Frontier Town Sanctum of Wishes

[Tetra]

"Yeah. All we can do is keep trying." Would the others be okay? At least if they were in town maybe... He could only hope someone would help them if they were attacked, but even then it seemed like it would take a lot of mon to try and fight those things. Should he have gone with them? And do what?

At least Laura understood, which brought a bit of warmth to his heart. They had to keep trying to help. No matter what. At least most of the team could sort of agree on that, although the way they all still felt so divided and discordant made him uneasy. If whatever they were summoned for needed so many of them... then whatever threats they were supposed to fight had to be big, right? And what if you try to do right and you're wrong again?

After another silence that felt far too uncomfortable he glanced over to Laura. "I... never got a proper chance to say anything but... I'm sorry for what happened before the gala. I should have heard things out before thinking everything was the same as where I'm from." He wished he'd at least tried to hear Laura out more, even if everything sort of turned out okay in the end.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura took a long time to reply. Long enough that Koa might start worrying she wasn't going to answer. First, she wasn't sure what he was even apologising for – then, she just felt fucking bad for him. He was a kid. He was here playing hero, and thought apprehending criminals as a vigilante was just the right thing to do in the wild west, or something.

"Thank you," she said, quietly. "Look, don't... I wasn't holding it against you, or anything, you know? We're going to have a lot worse than that happen if we hang around on this world, I think..."

She thought of how Isidora had walked out on her the second the Sneasel realised she was human. She thought of Bellatrix' scolding about the wagon mission. She thought of beasts and bandits and blackmail.

"We're not always going to have all the right information," she said, carefully, "but I think we'll be okay. So long as we're able to change our perspectives as we learn more of the bigger picture."

The door to the acolytes' rooms opened at last, and a Ledian hovered through, carrying a tray of sourdough bread, hot tea, and some kind of fragrant soup.

"Everything feels better when you have a cup of tea, anyway," she said, with more sincerity than she expected.

As it turned out – she was right. Tea always helped.

<><><><><>​

 

[Hap]

After the chaos of recent events, the Sanctum of Wishes' tranquil atmosphere felt like a much-needed balm for Ridley's mind. He'd been sleeping badly enough as it was, and then for Steven to be attacked in his own room like that...

Ridley tilted his head, staring up at the light filtering down through innumerable paper tags. It really was peaceful here. There was a part of him which wondered whether, if he tried to rest here, he might even be able to sleep without nightmares. Insomnia had been Ridley's regular companion for over a decade, but this - this refusal to sleep from the fear of what he might find lying in wait in his dreams - was a new enemy, and an unfamiliar one.

If only he didn't feel so helpless all the time. Shadow pokemon were hardly the unstoppable monsters in real life that they were in his nightmares; they'd taken down the shadow drapion, after all. He'd helped!

But Ridley wasn't a fighter. He'd always known this about himself. It had never bothered him before.

Now, though...

He hadn't come here to fight. He'd been motivated entirely by curiosity, by that lifelong drive to step out into the unknown and see what met him there. I didn't come here to save this world, Ridley wanted to protest, I came here to learn about it.

But what did his motivations matter at this point? He'd made his choice, and now battling and violence were becoming increasingly relevant to his life. If Ridley couldn't keep up, then people would suffer for his failings.

Here he was, in this peaceful place, thinking about violence. Ridley might have laughed at himself, but instead he just closed his eyes and listened to the quiet rustling of people as they moved and the occasional soft chime of a chimecho bell.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

If Ridley's ears were sharp, he might have heard a slightly different chime filter through the ever present rustling of chimecho. One belonging to a beldum in a cloak who had settled down onto a nearby cushion, gingerly, so as to not jostle the slowly healing corrosion on his side.

After his discharge from the doctor's care, Steven had stopped by the sanctum on a whim, and found himself drawn here at least once a day, sometimes even staying overnight. Something about it felt safe; safer than the Haus did, at least.

