Rocky Road ~ House of Brisa, Dave, Koa, and Owen

[Namohysip]

"You'd hunt them down, chase down the organization that took them, and try to take them back," Owen repeated, nodding. That was understandable. It made sense.

"What if you fail?"

 

[Flyg0n]

"I'm not going to fail," he replied, almost a little too quickly. "I'd make sure I didn't."

You know you can't gurantee that. You nearly lost them once before.

He dug his paws into his bed. The thought of a world without his team, without Hazard and Rascal and all the rest...

How far would you go?

 

[Namohysip]

Owen frowned, pensive. And while he didn't ask the question directly, and perhaps he would let up after this, he did ask the very same thought. "How far would you go, then, to take them back? ...What would you do, then, if Echo was at risk next?"

 

[Flyg0n]

Talking to Owen was maddening. His gaze subconsciously shifted to the door before he dismissed the thought. Not like Owen wouldn't be able to tell why he was leaving anyway. Besides, he didn't care about that anymore. "I don't know. I would just keep trying I guess," he mumbled.

Liar. A weak answer for a weak trainer.

Fear gnawed at him. How far would he go? For his team? For Echo? Old memories resurfaced, of lashing out at Brisa, of the fight on the moon, facing his shadow, and of recent bout with Kora.

You'd become what you always were. A monster.

"I don't know..."

 

[Namohysip]

Owen nodded, tail curling around himself as his flame placed itself between the two of them. It was calm.

"Someone important to me didn't know, either," Owen said. "...You... I have a feeling that you're going to do important things. I think that's what the Hero's Aura really means, in a strange way. That, for one reason or another, then world you came from... has a beacon over you. It must mean something, somehow, and... I guess I just wanted to bring this up because you remind me of that person. Someone so... lively and ready to take on the world. But someone who might not know how to handle a setback like that. Maybe every hero has that potential to fall." He looked away, easing the pressure on Koa's mind by averting his stare.

"Sorry. I guess I shouldn't have gotten so deep there. I'm just hoping that maybe some of that will carry over when you get home." He sighed. "You've got a bright future ahead of you, I bet. Don't let setbacks make you lose your way. And remember that sometimes it's okay to find other options. Otherwise, by the time you get them back..." He hesitated. "Well. They might not recognize you anymore."

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa on chewed Owen's words, trying his best to take them to heart. Surely someone who'd lived a bunch of lifetimes had some advice to offer. Even though he wasn't quite sure just how much of the advice he actually understood. He let out a sigh eventually.

Owen was right, at least partially. He did have a beacon over him, just not in the way Owen might've thought. Or maybe he did know. Mews marbles, figuring out Owen was hard.

"What if that path you're trying to follow... What if other people who followed it did bad things. Terrible things? Is it still possible to follow that path the right way?"

Not for you.

 

[Namohysip]

"I think so," Owen replied, "but that's not too hard to reason out, don't you think? If you know the path someone took that ended up being a bad one... then you can find a way to do it the right way instead." Owen tapped a claw against his chin. "Catching a Legend... Then you must know someone who had tried the same, but did it in a bad way. But it sounds like you want to earn their respect instead. What did this other person do?"

 

[Flyg0n]

"Oh nothing big," Koa said bitterly. "Only used the power of legendaries to enslave Dialga and Palkia to rewrite the universe and try to make it perfect." He laughed humorlessly. Just like Soda. Except they'd saved Soda. But...

What makes you think you can be different? That you are different?

His features darkened. "Other people from my world have tried to use legendaries too. Always for their power, to change something, or control something." Was it possible, to do it right anymore? Or would he end up corrupted like Soda, driven mad once he had the power to change something? What would he do if he had a legendary and he lost his team?

"You know... its easy, to be good when you're weak. Right? Because you aren't strong enough to change anything even if you wanted. But Soda had all that power. Isn't it harder to do good things when you just... have the power to do whatever you want?"

 

[Namohysip]

There was another little glint in Owen's eyes that possibly infuriated Koa. But the Charizard's smile was undeniable. "You know," he said, "the very fact that you're asking that question... makers me think you'd be above average in what someone would do if they had that kind of power. That maybe you could earn their respect, instead of taking it, or overpowering them. I think that's something."

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa gritted his teeth. His instincts called for him to disregard Owen. After all, even with his ability he couldn't actually see inside Koa's mind.

He can't see the darkness you carry. He doesn't know you.

