beforethedarkness | 9th Tomoe || Video, Text, Filtered Text

[Briefly, the network receives a transmission from Sasuke's pokégear. The feed shows a dark bedroom, a pokéball and a note on a bed as the sun starts to set, its light filtering in through the nearby window. The note on the bed reads 'To Sasuke', and when the gear drops it shows him just standing there.

It's like that for a good few minutes before the feed clicks off again.]

-----

[Some time later, Sasuke decides to send out a quick text to the entire network. He does have something he has to say to the others he's travelling with later, but right now he wants to get this out first.]

Why do you battle your pokémon?

[He doesn't even know what to expect out of that question, only that he's probably going to get a lot of responses and he's probably not going to agree with all of them, or possibly any of them. But he's feeling lost, and maybe it'll help give him a clue. In the meantime, though, he has something else he wants to steel himself for.]

I'm leaving Vermillion tonight, through the Diglett Tunnel. I'm going alone.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Not having anyone else is a pretty sad way to go about this.

*That's the sound of personal experience.*

You'd be stronger if you had someone. Someone to give you a reason to be stronger.

I don't need anyone else.

*Little ball of crazy is not stupid.*

How old were you? When you lost them?

You may think you don't need anyone else, but you do. You just can't see it if you've been alone for too long. You can be on your own, or with one other, thinking that's all you need... but it isn't, you need more. Especially if what you have is under attack, and you try to hunker down and keep what you have at the cost of everything else.

And you can't win that way.

Seven. Almost eight. I don't need anyone else.

I can survive and grow strong alone.

...Survive, yes.

But you can't live alone. And those who don't live can't be strong.

You can be powerful, but that isn't strong. And power is worthless.

Power is what I need to kill him. It's not worthless.

Power is worthless! Will it bring them back!? Will it give them back to you!? Will it fix my dad!? Will it put him back together!? Power is cheap! Power let's you think you can do anything when you're helpless! And Strength is being able to admit that you can't fix it, and move on.

*Something in there isn't like the others. Something she hadn't really been meaning to say.*

...If he's as dangerous as you say, as powerful as you say. What makes you think you can gather enough power on your own to do it?

[His turn to pick up on something he wasn't supposed to! Rather than acknowledging her statements any further, he's deciding to pick on that.]

Your dad?

He... *Sigh.* started getting forgetful, little things. Then losing chunks of time. Forgetting he- *Accidentally killed our dog* Forgetting mom left, losing who I am. I tried everything to keep him together, because it's just us, he's all I had... and I wouldn't lose him.

And there's nothing I can do. I promised I wouldn't leave him, not like mom did. Yet here I am, and if you dare say it isn't the same you're right. You get to take all those feelings and ball them up and point them at whoever took your parents from you.

I just get to feel helpless. And when I go home I get to watch him fall apart on me. And hope my friends can keep me from falling apart myself.

*Well, right now she's kinda directing all her bad feelings at you, enjoy that.*

Now what makes you think you can gather enough power on your own?

[Sasuke's going to take a long time to respond, mostly because of that story. There might be a little more respect for Imogen now, but as for an answer...]

I've survived and gotten stronger alone. There's no reason to change that now.

*Scoff.*

I hope someday you see how wrong you are. And I'll hope for you that it isn't too late when you see it.

[After that Imogen doesn't receive another response, for Sasuke just listens, shakes his head and puts away the gear after.]