Chapter 50: Overseer and Out

Your flagrant disregard for our protocols cannot go unpunished.

Between letting you live undisturbed in your home dimension for numerous generations of descendants, tending to your type: full compatriot’s desire to join his mate in the afterlife, and fixing the countless space-time anomalies your reckless actions generated, we have more than accommodated your wishes.

So, you must understand your actions come as an egregious betrayal of trust. You have served as an Overseer long enough to understand our policies. POV-2020 is far too dangerous. The focus must be on containment until we either figure out how to safely extract the stranded agent or she escapes of her own volition.

Cast aside whatever foolish sentiments you have over POV-2020 and focus on your assignments. You are not an explorer anymore. You have not been one for eons.

Consider this a notice of probation. We will monitor your every action and movement for as long as we feel is necessary.

Yuna was initially skeptical over the monks’ claims they grew meat in a garden like it was some sort of plant. The sandwiches she had for dinner, however, put that skepticism to rest. At first, the drakloak wondered why sandwiches, in particular, but a couple of monks mentioned they were Koraidon’s favorite thing to eat. Yuna wasn’t complaining, even though the monks all responded “Yes,” when she asked what Koraidon’s favorite sandwich was.

It all reminded her of home. Of evenings long past where she lay in her mother’s horn while the dragapult leaned over a boiling pot stirring meat and veggies around as a stew boiled on a stovetop.

A yawning Leo asked Yuna if he could get some fresh air, so the drakloak led him out of the metal-walled dining room and out onto the rocky plateau. The cosmic arceus walked up to a mound of dirt and sat down on it, gazing up at the aurora that rippled out between the planet’s three moons. A pretty sight, compared to Aeon’s ash-choked sky.

“Are you upset, Mom?”

Leo’s question caught Yuna off guard. “No?” There wasn’t anything for her to be upset over right now.

“About the anomalies.” The cosmic arceus looked over his shoulder. “You feel… sad. And I don’t want you to be sad.”

Yuna winced. Leo could float, so she should’ve expected he’d have other psychic powers. “Well, um…” She rubbed her right shoulder. “It’s not the best news to hear, yeah. But sometimes, like, adults have to do things even when they don’t want to.”

“Oh.” Leo’s starcloud mane dimmed. “That sounds bad.”

It was. And, for a moment, Yuna was tempted to say that. Instead, she focused on her Soul Dew and a tiny Reshiram materialized at the base of the dirt mound so Yuna could give him a disapproving look.

“It’s important, Leo.” The drakloak kept her tone as soft as possible. “And you shouldn’t have to deal with it on your own.”

“But I have Mr. Alder and the monks!” Leo’s wheel glowed dimly. “They can help me while you look for your Needle thingies!”

Yuna bit her lip. Although Leo’s maturity impressed her, it wasn’t so simple. “Leo, you heard Koraidon, right? The monks… don’t actually battle. Only Archie and Maxie do.” The drakloak shook her head. “It’s not safe for you to stay with them while looking for anomalies.”

Leo looked down. He poked the dirt with a forehoof. “Right.”

Sighing, Yuna floated next to him and gently rubbed his shoulders. “I appreciate you wanting to make things better for me, but I don’t think this is something I can avoid.” She glanced at Reshiram. “Besides, the state of the Needles won’t matter if the omniverse collapses on itself, right?”

“Yeah.” Reshiram bobbed his head. His fluffy hair fluttered in the evening breeze. “It’s why I didn’t say anything. Because it’s the truth.”

Yuna squinted. “But your truth is that you want to help the other Sages.”

Shuffling in place, Reshiram looked down guiltily. “Can you blame me? After what happened to Lugia, I’m afraid for the others.” He took a deep breath. “But it won’t mean much if Leo doesn’t seal the anomalies, will it? We could rescue them from the Needles… but also not rescue them if the omniverse collapses.”

He clasped locks of white hair in his claws and tugged. “Ugh, it’s so confusing. Why can’t the Needles and the anomalies be linked together? We found the first one on Outpost R3X after you yanked the nearby Needle. Maybe that’s the key?”

“Then why did nothing happen when I pulled the other two Needles?” Yuna pointed out.

