Lots of explaining and dialogue in this chapter. But hey... at least there's a plot twist at the end to keep you excited.
Chapter 53: Secret of the Meowstics
Phoenix felt an odd sense of betrayal in him, which was odd, since these two hadn't betrayed him or made him upset. Maybe it was just the fact that they were talking about him behind his back. He wanted to scream at them for talking about him when he was gone.
But something held him back.
Maybe I'm just not getting the whole story here, Phoenix thought. I just don't understand why they're talking about all this. So I shouldn't get angry…
These thoughts extinguished the furious flame in him. He relaxed. Meow and Stick were his friends. If he asked kindly enough, maybe they would reveal what they were talking about. Even if it wasn't his business…
"Hey, guys!" he cried, running up to the duo with a smile.
Meow and Stick turned around, bright smiles on their faces as well. Beyond their grins and brightness, however, Phoenix could see surprise and even fear in their eyes. There was something restraining about their sunny grins.
"Phoenix!" Meow said giddily as she ran up to meet him. "Oh, Phoenix! How's it going? Long time no see!" she said.
"It's going… good," he said. He was only telling a half-lie; he was better than he was yesterday, but he was still not fully recovered. It would be a long time before that happened. "Sorry, I'm just… sleepy." He even faked a yawn.
Meow and Stick, however, didn't seem convinced by this flimsy cover story. Their eyes widened in concern and their mouths twisted into frowns.
"Oh? It seems that there's something bothering you… You can tell us anything. We're your friends," Stick said gently.
Phoenix paused, the gears in his brain whirring into action. He began to think about whether or not he should tell them about Cindy's disappearance. On one hand, it would be nice to get it off his chest. And Meow and Stick were his friends; he could trust them with pretty much anything.
But on the other hand, he didn't want to tell them. They weren't as close as Emile and Jade and Saber were, and telling them would be like trusting his information to Team Chompy. He didn't know Meow and Stick; for all he knew, they could just be spies for some criminal organization or something else.
He turned to his friends and tried to hide the anxiety on his face. He chuckled nervously and smiled, his hands beginning to sweat and his heart beginning to race.
Saber smiled encouragingly. Jade sat forward, sensing a revelation. Emile simply mouthed one word: "Cindy?"
Phoenix had been so busy thinking about his plan, and he hadn't noticed that Meow and Stick had started to talk amongst themselves as well. Phoenix couldn't catch their words; they were whispering and seemed to be talking very fast.
"You should do it. That way, we'll all know," Emile said simply.
Saber tilted his head in confusion. "What are you talking about? Who'll know what?"
Jade sighed. "I knew it. You guys are keeping secrets from us, aren't you?!" she growled.
"Look, once I tell you, you'll understand why I couldn't tell you! It would just be too much for me to bear…" Phoenix could feel tears rising up behind his eyes, but he shook his head, sending them away. He couldn't break down now. He had finally swallowed his pride and was about to tell them. He wouldn't break down.
"You can do it. I know you can," Emile encouraged.
Phoenix took a deep breath and clenched his wings into fists, trying to slow his breathing and compose himself. He would do this. He had to. He couldn't put this off any longer. Even if he was telling this to near-complete strangers, he had to do this.
He took one more deep breath and opened his eyes. He would do it. He would do this…
"It's… a long story. I-I wish I could just keep it to myself, but I need to get it off my chest. You need to know anyway. Ignorance is never bliss…" he said.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Emile nodding encouragingly.
Meow and Stick stared at him, their large eyes shining ceaselessly. He wasn't even sure if they had blinked since he had seen them.
He forced himself to look right into Meow's eyes… and that's when it occurred to him.
Something was… different about Meow. He knew there was something different about her.
He began scanning her body, looking for the detail that had triggered this thought. She seemed to be about the same height, so she hadn't grown any taller. She didn't have any injuries that he could see. Nothing was bandaged or cut or bleeding, so she hadn't been in a fight recently.
Her fur was still white and blue, just like the last time he had seen her…
But wait… The last time I saw these guys… yeah, that was the day Team Chompy rebelled. But before that…! No way!
