Sand Continent ~ Isle of Light

[Namohysip]

As it turned out, Maple and Joule had relocated to the Isle of Light with Groudon accompanying them. And while the Legend of land and droughts was only off to the side, lounging in what might have been a deep afternoon nap, Maple and Joule were sitting at the top of one of the sandy hills, speaking quietly with one another while they played a game to pass the time. Joule's body was still blackened and crystalline, but compared to before, he looked much less pained.

Though, it was still clear that he'd much rather have his light back...

 

[Ambyssin]

It was hard to ignore Bahamut now that his size was comparable to Joule. But under Groudon's overwhelming sunlight, he didn't even cast a shadow across anyone. It was a bit creepy. Bahamut considered sinking into the ground and snaking around like a common silicobra, but eventually dismissed the thought.

While the temptation was to cut right to the chase, this needed more tact. And there was something he had been considering while his teammates were making what Esper would've called "shonen protag speeches" back in the forest.

He cleared his throat. "Maple. Joule." Bahamut coiled around himself in front of them. "How are you two doing?"

 

[Cresselia92]

“…Do I truly have to do it?”

“Well, yes. This is not called Isle of Light for nothing. I mean, just behold this intense radiance flowing through our fur.”

“Yes, and we loathe that.”

“I-I enjoy light. What art thou saying?”

“Thou did enjoy light. Since Sir Diyem brought us back thou enjoy the darkness far more, hm?”

“…Can we talk about that later? We are here for business, and I doubt Maple would enjoy seeing a creature of darkness. As such, hide into my shade until we leave this place.”

“Hmph. As thou say.”

Keo’Keo burst into wispy flames, before crawling into the shadow right underneath Icetales’s body. True, his preferences had started to shift, but that was no ideal topic to bring out while conversing with Maple and Joule. As such, he steeled himself and marched forward, joining Bahamut’s side.

“Greetings, Miss Maple and Sir Joule. How are you two doing in this lovely,” he glanced quickly at the sky, “and shining day?”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz approached alongside the other Spectrum envoys with her usual eaasy stride, but it didn't fit right. Not now. At least the brightness felt good.

"Howdy, Voices of Light," she called, grinning with something of her awkwardness showing through.

Aw, hell. She'd really hoped Millijoule and Truffle would be around for this, and help with taking the conversation well. Too bad. She'd just have to do her best, and trust that Maple would trust in them. Hoo, boy.

 

[Namohysip]

Maple turned her head first, nodding. "Oh, hello. Yes, I was told that we'd be seeing you... But the others aren't here yet. Maybe later. I think Truffle and Millijoule were off shopping for more materials for Leg."

"It's good to see you," Joule added, and his tone suggested he was trying to sound chipper, but the energy he radiated was about as bright as the dark crystals he was made of. "How are you... feeling?"

"And how did the meeting with Diyem go?" Maple asked. "I noticed you'd all gathered in the Pines. Checking on Mellow?" It was a surprisingly innocuous guess. Perhaps a calculated one.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz gave Joule a lopsided grin.

"It's a pleasure t'finally make yer acquaintance, Necrozma Joule! I'm mighty fine as ever, and delighted to meet my sire at last. I, ah, take it you're not a dissimilar fella to my pal Millijoule, huh?"

She offered a paw to Joule, (his claws weren't so much larger...) and nodded to Maple.

"Mellow's alright. Meetin' went well enough, all things considered. At least we got a plan an' some assurance that our friends are survivin' in the Voidlands."

For now.

 

[Ambyssin]

This was an attempt to put them on the defensive and Bahamut wasn't taking that bait. He looked skyward. "The meeting concerned the... current status of the folks who were done in by Joule's blast and what can be done about their situation." He folded both sets of wings over his chest spikes. "I wanted to come talk to you myself, but I guess these two decided to tag along." Bahamut gestured to the others with his tail. Even that was bigger than his teammates. It was a bit odd for him to be so large again after so many centuries.

"I am... worried about you. And how you might act if we go scout out the Tree." Pink and blue spread in his eyes. "I was hoping you might... indulge me in a little thought exercise."

 

[Cresselia92]

Well, between some small talk from a comrade and the strategy to go straight to the point for the other, it was almost like seeing what would have broken the ice quicker: a Wood Hammer or a Drill Run?

Icetales swayed his tails, his composure as impeccable as ever. “There is indeed plenty we have discussed about, including countless ideas and proposals to handle the situation at paw.” He rubbed his chin with his leftmost tail. “But there are a few matters we must discuss with you first, in order to pinpoint what is the best course of action we must take. As such, here we are: asking for your insight.”

 

[Namohysip]

"I see..." Maple regarded the incoming trio, cautious. It was clear that she already suspected that Diyem was asking something odd of them all if he had to pull them aside, though she'd intended to interrogate a few of them later anyway. Perhaps one of the easier of Team Spectrum to get information from. A shame Owen was dead.

"What was this thought experiment?" she asked Bahamut.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Meditative visualization," Bahamut said. "It is a technique I would guide people through long ago back home. To help them with fears and uncertainties." He coiled his body tighter. "I know that the Tree of Life is something that holds very deep meaning for you. But I fear that the events of Telum, however long ago they were, have rooted themselves in your mind so that anything vaguely similar has you flash back to that moment.

"We might've gotten Joule back, but there is still a great burden you are shouldering that I would like to help with... if I can."

