Destiny Village ~ X-Eye Cauldron

[Namohysip]

"Yeah." Soda looked down. "I said no, either he was going to save my partner or I was going to defect. He wasn't too happy about that. He told me to go away and think about it for the night. He said that maybe some time to mull it over would put me in a good headspace. And... goddammit, I listened. Like a fucking idiot I listened." He slammed his fist on the table, earning a few worried looks. Soda scowled at them, but he did simmer down.

"...That night..." Soda spoke slowly, like he didn't want to go further, but at this point he owed Dave the story, didn't he? No use stopping before the climax. "That night, she attacked me. My partner attacked me. There was a... she didn't look like herself, you know, when you look at someone in the eyes..."

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave shuddered. He took a quick glance at Mia; she was watching Soda sidelong in a way he recognized as impatient. Probably wondering why he'd been taking such a while to get to the good bits. She probably wouldn't say anything horribly insensitive, he'd convinced her most people wouldn't like a lot of the sorts of questions she had a long time ago and she'd accepted that the way she had to accept a lot of things, but he couldn't help but be wary.

"So... that was Arceus behind that? Anything to confirm it for sure, or just figuring because of the timing?"

 

[Namohysip]

"As if I'd ever get an answer from him," Soda said with a bitter venom in his voice. "All I know is after fending her off, I... went straight to him and attacked. And I scared him a lot, doing that. He pulled every trick he could, and that was around the time that Maple showed up with Joule and a handful of the rest of the team. I know Potluck was with them, but I don't remember for the rest. Guess they were drawn to the conflict somehow. Tch... But in the end, they were too late."

Soda looked off.

"Arceus killed me... No, fuck that. He did more than that. He destroyed me. Annihilated my soul." Soda held up a paw, shaking his head. "I know what you're thinking. I'm sitting right here. It's different than you think, destroying someone like that. If you destroy a soul, that means you removed them so firmly from a reality that it no longer recognizes you as someone that exists. In the multi-universal terminology, it's called a Lockout." Soda finished his second drink. "It means I will never, not even when I'm dead, be able to return there. I simply can't enter. I don't exist in my home, and never will be able to again."

 

[Dragonfree]

"Jesus." That was... a lot to take in.

"What do you mean, Maple showed up? What I'm getting here is Arceus did the lockout thing, but they, what, rescued you to another universe before he could kill your actual body?"

He sipped his drink, thinking. This hardly sounded like annihilating anyone's soul, whatever that even meant. Just like, well, locking somebody out of their home universe. Which was a dick move, to be sure - presumably that was the exile he was talking about - but Soda was alive and well, hopping between whatever universes he pleased with his squad of ordained dimensional superheroes.

"Couldn't the God Squad just, you know, go pick up your partner? What's stopping her from existing in any of the billions of other universes where you can be?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Worlds work in domains," Soda replied, as if reciting a lecture he'd heard from someone long ago. "A god is only powerful if they are in the domain they created. The Arceus of that world is a lot weaker in another's, for example. At least, depending on the reality or world network. Sometimes you can't even take your body into other worlds, which is sort of the impression I had of you guys for a while, and the way it works for humans like Pine. You're from a reality so far removed that only your spirits could squeeze in."

Soda scratched his head. "Point is... Maple and Joule couldn't do a whole ton in that reality. Not against the one who made it. They investigated, they tried to reason with him, but all they could do was arrange for peace and ceasing any more bloodshed. But my partner... She's probably still there. Maybe she's serving under Arceus, too. Or maybe he reincarnated her.

"All I know is, Arceus is keeping her. I'm never seeing her again. Or, if I ever do, we'll be so different that... there'd be no point."

Soda contemplated ordering a third shot, but then must have decided against it. "As for me... I owe my life to Maple in more ways than one. I died. Body, too. I was... adrift.

"She used her powers to revive me. So, I kinda owe her. Funny how that works."

 

[Dragonfree]

To... revive him. After he was dead. Resurrection was just... a thing Maple could do. What a fucking concept.

Dave clenched his jaw. "Why'd Maple take such an interest in you in particular? What, why do you get to be resurrected and every other person who dies doesn't? Because you were useful to her?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Yup." Soda leaned back. "Sure, she'll say that I deserved a second chance. That she failed to save me, but she wanted to try again. Or maybe she didn't want me to be adrift in the Overworld. But I'm pretty sure it's because I was useful." He ran a claw across his nose, snorting. "It's only practical. I don't blame her for it. After all, I'm alive again."

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave snorted and chugged down the rest of his glass. "Figures. You got any insight into why the normal rules for voices of life don't seem to apply to her?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Not a damn clue." Soda shrugged and pushed his empty cup away. "Maybe her will to live transcended the world she left behind. Hell if I know, right?"

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave frowned. "So did you join the 'God Squad', in spite of every reason not to be a fan of gods, out of gratitude and the goodness of your heart, or did Maple give you some kind of ultimatum?"

