Part VII: The Flames of the Chosen Shall Burn—and Turn all Bonds to Ash
Total darkness overwhelmed me as I walked on this familiar path. Dark shadows shifted around me, creeping closer only to disappear and dissipate as I walked past them. The strange scar on my hand, the mark of the chosen one, lead the way as I walked down this seemingly endless corridor. Faint light floated at the end, beckoning me on with the promise of escaping this dismal road. Only, I knew that the light wasn't my way out.
That light was what kept me here.
I stopped dead in my tracks as the light grew ever closer and shimmered with golden sparkles drifting down to the floor. My eyes narrowed in both an effort to shield them from the radiant light and out of annoyance as the soft gold took the shape of a tall man and burst in front of me.
"I wouldn't hold such a frightening face for so long, my dear." A small smirk formed on his pale face as vibrant locks the color of fire itself swayed on his head. Bright golden plumes took center-stage on his head, acting as his crown to show the world his mighty status. "It would be such a shame if your face remained in such a position."
"Perhaps I wouldn't make faces if you didn't constantly summon me every time I close my eyes." I gave the tall male a look of defiance as his crimson orbs locked on my own. Speaking to one such as him would terrify any other human in my shoes, as well as most Pokémon too. It took guts to speak to such an imposing figure with such boldness.
Either guts, or utter stupidity. It depends on who you ask.
His smile faded as the shadows began to burn away, almost as if they were part of an old film roll that was being burned by the projector. "You know very well that your role as my chosen one creates a strong bond between us. How and when I summon your presence is entirely up to me, not some petty human sleep cycle." I held back a nasty retort and instead just took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
By the time I opened them again, we were no longer standing in a dark tunnel. All around me, a replica of the Bellchime Path surrounded us with vivid reds, piercing golds and burning oranges. The leaves under my feet crunched as I shifted my golden slippers on the autumn grasses. My hair seemed to tickle the back of my neck as I once again found myself in an outfit that mimicked the Kimono Girls' finest silks and the armor that Ho-Oh wore on his own yukata. The sash at my waist seemed to cut off the circulation to my legs as I stood under his judgmental gaze.
"But this never ends." I had to count in my mind and remind myself not to snap at this great bird of fire again. "I'm always here when I close my eyes, looking you straight in the eye." I narrowed my own as one of his orange eyebrows rose with interest. "I thought when you threw me off that you were done with me."
"If I was done with you, Soul," A pale hand reached out and dropped roughly on my right shoulder. Crimson eyes narrowed and stood out against black rings as he glared at my unrest. "I would have let you fall to your death and been done with the whole thing. Instead, I shielded your pathetic form with my power and let you live to see another sunrise."
"A sunrise a week later with a broken leg to show for it."
Amusement sparkled in his eyes before he shut them with a heavy exhale. "Perhaps that will teach you to mind your tongue on the back of a great phoenix. I chose you, not the other way around. You are my servant such as my messengers are, not my master."
I bitterly looked to my left and let myself release a mutter. "Yeah, I'm well aware of that." A small chuckle rang out for a split second before I snapped back to the towering figure and glared at the black rings around his bloody eyes. "Why did you call me anyway? Did you just want to keep me from sleeping?"
The grand figure took a deep breath and dropped a heavy feeling of dread into my gut. "A great evil shall rise—"
"Shall rise from their ashes and plague us all." I cut him off and finished for him. I tried to ignore the sharp daggers thrown my way and continue on with the often-repeated words. "Flames of the chosen one blah blah shall wipe them out and return them to ashes and whatnot." I gave the great bird of rebirth a glare as he folded his powerful arms across his chest. "I'm well aware of the prophecy, oh great phoenix."
"Then you should realize when a great evil sleeps under your very nose, my dear."
I stood there as the leaves continued to swirl around us, my mouth gawking at the merciless bird before me. "Oh my Ho-Oh!" The tall figure let out a cough and shot me a glare of disapproval at my exclamation, but I simply focused on myself. "You can't be serious, Ho-Oh—"
"The great evil must be destroyed, that is what I have told you from the very beginning." Crimson locks merged with orange ones as the lightened streaks raced down to cover eyes of fury. "The great evil rose and was indeed incinerated by your flames of wrath, fueled by my own fires of justice. You have indeed done a great service to your kind and the kind of Pokémon, that cannot be ignored."
"Then why do you keep pressing this—"
"However," He simply cut me off with a raise of his pale hand, flashing the matching mark of his on his right hand. "You have failed to rid the world of the most potent of the evil, the offspring of the great evil himself." I felt my eye twitch as he went on with this repeated scolding. "How can you neglect to bring the blood of the wicked to justice? Instead, you lie with the wicked and taint yourself with—"
My face burned as I cut him off right there. "No no no no no! I am simply sleeping beside him, nothing more." I found myself using exaggerated motions to strain my point. "I am perfectly fine and he is an acceptable distance from me, no tainting going on!" My eyes narrowed into slits of anger as my inner flame found a source of fuel. "Silver is not the enemy, I've told you before—"
"Your 'Silver' is the son of the catalyst to so much pain and suffering." Red eyes burned through my face as he seemed to loom over me. "He is nothing more than the lingering shadow of his father, nothing more. You know that he is, you've seen his evil firsthand."
"I'm not listening to you," I found myself covering my ears and closing my eyes at his words. "I'm going to count to three and when I finish, I'll wake up." I took a deep breath and tried to calm the pain in my chest and the frantic throbbing of my heart. "One..."
