Novelux Smokestack Hostel & Bar

[Namohysip]

"Huh? What happened with him anyway?" Owen asked. "I know he's... you know, playing both sides." He seemed to glance around to make sure nobody was listening, though it seemed to be more of a gesture than an actual glance. Vaguely, perhaps Starr recalled that Owen had a strange way of 'seeing' things.

"But what's his... deal?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr leaned back in her seat. "Shit, man, if you find out let me know," she said with a laugh.

"Buuuut I guess I have a bit of insight from the World-Spirit. Call it one of the 'perks' of being a summoned hero. Not that she's ever shared much outside of bullshit cryptic dreams. Can't risk 'swaying my path' too much or whatever."

She dumped a bit more hot sauce onto the remaining scraps of egg and tamato on her plate. "So, Matthias. The gist I got was that he was supposed to be the subtle one. Find the people responsible for playing god and screwing up the fabric of the world, and take them out. Precision. Only, he went and joined 'em, and spent the last few years doing their dirty work. Maybe it's the world's longest con, I dunno. Fucker never bothered to explain himself when he grabbed me and Jesse and threw us in a goddamn cell."

Starr scooped the last of the omelette into her mouth and chewed roughly. "So anyway. There's this rule about not summoning more than one hero at a time, I think? Yeah, that obviously flew out the window, cause the World-Spirit dragged me here next. No subtlety this time. She needed a friggin' blunt instrument, and she got me. And I was gonna burn it all down." She let a miniature flame burn in the palm of her hand before snuffing it out with a closed fist.

It was probably obvious from the tone of her voice that she didn't exactly think that was the ideal outcome. It was just... what she was good at.

"But, y'know. You guys being here kinda changes the whole operation. What with you guys saving the Lighthouse, the Radiant Knight... shit, even the goddamn Living Sun."

If she'd done her job, been the blunt instrument that Auriga had needed, none of them would have been saved. That thought had been burning in her head ever since those kids had told her the Lighthouse was their friend now.

 

[Namohysip]

Owen nodded slowly. "...Don't beat yourself up about it," he said. "You didn't know. You couldn't have known. Just... a tool to use for the gods' needs. I know what that's like. And now we get to decide for ourselves how we want to do things.

"It sounds like the answer is similar to what I'm trying to do back home. I want to save everyone, but I also want to take the gods' powers away so they can't... do it again, make everyone their tools to lord over. And for there not to be any NEW gods, either..."

Though, Owen seemed conflicted about that--not from a desire standpoint, but the way Owen spoke was like a college student trying to figure out some big problem with their project. A problem not yet solved.

"...But I guess it's a little simpler here... but also harder because we have less information. I wonder what Matthias knows... to change his opinion."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr nodded distantly along with Owen's words, at least until he got to the part about making sure there weren't any new gods. She let out an incredulous laugh. "No kidding? Sounds like a fucking tall order. That something you can figure out how to do?"

She saw the two of them again, in a cosmic battlefield, facing off against a limitless horror, a force the gods couldn't even touch. And winning.

Somehow, it didn't seem so impossible.

Starr lifted her mug. "Well, when I'm back to 100%, Brisa and I'll be heading back east again. I still owe frog-boy a rematch, so maybe I can loosen that oversized tongue of his," she said with a fanged smirk.

 

[Namohysip]

"I'd like a good fight..." Owen almost sounded dreamy when he talked about it. Maybe he was more feral than he came off.

"But fighting the gods, taking away their powers, changing the way the world works... It all seems impossible. Usually it is. But I had some... lucky connections. It's possible."

Though, with a darker look--somehow--Owen looked away.

"I think that Calyrex is the same way, though. Maybe that's why I'm taking him seriously. I wonder how many others are underestimating him."

Around then, Mhynt returned, hearing the tail-end of Owen's words.

