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Chapter 74
Cold As Ice
Terron knew exactly where he wanted to go.
He could see his locations clearly in his mind, his Socius generating the image of the destination he fervently sought. According to the calculations it had created, it would take him about four days to reach it, and this was the fastest route it had chosen. It had suggested for Terron to use other paths that were less strenuous, but Terron wouldn't accept anything but the quickest way to his destination. Even if it meant climbing over an incredibly steep mountain and trekking through an icy wasteland that was ravaged by blizzards at this time of the year, as well as other rough terrains, Terron didn't care. He'd get to where he needed to go.
He had to. There wasn't a choice anymore. Not after everything that he had discovered.
The Cubone pulled his robe tighter around his body, making sure it didn't catch onto any stray plants or jagged rocks sticking up out of the mountain path he was now walking up. The ground felt rough against the bottom of his feet and the loose gravel poked into his scaly hide, but he knew that he was only feeling pain right now because he had spent three weeks on Kuron. In Kuron, their roads were smooth and without a single defect. There were no cracks along their ground, for it was completely paved over with their strange metal. Due to walking upon it for so long, he had grown used to it and forgotten what it felt like to travel along nature's roads that were never built for the comfort of its travelers. His soles had grown soft, allowing the sharp rocks to pierce into him.
However, Terron wasn't about to let a little pain bother him. He only continued on, not even wincing once as he worked his way up that mountain. He only focused on other things, specifically the thoughts brewing in his mind.
The Cubone almost didn't believe that a mere hour ago he had backstabbed Novus, one of his closest friends. He knew that he hadn't killed that false Quilava, but it was still difficult for him to believe that he really had attacked Novus and abandoned him without a second thought. He almost thought it was nothing more than a bad daydream.
But when Terron looked over his shoulder and saw no one walking alongside him, he knew that it wasn't. He really had left behind Novus, one of the very few friends he had that had been there since he was in the Aurora Town Fellowship. Despite their many disagreements and arguments, Terron really did appreciate and care for him. He had always felt that Novus was a bit of a kindred spirit with how he had experienced many of the same events as Terron had, as well as how the two of them were both halves of two separate entities. It had become even more apparent when they both discovered that they were responsible for the Primogenitor's actions in their own ways. Novus truly was the only one who could understand nearly everything Terron felt. Not even Zekra could offer him that kind of understanding.
And that was exactly why Terron had to get away from Novus; he reminded the Cubone of himself too much. Terron didn't need a constant reminder of something his darker half had done. Then not only that, but Novus wasn't going to let Terron find the one he sought, and the Cubone couldn't allow that to happen. No amount of closeness could prevent Terron from finding a certain someone. Hurting Novus when he was in the way of his goals hadn't left a single fracture in his heart. He only felt cold within his body.
Coldness and hollowness.
Even the thought that Nyx and Zekrom were gone couldn't bring a single twinge of sadness out of him. They were nothing more than faraway thoughts in his mind only occasionally drifting to the front of his mind before slinking back into the darkness from whence they came.
Terron pushed these pointless thoughts out of his mind after entertaining them and accessed his Socius. He listened as it told him that at the rate he was walking, he'd be able to make it across the mountain in six hours. It offered him easier, less slippery routes, but it warned that by taking them it would take him nine hours to get down the mountain. When he heard this, Terron declined these routes and cut off the Socius from his thoughts, leaving him with an empty mind once more.
He liked it better this way. With an empty mind and no one around him, Terron could think much more clearly than he ever could in the past. With nothing to distract him, it was so easy for him to piece together the stray thoughts drifting through him aimlessly and understand them. With them, he was able to find truly brilliant insights he never would have thought of earlier, such as what he would do when he finally arrived at his destination and how to go about everything flawlessly. Everything was much better with silence. Even his plague wasn't bothering him. It seemed to realize he wanted silence and thus gave it to him.
Terron liked that very much.
As the Cubone continued up that mountain, slowly nearing the peak with each step he took, he noticed feral Pokémon wandering about. They were just about everywhere, whether it be retreating into burrows in the rough ground, nibbling on the grass still green growing in patches , or hiding amongst the many boulders scattered about, they were somewhere Terron could see them. Most of them were little Pokémon such as Hoppip or Sentret who usually retreated the second they saw or heard Terron in the area. They were harmless creatures, little things that Terron knew he could kill with a good smack to the head with a club, which was why he wasn't surprised to see them act this way.
But there were also the occasional hulking Pokémon that loomed about such as Rhydon or Golem. They usually sat upon boulders or would be watching Terron from within the caves they had made within the mountain's side, always watching Terron pass by them with their narrowed eyes and snarling voices, ready to pounce at him and rip him to shreds at any minute. However, despite how close Terron got to any of these monstrous dwellers of the mountain, not a single one bothered to attack him.
They only remained where they were, watching him carefully. Even the most territorial Pokémon of all, such as a particularly large Aggron watching him from its perch on a towering boulder, wouldn't dare attack him. It only kept an eye on him from afar, glaring at him yet making no attempt to move. There was something preventing any of them from going anywhere near him. He could hear the occasional rustle, as if one of them were trying to sneak around him to catch up off-guard, but every time Terron looked back at the hulking Pokémon, he saw none of them had moved.
Terron wondered, for the briefest of moments, if he was being stalked by The Shadow Hunter.
He quickly pushed the thought out of his mind before it could prosper for much longer. There was no Shadow Hunter after him. He would have seen them or felt their presence. He was sure of it.
