When his eyes saw nothing but the strange and gentle mist over his head, Michael Kingston thought that he had finally passed on. His heart still felt like he had been hit by a truck and he was struggling to breathe normally, but he was sure that in his last explosion of Fury, he had succeeded in avenging Cameron and obliterating Courtney off the face of the earth. A worthy cause as any would be to die for. He remained on his back and glanced to his sides. He thought he could remember that both Olivia and his father had been near him when he passed out, but only Rhaegar was by his side. When his Dragonite saw him, he howled accordingly and nudged him playfully.
He pet Rhaegar, but realized that in his desire to bring down Courtney, he had inadvertently brought Rhaegar with him to the Celestial Plains. He pet his Pokemon's head as he wept. "You didn't deserve this" he whispered. "You deserved better than me." His Dragonite nuzzled him and remained by his side, growling quietly. Realizing his Pokemon would never understand it, he reached onto his belt and recalled him. He then lied on his back and looked to what he thought was the Realm of Arceus. He smiled weakly before closing his eyes.
"A fitting end for a wretch like me" he whispered hoarsely and exhaled.
"Nope. Not gonna happen" a voice called out to him as if from another world entirely.
"Huh?"
"You're going to die, Michael. But not today."
Michael felt his body being pulled up, his feet wobbling underneath him, but his arm being caught and wrapped around someone's neck so he could balance himself. He glanced to his left and was in complete shock at the warm smile that greeted him. "Wes?"
"How many times have I had to pick you up like this?" he joked. "You really are that annoying little brother I never wanted."
Michael felt weakened and slumped a bit, but Wes kept him propped up. "How?"
"You can't keep me out of it for long" his old friend reminded him. "Surely you've grasped that by now." When he realized just how weak Michael was, he put his hand around Michael's back. "Come on. Easy does it." The two made it a few steps before Michael became winded and stopped. "I thought all of this was done and over with."
"Like you said to me on the Island" Michael recalled weakly, "A dark past never goes away."
"I wish yours would" his friend admitted. "Now that I see what you've been fighting all this time, I wish I had come here with you all along." He frowned at the sight of a body in front of them. "So many people died to keep the world safe. All while we were snoozing on Mirage Island. Just look at this poor guy."
Michael did and his heart stopped. It ached still, but no longer because of the fury. But now because of the man he saw in front of him. Scarred almost beyond recognition, but unmistakably him.
"You knew him?"
"He was my father" Michael uttered mournfully.
"I'm sorry, Michael."
Wes helped Michael bend over to say farewell to his father. Big Mike was on his side, motionless. The vicious scarring done to him by those Cloned Pokemon was fatal, but in his dying moments, his father had made sure that his son would be safe. A son whom he never had a strong relationship with. A son who thought someone else was a better father than him. A son who now deeply regretted their final words to one another. He crossed his heart in the name of Arceus before biting his lip to prevent tears from coming out.
"Our last words were spoken in anger" Michael revealed, "but he still died to protect me."
"A father's love is unique" Wes remarked. "I never knew mine, but from the people I've spoken to about it, they wouldn't be half the person they were without him being there. I guess I am too, now that I think of it." He smiled sadly as he kept the King of Arcana propped up with just one arm. "And I expect your father, in ways you didn't even expect, was more like you than you ever cared to admit."
Michael nodded sadly. "The first loss, but most certainly not the last."
"Well, look at it this way. At least I'm here to help you through this. I can't imagine you doing this alone. Or worse, with someone like your wife."
"Julia?"
"Not that I'm saying anything bad about her, but I know that each loss you see is going to just get worse for you. If I'm here to help, maybe it won't feel as painful?"
Michael politely shook his head. "No. If there is something I need to see, I need to face it head on. My father was a...brutal way to start. But I know I need to be strong for Arcana."
Wes frowned. "When do you get to rest?"
"When my people are safe" he replied. "They didn't name me their King for nothing."
Wes awkwardly looked at him in surprise. "Does this mean I have to bow?"
