Treasure Town ~ Main Square

[Namohysip]

"We're hiding quite a bit!" Truffle said cheerily, nodding. "Now, our main reason for not telling you all this immediately is largely because we weren't sure how loose-lipped some of your team members are. Among you right now, Owen was considered a major concern due to how expressive and readable he is."

"I--what?" Owen squeaked, his flame crackling.

"Yes, quite like that! Though..." Truffle seemed to ponder Nate's reasoning. "That is a good point. We are more likely to have troubled residents approach us than in the marketplace where a more keen eye may be needed. Perhaps you should go there instead, Owen."

 

[Phoenixsong]

Most of the names had gone right over Skara's head, although a few did give her pause. Three of the missing sounded vaguely familiar, as though she'd read about them somewhere, but she couldn't place the specific book. (Something told her it wasn't a history book, at least. Which meant they must've been from... but no. That was her world—well, the other world—and whatever those three were, they could've been something else entirely to Cibus. Not at all unreasonable for Truffle to be concerned about them.)

Rayquaza was the the more immediate worry. It was entirely possible that Cibus's version served some different purpose, but from the way Truffle had spoken it sounded as though it was important. Imagine a force powerful enough to compromise a guardian... and, well, that was the wrinkle, wasn't it. She couldn't. Surely those awful little shade-creatures couldn't control something as large and powerful as Rayquaza. They had taken over those other legendary pokémon, but... but surely Rayquaza must be more powerful than those, right? At least in any sort of "normal" world... right?

Running through the options in her mind apparently took a while, because when the grubbin looked up again the others had moved further down the street again.

"I'll help investigate the square!" she said as she caught up for the third or fourth time. "I might not have... that thing,"—Skara glanced at the strange golden wheel on Truffle's wing—"but I'd like to hope I'm fairly observant." It didn't hurt that a spheal would also probably be much easier to keep pace with.

 

[Negrek]

Nate made no attempt to hide his scowl at the decidueye's answer. "Yeah, real cute," he said, although he supposed he couldn't entirely blame the guy. The charmander sure seemed like a ditz, and he was nowhere near the worst in their merry band of "heroes."

Nate cast a quick glance at his would-be fellow searchers. He didn't recognize the bug--hell, he didn't even know what species the bug was--and there was the charmander, but at least the poochyena and the jigglypuff seemed moderately reliable. Hopefully they could handle a basic search without fucking it up too bad. Nate wasn't sure whether he ought to hope they'd find something or not.

Not his problem. He and owlboy were going to get real friendly-like. "Okay, Hootface," he said. "Let's go check the quaint little homes, huh?"

 

[Namohysip]

Owen waved when they started to leave, and then turned toward Dave. "I guess that leaves the two of us to check out the marketplace, huh?" he asked, though he couldn't hide the nervous spark that occasionally jutted out from his tail. "I, uh, hopefully it won't be too hectic in there. No news is good news, right?"

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave sighed in irritation as Truffle left. The fucking God Squad sure weren't getting any less suspect.

"Yeah, well, it's cool for the town if we find nothing, but personally I'd really love to, you know, actually learn something from this exercise." He sniffed at the ground, trying to recall how Odor Sleuth went again - he'd ended up putting his focus elsewhere for the fight (and had kicked ass as a result, of course). "Come on, let's get going to the market."

 

[Namohysip]

Owen left with Dave quickly, looking at his hands with interest. He still felt that tingling from the Radiance, but he didn't know how it would manifest... Still, the investigation came first. Hopefully it would help out with his currently-unformed perception abilities.

"Right. Good luck, Jaro, Skara! call out to Diyem if you find anything you can't handle!"

 

[Phoenixsong]

"Right! Uh, good luck!" Skara watched the others recede into the distance, then took another long look at her surroundings. There really were a lot of people around, weren't there? There was definitely no way they'd be able to catch every single person who walked through the square, but how many were they even going to be able to get through?

