Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

THE DYING WORLD

Chapter three

"No you don't do it like that, whip your head around like this!" I snapped, raising my white furred head and slashing at the air in a circular pattern. The air around be became agitated, and leaves and dust began to swirl up before colorless blades of air started dancing around me. With a final slice of my blade like horn, the blades merged into one, becoming a deadly arc of air that sliced through the vines and shrubs and kicking up a small whirlwind in its wake. With heavy controlled breaths I returned to my stance and glanced at Fenris, who was staring wide eyed at my skillfully executed razor wind attack.

"It is not that hard, really. Just let your instincts guide you and the wind will answer your call." I explained, quoting the exact words that my father had given to me some time ago. As the eldest, I had learned the attack first, but dad…never bothered to even try to teach Fenris. Even mother at this point was disappointed with Fenris's utter lack of skill. Picking himself up off the ground, he gritted his teeth and tried again, a look of concentration on his face as he whipped his blade like horn around, desperately trying to get the wind to answer his call. A leaf swirled in the air for a brief time, and that was it.

"Its no use, I can't do it…" He cried, sulking down in the grass, breathing heavily from his numerous attempts to control the wind. Wordlessly I sat down next to him, offering him comfort by simply being here, rather than storming off like father had so many times. I had seen Fenris practicing in the middle of the night until he was dead exhausted, to see him give up like this was unnerving.

"Some of us are just slow learners, you'll get it eventually-"

"SHUT UP! It is just so goddamn easy for you to learn it, stop rubbing it in my face!" He suddenly snarled, a furious expression on his face and he stood up as if about to attack. I jerked back, shocked at Fenris's sudden outburst. I had never seen him mad before, not once in my entire life. In a moment though he calmed down and looked sad.

"Sorry Rikko, I shouldn't have snapped like that." He apologized, looking down at his paws. My expression softened immediately, it was hard to stay mad at Fenris for any length of time. Before I could say anything though, there was a sound of snarling before a torrent of red hot pain washed across my side, easily throwing me to the ground. I saw Fenris cower before an approaching Houndoom and his two Houndhour lackeys in tow.

"What r' you pups doing on our land?" The hellhound snarled, a few embers trailing from his mouth. The two Houndhours behind him looked viscous, like they were ready to kill at a moments notice.

"But we have owned this territory since-" Fenris started before the Houndoom brutally swiped his foreleg across his muzzle, whapping him to the ground with a thud.

"This is our territory now." The Houndoom proclaimed, and I saw an insane look in his eye, like someone drunk on their own feeling of power. Rage at him striking Fenris in such a way built in my chest, and I summoned all the energy I could muster and shot it in a sphere of condensed energy. The Houndoom leapt to the side, easily evading the Shadow Ball attack, and instead exploded against the face of the unsuspecting hound behind him. I didn't have a chance to form another before the Houndoom was in my face. I screamed with pain when its teeth latched into my back before hurling me in the air.

"Die you pathetic pup." It snarled as I hit the ground with a thud, knocking all the breath out of me. This was not right, what was going on. Looking closer I saw that the Houndoom's eyes were cut in half by a slash of blood red in the pupil, and a faint purple aura was visible in the sunlight. Dark Matter was slowly infecting the Houndoom, driving him insane with bloodlust and power. This was not good, really not good. I had fought a Shadow Pokemon before, but my father and mother had been with me at the time and it was no where near as strong as this Houndoom was. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Fenris stir, and before I could utter a warning one of the Houndhour leapt on him, trying to grab him in its mouth.

My vision spun as I was struck by the hellhound in a full body tackle, skidding me across the ground. A faint static of Black Lightning was beginning to show itself as the sun was sinking lower and lower on the horizon. This Pokemon would never survive the night with the amount of Dark Matter that was tearing at it, and night was rapidly approaching. I coughed a thick glob of blood and rose to my feet, sticking my blade like horn out in case the incomplete monster decided to try and tackle me again. Instead, it opened its mouth and shot a pillar of fire at me. I ducked to dodge it and used the crouch to spring myself forward and slice at the hound with my horn. It howled as it was struck, but little blood fell from the wound. I saw an expression of pure, unrivaled hatred in its now blood red eyes before it rammed its crested forehead into mine.

I staggered back from the pain of the head butt, but the hound lurched forward and snapped at the spot where my head had been a moment earlier. I leapt back to dodge, feeling something rip and pain went through my side as its fangs grazed me.

I stumbled and fell, landing hard on my chest at an awkward angle.

