Poppin' Arms Guild ~ Main Lobby

[Namohysip]

"AHHHHHHHH!"

"Oh for fuck's--" Soda rubbed his muzzle, pressing his claws between his eyes. "Great. He has company."

The not-Snorlax bounced once, and the whole building seemed to shake.

"Yep, I'm happy for ya too, buddy," Soda replied. "Just remember, inside voice."

"AHHHHHH..."

"Good enough."

Flesh seemed pleased, and Soda did what he could to mimic it by twisting the illusion's face into a small smile.

Owen, who had been taking notes quietly, tried to tune out the ringing in his head from all the screaming--which was apparently just how his kind spoke? They certainly didn't live in buildings...

"I think you're a little mistaken," Truffe said to Icetales. "We were not gathered solely for this task. We have been working as a team for quite a while, team members coming and going as necessary to find new worlds that they may live quietly after leaving their old world. The only truly permanent members are Maple and Joule, though I believe Potluck has been with them for quite a while, too."

"Mhm!" Potluck's fishtail wagged. "I like being on the team!"

"Our newest recruit," Truffle explained, "was actually Leg a handful of years ago."

"Khh..." Leg remained behind Truffle.

 

[Ambyssin]

Yup, that cinched it. "My Guzzlish is quite rusty. The last time I met a guzzlord I think I was in the Andromeda galaxy." Bahamut licked a forepaw and brushed it against his mane. "In any case, none of this sounds promising." He frowned. "You've seen the foes we've been fighting. Have you sensed any sort of resemblance to the power you were originally pursuing?"

 

[Namohysip]

The team glanced awkwardly between one another, and then Maple sighed. "Well," she said. "...You." She gestured to Team Spectrum.

"Ah, hello? Is everything all right in there?" called a high, masculine voice. It sounded like it was coming from a small body, though all that came down the hall was a splotch of darkness on the ground. Dark wisps of smoke emerged first, followed by the rest of its soft, smoky body. Orange-red eyes swept across the room, and then the creature said, "Ah, only Flesh. Very well. In any case, apologies for the lateness. I was tending to something. I am Marshadow S'more--the Guild's leader. A pleasure to meet you all, and welcome to Destiny Village."

"Hello, S'more," greeted Maple with a nod. "We were just going over our status of arrival here."

"Ah, wonderful. I shall catch up by context clues, if you don't mind. Please, continue." He bowed and gestured for them to go on.

 

[Ambyssin]

That entrance timing seemed convenient. Eerily convenient. But the fact remained that the most likely conclusion was that Maple's team was pursuing Dark Matter. Or a Dark Matter.

Are you hearing this? He had no idea if Diyem's link was still up or not. It sounds like there's another version of you running amok. No wonder Maple was so icy toward us.

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales was quick to reciprocate S’more’s bow, his tails swaying like a pleasant breeze. “My pleasure, sir.”

Then, he looked at the God Squad. “Well! This explains quite a few loose ends and missing connections, then. Namely the… whole investigation about us.” He placed a paw under his chin. “And also why you had reserves toward Dark Matter. I guess our bodies are brimming with that kind of dark sorcery, huh?”

Just the notion of being crafted from dark arts made his stomach churn, so he opted to stay focused on the threat that was still out there. Even though, he could hear the faint snickering of a certain warlock in the back of his mind…

“Though, I sure hope you have understood that we are working on a similar cause, right? The fact we are made… well, in this way is a mere coincidence. No more than that.”

 

[Ambyssin]

It took every ounce of willpower for Bahamut's jaw not to drop. Had Icetales drank a cup of stupid juice? Did he not see the Cibus native who just walked into the room... and didn't know that their group was tied to Dark Matter?

 

[Namohysip]

Despite this, it seemed that S'more did not seem very fazed by this revelation. Perhaps, as the leader of Poppin' Arms, he had been made aware of this aspect of their team? After all, Arceus knew. And if the books in the library were anything to go by, he and Marshadow had worked together to make this city...

"Hmm... Yes. I've been told as much," Marshadow said. "While you are all not entirely in the clear, it is at least reasonable to consider the idea of multiple Dark Matters in the fray. Yours, of course, and there is also the matter of Balm and Cepa's future-past world's Dark Matter not making his scheduled appearance..."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Which is exactly why you shouldn't toss that around so casually." Bahamut's eyes turned red as he looked at Icetales. "This city doesn't need a panic on its hands. Unless you want to be the one to try and explain it all to them." Which Bahamut was sure would go over splendidly with Icetales' vocabulary.