So focused on his routine of finding a cushion to lay down on and making sure the cloak was tucked just right to hide his injury from prying eyes, Steven missed the fact that there was a more familiar face in the sanctum today until he'd already settled down.

As Steven swept his gaze across the space for one of the friendly acolytes, the distinctive pink disguise of the group's resident mimikyu caught his eye.

He never did get the chance to properly thank Ridley that night... Chiming softly so as to not startle him, Steven called over to the mimikyu.

"Sorry to disturb you, but you're Ridley, right? I haven't seen you since..." he trailed off, leaving the implication hanging. "And maybe this isn't the best time, but I want to express my gratitude to you for your help. So, thank you," he said, eye winking into a gentle smile.

 

[Hap]

It probably shouldn't have surprised Ridley to encounter another Wayfarer in this place. There were enough of them that running into each other now and again was pretty much inevitable. Still, something about the Sanctum's gentle serenity made the presence of another person he knew feel somehow unexpected.

...much less unexpected, once Ridley had gathered enough of his wits to realise who was talking to him. He wondered whether Steven was visiting the Sanctum for much the same reason Ridley himself had ended up here.

"Ah, that's kind of you to say, but -" Ridley clamped down on himself before he could continue that sentence the way he'd initially intended. Regardless of how low an opinion Ridley had of his contribution to that fight, Steven had been very badly hurt - had come horrifyingly close to dying - and probably wouldn't appreciate a dismissive I didn't really do anything. "I feel like I could have done more," he said, instead. He didn't know whether it was the Sanctum's confessional atmosphere or his own regrets at work, but he found himself adding, "I'm not much of a battler. Not in my own world, and not in this one either. I don't know what I'm doing, and sometimes all I can think is, shit, if I don't figure this out then someone might..."

He forced himself to a stop again. "Anyway, how've you been holding up?" he asked. "You got pretty badly hurt. How's the healing?" Ridley couldn't see much of Steven's body under the cloak the guy was wearing, but that wasn't really his main concern. Not too many nightmares, I hope? Not too much mental scarring?

The idea of death in this world troubled him. Betel had promised they'd wake up in their own worlds again with no memory of the time they'd spent in this one, but Ridley found that thought almost as alarming as the idea of actual death. To become again the person he'd been at the start of this adventure... even if his experiences here had been awful and traumatic and terrifying, Ridley didn't like to think about losing them.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"I'm-- I'll be alright," Steven admitted. He certainly wasn't fine but things also could have been much, much worse. "Healing is slow, but that's to be expected for my type. Mineraloid pokemon and all that," he said, trying to sound chipper.

Ridley's disguise hadn't changed its expression when he spoke, but Steven could hear the doubt in his voice. No need to make Ridley worried about his health on top of that. Sure, there was the constant tingle and twinge of his side as it gradually regenerated, but in the end, he would be fine, and that's what mattered.

"And I'm not sure how qualified I am to say as much, given how cognizant I was throughout the course of the night, but I think you did plenty," he said. "Just like a pokemon battle; it's a team effort regardless of how much weight any individual pulls. The fact that I'm here now is testament to that."

Steven's eye-smile grew more sincere before he rattled a dry laugh. "If it helps, I know a lot about battling-- perhaps an unhealthy amount-- and look how I fared. So please, don't sell yourself short. It seems like in this world there's still a lot to learn for everyone in our group."

 

[Hap]

Steven was obviously trying to sound upbeat about his situation. He'd be alright, sure. Right now not so much, Ridley guessed. "Slow healing sucks," he agreed. "You sure you're doing okay, though? I've been mauled by one of those things before and it's never a great time afterwards."

They'd all been beaten up pretty badly by the shadow drapion, although obviously no-one else's injuries compared with Steven's. "I almost froze up in that fight," Ridley admitted. "I know everyone made it through okay -" or at least alive "- this time, but next time we might not be so lucky. I keep worrying that my lack of experience will end up making me a liability and that I'll just drag everyone else down."

