Part VI: Flames of Failure—and the Sting of Regret
The leaves above my head seemed to be swaying in an uneasy rhythm, rustling and shivering from their branches. The greens around me slowly became yellows and browns as even the skies above turned a hideous shade of acidic yellow.
No, that acidic smell was familiar.
My eyes widened as a sudden guest burst into the path, bringing harsh smoke along with it. I cringed and covered my mouth with my jacket sleeve as I tried to make sense of the situation. Looking up, I found my worst nightmare before me.
Standing before me was once again that strange man in a strange armored yukata in a bold shade of orange, grinning at me as he closed his right hand in a fist and flaunted the back of his pale hand to my face. Burned into his skin was the same mark on Lyra's hand, that heart-shaped mark that seemed to mean something much more than she let on.
The man's orange hair rustled in the wind as a few golden feathers in his carrot locks swayed with them, dancing on his head and standing out like the flames of a candle.
"Tick tock, young one." A voice echoed around me, seemingly everywhere at once and never having a direct location of origin. "Your time is running out."
I seemed to lose my voice as the man disappeared in the blink of an eye. Unnerved by the man's appearance, I found myself dashing away on dying grass. Yellowed blades turned to black ash as I neared a small clearing. Rank, acidic air slammed into my lungs and attempted to suffocate me from the inside, trying to sabotage my efforts. Coughing from the irritation in my throat, I stopped in the center of the clearing.
I immediately wished I hadn't.
Suddenly, great flames surrounded this small patch inside of the forest, creating a single circle of dying greens in a sea of scarlet and orange. Panic set in as I frantically searched for an exit.
"No way out," The mysterious voice engulfed me once again, yet no one was here. "There's no way out."
I grabbed the sides of my head as a sudden pain emerged. A silent scream slipped out as I fell to my knees. What was going on? What should I do? I'm trapped here, trapped inside of this fire with no way to escape. I'll die in here, I'll die.
The flames swirled with an unusal speed as the seemed to twist and turn around the surrounding trees. Crackling like breaking firewood filled the air as branched were unceremoniously clipped from great oaks and sent crashing to the dead grasses. The infant flames slowly took their first steps on land, learning how to walk on the yellow grass. I could only watch as they headed for me in an agonizingly slow pursuit.
"Oh, such a shame," The voice almost sounded as if he was inches away from laughing, making tears jump to my eyes and frustration burn under my skin. "Such a shame. What a sad little boy, all alone as the trees burn. He's all alone, all alone."
The words stung in my chest as a quiet and echoing laugh resonated through the clearing. All alone, The words danced in victory in my mind, prancing as if little children in a schoolyard. He's all alone. Oh, he's all alone.
My breathing slowly became nothing but empty inhales and heavy exhales, unable to take this pressure on my chest. All alone, all alone. My mind began to fog as those words stuck out like a gruesome flesh wound. Oh, such a sad little boy, all alone in the burning woods. This voice in my head was no longer mine, but a voice long ago heard but never forgotten.
All alone, The voice mocked me as my knees gave out and I crashed to the ground. He's all alone. What a shame. Such a shame. This poor little boy is all alone. That voice, that terrible voice! It never seemed to shut up. It was always there, always yelling and always laughing. Just like his father; worthless, worthless. He's nothing in this world, nothing at all. Let him burn in the fires of justice! Let him burn!
Numbly, I looked up and found that man standing in front of me with the flames reflected in his blood-red eyes. Orange swam with self-satisfaction and savage bliss at the sight of the poor, unfortunate boy before him. "Such a shame." The echoing voice, so deep and quiet came back with a deadly calm that sent horror down my spine. "Oh, it's such a shame."
My eyes watched as his mouth slowly moved with smooth motions, sending the black choker on his throat into a small dance of expansion and contraction. "He's all alone here, all alone. What ever shall he do? What ever shall he do?" Crimson eyes focused on my quivering hands as the tears stung against my skin and left dark stains on my pants.
A single blink and the man with golden feathers in his hair disappeared. In his place was that dreaded figure, the boy with a jacket that seemed dyed with blood. A sinister grin was on his face as his eyes evaded my sight, hiding in the unyielding shadow under his cap's brim. "He's all alone," That dreaded voice came back, quiet and somehow able to become louder than even the most frustrated Steelix. "Oh, that poor little boy is all alone."
