Tree of Life ~ Interior

[Ambyssin]

The snap back to his own body was fast. Eerily fast. And Bahamut didn't need any time to collect himself. Strange. He looked down at Eien again. "A different promise, then. In exchange for delivering these... if the others can somehow rescue you, you will retire from your current 'occupation.' I do not care what you do with yourself after. You could teach or become an interdimensional historian or become a monk like I did. But no more intervening."

He rolled the poke ball into his bag where it plinked against the ultra stone. "Nate? Thank you for the device. Regrettably, it appears Eternatus has already been captured, so I can return this one to you later. You seem to have a lucky streak, so perhaps you'll stumble upon her poke ball by chance."

Doubtful, but not impossible. Anything went on this stupid planet.

Bahamut was about to size up the situation with Owen and Mewtwo when his head tendrils frazzled. There was a weird energy spike. Like what had transpired near the end of the last fight. A Z-Burst? But how? Everyone else was...

His eyes dimmed as he concentrated.

 

[Negrek]

Nate picked his way across the uneven floor, following Rocky with Xernatus at his side. He couldn't relax, even knowing that Diyem seemed to have Maple under control and Bahamut and Owen were handling the other problems. This place was so fucking creepy. It was hard to believe that something else wasn't going to leap out at them--hell, they knew there was at least one more fucking Soda out there, just waiting to cause trouble.

He stumbled when a voice abruptly sounded in his mind. Bahamut? The pokéball? Well, fuck. Shit. Well. It was worth a try.

When the fuck did Eien get caught? Had Silver done that? The mewtwo?

Nate hoped the mewtwo's pokéball had gotten destroyed along with the rest of Silver's shit. The guy had seemed to keep the mewtwo's pokéball close, so... Hopefully.

He thought at Bahamut, So what are we supposed to do? Just... leave her here?

Meanwhile, there was something even creepier in the air here than elsewhere in the tree. Rocky came to a stop a little ways from something that throbbed like a toothache. Some kind of eternatus-looking thing. Jesus. It was hard to imagine no one had noticed it here before.

"You feel that?" he asked Xernatus. "I'm going to try and break it."

He inspected the seal as well as he could from a safe distance. It definitely felt like he did not want to get close if he could help it. At least it didn't feel as pissy as the mewtwo, or much at all, really. No sense of presence, of being watched. Maybe there wasn't an actual parasite here? Maybe Nate wouldn't have to do a full-on exorcism or whatever had happened with Owen. That'd be nice.

Nate gathered water and shot a hydro pump at the seal, just to see what would happen.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Her soul has been hexed by Mewtwo. Much like Owen's mental block. Only hers is activated." Bahamut glanced at his wings. "The best chance to do anything beyond leaving her here lies with getting to Mewtwo. There's... a soul inside there. It's deep. But perhaps if I drain some of Mewtwo's corruption, Owen and I can try to reach it.

"The other option is capturing it and letting Dark Matter and Joule try to purge the corruption. But I am... unsure how feasible that is." Bahamut could do it. Use the Beacon and Phantasm techniques. Would that really do anything, though? As if he really had the ability to make a difference in these situations. He'd been given a kill switch. Even Eternatus knew that was what he was good for. And that sentiment didn't anger or upset him. It just... was.

 

[Negrek]

The fucking mewtwo. Nate grimaced. There sure as hell hadn't seemed like there was any way to get through to the guy. Not like he hadn't tried, but... Maybe he hadn't worked hard enough at it.

He hadn't. Definitely not. If Bahamut thought there was a way, then hell, he and Owen probably had a much better shot at it than he had.

After a moment, Nate replied, The mewtwo, yeah. You think there's some way to talk to him? I dunno if it would help, but if you have trouble getting through to him... Maybe showing him something from home would help him remember who he is? I can remember Kanto if you need. Like places he might have been, things he might remember. The world he's from ain't exactly like mine--dear God, Nate hoped his world's Giovanni hadn't disappeared because he fucked off to outer space looking for an eternatus--but it sounds pretty similar.

 

[Ambyssin]

"I'm aware of what Kanto is." Bahamut's head tendrils drooped. "I leveled my Viridian City when I disposed of my mewtwo and Giovanni. Eternatus dealt with the rest of Earth not long after. I don't remember the exact details. There was some sort of laser weapon that fired a beam into space involved. At least, that's what I saw from Mars."

