Besaid:
A dog like-thing came out towards me. I swore, and drew the sword I'd kept at my side. It tried to bite me, but I'm used to fighting things that are a LOT faster. Try a pissed off Electabuzz that's determined to fry your hide with electricity (namely Thunder attacks.) This doggie had nothing on that bastard. I sliced it open in one move, after I dodged the bite. I turned, expecting to see a corpse. Instead, glowing insect like things burst out, and it faded.
"Huh." I shook my head, and walked into the village, occasionally glancing at the red-white blade I'd bought. It seemed kinda strange in my hand. Anyway, Suicune had told me specifically where to go. Besides, the wind still spoke to me. She had that power, even inside a ball.
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"You cannot pass unless you are a guardian. You, clearly, are a hooligan. Now go."
I sighed, and went to a wall to wait. I wanted to see WHO I was going to be clearing the way for.
A guy with a ridiculous haircut walked in, then the guy I saved wandered in.
When he looked at me, he seemed not to recognize me. Yet, anyway. His face twisted though… like he was trying to remember something. I quietly spoke "Think he remembers?" Could be… The wind wasn't nearly as cold as usual. But they noticed the breeze that came from nowhere, and that it was a bit chilly.
Islanders. They live in a fucking tropical island, and can't handle much cold. Before anything else could happen, I walked out.
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I was there when the summoner (Yuna, I believe), called the thing. An Aeon, they called it. I couldn't see why they called my pokemon fiends when the Aeons clearly looked more like these 'fiends'. What a twisted world. Anyway, I had to stay far back, since I knew they'd recognize what the hell I was doing eventually, but I didn't want them to realize for as long as possible. They'd make my job harder, if I COULDN'T just clear the way. After all, most noble types like to spare people effort. They'd insist on fighting, and slow things down.
Despite my grouching, that bird was kind of cool, though. And I'll say it, Yuna was beautiful. But… not my type. In any way. Besides… I'm… well…
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I sat near the bondfire they'd made. People were swapping stories, talking with old friends. I'd gotten questioned a few times where I'd come from… and I just said I'd come here to see the temple… and the island. They didn't buy the line (I wasn't a summoner, I told them that flatly when they asked), but they didn't ask anything more.
I wasn't listening, anyway. I was… listening to the song. I don't know what it was… but I heard it, even if no one else did.
I looked furtively around for a moment, then began to hum it.
People stopped talking for a moment, and I arched an eyebrow. Apparently…
A cold wind blew. I looked behind me. Suicune was outside her ball. She gave me a sad look… and glowed. The wind somehow began to SING… sing the song that I had been.
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The villagers looked at each other in shock. First, the stranger had begun to hum a song they'd never heard before. Then a fiend popped out… and began to somehow sing the same song.
And the stranger didn't seem to be worried about the fiend at all. In fact, when Wakka said "Outta the way! That fiend's trouble!"… he'd stood directly between Wakka and the thing, saying softly "She's with me, and she's no fiend."
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"Or do I have to prove it?"
The idiot didn't seem to get it, so I walked up to Suicune, and held her gently. If she wanted to kill me, she easily could from that position. She'd even stopped using her powers to sing that song.
They seemed to get it… so I let her go. Suicune gave me another sad look, and continued the song where she'd left off.
I softly began to sing along with the tune.
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Once… upon a time…
I had a lover.
Once…upon a time…
I was deeply in love.
Once… upon a time…
I was happy.
Now… all I know is regret and pain.
Icewind hung his head, tears streaming from his eyes. Suicune walked up to him, and nudged him gently. He held onto her, and cleared his throat. He actually wasn't a bad singer.
Pyreflies swarmed into the village, drawn to the song, as well as the incredibility strong emotions it was releasing.
Have you ever loved before?
Icewind chuckled softly, and continued,Silly question, I know.
But… have you ever had your love taken away?
Have you ever… seen your love cut down right before your eyes?
Icewind bitterly laughed for a moment. I have.
And I couldn't do anything to save her.
I couldn't die with her, or even say goodbye.
The pyreflies, un-noticed by all, suddenly flared into existence. An image appeared before the assembled villagers.
Icewind and a purple haired woman were walking together in a wooded area, holding hands. She was leaning slightly on him.
It was clear to practically everyone that she was his love.
A dark figure walked up to them, and said something. His lips moved, but not a sound was heard. The two jumped apart, and exchanged panicked looks.
The dark figure's lips moved again, clearly repeating his request. He held out his hand, one hand holding a pistol.
Icewind glanced at the pistol, and threw a pokeball. A Metagross appeared between the two and the dark figure.
