Sharpedo Bluff

[NebulaDreams]

"Well, when I say 'the greater good', I mean to protect myself. I don't even remember it happening in the moment, I was in such a different place then. It's like, my soul wasn't even in my own body, and my body just did what it needed to do to survive."

You must reconcile with it. Accept what you did. Move forward, let that drive you to do better now. That is what drives me, now.

"H-how?" She gulped. Even talking about it made her feel sick. "I'm... I'm afraid of doing it again. And not just to assholes that deserve it. What if I end up killing someone I love? Hell, what if Brisa went even further back there and--" Curio choked, unable to finish.

 

[Namohysip]

Enough, Diyem said, his tone neither firm nor gentle. Don't let the thoughts take over. Breathe. Then I shall answer.

 

[NebulaDreams]

Curio stopped, startled by Diyem’s sudden command. Huh. For once, she actually felt at ease with him. She dragged in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

 

[Namohysip]

He finally continued.

Self defense is entirely different. If you feared for your life, if you feared for your safety, and someone was attacking you, there is little else you need to justify.

But it is still damaging. Killing another life, depending on who you are, can fragment you. The circumstances do not matter to your mind, I imagine. A life was taken. Suddenly your spirit is tainted. Suddenly you are capable of killing. You can kill others. Could it happen again? Would it? Is it inevitable, or simply always looming over you like a shadow?

...These thoughts are both rational and irrational. They are facts, yet extrapolations. Your future is written by your past, but that doesn't mean you can't revise before it is set in stone behind you.

Otherwise, I would still be trying to destroy.

 

[NebulaDreams]

Diyem was right, even if it was coming from a serial world annihilator. As much as Curio didn’t want to recall what happened, she had to carry it around with her wherever she went, and while Diyem’s speech didn’t exactly remedy it, it stabilised her for now. Somehow, it was more freeing talking to a disembodied voice than another Pokemon. At least here, she wasn’t afraid of anyone who wanted to take revenge or arrest her.

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes again. “Thanks, Diyem. I’ll still need some time alone, but, y’know, I’ll be thinking about what you said anyway.”

 

[Namohysip]

Thanks.

Thanks? Thanks? Thanks?

Thanks...

Yes. Of course. If there is ever a need for something, you may summon my presence. I will be going, now. If you have need for someone, remember the functionality of your badges. Goodbye.

He seemed a little hasty about leaving, but it didn't seem to be because he wasn't enjoying his talk...

 

[NebulaDreams]

And with that, Diyem disappeared. Curio could barely tell the difference to be honest, but she took his word for it. Then the weight of what Diyem told her fully sunk in.

So, he was responsible for all of this, and he wanted to make amends, apparently. That wasn't really a convincing thing to say, coming from him. But she still wasn't shocked by his confession in retrospect. It was oddly comforting talking to someone who had done awful things just like her.

Curio felt like shit. She managed to get out of her funk, at least, but now, she was left alone with her thoughts and the aftermath of that episode. If she was going to keep moping by herself, however, she would've spiralled again, and she couldn't do that. Not again. So she headed for Cibus's streets, powerwalking this time instead of trudging aimlessly. She needed a freakin' drink.

 

[Namohysip]

<><><>

Day 18
​

I need... to get... there...

Heavy wings, strained and slow, left small shockwaves through the air with every beat.

Almost... that cliff is the closest...

Strained pants came after, though every breath twisted the air into cutting gales. Soon, the top of the Bluff had little gashes in the grassy tops.

No, stay in control... don't... you trained for this...

Silvery feathers rained down and drifted down the shoreline. How he was flight worthy at all was a miracle of the ocean storms and updrafts and his general elemental prowess. But that was already fading as the temptation of resting on solid ground overtook him.

Please... They have to... know...

Suddenly, dirt was below him, and he stopped flapping his wings. He landed with a heavy thud, but somehow stayed on his feet.

"I..." He panted, relief washing over him. "I made it..." But then that relief brought with it the fatigue of so many days' travel.

The Lugia, no taller than a Garchomp, collapsed in an unconscious heap.

 

[TheGOAT]

“Holy—Woah!”

That definitely wasn’t what Astrid expected to see. This was meant to be her time spent innocently staring at the midday clouds rolling across the sky, but the beach just wasn’t doing it for her—maybe it was the sand grating under her paws. So, she’d come to the bluff for a better view.

But while daydreaming as she approached, a powerful gust of wind had put a swift end to the orderly fluff of fur on her head. Now, she looked like she’d been shocked by a million volts as she approached the collapsed creature.

