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Chapter 90
Dive Into The Heart
Special thanks to Rotshout for helping me figure out the proper mechanics of the battle scene of this chapter. It was a huge help for a situation I'm not used to writing.
There was darkness everywhere.
Endless, silent, and brooding darkness. It accepted Yimtri without question as he fell through it, taking in his everything as it slowly absorbed him into itself. It accepted him for everything he was and everything he wasn't. It accepted his greatest strengths and his greatest faults. None of these things mattered to the darkness.
It only took him in to be with it without hesitation. He was always meant to be one with it. He had avoided this fate for so long, for so many years, but he would have been a fool to believe he could escape it forever. He was always meant to be one with this darkness, this perpetual black that enveloped him.
After all, a shadow was only an appendage of the dark.
And yet, he wasn't frightened as he melted into the darkness, becoming one with it. Though he knew there was no escaping from the fate he found himself in, he found no reason to fret. There was nothing to harm him here in this void. There were no creatures that wanted to kill him, no creatures that wished to spit spiteful words at him, no tragedies to endure, nor any horrors that he had to stand steadfastly against. He was simply alone.
He was home, where he was always meant to be.
He started to remember the days he used to live in this abyss. What seemed like centuries ago, he remembered the days when this darkness was where he dwelt every moment of every day. He would drift here silently, listening to the voices and watching the people from outside of the darkness through someone else's eyes, taking in everything that was happening. And then, if he felt so prompted, he would speak. He would tell the one whose eyes he would be watching through exactly what he thought and how to best work with the situation. Though it was not his life to live, he felt a strange compulsion to always help this person whose life he would gaze upon like Arceus did amongst the mortal realm in days of long ago. He never understood why, but he would not question it. He only wanted to help this strange person whose world he found so much fascination and fondness in.
And for a time, the person he watched through the darkness did as he suggested. He would see something through the person's eyes, and he would tell the person what he thought of it. Shortly after, the person would do as he suggested and favorable outcomes were made. He remembered he was always happy during these times. It was in these days that he felt that he was practically living the person's life.
But all of that changed sometime later. He could not remember precisely when it happened. Time seemed to mesh in his memories. All he knew was that after some time, the person stopped listening to him. Whenever he saw something about a situation that was particularly bothersome, such as another person being rather rude to his person, he would tell the human the only way to make the person stop was to hurt them. He would tell the person he had to attack as a wild animal might do when cornered. It would make the other person realize that their words were not called for and make them never speak those rude words again. But his person would not listen to him. He would only remain silent and let everything continue. He let the rudeness continue, all the while simmering in silence.
This happened for nearly everything. Whether it was because the person was dealt an unfair hand in life, was not granted the justice he deserved, or was being a pitiful, pathetic mess, the person would not listen to whenever advice was given. He wanted to help this human. He didn't want the human to suffer. He could feel all of the pain the human did and wanted it to end more than anything. And yet, no matter what he said, the human would ignore him. The human would shudder every time he spoke within his realm, and he would feel a deep sense of dread crawling through his being. Only on rare occasions, when the human was too overwhelmed by his emotions, did he ever listen. Only when he was volatile would he listen and heed the advice given to him.
That was his life for so long. He was continuously ignored by the human he only wanted to help, all because his advice was considered too harsh or unwanted by the human. And thus, every day he remained in that darkness, sulking silently. He drifted in that endless black, festering away in loneliness as he watched the human live his life without him. That had been his life. He was doomed forever to remain in that void and watch his human live a much more lively life without him. Every day he slowly grew to resent that human. Every day he wished he could be that human instead and have the human wander in the aimless darkness. Every day he began to question why he continued to offer this human his words of wisdom when they would only be ignored.
But it meant nothing in the end. No matter how much he screamed at the human, telling him to listen and to stop ignoring him, the human would not listen. He was doomed to forever rot in that darkness in eternal loneliness, watching the human's life unfold before him while futilely trying to help him.
At least, he would have… if something miraculous had not happened.
He could remember it so clearly. It was a seemingly ordinary night, this night the same as every other one. The human was asleep and would be going to school in another few hours. He was simply dwelling in his darkness, watching the human's dreams of whimsical fantasy and wonder in silence. He debated entering that dream and speaking to the human. He knew he could, as he had done it several times in the past, but he had never spoken to the human. He had kept afar, taking on the forms of dream inhabitants that might fit whatever dream the human was having. If it was a dream rooted in reality, then he would be one of the human's neighbors. If it was a dream rooted in a world of medieval times with mythical creatures and knights, he would often pretend to be a hatchling dragon. He had done these things because he was not sure what the human would think. The human already hated him when he couldn't actually see him. He could only imagine the results if he tried to talk to the human face-to-face in a dream, the both of them of equal power.
And yet, he sought that human. That human was his everything, his entire reason for being. He missed the days when the two were once one, when they could think alike and both live in the world. If the two of them could only be like that again. He couldn't stand this world of solitude and neglect all the while the human lived his life happily, surrounded by those that loved him.
But just as he was to consider going into the dream and speak to the human, something else happened. A portal opened up before the human. Then, in a flash of light, the human was taken from his bed and placed down upon the cold, moist dirt of an eerie forest whose branches curled and twisted in such unnatural forms. But much more surprising, there was a creature before the human. It was a strange creature, a being seemingly made out of darkness that hovered above the slumbering human. She was gazing at him with a pitiful glimmer, as she ran a claw-like hand through his hair. He had no idea what to think of the strange sight before him.
