It was well past dusk when the Starstorm trio finally decided to call it a day (or rather, when Lunala told them they should get back to the base and rest up), but even so, it was still a reluctant acquiescence. There was quite an entourage on the beach- their friends and their friends' parents, Nez, Cobalt, Reina and Lucy, and even Tranquil Town's resident Kecleons. Even for as quiet as the town usually was, the beach was buzzing with voices, and even for as timid as she otherwise might be, Astrid oddly didn't mind it. Her comrades didn't seem to mind it either, though Raijin was still a bit more shy around creatures he'd barely met and Arashi was still clearly the exuberant social butterfly that he always was.
"You all better come back in one piece!" Lila said amiably but pointedly.
"I don't want you guys ending up in the headlines for all the wrong reasons!" Charlie concurred.
"If you guys don't take Void out of this universe, I'll take you and her out of it!" Trixie declared with a smirk.
"B-be careful in a scary place like that," Veeko said in a small voice, hiding under his Umbreon mother instead of his older sister.
"Indeed!" the green Kecleon affirmed.
"You three are more precious than our precious merchandise~! We cannot replace you like we can an orb or a stone~!" the purple one exclaimed.
Arashi giggled at their assertions and Astrid blushed a bit.
"We'll do our best, guys," the smaller Greninja said with a chuckle, grinning.
"… I still kinda can't believe a wallflower that didn't even know how to preen is setting off to save the universe, but hey," Rina said nonchalantly, tilting her head to the side.
A certain Staraptor gave his daughter a nudge and an unsettled look, making the little Pikipek shrink up slightly. "We have faith in you three," Ace said, glancing over the Starstorm trio.
"And if you need someone to preen you and warm you up with a nice heated beak afterwards, you call me," Toko agreed, her beak flashing red hot for a second.
Arashi and Raijin didn't seem so dissuaded by the Toucannon's offer, even if 'preening' didn't quite apply, but Astrid looked slightly unsettled at having Toko's heated beak touching her leafy features. Beak Blast might've been a Flying-type move, but Astrid definitely wasn't going to go playing with anyone or anything capable of shooting off flaming superheated seeds.
"Hey! I saw what two of you were capable of on the first mission you went on, and I don't doubt your third member's strength for a second!" Cobalt cried, bouncing in place slightly and flicking his impressive horn.
"If you downed Zariel in those tiny forms, you can down Void in those big ones," Blaze agreed, the Umbreon next to him nodding in agreement while little Veeko nestled up between them.
"It seems like you have fine enough direction to accomplish your goals in that regard," Reina said matter-of-factly, looking them all over.
"And if you need me to deliver letters to you out in Ultra Space, by the gods, I'll find a way!" Lucy exclaimed, her wings fluttering for a moment.
Trixie's parents added in a few remarks about 'giving them hell' when they got to Ultra Space, not at all shy about using some harsher language around the youngsters that earned them a few side-eyes from the rest.
Arashi chuckled. "Hey, the smartest creatures in our corner still think we have a chance, so Arceus above, we're gonna put up a fight! Void's not gonna know what hit her!"
"If I get sight of that Nihilego directly, I'm gonna make her regret everything she's done to both of our worlds," Raijin declared, tapping his fingers together shyly but clearly entertaining some thoughts he'd deem 'ugly.' "For subjugating Ultra Space and sending Salem after this world."
Astrid said nothing, only getting narrowed eyes at the thought of facing Void herself. She had those same sentiments- she wanted to make Void as miserable as could be, and if it was her reason for existing in the world she found herself in, she was going to try her hardest.
Nez chuckled, traipsing closer and sticking his arms around all three of them such that they were all slightly bunched together, but the Starstorm trio didn't mind. Arashi and Raijin both stuck an arm around him too, and Astrid would have if her wings hadn't been at rather inconvenient angles, so she simply brushed her cheeks up against the Nidoking.
"The three of ya know I'm your biggest fan," Nez said softly. "No matter where ya go and whatever happens, I'll be rootin' for ya. Even if ye don't succeed, we all know how hard ya tried and that's worth a lot."
Arashi giggled happily, trying his best to give Nez a friendly squeeze with one arm, and Raijin did the same. Even after they let go, Astrid lingered for a second and stuck her wings around the purple spiked figure, getting slightly misty eyes. The Nidoking chuckled a bit, gently patting her back.
