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Godpoke did their best, but they were dead on their feet.
They came out here, on a vacation, to get away from stuff. Things… weren’t really great at home.
They planned out a few weeks’ worth of vacation really. They didn’t like thinking about it, but they didn’t have a whole lot of ties back home. They wanted space, needed space. Some part of them going into this kind of wanted an excuse to just leave and never go back to any of that.
Day one was having the Megapon land in their hands, and getting tasked with stopping the literal end of the world.
They weren’t sure how much time they had to work with, and given everything, they supposed they made great time.
Just about a whole day, maybe give or take a few hours.
But man, they were dead on their feet after doing all of that. It was sprinting, running around, getting into scuffles with the bizzyboys. Solving puzzles, talking to the gods (by proxy of Megapon). It was a lot of things, and a lot of tough things, but Godpoke was up to the task.
It was still a lot though.
And that’s not even getting into everything that just happened.
‘I guess it’s all well that end’s well’ They thought to themselves.
They were riding the makeshift lift back down, with the others.
They were all idly chatting (sans Godpoke themselves). It was quiet.
They refrained from peering over the railing and down to the ground. Normally, they didn’t have a fear of heights. They also wouldn’t put it past themselves and their terrible luck to literally accomplish saving the world to just fall to their death immediately afterwords. They could practically imagine the headlines, “New godpoke sets record for shortest amount of time being godpoke, falls to their death. Search for next permanent godpoke still ongoing”.
They clutched the Megapon to their chest, trying to silently sigh. They supposed they didn’t do a great job, since a few of the people present turned to look, before going back to their conversations.
They could feel their eyes and their legs burning. They were also feeling it in their tail, they put on a whole costume partially to see how well and close they could get to King’s Iconic look. As a result, the pants didn’t have a tail hole to really sell that, and shoving a tail down the pants wasn’t a great idea in hindsight. They weren’t expecting to do that much running around. They had also regrettably not packed a whole lot of clothing for their trip, having packed really really light. They had more than this outfit, sure, but perhaps not that much for long-term staying.
If they did want to commit, they’d have to at least go back home to gather their stuff (mostly clothing, and the few knick-knacks they had that brought them joy).
They could feel themselves wilting a little.
It was getting mild to moderately hard to focus on anything.
But they were stubborn, and they were going to at least stay awake long enough to find shelter, or at least a bed.
As the lift lurched to a stop right as they touched ground, they stumbled.
Everyone stumbled, so they didn’t look too foolish for stumbling.
“Alright everyone, one at a time” Capochin drawled, the tense moment of the world nearly ending being forgotten for just a moment as bizzyboys got to doing what seemed to be what they were usually supposed to be doing (or at least before everything started to go south with Inspekta). They were finally approaching the ground.
A queue to step out had very quickly formed, probably to avoid too many people rushing the meager exit to the makeshift lift.
Godpoke could see Razzmatazz among the small crowd that had formed around the base of the lift. Razzmatazz looked worried and conflicted.
They figured that they could possibly work that out later.
They were admittedly very checked out given how tired they were. Some part of them still wheezed a little, an action they were hoping that nobody noticed. They were surprised that they kept up the fast pace the whole time, given that they didn’t have great lungs (among other things).
They held the Megapon a little bit tighter to their chest. They heard that Megapon was alive, and that the Megapon had its own ways to talk and commune with the Godpoke. All the same, the Megapon hadn’t said a peep at all to them outside of all the recordings of everyone else. Perhaps it was also preoccupied with the end of the world, too busy to want to talk. They certainly hoped there wasn’t more to it than that.
They ignored the beating of their heart, and the rush of blood in their cat-like ears (hidden cleverly under a hat). They struggled with Purpose among other things back home, and it was weird being given Purpose (if only for a brief moment).
A part of them was deeply afraid being the next godpoke, that they couldn’t ever live up to it the way King did. The Shoes King left behind were large, and the shadow that she cast even larger. So good at communication that she was now the God of Eloquence, and Godpoke had problems with talking on good days.
There was a deep irony somewhere that despite all of that, those fears were only rivaled by the new fear of having everyone decide that no, they weren’t a good fit, and that they didn’t get to be godpoke either (that they were undeserving). They didn’t want this new purpose ripped from their arms just as soon as they got it. They didn’t like the idea of all these near complete strangers vindicating their own insecurities with self-worth. They weren't sure which thing would actually shatter their heart into a million little pieces, blown away in the wind, being accepted or rejected.
