This is it. The finale. The last chapter of this part. The part that I have been thinking up this whole time. Two years. Two years of writing that finally come to an end with this chapter. 44722 words. Enjoy.
Chapter 50
The Eye of the Storm
Three days later...
(Thoughts to a Friend – Xenoblade Chronicles)
- Today... ladies and gentlemen, we have come together to say goodbye to those who have fallen in battle. - Ferrus said as everyone settled around the stage. In front of him, a small, iron podium stood, with the names of the fallen pokemon engraved in it. - For almost two years this world faced a threat like no other, and we have all suffered in some sort of way or shape because of those who followed the darkness and the orders of Blake. But now, however... The war is over, but we have also lost. - The lucario explained. All of Treasure Town, as well as some pokemon from other places, like Voltaire, were there, listening to Ferrus, attending the funeral of all of those that had fallen. - In a war, two sides fight to the death, and send soldiers to maim the opposing side's forces. But eventually, when the war comes to an end, and one of the sides claims to have emerged "victorious", in reality they are just the ones that lost less. In a war, both sides lose something, whether it is lives, or morals, we all lose something in a war. - The leader kept speaking, his voice reaching all of the pokemon that were listening to him.
- In this war, I'm afraid we had no other choice but fight and defend, not only ourselves, but also our futures. And we have emerged victorious in that aspect, but still, the loses are far more prominent than the gains. - He said, his eyes travelling across the mob in front of him, all of them sitting there and looking back at him. - May this be a reminder to us all, that evil in this world still exists, and that we must fight against it before it reaches such levels. Inside each and every one of us there's evil, but there's also good, and we must learn how to balance both of them. I am not asking any of you to become better pokemon. I am merely asking for you to never take the same path that some took... - He said, obviously referring to Uncario. - And that inevitably lead to this tragedy. - He said, obviously moved by his own words.
- Thank you. - He said as he walked off, the crowd either nodding or clapping softly, to avoid breaking the moment. Next up was Wigglytuff, followed by Chatot, who walked up to the podium. - In behalf of all the guildmembers in Treasure Town, we want to apologize for failing all of you in your most desperate hour. - The guildmaster said, surprising everyone with those words. - Even though lives were saved, we still failed to save all, and while some may say that it was impossible, we still believe we could've done better. Each live that has been lost will be a burden we will all carry to our graves, forever reminding us of our faults, but pushing us to become better and better, until we can finally accomplish what we believed was out of our reach. - The pink pokemon continued, swallowing and breathing deeply as he looked at Chatot, who nodded. He returned his gaze to the mob in front of them.
- The message from all of us is not a message of grief, nor is it a message of sadness. It's a message of hope. We will all forever remember this... this massacre. It will never leave our hearts, whether because we lost someone dear to us... - He said, many in the crowd flinching at those words. - Or maybe because we were finally exposed to the cruelty of life. - He said, looking straight at a certain Azumarill and her son, who were in tears, sobbing quietly. - But either way, we must always remember this. But it mustn't be to drown ourselves in self pity and sorrow. No. We must never forget that many of those who died here fought back, and sacrificed themselves so we could keep going. We must never forget their sacrifice, and ensure their legacy lives on. That is the message that we want to give. - He said. With that, he walked off the stage after he said "Thank you", the crowd clapping for him too.
Ferrus walked up to the stage again, carrying a sheet of paper. Moments before he began speaking, however, he turned the sheet upside down on the podium, looking at all of the pokemon in front of him. - Now... We will adress the individual names of all of those that died... May they forever stay with us in our hearts... - He said. And with that, he started addressing each and every single one of the pokemon that had died during those events, or at least those of whom he had gotten the names of. Slowly but surely, he mentioned such pokemon like Corpish, from the guild, or Kecleon's brother, and even addressing some of the pokemon that died during the paralysis. - Marill... - He mentioned Azurill's brother, both him and his mother flinching, reminding them of what they had lost that day. - And... Eric, the human. - He said. Everyone fell silent when he pronounced that name. - Now... A few words from... The Great Dusknoir, one of the survivors from the future. - Ferrus said as he walked off the stage. Dusknoir appeared shortly after from the right, followed by Grovyle and Celebi, who were whispering at him to not do it. The dark type had made up his mind however, and his crimes could never go unknown.
- People of the world... I... Am Dusknoir. Many of you may know me for being an amazing explorer and a renowned hero... but I have come today to expose the fraud that I truly am. - He said, some pokemon looking at eachother confused. Eric and Elly, who were sitting in the crowd, looked at eachother, worried. - I... Do not deserve the title of "Great", for I was born in the future, and subsequently, born in it's darkness. Filled with hatred and anger, I quickly became a known menace to many, and... I eventually became Dialga's best puppet. - He announced, exposing the truth, to the shock of many. - I killed, I destroyed, and I spread that anger that slowly consumed me from the inside, making the darkness that covered that world thicker and thicker. I never once questioned my actions, for I was a selfish pokemon, and I did what I thought I was right. I wanted nothing but glory, and to be forever remembered, and when I finally got my title, I realized just how much of a fool I had been. The Great Dusknoir was a title I never deserved, and I will never deserve for the atrocities I have committed. - He said, he was about to walk off the stage, but he looked at Grovyle and Celebi behind him, who were looking at him with pleading eyes, supplicating him to say the second part. He sighed, and turned to face the crowd again.
- However... some could say I have had a change of heart. I do not know why, or how it happened... but I realized, that pokemon is not remember by their name, nor their title, but for the deeds they did in life. I was going to, and will probably be always remembered as a murderer, and a herald of darkness, and I am saying that my good intentions with these last few acts out weight all of the wrongs I have done in the past, not by a long shot. - He said. - But... My message, for all of you out there, who think that they cannot change... think again, for I, changed a lot from a mindless murderer... into what some could say a helper... and some may even say a hero... But I will never, forgive myself for my actions. If you want to remembered... to make a change in the world... then look at yourselves in a mirror, and change what you don't like. If you want to make a change... then start with yourselves. If I became a better pokemon... then all of you can. - He ended. - That is all. - He said. He turned to look to his right, where Sheriff Magnezone was flaoting.
He floated over to the steel type, putting his hands together, the sheriff looking at him briefly. Dusknoir nodded, and the sheriff made a set of electric handcuffs appear around his wrists, and Dusknoir walked behind Magnezone, accepting the fact that he had to be punished for his actions, not fighting back as he wasn't carried away or anything. He just walked towards what he believed was true justice. After a minute of silence, Ferrus stepped back up to the podium. - And now... to conclude this... funeral, many of us here have prepared a few speeches... in memory of a hero. - He said, referring to the human Eric. Elly and her mate shifted around uncomfortably, knowing that it was inevitable that some would want to say goodbye to the human.
- I am one of those pokemon... And so, I would like to say a few words. Although many of us met him whilst he stayed in this town... not all of us may have known him for what he truly was. Although he seemed annoying, and didn't usually make a lot of sense... he... - He stopped talking, finding it hard to speak. - He was pure of heart... for... he always helped those in need. He made mistakes, like we all do, but... to those who truly knew him... for his friends... he was more than just a hero. - He said, some trading guilty looks between them. - We all learned something from him, whether we know it or not. Eric was a mysterious creature, but he worked day and night to try and make our lives better, and ended up sacrificing his own existence for the good of all of us. He showed me that there are reasons to keep on living, even if you are alone in the world... You can live for others, to ensure their happiness. That is what I learned from him... and those are the thoughts I will follow. - He said. With that, he stepped away from the podium, and Grovyle and Celebi walked up.
Grovyle was the one who spoke up at first. - To many of us... in the future, Eric was a freak at first. He claimed to have come from another world, and was always spouting non-sense. To many, it may have looked like he was insane... but now I wonder... if he was truly as mad as we thought. - He began. - The future... was a cruel place. - Celebi followed, explaining to those lucky enough to have never lived through it. - It was a land drowned in darkness, with many evil doers running amok, free to do what they desired. And whilst some gave in to the madness that reigned that world... some tried to survive with all they could, trying to live normal lives in that ruined world, which proved almost, if not, impossible. But when Eric came... it was like a breath of fresh air. In a world where all hope and happiness had been thrown away, and dismissed as a distraction from survival, a being such as Eric, who trivialized most of it, and tried to cheer others up... He truly stood out, but not as a stigma, but an example to follow. - Celebi explained.
- Eric gave made us laugh, roll our eyes, and simply chuckle. And whilst many of you may think that those things are... completely natural, in a world such as the one we lived in... they were rare emotions. Almost non existent, and to have someone who was a constant source of... hope, that, I believed was what kept us all going. His presence started fuelling a fire that had been extinguished a long time ago. A revolution. We wanted our world back, not just live like scared monsters in a mountain, subdued by forces which we believed were greater than us... No, we wanted to see the sun rise again. We wanted to see the plants grow, the flowers bloom, and the season change. And then... one day, just... as casually as you say "I want to eat some berries", he just... spouted it. That... if we were to travel back in time... get the gears... and fix the flow... we could prevent all of that from ever happening! And... although we would be erased from existence by the end... if was a price many of us were willing to pay. We didn't simply want the world for ourselves. We were the remainders of our species, and we knew that we couldn't ensure our survival, so instead... we could assure the survival of others. In other words, Eric was telling us that a noble sacrifice from all of us was needed to save that world. - Grovyle said, telling the story.
- Many thought that he was just insane, but... now we believe that he was the more sane of all of us. Even though he lived right besides us, he kept that smile on his face all the time. He gave all of hope, as we said before, and... some embarked on a journey. A journey to fix that broken world. We met terrible foes along the way, suffered wounds, and felt like it was all useless. But he kept us going, saying that we had to try, and never give up. And... now... we all see that he was right. - Celebi said. - And... on a more private note... not only was Eric some kind of... saviour, to us... but also a great friend. When I first met him, I was just a mindless monster that killed and ate just to survive... and the first time he encountered me... he gave me the beating of my life. - He said, the smile on his face confusing many. - But he taught me something... that I was being a fool. I had given up on trying to survive long ago, and had given in to that madness. At that point, many would've written me off, saying I was a lost cause... but as soon as he saw that I was unable to fight... he started lecturing me. At first I was like: "Just kill me and be done with it, you freak!" But slowly... his words just started to make sense in my head. Why keep on living that terrible life? There was really no real reason for me to keep on living if I kept doing those things, and that I had to do something useful, like... help others. - He said, tears coming from his eyes.
- You could say that was his motto... he wasn't living for himself, but rather living for others, to make sure that they could enjoy a happier life. His words... just struck me, and I became what I am now. And even though I was living for others at first... slowly I realized that were also a place in my heart for myself. I recovered my life... hell, I'd say I improved it. I gained new friends and companions and... - He looked at Celebi. - Even found the love of my life. - He said, the legendary smiling, tears also in her eyes. - And... each time something happened. I made a new friend, or progressed in my adventure, I always wondered... if he hadn't beaten me up like that... what could've happened to me. I don't wish to ever know the answer to that question. Eric... wasn't only a friend to me. He was a mentor... or even more. I don't know how to describe it... but I can safely say, that Eric slowly became an important part of my life. And probably he also became an important part of all our lives as well. He gave his all to save us... so let's enjoy this gift he has given us. - He said, smiling. Many clapped and cheered as Grovyle thanked them and walked off the stage, receiving a kiss from Celebi.
Right after they walked off, Pidgeot decided to step up. - You know... I didn't really get to know Eric that much. Sure, we used to hang out a lot while he was around, and when we went to get that army... you could say that we got a look at him... And I can safely say that I have never seen someone like him. At first glance, he looks like an annoying guy, but... you slowly get to know him, and sure, that wacky, out there look of him is still there... but beneath that you see the qualities of a great friend as well. I can't say stuff for certain but... had he lived, who knows, he could've ended up making friends with almost everyone in town. He was the kind of guy you could laugh with... high five after saying a really obscure joke... or hell, party with. Many of us here went to that party, and we all got a glimpse of him didn't we? - He asked the crowd, many of which nodded, some at the verge of tears. - And he even promised that we should do a repeat... and I say we pull through with it! In his memory! - He exclaimed, some smiling and nodding. He walked off the stage with a smile and tears in his eyes.
Next up were Lucy and Zed, the later of which looked really nervous because he was standing in front of so many people. - I think that we had the same impression as everyone when we saw Eric. We're fighting for our lives when all of a sudden this unknown creature flies in out of nowhere, takes control of the situation and saves all the town in half an hour... Needless, to say, you're bound to feel like... you're afraid of him. I mean, he just summoned this huge tornado out of nowhere, and wiped out an entire army. You have to wonder... where is this guy's limit? Does he have a limit to begin with? What does he want with us? - Lucy began asking. Zed stepped closer to the edge, stuttering and moving around uncomfortably. - We... never really got clear answers, and now, we probably won't, but... What Eric did for all of us. It doesn't matter why he was here for, what he did is what truly mattered in the end. I was scared of him at first but... I slowly realized that he was a really cool guy, and I think we all realized that as well. I just wish he could've spent more time with us, who knows what kind of wacky stuff he could've done. - The zorua said. With this, the two walked off from the stage.
Eric just sat on the ground, thinking about everything their friends were saying... and how wrong they were. The Eric they had seen at the top of the tower... it contrasted with everything they all said. He wasn't truly as cheerful as they thought, he was... sad, filled with guilt and sorrow. All of that... what their friends were saying... they weren't describing the real Eric... Just a mask. A mask he had used to successfully fool them all. Elly poked her side, giving him a worried look. He looked at her for a few seconds, and pondered about it. Eventually, he nodded, and both of them got up, some of the crowd members looking at them. Eric took a deep breath before walking up to the stage, looking at the crowd of pokemon.
- Me... and Elly were... the last ones who saw Eric alive. As we said... he gave up his life to make sure we could live in a better future... and hell, he was even nice enough to give me my name back... - He said, some of the members in the crowd smirking. - But... He also... had a few last words with us... - He said, a serious look on his face. - And he... he showed us who he truly was. - The riolu announced, his voice ominous. Everyone looked at the duo, expecting them to say exactly what they hoped would say. A hero. Someone who cared for his friends. Exactly the opposite of what Eric was. And the riolu knew this. And the eevee besides him knew it as well. To their right, their friends, like Grovyle, Pidgeot, Ferrus... all of them, staring at them, waiting for the duo to say what had already been said multiple times before. The crowd wanted to hear it as well... they wanted to hear them talk about Eric's lies. Talk about who Eric wasn't in the first place...
- The... real Eric... was... - The riolu began between stutters...
(Stop the music)
(Sorrow – Xenoblade Chronicles)
"He wasn't like any of us have described him so far... in fact, he was even greater than that..." Eric remembered his own words as he took steps towards a single gravestone in the middle of a field, also littered with small graves. Treasure Town's new... Graveyard. This tombstone was slighly bigger than the rest, even though there was nothing buried underneath it. "In his last moments, he explained that things had gone awry at the last second. After a brutal fight against Clades, he was mortally wounded and fell off the tower, and we thought he was dead then... But he came back when time froze. He explained that even though we had failed to stop time from freezing... he could still fix everything, that he had a backup plan." He had said, lying about the fact that Eric had lied to all of them in the first place about changing time.
"Not once did he cry as he explained that it would take his life to do so, and he told us that he wouldn't be able to throw that huge party he had promised, although he said that we should go through with it, even if he wasn't there with us..." He took a few steps forward, grasping Eric's staff in his paws, his friends right besides him as they all stood there in silence, looking at the riolu carrying the staff. "His last words however, were truly inspiring. He said that... even though he was gone, we still had to live on. That we all had a lot ahead of us, even those who have given up on life. For me and Elly, Eric wasn't just a hero, or a friend... he was part of us, just as we were part of him." The riolu had claimed, which was true. Both ways. He stood still in front of the grave, looking at the inscription.
Eric the Human. Great hero for all. Great friend for many.
"Even now that he is dead... we can all feel him. Not only in the legacy he left behind, or how much we learned from him, or if we owe him who we are today. He was more than a friend to all of us, and... I don't believe there are words to describe the type of person he was. I will just say however... that I doubt someone like him will ever appear." He had told of them, tears coming down from his eyes, in a mixture of sadness but also anger. He had promised to say the truth... yet he had found himself unable to do so. The image Eric had left behind... was nothing like the real Eric, and he knew that he would have to live with the burden for the rest of his life... but Elly was there with him, and they had both agreed to share this burden. "And Eric... wherever you are right now... Thank you. Not only from giving us a second chance... but for also being our friend." These last few words he had said had been true.
Wether Eric liked to admit it or not... he was their friend. They had tried to help him, and... he belived they had. In some way or shape, they had all touched the human's heart, just as much as he had touched theirs. The hope he had spread had come back to him, and Eric was sure that by the end of their adventure, the human had started to believe his own lie, wishing that it was a truth. His true last words gave him more than enough reason to believe this. He closed his eyes and remembered the human one last time. His laugh. His face. His smile. His twisted sense of humor... All of it was lost forever now. He opened his eyes and looked at the grave, raising the staff over his head and stabbing the weapon into the soil, marking the spot where the human would've been buried had there been a body. - Goodbye... Friend... - He muttered, sobbing quietly.
(Stop the music)
Eric laid on his bed, his furry arms crossed behind his back, looking out the maw of the sharpedo, the sound of the waves gently crashing against the rocks echoing in the distance. Since the guild was destroyed, they had moved the guildmembers to temporary houses until a new guild was built or the old one was rebuilt. They had said that the police station would serve as a temporary solution for the mission posts... but him and Elly weren't going to show up there to get their missions the next day. There were both tired, not physically... but also psychologically. They weren't going to retire then, not by a long shot... but they felt like they needed some rest, to stop... and just think. Think about all that had happened in those last two years. How quick things had happened... how insane the obstacles in their path had been... It almost seemed impossible, yet it had all happened.
- So.. we couldn't do it... - Elly said. She was lying on her back as well, looking the same way Eric was. They weren't really star gazing or anything just... thinking. She was obviously referring to them telling the truth about the human. - I couldn't bring myself to do so... It would've broken their hearts to know the truth about him. - Eric defended himself, but Elly shook her head. - I'm not accusing you Eric. Even though he showed us who he truly was... we still want to believe he was the complete opposite of that. We want to remember him for his good points, not the bad ones... - The eevee explained, the riolu agreeing with her. - It still pains me that... no one else aside from eachother will ever know the real Eric... But I doubt that would be a good thing if they did. - The jackal said, Elly nodding in agreement.
They both just laid there, together, the normal type wrapping her upper legs around his chest, leveling her head with his, looking in the same direction he was. He glanced at the eevee, moving his right paw from underneath his head and wrapping it around the female, pulling her closer. She shifted around as she got as close as possible to him, the duo feeling the other's heart beating from how close they were. - So... what happens next? - Eric asked. Elly sighed. - Honestly... I have no idea. I mean... we keep on fighting crime, hang out with our friends... and live life. But still... I don't think we'll be able to come back to our normal lives after all that's happened. - She said. - And I'm not talking only about us... - She added.
Eric nodded. She was right. They weren't the only ones that had been scarred by that tragedy, and he really wondered how everything would get back to normal after that... but he shrugged it off, guessing that only time would tell. After a few seconds of silence, Elly spoke. - There's... also a place I want to go... tomorrow. - She said. He rose an eyebrow and looked at her. - And what would that be? - The riolu asked. - My home... the forest I grew up. - She said. Eric was about to ask her why she would want to go back there, but he soon remembered. - You want to see her? - The riolu asked, his mate nodding. - I know it will be painful... but I feel like I have to do it. If I don't do it now, I'll have to do it sometime in the future and... I prefer it to be now. - She said. The riolu sighed. - Are you sure? I mean... right after his death too... - He muttered. She nodded. - That's exactly why. I feel like I have to go there... and tell her. I don't know why, I just... need to. - She said.
- Well, alright then... I guess we can ask Pidgeot to take us there, as long as he doesn't have anything important to do tomorrow. - He said. After that he fell silent, still looking up to the sky. - Are you going to miss him? - Elly asked. The fighting type looked at her. - Eric? Yeah, a little... But not the real Eric. I'm going to miss the Eric that we knew for most of the time. - He told her. - What makes you think he was the real Eric? - She asked him. The riolu looked at her, raising an eyebrow. - I mean... his sad side felt just as real as the happy one... so why can't they both be equally real? - She asked him. That was a very good question, and he thought about it for a while. - Well... I guess you're right yeah... Still, I find it hard to believe he always had that inside of him... Even after that nightmare, I still didn't see it coming, yet... - He groaned. - Man, even in death he gives me a headache. - He said. Elly giggled.
- That was his specialty after all... - She responded, hugging him and closing her eyes, a smile on her face. The riolu smiled and hugged her back, kissing her left cheek. - Yeah, I guess it was... - He said. Another long silence followed this statement. - We're going to enjoy it. For him. - The riolu suddenly said. Elly opened an eye and looked at him. - The life he's given us... we're going to enjoy it as much as we can. - He said, as both a promise and a statement. She smiled and closed her eyes again. - Yeah, we are... Good night Eric... - She whispered. - Good night... - He told her as he kissed her cheek once more and closed his eyes, both of them drifting off to sleep.
The next morning, Eric and Elly woke up almost simultaneously, with Elly being the first up. A strange kind of excitement filled her, yet at the same time, she felt a sense of dread each time she thought about what they were going to do that day. After waking up she washed herself, and whilst she was doing this Eric woke up, walking up to her as she dried her the fur on her face, shaking the water off her fur. He walked to her and caressed her back, calling her attention as he walked besides her, leaning down and kissing her cheek. - Good morning. - He whispered, walking towards the small water fountain and washing his face as well. Elly looked at him, still drowsy, yawning. - Good morning... - She said as she yawned, nuzzling her face against the riolu's side, the jackal feeling her wet fur rubbing against him. - How did you sleep? - She asked.
He chuckled as he shook his paws, drying them, shaking his head. - I slept well, in fact, better than I have in months. And you? - He asked her, walking over to their bags. She smiled, waving her tail around as she grabbed the small comb besides the fountain and straightened her fur, so she didn't look like a brown ball. - I did sleep well I guess... I didn't have any dreams though... - She complained, fixing her fur. - How do I look? - She asked him. The riolu turned to look at her, eyeing the eevee. She looked lovely as ever, although her fur was a little messy over her forehead. He motioned her to comb her fur up, and she did so, the riolu winking and giving her a thumbs up. - Perfect. You look amazing. - He told her, then picked up their bags and wrapped his blue scarf around his neck. The scarf was really long, going down behind his back, reaching the back of his knees.
- So... are you ready? - He asked her, grabbing his small bag. Elly rolled her eyes, levitating his bag and putting it back in it's spot. - We're not going to need that, at least today. Besides, you look so dumb with it... - She said, smiling. - Well, then you'd better learn how to use those space pockets, because someday we're going to need to carry something with us to a mission. - He said. She walked up to him, using her powers to wrap the scarf around his neck properly. - Last time I was trying to learn it I managed to warp something like three feet away from me. - She said. The riolu looked at her, semi annoyed. She groaned. - It's something, right?! Either way, come on, let's get going. - She said.
He smirked as he walked behind her, both of them going up the steps and walking to the outside world. The sun was high in the sky, since they had slept longer than usual. The duo made their way through treasure town, some pokemon walking around, heading for the few shops that were still operational. Resources were being brought directly to Treasure Town from other towns that hadn't suffered too much damage, so recovery was bound to be a little faster. They said hi to anyone they knew, asking their friends if they knew where Pidgeot was. They encountered Zed and Lucy happily walking around, the duo chatting with eachother.
