Satori in Kalos
Chapter 11
Voltage 3
It had thoughts, it was conscious, and it currently had a goal.
FOUND YOU, LITTLE MURDERER
The fact that goal was to murder Satori was, ultimately, inconsequential. Oh it was worrying, sure, but the important thing wasn't the fact it was trying to murder Satori. It was why it was trying to murder Satori.
That didn't really stop her from breaking into a cold sweat and running back the way she came.
But on a grander scale, why it was trying to destroy and kill everything in the first place was the even bigger question. It was conscious, and had thoughts, and had a goal. This wasn't speculation to Satori, it was fact. She heard them. And apparently, it heard her. Which means it had a reason for what it did. A rational for it.
So if Satori wanted to understand how to stop it, she had to understand it. Which meant...
Satori rubbed her Third Eye, which didn't seem very irritated by the smoke and ash despite the fact it was a giant eyeball. The question that Satori was almost forced to ask when she dug around in her victims minds was "why?" What was their trauma, why was it a trauma, and how did it make them who they are?
Viola had reservations about the Vivillion, and Satori had found her trauma by asking why. Grant needed to push his limits, even if it was minor. Korrina had worries about mega evolution. All of these facts which led Satori to her victory had stemmed from asking why.
So why was Yveltal on the warpath?
To find out, Satori would have to delve into the mind of the beast.
INVADER
Satori began her assault. She turned and stared at Yveltal's flying form, opened her Third Eye and assaulted the mind of the monster.
A torrent of emotion flooded into her from Yveltal. A single emotion so strong, so powerful, that it almost knocked Satori off her feet. A tremendous fear of dying.
Yveltal turned its head and locked onto Satori, beating its wings more rapidly as it sped towards her. Satori pulled some of her focus away to run into the alleyways, hoping to at least break line of sight.
The fear she read was not surprising, Yveltal was currently trying to be killed by as many people as Kalos could muster. She had to go deeper, but it was hard when she was otherwise distracted. There had to be something more, at the core of Yveltal. A trauma. There always was.
Satori just had to find it.
Running away, little Satori?
The voice was less of a mental shout, and more of a taunt this time. Satori shivered as she ran and glancing at her Pokemon she realized they heard it too. Are you listening to my thoughts?
You're the one who opened the connection, invader. I will not let you kill me.
Satori looked up as she heard the beat of heavy wings. Yveltal appeared above her, its form above the tall buildings that stretched on either side. They were too close for Yveltal to drop lower, but it had found her.
No no no!
Yveltal opened its maw, but Delphox was a second quicker. It raised its branch towards Yveltal and a stream of fire erupted from the fox. Yveltal dodged out of the way, but enough to put it out of sight for a brief moment. Satori used the opportunity to run right back out of the alley back onto the main street and hide under one of the overhangs.
Satori was really hoping that it relied on sight and not some other ability to locate her. She used the momentary pause to catch her breath and push deeper into Yveltal's mind.
Stop it!
All that Satori uncovered was more fear of death. She had never tried to read something like this before. Looking for that kernel of fear and trauma was fairly easy in humans. Pokemon and animals didn't really have any, their fears and desires were more primal. But Yveltal was something else entirely.
Before Satori could find Yveltal's trauma, a loud noise drowned out everything. A screeching of metal and crumbling of stone echoed as a rumble knocked Satori onto her knees. She looked to her left to see the adjacent building attacked by Yveltal's rays.
Satori took that as her cue to run in the opposite direction. She knew it was what Yveltal intended, but she didn't exactly have any other option.
Found you.
Seeing as how Satori was fleeing for her life in the middle of the street, it wasn't surprising. Satori shouted at her Pokemon to distract it, and flames and lightning flew towards Yveltal as she ran in the opposite direction.
Delphox and Pikachu had no intention of staying behind, and launched their attacks while running. Accuracy was bad, but it served to force Yveltal to evade at the very least. It feared dying, and Satori figured it would prioritize evading rather than eating the attack and attacking.
Aaarrggg!
Absol made a horrible noise, and Satori turned around to see if she was still following her. A piece of debris from the collapsing building had hit Absol, and she was currently lying on the ground. Blood slowly pooled around her.