He said, "But hey, if you know a lot about battling, then would you be able to offer me some advice? I really can't understate how little I know about it."

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"You'd... You'd been attacked before?" Steven's horror slowly grew as he took in the patches on Ridley's disguise, and he realized the question was rhetorical. The wagon. Ridley had been on the wagon mission. A new wave of guilt hit Steven. He stared hard at the sanctum floor.

"You're right. It's not been fun." His voice was quiet and strained. He paused for a moment before giving a shaky sigh. "Admittedly, you're not the only one who is worried about being a liability for the team."

Something bitter crept into his tone as he swept his gaze towards himself, scrutinizing his current form.

"I realize how ironic that is, coming from me. I'm very aware of my own limitations here; my starter was a beldum. It took some time, but we were able to work hard and overcome those limitations. But here, I don't know how much time I have. The situation with the shadow pokemon is escalating. Quickly."

He shook his head. The tingling of his side grew with his agitation. "As much as I know, I'm not sure how useful it truly is. The battles here, they're different. It's more like a fight for survival than a friendly competition."

Suddenly, the realization struck that he was venting to Ridley when he probably had come to this place to get away from such negativity.

"Ah, I'm sorry," he apologized, his eye upturning sheepishly. "My worries don't quite apply to your situation. As a mimikyu, you're much more adept in battle than myself. I think what you need is some confidence, and perhaps that will come with little bit more know-how."

Some of the energy returned to Steven's voice as the topic turned to battle teachings. "I can certainly share what I've learned over the years, and maybe something will resonate with you and help build some of that confidence. Was there anything in particular you'd want to know? Otherwise I can start with some basics and we can work from there."

 

[Hap]

"Ah," Ridley said awkwardly. Had Steven not heard about the wagon fiasco? Or maybe he just hadn't known that Ridley was a part of it. "Yeah, I was part of the first group to encounter a shadow pokemon. It, uh, didn't go great."

Which was an understatement if there ever was one, but Steven probably understood better than anyone what it was like to get up close and personal with a shadow pokemon. Ridley's injuries had been light in comparison.

Again, he wondered whether Steven was visiting the Sanctum for much the same reason Ridley himself had ended up there.

He said, "Honestly, it's kind of reassuring to know I'm not the only one having these doubts. It means maybe I'm not as out-of-place here as I worry about being. If it helps, though, everyone here seems to think that offworlders have an unusual degree of power. Your limitations might be less than you think."

Not that it helped Ridley out any. All the power in the world wouldn't be much use to him when he didn't know what to do with it. "And I'd appreciate the assistance," he added. "Starting with the basics sounds good. I never paid any attention to competitive battling, so I really have no idea what I'm doing."

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven tilted his head towards Ridley in acknowledgement. "Thank you for the reassurance yourself," he said. "Although I fear this is a case of me being impatient more than anything else." He'd have been more than happy to take things slow-- he knew how long it took Metagross to reach its full potential-- but with how the shadow pokemon issue had all but blown up in their face, it didn't feel like he had such a luxury.

"In the meantime, though," Steven said, lifting off of his cushion with a small grunt of effort, "I'd be happy to help with some battle lessons." He hovered for a moment, scooting the cushion closer to Ridley before settling back down. It'd be easier to talk like this without disturbing the other sanctum visitors.

He fixed Ridley with an earnest smile. "There's no shame in starting from the beginning. Every top tier trainer is built from the same thing: a strong foundation of the basics..."

From there, Steven launched into his explanation, first covering type match ups, using Ridley and himself as examples. Then he moved onto types of moves, like status, priority, physical and special, and stat changes. Items were next, including what he knew of berries from his world, with the caveat that it seemed there were many more types here in Forlas that he'd never heard of before.

With each new topic, the haze of fatigue that surrounded Steven lifted more and more. Soon, he was cheerfully sharing anecdotes about his own team, like how Aggron was a physical attacker, but it always caught opponents by surprise when he launched a thunderbolt their way. Or all the different formations one could create with a Rock Slide. Or how Metagross could harmlessly deflect a flamethrower with its psychic powers.

