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Sojaveña Wilds Timeless Oasis

Reader mode
Nova disappeared, light flashed, there was the sound of two idiots crashing, ice exploded from the ground, and the two Cipher goons were ice sculptures. Excellent. Just one pursuing duck between them and not having to deal with Whatever This Was any more. Maybe they couldn't thrash him in a straight fight, if he was even stronger than the zangoose and seviper, but if all they had to do was keep this loudmouth busy...

Supposedly Galarian rapidash could carve through metal with a full-power psycho cut. Leaf wasn't sure if that was true; she hadn't had a chance to try it yet. She figured she could get a pretty clean cut on something else, though.

She swung her head again and fired a blast at the quaquaval—not at his face or chest or whatever, but just a wee bit higher. See how fancy he looked with a flat top instead of an afro. (Or at least see if she could shave a little off the top of that feather duster waving around on his butt.)

"Sorry to cut and run," she said, with not an ounce of shame in her grin, "but like I said! We're busy folks. I'm sure you understand. We'll get a rain check on that lesson later, yeah?" Then she scooped Koa back on board before he could stumble any further and bolted for the exit with the others.
 
Koa's vision was absolutely swimming, and not from his flash attack. He saw Steven grab the stone and grab Archie, who looked worse than him somehow, and ready to collapse.

Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, he felt even sicker with pure dread. Mhynt had been right, hadn't she? All his fears had been founded. Focus. He had to focus on what mattered. Getting out and getting that stone away. Or rather, let Leaf get him out.

"Thanks," he groaned as she picked him up. A ghost of a smile cracked his face when he saw Leaf give the quaqaval a nice 'trim'. "Nice one."
 
The exchange was brief as it was hectic. Miror B. tried to swifly dodge the Psycho Cut but didn't manage it in time, swiping off the top part of his afro. He shrieked in dismay before he fell flat on his back at Kimiko's song. The three wouldn't be stuck for long, they could see Reath and Ferma begin to break through the ice but with the Wayfarer's running start, they had more than enough time to vanish in another part of the dungeon, losing the three Cipher agents entirely.

Finally, there was a moment to rest and recuperate.

Sybil knelt on the grass, clearly thinking about something. "How on earth did they know? About the dungeon and the Relic," she asked no one in particular." She sighed and looked at all the other Wayfarers, her gaze falling onto the Relic in Steven's arms. "I couldn't answer before, so let me explain now. As amazing as it is to see the Purifying Spirit's domain, I am saddened to learn that they are no longer with us. When a Saint passes on without a heir, they leave behind a Relic containing their powers, although looking at it now, it seems that most of its power has faded.

"It could just be in need of some kind of energy but I have no clue what, perhaps if I studied it..."
 
"Can we think on the run?" Nova said, trotting in place. "We gotta get out of here and away from them so they can't tail us anywhere."
 
Steven couldn't help but throw a nervous glance the way they came. "I agree, we shouldn't stay here any longer than necessary."

Turning his gaze to Sybil, he asked, "Do you have some place safe to study the Relic? Preferably hidden, too."
 
It was gone. The Purifying Spirit, Celebi, was dead. No heir, and a fading relic of power. His heart twisted. Too late.

"Let's keep moving," Koa said through gritted teeth. Why hadn't the feeling gone away? So much for the stone purifying them.
 
"We can't let them fill it with Shadows," Mhynt said immediately, reappearing on one of the nearby tree branches so she could get a scouting glance. "We need to secure it. That's our top priority. If Celebi can help us, even in death, with this... No. We can't let it fall to Shadows." She looked back at the others. "Is everyone else in agreement?"
 
Nova nodded. He crouched down to offer smaller Wayfarers a lift to expedite the process.
 
"We can keep moving if need be," Sybil said. "Although the dungeon seems to have granted us a lot of distance."

She looked at Steven. "My own study, of course, back at the Ranger HQ, unless you'd prefer to keep the Relic here..." Sybil trailed off, her expression clearly showing that she wasn't sure how good an idea that would be.
 
"If you're sure you can keep it safe there, we can hand it over to you," said Steven, hefting the Relic towards their Ranger guide. "Now only if you had a way to get back to HQ quickly, with no way to follow... An orb, perhaps?"

He glanced around their group, making the question open to everyone present.

"If we have one, we can send Sybil back with the Relic, and we'll deal with whoever chases after us. As long as they can't tail you, the Relic will be safe."
 
Archie made sure to grab onto his hat when Steven grabbed him, but now, dangling from the Metang's grasp as little more than dead weight, it was all he could do to maintain consciousness and hold on to said piece of headwear for dear life. People were talking around him, but he couldn't really make out what they were saying. He felt Steven shift him around, and say something about the relic. At least, he thought that was the word the Metang was saying. Did he have it? Is that why the Oshawott felt so bad?

... Did this mean he and Koa were beyond saving?
 
