Mystery Continent ~ Northern Pines

[Namohysip]

That jail is difficult for anyone but Arceus to escape. If there's any time to do so, it would be now... But you're right. There's no telling. Perhaps I should be there with you to observe.

Hmm... and related to that. It seems that whatever memories were transplanted... or whatever pieces someone has... it seems that, from what you described, they are only memories. They are incomplete. And the old selves were not fully erased. Could that be why, even if they have memories of one life, their subconscious reactions are different?

The Giovanni we knew, the one we fought, had become less and less like himself lately. Gradually. Are these memory locks weakening?

 

[Chibi Pika]

So if you want to be who you are now, and not like Giovanni, then it don't seem right to be locking you up on account of who you maybe used to be.

Starr bristled, glancing between Nate and Sil--Lunala. There was some part of her that wanted to scream, 'Not when it's fucking Giovanni,' but she couldn't find the will to.

As for the idea of bringing the two together... it sounded insane, but...

We need some fucking answers. This is probably the only way we're gonna get 'em.

 

[Negrek]

Nate smirked faintly at Starr's comment. Hell. If you're in, I'm in.

"Look," Nate said to Silver. "We got the guy who was claiming to be Giovanni locked up. I'm guessing you ain't made time to visit the bastard, but maybe it's a good idea. He's been feeling weird, too, like things don't add up. Maybe if the two of you compared notes, you'd be able to figure out what the fuck's going on here. I mean, I don't trust that other guy, and I'm sure you don't, neither. But it seems to me like it's worth a shot. What do you think?"

 

[Namohysip]

Lunala tapped a wing against the other, eyes closed in thought. "...If it will settle things, then I'll go with you," he said. "But don't expect it to go well. And I expect fair treatment. I haven't done anything wrong."

<><><>​

 

[Fusion]

Tall trees, open spaces, hardly ever visited by anyone else to Puddle's knowledge... This place was perfect! A bit of a shame they couldn't set up shop at that fancy soda place, but all the people working there started giving Puddle glares for some reason. That didn't matter here, though! The only downside was how far it was, which is also a not-downside! No one would know they were here, not even Vix!

"I think we've finally found it, guys! The perfect HQ for our team! Until we can somehow get a building!" Puddle said, proudly puffing out its chest as it stood in the middle of a clearing. "We're probably, like, halfway to bein' the best damn team there was!"

 

[Namohysip]

"We'll be unbeatable in no time!" Cola jumped out of Soda's fur and to the far end of the clearing. "Mellow used to live here and Bahamut used to meditate here but now it's mostly abandoned. It's perfect!"

"Yeah, perfect, sure," Soda mumbled. "Damn long walk, though..."

"Aw, it's not so bad." Cola disappeared and reappeared in several spots along the clearing. "I like it!" His red circles deformed into cheerful upward crescents.

 

[Negrek]

"It is perfect!" Rocky said, clapping his hands and staring around at the trees. Pine trees weren't really the best for this sort of thing, but there were some other kinds of trees, too. They just needed a big old one, with really thick branches. "We can build a treehouse out here. That's exactly what we need. Maybe you could magic one into existence for us, Cola? Or, hmm." Rocky rested his chin on his hand, scanning the trees again. "It would be more fun if we all worked together to make it, wouldn't it?"

 

[Fusion]

"This place is pretty great, ain't it?" A cheery grin rose on Puddle's face as it chuckled towards Cola. It oozed over towards one of the bigger trees, a real sturdy-looking one, and gave Rocky a nod. "An' hell yeah it'd be fun to make a treehouse! I'm pretty sure liftin' logs an' all that is a good kinda trainin' too! Like clearin' a forest, uh, clearin', hehe."

Then the semi-solid familiar remembered that there were things to be done! Other than getting a kick-ass hideout out in the forest. "Oh! Right! I almost forgot!" Puddle looked to Soda, that big ol' grin still on his face. "Ya still on board with joinin' our team, Soda? We're gonna be the strongest heroes there ever was! In any planet!"

 

[Namohysip]

"Heh. Totally." Soda shrugged, looking toward Cola. He seemed more cheerful than usual, but he knew a feigning feeling when he saw one. "Hey. Are you feeling alright?"

