Hello everyone, uh… sorry it took this long!
Scout: "Why did this take so long?"
Me: Yes, but.
Sean: "Yeah, asshole."
Mee: Now that's just mean.
Mawile: "My calculations say you took too long."
Me: Shhh. Let's just enjoy the chapter ok?
Entering The Dream was a strange experience. It was like dying.
An experience Scout and Sean were at least somewhat familiar with. Melting away into light wasn't quite dying, but it was worse in a way and better in another.
Falling into The Dream dropped them through layers of reality, falling further and faster and longer and slower. The Dream was not just one pokémon's mind, but many, with distorted space blended with the power of Darkrai and Cresselia.
Scout, Sean, and Mawile fell until there was no more to fall.
It was Scout who was the first to take note of their surroundings. "This is different to what I was expecting," he commented. "This isn't the nightmare dungeon."
"Well, Darkrai called it The Dream," Mawile pointed out.
"Less nightmare more dungeon," Scout replied. "Which this is neither."
The three took a long moment to take in their surroundings. They had entered The Dream through Wigglytuff, but he was nowhere in sight. What was in sight were trees, green grass, a smoothed rocky trail, and more trees.
"This is the trail to the beach," Sean said. He was right.
"Are you sure?" Scout asked. Sean nodded. "Alright. Let's go up then. Maybe there will be someone somewhere?"
Nodding to him they all started walking. It was a picturesque view as they walked. The green trees, fluffy with leaves, swayed in a gentle wind, spreading a flowery scent of springtime energy to their senses.
The sunlight twinkled merrily up above, beaming down a gentle warmth that wasn't too hot and had not a single cloud in the sky to dull this delightful day.
The song of the world hummed along with the wind, ruffling Scout and Sean's fur, but Mawile was relatively unaffected, she was writing down everything they were passing by in a little notebook.
Walking the cheekily twisting trail for a few minutes, the three spelunkers were as silent as the grave. Sean was still very upset about what had happened to Saniya and Scout could tell, he wanted to say something but he knew it wouldn't matter to Sean.
Mawile simply had nothing to say to them, too busy writing in her notebook.
Soon enough they had something new to face. The looming face of Wigglytuff cresting over the trees. The guild stood firm above Treasure Town, beaming down a blank-eyed brilliant shadow of protection.
Heartened by the sight of Wigglytuff's Guild, the trio increased their walking speed by a few feet and spotted the crossroads.
"Fascinating," Mawile said primly. "This place appears to be an exact replica of Treasure Town!"
"We'll need to check the rest of it out first," Scout pointed out.
"Yes-yes, we'll get there." They reached the crossroads and found they had someone to talk to already. Diglett was burrowing back and forth, rather aimlessly, and his eyes fell on the three as Scout cleared his throat.
"Diglett!" Scout beamed, trotting up to him. "How are you?"
"Oh, I'm okay," Diglett said, a little distracted. "Say… Scout, do you know where Bidoof is?" Scout shook his head. "Darn."
Mawile raised her hand, stepping forth as her horns gave a sloppy smack, causing Sean to flinch. "We have questions for you, Diglett."
"Alright." Diglett blinked. "Hello. You're the leader of Team Frontier, right?"
"Former leader," Mawile corrected. "I left it to explore further. I would talk to Spinda, but the café doesn't open until later. So, here is you."
"Okay," Diglett agreed. "What do you want to talk about?"
Mawile hummed, her horns tongue extending out to try and sneak a taste of Sean. "Well, first of all we've got the rather big question. Have any odd dreams lately?"
"Dreams?" Diglett asked, frowning. "No… none that I can think of."
"Nothing at all? Haven't gone to sleep and woken up feeling like you're still asleep?"
"Nope."
"Haven't attempted to fly? Any teeth falling out? Any tests coming up you haven't studied for?"
Diglett blinked at her. "The second one, maybe? But I'm a growing boy! My dad tells me that all the time." For a moment Diglett looked odd, but he shook it off. "Any other questions?"
"That is all."
Diglett burrowed back underground as Mawile turned back to them with her findings. "It appears the pokémon here don't realise they are still in a dream."
"Well hang on," Sean said. "That's just one pokémon!"
Scout, however, was nodding. "It makes sense, really. Darkrai probably wouldn't want the victims of his little perfect world to be aware of it all. We still remember! That's the most important thing."
