Several days had passed without incident since the last operation against the Eterna Hive. It was during these lulls in conflict that it was particularly obvious how the Eterna Forest seemed to exist within its own bubble, isolated from the rest of Sinnoh. Time ceased to carry any meaning within the labyrinth of trees, and travelers that wandered within the forest's embrace rarely lingered for long, much like tourists visiting a distant land. The politics of other territories and human cities had little to no influence over the forest's monarch, and the economics and political warfare occurring within the forest's boundaries barely affected the outside world.
This suited Ariana perfectly fine. If the territory war affected too much of the outside world, then there would be a massive influx of outsiders hoping to mediate the conflict or otherwise choose a side. In theory, such interlopers could side with the righteous cause of the Resistance, but many individuals, Pokemon and human alike, lived for nothing more than to preserve the status quo.
The Ariados spat a glob of poisonous saliva upon the grass, watching as the green strands withered and decayed within moments of contact. How she hungered for a similar fate to befall the entirety of the Hive...but no matter. In time, the loyalist scum would be eradicated alongside the Hive's despot, and on that day, she would taste the sweetest satisfaction.
She could almost see the scene unfolding in her mind: Insect corpses littering the ground as far as the eye could see, and the Hive itself ripped apart like a cheaply wrapped Christmas gift. The queen would be scrambling, sacrificing her final soldiers and offspring in her desperate attempt to preserve her own life, only to be struck down by the invading army, her body torn into more pieces than Ariana could even count.
As the vision consumed the blue arachnid's thoughts, a poisonous aura engulfed her body, and her eerie blue eyes briefly illuminated the shadows around her. She could almost taste the carnage of her vision; it had the flavor of sweet justice. She snickered to herself, fully aware of how absurd the statement sounded, even in the privacy of her own mind.
"There you are, Ariana."
The sudden voice shattered the blissful illusion playing in Ariana's mind, and she whirled around to face the source, a sharp word or two forming in her mandibles, only for the words to fall away like wilted flower petals upon seeing the Pokemon behind her.
It was a yellow hornet with black stripes upon its abdomen. Its forelegs ended with sharpened stingers, and another barb protruded from the base of its lower body. Its wings buzzed noisily as the hornet hovered overhead, causing Ariana to wonder how the hell she hadn't heard it approaching until now.
Beedrill were commonplace in the Eterna Forest, in part thanks to the Eterna Hive producing them as primary soldier units. No matter how many she and the rest of the Resistance culled, many more were constantly hatching and maturing, within the deepest sections of the forest. She had seen so many in her lifetime that it would normally be difficult to identify one, but this one was particularly...unique.
For one, it was unusually young for a Beedrill soldier. Doubtlessly hatched within the current spring, yet already fully evolved and battle-capable. Secondly, it carried itself with unusual poise and confidence, unconcerned about its smaller size and relative inexperience.
For a moment, Ariana struggled to breathe. Fear gripped her entire body, and she shuddered involuntarily, as if she had just been dunked in ice water. There was no reason to feel this way...but she experienced the sensation regardless. She always did, when conversing with this Pokemon.
"Don't sneak up on me like that, Zee," Ariana hissed. If a young Beedrill like this could get the jump on her so easily, then the possibility existed that a Hive assassin could do the same, and she did not care for the implications.
The Beedrill did not immediately respond, and instead studied her passively. If Ariana didn't know better, she might have suspected the male hornet was checking her out, but this concept was so absurd that the notion was immediately discarded.
"I apologize if I startled you," Zee stated finally. "You are ordinarily more aware of your surroundings."
Ariana clicked her fangs, and her eyes narrowed at the young Beedrill. Another thing she always felt was unnerving about the male hornet was its speaking manner. The majority of other Beedrill spoke more rapidly, especially when agitated or aggressive, so that their words bunched together and risked becoming lost in the din of their buzzing wings, but Zee always spoke clearly and slowly enough to clearly understand. That wasn't even getting into the subject of how advanced and formal his vocabulary was.
