Poppin' Arms ~ Dorm Lounge

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa knew that there were folks on the team with painful secrets. She'd had no trouble being accepted by most despite her personal demons, not that she'd shared them in full with too many people herself, but as far as she knew, Starr hadn't told anyone else about those dark things she'd confided in Brisa. Did Nip have some crime weighing on his heart? Did he need assurance that Brisa wouldn't turn on him?

Well, she'd give him that. He'd more than earned it.

"Whatever's in yer past, I ain't judgin'. You'd be surprised what I've forgiven since arrivin' on Cibus."

She'd been forgiven for mistakes of her own, too. It seemed like, with some exceptions, the whole team had been prepared for a while now to put their faith in each other. More than she could ever have hoped for. More than anyone did in her own world.

"I'm . . . no stranger t'bein' lonesome, either. Before all this, I spent just about six years without any friends. It was hard, y'know? Just, really–" At this, her eyes prickled. Best not to keep talknig about that. "...Mm. Anyway. Every now an' again I look at someone... I look at Owen, fer example, an' I think... Holy shit. There's a fella I trust with my life, an' who can trust me with his. An' he ain't even the only one."

She laughed awkwardly, and scratched her neck.

"I dunno where I'm goin' with this. I guess I'm just sayin' things're sure different here than they are in all our homeworlds."

More forgiving. More hopeful.

 

[windskull]

Years? That was what some of these pokemon called cycles, right? If so, six whole cycles of the seasons. That was... an awfully long time to be alone. Nip had resigned himself to being alone when he had... lashed out at his tribe, so to speak. He knew it would be lonely, but at least there wouldn't be anyone to look out for but himself. And there wouldn't be anyone that could hurt him in the way Um- in the way she had. But he wondered if he'd feel the same way after being alone for as long as Brisa had been.

"Mmm, I think I get what you're saying. though. Different is sort of an understatement. It's... almost overwhelming, really, how different everything is here. But... hard as it can be at times, I wouldn't trade away the experiences I've had here, for better or for worse."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Fer th'better, I don't doubt," said Brisa, quickly. Sometimes the degree to which Cibus had been good for her was oddly painful. Poignant, maybe. "Even with our blindin' pal up there, all this is more'n worth it fer me. My life here means more than it ever did back home."

Nip sure wasn't kidding about how different Cibus was. From what she'd gathered, his world was even further 'behind' in development than her home, closer to how some roughlanders lived.

"Before I came here, I'd never travelled more than a short journey out from my hometown," she told him. "I'd never been to another civilised settlement, I'd never used anythin' like our badges, I'd never been in a colosseum... An' folks are just different here. Culturally. Bein' a ranger, I had all sorts of ideals 'bout helpin' folks, havin' integrity, bravery... None of it worth a damn in the end. The townies gave me no kindness fer it. Y'can't fill a life with duty and honour. It don't make ya happy."

She shook her head and sighed.

"Here, all that stuff matters. People recognise it. I ain't lonesome jus' fer doin' what's right... I hope I remember even a sliver of all this. I hope I remember what it's like to be part of somethin' like our team."

 

[windskull]

"I know what you mean. Before I came here, I had only recently traveled far from my homelands. nd the settlement I had come across, well. It pales in comparison even to Treasure Town." And yet, overwhelming as that might be, it still beats living as he had before. Constantly on the move, looking over his shoulder for danger. Even with the ball of doom over their head, this almost felt like a vacation.

He let out a sigh of his own. "But besides that, I get what you mean. I think I've done more here than I ever did in my world. I've had the opportunity to... well, to do more than just survive." He paused, hesitating before admitting, "You know... I know this is wishful thinking, but a part of me almost wishes I could just... stay here."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Yeah," agreed Brisa. "I got a duty back home, but nobody waitin' fer me. I think about stayin' here . . . damn near daily at this point. Even so..."

She smiled, but it was a sadness in her heart that came with it.

"I'm proud of what we've done here. If I gotta go, I'll go knowin' I did somethin' that mattered. And... An' that I mattered to other people. For however long."

