"G-Gengar?!" Fear rippled through Rita like a rip current, pulling her into the ocean to drown her. No. No. This is wrong! Gengar's supposed to be some kind of ghost! Not a physical being!
"Yep, his name's Gengar~. He has a lot to learn, so him and Rae are going to be staying here at the Rescue Camp so Gengar can train." She shrugged. "Since I'm so busy, Garnet and Ruby are going to help out with him. It's kind of nice having them around."
No. This is terrible. All wrong, all wrong... She glanced wildly at Lady Pidgeot. "Pidgeot, Rae and Gengar are evil! You don't know how many times they've tried to kill me!" Her mind was frantic. "They're plotting to destroy the world!"
Lady Pidgeot blinked, tilting her head and grinning. "What a well thought out story." Her smile then EVOLVED[- yeah you see that I made a Pokemon reference wow wow wow] into a frown. "However, I cannot have you spreading rumors. I thought you two were friends."
Rita opened her mouth to object, but was quickly silenced by Lady Pidgeot's wing flapping over her face.
"I don't want to hear anymore about it." Lady Pidgeot glanced down at Rita, her attitude now changed. "And, also, I want you to keep an eye on Plasma. She's been acting strange." She pushed Rita towards the door. "Despite your injury, I still expect you to work hard." She opened the door, shoving Rita out. "Now bye~." The door slammed.
Rita blinked, staring at the silver door. She gritted her teeth. Dammit! She won't listen to me!
"RITA~!"
A strong FORCE knocked her over, causing her to hit the silver door.
"Ow..." she moaned, turning her head around to see who had tackle-hugged her. Her mood lightened when she spotted Plasma. She seems happy. Pidgeot said she was acting weird though...
The young Emolga stared back at her, a smile plastered on her face. She blinked. "I've missed you, Rita! It's been lonely without you!"
Rita grinned slightly, eyeing Plasma. "I've missed you too..." She tilted her head. "How... have you been? You were in the hospital, weren't you? From... shock..."
Plasma looked confused, crossing her arms. "I was only in the hospital 'cause I got sick. No biggie." She smiled once again. "I've been great. Been great!"
Rita raised an eyebrow, the Emolga's tone confusing her. "I meant... how have you been since... you know?"
Once again, a puzzled expression rippled throughout Plasma's features. "What do I know? Nothing bad hapened, right? I hate unpleasant things."
She seems... different... Rita stared at her. This isn't the Plasma I know... is it? "Moon. Remember...? I hate to bring it up, but honestly you're confusing m-"
"I don't know who this 'Moon' character is..." She frowned. "Unless you mean the moon in the sky... I like that moon!" She giggled girlishly, but then a sad expression washed over her face. "Nothing bad happened to the moon, hapened to the moon, the moon, right?! I hate unpleasant things... Unpleasant things..."
"Your partner Moon, Plasma! What's wrong with you?" Rita shook her head. "You can't just act like she never existed..."
"I don't know who you're talking about... Flower has always been my partner..." Her happy expression darkened. "Please don't bring up the name 'Moon' anymore. It's unpleasant. I hate unpleasant things." She smiled once again it was Rita's turn to wear a puzzled expression. "You goin' on any missions? Hey, did you greet Rae yet? He's missed you!"
Rita blinked. "...What? Plasma, why would I talk to Rae?"
"Why wouldn't you? He's so nice and caring~..." She giggled. "I wish that Veronica character didn't already steal him~. I'd keep him all to myself."
"What? Rae? Honestly, you're better off with Crobat. Rae's evil." She sighed. "What's gotten into you? It's like you don't remember anything at all..."
Plasma's cheerful voice darkened. "I told you. I hate unpleasant things." She tilted her head, the excited look back in her eyes. "And why Crobat? Doesn't he hate me for some reason?"
What...?
"Anyway, I gotta rescue mission to go on!" She dipped her head. "See ya, Rita~!" She scampered away, Rita staring after her.
"She's been like that since she was released from the hospital..."
Rita turned her attention to Mightyena, who stood with his paw in a sling. It still looked twisted from the battle with Rae, but she imagined it was healing. "What happened to her?"
"I imagine it's her way of coping with everything..." Mightyena sighed, looking slightly to the side. "It seems she's erased everything she considers as 'unpleasant' from her mind. She erased Chance, Vicky, Rae's evil side, Vapor, Night, and Moon... She seems to barely know me and Crobat anymore. She made it so everything is happy."
