"Okay, so I woke up inside of Knox, and I gotta say, the inside of a Stakataka is creepy!" Arashi relayed in a tone that would've indicated excitement in basically any other context. "And Void was there too, so we kinda had a little bit of small talk, and I thought she was kinda cute…" He got an awkward grin at the thought. "But I definitely don't think she's cute now! I mean, I guess that species is kinda cute, but… Oh, what the heck, you guys know what I mean!"
"We do, don't worry," Astrid brushed it off.
"No need to explain," Raijin concurred.
Lunala had a hapless look of understanding, not saying a word.
Arashi looked relieved, chuckling just a bit before keeping on. "So it was really dark out there, like, the only light was coming from those seaweed-looking crystals and whatever other creature had a natural glow, and I asked her why it was so dark and where Remi had run off to. Y'know, I didn't have a clue about whatever day-night cycles Ultra Space has, and that freaking Pheromosa really didn't seem like they were done with me! And she told me that it was dark because Solgaleo and Necrozma weren't recovered yet, and that Remi had run off with Salem to deal with a Guzzlord that started acting up…"
He got a very uncomfortable look on his face and paused for a second, piquing the attention of Astrid and Raijin. The Decidueye studied him, and the Xurkitree knelt down next to him to give him a very gentle pat on the back.
"Hey, it's okay if it's too ugly to talk about," Raijin said. "Just say so and we'll leave it be."
"No, it's not that," the Greninja uncertainly said to the contrary, eyeing the Beast. "See, apparently that Guzzlord's squad leader was another Xurkitree, and Void said she sent Salem instead because just seeing another one of your species would set her off. Then she said some things about what she'd want to do to you that, honestly… that's the part I'm not so sure I wanna repeat. It was preeeeeetty disturbing."
Both Astrid and Raijin paused, Astrid getting slightly wide eyes. She was somewhat curious, but at the same time, she figured that it wasn't anything she actually wanted to know.
Their Beast comrade was on the same page, apparently. "Don't tell me," he said quickly, tapping his fingers together. "That's something I'll be content to go my entire life without ever finding out. But let me guess, she wants me dead, doesn't she?"
"I'd call just wanting you dead an understatement," Arashi answered. "She is furious."
Raijin looked down at the ground, still tapping his fingers. "… Well, I'm pretty upset with her too, all things considered," he said simply, shaking his head. "What else happened?"
"Well, after that, she had my team badge since it came off while I was evolving," Arashi kept on. "Yeah, I guess having that scarf and then my natural tongue-scarf at the same time wasn't gonna work, aha! But she started talking about our team, saying it didn't exist anymore since we were broken up, and, well… She basically said she could give us everything we ever wanted in life by sticking with her, and of course I believed her." He got a very uncomfortable, awkward wide-eyed grin. "… Then I told her everything- and yes, I mean everything all from day one. So… we really are screwed now, aren't we? I… I totally sold us out…!"
It was Astrid's turn to creep closer and stick a hand on her partner's back, to which he studied her curiously with eyes that, though they were looking straight at her, had very clear reluctance in them that indicated he wanted to hide away somewhere.
"Hey, I'll believe we're screwed when Adnea tells us that our probability of success is zero," the Decidueye said. "Or if Necrozma incinerates us… whichever comes first."
"I'll stop the latter possibility as best I can," Lunala noted.
"It was bound to happen sooner or later," Raijin said softly. "If not from you, Arashi, then from someone else. It's just really unfortunate that it was you."
The Greninja sighed, calming down a bit. "… Yeah. I know I shouldn't blame myself for it, but… it was me, after all. I gave Void the upper hand."
"Oh, who are we kidding, her having the upper hand is nothing new," Astrid said flatly. "What's done is done and we have to work with the cards we're dealt."
"She's right," Raijin concurred.
The Greninja eased up some more, smiling a bit. "Well, I'm glad I have such great teammates to be the voices of reason, because I really can't argue with either of you."
"What happened after that?" Astrid inquired. "You told her everything, and I'm guessing she didn't just leave it all alone."
"She didn't," Arashi answered. "She had a few ideas about just having her underlings wipe this town off the face of the earth and stuff like that, but she said she was tired of you slipping away, so… she decided to use me instead."
The Nihilego looked peaceful while perched atop her bodyguard, but if she'd had any facial features to convey her moods, they would've been seeing a narrow-eyed and calculating expression, Arashi was sure. The slight metallic screeching edge to her voice, the shiver that occasionally went down her form when talking about her apparent enemies, and the way she tapped the tips of her arms together while plotting their downfall indicated such just as well as anything else could. Remi hung on her every word, several of Knox's parts on his upper edge were positioned to look at her, and Salem smirked wildly while lounging with her back against the Stakataka and her arms nonchalantly behind her head.
"If Void try destroy entire town that she in, Astrid just get away again, and if Void right, she have Lunala that make escape easier," the Nihilego mused. "There nowhere else where Lunala have allies, so she have to be with Astrid and Six-Seven. If Void wrong, Void not worry, but that what Void think right now."