And he wasn't able to ponder in it further either, for not long after he noticed the creature's presence, something bright hit the creature and knocked her into the forest.
What occurred next happened so quickly.
One second, he was diving into the human's dream so that he could tell him to wake up and run away.
The next second, horrible pain filled his body. Pain so terrible and great that it woke up the human without his help and made him scream. Something cold began to invade his void. Something menacing and treacherous. And though he wanted to flee, he knew he could not. Whatever was crawling through home was closing in on him. Something with two, glowing white lights that showed no mercy.
That was when it happened.
Just as he was sure the entity clashed with him, something seemed to grab him. And then, it tore him out of the darkness. It tore him straight out of his home he was born in, and tossed him into a blinding light. He clawed at the light as it burned him, eating away at his formless being, but the light would not fade. It only grew brighter as the darkness that was his home was taken away from him. He screamed and screamed, but nothing could stop the pain or the light.
Then, just like that, everything just stopped. The light disappeared as the dark invaded his sight once more.
That was where his memories ended. Everything about his life with the human ended at that point and they would not continue. They simply ended at him fading into the darkness.
However, Yimtri didn't need any more memories to know what happened next.
He was what happened next. He was what awoke sometime later in a glade with no one around in a body that he knew was not his. He was what held that human's memories, believing them to be his own. He was the pitiful being that had been ripped out of that void and given a body thanks to an entity he could never claim to fully understand.
Yimtri was what became of that lonesome shadow that was torn out of Dimitri.
I was so different back then. I was more of a frightened and needy child than whatever I have become now. All because of having Dimitri's memories within me. I thought I was him when I woke up. I didn't think I was the one he was trying to neglect all this time. If I hadn't had those memories when I was turned into a Sableye… would I still be that lonely little shadow?
Will I turn back into him now that I've finally returned home?
Are these the last moments I have as the person I was on Shiron before I become that pitiful shadow once more?
That's for you to decide.
Yimtri would have froze if he still had a body. The peaceful yet moody atmosphere was swiftly smothered out as he hurriedly searched about. In this new form, he could see everywhere at once, as if he actually were every speck of darkness that enveloped his home. And yet, he could not see anyone. He was alone.
Who's there?
Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you. I've been searching for you is all. I thought that you were lost.
And why have you been searching for me?
Because I need your help. I need you to help me save Terron.
What do you mean? I thought that he was lost to that monster.
He is on the border of being gone forever, but he is not gone yet. He's only locked away.
But I thought that I was lost to that monster that began to awake within me. I remember it taking over my mind before it threw me down here… How can I possibly help him?
Your plague saved you. It protected you before that monster could take over so that you could save Terron.
Yimtri couldn't believe what he was hearing. His plague, the entity that he had pushed aside and never spoke to again after he vowed not to kill Zekra, was keeping him safe. Despite all of the harsh words he had said to it and how much he despised it, it was protecting him from the monster that had been trying to consume him.
My plague wouldn't save me. It knows how much I detest it. Why are you telling me these lies? What do you really want with me?
But it did save you. I can prove it.
It was then that Yimtri's vision was filled with light. He watched as the darkness surrounding him crept away as a scene unfolded around him, and before long, he found himself gazing down upon Terron in his possessed form. He was collapsed on the ground, out cold. He twitched in his sleep, wincing and thrashing about as if trying to desperately wake up, but was unable to do so. He remained in this seemingly perpetual nightmare. But what struck Yimtri most of all was the appearance he now took on. The Cubone was no longer a strange Cubone and Primogenitor hybrid. Now, it resembled a more normal Cubone with no traces of Primogenitor upon him. Every so often a ripple would go over the Cubone, and he would revert back to the fearsome creature that had bitten off Yimtri's head, but it would only be for a fleeting second before he reverted back. Every time this happened, the Cubone's shadow would seem to gain eyes that would glimmer momentarily.
Yimtri recognized those eyes to be his plague's eyes.
You two are in the same body now. Your plague did this so that it could protect both you and Terron. It did that because it cared about you.
But I hated my plague… it knows that…
Dimitri hated you when you were a shadow. Did that stop you from wanting to help him?
Yimtri found himself at a loss as the vision of Terron's possessed body faded away and the darkness came over him once more. Of course he knew the answer. He had seen it in his memories. Even though he had despised Dimitri for neglecting him so and living out his life without him, he had still wanted to keep that human boy safe. He had wanted him to prosper and live his life the best he could.
He had wanted Dimitri to be happy in the life that his shadow could not live.
Help me save Terron. Don't let your plague's efforts go to waste. Come with me and together we can all purge that monster out of here.
Alright… alright, let's save Terron then. Together.
Yimtri felt warmth shudder through the void around him as a small, white light appeared in the distance. He felt something pull him toward it, the light growing brighter and brighter with each passing second.
… Who exactly are you, though? You're not my plague, and you're most certainly not Terron…
Yimtri thought he heard a laugh from everywhere at once, but not a mocking or insidious one. It was warm and kind, something he had not heard for quite some time.
Ah, I thought you'd never ask.
I'm what remains of the plague that Mother gave Terron.
I'm what was supposed to protect him from the monster that awoke from within him.
I'm what was left of you after you were torn out of him so many years ago.
