False Legend

As he flipped through the newspaper, he found himself rather amused yet troubled by the amount of headlines and articles on the events leading up to the war written all over the pages. The news itself was no doubt very staggering and impactful on the world itself, he supposed, considering how fast it was spreading, be it by word of mouth or through online platforms. He felt almost sorry for the Hoenn sportsman who broke a world record, for his article occupied a wee little space in the paper. Talk about being a one-hit wonder.

He let out a soft grunt as he scrutinized the article that was dedicated to talking about the welcome party to be held very soon, two days—in fact, at the Indigo League Building in Kanto. At the mention of "red carpet", "who will be the fashion disaster" and many words about the anticipation on the dressing of the many famous trainers attending the party, Steven was exasperated by the press's enthusiasm at discussing such trivial topics. He finally set the paper down, tired of the reporter's nonsense. It was a good idea of the three leagues' to only break the news to the general public at such a time, considering that the Hoenn trainers would leave just tomorrow, saving them the trouble to deal with too much of the paparazzi and unnecessary cameras and mics flashing before them.

"Imagine if those people caught wind of the Champion, and my beloved student eloping to Johto last night. A disaster, I'd reckon."

"They weren't eloping," Steven answered with a sigh of exasperation. "And what brings you to my villa, Wallace?"

Wallace grinned, before striding over to the couch and with a dramatic wave of his clock, and he replied, "Why, to see my friend, the lonely rock maniac after so many years! Missed me?"

Steven chuckled softly, a sense of nostalgia sweeping over him as Wallace displayed his flamboyance and exuberance, before he noticed the rude comments his friend had tossed at him mere seconds ago. Irritated, the man turned over and uttered, "I'm not lonely, Wallace. And I'm certainly not a 'maniac'. Call me an 'enthusiast'."

"That's just a nicer word for 'maniac.'"

Steven took it upon himself to ignore Wallace, and he did just that, by pretending to read the newspaper, even though a ton of similar and boring articles were adorning the pages. However, Wallace leaned over, intruding with his head, beret on top, effectively obstructing Steven's view.

"These are just a fraction of what I've been seeing things like this everywhere on the streets, my friend." Wallace shook his head as he read the alarming headlines. "Who would have thought war is going to break out, after so many years of peace?"

"I can only hope that Kanto and Johto are coping well," Steven said in reply as he slowly flipped to the next page.

A foreboding silence had started building between the two, with Wallace trying to study his friend's face, which appeared calm, reserved as always.

"You... Don't tell me, you're going to go and fight," Wallace said, as a visible and rare frown sat on his brows. Steven said nothing, but Wallace could discern his answer from the threatening silence. The Gym Leader then placed a firm hand on Steven's left shoulder.

"Don't, Daigo, there's no need for you to—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the former Champion shot him a glare, and Wallace shut up immediately the moment he saw those clear blue eyes giving him a reprimanding look. Steven folded the paper once again, then placing it next to him.

"The reason why we are helping Kanto and Johto, is to prevent that deadly threat from coming to Hoenn," he asserted. "This war, has to be won. If we can't stop those Deoxys now, Hoenn, along with Kanto and Johto, will fall, sooner or later."

"But Daigo," Wallace said sternly, "you have no obligation to go over! You're no longer associated with the Pokémon League, so just go back to Sinnoh-"

"While you are in danger? While all my friends are fighting at the frontlines, where they can die any moment?" Steven was nearly shouting as he concluded, "Not happening."

"What about your rocks? Your research? You're a rock maniac, for Arceus' sake!"

"Enthusiast!" Steven emphasized, before he cleared his throat. "And stop bringing up unrelated things, Wallace!"

"Fine. Have you told her?"

"Her...?" Steven Stone hesitated for a while before he continued. "She has nothing to do with this."

Wallace gritted his teeth, as he tried to control his urge to grab the man by his red cravat and give him a solid punch in the face. Steven's eyes were clouded as he stared at Wallace.

The two trainers were now practically holding an eye-to-eye argument, and it was after a long while did Wallace sigh heavily.

