Beta read by Namohysip.
XxX
Chapter 104: Ultra Bursting with Surprises
~Borea Heights~
"Get back here, you lousy, rotten thieves! Nobody steals from Town Supervisor Drampa and gets away with it, you hear me? Nobody!"
A younger, smaller Sneasel stood with his back pressed against the wall of a stone building. A blue, dragon-shaped beam whizzed past him and struck the ground several yards away. Hisses rang out from beyond his line of sight. Sneasel brought his arms up against his chest. "C'mon, Pops. C'mon, Mom. You said this job would be easy."
Sneasel dared to poke his head around the corner of the building. There, he found two Weavile locked in a struggle with the much-larger Drampa. The pink-crowned Weavile had a bag of jewels slung over her shoulder and clutched her gut with her arm. She fired Ice Shards in Drampa's general direction, but he swatted them aside with his right arm.
"Get out of the way!" the second, blue-crowned Weavile shouted, seeing dragon energy gathering in Drampa's maw. Shadows swirled around Blue-Crown's claws. He lunged for Drampa and socked him in the threat. Choking on his attack, Drampa stumbled back. Blue-Crown dashed over to Sneasel's mom while Drampa wobbled about, gargling like his head was underwater.
Sneasel ducked back behind his cover, sighing in relief. Still, it did little to quell his guilt. After all, he'd ruined what was meant to be a simple heist.
His parents had planned things out perfectly. Together, they'd wait the day out in Aurora Vale. Then, when night fell, they'd strike. This town was mostly full of old people, so they should've been able to get in and out with no problems. The first house they'd targeted was filled to the brim with jewels… but turned out to be the home of the town's leader.
'Mom and Pops were counting on me to scout out the buildings… and I led 'em right into the worst one!' Sneasel poked his claws together. This was all on him. Assuming they got out all right, he was sure his parents would have some harsh words for him.
Never pick a target beyond your capabilities. Study your surroundings and don't jump to conclusions!
But that's exactly what Sneasel had done. He'd seen all of Drampa's glistening jewels and pointed his parents toward Drampa's house without so much as a second thought. Thanks to him, they were hurt. Biting his lip, Sneasel again poked his head out from his hiding spot.
He did so just in time to see flames engulf his pops. Blue-Crown's screams rang out in Sneasel's head. His mouth was open, ready to cry out for his pops, when he realized that'd only tip Drampa off that he was there. Sneasel instead clutched the corner of the building. His father fell onto his back, smoke rising off his charred fur.
"No!" Pink-Crown said. She tried to gather up icy energy, but the wound on her stomach made it too hard to move. Drampa lumbered over the two of them.
"Hurr… heff… you two… are quite bold. Trying to steal from a beloved Town Supervisor. I may not be a Totem… but my Berserk ability makes me stronger when I'm weary," Drampa said, embers crackling around his snout. "Now, I'll see to it that you two return my gems to me. And then, I'll have Officer Magnezone lock you up for so long your fur will have grayed by the time you get released!"
For a brief moment, Pink-Crown locked eyes with Sneasel. The look in her eyes begged him to run away. Sneasel couldn't leave them, though. They were all he had.
A thief never quits, son. Remember that.
And Sneasel wasn't a quitter. He wouldn't run away. He had to help. What had Pops told him about Feint Attack, again?
Embrace the shadows. Cling tight to spots where light doesn't shine and move through them like a predator creeping through tall grass.
Sneasel pressed himself closer to the building. He darted across it. Drampa didn't see him. There were hardly any good light sources in the street. Nothing was stopping Sneasel from making a run at the big dragon. So, he did just that. Keeping as quiet as he could, he dashed in from the shadows. Then, he slammed into Drampa's side as hard as he could.
"Bwargh!" Drampa cried out in surprise. He wobbled to his left. Then, like a stack of blocks that had lost its bottom piece, he toppled onto his side with a furious roar.
"S-Sneasel!" Pink-Crown gasped. "What are you doing? We told you to stay hidden!"
"I'm helping you guys! Because thieves never quit," Sneasel said, trying to get his pops up on his feet.
Pink-Crown's eyes widened. Before Drampa could right himself, she turned and smacked the ground with her free hand. Icicles rained down on Drampa from above, silencing his cries. "We have to move. All this commotion is bound to have woken up other villagers!" She pulled two berries out from her bag. Pink-Crown scarfed one down and gave the other to Sneasel. He stuffed it into Blue-Crown's mouth. His eyes slowly opened.
"Huh? W-What… Sneasel?"
"Our little apprentice saved us in the nick of time," Pink-Crown said, smiling at Sneasel. "But now we have to get a move on."
Blue-Crown staggered to his feet. He spotted luminous orbs flaring up in the distance. "Right. Time to go." He extended a hand toward Sneasel, who took his claws and ran along after him. "I'm proud of you, tyke. You did your old 'mon proud."
A big grin spread across Sneasel's face. "Thanks, Pops. I learned from the best."
XxX
~Solstice Summit~
With a gasp, Sneasel jerked awake. He nearly rolled off his sleeping mat in the process. When he realized it was still the dead of night, he groaned and thumped his head against the floor.
"Can't sleep?"
Sneasel rolled right. Hakamo-o lay on a second sleeping mat, twiddling his claws and staring at the wooden ceiling above them.
"Had a bad dream," Sneasel muttered.
"You thinking about tomorrow?" Hakamo-o said. "I mean… this spirit-channeling business is a big deal, ain't it? You're finally gonna get to see your folks again after all this time."
Sneasel slid his arms under his head. "Maybe. For all we know, the Totem'll be too busy tending to Snowy. Four days they've been working on him and nothing. I'm starting to think he ain't ever gonna wake up."
"Maybe." Hakamo-o rolled over to face Sneasel, resting his head on his right arm. "But at least you know your folks are safe in the spirit realm." He clutched his blanked with his left hand. "The Totem told me she has no idea where my mom is. And, like, call me crazy or whatever, but I swear that big lug on Team Radiance had a
real guilty look on his face when she said that."
"Eh, don't read too much into it. They've been under a lotta stress or whatever," Sneasel said, kicking at his blanket with his right leg. The two fell into silence. Though Sneasel closed his eyes, he couldn't drift off to sleep.
"Hey, uh, Sneasel?"
"What?"
"Um… if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your parents?"
Tensing, Sneasel bent his knees. "I don't know."
Hakamo-o leaned in, expecting more details. When he didn't get any, he asked, "What do you mean?"
"One night… my folks left me in our hideout. Said they'd heard about a good target but the terrain wasn't safe for a rookie like me to navigate. So, I went to sleep. They weren't back when I woke up the next morning," Sneasel said, his voice empty. "I waited around. Burned through our stock of berries. Must've been a couple of weeks before I figured something bad had happened."
