Tree of Life ~ Exterior

[IFBench]

"Yeah! We could use one of those red and white spheres to bring Eien there!" Saltriv said.

 

[Fusion]

"Eien? Eternatus? Do you really think that something like that is inside the Tree of Life? When you told me that, I went out of my way to do a deep dive into the tree's very core and I found nothing."

"Wait, but we know Eien is in the tree. If you went into the core yourself, wouldn't you, like... get corrupted by her or something?" Vix asked, her eyes floating around to stare at the deer god. Her shadow stared as well, but moreso in thought than the chandelier.

"Cola and I knew that, and nobody listened..." Puddle muttered, bubbling.

Vix titled her head, puzzled. "Cola?" Puddle pointed at the wispy child god in the golden bubble. "...is that Arceus' shadow? Can Arceus even have a shadow?"

"He is not Arceus."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut didn’t meet anyone’s gaze. “There’s an alien in there and I wouldn’t expect you to be able to detect it. Not even Arceus can. She is there, though. Shielding herself from corruption by using the tree.”

 

[Fusion]

"Oh, sweet, that's two of us that know for sure that Eien is in the tree," Vix chirped, then waved to Bahamut. "Howdy, also."

She looked back up to Xerneas, or rather her eyes did while her body tried to scoop Puddle into its stone. "I get that you might not trust our word about what's happening inside your tree, but you already allowed Diyem to resurrect us so I feel like there's some trust there. I also don't want speak bad about your ability to inspect your domain, but a second investigation inside the tree, with someone all of us can trust, would be in order?"

"I would suggest someone that wouldn't be effected by the Blacklight's corruption, but the only people I know of that aren't are a part of Team Spectrum. And maybe Maple."

 

[Namohysip]

"That assumes we can get to Eien at all," Maple hummed. "Capturing someone like Eien does not sound like an easy task. We would probably have to subdue her..."

"So, a fight no matter how we look at it," Owen said, arms crossed and tail thumping on the ground.

Xerneas only glared at Puddle, then Vix, associating the two immediately. "I think you have been pushing your luck," he said.

"Perhaps we can inspect it later," Truffle said. "If we do discover something, I don't think you're at the proper strength to fight anyway. Let's gather some time to recover. Until then, perhaps we can station a few people here to observe any changes."

 

[Fusion]

"I am sensing that something happened before we showed up..." Vix hummed. "In which case, Puddle and I will sit out of that observation thing. The last thing we need is to get under people's skin. Fur... I think I was right the first time actually."

"Calming Eien might not be all that difficult. We do have Diyem after all, whether she's corrupted out of her mind or not, he'd be able to reach her a lot easier than the rest of us," Vix thought aloud, then shook her head. "But we can save the planning for later."

"Yeah, we don't need blue bitch to know everything," Puddle muttered, getting a smack on the stone from Vix. Her shadow snorted, and got a smack as a reward as well.

 

[Disco]

Raven's feathery crest flared a bit at Xerneas' words. There was something strange about his behavior indeed...

She decided not to press it and followed the others as they began to leave.

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut lay down on his side. “I have no one to catch up with, so I guess I’ll be hanging with Mr. Toothpaste.” He gestured vaguely in Xerneas’ direction.

 

[Fusion]

"Well I guess I'm no one then," Vix pouted, then snickered and waved a goodbye. "Have fun, Bahamut."

"Not gonna stay with him for a bit?" Puddle asked.

"Not since you messed something up, no. That, and I'd really only be sleeping, and I'm fairly certain nobody would want to hang out with someone who's not even awake."

Her Shadow rubbed its cheek from getting slapped, huffing as it followed her out. "The both of you could meditate, that's probably the only shit y'all got in common now."

Vix shrugged. "Maybe later."

 

[Disco]

When Bahamut made no move to move, and instead opted to not move at all, Raven paused. ...He shouldn't just stay by himself, should he...? ...The familiar turned and went back to where he lay, and promptly sat next to him. She didn't say anything if he asked, only smiled and got comfortable herself. Mellow was fine on her own.

