A Dragon's Tail
Tail 2: Zetarus' Tail – Ambivalence
Tail 2-8: Decision
-Last night…
"Your great-grandson?" Zetarus repeated the words he heard from the spirit in front of him. "What does it mean?"
"Idiot." Spirit spoke up. "It means that I am your great-grandfather."
"…Great-grandfather?" Zetarus mumbled. "I don't have time to deal with a dead one like you, now go to hell."
"I already did that since 1,150 years ago." Spirit answered. "The only reason I came here is to speak with you."
"Knock it off, old man." Zetarus said.
"Idiot…" Spirit looked at Zetarus. "Don't you know anything about the room you are in right now?"
"No." Zetarus crossed his arms.
"This is 'Terra Room'" Spirit explained. "This room harbored the ancestral spirit of Quakersand. It only allowed a member of Quakersand Royal Family to enter. If anyone who does not have the blood of Quakersand enters this room, the ancestral spirit will kill them immediately!"
"Boring as hell." Zetarus mumbled. "If that's true, then why I am here, safe and sound?"
"Because you are the member of Quakersand Royal Family."
The room fell into silence after the spirit stopped speaking. Zetarus seemed to be shocked after hearing it.
"It can't be." Zetarus finally spoke up. "I am just a criminal who was imprisoned at Desert Prison for 21 years…"
"And what happened to Quakersand Royal Family 21 years ago?" Spirit asked.
Spirit's words reminded Zetarus of what Pontifex Hawkins spoke of at the balcony, about the third son of Emperor Garland that was supported to be given birth 21 years ago, but that child never came to life…
"Don't tell me…" Zetarus mumbled. "I am the child of Emperor Garland and Empress Sharon?!"
"Yes." Spirit said. "Empress Sharon is your mother. Prince Terrus is your elder half brother. Princess Natasha is your elder sister. Prince Largo is your younger half sister. Princess Freya is your younger half sister. And the one you wanted to kill, Emperor Garland, is your real father."
"…That doesn't make any sense." Zetarus said. "You don't have anything to prove that I am that 'prince' and if that's true, how could I end up in Desert Prison instead of living in Desert Palace?"
"I usually don't interfere with mortal affairs, so I don't know what happened 21 years ago and how you ended up in Desert Prison." Spirit said. "But when I saw Terrus, Natasha, Largo and Freya, I knew that there's one missing prince, and that prince is you, Zetarus. The proof of my words is, if you aren't that prince, you would be dead from the moment you stepped into this room…"
"…" Zetarus found everything that spirit told him was very hard to swallow… His true identity was the prince of Dustorm Empire… But for some reason, he ended up in Desert Prison instead… And… The Pokemon he wanted to kill was actually his father!
"Well…" Sprit looked at Zetarus again. "After knowing all of this, do you still want to kill Emperor Garland?"
"…Of course." Zetarus answered. "My only wish in my life is to kill Emperor Garland, and I won't stop it even if he is my father nor not."
"Great job, my great-grandson." Spirit said. "Your tenacity... That's the thing that only you, among five children of Quakersand, have, thus, you are the only one I am proud to call my great-grandson."
"…" Zetarus looked at the spirit.
"If you want to kill Garland, I won't stop you." Spirit said. "Instead, let me help you by telling you about what will Emperor Garland do in the Succession Ceremony tomorrow…"
-Back to Today…
"…And that's the thing I was told last night." Zetarus said.
Terrus, Natasha, Largo and Freya were shocked when they learned the truth of an assassin who tried to kill their father. Zetarus, the criminal of Dustorm Empire, was actually the prince of the very same nation and also their brother! All of them wanted to say that Zetarus was lying, but they couldn't!
"The two things I still don't know are what happened to Emperor Garland's third child 21 years ago and how could I end up in Desert Prison." Zetarus said. "And I doubt any of you know what happened that day since two of you were very young back then while the rest two weren't given birth yet."
Zetarus was right. Largo and Freya knew nothing about what happened that day, and Terrus and Natasha couldn't remember anything that happened on that fateful day…
"T…That…" Freya broke the silence. "During our journey together from Windsky Plateau to Dustorm City, I always felt good every time I talked to you, Zetarus. It was the very same feeling I have when I talk with my other siblings… And now… I know why…"
"Whatever!" Largo pointed his bone club at Zetarus. "You may be Emperor Garland's son, but for me, you are not my brother! You are just a monster scum!"