Another blink, another torturer.
This time that familiar figure stood before me with a smirk of confidence. All of my choking insides wanted me to reach out, reach out to them for help. But I knew better by now. This person wouldn't help a pathetic boy who's all alone. This figure relished in my misery.
"All alone," The sweet song became a merciless taunt. "Oh, this little boy is all alone as the forest burns. Will no one help him? Will no one protect him from these great flames?" Brunette locks fluttered in slow-motion as her eyes narrowed. Hazel pools of gasoline set off the spark of orange that forever hid in her, waiting to ignite.
I blinked one last time and found her gone once again, leaving me alone. Pressure on my chest had now become pressure on every inch of my body, forcing me to lie down on the putrid grass as the acidic sky above gleamed with orange Volbeat. Ragged breathing was the only sound as I shut my eyes and listened for the fires of destruction.
"The winds of new beginnings are still blowing. Oh, they're still blowing all around us." The quiet voice murmured in my ears as I curled up in the bleached grass. "The great bird of rebirth is here. The great bird is here to watch over all. A great evil has risen from their ashes and been sent back to whence they came. The great evil has become nothing but ashes on the wind. The chosen one has soothed the great bird of fire and parched his thirst for battle. The chosen one has incinerated the great evil and left not a single one of their kind standing in this world."
"The chosen one has burned across the land, seeking out the great evil and ridding the land of their vile ways. Ashes have returned to ashes, as they should always remain. The great evil did indeed rise to plague man and Pokémon, but the flames of the great bird of fire and his chosen one have rid the world of their dreaded mark."
I took a shaking breath as the words slipped in my mind and bounced endlessly, returning with more force and slamming inside my skull. These words made no sense to me, not one bit. These words somehow thrust a stake of fear in my heart, sending me into a nervous shiver that nothing seemed to stop.
"The flames of the chosen one burn on, searching for any remaining evils. True, though the great evil has been destroyed, the mark of evil is still in the land. Behold! For the great evil's mark is still alive! The dark blot of their vile ways stains crimson on this fertile soil! The tainted soul and the pure heart can never merge! The black ink of the evil runs through the veins of one lone survivor! Hark, the great bird cries out against this impurity! The flames of the chosen one must rage on, they must!"
The searing heat of scarlet tongues inched ever closer to my fetal curl, my lone defense I still held. Shaking breathing had become desperate inhales that brought nothing but a tightness to my lungs, nothing but harsh smoke and sharp lack of oxygen. The voice's once quiet demeanor had now become a punishing screech, crying loudly in this boiling air.
"Behold! The dark stain of his evil is before us! This lone survivor thinks that by hiding in the shadows, he may be spared the great bird's wrath. No! Justice will prevail against the wicked! The blackened heart will cease to beat and pump vile evil through his body. The chosen one will come upon him and destroy him with her flames of purity. Justice will prevail! The great phoenix and his chosen one shall reign above all! They shall rage across the land and obliterate the remaining evil! The wicked have nowhere to hide from the flames of judgment!"
Slowly, desperate breathing stalled until not a single inhale rang above the murmur of flames and the yells of the lone voice. The tight pain dulled and became nothing but a welcoming pressure. A quiet beckoning tugged at me, trying to bid me to join the growing black in my mind. With a last exhale, I felt the tickle of flames against my outstretched right hand.
"Justice shall prevail. The chosen one will burn across the land and destroy the remains of the wicked. Nothing shall be left to stand before the great phoenix of rebirth. Nothing shall be left to plague the land. All evil shall be burned until nothing but ashes remain."
"Justice will rain upon the wicked and strike them where they stand."
As the darkness took over every choking part of me, a lone thought found its way out of the dead depths of my mind. A small smile found a place on my sweating face as the tickling sensation spread to my legs and my chest.
But what will become of the poor boy, the poor boy who is all alone in the burning woods?
To my surprise, the voice of great fury answered my last thought.
"The boy shall be found by the chosen one and the great bird of rebirth! There is nowhere he may hide from the justice that awaits him. Guilty blood shall cease to flow and the great evil shall cease to exist."
"That poor boy, all alone in the woods as they burn around him, is the great evil!"
