concoursec | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Character(s): Tobias and Marco
Location: Quad, random tree #5
Rating: Probably PG, but possible PG13 depending on Toby
Open/Closed/Finished: Closed
Summary: Tobias gets a straight answer he desperately needs.

The announcement had Tobias in... well, very bad of sorts. He had listened to the announcement as carefully as he could, but only about halfway into it had his mind glazing over in horror and terror, triggering that usual response of 'flight' he seemed to carry. Once he had calmed down a little, however, it had been replaced by pure confusion.

Sure, the Commander wasn't the nicest of people, but she was still their Commander, right? And unless he was completely off on what he'd been listening to it meant that she was supposed to be helping take care of them. But this was the exact opposite of that! Why would someone who had your interests at heart try to send you off to -- what he saw as -- dying?

And that was why the simple PM of "I need help" had been sent to Marco. Not Grell -- he could guess what his Mom would think -- and not Espio -- he already knew what he thought. Marco. Marco, because even through his hazy memories and the fresh ones here, he knew that his Dad could always seem to have an answer to any problem.

So that was why Tobias was here in the Quad, sitting on a branch and trying to whistle to the birds.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It was everything Marco could do to keep from running or outright jumping through a window in order to get to his son faster. He already knew what it was about (at least probably) and if it needed that kind of expediency, Toby would have come in person (again, at least probably) but nevertheless, it was truly a trial in self-restraint for Marco to appear casually out in the Quad. Seeing Toby in a tree trying to talk to the birds though instantly sent feelings of relief through Marco. Cutest son ever. Marco really wished he could brag again to his own Pops about how he'd found him the best damn grandson there could ever be.

Marco hopped onto a neighboring branch with a quick flip and gently corrected some of Toby's whistles before giving him a quick hug.

"Hey, if this is about the mission, don't worry about it. You'll ace it better than anyone else there, eh. And honestly, I'm a little glad she's giving this chance. This kind of thing is your forte, and it'll give you a leg up on the harder part for you which is the exam, eh?"

Tobias blinked a little as Marco joined him, giving a smile and trying to correct the whistles before hugging back. When Marco began to talk, however, the smile disappeared to a darker expression, one that the boy only held when something was twisting in him in a very bad way.

"So... you think... this is right?"

Normally, he'd just trail off and let Marco talk at that, but that something burned in him... far more than usual today.

"I... it's going out to fight things... and get hurt... I don't understand why we... anyone would want to do that!"

Despite himself, there was a note of almost frenzy in Tobias' voice.

"I don't understand it... Why...?"

Marco frowned at Toby's words and gently took his hand to protect it.

"Because missions, wars, life, all these things require us to be hurt sometimes. Toby, you've had a very hard life, even by my world's standards. Of everyone here, I really think you can handle this best because you know how to get back up and live even when you've been hurt."

His frown deepened slightly, blue eyes burning intensely bright. "Some people, when they've been a little too sheltered, or they don't have enough inner strength or someone else to protect, they'd give up. They can't handle the idea of getting hurt, but because of that, they would lose what's most precious to them. Here in the Garden, we can't afford that luxury. And I really doubt that anyone can afford that kind of luxury no matter what the world."

Marco scooted closer to his son and rested his head on top of Toby's, with an arm still around the boy's slim shoulders. "You would do anything to protect your pokemon, right? That's true strength right there. Commander Zabala has to teach that to the kids who don't understand that kind of thing yet, though. You're lucky in a way. You already know how to get hurt, but keep on fighting to protect what's important. They don't know yet. In your world, you have to train your pokemon right? Would you make sure they never ever got hurt ever, or would you make sure they only got a little hurt so that when they survived they were able to learn from it?"

As good a son as ever, Tobias didn't say a word as Marco began, just listening quietly. After a little while, he began to frown again, looking down at his hands. It wasn't for the reason most would think, however -- no, now Tobias was bothered because everything Marco was saying made sense.