- Hey, good day! - Eric saluted as soon as they were in ear shot. The younger couple looked at them, waving at them. - Hi! You guys took your time to leave your house, eh? - The shinx asked as they came closer. - Well, we needed some rest, but today we're planning to make a quick trip, and we need to find out where Pidgeot is. - Eric explained. - Where are you going? - Zed asked, curious. - We're going back to my forest, the place where I grew up. I want to visit someone. - Elly said. Zed and Lucy both knew all of Elly's story, and they had an idea of who she wanted to visit. - Oh... well... If that's the case, we saw Pidgeot this morning buying some ink at the market place. Pretty sure he's going to start writing and get back to his reporter work. - The electric type said, moving her head towards the direction they were coming from.
- Alright, thanks! Also, are we going to go through with the party in the end? - Eric asked. - The party in memory of Eric? Uh... Yeah, of course we are. It's probably what he would've wanted to do. You said so. - Zed answered, a bit confused that the riolu was questioning if they wanted to do it. - Yeah, I know, but I remember some pokemon not wanting it, and instead mourn over him like normal. But anyways, we'll see about it tomorrow, because I don't think anyone's in shape to do the party today. - The riolu theorized. Lucy and Zed nodded. - Well... we're off to the police station, we want to talk with Wigglytuff about something. - The zorua told their friends. After saying goodbye, they parted ways, Eric and Elly heading towards the market place.
They didn't find Pidgeot anywhere, but they did find Ferrus, solving an argument over a bag of berries. - Well, you split the berries and then you split the profit! We can't be greedy at times like these! We all have to cooperate to make this town rise up from the ashes! - The lucario shouted, lecturing the aruging salesmon. After forcing them to apologize, they left, and Ferrus was about to leave before the small jackal called him. - Ferrus! Wait! - He exclaimed, him and Elly running up to him. - Oh, good morning to you two. What's wrong? - He asked. - Do you know where Pidgeot is? We need him to carry us somewhere. - Elly explained. Ferrus crossed his arms. - Well that's interesting, he was also looking for you. He wanted to talk to you about something. Last time I saw him he said he was going to his room and try to write some stuff. You should probably look in the house we are staying in. - He said.
Eric didn't know where they were staying, and Ferrus gave him some directions. After that, they left for the house to try and find Pidgeot. They didn't even have to ask again for the house. A loud, frustrated groan, followed by sheets of paper and ink flying through the window of a house gave away the bird's location. Eric and Elly walked up to the front door and knocked on it a few times. They were met by a Milktank, smiling warmly at them. As soon as she noticed who they were she gasped loudly. - Oh my Arceus! It's Eric and Elly! - She screamed. A loud crash was heard, coming from the second floor of the house, hurried steps coming down the stairs. Pidgeot came out from the top of the stairs, looking at the duo. - There you are! I was looking all over town for you two! - He exclaimed, running over to them, past the Milktank, who looked at her guest in annoyance. - We were sleeping in our house. We had to get some rest after what's happened in the last few days, don't you think? - Elly asked.
Pidgeot nodded. - I know that, but where the hell do you guys live? I couldn't find y ou anywhere, and I literally looked all over town. I eventually gave up and came back here to try and write some stuff. - He said. Elly glanced at the pile of paper and ink laying on the ground near the building. - Looks like it didn't work out really well. - She said, the bird rubbing the back of his head with his left wing. - Yeah, about that, uh... I think I lost it. - The bird simply said, confusing both Eric and Elly. - What do you mean you lost it? - Eric asked. Pidgeot was about to answer, but Elly interrupted them. - Hey, sorry to step into the conversation, but... we want to ask you a favour. - The eevee said.
The Pidgoet leaned on the door frame and crossed his wings, smirking. The milktank rolled her eyes and walked into the house. - What do you guys need? - He asked them. - We need to get to my forest. You know, the one where I grew up. - The eevee told the bird. - It's the same forest where you took me when Elly was first kidnapped in New Year's Eve, remember? It was raining too. - The riolu reminded him. Pidgeot gasped. - Ooooh, yeah, I remember. Yeah, I can take you guys there. But why would you ever want to go back there? - He asked them. - I want to visit my mother. - Elly said. Pidgeot rose an eyebrow. - Isn't your mother... um...? - He asked. A glance from both of the smaller pokemon made him understand. - Ooooh, ok. I get it. Well... yeah, I guess I can take both of you there, and I can explain my problem to you too. - He said. He crouched down to let the duo climb up on his back.
He spread his wings and flapped a few times to gain some height, before he took off into the sky. The sensation of flying wasn't knew to any of them, specially the eevee, who now possessed the ability to fly too. Eric was the only one that didn't have the ability to fly, although he could jump really high. - So... what is this problem you wanted to talk about? - Eric asked as soon as they were flying up in the air. - Well... I have definitely lost it. My ability to write. - Pidgoet said. Eric, who was sitting in front, with Elly behind him, grabbing on to his waist, looked back at her mate, who shrugged. - How do you even lose that? - The riolu asked. - I didn't necessarily lose it. I start comparing the stuff I wrote before with what I write now... and it sucks. - The bird explained.
- So... what are you going to do then? - Elly asked him. - Well, I have been thinking about it for quite a while, and I realized that maybe I was looking at this whole thing the wrong way. I started writing because I just didn't know what to do, and I liked travelling around the world. So I could take advantage of that adventurous spirit I had and start writing. But... after all that's happened, I think I've found somethig else I want to do. Like... I've found my calling or something. - He said. - And what would that be? - The jackal asked. - Well... Eric made me start thinking about that... To live for others... Up to this point, I had been doing this for myself. Writing so I could get rich make myself known and... maybe find her. - The pidgeot said, leaving this "her" ambiguous, although they guessed he was referring to finding someone who turned out to be the love of his life.
- But after meeting Eric, I've realized that I was being a selfish idiot. And... helping you guys save lives, and being thanked and recognized for doing so... It's given me a sense of fulfilment that I hadn't gotten for quite a while. The feeling that... I did something of worth. - He said. He was being really serious right then, and the small couple were listening to each of his words. - And losing my inspiration was the last factor that has pushed me to this decision. The only thing that remains is ask you guys if... if you could let me be part of your team. - He confessed. His proposal caught both Eric and Elly by surprise. - Woah, you want to join Pokepals?! - Elly asked him, surprised. Pidgeot looked back at them. - That's still your guys' name?! Pokepals? - He asked them, surprised.
- Uh... Is the name still Pokepals? - Eric asked Elly, who blushed. - It was the first thing that popped into my mind and... It was a placeholder name, like... I wanted us to come up with a better name later on. I guess... we never got around to thinking of a new name. - The eevee confessed, a bit ashamed. - Well... first things first after we go back to town, we're going to change the name. Or else the group of heroes that saved the world will be known as Team Pokepals for the rest of history. - Eric said, annoying the eevee immensely. She didn't say anything, but simply groaned and held on tighter to the riolu's sides. - Well, if I have to be honest I don't know if I want to become part of a team called Pokepals. Like, it sounds somehting an twelve year old would come up with. - The bird honestly said. This was the last straw for Elly, who responded immediately.
- Oh both of you shut up! It's not that bad of a name! - She shouted, bouncing up and down. Eric and Pidgeot laughed as the eevee reacted so violently. - I mean, come on! Seriously, how old were you when you came up with the name? - Pidgeot asked. Elly didn't say anything for a minute or two. - I came up with it when I was ten. When I was really young and I used to dream of being an explorer I imagined a team with a Chikorita and a Pikachu called "Team Pokepals", who were the best friends in the world and saved it from a huge meteorite. - She said. Eric turned to look at her, a smile on his face. - You used the name of a bunch of imaginary heroes for your real team name? - He asked her. She blushed and didn't answer yet again, Pidgeot laughing.
- Well, names aside, what do you guys say? Am I in or not? - He asked, eager to know the answer. Eric and Elly looked at eachother, and they both had the same response. - Of course you're in! - Eric announced, since he was technically still the leader of the team, even after exiling himself almost a year and a half ago. - WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. - Pidgeot sped up all of a sudden, doing a few flips and barrelrolls in the air, leaving Eric to grab on to his feathers for dear life whilst Elly watched in amusement, floating in mid air thanks to her powers. After the flying type calmed down, Elly got back on, the bird excited beyond belief! - Thank you thank you thank you! Also, stop calling me Pidgeot! Didn't I tell you my name already? - He asked them. Both Iratus and Elly shook their heads simultaneously. - Nop, you didn't. - Elly said. - Well, then I guess I should tell you now, since I'm going to become the newest addition to the team. My name's Serge. Serge the Pidgeot. I wasn't using my name because of the whole ditto issue from a few years ago. - He said.
- The ditto issue? - Eric asked. - Yeah, haven't you noticed that many pokemon are using their species' names, rather than their actual names? Well, that's because a few years ago, it was said that there was a criminal, who was apparently a ditto, who killed it's victims to take their place. Nobody knows why, although he did target some really notorious figures in the slave business. - Elly said. - He didn't only target those pokemon. - Serge followed, smirking. - I investigated the story on my travels. Apparently, he targeted close relatives or innocents to get closer to his targets, and then it would torture them. Whatever it was however, it stopped around five years ago, but everyone was left paranoid. To know if they were the ditto or not, pokemon started using their species' names in public and used their real names with family or close friends. Needless to say someone like me had to adapt. I couldn't risk someone taking my place, because that would've given them the perfect cover-up. - The bird explained.
They both waited for Eric to say something, but he didn't. Elly leaned closer and tapped his shoulder. - Hey, you ok? - She asked. - No! Of course not! Slavery is a thing?! - He asked. - Yes it is Eric. Although it is now being chased thanks to the ETF, and now it's not as much of a problem as it was back when I was a kid. However, it's a major problem in other regions. However, what puzzles me is that, although this mysterious ditto killed a ton of pokemon, most of it's victims were masterminds of the slavery world, so it did a service to the community in a manner of speaking. - He said. The riolu gave their new team member a grave look. - Are you serious? He killed innocent pokemon as well as those criminals! You said so! - Eric exclaimed. Serge thought about it. - Yeah, I guess you're right, no matter how many bad pokemon he killed, it doesn't justify it killing innocents... But it makes you wonder doesn't it? Like I said, it puzzles me to this day, that another criminal would hunt down other criminals. - He said, flapping his wings at a steady rhythm, now travelling over a river.
- Maybe he was a bounty hunter? Like, someone put a price on those pokemon heads and he decided to kill them to reclaim the bounty? - Elly wondered. The riolu turned around to look at her. - How do you know all of this stuff? - He asked her, kinda worried. - Well, I've always been interested in exploration and rescue teams, and some of their missions include things like stopping black market trades with slaves or trying to stop bounty hunters from killing a certain pokemon. - Elly explained. - Damn... You do know a lot about this sort of stuff! How much do you read? - Serge asked. - Now that I'm in the guild, I've actually stopped reading... I may start soon though. - She said.
- Huh... and here I was wondering how you were able to read that huge book about psychic powers without falling asleep. - Eric commented. She chuckled. - It actually isn't that long. Sure, it's huge, but it isn't that long of a book, since it only explains how to do those abilities, so maybe it takes around a minute to read a page. Mastering the skill is where the real challenge is, but apparently I'm just breezing through it, or at least that's what Slew said. - She proudly said. - Still, it's a long book. Longer than anything I've ever read. - The riolu confessed. His mate looked at him, raising an eyebrow. - How many books have you read? From start to finish. - She asked him. The riolu tried to remember, but shook his head. - Uh... Actually I don't think I've ever read a book. The only things I've ever read are the explanations for the missions, that's all. - The riolu confessed, shrugging.
- Well, then I'm going to have to fix that. Starting today we're both going to start reading a bit. Maybe a little each night before we go to sleep. - She said, her voice convincing the riolu that she was being serious. - Are you for real?! - He asked her. - What, have any complaints? - Elly asked him, smiling smugly. - Yeah, I do. Do you seriously prefer reading over... - He trailed off, moving his paws around. The eevee was confused at first, but then blushed as she noticed what he was talking about. - Hey, don't say those kinds of things when there are other pokemon around! - She exclaimed, slapping the back of his head. The riolu groaned in annoyance, but couldn't help but smile, the eevee really embarrassed. - Sorry you had to hear that Serge. - The female apologized.
The bird snapped out of his thoughts. - Huh? What? - He asked them. He apparently hadn't been listening to their conversation on his back. - Oh, never mind then... - She said. She then established a psychic connection with Eric. "Arceus damn it Eric... Why'd you have to say that?" She asked him through telepathy. "Because I really don't think that reading a book is going to be better than having sex! Should I remind you of how amazing the other night was?" He asked her. The eevee blushed, memories and sensations of that magical night flashing in her mind. "Of course I don't prefer reading over that! In fact, I'd love to do that often, but I believe that we should wait a few days in between.. Just to prevent it from getting boring." The eevee thought.
"Boring? How would that ever get boring?" He asked her. "Okay, maybe not boring... But I don't think we should do it every night. Like... we should do it when we're in the mood, don't you think?" She asked him. Eric groaned and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right... I won't force you if you aren't feeling like it... But still... reading?" He asked her again, pleading her to not keep going with that idea. She nodded. "Yes, reading. Don't worry, I'll teach you and you'll see how fun it is." The eevee said, finally convincing the riolu.
Just then, they noticed that Serge was calling for them. - Hey, you two! - He shouted, both of the pokemon on his back looking at them. - What? What's wrong? - Elly asked, snapping out of their conversation. - We're almost there. It's past these mountains, right? - Serge asked. Both of the pokemon looked down. They were flying over the mountains where Eric had been hiding for almost a whole year when he was exiled. And not only that, those were the mines where the pokemon from the future had taken refuge as well. - You think there's someone else still down there? - Eric asked their companions.
- Nah, it's been like five or six days since this whole thing ended, so I doubt there's still pokemon out there stuck. Primal pokemon however... those are really different. - He said. Even though the paralysis had been solved, there were still primals attacking normal pokemon. It was still a mess, and it was obvious that it was going to be like this for at least a year or two. Still, better than when time was frozen. They finally soared over the mountains, the small forest appearing off in the distance. - Alright, our destination is in sight! Hang on tight, we're going down! - Serge exclaimed, flying down. Eric grabbed on to some feathers whilst Elly grabbed on to the riolu's sides as they descended. They all looked at the forest, and Elly looked at her old home, confused and a little scared.
- Bring him in! - Magnezone exclaimed. Half of Treasure Town was inside of the police department. There were also pokemon from the future like Grovyle and Celebi, amongst others. The doors to the cells were burst open, and two Magnemites were seen, pushing in another pokemon. A green, insectoid like pokemon, with his arms wrapped in bandages. Ferrus was staring at everything from afar, acting like a provisional judge, elected by everyone in that building. - State your name! - The lucario exclaimed as the prisoner was brought to the center of the room. There was no need for the criminal to say his name though, because everyone knew it. - Reap, The Scyther. - He simply said. There was barely any emotion in his voice, only slight anger.
- Do you know what crimes you've been charged with? - The fighting-steel fight asked. Reap shook his head. - None. I have simply been convicted because of my good deeds. - These words made an uproar in the room, many shouting different insults at the green pokemon, which he completely ignored. - SILENCE! - Ferrus shouted at the top of his lungs, the room instantly falling silent. He then looked at Reap, who was staring back. - You have been charged with the following crimes: Murder, Torture, Attempted Rape, Rape and Enslavement. What is your defense against these crimes? - He asked Reap, trying to contain himself as best as he could.
Reap simply smirked. - It sounds so bad when you say it... and besides, they may be crimes, but in the end I did what I was told to do. - Reap stated, falling silent again. Once again, screams and insults flew around in the room, and this time Ferrus' shouting wasn't enough to calm down the raging mob. Tehy were finally stopped as Loudred walked up right next to Ferrus' side, told him to cover his ears as he let out the loudest scream he could muster, the windows in the building shattering. Everyone stopped shouting and covered their ears, Reap simply sitting there, his ears suffering from how loud the shout was.
After Loudred stopped, Ferrus thanked him as peace was once again returned. Before Ferrus could talk, Reap opened his mouth to speak again. - You haven't seen what I have seen... The world that once existed is nothing like the one that now surrounds us. Perpetual darkness. Blood, gore and death around every turn. Friends eating other friends for survival, cubs murdered in their sleeps, robbed of their life at an age when they couldn't fight back, only for their meat to be eaten by their starving parents, the sickening pokemon not even caring if the blood of their own child was on their paws or some other psycho. - He started telling these and many more abominations. Some of those present in that room couldn't stand the descriptions, rushing out feeling sick. For Ferrus however, as well as many of the pokemon in the room that could stand such atrocities, it wasn't the acts themselves what disturbed them, but the intensity and accuracy of the many acts he described.
- In such a world... there is no place for the feelings we have grown acostumed to... Guilt. Empathy. Sadness... A wild world, where only the strongest thrived. And when I noticed that my group was filled with weaklings... I had to do something. My mission was to ensure their survival, and I ALWAYS, accomplish my missions perfectly. - He said, the world "always" coming out of his mouth in a rather unnatural tone, the magnemites besides him backing away, intimidated. - So I had to separate them... bring the strongest, the ones that could go on without those moral barriers... And take control of those who were too weak to assume the situation they were in. - He said, trying to get other pokemon to understand his reasoning.
- And when that didn't work... I had to spawn more of these weaklings, and possibly mold them into strong ones... so that's why I set up those "abominations" you claim... And then came the time when I had to make space... Out with the old ones... in with the new ones. - He said, his neck twitching. - It was a perfect system... Soon, I would've had an army... an army strong enough to take back our world... to erase this illness that plagued us once and for all... BUT THEN HE HAPPENED. - He struggled against the ropes that contained him, moving around. The magnemites moved in to try and restrain him, but he pushed them away, pushing against the ropes that were bounding him until they broke, releasing the mad mon. - That freak of nature! That mistake! That repulsive being! Just staring at him made me want to puke! - He shouted, bending his body and taking some steps forward, leaning back and forth. No one in the room dared move a muscle, until Reap dug into the bandages that enveloped his arms, ripping the white cloth, revealing the current state of his arms.
- Look! Look at what he did to me! - He exclaimed. Both of his arms after his elbows had been cut off. The bones had been completely broken, and letting them stay there would've probably ended up killing Reap from bleeding out or worse. The only alternative at the time had been to cut off his arms completely, now only the section from the shoulders to the to the elbows remained. He waved them around, showing the damage that had been dealt. The wounds were still open too, shades of red at the end of the stubs. - This is what your hero did to me! This is what he did to your saviour! - He exclaimed, referring to Eric as a monster, angering everyone, more insults. He still shouted over the crowd.
- You may have thought he was all smiles and laughs, but you were wrong. He was a monster! A freak! He was filled with evil and anger. A vile creature hiding under a facade of jokes and laughs! He showed me what he really was... and he was no better than that monster, the umbreon! No... He was just as evil as that destroyer of worlds! - He shouted. Everyone in the room lost it, trying to push against the line of Magnemites that separated them from the perpetrator. However, a voice rose above all others. - You liar! - A female's voice screamed. A pink creature floated over the line and stepped up against Reap. It was Celebi. - You never got to know him, you liar! He wasn't a monster like Clades was! He was a hero and a great friend to all of us! Where you brought us pain and suffering, he brought us hope and happiness, so how dare you even insult him you bastard! - She shouted.
Reap was at the verge of crying now, and Celebi noticed this as she was close enough to see his eyes. He was sad. But not because he was caught, or because he felt guilty for what he had done. - However... he has taught me something... that this illness... this curse that destroyed our world... It wasn't anything like that. No... It was inside of all of us. And still is! - He shouted, pointing at everyone with his "arms". - It wasn't a curse or an illness, but the monster that lies inside all of us! I realized it too late, but now that I've done I know who the real monsters are... It's us! We're the freaks! Those who we consider Primals... they are their real selves! Senseless creatures without emotions! That's who we all are! - He shouted, laughing hysterically as pokemon in the crowd traded worried looks. - We are all monsters! However, we live in an organized society, which isn't the medium we were created to live in! We have retained ourselves with morals and ethics, and we have strayed so far from our true nature that we consider it barbaric! - Reap shouted. The things he was saying were somewhat disturbing to most of the members in the crowd, but were really thought provoking as well.
He glanced at Celebi, smiling. - And you... I remember you... You were one of the first ones... Considering how long you've lived for, I was confused at first? Were you saving your first time for someone else? - He asked her. A smile spread across his face, sending chills down the legendary's spine. - Sad that legendaries can't have eggs... Your child would've made a fine grunt! - He exclaimed. Out of nowhere, a green fist flew straight towards his face, a tooth flying out, followed by a trail of blood. - YOU MOTHER FUCKER! - Grovyle shouted as he repeatedly punched Reap, tackling him and pounding the defenseless bug type repeatedly. While this was happening, the criminal was laughing maniacally.
Grovyle was pulled away from Reap by an angered Ferrus. - Leave him! You'll only prove his point! - The lucario shouted to the furious pokemon he was barely holding back. - I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD! - Grovyle insulted repeatedly, Celebi crying on the floor next to them. The crowd aroudn them was not actively trying to get to Reap to rip him appart, make him pay for what he had done. Magnezone floated in, grabbing Reap with Electro's help, electric ropes holding his arms together. Reap looked around, amused. - You see?! It is true! You're all monsters in the inside! ALL OF YOU! - He started laughing again, his laugh echoing in the halls as he was carried away.
The raging pokemon calmed down ten minutes after Reap left the room. Many of them were either speechless or extremely disturbed to speak. Grovyle was hugging a crying Celebi in the middle of the room, the authorities had opted to leave them there. Ferrus came into the room through the same door that lead to the prison cells. He walked up to them, crouching down. - How are you two? - He asked. Grovyle looked at him and nodded. - We're ok... but still... why would he say something like that... at this moment? - He asked the lucario. - He wanted to get his point across, and he wanted you to kill him right then and there to show that there's... a monster inside all of us. Thankfully, we managed to stop you before you did something foolish. He was trying to anger you... - He glanced at Celebi. - Through her. - Ferrus concluded.
Celebi visibly cringed at turned her head to face away from the lucario, burying her face into her boyfriend's chest as she sobbed quietly. - What... what's going to happen to him then? - Grovyle asked. Ferrus rose from the ground, looking at the room. - He deserves to be executed for how many crimes he has committed. However, doing so would only prove his point... so instead, he will be exiled. He will not be allowed to enter any towns under the jurisdiction of the ETF, which are almost all the towns in the region, unless he wants to be put into jail. The exile will last until the end of his days. - The lucario announced, revealing Reap's fate. - Sir, isn't that... - Magnezone began. - Too cruel? Considering the things he has done, it is the least cruel punishment I could come up with. Besides, he will be exposed to the cruelty of the primals, or the monsters he claims that live inside all of us. He will most likely die... but we won't be the ones to do it. We'll let nature run it's course. - Ferrus concluded.
His actions were highly immoral, yet again... many felt like it was the punishment he truly deserved. And besides, it was either that, staying in a prison for the rest of his life, or being executed directly. In other words, he would've met the same fate either way.
Eric and Elly jumped off Serge's back. They were right in front of the forest's entrance. But something was awfully different, something they had noticed as soon as the forest had come into view. The whole forest was dead. Completely dead. The trees didn't have any leaves, the ground covered in the rotting remains of said leaves. Not only that, but they sky got cloudy as they approached, and a sudden breeze came through the rotting trees, chilling the trio to the bone. Eric scouted the forest. The last time he had been there... it had been something akin to a nightmare. A torch. Darkness surrounding him. Heart pounding against his chest, the sound of his heart beating echoing in his ears... The corpses and bodies, which he had buried with his own paws... He could feel sweat coming down his forehead as he remembered all of that, now a little reluctant to enter the forest.
Elly was also a little shaken by the state the forest was in. How could it be like that when less than half a year ago it was ok? She didn't know if the time rift could've caused this... but something inside her told her that the paralysis didn't have anything to do with that. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the forest. For some reason, even though it was all... so different, she felt like she was home, and unlike when her father was around there... she felt safe. But this safety came with a sensation of emptiness that completely surrounded, and if she had to be honest she didn't know which she preferred. The feel of danger around her was in fact more inviting than that oppressive hollowness around her. She felt it. Something was missing. And she knew what it was. And it made her horribly sad. Even though she knew what she was going to find in that forest she had to go there.
