Destiny Colosseum ~ Stands

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Sure y'would've, partner!" Luz agreed, laughing as Puddle dropped off and followed Vix away.

"Seeya round, y'all," called Brisa, smiling unexpectedly.

Brisa gave a wave to her departing friends. How strange to have so many, after so long assuming it was impossible. If they were on Cibus much longer, how would her relationships look a month from now, or more? Her chest felt bright to think of it.

 

[Fusion]

"See ya both later!" Puddle said excitedly, throwing its arms up to attach to Vix's shoulders. It snickered as it swung back and forth, an easy distraction from things one wouldn't want to think about. "We gotta throw down as soon as we can, it'll be fun! It could be like a date but with fighting!"

"Y-Yeah," Vix sputtered, not ready for Puddle at first. Luckily, it wasn't all that heavy. And by the time she was a ways away, that was when she realized what Puddle said. "W-W-Wait, a what?!"

<><><><><><>

 

[Flyg0n]

As the commotion from the fight died down and the spectators had mostly filed out, Koa waited. His mind was still reeling from what he’d seen – Astrid, Starr and Brisa, all facing down Lugia in an incredible match, and then against all odds they’d won. Brisa had won. But that wasn’t even the best part. During the battle they’d transformed. Like Owen had.

Ho-oh’s feathers they were so cool. Starr’s radiant fur, the gleaming shadow of Astrid and… Brisa. He still felt his heart racing from when he’d first witnessed her transform.

Brisa had become something… more. No longer just an unusual Luxray but now taking on the form of a Zeraora. Yet she was still distinctly Brisa.

Finally, he spotted her, leaving the colosseum. His worries momentarily evaporated, washed away by a wave of excitement.

“Brisa!” he shouted. He sprinted over to her, eyes glowing with delight. She’d returned to her old form it seemed, though it did nothing to dampen his excitement. He continued, his voice a near breathless ramble. “Brisa that was amazing! You turned into a legendary! And you guys beat Lugia! That was sick!”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa's face was still gently beaming from her celebratory meal with her best friends, c'mon, those gals aren't just that, but it lit up further as Koa rushed toward her. Of course the kid had watched her match. Damn near everyone would've seen that. Kinda thrilling to think...

"Sure fuckin' did, partner," she drawled, allowing herself a rare moment of smug satisfaction. If you couldn't feel pleased with yourself after knocking a goddess unconscious, when could you? "I'm gonna have t'watch the match replay of that one. I doubt Lugia will want a rematch, but any Legendaries we challenge in the future are bound to study our tricks from that fight, and I'm gonna have to do the same..."

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa still thrummed with excitement, nearly bouncing on his toes. He knew Brisa was good but he'd never realized just how good.
Could he... Could he get that strong back home? To beat a god?
"I've watched all your matches but... That one was my favorite," Koa declared. "How did you do that? Transform into a Zeraora?"

He couldn't help but wonder if he could transform like that. What would he look like if he did? Could he control something like that or did it happen all on its own?
What if he could turn into a legendary? That would be something.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa chuckled nervously. She had done that, huh... She was... She was gonna have to figure that one out. Maybe in therapy.

"Sure seems like it's somethin' the whole team can do now, if they dig deep enough. Ever since that transformation Diyem did. I guess I just..."

I'm meant to become a zeraora. My mother was given the choice, once, and she didn't take it. I've always believed... Hoped...

"I guess it's just a reasonable extrapolation of my powers, my body? Zeraora ain't so different t'luxray, I'm familiar with Luz, ha, and the fighting style suits me..."

 

[Flyg0n]

"I love it," he declared, grinning madly. His mentor was a Zeraora how cool was that? "It does suit you. Not just the fighting style I mean," he added. He eyed her, still awash with a strange, giddy excitement. "It feels like... I don't know. Right. Cool. Like you were just..."

Whole?

"Sick," he said, still smiling. If anyone deserved it, it was Brisa. He'd always hoped legendaries were like that, kind and helpful and strong.

"Do you think I could do it?" he blurted the words before he could even think on them more. He almost wanted to take them back. His voice burned with eagerness, yet below it there rumbled and undercurrent of desperation. Maybe he wouldn't turn into a Zeraora but... there was something there, and he couldn't help but feel a tiny, lingering flicker of jealousy.

He still remembered that surge of energy... the feeling from when he'd first evolved. But with the memory came the discomfort from how it happened. Perhaps it was time to leave soon. He'd congratulated Brisa, that was what he'd come to do.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa tilted her head and smirked, just a little. Just for a second. "Gonna give it a go?"

Right. Cool. Sick. She was really leaving an impression on this kid, huh? Maybe that was okay.

"I reckon we can all do it," she said, more seriously. "Seems like it's gonna happen in most or all of the team sooner or later, based on what I've heard from Owen. Just gotta find the right impetus. I guess yer own transformation will match what's true t'yer own spirit."

Is 'being a zeraora' really 'true t'yer own spirit'?

 

[Flyg0n]

True to his own spirit?

What do you think a failure would turn into?

He swallowed the thought. He wanted to do it, but he couldn't picture himself actually being able to pull off a transformation that... cool. Or do one period.

