A/N: Explanation time; After my life was set on fire for the past three weeks, I had a bout of a writer's block right after coming back. Now that everything's done and over with, I can get back to doing this. Here's to the next updates.
~ Kira University, Commons ~
They had completed the dungeon. They had defeated the rampaging Gyarados and brought him to reason. They had successfully returned to the school in one piece, Traximus's injuries notwithstanding. In all senses of the word, Team Nova had won. Yet, the hands of hopelessness still gripped Neltharios by the heart, the thoughts of everything happening in the dungeon bore in the back of his mind.
Was it the right thing to leave that Loudred there? Neltharios pondered to himself, his stomach churning. Rescue teams… They don't leave Pokémon behind, right? Team Go Getters… Did they have to deal with this? This… Feeling?
Neltharios fell to the ground, fatigue beginning to overtake him. His breathing grew heavier in response to the growing pain welling up in his stomach and chest. Gods and Euno… He was just a Gyarados who wanted to fetch something for his mate! Is this what it's like to be a Rescue Team? I thought that being a Rescue Team would be just serving the good Pokémon! Nobody told me about having to fight innocents!
No! He mentally yelled back at himself, shaking his head. This was just a one-time thing. We were just… overwhelmed. Yes, overwhelmed…
The golden Charmander glanced up briefly, spotting Reiner in front of him. The Krokorok slowly approached, and when he reached him, the Krokorok's hand extended out to him. Saying nothing, Neltharios took his hand and rose to his feet.
"Reiner," Neltharios sickly called out, "I need a nap."
"Yeah, a nap sounds great…" The Krokorok responded.
The pair slinked past some detectives who were too busy inspecting the scene and debating amongst themselves to notice them. All around were students and other civilians scrambling to find their missing things. Among the students, Neltharios noticed a familiar figure. A Loudred, the very same that was trapped in the dungeon, lies in the dirt, face up, unconscious.
"Hey… Isn't that the guy you were so worried about?" Reiner asked, scratching his left temple and pointing at the direction in question with his free hand.
"Yeah! He's alive!" The gold Charmander cheered, "He's okay!" In the middle of his cheering, a wave of relief instantly washed over him. Still, his stomach continued to hurt him, a fact that became more apparent when he hunched back over soon after. Despite the pain, Neltharios wished to move towards the Loudred and ensure his safety. However, Reiner pulled his arm, nearly slinging the Charmander on his side.
"Hey! Let me go!"
"He's fine!" Reiner growled, gripping Neltharios tighter, "We need to stay back. If we get caught by those detectives, we'll have too many questions to answer."
"Really? That's what you're worried about most!? We, and several of our classmates, nearly died because of your package and your greatest worry is having to answer a few questions!?"
Reiner pulled Neltharios closer, grappling him and shoving his hand over Neltharios's mouth. He fled into an isolated area of the scene, absent of any presence besides the two Pokémon. The Krokorok shifted his head left and right, attempting to eye anything. When he felt safe, he turned his attention back to Neltharios.
"Shut up." Reiner snarled, "Do you want them to notice us?"
The Charmander broke out of Reiner's grasp, heaving briefly. "Absolutely I do!" He shouted, "Because staying with you got us all in this mess!"
The Krokorok glared daggers into the Charmander, "Are you saying that I had something to do with this?"
"Who else could have?! That thing was in your package!"
"Shut it! I had nothing to do with this! Somebody tampered with my things!"
Neltharios crossed his arms, "Prove it. Prove to me that somebody tampered with it."
Reiner briefly froze. "I…I…"
"Knew it. You're hiding something from me! Tell me the truth!"
"I don't know how it happened, okay! I just asked for some battle items!" Reiner cried out, causing Neltharios to stagger a bit.
Silence befell them. Emotions visibly exchanged between Neltharios's increasing agitation and Reiner's rising anxiety. For the moment, the two stared each other down.
