Magna City Shining Congress – Side Halls

[Butterfree]

Oh. Jean started at Garnet's broad smile and tried to smile back, a little unnerved although she wasn't sure why. She was definitely not much like Mia, then.

She looked around. The steaming bricks looked brittle, and Garnet was building whatever she was building indoors. That didn't make a lot of sense. "Um... keep everyone safe from what?" she asked.

 

[canisaries]

The Decidueye hardly acknowledged Andre, not taking her eyes off her doppelganger as they grappled together. Motes of light and darkness floated around them both, shimmering, reflecting, making each look like the other as they passed through one's line of sight.

"I am not dead," she hissed, beak parting in a silent screech. "Yet I am dead – the part of me which is Miwacha has been bleeding for months and years. No. Nothing is alright."

Miwacha... That was Tawenna's tribe, to which she belonged. She had left them behind to join the Covenant, then?

It looked like Andre had read the situation correctly. A conflict between native heritage and a position in a settler organization. Andre just wished he actually knew more about this topic instead of just what he'd learned in history class and gleaned from online discourse.

"Has something put your tribe and the Covenant at odds?" he asked. Better to start simple.

The Aipom turned to look at Ben with heavy eyes, glazed over with a dark-silver sheen.

"Heyyyy, buddy. Huh. We don't know each other." There was a long pause, as the tail-hand reached out. Grasping. "We aren't buddies, I guess. Anyway, no, not really. I'm thinking about offing myself, actually."

There was a weird smile on Roscoe's face.

"Sorry about the shitty first impression. With any luck, it won't matter."

"Oh. Oh, goodness..." Ben mumbled to himself. He really hadn't ever met someone who wanted to... oh, goodness.

Ben cleared his throat. He'd heard it from somewhere that the most important thing in these situations was to listen. "Well, what makes you feel that way?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Um... keep everyone safe from what?"

Garnet's face looked reverent, like something out of a church's stained glass windows.

"Everyone else."

"Has something put your tribe and the Covenant at odds?"

Tawenna spat a short, sharp laugh.

"The Covenant are the flight feathers in the wings of the Commonwealth," she declared. "I have tried to further their goals along paths that sidestep my people, but they will inevitably be swallowed like all the rest. Soon, everyone on this continent will look and talk very much like you."

She and her Blacklight apparition swung and shot at each other, aura-infused feathers shattering against stone and shattering glass.

"Well, what makes you feel that way?"

Roscoe tilted his head, and put out his paws in an exaggerated shrug.

"Look, I don't know what the fuck I'm doin' here, man. I'm so far outta my depth I'm walkin' on a lakebed, waitin' to drown. Nothin' I can say or do is ever gonna matter, and I'm killin' myself nice and slow already with all my vices. Who wants to read the rest of my story? – it'll just be one hell of a depressin' epilogue to a long, bad joke. Want a smoke?"

He took a packet of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket and held it out to Ben.

 

[Butterfree]

Garnet's face looked reverent, like something out of a church's stained glass windows.

"Everyone else."

"Oh." Jean looked around at the other, agitated Covenant members around them. "Who's the everyone else? Why are they dangerous?"

 

[Phoenixsong]

Leaf flinched as the wind buffeted her face. Dammit. It'd seemed like they were getting somewhere. If not feeling like he was doing enough freaked him out, then why wouldn't he...? Hm.

"Look, uh... Cecil?" she tried, meeting his panicked gaze without flinching. "What do you want to do? Really. Even if it's not... fundraising or fighting or whatever. I don't... I don't know everything everyone does here, but there's nothing wrong with just wanting to spend time with people." That was kinda what Mr. Dunsmuir had said, right? "If you're lost, even if it's just because you're feeling alone, why wouldn't the others want to help lift you up?"

She glanced at Angel for confirmation, just in time to feel the weight leave her back and see an orange blur disappear through a door off the hall.

"Look me in the eye and tell me your party has no beef with me after I ordered them fired on at Sunrest."