"I'd rather you didn't" Michael laughed weakly, his pain in the heart returning. "But I'm not afraid to deal with this loss." He glanced forward as a figure was running through the mist towards them, though they were not looking directly at them. All he needed to do was listen to her calls and he realized immediately that it was his wife who had come looking for him.
"MICHAEL?! MICHAEL?! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
Wes chuckled. "Right in front of you, Julia."
Julia appeared out of the mist, not only shocked that Wes had somehow returned into their lives, but had also been the one to reunite her with her husband. Michael knew all too well that his wife was shaking in the sight of just how drained her husband had become, but he was too relieved to see her to even care. Wes stepped aside as Julia ran up to her husband and threw her arms around him, crying into his chest. Michael tried to maintain standing on his own, but he kept hugging her tightly and didn't care if his legs wobbled. As his wife began to shower him with kisses, Wes looked away awkwardly.
"I didn't need to see this" he responded bluntly.
This caused Julia to blush and laugh simultaneously. Michael could tell she was looking past him and at the man who had helped keep her husband alive. "Wes. I don't know how you got here or what you're doing here, but thank you." He felt one of her hands leave his back as she held it out towards Wes, but Orre's hero did not reciprocate.
"Thanks, but I'm just glad I got him back to you...again" Wes replied dryly.
"Now let us return the favor" his wife replied, holding her husband in place. "Rui is here, helping out at the Medical Tents with Jenna Kingston. I'm sure she'll want to see you again."
Wes was surprised by this. "Huh? She's here?"
"I kept my promise to you" Michael said weakly. His old friend did not answer and instead simply nodded before wandering off into the mist, leaving the Royal Couple together. Michael allowed his wife to resume showering him with her love. He simply did everything in his power to keep standing until he finally lost his strength and the two fell onto the ground. He let his hand go through her hair as he renewed his ceaseless and undying love for the only woman to ever hold his heart in it's entirety.
"I thought I lost you" Julia shuddered. "I thought...when Tori and your Mother said that-"
"Oh, Jules. Never again."
"What do you mean?" she inquired. "Did I really embarrass you by being worried?"
Michael wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. "No. Never. But I can't do this, anymore. I can feel just how much strain the Fury places on me, now." His hands went to her warm, red cheeks and he let out a defeated smile. "I need to pass the torch, now. Let it be someone else's job to be a hero. And this time, I mean it."
His beloved wife wore looks of worry, admiration and undying love. "Oh, Michael. The last time we tried to leave it to someone, we lost him."
Michael frowned at this, recalling what he and Addison had discovered during the confrontation regarding the identity of the Black Knight. But he chose to hold onto that for now, as his mind now focused on ensuring they knew exactly who was still around and who wasn't. "Maybe someday, we'll actually get to live the lives we want to. But for now, we need to see just how costly this battle was." Julia pushed herself off of him and pulled him to his feet. As Michael nearly fell on top of her, she quickly took his arm and wrapped it tightly around her neck. Michael's first look was just a few feet away from them, where his father was fallen. "Dad..."
Julia's face paled at the sight of Big Mike's body, but she only rested her head on her husband's shoulder. "He was a father to us both."
Michael knew his father, despite not being born of noble blood or being a true "hero" of the kinds that others had been, needed to be buried with the highest honors imaginable. He figured that wouldn't be the last time he would be thinking this, as he was almost certain that more people had fallen besides his father. And it did not take him long to find the next victim of Mewtwo's relentless war path. The last person he remembered speaking to before passing out. One of the last people in the world he ever wanted to see die.
"Olivia..."
Olivia's body lay just a few steps from his father's. Her face was as white as snow, her red hair still illuminating her body like a fire, her face still as beautiful as he recalled it being. Her side showed signs of a very poisonous bite, no doubt having been caused by a Pokemon during the battle. One of her hands clutched a small locket in her hand, the other was open, having been the one Michael had held before passing out. Michael was shaken by her loss. His father had lived a relatively long life, got to raise a family and had seen and adored his grandchildren. Olivia had barely begun her life, having left behind a shaky family life, a permanently scarred former lover and a young son who would likely never understand why his mother wasn't going to come back. Her eyes, the deep blue eyes that Michael was sure bewitched her deceased husband in Kalos, were closed. But for once in her rough and often shaky existence, Olivia Novren finally looked at peace.