“Because of, y’know, whatever happened out in Venish?” Reshiram was grasping at straws. They both knew it.

… Yet Yuna couldn’t deny it sounded plausible. Unlikely, yes, but not impossible.

“Well, Koraidon and Alder said they’d put their heads together and give us a next step.” The drakloak lay down on the ground, looking up at the closest and largest of Chakran’s moons as it bathed the night sky in faint purple. “So, it’s not worth trying to plan for anything.”

Reshiram voiced no objections. Silence overtook the trio, save for Leo shuffling closer to Yuna. Though the cosmic arceus tried to lie on his side, the best he could do was digging his wheel slightly into the ground, leaving him several centimeters off the ground with his legs dangling.

Yuna stifled a giggle. Was this what it was like for her mother when she was a hatchling?

“So, this is where you ran off to.”

The drakloak tilted her head slightly and saw Nikki approaching with her hands stuffed into her jacket pockets.

“I wouldn’t fall asleep out here if I were you.” The toxtricity smirked. “Air’s pretty dusty here. Can’t be good for the little guy.” She tilted her head in Leo’s direction.

The cosmic arceus sniffed the air. “Oh, is this what dusty smells like? I thought it was a stinky smell.” His starcloud tail wagged a bit. “Like your funny jacket!”

“What?!” Nikki’s mohawk crackled. “My jacket’s not—” Her nostrils twitched. Nikki pulled her right arm out of its sleeve and pulled her jacket back to take a big whiff of it. Scowling, she pulled it back on. “That’s just sweat from the impromptu workout. Nothing wrong with it!”

“It’s still stinky,” Leo chirped. “But I guess poison-types don’t mind stinky, huh?”

Nikki cracked her knuckles. “Oi, Princess, tell Squirt to treat us adults with a bit of respect!”

“Um, treat Nikki with respect, Leo,” Yuna said, though she knew it wasn’t convincing.

“Okay.” Leo tapped a forehoof in the dirt. “Sorry I called you stinky.”

The toxtricity pinched her brow. “We have to take him with us, don’t we?”

“Yes?” Yuna frowned. What sort of question was that?

“What’s got your butt chafed?” Reshiram asked. “You seemed like you enjoyed your dinner.”

“Pfbt.” Nikki flicked her right wrist dismissively. “It was a sandwich. Do you have any idea how many sandwiches I’ve made in my lifetime?”

Reshiram stroked his chin. “I’m going to guess… a four-digit number.”

“I—” Nikki abruptly went silent. She pivoted, muttering, “Stupid truth dragon.”

Reshiram puffed his chest out while Leo giggled his approval.

“I guess it was a decent sandwich,” Nikki admitted, tugging at her jacket collar. “Usually I just make peanut butter and jelly. Cheap and ready in seconds.” The toxtricity scratched her chin. “I don’t know whether to be impressed or concerned about how… into sandwich making Koraidon got.”

Yuna shrugged. “Is it any weirder than your obsession with your jackets?”

“Totally!” Nikki huffed. “Collecting cool jackets is a genuine thing! Sandwiches are sandwiches!”

“I can’t believe you’re even having this conversation,” Reshiram said, chuckling and shaking his head. “Though maybe it is a welcome reprieve from the more serious subject matter.” He twiddled his hair. “Zekky would preach the importance of taking time to appreciate the little things. ‘Stop and smell the strawberries!'” Reshiram pretended to sniff at the air… only to break down into a coughing fit.

“Gah!” He threw his wings over his snout. “Dust! In my nose!”

“Zekky?” Smirking, Nikki raised a brow. “Does Jade know you have a pet name for someone else?”

Reshiram’s face reddened. “I-It’s not a pet name! Zekky’s my counterpart, the Sage of Ideals! That’s all!”

“Uh-huh. Sure.”

A content sigh escaped Yuna. As silly as it was, this made the trip to Chakran feel more like a vacation and less like some sort of important mission.

Too bad it couldn’t last. The drakloak kept glancing toward the tall metal building, expecting to see a shadow emerge from it and beckon them back.

“Was there something you wanted from us, Nikki?” Reshiram asked. Yuna kept looking at the building, but no one popped up. The drakloak was hesitant to lower her guard at all.

