Sea of Wonders ~ Hidden Land

[Cresselia92]

"Is your leader Dark Matter?"

Icetales’ pupils shrunk and he unconsciously took a bigger sip than his mouth could hold. It was a miracle he didn’t gurgle in his own tea.

He swallowed slowly and stared at the Smeargle in disbelief, his body and tails as rigid as an iceberg.

Bejirah! She… she knows!?

Adrenaline burst. Neurotransmitters zipped. Thoughts raced. His brain scrambled for a way out. For an answer that wasn’t going to be a loaded bomb. For a way to not have their flanks flayed by beings far more powerful than himself and his comrades.

There was no way to dance around or deflect the question. “Yes” or “no” were the only options. What a frightening dilemma!

Should they keep the facade up at the cost of horrible repercussions if she were to find out later, or should they lift the weight off of their chests… and potentially receive horrible repercussions immediately?

…The Vulpix wished he was anywhere but there. But nobody could leave, and nobody was prepared to answer that question.

As such… it was time to wear his head butler’s gloves. Composure.

“…Miss Maple,” he said at last, his voice firm and his eyes glowing with a faint azure hue. “I have sworn discretion for our common patron’s sake, and discretion is the most sacred of treasures for yours truly. Dark Matter, Bittercold, Dark Rust, Void Crawl… I shan’t neither confirm nor deny thy inquiry.” His tails swayed and unleashed a soft mist around them. “If there is anything we should tell about Sir Diyem’s private matters, we shall do so with his consent.”

 

[Namohysip]

Balm and Cepa looked to one another, and then at Maple with unease. Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina were difficult to read, but it seemed that they were, in some way, displeased with the answer, or perhaps unsure for other reasons. Maple, meanwhile, had an expression just as stony as before, and finally, after nobody else spoke up, looked to the most vulnerable of the group.

"You," she said. "Is what they said true?"

"W-well, he can take on different forms, right? B-because of the... V-Voice of Life thing. But he prefers Charizard, and he's grumpy, and... We don't want to talk about Diyem's private matters when we trust him. It's like Icetales said. If you want t-to ask him, you'd have to ask him directly, and not..." His flame crackled. "And not be sneaky and try to trap us to get answers."

Owen couldn't believe he just said that.

That was supposed to be an inside thought.

There was a hint of something on Maple's face. Surprise? Offense? Contempt? Or perhaps she was impressed? Even Owen did not know.

"I see," Maple finally said, her golden eyes closing. "Then, thank you. I have all the information I need from you." With what might have been a mysterious smile, she turned around. "Those are all of my questions. You can return to Treasure Town now. Destiny Village awaits pretty soon, but I'll need time to process some information."

"Wait--" Owen said. "I..." What if Bahamut was right? Did they make a mistake? "Maple--"

"Goodbye, for now." Maple walked through the portal first, leaving it open for the others to pass through. Cepa and Balm stood awkwardly, like they themselves weren't sure what had gotten into her.

 

[Fusion]

"Bye Maple," Vix waved. Seeing how they weren't dead, this went better than everyone else expect. It's a shame Maple didn't stay, but at least Vix had a chance to ask the God of Time and the God of Space a few questions.

"So like, did Maple ask you guys to come here?" She asked the two dragons. "Other than that fight earlier, what are you doing here?"

 

[Cresselia92]

As soon as the Smeargle disappeared from sight, the tension that had been building up came out as a cloud of frigid air and snowflakes, seeping through all his pores.

Icetales didn’t dare speak. He didn’t dare move. He didn’t even dare breathe.

Lick. Lick. Lick. That was the only action his brain commanded. He needed to cool down his spiraling spirits. He needed to shake off his tormented thoughts. He needed to get away from that twisted place.

“…I’m out of mint tea…” he whispered while looking at his empty cup, ignoring the fact that his bottle was still half-full. Then, without uttering another word, he disappeared through the portal.

 

[Namohysip]

Balm approached them disarmingly, kneeling down. "Come, let's bring you back home," he said. "Whatever that was about, I don't think Maple will be bothering you anymore."

"I hope we did the right thing," Owen mumbled. "Diyem has his secrets, but... they're secrets for a reason... r-right?" It was contradictory to everything he'd learned in t he past, but if everybody else wasn't saying anything... No, in a way, they did tell Maple everything, didn't they? The way they reacted... The way he'd...

"Enough worrying about it," Balm said. "It happened. Let's keep going forward, right?"

"Yeah! Before this portal closes! Oh, and see you three." Cepa bowed at Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina.

 

[Disco]

Mellow was through the portal as soon as it was safe and wasn't suspicious. This was an absolute disaster.

As soon as she was back in Treasure Town, she began raising the alarm while trotting to her garden in the outskirts to relax via weeding and expanding it. Had to keep up appearances, even though all she wanted to do was cry. So she smiled. Until she was at the very edge of town, where she flat-out ran to get out of view of anyone who would be watching or judging her.

