Treasure Town ~ Main Square

[NebulaDreams]

"I'm only the first idiot to get hit by one of those slugs, huh?" Cynthian said with a bitter chuckle. "My head hurts. It was like every fear I've ever had, every doubt, every anxious thought became the only things real to me. It was awful. I was so scared."

She didn't really know if Cynthian was the first one to get hit with those slugs, but she didn't care either. "Yeah, I could tell it dredged up some stuff in ya. That thing freakin' scared me as well, not gonna lie."

"I said stupid things, didn't I? It was..." It was what? Should he say they were all lies spouted in his madness? Could he confidently say that deep down, he didn't think them all to be true? Cynthian felt a lump forming in his throat, keeping him from speaking further.

"It doesn't matter. All I know is that thing was in you, and now it's gone. Don't worry about what you said."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"It doesn't matter. All I know is that thing was in you, and now it's gone. Don't worry about what you said."

"Okay..." At first Cynthian wanted to argue, but he refrained from doing so. He had already told Curio he trusted her, hadn't he? It wasn't a lie, and that wasn't ever going to change.

Cynthian tried to push himself up, but all he could do was groan. "Sorry, could you help me sit up right?"

 

[NebulaDreams]

"There you go, buddy." Curio extended a paw and gently pulled him up.

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian was glad to be able to sit up, and he leaned his entire weight against Curio. Not that he weighed much to begin with.

He stared at his surroundings quietly for a bit, taking in the moment as well as ignoring the crowd that were beginning to disperse with the commotion over.

The slug was motionless with its body littered with the green Sleep Powder spores inside Skara's jar. Cynthian averted his eyes from it. It was the last thing he wanted to be staring at.

"Thank you, Curio, Skara, for saving me. I don't know what could've happened... What I might have done, if either of you weren't here," Cynthian said with a long exhausted sigh. "Today was probably the worst day I've had since..."

Cynthian stared vacantly at the ground in thought. "I'd never wish upon anyone what I've experienced thanks to that... slug thing. Up until now, I've just been pulling myself along, wondering where I fit or what I should even be doing or how..."

He pushed himself up a bit with a hint of resolve in his eyes. "I want to be able to help others that are going through what I just did, and also help stop whatever is happening to this world. I'm still scared, and I'm not sure I won't falter." Cynthian looked down at his flowers, then he curled the petals tighter. "However, I'll keep trying... and maybe I'll change. Mama Zahra said Mama Rosa was the bravest Roserade she knew. I want to become someone she could be proud of just like her."

 

[NebulaDreams]

"Thank you, Curio, Skara, for saving me. I don't know what could've happened... What I might have done, if either of you weren't here," Cynthian said with a long exhausted sigh. "Today was probably the worst day I've had since..."

Cynthian stared vacantly at the ground in thought. "I'd never wish upon anyone what I've experienced thanks to that... slug thing.

Curio patted his back in the most dad-liest way possible. "I know exactly how ya feel. I went through some shit a few days ago and--" she sighed--"I never wanna experience that again. That feeling doesn't complete go away; it comes and goes in waves. But it's better now."

"I want to be able to help others that are going through what I just did, and also help stop whatever is happening to this world. I'm still scared, and I'm not sure I won't falter." Cynthian looked down at his flowers, then he curled the petals tighter. "However, I'll keep trying... and maybe I'll change. Mama Zahra said Mama Rosa was the bravest Roserade she knew. I want to become someone she could be proud of just like her."

"Sounds like a good plan there, bud. You're already halfway there."

 

[Adamhuarts]

Curio patted his back in the most dad-liest way possible. "I know exactly how ya feel. I went through some shit a few days ago and--" she sighed--"I never wanna experience that again. That feeling doesn't complete go away; it comes and goes in waves. But it's better now."

"Oh, I hadn't heard about that. I would've been there for you too if I'd known," Cynthian said with concern. "I suppose we all have our struggles, but you've taught me I don't have to face mine alone anymore. I'm grateful for that."

