The disaster animal had just woken up. He found himself in that mossy clearing, only vaguely remembering what had happened before. Now, he's still ruminating, unable to move where he lays, awaiting his death. Who had attacked him? His mind is hazy, yet he still tries to think, who could have been the one to end his life? He remembers some kind of club, the assailant's assigned weapon, but he can't remember what the assailant looked like. He gives up and rests his head against the moss, disheartened. Suddenly, he remembers. He lifts his head in surprise. "It was an invisible animal!" No wonder he had lost. This fills him with rage, as he knows he could have easily beaten whoever it was, had it been visible. How cheap!
He doesn't even know which of the nineteen opposing animals can become invisible. Whoever it was though, Absol hopes it wins. He wouldn't like his own death to be in vain.
He rests his head down again, feeling about ready to fall asleep. As he feels a mighty heaviness surround his body, he seeps into the ensconcing moss. He hears animals shuffling through the leaves not too far away. He forces his body to perk up, warding off the heavy feeling temporarily. He sees the kids emerge from the underbrush in a state. They immediately spot him and approach warily.
"Well I didn't expect to see you lot here."
"Absol." Pichu whispers in wonder.
"Uh-huh. I'm sure you didn't expect to see me here, either," Absol responds, looking over his own body.
The kids couldn't imagine seeing Absol, the seemingly toughest and boldest, or at least most intimidating, animal with his body so battered. He had gone blind on one eye, which had been partially glazed over by a dark liquid. They slowly inspect the absol and, after deeming him too infirm to do anything bad, rest themselves in front of him, gazing at him in awe. "What happened?" asks Pichu.
"I got nailed pretty bad, huh? If don't mind, I'd like to be left in peace," Absol implores, his voice becoming rasp. "I don't want any screaming kids flailing around my deathbed," he adds inwardly.
"Absol, why do you want us to leave?" Eevee asks, a little disappointed.
"Because Whismur smells!" Pichu answers on behalf of the absol. Pichu and Eevee go into a fit, giggling childishly.
"Oh yeah?" Absol says, turning his head towards the small, mauve animal, who looks at the other two irritably. "Haven't heard much from you."
"THAT'S BECAUSE—!"
"That's because he's loud," Pichu interrupts, muffling Whismur while Eevee giggles uncontrollably. Being a typically inaudible animal, Whimsur's vocals had become a perpetual screaming due to the adverse situation they are in.
Absol finds himself smiling. He'd join in on the laughter, but it'd hurt too much. Again, he feels a wave of heavy dizziness engulf him. "Listen," he coughs out, "You kids look hungry."
Pichu clutches her belly and nods.
"So, when I die...I mean, when I go, you kids gotta make good use of my body, got that?"
The kids looks at him questioningly. "What do you mean?"
"Are you going somewhere?"
"Er, when I go to sleep," Absol corrects himself reluctantly, "which is...now. So, make good use of my body."
"You're not gonna go to sleep, Absol, sir." Eevee says somewhat gleefully. "And what do you mean about using your body?"
Absols chuckles. He sighs shortly after and says, "You know. Use me as food."
"Okay!" Pichu exclaims. "Osh osh osh osh!"
The two other kids laugh wildly as Pichu pretends to chow on Absol's stomach.
Absol rolls his eyes. He wonders how long it's going to take for him to finally "go to sleep." He decides to change the subject. "Where's that stupid Sceptile, huh?"
"Absol, we're trying to look for her," Pichu replies. Perking up, she asks, "Will you help us find her?"
"FIND MOM! FIND MOM!"
Absol cringes at Whismur's roar. "Mom?"
"Sceptiles our mommy, duh," Eevee informs him. "I know, 'cause I remember before we got on this island," she says matter-of-factly.
Pichu nods. "Absol, I'm just going with what she says."
