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

[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. ]

[azumods]

[#cultproblems tbh]

[redbellion]

[ goddammit jupiter ]

[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.

[azumods]

What do you mean...?

[...When they're dead, they'll be dead, Michael.]

[eudaimonikos]

Don't you have a concept of an afterlife here...? I know you've got actual gods, humans usually associate the two.

[discutio]

Also might I point out we've encountered literal ghosts, the theological implications of which I have tried to avoid considering.

[azumods]

[...hey so you want to make everyone uncomfortable here because- ]

You already know the answer to your question, actually. I mean, you've...seen the ghost Pokémon floating around the cities and such, right?

[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. ]

[azumods]

Saturn and Mars love Master Cyrus, and they love his ideals. Not romantically - I...hope? - but it's still in a very complete and very creepy way.

[redbellion]

[ god, he hopes that's not the case, too. probably the one thing he can agree with jupiter on. after hearing her response to rin... ]

They worship him.

[azumods]

Of course they do.

[semistableman]

[This is stupid, after his shouting match with Jupiter, but he shoots Keith a searching look just to make sure he's okay.]

[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?

[azumods]

[...]

He's ambitious. I like his drive, and I like the feeling I get when I'm doing things for him. Like I can do anything.

[heritrix]

[That illustrates their relationship quite well to Rin, actually.]

He makes you stronger, in every way.

[Rin nods, like she understands. That kind of admiration; it reminds her a lot of the way she used to look at her father. He was so amazing. There was no one in the world she wanted to be like more than him, and as a child, she'd gobbled up every ounce of his attention and praise. That's what made her want to be a mage, and fight in the Holy Grail War.]

How big was Team Galactic, when you first joined it? Were you one of the earlier members?