"Did you ever try looking for them?"
"Yeah. But they never told me where they went and it's not like we had friends. Besides… I had the family creed to live up to. 'Good thieves never quit.' So, I tried to pick up where they'd left off. And that eventually led to me you… and all the craziness that followed." Sneasel crossed one leg over the other. "I'm not even sure what I'd say to them. Maybe ask them what happened… or maybe not. It's been such a long time, y'know."
"Ah. Yeah." Hakamo-o traced a claw across the floor. "It's just… when the Totem told you that she'd found them in the spirit realm, you barely even reacted."
"I know."
"Well, I'm worried about you. I mean… you saw how upset I was when Dad told me that Mom had passed. I was kinda expecting a similar reaction from you… but that didn't happen." Hakamo-o cross his right leg over his left. "Ain't it bad for you to bottle up that stuff? Pretty sure that's what Team Radiance said had led to so many problems and stuff around the world."
"I'm not bottling anything up. It's just… something I'd always braced myself for." Sneasel sighed. "For years, my parents had told me that thieving was a dangerous profession… and I needed to be ready for the possibility that one day they might get caught by the authorities… or worse."
"Oh." Hakamo-o stared blankly at the ceiling. "I see."
"Any more questions?"
Hakamo-o winced. "Uh… I g-guess not. I'll let you… get back to sleep or whatever."
Sneasel uncrossed his legs and stretched out on his mat, but sleep continued to evade him. Eventually, he decided to break the silence. "Hey, so… any ideas what you want your name to be?"
"Hmm?" Hakamo-o sat up. "Oh. Uh, no. Haven't given it any thought. What about you?"
Tapping a claw against the back of his head, Sneasel hummed. He'd mulled this over for a few days and, while he had an idea, he wasn't sure if he wanted to commit to it. But he figured it wouldn't hurt to tell Hakamo-o. "Zephyr," he said.
"Zephyr?"
"I saw the word in one of Esserly's books. It's, like, a fancy word for a burst of wind," Sneasel said, fidgeting with his blanket. "Sneasels embrace the cold and the dark, right? The way I see it, if I were to ever get good at battling like Snowy and his friends, I'd want to be a zephyr from the shadows."
Hakamo-o stared up at the ceiling. "I like it."
"Y… you do?"
"Yeah. Can I call you Zephyr from now on?"
A smile tugged at Sneasel's— or, rather, Zephyr's lips. "Sure. Go ahead, bud."
XxX
"Tessa, you're my friend. And I care about you a lot. But if you keep pacing like that, I swear I'm gonna use my ESP and restrain you. You're making me dizzy." Silvally sank onto his belly, trying to cover his eyes with his forelegs. In front of him, Tessa stopped by a double door, frowning.
"I'm sorry. It's just… Ephemeris has been at this for five days… and nothing's happened." Tessa squeezed Shane's crystal memento in her right paw. "We got him back… he's
right there. How can fate be this cruel to… to dangle him in front of me like that, yet
still keep me from getting to see him?" She put her left paw on the door. "Has Ephemeris even left that room since he got here? I want to talk to him so bad… but they locked it from the inside and—"
"We know, Tessa," Espy said, reclining against Silvally's side. "We want answers, too. But you can't let it drive you crazy. Things are already stressful enough with all the time zone hops we've had to make because of these meetings."
"Oh, yeah. How are those going?"
Hakamo-o walked into the temple's main room, pushing a small cart with wheels. It had a steaming pot on top of it. Zephyr followed behind him, a dirty apron slung over his arm.
"Thank goodness… they're
finally over!" Espy stretched out her legs. "If I had to listen to any more of Zekrom's dumb posturing or Reshiram's blatant attempts to hide her infatuation with him using thinly veiled insults, I'd—"
"Sounds spicy," Zephyr mused, handing out bowls to the trio. "Since it's getting late, we brought you three some leftover soup."
"Aww. Thanks. You guys are—" Silvally cut himself off and tensed up. The green glow spreading across his body stopped and patches of sky-blue popped up in his eyes and energy blades.
"Silv? You okay?" Espy whispered. She rubbed his side with her forepaws.
"Y-Yeah. It's… uh…" His voice trailed off. Silvally leaned over and lapped up soup, avoiding eye contact with Hakamo-o and Zephyr.
"So, uh, anything come out of the meetings?" Hakamo-o asked, quirking an eyebrow at Silvally.
"Well, today's meeting ended with Team Paradox boarding Lunala with all the fallers they'd found and setting course for Ultra Space. Looks like they're going to try and find an Ultra Recon Squad branch and synch up with them." Taking a deep breath, Tessa tossed her crystal to herself. "I'm not really sure how I feel about the idea of joining some network of worlds linked by Ultra Space. It's… kind of weird to think about, to be honest."
She looked toward the locked door again. Her aura feelers tensed. She glanced at Zephyr, then silently accepted a bowl of soup and sipped it. "Other than that… Dragonite and Xerneas never wound up coming. I know Dragonite's holed up in her room… but Xerneas went back to the Tree of Life and keeps turning away visitors." Tessa sighed and shook her head.
"Beyond that… we're still absolutely clueless about what happened to Yveltal and Zygarde," Silvally added, brow furrowed. "Arceus theorized that he accidentally destroyed Zygarde with Judgement, since Necrozma used Zygarde as a doppelganger. And Mewtwo mentioned something about Yveltal's soul being sacrificed to fuse him with Volcarona. I dunno. Thinking about it gives me a terrible headache." He shut his eyes and winced.
"Yeah. That, uh, sounds like a lot. I guess we'll leave you three alone, then," Zephyr said, stepping back toward the pushcart. "We've still gotta clean the kitchen, after all."
Tessa was about to say something when the door swung open behind her, clipping her tail. Yowling, she jumped forward. The jerking motion of her arms launched her soup out of the bowl, where it then rained down on her from above. "Ow! Hot!
Hot!" Tessa dropped the bowl, which cracked, but managed to stay in one piece.
Espy and Silvally got to their feet, minding their own soup bowls. "Well, Ephemeris? What's going on with Shane?" Silvally asked, multiple colors rippling across his tail and energy blades.
Ephemeris looked down. Then, his expression softened and he stepped to the side. When he raised his wing, two ice Ninetales walked out from the room. Tessa's gaze immediately fell on the smaller one. His blue-white fur was back. Locks of hair dangled over his soft blue eyes. Slowly, a grin crept onto Shane's face.
"Hey guys. Sorry I gave you all such a big scare."
For a minute, nobody moved. Tessa could only stare at Shane, a small voice telling her this was some sort of trick. That her wish hadn't come true. That it wasn't her partner in front of her, but some sort of illusion. Tessa looked back and forth between Ephemeris and Totem Ninetales. They both picked up on her hesitancy and nodded.
