Shaymin Village

[Virgil134]

His attention next went to Cabot. He tried to keep a steady voice, but emotion crept into his tone. "What is wrong with you? How dare you call me a..." He couldn't say it. He wasn't a feral stolen kinless. There were people who cared about him... right? "I thought we were friends! But I guess I was wrong after all."

Cabot briefly paused. Did Nip seem genuinely upset over what he said...? No. Of course he wasn't! He's obviously just pretending to try and trick him and save his own hide!

"Don't give me that garbage! You never saw me as a friend! You just thought I was some naive idiot you could use to try and blend in with the rest! Just admit it already!"

He charged forward with the intention of finishing Nip off, only to notice several ice crystals shooting towards him from Astrid's direction, forcing him to jump out of the way as a few of the crystals got stuck on him.

He heard Cabot yelling, then a loud cracking sound. “What is wrong with you, Cabot? Nip isn’t the one lashing out at his teammates. If anyone here’s gone feral, it’s you. Consider yourself lucky you don’t have a hollow at the bottom of your skull, because I’d be perfectly willing to slice into that brain cavity of yours... Not that there seems to be anything of value there, anyways.”

Cabot landed on his feet, his attention being caught by Celeste shouting at him. He blinked. Was Celeste right about there being something wrong with him? Had- No. There was something wrong with his former allies, not him. All this machine was doing was help him think more clearly.

"Oh that's rich coming from the guy who hunts other Pokémon for fun!" Cabot scoffed. "You really think you can back up those threats with that misshapen sickle stuck on your head?! Or are you just gonna whine me to death about that stupid disaster sense you no longer have instead?! As if you would ever stand a chance against me!"

Cabot got ready to rush towards Celeste, when another one of his teammates called out to him, and then another, and then another... Cabot stopped as the voices of his teammates rang through his head, falling down onto his knees and clutching his head. He knelt there for a while and breathed heavily, half expecting Celeste to come in and attack him, only for nothing to happen.

Why... wasn't he and everyone else attacking him? Only Curio tried earlier, but stopped after hitting that barrier. They could easily save themselves and overpower him right now. It's not like they could still use him after all of this now the machine had made him realize how they really felt about him...

... Wait, that wasn't right. He never thought his teammates didn't care for him or exploited him before that machine hit him. That beam had made his body stronger, but all he could feel right now was anger, hate, and this urge to lash out at everyone. This... wasn't him.

The shadowy haze around him thinned while the phantom Rampardos disappeared, yet Cabot's scales remained darkened. He slowly got up and looked around, noticing Brisa similarly was starting to calm down.

"Brisa! We have to destroy that machine! It's messing with our heads!"

He turned to face the Shadow Machine and charged forward, putting all the anger and resentment he currently felt in the most powerful headbutt he could muster.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"Oh that's rich coming from the guy who hunts other Pokémon for fun!" Cabot scoffed. "You really think you can back up those threats with that misshapen sickle stuck on your head?! Or are you just gonna whine me to death about that stupid disaster sense you no longer have instead?! As if you would ever stand a chance against me!"

“For fun? You think I hunt for fun? I don’t have the fortune to be able to live off plants. I haven’t hunted ever since we found out it wasn’t necessary here. I refuse to be judged for choosing not starve myself.”

 

[Namohysip]

Brisa's Strike dealt 74 damage to the Machine's sturdy shield!
Ashwood's Strike dealt 77 damage to the Machine's sturdy shield, shattering it!
Cabot's Strike dealt 524 damage to the Machine core!

Nip's triple Lash Out dealt 816 damage to the Machine core!
Dave's Assurance dealt 936 damage to the Machine core!
Starr's Triple Flare Blitz dealt 929 damage, taking 93 damage in recoil!
Cynthian's double Sludge Bomb dealt 424 damage!