Eric and Serge looked at eahcother and followed Elly, none of them saying anything as they traversed the empty forest. Little by little, that sensation of emptiness Elly felt spread to her companions, who also shivered. They crossed a clearing where they saw rotting big flowers, and further inside the forest the crossed a now dried river. They thought about going to where the river was born, but they decided to head to after Elly, who ignored the river. A few minutes after that they got to another clearing, and Eric stopped right where he was. - Don't move that way. - He said, pointing forward. Elly looked at him, confused, and took a closer look to the area in front of them. She noticed what he was pointing at. Small piles of dirt. In front of them they saw several small piles of dirt. There was no need to explain what they were, but what truly terrified all of them wasn't the piles of dirt. It was the open graves.
They slowly started to walk towards the graves, Eric not being able to resist the temptation and looking into one of the graves. He cringed and stepped back. - Don't look at the graves. - He simply said, his eyes wide open. The corpses were in a much worse state than when he buried them, just like the whole forest was. His friends took his advice and kept on walking, trying to avert their attention from the rotting bodies that surrounded them. They kept on walking, a bigger tree appearing in front of them. Elly started walking faster, until she eventually broke into a sprint, moving quickly through the trees and towards her old home. She stopped as she saw the state of the hollow tree. Not only was it rotting, but it was also completely ruined. The external structure was ruined, and it had crumbled down into a heap of rotting wood and leaves. But what truly scarred her at that moment in time was the open grave in front of the tree. Eric walked up to her and looked over at the grave. Since he was a little taller he got a glance at it's contents, cringing. If the other corpses were bad, Skye's was...
- Elly, let me go ahead and... - He begun, but she cut him off, shooting a glance at him. - No. I need to do this Eric. You can't protect me from this forever Eric. I have to face it and accept the fact that I'm alone in this world now Eric. I need to see her. - She firmly said. The riolu looked back at her, nodding. Before she could go ahead however, he placed a paw on her side. - I'm going with you Elly. You're not alone. - He reassured her. She smiled, nuzzling his side, tears in her eyes. - I know... But I need to face this alone Eric. - She repeated. He nodded, understanding how she felt, standing still as he lifted his paw and she began walking towards the grave.
Eric was right. She didn't look good at all. Even if she was dead. The sight of her mother's corpse brought back painful memories of when she first found her. The first time she was only bleeding from her neck, some flies flying around, with that putrid smell... But now her body was rotting, the smell was even worse, and the remaining fur was covered in dried blood. To add to how horrifying it was, her eyes were wide open, and blood was coming from her forehead. There was a hole where her red gem used to be. The sight instantly changed her feelings from sadness and horror to anger. Now she knew where the Life Gem was before Blake got his paws on it. Now she knew why he had tried to enter her dreams all of her childhood. Her mother had the gem all along, and she didn't even know it. But he somehow felt like she knew where it was... and it turned out it was true.
(Not Tomorrow - Silent Hill)
She looked down at her mother, crying, a smile on her face. - Hi... mom... - She said, almost whispering. - I know... That... It's been a long time since I last saw you, and... I thought that... it was about time I did come back. - She said, looking around. The memories of growing up in that house came back to her, crying now. - Mom... We... we did it, we... we saved the world, Eric and I... our friend died, but... we managed to save the world thanks to him, and... then I... I... I did it. Blake is... dead, he... he will never do anymore harm to anyone else. It's over, you can... rest in peace... - She said, sniffing between words, crying, her tears falling down the grave. - I wanted to come back to tell you that... but... also to say that... I'm sorry. Everyone keeps telling me that... it was never my fault, that he was just a psychopath, trying to act as a father, but... I have always felt like... it was my fault. You died while trying to protect me from him... and I couldn't do anything to stop him from manipulating me and killing you again... I was weak...I've always been. - She sobbed continuously, falling down to the ground.
- Just... what did I do to deserve this? From the very moment I was born, he hated me... why? You never told me if you knew it or not... and now I don't think I will ever discover the truth. But... the fact that if I had been a little stronger... and tried to stand up to him... I would've probably gotten killed, I know... but so many innocents would've been saved. Many... died, mom. Because of Blake. He's hurt a lot of pokemon and... he's hurt us a lot as well. - She used the word "us" to refer to her family, but also to her mate as well. - And I know I should be happy that he's gone, but... I don't know why, I get this feeling of emptiness now. A spot that will remain forever. Even if Eric tries to fill it... - She said. She then smiled through her tears. - Oh... and I forgot... Me and Eric are... mates now. He's... a really good pokemon, really kind and strong... and I've grown stronger too, and together... we'll live happy together, mom. I know that... if you're hearing this... wherever you are right now... You'll be happy to know that... - She almost whispered.
She waited there, like she was hoping for her mother to respond inside her head. But her voice never came. She would never hear her kind, soft voice, never cry against her purple furred chest, never sleep in her embrace whilst she sung a lullaby... That would never come back. Her smell, her voice, the feeling of her fur as she hugged her... as she protected her from the evil of that world... She had tried her hardest to protect her, to make sure that she survived... She had given up everything she had ever owned, including her life, just to protect her daughter. And now, Elly felt guilty because she had done so. - I... I just wish that... things could've gone differently... they say that everything happens for a reason, but... I'll never understand why all of this happened... we could've been a happy family, I'm sure of it... but he ruined it all... Why? Why did this all have to happen? I doubt I'll ever known all of these questions I'm asking you... But the only thing I know is that... I miss you, mom. Even thought I'm not alone in the world, that... I have tons of friends and... - She looked behind her, at Eric, who was looking at her. He was crying as well, and had probably started as soon as he saw her crying. - I have him to help me through this. I hope that... one day, I can see you again. - She closing her eyes and getting up from the ground. - Goodbye, mom. I love you... - She whispered, using her powers to close her eyes.
Elly stepped away from the grave, and Eric approached her slowly. He placed a paw on her neck and got down on his knees. She was still crying, but she know looked much relieved and... was staring at the grave, her eyes wide open. She turned to look at him, and nodded. The riolu also nodded in response and approached the pile of dirt next to the grave, looking at Skye one last time. He then began to push the dirt into the grave. - Thank you... For everything you've done for us, Skye... For giving me Elly... for trusting me with her life... I promise I will make her happy, and I will make sure that no harm comes to her. - He told the lifeless body of the espeon as she was covered slowly by dirt, until finally the grave was filled in. Eric and Elly stood side by side in front of it, having a minute of silence in honour of the espeon as they realized just how high the price of Blake's death had been. All of that misery and pain... just because of a single umbreon.
(Stop the music)
Zed and Lucy were running around the police department. - You can't touch this! - Lucy exclaimed, ducking over some stools where pokemon were sitting, taking care of some letters. - Oh I can, just let me catch up you and I'll show you! - Zed exclaimed, following her, almost knocking down some of the stools, calling the attention of the pokemon managing the letters. They then got out to the main hall, where some of the guildmembers and many inhabitants of Treasure Town were at the moment. Lucy zipped between many of of them. Lucy managed to make her way out of the department, only to run out into the rain. It was raining a lot, and sadly the reparations had to be stopped, but neither her nor Zed knew this, so when Lucy burst out to the outside, she stoped, the water pouring down on her. Before she could go back in however, Zed pounced her, the two rolling on the dirt as they were covered in mud.
Once they stopped, Zed was standing on top of Lucy, smiling. - Hah! I caught you! Now tell me what my reward is! - He exclaimed. Lucy, however, didn't respond, and her fur started glowing, the zorua's smile disappearing. - YOU MORON! - She screamed, shocking the zorua off her. She immediately got up from the ground and looked at herself. Her fur was a mess, and she was covered from paws to head in mud. She let out a scream as she charged against Zed, punching his face with his paws, half playfully but also a little angered. - Lucy stop, stop! - He pleaded as she discharged all of her anger. - Look what you did to my fur! - She exclaimed, the zorua looking at the shinx. She really was completely covered in mud, although the zorua couldn't complain. It was the first time he could get a really close look at the shinx's body without her telling him he was a pervert.
- Well... you can just wash your fur and it will be ok, right? - He asked her. She groaned. - No, because there's probably fur everywhere on my back as well, and I can't reach there. - She said, getting off the zorua and shaking herself. To her dismay, it only made it worse, and she groaned even louder. - See?! This is why I still call you a dumb mummy! You do some really stupid stuff every so often! - She shouted, the dark type looking at her, annoyed. - Hey, you promised you wouldn't bring that up again! - He exclaimed. Lucy smiled, sticking out her tongue as she ran up to his head and hit his forehead gently with her paw. - I'll do what I want! You're my boyfriend, so get used to those kind of nicknames and worse! - She told him, smirking.
He shook his head, his eyes widening. - Nu huh! We're not going to be a lovey dovey couple like Eric and Elly! No way! - He exclaimed. Just then, a voice came from through the rain. - What was that about us being lovey dovey? - Elly asked. Zed and Lucy turned to face their friends, who were also soaking wet. -There you are! You took so long to come back! - Lucy exclaimed, not really knowing how far away Elly's forest was. - Well, we had to go to the other side of the region, so... I don't think that... ah... ah... - Eric suddenly sneezed, his body curving with the sneeze, which was so loud that it scared his companions. He sniffed. - Ah crap... I think I might be coming down with a cold... - He said, groaning in annoyance. Zed and Lucy giggled, but were interrupted as Elly also sneezed. Her sneeze however, wasn't as loud as Eric's rather a little softer and quieter. In fact, if it wasn't because she suddenly jerked up in conjunction with the noise her friends wouldn't have noticed.
After this happened she blushed deeply, everyone looking at her. - Was that a sneeze? - Serge asked, looing over at the eevee, who nodded slowly, blushing. Zed and Lucy burst out laughing, just from how ridiculous it had sounded, whilst Eric just stared at his mate. She looked at him. - What?! - She asked, blushing madly now. - That... was actually the cutest sneeze I've heard. - He suddenly said. Elly wished at that moment that the ground opened up and swallowed her, the other three pokemon that made up their team laughing maniacally at what the riolu had just said. She glared at him, a little angry, using her powers to hit the back of his head softly, making him stumble forward. - Don't say those things in public! - She shouted. - But it's true! - She responded. This was followed by more laughs, and Eric looked at Zed and Lucy. - Oh, you're laughing now, but I can't wait for when she starts calling you sweetheart or something along those lines. Then it's going to be my turn to laugh. - He told the zorua whilst pointing at Lucy, who looked at him, smiling.
- Oh, I already have a nickname for him! He's not my sweet heart, he's my dumb mummy! - She said, nuzzling the zorua a little too affectingly. She was both trying to embarrass her boyfriend as well as get back on him for staining her with mud, rubbing part of the mud on her body on the zorua's. Zed stopped laughing as he tried to back away. - You promised you wouldn't say that! - He screamed. Now it was Eric and Elly's turn to laugh, whilst Serge had taken his cue and walked towards the entrance of the building. - Hey! - He called out. - I don't know about you guys, but I kinda want to go inside. - He said, raising a wing. - My feathers are getting all soaked up, and I don't know about your fur, buy my feathers take AGES to dry up. - He complained. The four pokemon standing outside walked into the station, still laughing with eachother.
They searched through the whole building for some towels, and although Eric, Elly and Serge managed to dry themselves, Zed and Lucy were stuck with mud on their furs, which made a lot of pokemon give them weird looks. Since they were no baths in the building, they had to wait until it stopped raining so they could leave for a provisional house and have a bath there. So, while they were waiting, the group started talking again, and Eric and Elly briefly discussed Serge's entry into the team. - I like the idea! I mean, you've helped us a lot, so it's only natural that we make it up to you in some way or form! - Lucy exclaimed, agreeing with Eric's and Elly's choice to let Serge in. Zed looked at his friend. - That reminds me, remember how we said that we wanted to talk with Wigglytuff when you guys left? - The zorua asked the riolu, who nodded as he remembered his words. - Well, we wanted to see if we could make our own team, INSIDE of the current team. Like, there's team... What's our team's name again? - Zed asked, as he had clearly forgotten.
- It's... Pokepals. - Elly said, biting her lip as she knew she was going to be laughed at. As she expected, they couldn't contain their laughter, although they managed to keep it to simple giggles. - Alright I know I know, it's a horrible name for the team that saved the world, and we were thinking of changing it, but keep going, what was that about making a team inside a team? - Elly asked. - Well... there's not really any way to explain it actually. We actually asked a lot of people about it, if they knew what it could be called, and we even asked Eric... - The zorua explained. - Woah woah woah woah. - The riolu besides them cut him off. - Did you say you asked Eric? When? - The jackal asked, clearly surprised. - When we were out to gather an army. We were thinking of doing something like this for a while, and Eric overheard us and said something about "Teamception" followed by a "Duuuun!" noise he made on his own. - The zorua explained as best as he could, but either way, none of his friends understood what he meant. He scratched the back of his head. - Yeah I don't get it either. But you know how he was, so it was probably some dumb joke of his. - Zed concluded, his friends having the same opinion.
Lucy rolled her eyes, since she felt her boyfriend wasn't going anywhere. - Yeah, anyways, so we asked Wigglytuff and he said that we could do like sub-teams so we can handle multiple missions at the same time. Like, you two can take care of a mission on your own, and we can take on another assignment. That way we can help twice as many pokemon. - Lucy explained. Eric and Elly discussed this through telepathy. "What do you make of this? I think it's a good idea." Eric said. "I agree, but to me it feels like a lazy excuse for them to get a little bit of credit of their own." Elly answered. "You sound like you don't like that." The riolu replied, raising an eyebrow. "I like the idea that they get a bit of fame, but I'm afraid that they feel like they've been standing under our shadow all this time and feel a little left out." She said, insecurity in her voice. Eric couldn't help but roll his eyes and chuckle, Zed and Lucy looking at him weirdly.
- What, something funny about that? - Lucy asked, a little offended, thinking they wereos lauhging at their proposal. - No no no. It's just that this silly eevee here thinks that you're doing this because you feel like you want a little fame, instead of standing under our shadow. - He said, looking at Elly, who shook her paws and head repeatedly. - No no no, that's not what I meant at all! - She exclaimed. Zed and Lucy looked at eachother, sighing. - Well, to be honest, there's a little bit of that too. See, when Treasure Town was first attacked, we wanted to help, but we were pushed aside, others telling us that we were too young, or too inexperienced... all of that stuff, and it made us angry. To make matters worse, when we mentioned you guys, they said you were "special". - Lucy said. She didn't feel comfortable saying that, because her and Zed really did sound jealous of the duo, but then again, it was something that had to be discussed.
- Well... I don't want to sound like I'm showing off, but me and Elly are kind of special, you know, magic powers and all, but... you told us that you ended up helping a ton when Treasure Town was attacked. And not only that, you also went with Eric, helped in that great battle in front of the fortress and helped us bring down Nymphe as well. And you're like, what, sixteen? - Eric said, smiling. - That's about the age me and Elly started doing this, and at first we didn't even have powers. Besides, we didn't even do much back then, while you two have shown that you are really brave and have a lot of skill. Kinda the reason why you're part of this team. - The riolu reminded both of them. - So... you're ok if we create this sub-team? - Lucy asked. - Absolutely. - Elly said, smiling as well.
Zed and Lucy sprung up, cheering together. - Alright! Then it's settled! Oh, by the way, our sub-team name is... Team Shadowbolt! - Zed exclaimed, both him and Lucy posing together, making the other three members laugh. - Alright alright, we get it, now sit down or else someone else's going to start questioning what we're doing here. - Eric said, motioning them to sit back down while laughing. After getting that out of the way, they started discussing the actual new team name. - How about... Team Heroes! - Zed suggested. - Whaaaat? Lame! That's like the lamest name you could come up with! - Lucy responded to the zorua's suggestion. - Oh yeah, then let's hear your suggestion! - He exclaimed. She huffed and turned to face away from the group. - Now I don't wanna... - She said, pouting. Zed looked at her, angry. - That's because you don't have any ideas! - He exclaimed, annoyed by her childish behaviour.
Elly just sighed. - Those two act a lot younger than they look... - The eevee murmured. - Nah, they're just young at heart. - Eric said. His mate shot a glance at him. - Umm, okay, Eric, one thing is being young at heart, and another is being childish. - She then pointed at the arguing young couple. - THAT, is childish. - She explained, already getting tired of Zed and Lucy arguing continuously. Eric rose his paws over his head. - Alright then, I'll be sure to remember that, please don't kill me. - He said, teasing her for how sternly she had said all of that, as if she was angry with him or something. She groaned. - Oh come on, just help me come up with a name will you? I want to change it so you can stop telling me I have the mentality of a child. - She said. Eric smiled and rose a single digit of his right paw. - Correction. Young at heart. - He then chuckled, whilst Elly let out a loud groan, clearly falling into the riolu's teasing.
At that moment, Serge looked over at them. - Got it! Balance! - He exclaimed, all four of the team members looking at him. - Aren't we supposed to like, keep the balance between good and evil? I mean, our greatest achievement so far has been saving the world from the forces of darkness, so we kinda keep the balance between the two, protect the one's we care about from evil and save all of those that need help! - He said, looking inspired. Lucy leaned her head to the left and looked at the bird. - That sounded corny as all hell. - She simply said. The Pidgeot's face changed from inspired to depressed in a matter of seconds, looking at the ground. - I know, I just noticed that... - He muttered. Eric crossed his arms. - Well, I don't know about you, but I think that those ideals are exactly what we follow. We try to save those that need help and we protect the ones we care about. The name though... Balance? - He asked, biting his lip.
- Yeah, I was about to say the same thing too. Balance sounds like a lame name. - Elly said. - I agree. - Zed followed. Serge got more and more depressed with each of their opinions. - Jeez guys, talk about beating up a dead horse... - He mumbled. The rest of the team members awkwardly looked at eachother for a few silent minutes, each of them thinking up new names for the team. Each time one of them came up with an idea, they proposed it to the group, but were inevitably shot down by the rest. Eventually, Eric looked at his own paw, his eyes focusing on the emblem on the back of it.
The outline of a white star, surrounded by ten smaller emblems in circles, of which four were coloured... He looked at Elly, and tried to get a close look at her emblem. Hers was hidden underneath her thick fur, so he had to reach for her paw and move the fur out of the way, calling her attention. She noticed what he was looking at. Instead of white, hers was completely black, though the same symbols were coloured. The idea dawned on both of them simultaneously. - Star! - They both exclaimed in unison. Their companions looked at them, the riolu and the eevee showing their emblems to their companions. - This emblem has been everywhere since the very beginning, and it seems to be really important. Besides, it sounds cool, doesn't it? - Eric asked.
The rest of the team members nodded, although Elly seemed to be a little reluctant. She didn't say anything, but instead simply nodded. - Alright then... So how do we change the name then? - Serge asked. - Wigglytuff's the one we should talk with about that, as well as get you into the team. - Lucy said. - Alright, then let's get over to him already! - The pidgeot said, really eager to officially get in the team. They all rose up and left to look for Wigglytuff, the sound of water echoing outside of the building. It was crowded with pokemon sleeping and resting in bags, as it was serving as a temporary house for some pokemon, but it wasn't filled to the brim. On the second floor only members of the police force were allowed, but as soon as they saw the group walking towards them, the Magnemites didn't think twice about letting them in.
Just as they were going to go up however, a voice behind them called out. - Pokepals! Wait! - A voice shouted, and they all turned to look around, staring right at Jake, who was approaching them quickly, panting. - I've been... looking all over for you, Pokepals... - He looked up. - That's your team name, right? - He asked. Elly rolled her eyes as soon as she felt the rest of her companions looking at her, groaning. - Yes, yes it is. But you can call us by our names, you're our friend after all. - She said. He looked at them and nodded. - Sorry, I'm used to referring to other pokemon by their titles... But anyways, that's not what I wanted to say. You see, I was talking with your guildmaster not too long ago. You see... after Dusknoir was taken away, they have sentenced him for his crimes and will stay in prison for some years, but they say he'll get out sooner if he helps rebuild town. - Jake explained.
Both Eric and Elly smiled at this, glad to know that the dark type's good deeds were worth the effort. - However, for the time being I'm all alone, and since I grew up in the future I know how to fight for my life, and I was thinking of some way I could put those skills to use, so I asked if I could join the guild. Unfortunately, he said that I can't by myself, that I need a partner to make a team with or join an already existing team... - He said. His point was already obvious enough for the other members. Although only Eric and Elly knew him well enough, Zed, Lucy and Serge had only heard stories of Jake and all he did.
- Well... I was just asking if you guys could let me into your team. I have nothing else left, and I want to do some good, to try and right Dusknoir's wrongs. I know that... it's a pretty huge deal to let someone in the team, and that I probably won't be able to cut it... But I plead you to at least give me a chance, just that, to try and prove my worth to all of you. - He said, kneeling down and bowing in front of the group. They all stared at him, wide eyed, and told him repeatedly to get up from the ground. After he got back up, Eric and Elly looked at eachother, then looked at their friends. - Well... You certainly must have some battle skills, and you did help us in the future, so... Yeah, sure, welcome aboard! - Eric said, smiling.
The sneasel looked at him. - Wait... really?! - He asked. - Yeah. You're our friend too, you know? Besides, we will need all the help we can get if we're planning on making this world a better place. You have a lot of control over ice, and someone with that power could come in handy. We can't let you walk around the streets without anywhere to stay either, right? - The eevee said. She looked at her friends, asking them if they were ok with Jake joining the team. - Well, sounds good to me! The more the merrier! - Serge said, crossing his wings behind his head. - I'm okay with it too! He looks like a competent enough guy! - Zed exclaimed. Everyone looked at him, raising an eyebrow at the "competent enough" remark. - Sometimes you should think before you say anything, you dumb mummy... - Lucy said, earning herself a gasp from the dark type. - And yes, I'm perfectly fine with Jake joining the team. - She said.
Whilst Zed and Lucy began scowling, Eric and Elly looked at Jake, both smiling. - There you have it. - The riolu simply said. Jake got down on his knees again. - Thank you so much, Eric, Elly, Zed, Lucy and Serge. I owe you my most sincere gratitude. - He said, all of the pokemon in front of him convincing him to get back up from the ground once more. After this, the six of them walked up the stairs to meet up with Wigglytuff and Chatot. The two pokemon were sitting in a room, talking with Ferrus. They seemed to be discussing something fairly private, although all six of the visitors heard what they were talking about. - Reap's punishment is severe, I know this. But we can all agree he deserves execution. You must've been there during the trial. - The lucario said, trying to explain his reasoning behind the scyther's sentence.
- Yes, we understand this. However, we think that maybe if we gave him a second chance... try to make him sane once again. - Chatot said. - There's absolutely no way he's going to come back to his normal self. The damage has already been done, and the decision has been taken. Trust me, I would've liked it to end another way, but... Reap's behaviour really has left me no choice. - He said. The bird laughed and looked at Wigglytuff, who nodded in agreement. - We understand this. Still, it is is sad that someone we have known for such a long time ended up like this. - The pink pokemon muttered. Ferrus nodded. - It is sad, yes. He was a good pokemon, but the paralysis seems to have severely affected him and changed his view of the world. - The lucario theorized.
Just then, the team members decided to jump into the conversation. - Woah, what?! A trial?! - Eric asked. The three pokemon in the room all turned to face them, now aware of the team's presence in the room. - Team Pokepals? When did you get here? We were told you left town! - Chatot exclaimed. - We came back minutes ago. But anyways, what's this whole deal about a trial? - Eric asked. Ferrus was the one to answer the riolu's question. - We held Reap's trial this morning, while you were gone. The experience was... unique to say the least. - The lucario vaguely said. - What do you mean with "unique"? - Elly asked, glad to know that the psycho had gotten some proper punishment. - He went mad, screaming that we were all monsters in the inside, and even tried to tempt Grovyle into killing him to prove his point by mocking him about raping Celebi. - He explained, his tone of voice changing, clearly angry that Reap had tried this strategy.