"It's really him," Ephemeris said. He nudged Shane forward with a wing.
Espy moved first. She walked up to Shane, brushed her side against his, and lay her head on his torso. "Welcome back," she said, voice cracking.
Silvally was next, having to use caution to avoid bowling anyone over. His steps were so peppy he practically bounded toward Shane. He curled his larger body around both of his teammates, but left a gap so that Shane could see Tessa. She looked at her teammates' happy faces. Warmth flooded her chest. Her gaze met Shane's.
Tessa stumbled forward, vision growing watery. A psychic force grabbed hold of her before she toppled over and pulled her close to Shane. Even though soup coated her fur, Shane still pulled Tessa into a tight embrace. She threw her arms around his neck, not even caring that a curious
plink sounded when her chest spike met what should've been Shane's breastbone. He wrapped two of his tails around her torso and squeezed.
"I missed you so much," Tessa hiccupped.
"I missed you, too," Shane whispered.
"Don't you
ever do anything like that again, okay?"
Shane's face flushed. "W… what… rebuild a destroyed planet?"
"No." Tessa broke the embrace off and blinked tears from her eyes. "Blatantly lie to my face."
"Oh… right. You remembered." Shane's ears flattened against his head. "But I, uh, I
did end up keeping my promise in the end, didn't I?"
Fresh tears welled up in Tessa's eyes. "Okay. Fine. I'll let it slide this time." She rejoined the group hug. Ephemeris and Totem Ninetales stepped back, letting the team soak up every minute of their reunion. Tessa broke off after a couple of minutes and reached into her satchel. "Here. This belongs to you." She pulled out one of the scarves Gallian had gifted her. The one whose coloration matched Shane's original scarf. Beaming, Shane stuck his head up, giving Tessa room to tie the scarf around Shane's neck.
"Thanks. It's perfect." Shane nudged Tessa snout with his own. They both flushed in unison.
Zephyr sat down on one of the cushions. "Welcome back, Snowy," he whispered. Zephyr glanced right, raising an eyebrow. "Hey… are you crying?"
Hakamo-o tensed up, then promptly looked away. "It's not me. There were onions in the soup!" he said, rubbing his eyes as he sat on the cushion next to Zephyr.
"I'd hate to interrupt your reunion, but now that the four of you are back together, I think it's time we talked about some of your experiences," Ephemeris said, walking slowly toward the spirit pool in the middle of the room. Totem Ninetales followed him, then sat down in front of the pool. Her brooch shimmered with pink energy.
"Our experiences?" Tessa tilted her head.
"Yes. Namely, what Necrozma did to the three of you." Ephemeris gestured at Shane, Silvally, and Tessa. The latter two exchanged frowns. Ephemeris
had mentioned wanting to talk with them at some point, but with the whirlwind of events that had followed, they figured it'd be a while before that actually happened.
"Um, is this supposed to be a private conversation? Do you want me to step out?" Espy wondered, her tail curling around her waist.
"I'd rather you stay," Silvally said, nudging her with his beak. Espy nodded and scooched up beside his cushion.
"She's a close friend… so I think it's important she stay and hear what I have to say," Ephemeris said, taking a deep breath. "There's actually a couple of other people that I'd sent for, but I think it's okay if we start without them."
Tessa raised a brow. Had Ephemeris… been planning for this? She frowned. If he had known exactly how things would go with Shane, then why didn't he say anything to her? Tessa had made it clear how much she'd fretted over Shane's condition and had gotten no information.
Before she could raise an objection, the door opened. Tessa's aura feelers shot up when Gallian and Zoroark walked in, both looking confused. They each sported new, pink-purple scarves littered with white hearts. When Gallian spotted Shane and Tessa sitting beside one another, his horn flickered. "Oh. You're, uh… you're back. And awake. H-Hello." He blinked in surprise.
"Yo. Welcome back, Shane. Thanks for patching up my eye," Zoroark said, winking.
Shane's ears stuck up. "Uh, you're welcome?"
"We got your message, sir, but what did you need us up here for?" Gallian asked, looking at Ephemeris and Totem Ninetales.
"There's an important conversation I want to have with your sister… and I need the two of you for a demonstration of sorts," Ephemeris said. He gestured to the two remaining open cushions.
"Okay, I'm really confused." Tessa watched her family take their seats. "Ephemeris, don't get me wrong. I'm so,
so grateful for what you did to bring Shane back. But, well…" Her voice trailed off and she clutched the memento tightly. "The way you've been acting… it sounds like you had a plan in mind with Shane. In which case… why didn't you tell us anything? I've been fraught with worry for five days! And you… you…" Her aura feelers quivered.
Shane scooched close to Tessa and nudged her with her snout. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Just… sorry, hang on." Tessa rubbed her eyes and sat up straight.
"I apologize, Tessa. The truth is that I wasn't sure what I was doing for Shane was going to work until a short time ago. That's when I had Totem Ninetales send for your brother," Ephemeris explained. "I couldn't take the time to tell you what was happening because what I was doing was very… sensitive. I was worried that if I lost my focus, I'd lose the progress I'd made."
"What kind of progress, exactly?" Silvally asked.
Ephemeris looked at Shane, conflict scribbled across his face. "It took so long for me to patch Shane up because I had to try and make heads or tails of his spirit. And it's, frankly speaking, an absolute mess. Probably second only to yours in that department, Silvally." Ephemeris looked away guiltily while Shane frowned.
"I mean… yeah, I fused with
Necrozma. I figured that was going to be the case," he said. His calm tone surprised his teammates.
"Oh… really? I see…" Ephemeris lifted a wing and coughed. "Fair enough. I suppose I should start with a bit of background, then." He glanced up at the ceiling. "See, in my travels through Ultra Space, I've heard tales of creatures that, honestly, have a number of parallels to Necrozma. I only got this information from talking to willing inhabitants of the various worlds I've visited. I understand you've spoken with Team Paradox, yes?"
"They gave us a bit of background about the whole Ultra Space business… and that was before Seraph proposed contacting the Ultra Recon Network," Tessa said, crossing her right leg over her left. "I have some misgivings, sure, but now that we've faced down a number of Ultra Beasts, I think she has a point."
Shane looked at Tessa in surprise. Clearly, he'd missed a lot in the time he'd been away. He made a mental note to get more details from his teammates when he was afforded the time.
"Right. Then tell me, did Team Paradox ever make mention of 'Blinding Ones?'" Ephemeris asked, still staring at the ceiling.