Once the team was back and whole and not worried about losing one another, the machine didn't stand a chance. Their attacks, one after the other, bombarded the shield, shattered it, and then struck the core over and over. Nip's Lash Out struck the core and rattled its mechanical innards; Dave followed up with a strike that made the whirring abruptly stop, like it was trying to realign and reboot itself. But it didn't last at all against Cynthian's Sludge Bomb that mucked up the gears and circuits and whatever other strange items were inside.

So that was why Starr's final blitz knocked the core clean out of its shell, and then out through the other side. All of the Shaymin that were still under the machine's control suddenly cried out in pain, and then abruptly collapsed, the Shadows rapidly leaving them in a thick but dissipating plume.

That one, final, shattering boom was enough to make the whole village go completely silent. Nothing but the tired panting and mountain breeze filled the air. And then, the core smashed into the ground, bounced a few times, and broke open on impact. All of its circuits had been torn to shreds, and it was nothing but some strange, metal lump, now. Scrap.

But there was something inside this strange machine, now that the huge core had been split open.

It... seemed to be a Pokemon. Purples, blacks, and blues made up the bulk of its extraordinarily tiny, wispy form, with a crescent moon-like shape trailing from its forehead, down to its back, and then up toward its chin--as it was just a head. Two cosmic, blue pom-poms decorated where its ears might have been, and it had two closed, yellow eyes.

It was also completely unconscious, and there were still bits of metal sticking out of parts of its body, like it had been forcibly shoved into that machine prior. Yet, despite everything, there were no Shadows within it.

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut managed to get himself back up just as the machine fell apart and revealed...

"No..."

It came out as a rasp. This had to have been joke. It was a fake, like this machine was apparently spoofing Dark Matter. There was no way... no way...

Nowaynowaynowaynowaynowaynowaynowaynowaynowaynowaynowaynowaynowaynoway.

"Pew!"

"No, not 'pew.' I'm your father, little one. Can you say 'dada?'"

"Pew pew!"

"That's... erm, that's not quite right."

"Leave it be, dear. I was like that at one time, too."

Bahamut raced forward awkwardly. Clumsily. He bonked off shards of the broken machine like a jagged, oversized pinball. "Everyone get back!" he shouted, coming to a halt right above the starcloud. Gingerly, Bahamut reached down and picked the little creature up.

 

[Dragonfree]

"Why won't you admit it?" she cried. "Jesse knew what I was. Jesse knew he would have to kill me. Why can't you do it?"

Whoever the fuck Jesse was, Dave would love to have words with him - but one by one their teammates returned to their senses. The cowering Mudkip was the last to remain, cringing under a series of shields, but with a combined effort they broke through them and brought him back. With that, all that was left was destroying the machine that was doing all this.

He triumphantly kicked the shit out of the machine and then collapsed to catch his breath after that last surge of exertion, as it fell apart and revealed... some kind of cute space cloud thing? He could have sworn it was the mascot of some kind of space museum? Whatever. This was the world he lived in now.

Bahamut, of all people, immediately reached for it. Sure, why not.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"You don't have to know how to be okay. You have to know how to keep trying anyway."

Brisa looked up at Starr, who had made it out of that pit with her, who didn't hate her even now, who still believed she could change, and the shadows fell away further. She watched her friend—her friend—bolt towards the dark machine in a blaze of glory, and she wanted nothing less than to die, and nothing more than to follow after her.

She was not a violent, predatory, dangerous animal. She was not a caged, weeping, wounded girl. She was Brisa Escarpa, and she had a friend.

"Brisa! We have to destroy that machine! It's messing with our heads!"

Brisa screamed her defiance as the shadows melted away and she became whole once again, and then she raced after Starr, after Cabot, after all her friends and allies, her pelt blazing gold with energy ready to strike. Brisa's battlecry was wordless, a feral cry of lethal intent, and it was accompanied by a crack of thunder as the lightning danced at her mouth.

Brisa's Strike dealt 74 damage to the Machine's sturdy shield!

Where there had been nothing but dread, she could now make out something else.

A victory, still in sight.