"Huh? Y-yeah! Totally!" Cola made a nervous little laugh, then looked down. "Hey! This place might be cool to make a treehouse, right?" He trotted along, poking at a tree. "I don't really have that kind of power right now. But hey! Maybe we can build something cool anyway! And... and, um..."

Soda crossed his arms, frowning. "Something's up."

 

[Fusion]

"Well, yeah, there's clouds and trees and shit, right?" Puddle scoffed. And this was the dude everyone looked up to? Master of illusions, more like Master of the Obvious. Puddle was thinking of a response when he noticed Soda's frown, and that kinda worried look in his eyes. "Wait... you mean with Cola? What's wrong with Cola?" it asked, the grin on its face shrinking a bit.

Puddle looked to the young deity, worry bubbling inside it. Maybe he was acting a bit... off, or something. It's not like Puddle could really tell, the baseline for "acting normal" here was so low not even a jacked Excadrill could dig down enough to find it. Still... looking at Cola now, something was definitely up.

"Are... you alright, Cola?" Puddle asked, walking to Cola's side. "Pop did do anything, right?" The mere thought of that giant deer pulling something was enough to make Puddle boil.

 

[Namohysip]

"No, he didn't do anything," Cola said quickly, looking away. "I saw Joule get better and we were talking about it, that's all. We were happy for him. And I wondered how Joule got better so fast, and he mentioned that it was because he recombined with Shades and Millijoule and stuff. A-and... and..." Cola's haze sizzled. "A-and he said, the sooner we can get along, the sooner we can both be at f-full strength. And he joked that... maybe he'd be able to make better jokes. He was... j-joking about... just taking me... like it was f-funny..."

Soda scowled, grinding a bit of dirt between his claws. "Seems he's real eager to reunite. Wonder when he'll get impatient and force it."

Cola squeaked.

"Ah, fuck, sorry, sorry. He wouldn't do that..." Soda said, but his eyes said more: Maybe.

 

[Negrek]

Rocky huffed and crossed his arms, tapping his fingers in agitation. He really should have gone to see Arceus already... He really should have. But until he could do that, they at least had to make sure nothing happened to Cola. "Is there anything we can do to stop, umm, make it so Pop can't absorb Cola, even if he wanted to?" he asked Soda. "Could we ask Maple to send him to another world for a little while, until somebody can make sure Pop isn't going to absorb him?"

 

[Fusion]

Great, more of Joule's amazing influence rubbing off on Pop. What was next, Pop "joking" about how Cola would go pair nicely with... with some fancy fucking drink Puddle didn't care to know about?! Hot Leaf Water or some shit?! Or maybe Pop and Cola would go out for dinner somehow, as Puddle thought parents might do, and when handed the menu, Pop would say, "Yo, dawg, I'll have what he's made of," And the order-taker-guy would be like "Excuse me what?" so Pop would say, "Oh, nothing, just joking about eating my actual fucking son?!" Or... mini me, whatever!

Puddle's boil got more violently, scattering little drops of itself in any direction. It had a knack for working itself up it seemed, but could anyone blame it? One of his friends is standing right in front of him, scared half to death because he could at any point get eaten for power! What kind of sick bullshit was that?!

"Whatever we need to do we'll do it. I ain't gonna let that bedazzled bastard take you away from me," Puddle said, holding both of... wherever Cola's shoulders would be. "Well, us, I mean. In general. You get the picture; we're not lettin' Pop take you, Cola. I promise. We promise."

 

[Namohysip]

Cola was trembling, looking terrified out of his wits the more worked up Rocky and Puddle were becoming. Soda, meanwhile, was staring with a quiet, contemplative silence as the three of them worked each other up. And after some time, Soda hummed, sighing. "Yeah," he said. "Sounds to me like they're gearing up to make some moves. We might not see Cola anymore at this rate. And if Joule starts feeling greedy, who knows what that means for you Ultra Shades."

"I--I d-don't want that," Cola said. "I don't... want to... disappear..."

"Mm." Soda looked down, tapping his claws against his arms. A chill wind kicked up powdered snow from the trees and rained it down onto Soda, but they passed through him. "Yeah. It doesn't seem like there's a lot we can do..." Silence as Cola shook a little more. "But, y'know..."

Cola looked up. There was an odd look in Soda's eyes.

"I could change that."

