Mystery Continent ~ Northern Pines

[Negrek]

Rocky shook his head. "I didn't mean scary because you're a zoroark. I meant scary because you were acting kind of crazy. And talking all about being a god, and power, and weird stuff like that. And when you were at the Worldcore, you were mean." Rocky sighed. "It's scary because I don't know what you're going to do next, because you don't say what you mean. And Blacklight makes people do bad things, even if normally they're nice."

Rocky looked over at Cola and tried to offer him an encouraging smile. "It's okay. I don't really know what to do, either. But maybe we can figure it out." He held out a hand to the arceus, in case Cola wanted some comfort.

But how were they going to figure things out? "Puddle's right," Rocky said to Soda. "I think you're really cool. I wish I knew more about your adventures. I don't want to not trust you. It's just... Why won't you say why you need Cola's help? What are you going to ask him to do? When you won't say what you're planning, it makes me think you want to do something that's going to hurt people." His tail lashed behind him. "And you never answered Puddle's question, either. What about us? You wanted Cola to join you, not us. And you don't want anybody to find out about you. You know our hosts can feel where we are and what we're thinking all the time, so... What were you going to do, to make sure we didn't tell?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Aw, c'mon." Soda tried to wave it off. "I was making that haze illusion to look cool and stuff. By the way, Substitute. I'm good at that. Not that hard to have my real body get all beat up while a Substitute does the clever work if you're good enough at it." He tapped his chin. "I had an image to keep up, y'know? And I also had to make sure my damn team members were aware of their insecurities so they can confront it before the Blacklight corruption tries to grab them. Y'never know, sometimes. That stuff messes with your mind. Though, I figure you guys know about that already."

Why won't you say why you need Cola's help? What are you going to ask him to do?

"...I'm just gonna ask him to team up. Once this Blacklight stuff is taken care of, I'm gonna set off and take down the god of the world I'd been drawn into in the first place. Set things right. And then that'll be it, I guess. Cola will be able to return home as his own person, maybe put Pop in his place, so on and so forth. I just needed a lot of power, and I really can't do that on my own. No matter how strong I become, I alone just can't fight that Arceus anymore. I've been Locked Out of that reality. I can't enter. Ever." Soda glanced at Cola. "But he could."

What about us? You wanted Cola to join you, not us. And you don't want anybody to find out about you. You know our hosts can feel where we are and what we're thinking all the time, so... What were you going to do, to make sure we didn't tell?

"Well, I, uh." Soda admired the treetops, contemplating the question. Then, he looked over at Rocky and Puddle. "Nothing, I guess. If you guys disagreed, you could just go. He gestured vaguely toward Destiny Village. "Would be kind of a pain to not be able to get to my house as easily, and I'd have to check in on Flesh in secret, but, that's probably it."

"You weren't... going to keep it a secret?"

"I mean it'd be fucking nice if it was," Soda said, narrowing his eyes. "...But, what? I'm gonna keep you guys stuck here forever? Yeah, right. I'm not an idiot. I only disrupted your telepathy right now so you don't do anything spur-of-the-moment. Maybe once your emotions are calmer I'll put it down. Oh, I disrupted your telepathy, by the way. If you promise not to alert them just yet, I'll make it back to normal."

 

[Fusion]

Seeing how Soda didn't even react to a thing Puddle said, it, at some point, had to wonder if it was being ignored by stronger people just by default. Or at all. It was probably those things Vix ate tubs of ice cream over, insecurities or whatever. Uhg... maybe Puddle could pick up some mint-chip on the way home. And some soda... yeah, that'd be nice.

"Hell if I care what you do with our telepathy, Vix and I hardly even use it," Puddle sighed, melting into its namesake. "If all you wanted was Cola's power... why not just talk with him somewhere private? Instead of lettin' me drag all four of us up here just to be mostly looked over. Literally."