"So, uh... it's Jaro, right?" she asked, turning to her companion briefly before scanning the moving crowds in earnest. "I'm Skara. I was a bit... late to the party, but it's nice to finally get a chance to talk to you!"

 

[The Walrein]

Jaro had no idea why anyone in particular would actually be interested in 'finally' getting a chance to talk to him; it wasn't as if he'd really done or said anything impressive thus far, and he knew he didn't have the most winning of personalities. She was probably just being polite.

"Yup, I'm Jaro. Uh, nice getting to talk to you, too. We do need to stay focused on trying to detect shade-possessed Pokemon, but I guess it'll look more natural if we're talking to each other while we do that." While he was talking to Skara, Jaro tried to keep his tone level and casual. Unfortunately, with Jaro's large eyes and lack of neck meaning he had to twist around his entire body to look at something too far to his sides, it was quite obvious that he was focusing most of his attention on scanning the crowd rather than on his conversational partner. Hmm, how to allay suspicion...

"Wow, uh, there sure are a lot of different types of Pokemon in the square today!" he suddenly blurted out, rather loudly, then briefly turned to address Skara. "Were there a lot of different tri- I mean, species living together in your world? Seems like that's how it is with most people's worlds. In mine most Pokemon just lived with others of their kind. Were there ever any conflicts from that came from everyone living together?"

 

[Phoenixsong]

Skara clicked her mandibles thoughtfully. She hadn't really been thinking about trying to "look natural"—mostly just looking. It definitely made sense to keep a lower profile, though. She felt a little silly for not having considered it... but hey, no harm done as long as someone had come up with it, right?

"Uh, yeah, I guess?" she said, pausing to answer Jaro's question. "There are a few other grubbin and vikavolt and such, but Crossmark's home to a lot of different people. Most towns and cities are pretty diverse, I think! Nothing on this place, though, heh... it's kinda overwhelming, honestly. Probably even moreso for you, if you've really only spent time with other jigglypuff...

"As for conflict, hm... well, everyplace has got some kind of conflict, doesn't it? I think that's just what happens when anyone lives with anyone, no matter what sort of pokémon they are. Usually when people get into spats back home it's not because a mightyena lives next door to a blitzle, I don't think." (Then again, there were the other pokémon... but surely that sort of disagreement was well beyond what Jaro was asking about.) "Do you run in to a lot of conflict back home?"

He was definitely right about one thing—there were a lot of people here, and this probably wasn't even close to Treasure Town's full population. This might well take multiple patrols...

 

[The Walrein]

In addition to trying to at least briefly glance at everyone's mouths, Jaro also tried to keep an ear out for the sounds of raised voices or fights, given how the shades could affect people's behavior.

Thinking over what the Skara had said, it sort of surprised him that she'd come from a more cosmopolitan world, yet still felt the Town Square was overwhelming. He'd been thinking of it as an either-or sort of thing, but apparently how many different Pokemon lived in a place fell along a gradient.

What she said about conflict reminded him of how he felt after talking to Laerorsel, and learning that even the Clefairy had their own internal disagreements and quarrels. Did that apply to all species? Odd to imagine, for instance, Geodude fighting amongst each other in the deep underground - what would they even fight over? Who got to eat the best rocks?

"Yeah, I, uh, definitely saw my fair share of conflict back home, even among my own tribe. There were a few - okay, a lot of people I didn't get along with. Um, not sure if there's anything like this on your world, but I was an evolved-born - born as a Jigglypuff rather than an Igglybuff. When I was young, everyone my own age was too much of a baby to play with, but I was still a lot younger than all the Jigglypuff, so they thought I was too much of a baby to play with them. Got into a lot of fights over that. After I grew up, I still got into a lot of arguments about what chorus I had to work on each day. Usually only fighting with words and not moves, by that point. But, hey, at least none of them ever tried to kill me-" except for the time they exiled him, which was effectively a death sentence, "-like the Skitty or the Nidoran tribes when I had to cross their territory." Hard to think he'd been fighting for his life less than a moon ago; it was starting to feel more and more like his old life was the weird story-realm and Cibus was the reality, now.