"Right." Mawile nodded. "So then. What should we do? Trying to snap them out of this could be dangerous and this place looks different to what we were expecting."
Scout hummed, thinking it over. "I think we've got to maybe look for clues! Be careful of course, don't try and scare anybody. We need to find out where Darkrai is, we won't do that by sticking together. We should split up."
"Splitting up never works," Sean protested.
"In horror movies," Scout corrected. "Well… this isn't really horror."
"We're in a dream world! It could become a nightmare very easily."
"And what do you think would happen if we stuck so close? We'd only attract more attention. Mawile, we should split up, right?"
Mawile nodded after thinking it over. "Yes, if the three of us were to go out together we'd be doing the same thing, something that could be done with one of us. By becoming three, we triple our productivity."
"Fine," Sean gave, crossing his arms. "How are we splitting then?"
"I could go to the guild," Scout offered. "Ask a few things up there."
"I'll head into the town then," Sean said, uncrossing his arms and grinning, getting excited! "I've got the most energy out of us, so I can explore all across it the fastest!"
"Then I'll head off to the side," Mawile said, nodding to the right of the crossroads. "Check out the boundaries of this place. Surely it can't be a full reflection of our own world, The Dream has not been active enough for that to happen yet. Not enough pokémon are asleep."
"Let's split up then!" Scout said before chuckling. "Alright gang let's split up and look for clues! Let's give each other a codeword just in case. Mine will be zoinks. Mawile's can be jinkies. And Sean can say ruh roh because he's the dog!"
"Ri'll rip rour rote rout," Sean grumbled. With that, they split up.
)(*&^%$# !~! #$%^&*()
The sights and sounds of Treasure Town were nostalgic in a sad way. With each step, you remembered what the town was supposed to be like. Pokémon walking with a purpose, not aimlessly wandering back and forth, blank smiles plastered on emotionless faces.
Sean walked with a miserable purpose. This place was creeping him up a fair bit. Knowing he had to start somewhere, he spoke to Duskull first. It made sense, Duskull was the first stop for many pokémon, being banker for many.
"Hyeh-haah-ha," Duskull chuckled as Sean approached. "My-my-my-my-my, what do I owe the pleeaasure today, Sean?"
"Morning…?" Sean frowned and looked up. "Afternoon? Eh. Hello Duskull." Duskull chittered creepily in a faux-sense of ghostly laughter. "I was just wondering if you'd seen anyone suspicious around recently."
"Always," Duskull chuckled. "Looking at one right now."
"Funny."
"Ha-ha-ha."
"Seriously, Duskull," Sean placed his hands on the counter. Duskull looked ready to play five-finger-fillet with his paws. "I've got to know."
Rolling his bouncing eye, Duskull shuddered a vague approximation of a limb towards Vigoroth. "It is Vigoroth's job to know the know and spread it," Duskull said. Sean thanked him and travelled to Vigoroth.
"Righteo little dude!" Vigoroth cheered, giving Sean a fist bump. "What can I do for my favourite guy today?" He hugged Sean.
Tightly.
A little too tightly.
Except not. Too tightly. Much too tightly. It was like having your lungs being condensed into a solid block, unable to respirate from them again.
"Vigoroth," Sean wheezed and the Normal-type let him go. Taking a few needed breaths, Sean asked. "Thanks for the hug."
"Any time!" Vigoroth waved, moving off to hug someone else. Sean continued, asking a few pokémon as he went. He quickly got the proper story, Guardian and Striker were working off Guardian's debt to society.
They seem to have forgotten he'd already done so, but it was not unusual for Guardian to dream of the past. Perhaps that was why?
They were working with Kangaskhan and he walked for a few minutes. Sean nodded to Electivire manning his shop and heard Chansey yelling at some kids to drop the spoons. He saw Team Razor Wind and Ebony arguing over bounties and Marowak making Azurill jog for his training.
Bidoof was running errands, Flaaffy and Paras scuttling after him.
It was nice to see the pokémon of Treasure Town again, even if they weren't entirely aware of what was really going on. Team Poochy chased a skitty and over the bridge. Sean crossed the bridge himself, heading to Kangaskhan's Storage.
Azumarill was out with Marill and Azurill, the sons helping their mother along for the day.
Teddiursa and Ursaring were gossiping in the town square with Charmander and Mr. Mime having a grand old time, even if their conversations were going nowhere.