The monster howled in victory and leapt forward, opening its now deformed jaws to kill me. I heard it that howl its last cry as a living being, it was no longer alive, the life that was still burning in it when we met was gone, it was now a Shadow Pokemon, infused with the power of Dark Matter. I closed my eyes, waiting for the end. There was a gut wrenching noise and a yip of alarm before I dared to look up, fearing for the worst.

Fenris was standing in front of me, his blade like horn had impaled the Houndoom with its own momentum. With a toss of his head, he yanked the blade out from its stomach, letting the corpse fall to one side with a sickening sound. For a few moments the only sound was that of Fenris's labored breathing before he looked back at me.

"Rikko, are you okay?" He exclaimed rapidly, dashing forward and nudging me repeatedly while I yowled in protest. Surprisingly, I had no life threatening injuries, although my burned side was hurting far worse than the bite wounds on my neck and back. Fenris looked worse for the wear though, he was covered in scratched and bite marks. It took me a moment to realize he had to fight off the Houndhour before he could even do anything. His pure white fur was dirty and stained with blood. I stood up, refusing to act injured while Fenris was hurt more than I was. At least his fur wasn't burned, it would take me weeks to replace my white fur where I got hit by the fire.

Grinning with our victory, we raised our scythe shaped horned together and clacked them together, like we always do. The happy moment immediately died when a loud voice suddenly shouted across the clearing.

"Get over here now!" Demanded my father who suddenly appeared out of no where. I saw concern in his eyes when he looked at me, and distain when he looked at Fenris.

"Fenris, how could you! Playing out in the woods and nearly getting your brother killed in the process, You-"

"Dad stop, it wasn't his fault, the Houndoom appeared out of no where, Fenris saved me, I would be dead right now if he wasn't here!" I shouted, angry at my dad's refusal to see the situation. Fenris was hurt bad, and all he cared about was the fact that I got a little scratched. Fenris did most of the fighting, it wasn't fair.

"Be quiet Rikko, I will talk to you next." He growled, approaching Fenris who was cowering on the ground, looking scared, hurt, and ashamed all at once.

"Dad-"

"RIKKO!" He shouted back in the tone that I was to leave. I tried to stand my ground, but my fathers furious gaze shredded any intention of rebelling away. I cast an apologetic glance to Fenris who shot me an "Its okay." Look before I turned and ran away, tears in my eyes.

A moment later I heard him strike Fenris across the face with a paw, claws sheathed. I turned and ran away, unable to bear the injustice any longer. Throughout it all…Fenris never even said a word…

The rain had stopped, everything was deathly silent. Reluctantly I opened my eyes to the darkness of the underground burrow we had taken shelter in for the storm. The two eevee occupants had made their escape already, probably scared of the predator sleeping in their burrow. I could care less, life wasn't fair, I was an Absol and they were eevee. If I got hungry, they were as fair game as anything. I looked up and stretched, arching my back and triggering the dulled pain in my ribs again. The dirt had become muddy and sticky with the rain, matting my fur coat annoyingly. A vague, drifting thought made me wonder why I was still living.

What did I have to look forward to save death and bloodshed? What did this dying world have left of offer that would make everything seem right and pure again? What reason was there left for us to live?

I had no answer for this, and that was why I hated Piech. Why was he so unreasonably happy, it made no sense? I found the brat still fast asleep near the entrance of the burrow, his head slumped against the wall in a manner that made it look like he had stayed up until he dropped watching the sky. I walked up to the sleeping mouse and wondered for a brief second what had made him fall asleep with such a sad expression on his face. Then again, why did I care, I didn't need him, I didn't need anyone anymore.

I stormed out of the small underground shelter and glanced at the bleak and emotionless sky above, looking for the sun to find my direction but the warmth and light of the sun was unseen through the heavy layer of gray clouds that blotted the horizon. I grunted and fixed my eyes on a distant mountain range with jagged peaks that rose to the sky like teeth. From there I would be able to see for miles, and with it, I could find Rust Canyon, where Jirachi was supposedly waiting to grant a wish to anyone who could find her. In the distance I caught a whiff of smoke and ash, but it was faded and aged like before. Why did I care anyway, the whole world could burn for all I care, nothing mattered anymore.

"Fenris…" I sighed, trying and failing to let the memories I held in the depths of my heart cause me anguish. Still I saw Fenris as the pure, smiling brother I remembered, refusing to accept the corrupted monster that had taken his place. Why, out of all the Pokemon in existence, did he have to become a Shadow Pokemon? Why?

