Scene #8529: Devil's Due Diner II

Owner	Pose
Rowdyruff Boys	The CITY of TOWNSVILLE... Is having a pretty alright Saturday morning, actually! Today ISN'T one of those days where there's some sort of colossal problem facing the city... DIRECTLY The DEVIL'S DUE DINER is open for business, and it has some unusual guests from across time and space: The guest of honor today is the future self of Sougo Tokiwa, Ohma Zi-O. Several of Townsville's local villains are also here, along with a few other outsiders: A man in a white suit and black cape with red lining who is almost certainly Dr. Shinigami, a cycloptic tank of a humanoid that has a grenade motif to his body, a black dome-helmeted soldier with an oversized mechanical left arm, and a bunch of copy/pasted minion types of various flavors. The Mayor is in his booth with Miss Bellum, seemingly unconcerned with this. A CONSIDERABLE DISTANCE AWAY, quite possibly temporally as well as physically, a door that Sougo (and probably Woz) chooses to pass through leads inexplicably to the diner, and the door that ends up behind him simply leads back out into Townsville. "Welcome! Welcome. Why don't you have a seat... HERE?!" HIM exclaims, immediately relocating Sougo and any accompanying people to the booth directly beside Ohma Zi-O. "NOW... Can I take your order, or will you need a minute?" HIM asks, whipping a pen and notepad out between his crab claws quite expertly. Boomer is sitting at a distant corner table watching this unfold, attempting to get a check because this looks like the kind of trouble he doesn't want to deal with on a Saturday. A snail demon is dragging itself towards the counter to retrieve his check. This will take some time. MEANWHILE, IN INDIA... Brick sits across from Blossom at a barebones back table in a Delhi restaurant, staring at the spread in front of them. It is, he thinks, more the sort of speed of Buttercup than it is either of them. "Are we actually this hungry, or is some of this becoming bribery leftovers?" He wonders, only half-jokingly.
Timespace Riders	Woz has sent out a missive, to those who expressed interest in meeting with Sougo's future self. The two of them find themselves here, as well, much to their respective, understandable discomfort. Ohma Zi-O is hard to miss. A man nebulously in his fifties, hard to pin down in terms of exact age, or even in looks, because he's chosen the exact hour of the morning where his favorite booth would make his face obscured by the glare of the morning sun. The future tyrant isn't in his armor, but instead in a kind of regalia reminiscent thereof. Black silks, with gold trim, elegant yet practical enough to feasibly walk around town. For anyone who doubts that it's him, his voice is a dead ringer for the deathball-throwing Demon King of Time. "My young self," rumbles the tyrant. "How terribly amusing, to meet you here. Thank you, my friend, for this gift," says Ohma Zi-O to HIM. Woz orders bacon and potato pancakes Sougo and Ohma Zi-O order the same thing-the Divine Comedy. The gravelly-voiced elder Demon King seems amused by this, too. "Out with it, then," he says, expectantly.
Raziel	Raziel walks into the Devil's Due, right behind Sougo of the past to flank his other side. As always, Raziel is shirtless because Vampires don't wear shirts in his world for some reason. He's got a pair of leather pants, and his weakened wings rest behind him on his back. He looks across the diner at the Elder Sougo. Raziel does not get anything, on account of being a ghost and being unable to eat. Instead, he sits down and waits. There are... going to be words had, and he had his own questions. He takes a breath, waiting patiently for things to be started. He does lay a clawed hand on Sougo's (younger) shoulder to let him know he's there to support his friend.
Powerpuff Girls	MEANWHILE, IN INDIA... Blossom, before a grand spread of food in Delhi, dips her eyes towards the spread, scanning for a choice morsel. A faux playful-thoughtful, the Puff's prelude to wordplay and humor and light sarcasm rather, she hmms and decides far longer than necessary, letting the moment linger. "Of course some of it is, Brick." Blossom answers, plucking the best piece right off of the plate before Brick with a spoon and lifting it over to her. "We're eating the best parts and bringing home the rest for bribery. Naturally." She answers with a smile and a bite over her spoon of stolen choice. AT THE DINER. . . Buttercup and Bubbles enter. The former stands in the entrance in green and black converse, distressed black jeans and a black short sleeved t-shirt with a faded green skull featuring a masking tape mask over the mouth. The latter floats in a white thong sandals, blue skirt, white camisole top, blue jacket with white puff trim rolled down her shoulders and open at the front, held in place by her arms. Bubbles floats right over to Boomer, gesticulating. "Boomie, do you come here to watch drama?" The sapphire puff interrogates, lean-looming over him in her float. Then, quieter: "If you are, order more potato pancakes." Buttercup, at a saunter, approaches the table that Sougo and Woz enter in on, standing outside the booth and considering Tokiwa SunGlare and Tokiwa SadBoy. "Oh hey, you didn't tell me your dad was in town." Buttercup asides, before sitting down and ordering a sinful pile of Billionaire's Bacon, potato pancakes, and fried eggs.
