Chapter 14 – Disappear
It felt as though the incident at Jirachi's Comet was only a nanosecond ago, when it was really just over one hour ago. It had also been a total of about two-and-a-half months since she had left Pokémon Paradise, yet it seemed to Pelame that hardly anything got done in that time. She might as well have just stayed in Paradise.
"I left Paradise, hoping to reintroduce peace to its residents," she thought to herself. "And then it gets attacked, losing almost all of the population."
Fugon never knew whether or not he should speak. From his perspective, it looked as though Pelame's good mood and high spirits died with Jirachi.
"And then, Jirachi blows himself up after I failed to Purify him."
Pelame's spirits fell even further when she bumped into something she hoped never to see. It was a small grey headstone.
It read: "In memory of Torkoal, Treasure Town's eldest and wisest figure." Under the inscription, there was another message that appeared to have been scratched in by a vandal. That part read: "May he never annoy us again."
Just great. Now Torkoal had died, too. She hoped his death was a natural one, though in a world in the shape it currently was, no one was allowed such a peaceful fate. Fugon read the headstone and understood her distress.
"Torkoal is in a better place now," Fugon thought to himself. He went forward and hugged Pelame, who began to cry.
"At least he won't have to suffer anymore," Fugon said, trying to comfort Pelame. Suddenly, something in Pelame snapped. She stopped crying, and she stood up tall.
"No one else will," she said as boldly as she could. "No one else will die. NO. ONE." She then ran up to where the Wigglytuff Guild once stood and shouted out to the world. "YOU HEAR ME, WORLD DESTROYER?! YOU'RE NOT KILLING ANYONE ELSE WHILE I'M AROUND!"
"Pelame, maybe you should quiet down," Fugon suggested, catching up to her. "The World Destroyer could be listening. Listen, let's just make our way to the Alpha Sanctuary, shall we? Look how close we are to it." He pointed to the Alpha Beacon in the sky. It had never been so close before.
"You're right, Fugon," Pelame responded. "We're almost there."
Fugon then lowered his body to the ground. "I'll fly you as close as I can there," he said, beckoning Pelame to climb onto his back. "Don't worry, I can carry you. It won't be a problem for me. Besides, you could use some rest. My mane should warm you up, too."
"If you say so," Pelame answered, climbing onto Fugon's back and settling herself in his mane. "Thanks, Fugon."
"And don't worry. I won't drop you. And even if you do somehow fall off of me, I'll swoop right down and catch you. I may not be the most confident Pokémon around, but I'm at least an extremely skilled flier. Now, hold on. We're taking off!" With a jump and a flap of his wings, Fugon was immediately pulled down by his tail, which was still in its Iron Tail form. Even though Pelame had reversed the curse, its effects had been delayed. At this point, only the latter half of Fugon's tail (from the middle to the tip) was still iron, making it possible for him to at least move it around. But it did still weigh him down, meaning he wouldn't be able to fly after all. "Wish I remembered about that," he grumbled. Pelame climbed back off of his back. With her Alpha Powers, she found the entrance to the Guild.
"We'll stay in here for tonight," Pelame said. "The entrance collapsed, but the rest of the Guild is still standing." She entered the Guild, with Fugon following her. "This way." She entered her old Crew Room, then noticed Fugon wasn't following her.
"Pelame, I'm stuck!" he called. "My tail got caught in the ladder," he told her, explaining why he was hanging upside-down by his tail. One of the two barbs on his tail had dug itself into one of the ladder's rungs. "I slipped."
It hardly took a second for Pelame to free Fugon, who then fell and landed on his back. Pelame came down much more gracefully. "Thanks," he said. "Now, where are we spending the night?"
"Over here," Pelame answered. Leading Fugon to her old Crew Room. "This room was where Pugno and I slept at the end of each day, back when we trained here at the Wigglytuff Guild."
"So, this was like a home to you, then?"