And then the light enveloped Yimtri completely.
When the light disappeared, Yimtri found himself laying face up upon solid ground. High above him were a number of black, jagged stalactites, all of them clinging to the dark ceiling above him. And though they seemed firmly rooted to the ceiling and were so high above him, he couldn't help but feel that they would break and impale him the moment he took his eyes off of them. However, all Yimtri had to do was raise his hands to see that they were once again purple claws adept for digging and slashing. He was no longer the formless being he had seemingly become when he was whisked away into that void.
He reached up and felt for his eyes, and was quickly met with something cold and crystalline. He resisted a gasp as he carefully slid his claws down his eyes and felt no cracks. There was only a smooth, solid surface that he felt radiated warmth when he pressed claws against it hard enough. He then looked down, and immediately saw the red gem embedded into his chest, glimmering dimly in the light of his gemstone eyes.
He was a Sableye again.
When he realized this, the uneasy thoughts flowing through his mind silenced themselves. He turned away from the ceiling as he slowly sat up, and gazed upon the new world that he found himself in.
Yimtri was in what appeared to be the inside of a volcano. Lava pooled around his tiny island of rock no bigger than a Lapras, hissing and occasionally sending up sprays of its fiery embers near the Sableye. It surrounded him and numerous other small islands that offered shelter from the hissing lava. Magma seeped down in small waterfalls from various parts of the ceiling without cease, adding to the molten rock already swarming around Yimtri. And yet, despite how much lava seemed to fill the volcano that Yimtri found himself in, it never once crept onto his rock, nor did he feel any of the heat. He couldn't even smell the sulfur that should have been wafting through the air. There was only pleasant coolness, as if he were in a forest rather than in the midst of a volcano. His miniscule island was a safe haven, somewhere he was unharmed by this strange world.
"So I'm a Pokémon again."
Yimtri stopped and pressed his claws against his mouth. He could feel them pushing up against his jagged teeth, sending waves of discomfort through his jaw.
"I can talk again as well," Yimtri stated.
"Yes, you're not a shadow when you're here."
Yimtri turned his head to find that there was someone with him on his island, standing a few feet away. He wasn't sure what it was, given that its appearance was rather transparent and the form seemed to be growing more and more hazy as Yimtri tried to focus on it, but he felt that it was a Sableye just like him.
"So, this is where Terron is?" Yimtri asked.
"Yes. He's here," the entity said. "I can feel him here. His presence is weak, but he's undoubtedly here."
"And where exactly is here?" Yimtri asked as he got to his feet. "Quite honestly, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that this was a certain environment from within Erebus Woods. It looked exactly like this."
"This is Terron's soul. However, I wouldn't say that this is any part of Terron's soul that he quite likes. Somebody else made this location within him."
The Sableye continued to glance around, searching for any sign of Terron. He peered far into the distance where other islands lay, as well as high above in the darkest spots behind the numerous stalactites, searching for the slightest hint of that Cubone. And yet, he could not find him. He could not spot his earthen brown amongst the orange and black that filled the world around him. Yimtri even drew closer to the edge of his rock and gazed down into the magma, perhaps thinking that he would something beneath its bubbling and molten surface. But alas, there was nothing. There was only a sea of fiery orange.
Yimtri was about to question where exactly the Cubone was in this vast world that seemed so devoid of life, but just before he could, his platform began to shake. The Sableye crouched down and steadied himself as the violent trembling continued as the magma not far from him bubbled more fervently. He watched as something began to rise from the fiery pits, the lava covering its entire body as it rose higher and higher until it was halfway up to the ceiling. The magma slowly receded back into the pool around the hulking entity, revealing the creature bit by bit to Yimtri. First came the claws, large as tree trunks and sharper than Skarmory feathers. Then came the head, large and imposing, golden eyes emitting the rawest of power upon the world. Then came the gaping maw, filled with teeth that could snap an Aggron in half with one bite as an ethereal glow radiated from the back of its throat.
When the last of the lava seeped off the beast's monstrous, armored form, Yimtri knew exactly what he was looking at. He had to resist taking a few steps backwards.
Standing before him in the midst of the lava was Groudon.
Yimtri had known to never underestimate the godly beings. Even before he had ever met Reshiram, he had heard the tales of these behemoths that once protected the lands, towering over mortals and making them realize how insignificant they truly were. Then also, there was the Primogenitor from long ago, which had appeared so mighty before him when he was only a boy. And yet, when Yimtri found himself gazing upon Groudon, the supposed beast that created all of the lands that he tread upon in all of his years of living, he couldn't help but shudder. Perhaps it was because he was much smaller now. Perhaps now that he was a Sableye, this behemoth was more imposing than it ever would be if he were still human.
But Yimtri knew the true reason. Though he didn't doubt the sheer stature of Groudon was quite intimidating, he knew there was another reason he felt small and frail before the behemoth. He knew the second he gazed into the creature's golden and smoldering eyes.
This wasn't the real Groudon.
This was a monster.
It let out a fierce, primal roar that shook the stalactites hanging from the ceiling so greatly that a good number of them fell into the lava. Thankfully none hit Yimtri's small island, but that didn't stop his heart from sinking into a dark place as the beast shot him a glare that could surely melt steel.
"YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" it bellowed in a monstrous voice that shook the very ground.