 

[Namohysip]

The creature was limp, but Bahamut, of anyone, would recognize that this Cosmog was going to be fine. Tired, but fine in the future. The wisps flowed like a gentle pulse, and while the glow was weak, it was not getting weaker.

Owen was running toward Bahamut, but stopped when he commanded it. Maple, however, did not, though her steps were much more gentle. "A Cosmog," she remarked slowly. She looked at Bahamut, frowning. She would have to be delicate. "I can help take care of him," she said. "We can bring him to Destiny Village. He'll be safe there. I've been meaning to bring you all there anyway, and... You could use the rest."

 

[NebulaDreams]

Curio took a deep breath after all was said and done, and collapsed. She was still conscious -- she was just tired, physically and mentally. The shadows gradually released their grip on her, and her radiance sickness was starting to wear off. But whew, that was close.

Whatever happened with Brisa, well, Curio wasn't going to let that become a repeat of what happened a while ago. Brisa didn't mean anything of what she did back there, especially not here. But something about what she said deeply bothered her, so much so that her stomach enlaced again.

"Why won't you admit it?" she cried. "Jesse knew what I was. Jesse knew he would have to kill me. Why can't you do it?"

Curio mustered up the strength to approach Brisa. "Hey, um... did Jesse, uh..." She knew the answer already, but she was trying not to rage before she heard it from Brisa's own tongue. "Your dad... seriously said those things?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa gasped and braced herself against the smashed turf of the battlefield. They'd won. Again. Despite everything. Despite... her.

"Hey, um... did Jesse, uh... Your dad... seriously said those things?"

She looked up at Curio and winced as she saw the still-fresh injuries she'd dealt her friend only moments ago. But... this wasn't the time to wallow in guilt and shame. They were friends. That wasn't about to change because of what the shadows had done to her.

"Uh, I guess he did, yeah," she said, thickly. "We had one hell of an altercation when I was... fourteen, I think. I'd been fightin', just for fun, y'know, and he was tellin' me to cut it out for good. I wasn't listenin'. I upset him. I don't like to remember it all at once. He, uh... He said..."

She forced it out, though it wounded her voice on its way out of her throat.

"If I catch you like that again, I won’t- I won't- I won't hesitate to put you down like the violent animal you are."

She looked about for her friends, hoping with a raw heart that none of them had died with their last impression of her being of a ravening beast.

"I guess it stuck with me," she said, quietly.

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut heard Maple, but was solely focused on Cosmog. “They’re tired. They need light. Io needs light. I can—”

His hands glowed gold. Soft light flittered into Cosmog, at the cost of Bahamut sinking closer to the ground.

 

[Namohysip]

"Bahamut," Maple said gently, holding him by the crystal arm. "I can do the same. Don't worry."

Owen hesitated, giving a wary glance at Maple. All things considered, she seemed safe enough...

A much smaller haze of a Charizard appeared behind Owen, rising from behind his shoulders, and glared at Maple. Its eyes flashed. Then, after staring at her that way for a while, it sank down again into Owen's back.

Owen nodded, like he'd been told something. "Bahamut, I think Maple knows what she's doing. It's... okay. And... who's Io?"

 

[NebulaDreams]

"If I catch you like that again, I won’t- I won't- I won't hesitate to put you down like the violent animal you are."

She looked about for her friends, hoping with a raw heart that none of them had died with their last impression of her being of a ravening beast.

"I guess it stuck with me," she said, quietly.

"Wow, and I thought my dad was bad." Curio let out a fit of nervous laughter, and then a couple of seconds passed until the full weight of Brisa's confession dawned on her. "Wait, what the actual fuuu--" she couldn't complete that thought--"I just, I don't--"

Curio took a few deep breaths -- she desperately tried not to slam her fist into the ground. Finally, she sighed. "Do you want to talk about this somewhere else? I feel like there's a lot I'm missin' and, well, obviously, we both have baggage to unload."

