A Dragon's Tail
Tail 2: Zetarus' Tail – Ambivalence
Tail 2-1: A Dragon with No Name
'Who am I?'
I kept asking myself as I was dragged along a dark corridor. The torches on the wall were the only things that illuminated this dark place. But… I still couldn't see anything, even my own body…
'Who am I? And what is the purpose of my existence?'
I asked the same questions to myself, yet I could never find the answer I want…
"You are the living scum of the earth! Your only purpose of existence is to rot until death in this place!"
This was what they would answer me if I ask these questions to them.
'Am I really meaningless? Am I destined to be born and die?'
The floor was cold as I slowly stepped on it. I couldn't walk much faster than this as the restraints that bound my arms and my legs prevented me from doing so, and a dagger that was stabbed in my back prevented me from using my power. But still…
"Hey!" A rough voice echoed from behind me and my back was jabbed by the head of a spear. "Walking like that won't save you from going to hell, so move up, maggot!"
It was a cycle of hell… The restraints prevented me from walking fast, and spear that jabbed my back prevented me from walking slow…
At last…
I was brought to a room… This room had a thing that I had never seen before… It was… a square hole in the wall with a light shone through it…
"Never see a window before, maggot?" The one who dragged me here spoke up. "Don't worry about it, you will never see it again."
I was brought to the middle of the room and was forced to kneel down on the floor near a bloody block. Then my neck was placed on this block, with my head jutting out of the block's edge. There was a bloody box below my head… From where I was, I saw someone who's all in black, even their mask. They held a bloody poleaxe in their paws…
"You had been loitering on this world long enough." The one who dragged me here spoke with a snide voice. "It's time for you to return to hell."
'Hell? So… It's time for me to…die…' I thought to myself again. 'But… They said it's time for me to go to hell… I wonder… Does dying mean going to hell or getting out of hell?'
I couldn't move any part of my body… So… There's nothing I could do to escape this fate… A fate that destined me to be born and live here for 21 years before returning to the afterlife again…
The one who held a poleaxe raised it upward, preparing to strike it down on my neck…
I closed my eyes and waited for the moment… the moment of death…
'…'
'…'
'Wait…'
'I…'
'I can't die yet!'
That was the last thing that came into my mind as the poleaxe struck down on my neck…
"…"
"…Where… am I?"
I woke up in a strange place… What should I say about this place? It seemed like I am in…
"Your own consciousness…"
"Hm?!" I looked around as I heard a calm and powerful voice. But I couldn't see anyone around here.
"Pitiful mortal… Do you really think you could see me easily?."
"…If you are not going to do anything, fxxk off." I spoke with my arms crossed.
"You ignorant… Don't you know you can't escape from your consciousness?"
"…Ignorant? Consciousness?" I said. "Couldn't you use easier words?"
"…In other words, you are in your own mind."
"My own mind? And who the hell are you?" I asked.
"I am Zygarde, the order Pokemon." That voice answered. "I am a Pokemon who watches over the world from Soulyn, the land in the Afterlife."
"Soulyn… Afterlife…" I repeated those words. "So… It means that I am already dead, right?"
"…If you are already dead, then why did I call you 'mortal'?" Zygarde spoke up again.
"…So, I am still alive." I crossed my arms again. "And what do you want from me by trapping me here at the moment of my death?"
"…Let me ask you one thing; do you want to die or continue living on?" Instead of answering my question, Zygarde yet asked me another question.
It was obvious… Why should I continue living in the world where there's nothing, even my body, that is mine? Well…Wait…
"I can't die yet!" I spoke without thinking.
"Then, why?" Zygarde asked me again.
'How the hell should I know?' I thought to myself. I didn't know what was I thinking when I said that I can't die yet… But… somehow, deep in my mind, I felt that…
"…I must do something…" I gave another answer. "I was born for this thing, and I can't die until I finish it!"
"Interesting…" Zygarde spoke up. "But right now, you are at the moment of death. Once I let you go from this, you will die, yet you still didn't finish your task…"
"…If I couldn't finish it within my short lifespan, I will come back from the afterlife." I gave an answer. "And continue living until I could finish it."
"…As one of three rulers of the Afterlife, I couldn't allow you to do that." Zygarde spoke up. "Going back to life is against the laws of nature…"
"…Didn't I tell you to use words that are easy to understand?" I crossed my arms again.
"You fool… It means you can't go back from dead to being alive." Zygarde answered.
"…And what will you do?" I asked. "I don't care what punishment you have for me if I did because… I must do it at all costs."
"If that's so…" Zygarde spoke up. "I have something to offer that you may find… interesting."
"… Spit it out." I said.
"I offer you… to form a pact with me…" Zygarde said. "When you form a pact with me, you will receive the power you could never imagine of… And I would be glad to lend you my power…"
"I see…" I said. "And… What's the price I must pay?"
