Destiny Tower

[Flyg0n]

Koa strained his ears, hoping maybe all his work with his Blacklight moves, maybe he could pick something up. If only Echo were here.

Still, maybe he had an edge. Manectric naturally had good hearing, and between that and his powers... perhaps there was a chance.

 

[Negrek]

Rocky scowled and crossed his arms. He didn't like this, but he couldn't hear anything, either--if Soda would even let them hear what was actually being said. And it wouldn't do Cola any good to think people were spying on him. For now Rocky waited where he was, throwing the occasional nervous glance in Pop's direction.

 

[Fusion]

Puddle wobbled nervously, not about Soda and Cola being alone, but from being so close to Arceus without either of them. At least Rocky was still here, and some of the other familiars...

Haha... Puddle was really hoping Joule wasn't also waiting inside...

 

[Flyg0n]

As Koa strained the edge of his hearing, he focused on the draw of radiant energy, then cast an echochamber, though he tried his hardest to keep it at a less powerful form than his battle-version. Perhaps the echo from it would help him hear better.

 

[Namohysip]

Koa's focused hearing was obscured by the wind... but it seemed to be just enough to hear what Soda was saying, along with Cola.

"Soda? What's... going on?" Cola asked. "You're... kind of scaring me..."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Soda said with a slightly low tone. "There's been a lot on my mind lately."

"Like what?" Cola asked. By now, they were facing each other.

Soda was knelt down to get closer to his height, and Cola's haze drifted in the wind. The wind was blowing harder, but it didn't matter much to Koa, because it didn't seem like they were saying anything.

"Like what?" Cola repeated again. "Soda, c'mon, say something..."

Soda sighed, looking off. "Goddammit," he muttered. "God... dammit...."

Owen frowned. He couldn't hear, but he could see. "Soda seems really torn up about something," he observed.

"You remember how you didn't like Pop, because of the way he treated you?" Soda said. "And how... it seems like everything Pop does is suspicious?"

"Yeah, it really is..." Cola looked down. "You said you knew a god like that. And that maybe I should be careful, and that I should--"

"Look, look," Soda said gently, and Cola quieted down. "I..." He shut his eyes. "I think," he went on, "I've made... a lot of mistakes lately. And that was one of them."

"...Huh...? What... do you mean?"

Soda glanced back at the others. They were watching. It was hard to tell if he knew or not, but... something was on Soda's mind when he looked back at them all.

"I was wrong."

 

[Cresselia92]

Petram trained his ears toward Soda and Cola, trying to make a sense of what they were saying. If only he took more after Firetales’ mother!

He could only get a few scattered words from that distance, but he heard something about Soda being… wrong? About what, though?

“Hmm…” The Ninetales flicked his tails, in an unconscious sign of nervousness. “Something strange is going on. There is some talk about… gods, I think? Is Soda talking about the other Arceus? Not our Arceus, but the mean one?” He frowned and glanced at the others. “I sure hope he’s not trying to manipulate Cola…”

 

[Disco]

Raven was quiet, and watching carefully as well. But she didn't say a word...

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa expression brightened a little as he picked up Soda's words. Perhaps... perhaps there was hope yet. Though he also didn't want to full trust it. He'd keep his guard up for now still.

After all, if Soda could cast such strong illusions, couldn't he be casting one now? Was there any way to tell,even if he was?

He supressed a growl of frustration. Why did people have to lie so much?

 

[Negrek]

Rocky raised his eyebrows, flames dancing high. That was good, wasn't it? It was surprising, if Soda was being honest. Rocky kept watching, expression grim.

 

[Fusion]

"Alright, fine, don't tell me what they're talkin' about, I didn't care in the first place," Puddle huffed, melting into a pouty, grumpy... itself. "I'll just be over here respecting people's privacy."

 

[Namohysip]

"...What... do you m--"

"Pop's alright." Soda breathed the words out like it hurt to say, but at the same time, he knew it was true. "I was putting all my past onto that guy, and it wasn't fair to the guy. He's been nothin' but helpful. He was ready to give up his life for Cibus, give it up for you, and... I just tried to steer you away from it with all my paranoia."

"I..." Cola's haze seemed to shrink. "But all those things you said..."

