Destiny Tower

[Negrek]

"You can't guess?" Rocky crossed his arms, hunching his shoulders against the wind. After a moment he asked, "Were you little like Cola when you were, umm, born? Did you hatch from an egg, too, or did you kind of just"--he waggled his fingers on empty air--"happen?"

 

[Namohysip]

Pop made a sound that might have been a contemplative sigh. "It was too long ago. But I do not remember parents. I only remember one day happening upon a society and learning from them. And then, trying my hand at Creation... and thus came Cibus." He chuckled. "If I had parents, they wanted nothing to do with me, or were confident that I could handle myself... But I do not believe I was little. I believe Cola's size is a side-effect of him only being a fragment of the power I'd left behind as insurance... He was supposed to regain power from the Tree of Life to return to normal, had I died."

 

[Negrek]

"He's cute!" Rocky smiled and rested his chin on the palm of his hand. "Do you think he'll grow up to be like you, then? If he can't get power from the tree, he can still get it from other places, can't he?"

 

[Namohysip]

"I don't know," Pop replied. "He's very impressionable, just like I used to be. I don't know what sort of person he will grow up to be, which is why I am trying to teach him right. Perhaps then we can come to an agreement when we recombine. Whether that will be in the next few months or next few centuries, I don't know."

 

[Negrek]

"Well, if you both have the same soul, how different can you be?" Maybe that wasn't the right way to think about it. Was he supposed to have the same soul as Joule? It didn't feel like he did. Joule didn't seem that different from Rocky, but he did seem really different from Cal or Mia or Bahamut's familiar, whatever his name was.

"Do you have a plan? I mean, for when you want to try to recombine?" Rocky asked. "It doesn't sound like it. And months and centuries might not be very different to you, but they're really different to a baby! I think Cola might feel better if you promised to not even talk about recombining for a year, or ten years, or a hundred years. Even if it's kind of a short amount of time, I think it would be better to pick something. I think part of what Cola thinks is scary is not knowing what's going to happen. Then it seems like anything could happen, even you absorbing him tomorrow."

 

[Namohysip]

"I... see." Pop hummed, thinking. "I hadn't thought of it that way before. When I said I didn't plan to do anything to Cola for a time, I was thinking in the span of quite a lot longer. I was ready to be patient with him. Perhaps... I should have considered the fact that he was asking so often over mere days..." He looked at Rocky. "I could let him know of that, at least. Perhaps... a decade. That seems like a short enough time that perhaps Cola will open up more. Perhaps we can finally have some trance sessions together. It's not quite combining, but it is sharing perspectives..."

 

[Negrek]

"Oh, a decade's pretty long," Rocky said. "Really long! I don't think I can even imagine what it would be like to live that long. I don't know if Cola will think it's long enough, but it's probably a good place to start. At least it's a lot more time than a couple weeks."

Rocky shifted uneasily. "I dunno. I don't feel like I ever want to go back and be part of Joule. I like being me! But it seems like Joule really wants to absorb us all again, and I don't get why. If he feels like something's missing, I don't. I don't think Cola does, either. So I don't get it." Rocky squinted up at Arceus. "What does it feel like to not have Cola be part of you?" he asked. "Does it... hurt?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Well... no. It doesn't hurt. well, the splitting process was excruciating, but the actual present state of not being united with him is not painful. I do have a vague sense of... something missing, yes. But it is mostly a matter of power than anything. I can go without power for the time being.

"But as for Joule... I wouldn't be so sure to characterize him as such." Pop gave Rocky an inquisitive expression. "When Joule was in his crystalline form, he was in constant, agonizing pain. A Psychic analysis left Breaker bedridden for two days. And despite that, he did not immediately try to steal away what power he could. The discipline he has over his power, over his own mind, is... well. Divine, really. I do not think he wants to recombine. If he resisted it as a crystal, he can certainly resist it now, when he is no longer in pain."

 

[Negrek]

Rocky nodded slowly. "That's good. I don't want to make Joule hurt if I'm not with him. And I don't want you to feel bad because Cola isn't part of you, either." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I know Cola wasn't supposed to happen like this. I mean, he was supposed to replace you, right? You would be gone, and he would be here instead. But that's not how things happened, and you're both here now. So... What would make you happy? Is it just recombining? Or would you be happy to have Cola as a friend? Or if you saw him make his own world for himself. Or... Would you want to go away like you were going to? So he would be the new Arceus then?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Hmm..." Pop tilted his head as he watched the sun. "...I do not really know yet. This sort of decision is something that I can weigh for years and years. In the end, we are the same person. To separate would mean that we would both be weaker... perhaps not as strong as we could be. Whatever worlds we guard separately will be in much more danger. Then again... there are apparently worlds that get along fine without a grant overseer to keep things in check, from what I've seen among your crowd. Perhaps it won't be so bad. And if one of us dies, well... we will simply return to the other half anyway. Mm. But then that would leave one world without a god entirely... Worlds get along fine, yes. But whatever led to that god going away may be a concern..."

