When Cody woke up, he wasn't back in his little hovel in Paradise that he had been staying in for the summer, he was in a white void, with nothing nearby that he could see. Even in this tired, dreamlike state, he had a feeling he knew who would do this. Frankly he was surprised the anomaly went for a white void and not a black void.
"I know you're doing this, you bastard." he spoke plainly, a twinge of fear still in his voice. Just like he guessed he could feel something heavy touching his body, a dank presence collected at his feet, a cold presence worming into his head with a ringing in his ear. There was the black he was expecting.
"Human…Cody, correct?" the anomaly spoke, his voice reverberating around his head and in the void "That is what Keldeo has come to call you, yes?" the anomaly watched Cody for a moment, attempting to wake himself up he assumed "I would not bother, Cody. I am using what power I have left to keep you asleep, for now."
First that white and blue bird, and now the anomaly, he was sick of things hijacking his sleep "What, keep me asleep while you attack the others? They can handle you without me." Cody spoke before he thought, the anger leaving his expression as he realized what he had said.
"I came to talk." The anomaly moaned "You are running out of time and what have you done in the meantime?" a pause, Cody looked down "Be grateful that they have forgotten that you are hurt inside and that they have said nothing? Suffering in silence as you see the other laughing and smiling, knowing soon you'd have to say goodbye…again?"
Cody's head shot back up, looking around "Ah I'm just finding this now. This isn't the first time you've had to say farewell to such good friends…" the anomaly continued.
"Get out of my head!" Cody screamed, and much to his surprise, the anomaly obliged, he only just realized the pain in the back of his head disappearing as the anomaly fell silent.
"This only confirms what I suspected." the anomaly continued "I have come to bargain."
"Bargain? You've been giving us hell all summer!" Cody asked "Why would I ever listen to you?"
"Because I can give you the power to stay." Cody's heart skipped a beat. All the time he had spent with the others, the amount of time he kept hearing how the walls were closing, how traveling was going to be impossible. Could this really be his way to stay with Keldeo "You are thinking it over?"
"What could I ever do for you? I thought your deal was possessing legendary pokemon?" Cody asked, actually remembering how by the end of their fights here, the anomaly was interested in humans, at least that's what Quinn said.
"I do not have my own physical body. That is why I've always had to possess others, take other's forms. It was easy to assume that legendary pokemon were the best to possess with their own power. But here we are, stopped by humans yet again. I was even close to victory when I possessed that scientist from the hybrid world."
"So you want my body?" Cody asked.
"And in turn, I give you the power to stay."
A part of Cody realized how low he had fallen when he realized he was legitimately considering what the anomaly was saying. A chance to stay with Keldeo forever, that sounded too good to be true. But then he remembered where he was, in a white void with his dream hijacked by the thing that was trying to kill them. They were both desperate in their own way.
"I…can't."
"Cannot? Or will not?" the anomaly asked.
"Shut up." Cody said "I…I can't do that to them. I know what it means when you get your hands on someone. I saw what you did to Keldeo, to Quinn."
"So you'll just sit there in silence? Watching everything fall apart around you?" it asked again. Cody resumed his efforts to wake up, not wanting to hear this anymore "Very well. I will stop for now. But I have got my eye on you." and Cody woke up.
He shot up awake with a start, rubbing his head, hints of a lingering headache bothering him as he rubbed his temples. He groaned, looking around and noticing that Terry, Vera and Keldeo were not in their shared room. When he realized that it was already around noon, he realized they had let him sleep in.
They're already moving on without you.
His breath caught in his throat, that voice loud and clear in his head as shot out of bed. Looking around as he heard the anomaly's voice. He could see the sun in the clear sky, no dark purple clouds, how did…-!?
I told you I would be watching you.
He heard it in his head again "No…no this isn't happening I'm…I didn't think about joining you."
You did.
"I didn't."
Yes you did.
He gripped his head, finally realizing that the anomaly was a passenger in his head, just watching, waiting for a moment for his defenses to be down so that he could take over. He couldn't. He wouldn't.
He
Was
Fine.