Terron ignored the strange behavior of these behemoth Pokémon as well as the strange noises, finding it made his job easier and faster. If he had to battle every single towering beast that he came across, he surely would have had an impressive heap of corpses behind him that could make a decent sized hill. It would have slowed him down, delaying his time to reach his destination he absolutely needed to get to as quickly as possible. Thus, he thought nothing of the strange phenomena as he marched onward, keeping his grip tightened around a bone club just in case.
By the time the Cubone was at the very summit of the mountain, not a single Pokémon had bothered Terron. He truly had made it up to the very top without a single confrontation. Terron smiled to himself when this dawned upon him, happy to know that he had made such good timing up the mountain. Now, according to his Socius, it would only take two hours to get down the mountain. He was making good time; it was only four o'clock according to the Socius. It would grow dark in another hour or two, but Terron didn't mind that. He wasn't scared to travel through the dark. There was nothing in the darkness that could make him tremble. After everything he had been through, he wasn't scared of whatever threats and fearsome creatures watched him through the black of night.
Terron drew his robe closer around his body and then continued onward, not caring for a break. Despite walking for four hours, he didn't feel the least bit exhausted. Not even his feet, which had been protesting in discomfort a time ago, were sore. They had finally adapted back to Shiron's rough terrain.
But as the Cubone moved forward and was to head down the mountain's slope, he soon found himself before a very unusual sight. He found himself surrounded by an entire horde of massive Charizard, six in all. They were all lounging about upon some rocks, lazily laying there in the sun and soaking up heat during what appeared to be a group nap session. But the moment Terron was to pass through the group and make his down the mountain, each and every one of them snapped their eyes open. They all shot Terron a glare, causing the Cubone to stop walking. He watched with a curious frown as they all stared at him, smoke blowing out of each of their nostrils as they flexed their massive wings.
Terron felt no fear despite being in the intimidating situation of being surrounded by ferocious, fire-breathing dragons. Though the other ferals had left him alone, he didn't think that the same could be said with these Charizard. Something in their eyes said otherwise. But Terron was ready for them. He reached into his robe and pulled out a handful of bones, ready to fuse them into a weapon suited him best for whatever these Charizard had in store for him.
But much to Terron's surprise, they didn't attack him. Instead, they remained upon their boulders and refused to move toward the little Cubone. Their wings beat, their tail flames flared, and growling at him with bared teeth, but not a single one attacked. It was just like with the other feral Pokémon of the mountain.
Terron almost didn't believe what was happening. He would have thought that these Charizard would give him a good fight. With so many of them around him and the entire species being notorious for their ferocious nature, he was sure they'd rip him apart with their claws and fangs, or at the very least incinerate him. But not these Charizard. They were going to remain where they were, appearing threatening, but otherwise being harmless.
He knew he could walk right past all of the Charizard and continue on his way. He knew that he should have just like he did with the feral Pokémon below. He had somewhere to be after all. However, as Terron gazed up at those Charizard from beneath his hood, he realized something; these Charizard could fly. These massive dragons could fly and go to wherever they pleased, and due to their size they could hold passengers.
Terron instantly knew what to do. Even if they were wild Pokémon, incapable understanding Terron's verbal intentions, he knew there was a way to convince them to listen to him. He knew that there was a language he could use that all of these Charizard would understand. He would convince these Charizard to let him be their rider. Or rather, he knew how to convince just one. He didn't need all of the Charizard. One would suffice.
He looked at all of the Charizard before him, carefully studying each of them. Despite how similar all of them looked, they each had tiny differences that distinguished one from another. The Charizard on Terron's farthest left had bigger jaws, the one next to that one had more worn claws, the one closest to him had a smaller head than the rest, and so on. It took a moment, but eventually Terron found the perfect Charizard amongst the group. It was the one farthest from him, its wings much larger than all the others' as well as being the most ferocious one of them all. Its tail flame seemed to be the one flaring up the most, occasionally flickering into a deep blue color. Terron grinned from beneath his hood. He could feel the adrenaline coursing through him, flooding into his veins and energizing him with an overwhelming power high.
Terron sprang forward, pushing off the ground with the balls of his feet, and catapulted himself at the Charizard of his liking. He tore out a large rib from his cloak as he crashed into the Charizard's chest. Then, before he could slip to the ground, he pulled the bone over the dragon's neck and grabbed onto the other end with his other hand. He pulled down hard, crushing the bone into the back of the dragon's neck. It roared loudly as it instantly took off into the sky, the other Charizard scattering away from it. It clawed at the little Cubone clinging to it, threatening to tear him apart with its sharp talons, but Terron had anticipated this. He swung himself around, making a half-circle around the Charizard's neck until he was sitting at the base of its neck, the rib still held pressing firmly into its throat.
The Charizard began to buck, trying to throw the little Cubone off as it performed a number of complicated and dangerous loops in the air. The wind blew against the Cubone, threatening to push him off and send him spiraling down into the mountain, but he refused to give in. He grasped the bone in his claws tight as he pulled back harder. The Charizard only thrashed harder, though now it twisted back its head and shot a stream of white-hot fire at the little Cubone. Terron ducked, feeling the heat of the blast sail right over his head, before he pulled back the rib even more.
"Yield, you stupid overgrown lizard!" Terron commanded. "Yield before you regret it!"
The dragon refused to relent. It only plummeted into a nose-dive, heading straight for the bottom of the mountain. That was, the side of the mountain that Terron had just walked up. Terron snarled as soon as he realized this. There was no way he was going back up the mountain again. He had already wasted enough time trying to control this rampant Charizard. He wasn't about to climb up the mountain a second time.