Once she was sure that her husband could stand on his own, Julia made her way to Olivia's side and kissed her fallen rival and new friend. The woman who might have one day replaced her as Queen if Courtney had had her way. The woman who had once tormented her, seen the light, and repented better than Michael believed anyone was capable of doing. She then looked at the locket in her closed hand and took it up. She studied it closely before bringing it up to her husband. Michael examined it. The only thing inside of it was a picture of an infant Michael Novren. Her son. The only thing in this world that loved her without conditions. Several feet away, Michael thought he could see her Clefable, having itself fallen victim to poisonous attacks, sprawled out on the ground, but alive. Julia took the Pokemon Ball in her hand and recalled Olivia's fainted friend.
"I'm sure the Clefable will want to carry on her trainer's legacy" Michael said sadly. "Protect that little boy with all her might."
Julia held her husband's hand as both mourned the loss of a dear friend. "Poor Olivia. Now, what's going to happen with her son?"
Michael remained stoic for her and for himself. That part, thankfully, was taken care of what felt like a lifetime ago. "Nothing. Nothing is going to happen to our son."
Julia was surprised at this. "Our son?"
"It's what we agreed to at Jon and Annie's wedding, remember?"
Though she seemed to be trying to remember this conversation that took place what felt like a century ago, she nodded. "Then he's our son. And like a certain woman I knew from my own childhood, I will love him like he's my own, regardless of who his parents were."
"We need to keep going" Michael said gently. "There's more for us to see." He tugged his wife along as they slowly and meticulously walked the length of the battlefield. Many were not moving at all, trainers or Pokemon alike. Some, were so wounded that moving would cause colossal pain. Some were just too shaken to move. All Michael and Julia could feel was dread. That Arcana, despite somehow finding victory, would never truly recover from such a devastating conflict.
His wife seemed to sum it up clearly. "Why? What did Mewtwo hope to accomplish with all of this?"
"Hate attacks anyone and everyone until it subsides, which it never does. We need to build a world where hate like this never needs to return." He looked down at his wife and kissed her head. "I think we can do that."
"But who knows how long that will take?"
"If any disgustingly cutesy couple can do it, it's you" a voice called out from the mist.
"Giselle?" Michael called.
"About seven months too late, but I'm reporting back as Team Arcana's leader commanded" she answered, stepping from out of the mist and addressing the two with polite and respectful bows. "Sorry it took so long."
"We're just glad to know you're okay" Julia assured her, though Michael could detect a bit of uneasiness coming from her. Some things truly never did change.
"I have a feeling this isn't over" Michael's former most hated adversary said ominously. "Do you think it can be?"
Michael frowned. "The White Mage will tell us for sure. And we need to find her to get to that."
Giselle gestured behind her. "If it's Dee's daughter you're looking for, I saw her down the ridge with her friends. They were looking for something."
The King could see that the former dictator was exhausted, even after sleeping for as long as she did. "Get some rest. We welcome anyone from the Elite Four back. Who knows how much of it is going to be left at this point." She smiled and walked away, leaving Michael and Julia to continue their silent walk. Along their way, they encountered more of the fallen from both sides, a massive pile of goo from all of the Pokemon destroyed with the unexpected arrival of the reinforcements from Mirage Island. Many were people Michael and Julia never met, but had died to defend their homes all the same. Some were clearly well known to one or the other. Julia commented to her husband that one of the men resembled a former associate of hers from when she was the Professor in Parlor Town. Michael thought he recalled another from one of the lower rungs of the Pokemon League, a woman who might have had a flirtatious encounter with Chris back in the days. Before everything changed.
Michael glanced to his left and saw Mark and Lizzie, resting on a rock nearby. The two seemed, thankfully, to be alright. Lizzie was holding her arm as if it had been slightly dislocated, while Mark was petting a disheveled pile of electric charges and fur that had to be his Pikachu. The two smiled, but did little more. Julia reciprocated before leading her husband forward. Jack Duon, studious and brave a man as ever had been seen, was kneeling before the couple as they passed.