 

[Namohysip]

"Let's not bother them too much," Maple advised Vix and Puddle. "Bahamut, if you sense anything suspicious, let us know. Any sudden or odd changes beyond what we already can tell..." She nodded at him, then at Raven. "Take care. We will keep in touch."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut raised a wing to wave it half-heartedly. "Be sure to sweep up the guild. Heaven knows the lovesick kitties and their third wheel ninetales will shed all over the place rolling around together."

 

[Namohysip]

"Good thing scales are easier to clean," Owen remarked idly, giving a wave of farewell to Bahamut as he headed into the portal.

As more people shuffled out, Maple arranged for one from God Squad to remain behind to help protect Bahamut from any odd threats. Buddy system. The one who volunteered to stay this time was Potluck, who happily pranced over to Bahamut and crouched down, as if ready to pounce--though he never did. His fishtail wagged.

 

[Disco]

Raven smiled up at the one that was joining them. She had no reference or idea what he was, but he seemed friendly! The Charmeleon shuffled over to make room for him in next to her and Bahamut.

 

[Ambyssin]

Still lying on his side, Bahamut looked at Potluck. He hadn't really been in a small group with the... whatever he was. And the first thing that came to mind was the helmeted variant skulking around back on Etherium. The stark, raving lunatic espousing his love for Eternatus and trying to get others to sacrifice themselves to it.

"Err... I don't have any treats." Bahamut glanced at his bag and remembered he still had the ball... along with other toys he'd taken because he was bored. He pulled it out with a lower wing. It squeaked when he squeezed it.

 

[Namohysip]

Potluck's tail wagged a little more. "That's okay," he said, perhaps unaware. "I just wanted to hang out with you while Joule is recovering! Thanks for rescuing him, by the way... I was really worried that he'd be really badly hurt."

He crawled over and sat between Raven and Bahamut.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

At last, the aching in Brisa's chest softened, and she could speak, and raise her head, and be a whole person outside that warm embrace.

"Is... is everyone through safely?" she asked, quietly.

Starr's grip slackened enough to let her look around at the assembled pokémon. Not everyone, but plenty, to be sure. Owen was there, safe, still a charizard. Some other, larger figures—she'd have to congratulate Cabot and Vix on their evolutions. Where was—

"Dave!"

He was safe. And nearby, and straight back to being smaller than her by a fair margin. Shadow, too. That was oddly comforting, actually. She wondered if Sombra was here to stay, too.

You know it, partner.

Hmm.

Dave was okay, but alone (besides his Shadow.) She flicked an ear and her tail to motion him over. Did he and Starr even really know each other? Whatever. She fucking wanted to have them both nearby, so she damn well would.

 

[Ambyssin]

"You're welcome." It was a brief, polite answer. "You seem to be the only member of your team who's rather cheerful about your bosses. You the team mascot?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Mascot?" Potluck asked, tilting his head. "I dunno. But everyone's cheerful about our bosses! They just show it in different ways! Leg likes to cuddle up with Bla--I mean, Maple when she's asleep. And Soda really respects Maple and Joule, too, you know, since he owes a lot to them and stuff. Truffle is the same way. Flesh, um... Well I think he likes Maple!" He sighed, his cheek bolts glowing a soft green color reminiscent of a healthy field. "And we're all happy that Joule's back. He was really the light of our lives!"

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave's ears perked, listening to the talk about Eternatus. Diyem'd been adamant she was corrupted beyond repair and had to be killed, but here Bahamut of all people was saying she was fighting back and could be saved. Well.

But right now he really didn't want to get in there to fight Eternatus. He just wanted to go back to Destiny Village and find Mia and get a goddamn drink and...

Oh. Brisa was... calling him over?

He padded over to her, questioningly. Even as a Mightyena, Starr looked like she could pick him up and use him as a fucking basketball. Cibus was determined to not let him just enjoy finally having evolved, wasn't it.