Poppin' Arms ~ Training Facility

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa contained a growl in her throat at Diyem's mention of taking Owen down. The way Cibus seemed to 'work', fighting him was absolutely on the table. And Bahamut, for all his avodacy of ruthlessness to date, had taken action to help preserve Owen if possible. His odds weren't so bad just yet.

"What're we lookin' at?" she asked. "Bahamut, y'mentioned this thing takin' the form of an Ultra Stone in the mind's eye. That any indication that there's an Ultra Stone causin' this on the physical plane...?"

They could have to do any number of mad things to help Owen at this point. Call out to him. Beat him up. Go inside his fucking brain. Whatever was needed, Brisa would be ready.

 

[Ambyssin]

“If it were here, it’d be in his skull.” Bahamut’s tail wrapped around him. “I think Owen was hexed. Or something ethereal was allowed to burrow into his mind and plant its roots.

“Owen was able to chip away at it with encouragement. There was a fair amount of self-doubt the parasite was latching to. If you ask me, he needs encouragement from people he trusts. Reminders that he is strong and he doesn’t have to be something he’s not to win approval.”

 

[Namohysip]

"No," Diyem said. "It's definitely within his very spirit, or at least the energy attached to it in Cibus. This is not the body he came to Cibus with; he was vaporized by Joule. That also means that killing him will not resolve the issue. We have to remove it from him explicitly."

"How?" Cal asked. "Encouragement...?"

"Encouragement indirectly helped things because whatever power this is, it was feeding off of Owen's insecurities. I might have reason to believe that the reason his usual personality has been so off lately was because of this inner demon--literally. Perhaps we can expel it that way."

Diyem emerged, looking Owen over, humming. "I'll need time to prepare and speak with Wishkeeper about a few things," he said. "You all... discuss. I'll listen. But I need to concentrate."

Wishkeeper drifted toward Diyem and they spoke quietly amongst themselves.

 

[Ambyssin]

“That lines up.” Bahamut nodded. “He has serious insecurities related to his memories. Trying to untangle that entails making sure he understands he’s the one in control.”

 

[Disco]

Raven stood in stone silence to the side, nearest to the elevator. Literally, in this case, because she had mostly gone into her core. She wasn't sure what to say, but she hoped as strongly as she could that Owen would make it through this.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa padded forward, head low. Owen was just . . . peaceful. Yet inside, he was struggling with the same kind of Eterna corruption – distortion? – as Darkwhite had? Never mind the familiars turning out to be eternatus larvae, it was happening to him—

"Can he hear us?" she wondered aloud, hardly raising her voice.

She approached her sleeping friend, choosing to believe that whatever the hell he was going through, he'd come out of it okay, with a little help. She felt afraid, she could feel Sombra's hackles overlaid on her own, but she would have faith. She'd believe in Owen.

"Owen, whatever y'need from me, you got it," she said, to him alone. A mote of Radiance danced in front of her vision.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Stop."

Bahamut had an upper wing raised. There was no actual attempt at restraint. Just the command. "Do not go near him. Maintain your distance." He remained cross-legged. His light pulsated rhythmically; the necrozma equivalent to breathing. "You should not approach him with shadows and radiance at the ready. That—"

He cut himself off. Bahamut tucked his head down and lowered his wing. "I realize that you do not like me. That at best I make too many assumptions and at worst I'm a callous monster. But this... is not something you can approach like another assignment. Like this is some ranger mission to 'rescue' Owen. Another desperate soul to burden your load even further." He tilted his head and tapped a temple. "The power to overcome such psychic distress is something that needs to come from within. If you try to share feelings with those blacklight techniques of yours, then the Eterna hex will spin it one of two ways. That you are trying to impose your will on Owen, just as so many others have in his home world... or that you view him as a threat that needs to be contained."

Bahamut tucked his wings into his chest. "You need to approach him not as a fighter or as someone out to rescue him... but as a friend. Someone that trusts in his innate abilities. In his power." Yellow and green spread in his eyes. "And that means starting off without any blacklight, so Owen's psyche knows it's coming from you and not any otherworldly powers."