"While we were training here, we did call this place home. But now, nowhere is home. Of course, being here now…" Fugon was shocked at the sight of Pelame smiling. "…it's like being home again." Her smile then disappeared. "But, without Pugno here, it's a bit…"
"Empty?"
"Yeah. I mean, it's comforting having you here beside me, Fugon. It's just…"
"You miss your dearest friend."
"Exactly. I know he's out there somewhere, but I can't help worrying about him."
"I'm sure he misses you, too. But I think he'll manage. I heard about your old adventures, and I must say that you two sounded like you were quite the adventurers back then. You two evidently made each other strong, so I don't think Pugno's going down so easily." He put his hand on Pelame's shoulder and smiled at her. "You'll find him. I guarantee it."
"I know. And then, I'll save the world."
"I have faith that you'll succeed. But for now, we should get some sleep. We'll need to be in top shape for tomorrow. It'll be a long day."
Pelame agreed with that, and put up a stack of Alpha Guards around the Guild, protecting them both for the night. The two were quick to fall asleep, huddling up to one another for warmth.
"You know, I wonder how my mom is doing," Strike said.
"You miss her, huh?" Bubbles asked. "What's your mom like?"
"Oh, she's wonderful! The best Pokémon alive! And also the best mother in the entire history of mothers!"
"You're lucky, Strike. I never knew my mom." At that, Shadow cut in.
"Bubbles, what have I told you about that topic?" He reprimanded.
"Never talk about it," Bubbles answered solemnly.
"Why not, if you don't mind me asking?" Kelvin asked. "What is it, Magus?" Kelvin had taken note of Magus making the "cut it out" gesture a bit too late.
"I don't want to dwell on it," Shadow answered.
"It's not a comfortable topic for him," Magus also answered.
It sounded like a family problem, which Kelvin never liked having any of. He decided to leave his questions at that.
"You know, out of all of us, you must have the least interesting childhood out of all of us," Blessing said. "But I guess it's good you had a normal life in a normal family."
"Yeah," Strike agreed. "Though it really doesn't make me a good choice to tell family stories around a campfire, does it?"
The group soon happened upon a peaceful clearing.
"Well, once we get camp set up, we'll find out," Shadow deadpanned. "All right, time to get to work, all of you."
"Oh, no you don't, Shadow," Magus chastised. "You're not playing the lazy foreman this time. You're chipping in."
"But my son's not to leave my shoulders. He'll have to help, too. You're not going to make a child labor like this, are you?"
"Nice try, Shadow. Don't act like there's no such thing as a 'time-out' area."
"Not here there isn't…"
"Then make one up. How about with Grovyle? He can take care of Bubbles."
"Yeah, daddy!" Bubbles piped up. "I wanna stay with Grovyle!"
"Fine, then. But Grovyle will tell me how you've been behaving. If he tells me something I don't like, you'll be punished again. Grovyle, do not let him out of your sight!"
"Understood, Shadow," Grovyle agreed, allowing Bubbles a seat next to where he was lying down. Shadow then begrudgingly helped the others build a tent.
"Grovyle, why are you lying down on your belly?" Bubbles asked innocently.
"I can't stay seated for long," Grovyle answered. "It hurts my back. I haven't fully recovered from Mew's attack yet."
"Oh, yeah! That sharp thing that Kelvin took out of you!" He noticed the stitched wound near Grovyle's tail. "That had to hurt! But you'll be okay now! Uncle Magus turned Kelvin into a great healer, didn't he?"
"Yes he did. Kelvin's even caught up to Celebi when it comes to healing."
"Heh, yeah, I can agree with that," Celebi said, taking no offense to Grovyle's comment.
Within minutes, the tent was set up and open for the travelers to enter it. A tiring and stressful day like this one warranted a good night's sleep, which the group entered after getting settled. About five hours into the night, a Dimensional Hole opened up beneath Grovyle, swallowing him up and then closing itself before anyone could awaken and follow him.