"I guess it would've been better if we could've all just... agreed not to kill each other, like the Pokemon here do. But it still might've been hard for us to actually live together. Like, if I'd been getting into childish fights with other Nidoran instead of other Jigglypuff, I'd have died of poison a long time ago. Or if there were Munna around, I might've gotten addicted to their dream mist if I'd had the opportunity to use it, and then my mind would've wasted away a long time ago. But even if I hadn't, like, someone's getting the sour berry with the Munna - it's not like with the Skitty, who could theoretically live just on eating animals and not Pokemon - although they didn't do that, in practice - Munna need to eat the dreams of other intelligent Pokemon. Who's gonna volunteer for that?" Jaro sighed.

"Uh, sorry if I was rambling a bit there... You said you came from someplace called Crossmark, was it? What was your job there?"

 

[Namohysip]

While they talked and Treasure Town went about with its usual routines, Diyem scanned the area for anything particularly strange. Finding nothing, let alone any distortions, he said, I suspect that you will not find anything today, but perhaps tomorrow, or the next, you may. The central plaza is at high risk of destruction if anybody powerful becomes infected... I suggest watching this area for multiple days. Perhaps even guard duty.

 

[Namohysip]

<><><>​

The days came and went without much incident. Unlike what had happened in the residential district and the marketplace, it seemed that in general things were very quiet in the square.

That was, of course, until one day Diyem had suddenly entered the minds of the Pokemon that happened to be on duty that day.

Watch for Cynthian. Something happened to him. He is coming your way.

And right in time, they would see Cynthian shambling, half-weeping, toward the town. To any normal townsmon, he would look totally normal. But to those with Diyem's power...

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian trudged along with slow swaying movements into the main square.

His body had morphed and twisted to closely resemble a very dark Roserade from the waist up. His flower colors had switched places, and all of his petals looked wilted and half burned.

"So useless... I cannot live up to anything." He mumbled to himself with his head hung low. Cynthian dared not meet anyone's eyes. They might expect something of him if he saw them.

 

[Phoenixsong]

"Evolved-born?" Skara tilted her head. "Can't say I've heard of anything like that, but it does sound rough." She tried to imagine having hatched as a charjabug; whether or not people would've mocked her for it, she couldn't say, but it definitely would've been an inconvenience. (Still could be, if she wasn't careful. Surely someone in this huge town knew where one could find everstones...?) "There are definitely pokémon who get picked on back where I come from, though. Maybe not for that exact reason, but frankly the reasons they do have probably aren't very good, either. Everyone's different, and it's not remotely fair to look down on someone because they're young or don't like fighting as much as others or prefer to approach things in a different but perfectly valid way or..."

Aaaand she was rambling. And projecting. Thankfully, Jaro's next comment provided quite the change of subject.

The grubbin stared. "Wait. Some of the other, uh, tribes tried to kill you? Just for moving through their territory? What... why would...?"

The more Jaro explained, the more confusing it sounded. Pokémon choosing to eat other pokémon, when animals were right there? "Not murdering everyone all the time" somehow not being the default state? And Jaro and everyone else in his world were supposed to be mortals? None of this made any sense for mortals. It sounded a lot more like something else.

"That's... a lot," she said at last. "Not the rambling, I mean, that's fine, just... wow." She clicked thoughtfully. "It's weird, really... on the one claw, it's a little difficult to imagine 'normal life' being so, um, precarious, I guess? Everyone splintered off into little insular groups like that, and not taking kindly to someone else just for passing by. That definitely doesn't happen much in Crossmark, I can say that much. But, um..." She paused, clicked again. It occurred to her that she hadn't yet discussed how things worked where she came from. It seemed kind of silly now, what with being the only one whose world seemed to function this way. But hey, maybe Jaro would be able to relate to some of it. Maybe. Kind of.

