Magna City Shining Congress – Bar Lounge

[Jackie Cat]

A more contemplative environment, for those preferring some relative quiet and gentler lighting. It's almost reminiscent of the Sun Stone's private floor. There's an open bar, plenty of comfortable seating, and booths for 'mon of various builds and sizes. A phonograph dutifully revolves, turning out smooth, vaguely jazzy instrumentals. There are also gaming sets: playing cards, regional boardgames, and of course – chess.

 

[Namohysip]

Mhynt decided that for now, she would have to gather intel and information however she could. And apparently, this particular "Matthias" individual was someone already on the radar of the Wayfarers... and, in other ways, off the radar of various other factions.

Mhynt went over mental facts she knew about him. For one, he was leading the hunt for Brisa. So, that was bad. Human. Used to work against the covenant, now for them. So, probably bad, brainwashed, or broken. Corrupted? And he apparently has an enemy or two... And also works in the shadows. Off the books. Articuno seemed wary of it.

Hm. Yes. This would be a good place to get information. And she wondered if the fact that they'd already come to blows, in a sense, would be something she could use to her advantage.

With a few other Wayfarers nearby, she made the move to take a position in his view, at his area.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

The bar lounge had a less suffocating atmosphere than the main hall. It still wasn’t really a place he belonged, but it at least didn’t feel as threatening. Being outside the gaze of the main congregation would make him less effective as bait, but he just had to follow up on this.

“So, we got what we wanted… and I guess you did, too.”

Having no desire to drink anything here, he slipped directly into a booth. (He had a hunch Matthias also wouldn’t want anything that would loosen his tongue, so to speak, but that would remain to be seen.)

“Begs the question of where the other people we had our eyes out for are. Got a hunch I’m not gonna find that out today, though.”

If Matthias just told him, he and the other Wayfarers would go right there. And then there would be questions about how they knew that. Matthias would want plausible deniability… But in the end he might still lead them there. Gladion wasn’t entirely sure what to make of his intentions anymore, just that he didn’t expect the Greninja to be normal and help in a reasonable way.

Gladion could tolerate that, as long as Matthias didn’t screw up his own reason to be here.

“So. Did you tell them that I know what I am? As in, the people who ran ARK, do they know that I’m looking for them?”

 

[Ambyssin]

Nova had walked in without much sense of purpose or urgency. In fact, his attention was quickly caught by the phonograph. The way it slowly spun was... oddly soothing. It wasn't long before the silvally found himself sitting beside it, his head slowly spinning in time with the record.

 

[Chibi Pika]

"I'm glad you found who you were looking for and brought them home safely. It's for the best."

Those words had been spinning in Jade's head the whole time she followed Gladion and Matthias into the lounge, taking a seat. Her eyes automatically traced the room, totaling the exits, taking stock of the cover, and she blinked to make it stop. (There wouldn't be any need for that, not now.)

He'd let Brisa get away?? There weren't many other ways to read what Matthias had said. Except it didn't add up. Why on earth had he pursued them on the train? Why hadn't he just leveled with them? No, there had to be something more to this. She just had to figure out the right way to ask.

"So... you've been with the Covenant for a few years now, right? What's it like, working for them? Tough work?" That seemed innocent enough as an opener.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Matthias' face relaxed a little once outside of the lobby and its throngs. Fewer true Covenant in the lounge to need to wear a mask in front of. Still, he was mercurial – his expression now was almost playful, as if this were exciting for him. There could be all sorts of reasons for that. Novelty, for instance, if his days here were otherwise dreary. Or hope, if this represented an opportunity for him...

"I don't think I've seen those others around here, I'm afraid," he said, evenly, meaning 'they aren't here'. "But I hope your luck will change, Gladion. You and your friend here already have quite an extraordinary thread of fate to follow, being ARKs from other worlds." He smiled thinly. "I'm sure you'll turn a lot of heads here, you and Nova."

You'll be noticed.
He nodded at Jade, and shrugged. That sheepish laugh again, like an awkward schoolboy. He did seem young. Not that much older than Gladion, and he'd have been younger than Jade when he first came here.