Grovyle awakened to find himself in a familiar place. Only once had he been here, and that was when he was on a mission to keep time from collapsing. Those were the old days, back when Dusknoir was an enemy, and he and his two companions were unaware of the dark truth behind the ghost's servitude. Somehow, he had ended up in the Hidden Land, which apparently became part of the real world, moved from its original location in a time gap. Despite that, Temporal Tower was nowhere to be found. He could tell something had happened here. Though it had been about nine years since it had been destroyed by The World Destroyer (and also by Palkia killing the fiend by detonating the entire location it was hidden in), it should have regained its population in that time. It was still empty, and the temple looked burnt. Though he was safe being nowhere near any Demon-types, Grovyle couldn't help but be unsettled by the complete absence of life from this place. Though no Demon-types were near, such an unsettling atmosphere could invite an ambush from one hiding out somewhere. He entered the old ruins that formed the way to the old Rainbow Stoneship. Inside, he saw the runes of the world's legendary figures, including one he had heard mention of before. On the rune depicting a human-like figure with eight feathered wings with an Alpha Sigil on her white robe, there was an inscription.
"Votum, the Spirit of Hope and Faith," it read.
"The beacon of the world's Hope and Faith," Grovyle remembered.
Grovyle had never seen this rune before, and the same held true for the rune adjacent to it. The opposite rune depicted a figure that was unfortunately familiar to him. It was definitely The World Destroyer, but in a more advanced form than what he last clearly saw of her. He remembered her having one wing, but the rune showed her having eight. On her garb was a snowflake-shaped sigil, which he remembered seeing. Her eyes were dark orange with yellow pupils, and a thorned javelin-shaped horn grew out of her forehead.
"Under that dark aura that surrounds her at all times…" Grovyle thought to himself. "Is this the form she's currently taking?"
The inscription on the rune read, "Unod, the Spirit of Despair, Doubt, and the End of Existence." Grovyle took special care not to read it aloud, knowing what would happen if he spoke the fiend's name. In the middle of the hall, another inscription was carved into the floor. It read:
"To those who find this, I regret to impart this news. My own flesh and blood has forsaken every part of herself that makes her noble. She has found the wrong path, and has gone as far down it as one can possibly go. She has disposed of many of her fellow spirits and usurped their occupations and their powers, and by mixing them together, has come up with a means to successfully oppose Arceus and everything he has built. If she is not stopped, she will go through with the destruction of existence. Therefore, I am cooperating with Arceus in the development of a special sacred power that can oppose my daughter's malice. We are calling it the Alpha-type. Once we finish it, we will be imparting this power to the two mortals who have not defected to my daughter's side, with the hopes that this opposition will be stopped before a war breaks out. It is my desire for a peaceful world, and though it pains me to admit, my daughter will have to disappear in order for that to be possible. But it will not be an easy task. I know how intuitive and resourceful my daughter is. The Alpha Bloodline alone will not be enough. The only way for this conflict to truly end is…"
Before Grovyle could finish reading the inscription, it disappeared, as did all of the runes in the hall. He was then snatched up by a whip made of evil energy. A hand clasped his mouth shut.
"Quite the history student, aren't you?" The World Destroyer said. "Your original fields of study were Time Gears, the Hidden Land, Temporal Tower, and Dialga, right? But now that time flows again, you needed something else to study up on. How lucky you chose my old residence to read up on. My old residence: Paradise. And don't think I mean those shabby boondocks founded by that idealistic fool, Vand. The Paradise I once was foolish enough to call home was the place all who die hope to go upon their Judgment. Arceus's Divine Kingdom. Honestly, I thought I did a better job hiding that away from these ruins. But, I think I did it right before. After all, Pelame and Dusknoir failed to notice it when they were last here."
Grovyle was able to break from the fiend's hold and assume a fighting stance. "You can't always hide the truth!" he declared. "I now know what you are, and how you got to be what you are! Not only that, I know that you and Votum are related!" He then tossed an Energy Ball at the fiend. She brought Dusknoir out in front of herself and used his body to block the attack.