I slashed at the bark of a nearby tree in anger, leaving deep gouges in the wood with my claws. Anger felt better, it was an emotion I could deal with, unlike the grief still lodged deep in my chest where one says your heart is, underneath the burning scar that my brother had given me days ago during our fight. Again in a rage I struck at the tree, bruising the pads on my paws and sending pain down my arm. Bits and pieces of bark flew as I roared in agony as struck again, but this time one of my claws caught on the bark and was ripped out of its socket. The pain forced me to stop raging, and I noticed Piech for the first time standing behind me with a wide eyed expression of shock.

"Rikko…are you okay"

"What the hell are you gaping at huh!" I challenged and stormed off. The brat still followed me, a look of genuine concern on his face. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? He was useless and annoying and I just wanted to be alone right now. The sun should be high in the sky by now, but it still felt cold without an ounce of sunlight or warmth.

"Piech…why are you still following me?" I growled, refusing to make eye contact and acknowledge the stupid mouse that was walking right behind me.

"We are both searching for Jirachi and going all alone is no fun. Besides we are partners now, like the dynamic duo-"

"Why can't you just stop following me, go find someone else to annoy. Why are you even searching for Jirachi in the first place, it doesn't look like you are suffering? What more could you want, you have a family you probably ditched and-"

"I didn't ditch my family!" Piech suddenly shouted, looking furious as my accusations and puffed up his chest as if to make himself bigger.

"Are they dead?" I demanded.

"No…"

"Then what are you so upset about huh, my family is DEAD! That's why I am searching for her, because I want to bring them back….You wouldn't understand." I declared. At the last bit, he suddenly looked sad, and furious at the same time.

"You don't think I know what it is like to be all alone, you think I don't understand what it is like to lose everything-"

"No, I don't!" I interrupted. I glared at the Pichu, but he stood his ground.

"So let me ask you this then, you think getting Jirachi to bring a few people back to life will suddenly make everything right again? Have you ever thought she only grants your hearts desire, not simply what you ask for!"

"What would you know!" I yelled, standing to face him as if I was about to attack. For some reason those words had more effect on him than anything else, and he started to cry. For some reason, I felt guilty about breaking his happy disposition and felt like it would be wrong to just run off right now. Why was this happening to me, I would have had no problem ditching him before?

"Come on, we have to go!" I said harshly and started walking. The yellow mouse wiped his eyes and started following me again, but kept his distance. I cursed myself, earlier I would have had no problem ditching him, why did I feel so bad for making him cry now?

"Life isn't sugar and rainbows kid, get over yourself." I growled without looking back.

"It is if you can be strong enough to make it. Being sad all the time…doesn't change anything. They say life is not about what happens to you, but what you do about it. I want to live a happy life, so I won't regret anything when someone kills me one day. If I spend all my time just moping around in sadness like you are…then what do I have to live for…" He said, talking slowly and sadly.

"Fighting without hope is not a way to live, its only a way to die." He said, looking at the ground in front of him. I spun around to face him, glaring at his stupid ideals.

"Hope? There is no hope Piech, we are going to die, and nothing is going to change that. The Legendaries have turned away and life itself has become nothing but a constant war for survival until the day we die. Where is your supposed hope?"

"If you don't have hope, then make it." He said suddenly in a strong tone of voice, and without warning a bolt of electricity struck me, and I was flung a distance away. Yelling, I jumped to my feet and charged the Pichu, slashing at his small frame with my broken blade horn. He aptly ducked under my swipe and made his tail glow silver. With a spin, he used the flat of his tail to knock my legs out from under me. My jaw hit the ground hard, and I grunted and charged up a Shadow Ball attack and blasted him point blank with it, sending him skidding across the ground.

"Where is your hope Piech? Why do you still want to live!" I challenged, watching him pick himself off the ground with effort.

"I will continue living until I have found that hope and lived my life to its fullest, and nothing is going to change that." He declared strongly, but I could tell he was hurting pretty badly and didn't want to have to keep fighting. I growled and prepared to strike again when Piech suddenly held out his hand and said,

"Lets find that hope together, even if it means tracking down Jirachi from the ends of Mysteria. We only have five days left." He said. For a long time I said or did nothing until I grunted and said.

"Whatever Piech…." And started walking. I only got a few steps before Piech had dashed to my side again, wearing his huge grin like always.