But he believed Owen wouldn't have said it if he didn't mean it. In fact, it almost sounded like something Kitto would have told him. "I hope that means something." If it didn't... If he failed anyway... No, he had to believe it did. "I really hope you're right."

 

[Namohysip]

"I hope so, too," Owen said, eyes flashing with something like an observant concern. "Right now, the average person wouldn't see anything wrong with you. But I know the potential someone like you has to take the wrong path... But... as long as you continue to be afraid, or at least aware, of that possibility... I think that's much better than what I'd seen."

Owen sighed. "You should consider talking to Wheat, you know," he said. "He helped me work through similar thoughts about the whole, you know, battleheart thing. Who knows, right...?"

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa snorted. "Wheat?" He almost rolled his eyes and stopped himself. Then he shook his head. "The uh... therapist? That's... that's not really my thing." he tried his be to sound somewhat understanding, even though he failed to see how talking to some random person could help him. The last thing he wanted was spilling his problems to a stranger to have them tell him everything was fine and he just needed to move past it or whatever.

"I mean. Sounds like it works for you, so that's good. I think I'll be fine though."

 

[Namohysip]

"Are you sure?" Owen pressed, frowning. "Every time I talk to you, I can tell that there are little thoughts circling around your head. I can't read thoughts, but I can definitely tell if a thought is bugging you. Wheat... helps with those, you know. Repetitive thoughts that keep buzzing around any time you go to a certain subject. Is that happening here?"

 

[Flyg0n]

"I said I'm doing fine," he hissed. He couldn't help saying it, it was second nature by now. Stifling his frustrations, he stared back down at his paws. "I don't need help," he said quietly.

You've already said too much.

But Owen wasn't wrong. Was he? Koa shifted on the bed. His head ached from trying to wrap his mind around everything. Feeling that Owen might have been right, yet doubting it all the same. "Not sure I want a psychic rooting through my mind anyway."

 

[Namohysip]

Owen nodded. "That's true, you know, and fair," he said. "But Wheat doesn't really do that kind of rooting around. He sort of... If you have a repetitive thought, he said there's this... signal he recognizes, and then he can tell if it's causing you stress or not. He uses Psychic waves to disrupt that thought, and you can look at it more objectively, y'know?" He shrugged. "I'm not a fan of manipulating the mind. I've had way too much of that back home. But... I'm giving a pass to Wheat. I like him. And I get the feeling he would have defended me back during that whole... spy thing, when I was framed."

 

[Flyg0n]

A grunt was Koa's only response.

They can't change what you are. Who you are.

"It just seems like..." He paused. He supposed it didn't matter what he told Owen, since they wouldn't be on this world much longer. "Not for me. My problems aren't that bad." But Brisa had gone, hadn't she? And even Dave. In fact, Brisa had been on of the first people to try and convince him to see one of those 'mons.

"Maybe I'll think about it," he muttered. "Although I hardly see how it matters if I'd just forget about it anyway."

 

[Namohysip]

"You never know," Owen hummed thoughtfully. "I like to think that at least some of this might carry over in some way. And even if it doesn't... well. We all die eventually. Why be nihilistic about this?" Owen shrugged, grinning. "I say we make the most of it instead of putting it off just-because!"

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa narrowed his eyes at Owen. "I guess," he conceded finally. Maybe he ought to just spill all his secrets to everyone. Not like he'd remember telling anyone. Even so, the idea made him nervous. But if Owen trusted them, even with all his abilities, then they couldn't be all bad, right?

"I'll think about it," he said. And he meant it this time.

He hung around for a few more minutes after that, making idle conversation about less frustrating topics. Eventually he excused himself, but not before offering a quick thank you. In a way, talking to Owen did feel good, if frustrating. Someone to just be honest with. He still wasn't sure about Owen's suggestion of talking to Wheat but maybe, just maybe, there was a shred of accuracy there.

<><><><><><>​

 

[Dragonfree]

Finally home. Dave had time for a bit of a nap before Mia got back, probably.

He shut the front door, now modified for Owen's ridiculous size, and looked around for whether anyone was home.

 

[Namohysip]

There was a Poke Ball rolling around in the house, going through an obstacle course. Based on the handwriting, it looked like Cal had created it, based on the nearly illegible 'Goal!' at one part of the path, which involved some of Leg's dolls as obstacles, as well as ramps and hills. When the door opened, though, the ball rolled into the bedroom and popped open, revealing Owen.

"Hey, Dave," Owen greeted with a casual wave. "Oh, there are some leftovers in the fridge if you want some. Cal and I went and tried that hotdog place but bought a few extra that I can cook up."