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave shifted restlessly on his feet. Owen looked weirdly peaceful, for apparently having some kind of monster inside his head. "Is this what happened to Sword? Some Eterna shit growing inside her until it took over her and gave her a core?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"That is... impossible to say. I would've had to look at Darkwhite's psyche while she was still not in her right mind," Bahamut replied. "The semantics are something we might be able to address when the hex is safely neutralized."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Sword can still turn into Darkwhite though? Maybe we could call her over..." Cynthian said as she trailed off in thought.

"Though Shield told me she doesn't have the eterna corruption anymore. Should we still giving her psyche a look though?" Cynthian tilted her head and hummed.

 

[Ambyssin]

“No. Did you not hear the ‘in wrong mind’ bit? That’s wasting time chasing a lead that no longer exists.”

He asked for Diyem and got the whole damn cavalry. This was going to be an exercise in patience.

 

[Adamhuarts]

"Owen..." Cynthian stared solemnly at the meditating charizard. How long ago it felt when he had been the one to give her comfort in times dire.

"Okay, so we don't use anything blacklight. What exactly do we need to do, Bahamut," Cynthian asked, her gaze firm.

 

[Disco]

Raven wobbled. "Just talk to him and give encouragement."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Wait for Dark Matter to finish... conversing." Bahamut was looking at his crossed legs. "I can only transport myself into someone's mind. Pretty sure he'll have to take care of the rest of you, as none of you are psychic." He paused. "Or monks in days long past."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa listened carefully to Bahamut, chewed it over.

"Alright," she said. "No exotic energy empathic bullshit. Owen's gotta do this himself, not get rescued, I hear ya."

She wiped her muzzle with the back of one paw and calmed her breathing, dispelling all traces of Radiance and Shadow.

"If it's a matter of gettin' him t'believe he can overcome this himself... Well, ain't he one of the most tenacious fighters on the whole team? If it had t'be one of us that got stuck in this position, he's a one I'd bet on pullin' through.

She looked at Owen's face, watching for any change.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Well, the timeline seems to suggest this block was placed before any of us had met him," Bahamut explained. "I imagine when he first came to Cibus he acted like he does on Kilo. Basically, the Owen you know now is more than likely the sum of his experiences on Cibus. In reality, his psyche houses a remarkable amount of insecurities. Possibly a result of outside forces tampering with his memories religiously back home."

He winced. "It's... difficult to say more than that. Besides, it's Owen's story to tell, not mine."

 

[Namohysip]

"...Mrm... this is uncharted territory, even for me," said Diyem with a rumble. "But I believe Bahamut has the correct approach here. We must make sure that Owen does not realize we are trying to rescue him or, more specifically, that whatever it is within him doesn't realize it. Perhaps it is manipulating his thoughts only based on ways it can twist how Owen sees reality.

"Thankfully... my telepathy does not seem to register as Blacklight to Owen. And this gives me an idea... if you can trust me with it."

Diyem and Wishkeeper nodded toward one another, and then back at the team. "This is going to be a practice, partial run of what I intend to do to Maple. Bahamut, you may remain out here to enter in your normal way. I want you to signal to me, from within, where to send the team. As for the rest of you..." Diyem looked. "I am going to send you all into Owen's mind through my Voidlands. It will be risky. There is a chance your spirit will be trapped there if I lose connection. But I will be ready to pull any of you out.

"I doubt that Owen alone can defeat this, no matter what encouragement we give. The reality is this... 'seed of doubt' was given to Owen and engineered against his thoughts. It would be insurmountable for any individual. Instead, you must have Owen weaken it enough that you can strike it all at once. You must be the judge of when that happens. With any luck, we can exorcize this from Owen in one fell swoop."

"And if you fail?" Wishkeeper asked.

"Then... we will have to subdue Owen. And it may not be pretty."

Wishkeeper tensed, but nodded. "You have my support. Owen would understand."

"Of course he would." Diyem scowled. "Everyone, are you ready? I am going to send those prepared into the Voidlands."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa nodded. Declining this wasn't even a question.

"I'll go," she said, with quiet conviction. "I'll do as is needed."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"We'll avoid the worst and aim for the best," Cynthian said, her face filled with determination.

"He's helped us find our strength. Now we'll help him find his, as his friends."

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut's body shifted down and he floated closer to Owen. "Same deal as last time. If my hand moves from Owen's head, toss my body away to sever the connection."

He placed his right hand on Owen's forehead and his core dulled in color.