"Oi, lassie, you show those gods of the higher dimensions that you aren't one to be messed with," he said, his arms still wrapped around her.
"Oh, I'm going to," Astrid affirmed.
She turned loose too, Nez giving her one more little pat.
Arashi turned to look at his parents, and they both held their arms out. He wasn't wasting any time and darted closer, throwing his arms around both of them and getting the same in return. He was smiling, but he too was getting misty eyes, and Astrid had to wonder if it was simply out of happiness or if he too was thinking of the possibility that they might not ever make it back out of Ultra Space alive. He wasn't one to dwell on those kinds of thoughts, she knew, but surely he had to have that thought somewhere in the back of his head given the absurd task that awaited them.
"Get over here, you two," Kaminari said, looking over to both Astrid and Raijin.
The more subdued ones did as she said and scurried over too, and yet again, they were all exchanging hugs. Astrid couldn't help but to notice that Kaminari's grip on them was practically a strangle-hold as if she didn't want them to go anywhere, and Niles was lingering for a bit as if reluctant to let go. Her eyes started watering again, but she blinked and shook her head to stave it off.
"Make us proud," Kaminari said, glancing between the three of them. "And don't give up."
"Make use of that synergy we all know you have," Niles said with a grin.
Astrid blushed a bit at hearing someone else use 'synergy' to describe their setup together, and Arashi just grinned even wider.
"Don't worry!" Arashi happily exclaimed. "Once we get back, everyone's gonna hear alllll about how Team Starstorm is the best team ever! We are not going to let this world down!"
"Once you get back, you better let us check in on you," Niles said gently. "I know you have the best resources possible, but I still can't help being concerned."
"If I hear about any of you getting hurt, I'll go track down whoever did it myself and send them to the afterlife," Kaminari remarked, the beginnings of a Water Shuriken forming in one hand. "I don't care if they're a bunch of absurdly strong aliens, I'm not gonna let them get away with it."
The Decidueye fluffed up a bit and Raijin twitched slightly, still fairly caught off-guard by the older Greninja's aggressive antics, but Arashi of course wasn't too fazed.
"We'll come pester you a lot more without giant targets painted on our backs," Arashi said, glancing between his parents and his friends.
"Once we see the lot of ye again, I say we have a giant party," Nez said with a chuckle. "I'll make curry for everyone!"
Astrid perked up a little at the mention, and Arashi too very obviously liked the idea.
"Well, now we can't lose, not with that at stake, aha!" the smaller Greninja laughed.
"Take care of yourselves," Kaminari advised.
"We love you," Niles said gently.
Just one more round of hug-exchanging happened before the Starstorm trio finally broke away, and with Raijin doing the honors of saying "Take us home, Lunala," the three of them were shortly vanishing into a wormhole and reappearing in Coalition HQ's front room. Lunala was already there and grinning at them, and Rush and Dren were hanging around too, evidently talking about something else for the way they perked up when the trio dropped onto the floor.
"'Ey! There they are!" Rush exclaimed, smirking.
"You all look like you've had quite the day," Dren mused.
Lunala giggled, gliding over to them and circling around them for a second. "Oh, they have! And you've made a few new friends, yeah~?" she inquired, her bony fingers resting on Raijin's head for a second.
The Xurkitree nodded. "They're all really sweet… And I've got to show that Jolteon my homeworld once it's safe."
"He's got a bolt-firing buddy!" Arashi exclaimed with a grin.
"I do," Raijin said rather simply. "She's fun. And apparently Arashi's dad is a secret agent but only Astrid knew between the three of us."
The Decidueye rolled her eyes. "Astrid and everyone else in Tranquil Town but Niles' own son and our alien friend that couldn't possibly be expected to know," she mused flatly.
Arashi shot her a funny look, face getting slightly red. "I'm never gonna live that down, am I?"
"No," she responded without missing a beat.
Lunala was stifling laughter, and Dren and Rush studied him with incredulous amusement.
"… I'm not even gonna ask," the Scrafty remarked.
"That's probably the best idea," the dragon concurred, grinning.
Perhaps in an effort to shift the attention away from his own ridiculous escapade, Arashi piped up again and asked, "Have you guys been busy over here while we were out having fun?"
