Destiny Village ~ Sundae Park

[Namohysip]

"I'm just so..." Cal let it flow out, then stopped, then tried to continue again. "I can't feel him anymore. He was always there. He was always there. A-and now when I try to find him, there's just nothing..." She looked down, into the dying cinders. "Why did I need to have these memories from him...? Why did he have to go and... smile at me..."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz wanted to think about anything but this, and before she knew it, she'd slowly folded herself into a crumpled heap on the grass beneath them.

"Yeah, I feel th'same way," she confessed. "We made ourselves fer our hosts, y'know? I chose this identity 'cause..."

Something was terribly wrong inside her body. She felt the most desperate need to cry, yet all she could manage was to have her chest shudder and her eyes shut tightly.

"I thought all this was what Brisa wanted, or needed, somehow—"

Oh, stars. It hurt. It actually hurt. Nothing hurt her, nothing, nothing but this.

"I was for her," Luz wailed, softly. "I was meant for someone I ain't ever gonna see again."

 

[Namohysip]

Luz had a body that was more akin to a mortal's, or at least it mimicked the functions more than the others. With Cal, her voice shook and her body trembled, but she did not have a means to cry. She desperately wanted to more than anything, because apparently crying was something that helped regulate emotions or some other nerdy thing Owen talked about. But she couldn't. her body did not form tears.

So instead, she made herself smaller and smaller, her embers dimming.

"Do you think he even remembers me?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Oh, the poor lil' thing. Oh, Cal...

"Darlin', if he's at all himself, he'll remember you."

Luz reached for Cal to pull her into a hug. All she wanted right now was to comfort the shade of her host's best friend, and wrap her own arms around her.

 

[Namohysip]

"You really think so?" Cal asked, trembling no matter how small she tried to make herself. "Diyem said... if they died, they'd go home, or something, a-and then when they did, they'd... forget what happened here. They'd just forget. Me, you, everyone, just... a-and I'd be left behind. And now it actually happened, I thought I had time, damn it! I th-thought I'd get him to at least s-say my name, say goodbye, say... anything, and now he's just... just like that, he's..."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Why hadn't Luz been afraid of this before? She would always have lost Brisa eventually. Did she think that if they'd spent more time together, it would have been enough, somehow? Maybe! Maybe if Brisa had grown strong and wise and Luz had found a place to be Luz, it would have been a farewell with satisfaction and at peace. But suddenly, just as they were starting to get along...?

"He was always there. A-and now when I try to find him, there's just nothing..."

Just as she'd gotten used to feeling like, yes, she was always there.

"Y'know, Brisa, it sure sets my mind at ease knowin' we can reach each other when the chips are down. I sore appreciate you bein' willin' to give mental sendin' a try, I know how much discomfort it caused ya at the start—"

"You don't gotta dress it up, Luz."

"Well, how d'you mean, partner?"

"You've been sendin' all sorts my way, tellin' me how yer day is goin', shit like that. Gentle-like, the way we discussed. It's okay. I don't mind so much no more. But y'don't just want emergency comms. Y'want company."

"What? Naw. I'm jus' fine on my lonesome."

"If y'say so, Luz."

"Uhuh. But, ah... I sure don't mind always knowin' you're okay."

They were going to be friends. They'd barely begun to like being together.

"Yeah," she said, holding Cal tighter, for all the difference it might make. "I thought that too. It ain't fair. It ain't right."

Her eyes were hurting somehow, in a way that was neither fun, nor interesting, and her mind was spinning trying to avoid thinking about that sight, and—

"What's this about yer name, Cal?" she asked, seeking any distraction at all. "He call you 'kid' or somethin', 'stead of 'Cal'?"

 

[Namohysip]

"My name is... I--I'm sorry, but my name is Cal." She looked down. "He calls me Cal, and... I don't know. It makes sense for a Cibus name, I guess, but that's not what my name is... s-supposed to be. Every Ultra Shade is based off of someone or something from their host, right? W-well... yeah. But... Owen didn't..." She looked away. "And it feels like I can't ever use that name unless he..." Cal curled up more. "I just can't. It's like a block in my brain, I just can't..."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz cradled Cal's in one oversized paw, rubbing her back gently. Most friendlier folks took comfort in that stuff, right?

"What're y'sayin', hon? That without Owen, you're stuck usin' an alias that just ain't who ya are?"

Luz imagined going by Zest for the rest of her life. Not terrible, she had her zest for life and it rolled off the tongue okay, but... she was Light. She was Light. And always would be.

"I'm so sorry, darlin'. You don't deserve that."

 

[Namohysip]

"I don't even know who I'm supposed to be!" Cal said, snapping--it wasn't at Luz, but perhaps the sky and the heavens. "Who am I?! I'm... based on memories of someone but who am I supposed to be? Is that... why Owen called me Cal? So I don't have to be in some memory's shadow, I don' get it! And it's not like he'll ever answer even IF he was still alive... No way he would. Wh-why bother asking, right?" She was practically just her stone at this point.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz bit her lip and looked off into the middle distance. She was fixing to have a crisis of her own, at the rate they were going.

"Brisa never met th'real Luz," she said, quietly. "Everythin' about me is made up. I'm lit'rally made of stories. Folklore."

What advice could she even give Cal...? She'd never helped anyone. She was made from memories of a hero who'd done nothing but help people, but they weren't her achievements. They weren't real.

"I... know exactly who I'm supposed t'be. An' it don't make me happy none, darlin'. You get t'choose. You get t'be whoever you wanna be."

She sighed, and wondered what the flesh and blood Luz Escarpa would think of her indirect progeny.

"I'm stuck bein' a campfire tale come to life."

 

[Namohysip]

"Right..."