Kukuru	It's time to visit a new locale! Kukuru's never been to the City of Townsville before, but she's... Actually, she's never heard much about it in a way she's ever really retained. Things will change with today, though, as she's arrived to meet with absolutely nobody outside of the Devil's Due Diner, but instead with someone further in! Still, that doesn't mean she won't greet everyone between her and with polite smile and little waves, and even HIM's devilish appearance doesn't seem to bother her one bit. If anything, her posture actually relaxes a bit when she sees HIM. "Ah, thank you. This'll be perfect. Can I get a..." She smiles sweetly at HIM, droning for a bit as she goes through a mental list of drinks. Eventually, the droning stops, and she settles on an ice cream float and, thanks to Sougo and Ohma Zi-O ordering ahead of her, a Divine Comedy as well. Food matters aside, though, Kukuru still has plenty of fresh thoughts swimming in her head after her last encounter with the future tyrant as well as her recent conversations with his current incarnation. There's some initial apprehension at speaking, but Sougo's and Raziel's presence give her some small relief as she gets her thoughts together. 'Are you truly willing to smile in the shadows, while those you claim to love tear themselves apart?' "Thanks for meeting with us, Ohma. I wanted to hear your thoughts on... On how I should protect the ones I love instead of just doing what I've been doing for too long." 'Even if it's something you don't really wanna hear, that makes you feel sad, it's really, really important to take the time to do that.' "Trying to make everyone happy's been making nobody happy for... I guess a long time now? The Concord comes first for me, and I know I wanna make them happy, but... I don't know what to /do/ to do that? Um. I just know I don't wanna sit around and wait for things to fix after something bad happens."
Petra Soroka	Petra is summoned back to Townsville again, after all this time, not by any of the Puffs, but by Woz. And not to deal with any of its Saturday morning cartoon violence, but to talk with Ohma Zi-o, a man that Petra has expressed only harmful intentions with regards to meeting, from Sougo's perspective of what constitutes harm. If asked, Petra would claim that she still likes Ohma Zi-o more than the present Sougo, because that's the answer she thinks her role expects of her. More honestly, though, maybe more honestly than she thinks herself, the answer is muddled, particularly because of the recent birthday party. Not because of the celebration itself, or the gifts, but because... "First... Petra, Angela and I spoke to Doctor Eggman, a minute ago. Please don't give up, okay?" I wish it had just been Angela who did that. Petra parks her new electric bike outside of the Diner, takes off her helmet, and very thoroughly locks it up. Heading inside, Petra is only surprised to see Raziel of the group, and only because she still doesn't really know who he is. Still with the ever-present bomber jacket, gauze, and jeans, Petra is only saved from sweating to death by the fact that she can barely tell the difference in temperature between an oven and freezer anymore. "Hey, everyone. Hey boomer. Hey, uh, old Sougo." Petra is not at all the kind of person who will sit next to an older guy who's mostly a stranger to her at a bar instead of sitting with her friends, even if she's here to talk with him. She sits with Buttercup instead, ordering a plate of the potato pancakes. "So..." Petra turns to Ohma Zi-o finally, preparing to ask an urgent question. "... Why the hell would you come to the Diner in our time?"
Rowdyruff Boys	Orders are taken and brought out at a middling pace. HIM doesn't want people leaving too quickly, but he knows when they'll probably get mad if they wait too long. In response to Raziel's apparent disinterest in food, he brings out an appetizer basket -- it looks like the sort you'd expect to find biscuits in -- filled instead with... some kind of ghost-grub. They're definitely not corporeal things. Up to Raziel whether to eat them or not. Nearby, Boomer grimaces at Bubbles's inquiry. He ZIPS over to the snail demon, adjusts the order, and asks to hold the check. When he returns to the table -- and Bubbles -- he asides, "A little, yeah, but I think this one might get kinda ugly..." HIM looks inordinately happy with Buttercup's interjection and gives her a 'free' appetizer, which only really materializes into whatever it is she wants after she's thought about it for a second, instead hovering near her as an oscillating dotted outline of an appetizer until that entire idea has solidified. "Oh, time is such a DATED idea. Imagine all the people you never have-- I mean never get to meet!" HIM responds to Petra with a wave of a claw. "I HAD JOHN BROWN AND JEFFERSON DAVIS IN HERE LAST WEEK. Best show we've ever had!"
Timespace Riders	Sougo draws in a little breath. His pink button-up has survived a lot, still crisp and clean despite many a belt-out. He smiles wanly at Raziel, a silent gesture of thanks. "Not my dad," says Sougo to Buttercup softly. "He's me, from the future." "Indeed," says Ohma Zi-O, with a certain relish in saying so. "The greatest, kindest Demon King of Time." As if he knows that saying it, like that, will make the younger Sougo bristle. Indeed, it does, but the present Sougo is trying to keep from indulging the urge to take verbal swings over it. Petra's question draws a gravelly laugh from the tyrant. "For one," Perhaps that's true. "I find the Townsville of this era rather quaint. it is so, as well, that my friend here takes great pains for an unforgettable experience." He chuckles, and his head, obscured by morning sun, can be seen to bob in agreement with HIM. "That it was. One never simply receives food, at the Devil's Due--HIM understands the value of atmosphere. I was therefore quite pleased to accept his summons." His answer to Kukuru is just as cryptic as their first meeting. "The power to protect what is yours..." The Demon King pauses. "You are less of a fool today, than on that day." The Demon King chuckles, again, then answers her question with a question. "If you were me, Kukuru--someone who has witnessed everything play out--what would you do?"
