Poppin' Arms Guild ~ Main Lobby

[IFBench]

Saltriv turned towards Brisa, a confused expression on their face.

 

[Fusion]

"Soda, huh? This should be interestin'," Scrafty hummed, crossing his arms. "We ain't ever really tried to pick his brain about shit, didn't we?"

Vix stiffened at the mention of Soda... and whatever might be going on about him. They had gone out a few times, and it was definitely fun, but they never really talked about anything mind blowing. At most, Soda asked about Puddle's friend, Cola, but other than that they were just... hangin' out. Seeing how whatever question she would have thought up was about to be answered, Vix stayed tensely quiet.

Puddle, on the other hand, was starting to realize just how little it told Vix about Soda... or anything that went down with him and Cola. It quietly stepped behind Vix, not wanting to see how she'd react to what she was about to learn about Soda... or how angry she'd be about Puddle telling her nothing.

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa balked slightly when Diyem towards him, but forced himself to stay calm.

"Right. Soda," his voice came out closer to a mumble. He cleared his throat and tried to empty his mind, to some success, though a pit still remained in his chest.

Taking a deep breath, he began, recounting everything he could. His words came out mechanical and stiff, but he pressed on, sticking only to facts and statements. How he'd gone down to the dojo, spoken to the haze, and everything the haze had said. And going to Brisa afterwards to discuss it, and confirming the suspicion he'd had all along. Soda was the spy, and intended to take down the Arceus of his world by collecting enough power.

When he finally finished, he looked everywhere but at the rest of the team. His face remained impassive as ever, almost unnervingly so, but inside he wanted to scream. To run. To be anywhere but here, admitting what he'd done. How he was a traitor and a failure and if he'd just done things right maybe they could have saved Eien. Maybe Maple would be here...

"But..." he spoke almost without thinking. "Soda... I overheard him tell Cola he could trust Pop, just before we went to see him."

Or maybe that was a lie to. Did it even matter?

"So. I don't know. Maybe he changed his mind," he muttered. Gritting his teeth, he sat down and fell silent, though he cast Brisa a look from the corner of his eye. As calm as he tried to appear, it was hard to hide the distress in his gaze.

"That's... all I know."

 

[Disco]

Mellow was very still and very quiet, but the shadow under her grew. And grew. Until it was something horrible, that stared right at Koa and the rest close too him.

"Why didn't you tell us this?", both her and the shadow asked at the same time, in an ice cold tone.

 

[Fusion]

"Bullshit." Vix hissed. Puddle quickly rested its hands on the Chandelier to quell her fast-growing corruption. Scrafty, in a genuine attempt to help, stepped away from her. Even still... she was obviously pissed.

"How the hell is Soda a spy? Soda, the same guy that helped us save Darkwhite, and is a part of the God Squad, who has also been helping us since we met them? Do you really think, after however long he's been with Maple and the others, he'd just up and betray everything and everyone?"

Puddle and Scrafty wanted to calm her, but really didn't know how other than what they were doing, making sure she didn't lose it entirely.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Absolutely." Bahamut was as stoic as ever. "When one believes that they've lost everything, it's only natural that they will turn to power. Absolute power."

 

[Negrek]

Rocky looked nervously between Koa and an angry Vix, and Mudkip on the floor next to him. He shrank slightly, flames banked to glowing embers."Soda wanted Cola to go away with him before, too. He was talking about killing gods and stuff and wouldn't promise that Cola wouldn't get hurt."

Mudkip whipped around to stare up at him. "What? When the fuck did that happen?"

"But then he saved Cola from the mewtwo a couple days ago, so... I don't know," Rocky said miserably, making himself as small as he could.

 

[Fusion]

"Sure, I'm sure you'd know that shit from experience, huh?" Vix snapped back, glaring at Bahamut like a stain on million dollar rug. Puddle had to hop onto the chandelure's back to keep her shadows in check. "Which is crazy, seeing how for all the doom and gloom you spouted for the first months of us knowing about each other's existence, I sure as fuck don't see you stabbing us in the back for "Absolute power.""

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa sat by Koa as he related his encounter with the Haze, and the events since. She eyed Dave, and Vix, and the members of God Squad yet present. Anyone who'd be hurt by the revelation. There weren't so many, but . . . it was no comfort at all. At last, Koa finished his account of things.