It was odd, like a living version of that frozen Treasure Town in the Dark Future Sean vaguely remembered. They were almost as lifeless as they were there, except moving around without electrical powers coursing through their lifeless bodies, smiles plastered. The lights were flickering upstairs.
It was a mercy in a way, they did not seem to be aware they were dreaming.
Sean crossed the bridge with Bidoof and nodded to the Kecleon Brothers. A shuppet tried to sell him some dusty treasure, but Sean politely declined.
Soon enough, he was standing before Kangaskhan. She finished serving Dragonair and turned to Sean with a grandmotherly smile.
"Sean, dear," she sighed. "Oh it feels like it's been ages since I saw you." She lifted him up and cradled him for a moment, enjoying holding him again. "You must be looking for your little friends?"
"That's right." Sean nodded. "Are they inside?"
"Certainly."
She set him down and pulled the door open wide, letting him step back so she didn't hit him with the door. Sean peered into the dim, dusty, depths with only a moment of hesitation before bravely spelunkering in.
The storage space was very large with many boxes. Far inside Sean found Guardian and Striker replacing boxes, taking them down, repackaging them, and returning them where they didn't find theem.
"Striker!" the dusknoir looked up. "Guardian." The Grovyle blinked. "Hey!"
"Sean," Guardian said warmly, he set a box down and floated over to him. "It is good to see you."
"How long has it been?" Striker wondered out loud, blinking. "Hm. Feels like four… six… something days since I saw you. But… hmm."
"Why are you both in here?" Sean asked. "Guardian's already made up for stuff."
Guardian shrugged. "It's something to do. With you and Scout gone the guild hasn't been sending anyone anywhere. Might as well do something, even if it's helping old lady Kangaskhan."
Striker nudged him for the comment and Guardian rolled his eye like a bowling pin. "Kindly matron Kangaskhan who should definitely open a café." Striker nodded.
"Kangaskhan should open a café," Sean said, before sneezing. There was an awful lot of dust in here. "What do you think, Striker?"
"I've drunk her tea before," Striker said wisely. "Yes. She should."
Agreed, they considered letting her know of their support before Sean remembered something important. "Diddly darn. This place must be messing with me! Striker, Guardian!" The two looked to him with curiosity. "Have you felt the days just being… nothing?"
They shared a look before nodding. "Do you know why?" Striker asked.
"Is that where you've been?"
Sean nodded. "Yes. See, Darkrai put the whole town, and probably part of the whole continent, in some nightmare. This is The Dream, his own world." It occurred to Sean that he wasn't supposed to do this, but he disregarded orders. This was Striker the Grobyle and Guardian Dusknoir! Hi teammates, he had to tell them.
Guardian blinked, his eyes clearing. "Oh no," he said, dropping to his hands. "We have just been… cycling like nothing."
Striker was too shocked to speak. "What do we do?" he asked.
"We've got to meet up with the others," Sean said. "We're looking for clues, since you two realise what's going on now, you could probably tell us some important information. All of us, let's go find Scout!"
Nodding, they rushed out.
)(*&^%$# ! #$%^&*()
It had been too long since I'd stepped on the grate to the guild although the gate was already open.
Trudging up the long stairs was notaligic in a way, as I got higher the wind began to blow, pulling at my fur like tiny little hands, tickling my sensitive whiskers. Each small shift in the winds direction was keenly felt, those special sensors screwed into my face worked wonders.
The Wigglytuff Guild was large. Meowth was just a small pokémon, I was taller than Rai and Mane because I stood on my hind legs, but if they somehow learned to do that too they'd be taller than me.
The guild was large and looming. The old bundle of feathers was tied into place, like on old indigenous marker, proclaiming to the world that it was more than just Chatot who started this guild.
Not that anyone besides the leadership knew, but there was a tribute to Soothe in the guild's entrance as way. The grate, for starters, was her old quirky idea but there was also a
"We detect a pokémon! We Detect a Pokémon!" Dugtrio called from below.
"WHO'S FOOTPRINT? Whose footprint?"
"The footprint is Meowth! The footprint is Sean!"
The grate opened with a sliding, creaking, scratchy sound, opening its maw for Scout.
Scout walked into the open guild, minding himself around its teeth. He didn't need its jaw to snap down on him.
