Sacred Sword
By: Rowen
I draw my sword. The grip feels familiar beneath my fingers, and the weight is comfortable in my hand. I slash at the empty air a few times—a warm up. The sword chirps. Let's get going, it says.
It has never been the patient type.
Running head-first into the tall grass, I cut away the green blades that tear at my face and clothes. It's not long before another enemy joins the fight with the grass against me; a Pokemon, a wild Spinda, appears in the middle of the clearing in front of me. Steadying the sword in my hand, I set my feet and glance down at the sword.
Perfect! it says. Let's fuck it up!
Creeping towards the Spinda, I wait until I'm a mere three feet away from it before making my move. I jump and point the sword down, planning the brain the drunken bear. But I'm not quiet enough—the Pokemon hears me. It side-steps to the left, and I miss. My blade digs into the ground and embeds in the soil.
"Shit," I say. "Shit shit shit—"
The bear unsheathes its claws and takes a swipe at my face. I duck. It takes another swipe, and I duck again. Then, it balls its hand into a fist and drives it straight at my cheek. Not expecting such a daring move, I freeze.
The bear's fist rams into my face makes a crack! noise. Blood dribbles down my nose.
Hurry! says my sword. Get me out of here!
Needing no further encouragement, I dig my boots into the dirt and pull with everything I have. The sword flies free of the dirt a second later, and I'm holding in my face by the time another has passed.
The bear is angry. Using its twisty footwork to its advantage, it circles me. Right, left, left, right, up, left—I have no idea what it will do next.
Focus, my sword says. And don't let it take you off guard again.
I nod. The bear comes at me again, this time with a Headbutt. I raise my sword to deflect it, and the metal clangs loudly when the bear-flesh rams against it.
Dizzy, the Spinda falls back a few steps. I see the opening, and rush forward. Holding my sword in both hands, I level the blade tip at the bear's heart. The bear has no time to block me, and barely even has time to gasp in surprise before the metal punctures its fur.
But that's all it does, because once a trail of blood starts to run down the bear's front, I reach into my pocket, pull out a PokeBall, and tap it against the bear's head. It shakes once, twice, three times in my hand, but does not open. Grinning like a mad man, I shout, "We got it, Aegislash! We really—"
Yes, yes, says the sword. We really got it.
Is it just me, or does it sound disappointed? Shaking my head, I decide that it's just me.
I pull my jar of honey out from my pack and screw open the lid. The sweet smell wafts up into my nose, and I grin. Sticking my hand in it—spoons are for losers—I dive right in.
It's not long before the Ariados find me.
Lured in by the honey, they peek their heads out of the grass. I don't see them just yet, but there's five of them, and they're surrounding me on all sides. The one on my left makes the first move—it creeps into the clearing and gnashes its fangs together. Spit dribbles down its spider chin, and I can hear its stomach rumble. Looking up, my eyes lock with the Ariados's.
My stomach drops to my feet, and so does the jar of honey. It shatters into a million pieces and stains my shoes with its yellow goodness. But I don't care about that right now, because there's currently a giant spider staring me down like I'm the tastiest thing in the world.
I take a step back. And then another, and another. But it's not long before I run into Ariados #2. Stumbling forward, I trip and land flat on my face. The spiders are all around me now, and my heart is in my throat. It's beat its way out of my chest, and is choking me. My brain short-circuits, and I'm left staring, wide-eyed and terrified, at the spiders that keep getting closer and closer.
Aegislash, sensing my fear, forces its way out of its PokeBall. It lands with a clang on the dirt. Jason, it says. Pick me up!
The spiders are staring at the sword. They're distracted—now's my chance. But I'm petrified; my arms and legs have turned to stone, and fear is frozen on my face.
Jason, my sword says again. Pick me up! Now!
With shaking hands, I listen to it. The sword is relieved. The spiders focus back on me.
I want to run away.
Listen, says the sword. There are too many of them to slash and whack. You're going to have to try the Sacred Sword, and hope for the best.
I gulp. I remember the first time me and Aegislash attempted Sacred Sword—I nearly lost all the fingers on my left hand. And the second time, I nearly lost all the ones on my right. Glancing down at Aegislash, I ask, my voice as shaky as my hands, "A… Are you sure?"
Yes. Aegislash says. And even if I wasn't, it doesn't look like we have any other choice.
The spiders come closer. The one on the far right raises its stingers, and the others quickly follow suit. Purple light envelops the stingers, and I know then that they're readying a Poison Sting attack.
"Aegislash—"
Go!
Focusing on my breathing, I steady it. In, out. In, out, in. Then, I clear my mind—or, try to. Thoughts of spiders still linger, but I'm calmer now; I'm less panicked. And that's what counts. Raising my sword into the air, I say, "Sacred Sword!"
White light flickers to life at the tip of Aegislash's blade. It soon spreads downward, until the steel of the blade is completely covered by it. Gritting my teeth, I put my fear aside. There's nothing but me and Aegislash here. There's nothing but me and Aegislash here. There's nothing—
The white light explodes out from Aegislash like a sound boom. It slams into the five Ariados, and slices them all in half, hamburger style. Green blood pours out from their red bodies and drips onto the dirt. They've all fallen. I swallow hard, staring one of them right in their glassy eyes.
That was close, I think. Too close. And then I drag the back of my hand across my cheek. It's wet when I pull it away, and I frown. Bringing my hand up to my face, I look at it. There's blood on it. My blood.
"What…" I breathe. I raise Aegislash up in front of my face and look into the polished steel like it's a mirror. There are two huge cuts on my face. One of them runs from my eye down to my chin. The second one tears down from the side of my lip to my jaw.
Together, they look like a sword.