Destiny Village ~ Pasta Plaza

[Negrek]

Nate pulled his basket of fries closer to make room for Starr. She looked kind of rough, but then again, it was pretty late. Nate grimaced when she mentioned spies, though. Straight to business, huh?

"Yeah, it's got everybody super jumpy," Nate said. "Just like the bastard wanted when he told us about spies in the first place." He sighed. "I'd say it was all mindgames bullshit, but based on everything that's happened, there's got to be at least one of the fuckers out there."

Nate crammed a couple fries in his mouth, then said. "I was out at the lab with Astrid earlier, looking at that creepy mewtwo. Turns out he's even more fucked up than I thought. Don't like that he's out there around all that sensitive stuff, but..." He waved a hand, exasperated. "I guess it's better than in where Giovanni might be able to team up with him or some shit." He shot a wary look at Starr. "Heard you've been out there guarding the guy. What's that been like?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Nate had flinched when she'd brought up the spy thing. Figures. Wasn't the whole point of getting out of the guild to not think about that stuff? Well, too late for that.

"Yeah, I was figuring it was just bullshit mindgames to put us on edge... at least until we started seeing actual sabotage and shit." Ironic... that was the same mindset she'd had back with the rebel team in her own world.

Her burger arrived. She took a moment to dump some extra hot sauce on it and then took a big bite, chewing it over while Nate talked. "Glad someone's been keeping an eye on that thing. Wasn't a fan of him being in the lab like that but... fuck if I have any better ideas." And... yeah there was the point that it was better than having him in the guild near...

"I've just been guarding from outside the holding cell area," Starr answered, idly running a claw along the counter's wood grain. "Keeping an eye on who goes in and out. Not gonna make the mistake of talking to him again."

 

[Negrek]

"Got enough hot sauce, there?" Nate said, watching Starr give her burger a liberal splash. "Is that a fire-type thing? I guess since being a mudkip I kinda like swimming, but I ain't never got cravings for like fish or nothing."

But that could only be a brief distraction from the latest paranoia. "Talking to him... again?" Nate said uneasily. "As in, uh. You already had a chat?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr snorted. "Kinda. It's not like I wasn't a fan of hot stuff before, but I'm not gonna pretend like it didn't get more obvious as a fire-type." She took another bite--it sure as hell hit the spot right now.

"And... yeah. First night I took a guard shift. He started talking and, like a dumbass, I replied. Thought maybe I could get some info outta him for whatever it was worth." She still wasn't sure it was worth it. Not when half the leads had turned out to be dead ends.

 

[Negrek]

Nate smiled faintly at Starr's reaction, but it faded after only a moment. Hell. Nate was glad he hadn't gone anywhere near the Guild recently. "He wanted to try talking to you, huh?" he asked. "What was he after? Trying to bargain? Get info, maybe?" He folded his arms, scowling. "Or was he just fucking with you?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr gave what hopefully looked like a dismissive shrug. "Probably just fucking with me at first. After that, bargaining. I don't think he intended for it to go anywhere." She leaned her head against her palm with a huff. "Couldn't say a damn thing without him figuring some bullshit out, like how we still don't know who erased the tapes the night Owen got framed. I was dead fucking sure it was S'more, but nooo, apparently the God Squad's been watching him and they've got nothing, so fuck if I know anymore. Still don't have a damn clue which one of them is suspicious." She'd thought it was Truffle, but apparently Luz was damn certain it couldn't be, and Brisa trusted her, so...

 

[Negrek]

"Bargaining? Really?" Nate frowned at nothing. "Seems kinda weird. Like even suggesting we might have something to offer him, or that he weren't totally capable of getting out on his own. I feel like if my Giovanni got locked up, he'd either be acting like it was all beneath him or going on about the horrible things he'd have done to you for inconveniencing him once he got out of there in five minutes." But then, there was a lot about Giovanni's behavior that had felt off, for one reason or another. Or maybe Nate just didn't understand the guy at all. Certainly he'd never actually met him before.

He hunted around in the folds of his greasy fry-paper while Starr talked, hoping to find a last morsel of potato, but all there was was crumbs. He shoved the basket away with a sigh and turned around in his seat, resting his elbows against the edge of the table. Maybe he should order some more, or another beer? He nudged his bottle. Nearly empty. "No on S'more, huh? That's a shame. The whole thing with the security cameras was real fucking sketchy, and the bit where his badge was the one sending Maple that fake message, and even that message from the regis... fuck." He rubbed wearily at his eyes. "What makes you think somebody on God Squad's gotta be in on it, though?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr rolled her eyes. "Yeah, believe me, he did an awful lot of acting like it was all beneath him and like he didn't give a shit about being in there, that's for damn sure." Just thinking back on it made her want to punch something. "Did my best to ignore it since, y'know, even if he was pissed off about it, not like he'd ever let it show. Gotta be in control at all times because of course he does." Even thinking back on kicking his ass at the abandoned lab wasn't as satisfying when she couldn't help imagining his smug face saying it was all part of his plan somehow.

