PokeStones of the Dead – Chapter Twelve
Temperance's hands found the light switch in the chamber the corridor had led to. Their eyes had grown used to the dark, after that absurdly pitch-black corridor they had to bypass in order to get to the rooms they were standing in now. The light switch flicked on, Temperance and Lillette squinted as their eyes got used to the change in brightness, and they saw a place that they would originally have paid a large sum of money to even see, much less live in.
The luxury in front of their eyes allowed both to forget the situation and simply gape at the mansion, no, palace, in front of them. From the crystal chandelier hanging from the high ceiling, to the set of armchairs in front of a 42 inch plasma LCD television, to the minibar at the corner where spirits and cocktails lined the tabletop, it was really a life of luxury that the Champion of Kanto enjoyed. And that was only the sitting room. Air-conditioning, turned on every minute of the day, chilled the room to a temperature that most would find uncomfortable, but Temperance and Lillette, having got over their amazement, were now actively searching for the room marked "Library" to care. Going through corridor after corridor, the duo got a glimpse of the life that the Champion had: a gymnasium that housed training machines for both the trainer and his Pokemon, rest quarters with beds and massage appliances that could only be described as overly comfortable, and a full battling arena which terrain could be changed at will.
Finally, Temperance found the library and pushed the sliding door aside, as they entered the room. Like every other room in these quarters, the room was fully carpeted. Bookshelves lined the walls as well as being positioned at strategic areas all around the room, and of course, with luxury in mind, comfy armchairs had been included so as to facilitate a comfortable reading experience. Temperance opted to stand. He rushed past the bookshelves, which were categorised: Battling Strategy, Geography of Kanto, Pokemon inbreeding, Capturing Rare Pokemon… ah, History of Kanto.
Scanning the bookshelves quickly, Temperance noted with satisfaction the organisation in chronological order. Going straight to the extreme end of the section, Temperance's glee faded as he saw almost a gross of books titled "Ancient History of Kanto" or something to that effect. Sighing, he motioned to Lillette and took down a few books to gloss over. Time was running out, Articuno was being attacked by two legendary birds in an epic but imbalanced aerial battle, and the fate of the world lay on… how fast he could read books. The irony was not lost on Temperance as he dropped book after book of ancient history on the ground, eyes searching for anything involving the words "bloodline" or "necromancy".
The necromancer stood alone in a dark corridor, watching the battle of the three legendary birds. He then turned his gaze away from what he was watching, to the final object of his breaking. He smirked. Soon, Articuno would also be under his control.
Articuno let loose with a ferocious Ice Beam, which was met by a Flamethrower from Moltres. The two projectiles exploded, showering slush all over the three legendary Pokemon. The Hail was still falling, created by Articuno's home advantage. Only the Hail, pelting the other two birds with small but deadly balls of ice, had prevented the battle from ending already. The crossfire of fire and lightning had been too much to handle for the defensive-minded Articuno. Fighting for its life, Articuno threw a Blizzard that added to the Hail and prepared itself for another combined attack.
The Dead had taken the lobby of the Elite Four's quarters, and was now trying to break through into the first arena, where Lorelei's Pokemon were still holding the bottleneck of the corridor. Sharp and firm ice blocked the way to the first arena, maintained by her Lapras and Dewgong. Whenever the ice fell, Piloswine would send an Earthquake the Dead's way, sending them falling back for the ice to be renewed. Then the ice at the floor of the arena cracked, and undead Dugtrios emerged from the new hole – and new passageway – created.
Temperance started as the room he was in shook. The sound of stone crumbling could be heard in the distance. He sped up his search, hoping that in his haste, he had not missed out a crucial bit of information that was the answer to this hell he was experiencing. And then Lillette gave a start of surprise, and called Temperance to the book she was reading. After Temperance read it, he understood what they needed to do, and after quick consultation with Lillette, ran towards the balcony, despite a stumble or two on unknown objects in the dark, where they mounted their flying Pokemon and took the skies. The Dead had not conquered the Plateau so far in yet, and the skies were mercifully clear. On Flygon, Temperance flew close to Xatu next to him, took a roundabout way past the Dead attacking from the south, and headed southeast to Seafoam. On the way, the two thought of what they had just read, and the hope that lingered somewhere in their hearts.
Celadon. Vermillion. Fuchsia. Mt. Moon. Victory Road.
Destroy the PokeStones; bring about the ancient evil that corrupts the afterlife, leading Pokemon to rise up from the grave as zombies once more.
Three PokeStones to one deadly, mysterious combination potion, combining the deep power of the earth and its living beings that dwelled deep beneath the earth in every city.
One potion to one legendary bird, enabling control over the slumbering guardians of the land that prevented chaos and death.
When all three guardians are corrupted, the ancient evil reawakens fully, and transfers its power to the perpetrator of the crime.
This power – the stunning power – to have the ability to copy all the moves of all the Pokemon in the entire universe. To play a sick, twisted God, a human with the powers of all Pokemon.
