- Neojourney -
.:.11.:.
The Beginning of the End
"Just one more fight
About a lot of things
And I will give up everything
To be on my own again
Free again."
--My Way-- by Limp Bizkit
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I flew into a fog so thick and so cold that I almost stopped flying. It was so cold that it hurt and it nearly took my breath away, but I made it in. I couldn't feel Mew or Entei's power anymore and I realized what they said about why none of the powerful Pokemon could fight in here. They would've been stripped of their powers totally. My power, however, was still at maximum.Though I had no clue of 'where' I was going, some part of me knew when to stop flying straight, and to land. It had to be the Dark Charizards' instinct. The fog subsided as I touched down on crystal tiles, each one about six feet long and four feet wide. I cocked my head to get a better look, but the tiles were frosted. I was in a hallway, something that would have looked midevial if the walls were any color other than the white they were.
Choosing to walk, to conserve energy, I made my way down the hall. There were so many tiles. The fog trailed behind me, a seemingly living thing in itself and it totally creeped me out. At one point, I spun around and blasted a blue Flamethrower at it, only to be dismayed as the fog separated to let the Flamethrower pass by it, and then close up over it. I could see dark tendrils of power intertwined within it.
That was so not a comforting thing to see, but it wasn't the worst part of it. The worst part was the hissing sound. At first I thought it was the blood rushing through my ears, because my heart was pounding so fast by this point, but it was a messed up whispering. I couldn't make out the words, it was like listening to a cd played backwards. I wasn't sure where it was coming from either, until it dawned on me that it was from the fog itself. It was alive.
It whirled in a mix of blacks, greys, and blues, seething in itself. Then it rushed at me. I ran, trying so hard to outrun it, trying to save my energy by not flying, but it was to no avail, and it caught me. The fog swept over my legs, torso, wings, neck...then it swept over my head, engulfing me within it. Reflexively, I held my breath, but it was an unnecessary thing to do. I could still breathe, but the air was cold, so icy cold, and then something else happened. There was suddenly no gravity for me. I floated within the fog and it carried me, racing, towards some unknown destination.
Final destination.
Then the moving sensation stopped and the fog receeded, the whispering was fading, normal gravity returned, and I was alone. I was in a large circular room that had no ceiling. The tiled floor beneath me was smooth and my claws clicked on it as I walked into the room further, my attention rivited on the hole in the very center of the room. The tile ended about fifty feet from the perfect circle; the remaining floor was smooth, almost cement-like looking. Dark fog seeped over the edges of the hole and I could sense the evil within it. The part of me that was the Dark Charizard was afraid of it.
Walking towards it was getting difficult, the gravity increasing with each step, but I had to make it. I had no conceivable idea of how, but I had to destroy it and save everyone, even though I still had no idea where they were being held at. That was worrying me. Gary...
Suddenly I stumbled and the intense gravity slammed me to the tiled floor. I saw stars for a moment and I struggled to hold a hand to my head...a...a hand?
"Cirrus, are you okay?"
GARY!!
My gravity problems were suddenly gone. The stones beneath my knees were rough and Gary helped me to my feet. I looked around, confused, to see Viridian City all around me. The fountain was behind me, its cool spray refreshing against my sun heated skin. Gary was looking at me with a twinkle in his eyes, the sun highlighting his hair with gold.
"You okay, sunshine?" His voice was edged with amusement.
"Yeah, I..it's just that this is so wierd.." I shivered, the black top and shorts not all that warming for me.
"Don't worry about the Pokedemon," his hands rubbed my bare shoulders, pulling me to him in an embrace. I wrapped my arms around his waist, feeling the strength in him. "It won't hurt anyone, especially since they closed the portal."
"Who's they?" I asked, not lifting my head from his chest. The black tanktop he was wearing was so soft beneath my cheek. I sighed in contentment.
"Does it matter? Really?"
"Yes."
He hugged me, "Entei and Mew closed the portal before you woke up this morning. That was all just a bad dream, babe."
Warm, I was so warm. Pidgeys chirped in the trees around us and the tinkling sound of the fountain wasn't loud enough to break the moment. Children laughed gently in the streets beyond. It was all so perfect.