Before Yimtri could even think of a response, the beast stomped toward him. The lava churned and rippled as the Groudon closed in on the little Sableye until he was standing right before Yimtri's tiny foundation. Then, with another loud roar, it raised one of its claws and brought them down upon the Sableye.
Yimtri and Terron's plague were only barely able to leap off the island as the claws dug into the spot where they once stood, its claws breaking apart the pitiful foundation and shoving it down into the lava. The foundation was swallowed by the lava as the Groudon withdrew its massive claws, not even a scratch upon their steely surface.
Yimtri landed on a nearby rock, just barely preventing himself from careening off the edge before shooting a tense gaze toward the Groudon. It didn't seem to notice that he had escaped, though Yimtri knew that wouldn't be for very long.
"What exactly is that thing?" Yimtri asked cautiously.
"The very monster that took over Terron last you saw him," Yimtri's companion replied. "It's a rather daunting beast, isn't it?"
"Why does it look like Groudon?" Yimtri asked. "Why doesn't it look like the Primogenitor?"
"Because it never wanted Terron to know what it was. It knew that if it appeared as that creature it would intimidate Terron or perhaps make him realize that there was a monster within him. So it made itself appear as Groudon, forming this little world within him so they had a place to meet so it could slowly take over Terron from there. But of course, that didn't exactly work out, and it had to take over using other methods."
"And why didn't it? Terron… he has memories of seeing this beast. I can see them right now. He's visited it here in this world. He's spoken with it multiple times. And yet, it's always telling him to leave. It tells him to stop coming to this world. Why would it do that if you claim it wanted to take over him?"
"Because I was controlling it for a while."
Yimtri turned away from the Groudon to find Terron's benevolent plague still with him on the island. It was still quite hazy and seemed to be growing even more transparent than before. The Sableye grimaced as he flashed his eyes and drew his claws.
"What exactly does that mean?" Yimtri asked edgily.
"I wasn't trying to take over Terron," it assured him in a mellow voice. "I was trying to stop that monster from doing that. So, as soon as Mother put me inside of Terron, I took over the monster. I became that Groudon and contained it so it couldn't do any harm. It resisted of course, and it did manage to bring Terron here a few times as well as actually communicate with him at other times, but it couldn't do anything more. I wasn't trying to harm Terron. I was only trying to protect him. Just as I am trying to do now."
"So then why do you need me here?" Yimtri then asked.
"Because as you can see, I'm weak. Now that this monster is free, I'm losing my power. Soon, I might just disappear completely. But not you. You're still strong. You might be a shadow, but you have the power needed to save Terron. You can stop that monster before it completely consumes Terron and goes after your companions."
Yimtri brought his gaze back over to the Groudon to see that it was still dwelling amongst the lava, growling under its breath as it gazed around the volcano. Yimtri felt his flesh crawl as the head began turning his way.
"You are saying that killing that monster is the only way we can actually succeed in our goal of killing the Primogenitor," Yimtri stated. "It's the only way Terron can be freed from the clutches of this monster."
"Yes. Exactly," his companion replied.
"And how exactly do I do that? As you can see for yourself, I am nothing but a measly Sableye. Though I might be quite strong in the real world, I can't say the same about that when I am here. Then also, this monster obviously is quite strong if it takes the guise of Groudon. How can I possibly even scratch its armored form?"
"The same way you were able to defeat Mother, of course."
"This isn't the same. Nyx wasn't a massive beast that could rend me in half with one swipe. She had a vulnerable form despite her arcane and nightmarish powers. I admit that vanquishing this beast might be more plausible if I actually had help, but seeing as how no one is going to be diving into Terron' soul any time soon…"
The beast finally saw Yimtri. The second it locked eyes with him, its own golden eyes glimmered with a frightening light, and he saw the black lines upon its body suddenly begin to emit a glow, as if streams of magma were cascading down its body. The front of its body became a jet black and it abruptly grew in size, nearly crashing its head into the ceiling. Yimtri's knees felt weak as he slowly backed away from the beast as it glared at him with its burning, white-hot eyes that now bore resemblance to the sun's core.
"But you're not alone. You do have help."
Yimtri saw Terron's plague draw closer to him in the corner of his eye. Then, before he could question what it was doing, it leapt at the Sableye. Yimtri tried to bolt, but since there was nowhere to go, his efforts were halted. Thus, all he could do was watch the entity crash into the gem upon his chest and seep inside of it. Within a few short moments, the entity had completely disappeared and Yimtri could feel it crawling around within himself.
Yimtri shuddered as the entity merged with him. He took his claws and tried to reach into his body so that he might rip out the entity before it could possibly harm him, but then stopped just before his claws could graze his flesh as something dawned upon him.
The entity wasn't hurting him. Though he could clearly feel it worming around within him and trying to merge with his being, it wasn't damaging him at all. It didn't even feel the least bit uncomfortable to have the entity as a part of him. Instead, it felt pleasantly warm. A fire seemed to build from beneath his purple flesh and with each second that passed, it grew stronger and stronger. It grew so great that Yimtri felt he might suddenly find his body alit with flames even greater than the ones that arose out of the lava surrounding him.
As the warmth filled him, all of Yimtri's doubts and reluctance melted away. No longer did he fear that he could not pierce the Groudon's armor with his small claws or that it would burn him to ashes the second he dared to touch it. No longer did he fret that the Groudon might snap him in two with its great jaws. He couldn't even feel the direness of the situation, knowing that if he failed, he and Terron would forever be lost to everyone they ever knew and that monster would reign supreme.
