Frontier Town Sun Stone Saloon

[Namohysip]

A shadowy Charizard glided through the ground, only his head visible from below. It was a wonder what it looked like under the surface while he moved in this way.

"Hey, I think I can still taste," Owen said. "Get me a drink too! Mhynt has money, and stuff."

"And stuff. Owen, don't you have an account with the banks at home that's a large fortune?"

"Well, I kept forgetting I had it..."

Mhynt sighed.

Milotic Zena, meanwhile, slithered into the saloon and eyed a decent stool to coil around. Her large size made some of that awkward, and the desert heat wasn't doing her scales very well. But Gerome's bar had bits of sand everywhere, and she wasn't quite ready for that...

Upon spotting Nova, Mhynt offered a respectful nod. "Nova," she greeted. "Perhaps you would like to rest more? Here, a seat."

 

[Tetra]

Koa trotted into the Sun Stone, aware of Anubis still taking in the surroundings with a perplexed look.

"I still think it's weird," Anubis murmured. "Why have all this stuff...?"

It was easy to forget how weird this had all been to Koa not so long ago. Seeing pokemon behave so different from home. It was even stranger for Anubis, it seemed.

"I guess they like it," Koa offered with a shrug. Upon spotting Laura with a familiar Porygon, he hurried over.

"Betel!" Seeing Betel like this, free, made it feel like all the struggles had been worth it at least a little. He paused to order a sweetened coffee with chocolate for himself, which he'd started to acquire a taste for. Anubis stared for some time at a menu before finally ordering something Koa didn't quite catch the name of. Spicy Mez Palo- something.

Koa was too focused on seeing Betel again to worry too much. "It's good to see you. How are you?"

 

[Ambyssin]

Upon spotting Nova, Mhynt offered a respectful nod. "Nova," she greeted. "Perhaps you would like to rest more? Here, a seat."

"I'm fine," he rasped. Nova sniffed at the air. "Why are so many people showing up? Is there some sort of gathering?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Betel! It's good to see you. How are you?"

The Porygon2 somehow brightened as they turned to greet Koa with a polite, bobbing nod.

"I am quite well, thank you, Koamaru! It is good to see you, too. When I was disembodied, I never had a true appreciation of everyone's appearance—only their aura signatures. You look... young and spirited! Is that correct?

"Why are so many people showing up? Is there some sort of gathering?"

Laura gave the melancholy chimera a little wave. "Hey, Nova. Sortof an impromptu team meeting. What with just dismantling the Covenant, and the Red Star thing, and all that. Might not be much time on Forlas left, now."

 

[Tetra]

You look... young and spirited! Is that correct?

Koa barked out a laugh. From someone else he might have been annoyed to have his age brought up but since it was Betel he didn't mind. "Yeah uh... I think so. Whatever qualifies as spirited at least." Now that he considered it... He tipped his head to the side, subconsciously brushing a paw through the fur on his head.

"I never did thank you for the body, I think?" However that worked. It was familiar, and somehow felt like him. "It's uh... nice." Even if he hadn't evolved yet. For some reason. Maybe he should ask Betel...

His attention was pulled away for a moment as his and Anubis' drink was brought over. Koa took a sip of his but couldn't help but stare at the icy beverage as Anubis lapped at it. His eyes widened and he took a few more laps. Reddish powder of some kind dusted the rim and a bright berry floated inside. Koa didn't remember seeing that on the menu.

"Let me try," he whispered to Anubis. Ignoring the dubious look from his pokemon, Koa tugged the drink closer, making the ice clink, and sniffed. Odd scent, but it had a nice tang and juiciness to it. It looked refreshing too.

Picking it up, he tipped the glass and took a sip-

Fire- AHCK-! His throat. Burningburningburning- Moisture sprang to his eyes. He almost dropped the glass as he coughed, which turned into a wheeze. Choking down his embarassment quite literally, he pushed the glass back over to Anubis, his eyes still watering. Awful acrid tang covered his tastebuds, with hardly any fruit taste. Just some kind of nasty flavor he couldn't discern with burning spiciness. 'How can you drink that!'

Anubis snorted. 'When you're older you'll get it.'

'Im older than you now!'

The only reply from the Houndour was an amused canine smirk. He regarded the Odd Duck curiously. Alpha had told him the idea, but it was still such a strange concept. "Thank you for giving us bodies," he said politely, even if he thought being a Houndoom would have better. "Are you enjoying your own?"

Trying to swallow down the rest of his embarassment, Koa returned to his own beverage, grateful for the sweetness of the coffee and chocolate to wash away the burn.