"Lyra Soul, you uncover your ears this instant! This is not the way a chosen one behaves in the presence of their master!" Ho-Oh's voice found a way into my mind as my fingers twisted in my loose chocolate locks. "Stop behaving like such a child and accept the facts!"
"Two..." I continued on, ignoring his threats and his pounding words.
"That boy is nothing but the shadow of the wicked! There is no changing the wicked into the pure, only changing the pure into the wicked! If you continue to hold such a bond with that boy, he will end up corrupting your heart! You must separate yourself from the darkness and shine brighter than the flames of wrath, bringing all shadows to their final judgment!"
"Three."
Just as I told the great bird of fire, I woke up the instant I had finished counting. A pounding in my skull and the burning of my scar reminded my fogged mind of Ho-Oh's words and made me scowl. He's just a big ol' bird. He doesn't even know Silver. Judging someone solely based on their parents is certainly going against the whole 'rebirth' thing he's in charge of.
My eyes slowly focused on what was in front of my face. Nothing but an empty black was before me, the darkness both warm and soothing. A feeling of comfort washed over me as I pulled my legs up closer to my chest, curling on my side. He doesn't know what he's rambling about. Silver is not wicked. Silver is not evil. His father may have been wicked, but Silver is nothing like his father.
My movement stopped when my knees bumped into something. That 'warm darkness' in front of me shifted before rolling over towards me. Panic flooded my systems as I realized that the supposed black that I was looking at was my rival's back. A rush flooded my veins as I tried to roll away. I was not going to fall victim to that age-old cliché that commonly followed suit. With a slightly panicked grunt, I tried to roll away to my left.
Unfortunately for me, my sleeping rival did the same and oh so conveniently dropped his right arm over me. I froze as he then tried to tug me closer to him as he tried to recall the limb to his side. My face felt as if it was on fire as the shifting springs grew closer before falling silent. My heart pounded out of my chest as a low murmur escaped his lips and warm air slammed into my neck.
Oh, please no. My eyes grew wide as the grip tightened and a light pressure pressed against my back. Oh, please don't hold me. This is just so humiliating and I cannot handle such things, you pest! Let me go! I gave a half-hearted squirm before letting out a sigh. If my rival could be famous for one thing, it would be his grip. I was basically a Rattata in the claws of a sleeping Persian at this point.
Oh, of course you grabbed me in your sleep. I rolled my eyes and pouted silently as my face continued to burn. Why wouldn't you cuddle with the girl you half-hate and have a complicated friendship with? After all, what's the fun in just sleeping on your own side of the bed when your rival's side is so much more inviting?!
"...Nngh," I could have sworn that my heart stopped beating when my rival shifted yet again. "...if...stupid...me." Quiet mumbles met my burning ears as I tried to ignore the fact that my rival was basically sleep-talking in my ear. And now you're going to talk. That's very lovely, dear rival. Why don't you blab you biggest secret or something so I could feel all guilty about it?
Resisting the urge to bring a fist down on his head like an alarm clock and wake him up, I closed my eyes and tried to count in an effort to calm myself. One, my rival is a jerk. Two, my rival has no concept of personal space. Three, my rival has burning red hair that seems to ignite in the sun's light. Four, he has eyes that can look straight through you and leave you guessing. Five, he never uses your actual name and prefers to call you insults. Six, he is not evil, despite what others may think of him. Seven, my rival smells like Red Apricorns and the cold water from a lake inside a cavern. Eight, my rival has strong arms that could rival even Chuck in a contest of grips.
I found my eyelids growing quite heavy as a smile found its way on my face. Nine, my rival is actually an inch shorter than me and I relish in that fact. Ten, my rival has a cowlick that bobs up and down as he walks. Eleven, my rival has a pleasant smile. Twelve, my rival pretends not to care about me even though I know he does. Thirteen, my rival was the first to help me when I broke my leg. Fourteen, my rival visited me in the hospital every day until I woke up. Fifteen, he still doesn't know that I realize he sent me those flowers. Sixteen, my rival challenges me in everything from Pokémon to racing. Seventeen, my rival is far more attractive than Falkner, despite what Whitney thinks. Eighteen, I would gladly stay his rival until we're all old people.
My thoughts had a mind of their own as I finished my counting.
Nineteen, my rival has more than once called me 'Marshmallow-Butt' and I have caught him staring at that general area more than once. Twenty, my rival's jacket does not cover the seat of his pants, despite what he thinks. Twenty-One, my rival does not hate me, even though he tries to hide it. Twenty-Two, I think of my rival far too much to be normal. Twenty-Three, I commonly imagine what I would do if my rival jumped out of the bushes to challenge me and most of them do not include battling. Twenty-Four, if given an option to go on a date with Falkner or my rival, I would choose my rival faster than I could blink.
Twenty-Five, I'm in love with my rival.
It was right after this thought escaped the corners of my mind that I fell asleep.
Author's Note: Crap! I forgot my author's note!
Looks like we have a bit of the inside of Lyra's mind, eh? And there's yet another encounter with Ho-Oh the jerkface! He's not the most merciful of legendarys, is he? Well, it seems the fluff at the end makes things a little better, eh? (Why do I keep saying 'eh' so much?) Looks like yet another mention of the great Falkner...wonder why Lyra keeps bringing up the Bird Tamer/Bird Master/Samurai..? We'll soon find out, my dear readers!