 

[Ambyssin]

“He’s my son,” Bahamut rasped. “He’s here. He’s not... he’s not dead. He’s... here.”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa kept searching, seeing fallen allies stumbling to their feet. But there.

Astrid. Starr. Both of them were...

Out cold. Definitely just unconscious. She had to check on them, but oh, how her heart was hammering.

"Do you want to talk about this somewhere else? I feel like there's a lot I'm missin' and, well, obviously, we both have baggage to unload."

"Oh gods. Yes. Okay. Just, uh... Please help me check on Astrid and Starr first. Then we can go wherever you want, Curio."

She set off with her friend to check on her other friends and felt a strange pressure in her head and chest as she realised that's what was happening, she had friends, plural...

"Thank the fuckin' winds." They were okay. Fully knocked out, but alive.

"You wanna help me carry these sorry gals outta here, Curio?"

 

[NebulaDreams]

"Okay, okay, yeah." She took Starr's body, holding her in her arms like a paperweight. Damn, even for her size, Riolu were quite strong. "Shall we get them to the dojo or the guild or wherever the hell we usually get healed up?"

 

[Cresselia92]

So, they won… and yet, that didn’t feel like a victory. Icetales gazed at the entire battlefield, his eyes gleaming with sadness. His comrades were marred by all kinds of wounds: emotional, psychological, physical… it was a miracle none died. Only a few were still left unconscious.

He walked sluggishly through the battlefield, his gaze and ears picking up random words and scenes.

I am a violent animal…

He’s my son…

Thou art rubbish…

Icetales blinked. That… wasn’t the voice of any of his comrades.

He frantically looked around, and then he spotted the figure: Father, striding across the battlefield like some monstrous specter. He beamed a devilish smirk at the shocked Vulpix, before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

Icetales stumbled backwards, falling on his haunches and staring in dumbfound at the now empty spot.

Rubbish.

He glanced at his bag and noticed a few papers sticking from it.

Rubbish.

He took them out of his bag, and stared despondently at them. Why did he even think it was a good idea? Warfare and celebrations don’t mix.

Rubbish.

He stared blankly at some flames that were still raging across the once green fields. Probably a result of a stray Heat Wave, or a Flare Blitz. That didn’t matter. He approached the burning grass with slow steps and threw the papers into the pyre. He stared wordlessly as the sheets scrunched and twisted, mercilessly turning weeks of hard work into ashes.

…I am rubbish.

 

[Namohysip]

"Bahamut..." Owen frowned, glancing uncertainly at Maple.

"I don't think that's your son, Bahamut. I'm sorry." Maple tried to console, but also state the facts. "This world is simply too far away from where you're from for that to be possible. Perhaps when he wakes up, we can..." She sighed. Bahamut wasn't being rational. She had to compromise. "Why don't you come with me to Destiny Village? We're going to take care of Cosmog there."

 

[Ambyssin]

“It has to be possible.” Bahamut’s arms trembled. “Darklaw is so powerful. Too powerful. Hurling someone across dimensions would be effortless.

“I saw Chiron. Now I’ve found Io. They’re here. My family... is here.”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"They'll need a stay in the guild clinic by my reckonin'. Oh gods. They better make it through this or I'll..."

She didn't finish speaking.

Brisa hefted Astrid over her back like she'd done for dozens of stranded travellers in dungeons back home, but there was a different feeling this time. She wasn't sure what, but it made her ears hot and her heart sound off in her head.

 

[Namohysip]

"They'll be fine," Soda said, standing beside Brisa and giving her a gentle prod with his foot to snap her out of it. "You guys're way more resilient than you should be. Couple days' rest and you'll all be better, at worst."

Maple sighed, then slowly conjured two portals in front of her. "Everyone," she announced. "The left portal is going to take you to Treasure Town. The right portal is going to take you to Destiny Village. If there is anything you would like to wrap up before coming to Destiny Village, go left and I will pick you up later when I set up a secure waypoint between Destiny Village and Treasure Town. Everyone else, follow me to your new homes."