"IT WAS A MISTAKE FOR YOU TO COME HERE, WAYWARD SHADOW." the behemoth roared. "YOU'VE ONLY BROUGHT YOURSELF TO YOUR DEATH."
"No, I'm not going to die," Yimtri proclaimed as he stood tall. "I'm going to save Terron from you. You will be the one to fall here, to melt into the magma before us."
The Groudon opened its maw wide and then fired a black ray at the Sableye. It sped through the air with the speed of a bullet, cutting through the lava and parting it as it closed in on the Sableye. Yimtri swiftly dove off of his island and landed upon another as the beam hit the rock, obliterating it completely. Fragments of the stone were tossed up into the air and rained down upon the lava, creating small waves and sending scattered embers upon the volcano. Yimtri straightened himself up as he gave the Groudon a glower.
I can't hurt this monster with sheer power. Its armor is too great. My claws won't even leave a scratch on it. If I want to kill this monster, I have to find a way to bypass that armor. It's a Plagued One essentially, so I should be able to kill one just like I could with any other one. But that armor makes this rather difficult.
The Sableye then noticed the lava trickling down the monster's front, and immediately noticed that its hide did not shine as its back did.
Of course. Only the backside is covered with armor. The front is much more vulnerable. My claws still won't be able to pierce it, but perhaps something else can… but what? What can pierce its flesh?
Knowing he couldn't ponder and remain still no longer lest the Groudon fire yet another beam at him, Yimtri raced toward the Groudon.
Using the islands as stepping stones, he leapt from each rock with masterful bounds, landing upon their centers with the utmost of grace before continuing on. The Groudon swiftly sank its claws into the magma below, and Yimtri saw bubbling beneath the lava that resided by the edge of the island he had just landed upon. With haste, he sprang from the island just as a mighty pillar of incandescent stone protruded out of the island, destroying it completely as it rose higher and higher until it crashed into the ceiling. There was a loud explosion as ceiling crumbled down onto the ground, spraying sharp and jagged rocks in all directions.
A stalactite fell from the ceiling, nearly impaling Yimtri with its tip as it cracked the ground right in front of him. He hissed as the force shook the island so much that he nearly fell backwards and landed upon his back.
Wait… that's it. I know what to do now. Gah, this is going to be quite tricky, but if I can do this just right, then I might just be able to kill that monster. Well, so long as I have enough power to do so. I don't know if I actually hold that much power within me. Because if I don't then…
However, Yimtri couldn't ponder further, for no sooner did he land upon his safe island did he see the same bubbling in the lava close to him. He was only barely able to escape from the rock as yet another pillar shot out from under the island in an attempt to skewer him.
"LOOK AT YOU! LOOK AT HOW MUCH YOU STRUGGLE TO EVEN REACH ME! LITTLE SHADOW, WHY DO YOU FIGHT? WHY DO YOU SO FOOLISHLY BELIEVE YOU CAN SAVE TERRON? COMPARED TO ME, YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A MERE INSECT!"
Yimtri ignored the behemoth's taunts as he continued racing along, leaping from platform to platform as pillars continued to strike up from the fiery depths below him. So many times they almost reached him, nearly cutting into his feet or even his mid-section, but he was always one millisecond faster, allowing him to escape unharmed. It wasn't long before Yimtri began to close in on the Groudon, and he was truly able to behold its true godly stature. With its body emitting the very power that seemed to be flowing in the lava itself, it gave off waves of heat that Yimtri could feel burn against his flesh. The nearer he got to the Groudon, the more he was sure his flesh might melt off of his body, or that his gemstones might begin to warp into unnatural shapes. And yet, he unwaveringly continued onward, knowing what had to be done.
As soon as the Sableye landed upon an island right before the beast, it stabbed its claws down upon him. However, instead of fleeing to another spot, Yimtri only leapt up, avoiding being skewered in half before latching himself onto the very bases of the beast's claws. Then he swiftly reverted into a shadow, crawling up the Groudon's arm before it could even realize what was happening.
Need to reach the ceiling… Need to get there and hope this works.
Seconds later, Yimtri shot out of his shadow and found himself on the very top of the Groudon's head, settled between the ridges of its crown. The creature seemed unaware of his presence, though Yimtri knew that wouldn't last for long. He swiftly shot upward and clung to the lowest hanging stalactite, grabbing it firmly between his claws before becoming a shadow once more. He slithered up the shaft of the jagged stone until he reached the ceiling, where he slowly crawled out and dug his claws into the tough stone above. Once he was secured and showed no signs of plummeting, the Sableye glanced down to see that the Groudon was still right beneath him, glancing around with its smoldering golden eyes.
"YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T HIDE HERE. I WILL FIND YOU. WHY KEEP DELAYING THE INEVITABLE AND NOT SIMPLY FACE YOUR FATE?"
Because I have absolutely no intentions of dying here.
Yimtri made his eyes give off a bright glow, and he watched the shadows of all of the stalactites darken and elongate. Then, in one swift motion, they all began to stretch toward his own shadow, stabbing their pointed ends into it. Yimtri dug his claws further into the rocky ceiling, and then split his shadow in two.