Rita stared off in the direction Plasma had left. "...And Crobat and her were such a cute couple."
Mightyena let out a small chuckle, before another serious expression crossed his face. "You must know Gengar is in physical form now."
"...Yeah."
"You know we need to go."
Rita lifted her head. "...When?"
"Like, now. Gather everyone up, including Veronica."
"But, wait!" Rita answered. "I still don't know how exactly we are going to stop the world from ending, Shade! How?!"
"We'll figure that out later," he growled. "We need to tell Pidgeot. She needs to know, and we need to get Rae and Gengar out of here."
Rita flushed in frustration, irritation prickling at her paws. "I already tried. She didn't believe me!" She frowned. "And what about Plasma? We have to take her with us, and she's unstable."
"Who ever said that we had to take the Pokemon World Pokemon?" Mightyena challenged. "Isn't it just a danger to them?"
Rita bit her lower lip. "I suppose... you're right... but..." She glanced to the side. "Plasma wanted to come, and I feel like we'd do a better job with them with us..."
"The more Pokemon there are, the more strength we'll have," he agreed, nodding his head. "But do you really want to put them in danger...?"
Rita hung her head. "No.. but..."
•
•
-At that same time-
"Hm, everything set?"
Rae nodded. "I think so. Arceus is finally under our control, right?"
Gengar laughed maliciously, a crazed look filling his eyes. "Indeed. Everything is perfect."
A white figuresuddenlymaterialized in front of Rae, taking the form of Froslass.
She bowed. "Everything is going according to plan. All the exits are blocked by Latios and Latias. We can't lose this time." Her eyes suddenly darkened, as she took on amisshapen frown. "Us three... do exist in your perfect world, right? You're not pulling the same trick you did with the Clefairy...?"
Of course I'm pulling the same trick. Nobody exists in the perfect world, that's the only way it'll be perfect. Rae gave a fake smile, patting her on the back. "Of course you do. Why would we lie to such loyal followers?"
Though she didn't seem convinced, Froslass nodded anyway as the darkness in her eyes was replaced by a small sadness, as if she was remembering something. "Very well. Thank you, Rae, Gengar..." She disappeared.
Gengar placed a remote and a megaphone in both of Rae's hands. "Don't injure yourself, or I get hurt too." He cocked his head. "Now get down to business. Arceus'streacherystarts in a few short minutes." He laughed once more, his laugh filled with insanity. "Let the curtains rise on the final performance of the world!"
Rae breathed out, his heart racing. A picture of Vicky crossed his mind for a few short seconds, before he pushed it away. No more Victoria. The world needs to be made perfect, once and for all.
•
•
"Rita, I'm coming no matter what."
She looked over, recognizing the gentle voice of Flower.
Flower had a calm look in her eyes as she flashed smiles towards the both of them. "You can't leave us out. It'd be unfair."
"Hmph, that's right."
Dragonite and Wigglytuff stepped from behind Mightyena, eyeing Mightyena and Rita.
"Surly you can't do it along, right~? Just the five of you can't beat all those strong Pokemon!" Wigglytuff gave a cheerful bounce. "You can't forget about us~!"
Rita felt something slap her back, as she noticed Dew appear.
He shot a grin at her. "You don't leave without us."
What the Hell, where did they come from? Must be like, stalkers. Rita smiled slightly, her confidence slightly boosted. "Thank you." She glanced at Mightyena, who seemed to be confused about the sudden appearance of all the Pokemon.
He sighed, shrugging. "If you wanna die, that's fine with me..."
Rita heard them all give a small cheer. She gazed at the ground, feeling the sudden presence of others around her. Are they watching? Night, Vapor, Emerald, and Exploud? Everybody? She breathed out slowly. "Rae will try to stop us. We have to stop him before he stops us."
"How do we do that?" Persian asked, flicking his tail in annoyance. "Honestly, we can't do much against him with Pidgeot around."
"Easy answer," Mightyena answered with a laugh. "We kill him."
"Wow, nice idea," Persian replied sarcastically. "Wish I'd thought of that earlier."
How do we kill him? Rita asked herself. He's really strong, and he most likely has Latias, Latios, and Froslass around.
"Shouldn't we be discussing this with Jet and Rici around?" Dragonite cut in, frowning. "I mean, they should hear."