"Heh, that former goddess thinks she can hide from you too~" Remi crowed in twisted mirth.
"She can try, but she sure as hell won't succeed," Salem laughed.
"You both right- no one can hide from Void," Void acknowledged, clapping her arms together with a little shiver. "But Void not need hunt anyone down right now, because Astrid just run again. Void need her think she not have to run, that way she not ever try."
The Nihilego slid off of her perch atop Knox and floated down next to Salem for a moment, giving the Delphox a gentle pat between her ears. Salem still smirked wildly, but she almost seemed to calm down for a second as if the symbiont's touch relaxed her. Perhaps it did- they were rather attached to each other in more ways than one, after all. From the corner of his eye, Arashi saw Remi's claws twitch, probably in frustration at Salem getting the gesture instead of them.
Nonetheless, Void turned to Arashi next. "Ordinary psychics in your world not can read Dark-types, you say?" she inquired.
"That's right!" Arashi affirmed. "The entire Dark-type is completely immune to anything Psychic-type! I mean, it seems like your resident psychics here are insanely overpowered in comparison to ours so maybe it's different, but that's how it works on our world!"
"And you Dark-type," Void noted.
"Sure am!"
"… So that Orbeetle that you say always keep watch not can read you."
The Greninja blinked, still smiling. "… I'd never actually thought about that, but you're right! Adnea can try, but she wouldn't get far at all!"
The Nihilego clapped the tips of her arms together. "Void like that… Void like that lots. Lunala maybe cause problems, but she so dim when she split that she might still be recovering… Either way, it likely that your teammates not like having you missing and want you back, right?"
"Probably! I mean, between me, Astrid, and Raijin, I handle most of the talking, so they're probably feeling as awkward without me as I am by myself!"
More touching of Void's tentacle tips followed, her delicate figure swaying in place for a moment without a sound. Salem snickered a bit under her breath, Remi's eyes burned like two red-hot coals, and while Knox was basically immobile save for his few eyes peeking around, he too seemed to be concentrating. Arashi wasn't entirely sure what to make of the bunch of them, and he definitely still felt intimidated by both Salem and Remi (more so the Delphox that not a single creature other than Void could ever hope to control), but Void's gentle words were putting him at ease all the same.
"… Void know what Void do," the Nihilego said, floating back atop her guard. "Arashi. Void use you for this."
The Greninja perked up, getting a big grin. The rest of her emissaries perked up too.
"Astrid and Six-Seven still smart, and Six-Seven probably anticipate that you not Void's enemy anymore, so Void not want you get their attention," Void instructed. "Void know you move fast, but you not move fast as Pheromosa, so if Six-Seven use Discharge, he probably knock you out. Void not want that."
"I don't want that either!" Arashi concurred. "Those bolts are scary!"
"Void guess they would be to you," the Nihilego brushed it off. "Void need you incapacitate them, but not by attacking. If they know they get hit by attack, that cause them distress, and that Orbeetle probably notice faster than normal, right?"
Arashi nodded. "Probably! When Squad Fourteen-Five dropped in on us that one time, she grabbed Dren and told us they were coming to help us pretty quick!"
"And Void not want that either," Void kept on. "So what Void do is give you Cosmog and some wands, among other things that be useful, and Void have you use that. Cosmog probably readable, so Void have Remi knock it out first, and that way you still be hard to notice since they so weak and it not be thinking any thoughts to read."
The Greninja's face lit up, and the rest of Void's emissaries were exchanging glances. Remi in particular started clicking their claws together happily at the mention of KO'ing whatever hapless little nebula that they'd pick.
"Oh, jeez, you're giving me something valuable like a Cosmog?" Arashi said with a grin. "Jeez, what an honor!"
"Don't get all excited," Salem chimed in pointedly, looking amused at Arashi next. "It's standard practice to have at least one individual carrying a Cosmog or Cosmoem for any vicinity, otherwise the Beasts and me would leave and have a hard time coming home if we had to rely on those little nebulas hearing our thoughts all the way from Ultra Space. She's not doing you any favors."
The Greninja only studied Salem for a second, not quite sure what to make of her. They were on the same side, but she seemed to be regarding him as more of an insignificant pest than a comrade. But then again, she was Void's host, so maybe she had the right to regard everyone else as insignificant pests like she seemed to do to the already fearsome Remi…
The Nihilego, though, drifted closer to the Delphox and gave her another pat, getting a mischievous wink from her host in return. "Oh, he can be excited if he want," Void nonchalantly brushed it off. "Void not mind."
Her host's eyes drifted up and she smirked even more. "You've got a hell of a lot more patience than I do, Void," she said with a laugh.
Void didn't think much of it and turned back to Arashi. "Xurkitrees not sleep, just go dormant, so it not cause so much panic if you hit Six-Seven with Slumber Wand," she noted, tapping her arms together again. "But of course, he still notice you did it, so Void have you hit him with Confuse Wand at same time. That way he not attack you, because he be too dazed to do it. He not can worry about what happening if he not know what happening. If you use something like Two-Edged Wand, that might still give him short time to attack before you land finishing blow, and something like One-Shot Orb definitely make Astrid notice."