"I…" Natasha said with a reluctant voice. "I don't know about this… It's…so hard…"
"…" Terrus said nothing. He just stared at his opponent, who turned out to be his younger half brother!
"What will you do, Prince Terrus?" Zetarus asked. "The one who wanted to kill your father, me, is your younger brother. What will you do? Will you continue to fight me? Or will you do anything otherwise? But I doubt a crown prince like you will let me kill the emperor of Dustorm Empire…"
"…No." Terrus said. His eyes were gazing at Zetarus. "Zetarus, you may be a criminal and a prisoner, but deep in your heart, you are not a bad guy."
"W…What?" Zetarus was shocked after hearing Terrus' words.
"That's right!" Freya spoke up. "Zetarus, if you are really a bad guy, you would kill me since when we travelled from Windsky Plateau to this place!"
"Moreover." Terrus said. "During our battle, you quickly knocked Natasha and Largo out because you don't want to fight them, and if they were hurt, Freya would have to heal them, making only I left in the battle. Your true intention was to have a one-on-one battle with me, right?"
"…" Zetarus said nothing.
"That's why I choose to offer you mercy." Terrus said and reached his paw forward. "Zetarus, for the sake of everyone, abandon your wish of killing our father and come with us. We will find the truth of what happened 21 years ago together, and all of us can be a…family once again."
Terrus' word gave different reaction to everyone in the room. Freya seemed to agree with him. Natasha wasn't sure what to do right now. Largo did not agree with Terrus. And Zetarus lowered his head.
"…Despite everything I had done…" Zetarus spoke up without looking at anyone. "You are willing to forgive me?"
"Yes." Terrus said. "All you must do is abandon your past and walk a new path of future, a path which all of us will walk…together…"
"…I…" Zetarus mumbled. He still didn't look at anyone…
"…Thank you, Terrus." Zetarus said, making a smile appeared on Terrus and Freya's faces.
However, their smile suddenly disappeared when Terrus raised his head and continued his words.
"But I am afraid that would be impossible." Zetarus said. His words shocked everyone in the room!
"W…Why?!" Freya asked after hearing the answer from Zetarus. She still couldn't believe what she just heard.
"Right." Terrus was in the very same reaction as Freya. "Why would that be impossible?"
"Because I have come too far to change my path." Zetarus answered. "I couldn't turn back right now, no matter what happened. I must walk my path until the end, no matter what is the outcome of my action."
"T…That doesn't make any sense!" Freya cried.
"…" Terrus said nothing. He still gazed at Zetarus.
"So, that's my answer." Zetarus said. "And I will hold on my decision until the end. None of you could change my mind."
"…I understand." Terrus spoke up. "You chose to remain as our enemy, right?"
"Right." Zetarus said. "If any of you stands in my way, then I will have to get rid of you."
"…It seemed like I won't be able to change your mind…" Terrus said. "But… At least, would you do me three requests?"
"…What are they?" Zetarus crossed his arms.
"First, would you mind accepting us as your sibling?" Terrus asked. His request made Largo very shocked!
"I…Impossible!" Largo said. "He is not my brother! I will never think of that monster scum as my brother!"
"…Prince Largo is right." Zetarus said. "I won't be able to call any of you my sibling."
"Then, my next request." Terrus said. "If you won't accept us as your sibling, at least accept us as the member of 'Quakersand'."
"…My name is Zetarus Quakersand the Garchomp." Zetarus spoke up. "But that is just a name. Are you fine with it?"
"…That's enough for me." Terrus said. "And my last request, please leave this place, right now."
"What?!" Zetarus said after hearing Terrus' last request. "Do you have any reason for that?"
"Because if you want to kill Emperor Garland, you must defeat all of us first." Terrus explained. "But… None of us wants to fight you right now, and your right eye is still bleeding."
"…So, you want me to give you some time before our real battle?" Zetarus asked. "And to do that, you will let me, a prisoner who escaped from Desert Prison, go?"
"Right." Terrus said. "I will take the full responsibility of letting you go."
"…Fine…" Zetarus said. "But you must not forget that a snake's venom will be more intense as the time passes."
"And the blade that will cut that snake will be sharper as the time passes." Terrus said.
"Very well, then…" Zetarus said. "I will leave Dustorm Empire right now, but the next time I return to this nation, blood of Quakersand will spill."
"And I hope that day would never arrive, though I know it is impossible." Terrus said and turned his attention to Freya. "Freya, please warp him out of this place."
"R…Right…" Freya mumbled and flew up to Zetarus. She then pointed her weapon, which is a staff, to Zetarus, creating a ring of light that surrounded him.