"No, Absol!" Satori shouted. She stopped running and turned back to try to help her Pokemon. There was a deep gash running along its back, and at least one of its legs was broken. She froze, not knowing what to do.
Delphox and Pikachu launched more of their long-range attacks at Yveltal in an attempt to keep it on the defensive. Satori didn't know what to do.
Mistress... Absol sounded weak. Recall me...
It took a second for Satori to realize what it had said, and fumbled around her roster for Absol's empty pokeball. She held it out, and in a red light Absol was absorbed back into the pokeball.
Satori had no idea whether or not it was actually safe. She didn't know how pokeballs worked. What she did know was Absol just sustained a severe injury, far worse than it had during any battle.
Master, there is no time to think about it, Delphox said. We must run. Now.
Satori shook her head and turned tail to keep running. Delphox and Pikachu joined her, keeping up their assault on Yveltal. They wouldn't be able to keep it up for long before they ran out of energy, but if there was ever a time to run on full steam it was now.
Before Satori got too much further, several vehicles nearly ran her over. She had to quickly dodge to the sidewalk against a building as several vans and cars sped past her. Even more parked in front of her and numerous officers and trainers got out. Satori recognized a few of them, the gym leaders Viola, Grant and Korrina were all there. They began to attack Yveltal along with everyone else.
The momentary distraction let Satori focus more on her mental assault. The KPD and Kalos trainers would keep it occupied. Although Satori couldn't by any means draw a breath of relief, it was the closest thing she could muster.
Damn you, little monster. Stand behind your wall of murderers as long as you want, I am coming for you. I will destroy you.
Satori pressed with as much force as she could muster, desperately trying to find out what made Yveltal tick. The reasons why it was on a warpath of destruction and mayhem. But no matter how hard she looked, all Satori could find was that one, ever present fear. Of not dying. The fear of death.
Was its situation that overpowering? Was the entirety of Kalos's attempt to kill it overriding everything else about the creature? Satori didn't know. Maybe the simpler solution was correct, she just wasn't skilled enough to find it.
"Hey!" Satori shouted towards one of the officers. He didn't have any pokemon, just an assault rifle. Still, he dutifully sprayed bullets at the legendary monster for all the good it would do. He didn't respond until his gun ran out of ammo, and glanced over as he loaded in another magazine.
"What?" He shouted.
"It's after me! Yveltal is trying to kill me!"
"It's trying to kill all of us, girl. Get out of here while you still can." With that, the man turned his rifle up again and unleashed another barrage from his weapon. Satori wasn't far away enough to not be bothered by the sound. It was loud, and hurt her ears. But that was the least of her concerns, and it wasn't nearly as bad as having it go off right in her face.
After the man spent his next magazine, Satori shouted at him again. "No, it's after me specifically. It knows who I am for some reason."
I will not be bound, mind-reader. I will not be murdered, murderer.
"That's the fear getting to you, try to ignore it." The man shouted. Satori was frustrated at the man, but couldn't say anything as he reloaded and fired again. He was really quick, and there was hardly enough time to get in edgewise.
Once his third magazine was spent and unceremoniously dropped from the gun to fall at his feet, Satori shouted at him one last time. "I'll prove it—watch."
Satori then ran out into the middle of the street, trying to put distance between her and the rest of the formation of cop cars and vans. What the hell are you doing? Both of her Pokemon shouted, but she ignored them.
"Come and get me Yveltal!" Satori then flipped off the legendary manifestation of death and destruction as she ran in the center of the street.
You are far too arrogant for your own good. That will be your last mistake.
Yveltal opened its maw, and unleashed another beam of life-stealing energy at Satori. A lone target, in the middle of the street. Even though it was exactly as Satori planned, it wasn't the best situation.
She hadn't done it out of recklessness though, and had a plan. It wasn't a very good plan, but its intent was to at least keep her alive and show Yveltal will change its tactics to target her specifically. Hopefully it would wake the KPD up to a certain degree.
Satori noticed that Yveltal's main attack, the beam that steals life, wasn't all that accurate or hard to dodge. It was highly destructive and killed anything that it touched, but ultimately it was narrow. Satori figured the main reason so many defending forces were still alive up to this point was because of this simple fact.