"He does now, too! And he's finding out exactly what I have the power to do to those who annoy me the most!"
"Grovyle, run!" Dusknoir ordered. Grovyle was snatched up again before he could follow Dusknoir's order.
"And now, someone else will see my true power. And I know the both of you know who it will be."
The World Destroyer froze the two Pokémon in Mortite and teleported away with them both in tow.
"Good morning, Pelame," Fugon said.
"Good morning, Pugno," Pelame responded.
"Pugno? We haven't found him yet."
"Oh!" Pelame realized her slip-up. "Sorry, Fugon. Being here in the Guild reminded me of waking up with Pugno next to me. Just a force of habit. We should get going now."
"Lead the way."
The two left the Guild and began on their way. Travel was easier for Fugon, since his tail had finally gone back to being flesh and blood, rather than steel. This gave him an idea.
"I can finally fly again," he said. "Get on my back. We'll fly to the Alpha Sanctuary together!"
Pelame got on and settled in Fugon's mane. With a jump and a flap of his wings, Fugon took off and was in flight. They encountered no trouble until they got to another continent, in an area of it that was even closer to the Alpha Beacon. Fugon was attacked by a Demon-type attack that was very well-aimed. It came too fast for Pelame to block and the two were headed for the ground. Pelame fell off of Fugon's back, and Fugon was dragged away by Evil Threads before he could try to catch her. He crash-landed somewhere far away, and Pelame made a hard landing herself.
"Fugon, please be okay," Pelame lamented to herself. She struggled to her feet and continued on her way, making a detour to try to locate Fugon, wherever he was.
"Please, please, be okay!" Pelame pleaded in her mind. "If I lost another friend, I'd…" A tear started to form in her eye. She managed to stifle it and continue on.
Suddenly, Pelame bumped into Grovyle, who was frozen in Mortite. Frightened, she backed away and bumped into Dusknoir, who was also frozen. Seeing the fearful expressions preserved in their frozen faces struck her heart. She rushed forward to catch Dusknoir as soon as his frozen form toppled over.
"Didn't you promise that this sort of thing would quit happening?" The World Destroyer taunted, standing over Pelame. She knelt down and placed a hand on the back of the frozen Dusknoir's head, pushing down and pinning Pelame where she stood. "After Jirachi's untimely passing, it really looked like you were well on your way to getting better at keeping your friends alive. And then Grovyle and Dusknoir get encased in Mortite, with you being helpless to rescue them. Really shows how much you can be trusted, despite that bold announcement you made to the world yesterday at the top of your lungs. Fugon was right, I was listening. And now look what happened to him; shot down and dragged off to his doom. Less than a day, and you already broke your promise."
Being reminded of Jirachi and now Fugon touched a nerve in Pelame. She found the strength to push back. "I can save my friends," she said. "I'm not letting you kill these two!"
"So, you do value them? Now, tell me how that can be. Aren't these two involved in some of your life's darkest moments? Remind me who it was who came close to spilling your blood in front of Pugno and Azelf, because, as much as I would have liked it to have been me, it wasn't me."
"This is all for the Time Gear!" Pelame remembered Grovyle saying. "Forgive me!"
"You really shouldn't have forgiven him for that. No one should forgive an attempt on one's life, not even if it comes from a friend. And on that note, what about this tool in my hand? Is his lies to gain the trust of you, Pugno, the Guild, and the Treasure Town Police, attempt to have you executed, hand in the planet's paralysis, crushing of Grovyle's spirit, subsequent attempt to kill you and your friends, and plan to make Grovyle his own personal vessel and kill you and all who are precious to you in his body really excused? And only on the grounds of who was pulling his strings?"
"With the both of you here," Pelame's memory of Dusknoir's words on that day crept back into her mind. "Everything will end when we finally dispose of you. That will finally put an end to Grovyle's glimmer of hope!"
