Orion, Phobos and Enki all sit around a campfire in the Nebel Plateau, even if they've been here dozens of times before throughout the last decade through their time working under Team Lustrous, an anomaly resolution team while Palkia is busy with their own anomalous issues. It was hard work sometimes. Some worlds had small anomalies that didn't take all too much effort to restore.. Others, on the other hand, were massive, and some were even hostile amalgamations created by spacial distortions.
But there was one thing that the trio stood by. It was their promise to always return home, no matter the odds of victory. They all had their close calls, there was the anomaly in the Tree of Beginning that nearly swallowed the entire place whole, there was the ones in the Icy Mountains of Johto, fighting spirits come to physical form through spatial distortions had left Phobos stranded, dealing with delusional pokemon under control by some, which had nearly cost Enki's ability to fly.
And then there was Orion.
Who was dead-set on getting every job done no matter what, no matter the cost to his health. It definitely wasn't healthy given his trauma towards the world he was from, granted. None of them didn't really have anywhere to go, which made them default to the place Orion had spent his time after escaping his timeline. The Nebel Plateau. This was their home by all purposes to none.
The three of them planned everything there, slept here, overlooked all of the pokemon here, protected it from poachers and hunters. Alongside Volcanion, and Orochi, a Sceptile that caught a ride with Jirachi's wish alongside Orion, were an inseparable group of individuals.
Which is why the three of them were sitting there, just returning from the Hall of Origin for their final mission, something that's been on their minds for months now. They had their time to rest, and, this time? They'd have external help. There were other groups going after the anomaly. But their general directive was the same.
Find the anomaly, and get rid of it. Unfortunately, this time it felt impossible.
Apparently, the anomaly was a gigantic beast that was being guided to swallow and erase entire timelines. And they'd be sent to the most recent stabilized timeline to help the others stop it. That was all they were told, since it had seemed like even Dialga and Palkia were on board with the whole situation. It was going to get out of control, and they needed all claws on deck in order to stop it.
[ " Alright. This is our final job. I never thought we'd be going out like a bang like this, saving the known universe and all its parallels from an insurmountable foe. " ]
Phobos spoke up first, warming his claws against the warm fire, while the cold breeze threatened to burn it out, of course, it wouldn't matter whether or not it burned out, as Orion would continue to tend the flames with his own. Enki nodded silently, even though they weren't the most vocal of the three of them, the Noivern picked up on strategies and ideas faster than the other two did.
Orion looked over towards the stars lining the skies, a perfectly clear night, they would be in this new world by morning.
And there wouldn't be any time to mess around. They already got the synopsis about the ordeal at hand, and while they hadn't met the ones they'd be working alongside, there was one thing for certain, Orion had a feeling of deja vu. This was.. just like their first mission going to a different timeline altogether.
The three of them looked to one another in the uncertainty of it all, this was their final mission. They didn't know how difficult it was going to be. But from the sounds of things, when even the Hall itself was getting involved, as well as asking for help from other pantheon champions to help alongside them for this quest? It was.. nerve-wracking for all of them. It didn't matter what they were going in, they had to come out victorious.
This was all of them and the gods against this one fate they needed to stop and turn around. It was going to be harsh. It was probably going to be the last mission they go on for any pokemon ever again. This was going to take everything out of them and more. And that’s when Orion suddenly perked up.
“ Our final hoorah. Let us make this count. I’m.. curious to who we’ll be teaming with. “
There was a bitter taste in the land-shark’s tone in the final moments of it. Would it be humans? Other pokemon? Other pantheon gods? He wasn’t sure.
[ “ I don’t think Astraeus would willingly put us with humans, Orion. They know our distaste. They wouldn’t do such a thing. “ ]
Phobos interjected back almost instantly, making Orion respond with a simple sigh and a lean against the nearby tree, staring up at the skies, and just how gorgeous they were. Astraeus was probably going to open a portal from underneath them.. or make Hoopa do it instead to get them to awaken for their mission. But the three of them had spent the last week and a half resting as much as possible. They were ready for this. The three of them sat in each others solace and the ambience of the crackling flames. The sleeping pokemons, the chattering of bugs, it was all so peaceful in the Plateau.
Orion would hold his scythe-claw out.
“ This is to our promise. To always come back home. I promise that this mission will only be a stepping stone to the rest of our lives. I promise that I will not perish on this mission. “
Enki and Phobos’ eyes widen, they were broadening out their promise to this mission as well. The promise used to be simple, and vague. To always return home. But this? It was a lot more personal.
< I promise that I will, to the best of our abilities, make it out of this mission successfully, so that we would return to our rightful home, unshackled from this job. >
Enki was next, outstretching his wing to grasp Orion’s scythe-claw with his little clawed digits at the edges of his wings. Which.. only left one of them left. Their leader, Phobos. Who took a long deep sigh before starting to speak himself.
[ “ And I promise, as our leader. To make sure no one falters on our journey to this insurmountable foe. To make sure everyone is safe, to have hope, to have the strength to push on even when others lose that hope. I promise that we shall be the beacon of courage for all that join us on our mission. I promise to return home, with both of you in tow. “ ]
Phobos stretched out for yet but a moment and placed his claws on top of Enki’s from the other side. The three of them nod to one another, the promise had been strengthened, the promise had been continued. They would make it home alive, all three of them.
They were to be the beacons of courage, to give strength to the others. They were going to make it their final hoorah. Nothing was going to stop them, not even this supposed gigantic and growing anomalous entity that they were going to be facing.
It was the end of the universe, and they couldn’t let that happen.