Rush snickered. "Oh, we've been doin' lots of discussin'," he answered. "All our allies are ready to set off and hell, some of 'em went off and consulted Delphi for a future-reading too. Everything's a go, all we gotta do is group up and jump into our wormholes."
The Starstorm trio nodded, exchanging glances. Astrid held her breath for just a second- not in fear, not in happiness, just… anticipation. Arashi had an excited look, but she could tell that somewhere below the surface, there was at least a sliver of fear. She couldn't blame him; there was a possibility that their mission would end horribly… but all of them tried not to dwell on that too much. Raijin was probably a little hesitant too, but if he was showing it, then they couldn't tell.
"You three rest up, 'cause we ain't gonna be resting until we come back home once we leave tomorrow, and the gods only know when that'll be," Rush instructed. "Y'all and Lunala are the ones they really got their eyes on. Y'all better be alert."
They all wholeheartedly affirmed that they would be (even if Astrid was rather quiet about doing so), and shortly they were retiring downstairs to the basement again. Arashi was practically skipping down the stairs, albeit with some slightly haphazard movements of someone who seemed unsure of whether to be happy or petrified, and Astrid and Raijin were fairly close behind.
"This is it, you guys," the Greninja breathed, glancing between them. "Gods above, I honestly can't believe we're doing this…!"
"… To be honest, neither can I," Raijin said, shaking his head and looking up at the ceiling. "I didn't think I'd be returning to Ultra Space like this, with a big entourage and everything…"
"… Even if I understand everything, this is still crazy…" Astrid said, blinking.
They exchanged glances again, Arashi still grinning and Astrid and Raijin not displaying much of anything either way.
"… You two think we can do this, right?" the feathered ghost inquired, sounding a bit uncertain.
"I believe in us," Raijin softly replied, nodding.
"Of course!" Arashi easily affirmed. "If anyone can, it's us!"
She too nodded, though she got a slightly uncomfortable look, fluffing up slightly and looking down at the ground. "… Well, m-maybe it's just me overthinking, but… there's a pretty uncomfortable conversation I think we all need to have."
Her two teammates definitely perked up and studied her, Arashi edging closer to her and sticking a hand on her wing with Raijin shortly following suit.
"What's up?" her partner asked, looking friendly but concerned.
"Something bothering you?" Raijin inquired.
She froze up for just a second, then let out a fairly heavy breath and answered, "I-if any of us get poisoned… M-maybe I can only speak for myself on this one, but…" She shared a glance with both of them, fluffing out a bit more and tensing up slightly before looking back at the ground. "I… I don't wanna be Void's pawn, dammit!" she blurted out, voice tinged with fright. "I don't wanna end up like Salem, I don't wanna be anything like her underlings! P-promise me something, okay…?!"
"Anything," Raijin was quick to reply.
"Tell us what you need," Arashi said, gently patting her wing.
She looked between them again, eyes slightly wide and countenance almost perturbed. "Look, if things start looking like she's gonna get ahold of me, I'm taking the sharpest feather I can get and I'm ramming it through my eye and into my brain so she can't. B-but, if I can't do that, if I'm incapacitated or too weak or anything awful like that… Arashi, you make the sharpest shuriken you can and bury it in my neck, and Raijin, blast me as hard as you can."
Her comrades were visibly perturbed at her mention of suicide, especially Arashi, but at her outright telling her friends to kill her… the Greninja's eyes turned to little pinpricks and Raijin froze. She noticed their hesitance too and shivered a bit, looking back down at the ground with fluffed out feathers.
"I know I'm asking a lot," she said softly, voice wavering slightly. "And as much as I don't want to think about that possibility… it's still a possibility we should address. I'd rather die than be her pawn, and if I'm gonna die, I want it on my own terms. If I can't do it myself, I'd rather someone I trust finish the job."
Raijin twitched again, but shortly, he was clutching her with both arms and nestling up close while Arashi backed away a step or two with about as uncomfortable of a smile Astrid had ever seen.
"Understood," the Xurkitree said softly. "I don't like that idea at all, but I respect your choice."
Arashi, on the other hand, had an awkward smile with petrified eyes. "… I'm not so sure that's a promise I can keep," he said hesitantly, shaking his head in dismay. "I-I mean, I understand, but… Even when I was poisoned it didn't feel right to literally stab you in the back! I just… I don't think I could do it…!"