Cal hadn't looked at it from that angle before. Was that... what Owen had wanted from her all along? Maybe that was why... Maybe he was trying to give her a choice instead of forcing her into one identity or the other. Well, maybe she wanted to be like...

Well. That didn't matter now, did it?

"I know I have to keep going," Cal said. "I just... don't know how to do it r-right now. Maybe I should just... I don't know... I... should have gone with Icetales to the pines, or something. Now I'm..." Cal hesitated. "Wait... didn't Brisa go to--what if we saw Sunny? Maybe she would be able to--"

"Aaaah, gonna stop ya there."

Cal jolted upright. "S-Soda?!"

"Yo."

The Zoroark was behind them. When he got there was unknown.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Howdy, Soda," said Luz, the melancholy vanishing from her voice.

She was Luz, the Wandering Light, and she was never less than full of courage! Never.

"You got somethin' t'say on the matter of visitin' Spirit's Edge, fella?" she asked.

 

[Namohysip]

"Yeah, two things. Guess I'll just end your boo-hoo stuff early since maybe you'll appreciate it: They're fine. They're just in Hell. Diyem's, to be specific. And, uhh, second thing, because of that, they're probably not gonna be at Spirit's Edge."

Cal froze.

"Well, anyway, see ya. I'm gonna--"

"WAIT!" Cal lunged at Soda but fell through the illusion.

"Nope," he said, stepping away, "I don't do feelings. I'm gone." He was already fading.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz leapt to her feet and stared at the vanishing Soda.

"Ain't y'gonna tell us what we can do about that?" she called.

When there was no answer, she hissed her disapproval. It was weird, being annoyed with someone. This was very possibly the first time it had ever happened, and she was taken aback by it for a moment.

"Uh, Cal. Sounds like we might wanna check in with the posse, or Diyem hisself..."

[Zest > Team Spectrum]: yo

[Zest > Team Spectrum]: so soda just told me the missin 7 r actually in 'hell'

[Zest > Team Spectrum]: then he vanished

[Zest > Team Spectrum]: jackass

[Zest > Team Spectrum]: but he wasnt clownin so wth did he mean

[Zest > Team Spectrum]: someone pls give me smth here

[Zest > Team Spectrum]: 😿 😿 😿 😿 😿

 

[Namohysip]

Cal leaned over Luz's phone, seeing that Maple was typing up a response already. And what came next... She practically melted with a mixture of emotions she couldn't quite place.

"What the fuck," she finally said, her whole body losing definition. "He's... he's still... r-right as I was starting to get used to... thinking that it was finally over, that I could try to move on..."

After a short pause, she stood up and tensed her body back to something decently solid. "No. Enough of that. Owen's... and Brisa, too. This changes... a-a lot. S-switching plans! Right?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"It'll be okay, Cal," said Luz, tapping out replies on her badge with a fraction of her attention. She needed to keep up morale so she left out the part where wasn't hell a place of unlimited suffering and how long would she have to wait and how certain are we that they can be saved? That wasn't helpful right now. No.

"Right. Switchin' plans. Whatever it is we gotta do t'get 'em back, that's we're preparin' fer. First thing t'do is get a grip and let everyone know. And maybe... Maybe get some rest. Times are strange."

She squeezed Cal's shoulder, and cracked her knuckles again. This time, she was resolute.

I'm comin' fer you, Brisa.

 

[Namohysip]

Cal still couldn't process it, but the way Luz was so certain instilled a bit of that confidence in her. The Charmeleon wraith relaxed, stood upright, and made sure her golden flame was clear and visible. "Right. Some rest. So we can be at our top shape when they come back."

<><><>

 

[Fusion]

Walking only... somewhat helped Puddle's headache, really. It was probably better than sulking in a room or in the forest, but Puddle would have preferred not having to deal with it in the first place. Hell, all that aching went from its head to its ultra stone, which gently pulsed every now and then. "Uhg... I feel like I haven't slept in ages..."

Luckily, the rest of the team was getting caught up on the situation with the recently deceased, which saved him a lot of trouble. Talking with everyone and dealing with their possible outburst of emotion sounded like headache material. So, Puddle wander off to somewhere out in the open. Fresh air was supposed to help, and it really liked to think that it was.

After coming up on a pleasant patch of grass, Puddle let itself fall to the ground, arms and legs sprawled out as it took in the sunlight. Sunlight was a whole lot nicer than Puddle gave it credit for.

 

[Navar]

Talking with Saltriv... helped somewhat. But to be honest, Shiron wasn't really feeling like talking with his familiar right now, and a walk seemed good enough for him. It could be distracting, really.

He strolled on the area, until he saw something. Something he recognized. It was...

After coming up on a pleasant patch of grass, Puddle let itself fall to the ground, arms and legs sprawled out as it took in the sunlight. Sunlight was a whole lot nicer than Puddle gave it credit for.

Puddle! Vix's... familiar. He hadn't really talked with it. Not that he had the time. Being so full of anguish was... tiring.

And how could he strike up a conversation, anyway? 'hey, I'm the roommate of your dead host. Wanna be friends?'

That was a stupid idea. So, so stupid. And yet, Shiron was drawn to it. Or rather, his body moved on its own, towards Puddle.

"H-Hey."

 

[Fusion]

"H-Hey."

Puddle blinked, not realizing it was staring blankly into space until someone snapped it from its little trance. "Huh? Who..?" it muttered, looking around until it found the producer of that sound, standing close to him on the ground. This dude was round.

Ignoring whatever that train of thought was, Puddle gave the Marshtomp a wave, letting its arm fall back down with a splat. For someone who was Vix's roommate, Puddle hardly ever chatted him up. "'Sup? You doin' aight after the, uh..."

Why did Puddle's not-brain have to go there of all places for a greeting?! Puddle gritted its teeth, facepalming. "...How are you, I mean?"