Magna City Shining Congress – Main Lobby

[Jackie Cat]

"Oh. You're Odette's, uhh..."

"...We are well-acquainted correspondents," choked out Nolan, not meeting Gladion's eye.

He looked rather like he was regretting not shooting himself earlier.

"Sorry 'bout your luck, man. If it's any consolation, I wasn't trying to get my fucking ears pierced again."

Gladius groaned and shuddered briefly. "I don't wanna think about it. Any of it. Gods."

He seemed to become aware of Nolan standing a little way off, and narrowed his eyes sharply, as if he'd just put two and two together.

"Alright," he said, thinly, pursing his mouth. "This must be my sign that I gotta keep living a while longer. Fuck me, I guess."

 

[Phoenixsong]

Seemed like everything was under control now, mostly. But also Gladion had been shot??? Leaf rushed back toward the entrance, leaving Ralsen and the dragons to sort themselves out, but everyone was talking pretty calmly with Articuno when she got there, and the network chatter insisted Gladion was okay, it was being dealt with. She waited a couple seconds, just in case, but nothing happened, and once her heart had slowed to something like a normal pace she made her way over to the group.

We can only guess what state his mind will be in when he emerges, and I do not know what will happen if we attempt to stabilise the dungeon in the sky that is forming around him.

"Amida might be able to get through to him, though," she offered. "I can check with her again to see if she's feeling up for it." She looked at Articuno, then up at the reddening sky, confused. "What do you mean, stabilize the dungeon? How would we try that?" Last time they'd faced a super-radiant pokémon with their own dungeon, they'd kinda done... the opposite of that.

Leaf glanced over her shoulder at Blue, just to check on him. He was still slumped over her back, patched up best as she could manage, but too tired to do much other than stare at the ground.

"You doing all right?" she asked, quietly.

"More fucking guns," was all he said, mumbling at the floor without looking at her.

 

[Sinderella]

Nolan nodded stiffly. "Very well. I'll come along with you, Mhynt."

Oh. You're Odette's, uhh..." Informant? Friend? Something else? He wasn't really sure.

"...We are well-acquainted correspondents," choked out Nolan, not meeting Gladion's eye.

“Well-acquainted correspondents is a fine start.”

Like a true gunhead (or rather, a true absolute fucking moron), Odette’s ear was positively drawn to gunshots. A sign of struggle? Danger? Didn’t matter. She was running toward it anyway. It helped that she was already headed there—time was not always her friend here—but it probably didn’t help that her hand was on her derringer when she arrived. It didn’t take long for her to understand what had happened. And where her focus now lay.

Sanguine eyes turned on Mhynt. “I’ll accompany you. We’ll have a better time getting answers if I’m there.”

Then, they slipped to Gladius’ potential assassin. Her—hm. Her what? She thought about Guzma, who was undoubtedly on his way by now. Well-acquainted correspondent. Right.

Her gaze on him crossed several thresholds at once. Confusion melted into worry before mutating into something that said “What are you doing?”

 

[canisaries]

Having noticed the battle with Articuno was over, Andre and Ben had decided to exit the building and regroup with the others. Andre was surprised to see Nolan there, though he supposed it wasn't that outlandish for any Covenant member to be found at the Congress.

"Related to that. Here is our sniper. He was aiming for the Director, but appeared to have severely miscalculated. I imagine he would be willing to tell us what he knows, as a starting platform for what we can do before Arthur makes a move."

Sniper...? Now that was more outlandish.

In the courtyard, Gladius stirred with a miserable groan, and coughed up something wet and glistening.

"Something hit me like a fucking bullet," he muttered. "Was I... Did someone fucking shoot me?"

And he'd tried to shoot Gladius? Wow. Drama.

Ben looked uncomfortable and coughed lightly. "Um, who is... who's the inteleon?" he asked Andre.

"Uh... like a Covenant investigator kinda guy. We've been allies of sorts." Andre said. Also has given me some strong human supremacy vibes, he added through Betel privately. But so have a bunch of other Covenant people. It's not exactly strange to come across anymore.

"Oh," said Ben. "Hmm."

