Chapter 56: Cosmogeny

Hey Vincent,

Sorry for the cloak and dagger routine, but I need to use the analog method for this one.

Overseers are mobilizing, but it’s to keep nearby worlds from getting dragged closer to POV-2020. It’s real bad. I’m hearing reports of Whisper sightings. They want me around in case there’s any spirit guidance that has to happen.

But I don’t plan on sitting on my haunches. If things are that bad, the seal on POV-2020 is getting looser. Could probably go there physically if I try hard enough. The only issue is getting these prying eyes off my back. I’m hoping the fact that I sense Jaeger might give me more wiggle room, but it’s hard to say.

Sorry you can’t come along, but I’m not in a position to cover for you.

All I ask is that if you’re going to stick your neck out, don’t do anything stupider than I did in my early Horizon days. Things are unraveling pretty fast, but I think fixing it’s more of a marathon than a sprint.

… Hopefully. Never was good with metaphors.

Oh, and make sure you burn this note when you’re done with it. Can’t have it falling into the wrong hands. ;P

The purple and white koraidon folded the note up, sighing.

Perhaps this was the “darkest night” his teacher’s old team motto spoke of…

Shimmer no longer cared about cold steel beneath his hooves. The floor couldn’t scuff his immaculate hooves anymore. Not with the icy air swirling around them. He paced across the top of a metallic staircase, gazing out at the rows of purple machines with saucer-like heads bearing heavy gray cannons.

Just how did Tesla come up with this design? And how did the boltund make so many of them? The ponyta figured Demerzel was facetious when he said he’d provide Shimmer an army. Yet here Shimmer was, eating his words like humble pie.

“You really think these things can replace the Radiant Guard?” Shimmer wondered. He kept his distance, unnerved by the glassy red spheres meant to pass as eyes.

“They are stronger and faster,” Demerzel responded. He floated next to a large switchboard, scrutinizing it intently. “And they have disks that change the element they can fire from the cannons on their heads.”

Shimmer rolled his eyes. “Big deal. Pokémon use attacks of different types all the time.”

“It’s a big deal because it’s a big cannon.” Demerzel chuckled. “If you want to swing the public’s favor in your direction, you need to make a big splash. And this is the biggest splash I can think of.” He glanced over his shoulder. “The next time World Ender’s forces mount an assault, the genesect will repel them. And you, as their commander, will get the credit.”

The ponyta’s heart fluttered. He liked the sound of that. Of people seeing him as more than just a pretty face. And after his blunder in front of Parliament, he needed to prove he was a competent leader. Someone who could step in where his mother had failed.

“Perhaps, with enough victories, they’ll even compare you to Adelaide,” Demerzel continued. He floated back from the switch board. “Based on Tesla’s memories, I’ve set everything up. All I need to do is throw the activation switch and they’ll come online. You remember the authorization code I told you, yes?”

Sighing, Shimmer nodded. He wished he could forget it.

“Then shall we begin?”

Shimmer paused for a moment, before remembering his helplessness against the mysterious knight. Watching as he lost Xander. As Vegna belittled him. As his mothers called him a failure behind his back.

“Do it.”

Demerzel raised his left hand… and the underground bunker shook. The bright white ceiling lights flickered. Shimmer’s nine tails curled up. “What’s going on?”

“Some sort of tremor, perhaps?” Demerzel turned around. “Give me a moment. I’ll investigate, Your Grace.” He bowed to the ponyta and vanished in a flash of green light.

Shimmer resumed pacing. Tesla was supposed to be smart. No way he built this bunker by a fault line. Which meant it was either a strong quake… or something else entirely.

Fortunately, Shimmer would get a quick answer. Demerzel reappeared, a grim expression on his face. “It’s as I feared. Not a tremor, but World Ender further destabilizing the planet.”

“Meaning what, exactly?” Shimmer asked.

Demerzel’s eyes glowed blue. He projected an image of the night sky into Shimmer’s mind. Only a large, jagged rift tore right through it.

“What is this?” Shimmer growled, frost swirling around his icy mane and tails.

The mental image faded and Demerzel turned back to the switchboard. “A sign of why you need this army, Your Grace.” He raised his right hand. Blue light encased a large lever beside the switchboard. An unseen force pulled the lever down. Loud whirrs and hums filled the bunker, followed by the scrapes of metal on metal.