And by splendidly, Bahamut meant he expected Icetales to lose a tail or two.

 

[Namohysip]

Diyem, meanwhile, finally replied to Bahamut. I've been looking for signs of another Dark Matter as well, but have had... little success so far. It might be hiding within a distortion, one that many Legends live within if they chose not to live in Destiny Village. I will keep looking, as per usual. I feel that I am very close to finding what I am looking for.

"Um," Owen said, raising a hand. When Maple acknowledged him, he went on, "and what about Darkwhite? Is her energy similar?"

"It is," Maple said. "But I still do not know what to make of her, either. She seems too... unstable to associate with a foe that can do something covertly. And considering Cosmog and his relation to Team Rocket--a human organization... I cannot see a connection between Darkwhite and that."

 

[Ambyssin]

Diyem's last statement struck him as a bit odd. Had he said he was looking for something when talking with the group before? Gah, so much had happened since then. It was a headache to keep track of. Which was saying something, since he wasn't used to even having a solid head in the first place.

Wait, hang on... what did Maple just say? "Team... Rocket?" Bahamut frowned. "That's... a name I haven't heard in a very long time. But Eternatus destroyed them along with their planet. Or do you mean to tell me there are multiple versions of that group, too?"

 

[Namohysip]

"It seems there are," Maple replied with a nod. "You are from a very faraway world, are you not? Perhaps they are few and far between, but Team Rocket appears in quite a few worlds, it seems... I am not as familiar with them. Human matters tend to resolve themselves."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut's face scrunched up. "They were... on some planet called Earth. I went there in my youth. When I was trying to find a home." His tail lashed like a whip. "Their leader... tried to capture me. Sicced this strange creature on me. It looked like a mew, but taller. More muscular. And it could transform. Its tail moved to its head." He shuddered. "I fled the planet, but I saw Eternatus lay siege to it not long after. I left that galaxy behind immediately.

"If this version is anything like the one I'm familiar with, this is not a good sign. They have devices for capturing pokémon."

 

[Namohysip]

"They do. It is commonplace in human worlds, though it is mostly used as a species codependency. Pokemon help humans, and humans help Pokemon. Team Rocket, however, is the dark side of such relationships." Maple hummed, thoughtful. "We will need to be careful."

"A taller Mew that could transform?" Potluck asked. "That sounds like Karat..."

"Indeed," Maple said. "Karat is from another world, too, hence his oddly spelled name. Though he has lived in Cibus for centuries since then. That transformation you're describing sounds like one of his awakened forms..."

 

[Ambyssin]

"We call it 'trance' where I'm from," Bahamut said, shrugging. "Though I find it alarming that you claim there's someone like my old assailant here. And from another world, no less..."

 

[Namohysip]

"Last I checked, he had no stories about a Necrozma," Maple said to Bahamut. "I suppose you can take a small comfort in that."

"Hmm." Marshadow's wisps drifted to and fro. "It may still be something worth looking into later. Karat is very reclusive, and not very keen on speaking of his past. Still, it was quite a long time ago for him, too. Likely irrelevant now. But, still worth exploring."

"Guess that's all we got," Soda said, shrugging. "We're gonna continue scouting. See if there's anything we might need to worry ab--"

Suddenly, a loud, high-pitched beeping came from Marshadow. He perked up and dipped his hand into a pool of shadows in the air and produced a badge.

"S'more speaking."

"S'more! We have a big problem in the Grass Continent!"

"A problem? Where?" S'more flipped the badge and opened an interface while he spoke, pulling up a virtual map. "I do not see you on the map."

"We were doing our routine checks on the Legends. We're within Palkia's rift. But Palkia isn't here! He's completely missing! There appear to be signs of a struggle, but--"

"Right, leave the area immediately for now. Take pictures of what you can and leave. It's too dangerous as it is."

"Of course. We'll return soon."

Communications ended. Marshadow looked at them all, frowning. "This does not bode well. It seems that our foe is making moves already."

 

[Ambyssin]

“Delightful.”

 

[Cresselia92]

"Which is exactly why you shouldn't toss that around so casually." Bahamut's eyes turned red as he looked at Icetales. "This city doesn't need a panic on its hands. Unless you want to be the one to try and explain it all to them."