Arashi's mouth fell slightly open, and Remi and Salem both started to get wide-eyed grins.
Knox, however, was the one to voice what they all were thinking. "… MY, THAT IS BRILLIANT."
"Holy fuck, it sure is!" Remi eagerly concurred.
The Nihilego kept on. "You follow same principle for Astrid. She can fly, so avoiding wormhole easier for her than for Six-Seven. Void not want you battle her if you not have to, since she smart and you two so close so she probably be able get advantage. You only need hit her with one wand, since Void make sure to give you Reviver Seed that you use on Cosmog immediately after. Then, while they both dazed, you tell Cosmog take you all back to Void… and Void have what Void want. Void even tell Void's other underlings come home for now, so there be absolutely nothing for Astrid and Six-Seven worry about. They not see anything coming. All you need do is wait for right opportunity, not get too close before you can catch them off-guard, because you probably only get one opportunity for wormhole to work. But that not problem, because one opportunity all you need. Void know you capable of hiding too- you do that until you see right time."
Arashi nodded, getting an even bigger grin. "If it's to get my best friend back, I'll do whatever!"
Void floated over closer to him, gently brushing the side of his face with one arm. The slight sting made him wince, but being acknowledged by Void herself was more than enough to brush it off.
"Void know you will," she said softly. "Void know." She floated away again, turning to Remi next. "Remi, get him little nebula."
The Pheromosa didn't look too thrilled at getting one for him, but nonetheless, the door shortly cracked open with another loud WHAM from their kick. Arashi almost felt sorry for the door, always on the receiving end of Remi's blows for seemingly no reason.
"You lose it, and I'll fucking put you in your place," the Pheromosa called as they strode into the room.
Arashi flinched at the mention, freezing up for a second from Remi's threat. A faint snicker came from Salem, the purple-eyed Delphox shooting Remi an amused look from her peripheral vision. Whether it was because she was snickering at the idea of putting someone in their place or if she was just amused at Remi's antics in general was impossible to tell. The prismatic black pieces and the unmoving, hulking feline were still visible in the middle of the floor, though little by little, it did seem that Solgaleo's white glow was returning. The Pheromosa delicately stepped over them both, not giving the figures much regard but still taking care not to inadvertently scratch either one with their claws.
Nonetheless, Void turned back to Arashi and sweetly inquired, "You understand plan, right?"
He nodded.
"Good," Void replied, clapping softly again. "If you get noticed, you not go for attack right away. You someone close to them- you use that to your advantage. You avoid fight unless you have to."
He nodded again. "Oh, I can do that," he easily affirmed. "Nobody knows how to talk to Astrid better than me, and talking to Raijin is easy too!"
"Good," the Nihilego repeated, slightly more force behind it as though it were a cocky snarl masked by sweetness. "Void send you soon. Not today, but soon."
He tried not to show it too much for fear of what Remi or Salem might do if they got annoyed, but the Greninja was bubbling with excitement and simply couldn't wait to go.
"… Y'know, we had to give you a few days to calm down," Arashi noted, glancing between his two teammates in the basement.
Astrid and Raijin were taking it in, and Lunala wore a look of concentration as well.
"… That is brilliant," the Xurkitree couldn't help but to acknowledge, reluctant as he may have sounded. "That strategy with the wands had literally every single base covered."
Astrid shook her head haplessly, looking at the ground. "… It was damn close to working, too."
"Void is no fool," Lunala mused.
The Greninja winced, shaking his head too with an extremely uncomfortable look. "Yeah, I guess she is pretty smart, aha…! For someone that looks so dainty up-close, she's scary!"
"Did she say anything else?" Astrid asked, looking back to her partner.
"She called Salem, Remi, and Knox off into that back room where Necrozma was too, but she kept me out of it, so I have no idea what she told any of them," Arashi answered. "All I can really tell you is that Salem was snickering and Remi was smirking when they came back out. None of them would tell me anything; they just said it didn't concern me yet."
Both Raijin and the feathered ghost exchanged glances, the latter looking even more apprehensive.
"Then that probably means, if she was suspecting that we had Lunala, that she was covering herself in case she lost Arashi too," Astrid mused flatly. "So we still have no idea what's going on up there."
"Good heavens, you're right," the Xurkitree flatly concurred. "She really is thinking of everything…"
"That's my guess too," Lunala affirmed.
Arashi got an uncomfortable look too. "You guys really think that…?"
Astrid sighed, getting narrowed eyes and peering aimlessly up at the ceiling. "… What if she was intending to lose Arashi?" she mused, more of a tired groan than anything. She threw her wings out to the side in exasperation for a moment, gritting her beak before keeping on, "She obviously had to have accounted for it some way or another, so what if she was already thinking that we'd get him, have him tell us everything, we'd get pissed off, and we'd go to Ultra Space? What if she's just relaxing up there and waiting for us to show up? She already said she was tired of me running off, and that definitely wouldn't qualify as me running from any of her underlings…"
She buried her face in her hands, groaning haplessly, and her two teammates both started to show discomfort even more than they had been already.
