Destiny Village ~ Central Crossroads

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"...A break from being me? Now that's an interesting thought," Aria mused, still halfway lying on him and consequently feeling every little hitch in his breath. "Visiting worlds is... complicated. I can try, but I can't make any promises. Besides, it's okay to say goodbye sometimes, you know? For... the sake of both sides."

 

[Magyk]

"It doesn't have to be that way!" he insisted. "It shouldn't be that way. I want to be your friend...! I..."

Ben sucked in a breath, focusing hard. The Shadows started to show again, even his mane was threatening to darken thanks to the corruption. "I don't want to lose anyone else important to me..."

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"Ben."

Her voice was unusually firm, and laced with a hint of something much more raw. Rolling off him, Aria shifted to meet his gaze, cupping his cheek so he couldn't turn away. "I know what that's like, and I also know that dwelling on it does nothing but hurt the people you still have."

 

[Magyk]

Ben tried to avoid her eyes. He struggled to accept that he was putting his emotions on full display in front of her, "I-I know!" he cried, sucking in a breath to reign himself in. "But...I haven't lost someone special to me in a long time..."

His cheeks were matted with tears at this point. "T-To forget you were even important...to me--" Ben took another deep breath, "In the slightest, is worse than knowing you were murdered."

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Aria sucked in a sharp breath, her expression softening again. She was quiet for a bit, before reaching over to brush some of the fresher tears away.

"...What happened, Ben?"

 

[Magyk]

Ben tried not to think about Aria's soft paw as she wiped some tears away.

A smaller part of his mind thought he was over this.

The Shadowed part of his mind was desperate, determined to keep Aria in his memories. To keep her alive in his mind.

His claws dug slightly into the couch, like he was either preparing to run or fight at the slightest wrong movement. Ben was no longer actively fighting off the corruption—it was getting exhausting.

"Why do you want to know?!" he growled. "What's the point in any of this if you're going to stop existing when I go?"

Diyem was responsible for this.

The growl that followed was something more feral. "I'll force Diyem to fix this! I'll make him suffer for the shit he's making me go through!"

The irony was long lost on Ben at this point. Diyem would probably just enjoy whatever he had to offer.

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

The pressure was building. Every nerve, every ounce of sense in her body screamed at her to give in, and strip him of his shadows. But Aria willed it back down, if only for a few seconds. In that moment, it was all up to Ben.

"And... is that really how you want me to remember you?" she asked, voice carrying a quiet plea.

 

[Magyk]

He growled again, placing his front paws over his head. "No...I want us to be okay, but I don't want to say goodb— " Ben whimpered as he tried to get a hold of himself.

"I-I shouldn't have come back! I thought I could handle saying goodbye again... I'm sorry for ruining your memories of me."

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Well, sitting face to face with him made things easier this time. Aria leaned forwards, and pulled Ben in for a hug. "Shh. Not yet you have."

 

[Magyk]

The arcanine sniffled as he rested his head on Aria's shoulder while he tried to pull himself together. There was hope. He hadn't ruined her image of him, he was still in control (mostly), and he hadn't lashed out.

"My parents were...my home village was raided when I was a pup by some rock types. They were just thugs with the type advantage and decided to, well...exploit that. Th-The last thing I remember was Mom telling me to be brave. Be brave and run... Dad was already trying to fight them off...and she didn't want to leave him."

Ben trembled as he took a deep breath, briefly nuzzling Aria to help comfort himself. "So I ran...a-and I couldn't forgive myself for a long time. But I don't want to lose anyone else! Especially when I shouldn't have to lose you. I should be allowed to remember...but my home...i-it could destroy my world and that's not fair!"

Then he went silent for a moment to let himself cry, as he thought over his next words.

"...If this is what it means to be a hero...then I don't want it. I just want my friends."

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Things were quiet between them for a moment, Aria gently stroking his mane. Then, she let out a soft exhale.

"...My parents went missing a few years ago, and I had no idea why. Spent the next year and a half tracking them down, and that's how I found out about the Omens. There had been signs of one brewing, and my parents had gone off to deal with it... like they'd already done once in the past. Kept it from me my entire life so I'd have a shot at living a normal one, but things went wrong that time. They... they were already dying when I found them, and I had no way to stop it. All I could do was talk to them one last time."

There was a faint quiver in her voice, but it was clear that old wounds stayed healed. She made sure of that.

