Rocky Road ~ House of Brisa, Dave, Koa, and Owen

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa winced at the reference to their deaths. That wasn't fair. Combat sports weren't lethal save for the most absurd instances of disregard for safety regs. Going up against an angry star was . . . different.

"I treat everythin' like work if I ain't careful," she said. "I'm workin'— Aha. I'm doin' what I can to change that, with Fugu. Starr helps plenty, she's pretty damn keen I don't burn out again. Nah, some fightin' is work, an' some is recreational or whatever. Sparrin' with ya would be the latter."

She finished her beer and held up a paw. "Y'ain't worried I'd really hurt ya, right? Leavin' aside that I do keep myself in check, you can really take a drubbin'. More'n that, you're all-round proficient these days. That performance y'put on in the Worldcore? Fuckin' exemplary. I swear t'ya, I couldn't've done half as well as I did without yer support. I dunno if I ever thanked you prop'rly fer that, yet, so, thanks Dad– Dave."

She went back to her beer, found it empty, felt an idiot. Yeah, okay, she needed another one now.

 

[Dragonfree]

Snap, twist, crush. Sure, he could take a drubbin’. Dave’s grip tightened on his bottle. “Look, I just don’t really feel like more fucking fighting right now.”

There was an unexpected tremble to his voice and he looked away, took a stiff breath. What the fuck.

Shadow raised his head, ears flat. “I’m sorry. The Worldcore fight was... hard. We... died again, for a moment. And then someone shoved us back in there.”

“Lucky me.”

Thanks Dad, echoed in his head. He had kept her safe. All fight, protecting her, shielding her from harm, while she laid into the illusions. That was something. Not exactly on the menu if she wanted him to beat her up, though.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa flinched away with each new pain. Dave was angry. (Scared?) He'd died, again, in the Worldcore. He didn't even sound relieved to have survived.

"You don't gotta spar with me, Dave. I'll drop it."

She wasn't sure what to say about the death. Was he right? People could believe all sorts of things in extremis. Not so much Dave, though. She gave a strained sigh, and with it, she heard that sigh of dry, hot air she had become familiar with.

"I ain't gonna let that happen t'you again," said Sombra, her flank pressed against Shadow's.

 

[Dragonfree]

The pain in her voice was palpable, her ears drooping. Dave thought of a thousand times of Jean just like that. Fuck.

He put his bottle down on the bedside table with a heavy sigh and awkwardly massaged his eyelids. Paws were hard. "Look, I'm sorry. We can spar sometime if you want. Just... sometime later."

Shadow leaned against Sombra, pressing his head against her cheek. "Everything hurt, and then it stopped," he murmured. "We could see our body from the outside. Diyem was down. We thought that might mean we weren't even going to the Voidlands, just... just dead. But then there was this... voice."

"Thought it might have been Soda," Dave muttered, reaching for his drink again. "He said it wasn't."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa smiled weakly at Dave's assent. "I don't spar after drinkin', anyway."

She listened to the mightyena relate their 'death' with a lurch of anxiety.

"I'm . . . glad you made it," she said.

"Soda's a liar," said Sombra, quietly.

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave glanced at Sombra as Shadow looked up in alarm. "What, why? He's a bit of a dick, doesn't understand the concept of privacy, but he's basically a good guy. I like him. More than the rest of the fucking God Squad, at any rate."

Shadow watched anxiously, ears flat.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"I don't have a problem with Soda," said Brisa, quickly, eyeing her shadow.

"No. But you oughta. One of the God Squad's gotta be a double agent. It ain't any of the others; none of them are capable. That fella has the motive, means, and opportunity, and he shuts down any inquirin' 'mon, not by provin' himself, but by accusin' 'em of havin' somethin' 'gainst zoroark."

Brisa said nothing, just stared at her dark mirror self with growing anxiety.

Sombra wasn't wrong.

 

[Dragonfree]

Anger rose in his chest. "The fuck do you mean, the others aren't capable? That's news to me. Hello Maple with all of her highly suspect fucking nonsense and threats to murder everyone. Have you ever even talked to him?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Have you?" bit back Sombra, with less anger than fatigue. "You don't trust Maple, but what y'don't care fer about her is unconcealed. When has Soda ever given you a straight answer? When has he defended himself with information 'stead of playin' with folks feelings?"

"We ain't discussin' this," snapped Brisa. "Not without some real evidence."

"Why don't you ask Luz about that? Wasn't she due to pay a visit? You've been avoidin' hearin' how it went."

Brisa rocked in tiny motions, conscious of Dave's anger, Shadow's nervousness, Sombra's withering stare, and her own conflicted heart. Sombra was right. Goddamnit, she was right.

Luz. Find anythin' at Soda's place?

There was a delay in the reply.

Yeah. Wasn't sure if I oughta break it to ya in a sendin'. I'm about to text ya somethin'.