"Sounds like a good plan there, bud. You're already halfway there."

"You mean that? Thank you!" Cynthian said with a silly, yet genuine smile.

 

[NebulaDreams]

"You mean that? Thank you!" Cynthian said with a silly, yet genuine smile.

“No problem, bud.” She looked around. The chaos was calming down a bit. “Now let’s blow this popsicle stand. Not before we get some icepops ourselves. You want some?”

 

[Adamhuarts]

“No problem, bud.” She looked around. The chaos was calming down a bit. “Now let’s blow this popsicle stand. Not before we get some icepops ourselves. You want some?”

"Sure thing, I absolutely would love some." Cynthian said, still hanging onto Curio. He then had a look of dumbfounded realization on his face after sensing an odd emptiness within his body.

"I actually... feel hungry right now. Being possessed by that slug actually took that much out of me?" It was a sensation he rarely ever felt. The last time he felt hunger had been years now... "Maybe we should get more than just popsicles. How about that steamed buns stand? I'd probably be able to eat more now."

Cynthian chuckled, then he glanced at Skara and the jarred slug. "I guess we'll be heading off, Skara. Sorry we couldn't properly meet under better circumstances."

 

[NebulaDreams]

"Yeah, sure. I need somethin' to fill me up after these past few days of not eating much and drinking a lot." She turned to Skara as well. "Thanks, by the way."

With that, Curio headed out of the square with Cynthian, forgetting the past worries of the slug incident.

 

[Phoenixsong]

"I'm just glad Curio showed up to help," Skara said, apparently more comfortable looking at the powder-frosted shade than directly at Cynthian. "I hope you feel better soon. And thank you," she added to Curio as the riolu turned and left.

Skara waited for the two of them to disappear before slowly making her own way back toward where they were staying. Probably best to put this one safely away with the rest for now. Maybe later, after the panicked jangling of her nerves had subsided, she could give that "questioning" angle a try? There was so much they still didn't understand about these things, so much they might be able to do or research or prepare for if they had a better handle on whatever these creatures were... but yeah, that was definitely a Later Skara problem. Right now what she needed was a little time to breathe.

<><><><><><>​

 

[Namohysip]

Several days had passed with no sign of Starr or Brisa, yet Giratina and Arceus were both confident that they would turn up soon. While the Reverse World was vast, it was not impossibly so, and he had put his faith in Giratina to eventually find their presence. She started with the most remote parts of the Reverse World just in case they had wound up there, but thankfully that was not the case.

Still, everyone was worried about them.

So it came as a great relief--something that Diyem had to pause to quell so it did not harm him too badly--when their presences suddenly popped back into his senses in the middle of Treasure Town.

A black circle appeared on the ground, and a few Pokemon yelped in surprise and fled. Two hazy figures were thrust out of the portal, which closed as they went airborne. By the time they landed, the spectral haze dripped and evaporated off of them, revealing...

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr's vision had gone blurry. Ghostly fog clung to her, obscuring her surroundings. But when it faded, she suddenly had to squint as her eyes burned. After days and days of darkness, the overwhelming glare of sunlight was too much.

Wait... sunlight.

She hardly dared to believe it. Slowly, she opened her eyes a crack, forcing them to adjust. Her paws were resting on the dirt of the familiar well-worn path through the heart of Treasure Town.

Relief. A smothering, all-consuming wave of it, hitting her in the face like a truck.

They were home.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Home at last.

Brisa stood tall, and closed her eyes for a moment, to feel the sun on her fur and a breeze against her face. She looked around at the place she'd longed to return to, and for a fleeting moment, she felt at ease. She finally took a breath that felt worth taking.

Diyem and company, this is Brisa and Starr reportin' in from Treasure Town Main Square. We're safe, but could use some food and medical attention.