Which is exactly why he needed to keep those memories stuffed down as much as possible.

 

[Negrek]

Good Christ. And Nate had almost managed to forget how much of a fucked-up bastard Bahamut was.

Yeah, well, the idea would be to be to remember it before it was a fucking crater. I sure as fuck hope the guy can't relate to that.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Well, that's the thing," Bahamut said. "If this mewtwo was under Giovanni's command until recently, it could be one from a world where he succeeded in his ambitions. So, it's never gotten a chance to experience things for itself. It might not have any happy memories or other things to cling to to fight blacklight corruption."

 

[Negrek]

I know. Don't seem like a reason not to try.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Very well."

Bahamut looked at Owen. "Eternatus' soul is blighted by Mewtwo. I think she has a more... advanced version of the block we found on you. One that's already active. If we're going to free her, we have to convince this thing to let her go." He didn't gesture to Mewtwo, because it seemed obvious. "I'm sensing a soul buried deep inside it. I could try draining some corruption to see if that helps you. Nate suggested trying to fill its head with pleasant thoughts... namely show it that there are good things about Kanto, where it probably came from.

"What do you think?"

 

[Namohysip]

"I... I don't know," Owen replied back. "I'm not sensing anything from him, so..." He shook his head. "That's just the body, though. I know now that there's a lot more to it than the body. I... I think we'll--"

Nate gathered water and shot a hydro pump at the seal, just to see what would happen.

It... worked.

Nate's Hydro Pump looked, briefly, like it was going to be siphoned away by the seal before it had a chance to go through. But then a new energy seemed to resonate with it, and Rocky felt a distant, distorting feeling like his vision, perhaps for the first time, was going blurry.

And then it was back to normal... only now, the seal was gone, faded into red, sparkling dust that, too, faded.

A sapling grew instantly from the sealed region, just on the ground in front of it. It grew and grew and looked vaguely like Xerneas' horns, the way the branches formed. And then, from one of the branches, a prismatic fruit grew and fell, weightless. It looked confused at first, bobbing left and right, but then saw Nate and floated over him. It looked like it wanted to follow Nate.

--

The ground was shaking again and Diyem looked up. "Hm. The Tree. Something changed." He stopped, making a startled grunt, as he turned away from Maple and Toward eien--then realized his mistake and glared at her again. But Maple hadn't even tried to strike. The twin dragons, one of Shadow and one of Radiance, were no longer brawling. "Maple. Are you aware of yourself?"

Maple stared dumbly, stumbling over her words. But she nodded.

"Good. We need... to leave."

"What?" Maple asked.

Diyem winced, then closed his eyes. Everyone. There is an unmistakable rise of Eterna energy coming from Eien. I do not think she is in control of herself anymore. Bahamut, what did you do? What is she planning? It feels as though she is about to attack everything! We have to evacuate!

What? No! Owen shouted. We were just about to free Mewtwo! We were going to mention Kanto, or fighting back, or happy memories!

...That must be why. Eien is being controlled to defend it.

No! We can't give up here! We almost had it!

 

[Ambyssin]

"Owen." Bahamut looked to the charizard. "What if you trapped me inside Protect shields with Mewtwo? Or both of us? I still have my shields from the Beacon. I can create more."

He was concentrating on the energy Eien had passed him. Maybe if he grasped it...

 

[Namohysip]

Owen looked worriedly at Eien, then at Mewtwo. "We have to go soon. H-how quickly can you warp us out if something goes wrong?"

But Owen already formed a Protect around Bahamut and Mewtwo. Once again, Mewtwo did not react immediately. Not until the barrier was closed around.

That was when Mewtwo lunged at Bahamut, a red, sparking hand reaching for Bahamut's prism.

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut threw both sets of wings up. Reaching toward that energy, he immediately threw a portal open, thinking of Diyem and Maple

"Restrain Mewtwo, now!" he roared.

"Or get a portal to Destiny Village's jail... or the Reverse World," the shade added, poking its goopy head out of the bag and looking at the portal.

 

[Namohysip]

Maple stared, open-mouthed, at Mewtwo, not taking any action. She was still stunned, perhaps still coming out of whatever stupor that Parasite had left her. There was a hint of recognition in her eyes.