"Been listening."
Rita cast her glance to Jet, who was standing behind Dew. Smoke seemed to be magically there as well.
Stalker.
He returned her gaze, smiling gently at her. "I'm glad you're okay..." He gritted his teeth. "I wish Moon was still around... so I could hurt her..."
Rita frowned. "No, it wasn't Moon's fault. It was-"
"Attention Rescue Camp! This is Rae speaking!"
Immediately,murmursstarted erupting around the floor.
"Wow, Rae's so cool!"
"Using such a cool megaphone, wow!"
"You can't even see the megaphone, stupid..."
"RAE OH MY GOSH AGAGAAGAGAGAGAGA RAE YOU LIGHT UP MY WORLD LIKE NOBODY ELSE THE WAY THAT YOU FLIP YOUR HAIR GETS ME OVERWHELMED."
"Okay stop. Bye."
Rita gritted her teeth. What does he want?
"I'm holding you all hostage," Rae stated blankly, his voice stable.
Everyone exchanged puzzled glances, as Rita was able to make out Rae's figure outside the window. He held a yellow control in his hand, a white megaphone in the other. He stood by the staircase. Gengar stood next to him. It seemed like they had come from the previous floor, and were now outside.
Almost immediately, Rita saw Lady Pidgeot emerge from the Silver Room, Pidgey perched on her head.
Rae's gaze shifted to her's through the window. "Ah, hello. I'm holding your camp hostage."
Lady Pidgeot tilted her head. "...What?"
Rae raised his arm, showing her the controller. He then turned his face back to the crowd through the window, his arm still in the air. "I have planted bombs throughout the camp. I will not set them off unless someone tries to escape, or call for help." His gaze reflected slight insanity as he looked throughout the camp. "I have three of my followers surrounding the camp as well, keeping a close watch. You cannot escape. Gengar is tracking radio waves, so you cannot signal for help."
Gengar chuckled.
Lady Pidgeot's jaw hung open. "T-This is a joke... right...?" She looked among the crowd. "A joke...?"
"It is not a joke," Rae stated.
How did he hear...?
"What do you want, then...?" Garnet appeared beside Lady Pidgeot, his face fear-stricken. "What do you want?!"
"Rae, what are you doing?" Lady Pidgeot asked immediately after.
"I am doing simply what we need to do to get a perfect world." He smiled gently, chuckling. "I ask for just a few, simple tasks, and I will not blow up the camp."
"What are your demands...?" Ruby frowned, trembling.
"I ask for the suicides of Rita, Jet, Rici, Persian, and Mightyena, also known as Shade."
The world will end anyway! They'll all die anyway, even if we don't kill ourselves... She cast her gaze over to Jet, who was staringfiercelyat the window.
"No way!" he yelled. "Everything will die anyway!"
"Rita, you can't do it," Rita heard Lilly whisper in her ear.
She turned around, facing the Lilligant. "How do we get out of this, then?!"
"You don't~!" Rae answered cheerfully. His gaze darkened. "Now kill yourself. You have thirty minutes to decide."
Thirty minutes. Thirty short minutes. Honestly, Rita didn't know what to do.
"Well, what then...?" Persian asked, lashing his tail.
Smoke stared at Rita, terror in his eyes. "Rita, there's no way you're killing yourself for Rae!" He gritted his teeth. "I won't allow it!"
Rita frowned. "Really... what choice do we... have?" Her eyes reflected sadness. "Rae will kill everybody unless..."
Jet frowned, anger raging through his eyes like a fire. "We are not going to kill ourselves. Especially you, Rita."
Rici's still in the hospital... If we die, would he be able to do it on his own...? Rita didn't feel too reassured by the thought, but it the only happy thought she could think at the time.
"Rita? What is this?" Rita heard Lady Pidgeot question as she walked up to them. Pidgey was still perched on her head, looking quite terrified.
Rita gazed up at her, feeling comfort in looking into her eyes.
"Rae is evil," Jet stated blankfully. His gaze enraged, he went on. "I believe Rita tried to tell you before! You didn't listen to her! Pidgeot, stop being stupid and open your eyes! Do something!"
"What can mommy do?!" Pidgey shot at him. "Nobody leaves the building, he said!"
Jet shook his head violently. "Just.. do something, you old hag!" He gritted his teeth as he stepped closer to her. "We can't just... die. Or the world will be destroyed!"