He pointed the gun at the Metagross, but it was glowing with a Reflect, and underneath the barrier, he was also shining – a sign of using Iron Defense.
Other dark figures appeared, and tried to support the original dark figure. But they couldn't go anywhere; the girl's pokemon were out, and looking murderous. Icewind's pokemon were also out, covering their backs.
More figures appeared, and threw pokeballs. The pokemon were outnumbered six to one.
They devastated the opposition anyway.
The bushes shook, and flashes of light came from them.
All the pokemon collapsed, except for the Metagross, who looked enraged.
Icewind was clearly cursing, as he returned his pokemon. It looked like they weren't dead.
The girl was crying. Her pokemon were dead.
The figure said something, and then the bushes lit up again. The girl fell, mortally injured. Icewind fell too.
Suicune popped out of her pokeball, and grabbed Icewind. She paused for a moment at the sight of her former… partner.
She ran when the bushes lit up. Icewind was lucid enough to return the Metagross, then started apparently screaming, reaching for his love. The image became partially translucent, and they could see Icewind again. He was hanging his head, tear streaks evident in the firelight.
Nothing I did could bring her back…
Nothing I tried would revive her…
Not even the god of life.
The imagery of the pyreflies blurred, and then reformed. Icewind, Suicune, and Ho-oh were standing together. They were speaking to each other, each clearly agitated.
Eventually, Ho-oh looked away (an expression of guilt on her face), shook her head, and flew off.
Suicune and Icewind were left behind. Both looked stunned. Icewind hung his head, droplets of water falling from his face.
What would you do then?
Would you try to move on, or do something you regret?
Icewind finally looked back up. His eyes were filled with hate. After a few unheard words with Suicune, the two dashed off, disappearing.
Icewind and Suicune (the real ones) were now fully visible again. The villagers were looking at the two of them in shock – so were Tidus, Yuna, and the rest.
Icewind sang softly
Even a chosen one is not permitted to judge souls… He laughed bitterly, as the song continued.
His lines were done.
The images weren't done, however. Icewind was seen, standing alone, looking down into a red river. Beads of red were running down a sword in his hand. Finally, the red drops from his sword (blood, most realized) reached the river.
It didn't respond for a moment, then it sped up, rapids forming in its fury. Icewind didn't respond at all.
A figure shrouded in light was walking up behind him. A teenager dressed in green, with black armguards, apparently generating light from his body. He had a sarcastic look to his face, buthis face was also open at the same time.Beside him stood an Espeon (a darker purple than the standard, but they didn't realize that). Both were glowing with the beautiful light.
The teenager gazed in horror at the scene, then hung his head, as did the Espeon. They faded after a moment, though the spot where they had been had become a small puddle, full of water. Light shined on it for a moment, then the water dried up.
The song ended at that moment as well.
Yuna looked in shock where the stranger (and his stranger companion) had been. No one was there. Either they had disappeared while the pyreflies were showing the last image, or they… had vanished into thin air.
Tear streaks were evident on her face. Tidus walked up beside her for a moment, then walked away.
He wasn't much better.
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I sighed, and hugged Suicune gently. That impromptu concert (not like I'd ever given one before), had somehow helped the pain lessen even more.
We set up a fire, and went to sleep. Both of us were exhausted mentally.
But at least they'd start later than us. If we were tired, they were likely depressed from that. So they'd sleep longer.
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The next day, they were setting out. Suicune and I were ready for them. We left ahead of them, taking on whatever popped up. They really weren't that tough. It was like fighting level five pokemon, when you've been 'in the game' for a while.
A blue (tiger?) thing jumped past us. He shot us a look, but when I gave him a return glare, he jumped on. I think he had an idea what we were doing. Don't ask how I knew gender. I just did.
Erastrani was watching over them from far overhead, anyway. She'd deal with trouble if it struck, Hyper Beam style. We'd worked on her endurance when we fought Rockets, so she could fire plenty in a day. Actually, all my pokemon could use their attacks a lot. Even the super-powered ones.
They got to the ferry safely. No duh, Suicune and I were clearing a path for them. Well, mostly. We left the weaker stuff for them to play with. Luckily, Erastrani didn't have to save them. For some reason, Suicune told me to keep away from them as much as possible. I wasn't going to argue, I'd done major stupidness with that song thing.
What the hell made me do that?
And we lucked out, too. The Aeon Yuna called ignored Erastrani whenever she summoned it.
A/N: If you've seen "Read or Die", the 'symphony of sadness' is based on the idea of the "symphony of suicide." In other words, the music literally makes people break down and cry.
Icewind's words don't always match the tune for the song, but they're from his heart. Kinda awkward, but they work.