"I'm with the Sable Office – we do scouting, investigating, that sort of thing." Meaning, espionage. "Three years now, and yeah, it's definitely not easy. I'm the only first-generation human they've had in years, and I think it's because of that they're giving me all the toughest missions. Which makes sense! I guess it's only fair, really."

He talked about it without ego, like it was a tough load of coursework for an honours student, or something.

"Maybe there'll be a Wayfarer in the Sable Office soon, though. It sure would make my life a lot easier if I had someone like you guys watching my back, wouldn't it? I bet Articuno picked out one or two of you at least, to recommend to Lady Tawenna. What do you think – would anybody go for it?"

One or more of you should join the intelligence department, and become a spy. I'd get something out of that, if you helped me.

 

[Namohysip]

"Hmph. Well, I happen to be a wonderful recruit," Mhynt said, "so long as I can work with my coworkers well enough." I already have the skills for espionage and the grit to follow through. "But I don't know if they'd be very receptive to... my nature, necessarily." But I'm not human.

"You know, I'm curious. How do you see yourself? And all your coworkers, relative to the world. It seems pretty important."

 

[Ambyssin]

"I'm sure you'll turn a lot of heads here, you and Nova."

"And those heads will turn to scowls if they press me for details on my world~" Nova sang in time with the jazz tune. He was still watching the record spin. "Don't tend to take jobs for people I don't know, either. And I've never heard of a Tawenna. That some Forlasian Saint like the big bird?"

And also silvally was the antithesis of stealth. He slowly turned his head to give Matthias a "but you knew that already" sort of look.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

The idea of someone having to work with Matthias sounded terrible to Gladion, but Mhynt didn't seem to agree. All the better, it would suck for someone unwilling to get put up to it. (He did wonder who Articuno would have asked. Surely not him, he'd be terrible at it, but which Wayfarer would they have approved of?)

"Hmph. Well, I happen to be a wonderful recruit," Mhynt said, "so long as I can work with my coworkers well enough." I already have the skills for espionage and the grit to follow through. "But I don't know if they'd be very receptive to... my nature, necessarily." But I'm not human.

"Could still try to make it work. They don't have to know, if you don't want them to... Some Wayfarers have been summoned from worlds they're Fallers to." Archie, namely. "Just because none of us have amnesia from the Wayfarer summoning doesn't mean none of us have it at all."

 

[Jackie Cat]

"And those heads will turn to scowls if they press me for details on my world~" Nova sang in time with the jazz tune. He was still watching the record spin. "Don't tend to take jobs for people I don't know, either. And I've never heard of a Tawenna. That some Forlasian Saint like the big bird?"

And also silvally was the antithesis of stealth. He slowly turned his head to give Matthias a "but you knew that already" sort of look.

Matthias chuckled at Nova's sing-song, and again at his meaningful look. He nodded back in agreement.

"Decidueye Tawenna is the head of the Sable Office," he explained. "She's a little unusual, in that she's not a Commonwealth citizen – her father was a faller who landed in a tribal camp in Frigatespur. You would like her I think, Mhynt. She is a sensible person, and pragmatic. I know that I can count on her to make wise choices."

In other words, she was Matthias' boss, officially, but she wasn't his boss – whoever was giving him shady orders. He had real respect for her.

"Hmph. Well, I happen to be a wonderful recruit," Mhynt said, "so long as I can work with my coworkers well enough." I already have the skills for espionage and the grit to follow through. "But I don't know if they'd be very receptive to... my nature, necessarily." But I'm not human.

"You know, I'm curious. How do you see yourself? And all your coworkers, relative to the world. It seems pretty important."

"Could still try to make it work. They don't have to know, if you don't want them to... Some Wayfarers have been summoned from worlds they're Fallers to." Archie, namely. "Just because none of us have amnesia from the Wayfarer summoning doesn't mean none of us have it at all."

Matthias grinned, and then adjusted his tongue as he became too aware of it.

"Well, you could do that if you liked. I think you have a good enough poker face to get away with it, in fact. But it's not really necessary – the Sable Office can hardly turn you down if you made a bid to join it. Your talents are too extraordinary. And in any case, Lady Tawenna is impartial to candidates' backgrounds and heritage, given her own. She thinks of herself as Miwacha first, Covenant second, and human third, if at all."