 

[Namohysip]

<><><>
​

Once again, they stood atop the ancient temple at the heart of the Hidden Land. This time, however, the tension in the air was even worse than before.

"This is as close as I can get before my powers are disrupted," Maple reported to them.

Truffle appeared next and waved his wings in deliberate angles; seconds later, a shield of light surrounded the entire team.

The sky was in a constant state of flux; red mixed with gray clouds, and occasionally the blue skies beyond struggled through the haze. The eye of this storm was atop a tall tower to the north, floating even higher above the already floating landmass. A perilous trail of rock led to the tower's base, but to get there, they would have to fly.

"Bahamut," Maple said, "it would be safest if you ferried us to the top for now. Mithos, transform into something flight-worthy to carry the rest as well. I will try to assist you with my power until it becomes disrupted. All other fliers, do what you can!"

"What's going on up there?" Owen asked. His bag occasionally wobbled and trembled; Shady wanted to see, but Owen refused to take him out when it was so dangerous.

"Dialga and Palkia are fighting. Dialga is losing."

Just as she said that, a massive plume of indigo flames erupted at the top of Temporal Tower and the ground beneath their feet heaved.

"Dialga maintains the tower. Ever since the Timestop Omen was resolved, it was no longer needed to maintain the proper flow of time in this region. However, its power is still used to keep the Hidden Land afloat, and Arceus has not been able to safely decouple that power yet. In other words, if Dialga falls, so will the land we stand on. We must hurry before--"

The ground heaved again. Far, far away, they heard Dialga roar in a mixture of pain and panic. Black, ghostly energy spilled off the top of Temporal Tower.

"Giratina," Truffle murmured. "What...?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"Are you really surprised?" Bahamut lowered his arms to offer means for people to climb on his back.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste had to yell to try to be heard over the winds. “Well. This is not how I was expecting to spend today.”

 

[Namohysip]

Their ascent was swift and they were able to bypass the Dungeon entirely by circling around to the top. Turbulent skies were quelled by Truffle's wards, though they were thinning rapidly as they reached the epicenter of the distortion. Black and white lightning crackled out of the twisted vortex at the top. By the time they landed, however, the battle seemed to have come to a complete halt...

"Y-you're fucking with me, right?" Soda said once they landed at the edge of Temporal Tower's summit.

Whatever battle had been taking place, it was over now--and Dialga lost. But then again, it wasn't as if they were on even footing. Palkia's shoulder pearls were darkened and crackling with corruption, and now the diamond in Dialga's chest snapped with the same sparks. And it felt like there was someone else among them, too...

"Be careful!" Maple shouted. "Giratina is somewhere in the shadows!"

[Pop > Team Spectrum]: Yooooo
[Pop > Team Spectrum]: Fighting my kids?
[Pop > Team Spectrum]: KK.
[Pop > Team Spectrum]: It's really distorted there.
[Pop > Team Spectrum]: like, really really distorted.
[Pop > Team Spectrum]: Reality's tearing apart, so be careful.
[Pop > Team Spectrum]: But I bet I can help.
[Pop > Team Spectrum]: Mmmyeah. I feel it. You've got people on your side.
[Pop > Team Spectrum]: Lots and lots. Calling the cosmos. Beep beep.
[Pop > Team Spectrum]: Put em up. (ง •̀_•́)ง (ง •̀_•́)ง (ง •̀_•́)ง
[Pop > Team Spectrum]: Sending good vibes. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ

Suddenly, Rocky, within Nate's bag, glowed. Around its equator, that ring of light brightened, and around it little filaments of lights shot out in random directions, anchoring parts of the air that felt like voids were tearing through, not unlike sewing needles through tears in fabric.

Assistance from the Aether!

The distortions around the enemy are so powerful that the very boundaries of the world are weakening! Arceus, however, is taking this to his advantage... and is calling for help!

Ethereal Players might assist you during the fight in various ways!

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste’s badge pinged with a message. As much as the spectacle in front of him tried to grab at his attention, he figured it was important to che-

“Please, please tell me that this isn’t actually how the All-Mother behaves. Please tell me that someone else just got a hold of their badge and picked a really bad time to make a joke.” Perhaps it’s no wonder that this world has a pattern of almost falling to ruin.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Hold on. Time out." Bahamut held up his hands. "Why does the god dragon have a phallus for a head? This is beyond disturbing." Did Arcues actually create something like that?

 

[Namohysip]

Dialga and Palkia both paused, staring at one another, then back at Bahamut. "What?"

"How DARE you..." Palkia growled, the ground trembling again.

"Did you just call my brother a dickhead?" Giratina called from the shadows.

 

[Ambyssin]

With a calm, steady breath, Bahamut's radiance retreated. He reverted to his broken form.

"I don't even know who you are."

 

[windskull]

"Oh this is... really bad," Nip mumbled. Darkrai and Cresselia was one thing. Lugia was one thing. They were all powerful gods in their own right, but they were lesser, only reigning over one or two aspects of the world. But these three? Those who kept time and space in check? Those who caused the very existence of mystery dungeons in his world? This was a whole different league.