 

[Namohysip]

Soda scowled at that question, even though it was a fair one. "Maple told me what happened. She said where to go if I needed to start anew, and she made me... an offer. Obviously, after what just happened, I refused. So, she agreed, she started taking me someplace to get my shit together, and..." Soda looked off, like he was ashamed. "And then I guess I had a moment of weakness. I said, sure, why not? I'll stick around. Because... she really was going to just let me go after reviving me. Just like that."

He tapped his claws on the table, thoughtful.

"Dunno. Something about that. I decided that she'd be better than nothing."

 

[Dragonfree]

"Hmmm." Dave scowled, prodding at his empty glass. "I guess."

He stood up, preparing to leave. He'd had his drink, and Mia'd patiently joined him for it; maybe he could take her to the training rooms for a bit, and they could talk about it. "You never answered me about what your actual name is," he said as he was about to get down from his seat.

 

[Namohysip]

"What, was 'Gun' not good enough?" Soda asked with a smirk, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "...Sorry, but that ain't... something I'm gonna give out right away. We left our names behind for a reason... Dunno if I want to bring it up even a little right now. Maybe... some other time." He waved Dave off. "I'm gonna hang around here for a while. See you."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

<><><><><>​

The X-Eye Cauldron wasn't exactly Brisa's usual haunt, particularly after the glass-throwing incident, but the management hadn't decided to ban her and it was the best nearby drinking space. And gods, but she needed a drink. She spotted a free booth and approached the bar.

"Howdy. Table seven, God Squad's tab by way of Team Spectrum. I'll have a double whiskey and ginger, thanks." She turned to Starr. "What can I getcha? Don't gotta have anythin' hard, I ain't like that."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr followed in after Brisa, still half-surprised she'd been able to drag the Luxio away from the crossroads (she wasn't complainting, though).

"Just coffee. Black." God, she needed it after that shitshow.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa nodded, and indicated their booth with a nod. She didn't have to wait long for the drinks, but it gave her long enough to start overthinking how to talk to Starr. This had been the way for... weeks, now. Maybe even since they'd gotten out of that pit. She wanted to be around Starr any time she wasn't, and then desperately overthought everything when they were together. Being with Starr was just... totally unlike any friendship Brisa had known. She pushed her prepared lines out of her head and resolved to down half her whiskey straight away so she could just talk.

She took the drinks and joined her friend with a tired smile.

"Seems we can hardly catch a break, huh?" she asked. "We could fill a library with all the bullshit we've run into since arrivin', I reckon."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr let out a hollow laugh. "I'll say. I didn't mind when it was just, y'know, beat up a random-ass Legendary every other week. Could do without the Team Rocket conspiracy bullshit." Of all the things from back home to follow her here, why that?

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa nodded, her expression one of dust-dry amusement. "Yeah, all that stuff is wild t'me. Don't have nothin' like it on my world. I've caught up as best I can, but folks don't even seem to agree on whether Team Rocket is real, or fictional. A joke, or a serious threat. I'm told that 'mewtwo', the entire species, is their creation? Gods, what the fuck. I don't know if I can help it... At least I can still be of use in a fight."

She downed a fair portion of her drink, and instantly felt better, and then a lurch of dread at how much she'd have been drinking lately if it weren't for the constant rushing around attending to shit. She needed more things like that picnic with Astrid...

Don't think about Astrid.

"Uh, anyway, I take it you were... involved?"

Best not to speak too directly about the painful stuff. Especially here and now.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Oh. Okay, so Brisa didn't even know that much. Great. Where to begin.

Starr glanced away. "Can I just say that it's weird as hell that random-ass ordinary everyday stuff can just be not real. Like, I'm over humans not being real in half these worlds--really, I am. But then there's worlds where like, Pokemon exist but I guess they all got a collective lobotomy or something?" She paused just long enough to down some coffee while it was still hot.

"And then apparently some of the seediest shit in my world is, like in fucking kids' cartoons in Dave's world?" (Side note, she didn't even want to contemplate how screwed up that was.)

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa nodded, anxiety sloughing off her as the whiskey took to work and Starr complained about something comfortably unfamiliar. So long as Starr wasn't mad at her, Brisa found that the way she had of just streaming her frustration was easy to get caught up in. It was strangely... freeing.

"Yeah, it's like, nothin' you assume about yer own world applies to any other. Even the 'similar' ones. And y'know, half the shit I'm caught up in from home don't matter none to you, or anyone else here. Fuck, you already pointed that out to me, ha. And then Dave tells me that where he's from, some folks take issue with gals catchin' heartache fer other gals? What's that about?"

Brisa screwed up her face in contempt and confusion. If someone tried to give her shit for feeling soft for another girl, she'd beat the shit out of them.

"None of us have the same shit; it's all different shit. ...Still a bunch of sorry messes the lot of us seem to be in, though."