They each fled in opposite directions, becoming black specks as they distanced themselves from Yimtri. All of the shadows of the stalactites swiftly darted after Yimtri's shadowy halves, detaching themselves from their rocks as they slithered after him like ravenous snakes. Once the shadows had grown a good distance apart from Yimtri, they came to a halt, and allowed the smaller shadows to worm their way into their amorphous masses, merging with them as they ballooned in size. By the time both of the shadows had absorbed all of the shadows upon the ceiling, they were both roughly the size of one of the Groudon's claws.
But though they were quite small and insignificant compared to the behemoth that stood beneath him, Yimtri knew that he had gathered enough power. Or at least, he hoped so. He still wasn't sure if his plan would completely work, but he knew there was not much else he could do. He could not think of any other way to kill the monster when he was only a Sableye. Perhaps if he held that power that had been flowing through his body right before he had been overshadowed by another entity, he could have tried something else. But alas, he did not, for that had vanished the second he was thrown into that darkness, and it was certainly not present in this realm within Terron's soul.
This needs to work. It has to. For everyone's sake.
The Sableye took a moment to watch the Groudon once more, and then finally gave his command to his shadows.
A thick, black tendril shot out of each shadow, darting down toward the Groudon. They swiftly latched onto him as they tied themselves to it, one tying a tight noose around its neck while the other split into two and each tied around the monster's knees.
"WHAT? WHAT IS THIS? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
Then, the tendrils around the Groudon's neck began to pull up. Yimtri dug his claws into the ceiling as he felt the tendrils struggle to pull up the hulking beast, the heaviest creature in the entire world. He could feel their strain as they feebly lifted the monster out of the lava as it thrashed and roared, but refused to let it break him. He only continued to send all of his power into his shadows' pulls as they hoisted the monster up. Then, when the monster's feet were no longer touching the bottom of the lava pit, the tendrils wrapped around its legs pulled upward as well.
"STOP! STOP THIS!"
The Groudon opened its maw and shot a dark ray at the ceiling. Yimtri swiftly skittered along the ceiling as the ray obliterated the spot he was cling to, tearing a huge hole into the rocky ceiling and sending debris tumbling down upon the Groudon. It winced as large pieces of rock slammed into its exposed underbelly, making low growling noises.
Just a little more. I just need its legs raised a little more…
The Groudon began to thrash, swatting its claws about and trying to reach for the tendril wrapped tight around its neck. In his haste, Yimtri fired a shadowy blob out of his hand and sent it flying into the Groudon's maw. There was an explosion at the back of its throat as it let out a hoarse, pained cry, coughing up smoke and making its struggling cease. Yimtri wasted no time in firing more spheres at it, aiming them all down its throat. And though each blast depleted his energy and made him feel that he might release his grip upon the ceiling and plummet into the ocean of lava, he still remained strong. He knew that soon the moment he was waiting for would come. He just needed to buy his tendrils some time.
And sure enough, moments later, Yimtri's shadows prevailed. The Groudon's feet were beginning to emerge from out of the lava, and its head was pulled back far enough that Yimtri could see its throat. Yimtri couldn't resist smiling as he scurried across the ceiling until he was right above the Groudon's throat. Then he took the nearest stalactite and began to cut through it with his claws. He could barely comprehend his motions as his hands sliced through the base of the pointed rock, but he still forced himself to continue to deed as he dug away at it with his sharpened tips.
With a cracking sound, the stalactite separated itself from the ceiling and descended upon the Groudon. Yimtri allowed himself to fall with the rock as it fell, latching onto it and helping it stay true to its course. The Groudon beneath him blurred and he momentarily thought he saw two hazy monsters, but he knew where to land. He could still sense the Groudon's life force beneath him and knew exactly what he had to do. He only readied himself, filling his claws with a dark power as he grew closer and closer to the Groudon.
Then, with a sickening sound, the stalactite impaled the Groudon straight through his exposed throat.
It thrashed and squirmed, but it could not break free from Yimtri's binds. It couldn't even scream, for the rock had lodged itself deep into its wind pipe. Yimtri smiled deliriously as he landed beside the rock and stood right before the spot where it impaled the monster. There was no blood nor anything within the Groudon's body as it dug through its flesh, but Yimtri didn't fret. He had fatally injured the monster. Now there was only one left thing left to do.
He raised his claws up high and then brought them down upon the edge of the massive hole the stalactite had made within the beast.
The darkness surrounding Yimtri's claws left him as they flooded into the beast. He felt it shudder and spasm violently beneath him as his plague-killing essence seeped into the Groudon, destroying everything within its body. Yimtri could see the lights in its eyes flashing rapidly as it twisted its maw into anguished expressions, and yet it could not emit any screams. It could only suffer in silence as Yimtri's essence leaked into it, obliterating everything.
Then, just like that, the monster exploded into a flash of light, and the light was harmlessly absorbed directly into Yimtri's body. The tendrils binding the beast dissipated as the last remains of the behemoth disappeared within Yimtri, and Yimtri and the stalactite that was lodged deep within the Groudon plummeted downward.
All that was left of the monster was Terron, also falling toward the lava.
"Terron!" Yimtri cried.