"I'm sure many do. Usurpers don't rise to power with the attention of everyone. They start carefully."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr raised an eyebrow at Owen’s explanation, but it wasn’t like she could argue. She shrugged and said, “Not like I’m in any position to say what the hell’s possible or not, after what I’ve been through.” Also she was talking to a literal talking shadow who’d survived dying.

Starr’s ears flicked toward Mhynt as the Sceptile returned to the table. Something about a Calyrex usurper?

“Sounds like I’m gonna have some catching up to do, what with being out of it for however-the-hell long,” Starr grumbled. It was almost spring, so… she’d been in that damn cave for two whole seasons. Man…

She stretched her arms overhead with a satisfying pop. “Well, I figure Brisa and I’ll be joining you guys for whatever comes next. Gotta wrap things up on Forlas if I wanna return home.” She didn’t really want to think about leaving yet, though.

Starr glanced toward Owen, feeling a weird flicker of nostalgia in her chest. “Did we ever get the chance to duke it out on Cibus? Could be fun.” Even through the haze of aura exhaustion, she could tell her new body was strong.

 

[Namohysip]

Owen beamed slightly. "Even if we did... I think you'd want to experience it again, wouldn't you?"

Mhynt sighed to herself. "I'll humor it, but don't drag me to too many spars. I'm not a Battleheart like you," she muttered. Still, she nodded, looking more relaxed.

"...But I'm glad you have an anchor or two here, even if it's only distantly familiar," she said to Starr.

 

[Chibi Pika]

"I never used to be," Starr commented in response to Mhynt, "but there's something about being back in this body that's got me itching to see what it can do." She grinned at Owen's enthusiasm, flexing her claws.

It was weird. With those scattered memories of crazy adventures on another world being the only real 'past' she had access to, this body almost felt more familiar than her original human form. Same with the connections she'd made on that other world.

She'd savor it while she had the chance.

Starr grabbed a menu. "Alright, I gotta try the pizza finally. Any votes for toppings?"

<><><>​

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr flopped into one of the lounge chairs near the bar, kicking her feet up as she downed half her coffee mug in one gulp. Much as she would've loved to kick back and take it easy while recovering in Novelux, she had to get into fighting shape. And her brain had been itching to get back into the swing of things anyway.

Brisa had jumped back into earning some cash at the Battle Dome, and that'd given Starr the chance to spar with some of the other fighters in the training rooms. Battling in her new Incineroar body felt... good. Exhilarating. Muscle memory she hadn't known was there had started to resurface. The prospect of finishing up what she was here to do on Forlas felt a lot more doable now.

...Course, that didn't mean that post-battle soreness didn't hurt like a bitch sometimes.

 

[Cresselia92]

Novelux was as lively and over-crowded as it felt the last time Silver had been there, and he was far from surprised that Lyra was getting a kick out of everything around them, either by throwing a random commentary about how very Goldenrod-y this or that was, or by dragging him close to whatever caught her attention (much to his chagrin). Unfortunately, because of their wandering, they had arrived pretty late for today’s match at the stadium and missed finding Starr by mere minutes, but fortunately they found out where she usually spent her time after her sparring sessions.

As such, Silver led his hyperactive companion to the local hostel while Lyra rambled and hopped excitedly after him. While his ears cried uncle, he was also inwardly grateful that her chatter distracted him from his growing tension.

“—and whoooa!! D’you see the way Brisa threw those electrified punches like ha-ha wham-wham-wham?! That was so awesome!! I mean, gosh! She was so unbelievably epic!! It really felt like watching one of those live competitions back home!” The noise of bouncy steps grew closer, and he noticed Lyra was now hopping by his side. She looked at him with curious eyes. “Will I get the chance to see you before, y’know, we lose our furs and claws and stuff?”

At this, Silver couldn’t help but smirk. “Ha, you bet! Can’t leave this world without some final arse-kicking, after all! Just gotta see who’s daring or foolish enough to face me!” Alas, his burst of confidence didn’t last as a familiar building came into view, and the Sneasler stopped as his doubt surfaced again. “…So. This is the place.”