Brisa fidgeted as Sombra stared down Dave. The text wasn't long in coming, but it felt an age. There was a photo attached.

fella had this hidden away

lmk what u make of it

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. If you're not sure, ask if you can go to a restaurant with me later and we'll talk more.

Brisa blanched.

She didn't say anything. She just tossed her badge to Dave and went to grab another beer. Or several.

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave stared at Sombra, heart pounding uncomfortably. "Soda's given plenty of fucking information. What, he's suspicious now because he also isn't a huge fan of being suspected on the grounds of existing as what he is? I would've thought you'd be pretty fucking familiar with--"

A ding from Brisa's badge. She tossed it over without a word, and he grabbed it to read the contents of the message.

Shadow let out a quiet whimper, and Dave wanted to strangle him again. He squeezed the badge instead, paw shaking. What did any of this even mean? Since when had Pop even been bothering Soda? Soda'd only ever had good things to say about the guy, which was a fucking miracle given all the reasons he had to dislike Arceus on principle. What, was this somebody talking about helping him overthrow his world's god? Because frankly Dave was all for that. What was this supposed to prove?

He threw the badge back in her direction, fuming. "I'm going to talk to him," he growled, pushing himself to his feet. Shadow shuddered behind him, shaking his head.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Slow yer goddamn roll, Dave," snapped Brisa, moving quickly from her cushion to the door. "You're gonna go confront him with that? That's how y'think an investigation should be conducted? By someone who's already decided the fella's above scrutiny, with secondhand and incomplete information, and no backup? He'll just spin some explanation you'll like the sound of an' cover his fuckin' tracks. Think this through!"

Sombra stared a hole in the mightyenas, with those uniformly golden eyes.

 

[Dragonfree]

“I haven’t already decided shit,” Dave snarled. “Sure sounds like she has, though. Before she even fucking saw this.”

Brisa's face fell, in a mixture of disappointment, apprehension, a flash of something from the Voidlands. Sombra's stare bored through him. His gut roiled and twisted as he breathed, in and out.

"Brisa, I'm--" In. Out. Fuck.

"I'm sorry," Shadow said, head low. "She's you. I know that."

In, out. "I just want to know the fucking truth. What else is there to investigate besides what he's got to say about it?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa grit her teeth. "C'mon, Dave. I've been workin' my goddamn tail off tryin' to clear or implicate every last Guild an' God Squad member fer weeks now. Give me some fuckin' credit. I ain't decided nothin' fer sure yet."

She eyed their respective shadows. Hers, weary and disapproving. His, abashed and afraid.

"Y'wanna know what got me thinkin' about Soda in the first place? Fella can use his Radiance in the presence of Eterna power-negatin' fields. Y'ever notice that? Have you noticed how he takes pains to use illusions at all times no matter what and he has the power to suppress shit like my vision and Owen's Perceive? Not even Pop and Joule can do that. Hell, I've heard him claim to be more powerful'n Maple. There's more to him than he lets on, believe you me. I got a workin' hypothesis about this guy, and I want you to listen to it properly."

She swallowed, and sat down. Don't take off, Dave. Please.

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave listened, trembling on his feet. "And what, you noticed and figured all this shit and made yourself a working hypothesis and just chose to keep it to yourself up until now? Just, oh, who the fuck cares, not like it could be important?" Shadow shuddered, wincing. "For the record I have seen him without the goddamn illusions." He just wanted to look younger. Right? "And he was trained in anti-mindreading shit for a job he did." According to him. "Which you might know if you'd ever fucking talked to him."

Shadow stared pleadingly at Brisa. "It's not you. I just trusted him and now I--"

"Fuck off," Dave snarled at the other Mightyena, who shrank away. His stomach was a tight, nauseous knot. Brisa sat there and he couldn't quite look at her.

"I just..." Fuck. "Never mind. Just tell me what you're thinking."

"I'm sorry," Shadow said quietly, again. He sounded miserable.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa stared at Dave, the lower lid of one eye and her upper cheek twitching as she processed his sheer anger and stupidity. She kept her voice steady, speaking calmly, to control the resentment that would spill out otherwise.

She sounded like Ma.

"I kept it to myself 'cause spillin' every new lead y'find ain't a sensible way to conduct an investigation. If I'd kept askin' about every li'l clue, then he" – or you – "would've told me t'get lost 'fore I had a fuller picture of things."

Meet my fuckin' eyes. Look at my face when you shout at me.

"If I'm gonna talk t'you about this, I need you steady. Look... Perceive ain't mind-readin', and neither is my vision. The only way he could hold off Silver in the lab is if he had Eterna. I didn't even keep this to myself, I've had help. I ain't an idiot, Dave. You know that, right?"

The response wasn't instantaneous, but any longer than an instant was too long to bear.