Raziel	Raziel is... surprised, for the second time in his time in the Multiverse, someone has managed to create food he is capable of eating. He hasn't eaten... well besides when King Gilgamesh did it, since before he was a mortal. 'Slowly, I reached into the basket. The thought that this was a cruel joke by HIM was on my mind, but the thought... the sense of longing for something from my humanity lay in my grasp. Gingerly, I picked up one of the pieces of food, and as expected it was something I could grasp despite its ethereal quality. Slowly, I lifted it to my mouth and...' If Raziel contained the ability to cry, he would right now. Sensations and tastes he had no recollection of fill his senses, and he closes his eyes enjoying the brief reprieve from isolation. He, however, despite the desire to drive the entire thing into his mouth is patient, wanting to draw out these new sensations... but also because Ohma is there. "What happens, then? Or was it, not one single event?" Raziel asks, looking up at Ohma.
Rowdyruff Boys	The grubs still definitely have the impression of 'insect protein', though it is far and away a different feeling than normal feeding. Probably. This is definitely food-for-ghosts, which are common enough that HIM does have the things to serve them, at any rate. HIM smiles genially (wickedly) at Ohma Zi-O's compliments, waving a claw in answer before returning to cooking duties. The devil does, in fact, make good food. He carries on conversation as he goes though, "Oh, you'd be surprised WHAT YOU CAN DO when things get bad enough. It's like me, and my cooking. Even I have to sprinkle in some love to make it work!" There is a large shaker full of a spice described as LOVE located behind the counter. You're not certain whether or not it is real. Without really being able to be observed, unused gaps in the seating vanish from existence, pushing the various parties close to one another. The tables distant from Zi-O become closer, the bar stools between him and others stop existing. Except the Mayor's booth. That's still staying over there ----->.
Kukuru	Kukuru looks over at Petra briefly as she she speaks, and her mouth opens briefly as if she's about to say something. Recalling their last several conversations, though, she just nods once in greeting before looking over at her drink as it comes out. It takes quite a bit of willpower not to speak to her properly, but... Float's good, at least! Aside from his attempt to kill Woz, it's becoming more difficult for Kukuru to actually feel any anger at Ohma Zi-O. He's pleasant enough to speak to in this context, he's showing some degree of good judgment based on being friends with HIM, and he's even giving her some manner of compliments! Never mind that she's only met HIM today, but nobody that cooks with LOVE could be bad, anyway. "I am...? Oh, thank you. I still have a lot of work to do there, but I've got good teachers." She admits with a slightly awkward smile, taking another moment to sip some of her float before looking back up at Ohma Zi-O. "You mean if I had future seeing powers?" She pauses, she considers his question again, then shakes her head. "No, not that... If I already knew what would happen, I'd... Change the things that I don't like. Things that would hurt my family, or make them even unhappier if I didn't change it." Kukuru pauses again as she realizes she hasn't actually asked a question, then shakes her head quickly before looking up at Ohma Zi-O again. "Are you happier now?"
Powerpuff Girls	Bubbles, sliding in to Boomer's booth, nods gravely and begins quietly conversing with her fellow blonde blue about the drama. A snail, very gently, is nudged forward by the fair-skinned Puff's finger. The check will be a little early, but that doesn't mean they're leaving. "Then let's stick around and see if anyone needs saving, okay?" She asks, in her indulge-me-pllllllease tone, and steals a fried scrap of potato from the Rowdy's plate. Buttercup, with a Petra sliding in next to her, has a look of mild incredulity at the idea that Sunglow Tokiwa isn't the dad in the relationship. "If you're the paternalistic, adult, complete version and treating Sougo - this Sougo - like a child, then you're the dad. You're sure acting like one. And shouldn't a dad hope for his children to be better? Not the same? For real, do I have to hand out every bit of sense even here?" The green complains, as an appetizer plate of Billionaire's Bacon - one decadent strip - is placed on a long plate from the hanging dotted line. Millionaire's bacon was maple sugar smoking and baking a piece of bacon in sweet and savory decadence until it was so rich it made you feel like a millionaire -- the Billionaire version of coursed used every kind of sinfully premium ingredient and was so rich it might ruin bacon forever. Endlessly sweet and overflowingly savory, triple smoked and glazed in rendered juices until a single piece was a whole appetizer, sliced into a half-dozen pieces. Buttercup passes it over to Petra so she can try automatically -- she ordered a whole plate. "Quaint, huh?" She muses, over the slow arrival of her Too Many potato pancakes.
Petra Soroka	"I was therefore quite pleased to accept his summons." That makes sense, actually, and Petra nods. Of course all the old evil men know and like each other. Petra's known that ever since growing up in Texas. <B-anter> Dr. Eggman says, "No, Dame Commander, I don't believe you do owe me an island any longer." Petra won't, obviously, go against Lilian. That's not in question, ever, even if the world was ending-- but Petra is very much not a heroine herself. That had to have been Eggman's misconception, right? Petra defending Lilian's status as a heroine, while also being so strongly allied with her, must have made her come across as if she was betraying Eggman, or like she was abandoning being his apprentice. Of course he'd be upset. Petra should've known that she'd have to talk with him about that sooner or later, and she put it off too long. Petra takes a piece of Buttercup's bacon and nibbles on it while thinking, drawn inwards in contemplation. "He's not... acting like Sougo's dad, really. More like a... well, I guess," Petra looks up at Ohma Zi-o, "You don't want to kill Sougo, right? You just want him to... give up on the stupid ideas he has about kindness and growth. So I guess you're more like a...n obstacle? A trial?" The slice of Billionaire's Bacon vanishes quickly once Petra stops to process how it actually tastes. Once her pancakes arrive, she's realized how hungry she is, but still tries very hard to not shovel the food down too quickly. "You know... Ohma Zi-o. What do you, like, actually do? You can't just be going around beating up your younger self and eating pancakes all day. Like, you're an evil Demon King, what does that even really... involve?"