"Your Graces" he saluted.
"Are you alright, Jack?" Julia asked. "If you're hurt, you should-"
"No, thank you" he responded. "Just a tired, drained old man. I just hope for his sake, he finds her."
"Who?" Michael asked.
"Christopher" the elder member of Michael's Council spoke. "He and Miss Pines were separated during the battle and-oh my! I completely forgot just how close she is to you two as well."
As he saw Julia's resolve about to crumble at the mentioning of Piper going missing, Michael had to take the lead. "Thanks for letting us know, Jack. Get some rest." He led his wife away as she began to shake nervously. "She's alright. We know she'll be."
"I can't-I just can't-"
"Then don't" he shushed her. "We're going to find her. And she'll be fine."
"How do you know?"
"I don't" he admitted. "Because this is the only thing I can do to keep myself calm." His face turned cold at the next fallen person he saw. Julia echoed him when she herself got a glimpse of who was the next person they encountered. The two walked over to Madeline Kingston, kneeling and sobbing uncontrollably over the body of her father, Byron Kingston. Michael walked to his cousin's side and put his hand on her head. She turned around and began to hug his legs, only letting go for a moment to let him kneel down and hug her properly. The once proud, strong and sturdy daughter of a Police Chief was utterly devastated.
"All he wanted to do was retire" she cried. "Why did we let this happen?"
"Evil let this happen" he responded, patting her on the back. "And there's no recipe for getting rid of evil, I'm afraid. I wish there was."
She smiled despite her misery. "That was Dad's favorite quote from his cooking shows." She received a kiss from Julia, who's attention was distracted by a newcomer. Michael remained by his cousin's side for several moments to comfort her. She quickly collected herself and helped the King to his feet. "We need to keep going. I need to find Jon and-wait. Isn't that Amanda?"
Michael spun around, wincing in pain as he did, before his jaw nearly dropped. It was Julia's former assistant, the next Professor of Arcana's Pokemon Lab. Billy's lover. The woman who's disappearance kicked off this chain of tumultuous events. And she looked like someone who had just been through her own personal nightmare. He could not initially tell who was shaking more, his wife or Amanda. Madeline helped him over to see Amanda personally, who did not hesitate running at him and hugging him. Michael saw the deep gashes on her arm and shuddered.
"What did they do to you?" he asked, almost unsure he wanted to hear the answer.
"Courtney" she whispered.
This gave Michael a bit of feral joy. "She's been dealt with, Amanda. She won't be bothering you again."
"But they did worse to Ryan."
"I know" he consoled. "But we can only help one person at a time, I'm afraid."
"Have you seen Billy?" she begged. "No one I've asked has yet."
He sadly shook his head. "No. I'm sorry."
She took a deep breath to calm herself. "No news is usually good news, right?"
Michael eyed his wife. "Jules. Take Amanda with you and in search of Piper. I'll help Maddy find Jon."
Julia seemed eager to remain by his side, but a reassuring nod from Michael indicating he would be fine compelled her. The Queen nodded and took Amanda with her, vanishing into the mist.
Michael and Madeline continued on their trek in pursuit of Jon's last known whereabouts. There were more people who had fallen, plenty of Arcana Police Force cops she had known personally whom she would never converse with again. Madeline would stop for a minute to pay her respects before continuing to make sure Michael could walk on his own. After several moments of this, they found who they were looking for. Jon was seemingly resting on a rock, breathing heavily. Annie was arguing with whoever Jenna had sent out to look for him about something.
"All I care about is whether or not my husband will live through this!" she pleaded.
"M'am" the attending EMT worker tried explaining. "We're doing everything we can. There is a good chance he'll make it, but he might also-"
"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Madeline screamed, abandoning Michael to check on her brother. Michael limped over to see what was going on himself. Jon's legs were twisted and shattered in several points. It was clear that his normally strong and powerful cousin would never be able to walk again. Jon was still alive, but the pain he was in must have been absolutely shattering for him.
