Alrighty, here is the final chapter to my longest story! Thanks for reading guys!
The battle seemed endless, and my muscles were screaming for remorse. Only two Wristbands remained, and on the horizon, the sky's warming rays were turning the treetops a dim pink. Around me, mutilated bodies were compacted into the ground, bleeding slowly as those who still lived swarmed around them, praying not to join them.
We now greatly outnumbered the Enslaved Pokémon, and I was giddy at the idea of finishing the night. In the swirl of flames, water, and leaves lashing out at various creatures, I was having a hard time locating the last two Masters. I dove and skirted through the exhausted battle, my eyes blurring every now and then as my own body began to give way to the need of respite. I shook my head rapidly, hoping to shake off the fatigue as I darted about, my eyes peering through the mob.
To my left, I saw a Poliwhirl charge me with a Waterfall. I barely dodged the attack, and sent a Confuse Ray after him as he went zooming past me. As he stumbled about, dazed and inconsolable, I turned to the direction he came from. A tall, lean woman stood there confidently, her arms crossed over her thin bosom, a dark smirk on her lips. I growled at her evilly, and began to approach her. She quickly tossed her Wristband at my feet, and I stopped and stared at it in confusion.
"You've got guts, darling, I'll give you that," She chimed, pulling her short, black skirt a little lower and flipping her silver hair. Her purple eyes bore into mine, and my growl returned as I felt her threatening glower drill into me. "Here, take it, I can tell when we've lost the battle." She looked around her, at the battle, the blood spraying in the air, and a content smile danced across her lips. One of my Beartic's shot a vicious Icy Wind at her, and she hopped out of the way, her smile replaced with an angry glare. I barked at him to fall back, and with a confused glance at me, he backed away slowly before turning to fight any of the Pokémon who tried to sneak up on me. She looked at me critically again, and her playful grin returned.
"Ah, so you must be the one in charge of this little ambush," she giggled confidently. Her ease made me uncomfortable, and I quickly threw her Wristband into the air, where Legion caught it and sped off to deliver it to Max. She watched him soar away, and laughed loudly as she combed her fingers through her long, shimmering hair. "You've done a good job this evening, I'll give you that, but you have no idea how deep the grave you just dug yourself is." My hackles raised, and my growl returned.
"Easy there," she said, raising her eyebrow, as she tossed a Pokeball in the air. With a pop, a huge Milotic came sprawling out, curling around the Master protectively. "You don't really look like you're up for a serious fight." I let my lips fall over my fangs and my growl die in my throat, but my paws were still spread wide apart, and my tails were whipping behind me angrily. The girl smiled, and turned again to survey the battlefield. "Did you really think you could make a difference?" She grinned, turning back to me. "Did you really think some rag tag militia from the forest could stop Team Origin?" I snorted in disbelief, tossing my head to the war around us; it was clear who was winning. She glanced around, before laughing and looking at me again. "So you're little ambush worked, and you were able to defeat this encampment. Congratulations, you deserve a Pokeblock for all your hard work." She laughed again, and my confusion and frustration was growing. She had lost this battle, so why was she still so confident? "Let me tell you a little secret, darling," she drawled, glancing at her elegant hand. "I gave you my Wristband because I didn't want you tearing it off and possibly damaging my flawless skin, but don't think that I gave you a victory." She turned and looked at me, still smiling condescendingly. "What you found here was a training regiment; get it? These eight students I brought up her to teach were the weakest Team Origin has to offer." Fearfully, I glance around; countless dead bodies filled the arena, the blood watering the grass beneath my paws. "Yes, that's right darling, this was only the beginning. You should've stayed in your little swamp, or wherever you came from, and enjoyed the peace while you had it, because Team Origin's best will be coming to take vengeance on you now." Far away, I saw Seara dash into the forest, the final Wristband glinting from where it was hanging from around her horn. "Was it worth it to you? Regardless of whether this night had happened, we would have marched up here and Enslaved all of you anyway." Around us, all the battling stopped as the last two Wristbands were destroyed, somewhere in the forest by a hidden boy.
Seeing herself completely outnumbered now, the Master threw a separate Pokeball into the air, and a Noivern came out. She leapt onto its back, returned her Milotic, and returned her gaze to me. "Enjoy your Freedom while you have it, darling, because you won't have it for long, and once I return with the rest of Team Origin, I will see to it that you become my personal foot stool." With a screech, the Noivern lifted into the air, and with incredible speed, began flying south, further and further away, until they were but a speck in the distance.
