Sharpedo Bluff

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut lay still. His core was dimmed. His arms were bolted tightly against his core, which was venting thick, black smoke in some sort of distorted mirror for the heat the mysterious stone was giving off.

 

[Namohysip]

"Bahamut," Maple said quickly, her eyes a little wider. "Bahamut, say something, what happened?"

"What..." Owen stepped forward hesitantly. "What happened to...?"

He is dying. Something happened when the stone interacted with his body. It stripped away his light. This reaction never happened before, why him...?

"But..." Owen hastily related this to Maple, who seemed to have already known.

"Bahamut, hang on," Maple said firmly. "I'll--I'll be sure to--" She was pressing her hands against his core and crystal, but even when she sent in gentle waves of light, they weren't sticking. Bahamut was too far gone. "No, no, this isn't--" Maple's mind was somewhere else, and her eyes were staring through Bahamut.

"What can I do?" Owen asked uselessly, but Maple didn't even hear him.

"Please, not like this," Maple whispered, pumping more energy into him, afraid that his Dark center would be too disrupted if she tried anything more.

"Maple...?" Owen didn't understand why she was so worked up. If she calmed down and thought it through, maybe there would be some other way to save him--and even if he died, would he not just go to Diyem again? The way she was getting so worked up--was Maple crying?

"Joule, please," Maple whispered desperately, and her whole body glowed gold for a split second. She didn't mean to, but she'd channeled a little more into Bahamut. Something else, something that wasn't Radiance, but some other power.

And this time, it worked.

The energy flowed around him, through his core, and the light swirled around his body again. His prisms turned and floated, but... something was wrong, still.

That... wasn't what he looked like.

 

[Ambyssin]

Something was indeed very off. Bahamut felt heavy in a way he had never experienced. He tried to stand up, but it suddenly registered that he had four legs. Bahamut stumbled and fell on his side. It was then that he saw one of his prismatic arms protruded from his back. His metal, yellow-orange back.

He opened his mouth — wait, he had a mouth? What happened to his beak?! — but instead of words there was a mewl.

Bahamut’s jaw slackened.

 

[Namohysip]

"...What?" Maple and Owen both said, and the former finally realized how distraught she had been. She quickly tried to compose herself, straightening her fur, wiping her eyes--no tears, surprisingly--and then adjusting her cap. "I... I might have... made a mistake."

"He's..." Owen rubbed his head, fighting off a headache that might have been due to stress.

"Bahamut?" Maple said gently. "I think... I might have accidentally infused... some extra power within you to revive you. But your body reacted to it..."

 

[Ambyssin]

He finally found his voice. “Mirror. Get me a mirror.”

 

[Namohysip]

Maple frowned, reaching into a tiny portal to her left. "Here," she said.

"You--um--you don't look so bad! More... corporeal... kinda?" Owen tried to assure him as Maple held up the shining silver plane.

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut stared into the mirror. “Why do I look like a metallic pyroar? What sort of devilish witchcraft is this?!” His words came out as an enraged roar, dousing Owen in spittle.

 

[Namohysip]

Owen hid behind the mirror, only coming out when the roar subsided. "I--I have no idea! Maple?"

"...I've seen this before," Maple said. "Your kind are capable of taking possession of certain powerful entities. One of the most common possessions are other light-based beings, such as what form you're taking now--Solgaleo. But there is nobody you are controlling in this case. It was... a body given to you." Maple reached forward, gently. "...Hmm... Yes. I... I'm sorry. I do not think I can undo it. I granted you life."

"...What does that mean?" Owen asked.

"I gave something that did not qualify, traditionally, as alive... life."

"You aren't... a normal Smeargle, are you?" Owen asked, frowning.

Maple smiled sadly, but then addressed Bahamut. "I'm sorry, Bahamut. This will be an adjustment for you. But while you are here... you have been given 'life.' You might feel new instincts from this body. You can eat, and bleed, and sleep. You are... 'alive.'"

"Sounds like you made him mortal," Owen commented.

 

[Ambyssin]

One blink. Then another. He looked down at his paws. His paws. Big. Yellow-orange. With black spokes protruding from them. "I—"

The stone beside him rocked back and forth. It hopped up a few times, thumping against the ground. Bahamut looked at it. Why did he feel like there was laughter echoing in his head? He rubbed it with one of his prism hands. "Well, this isn't a disaster, but it's not pleasant." He tried to step toward them, but misplanted his right foreleg and fell onto his side again. And the stone rolled around even more.

Roaring once again, Bahamut swatted the stone. It bounced off a nearby tree and ricocheted to strike him in the flank. His tail reflexively curled up and he somehow righted himself, newfound claws digging into the dirt.

"... I take it back. I hate this." He looked skyward. "Just strike me down, Dark Matter. I am not going to spend my days as an overgrown feline. I—"

Another growl rose up, but not from his mouth. Bahamut looked between his forelegs and was greeted by a second growl and a squeezing pain. "Khh..."

He hunched over. What... what was this pain? He had to think. Had to— wait, it was kind of like when he was starved for light. Then it was a hunger pain? This was what being hungry felt like?