"Jet, calm down," Dragonite stated, shooting a glance outside and then back at him. "Arguing won't solve anything."
Jet's eye twitched in annoyance. "Yeah, but-"
"Hey, what's the sky doing?"
The strange question caught Rita's attention, as everyone in the room averted their terrified gaze to the window, staring at the sky.
A large, red streak moved across the sky, and a viscious wind blew threw the trees. The sky seemed to be rapidly changing colors, from purple to blue to red to orange.
Garnet stared at it in awe. "What in the name of Arceus...?"
A malicious, insane laugh came from outside. "Yes, Arceus indeed!" Rae lifted his head to the sky, the megophone placed in front of his face. His laughter continued. "HAHAHAHA! IT'S HAPPENING!"
Everyone exchanged confused glances, except the ones who knew it was coming.
Lady Pidgeot turned her gaze to Rita's group. "WHAT IS HAPPENING?!"
Lilly was the one who spoke, her gaze unmoving and blank. "The world is ending."
Flake gasped. "L-Lilly!" The Whimsicott looked uneasy. "Why do you say that?!"
Lilly ignored her, her gaze shifting to meet Rita's. "It's your duty to save the world. Protect it."
Rita gritted her teeth. "I can't protect it like this! Rae has us locked up here!"
"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute," Garnet hushed them. "What do you mean the world is ending?"
"Gengar has finally hypnotized all the legendary Pokemon," Lilly explained. "It's over, unless the human world members do something."
"What are we supposed to do?!" Rita challenged. "We've basically lost. Rae has won."
A silence filled the air as the truth enveloped them. It seemed all the Pokemon were now gathered on the 2nd floor. Rita knew they must finally understand, even if it was so sudden.
They all know they are going to die either way. She closed her eyes tight, wanting to cover her ears as sobs echoed through the floor. We've lost. We can't let Rae blow up the camp, and the world will end either way. Us human world members will die either way.
"Wow, we really lost, eh?" Dew scratched the back of his head. "Such a bummer, I had so much I wanted to do with Lily..."
Lilly's face flushed. "What?!"
Dew laughed. "Nah, not you. The Umbreon from Team Light."
Pidgey let out a small squeak. "Mommy, are we really gonna die?"
Lady Pidgeot smiled up at him. "Of course not, let me try to reason with Rae." She averted her gaze to the window, stepping towards it. "Rae! Why are you doing this?" She tilted her head. "You were my best recruit..."
A smile bloomed on Rae's face as he spoke through the megaphone. Though he was smiling, his eyes reflected something else. "Ah, M'Lady, I admit I did rather enjoy working with you, though most of the time you just got under my skin. And as for your question; I already answered that." He gritted his teeth. "I need a perfect world! None of you exist there! It can't be perfect with humans in it! There are... too many flaws!" As Lady Pidgeot opened her mouth to speak, Rae interrupted her. "I enjoy chatting with you, but I'd like to get an answer out of the humans, and the Pokemon. I would like to see their dead bodies in front of me."
Lady Pidgeot turned around to face Rita's group. "It's no use. He's too focused on having you dead."
Maybe... no. I can't reason with him alone... She glanced around, looking for somebody that might be able to help her convince Rae to stop. He can't be completely evil... nobody is... He used to be my friend, didn't he?Her gaze fell on Veronica, who was standing silently with Sven on the far side of the room. She can help me... Best friends forever, right?
•
•
"...And you could help me convince him to stop this."
Sven stepped in front of Rita, blocking her view of Victoria. "No no no no no way! I'm not letting you take Vonny out there to be killed!"
"We'll be killed anyway if something isn't done!" Rita protested.
"Didn't he say he wanted your body?" Sven asked, tapping his foot. "Well, kill yourself then!"
Rita's gaze showed obvious frustration. "If we die, then the world won't be saved!"
"So you think you're more important than us, huh?" Sven challenged, frowning. "Typical human!"
"No!" Rita shouted. "If I thought I was better than you then I wouldn't be sacrificing myself for this stupid planet!"
The word caught Victoria's attention. Sacrificing? Was Rita going to die?
Rita's gaze shifted to Victoria. "Vicky, we were best friends. Best friends stick together, right? Help me convince Rae..."
"Okay," Victoria replied blankly.
Sven's eyes widened. "What?! Vonny how could you say that?! And why is she calling you Vicky?!"