"He was trampled in a Copperajah stampede" Annie answered, coming immediately to and subsequently hugging her sister in-law. "I'm praying to Arceus above that he'll get to live and maybe only miss out on-"
"If I can't walk" Jon sputtered, clearly in agony with every moment of his existence, "I'd rather die!"
"How could you even say that?" Madeline snapped at her brother. "We just lost Dad! I AM NOT LOSING A BROTHER, TOO!"
"What would you have instead?" Jon cried, tears falling from his eyes. "I'll never walk again. I'll never ride Pokemon again! I'll never be able to do any of the things I love! I may as well be dead so that Annie could be free to-" Jon did not get to finish as Annie lunged for her husband and slapped him across the face with such force that Madeline and Michael were both caught off guard. As Jon staggered from the blow, Annie loomed over him.
"I WILL NOT HEAR THOSE WORDS COME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH AGAIN!" she roared.
"I may as well be dead!" Jon continued. "I can't help you. How can you love a wretched cripple like me?!"
"The same way I've loved you ever since Lady Bonnie introduced me to her eldest grandson when we were teenagers!" she declared. She fell to his side and hugged her husband's body. "Nothing has or ever will change how I feel about you, I will take a broken husband any day over being a widow."
"I can't give you anymore children" he lamented. "Our child is going to be an only sibling."
"Then we cherish the child we will have" Annie promised him. "I just know that I cannot and will not be able to live without you, Jon Kingston." The couple wept together as Madeline continued the conversation with the EMT worker that Annie had quickly blown off. Michael was about to give Jon his thanks for sacrificing what he had for the family, when he received a tap on the shoulder. He turned and found Jenna standing behind him, herself pale and worried.
"Jenna?" he asked.
"My father is gone" she whispered to him.
Michael brought Jenna into a hug and the two stood there for a long time. "Mine too."
"Is there anyone we know for sure is okay?" she pleaded.
"We can look for your brother together, if you want" he offered.
To his surprise, his cousin shook her head. "I'll look for him at the same time I look for Chris."
"For Chris?"
"But I had to come and find you first" she admitted, taking her cousin's hand. "Come on. You need to see her."
{}
"PIPER!" Chris bellowed throughout the desolate and silent battlefield. Once the final devastating blow came from Annette Fiveroux's Tyranitar, his entire focus became to find his wife and ensure that she was safe. No one, not even Jack dared to interfere with his search this time. He tore around the war torn area of the Crag Hills in a desperate search for the woman who had made him this man he was today. But his search was coming up empty so far. But he vowed to himself that he would not stop until he did. Even if he collapsed in exhaustion. Then, he'd get Michael or Cameron to pick up the search. She meant too much to all of them to allow her to sink into the shadows of memory. He had already lost his mother. He would not lose Piper as well.
There were so many fallen people and Pokemon to sift through that he feared he might have to begin ripping through all of the piles of goop-like sludge that had made up Mewtwo's cloned Pokemon. But he was willing to tear the living earth apart as well if it meant he'd have an answer regarding his wife's condition. His Alakazam named Jafar floated nearby, trying to sense for any life energy and occasionally using his Psychic powers to lift up the sludge to allow Pokemon or people still alive beneath it to escape before plopping it back down. But even Jafar was beginning to lose hope on the matter. And Chris could feel himself becoming desperate.
"Please" he whispered to himself. Please! Just be okay! PLEASE! Just let her be safe. I cannot lose her! Please, Arceus above, if you're really there, don't let her die on me! Not when we have our future together! PLEASE!
His Alakazam's eyes shined sapphire and he pointed his spoons towards a nearby pile of sludge. Chris rushed for the pile with all the speed his fatigued legs could muster. A hand shot out of the sludge, followed by the rest of a body trying desperately to breathe. He tried to wipe some of the sludge off of the woman, but she blindly punched him in the face, causing him to fall backwards. Once she had cleared her face, she took in a deep breath of oxygen and collapsed onto her back, too tired to move.
Chris recovered and raced over to her side. He clutched at his heart in intense relief. "Piper."
"Chris?" she asked weakly. "Is that you?"
"You're okay!" he cried. "You're okay!"