Terron clutched the rib held against the Charizard's throat tight, and then spread the plagued power into it. He watched as the black haze seeped through the bone before enveloping it into its wispy mass. Terron grinned as many teeth-like protrusions sprouted out of the surface of the bone and watched as they dug into the Charizard's neck. Blood spilled down its throat as it cried out in protest, but it showed no signs of stopping its descent.
"I said yield!"
Terron pulled back the rib as far as he could, causing even more blood to go flying right past him. His efforts paid off, for the Charizard finally had enough. It spread out its wings as it straightened out, bringing itself to a halt before it could reach the ground. Now the two hovered in the air, close to the base of the mountain. However, Terron didn't fret and instead adjusted himself in his seat upon the Charizard. Then, he turned the bone to the right, forcing the Charizard to turn with him until they were facing the mountain again.
"That's better," Terron grinned evilly.
He didn't hesitate to kick the Charizard in the ribcage, prompting it to take off again with a pained whimper. Terron felt no regret as he held onto his rib, steering the Charizard through the air as they ascended the mountain. The Charizard was about to stop once they hit the summit of the mountain once again, but Terron forced it to keep flying forward. The Charizard resisted him when he did this, squirming its neck around, but Terron reinforced his orders with another good kick and a tug upon the bladed rib. That quickly put the Charizard back in line and it dutifully continued onward.
The two continued flying for a long while, leaving behind the mountain and flying over a great number of plains. Terron peered down and noticed that not many Pokémon were roaming about it, leaving the fields completely empty. He considered that it was due to the cold weather drifting into the area, but something told him otherwise. He couldn't quite name why he thought this, but a thought told him that weren't many Pokémon living amongst those plains in the first place. He would have pondered in it more, but then he realized he was totally indifferent to the subject and could not care less about why the landscapes he was flying over were empty. They were nothing but backgrounds to him.
In fact, flying with this Charizard couldn't stir the least bit of emotion out of the Cubone either. He suspected that he would have felt some excitement at being able to soar through the skies upon a wild Pokémon he had forced to obey his every whim, but he felt nothing. The wind blowing through his clothes and the fresh air flowing through his nostrils could do nothing for him. He didn't even feel the least bit of panic at seeing the ground so far away despite remembering how terrified he used to be of heights.
He felt placid as he flew through the air on the back of that dragon. He felt collected and calm despite not even having a persona upon his head.
Terron blinked as he suddenly remembered something.
He had completely forgotten that he no longer had his skull helmet. It had been left in Kuron before Chrysalis kidnapped him and Nyx and threw them into the Unown realm. After that had happened, he had not found himself a new helmet. He could have gotten Chrysalis's skull, but she was a bug-type with an exoskeleton, something that he couldn't use nor depend on. He had multiple opportunities with the feral Pokémon he crossed paths with upon that mountain, but he had ignored them in order to reach his destination faster.
As soon as Terron realized this, he realized that he needed a new helmet. Maybe he didn't need it to remain calm and empty as he did now, but he felt like he still needed a skull helmet, like it was an essential part of his being. But, where would he obtain a helmet that was worthy for him to wear? He certainly didn't see any Pokémon wandering about below him and had no idea when he would run across anymore.
Then Terron saw what he was sitting upon. He saw the Charizard who obeyed his every order lest he torment it further with a perfectly good skull resting in its head, protecting its brain. It was such a perfect skull that could withstand so much abuse. It was a skull that already bore such an uncanny resemblance to the ones Marowak and Cubone usually wore…
Terron looked down. He saw now that the two of them were flying over the icy wasteland his Socius had told him about earlier, high enough so that the cold couldn't reach the two of them. As far as Terron could tell, he would reach the end of it in another five minutes. Then, the rest of his journey would only require him to walk through a number of dry and less frigid climates.
But before the Cubone could think over what he wanted to do regarding his reluctant steed, the Charizard let out a piercing howl. And then, it plummeted into the blizzard-infested land below, dropping as suddenly as a rock. Terron grit his teeth as he pulled back on the dragon, trying to force it to fly back up, but it wouldn't listen to him. It only continued to fall, entering the frigid air before finally collapsing into the snow. Terron was unable to keep his grip on the dragon and tumbled off its back, falling into the snow and rolling a few feet away from the downed dragon.
When Terron finally stopped, he quickly pushed himself up and accessed his Socius from within his mind, leafing through its contents until he found the spot where it kept all of his clothing. He only had to think about it once before a pair of warm, fur-lined boots covered his feet, shielding him from the snow's cold grasp. He sighed momentarily, relishing the warmth he now had.
The wasteland he now found himself in wasn't as brutal as he had anticipated. He could still vaguely see which direction he needed to walk toward, even if there was a thick layer of fog covering the land, and the snow covering the ground beneath was only half a foot deep from what he could tell. He thought he even saw a few ferals running about in the far distance, scampering behind a few jagged rocks scattered about. But whenever the blizzard's powerful wind blew in his direction, it still stung for a brief second. The snow pelting down upon him was not particularly pleasant, even if he was shielded it from it for the most part with his robe. However, he couldn't say the same for his face. His face, despite being hidden within a warm hood, could still be hit by falling snow and leave him stunned and freezing for a brief second.
He needed to change that.