Absol raises a brow. Odd, how Eevee is able to remember something like that, unless she's just delirious. Or, maybe her amnesia wore off? "Sceptile's your mom?" Absol considers it. Something like that isn't possible. Of all the twenty animals that were put on the island, no one claimed to know each other. Generally, simply looking at someone else would be enough to invoke some kind of memories of that person (the "do I know you from somewhere?" feeling), amnesia or not. "You're a crazy bunch," Absol says, chuckling.
Suddenly, Eevee's eyes widen. She blinks as she looks sharply into Absol's eyes. She steps closer, keeping her stare. Then, she speaks. "...Dad?"
The disaster animal squints and tries to shake his head. "N-no. I'm not." Once more, he feels that heaviness again. This time, it's much more intense, and he's ninety percent sure this will be it. Sure enough, his life flashes before his eyes, indicating that it is indeed it for the absol. But these visions are very prolonged, and he can clearly see what was happening in his childhood.
He finds himself back at the animal sanctuary, reliving times that he cannot remember. He relives several mundane experiences, but finally, he finds himself sitting alone, watching Sceptile as she rested against a tree, talking with Miltank.
Lucario decided to sit down abreast of Absol.
Absol scoffed in disdain. "Ugh, why do you always seem to gravitate towards me?"
"You're the one who chooses to be easily aggravated and targetable," Lucario responded, smiling. "Not my fault. Who you looking at, there? Oh. Sceeeeptile."
"Shut up," Absol whispered.
"Tell her how you feel," she urged.
"Shut up. Why don't you tell Braviary how you feel?"
Lucario gasped. "That would never happen. There's not a chance between us."
"Well there's not a chance between Sceptile and me either," the disaster animal claimed stubbornly. He looked sadly at the two sitting under the tree. He had wished he could tell her how he felt, but he couldn't muster enough courage to do so.
"Hey, sure there is. Don't be a wimp." Lucario grasped Absol's shoulder in a serious manner. "Just think of it! You two could raise a whole pack of screaming, energetic, and needy kids."
"A whole pack? I'd want to have kids but a whole pack's a little much. I'd say, like, three maybe."
Lucario was visibly disgusted by Absol's sudden change in demeanor. He was, for some reason, enthusiastic about raising children. "You sound all gushy and crap." Lucario had honestly believed Absol wanted Sceptile for different reasons other than genuine love. For someone who is usually egotistical and aloof, it was surprising to see Absol show signs of heartfelt effusion. His change in attitude made Lucario hopeful. "Absol."
"Yeah."
"I'll ... I'll tell Braviary if you tell Sceptile."
Absol gulped.
And that is the end of that vision. Alas, the visions keep coming. In another vision, Absol finds himself at the foot of a bed, cradling a newly laid egg in his paws while trying to maintain a steady balance. "How do you hold this?" he asked exasperatedly. "Take it back before I drop it."
"Well, four-legged animals aren't suited for parenthood, I guess," Sceptile replied weakly as she lay in the bed.
Pichu and Eevee raced into the room and cried, "Where's baby brother?"
"Now hold on—"
"What? Huh? What's..." Pichu excitedly peered at the egg. Disappointed, she regretfully informed Eevee, "He's round and weird-looking."
"Oh. Boring." Eevee yawned.
"That's because he hasn't hatched yet," Absol sighed. "You're a crazy bunch," he said, chuckling.
And that is the end of that vision, but they kept coming. They made the disaster animal want to smile but cry at the same time. All of them were happy memories, all except the last one.
Absol finds himself in the sanctuary as usual, but this time the scenery was gloomy, cast in an ominous fog. Absol watched as the male human and female human who cared for the animals were having a discussion with some strange men. The men appeared from nowhere and looked like trouble. One of the men was rather stout with a receding hairline and bushy, gray eyebrows. He was dressed formally, making him seem important. He said, "Because you have access to all these animals, we're going to use them as the test subjects. And, protocol states that you must surrender the animals with the consent of your organization officials."
"Our 'officials' would not let you do this," the female cried in dismay.