"Of course it can't stay here," Leaf said. "It belongs to the Spirit—" belonged, apparently "—but if Cipher's gonna be poking around then it's not safe. I'm fine letting you study it, you'd know better than any of us, but..." She glanced back in the direction they'd come. Idiots those guys might've been, but they were idiots who worked with Cipher, and also idiots who had managed to find them in the first place. "We're gonna have to let the other Rangers know to watch out for them. They knew to follow us, right? And they knew what they were following us for. Dunno if they were tracking us, or tracking you, or..." She gave Sybil a worried look. "But they were following somebody even before now, and I bet they'll try it again."
 
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"I would be happy to study it and I will assure you that it will be safe in my possession. Sinopa would be the very first to sound the alarm if any intrusion were to happen," Sybil replied. She rummaged through her bag at Steven's suggestion. "I have a few extra Haste Orbs in case any of them broke on the way, but what of you? You have no idea what they might do and I cannot, in good conscious, leave you stranded out here. It's several days to the HQ without these."
 
"Leaf's right, what if they track us back to HQ?" Koa murmured, still clutching onto Leaf's back. A sudden terrible fear rose in him. What if he and Archie were the reason Cipher could track them?

"All the Rangers could be in danger if Cipher tried to attack."
 
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Nova remained silent. He didn't want to bring up the possibility Cipher already had a mole within the Rangers. Andre had blabbed about their HQ to someone who very clearly wasn't Gerome. And with that mystery not solved, Nova wasn't taking anything for granted.

... Though did that mean if they destroyed Cipher's teleporter and there was a mole at HQ, they'd effectively strand the person on Forlas? If Fein was any indication, the answer was yes.

Unless Blaguarro isn't there only base. Isn't the name for that base involving a number? Or maybe they convinced one of the locals to work with them...
 
They only had a few Haste Orbs left? And nothing else? Steven's eyes knitted tight in concern. He wasn't keen on leaving a trail through the desert for Cipher to potentially follow. If that's even how they found their way to the Oasis in the first place...

There had to be another way... Wait--

He glanced down at the Oshawott hanging limply in his arms. (It didn't feel like a good idea to set him down just yet, sorry Archie.) Didn't Archie mention something about dungeon anchors and hearts and a way for Betel to connect with them when they found a way to travel across Sojavena in the blink of an eye? His gaze slid over to the Relic in his other claw.

If this Relic was akin to this dungeon's heart... then maybe...?

"Betel?" he projected, trying to reach their astral guide. "Can you hear me? Are you able to use this dungeon's Relic as an anchorpoint just this once? We could use a lift to Ranger HQ if you're able."

[[ @Jackie Cat]]
 

Steven! The connection is far harder to maintain in a Divine rift such as this, but I can hear you!

With the Relic in your hands, I can create a unilateral pathway out of there for you, if I just concentrate hard enough—!

...

...

Ah! I am making a great effort, but the dungeon is shielded from interference! I need...

...I need to be...

...

I need to be stronger for you.
​

The Relic hummed as it resonated with whatever Betel was attempting. The space around the Wayfarers rippled as a pathway opened from the centre of a deity's personal rift to a place miles away and – judging by the position of the sun – unsynchronised in time. Creation strained around the sheer implausibility of it, ready to collapse in on the conenction and seal off the Oasis once again.

It wouldn't last. But it was an exit – if they hurried.
 
Nova didn't like that intonation at the end there. Had Betel tapped into shadows to make that rift? Were they walking into a shadow rift?

Well, uh, best to keep everything and everyone levelheaded, right?

"Nice work, Betel." He projected the thought. "You're really getting us out of a pinch here."

Nova nodded at the others and made his way into the rift.
 
Wes was almost enjoying himself as he snapped and slashed at the three idiots and attempted to give Afro Asshole a run for his money—but beating a hasty retreat with the Relic was the right call.

He listened quietly as the others speculated about what to do, feeling rather lost, himself. Cipher had destroyed the Relic in Seth’s world. And now they had found it here, and likely were determined to destroy or corrupt it. Did that mean the Relic in his world was also doomed to a similar fate? And what had happened to Celebi, exactly? How could someone so important, so powerful, just be…gone? With nobody to replace them?

He didn’t like the potential answers to any of these questions.

“Whatever happens, protection the Relic is our main priority,” he said. “With or without its patron, it clearly still poses some kind of threat to Cipher, or else they wouldn’t bother trying to find it. I’m sure there’s still a power inside it that can help us Purify Shadows, we just need to…coax it out, somehow.”

He frowned at Betel’s message, not at all liking the distortion in their last sentence, but they could worry about that later. For now, they needed to put as much distance between themselves and Cipher as possible. He stood and followed Nova into the rift.
 
At least he could agree with Wes on that much. They had to protect the Relic, and the Rangers offered the best shot still. He really hoped it wasn't him these goons were tracking somehow...

And hopefully he'd not have to go into another dungeon for awhile. He stifled another wave of nausea and dizziness.

 'Thank you Betel!' he said gratefully. They'd be fine, right? If shadows weren't evil, then Betel using them wouldn't be bad, right?
 
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