Terron trekked over to his fallen Charizard and found it still lying on the ground. For whatever reason, it wasn't taking off and leaving behind its rider, instead choosing to writhe about, letting out pained groans. The Cubone frowned as he looked over the Charizard until he found the source of the beast's agony. There, stuck fast in its chest, was a sharp icicle. It bore more of a resemblance to a javelin than an actual icicle with how it went straight through the dragon's body and pierced out of its back, but Terron knew what it was. The white, glimmering object couldn't have been anything else except ice.
He had no idea where the icicle had come from. He knew that it couldn't have possibly come from the blizzard, because no blizzard created ice to look like this and it certainly never traveled as high up as it did. No, something had made this icicle. Someone perhaps, but Terron had no idea who. There was no one around them, not to mention he couldn't think of any reason for somebody wanting to shoot down a random Charizard flying in the sky. It was very baffling to the Cubone how such a thing had happened.
He wondered, again, if The Shadow Hunter had done this.
Once again, Terron told himself that there was no Shadow Hunter after him. Something else had happened. He wasn't sure what, but he chose not to ponder in it. Regardless of what had happened, he needed to do something about his current situation. He could ponder later.
The Cubone went over to the Charizard and grabbed one end of the icicle. Then, with a grunt, he pulled the object right out of its body and tossed it to the ground. But by doing this, he was quick to find that he tore out several of the dragon's organs in the process. They lay there in the snow with the icicle, dying the white ground crimson. For a second, Terron almost thought the way the blood clashed with the pure white of the snow was beautiful. There was something so mesmerizing to him about that.
However, Terron snapped himself out of his trance and looked back at the Charizard. It still wriggling was in pain, now even more so than before. Terron frowned at the sight of seeing this mighty dragon before him, now helpless and pathetic. He knew there was no way he was going to get this Charizard to fly again. No amount of pain he could inflict upon it could make it listen to him. When he understood this, Terron knew there was only one option left.
The Cubone tore out two clubs and a piece of Aron armor as he approached the Charizard's head, mashing the bones together and fusing them with his plague power until he was holding an axe in his hands. He grasped it in his two paws, adjusting to the heavy weight of the weapon, as he stopped before the Charizard's head. And then, before the Charizard even knew he was there, he raised the axe up over his head and brought it down upon its neck.
There was a sickening crack as the dragon's head was severed right off its body. Terron had to take a step back as blood sprayed out of its body, making sure he was out of its line of fire until the bleeding finally reduced to pouring gently into the snow. Terron absorbed the plague back into his body as his axe became ordinary bones and metal. He put everything back into his robe except one of the clubs, which he then turned into a dagger as he approached the disembodied head of the deceased dragon. He gazed down upon it, noting the empty, lifeless stare that was now in its eyes. Then, he took his knife and sank it right into its flesh, carving up the head carefully. He tore open the head, careful not to spill too much blood on his clothes as he made the incision wider and longer, all while being delicate.
Minutes later, he had opened up the head wide enough and found what he was looking for. With a grin, Terron put his knife away and reached both of his hands into the Charizard's head. Then, with a mighty tug, he ripped the great dragon's skull right out of its head, all in one bloody piece. Terron grinned as he held the skull in his blood-stained paws, marveling at his new persona. It was so perfect. He could feel the malleable ivory between his claws, refusing to crack no matter how much he pressed against it. He knew this skull would last him a very, very long time.
Unable to resist any longer, the Cubone pulled down his hood and mashed the skull onto his head.
The first thing he noticed was that it was a bit too big for him. He realized, right there, that his other helmet had been fitted to perfectly seal around his head while making it easy to pull off at the same time. The same could not be said for this. He could tell that it was better suited for a Marowak, who no doubt had bigger heads that could fit Charizard skulls. Perhaps, he considered, Cubone were never meant to wear skulls that fit them perfectly like his old one did. Perhaps they were meant to always be loose so that Cubone could have the extra incentive to evolve into a much bigger and stronger Pokémon who was much more suited for a mask capable of great power.
The second thing Terron noticed was that the mask was very warm. Because he hadn't bothered to wipe away any of the blood, the entire helmet was saturated in it, causing it to leak onto his face. However, Terron found he didn't mind this. He knew it made him look more like a monster this way, but he couldn't care less. It wasn't like anybody would be seeing his face anyway with how he always had his hood.
But in all, Terron liked his new persona very much. It would take some time to adjust to the large size of the skull, but he was going to cherish this skull until he died. It would be his prized possession above all else, making him feel powerful and unstoppable.
Terron grinned as pulled his hood back over his head. Despite the protection his helmet now provided him, he still needed to remain hidden from the world. His persona made it much easier for anyone to realize he was a Cubone, the species that the entire world was seeking out right now. He couldn't afford to be caught right now. He was sure that he'd have no trouble slaughtering anybody who got in his way, but it would be time-consuming. There was no reason to waste precious time. For all he knew, Novus had already reached the ice and fire dragon he had been babbling about earlier and was using it to find his true body. Once Novus became Reshiram once more, Terron knew he'd immediately go off to kill the Primogenitor. He could see that in Novus's eyes when he had been begging Terron to help him. He was completely bent on killing the shadowy monster he had created as Rem, even if he would die in the process. With him that determined to continue on his suicidal mission, Terron knew every second of his own limited life counted. Any day now he could die and never be able to see his Pokémon of interest.
Terron pulled out his bone club once more before turning it into a dagger, and then thrust it into the Charizard corpse. He ripped open its bowels as he reached inside, grabbing all of the bones he could spot and breaking them. He could use these bones; they were undoubtedly much stronger than the ones already in possession and could potentially serve for much better creations.
