Destiny Colosseum ~ Training Rooms

[unrepentantAuthor]

A dorky Bahamut? Hard to picture, but it brought a small, dry smile to her mouth anyway.

"Well, you seem like a fella who don't mind interminable private pursuits," she remarked. "I'm sure you'll do just fine."

She eyed Nero, thinking. His partner . . . was a necrozma, was that what he was implying? And the other silvally she knew was an ancient of sorts. She made a private bet with herself.

"Nero, by any chance would you happen to've lived a hell of a long life by most folks' standards?

 

[Ambyssin]

"I've lived a thousand lifetimes," Nero responded. "... literally." His eyes darted around before looked at the wall on his right. "My world's Buffet... had a predecessor. And that predecessor pulled spirits from the Tree of Life to help the group that built me."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Not a comfortable topic, evidently, although an interesting one no doubt.

"And in those lifetimes, have you experienced yer share of loss?" she continued, feeling a little hollow.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Yes." Nero's head bobbed slowly. "Many self-inflicted."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa wet her lips, wondering what she meant to say, and how to say it. She'd come to this room for a reason, after all.

Shadows nestled in the creases of her mind and in the midst of her fur.

"I'm about to lose most of what I've cared about most," she said, sounding hatefully small, so goddamn helpless. She pressed a claw into the floor, which did not yield to it. "I thought I'd be ready by now. I ain't. The longer I spend here, the less reason I got to return to my native plane."

 

[Ambyssin]

"... oh." Nero's head crest drooped. "That's... well..." Blue overtook his cybernetics. "Not something that's easy to process. Even when you have time and you know it's coming."

Something Bahamut was never afforded. Though there was also the fact that, supposedly, Brisa and the rest of the team would forget everything anyway. So, even if there *was* fleeting pangs of sadness, they'd soon be wiped with the rest of the thoughts and memories. Harsh, but perhaps for the best?

Or was that just his old beliefs talking?

"The humans created a model for grief," Bahamut looked down at his upper chest spike. "They said people experience varying degrees of denial, anger, bargaining, and depression before finally accepting their fate. If you follow that logic, trying to fight those feelings will keep you stuck in them longer."

Nero didn't look convinced. "I'll be the first to admit my own responses to loss were... not healthy. A lot of viciousness and aggression. Which is probably why Ninetales used those spirits to make me in the first place." He sat on his haunches. "Something you can try to start with is focusing on things you can control.

"You can't control your departure, but you *can* control what you get to do with your remaining time," he continued, though Bahamut wondered if that was true or not. "And you can control your resolve, even for when you're back in your original body."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa nodded, and considered calling Sombra to the conversation, just because her Shadow would speak more freely and save her the effort of pushing through a heavy topic. But she'd rather handle this as herself. Passing the buck to her Shadow felt like cheating, somehow.

"If we take that model is accurate, I'm probably tryin' t'get from depression to acceptance, I guess? Never been much fer pretendin' my problems are other'n as they are, and I'm well past anger or findin' loopholes. Mostly I'm just melancholy, between all my farewells and last chances."

She scratched her cheek and looked sidelong at Nero. "You must've spent time between yer departure from Diyem and yer reappearance here. Did you remember anythin' of yer experience?"

 

[Ambyssin]

Nero appeared guilty at that. "I think I remembered the details. But, like, when you have thousands of conflicting sets of memories, the details get a bit... lost in translation." He rubbed his forelegs together nervously while Bahamut gave him the most unimpressed look his expressionless eyes could muster.

"But but but... I do know a thing or two about spirits!" Nero squawked. "I'm apprenticed to Ho-Oh for it! And one of his key lessons is the importance of willpower and resolve." He curled his right talons up. "If a spirit's will is strong enough, it can maintain a connection to things the conscious mind may not remember."