- That bastard! - Elly shouted. She too had some bad memories concerning Reap's goons, memories which she had shared with Eric some time ago. Because of this, the riolu was also furious. - Where are they now? - He asked, concerned for Grovyle and Celebi. - They got over it and left for their home. They said that they would come back for the party tomorrow. - Ferrus informed the group. Eric sighed in relief. - That bastard... hope he gets what he deserves. - The riolu muttered. - He will, don't worry. - The leader of the ETF reassured. - But anyways, what it is that you are here for? - The lucario asked.
- We wanted to talk with the guildmaster. We want to change a few things about our team, including adding new members. - Eric said, Serge and Jake stepping forward. Wigglytuff rose up from the chair he was sitting on and nodded. - - Alright... Then those who don't have anything to do with either this team nor the guild please leave the room. - He said. The only pokemon that fell into those descriptions was Ferrus, who sighed. - Alright, I guess I'll go... See you tomorrow. - He said, waving at them as he was about to elave the room. - Oh, Eric! - He exclaimed just as he left. The riolu turned to look at the lucario. - I would like to speak with you tomorrow morning. I will meet you by the river. Don't bring anyone else with you. - He stated, leaving the room.
The rest of the team members looked at the riolu, who shrugged in confusion. - Alright, now... all of you sit down. We're going to be here for a while... - The pink pokemon said.
- Is it just me, or do the stars shine more after it rains? - Zed asked, looking up. - It's your imagination, dummy! - Lucy said, bringing out a small basket filled with loafs of bread. After this, Elly followed the shinx, carrying two plates of berries and apples floating over her head. - Alright, everyone, dinner's ready! - The eevee exclaimed. The zorua turned away from the window he was looking through, jumping down and going towards the table, his paws reaching for a loaf of bread. He received a slight shock from Lucy, who scolded him for not waiting for the others. They waited for a while as they heard steps coming from the bedrooms. Shortly after that, the rest of the males of the team came out. - You sure it's going to be ok like that Eric? I mean, it's kinda standing on the edge of the table... - Serge muttered. The riolu rolled his eyes, smiling. - Don't worry, we'll go back to it after we eat dinner. - The riolu, sitting right next to Elly.
After staying for three hours in the police department, talking with Wigglytuff and Chatot about the changes they wanted to do with their team, they had managed to make Serge and Jake official members of the team. Not only that, but they had also changed the main team's name from Pokepals to Star, although Pokepals would remain as Eric and Elly's individual sub-team name, whilst Zed and Lucy's would be "Shadowbolt". Serge and Jake were the ones that didn't form a team, since they had recently joined the guild and were "rookies".
As soon as the remaining pokemon in the house took seat, Zed lunged for the loaf of bread once more. - Finally, I'm starving! - He exclaimed, going straight into eating. Lucy was about to scold him again, but Elly, who was besides her, laughed. - Oh give him a break. We're all starving. Now let's begin already, I put a lot of effort into these plates. - She said, using her powers to put some berries and a apple in her own plate. The dinner went by quickly, the team members talking with eachother as they ate. - It was nice of them to give us a house. Now we won't have to sleep with everyone else in the police building... - Lucy said, obviously happy with that change of setting. - Well, I didn't like it one bit. Other homeless pokemon could be living inside of this house instead of us. - Eric pointed out right after swallowing a berry.
- I'm afraid not. From what I've heard, many pokemon died during the past events, and Treasure Town's population has been cut in half. - Jake said. The grim revelation disturbed everyone in the table. - Arceus... That's horrible. - Serge said, taking a sip from his glass of water. - Now I don't know what to say about us staying in this house. - The riolu added, looking away from the food, briefly losing his appetite. - Either way, this is a provisional home, remember? We're going to stay here until the guild is rebuilt, and after that we'll probably have to build our own house, which I guess would act as our base. - Elly reminded everyone in the table.
The word "home" made Zed realize something. - Wait... does that mean we'll be all sharing the same house? - The zorua asked. - Well, unless you want to build your own house for you and Lucy then yeah. - The flying type said, teasing the zorua. - Aww, lame! Then we won't have any space for privacy in this place! - Lucy exclaimed. - We'll all have our individual rooms. For example, me and Elly will sleep in one room, you and Zed will sleep in another... - The riolu began, trailing off. Lucy huffed. - Lame... - She muttered, a little mad that she wouldn't have that much privacy for her and Zed. Elly looked at Eric from the corner of her eyes. "Why would we have to live here when we have my cave?" She asked. "Well... We could consider that our little hideout, for when we want to be alone together... you know what I mean." The riolu answered inside her head, smirking. She smiled back. "Alright sounds good. But promise me it won't be just for that." She said.
He nodded, leaning in closer and kissing her cheek. - Promise. - He whispered, returning to the normal conversation. - Hey wait... Does that mean we're all like... a big family now or something? - Zed asked. Everyone looked at him. - Zed... you say the dumbest things sometimes... - Lucy groaned, covering her face in shame. Eric began to think about it, crossing his arms. - Well... when you really get down to it, we're all kinda of a big family yeah. We're all going to be sharing a home, living and working together... And besides, many of us here don't really have any families to go back to. - The jackal pointed out, everyone in the room falling silent because of the harsh truth. The only one that really did have a family that loved her was Lucy, but otherwise... they were all alone, only having their friends.
Serge smirked. - Well, now we're all bunched together. All of us, once walking through life alone, and now, look at us, together and talking. If I have to be honest, if someone told me that one day I was going to end up like this, I would've said they were insane. - The bird confessed. This made the rest of the pokemon sitting around the table smile. They were all kind of in the same situation. - Hard to believe how things have changed in just a few months, eh? - Pidgeot asked. He was right. Barely eight months ago, Eric was still an outlaw, running away for a crime he had never committed, Zed was living was Virkov and Rick, Lucy was running around her village and fighting any dumb cat that tried to pounce her, and Jake had living in a world where only darkness existed.
However, out of all of them, Elly felt like her life had changed completely. Just two years ago, she was a scared eevee hiding in a cave under a bush, dreaming of becoming a famous explorer, but knowing that said wish would never become a reality. Each time she looked back at it, the more distant it felt. Those old fears, those dreams she had when she was little... they were all mostly gone, because they had become a reality, both dreams and nightmares. She had become and explorer, had confronted her father, had found the love of her life and triumphed over the evil that tried to destroy the world... and had even managed to meet new friends, something she believed would've been impossible years ago. Yet... there she was now, talking with her friends of what their future collective home would look like. Elly couldn't help but smile as she heard their voices around her, grateful to live the life she had been given. And she felt, deep inside her, that it was only going to get better from there on.
The following day...
- All pokemon, please listen! - Eric shouted, a raising a glass filled with Oran Juice over his head. All of the pokemon in the bar looked at the riolu. - Thank you all for coming to this party. Excuse my brief interruption, for I want to say something. - He said, clearing his throat. - Although many of us are sad that he couldn't be here to enjoy this part with us, remember that it was his idea to have this party, and so, we shall party in his honour! - He shouted. - To Eric! - He exclaimed. - TO ERIC! - The rest of the pokemon all shouted, everyone taking a drink together. With that, Eric jumped off the main stage and hugged Elly, the music in the party resuming as the party kept going. Pokemon dancing, drinking and laughing as they celebrated their had earned victory over the forces of evil. However, minutes after that, their partying was interrupted by Ferrus, who walked up to the main stage.
- Attention, all pokemon. I would like to make an announcement! - He exclaimed. Many voices complained about all of these interruptions. - I apologize, but I believe it is time we make a very special announcement. Now, I want Wigglytuff and Chatot, leaders of the guild to come up to the stage! - He said, the pink pokemon and the bird going up. Eric's face went pale. - No way we're doing this now... - He muttered. Elly looked at him, worried. - What's wrong? - She asked him. - Remember that me and Ferrus talked alone this morning? Well... - Before he could say anything, Ferrus spoke up again. - Now, I'd like everyone in this cafe to make a round of applause for the members of Team Star! - He shouted, pointing at the six pokemon standing somewhere in front of the main stage.
They were welcomed with cheers and shouts of praise as the pokemon around them let them walk up to the stage. - We love you guys! - Someone said. - You rock! - Another one shouted. They all waved at the crowd as they went up, everyone except Eric confused as to what was going on. The riolu was visibly trembling, gulping down. Ferrus looked at him, smiling. - These young pokemon right here, have done the impossible. Thanks to them, the evil that once threatened this land is now gone, and we can all live in peace once more. For this reason, me and the leaders of this town's guilt, as well as many other important explorers in ETF have finally come up with a valuable enough reward for there heroes. - He said. He snapped his fingers, Magnezone walked up to the stage, carrying a chest.
Wigglytuff opened the chest, and took out six pendants, from the which a blue hexagonal prism hung. - These are some of the most valuable treasures in this world. These are fragments of strange crystals found deep in the ground, which have been dubbed "Resonance Crystals". From these crystals, we can obtain these Linked Gems, gems which have the capability of allowing their wearers to communicate with a psychic pokemon no matter where they are. Since one of your members has psychic powers, we have thought this to be a very fitting reward. - The lucario said, Wigglytuff handing each of them a gem. Eric inspected it closely. The chain seemed to be made out of silver, just like the small piece that united the chain with the gemstone itself. As soon as Eric touched it however, it changed colour, from that light blue to white.
- As soon as the crystals touch a pokemon, they change colour to match their true aura. - Ferrus said, explaining this phenomenon. Eric's crystal had turned white, Elly's had turned black, Zed's dark purple, Lucy's yellow, Serge's light green and Jake's had turned into an even lighter blue. They all looked at their new treasures with excitement, hanging them around their necks. "Testing testing... Wow! This is so cool!" Lucy exclaimed, her voice echoing in all their minds. "How does this even work?" Serge asked. "Apparently since all these gems come from the same vein, they're connected, and since I have psychic powers, we can all communicate telepathically whenever we wish. This could help us in battles, to try and coordinate our efforts." Elly explained. "Awesome! We're going to kick so much ass!" The shinx gleefully thought.
They all returned to the normal world when Ferrus spoke to them. - These necklaces are the proof of what you have done for this world. But your reward doesn't end here, for we have another surprise for both Eric and Elly. - He said. Eric swallowed, and Elly looked at him, confused. Wigglytuff was the one that spoke now. - After... thinking about this decision for the last few days, and after doing a vote with all of the guildmembers... we hacve decided that Eric and Elly, from Team Star, have now graduated from Wigglytuff's Guild, and from this day on, Team Star and it's members will be recognized as a true Exploration and Rescue Team! - Wigglytuff announced.
Roars echoed in the cafe as everyone cheered for the two graduating pokemon, Eric looking at Elly, smiling at the dumbfounded eevee. - He told me this morning, and he advised me not to tell you anything so it was a surprise. - He told his mate. She snapped back to reality, crying as she started bouncing around out of pure excitement. Finally, after all this time, she was part of an official exploration team. Not only that, but also one of it's leaders! She pounced her mate, kissing him and shouting like a maniac, her friends laughing at her reaction. - And what about us? - Zed asked. - Well, since you all did something to help save the world, and since you're all now part of Team Star, all of you have also graduated from the guild! - Chatot explained, the rest of the team members celebrating just like Elly was.
Ferrus laughed, clapping his paws and looking at the musicians behind him. - Hit it! - He exclaimed, the band nodding as they began playing their best song. The party now went wild, pokemon cheering and dancing along with the song. Eric and Elly began dancing together, the riolu lifting the eevee over him and spinning as she tried to dance around, but she simply didn't have whatever her mate had made him dance so well, so she instead tried to follow him around leaning back and forth, raising a paw and walking alongside Eric every so often. Zed and Lucy simply bounced around together, not following the beat of the song, but just having a blast. Serge was probably the one that was dancing the most out of the whole team, spinning on one of his claws, grabbing some pokemon that came close to him and dancing with them, alternating between dance styles. Jake was simply sitting near the stage, smiling and snapping his claws to the beat.
All of the pokemon in the cafe were dancing differently, the song that the band was playing too loud to even speak. The only thing they could do was dance, and dance they all did. Many of the guildmembers were having a blast somewhere to the right of the bar. Loudred danced around sloppily, until Sunflora approached him, grabbing his hands and leading him as they both danced together. Although the normal type was a little sloppy, he managed to keep up with the grass type, the duo sharing a fun moment, all while their companions laughed at them. Near the centre stage Ferrus jumped down and started dancing as well, which surprised a lot of pokemon, but nonetheless joined him as the usually serious leader also joined the party.
Near the entrance Celebi and Grovyle were dancing on their own, looking into eachother's eyes lovingly, enjoying eachother's company. Next to them Rick was pulling off some impressive dance moves, spinning on himself, handstanding with a single hand and breakdancing on the floor, hitting his head against a chair as he fooled around, much to the amusement of Grey, who was dancing right besides him. And right near the entrance, Mick and Milly were holding hands, dancing like a duo, their movements synchronized as Mick extended his right arm, letting go of Milly's other hand as she spun under his arm, then grabbing on to the meowth as they took a few steps to the left, then back to the right, bumping into someone. They both apologized, not getting a good look at the newcomer, although they couldn't see him clearly because of his dark fur.
The song just kept going, and none of the creatures in the bar felt like stopping, and neither did the musicians on the stage. The song now reaching it's high peak as all of the band members started playing their instruments at the top of their abilities, the song finally finishing, everyone cheering and pleading for an encore. The cheers were on for a few seconds, but the shouts and laughter slowly died down, allowing all of the pokemon in the bar to hear a much more deeper and sinister laughter echoing from the entrance. Suddenly, gasps and screams filled the air, and Eric and Elly turned around to look at the entrance. What they saw horrified them, specially Elly, for, right at the foot of the stairs, making his most sinister laughter and showing his terrifying white fangs to all of the party goers, was Blake, looking exactly like he did as a normal umbreon.
- Blake?! - Eric and Elly asked in unison, breaking away from eachother and tensing up, readying for battle, the pokemon between them and the umbreon stepping away, a path appearing between the three pokemon. Blake's laughter died down, the eeveelution staring at the couple. - Oh, did I interrupt something? Why, I made sure to wait until all the noise died down. Besides, you all look ridiculous dancing, I'd make you all a favour to kill you right now, so at least you didn't harm anyone else with your intoxicating happiness. - He said, smiling. While he was saying this, all the guildmembers, Ferrus, Zed, Lucy, Serge and Jake ran up to Eric and Elly, the large group staring right at Blake. The two pokemon standing in the middle were looking at their nemesis in utter shock.
- But... you died! We saw you fall off the tower! - Eric screamed out, distressed, afraid, but overall angry that Blake was still alive. After all they had done, he was still completely fine! To add insult to injury, his wounds were completely healed, like he had never been harmed in the first place! - Yes, you did. I did fall off the tower, and into that... abyss below. However, I didn't stay there for long. You see... Giratina isn't only the legendary pokemon of destruction and death. When his soul banished from this world... he created his own world, so to say... the Distorsion World. And while he couldn't escape his prison, when I obtained his powers, I was given the capability to travel between this world and the Distortion World. I simply used that ability to disappear when you thought I was long gone. - He said.
Eric bit his lip. That explained why Dialga said he couldn't feel his presense in that world. He was in a completely different world altogether! - Well, if that's the case, it's awfully thoughtful of you to show up here without us having to look for you and kick your ass! - The riolu exclaimed, preparing his shining claws. Blake laughed. - Oh, I thought you would be happy to see me, specially with the news I have for all of you. - He said. Everyone stared at him, getting ready to react in case he did something. He laughed. - Capital news everyone! After absorving the energy from the time rift I have finally gathered enough energy to revive my master! - He exclaimed, everyone staring at him in shock. - Well... to be honest, I didn't have enough energy with the time rift or the pokemon I kidnapped... I actually managed to get the energy I needed thanks to your idiotic hero. He gave up his existance to save you all... only for the true end of the world to come shortly after this. Clearly, a moron like no other. - He muttered.
The anger that came out of the pokemon in that bar was so intense that one could feel it in the air. - You bastard... - Ferrus muttered, clearly really angered by Blake's insults to the human. He trembled briefly before he roared out and charged towards him, aura spheres ready. Blake's eyes shone ever so briefly, and all of a sudden Ferrus flew away towards the ceiling, then back into the ground, then left, right, left right and into the stage. The whole team looked at the lucario, mangled, unconscious and heavily wounded. They all turned to look at him, everyone a little intimidated, but nonetheless ready to fight the umbreon. - I know you want to battle me... But I must warn you it is futile. My lord's resurrection is imminent, and I can understand that skipping it would be a punishment to cruel for some... Which is the reason why I will allow you. - He said, pointing at Team Star. - To experience it with your own bodies. As for the rest. - He then pointed at the inhabitants of treasure town. - You may watch as my master returns to his proper place! - He exclaimed, floating up and leaving through the stairs.
Eric and Elly, followed by their friends, rushed out the door and followed Blake, who lead them to Treasure Town's plaza. Here, he waited for them on the ground, his eyes shining that deep shade of purple as he stood besides a purple vortex. He shot one last glance at the pokemon, before he vanished in the blink of an eye. - I will be waiting for you... - His voice echoed in the air, followed by his maniacal laughter. They all stared at eachother, and before anyone said anything, they turned around and headed back to the underground cafe. He went in, and saw how some of the pokemon were helping try bring Ferrus back.
He was now conscious, but was moaning in pain continuously. - Ferrus! - Eric shouted, pushing his way through the crowd and kneeling next to him. - You ok?! - He asked, the crowd walking away to let his companions approach as well. - I feel like trash... But... It doesn't matter... You've got to... stop him. - He said, his voice barely a whisper. - He's right Eric. It's now or never. - Elly said behind him. He rose up and looked at Elly, then at his friends. - Guys... What we're about to do... It's beyond anything any of you have ever gone through. It's going to be probably our most dangerous mission, and for half of you it's going to be your first as well. Are you willing to come with us and bring Blake down once and for all? - He asked them. There was a short silence as the rest of his team members looked at eachother, then smiled and nodded.
- You can count me in. I'm not going to sit around and watch how others do everything. I want to help! - Zed exclaimed. - You can count me in as well. I'm tired of this bastard! - Lucy shouted. Serge smirked. - I don't care if it's my first mission, I'll do it anyways. Maybe I will show you just how good of a team mate I am this time around. - He said. Jake did a bow. - I am willing to risk my life to save my friends. I will go to the end of the world if I have to. - He promised, giving the riolu a serious look. Elly looked at the jackal. - You don't even have to ask me. Besides, we promised we would take him down together. - She reminded him.
Eric caressed her cheek smiling. - I know. - He kissed her forehead. - And we're going to stop him together! - He exclaimed, clenching his paw and looking at his friends. - YEAH! - They cheered. After this, the pokemon praised them, their other friends from Treasure Town wishing them good luck. Eric looked behind him, and saw Ferrus looking at him, a proud smile on his face. Eric didn't know why, but he felt like his heart skipped a beat, a tear coming down from his eye. Elly noticed this. - Something wrong? - She asked him. He wiped the tear away and shook his head. - No. I don't think so. - He said, doubting himself.
After that, they left the cafe and walked towards the portal. It was ominously floating in the middle of the plaza. The finale. After all that had happened, it was time to finish this whole thing once and for all. They all looked at eachother before walking towards the vortex, all of them walking inside together.
(In The Darkness – Super Paper Mario)
Eric was shaken out of unconsciousness by a worried Elly. He opened his eyes and moved his head sideways, trying to get rid of his momentary dizziness. - What... what happened? - He asked, still looking down at the ground. He then rose his head, and saw what had horrified Elly so much. Darkness. Purplish, black streams of darkness covered the sky, instead of the usual blue from their world. Floating amidst this chaos were small islands of rock. He got up and looked at the floor he was standing on. The main thing that stuck out was the strange emblem on it. It wasn't the emblem of the star, but... it felt strange nonetheless. It was formed with various shapes. A large I, some kind of triangle without it's base, a cup of some sorts with a really narrow neck and long edges and a small circle. The I went through the middle of the small circle and the cup, coming out of it's neck. The triangle shape touched the inner edges of the cup, and the top of the I touched the lines inside of the triangle. All in all, it was a confusing mess of shapes that didn't seem to make sense in his head.
He looked behind them, staring at a blue vortex that was floating on the ground, probably leading back home. - What is this place?! - He asked, shocked to see the current state of that world. - This must be the Distortion World... Giratina's home. - Jake theorized. Him and Serge were also up, Zed and Lucy being the only ones still unconscious. Eric carefully made his way towards the edge, taking a closer look. There were many columns on the edge of that rock, a small set of stone stairs, floating in the air leading to a path of floating stones. The columns all had the same emblem from the floor, meaning that said symbol had a meaning for whoever had built that place.
There were some floating stones connecting the island they were standing on with another bigger island far off in the distance. And beyond that larger piece of land he could see a towering building, a castle perhaps. He could see a strange ball of energy floating over the highest tower, guessing that that was the place where Blake had been hiding this whole time. He looked down, only to stare into an eternal abyss of darkness, where not even the strange purple streams descended. It was pitch darkness down there. The sky was lit up as a purple lightning bolt struck somewhere in the distance, the thunder echoing in the now hollow world. - So... this is what happens to a world when it's destroyed? - Eric asked.
- I don't think so. I think this is more the remains of a world which is at the verge of being destroyed. Terrifying sight, isn't it? - Serge asked, looking off in the distance, staring at the castle. - I looked around while Jake was waking you guys up. It's pretty easy to fly here, like I feel somewhat lighter. - The Pidgeot pointed out, which made the riolu rise an eyebrow. - And did you find something of interest? - Eric asked. Serge nodded. - Yeah, you could say that. I flew around for a couple minutes, and I swear I couldn't see anything else to stand on other than there few rocks. It's like these few stones, floating around in the middle of this vortex are literally the only thing that remains. But that's not all. - He pointed ahead. - That castle over there seems pretty interesting, but before getting there I saw that the path split. One of the roads of stone took to the castle, the other one to a small destroyed village. - The bird explained, trying to explain to the riolu the layout of the ground in front of them.
- And no. There are no signs of life in that village. Whatever or whoever lived there are long dead by now. - Serge grimly stated. Eric shook his head. - This is not good... we can't let this happen to our world. - The riolu said, getting up on his feet. - We won't. - Elly said, walking up to the duo standing near the edge, followed by Jake, Lucy and Zed, who were looking at what remained of the world around them. - This place gives me the creeps... I feel like I'm being watched. - Lucy muttered. Jake glanced around. - I cannot see anything around us... but I can't deny that I feel observed at this very moment... - Zed followed, saying the same thing as his friends. Eric shivered. He did feel it too. That strange, ominous sensation in the back of your neck which screamed for you turn around to see if someone was looking... but there was nobody. He closed his eyes, using his aura senses to try and see if he could feel anything.
To his horror, he saw several auras around them, all of them invisible, but they all quickly vanished, disappearing just like they had appeared. All but two auras, which felt oddly familiar. He opened his eyes again, grabbing the side of his head and shaking it. - What's wrong? - The eevee asked, worried. - I tried to sense if there was anyone around us... and there are. I can feel a lot of different auras around us, but... I can't see them. - The jackal tried to explain this phenomenon at the best of his capabilities, but only succeeded on creeping them out. - You mean there are actual ghosts around us! Get outta here! - Lucy exclaimed, looking around nervously. - It wouldn't be the first time we've gotten ourselves involved with ghosts though... Remember the Spire of Death? - Jake asked the team leaders, who remembered the horrifying experience.
