Mystery Continent ~ Northern Pines

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Aria looked around at the devastated landscape one more time, understanding dawning on her face. "Mm... I think I know exactly what you're talking about. Our two teams aren't too different in that regard. When you've got all this power and it's as strong as you want it to be, it's easy to go overboard with it. Helps if you can do it in the name of the greater good, without worrying about consequences. Death?"

She shrugged. "Ain't nobody got time for that."

 

[MadderJacker]

"It becomes little more than another injury. A home-towner to give you leave from the fighting for an ever-decreasing span of time," he mused. "Welcome to Cibus: where tactical suicides are a spammable strategy.”

He surveyed the wastes around him again, his brow furrowed. These craters were hardly a fraction of the size of the blast Mergo had carried away, but he still remembered the awful feeling very being be torn apart, and worse still the realization that he woke up after all that.

“It’s… It’s traumatic,” Mergo explained. “The pain of dying, I mean. And the places your mind and body instinctively go when you’re on the brink. And I think… I think a lot of what we’re doing tries to downplay exactly what that fear and uncertainty are like. The others, they’ll ask you how you are, and you just have to say that you’re fine when you’re not really fine, but you just can’t get into it. Because…”

Mergo exhaled sharply, then shrugged dismissively. “They will never understand.”

 

[TheGOAT]

“Welcome to Cibus: where tactical suicides are a spammable strategy.”

At least this guy understood. Maybe there was hope still that other places such as this existed in the multiverse. She would not entertain the absolutely nightmarish thought that she was the only exploding Ninetales out there.

“No, I guess not,” Astrid said, giggling a little. “In the first half, you had me. Not gonna lie, I thought you were going to say it was a good thing. But I get’cha.… for my brand of fighting, it’s been a struggle with my friends, mostly. They don’t always… approve. ‘This is beyond science’ I told them, but no.”

She clenched her forepaw, then promptly let go. “Just kidding. I blew up my best friend, and she wasn’t too happy about that, and, y’know, fair enough. We worked it out and now I can usually avoid hitting whoever I want.”

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

The lucario nodded sagely. "Yeah, I'd probably be a bit miffed if my friend exploded and took me with 'em. Good thing these bodies are weird as fuck, because this conversation would be a lot more unsettling if you were dead. I'm glad you worked things out, though. 'Usually' isn't a very reassuring word, considering how frantic I imagine this fight is going to be, but I trust you'll be able to keep track of your allies."

Aria paused.

"...You'll be able to keep track of your allies, right? There's going to be a lot of Blacklight energy flying around, and it'll be easy to mix them up considering how similar our two teams are."

 

[MadderJacker]

Mergo hummed. "... What if we just dress up like all her allies, and then trick her into exploding next to the real ones?"

 

[TheGOAT]

“Everything is Blacklit nowadays,” Astrid giggled. “You guys are, my friends are, and our enemies are. The stuff is everywhere. Usually when it’s something trying to kill me, I can feel a difference…”

Their talk continued for a while after, comparing experiences and getting a feel for one another. Ultimately, nobody would reveal anything that would affect the battle, but Astrid nonetheless came out of it with something to take solace in.

Aria and Mergo, two peas in a pod… they clearly had developed some chemistry in their time together. And sure enough, here they were, after their adventure, after going home, sparking it back up again like they’d never left. She could only grin dumbly at it.

In the wake of her own adventure ending, and even as she left the two of them behind to continue their chat, Astrid latched onto that hope like a lifeline.

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