"How did you find me, anyway?" she demanded, lacing her tone with venom in an effort to regain her composure, but it was a serious question in spite of that. She had not told anyone where she could be contacted, nor did anyone in the Resistance know the whereabouts of her nest. It was far too risky to divulge such information, as there was no doubt in her mind that the Hive Queen had planted loyal agents within the ranks of the Resistance. Sharing the leader's current location with her allies risked that information being leaked to the Hive.
Zee buzzed in amusement. "It was not difficult for me. You give off a unique signature of sorts. You need not worry about your enemies tracking you in such a way - it is an ability bestowed by my benefactor. I have been asked to make contact with you on his behalf."
Ariana hissed in annoyance. She had first met Zee a little more than two weeks ago, but they were rarely in contact with one another during the intervening time. The young Beedrill had established from the beginning that he was a potential ally, but that he primarily represented a third party that was greatly invested in the ongoing conflict. It seemed that Zee never passed up an opportunity to remind Ariana of this fact, and almost all subsequent meetings consisted of carrying messages or working out an agreement determining what would be needed to secure his benefactor's assistance.
Ariana was no fool. She made a point of remaining wary around the Beedrill, and openly expressed her skepticism that his offer carried any real value. She had fought too hard and vigilantly to risk being lulled into a false of security by a Hive agent. However, in spite of her best efforts, she had not yet uncovered any indication that Zee was deceiving her on behalf of the Hive Queen. One of her own agents had confirmed that Zee could be found on occasion within the Hive's territory, he had literally no contact with the Queen or any known members of the monarch's inner circle.
"What do you want, then?" Ariana asked curtly. She did not have the patience to undergo an enigmatic conversation that had no guarantee of netting anything of value. She may be taking some time for leisure right now, but that didn't change the fact she had other matters to attend to, and further preparations to make.
Zee again emitted an amused buzzing sound, the hornet weaving from side to side restlessly, but his movements were not drastic enough to be a distraction. Ariana watched him warily, her blue eyes glittering with a hint of impatience.
"We have been monitoring your progress, and in light of recent events, I have been asked to remind you that his involvement in your cause would be a very expensive investment, and so cannot be given out frivolously," Zee answered, speaking his words with greater care, as if he was navigating through a thorn maze.
Ariana hissed indignantly. "Explain how it would be a frivolous investment," she demanded, her eyes narrowing into slits. Zee was overall unfazed by the reaction, but he still noticeably paused to consider his words before answering.
"My benefactor favors the ability to get results above all else, and you have fallen short in the areas he assessed you in," Zee said softly, his voice barely carrying above the droning of his wings. "While he concedes that you are a powerful fighter willing to go as far as necessary to achieve your goals, the fact remains that you have failed to provide tangible results for your efforts."
"So he wants an explanation for that?" Ariana sneered. "Fine, then let me meet him face-to-face, and I will answer his concerns."
"That will not be necessary," Zee stated simply. "If he wished to appear before you personally, he would do so."
"It sounds to me like he has no intention of supporting my cause regardless of my efforts," Ariana spat, not even caring if her tone sounded confrontational and aggressive. "Am I supposed to believe that I can trust someone who will not meet me personally, yet has the resources to observe my situation and grade my results?"
Zee buzzed in amusement once again, and Ariana glared at the young hornet. Zee moved nearer, prompting Ariana to flare up the legs protruding from the back of her abdomen, her poisonous horn shimmering with venomous purple energy. If he moved any nearer, she would strike. Wisely, the Beedrill paused upon seeing her reaction.
"Relax, Ariana. You are not outright being denied the investment, merely reminded that you will need to present results of value before he considers it a worthwhile pursuit. Have you acquired the Hive's Beedrillite?"
Ariana hissed, all but seething at this point. It was like rubbing salt in her wounds. Although the physical injuries had mended, nothing infuriated her more than recalling how she had been denied her prize at practically the last second. Thresher's intervention had cost her the satisfaction of claiming the Hive's most powerful weapon, but also her failure to acquire it was coming back to bite her in terms of getting additional support from Zee's mysterious benefactor.
"No," she admitted through gritted fangs. Part of her wanted to launch into an explanation about Thresher's intervention, but the more logical and composed side of her felt it was a waste of breath, and would come off as a flimsy effort to redirect blame for the situation. She had spent too much time reluctant to simply end the Hive drone's life, and it was costing her in the long run.
