Destiny Village ~ Sundae Park

[Adamhuarts]

"Yeah, let's go Cal!" Ivy said, eyes glowing bright like lightbulbs as she perched on Cal's shoulder.

 

[Namohysip]

Cal made the long walk from the park to destiny Tower to the far east of Destiny Village. It was glowing like usual, but it was quiet. After following the usual procedures, they took the teleporter to the highest floor.

"Hey, um, Pop?" Cal asked. "Can we ta--"

She froze.

He was there.

Joule.

He and Pop were in the middle of some conversation. And they were both there.

 

[Adamhuarts]

Ivy couldn't move, and she held onto Cal as tightly as her porcelain body allowed her. She couldn't stop shaking, and her mind kept drifting to the time she saw Cynthian disappear into the bright light, and when Darkwhite's stone fell and shattered.

"He's here. We have to hide Cal, we have to wait for him to leave," Ivy whispered in a trembling voice, unaware whether the two gods had noticed their presence or not.

 

[Namohysip]

"Ah, Cal and... you!" Joule said, immediately announcing their presence. Too late to hide. Nothing they could do. "Welcome! To what do we owe your visit?" As usual, Joule was bombastic as ever, and his smile was somehow brighter than his body.

Pop tilted his head. "I am curious about the sudden visit," he said. "Is everything okay? You seem... troubled."

 

[Adamhuarts]

Ivy squeaked and hid behind Cal, her face peeking over Cal's shoulder remaining visible. She glanced between Pop and Joule with her ears pressed firmly against her head, her gaze leaving Joule almost immediately to linger twice as long on Pop.

"I--w--we want to talk to Pop," Ivy said in a small trembling voice. Ivy had no lungs, but she found it hard to breathe.

 

[Namohysip]

"Oh?" Pop nodded. "Well, feel free to speak, unless this is a private matter."

Joule dimmed and drifted to the left side of the room. "I'm sure it is something of a private matter, but if I may ask, does it involve me?"

"I--I mean." Cal's embers fluctuated in size. "What's it to you?"

 

[Adamhuarts]

"We want to talk to Pop... not you." Ivy hid further behind Cal, her eyes dimming to the point they barely gage off any light. And then they lit up. "GO AWAY!"

 

[Namohysip]

Joule flinched, then looked uncertainly at Pop, who made a light shrugging motion. "We can continue our discussion a little later," he said to Joule. And soon, the light dragon drifted away and into a portal, which closed once he passed through.

Cal relaxed a little, but didn't say anything immediately. Perhaps she was gathering her words.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"He's gone... he's gone... he won't take us now," Ivy said in a hushed tone, more to convince herself than anyone else in the room.

 

[Namohysip]

"...So it is about Joule, then?" Pop asked. Cal seemed a little off-put that he wasn't bothering with the hip accent anymore, but there was a lot more that she was focused on.

"Yeah. I guess you could say that," Cal mumbled back.

 

[Adamhuarts]

Ivy peered over Cal's shoulder, her paws trembling and lips pursed. Her eyes drifted around the room. Joule really wasn't there anymore. Once her mind could accept that, her body steadied and she could feel safe again.

"Joule is going to take us away. He's going to make us go back and just be... we'll just become him!" Ivy said, raising her voice and digging her paws into Cal's shoulder.

"Please, Pop, make him promise not to do that. Tell him to leave us alone to be ourselves! I don't want to be Joule. I want to be me. I want to be Ivy and no one else!" Her eyes flared white and her ears drew back. "Make him promise..."

 

[Namohysip]

"Goodness... How much have you been thinking on this?"

"How can we not?" Cal asked, gesturing vaguely to where Joule had once been. "This is... it's terrifying! Y'know?!"

"Yes, I'm sure it is," Pop replied, nodding. "Cola was the same way, really. I don't... blame you for that kind of feeling. But I can assure you, that was actually what Joule and I had been talking about just before you arrived." He traced little shapes on the ground. "Frankly, that even without out intentions, we feel rather... guilty for how scary it must be for our smaller fragments. Neither of us have any desire to reclaim parts of us that do not wish to return--so long as they are not some supernatural menace to society, at least. Of which none of them are.

"But... that is simply the nature of the spirit. One spirit ultimately wants to become the same person again. It... is a great truth of all realities. But that does not mean it must happen immediately, or even in the next several centuries, or, with some maneuvers, ever. Egos exist. New personalities form and can be split off regularly with our power... There are options."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"We aren't just 'smaller pieces' of you." Ivy said with a deep frown. But her expression softened as Pop went on, and he even listed some options off for them which brought a glimmer to Ivy's eyes.

"I haven't talked to Cola much... but he's fun. I don't want him to disappear too," Ivy grumbled. "Make Joule promise not to take us. And make us be just ourselves... forever."

 

[Namohysip]

"I'm afraid it's not my place to make such demands," Pop said gently, shaking his head. "But I can at least assure you that I see no reason why he would do such a thing. To forcefully claim you would mean that betrayal, that resentment, that pain, would go to him, too. He would only harm himself."

Cal was guarded, but she listened anyway. "You mean because he'd gain our memories. And he'd be hurt from his own actions?"

"Precisely."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Joule won't take us if we don't want to go?" Ivy asked timidly.

 

[Namohysip]

"No, he certainly wouldn't. Though I think he would check on you to make sure you're alright, if he knew where to find you. That's simply the right thing to do, wouldn't you say?"

"Well... we still know he killed Millijoule. What if he tries that with us?" Cal felt her guard faltering. She wanted to be mad, dammit. Why did Pop make that so hard?

"Killing... I don't really know if that's the term. But yes, he and Millijoule recombined... but only with the latter's cooperation. Your Cores are... very sturdy."

 

[Adamhuarts]

Ivy couldn't understand why any of them would even want to go back to Joule. Luz had been like that too... It didn't matter. As long as she had the choice to be Ivy, she didn't care what the other shades did.

"Cal, I think we're going to be okay. He said Joule will leave us alone," Ivy said, tapping her on the shoulder. "Can we go and play now?"

 

[Namohysip]

Cal still felt unease, but less so. She nodded at Pop. "Right... Sorry for bothering you."

"It's not a problem," Pop replied. "And, er, if you happen to see Cola... Let him know that I'm sorry if anything I said offended him. I do want to speak with him again."

"Yeah, uh, if we find him, we'll let you know." Cal waved and headed through the teleporter with Ivy. "....So he'll leave us alone..." She brought a hand to her chest, thoughtful. "That's what I wanted..."

So why did she feel bad about it?

<><><>​

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa wandered through the park, keeping an eye peeled for a certain particular Mew and Lucario. He'd heard they'd been dismissed from the infirmary and he was curious to see how they were doing.

And maybe ask a few questions while he was there. Not to mention being out and about was a good way to keep his mind off everything.

He just hoped he could actually find them.

 

[Namohysip]

After a while of searching, with the sun crawling across the sky by at least a phase of the day, Koa would eventually find them--a Lucario and Mew lounging under a lone tree in a brightened area of the park. It seemed to be overcast, and while snowfall was much less nowadays, it was still chilly, and brighter areas were definitely warmer. It seemed that the Mew was testing out her transformation abilities, though she didn't quite get the hang of it yet, always leaving some part of her Mew side behind. The closest she got was a Charmander with pink skin.