The Greninja smiled mildly, and folded a hand under his chin.

"As for myself... Well, I certainly am human, but I can remember almost nothing about my human life. Some in the society seem to feel that it's more important than anything, and that it sets them apart, but I think I have more in common with Tsainanese pokémon than I do with Commonwealth humans. Of course, I have to respect the way others feel about it."

He snorted softly, glancing down at his kimono. He really didn't fit in with all the tuxedos and frilly dresses in the pavilion. So much for 'human culture'. He was basically admitting that human chauvinism existed in the Covenant, but laughing off the idea of it in itself. Matthias, at least, was not ideological about his own humanity, even if he played lip service to it to keep the peace with other Covenant.

"Anyway, everyone is entitled to their own opinion about it, I guess. There are already some pokémon without human ancestors in the Covenant – and I don't just mean Saints. For instance, Flaaffy Saffron is in charge of the exploratory department. She was quite an accomplished dungeoneer in her youth, I believe. I suppose she still is! Everyone knows her name."

The very slight trace of irony in Matthias' voice hinted at what he was really saying – everyone knew Saffron because she was unusual. She was, implicitly, the only non-human departmental chief in the society. Even so, Mhynt wouldn't face obstructionism. Microaggressions, maybe.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Some in the society... think remembering human life is important?" Nova wondered. "I thought the most prominent human heroes around Forlas lost their memories, like you."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Matthias nodded.

"That is correct – summoned heroes invariably lose almost all their memories of their human life. When I first woke up on Forlas, I could only remember five things. My name was one of them. Another was what my home world's moon looked like, late at night... And I remember making a promise to my younger sister, on her sickbed."

His voice was a contradiction – placid, with tension beneath. Like the undertow lying under a river's gentle surface.

"Later, I remembered other, small things. Here and there. And of course, fallers' memory loss varies considerably. Between many different humans and their recollections over time, the Covenant has pieced together a concept of human culture. In particular, even with severe memory loss, fallers and summons will still often have a sense of what is socially expected, or socially taboo – and an emotional response to that. I guess some people would rather hold on to what their heart tells them is normal, than to adapt to what's normal around them in the present moment. I wouldn't want them to be uncomfortable."

He smiled thinly.

"One of the other things I remembered is that I love to play chess – and that I am quite good at it. What about yourselves?"

Matthias reached beneath the table and retrieved a box, which unfolded neatly into an eight-by-eight chess board, made beautifully out of pale birch and dark walnut. He began taking pieces from the interior boxes and placing them neatly on the board. It could have been Tsainanese chess, or Akkairosi chess, but this set was one an offworlder would recognise from Earth. Western European, or Queen's Chess.

"I don't mind which colour I play," he added, mildly. "I am able to adapt."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion didn’t interrupt Matthias’s recollections, save for a soft exhale of sympathy. Honestly, he used to think it wouldn’t be so bad for him if he lost his memories. As if it might it get him out of the shadow of his past, rather than leaving him with feelings he couldn’t articulate? Matthias’ demeanour made him feel it would’ve been the latter. He seemed haunted…

Despite that, he couldn’t help but smirk at the fact that Matthias fancied some kind of chessmaster. Of course he did. Probably placed value on the way people played, or didn’t. Luckily, Gladion was proficient in disappointing people.

“I know how all the pieces move— most people do, where I’m from— but that’s about it. I’d be a rather uninteresting opponent.”

He shrugged it off. Chess was, in his mind, largely reserved for the pretentious or egotistical. That, or as part of hackneyed metaphors.

“I’m more curious what the Covenant thinks human-culture-singular is. It’d be easier to decided what Forlas’ culture is. At least that is confined to a singular world.”

He spoke without the tone of a question. Rather than looking for an earnest answer, it was an assertion: Gladion believed that, whatever the Covenant had constructed, it wasn’t a reflection of anything real. (Hell, he couldn’t even define a singular ‘Alolan Culture.’)