He pointed at Brisa's breastbone. "You're plenty strong. I saw it for myself. Even if you may not remember the exact details here, I think your connection to this place can persist through your soul. And the people you've met here... they wouldn't just want you to give up on yourself, right?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa allowed herself a small, dry grin. "Uhuh. Been hopin' the things I've come to believe in my time here will feel intuitive to my sleepin' self when she wakes from this 'dream'. And... I can't lie, if all it takes fer a person to keep their grip on their experiences here is sufficient tenacity, then . . . I got that. It'll be enough."

She inclined her head towards Bahamut, and blew air contemplatively through her nose. "Have y'come to terms with yer newly-discovered circumstance?" she asked. "Now that you've had a minute to cogitate over it, are you pleased, or otherwise?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"I suppose I am." Bahamut stroked his chin in thought. "With that said, that means the husk will probably be waiting for you when you return to... wherever it was we were brought to Cibus from."

He lowered his head. "I would advise you all to make your goodbyes quick, because I fear the Bahamut you'll find waiting for you will be a lot more... bitter than I was on my worst days. And, unlike me, he'll have the power to back up that aggression."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Y'mean to say that we'll return to Veritas City, in the Voidlands, afore we finally get sent back?"

It . . . made a weird kind of sense. Not what she'd expected, but... Alright.

...What would it be like saying goodbye to those of them that had human true forms? Starr and Dave...

"In any case, I trust Diyem to handle the 'husk' if his disposition is so ornery as you expect."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Well, it is where your original bodies are. So, I would hope you'd return there." Bahamut chuckled. "Otherwise things might be very awkward for some people."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa shrugged. "I guess? I'd assumed we were present there as projections of our spirits, not physically present. Interestin'."

It was . . . odd, to hear Bahamut laugh. It prompted a light chuckle in her, more from surprise than his little joke.

"Well, I'm glad you're open to a Cibusean future. Or, perhaps, if you'd prefer a martially-oriented culture to exist in over a culinary one, I'm reliably informed Telum is acceptin' outworlder guardians, and is rather less whimsical than this world."

She smiled to herself, as a strange thought occurred to her. A year ago, she'd have preferred that martial world, if given the choice. But she really did love Cibus. And not just for their food – they kicked plenty of ass here, too.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Mmm." Bahamut continued stroking his chin. "I'm... not entirely sure I want to see Maple spit up an entire planet."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa snorted. "I would. Talk about unprecedented events. I could rib Diyem about her beatin' his record."

A certain tension passed from her body with the exchange of humour. Man, she'd really been missing out. They just didn't have good jokes in Frontier Town, huh? Or in the Clan. Wild.

"It's . . . good to see you in better spirits," she said. "You deserve a less anguished life as much as any of our number."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Thank you." Bahamut wasn't even sure that was the appropriate response. There was still a guilty conscience situation going on. "It'd be nicer if the situations were reversed, but such is not the case, I guess. Everything happens for a reason."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa gave another quadrupedal shrug. "Cause and effect, if nothin' else. Owen tells me we all got destinies to meet in our home worlds, and that's what a Hero's Aura pertains to. I dunno if I believe in predetermined futures, but if there's somethin' brewin' back home and I've a part to play in it, I'll return and fulfil that duty without a fight."

It was weird to think that every last oddball and sleazebag in the posse had some fate of significance. Maybe it varied by degree . . . and appeal.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Don't believe in that destiny nonsense." Bahamut flicked an upper wing dismissively. "When I say 'everything happens for a reason,' I mean that, even if you can't see it in the moment, the things you do and the things you experience have meaning. So, take whatever chances you can to make that meaning your own."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"I can appreciate that notion," replied Brisa. "And I'll take that advice. Things have a way of turnin' out to be significant; it's on us to recognise and pay mind to that significance."

With a long breath, she committed the thought to memory for later contemplation.

"Thanks fer humourin' my troubles. I know y'ain't one to seek counsel from most folks, and certainly not me, but... Fuck it, anythin' on yer mind?"

 

[Ambyssin]

With a teasing smirk, Bahamut asked, "You fessed up your feelings to at least Starr, correct?"