She finished off the rest of her burger and crumpled the paper into a ball with a bit more force than needed. "As for the God Squad, that part wasn't really my theory--Brisa was the one who figured it had to be one of them. Just from the way Giovanni was talking at the sand dune place, it was like he knew someone there would make sure to pass his message on. And well, we already know it's not one of us, so process of elimination, I guess."

 

[Negrek]

Nate gave a mirthless chuckle. "Always in control, sure. That tracks. But fucking Cibus must've thrown even his plans for a loop. "He leaned his head on his hand and squinted one eye. God, it was too late to be fucking thinking. "The dunes, huh? His whole 'oooooh you better repent or you're gonna regret it' thing?" Nate tried to think back. How long ago had that been? Fuck's sake. Felt like years. "Well, the only people with us for that fight were Soda and Maple. Obviously if Maple was shady we'd just be hosed, so ain't even worth worrying about, really. Soda..." Nate raised a hand in vague dismissal. "Wouldn't be my first pick, I guess. Seems more likely that somebody was bugged to me, based on how fast Giovanni figured out what was up. Like Maple, you know, with the compromised badge."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr shrugged. "Nah, Soda wouldn't have been my pick either. Honestly I would've put money on like, Truffle being blackmailed or some shit, but it feels like every time I think I've got some idea what's going on, it turns out to be dead wrong." She massaged her temples with a groan.

Then again. There was that one thing...

"Funny you should mention someone being bugged though," Starr went on in a low voice. "Cause Giovanni knew about the whole deal with me being his daughter. Or, y'know, another him, whatever." She waved a hand. "Point is, that obviously not the kind of thing I've been advertising. He had to have heard it from someone. And the only person I told who's not on the team was... Silver."

 

[Negrek]

"Hah. I know, right? I was thinking Chip, and hell, I still wouldn't be surprised if that guy were in league with Giovanni, but there ain't been no sign... And then S'more, that seemed like a good lead, too... But I don't even fucking know anymore."

It sounded like Starr might have an idea, though. "Silver? Really?" He frowned, thinking it over. "Well, he can't have been actively reporting in or nothing, what with being a fucking rock for months, but if there's, like, a psychic connection..." Pretty worthless for a spy, but maybe if you were gonna mindwhammy someone, you might as well leave a listener in there or something? Had Giovanni just done that to everyone he'd fucked with, Shield and Joule and the rest as well?

And if you were going to be a fucking space rock for a few months, there weren't many better places to get shoved than the infirmary. Silver would've overheard stuff going on with Joule, with Arceus, fuck, even all the Overlord shit from Diyem. If Giovanni'd had an in at the Guild and had them make sure to keep Silver in the infirmary until he evolved, well... "There's definitely something up with him. He's been acting shady since he evolved. And for some reason he still don't recognize his team, and they don't seem to like him much, neither."

 

[Namohysip]

Sky-high, a shadow briefly washed over them in the shape of two great crescents. The mon in question was flying through the air, dodging and weaving out of the way of several Dark beams of energy. Occasionally, he barrel-rolled away and shouted something at his pursuer, who stopped and gave a lecture.

Yveltal was no slouch when it came to training, it seemed... Several others around the plaza watched the skies with mild interest. It was a good way to pass the time.

 

[Chibi Pika]

"Chip... yeah apparently Lexx and Luz were 'investigating' him, for whatever the hell that's worth." Starr made sure to punctuate it with air quotes.

"Anyway... I'd been meaning to bring up the thing with Silver ever since I talked with Giovanni--figured you'd be the best one since you've visited him a bunch. I know he couldn't have been out doing anything all that time, but the idea of him having some kind of psychic link, what with him being in the same room as Diyem... Then there's all the weird shit with his memories, and his team. I dunno... could just be the paranoia talking, but I couldn't stop thinking about it."

She glanced up as the shadow passed overhead and let out a snort. "Speak of the devil."

 

[Negrek]

"Yeah, there he goes," Nate said, watching Silver swoop and scramble in the sky overhead. "Still figuring out the whole flying thing, I guess." He sighed. Silver had been talking weird shit before, back when he evolved, and with everything else... Probably too much just to write off as trauma or whatever the fuck. "Guess I can see if I'm able to catch him after flight training. He'll probably be extra grumpy, but, you know, whatever." What a fun fucking conversation that was going to be.

