End.

[azumods]

RESTORATION. There's a distinct feeling that comes along with the knowledge that the world is about to die; you've experienced it once already, and you can feel it again now - another of those sensations that permeates your body clear through, shaking you to your core, and Arceus... Arceus doesn't hesitate. There's another burst of light, almost blinding as it shoots upward and splits into a myriad streaks of light coursing down toward the earth; it's almost beautiful in its impending destructiveness, though perhaps it isn't something that can be fully appreciated with the knowledge of what it's about to cause. All those people, all those Pokémon, reset to what they once were - to say nothing of yourselves. And then, suddenly and sharply, the world stops. Not the world. The universe. It isn't the first time you've felt time and space simply stop - but instead of the stagnation of the reset or the Distortion World, there's something very deliberate-seeming about this; it doesn't feel like stagnation so much as it does protection, keeping the world in stasis until something can be done. Exactly what that something is...well, it's difficult to say. But one thing is certain: even if they can't be seen or properly felt, Dialga and Palkia are certainly here, and it seems that for the time being at least, they're with you. Arceus shrieks out another of those primal roars, the sound harsh and agitated; the remnants of the incomplete Judgement remain bright and hovering above you, above everything. A reminder, perhaps, of everything that's at stake; after all, no one can defy the Creator forever. The frozen timespace doesn't seem to have affected you, nor Cyrus or his Commanders; you're all still capable of acting for yourselves while Judgement is stalled out. Exactly what that entails has yet to be seen. Best of luck to you.

Comments

[discutio]

['I thought I'd lost my second chance.']

[The world had crashed around them, and he'd gripped Noctis' hand as though that was all that mattered...because he was. 'Ignis Scientia' existed solely to support and protect 'Noctis Lucis Caelum'. When that had been lost, with him went the chamberlain's reason for living. When his king was regained and vanished from reach again, that terrible emptiness returned with a vengeance as an endless despair he couldn't shake.]

[Had it been a path he'd found contentment in? Of course. Nothing had made him happier than to be at Noctis' side. There were no regrets in serving his purpose, no matter how it had essentially been chosen for him. Ignis had loved Noctis more than he loved anything or anyone, and banishing the darkness alongside him had been a journey taken without a single step made in hesitation.]

[But had it been right, in the sense that one person should live their life solely for another? That they should have no real function, no individual self without that person? His cooking proficiency, combat expertise, political and historical knowledge--everything he was had been fashioned in service to Noctis and the crown.]

[An individual person named 'Ignis Scientia' had never existed.]

[It was, he now understood, a bit of a shame. He might have liked to seek out a reason to carry on, even without Noctis if that was to be the result. Still, he harbored no regrets as Cyrus called out to the god before them. He'd lived according to his purpose, known how this would very likely end, and been content in that. He'd done all he could to reach out to Cyrus, and now--]

[And now a second time, judgment was forestalled.]

[This wasn't the end. Perhaps it had been the end of Noctis' story, but Ignis had been left with a single order--'walk tall'. The rest was left to him, to bear the anguish left by the loss of his king and stand even beneath its weight. For Prompto and Gladio, for Iris, Cor, Cindy, Talcott, for Bucky, Camilla, Michael, Aya--]

[No. For himself. To write a story all his own, no matter how it ended.]

[Something trembled in the pockets of his Kingsglaive uniform, a Pokeball bursting open with a flash of blinding light that flew over his head. Favilla's horns unfurled into massive wings in a flash of embers, the Volcarona burning brightly above her Trainer in defiance of the end of all things.]

Cease this. [He snapped at Cyrus, unseeing eyes steady and calm no matter the restrained chaos that hung over their heads.] How much longer will you cower and hide from that which you do not yet understand, Cyrus?! Your 'perfect world' is no more than a house of cards that will collapse again and again, because you refuse to build a greater foundation upon which a truly great world may stand!

You fear compassion you don't understand, while taking no steps to even try comprehending it. You would sooner burn every bridge built over the distance between you and the world you love, instead of taking a step forth and truly living within it.

You're not a god, Cyrus. You're a lost child shrinking back in your own darkness because you fear the light. Stand tall and prove yourself better than that!

[azumods]

This world I supposedly love is getting nothing less than what it deserves!

[And that...that is probably the first time he's snapped properly all damn day; the composure isn't completely gone - he's still very obviously trying to retain some of it, and while the anger is still managing to be somewhat restrained, it's only barely so.]

