The flash of light, and the collapse of darkness.
Smoking debris and twisted metal rain from the ruined skies. The ashen downpour blends with the long-settled dust now shaken free from the yielding surfaces. The structure holds upright, but not by chance nor craftsmanship. There was easily enough power in the blast to level the weakened foundations, had it not been concentrated in the now-gaping breach above.
An errant gust. Leaden plumes momentarily part to reveal the contrasting figure of vast white, weightlessly perched above the destruction. An instant identification, not from my own knowledge.
Reshiram, the legendary dragon of Unova. A name I had never heard, yet still a name I somehow know.
Draconic wings further unfurl, as Reshiram's tail again charges with visible energy. Flames begin to effortlessly materialize in front their rightful wielder, forming a fluctuating sphere of a familiar crimson. The same power that I have somehow stolen.
Its color quickly intensifies to a burning orange, as its temperature continues to rise far beyond what I had managed to harness. I am but an insignificant thief, to be sentenced by this scorching wrath. Whatever biological consistency that remains in this body would be the first to incinerate, quickly if not instantly. Perhaps this steel would last longer, though it would all end the same. A liquefied husk of metal and ash, in which lies the physical trace of my existence.
It feels inevitable, and strangely fitting. To meet my beginning and my end in the laboratories of Plasma. Yet I am not ready to accept it. Too many fragments of thought still linger, unified only with the same unreadiness to be lost. Only one persists above the others, carrying with it an unspoken hope.
Wait.
A pause. Hesitation. Part of my attention notices that convergence of flames has gone still, while the rest fixates on Reshiram's sudden change of expression.
"You're alive."
The statement cuts through the atmosphere, carrying the rumbling inflection of his voice. Reshiram leaps from the ledge before I have the chance to respond, outswept wings doing little to soften the impact with the flooring. I manage a nod, trying to remain otherwise unmoving as he closes in around me like a predator regarding its prey. Yet I cannot help but glimpse at the halted flames above, knowing they could resume trajectory at any moment.
"What the hell."
A different gale accompanies Reshiram's sigh, sweeping through the ruins and extinguishing the remaining scattered embers. The sphere unravels into trailing energies, tracing back to their source. Reshiram circles back around to face me, his looming presence towering above me.
"Lots of interference in your thoughts. You're lucky I caught that."
I give a quick nod again. Another emotive sigh from Reshiram.
"Can you just say something?"
My thoughts and memories partially scramble for words as I consciously halt my motion, not wishing to test Reshiram's patience.
I made a choice.
I find myself looking back down anyway, perhaps hoping to see any vestige of what I once was, yet what I am greeted with is no further surprise.
I was not always like this. But I met a wanderer here, who gave me the choice to become what I am now. I may have been alive before, but I do not know if I still am. I only know that these thoughts remain mine.
"And that is the truth?"
How much of the truth do I really know? What truth can there be in an existence marked by deception and forgotten memories?
That is the truth.
I glance back up to see Reshiram shaking his head.
"The truth isn't always so clear. I knew Plasma had tricked me into sharing my power, but I did not know they would go through such measures to ensure it could be wielded."
Reshiram gestures to me, and I do not need to look back down at myself to understand what he implied about my existence.
"Yet still you chose to take it for yourself. If it's vengeance you seek to use this power for, it won't make the past any better."
No. I know it is not revenge I seek. I know this is not about myself or my past anymore, but I do not fully communicate the thought. Reshiram, having noticed my lack of response, regards me with some sort of curiosity as I make my way towards the central console. The interface appears to have been somewhat undamaged by the blast, with the previous winds partially clearing away the dust and ash flung onto it. I pause briefly, scanning the memory of its last use.
A careful sequence of switches and presses just as I remember, but it only yields a brief flash of light that quickly fades back into nothingness. Though whether by instinct or intuition, I find myself gently brushing a claw across the panel. Some internal mechanism within me hums with activity, and I sense a compatible power flow back into depleted circuits as the holographic projection manifests itself once more, continuing to persist even after I withdraw.