He pulled away from me, wiping a tear I hadn't known had fallen, and brushed a silky strand of blond hair behind my ear. "I don't want you to cry over anything anymore." He looked me straight in the eyes and had me sit on the edge of the fountain. "I love you, Cirrus, like I've never loved anyone in my whole life. I want to travel to Johto with you, let you forget all of your troubles. I want to give you the world...whatever you want, I'll give it to you if you'll just stay with me."
"Gary, I..." I tried to talk, but he hushed me, brushing a single red rose against my lips. The velvety texture and the heedy sent was heavenly. I held it, looking up at him, looking at the odd look on his face.
In one smooth, practiced motion, Gary was on one knee, holding out a small black velvet box. My heart lept and I couldn't talk...what was happening?
"Cirrus Blaine, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" The words were not rushed, but said with grace. The large diamond sparkled in the sunlight, twinkling like a star. It was so perfect.
...Too perfect...
Dropping the rose on the fountain's ledge, I stood up, backing away from him, "And will you love me always, Gary Oak?"
Confusion shone in his eyes, "Yes, of course. Without question."
"No, then...I can't, not this. This is too perfect." My voice cracked with emotion. He looked so real. "You're too perfect, because you aren't real..None of this is."
The sun vanished, the ring, the fountain, the Pidgeys, the children, all vanished in one heartbeat. For a second longer, I was myself and it was long enough to whisper, "I love you, too."
Gary cried out as he vanished, a dream not about to happen, and suddenly I was back in the room, on the ground, back in the Dark Charizards body.
"Ah, Cirrus," A male voice, low and somewhat musical, came from the dark fog that seeped from the hole. A figure rose from the hole, stepping on the smooth floor that surrounded the lip of the hole. It wasn't the Pokedemon I knew, this one was different...and heartbreakingly beautiful.
His hair glimmered platnium, just brushing his shoulders. His outfit was all black: black pants, black vest, black shoes. His face was beautifully sculpted, his mouth had an arrogant twist I'd only seen on Gary, and his eyes were a luminous blue shade I've never seen.
"You seem...out of words. Cat got your tongue?" Though the words were mocking, the voice that said them was so melodious, they didn't register as cruelly as they should have. "You won't win, you know. We will win and your world will be ours...and we're not talking about just the Pokemon world."
That snapped me out of my stupour. "You gonna make me fight you?" I wasn't surprised that I could talk, minus the telepathy. This was a different dimension, after all.
"I think it could be fun. You can't beat me in my own backyard, as it were."
The energy wasn't just seeping from the hole to him, he was made of energy. I probably wouldn't have a good chance against him. Yup, I was sure he'd beat me good, but I'd give it everything I had.
"You don't look like you have enough motivation. After all, you're playing for a lot here. What say we set the rules." He grinned. "I promise to play by them."
"Really? You don't look like the rule playing kind of guy." I spat out. "I wouldn't trust you no matter what."
"No matter what?" He made a gesture with his right hand, as if pulling something up. "What about this for motivation?"
I looked behind me, only to see one of the floor tiles lifting up...revealing that it was actually a crystal box that held something. What?
"Not something, my dear, rather, someone!" He laughed, "Say hello to Pokemon Master Gary Oak!"
I stiffled a gasp as the frosted surface of the crystal smoothed out to a glass-like clarity, revealing Gary. I stumbled over to him, raising a three clawed hand to the crystal's surface. The crystal was ice cold beneath my touch. Gary's eyes opened up then, smiling when he saw me, and he lifted up a hand weakly to touch mine through the crystal. For a second he held his hand up, then his eyes shut and his hand dropped as he fell unconscious.
I wanted to cry, so badly, but Charizards couldn't cry and in the end I could only growl, deep in my throat. I could see the energy then, silver in color, wrapping around the crystal Gary was in. It seeped to the hole, turned black, and vanished. I realized then that the fog had to be the energy from all the people that were taken. I didn't question how, I just knew it was.
"You feed off of other's energy?" I shook my head, disgusted. "You're just a parasite, and that's something I can squash."
He simply waved me off, as if I were a child throwing a tantrum, "Call me what you want. It doesn't matter, the outcome will be the same. We will win." The Lead Pokedemon didn't stop trying to piss me off. "You know that you are the reason why we are so strong now, don't you? Why, I suppose I should thank you for your help! The Pokedemon, #10667, that had been on that island was triggered into power by your life-essence. 10667 was actually the last Pokedemon we were sending into the Pokemon dimension. Our last ditch effort. For some reason, your energy was different...perhaps because you're from a different dimension."