He grabbed onto the ladder and carefully made his way down, letting himself slip down onto the rungs further down, tail curling around the thicker tongue of the ladder just to stabilise himself a little.
He continued slipping down further and further into the stomach of the guild, avoiding the second level as there wasn't anything there for him.
"Ah, Sean," Armaldo said, hopping up to him and fluttering his wings. "Where have you been?"
"Sorry Armaldo," Scout apologised. "I've been busy, but I've come to help! We all have, Mawile, Riolu, and me!"
"You'd better be able to do something," Armaldo growled, gesturing him along. "Come on then, The - and I will fill you in on what's going on."
Scout nodded and raced after the much-larger pokémon, eager to hear about what he could do to help.
With the rest of the guild running about in a panic, it was down to Scout, Rai, and Mane to fix things. Armaldo brought them into the Guildmaster's office where - was floating with grave concern etched across her face.
"_" she began explaining and Scout gasped.
"Wigglytuff's gone?" he gasped.
Armaldo nodded. "Gone in the night. All we had was this note." - floated him over the ransom note and Scout quickly scanned it.
Tomorrow night Wigglytuff dies. There is nothing you can do to stop me.
If you do not all agree to bow before me, he dies. You will too.
We will rule Treasure Town, you there or not.
~ Legendary Lucario.
"Lucario has turned evil?" Scout gasped.
- nodded. "_" she said, cerulean orbs filling with crystalline fluid, she sobbed lightly, tears sparkling as they fell.
Scout gasped. "Saniya too?"
"We've managed to track them to the Mt. Bristle dungeon," Armaldo explained. "But no one here is strong enough to get there in time and defeat them to save Wigglytuff."
"We can do it!" Scout insisted, raising his paws. Rai and Mane joined him and they gave a team cheer. The Wigglytuff Rescue Operation was in full swing!1!1
Team Ion ran off, giving Armaldo and Alakazam a wave. There was no time to wait, they had a full bag and each other. It'd be enough to save him.
but just to make it easier, they ran into Sean Striker and Guardian at the crossraods.
"We've got a situation," Scout quickly explained everything.
"We can help you," Sean said, Striker and Guardian nodded.
"Then what are we waiting for?"
They ran along. Mawile must be up ahead, perhaps she'd found something out?
I knew we could stop Lucario, but it'd be a difficult fight. We might not all survive, but some of Team Sunrise was coming with. They could save Saniya from the control and then we'd knock Lucario out.
Mawile must be up ahead, she was smart she might have found something out for us to use, so I ran forth to keep a close eye out for her.
It was time to finish this.
)(*&^%$#$%^&*()
"In the beginning, there was ."
Mawile hummed to herself as she recounted knowledge that she knew to herself, making sure she wouldn't forget it.
"Arceus created reality. Widely regarded as a bad move, made a lot of people unhappy."
Things looked normal when she first stepped out, but she kept her mind clear. She knew this was a dream and was ready for anything to try and mess with her perceptions.
"Arceus was the first to live in the sense that we beings can understand and also the first to die, expending all of its energy to push back the tides of chaos and enforce the rigidity of order and sense. God is dead."
Some trees swayed when others didn't, the wind didn't seem to be moving in every few meters and moving in others.
"Dialga and Palkia and Giratina were formed from Arceus' body, reducing it to the fence-stuck llama that it is now. Dialga and Palkia have fought countless times over eons mortal minds cannot comprehend. No being in creation have died as often as they have."
The sky largely stayed blue, which was nice. The occasional cloud blinked across like static on a screen before fizzling out.
"Giratina is the only being in creation to have never died. At least in this reality, other realities have their own beings of legend. Only Arceus is one across all, although as a singular being it cannot be in all realities at once. God leaves its children to fend for themselves while it plays card games."
The sun only blinked once or twice.
"This world and another were the very same up to sometime around three thousand celestial rotations around the unblinking sun. A human man, Arceus-Zygarde, driven to the absolute brink of madness allowed something different than his birthname into his heart and struck a blow into the hearts of all. He slew Arceus' failsafe in one great blow, although the dregs and outliers hung on for some time."
As she went further and further, the shrubs and trees changed a little. Mawile didn't enter the housing area yet, she wanted to see if there was an end point to this.
"With humanity gone, and this world permitted to exist for curiosities sake, pokémon have not prospered. Corruption and madness begun to run rampant, an entity not unlike the chaos before became conscious from the darkened hearts of pokémon and the first humans were summoned to stop it."