Victoria felt sadness pinch at her heart. "Because that's my real name," she stated. "Well, actually, it's Victoria. I am the reincarnation of Victoria the human." She stared intently into Sven's eyes. "I was originally part of the five humans destined to save the world, but because of my suicide, I was just simply given another chance at life." Hm, sounds convincing enough.
Sven blinked, seeming to be taking it all in as he stared at the ground. "I believe you completely, Vonny, but if you were given a second chance at life..." His gaze met her's, as she could see tears forming in his eyes. "Why would you throw it all away?!"
Victoria stared back at him. "Rae won't kill me."
"How do you know that?!" he challenged. "It seemed to me that the other day he tried to kill you!"
"But he didn't," she replied, holding her gaze. "I..." She felt her face grow somewhat hot under her skin. "I know he won't... We're friends..."
"You were friends," Rita corrected. "Now you're... enemies..."
Victoria shook her head. "No. We're still friends." She smiled. "Not best friends like you and me, but still friends!"
Sven's face flushed in obvious jealousy, as he glanced at Rita. "Why would Jet allow you to go out there, anyway?"
"Jet thinks it's a good idea," Rita replied. "He'll be keeping an eye on me."
"It's worth a shot," Victoria chimed in, tilting her head with a smile. "Rae won't hurt me... I know he won't." She cast a smile at Rita. "I'll always be here, Rita. Best friends forever."
•
•
"It's almost over," Gengar breathed, a smile crackling on his face. "Soon the worlds will be gone."
Rae nodded, somewhat relieved. It's a good thing. It's a good thing. We'll be able to create a... perfect world. He glanced at the blood-red sky. Maybe... just maybe... Arceus will be able to bring Victoria into the world...
Gengar shot a glare at him. "She doesn't exist in that world, how many times must I tell you?"
Rae shrugged, a weird sadness groping at his stomach. "I know."
"You need to get over your little crush," Gengar hissed. "It can't work out if she's just going to die. Honestly, I have no idea why you didn't kill her before."
"Eh, I don't know either," Rae responded, stretching his arms out. Avoiding the subject of Victoria, he cast his glance towards the radio. They had planted microphones in the walls of the camp as well, so they could hear what was being said. The world will finally be perfect. I can't be having doubts when I've worked so hard. He gritted his teeth. I wish they would hurry and kill themselves so we can wait for the world to end in peace.
Thunder crackled in the sky, as a light rain started hitting the ground. The sky changed to orange, the storm clouds a dark blue.
Rae cast a glance at Gengar. "What time is it? How long has it been?" He tightened his grip on the remote. He'd have no problem blowing up the camp. It would be destroyed anyway.
"They have ten minutes," Gengar replied, laughing. "They won't do it. Get ready to cause destruct-" He cut himself off, glancing towards the entry to the camp.
Rae traced his gaze, finally resting on Rita and Victoria, who stood right in front of the entryway.
Immediately, Rae raised the remote in the air, trying to keep his gaze off Victoria. "G-Get back inside, unless you want everyone to be blown to pieces!"
Gengar whipped his head around to face Rae. "Blow it up! They've broken the rules!"
Rae felt for the button to set off the first bomb, resting his finger on it.
"Wait!" Rita exclaimed. "We wanted to talk to you!"
Gengar rolled his eyes. "What could you possibly want, unless you're going to kill yourself in front of us...?"
"She told you, we wanna talk~!" Victoria said with a pretty smile.
"Talk about what? Final words?" Rae lowered his arm, resting it at his side.
"We thought maybe we could convince you to stop," Victoria stated blankly.
"If that is your motive, then you'd best give up," Gengar replied with a sigh. His gaze darkened. "There is no hope for you."
"What Gengar said," Rae responded. Honestly... They can't...
"Just let us say a few things before we die," Rita stated, rolling her eyes. "It can't hurt."
Gengar let out another irritated sigh. "Fine, do what you want."
Rae watched as Victoria turned towards him, smiling.
"Rae," she started, "I love you."
Rae felt his face immediately heat up, as his tongue tied up in his mouth. Stunned, he stared into Victoria's eyes as her words finally registered in his mind. "Rae, I love you." She... what? N-No... she can't love me... not after what I've done. Unable to think of anything else, he responded with, "W-What?"
"Ah, you need me to repeat myself?" She giggled. "I love you, Rae~."