Timespace Riders	"I am surprised to hear such a question, from someone so willful, so bent on changing his destiny," Ohma Zi-O says to Raziel. Probably a familiar kind of answer to him, for a number of reasons. It's one that is 'a reply' without being 'a direct answer,' for one. For two, the premise of the statement itself--shouldn't that sort of question make perfect sense, given Raziel's motivations? "Especially since you, of all here, are so well poised to already know the answer. 'I am inevitable.'" The Demon King laughs, knowing that his choice of words resembles another the vampire knows. Sougo clenches his fists, his breathing more shallow and sharp for a moment. After the seating is maliciously rearranged, he laughs, palm pressed to the table to keep himself from slapping it in his amusement. "How very interesting, Buttercup. You and Petra always were so very astute, even early on." Despite the sun masking his face, he isn't immune to the puff's superhuman powers of perception. She can naturally glean more than Petra, about his motivations. "In the future, a catastrophe will split the nation of Japan into three. I rule the nation of Touto. These dalliances are exactly that, I admit, but the Throne of Time does make them trivial expenses at best." "I am perfect in every way, Kukuru. Who wouldn't be happy, to have achieved such a state?" Another phrase seemingly chosen for its ability to cause Sougo distress. Woz's hand snakes under the table to squeeze his present King's. "Tell me--how would you change what you did not like, about the past? What would you do? What would you say, to whom, and when?"
Rowdyruff Boys	"It's Saturday, though," Boomer complains, but he isn't MOVING from where he's sitting with Bubbles. It's also not really a relevant statement despite him sounding a bit whiny about it; it's Blossom and Brick who have Saturday designated as their not-working day. With much less regimented lifestyles overall, the other pairs don't have a designated off day. They are simply off most of the time, until they're not. //Like, you're an evil Demon King, what does that even really... involve?// "Oh, you want to know? Well, then..." HIM claps his claws together. The exterior windows -- though notably, not the door -- now show... Japan. Or rather, some variation of Japan. It appears to have relocated so that it looks out from a tall building, because it looks out over a grand city at the edge of which is a... wall. The wall is strange-looking, ancient but not at all so, lines of red energy running through it, and a vast barrier rising up from its top to cover all of the airspace that it doesn't. It's hard to see how far up it goes. "He's dealing with THIS," HIM states. Fuzzy Lumpkins wanders in, eyes the gatherings, and goes as far to the end of the restaurant as he can before sitting down. The restaurant elongates so that he, and he alone, has personal space. HIM doesn't really want to deal with anybody touching Fuzzy's property.
Raziel	Raziel does not care that it's insect protein. Put food in front of a starving man, and he will eat anything. Put food in front of someone who hasn't conceived of food, but still has a psychological desire to regain the ability to eat it... and you get the metaphor. "I have guesses, Ohma Zi-O," he says, not Sougo. It's very telling he does not refer to this man as Sougo. Not anymore, "But more importantly, I was wondering if you even had the capability of being open and honest as you once were," Raziel says, staring at him. "That reply tells me what I want to know." "...As you likely, also, know... just because something is fated to happen. Just because the Universe itself demands it has to happen... does not mean I have to accept it and will fight it till the very end. Ever since my fate was revealed by Sougo, I wondered what I wanted to do. I almost despaired. But.." He takes a breath, eating another bit, "I refused to give up. Woz sees another path, and that is enough for me to trust in it," he says, firmly. "Also... tiresome that you have become as fatalistic as Kain and Moebius."
Kukuru	Noticing the display of Ohma's Japan variant, Kukuru can't help but peer outside. She doesn't bother getting out of her seat to see it since she can see it just fine with her freaky vision, but she does do that half-standing thing from her seat to get a better look at how far down it all goes. As she sits back down, though, she notices Sougo's fists, and she places one hand gently over his to try and help calm him down with light squeezes. "You're stronger now, mhm. And you have more power, so that'd make doing all sorts of other stuff way easier.Maybe even smarter, too, but..." She bites her lip with unveiled uncertainty, hesitating quite a bit as she considers her next question. The answer might not be something she wants to hear, but she still needs to know. "What about... Woz? And the Concord? Are you really happier without him around? Without us?" That, in turn, leads right to her own thoughts on Ohma Zi-O's hypothetical to her. While mixing the ice cream float together idly, Kukuru slips her tongue into the drink to scoop up one of the few remaining solid bits, then lets out a somewhat more confident noise at buttercup's assertion. "If it's something I didn't like, I'd... Probably have to use my hands to make that change happen. I wouldn't hurt my kids or my family or anything like that, but..." She looks over at Fuzzy as he goes deeper into the restaurant, eyes glazing over briefly as she tries to comprehend all of that. "... I'd have to be more decisive about people that don't want to be in it, too." There's a brief glance towards Petra, then she turns back to Ohma Zi-O. "The ones at the space station, the ones back on the Unions... A lot of people got hurt because I didn't do something sooner. I'd..." She lets out an uncomfortable noise, but powers through it like she's trying to force down some terrible medication. "... I'd have to hurt people sooner. That's how it's... Um. S-supposed to go, right?"