"I was strong enough to save freaking time itself, but not what mattered to me the most," Aria said, a sardonic edge slipping in. "If that sounds unfair to you, that's because it was. But... nothing good came of me lingering on it. I had to accept it and move on for my own sake, as well as for the sake of the people close to me."

Pulling back just enough, she looked at him with a sad smile. "And you need to do the same, Ben. I know you're strong enough to do that. You just think you're not."

 

[Magyk]

His eyes widened at the mention. Aria did have a world very similar to this one. How did she handle seeing the heroes here, knowing her biggest heroes were gone forever? Ben winced, "I-I'm sorry, Aria...god, I'm so sorry."

"And...I-I know," he stammered. "My team-- my friends back home are my family now. But...you're not waiting at home for me, you'll still be alive, but you won't exist to me. How am I supposed to honour someone I can't remember...?"

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Aria tilted her head quizzically, her smile gaining a touch of color. "Honour me?"

 

[Magyk]

"Yes, honour you!" he insisted. "You've done so much for me, how am I supposed to replicate your lessons at home if I can't remember them? How am I going to tell people I met an awesome lucario who kicks ass and is the most selfless person I've met when her accomplishments and personality are gone from my mind?"

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Aria blinked, the earnest gushing briefly throwing her for a loop. It was… uncomfortable, but in a nice enough way.

"I don't think they'd be all that willing to believe you," she said, laughing softly. "And I don't think I need any of that, either. It… might not happen anytime soon, but you'll remember me someday. That, I'm sure of. And it's all I could ask for."

 

[Magyk]

He frowned at her. "You can stop being Selfless Aria in front of me, if you want," he replied. "Remember what I said back then? I still haven't kicked any of your problems away! How am I supposed to do that if you won't fully let your guard down?"

He sucked in a breath. Ben wasn't okay with forgetting her again, but he had to hope he'd remember, it was all he had left to cling to. The arcanine wanted nothing more than to believe Aria, and he hoped everything would work out.

"...If that doesn't happen soon, then I at least want you to go home feeling a little better about things," he continued. "Even if I don't remember, I want to know in this moment that I helped you...a-at least once."

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"And you can do that—"

Aria reached up with both paws, and traced curves up from the corners of his mouth.

"—by putting a smile on your face again, you big lug. I wasn't lying, y'know? You say it like I put on a mask, but... that is me. Even if you took away all my powers, all my responsibilities, that's still who I'd be. I care because I want to, not because I have to, and making others happy makes me happy. I don't need any fancy powers to do that — I'm good enough, and the friends I made here are proof of that."

With a grin, she bumped a fist against his snout. "You're one of them. You've already helped me more than you think, and all I'd want to ask of you is to remember me for who I am."

 

[Magyk]

There was something different about her. How much time had passed for her back home since their first adventure in Cibus?

He didn't know, but it was a relief.

His smile was genuine, until she bumped his snout, in which he scrunched up his face and huffed at her.

Ben felt like a mess, what an emotional fucking roller coaster he'd been through. And of course it was once again because of Aria. Not that it was a bad thing...he just thought he was stronger than this. Or was acknowledging he wasn't able to leave without getting upset a sign of strength?

It was hard to tell with these things.

The Shadows seemed to be gone, at least.

"I...I'm glad, really," he said softly. "Something about you last time seemed...off. But now I don't see that anymore. I guess I was the one that needed help, again, heh. I don't think I can stop myself from crying when I leave again, but now that I've been able to see you...I think I can oblige with your request."

Then he chuckled. "Strange to think I went from being jealous of you to admiring you. You...you're really amazing, Aria. And I love you—a-as a friend! Or...more like a big sister, even."

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Her grin didn't fade, but Aria raised a brow, looking at him closely, curiously. Then, her eyes twinkled with an impish light, and she made sure Ben saw it.

"Well, I suppose I do act like one," she offered, all too slyly. "If that's what you'd like to go with."

 

[Magyk]

An uncomfortable chill went down his spine as he caught her look. His eyes quickly flicked over to the machine in the room that had been ignored this whole time; a distraction was good right now, even if he sacrificed his pride.

"Yes," he said firmly, even as his voice wavered. "Hey, um, if you stop giving me that look I'll volunteer to go first! But, um, I don't sing. I used to howl with Mom, though...she liked hearing me howl, which I-I guessisn'ttoodifferenttosinging--"