 

[Chibi Pika]

"Maybe there'll be a Wayfarer in the Sable Office soon, though. It sure would make my life a lot easier if I had someone like you guys watching my back, wouldn't it? I bet Articuno picked out one or two of you at least, to recommend to Lady Tawenna. What do you think – would anybody go for it?"

Jade's ears flicked forward at the mention of the Sable Office, and the implicit invitation that came with it. "Dunno if they'd think I was too young for that sort of thing, but I've got a bit of experience in that area," she said noncommittally. It did hearken back to her days on the Rebellion, but... she'd had a whole team by her side then. And the kinds of missions Matthias had been doing... she wanted no part in any of that.

"That is correct – summoned heroes invariably lose almost all their memories of their human life. When I first woke up on Forlas, I could only remember five things. My name was one of them. Another was what my home world's moon looked like, late at night... And I remember making a promise to my younger sister, on her sickbed."

All this talk of heroes and memories... she had to go for it.

Jade ran a claw along the edge of the table, trying to keep her expression casual. "You know, we heard a rumor out west. Some people were saying that, that there might've been another summoned hero, just last year." More recently than him, in other words. "Have you heard anything about that?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

Matthias chuckled lightly at Gladion. "Well, I'm sure we could still have an enjoyable game nonetheless. Or perhaps one of you three would like to be my opponent?" He smirked, and glanced upwards, mimicking the expression many Wayfarers made when consulting Betel. "You four, sorry."

...Oh. Oh my. Well... I do know the rules, although I have never played before.​

(Matthias didn't seem to object to Gladion's assertion about culture. He'd just nodded, almost indifferently.)

"You know, we heard a rumor out west. Some people were saying that, that there might've been another summoned hero, just last year." More recently than him, in other words. "Have you heard anything about that?"

Matthias closed his eyes for a second or two longer than a mere blink, then met Jade's own.

"Well, I really shouldn't comment on sensitive matters like that, which might relate to ongoing Sable Office investigations."

In other words, yes – he'd been part of whatever Starr and Brisa got involved in. Jade might have been assuming that already with confidence, but now there was confirmation.

"The thing about summoned heroes," he mused, glancing away, twirling a bishop in his fingers, "is that so many people would like to believe that they are destined to put the world right. They are chosen ones, chosen by the 'Beacon', or the World-Spirit, or whatever you want to call it. Hmm... I wonder, do you believe that such a thing is true? If so, then that is my destiny, isn't it?"

 

[Ambyssin]

Nova had a good enough poker face to hide the scowl he would've shown in the distant past. "In my experience... people who talk in terms like 'fate' and 'destiny' never have a world's best interest in mind."

 

[Namohysip]

"People can be summoned for a wide variety of reasons, or for no reason at all," Mhynt said plainly. "And the powers that do the summoning are far from perfect. They can be wrong. This... obsession with humanity. Some of that is due to the power that comes with it... but really. Offworlders that come here can be plenty evil. Does this Covenant... have any filtering for that, or is it merely an assumption of goodness? Or... have you never found evil summons in the Covenant?" Which means, they are brushed under the rug.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Matthias sniffed at Nova's comment. "I don't believe in destiny."

He raised a brow at Mhynt.

"Fallers can arrive for no reason at all. Summoned humans have a purpose, arrive rarely more than once in a generation, and history records that until these strange times, all of them have fulfilled that purpose. They saved the world, but even so... I doubt that any of them were perfect people, besides that. ...And of course, summoned humans are those that remember speaking to the World-Spirit. The Beacon."

He said the name with feeling. What was that emotion...? Bitterness?

"I spoke to her," he added, in a low voice. "She gave me an impossible task. One I am still trying to fulfill. I cannot forgive her for that."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion very quickly began to look uncomfortable.

“Well, I don’t really want to believe in destiny…” But at the same time, I am (or we are?) also strong living evidence of it. Always the same name. Always called down to the labs.

“Uh. Even if you have one. You wouldn’t know what it was, and I don’t imagine your summoner would either. If that’s the case, does it really matter?”

 

[Ambyssin]

Nova knew what chess was, but didn't actually know a thing about it. He just moved one of the tiny pieces forward with a chuff. "Can't judge something as impossible if I don't know what it is."