Petra Soroka	"He's dealing with THIS," "So Japan blew up and now you're, like, protecting it from something outside? Must be bad, for you to not even manage to rule over one full-sized country, despite being the perfect king." The image of what's presumably Touto doesn't particularly answer Petra's question, though. She was wondering... "What do supervillains like you even do though? Like, you've already got your country, and you're either not bothering to or failing to get more territory. Like... do you just go around beating up people like Sougo? I just don't really... get where the purpose comes from?" It's pretty transparently an attempt to grasp at something she could do as self-directed villainy to impress Eggman. "What about... Woz? And the Concord? Are you really happier without him around? Without us?" "He never had a Woz, Kukuru. I was actually wondering that too, it kind of bothered me." Woz is given a brief glare, just to balance out that comment. "And why wouldn't he be able to have the Concord in the future? He seems better at it than Sougo is-- or, really, basically the same, since Sougo does end up like this anyways." "... I'd have to hurt people sooner." Petra entirely agrees with that. A large part of her philosophy recently has been advocating for that. But still, it feels wrong to hear out of Kukuru's mouth, so Petra gives her a scathing look. "Why would you think you're smart enough to decide when to hurt people? You can't even figure out when to help them. Just because you're fucking it up and hurting people accidentally doesn't give you the right to fucking give up and decide to do it on purpose." Petra clears her plate of potato pancakes, hesitating and glancing up at HIM as if she might ask for more. But she doesn't, instead turning to look back at Ohma Zi-o. "You keep saying 'early on' or 'at first' about me. When you start... giving up on the kindness thing, though, wouldn't... most of us end up fighting you? As heroes?" Petra doesn't really know her path in the future, along the axes of heroism and villainy. It's a complicated subject for her, hinged almost entirely on personal relationships rather than morality-- and right now, she's worried about Eggman. Ohma Zi-o can probably tell her whatever he wants about her future relationship to villainy, and she'll believe it, with that look in her eyes directed towards him.
Powerpuff Girls	Bubbles remains nosy, though the snail being hurried along means as long as nothing terrible happens they'll be out of the Diner before aaaaaany drama happens . . . So, of course, Fuzzy Lumpkins walks in, walks aaaaallllllllllll the way across the diner, and sits down one seat away from the blues in the periphery. Satan is self-considerate -- there's always drama to be had in schadenfreude. Bubbles begins whispering encouragement to the snail so it will hury up and get the check finished up, urgent. She is no longer happy to be here. MEANWHILE... Buttercup has a spoon held upside down and a knife held ready and has a pile of potato pancakes to eat. Her read on Ohma Zi-O goes unremarked - she said her piece, and Sougo can react to it. The emerald Puff is still gazingly approving at Petra finding her own appetitie, hanging for a moment. "Why can't you just ask for help like a normal demon king in a bind?" Buttercup asks generally while Petra goes for the pointed questions.
Rowdyruff Boys	HIM offers no further elaboration, but does drift around behind the counter. More orders are delivered. Drinks are replaced. As he puts an unasked-for blood orange juice in front of somebody (who, he's not paying attention to), he remarks to Petra, "Oh, everyone has a right to do EVVVVVERYTHING. That's what makes the world tick! THE TROUBLE IS THEY'RE BAD AT THAT TOO." Tilting a claw to rest against his cheek, he adds, "They're bad at practically everything, in fact!" Boomer grimaces and takes moderately deep breaths, attempting to mildly accelerate the snail-waiter by blowing at his back. It probably isn't helping, and after a couple of attempts he offers Bubbles an apologetic and exaggerated shrug. While trying not to touch Fuzzy's hat.
Petra Soroka	"They're bad at practically everything, in fact!" As long as the cup of blood-orange juice wasn't placed in front of Buttercup specifically, Petra is taking it for herself. "You're preaching to the choir, dude. I'm always saying that too." She takes a sip of juice.