- Yeah... we'd rather not remember it though. Clades followed us through the whole place, and we ended up having to play some twisted game of hide and seek. We only managed to get out alive thanks to some ghosts. - As soon as the riolu said this, something clicked in his mind. - No Arceus damned way! - He exclaimed, closing his eyes again and looking around. - What?! What's wrong?! - Lucy asked, jumping at the riolu's shouting. He scout the area surrounding them, hoping to find those two auras he had felt before. Now he remembered where they were from. They felt like the same ghosts from the spire! He felt them floating around the path of rocks that lead towards the castle, and he quickly ran over there. He made his way to the stone steps and looked up. He opened his eyes and stared at the same spot he could feel the ghosts.
There, barely visible and transparent, he could see two black furred pokemon. One of them was a riolu, the other an eevee. - You... - He began. The rest of his friends stood besides him and looked up, noticing the two spectres also floating high up in the air, and looking right back at them. - You're the ghosts that saved us from Clades... What are you doing here? - Elly asked, curious to know why these spirits were in a completely different world altogether. Zed was staring at them with morbid curiousity, a little scared, whilst Lucy besides him was shaking like a leaf. Serge and Jake were surprised, but otherwise they weren't fazed by these apparitions. The ghosts looked at eachother and nodded, before they floated down, almost touching the ground. They stared at the group again and then began floating away, leading them down the path.
- Hey! Wait! - Eric called out, raising his paw, chasing after them. - Wait! Dude, where are you even going?! - Serge asked, following the riolu, Elly right behind them. - Hey, wait up! Guys! - Zed shouted, chasing the three running pokemon. Jake walked up the steps calmly, Lucy right behind him. However, after glancing once behind her, she yelped and rushed forward, because she could've sworn she saw another ghost behind them, although it was probably her imagination. The group followed the ghosts around as they zigzagged along with the stone path, although it was obvious that they didn't need to follow it and could instead float over those voids. They all followed those two for a couple minutes, before arriving at the fork on the road that Serge had told him about. To their left, and still really far away, they could see the castle where Blake was probably in, whilst to their right they could see that destroyed village. It was so close to their path that if they were to throw a rock it would reach the entrance.
The two ghosts waited for them in the centre of the split, and then floated over to the path on the right, going to the village. Everyone looked at eachother, confused, but Eric and Elly had already taken a decision. Those two had saved their lives previously, and although they weren't exactly trust worthy, they felt like they had to follow them. Like they owed the ghostly duo. Without really thinking more than twice, the leaders of the team took the right path, and soon after them their friends did as well, hoping that this was the right choice.
(Stop the music)
Just like the rest of that world, there was not a single sound. The only thing they could hear were their own breathing, their friend's whispers and the sound of their steps echoing in the emptiness around them, pushing gravel and dirt with each step. They followed the ghosts, glancing at the houses around them every so often. Bones. Bodies. Remains. All of them scattered across the ground. Consumed. Broken windows, hanging doors and dust covering all that surrounded them. This town was dead. Not just it's inhabitants, but the town itself was dead too. They could feel it in the air. The ghosts lead them through these disturbing sights, the town itself already creeping them out. However, the fact that they were being lead throug this desolate town by a bunch of ghosts was even more terrifying.
In front of them, a little far away, they could see a single tree, devoid of any life. It's branches dry and without any leaves, the wood itself now grey, and lying on the ground right next to the foot of the tree they could see something else. Eric and Elly kept going, whilst their friends stood still, shocked. They were being lead to two cadavers laying against the tree. But not just any cadavers. Even though there was barely any flesh left on the bones, it was obvious that those two corpses belonged to a riolu and an eevee. The ghosts both stood besides the bodies, looking at them, then looked at their alive counter-parts.
Eric and Elly took a closer look to their bodies. Surprisingly, they didn't smell at all, although the sight itself was disturbing enough. For both of them, it felt like watching a mirror, only that their reflection was rotting away. They also saw how they were holding paws, or at least the remains of their paws were still entangled, as if they had died like that. Eric and Elly looked at eachother, then at the ghosts. - Is this... what you wanted us to see? - Elly asked. The eevee shook her head, and motioned the duo towards the cadavers. The ghostly riolu placed a paw on the body's forehead, and Eric looking at the dark furred riolu, did the same. His head began pounding, as memories began to flood into his head.
He saw a black furred eevee, walking around a town filled with living pokemon, all of which seemed similar to normal pokemon, although their furs were coloured differently. She was smiling and waved at everyone in her path. Next to her was a beautiful Espeon female, whose fur was black, her eyes yellow, just like her daughter's. There was also an umbreon walking along them, his fur white, blue lines instead of yellow, speaking with his family, the espeon giggling as the eevee dashed forward, separating herself from the eeveelutions, heading straight towards a dark furred riolu who was looking at another direction. She pounced the riolu, who shouted and fell to the ground, shaking around, only for the eevee to say something, probably her name, after the which he visibly calmed down and began laughing.
Right besides him were a lucario and a gardevoir, both of which saluted the eeveelutions. It seemed like the two families got along well, specially their kids, who hugged eachother and toyed around. After talking for a while they left to buy something from the shops all over town, whilst the two young pokemon stayed behind, playing with other kids. Hours passed, but to them it semed like minutes as they had a blast whilst playing around. However, suddenly many pokemon started running around, their mouths open and screaming. The sky turned purple instead of blue, and a black figure descended from the sky, it's black and red tendrils striking the ground and killing whatever they found. Many of the pokemon were retreating to the nearby castle, but these two innocent young pokemon were caught in the middle of the confusion, and ran over to their favourite spot, hiding underneath the shade of the tree they usually hung out at. They both hugged eachother and waited there, scared for their lives.
Minutes passed, the screaming and the chaos around them slowly dying out, until only silenced reigned the air. It didn't last long, as a loud explosion, followed by more screams that came from far away told them that the danger was still nearby. They waited a little longer, both of them crying, until a red light approached them. They looked at it, only to stare at the most terrifying creature they had ever laid eyes upon. It opened it's henious mouth and small light particles began to escape from the bodies of the young pokemon, their life force being sucked out of them as they cried together, holding eachother's paws until they were no more. The creature roared out and left, leaving the two cadavers of those innocent pokemon laying under that tree, tears on their faces.
Eric opened his eyes. Two names echoed inside of his head. - Zarit... - He whispered, looking at the riolu. - And Ren. - He said, looking at the eevee. Elly looked at him, worried. - I'm ok... I got a glimpse at their memories... They were murdered by Giratina when he first appeared in this world... - He said, looking at the ghosts, who were crying at the moment, their transparent tears somehow visible as they travelled down their translucid cheeks. - We promise... that we'll avenge you. We will make sure he isn't revived, and we'll make him pay! - He swore to the ghosts, who nodded. The riolu moved his maw, mouthing the words "When the time comes, call us." before both him and his love ascended up into the sky, slowly becoming more and more transparent until they fully disappeared.
Eric stared at the spot where they had vanished for a few seconds, his friends walking up to him. - What was that all about? - Zed asked, looking at those two bodies. - They died when Giratina came into this world. They now want revenge and we're going to make sure that they get it. - The riolu answered, clenching his paw into a fist, looking at the rest of the pokemon around him. - Let's go! To the castle! - He shouted, sprinting back towards the crossroads. His friends followed him, the group running to the stone path and then towards the castle. The path was a lot longer than the one that lead to the ghost town, but after a few minutes of running they got there. The castle's wooden doors were massive, the same emblem from the first stone platform they woke up on also decorating the doors. They rested for a few minutes after that sprint and walked up to the doors. Eric tried to push one of the doors, but it was too heavy. Elly helped him, followed by Zed, then Lucy and then Serge, the five pokemon all pushing against the right door, struggling to get it open.
Jake stared at them for a full minute before they all fell down to their knees. He sighed, and walked over to one of the walls as they began arguing about why the door wouldn't open. Jake inspected one of the walls, and saw a window. He prepared his claws, which seemed to be covered in a thin layer of ice, and began climbing gracefully, burying his claws and then jumping up, burying the other claw into the rock. Calculating his every move, he made his way up to the window, to which he hung on before climbing up, doing a flip as he lifted himself into the castle, rolling in and landing on the ground, standing on his feet. He didn't move, instead looking around, not making a sound.
(Hyrule Castle – The Legend of Zelda – Twilight Princess)
The castle was as empty as a tomb. The only thing he could hear were his companions, who were calling from him outside at the front doors, as they didn't see him go in through the window. He inspected the area he was in. He seemed to be on the second floor, on some sort of elevated level. There was a railing to his right, and he could jump down to descend to the main hall. He looked in front of him. The elevated floor lead to a couple of doors on the left side, which were probably other rooms or sections of the castle, and when one reached the end he could go to the right, where another set of huge wooden doors and some stairs that lead down awaited. On the other side of the room, at the same level he saw another set of wooden doors, just like the ones he had to his left, although the floor that once allowed one to reach said doors had crumbled, and was now obstructing other entrances on the bottom floor.
Not spending too much time he silently dashed to the railing and vaulted over it, falling down to the ground and rolling, doing as little noise as possible. He looked around once more, seeing the stairs that lead up to his right, in front of him the remains that blocked the east section and in front of him to his left the gates that his friends couldn't open. Before moving he looked behind himself, seeing even more doors, just like at the other side. Hunched forward, he tip toed towards the entrance and looked at the doors, seeing the problem instantly. It was locked by an iron bar. He used all his strength to lift it up, then stumbled backwards and threw it away, the noise of the bar hitting the ground echoing through the empty halls as it was really loud, sending shivers down his spine. Nevertheless, he reached for the handle and pulled from it, the door slowly opening into the castle.
He looked through the crack to stare at a surprised group of five pokemon. He pushed the door open the whole way and looked at him. - Well, I guess that works. - Eric said, walking in, looking at the sneasel. - Good job, Jake. - He congratulated him, the ice type bowing. The rest of the pokemon walked in, Serge whistling. - Wow, this place is massive! - The bird exclaimed. - And seems to be really well decorated as well. Look at all those carvings and emblems on the walls. - Elly said, pointing at said symbols. Not only did they see that same emblem that reappeared over and over again in that world, but also some new ones.
They ignored these emblems and instead took a look around. Jake pointed at the huge doors atop of the stairs. - Those seem to lead to the tower where we could see the energy gathering, so Blake is probably somewhere behind that door. - Jake pointed out. The rest of the members nodded and walked up the stairs, walking towards these doors. This one had the same emblem, but there were also five smaller marks that seemed to have been burned into the wood, around the handles. These marks were a flame, a drop of water, a lightning bolt, a leaf and a snowflake. Eric pulled and pushed the handles, but it was useless, the doors didn't budge. - Damn it, is there ever a time when doors aren't locked?! - The riolu complained. They looked around, but didn't seem to be any way to get into that other section. Jake inspected the door. - There don't seem to be any locks... they are exactly like the doors outside. - The sneasel concluded.
Eric groaned. - Alright, that's it. Everyone back off. - He ordered, his team mates getting away from the door as he prepared a shadow punch. He reared back his fist and roared as his shadow enveloped fist hit the wood. A purple flash of light blinded them all momentarily, and Eric howled out in surprise as he was launched back. Elly shouted out his name and ran towards him, asking if he was ok. - I'm alright, I'm alright... but what the hell was that? - He asked everyone, looking at the door. He then saw those emblems momentarily light up. - Wait... did you see that? - He asked, pointing at the burnt marks around the handles. They all got a closer look at them. - I think this door may be cursed and it doesn't let us open it until we break the curse. - Jake said.
- And how do you know that? - Elly asked him. - Back in the future locking doors with curses was pretty common. Usually to break the curse one had to make some kind of offering, although almost always it was blood. - The sneasel explained, the rest of his friends staring at him wide eyed. - Gross... - Lucy muttered. They began wondering what they could use to break the curse, when Elly began hearing voices in her head. - O... v...er... H...ere... - A soft, bone chilling whisper said. Elly turned around on the spot, looking around frantically, panicking. - Did you guys hear that? - She asked. It had been a really soft whisper, but it was clear as day to her that she had heard it. - Umm... Hear what? - Zed asked. "Should've known it..." The eevee muttered in her head, going to the spot where she though the whisper had come from.
(Stop the music)
She walked towards one of the doors on the second floor behind her, pushing the door open and walking in, not taking a look at the room as she did. What she saw inside scarred her for life. A flareon was lying on a stone table, a dagger through his chest, blood starting to seep out from the freshly opened wound. Next to him, Blake was smiling. - Kill them to break the seal. Take your revenge if you wish. - He simply murmured as he vanished into a cloud of smoke. Elly screamed, the rest of her companions ruhsing into the room. Eric looked at her and hugged the eevee. - What happened?! - Serge asked, then saw the twitching flareon on the table. - Oh Arceus! - He shouted, rushing over to him. He couldn't get any closer to him though, as he hit an invisible barrier.
- Oh what the hell! - He exclaimed, getting up from the ground. Zed and Lucy stood by the entrance, with Jake staying by the doors that lead up to the tower. Elly stared at the flareon, somehow recognizing him. - That's... my big brother... - She muttered, trembling in both fear and anger. The other four pokemon in that room looked at her in shock. - What?! But... you told me they were dead! - Eric exclaimed. She pushed the riolu away, panting heavily. He edged closer to try and comfort her again, but she shook her head. - I never said that... I said that they disappeared with my father... Looks like he brought them here... - She said, a bitter tone in her voice. - Kill them to break the seal... That's what he said. - She repeated. - Who said that? - Zed asked. She turned to look at them. - Blake. - She confessed. Just then, Jake called them all.
The five pokemon got up and left the room, Elly glancing one last time at her twitching flareon brother as she saw his blood flow down his body and onto the stone altar he was on, then flowing down towards a carving on the floor. A flame. They all got to the doors to the tower and saw how one of the marks, the flame, slowly vanished. - Whatever you guys did, it's broken one of the seals. - Jake explained. Everyone sat there in complete silence. Elly gulped and looked at her friends, who looked at her, worried. - My other four brothers have to be around here... I need to find them... and kill them to break the seal. That's what Blake said. - She got up and turned around, but Eric grabbed her tail. - What if he's just messing with you?! - He asked her. - He already is. Eric, you saw how the mark disappeared when he died... - Elly muttered.
Eric bit his lip. He was suffering, but not because he was having a bad time. It was because Elly was visibly suffering, tears in her eyes as she said these words. They searched in the next room for another altar. They found a Vaporeon lying on another altar in the next room. They tried to walk over to it, but a barrier prevented them from getting any closer. All but Elly, who walked through this invisible barrier with ease. She looked at her brother, crying. His eyes were open, and he was twitching continuously. His pupils looked at Elly, and she could see how his mouth curved into a smile, small tears coming from his eyes.
She tried to start a psychic conversation with him, but the only thing she got was continuous pain and agony, but beneath all of that, happiness. He was happy to see her, after all this time. - I know... I missed all of you guys too... - She whispered. She felt something else, an emotion she could never describe with words. It felt like... fulfilment, like he was done with whatever he had had to do in his life... or maybe it felt like he was ready to die. - But... I could save you all... There's got to be another way too... - She began, but then felt slight anger coming from him, then guilt. He was trying to tell her that it wasn't her fault. The pain he was feeling was excruciating, and she could feel all of it at that moment. She saw a small dagger right next to his body, grabbing it with her psychic powers, glancing at her brother one last time.
He barely managed to nod, closing his eyes very slowly, feeling a very intense emotion as he did so. Love. Her entrails were twisting and strangling her from the inside, feeling like she was going to puke. She let got of the knife, walking backwards, shaking her head and crying. - I can't... I can't do it... I CAN'T! - She screamed, sobbing and crying audibly. She sat on the ground, remembering her infancy. It had been rough most of the time... but her brothers had always been kind, just like her mother had. And here she was... killing them. She knew that if she didn't do it, they wouldn't be able to get to Blake, but... was it even worth it at this point? How much more was she going to have to sacrifice just to get to him?! - Why... Just... Why did this is all have to happen... WHY?! - She screamed, smashing her paws against the ground, desperate, trying to think of another solution. But she couldn't. She looked at her brother again. He couldn't move his neck, and was looking at her from the corners of his eyes. He was crying just as much as she was. That single look in his eyes was enough to tell her everything she needed. She gulped down, got back up and breathed deeply, closing her eyes and grabbing the dagger again, now floating over his chest, near the heart.
- I'm sorry... - She whispered, lifting the blade and stabbing his brother's chest, piercing his heart. She wanted to make sure his death was instantaneous and as painless as possible, and she didn't know if she had done it or not, panicking as she saw him convulsing. However, he only lasted a few seconds like this, and although it hurt, because she felt his pain in her body, she still sensed that love deep beneath all of that pain. And not long before that, his consciousness faded, and died. She stepped away as his blood began seeping from the wound, retreating back to where her friends here, crying softly. She looked at the body briefly, before sitting on the ground and crying her eyes out. Eric waited for her to calm down, before gently trying to push her out of the room so she didn't have to see the body. After they all got out, they closed the door, and just to check, Jake went over to the door. Sure enough, the water drop was gone, now only three sigils remained.
Only three more brothers to kill.
Eric looked at Elly, really worried. She wasn't crying anymore, just walking alongside him as they walked towards the stairs. The glaceon had been the last one. He was the same age Elly was, as they had both been born the same day. Elly was in hell right now, doubting even why she was alive, whilst all of her family died. And time to make matters worse, she was the one burying the dagger into their chests. To make matters worse, she could see in their eyes just how much they loved her, even though she didn't even remember their names. She felt horrible, and sick just by thinking of how ungrateful and insensible she was. All of her family was dead... except for one member. And she had to finish the job. No... she WANTED to finish the job. All of this... was his fault. Everyone told her that, and she always tried her hardest to convince herself of this... But now she wasn't so sure anymore.
They walked up to the door. The sygils were gone, and Eric tried to push the doors open. They moved with ease, and the riolu opened the doors, leading to a small dark hallway. The group looked at eachother, nodding as they all walked into the hallway, shutting this giant door behind them. The hallway was almost pitch dark, the only light coming from the windows on both walls, the windows without any type of glass, just holes. They came up to another door, this one a bit smaller, and Eric kicked it open, tired of some many doors. This door lead to a stairwell, a spiraling set of steps that ascended towards the top standing in front of them. They began their ascension, Eric in the lead, followed closely by Zed, both of them ready to fight. In the middle, Elly and Jake were walking, looking at their surrundings, and Lucy and Serge were in the back, looking behind them every so often. They came up to a tainted glass window, which Zed and Eric ignored, but Elly couldn't help but look at it. She gasped. - Eric! Look! - She exclaimed, the riolu turning to face her, then the window.
(Inside Ganon's Castle ZREO – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)
In the tainted glass they could see two eevees, one with black fur and the other with grey fur, both of them with their eyes closed, sleeping, the same emblem that seemed to be reappering all over that castle floating over their heads. They stared at it for a little while, before they moved up again, getting to another glass window. In this one, there was an umbreon and an espeon, the espeon's gem shining brilliantly. Elly gulped down, trying not to stop. The next window showed the umbreon pouncing the espeon, the other five eeveelutions falling into some kind of spiral as they were deformed, whilst to the far left a small eevee ran away.
Eric had to plead for Elly to keep on moving, because he knew that things weren't going to get any better from there on. The next glass window showed that same brown eevee, trembling as a pair of red eyes watched over her, but instead of the usual mark on the forehead of the umbreons, they saw that same emblem. The connection between Blake and the emblem made Eric wonder... was that the emblem of the Dark Eons?! Elly now trembled in real life as she noticed what was going on. It was the whole story. From Blake's point of view. They moved higher up, the next window showing the same umbreon, now surrounded by four more pokemon. A charizard, an empoleon, a golem and a dragonite all stood around him, from left to right.
"Team Uncario..." Eric thought in his head. Where had all of them come from? Blake they already knew, but the others... what did they have to do with Blake and the Dark Eons? Were they mere puppets and tools in the umbreon's twisted plans, or was it more than that? Once again, he doubted they would ever know the answer. They kept on moving, although Pidgeot stood there briefly, looking at the tainted glass, his eyes wide open, but then shook his head. - Can't be... - He muttered, then moved up right behind his friends. The next row of windows showed how the members of team uncario fell one by one. First the golem, when Eric smashed both of his hammers together, next the charizard, who was erased from existence by Ferrus' suicide, the lucario also appearing in this window, Eric and Zed staring at it. The next showed Eric, fighting against a dragonite, cutting her head off.
And the next one was of Nymphe disappearing as a beam of light completely surrounded her. The next window showed Blake, alongside another bipedial figure, a black corpse at their feet. The bipedial figure was none other than Clades, but no one recognized the black corpse, although probably someone else they had murdered. They were almost at the top, and the next windows showed the latest catastrophes. The attack on treasure town, with Marill's death too, Eric's death as he brought Clades down with him and Blake and Dialga standing menacingly over Eric and Elly, who were lying on the ground, defeated.
The next, and final window however, showed something that had yet to happen. Eric, and Blake. Fighting alone. This made Eric panic. Where was Elly?! He looked at her with worry, and she looked back at him. They were on the last landing, and they were next to another huge pair of wooden doors, the emblem of the dark eons decorating them. Elly shook her head, although Eric was still not convinced. He looked at the doors, and breathed in deeply as he placed his paws on the handles and pushed, the doors slowly moving.
(Stop the music)
They all came out to an insanely large room. It was really big, and extremely dark. It was completely empty asides from rows and rows of collums that went on forever into the darkness. Blue torches, which gave out a blueish light created some kind of illuminated path through the darkness. They started walking. Those who had furs felt how their hairs straightened, their ears perking up whilst Pidgeot and Jake started looking around, worried looks on their faces. This place felt wrong. There was a distant thud noise echoing across the halls, as well as the sounds of their own footsteps. It sounded like there was someone else walking in those halls. But the sound echoed so much that they didn't know where it was coming from. Not wasting too long, they started moving forward towards the last set of doors. They were the biggest so far, with the Dark Eons' emblem once again on it's surface.
As they walked through those empty halls, their minds wandered off, thinking of why they were there, and for who they were doing this. They were there to save the world and ensure the safety of those they cared for. But they also wanted revenge, for all of those that Blake and his goons had killed. Friends. Family. Enemies that, although evil, never deserved such a severe punishment as death... and avenge the many innocent pokemon that, although they didn't know, had been brutally murdered as a result of that war. They reached the final door, and Eric looked at his friends. - This is it... There's no turning back now... Whatever you have to say... say it now. - The riolu said, his words echoing. The footsteps were now gone, an eerie silence dominating the hallways.
- I love you Eric. - Elly said, kissing the riolu's cheek. Zed followed Elly's example and kissed Lucy, who returned the affection. - I am willing to do whatever it takes. - Jake simply said. - Me too. We'll help in any way we can to bring this bastard down. - Serge reassured them, convinced they would win. Eric nodded. - Guys... It's been fun. Thank you all. - The riolu said. They all nodded and thanked the riolu as well, then looked at the door. - Alright... Let's do this! - Eric exclaimed, punching the doors open, the throne room being revealed to the group.
Inside it, in the middle of the room, which had huge windows through the which one could see the outside world, sitting in his throne, the last dark eon, leader of Team Uncario and the reason for all their pain and suffering waited for them. Blake smiled as they appeared. - Why... took you all long enough... Tell me, what was the hardest? Saying goodbye to all your friends for the last time? - He asked, teasing them, implying that they would lose this battle. - Or did you take a detour to go somewhere else? - He asked, referencing the fact that they had gone to the ghost town on their way there. Eric's anger was sparked by this sentenced. - You bastard. How could you kill all of them?! - Eric asked. Blake laughed. - Me? Kill them? Oh sorry, you must've misunderstood. I wasn't the one that killed them, it was my master... - He said, smirking.
Elly was the one that stepped forward now. - Well you and your master are both going to pay for all that you've done! - She shouted, angry. Blake looked at her, amused. - Eager to finish the job, aren't you? You didn't have enough with your whore mother, you had to also kill my sons, your own brothers... and now, you want to kill me? - He rolled his eyes. - Wasn't I supposed to be monster?! - He shouted, pointing at himself with his paw, a fake look of irritation in his face, although it quickly turned into a wide smirk as he tortured her own daughter psychologically. Elly felt something inside her snap, almost rushing against Blake.