Know your place. You know nothing of this world, you effectively know nothing of me, and as such you need to accept that some things aren't going to be offered up for your comprehension.

You truly understand nothing - you make that clear every time you stand before me, and my Commanders have reported much of the same. And that is why that compassion isn't yours to offer to begin with.

[perfectselfie]

[Aya isn't exactly surprised that her appeal didn't work, but she knew she had to at least try. She wouldn't have been able to forgive herself if she didn't say something.

She drops to her knees at the awful feeling, the one she hoped beyond hope she would never experience a second time, and buries her face in her hands. She can't stop the flood of tears, or the feeling of complete failure.]

I'm so sorry, I -

[And then things just stop, and it's all she can do to not go into hysterics. She wasn't around during the trip to the Distortion World, and the feeling is almost overwhelming.]

- what the?

[niceoppai]

They're -- they're here! Aya, they bought us some time!

[Chelsea takes a deep breath to calm herself down.]

I'm never making fun of Palkia again.

[hyruglyphics]

[ Oh no, a crying girl!

.. Vali the Shiny Mr. Mime (really) decides to try to make her feel better by way of walking over to her, silently tapping her shoulder and then holding out a flower for her! ... And invisible flower. It's not there. It's a mime, what do you expect. ]

[greydients]

[Unlike the first time their group suffered this, Rey finds she almost feels at peace. From the second that Arceus appeared, completely under Cyrus' control, she knew that there was no chance they were leaving the Hall of Origin as they entered it. This was all a fool's errand from the start, but for some reason, she doesn't feel any anger, or misery.

If this is how it ends, at least I can say I tried. We tried.

So when everything just...stops, it's almost more jarring than the attack itself.

Opening her eyes (she had, admittedly, squeezed them shut), Rey gingerly reaches to her belt, feeling a wave of comfort as she finds her pokeballs still sitting there, intact. The relief itself is also enough of a signal to tell her that - for some reason, likely related to the energies of Dialga and Palkia that she can feel - this Judgement hasn't been delivered.]

...is this not enough of a sign for you?

[She can feel rage building, and it's beautiful - she'd always taken her emotions for granted, but not any more.]

Did you think it was just us, Cyrus? That we were the only ones who would oppose you? The true gods of this region are pushing back on you with all their might! What will it take to get you to stop all of this?

[azumods]

Please. I suppose next you're going to try to claim that you planned this all along, like the child you still insist on being.

[Really, Rey. You're fucking trying it, he supposes?]

Your bravado is obvious, as is the fact that you truly don't know how to proceed now.

[enjoymyatelier]

[ah, well, they're actually going to die this time, so he might as well just let it all out because...]

You absolute braindead wanker, what is your problem!? Are you so dedicated to your stupid, stupid idea that you throw a tantrum and try to murder us all because people are being nice to you and making you realize that yes, your ideas on how to fix the world's problems are indeed absolutely fucking idiotic, so-

[...oh... oh, wait... oh... everything stopped, Dialga and Palkia are giving them a save... oh.....]

...

...

...right, I'm going to go back to biting my tongue and not ruining this for everyone else.

[discutio]

[...god bless you kayneth, because he was sure thinking it for the past ten minutes or so]

[radiantflame]

[AT LEAST IT WASN'T HER THIS TIME]

[semistableman]

[You're getting a very pointed nod in your direction for that.]

[anythingforyou]

[kayneth, despite everything, you are so utterly valid right now]

[semistableman]

[It happening again isn't much of a shock to him. Maybe Cyrus really isn't one of those people who can be helped, but Bucky doesn't want to think that. Not about anyone, not after he considered himself beyond saving.

Bucky breathes in, eyes falling shut for a long moment, finally opening once it's clear there are gods present even now. It's not the first time, either. His hand goes to the pokeball containing Flora, just a reminder that she's still there, safe and sound despite the looming end of the world.]

The gods of this world don't like this any more than we do.

[Sensing that the world has not ended, that Judgement has been halted, his team leave their pokeballs one by one, the mismatched set of unevolved Pokemon crowding around him, with Flora in front, looking as determined as her trainer.]

[azumods]

They can't stall forever... And in essence, that's all this is.

[hyruglyphics]

[ The light of this sees Zelda glaring at the sky as it comes. Vali, perhaps trying to prove himself, had stepped in front of her to make a fruitless barrier. Bosphoramus has curled around all of them. Saber had scooped Daroh up into her mouth (ewww) and Miphanus and Urbin had gotten in closer to Zelda. But when the end doesn't come, when space and time pause...