"Oh, no," Raijin said, twitching. "No, no, no. Are you sure you're not actually being paranoid this time? Because this is sounding worse and worse."
"Oh, jeez," Arashi said, grinning awkwardly. "That really doesn't bode well, does it?"
Astrid shook her head. She had some thoughts, but the only one she could manage to verbalize was, "Fuck that damned Nihilego."
"Agreed," Raijin quickly concurred, albeit softly.
"Hey, now, let's not get too carried away," Lunala advised. "We've got some smart ones on our side too, yeah? We can get through this."
Nonetheless, the Decidueye shook her head again as if trying to shake the thoughts out of her mind, and looked to Arashi again. "What else happened up there?"
Her partner shrugged. "Well, I spent a little bit of time messing around with this new form and figuring out what I'm really capable of, and apparently some of the natives that ran by to talk to Void's emissaries thought I was a total weirdo! I mean, I guess I can't really blame them since I thought the same about a few of them too, aha! Salem didn't stick around Ultra Space that much, Remi ran off a lot to either keep an eye on the underlings or yell at someone that they apparently thought had screwed up in some way, and Knox hardly ever left Void's side. Void spent most of her time either talking to the underlings about what they were scoping out, getting reports from Remi and Salem, and then either floating back and forth while she mulled things over or made marks on some maps she has pinned to the walls… And it's pretty unsettling when I think about that last bit, to be honest!" Yet again he got an uncomfortable look, eyeing them both hesitantly. "She has one of Ultra Space, and every single part of it has a big X over it. She has one of this world with a bunch of circles and several X's on it, and then there's a few more with a few circles on it but no X's yet… Apparently those X's are places that she's got control over, so places like Starry Peak or some places that Salem has attacked, and the circles are places that she's targeting next."
Astrid's feather fluffed out and she shivered a bit in apprehension at the mental image it gave her- that sweet-acting tyrant, completely at ease inside her fortress, making lists of worlds to conquer and crossing off her progress… Raijin didn't seem too surprised by it, but that was par.
"And as far as Necrozma and Solgaleo go, well… I guess you guys already have an idea," the Greninja noted.
"Oh, we know," Lunala replied.
"But they're not still unconscious, are they…?" Astrid inquired.
Arashi shook his head. "Not at all. They're not quite at full power yet since they were both that tired after the standoff, but they're up and running as a single unit."
"So they fused," Astrid mused.
Her partner nodded. "Yeah."
Megalo Tower 0F- Base
Whether it was a lovely day in Ultra Space or not, Arashi had no idea, but the ones in his company apparently had no complaints, or at least weren't voicing them. Knox was unmoving next to the wall, at least one eye peeking out on each side to follow every movement, Remi was having some kind of talk with a shy-acting Naganadel outside (whether the shyness was the Beast's natural disposition or because of the Pheromosa's tendencies was impossible to tell), and Void herself carefully looked over her maps on the wall while occasionally brushing them lightly with one arm. The Greninja couldn't help but to study some of the maps too, and Void didn't particularly seem to mind, though her answers to any of his questions did seem to be a bit brisk as though she didn't quite trust him with the details. The universe was so vast, yet here she had little parts of it diagrammed on papers, and he wanted to see all of them… if she'd allow it, of course. Surely, she eventually would.
Remi came strutting back inside the tower after waving their shy-acting company off, and it was Arashi's turn to feel slightly shy under their imposing presence.
"Potential point of interest here," the Pheromosa noted, striding over to Void's side and touching one claw to a small island on the lower edge of one map.
"Tell Void," the dainty blue figure replied, floating closer.
"It's got a sizeable human population, but they all tend to have some fairly formidable Pokémon companions with them," Remi explained. "And it's cut off from surrounding civilizations with very few outsiders knowing it exists yet, so swooping in should be fairly easy-!"
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
An ear-splitting cry someplace between a shriek and a growl practically shook the room, several bright rays radiating out from the cracks just underneath and between the metal doors. Just as fast, Knox was up and moving, a Wide Guard surrounding them all, and Remi slid in front of the Nihilego with claws twitching while Void delicately poised herself on their head like a bonnet. Arashi wasn't quite sure what to do, but a Water Shuriken formed in one hand just in case.
Nonetheless, Arashi figured out fairly quickly what to do when Knox dropped the shields, his bricks on the side closest folding outwards, and Remi darted inside of the living walls with Void clinging tight as fast as they could. A single gesture from the Pheromosa motioning him along was all he needed, and he too quickly hid inside of the Stakataka.
"If Necrozma thinks I won't put them in their place too for disturbing our goddess, then they've got another thing coming," Remi growled, unamused.
The four of them moved as a single unit to the heavy doors, which Knox took his turn busting open albeit with more of a headbutt than a kick. Several of the Stakataka's bricks on the front moved aside too so there was a small window for the three inside to peer out of, but Arashi almost didn't want to for how bright everything that filtered in was. Remi too shielded their eyes with their claws, but Void didn't seem too bothered and left her position on the Pheromosa's head to float closer to the opening.
