Chapter 27
Dawn
I float there, wordlessly, not even daring to utter a sound. The only sound I hear is my own breathing and the small stream before me. The water is so clear, I can see every detail of the rocks that line the bottom vividly. The water chatters away, babbling on and on to the stones that it moves through. I hear wings flapping from a distance away. It gets closer, but I don't turn around. It's not April. We agreed when I found this place that we wouldn't say anything to April. She's may be a Togetic, but she's still a child. However, I think we're all of similar age. But, Apri is too immature for this. She couldn't handle it. We agreed that, for her sake, she wouldn't know about this. Finally, Blake touches ground next to me and the flapping stops.
Neither of us say anything to each other. We are aware of each other's company, but we don't acknowledge it. Our voices are locked inside our throats. It's not the time to speak. The water carries leaves down the stream. They are a soft orange color. The first signs of autumn approaching. But, it's not the leaves that catch our attention. Being carried along with the autumn leaves are feathers. Some are a soft light tan color. Some are a vibrant yellow. Most are crimson red, along with the trail it leaves in the water. Further up the stream and all over the forest are bodies. Fallen warriors of our Raptor squadron. We are in the presence of the battlefield from a matter of days ago. Which has now become a graveyard.
We stay at our place, nothing but our eyes and occasional turn of the head moving at all. Our gaze wanders from body to body, identifying the cause of death just by looking at the pokemon that once flew in the skies above. Some raptors have shed no blood at all. They just lay on the ground, appearing to be in mid-flight. But, they don't move. They are literally frozen in place. The Sheer Cold from Articuno can freeze the anatomy of a pokemon, stopping the heart. The beaks are blue. So are the talons that are tucked beneath their bodies. The eyes that are filled with surprise and fear are still fresh, along with the emptiness that comes with death's eternal embrace.
There are others. Bloody bodies of pokemon whose feathers stick up like needles. I shudder at the thought of being attacked with something like that. The work of or in piles are bare, black bones, charred and turned to ashes. The murderer there is Ho-Oh. Some bodies are in their own large red pool, a mixture of their own blood and the water that Lugia had dispensed. Then, there is the bloodiest of them all. The species of pokemon isn't even identifiable. The entire body is coated in thick layers of their own blood. My stomach flips over and over at the gruesome sight. I know that this must be hard for Blake. He narrowly escaped this fate. The gory death toll from Rayquaza greatly outnumbers any other.
So, we stand\float with tears in our eyes and our heads bowed in mourning and respect. These raptors gave their life to the war. They knew this might happen, but they were forced to risk their chances. And they paid the brutal price. The price of their own life. And no one even came back for the bodies out of fear. That's when the big realization hits me. We are in the presence of what once was one of the most ruthless and powerful armies in the skies. Even the raptor squadron alone could take on any enemy. Except the Wings of Legend. They had thousands on their side. And here we are, the three of us barreling head-first into enemy territory and we expect to survive. After, seeing this, my chances of getting back to Skyborne for dinner tomorrow night are slim to none. The same is for Blake and April. If we go through with this, then we will die.
"But, I still have to go..." I whisper to myself, my head still hung low. "I still have to go." Blake hears me and lifts his head towards my voice. "They gave their lives to end this war. They knew that the chances were slim, but they gave it their all, anyway." My voice is still at a whisper, but Blake clings onto every word. "Even if there is only a slim chance that our efforts will be worth something, we've got to try. For Skyborne, for peace, and for the future." Blake stares at me and nods. My voice has nothing else to say. So, we let the silence hang in the area for a bit longer before leaving.
Almost simultaneously, Blake and I turn around, backsides facing the blood-red river, and prepare to take off. But, we freeze at the sight of April standing next to a victim of Rayquaza in a pool of pure blood of a fallen warrior. The blood comes up to her ankles, encasing her feet in the liquid flesh of the dead. Her gaze is hammered right into us. It's impossible to read. There is a mixture of sadness and depression. I'd expect nothing less. But, there is also anger and hatred forming a fire in the deepest part of her eyes. I can't tell if it is towards the Wings of Legend for doing this or towards us for not telling her about this. I immediately feel shame. We should have told her. This isn't something to be kept a secret. Her eyes lack the very thing that both of us thought would be there and we knew were in our own eyes the entire time. I never thought that, in a situation like this, April's eyes would hold anything but fear. Yet, determination floods her eyes and sends rays of her feelings into us. It's clear to her. Clearer than to all of us. Now is not the time to be afraid. Now is the time to make a difference. Now is the time to go end this war.
We all look at each other and a promise is made. At the first crack of dawn tomorrow, we invade the Wings of Legend no matter what price we pay. No matter what might happen to us, we will put our entire spirit into ending this war.