Sand Continent ~ Isle of Light

[Namohysip]

The harsh sands and dry air of the sand continent did not mean it was completely devoid of life. To the northeast was a large island that was a third rocks, a third plains, and a third sand. Known as the Isle of Light, it was considered one of the brightest yet prettiest places of the Sand Continent, blessed both by the nearby ocean and rivers in addition to energizing heat. At least, that was how the locals called it. To most others, especially those acclimated to the biting chill of the Mystery Continent, the Isle of Light was like stepping into a furnace.

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Arceus was quickly available for the team to meet, and while he had slipped back into his casual, modernized, outdated vernacular, he was still as helpful as he could be. The fusion was still just that, but had stabilized mentally to the point where he could tap into Palkia's third to conjure a portal for a quick warp there. They had made a few brief stops along the way so the team could adjust to the massive temperature and altitude differences, but otherwise they had arrived swiftly to where Puff had specified.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Greeting them was a Luxray with a small frame and disarmingly kind eyes, despite the colors. "It's right that way," she added, motioning south and down the large hill they'd appeared on. To their right were jagged, hot mountains that bent in the heat's distortion, and to the left was a grassy field, but far below were the dunes. Luxray, apparently named Cream, didn't dare go any closer after what had happened.

Part of the dunes were shimmering, unlike the rest. It wasn't a mirage--that part had been completely melted into glass by some intense kinetic and thermal energy. One would usually expect that kind of devastation from massive explosions, and for it to happen spontaneously...

 

[Namohysip]

Melted glass covered the crater where Rayquaza had once emerged from with Shield and Karat. It shimmered under the hot sun, creating a glittering, prismatic field for the team to carefully step through. Maple took the liberty of blowing away the sharper shards of glass as they made their way to the epicenter of the crater.

Darkwhite giggled behind her, looking left and right. "Huhuhu... here again, here again," she said quietly, black eyes darting left and right. "Hey hey hey hey hey!" Darkwhite wrapped around Owen's neck and squeezed, causing him to gasp and struggle. "Do you see anything yet? Anything? Huh, do ya?"

"Can't... breathe...!"

Wishkeeper tugged Darkwhite away and she giggled, winking at him. "I like it when they get rough."

Wishkeeper grimaced, dropping her.

"Not yet," Owen said, rubbing his throat. "Maybe when we get closer to the center... the ground there looks disturbed, like maybe there's a passageway..."

"I'm glad we brought a smaller team for this," Maple said. "We're working for stealth here. Soda, are you keeping up the illusion?"

"Yeah, yeah..."

Of the God Squad, only Maple and Soda had come for this trip. Owen was also summoned for the sake of his Perceive to find as much as they could. From there, they also got a select team of other Spectrum members to give them at least a little strength in numbers, in addition to extra eyes. Owen's Perceive, after all, was not as strong as it was back home. With how foreign the technology was, Owen would surely miss things, too. At least, that was Maple's theory.

 

[Namohysip]

After some delay due to logistics and careful planning and scouting, Maple arranged for a small, specialized team to come with her to investigate the Isle of Light one final time--hopefully to find any remaining clues left of them. With her was Millijoule, Soda, Truffle, and a few members of Team Spectrum and their partners. They couldn't bring everyone. If something bad happened, they needed to escape quickly; they were not prepared for combat. So, instead, they only brought a small team.

"Remember," Maple said. "Stay close, stay quiet, and stay careful. Only split off if you announce where you are going. Do not stray too far from Owen, myself, or any other of our sentinels. And if anything goes wrong, use your Escape Orb. Are we clear?"

The sun was beating over them all. Going inside would probably be a lot cooler...

 

[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...

 

[Negrek]

The desert, as always, was blinding, not to mention fucking hot. Nate felt like his lifeforce was getting sucked out through his pores, which he had too many of because, obviously, fucking mudkip over here.

He probably should have come at night. Did Joule even sleep? Maybe when he was a dragon thing, but now that he was, like, some sort of modern art glass thing?

At least it wasn't going to be hard to find him. He was pretty obvious, with Groudon looming right there. Now there was a mon you could see from a ways off. Nate slogged through the sand in the earth legend's direction, Rocky trotting cheerfully along beside him. The familiar had insisted on coming to meet his... dad. If you could call Joule that. Rocky clearly wanted to, and Nate could only hope the familiar wouldn't make things too weird out here.

"Hey! How's the, uh, the light?" Nate called as they got close.

 

[Fusion]

Bahamut's plan was the perfect backup plan; it made sense, it... uh... wasn't made by just Puddle. So that was certainly something. But a backup plan needs a... front... down plan? Main plan, that. And, also thanks to Bahamut, Puddle was already working on one such plan.

The Scraggy familiar didn't realize just how fucking far the sand continent was... like, goddamn. Couldn't someone like, make a thing that goes fast to take people places? It was a good thing Puddle gave Groudon a heads up when it started this little venture, and again when it finally arrived.

At least the journey wasn't boring, Puddle went and picked up a friend along the way. Half of their Team Usurpers... which might need a new name sometime soon. "Alright, Rocky... I have literally no idea how Groudon is so, we gotta not say anythin' that'll piss 'im off. And also hope that Rayquaza didn't tell 'im we're idiots."