"Daigo, please, the least I want is for you to die on the battlefield."

"Ditto," the former Champion replied immediately. Knowing that he has already lost the argument, Wallace sighed for an agonizing minute, before he glanced at his friend with a grin as wide as Hoenn itself.

"You know, for someone as reserved as you, you are awfully stubborn."

Ethan gazed curiously at Morty, who took in a deep breath as he stood up, his eyes closing slowly. The Johto Champion then glanced at Brendan, rather perturbed by the Hoenn Champion's words.

"The fate of the world,"

The boy blinked his eyes in confusion the moment he remembered his words. Twenty-two human beings, responsible for the fate of the world? He nearly wanted to scoff, until his memory flashed past him, the enigmatic black figure that had appeared in his dream.

The beginning of the end.

No, no, no, he thought to himself. He must be thinking too deeply into this. With that, the boy switched his attention to the Ecruteak City Gym Leader, who stayed unbelievably still. Morty calmed his heart, and cancelled out the noise around him, submerging himself into a dark abyss, where all he could hear, was himself.

And with a soft breath, he said the very name within his mind.

Sei.

The same ripple extended outwards, swaying, swaying. Bells rang out around Morty, and above him, his ancestor appeared, his Japanese robes trailing behind him gracefully, his sleeves long enough to cover Morty's sight. The ancient man hovered above him, his eyes closed.

"What the—!" Ethan gasped, while Morty noticed something irregular. They were staring at Sei.

Brendan, May, Red, Green, Ethan, Lyra.

Morty widened his eyes in shock.

They can see Sei.

He stole a glance at Lance, who looked fairly disturbed, clearly not aware of the emergence of a ghost inside the lounge. No, he wasn't mistaking it. Usually, no one, except for Morty himself, can see Sei.

"All of you... can see this man above me?" he asked, trying to make sure. And sure enough, all six of them nodded in reply, as they continued to gape at Sei's ethereal body. Morty pursed his lips. He felt as his life was getting down a strange turn, becoming weirder and weirder. First was the strange Mega Evolution of Red's Charizard, then the Major Arcana, then chains and swords popping out in the middle of nowhere, and now these people before him are capable of seeing the Matsuba Clan's resident ghost.

Wait, isn't Sei unusually quiet?

Morty gazed up, just to see a familiarly unfamiliar sight.

Sei was crying. Much more than that day.

The ghost looked all so thin all of a sudden, his face suddenly looking extremely old and melancholic, as tears ran down his cheeks in uncontrollable waterfalls. His face looked near white, and his arms were limp, and even the bells tied to his hair weren't ringing like they usually do.

"Sei?" Morty said as he reached out to grab hold of the ghost's robes, before his hands passed through the ghost's translucent figure, and it was when the Ghost Type Gym Leader remembered that Sei was untouchable. Even so, the ghost had no response.

"Sei—!" Morty attempted to call out, until the ghost suddenly flew forward, arms outstretched, towards one of the six people standing before him.

Red widened his eyes, as the ghost's arms tried to reach out towards him, but instead of a presumable hug, Sei's arms passed through his neck, sending a chill down his spine. The ghost then looked up, apparently just realizing that Red couldn't be in contact with. Sei panted, as he glanced at his translucent hands frantically, before he met Red's eyes. He opened his mouth, closing it, before his tears flow out more torrential than before. Red gazed at the ghost, bewildered and mystified.

"Neo... Neo…," he started saying. "It's me...!"

The others stared at the two, astonished, all of them unable to comprehend what in the world was going on. Red started shaking his head, while his Pikachu arched its back up, in attack mode.

"I've never seen you... before…," Red said softly, his red eyes still wide from shock and disbelief. Sei seemed to freeze immediately, his arms still there hanging in mid-air, and even his tears had stopped. A cold silence followed, with Sei turning his head up and down, scanning at Red's appearance repeatedly, until the ghost finally stared at Red's crimson eyes once again.

"You're... not him," the ghost finally said, his voice shattering, full of utter disappointment. He backed away slowly, as he appeared to be trying to collect his thoughts.