She desperately wanted to lie down on the ground and bask in the relief, but she couldn't. Not yet. Not until she was sure they'd be okay. Not if there was a chance another incident had occurred. Not while Starr still needed help.

"Starr?" said Brisa, voice unsteady. "You're here. You're okay. Good."

She looked about for members of the posse, and wondered if she should try using her badge to make contact...

 

[NebulaDreams]

After that episode with the Shade, Curio wandered around the Grass Continent for any sign of them. Having a brainslug of her own didn't seem like such a bad prospect at this point -- she just had to avoid getting possessed by one of them. But her efforts were fruitless as she found neither tail nor, er, tail, of this monstrosity. So a few days passed and she still hadn't heard about Brisa and Starr. Sure, she knew they were somewhere in the Reverse World, but that was of little consolation. What were they doing there? Were they alright? If that brainslug said they weren't, then that news would've spread throughout the whole team by now.

Curio considered tagging along with her other teammates. She wondered how Astrid was doing. She hoped Cynthian was okay. That Mewtwo was still on her mind -- it was like finding Arceus' likeness on a cornchip, or in a brainslug. Then--

Diyem and company, this is Brisa and Starr reportin' in from Treasure Town Main Square. We're safe, but could use some food and medical attention.

Brisa's voice. Curio ran to the Main Square, looking for any sign of that feline duo, until she spotted them in the dirt-caked path snaking through Treasure Town. She walked up slowly to them until the two were in full view.

She didn't know what to say to Brisa yet.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Curio.

Curio was standing there.

Sky and stars, how many days had it been since that goodbye in Spinda Cafe? At least a week, surely. Brisa wanted to run to Curio, if she even had the bodily strength to manage it. She wanted to run from Curio. She wanted to hope that Curio would run to her, but refused to imagine it, because what if it didn't happen? She was stuck, staring.

Just... don't do anything. Don't say anything that might be the wrong thing to say, don't say anything that might make you cry. You can't cry until it's over. And it's not over until you're alone.

Something burst inside her chest.

"...Curio?"

 

[Namohysip]

A creeping shadow still lingered even after the portal disappeared, bright, pinpricks of light in the very middle of that splotch. This shadow silently moved toward Starr and Brisa, and then surfaced next to the Shinx of the duo.

"Khhh..."

It was a Mimikyu, and a familiar one at that. A black tendril emerged from the coverings and prodded at Brisa's left.

"...Weak," Leg commented, and then another tendril emerged from the disguise, this one with a small apple.

 

[NebulaDreams]

Something burst inside her chest.

"...Curio?"

Brisa seemed torn. That Mimikyu didn't really help matters either, but--

Ah, screw it. Curio ran up to Brisa and wrapped her arms around her, squeezing her gently.

"Thank god you're here."

 

[Namohysip]

Running from the dojo and straight to the guild, like tunnel vision, was a little Charmander with a comically tall pile of berries and other items in his arms that he may have stockpiled in the dojo for this very moment. He hadn't even noticed Brisa and Starr while he cut corners, and as quickly as he had arrived, he was gone for Wigglytuff's.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Hold it in. Hold it in.

Brisa slowly, carefully, hesitantly, put her forelimbs around Curio and pressed herself close, leaning her head against the riolu's shoulder. She took a shuddering breath and braced herself against sobs she couldn't afford to allow herself. She tried to speak, but could only manage a meagre, strangled noise, woefully insufficient to express the twister of emotion ripping through her chest.

Hold it in. Be strong.

"I- Curio, I..."

Hold it the fuck in, goddamnit.

Three years. No, four. Longer? When was the last time she'd been hugged?

The sobs came after all, and she clung to Curio like she'd never let go.

 

[NebulaDreams]

Curio rubbed Brisa's back as she let it all out. Wow, she really wasn't expecting all the waterworks to flood out like this. Curio didn't join in herself, but she kept close to Brisa, not wanting to let go either.

"Are you and Starr alright? What on earth happened to y'all?"