But Mewtwo passed through the portal and Diyem was much faster to act. He blasted Mewtwo with Shadows first, enough to knock him off his footing. That red energy dissipated. Then, Diyem slammed his paw on the ground; more Shadows erupted from the earth into a great, Shadowy hand that grasped Mewtwo on all sides. Diyem snarled, then. "You are weak. You cannot fight back against me."

Owen dispelled his tree and tried what he could to regain his strength on the way back, panting hard.

"Eien's going to--do something! She's charging up a massive attack!"

"I know. We need to go." Diyem said. "I... we..."

But, suddenly, he stopped. He was looking at nothing, but still looking far and away.

"...Eien..."

--

Diyem stood in a storm of Eterna energy. The winds ravaged the landscape and uprooted ethereal trees and boulders alike. But all was quiet to him. The Abyssal Dragon could only stare at the faded, distorted form of Eien, neither Charizard nor Eternatus, but something between, her face split open to five prism heads that all stared every which way. One was looking at Eien.

"...Eien..." Diyem's voice was normal, here.

"Ah... I'm glad... I could make... one last link..."

Diyem said nothing. He could tell that their time was fleeting, and yet he had no words. They'd all fallen away.

"I hope... you can forgive me, Diyem. Oh... I know that that is beyond you... it is something that you can't--"

"I do," Diyem said, and the moment he did, his foreleg spurted with black liquid. "I forgive... everything you've done." More darkness spurted from him like gushing wounds. He winced, but he continued to speak. "I am here to save you. I am still going to save you." He knelt, unable to withstand the pain while standing. His chest had countless cuts and gashes. "I want nothing more than to be by your side again... And to put all of this behind us. I... love... you, Eien. I love you! And I do not CARE what my nature dictates otherwise!" He retched, vomiting shadows, as his body half-evaporated.

"Diyem..." Eien laughed. She, too, was in pain as the chains dug into her and pulled her underground. "I..." Just her upper body remained. "I... hate you."

The Abyssal Dragon flinched.

"I hate... what you've done. Your past... you... are an impure soul. You will never... improve. I've never loved you. I will never forgive... the sins of your past... the powers you have stolen... the lives you have taken... The Overseers should have sealed you away. You... deserve nothing. And when I see you again... I will fight you without restraint... and if you know anything in that puny... pathetic mind of yours... You shall do the same to me."

She glared, snarling, as just her head remained above the chains. All of Diyem's wounds had disappeared completely and the Shadows flared across his system.

Diyem smiled, chuckling. And Eien smiled back.

"You almost got me," he said.

And then the link severed.

--

Diyem awoke to find that his paw had completely enveloped Mewtwo. When he pulled his paw away... he saw nothing but a petrified statue. He stared at it in awe, but then realized that the whole world felt like it was shaking.

"We will go. Now."

Xernatus, finally getting close to them, shouted, "Eien is about to attack! We're out of--"

"It's fine. Let's go. Leave the Tree."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut had crashed down beside Diyem after going through the portal. “Do I have to carry Ms. Stupor?” He pointed a dim wing at Maple.

 

[Negrek]

The seal broke, and some kind of tree sprouted from the ground below it. Nate stared as it grew and unfurled and dropped some kind of prismatic fruit. Well, okay. At least the fruit seemed friendly.

After that, things happened very fast.

Bahamut! Owen! What the fuck is-- But he couldn't make any sense of what was going on, catching flashes of sensation and the margins of telepathic words as he staggered blindly towards the chamber with Eien. Something about the mewtwo, and maple, and then the whole place started shaking again like it was going to collapse.

Diyem was shouting for everyone to get out. Nate growled and looked over in the direction of Eien's chamber. They weren't about to run out and leave her here again, were they? What the fuck had happened?

We have to go! Diyem said! Rocky shouted in his head, and he turned away again, reluctantly. Yeah. What the fuck was he going to do about it, anyway? He scowled and ran as fast as he could, which wasn't very fast, for the entrance.

They were deep in the tree, and Xernatus had already taken off, rushing back towards the entrance. It felt like it would take an age to escape.

The ground shook, and Nate stumbled. Can I come out now? Rocky asked, rolling just ahead of him.

"Well, seeing as all hell's breaking loose already, I guess it can't hurt," Nate panted, pushing himself back into an unsteady run.