"Blinding Ones? No. But Luxeira had told us that Seraph referred to Necrozma as a 'Lightless Black' when they initially discovered him in the Ultra Nexus," Silvally explained. Shane's brow furrowed trying to remember that detail, but it had gotten lost amidst all the stuff that had happened following Team Paradox's tale.
"Lightless Black, huh? Yeah… that's one of the other names I heard," Ephemeris said.
"Names for what?" Espy wondered.
"Creatures bearing striking resemblance to Necrozma." Ephemeris paused to let the statement sink in.
Shane was on his feet, his tails fanning out. "You mean to tell me there are other crazy, murderous prisms out there?" And people wanted to join the world up with others in Ultra Space? The idea made Shane's gut squirm.
"Settle down. It's not quite so black and white." Ephemeris waved Shane off with a wing. "If I had to put it simply, I'd say that Necrozma was, essentially, a member of a particular race of Ultra Beasts… he was just a very
unique member of that race, due to his origins." Ephemeris locked eyes with Shane. "The other Blinding Ones… they can absorb light, yes. Even transfigure that light into energy for things like growing luscious gardens from barren ground. But they cannot manipulate spirits the way Necrozma did. And they do not have alchemical powers at their disposal." He shook his head.
"Blinding Ones normally take the form of large, golden light dragons. Something I believe you all are familiar with." Ephemeris studied Team Radiance. They all nodded in unison. "Right. The thing is, whereas the Guiding Light could maintain that form indefinitely… Blinding Ones have a
constant need to absorb light. If they don't… impurities will build up in their bodies."
"Impurities?" Tessa rubbed an aura feeler. "That's a bit vague, don't you think?"
"Yes. I'm not really sure how else to describe it. It's like… toxins build up inside of them. And when the impurities reach a certain threshold, it becomes impossible for Blinding Ones to maintain their radiant form," Ephemeris replied. "And that is what they
do have in common with Necrozma. When they lose their light, they transform into black crystals. Their bodies restructure to guard their weakened cores. And their temperaments become far more… violent. Does that sound familiar?"
"It does." Tessa tugged nervously at her scarf. "And would that…" She gulped. "Do you think that would explain why, when we found Shane in the Ultra Nexus, he was trapped inside of a black, crystalline heart that tried to attack us?"
Ephemeris nodded. "It would. I believe that what you saw was Shane's new Necrozma instincts taking over… and doing whatever it would take to protect him from harm."
Shane's tails twisted around each other. Clearly, this was something he'd have to worry about. Tessa put her paw on top of Shane's. The look in her eyes told her she was concerned about him, too. Shane looked down, saying nothing. Tessa took her other paw and hoisted his chin up.
"It'll be okay. Let's see where this goes," she whispered.
"So, Blinding Ones try to reclaim the light that they lost, right?" Silvally said. "That must be where the destruction comes into play."
"From what I could gather, their anger is driven less out of malice and more out of… pain. Lightless Blacks… are in states of constant agony. They hunger for light to put an end to their suffering. Sometimes, though, the anguish gets too much to bear. They lash out at their surroundings." Ephemeris kicked at the air with his right leg in a shoddy demonstration. Despite his concerns, Shane couldn't help but smirk at the display. Tessa cracked a grin, too.
Silvally was still stone-faced, however. "Did Necrozma ever mention being in pain? I honestly can't remember," he said, glancing nervously at Espy. Her ears stuck up.
"Ah. You… you want to know about when we were working together, don't you?" She lowered her head. "He did complain a lot about being in pain. Though, remember, he didn't have his core, either. That might've contributed."
"I see…" Silvally's voice trailed off. Shane titled his head. Had Silvally asked about that for his sake? He couldn't get a good read on Silvally's expression, but he didn't want to say that out loud for fear of looking silly.
Instead, Shane asked Ephemeris, "Is there anything else we ought to know about Blinding Ones?"
"Yes. The method by which a Lightless Black becomes a Blinding One is a technique known as Ultra Burst," Ephemeris said.
"Tch. Of
course it is." Gallian brushed his cheek with a forepaw. "People in Ultra Space
really can't come up with better names, can they?"
"Like our world's any better. We ignored giving ourselves proper names for how many centuries?" Zoroark said, shrugging.
Gallian winced. "Okay, point taken." He noticed everyone in the room looking at him and buried his head in Zoroark's lap. "S-Sorry. Continue, please."
"The Ultra Burst phenomenon involves harnessing tremendous amounts of light energy to attain the radiant form. It also brings about a boost in power. Sound familiar?" Ephemeris said, glancing at Tessa in particular.
"Y… yeah. So, I guess it's, uh, kinda like an Ultra Space version of Mega Evolution?" Tessa rolled the memento crystal around in her paw. Shane shot her a worried look. Was Ephemeris trying to imply something about Tessa's Mega Evolution in particular? Because Gallian was in the room, too, but Ephemeris didn't seem interested in him.
"In some respects, yes. And those were the important facts I wanted to bring up," Ephemeris said. "I thought it vital that you know about Ultra Burst and the differences between Necrozma and the other Blinding Ones… because it's those things that have affected each of you." Ephemeris gestured at Shane, Silvally, and Tessa with his right wing. "In other words, because of your exposures to Necrozma's light energy, all three of you have developed versions of Ultra Burst."
"W… we have?" Tessa squeaked. She stared down at her lap, aura feelers twitching.
Silvally tensed up. His cheek bolts alternated rotating clockwise and counterclockwise. A golden shimmer rippled through his energy blades. Shane looked at both his teammates nervously. He couldn't help but think that this all had to do with the things he'd done in the Prism Wastelands. Even if he wasn't in control, Necrozma had used his body to hurt his friends. And, from the sound of things, he might've
permanently screwed up their lives. The thought made his insides squirm.
"Yours in the simplest, Tessa. A standard Mega Evolution wouldn't imbue you with a rainbow aura. From what I saw, the lines your aura powers burnt into your fur have a more… metallic element to them than a Mega Lucario is supposed to have," Ephemeris explained. "Not to mention, while it's not unheard of for Pokémon to see shifts in their spiritual energy when they Mega Evolve, the fact is that you had very large bursts of dragon energy when you were transformed."
Tessa squeezed her scarf. "H… how do you know that?"
"You were still transformed when Lunala and I carried you to my home."
"Oh." Tessa's shoulders sagged. Shane nudged her arm with his snout. It was all he could think of doing.
"T-Tessa? Are you, um, okay?" he squeaked. When she didn't reply, Shane turned to Ephemeris and asked, "Isn't there any way to reverse the effects?"
"No," Tessa whispered. "It wouldn't work." She rubbed her looplet with her paw. "It's just like Necrozma said… I used his light to restore my defective aura sense. That's not something you can fix."