Lyra looked back and forth between the hostel and the Sneasler, then stared at him worriedly. “Awww. You aren’t getting cold feet now, aintcha?”

“What?! Don’t be ridiculous! Of course not!” he harrumphed and shook his head, almost offended, but after staring again at the building for a few more seconds, his bout of anger melted into nervousness. “I’m just… I really wanna check on Starr and see how she’s doing, but I’m not sure how best to approach her. And there’re so many things I wish so hard to tell her, but her amnesia…” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “It complicates things a lot.”

The Lopunny tapped her chin contemplatively. “Well, you know yourself fairly well, so you oughta know how best to talk to you, no? Amnesiac or not, she kinda retained her personality, it seems like?” She threw her hands defensively — probably his puzzled glare had something to do with it. “Of course, we know Starr isn’t technically you, at least not 100% you, but she still has similar DNA to yours and a similar taste for battles and trading blows — again, just like you — and…”

Silver waited for Lyra to finish her tirade, but when she simply kept looking at him with those disgustingly adorable eyes, he quirked a brow. “…And?”

“Oh, I actually dunno where I was going with that thought, tee hee hee!” she admitted with a giggle, flashing a sheepish smile.

Silver narrowed his eyes at her response, thoroughly unimpressed, but Lyra was quick to bounce back to her reassuring and cheerful grin.

“Hey. You gotta relax. It’s gonna be okay, maybe even fun and interesting! You’re just overthinking matters like you always do whenever it comes to getting outta your comfort zone,” she said before putting a paw on his shoulder. Somehow, that gesture made some of his tension flow out of his body. “Besides, I’m here for you. I’m gonna help you out and nudge you forward if you get stumped with something. Alright?”

That pep talk seemed to do the trick. Besides, he wasn’t someone who backed down from a difficult situation, not even if self-imposed. He snorted to chase away that pesky self-doubt and threw a challenging glance at the door. “Hmph! C’mon, let’s get to this already!”

Lyra winked at him while showing a thumbs-up, her grin widening. “Okay~!”

As soon as they entered the hostel, it didn’t take long to find the all-too-familiar Incineroar sitting by herself with a drink in her hand. Silver shot a quick glance at Lyra, who took it as her cue to break the ice, and she did so by hopping toward Starr with a sparkling smile. “Hiii Starr! It’s great to see ya again! How’re doing?”

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr's ears flicked toward the newcomers before she glanced over her shoulder at them. Sneasler and Lopunny... oh yeah, two of the kids from Prism Hollow. She gave a lazy wave to the pair and gestured with her coffee mug to the empty lounge chairs across from her.

"Hey. Get into any more trouble lately?" she asked offhandedly, downing the rest of her coffee (man, the mugs here were too small, she'd have to get a refill). "It's Silver, right? And...?" Truthfully she couldn't remember either of their names from the conversation at Prism Hollow, what with how toasted her brain had been at the time. But for some reason, the name 'Silver' surfaced in her brain without her really thinking about it, as if she'd learned it ages ago.

(Along with the mental image of a bat with wings like the night sky... some weirdo dream adventure thing she'd have to ask Owen about later).

 

[Cresselia92]

“Ah, it’s Lyra!” replied the Lopunny without skipping a beat, then plopped down on one seat. It was obvious from her wide, cheerful grin that she wasn’t the least bit bothered by the moment of forgetfulness. She motioned to her friend, who sat on the other seat with far more grace and slowness. “And yep, that’s my bestie, Silver! We wanted to check on you after, y’know, that whole underground hullabaloo?”

Silver snorted and shot a pointed stare at Lyra, embarrassed by the moniker, but she shielded herself from whatever barbed words he briefly brewed by hiding her face with the menu. From behind her literal paper-thin barrier, she motioned with her eyes to Starr, the gesture silently urging: I’ve got things rolling; now you say something!