Red stared at the Sei as he felt his breath catch inside his throat. He felt like he was looking at Death, at a being that should not be existing in this world.

"Who are you...?" Sei finally murmured, after a minute of silence.

The trainer gasped, suddenly dragged back to reality.

"...Red."

Sei paused once more, as his eyes were fixated onto Red, the boy shuddering involuntarily from the haunting feeling of his soul being gazed upon, totally exposed. Pikachu growled as he fixated his eyes onto the odd entity. The ghost quirked an eyebrow, his face full of thought and confusion.

"I don't understand…," Sei muttered. "How can you resemble him... this much?"

The ghost then backed away as he frantically tried to stop the tears that came dripping down without warning. "Goodness," he said. "You're bad for my heart, kid. That face is too distracting."

Meanwhile, Lyra nodded her head, wholeheartedly agreeing with Sei, her cheeks hot.

"You there, can you see me too?" Sei asked, pointing at Lyra, who squeaked in reply.

"You?"

"You too?"

The ghost went still after six of them nodded.

"Who are you?" Sei turned to Red, and asked all of a sudden.

"Erm..." Red faltered. "I'm... Red."

"Not your name, child," Sei said as he averted his eyes from the teen, the ghost trying to contain his tears. "As in, who are you? If you, other than Ryota, can see me, it's either I'm crazy, or you're-"

"The Major Arcana," Brendan cut in. "All six of us."

The Hoenn Champion stepped closer to the ghost, as his piercing blue eyes gazed at Sei, focused and unwavering.

"And you, Matsuba Sei," he said, his index finger pointing straight at the ghost's face. "You are the First Generation's Number XIV,"

Green instantly went frozen, his mouth dropping open. Lyra found her own muscles going slack from the shock, while May only closed her eyes, calm and quiet. Matsuba Sei narrowed his eyes, as he stared into Brendan's eyes, as if he was trying to read the teenager himself.

"Temperance."

A deafening silence dropped among the people within the lounge, with Lance sitting quietly, despite knowing that he was completely clueless of what was going on here. Somehow he found himself to be very out of place, but he knew that he had to witness what was going to happen. As a Dragon-type trainer from the centuries-old Khoth Clan, he had seen many scriptures, cave carvings, stone slabs that spoke of the mysterious Major Arcana. But to think that right before him, was a living generation of the deck itself.

The group of people that will determine whether is on the path of destruction, or evolution.

He sat there quietly, observing.

Matsuba Sei eyes widened, and then darkened, causing the whole lounge to drop a few degrees as many held their tongues, wondering how would he respond. He then sighed, in which Ethan noticed that it remarkably resembled the way Morty did just a few minutes ago. It was as if he was looking at another Morty, just with a few changes in appearance, and humanity.

"Indeed," he answered solemnly.

Ethan was ready to shout, exclaim, whatever, but his tongue was inexplicably tied, and he merely sat there, like all the rest.

"Then you must know, about the tragedy that befell the First Generation."

Sei stiffened, as a strangling silence ensued. He wiped his wet cheeks, before he glanced at Red once again, a pained expression on his face.

"I will not speak of it," he answered firmly.

"Please—"

"I refuse," he said, louder than before. "I am dead. I am a ghost. The past will stay as the past. Temperance, or not, it is not my responsibility to tell you any sort of truth. The First Generation is dead. We have faded away into history."

"Then... who is Neo?" Brendan said.

Silence.

"Stop it," Sei growled as his eyes burned with a kind of ancient fury. "I will not say anything, and I am leaving."

"No can do," Morty replied as he glared at his ancestor. "If you leave, I can simply summon you back."

"And why do you need to do this?" Sei shouted, indignant.

"Because you never tell me anything," Morty barked. "Arcana, Temperance, First Generation, what not, I never heard of them from you. Who exactly are you, Matsuba Sei?"

"I—," Sei began, before he turned away, avoiding Morty's glare.

"Sei-san... Please," Brendan urged.