Astrid's gaze fell on her partner, still slightly frightened but friendly nonetheless. "Hey, you'd be doing me a favor. That's why I'm telling you outright- I don't want to be her pawn. If things get really bad, I want my last sane thoughts to be relief and not fear. You're not killing your best friend- you're saving me from a worse fate." She got a sardonically amused look as she added, "And hey, you said it best yourself- true friends stab you in the front."
Arashi got an amusedly disturbed look at her words and said, "Oh, gods above, Astrid, don't use my own phrase against me! Sheesh!"
The Decidueye grinned just a bit more. "It's true, though- if it happens, you don't have to feel bad about it."
He blinked a few times, clearly uncomfortable, then clamped his eyes shut and nodded hurriedly. Shortly he too had his arms around Astrid, still grinning hesitantly with his eyes shut. "I'm not gonna let it get that far. By the gods, we're gonna go explore the galaxy and be happy together!"
She didn't want to think too hard about her partner's last sentence, knowing it was a complete and utter lie that he wouldn't be made aware of until she was gone from the world. Very softly, the Decidueye reached up and patted her comrades' hands with a more peaceful expression. "… Thanks, guys. I know I can always count on you two."
Her wings quickly wrapped around her teammates and embraced them too, and the three of them turned loose. Astrid breathed another sigh, one that was more easygoing.
"… Hey, if we're having this conversation, then I may as well say I'm on the same page," Raijin piped up, tapping his fingers together. "I don't want to be under her control again, and I really don't want to cause you guys that kind of trouble if it happens."
Astrid and Arashi looked to him next, the Greninja looking taken aback all over again.
"What's the best approach?" the feathered ghost replied.
"Well, you both have attacks involving something sharp in your arsenals," her Beast comrade answered. "One of your arrows or one of your shurikens. Just ram it through my head; any angle is fine. If this spiky shell won't break straight away, just give it a few more tries and it'll crack soon. Either that, or slice my cables up so I leak out current too fast to recover from. Just be careful about getting close and actually touching me yourselves, because I'll probably zap you."
Astrid nodded.
Arashi looked between them both, thoughtful but hesitant. "You guys are sure about this…?"
"I am," Astrid replied.
"Yes," Raijin affirmed.
The Greninja deflated a bit, smiling but with disturbed eyes. "… Well, as awful as the thought is, I'd rather go out in a blaze of glory than end up on the wrong side of history, but… I respect you guys, I just think that's a little drastic! But look, if she gets ahold of me…" He got an even more uncomfortable look. "Y-you guys know what to do! I trust you!"
His teammates nodded too.
Another sigh escaped Astrid, relaxed and heavy at the same time. "… So we all understand. Void's not getting ahold of any of us."
"Not a chance," Raijin replied.
"Nope! Not even close!" Arashi declared, then getting another awkward grin, "… But let's not dwell on that, okay…? None of us want to hurt each other!"
Astrid and Raijin didn't protest. They dropped it, though Astrid couldn't help stretching her wings out again and drawings her teammates in for another hug. They didn't seem to mind at all and easily reciprocated.
"H-hey…" the Decidueye said softly. "I love you two, y'know that…? N-no matter what happens, just don't forget that…"
"Hah!" Arashi chuckled. "How could we forget, Astrid~? We're all friends here, we oughtta love each other!"
"I can't ever replace you two," Raijin said softly.
She stared at the ground for a moment, her wings drawing just a bit closer, then let go. "Good," she said, hardly above a whisper. "Let's give that damned Nihilego the hell she deserves."
They didn't need to voice their agreement- it was easy enough for them all to tell they were thinking the same thing.
At that moment, though, a very small voice added to the mix from the top of the stairs. "H-hey…! U-um…"
They all looked up to see a tiny glowing cloud of sparkling gases wearing a very shy and uncertain look, his form shivering yet standing perfectly still at the same time. Apparently little Gemini had seen fit to wander out of his corner, apprehensive about it as he may have been. Astrid was slightly surprised to see him out and about, but Arashi looked fairly excited while Raijin merely studied him.
"Hey, Gemini!" the Greninja exclaimed. "C'mon down here! Don't be shy!"