These words made everyone in the group snap. - You fucker! They were your own sons! Your family! How could you ever do something like that?! - Lucy shouted. He looked at the shinx. - You are the insect that killed Nymphe the first time, aren't you... Lucy Kissida the shinx, correct. I've been observing you... all of you, and I know how miserable your lives have been. Forever discriminated by your family and friends... it must've been rough to keep yourself from killing all of them in cold blood, right? - Blake asked. Lucy's face went pale. She had hated her family at some point, almost enough to wish they died... but... how did he know that?! - Hey, leave her alone you worthless trash! - Zed exclaimed, his eyes glowing. Blake chuckled. - Are you going to use your own titles to insult me, Zed? Or should I remind you of how WORTHLESS your own kind considered you? Or maybe I'll inform you of how even during their final moments your family cursed their luck for having such an abomination for a son?! - Blake asked, getting up on his seat, his wide, white smile showing all of his fangs.
Zed almost fell to his knees, some bad memories stashed in the back of his head suddenly resurfacing. Serge spread his wings. - You better watch your mouth you fucker, or I'll cut you in two before you know it! - He shouted. Blake moved his head sideways. - Your technique still lacks in skill, Pidgeot... at least that's what she always told you, right? You were never able to defeat her... just to show her how much you loved her... and eventually she betrayed and left you... so sad. - Blake reminded the bird of his past, his wings folding back against his body. The umbreon turned his gaze to Jake. - And I haven't forgotten you, Jake. Maybe you should realize that your so called "master" was a foe more than an ally! - He exclaimed, Jake standing there, clenching his claws.
He finally looked at Eric again. - And you... Oh, the poor, orphan riolu... It is sad that you have amnesia, or else you'd be able to hear your parent's screams as they were both consumed in a fire... Terrible luck. - The dark eon simply said, the riolu staring at him in shock. - You.. how do you know all of this?! - He asked, preparing his aura powers. Blake laughed. - Because I have always been there! Although I never truly did anything... - He looked at Elly. - Most of the time. - He added. - I have always been watching each and every one of you, seeing how you suffered because of how harsh and cruel your lives have been! Surprising that none of you ever had the guts to put an end to it, but yet again... you were all too scared to do it! - He exclaimed, smiling as he jumped off his seat.
(Forze de'll Oscuritta – Kingdom Hearts: Brith By Sleep Final Mix)
- But don't you worry, for I, Blake, The Dark Sinner, shall be rid you of all your pain... and your lives! - He shouted, laughing, the gem encrusted in his forehead glowing. He looked at his enemies, his eyes glowing purple. - Shall we? - He invited. Elly was the first one to attack, using her newest power to make a huge block of darkness try to crush the umbreon. He jumped out of the way really quickly, throwing a shadow ball at the group and dispersing all of them. After that he jumped after Jake Zed and Lucy, who he determined to be the weakest. He relentlessly began attacking them with psychic blades, Zed barely avoiding the strkes whilst Lucy had no trouble. She shot a lightning bolt as she step backwards, Blake deflecting it with a blade, the bolt impacting the ground next to him, fustrating Eric's attempts to strike.
Keeping his eyes on the duo in front of him, he slashed at Zed one last time , the zorua backing away and changing form as he did so, roaring out as he became a tauros and rammed Blake. The umbreon jumped over him and spun in the air, firing off a shadow sphere to keep Serge away, who was trying to dive in. While all of this was happening, Elly used her dark powers once again to try and hit him out of the air with a fist, resembling a clenched paw, the first thing that came to mind. Blake already knew of her new powers, and once he saw the fist appear out of nowhere he already knew how to react, teleporting out of the way, right behind Lucy, who was looking around, panicking. "Behind you!" Elly screamed into her mind as she saw Blake appear behind the shinx.
The electric type didn't even bother to look behind her instead jumping to the side as she heard the ground she had been standing being sliced in two. She charged up her electricity in this single dodged and then charged into Blake, the electric properties of the attack electrocuting the umbreon and paralizing him momentarily. Zed, who was still a tauros, took advantage of this split second and rammed Blake again, sending him up into the air, Elly finishing up with a psychic blast of her own, throwing the umbreon against a wall. He slammed against it and howled in pain, but instantly disappeared, reappearing right on top of Eric, who faced up and used his claws to block Blake's next incoming attack. They both stood there, staring eachother down, before Serge swooped in and grabbed the umbreon's side, lifting him off the ground.
Whilst Blake got out of the bird's grip beofre he could slam him against the ground, Jake looked at Blake's swings with his swords. They were changing continuously, with no clear pattern. He disappeared once again, and he was in the opposite of the room. Before Elly could say anything, Jake was already facing the umbreon behind him and deflected his psychic blade, spinning on a leg and kicking the umbreon's face with the other, then jumped into the air, did a back flip and got on Blake'sb back, pinning him down as he stomped him into the ground. Serge saw this and flew towards Blake, but knew he wouldn't get there in time to do any damage. "Serge, grab the rope!" Eric shouted in his head. A water rope shot from behind him, and the bird opened his claw and grabbed the rope, Eric flying up from the ground towards the bird. Eric then dismissed the rope and flew towards Jake and Blake, slamming a shadow fist right into Blake's head. Or so it would've, because Blkae teleported away at the last second.
He reappeared besides his daughter and tried to bite her head off. His teeth barely managed to sink into her flesh before she reacted, emitting a shock wave surrounding her body, pushing him away. She then used her psychic powers to create another shockwave, launching him into the air and firing a shadow ball towards him. The projectile missed, and Blake vanished once again. "He's going to appear besides you, Lucy!" Jake called out. Sure enough, the umbreon reappeared besides the shinx, but knowing he was going to be there, she used her tail to hit the side of his face. Her tail was sparking at the time, and hit the umbreon with an intense shock attack, Pidgeot flying in, landing on the ground and sliding as he slashed at the umbreon with a wing. His wing cut the side of the umbreon's body, black blood spilling out as he vanished once more. Instead to appearing where Jake predicted this time however, he reappeared in the centre of the room, flying above his throne. He was smiling.
- I've had enough out of all of you! Prepare to observe my true power! - He exclaimed, the gem in his forehead glowing, the lines that covered his body changing colour. The gem became purple, and Blake seemed to jump off the air, back flipping until he landed on the ground. He then dashed towards an area of the room that was dimly lit, and seemingly disappeared. He reappeared to their left as a bigger umbreon made out of shadows, running into them and disolving into some kind of black smoke, making it impossible to see. Serge quickly flew out of this smoke and started flapping his wings, trying to get it to go away. Meanwhile, his friends in the smoke felt how claws and teeth bit and slashed at them, the pokemon protecting themselves from whatever was attacking them. Jake howled out as he felt a real claw slice his chest, marks appearing on it, before he was hit by a really strong psychic push, slamming him against the wall repeatedl until her blacked out.
Serge managed to clear the smoke just in time so Lucy esaped what seemed to be a huge umbreon paw trying to crush her. She jumped out of the way and shot a ligning bolt at the paw, which vanished, Blake's laugh echoing in the room. A tiny red glow suddenly caught their attention, and a ring of fire surrounded the five pokemon still fighting. Sergetried to escape once more, but the heat only seemed to increase as he rose. Blake jumped out of the fire, spinning in midair and becoming a blazing wheel of fire, crashing against Serge as some of his feathers were burnt. He tried to recover, landing on the ground as they looked up, Blake breathing in before releasing a fierce fiery breath into the ring. Elly flew up, Eric getting on her back as she did so, whilst Zed and Lucy got on Serge's back before the whole ground combusted into flames, although thankfully Jake was out of the ring of fire.
The battle moved into the air as Elly charged for Blake, Eric aiming an aura sphere at the fire breathing umbreon. He looked at them and exhaled fire, Elly quickly using her water barrier to block the fire from harming them, as well as creating a small smoke of steam that allowed them to back away so they could attack from another angle. Serge dived against Blake, the umbreon reacting quick enough to spin around and spit a fireball at the bird, knocking him out of the air. Zed however jumped off his back and transformed into a Pidgeot himself, surprising the umbreon as he pecked the gem on his forehead. Blake howled out and responded by crushing the zorua with a psychic blast, sending him against the ground, making a crater from how hard he hit the ground, shifting back into a zorua. The fire was already gone, but the danger of zed getting mortally wounded as long as he stayed in battle was real, and Serge knew this.
Blake's markings and the gem changed from red to green, and as he saw Elly flying towards him he swung at her with a psychic sword. She responded with her own, and the two began struggling as Eric jumped off her back and tried to punch Blake. He teleported again however, and the riolu instead landed on the ground, rolling. Blake reappeared next to Zed, and used his wind powers to blow Serge and Lucy away. However, the shinx landed on her feet and dashed towards the zorua again, picking him up by the fur around his neck and using all his strength to drag him along with her. Blake smiled as he saw and seized the opportunity to attack Zed and Lucy together, slashing at them. The shinx saw his attack and tried to dodge, the blade only scratching the zorua whilst it cut into the shinx's flesh, some blood spewing out. Serge roared out and crashed against Blake, pecking the umbreon's face repeatedly. The gem and his marking changed to blue, and Blake's body turned into a pile of water as he moved across the ground at high speeds.
Elly and Eric saw how Blake, now a pile of water reached up with tendrils and grabbed Serge's neck, flinging him around and smashing him against the floor and the walls until he threw him, landing close to the rest of his friends, his right wing twisted in a weird way. Blake turned to look at Eric and Elly, who were the only pokemon still standing. He smirked at them, the gem in his forehead now changing back to dull red whilst his lines reverted to yellow. - Now that they're out of the way... we can begin the real fun. - He said, teleporting once again. He reappeared floating above his throne, smiling.
(Stop the music)
- Now, it is high time that my people's will becomes a reality! - He howled out, the gem in his forehead shining as the room started shaking. Cracks appeared in the roof, and the pieces slowly flew away, revealing the huge sphere of energy that was floating above. Eric and Elly started running towards Blake, the riolu throwing an aura sphere, which flew up into the bigger energy ball, absorbed by it. Elly tried to summon a psychic blade, but couldn't, feeling as if her powers were diminishing by the second. - Millions of years have passed since my kin made the bow to bring back Giratina, but none succeeded up to this point! Now I, Blake, The Dark Sinner, shall accomplish what no one has ever done! - He shouted, looking at Elly and Eric. - Blake don't! - Eric exclaimed, trying to make Blake understand that if he did that, everyone, including him, would die. But the umbreon was too lost in his own madness. - Today... I SHALL REVIVE A GOD! - He screamed at the top of his lungs.
The gem in his forehead started shining, as he started floating upwards, the ball of energy above becoming progressively more and more grey until it became completely black. Blake was absorbed into the sphere by dark claws, all whilst he laughed like a maniac. Seconds later, gravity affected the ball, landing on the floor with a loud thud. The ball then began taking shape, a shape that no one in that room had ever hoped to see. Seconds after this ball hit the ground and after it took shape, Giratina, the legendary pokemon of death, master of the distortion world and god of darkness stood in front of all them, towering over all of them, almost reaching the now inexistent roof.
Giratina glanced at them briefly, giving them a stern look. - You're the ones that have been trying to put a stop to The Dark Sinner, aren't you? - He asked them. Eric prepared his staff of light, and Elly's eyes began glowing. Giratina nodded. - I will take that as a yes... - He spread his wings, as he was now in his modified form. - Then we mustn't waste anymore time! Listen to my words, heroes, for they will guide you to the greatest of destinies! - He exclaimed. Eric and Elly stared at him in confusion, but still ready to fight. - I do not wish to fight any of you. Even if death and darkness are in my nature, these are qualities that are needed to keep the balance of the worlds. However, just like my brethren, we were robbed of our world, and now false gods want to follow our steps. - He announced.
Eric and Elly stood there, confused. - What the hell are you talking about?! Who are you?! - Eric asked, swinging his staff, challenging the legendary. - I am the real Giratina. I was here before the Great Armageddon, and I have been returned to this world by this poor creature you call "Blake". - Those were the words that left his mouth, confusing both of the pokemon inmensely. - The real Giratina? What do you... - Before Eric could finish, Giratina flinched from pain. - Lies! You're my master! - A voice shouted from inside the legendary's body. It was Blake's. - I was never your master! He was a freak that used my body, just like you want to do with mine! - Giratina exclaimed.
He then glanced at Eric and Elly. - Be warned, heroes, for evil lies where you least expect it! This story has only just begun for you, but our fate was written long ago, before any of us existed! There is light at the end, however, for I have seen it! Stop Blake... and... defeat... the... wa... - He howled out once more, his body shifting. - Giratina! - Eric shouted, realizing that Blake was trying to force the legendary to attack them. - Good... Luck... - He whispered, before his body started shifting again. His head became a little bigger, his eyes disappearing as it became a huge maw, growing as his body shifted. His middle set of legs retreated into his body, the gold pieces all over his body turning purple. His gray skin turned black, and the black lines all over his body turned purple. His wings became bigger, and he grew a second pair on his back., what seemed to be dark mist oozing from the extensions.
The red and black stripes in his abdomen became transparent, with the black turning purple too, and the red acquiring an intense crimson intensity. And inside his transparent abdomen they could see Blake's form, smiling at them. The abomination roared out, the castle trembling. Their friends, who were still unconscious on the floor, all flew away. Elly noticed this and opened the throne room's doors with her psychic powers, then pushed all their friends out right before they were shut by another, more powerful psychic presence. Blake's voice was heard. - Much better... Not my master, he says... The fool! Isolation for an eternity must've made him gone mad... but not matter, for I shall be the one that accomplishes his destiny! - He shouted.
Eric looked at him, spinning around his staff and crossing it behind his back. - Not if we can stop you! - He shouted. Elly also tensed up, knowing that this was going to be their final stand. Blake stared at them, amused. - Do you seriously believe you can defeat me?! I was powerful before but now... I have the power of a god! You're mere mortals! How can you hope you ever amount to my power! - He roared out, his voice deep and strong. - We don't care! We'll die trying if we have to! We won't let you get away with this... - Elly said, tears in her eyes. - NOT AFTER WHAT YOU'VE DONE! - She screamed.
Blake looked at them, his face serious for just an instant, before he smiled, roaring out, the walls and windows around them crumbling down. The floor underneath them rumbled and shook violently as the floor was separated from the tower, now becoming a floating stone platform in the middle of the infinite void of darkness and chaos, purple lightning bolts flashing every so often, the purple clouds twisting into the black vortex above and below. And in front of them, Blake, now turned into this monster, smiled at them. - Very well... May you never find peace, even in death! - He screamed.
(Aesir – Bayonetta 2)
He spread his wings as he began flying, his great maw opening as a beam charged up, then releasing it on the spot Eric and Elly were standing in. They both dashed out of the way, and the true final battle began. Eric started running, trying to approach Blake, but he kept his eyes on him, the beam he was firing from his maw following the riolu. Eric aimed an aura sphere and fired it at the maw, but it didn't do anything. He stopped the beam, and the fighting type saw his chance to rush in, heading straight for the umbreon inside the monster's abdomen. However, before he could even get there he felt how a devastating blast of psychic force hit his body, sending flying, almost over the edge, his staff vanishing.
Elly slashed at the monster's neck with her sword, but it didn't make a dent. It definitely hurt, but it didn't cut off the beast's head, like she had hoped so. His wings became those tendrils as they shot towards her, barely bringing up her psychic barrier to block them, and then flew away. She felt one of them wrap around one of her legs though, and she immediately cut it with her blade. This time it did cut through it's skin, but the tendril quickly retreated to the main body, only to regenerate almost instantly. The monster roared out as some kind of wave of energy left it's maw. As soon as it hit Eric and Elly, they felt excruciating pain, enough to stop them from moving briefly. The creature then lunged forward towards the riolu, dodged the pounce, but found himself in between the monster's legs.
Blake swiped at him, Eric ducking under that attack and trying to find someway to get out from there. He prepared a wind sphere and jumped up into the sky, spinning as he saw more of the same tendrils from before reaching out of stab him repeatedly. Elly flew down to the ground and went around the other way, breathing out fire to call the monster's attention. She succeeded in doing so, Eric preparing his claws as Blake faced his daughter, and then Eric dug his claw into the monster's side, making it roar out. He stabbed it repeatedly until he was thrown away. The creature's maw opened again, but instead small sphere appeared inside of it. It looked at Eric, and then the balls began flying quickly towards the riolu. He began dodging them skillfully, although one of them hit the ground and sent him flying as it exploded. He summoned his light staff and just as the last sphere was fired he returned it by swinging his staff.
It didn't hit Blake, but Eric hurled the staff at the monster like it was a spear, the light weapon blowing up as it made contact with the creature. It didn't do much. Elly got an idea as she saw how the maw stayed open briefly after that. "Eric, I'll distract him while you go and smash his teeth in after he attacks, alright?!" He shouted in their minds. The riolu answered with a yes as Elly began attacking the monster with her psychic powers, and shadow balls. He eventually turned to face her, and saw how the eevee lunged at him really quickly, swinging her claws at him in the air. He merely hit her out of the air and smashed her body into the ground as soon as he could. To his surprise, it vanished into a cloud of smoke. He looked at the real Elly, who had prepared a strong psychic blast. His maw opened again to charge up the beam, and she threw the blast, making the head look up. Before he could fire off the beam, Eric jumped up to his back, then climbed up to the head and smashed his fist into the big maw, breaking it's teeth in half whilst it roared out in pain. Just for good messure, he released an aura sphere, wounding the monster further. Blake recovered, and his eyes started glowing purple, as he began moving really quickly.
Then, all of a sudden, the monster before them split into two giratinas, both of them in origin form and with the same variations that Blake had forced upon the legendary when he took control of it's body. The first one went after Eric, swooping in as he let behind him a trail of fire, firing a hyper beam at the same time. Eric found himself forced to jump away with a wind sphere, using aura spheres to hit the monster each time it came close to hitting him, hitting the head so the beam aimed somewhere else. Elly meanwhile used her barrier to protect herself from the shadow balls that the head was throwing at her, when all of a sudden a pillar of rocks shot up from the ground, throwing her up in the air, where she was blown away by a strong gust of wind. She quickly recovered and saw hundreds of tiny sphere flying towards her. She quickly used her powers to stop all of them, the eevee struggling, then returned them all to the giratina that was attacking her.
A massive orb of water formed over Eric's head, and before he could do anything it fell on the platform as everything around the riolu was submerged. In that water, Giratina moved much more quickly, it's tendrils moving in unison and swinging at him. Eric tried his hardest to move around, but his foe's extremities were much quicker under water. He suddenly got an idea, remembering the time when he had been locked in that water cell in the future. Using his water powers, he pushed all of that water away and into the abyss below, surprising the giratina with ability. Elly flew around the monster attacking her, thinking of a way to harm him when she saw the other one charging a beam to aim at Eric, getting an idea.
"Eric, we need to try and make your giratina hit mine with that beam!" She suggested. "And how exactly..." He jumped over a swipe of the monster's tendrils. "Do you want to do that?!" He asked, firing an aura sphere at the head to make the beam come out a little slower. "Try to bait him! Quickly!" She ordered, flying over to the giratina attacking the riolu and slashing at him with her two psychic blades at once. She wasn't doing much damage, only a few cuts, but it was enough for the legendary to look at her. She flew away and towards the other giratina, Eric slashing the monster's side with his claws and ocne again making him stare at the riolu, trying to confuse the monster as much as possible by enraging it. Elly flew in front of it, and the monster finally released the beam, following the eevee, who flew right behind the other giratina. The beam hit this other giratina's abdomen head on, and both of the monster howled out in pain simultaneously.
The clones started floating closely until they merged again, becoming a much bigger version, with Blake inside of it's abdomen. It was back to it's modified form, and it flew up and away. - DIE! - He roared out, firing off a beam directly at the ground. The platform, which was already in a bad shape, broke into pieces, and Eric started to fall down. Elly screamed out his name, but saw how he fell towards a piece of the castle that was floating around. She turned to look at her father. - Come on... Show me how strong you are! - He teased her. She prepared her blade and flew towards him, roaring out as the two began clashing in midair. Blake brought out his own psychic blade as they both started a dual, the dark eon using both his blade, and the tendrils on his back to attack. Elly flew over a horizontal slash, doing a flip as she flew under the monster, burying her blade into his lower abdomen and down between his legs.
The blade didn't cut deep enough, but still, black blood came out, the eevee flying out from under there. The monstrosity roared out, flapping his two sets of wings as it's eyes glowed again. Eric looked up, and saw that Elly was about to get hit by that pain shockwave. He began running up the floating wall he was on, defying the laws of physics as he went up vertically at one point, firing off a wind sphere at his feet and flying up towards Blake and Elly, preparing his claws as he flew past him and then back down, burying his claws into the back of his head and then slicing down, cutting open the back of it's head and neck. It screamed in agony, the shockwave not being released, but it threw off the riolu. He quickly aimed at Blake once more and shot a water rope, swinging under the monster's body and going back up again whilst Elly attacked his abdomen, her blade clashing with a smaller Blake that the umbreon inside was using.
The much bigger blade cut Eric's water rope, but he simply used it again and stuck to another fragment, flying over to it. He landed, now standing upside down, shot it to another floating rock and hurled it and Blake. The rock smashed into bits, throwing the umbreon off balance, allowing Elly to pierce his abdomen with her blade. It didn't even come close to hitting the eeveelution inside, but some transparent red liquid started seeping out. The huge beast roared out, Eric using his aura sphere in conjunction with his shadow magic to launch several shadow spheres at the god of destruction. He started flying everywehre as the spheres blew up, not quick enough to dodge them.
He snapped as he regained his balance. - ENOUGH! - He roared out, using his powers to rip the fabric of time itself, a huge tower appearing out of a portal, probably the temporal tower of that ruined world. He used his psychic powers to hurl it at Elly and Eric. Elly landed on the rock next to Eric, and used her psychic powers to try and stop it. The rock was MASSIVE, and she had to focus and use all her strength, screaming as she felt how her head started pounding from how intense that single psychic hold was. She managed to stop it, and then with a roar of her own she launched it back against Blake, the monster already putting up a barrier, committing the same mistake twice as Eric jumped up with a wind sphere, using a shadow punch and sending the huge tower crashing against him.
The tower hit Blake's shield, and he screamed in agony as the tower went right through his shield and the tower smashed into him. He was crushed under the weight as the whole tower was smashed into bits. Eric and Elly moved quickly, taking advantage of how low the gravity in that world was and jumped between the fragments until they got right up against Blake's face. Eric prepared a huge aura sphere, and Elly her biggest Shadow Ball, firing both of the projectiles together as they merged. - EAT THIS! - They both howled together as the immense sphere of energy was launched against Blake. The explosion, which felt like a nuke, sent everything flying away, including the duo, as they were sent away, back towards the castle.
(Stop the music)
Eric grabbed Elly as they both landed roughly on the floor. They were now in that weird room with the pillars, but now that the walls were gone they could see that in fact it wasn't as big. The throne room was gone, and now it lead to an empty space, and far off in the distance some kind of cloud of aura and energy that was dazzling, like a nebula. Elly groaned as she opened her eyes. She was lying on top of Eric, who was on the ground hugging her tightly. - Are you ok? - She asked, getting off in fear she was hurting him. He took a few seconds to answer. - I feel a little sore... But I think I'll survive. - He said, getting up from the ground.
They looked around, and noticed that there were a few pokemon looking at them, specifically four. Zed, Lucy, Serge and Jake were all staring at them, wide eyed, mouths hanging open. - What... what's wrong? - Eric asked, struggling to get up. - What, uh, no nothing's wrong, it's just that YOU JUST FUCKING GAVE THE GOD OF DEATH THE BEATDOWN OF HIS LIFE ALL BY YOURSELVES! - Lucy screamed. - How the hell did you guys even manage to do that?! - Serge asked next, just as shocked as the shinx was. - I have no words to describe the amazing events that have just transpired. This battle will go down in history! - Jake exclaimed, clenching his claw and smiling. - You guys are awesome! You finally did it! - Zed then shouted, smiling.