"Regrettable," Zee mused. "That was the object we desired above all else. Do you happen to know its whereabouts?"
"In the possession of a capable, but naive and fiercely loyal female Hive drone," Ariana retorted venomously. "Was addressed by the name Bee-Bee, if that's helpful," she added with a sneer.
"Bee-Bee?" Zee repeated, and the young Beedrill's eyes widened. Ariana blinked, taken aback by the hornet's reaction, and while it may have been her imagination, it seemed that Zee's eyes shifted color for a moment, changing from yellow to red, but in the time it took for her to blink, the color had returned to yellow. She squinted at Zee, not entirely convinced of what she may have seen. The young Beedrill's eyes had always been yellow, almost matching the shade of the majority of its body.
"Yes, I believe so," Ariana said, feeling a little disoriented. Perhaps she was getting tired or pushing herself too hard mentally, if she was seeing such bizarre things. "Is there a problem?"
"Yes, a significant problem," Zee replied distractedly, squinting intently at one of his foreleg stingers, as if he was having vision problems.
"What? How so?" Ariana demanded.
"I may have to consult further with my benefactor," Zee murmured, refocusing upon Ariana, his body relaxing. "I, or should I say, we...will take over the Beedrillite matter. Until then, do not engage her or her allies."
"Why?" Ariana pressed, feeling a surge of annoyance welling up within her body. Zee was sounding just like Thresher now, urging her not to fight against opponents she could easily eliminate on her own.
"Was one of her allies you've encountered the other day, by any chance, a young Leafeon?" Zee inquired. Ariana blinked, but clicked her fangs as an affirmative response. Zee buzzed in quiet amusement. "I thought as much. If you again cross paths with either Bee-Bee or the little Leafeon, do not engage under any circumstances."
"And the others?" Ariana crooned, knowing full well what the Beedrill's answer would be, but wanting to be thorough in establishing the 'rules' being placed on her. "The black Espeon? The Ninetales?"
"Shadow should likewise be avoided for now," Zee murmured absently, but then blinked. "The Ninetales? What Ninetales?" Zee asked, and for the first time since Ariana met him, Zee looked completely confused. She relished his loss of composure for every ounce of satisfaction it was worth.
"Thresher called him 'Renard', and said he was in possession of a Key Stone," Ariana answered, gleeful to finally have information that the Beedrill and his benefactor seemed to lack. As much as she'd have liked to dangle it over the young hornet's head, and give him a taste of what it felt like to have information withheld, she knew that it would not improve her situation to do so.
"Oh?" Zee's eyes seemed to gleam yellow in the shadows of the forest. "How interesting...but either way, avoid contact with him as well."
"You're not telling me why," Ariana snapped. The original question had been ignored, and she at least wanted some sort of justification why she was being told to avoid the Pokemon already confirmed to be allies to Hive loyalists. Thresher had maybe given the best answer, in that it was risky to engage them when she didn't know the full extent of their abilities and number of allies, but she wanted something more definitive than that.
"To underestimate a potential foe may one day be your undoing, Ariana. Do not press your luck any further," Zee murmured, glaring at her so intensely that she once again felt like her body had been dunked in ice water. "Harming any of the ones I've mentioned may provoke the young Leafeon, and when that happens, your death is assured."
"You must be joking," Ariana sputtered.
"Do not recklessly misjudge an opponent's potential based on their age or size, Ariana," Zee warned solemnly. "I've fought with him once before. Taking him lightly is not recommended, and provoking him even less so. Focus on your greater goals, and do not be sidetracked in pursuit of petty vengeance."
"I get it!" Ariana seethed, venomous saliva dripping from her mandibles as she glared at the ground underfoot. Easy for Zee to say all this...he was a male, born within the Hive just like her, but being male made all the difference. Just because someone sided with her cause, didn't mean they had the same passion and hatred fueling them towards their goals. Zee could never truly understand her drive, just like Thresher couldn't. She could make use of their allegiance to her goals, but they would never truly understand.
