Meloetta and the Undersea Temple and Unova's Survival Crisis did a number on me. I've never felt so much sorrow for any Pokemon as much as I did for Meloetta when she was in that star. It didn't help that Meloetta is one of my favorite Pokemon. This and Oshawott inspired me to write All for the Love as well as this, though it went through a lot of modifications before this story was completed. WARNING: This is a sorrow story. Hurt/Comfort? This is the hurt.
Note: I was listening to Halo 4's Never Forget pretty much the whole time I wrote this. Which is one of the saddest songs I've ever heard. So I may have gone a little overboard.
Please review, I want to know how I did!
I hate being Legendary. I hate being one of a kind. Make no mistake; my life in general is great. I have Ridley and Golurk as friends and protectors, as well as some of the others of Ridley's race. I can sing wonderfully, and love singing for others. I wouldn't even mind being rare. I don't worry about being captured; trainers can't throw a Pokeball at an invisible Pokemon.
But why do I have to be Legendary? Why do I have to completely unique? And more than anything, why do I have to the conduit for the Forces of Nature?!
Once again, someone had tried to capture me. Once again someone wanted to use Meloetta, gain control of the three Pokemon of Nature, and rule Unova. It had been nearly a century since anyone had made an attempt at me. I was starting to think that the world's villains had moved on, that maybe I would come out into civilization and find new friends and places.
Now, standing inside a steel and glass cage, I knew that couldn't happen yet. This time the ones who captured me were a pair of men. One was named Thomas, the other Chek. I hated being captured against my will, but more than anything I hated being captured by lone duos. Every time they would agree with each other to split the power equally, or some other form of division both seemed happy with. But every time, one would eventually kill the other and dispose of the body. Sometimes I would be forced to watch.
Do you know how painful it is to see someone Murder over you? How heartbreaking it is to see a person DIE because someone else wanted what you had? Not once have I allowed any backstabbing 'partner' reap fruits from his crimes. Every time, even if they trap me in that hateful star and force me to sing my song, nothing happens. The controller for the Forces of Nature can only be obtained if Meloetta sings when she is happy. In that star, against my will, it's in tears.
The last time I willingly summoned the Forces of Nature was centuries ago, when Ridley's people still lived in that city. When the Reveal Glass summons those Pokemon, I am forced to be the one to give them commands. I am a conduit. And all the rage of Nature itself beats against me, howling against its imprisonment. It's the most painful thing I've ever experienced. For as long as the user needs the Pokemon, I scream in agony. There, I can't cry. I can't see. I can't close my eyes. I can't move. I can't even stop screaming. It's like I'm in a coma, but at the same time I'm awake, burning and being electrocuted alive, and every new command I have to issue is another hundred volts, another dozen torches.
And for what? Before, I would endure it, so Ridley's people would be able to be saved from disasters when all else failed. I would endure because innocent people truly needed it. But evil wanted to make use of me for their own reasons. The pain from those experiences hurts the most, and lasts even after the evil is stopped.
Now, I stood in a cage made of steel and glass. My captors had located the Temple where the Reveal Glass lay, and had rented a submarine to reach it. The cage, as well as a generator had been moved in secret to the vessel. Chek was just docking the submarine now, and I could see through a porthole the ancient walls of the pyramid. Thomas got up to come and talk to me.
Thomas was smart, intelligent, and kind. He saw the troubles of the world and wanted to stop them. But how? Then, he was approached by Chek. Chek knew of the Legend of Meloetta and the Forces of Nature, but needed Thomas' help to find the temple – and me. At being offered the power of Nature to solve the world's problems, Thomas agreed. He didn't know what he was doing was wrong.
"Hey, Meloetta. Are you alright? We made it back to your home!"
I stared at him through the glass windows of my prison. I wanted so much to tell him to stop, to tell him what he was doing couldn't work.
"Don't look so sad! We don't want to use Nature just to rule the world. We want to help people. Imagine being able to prevent a war by simply putting a storm between the two armies! Being able to solve all droughts with ease! And don't worry; you'll be well cared for. It would be cruel to leave you in that star all the time. I think I'll come and play with you sometimes, if you want!"
He probably meant it. He didn't know how horrifically painful it is to feel those commands running through you. He didn't know what it was like to feel the rage of the Forces of Nature torturing you. He only knew that I could bring him and his friend huge power to help others. I think he was grateful to me.
His accomplice came over, the door of the submarine open and waiting. He was Chek, and he didn't quite share Thomas' desire to use Nature only to prevent conflict. He made that pretense when talking with his friend, but I could see right through him. Chek was after power and control, pure and simple. Not just to protect, but to lash out. I could tell within minutes of being captured days ago that he would be the betrayer. I hated him.
"I think we're good," He said. "Here's a flashlight. Need any help wheeling the Pokemon out?"
Thomas got up smiled, accepting the flashlight. "Thanks. I think I can get it." Turning back to me he undid the brake locks on the wheels of my cage. Then, he started pushing the prison towards the submarine's door, down the gangplank, and into the temple. Chek had brought out the generator and was now looking around the massive room.
He gasped as the beam of his flashlight found the star, floating above us. It was diamond-shaped, made of green rock, and adorned with red and blue gems. In the middle was a four-pointed crevice, the star where I would be placed.
"Well, take a look at that. Floating in the air no less. Kind of scary, really."