"You better explain," Neltharios pressured, "Or else I'm taking a little stroll over towards those detectives and telling them everything."
An audible warping sound was heard from behind Reiner, drawing both Pokémon's attention. After the light show, an Alcryst materialized, wearing a navy blue looplet. The newcomer grumbled something inaudible before turning to face the pair of Pokémon.
"Oh no…" Reiner gulped, a trickle of sweat immediately forming on his face.
Alcryst floated towards them, a curious expression lining his face. The closer and closer he got, the brighter his looplet began to shine, eventually causing Neltharios to squint slightly when looking at him.
"My looplet appears to be reacting to you," Alcryst stated, "Did you two come out of an Eternarift?"
"N-No…" Reiner lied, "We were just-"
"Yeah, we did." Neltharios interjected much to Reiner's worry, "What's it to you?"
Alcryst sighed, slouching his stance a bit. "Then I will need you to come with me," he grunted, "And please, come quietly. The detectives are quite rowdy."
Both Pokémon complied, Reiner nervously so. Walking within arm's reach of Alcryst, a flash of light ensued and the three of them warped away.
As all the commotion rang about the area, Sasha stood towards the main hall, eyeing the entire scene. The Tyranitar, having seen enough, left further into the building. Taking her connection orb off her holster, she tapped it, causing a slight blue glow to emit from it.
"Good Evening Sasha. What would you like to do today?"
"Get me a secure communication channel with 'Derge," Sasha said, moving opposite of where the ambient Pokémon were headed.
"Understood. Pinging 'Derge…"
A few silent moments from the orb enabled Shasha to focus her efforts on moving. Having not many moments to spare, she settled herself into a secluded section of the hall. She took a bit to herself to regain her bearings. She noticed that her connection orb was glowing a brighter blue color. 'What a pain. 'Derge is gonna cry about his precious distraction going south. Three…Two…One…'
"Sashie! We got a problem! I don't have a reading on my rift!" As if right on cue, Sasha rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm aware. Brainiac must have developed some way to counter our weaponry…"
"What does that mean for the plan, then?"
"Don't worry your tail off. It's all handled."
"What do you mean? Wait… You counted on this, didn't you?"
"More like the boss did. He said he knew Alcryst was out there somewhere, and he wanted to snuff him out." Sasha tapped her free hand's finger to her head, "Not sure why he would waste his precious Eterna orbs, though."
"Yeah. Those things take forever to make, I heard. Something about using foreign energies. But still, why does he want Alcryst? A long-lost lover or something?"
Sasha fought hard to hold back a snicker. "Probably not. You know how the boss is. Regardless, we have to expedite our plans to leave for Northrun. I honestly expected the chaos to last a bit longer, but with the authorities crawling all over this place, I've got to bail tonight at the latest."
"Right. Remember the password?"
"Ingasa Eta Sigma."
"Good. Got the key as well?"
Sasha pulls out a small pendant with a purple crystal embedded inside. "Yes."
"Then let's move out. 'Member to start your trip at sunset to get as much dusk hours in as possible. Wouldn't want the do-gooders to catch you, Sashie!"
With that last sentence, the connection orb dimmed. Placing the orb back on her holster and the pendant back in her satchel, Sasha moved herself out of her hiding space and into the main hall.
'What does the boss see in Alcryst? Sure, he can reverse Eternarifts, but I feel that there's something there to unpack…' Sasha pondered, rolling her neck.
The Charmander asked, "So, what do you want to know?"
Neltharios, Reiner and Alcryst were warped into a room somewhere in the university. The ambient silence provided some level of presumed security for the trio as they began their conversation. Neltharios sat with his arms crossed, leaning slightly forward. Reiner meanwhile sat back, trembling with every word spoken.
"I wish to know several things," Alcryst began, "And we can start with how all this started. Have either of you got any clue how this Eternarift spawned?"
Initially, Neltharios glanced at Reiner, expecting the Krokorok to answer. However, when he became aware of Reiner's nervousness, Neltharios grunted and focused back on Alcryst.