Cody smiled despite himself. He had this all figured out, now that he knew what the anomaly was planning, he knew what he needed to do. He needed to never feel anything bad as long as he was in Paradise. Simplicity itself. He knew that's what the anomaly wanted. And so he plastered a big smile on his face and walked out the door. He was going to enjoy his last days in Paradise with his best friends in the whole worlds, and the anomaly wasn't going to get in the way. He was going to beat this thing without them.
Cody walked through Paradise, greeting everyone with a wave and a smile, and he was so happy to see that the others were so happy to see him happy, waving back before they returned to their daily lives.
How long do you think you can keep this facade up?
"As long as I need to, now shut up." Cody said, louder than he had meant to. Loud enough where others heard him mutter under his breath. The smile faded for a moment before he waved like normal, and they returned to their lives again. He kept walking down the street, he had a feeling he knew where the others were going to be, at Swanna Cafe, their place for breakfast once everything was back to normal. On his way there, he happen to see Kyurem, trying his best to walk through the streets without bumping into something. He hadn't seen him since the anomaly was purged from his body a couple of weeks ago.
"Hey, you wanna know how this ends?" Cody rhetorically asked the anomaly, approaching Kyurem "Hey, man. Been feeling better?"
Kyurem stopped and looked to Cody "Ah, hello human. I am glad to see you are in such good spirits. How are…" he began, before intensely scanning Cody's body up and down.
"Everything alright, big guy?" Cody laughed. The chill in the air made him realize Kyurem was upset.
He knows I am here.
"Cody…-?" Kyurem began, only for Cody to step past him, continuing his trek towards the cafe.
"You tell anyone…-!" Cody spoke, in a dark tone that surprised even him. He was content to just move past Kyurem silently, but a dark presence made him speak. Even those three words were enough to silence Kyurem, stealing glances back at Cody as he continued walking down the path "Don't do that again." Cody said flatly.
Only if you let me
He shuddered, his attention was tankfully turned to Keldeo and The Voice of Life, standing right outside the Swanna Cafe; one would think eating at the same place for breakfast the past couple of weeks would get tired quickly. But Cody couldn't get enough of it. He was about to wave and call out to them, but he saw the look on Keldeo's face as he looked at Hydreigon.
"...And you're sure that isn't possible?" Keldeo asked, in reference to another question asked before he arrived, he seemed disappointed.
"I am afraid so…I am sorry, Keldeo." The Voice of Life said, Cody looked at the pained look on both of their faces. He couldn't help but wonder what happened? What were they talking about?
They are talking about you.
Shut up
He approached them, the same smile plastered on his face as he greeted them "Hey guys!"
Keldeo jumped to the outburst, surprised "H…Hey Cody, good to see ya. Sleep well?"
"Like a dream." Cody smiled, the silence that followed made his smile falter for only a moment. "So uh…" he stammered "What were you guys talking about?" he noticed the Voice of Life gaze immediately turned to Keldeo, wanting to see what he said or did.
"...Nothing important." Keldeo said, even Cody could tell that sentence was hiding some kind of sadness. He shook his head "C'mon, let's head inside, don't wanna keep Terry and Vera waiting." and with that Keldeo brushed past Hydreigon and walked inside Swanna Cafe. The Voice of Life nodded respectfully before flying inside as well, leaving Cody by himself just outside.
They were talking about you. They are hiding something from you.
Shut up shut up shut up SHUT UP!
That forced smile came back on, and he walked inside after them.
It didn't take much effort to find Terry and Vera in the cafe, considering they were the only humans among pokemon. Keldeo, the Voice of Life, and Cody all sat down with them.
"It was nice of Swanna to let us use her kitchen. We made oran berry pancakes. Try some." Vera said, already watching the others begin to eat. Terry smothering his with maple syrup, while Keldeo and Hydreigon ate theirs without.
"You know it tastes better with the syrup?" Terry offered, threatening to pour some over their breakfast.
"Ah, I quite prefer these dry, thank you." The voice of life said, his two head hands eating.
"And the first time I tried syrup with those…waffles…you recommended, I had syrup in my mane for the rest of the day. So I'm good, thanks." Keldeo said, continuing to eat. Being around them, just taking in their energy as they ate and chatted, it felt so good to be here, it felt so right. He had to keep the energy going.