Shimmer turned to the genesect. Row by row, they stood up. They aimed their cannons forward.

[Input authorization code,] a mechanical voice declared. It belonged to the genesect in the middle of the front row; red, unlike the others. Perhaps it was supposed to be the leader?

Shimmer cleared his throat. “Minister Doctor Tesla is the greatest genius of our generation.”

Red’s eyes flickered green. [Access approved. Welcome, system administrator. Please issue your commands.]

A grin slowly spread across Shimmer’s face. He turned to Demerzel. “Figure out where World Ender’s forces intend to strike. We’ll be ready for them this time.”

Demerzel curtsied to the ponyta. “As you wish.”

Igneous was at a loss for words. In the blink of an eye, he went from sitting beside Scarlett, telling her that Nikki simply needed time to cool off, to floating weightless above a field of dead, gray grass. Only occasional pieces of stone covered in equally gray moss stuck out. Well, that and the familiar helmeted figure standing a few meters away from him.

The grovlazzle tried to form Leaf Blades at his elbows, but he couldn’t. He looked down to find his body practically see-through.

And he wasn’t alone, either. First an apparition of some blue-purple, four-legged critter with a wheel around his belly appeared on his right. Then came… some sort of black-furred mishmash creature with a starcloud around its neck that resembled Wheel Kid’s. The two of them locked eyes with each other. It looked to Igneous like they were trying to speak with one another, but no words came out.

Igneous couldn’t move toward them. His legs, weightless and transparent, wouldn’t move. He opened his mouth and tried to call them.

… Nothing.

Nothing until Xeromus’ coughing fit broke the silence.

“You can see it, can’t you, Natus?” Xeromus rasped. “The first rungs on the ladder you must climb. To become the new truth of all worlds.”

Natus? Igneous frowned. They were surrounded by distortion, sure, but was Xeromus really talking to it thinking it was Eternatus?

[He is still getting set up for the (Big Stream)! The (Pre-Stream Bangers) haven’t faded out yet!]

Igneous’ snout wrinkled in disgust. He scanned the field for signs of Ahsen, yet he couldn’t find that accursed cluster of floating discs. Perhaps he was in front of Xeromus? A pity Igneous couldn’t walk around. Or attack.

Why was he here? And why was Wheel Kid here? He glanced at the little cosmic fuzzball, who shrank away from Xeromus, ethereal glow dimming.

Xeromus hacked and coughed until he shook his head back and forth. His helmet and chains rattled. “I know. The struggle you face is great. And though I am a mere omen, I will walk the path laid out for me, so you may envelope all worlds in your love!” He took several heavy, wheezing breaths. “So, rise! Rise so you may begin your climb toward the grand union! Toward Ragnarok!”

A small purple beam shot up from the ground, piercing through the distortion. Then another. And another. Soon there were ten— no, twenty!

The ground trembled, like it had before Igneous ended up here. Dirt and pebbles tumbled through the dead grass. Wheel Kid looked around in a panic, rubbing his forehooves together. The other mutt had its gaze locked on Xeromus.

Igneous tried to shoot Bullet Seeds at Xeromus. Nothing came out. Was this some sort of out of body experience? The power he took from Ahsen must have caused this to happen. Igneous silently cursed the two creeps as the purple beams faded.

[Are my (Eyes Emoji) deceiving me?] Ahsen buzzed excitedly. [He’s moving! (PogChamp)s in the (CHAT). (HELIX)’s (Body Is Ready)!]

What the hell are they going on about? Igneous couldn’t move around to see what caused the purple beams. He didn’t need to, however, because the answer quickly made itself apparent in the form of a brown, gaseous blob with a wispy stalk of a head and neck and tiny, beady red eyes that slowly looked down at Xeromus.

“Still too fragmented,” he said between deep, raspy breaths. “But do not worry. I shall bear the burden of piecing you back together. In fact…”

He slowly turned around and locked eyes with Igneous.

“I believe a reunion will be upon us sooner than you think.”