The crystal with Gary in it began to sink down into the floor again. I ran after it, sinking my claws into it, trying to hold onto it. The laughing of the Pokedemon bore into me, but it was no use for me. I only dragged claw marks on the surface of the crystal, silver sparks flew with my effort, but the crystal became part of the floor again, frosting up again, hiding Gary from me.
"Seriously, though," He ran a hand through his perfect hair. "After we are done with the Pokemon world, leaving it an empty husk, we'll be after yours. Nothing could possibly stop us."
Hate raced through me and I simply stared at him, glaring but saying nothing. I concentrated on focusing the energy within me, rising it to the surface, imagining it welling out around me, and suddenly I was surrounded by a silver light. Thoughts of Gary, my Parents, the world - both worlds -, and all the people within them that depended on me. I couldn't let them down and I couldn't let these scummy creatures, these leeches, win. They wouldn't win.
"What? What is this power?" His blue eyes were wide with shock. "You?! It couldn't be, you don't have that kind of power..."
"Yes, I do." I snorted. "You can destroy this dimension, but you can never destroy what I am."
He laughed, "Thank you for giving me your permission." He looked up, his eyes glowing, and I missed seeing the ball of black energy in his hand. He threw it like a pro-pitcher and I barely had time to duck. It exploded behind me.
"That was close!" I tried my hand at egging him on. "Man! You could get a wicked heat rash from that!"
It worked. "You call that close! Try this!" He threw another one, bigger, and I felt it rake along my side, burning cold. I fell to the ground, gasping and managing to get up with a slight laugh.
"Haa, you're better than you look, pretty boy." I got up, winging into the air. A telepathic voice almost made me drop.
"Ducking would have been a good idea just then." It was Mew!! "Don't ask how, Cirrus, just know that Entei and I have friends helping us. Your idea, I believe."
Another energy ball flew past me with a roar, and I dove to dodge it. "Mew, I need help. I don't know any of the Dark Charizards' attacks other than Flamethrower. What do I do?"
A pause..."Mew?"...still nothing.
"What's the matter, human? Did your phone call break up?" The Pokedemon laughed, "Maybe she should try digital service instead of analog!"
"Or maybe she should try my way of calling," A new telepathic voice boomed around me, causing the Pokedemon to falter. It was familiar, but where Mew's telepathic voice was in my mind, this one was physically around me.
"Who...aaah!" The Pokedemon nodded, "Of course, it's the hybrid clone, Mewtwo."
I blanched, I hadn't guessed that. Duh and a half here! "Mewtwo, will you help me?"
"It would be my pleasure, Cirrus," his voice came back so strong and I could feel his presence in my mind. "And I have friends..."
"But not like I do!" The Pokedemon was changing, becoming something different. His form changed to that of a large pitch black Gyarados. But that wasn't the only thing that happened. The white fog was suddenly sucked into the room and down into the hole where it turned black. His eyes opened and I was shocked by the intensity of his hatred.
Mewtwo's presence was suddenly absent from my mind. "What have you done?"
"I pulled the plug." The voice was still chiming, but it was tainted by insanity. "And unless you defeat me, you will be mine to torture forever!"
"What about the rules? I thought you wanted to play a game."
"Rules? Sure. You make them though." The grin on his Gyarados maw was horrid. "But I will win. I have Type advantage."
Shuddering at the thought, I spoke quickly, "The first one of us to faint loses. If I win, I get to leave, you let all of the humans that you abducted free, back into the Pokemon world and you never attempt to leave this dimension ever."
"And if you lose?"
"If I lose, it is the same as if I won, but I remain here forever." Either way, the worlds and their people would be safe.
"Well, I don't see how I win anything. You're not that much of a prize." The Pokedemon looked thoughful and then smiled. "Oh the torturous things I have planned for you! What do you think of assuming the form of a Goldeen...in the middle of a desert! What fun I'll have! Sure, I agree to your rules. Since you have no idea what you're up against..."
"No, I know exactly what I'm up against. And now," I couldn't let him intimidate me. "You're going down!"
Teaser
- It's the fight of her life. Will Cirrus win or will she lose? The fight with Xanady was nothing compared to what's coming up next week.