Well, first things first the Porygon-Z curls on out of the Lickilicky's sloppy mouth? Whining?

But Zelda focuses up at the god before her and Cyrus as well, ]

Do you really think you know best, at this point?!

[azumods]

[...God. God bless Saber.

That said, however.]

The Creator's will shall not be defied forever - this is stalling at best. In the end, it accomplishes nothing.

[takestheblame]

[Kiryu didn't look up when the judgment was descending. He kept glaring at Cyrus all the way. When time and space stops, he finally looks up.

...well looks like they have a bit more of time. Kiryu takes Daigo out of his Pokeball. Daigo stays behind Kiryu, gruffly glaring at Cyrus. Still, Kiryu tries to initiate conversation]

It still isn't late to do something else. What'll it take for you to stop this madness already?

[Bargaining, yup! Don't make them try to fight Arceus, that's not a good idea and Kiryu knows it, hah!]

[azumods]

[...That is fair, honestly.]

Even Dialga and Palkia can't defy the will of the Creator forever. This is stalling at best.

[eudaimonikos]

[Though he knows it's fruitless - they've seen this before - Michael lurches forward a step as Judgement begins to descend.

He can't protect them from this. Not with his little human body, and probably not even with himself. That god is stronger and older than him. He couldn't take Arceus on in his true form. If he's honest, he might not have been able to challenge any of the deities here that way. It just felt better to believe he could have. It would feel better now to die first, and not see it happen to his friends.

But they don't die. They've had so many stays of execution so far, it almost seems a little unreal. It's good, though. He really wasn't done.

Michael straightens himself out and takes another, deliberate step.]

First of all, you are such an enormous dong! Both of you, actually - [He points at Arceus.] - so great to see you stick up for the people you made instead of helping one dickhead beat them into the ground over and over, forever! I can see why humans love their creator gods. Such wonderful, loving protectors.

Second - [Back to Cyrus] - where do you get off telling them they're not good enough? There's only one person here who's thrown a hissy fit and tried to commit mass murder two out of the three times we've met. You've made Aya cry twice. And why, because they're the only people left with enough emotional intelligence to see that you've got issues? Is this your perfect world? One where kindness is met with death?

[He could probably go off more, but Jane Doe pops out of her Pokeball - having apparently sensed that Judgement did not in fact occur - and puts both big claws on his shoulders.]

[azumods]

The Creator's will and intentions aren't for you to understand.

[...Why this is the hill he's decided to die on is anyone's guess, but here we are anyway.]

The gods don't exist for us - they've never existed for us. If you've met as many as you claim, you would understand that by now.

And it's hardly kindness that's being met with death.

[ventulus]

You call this protecting your world?! You're just destroying everything just because you don't like it, like you're just someone having a tantrum, and just because you can!

[ At the heart of it, he's just a kid, and all of this frustrates him. What's the right word to say, he doesn't even know. He just doesn't think he could really just excuse all away what Cyrus is done and stay silent. Not right here, not now. ]

There's a reason it's not just us who're fighting back so hard. It's because how you're doing things isn't the way to go about it! And your "perfect world" isn't really something that should be shoved down everyone's throats just because you want it so badly!

[azumods]

It isn't destruction for its own sake, nor is it simply in the interest of what I want. This world receives what it deserves, in the end. Nothing less.

[anythingforyou]

[Camilla really can't help but close her eyes at what's about to come--her arms are wide, in a protective gesture that's ultimately futile as she tries to protect what little she can before the world ends. She's ultimately been living on borrowed time since she came to Sinnoh, and if even once, she could just protect the people she loves, that would be enough and it'd be for something she believed in for once--

There are muttered words, soft and frantic and blurred together--"Please, oh Gods, just this once allow me to protect them, or yet grant us some miracle if by your grace alone, please--"

But then Judgement doesn't come. It's stopped, and there's more pressure in the room that causes Camilla to open her eyes and look, seeing the white light of Judgement above them and the fact that Arceus is very fucking angry. Her eyes widen and she can't even begin to describe the feelings within her, some mixture of relief and dread filling her as she doesn't even begin to put her arms down, and she hears one of her own Poke Balls open beside her--Arion perhaps flinching a touch at the pressure in the room, the roar of the creator, but floating beside his trainer with every bit of composure and confidence that still stands.

