Poppin' Arms Guild ~ Infirmary

[Namohysip]

Mewtwo blinked for what might have been the first time, then brought his hand toward his chest, at the center of that five-sided star. He reached inside and Zinc winced as it made an unsettling, deep sound. Then, he pulled something out that dripped with thick, dark fluid and pulsed rhythmically. There was a thick cord that connected the thing into Mewtwo's body. The room felt heavier and it sounded like a storm was brewing.

Mewtwo wondered if this was his core.

 

[Negrek]

Nate flinched when the mewtwo ripped something that looked way more like an internal organ than a rock out of his chest. Jesus. At least that probably meant he didn't feel pain the way the familiars hadn't.

Rocky merely inspected the pulsing "core" with interest. "Hmm. Well, it doesn't look like mine did," he said. "Maybe..." He reached forward, looking like he wanted to poke the thing.

"No!" Nate snapped. He turned to the mewtwo. "All right, put that back. Don't think you really want to be showing that off to people."

"I wanted to see," Rocky grumbled. He took a pecha berry out of his bag. "I don't really know what it means. Maybe you'd like to try a berry and see what happens?"

 

[Namohysip]

Mewtwo placed it back and the star-shaped brand on his chest closed. He took the Pecha next and bit into it. Once again, his expression didn't change, but he seemed to appreciate it.

Toast growled and made what might have been a whine. Mewtwo looked down and tore a piece of the Pecha, dropping it. Toast grabbed it in midair, wriggling assertively.

Mewtwo stared for a while longer. A curious wave of energy emanated from him--somehow, Nate knew that Mewtwo felt happy.

Then, he looked at Nate, wondering if he cared about him, and that was why he visited. There were a lot of people who visited, and he didn't know why. Especially since he'd tried to kill most of them. It was strange. Nate's friends were strange.

 

[Negrek]

Evidently the mewtwo could eat, and seemed to enjoy it, too. That was good. After the whole thing in the Voidlands Nate had been worried that the mewtwo, like, wouldn't be able to feel happiness, or maybe emotions at all. It really did seem like things had worked out the best possible way with him.

But now he wanted to get all into the mushy stuff. Ugh, Cibus. "I mean yeah, of course we care," Nate said, rubbing at his gills. "I mean, what happened to you was pretty fucked up. Ain't nobody wants to see someone get stuck in a situation like that. You had that fucking parasite in you and all... nobody thinks going around killing people is something you, like, enjoy." Unlike certain other clones. "We're just glad to see you're doing better. After having other people controlling you for so long, it's about time you get to decide things for yourself."

"I just think you're cool," Rocky said. His eyes gleamed. "I mean, you're like a mewtwo, but shadow!" Make him also a pirate and it would be pretty much all of Rocky's favorite things. "Plus you seem really nice. Why wouldn't people like you?"

 

[Namohysip]

Mewtwo wasn't sure. But something Nate said echoed. Decide for himself... He didn't know how to do that, or what that meant. How did people come to decisions on their own? Where did their decisions come from? Nothing? How did that happen?

Mewtwo stared at Nate and there was a flash of curiosity in his eyes. What did it mean to make decisions on his own?

 

[Negrek]

Ah, hell. Going right for the big questions, was he? Nate dragged unhappily on his gills again. No pressure, just didn't want to give the guy the wrong ideas and maybe fuck him up for life or nothing.

"Well, usually you make decisions based on what you know you like. What makes you happy. Because mostly people would rather be happy than sad, so they try to do things that are gonna make them happy most of the time. What I mean is, used to be that somebody else told you what to do and you did it whether you liked it or not, right? The reason they told you to do whatever was because it was something that would make them happy. But you have their job now, which means that what you do gets to be based on what you want to do instead."

"And if you don't know what makes you happy, then you try a bunch of different things until you figure out what you like. Like with berries! The other berry I gave you was sweet, but maybe..." He fiddled for a moment, then pulled a razz berry out of his bag. "Maybe if you tried a spicy berry, you'd like it more. Or maybe not. But after you try both, you'll know which one you like better, and then if somebody asks you what berry you want, you can pick the one that's your favorite!"

 

[Namohysip]

Mewtwo considered this, tilting his head down in thought. Toast made growling noises again. Mewtwo looked at Nate, then Rocky. Mewtwo wondered, does killing things make him happy? Does being powerful make him happy? His old master thought that taking things away would make him happier. Was that how people became happy?