Silver coughed to get the attention back to himself. “Oh, trouble? Us? Pfft, as if anyone in this world could get an entire minute of peace without something crazy happening!” he remarked with a smirk, then he waved casually toward the sky. “Like, I dunno, having to work on some kinda plan to stop a power-obsessed monarch and a red star from unraveling reality? That’s just yet another Tuesday for us.”

Lyra swiveled slightly her ears, signaling that she was paying attention. “Oooh yeah, that’s an issue, definitely!” She lowered the menu to look at Starr, mischief dancing in her eyes. “But we’re used to those kinda setbacks! We’ve dealt with tons of craziness back at home, too, so we’ve got this!”

“Anyway, back to the reason we’re here…” Silver leaned on the seat, getting himself more comfortable, then motioned to Starr with his clawed hand, “it seems like you’ve got yourself back on your feet, huh? Enjoying the thrill of fighting and getting stronger?”

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr flagged down a waiter to refill her mug while listening to the two's spirited reply. She gave a small snort and said, "Yeah, I was kinda flat on my ass after what happened at the facility, but the recovery's been fine. Was starting to go a bit stir crazy, so I figured I might as well get a head start on getting back into fighting since I know we're not done here."

She flexed her claws and said, "Gotta admit it feels good. When I first got here, I thought the whole 'battle-craving' Pokemon-brain thing was kinda dumb, but Brisa must've won me over." Starr took a drink from her refilled mug and added, "I guess you guys have had time to get used to being Pokémon too, huh? My sense of time's screwed up from being in that dungeon too long, but I coulda sworn I sent out that distress call ages ago."

 

[Cresselia92]

Lyra gasped and her eyes sparkled like stars, excited by the topic. “My, my! Moving to the isekai stuff now, ain’t we?” She looked at Silver and gave him an encouraging smile. “I’d say you oughta start. You’ve been here for far longer than me and must’ve some more insight to give.”

Silver narrowed his eyes, contemplating the proposal, then shrugged nonchalantly. “…If I must.”

He waited for the server to leave their beverages on the table — green matcha tea for Lyra and nightshade tea for him — before getting started. Despite all the time spent there and the various unearthed secrets, he still felt the need to be somewhat cautious.

“But yeah, I’m one of the first folks who’ve been brought here after hearing Betel’s distress call. So I have…” Silver counted vaguely with his claws. “Huh, something like half a year or so living as a small weasel? Gotta say it had been tough going from having fingers to having freaking knives in place of digits, but nothing unmanageable.” He stared down at his claws, unsheathing and sheathing them repeatedly. “And now, I’ve gotta get used to these new beauties after having pseudo-knives for so long…”

“They got upgraded into katanas!” Lyra chirped with an awed smile. “Venomous and very sharp katanas! You’re just like a real ninja or samurai now!”

Silver hummed, a smirk creeping onto his face. The idea of being an actual ninja didn’t cross his mind, but he greatly enjoyed the concept. “Huh. Yeah, that’s a fairly cool description.”

Feeling happy for her friend, Lyra followed up with a sonorous clap. “As for me, I’ve been here for only a few days. So, I barely had enough time to getting used to a tiny rabbit body since my memories as a human are very fresh. Muscle memories, non-Pokémon facial expressions and all that kinda stuff, y’know.” She leaned forward, the posture almost conspiratorial, but the grin gave away her true humorous mood. “But then! Just when I finally learned how to live like a small rabbit, swoosh!! I turned into a much bigger and more human-like Lopunny! Lemme tell ya: It was really weird having my brain going from human to rabbit to sorta-human-sorta-rabbit so quickly, hahaha!”

Lyra bent down to pour a couple spoons of sugar into her tea while Silver barely held his trembling cup between his much bigger and less flexible claws, grumbling some curses under his breath. The Lopunny suppressed a nervous giggle and looked intently at Starr, aiming to move the focus away from the struggling mustelid.