The dirt was stiff and almost untextured, not catching on her feet at all anymore.
"Finally, Arceus saw fit to observe its little experiment and found ."
Don't walk further.
"She was brought here, she was brought to fuck everything up."
Mawile's jaws opened.
"That was the first-time reality was changed here, but it only postponed it. With Rayquaza slain from the uniting of pokémon, its replacement was hiding, unaware of the meteor coming. At least that wasn't an embarrassing end to all this."
Her tongue lolled out, tasting the apples and dirt.
"Then Dark Matters stillborn bastard came next. Many humans were called, the last time's had worked so well. So many of them died, thrown carelessly to the wolves until one was good enough to save the ungrateful pokémon that had caused it."
The edge of the world flickered into nothing before her, but Mawile was smart and she refused to believe it. This was not the edge, she knew that, so it wasn't. This was The Dream, she was smart, she could manipulate it.
"And now… time and darkness. The Dark Future was the worst outcome for everyone. For the world. For the pokémon. And for me too. That was a complete failure that nothing could be done about it. There weren't enough pokémon left to finish the plan. There was only revenge in the end, but… but then a glimmer of hope. Be careful though, for the sky's fall is coming.
Because deep in the words, there's still a fire. I will never grow weary or tired. And draws closer… and closer… each day.
Mawile blinked as she realised where she was. "I am in a dungeon," she said, but she was already working on her escape.
There were items that could be willed into existence, like an Escape Orb, but the dungeon was interfering with it.
The Dream may be a dream, but it was also real in a way. Mawile isn't as clever as she thinks.
She turned a corner and there was soothe.
"Guildmaster!?" Mawile gasped, Wigglytuff gave her a tired smile.
"Run."
Mawile jerked back as if physically blowed. "I… what?"
"He said run," Lucario said, stepping out from behind him. Wigglytuff gave Mawile a shattered smile before sagging to his knees. "But you can't move, can you?"
Mawile was frozen. She wasn't sure why. Her limbs weren't responding. Mawile couldn't breathe. She couldn't breath. She couldn't breathe.
There was no air to draw into her lungs. There was no air at all. It didn't exist, but it did. This was a Dream. This was not a dream.
"Not the ideal place to freeze up," Lucario teased, stepping past Wigglytuff and giving him a knock on the back of the head. With her metal spike. "You're right in the doorway. You shouldn't be worried about earthquakes because I don't know the move."
Mawile managed to force her head down, bringing her horns up and they ripped open to deliver a terrible roar.
" n," her jaws rasped, saliva dripped in rivets to the ground, turning the dirt to a sticky slush.
She bit down as hard as she could, but her horns were caught by Lucario's paws. "Heh," Lucario chuckled before breaking the teeth in her horns.
Mawile gasped.
Blood began to mix with saliva before lucario pulled back and Mawile screamed as her horns were nearly ripped in half. Breaking her own metal bones, the horns couldn't close.
"Good try," Lucario said. "But your teeth aren't much to the dungeon."
Lucario stepped back as Mawile laid on the ground, staring up. She was so smart, but she didn't think her way out of this. Her vision blurred as she peered at the outline of the doorway she was in. UIt was awfully spiky.
Almost like teeth.
She was a smart cookie. She wasn't surprised when the teeth came down on her as something screamed.
*&^%$# !~! #$%^&*
Dream-dream-dream-dream-dream-
I dream that there are teeth and they are all over me. And they are on me. And they are in me. Like cysts, growing along my joints, growing in my veins and arteries. I want to remove them, I want to rip them out, but I can't because I have no hands.
A young pokémon, filled with exuberance and excitement enters me. He is covered with boils, with pulsating tics. He is not one, but many, he laughs as he traipses through my veins, shouting and striking me as he goes.
He enters my body a lot, spreading the ruby seeds that grow into more teeth, gumming my mouths and jaws, filling my veins and bones with teeth.
There was many times he reaches my beating heart and without hesitation he rips it out of my body. As he goes to leave, I refuse. He tries to leave my mouth but as he steps between my teeth they suddenly fall, like a hidden trap that had been stepped upon, sending a clattering of spikes down.