"Of course I'm okay" she exclaimed, conviction mostly not behind her words. "I told you I can-ugh-fight for myself!" She was continuing to take long and rapacious breaths of air. She paused when she noticed Chris shaking right beside her. "I didn't punch you that hard, did I?"
He was so thankful she had survived that he didn't even notice if her sucker punch had broken his nose or caused any blood to come out. "You're okay. I thought I was going to-to need to find a new wife."
"Nope" she replied jokingly, before pushing herself to her rear end. "You're stuck with me. And you're way too young to be a widower."
The couple then took each other into their arms and embraced, Chris not caring that Piper was getting all of the clone goo on him. He would take being buried in that goop along side her any day over him being alone in this world without her. He pulled his wife to her feet and kept his arms around her.
"I am never going to take you for granted" he assured her. "For all of my life. I swear it."
"I never thought you did" she teased.
"I love you" Chris told her. "I love you with every fiber of my being."
"Now that we've established the obvious" she giggled, "we need to find the others. I'm sure they're worried sick about us anyway."
Chris turned to see a figure running towards them in the mist. "Amanda?" He rose to greet his former Syndicate Hostage mate, but she raced right past him without a second thought. "What the-"
"Chris?! PIPER!" another voice squealed from nearby. He reacted in time to catch Julia running over to him and hugging her. Piper made her way over to her prodigal sister and the trio embraced. Julia eyed Piper in shock. "You're covered in gunk!"
"I always was the dirtier of Abuela's Granddaughters" she joked before kissing Julia on the cheek.
"How can you be joking?!" Julia demanded. "You both could have died!"
"Let me cope, damn it" Piper snapped, surprisingly angrily. Apparently, Piper was taking this harder than she was letting on. Chris wrapped his arm around his wife and kissed her cheek. Piper seemed to calm down at this and began to shake in her husband's arm.
"Was that Amanda I saw?" Chris asked Julia.
"She's been looking all over for-"
"BILLY?!" Amanda shrieked.
The trio hurried over to where Amanda had sounded off. Billy had been found. He was motionless, his body pale and his face having been seemingly drenched by some kind of water attack. Chris recalled a Clone of Wallace's Wailord using a Water Spout attack on an entire group of people. He now feared that Billy had suffered the worst of it. Amanda, who looked like she herself had been mauled by a wild animal, repeatedly slapped her boyfriend's face and cried over him.
"Amanda" Piper reached out.
"WAKE UP!" she begged. "BILLY! PLEASE! I DIDN'T JUST SUFFER ON MIRAGE ISLAND TO LOSE YOU HERE!"
"Amanda, you have to understand" Julia tried to explain.
"WAKE UP!" she screamed.
"Amanda, I don't think-" Chris began.
Amanda hands came together. "WAKE UP, DAMN IT!" She launched her fist down on Billy's chest. A geyser of water came out of Billy's mouth at this blow. He coughed and choked on more water, spitting it out before his breathing could go back to some semblance of normality. He lay flat on his back, his eyes remaining shut or unable to function properly. As he feebly lay at her feet, Amanda threw herself at him, crying. "You're alive! You're okay!"
"Who...Ama...Amanda?" he whispered.
"I'm here, Billy" she assured him. "I'm here! I'm not going anywhere!"
"Amanda?!"
"It's me, Billy."
"Amanda" Billy concluded. He let out an exhausted smile as Amanda took him up into her arms, holding him gently and earning looks of adoration and respect from the trio surrounding them.
Which was when Chris received a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Jenna standing behind him. Piper and Julia joined in as well to see what she had to say. Jenna glanced behind them to see her brother and Amanda reunited and smiled sadly. "I'm glad there's been some good news to report. My baby brother is going to be okay. And he got Amanda back, too."
"What else is going on out there?" Chris asked.
"Where do we even begin" Julia answered. "Big Mike, Olivia, Byron..."
"My father" Jenna added, sniffling at the news.
"Robert, Byron and Junior?" Piper gasped. "That's horrible!"
