Alright. I'm gonna handle this entry a little differently from my previous ones. It's a special entry. A long entry. We're talkin' well over 10,000 words here, so this entry is gonna be split into smaller entries to make it all fit. But make no mistake, it all falls under the same event.
There's no point in listing the location. You know where we were. Dark Matter's chamber. There was no date. No time. All that mattered was where we were and who we faced. Before we get into that though, I need to confess something.
See, I wasn't sure if I should even write this entry. Would I be able to capture such a grandiose event with just words alone? I kind of built this up during my last entry, so not writing about it would be sort of a disservice. However, I will admit that there have been moments during our adventure where I shouldn't have been writing journal entries, or even events where it felt inappropriate to write anything at all.
This...this feels like one of those events.
Writing in my journal is, in the most basic terms, a hobby. Something I don't necessarily need to do. Something that I need to be mindful about when I'm constantly doing it during inappropriate moments, like playing a handheld gaming device during a funeral or wedding. During those moments, I need to step outside of myself and ask if what I want to do is appropriate. Am I okay to write in my journal now, or should I put it away and just be in the moment? Should I even write about what happened at all, or just make a small note about it before the next thing I decide to document?
I kept going back and forth on it, but as you might've guessed from the fact that I'm writing about the battle now, I decided yes. Fuck it, right? Why not? I've documented everything else that's happened up to this point. Why leave this out? Besides, the whole reason why I decided to write about everything else (or why Lyra decided to write in my place during certain points) was to prevent holes from cropping up in our epic tale.
And besides that...um...I'm a little embarrassed to say this, but eventually I want Lyra to read the entirety of my journal. She contributed to it, after all. She deserved to read the full story from start to end. Even if...if that level of emotional intimacy feels a little embarrassing now, I trust her more than anyone. I know I can trust her with my innermost personal and private writings, and I honestly couldn't have asked for a better candidate to proofread my journal after the fact. After all, it is Lyra and Irau who are gonna be together forever against the world :)
So, without further ado, let's get this show on the road!
When we ascended the stairs and entered a large room, I could feel the blood drain from my face. The wood making up the walls and floors…wasn't the same healthy wood we traveled across to get here. Seeing that wood confirmed that the white wood we encountered before was, in fact, healthy natural wood. The wood in this room, however, was black and rotting.
"But Irau," you say, "there are trees in the world with naturally black wood. What made you think the wood in this room was unhealthy and rotting?"
Well, Alakazam, healthy wood doesn't smell Arceus-awful or shrivel up like an autumn leaf, does it? Healthy black wood doesn't temporarily turn brown when a Meganium breathes its plant-revitalizing breath on it before immediately re-decaying and turning back into a sad, shriveled up piece of plant matter.
If being in the healthy wood room made me feel proud of how steadfast the Tree of Life had been, being in that rotting wood room made me feel anxious, terrified, and upset because it was a sign that my baby was dying.
Lyra and I started running towards the small spherical red core that was Dark Matter. It had that same cloudy dark energy that Nuzleaf and the others had swirling around them, except this time there were little red lightning bolts stretching and disappearing randomly within it. However, we didn't get very close before Dark Matter started growling and roaring, and next thing we knew we were in some illusion room full of stars. I won't lie, I panicked for a second because I thought Dark Matter actually ejected us out of the tree and into space. Lyra knew better and...heh. Yeah. Of course it was just an illusion room. I knew that.
The illusion room was better suited for an epic final showdown anyway. One attack from Dark Matter in that rotten wood room, and the whole place would've collapsed.
Dark Matter itself looked different as well. Now it was the same red core as before, but a solid physical black barrier was around it. The barrier had holes in it, and it...huh. That looked…familiar. The memory wasn't as clear and concise as my scum memories, but a hazy memory did resurface of me playing with some Skitties with little ball toys that looked like Dark Matter's current form. Strange...
When Dark Matter spoke, it did so in that strange multi-voice way. For the sake of convenience, I'm not gonna write any of its quotes in that strange random uppercase and lowercase way I did before. That might be better suited for accurately depicting the morphed way it spoke, but that's annoying for a writer to do constantly. Props to whoever has enough patience to do that.
One of the voices begged us to stop, insisting that we not throw our lives away. It sounded…almost motherly. Concerned. Soft.