Then Vix went straight into denial, with an outburst that made Brisa's tail lash.

"Enough," she snapped. "Koa's bein' honest with y'all. An' what he says tracks damn well with what we knew afore the mission."

in five days the Tree of Life is going to be at its peak in power. That is when you should get ready to go, and the current god will never bother you again. Hope you're ready, because it's going to be a wild ride.

"One of the God Squad has to be workin' 'gainst their faction, fer everythin' that happened on Cibus to have come about. The Haze is certainly that person, fer their lean on usin' Radiance, among other reasons. [...]"

"Soda is the only God Squad member with the necessary scoutin' and subterfuge skills, the opportunity to claim the Eterna meteorite afore anyone else, an' a bleedin' wound in his heart regardin' an arceus he resents an' a homeworld he can never return to without a power greater than any other in Creation. Of course it was him. He communicated his plans to Cola. He even confessed as much to Dave as well. It ain't up fer debate."

 

[Disco]

"...Koa was with us when we were at Destiny Tower, as he said... He talked to Cola, right before the dormant Mew-Two attacked. Soda had been going into town, but he came back and saved Cola's life. ...I think he had a change of heart. He must have...", Raven commented, trying to ease tensions between Bahamut and Vix. She glanced at Mellow, but looked away. She had a right to be angry. Everyone did... If they couldn't trust each other, were they even a team?

"But why didn't you tell us?", Mellow demanded, her voice rising as her shadow grew.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Unlikely," Bahamut said. "I think it far more obvious he wants the current Arceus' powers surrendered to Cola, who would be far easier to subdue thanks to that stunt you lot are mentioning." He shook his head. "An idiot. That blithering fool fails to realize those who aren't prepared to pay a very particular price will have such unfathomable power blow up in their faces."

 

[Namohysip]

Pop was discussing with Cola about what Koa said, and Cola quietly nodded to confirm.

"But... Soda wouldn't do that," Potluck said quietly. "S-Soda's my friend. He wouldn't... ever..."

Diyem had advised that Potluck bring his helmet just in case, and the Silvally's talons were squeezing at the edge of it, wondering if it was time to put it on.

"Soda..." Joule looked down ."I don't understand. Soda had... he had come to terms with what had happened in his home world, hadn't he? We had resolved it to the best of our ability, and..." He dimmed a little. "I don't know the details. Maple had negotiated it all. But in the end, she'd said that it was taken care of, and we moved on. Soda moved on. He seemed happier. How could..."

It was so strange to see Joule speaking so quietly.

 

[Cresselia92]

Not wanting the atmosphere to become more tense than how it was already, Icetales walked in front of Mellow, his expression unreadable.

“Miss Mellow. I understand being frustrated, but I implore thee to try to take a deep breath and look at the situation from his perspective.” The Ninetales glanced briefly at Koamaru, but couldn’t read his expression properly. “I do not approve secrets between us, especially ones concerning the fate of this world or our close allies, but I wager there was a reason he could not tell about this to anyone.”

Icetales glanced downward, his tails waving slowly as he pondered about his own words. Did that mean that Koamaru didn’t trust him…?

A pang of pain shot in his heart.

 

[Namohysip]

Diyem raised a hand. "Let's not accuse one another of betrayals or treasons or anything of the sort," he immediately said. "Soda was a master manipulator. He fooled us all and put just enough doubt in us that we didn't immediately spread that information. It is not the fault of any individual. Soda... It appears that, as part of being a spy, he is a master social engineer. He manipulated all of you to be so cautious that he was able to achieve his plans unimpeded. He revealed information before you had a chance to confront him about it, putting you off your guard. Disarming you. And then, after giving you that, he then cautioned you on who to tell. Is that correct?

"It was all calculated."

 

[Ambyssin]

He seemed happier. How could...

Regrettably, it seemed Bahamut was in his element. "Contrary to empty mortal platitudes, time does not, in fact, heal all wounds. A wound to the soul can be grave enough to fester and eat away at one's being until they become laser-focused on a reality that cannot exist. As for the rest..." Bahamut snorted. "He's a fucking zoroark. All that harping about clichés was a way to get people to back off. And it clearly worked."