It took a second to adjust to the brightness, but the Greninja could make out what was occurring fine enough- those prismatic pieces had reformed into an almost robotic body quite different from the gleaming dragon he'd seen in visions prior with Astrid, and that hulking feline was no longer unconscious. Solgaleo's white pelt wasn't gleaming, rather glowing softly much like Raijin did, but when bouncing off of Necrozma's body, it was like starting fire with a magnifying glass. From the haphazard movements, neither of them were at full strength, but even so, they were already quite a sight to behold.
It became apparent who had done the shrieking before when more snarl-like cries came from the prismatic figure. "Light… Light…!" Necrozma said, a cross between angry and desperate, one giant claw reaching at Solgaleo but the other held in an almost defensive manner.
"That's right," the maned figure replied, brushing the ground with one paw almost aggressively. "And without it, you'll permanently go inactive."
"Tch…!"
The sounds coming from the prismatic one may as well have been nails on a chalkboard for how grating they were. Whatever feeling they were displaying- anger, desperation, or wails of despair- was impossible to know for sure, and the prismatic figure's conflicting mannerisms weren't helping. They definitely didn't seem friendly, that was for sure.
Void gave Knox's inside wall a little tap, and the bricks unfolded so as to let her loose, though the eyes on his outside were definitely keeping watch over her. She floated over to Solgaleo, her tentacle hands on either side of his face and the rest of her draped out on his mane. Her mere touch made the hulking feline's expression twist into a wild smirk, and Necrozma's outstretched arm shook as if the giant claws were trying to strangle someone.
"Give them your light and enlightenment," Void said softly, patting Solgaleo gently with one arm.
Before Necrozma could adequately react, the hulking feline pounced on them, and though the twitching prismatic claws were quickly poised to tear through Solgaleo's glowing pelt, apparently the source of the light was simply overpowering. Necrozma's claws clanked against the floor as they went limp, one last metallic groan escaping. In moments, their parts broke off into a bunch of scattered pieces, but a psychic glow surrounded them as they repositioned themselves on Solgaleo's body- some around his head like a helmet, some on his feet to form ferocious claws, and some across his back, where that hulking set of claws was positioned too. Void turned loose for a second and gave them some more space, though she still watched very closely, and a Wide Guard from Knox ensured that she wouldn't be harmed. Arashi gawked, thinking it an absolutely magnificent form, even if somewhat strange for its unearthly features and odd claw positions.
Solgaleo's facial features still glowed through the prismatic helmet, but that glow flickered for a few moments between two different shades of blue, one more pale than the other, as if the two merged creatures were vying for control of the body they shared. "I'm not letting you do this…!" a metallic snarl left the fused form's mouth, completely indistinguishable between who was the ultimate source and what, exactly, they were referring to. "You are NOT going to warp my mind…!" However, the words that followed soon after were clearly the ones of Solgaleo. "Void! Help me! They're trying to take me away from you! They're trying to take my power for themself…!"
"Void knew they'd try that," the Nihilego said calmly, the shield going down as she floated closer again. She delicately touched the sides of Solgaleo's 'helmet,' patting him as if she were trying to comfort him through a nightmare. "It okay, Solgaleo, it okay… You do exactly what Void want you do; you not give in now…"
The fused form shivered just a bit, and to anyone that looked closely, the air around the Nihilego was turning purple. Solgaleo wasn't the target, but one way or another, he was taking in the toxins, which would reach Necrozma by proxy, combined with what was already reaching them through the fusion itself…
… And apparently the prismatic one simply didn't have the energy in them to overthrow her influence. A great metallic screech erupted from the fused figure's maw, and they promptly collapsed on the floor again with their eyes flickering like a broken lightbulb.
"Ah… I'm so… exhausted…"
Void floated down closer to their face, still patting them gently. "Void know. Void know."
Again they were limp.
The Nihilego's emissaries, though, exchanged glances. Remi got an even wilder smirk than they usually wore, and several of Knox's parts were flipping outwards to get a good look.
"… Is that it?" Arashi inquired, grinning awkwardly but excitedly. "Are they yours now, Void?"
"What do you think, brat?" Remi remarked, shooting him an amusedly disbelieving look that made the Greninja freeze up for a second.
"Yes," Void calmly answered. "Void think so. Necrozma tough, but… no one beat Void."
"MARVELOUS," Knox voiced his happiness.
Remi immediately burst into cackling laughter, strutting over to the unmoving one. "Fuck yes!" they cried, pumping one hand in the air and stepping on the 'helmet' with one foot. "You thought you could resist our goddess, but nope! You're ours now, Necrozma!"
"That right," Void sweetly affirmed, drifting to the Pheromosa and gently patting them too.
Arashi too started grinning, bubbling up with excitement and getting sparkling eyes, but he forced himself to stay quiet while Remi was there. It was… difficult. Extremely difficult.
A metallic giggle left Void, the dainty pale blue one softly clapping her tentacle hands together and spinning in a happy circle for a moment. "Void have almost everything Void want…~ Void just need Astrid."