Andre stared at Ben, who seemed pensive. Was he thinking of Mike...? Mike had definitely believed humans were superior to pokémon, but Andre still wasn't completely sure how well Ben knew that. Or if he was in denial.

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Amida might be able to get through to him, though," she offered. "I can check with her again to see if she's feeling up for it." She looked at Articuno, then up at the reddening sky, confused. "What do you mean, stabilize the dungeon? How would we try that?" Last time they'd faced a super-radiant pokémon with their own dungeon, they'd kinda done... the opposite of that.

"Ah, yes. The Volcarona. You should try to involve her. He will want to know that she is alive – after a fashion. Her aura transferred to her new body intact, I believe..."

Articuno paused, as if steadying themself for a moment. Forcing their mind to be still, to be functional, by sheer will.

"Ironically, Arthur's plan is the kind of device by which the rift could be mended—"

They paused, their mouth tightening.

"Ah. I believe I know how Arthur means to travel to the Astral Plains."

Laura flinched. "The red star? It's a big enough rift to leave the material plane?"

"Well. That, or the singularity in Malantau. The Eremus Fault, I believe it is called. Any sufficiently deep rift could theoretically be used that way, although I expect the Red Star to be more navigable."

“What are you doing?”

Nolan's scales went all sorts of colours as he shrivelled under Odette's gaze.

"I swear to the Saints, I was trying to do some good," he muttered, eyes shifting in every direction. "I thought I could help get rid of Director Neo, and save Gladion from him, but..."

He put a hand to his mouth, looking nauseated.

 

[Sinderella]

"I swear to the Saints, I was trying to do some good," he muttered, eyes shifting in every direction. "I thought I could help get rid of Director Neo, and save Gladion from him, but

Of course you were! she wanted to shout. That much was fucking obvious. She didn’t mean to— She clearly couldn’t just—

Fuck. She wasn’t angry at the attempt. She admired it, even. But now he was caught, and things were messy, and what she wouldn’t give to just bash her face into a wall and—

The slightest crack in her crystalline glare. Her shoulders jumped with her huff. She inconspicuously cupped her hand over her mouth.

“Shush, we’ll talk about this later,” she mouthed. A good start would be for him to stop further incriminating himself…

 

[Tetra]

"Arthur's studies of Blacklight have borne fruit," they mumured, at length. "He has attained an astonishing level of control over his own energies. He must have been incubating this power for... far, far longer than I dared to anticipate."

The Saint looked at the Wayfarers as if they'd only just seen them arrive. They regarded the team with an unreadable expression, as usual.

"We have much to discuss," said Articuno, and for once, their voice sounded heavy with the weight of their shared circumstances.

Adrenaline and battle energy still coursed through Koa, setting his heart drumming and fur prickling all the way down his spine. Gladion had been shot at and the entire congress had just gone insane. He rounded upon Articuno, bristling, teeth bared. "Yeah you think! And now he got away because you couldn't control yourself." The words came as a snarl, pent up frustration narrowed and directed at the one target in the room who deserved it.

"What good are you as a Saint?"

'Alpha'. Anubis voice came through his thoughts with a calm note of warning.

'No, someone needs to ask it.' All of these so called birds had failed utterly. At least Zapdos had seen fit to help later, but Articuno had ruined everything, and after acting so high and mighty. These Saints were useless as far as he could tell. Troublemakers and problem causers.

 

[Jackie Cat]

“Shush, we’ll talk about this later,”

Nolan shut his mouth obediently, with an uncomfortable noise in his throat.

"Yeah you think! And now he got away because you couldn't control yourself. What good are you as a Saint?"

Laura winced. "Koa—!"

But Articuno met Koa's gaze without flinching.

"As good as I am able," they said, in an even voice. "I regret that I am not equal to Arthur, and to his unprecedented use of Blacklight power, but I will do all the good I can nonetheless."

"They did save us from being mind-controlled," Laura pointed out, grimacing.