By the end, he was practically beaming, although he caught himself suddenly, realizing this probably wasn't what Ridley was interested in hearing. "Ah, my apologies, I kind of got carried away," he said with an embarrassed smile. "I guess the point of all that was to say that in the end, the mark of a good battler is how creatively you use your knowledge, and how quickly you can think on your feet."

"At the elite level, trainers who succeed are ones who are intimately familiar with their own strengths and weaknesses. Some weaknesses can never be truly eliminated, like steel's weakness to fire. But once you know this, you can leverage your strength into a way to both protect your own weaknesses while finding and attacking those of your opponents.

"So I guess here, it comes down to knowing yourself, in a way." Steven paused to study Ridley for a moment. "Find what you excel at and hone it. And about your worries, that you might be 'out of place' here, I don't think that's the case. Strong teams are made up of many different elements which work together to support each other. The strength you bring to the team is valuable because it's uniquely yours."

 

[Hap]

Ridley nodded along as Steven launched into his explanation. Most of what he talked about were topics Ridley was already familiar with, but it was clear Steven's knowledge was several levels above Ridley's in terms of depth and nuance. The difference between an actual competitive battler and a guy who occasionally participated in casual matches was clear.

Steven seemed more cheerful now than he had when they'd started talking. A beldum wasn't the most expressive pokemon in the world - nor was a mimikyu, for that matter - and Ridley hadn't realised just how low Steven had been at the beginning of the conversation until he had something to compare it with.

"I think I got most of that," Ridley said when Steven drew to a conclusion. He was usually fairly good at absorbing large amounts of new information in one go, but Steven was as passionate about the topic as every other competitive battler Ridley had met, and some of the concepts had gone by very quickly. "Although I could use some clarification on -" he listed a couple of the points Steven had brought up, and then sighed and shook his head.

"I mean, I guess it's one thing to know this stuff, and another entirely to know it so thoroughly that you can utilise that knowledge under pressure," he mused to himself. That was the sticking point, really. Ridley spent enough time fooling around doing dangerous things that he'd thought he was used to fear, but until he came to this world he'd never experienced terror. He'd managed to push through it so far, but trying to facetank his way through his own panic didn't seem like a sustainable long-term solution.

As for his own strengths... most of Ridley was good could be summed up as "fucking around and finding out", and the shadow charmeleon incident had certainly delivered in the finding-out category. Ridley wasn't eager to repeat that one.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"Sure, I can go over those things again," Steven said with a nod and a smile. "I admit, it's a lot to absorb all at once. And any time you have more questions, please don't hesitate to ask."

He covered the subjects Ridley had asked about, going slower and leaving room for any questions he might have had. But even with the extra explanation, the mimikyu seemed unsure.

Steven leaned back in his seat, but still regarded Ridley with a reassuring gaze. "Don't get discouraged. I've been at this for years. This isn't something you're going to master overnight. And it's not something that's foolproof either." He gestured with his claw like he was referring to himself, or maybe his current situation.

"I know these aren't ideal conditions, but just like you've asked me today, don't hesitate to ask others in our group, even in the heat of battle. We're in this together. We need to rely on each other. Like I did with you at the Haus."

He considered something for a moment before leaning back in. "Tell you what, would you like to practice in a controlled situation? Koa and I have sparred before, and while I can't offer to be a target this time, I'm happy to guide a training session for you, if that might help. Something to get more comfortable in your new skin."

"Ah, assuming you weren't a mimikyu before this," Steven added quickly, not wanting to offend Ridley.

 

[Hap]

"I know it takes time to learn this sort of thing," Ridley said. Even if he didn't pay much attention to competitive battling, he knew that there were people - and Steven was obviously one of them - who dedicated their whole lives to improving their ability as pokemon trainers. He wasn't arrogant enough to think that he could quickly or easily acquire that level of skill. "But I don't know how much time we have. I don't want anyone to get hurt because of my inexperience."