"But you didn't mean for that to happen. You were using a Z-Move to save the Volcanic Wastes!" Shane said. He tried to nudge his way under her arm. Shane hated seeing her distressed like this, especially after they'd just reunited.
"It's… okay." Tessa put her paw on his shoulder, but her voice was shaky. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gallian and Zoroark ready to bolt from their spots and hug her if needed. "Somehow, I had a feeling something like this might be the case." She put a paw on her chest and traced her digits through her black fur. "Even if I didn't
intend for it to happen, it did. There's no point trying to deny it. And I'm not going to waste my energy trying to find a way to get rid of it, either. I think it'll just amount to nothing."
"I believe Necrozma's light is an integral part of your spirit," Ephemeris said. "If I could get rid of it for you, I would. But I don't think it's possible."
Shane whined. It took every ounce of strength for him to not complain on Tessa's behalf. It wasn't fair. She deserved a happy life, but Shane feared this was going to make it impossible for her to be at peace. "I'm willing to help you try and find a way to reverse it," he said, putting a forepaw on her lap.
"I appreciate it, Shane, but it's not necessary." Her voice was still shaky. Still, there was a spark in her eyes. Shane tilted his head, but said nothing. "What do I have to be concerned about?" Tessa asked, looking up at Ephemeris.
"Well, I believe you already know that for yourself. If you Ultra Burst, your energy will run wildly out of control. It could take hold of you and send you into a violent rage… much like a Blinding One deprived of light," Ephemeris said. "And, of course, in doing so, you run the risk of draining your spirit of its energy… or burning it out completely."
"Meaning, what, she could
die?!" Shane said, ears sticking up. Gallian and Zoroark both got to their feet. "C'mon, Tessa, you've gotta let me try and help you find a cure." How could she be so calm about all of this? Well, okay, she
was shaking, but her expression was still so soft. It confused Shane.
"I'm not going to hold out hope for finding a cure," Tessa said. "I think it's better that I try to learn how to control it… right?" She squeezed her memento.
"Well, I suppose so. If you
could control it properly, then it would undoubtedly serve you well in battle." Ephemeris turned and coughed into his wing.
Tessa nodded. She then slumped over on her cushion, exhaling heavily. Shane leaned over, whimpering. "Tessa… are you sure about this? I don't… look, if you're upset, you have every right to speak up and say something. Y-You're with friends… a-and family."
"I appreciate the concern." Tessa wrapped Shane's right foreleg up with her left arm. His eyes and face both turned red. "But I'm still mulling things over. Besides, you've still got some news of your own. I want to know everything that's on the table for our team, okay?"
Shane lowered his head. His fur and eye color returned to normal. "Okay."
Ephemeris approached Silvally next. Silvally sat up straight. "I think I already have a good idea what you might end up telling me," he said, glancing at Espy. She nodded reassuringly and wrapped her tail around his hind leg for moral support. "See, ever since we got back from the battle with Necrozma, I've been… having trouble keeping my types and memories stable."
"Oh?" Ephemeris raised his brow. Shane practically jumped out of his seat. All he could remember was the moment Silvally flung himself and Zero and blew up. He was about to speak up when Silvally looked right at him. Shane shrank back, tensing when three of his tails brushed Tessa's side.
"There have been times where two sets of memories have been active at once. I thought that, maybe, my mind was playing tricks on me from fatigue or something. But then… I
froze a falling light fixture and
reversed its fall," Silvally explained, while Shane's eyes widened. Tessa sat back up. Even Espy looked as though this was news to her. "It… it couldn't have been anything other than time powers. Like what Dialga has— err, had.
"Then, when we were exploring the Ultra Nexus, some of my spirits actually popped out of me!" Silvally pivoted to show Ephemeris one of his cheek bolts. "These suckers opened up and, like, projected silver light and they turned into
solid Pokémon."
"I was there. He brought up a Latios, a Zekrom, a Goodra, and Totem Kommo—" Espy realized her mistake the moment Hakamo-o poked his head up. Silvally looked at her in alarm, as did Shane and Tessa. "O… oh no. I… I said too much." Espy winced. "Sorry, Silv."
Hakamo-o was on his feet. "H-Hang on. Dad didn't rejoin the rest of the tribe when the world got all patched up." His gaze fell to the ground. "Y… you mean to tell me that he's still… he's still…" He shakily pointed an arm at Silvally. "And he's
inside of you? But if he's dead… then he should be in the Tree of Life, shouldn't he? And… and…" Hakamo-o looked at Zephyr, whose eyes were as wide as Team Radiance's.
"You said there was a Goodra in the group, right?" Hakamo-o said, voice cracking. Espy tried to look away, but Hakamo-o lumbered across the room, ignoring Totem Ninetales' attempts to get him to calm down. "You've gotta let me talk to her! I— that's my mom! You're holding onto my mom's spir—
aggh!"
He stumbled over the stairs surrounding the spirit pool and fell, bonking his snout against the wooden floor. "Ow… not the schnozzle. Why is it always the schnozzle?" Hakamo-o rubbed his throbbing snout.
"It's not my fault. I didn't
mean for her to show up there," Silvally said, the guiltiest look on his face that his teammates had ever seen. "It… it's Necrozma. When I Exploded… the stuff he did with my spirits… a-and putting me back together…" Silvally shrank down to his belly. Espy leaned against him and rubbed his foreleg.
"That's what I was afraid of," Ephemeris said, rubbing his beak with a wing. "As best I can guess, it seems Necrozma did a very sloppy job of reconstructing you."
Red spread through Silvally's glowing parts. "And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Your ability — the one that lets you swap between types by drawing on spiritual powers — is unstable. From what I can tell by glimpsing at your energy, Necrozma accidentally transferred some of his own spiritual and light powers to you. I would not be surprised if you could form those golden energy balls he liked using."
"What? I don't want to pluck Pokémon's spirits out of their bodies or anything like that!" Silvally squawked. Several different colors rippled through his energy blades and tail, drawing a startled look from Shane. Now that he thought about it, there
were times during the fight against Necrozma where it seemed like Silvally was tapping into some sort of strange power. Was this the result? On paper, it sounded cool, but after everything with Necrozma…
And Shane couldn't see it as anything other than his fault. If he hadn't been careless — if he'd attacked Necrozma when he was possessing Xerneas instead of standing there and talking — this never would have happened.
"Mmm… no, I don't believe you have such an ability. Though, if you'd permit me, I could take a closer look at your spiritual energy and hopefully give you more concrete answers." Ephemeris hopped in front of Silvally, spreading his wings out.
Silvally didn't respond. Espy brushed her head against his thigh. "Silv? Maybe you ought to do it? It's better to know, don't you think?"