“Not really,” Nikki replied. “You already got the good news about our mega evolutions. If we get into trouble again, I’ll really be able to pack a punch.”

“Hopefully that won’t be necessary, but I’m sure Gene will be happy at least,” Yuna said, scratching the side of her rectangular head.

“Ah, there you lot are!”

The drakloak flinched, then sighed at Archie’s booming voice. The samurott bounded toward them, waving one of his jagged seamitars around.

“You’d better get inside to Brother Kora! Something wild’s happening!”

Yuna resisted the urge to facepalm. It really was too much to ask for a quiet evening.

When dinner finished, Noctum offered to help the monks wash their dishes. Although they had large sinks comparable to the kitchens at Horizon Academy, they didn’t use the automated soap dispensers or electric power washers, opting to do everything by hand with soap and washcloths. In some ways, Noctum found it therapeutic after the day’s exhaustive events. The warm, sudsy water was nice against his dry, black scales.

But with a dozen monks at the charizard’s side, dishwashing didn’t take more than ten minutes. Noctum returned to the dining room to find it empty. His first instinct was to go find Yuna and see how the drakloak was doing, but he had no idea where she went. Figuring she went outside, Noctum lumbered through the metal hallway until he was outside the repurposed observatory, where he found Valkyrie crouched atop a rock several meters to his left.

Noctum hesitated, figuring the garchomp wanted nothing to do with him right now. Still, his curiosity got the better of him and he slowly approached. “Hey,” the charizard said. Valkyrie didn’t respond, but by that logic she wasn’t shooing him away, so he continued forward until he was beside Valkyrie. “I, uh—” He stopped, scratching the back of his head.

“If you’re here to apologize, don’t.”

He winced. I guess I was considering it. After all, Noctum had lost it. If Maxie hadn’t intervened, he would have seriously hurt her. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine.” Valkyrie avoided looking at Noctum. “Only my pride that’s hurt.”

Noctum looked down. “I see. Because of what I said?”

“No, idiot.” Valkyrie traced her right claw along the rock. “Do you have any idea how hard I’ve trained under the Ryujin? I had to be ready for anything, after all.” She finally looked at him. “So imagine my surprise when, after all the training I’ve gone through, I get beaten to the mega evolution punch by a butler.“

“Ah.” Noctum rubbed his shoulder. “Well, uh, you weren’t that far behind. Aha ha… ha…”

Valkyrie scooped up some dirt in her right arm and threw it at Noctum. The black charizard raised his arms. “Okay, yeah, I deserved that.” He laughed nervously.

“Make whatever bad jokes you want,” Valkyrie growled. “It’s not going to win me over.”

The black charizard shuffled uneasily. “You’re right. I had no idea you’d gone through such ordeals. You have every right to be upset.”

Valkyrie continued looking out across the mesa. “All throughout dinner, I kept asking myself if you were right.”

“About?”

“Wanting what you have,” Valkyrie replied. She crossed one leg over the other and braced her arms on either side of her. “If I had found some warm, loving nobles to take me in and treat me like family to some degree, would I be a different person? Brighter? More approachable?”

Noctum wasn’t sure whether to answer. He shrugged, knowing Valkyrie wasn’t watching, and said nothing.

“Heh.” Valkyrie huffed out violet embers. “You kept your trap shut for once. Maybe you are learning.”

The black charizard’s violet flame dimmed a bit. Did Valkyrie even know how to give genuine compliments?

“Sorry.” The garchomp sighed. “Didn’t mean for that to sound so backhanded.” Vakyrie shook her head, like she was berating herself. “Been a long day. Surprised how beat I am.” She held her right arm up and turned it back and forth. “I guess… there’s a drawback to mega evolving. The fatigue that follows might make it hard on us.”

Noctum looked down and traced a claw around his Malice Crystal. His fatigue was more mental than physical, but he thought it best not to dispute Valkyrie. “Meaning, what?”

“Gotta be judicious with mega evolving.” Valkyrie got to her feet, grunting. “Can’t just use it every fight.”

The two shared a knowing look. “So, we have to keep an eye on Nikki?” Noctum said.