Malachai chittered irritably and made a dismissive gesture with his wing. "Enough of this!" he demanded, in his bassy voice, which carried easily across the entire area. "This talk of blame, these untethered feelings – they are of little use in the present moment. We must plan, act, or rest, not bicker like children. Now, personally I favour planning. Does anyone have anything more of practical use to contribute?"

In the meantime, the Covenant knights – Aster, Zaffre and Sam – were also coming to their senses.

 

[Tetra]

Koa couldn't help briefly shoot an irritable glare at Malachai for the comment, but bit his tongue. Enough of you. Articuno deserved to get questioned. He was supposed to be better. 'Do all the good they could?' They didn't need Articuno's help, clearly.

"You make a good point," Anubis said, dipping his head to Malachai. "We must act swiftly and make a plan, before this hunt worsens."

The fact that Anubis was right didn't do much to temper Koa's irritation.

Anubis turned to Articuno, lips drawing back ever so slightly with displeasure. "What else do you know about the nature of how Arthur's power works, and what aid can you provide to our efforts?" Respectful, but a demand beneath the question. Can you resist next time?

 

[Jackie Cat]

"What else do you know about the nature of how Arthur's power works, and what aid can you provide to our efforts?"

Articuno put a wingtip to their mask, and their eyes glinted with psychic energy for a moment.

"It is strange. It is as if he is completely without guile, and yet his relationship with the truth is almost whimsical. Psychologically, despite his centuries of age and his being an adult by all appearances... he is almost child-like. Radiance is more volatile when one's intentions are muddled, and Shadow is more vicious when one is repressing terrible emotions. Perhaps Calyrex is so singleminded, and so without negative emotion, that he can wield these powers at will without burning his soul."

The great bird sighed, and shook their head.

"In a more practical sense, it is clear he has the psychic power to control the minds of others, and enough control of Blacklight to infect others without being overcome himself. To protect yourselves from his psychic control you will have to wield Blacklight, but by doing so you will leave yourselves vulnerable to other manipulations. This certainly will be a challenging confrontation when it comes."

Laura groaned softly, pawing at her face. Howls afar, their enemies just kept escalating...

 

[Phoenixsong]

"Ironically, Arthur's plan is the kind of device by which the rift could be mended—"

"So... we want to stabilize it before Arthur can use it to go to the Astral Plains, right?" Something about the way they'd said it twigged something in Leaf's memory. "I guess that's what the CDE guys were trying to do at Sunrest, right? The Rift-Mender thing? Maybe Professor Sada could make another one. Or we could talk to the rotom guy who made the first one, what's his face, uh, Sparklight or something."

 

[Namohysip]

"Maybe that's why I resisted it. I'm already of Blacklight," Owen theorized. "I mean, not totally resisted, but..."

"Mm. There might be some merit to it, then," Mhynt said. "So. How shall we wield Blacklight? Do you have a way to train us in a way that won't give Arthur a head start? It sounds as though we are quite short on time..."

"I think that's everyone who needed healing," Zena added, slithering over to the others. She must have been busy trying to stabilize anyone hurt.

 

[Jackie Cat]

"So... we want to stabilize it before Arthur can use it to go to the Astral Plains, right? I guess that's what the CDE guys were trying to do at Sunrest, right? The Rift-Mender thing? Maybe Professor Sada could make another one. Or we could talk to the rotom guy who made the first one, what's his face, uh, Sparklight or something."

Articuno made a tiny noise of discomfort.

"Yes, it's possible Sparkwright could be of some use in this regard. His technology might... help. I expect the Wayfarers will have a better rapport with him than I would, even after I stepped in to assist him against Matthias' task force."

The bird's face twitched.

"Does anyone know where that boy is...?"

"So. How shall we wield Blacklight? Do you have a way to train us in a way that won't give Arthur a head start? It sounds as though we are quite short on time..."

Articuno shook their head. "I am hardly an expert in its use. I can only pray something will come up, or that one of your number will devise something. Perhaps – and I do mean this sincerely – you could all find a psychiatric therapist...?"

Laura chuckled nervously. "I'll try reaching out to Brisa and Starr. At least Starr's got a ton of experience handling the stuff, kinda..."