"In return…" Zygarde continued. "You will be cursed to lose something… But since you said that nothing in your life belonged to you…"
"…Fine." I spoke without any thought. "I accept your offer."
As I said, a faint glow of light appeared in front of me, and Zygarde continued speaking. "Then, touch the thing you see in front of you."
I stepped forward and reached my paw to touch it…
"W…What?!" I became surprised as I felt a huge amount of power flowing into my body. This power… It made me felt like… I have nothing to be afraid.
'Now the forming is finished…' Zygarde spoke up again, but this time, they spoke through my mind. 'And my power is yours. You can also speak to me via the Ring of Balance on your claw.'
I looked at my right claw and became surprised as there was a ring there. I was sure that it wasn't here before.
"This Ring of Balance is your Dragon Relic, which is proof that you have formed a pact with me, which you can use it to speak with me." Zygarde continued explaining. "And with my power, you can now use the move Dragon Claw and Dig… But I know you have never used a move before in your life, right?"
I pretended to ignore his question.
"And…" Zygarde continued. "When you are in trouble, you can call me and I will come to aid you with my moves, Land's Wrath, Thousand Arrows and Thousand Waves, depends on my mind."
"…Do you have anything more to tell me?" I asked after listening to them for quite some time. "If not, fxxk off and send me back."
"…There's yet one thing I want to ask you." Zygarde said. "You haven't told me your name yet. What's your name?"
"No." I answered. "I am a dragon with no name."
"That's too bad…" Zygarde said. "Then, farewell for now, mortal. I hope that the next time we meet, you will finally have a name to tell me."
"…"
Instead of a poleaxe chopping my head from my body, it hit the block instead!
"WHAT?!" The one who held the poleaxe spoke with a shaking voice as I evaded the death blow! For them, this shouldn't be happening!
"Grrrr…. GRAAAAAARRRAAR!" I roared as loud as I could and used my power to break the restraints that bound my body and the dagger that was stabbed at my back. Then…
"Zygarde, I call you!" I spoke and rested my paw on the floor, which made the silhouette of a huge snake-like dragon Pokemon appeared! And when it appeared, the floor below us started to crumble!
"Thousand Waves!"
"ARRRRRRR!" Everyone else in this room roared in pain as they were attacked by several waves beneath the floor! The seismic waves rendered movement impossible for them like they were glued to the floor!
As everyone was trapped by Zygarde's Thousand Waves, I quickly left the room and went into the dark corridor again. Then I ran along the corridor, trying to find an exit. But as I did that…
"Warning! A Prisoner has escaped from the execution and is now trying to escape! Everyone, be on your guard and try to capture this prisoner, dead or alive!"
"Sxxt!" I cursed. And then I saw several guards in front of me. Once they noticed me, they pointed their pistols at me.
"Stop right there!" One of them spoke to me. "Your escape is over! Surrender now or face the consequences."
'Don't those guards know how to use the easier words?' I thought to myself. This may seem like a dead end, but… not for me!
"DIG!" I roared as I quickly dug a hole in the floor and went into it. The guards opened fire at me, but I was too fast and they were too slow.
"You will never get away from this place alive!" One of the guards spoke up. "Everyone! Cover the exits of this place. The Desert Prison's steel wall was built into the ground too, so the prisoner couldn't leave this place via digging!"
I rose up from the ground and found myself in a room with several 'windows'. This room had many things that I had never seen before in my life.
'What is this?' I picked a long object with a black, sharp tip that was on a table. 'A spear? But the tip was too short… And…What?' I said as the sharp tip was broken easily when I touched it. 'What kind of spear is this? And… The tip of this spear also leaves a black mark on my claw too!'
'…Shouldn't you continue your escape? Why do you waste your time with a pencil?' Zygarde asked me through my mind again.
'Bel-zin?' I thought. 'What is it? A new kind of spear?'
'…Never mind. Now continue your escape!' Zygarde said.
I placed the 'Bel-zin' back on the table and was about to go when I noticed something on the table near the 'Bel-zin'. This time, I know what it is.
'T…This…' I picked it up. Obviously, I know what it was. It was a pistol like the one those guards used, but this one seemed a bit different. I also found several bullets near a pistol too.
"This seemed like a nice weapon for me." I said and decided to bring it with me too.
"There you are!"
A guard spoke up when I left the room. This time, it was me who pointed a pistol and shot him at his forehead without missing!
"Y…You!" One of the other guards said when they saw me shooting at their comrade. They then tried to attack me, but again, I was too fast, and they were too slow. After a few seconds, all the guards around here were already dead by my bullets.
'Too easy…' I thought as I checked my bullets. When I saw that I still have ample amount of bullets, I continued running along a long corridor again. This time, it led me to an area, or to be exact, the area where I was imprisoned.