"Glad to hear it, by the way sorry about your jaw it looks like you are going to bruise. A lot can be done in five days, they say it only took Arceous seven days to create the world and everything we see. I have always wanted to see a legendary, they are like so…epic. Those eevee from before were pretty cute, I bet they were just mated and we intruded upon their home. Too bad we weren't interrupting anything if you know what I mean…"

I sighed and cursed myself for the millionth time, wondering why I never killed this brat to begin with. He changed subjects and moods faster than a Kelcon could change colors. The words he had spoken carried weight in my mind, because despite my dislike for the annoying yellow mouse, I knew he was right. Fighting without hope was not a way to live, it is only a way to die. Again I smelled ash on the wind, and I stopped for a moment to pinpoint its origin. It was likely a human village or community that had been attacked by the Shadow Pokemon. There was a chance that one of the building with a sturdier foundation would have survived the attack, and it would make a good place to recuperate and sleep. The smell of ash would mask our scent to the Shadow Pokemon. Then again, it could just be a forest fire and I was thinking about it too much. I noticed vaguely that Piech had finally stopped yammering, but the silence was setting my nerves on edge. There was absolutely no sound, not even the whisper of wind on the grass.

"Why are you seeking a wish from Jirachi, Piech?" I asked, trying for once to figure out the motives that were driving the brat. He looked up and smiled, and for the first time I wondered if that smile was a mask to hide from the sadness he was keeping inside.

"I don't know, I will think of something when I get there. I have always wanted to see the world, see all the wonders of Mysteria and live a life worth living. I guess…if we ever find Jirachi…my wish would already be granted."

"So then…why are you…you know, not with your family?" I asked, wondering why he was all alone. When I bumped into him those few days ago, there was absolutely no one for miles. Why was he out in the wilderness, seeking adventure when he was just a kid.

For a long time Piech didn't answer, and he looked down at his feet, his mask of false happiness utterly shattered. I said nothing, not caring if he decided not to answer, after all, why did I care about the yellow brat. I glanced up to see the sky had darkened considerably, adding to the feeling of misery that Piech was giving off. I suddenly realized Piech had stopped walking, now staring at the ground with tears in the corner of his eyes.

"When you live in a big family…its easy for one to get left behind…"

For the first time since my brother had technically died, I had no angry insult or anything ready to say, I was struck speechless. It made sense, if his family was attacked and he was lost…they wouldn't risk the safety of everyone for one lost little Pichu.

"I don't know where they are, they could be on the other side of Mysteria for all I know. I don't care anymore anyways…its not like it would make a difference weather or not I was gone they never cared anyways…." He trailed off, and sat down on his butt, scrunching up his face trying not to cry. I knew what it was like to have a family killed right before your eyes, but it must be ever worse to have a large loving family…and feel left out even with everything. To be so casually forgotten must be a worse wound than being hated…like my brother…

"I'm sorry…" I said, now regretting saying to Piech that he didn't understand. Maybe it was me who didn't understand. After all this, Piech was still trying to act like nothing is wrong, so he can fool himself into being happy.

"There is some shelter ahead, lets keep going." I said and started walking, but Piech was not following me. For a second I was tempted to just ditch him and go on ahead, but that would be torturous to the small Pichu, being abandoned and left behind twice.

"Piech…"

"I'm coming Rikko, just give me a minute." He said, wiping his eyes and hoping off the ground. I noticed he was trying not to make eye contact as if he was trying to hide the fact that he had been crying. Still trying to be the hero, again. We started walking while Piech dove into a subject about how one of his friends had supposedly been struck by lighting while sleeping in a tree and evolved into a Raichu. It sounded ridiculous to me, then again, they could actually survive being struck by lighting. In fact, I am sure Piech might enjoy it.

We both froze when we saw what lay before us. The smoldering ruins of a large human village, the embers still fresh and red in the dark. With an exchanged glance, we stepped onward, and the gruesome display of destruction and gore opened up before us...

This chapter has been cut off because I decided to save what is comming for chapter 4. I tried not to do this, because I believed that good writing will attract readers and I didn't want to sound selfish, but I know there are alot more people reading this than it says on the reviews. Getting feedback from my readers inspires me to write and update, and with the amount of effort it takes to update each chapter of this story and maintain the level of writing, it hurts that this story is somewhat neglected. So please, if you like this story, don't just go away, review or follow this story, I have a lot in store for you. Tell others about this story...anything you can do will be appreciated. And for everyone who read enough of the story to get this far, thank you and I will not dissapoint with the upcoming chapters in the future.

~Last Warrior 7