He had never considered himself stronger or better because he couldn't fight. But... things that he read, or stories he heard, a lot of them were about the heroes who kept going no matter what... right?

He snuggled into Marco when the latter scooted closer, letting out a slow breath. Pokemon... yes... he... could remember very clearly how he used to do things.

"...Trainers challenge each other. The Pokemon fight and hurt each other and sometimes the trainers do too, but when it's over everyone is taken care of and nobody wants to hurt hurt each other. Pokemon who love their trainers will... fight other Pokemon, wild ones, so that their trainers aren't hurt... and sometimes they fail and sometimes everyone gets hurt, but that just makes the Pokemon fight even harder."

He bit his lip, opening and closing his hands.

"...Pokemon who don't get hurt ever do things like contests or performances. They and their trainers don't fight because they help people in other ways, by making them laugh or happy or something... But... we can't do that here..."

The bite got a bit harder, enough to force a trickle of blood, though Tobias didn't seem to notice it.

"...So... is that why? Everyone's getting hurt like this... so that they can help everyone else...?"

"Aye," Marco gently smoothed Toby's hair and reached out a finger to the trickle of blood to try to get Toby to stop biting.

"Your Mom and Espio think that we should train everyone more before sending them out like this, but the Commander... She and I know there isn't enough time for that sort of thing. The Time Compression seems to be getting worse and maybe that's because it's building up for something major, eh? Something big could always happen at any second and then it'll be much too late to say we wish we'd given everyone some real world experience before the bad things happened, eh?"

"Don't be scared," Marco hugged Toby around both shoulders with gentle blue flaming wings. "If I thought you were in real danger I'd kill anyone who tried, eh? But I know I have to trust you to be strong enough to give your best. So I want you to do me a big favor and protect those you can during this mission, okay? You need to stay back and heal the other cadets, and use your GFs like your Pokemon, but I know you can do it, okay? Trust me?"

A little blink was all Marco got when the blood was wiped off, though Tobias did let up on his lip a little. He clearly seemed surprised at the encouragement, looking down again, then off, trying to figure out how to phrase the most pressing thing on his mind.

"...Why?"

And that was it.

"Why... do you trust me? Why do you think I can do it...? I can't fight... I don't know para-magic... I'm not very smart... and I'm scared of everything.

"How am I supposed to do anything to help?"

Marco laughed gently and snuggled Toby happily. "Because I know you," he answered simply. "This needs GFs more than anything else. I'm terrible with them actually. I can use them when I need to, but I usually cheat and rely on my strength or devil fruit, and in this world, the GFs are absolutely necessary sometimes. But you? You're a genius with them. You can do more with GFs than anyone else here I've ever met, including people born and raised in this world. And managing pain? You're the kind of kid who's endured things that very very few people have. You can do it. You can do it better than anyone else I think. And I'm not just saying that because you're my son, I'm saying that because it's true."

Marco switched into a more hybrid form, his tail hanging off the tree for balance, and his feet were instead talons clutching to the branch so that wouldn't slip. "You're good at healing other people, and you know what? That's something that your Mother, Espio, and I can't do. I gave it my best here, but I don't get it the way you do. You've got a real knack for it. Sometimes people forget what a rare gift that is. Fighting is pretty common, but take two fighters. One is really strong, and one is only kind of strong, but the second has someone to heal him. Who do you think would win? Besides, monsters aren't always what they first seem, eh? Monsters get scared too, and I think you know that better than most people here."

That... was honestly not the answer Tobias expected. He had never seen himself as... well, any of this, to be honest. Using GFs had simply seemed natural to him and he wasn't the type to pay attention to other's shortfalls unless they asked him for help in them -- and even then, well. He was still an oblivious child.

All of the praise Marco was giving him... it made him feel that odd burning inside again, that feeling of... something thought lost long ago making its presence known once more.

Marco was adamant. His father absolutely believed without a doubt that he could do this. This sort of thing, this... training that scared him, that seemed evil and cruel and nasty... and yet Marco was saying he could do it, that it was helping, and that he knew all this better than others.

