I am yours.
I started out like any other; I saw, I experienced, I lived.
Then came my liberator, and changed it all.
I remember it well.
"- Use False Swipe, my friend!" The man shouted, pointing directly at me.
I froze up, unable to move as the seasoned veteran slowly approached. I knew I couldn't run. It was over the minute he saw me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
An apologetic glance. A strike so powerful that even my steel bones could not help but to crumble under. A flash of red light.
Nothing.
I have been yours since the very beginning.
And then I was thrust into your life on a whim, a feeling of his. I didn't know what would happen to me, and I knew nothing but fear.
My ball enlarges for the first time in months. I can hear the man, speaking respectfully, smoothly.
"... That this guy will suit you well." He finishes, knowing so much, yet so little.
Then I hear you, and my heart pauses in its eternal dance for but a beat, a moment; yet... thinking back, I wish it had not.
"Why... Why thank you!" You exclaim, and my prison shifts; one hand to another. "What is it?"
"He's yours now; you can check whenever you'd like."
To a cry of glee, I feel myself being siphoned away, and before I know it, I'm back in the real world. And there you are, waiting for me.
Truly, without me knowing, that was the happiest day of my life.
Because that was the day that I first saw you.
From the minute we started... To the very end...
My fear was gone then, for then I was with you. I was young, blissfully ignorant to what was forming between us. Yet, for the first time in my life...
... I can truly say I was happy.
I fell back, exhausted - but not as exhausted as the shocked ethereal one apart from me, a complicated pattern of searing burns sprawled upon its chest.
Without delay, I felt the world move around me as I was sent to sleep once again; you never were one for celebrating on the spot.
Later, you summoned me to the world, a grin plastered all over your face.
"Rio, I have a present for you!" You exclaimed to me, gesturing to me with the name you have granted me, after a city heard of only in stories.
I approach, nearing the little box, and look up at you. My master, my friend. Something else I couldn't exactly put into words. My heart pumps faster, and before I am even partway through opening my present, I send you a mental image of the strongest gratitude, the very image of our hatchling bond. I didn't care what the gift was, nor its inevitable effects, but very the fact that it was from you made it the best in the world.
And every single second in between...
I was stronger then. In both body and spirit. Thanks to you, and only you.
But I had to be strong. To grow stronger.
To protect what we had forged.
What we had forged together.
"One of you hit him with another False Swipe! That should be enough!" You shout at us, the only thing keeping me from turning to your voice in joy being the words themselves.
|I've got it, mistress!| I reply back from the side of my other companion - your first one - in hopes of helping. Perhaps it would have been less painful if I hadn't. Through our link, I felt a small wave of happiness coarse through my form; a feeling that I enjoyed more than the earth I lived upon.
Still, I did not know why.
Without delay, I swung at the creature - him - and knocked him to the ground as gently as I could with a quick movement of my blue arm; I remember when I myself had been like him. Small. On the other end of the swipe. Free of the feeling I knew so well.
I drop back, remembering, as a sphere hurtles past me. With a flash of light, he is with us to stay.
I was yours, and yours only.
We became fast friends. How could we not, for we were so alike in all but body that not even we could tell how we truly differed.
We sat by the campfire, your first companion to one side, and I to your other, with him on your lap. I was so very, very happy. Without warning, a voice broke the silence, as nervous as it always was.
^R-Rio? Can you ask her about something for me?^ Spoke your first companion, in a way that seemed very final. Taking in the seriousness, I nodded and began to translate, him to you.
"What is it, Blaze?" You ask, and I again struggle to keep my pulse down at the sound of your beautiful voice. "Is something wrong?"
Your first companion, your first partner, the only one closer then I to your heart, sighed and nodded his head.
^In a way... Yes... Yes there is...^
And that was all there was to it.
Yet whilst our differences were few, the few that were had next to no effect.
He was faster. I was stronger.
He was smarter. I was braver.
Yet in the end, you only need one. For that one is all that mattered.