 

[Negrek]

Well, that didn't sound too bad. Rocky scratched at a spectral ear that didn't itch. He nodded at Puddle's question, then said, "Once the Blacklight is taken care of... But, what are we going to do about that? Do you know what's going on? Why don't you and Cola go back to fight the other arceus right now?"

 

[Namohysip]

"If all you wanted was Cola's... why not just talk with him somewhere private? Instead of lettin' me drag all four of us up here just to be mostly looked over. Literally."

Soda glanced at Puddle, frowning, and then he let out a long, annoyed sigh. "Look. I don't do that whole... mushy-goodie-love-you crap. I'm... Right. Sorry. I'm glad you trust me. It's just something I'm not... used to I guess." He glanced at Rocky, then Cola. "If someone trusts me, I guess I just take that as something nice for now while I focus more on the ones that don't trust me. They're the ones I have to actually worry about. Not you."

"Once the Blacklight is taken care of... But, what are we going to do about that? Do you know what's going on? Why don't you and Cola go back to fight the other arceus right now?"

"No idea about the Blacklight. That thing's a mystery to me, too. But I do feel like it's some kind of force that has a central origin, and I dunno where. And leaving right now? Well..." The wind blew again. "Not ready yet. I need more power."

"How much power do you need?" Cola asked.

"A lot. Power and time. I don't have enough of either right now."

 

[Negrek]

Rocky sighed. "Okay," he said. "I still think it would be better if you let Cola stay separate from you and just ask for him when you need him. But it's not up to me." He leaned down to be closer to the baby Arceus' eye level. "Do you know what you want to do now? Or do you need more time to decide?"

 

[Fusion]

"Look. I don't do that whole... mushy-goodie-love-you crap. I'm... Right. Sorry. I'm glad you trust me. It's just something I'm not... used to I guess."

"If someone trusts me, I guess I just take that as something nice for now while I focus more on the ones that don't trust me. They're the ones I have to actually worry about. Not you."

Puddle solidified its head and glared up at Soda. "The hell're you talkin' about, 'mushie-whatever-love' crap? I just wanted, like, maybe a thanks or a nod! The fuck do I look like, Vix?" it rolled its eyes and groaned, fully reforming again. God did it hate still being so damn short. "And you're welcome, sorry, whatever... That makes sense."

"How much power do you need?" Cola asked.

"A lot. Power and time. I don't have enough of either right now."

"We could try to buy you all the time we can, but if you want power that's all for Cola to decide. Yeah, I wanna keep 'im safe an' all, an' you can definitely help with that, but if he says no then that's that."

 

[Namohysip]

He leaned down to be closer to the baby Arceus' eye level. "Do you know what you want to do now? Or do you need more time to decide?"

"We could try to buy you all the time we can, but if you want power that's all for Cola to decide. Yeah, I wanna keep 'im safe an' all, an' you can definitely help with that, but if he says no then that's that."

"...Right... well..." Soda looked at Cola, waiting for his answer. The hazy, baby god shrank back.

"I... need time."

"Well, where are you gonna go if you need that time? To Pop?" Soda crossed his arms.

"I, I, I mean... wh-where else do I go? He'll get worried if I don't come back and I always come back because that's just... how it's supposed to be. I'd be in danger otherwise... from... anything. Maybe I can stay with... with Puddle or Rocky again. And do some thinking..."

"Not me, huh." Soda frowned, clicking, but he looked like he knew why. "Here's the thing. Once you guys head into that Tree... it's going to be the point of no return. I gotta start putting things into motion once that starts. After that, you're either with me or you're gonna have to watch and wait."

Cola paused, his red circles narrowing with uncertainty. "And you aren't gonna meet Pop yourself to... talk to him? Maybe see if he's... really safe?"

"Dunno if that's all that safe for me to do. I've got a lot of insurance but divine smite isn't something I'm ready for yet. Heh. Yet. Funny to think that I can say that, now..."

"Mmg..." Cola shifted again. He looked pressured.

