Showdown Arc: It Can't Get Any Weirder...
"Uuuuh... The fog is really annoying..." Mari commented as they wandered around in it. "I see nothing. Nada. You?",
"Right now, it would be more useful if I had Luxray's eyes, but... well, I can't see that badly here", Jacky said. "Apparently better than you.",
"Yeah... if I don't figure out how to use Gardevoir's psychic powers anytime soon, I'll trip over every damn pebble!",
"That's what I'm here for. Watch out, stone!" Mari stumbled and kissed the floor lengthwise. "... Yeah, I can see that." She scrambled back onto her feet and glared at Jacky. "A little earlier next time, please!",
"Sorry. Are you okay?",
"Yeah. It's just my pride that is bleeding.",
"Well, everything's fine then.",
"Oh, eff off."
"Mari?" A voice interrupted the two of them. They looked up. A dark figure stood in the mist. "Mari, is that you...?"
Mari held her breath for a short moment. Jacky noticed, "Is that...?",
"Yes." Mari nodded somberly. "That was Maki's voice."
The figure in the mist gradually became visible. It was a girl with brown eyes and black hair tied into a braid. She was even shorter than Mari (and that was saying something) and looked a little younger as well. Maki came closer and stopped in front of them. "...",
"Hypno, whatever you're planning right now, if you're trying to emotionally destroy me, you're going to have to come up with something else", Mari growled. "You're more likely to piss me off that way.",
"This was your biggest mistake..." Maki said.
"What are you talking about?" Jacky wanted to know. "The one next to me is your cousin... even if she doesn't look like it...",
"Thanks.", Mari mumbled.
"...And she wants to save you.",
"I'm aware of that... but any help comes too late... There's no way out of here...", "Nonsense. We'll find our way out of here", Jacky insisted. Maki shook her head. "I don't want to leave..." Then, she turned to Mari and hugged her, whether in the guise of her Gardevoir or not. "Please, stay with me, Mari.",
"She's gotten brainwashed", Mari said in Jacky's direction. "Look at her eyes." Jacky nodded. "I see it... So she's trapped here too, but not in an awake state.",
"Yeah... I'd like to teleport out of here, but I can't right now. How annoying." She wriggled out of Maki's grip. "I'm sorry, dear cousin. I'll fry Hypno first and then, we can be together, okay?",
"You're mean!" Maki burst into tears. "Why do you want to leave me alone?!",
"Because I'm busy." Mari smiled. "I'll save you, I promise." Then, she looked at Jacky. "Let's keep going, now.",
"No! Please, stay here!" Maki put her hand around Mari's wrist.
"I'd like my real body back." Mari pulled away from her. Then, she ran. In Gardevoir's body, though, that was a problem, and she hated it. Then, however, the ground slipped from under her feet. "Holy shit, what...?!" She floated. "This is totally crazyyyyyy!" Jacky sprinted after her. "You're flying!",
"I'm floating," Mari corrected. "There's a difference.",
"MARI!" Maki yelled after her. Mari didn't look back. "Stay focused..." she said to herself. "Come on Jacky, run faster!",
"You're treating me like a pet, do you even notice that?" Jacky asked, running faster.
"No, I don't notice! Sorry!",
"Great. Let's face it, running on all fours is freaking weird for me, so don't complain! I'm tripping over myself almost every step!",
"That looks extremely funny.",
"Says the one who doesn't even have to walk?",
"Weeeell..." Mari winked at her. "Stop complaining! We have to beat someone up!",
"Yeah, okay. You're right."
Meanwhile, also in the fog and quite far away, Absol straightened up. His skull was humming and he held his head. "...Huh?" He stood on all fours and stared down at himself. "Wait... When did I run out of fur? And... short claws?",
"Since you started to look like a human", Gardevoir's voice replied and footsteps stopped in front of him.
"A human?" Absol repeated, startled. "Um... that... This is just a dream, isn't it?",
"A nightmare, mind you. I think this is Hypno's work.",
"Well wonderful..." Absol tried to move around, but his legs were longer than his arms and he groaned. "I can't even walk!",
"You look strange." Gardevoir looked down at Absol in amusement while being inside Mari's body.
"Gardevoir? Is that you?",
"Who else?" Gardevoir nodded. Absol braced himself on his legs and stood up slowly and shakily. "Uaah, everything is so foggy here... You look like your trainer.",
"I know," Gardevoir replied. "And you look like yours."
Absol eyed her. "...But you're still as pretty as before... somehow..." he sighed dreamily. Gardevoir raised an eyebrow. "What was that?",
"N-nothing!" Absol shook his head.
"Hmph..." She crossed her arms. "I don't know if you realized it yet... but you have a female body.",
"What?! Oh... That's right, if I look like my trainer..." He tugged at the clothes he was forced to wear. "How can you throw something like that on you? It's totally uncomfortable! I never understood that...",
"Did you expect anything else?" Gardevoir tossed her black hair back, which seemed to please her. "Oh, if only Mari had worn her kimono...",
"What I expected? To at least look like a male human!"
Gardevoir laughed out. "Hahaha... Somehow, I can imagine that. Anyway, we should get our feet under us moving and go find our trainers.",
"If it were up to you, you could stay in there, right?",
"Naturally not, but I don't think it's so bad... temporarily, of course." Her green eyes scrutinized him. Absol looked away quickly to keep himself from blushing. One always saw it so quickly with these humans. "So, go on. Move it!" Gardevoir turned and started running. "H-hey, wait!" Absol wobbled after her in a rush.
"Don't lose me!" Gardevoir looked back at him, her temporarily black hair twirling as she did so.
'Does she have any idea what she's doing to me right now...?' Absol thought to himself, dropping his shoulders. 'Females...'
Suddenly, Guardevoir's face appeared right in front of his and she stared sullenly into his eyes. "I heard that."
Absol backed away. "W-wah! Hey!",
"I can still read your mind, you moron. Stop fooling around! We have an important mission!" She held out her hand to him. Absol looked at her and then at the hand before grabbing it. "Well then... Let's go. I don't want to have to brush my hair out of my face for another second. Let alone look like a girl.",
"Fine. Let's go then." Gardevoir kept walking and Absol followed, keeping a tight grip on her hand so as not to lose her in the haze. It wasn't too unlikely. 'This is too strange to be true... I'm walking around here, holding hands like humans with my trainer's body next to Gardevoir in her trainer's body. Whew...' he thought to himself.