That didn't stop it from being a huge risk. As soon as Satori sensed Yveltal prepare the attack, she zagged instead of zigged, and with some assistance from Pikachu tackling her at the last moment, Satori dodged the narrow beam of oblivion by a few feet's margin.
You're absolutely crazy, boss.
"Not when I've got you to back me up," Satori said as she ran to the other side of the street and ducked into another alleyway. Her heart had already been pounding out of her chest, but now it was even more so.
You're a slippery little thing, aren't you?
Satori grumbled. It was one thing for the legendary man-eating monster to be evil, but did it have to taunt her as well?
Delphox and Pikachu caught up easily to Satori as she ran through the alley, backtracking towards the main contingent of defenders. She made it pretty far before Yveltal landed on top of one of the buildings, and poked its head through the narrow gap in the alley. If nothing else, the building at least looked like it would hold from the added weight.
Come out, come out, someone wants to kill you.
Satori tried to dig one last time for all the good it would do, but she only ran into more of the same. She was starting to think there was no trauma that drove Yveltal, that it really was just a monster who desired wanton destruction.
Could that...could that really be all there is?
Before Yveltal could do anything to hurt Satori, the others adjusted their aim and fired at Yveltal. Strangely, only now Satori realized the numerous flying Pokemon circling around Yveltal attacking and scratching it. They probably only just got the opportunity since Yveltal decided to sit still.
Satori got a bit of relief when Yveltal had to turn his attention away and take flight again. It was taking a real beating, but it wasn't any worse for wear. As it did so, Satori slowly backtracked from the alley until she neared the main street. She found Yveltal's location and saw it fighting off quite a number of others.
An officer ran towards her and tossed a small radio in her direction. Satori reached out with two hands and almost dropped it, but managed to hold on.
"Press the button when you talk," came a voice on the radio. "Are you the girl who Yveltal tried to kill?"
It took Satori a few seconds to figure out how to use the radio, but it was fairly intuitive. She pushed down on the button. "Yes," she shouted. "Please believe me, I can communicate with it through its thoughts. It's trying to kill me."
"I believe you. I can't afford not to," came the voice. "My name is Reimu, by the way. What's yours?"
"S-Satori."
There was a pause on the other end. "Were you at the power plant?"
Satori was surprised, she hadn't remembered meeting this Reimu person there. "Ah, yeah...that was me."
"Jesus, fate really has it in for you doesn't it?"
Satori groaned.
"In any case, if Yveltal really is after you then we're going to get you out of the city. If it follows you, then there will be less casualties. If it doesn't, well, at least you'll be safe."
"T-Thank you, Miss Reimu." Satori said.
"You should see an officer waving to you by one of the squad cars. Get in it and he'll drive you out of the city."
Satori scanned the area and saw what Reimu was referring to. There was a single officer, gesturing for her to approach. His clothes were bloody and ripped. Satori ran towards him, and he swung around the car and opened the driver-side door. Satori opened the passenger and caught a glance of Yveltal before she sat down and pulled the door closed. Her Pokemon hopped into the back seat.
Don't you dare run away from me, little girl.
"It's coming after us." Satori said. "Get us out of here."
"Planning on it." The officer said, and slammed his foot on the accelerator. The patrol car lurched forward and quickly picked up speed. Satori looked out the back window, and saw Yveltal turn to follow.
Well, at least it was going as planned. Satori used her opportunity to keep up her mental assault for all the good it would do, but she lost faith it would work. So instead she focused most of her attention on thinking.
If Yveltal really was just a manifestation of destruction, then would it be conscious how it is? All Satori could find in it was a fear of death, nothing else. While it was possible that Yveltal had some trauma too far buried for Satori to find, her ability wouldn't fail her like this. If there was nothing else Satori was confident in, it was her Third Eye.
The Third Eye was not that weak. Not so weak as to not see the truth behind Yveltal. If it truly were that weak, then...things would be far easier. The pain that Satori had suffered because of her Third Eye, no, it was too strong. Too strong to not see Yveltal's trauma. Which meant that what she saw was all there is. A fear.
A fear of death.
Was it really that simple? That Yveltal feared death? It couldn't be, something didn't make sense. If it feared death, then it wouldn't actively cause it on a massive scale. A creature afraid of death would not seek to destroy everything in its path, the sequence of causes doesn't line up for that.