"Where I come from, I guess you could say that there are actually two different kinds of pokémon: mortals, like me, and I guess kind of like most or all of the pokémon here... I think? And then there are the mistfolk, who live in their own world, and they're... I don't want to say less 'friendly', I don't think that's always true, so let's go with less 'predictable'. Some of them can be very dangerous or aggressive or just, well, weird. Usually our worlds are separate and we try to avoid going to the places they frequent, sometimes it can't be helped, and mortals can end up hurt or lost forever or even changed, sometimes.

"It's actually closely related to what I do, though. I'm in training to be a knight, and it's our job to keep people from accidentally falling into Mysthame, and to understand the mistfolk and their realms—as much as that's even possible to do, anyway—when someone needs to be rescued. So I guess I sort of understand the sense that passing into a land that's not your own might be dangerous."

Was this making any sense? Skara wasn't sure it was making sense. There was so much to clarify... but it was kind of nice to talk through some of it, at least.

...several days later...​

Skara wasn't sure whether she was grateful for the lack of excitement in the Square thus far. Oh, things had certainly happened: several more infected pokémon had been located, the shades within them captured and even interrogated, or something passing for that. They just hadn't happened here, in the busiest part of town, where one would logically expect at least some of the happening to happen. This was boring, and not helpful in the slightest. If she'd gone with Dave and Owen or something she might've even had an opportunity to talk to the shade herself—imagine! What an opportunity! And she'd been busy squinting at the customers queuing up at the kecleon shop and then attempting not to look too suspicious when they inevitably noticed.

It was also much safer and didn't involve staring down angry garchomp or typhlosion, and that part Skara was happy to continue doing without.

But someone needed to keep an eye on things; Diyem certainly thought it was worth doing. And so she'd set out again, alone for the moment but kind-of-sort-of-secure in the knowledge that others should've been out on their shifts elsewhere in the Square and the rest of town. Still nothing. The folks coming out of the restaurant seemed normal enough; there was no strange aura around that shopkeeper over there, aside from maybe a frosty glare when she realized she was being stared at. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

And then... something?

Diyem's voice registered in Skara's head, and she turned away from the irritated shopkeep to check the main thoroughfare. Cynthian... he was the roselia, right? Something had happened to him? What do you mean? Is he hurt? What's going on?

Ah. There was a roselia now, swaying somewhat as they made their way down the road. Or... wait. Was that even a roselia? The upper body seemed too large for the lower body, and a dark, almost roserade-like mask seemed to be spreading over the face. What the...

"Uh, Cynthian? Cynthian, is that you?" Skara hissed at him as she edged closer, trying to keep her voice down so that the townsfolk wouldn't panic. Possibly also so that she wouldn't panic. "Hey, are you okay? You don't look well..." Weird mask, wilted greenery, about the droopiest expression she'd seen on anyone since she'd arrived here... no, he didn't look well at all.

But something about him did look familiar.

Diyem? Diyem! I think he might be possessed by a shade! What do I do?

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian's blood ran cold when he heard the hushed voice calling his name, and he immediately jerked back and away from Skara with his face a mix of hostility and horror.

Why was she approaching him with those sharp mandibles? Was she trying to use them on him? Wait, wasn't she among their group? When Cynthian recognized her, it all clicked. She was the one they sent to cull out the team's burden.

A deep scowl swept across Cynthian's tearful face. His stomach twisted into several knots and his blood boiled. Cynthian won't let them. He bared his teeth while he doused himself in the yellowish green energy of Growth.

"They've sent you to throw me out, that's what this is all about, right?!"

 

[Namohysip]

Do not let your guard down! Diyem said as the haze seemed to spread through the town square, and suddenly the once peaceful town felt more like a battle arena. Cynthian is not himself! You must strike him down!

It seemed that several Pokemon were looking at the showdown, apparently blind to the mutation that had befallen Cynthian, let alone the haze that pooled heavily on the floor.