Hakamo-o walked around Ephemeris. "You better say yes! Because I deserve an explanation, too!" He snorted out dragonfire embers. Silvally's expression somehow got even
more guilty and Shane's heart plummeted. This was far from the joyful reunion he was hoping for.
"Okay. Fine," Silvally croaked. "Make it quick."
"I'm sure he knows what he's doing," Espy said, resuming rubbing Silvally's foreleg. Despite her assurances, he tensed up, digging his claws into the carpet.
"I'll be as gentle as possible." Ephemeris lifted his wings and took a deep breath. Soft, blue light spread through his wings. Ephemeris moved his wings up and down on either side of Silvally's torso, yet didn't actually touch him. Shane raised a brow, thinking Ephemeris looked like the Pokémon version of an office scanner.
"Okay." Ephemeris pulled his wings back and stepped away, blinking slowly. "That was… a lot to take in."
"Did you even do anything?" Hakamo-o threw his arms up in exasperation.
"I did. I have a much clearer picture, now. Silvally… it seems Necrozma turned you into a living, breathing spirit realm," Ephemeris declared. "You have a spirit core — the ones that form your 'memories' — but you also have free spirits moving around within your body, like blood through vessels."
Silvally didn't respond. He stared at the ground. Espy glanced between him and Ephemeris. Sighing, she asked, "Did you— um, do you have any idea how many free spirits he has?"
"A few hundred… maybe? Necrozma really did a sloppy job of things." Ephemeris said. Silvally winced and Espy shot him a horrified look. "Err, sorry. I could've phrased that better." He turned and coughed into his wing. "In any case, I believe the whole 'living spirit realm' bit also explains the strange powers. You're drawing on the abilities of your spirits."
"But Dialga's alive and well. Why was I able to use one of his abilities? And what about the light power you think I have?" Silvally whispered. His head stayed down. Despite Espy rubbing his leg, the crestfallen expression didn't leave his face. Shane looked over at Tessa. His impulse was to apologize. This was his fault. He needed to do
something to make this right.
"I think it's best we keep our thoughts to ourselves for now, Shane." Tessa's aura feelers drooped.
Shane nodded, saying nothing. He curled two of his tails around his legs and pretended to straighten out their fur, as if trying to focus on something mindless would somehow let him ignore the tense conversation.
"You went inside of Void Necrozma. You were directly exposed to the giant amalgamation of spirits… and absorbed energy from the— well, let's call it a spirit soup of sorts," Ephemeris said. "The end result is that your range of abilities has extended. You're a bit like Mew or a Ditto… except you don't need to transform. I even—" He paused, but the momentary flinch was enough to make Team Radiance.
"What is it?" Silvally asked, leaning in.
"I even sensed a familiar divine energy… buried deep inside of you. Arceus' Judgement." Ephemeris stepped back, folding his wings against his torso.
Silvally's eyes widened, then he bowed his head. The shock of his face was plain as day. "That's all you can come up with? It's so vague!" Shane blurted out. He drew everyone's gazes toward him. Shane shrank down onto his belly, mentally kicking himself. Though he didn't make eye contact with Tessa he was
sure she had a disapproving look on her face.
"Since you house a spirit realm, I have no doubt that you can summon the spirits inside of you, whether they are in your core or have free range of movement. I bet you can also summon spirits from the Tree of Life like Totem Ninetales or my counterpart," Ephemeris continued, tone calm. It didn't stop Shane from believing Ephemeris was upset with him, but he'd learned his lesson and chosen to stare at the floor.
"If that's the case, then I want to see my mom. You've gotta summon her… please." Hakamo-o grabbed Silvally's left foreleg and tried to shake it to little avail.
"Do I need to be worried… about the multiple types thing?" Silvally said. He still wouldn't look up, though he shut his eyes when Espy stuck her head into his line of sight.
"Yes. That, I believe, is
your version of Ultra Burst. On your own, you might be able to balance having two types, like most Pokémon. But if you were to tap into the energy you took from Necrozma, you'd take a form that embodies every type," Ephemeris replied.
This time Shane couldn't stay silent. "He already did that when he fought Zero! And he… he… that made his body start to fall apart and he wound up Exploding." Again, all eyes fell on Shane, but he stood his ground this time. One look at Espy suggested she was thinking the same thing. She was the only one
not staring at Shane, instead wrapping her tail around Silvally's foreleg. Shane's own tails curled up. Had he… missed something between the two in his absence? It looked like there was something else he'd have to follow up on.
"That's the risk Silvally runs by triggering his Ultra Burst, I'm afraid. If he keeps it active too long, his body will destabilize and it could end with him blowing himself apart," Ephemeris said, bowing his head. "I believe there's a similar risk to overworking your spiritual powers. Say, for example, summoning too many spirits at once."
Silvally's shoulders sagged. He then got to his feet, fast enough to knock Hakamo-o on his rear. "But you can get rid of the extra spirits, can't you? I mean… you saved Shane! You're… you're clearly very strong! Between you and Totem Ninetales… you can put them back in the Tree of Life where they belong, right?" His voice strained with each successive sentence. Different colors flickered in Silvally's eyes. His cheek bolts rotated asymmetrically.
Shane shuffled back toward Tessa. He hadn't seen Silvally this distressed since back when his mask was on. His heart ached. "There has to be something I can do," he said. "Silvally doesn't deserve this. He's…"
Tessa put a paw on his shoulder. "Sometimes bad things happen to good Pokémon," she whispered.
"But… but the void's gone. This is… I wanted you guys to find peace. Not get devastating news like this," Shane said, sniffling. He was tempted to label his friends as mutants of a sort, but managed to hold his tongue. That wouldn't have helped the situation in the slightest.
"I know. But, well, I think we all knew the risks of fighting Necrozma." Tessa put her paws in her lap. "Actions have consequences, after all."
"I'm sorry, Silvally," Ephemeris said, catching Shane and Tessa's attention. "As much as I would love to say I could remove the extra spirits… I can't."
"Th… that can't be right. You bind spirits to the spirit realm, don't you? A-And you can unbind them!" Silvally looked to Totem Ninetales.
"I can only unbind them as ghost-types. If I tried to remove them… I'd erase their essences and transform them into ghosts," Totem Ninetales said, shaking her head.
"Then what about you?" Silvally looked at Ephemeris.
"No. I would have to
revive the Pokémon to remove its spirit. Besides, there's no way to safely remove those extra spirits without causing your body to start breaking down… like I mentioned earlier." Ephemeris folded his wings against his sides. "I'm sorry, but the extra spirits are bound to you for eternity."
"Eternity… right…" Silvally's water memories were on. A blue glow shimmered in his eyes and cheek bolts.