“Oh wow, you’re a Lugia!” she exclaimed, recognition lighting up her eyes despite having only seen them in illustrations. “A-are you alright? Are… are you even awake?” She prodded at his wing carefully, leaning back just in case another blast of wind would follow.

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut was out for a fly — flirting with the surface of the ocean while he traced symbols along the water with his tail — when he sensed the aura. Its signature sent him back ages, but the weakness of it stopped him from stepping onto memory lane. He flew up in the direction he sensed. It brought him to the strange, sharpedo-shaped cliff. And there was Astrid... and a collapsed lugia.

Breathe. Focus on the present. Breathe. It wasn't anything like what he knew. It was quite... small. But was it hurt?

He came in for a landing. "Astrid, darling. Our badges can contact Miss Maple, can they not? Might I humbly request you send out a group message asking for assistance? I could carry this poor fellow myself, but I'd rather not spring this surprise on the guild out of nowhere." Bahamut slithered toward Lugia as he spoke. Gently he pressed his upper wings to Lugia's side. Bright, warm sunlight drifted over the sea bird, though Bahamut had no idea if his Morning Sun would even make a difference here.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

“I-Is it just me, or did someone just crash-land here? Looked like a particularly large Wi-”

Oh. Hold on. If the illustrations he’d seen were to be belived, that was Lugia. Huh. Celeste had pictured them to be a lot larger. He approached Lugia and bowed politely... before realizing that they were unconscious.

What is one supposed to do, really, when confronted with an unconscious higher being? The shiny new Mr. Nameless had already tried healing, so... yeah. Someone should go signal for help, he supposed.

“Does anyone else here figure out how to use badge things? I haven’t tried them, myself.”

 

[Ambyssin]

"I think I heard there's a voice function for those without arms," Bahamut said. "Put your badge near your face and speak into it."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste took his badge and lifted it to his mouth. “Hello? Can anyone hear me? We’ve got a h- We’ve got Lugia with us. They crash-landed on the bluff and are unconscious. Hello?”

 

[Ambyssin]

And here Bahamut had thought the youth were supposed to be tech-savvy.

 

[Virgil134]

A few days after Cabot had used his Radiance powers for the first time, he and Cynthian went to the town's marketplace in order to look for supplies. They had used up a bunch of items when fighting Team Spice, so it was important for them to replenish them in case their next fight happened sooner rather than later. Their plans got cut short however when they got a call from Celeste through their badges, the mention of 'Lugia' making Cabot jolt up with a start and instantly rush over to the Sharpedo Bluff with Cynthian in tow. As soon as the two arrived at the bluff, Cabot went slack-jawed as he saw that the Lugia Celeste had mentioned was not yet fully grown.

"H-Huh?! Pleo?! Ho-"

Cabot paused and looked closer when he noticed that despite his size, the Lugia before him was larger than the one he knew back home. Not only that, but now that he thought about it, it wouldn't make much sense for someone else from his world to just show up here out of the blue.

"... N-No wait, that's not right," he muttered to himself before quickly making his way over to Bahamut, Astrid, and Celeste. "Is he alright?!"

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Hey, wait up Cabot!" Cynthian said, panting after finally catching up to the Cranidos. He stared at the unconscious Lugia in amusement. "Huh... Lugia sounded much larger in the stories. This one's... well they're not the size of a mountain."

"H-Huh?! Pleo?! Ho-"

Cabot paused and looked closer when he noticed that despite his size, the Lugia before him was larger than the one he knew back home. Not only that, but now that he thought about it, it wouldn't make much sense for someone else from his world to just show up here out of the blue.

"... N-No wait, that's not right," he muttered to himself before quickly making his way over to Bahamut, Astrid, and Celeste. "Is he alright?!"

Cynthian gave Cabot a curious glance as he walked up beside him. "You almost sounded like you knew him just now... Or one like him from your world." He made a mental note to ask Cabot about it more later. "I hope this one is okay. Where did they come from?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"Please be quiet. I'm trying to concentrate, here." The light of Morning Sun wore off. Bahamut looped one of his wing's under Lugia's and brushed his claws against his feathers. "Wake up, little one."

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian stared up at the shiny dragon. "And who in the world are you supposed to be?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"Your conscience. We should really talk more often, dear Cynthian."

Again, his sense of humor left much to be desired.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"No you're not. Why do you know my name?" Cynthian asked, nervously taking a step back. "Guys, I think there's an imposter among us."