The little nebula did as told, albeit haphazardly floating and nearly seeming to waddle awkwardly down the steps as if merely moving posed a moderate challenge. Arashi swooped him up so he could at least be more level with the rest of their larger figures, and Gemini didn't appear to mind such at all.
"What's up?" Raijin was the one to ask. "You okay, little nebula?"
Gemini nodded (or at least, shook his main body section in a method reminiscent of a nod), albeit still rather shyly. "S-so… You all are actually gonna do it…? You're gonna try to get into… M-Megalo Tower…?" His tone changed to a more hushed and frightened one at the mention of Void's base, and he shivered even more than he already was.
"We sure are!" Arashi affirmed.
"Gods willing," Astrid said under her breath.
The little starry cloud whimpered a bit, but nonetheless said, "W-well… I-if you do… c-can you-…" He got a slightly perturbed look and shivered some more. "This is selfish, but… No one ever thinks about us little nebulas and what we want, s-so, if you can, can you let the other ones out…? That tower's base floor is basically a p-prison…"
Gemini shut his eyes as if he were bracing for an attack of some sort, but he eased up a bit when Raijin quickly reached out and gave him a very gentle pat.
"You're not selfish at all, Gemini," the Xurkitree said to the contrary. "My comrades are probably thinking the same, but if nobody else, I'll free whoever I safely can. You little nebulas in Void's control have it the worst of every species on Ultra Space by far."
"Me too!" Arashi quickly agreed.
"Gladly," Astrid concurred as well.
The Cosmog seemed quite relieved at such, letting out a sigh and deflating with a little grin.
"Say, what is it that you want?" Arashi inquired, grinning. "We think about you little nebulas!"
At that, Gemini perked up a bit, his shivering decreasing significantly. "W-well, now that I've actually had a chance to think about it…!" he said, still quiet before getting a bit louder. "I wanna evolve, actually! Void didn't let us because we might cause her trouble, but I wanna be a Solgaleo! Maybe I've never seen the Solgaleo, but I've talked with Lunala about the two forms I can pick from, and that one is the one I really like! It's just that getting there is the problem, but there's a way somehow, right…?"
"If Necrozma's two emissaries could do it, you can too," Raijin replied.
The Cosmog perked up even more, albeit still a bit hesitant. "That's true, but I'd probably need someone to protect me until then… The slightest breeze would blow me away…"
"We can!" Arashi cried happily. "You can join us, Gemini!"
"You wouldn't be the first little nebula getting carried around by a team I'm on," Raijin noted. "There's gotta be a comfy pouch out there that you'd like and we can carry you around in."
Astrid said nothing, knowing she wouldn't be around to see Gemini on the team if he did decide to join, but she did give a little nod of approval.
The tiny figure got a smile. "I-I'd like that…~" In moments, though, he was back to being unsettled, and he shrunk up again. "J-just not now…! I don't wanna get close to Megalo Tower again anytime soon, and I really don't wanna get close to any of Void's emissaries… Lunala and Adnea told me I should hang out here until you guys return, since I'd be a nervous wreck the entire time if I went too…"
"Well, once we get back, you won't have to be all nervous anymore! None of us will!" Arashi exclaimed.
Astrid definitely had different thoughts, knowing the prospect of getting kicked back to her homeworld was nerve-wracking enough as it was, but she said nothing.
Gemini smiled even more. "Y-you better be right…~ I wanna see all the galactic reaches that I was warping our teams through for myself…~"
Arashi and Raijin assured him that he would be able to, and the gods better have had mercy on their souls if not. He retreated back upstairs, not wanting to stray very far from Adnea's or Lunala's watchful eyes, and the Starstorm trio shortly wound down too. Astrid simply didn't want to be far away from her teammates as they settled down for the night, and yet again she roosted on the ground next to Raijin with Arashi curled up underneath one wing, the Xurkitree draping one arm around her neck and the Greninja contentedly nestling up as far into her fluff as he could go. She lingered awake for a little while, unmoving and silent, contemplating the fact that it was quite literally her last mission she'd embark on in the morning, and that afterwards, the odds of her ever seeing her teammates again were so slim that they may as well have been non-existent… As frightened of Void's capabilities as she was, she wanted to smash that Nihilego to bits, and as terrifyingly strong as Necrozma was, she almost relished in the thought of smashing their prismatic pieces beyond repair so that no one would be able to send her back home… Neither possibility would come easily, to be sure, between that wickedly intense light that burned even the sky it shone in and Void's inescapable, nigh-ubiquitous poison that brought even the Blinding One under her control…
No matter whose path she crossed, be it one of Void's horde, one of her highest emissaries, Necrozma, or Void herself… she was going to give them a miserable time, or she'd die trying.