Nate drained the last of his beer and sat turning the bottle around in his hands. He glanced at Starr out of the corner of his eye. "So... Giovanni and all. We've got him locked up, but that don't seem like a good long-term solution. Especially not if we're expecting some spy to come and bust him out any day now. Seems like we gotta do something with him, but I don't really know... what."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr let out a sigh, running a hand down her face. "Right. Yeah. Sooner we can get him out of the guild, the better. Honestly the fact that he's even still in there feels like proof enough that he'd cool with being there." She leaned back in her seat, tail swishing back and forth restlessly. "I just don't have a goddamn clue where the hell we're supposed to put him. The fuck are you supposed to do with a guy who can just bust out of anything you try?"

 

[Negrek]

"That's the gigantic fucking question, ain't it?" Nate stared determinedly at the bottle in his hands. "I mean, even imagine we could get Buffet to send him home somehow or some fucking thing like that. For all we know he'd pop up again next week or some shit, unless we could somehow get rid of his knowledge of how to world-hop or whatever the fuck. And even then, like, sucks to be the world he came from, or whatever one we were able to punt him into. Maybe we could make him someone else's problem, but, like, that'd feel pretty fucking slimy."

He stopped turning the bottle between his hands, instead holding onto it so tight he was distantly worried he might crush it. Pokémon strength and all. "When I was down in the infirmary, Maple mentioned she'd been thinking of killing him. Idle thought, like."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr stiffened, claws gripping the table. "Yeah, that... sure would make things a lot easier, huh," she said, her mouth dry.

It'd be easy. It'd save a lot of people a lot of pain. So then why couldn't she stop imagining what her friends would say if they were here? Why couldn't she stop feeling like they'd be disgusted with her.

 

[Negrek]

"Dunno about easier," Nate said with a weak chuckle. "I don't even know how the fuck you'd go about killing a Mewtwo. Chuck him in one of Joule's death-orb things, I guess. One way or another, I gotta figure it's gonna be messy.

"But I mean, it's practically a fucking meme, ain't it? Like if you get the opportunity to go back in time and take out the head of Team fucking Rocket, with all the shit he's responsible for... I mean I did kind of go back in time, I guess, or like sideways and one way or another I got, we all got the chance now," he told the bottle. "I mean, stories like that, you get the chance to change history... You never hear about people getting themselves into a situation like that and then chickening out, right?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr chuckled coldly under her breath. "Well, even if that was a thing, it wouldn't exactly be a great idea for me of all people to pull something like that, seeing how I wanna keep existing." She leaned an elbow against the table. "But no, I get what you mean. Easier than trying to come up with some way of magically preventing him from screwing someone over, whether it's here or some other world. I'm sure half the team would say it's fucked up to even consider it, though."

It wasn't like she could pretend she hadn't killed before, anyway. At least this time it'd actually be for a good reason.

"...The hell was that about 'kind of going back in time' anyway?" Starr asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't think I'm just gonna let that one slip by without comment."

 

[Negrek]

Nate looked up at Starr in surprise. "You think? I mean, with how many people were trying to off Joule in that big fight"--wait, fuck, Starr had been one of them, hadn't she? Shit--"Uh, well, you know, seems like plenty of people are willing to go there if they need to. Like yeah, Giovanni didn't directly kill nobody that we know of, at least not yet, but it's obvious he's bad news. I guess if there were anybody who thought it was fucked up to be talking practicalities, well, ask them what we oughta do with somebody who seems like was happy to destroy a whole planet to get what he wanted and who we probably can't contain." Nate sighed and set his beer bottle back on the counter. "I guess it don't really matter one way or another. Even if we did decide we wanted to kill him, it ain't like I'd have anything to do with it personally, since, you know." He gestured down at himself. "Like what the fuck could I ever do against Giovanni? But I mean, even if killing him seemed like a good idea, it don't feel right for me to be thinking of it. Cause I mean, someone else'd have to do it, and it don't feel right to ask nobody to... when I don't think I'd be able to do it myself. Like, not even if you gave me a way to do it or nothing."

"Anyhow, I didn't literally mean back in time," Nate went on after a moment. "Giovanni is just before my time, that's all. At least supposedly he's dead now. So having him out walking around here now is like some kind of weird flashback." He paused. Wait, but it wasn't like nobody'd ever found the guy's body. There were plenty of rumors about... And... "I mean, I guess unless... Unless the reason he disappeared in my world isn't that he died, it's that he decided to fuck off to another dimension and try to steal a fucking Dark Matter."