Gasping for air, I jolted awake with sweat dripping from my face. Cold fear raced through my viens as the darkness surrounded me. A light pressure was still on my lower half, pushing against my legs and making a numb feeling rise from the waist down. Trapped in a whirlpool of panic, I scanned the room. Nothing but pitch-black awaited my sight and the panic rose into an all-consuming desperation. My mind whirled and gave no answers as I tried to decode my situation.
A low creak beside me made me jump with a squeak of fear.
My eyes jumped to the location of the sound and found that a single beam of moonlight slipped beside me and illuminated a serene face. My heartbeat, once racing out of control, now slowed to a normal pace as I recognized the thin eyebrows and thick lashes of my rival's face.
It was all a nightmare. I ran a hand through my hair and tried to regain a normal rate of breathing. It was all just a terrible nightmare. I'm not on fire, I'm not dying. I'm simply in a bed beside my rival with a Glaceon acting as a barrier between us. At the thought of the short Pokémon, I took a double-take.
I raised an eyebrow with surprise as I found that my rival's supposed guardian was nowhere to be found between us. I sat up ever so slightly and found that her newest addition was also missing from the bed. Feeling slightly disturbed by this, I looked to my right. Where Sneasel once slept beside me was nothing but twisted fabric.
Alright, I looked up as a last observation and found that Crobat was also missing from his post. Where the heck are our Pokémon? Those little pests were just here when I fell asleep and suddenly they're missing in action.
Feeling slightly unnerved by this, I decided to take a look over the edge of the bed. The instant I looked over the edge, relief flooded my systems. Lying on the floor beside my large Typhlosion was both Sneasel and Lyra's strange blue midget, sleeping side-by-side with smiles on their faces. My stolen starter's neck flames illuminated the surrounding Pokémon of both parties, bringing a much-needed relief to my system.
They're just sleeping beside Typhlosion. I let out a quiet sigh and rested my back against the cold wood of the headboard. Closing my eyes, I just focused on breathing a normal rhythm. Counting the seconds between each inhale and exhale, I looked back to the sleeping rival on my left. I focused on her peaceful face and felt a twinge of envy in my chest.
I bet you don't have any nightmares, chosen one. The words of that nightmare still rang in my ears. The mocking voices and the strange man still were locked in my mind and grinning at me with sickening joy in my pain. You don't have to worry about anything, do you? You never have nightmares about fire that leave you awake for hours. You never have strange people yelling at you and speaking in riddles while you burn with a dying forest.
"Nngh," A small sound escaped her slumber as she rolled a bit closer to my side of the bed. Agitation rose in my throat as she stopped right beside me with her face looking straight up at me. Her mouth quivered in her sleep as eyelids fluttered with some hidden dream. I just sighed and looked away.
My attention was brought back to my left when a sudden burning sensation returned to my left hand. I flinched and snapped my eyes towards my hand and found my own hand right against the burn on my rival's hand, the strange discoloration somehow seeming to glow in the sheer darkness of the bed.
I just scowled at the burn on her hand and yanked my own away with a glare. I then shifted in my spot and tried to lay back down. I stopped just inches of my pillow when a sudden stab of fear hit me once again. I can't go back to sleep. Panic set in as the images of the flames flashed in my mind. If I fall back asleep again, I'll just end up going through that all over again. I've been through that once and have no intentions of doing that mess all over again.
Instead, I brought my knees to my chest and rubbed my temples. Don't fall asleep and you'll be safe, Silver. The flames can't reach you if you're awake. That man...that horrible man and that boy with the red jacket...they can't get you when you're awake. You'll be safe, Silver. Stay awake.
Springs creaked as my rival once again rolled in her sleep, this time aided by the low dip near me. I cringed as her small form crashed into my side and rested between my hip and the surface of the mattress. Slowly, I glanced over and gave the mobile girl a harsh glare. Not like you care, Lyra Soul. You're too busy with your own little world to ever care about... I stopped as her face contorted into a frown and her hands gripped the sheets until her knuckles were painted white.
You're too busy to care about a poor little boy like me.
Author's Note: Ugh, this is an angst chapter. I've suddenly realized that I seem to have a flair for nightmare sequences in my writing... Perhaps it's because of the vivid nightmares I've had in my life and the dreams that make no sense that I have almost every night. I think that I should tell you that symbolism is everywhere in this chapter, and the strange man isn't actually a man. (He's something quite popular in the Pokémon fandom, actually.)