"I will consult further with my benefactor, and I will be in touch with you again," Zee informed her. Ariana gave a curt hiss of acknowledgement, and a moment later, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her body. Raising her gaze, she found that the small Beedrill had vanished, as soundlessly as he had appeared. She looked around, searching for some indication of where he might have gone, but soon gave up.
It didn't really matter. What Zee seemed not to have realized yet was that, despite his dramatic vanishing acts, she already knew more than he gave her credit for. If he had departed to report information to his 'benefactor', she knew precisely where he was headed. In that case, she also knew who, or what, he'd be reporting to.
The Old Chateau was an ominous, seemingly unoccupied mansion on the edge of the forest. Few Pokemon ever went in or out of that place, because it exuded such an unsettling vibe that no one felt comfortable lingering anywhere near it.
Ghost-type Pokemon seemed not to care as much, but Ghost-types were scarce, even within the Eterna Forest. Ariana clicked her fangs in amusement. The trouble with Zee acting as a middleman in their interactions was that for this to work as intended, and conceal his benefactor's identity, he needed to be the exclusive middleman.
And he wasn't.
Things were finally looking up for him.
Diablos smiled, his jagged mouth curling into a wicked grin. After so long of remaining within the Chateau's attic, practically alone and agonizingly helpless, things were finally falling into place. He had quickly learned the folly of his original scheme, his impatience costing him the trust of his allies, and his only real chance of escape from the helplessness that had plagued him throughout the winter.
His second attempt, as acted upon at the Solaceon Ruins, had failed just as badly, resulting in further distrust from his allies and a third fracture to his already broken soul. It was around then that he realized he needed to take a different approach to things. He needed to quit acting on an agenda that put his allies in danger or into questionable situations, and be more open and honest about his intentions. He had given Plasma a soul fragment, and bonded with the Rotom over the electric ghost's interests. This gave him another set of eyes, one more inclined to assist him with answering any future questions and concerns.
Impatience had cost him too often, so it was time that he put more time and thought into his next option. He had discovered, via Plasma, that the Chateau seemed to be a temporary home for smaller Bug-type Pokemon, judging by the regenerating spider webs in the main entrance, so he had made use of this. A common Spinarak temporarily gained one of his souls, and after setting the new host into the forest, he had transferred it into another Bug-type, repeating the process until he had settled on Zee as the fragment's final host.
The rest was history. It was amusing that neither Force nor Iris bothered to question it weeks ago, when he told them that he had five active soul fragments, considering they only ever knew about the one fractured one, then split into three. Since they hadn't asked, he hadn't bothered telling them that Plasma held one, or that a young Beedrill within the Eterna Forest carried another. Neither was a secret, but they had other questions to have answered first.
That said, it was most upsetting when his miscalculation cost him an entire soul fragment, and nearly resulted in Force's death. For a long time, Diablos had mulled over the situation, again and again, searching for every mistake and presumption that had cost him that soul. He had to ensure that he would never make such an error again...he could not afford to squander his souls, or the very lives of the Pokemon he was allied with.
But at last, he had made true progress. He had sent Plasma with Iris and Force to Johto to speak with Kaito, and the Rotom had been present throughout the Togetic's exposition dump (Plasma, naturally, complained to Diablos repeatedly about the fact Kaito was doing this). Although disappointed that Kaito had seemingly lacked concrete answers about the Spiritomb's past, it was a solid jumping off point, and Diablos had not hesitated to pressure Plasma into doing some electronic research from one of the neighboring Johto buildings. It seemed faster and more reliable than Kaito going through tomes for days at a time, and in the meantime, he could devote his attention on Zee to expand his efforts in the Eterna Forest.
He wanted no part in the Eterna Forest war, but the conflict benefited him. Throughout the forest, Bug-type Pokemon fought and clashed with one another, resulting in death after death after death. Such a waste. Pushing someone to their limits in times of danger was a way to strengthen and nourish their inner darkness, but it was worthless if they were killed off like that. Not every soul could contain a powerful darkness, but the realities of war were ugly and offered him little of value.
However...there was no use in letting that sustenance go to waste. No matter how weak the nourishment may be, if these deaths were inevitable, then he should take what he could get from them. But he was not in range of the battlefield, and it would be incredibly foolish of him to risk Zee's life by putting his host into battle.