Reshiram wordlessly studies the image, his azure gaze switching between me and the diagrams of the other Genesect. Understanding seems to gradually come across his expression throughout the drawn-out silence, and he finally gives a single nod of his own.
Yet the silence is not broken by words. The sharp hum of charging energies slices through the atmosphere, as Reshiram's tail illuminates once more. Bright flames encircle the area in a coordinated dance, but there is a different pattern in their motion. The vortex converges around me, and its flashes of color further engulfs my vision. Some measured calmness follows the storm, seemingly calling out to its center. The sensation washes over me, and I can offer no resistance as it drags me deeper into its expanse.
All is silent again. The torrents of fire have vanished without trace. The physical surroundings stand just as they had before, as if nothing had happened. Even the recent memory that would prove otherwise seems fragmented and out of place.
What did-
"Plasma may have wronged us both, but their ranks are still human. I cannot join you if you make the choice to fight for this. But I can give you the best chance of finishing it."
Silence lingers once more, as it is my turn to find understanding. The firestorm did not just vanish into thin air. It should have returned to its original source, where it had always belonged to begin with. Though however brief, I still remember the flames encircling me. Their energies were not meant to destroy, but to coalesce into something greater.
I consciously raise a claw, perhaps hoping to notice no difference from before. It moves with the same fluidity I have grown to expect, yet something controls the motion with additional restraint. A proportional inhibition, and an undeniable harbinger of this new power contained within.
You trust me with this.
"I thought that was obvious."
Right.
"As long as anything remains, we'll share this connection. So don't mess this up."
I should hope to trust myself, as I have done so far. But over all this time, I have only lost more of myself, relied on more to continue this flawed existence. How much is there left that can be trusted?
I let my arm fall back to my side, and absently glance away. Far above the ravaged metal, distant clouds drift in the blue skies. Nature has always carried on outside, despite everything that had been done inside these walls to transgress it. There is nothing left here for me, and soon this place will be among the others abandoned in the past.
Yet I hesitate with the thought of the past. Something is incomplete. I feel Reshiram's eyes follow me as I start walking, but not to leave just yet. I pass by the powerless hull of the separated cannon without a second glance, its faded coloration a stark contrast with the artificial white and crimson that now marks my being. It still bears a reminder, but it is one I am satisfied with leaving behind.
I come to a stop not much further away. Among other scrap and refuse a lone pouch lies below, the delicacy of its woven material now further marred with charred fringes. Without a moment of hesitation, I kneel and recover it from the cold flooring. I should have never allowed it to be so gracelessly cast down, for it carries with it more meaning than I could hope to understand. I continue to carefully turn its fabric within my claws, each time studying a different part of it. Each brings another memory, each reminiscent of a hardly distant past.
I will not forget what I once was.
A tentative shift of focus, and a faint mechanism whirs to reveal a small compartment in my torso. I place the pouch within as gently as I can, taking one last glance before it seals back away. I could not have known that the past would bring me here. But for now, for once, I know where I must go next.
The hologram still flickers in the center, just as the exact image presents itself in memory. The detail now required is not to be found in the diagrams, but in a simple line of text. Two precise numbers, pinpointing the location of the project. I look back to Reshiram, and give a slow, final nod. The most sincere gesture I can manage, one of my gratitude and perhaps one of farewell. Part of me suspects that we might see each other again, assuming this choice would allow both my success and survival. But now is not the time for either thought. There will be more than enough time to think during the countless steps of this next path.
Yet Reshiram responds by rising to his full impressive stature, outstretching his vast wings. A bright glow again emerges from his tail, but it is accompanied this time by a deep, idle rumbling. No flames seem to materialize, despite the amplified energies surrounding his figure. My confusion must have been obvious, for I see the corners of Reshiram's maw raise into a slight smile.
"You weren't actually planning on walking all that distance, were you?"