They could dwell on that baggage another time. They were getting more and more preoccupied with the fact that it was becoming hard to focus on anything besides finding a place to crash at, hopefully away from prying eyes.
They’d idly queued up with everyone else while thinking about this.
Some of the bizzyboys had stepped off first, and they almost scattered like a pack of rats in a spotlight.
Grujaja, Banananathaniel, and Vibiano were immediately just on the ground after taking a few steps. Not because they had fainted or anything, but that after taking some steps they were quick to enjoy not being on the Spire (or at least Godpoke figured as such). If they could hug the ground, they’d be hugging the ground. Seemed like a lot of people wanted to be on solid ground again and not up at the spire.
They stepped out with Patty and Hector, and were watching Razzmatazz speed walk up to the group, probably relieved or possibly still worried about all that transpired.
It’s not so much that Godpoke fainted, so much as suddenly their own legs gave out under them.
What was possibly a squeak died in their throat, as they flung out their arms a little too wildly to try to catch themselves, or grab onto something before completely faceplanting.
They heard an oof as someone caught them before they completely fell over, not quite a hug but certainly something to keep them standing despite the betrayal of their own legs. Their arms were clutching someone, with the Megapon awkwardly pressed between them.
They took a stuttering breath, grabbing the Megapon with one hand and trying to re-orient themselves. It was enough to wake them out of their little stupor, but not enough to shake the tiredness from their body.
“I got’cha Godpoke” Razzmatazz said, slightly winded in catching Godpoke before they fell completely.
They thanked the gods that nobody could see how embarrassed they were about this whole thing. They saved the world, they shouldn’t suddenly not be able to stand for more than five minutes.
“Yew okay, god-pokey?” Hector asked, concern leaking into his voice. He was doing that thing, leaning over Godpoke. They weren't sure if Hector realized that he was still doing the same stuff he had done as a god or not.
They nodded their head vigorously. They were fine.
“Let’s get you down, you seem a little…” Razzmatazz trailed off, gently helping Godpoke to a seated position.
They furiously shook their head no, despite letting themselves be guided to a sitting position next to the lift after their near-tumble.
They’re totally fine.
“You don’t seem like you’re doing that well Vaquerito,”
“May-be they just need to sit a bit” Hector said, looking back at the other bizzyboys, who were in various states.
Mostly keeping an eye on the three who were celebrating being on regular dirt again.
Godpoke frowned from behind their hat and bandana.
They made a gesture, to try to communicate “give me a minute”.
In hindsight, some part of them wished they picked up some kind of proper sign language. The present was typically the second-best time to start (besides in the past). That would still be a task for tomorrow.
They desperately wanted to find a bed. That was priority number one.
Thankfully everyone present was willing to acquiesce for taking a breather and sit break over interrogating them more about how they were doing (they were fine it’s just being tired). Also probably helped to make sure everyone else who had come down with them from the spire successfully got out of the lift.
“Have yew been running this whole time?” Hector asked after a bit.
Godpoke hoped they hadn’t noticed the wheezing. Certainly seemed like Hector noticed, now that they all had a moment to rest.
“Kind of. To be fair, everything was a mess,” Capochin commented, jogging over after getting everyone off of the lift.
Most of the others were mingling about with each other.
They didn’t want to think about the fact that apparently at least Capochin had been keeping a close eye on their activities. The end of the world is no joke, and in their opinion, they thought they didn’t have the time to just leisurely stroll everywhere.
There were still a few too many people concerned about Godpoke’s well-being, be they regular civilians or bizzyboys (at least in Godpoke’s opinion). They weren’t sure at the moment about whether or not they liked the attention, or the fact that being godpoke was a position that just generally attracted attention. They were too tired to care.
“Well, at least whenever they weren’t up to something else, they were sprinting between places” Capochin continued.
“you’ve been sprinting the whole time Vaquero?”
Godpoke didn’t justify that with a response. They were too busy frowning and attempting to keep their eyes open.
Their eyes burned.