She's supported him for this long, along with the others. Perhaps it was time to give her that level of support, the same adoration she so gave out, as the two stare at Cyrus and the Creator. Arion stands alongside Camilla as a shield for the others, the brainless hands reaching out to meet her own. They can't do much, but they will do their best.]

The gods you've so horribly enslaved are acting against you--against even the highest of beings, their very sovereign and creator, in order to ensure that this world isn't torn asunder once again. They're expending everything that they can in order to keep this world safe out of sheer defiance.

Truly, it's a beautiful endeavor.

[Camilla's expression is firm when she speaks up.]

How much is it going to take to get you to realize that what you're doing isn't helping the world at all? That these beings are willing to go against even their own principles to stop all of this? Is what they're attempting to do not even a slight indication that there are avenues that you haven't considered trying, that this isn't the best way forward?

[azumods]

The world has already chosen what it's earned from me. The time for compassion and kindness has long been over - it isn't something this world understands.

They receive what they deserve.

[It's agitated, but it's more controlled than anything he's giving Ignis; that said, it's...definitely something, anyway.]

[radiantflame]

[Morag doesn't flinch. Her team stands around her, visibly shaken but staring forward in solidarity with her.]

So this is what you're reduced to. Resetting everything the moment something doesn't go your way. You are no creator, you are a destroyer. This world will never be perfect so long as you continue down this path.

[azumods]

I destroy nothing for its own sake - if that's what you're reducing it to, then you truly comprehend nothing.

[niceoppai]

[Chelsea flinches. But life continues. Slowly, she lowers her arms, opens her eyes, and looks around before turning back to Cyrus.]

You're wrong, Cyrus. Life's worth it. But y'know what, you already know that. Not because we keep telling you. 'Cause when we do, when we say life can get better if it's a real life, when we say you're not helping an' you could've done better? You go straight to playin' the "I am God" card!

Y'know why? So you won't have to think about it! You can just wipe us out or brainwash us and go back to pretending you're not miserable! So instead of facing reality, you turn it into a dick-waving contest --

[Chelsea freezes, pales, and looks sheepishly at Aya and Ventus. And let's be honest, Emmeryn more than either.]

...sorry.

[Wait, not the time.]

Cyrus! I'm still scared of you even now. I still wanna run away, but I can't. But you? All you do is run away! Your strength is a cheat an' you hide behind it, so knock it off!

[azumods]

[...Chelsea...

Honestly, if it's any consolation he's sort of mortified given all the screaming about genitals that apparently happens in front of Emmeryn? What the hell did she do to deserve this, he's observed your dynamic maybe twice and he has gotten the distinct impression that you're awful children, you are killing your mother.]

This world receives what it deserves - your constant, insipid insistence that there's something better is naive at best.

[thunderwolf]

[In the wake of Dialga and Palkia's intervention, Eustace stands strong with the others- his Pokemon taking after their Trainer. A surge of adrenaline runs through all of them. Even the usually skittish Rose crouches on his shoulder, her eyes glowing with defiance under her costume.

There's no backing down.]

What will it take for you to see that no matter how many times you try, you're never going to destroy our spirit? The universe's spirit?

[Somewhere out there, everyone's worlds hang in the balance with them. Their spirits are a source of strength to keep going.]

I get that you wanted to help people...that you want peace. [Peace is something he's chased after too, but like he said to Mesprit all that time ago, this...] This is not the answer.

[azumods]

[There's something in the way Eustace generally tends to be about these things that...doesn't exactly settle him, but the response is less blatantly agitated than he has been with some of the others.]

...This world receives what it deserves. It won't accept anything else, nor will it understand anything else.

[divinedescendant]

[Emmeryn's whole life has been faith, in the ancient pact which branded the symbol on her forehead, in the deity she served and stood for, in the desperate hope that all of it would mean something and if she just reached out again and again and again there would be a chance yet for the peace she preached and lived and died for.

No reaction... Was I wrong, then?

There had been a promise of aid made along the way, and she thinks of that, clings to some scrap of faith even as she walks farther forward in front of the others, straight-backed, when Judgment is called for. Useless, foolish.

Her team converges around her all at once when the light falls. When it freezes, suspended, Emmeryn makes a quick gesture outwards at her side with her arm, and they hesitate, then scatter back; Audhulma and Forseti and Heim and Latona all interspersing themselves between the group, not too far behind her, in a way that seems practiced. Duma stays just beside and behind his trainer.

It takes another moment for her to remember to breathe.