There was something Satori was missing. Something she wasn't piecing together. Yveltal, the manifestation of destruction. Cursed with an innate fear of death. It didn't line up. Something's not right.
Satori didn't get the chance to think further before the car suddenly swerved. She was thrown against the passenger door, and grimaced at the pain to her already-injured arm.
"Sorry," the officer said. "Gotta keep up the speed."
"It's fine, better I hurt my arm than die."
The officer didn't say anything as the car continued on its path. They were on the main circle now, traveling counter-clockwise. Satori wasn't sure what gate they were going to, but she knew the ideal would be back toward the power plant. Somewhere that wasn't heavily populated.
The car swerved again as a pillar of light struck the ground below them. A rumble shook the car as the street gave out in front of them, crumbling from the destructive attack. The car avoided the attack, but fishtailed in the aftermath. The officer tried to regain control, but slammed into a traffic light. White smoke started pouring from the car's hood, and Satori knew that it was totaled.
"Fucking dammit" the officer yelled and pounded on the steering wheel. Satori was a little quicker to react and opened the passenger door. Luckily it opened with no resistance. The officer saw her leave and left himself.
That looks like it hurt. Come to me dear, I'll make all the pain go away.
"Shut the hell up," Satori shouted. The destruction pokemon was not intimidated and flew towards her. Satori took this as her cue to run, but there weren't any convenient alleyways nearby. She had to run down the main road, in full view of Yveltal.
Delphox and Pikachu resumed attacking it to keep Yveltal on the defensive, but it was only marginally effective. Satori still felt nothing but that ever-present fear of death in its mind, but she also had a feeling it was getting impatient.
Other vans and police cars quickly approached, and flying pokemon assaulted Yveltal from all angles. Yveltal didn't manage to launch another attack towards Satori before they caught up to her and re-formed their formation.
"Satori, get into another patrol car. My officers have been told to do whatever you say, it's definitely after you."
"I need another—" Before Satori could finish her thought, Yveltal screeched loudly. Satori had to bring her hand to her ear to try to muffle the sound, but since she only had one hand she could use properly it didn't work. Her ears were really taking a beating, if she survived she was buying earplugs and wearing them constantly.
Satori ran away from the monster in fear. An instinctive response, and Yveltal chased after her. Her two active pokemon were still doing their best to defend her, but it wasn't good enough. Yveltal opened its maw and Satori sensed another oncoming attack.
But before it could go off, Yveltal was interrupted by a rainbow-colored beam of light aimed directly at its head. The attack hit its mark, aimed and timed perfectly. It by no means finished off the beast, but it manged to distract it from potentially obliterating Satori off the face of the Earth.
Satori's eyes widened when she saw who the attack came from. Running out from between two trucks was Viola, a veritable swarm of Vivillion and other bug pokemon flying around her. Viola met Satori's gaze and ran towards her.
"Satori, we need to get out of the city," she said. Satori nodded in response, and Viola led her to another car.
DON'T YOU DARE
A beam of light suddenly hit the car head on and eviscerated it. Satori and Viola were thrown back from the impact, as were a number of other officers. The car didn't explode, exactly, but it was on fire. Satori backed away from it and tried to get back on her feet.
"Dammit, dammit, it's not going to let me go..."
"Then we'll run," Viola shouted, already standing. She ran over to Satori and helped her to her feet, before they ran away from the combat towards one of the gates out of the city.
Satori followed Viola as both their pokemon fired shots off at Yveltal to try to ward it off. It didn't give up the chase, obviously, but at the very least it made getting an attack off difficult for the destruction pokemon.
As Viola and Satori ran, Satori glanced back to see all the people fighting get back in their cars in anticipation of having to chase their target. However, its targets were just running on their own feet.
Yveltal beat its heavy wings and lifted itself into the air, moving far faster than Satori could muster. Suddenly, the pokemon was in front of her and Viola, and lowered itself in front of them. It still flew, but it was close enough that Satori couldn't see getting past it as a possibility.
This is not an exit. Now die.
With that, Yveltal opened its maw and fired another life-draining attack towards Satori. Like a deer in headlights, Satori's legs locked and she couldn't move. The Pokemon of destruction loomed over her, about to drain the life from Satori.