In most wars, you would expect a cheer of victory, a throwing of all battle helmets, a three cheers for the commander who led them to victory. This, however, wasn't a human war, but one amongst Pokémon. Everyone stared at the disappearing enemy, and then slowly began to care for the wounded silently. I limped slowly around the battlefield, checking on the bandaged, closing the eyes of the dead, nuzzling those who cried over the bodies of their mates, parents, siblings, and friends. In my chest, overpowering the sadness I felt for the fallen, I felt pride. We had done it! We had conquered the conquerors! Nothing could stop us now! We'd march to the south, across mountain and swamp, across desert and tundra, to defeat the rest of this Team Origin. We would wipe them from the earth, and…
His familiar form was lying crushed on the ground, covered with a mixture of mud and blood. I stared at him from afar, blinking hard, willing the illusion to go away. It didn't; he laid there as rigid as the dead. I stumbled beside him, and found his dull, red eyes staring up at me, his muzzle open and his tongue hanging out, dipping in a pool of his own blood.
Inside, something popped out of place; I could feel the instant pride I had felt get swallowed whole by my grief. I howled a loud, earth shaking howl, throwing my head back to the rising sun, and all around me froze and took a moment to share my grief before turning their attention to their own misfortunes. I began to shed my first tears as I buried my face into Sergio's cold fur, screaming for him to come back. As he stayed unresponsive, I began clawing and kicking his strangled body, mindlessly hoping that I could cause him enough pain to shock him alive. I screamed and prayed to Arceus to bring him back to me, and prayed that the magic of my own Pokémon tears would bring him back to life, but his body grew colder and colder, and I began drowning in my sorrow.
Whatever had popped out of place in my chest had been a vital support structure, because now everything inside was falling apart. I couldn't think straight, and the world swirled before me. I tried to get one last scent of him, to get one last memory of our time together, and found his sweet, comforting scent defiled with the scent of his life blood. I screeched in fury, and flames shot out from me randomly as my emotions took over. In a large circle around me, the sodden grass quickly turned black as I burned it, hating the foliage for living while my sweet love no longer was. I pawed the ground, howled, spun wildly, until I was so exhausted I couldn't keep my feet anymore. I crawled beside him and curled up in the curve of his body, like we had slept only so few of times together. Whenever someone came to comfort me, or take his body, I would growl demonically, warning them not to come any closer, lest they suffer a fate worse than his.
Our time had been so brief together; our love, so fresh and young. The idea of someone even interrupting our alone time in death drove me wild with anger. I sobbed against his fur, my tears mixing with his blood beneath us. I reviewed all our time together, such few precious moments, in my mind, desperate to cling to his living form. Even after my tears had dried and my sobs had passed, I cuddled with his corpse, afraid to let go. Hours passed, and I felt my pain slowly change into hollowness. I rose to my feet slowly, licked his frozen muzzle one last time, and left him and myself behind.
I saw Mar and Storm mourning over the body of their dead brother. I saw Currant finally feel the touch of her stolen mother again. I saw Diamond help her newly disabled husband find a dry place to rest. I saw all of these things, and felt nothing for my people. Many came and thanked me for their freedom, for returning their loved ones to them, and I walked by without as much as a glance. I no longer cared for anything but the future I had lost.
Max came sprawling out into the early morning sunlight, and when he saw me, he hollered and ran towards me. I stared at him emptily as he and Rizio came to a halt in front of me.
"We did it!" he breathed heavily, recovering from the night's excitement.
"Sergio's dead," I said flatly, my face expressionless as Rizio translated. Max's face fell, and he offered me sincere condolences that fell on deaf ears. I began relaying what the final Master had told me before running away, and once my message was delivered, I turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Rizio called after me.
"I don't know," I said.
"What are you planning to do now about Team Origin?" Max questioned.
"I don't know," I said. They stared after me as I walked alone into the comforting darkness of the forest. After a few moments, I could hear their feet pounding after me.
"What about your duty to the forest?" Rizio demanded.
"I don't know," I said. They weren't my problem, I didn't care about their well being and happiness anymore. Silence followed as the two males kept easy pace with me.
"Someone has to go stop Team Origin," Max finally said, glancing at me from the corner of his glasses.
"Okay," I said.
"Come with me," Max said, kneeling in front of me and stroking my bloodied mane. He pulled out a Pokeball, and I almost expected myself to recoil in disgust; to struggle and fight and for my spirit of the Wild Pokémon to demand Freedom, but I just felt empty. "I could use your help," Max said, holding it in front of me.
"Okay," I said. He blinked in surprise, amazed that I didn't need further convincing, before gently tapping the button on my nose. I was immediately absorbed into the Pokeball, and this time, I didn't even try to look around for the exit. I curled up, finally, alone, and comforted my damaged soul, now empty of anything except pain.
Thanks for reading guys! Hope you enjoyed the story.