driftfleet | Twin Roses Mingle

No. Not this time. [Although it's hard to say for sure. After all, how does someone remember a lost memory if it's small enough?] The last two times I had this sense of lost. Knowing the damage left behind was because of me, but not having the memory of the event until later. I remember what happened in the mist. Even if some of the things I saw are still a bit confusing over what was real and not.

[Did he say two? Perhaps he misspoke.]

[Oh, she heard that "two".] Was the time Legato pushed it out of you one of those two? [She is thinking the answer is no, because it didn't seem like he struggled enough to be losing time with it.]

Yeah. It was. [A thoughtful beat as he considers his answer for a moment.] I didn't think anyone saw Augusta. [That's because no one did.]

Augusta? [Not quite understanding.]

Ah... um. [He suddenly feels like he's making a mistake.] The other city I destroyed?

[...] That's not what you were thinking about, was it?

In the memory I saw Legato seemed to engage it, but either he stopped or you fought it back. It was right before you... You know. [Killed him. It's not hard for her to say. She just thinks it might be hard for him to hear.]

I didn't know about Augusta. I'm sorry. What happened?

Ah. [Yeah. It's just a bit awkward for him to think about and discuss. More so after nearly causing more destruction.] That-- I think you actually saw the second time he did it.

[He shifts his weight in the bed. As if the memory itself was making him physically uncomfortable and he just needed to find a better position to lay in.] Augusta. [He trails off. Trying to find where to start.] No, a bit before that. There was a group of people sent after me. [He leaves out that they were hired by his brother.] Legato was their leader and sent me a message to meet him in Augusta. It was one of the seven biggest cities on the planet.

[He sighs remembering the feeling of being stuck. If he didn't go then he knew Legato wouldn't leave the city standing, but also knowing that if he did go there would be destruction as well.] I managed to get to Augusta fast enough and scared away nearly everyone in town. [The only benefit of his sixty billion bounty.] Then I ended up fighting with one of his men named Rai-Dei. He was tough and very nearly killed me. Probably would have until Legato-- [He shakes his head still having some trouble processing and remembering that day.] --I didn't even see him, but I heard him. He took control of my body that day and... well...

[Vash only just now notices that he has been clenching his right hand into a fist over and over. He wills himself to stop it.] ...people back home called it the 'fifth moon' incident. Because I ended up blowing a crater into one of our moons as well as destroying a major portion of the city.

[She notices the clenching before he does and gently strokes his arm once he works to stop it.] You didn't do that. Legato did.

Being controlled like that it... It's one of the hardest things. [She's been affected by mutants with powers like that before, but even more so in Marina they would have days with false, implanted memories or they'd augment their emotions or responses to stimuli. It became hard to trust reality and yourself. But more so there's just a violation to the act of having your agency stripped away and supplanted. Then to carry all that guilt around and the hate and fear of others.] You didn't deserve that. No one does.

[It doesn't change the fact that that city was only destroyed because he was there and existed. If he was human or had never been born then those cities wouldn't be destroyed.]

No one. [He can at least agree that losing control of your own body is not something anyone should suffer through.] I told myself it wouldn't happen again. [He smiles at Kitty.] Thanks for being there and making sure I didn't break that promise.

Anytime. [She gently touches his face while looking at him, brushing back some of his blond hair.] Maybe there are ways to help keep it from happening in the future.

[He attempts to laugh, but it comes out more like he was scoffing at the suggestion.] Yeah. Could chop my arm off. [He's kidding of course.

....although he may have considered it at some of his lowest points.]

[Should she mention she considered it down on the planet? That she didn't rule it out so much as knock it down to option 2. At least it still came before killing him?]

I was thinking training.

[He manages to resist outright groaning.] That seems dangerous. How do you train something that can destroy a city if it gets out of control?

By waiting for empty, lifeless planets and moons and asteroids. We come across those sometimes. We could scan for life signs and warn the fleet to stay clear. [It's definitely not something she wants to encourage when people are around.]

I don't know. What if I destroy a moon? That could have a ripple effect to the stars around it. [Yet, he can see the point that she is making and part of him does agree with her. He's just scared.]

How likely do you think that is? Does it feel like you could? [She honestly doesn't know. She doesn't want him to be trapped by fear and possibly more dangerous for it. But she also doesn't want collateral damage.] It's possible the Atroma have limited your powers somewhat. Mine don't seem to be, but I know others with grander powers who have been.

It's probably more than likely that they've put some sort of limit on my power. [He didn't like to admit it, but what happened in the mist didn't feel as strong as back home. It was weaker and he still couldn't completely control it right away. Granted, it was due to a glitch, but it was still unnerving.] I don't know. Maybe I wouldn't, but I can also see them enjoying letting me destroy a moon.

[It's true. The Atroma could also use it as an opportunity, but if they limit all their actions by that standard where would they be?] You don't need to decide anything now. I can keep my eye out for a system that might be safe for trying? See how you feel then?

I'll think about it. [He means it. He will give it some thought because she does have a point. Having more control would mean he would be less likely to accidentally destroy a city again. He's still worried about destroy things while practicing.]

[She'll worry with him. It could be dangerous for some mutants to practice their powers too. Jono's body could barely contain his and there were plenty of others who had accidentally harmed others or destroyed things beyond their control. That's why control was important, but it could be a hard balance.

She nods.]

I was worried about you. [And she was. It was hard waiting for him to wake up after everything.]

I'm sorry that I worried you. I didn't mean to make people worry about me. [He just wanted to find the lost kid and reunite her with her worried mother.] That mist was a lot worse then I thought it would be.

[It was, maybe just her clumsy way of saying she cares, but she doesn't want him feeling bad about it.]

Hey, you didn't do anything wrong. You don't have to be sorry. I'm glad you were there for her. It's too bad the Atroma wanted to add extra fun to it with the augments.

I hope she got home safe. [If Kitty had check then she would have been able to find out that she did.]

She did. I followed up while you were out. They gave me your mask back too and their thanks.

[Vash visibly relaxes hearing that.] Oh thank goodness. I was so worried about her. Thank you, for checking on her.

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