The Greninja couldn't help but to chime in. "And we'll get her! I'll get her and bring her back to you!" the words practically tumbled out of his mouth.
Another giggle followed, the Nihilego floating to him next and gently brushing the side of his face. "Void know that too.~"
"They were up and running around within the day," Arashi noted. "Solgaleo isn't so dim anymore, Necrozma is feeding off of him, and they're sticking about as close to Void as Knox does."
Astrid and Raijin definitely were not thrilled at the revelation of what had transpired. Astrid's blood ran cold in apprehension, and Raijin was practically frozen in time. Lunala's eyes narrowed, her bony fingers clenching up.
"… That…" the Decidueye stammered. She looked to her Beast comrade, eyes huge. "That's really not good for us, is it?"
"Terrible," was her answer. "Absolutely terrible. But, Arashi, you said they've stuck by Void's side…?"
"They have," Arashi affirmed. "It's pretty strange if you ask me. They follow her around like a cutesy kitty, then they start talking about devouring the light of other dimensions and those claws on their back start going wild. Void won't let them leave because she won't take any risks of Lunala swooping back in, and apparently she was right to do that if Lunala's here with you all."
"Well, she was right," Lunala remarked. "At the very least, I have this world's natural sunlight to act as an external energy source, and that made me recover much faster than they were probably able to… but it's still two against one, and Dusk Mane Necrozma isn't anything to scoff at either. There's not a thing in either of our dimensions that those claws won't tear apart."
Raijin shivered at the mention, not saying a word. Astrid and Arashi, though, shared a glance.
"Are you looking forward to that…?" the Decidueye asked, more of a pathetic jest than anything in some hopeless bid to find amusement.
Her partner shook his head, smiling with frightened eyes. "Not at all, to be honest! I wasn't scared of them in Ultra Space, but I sure am now, aha…!"
The Xurkitree shook his head, glancing up at the ceiling. "Lunala, if we ever needed you, this is one time we'd really be screwed without you…"
"Don't you fret about that," she replied. "When the time comes, I'll tell you what to do."
That was as agreeable as anything, the three of them figured. (At least, when it came to battling Necrozma and their ventures into hostile territory- in any other circumstance, Astrid would've completely ignored her and both of the other Light Trio members too.)
"So Void still has something she's kept you in the dark about, she's got the places she wants marked down to track them, and she's got Necrozma," Astrid mulled it over, glancing back to her partner.
"Yeah," the Greninja affirmed. "Other than that… Well, I guess that's all the important stuff."
"What happened when you came here?" Raijin inquired.
"Go on, tell them that," Lunala concurred.
"Oh! That too!" Arashi exclaimed, perking up again. "Well, Void decided it was a safe bet to send me, so she got Salem to direct Gemini's wormhole to the area outside of Tranquil Town where she went to look for us since Gemini couldn't read me even if their life depended on it. Honestly, I was thinking I'd have to either sneak in at night or use some stealth for a day or two and catch you on the outskirts somehow if you went for a walk or something, since letting myself get seen was obviously out of the question. But…" He got an awkward grin again, sticking his arms behind his head. "See, I noticed some lightning happening when there weren't any storm clouds around, and it really wasn't hard to figure out what the source probably was. I've been too close to those bolts not to recognize them, aha!"
If Raijin had the necessary anatomy to get an awkward look too, he would have. Rather, he just tapped his fingertips together and said, "… Ah."
Astrid blinked. "I… almost suspected that, but I couldn't be sure."
Her partner chuckled. "Yeah, and I tried to hit you with a Slumber Wand too, but you noticed me," he mused. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting you to be a Decidueye, so when I saw that, I kinda blanked for a second on what to do! If you'd still been a Dartrix, I knew I definitely could've gotten Raijin with a wormhole, but you're a lot bigger now, so I figured you could swoop him up and fly off, and there I'd be with Gemini too tired to function!"
"She can swoop me up and fly off- we tried it after she evolved," the Xurkitree noted.
Arashi laughed. "Sheesh, so I was right! And I figured that, as tired as she looked, I could probably win a battle… against her, anyway. But once I saw that arrow, I thought things might go south if she got the first hit, so I knew she'd be caught off-guard if she saw me…"
"Well, you were right about that too," Astrid acknowledged.
He got an awkward look again. "I'll be honest, when you hugged me, I… I was thinking about putting a shuriken in your back for a second, but… that didn't feel right. Even with the poison, I just… would've felt dirty to literally stab you in the back like that."
She nodded, furling one wing around her partner again.
Arashi giggled as he playfully remarked, "Well, hey! True friends stab you in the front, I guess! And I definitely know you are a true friend, Astrid!"
Lunala giggled, and Raijin merely twitched, studying the Greninja uncertainly.
Astrid, though, got flustered at the mention, the smallish portions of her face around her eyes and beak that weren't covered in feathers flushing red. "D-don't say it like that! You know I'm not gonna do that again!"
"Either way, I'm right~" the Greninja cooed without a care, grinning nonetheless.
"Yep, you are definitely our Arashi," Raijin remarked, getting a giggle in return.
