azume | drops of jupiter.

[ so that was a lot, especially since it was keith’s first time coming face-to-face with a commander. he knows everyone must be tired and emotionally drained, but they have a lot of things they need to talk about. things that can’t wait to be sorted out. he has to collect his thoughts first, though--he’s not sure how to feel about this exactly, but he knows he’s feeling a lot of things. keith needs time to process everything, and he goes off to be alone for a little while.

eventually, michael, kayneth, ignis, camilla, and bucky bring over some food for the gang. it’s a much needed meal, and maybe some people want to eat in peace. unfortunately, keith is keith, and he thinks now is the best time to have a discussion. ]

Look, I know I’m not in the best position to say this, especially after how I acted back there. But unless anyone has any better ideas, we need to go to that lake and see the Guardian. We have to try. If that’s part of the solution to saving these people and going back home, then there’s really no other option.

[ he’s saying this with a calm head this time. he’s frustrated, clearly, but he’s speaking firmly and with nowhere near the same aggression he held earlier, back when he wanted to attack jupiter.

he doesn’t believe that he can be the leader anyone needs him to be. not here, not back at home. but it’s not going to stop him from trying to do what he feels is right. ]

And if we need someone to scope it out before we act, then I’ll do it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Michael nods slowly. He's...interested to know what exactly Sena thinks he'd approve of, especially looks-wise. He's also a little afraid to ask?]

Right.

Well, I can't say I haven't seen aspects of myself in the Commanders so far, too. Nothing to worry about.

[comparing Sena to himself is actually probably something to worry about. not gonna point that out.]

[You should always be afraid to ask about anything regarding Hiruma. End of story.]

I guess not. They're people like us... [Still...he can't imagine being partial to something like...like this.]

They've still got some personality traits that aren't just pure evil. Though, I can identify with them too, so that doesn't speak well for their overall levels.

[He's smiling, so it's kinda a joke? But also he's very serious.]

Trust me, you're no worse off. She was gonna try to kick all our shit in anyway, but she respects you. At least a bit.

I-I guess?

[Sena smiles back nervously, not exactly sure if he's supposed to take it completely seriously or not. It feels like there's a tone of warning in there?

And then he lets out a sigh.]

Which means that next time she comes to kick our shins, she's going to be zeroing in on me first...

[Hieeeh. Volunteering to be a target is scary...]

[Michael waves a hand dismissively, apparently heedless of Sena's nerves. About him specifically.]

Oh, don't worry about that. If there's ever a real battle, it'd be completely ridiculous not to take advantage of our numbers. Team Galactic's lost the right to one-on-one fighting.

You're saying that like Team Galactic doesn't totally outnumber us...

[Remind him again how many grunts there were?]

A-Anyway...I actually do want to fight Jupiter one-on-one, if things end up that way...

[Really, now.]

The grunts don't count. Gonna have to deal with them to get that far, anyway.

[By restoring at least parts of their free will, is what he means. You could also read that as "let's murder all the grunts" though.]

Do you? You're stammering.

Then we're gonna have to get strong enough that dealing with tons and tons of reinforcements isn't a big deal...

[That...sounds like a tall order to him...Really.]

Y-yes! I mean, I know this kind of thing I'm saying is scary and all, but, uh...

[He still looks nervous, but somehow his tone...it has more resolve.]

I think...I want to prove something to her. And to myself. [That he can get stronger. That even if he loses, he's still...he's still someone who can face down anything.

[He says that, but then he starts waving his hands and stammering.]

I-I mean, if I lose, you guys can totally swarm her or something! That's not off the table...

[Michael watches Sena for a moment, with thoughtfully narrowed eyes.]

Alright. I'll keep that in mind.

We should do more regular battle training. All of us, don't you think? I know we fell off while dealing with that frozen nightmare, that makes sense, but it seems better here.

Uhm...yes!

[Actually, now that you mention training...]

Maybe...group training? [He laughs a bit while he waves his hands.]

Like...in football, all the players, we have very different skills, right? But if we don't practice together at team practice, we won't really be able to, um...work together right?

That's a fair point. We have a lot of Pokemon between us, so maybe training all of them together at once would be a little much, but we could start with our original ones and see how it goes. Maybe at least showcase what the others can do?

Since they're the ones that improved the most so far, they'll probably understand quickest...

[He grins a little at the thought.]

They might surprise us!

Monnn?

[Sena looks down at where Monta was happily helping himself to Michael's treats, goggling at the now very empty plate. When did he eat all-?!]

S...surprise...

...that's fine, that's what that was for. You know this is going to be a nightmare for you if he gets much larger?

[Pray that Monferno doesn't evolve into a gorilla or something]

[God no. He doesn't even want to think about it.]

Hopefully, he'll have calmed down a little by then?

[Hahahaha.

No.]

drops of jupiter.

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