They wouldn’t call themselves a proud person, but they weren’t going to just let themselves pass out here. They had a strong feeling that if they let themselves rest too long they were going to pass out.
They felt a lightbulb dimly light up in their brain. They were running on fumes, sure, but this was an idea to try to communicate to them without having to string together other people’s words for two seconds. Best thing they could think of at the moment at least.
They held up a gloved paw and made a grabby motion.
Patty of all people picked up on it immediately, though got the wrong conclusion.
“Hi five?” Patty asked, questioningly holding up his (her?) hand.
Godpoke grabbed it with both paws, an action that caused Patty to squeak a little, and then got to it.
They spelt out a simple word, tracing the letters into Patty’s palm.
“Bed?” Patty asked.
“Frankly I could use a nap afta’ all of this” Capochin dryly commented.
“Shoot, where are you staying?” Razzmatazz asked, taking a moment to turn to look at Capochin.
“Hey don’t look at me, I knew they were running around but I don’t have dat kind of info” Capochin sharply defended.
Godpoke had hoped that nobody was going to ask too many questions about them, like where they were staying, who they were, anything like that. Thankfully people were willing to skim over literally anything and everything.
It probably helped that the end of the whole world was nigh, and people were reasonably more concerned about that then Godpoke’s living arrangements.
Something that, now due to them stopping said apocalypse, was not something they could continue to lean on to dodge questions.
They grimaced under their bandana. They weren’t keen on people suddenly prodding into that.
Thankfully for better or worse people couldn’t seem to get a good read on them so far.
“Oh, OH! Godpoke could stay with us for the Night!” Patty Chirped.
“I don’t think dat’s a really good idea” Hector stated.
“Why not? The bizzyboy dorms have some extra bunks! That’s at least tonight sorted out for them!” Patty replied back.
“Well, aftewr every-ting, maybe they would wanna get out of the bizzyboys’ bizzy-ness” Hector responded sheepishly.
“But didn’t ya say that Godpoke deserved some time off? Won’t make up for everything but we could at least let them stay with us for the night!” Patty declared confidently.
“What do you think Vaquero? I’m sure we could probably figure out something if you don’t want to stay with the bizzyboys for a night,” Razzmatazz asked, holding a hand to his chin in thought.
Godpoke thought for a bit. Hopefully not too long a bit but a bit nonetheless.
They were really running on empty. They were pretty sure they hadn’t even had a good opportunity to eat or drink anything.
They were doing their best not to blink because they had a pretty good feeling if they shut their eyes for a moment they would crash.
Raiding the fridge at wherever the bizzyboys slept sounded more appealing than whatever Razzma had in mind. Or perhaps, they were just too delirious out of exhaustion to entertain whatever other ideas there were outside of whatever just seemed easiest and most convenient for everyone at the moment.
“I say we hit up a shaboiboing cart before we go, we need some shaboiboings for stopping da end of the whole world” Alexei said, already walking to the van.
Godpoke could swear that they could hear the start of an argument among the present bizzyboys, mostly amounting to Alexei “still being banned from driving after The Incident”.
It took them an embarrassingly long moment to realize that Razzma was snapping his fingers in front of their face.
They shook their head a little and squinted up at Razzmatazz.
“There you are. You’re really out of it Vaquerito. Maybe it’s for the best to go rest with them. You look like you’re going to pass out”
As much as they wanted to bristle a little at being transparent about nearly passing out, they were just too tired to be frustrated about it at the present moment.
She held out her hand to Godpoke, and Godpoke quietly took it, appreciating the help to finally get standing again.
They got woozy immediately and had to lean on Razzmatazz.
They held Megapon with an iron grip, trying not to drop it on top of everything else.
Their unseen face made as close to a line with their mouth as their muzzle could allow.
They nodded after a moment, and let themselves get led to the bizzyboy van, which was thankfully parked nearby after all the commotion.
It was nice that the bizzyboys helped them into the back of the van.
Not as nice a surprise as it turned out there weren’t really that many seatbelts or anything in the back of that van, and that apparently they were used to just tumbling about in the back of said van.
Godpoke could swear that they blinked, but were dismayed to find out that they did completely pass out on the ride over there. They weren’t sure if it was better or worse that at least Patty and Ban were doing their best not to let their (briefly) unconscious friend not get ragdolled in the back, or that they apparently just slept through that.