Rocky's ectoplasm streamed and unfurled from his core, which floated up into its usual spot as his chest took shape. The infernape looked down at Nate, eyes glowing with mischief, easily keeping ahead of the marshtomp.

"What?" Nate wheezed after a minute.

"I could carry you."

"Go to hell," Nate growled, but Rocky kept grinning at him. The entrance was still very, very far away. Nate staggered a bit farther, swore under his breath, and stopped. Rocky stopped, too.

"Fine," Nate muttered, and after that, there wasn't anything more for him to do than keep an eye on the fruit, make sure it was keeping up.

 

[Namohysip]

After a quick headcount, Diyem determined that everyone, plus one Maple and Mewtwo statue, were present. They ran for the exit swiftly, just as the ground started to rumble. Xernatus stopped and focused behind them.

"Stop falling behind!" Diyem roared.

"Closing the entrance again!" Xernatus said, but then Diyem's tail wrapped around his torso and lifted him off the ground. He protested, but was powerless against Diyem as he and Maple ran side-by-side out the Tree...

--

They didn't stop running until the distortive aura faded, but that was only because of distance. Diyem turned to face the Tree, as did Xernatus and the others. Maple looked pained, and not just because there was still a hole in her chest that led to her Voidlands. No, the Tree...

"...And so, despite everything..." Diyem sighed. "Once again, the Tree of Life falls."

Cracks of Blacklight and Eterna energy raced along the trunk and into the branches. The leaves were all a warped red color. Whole segments of wood blew off at random portions of the tree, and from within, Eterna Blacklight haze spewed out. A storm was brewing with the Tree itself its center and source. It was expanding...

"We must return to Destiny Village."

"But what about all the Pokemon that live here?" Xernatus said worriedly. "They'll get caught up in that storm, and--"

"There is nothing we can do here," Diyem said. "We need to regroup. Eien... will handle this. She will mitigate it as much as she can. I have faith in her." He looked at Bahamut, then Maple. "Help each other make a portal back. Neither of you have the strength for it, but together..."

The low, constant rumble of the Tree's storm got steadily louder. With how far they'd run, it would be only an hour before it would get to them at its current growth rate.

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut frowned. The longer he stayed with everyone, the worse the chances were of someone sensing the energy Eien had given him. And that wasn't going to work. Not now.

Besides, no one in the group would care if he went off on his own. He just had to concent— why was a goopy tendril producing his badge?

... oh, right.

He swiped it immediately.

[S0urdough > Pop]: Can you sense me? I need urgent transport to Destiny Tower. Just me. No one else. This is, quite literally, a matter of life and death.

 

[Negrek]

"Well, shit," Nate said, staring at the churning storm of energy that gushed from the ruins of the tree. Fuck's sake. They'd been so close. They'd been so goddamned close.

After a minute or so he started to struggle in Rocky's grasp. "Put me down, you fuck."

The familiar absently set the marshtomp back on his feet. He was more preoccupied with Xernatus than anybody else. That was his home getting ripped apart. Even if he was a creepy bug like Marshtomp said, it still hurt to think of him being sad. And like he said, all the other pokémon...

At least they had whatever had come out of the tree with them. A piece of Xerneas, maybe? Rocky bet Pop would be able to tell them what it was.

 

[Namohysip]

[Pop > S0ourdough]: Understood. Locating you now. What about the others?

Maple was struggling to get a portal forming, but she seemed to be having trouble. Diyem glanced at Bahamut.

"...Are you unable to form one? ...Very well. We shall wait for Maple to gather her strength. We have... time."

But then, Bahamut disappeared, and moments later, Joule appeared to replace the Necrozma-shaped void in everyone's heart just then. Except the portal he came from was not a traditional one--as it now appeared that Maple had a new head coming out of her chest.

"Ah. Hello!" Joule greeted cheerfully, looking very transparent. "I have come to the rescue! Ah, hello, Maple."

"J... Joule...?" Maple struggled to look down to see him.

"Hello! Well, this is certainly not a means to get inside of you that I expected!"

Maple shoved Joule back into the portal.

"N-now, hold on, hold on! I believe I overheard a need for a way home?"

Maple sighed, but then saw the incoming storm and nodded. Joule quietly channeled energy into her--and it was just enough to make a stable portal out.

"Okay," Owen said. "Let's go! Back home, and, uhh..." He glanced worriedly at the storm. "Y-yeah. Let's try to plan something quick..."

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