 

[Disco]

Mellow went quiet again, looking away and trying to do as Icetales recommended. Breathing...right. She needed to breathe. The shadows receded only slightly, however...

Raven was quiet for a bit. "There are good Zoroark... I think he does have good in him. He didn't have to save Cola. He could have just taken him. So why didn't he? I don't think it was to attempt something later... But he still manipulated us all. That much is clear..." The Shade looked over at the ones left of the God Squad with sympathy.

 

[Fusion]

Brisa being so... calm and level headed while she accused Soda of being a goddamn spy made Vix's metaphorical skin crawl. Soda was their friend, and the second shit happens they turned a damn knife on him. "So what if he fucking could, that doesn't mean he fucking did," Vix growled, aiming her glare at the electric lynx. "I'd sooner believe he was trying to stop the Blacklight his own way than him being against literally everyone from the goddamn start."

"Vix, no one's sayin' he's with the Blacklight! Hell, Rocky and I both know that ain't true!" Puddle said, wincing with guilt. "But... they're tellin' the truth. He wanted to get back at that Arceus that killed him an shit..."

There was a pause, then Vix grabbed the Familiar off her back and growled, saying, "...And you didn't even bother to tell me, Puddle?"

"Unlikely," Bahamut said. "I think it far more obvious he wants the current Arceus' powers surrendered to Cola, who would be far easier to subdue thanks to that stunt you lot are mentioning." He shook his head.

"As for the rest..." Bahamut snorted. "He's a fucking zoroark. All that harping about clichés was a way to get people to back off. And it clearly worked."

Puddle was struggling to say anything to Vix, and Vix was so intent on hearing an answer from Puddle that she momentarily tuned everything else out, but what Bahamut said seemed to rub the both of them the wrong way.

"That's not--"

Vix dropped Puddle, facing Bahamut as if ready to kill him. With Puddle not doing its corruption control thing, Vix turned several shades darker, and pointier. "...I am positive you wouldn't want that to be the last thing you say before getting torn to shreds, so I'll happily wait for whatever miserable plea you might want to get out before I tear you apart."

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave kept his gaze off to the side as Koa and Brisa explained, but when Diyem spoke up a flare of anger rose in his chest. "Hey. Soda warned us Maple was going to go nuts and was corrupted to hell and back, and look exactly what fucking happened. The lure that stopped Maple from cutting us all down? That was him too. I didn't not tell Maple about this because of his fucking social engineering, I didn't because I thought there was a pretty good chance he was right, and what do you know. He's probably the reason we're not all fucking dead right now."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa eyed Vix's growing agitation with increasing agitation of her own. Ears pinned back, tail lashing worse than before, she related the rest of what she'd explained to Dave.

"He's put himself above scrutiny by playin' up his resentment at bein' suspected, an' pullin' this infuriatin' fuckin' move where he'll lay out why he's the most obvious suspect an' then get exasperated that the evidence points at him an' noone ever fuckin' calls him on it, not even me, 'cause I feel like shit about that exact fuckin' thing!"

"I suspected Soda the second things went sideways with Sword, and he immediately went and accused me of species prejudice to get me off his case and it fuckin' worked."

Brisa seethed in her skin for a moment, then focused away the building Blacklight with a deep breath. Koa, next to her, wasn't saying a word. Wasn't looking at her. This ain't you. Look at the kid, he ain't speakin'. He needs ya right-minded.

"Even as it became clear he was the spy, there were too many risks associated with spillin' the secret more widely. What if it got back to God Squad, an' they decided the team weren't on-side anymore if'n we suspected Soda? Maple was pretty fuckin' pissed off at me fer even suggestin' the fella wasn't above board. What if Maple was corrupted like he said? An' she fuckin' was. I don't reckon any of y'all'd've known the right thing t'do in the situation, better'n us."

She shook her head.

"Vix, he was the fuckin' Haze. He weren't spyin' fer anyone, he was out fer himself the entire goddamn time. Y'wanna ask yerself what other explanation could possibly account fer what's happened, fer the conversations Dave an' Koa an' Cola had with him, fer his absense now?"

 

[Disco]

"...If you had told us, maybe Maple would still be here. Maybe we could have kept her away. But you didn't, and now she's sealed in the tree instead of with us right now.", Mellow and her shadow snapped back in response. She went back to trying to breathe and focus, but it was hard...