"But I believe, with proper training and guidance, you can learn how to better control these abilities and minimize the risk of losing yourself to your powers," Ephemeris said, offering an encouraging grin. It did nothing, though. Silvally looked down, then hunched over, leg muscles tensing.
"S-Silv?" Espy stepped back, tail crinkling.
Shane got to his feet, but Tessa held him back. "C'mon, Tessa, he's in pain. I have to—"
Silvally's cheek bolts opened. Two pulses of silver light emerged and slowly took the shapes of Goodra and Totem Kommo-o. From his position on the floor, Hakamo-o scooched back, eyes as wide as melons. On the other side of the room, Gallian, Zephyr, and Zoroark all got to their feet.
"H-Holy sh
it." Zoroark gasped. "He… he really… with the light… and the…" Zoroark grabbed hold of his mane and fiddled with it, whispering things under his breath.
"Unngh… my head…" Silvally groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. "Look, whatever you two want to say to him… just make it quick, please? I'm… not in a good place right now."
Hakamo-o focused mostly on Goodra. "M… M… M…" He couldn't even get the words out.
"Hello again, dear." Goodra tilted her head and smiled. "Your father told me that you got quite the strapping evolution… and now I can see it for myself." The smile faded, replaced by guilt. "I'm truly sorry that I wasn't there to witness it in person."
"N… no." Hakamo-o got to his feet, rubbing his eyes with an arm. "It's my fault, isn't it? If I had stayed behind, then you'd… you'd still be with the tribe. I… I…" His legs shook. He took one step forward. Then another. He closed the rest of the gap with Goodra. Stumbling, Hakamo-o expected to fall right through Goodra. Instead his face struck her belly. Though it had the same gooey consistency he remembered… he wasn't covered in slime like usual.
Goodra wrapped her arms around Hakamo-o. Muffled sobs echoed through the room. Silvally glanced at Totem Kommo-o who shifted about uncomfortably. "Not going to join them?" he asked.
"I… treated my son poorly in the past. I think it's best I abstain," Totem Kommo-o said, crossing his arms and bowing his head.
"Fair enough," Silvally said. He met Espy's gaze. She tilted her head, but Silvally waved her off. "I'm fine. Just tired, that's all."
"I'm sorry, Mom. After I left the tribe, I did some… not so good things." Hakamo-o stepped back and blinked tears out of his eyes. "Caused a bit of trouble. Got
in a lot of trouble."
"I know some of the details. Your father and I have… spoken," Goodra said, glancing at Totem Kommo-o.
"A-about me?"
"Yes." Goodra stood up and pivoted so she could look at both her mate and her son. "I've already told this to your father, but it bears repeating in front of you. I'm quite upset with the way he treated you… and how he refused to listen to your feelings because he was stuck in the past." She put a hand on Hakamo-o's shoulder. "You should know that the night that you ran off—"
"You had done something to… to convince Dad to let you train me. But Dad wanted to go back on your deal," Hakamo-o said, wincing. "I overheard what happened. What exactly did you promise him, anyway?"
Totem Kommo-o's eyes widened. He looked ready to jump in, but Goodra leaned over and whispered a response to Hakamo-o. He immediately turned around, regarding his dad with a stunned expression. "D-Dad… you… and Mom…" Hakamo-o's brow furrowed. "I can't believe you would—" He cut himself off and shook his head. "I don't even know what to say to that! It's… it's
beyond disgusting!"
Shane glanced at Tessa, who could only offer a shrug.
"Son, I—"
Hakamo-o held up a hand. "N-No. I don't want to hear it." He crossed his arms. "Look, I'm sorry you got roped up into all of this world-ending nonsense or whatever, but… but I'm going to need time to… come to terms with this stuff."
"Just as your father and I will need time to mend our relationship," Goodra said, stroking Hakamo-o's shoulder.
"And I've already promised that I will do whatever it takes to earn your forgiveness," Totem Kommo-o said, bowing his head. "Err… within the confines of what I
can do as a spirit." He rubbed his shoulder, then sighed. "Can I at least ask you how the tribe is faring in my absence?"
"They're doing fine. With the gods depowered, Rayquaza moved to Rem Canyon to join the tribe." Hakamo-o remained stoic throughout his response.
"Yes. I heard as much from inside my, err, host." Totem Kommo-o glanced at Silvally, who shrugged his shoulders. "And are you all right?"
"I'm trying to make up for what I did. Y'know, reinvent myself and stuff," Hakamo-o said. "My buddy Zephyr's working with me." He jerked his head in Zephyr's direction.
"Zephyr?" Goodra turned around. "Ah… yes, right. The whole 'naming' thing I heard about." She smiled at Zephyr. "Thank you very much for looking after my son in my absence. I'm glad he had someone around to keep him on his feet."
"I-It was no big deal, ma'am," Zephyr said, stiffening.
Silvally coughed loudly. "Sorry, but I think we have to wrap this up. I'm getting tired."
Hakamo-o frowned. His tail dipped onto the floor. "You'll come back and visit, won't you?" He addressed the question more to Silvally than either of his parents.
"Well, if I'm going to do spiritual training, then I'll
have to drop by eventually," Silvally said, though he was far from enthusiastic about the prospect.
"Okay. B-Because I wanna talk to you s'more." Hakamo-o leaned over and hugged Goodra again.
"I do too, dear. Maybe you can even come up with a name for me, hmm?" She put her free hand to her mouth and giggled. Then, in a flash of silver light, she retreated into Silvally's cheek bolt.
"Take care, son. I'm sorry," Totem Kommo-o whispered, then disappeared alongside his mate. Silvally staggered back and dropped to his belly on his cushion. Espy leaned against him and rubbed his side.
"That was very nice of you to do."
"I, uh… it wasn't intentional," Silvally croaked.
Shane and Tessa had watched the scene in silence. It would've been a lighter note to end things on, but Ephemeris locking eyes with Shane made him remember that there was still a big piece to this convoluted Ultra Burst puzzle. He sighed and lowered his head, bracing for the worst. "All right, let me have it. What'd Necrozma do to make me into a freak like my friends?" He didn't pick up on the poor word choice until he saw the frown on Tessa's face.
"It's more a matter of what you did to yourself. After all,
you're the one who merged with Necrozma's core," Ephemeris said. "And part of why it took so long to restore you was because I had a real hard time figuring out what to make of your spirit. But I finally got my answer… and can pass along what I know to you."
"So, what is it? Am I Necrozma or am I an ice Ninetales?"
"Yes."
Shane blinked. "That wasn't a yes or no question."
"You're both." Ephemeris leaned over and pushed aside Shane's mane. Underneath the chest fur was a faint, glowing triangle… with Necrozma's familiar star-shaped sigil. "You, Ninetales Shane, are the core of Necrozma Shane, the new Guiding Light." He pulled his wing back, letting Shane's mane fall back and hide the markings.