Then...then I realized something that made my blood run cold. Dark Matter is made up of the negative energy from all Pokémon in this world, so the voices that it was using belonged to…well, everyone. Theoretically, it could speak to us using our own voices, or even the voices of Pokémon turned to stone. As I was thinking about that, I thought about how familiar that motherly voice sounded. I haven't heard it in a while, but that...that was Roselia's voice. The same kind, gentle lady who fainted during one of our classes after her child went missing.
Espurr said everyone in the village had been turned to stone, so that meant Roselia...
Eugh...I felt the cold chill zip down my spine. This...this ball of hate wasn't Roselia. It wasn't. It was using her voice to try making us feel weak, and it didn't work. Lyra was quick to bounce back, saying our lives were gonna end if we did nothing anyway. If we had a chance to save everything by fighting Dark Matter, it could bet its sweet spherical existence we were gonna take that chance.
Hell yeah, sister!
On the opposite side of Dark Matter, way across the room on the back wall was a glowing light-blue mural of a giant tree. At the center of the trunk was a white light that pulsated. Without a doubt, that mural represented the Tree of Life! And with that glowing white center possibly representing the life force burning strong within it...hell yeah! We still had time!
"The Tree of Life isn't as dead as Dark Matter might want us to believe," Lyra proclaimed enthusiastically.
I was on board with her, though admittedly neither of us really knew how we were supposed to destroy it...but hey, we were wearing our harmony scarves! According to Celebi, they were made for beating Dark Matter, so...maybe with our evolution forms in full swing, all we needed to do was attack it and something would happen!
Lyra made a big declaration, promising the Pokémon of the world that we would absolutely, without question defeat Dark Matter. I uh...I loved the enthusiasm, but...we were in a room of Dark Matter's creation. What were the odds anyone heard her?
Then I thought, "Y'know what? Fuck it. If making big declarations helped pump up her morale, declare away little Lyra Star!" Because, really, who the hell cares? We were about to fight the ultimate battle that decided the fate of the entire planet. Yeesh.
Dark Matter didn't really...attack in the traditional Pokémon sense. It like, used the dark energy swirly stuff around it to form appendages that swiped at us, projectiles that shot at us, and walls that blocked us from getting close to it.
Ha. Did it forget we are the fucking Evergreens? Now, more than ever, I was grateful for Eris and the Society members teaching us new techniques, and you'd better believe we were fully prepared to utilize them even in our fully evolved forms!
When the shadowy appendages swiped at us, I used one of my vines to sort of "arm wrestle" it until it dissolved. When projectiles shot at us, I used my vines to smack them out of the air like I did during Eris's target practice. And when Dark Matter erected walls to block us, Lyra jumped off my back and onto the walls, then made her way over to attack it. When Dark Matter started getting more damaged, it would drop walls randomly to make her fall. I was always there with a vine stretched upwards for her to hop across and regain her footing.
Overall, it was an intense and action-packed battle sequence that I kinda wish lasted longer. Seriously, Lyra and I haven't gotten the chance to use our unique skills in a full battle environment before, and especially not as a team. Imagine if we were different Pokémon and the different combinations of attacks from Dark Matter our unique powers could've drawn out. How cool would that have been!?
Anyway, after a critical drop-Ember attack, little chunks broke off Dark Matter's shell and exposed the core. It uh...certainly didn't like that. Just as Lyra was about to charge at it and break its shell entirely, it...it pulled a low move.
It spoke using Carracosta's voice.
Needless to say, Lyra stopped dead in her tracks. It asked if she could hear it and told her to answer if she could. Ugh...it really sounded exactly like him. Lyra...she...she started tearing up and even dropped to her knees.
"Pops...y-yeah...yeah, Pops, I hear you. Is it...is it really you?"
It said yes, it was really him. It told her to stop. She fought hard and did such a good job, but...no more. It was time to just let go. As admirable as it is to fight until the bitter end, she should cherish the time she has left with those she loves. She's grown so much since she left Serene Village, and has made so many friends...take a moment to enjoy the memories of them she has before everything is gone.
...Honestly, I wasn't sure what she wanted to do. I mean, I knew what Dark Matter was doing - it was stalling for time. It tried saying similar things in Eris's voice, but I gave it the same stink-eye I gave Pancham in entry #6 when he tried bullshitting us about how easily he cleared the Drilbur Coal Mine. I didn't believe him, and I don't believe Dark Matter. I was prepared to charge at it, but Lyra looked so unsure for the longest time. Should I have just kept going? Should I have went over and comforted her? Which one should I have done? I could've easily charged ahead without her, but we agreed that we'd stick together no matter how sideways things went. I couldn't decide what to do, so I just...froze.