Icetales shot him an unamused glare and whispered indignantly. “How hypocritical! Thou were the one who was all too content to reveal our true nature to folks who could destroy us on the spot mere days ago, and to someone who openly despised Dark Matter to boot! Suddenly being more candid toward a single member of authority is the most horrible of actions? Double standards much?” He snorted out a cloud a mist. “Besides, it’s not like we are in the arena with an entire crowd of a thousand of folks ready to lynch us, huh? I am not this foolish!”

Having said so, he focused his attention entirely on the rest of the discussion. Humans, Cosmog, Team Rocket… all of those were concepts he had never heard about, but was interested to learn nonetheless. So, he took out his trusty note-pad and pen and scribbled down some notes, planning to investigate more about that. Knowledge is power, and perhaps the humans of the cortège could tell something more.

But then, his ears flicked and his pupils shrunk when he heard that Palkia was missing.

“The Space God… missing? That… is t-truly alarming.” He gazed around the place, trying to check out if the world was starting to disintegrate or something. “…No. Heavens no, not a Space Crash of all things…” His voice was feeble and his tails twitched. It was not good. Not good!

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa arrived at the lobby in time to catch some part of the ongoing meeting. This was what she got for not paying enough attention to her texts, she supposed.

So. God Squad were an interdimensional team, missing a key member, one of Bahamut's species. Maple might be a Voice of Life, if she was sincere. A human organisation found on many worlds had created the Dark Machine, and Cosmog had some relation to them. There could be more than one mysterious faction working in concert or by cooincidence, just as she'd suspected. The situation on Cibus was spiralling wildly past her expectations with every passing week, it seemed. God, she needed to talk to someone she could trust about some of this shit to get her head around it.

Jesse would have sorted this out. Jesse would be better-placed here than her. Damn it, how was she gonna-

"So we might have another fight on our hands," Brisa said, stepping forward past a panicking Icetales. "And we have evidence that there's been deliberate action by parties from other dimensions who can control and alter pokémon. We might want to start thinkin' about this scenario of ours in terms of invasion. If what happened at Shaymin Village wasn't some Darkwhite hooliganism, we might see that kinda threat again."

 

[Namohysip]

Maple looked to Truffle and Soda, and a mutual understanding between the three of them resulted in a simultaneous nod.

"Alright," Soda said. "Looks like I'll be bringing Flesh back home and then Truffle and I're heading out to investigate. We'll report back if we catch even a hint of Shadows or whatever."

"Do you need any of us to come with you?" Owen asked.

"Not yet. Maple can bring you close if we need it." Soda shrugged. "Something tells me we aren't gonna find anything but the aftermath, but maybe it'll give us some clues on what to do next. But right now it's probably too dangerous to send too many of you guys at once."

"Check on Dialga while you're at it," Maple said. "He might be more vulnerable to darkness than others since he was recently tainted by it during the second modern Omen."

"Right." Soda looked to the others. "Leaping right into the aftermath with all of you guys is asking for a trap. We'll scout it out and stand guard at Dialga's until then. Maple, how about you go tell Arceus if he doesn't already know?"

"Of course." Maple turned to the others, nodding. "I suppose that's the end of this meeting for now. If you have any further questions, save it for later. We will be busy tracking the movements of the enemy. If you'll excuse me."

 

[Cresselia92]

Icetales took a deep breath to calm himself down. The problems never ended, did they?

“…Very fair. Let us know if you will need some assistance for anything.”

He stored his note-pad and pen back into his bag, before standing up and turning toward the exit… but then he froze when he remembered something.

“Oh! Silly me! There is one last matter.” He rushed toward the God Squad and extended a few tail-written papers toward them. “…I know we did not have the best of starts, but… I would be truly honored and pleased if as soon as this new problem is solved, huh… well, if you all would wish to join the festival I am organizing. It would be a good chance to… get to know each other better, no? Also, we all are in dire need of letting go of some of our stress and have some good-natured entertainment, I reckon.”

He showed a shy smile and bowed with respect. “Now, if you will excuse me, I shall go prepare myself for any potential scuffle,” he glanced at his comrades and bowed again, “My good comrades, may the stars guide our paths.”

And so he ran out of the Guild, faster than winter winds. It was time to strengthen himself even further!