“Maybe.” Valkyrie smirked. “Unless you’ve got a thing for shoulder spikes and blue flames in your mouth all the time.” She walked toward him, shrugging. “Seriously. How do you even manage to speak like that? Wouldn’t you just douse someone in fire?”

“I figure it’s like haxorus’ cheeks.” Noctum held his hands on either side of his jaw and wiggled his fingers. “They can use those blades to attack, but they can get on fine without ’em.”

“Maybe.” Valkyrie’s brow furrowed. “If some magical being like Bahamut really did create life on Etherium, what were they thinking giving haxorus a giant axe face?”

“The same thing they were thinking when they gave garchomp bladed arms?” Noctum mused.

“I guess Bahamut has a secret spike fetish,” Valkyrie said with a snorting laugh. She reached the black charizard’s side and crossed her arms.

“Thanks,” she said. “For coming to check on me.”

Noctum’s tail flame brightened. “You’re wel—”

“Don’t make a big deal of it,” Valkyrie growled, jabbing Noctum’s Malice Crystal with her claw. “You’re still a total dweeb. Just not an insufferable one.”

“O-Okay.” Noctum nodded politely. Baby steps, I s’pose.

“I’m hitting the hay.” The garchomp yawned into her right arm. “I suggest you do the same. That dumb cat could swing by to rope us into something at any moment.”

Noctum briefly thought about Gene and the others back in Eternatus. Was everything okay? Hopefully, seeing as no one had reached out to them.

“Ah, good. It wasn’t hard to find you at all.”

Maxie approached the duo, adjusting his goggles. “I suggest you follow me inside.”

Valkyrie raised a brow. “You showing us to the sleeping quarters? I’m bushed.”

“No.” The typhlosion’s purple flames flickered around his neck. “It’s Brother Kora. I believe he’s… made contact with someone beyond this dimension.”

Yuna hardly had time to process Koraidon’s… bizarre color change when Noctum and Valkyrie burst through the door into the study.

“What the hell?” Valkyrie walked forward, arms at her sides. “What’s with the white, orange, and neon purple dye job? Can he mega evolve?”

“There is an extra set of purple horns,” Noctum said, scratching his chin. “But even Nikki’s mega evolution looks more impressive.”

“Hey, screw you!” Nikki growled. “I happen to think that color scheme’s pretty boss. He’s even got, like, speaker level bars around his big ol’ wheel thingy.” She cupped her hands in front of her chest gills.

“Dewlap,” Leo reminded her.

“Whatever.” Nikki rolled her eyes. “Everyone’s here, so give us the dumb, monkish explanation already.”

“Easy, ladies.” Koraidon raised his hands and flashed a toothy grin at Nikki and Yuna. To the drakloak’s surprise, his fangs glistened. And did he sound… higher pitched than before? “No need to fight over yours truly. Even if I’m only here in spirit.”

Leo tilted his starcloud head. “You’re… not Mr. Brother Kora, are you?”

“Hot dang, the kid’s the quickest one of the bunch.” Not-Koraidon laughed into his right hand. “Guess that tracks. Wouldn’t be a mystery dungeon-filled calamity if there wasn’t a child stuck in the middle of it.”

Nikki’s knuckles and mane crackled. “I suggest you start talking or I’m liable to punch that pretty boy face of yours.”

Not-Koraidon shook his head. “Sheesh, tough crowd.” He took a deep breath. “Junior Overseer Koraidon Vincent, at your service.” He thumped his dewlap. “I’m, uh, ‘borrowing’ my counterpart so I can talk to you guys.”

(Art by Sylfeanne.)

Yuna’s brow furrowed in thought. That name sounded awfully familiar.

“I see that look in your eyes, Drakloak.” Vincent cupped his hands around his eyes, pantomiming goggles. “Lemme guess, you know another Vincent?”

“We do, yeah. An inteleon. Smug jackass,” Nikki said, jogging Yuna’s memory of the unpleasant lunch Shimmer dragged her to back at Horizon Academy. “You about to tell us that was a disguise?”

“What? No way.” Vincent scratched his chin. “I like my guys with a bit more meat on their bones. Like ninetales!”

“Uh-huh.” Nikki didn’t sound convinced. Yuna’s tail crinkled. She thought Vincent was talking about eating, and there certainly weren’t any ferals among the group.