"It was a strange magenta colored orb that was lodged into his package," Neltharios explained, drawing a mortified look from Reiner, "And when Reiner picked it up, it reacted to him and there was a light and a sound. Then we woke up in a dungeon."
Alcryst twirled around his facial for a bit, processing the information. After finishing, he responded, "Is this true, Krokorok?"
Reiner gulped nervously. "Yes sir…" He relented.
"Right…" Alcryst mulled, "So what happened next?"
"We went through this crazy weird dungeon made of crystal. And it had this weird thing in which it reacted to our types!" Neltharios narrated, "Then we found one of our classmates in the dungeon!"
Alcryst leaned forward, suddenly spiking his engagement in the conversation, "Truly?"
"Yeah! He was knocked out by some Poliwag and," Neltharios glared at Reiner, "This guy suggested we leave him behind!"
Reiner briefly snapped out of his nervous trance, "Only because we needed to look after ourselves. Did any of us look like we could lift him?"
"You could have at least made an attempt to drag him!"
"And waste more time?" The Krokorok crossed his arms and fidgeted with his biceps, "We could have been attacked by more ferals! Traxman means something to you, right? Would you trade his life for that Loudred's!?"
The Charmander snarled at his opposition, bearing his fangs. "Don't bring him into this! I have problems with him too!"
"Oh good! So complain to him then! I was just trying to keep you idiots alive! At least the Bagon has a survival instinct unlike you and the Axew…"
Neltharios began to charge a spit of fire in his maw, "Say that again and-"
"Silence." Both Pokémon were suddenly silenced by a single command that came from Alcryst's direction. Turning their heads, they saw Alcryst's eyes glow a bright blue as he pointed his hand in the duo's direction. Neltharios tried to speak, and felt his mouth moving to cohesive words, but nothing was audible. Moments of silence passed, and the tension between Reiner and Neltharios soon died out.
"You may speak again." Alcryst projected into the minds of both Neltharios and Reiner, enabling the usage of their voices again. Neltharios tapped his maw and his throat, inspecting what had changed, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
"W-What was that…?" Reiner pointed at Alcryst, his hand trembling.
"A little trick I picked up. I won't have you two at each other's throats while I'm here." Alcryst leered at Neltharios, "Continue past that part. What happened next?"
"We soon made it to what I thought was the end of the dungeon," Neltharios continued, tapping his fingers together, "We met this Gyarados named Euno and he seemed like he was hurt or something. Then some weird crystal thing appeared on his head, and he attacked us!"
Alcryst's face scrunched. "A crystal? What kind of crystal was it?"
The Charmander put his hands above his head, mimicking the shape of the crystal he remembered on Euno's head. "It was a reddish crystal that had like a candle thing on it. It glowed bright red and for some reason I think made him weak to ground moves!"
Alcryst shut his eyes, put his hands on his head, and rubbed his temples. Neltharios heard some inaudible grumbling coming from him as he opened his eyes back up.
"Students. What he just experienced was a phenomenon that we thought was long dead," Alcryst stated, drawing a confused look from Neltharios and Reiner. "If what you said was true, then it means the revival of Terastallization."
"Terastallization? What's that?" Reiner asked apprehensively.
"Terastallization is an ancient magic. One that enables a Pokémon to temporarily change its typing to whatever the Pokémon's latent spirit enables it to change into," Alcryst explained, causing Neltharios and Reiner to immediately tense up, "The type that a Pokémon changes into once inducing Terastallization is referred to as its Tera type."
Reiner gave Neltharios an anxious look that the Charmander immediately returned. Looking back to Alcryst, Reiner asked, "S-So that crystal represents a Pokémon's Tera type?"
"Yes," Alcryst responded, "And by the way that your friend described it, it appears that Euno's Tera typing was of the fire typing."