 

[windskull]

"Ah, yeah." A part of Nip wished he could say the same. That there was something waiting for him back home. But as far as he saw, there was only hardship and sadness in his future, if he returned. When he returned, really.

He glanced towards a window, and to the darkened sky overhead. "We have quite the fight to overcome first, before we even think about staying or going, or if we even have a say in the matter." His expression was somber for a few seconds longer, then he put on a toothy grin. "I'm being a bit more gloomy than necessary though, aren't I? Joule's dangerous, certainly. But we've already overcome several dangerous foes. It'll be tough, but we'll come out on top like we always do. And then... well, I don't know what's next, but we can figure it out." At least, he hoped they could. But there was no use in airing his doubts. The last thing he wanted was to bring down morale.

He stretched, then winced as he felt the sting from one of his battle injuries. "Mm... but for now, I think we should probably take a good long rest. Need to be in top shape for the battle to come, right? The worst thing we could do is fight Joule tired and unprepared. And I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted after that battle."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa thought of a few comments she might make in reply, but Nip was right. They were both exhausted, and they'd both come here looking for rest. Best not to get carried up in work when it was bothersome to her teammate. Still. It'd been a genuine pleasure to get to know her most reserved friend a little better.

"Hint more'n taken, partner. You get some rest, an' I'll do likewise."

She moved towards her dorm, and much-needed, hard-earned rest.

"And hey... Thanks fer talkin'. Let's do this again sometime."

<><><><><>​

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales yawned as he walked by the lounge and shook off the last traces of sleep. That wasn't far from the best night of his life, he had to admit. Many nightmares plagued him in his trance, but somehow they had evaporated from his mind when he woke up.

Voices... were they voices of some kind? He couldn't really tell.

"A new day..." he muttered, before narrowing his eyes. "Golly! I wonder how is everyone today. Did my comrades manage to sleep well? Or... sleep at all? Hmm..."

He looked at the sky outside -- dawn. Still fairly early.

"I should investigate and check on folks, but for now I shall see to get myself some breakfast to get some energy pumping."

The Ninetales made his way toward the door when he noticed a familiar shape. He squinted his eyes and gasped when he recognized that dragonian body.

"Wait. Is it really...?"

 

[Ambyssin]

Moonlight. Sunlight. It didn't particularly matter for him. Especially in this form. It just felt nice. So, rather than sleeping in his room with the small window, Bahamut had stacked lounge table and couches together into a makeshift bed of sorts that would let him lay with his head out the window to absorb light.

He lay on his impromptu cot with his tail lazily swaying back and forth. Fortunately the rest had allowed Bahamut's ESP to return to him so he was actually aware there was a visitor.

"Joule is still with Maple," he said. "You'll have to guess again."

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales blinked and tilted his head, then his eyes widened in realization.

"Sir Bahamut...?" he asked, before walking toward Bahamut. "By the heavens! Thou hast retrieved thy original aspect, albeit with a different hue. It has been months since thou looked like a mighty cosmic dragon." He sat by his side, his tails quivering subtly. "How did thou do that?"

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut sat up, minding the top of the window. Both sets of wings crossed. Pink expanded in his eyes. "Not sure. From what I gather, it might've had something to do with that explosive burst of light Joule released before passing out." He was not going to bring up the part where he somehow went inside Joule's core... because he didn't think anyone was going to believe him. Bahamut wasn't even sure he believed him.

Wait, this was a stupid subject to talk about. What about yesterday? Bahamut was blind. He saw the tails shaking. "But it's not important. I didn't see you at all after we returned here yesterday. Are you okay?"

And, more importantly, had Icetales even been updated on what Diyem told some of the team?

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales sighed and flicked his ears. "As swell as I can get after pouring my entire heart out and grieving our comrades' disappearance, I reckon. And even though grief is not a foreign concept for me, yesterday's battle has left me... drained, both in body and mind, and it has reopened wounds that had cicatrized half a century ago. Not a... pleasant experience."

He looked down and rubbed his cheek with his leftmost tail.