“If it’s easier, you can call me Vince. Or Vin. Just not Vinnie!”

“N-Now hang on a sec.” Noctum waved his arms around to get Vince’s attention. “Did you… hijack Brother Kora’s body?!”

“What? Noooo! ‘Hijack’ sounds so uncool.” Vince ran his right hand through his white, feathery mane. “It’s more like… he’s sharing it.” He turned to Alder. “You get it, right! When you probe Ginnungagap—”

“Ginnuwhosap?” Leo tilted his head. “Did you sneeze? Should we look for a tissue?”

“Ginnungagap, the cosmic mystery dungeon,” Vince elaborated. “It’s got a bunch of different names, but it represents the space between dimensions. It’s the fabric of reality itself. And it’s punching holes into your universe. Which is why I’ve been a-knocking on your back door for a while, now.”

Nikki’s sniggers filled the room. Yuna shot the toxtricity a confused look. “I’ll tell you later,” Nikki said, waving her off.

Alder cleared his throat. “Is this like… how I found Leo and the anomaly on Bogdan?”

“You betcha.” Vince snapped his fingers in approval. “I sensed Koraidon’s meditation and made contact. Now, I’m borrowing his energy to manifest here.” He grinned. “Trust me, it’s as cool as it sounds.”

Yuna still thought it sounded like bodysnatching, but given she currently housed two big dragons of her own, she wasn’t about to play semantics with this newcomer. It was the other stuff that had her attention.

“So, you’re an Overseer?” The drakloak crossed her arms. “The group that abandoned this place?” If she remembered Koraidon’s explanation correctly, she wasn’t keen on trusting this apparent newcomer.

“Ah. You, uh, know about that, huh?” Vince laughed nervously. “That was before my time. And way above my paygrade. It’s why I’m here!” He spread his arms out. “Those old idiots thought sealing this dimension off would keep everyone safe, but they’re wrong.” The purple and white koraidon glanced around nervously. “And, uh, we gotta talk fast. I don’t know how much more time I can spend here before Big S gets wind of what I’m doing.”

Yuna frowned. “Big S?”

“My boss. Big, bright fella!” Vincent locked eyes with Yuna. “You might recognize the type.” He held his index finger up. It sparked with purple energy and the purple and white koraidon traced a familiar eight-pointed star in the air.

“Bahamut?!” Noctum blurted out.

“If that’s what you call those big ol’ crystal lugs here.” Vince waved his hands and the drawing disappeared. “I, uh, might’ve already gotten Big S torn a new asshole trying to circumvent policy. Which is bad cuz, y’know, their asses are made of light, so—”

Valkyrie stomped toward him. “So, you’re making up for that… by doubling down on going behind everyone’s backs?” She raised a claw at him. “Do all you so-called Overseers have the common sense of feral magikarp?”

“Oh-ho, ouch!” Vince cringed. “Guess I don’t need to be psychic to tell who the resident edgelord is here.” He gave Valkyrie a thumbs up. “Way to play up the species stereotypes.”

“… I’m taking his head off his shoulders,” Valkyrie growled, blue-purple dragon energy gathering around her claws.

“W-wait, wait!” Alder shot between the garchomp and purple koraidon. “That’s still our Kora!”

Valkyrie froze in front of the braviary, then slowly lowered her arms. “He’s got sixty seconds to say something useful.”

While Yuna didn’t approve of Valkyrie’s death threats, she had to admit she was skeptical of this, too. “You have to look it from our vantage point.” The drakloak gestured to the group. “We’ve already had a lot of craziness shoved down our throats. I have magical Needles I’m looking to pull out of the ground and dimensional anomalies to track down. If you need something done, find someone else or do it yourself.”

“Ah, but that’s it!” Vince pointed at Yuna. “What if I told you there’s a way to deal with both those problems in one fell swoop?”

“I’d say stop beating around the bush and tell us,” Nikki scoffed.

“Forty-five seconds,” Valkyrie added.

“Man, this is good. Do we have any popcorn?” Archie whispered, to which Maxie shoved the samurott away.