"Put your god damn sister down!"

It came out like a bark as Blue skidded into the room, claws scrabbling for traction on the tile before he finally steadied himself right behind the "lucario". One second the guy's about to take a bullet for her, the next he's manhandling her? Lillian looked okay, probably, hopefully, but still. What the actual fuck.

"No shit nobody's happy with the guy who was gonna fuckin' broadside them! I wasn't even there and I wanna tear you a new one for it!" He squared up, all two-feet-four-inches of Definitely Really Big Mean Dog Definitely, momentarily forgetting this dude could turn him into a rug with one finger because his stupid little tantrum was that much more annoying oh my god. "But all the guys you actually shot at keep sayin' you're ready to destroy what you've been doin' all these years, how they only shipped out here in the first place to help you. It ain't about kissing and making up, it's about fixing... whatever the hell is wrong with this place. And your answer's just to dig your heels in deeper? What, did you forget?"

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"And what side are we all on?"

"The side that knows the future of this world isn't preserved with a single, reckless action."

Steven wasn't sure how much Saffron knew of Arthur's plan-- how much any of the Covenant was privy to his methods and motives-- but the way he had fled and left them all here spoke volumes as to where his loyalties lie.

She heaved a shuddering breath, and clutched at the Explorer's scarf around her neck, gripping the silver lantern pin there so tightly, a few beads of blood welled up from her paw.

"Even becoming Chief Explorer isn't enough. Still I am condescended to, not given respect. They respect Arthur— Arthur! A boy-king, unserious, immature, dismissive. Why...? What more must I do?"

Whatever sternness had hardened his expression melted away in hearing Saffron's true distress. "Hard work isn't always recognized the way it should be," he said softly. "And those with the most recognition haven't necessarily done as much to earn it, either."

A blue psychic outline formed around Saffron's paw, the one that squeezed her pin, and loosened her grip ever so slightly. Not enough to pry her away from it, but just enough to stop her from injuring herself further.

"I'm not sure there's much else you can do. The way the Covenant was structured... It was never meant for you to succeed. And yet you have. It's impressive."

He gave her a genuine smile.

"And if your peers won't acknowledge that, well, at least I will."

 

[canisaries]

Tawenna spat a short, sharp laugh.

"The Covenant are the flight feathers in the wings of the Commonwealth," she declared. "I have tried to further their goals along paths that sidestep my people, but they will inevitably be swallowed like all the rest. Soon, everyone on this continent will look and talk very much like you."

She and her Blacklight apparition swung and shot at each other, aura-infused feathers shattering against stone and shattering glass.

Andre really felt out of his depth here. Regardless, he would try.

"I don't think it's inevitable," he said. "I couldn't tell you how to go about saving your people, as I'm still a stranger here, but I think there's merit in keeping at it. Whether you'd like to do that by continuing to attempt to change the Commonwealth from within or through direct action is your own choice, but... you shouldn't give up. Even if you couldn't ultimately stop assimilation, you could still work to postpone it. More time for real Miwacha people to keep living their lives the way they should. Isn't that important?"

Roscoe tilted his head, and put out his paws in an exaggerated shrug.

"Look, I don't know what the fuck I'm doin' here, man. I'm so far outta my depth I'm walkin' on a lakebed, waitin' to drown. Nothin' I can say or do is ever gonna matter, and I'm killin' myself nice and slow already with all my vices. Who wants to read the rest of my story? – it'll just be one hell of a depressin' epilogue to a long, bad joke. Want a smoke?"

He took a packet of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket and held it out to Ben.

"Ah, no thank you, I don't smoke," Ben said, still shaken.

He took a moment to think to himself. Whatever Roscoe was going through, he must have been going through for a longer time. Could Ben really talk him out of it?

"Um... so, I don't think what you said is necessarily true," he began. "I'm sure there are people that care about you, and I'm sure you've done things that are meaningful. I mean, they've kept you around for this long, right? One of those things must be true if you're still here in the Covenant."

