Hey! Sorry for the short chapter. I'm a little rushed... but whatever. The point is, I'm here with another chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter 54: Eon Duo
The two figures were a little fuzzy at first. It was hard to figure out what they looked like; they didn't look like anything familiar to him.
Both of them had long necks and small heads. Their bodies were slightly more portly, but still slender and sleek. Strange, jagged protrusions sprouted from their backs. They slightly resembled wings or a tail of sorts. Their arms were small and oval in shape, and a few small claws tipped the ends of their tiny arms. Phoenix couldn't make out any specific facial features.
His mind was groggy and fuzzy. The last thing he remembered was Meow saying something about Latios and Latias, and then she touched her Soul Pendant, and then she started glowing…
He blinked hard, and the two figures standing over him became clearer.
The figure on his right seemed to be larger than the other one. The lower half of its body was blue, and it had a red triangle on its chest. Its head was ringed with blue, and a small grayish-white spot was on its forehead. It had crimson eyes that twinkled with kindness.
The figure on his left was smaller than the other one, but otherwise looked extremely similar. The lower half of its body was red, a blue triangle was on its chest, and its head was ringed in red. Its eyes were the color of amber and just as shiny.
Phoenix was utterly confused. Who were these two? They looked vaguely like dragons, but not like any dragons he had seen before.
The smaller figure laughed. "Finally, the dead rises!" Its voice was bright and bubbly, definitely female.
"About time, too. It's been almost a half hour," the other Pokémon said. This voice was deeper and more serious, but still had the light tones. It was definitely a male's voice.
The duo sounded so… familiar to him. He could've sworn that he had heard those voices somewhere before… but where?
"So… you feeling okay? Sorry if all that was a little flashy. I can't really help it. It's not my fault that it's a little bright," the red dragon said casually.
"Wait… What?" Phoenix asked. "Who are you?"
But still… he had the suspicion that he should know who these two were. They were talking about something being "flashy"… And their voices… they sounded so much like…!
"Meow! Stick!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet and yelping in surprise. "Did you—what have you done with them?!" He frantically looked around, searching for any signs of the two Meowstics… but they were gone.
Panic began to form in his chest. Where did they go? The red dragon sounded like Meow… was it possible that she had imitated Meow or something?
But wait… just before he had blacked out… Meow and Stick had said something about secretly being Pokémon called Latios and Latias… Was it possible that…?!
"Are you Latias…?" he whispered, his heart racing ever faster in his chest.
The red dragon scoffed. "Of course. Now he catches on," she grumbled.
"Sis!" the blue dragon cried indignantly. "Don't speak rudely to us!"
The red dragon cowered. "I-I'm sorry. It's just—"
"Whatever." The blue dragon regained his smile as he turned to face Phoenix. "So yeah. To answer your question, yes, she is Latias. And I'm Latios. We were formerly Meow and Stick respectively, but this is our true form. Pleased to meet you!" he said formally.
Phoenix nearly passed out again.
So these dragons were Meow and Stick. The two innocent Meowstics without a care… they never existed. It was a disguise. An illusion. The Pokémon he thought were just two Meowstics were instead two century-old dragons who could destroy Deoxys. They… were Latios and Latias.
Rather, they are Latios and Latias.
He felt… betrayed. Phoenix was getting used to feeling this way, feeling that his friends were always hiding something from him. But he never would've expected Meow and Stick to have a double life. It just… he couldn't imagine it. The fact that they had hid their true selves from him for this long… it really did feel like betrayal.
But he had to respect them. They hadn't accidentally blown their cover while they were Meowstics. If he had to keep a secret from someone, chances are he'd accidentally slip up and say something that would give him away. He never would've guessed they were secretly Latios and Latias. He just had to commend them on that.
"Oh no. Watch out, bro, I think, he's gonna pass out again," Latias chuckled.
Phoenix realized it just in time. His legs were starting to wobble beneath him, and he felt he was about to fall. The sheer shock was starting to get to him. It was just… so surprising… the two innocent Meowstics… were secretly dragons in disguise… It was too much for him to take in all at once.
"Oof…" he moaned, clutching his head with his wings. "I… feel…"
Just before he collapsed on the ground, a pair of strong hands caught him.
"Oh no you don't. You're not passing out on us again," Emile said lightly as he helped the Piplup regain his balance.
He hadn't seen Emile, Jade, and Saber wake up, but all three of his friends were up off the ground and moving. Jade was blinking rapidly and Saber was mumbling about a headache, but they were up on their feet. They didn't seem at all surprised about Latios and Latias.
At first, Phoenix thought this was a little suspicious. Why weren't they freaking out like he was? Surely they would've been surprised to see two cats turn into two dragons.
Meh… maybe they woke up before me. Yeah… then they freaked out, and now… He shrugged it off. It wasn't a really big issue to him.
"Ugh… Wow! I still can't believe that you're… you're…" Phoenix exclaimed, still breathless from their transformation.
"I know. It's a little weird at first," Latios said.
"I wouldn't be surprised at all if you still call us Meow and Stick!" Latias giggled.
"Arceus knows how much I'll be doing that…" Jade mumbled from behind Phoenix.
"Don't worry. I'm sure my sourpuss brother here will learn to appreciate that," Latias said, playfully nudging Latios. Her brother scowled and rolled his eyes, but nodded.