All Shane could muster was, "I see." He looked down at his chest. In the back of his head, he figured this had to have been the case. Yet a small part of him had hoped that somehow surviving the supernova he'd caused meant he'd used up all of the Necrozma energy, so he would just be a normal ice Ninetales.
Espy tilted her head. "Hang on. You were talking a lot about Blinding Ones and how they're basically the same as Necrozma. Wouldn't that make Shane a Blinding One… not the Guiding Light?"
"It, again, makes him both. And the reason I say that is because he fused with a core that was forged from alchemy and ley lines. Shane has many of the powers Necrozma displayed that made him different from other Blinding Ones. Namely, spirit and light manipulation, as well as alchemy," Ephemeris said. Shane stiffened. His tails all straightened out in alarm.
"I don't want those powers! There… that's…" Shane shuddered. "I don't trust myself to handle that kind of stuff responsibly! And what if I… what if those powers turn me violent like they did to Nicky? Can't I just stay as a Ninetales? I don't have to transform or Ultra Burst or whatever, right?" The questions came pouring out and Tessa had to put a paw on his back and pulse a weak amount of aura to him to get him to calm down.
"I'm not well-versed in how Blinding Ones operate. All I can tell you is what I gleamed for analyzing your spirit. The fact is that you
are Necrozma's core. As such, you're constantly absorbing light energy, even if you can't feel it," Ephemeris replied. "I don't believe there's an upper limit to how much energy you can take in… but it
is dangerous for you to stay in that form the higher your energy levels get."
As if on cue, a golden ripple spread across Shane's back. A single golden, ethereal wing popped out, nearly knocking Tessa over. She managed to grab hold of it but her eyes were wide and her aura feelers were close to popping off her skull. "Ah, Tessa! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! That's…" Shane stared at the wing. "Where did that thing come from? How do I put it back?"
The wing tensed, spasmed, and then retreated into Shane's back. He sat there, wracked by shudders. "As I was saying… until you can learn to successfully control your Ultra Burst and transition between your two forms, I imagine there's going to be a lot of those moments." Ephemeris shook his head. "Blinding Ones naturally
want to assume their true, draconic forms. I fear your instincts will be clashing with one another in that regard."
Shane's ears flattened. "Wonderful. So, it's like I'm back at square one… first starting out as a Vulpix or whatever." He dropped onto his stomach, groaning. "Okay. If I
have to Ultra Burst, what's the catch? If my friends had a catch, I assume I do, too."
"I'm afraid so. And it's the same problem that other Blinding Ones face. If you overexert yourself… you'll enter into a stasis… just like what happened when you brought your friends out of the Ultra Nexus," Ephemeris replied. "And, though I have no way of knowing this for certain, it's entirely possible that, when you emerge from that stasis, you would become violent and unruly like other Blinding Ones when they are deprived of light."
"But that didn't happen here," Espy pointed out.
"Yes, because I was around to prevent it. I fed Shane small, measured doses of Sacred Fire." Ephemeris lifted a wing up. A tiny gold flame formed on its tip, which Ephemeris quickly dispelled as he tucked his wing back against his side. "You might not be lucky enough to have someone like me around in the future."
"The future…" Shane's gaze dropped to the floor. "Um, Ephemeris? If I… what does being Necrozma's core mean for me, exactly?"
"The same thing it does for Silvally. You will not age. That doesn't mean you can't be killed, of course, but you two
are the last vestiges of ley lines from the old world. Dare I say… you're both remnants of the void." Ephemeris glanced at the spirit pool. "And that's why I believe it essential that all three of you learn to control your Ultra Bursts… and that you, Shane and Silvally, train your spiritual powers. Even if you don't intend to use them, if you fail to control them… they could very well end up controlling you."
Shane frowned. Ephemeris' last statement read like the back of a fortune cookie. Still, a knot twisted up in his gut. Which only made him wonder if he even
had a gut anymore… or if it had actually been turned into some sort of hollow, crystal organ instead. Shane drew his lips back and gritted his teeth. Tessa shifted closer to him, but Shane couldn't meet her gaze. He had braced himself… but the news still turned out worse than he imagined.
Never aging? A vestige of the void… even though he had destroyed it? Shane didn't want that pressure on his shoulders. The team had rid the world of ley lines. So, why did it feel like he was being punished? And what about Tessa? How could… would it even be possible for him to say how he truly felt, knowing all of this stuff? Shane feared that a relationship would be too dangerous to pursue. If his powers went out of control and he hurt Tessa…
"Shane, please say something. That look on your face worries me," Tessa whispered. She put a paw on his shoulder, only to yank it back when a gold tendril nearly wrapped it up. "Shane?"
He saw the gold tendril go for Tessa's paw and forcibly jerked himself to the left. The tendril receded. Shane pressed his snout into his chest. "I'm sorry. This is a lot to take in." Shane couldn't get past the last things Ephemeris said to him. "Is… is there any way to undo the fusion? To separate my spirit from Necrozma's?" Shane asked.
"No. You
are the core. There's nothing I can do to your spirit to change it back to what it used to be," Ephemeris said.
"I figured." Shane sighed. His mind went blank. Was it exhaustion? Shane didn't know, but he didn't want to think about everything Ephemeris had said anymore. He just wanted to lie down. Curl up with his friends and try to pretend like none of this had happened. But Shane couldn't do that. After all, how many problems had his team witnessed that were a direct result of people trying to ignore things they didn't like?
"Is that everything you wanted to tell us?" Silvally asked, eliciting a relieved sigh from Shane.
"It is, yes. Which would bring us to the demonstration part of this whole affair." Ephemeris gestured at the spirit pool with his left wing.
"Demonstration? What kind of demonstration?" Espy wondered.
"Spirit-channeling, of course," Ephemeris said. He and Totem Ninetales approached the pool, with the latter beckoning Zephyr over.
"You're going to channel a spirit? Right here?" Shane gasped.
"Why exactly are we here, then?" Gallian asked, brow furrowed.
"You are close with Shane and Silvally. I think it's important you all see what the spirit summoning process is like, so you're better equipped to help your friends in the future," Ephemeris explained while Totem Ninetales dipped a rod with a glowing orb into the pool. Bright blue light shimmered in the center of the water. It spread out, casting the room in a soft, blue glow.
Totem Ninetales removed the staff and looked Zephyr in the eyes. "Are you ready for this?"
A tingle ran down Zephyr's spine. His fur stood on end. He glanced around the room, until he found Hakamo-o, who gave him a reassuring nod. Zephyr stood up straight, arms by his sides.
"Yeah. Let's do it."
XxX
Next time: lots of spirits!
(Oh, you are so evil).