As far as Cola could tell, he had three choices. Go with Puddle or Rocky... go with Soda... or go back to Pop. Maybe it was just a joke after all? Would Rocky and Puddle be strong enough to fend off anyone else? Could Soda be trusted at all? It didn't look like Soda was going to agree to Divine Promise. Which meant, no matter what he did, he'd only be able to trust his gut. Who could he trust? Was there anyone he could trust?

"I... I--I..." He shrank, more and more, until he was a little, trembling ball of golden haze.

Soda's brow furrowed, looking simultaneously frustrated and concerned. Helpful yet helpless. "Dammit," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

"I don't know... I d-don't know..."

 

[Fusion]

Puddle sighed, calming itself down as much it could, and facing Cola. No glare, no furious boil or simmer, just a friendly smile on his face. "If you need time to think this over, why not bunk with me? Vix and that... Shadow she got from hell are already super strong! And I think Pop would be aight with you bunkin' with a friend for, like, a few days, right?" The Scraggy familiar puffed out its chest, chuckling a bit.

"An' I already said I'd do whatever it takes to protect you, didn't I? Whether I gotta beat someone up myself or have Vix do it for me, I'll do whatever I gotta do."

 

[Negrek]

"I think Puddle's idea is good," Rocky said. "If you stay with Puddle, you know it'd do whatever it took to keep you safe. And as far as Arceus... Pop... If you want somebody to talk to him, I can try. I was meaning to do it anyway." Rocky tugged on an ear, grimacing.

"I don't want anything bad to happen to you, either," he said to Soda. "I'm not going to tell. Maybe you could meet us back here in a week or so? I don't think we're going to try to go to the tree very soon. Diyem says we aren't strong enough yet."

(( meanwhile, nate: "time to take down that tree, let's fucking goooooo" ))

 

[Namohysip]

"Well, time's gonna start running short pretty soon," Soda said. "Might not even have a week before you guys start heading to the Tree, but... eh. We'll see, I guess. Just know that once that Tree starts going, I'm gonna see you, Cola, so you can decide. Stay safe 'til then."

"Okay." Cola fizzled, drifting toward Puddle, but then looked back to Soda. "I want to trust you. But... I don't know yet. I'm sorry..."

"It's... it's whatever." He sighed, waving it off. "How about we shake on it, eh? We'll stay safe for each other. One way or the other, this'll be our little partnership." He knelt down and held out a hand.

"Yeah!" Cola giggled, stepping toward Soda in his usual disappearing flash-step.

 

[Fusion]

Puddle let Cola zip on towards Soda, turning to Rocky with its big ol' grin still in place. "Alright, so what's our game plan with Pop? I'm definitely gonna have to go to him about Cola bunkin' with me, which... uhg, that sounds like a bitch to deal with. You wanna see 'im the same time as me, or should we, like, space out our meetin's with 'im? Don't wanna look suspicious, right?"

 

[Negrek]

Rocky kept a close eye on Soda--if he tried to snatch Cola, Rocky probably wouldn't be able to do much about it, but he was at least going to try. "Well, I don't see any problem with us both going together. I just wanted to make sure he knew how unhappy Cola was when he joked about absorbing him and things like that, and see what his plan was for Cola later. If he doesn't know what to do, I have some good ideas!"

 

[Namohysip]

Cola happily placed a hoof in Soda's hand; he grasped in return and they shook firmly.

"Ideas, eh?" Soda asked. "Like what?"

Cola seemed transfixed by something. He pulled out of Soda's hold and looked at his wispy hoof, then at Soda, who seemed distracted by something else.

"Y'know," Soda went on, "I think if one of you had a talk with Pop and you brought, I dunno, that Charizard with the annoying ultra-sight, you'd be able to figure out Pop's true intentions. Maybe with some luck, you'll--YEOWCH!"

Cola had disappeared and split his head open to form what looked like spiked jaws, clamping down on Soda's arm. He flailed and lobbed Cola in the air, where he flipped and churned before reforming into a proper Arceus-like shape. Soda's colors remained silvery and gold.

"What the hell?!"