 

[Namohysip]

Owen frowned, finding this less funny than the stone, but he tried to be constructive. "Hey, how about you get something to eat?" he asked. "Like... uh, maybe something small at first, like an Oran? Or an apple? Or maybe you can try a curry bowl..."

Maple helped Bahamut steady himself. "You'll need a few... life lessons, won't you?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"Is it that obvious?" Bahamut was at least able to nudge his bag open to get out a berry. He wasn't completely ignorant of such matters. He had watched the people around him eat on numerous occasions. Bahamut gobbled the berry up. His mouth got very wet and berry juice and slobber dribbled on the ground around him. "So, this is what taste is like..." His pupilless eyes flickered. "Leaves much to be desired."

 

[Namohysip]

"Well, I mean, uh, it's not like it's..." Owen perked up. "Say! We should try to cook a few things up for you later, you know, when you have a taste for raw ingredients first and stuff!"

Maple chuckled, looking back to her normal demeanor. "Right. Bahamut, you should probably tell the others about your... new look. And let me know if anything seems wrong, other than..."

 

[Ambyssin]

“... everything. Yeah, sure. I bet the team will get a kick out of this.” He paused. “Actually, you should tell Dave about Arceus saying not to harm us. He would LOVE that.”

 

[Namohysip]

Maple looked down, eyes closed as she smiled. "I somehow doubt he would believe me if I said so myself."

"Are you two fighting?" Owen asked.

"In a manner of speaking." She nodded to Bahamut. "Take care. I'll leave announcements to you. I have some research to resume." She gestured to the jarred Shades.

 

[Ambyssin]

“If we were fighting, I’d call her something not suitable for your innocent charmander ear frills.” Bahamut sighed. “We should go, too, little one. Tell the others that we don’t have to hide Diyem’s truth anymore.”

 

[Namohysip]

"--No, I meant, Maple and Dave, er... never mind." Owen sighed. "...Not a little one..."

Maple disappeared through a portal, leaving the pair to walk back. Owen seemed a little brighter than before, if only after reflecting on what had just happened. There was still an air of caution about Maple, but at least they didn't have to hide the truth anymore. It was a weight off his shoulders.

"Thanks for the help," Owen said to Bahamut. "I hate secrets..."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut was still having trouble learning how to walk after a lifetime of floating everywhere. His steps lacked a solid rhythm to them. "Yes, I could tell. This one was positively burning you up inside." He kept a straight face despite the pun.

<><><>​

 

[Persephone]

Cuicatl wasn't entirely sure how she got here. One moment she was lying down in the field, weighed down by physical and emotional wounds. Then she was here. No one had healed her side. Maybe someone offered but she declined. That sounded plausible. Or maybe no one even bothered to do anything.

She'd faintly heard the aftermath. Brisa, Starr, and Curio trying to console and heal each other. Necrozma in a panic about his son. And here she was. Alone. Like she wanted. It wouldn't make a difference if she was in the thick of things trying to make a difference. Even when she'd sat out to solve the mysteries of the world she'd learned almost nothing. Hadn't even known about the machine... thing until they were trying to fight it.

A shadow machine made her think of Cipher. Maybe it was related to the shadows of her world. But... it was best that she just told someone else what she knew and let them work it out. She lowered her head back to the ground and stretched, secretly reveling in the pain running up her side.

She would sleep here tonight, lulled to sleep by the dull throbs of her wound and the sound of breaking waves.

 

[Chibi Pika]

The aftermath of the fight had passed by in a blur. She'd been taken back to the guild by Brisa and Curio, and after the hell they'd all been through, she wasn't in much of a hurry to get back on her feet. Most of the team had apparently moved to Destiny Village already. Starr was fine with taking it easy.

But in typical Pokemon fashion, her body healed way faster than it had any right to, leaving her filled with restless energy the next day. Probably best to join the others. She was making her last pass through Treasure town when it occurred to her that she hadn't heard from Cuicatl since tha fight. And with how standoffish she was, odds were good that she hadn't moved to Destiny VIllage yet.

Starr eventually found her out on the Bluff--the usual sulk spot for most of the team. Cuicatl probably wanted to be left alone. Which was why Starr walked up, sat down beside her, and said, "You planning on joining the rest of the team, or do you live here now?"

 

[Persephone]

Cuicatl stretched as she woke up. Her side still hurt, but less intensely than last night.

Stupid, awesome dragon healing.

“Hi, Starr.” She wasn’t quite sure what to say. She’d heard that Starr had returned, heard some strange rumors about where she’d been. But then she’d never followed up on them. Felt weird to ask now. But! Starr was a former human. She might understand the shadow stuff and be able to act on it.

“Not sure I’d be helpful there. I’ve fallen out of the loop on what’s going on in the world. But that machine... there was something like it in my world, maybe. I never saw it in person, but there were supposedly a group of people who used technology to make shadow Pokémon. Including a Lugia. There are already other humans here, the heroes, but I’m wondering if there are others no one knows about.”