"Well they did," the important-looking man replied callously. "We paid them. As a matter of fact, we own you now. But, please don't fret. This experiment will be the most important of its time. It is sure to serve as a precedent for future psychology-based mysteries. You two will go down in history books." The man signaled to the accompanying people. "Round 'em up. Inject them with the serum."
The female tried to protest, but the stout man cut her off. "Relax. Injecting them won't hurt. It'll just make them...forget."
Finally, it is at this point that Absol returns to the present for a brief moment of reflection. So...we all knew each other before this? he thinks, glancing at the children. What the fff ... That's just ... What a cruel world. The heaviness is intense and persistent in its hovering over the absol. As if it weren't bad enough killing strangers.
"Absol's a mean dad!" Pichu protests. "He ate Miltank."
"No. He was just hungry," Eevee states, "just like us."
Hearing this, Absol smiles. "Hey," he says, his breath stifling quickly. "Win this game for, uh, Daddy. I know there can only be one remaining...but you'll find a way. Go and find a way." With that, Absol's breathing slows. His belly tightens and doesn't expand again after that.
The kids watch in silence.
"Oh. He went to sleep...?"
"He made it seem like he'd be asleep forever."
"Should we find Mom, or...?"
Eevee stubbornly plops down against Absol. Pichu sighs and follows her example. Whismur is eager to join the two. The three of them rest there until sunset, having forgotten about their aching stomachs and the possible enemies lurking everywhere. The sun begins to set, painting the sky with serene oranges and reds. The speakers on the capsule explode in static and, like before, emit the voice of a person. This person sounds like the one who interrupted the male announcer from this morning. His harsh voice is very familiar.
"Hello everyone. Since there's been a sudden decrease in animals on the island—don't get me wrong, this is great news—we're obligated to tell you once more who has died since the beginning. Ahem. Number 2, Alakazam. Number 4, Kangaskhan. Number 8, Miltank."
The kids' hearts sink. What was that about Kangaskhan?
"Number 9, Sceptile."
The kids blink and look at one another blankly.
"Number 14, Absol."
The kids can't believe their ears. They can't conceive the news. They note that the man on the loudspeaker's vocabulary is much different than Absol's. Did they fall asleep, or did they die?
"MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOP!" Whismur shrieks, covering his ears in hopes that the announcer will stop the continuous naming of deaths of loved ones.
"Number 16, Drifblim. Number 17, Kecleon. Number 19, Cryogonal. Number 20, Braviary. Wow! Anyway, those of you who are left include: Number 1, Charizard (no surprise there). Number 3, Gengar. Number 5, Eevee (wow! Good going). Number 6, Pichu. Number 7, Umbreon. Number 10, Whismur. Number 11, Sableye. Number 12, Manectric. Number 13, Armaldo. Number 18, Lucario. Congrats to you all for making it this far ... But it seems there is still quite a lot of you. That is unacceptable. Huh?"
A woman's voice is heard in the background, screaming incomprehensibly. Gunfire is heard, followed by a thump. The voice of the woman is heard, breathing into the mic in a flustered manner. "Stop, stop killing—don't kill anymore. I-I'm, I'm coming to-to-to get you. Wait—"
"Natalie!? Holy shit! What did you do?" The loudspeakers terminate abruptly.
#01: Charizard
#02: Alakazam (blown up)
#03: Gengar
#04: Kangaskhan (shot)
#05: Eevee
#06: Pichu
#07: Umbreon
#08: Miltank (devoured)
#09: Sceptile (shot)
#10: Whismur
#11: Sableye
#12: Manectric
#13: Armaldo
#14: Absol (battered)
#15: Yanma (shot)
#16: Drifblim (exited perimeters)
#17: Kecleon (shot)
#18: Lucario
#19: Cryogonal (stabbed)
#20: Braviary (neck snapped)
a/n: So, I think I'm gonna wrap this story up quickly. Expect the next chapter to be the last.