"It gets worse" she went on. "We won't even have a preliminary count for how many fell until we've done enough scopes of the battlefield. But for now, we can't say much else. I need to borrow my cousin for a bit. Your Grace's presence has been requested by Diance of Kalos."
"Diance's here?" Julia cried out.
Piper, seeming to understand where Jenna was going with what might come ahead, kissed her beloved on his cheek. "We'll catch up soon. This sounds like serious business." She then walked over to Amanda's side to try and help Billy recover his strength.
Before Chris could respond, Jenna took his hand and began leading him away from where the others were. He could not begin to imagine what was so important that he needed to be taken away from his wife and Julia just as he got back with them. And Jenna's silence on the issue was only making him more frustrated. But he relented. The last thing he needed was to start something with a cousin he still cared about.
It did not hit him regarding what this entire session could be about until he saw the crowds of mourners gathering around the Medical Tents Jenna had to use to house the critically wounded. Plenty of people he had seen before and fought beside were now in tents fighting for their lives. Their Pokemon were on respirators and were given special treatments from the various nurses and Chanseys they had at their sides. The bravest souls in Arcana who were willing to give up their lives for those who could not fight were going to be honored more favorably than ever before. He knew Michael wouldn't let them down in those regards or in helping their families recover from the losses inflicted upon them by the wrath of Mewtwo.
They passed by a tent where Rui and Wes were reunited, but both Augustine girls were left to comfort Lauren Kingston over the body of her husband and Jenna and Billy's father. They passed a tent for Pokemon alone that was close to overflowing. Many of the heroes who had come from Mirage Island to fight had now taken up roles with which to act as aids, helping to heal these brave souls who might never get to see the fruits of their success. They passed a tent where the Queensburys and the Lockharts now stood over the bed of Thomas Queensbury, who had seemingly lost an eye during the battle and might be permanently scarred by the event.
But even then, Jenna did not stop.
"I understand how much damage is going on here" he told his cousin bitterly. "But there has to be a reason why you took me away from my wife and Julia."
Jenna did not answer him, only bringing the two of them to a stop when they came across the final tent. And now was the time for him to become queasy. Four people stood outside the tent. His stepmother Shannon, his two stepsisters Renee and Katrina and Katrina's husband Carson. Jenna nudged him forward and Chris was forced to try and assess what was going on. Clearly, nothing had happened to Michael, as everyone would have been there, weak and strong included. But he could not take his mind off of the two people who were not present: his father and his sister.
Katrina saw him first and hurried over to him, hugging him. "Oh sweetie. You're okay!"
"Far from okay, but I'll live" he responded, pecking Katrina on the cheek.
"Well, you're here" Carson insisted. "And that's a good thing."
"The only good thing we have going for us" Renee sadly chimed in.
"What do you mean?"
Shannon took the lead and kissed her stepson on his head. "We want you to be strong, Chris. Okay?"
"Strong?"
Katrina's head drooped. "Because even I didn't expect this."
"What's going on?"
Shannon gently led him over to the tent. The tent flap opened and Jeice Kingston stepped out, his face red and his eyes leaking tears wildly. Upon seeing his eldest child, Jeice grabbed his son and brought him into an almost backbreaking embrace. He had only ever seen his father cry once in his entire life. And the more he recalled that day, the more he realized just why they had all been hastily gathered like this. After father and son came apart, Jeice took in caring from his wife and daughters, leaving Chris to confront his nightmare alone.
She's going to be fine. She's just got a bump on her head. Or a scar on her face. Or maybe she got a broken leg or something.
He walked through the flap and found the tent dark and dreary. He was shocked to find Cynthia standing by the entrance, her head down and saying nothing. She didn't even acknowledge him coming in. When he glimpsed at her, he thought he could see she was as sorrowful as his father had been. He kept walking towards the second room in the tent, hearing sounds of whispering from beyond the flap.
"-get this message to Julia?" a weak and muffled voice asked.
"What would it say?" Michael's voice echoed.
"Thanks for bringing my brother home."