An invisible force grabbed hold of Igneous and yanked him away from Xeromus and the creepy cloud monster. He had only seconds to see the same thing happen to Wheel Kid and his strange friend before he found himself back in the Ryujin base, staring up at a white, granular ceiling.

“Igneous?” A dragonair snout peeked into his field of view. “Igneous, can you hear me?”

The grovlazzle sat up, nearly headbutting Scarlett, who managed to back away in the nick of time. A shudder ran down his body.

“Where’s Valkyrie? I have to… I have to…”

“I already called Gene.”

Igneous looked over his shoulder.

Valkyrie stood in the doorway, brow furrowed. “What happened?”

“Something bad,” the grovlazzle whispered. “Something real bad.”

Accounting for everyone Gene brought with him from Chakran, Sakaki’s boardroom didn’t have enough space. Not unless they planned for half the group to stand on the table or float awkwardly near the walls and ceiling. So, the nidoking directed everyone to a large, empty room in the base’s cellar. Igneous had never been in it, but it was well-stocked with various supplies neatly organized on shelves. Perhaps it was some sort of emergency bunker, in case Radiant authorities ever breached Scale City.

Once everyone got settled, Gene explained what had happened with Wheel Kid, whose name was Leo, Cyril, and Widget, the captured pilot. Or that was what Gene called the type: full, anyway. Throughout the mewtwo’s explanation, Cyril kept looking at his arms and legs and shifting uncomfortably, while Seifer stole glances at the now-cosmic flavored zoroark.

He wasn’t the only one acting funny, either. Yuna lay draped over Nikki’s shoulder and the two of them kept their distance from Noctum, Scarlett, and Yiazmat. The drakloak kept throwing her hands over her mouth, but Igneous swore he heard Yuna on the brink of multiple giggle fits.

“… then Thicc Bird screamed and, next thing any of us knew, Junior and Widget were out like lights.” Gene crossed his arms. His Malice Crystal pulsated slowly. “Any questions?”

“T… Thicc Bird?” Jade looked over her shoulder, frowning. Igneous still found her appearance unsettling given his own circumstances, but at least he had advance warning about her from Valkyrie. “Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten so many of Kora’s sandwiches…”

Gene rolled his eyes. “Any important questions?”

“Yeah, I got one.” Nikki raised her right hand up, but she was looking at Widget. “So, we kicked his ass and now he has to be our friend?”

“No.” Gene pinched his brow. “We got him to recognize the gravity of the situation and agree to work with us.”

“Pfbt. Sure. What kinda stupid cartoon shit is this?” Nikki waved her right arm dismissively. Yuna stifled another giggled. “You just want him around cuz he looks like Nova.”

Igneous raised a brow. “Who’s Nova?”

“His boooooyfriiiiiend.” Nikki sounded like a grade schooler talking about cooties on the playground. “He was a type: full, too, until he bit the big one thanks to everyone’s favorite asshole lightbulb.”

The grovlazzle tensed up. Between Nikki and Yuna’s incessant stifled giggling, he could only conclude the two had gotten their hands on something fermented. Igneous quickly sideyed Sakaki. Judging by the dumbfounded look on the nidoking’s face, he’d reached the same conclusion. And here I thought he kept all his sake in his personal office.

Gene’s eyes flickered blue. “She means Bahamut, for the record.” The mewtwo looked at Yiazmat, who tapped her index claws together.

“I see,” the dragapult whispered. “My daughter… suggested that, perhaps, Bahamut was not as benevolent as we teach our people.”

Nikki snorted loudly. “That’s putting it mildly. The spooky evil gem in Boss Kitty’s shoulder? It was part of the asshole lightbulb’s face.”

Igneous, Sakaki, and Yiazmat all glanced at Gene in surprise. Wasn’t that a Malice Crystal? How could it have come from Bahamut?

“Look, this isn’t productive.” Gene held up his hands. “I’ll give you the full story another time. We need to focus on the here and now.”

“I think that’s a bit difficult for some of us to do right now,” Yiazmat said, stealing glances at her daughter. “Yunavresca, what’s gotten into you?”

“Me?” Yuna stiffened on Nikki’s shoulder. “Nothing. I’m fiiiiiiine.” She waved her right hand dismissively.

“… she’s drunk.”