The ghost folded his arms as he stared at Brendan for a long while.

"What's your name? And show me the proof that you are part of the deck," he said as he pointed at Brendan, an unpleasant frown on his face.

"Brendan Yūki. Half of Number VI, the Lovers." He then promptly removed his shoe, showing his tattoo.

"You?" Sei said as he pointed to May. "The other half, I presume."

She nodded, while Sei shook his head.

"Pity," Sei simply said, earning a few raised brows from the rest, while Brendan and May both pursed their lips as they lowered their head, solemn.

"What about you?" the ghost continued on as he pointed at Ethan.

"H-H-Hibiki Ethan! Number VII, t-t-the Chariot!" Ethan said, rolling up his sleeve and trying to control his excitement. It wasn't everyday that you get to talk to a ghost, after all.

"Weird kid," Sei muttered, before he shot a look at Lyra, who squeaked in return. "Lyra Elm, Number V, the Hierophant!"

She turned her neck a little, showing her distinct "V" tattoo.

Sei then turned to Green Oak, who narrowed his eyes as he tugged his collar slightly, showing his tattoo and answered, "... Green Oak, Number I, the Magician."

The ghost immediately backed away a little as he studied the human boy before him. His lips quivered, and he mumbled something, before he nodded his head. He then looked to the last card, his heart dropping when he saw the face that seemed so familiar yet foreign at the same time.

"And... you?" Sei said, as he stood there, hovering.

"... Red," he answered. "Number Zero, the Fool."

Pikachu seemed to be more quiet than before, as he gazed at the ghost, apprehensive. His trainer's eyes bored into Sei, who shuddered, as if reminded of something fearsome, something he know all too well. Even this boy's gaze, was reminiscent of that man.

But it was then when the ghost noticed the null symbol on his right hand.

"... Null?" he exclaimed, and before he could think straight, he blurted out, "... The Last?"

"The Last?" The six of them collectively repeated the two words, while Morty and Lance exchanged curious glances at each other.

"Pika-pi?" the mouse squeaked, as he glanced at the tattoo on his master's hand. What have they been talking about, exactly?

"Do you... know anything about this?" Red asked softly.

Sei paused for a few seconds before he shook his head.

"All of you, leave this room at once. I would like to talk to this boy," Sei said in a commanding tone.

"Pika pika-pi!" Pikachu cried out, as he stuck closer to his trainer, firm on staying by the boy's side.

"The Pikachu can stay," Sei sighed.

"What about our questions?" Brendan said, looking rather irritated. "We have so much to ask—!"

"I will give you answers, but never the full truth. I will only speak what has to be said, nothing more, nothing less," Sei said. "And that is final. Do not try to challenge me."

The lounge seemed to be frozen in time in that moment, until Green stood up and headed for the door.

"Let's go," the trainer muttered as he ruffled his hair and let out a yawn. Lance stood up, not really knowing what had been going on, but he was quite ready to retain his sanity, and was quick to exit. Ethan and Lyra hesitantly followed him, while May looked back and forth from the door, to Brendan, he glared at the ghost for a long while.

"Seven years," Brendan growled as his knuckles turned white. "That's how long I've been trying to get answers."

"And?" Sei muttered as he eyed the boy, whose blue eyes only looked angrier and more frustrated by the second.

"You can see the future, can't you?" Brendan shouted. "So you should know that one of the Lovers will die!"

A collective gasp escaped from the mouths of everyone who heard the Hoenn Champion's words, who gritted his teeth, as he stared at the ghost with wide eyes, as if demanding Sei to answer.

"All this time, I have been trying to solve this mystery, this accursed legend, so that I can prevent Haruka from dying!" he shouted, while May gasped, tears rolling out of her eyes softly.

"I see," Sei said, his expression neutral, unreadable. "And?"

"I'll do anything," he said. "So tell me what I have to do."

Sei's face went grim, as he answered, "Then you should already know what to do."

Brendan paused, before saying, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you said it yourself," Sei said. "'One of the Lovers will die', and you don't want her to die."