Immediately after those words left his mouth Ridley winced, the reaction invisible beneath his disguise. Steven had cheered up so much while he was talking about battling; Ridley hoped he hadn't accidentally upset the guy again by thoughtlessly reminding him of his injury.

"If you have the time I'd really appreciate a practical session." Ridley was surprised to find himself actually eager at the idea. Well, he had to learn or die, and direct coaching from someone who was clearly an expert in the field was the best educational opportunity he could hope for. Based on some of his anecdotes, it sounded like Steven was a league trainer in his world. "I was human in my world and I haven't practiced much on my own -" he'd tried, a little, but had inevitably run into the stumbling blocks of his own ignorance "- and some direct guidance would be fantastic."

Ridley had a sudden mental image of Steven calling out moves to him like trainers did in a match. He gave a quiet snicker at the thought.

Although -

It hadn't occurred to him to think about it before, but now he wondered how it worked in worlds where pokemon were people. It seemed like it would be distracting to have someone yell moves at you while you tried to focus on the fight. Maybe it worked more like human sports, with the trainer playing the role of coach. Could pokemon be trainers as well? If humans and pokemon were equal partners, as many of Ridley's companions had insisted to Valere and Farin, then Ridley figured they'd have all the same opportunities humans did.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven's eye widened. "Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean patronize you. My apologies." His expression fell, and he glanced down at the cushions beneath him once more. "What I meant by all this was that you don't have to be a master of battling theory to make a difference here."

He gave a small, disparaging hum. "Not to imply I'm any sort of a master, either," he mumbled.

His gaze drifted off to the side, almost wistful, or perhaps self-critical. "It's funny, I don't even like battling as much as my peers. There's plenty of other things I prefer more, but I'm quite good at it, and, well... Let's just say any activity where I get to spend time with my team is better than the alternative."

The unspoken question of, 'Why, then?' hung in the air. The same question everyone he admitted as much to liked to ask. Especially his father. He felt obligated to answer, even if Ridley didn't ask. "I keep battling for the challenge, really. The desire to see what we're capable of. There's a certain thrill in coming up against an obstacle and working together to overcome it."

Was that what this was? Were shadow pokemon just another obstacle to overcome? Then why did this obstacle feel so different than all the others? Maybe he didn't relish the challenge without his partners by his side. Maybe it was because here the stakes were higher than pleasure or passion...

"Yes!" he said, a bit too quickly. "A practical training session sounds good. I admit, things are a little different here, with the trainer having become the pokemon, but I think we can sort out how to make the best of things. We'll learn together. I might even ask Koa if he'd like to join as well. If that's alright with you, of course."

 

[Hap]

Ridley nodded as Steven spoke. It surprised him to hear Steven say he didn't enjoy battling as much as his peers, given his obvious experience and enthusiasm for the topic, but maybe it was a regional thing. The Galar League's many restrictions and requirement for sponsorship made it almost impossible for anyone but the most passionate and dedicated to participate, but Ridley knew other regions' leagues were more open.

"I understand wanting to overcome obstacles," Ridley said. He might only be trying to learn about battling so he wouldn't die or get other people killed, but - "Maybe I'll try thinking of it like a difficult hike. You have to push yourself physically and mentally, and it kind of sucks sometimes, but the sense of achievement at the end is worth it."

He wasn't sure what the sense of achievement here would be, other than the aforementioned not dying, but if it kept him focused on improvement then he'd try it.

"I'm fine with other people joining," Ridley agreed. "We've all been fighting in groups so far anyway, so it sounds good to learn alongside others."

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"I rather like that analogy," said Steven, brightening a bit. "But I also enjoy a difficult hike more than most, too."

He thought for a minute, then smiled with a small chuckle. "Perhaps, then, it's still an apt comparison."

