Third.

[azumods]

ENCOUNTER 3. Snowpoint City is small, cold, and definitely not covered in waist-high snowdrifts. The traveling becomes far easier as soon as you enter the city limits, and the bright orange roof of the Pokémon Center is easy to spot among the white blanketing of snow dusting the ground and the local buildings; it's warm in there, and the attendants inside seem used to this sort of thing - people wandering in bedraggled and cold, unprepared for the weather and the routes leading up to this place - and they'll give you warm, fresh blankets and mugs of warm drinks that steam in your hands. The taste is difficult to place - it's definitely made of berries of some sort, though it doesn't seem to be proper tea or coffee; the point, however, is that it's good at warming you from the inside, and while it doesn't have proper medicinal properties, it'll at least perk you up a bit and make it seem like facing the rest of the day might not be so terrible. Which is fortunate, really, given what's to come. Come mid-afternoon, there's a loud, sharp whistle from the doorway of the Center - it's high and shrill, the sort of thing that's designed to get as much attention as possible, in as little time as possible. It'll stop before it goes on too long, but it's definitely enough to be heard, and the source isn't exactly hard to spot. She's another one that isn't dressed like the other members of Team Galactic, her hair and outfit far different from the usual grunt attire; she seems a bit older than Saturn, her expression harder and more experienced. She's smiling a bit now that she's holding the room, but the expression is strange in that it doesn't reach her eyes, even though those are just as bright and alert as her fellow Commander's were. It's cold. Unwelcoming. And deeply, deeply wrong in a way that's both vaguely similar and completely different to the way the emotionless people here tend to present - it's unfeeling, but in a way that's natural rather than enforced. Dangerous. "So you're the group that left us before I could get to know you properly," she says, and her voice is as cold as the rest of her; it's cordial, perhaps overly so, but there's a firmness to it that heavily implies that she's only being nice because she's expected to be nice. Because maybe if she's nice, this will go nice and easy and nothing will happen. "I'm Commander Jupiter, serving Team Galactic under the orders of Master Cyrus. Sorry I couldn't meet you all properly before; things got a bit hectic. But we can change that now." Her tone implies that that isn't a request.

Comments

[niceoppai]

It sounds a lot nicer than normal, that's for sure, but... if that's the case, why keep going and try to remove all conflict at all? If everything gets resolved peacefully? I know you wanna be the strongest, but you could just do that normally.

[azumods]

Because once in a while, you get the people who don't want to play by the rules. It's been like that for a long time. There have been wars since this was instated, and again, there was the guy with the massive death god weapon that could knock out entire countries. Even in nearby regions, as recently as a few years ago - we've had people torturing Pokémon just because they can, and these other sets of guys using the world as their personal manliness contest and nearly destroying it because they wouldn't leave the Legendary Pokémon of their region alone.

As long as spirit exists, Master Cyrus believes that there are going to be those that want to cause conflict, and he's been proven right.

[niceoppai]

But all that stuff, people eventually stopped them, right? There's, like, cops, and... [She trails off, biting her lip.]

[hyruglyphics]

A society can't simply give up on their achievements simply for setbacks.

[ The princess answers quietly. ]

... That weapon sounds terrifying, as to the stakes of battles to control the gods. It makes me better understand Cyrus's perspective, if I'm honest. But I still cannot call this state of affairs just. ... To me, at least.

[azumods]

It's never really mattered to me whether it's just or not. It is what it is, and I'm in it for my own personal gain. I don't like lying to people.

But I'm also not here for people calling us naive for not just wanting to murder everyone we don't like.

[hyruglyphics]

[ Personal gain...

That whole conversation with Sena...

... Hmmm ]

... You had called t he rebellions cute, before. Does that mean they entertain you?

[azumods]

They do, in their own way.

[hyruglyphics]

[ . . . Mmm. She can't throw Saturn under the bus, he's got too much to lose and if he's put back into line it's a new enemy. Same for Maylene. And so the obvious one to put there is the one who was already on the outside or working from the inside openly enough as is. Who had the power to protect herself.

She doesn't know if she can or should speak for them, but an idea hits her and she opts to roll with it, ]

Cynthia told us to seek out the Lake Guardians. Initially, our intention was to simply to return to our homes, but many of us now wish to stand in opposition to the system Cyrus put this world under. I cannot speak for everyone, but I am one of them. If the rebellions this world comes up with have entertained you, then I would request you allow us to grow and see how amusing we can make things.