 

[Negrek]

"Umm..." Rocky glanced around, wondering where Soda's real body was. Why were things feeling kinda scary all of a sudden? "What do you mean?"

 

[Fusion]

Puddle tried to simmer himself down a bit, going from a violent boil to a, well, simmer. It looked up at Soda's, or his illusion's, eyes. Puddle's grin was long gone, but it wasn't replaced with a frown either. The only part of its face still present was a determined glare. "Whatever you can do to help us and our friends, do it."

 

[Namohysip]

"Think about where everyone stands here," Soda said, gesturing behind him and toward Destiny Village. "If you go back, who do you think is going to be in favor of keeping you protected?"

It was strange. If Rocky and Puddle tried to reach out to their hosts, they would get no reply.

"Pop is here to protect Cibus, and obviously everyone's mission is to protect Cibus. I've been thinking, and... it kinda looks like they're just really in favor of bringing things back to normal. Pop is trying to reunite with Cola so he'll be full-power again. And Joule, well, he doesn't really think too far ahead a lot of the time. He already took out one of you--Millijoule. He's gone. Incorporated into Joule." Soda crossed his arms.

"It's the same as it's always been. Higher powers that are weakened will do anything they want to get stronger again. Even if it means stomping all over someone else's right to live. Pop, Joule, even Giovanni and this Blacklight mess... They want to be on top so everything's taken over and under their control."

"B-but... but we can't beat gods. They're so strong..."

And to that, Soda's brow furrowed a little more. He looked toward Cola, but then made a gesture for him to come closer. Without thinking, Cola obeyed, disappearing and reappearing in front of Soda as the Zoroark knelt down.

"I know," Soda said. "I've been beaten by one a long time ago. But, funny thing about that... Because I've gone toe to toe with an Arceus in the past... I know a lot of their tricks."

 

[Negrek]

"Well... maybe," Rocky said. He thought Soda would be someone cool to train with, not that he would want to talk about all this scary stuff. He hadn't expected Soda to be really serious about anything. Rocky's tail lashed, and he shivered with the phantom sensation of some emotion--it wasn't like he could feel the cold. He could tell something wasn't right here.

At least things got a little better towards the end of Soda's speech. "You fought an arceus?" he asked, perking up slightly. Now that was cool. Maybe if he could get Soda talking about fun stories from the past, he'd stop being weird. "What kinds of things did you learn?"

 

[Fusion]

How... intriguing. Puddle didn't even know the meaning of that word, but it knew that it fit anyway. Soda was definitely strong, but to fight an Arceus... and live... A grin stretched along Puddle's face, either sinister or excited, or a mix of both. Some little bit of Puddle told it to check in with Vix, but it ignored that option without a second thought. She was off doing whatever the hell with whoever edgy son of a bitch caught her eye.

"If you're bein' legit about all this, then I'm sorry I ever doubted you!" Puddle chuckled. "You think you can teach us some of those tricks, then? The more we know about 'im, the better we can stop him from pulling more bullshit."

 

[Namohysip]

"Yeah, I fought one," Soda said. "Actually, even more than that. Funny thing. I'm not just someone who fought an Arceus. I was also a bit of a, uh, well, uh. Student. Sure. Let's say I was a student. A student who was about ready to graduate..." The illusion of Soda's body twisted a little, twisted and turned until the fur on his body shifted. It went from gray, like he usually appeared when his illusion was down, to silver, and then flecks of white. Some of his fur along his abdomen turned gold.

"I am one... almost. But the one I was preparing to take over for--to replace the god that planned to retire--he had second thoughts. Decided to wipe me out instead, and that's how I ended up drifting through the Overworld. But now... I have that power back. Almost. Almost."

Cola stepped back worriedly, but Soda held up his hands with a laugh.

"Hey, hey, don't worry," Soda said. "I'm not Pop, so I can't recombine with you, remember?"

"O-oh. Right..."

"...I used to be depowered for a damn long time. But for one reason or another... this whole Blacklight thing was what I needed to reawaken that power stripped from me. Y'know, I never lied." A smug grin spread across his face. "I really am the strongest member in God Squad."

Soda reached a hand toward Cola, putting it down as if for the hazy creature to touch it.

"So, how about it?" Soda asked. "Want to be your own god?"