Minutes later, Terron finally retrieved all of the bones he wanted from the corpse and had his Socius convert them into data and stow them away into its storage. Then, after pondering in it, he had all of the bones hooked onto the inside of his robe disappear into the Kuron device, their burdening weight lift off of him. He knew that he wouldn't be fighting anytime soon, so there was no need to have his weapons on him at any time. Then also, he was sure that he could simply summon a weapon into his hand just as he could summon new clothing to form along his body. It was certainly much faster than reach into his robe, fumbling for the right weapon, and then ripping it out.
Feeling content with this decision, Terron began to walk away, heading out of the wasteland. It would only take about three hours from what his Socius was telling him. Then afterwards, the rest of his journey would involve him traveling through a number of fields, rocky terrains, and a forest. This blizzard-infested land would be the hardest part of his journey, though also the shortest. All he needed to tolerate the cold and keep going. Then, after getting out of the wasteland, he would rest for the day and continue on the next morning.
*Schulk*
There was a sudden pain in Terron's chest. He winced as he came to an abrupt stop, the bitter, stinging pain growing with each passing second. He grimaced as he looked down, and was horrified to find a large icicle digging into his heart, just as what had happened with the Charizard.
Terron's legs gave out from under him, causing him to slump into the soft snow. He feebly wrapped his paws around the icicle and tried to rip it out, but found it was stuck fast in his body, slowly sapping his life away. He saw darkness closing in on him from the corners of his eyes, threatening to swallow him whole as he lost more and more blood. Soon, he found himself unable to move his arms and was only able to lay there motionlessly in the snow, his breaths becoming shallow and raspy.
This time, Terron did not rejection the notion that The Shadow Hunter was the one who had attacked him. Though he wasn't sure why it would use ice attacks against him instead of some sort of other supernatural power, he didn't know how else the creature could have sneaked up on him so easily. He would have noticed otherwise.
The Shadow Hunter Novus had spoken of was out to get Terron. It had been hunting him down and now it was going to kill him.
As he lay there, slowly dying, Terron saw something emerge from the haze surrounding them. It was difficult to see due to its fur blending so well with the snow falling from the sky, but eventually it came close enough for Terron to finally identify it.
It was a Glaceon, his sapphire eyes locked in a seemingly permanent, detached glare with a disinterested frown upon his muzzle. His tail silently swished behind him as he neared the fallen Cubone, his footsteps somehow not making a single sound in the snow. His feet didn't even sink into the snow even once, as if he were somehow far lighter than a normal Glaceon ought to be. Terron at first that thought that he was the Glaceon who had taken care of him on the island, but then realized this Glaceon was not the same one. This Glaceon lacked the warmth his old caretaker always radiated.
This Glaceon was a perfect embodiment of the blizzard brewing around them.
When the Glaceon finally stopped before Terron, the Cubone noticed that the very air around the Glaceon seemed to grow even colder. It wasn't enough to turn the snow falling around them into hail, but it still made the Cubone shiver.
The ice-type stared down at the Cubone with a blank expression, no light sparkling in his eyes. His eyes slowly drifted toward the blood-covered ground, then over to Terron's head, which was still covered by his hood. Another moment of silence passed before the Glaceon took his paw and flung back the hood, revealing Terron's face to him. He took one look at Terron before his frown grew deeper.
"I didn't think so," the Glaceon said with a scoff. "The Shadow Hunter would not use a robe to disguise itself."
Terron realized, right there, that this was not The Shadow Hunter. It was true that the Glaceon didn't have a shroud of darkness over him as he briefly saw with the illustration Novus was looking at, but he had been willing to give a benefit of a doubt. Now there was no longer any reason to believe that. This Glaceon was someone else.
"If you're not The Shadow Hunter… then who are you?" Terron asked quietly.
The Glaceon seemed to ignore the Cubone as he pushed part of the robe upward, revealing Terron's left arm to him. His eyes immediately went to the Fellowship insignia scarred onto his hand. The tiniest of smiles briefly appeared on the Glaceon's face before he was once again a stoic, unbreakable block of indifference.
"But it appears that you still have worth after all," the Glaceon stated. "Hunting you down was not a waste of effort."
The Glaceon opened up his maw to suck in a large amount of air. As soon as Terron saw this, he knew what was coming next. He tried to move around to get away from the apparent bounty hunter, but he found he was still unable to move. The icicle stuck deep in his chest was paralyzing him, as he was sure this Glaceon had intended it to. Now, this Glaceon was going to deliver the lethal strike and undoubtedly turn over Terron's head to the Fellowship. And there was nothing Terron could do to stop him.
You're wrong.
Without warning, the icicle shot out of Terron's chest and sailed at the Glaceon. The Glaceon's eyes shot wide open as he abruptly disappeared into the blizzard, vanishing without a trace as the icicle cut through the air where he once stood. Terron looked down at his chest, baffled by what had just happened, only to find himself staring at an even more baffling sight.
There were dozens of tiny little black tendrils worming their way out of the large hole in Terron's chest and were closing up the wound. Within a matter of seconds, the hole completely closed, and all that remained of the injury was a tear in his robe where the icicle had impaled him. Terron almost couldn't believe his eyes.
Did you really think that you could die when you've got the plague in you now? You cannot die by any normal Pokémon's actions, just like the true Plagued Ones. You are immortal, Terron.