[azumods]

I said they're entertaining, I didn't say I was stupid. Master Cyrus would have my neck if I allowed that.

[...She kind of pauses for a moment once that's out there, but anyway- ]

Like I said, I'm not here to kill you, I'm here on my own time. But if we cross paths otherwise, I'm going to have to stop you. You get it.

[hyruglyphics]

I do! [ Okay, that's better than nothing- ] I ask only that you continue to have that mindset, Jupiter. After all, your battle with Sena will be more fun if the miracle is more possible.

[azumods]

...Yeah, we'll see.

[heritrix]

[Legendary Pokemon... That has to be the deities, right? They've theorized there's a lot more of them, but somehow this news is still surprising. Perhaps because by this explanation, they're more accessible than she expects gods would normally be.]

Is he really that different from them in the end, though? He might not be taking your gods and turning them into weapons of mass destruction, but a spade is a spade. He's still kidnapped those deities and imposed his will on them, all to satisfy his personal ambition. No one's dying where they stand, but he's completely destroyed their way of life.

[azumods]

It's different because no one's dying where they stand, at least.

[...like, seriously. there's this and then there's whatever the fuck happened in the french quarter over there]

[heritrix]

So to you, the end justifies the means? Even if that's true, it's nothing to write home about. Good job—the world isn't worse than it was. But what have you done to make it better?

More importantly, can you still support Team Galactic's ideal after it finally finishes everything it set out to do? You enjoy autonomy for now, but once Cyrus gets what he wants you'll be out of a job. He'll probably drain your spirit too.

[azumods]

He might, but I'm not sure he'll do that to us.

Maybe he will, and I'll be proven wrong. But it's all part of the risk I'm taking.

[eudaimonikos]

People with grand ideas like this one generally can't be trusted to make exceptions. But I suppose that isn't new information, you've had time enough to weigh your risks.

[Shrug!

Really, his only reason for speaking up is the subtext of guys don't tell her Saturn said Cyrus was planning on it, that was also part of the secret talk]

[radiantflame]

[hahahaha oh no she doesn't know.

Morag is just gonna file that away for later.]

[discutio]

[oh my gods she doesn't know]

[azumods]

...Yeah, I know. I know he's not planning on making an exception of himself, anyway, and if that happens then he's definitely not going to leave us.

That doesn't mean I'm not going to live it up now, though. If I got my emotions punched out with the rest of the world or if I get it done later, it's all the same in the end. Might as well appreciate things now.

[redbellion]

[ why are you like this. ]

[eudaimonikos]

Do you think they'll all still be like that when they're dead?

[He sounds genuinely curious.]

Obviously you wouldn't know, but I can't say there's precedent for this, so I'm interested in hearing your thoughts.

[heritrix]

[Don't worry, Michael, she knows not to say too much. There's a reason she phrased that the way she did.

It's interesting to Rin, though, the impression they're getting of Cyrus. Each one so far has painted a picture of him from completely different perspectives. Where Jupiter expresses doubt, Saturn spoke with certainty. Part of that stemmed from weariness; he confessed as much that he's hoping to be caught and punished, seeing that punishment itself as some twisted reward.

But he seemed to fear that possibility too; his certainty can't be solely mistaken for blind devotion. Where Saturn knows the stakes, Jupiter is gambling with them. Where Saturn is committed to the ideal, Jupiter is enjoying the opportunity. Cyrus appeals to them in very different ways... And clearly shares his plans selectively.

If anything, that just makes Rin wonder what Cyrus tells her that he doesn't tell Saturn, since they already know the opposite.]

You're committed, I'll give you that. Does Cyrus mean that much to you?

[azumods]

I probably wouldn't still be in Team Galactic without him leading it; he's an interesting guy. I'm not like Saturn and Mars are about it, though.

[redbellion]

[ don't mind him butting in, he's curious ]

What makes them different from you?

[ he's heard a little about saturn from the others, but he's not going to bring that up, obviously. ]

[heritrix]

I heard you say as much earlier, which is what stands out to me. You say that the other two commanders are more devoted, but that just means Cyrus appeals to you in a different way, right? What is it about him that you admire?