So it turns out I didn't have the drive to continue The Death of rather, that idea was driven out of my mind by a new one I got after playing Cult of the Lamb for an hour. I cobbled together an outline, and, combined with the realization that I have more free time than I realize, I decided that I could begin writing this story.
I hope you guys will let me know what you think of this idea. I do have the general plot figured out, but if you ever want to create a character and PM it to me (either here or on Discord at Lucas the Lion#2967), feel free to do so. Enjoy!
Current music: Temple of the Sun - NIIC the Singing Dog
It started out like an ordinary night. Perhaps I was on edge a little more than I should have been, perhaps something just didn't feel quite right.
Make no mistake about it, though: Not once did it occur to me that it would become the worst night of my life. The last evening had been the final one during which I'd experience anything remotely familiar. My life would change forever, for better or worse.
I do not know how long I slept. At some point, perhaps towards the early hours of the morning, I was rudely awoken by an alarm.
When I say "alarm", you're probably picturing an alarm clock like the ones many people use to wake up at a decent hour. Well, you'd be wrong. To this day, I wish that was what it had been, because it would have saved me so much pain in the long run.
The sirens blared powerfully, so much so that it felt like someone was taking a morning star to my ear canals. I felt tempted to scream, but it would have only been drowned out by the horror of it all.
What's going on? Was there a fire somewhere?
Maybe it was just a dream. I'd close my eyes again and awaken to the knowledge that there had not been a true emergency, just a horrible nightmare that I'd never have to think about again.
But that didn't happen. Instead, my surroundings only felt more realistic with each passing second.
"Altai! Are you awake?"
My mother called out to me in a tone reminiscent of times she'd yelled at me to come inside due to an approaching storm. It might have been happening less often as I grew older and knew how to recognize the signs that something was wrong in the atmosphere, but the knowledge never left me.
"Five more minutes, Mom" I muttered, quietly enough that there's no way she could hear me. I just wanted a bit more time to defer the cold reality of what was happening outside my door.
"I can't grant you that, son!" my dad yelled at me. "In fact, you'd better run for your life! All of us must!"
Of course they heard me. It was easy enough to forget this when you were an Eevee yourself, but Pokémon were known for their extraordinary senses, particularly the sense of sound. Even amidst the sirens, I was more than capable of understanding them, and vice versa.
I had another question, too: If the situation was so urgent, why were my parents still within the field of hearing? Why weren't they running for their lives without me?
Yes, they were my parents, but I was eighteen. There was no need for them to be what some might call "helicopter parents" and watch my every move like Braviary.
Nonetheless, it was in my best interest to find out what the hell all this commotion was. The alarms sounded so powerfully that they drowned out any rational thought, let alone a modicum of conversation, but my primal instincts kicked in and got me out of bed.
I stumbled into the living room as rapidly as I could, where I was met with my parents: A Leafeon and a Jolteon, both staring at me with looks I'll never forget. For as long as I live, their expressions will be burned into my retinas.
"What's going on, guys?" I asked. I meant to sound indignant, but I guess I just couldn't stomach it when I saw the way they were looking at me, right between the eyes.
They kept staring sadly, and that's when my rage kicked in. Mind you, I wasn't angry at my parents; mainly, I was irate at the whole situation. If the sirens were sounding, there had to be a valid reason for it.
My father spoke up eventually. He sounded about a thousand years old, and not in a "weathered" way like a kind, genial Leafeon. He'd clearly seen better days, as had I.
"There's something happening," he said softly. "I didn't want to tell you about it, because I didn't want you to worry just in case it didn't come to pass."
I narrowed my eyes. "Wait, you knew this was going to happen?"
My mother shook her head. "Michael - your father - he didn't know it would happen. We merely suspected it might. And it seems our suspicions were warranted."
"I don't understand," I responded.
"You don't need to understand anything," my mom snapped. "The only thing you need to know is this: You. Must. Run."
"I don't want to run, though" I all but whined. I probably sounded rather like a baby as I did so, but try sounding mature when everything is falling apart all around you.
"It doesn't matter," my father replied gravely. "If we remain in this house, it will be destroyed, and we'll all be set aflame. Can you imagine?"
I didn't want to imagine. I just wanted to live my normal life; or at least, as normal as life can be when you're an 18-year-old Eevee who can't evolve to save your own skin. (Believe me, I've tried.)
But that wasn't an option, and I knew it just as well as my father.
"Look, Altai, you've just got to get out of here. We'll stay and fight, but you must leave. They're not likely to attack those fleeing the battlefield, for that is a war crime."
My father snorted. "Like the laws of war are going to stop them. Joy, I'm afraid we can't count on our enemies' mercy to save Altai."
My mom glared at him. "We're not going to, Michael. Please, for as long as this house exists, I'd like there to be more optimism in it."
"You're right, Joy," my father replied. Turning to me, he continued with, "Altai, I'm afraid you don't have the strength to fight. You're just not…you don't have the confidence to defend those you care about."