"Hit me, dude." Cody said, not missing a beat, relieved as he heard Terry cheer and pour. Cody was already taking a bite and chewing "So…what's on the itinerary today? Keldeo says we have…what a week left before the barriers close?" he asked, seeing Keldeo nod.
"Well, actually. I already made plans." Vera began, pulling out her phone "I've been texting Susie and the others and we wanna go clothes shopping for the new school year. I even convinced them to donate their old clothes." Vera smiled, and Cody's heart skipped a beat.
"Susie, you mean the girl from the play? Who took your part?" Cody asked.
"Yeah." Vera nodded, sliding to a picture and showing the phone to Keldeo "See that scarf? I wanna give that to you before we leave. With you dashing everywhere a scarf will look so good on you."
"Vera, thank you so much." Keldeo smiled back. Cody's breath caught in his throat as he heard that. Vera was talking to Susie, to all of them again? After the way they treated her?
Everyone is moving on without you…
Cody swallowed hard, turning to Terry "You gotta be free, right man? I know you couldn't be dragged into that, right?"
"Pfft, of course not!" He began, his enthusiasm dying as the side glance from Vera silenced him "But er… I'm gonna hit the gym with the guys, gotta get back in shape when football starts up again"
Cody nearly choked, the guys that declared Terry a lost cause for the summer, and he was hanging out with them again too?
Everyone is moving on without you.
"You can totally join us, if you want Cody. I could use a spotting buddy that I can actually trust." Terry smiled, resuming eating his pancakes "Oh, and I gotta snag a copy of our playbook for you, dude." He said, pointing to Keldeo "Maybe you can use it to like…come up with new strategies to fight or something" Terry shrugged.
"Sounds good to me, Terry. Thank you."
Cody looked to Keldeo "You're gonna be free right? I'd love to go exploring some more with you." trying his best to hide the desperation in his voice
"Actually I'm probably gonna be scouting today. We still don't know where the anomaly went after leaving Kyurem. I want to make sure he is done and gone. I'd feel terrible if he somehow snuck back into your world." Keldeo paused for a moment before turning to face Cody "But…you should come with me. Look together and still get your pictures." he offered.
"No…no I don't want to get in the way." Cody said softly, resuming eating.
Everyone is moving on without you!
Cody clenched, knowing if he responded to that the others would get suspicious.
"Cody?" Keldeo said "What are you thinking?" The question caused the others to look at Cody, waiting for an answer.
They're going to find out
"I…" he began, looking at the others, their gazes beginning to make his chest grow tight. They were waiting for him to say something, anything "I'm just…waiting for someone to ask me what I got planned today." he smiled, and the way the others looked at him and each other told him they didn't believe him.
"Cody if this is about the walls closing up…I…" Keldeo began only for Cody to interrupt.
"That's why I decided." Cody stood up, looking at the others "I'm gonna stay here in Paradise with Keldeo." he smiled.
The others stared back at him in surprise for a moment, looking back and forth between each other before finally laughing out loud. Even Terry doubled over, his drink coming out of his nose as he coughed. Cody's breath caught in his throat, his smile fading for a moment as he looked at them, why were they laughing at him?
"Phew, okay. I needed that." Keldeo exhaled, getting the last of the giggles out of him "But seriously. You gotta have something planned when you get back?"
"But I am being serious." Cody spoke plainly. Terry was about to start laughing again, until Vera nudged him to not, the smile fading from them. Cody was suddenly aware of the bewildered stares of everyone at the table.
"Cody you…you can't stay here." Keldeo bit his lip.
"Well…why not?" Cody asked, his voice beginning to rise. Keldeo averted his gaze.
"Think about your mom. Your family?" Vera tried to offer.
"And what about us?" Terry finally put his drink down.
"What about you two?" Cody snapped, wincing at the hurt look in their eyes for a moment "You two just said you were going back to your old friends. Y'know, the ones who called you a lost cause, the ones who went behind your back and took something from you and smiled about it. And you two have each other."
Vera gasped "How did you know?"
Cody threw his arms up "Everybody knew, Vera!"
Terry stood up "Don't you talk to her like that!"