Thomas whistled. "Agreed. Now, how do we use it?" He turned to me. "Do you know? Can you tell us?"
Chek said suddenly, "I don't think you'll need to ask that."
The room was no longer dark. A light was starting to emanate from the star, and the crevice inside was glowing especially bright. I curled up in the bottom of my cage, covering my face. The star sensed me.
Thomas looked at the star. "I think that indentation is where Meloetta goes. That's how she's the key."
"Well then, how do we put her in there?"
"I think we should let her out of the cage."
Chek's face contorted into surprise, but then leveled out. "Doesn't sound like a bad idea. She can't run; we're in an enclosed room. Do it."
Thomas came over to my cage and pressed a few keys on the release pad. The door opened, and I was free.
The man saw me huddled in the cage and said, "Meloetta? Come on, we're not going to hurt you. We just need the Reveal Glass. Please?"
I didn't move. After a moment I felt a pair of hands carefully picking me up. A minute later, Thomas was hugging me to his chest. "You'll be fine, Meloetta," He assured me. "We're not taking over the world, and we're not hurting you. We just want to help." He placed his hand on my head and moved it so I was looking at him. "Can you please let us do that?"
Right then, I wanted more than anything to talk. I wanted to tell him to get back in the submarine, take it and Chek back to the shore and to come with me back to Ridley as a friend. But I couldn't. I could not speak, not in a way humans can understand.
Suddenly I felt myself being pulled away. It wasn't Chek. The star was drawing me to itself, and I couldn't stop it. A moment later, I was trapped in that horrible prison, much worse than the cage. I looked down at the pair of men.
Thomas was smiling up at me. He called out, "Thank you! Now we just want you to sing!
For the first time in days I spoke. While Thomas was pleading with me, Chek had moved behind him. I watched as he pulled a Pokeball out of his jacket. He sent out the Pokemon without a word, and directly behind Thomas stood a Drapion.
"I've heard you before, your voice is amazing. Meloetta, I-"
"MELO!" I cried out, trying to warn the well-meaning man.
Thomas jumped at the sudden yell. Looking for whatever made the alarm, he turned around and found himself face-to-face with Chek's Drapion.
With one deft move, Drapion's purple arm had lashed out and pierced Thomas' shoulder. As he cried out in pain, Chek accomplice withdrew his Pokemon.
"Don't worry, that sting is all you have to worry about. It'll be numb in a moment. I made sure that when I did this it wouldn't be painful."
Thomas still stood, but he was wavering. "Why did you attack me?!"
"I would like to thank you, Thomas. You've been a huge help. I'm going to miss you."
"Miss me? I –" He paused, and realization swept over his face. "I'm dying, aren't I? Dying so you don't have to share that power. You don't want me to interfere with your rule, is that it? You don't want to stop wars, help innocent people, you want everything to serve you!"
Chek nodded. "In not so many words, yes."
Thomas took a wobbly step back. "I've been helping a villain. All this time I've been going right along with him to rule the world. And now he'll be able to do it."
He was losing strength every second. My face was burning, both in tears for Thomas and rage at Chek. I strained as hard as I could to get free. To my complete shock the star's grip gave way. It must have been weakened by the years of solitude. I flew down to Thomas just as he fell to the ground.
I got down on my knees next to him. He opened his eyes and looked up at me. When he spoke I could hear the weakness in his voice. "Meloetta…Run…"
I took his head in my arms. I told him, "You're not evil. I wanted to tell you I can't release the Forces of Nature, that I can't summon them for this reason. I want to tell you so much!"
It was in vain. To Thomas, all he heard was my name, spoken over and over, just like any other Pokemon. He smiled. "I knew you cared about me, at least a little. Go find someone else like me, and bring him here. Let him help like I wanted to. And when you find him, sing to him too. I'm sure whoever it is will love it…"
He closed his eyes. I hugged him, but I felt no pulse. The poison had taken effect. Thomas was dead. He died with a half-smile on his face.
"I really am going to miss him. Now, I'm guessing I won't be able to convince you to sing on your own, or do you want to really surprise me?"
Chek. The killer. I looked up at him. My glare must have been intense; he actually stepped back a little. He pulled out the Pokeball again and sent out Drapion. The Pokemon stood, paying no mind to the body he had just injected with poison.
"Drapion, grab her."
Before the Pokemon could move I turned invisible and flew above Chek. This was a trick I had not used on them before, and he wasn't sure how to counter it. He whipped his head around, searching the room. He called out, "You can't run you know. We're hundreds of feet underwater right now, where are you going to go?"
I hovered behind him silently. Then with all my might I hit him in the back of the head. With a groan he fell to the floor. Plucking Drapion's Pokeball from his hand I recalled the beast.
Chek was wrong; I could get out. I had created a way to escape this temple when it was first sunken. When he woke up, he would be alone in the room, with only the body of Thomas and the submarine.
So now I am back with Ridley, safe and sound. I've mostly gotten over the experience, just as I do with every failed attempt to summon Nature. But sometimes I wake up at night, haunted by nightmares of the pain of that star. Nightmares of Thomas, and of all the people who have died because of my power. How many more have to die? How much longer do I have to bear this ability?
I've had to stay hidden for centuries. I need relief. I need to find someone willing to take up this responsibility. Someone help…