Steady, steady, always; if she can only offer her presence, firm and grounding so the others can find and speak their hearts, then that is worth this second, third, fourth chance, now, she has been given. The effort is always worth the kindness that comes of it, no matter how grand the effort, no matter how small the kindness; this, too, is worthwhile. She could collapse under the weight of all this, of the universe halted around them and any heavy doubt and even how heavy faith settles in her; it would be easy. Her hand settles on Duma's side in a way that looks like she steadies him.

Her strength is twentyfold, and nothing has ever been easy. It does not have to be. It only has to be worthwhile.]

The future is undecided, even at your call; heaven and earth have moved to ensure it is so. You have tried to make the future a certain thing, but people are always acting, always changing. If anything at all is immutable, it is spirit—what will be enough to prove that?

You speak of deserving. I want to understand. What could have been done that the whole world, its every heartbeat and voice and shred of wanting, has been left with a penance to pay?

[azumods]

[It's been three encounters now; he still doesn't know what the fuck to do with Emmeryn.]

...Some things aren't for you to understand. Surely you acknowledge that much.

[redbellion]

[ keith is a man driven by loyalty, devotion, and love. it's those things that cause him to panic when it feels like the world is about to end, because he doesn't know what sort of havoc this man will cause on other planets--universes.

he fears for himself, naturally. but more importantly, he fears for what will become of voltron. the blade of marmora. all those lifeforms out there who're already struggling so much. and he's failed them all.

keith holds all of his pokemon close as he prepares for the worst. his heart pounds in his chest. the heavy burden of guilt is the last thing he'll feel before his life is over. the last thing he thinks about is the paladins. he mouths a quiet "i'm sorry" as everything starts to end.

...but it doesn't end. he opens his eyes once more. his pokemon are trembling in his arms. even pidge. keith takes in a few deep breaths to steady himself.

it's not too late. ]

Why do you think this world deserves this? Not even the gods are on your side--what is it going to take for you to realize that nobody deserves to be robbed of everything that makes them who they are?

[ kindness and compassion are the two things that kept keith going, after all. ]

[azumods]

It's not a matter of what they are, so much as it is what they've decided to be - or what they've refused to do with it, in most cases. I don't expect understanding, regardless.

[azumods]

[After a moment, Cyrus turns, looking back out over that balcony at the view for a long moment; when he speaks it's audible, but just barely.]

Arceus.

[The name is accompanied by a gesture, calling it closer; it doesn't set down on the balcony, but rather remains on the opposite side of it, just kind of...hovering there, as beings that powerful are wont to do should they choose to.

The size of it is immense, a veritable titan; it doesn't stop Cyrus from reaching out to touch, setting his hand on it lightly for a moment. Arceus is still agitated from trying to carry through the frozen attack, and whatever it's doing in response to both Dialga and Palkia's presence; it's shaking visibly, and that doesn't stop under Cyrus' touch, but the gesture is obviously intended to be a calming one anyway before he draws back.

The next few words are likewise soft.]

That's enough.

[The noise that gets out of it is deep and rumbling (and...once again, probably inherently terrifying to any Pokémon that are out and not accustomed to conversing with elder gods) and the tension seems to leave it all at once; the shaking subsides.

It's difficult to say precisely what happens in response to that, but when it does it isn't exactly pleasant; the restoration of the motion of space comes first, followed by the hideously disorienting feeling of time quite suddenly lurching backwards. There's no physical movement, but it's the sort of thing that one's mind needs to catch up to - the memories of what happened over the past while remain, but they don't feel like they should be there, there's not really anywhere they fit in chronologically, and it may take you a little while to sort out what's going on and exactly when it's happening.

The important thing, however, is the dissipation and destruction of those points of light, the apocalypse that's been literally hanging over your heads like the sword of Damocles; the sky, again, is clear, the sun still bright in the early half of the day.

Cyrus himself doens't move, or turn away from the edge of the balcony; he simply keeps...petting Arceus, in an odd, awkward sort of way. His words, however, are clearly intended for you.]

Are you satisfied now...?

[discutio]

...

[It took Ignis a few seconds to respond; that was more than a little disorienting when one could see it, never mind the alternative. Aurora and Hemera remained beside him and Favilla overhead, despite....well, All That Fuckery.]

Only somewhat. I can't say I understand what's made you decide to offer a stay of execution.

Conclusion.

[azumods]

[Cyrus has been absently petting Arceus the entire time these discussions have been going on; it gives him something to focus on, some way to center himself.