No sooner than Terron heard this did a flurry of ice shards impact him, sinking into his spine. Terron cringed as they dug into him and thought he would collapse yet again, but was soon to find that his plagued self pushed each of the shards out of his body and sealed up his wounds. It only took another few seconds before the pain itself subsided. Terron stood there, mystified by what was happening. He really couldn't believe it. He was actually being hit with attacks that would kill him, yet living through all of them.
He had become immortal.
Terron grinned evilly as he scanned the blizzard around him, searching for that Glaceon that dared to attack him. He had to be somewhere nearby, or else he couldn't have possibly fired those shards.
And then he saw the Glaceon. He was standing a few yards away from him, sitting in the snow and glaring at the Cubone from far away. The moment he locked eyes with that Glaceon, the ice-type instantly disintegrated into the blizzard, disappearing once more. Terron didn't know what sort of power was allowing the Glaceon to do that, as he hadn't seen his old caretaker do the same, but he didn't concern himself over it. He imagined it was a unique ability that only certain ice Pokémon held within them.
Terron growled as his Socius summoned a bone club into each of his hands. He gripped them tight as he mashed them together, fusing them with plagued energy until they formed a large shuriken.
"Don't you dare pull that trick on me!" Terron screamed into the blizzard. "I've already had somebody pull that with me enough times! I'm sick of disappearing acts! Quit being a coward!"
Something cold instantly snapped around Terron's legs. He shot his gaze down to find that his feet were now enveloped in thick ice, gluing him to the ground. He tried to pull his feet upward, but the ice refused to break and remained stuck fast to the snow. The Cubone bashed the oversized shuriken into the ice encasing his feet, shattering it instantly and allowing him to break free.
No sooner did he do this did a blast of ice shoot out of the distance and impact his legs once again, sealing them back into the ground. Terron snarled viciously as he snapped his gaze toward the source of the attack to find the Glaceon standing close by, trails of white vapor streaming from his open mouth. Terron shot him a spiteful glare as he took his weapon and flung it at the ice-type.
The Glaceon disappeared in an instant, once again becoming one with the blizzard. The shuriken went right through where he stood a second earlier before boomeranging back to the Cubone. Terron held up his arm, steadying himself to catch it without it slicing into him and potentially severing his head right off.
But before he could raise his hand high enough, another pillar of ice struck him, and he found his entire hand enveloped in a block of ice. Terron quickly lowered the frozen arm and raised his other one to catch the oncoming object, but then yet another blast of frigid energy hit him in the arm and covered it in ice. Terron's eyes widened in horror as the shuriken sailed toward him, closing in on him with its blades gleaming maliciously. Knowing there was nothing else he could do, he held up both of his arms over his front in a cross guard.
His plague-filled weapon crashed into his arms, slicing into the ice and cutting his flesh, but thankfully it stopped before it could chop off his hands. Terron sighed in relief, but then quickly remembered his predicament. He bashed his hands together, trying to break the ice further so that he could be free, but the ice wouldn't crack. It remained solid and unbreakable, bent on keeping Terron its prisoner. All his efforts had done were break the shuriken apart, turning back into ordinary bones as they tumbled to the ground.
Another blast of energy hit Terron, this time hitting him in the chest and sealing his entire body into a black of ice. A second later, the Glaceon finally emerged from the blizzard and settled himself on the snow a few feet away from the Cubone.
"You can't kill me you know," Terron said to the Glaceon. "You can try all you like, but you can't. Meaning you'll never win."
"I know I cannot. I know you carry the plagued creature powers within you," the Glaceon answered indifferently. "But that is of no concern to me. The bounty never required you to be a corpse."
The ice-type then walked over to the Cubone before going around to his back. Terron struggled, trying to break the ice containing him, but it wouldn't budge. Only his head could move, but even doing that could over him no aid. He watched as the hunter grabbed the hood of Terron's robe, for it was the only part of his clothing that was not sealed in the ice, and yanked the Cubone down to the ground. Terron collapsed in a heap, his icy binds remaining strong and not fracturing even the tiniest amount. Seemingly satisfied with this, the Glaceon then sealed Terron's head in a block of ice before he bit down harder on the exposed hood and wandered into a seemingly random direction. He dragged Terron behind him as they exited out of the blizzard and into the calm of the storm. He didn't seem the least bit fatigued to be lugging around a dead-weight Cubone, somehow walking just as strongly and quickly as he did under normal circumstances.
Terron couldn't believe this was happening. After he had been so strong earlier, completely unstoppable to everyone, this single Glaceon had managed to take him down and was whisking him away to be collected by what he presumed was the Fellowship. He couldn't think of anybody else who would want his head for a price. And though Terron wanted to resist, he knew he couldn't. He had tried enough times, but the ice was proving too strong for him. It was bent on keeping him its prisoner, just as how the Glaceon was. They were both impossibly relentless, meaning that Terron would have no choice but to be collected by ones who could actually kill him. Even now, with his head encased in ice, he found that it didn't affect him in the least bit. It filled him with an uncomfortable cold, but he didn't feel his lungs shriveling up as he had imagined he would. It was as though he no longer needed oxygen to live.
But it didn't matter whether Terron was alive or not now. He would die soon through other means.
He had been so close. He had been so close to getting to his destination, and now he could do nothing but watch it grow further and further away.
He would die in vain.
No… it can't end this way. Terron thought angrily. It can't. Not when I'm this close. I'm not going to let some stupid Glaceon ruin everything!
An idea suddenly appeared in Terron's mind. It was a strange idea, one that Terron wasn't sure would even work, but he knew there was nothing to lose. He was being carried off to his death; nothing he did anymore could cost him dearly.