He felt the raw power of radiance and of shadows swirling within him as he took a defensive pose. There was no backing out of something like this. Either they would win... or they would die.

 

[Namohysip]

A gust of wind howled across the top of Destiny Tower. Giratina poked her head out of the ground in a shadowy haze, red eyes glaring at Bahamut. Dialga and Palkia widened their stances, gathering energy around their arms and hooves.

Palkia spoke in a low rumble. "Then we'll show you."

"Aw, you idiot, why'd you have to get them mad?!" Soda complained.

"It was inevitable one way or the other," Maple said, but she already could tell that her powers weren't going to be useful here. "Get ready!"

The trio, all in one place, and it felt like the ground was starting to shake again.

[Pop > Team Spectrum]: Okay, real talk. Dialga's losing control. If you beat him, I can take hold of the Hidden Land before it collapses. But you gotta be fast. Otherwise I dunno what'll happen to the Sea of Wonders.

Owen used Shadow Perceive!

Dialga:
HP: 3000

Palkia:
HP: 2500

Giratina:
HP: 4500

They all have a threshold of 300
They all have 2 actions!

The Hidden Land is slowly descending to the earth! Defeat Dialga before it's totally unstoppable!

Special condition: Reduce Dialga's HP to 0 before the end of Turn 3!

 

[Negrek]

(( that awkward moment when you post at literally the same time as the dm ))

Nate pawed frantically at his bag when light started pouring out of it, squinting and swearing against the glow. He held Rocky up, eyes still watering, and saw the same golden ring as before scintillating around the middle of it. So Arceus had gone and installed a hidden upgrade, huh?

He wiped tears away from his eyes and followed the paths of the glowing threads outward to where they anchored themselves in rippling patches of distortion. What exactly was anybody expecting to come through there?

You doing all right? he thought at Rocky. What he got in response was a moment of dizzying exhilaration, like . Wow. Okay, then.

Nate looked up at the swirling vortex overhead, Dialga and Palkia shrouded in dark haze. The last time he'd seen fog like that... He tried not to think of the shaymin, or anything else. Instead he gripped Rocky tighter, the band of golden light warm under his fingers. "Okay," he muttered. "Another fight. Here we go..."

 

[Disco]

Mellow stood frozen in place, clearly terrified, but she refused to back away. There wasn't anywhere to back away too, anyways.

Deep breaths. She'd gotten stronger just by doing what she loved. She could take these guys on, she could be useful. They'd make it through, all of them. No matter what.

 

[Persephone]

Dragons.

Three of them.

They were all about to find out if Diyem was lying about the resurrection thing.

 

[Namohysip]

Mithos and Skara stood guard in front of Cabot, though all of the others were left out in the open as they prepared for their onslaught. Dialga and Palkia glanced at one another, smirking.

"So, you thought you could just quicken yourselves and take us out?" Palkia said. "Dialga! Do the thing!"

"No! Me first!" Giratina dove under the ground. Her wings weren't just black, but coursing with bright lights that threatened to rip them apart at any moment. "I'll keep them still for you...!"

Even as the Hidden Land started accelerating toward the ground, it felt like the world was getting lighter at a much faster rate than it should have. Movement was strange and moon-like... Dodging like this would be impossible!

Giratina used Blinding Antigravity! Everybody's Evasion buffs are useless for one turn!
Giratina disappeared into the shadows... She's preparing a Shadow Force!

"Gladly." Suddenly, golden light poured out of the diamond in the middle of Dialga's chest, and then a blinding pulse of light spread throughout all of temporal tower. The world seemed to invert in color, and everyone's speedy movements left them in an instant.

"Wh-what?!" Owen shouted, feeling his limbs locking up. No, worse than that--they were barely responding! And not only that... a twisting shockwave of Dragon power was crackling through the

Dialga used Blinding Timestop! All speed boosts are useless for one turn!
Dialga used Roar of Time on Celeste, Astrid, and Brisa!
Celeste: 70
Astrid: 49
Cabot: Skara protected Cabot and took 70 damage!

"Don't think I'm going to let you guys off that easy," Palkia warned. Then, leaping into the air, Palkia rapidly descended toward the ground with some kind of propulsive force. The whole tower trembled--

Palkia used Earthquake! Dialga and Giratina avoided it with Telepathy!
Astrid: 19
Bahamut: 10
Brisa: Protect!
Cabot: Skara saved Cabot, taking 10 damage!
Celeste: 15
Curio: 20
Dave: 12
Mellow: 14
Owen: 15
Starr: 32
Vix: 22
Zane: 35

Palkia used Abyssal Aura! Palkia's Attack and Magic went up by 2! Dialga and Giratina's Attack and Magic went up by 1!

Dialga: 3000
Palkia: 2500
Giratina: 4500

Everyone is stuck at 1 action next turn thanks to Tiemstop!

"I don't think Dialga has the power to do another one of those immediately," Owen said, barely able to move against what felt like his body simply not listening. But at least gravity was returning to normal...