-Chapter XII: Through Death I See-
-Roy-
"Alright, one more time…" Roy rolled his head back as he created the Shadow Gallade once again. He lightly cut himself on a tree branch that was blown by a gust of wind, and several drops of shadowy blood dripped to the ground. "How in the world did I get cut by a tree?" he wondered aloud. "Whatever. A little shadow healing-"
"Ought to heal it."
Roy's eyes shot open as he heard a deep yet soft voice echo in his mind. "...Did you…"
"I finished the sentence, right?"
He laughed with surprise as the shadow Gallade that materialized slowly waved at him. "You can talk now?"
It nodded in confirmation, and Roy raked his mind, trying to figure out what he did differently. "I made you forty-seven times… How are you different this time?"
"I'm a part of you. You put your soul into creating me." it murmured.
"My soul…? I mean, my blood did fall into the… Oh! That's what she meant!" Roy mentally facepalmed and smiled at himself. "I'm a moron… I have to literally put a part of myself into you."
"Ha-ha! Found you!" with a blast of purple fire, Roy's shadow being was evaporated. He gasped in pain and teleported to the side of the searing flames. "You found me fast…" he cursed as a familiar Chandelure appeared about twenty feet away.
"It wasn't that hard, Roy! When you weren't where you died, I just had to feel for disturbances in the shadow realm. Summoning shadow entities is old-school, and so easy to track! I'm amazed you even thought of that!" the Chandelure cackled.
"I've picked up a few tricks in the past few days," Roy warned. "You'd do well to leave me alone."
"Is that a threat?" Soulburner snickered.
"No. It's a promise." Roy countered.
"Oh. That would be intimidating, if you were… well, intimidating!" the Chandelure mocked. "Go ahead, I'll let you land the first hit."
"...Yeah, that's not happening." Roy replied.
Soulburner frowned and crossed two of his arms. "Aw, that's no fun!" then he vanished in a flash of light. The real soulburner swung through the trees above them and mockingly laughed. "Fine. If you won't play my game, then I'll just have to change the rules! For glory 1 v. 1 it is! No items!"
Before Roy could come up with a response, four Chandelure surrounded him on all sides, each one charging a fire blast. "Which one am I?" they all asked in unison.
"None of them!" Roy let loose a power gem attack, sending fragments of stone in all directions, and the double team illusions vanished. The real Chandelure shouted in pain from above him, and Roy used a move that Electivire taught him while they were in Treasure Town yesterday. Nothing felt any different afterwards, but Soulburner flinched, meaning that the attack worked. Roy silently prayed to Arceus that he was right as Soulburner floated at an even level with him. Roy used dark pulse, but the Chandelure negated it with a wave of violet flames. Roy teleported to the side as the flames incinerated several trees behind them, and a new voice called out. "What is going on here?"
"Valerie!" Roy gasped. "Run!"
"...Are you talking to me?" the Delphox asked. "I don't think you know who you're talking to- oh, hello." She smiled and waved as Soulburner turned to face her.
"Who are you?"
"I'm this Mismagius' teacher." she replied.
"Teacher? You're teaching a ghost-type?"
"I'll admit, it can be a bit difficult at times, but I'm making it work." she twirled her wand, and a symbol comprised of fire appeared in midair. "You burned my forest, you know. I don't take kindly to that."
"What are you going to do?" Soulburner mocked. "Fight me with fire? I'm immune to flames!"
"Not anymore." Valerie smiled, and Roy held back a smirk. Soulburner lit a small fireball directly in front of him and gasped after a moment. "...Oh, no."
"Oh, yes." Valerie shot a heat wave at the ghost-type that charred his skin and sent him crashing to the ground. Roy sighed with relief as Valerie held her wand to the Ghost-type's body. "So what should we do with you? Obviously Magnezone isn't equipped to hold you… I'm thinking banishment to the Distortion World."
"No… Please…" the Chandelure croaked. "I can't go there… I'd-"
"You'd get what you deserve, I'm sure." Valerie interjected. Then she dropped her guard entirely and sighed heavily.
"What are you doing?" Roy stammered.
"He got away." Valerie muttered. "I should've seen it coming." then the Chandelure lying on the ground disappeared in a flash of light shortly afterwards.
Valerie sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "...Well, that was fun! Excellent work, using skill swap to negate his immunity to flames!" she pat Roy's back with a smile, and Roy shrugged. "I didn't know if it would work, but it did."
"Of course it would work! Besides... I'm glad that you finally understand what I mean by 'put your heart into it'!"
"You could have just said 'put a few drops of blood into it'." Roy deadpanned.
"Blood isn't necessary. You can transfer a bit of your soul into things without actually bringing any harm to yourself." Valerie informed him. "But that works too. That's how the beginners do it." Then she glanced at her wrist and cursed quietly. "For Arceus' sake... Really? Now?" she groaned and dropped her shoulders.
"What?" Roy tilted his head as Valerie shrugged. "I've got an important meeting with important pokémon. I'll be back soon. Very well-done, and keep up the good work! Be creative with what you want to do next!"