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Oh." Jean looked around at the other, agitated Covenant members around them. "Who's the everyone else? Why are they dangerous?"

"Everyone outside."

Garnet nodded fervently, reaching for more bricks. They appeared out of thin air, gently steaming.

"You see, little miss, we're all the same, we're all lost... and we're all scared, so scared, of losing our way even further. But we can keep each other safe! We can be strong, together, inside, and it will be okay."

The Scizor tapped her pincer against her head with a metallic clinking.

"Like my armour. It's better, to be protected like this... Nobody can hurt us."

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Look, uh... Cecil?" she tried, meeting his panicked gaze without flinching. "What do you want to do? Really. Even if it's not... fundraising or fighting or whatever. I don't... I don't know everything everyone does here, but there's nothing wrong with just wanting to spend time with people." That was kinda what Mr. Dunsmuir had said, right? "If you're lost, even if it's just because you're feeling alone, why wouldn't the others want to help lift you up?"

"R-really...?"

Angel nodded fervently. "Yes, really. I don't want you to feel alone, Cecil. How terrible that would be...!"

All the nervous energy seemed to ebb out of Cecil, and he swayed, exhausted. The apparitions didn't vanish, but to look away and look back, was to find them absent, no longer haunting the Unfezant.

"I do just... want to spend time with people. People here are... They're my friends." He gulped, painfully self-conscious of his situation as the manic brainfog lifted. "Including you, ah, Angel. Oh dear. How embarrassing this all is."

Angel shook her head. "No no no, Cecil, wait until you've heard what I was just spouting. Look, go make friends with someone who's having their marbles juggled, alright? There's a lot of fellas right now who could use a friendly word. Go on!"

Cecil nodded rapidly, glancing about, and seeming to realise the situation did not, in fact, revolve around him.

"Golly, well, alright. Thank you both. Terribly sorry. And, um, good luck!"

He strode off, looking about for someone he recognised, so he could stage an intervention of his own.

Unfezant Cecil was purified!

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Put your god damn sister down!"

"No shit nobody's happy with the guy who was gonna fuckin' broadside them! I wasn't even there and I wanna tear you a new one for it! But all the guys you actually shot at keep sayin' you're ready to destroy what you've been doin' all these years, how they only shipped out here in the first place to help you. It ain't about kissing and making up, it's about fixing... whatever the hell is wrong with this place. And your answer's just to dig your heels in deeper? What, did you forget?"

Iridium stared, one paw trembling as tremors took hold of his fists. He began to breathe heavily, erratic – as if wounded.

"I-I'm not..."

He dropped Lillian, and clutched his wrist so tight it looked like he would snap it.

"I've already lost," he muttered. "I've lost over and over and over again, and now I'm just waiting for you all to finish the job. Give me the coup de grace. Destroy me along with everything else. I have it fucking coming, don't I??"

The knight stepped back, unsteady on his hindpaws.

"Ever since I found out about your pal Gladion... I've been waiting to be put outta my misery. I didn't have to lose. I could've left. I could've saved my buddy. I could've done everything right, and it's too late now."

Iridium mimicked the motion of drawing a broadsword from where a scabbard might hang on his belt, and with the flow of his paw, he manifested a blade of vivid blue light. He levelled it at Lillian and Blue together.

"I'm an enemy combatant. It's easier this way. Get it over with, already! Do it!"

 

[Chibi Pika]

"Then who does deserve such power?"

Jade's ears flattened. She didn't know the answer to that, and she'd spent way too long wishing she had. It was the same question that'd plagued everything back home, with the legends, and how many people thought that they didn't deserve their power, and...

"I... can't pretend that I know the answer to that," Jade began softly, "but I don't think you should need to deserve it."

"It is yours, regardless of the circumstances. Why should you need to justify that to anyone?" a harsh voice cut in.

Jade blinked, throwing a sideways glance at Virga. She'd almost forgot that the Corvisquire had followed her down the halls.