Timespace Riders	"He might just be saying that to get under your skin, Raziel." "What if I were, my younger self? Certainly, you have benefited from an unkind word more than once." Sougo calms, at Kukuru's gesture of comfort. "Petra is correct. I am not native to Sougo Tokiwa's timeline. Besides..." He purses his lips. "Had Ohma Zi-O truly wished me dead, it would be so." This draws a chuckle from the future Demon King. "Kukuru... you came here, hoping that the necessary wisdom would filter down to you, like sediment carried down a river. Yet, you yourself have said that you would need to -act.-" The tyrant shakes his head. "You heard what Lilian said, you heard what I told you, in private, when you came to Woz's aid. But you did not listen," he says, lifting an index. "To swim, or to fly, as we are, is to transgress. Will you? Or will you spend your life on land, wondering what could have been?" The question about his proclivities as a supervillain amuse him enough to give the first direct answer of the morning. "I crush those who would erode what I have built," he says. "And there are several. You saw the look in Night Rogue's eyes, did you not? How they swept wildly, from shore, to house, to treeline. This is not for no reason." "He is most skilled in the proper assessment of his own abilities, which makes him well-suited to appointing and managing my corps of scientists and researchers. But he is also, as you saw, paranoid, loyal and ambitious. All of these qualities are invaluable for sniffing out the machinations of the saboteur Blood Stark, and the ruler of Seito, the scientist Krim Steinbelt." So, possibly very shady science and research programs, check. Crushing resistance, check. Feuds with a mad scientist, check. Actually, it's probably pretty likely that he's similar to Eggman in that regard, choosing to make one contained but advanced society instead of spreading it out with wild abandon and saddling himself with any number of retaliatory strikes. "It took me a while to get to the point where I could ask for help," Sougo sheepishly answeres Buttercup. "Indeed," Ohma Zi-O amusedly responds to HIM. "It is shockingly rare, when anything in the universe is entirely one thing; belonging purely to one axiom. Even the Devil HIMself," he says, "Must cook his meals with Love." The tyrant then turns his attention to Petra. "Consider, then--that just as there are those who react out of hand to HIM, for what he is, and dash themselves upon the rocks rather than accept good advice from a devil, there are things that even devils may hold close to their hearts." "Things," says the Demon King. "Places. People. Do you take my meaning, Petra?"
Raziel	Raziel turns his head towards Ohma Zi-O, but pauses when Sougo speaks to him. For a moment, he looks like he's going to continue anyway, and then stops. He reaches into the basket and pulls out another grub. `An unkind word..? What is the purpose of these words? Were they an attempt to get me to rethink my attempt to change my destiny... or see if I was on the path to it? Whoever I was talking to, it seems that there were more than a few similarities between them.' He taps a claw along the table, considering these words. "I stop attempting to subvert my destiny. Is that one of the doors that open along your path to who you are now, Ohma Zi-O?"
Kukuru	Buttercup brings up the possibility of getting help, and that gets Kukuru to nod slowly in agreement. "Right? I bet you and Sougo and SOUGO and... Um. However many other Sougos could do a lot more working together than if you keep trying to do everything alone. And then we wouldn't have to fight because of..." 'He never had a Woz, Kukuru. I was actually wondering that too, it kind of bothered me.' "Eh? I thought there was..." Wait. No. That was the purple guy, and it was SOUGO that had a Woz at one point. Right? Or... It's a bit of a mess for Kukuru to try and follow, and she's having some visible trouble there. She doesn't even realize that Petra's addressed her until after the fact, too, but she does manage to actually look over once that realization crosses her mind. Coincidentally, that's right around when Petra starts hammering her about her answer to Ohma Zi-O. There's still that noticeable flinch coming from Kukuru as she just takes it at first, and she doesn't even answer right away. It's a hard thing to hear, and Ohma Zi-O's response to her question, too, gives her more reason to pause. The worst part, of course, being that he's not even wrong about what she was hoping for. She busies herself with her food at first, but sets her utensils back down once things start clicking. There's an awkward pause as she gets her voice back, but she eventually does, and her gaze is focused on... Nobody yet. "... You're right, Ohma. I really wanted there to be something... Better than what everyone was telling me. I'm not smart enough to know the best thing to do to make everyone happy, or when to do it at the right time. I just have my feelings and the stuff I do know, and... I know I've been too slow trying to help everyone because I can't do that. Helping everyone is..." Kukuru trembles briefly. There's still some clear hesitation in her voice as she tries to put her thoughts to words, and she doesn't even sound fully convinced herself. "It's too much. I don't know how to help everyone if they hate each other, or they wanna kill each other, or if they're just... Part of one group and not another. It's just like Lili said." 'You can take their side, or you can be an idiot and take mine, but you can't have everyone 'and also Lilian'.' "I can't be smart, but I can start being not stupid. My family... The Concord's plenty smart enough to make the decisions for everyone, anyway." She looks up from her food, straight at Ohma Zi-O with a calmer, yet mildly teary-eyed smile. "That means I just have to start hurting... Um. Transgressing, right? Then nobody else can make worse decisions first."
Rowdyruff Boys	HIM smiles genially, and for the first time in a while is doing no shuffling at all to induce more dramatics. This is probably not a good sign for anyone or anything. MEANWHILE in the corner area with Fuzzy Lumpkins, Bubbles, and Boomer, Fuzzy knocks his hat off of the seat (he is, after all, the type to take off his hat indoors, handily enabling these sorts of shenanigans). It lands closer to Boomer and Bubbles than it does to him. Boomer looks at the hat, and then looks at Bubbles.
Powerpuff Girls	Buttercup Utonium, a grunge girl by nature and spiced by creation, doesn't ultimately see an ontological problem with Super-villiany. She sees a problem with the direct act of Hurting people, but her bar for such is warped and distant from something as simple as a bruise. A little harm-less jousting between relations was the natural way of things. "The 'villain' part is subjective. The hero part can be a little more objective, but even the worst, most evil villains will defend their own home." The pancake-demolishing Puff reminds. "There's an amount of reach that's comfortable, an amount of space that people can expect and hold, and do it depending on who it is. If I'm flying, I'll fly as I please, but maybe the Air Force doesn't fly over certain parts of the California desert any more because of some people's labs. And they don't take a lot of shots they could to make nice. Territory is reach at a power scale. Ain't that right, Bubbkes?" Bubbles looks up from just signing for the check as the snail moves, crouched over the tiny shell. "Ummm... Sss--" She looks to Boomer to check, then realizes he's too dumb to know, and returns to her sister. "--ure?" And then slowly turns back to the snail to leave a large tip. The snail had been working very hard. Buttercup preens at this, cheerful-rough. "See? Anyway, if you want more villain tips, you can talk to Morbucks, she's been hanging out recently. Speaking of places out in the desert."