My teeth knock him down and he bursts, spilling and oozing a great amount of the ruby seed into my body. He thrashes and cries but I do not listen. The teeth raise and he tries to crawl away, and then they fall and he stops entirely.
The ruby seeds take root, they always do, and begin to grow, spreading sinew through my mouths, pulsing with new life as deposits form into new mouths and jaws, my arteries changing to feed to my new heart. Teeth grow there too.
Teeth fill my veins, cover my body, and consume my eyes. Nothing but teeth and bloody sinew between them, growing evermore.
)(*&^%$# !~! #$%^&*()
"MAWILE!" Scout screamed, tackling her out of the way of Lucario's Bone Rush. It was coming down from the ceiling like a spike, or an arrow, risking piercing her head with ease.
She gasped, rolling to a stop, as Scout sprung off her and formed a Night Slash. Lucario laughed at him and formed a Bone Rush anew and they began to duel.
"I've always wanted to do this," Lucario taunted, clashing with Scout's claws. The Night Slash's trembled against the might of the Bone Rush. "It's what I was brought here to do. To end you."
Scout forced her back as Sean, Striker, Guardian, Rai, and Mane all came charging in as well. Lucario snapped her fingers and Saniya came buzzing in and she telekinetically tossed them away from Lucario. This was down to her and Scout.
Except it wasn't, Mane was able to flambe her and Rai shot Lucario in the eye with a thunderbolt. He was an excellent shot. Able to hit Dialga's eyes, no reason he couldn't hit Lucario's.
Team Ion convened to fight Lucario and they did it well.
"Enough!" Lucario roared, knocking them all back with a blast from her paws. She staggered back and panted, gripping her knees.
As Team Ion duelled Lucario, Team Sunrise met with Saniya.
Petals glowed in the air, flashing in the sky, as she bombarded her precious friends with the agony of nature. Like little grenades, Sean screamed as the touch of the nature burned his fur and seared his flesh.
Guardian was not out of it yet, however, with arcing lances of pathetic, not-real, shadowy tendrils he smacked at Saniya from afar as Striker weaved in and out. His breathe was coming in short bursts, blowing puffs of steam out in the chilly air of the dungeon.
His arms flashed blue and he slashed out, the green energy of his Leaves Blade striking Saniya's small body and slashing an X in her large head.
He then grabbed her, knowing that they could not fight any longer. "Saniya listen to me!" Striker yelled, shaking her back and forth.
Saniya punched in in the face with her mind and threw him back. "I serve Lucario," she announced, the first words she ahd spoken to them for a long time.
"No you don't!" Sean yelled, burning with aura. "You serve us! I mean, you're our friend. Fight it Saniya!"
Saniya punted him across the room and he hit the wall with a very satisfying smack.
"Striker!" Guardian yelled, pulling Striker back with his tendrils. "There is only one thing you can do."
"And what is that?"
"KISS HER!"
"What?"
Guardian enveloped Snaiya in a cocoon of Shadow Sneak tendrils, disabling her for a moment and tossed her at Striker face-first.
They did not kiss. Saniya's simply hit Striker so hard in the head that they were both knocked out.
"Well… that works too."
Gathering up the fallen pokémon, and Sean, Guardian placed them with Mawile and came rushing in to assist against Lucario.
It was down to father and son, Mane and Rai were knocked out by this point by Lucario's super-effective attacks, only Scout was evading her punches and blows.
"Son!" Guardian shouted, shadows striking Lucario. "Together?"
Scout nodded. "Together."
They made a Shadow Ball with their combined powers as Lucario was staggered from Guardian's attack and then threw it with all their might.
Instead of trying to dodge, Lucario believed herself unstoppable and met the combined Shadow Ball with both paws. She realised her mistake a fraction of a second later, but it was too late to dodge now.
She was obliterated and the world was safe.
They all returned safely, confident that the day was won.
The
Th͞a̷t ̧was ͟fu̢n͜ ͡wa̶sn̕'t it?̀ I̵ sh͜ou̵l̡d́ ̵t̡óţal͏ly ̢wr̢įt̸e the res̢t ҉o͡f̷ ͝t͘he cha̴p͝t̢er̸s!͏ ͝Ýès̕,́ ̨te̡l̀l Ío̴n͘ ̡t̛h̛at. ͏H͢è ̵l͡isten̢s to͘ ͏you.̡
I… yes. This was Ion the Dion, Team… I shall go now. Happy Halloween!