T-That's what I thought you said. He held his gaze, thought he didn't want to. I...
Gengar scoffed. "Love? What kind of a word do you think that is? It doesn't exist." He frowned. "Nobody loves, everybody hates. Such an imperfect world, which is why we are fixing it." He shrugged. "It might have existed a long time ago, but not anymore."
Rae finally averted his eyes, staring at the ground. "E-Exactly... This world needs to go..."
"Love exists if you search for it!" Rita argued, though seemed a bit fazed at Victoria's confession. "You just think everything about our world is wrong. I don't know what kind of past you had that makes you think that way, but there are just as many good things as bad things, if not more..."
"Bad things are the reason this world is so imperfect," Rae stated, his gaze dark.
"And good things make up for it," Victoria replied.
Rae tisked. "I-I've had enough of this." He felt for the button on the remote once again. "Isuggestyou go inside, and Rita you can hurry and kill yourself."
"Please drop the remote, Rae," Victoria pleaded, giving him a strange look. "Don't blow up the camp, please."
As much as he wanted to ignore her, he couldn't. Her words echoed in his head once more. "Rae, I love you." Confused to exactly why, he fell to his knees, clutching his head. The remote fell out of his hand. "Stop that, Vicky..." Love... Love doesn't exist! Why, why does she keep saying it? Why?! Stop! Don't lie about things like that!
"Rae, get up!" Gengar commanded.
Victoria turned to Rita. "Rita, get it!"
Before Rae could lift his head up, Rita had lunged for the remote. He barely had time to stand up before it was in her grasp. Gritting his teeth, he lunged at her, but felt something hold him back. He turned around to see Victoria with a grip on his tail. I knew it, she just wanted to distract me. Love doesn't exist!
He stared at her, not knowing what to do. For some reason he didn't want to hurt her.
Then why...
"Don't just stand there, idiot!" Gengar hissed. "KILL HER!"
Rae pulled away, doing a flip in the air and landing on his feet. Without thinking, he charged at her with iron tail, hitting her smack in the face.
She flew backwards, scrambling to her feet. She shook the dirt off her pelt, as she continued to simply stand still.
Rae scowled at her. "What are you doing?! Aren't you going to attack me?!"
Victoria simply smiled. "I can't attack you, I love you."
"GIVE IT TO ME!"
Rae averted his gaze to see Gengar grabbing crazily at Rita, trying to get the remote from her. Rain streamed across his face, making him look all the more crazy. He caught Rae's gaze. "I'm busy here! Kill the Vulpix!"
Rae looked back at Victoria, who was still smiling at him. He gritted his teeth, his face red. "A-Attack me! Don't just stand there!"
"I can't attack my friend," she responded with another smile.
"STOP!" Rae clutched the side of his head, his face wrinkled in a frown. "Stop using those words, they don't make sense!"
"KILL HER!" Rae heard Gengar scream again.
"Love doesn't exist..." Rae mumbled, not meeting anybody's gaze. Tears started to well up in his eyes. "Doesn't exist... But... Then why..."
"Rae, I love you."
"THEN WHY DO I LOVE HER BACK?!"
It seemed like time slowed as Rae watched Gengar's eyes widen in anger, before moving away from Rita and striking down Victoria with a knife. He seemed to move like a demon, almost teleporting.
Rae's mouth hung open, nothing but a choking sound escaping it. "Ah... Vick..."
"Rae, I love you."
"I trust you."
"Friends."
"I love you."
"I love you."
"I love you, Rae."
Gengar stood over Victoria, who was coughing up blood. "You're the reason he's having doubts. If he won't kill you, I will." As he raised his knife behind his head, Rita tackled him.
"GET OFF HER!" she cried, clawing at him. She threw multiple thunderbolts at him, causing him to stumble backwards.
As he was hit with the thunderbolts, Rae also felt the pain of Rita's enraged thunderbolts. He knelt to the ground, clutching his head. "Ow, ow, ow..." He cast a squinted gaze up to where Victoria was laying.
The Vulpix seemed to be struggling to stand up, blood seeping out of a wound in her chest.
Rae couldn't do anything but watch. I love her. I love Victoria. He felt a tear stream down his face. I love her. I love her. I love Victoria, and she loves me. We love each other. Love exists. It exists. Soon tears were rushing down his cheeks like a current, dripping on the ground. Gengar lied. I thought there was only hate. Love exists. He blinked his tears away. Is the world really so imperfect?