 

[Dragonfree]

He took a breath that burned in his lungs. Brisa's anger tightened the knot in his stomach, suffocated him. He wanted to not be here, to just never have come to Cibus, to not have somehow convinced another person to call him Dad just so he could be a shitty one to her too.

"I said never mind. You're not an idiot." Another breath. "I just want to know the fucking truth," he said again.

"Please don't hate me," Shadow murmured, and he gritted his teeth.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa drew a long breath to match Dave's. Okay. They could get somewhere, maybe.

"I just want you t'work with me," she said, quietly. "We can find the truth t'gether, if we trust each other. And I'm trustin' you."

She needed to quell the tension in her torso. Her brain was filling up with half-remembered arguments with Jesse: him scolding her, her yelling back, anything that might upset him more, make him feel like shit, hurt him. She didn't want to do that to Dave. So she wouldn't.

"We care about you so goddamn much," breathed Sombra, during the pause. It was quiet enough that Brisa could pretend not to have heard it.

"Okay," she said, feeling steadier. "My thinkin' is basically this... 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. I've been tryin' to figure out which of them is the Haze, by investigatin' as many of them as I can manage. Along with Luz, mostly.

"Let's start with means, or rather, capability. Soda has pointed out himself that almost the whole Squad ain't got the mentality fer it, bein' either earnest souls, shy ones, or both. Similarly, the skillsets of each of them 'sides Soda are unsuitable to the task. Most of them are blunt instruments. Only Truffle seemed seriously likely, besides Soda, what with havin' unique bindin' seals and some scoutin' prowess. But Soda outclasses him in both respects. Truffle would have to get past him – and he ain't got the time. Too busy chattin' up Toffee.

Then comes motive. Most of the God Squad happen have somethin' they might care to overcome with the full power of Blacklight empowered with Eterna energy, just as the Haze pointed out. Divine too, if the missin' unown are any indication. I've been callin' that power 'Blacklight Eternal' in my notes: a power that would exceed any other in Creation. Not just anyone would even think to use such power fer themself, though. Maple never privileges her wants over her moral duty – like me. Potluck doesn't have the confidence, or the smarts. And... Luz grilled Truffle about restorin' his family. We don't reckon he's got it in him. He's grieved, moved on, and found peace in his team. And adorable li'l lunches with his new lady friend. Only Soda has a bleedin' wound, as we saw in Moonlit Forest. A wound relatin' to an Arceus.

"Then . . . there's opportunity. Soda's had a long time to prepare his cards. He's the God Squad's senior scout, havin' been that fer a lot longer'n Truffle. He'd have investigated the Eterna meteorite afore anyone else. He's also put himself above scrutiny from his bosses over the years 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!"

She stopped mid-flow, arresting her growing anger. She was tired. She was so goddamn tired of not being able to trust people.

"We're not havin' a good time takin' this on, y'know," whispered Sombra.

No kidding.

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave listened silently, teeth clenched. A thousand objections came to mind as she spoke - the others could be lying too, why would Soda even insist the others wouldn't have done it if he was just an evil bastard the whole time, it's not like we know what the fuck Maple saw in Moonlit Forest, why wouldn't he also be exasperated if he's being framed. But none of it really meant anything. It didn't matter it could be somebody else. Reality didn't operate on narrative laws. Usually the guy who did it was just actually the one the evidence pointed to. Maybe by Cibus cartoon logic that wasn't the case here, for all he knew, but working off that assumption would be ludicrous.

"I still want to talk to him," he said, quiet, simmering. "I want to know why he's doing this."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Betrayed by a god and sealed away from your mate. Never knowing what happened. Imagine being able to have the power to get back at the god that took it all away?"

Brisa explained what Luz had told her of the Haze's taunts.

"You'd need somethin' like Blacklight Eternal to re-enter a sealed reality, take out an arceus and take back someone lost t'you," said Brisa, quietly. "I want you to understand that if the Haze is Soda, I don't begrudge him his pain. What I know of it is pretty fucked up. But the stakes are so high, and the risks so great, I have to do my due goddamn diligence."

She sighed, then reusmed her level gaze. "Talk to him if y'gotta. Just bear in mind that if he's as powerful as I suspect, and takes exception to someone bein' onto him . . . he could handle that any way he wanted, Dave."

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave clenched his jaw. "Yeah. Yeah, I get that."

He took a deep breath. Wanted to just get out of here. His insides roiled and twisted in tight knots. If he could just talk to Soda, maybe everything would make sense, one way or another.

We can find the truth t'gether, if we trust each other. And I'm trustin' you.

"We care about you so goddamn much," breathed Sombra, during the pause.

"Talk to him if y'gotta. Just bear in mind that if he's as powerful as I suspect, and takes exception to someone bein' onto him . . . he could handle that any way he wanted, Dave."

"...Look, I've been talking to him. Maybe he's up to some shady shit but he's not going to..." In his mind's eye he saw Soda leaping towards him, claws gleaming, and his stomach twisted. "I'll be fine."