₪4 [Action, Quad]

[heartcorrupt.livejournal.com]

[So, after the... very much odd dreams and classes are all done, Tobias is settled in his favorite after-school spot -- the Quad. He's managed to dig the oddly meshed Pokeball (Greatball? Ultraball? Masterball? It's impossible to tell) out of his backpack, still puzzled over the fact that it's still completely empty.

Not that he couldn't say he was unhappy at the crazy Pokemon being gone. And since nobody had reported an orange lizard evaporating into data and burning everything that moved, he let himself hope that the damn thing was gone for good.

So he's simply outside, throwing the ball up and around like some kind of baseball. Does he look silly chasing it around like some kind of infant puppy? Of course. But hell, he was having fun with it, even if he occasionally pauses to reach up and run a hand around one of his eyes, as if checking to see if something's there.]

Comments

[heartcorrupt.livejournal.com]

[That's not helping his panic, though. Any time he was stopped from running away, it was generally so they could hurt him. While Espio is clearly stronger than him, that doesn't mean he's not trying to writhe his arm free.]

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

[]

Hold still! If I was going to hurt you, I'd've done it already!

[heartcorrupt.livejournal.com]

[Either that worked or he tired himself out -- either way, Tobias drops back to sitting on the ground, looking defeated, but his body is still shaking heavily.]

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

And for the record, I'm not asking because it's "freaky." I'm asking because I've seen something very like it before!

[]

So, what is it?

[heartcorrupt.livejournal.com]

...seen it before?

[And now Tobias looks confused. It... did...?]

D...did that thing.... attack someone else?

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

That thing...

[]

Possibly. Depends on what "that thing" was. What I saw was a big, shapeshifting pixelly box!

[heartcorrupt.livejournal.com]

[It's probably for the best to keep the grip, because now he's entirely tense.]

T-that was it! T-that's the thing that... that...

[Annnnd there's the shaking back again, and even worse.]

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

[]

Hey! Come on, settle down a bit!

That thing might be scary, but it's not here. You don't need to be scared - I only saw it in a bad dream, too, so nobody else was hurt by it at all.

[]

[heartcorrupt.livejournal.com]

It wasn't a dream... it's not a dream...

[The shaking calms a little, though he cringes at the clapped hand, and instead closes his eyes and digs his nails into his head with a whimper.]

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

The one I saw was, so don't worry. It hasn't come back. It was even in a completely different place in my dream, too! An island, much smaller than the Balamb continent.

[]

Sorry, I guess. Shouldn't've mentioned it.

[heartcorrupt.livejournal.com]

...Cinnabar. The island was called Cinnabar.

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

[]

How do you know? It could have been a different island.

[heartcorrupt.livejournal.com]

Because that's where I was supposed to go. If I surfed along the coast after talking to people the cause of all the problems would show up. I-It did, and Terrian... Terrian was...

And Aurora.... all of them....

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

That doesn't mean it can't have gone --

[]

The Nidorino and Dewgong. Right?

[heartcorrupt.livejournal.com]

[Tobias nods slowly.]

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

[]

Kid, we need to talk. Somewhere private. My dorm'd work, I don't have a roommate.

[heartcorrupt.livejournal.com]

Okay.

[He stands up, ready to follow.]

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

This way.

[]

Take a seat. I can't imagine this is going to take very long, but you should sit down anyway.

[heartcorrupt.livejournal.com]

[Tobias glances around the halls as they walk, though his attention is taken by the main area in Espio's dorm. He can't much complain about the mess -- he generally leaves papers, pens, and pencils everywhere. All the little things he steals throughout the day.

After a minute, he settles in a chair, looking back at Espio.]

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

Comfortable? [] Good.

Right, let's get to the point. Whatever I dreamed, I'm pretty sure it was your memory. Does that bother you?

[heartcorrupt.livejournal.com]

No.

[It actually makes him feel immensely better. Someone else has seen what he did, someone else actually can understand what happened... it's a heavy relief, even if he can't quite express it.]

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

Well, it should. People could use that kind of thing against you! Or they could let slip to other people about it! Not everyone is going to understand. Some will just see it as a way to attack you.

You should just be glad it's me. I one of the heroes, and I don't spread personal info around.

[]

Do you want to know what I saw?

[heartcorrupt.livejournal.com]

People already attack me all the time. It doesn't matter what they know or don't know, everybody already knew it and hurt me for it. Nobody has ever understood it!

[Holy crap, he actually yelled. Tobias shivers again, digging his nails back into his head. Espio's question is missed.]

[turnip-rage.livejournal.com]

[]

And do you want that to continue?! I'm not going to let that happen! It's part of my job to protect people and keep them safe - people wimping out and letting it happen just makes my job harder, so cut it out!

[]

You didn't answer my question. Do you want to know what I saw? It's your memory. You have the right to know what I've seen of it.

[heartcorrupt.livejournal.com]

[There are very few things Tobias is firmly set in. This means that Tobias is, of course, usually a passive thing, taking orders or believing whatever he's told. But when you get to something like this, something he's sure of, he sets his heels in.]

I don't care if it does! I deserve anything anyone does to me! Everybody wants me to die, and I should have! I'm just a monster for everything I've done!

[He's broken out into tears at this point, and he starts wiping at his eyes hard, shoulders shaking and hiccuping. When Espio speaks again, he doesn't look up or say anything, and just nods.]