They stood outside of the stadium, Petey focusing on using Life Dew, the same technique he used to heal the woman who restored him. He washed all of the dirt, debris and bacteria from Marko's wounds, the defiant Perrserker using Fire Punch to singe his own flesh, closing the wounds as his hands throbbed with an intense pain.
"We gotta get you to the Pokemon Center." Dagda said, and Marko grit his teeth, hating the feeling of pain that crippled his thoughts. Allister looked to Dagda, pulling his mask off and shaking his head.
"We should head to The Glimmer. There's a healer there than can do a better job than any Pokemon Center." he said, and Dagda looked to his smaller friend. He wanted to disagree, but the look of determination on his face said that he wasn't lying.
He nodded, and Allister led them through the small town and into the black forest, the small Halfling able to determine his location by the specific glowing mushrooms he saw. He knew that there were multiple large mushrooms in a line, almost like a pathway leading to the small village.
"Can this healer really help Marko?" Dagda asked, the duo keeping a brisk jogging pace, the trainer choosing to return his Pokemon so that they could make it to the village without losing each other. Allister nodded. "If anyone can, it's Miko."
Pops looked out into the forest, his honed senses able to tell that Allister and Dagda were on their way despite the late hour. And he noticed that they were moving quickly, as if they were in a hurry. Something about that made him worry ever so slightly. He cast a glance to his side. "Can you head out and greet them? They seem to be frustrated." he asked, receiving a silent nod as the figure moved out.
Dagda felt his legs throb, the pain from the shockwaves in his battle, and the damage he suffered from the flames and residual energy from the Alcremie's attacks left his body slightly worn, and he hoped they reached their goal soon. "How much farther?" Dagda asked, surprised that the small male could keep pace with his broader, longer strides.
"You guys seem to be in a rush." they heard, both of them hesitating at the sound of a voice. Dagda could discern that it was male, and that it was coming from deeper in, the duo standing in an area with very few glowing mushrooms to light the way. Dagda didn't have time for this. He grit his teeth, his temper starting to flare.
"I don't care who you are, just get out of our way!" He shouted, hearing a laugh as a figure, almost humanoid in shape, began to come into view. Dagda strained his eye, trying to make out what it was. Allister took a stance with his hands spread by his chest, almost like a low grappling stance.
The figure that came into view surprised them both. He looked older, and his green scales seemed less lustrous than they should have been. He had a very calm demeanor, and he sighed. "Relax. You guys are going the wrong way and I was sent to bring you to the village." he said, the duo hesitating before following the mysterious alligator like Pokemon.
"So, you're Dagda, huh? I've heard a lot about you. Got the whole village talkin' about ya." he said, the trio maintaining a brisk pace. Dagda narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?" he asked, and the Pokemon laughed. "I didn't introduce myself, huh? My bad, it's a bad habit I've had for the last century or so. Name's Boris. I came to Galar to help build up the village with some friends." he said, and Allister tilted his head.
"I believe I've heard of you. You're the former sixteen time World Dancing Champion, Boris of the Swift Step." he noted, and the Feraligatr began to laugh. "I haven't heard that name in ages. But yeah, that's me. Although, I was told that you would be a little more… bold." he said, struggling to find the right word for it.
"When I was told who you were, I expected some fiendish monster with a taste for human flesh, but I guess you shouldn't judge someone based off their family." he mused, more to himself. Whatever he was saying, it was completely lost on both young men, the duo noticing a path of huge, glowing mushrooms on either side of them.
When Dagda first stepped foot in Glimwood Village, he was surprised. It was rather small, and many of the buildings, even the houses themselves, were in construction. Of the few buildings finished, he saw an infirmary, a cafe, and a few houses. He couldn't tell what half of the unfinished buildings were, but he noticed that one of them looked like a theatre.
"Glad to see you made it back in one piece." Pops said, approaching with two other men that were just as intimidating, their appearances all starkly different while maintaining very few similarities. Boris nodded, wandering off as if he'd just finished a job.
"Allister, I hate to be a bother, but would you mind taking Dagda's Pokemon to the Infirmary? I'd like to introduce him." he said, and Allister nodded, Dagda willingly handing over his Pokemon to his friend, the trio of titans leading him towards the largest house that was completed.
When they entered, Dagda noticed that it was rather large, and rather nice. They all sat in a large living room area, the two titans sitting on opposite ends of a couch while Pops sat in a random chair, Dagda opting to sit on the floor, something that the two titans narrowed their eyes at.
"Not even gonna bother, huh? Just right to the floor." the middle one, a huge man with blue eyes asked, the smallest of the trio rolling his eyes. "This place is still under construction. Do you know how hard Packer has been working to forge furniture and such? Leave it alone." he said, the middle titan rolling his eyes.