Now that the knights were up again, Aster waved and grinned, fully ignoring any awkwardness that might arise.

"We'd all be happy to spar with you guys any time, if that would help," she offered.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Another figure stumbled out of the Congress' halls, great claws scraping on the stonework around them.

"Hello everyone," said Koraidon Sada, politely. "I'm glad to see everything went well up here. I took the opportunity to return to my old office in the CDE in case of the eventuality that it might collapse, and retrieved this..."

She held up an object, triumphantly. It was a small optical disc, in a shiny plastic sleeve.

"It's the superior software I was working on for Betelgeuse," she explained, brightly.

 

[Namohysip]

"Hmmm? And what will that be for?" Mhynt asked. "What will it do?"

"Oh, maybe it'll upgrade Betel to be a little stronger. Or a lot stronger. There's this Porygon-Z back home, Mhynt, and he's very strong. Though, um, I don't think he's stable... Maybe this is a more stable version?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Something like that," replied Sada, brightly. "Although it's more complicated than a simple patch—that is to say, it's not a normal evolution. Betelgeuse is a Voice of Life, after all. They will need something extra to make it work. What that is, I do not know just yet."

 

[Phoenixsong]

They'd need something else? Something Sada didn't know, even though she'd built them? What would that even be? "Do... do Voices normally evolve at all?" Had Auriga and Powehi once been super fancy magic trapinch and riolu? That seemed weird. "Any ideas where we should look to help find whatever they need?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Not normally," said Owen, arms crossed. "But maybe there will be something else to it..."

"Hmph, well, short of some huge power boost from some other source, I don't--" Mhynt paused.

"...Mhynt?"

Zena tilted her head. "Haven't we gotten huge power boosts from beyond simply Betel? If I understand the summary you'd given me before..."

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Do... do Voices normally evolve at all? Any ideas where we should look to help find whatever they need?"

"Haven't we gotten huge power boosts from beyond simply Betel? If I understand the summary you'd given me before..."

Sada smiled politely, her draconic mouth showing off her fangs.

"In terms of 'Voices' we have only the Beacon and our Lighthouse to look to as examples. About the Beacon we know very little, but our Betelgeuse has evolved once already, and may again. They are a rather different being, however, in that they have always had a mortal body they are attached. I cannot guess at whether the same is true for the Beacon."

She gestured, teacher-like, with one clawed hand.

"As for what could induce further evolution in Betelgeuse... That is something you must discover, but I believe it is possible. Porygon's evolutions are largely informational in nature, but as a Voice of Life, Betelgeuse is—paradoxically—a being of emotion and spirit. I expect that this will have something to do with the answer! Don't worry, I am sure you'll find a way in the course of your future efforts."

Laura nodded along vaguely, brow furrowed. "Alright, well... Thanks, Sada. I guess we'll take the disc? I'll make sure Betel gets it."

Articuno was talking to their knights, seemingly planning how to consolidate the situation at the Congress. Something about an emergency session, the line of succession, and dissolving the roundtable.

Meanwhile Nolan looked like he was going to be sick.

Malachai ruffled his mane and cocked his head at the lizard. "So. This fellow... fired on our enemy? And he wounded our ally. How curious. What shall we do with him? I stand willing and ready to devour him should that be the verdict."

Given his cool deadpan, only a subtle glint of humour in his eye made it clear Malachai did not actually intend to carry out this threat.

 

[canisaries]

Malachai ruffled his mane and cocked his head at the lizard. "So. This fellow... fired on our enemy? And he wounded our ally. How curious. What shall we do with him? I stand willing and ready to devour him should that be the verdict."

Given his cool deadpan, only a subtle glint of humour in his eye made it clear Malachai did not actually intend to carry out this threat.

"No one's eating anyone. I see enough of that at home," said Andre, in an attempt to add to the humor.

"What?" said Ben, disgusted. "What the hell else are you involved in?"

Andre realized this joke probably didn't land for anyone that didn't know about his acquaintance Red's dietary habits, which was everyone. "Sorry, just trying to be funny," he said, knowing that Ben wouldn't like knowing that he hung out with cannibals, even if it was involuntary.