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Owen brightened. "I'm ready," he said. "As ready as I'll ever be. Cal's going to be okay. She's worried about all her siblings, just like I'm going around making sure my friends are fine. Guess she took after me after all, huh?"

"We are," Owen said, "but... it wasn't always like that. When we came to an understanding of each other, I think that's when we had our... turning point. I think we both became better through that. Maybe I was projecting a little." He glanced at the bag, but then noticed Rocky standing...

Owen nodded, sighing. "Well, if that's the case... you take care of him. He's still you, after all, one way or the other." When the shadow was put back in the bag, Wishkeeper withdrew and became nothing but a dissipating haze. "It's not easy, confronting your shadow. So... I get some of that...

"Sure," Owen said, "but Diyem knows tons of dark secrets. I don't think this would be remarkable to him, y'know? Just... think about it, okay? Even if it's for only a few days, it'd still be a few days of closure. After all you did to help him, he owes it to help you anyway, right?"

Owen thought about that, sighing. "Well... If you want a better understanding of which of those two things it is, we can always ask Diyem directly. He'd know for sure. He's kind of an expert on inner darkness. Ever ask him?"

"How come?" Owen asked, but this time the question was toward Nate. "There's only going to be turmoil until you acknowledge and accept this side of you, you know. Otherwise it'll just join with you as you go back, and... who knows what'll happen then."

"I see..." Very different from Dave's. "...If you don't want to be here... Does that mean you want to rest? What can we do to help you rest?" In the end, if both Nate and his shadow wanted the shadow to leave, then there had to be a way to help that. They just had to work together!

"You don't have any memories of the world before Cibus at all?" Owen asked. Now this was curious. So this Shadow was all of the fears Nate had about this world, channeled into a single, quivering ball of oil, while Nate himself had the external persona of someone hardened and dismissive. It...

Out of Nate's view, Owen had made a few motions with his hand as he conjured Protects in case Nate tried that very thing; it would be trivial to put a barrier to halt him. "Well, you won't have to worry about being here for much longer," Owen said. "But is what you're saying... also applying to...

Owen adjusted himself until he was sitting with crossed legs, curling his tail forward like a campfire between the three of them. "Shadows don't normally stay emerged like this for as long as you have. Not for all of us, at least. Do you mean that Nate has always felt this way, inside?" He...

"Nate can't be like you," Owen repeated, scaly brow furrowing at the phrasing. "...Can't as in, he can't afford to be like you. Is that what you mean? But the fact that somewhere inside, these feelings exist... Do you know why?"

"Nate," Owen said sharply, thumping his tail on the ground enough to shake the sand beneath the Marshtomp. "Let him speak. You only have to deal with this for a week, after all, don't you?" He and Wishkeeper turned their attention back to the inky Mudkip. "Nate doesn't seem to be externally the...

To that, Owen frowned. "Well, if that's the case, would you be alright if I called you Nate instead?" he asked. "If you're a shadow, what are you a shadow of for Nate? It's okay; we won't be mad." He made a telling glance at the tangible Nate.

Every time he spoke, Wishkeeper murmured something to Owen, likely the interpretation. "That's okay. What do you want me to call you for now?" he asked. "Do you know what you are?" He remembered that Dave's Shadow had an understanding of that, even if Wishkeeper's was not as thorough. Perhaps...

Owen nodded, and then Wishkeeper emerged and spiraled around Owen like a protective specter. He tried to look discrete otherwise so he didn't frighten the poor thing. "Hey," Owen said gently, taking wide steps to get out of the sand, only to sink in again when he advanced. It would have to do...

"You'd know more than me what doesn't add up," Owen said, "but... how about we try talking to him again? No... hitting, no trying to toughen him up yet. Just... a talk. For me, I'll try to have Wishkeeper interpret for me... Because sometimes, how you are inside can be really different from how...

"It's not the same," Owen said. "When we fought our enemies, it was always to help them, to stop them from hurting others, or to stop them from hurting themselves. When we fought our friends, it was to mutually show our strength! This... The way you two are acting... That's not the same kind of...

"In the end, Shadows are telling some truth about you in an extreme way," Owen said. "Mine manifested in a different way, but... Wishkeeper ultimately wanted to protect against new harm by keeping me safe and away. A shield that nobody would go through. Yours wants to hide... but is trying to...

"Scared to do things that'd make him happy, because it might wind up with getting hurt later?" Owen asked, and a sad smile tugged at him. He nodded. "Well, y'know! I guess we have more in common that we'd like to admit, in a way... Living a life where you don't really know who to trust, right...

This reminded Owen of a certain Mightyena, in a way. He wondered how far the similarities went. Still, he couldn't hear him talking, and, tentatively, wondered of another Shadow could hear him instead. Wishkeeper loomed silently, perhaps interpreting for Owen. "Scared... and never happy," Owen...