"Forgive their brash attitudes. They've spent a lot of time together both at home and at work." Pops said, Dagda wondering exactly how the three men were connected. "I would like to introduce you to Loki, and Susano'o. Susano'o is the short one, and we just call him 'Draug'. They're my little brothers."
Dagda was surprised to say the least. The three of these vastly different looking people were all brothers? Dagda found it hard to believe that Halflings could vary in appearance this much. Infact, he struggled to believe it at all, especially with Loki, who had blue eyes and horns.
"If you're wondering why we all look different, it's because we're technically half brothers. Halflings can inherit different features from different parents. It's why Loki is the only one of us with blue eyes." he said, and Loki rolled his eyes.
"You idiots are never gonna let me live it down, huh? Not having red eyes." he said, and Pops chuckled. "Draug is the only one with a tail in human form, why don't you pick on him for that?" he asked, and Loki remained silent, rolling his eyes.
Dagda picked up on one thing during this insane conversation. "Human form?" he asked, and Pops blinked, realizing that Dagda was unaware. "Yeah. Us Halflings, particularly us stronger Halflings, have the ability to enter alternate forms. Our strongest, most primal and natural form is called 'Therian'. It makes us look like humanoid Pokemon and increases our size and strength immensely." he explained.
"And some of us, mostly the strongest and oldest, have the ability to turn completely into the Pokemon we share DNA with. Of course, for hybrid Halflings, that is much harder to do." he said, and Dagda blinked. "Hybrids?"
Loki slapped his forehead, standing up and scratching his horns. "This kid is oblivious to everything. I'm gonna go check up on the musik school and the theater. Hopefully construction is coming along alright." he said, walking off agitated.
"Forgive our brother. He's the most short tempered of us, even more so than our older sister." Draug said, flipping through a book, his legs crossed casually. "Hybrid Halflings are just that, young Dagda. When two Halflings of different species have children, the child is normally born with a combination of their features and traits. For example, the woman running the Infirmary is a Hybrid Halfling." he said.
Dagda remembered hearing about her. He knew nothing about her but her name, Miko, and the immense healing powers she was in possession of according to Allister. "Allister mentioned her to me. A woman named Miko."
Pops nodded. "Precisely. You see, Miko is one of Allister's friends, and she's also the village's healer. She had to fight with her father to get permission to come here, but thankfully her mother can get the old man to give in." he said, blinking when he realized he was rambling.
"To put it short, Miko's full name is Miko Fertilesoil. Her mother is Glenda, who is a Blissey Halfling, and her father is my Uncle Vraakas, who is a Landorus Halfling." he said, and Dagda blinked. Wasn't Landorus a legendary Pokemon? Since when could they breed with humans? Since when would they?
"If you're confused, don't be. Landorus is a pain in the ass, but he's mellowed out in his old age so him having kids makes perfect sense. It's a wonder what having kids will do to ya." Pops said. Dagda narrowed his eyes. Did Pops have children? Were they here in the village?
Allister sighed as he sat with Miko. She had gone over most of Dagda's Pokemon, who were completely fine, but she struggled with Marko. He was having a very hard time dealing with her diagnosis.
She had said that he was going to make a full recovery, his flesh, nerves, tissue and fur all repaired within a day or so by her incredible, almost divine healing prowess. However, the one thing she couldn't heal was his shattered claws, broken off even at the hilt within his hands.
The Viking Cat wandered off, Allister frowning as he stared after him. "I.. I told Dagda to skip the Pokemon Center. I thought his claws could be fixed." he said, and Miko smiled.
She was the spitting image of her parents. Her hair was pink and white, fluffy and hanging around her chubby face, her short stature and rotund body making her appear much closer to her mother, the most noticeable feature from her father being the thick brown tail she wrapped around her waist.
"Relax, Alli. If I couldn't do anything, a Pokemon Center couldn't either. His claws are sadly gone. Maybe he can find help somewhere in the village, but if he can't, it's not your fault."
Allister frowned, looking in the direction the cat stumbled off into, all of Dagda's Pokemon taking their leave independently, feeling a rush of energy in this odd place. "I don't know what to tell him."
Miko sighed. "You've never gotten this worked up about anybody. What's different about this guy?" she asked, her pink eyebrow raised suggestively. Allister frowned, grumbling to himself before sighing. "He's my friend, Miko. You know I don't have a lot of those." he said, and she giggled.
"Miss Miko!" they heard, the two turning to see a boy with blue skin pattering into the room, looking for the head nurse. When he spotted her, he smiled. His gaze moved past her, to the boy sitting besides her, garbed in clothes that he could tell were made by the Troupe's costume designer.
