Destiny Village ~ Sundae Park

[Adamhuarts]

"I'm gonna have new friends, we'll have fun all day, because we're best of friends," Ivy sang to herself in an upbeat tune while drifting freely around the park.

Ever since Ivy emerged from her stone, the world had felt strange to her. There was a lot of fun to be had, but no one to play with. Cynthian was also being unfun, and Ivy could feel the sadness from her through their mind link. Maybe Cynthian would play with Ivy after cheering up. Who knows?

As she emerged between an underbrush, she caught sight of something rolling on the ground. That looked fun. With a smile, Ivy quietly followed it until she came close enough to notice it was an ultra stone. That could only mean one thing: a friend she probably knew already!

"Hullo," Ivy whispered with glowing eyes after sneaking up on the molten puddle. "What game are you playing?"

 

[Namohysip]

The Core and puddle of ectoplasm twisted a little until two golden embers stared back at Ivy. "Oh. Hi," Cal replied. "I'm playing a game of... sit in the dark and brood, I guess. ...Who are you again? You feel familiar but I dunno any Mew Shades... I mean, unless Darkwhite counts, but she's Sword now." She actually got to be her own person. Probably because she was originally one to begin with.

 

[Adamhuarts]

The mention of Darkwhite made Ivy's body visibly ripple, but there was no reaction on her face whatsoever. Her eyes glowed a shade brighter when she recognized Cal's voice however.

"I'm Ivy. You were there with me and Owen when he got us Mochi, remember!" Ivy floated around Cal and hovered just an inch over the ground.

"Don't tell me your name. I can remember by myself. More fun that way," Ivy said, rubbing her chin with an audible hum. "Karl? No wait, Cale, right?"

 

[Namohysip]

Cal fizzled. "It's Cal," she said. "Close, I guess..." She collected around her Core, starting with her head and continuing with the rest over time. "Taking on a new look, huh? Guess you wouldn't be the first one to do that..."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Yeah! I like my new form. I got fingers now, and-" she hugged her long tail and let the flower end dangle next to her face "-having a long tail is nice too."

"I think I'll have more fun how I am now." She lowered to the ground and sat next to Cal, using her newfound telekinesis to lift a small twig and draw smiley faces on the dirt.

 

[Namohysip]

"Yeah." Cal formed her body back completely, legs crossed and tail wrapped around to her front. "I dunno if I want to go Charizard yet. I feel like I can do it pretty easily at this point, but, you know. I dunno. Guess I'm just... not really in the mood for it."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"You sound upset," Ivy said, pausing in the middle of drawing another smiley face. "Let's do something fun then. That'll make you not upset anymore!"

 

[Namohysip]

Cal stared, bewildered, at Ivy. "I'm not upset. I'm pissed! I'm pissed because that dumb light dragon thinks he's all-that when he's just... a creep!"

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Do you mean Joule?" Ivy asked in a hushed tone. She trembled as she recalled when she was still dormant and overheard Cynthian talk about what happened to Millijoule.

"I don't like Joule," she said flatly.

 

[Namohysip]

"Yeah, well, that makes the two of us," Cal said, kicking at a nearby root. "I can't believe I'm part of him or whatever. It doesn't make sense. Like, right in my bones that I don't have, I feel like that's just not right. And yet... Millijoule's..."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Are we all going to disappear like that too?" Ivy asked, the twig shaking under her control as she tried to draw more faces. She shuffled closer to Cal and mewled softly. "I don't like it."

 

[Namohysip]

Cal pulled Ivy under her arm. "Owen won't let that happen," she said. "He... he won't. E-even when he has to go away, I bet he'll find a way to... t-to..." She shouldn't have said that part out loud. Now it was compounding onto her. "G-god... that's right... soon it'll just be me..."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Cynthian will be gone too. I don't want to be lonely." Ivy gazed up at her with flickering eyes. "Can I stay with you then? I already have Soul, and Petram, but... I want to have more friends."

 

[Namohysip]

"Y-yeah. You can stay with me. Definitely." Cal was replying automatically, but it seemed like she meant this one. She brought her knees to her chest. "...Maybe if we band together, Joule won't be able to get to us. Maybe we'll find a way to hide..." Her claws dug into her arms. "Dad doesn't seem all that worried... like everything'll be just fine..."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"You're right! We can run away and hide where they can't find us. And then we don't have to worry about any of this anymore," Ivy said, her tail sweeping behind her. "That way we can be happy, and just have fun every day. We don't have to do anything, or think about anything scary anymore, right?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Yeah..." Cal hesitated, halfhearted. "But then we might be kinda lonely if it's just us forever or something... Bunch of Ultra Shades wandering around without a place to go..."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"I don't mind just being with us forever... but it won't be fun if I'm the only one having fun," Ivy said as she flattened her ears. She stared at the faces on the ground. Who cared about being great and mighty? It wasn't what she wanted.

"Let's make Joule go away then! Or make it so he can't do anything to us. If we do that, then we won't have to be scared of him anymore, right, Cal?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Yeah." Cal sighed. "Too bad we don't really know how to actually do that. Joule's just... stupidly powerful. Remember what he did to... t-to, you know. To the team? And that was when he was corrupted and out of control. What happens when he's in control, and fully powered up...?"

 

[Adamhuarts]

Ivy stared at trees swaying in the breeze while she pondered. How odd, she'd been doing a lot more thinking lately... Ivy's tail then jolted up and the flower unfurled.

"Let's talk to Pop! He's the big boss in this world, right? If he tells Joule not to do anything, then maybe Joule will listen and leave us alone!" Ivy clenched her paws and nodded. Then her expression faltered. "That will work, right?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Maybe... Pop could definitely have a word with Joule, right? M-maybe. Yeah. Let's... go and try to see him now!" Cal hopped up onto her feet. "I bet maybe we'd get something out of this..."