It's something that can last, if he wants it to. The question, as he'd said, is whether it should.

He falls silent, just...up in his own head for a while; he's still aware of everyone else around him, though, even if he doesn't seem it, and eventually he'll pull his hand away; when he speaks, his words are quiet again, clearly directed to Arceus and not the group.]

...You've done well for me.

[For a moment he seems tempted to reach out again; he doesn't.]

Go. The region is yours again.

[There's a pause, a clear lack of comprehension in it; Cyrus' gaze darts for a moment before he repeats himself, fixing his attention solidly on Arceus again as he does so.]

Go.

[There's a brief moment befor that sense of agitation flares up, a sense of something that's almost like anger; Cyrus flinches a bit before amending it.]

...I'm not going anywhere. Do as you see fit... But I am staying here.

[That seems to pacify it a little, before it draws away from the balcony entirely; it darts up, high above the region, still level with the Hall of Origin but a sudden, strong distance away, and from it there abruptly emanates a pulse - it isn't the myriad points of light that indicate Judgement, but rather something else, something strange and almost comforting in its power. There's warmth to it, familiarity. Like being welcomed home.

Though you aren't close enough to those below you to experience it for yourselves, there's something within you that knows, for a fact, what this is.

The region - the world - has been restored.

Arceus will return to Cyrus eventually - something Cyrus doesn't seem altogether sure what to do with, but nothing he's going to complain about, at any rate - and pettings will resume accordingly; Cyrus seems about as blank as ever, but it's undeniable that something has changed for him as well.

Perhaps it's acceptance of compassion; perhaps it's hope where there previously wasn't any. It's difficult to say; perhaps in the end the specific feeling doesn't matter. What matters is that it's there, and it isn't being immediately dismissed as incompleteness brought about by an imperfect world.

The journey has been long and arduous - from the caves of the Lake Guardians to the realm of nightmares, from the depths of the Galactic bases to the Hall of Origin itself. You've lost some along the way; you've come out of this a different person than you went in. But change is inevitable; whether that change is ultimately for the better is up to you to decide, as it's yours to hold, and yours to choose what to do with.

For now, just allow yourself to take in the moment, as well as the knowledge that through the force of compassion and convictions, you have saved everyone.]

[divinedescendant]

[With a nod, an indication that she is not leaving, but only allowing space, Emmeryn steps back when Cyrus addresses Arceus. Duma, ever eager to ruin his trainer's dignity, takes a few tries to scramble to his feet to follow her; the rest of her team finally reconvenes around her again, and stays. And Emmeryn watches Arceus ascend, and touches her hand to her heart when the pulse comes, some kind of surprise shining in her eyes.

She had asked herself if she was wrong, in those lonely moments before her death, scared and ready and brave and not, and has spent so long since still thinking of the world she left behind. Her heart is a boy becoming a king a world away, a girl always shining like the sun. She will ache for them, always. Something goes a little odd in her expression, soft, almost shaky, feeling, now—knowing, wanting to—that things are okay. That they will be.

It would be easier to collapse. Right now, putting a hand on Latona's arm, she looks a little like she might.

Some small, worthwhile thing happens at the moment Arceus restores the world. It would be hard to blame her for not noticing the tiny creature quietly pushing through the top of the egg in her arm until it floats upwards, a slow balloon, to stop inches away from her face.]

Oh— [And it takes a few blinks for Emmeryn to catch her bearings, to realize what has happened, and another moment—just as long as it takes for Phione to burble and set one of its arms on Emmeryn's cheek—for her to smile, so wide and warm.]

Hello, darling. [Softer than ever, reaching a finger out to tickle its chin.] And here I thought we were the ones waiting for you. How silly of me.

[Phione makes another sort of squeaking sound, moves its hand from Emmeryn's cheek to her nose to the brand on her forehead—and then it blows a bunch of bubbles directly into her face.

And starts laughing.

So, as it turns out, absolutely every Pokémon Emmeryn has is a shithead.

But all Emmeryn does is laugh, too, light and quiet. She wipes the water off her face on the back of her fine white glove.]

Keeping me humble, I see. Thank you, dearest. [Why, could that be sarcasm? Could she be teasing????

But Phione only laughs and trills, floating and bouncing in the air in front of her, happy to hover by Emmeryn's shoulder, to let her take each of its hands to gently swing it back and forth in front of her while it giggles and squeaks.]