"You mean…," Brendan uttered.

"Simple, you die in her place," Sei concluded. "Here, I've answered your question, the door is right over there."

The Hoenn Champion went speechless as he turned to look at May, whose tears rolled down even faster as she squeezed her eyes and shook her head. His face turned even paler when he turned to the ghost, hoping that he could provide him any other answers, but Sei only shook his head and he gestured towards the door.

With slow steps, the two of them shuffled out of the room, and the door was finally shut.

Meanwhile, Red felt his legs being glued to the ground as the ghost turned around, with arms crossed, started staring at him. Pikachu was once again in battle mode, but Sei ignored him, his violet eyes darting up, down, left and right, as if he was studying an extremely rare specimen. Suddenly, Sei glanced downwards, and Red immediately followed his gaze, realizing that the ghost was looking at his tattoo. The ghost frowned, looking up again, his eyes appearing confused and surprised.

"Strange," the ghost muttered.

"..."

"Red eyes... Black, messy hair... Almond eyes…," he muttered.

"...Um..."

"I just don't get it."

"..."

Suddenly, Sei's eyes widened, and Red could almost picture a light bulb lighting up above his head. But the ghost shook his head again, as if he was dismissing the thought.

"... Sorry... are you perhaps... referring to this... Neo person...?"

The ghost jumped back—or flew back—startled, like he had forgotten that before him was a living, talking human being. He chuckled at his own reaction, before he smiled, in which Red thought that the grin reminded him of the laid back Morty.

"Indeed," Sei answered. "You look like him, but, obviously, you are not him."

"... About that…," Red uttered, as he gingerly took out his wallet and flipped it open. "...I was wondering..."

His dainty fingers held up the photo, of himself as a baby, held lovingly in the arms of his mother, and next to her, was a man, with a head of messy black hair, and a set of flaming red eyes.

"... If you know this man, or maybe is he-"

"Neo."

Red's eyes widened, as he felt his legs trembling. Pikachu immediately noticed his trainer's behavior, and squeaked softly. The ghost before him stared at the photo intently, his eyes getting wetter and wetter by the second. Sei then noticed the women, and the baby, whose eyes were of equal intensity of crimson. His whole ephemeral body went motionless, as he gaped at the boy standing before him.

"No way...," Sei muttered. "A son?"

"... Where is he?" Red said, as his fingers gripped the photo tighter than ever, making it fold slightly. He could feel his body burning, his head hurting as he remembered the days he saw his mother weeping silently, the days when both mother and child were missing someone in the family, and the dream when he saw his dad.

"Goodness... I—I don't know where to begin... You're his son!?" Sei exclaimed, not hearing the trainer's questions. Pikachu's hairs went on end, as the ghost's loud voice surprised him, causing him to nearly fall off his trainer's shoulder. The mouse glanced at his trainer with a worried look, but was instead befuddled by Red's expression.

"Where is he!" the trainer shouted, while Pikachu squeaked in shock, for he has never seen his trainer being so angry before. Sei was similarly surprised, and when he did recover his reverie, he shook his head, melancholic.

"Believe me, I have tried searching myself," he said, as he stared at Red, a bittersweet smile on his face. "But I guess that you appearing before me, with that picture... I'm glad."

"Pika?" The mouse jerked his body up in surprise, when he felt a strange heat emanating from his trainer's body, while the trembling seemed to worsened and instinctively, Pikachu jumped off Red's shoulders, onto the ground.

"... Glad?" Red muttered, his anger seething out. "How... can you be glad?"

"Kid?" Sei asked, looking concerned.

"Fifteen years... And he has never come home... Not even once...!" Red yelled.

"Kid—"

"Pika Pika!"

"Do you have any idea... how much hurt that good-for-nothing man..."

"Kid!"

"... Has inflicted onto my mother...!?"

"You're burning the picture!"

The boy finally paused and realized the photo- the only family photo- was slowly burning from the edge down. He gasped, dropping the photo onto the ground, and Pikachu swiftly went over to stomp out the flame. The photo laid quietly on the ground, crumpled, slightly burnt, but was overall, safe and sound.