“All you need to do is reassemble the Red Chain,” Vince explained. “It’s literally a red freaking chain. But it has the power to fix all the dimensional instabilities, including Eternatus!” He grinned broadly. “Pretty sweet, huh?”

Silence greeted Vince’s explanation. “Sounds too good to be true,” Valkyrie said, shaking her head. “Why should we believe you? Especially if you’re part of a group that abandoned this world in the first place!”

“Because I’m sticking my neck out, here.” Vince gave them puppy dog eyes. “D’ya know what’ll happen if Big S finds out what I’m doing? The higher ups could unmake me with a snap!”

“Big deal.” Nikki rolled her eyes. “We’ve been staring death in the face for a while now.”

“No, this is worse than death.” Vince’s expression finally sharpened. “The higher ups could make it so that I never existed in the first place. Not a soul would even remember me.”

Nikki yawned into her hand. “Sounds fake to me. I say we let Chompy kick his teeth in.”

“Best idea I’ve heard all night,” Valkyrie said, licking her lips eagerly.

“Wait!” Leo hopped onto Yuna’s head. The drakloak flinched. “I… think we should listen to him. He sounds sincere to me.”

“Leo.” Yuna frowned. She didn’t want to chastise him for being too trusting but the cosmic arceus was just a kid. And this was a bit too important to simply leave to blind faith.

“When he mentioned a Red Chain, I… felt something funny in my belly,” Leo admitted, gently tapping his forehooves on Yuna’s head. “Like it’s something I’m supposed to know all about, but don’t.”

“You cannot be serious.” Nikki facepalmed. “No way there’s a freaking chain that can fix space and time. That sounds so… stupid!”

“No more stupid than using giant needles to seal away a planet-sized monster shaped like a hand, am I right?” Vince smirked when silence fell over the group.

“Okay, maybe that dolt does know a thing or two,” Nikki muttered.

“Ha, yes!” Vince triumphantly fist-pumped, then immediately winced. His whites and purples flickered like static. “Shit! I’m running out of time here.” He looked around frantically. “Okay, look. If you want to fix this whole Needle and anomaly issue, then you need to go Centropolis on Quasar Prime.”

Yuna raised a brow. “And that’s… inside Eternatus?”

Vince nodded. “Once there, find the branch office of the Devon Corporation and look for a man named Sigurd Stone. He’ll know what to do.”

“Wait, but how?” Noctum’s wings fluttered nervously. “If our world is sealed off, no one should know anything about this.”

Vince’s purple and white flickered again. “There’s another Overseer there. She’s been trapped in your dimension for a long time.” He looked around. “That’s all I can give you right now. I’ll try to reach out again soon.”

Yuna still had questions, but the moment Vince stopped speaking, his colors faded and Koraidon was back, balancing on his tail with his eyes shut. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

“That was… quite the out of body experience.” He chuckled nervously.

The room fell into silence yet again as Yuna chewed on this. First the Needles, then the anomalies, and now Yuna was supposed to believe there was a way to handle both of those issues… without chasing them directly?

It sounded too good to be true. But Leo believed Vince. And that was going to be enough to get her to go with him to this Quasar Prime place.

Another Overseer. Yuna gently lifted Leo off her head. “So, uh, what’s the next step here? Do we call Gene?” Could they even call Gene?

“I, uh, think that’s for the best,” Noctum said, pulling an X-transceiver out of his satchel. His face lit up when it beeped to life. “Oh, hey! I think I have reception! I— hello?” His purple tail flame doubled. “Wait, Cid? Is that you? H-Hang on, slow down. What’s happening to Vellguarde?!”

The black charizard shuffled nervously. “O-Okay, we’ll get ready.” Noctum nodded quickly. “He’s already on his way? G-Got it! We’ll be out in a second.” He lowered the X-transceiver and looked at Koraidon.

“We, um… have to go. Like… right now.” Noctum met Yuna’s gaze and added, “Seems the emperor decided to attack Vellguarde. With a giant battleship. That Gene’s never seen before.”

The drakloak’s tail crinkled. Clearly, a quiet night to prepare for Quasar Prime was off the table.

Path of Valor Almanac
Ginnungagap (“gaping abyss” is old Norse) is the primordial void described in the Norse creation mythos, the Gylfaginning.