 

[Negrek]

"Well, if you don't really know yet, I guess that's okay," Rocky said. "You should have time to figure it out." Unless something happened to Cola beforehand.

"I don't get it, though. Didn't you make a whole other one of you? When you made the other Cibus? And the other Pop's just as powerful and basically all the same, right? So why is Cola different? If making that other Pop didn't make you less powerful, why does having Cola around do that?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Well... Mm. That is a slightly complicated answer," Pop said, looking away. "That was due to a... complication in how Dialga's powers operate when a huge crisis happens. That Pop is related to me, yes, but..." He shook his head. "We split in a way that did not necessarily dampen our powers as much. At least, when they were their separate reality. After we coordinated for things to return..." He sighed. "It's a headache. But it isn't quite the same as the split for Cola, which was meant to be... faster and shorter-term. Where that Pop and I were more like... splitting a cake in half, Cola and I are... like removing flour from the recipe, and placing it in a separate bowl."

 

[Negrek]

That did sound kind of complicated. Being a god was probably tough. "I think maybe I get it, a little," Rocky said. "But if splitting Cola off from yourself was like taking one of the ingredients out of a cake, which ingredient was it?" He considered for a moment before smiling faintly, his tail swishing. "Was it the jokes?"

 

[Namohysip]

Pop seemed to wince. "I'm not really sure exactly how to describe it," he said, "but it was my core. It was my ability to change and grow. It was the most important part of me. Perhaps now, what I am is... less dynamic. It was a risk I took because I knew that what was left of me after Joule would have been nothing, and I wanted my most prominent part to be the part that could adapt. I have... been falling behind lately. My efforts to relate to mortals has not gone well. Perhaps I've been stagnating."

 

[Negrek]

Oh. Well. That wasn't a very funny answer. "I noticed you weren't doing your funny voice anymore," Rocky said. "I miss it." He thought for a little while. "I guess I understand why you want to recombine with Cola so bad, then. It would be scary to feel like you were getting old and missing out on things and never getting any better. But maybe you can learn from Cola, then. I don't think I believe you'll never be able to change now." Rocky tilted his head. "What do you and Cola like to do when you're together?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Well... I don't really know. He's too nervous around me to truly enjoy himself. We used to read together so he could relearn all that I know, or at least the essentials. He never answers for things he enjoys, so I have been trying to see what he would. Soda has come around now and then to entertain him, and while I'm not sure how good an influence he is, he does seem happier..." Pop sighed. "I just want to talk to him without him feeling afraid."

 

[Negrek]

"Oh, if he won't tell you, that is hard," Rocky said. "I think I have some ideas, but... I don't know. If he won't tell you, and he's too scared to want to be near you, it would be hard. I know he doesn't like being in the tower much. I think he'd like it if you showed him some of the interesting places in Cibus, places he hasn't been allowed to go before. Like where Dialga and Palkia live, or the Reverse World, or down under the ocean... Or maybe you could go farther, like to outer space! I bet Cola would love flying around and seeing black holes and weird planets and everything like that."

Rocky's eyes dimmed a bit, flames dying back to a low flicker. "But that won't work if he's too scared to be alone with you. Maybe it would be better to help him learn some of his powers instead. Nobody else is going to be able to help him understand them more than you."

Rocky looked out at the sky. It really was a nice view from up here. "One way or another, I think it would be good for you to tell him what you told me about recombining. I can let Cola know myself, but it would be better for him to hear it from you. You could write a letter, but maybe one of those voice recordy thingies would be better? I don't think Cola likes reading much." Rocky stared at nothing, thinking. "Or maybe you could talk over badges. Then Cola could say things back."

 

[Namohysip]

"...I could do that," Pop replied. "I hadn't considered using a badge. So modern..." He hummed, thoughtful. "I will try that. Cola doesn't have a badge of his own, yet, but perhaps we could get one for him... Yes. I will try that first. I think he would be more comfortable talking to me that way..."

 

[Negrek]

"Oh! I meant with my badge!" Rocky said brightly. "Since I know where Cola's staying right now. I figured I'd go tell him you wanted to talk to him, and then call you on my badge and give it to him."

 

[Namohysip]

Pop beamed. "I think I would like that," he concluded. "Thank you for the advice, Rocky. Perhaps... we can patch things over with Cola after all."