 

[Negrek]

Nate's chest constricted painfully. It didn't help that he could swear he could hear some weird noise coming from Rocky's vicinity. Stupid. He forced himself to calm down, if only a little bit. It was going to be fine. He couldn't even fucking die here, Christ.

"I dunno," he said after a moment. "A minute ago you seemed to think that people wouldn't like you because you tried to kill them. Why did you think that?"

 

[Namohysip]

Mewtwo thought about that. That was true. It was because that's what Zinc said. And others who visited. It was also something the red-hat Charizard said.

Mewtwo gazed at Nate again. Was Nate afraid of him? Mewtwo probably could try to kill Nate. But Nate was better if he was alive. He wanted Nate alive. He wanted a lot of people alive. They were nice. Mewtwo looked at the book next, thinking about the Salamence who used his power to help his brothers fly early. People seemed to like that, so maybe that was what he wanted to do.

 

[Negrek]

"What, Red and them said something that made you think people were gonna dislike you because of what happened with the parasite and all?" Nate said. "Fuck that. I mean, maybe some assholes... Well, they're just assholes. Won't matter to nobody who matters, trust me." He sighed, and a little of his tension went with it. "But I think you got the right idea. Killing a person ain't something you can take back, and taking something out of the world permanently is kind of a big deal. Not something you should do without some serious thought at least. Plus, yeah, it's bound to piss a lot of people off."

"And stories are good!" Rocky chirped. "You can learn a lot about the world from stories. But most of all, they're fun!"

 

[Namohysip]

Mewtwo tilted his head, pondering this. So, it was bad to do things that were permanent to others, if they didn't want it. And people usually didn't want to die. Was it okay if he only killed them temporarily? He wasn't sure if that was possible, but he could figure out a way to do that, if he had to kill someone for a little while.

Toast flopped up the beanbag and settled next to Mewtwo's thigh. He reached out and scratched him between his crust.

Mewtwo thought he understood. He had to do things that he wanted, but not things that people didn't want. That way, everyone could get what they wanted. That was strange. But everyone was telling him that, so he would follow it.

Mewtwo wondered if Nate wanted to be killed temporarily, if he could find a way.

 

[Negrek]

Nate listened to Mewtwo's conclusions in whatever strange not-voice he communicated with. Mostly it sounded like he was on the right track... If Nate could even trust himself to know what the right track was, anyway. "More or less, yeah. Sometimes you gotta do something you want even if other people don't want you to, though. Like... Imagine if Giovanni told you to hurt the, ah, the charizard with the hat. You probably wouldn't want to, right? You like the guy, you don't want to see him hurt. But obviously not doing what Giovanni wanted would make him all kinds of pissed. Going with what you wanted here would still be the right call. So it's all"--he made a wobble motion with his hand in the air--"it's all balancing and shit, trying to figure out what the best thing to do is. It's tricky, and sometimes you're just wrong, and sometimes other people are just wrong. You just gotta keep trying, and messing up, until you find out what works for you. You'll get it."

He paused for a second. "Killing people is usually bad, though. Rule of thumb."

"You can kill me and bring me back again if Marshtomp doesn't want to!" Rocky said. "I bet that would feel weird."

Dear fucking lord.

 

[Namohysip]

That was confusing. Mewtwo preferred it when he could just kill people. But if he was going to do things on his own, maybe killing people wouldn't work in the long term. Maybe he had to be more like that tiny Salamence.

Mewtwo eyed Rocky, raising a hand.

"No, no no, let's not do any killing here!" Zinc quickly spoke up, raising her hands.

Mewtwo looked at Nate. Was this one of those times when killing was bad because someone else didn't want it? No, now Mewtwo understood. It probably wasn't, so he lowered his hand.

Toast growled again, curling into a roll to fall asleep. Mewtwo rubbed his crumbs, then looked at Nate. Toast wanted to sleep, so he probably wants things quiet.

 

[Negrek]

Nate couldn't tell whether Rocky was disappointed that Zinc stepped in to stop Mewtwo or relieved. He had to have figured out there was no way the guy knew how to actually revive people, hadn't he? The familiar folded his arms, tail flicking behind him.