"He sure is," Lunala affirmed, grinning too.
"The one and only!" Arashi happily replied. However, he got a bit of a reluctant look as he inquired, "But, hey… Now that I'm thinking of it, is Gemini gonna be okay…? I know Cosmogs are insanely weak and all, and they've spent most of their life shoved in that little cube like an object with no mind… They can come out now, right?"
"Oh, of course," Lunala replied. "Adnea's got them under control. And take it from a former little nebula- they'll live, they just might take a while waking up."
Arashi nodded, grinning some more and glancing between his teammates. "Hey, you guys think they can join our team once they do wake up? I've already been carrying them around! They need some friends if they've never had any!"
Astrid shrugged. "I think that's something you should ask Gemini, not us," she mused. "We should probably ask if they like being called 'Gemini' in the first place… and if they like being called 'they' for that matter, too."
"Agreed," Raijin affirmed. "But if that little nebula wants to stick with us, then it's always nice having a little nebula around. We can get them a special little pouch so the wind won't blow them away, one that they actually feel comfortable in."
The Greninja perked up at the mention, immediately crying in excitement, "Oooh! Yes! And I can be the designated nebula-carrier!"
Astrid shook her head, giving her partner a nudge. "Hey, we still need to ask them first," she said, playfully pointed.
He giggled again, holding his arms up disarmingly. "Alright, alright, point taken! You can't blame me for being excited, though, aha!"
"It'd be weird if you weren't," Raijin replied.
"Well, hey, why don't you guys tell me what's going on here?" Arashi inquired. "Obviously you've got another pal from another world and all that! What's new, huh?"
"We actually got her the literal day after we lost you," Astrid answered, nodding back at Lunala. "She called for us pretty early in the morning and the whole team- the whole Coalition- went out to Vanishing Swamp to get her."
Her partner's eyes lit up. "Really?! Oh, sheesh, I missed out on that?!"
Lunala chuckled. "I tried to warp somewhere convenient, but I landed in a sinkhole that stuck me at the bottom of a dungeon. Your friends here tried to wake me up with some Luminous Orbs and light-emitting attacks, but it wasn't until they dragged me out under the sun that I fully came to!"
"We've been drawing up plans to infiltrate Ultra Space ever since," Raijin noted. "Lunala and Adnea have been doing the brunt of the brunt of the figuring-out, me and Astrid have been helping with some logistical things, Cinder and Big Blue have been running a bunch of errands, and Rush and Rozen have been talking with our allies."
Arashi's eyes lit up even more. "Hold on a second!" he cried, jumping up. "You guys are gonna go there?! On Void's own turf?!"
"We are," Astrid affirmed. "Now that she's got Necrozma and we've got Lunala, we have to get a move over on them before Necrozma can reach full strength, otherwise we're done for."
Her partner blinked, expression a haphazard mix of disbelief and excitement. "… Arceus above, I guess that's inevitable and I really did come back to you guys at the perfect time, but… I still kinda can't believe you'd do that, aha…!"
"It's either face her head-on or run away forever, and as dismal as our odds are in the first case, the latter is even worse," Raijin mused.
Arashi wasn't protesting such, and he perched back on a cushion again, shaking his head and chuckling. "Well, sheesh, I guess I'll give Void a niiiiiice hello when we see her again and tell her what I really think of her!"
"You do that," Astrid said with a hapless grin, patting him on the back again.
He studied her again, getting an intrigued look. "Say, how'd you evolve? You didn't hit up that evolution spot after Azure played us, did you?"
She shook her head, fluffing out slightly. "… N-no, I actually used wormholes," she said softly.
Her partner's eyes went slightly wide. "You did what?! Why?! It sucks!"
"It does suck," she concurred. "I figured, if we were going into Ultra Space, that I needed a stronger form with some more capabilities, and if things are crazy up there all the time by our standards, then I'd just go ahead and use Void's crazy method of forcing an evolution. Y'know, just to… get used to the crazy."
Again the Greninja was shaking his head, but he was grinning. "Astrid, I think you're the crazy one here," he remarked haplessly. "I was practically begging Remi to stop when they were jumping through a billion wormholes with me! And you just did that on your own free will?!"
"She took it like an absolute champ," Raijin noted. "I mean, you could tell pretty easily that she was in a ton of pain, but she just kept on going."
Arashi studied her, his grin growing wider. "You really are something else!" he said, sticking an arm around her shoulders.
"She is," Lunala affirmed.
Astrid didn't pay the lunar Beast any mind, but the edges of her beak curled up a little in happiness at her partner's antics. "So we're both liking our new forms despite going through hell to get them, it seems."
Arashi nodded eagerly. "Oh, yes! I love being a Greninja! I can be all cool like Mom and Dad now! I mean, obviously I've got Mom's form, but watch this!" He pointed at a blank area on the wall towards the ceiling, the bottom finger on his hand tucked in, one pointing straight ahead, and another pointing off to one side in a gesture reminiscent of a Snipe Shot. A smallish Ice Beam followed, not meant as a serious attack but just to show the technique. "Isn't that cool?!" Arashi cried, practically gushing with excitement. "I wasn't doing that before, but… What can I say, it just kinda comes natural now!"