Terron glared back at the Glaceon, and then accessed his Socius and told him to summon a dozen bone thorns from within its storage. Except, instead of manifesting them into his hands, he wanted it to do something different.
He wanted it to summon them into the air and have them rain down upon the Glaceon.
Terron waited as his Socius processed the request within his mind, reaching deep into its contents and accessing the bones he had stored within it. He felt it take even more of his energy as it did this, but didn't fret. The amount of his energy it sapped away was still not enough to fatigue him.
For a moment, nothing happened. Terron was still being pulled away by the Glaceon, who only kept his eyes forward and strode along unflinchingly. Only snow fell around them, harmlessly settling upon their bodies before shortly being joined by their other brethren.
And then, there was a glimmer of light, and many sharp objects fell out of the sky and rained down on the Glaceon. The ice-type was barely able to leap out of the way before they pierced the spot where he once stood, though a couple still punctured into his hind legs. He hissed harshly as he distanced himself from Terron and pulled out the thorns with his mouth, blood now running down his body.
Terron didn't waste another second. He had his Socius rain down a good amount of sharp bones down upon his body, and watched as every single one sank into the ice, each one fracturing his binds a tiny amount. Eventually, each of the fissures joined together to create a large one that cracked the ice surrounding his body in two. He smiled as he ripped himself out of the ice and shook off the icy crystals clinging to his helmet. He then shot a mocking grin at the Glaceon, who was now frowning in disapproval.
"Still think you can capture me?" Terron asked.
The Glaceon didn't answer. The snow falling around the Glaceon began clinging to his tail, where it soon changed into solid ice. Within a matter of seconds, the Glaceon's entire tail was coated in the frozen substance, it now bearing a resemblance to a fearsome blade able to cut right through Terron's body with one swipe. And yet, Terron didn't feel intimidated in the slightest. Terron only grabbed a single bone club resting at his feet before changing it into a broadsword.
Terron rushed forward, gripping the handle of his sword tighter as he closed the distance between the two of them. The Glaceon responded by darting to the side and then slamming his razor-sharp tail right at Terron's neck, as if he intended to cut Terron's head right off. But before the tail could reach his flesh, Terron intercepted it with the blade of the sword, blocking it and preventing it from moving forward. Then, when the two of them were put at a stalemate, Terron released his hold on his weapon and lunged forward. He grabbed the Glaceon by his throat before the two rolled through the snow for a brief moment before they finally came to a stop. Terron tightened his grip around the hunter's throat as he kept him shoved into the snow.
The Cubone grinned evilly as he summoned a single bone thorn into his hand and turned it into a dagger.
"Congratulations, plagued creature," the Glaceon spoke, somehow still unfazed despite his dire circumstances. "You are the first one in my many years of hunting to have forced me to be in this position. You should find that to be quite an accomplishment. To think I was disappointed for a brief moment because you were not The Shadow Hunter."
"Who exactly is this Shadow Hunter?" Terron asked coldly. "And don't you dare trying to breathe out your ice at me. The second you start doing it, I'll cut your throat right open."
"As if you could actually do that," the Glaceon scoffed, unimpressed with Terron's threats.
"Don't test me, Glaceon," Terron hissed.
The ice-type let out a snort, but just as Terron was to shove his weapon against the Glaceon's neck, he began to speak.
"Fine. I will give you a useless answer as a reward for your accomplishment," the Glaceon spoke indifferently. "The Shadow Hunter is a creature. It has been roaming Shiron since the plagued creatures revealed their existence. No one knows what it is or what it wants. But many believe it to be a more intelligent, more powerful kind of plagued creature. The fact that kills so often further makes others believe this. Thus a bounty was put upon its head. Just as you have a bounty on your head."
The Glaceon glanced at the Cubone, a vague resemblance of curiosity glimmering in his eyes.
"Obviously it is not allied with you plagued creatures if you are not even aware of its existence," the Glaceon stated blandly. "How amusing. I wonder who The Shadow Hunter could be then. I wonder why it looks like a plagued creature."
Terron didn't say anything. Terron plunged his dagger into the Glaceon's neck, drawing blood. The Glaceon struggled to keep a stoic face as Terron pushed the weapon in deeper. But before he could push enough of the blade into the Glaceon's jugular, a breeze blew through the area they stood in, pelting the two of them with heavier, colder snow. It seemed that a strong appendage of one of the many blizzards in the area had reached them again.
The Glaceon shot Terron a smug grin.
"Sorry, but my head is not a reward I'm willing to give you," he said mockingly.
And then, just like that, the Glaceon was gone, having disappeared into the blizzard. All that remained of him was the droplets of blood splattered onto the snow before Terron. Terron growled in frustration as he got to his feet, disappointed that he hadn't killed the bounty hunter faster. But, Terron knew the Glaceon wasn't coming back. He had probably run off to recover, for Terron's weapon had still cut deep into his throat. He'd live, but he would be in no condition to keep fighting.
Terron, still fuming at his failure, gathered the bones he had summoned earlier off the ground and stored them back into his Socius. Then, he pulled his hood back over his head before storming off toward his destination, trying to forget about the Glaceon.
Zekra finally spotted the large growth of trees that she knew housed the Greninja Village from her position high above in the sky. It was almost impossible to tell it was the right place, given that nearly all of the clusters looked exactly the same, but something told her this was the right place. She didn't understand why she thought that, but she saw no reason to argue with her intuition.