Steven adjusted himself on his cushion, sending a glance towards the Sanctum's exit, judging how much daylight was left. "I'll see how eager Koa is to get out and train, and we can arrange something soon. Probably not today though, as I'd rather not be out after dark."

 

[Hap]

"Betel said that probably not all of the shadow pokemon are light-averse the way the drapion is," Ridley said automatically, and then instantly winced again at his own stupidity. Fuck! Sure, Ridley, tell the guy who got mangled to shit that his sense of safety is an illusion and danger could come at any moment, you absolute asshole! He apologised as fast as he could: "Sorry, that was an awful thing to say. But if it's a practical concern, then you should probably. Know that. And if it's, uh, more emotional, then... I get it. I haven't had to fight a fire-type yet, but I'm really not looking forwards to that when it happens."

The dark didn't bother Ridley. He was a night owl by nature, plagued by lifelong insomnia, and his new ghost-type night vision only made his semi-nocturnal lifestyle easier. No matter how many monsters were hiding in the shadows, the darkness itself held no fear for him.

Fire, though... even as a mimikyu, fire at night destroyed his night vision and rendered him as blind and helpless as anyone else. Whenever he thought back to the shadow charmeleon attack, it was always the fire he remembered first.

"Anyway I should probably head off soon," he managed, trying to give himself a graceful out before he shoved his foot in his mouth yet again. "I've been focusing on research recently, I only dropped by here on a whim." Although the peaceful atmosphere here was so pleasantly soothing that he'd probably be returning regularly. "I don't really have a set schedule, so any time which is convenient for you and Koa and whoever else you want to invite will probably work for me."

The thought of whoever else you want to invite was an oddly satisfying one. For all the time he'd spent in this world, Ridley still felt as though he didn't know most of his fellow Wayfarers particularly well. If the training session went well then maybe he'd suggest making it a regular event, open for anyone who wanted to join. If more competitive-battling enthusiasts were as willing as Steven to help out the less experienced members of their group, then it would serve both a practical and social function.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven let out the smallest, "Oh," followed by a nervous hum.

"Well, that's good to know, I guess," he said in a steady enough tone, but the way his eye pinched tight implied he was more than a little bothered by the knowledge. "As much as I dislike hearing it, I'm not sure I like being ignorant of that fact either."

Steven tried to give Ridley a reassuring smile, but he had a feeling it fell short of the mark. Instead he settled for nodding as the mimikyu made to excuse himself.

"You know," Steven began, "I think I'll remain here for a bit longer. I have some things to, ah, think about now." The nervousness hadn't quite left his voice, and he eyed the door to the sanctum warily, as if he suddenly lost the desire to go outside.

"But I will let you know what Koa says about the training session, and if any others are interested as well." Talk of training seemed to smooth some of the worry from Steven's tone.

"I think it's best to keep the group small, at least at the start. If the demand is high enough, perhaps we can have several sessions, possibly split up by typing to keep things focused."

He gave another hum, good-natured this time. "It seems I have even more to think about, actually." A small smile tipped Steven's eye upward. "Thank you for the company and the conversation, Ridley. I look forward to training with you soon."

<><><><><>​

 

[Hap]

He'd woken up. That, in and of itself, had been a surprise. Crushed under that pressure, subsumed into that dark ocean, so far past the point of losing himself entirely, he hadn't expected...

Ridley wasn't sure what Powehi had done to him in order to save him. Something lingering, for certain. Something with a cost to it.
Ever since he'd woken up Ridley had been feeling wrong in his own skin. He'd found himself constantly fussing at his disguise, unable to go more than a minute or so without ruffling it up or twitching a seam back to perfect straightness. It was the same sort of constant anxiety and skittish inability to settle that he felt whenever the thing was damaged, but it was in perfect repair. The only damaged thing here was Ridley himself.

Eventually he'd dragged himself off of the floor and gone for a walk, hoping the fresh air and change of scenery would clear his head, but...

If he were a better person, Ridley wouldn't be here.