Until she was smashed in her side by Viola and sent tumbling to the ground. As she hit the ground, Satori quickly turned back to see Viola and three Vivillions erecting barriers just as Yveltal's attack hit. Viola kept moving to try to get out of the path of the beam.
Yveltal's attack struck the barriers. They didn't hold for more than a fraction of a second before breaking through, and striking Viola in the leg as she tried to dodge.
She screamed as she toppled to the ground, but fell silent even before she hit the pavement.
That was meant for you, little murderer.
The words didn't really register in Satori's mind. Viola was only hit in the leg, but—
It's enough. The oblivion will drain the life out of anything it touches. It's enough.
Satori's hands were trembling, Viola's lifeless body lying just inches in front of her. The person Satori had been so cruel to, who she had taunted over the death of her Pokemon. Here she lay, trying to protect her.
Master, there is no time for regret! Not now! Delphox shouted and forced Satori to her feet. Satori was in a daze, but Delphox snapped her into enough shape to try to run away. Delphox led her into an alleyway, but Satori was only half-registering what was happening. She was lost in her own thoughts.
The Pokemon of destruction. Yveltal. It fears death, and yet causes it. But that's...not quite true. Yveltal didn't just kill Viola.
It drained the life out of her.
Yveltal absorbed the life of Viola. That attack was not one that caused mass destruction for the sake of destruction. The death and destruction was a side-effect of its true purpose. To absorb life.
And it hit her. The pieces all fell into place. Tears came to Satori's eyes as she realized the truth of the situation. Yveltal feared death, and so it clung to life. It stole the lives of others so it would never have to experience death.
It was so simple. It was stupidly simple. A being who did not want to die and was given the power to stave it off. It was not a manifestation of destruction. It was a manifestation of the fear of death. That's all it was.
That's all it ever was.
Satori emerged from the alleyway onto one of the larger avenues. She ran away, Delphox and Pikachu following. She only made it a few steps before she felt the gust of air and sensed Yveltal behind her. She spun around and toppled over onto her back. Her bag fell from her grasp and tore as it hit the ground, the contents spilling out all over the street.
The majestic figure of Yveltal spread out in front of her between the buildings. Satori couldn't help but look up at it as it descended upon her. Its talons spread out and Satori could do nothing as it crashed into her, pinning her to the pavement. The talons pressed onto her, and Satori screamed from the pain.
Caught you.
She struggled, but it was useless. Satori couldn't escape from under Yveltal's talons. Even breathing was difficult under the pressure. And yet it hadn't immediately killed her. Satori couldn't think it would be anything as grand as mercy, it probably wanted to just savor the kill.
Satori looked to see her two Pokemon standing still. Delphox and Pikachu. She knew they were desperate to act, but they couldn't. Not with their master at Yveltal's mercy. They were frozen in place by fear, a fear of what Yveltal would do to her if they prodded it. Forced to the sidelines.
Tears wet Satori's eyes. But not because she was about to die. What struck her wasn't a fear of death. It was because of the far too familiar scene that stood before her. A scene where she was helpless and could do nothing. A monster that was destroying itself as it fought against its very nature. Yveltal, the creature who did not want to die. Who desperately clung to life, fought against what was otherwise inevitable. Against nature itself.
"P...please..." Satori uttered between gasps of air.
Begging for your life?
Satori shook her head. "Please...you don't know what...you're doing..."
Yveltal stayed silent, but increased the pressure against Satori's body. She coughed, and a little blood splattered onto her lips. But she kept speaking, it was the only thing she could do.
"You're...the same..."
We are not the same.
Yveltal's talons pushed even harder onto Satori's chest, and she desperately wheezed. But she forced the words out, despite the pain, despite her lack of breath.
"...not...me..."
Yveltal didn't decrease the pressure, but didn't put any more on at Satori's next words. "Not...me..." She spoke between gasps. "You and her...you both...fought against your nature..." Satori coughed, and tasted blood in her mouth. "You...rejected your fates..."
Satori stopped speaking for a moment and realized she was crying. She shook her head back and fourth to try to throw the tears away, but it didn't work. She turned her head to the side, but that was all she could do.
"I...I couldn't save her, Yveltal..." Satori gasped for air. "So please...I have to save you...I can't...not again..." Satori's vision started to go black. "This can't...not again..."