The Charmander waved his hands about back and forth, signaling his confusion. "Woah, woah, woah. You mean that Euno just straight up became a FIRE type? Like… ME?!"
"Correct."
"But how?!"
Reiner placed his hand to his chin. As he tuned out the ensuing back and forth between Neltharios and Alcryst, he began mentally piecing together the situation. There was a dungeon that had color changes. The pinging sound heard in the dungeon was Euno smashing his head against the walls. Euno claimed that he had felt a rushing torrent of water and a blazing inferno at differing points of time as they were exploring the dungeon. All these events were connected, and with the talks of Tera Typing, he came to the only conclusion that he could find.
"Guys," Reiner started, getting both Alcryst and Neltharios's attention, "Whoever must have made the dungeon must have found a way to change a Pokémon's Tera Type on the fly."
"What!?" Neltharios bellowed, "B-but… Alcryst said that it's tied to a Pokémon's spirit or whatever! You can't just change that!"
"No… It's possible," Alcryst interjected, "In a distant land at a distant time, there existed some cuisine that changed a Pokémon's Tera Typing. However, the technique was lost. But whoever made this dungeon found another method of changing Tera Types."
"Cuisine? As in food?" Reiner inquired.
"Yes. However, the recipe is lost on me." Alcryst played with his looplet, which gleamed a gentle light blue, "But enough about that. I do have one more question, and it has to do with your health."
"Huh?" Neltharios tilted his head, "What is it?"
"Have either of you two experienced any symptoms after coming out of that rift?" Alcryst asked, dropping his arm from his looplet.
"Define 'symptoms.'" Reiner rolled his eyes.
"Shortness of breath, sudden low or high heart rates, extreme fatigue that vanishes after a few minutes, sudden or abrupt aggression, or frantic and sporadic panic attacks?"
"Nope, not I." Reiner said.
Neltharios crossed his arms once again, this time to pacify himself from the rising anxiety that began to overtake him. "I-I did have some fatigue that vanished… actually when we got here… what does that mean…?"
Alcryst closed his eyes and shook his head. "Oh dear… This isn't ideal…"
Neltharios felt sweat begin to trickle the back of his neck, "W-what does that mean? What does it mean?!"
"The aggression, the sudden fatigue… Young Charmander. This news might or might not be glorious for you, but you may be due for an early evolution."
The Charmander's heart briefly stopped, "…What?"
"Eternarift induced evolution," Alcryst explained, "Eternarifts are known to accelerate the natural rate at which civilized Pokémon evolve should they survive being inside. However, if too much of the Eternarift's energies converge onto a Pokémon and they evolve, it may induce a corrupted evolution." The Alakazam looked at Neltharios, "However, since the levels of Eternarift energy coming from you isn't critical, you should undergo a normal evolution soon. If your symptoms get worse, then it may be a cause for alarm."
"Um… What kind of alarm…?" Neltharios asked, internally screaming at himself for asking the question.
Alcryst averted Neltharios's gaze, "You may have to be put down in the worst-case scenario, as you would begin the process of turning feral."
Breaking News! Panic in the University Square!
As if the incident just a couple of days ago wasn't bad enough, another incident happened at the university, this time, a much more sinister force was at play. In the morning hours, a Pokémon had received a package and opened it at near Grimmsnarl's Noodle Stand. Witnesses claimed that the scene that followed was a flash of light followed by a strange vortex pulling everything in the vicinity into it akin to a whirlpool. Several students were caught and pulled in; a fact that became apparent when several identifiable students were suddenly warped back onto the scene with law enforcement surrounding the area. Several students remain missing, but law enforcement vows to find them.
Additionally, a Gyarados was found on the scene, confusing law enforcement and medical officials everywhere. Seeing as there were two incidents at the same locale within a small window of time, the local government is calling for stricter security, possibly a temporary Martial Law to be enacted at least until the situation can be addressed.
-C. Vincent, your valiant Chatot reporter
~ End of Chapter 2 ~