The Coalition was up and running quite early the next morning, but any chance of being drowsy was crushed by the situation surrounding all of them. Everyone was on high alert even on the safer turf outside of Ultra Space, seeing as the second they crossed over, it was anyone's guess what might befall them. Little Gemini gave the Coalition members a rather frantic goodbye, wishing them all luck, then quickly huddled back in whatever corner he fancied at the moment. (Astrid took a brief second to tell the little nebula that, in the event they were gone for an extended amount of time and he got scared on his own, that he could warp to Tranquil Town and the lovely creatures there would probably see to it that he was taken care of.) Rozen and Lazuli both carried bags that were close to bursting, and the one that Astrid carried wasn't too far off either- she and her two comrades had carefully organized the potions that Arashi had toted with him from Ultra Space, multiple Reviver Seeds and Oran berries, some fruit for sustenance in Ultra Space's barren reaches, and an Escape Orb to maximize their space so as not to run out of anything too soon in hostile territory. Having a proper healer in Rozen and having Lunala's nearly all-seeing eye definitely eased their worries somewhat, but of course, with Void targeting them, anything was possible.
Their allies were stocked up too, looking ready for anything that might come their way. The edge of town by the river bridge was fairly bustling with the Coalition, Team Sweetheart, Team Charade, Team Mirage, and the Gnarly Brigade all congregating together, but if anything, having more allies was a definite comfort. Ama was skittering to every single creature there and throwing one of her tiny arms around each of them, still as blissful as ever, and Shar's team seemed to be getting a spirited pep talk from their captain that ended in a mighty "HUZZAH!" loud enough to turn quite a few heads. Delphi even had a few gathered around for some quick predictions, and Xeno (in the form of a Ditto-faced Haxorus) looked as happy-go-lucky as ever despite the intimidating body he took.
Astrid took it all in, knowing she might never see this gaggle of creatures again, and if it were possible to miss something that wasn't yet gone, she was doing it. At least she'd get to see them all happy at least once before she left, and that thought was at least somewhat comforting. She nonetheless put a slight bit of distance between her and the gaggle of their comrades to clear her head for just a moment, but as quickly as she did, she felt a nudge on her shoulder. A quick glance to one side revealed none other than her partner, wearing the same grin he always did.
"You ready for this?" Arashi inquired.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Astrid replied, hapless but amiable. "You?"
He grinned even more, edging closer. "Let's go write our names in history.~"
She couldn't help but to chuckle, and said in a soft voice, "Hey, Arashi. Do me a favor."
"Yeah~?"
"… Don't ever stop being you."
It was the Greninja's turn to chuckle, sticking an arm around her and studying her. "And why's that a favor, huh?"
"Because not everyone can smile like you can. I'm not quite sure what I'd do without you around to keep us all energized."
Arashi grinned even more, sticking both of his arms around her in a hug. His grip was gentle, but the Decidueye herself wrapped her wings around him too in a hold that may as well have been an attempt to break his spine for how hard she clutched.
"Y'know what, Astrid?" her partner said softly. "For all the crazy adventures we've been on and all the cool stuff we haven't seen yet… finding you was easily the best part of it all. I feel like I've been reunited with a long-lost sister from another galaxy, and that… that's really special."
She couldn't help but be slightly taken aback, for the voice her partner was using was as cheerful as usual but simultaneously uncharacteristically serious. Nonetheless, it was something she was happy to hear, even if it was also like having a knife twisted in her heart for knowing that she'd have to leave… Her grip tightened up even more, enough to finally elicit a slightly pained cry.
"Hey! Let up a little!" Arashi gasped, still grinning anyway. "You're gonna kill me!"
She turned loose, and her partner gave her another playful nudge before darting back closer to their entourage. Astrid scurried after him too, taking a deep breath to not feel too overwhelmed.
"I never thought I'd have this many allies," Raijin remarked, taking in their surroundings too.