Phoenix's head snapped up as he inhaled sharply. That was the difference he had spotted!
"Pokérus! Last time I saw you… Stick had come up to us and said you were sick! And I saw you; you had Pokérus! You were blotchy and swelling up and—but now! I can't see any sign of it! You've been cured!" he blurted.
The entire group was clearly confused by this realization. Emile grunted in confusion and Jade said "Did I miss something?" Saber gasped and put a finger in the air, but a moment later, he sighed and put it down.
"No, really! I remember! The day we left Center City, Stick came up to us and told us you were sick! And we saw you! You were all blotchy and… ugh!" Phoenix shuddered at the mere thought of Meow's blistering body. "Look, I remember you were sick. I think you ate a berry… maybe Team Chompy spiked it? And then you were sick. So why are you normal now?"
His heart hammered faster as he waited for the answer. If she had been cured, did that mean that everyone else had been, too? Would he go home to a bright and festive Center City bustling with Pokémon? Would everything be truly back to normal?
Phoenix tried not to get his hopes up. He didn't want to be disappointed if that wasn't the case. It was hard not to hope, however. Hope was a powerful weapon that could restore someone… or destroy someone.
And it seemed as if it was about to destroy him again as Meow opened her mouth…
"I guess we shouldn't be hiding this from you any more."
Phoenix faltered, stunned at the words coming from her small mouth.
What was she saying? Was she hiding a secret from them or something? Actually, no… it wasn't just her. She had said "we"… Did that mean Stick was also in on this? Were the two members of Team Psykitties hiding a dark secret from them?
Phoenix's instincts kicked into overdrive. Whenever someone said something that sounded like that, he assumed they were secretly against him and they were about to reveal their true selves. Then they'd fight him and run away, leaving him dazed, shocked, and hurt.
That was what happened with Team Chompy. It felt like yesterday that Electivire had pinned him to the ground and knocked the wind out of him. They had revealed their ugly side out of nowhere, and he felt that this was what was going to happen with the Meowstics in front of him.
"What do you mean?!" he asked warily.
"In your own words, it's kind of hard to explain…" Stick said.
"Do you know the legend of Latios and Latias?" Meow asked.
What did this mean? Only a few minutes ago, they were talking about Pokérus, and now they were talking about Latios and Latias? These two were all over the place. Of course, he already knew about the legend of Latios and Latias. Katie had told them about it a while ago. But why was it coming up now?
"Yeah," Phoenix said.
Emile, and Jade, however, began shaking their head profusely.
"Who are they?" Emile asked.
"Are they Pokémon?" Jade asked.
"Yes. They are Pokémon, but they have a long history attached to them," Stick said.
"So they have a backstory?" Emile asked.
The duo gave a nod. "Precisely. Only a certain few Pokémon know this story. We are blessed to be one of the few who know of it." With a hint of a smile, the two launched into an explanation.
"Well, several centuries ago, two human children, a boy and a girl, got lost in a forest. After a few days, the children died. Their parents were devastated," Meow began.
"They felt that the children hadn't lived long enough, so they prayed that they would be reborn somewhere," Stick continued.
"In a far-off land, a Pokémon called Jirachi heard their honest pleas. And so Jirachi used his powers to reincarnate the children as Pokémon. And thus, Latios and Latias came to be," Meow continued.
"However, that isn't the end of the story. When they were brought into this world, everything was in chaos. There was a mysterious and deadly disease coursing through this world. So many Pokémon were dying, more and more every day. It was like the very world was coming to an end…" Stick continued darkly.
"Yes. Everywhere, Pokémon were breaking out into disease. In fact… the symptoms of this disease were very similar to the recent outbreak. You'd break out into green and purple blotches, your eyes would swell shut, your tongue would swell to a great size, your energy would be drained… And then, you would just… die…" Meow said sadly.
"No one knew what had caused this ailment… but as Latios and Latias poked around, they discovered that Deoxys was the cause of the disease," Stick said.
"Whoa whoa whoa. Hold up here. So you're saying… all this has happened before?" Saber interrupted.
"Yeah. It's a little hard to believe," Jade admitted.