Chris's breathing became heavy as he unfurled the flap and stepped inside. Cameron was in a cot, her body hooked up to a life support machine that was keeping her alive. Her veins had popped up around her chest, where a deep red scar now also displayed itself vigorously. She was breathing lightly into a respirator, her skin as pale as a sick baby's. While one hand was shaking on her side, the other was being held by Michael, the third in their previously thought to be invincible trio. Her eyes were giving Michael their fullest attention.
"I promise I will, Cam" Michael whispered, doing everything he could to fight back tears. "But you'll be able to tell her yourself if you want."
"No. No I don't think so." She then turned her head weakly to see Chris standing there. She spoke slowly and clearly. "So. About time you showed up."
Chris came over to her other side and immediately took his sister's hand. "How? How did this happen?"
Cameron blinked sadly. "Courtney. She tried to kill us with a Thunderbolt."
Chris's eyes bulged at the mentioning of her name. "I'll kill that little-"
"She's gone" Michael replied bluntly. "I took care of her."
"What matters is I get to see you guys" Cameron hoarsely spoke, coughing and howling in pain. "I don't...I don't have a lot of time."
"Cam" Chris gulped. "How can I help? Is there a medication you need? Some kind of-"
Cameron grasped her brother's hand gently. "No. You're doing everything right now, Chris. You both are."
Chris looked at the life support machine she was hooked to. Her body functions were shutting down by the moment. The blow she received from Courtney was going to end her life. He felt the world closing in around him. The same way it had the last time he saw his mother. Now, he was losing the last parts of his life that reminded him of her. The only other child Jane Kingston had ever had. But obviously there was more than that. She was his sister. His best friend besides Michael. One of the few people in this world he was horrified to live any part of his life without. He glanced over to Michael and saw almost a mirror that reflected every ounce of pain he had. They truly were siblings in this world. And by the end of this day, it would just be the two of them.
"You two...you two are the best brothers a girl could ever...ever ask for" she managed to speak weakly. "I love you both. So much."
"We love you too, Cam" Michael assured her. "We always have been a team."
"We're going to figure out how to keep you alive" he promised his sister. "Mike's right. We always were a team and always will be! Maybe we'll-"
"Why?" Cameron asked. "I get to-I get to see Mom, now."
Chris went white. How could she be so willing to die?
"Cam" Michael said gently. "Do you promise you'll send her our love?"
"Don't you get started" Chris snapped. "We're going to make it through this. Cam, look at me!" His sister turned her head and stared at her brother. "I am going to fix this. Just wait here and I'll find...uh...I'll find Mark's Pikachu to supercharge you to keep you alive! Or maybe I'll get some kind of iron lung or something. Maybe-"
"Chris" she coughed. "It's time."
"Time for what?"
"Time to say...goodbye" his sister whispered, before her eyes fluttered and closed for the final time. Michael lowered his head, still holding her hand as he did.
Chris pounded the ground in anger. His sister's hand slipped from his and fell beside her motionless body. Michael rose from his spot and made it over to Chris and knelt beside him. He patted his brother on the shoulder. Chris looked to Cameron, hoping for one hopeful cough to give life back to their sister. But she was silent and still. With no other recourse, Chris fell into Michael's embrace, sobbing wildly.
"Why did she have to go?" Chris asked angrily. "Why couldn't it have been me?!"
"I wish it was me, if we're being honest" Michael added.
The two glanced behind them and saw Cynthia making her way over to Cameron's body. She knelt beside her for a moment, whispered something to herself and then eyed Cameron, tears falling form her face. She bent down, kissed Cameron, and left to be alone.
In what felt like a drunken stupor, Chris staggered to his feet and picked Cameron up into his arms. He held her, tears dousing his sister's pale and lifeless face. He hugged her, trying in vain to will life into her. Michael was by his side, himself a complete emotional wreck. The two sat in the cot with the body of the heart of their trio. The only person in this world both would gladly give up their lives to save. The only person who's loss would make their lives torture to endure. Chris buried his head into his sister's chest and used all of his strength to fight back his woes. Michael sat silently rubbing his back as both mourned the loss of their sister.
Jenna walked in and saw the scene unfolding in front of her. She shook her head and looked at her watch. "Time of death. 8:11 AM."