"Such a saint you are, to somehow be able to forgive such a complete monster like Dusknoir. A figure of such malice that he brought out a rage in you the likes of which even I have been hard-pressed to reawaken!"
"The Guild's crew decided to trust you to help us," Pelame remembered herself saying to Dusknoir. "And I promised Grovyle to give you a chance as well. Today will be that day, so I suggest you don't do anything that makes me think I'm right in believing that you're up to something. Because if you do, then I can't be held responsible for what I'll do to you in response. Do I make myself clear?"
"A tool of Primal Dialga's, bent on dooming time to stop, all because of a selfish desire to stay alive, in blatant disregard to the fact that he clearly didn't deserve it. If he ever deserved his life before, he threw his right away with his actions in those times where Team Space-Time was a fledgling Team. So, my decision is made. He disappears first!"
A dark power coated The World Destroyer's right arm and enveloped Dusknoir, slowly turning him as pitch-black as the energy she was exuding. Suddenly, she stopped.
"Or maybe it should be someone you really do care about. Grovyle's spirit always was too bright for its own good, so it's about time that light went out!" She lunged toward Grovyle, but stopped short of reaching him. Facing Pelame, she asked, "But I'll go with your preference, which is whom again?" The frozen forms of Grovyle and Dusknoir were magically lifted and brought in front of her. "The idealistic but murderous criminal, or the tool of all evil? One of them will walk away alive, and have you to thank for it. The other will get exactly what's coming to him. So, tell me who you never want to see again."
"That's a really easy choice, World Destroyer," Pelame responded. "The one I never want to see again, IS YOU!" With those last two words, she let loose with an Alpha Beam. Unfortunately, this was what the fiend was hoping for. She deflected the beam easily and knocked over both Grovyle and Dusknoir, causing them to fall on Pelame. As she struggled to get free of the two, The World Destroyer grasped her by the neck and pulled her out.
"An appropriate response, opting to attempt yet another rescue you couldn't hope to succeed at. But I couldn't agree with your statement more. YOU are the one I never want to see again!" The dark energy that was enveloping Dusknoir started enveloping Pelame. As the energy coated her, she felt her spirit being horribly assaulted. She felt as if her very existence was being torn apart. It was the most painful experience of her life; so painful, that even if she could scream in agony, it wouldn't convey the pain she was in. "And now, I won't. Your value of life stopped at yourself, so you should have no problem with this at all. But the world certainly will! You will disappear, and the world will follow you!"
No matter how much she tried to struggle against it, Pelame couldn't escape this attack that was slowly but surely killing her. Soon, her struggling stopped completely just as her body turned into a shadowy mass in her own shape. The World Destroyer tossed Pelame's shadowy form into the air, and she clenched her darkness-coated fist, ready to deliver the final blow. Pelame came falling back down as the fiend drew back her fist and brought it forward.
An Alpha Guard appeared in front of Pelame, blocking the fiend's finishing blow. When she turned to find the source, an expertly-timed Alpha Flash blinded her. Finally, she was knocked over by an Alpha Beam from Bubbles.
"Take that, butt-head!" he taunted. He climbed back onto Lugia's back. Lugia loaded Grovyle and Dusknoir onto his back and took off as soon as Vand climbed up with Pelame in his hands. Grovyle and Dusknoir were immediately defrosted by Vand.
"Excellent timing, Vand!" Dusknoir congratulated. "That Alpha Guard saved us all."
"And don't forget Bubbles's Alpha Flash and Alpha Beam combination," Grovyle said. "You both did great! How did you ever manage to find us?"
"Oh, that's easy," Vand answered. "Votum came and got us. She brought Lugia with her, and we came here to rescue you all. She's waiting at a tent Magus and the others set up. Everyone's there, and that's where we're headed."