The Decidueye chuckled, looking a bit excited herself. "You need to show that to your dad. Trixie'll probably make fun of you for it, but she'd make fun of you anyways."
"Pfft, if she wants to call me names, I'll go call her a cleric!" Arashi jested. "She'll need one!"
"Might wanna be careful about that, though, since apparently she's a Toxicroak now," Astrid playfully added. Her partner got a slightly funny look when the words left her mouth, clearly not knowing what she referred to, and immediately she was perking up and reaching for the letter from Tranquil Town on their shelf. "Here, you need to see this too! We ran into Nez and he gave it to us; it's from our friends back in Tranquil Town!"
For how fast her partner swooped up the letter and tore it out of the envelope, she figured that not a single Pheromosa in Ultra Space would've been able to move faster than he did in that moment. He was quickly engrossed in the words, staring at it as intently as she'd ever seen. Astrid and Raijin shared a glance, the Decidueye looking somewhat amused and the Xurkitree simply tapping his fingers together. (He probably would've looked amused too, if he had any features to convey such.)
Once Arashi read the whole thing over, he laughed happily and fell back on the floor in a giddy mess, the paper still clutched tightly in one hand. "Hah! I knew they wouldn't forget about us! We have got to go pay them a visit sometime!"
"We were thinking of that, but we didn't wanna do it without you," Raijin said gently. "We were too afraid of explaining where you'd gone."
The Greninja chuckled. "Well, you don't have to worry about that now!"
That was true, Astrid figured. She had a feeling that one way or another, Niles would be able to figure it out at some point, but at the very least, she wouldn't have to be the one that the news originated from. She missed them, Raijin had yet to meet any of them, and surely they would want to see Arashi again if no one else…
At that moment, though, a call from a certain Scrafty caught their attention. "Hey! What're y'all talkin' about, huh?" Rush called down the stairs.
The Starstorm trio perked up, Arashi darting over to the stairwell's bottom. "Oh, just catching up! Apparently we got a letter from some friends back home while I was gone, and I was joking about beating one of them up if she started making fun of me!"
Shortly there were five of them in the basement instead of just four, Rush wearing a shifty grin at hearing Arashi's words. "Oh, you gonna go kick some asses, Li'l Blue?"
"Well, not really!" the Greninja replied. "Honestly, I wouldn't put it past her to Sucker Punch me when I wasn't looking!"
The Scrafty chuckled, shooting the Starstorm trio a glance. "Well, if y'all wanna go see your friends back home, I was gonna tell ya to go do it," he said. "We're just about done makin' our preparations, and we're gonna tie up all our loose ends by tomorrow evening before we set off the next morning. Y'all oughtta take the day off and enjoy yourselves after the hell y'all have gone through, get relaxed and rested before we give Void hell."
The three of them perked up at the mention.
"Really?!" Arashi cried.
"Really," Rush affirmed. "Y'all are still young. Have some fun, a'ight?"
There were no protests, just three eager nods. Arashi couldn't help crouching down and throwing his arms around Rush in a hug, which made the Scrafty get an amused smirk as he haphazardly patted the Greninja on the back.
The basement definitely wasn't quiet for the rest of the evening, and Astrid and Raijin didn't protest it one bit. They scurried off upstairs once or twice to peek at the still-sleeping Gemini in Adnea's study, and the three of them couldn't help but to note how cute a Cosmog was up-close when they weren't stuffed into a cube. Their little glowing form practically beckoned the Starstorm trio to snuggle them, but if common decency to not go pinching the little nebula's blue cheeks while they were asleep didn't stop them, then Adnea's watchful eye sure did.
When the three of them retired downstairs again for the night, Astrid roosted on the ground next to Raijin's limbs, and Arashi nestled up against her under one wing. The Greninja certainly didn't do any rustling around for the blades hidden in her wing, but apparently he really didn't need to, since according to him, the rest of her feathers were still soft and fluffy. (What she was supposed to make of that, Astrid had no idea, and she didn't particularly care one way or another.) The Decidueye was definitely happy to have her team whole once more, and she enjoyed being close to them again… since it wasn't permanent.
None of it was permanent. As frightening as the thought of facing Ultra Necrozma was, she almost looked forward to it, seeing as it would give her some sort of vengeance on the Blinding One for ripping her out of the place she was happy.
She didn't dare tell it to Arashi or Raijin, but the thought of smashing those prism pieces to bits was… comforting. Comforting and cathartic.
Author's note: Well, heavens, it took me much longer than usual to upload a chapter this time. Some utterly crazy days at work left me wanting to do little more than snuggle my pigeon and mindlessly play Animal Crossing, and coupled with my extended family being utterly insane and prone to uprooting everyone's normal daily routine with shenanigans, it took me awhile to finish proofreading this one and nailing out chapter 59 before I wanted to post anything. (What can I say, when life gives you relatives straight out of a soap opera... you grab popcorn and watch.) I hope you're all having a lovely day.~