 

[Cresselia92]

“Ah. Most wonderful proposal, Sir Bahamut,” commented Icetales, wagging his tails. From underneath his body the shadow suppressed a quiver. “If there is any way we can be of help, just let us know. I have some soothing tea on my persona, which could further help with relaxation.”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz raised an eyebrow. This wasn't the angle she was expecting, and she was pretty sure this wasn't something she could help with, so...

"I'll, uh. Let Truffle and Millijoule know we're here."

She tapped out a few messages to her radiant fellas, then folded her arms and listened.

 

[Namohysip]

Maple, meanwhile, looked less receptive. "I don't exactly think my caution about allowing Dark Matter to approach the Tree of Life are unfounded. I don't need my past with Telum to tell me that." She looked them over. "That was what the talk was about? How you're going to approach the Tree?"

"Perhaps... we should hear them out, Blade," Joule said, his voice a rattling whisper.

The Smeargle looked between Joule and Team Spectrum. Relenting, she looked at Bahamut for further instructions.

 

[Ambyssin]

"It was. Because this Dark Matter does not want to go into the Tree at all," Bahamut said. At least Joule was able to convince her. So, there was that. He couldn't tell himself this would be a disaster, even if part of him expected that. Too long a history of things going poorly. Had to believe something would work. Cibus was different. It wasn't in his universe.

"Close your eyes, please." Bahamut uncoiled. He planted his tail in the ground in front of Maple. The gray light pulsated like a heart. "I want you to visualize the Tree's exterior." His voice softened. It lacked much of its usually gravely nature. "The ground beneath your feet. The sky above your head. I want you tell me what you see. What you feel. Perhaps a breeze or a scent."

 

[Namohysip]

Maple looked skeptically at Joule, who gestured for her to go on. Then, he rested his arms in the sand and spread out his body to soak up more of the intense sunlight.

Maple obliged. She closed her eyes and crossed her legs, resting her hands in her lap. She wondered if the others would try the same thing...

Some time during the talk, Truffle and Millijoule had arrived, though both remained quiet during the exercise.

"...I see... a great tree. As tall as a mountain, with golden lights streaming down from its branches. I see leaves of all colors... The air is... clean. It has no scent. It's simply... air."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut nodded silently. "Good. Now stand there and breath. I want you to imagine... something you would normally do at the Tree. Who is there with you? What are they up to?"

 

[Namohysip]

"...Xerneas is there... we are tending to it. I visited often..." Maple trailed along, thinking. "Making sure its energy is full. Tending to the plants to pass the time. I flew about, but the Tree was always my home... I remember visiting Paradise a lot, too..." She took a slow breath. "It's... peaceful." Her voice was strained.

 

[Ambyssin]

There it was. Bahamut gestured with an upper wing for Joule to try and offer an arm if he could manage. He leaned his tail in Maple's direction, focusing the light it gave off toward her.

"Keep breathing. In. Out. How do you feel right now?" he whispered. "Please describe it."

 

[Namohysip]

Maple didn't answer. She was having trouble focusing. She felt Joule's presence getting closer, and accepted it when he rested his crystalline hand on her shoulder. That relaxed her, just a little.

"I feel..." Maple tensed. Pride was stopping her from speaking it.

"It's okay," Joule said gently.

"...Longing," Maple replied. "And... nostalgia. The sort that... you can't smile about anymore. I'm seeing this tree from far away, and... I can't get closer. I can't..."

 

[Ambyssin]

"It's okay." Bahamut bowed his head. "I understand. Even after all this time, I feel much the same way over my family."

He sank down a bit into the ground, wrapping both sets of wings around his chest spikes. "You lost your home suddenly. I am slowly losing mine... after having been chased off countless planets over my lifetime." The blue expanded in Bahamut's eyes. "We have very... similar methods of thinking. The difference is that you have Joule and your team to temper your more forceful tendencies. I... have no one."

His head tendrils shrank. "I say this because... Dark Matter made some hard truths very clear to us. Truths that — despite his ardent disapproval — the team wanted you to know about. Because they—" Bahamut stopped himself. "We view you and your team as f... as friends. And I... do not want to see you lose your last bits of hope like I have." His eyes darkened. "I do not want you to become someone who is blind to compassion and only knows how to deal in overwhelming, merciless force."

The purple and red in Bahamut's eyes intensified. His gaze sharpened. "The reason our team has been able to pierce the nullifying aura associated with Blacklight is because the Eternatus that's responsible for it is our Dark Matter's mate. Like Joule, the Blacklight seized her — yes, her — while she traveled between worlds and she wound up on Cibus. So, Dark Matter rounded up people at random and sent them here under false pretenses because he was heartbroken and, given what he is, responded in an unhealthy way. He didn't want to come to Cibus because of its history, but the Blacklight brought him here and, as a result, his aural connection allowed him to pinpoint her precise location."

Bahamut tightened his wings around his chest spikes. There were a few white lies in that explanation, but he was doing his best to sell how gut-wrenching it was for him to even say this. "She's in the Tree. He is absolutely sure of it... and that's why he has interest in the Tree. Dark Matter does not believe we can stand up to Eternatus with our current strength. So... we are here to ask for your help."

Then, Bahamut dropped to the sand, in a begging position. He had surrendered his pride, clearly. "Help us investigate the Tree's exterior. We don't want to go inside. We just need to see if Dark Matter can safely get enough energy to revive our allies without Eternatus' energy interfering. After that... the team wants to leave it to Cibus' natives to figure out how best to use the Tree's remaining pure energy.

And then he fell completely silent, inviting Icetales and Luz to speak up.