"So, I left for the Northern Pines as soon as I regained consciousness. There was something very important I needed to do there for my own emotional and spiritual balance, and I returned here when it was nighttime." He paused and looked again at Bahamut. "Petram told me a few details of some things that happened at the Destiny Tower, but I do not know much else. Only that Sir Joule and Sir Pop have been taken to the infirmary. Dost thou know any other news?"

 

[Ambyssin]

Some of Icetales' statements resonated with Bahamut. Long cycles of grief. Centuries alive, though that caught him a bit off guard. "At first glance, you would not strike me as someone who has lived for such a long time."

Then again, neither did Owen, but he claimed to be incredibly old.

"As for other news... I do have something to say." Bahamut's mismatched eyes bubbled with different colors. "Dark Matter informed those of us who went to the infirmary... that our teammates are not exactly dead." He bowed his head in thought. "Rather, their physical bodies were destroyed... and their spirits are apparently stuck inside of Dark Matter. He claims not to have the power to free them, but that the Tree of Life might provide him with the necessary energy... somehow. There were no other details."

 

[Cresselia92]

Residents of the guild could hear a pin drop with how silent everything became after Bahamut relayed the news. Icetales was flabbergasted, having some troubles understanding that concept.

“Not exactly dead…”

Then, Icetales remembered something — Diyem crafted their bodies, so that meant he could recreate them… if he was in the physical condition to accomplish such task, which didn’t seem to be the case if he needed a power source.

“Stuck spirits… reminds me of Oblivion from my world. The souls that cannot reach the Twilight are left to wander in that place between the sky and the earth, forever forgotten.”

And the fact they were stuck in Dark Matter… well, that made him realize that his efforts from the day before were in vain. All that sweat and tears… for nothing. At least doing so helped soothe his mind and relieve his tension.

“Hmm… Well, if there is such a thing as a Tree of Life, then it would make sense that it grants life. Does that mean that we will head there soon to seek this energy for Diyem?”

 

[Ambyssin]

"I don't really think there's a plan at the moment," Bahamut said, shrugging. "Too many people needing to recover after this serious ordeal."

The fact that Bahamut even made it through with limited injuries could really be chalked up to how much his aura was tuned to defense. Though if future foes hit as hard as Joule, he would be in serious trouble. Along with the rest of the team.

"Oblivion, hmm? A rather dour name." Bahamut's head tendrils shrank. "The fate they're subject to right now is not unlike what happens to those consumed by Eternatus in my world. Only they do not have a hope of being restored. They are all doomed to eternity in a realm where the laws of nature do not apply."

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales frowned, bothered by the mention of Eternatus. “Heavens and stars, that is such a grim fate. I feel for those poor souls who are left wandering without a way to salvage themselves…”

And laws of nature do not apply? Just like Chaos. I wonder if this Eternatus is a home of daemons, too…

“But speaking of that ordeal, there is something I wanted to say.” Icetales closed his eyes and bowed at Bahamut. “Thou have my gratitude for preserving such a strong spirit while facing Sir Joule. If it was not for thee, we might have ended up stranded in the Dark Matter as well, perhaps with no true way to return.”

He stood back up. “And I do not know what thou did up there, but whatever it was… thou did a most excellent job, Sir Bahamut. Truly.”

 

[Ambyssin]

... oh. So someone was actually watching? Bahamut's eyes went red-orange in embarrassment. His real form might've turned to match that in the past, but this grayscale body didn't change. Perhaps that was for the best.

"Yes, well—" Bahamut coughed into an upper wing. Apparently that was still a thing he could do despite not being a cat anymore. "In my head... I thought that if Joule survived, he might be able to bring them back. But I know my standing amongst the team, so I tried to come from the angle of it being what our allies would've wanted." He sighed. "Perhaps if I hadn't been such an ass surrounding Darkwhite everything after that fight might've played out differently... including how things would go with Joule."

His shoulders sagged. "Now I expect everyone to be firmly focused on restoring our allies. Which is good... but I worry that, with this desperation, the team will slip up and make a critical mistake."