For he was like you.
And I was not.
We left your first companion with your brother, and at even a glance we could tell that he was happier. The journey there had let us grow closer to him, and in the end it was only harder to say goodbye.
All of a sudden, it was just us three. And one night, around a campfire similar to the one that we held so many infinitely long days ago, you spoke to us, the unnoticeable rasp in your voice scraping against my soul a thousand times stronger through our link. Why did it hurt so much?
"I... I know he's happier now... But... But promise me you two will never leave me... Please..."
I didn't want to say anything, to spoil the moment, and I simply approached slowly for a hug.
And found that you were already clenched deeply in one with him.
I blinked as I felt something push its way into our link, integrating itself. Aided by you. A second before, I had felt truly content, knowing that the the bond that we shared was one of a kind. Special. Just between us.
And then it wasn't.
... But it was a lie, wasn't it?
The months flew by, and he continued to grow larger, unhindered, while my growth goes unnoticed, the only changes that occur internal - yet we were equals in the field of play.
... So why did it hurt so badly when I was the one without praise?
"You've got this, Rio!" You shout, your wondrous voice only growing moreso every day that passed. "Just a bit more!"
Armlocked with a gigantic green foe, I simply grunted my notice as I struggled to stay in. Where was he? He should have hit her from behind by now! His own opponent was long defeated, so why wasn't he helping me?
Suddenly, my foe shifts, and I see a flaw in her scaly defenses. Without command, I feel something well up within me, and before I truly know what was happening a surge of energy so immense, so powerful, emanated from my being, empowering, slamming me into her, knocking her backwards and off of me, into the ground. Giga Impact.
I slowly get up from where the recoil of the impact threw me down, and looking at my foe grunting in pain, I prepare a Bullet Punch to take her down without adding too much to her hurt.
And then he was there, standing on her chest, eyes locked. A loud, shattering scream that drifted off into silence. She was defeated.
I look at him silently, letting the energy around my fist fade. I know firsthand that there are not many ways more vicious to take out a foe then sending a blaring Psychic attack at them whilst at their weakest.
I say nothing as I made my way back to you, not looking at him. You, on the other hand, break into a huge smile that seems to make my doubts and fears disappear, and charge towards me, arms wide open. "You did it! You did it! Woohooo!"
I let a small smile reach my mouth, and I hold my arms open and shut my eyes in happiness, waiting for the inevitable embrace. You weren't really one for hugs, although the few times you did had made me feel more alive than I ever had.
Several seconds passed before I let my eyes open to find that you aren't hugging me, despite the single point of massive happiness surging through our link. No. Two points.
I turn, arms still held out to my sides, and what comes into view cracks my heart. He is held in your embrace instead of I, with your phrases of praise and wonderment reaching only his ears. I let my arms drop.
An eternal minute later, you slowly let him go, smiling and red-cheeked. I didn't know why it did, but when you turned to me that time, despite being closer than you were earlier, seemed more distant then you had been in all our time together.
I reopen my arms for a hug.
You simply laugh innocently at my antics and send me back into my ball.
I apologize for any wrongdoings I have done you.
Soon it had been a year. A year of battling and companionship. A year since we had formed our bond. A year of happiness.
Our year.
"Alright guys, I have an announcement to make!" You called out that night from the center's table, grinning as you did so well. "Today we celebrate a huge event that happened a year ago on this very night!"
Immediately, I stood up taller, prouder. This was my moment. The time I got to shine; to prove to our three newer comrades that I had endured. That I had made it through.
"... And that event was me and Ral's first bond!"
Without delay, three sets of hands were set in motion, clapping furiously, to congratulate my pale-skinned companion's standing and walking over to you.
As always, you blush and give him a large, gratuitous hug, the likes of which he returns in full.
"Rio, the cake!" You cry dramatically, pointing to my spot near Medi with a simple, unmanicured finger. "So that we can get this party... Started?"