"Zetarus…" Freya spoke. "Despite everything that happened, you are my brother and will always be…"
After she finished, Freya used her magic to teleport Zetarus out of Terra Room, out of Desert Palace, and out of Dustorm City…
"…Thank you for counting me as your brother, Freya, but I wouldn't dare to become a brother of someone like you…"
Zetarus found himself in a middle of Dustorm Desert after he was teleported out of Desert Palace. He then found that Dustorm Desert was far away from him, but right now, there was a sandstorm blowing in the desert, making the Dustorm City covered in a veil of sandstorm.
"…I am sorry, everyone." Zetarus mumbled as he looked at Dustorm City in a cloak of sandstorm from far away.
Then…
"Zetarus?"
A familiar voice called him. Zetarus turned his attention to the one who spoke and found that it was none other than his only comrade.
"Diego?" Zetarus looked at a Charizard, who seemed to be exhausted as if he was just entering a battle. "What are you doing here?"
"Someone from Desert Palace found out that I am a criminal and chased after me." Diego answered. "But I could escape thanks to the sandstorm."
"Really… Thanks goodness…" Zetarus said.
"What about you, Zetarus?" Diego asked. "Did you succeed in your task? And what happened to your right eye?!"
"This?" Zetarus pointed at where he was shot. "Nah… It wasn't a problem…"
"Sit down!" Diego ordered Zetarus to sit down before he picked a first-aid box from his bag. Then he started bandaging Zetarus' wound. "Zetarus, tell me what happened to you."
"…Well…" Zetarus said, and while Diego was bandaging his wound, he started telling everything that had happened to him since when he separated himself from Diego last night…
-After a long explanation
"You are a prince of Dustorm Empire?!" Diego asked in a surprised voice after hearing everything from Zetarus.
Right now, the night already came, so Zetarus and Diego had set up a camp. Diego already finished making a campfire. Both of them now sat next to the campfire across each other.
"Yes." Zetarus answered. "But I am the prince only in a name. In reality, I am a very same Zetarus you know; a prisoner who escaped from Desert Prison."
"And you failed to kill Emperor Garland, so you promised those royals that you will escape from Dustorm Empire." Diego crossed his arms.
"True. With my strength right now, I would never win against Emperor Garland. I must acquire more power first…" Zetarus said.
Diego already finished removing the bullet from Zetarus' right eye and bandaged his wound. There were several bandages on Zetarus' body, including on where his right eye was.
"Your wound wasn't serious, except where Emperor Garland shot you…" Diego said. "I think you will be one-eye blind for the rest of your life."
"So be it. I don't care." Zetarus said. "But for me, I think that having only one eye make my attack much more accurate than before."
"For me, I prefer to have both of my eyes." Diego said.
Zetarus and Diego then had dinner. After dinner ended, they decided to plan what to do next.
"That reminded me…" Zetarus spoke up. "Diego, what about your task of killing Prince Apollo and Princess Artemis of Fireview Kingdom? Did you succeed?"
"For now, no." Diego answered. "Unlike you, Zetarus, who want to kill Emperor Garland without any reason, I have my own reason. And with that reason, I plan to kill them in the most painful way as possible. In order to do that, I must let the preys go for now. Then I will go to hunt them at their lair!"
"… You mean that you will now head to Fireview Kingdom, right?" Zetarus said. "Alright, then, I will go with you again."
"Glad to have you again, Zetarus." Diego said. Then he picked a map from his bag and unfolded it, then he pointed to a location on the map.
"This is where we are right now, Sandstorm Dune." Diego pointed at a dune west of Dustorm City. "We have two ways of going to Fireview Kingdom. The first way is passing through Quake Quarry." Diego pointed at a quarry located north of Sandstorm Dune. "However, I think this was too risky, as there will be many soldiers guarding the border for sure, so…" Diego moved his claw to the next location. "A better way to enter Fireview Kingdom is to travel from here…"
Diego pointed at a location at the western edge of Dustorm Empire, which was happened to be the westernmost place of Symmetria too. "This place is Sandust Port, the biggest port of Dustorm Empire. We can travel from here to Fireview Kingdom by ship."
"… How did you learn all of this?" Zetarus asked.
"I heard it from someone while I was at Desert Palace today." Diego said and folded the map.
"…Still." Zetarus looked at Diego. "Aren't you afraid of being spotted as a criminal again?"
"If they did, I will just kill them." Diego answered.