"...Will do." Roy sighed as she was enveloped in a tornado of fire that disappeared moments later.
-Jade-
They rematerialized in the middle of a dense coniferous forest. The shadows around them rolled off of their heads, staining the snow-covered ground pitch-black.
"Mother… Where are we?" Jade asked softly.
"I… I don't know." she remarked. "This part of the forest is unfamiliar to me."
"Why did you transport us to an unknown part of the forest?"
"I didn't. Something else brought us here."
"Like what?"
"...I'm not sure."
Jade slowly floated forward, then ran face-first into a massive stone pillar that wasn't there a second before. As she floated backwards, the stone pillar seemed to expand and contort until it was an entire temple.
Hazel floated forward, but Jade shook her head slowly. "Don't go in… We don't know what's in there."
"It will provide shelter. And it wasn't there a moment ago. I doubt that you can see it unless someone touches it." Hazel replied sternly. "It will keep us hidden."
Jade stared in awe at the massive stone temple with ice-covered vines hanging from the walls. There were intricately carved patterns on the stairs that led to an arched stone entrance that was, at a bare minimum, fifteen feet tall, and probably ten feet across. And the roof went up another ten feet above that.
"I don't sense any life within its walls." Hazel said. Jade reached out with her spectral senses to confirm it. Hers weren't as refined as Roy's, but she could sense life.
"Alright. Be careful." she warned.
As they floated forward, inches above the stone, Jade glanced at the rails along the stairs. She narrowed her eyes and nodded slowly. "There are traps in this place. If we touch the ground, I don't know what might happen."
"Iris, it's fine." Hazel replied with a loving smile. Then Jade flinched as a small, nearly invisible wire was tugged by her forehead. She gasped and tackled her mother after hearing a single clicking noise. "Phase into shadows!"
They fell into the shadow realm, and Jade felt the earth above them rattle as the front half of the temple collapsed into a pile of rubble. She phased her head out of a tree about thirty feet away from the edge of the ruins after the quaking had ceased and looked around warily.
That probably got the attention of anyone in the forest. She thought with disgust. I should have trusted my instincts. Temples are always riddled with traps.
"What is that?" Hazel asked from the shadow realm.
"What is…" she stayed quiet as two beings climbed from the remains of the temple. They were the same color as the stone, so it was hard to discern what kind of pokémon they were, even from thirty feet away, but they looked at each other briefly before disappearing in the blink of an eye.
"I don't know… But I don't want to be here when they come back." she finally said. "Let's go."
She looked around once more, then noticed a thick white fog rolling across the ground. Much too quickly to be natural. "...We need to run. Now!"
She phased into shadows, but was instantly knocked back into the overworld by a malevolent force unlike any she had ever felt.
"You cannot run from US!" multiple voices said at once. "We will ANNIHILATE you!" Jade fired a shadow ball at the purple fog-like pokémon, but it transformed into smoke and enveloped her. She began shuddering uncontrollably as the Spiritomb's ghastly form took possession of her body. She floated upright against her will, and faced the Houndoom that was chasing them earlier.
"Hello, Jade…"
She stayed silent at first, but she could feel the Spiritomb inside of her. If she didn't comply with this Houndoom, she would die.
Where's Hazel?!
She tried to look around, but the Houndoom bit her arm with fire fang. She screamed in pain, but was cut short as the Spiritomb tightened its grip on her throat. "We are GLAD that you brought US to bring her down. This is FUN."
"Thanks, love… But she's ours now. You're dismissed." the female Houndoom hummed as a Typhlosion and Talonflame emerged from the fog.
"So be it. We will return HOME now." Jade felt the razor-sharp souls withdraw from her body, and the Houndoom notioned with her eyes for the Typhlosion to grab her. She landed on the ground, weakened and exhausted from the Spiritomb, and the Typhlosion grabbed her arms and pinned her to the ground.
"Your death will suffice… Yes, it will do nicely!" the Houndoom smirked and planted a paw on Jade's chest. "I'll admit, you ran for quite a while… But I'm the best tracker in the Mafia. It was only a matter of time before I found you again. And these ruins certainly got my attention. Thanks for that."
Jade cursed silently and tried to use frost breath, but the Typhlosion superheated its hands, melting the ice on her arms and blistering the frosted skin beneath. She bit back another scream, and the Houndoom's throat glowed orange as it smiled cruelly. "This is where it ends for you. But don't worry… Your team will join you soon enough. Then it'll be all over."
-Vulcan-
"So are you gonna do it?"
"Of course not! It's Skuntank!" he exclaimed at the illusory image of Vincent. "And you still haven't told me how you're communicating with me!"
"It's not important. You need to get out of there, before Mordred or Victor get you. Skuntank knows… I know… You can't fight them, Vulcan. Not by yourself. Not even Connor can."
"So? Skuntank's the one that got us into all of this!"
"And the way I see it, he's trying to make things right! From what you've told me, it sounds like he apologized. Just… he didn't say he was apologizing. It's not his style. But he's giving you a chance to save your team. Take that opportunity. Don't let our sacrifices be in vain."
"Who are you talking to?"