Several heads turned in Cyril’s direction. The cosmic zoroark shook his head. “Look, I run a bar and grill. I know a drunk ‘mon when I see one.” He pointed at Nikki. “She’s buzzed at best, since poison-types resist alcohol.”

“Well, someone help me snap her out of it,” Yiazmat said, her tail undulating rapidly. “I don’t have the means to whip up the drink that counters alcohol in ghosts.”

“Think it’s a bit late for that one,” Cyril deadpanned. “Maybe we ought to put her on a cot so she can sleep it off?”

However, Leo cautiously approached Nikki and Yuna, tilting his head. “Mom, are you okay?”

Yuna looked down at Leo, blinking. Igneous hastily coughed into his arm. ‘Mom?’ Just how much did I miss after I went rogue?

“Mommy’s fiiiiine.” Yuna tried leaning over to pet Leo’s head. She ended up sliding off Nikki’s shoulder and falling to the floor with a splat.

Leo’s eyes widened in alarm. He quickly lifted his right forehoof and his wheel shimmered with green light. A soft green aura enveloped Yuna. The drakloak floated back into the air. “Huh?” She blinked several times, then rubbed her eyes. “What’s everyone looking at me for?”

“Mr. Cyril called you drunk,” Leo said, sticking a hind leg back in the cosmic zoroark’s direction. “So, I tried to fix it.” He wagged his starcloud tail. “Do you feel any better?”

“I, uh… guess so?” Yuna rubbed the back of her neck. Yiazmat hadn’t taken her eyes off the drakloak. Igneous couldn’t blame her, given the early part of their exchange. Yuna must have realized it, too, because she glanced at Yiazmat. “Something wrong?”

“He called you ‘mother.” The dragapult narrowed her eyes. “Is this some practical joke because of what I said earlier?”

“No.” Yuna sucked in a breath. “I rescued his egg, which hatched not long after. Do the math.”

Thank the stars. Igneous found that explanation better than the alternative.

“And now he sees you as his mother?” Yiazmat looked at the cosmic arceus, befuddled. Leo’s mane and tail sparkled.

“So, you’re our grandma?” His tail swished back and forth. “Wow! Are we going to get to meet Grandpa, too?”

Yuna frowned. “We?” She tilted her head. “Leo, there’s only one of you. You didn’t strain yourself healing me, right?”

Leo shook his head and again stretched his right hind leg back. “I’m talking about Widget, of course. He’s my big brother!”

“What?!”

Widget and Yuna blurted it out simultaneously. They stared at each other, then Leo, then each other again.

“Leo, sweetie.” Yuna sighed and put her hand on his head. “You can’t go calling random people your sibling.” She frowned. “Even if they do look a bit like you.”

“I guess you were too drunk to pay attention to Gene’s explanation,” Valkyrie scoffed. “Leo senses a connection with Widget.” The garchomp smirked. “So, congrats on a second kid. And you didn’t even have to hold hands. Or whatever you ghosts do to make eggs.”

Yuna took one look at her flabbergasted mother and her torso shot up into her rectangular head. Igneous thought it best to interject before things got even worse. “Okay, I think everyone’s said their pieces on the matter. Yuna’s healed up, so we can get back to business.” He looked at Gene. “Isn’t that right?”

“Well said, Four Twenty.” Gene nodded approvingly at Igneous.

“The hell did you call me?”

“Nothing.” Gene flicked his tail dismissively. “You were the one who reached out to me originally, weren’t you? You got something to tell the group beyond what happened to our intrepid starkids?”

“I do, actually.” Igneous crossed his arms. “I know what happened to them when they passed out, because I ended up where they did. We all had… well, I guess you could call it an out of body experience.”

“Care to elaborate?” Valkyrie raised a brow.

Igneous hastily recounted what he saw in the strange clearing, with Xeromus speaking into the distortion and summoning some strange, wispy creature from it.

“Hmm.” Artemis scratched his chin. “So, I think it’s safe to say the quakes and the giant rift that popped up in the sky are a direct result of what you saw.”

“It would appear fate is dragging us toward a second Darkest Day whether we like it or not,” Yiazmat ominously declared.

“I don’t get it.” Cid shook his massive head. “I thought Natus referred to Eternatus, which is less of a living creature and more a cosmologic entity.” He paused and looked at Cyril, Leo, and Widget. “Err, a different kind of cosmology.”