I'm not going to lie: Those words hurt. Each one felt like a tiny little shank to the heart, on and on. To be told by your own father that you don't have what it takes is more than a little insulting, but it also hits you at a deeper level.
"You don't think I can fight?" I enquired angrily.
My dad shook his head. "It's not that you can't fight, Altai. It's that you shouldn't. Your best chance at survival is to flee, and as they say, Papa knows best."
"Well, Papa doesn't know best, then!" I all but yelled. "I don't care, I'm going to stay and fight!"
My mother stared right into my soul. Her eyes were full of sorrow and worry, which, I can promise you, is a frightening combination.
"Well, I can't stop you from staying. But I can tell you, if you fall in battle, I'm…I'm not going to forgive…".
She choked up after that, tears streaming down her face like a waterfall. And at that point, I understood that I couldn't let her down.
My parents were prepared to lay down their lives, just so I could survive one more day. And they wanted their sacrifice to be worth it.
I'd like to tell you that I took a noble stand here, flatly refusing to allow them to sacrifice themselves for me. But I can't, because that's not what happened.
Instead, I turned tail (quite literally, as an Eevee) and bolted out the door.
It was still night out. In the small village of Fortuna, not far from the mountains of northwestern Kanto, there were normally a great number of stars in the sky, constellations far beyond what one could even dream of.
You couldn't see them that night, though. Instead, the sky was lit up with an artificial light - fire.
A group of Fire-type Pokémon must be attacking the village. But why?
As soon as I had left our property, I felt the most intense burning sensation. It spread up much of my back left leg, making me feel as though I were being consumed by flame.
At first, the sensation was pleasantly warm, like sitting beside a furnace on a cold winter night. But then, as it grew stronger, my vision turned white from the hot pain traveling up my leg, charring my fur.
Stop, drop, and roll. That's what they always said to do if you caught fire. I just never thought I'd need to do it.
I fell to the ground, though it was hardly voluntary, and tried to roll onto my back. I was successful, but my only reward was seeing a pair of Chimchar sneering down at me.
"Didn't think we'd find someone that quickly, did we?" one of them asked the other with a grin.
"Nope, Amycus, I didn't. He's cornered now; there's nowhere left for him to run." This Chimchar was female; the one who'd addressed her had been male. (Did that really matter, though?)
I gritted my teeth. Here they were, two Chimchar among those raiding our village, and all I could do was lie there. Despite the sheer heat of their flame, the would-be killers had me cold.
And yet, they were toying with me. After what my father had just said, moments before I'd fled the scene, it was an even greater indignity.
"I don't understand," I muttered. "Why are you doing this to us?"
"Just join us, and you will be spared" the female Chimchar instructed me. "Everyone in your village who repents, everyone who realizes the error of their ways…they will be welcome at the Fire Sanctuary. And make no mistake, it is a sanctuary…if you are willing to obey, that is."
"For those of you who do not comply, there is only one fitting punishmentQ" the male added. "Death by a thousand embers!"
"Not on my watch!" yelled a familiar voice.
I rolled out of the way, knowing that I didn't want to be collateral damage. If my mother had rolled in to save me, it would be a shame for her to be the one to kill me.
Sure enough, the air was briefly thick with electricity, then I heard a sizzling sound as the Chimchar collapsed onto me.
My father scampered over to my side, his face heavy with rage. It was not directed at me, though; he was glaring down at the unconscious Chimchar.
"You've got no moral code, Chimchar. I don't care to know your name, because it doesn't matter. All you mean to me is that you tried to kill my son."
"Dad…?"
"There's no time for that, Altai. You need to escape the village; that has not changed. Could you find Teren?"
My mother gave him a quizzical expression. "Michael, if there's no time to talk to him, how can there be time for Altai to join up with Teren?"
"There is time," I insisted. "But…it'll require me to…no."
"You can't accept it?" my dad replied. "Son, we'll stay back and defend Fortuna. They say our village was named after the goddess of good luck - we'll need that tonight."
"But…" I began, choking up. I knew what I needed to say; I knew what I needed to do. But both of those prospects sounded very hard at that moment.
"Altai, time is of the essence" my mother insisted. "Just know that your father and I love you to the ends of the planet, no matter what."
"It's not fair" I mumbled through tears. "I can't leave you two…".
"You don't have to," my dad replied. "This is temporary. Just run, find Teren, and escape the village. You two can survive together until it's safe to return. Do you understand me?"
"I…I do" I choked out. It shouldn't have sounded like a wedding vow; as my parents repeatedly reminded me, there was no time for that. But as I had reminded them, it just wasn't fair.
"Then go, Altai!" my mother exclaimed. "We'll hold down the fort! We'll see you again!"
But as I obeyed my parents at last, sprinting towards the village in the opposite direction, I once again experienced the downside of superior hearing. My mother's last three words came flooding into my ears:
"I hope so."
