewtwo... that was all. There was something about... his eyes. He seemed... confused and nervous. And the other one, that dark Mewtwo... his expression never changed. And then... when I was rescued, I felt...

"I felt safe. Like I was being cared for..."

Only one Charmander remained, and not for long.

"Why did I get put...?"

 

[Phoenixsong]

The phantasm winked out once more, leaving the familiar's jaws to clamp shut over nothing. He nearly tripped over himself in his haste to wheel back toward the last one, even as it, too, began to blur at the edges. "It doesn't matter why! We're going to get you out! We're going to get you back to Shield and back to us and back to having fun!"

...but it probably did matter. Why there? Why put Sword in such a delicate, important, dangerous place? Was spreading her thin across the dungeons of Cibus part of the plan? A risk they hadn't considered? A risk they'd thought was worth it for some unknown purpose? What was in the Worldcore that would make them think this was a remotely good idea?

"Almost done," Skara said quietly. "Almost done, and then you can take it easy until we can get Shield and come for you. But... if you've been stretched out all over the world, does that include the rest of the Worldcore, too?" She wondered what the group who had gone to explore the Worldcore had found there, if anything. Still, she had to ask, while there was anything of Sword left to ask at all: "Do you know what else is in the Worldcore with you? Is there someone else there, something else there? Something that might be affecting you, or... or trying to help you...?"

 

[Namohysip]

"These... these four. There are four Pokemon that are also real. They make... weird beeping noises..." Sword looked like she was starting to fade completely. Her strength was depleted; soon, she would probably return to madness. She was already giggling a little. "They're totally broken, though. And they're guarding the inner entrances to where I'm held... Their bodies and sprits have been warped so much... I don't think they can he harmed anymore. Uhuhu... huhu..." The smile left her for a brief second. "P-please help me..."

And then, she was gone.

 

[Flyg0n]

Just like that, she was gone. Koa's expression was grim, however. Four pokemon, making weird beeping noises? Coupled with that message he'd seen on the badges...

"The Regi's must be trapped in the Worldcore," he said, glancing at his teammates. That was a frightening thought. Team Spectrum had apparently fought Giratina's fusion before, but would they have to face another legendary to try and save Sword? Could they even do it?

Her last words rang in his mind.

"P-please help me..."

I will, he vowed silently.

 

[Namohysip]

"I think that's everything we can do," Cal said, frowning. "Think we should go back and let everyone know what we found? Between all of this, I think we're gonna get a pretty good picture of what's happening with the Worldcore..."

Giratina nodded. "I can take us out of here," she said. "I didn't think it would be useful, but it seems like we really did find out something useful here..."

 

[Phoenixsong]

The "Regis", huh... the pokémon missing from Aegis Cave. Presumably whomever had freed Sword had also helped them get to the Worldcore, somehow, since the team was currently operating under the assumption that Giovanni's lot had captured the legendaries originally. (Unless Giovanni did actually have plans for the Worldcore, and Sword was just an unexpected additional wrinkle.) There were so many more questions rattling around in Skara's head—why weren't the Regis popping up all over the place if they were also stuck in the Worldcore? Was there something different about what had happened to Sword? Who exactly had managed to free not only Sword and Red, but four other legendary pokémon, while Giovanni was still out and about?

It would have to wait. The phantasms were gone, and Giratina was preparing to take them out of the core. They needed to get back to Cibus proper and let the others know what they'd figured out. Hopefully the other two teams had also found something useful on their missions, and they could put the pieces together...

Araun was quiet as he moved back toward the group. You could almost mistake it for him actually behaving himself, but she could sense that wasn't it. Of course rescuing Sword was the right thing to do, no dispute there, but... she didn't quite understand how he'd managed to get himself so invested. The real Araun back home was a bit of a bleeding heart, too, she supposed; would he be this worked up about a pokémon he barely knew, too, if he were here?

Not much use dwelling on it now. She waited for Araun to catch back up, and together they readied themselves for whatever Giratina needed to do to get them out of here.

 

[Namohysip]

"Do you think we have enough information with all this in mind?" Cal asked Giratina.

"Possibly," Giratina hummed. "But... the more the merrier! Let's return home and compare notes."

"We will grant you as much support as we can," S'more said. "Not just for Shield, or Sword, but for all of Cibus."

With a firm nod, the team departed for home through a black portal.

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