The other three pokemon looked at him. - What? - He asked. Eric and Elly laughed. - Well, we would've never done it without you guys. Even though you didn't get to fight him, you stood up against him, and managed to get him down a little, so you also deserve some credit. - The riolu said. The other four pokemon all either looked away, ashamed, or smiled with pride. Then they all laughed happily, as the nightmare was finally over. Before they could properly celebrate however, the ground began trembling, and they all turned to face the edge, their eyes wide open in disbelief. Blake was there, the same form as before, although still heavily wounded from their previous battle. - How are you even still alive?! - Eric asked, preparing his staff. Elly tensed up again, and this time around their friends joined them.
However, it didn't take them long to notice that something was wrong. Blake wasn't making one of his witty remarks or teasing them with insults. He was just growling, the monstrosity he was in also growling. Eric looked closer, and saw that the umbreon's marks weren't yellow anymore, but instead crimsom red, with small hints of orange in it. He recognized the colours from when Dialga was a primal pokemon. - He's gone primal!? - Eric exclaimed out loud in surprise. Blake smiled, the monster roaring out. - You're... not the only ones... that can go into a... rage... - He barely muttered out as he regained the control of his body ever so briefly.
He then roared out as his body began morphing again. His neck split into three, three heads growing on each of the necks, whilst his body grew larger and larger, his front legs growing in size, golden, menacing claws appearing as he slowly assumed a bipedial possibtion. His backlegs stayed the same, and his tail grew longer, spikes appearing all over it. A mess of tentacles burst out of his sides, and Blake smiled as the new monster roared out. It looked like a three headed dialga, standing on it's backlegs whilst his front legs were more suited for slashing anything in his way, spreading his huge black wings and swinging his tail as he roared out, the roar making the floor beneath them tremble.
The six pokemon all rushed towards him as Giratina started to glow purple. They couldn't let him pull this attack off or else they would be done for. All six of them jumped at once and tried to strike Blake, but they didn't get there in time. That same purple shockwave threw them all away, their bodies almost shutting down from how much the wave hurt them. It was extremely painful, as they all writhed on the ground, unable to do anything other than twitch. The legendary stared at them, growling as it slowly began approaching. No one could move, as the pain was too intense, like they were being beat down by hundreds of sticks and stones, each of them trying to break their spines in half and bash their brains in. Every single appendage hurt, tears in most of their eyes as they saw how their impending doom approached. Eric closed his eyes in defeat. Were they seriously going to die after all of that?! He could only wait for that inevitable stinging pain that he guessed would signify his demise... but it never came.
("Reset" – "Thank You" Version - Okami)
Instead, he felt how small cold orbs caressed his fur. He opened his eyes and looked around. There were small white orbs flying all over the place. Their touch was cold, yet soothing, the pain slowly going away. - Wha... - He muttered, getting up as he started hearing voices in his head. "Don't give up now! You can do it!" A loud voice exclaimed, somehow recognizing it. - Loudred? - He asked out loud. Suddenly, a small transparent vortex appeared floating above them, showing an image. It was an image of the plaza in treasure town, his eyes widening as he saw what wsa going on at that moment. Everyone was sitting around the vortex they had gone through, which was showing the riolu getting up from the ground, ignoring his wounds.
Elly got up next, more of the pokemon cheering. - Come on, beat his ass! You guys are strong enough, we believe in you! - Another voice shouted. It was electro. More and more voices came, pokemon like Marill, Ferrus, Slew, Wigglytuff, Chatot, Mick, Milly, Grovyle, Celebi and even Dusknoir's voices were audible amongst hundreds and hundreds of voices, many of them familiar, some foreign, but all of them giving them the same message. To never give up. That they believed in them. Lucy felt her eyes getting teary as she could've sworn she heard Yiurn and some other members of her tribe, also cheering for her, for their "champion" to rise above this vile monster.
They all just looked around, Blake simply staring in his primal state. He tried to move, but couldn't, as the light spheres were holding him back. He slammed his claws against the ground, trying to get them off him, but alas he couldn't. - We will not let you destroy this world Blake... - A voice echoed in the air. Eric's and Zed's hearts skipped a beat as they recognized the voice. They looked around, and walking towards them, they saw a shiny lucario, a warm smile on his face. - Virkov! - Tehy both exclaimed in unison. Two voices also repeated the same name, whilst one shouted the words "father". - I was always with all of you, even after I died... and she was with you as well. - He simply said. They looked at him, confused. - She? - Elly asked. - Of course. I told you that even if I was gone, I would forever stay by your side, Elly. - A voice said behind the eevee.
She turned around, her eyes tearing up as she saw her mother, her five brothers also standing by her side, all six of them walking towards the eevee. The normal type had to hold back tears as she saw her mother again, the ghost surprising her. - What...but... how... and... why?! - She asked, more specifically to her brothers, which she had killed just before. - What, you think we were going to leave you here with this disgrace of a father?! Hell no! - The flareon exclaimed. - You saved us from all that suffering, and now we're with mom. - The vaporeon informed her. - We know that you didn't have any other alternative, but either way, you're still our little sis, and we want to return the favour. - The jolteon said. She was now crying, sobbing. - Guys... I... - She began, but was cut off by her father.
- What?! Impossible?! How can this be?! I am a god! How can all of your power even come close to retaining me here?! - He asked, his booming voice echoing in that empty world. All thirteen of the pokemon, seven of which were ghosts, looked at him defiantly. They were just about to speak, when a familiar voice spoke for them. - Because they aren't the only ones that are fighting against you, Blake. - This voice said. Everyone turned to look around, seeing a familiar human walking towards them. - It is isn't only them fighting against you, Clades. It's all of us. All of those you've killed have been helping them since the very first moment, and even death they never gave up hope. All of the pokemon from their world that hate you are also fighting alongside them. They may be far away, but their souls have been forever intertwined, and no matter what happens, they will all be together. A whole world wants your head on a silver platter. - The human Eric said, raising his left hand.
- But this whole world, filled with vengeful spirits, also wants you dead. Millions of ghosts that have returned from the grave to get their revenge on the evil that once robbed them of their future. - He said, rising his right hand. He stood besides the pokemon, tensing up. - And this human also wants a piece of you, you bastard! - He shouted, supporting his friends even in death. The orbs of light floating around started heading towards Team Star, going into their bodies as they healed their wounds, returning them their energy, but also giving them more than they could've possibly ever imagined, their bodies glowing. Elly looked at her father. - Blake... You've done many evil things all through your life... you've ruined countless lives, including mine... but we've all managed to escape the clutches of death. Together. We have experienced countless moments of agony all because of you... and today... is the day that you pay for what you've done! - She shouted.
(Stop the music)
Their bodies started glowing, as Eric's became a white glowing shape, similar to a riolu. Elly became a mass of black liquid that retained the form of an eevee, her blue eyes glowing. Zed's body became a cloud of black mist that looked just like a zorua, his blue fur still able to be seen. Lucy became a sparkling yellow shinx, electricity coursing through her form. Serge's wings became bigger, and the red lines on his body became green, and Jake's skin turned pale blue, icy claws on the end of his hands and feet.
(Severing the Chains of Fate – Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2)
Blake stepped back, intimidated. - You... what are you?! - The six super powered pokemon, all of them with more than enough strength to defeat Blake single-handedly looked at the monster. - We're the guardians of this world... we're the ones that keep the balance... we're the ones that protect those in need! - They all chanted together. - We're Team Star! - They all shouted in unison, staring at Blake. The beast roared out before the six glowing pokemon all flew towards him, Lucy heading in first at tackling the huge pokemon, sparks firing everywhere as electric spheres appeared out of nowhere, lightning bolts striking against the huge monster and sending him sliding across the ground, rolling on the floor as he destroyed any colums he passed.
The human Eric smiled as he brought forth two ethereal blades and jumped up into the air, shouting and laughing as he dived straight into battle, followed closely by Serge. The beast got up and shook it's three heads, two of them looking at the flying duo and firing hyper beams at them, forcing them to fly away. The monster dug it's claws into the ground, small blobs of darkness coming out as Rebscura were summoned, several Stingers flying up towards Eric and Serge, as they both engaged in aerial combat. Eric slashed at anything that came into his path, Serge spinning in the air as he formed a ciclone, then flapping his wings as he sent it towards a mob of Rebscura flying towards them. Eric smiled as he flew in, spinning himself as he entered the tornado. Seconds later, the tornado was dismissed, black goo flying everywhere. More flying rebscura came their way, and they cut their way through this mob to prevent them from attacking the others.
Lucy continuously dashed around, moving extremely fast, leaving a trail of electricity behind her as she literally skipped from spot to spot, releasing bolt after bolt of hot white electricity, scorching the monster's skin, and every so often tackling him, giving him a good shock. Zed dashed towards him, his form moving quickly as he separated into three equally big zoruas, then five. The two zoruas running at the edges both jumped away from the formation, only to dive back in as they did a somersault in midair, shadow claws extending from their paws as the cartwheeled across Blake's skin, cuts appearing all over it. The other three zeds lunged for the three heads, also slashing at them before all five of the clones jumped up into the air, merging into one zorua once again, who then dived back down and slashed the middle head's right eye out, before jumping backwards, doing a backflip a firing a shadow ball straight into Giratina's chest, hitting the area where the umbreon was. He roared out as he covered that spot, staggered by the sudden blow.
Jake took this chance to jump into the fight, making two large chunks of ice appear out of thin air and making them fly over to both of his sides, before slamming them together, the ice shattering and flying everywhere as Blake was crushed. He then called abck all of those fragments as pointed his claws at his chest. - ICE STORM! - He exclaimed, all of the ice pieces flying straight into the beast's abdomen, lodging themselves there, before he clenched his paw and all of them blew up in an icy explosion. It didn't do much, but it certainly hurt him, since now that transparent red liquid covered his chest.
Virkov, whose eyes, paws and feet were glowing with aura, charged against the angered beast. He saw the creature swiping at him with his right claw, and he simply brought his right paw up, letting out a burst of aura as it pushed away the claw, then kicking his abdomen one, before unleashed a flurry of attacks against the monster's lower abdomen, then kicking one last time, another burst of aura coming out of his right foot as an explosion happened, sending the beast backwards a few feet. He then stomped on the ground and jumped straight up, his right fist risen over his head as he uppercutted the middle head. Now up in the air, he spun in the air and looked down, putting both of his paws together as dozens of aura spheres appeared around him, before he unleashed them all on him at once, a rain of exploding energy projectiles sending Blake flying. He landed forcefully on the floor, cracking the ground underneath him, his massive size covering half of the ground of the ruined room as he laid on the ground.
The riolu Eric moved swiftly behind the recovering beast, grabbing his thorny tail and pulling, then began spinning, dragging the monster across the ground as he smashed into all the remaining collums, his friends backing off. Elly was floating off in the distance, and had used her psychic powers to grab a huge floating rock and position it in midair. Eric roared out as he threw Blake towards said Rock, the massive monster crashing right through it, only to be smashed downwards into the void by a gigantic fist, once again, the clenched paw of an eevee. He twisted around like a rag doll as he recovered his balance, flapping his wings and flying back up really quickly.
He resurfaced from the void, using his tentacles to repeatedly attack the floor where most of them were standing, breaking it into pieces. However, instead of all of them falling off into the abyss, they began walking in midair. This took Blake by surprised, as he realized that their powers allowed them to bed the rules of that world even further, and ignore gravity altogether. It was too late however, as he saw a ghostly espeon running in the air towards him, five orbs of light, red, blue, yellow, green and light blue floating around her. The red orb shot forward and dived under the monster, before spinning around a tornado of fire coming out from underneath and burning the umbreon.
Meanwhile, Lucy began jumping from spot to spot above the monster and making more of those orbs of electricty appear. The yellow light floating around Skye floated up towards these spheres as the espeon attacked with a whip made out of water. The yellow light, who was in reality a jolteon, began flying between the spheres, creating a steady stream of electricity, until it was all discharged in a single massive lightning bolt that hit Blake's back, paralysing him briefly. Skye howled out as vines appeared from the green light, all of them holding Blake's own tentacles together, straitening them. Just then, Eric and Serge dived in, both of them slashing simultaneously, one with his swords, the other with his wings, cutting all of the tendrils in just one attack.
They both floated back up again as they saw Blake trying to hit them with two inmense hyper beams once again. However, the monster looked away from Skye once more. Jake and Skye both jumped behind Blake together, the sneasel putting his claws together and the espeon taking a deep breath as a stream of icy wind came out of his claws and her mouth, freezing the monster's wings. Zed saw this opportunity and moved swiftly in the air, roaring out as he slashed at one of the wings, smashing it into bits of ice, whilst Eric and Serge swooped in once more to cut off the other wing of the pair, reducing the monster's flying appendages to just two.
While this was happening, the legendary was trying to focus on one enemy, but he just couldn't, although he saw how hundreds and hundreds of white aura spheres appeared around him. He turned to face forward as he saw Virkov and the riolu Eric standing back to back, looking at him, before they snapped their fingers, all the spheres hitting his abdomen simultaneously, cracks appearing on it. Before the smoke from that attack even cleared out, the riolu summoned a staff of light so huge that it reached Giratina's left head, stabbing it directly through the forehead before it blew up, removing it's left head from existence. Lucy moved insanely quickly, almost teleporting as she swiped at the right head, a hole appearing right through it as she killed that head too. Finally, Elly dived in, preparing two huge black claws as she began slashing at his abdomen repeatedly, more and more cracks appearing until she buried the claws into a crack, then spread the wound until the strange protection tore off, the transparent red liquid flying everywhere, the umbreon inside now exposed. With one last mighty roar, she summoned a huge black eevee head which headbutted the monster, sending him hurling away, his extremities now hanging limply, barely able to fight.
The fourteen warriors all congregated, standing together as they prepared to unleash one final attack. Eric put his right paw in front of him, Elly standing right besides him, focusing all her energy, the human Eric doing the same motion that the riolu did, the human standing right next to his pokemon counterpart. Besides him Virkov valiantly stood, doing the same thing they were doing. Next were Zed, Lucy, Serge and Jake, all of them giving the two pokemon standing at the front all of their power. Next to Elly was her mother, and after her all of the eevee's brothers, also putting all their remaining energy in the eevee.
Both of the Eric's and Elly's emblems started glowing as a sphere of light appeared between Eric and Elly, which grew bigger and bigger. The remaining Giratina head looked at them in horror, opening his maw to release one final black hyper beam. - This is the end of our nightmare! - The thirteen pokemon and the human all shouted in unison as they fired a huge white beam of their own, consuming Blake's beam as it became even bigger than Giratina himself, the beam disintegrating him slowly, crossing his claws in front of his abdomen as he tried to protect the umbreon inside him, Blake howling out in disbelief and pain. - I... Impossible! - The umbreon howled out as he was consumed by the beam, Giratina letting out a long sigh. - Great job... heroes... - He whispered as the legendary ceased to exist, a flash of light enveloping everything as they were all momentarily blinded.
(Stop the music)
When the light disappeared everyone floated down towards the last solid bit of ground left, right next to the stairs that lead down to the main hall of the castle. The group looked around, smiling. The six super powered pokemon became normal once more, the group cheering together. - That... was the COOLEST THING, I've ever done! - Lucy exclaimed. - To be honest, it was actually really cool, I have to agree. - Jake said. The human Eric luaghed and walked over to them. - Of course, you were the "coolest" of all of us. - He said, saying the word coolest with a weird tone, everyone getting the joke. Most of them rolled their eyes, whilst some actually giggled. Skye for example found it funny, Elly looking at her mother.
The eevee stared at her mother continuously, and her mate noticed this, the riolu smiling. - Come on. - He said, encouraging her. She looked at him, the riolu nodding as the eevee ran over to her ghostly family, trying to hug her mother but failing to do so. The riolu couldn't help but chuckle as he saw this, right before he felt something cold touch his shoulder. He turned around to stare at a transparent shiny lucario, smiling down at him. - So, I see things worked out in the end, huh? - Virkov asked. The riolu smiled at him. - Yeah, they did. There times where I thought it was over... but it seems that it worth fighting to the end, just like you always said. - The small jackal remembered, the lucario laughing. - Well, seems like you actually learned something other than fighting from me, eh? - He asked. The riolu laughed too, both of their laughters dying down. - I know of what happened when I died. Rick left you whilst you and Zed went off to try and find that eevee... - He said, looking at Elly as she cried whilst talking with her family. - Who would've guessed that she was Skye's daughter... of all pokemon, you fell in love with her daughter... - The lucario muttered, smiling.
- The world's a wrap I guess... - The bigger jackal concluded after thinking for a few seconds. The eeveelution family approached them, Elly smiling as she stood next to Eric, pushing him towards Skye, who was smiling at the riolu. - Thank you, Eric, for keeping my daughter safe and making her happy all this time. - The espeon said, the riolu bowing. - You don't even have to thank me...I wish to make her happy for the rest of her life. - He said, looking at the eevee, who nuzzled him. The espeon nodded, Virkov walking forward and looking at the espeon with a warm smile. - It has been a long time, Skye. - The shiny lucario said, putting a paw on his chest and bowing. The espeon nodded her head in response. - Yes, it's been far too long. - She said.
Elly looked at her mother and Virkov, her eyes shifting from her mother to the lucario. - Wait... you know eachother? - The eevee asked. Skye giggled. - Know? He's known me since I was a cub. He helped me and my father escape when we were captured. Not only that, but we were close friends until... well, you know... - The espeon muttered, not really willing to talk about that. Right after that, Eric decided to walk into the conversation, the other members of Team Star following him. - Man, that was completely wicked. - He said, spreading his arms and looking as jolly as possible, looking at Eric and Elly. - You two did amazing back there, so congratulations. - He told them, giving them a thumbs up.
Both of the young pokemon looked at the human for a while, who looked back at them before rolling his eyes. - Alright, come with me for a second... - He muttered, turning around and walking off. The couple was reluctant at first to follow him, but they eventually did, walking behind the human as he walked down a few steps, getting away from the group so they couldn't hear that part of their conversation. - So... I guess both of you are pissed off at me for what I said all the way back in Temporal Tower... and I also guess you want an explanation. - He said, sitting down on the ground, his legs handing over the edge as he looked at both of the pokemon. They didn't have to say anything, their eyes giving the human the answer he wanted to hear. - I have to be honest... I did fake that whole "jolly and happy" me most of the time. I'm a god damn phony, can't deny that. However, the good moments we spent weren't fake, neither were all those laughs. All this time it was just me thinking that I didn't deserve anything else other than loneliness... - He groaned, shaking his head.
- Can't we just settle on "It was me being a god damn dumbass all along and call it a day? I really don't have any logical explanations as to why I did it... and trying to at least begin to narrate how I got to this point is out of the question, so... Yeah. I'm sorry for... lying to all of you. - The human apologized. Both of the pokemon stood there, looking at him. They looked at eachother and sighed. - You know... it's not only that you lied to us... That is in fact the least of our problems... what our main problem is... it's that we don't know what to tell others, or hell... just who to remember you as. We don't know if we should choose that fake, happy version, or the real, sad one. - The riolu Eric explained.
The human closed his eyes and put his hands together, a smile spreading on his face. - You know... you don't really have to remind me as "Happy Eric", or "Sad Eric", or hell, even the "Angry Eric". There is no real Eric, just like there aren't any fakes. We're all a mixture of emotions that we sometimes let out. I just so happen to be an extremely messed up guy with a little bit of a moodswing problem. And it's not only that, but I've always blamed myself for anything bad that happens around, even when it's clearly not my fault. That's why I felt so horrible back there and that's why I said all of those things. Some were true... - He cleared his throat. - Well... actually, if not all, were true... But I was mostly just talking out of my ass. When I said things like "I enjoyed our time together" or "I had a blast hanging out with all of you"... I meant it. I really did, and I still mean it, that you actually made me have fun. Real fun, not delusional, fake fun. Just... Happiness. Sure, it wasn't that great to outbalance by depressing personality... but it still feels like it made a difference. - The human admitted, smirking.
The two pokemon besides him kept looking at him, Eric sighing. - In other things, I don't think it's fair for you guys to remember me as a depressing excuse of a hero. I did other things that I could've very well opted to never do, like helping Elly for example when she fell off when Haunter dropped her... and even though they were going to die either way, I accepted Clades challenge of fighting me along so your friends didn't suffer the consequences. You can look at it from whatever angle you want to. You can remember me as either a faker or a friend, it's up to you... Just know that I enjoyed my time with all of you. - The human concluded, getting up from the ground, a serious look on his face. Eric and Elly looked at him as he left for the top of the steps. The riolu looked at the eevee. - What do you think? - He asked her.
Elly looked at the ground. - I don't know... I mean, he sounds like he feels sorry for saying all of that and I want to forgive him, but... Another part is still angry because he is out friend, even if he says otherwise, and he accepts it, yet he wont share his pain with us. - The normal type said. The riolu sighed. He was feeling the same way, though he was leaning more on forgiving the human, since he felt that, now that he was dead, he could at least enjoy some peace at least. He expressed his opinion to the eevee, who nodded. - If that's what you think, then... we'll do that. Come on, let's get to him! - She exclaimed, quickly running up the steps, where they saw the human slowly walking towards the rest, a little sad. - Hey, Eric! - The riolu called, the human looking at the couple.
The riolu walked up to Eric, extending his arm and opening his paw. The human looked at him for a couple of seconds, confused. He then smiled as he reached down for the riolu's paw and shook hands with him. - Thank you. Both of you. - He said, a warm, sincere smile on his face. Eric and Elly nodded, both of them smiling as well, feeling like they had made the right choice. After that, they approached the rest of the group, the human raising his hands. - Okay, I know that it was pretty good seeing everybody reunited again, but I don't think we have much time left. - He said. As soon as he said this, the ghosts started becoming more and more transparent. The human didn't really have to explain the fact that they were now returning to wherever they had come from. Skye looked at her daughter, approaching her one last time before she nuzzled her. - I'm happy I could see you again Elly... Your mommy will always be here, with you... - She whispered.
The eevee, nuzzled back, a little embarrassed that Skye had used "mommy", but she didn't give it too much thought. Virkov looked at Eric and Zed. - You two take good care of yourselves, and be sure to spread the lessons I taught you. Ensure your world's peace. - The lucario told them, both of the young pokemon nodding. The human spread his arms. - What. Don't I get any love? - He asked. Everyone looked at him, Lucy sticking out her tongue at the human, a smile on her face. He rolled his eyes, groaning. - Why do I even ask... - He said, smiling as well. Everyone laughed as the living pokemon all either shook hands or paws with the human, who wished them all well. - Well... I guess this is it then... - He muttered. All the ghosts stood in a line, the living pokemon looking at them. Eric looked at the other ghosts. - Hey, do you guys have a heaven in this world? - He asked them. Skye looked at the human and rose an eyebrow. - Umm... I actually don't know. I didn't really leave this world. - She looked at Virkov, who shrugged.
- I hope there is a heaven... I really feel like partying really hard... Do you guys like parties? - He asked the younger eeveelutions, who nodded, wide smiles on their faces. Skye looked at her sons, rolling her eyes. - These five always got excited for parties, even their birthdays. - She said, chuckling. Virkov laughed. - Well, I have to be honest I would also like to celebrate our victory... so let's hope that this "heaven" exists! - He exclaimed. They all just stood there, becoming more and more transparent, none of them really sure of what else to say. Elly was looking at her mother, crying, feeling really sad that her family was finally going to be leaving. She knew they would be fine... and she felt happy for that. But she wished they could stay. The human started tapping his left foot on the ground. - Alright... So... this is awkward... - He muttered, looking around. Some of the pokemon giggled, until the human's body became more transparent, followed closely by the other ghostly pokemon as they began floating upwards.