Lunala chuckled, giving his head a pat. "We've gotten pretty lucky in that regard," she agreed.
The Xurkitree tapped his fingers together, shrinking up a bit, but nonetheless said, "I'm nervous, but I'm so happy about that, at least…~"
A certain Delphox strutted over, her two teammates close behind, and the Starstorm trio perked up. Delphi looked perfectly blissful too, playfully waving her wand about each of them like she were casting some sort of spell as she said, "Oh, look at that.~ You evolved for me.~"
Astrid and Arashi both gave her funny looks, not too sure of what she was getting at, and Raijin merely froze up for a second and tilted his head to the side.
"Well, we evolved," Arashi replied, amiable but befuddled.
"F-for you…?" Astrid asked, rather unsure of what to make of her.
Delphi giggled, getting a suggestive smirk and waving her wand about them again with a wink. "You know, I'd love to see what those new forms of yours can do.~ It must be impressive.~"
The words she said were one thing, but the way she was saying them insinuated something… completely different. Both Astrid and Arashi's faces flushed bright red, the latter of which was far more visible and the former of which was accompanied by feathers fluffing out. Raijin was still as a statue, but if he'd been able, he probably would've shown the same countenance.
"Heeeey, Delphi!" Lazuli cried, scurrying over to the Delphox and her team too, Cinder trailing close behind too. "How's the future looking, huh~? Do you see any of meeting our impending demise~?"
"Your abilities are magnificent," Cinder piped up, sounding uncharacteristically nonchalant just like he'd been back at Soul Aria.
Delphi chuckled. "Oh, I see some interesting things, Lazuli!" she replied, crouching down and petting the Azumarill with a graceful touch. "It's too early to tell for sure, but if I do see someone about to get taken out of this plane of existence, I'll be sure to say so.~"
Lazuli laughed. "If you see me about to die, I wanna know so I can smash whatever Beast is about to kill me riiiiight in the face and be like 'not today, sucker!'"
"That won't happen to anyone on my watch!" Spirit declared. "I always look out for my comrades! No one's coming close, and if it happens, I am ready to defend us!"
"I'll give them hell," Cinder said flatly.
No one doubted either one of them at all.
"And I guess you're gonna be the show-stopper like usual, yeah, Joker?" Lazuli inquired, giving the sparkling Unfezant a look.
"Naturally," Joker replied, brushing aside one of his ribbon-like feathers. "My Hidden Power is sure to have us covered no matter what foe we face."
"You've got a hidden power, huh?" Arashi piped up, looking intrigued. "Like what?! Can you show us~?!"
"Hidden Power, the move," the Unfezant swiftly clarified. "And I suppose I could."
Quickly, the Starstorm trio as well as the other two of Team Mirage were ducking down as little rainbow-colored flares of energy flew out from Joker, and a Light Screen went up around them to keep them from travelling very far.
"Hey! Save that for when it matters!" Rozen called, giving them a slightly chiding glance.
"Yeah! Ain't nobody supposed to be fighting now!" Rush likewise shouted.
"No worries, dearies~! No one is fighting!" Delphi called back.
That was enough to assuage Rush and Rozen, though the Audino nonetheless studied them for a second as if to make sure.
Arashi, though, still looked a bit entranced. "Hold on! Those were all rainbow and cool-looking! Isn't normal Hidden Power not supposed to be… well, like that?"
"That's right~!" Delphi replied, grinning. "Joker's is special.~"
The Unfezant himself didn't seem too fazed. "I was involved in quite a bit of experimenting some years ago that allowed me to change that attack's type if I willed it to be another than the standard… But I also wanted to test out the usefulness of other moves as well and ended up not using it for quite some time. We figured this was the most strategic time for me to resume."
Spirit chuckled, sounding just a bit exasperated. "And finding that TM to help you get a handle on it again after being so rusty was difficult! If you lot ever try to hunt down a Hidden Power TM in a Kecleon Shop, good luck, because they're hard to find!"
The Starstorm trio blinked (or at least, the two of them capable did), slightly taken aback and surprised. Lazuli didn't appear too fazed, and Cinder… simply couldn't be bothered to show much emotion one way or another.
"Hold on," Arashi said, grinning with a funny look. "You've been sitting on an ability like that the entire time?"
"Yes~!" Delphi answered, her avian comrade simply giving another brush of his long feathers in silence.