You stop. I'm not there. You wonder why for a second, then shrug - figuring I went to the roof, as I always did, for some fresh air and peace - and hop off of the table to get it yourself.
Nobody realizes that I am huddled deep within my sphere, arms clenched tightly to my chest, with heartfelt tears running down my face. Crying. Mourning our withering bond.
Dying.
I apologize for knowing you.
... It was too much...
We trekked up Mt. Chimney, huffing and panting, until we had finally reached our destination. The peaceful peak of the volcano.
"Isn't it wonderful up here!" You state to the ashless sky and its twittering birds, your hand within his own. "Everything turned out alright in the end, didn't it, Ral?"
"Lade." Is all he says, nodding to the view.
You have long since stopped listening to me through our once-vivid bond. The only reason it remains is because I will it so. If only to feel happiness, the one thing I wanted for myself more than life.
I apologize for meeting you.
... I couldn't take it anymore...
It would be simple. Your backs were turned, only feet from the edge. It would take thirty seconds to cross the distance between us, but I only truly needed two. My perfect opportunity.
A single nudge. Mistaken as an accident. All my problems ~ gone.
You wouldn't know until it was too late. I could feign a massive recoil attack - you wouldn't be any the wiser; our leg of the bond was nearly broken, the only vein of life coursing through it being my semi-common veiled visits.
I swallow, in fear, rather than heat. The massive pool of lava behind me was so low that it was hardly there. But it was. Was I really going to do this? To destroy something that I simply could not live with in my life?
I closed my eyes for a moment, and a pencil moves of its own accord within your pack. Writing my own confession.
I am yours.
I have been yours since the very beginning.
My message sent in motion, my life begins to pour past my shut eyes in the span of a nanosecond. My capture... Our meeting...
From the very beginning... To the very end...
And every second in between...
An impossible tear drops from my eye as I brace myself and take one last longing look at you, before locking sights on his back. Knowing what I was going to do. Unbelieving the inevitable.
Our bond... His capture...
I was yours. And yours only.
And that was all there was to it.
One last inhale of unneeded breath. The Giga Impact I had known so well charging itself upon my twin fists. Only a single point in time until it was over. No more regrets. It was too late for that.
His bond... Our unknown rivalry...
... But it was a lie, wasn't it?
I surprise myself. I hesitate. I realize that I simply cannot do it, and my charge fades. I cannot strike him down simply for being. Yet, if I could not bring myself to that, the message must be changed.
... His innocent victory...
I apologize for any wrongdoings I have done you.
I look through new eyes at you two, hand in hand, simply being. Happy. What I wanted to be more than feel life itself. What I would never feel.
It's then that I know why it hurts. Why it burns. Why it melts.
... And, inevitably...
I apologize for meeting you.
I apologize for knowing you.
I apologize for even existing.
I know.
But knowing is only half the battle.
I apologize for even existing.
|April. Ral.|
You turn, both of you looking as happy as I perceived. "Yes, Rio?"
I blink back another wave of tears and prepare another Giga Impact.
|I... I'd just like to say...|
^Yeah?^ He asks, unknowing of how badly it hurt. Perhaps it was better that way. ^What is it, bro?^
My heart has no more room to break as I feel the bones of my fist begin to melt with raw power.
|I... I...|
I lock eyes with you. You could have peered through our bond to see what was. But you don't. I'm glad that it can die peacefully.
|I hope you two are happy together.|
And then I am shattered as my fist swings up to meet my frame, and with a deserving finality, I write the last words as the pencil lead snaps.
Then I'm falling.
Melting.
Gone.
And I'm sorry for loving you.
~ Your metang, Rio.
~ Dedicated to those authors who have never written of love between those non-bipedal. ~
~ To those who believe that the only Romeo and Juliet can be between those who share the same physique. ~
~ And to those of you who believe that the metaphysical can only exist if you are born physically similar. ~
~ I dedicate this to you in the hope that you'll see it in a different way. ~
~ Apologies for the horrendous butchering of -tenses. ~