"That's how I felt," Soda admitted. "...But that doesn't mean I was right. So, when you're talking to Pop... just forget what I've been saying." He reached out, rubbing Cola behind the neck. "You said it yourself, right? That you made a mistake?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Well... keep an open mind."

"I'm still kind of scared..."

Soda gave him a wry smile. "If Pop does anything funny, I'll pull you right back out. How's that sound?"

It seemed like an empty promise, but Cola brightened anyway. "Yeah... y'know, maybe... I..." He trembled a little. "Y-you'll still be there for me, right?"

"A lot more than me." Soda gestured to Team Spectrum, smirking. "I don't think Pop's got it in him to fight against those guys right now. Not when he needs'm to save the world. But..." Soda considered something, then nodded. He reached behind him and pulled at his bauble, a bright red one that looked like something he'd gotten from Pasta Plaza. He pulled and pulled, and his mane puffed out into a long, flowing, billowing mass in the wind.

"Here," Soda said, handing it to him. "That way, even when I have to go... you'll have that with you, alright? Then you'll always feel safe."

Cola stared at it. "Wh-what do you..."

Soda tossed it over; it landed atop Cola's head, then rolled onto his back. Cola didn't seem to know how to hold it for a while before realizing he could just keep it in his chest. Cola had done this with other objects in the past; perhaps he'd find a place to put it in his room later.

"But now your hair's all messed up!"

"Bah, forget it." Soda waved it off. "I've got a ton of these. But you always liked playing with 'em, didn't you?"

"I, I did..."

"Well, there you go."

Silence. A quiet wind blew. Then, Cola leapt toward Soda, slamming into his chest. The Zoroark was surprised at first, but then he sighed and wrapped his arms around Cola next. "Yeah, yeah," he hummed, and he finally stood up.

"I'll come clean later," Soda said to Cola. "...I just need to make sure one last loose end is tied up. For everyone's sake. C'mon, let's go back to the others."

And with that, he started walking back to the team. There, Soda frowned at them. "Don't think I didn't notice you guys trying to listen in," he muttered. "Hope you enjoyed hearing the recipe to Oran Pie a thousand times."

 

[Disco]

Raven hummed. "The recipe you gave was rather bland. There was nothing to it at all.", she said to that. "We didn't hear anything. Is everything alright, though?"

 

[Cresselia92]

“…Pfft!” Petram waved his paw dismissively at Soda, showing a cheerful smirk. “I’ve baked all kinds of cupcakes and pies, dude, but I’m always willing to learn new tricks for old recipes! If I wasn’t made of ghostly goo, I would have flour in my veins.”

He froze, his expression twisting with horror at realizing what he just said. “…Okay, that sounded disgusting, if not disturbing. Anyway,” he shrugged to dismiss the matter, “I hope you got to talk about your whatever. Now let’s go see the big guy, yes?”

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa looked back towards the tower, then at Cola. No need for anyone to know what he'd heard. Perhaps there would be no need to worry, at least for the time being. "You ready?" he asked.

 

[Namohysip]

"Mhm."

They advanced to Destiny Tower, where Pop nodded at them all in greeting. "Good to see you safe and sound, Cola," he said.

"Yeah, I'm... sorry," Cola said after a long silence, looking down. "I was overreacting over... a lot of things. C-can we start over? Maybe?"

"Start over," Pop repeated, chuckling. "Well, that would mean we'll have to read the fundamental books over again."

"Um... less over."

 

[Fusion]

Puddle scooted itself behind Soda, doing its best to not look uneasy. "So does that mean we can leave, or..."

 

[Disco]

...It seems everything will work out here.

Raven didn't express anything outwardly, but her voice sounded relieved. She intended to stay for as long as necessary though.

 

[Namohysip]

"Heh..." Soda stepped back. "Yeah. Guess we don't really need to be here after all." He turned around and his free mane flowed behind him. "Guess we should go. I've got scouting to do anyway." He waved, fading.

Cola and Pop were chatting with each other, and it seemed that the bulk of the stress had been taken care of by their texting prior. Owen remarked that he didn't sense any malice from Pop, either. Only pity and patience, and hints of a father working with their child...

 

[Disco]

Several minutes after Soda had vanished, Raven spoke to Owen through telepathy.

Is he truly gone?

 

[Namohysip]

I'm sensing a distortion further down, Owen replied to Raven. He's heading back into town...