Rae hadn't realized that multiple Pokemon were now streaming out of the building, surrounding Victoria as she lay on the ground, breathing heavily.
Gengar hadn't noticed either, as he halted his fight with Rita to search for the remote.
Rae traced his gaze, finally spotting it in a tuft of grass by the building. Without thinking, Rae raced towards it as Gengar did. He snatched it off the ground, right before Gengar arrived to take it.
"Rae, give it to me!" Gengar snarled. "Listen to me! Don't ignore me!"
Rae stared at Gengar, the wetness from his tears stinging his eyes. He looked from Gengar to the remote, and as he looked back up at Gengar he spotted Latias, Latios, and Froslass behind Gengar.
"Rae, what's happening...?" Froslass tilted her head, obvious confusing planted on her face. Latias and Latios surprisingly had the same expression.
"Rae, drop the remote," Rae heard Lady Pidgeot command. "Give it to me."
Rae backed away, shaking his head.
It's... imperfect... isn't it? Is it? I don't understand who's right...
Gengar held out his hand. "Here, Rae, give it to me. I saved you, remember? Your only friend."
Rae was quiet for a few moments. Then... why... "Then why did you lie...? Friends... don't..." He shot a glance at Rita, then Jet, then Victoria. "Lie," he finished.
Gengar smiled gently at him. "What did I lie about...?"
"You said there was nothing good in the world," Rae hissed.
Gengar held his smile. "There isn't. It's imperfect."
"Love exists." Before Gengar could reply, Rae turned towards the camp. He reached down and picked up the megaphone off of the ground, a small, final insane laughter in his voice. "Everybody exit the Rescue Camp immediately," he commanded.
"R-Rae!" Latias exclaimed. "What are you doing?!"
Rae turned around to face her, seriousness in his gaze. It drifted from her, to Latios, to Froslass. "You three were never going to be part of the perfect world. It was a lie."
As he listened to their silence of realization, he yelled back in the megaphone. "EVERYBODY OUT."
Gengar let out a low growl. "What are you doing?!"
Rae was silent as he slowly walked towards the entry of the camp, after everybody exited.
Gengar followed him, obviously pissed off.
"Rae!" Lady Pidgeot called. "What are you doing?!"
Rae didn't look back as he continued towards the entry to the camp.
"Rae."
Rita's voice caught his attention. She seemed to know what he was doing.
He looked back at her.
"No matter what happened, I'll always remember that we used to be friends." She smiled.
"Thank you..." Rae glanced at Victoria, then to Sven who was at her side. "Keep her company, okay?"
Sven simply glared at him.
"I love Victoria..." he stated, before going inside, completely ignoring Lady Pidgeot's cries. "Save the world, Rita. Run and don't look back."
"Rae, Rae, listen to me!" Gengar growled. "What are you doing?! Answer me! I command you! What's gotten into you?! What happened to our perfect world?!"
Rae stood in the middle of Floor 2, taking in a huge glance of the Rescue Camp's main floor. "I liked working here..." He looked outside, staring at Victoria. "Maybe if I'm lucky, I can see you again... Maybe..."
"RAE, STOP IGNORING ME!" Gengar lunged for the remote, which Rae pulled away from him.
Gengar breathed heavily. "What's wrong with you? Don't you want a perfect world anymore?!"
"No."
"Why?!" Gengar's eyes were filled with rage. "If you don't do it, I will!" he hissed, tackling Rae.
"You can't if you're dead," Rae stated. "If I die, don't you die too?" He pushed Gengar off of him, standing up once more.
Gengar grimaced. "Stop talking like this... y-you're insane!"
Rae let out a small huff of laughter. "Indeed, I am. What's wrong with that?" He smiled. "I don't need the new world anymore~." His finger rested on the button that would set Floor 2's bomb off.
"Rae, I love you."
I love you too.
"I trust you."
I trust you to. You can save the world.
"Friends."
The best.
"I love you."
I love you more than you can imagine.
"But this world is full of so many flaws... so many imperfections!"
Rae chuckled, a strange happiness settling over him. "And that's what makes it perfect."
He pressed the button.
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THOUGHT I'D FINALLY KILL HIM OFF. If anyone actually cares about the story and likes Rae, don't hate me forever. Lawl Uh, please tell me what you think. Kthxbai