"So things have finally warranted intervention from the one herself," Grovyle said. He then remembered something. "I found out something about Votum and The World Destroyer everyone needs to hear about."
"You mean how she's chasing us?" Bubbles said. "Because she is!"
A Demon Orb barely missing Lugia indicated that they were indeed being chased. Barely missing her chance to kill Pelame for good served to tick her off something fierce. It had been a while since she had acted this murderously.
"Energy Ball!"
"Dark Pulse!"
Grovyle and Dusknoir teamed their attacks up, but unfortunately to no avail. Vand brought up an Alpha Guard just in time to block a laser shot aimed at Lugia's head, but the Guard was broken by all eight of her wings forming a drill and boring down on the Guard.
"Hold on tight, everyone!" Lugia ordered. "I'm getting us to the refuge spot at full speed!" Lugia tucked his darker blue feathers into his back and took off like a rocket. Not even this was enough to keep The World Destroyer from pursuing them, as she came forth with an especially devastating ability Grovyle and Dusknoir were hoping never to see her use again. A snowflake sigil appeared in front of the fiend, and began charging up. One look at the sigil brought back a horrible memory of Vand's.
"Vand, what's wrong?!" Bubbles asked.
"BITTERCOLD!" he suddenly screamed. "THAT SIGIL IS THE BITTERCOLD!"
"Lugia, dodge!" Grovyle ordered. But Lugia knew that he'd never dodge the attack from where he was, and judging by how big it was going to be. He did a barrel-roll to shake everyone off his back and rescue them from the Death Sentence Beam, which was fired at that moment. "Votum, it's up to you now," were his final words. The shot hit him directly and instantly killed him. His corpse disintegrated into nothingness upon contact. As if on cue, Votum appeared and spirited the survivors into the area protected by the strongest Alpha Guard yet. She unleashed an Alpha Beam that hit The World Destroyer directly and entered the refuge area. As soon as they were all inside, Votum, Kelvin, and Magus saw to Pelame, who was still in a shadowy form.
"Magus, Kelvin, it's time for you to learn the ultimate healing technique," Votum said. "It's called 'Spirit Healing.' And Pelame requires it now."
"You know, I've been wanting to know about that," Blessing said. "What's with her and the Vessels constantly saying 'disappear' instead of 'die?'"
"I'm afraid there's a very good reason for that," Votum answered, getting started on healing Pelame. "Death is when life ends, and upon death, the soul leaves the body and ascends to the afterlife. Even if one dies, their existence still goes on, but if they disappear, then they don't. Disappearing is the most completely thorough form of death there is. It destroys the body and the soul, the entire existence of the victim. The victim literally disappears off the face of existence. It's a power that only Arceus has the power to use, but he never has used. The World Destroyer also has that ability, which she gained upon usurping her fellow spirits' jobs after killing them."
"Wait a minute," Blessing said. "She can kill other spirits, and has before?! She really is low enough to kill even her own kind, huh?!"
"Yes, she can. But for the time being, we're safe from her. My attack on her should put her out of commission for at least three months, which should give Pelame the time to fully recover. A lot of damage was done to her spirit, and even my healing powers couldn't instantly awaken her."
"At least now we know how to do it," Kelvin said. "I only witnessed it, but I'm assuming we have to go into her spirit and find the one fragment of it that's still holding on, and heal it."
"Exactly," Votum clarified. "Then over time, her spirit will rebuild itself. She'll be as good as new in three months. Remember this, because now that The World Destroyer can use that Disappear ability again, she's going to make another attempt."
"Votum, I was at the Hidden Land earlier today," Grovyle said. "And I found runes depicting you and her, and an inscription about what you knew she was up to. It also mentioned a relationship between you and her."
"You are correct, Grovyle. The World Destroyer is my daughter."
Suggested music for this chapter
Hidden Land – Hidden Land (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon – Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky OST)
Prophecy – Hidden Highland (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon – Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky OST)
Unod gives Chase – Broomsticks and Fire (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 OST)