Destiny Village ~ Parfait Way

[Fusion]

Vix's silence up until now was a thoughtful one, as was Scrafty's. Joule not being here right now was a good thing for the familiars that joined, but it was a shame Puddle decided to stick with Cola and Owen. Now would've been a good time to try and get Puddle and Joule to talk about... whatever was going on. That, and whatever the fuck else was going on that she didn't know about, was starting to get to Vix. Although she didn't mean it, Vix had a somewhat grumpy look about her; resting bitch face, crossed arms...

That's about as sorta-grumpy a chandelier could look.

"Nothin's happenin'... we just wanted to see how you were holdin' up with what was about to go down," Scrafty spoke up for Vix, giving her a brief glance before stepping in front of her. "Like the squirt said, you got a lotta shit behind you regardin' pretty much everythin' we're about to deal with. Gotta make sure everyone's got their heads screwed on tight," he said, nodding towards Nate.

 

[Flyg0n]

Echo fluttered a little closer, to Maple. Poor Maple, he thought she seemed tense. Upset maybe. He wanted to give her a hug but she might not have appreciated it.

So he did his best to offer his most cheerful smile, and stay close. Just in case she maybe did want a friend.

"Maple... Is it true? I heard that your world... Telum, isn't dead. Maybe if it's not we could help you get home."

Koa had wanted to know if she was a liar, but Echo wasn't sure he cared about that. He was more worried about if she was OK.

 

[Namohysip]

Maple blinked, and there was a flash of a wry smile on her face. She tried to hide it. "It's surprising for me to say this," the Voice said, "but your patron has done more than enough to prove that he is someone I can trust. I know that right now he is not himself. He is being manipulated by another power. And Eien, despite everything, is probably also doing her best to keep Cibus safe. ...My priority will be to save them both."

"Maple... Is it true? I heard that your world... Telum, isn't dead. Maybe if it's not we could help you get home."

To that, Maple seemed pensive, frowning, silent. "...I don't know," she said, "if we can trust what that haze said. I've searched for Telum, far and wide, and found no sign of it. Perhaps they are far, far away... drifting. Gathered by the Overseers, perhaps, but no longer the world I was meant to protect. ...I've made my peace with this. Or, I'm trying to. I'm not going to let it influence my behavior when trying to save Cibus." She looked to them all. "I'm sorry if my behavior in the past has made you nervous... but I only want to save this world. I've dedicated my life to saving so much. Why would I stop here?"

 

[Negrek]

Nate narrowed his eyes at Vix's "squirt" comment, but that would have to wait for later. Still tugging at his gills, he said, "Yeah, well, speaking of things 'the haze' said, one of 'em was that you're another Blacklight user. And that you've had it since way before you showed up here. So that's why, you know, people are feeling kinda antsy. If you're still keeping shit from us."

 

[Namohysip]

Maple blinked. "...What?"

Cal waited for her to say more. "Yeah, uh... I mean..."

The Smeargle shook her head. "I have no idea what that could be. I think it would be quite obvious if I had Shadows within me."

"That, uh... that's true... I think..."

 

[Flyg0n]

Well that answer was enough for Echo. At least about her home.

"Maybe you have corruption hidden in you?" he suggested. That would be awful, to not even know.

"Like maybe you don't even know it's there. Is there a way we can check?"

 

[Fusion]

Vix settled a bit from hearing Maple, both her trusting Diyem and her wanting to keep being a hero. Although she still had a kinda sour look. It was a pity about her world, though...

"Yeah, well, speaking of things 'the haze' said, one of 'em was that you're another Blacklight user. And that you've had it since way before you showed up here. So that's why, you know, people are feeling kinda antsy. If you're still keeping shit from us."

Oh... that sounds important. Very important. "This is my first time hearing about this, I think..." And it sounds like Maple didn't know if she actually did or not... Maybe if, like, there was a way to check...

 

[Namohysip]

"I feel that it would be quite clear by now," Maple said, crossing her arms impatiently. "I still have reports to write. Is there anything more that you would like to go over?"

 

[Negrek]

Nate wasn't terribly surprised. "Yeah, I mean, I don't think that shithead is exactly the most reliable source of info. I know for a fact that even if he don't necessarily lie, he knows how to tell the truth in a way that makes you think the wrong thing. Plus he was all about how us being at each other's throat would make him stronger and all that shit. So maybe he made it all up, I dunno. Or maybe he somehow figured it out without you being aware. But you understand why we gotta take this seriously, right? Like, I know you're busy, but can't we at least check? Just to be sure?"

 

[Disco]

Mellow was quiet, for a while, letting the others ask questions first. Something bothered her... Back when...

"...When...you confronted us. About who sent us here. You already knew. We never told anyone. How did you already know?"

 

[Fusion]

There was more silence from Scrafty and Vix, until the latter suddenly brigthened, having come up with an idea. "Actually... I think I might have a way to see if you do have any blacklight in you," Vix said, raising her arm. Scrafty wondered what the hell Vix was on about. "So... ever since after the fight at the Worldcore, and we got stronger and all that good stuff, I've been... trying to figure out a way to drain Blacklight from someone... safely of course."