"Is everything alright?" asked Marowak, nearby.

 

[Phoenixsong]

Skara recoiled at the sudden motion. "Whoa, wait, don't freak out, I was just ask—"

She stopped dead when the roselia (?????) snarled at her, greenish light swirling around him and mingling with the now unmistakable murky aura. "Wait, no! What are you doing? Cynthian!" No more whispering—the panic made that impossible. "No one's throwing you out of anywhere! Why would you even say— where is this coming—"

She balked at Diyem's warning. Strike him down? Her? Oh boy, was the wrong pokémon on this shift if that was what needed to happen here. Uh, I don't— I'm not really a one-on-one sort of— uh, can you call the others? Now?

Skara glanced between Cynthian and the marowak that had just spoken up. "Uh, um," she stammered, "do you know, uh, where the God Squad is? Maple, or Truffle, or anyone? Could you, um, go get them? Someone? Quickly? My colleague here isn't feeling well, and they, they..." They what? Could help handle the invisible monsters the group didn't want to tell everyone about lest they send the crowds into hysterics? "They, uh... can someone please just go get them right now, please?"

Strike him down. Attacking a teammate sounded about as bad an idea as they came, her own combat ability notwithstanding. Was it even really what she needed to do? Surely there must be some other way, something else she could manage until the God Squad or the rest of her team arrived. Maybe she could just... hold him still? Move him away from the crowd before something bad happened?

Skara did her best to inch forward carefully, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. "Uh, hey, Cynthian, how about we take a few deep breaths and talk about this? There's a bench right over there! Just come with me and we can sit down and take it easy, right?" And she tried, gently as she could, to take one of his roses in her jaws.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Don't touch me!" Cynthian yelled, pulling his flower away and sending a few wilted petals drifting to the ground. He walked back a few steps away from her and whimpered.

Cynthian wanted to shrivel up from all the eyes watching him. They were all in it, weren't they? It was just like his Budew days at the daycare. He should've known all along. Everyone wanted him gone.

"Stay away from me, all of you!" The bright light of a solar beam began concentrating around his flowers, and he was going to fire anyone that so much as took a step closer to him.

"I get it already! I do! I can go away and die by myself, so Just leave me alone already!"

 

[NebulaDreams]

Curio had slept off the hangover after a couple of days. She took that period to just let her mind and body process what was happening to her, without poisoning it with liquor this time. Even though she still didn’t reach a conclusion about herself, how she felt, or how she was going to get her life back together after the incident, she needed to walk it off instead of stewing in her own self pity. Easier said than done. Her legs felt like lead weights. Walking out of the dojo in a daze felt like deja vu to her at this point.

Perhaps it was time for Curio to check out the main square while she exercised her legs. Maybe she’d buy herself a little something as a pick-me-up. Where else was she going to mooch off of a murder-god’s bottomless bank? She went to find the dumpling stall where she bonded with Cynthian a while ago. But what she found instead was a possessed Cynthian with glowing, teary eyes.

Oh, no.

 

[Phoenixsong]

Skara froze as more light began building up in Cynthian's roses. No, no, no, this wasn't working, why was it so difficult just to get him to listen for ten seconds, how did this even happen in the first place, no— "Cynthian... c'mon, Cynthian, take it easy, no one's asking you to die! Please listen to me! I'm just trying to help! I won't touch you, I'm just asking, please, let's go sit down and talk somewhere safe, where we're not freaking out the townspeople, just to talk! Really!" Where were the others? Hadn't Diyem told anyone else who was on lookout duty? Anyone at all?

Wait, who was that over there? A riolu, making her way down the path. Wasn't that...

"Hey! Hey, uh... Curio?" Was that the right name? She was pretty sure that was the riolu's name. If it wasn't, oh, well—at least the townsfolk probably wouldn't think she was talking to them, so who else would she be calling, right? "I need help— Cynthian needs help— I think he's going to attack, I don't know what to do!"