"But I know a better way." Zetarus said and looked at Diego's cloth, which was an old and worn-out armor suit made from low-quality iron, but it was the very same armor that 'Diego' in the wanted poster wore! "All I must do is finding something new for you to wear. Alright, when we arrive at that port, I will buy you a new and better armor suit, okay? Think of it as a thanks for bandaging me."
"Fine with me." Diego answered, and then he picked his Naginata and started sharpening it with a hammer and a fire he breath from his throat.
"I never knew you could sharpen a weapon…" Zetarus asked as he looked at Diego hammering his Naginata in the fire.
"Don't forget that I have been a gladiator since the day I was born, which is 21 years ago." Diego answered. "Having a dull blade may equal to having a reaper's scythe at my throat. However, my skill of forging is still at a rank of a novice."
"So, you are 21 too…" Zetarus said. "It means that we are at the very same age."
"I guess so." Diego said and turned his attention back to his work.
As Zetarus' weapon was a pistol, he had no need to sharpen it, so he continued watching Diego hammering his weapon. He looked at the Charizard's sweaty body as he continued hammering his weapon… Somehow, he felt like he could watch this for a whole night…
"Shouldn't you go to sleep?" Diego asked as he almost finished his work.
"With the sound of forging echoing through my ears?" Zetarus asked with a sarcastic voice.
"Haha… I am sorry." Diego said and put away his tool as he finished his work. He then wiped his sweat before looking at his newly-tempered naginata. Seeing this reminded Zetarus of something…
"By the way, does your Naginata have a name?" Zetarus asked.
"Name? No, I don't need one." Diego answered.
"Nah…" Zetarus said. "Giving it a name will make your weapon a lot cooler than before."
"Fine, you fxxxxxg Garchomp…" Diego cursed. "Then, I will call my weapon 'Iron Naginata'."
A moment of silence followed after Zetarus heard the name Diego gave to his weapon. Then Zetarus continued speaking. "Your skill of naming is very bad, Diego."
"Whatever." Diego said and put away his 'Iron Naginata'.
"That also reminded me…" Zetarus seemed to remember another thing. "Other than a name of your weapon, do you have a last name?"
"No." Diego gave a short answer. "Don't tell me you want me to create one."
"No, I won't let you. This time, I will give you one." Zetarus said and looked at Diego. "Let's see… You are a fire type Pokemon… So… How about 'Pyrotorch'?"
"Whatever, but it sounds great." Diego answered.
"Then, your name would be Diego Pyrotorch the Charizard, okay?" Zetarus said.
"Yes… Yes… Yawn…" Diego released a huge yawn from his mouth.
"You seem to be really tired." Zetarus said. "Why don't you get some rest? I will keep watching here."
"Okay…" Diego said and picked his sleeping bag, which was burning flame-patterned, and got into it. "Good night, Zetarus."
"Good night, Diego." Zetarus said, and then the Charizard quickly went into a deep sleep after a long day…
For Zetarus, he was tired too, but he couldn't sleep, especially since there were so many things happened today. So, he decided to look at the sky at night, which was decorated with several spots of stars. Seeing this somehow calmed Zetarus' anxiety a bit… And…
'Zygarde?' Zetarus called his Dragon Legend by telepathy, making his Ring of Balance glow a mysterious aura.
'What do you want, Zetarus?' Zygarde asked. 'You haven't called me for a very long time…'
'I just want to ask you something…' Zetarus said. "You once told me that, in order to form a pact with you, I will be cursed to lose something… Is this..." Zetarus touched a bandage that covered where his right eye was. "…the price I have to pay?"
'The answer is no, Zetarus.' Zygarde answered. 'You lost your right eye because someone took it from you, not because you decide to lose it. The thing that you will lose from forming a pact with me will be the thing that you choose to lose, not a thing that someone takes away from you'
'…Then, what is that thing?' Zetarus asked.
'You still have no idea about that thing, despite you have lost it already?' Zygarde asked.
'Yes…' Zetarus answered.
'…You will know soon, Zetarus.' Zygarde said before the conversation stopped, and Zetarus' Ring of Balance stopped glowing…
"…The thing I choose to lose…" Zetarus mumbled and continued gazing at the dark sky above his head.
To Be Continued…
Dragon of Vale: One more chapter to go and the second tail will finally end!
In this chapter, Zetarus and Diego are thinking of what to do next, and Zetarus still has something in his mind. What was the thing he chooses to lose? Do you know the answer?
A special thanks to Ridin Valon for helping me with the error correction.