"It's okay if you accidentally call me Stick. Honestly, I prefer Latios, but—"
"Oh, lighten up, brother dear!" Latias interrupted. "It's just a silly name! No need to get all up in a fit!"
Latios sighed. "Yes, I know, but—never mind. And yes, sister dear, there is a need to get all up in a fit. Have you looked at what's going on here?" he said.
Saber held up his hand and cleared his throat, asking for their attention. All eyes turned to the bandaged Treecko, who began speaking at once.
"What are you talking about? Are you saying there's a need to worry? Is there something going on?" he asked.
"Yeah. And we want a straight answer for once. Not your cryptic prophetic mumbo-jumbo," Jade said. She got a nudge in the side from Emile, but Phoenix couldn't help but silently agree with her. He wanted a straight answer.
"Well… it's a long story. We might not have enough time to explain it. We need to act fast if we wanna stop this," Latios said seriously.
"Go ahead. We have time," Saber said.
"Don't forget about me, chaps."
Dr. Z was on the scene. Of course, no one could forget about the famous doctor. He had emerged from Gingerbread Inn, looking refreshed from his good nights' sleep.
"We wouldn't forget about you, doc! We might need you for this!" Latias said.
"I'll be happy to lend my knowledge for anything that you need help with," Dr. Z said, tilting his glasses proudly.
"That's good," Latios said with a smile.
"So. What's going on?" Emile prompted.
"It'll require some explaining, but—" Latias said.
"I don't really care. We've got the time," Jade said, her voice bordering on demanding.
"Just start from the very beginning. It's a good place to start," Saber said.
"Yes." Latios took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to collect his thoughts. "Well… Back when we first defeated Deoxys… we thought we would just be stopping the progression of the disease. We thought that we would prevent anyone else from getting sick. Those dead would stay dead, and those ailing would stay ailing. Only a lucky few would remain," he began.
"But it didn't turn out that way. You told us that," Phoenix said.
"Yeah," Latias agreed. "We not only stopped the progression of the disease, but we also somehow cured those sick and revived those who were dead. It was a miracle. Not possible, they said. But it was. Everyone lived on, leading normal lives as we rebuilt our region," she said.
"How, though? Miracles like that don't happen every day," Saber pressed.
"You're right. And at first, we didn't know either. We weren't complaining, of course. No one was complaining. But still… rumors were flying. Was it a gift from Arceus himself? Was it all just a bad dream? But we know now," Latios said, his eyes shining dramatically.
"Agh! Just get to the point!" Jade demanded.
But even before Latios opened his mouth, Phoenix had already reached the conclusion. He had finally connected the pieces of the puzzle, and he had a good idea of what had caused this unprecedented miracle.
"Xerneas," he whispered.
The twin dragons turned to him with a degree of curiosity on their faces. "…You're right. It was Xerneas, the legendary Pokémon that controls life itself." Latios's mouth stretched into a slight grin. "How did you find this out?"
"Well, when we were facing Deoxys, he mentioned something about Xerneas. And…" He bit his lip, considering whether or not he should tell them. He had eavesdropped on them a while ago, before they revealed their true forms. He had heard them say something about Xerneas and a Pokémon called Yveltal…
He swallowed hard. They wouldn't be angry. If anything, they would be happy about him figuring out the story. So he decided to tell them.
"I… also heard you guys talking. When you were still Meow and Stick. You said something about Xerneas, I think. Er… sorry for eavesdropping. I swear, I didn't mean to or anything—" he said slowly.
"It's okay," Latias said brightly. "Forgive and forget: that's my policy!"
"Good." Phoenix sighed in relief. "So… yeah. Is that it?"
"Why, yes," Latias said with a faint hint of satisfaction.
"Yeah. Xerneas was also ailing from Pokérus at the time. But when we defeated Deoxys, he regained his strength and was able to overcome his illness. Then, with a little help from Lord Arceus himself, he completely eradicated the disease," Latios said.
"Ever since then, no one's been sick… until now. Now… he can't save the region from Pokérus," Latias said darkly.
Phoenix sat completely still, digesting the information that had just been confirmed. So Xerneas was tied to all this. After they defeated Deoxys, he should've jumped straight into action and stopped the disease. But now… he couldn't. And Phoenix had a faint feeling why…
"Now, he is under siege. He is trapped in his domain, the Rift of Life, and he has to endure a seemingly endless battle from his foe, Yveltal. Yveltal is the opposite of life. He is destruction. Death. The very embodiment of chaos. As you can tell, he's not very nice," Latios said.
"That figures," Jade mumbled.
"So let me guess: he's been busy fighting an evil destruction creature and he hasn't had time to help us out?" Saber guessed.
Latios and Latias looked at each other, nodding appreciatively. When they turned back to Saber, they were wearing bright grins.
"That's absolutely right. You really are smart cookies, aren't you?" Latias said happily.
"Thank you. We try our best," Dr. Z said proudly.
"So… what can we do about this? Is there any way for Xerneas to win or something?" Emile asked. "I mean… I don't want to just sit here while he fights Yveltal. He could die!"
"Exactly. And that's why we need your help!" Latios said.
Phoenix sighed. Why was it always them who needed to save the world?
XxX
Looking over this again, I realize how many times someone says "shocked", "betrayed", or "couldn't believe it". Yeah... But hey, if two fuzzy cats with psychic powers suddenly turned into two dragons with psychic powers, you'd be pretty shocked too.
But I still hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to review!