"Huh? Oh, no-one!" he smiled sheepishly and seemed to be blushing, and Vulcan honed his mind to bring Vincent into focus. "Vince? Who's there?"
"Is that Vulcan?" the voice sounded eerily familiar.
"N-no! Of course not!" he got really close to Vulcan and whispered, "She's really talkative right now, so don't freak out."
"O...kay… Who?"
"Vulcan! I knew it! You lying little Smeargle!" Vincent was knocked out of focus, and a blue face appeared. One that he never thought he'd see again. "...Rose?"
"That's right! I'm alright! And Vincent's here with me! Oh, and Nocturne and Magnus!"
He heard another voice from a bit far away. "Vulcan? Oh, man… I'm surprised you're still going." Nocturne's voice filled his mind, and he lost it. He collapsed to the ground and wept.
"Ah, stop crying, you big pansy! You still got bad guys to beat the s*** out of!" an angry Tropius' head came into focus, and Vulcan just cried some more.
"I can't, Magnus! There's no way out of here!"
"Didn't that two-timin' mother-f***er give you a way out?" he asked.
"Yeah… But he's Skuntank! I just told Vincent that!" then he gasped as the realization set in. "Vincent… If you're with them… That means-!"
The Smeargle sighed, but nodded in confirmation. "Yup. They got me, man… And not even a super-powerful pokémon either… A freakin' Ferrothorn landed a lucky power whip on me." he sighed, but smiled wistfully. "I miss you guys already… But it's really not that bad here. We're all together, at least. It's not what I was expecting at all."
Vulcan shook his head and screamed at him. "How are you here then?! How can you let me see you all while you're… GAH!" he grabbed his head and used blast burn, obliterating the mountain in front of him whilst mega-evolving. He slammed his feet into the ground so hard that the remains of the earth split and fell into a fissure that snaked across the ground in three different directions. He roared with so much rage and sorrow that he felt Vincent's mental connection wavering.
"Vulcan!" Rose shouted at him. "Don't be mad at yourself! I know you blame yourself for what happened, but don't! I know it wasn't your fault!"
"I agree," Nocturne said. "It was Mordred's fault for what he did to us. Not your fault." Then he looked at Magnus briefly, and the Tropius shrugged dismissively. "What they said. I don't blame you. Alright? Arceus, you're so emotional..."
"You need to work on your pep talk skills, Magnus…" Rose told him.
"I don't pep talk! I get things done!"
"Vulcan… Whatever happens… Make sure… that nothing like this ever happens again. You have to live on… Promise me that I won't see you here anytime soon." Vincent said as Magnus and Rose proceeded to argue in the background.
"I can't promise that, Vincent! I have to do whatever it takes to keep my team safe!"
"Then do it! Even if you don't want to… join Skuntank! It's what Connor would do, and you know it!"
Vulcan shook his head slowly and planted a knee on the ground. "...He wouldn't-"
"He would do anything. Anything." Vincent sternly replied. "Will you make him proud? The same Mudkip that you saved the world with?"
"Yes… I will."
"Good…" Vincent smiled with relief, and suddenly looked… nervous.
"Vince? What's wrong?" Vulcan asked as the mental picture began fading.
"I… 't ...ina ….me out…" then the image went black.
Vulcan took several deep breaths and clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white. "I promise… I'll make this right… And make sure it never happens again." He grabbed the orb out of his wonder bag and smashed it in his fist. He waited for a warping effect, but after a moment, opened his fist to find a golden winged badge with a small white Human-like skull in the center. His nose curled upward with disgust at its tacky design, but he pinned the badge to his blue bow and looked to the sky. "I did it, Skuntank. I accepted your offer. Now you'd better keep your end of the deal."
-Skuntank-
He paused as his badge flashed three times, then glanced at Weezing and Crobat. Their badges flashed three times as well, and he chuckled warmly. "About time, you dimwit…" He tapped the badge with the tip of his tail, and the Charizard that he had almost started to respect appeared before them.
"Chaw-haw-haw! I knew you'd accept my offer."
"Shut it." the Charizard snapped.
"Hey, don't get short with me-"
"I just got through talking with four of my dead team members! And the last thing they told me was to do what I had to! And trust me, I really, really didn't want to accept your offer. But it's the best chance I've got. So let me explain something to you, Chief."
Wow, he's got even more spunk than I remember. Skuntank suppressed a smile as Vulcan continued. "Since you and Crobat are the ones responsible for the death of a third of my team… If any of you try anything that I don't like… Then consider our deal off."
"Relax, hothead." Skuntank grunted. "If you quit from our team, you're back at square one. And I won't make the offer again."
"...Whose side are you on?" Vulcan asked.
"I'm on my own side. And it's in my best interest that we get your team back together and crush those scumbags so bad that they won't ever mess with us again."
Skuntank smirked and chuckled again. "Chaw-haw-haw… I can't believe I'm doing this… Helping you guys out is usually the last thing on my mind."
Bam! Chapter 12! That was pretty intense! What did you guys think? As always, I hope you all enjoyed! If you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to leave them in the form of a review or PM! Much Love!
-PL