"... Oh yeah, that thing," Scrafty nodded, then crossed his arms. "You think you already got it figured out?"

"I mean, yeah," Vix said, puffing out what could have been her chest. "I just need to cover Maple in wax first," she nodded, looking to Maple. "I mean, if she'll let me."

 

[Namohysip]

"...When...you confronted us. About who sent us here. You already knew. We never told anyone. How did you already know?"

"Oh," Maple said with a small chuckle. "That was Pop, actually. It's... difficult to mistake that black lightning used to summon you all as much else, you know."

"...Y'know, kinda feeling stupid that I didn't think of that," Cal said. "Guess Diyem didn't really have a choice there."

"I just need to cover Maple in wax first," she nodded, looking to Maple. "I mean, if she'll let me."

Maple stared, looking unamused. She held out her arm to her side, which exploded and erupted with Radiant energy. Cal instantly entered a battle stance, which both amused Maple and made her clear her throat. "Sorry," she said, "I was only giving Vix something to work with that didn't have fur."

The massive arm, which looked like it was being held at a smaller size so the rest of Maple's body didn't rip apart, lay before Vix.

 

[Fusion]

Vix brightened even more, clapping her appendages together to coat herself in three layers of radiant wax, took a deep breath, then covered Maple's arm in wax as well. "Alright, now for the fun part~!" Vix shut her eyes, took another deep breath, then rested her appendages on Maple. The Chandelure's body started to glow with radiance, and soon after, any corruption that would have been in Maple started flowing out of her arm... and upwards?

Scrafty tilted his head, a puzzled look on his face. "You mean the drainin' part, or..?"

"Not yet~!" Vix giggled.

 

[Namohysip]

Pure Radiant energy flowed through Maple's arm and into Vix. It seemed like the Voice had a near endless supply of the stuff... Curiously, though, there didn't seem to be any Shadows. Either it was embedded too deep to absorb, or there really wasn't anything there.

"...Mm." Maple pulled her arm back. "...I don['t really see the point in this. I don't feel anything."

 

[Fusion]

"Awwww, shoot! I thoguht that'd work and everything!" Vix pouted, then went back into a giggle fit. "Oh well, at least the drain part works... Oh! And so does the fun part~!"

"Vix the hell are ya talkin' abo--" Before Scrafty could finish, Vix lowered a big, glowing ball of wax and pure Radiance. Maple's Radiance. Scrafty let out a high-pitched squeak, then cleared his throat. "What the shit?"

Vix floated the wax sphere over her head, grinning and giggling like a giddy lil kid. "It worked! It worked! Mostly! I might have to try it on someone with Shadow to see if it can still drain it, but now I know it drains Radiance, hahaaa~!"

 

[Disco]

Mellow stared blankly at Vix and the ball of Radiance. That didn't look very safe.

 

[Flyg0n]

Echo turned back to Maple, briefly enamored by the ball of radiance. Still, he knew all to well how many people said 'I'm fine' yet weren't, not at all. "Are you sure you're alright Maple? Corruption is.... its easy to hide, I think," he said. "Is there anything thats bothering you at all? Maybe about something that happened when you first got here or..."

What was it Koa had told him about?

"Something with Joule, or something else you're upset about?"

 

[Namohysip]

"I don't really know much more about that," Maple said. "But it probably has to do with this Blacklight crisis altogether that we still need to figure out, and... What about Joule?" Maple asked, frowning. "I used to be bothered that Joule was in trouble, yes. But we've saved him. I've been in higher spirits since then."

"You're kinda still pretty intense," Cal admitted.

"Oh." Maple shifted awkwardly as her arm slowly reformed. "...Well... I don't really know how to fix that."

 

[Fusion]

"Is there anything thats bothering you at all? Maybe about something that happened when you first got here or..."

"Oh, like her and Eien getting in a fight way back when they first showed up?" Vix chirped, literally. "I bet that fight must've been somethin', huh? Like to big, powerful gods things just *ka-pow, *ka-blam!" She threw out punches, the radiant sphere still above her head. "I bet it was awesome!"

"Is... is this what Radiance does?" Scrafty asked, grimacing. "Fuck, I hate it."

Vix ignored Scrafty, digging through her bag to find her badge. When she did, she quickly looked through a flurry of images, mostly of random things or 'mon she saw about her day, before pulling up the picture of an Eternatus itself. "Look at this thing! It almost kinda looks Maple when she's in her true form, right?" Vix asked, her face detaching from her body and spinning aimlessly in the air. Her body then brought up the image holograhpically and showed it to Maple. "See? Almost kinda sorta maybe like you, but purple and red instead of pretty and gold~! It even wriggles like a big ol serpent! It's so cool!"

"That's enough outta--" A clump of wax went through Scrafty's head, splattering and fizzling away behind him. Scrafty glared at Vix's detached face. "--bitch."

 

[Namohysip]

Maple stared at the hologram, looking unimpressed. "...That looks nothing like me."