He knew, as well as anyone, how dangerous shadow pokemon could be. He knew how much damage they could do to everyone around them. If he were a better person, a more selfless person, a good person, he would have left Frontier Town entirely. He'd have thrown himself as far away from other people as he possibly could, so that when whatever was lurking under his disguise finally reared its head he'd at least have minimised the damage.

But instead, Ridley was selfish. He'd remembered how tranquil the Sanctum of Wishes had felt when he'd visited it before, and he'd so desperately wanted to feel that way again.

There was no tranquillity here, though. The gentle chiming of the bells, previously so soothing, now rang hollow.

If he were a better person, Ridley wouldn't be here.

The last time he'd been here, he'd told Steven he was afraid of people getting hurt because of his incompetence in combat. How pathetically naive that worry seemed now. Ridley did more than enough damage, incompetence or not, combat or not.

He'd always been driven by curiosity, willing to pay any price later on if it meant learning something new in the moment. He thought of a question and he had to have an answer, regardless of the cost. Driven was one way to put it. Poor impulse control was another.

He'd been hurt before. He'd almost died before. Ridley had somehow, stupidly, self-centeredly, thought that meant he knew the worst of what could happen. He was so used to the consequences of his actions only hurting himself. He'd thought -

He hadn't thought at all.

He'd never once, in all his time here, considered the effect his actions might have on other people. If Ridley was willing to pay whatever cost came calling, then wasn't that all that mattered? No matter how much Ridley pretended to care about people, they always came second to his own desires. And so he'd spilled the secret of his humanity, and so he'd approached the shadow charmeleon, and so he'd started fires...

...and so he'd stepped into the shallows of a depthless ocean.

Poor Betel had been trying their best, but they were inexperienced and it fucking showed. Ridley wasn't a heroic spirit. He wasn't the sort of person who could help to save this world. He was an accident, a glitch in the system, some random asshole who tagged along on a worldhopping adventure because he

If he were a better person, Ridley wouldn't be here.

Wasn't that the first thing Powehi had told them? You don't belong here.

Ridley didn't belong here. Not as a shitty excuse for a hero, and not even as a person. He wasn't helping anybody, only dragging them down. Even in the most neutral possible state, his mere existence was inimical.

Maybe Powehi was right. The best thing he could do would be to kill himself and limit the damage he could committed just by existing. Maybe that was the only possible good he could do in this world.

There was something about the idea which was appealing. Reset to a version of himself who had never known regret, who had never experienced consequences worse than a broken bone or an interesting new scar...

Ridley was a coward, though.

But. But.

Betel had told them that if a heroic spirit ever completely lost the will to remain in Forlas it would untether from the universe and return home. Ridley had seen it happen himself, when he'd helped fight against Valere and Farin in Bedaurejo Castle. Corey, fading into photons...

It seemed better than the alternative.

Ridley sat there, drenched in Shadows, and waited to become light.

<><><><><><>

 

[Tetra]

When Koa left the training area, he kept his nose to the ground, searching for any trace of Jade's scent. He'd wanted to follow her immediately but maybe she didn't want to be followed. He wouldn't have. Yet the startled look on her face and the way she'd acted... he couldn't just do nothing. Not when all this was his fault. Her trail was still fresh, to his relief, and he followed it back to town.

It took some time, and once he even lost her scent amidst the other trails in Frontier Town, but he thought he recognized the direction of the trail well enough. On a hunch, he picked up his pace, weaving through alleys and around other mon. His hunch ended up being right when he picked up her scent again near the Sanctum. Nosing his way inside, he paused, blinking, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. Jade's familiar form was perched near the far end.

Almost instantly, the knots of tension returned, wrapping themselves around his heart. He froze. What did he say? 'sorry for corrupting the team now you have to deal with it'? 'careful don't lose your mind to shadows when you fight just focus super hard and you'll be fine, no biggie?' His throat closed he started to turn around.

No.

Taking a deep breath he crept towards her. "Jade?" he called softly.