And the power to stop this lies in our hands.
As the two Pokemon flew towards Seafoam, Temperance noticed the unmistakable drop in temperature. The autumn season had rendered the temperature relatively constant and comfortable. As Seafoam grew closer and closer, the temperature started going well below the status quo of 22 degrees and started approaching single digits. Temperance was shivering, bare arms not suited to take such temperatures. Bar a Fire Blast from Flygon, Temperance could do nothing about the cold, so he just shrunk back into his general silent and emotionless nature. The events that had transpired since his return to Kanto had caused his barrier against emotion to be taken down, but the silent, cold journey was a perfect place to put it up again. Temperance hardly noticed the cold, or the snow that was starting to fall, or the sounds of ferocious lightning, fire, and ice that was emanating from their destination. Only when Flygon and Xatu started lowering their altitude did Temperance snap out of his stupor, and prepared to jump into battle on the side of Articuno. Articuno could not fall. At least one of the three legendary guardians had to oversee the region and make sure the ancient evil from the earth did not rise up again. The two Pokemon landed a near distance from the battle, in order not to draw unnecessary attention from the Dead that were surround the island borders. Temperance prepared to release his Pokemon, hand on his Poke Balls. Then, he realised that something was missing from his finger that should always be there for the rest of his life. The ring – it was missing.
Temperance's eyes widened in a panic, all the moderation recovered from the long flight southeast lost in an instant. He recalled the stumble as they ran towards the balcony of Indigo Plateau, and realised in an instant that he must have dropped it then, the ring still overly large for his pre-fully-developed fingers. Temperance ignored the battle taking place not 100 metres away, and prepared to take flight again, heading back to the Plateau.
"What are you doing?"
Lillette had, obviously, noticed him getting back on Flygon, while she was lying low on Lapras, concealed by the blizzard and the explosive battle taking place. Temperance ignored her, continuing to instruct Flygon to fly back northwest to Indigo Plateau. Before Flygon flew off, he muttered the single word to Lillette: "Ring."
If Temperance had been expecting a horrified, sympathetic expression from Lillette or even accompaniment on the flight back, he was sorely mistaken. An Ice Beam from Lapras clipped Flygon's wings as it flew into the air, sending it right back where it came from. As Flygon finally regained control of its flight at sea level, Lillette jumped onto Flygon and started shaking him vigorously, eliminating the fury and accusations on the tip of his tongue.
"Idiot! What are you thinking? The Elite Four has been fighting their lives away to allow us to bypass the Dead blockade and arrive at Seafoam to stop this madness, and you want to fly back again? The Elite Four might be dead. They might have fallen just to preserve the two of us and save Kanto. And now you want to fly back again? Look over there!" she said, motioning towards the three birds. "Articuno is getting pummelled. Do you want to help it, save it from being killed and dumped into the ocean while the Dead reign supreme? Allow the evil we just researched about to rule the land, with the Dead as his servants? What will it help all the people in Kanto, the legendary birds, and yourself, if you are slain? The fact that you are even considering such a foolhardy course of action, much less taking it, shows that you have no skill to read the situation at hand and respond actively to it!"
Temperance's hands shook at Lillette's words. Deep in, his rational self knew that what she was saying was correct, but all his hands could feel now was the absence of the ring on his left hand, the last relic of his past, his parents, his boring but contented life. And he now felt irritated, angry, at Lillette who was trying to stop him.
"So, you want me to just give it up? Something that means the world to me, and has been the symbol of peace and justice I was fighting for? At Lavender? At Mt. Moon? All the battles against the Elite Four? That thing has been keeping me going, and is the last thing that roots me to my original life! That one of compassion, and love! Without it, who is with me? I will be alone, desolate, even in victory. Since you think little of such things, let's see how you feel about this –"
And with a quick snatch at Lillette's backpack, the silver medal of commendation awarded to her by the army fell into the freezing ocean, falling into some unknown cave of the depths. Temperance saw that Lillette's eyes were turned towards the spot where the medal fell, and was now still falling, until it would come to a rest on the sea bed to rust and remain there until the end of the world. Then, her eyes came back to meet Temperance's, but they were not smouldering with fury as Temperance had expected they would. They were filled with sadness, and tears.
"And so, there it goes. We have both lost our artifacts that are most precious to us. But why am I not angry? Why do I not feel like you, and demand that Lapras dive under to retrieve the medal? Because it would waste time. Time that could be spent winning this war. And I do not feel alone and without anyone to care for me, just because I have lost my most precious symbol of what I am fighting for. Because I know, that if we win, that I will have you. Not a medal, to be framed up and stared at in a house in Saffron, inhabited by one, but you."
And Lillette's lips met Temperance's, his cold, not from the weather, but from his emotions. And then they started to warm up, erasing his past, along with his hatred and fury. And Temperance felt what it was like to finally love someone, and how powerful the emotions he had been locking up for years were.