Day 1 | [Video/action for New Bark+beginning routes, forwarded to after prom madness]

[faintwaves]

[When the video turns on, the person handling the Gear seems surprisingly calm—she's not remotely upset to be "suddenly displaced" somewhere new, she looks like it's just another day for her. A Wimpod is nestled in the hood of her jacket (an odd black trenchcoat-looking thing) dozing peacefully.]

I came home.

[It's the first thing the girl says, very simply, very factually. She has been in the world of Pokemon before and considers it home over where she was before. Nobody would remember, either, that when the girl first arrived she spoke with much less confidence than she does now.]

Riku? Vanitas? Are you guys still here? I hope Vani didn't mope too long when I left, I didn't mean to.

[A cheeky grin comes to her face after she says that, whoever Vanitas is to her this is evidently some kind of ploy to rile them up.]

A more general question for everyone: hi, I'm Xion. That's S-H-I-O-N, but the Gear probably lists me as X-I-O-N, I need to go back in and fix that. Did anybody end up with my Pokemon? I'm not gonna fight with you about it, if you're taking care of them, but I just wanna make sure they're safe. And…

[Xion stops, a serious look coming to her face.]

I think Silph kidnapped my Null, I'm definitely gonna fight them to get Saturn back.

[Well that's a very ambitious thing for a teenager to say.]

That's all for now, thanks. [With that, Xion just...very calmly turns the Gear off.]

In conclusion...

[indigo_league]

It's nearly dawn-- the horizon is lightening.

It's been a night of chaos and fear, but against what felt like impossible odds at first... the ordeal seems almost over.

One by one (and through monumental efforts, although as soon as it became obvious on a large scale that it was working, even some of the people who originally ran for shelter returned to the field with their Pokemon to lend a hand), the Nihilego were cut off, re-routed, herded back towards the hole in the sky.

It's just as the sun peeks over the edge of the ocean that Moltres circles around and, with someone's Gyarados creating a watery barrier preventing it from slipping off to the side, chases the final Ultra Beast into the glowing portal.

And then, almost like magic, the roaring hole in space and time seals itself, leaving a perfect pink-and-purple morning sky and blessed silence in its wake.

The entire island seems to breathe a sigh of relief.

For just a moment, Moltres flaps in place, the embers scattered by its wings hissing when they hit the water below. It looks back at the people and Pokemon gathered on the beach. There is uncertainty in its eyes-- it doesn't know where these things came from, or what they are. But it does know that this was not wholly unforetold, and that it's bound to happen again... sooner or later.

With a cry and a mighty flap, it takes off into the sky.

Some islanders clap-- there's at least one dismayed cry from someone in a Legend Seeker T-shirt who only JUST got his 'Gear camera to focus on the firebird. But mostly, people seem to be too exhausted and burned out to react. That sure was Moltres, and that sure was an entire swarm of horrifying aliens that no Pokedex could identify.

But the silence only lasts for a moment-- rumbling motors can be heard as a squadron of white trucks and caravans come rolling over the crest of the hill, swerving carefully around toppled palm trees and clusters of still-frightened wild Pokemon. As they come to a halt, men and women in equally-white uniforms pour out, passing orders between them and fanning out.

While some immediately rush towards the ocean with inflatable rafts and strange equipment, most of them make their way towards the areas most damaged, and the people and Pokemon who just went through a terrible night. There's blankets and juice boxes being passed out, along with kind smiles and reassurances of "We're here to help." Injured wild Pokemon are coaxed into carriers or attended on the spot with Antidotes and bandages. For those who are still doing fine on their feet, the smartly-dressed agents don't hesitate to ask for help in freeing ones trapped in the wreckage or helping to erect First Aid tents.

As the bustling makes its way around the clearing, a final person steps out of the truck that just arrived.

Shading her eyes from the rising sun, she looks around at the wreckage, her lips pursed and brow lightly furrowed.

"Oh, dear..." she says, her voice light and breathy but still deeply sad. "We've arrived too late..."

But she heads down the hill, practically gliding (despite the fact that she's wearing somewhat impractical-looking high heels), and scoops up a Comfey that got stepped on during the panic.

"Don't fret, little one."



"Team Aether will make sure you're fixed up as good as new."





( And now for a little lore... )

( Aftermath Info )