Well, whatever. At least it seemed like they'd moved on from the whole topic of murder. Actually, it seemed like they'd moved on from talking at all--Mewtwo wanted the demon bread to have a nap. "Oh, so you want we should fuck off, then?" Nate said with a smile. "Yeah, I get it. It was good seeing you, anyhow. I'm glad you're doing all right."

"Ooh, no, no, not yet!" Rocky said. He traded the razz berry he'd been holding for what looked to Nate like an entirely ordinary rock. It was half dark gray and half white and kind of sparkly, he supposed, but whatever. Didn't look all that special to him. "Here! I thought you might like this rock. Because it's light and dark, like you! And it's pretty."

 

[Namohysip]

Mewtwo took the rock and tilted his head. It did look like him a little. Maybe he would keep it somewhere. Rocks were nice.

Toast growled again.

Zinc sighed. "I'm so glad you're able to get along with people," she said, smiling at Mewtwo. "And thank you for visiting, Nate, Rocky."

 

[Negrek]

Rocky beamed when Mewtwo took the stone. "I'm glad you like it," he said. "We should hang out sometime, after you get out of the infirmary. Maybe we could take Toast for a walk!"

"Yeah. Anytime," Nate said. There wasn't much time left. But it was good to know that there would be people here for Rocky after he was gone. He nodded to Zinc, and with only a small amount of force, managed to pull Rocky back out into the hall.

The familiar was practically bouncing as they made their way down the corridor. "Isn't that exciting? Mewtwo gets to learn about everything all over again! And now he can have friends and a family and everything he didn't have before."

"Yeah," Nate said distantly. "Great." The mewtwo was probably going to stay here, then, right? But what about Red and Silver? Didn't Red's universe kinda... need him? And what the fuck were they going to do about Giovanni? Nate doubted they could keep him cooped up down in the holding cells forever, especially given that he'd probably figure out portals eventually.

Wasn't his problem. Wasn't worth worrying about. But he couldn't help but wonder...

<><><>​

 

[Namohysip]

After taking some emergency treatments in the Colosseum recovery wing--where Leg and the others hadn't been allowed--they were informed that Truffle had stabilized and had been taken to Poppin' Arms to continue his recovery. They remarked to Brisa and Icetales that Truffle's performance at the Colosseum, with the vitality measurements taken, had not only broken several known records but also had defied known elemental science principles.

Ultimately, however, Zinc allowed Brisa and Icetales inside, but advised them not to crowd around.

There he was, resting in one of the infirmary's beds, looking perfectly fine. He was sitting up, reading a book, calmly. Pensive and in deep thought. But he was noticeably moving very little, and Maple was already by his side. Anyone keen on the Decidueye, or the species in general, or just how Pokemon were... would know that Truffle was in terrible shape elementally. It would be a while yet until he could be back at full strength.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa had spent the intervening time sitting in quiet anxiety with Luz and Icetales until they would be permitted visitation. She didn't text anyone. She didn't talk. She waited.

Now that she saw him, immersed in reading and not at all d– ...Not how she'd expected, her heart calmed a little.

"It's good to see you," she said, at last, her voice brittle and unfamiliar in her mouth.

Luz, at her side, was uncharacteristically calm.

"We won't be acceptin' rematch requests," drawled the shade, her voice also stiff despite the bravado.

 

[Cresselia92]

The minutes seemed everlasting as Icetales waited for some news alongside Brisa and Luz. Silence permeated the air and bated breaths were held in place, a big contrast with the turbulence that was plaguing everyone’s mind.

And then, they were allowed in. Icetales inhaled deeply and accompanied the others into the other room. He had plenty of questions that needed answers, but it was better to take things slowly. One step after the other.

Icetales was quick to make his presence known. “Miss Maple. Sir Truffle,” he started, before bowing with respect. “Greetings. How’s your day?”

 

[Namohysip]

"I certainly wouldn't think so," Truffle replied to Luz with a small chuckle, placing the book down with one of his feathers as a mark for where he'd left off. The moment he did, Leg hopped onto a nearby beg and then onto his; Zinc was about to protest, but Truffle subtly moved a wing, allowing it. She quickly nestled in his feathers.

Then, to Icetales, Truffle said, "My day has been... tumultuous. But I would also say it was very exciting and just what I would expect... from the saviors of Cibus. Hm?"