"H…Hey!" One of three prisoners in the cell that I was imprisoned in spoke up when they saw me. "Y…You are that dragon who was with us, right? Now, please free us!"
"Y… You…" One of the other two prisoners spoke up too. "P…Please let us go and we will not forget about your kindness…"
"M…Me too." The last prisoner spoke up. "D…Don't forget me who have kept you safe here for 21 years!"
'Oh…I remember all of you…' I thought as I looked at three prisoners in the cell. 'One of you always mocks me and beats me up… The second one… You always…No, I won't think about it. And the last one, you raised me because you want to eat me if food becomes scarce one day…'
I closed my eyes a bit before I spoke up. "Sure, I will free all of you. Just wait here while I go to find a key, alright?"
"Thanks!" All three prisoners said. "You are the best!"
'Just wait here… And you will be free at last…' I thought as I ran passed through their cell. However, the thought of helping them had never come across my mind…
'Ah! There it is!' I thought as I saw a door with a shining light. This must be the exit of this damned place. But as I approached it…
"Stop right there you criminal scum!"
Several guards appeared as I reached the exit. They then surrounded me and pointed their pistols at me. "You may kill our comrades with your bullets, but in a situation like this, you won't be able to escape!" One of the guards spoke up. "Now, surrender!"
"Surrender?" I spoke up. "Sorry, but I don't know the meaning of that word! Zygarde!" I quickly rested my paw on the floor again. "I call you!"
"GARRRRR!" Zygarde's s silhouette appeared again. This time, they attacked by summoning several arrows from the ceiling!
"Thousand Arrows!"
"ARRRRRR!" The guards roared in pain as they were attacked by Zygarde's Thousand Arrows. Zygarde's attack was so powerful that none could stand against it!
"Arr…." The guards started collapsing on the floor, one by one. And not before long, all guards were now lying on the floor. They were now dead.
"See ya, losers!" I said as I passed through the door and got out of the Desert Prison for the first time in my life…
"What the…"
I spoke out as I saw the outside of Desert Prison for the first time in my life. Outside Desert Prison was a… vast placed filled with sand everywhere.
'This is called the 'Desert'.' Zygarde spoke up.
"Desert…" I mumbled. "So… This is the desert…"
'You don't know about the desert?' Zygarde asked.
"I was locked in this nasty place for my whole 21-year life." I answered.
'Anyway…' Zygarde continued speaking. 'What you have done gives me a lot of tasks! Several fallen souls from the guards you killed will now arrive at the Afterlife…'
"It wasn't my fault…" I said and looked at my pistol. "It was my Raider Pistol's fault."
'Great…' Zygarde mumbled. 'Now get away from that place before the other guards catch up with you.'
"Sure…" I spoke as I walked away from Desert Prison before I remembered something. "Zygarde, I promised to my 'friends' that I will free them, so, would you please be my guest and 'free' them for me?"
'You…' Zygarde said. 'Don't you dare…'
"…Or your power isn't enough to do it? Well, such a waste…" I mocked.
'Y…You insolent mortal! You shall see my power now! Land's Wrath!' Zygarde said before several beams of green light emerged from the ground and caused the ground beneath Desert Prison to crack and fall apart. There was no doubt about it; there was no life left around here except me. No guards. No prisoners. Nothing but short-lasting blood-curdling screams and a huge pile of rubbles at where Desert Prison used to be.
"Ah…" I said as I heard the sound of terrorized screams before they were slain by Land's Wrath. "The song of death! This is so good!"
'Y…You psychopathic mortal…' Zygarde said.
"Didn't I tell you to use an easy word?" I said. "And now, I have finished my promise by freeing them from their imprisonment."
'…I am starting to regret forming a pact with you, mortal.' Zygarde said. 'But what's done is done, and I will accept it.'
"Good." I said. "Now let's go. I have a task to do."
'By the way…' Zygarde spoke up again. 'I once asked you your name, and you told me you had none. But now, do you have a name?'
This time, I had an answer for him. "Yes." I answered.
"Then, what's your name?" Zygarde asked.
"Zetarus." I answered.
To Be Continued…
Dragon of Vale: Welcome to the second tail: Ambivalence. This tail almost has nothing to do with the first tail, and Rachael, Jasper and Zenpai won't appear in this tail too, but several new characters will appear instead. Well, what do you think about it? Is it dark? Well… This tail is one of the darkest tails in this story.
We met the protagonist of this tail. His name is Zetarus, he uses a pistol as his weapon (Now his pistol is called 'Raider Pistol'), and he had formed a pact with Zygarde, but we still don't know what kind of Pokemon he is… except that he is a dragon type Pokemon for sure. Also, he seems like a psychopathic killer, which reminds me about those merchants' conversation in Tail 1-5…
A special thanks to Ridin Valon for helping me with the error correction.