The Doomed Sprout
Chapter 28
«...Hey, you, uh… Remember that you're here to answer some things?»
Fen looked extremely confused. She'd decided that any discussion with a Mythical should be done in the secret room under the Honorable's office, but as soon as they entered, Diancie had jumped into the pile of luminescent gems stockpiled in there, barely reacting to the two Pokemon that had entered with her and were trying to get her attention back.
« We've just taken out of the Hidden Grotto, why are you reacting so strongly to these gems now!», grumbled the Nidoran, trying to pull her out of the pile. «If you like those so much, then you can have some of them once we're done talking, but focus for now!»
Diance didn't visibly react, simply laying her back against the numerous gems and gazing at the covered ceiling, observing the gems lighting up the place. Eventually, she spoke up. «What do you want from me?»
Fen shared a glance towards her human friend, who was shivering in the back, probably hesitating between being afraid or angry at the presence of the Mythical in his village. «You said you were here incognito. Why would you need to hide?»
«...I don't want to answer that», she mumbled back.
Fen rolled her eyes, taking one of the crystals and playing with it. «Then we have no obligation to keep your secrets»
The answer took Diancie by surprise, who suddenly sprang her head up. «B-But I'm… What's wrong with you?!»
Fen locked eyes with her, her spikes glowing faintly with anger. «You were invited to our home, a safe space for Outcasts, and the first thing you do is reveal everyone here leading to a two-day assault against everyone, and when we ask politely for your reason to be here in the first place, you refuse? What's wrong with you!»
«But.. you invited me!», she whispered.
«So that gives you the reason to try and kill everyone?», Fen shot back. «You did this, and we're not helping you unless you help us in return!»
Diancie appeared confused for a moment, standing perfectly still, before eventually sighing and nodding to her.
«...What do you know about humans?», asked Cylan, still maintaining his distance. «And about who sent them here?»
Diancie looked puzzled. «What?Wait… Humans were brought here? Why should I know about this?»
«Because apparently every weird thing going on here has been a legendary's doing», Fen pointed out, before turning towards the Zoroark. «And I think we should focus on other things first, Cylan. I'm pretty sure Mew's the one who brought us here anyway»
«Mew, huh… That jerk...»
«Mew's not a jerk! They're the one that cares the most about this world!». Diancie's shout surprised the two Pokemon, who didn't have quite the nicest view of the Mythical.
«...What do you mean, it's the guy that threw my friend here over a fire to grill». Diancie opened her mouth again, but the expression from these two made her reconsider what to say.
«W-Well, they can be a bit mean with their pranks… And they can have a bit of an ego, but they're still looking out for others! I'd not be here if not for them!»
«Because you're his equal», Cylan pointed out.
Diancie shook her head. «Their, not his. That's… Are you two related to humans? Humans were the ones to give legendaries gender for identification purposes, and you asked about… Huh»
Cylan shivered, realizing he'd made another mistake. «W-well, we won't tell your secret if you don't tell ours!»
Fen shot him a look. What was going on with him? «No», she said, clearing her throat. «You'll keep our secret anyway because Mew would be the one in trouble if the wrong Pokemon knew, like, you know, Him!»
Diancie rolled her eyes at the Nidoran, evidently not enjoying the small Pokemon constantly pushing her advantage. «Fine. So there are humans here, and you two are somehow related to them. Why do you think it's Mew?»
«I thought we were the ones asking questions, lady», grumbled Fen, before continuing. «But fine. I think it's Mew because they've been able to find us through an illusion, which we know was working against another Mythical, you. I don't have much more to prove that yet, but you seem to know Mew and didn't think my idea was stupid, so yeah. Now, though… We need to know how and why each Legendary or Mythical interfered with the world »
Cylan quickly nodded, approving of her question. Fen could only smile in confusion. Had he not even thought of it?
«I don't see what you could do with knowledge, but I know better than to question those close to Humans. I've only gotten a few that I know did something to this world. The place where you found me is one of them, it is Palkia's realm, their ''dungeon''...»
Fen looked around, for something to write, finding a piece of torn paper and a coal, shoving them in Cylan's hands. The poor Zoroark almost fell with the shove but began writing immediately.
«They've been trying to create a new place for everyone to combat in, as an alternative arena for the Archons, but they quickly realized that these Archons would not disappear without Arceus noticing, leading them to hide the entrances, and in a way abandoning their project...». Diancie stopped, noticing the look on Fen's face. «Is something wrong?»
«Did Palkia actually give up on that dungeon? Cause he seemed to know us, and we've been spending some time there»
Diancie hesitated. «...You met Palkia?»
«Long story. Just keep going»
She hesitantly nodded, not prying further. « Well… I've not seen Palkia ever since I left, so it's possible they have been repurposing the dungeon. It's strange that they haven't contacted me, since they know all that happens in it...». Diancie paused, noticing Fen's strange expression. «Is everything all right?»
The Nidoran sighed in response, before waving a paw. «Just yet another legendary seeing us as a fun distraction to spy on, that's all...»
Diancie smiled awkwardly. She didn't have much room to talk, considering she was partially here to distract herself too. «W-well, aside from Palkia, I remember Reshiram, Zekrom and Kyurem all having decided on maintaining the existence of Humans through their leftovers»
«...Which means?», Fen enquired.