She tucked in her false Skarmory wings as she descended into the mass of trees, careful not to scrape against the branches too much before carefully landing on the ground. She barely touched the dirt with her talons before Crystelle leapt off her back, giddily prancing about with their bag swinging around her neck. Zekra gave a tired sigh as she sank to the ground, transforming back into a Zorua.
"Alright, we're here," Zekra announced. "Now all we gotta do is look for this tree with this weird symbol on it and we go under it. And then we'll find this tunnel and it'll lead us inside. So yeah, we just need to do that."
Zekra took in a few deep breaths and let her sore muscles relax on the cold ground, the blades of grass lightly tickling her fur. She was heavily tempted to let her eyes shut and drift off to sleep, but she knew she couldn't. Somebody was waiting for her inside of her mind, and she had no intentions of seeing them again anytime soon. She would delay it for as long as possible.
However, with her current position, she wondered how much longer she could hold off sleep. She hadn't gotten any sleep in three days, and the last two days she had been flying over Shiron to arrive here. During the breaks she would try to eat Chesto berries to keep her awake, but Crystelle refused to give her any, saying that if she relied on them to stay awake, she might grow addicted to them and might never be able to sleep again. And by doing so, she felt that they might somehow make Zekra's mind slowly go insane and not be able to differentiate between what was reality and what would appear in her dreams, thus blending the two worlds together into a corrupted reality where Zekra's worst fears existed. Crystelle had pointed out that Zekra had already been seeing things that didn't exist with the plagued Ursaring, therefore she refused to let Zekra have any more berries lest she begin having even more terrifying delusions.
Thus, Zekra had been forced to stay awake all on her own without any sort of aid. Even Zekra wasn't sure how she did it, but now, she could feel her willpower waning. She really wanted to be able to sleep and not feel as though she would collapse with every step or flap of her false wings she took.
But she couldn't. She just couldn't see Venri again.
As she thought over these things, she noticed Crystelle trotting over to her. She watched as the Umbreon stopped before her tired form and looked down at her, her happy smile soon turning into a more serious, stern one.
"Alright Zekra, we're here at the village," Crystelle said. "You promised that you'd rest now, remember?"
Zekra's heart stopped. Crystelle was right; she had promised that. She had promised that she would sleep after they arrived near the village. Zekra had thought that perhaps Crystelle would forget about it, as she never had any intentions of keeping the promise, but it seemed she had been too hopeful.
"Um yeah… you sure you don't want to go in the village first?" Zekra asked reluctantly. "I mean, we're right here and it's night time, the perfect time to go in and-"
"No Zekra, you're getting sleep now," Crystelle said firmly. "You promised, remember?"
"I know, but…" Zekra said as she flattened her ears against her head. "I really don't want to get some sleep right now."
"Zekra, you look like you're going to pass out any second now," Crystelle argued. "Even when you were flying, I could see your eyes drooping a lot. We can't go into that Greninja Village when you're all tired and everything. I mean, do you know hard it is to sneak around anywhere when you feel like you're going to faint? It's hard. Very hard. You're going to die if we go into the village with you like this."
The Umbreon came closer to the Zorua as she lowered herself down to Zekra's level, sitting beside her and looking at her with a sad frown.
"I know that you want to find your answers as soon as you can," Crystelle said gently. "Believe me, I know what that's like. That was why I came here to Shiron after I turned into an Umbreon; because I wanted to know how powerful I could actually be. I knew that staying home wouldn't give me those answers. So really, I know what's going through your head right now. But you can't go get those answers right now like this. You're a mess. You're just going to get caught because of something stupid and I'm sure that those Greninja don't want us in their little village. You'll die in vain, and then I'll have to tell me parents that I couldn't keep my promise to protect you. I really don't want to tell them that. So please, get some rest. Get some rest so that I can help you find your answers."
Zekra frowned and looked away. She wanted to explain to Crystelle that she wouldn't actually die, given that she could regenerate without even thinking about it, but knew that it was better not to. Besides, Crystelle had a point. She couldn't go into the village with her eyes drooping constantly and her thoughts swirling around aimlessly in her mind, forming an incoherent haze. It would be impossible to infiltrate the village in her condition.
The Zorua knew that she needed to listen to Crystelle. She knew that she was right. But the moment she began to think about sleep, she soon saw Venri back in her mind, watching her expectantly from the darkness. Those gemstones of eyes were fixed on Zekra, glowing with a bluish-white light.
She would have to face that Sableye if she fell asleep. And if she reunited with that Sableye, there was no guarantee she would ever wake again.
Venri might swallow her whole.
"I… can't," Zekra said weakly. "I just… can't."
Crystelle stared at Zekra for a moment, her soft expression still frozen onto her face. She remained as still as a statue as the rings upon her body continued to illuminate dimly.
And then, there was a glimmer in her eyes, and a disappointed frown formed upon her muzzle.
"Fine, if you're going to be that way, you leave me with no choice," Crystelle said in a low, simmering voice.
The Umbreon reached into her bag and then pulled out a single seed with her mouth before locking her glare onto Zekra.
"This is for your own good, Zekra," Crystelle said, her tone vaguely pitiful. "You'll thank me for this later."
Zekra knew what was coming next, but because she was so tired, her movements were sluggish and she wasn't able to react fast enough. Crystelle shoved Zekra down to the ground with a paw and then with her other paw, forced Zekra's maw open. The seed fell into Zekra's mouth and touched her tongue, and then it instantly disintegrated.
She didn't even get a chance to scream before darkness enveloped her, pulling her down into the abyss of slumber.