- Alright... Good luck to all of you! It's been nice knowing you all! - The human shouted, waving his right hand as he vanished, Team Star waving too as they dismissed the human. Virkov bowed. - Farewell. And may life be kind to you all. - He said, also vanishing. The eeveelution brothers all said bye as they vanished, their sister crying as she said goodbye to all of them, and family, Skye looked down at her daughter. She also had tears streaming down from her eyes... but she had a proud look on her face. She was proud of Elly. Proud of her little girl. - Goodbye... Elly... - She whispered, before she vanished, the last of the ghosts finally disappearing.
Just as they vanished, everything started shaking violently, the sky moving really quickly, the black and purple stripes changing colours to blue and red, as well as the previous two, the two huge vortexes growing, spheres of energy forming as the floating islands started moving towards these black holes. - What the hell is going on!? - Lucy asked, scared. They all looked up at the black hole. - Looks that huge thing is going to suck everything! - Zed exclaimed. -But why is this happening?! - Eric asked. - If Giratina's spirit was the only thing that remained in this world, keeping it together... then that means that if it's destroyed, this whole world will collapse! - Jake theorized, a huge floating island flying near them. - Then we better get moving! Come on! - Serge shouted as he started running towards the stairs.
Everyone rushed down the steps as well, getting down to the hall. Serge flew down towards the entrance whilst Eric vaulted over the railing, getting down, Elly jumping right after him. Zed and Lucy ran down the stairs and Jake jumped off the railing and did a flip, landing on the ground and cartwheeling swiftly, getting back on his feet and running towards the stairs. They got out of the castle and on the stone road, dashing towards the vortex through the which they had come from. They got back to the original platform, Serge waiting briefly in front of the vortex. - Come on! - He shouted, going though it first. Lucy was moving really quickly, almost outrunning Zed, but she tripped on the steps.
She rolled down the steps, Zed rushing to her and trying to get her back up. - Shit! Lucy! - The zorua shouted, trying to get her up. Eric turned around just as he was about to get to the vortex, running back towards the duo. Elly called out for the riolu, staying behind with him. Jake hesitated to do so, but the couple told him to rush into the vortex, that they would help Zed and Lucy. They managed to get the shinx up on her feet, one of her paws twisted at a weird angle, sobbing quietly. They put her on Zed's back and they hurried back to the vortex, the zorua going through first, then Elly, who called for Eric. The eevee went through and the Eric took the last few steps between him and the portal.
Before he could cross however, he heard something crack behind him, the riolu turning around, since the noise was extremely familiar and weird. When he turned around he saw a cloaked bipedal figure staring off into the distance. "I was too late... Darkness is now gone for the time being... I will have to wait until my next chance." The riolu heard this voice in his head. The shape turned around and looked at the riolu, who recognized the watcher. - You... - He muttered. "Behind you." The creature said, before disappearing out of existance, a loud crack following him. He shook his head a few times before turning around... only to find himself looking at a winged, purple eyed umbreon. - Going somewhere? - He asked.
Through the portal, he heard Elly scream as Blake attacked him out of nowhere, the riolu barely managing to cross his arms in front of him and block the shadow ball, which sent him flying away towards the other end of the platform. He rolled on the ground as he landed forcefully, getting back up to his feet, looking at his enemy. He was completely intact, and he even had the giratina wings. - Don't you ever know when to give up, you fucker?! - The riolu asked, his paws glowing with aura. Blake smiled as he brought up a paw and slammed it. The section where the vortex was broke off, the whole platform where he and the umbreon were standing drifting off, suctioned by the black hole. Eric's eyes went wide open, and started to run towards the vortex, but Blake stopped him with his wing. - You... and I... have something to settle, Eric. - The umbreon said.
Eric jumped back in case Blake attacked, assuming a battle stance. - It's over, Blake! You master's dead! You lost! - The riolu shouted. The umbreon chuckled. - Me? Lose? - The umbreon questioned, chuckling. - Oh Eric, you are being delusional... if anyone here has lost something, it's definitely you. I have been doing nothing but win battles continuously, and yes, although I may have lost this one... the war was over right when it began. - Blake said, confusing the riolu. - Explain yourself! - He demanded, the eeveelution laughing. - Is it really necessary? Oh well... Let me explain then... They say that, in a war, neither side wins, it's just that one of the sides loses more than the other... well let me tell you Eric, that I have lost nothing in this war. NOTHING. Thus, I am the clear victor! - He said, proclaiming himself a winner as if it was something to be proud of.
- The hell you are! The only thing you've managed to do is ruin your lives, you bastard! You even ruined yours! - Eric shouted, summoning his staff of light and pointing at the umbreon, who laughed again. - Ruin my life? Oh please... I have accomplished all I desired in this life. Well... all but one thing... - He stared at the riolu, showing him his fangs. - Seeing Elly cry in front of your dead body! - He shouted, summoning a psychic blade and spreading his wings. - And I swear on my name, that before I draw my last breath... I shall drink your blood and show your severed head to my daughter! Only when I see her lose all the will to live, only then will I finally leave this world! - He declared. Eric's anger reached his peak. - YOU SICK FUCK! - He howled out, his other paw glowing with an aura sphere. Both of the pokemon looked at eachother for a few seconds, before they both crouched down, ready to jump at eachother.
- LET'S END THIS! - They shouted in unison.
(The Final Antasma Battle – Mario & Luigi: Dream Team)
They both roared out in unison as they charged, Eric releasing his aura sphere, which Blake cut right through, their weapons clashing briefly before they were pushed away from eachother from the sheer strength of their clash. Blake's eyes glowed as six black spheres appeared around him, all of them flying towards Eric, who spun his staff, deflecting all of them in random directions, dashing to the left as he retaliated with a batch of shadow spheres, which homed against Blake. He teleported and then reappeared repeatedly, dodging every single sphere by an instant, before appearing right before Eric and swinging his sword. Eric slid under it, jumping up from the ground and twisting around, trying to hit Blake with the back end of his staff. The umbreon dodged the hit, and then began struggling against the riolu once more as the jackal charged him again.
- Why... Do you still fight?! - Eric asked the eeveelution, who smiled, pushing back against the riolu. - Because I want to see you... DEAD! - He shouted, pushing away Eric, swinging his sword at the riolu repeatedly as the fighting type pokemon blocked all the swings with his staff, spinning it around as he did so. - Just thinking about how my daughter will cry when she sees your mutilated and bloody corpse makes me happy! - He shouted, suddenly jumping forward and biting the riolu's left paw. Eric howled in anger and slight pain as he slammed his paw against the ground, the umbreon breaking away, backing off before jumping in again. - Now tell me... Why do you fight?! - He asked the fighting type this time, pushing the riolu against the edge. - Because I want you to pay, Blake! Pay for all you've done, avenge my friends and protect my future! I want to live my life... a life without you!- The riolu answered, his own words motivating him to strike back, parrying a swing of the umbreon's sword and hitting him square in the muzzle with his staff, staggering him briefly before grabbing his staff with both of his paws and sending the umbreon away into the abyss.
He flapped his wings as he recovered, flying back down towards Eric. - Live life, you say?! Why, I have never heard of anything so... foolish! - He shouted, crashing on the ground and pushing the riolu away with a psychic blast, then breathed in and let out a breath of fire. Eric responded by shooting water out of his left paw, both of the streams colliding. The riolu then reared back his right paw and hurled his light staff at Blake, the aura weapon blowing up and blinding him momentarily. The riolu dashed in, dragging a fist across the ground before slamming it against Blake's chin, sending him up into the air. He jumped up, punching Blake's stomach repeatedly before kicking him down towards the ground, using his water rope to get down faster and try to finish it with a shadow punch. He missed however, as Blake rolled out of the way, getting back up and slamming both of his backlegs against the riolu's face, making him fall backwards, rolling.
- I have learned from your patterns, riolu! - He shouted, giving out the fact that he now knew some of Eric's tricks. The aforementioned pokemon got back up, his foe teleporting. Eric smiled, turning around and throwing a kick behind him just as the umbreon materialized, sending him towards a column, breaking it in half. - You're not the only one! - Eric exclaimed, putting both of his paws in front of him. Blake got up, roaring out and blasting away all the rock fragments of the collum. One of them flew towards Eric, who kicked it away, then teased the umbreon with his left paw. - Come on! - He shouted. The umbreon grinned as he dashed towards Eric, his wings spread, the edges shining. He lunged at him with a claw, Eric taking a quick step backwards, the umbreon's left wing almost hitting him. Blake followed with his right claw, spinning around and trying to kick the riolu again, both of the attacks failing. He then jumped up, flipping over the fighting type, who followed him with his eyes and landed behind him, the riolu facing his foe almost the instant he landed. His left wing swung at Eric, and the jackal grabbed the side that wasn't shining, using his strength to lift him off the ground and slam him against the floor behind him, stomping his tail and pulling from the wing to try and rip it off.
However, the wing broke apart, instead becoming those dreaded tentacles, which grabbed his arm and threw him away towards the abyss, the riolu shouting in surprise. He took a quick look around and saw fragments of ground floating a few meters on top of him. He smiled as he used his water rope to get up there, gravity changing as he stood on the new piece of ground. Not before long however, Blake jumped up there, swinging his blade and slicing the stone in half, forcing Eric to jump towards another one. In midair, the riolu used his wind magic to sharpen his claws and swung at the umbreon, slashing his side, but the umbreon's tentacles shot forward, scratching his right arm, which he had swung at the eeveelution. They both landed on opposite rocks, tons of stones floating around them, forced to jump to approach eachother.
- But tell me this, Eric... who do you insist on living a life without a destiny?! Why do you try to waste your time?! - Blake shouted, lifting three rocks and hurling them at the riolu. He punched the first two out of the air, then grabbed the last one and threw it back at the dark type pokemon. He used his water rope to stick to the back of the stone and flew right towards Blake. When the umbreon slashed the stone, Eric was right behind it, his shining claws ready to cut him to bits. The dark eon denied this by bringing up his sword again, stopping the riolu in midair. - What do you mean "Waste my time"?! Life isn't a waste of time! - He shouted. Blake pushed him away, growling. However, they were both interrupted as a chunk of the castle's tower flew towards him, crashing against the rock they were standing on. The riolu jumped in time, going in through a window, whilst Blake was hit by the large stone building, roaring out as he was carried away. Eric looked behind him, the black hole sucking the tower towards it, and in front of him, which was actually down, was the first platform, and near it the vortex. He made a mad dash down the wall of the tower as he raced for the bottom.
However, cracks appeared all over the whole thing, and it broke into pieces as Blake burst right through it. Eric jumped from piece to piece as Blake threw countless black balls of energy. - Life is a waster of time, you fool! Tell me, what is there to life that you are willing to give up your life to protect?! - Blake asked. - Everything! Life is filled with wonderful things, Blake. Sadly, you just don't see any of them! - He shouted, jumping towards the eeveelution with a shadow punch, although it missed because of the umbreon's barrier. - Is that so?! - He asked, roaring out as he pushed him back to another piece still falling down towards the first platform as Eric jumped between fragments. - Or is it that you try your hardest to deny that life is filled with pain and suffering?! Why do you try to enjoy something that only brings you more and more sadness! Life is nothing but a valley of tears in the which all that don't have a destiny drown! - Blake exclaimed.
- But we all have a destiny Blake! We all choose what to do with out lives! - Eric responded, destroying a fragment that was flying towards him with an aura sphere, jumping directly up and flipping around as he landed on the next fragment. - Are you going to tell me that one's destiny in life is to live it?! Then what does one with such a fate then?! From your point of view, life is nothing else but eating, growing and rutting! - The umbreon shouted. - Where is the fun in that?! - He asked, destroying hurling the last platform behind him. Eric jumped towards it, smashing it to bits with a shadow punch, flying through it and spinning around, slamming his fist against a surprised Blake, sending him crashing against the platform below. Eric landed a few meters away from him, hitting the ground hard, getting back up quickly, his whole body aching from the fall. Blake was also in a bad shape, but neither of them was about to give up.
Eric brought out his light staff. - And what about feelings Blake? - He asked, rushing towards his enemy as swinging his weapon, which met against the psychic blade of the umbreon. - Nothing but a mere fabrication of our minds! There is never true love! It is just as fake as that joy of creation! What good is it to create anything when you know that it will be destroyed in the end?! The only true thing about life is death! Why suffer through life, knowing that you are going to die... - He pushed back against Eric. - WHEN YOU CAN JUST PUT AN EARLY END TO IT! - He shouted. Eric screamed and struggled against Blake. - Because life is filled with many beautiful things! There may be bad things as well, but in the end, life is worth living through! It doesn't matter if what we create is destroyed! What matters is what we do! What we enjoy! - He shouted, cracks appearing on Blake's psychic blade.
The riolu stomped on the ground, pushing through the blade as it broke, jumping up as Blake was staggered by his weapon's destruction. - The true meaning of life... IS TO ENJOY IT NO MATTER WHAT! - The riolu roared as he fell back down, his staff right in front of him as he brought it down on Blake's forehead, the weapon going right through the life gem encrusted in his forehead.
(Stop the music)
Time halted. Eric letting go of his weapon and jumping off the umbreon, who stood there, frozen in place. He began moving his head around as he moaned in pain, his moans quickly amplifying as they turned into roars, then screams, and then screeches as light came out of the gem. The staff vanished, the umbreon holding the sides of his head with his paws before he howled out, dark energy escaping through the hole in his head, covering everything and temporarily blocking the riolu's view. He covered himself as the energy flew past him. He could feel all the anger, pain and sadness that had been stored inside of the gem, all of it finally being released as more and more cracks appeared on it. Until it shattered. Blake screamed as the gem was disintegrated, the energy becoming more intense until it suddenly stopped.
Eric opened his eyes slowly, moving his arms away from his face as he stared at Blake. He now looked much older, his right eye bleeding, like it had been gouged out. His forehead was also bleeding, and tehre were multiple wounds on his body, a pool of blood underneath him. Even in this state, he was still standing, although his legs were shaking. - Enjoy... life? - He asked, chuckling. - I've never heard of anything so idiotic... - He said, coughing blood, the frong half of his body falling to the ground as his legs gave up. - Well... if that... is the case then... I have lived a... happy life... - He said.
Eric just looked at him, confused. He could feel his companions, who were looking from the other side of the portal, all of them looking at this scene. - I... accomplished my goal... I brought back my master, killed many pokemon... and enjoyed every second of it. - He said. The riolu simply looked at Blake, not knowing what to answer. The umbreon managed to get up. - When I said that... I was a victor... that I had never lost anything... I meant it. I never had a family. A past. Nothing. Only a goal, which I accomplished. Whilst you... you have all lost family members, friends, loved ones... while I simply stare and laugh at... how weak you are... to let these things distract you from... your destinies... - He said, wincing as he swayed left and right. - And... to top it all off... This war was over when it began... because... when I killed the first pokemon... when the last drop of blood fell to the ground... that was the moment... when I won. I killed my wife... her mother... and I ruined her life... - He smiled, his white teeth now tainted with blood. - That... is a victory for me... - He said, chuckling, trying to laugh.
Eric swallowed. - I... I don't know what to... say... I... the only thing I can do is... feel sorry for you. - He said. Blake stared at the riolu, before bursting into laughter. - You feel sorry?! For me?! - He laughed even harder. - Please, if your plan is to kill me... with laugher... then just tell me... Hahaha... - He began coughing, his whole body moving with each cough. - I feel sorry for you Blake... I truly do... Now I understand why. Why you did it. You only killed and brought suffering to others... because you didn't know any better. - The riolu concluded. The eeveelution looked at him. - You were taught to become... a puppet. An empty vessel so your master could live... and you were told to achieve this goal... by any means necessary. And by doing this... they removed each and every opportunity you had of enjoying life... - The riolu followed, the umbreon getting up, staring at the riolu with a serious look on his face. - You never knew love, nor happiness... Only could say... you never truly lived. - Eric finally said. Small particles began coming off from Blake's body, like they were ashes being carried away by the wind.
Blake smiled as he heard the riolu's last words, and muttered his own.
- Well... That's just too bad... isn't it? - He said.
And with that, the umbreon let out one last weak laugh as his body disintegrated, the black particles floating away into nothingness, returning to the darkness they had once come from. And with that. Finally, the nightmare... was over.
Eric stood there, taking deep breaths as he saw his nemesis turn into dust and disappear, feeling as if something inside of him was released, like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He closed his eyes, smiling and let out a sigh.
Everyone in treasure town felt the same way as they saw Blake disappear, Elly crying as she realized that it was finally done. This time, for real. She didn't know if she had to feel happy or sad... she just cried, and let the others decide wether her tears were of sheer joy or sadness. They all just stood there, looking, until the platform the riolu was on started shaking. They all looked, alarmed as they saw Eric turn around and dash for the portal, a smile on his face, getting ready to return to his world, with all of those he loved so much. Elly edged closer to the portal, close enough so Eric could distinguish her. The gap between the portal and the platform he was on was huge... but he knew he could make the jump... he had to! "Come on, you can do it!" She screamed into his mind. "I'm coming, Elly! I'm almost there... Almost home!" He replied.
He roared out as he went as fast as his body would let him, waiting until he was right at the edge... and then jumped. He jumped as far as he could, as high as he could and as fast as he could. Yet he was unable to make it to the other platform. Elly's heart sunk as she saw the riolu disappear out of sight as he fell down to the abyss. Everyone gasped and looked in horror, not believing what had just happened. Suddenly, however, a whip of water shot out of the portal, sticking to Kangaskhan, who was standing near the portal. She screamed in surprise and backed away, almost everyone realizing what this meant. - Come on! Help him! - Ferrus exclaimed, rushing to the whip and grabbing it, pulling with all his strength. A lot of pokemon rushed to the whip, and Elly ran to the portal, looking down. She saw Eric, hanging in that void. He looked up at her, smiling. She smiled back, tears falling from her eyes.
A loud "crack" noise was heard, and suddenly Elly was pulled away from the portal. She screamed in surprise, and then saw how the portal fluctuated... and then closed, leaving everyone in a state of shock. Elly stood there, her eyes wide open, her heart pounding, her chest hurting. Something inside of her clicked, her eyes glowing as she cried at the same time
- NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! -
It wasn't even a scream. It was a screech. So loud that it shook everyone else out of their shocked state. They were all pushed away all of a sudden, the windows on the buildings shattering and breaking as her scream lasted for ten seconds. Ten seconds where everyone felt and heard her agony and sadness, not only hurting their ears, but also their hearts. She stopped screaming as she began coughing violently, crying as snot came out of her nose, as she started to dig into the earth where the vortex was, screaming her lover's as loud as her throat let her. She dug and dug, breaking the stone path that lead through the town with her own claws, crying. She felt dizzy. Like she was going to vomit. She felt the bile go up to her throat, getting up and looking around. He had to be there. Where was he?! "Come on, show yourself! Please! Come on! Don't do this now! Eric... Eric..."
- EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERIIIIIIIIIIIIIC! - She screamed once again.
An intense flash of light blinded all of them, the eevee feeling as if she was hit with a rock to the back of her head, her vision becoming blurry. She felt something come out of her throat as she threw up, the intensity of the headache she was experiencing was simply too much for her to handle. But she endured through it. Her eats were ringing as she lifted her head, looking around as her vision cleared, the ringing finally going away. She looked around, finding all of her friends still dazed by this flash... but there was no sign of Eric. She kept on repeating the word "No" over and over again as she rocked back and forth on the dirt, crying.
She heard pokemon shouting, some of them crying just as loud as she was, but no one came over to her. She didn't want them to. She didn't care about what they were saying. It was all just noise to her. She closed her eyes, hoping it was a nightmare and she would wake up soon... but each time she closed her eyes she could see that last moment, when she had seen him fall. She had seen how his face changed from one of joy to pure terror in a matter of seconds, and the last thing he had looked at... was at her... She opened her eyes. She was still on the ground, sobbing. She closed them again. The same vision. She opened them again. Same thing. Same result. She repeated the process over and over again, each time feeling more and more desperate.
She opened them. She saw something blue. A tiny, piece of blue, standing meters away from everyone. She stood up, looking at that small dot of blue. That intense blue she loved so much, his blue scarf waving behind him. Everyone was looking at him, dumbfounded. And he was just standing there. Completely fine. He was ok.. he was alive... Alive... ALIVE!
She screamed his name once more as she rushed to him, the riolu smiling as she leaped up into the air, ready to pounce the idiot that had somehow tricked her into thinking he was dead...
Only to go right through him. Her whole world crumbled as she went through his body, quickly turning around, the riolu facing her again. And she found herself staring right through his slightly transparent body, looking at the crowd behind him. All of them as mortified as she was. She reached out for him again... It didn't touch anything. Just air. He wasn't there. He looked at her, tears coming from his eyes, the eevee shaking her head. - No... No no no no... - She muttered as she began crying once more.
(I Don't Want to Say Goodbye (remix V.2) – Pokemon Mystery Dungeon)
- It... it can't be... no... no... NO! - She screamed again. She felt something warm touch her cheek, and looked up, only to find Eric's warm smile looking down at her. - Elly... - He hesitated to say anything, as he was also crying. - It's ok... - He lied, the lie hurting both of them. She shook her head. - No... why... why did this have to happen, why... what have we done to deserve this... Why... WHY?! - She screamed, hitting her head repeatedly with her paws. Before she could do much else, she felt how Eric wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her into a hug. He hushed her, rocking her body back and forth. - Elly, please... I... I don't want to go... seeing you like this. - He told her, crying as she sobbed, her tears falling through his chest and down into the ground. She had no one to cry into this time.
The rest of treasure town didn't say anything. They just stood there, crying. Tears falling from hundreds of pairs of eyes. She looked up at Eric. - Why... just... why... - She asked between sobs. - I don't know, Elly. I don't know why. I jumped as far as I could... maybe I just wasn't strong enough... maybe it was impossible... we will never know. But what I know, Elly... is that I'm gone, and... - She shook her head, covering her ears because she didn't want to hear the next part. - And you're going to be alone... without me. - He said.. She looked at him trying to grab his fur. - Please... No... don't! Stay with me... Please, don't... go! - She said, coughing again, sniffing right before she said the last word. - But... I can't stay Elly... - He answered.
- I don't care. JUST STAY WITH ME! PLEASE! - She screamed, shaking. - I... I don't want to be alone... not again... - She muttered. Eric grabbed her chin and gently made her look up. She found herself looking at everyone in Treasure Town. Their friends. Her friends. - You're not alone, Elly. You have friends to keep you company. Friends that love you. - He said, smiling. She looked at him, shaking her head. - But... I love you... I want you... to stay with me Eric! Please... I don't want you to go! - She screamed, looking at him. He looked at her sky blue eyes, seeing how tears rained down... It made his legs give out, falling to his knees and giving her a hug. She felt some warmth, her heart skipping a beat. - I don't want to go either Elly... But I don't have a choice... - He said, looking at her. - Please... do it... - She shook her head. - Live. Live for both of us. - He told her, the eevee looked at him, something inside her heart breaking as she nodded. - I... I will... - She said, her voice barely a whisper. His ethereal tears didn't even touch her.
He pulled her in closer. - Never lose your hope to live Elly... Please... don't. And don't ever forget... - He pulled her in for a kiss, their lips connecting. She felt something warm. A tear. His tear, touch her cheek. He suddenly smelled his fur, he tasted his mouth... for the last time. - I love you... - He whispered as his body became a bunch of light orbs that flew away towards the setting sun. She rose up and ran after them, calling the riolu's name as she ran towards the edge of the sharpedo bluff. She stood on the edge as she saw something blue lying on the ground. His scarf. She fell down to the grass, looking up at the sun as she saw the last few orbs of light disappear into the sunset, looking down and grabbing his scarf, smelling it as she let out a loud wail, filled with sadness and despair.
(Stop the music)
Only the epilogue left...
Until then.