Lazuli grinned. "That's impressive!"
The Greninja got starry-eyed and hurriedly glanced between his two teammates, gushing excitedly, "He is so cool…~!"
Spirit chuckled at his antics, and Astrid gave him a gentle whop over the head with one wing to snap him out of it. He was still grinning and clearly entranced, but evidently it was fine enough to keep to himself.
Delphi got a mischievous smirk and piped up, "Well, you know how we do, dearies.~ As horrendous as this 'Deep Sea' environment sounds, you won't have to worry about those guards if we get ahold of them.~"
"If I was on your team, I'd rip every single one of Void's horde to shreds before any of them tried to touch a magnificent Pokémon like you," Cinder said, eyeing the witch in the cloak.
With a mischievous chuckle, the Delphox scruffed Cinder's head a bit and shortly was skipping off again with her comrades in tow.
Lazuli smirked, studying them as they disappeared into the group. "Y'know, I wonder about them sometimes," she mused.
"What's there to wonder about?" Cinder replied. "It's simple. They're a great team lead by the most perfect living creature to ever walk this earth."
Lazuli gave him an amiable but pointed look, and the Starstorm trio studied him uncertainly.
"Why are so enamored with Delphi?" Raijin inquired, tapping his fingers together. "Are you-"
"Shut the fuck up," the fiery avian quickly cut him off, sounding rather harsh despite his rather casual countenance.
Astrid almost wanted to jab Cinder with an arrow for acting so standoffish with seemingly no reason to do so, but pretty shortly, everyone was doing what Cinder said.
"HEY! EVERYBODY! LISTEN UP!" Rush hollered at the top of his lungs, easily getting everyone's attention and making a few jump in fright. Everyone's gaze turned to the Scrafty. "A'ight! Y'all know what's up- we gotta make our move on Void now before she can screw us over and take this world too! Y'all know our plan- we've split you up so we're not suspicious, Lunala's gonna warp us all out to the areas we've been assigned to, and when a Beast squad gets ahold of ya, don't fight 'em unless ya have to! Tell 'em you're lookin' for this enlightenment you've heard about, tell 'em that you've been enlightened and you just gotta see the source, tell 'em you're fucking lost and curious about this Void everyone mentions- do whatever the hell you gotta to reach that bitch up in her tower the easiest way possible." He got plenty of nods in return, then motioned at Lunala. "While we're in Ultra Space, anything this one says is law, no questions asked! You get a message from her tellin' ya to carve your own eyes out or jump off a fuckin' cliff, you do it! She's the only thing standin' between us and getting obliterated by Necrozma, and her emissary is the only reason we ain't all fucked up now, so y'all better listen!"
More nods followed, Lunala looking just a bit amused at the fanfare. "I doubt those specific things will happen," she said under her breath.
"All that bein's said, are we ready?!" Rush hollered.
Some choruses of "YES!" and "Let's go!" and "I'm ready, darling!" among other variant phrases resounded in return, and the entourage split up into their temporary team arrangements. Astrid held her breath for a second and let it out, not feeling apprehension but not feeling excited… rather just simply accepting that the most treacherous mission she, and likely her teammates too, would ever face would shortly be underway. The Starstorm trio all shared glances, Astrid slightly fluffed out but with narrowed eyes, Arashi looking determined, and Raijin reaching an arm around them both.
"You do the honors, Raijin," Lunala said softly, patting the Xurkitree on the head again.
Raijin nodded. "… Take us home, Lunala."
At that, the air cracked and opened up in multiple places, giving a wormhole to each of their entourage's subsections.
"Let's show our love, darlings~!" Ama exclaimed happily, facing one.
"Oh, I'll show 'em something!" Xeno cried, turning to the same one.
"LET'S GIVE 'EM HELL, COMRADES!" Shar belted out like a war cry.
"Let's go see these Beasties~" Delphi chirped, giving her own group a wink.
Rush faced the one nearest to them and gave a little wave backwards, saying, "Well, I sure as hell ain't wastin' time."
The Starstorm trio exchanged glances again, and Astrid instinctively reached out for both of her comrades who quickly drew up close to each other. She clutched both Arashi and Raijin tightly with each of her hands as they jumped in, and very quickly, Craggy Crossroads became nothing more than a little blip light years away.