"... So you have already gained the power of a plate," Sei said as he looked at the boy, whose shoulders went tense.

"I can't control it... because I haven't... physically touched the plate."

Sei went quiet, and the trainer clenched his fists and then opened them, and looked almost afraid... of himself.

"All in due time, kid," Sei chuckled. "And about your father..."

The trainer immediately looked up, causing Sei to gulp nervously at the sight of the furious blaze in his red eyes. Meanwhile Pikachu perked his ears up, as he observed the two.

"I understand how you feel," Sei sighed. "Even I hated him for leaving me behind..." His voice trailed off when he realize Red was staring at him curiously.

"He left you behind...?" Red asked, surprised.

"Ah, I spoke too much, didn't I?" Sei laughed. "Red, was it?"

Red nodded in reply, noting that the ghost was trying to avoid talking about his relationship with his father. Sei then gazed at the trainer, a serious expression on his face.

"Trust Neo," he said. "Unconditionally."

"What?" Red said. "Why?"

"He is the key to the mystery of the Major Arcana," Sei replied. "Find him, although that man is near impossible to find."

"Wait, I don't understand..."

"All in due time, Red," Sei affirmed, a mysterious grin on his lips. "Now, I have two more things to tell you. Nothing more, nothing less, as promised to Number VI."

"...Is one of them definitely going to die?"

"Pardon?"

"...The Lovers..."

"Ah, them." Sei said. "All humans die, Red. It's just the question of when. Dying and living are what humans do after all."

Red stared at the ghost, dumbfounded by his perception of death. Perhaps because he was dead, perhaps because he was a ghost.

"...What about you?" the boy blurted out without thinking. He blushed, embarrassed for asking such a question.

"Me?" Sei chuckled. "I'm neither dead nor alive. Ryota calls me a ghost, which seems befitting, but that's wrong. Because you see, Red, I'm an entity with a conscience of someone who was once alive but I am not exactly dead."

"..." Red was rendered speechless, as he stared at the ghost- not a ghost- who had answered his random question all so honestly.

"Let's not go off track, Red. Here is the second thing I will be telling you."

The boy nodded as he listened intently to Sei.

"Do not trust the legend of the Major Arcana."

Red stopped breathing momentarily, blinking his eyes in confusion. The legend of the Major Arcana?

"You must have heard stories about my generation. The Fool who set off to find the others, until someone betrayed the deck, resulting in an inevitable tragedy," Sei said. "That legend... was not entirely true. The real truth behind the first generation is much scarier than you ever imagined."

"...What happened?"

Sei chuckled. "Nothing more, nothing less, remember? But once you find Neo, the truth will come to light."

"...How does Neo know all of these?"

Sei gazed at Red, a bittersweet yet melancholic look in his eyes. His ephemeral robes fluttered, and the bells adorning his hair rang slightly. Red waited, hoping that Sei would at least answer this question.

"Nothing more, nothing less."

Dang.

"Now, on to the very last information I can provide. Red, has your life been targeted by someone recently?"

Pikachu went stiff, as memories of the collapsing ruins ran through his mind. He squeaked repeatedly, in which Sei glanced at the mouse with a knowing look.

"As expected," Sei murmured, a stern look in his gaze. "He has started to move, that... "

"...Who is it?" Red whispered. Pikachu deftly leaped and landed on his trainer's shoulder, and both impatiently waited for the answer.

"A former card," Sei replied, his expression going dark, and any light in his eyes disappeared. He clenched his fists so tightly that the knuckles turned white, and his face turned so pale that Red forgot to breathe.

"And the nemesis of the Major Arcana, Licinius."

3 months since the last update! I've been busy with my many other commitments in school, and had distanced myself from narrative writing for quite a while. Even so, I'm really thankful for love you wonderful people have given to this story and I hope that you have enjoyed this chapter. Do look forward to the next installment, the ride is just going to get more exciting! :D

A huge thank you to SelfiesWithSprinkles for beta-reading this chapter!