That was why he had contacted Ariana. The arachnid's inner darkness was ludicrously potent, and while Diablos was tempted to pass a soul fragment to her and feed off this darkness, he recognized how unstable the shiny Ariados truly was. She was too eager to put herself in harm's way if it meant taking another enemy's life, and Diablos suspected his souls would be completely incompatible with the poisonous hatred sleeping inside her heart. To risk another of his souls so soon after the loss of another was unwise. He would still benefit from her darkness without leeching off her directly.
With some vague promises of assistance towards her cause, and a demonstration of the power Zee wielded thanks to his soul within the young hornet, Ariana had agreed to be a little less wasteful in battle. The lives of the insects mattered little to the Spiritomb, but he needed a way to collect the soul energy, and whatever traces of darkness lay within them, and then deliver that energy to his main core. Ariana, surprisingly, had an ally that could serve that exact purpose.
"Requiem," the Spiritomb announced to the air.
Within moments, a pale brown, insect-like creature materialized within the attic in front of him. Its belly was a light gray, with four protrusions that resembled limbs. Tattered, wing-like segments fanned out behind it, and a white halo-like ring hovered above its head, which was expressionless, with only narrow horizontal slits for eyes. The creature's body never so much as twitched, but was able to hover and propel itself somehow.
Diablos' yellow eyes gleamed, and the Shedinja's body became engulfed in a subtle black aura that connected it to Diablos' core. It made no effort to resist, as tiny spheres of light emerged from the hole in the ghostly insect's back, traveling through the black threads connecting the two ghostly creatures, before becoming completely absorbed into the Spiritomb's gaseous form. When the transfer was completed, the aura faded from around the Shedinja, and it vanished again without a word, or even a sound.
Power surged through Diablos, filling him with an incredible feeling of euphoria. It had been a brilliant idea, really, utilizing the power of a Shedinja to harvest the souls of the recently deceased. While urban legends spoke of how a Shedinja could steal the spirit of a living creature that peered into the hole on its back, this was not entirely true. It could also steal the wayward spirits of the deceased.
He had no intentions of keeping all his machinations secret from his allies in Johto, but it seemed that despite Kaito's estimate of how long until he'd return to Sinnoh to research further into the Solaceon Ruins, the fairy Pokemon was in no genuine hurry, and the departure had been repeatedly delayed. That didn't trouble Diablos much; he could have Plasma contact Kaito practically on a whim at this point, and thanks to sharing a consciousness with the Rotom, he could stay informed on what the group discussed in the meantime.
Information on the present age was just as valuable as recovering his memories. But what Diablos craved more than anything else right now, was to-
Diablos broke off his line of thought, his yellow eyes widened and repeatedly flicked towards the attic floor. Was it his imagination, or was he...sinking? The floor seemed to have risen higher, but the stacks of objects around him seemed to have simultaneously grown taller, so either he was moving downwards, or he was shrinking, and that the former seemed infinitely more likely.
The Spiritomb focused his energy, willing himself not to sink further, and after a moment of anxiety, he felt the sinking sensation slow to a stop. Unfortunately, this meant his Keystone base was literally merged with the attic floor.
Wait...since when was his Keystone base ghostly in nature? He would have thought that it being a stone prison designed to contain ghosts, that it would repel ghostly qualities, and remain solid even if in contact with a intangible spirit.
So...did that mean he could become intangible and sink through the floor again? His immediate thought was how he'd like the opportunity to see more of the house than the attic that he knew by heart. On the flip side, what if gravity took over, and pulled him down too quickly, so that he descended into the ground? Did the Chateau even have a basement? Or would he resolidify underground, with no way to get out again? Wait, could he even move upwards?
And did he really want to experiment with this right now?
The Spiritomb's grin widened. Of course he did. If the power he had just gained from Requiem's most recent harvest had restored the ability to become intangible at will, why WOULDN'T he want to experiment with this?
Things were looking very, very good for him now.
I realized that I've been writing SoC for over 2 years now. *balloons/confetti*.
And because I'm really lame and nerdy like this, I'm going to share that Zee's official name is "Bee-Zee". I'm not even sorry for that one.