"Miss Miko, Bossman says that he wants to see you. He just arrived from home and said that one of the flight attendants is sick." he spoke, and she smiled, sighing as she rose to her feet. Miko turned to Allister. "Keep your spirits up. That smile of yours is special." she said, patting Kenny on the head before heading off.
Kenny stared at Allister, who seemed to notice when he looked back at him. What exactly did this blue skinned young man want? "Can I help you?" he asked, and Kenny shook his head, his ears wiggling as if he was just broken out of a trance. His nose twitched, and he noticed a second scent on Allister.
"You were with Dagda? Is he here in the village?" he asked, and Allister blinked, rising to his feet as the two began to walk out of the infirmary. "Do you know Dagda? He's a close friend of mine." Allister said, starting to smile. Kenny beamed, nodding.
"Bossman sponsors him, so I've done a bit of marketing and shopping for him. Let me introduce you to the Boss!" he said, leading Allister in the direction of the half built theater. On the way, he noticed a large number of Pokemon moving about despite the hour. They worked diligently, trying to finish building a horde of buildings using the rare black wood from the trees here in Glimwood.
Draug had departed, saying that he was off to speak to Loki and check on his project, the village library. Pops then led Dagda into another room, seeing a peculiar sight. There was a small boy, obviously the age of a large toddler, at least physically, and he had slightly purple skin, and a purple tail.
But the snake looking child wasn't what surprised him. It was the fact that the snake like child was in the arms of a stocky woman with black and white fur across her whole body. It was almost like a bodysuit, her long, white hair with black stripes framing her slightly long face. She reminded Dagda of some kind of Pokemon, but he couldn't figure out what.
"He's sleeping you know." she said quietly, narrowing her eyes at Pops. He bowed his head, sighing as he pointed to Dagda. "It's late, I was wondering if you had a room for my protege and his friend." he said, and the woman snickered.
"Pleased to meet ya, Kid. I'm Zabi Thundervoice, and this little guy is my son, adopted of course, Renji Forktongue. If you want you can have his room since he's here with me." she said, and Dagda bowed his head. Pops chuckled. "Great, I'll go let Allister know."
Allister was surprised when he met the boss of the Laverre Theatre. He was a powerful man, to be sure, but he could easily tell where Dagda got the influence for his last character from. The man, who had his hair braided, was obviously a character, in more ways than one.
"Bossman, I want ya to meet my friend, Allister!" he said, and Mr. Felix, as he was known to Dagda, chuckled. "Pleasure to finally meet you, Allister Minazuki. I always wondered how much you've aged since I last saw you." he said, and Allister frowned.
"I've never met you before." he said, and Mr. Felix chuckled. "You wouldn't remember, Young One. Bratva was a friend of mine, and he asked me to help determine if you were a Halfling. Of course, I also was there in the background during your transition into the Gym Leader position." he said, and Allister narrowed his eyes.
It was the dark of night, and there were other Halflings around. If Allister felt so inclined, he could attack the larger, older Halfling. "And why would you do that?" he asked, and Felix only smiled. "Let's just say that your father and I go way back."
Allister stepped forward, that same killing intent from his battle with Dagda in his eyes. He hated mention of his father, a man who was never there for him in his darkest time, or in any time. Felix put his hands up. "Relax. I just got word from the Ogre mentally. Apparently you and Dagda are gonna be put up in the Chief's place for the night." he said, diffusing Allister's anger.
Felix cast a glance to Kenny. "Do me a favor my boy. Take my mates' belongings to our cabin. They're with Miko right now. Seems to have been something in this awful region's air that made them both sick." he said, dramatically putting his hand over his mouth as Kenny bounded off.
Left alone with Allister, Mr. Felix cast his feline gaze at the younger Halfling. "I apologize if I've offended or upset you in any capacity. However, my family, and my in-laws, are all friends of your biological father. It's a large part of why we've helped you in the shadows, and it's even part of why you have that specific 'Brand'." he said, and Allister blinked.
"You see, because of all of our connections, we were able to make sure that you were alive, and left alone. Giratina appointed her strongest Distortion Knight as your Guardian, and the masks you wear are blessed by Giratina herself to skew someone else's interpretations of you. Only other Halflings can see through the illusion." he said.
Allister frowned. He knew that the masks helped, but he didn't think that all of this would have been done because some people from far far away respected his father. The strongest of Giratina's chosen warriors as his Guardian? A rare 'Brand' to symbolize that? And the special masks to hide his identity from those that would see him harmed? Although, there was one huge, glaring thing about what Felix said.
The masks were blessed. Given the divine, arcane blessing of Giratina the Renegade herself to protect him and skew everyone's view of him. Make his eyes look different. His hands, his chest, his posture itself. Total hypnosis or total control over the senses or the brain that could only be bypassed by other Halflings. This left Allister with one frightening question that puzzled him.
How exactly did Dagda see through him?