“We get it,” Cyril deadpanned. “But, yeah, the orbeetle’s got a point. Plus Eternatus still isn’t actually free yet. Otherwise this planet would’ve broken apart already.”

“I mean… Xeromus has a few dozen screws loose.” Nikki did a cuckoo gesture. “Nobody should take anything he says seriously.”

“And what about the cloud creature he summoned?” Igneous immediately countered. He had kept his gaze fixed on Gene, whose face remained scrunched up in confusion.

“Sounds like an ass that needs kicking to me.” Nikki punched her right hand with her left.

“Time out.” Gene stepped into the middle of the circle of bodies. “Someone wanna tell me who Xeromus is? I can see half of you avoiding eye contact with me. Doesn’t take a genius to tell it’s got something to do with me.”

Silence at first. No one wanted to speak up, though Igneous wasn’t entirely sure what answer Gene was looking for. Was it a detail he missed learning about the mewtwo?

A sigh from Yuna indicated the drakloak chose to take one for the team. “Xeromus is a helmet-wearing type: full with chains around his legs and a creepy black cloak covering most of his body.” She rubbed her right shoulder. “And, well, your photo album showed pictures of Nova in a turquoise cloak and anklets, so—”

“—So you think he’s Nova?”

Gene’s gaze fell to the floor. His Malice Crystal pulsated wildly on his shoulder. Igneous held his breath, unsure if Gene planned to blow up at them or not.

Instead, the mewtwo took a deep breath. “Well, if we don’t know where exactly he is, we shouldn’t throw our resources into finding him. Not when there are more pressing matters to consider.” He pivoted toward Alder and Cid. The braviary sat perched on the orbeetle’s massive head. “Isn’t that right?”

Igneous exhaled in relief. A small part of the grovlazzle thought he could learn a bit from Gene, since he definitely wanted to find Ahsen and Xeromus to dish out some revenge.

“Yes.” Alder bowed his head. “Kora and I are in agreement, the stability of our dimension is worsening. I agree with Milotic’s assessment that whatever Xeromus did brought us that much closer to a dimensional cataclysm.”

He paused, as if considering his next words carefully. “And given how Eternatus itself doesn’t seem bound by the laws of nature, I believe it’s serving as the focal point for the breakdown of space and time.” The braviary lifted his gray and white wing. “A beacon drawing in instabilities and turning them into full-blown anomalies.”

Nikki scratched her right horn. “I only followed, like, half of that, but I’m gonna assume it’s bad. Cuz Afro Bird sounds all ominous and shit.”

Cid’s spots glowed blue. “I think Alder’s right. My Dynascan’s gotten progressively stronger since Starlene’s sabotaged concert. And when Leo and Widget went unconscious, I swear I could sense places within Eternatus getting sucked into dimensional anomalies.”

“Pulled into Ginnungagap, the mystery dungeon between worlds,” Alder elaborated, his head feathers glowing pink in time with Cid’s spots.

“Seriously?” Cyril whistled. “That’s some impressive range.”

The orbeetle shifted about uncomfortably. “Perhaps, but I’m worried what it might mean for my own health and safety the longer this goes on.”

“We’ll keep an eye on it, then,” Gene said with a dismissive wave. “Alder, you got something else for us?”

The psychic braviary nodded. “Based on my readings, it seems like we’d have to seal the anomalies from their other sides to stop them from expanding in our universe.”

“Which means, what, going to different dimensions?” Nikki dusted the sides of her leather jacket. “Man, from Eternatus, to outer space, to dimension hopping. Hell of a road trip.”

“There’s a plus side to this, though,” Cyril cut in. The cosmic zoroark nonchalantly kicked his right leg back and forth. “The emperor must not realize what’s going on. His interplanetary network has had disruptions since that concert. And even if he does put two and two together… he’s in no position to actually fix anything.”

Gene snapped his fingers. “Which is precisely where we come in. This is how we turn the tides against the empire.”

“Oh, and hopefully learn more about this Red Chain that Vince told us about,” Alder chirped. When Yuna and Nikki tilted their heads in confusion, he added, “Quasar Prime is one of the areas that got trapped within an anomaly.”