Well, Lyra's uncertainty didn't last very long because she eventually looked back at Dark Matter and said it was such a shame she never did as she was told.
Ahaha! I could hear the flabbergast in Dark Matter's Carracosta voice as Lyra got back up, dusted herself off, and charged at it once again. Atta girl, Lyra! Fuck it up! Don't let it use your Pops' voice like that!
I was about to join her when the room suddenly got darker. We were confused for a sec since we weren't outside, but then ice filled my veins.
The Tree of Life!
Surely enough, the mural was no longer light blue with a white light center, but a simple white outline with its diamond-shaped core exposed. None of it was glowing.
No.
No!
NO!
WE WERE TOO LATE!
As Lyra started panicking, the room started shaking and Dark Matter laughed triumphantly. It said that the Tree of Life withered completely. It was the will of the universe, and we had no choice but to accept it. Next thing we knew, Dark Matter's red core glowed bright purple and leaked out dark magic before suddenly encasing itself in an iron ball-like structure with designs etched on it. It regenerated itself! All our hard work during that battle...!
Even worse, we reverted to our normal selves despite wearing our harmony scarves. So, the Tree of Life truly did die! But if that's the case, then we won't-! As if on cue with my thinking, we immediately had trouble breathing. How the hell were we supposed to defeat Dark Matter when we couldn't even breathe properly!? I could barely stay standing!
Dark Matter taunted us further, saying all the Pokémon who allied themselves with us were turned to stone. Since there was no way to stop the Tree of Life's ascension, it told us to give up.
I'll be honest, I didn't hear most of what it said because I was struggling not to pass out. However, a noise grabbed my attention and I lifted my little Chikorita head in time to see Yveltal, Nuzleaf, and the two Beheeyem attack Dark Matter!
Oh, FUCK YEAH! This is what I'm talking about!
Nuzleaf shouted an apology and something about he knew we weren't likely to forgive him for what he did, but even so...ugh, I wanted to hear everything he said, but Yveltal's dark energy blast was too loud! Dammit man, doesn't that thing have a volume knob or something? Yveltal shouted back that this wasn't the time for apologies and blasted his beam louder.
Yeesh, how inconsiderate.
However, their assistance didn't last long because Dark Matter shot out energy rays that turned Yveltal and the Beheeyem to stone. Nuzleaf tried telling us something else before he too was turned into stone, and I...I...
Dammit, I remember getting so choked up. He was an asshole for betraying me, yes, but that didn't mean I wanted to see that! Ever since I woke up in this world, he always knew what to do! And to see him turned to stone like that...
Then...then Lyra started screaming, and she collapsed! I rushed over to her as fast as I could, but it was so freaking difficult to breathe and the room was spinning and...and everything felt so...
Lyra told me not to worry about her. I had to strike at Dark Matter, but, of course, the hateful ball had to say its piece.
"Why do you struggle so? You are too late. Everything will end. You have lost your evolved forms, your strength, even your allies. All that remains to you now are those scarves that do no more than save you from being turned to stone. What else is there for you here? Tell me. What else do you still have?"
As I struggled to stay on my feet and make my way over to it, Dark Matter asked me why I continued to fight for such a rotten world. I could barely move, and a slight dark-powered breeze knocked me off my feet and onto my side. I struggled to get back up, but a familiar dark energy appendage effortlessly pinned me to the ground.
"You humans truly are the most pitiful creatures. I told you that you and I would clash again, and here we are. Despite all that careful planning, the precautions your friends took, and forcing me into dormancy for countless eons...you're still so small and weak! It's unfortunate, really, that you don't have your precious Luxray friend to help you out of this mess."
Ugh...I remember it pressed my damn face into the illusion floor. That appendage didn't seem so massive when I was a Meganium.
Luxray friend...?
"Oh, that's right. You don't remember your previous life, do you? The one you left behind to come here. Again. Well, I'm feeling generous, and you're about to die along with the rest of this miserable world anyway."
Then the appendage dissolved into millions of little black particles that shrouded my head in a strange black storm cloud. The last thing I heard before the television static-like noise drowned out the rest was Lyra screaming my name.