 

[Phoenixsong]

Iridium mimicked the motion of drawing a broadsword from where a scabbard might hang on his belt, and with the flow of his paw, he manifested a blade of vivid blue light. He levelled it at Lillian and Blue together.

'Coup de grace'? 'Destroy him'? So he wanted them to— no. Oh, hell no. No no no no no. What the fuck? What the fuck? Why was this happening? He needed an adult. Gladius sure as hell needed an adult.

"F-fuck off," Blue said. The attempted growl collapsed into something thin and reedy. "Don't put that on me. Or on her. Or on anybody." He'd stabbed himself with Lillian's sword (?????) before, hadn't he. Except not, because zoroark illusions. Would he try it again, since they wouldn't? Would it be fake again, or...?

He held up both front paws, half placating, half just wanting something between that energy blade and his face. "Look. I got no clue what your actual damage is, or what exactly you fucked up." He shot Lillian a desperate glance. Surely she'd know, she'd understand what he was raving about, she could talk sense into him. "But..."

But this 'Blacklight' thing just made you exaggerate or hallucinate or something, right. There was still someone who could be reasoned with deep down inside, right.

...Right?

"But you already made the decision to get away from all this once. And the Wayfarers believed you when you said it. You sure that ain't still in there somewhere?"

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Lillian took a moment to catch her breath after being abruptly dropped. Not that Gladius had be choking her before, he hadn’t, but she still really needed one. While she did so, she fired a quick thought in Blue's direction. Whether over Betel or her own telepathy, the difference was unclear and indistinct to her.

Thank you for the help, Blue. Thank you.

She was glad not to be dealing with this alone.

"H-He's right! We all came here because we wanted to give you a chance. So I... I..."

She unsheathed her sword.

"If you need me to do this, if it can break this illusion, if it helps you move on, then I can... I can do this." (She said the last words not like a promise or offer, but like an affirmation to herself. An affirmation that she was strong enough to do something hard for someone she loved.) "But not for the reason you think. It will never be like that."

She touched the tip of her rapier to Gladius' chest, and... hesitated. Then she drew closer, wrapping her free hand around him like a hug and burying her face in his chest fur so she didn't have to look at what she was doing. And then, her sword arm awkwardly behind the rest of her body so that she could still press its tip into Gladius, she... still couldn't do it. She lowered the sword.

"I'm sorry, I can't, I can't put you out of your misery. Nobody wants that. I- We want to stop you from being miserable."

 

[Jackie Cat]

"The side that knows the future of this world isn't preserved with a single, reckless action."

"Hard work isn't always recognized the way it should be. And those with the most recognition haven't necessarily done as much to earn it, either."

"I'm not sure there's much else you can do. The way the Covenant was structured... It was never meant for you to succeed. And yet you have. It's impressive."

"And if your peers won't acknowledge that, well, at least I will."

"I... can't pretend that I know the answer to that," Jade began softly, "but I don't think you should need to deserve it."

"It is yours, regardless of the circumstances. Why should you need to justify that to anyone?" a harsh voice cut in.

Saffron, even while beset by Blacklit thoughts, found the mental strength to listen. And having done so, she closed her eyes and dispelled her ball lightning with a low moan of nameless emotion that tapered off into plaintive bleating.

"...Yes. What does it matter? I am here, and I am someone. I've earned my power, and I've more than earned my position."

She glanced at Steven, and while she did not smile, there was a certain deep feeling in her expression that communicated gratitude, after a fashion.

"...Having surmounted odds not in my favour. Perhaps this will be remembered in times to come, if not now..."

She slowly clenched her mouth and turned her head away from the Wayfarers as she struggled with the excess of emotion boiling in her aura, and at last, it sublimated off her like steam, in wisps of dark and bright.

"I always told my students to be patient," she murmured. "I shall have to set a good example, then."

She clutched at her head, wincing, as the loss of her Blacklight's focus-tightening qualities made her aware of more mundane pains.

"Could someone please... fetch me some willowbark tea? I'll be alright in a minute."