Timespace Riders	"You can start by examining this obsession of yours," says Ohma Zi-O to Kukuru. "With being 'smart.' With having the answers. Did having the answers help Woz? They are useless, if you do not even know the question you are asking. Dare to ask, Kukuru. Dare to transgress against 'everyone,' so that you may care for 'someone.'" "If you wish to subvert your destiny," says Ohma Zi-O, to Raziel, voice brimming with amusement, "Then give the Soul Reaver to Petra, and allow her to destroy it." "As for you, Petra... if you wish to show a devil that he holds a place in your heart, then speak his language. Do something that affords his home a greater measure of warmth. It is, after all, as HIM says, so very rare for even mortals to do this--to reach, earnestly, for what they want, and seize it." The Demon King pauses, working for a moment on his food. "I have heard it said that a pet does a home much good," says the Demon King with a familiar, devilish tone. "Was this not so, in the brief moment you had one for your birthday?" He laughs. Buttercup can, as always, see the truth behind the display. "Think on it. When you find the answer, you will find, some time later, a gift from me, to cement your bond."
Raziel	"The Reaver is bound to my soul. You know that. That was the price I paid to try and find a way to kill Kain... not that I knew at the time how monumental that decision would be," Raziel says, confused but also interested in his words. "If their destiny for me is to go into the physical blade, then is it not this.." he pauses for effect, drawing the Soul Reaver bound to his arm from simply energy on his hand to a physical blade gripped relentlessly by his hand. "...that is the problem?"
Petra Soroka	"But he is also, as you saw, paranoid, loyal and ambitious." "But he's also boring!" Petra interrupts, agitated, clattering her fork onto the plate. "What's even the point if it's someone like that? There's... like, you probably don't know anything at all about Night Rogue, right? I got the impression that there's practically nothing to know about him. So you can... have your efficient little attack dog, or whatever, but then you're treating supervillainy like a fucking office job!" "What's even in it for you if you fucking optimize the relationships away." Petra huffs, clearly more upset about this than anything else the future Demon King has done. "I can't even look forwards to fighting Night Rogue again at all. He's just a faceless nobody loser and he'll never do anything unexpected or worth remembering. And that should be the point. I thought you'd be different from that, but you're kind of letting me down." "...there are things that even devils may hold close to their hearts." Petra exhales, drumming her fingers on the table, the hum of her reactor carrying on the release of air. "Yeah, I mean. I know that. Targeting the things precious to people is literally like, the one thing I'm best at. There's just, like, what do I even target, you know? I don't, like, sow misery randomly anywhere, that's dumb and pointless, but I just... if there's not someone as a goal, then I don't really know how damaging the things close to people's hearts gets me anything." "I can't just randomly pick someone I don't like and ruin their life." Petra's eyes flick between Kukuru and Sougo, considering. "Or... wait, am I the devil in this scenario? Ugh." "Was this not so, in the brief moment you had one for your birthday?" "Ah-- right. Obviously you'd know, you're from the future." Petra leans back in the booth, biting on the inside of her cheek while Buttercup talks. "That's a... smart way of looking at it, actually. Combining Doctor Eggman's motivations and mine." "Anyway, if you want more villain tips, you can talk to Morbucks, she's been hanging out recently. Speaking of places out in the desert." "Oh, man. The last time I saw Morbucks wasn't, the friendliest, really. But she is actually kind of the... type of..." Petra rubs her knuckles into her cheek, grey suffusing her cheeks as she blushes a little while trying to explain the concept. "H-hero of circumstance, but usually a villain? That I feel like best suits me. You know? I-I-I'm not really a hero, but... yeah."
Rowdyruff Boys	"Oh, little Petra..." HIM appears at the counter, a concerned look on his face, his voice crooning and maternal. Without at all losing that expression or the particular tilt of his tone, he leans forward enough to murmur, "YOU DON'T LOVE YOURSELF NEARLY ENOUGH TO BE THE DEVIL." Then he snaps back into his previous posture, "Who's ready for their cheeeeeeck?" The Mayor's party pays, and leaves, exchanging parting pleasantries with HIM. Closely following is Dr. Shinigami, and Violent Spirit Top Gunder. This leaves Destra in line with a bunch of minion-type rubber suit monsters.
Timespace Riders	"Perhaps," says Ohma Zi-O to Raziel with that same note of amusement, "You are not the unquestioning implement the Hub desired, after all." He laughs, at Petra's opposition to Night Rogue. "I assure you, he is anything but boring. He was simply agitated, when you met him. Blood Stark tends to bring that out in him. My retainer had a flare for the dramatic even before his ascension to the post." The Demon King pauses. Buttercup, and only Buttercup, can detect a note of regret, at the word 'ascension.' It entailed something unpleasant for Night Rogue, maybe. "After the fact, it has only increased. His fashion sense, it must be said, is... inimitable, when he is not in uniform." Does Sougo Tokiwa have a Type? Men with grandiose aspirations, shady methodologies and a flare for the dramatic? "Happy belated birthday, Petra. I look forward to seeing what you will seize, and how." A wave of his hand conjures a streak of golden energy. His check, already printed, appears beneath it, with the requisite amount of temporally appropriate bills, plus a generous tip. Sougo and Woz are on the same bill, with the present Demon King's Concord Black card left out and an equally generous tip provided, despite the uncomfortable experience of once again running the gauntlet of Ohma Zi-O.