"I assure you, we're telling you the honest truth," Meow said.
"But… how did you know all this?" Saber asked.
The two Meowstics ignored him and continued their tale. Phoenix listened intently; even though he was still uncertain about this situation, he felt that he was on the verge of a revelation.
"Latios and Latias were scared. Every day, their friends contracted the illness. Every day, they had to see them slowly fade away. Every day, more and more lives were lost in front of them… but they were immune. Somehow, they weren't affected by Pokérus as others were," Meow said.
"But why was this so?" Stick asked dramatically.
"They were humans," Phoenix blurted out suddenly.
Meow looked at him with a strange look. It seemed to be annoyance mixed with surprise, but he could see something else in her eyes. Was it admiration?
"I mean… It's the reason they were immune. Just as Cindy, Saber, and Emile are. I don't know how, but since they were once humans, they have an immunity to Pokérus. And us… If we're in the company of human-turned-Pokémon, that gives us an immunity too," he said.
"Yes. They had an immunity to Pokérus, which proved extremely helpful in the time to come," Stick said.
"They weren't slowed down by Pokérus, so they had the strength to defeat Deoxys, who was the source of the disease. It was a long battle, and Latias almost died, but eventually, the brother and sister triumphed. Pokérus was stopped," Meow said.
Phoenix nodded, knowing the story of Latios and Latias by now. But there was still one thing he was confused about. "Yeah. But after that…"
"After the battle, a peculiar thing happened. Not only did Pokérus stop spreading, but everyone who had it was cured. Even those who had succumbed to the disease had come back to life. It was a miracle, a total victory for Latios and Latias," Stick said.
"Yes, but why did that happen?" Phoenix asked.
"Exactly. I mean, I've been following everything that had happened up to this point, but now that you've thrown this in, I'm starting to get confused. Is it even possible to bring the dead back to life?" Emile asked.
"In a way," Meow said elusively.
Phoenix inwardly cursed. Why couldn't he get a straight answer from these two? Why did they have to be so infuriating and confusing?
"Look, just get to the point. You were saying something about not wanting to keep a secret from us? Then you went off on a tangent about something that happened centuries ago," he demanded.
"Oh, Phoenix… I'm sorry if we confused you. The thing is… you need to know this. It may seem like legend and lore, but I assure you, it's true," Stick said.
"Sure," Jade grumbled sarcastically.
The two decided to ignore her. Their mysterious smiles grew wider.
"As for why they returned… we'll get to that later. We really should get straight to the point," Stick said mischievously.
Phoenix tensed. This could be potentially problematic. They seemed to be so shifty, so elusive, that he was almost certain they were hiding a dark secret from them. He clenched his wings into fists and shifted uncertainly, bracing himself for a possible fight.
But it turns out Meow and Stick weren't interested in fighting. They still weren't finished with their story.
"Latios and Latias were very powerful Pokémon. They were twin dragons, so they already had an awesome offensive advantage. They had psychic powers for cracking through tough defenses. They were quite the force to be reckoned with," Meow said.
"They also had a few… other abilities. For example, Latios could fly faster than a jet plane, so he could evade attacks easily. And Latias could turn invisible by refracting light off her body," Stick said.
"And both of them could take the shape of another Pokémon… or even a human. They were very powerful…" Meow said, her smile growing even wider.
Phoenix had a very uncertain feeling about where this was going…
"But then what happened to them?" he asked.
"Yeah. Did they die, or did they fade away? Or did they go back to the human world?" Emile asked.
"It seems unlikely that Pokémon that powerful could just… die," Saber reasoned.
"You're right. It was unlikely that these Pokémon could die. That's why they're still alive to this day," Stick replied.
Phoenix sighed. This was starting to get very annoying. Why wouldn't they just cut to the chase? If they were bad guys, why didn't they just admit it already? Why were they taking their time to recount legends and lore?
Unless…
"No one knew where they went, but we can tell you that they are still alive," Stick said.
"In fact… you're looking at them right now!" Meow said brightly.
It took a few minutes to process exactly what she meant by that. The seconds were punctuated by Saber's confused grunts and Emile and Jade's small musings. Phoenix couldn't figure out what she meant by that…
But when he figured it out, his heart nearly stopped.