Tobias' teeth sunk into his lip again, but this time it wasn't thoughtful or even fearful biting.

"...Okay."

It was determined.

"I can do it!"

He paused for a moment.

"But... is it okay not to like it? Even if it is helping."

That got a wry grin out of Marco and he gently gave a quick pecking kiss to the top of Toby's head, "Absolutely kiddo. I like fighting, but I have problems. That you don't like it just means you know to save it for only when you have to. And that's better than only fighting when you want to. That's another big lesson the Commander wants everyone to learn from this. You can't always pick your battles, but when you can, you shouldn't just do it for fun. You have to be protecting something important, protecting someone else, eh?"

"Trust me kid, we don't want everyone to suffer pain just because it seemed like fun. I just hope there's enough kids like you in the mix to help everyone else find their own strengths, eh?"

"Yeah..."

A smile spread across Tobias' face, the final pieces finally clicking together.

"I think I understand, now. I'll do my best, Dad, and I'll help everyone!"

Marco beamed right back. "Thanks kiddo, I'm trusting you, eh? And don't push yourself too hard. This isn't supposed to make you push yourself until you collapse, that's counterproductive too, eh. And then Espio would try to kill me. Your mother too." He nodded, certain of this fact and purely deadpan about it. "Just give it your best and help everyone else give it their best too. I won't let anyone die, so no matter how hurt anyone gets, we'll be able to heal it all back up again, got it?"

"I got it."

Tobias hugged Marco as tightly as he could, clearly feeling much better about this now.

"And I know you'll protect us, Dad. So I won't be scared."

Impossibly, Marco's grin grew even more at that. "Thanks Toby, that gives me a lot of faith and confidence, eh?" he informed him genuinely and ruffled the kid's black hair.

"That is because you are my treasure and protecting you is my strength. So as long I'm keeping you safe I'll always be ten times stronger." Lessons from the strongest man in the world. Other people could keep their gold and jewels, Marco would pick lost boys every time.

"And because I'm trying to help and protect everyone else, I can be strong too! I want to help, even if I don't really know them."

Tobias in a nutshell, though he had certainly never been this out about it. You could almost feel the fire beginning to flicker back alive.

"...Do you think a lot of people are mad at the Commander like Espio?"

"Good," Marco grinned and nodded.

A short pause and he switched back into human form so he could lean against the tree trunk in thought. "Perhaps. I don't think anyone is quite as mad as Espio, or at least they haven't made their objections as vocally known yet, but then Espio tends to be more vocal than a lot of people here in general." Marco shrugged his shoulders. "Don't worry, I'll try to get through to Espio too. In his world I think it was probably a little easier for people to avoid pain if they didn't want to face it." He rubbed the back of his neck, "Actually, I'm not really sure about that either, but I know Espio's job was to mostly make sure that certain people wouldn't have to deal with that kind of pain if they didn't want to. I think he'll understand better when he's had time to settle down though, eh. And if I'm mistaken about that... well, we'll figure something out then." He gave Toby another small grin.

Tobias nodded, smiling back as well, if just for a moment.

"...I kind of want to go tell her... that not everyone's angry at her. It doesn't feel good to have everyone mad or hate you, and even if I don't like it, she's doing it to help us, right?"

Another nod and grin, "That's right. I think she'd really appreciate that, actually. Secretly anyway."

Marco happily ruffled Toby's hair, "You're a good kid, son. I'm proud to know you and even more to call you my own."

If Tobias had been beaming earlier, it just tripled.

"I'm proud and happy you're my Dad, too! You always make it really easy for me to understand things, so I know I can ask you anything. I love Espio and Mom, but they don't explain it like you do."

Marco grinned wryly. He knew he shouldn't be so competitive to be sky-high from that, but he was. "I'm glad I can help then. And you can come to me anytime. I'll try to explain anything you want to know."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only