“But speaking of memories, um. I know yours are basically MIA right now, but how did you get used to a quadrupedal body when you got summoned?” Lyra held her tea in her hands and leaned back, then tilted her head curiously. “As in, did you somehow recall how to move like a human and have had some trouble adapting, or did you learn instantly and instinctively because of those locked memories, as if you’ve been a cat all your life?”

Silver quirked a brow and followed the rabbit’s gaze, sipping some of his tea as silently as he could. That was actually something he was really curious about, too.

 

[Chibi Pika]

"Over half a year, huh..." Starr muttered, taking a long drink of her coffee. "Damn, I was in that pit longer than I thought." She gave a small chuckle at the kid fumbling with his oversized claws before leaning back in her seat and pondering Lyra's question.

“But speaking of memories, um. I know yours are basically MIA right now, but how did you get used to a quadrupedal body when you got summoned?”

Starr scratched at her cheek fur. "Not gonna lie, it was pretty weird, but like... not as weird as it could have been. Trust me, I would've been a hell of a lot more pissed off if I had to relearn how to walk. I guess getting summoned by the World-Spirit comes with the basic controls already in the brain or whatever the hell. Pretty much the only help you get since it's not like she's ever clear about a damn thing," Starr added with a scoff. Maybe the locked memories had been good for something after all, but she wasn't gonna start giving Auriga credit now.

Starr set down her mug and folded her arms behind her head. "But yeah, evolving was more my speed. Not just being in a more humanish body--there's something about about it that just feels right. Like 'damn, this is what I've been missing.' Didn't really know what to make of it until I had a chat with Owen the other day. Apparently this isn't isn't the first time I've done this whole song and dance of getting summoned. Though I guess the last time was more like you guys. No goddamn memory loss that time."

 

[Cresselia92]

Starr set down her mug and folded her arms behind her head. "But yeah, evolving was more my speed. Not just being in a more humanish body--there's something about about it that just feels right. Like 'damn, this is what I've been missing.' Didn't really know what to make of it until I had a chat with Owen the other day. Apparently this isn't isn't the first time I've done this whole song and dance of getting summoned. Though I guess the last time was more like you guys. No goddamn memory loss that time."

At the new nugget of information, Lyra and Silver showed contemplative expressions. While they both could relate to the whole ‘feeling-better-in-a-more-human-skin’ part, the rest of their thoughts veered in completely different directions.

“Really? Owen knew ’bout you?” Silver blinked, then took another sip of his tea, feigning nonchalance. Unfortunately, he couldn’t fully disguise his surprise. “Huh, I… would’ve never guessed…”

“Whoooooa! You had your own adventure in the past? That’s so amazingly cool!!” Lyra chirped as she bounced on her spot, making her matcha swish wildly. “Oh my gosh! I wonder if we used to be teammates, and we just forgot?! How awesome would that be?”

Silver frowned, pondered the matter for a few seconds, then shook his head, unconvinced. No, that theory didn’t sit quite right with him. After all, wouldn’t Owen have mentioned something about meeting any of them in another life or time or whatever, especially while visiting the lair?

…The lair. Now that he thought about that, there was a certain someone who also knew Starr…

"Starr..." There was a glimmer of recognition in his eyes. A thoughtful frown. It washed away just as quickly as a more entertained, wry smile took its place. "Of course. I know who to look for. And... I look forward to seeing her again."

Not that the old man could do that anymore since he literally vanished in thin air! But if Owen remembered details about this unknown adventure he had with Starr, then maybe, just maybe…

“Y’know, Owen isn’t the only offworlder that doesn’t belong to our group who knew about you, and he also had connections to Auriga,” Silver started, lowering his cup on the table to cross his arms. Hesitation flashed temporarily in his eyes, wondering if that name would have accidentally brought out painful memories of Starr’s past, but he ultimately pressed forward. Discomfort or not, he himself would have wanted to know more about his own life and past.

“Say, Starr… does the name Giovanni ring any bells?”

By his side, Lyra breathed out a deep sigh and brought her matcha to her lips, unconsciously bracing herself. Oh jeez, that was never an easy topic to tackle!