«Exactly what I said, what do you mean?», she asked back, confused. «Well… They tend to use big words whenever they're talking, I remember the old humans struggling to understand them, too. It's weird...»
«No, like… What do you mean by leftovers, is it the ruins next to the Sprout? Why would that need maintaining?». Cylan perked up upon Fen's question, slowly getting closer.
«Oh, you've got one nearby? Lucky you! They're a bit everywhere, but yes, these leftovers are essentially stuck in time to ''protect the reality they show, and the dreams they represent'', as said by the oldies themselves!». Diancie giggled over that last bit. «And Kyurem helped with the freezing part, making it so only humans could use the- ooooh...»
Diancie seemed lost in thought for a moment, looking above her and noticing the steel handle on the trapdoor. «...You guys already figured that part out, whoops»
Cylan shook his head, speaking up. «Not at all, I just accidentally activated these ruins, we had no clue my presence was needed in the first place. But it does bring up a question… my friend here has activated different leftovers, and it led to Celebi searching for them. Why did this not happen when I was the one doing it?»
She simply smiled, looking through the Zoroark and gently dispersing the illusion, patting the head of one very surprised Zorua. «Not all leftovers are as impactful, if they inspected your friend, it's because whatever they've activated could lead to another war, is all!». Noticing the two humans suddenly freezing, she quickly added: «B-but I don't think that'll ever happen! There is nothing to really do here, so even if humans had control again, it wouldn't matter!»
«I stole a freaking iPod!», Fen lashed out. «How is that a threat!You guys can literally create matterand new dimensions ! ». Irritated, she grabbed one of the gems, gnawing at it to calm down, much to Diancie's horror.
«Well, you're still here, aren't you? So that means Celebi didn't think you were a threat!», Diancie shot back, hastily grabbing the gem out of Fen's jaw. «It's just them being careful. We don't want a repeat of last time»
Cylan, coughed, trying to grab their attention. «Well.. could you tell us what that last time was?So we know not to repeat the human's mistakes »
Diancie nodded appreciatively, apparently happy to hear that. «Humans were created to be free, to find their own way in life. While all Pokemon have access to Aura and can manifest it in different ways, they're also bound by those with overwhelming Aura, such as ourselves. Humans were freed of any aura and given no direction, as a way to let the world grow and see things that He could never have imagined. And in a way, it worked». She sighed upon saying that last bit, glaring at the Nidoran who'd started chewing on another crystal, half-listening. «You all quickly rose from coexistence to domination. You started challenging stronger and stronger Pokemon, eventually challenging even us, even Him!»
«Challenging in what way? Pokemon Battles?», asked a disinterested Fen. So far the story wasn't anything out of the expected for her. Humans were prone to fight gods in every story in existence. «Let me guess, you started getting captured and Arceus got mad?»
«Y-yes», replied the confused Diancie, surprised by her nonchalance over a tragic event. «He had attempted to lower our aura at first so that our presence wouldn't be an issue in human society, but He couldn't handle being targeted himself, leading him to fight back without restraint. This had… consequences»
Diancie coughed slightly, choosing not to elaborate on that point. «The end result is that humans were responsible for many creations that we Pokemon do not understand, and even He may not understand, but that's what drove Him to create you all in the first place. So, now that humanity is gone… We're looking at something that could take its place as a being free of Aura»
«Mhmm… So it's about what I expected then»
«Truly?». Diancie looked horrified at the small Nidoran chewing on the same crystal. «Are all humans this evil?»
Cylan interjected. «Of course not! Humans are just… Trying to live their life. If they went after you all, then there must've been a reason. I mean, it seems like some Mythicals don't like Arceuseither»
Diancie stood silent for a bit, before nodding in agreement. «I can try to look into it. I may not be Celebi, but I can be stealthy!»
Fen glanced her way, seeing the light reflecting off her gem-like body. She rolled her eyes but said nothing, it wasn't her place to tell a Mythical what to do. Even if that's exactly what they just did, and she's... somehow going along?
«Why-ow!». Cylan yelled, having been hit on the side by a gem, Fen glaring at him, as if daring him to continue. «N-no, nothing», he grumbled. «You can go now, thank you for answering our questions»
It took a little while for the trio to head outside, in part due to a certain Pokemon refusing to go without carrying as many gems as she could, which, as it turned out, was every single one of them, much to their dismay. Still, that dealt with, they went on their separate way, the moon being high in the sky already. The small shed Fen uses to sleep in had sadly been destroyed during the defense of the Sprout, and had only gotten minimal repairs so far, courtesy of Cedric, who seemed to have taken a liking to the group. While she'd have loved to lay down on her bed, Sera had taken residence here, a situation which the Nidoran couldn't be bothered to deal with, simply laying down on the side of it, using the Eevee's tail as cover from the cold. Things had kept happening so far, but it was now time to stabilize, to get things back to normal.
With these thoughts, Fen shot a glance at the empty leaf bed, the leaves all dry and torn apart.
«...I'll get you back home», she muttered, before drifting off to sleep, and hopefully one without Mew in it.
Small note : Hey there, writer here, just letting you all know that I'll be busy with the celebrations for a while, so my next chapter should come in January! I'll hopefully also write more of a buffer. Happy holidays to y'all!