The Sableye pushed off of the stalactite just before it fell into the magma, and then flung himself up towards the Cubone. He caught the Cubone in his arms before descending upon a nearby rock, though found he was unable to land with the grace he had hoped. Because his mind was spinning, he was unable to land correctly and lost his grip on Terron as he tumbled forward. He nearly fell off the edge of the tiny foundation and disappeared into the lava, but thankfully, a large rock that had fallen from the ceiling was there to stop him. He crashed into it, his intangibility fortunately failing him, before falling onto his back right beside it. He groaned as he held his head with his claws, feeling an oncoming migraine work its way through his head.
"Ow… Augh, it's been a while since I've had a rock to my face," the Sableye moaned.
Yimtri slumped his head against the rocky ground as he turned away from the rock and looked over to his other side. He was quick to see Terron laying on the island with him. The Cubone was miraculously unharmed despite everything. He held a normal Cubone appearance and not even a single trace of demonic influence upon him. His eyes were closed and he seemed motionless, but Yimtri could tell that Terron wasn't dead. He could still sense life from within the Cubone, however faint it was.
The sight of this only meant one thing to Yimtri.
He had saved Terron, and the monster that had once taken over him was no more. Their companions could finish off the Primogenitor without any worries of Terron's possessed body going after them. Now, he could return to his body and go assist them. Though he had vanquished part of the Primogenitor just now, he knew his work was not done. He still had to eliminate the true Primogenitor, and nothing was going to stop him.
The Sableye slowly sat up and winced as a bolt of pain shot through his head, making him flinch as he grabbed the side of his head. However, it was only temporary, and soon, the pain subsided and Yimtri found he could see clearly again. No longer did his head swim.
"Alright… I saved Terron," Yimtri called out to the realm, hoping it would either reach his plague or Terron's. "He's safe now. Now bring me back to my body. I'm done here."
There was no response. There was only hissing from the lava surrounding him. Yimtri glared up at the ceiling, expecting to see his plague emerge from it, but nobody came. It was only him and Terron within the realm. He then glanced down at the gemstone upon his chest and tapped his claws against its surface.
"I saved Terron," he told it with a deep frown. "I did as you asked. Why aren't you doing anything?"
That was when a single, glowing orb of light escaped from Yimtri's chest. He watched as the golden ball slowly lifted itself into the air, rising until it was a few inches above Yimtri's head before it blinked out of existence.
"What the…"
More golden spheres of light soon sprouted out of Yimtri's body. They released themselves from his chest, his arms, his legs, his head, his entire being. Every single part of him sent these lights out of his body and dispersed them up into the air like tiny embers from a campfire.
"What's… What's happening to me?" Yimtri asked, staring down at his claws with his mouth gaping open. "What are these lights?"
"They're our bodies. They're disappearing, Yimtri."
Yimtri snapped his head toward the sudden voice to find himself gazing at Terron. The Cubone was awake now, lying on his back, his own body radiating the same golden orbs that Yimtri found himself surrounded by. Amidst the yellow glow of the numerous lights, Yimtri could see Terron giving him a sad but knowing smile.
"What are you talking about?" Yimtri demanded.
"Yimtri… that monster you just killed or whatever you did to it… it was attached to my soul," Terron explained softly. "It was a part of me. Our fates were tied together since the moment it latched onto me as a human. And now that it's gone, I'm disappearing too. And since you're me… well, I think you can see what I'm getting at."
The Sableye looked down at his claws once more and saw that they were beginning to tremble.
"No… it wasn't supposed to be like this," Yimtri muttered. "I was supposed to save you… and… and we were supposed to come back to life and help Zekra and the others. We were supposed to end this war with them. We… we were supposed to be there for them! No! We're not supposed to disappear like this!"
The Sableye tried to get up, but suddenly found his legs were without strength. He tried to move them, but for some reason, he felt as though he had weights tying them down, rendering them useless. And yet, Yimtri refused to give up. He pushed his palms into the ground, trying to force himself up, but found that he was unable to do even that. His entire body had become very heavy.
"We're not going to disappear, Terron," Yimtri insisted as he continued to struggle. "We're not. I'm going to find a way to leave this place and return to my own body, and you're going to wake up as well. Then together, we're going to find that portal and stop the Primogenitor. We're not going to vanish here. We're not going to let everything end like this and-"
"Yimtri, it's okay."
Yimtri looked over at Terron to find that he was still wearing that bittersweet smile, making no effort to fight back. He was only lying peacefully on the ground as the lights escaping his body seemed to grow brighter. Yimtri even thought he saw parts of Terron's body becoming transparent.
"It's okay, Yimtri…" Terron said again in his quiet voice. "Our friends… they're going to be okay without us. They'll kill the Primogenitor for us. I know they will. So just… just stop fighting it. There's nothing we can do about this. Just trust our friends and know that they'll be okay."
The Sableye wanted to keep arguing with Terron. He wanted to go back to the real world and aid their companions. He knew how much of an imposing presence the Primogenitor was and just how powerful was, and he couldn't accept the thought of them having to face it alone. He couldn't accept the thought of him being unable to rid the world of the creature he had awoke so long ago.
And yet… Terron was right.
The two of them were disappearing, and there was absolutely nothing they could do to stop it. Yimtri could already see his arms disappearing before him, as well as a golden aura radiating around his entire body.
The Sableye would have burst into tears if he still had eyes. He felt the despair worm its way through his heart as he sat there with the Cubone, his mouth contorted into a pained scowl. He buried his transparent claws into his eyes, just barely able to feel their presence as the light around him grew brighter and brighter.
"Here, why don't you come over here?" Terron called over. "Let's just talk for a little while."