"Guys!" Keldeo chimed in, the humans now aware that the entire cafe had stopped to hear this conversation. Cody turned beat red as he sat back down, not able to look at them.
"Cody. You cannot just throw your life away to stay here." The Voice of Life, who had been quiet the whole conversation, finally chimed in "There is a natural balance to our worlds. A human remaining in our world while not a pokemon could lead to unintended consequences, as it would be the case if one of us chose to stay in your world." he frowned. Keldeo sighed, looking down.
"Quinn did it." Cody countered.
"That is different." The Voice of Life "He went to a hybrid world, it is expected for humans and pokemon to be there."
"So then I'll just use the medallion, and be Cobalion all the time." Cody's hand went to his medallion before The Voice of Life shook his head.
"You are missing the point." the Hydreigon frowned.
"Cody, you'd be throwing away everything. Just to stay here?" Keldeo shook his head "I couldn't live with myself if I kept you away from your old life."
"You wouldn't be! That's why I want to stay." Cody said, clutching his scar as it throbbed.
"You are still a child, Cody…" The Voice of Life said sternly, Terry, Vera and Keldeo sharing similar sentiments. Cody's insides twisted upon themselves, hearing everybody suddenly turn on him like that. He couldn't even hear the arguments anymore, it was just so much ringing in his ear. He finally stood up, head held low as he walked out of Swanna Cafe, ignoring the others as they questioned him.
When he stepped out, he was startled by the strong gust of cold wind that hit him from the side. Not even bothering to look at the others as they followed behind him, trying to get him to talk, say anything. But what else was there to say? He poured his heart out to them, and they had the nerve to tell him why he was all wrong like that, laugh at him like that? He cupped his hands over his ears, the ringing, their talking, the wind it was becoming too much for him to bear.
"Just shut up!" Cody screamed, enough for them to stop for the time being. It was only now the cold grew insufferable, he clutched his denim jacket harder. Then suddenly, they were all very aware of what was happening, the wisps of purple on the wind, the dark purple clouds in the skies above. The anomaly was back, after weeks of being dormant it returned.
Cody heard Keldeo say something, he looked back at him, knowing what it meant for the anomaly to show up, especially after a fight like this. It wanted him. He was mad at his friends, sure, but even he didn't want the anomaly possessing him. He began to take a step towards them, only for the dark whirlwind to envelop him.
"Cody!"
Wherever he was now. The anger from the fight with his friends was gone, the fear of the anomaly returning was gone. All that remained inside of him was the sorrow of leaving again. One that caused his whole body to seize.
"I told you they would do this, Cody." the anomaly whispered in his ear, swirling around him, just like this morning. He didn't want to believe it, he never wanted to believe it was true. But how they reacted to him was all the proof he needed to know it was right "So let us help each other." and he could feel the anomaly…enter him. A cold feeling starting at the tip of his toes and slowly crawling upwards towards his body. A part of him wanted to resist, but deep down he was tired. Tired of fighting, tired of feeling so sad. It felt better to just give in to the anomaly.
"Goodbye, Cody. Rest well, knowing that only I will give you what you want. The power to stay here."
And then Cody's world went dark.
Keldeo, the other swordsmen, and all of Paradise stood in stunned silence as the dark clouds began to fade, the silhouette of Cody just standing there in the middle of it all. Cody opened his eyes, and yet they seemed normal as he looked around at everyone, seemingly…confused? Cody curiously flexed and looked all over his body.
"I've gotten so used to taking the form of legendary pokemon. This is…new…" he stated coldly and matter of factly.
"What did you do?" Keldeo asked, rhetorically. Of course he knew what he did, he got to Cody, he possessed him just like he possessed himself "Where's Cody!?" he screamed.
Cody…or rather the anomaly…stopped looking around and locked his eyes onto Keldeo. Rather than respond, it reached into Cody's shirt, taking the cobalt medallion off and inspecting it in his hand, inquisitively. Keldeo's breath caught in his throat as he heard the sound of the medallion cracking and shattering in Cody's grip, the broken pieces falling to the ground.
"He's gone." he said matter of factly, looking at his hand for a moment before a long blade of pure energy formed in his hand, the blue energy slowly changing to a familiar, dark purple.