It was then that Sakaki finally decided to make his presence known by clearing his throat. He tucked a small crystal into his blazer pocket.

“That’s all well and good, Mr. Gene, but I’m not in a position to offer the Bureau of Eternatus Investigators to your little rebellion.” The nidoking folded his hands behind his back. “We have issues within Radiance that need addressing. Someone has to work to keep the people here safe, because the Isola regime certainly won’t.

“Case in point, some of my spies report seeing strange, almost robotic bug pokémon emerging from the outskirts of Casaroja.” Sakaki’s brow furrowed. “They’re heading in the direction of an anti-Parliament protest by Centrado Station.”

“So?” Nikki threw her arms up. “Bout time people woke up and saw the queen and her dumb playboy son for the idiots they are.”

Yiazmat’s tail crinkled. “You don’t think… they’re calling in machines to attack protestors, do you?”

“I don’t have enough information to answer that,” Sakaki said. “But the timing is suspicious in the wake of all these Eternatus-related revelations that came out of Parliament.”

Igneous stole a quick glance at Scarlett. The dragonair had slithered back away from the circle, curling up in the corner with a guilty expression on her face. He shot her an apologetic look, but she didn’t see it.

“That so?” Gene had a mixture of curiosity and thinly veiled contempt on his face. Did he know Sakaki from somewhere?

… No, that wasn’t right. Sakaki initially seemed quite surprised with the mewtwo’s arrival, and he was usually good at hiding his emotions.

“Sure, whatever.” Gene waved his right arm dismissively. “Divide and conquer. How’s this for an arrangement, then?” The mewtwo pointed to Igneous and Yiazmat. “You can keep your son and your ally.” He then pointed at Noctum and Valkyrie. “And I’ll give you Zardy and Chompy, too.”

“H-Hey!” Noctum’s Malice Crystal flickered. He looked at Yiazmat and winced. “Err, not that I wouldn’t mind working with you, Your Highness. It’s just… I’m supposed to look after Yuna.”

“Hasn’t really worked out for you, though,” Gene pointed out, to which the black charizard wilted. “And Team Bureau needs someone who can open rifts. Meaning you.” He smirked. “I’m giving you Chompy, at least. You two work well together.” He jerked his head at Igneous. “And she can be back with her charge after all the griping.”

Igneous thought that rather belittling, but let it slide. Because it would be nice to work with Valkyrie again. He did feel the need to advocate for someone else, though. “Scarlett stays with us, too.”

“Who?” Gene looked over his shoulder. “Oh, right, the singing noodle. Yeah, sure, go nuts.” He hastily pivoted to point at Yuna, Nikki, Jade, Seifer, and Widget. “You guys are heading to Quasar Prime with me. We’ll keep the Team Bastion moniker for ease of communication.”

“What about Leo?” Jade asked.

“He’s coming too.” Gene snapped his right fingers. Cyril reached into his mane and produced a metal collar.

“The Morph-O-Tron. Figured it makes sense to disguise him as a dreepy,” Cyril explained. “He can ride on Yuna’s head.”

“Cool!” Leo’s eyes sparkled. “Hear that, Widget? Family mission!” He hopped in place excitedly.

Igneous resisted the urge to facepalm.

“Alder will head back to Chakran and work with Kora on their meditative whatever,” Gene continued. “The rest of you will support Cid and Cyril. You guys are Team Copter. Our proverbial eyes in the sky.”

The cosmic zoroark bobbed his head. “Cid’s able to sync his Dynascan up with my X-transceivers. We should be able to keep in touch that way, though I’m not sure if it’ll hold up when you guys cross through a rift.”

“It’s a risk we’ll have to take,” Gene exclaimed. He stepped into the middle of the group, “So, is everyone good with this plan? Any objections?”

Quetzal stuck his right leg out. “Why am I stuck on the sidelines?”

“Team Copter needs some muscle,” Gene replied. “Maybe we’ll rotate around later. Any other questions? Comments? Concerns?”

Total silence. Igneous wanted to rest more, but it wasn’t like this situation was going to stop escalating.

“Good.” Gene clapped his hands. “Then, let’s get to work on our final preparations and move out.”