Yimtri gave the Cubone a melancholy look, his mind empty and his voice gone, but still slid over towards him with his last remaining strength. Perhaps Terron was right; perhaps it was best that his last moments be filled with some comfort. It wouldn't change their fate, but it would at least make fading away more bearable.
The Sableye settled himself by Terron's side before collapsing onto the ground, finally losing the strength to even sit up. He glanced over at Terron to find the Cubone was looking right back at him, his blue eyes glimmering in the ethereal glow of the orbs.
"Did you enjoy your time as a Sableye?" Terron asked him. "Was it fun being outside of me and being your own person for a while?"
"In some ways it was," Yimtri admitted in a hollow voice. "Though many of those years were quite taxing and I was quite often plotting ways to destroy that monster that I unleashed upon Shiron, I suppose I can say that there were enjoyable times. Even if I never realized what I truly was for the longest time, when I think back on my time, I think I would say that I'm happy to have lived a life of my own. Even if so much of that life was filled with torment."
"Yeah I can understand that," Terron said with a little laugh. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile more than three times."
"And what about you?" Yimtri then asked. "How did it feel living in this world, not knowing who you were?"
"The same thing, really. It was really stressful most of the time, but I was happy other times too. Like when I was with all of my friends. I always felt so happy when I was with them. Especially Zekra. She was… well, she was something when I first met her. Never would have imagined things would turn out the way they are now with how things were back then."
"Yes, she was quite a handful. Very energetic and proud to a rather stubborn degree. Always bent on destroying those Plagued Ones and practically reveling in her own morbid nature. What a very strange, strange girl that you chose to fall in love with."
"Well you and Chloe were strange too. She was always so detached and everything. But I guess you were too in some ways, so maybe you guys really were good together."
"She was a nice girl when you came to understand her. She was only like that around those that she didn't know. She always knew the right things to say regardless of the situation I was in."
"Are you mad that you can't love her anymore?"
"Sometimes. Sometimes I still wish I had that choice. But seeing as how we're both vanishing right now, there's no real reason to resent what has happened. Very soon, neither of us are going to be able to have anything anymore."
Terron's smile grew a little as tears leaked down his cheeks. Yimtri could feel the ache in the Cubone's heart combine with his own pain, making him want to curl up into a ball and dig his claws into the stone beneath him. However, he remained strong and only looked up at the ceiling. The orbs were filling up nearly all of his vision now, making it almost impossible to see the world around him.
"Though, I suppose there is one thing I regret not being able to do, now that I truly ponder in it."
"And what would that be?"
"My home. Your home. Our home. I wanted to see Kuron one last time. Even though you've seen it… I wish I could have gone myself. It would have been nice to see more of our old life than what you saw already. I wonder if the school is still there, if our friends still mourn for us, if that ice cream parlor we used to go to still serves that mint berry crunch flavor we always used to get. I wonder about just about everything regarding Kuron. I wonder… how much it changed while we were away for so long."
"We were only gone for five years, Yimtri. It looked the same as it was when we were still there as Dimitri."
"Perhaps from the outside, yes. Perhaps in the time you were there, it superficially remained the same. But I still wonder about it. I wonder… if we had ever been given a choice… could we have ever gone back to Kuron? Could we have lived there as Dimitri again? Would Kuron have accepted us back after being gone for so long and being Pokémon for so many years? Could we have been human again in that dimension?"
"I don't know, Yimtri. I really don't know…"
The Sableye forced himself to stop thinking about Kuron. There was no point. They were fading, and he didn't need his last moments to be filled with heartbreak. He needed to accept his end. He needed to stop wallowing in vague and whimsical possibilities.
"Hey, Yimtri?"
"Yes, Terron?"
"I'm sorry that I made your life so hard on you. I know you were already having a pretty miserable time before I showed up, but I know I made it ten times worse when I entered your life. Well, as a Cubone anyway. So… I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that and have to put up with my stupidity."
"Don't worry about it. Someone else would have caused me just as much trouble as you have if you had not come along. It was only a matter of time before someone was willing to tell the Fellowship about Erebus Woods and start the chain reaction that ensued from that. Besides, if you hadn't of done that, then we wouldn't have made it as far as we have."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
Yimtri could feel his mind fading away now. Most of his body had disappeared, and now only his vague outline was still present in the realm. He knew any moment now he would soon be gone, erased from existence and transcend to another realm. And then, from there, he would cease to be. He would cease to be Yimtri the Sableye.
He would be Dimitri's shadow once more.
Yimtri felt something grab his hand. He looked over to find Terron was holding it in his own hand, giving him a fading smile.
"Thanks for saving me, Yimtri. I think… heh, I think I'm going to miss you."
"You're going to miss your own shadow, the one that's tried to kill you and your mate over and over again? That's hilarious, Terron. It's so hilarious, I forgot to laugh."
And yet, Yimtri couldn't help but smile as he squeezed Terron's hand with his diminishing strength. He wasn't even sure if Terron could feel it.
Everything would be okay. Zekra and the rest of their companions would take care of the Primogenitor.
Yimtri had done all that he could. He had made the most of his limited time on Shiron. Now he just had to let his companions finish the job just as Terron said to. He could trust them.
It was okay to fade away now.
The golden lights enveloped Yimtri and Terron completely, sending up the last of their bodies into the air.
And then, they were both gone.