They did their best to step out of the van, trying to avoid bristling at the thought of needing help to get inside of the building they’d pulled up to. Had to lean on Patty and Capochin because their legs nearly gave out again.
It turned out that little nap did not fix their issue. It kind of made sense, they needed actual proper rest and sleep.
It wasn’t quite a haze, but they managed to stay coherent enough to get inside the building, and were given a room to crash in, as well as a half a sandwich and a glass of water.
They were pretty thankful about being left alone after that, probably to get the rest of the sandwich or another sandwich. They scarfed it down with what was surprising ferocity, the emptiness in their stomach not being satiated with just half a ham and cheese sandwich.
Grujaja was getting ready for bed, and mulling over earlier events.
They swore off the Traffic cone, but after spending some time out of it, they weren’t so sure now about swearing it off.
They kind of needed a good solution for everything the cone did, but without having to use the cone itself. Maybe a good set of headphones, or maybe some strong sunglasses.
Having sensory issues made lots of things tough, and joining the bizzyboys at the young age he did, things did get better for him compared to how it was before. They certainly helped him with lots of things. Food, shelter, at least trying to help him with his sensory issues (among some other things he wasn’t going to unpack here). It wasn’t a long list, but he didn’t have much going for him before joining.
They glanced down the hallway as they were making it to their own little bunk room, taking a moment to inspect one of the other bunk rooms (the bizzyboys dorm place had lots of bizzyboys, but not all bizzyboys tended to spend their nights there).
They saw Godpoke, sprawled out on the bed, not quite tucked in, hat askew.
A pair of black cat ears, the color matching their hair, twitched in their sleep, having been revealed due to the hat falling off a little and sitting like that.
They really did just pass straight out after eating the food they got for them. Capochin had insisted on leaving more food as well as some extra water there in the room, on the off chance that their hunger would wake them up again.
Grujaja figured that after the illuminating conversation they had earlier, that they listened in on, that of course Capochin was putting his worries somewhere else. Namely, that they all really did have Godpoke running around all day with no break for food or water. Not the fun kind of running around bizzy-work either.
And that it became really apparent really quickly, that keeping someone that busy for that long had some serious consequences. Given how spacey they got after getting down from the spire, that their lazer focus had fizzled out to being nearly gone entirely. Grujaja wasn’t even sure how aware they were given what it looked like. Razzmatazz was snapping for at least two minutes before they noticed that Razzmatazz was trying to talk to them.
People were a little concerned, and personally Grujaja hoped that they would recover after a good sleep, or else Capochin would really start fretting over Godpoke. Capochin had a funny way of showing concern, but it was pretty evident that Godpoke had grown on the whole community for the very short amount of time they were here (or at least here so far).
It made sense that as soon as they were allowed to eat anything and get some water, that they passed out so quickly.
They figured that it was better to just let them lay there. Some part of him wondered if the gods were also doing power naps after how badly the closing of the rift nearly went. Maybe King was taking a power nap? How long was a power nap for an immortal god?
Grujaja watched for a bit, considering the present situation rather than mull over how many of the gods were also passed out.
They then took in a deep breath, before he started stepping quietly towards the godpoke. It was not particularly hard, given how sensitive he was to noises. He got good at being quiet, if only for his own issues.
He took a very deep breath in, grabbing the blanket with shaking hands.
Gently, so very gently, they pulled the blanket over them. Not quite tucked in, but not just completely blanket-less either.
They tensed up, as they heard a very very small noise from Godpoke. They grabbed the hat, gently but quickly, and set it on top of the godpoke. Their ear twitched, and the hat went askew again.
Grujaja heard another small noise, and quietly (but quickly) turned on their heel and got out of there. He wasn’t sure their heart could handle it, should Godpoke wake up. He wasn’t even sure why, Godpoke was a nice fellow, but he could imagine that it’d be an awkward conversation. He kind of didn’t want that awkward conversation about him checking in after all of that.
He was quick to hustle out of there, quietly but quickly, only pausing at the doorway to turn back and check.
The godpoke laid there, still asleep.
Gruja figured they deserved the sleep, he didn’t want to wake them up after such a day.
Getting them to eat food properly could probably wait for the morning.