Kukuru	"Being smart is..." At least for a moment, Kukuru's expression shifts back to a softer, mildly embarrassed one. "... I thought it would make things easier, you know? Knowing the right answers to stuff so that I can come up with better plans and things, but... No, you're right." She giggles lightly after that, then settles back into that vaguely distant smile as her gaze falls on Petra, somehow. "I... Think I finally know what the question is now. And the answer's easy enough that even I can get it right." Sounding far more confident than she has in a while, Kukuru's ominous smile lingers on Petra for a little while longer before she finally picks up her fork again to resume eating and considering those words once again. "Against 'everyone'... I'm gonna have a lot of work to do, huh?" Her confidence is returning, and her smile towards Ohma Zi-O starts to brighten even more. "But it's for the people I care about, so! That won't be a problem at all. Thank, Ohma!" She chimes in with a slightly too eager giggle, calming herself down a few moments later before speaking again. "... Really. You, Sougo, Razi. Even Petra and..." Kukuru looks over at Buttercup, only now realizing she doesn't actually know her name. "You're Petra's friend, right? Please, look out for her for me. I... Can't anymore. And Petra, you..." She hesitates again, then stiffens her jaw visibly as she puts on a sterner look. "You hurt Eggman a lot already, so... Please behave around Angie. I don't want her getting hurt, too." Kukuru leaves a big tip with her Dorado Black card, of course. A whole 50%! On her way out, though, she spots a funny little hat. "Oh. Did someone drop this?"
Raziel	Raziel frowns, the lack of an answer to this question was telling. Or maybe, it was the answer after all. That it was the Spirit Reaver... Raziel forces the sword to disappear again and stands up. He does at least have something to pay for now after all.
Powerpuff Girls	Buttercup feels warmly confident about her advice, because of her experience - and because of how people take it. She thinks that swing landed, and so it's easy to show a little happiness in scoring one. Something altogether different than the heavy things before - and Morbucks gets Petra to light right up, which is good! That is, until Kukuru's entreatment. There's the tearful, direct quality of a parting that the emerald Puff slowly nods her way through, not getting it in real time. Bubbles watches with a napkin crinkled in her hands like a telenovella. Leaning, then standing by floating out of the booth and around Petra, Buttercup tries to get a hand on Kukuru in her Kukurun out the door but doesn't start to leave, as Buttercup would not dash on the Devil HIMself. It would be bad... in general. "Uhh... alright, sure. I was going to look out anyway, so I'll..." But the Kooks is gone. "Be happy to..?" The puff turns back to Petra. "What's her deal?"
Petra Soroka	"YOU DON'T LOVE YOURSELF NEARLY ENOUGH TO BE THE DEVIL." Petra shudders at HIM's lean towards her ear, not at his words, just at his presence. The words, actually, once cold prickles stop crawling down her back, remind her of the shape of things Lilian had said before. Petra rubs her hands against her thighs, not responding, but clearly thinking. "I look forward to seeing what you will seize, and how." It feels weird to have this conversation in front of Buttercup, even though she's, like, part of it too. I don't know if it feels like I'm letting her down, or... Topics of heroism, especially when around the Puffs, always stir up long-buried feelings and dreams of when she was a kid. But it's not possible for Petra to be a hero for anyone but Lilian and Angela, so here she is, being praised by a dictator from the future after making one of the Powerpuff Gils miserable for months. "Yeah. I'll figure something out. Everyone's always saying I'm scary now, anyways." "You hurt Eggman a lot already, so... Please behave around Angie. I don't want her getting hurt, too." Petra is too stunned by this to respond before Kukuru leaves, mouth hanging open, hands on the edge of the table where she was moving to stand up. Once Kukuru is out the door, Petra shakes her head and turns to Buttercup in disbelief. "Okay. That's Kukuru. She's obsessed with family to a creepy degree and keeps invading my and Lilian's personal space. I-- if she talks like that to me about Angela again, I'll-- what the fuck. She really, actually, just decided that we weren't worth the effort."
Rowdyruff Boys	As it happens, Bubbles and Boomer will not be the target of Fuzzy Lumpkins today. He observes his hat being snatched off the ground by Kukuru, and a blood vessel looks like it bursts in one of his eyes. "HEY! THAT IS MAH PROPERTY!" He shouts, leaping out of his booth and smashing through the front window with a terrible crash of glass and utensils. He has a tab with HIM because he is too prone to doing things like this to not dine-and-dash completely accidentally. The sound of shotgun fire can be heard shortly afterwards. Boomer sighs and stands up reluctantly. "I guess we've GOTTA..." He complains, dragging himself out the door sluggishly. Slowly, the diner empties. MEANWHILE, IN INDIA... "Do you suppose the streak's been broken yet?" Brick asks, stepping outside the restaurant with TWO doggy bags in hand. It was a lot of food.