Maybe nobody saw that.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Dismantling the... huh?" Nova looked... vaguely in Laura's direction. Glassy eyes squinted. Then he heard coughing and looked around in confusion. He fumbled about to open his bag and grab the Psychic Memory to insert. That, at least, clued him into the typings to go along with the voices. Some recognizable. Others, less so. Fire and dark? A houndour or houndoom?

"Did someone blow the place up? What did I miss?" He leaned over and let out a hacking cough. A black, tar-like fluid came out, though he couldn't quite see it against the floor.

 

[Namohysip]

Mhynt recognized and recalled what had happened to Nova and she made herself a little more known with a voice.

"A lot has happened, but in short, Arthur has abandoned his post and intends to rip the world apart so he may put it back together in his image, supposedly one of the world he had come from, one of eternal joy and bliss or other such nonsense." Mhynt nodded to herself.

"Nova seems to have gone blind," she warned the others. "His body is starting to break down. I think the instability of Forlas is making his world call him back soon..." There was a tinge of worry in her voice, but she held strong. "I'm sure... we will finish before he must go. At the very least, we have a plan."

"Or, uh, we're forming one..." Owen sighed.

 

[Ambyssin]

"'m fine," Nova mumbled.

"So, powerful psychic is going to play capital G God?" The silvally sighed. "Do you know where he 'abandoned his post' to?"

 

[canisaries]

At some point during the ongoing conversation, Andre and Ben had slipped into the bar. Neither seemed to be in very good spirits - Ben never was when Andre was around, and Andre was a bit too preoccupied with the idea that this was the first team meeting he'd be part of where everyone knew about his crimes. The deerling didn't order anything as he didn't think he deserved nice things, but Ben got himself a berry juice. He figured he might as well get some enjoyment out of things while he kept an eye on the trainer-killer.

Both did notice Nova's woeful state. Ben was about to ask if he was fine when he very directly said he was. He didn't want to press it. Andre, meanwhile, thought back to how he'd once asked Nova for help in processing the danger awaiting him back home, and Nova hadn't had answers of his own. So he must have been feeling pretty rotten right about now, having to be reminded of his coming death like this... but, well, he'd already shrugged off someone's concern. And he probably didn't want a murderer's pity in any case.

 

[Cresselia92]

If the mood was fairly heavy as is, seeing the ready-for-the-junkyard Nova only made Lyra’s heart feel as heavy as lead. She thumped uncontrollably, not knowing how else to release her building turmoil.

‘You’re literally DYING! That’s a very far cry from ‘FINE’!!’, was what she wanted to scream. Oh, how badly she wanted to holler from the top of her lungs to the bottom of her heart, but she believed that doing so would only vex the chimera and make him feel more miserable than he already was.

The Lopunny gazed at Silver, praying for some support. Alas, her hopes crumbled when he gave her a neutral stare and shook his head, making her sigh in defeat. He wasn’t happy about the situation either, but there was nothing they could do about his inevitable fate.

Thankfully, there was something else they could do.

“Hey. Didn’t you want to meet Betel personally? Why don’t you go and say hi?” he suggested with a whisper, nudging the rabbit toward the Porygon2 with the flat side of his claws. This should keep her mind off that, at least for now.
Lyra nodded and took a deep breath, a faint smile returning timidly. “Yeah, I… I oughta do that…”

It took the Lopunny a few jumps to reach their patron, but that was enough time to clear her head off the gloomy feelings and fill her heart with enthusiasm. There was always time and room to add another friend to her list, after all!

“Yooo, Betey! We meet in the flesh, at last! Or, well, in the flesh and solid, virtual, holographic, huh… divine substance? Whatever you’re, um, made of?” She giggled heartily and wagged her tail. “So! I’ve heard you could get a new body? Are you excited to find out what you could do once you’re 100% more awesome?!”

 

[Phoenixsong]

Leaf flinched at Nova's hacking cough. She stopped the server who'd just taken her order and asked for an extra water along with it. "Here's something to drink, if you need it," she offered. She set it where it'd hopefully not be too hard for him to get to if his eyes really were going bad, held it steady with a nudge of telekinesis.

"We don't know exactly where he's gone right now, but Mew is trying to tail him," she explained. "Hopefully he'll be back soon with a better idea. But probably Arthur's gonna try to use either Victini's Red Star or that Eremus Fault place to break through the Astral Plains."

Blue sat off to the side (Linden could buddy up to Yet Another Goddamn Chickenstein on her own, he was fine over here, thanks) with his own sarsaparilla and just watched, still feeling more tired than celebratory or social. Hopefully they'd get to the point sometime this week and start talking business. And hopefully no one would waltz up to him and feel chatty in the meantime.