 

[Cresselia92]

"In my head... I thought that if Joule survived, he might be able to bring them back. But I know my standing amongst the team, so I tried to come from the angle of it being what our allies would've wanted." He sighed. "Perhaps if I hadn't been such an ass surrounding Darkwhite everything after that fight might've played out differently... including how things would go with Joule."

“Hmm. Well, that was a fair assumption, with the being who destroyed our comrades possibly being the being capable of restoring them. Also, inciting Miss Maple to pursue that path was for the best.”

Icetales beamed a small reassuring smile.

“And dost not have such a low opinion of thyself. We all have made grave mistakes and have past regrets which we wish we could erase. What matters most it’s to be able to learn from them and become better ‘mons, so that we shall not repeat them again. Besides, it is ideal to hear different perspectives so that we can have a clearer picture of a topic.”

His shoulders sagged. "Now I expect everyone to be firmly focused on restoring our allies. Which is good... but I worry that, with this desperation, the team will slip up and make a critical mistake."

Icetales frowned. “Yes, emotions are fickle and can cloud even the soundest minds. I have experienced that, and I would not blame anyone for desiring to bring back our comrades from the darkness, both because the hearts command and numbers matter in battles.

“Howbeit, this is precisely why we must stick together, so that we can balance each other out and prevent comrades from being blinded too much by their heartbreak.” He beamed a serene smile. “And I am aware that thou art often seen as that comrade who always has to go against others, but I reckon that thou art just as integrant to the team as everyone else, and thou hast been a pillar in many a battle and situation. Thy opinions and thoughts matter as well. Never forget that.”

 

[Ambyssin]

"How noble," Bahamut mused. "Your words... they remind me of a concept I used to teach with my friends. The 'will of causality.'" He looked out the window toward the rising sun. "An idea that nothing in one's life in purposeless. Everything happens for a reason, even if it's not clear in the moment. It was meant to a struggling person's spirit." His gray light dimmed. "However, in the wake of Eternatus descending upon Etherium, I lost faith in such a belief.

"Yet with all that's happening here, I cannot help but wonder if it might hold true for everything in Cibus." He crossed his upper wings in thought. "Perhaps there's a reason those of us who survived the blast did so while the rest were imprisoned in Dark Matter. A reason like... like..."

A vision of the watery room Chiron sat in flashed in his mind.

"... like rescuing Joule for Maple's sake," Bahamut whispered, head tendrils shrinking. Blue and purple pooled in his eyes. "She lost her home. She didn't deserve to lose her mate, too. I will be losing my home not long after returning... and lost my wife and son a long time ago."

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales chuckled humorlessly. “My, the cosmos orchestrating the temporary death of our comrades for a purpose? Allowing us to drown in the sea of despair? It sure does work in twisted ways, no doubts.”

His eyes darkened as he pondered about that concept.

“Perhaps this is a teaching of sorts, to tell us that we much not lower our guard. Or perhaps this ought to be a motivator to become even stronger because threats ahead will be more formidable. Heavens if I know!”

Icetales took a deep breath while a couple of his tails wrapped around his body. So unfair, all that suffering was so unfair. And yet, he realized that his hope had never glowed so brilliant among the darkness, almost as if that tragedy had showed something that had been buried deep and taken for granted.

Cosmos… all cosmos, really. Oh, why must they behave like this?

“…But I digress. There is no point in mulling over what happened. The past stays in the past, no matter how painful it is nor how much we desire to rectify it.” He looked sympathetically at Bahamut. “And yes, my heart goes to thee, too. Losing someone who thou hold dear is going to leave a wound that might never heal.

“However, if there is something that my dear mother — ah, praise her blessed soul — used to tell me and my siblings was that we must collect the last traces of the souls that departed and persevere for their sake.”

Icetales paused to let words sink in.

“What happened to thee was truly tragic, and being forced to return to that miserable life once our job in Cibus is done must not be something thou art looking for.” He showed a small smile. “But at least thou can be a light in this world. Thou can save others from sharing thy fate, which thou did with Miss Maple and Sir Joule. And… I do not know if the Twilight exists in thy universe, but I reckon that thy wife and son are so proud of what thou hast accomplished here.”