Destiny Village ~ Parfait Way

[Namohysip]

"Um. Manaphy went back home." Owen grinned sheepishly. "...I probably should have known we'd try to sabotage each other. Can't even trust myself anymore..." He sighed. "Still! Good to meet the people that other me met, I guess. He said a lot of good things about you two."

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"Huh."

Aria looked between the two, before rubbing at the side of her neck. "On that note, I should clarify that I was throwing a bunch of half-truths around. Our Owen — Miracle Owen? — and I were sparring once, and Cal was just... passing around berries, I guess. The rope stuff was just him trying to verbally embarrass the hell out of her, which I may or may not have helped with."

She paused to flash Ben a sheepish smile. "Sorry you had to get caught in the crossfire. Couldn't clue you in because Owen would catch it, and I don't have my telepathy here."

 

[Namohysip]

"I think I missed the innuendos again," Owen mumbled. "I think the excitement of meeting new people made me regress..." He sighed. "I guess it was nice to feel that again, though. Er, well, since your Owen is at my place... I guess I can have that picnic with you guys instead?"

 

[Magyk]

Ben glared at Aria, but his brain felt too fried to stay mad at her. As gross as all the innuendo was, at least it...kind of worked in giving Owen away.

The arcanine fidgeted nervously. "Er...I guess? I mean it was just gonna be me and Aria, because we haven't had a proper chat since getting here...but if she's fine with you tagging along I guess it's no biggie."

It could have at least been their Owen instead of the one he knew but didn't.

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

It was easy to tell what answer Ben was hoping for, but Aria found herself giving Owen a long, hard stare first. While his Perceive could pick up on a lot of things, it couldn't tell him what was going through her head.

"...Eh, I don't mind having you tag along," she finally said. "We've got way too much food for two, and we weren't exactly alone last time either. And also... something tells me we've a lot of catching up to do."

 

[Namohysip]

"Catching up..." Owen nodded, walking down the path again. "I guess we do, huh. I mean, I hardly know anything about you, but I bet you know a lot about me. And... like I said, I'm older than that Owen by a few months. I think I know exactly when he's from... And a lot changed since then."

 

[Magyk]

It was weird talking to an Owen he knew but didn't. "So, wait...you're still Owen but from a laterish point in his life? Does...that mean, you, as Owen, who has a past version that met us, wouldn't that mean you have his memories, too?"

Memory bullshit hurt his head. But he'd have to deal with it now that Aria had let him come along. He supposed it didn't matter.

 

[Namohysip]

Owen shook his head. "No. We're two different Owens from totally different worlds," he explained. "My world just happens to be a few months ahead of his... Or maybe they aren't, but Diyem got us at different times by chance. Hero's Aura might have been brightest then, or something..." His flame got a little brighter. "Pretty cool, huh? I wonder how many others of me there are... of my world! The Overworld is a big place..."

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"I try not to think about that too much. Meeting myself would be... weird," Aria said with an odd laugh. "Can't tell if we'd get along or..."

She trailed off, humming in thought. "...Nah, I like myself enough."

 

[Magyk]

Ben grimaced. "I'd definitely not want to meet another me, one of me is enough."

Just thinking of another Ben that went through the same shit as he did was enough to leave a bad taste in his mouth. "Okay...so isn't it weird that we know you but you don't know us?"

 

[Namohysip]

Owen nodded. "Other me is probably going through the same thing. We tried to explain to each other what happened and stuff, though. So I know a lot, just not a ton..."

He sighed. "After what happened with other me... Right. I'm a few months later... I think he's around the time when I first learned, or, uh, re-learned about my involvement in stuff from a long time ago. Things... went wrong..."

Owen started to explain as they walked some of the events that had transpired, from the gathering of his new friends, the clash that happened, the trap, the betrayals, and then where he wound up. His expression darkened significantly at that, mentioning, with a quiet voice, some of the things that happened there.

"...And that's why I'm a tree."

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Aria was quiet throughout, a pensive frown having settled on her face by the end of it.

"...No wonder you're so... different," she said, vague despite both of them knowing exactly what she meant. "A few months doesn't feel like much until life kicks you in the jaw."

 

[Namohysip]

"That's one way to put it," Owen said, frowning. "I didn't... I didn't think I'd changed that much. But, gonna be honest, when I saw me from a few months ago, I... There was this feeling I had. Dunno how to phrase it, but, it was like... I..." He hesitated. "I think I... hated it... in a way. Not... him. Just..."

 

[Magyk]

"Hated how naive and stuff you were?" Ben asked. "I mean, betrayal is er...pretty rough, but you make my betrayals sound real petty. Must be hard dealing with several layers of amnesia and tons more forgotten histories"

Somehow in Ben's mind, Owen becoming a tree seemed the least crazy. Well, it probably helped that Ben already knew he could become grass, so in a way him being a tree wasn't totally unexpected. "You'd probably love-hate my home, it's...much much simpler than yours."

 

[Namohysip]

Owen smirked a little, but it was subdued. "That's not why I hate it," he said. "It's because... I lost that. I feel like I lost some of that light in his... in what used to be my eyes." Owen looked down. "I need to get it back... more than anything. I can't win against... him if I don't have that, I just hope I can remember that when I return..."

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"...I think you'd still lose," Aria said, almost sounding hesitant. Then, knowing she'd couldn't just leave it there, she looked up at Owen. "That light was vulnerable. It faded when it was challenged, and… that means it wouldn't have been strong enough in the first place."

She paused, a faint smile on her lips. "But it's not all gone, is it? Figure out what's left and why it stood strong, and build up from there. A dim light on a dark night means more than a bonfire on a bright day."

 

[Magyk]

"Uh...yeah! What she said," Ben said with a grimace. "You don't ever really lose who you are, but you do change to adapt. I'm sure you'll change again to be the Owen you want to be."

How do you motivate the usually peppy one?

 

[Namohysip]

Owen nodded, thoughtful. "I think... I think I'm still, I've still got it. It's just, where I wound up... even all of that can really put a damper on things. But I can't just give up, can I? I mean, I definitely can't..." Owen sighed. "It's fun hearing about it on my comic books. Actually being in a situation like that... N-not as fun."

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"Yeah, I think I can second that. Stories make it seem so easy. So... simple."

Aria looked away for a moment to let her frown fade.

"I don't know how much he told you about me, but I like to think our Owen and I are pretty close. Makes the little differences between you two stand out quite a bit. But even then... it still feels like I'm talking to Owen. Not Miracle Owen, not Spectrum Owen, just... Owen. And that's who I have faith in," she said, a quiet warmth in her tone. "You've got this."

 

[Namohysip]

Owen grinned at that. "I think I'm more me than I have been in a while," he said. "I'm... I think I can get my light back. No, it's--not even gone. I just need something else for a little while. I need..." He looked off, a flash of graveness in his expression. "I need more than just light. I guess in a way, it kinda reminds me of here..."