"Just making sure you're real," Cola said, red eyes twisting to upward crescents. "I never got to bite a Zoroark before!"

"And I didn't know you fucks had mouths!" Soda checked for blood, which there was thankfully none of.

 

[Fusion]

Puddle snorted, then giggled. It was probably rude to laugh at Soda's pain, but it'd also be rude to not laugh at something funny. "H-Hey, think of it this way, Soda; that just means these guys can trust you quicker or whatever! Knowin' it's actually you an' not an illusion." It started poking at its grin, just now realizing that it... didn't really have teeth. It was just more of Puddle but a brighter shade of purple. "I wonder if I can make myself some jaws..."

 

[Negrek]

Rocky's ears stood straight up when Cola bit down on Soda's arm, but he started to laugh once Soda shook him off, his entire torso rippling with the force of his guffaws. "Oh, wow! You're pretty scary, Cola!" But Soda wasn't mad, that was good. Maybe they could have fun out here after all.

"Bringing Owen along to see Pop could be a good idea," he said when he could finally stop giggling. "Anyway, I was thinking that the other Cibus doesn't have an arceus, right? So maybe Cola could go there and be its arceus for a while. Then he could learn about running a world, and Pop wouldn't have to worry too much, because it isn't far away and it doesn't have a Dark Matter. So it should be pretty safe."

 

[Namohysip]

"Mmnah, actually, something tells me that world has a Pop, too. In fact, it's probably a Pop, actually. They coordinated to bring their worlds in parallel after the split, but to be honest, not even I know if they're actually the same exact person split two ways, or if it's a new Pop that was born from the split. Worlds with time travel are kinda weird like that, and I'm not gonna try getting into it..." He sighed. "If you guys are gonna see Pop, you'll want to have Cola somewhere he can't get him, just in case. If you guys are all gonna confront him... You might want to be careful about your minds being read and stuff. Y'know. Maybe I'll help with that, if you'll let me. I know how to disrupt stuff like that, but it'll probably only last a few days." He flicked his claws, forming odd, red sparks.

"If they're gonna go, where would I hide...?" Cola tapped his hoof again, resting on Soda's shoulder now.

 

[Fusion]

"Why not in me? I managed to hide you pretty well at the tree, until we tried to stop Xerneas," Puddle pouted, although somehow was still grinning. "And if Soda's helpin' us, it'll be even easier to hide you, Cola!"

Strangely enough... there was something telling Puddle to not risk having Cola near Pop at all. It just... maybe wouldn't be a good idea? A bad idea, possibly. "O-Or... I could ask Vix to watch you, Cola. Maybe? I, uh, I dunno... I could just stay with you and not go to Pop, too." It looked up to Rocky, somewhat worried. "Would you be alright goin' to Pop on your own?"

 

[Negrek]

"Really?" Rocky's tail swished behind him, and he drooped a bit. "I thought for sure Pop said there wasn't an arceus for that world. That's kind of weird, if he's made another one already... But anyway, that's okay if it won't work. I'll think of another plan!"

Rocky's eyes glowed with pride. In fact, he'd already thought of another plan. Mudkip would be proud. Rocky could be sneaky and crafty and thinky, too!

The plan was to ask Mudkip for ideas for more plans.

"Well, maybe Cola could hide in you, and then you don't go to Pop's tower? I can let Pop know he's staying with you for a while. Or if you definitely want to talk to Pop yourself, Cola can stay with me while you go, and then we switch." Rocky shrugged.

 

[Namohysip]

"Hmm..." Cola considered this, then nodded. "That could work..."

"Or if you really want to be safe, I'm still an option," Soda offered, glancing at Cola with a shrug. The golden haze had gotten a little cozy on Soda's shoulder, and seemed to be eyeing his mane next. "I know you used to be pretty hesitant, but..."

"Yeah, I was..." Cola hummed. "I guess, now, though... I dunno. I'm starting to feel... safer." Indeed, Cola seemed a lot calmer after that brief burst of energy. "Maybe it won't be so bad..."