Tamah: This is the latest installment in the Pokécraft series. Just so you know, the narrator in this is the one from the Cats of Ulthar. This story was based off of H.P. Lovecraft's He.
Disclaimer: I don't own. . . Duh. :D
Enjoy!
I was walking through the city that evening, the "Historical" part of Saffron City. Back then, "historical" meant "ancient houses that are about to collapse." You can't find houses like that these days, it really is a pity, they were beautiful things. Old and dilapidated, perhaps, but beautiful nonetheless. They were skeletons, shadows of their former glory, and like dinosaur remains, they towered over the rickety cobblestone streets.
I saw him up ahead, half in the light of a gas lamp, half in contrasting shadow. I saw him smile, and he made his way towards me. He seemed to be in his twenties, so he was around my age back then, and I will be the first to admit that he was very handsome.
"What's a beautiful lady like yourself wandering this part of town at night?" he asked, in a deep voice.
"I'm just admiring these buildings," I gestured at them. "I fancy older places like this."
He smiled again, and it drew me in, like a Venomoth to a flame. "Really, now? It's so hard to find a lady with your interests." His blue eyes sparkled, the most beautiful shade of blue, and I have yet to find a more beautiful color. His hair was a grass green, too, it reminded me of the spring-time.
He seemed like such a refined gentleman, and I trusted him completely. I couldn't help it, there was just something about him. "My own home is ahead, would you like to visit? It's in very pristine condition."
I nodded eagerly. "Of course. I would love to, dear sir."
So I followed him, like a Mareep follows it's mother, to a large estate. "You will have to mind the gardens though." he told me as we entered the gate, "It's far too much for just myself."
I saw what he meant. The flower beds were extremely untended and wild, monsters crafted by rosebush and briar rose out of them, with fearsome thorny teeth that threatened to tear one apart. But I suppose that was simply my imagination.
He led me up to a wide veranda, the antiquated wood making a frightful noise under our feet. He pushed open the age-old door, it opened quietly, to my surprise. The house's interior was shockingly clean and well-kept, it almost looked brand new.
"Do you like it? I would much like to show you the view from the balcony."
I nodded my consent, and he lightly took my hand and led me upstairs. He took me to a almost empty room, bare except for an imported woven rug from Orre. I bent over and felt the rug, it felt like heavenly silk under my fingers. It seemed to be a tapestry. "What does this tapestry portray?" I asked, curious.
"It was purchased two hundred years ago," he whispered, frighteningly close to my ear, "It is about a magical Pokémon that appears every ten thousand years to bond with a human. Together, they become a powerful god-creature." He turned to the balcony. "Would you like to see the view?"
I stepped onto the balcony and I almost fainted. He supported me as I took in the sight. It was like stepping back into time. There was no city, just a tiny village with a winding river. He turned to me. "Beautiful, no?"
There was a bright flash, and I found myself looking down at Saffron City, when all of the older houses were new and glorious. My breath came in short gasps, I feared I was to pass out.
"Would you like me to tell you a story?" he asked, finally. He did not wait for my answer.
"Two hundred yeas ago, my family settled in this area, practically founding the city. There were original natives here, and they took to them immensely. They taught us many things, mostly magical in nature, but we hardly believed them.
"But there came a day when they showed us a man who could not die. We even shot him with our finest rifles, but the shots deflected with a strange force. They said he was a god, bonded with a Pokémon.
"They offered us the gift, and the man of the house accepted. The natives selected his youngest son, a boy of six, along with his mother and sister to be used. In that ritual they preformed, they bathed the boy in his mother's blood, and they made him kill his sister with his own hands.
"The ritual worked, and he was bonded with a Pokémon, and he became a god in their eyes. His father laughed when his son told him what had occurred. 'My son I don't care what happened to them, as long as you and I have ultimate power!"
By then I could stand so I turned to face him. He looked ancient, now, wrinkles creasing his face, his hair white. "What. . . What happened?" I asked, scared.
"I was that little boy." he said, his voice faint. "My mother's blood and my sister's screams have forever marred my innocent soul. I wrenched my father's life from him as well, both human and Pokémon filled with burning hate." he hissed the last words, and I shivered.
He touched my shoulder, his appearance young again. He stroked my cheek and whispered in my ear. "Would you like to see the future, my sweet?" He clasped my hands in his, and another flash of light flung us into the future.
There was flames everywhere, the smell of burning flesh evident. There were bodies everywhere, men, women, even children and Pokémon's corpses dotted the hellish landscape. He and I stood on a building's remains. There was horrible things flying in the sky, such things I had never seen. Hooded figures were dancing to macabre music. He laughed, a cold terrible laugh, and my soul turned to ice.
I screamed, high and loud, a banshee's cry. A pillar of fire erupted next to us, flickering almost hungrily.
"This. . . This is where we part, my love. You pure soul's sacrifice shall set me free!" He wrenched my arm, tender no more, and tried to fling me into the flames. But he stumbled, and fell into the inferno.
His face was contorted with hate and rage. "You shall suffer worse than me! This will seem like a sweet dream to your hell of a future!" There was a flash of light as he burned, man and Pokémon separating, only one burned. The Pokémon turned to me, it was the same shade of green as his hair, and their eyes were the same, but this one's was filled with the innocence that I knew he had, once.
There was another flash of light, and I found myself in the house, alone. I stumbled my way back to the hotel, in utter shock. I fainted the instant I reached the lobby. The kind attendants carried me to my room and applied smelling salts. They put my bizarre tale down to exhaustion, and the rest of my trip was bed rest.
That, you see, is why I chose to study this. You said you wanted my advice, and I will give it to you. Turn away now, leave this science, and never come back. This is full of evil, and will bring your destruction. I am here only out of my burning curiosity, and my urge to prevent that terrible future that I saw. It is my duty, and no one else should have to experience what we all have gone through in the name of knowledge.