"I guess so. I wouldn't even know how to pull that off though," he mused, half out loud, half to himself. He fidgeted on his paws slightly. "I mean yours just looks so natural."

Why did he feel so awkward? It really had been ages since he'd actually had a conversation with Brisa, a proper one.

For good reason.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

It sure felt natural. And yet it didn't feel... No, that was something to discuss with Fugu in a session, for sure.

"You'll probably end up usin' it under sufficient pressure," mused Brisa. "It's downright ordinary fer 'mon to develop new powers an' abilities in a crisis or emergency, even human 'mon like yerself."

Or you? Don't you count? Hmm.

"Or . . . myself, I s'pose," she added, cautiously. "Hard t'tell sometimes what's human an' what's 'mon about me."

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa started to nod, his thoughts still drifting, then caught himself at her last sentence. He blinked and stared at her quizzically. "What do you mean, human and 'mon? I... I thought you were a Luxray on your world?"

Had she lied? No, he didn't think so. He trusted her enough to know that couldn't be it. There was more to this. He fell silent, and waited patiently for her response, curiosity piqued.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Bit awkward to have left it this late to mention, but there was nothing for it.

Brisa nodded. "Mountain luxio, takin' after my luxray ma. I was born a shinx, much like any other. But my pa is like you an' Dave and whoever. A former human. And I inherited somethin' of his soul an' power from him."

 

[Flyg0n]

"Whoa," Koa said. "So he came to your world and what? He turned into a pokemon like we did?"

That was... odd to think about. Brisa was... like him. Yet did it really change anything either? Hadn't she always been like him, in a way? That's why they were friends. Her huamnity didn't really change anything, did it?

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Yeah."

Here she went again, telling the story. She'd be telling it a little differently this time, being a little different herself since she last told it.

"My pa, Jesse, became a red delphox in my world. He was summoned by our Voice of Life to save the world, and he did, and I guess that makes him an Omen Hero. Which makes me think a Dark Matter crisis must be loomin' back home the same as with any worlds like these."

That wasn't a pleasant thought...

"Anyway, his partner, Sierra, settled down with him and had me. I'm like Surf an' Turf, I guess. My soul has a bit of humanity in it, or somethin'. And where I come from..."

She looked Koa in the eye.

"It made me stronger than anyone I ever met."

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa listened quietly as she told her tale, his thoughts spinning. It was shocking, in a way, to hear that she was at least part human, yet also not. It didn't really change anything about who she was to him. Still his mentor, still his friend. Even if he was screwing that up.

In fact, he almost would have told her it made her more cool except... he still remembered her words during their ill-fated training session. What her father had done. The pain she carried.

Once she finished, and stared him in the eyes, he found himself looking away, unable to meet her gaze. For several long moments he didn't speak. "I'm sorry," he said finally. He studied the fur on his paws. "It's not always easy, not being able to choose where you're from."

At least she became something good.

"It sounds like you use that strength for good though. I think that's admirable."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

It's not easy, not being able to choose. You use that strength for good, though.

Something tightened in her throat and behind her eyes, and she didn't say anything for a moment, nor take a breath. She didn't want the kid to think he'd said the wrong thing, though... She could fix that. She put a paw to Koa's shoulder and gave him a small, painless whiplash, just for a moment.

That means a lot, partner.

 

[Flyg0n]

That means a lot, partner.

Koa's first instinct was pull away from her touch. Yet he unconsciously felt himself leaning into her touch, soaking up her words.

Anything for you, Brisa.

She was the kind of mon he aspired to be. Looked up to.

You say that now but what did you do the instant you had the chance? You turned on her. You used what she said against her. You hurt her. You'll never be good enough.

He desperately stamped the thoughts down nearly as quick as they came.

After a moment, he drew away. "I should... probably get going. I've got stuff. To do. I think Echo wanted me to help him with something."

Liar.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa raised a brow and flicked her tail. "If'n y'say so, partner. But yer welcome t'stay and spend time any time ya like."

She looked hard at Koa, wondering what that regular fluctuation between warmth and the cold shoulder was about. Insecurity? Too much hero-worship? Just teenage bullshit? Gods only knew. Or maybe Echo did, if he could be persuaded to elaborate more on what he'd said before...

"Yer shade's a good 'un," she remarked. "Keenest li'l fella I ever saw. He cares fer you. You must be a good trainer."

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa struggled not to wilt under her stare. He should say something. Stop making her even more upset and disappointed. But no words came.

He perked up slightly at the mention of Echo, though he couldn't help but be curious as well. When had Echo spoken to Brisa? "I sure owe a lot to Echo," he said. "I might be his trainer but I think he's taught me more than I taught him."

And you didn't even want him at first.

"I don't deserve him, honestly. When we first met I was so bent on catching a Shinx I didn't even want him." Somehow, admitting that silly truth felt nice. "But I'm glad he stuck by me."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa smiled. "Lotta good can come of folks stickin' by each other when they didn't expect to."

Starr. Astrid. Cynthian and Icetales. Hell, that wild gal Sword. And back home, even Gil. It had been months since she'd seen the li'l golem.

"So, a shinx, huh?" she said, quickly, trying to fill up the space in her head where thoughts of the pit and dying bodies and going home were creeping in. "Why a shinx?"