His whole body shut down for what seemed like the millionth time that week. His arms went slack, his jaw dropped, and his small legs began to shake, threatening to give out under him. Meanwhile, his brain seemed to have halted all processes, all thoughts and plans in his head vanishing. Instead, he was only able to think about one thing clearly.
"You're looking at them right now!"
The two Meowstics in front of him had a secret identity, just as he had thought. Most of the time, they were just normal Meowstics with a pretty pendant, but in times of extreme peril… they were anything but normal.
These two… were living legends. They were Latios and Latias.
He wanted to protest. He wanted to scream "No way!" or "Prove it!" He couldn't believe it was true. These two small innocent felines couldn't be century-old dragons who had saved the world. It just wasn't possible. They couldn't be Latios and Latias. They couldn't be.
Doubt began to take over his initial shock. He couldn't believe this. These two furballs… legendary Pokémon? No way. It just wasn't possible. It simply wasn't possible.
"No," he said at last. "I don't believe you."
"Same here. I mean, no offense, but you two… you look nothing like awesome legendary Pokémon. You just look like two Meowstics," Jade said.
"You're forgetting something… We said that they could change their appearance to look like another Pokémon, much like a Ditto. So even though we look like Meowstics, we are really Latios and Latias," Stick said.
Oh… Right. I almost forgot about that… So… is it possible that they just could be…!
"Prove it." His defiant side kicked in. "I'm a skeptical guy. I need proof. And no, I don't take someone's word alone as proof. So if you really are Latios and Latias, prove it."
Meow and Stick seemed absolutely pleased to take on a challenge. They smiled brightly, ignoring Phoenix's uncertain stare.
"Oh, you want proof? We'll be glad to give you all the proof you need!" Meow said simply.
"Great. Show me," he insisted.
"Very well. Just… give me a minute."
Meow grabbed the small pendant on her neck, cradling it in her tiny hands. It was a Soul Pendant: a very pretty dark blue gem attached to a rope. It sparkled like the night sky, with many tiny white sparkles dotting the round gem. It was quite pretty, but when it was cupped in Meow's hands, it seemed to take on a luminous quality.
With a gasp, Phoenix realized that it wasn't just his imagination. The Soul Pendant really was glowing. The specks of white shone brighter and brighter, eventually turning into tiny pinpricks of light that stabbed at his vision. The glow expanded to the rest of the gem, the dark blues swirling together as it shone brighter and brighter.
Meow and Stick were enveloped in the ever-expanding light, their feline forms encased in blue matter. Their bodies began shifting, growing taller and thinner with every passing second. Strange protrusions sprouted on their backs, and their legs slowly vanished, leaving them standing on nothing.
Phoenix only saw their shifting bodies for a brief second, however. There was a flash of bright light, a crashing sound like an explosion, and Phoenix fell down, unable to stay conscious.
XxX
"Wake up, sleepyhead!"
The playful voice invaded Phoenix's eardrums, slowly bringing him out of unconsciousness. The feminine voice sounded familiar, but he was too frazzled to place the speaker.
"Nnrgh… Five more minutes?" he moaned sleepily. He wasn't ready to awaken from his slumber. He felt as if his eyes had been burned out of his head, and his brain ached with every pulse of his heart. He was in a miserable state.
"C'mon, Phoenix! Don't stay sleeping forever!" the voice chided.
"You wanted proof? Well, here's some proof for you!" This voice was different; a low male's voice. It still sounded familiar, and after a moment's consideration, he finally managed to place the voice. Stick. The friendly Meowstic.
And that sweet, bubbly female… Meow!
Everything came flooding back to him all at once, giving him a stabbing headache. Only a few minutes ago, he had woken up at the Gingerbread Inn, ready to start another day of exploring. Then he ran into Meow and Stick, and they started saying all this nonsense about Latios and Latias, and…!
He opened his eyes and was met with a very strange sight indeed.
XxX
Agh. I can't stop with the cliffhangers. Just know that Meow and Stick are secretly Latios and Latias. Yeah. Surprise!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to review!
