A Dragon's Tail
Tail 5: Diego's Tail - Reprisal
Tail 5-6: Twin Flames
-A Few Hours Later… Somewhere in Fireview Kingdom…
"Onii-chan, where are Zetarus and Diego?" Rachael asked her brother as both of them were sitting in front of a camp fire at their camp. Normally, Zetarus and Diego will be with them too. But today, Zetarus and Diego hadn't come back yet.
"Hm… I don't know, Rachael." Richard answered. "However, I doubt any of them are in danger, as I know that both of them are strong enough to survive any obstacle."
"I hope you are right…" Rachael said. "Anyway, Onii-chan, what should we do right now? Could you please read me another bedtime story?"
"How about a story of Symmetria instead?" Richard said and picked his Chronicle of Daybreak. "I have already told you about two crises that occurred in the world of Pokemon since the longest time ago, so, how about something that had just happened recently?"
"Something… that had just happened recently?" Rachael looked at her brother.
"About the Five Great Wars of Symmetria." Richard said.
"I already known about all of them!" Rachael said. "Well… Except one…"
"Which one?" Richard asked.
"The Bloodmoon War." Rachael said. "I already known that it was the third war of Five Great Wars, and it was the biggest war among Five Great Wars, but I don't know anything more than this."
"Ah… This is really a perfect place to speak about this war…" Richard said. "The reason why the Bloodmoon War is considered to be the biggest war among Five Great Wars is because, not only it's involved with all seven nations of Symmetria, but it also involved with other wars of Symmetria too."
"Really?!" Rachael said. "How?"
"It started at the end of War of Snowlost Plateau." Richard said. "Did you remember what happened at the end of War of Snowlost Plateau?"
"Yes." Rachael nodded. "The old Confederacy of Riverbrine and Queendom of Snowlost was combined into the Queendom of Riverbrine, right?"
"True. But…" Richard said. "Queendom of Snowlost wasn't the only country that was founded at the end of War of Snowlost Plateau. There is one more nation that was founded after the War of Snowlost Plateau, and that nation is Shadowlost Territory."
"Shadowlost?" Rachael said.
"Yes." Richard said. "I will tell you later about the history of Shadowlost Territory, but for now, let's just say that Shadowlost Territory was founded at the end of the War of Snowlost Plateau, and Shadowlost Territory also played an important role in Leafburg's War of Jasmine."
"War of Jasmine too?!" Rachael said.
"Yes. You know that the Poison type Pokemon used to live in Principality of Leafburg, along with Grass type and Bug type Pokemon, right?"
"Yes…" Rachael said. "Jasper and Zenpai once told me about this… They said that the Poison type Pokemon were exiled from Leafburg at the end of War of Jasmine."
"…And it was the Shadowlost Territory who accepted them." Richard said. "The chancellor of Shadowlost Territory gave them a big island west of Shadowlost Territory for the Poison type to live. Because that island was located in the sea between Fireview and Shadowlost, the acidic sea made the atmosphere, terrain and climate of that island to become extremely hazardous to most Pokemon, but also made it a perfect place for Poison type Pokemon. Thus, the Poison type Pokemon then inhabited that island, and the island was called the Venom Island. Also, Venom Island is the biggest island of the continent of Symmetria, with the Riverbrine Island of Queendom of Riverbrine being in the second place."
"Okay…" Rachael said. "Well… I feel good that the Poison type Pokemon were getting a new home to live at the end…"
"…Only for the time being…" Richard said. "However… 17 years ago, the flame of war had been ignited again on the continent of Symmetria, and the igniter of this flame of war was none other than the nation of flame and stone, Fireview Kingdom."
"What?!" Rachael said. "Fireview Kingdom was the nation that started the Bloodmoon War?!"
"Right." Richard said. "I don't know why did Fireview Kingdom decide to start a war, but their first target was the newly-founded Shadowlost Territory, maybe because they thought that the newly-founded nation would be an easy target for them."
"Oh…" Rachael said.
"However, Fireview Kingdom and Shadowlost Territory do not share any land border, as they were separated by the Queendom of Riverbrine. So, the only way for Fireview Kingdom to invade Shadowlost Territory was by ship." Richard said. "And… The first stop of their invasion was none other than the island west of Shadowlost Territory, the Venom Island."
"Oh!" Rachael said. "T…Then… The Poison type Pokemon…"
"…They couldn't stand a chance against a mighty army of Fireview Kingdom…" Richard shook his head. "A war quickly turned into a massacre… Everyone on Venom Island who couldn't evacuate in time was killed brutally by the Pokemon of Fireview Kingdom. They said that the spilled blood of Venom Island's Pokemon was so much that it tainted the moon and turned it blood red. This is why this war is called the Bloodmoon War."
"So cruel…" Rachael said. "I never have any love for a battle, let alone a massacre. Massacre is such a sad and cruel word… I hope that I will not have to experience any massacre in my life…"
"…After the Massacre of Venom Island, Fireview Kingdom continued their invasion to the mainland Shadowlost Territory…" Richard continued the story. "The Shadowlost Territory, knowing that they couldn't win a war against the army of Fireview Kingdom, sent a words for help to Queendom of Riverbrine, which was Shadowlost's main ally, thus dragged the Queendom of Riverbrine into the Bloodmoon War…"
"Oh…" Rachael said.
"With the help of Queendom of Riverbrine, the tide of war was turned to favor the united army of Shadowlost and Riverbrine…" Richard said. "However, the tide of battle changed again when Queendom of Riverbrine was caught in a surprise attack from Republic of Civilight."
"Civilight too?!" Rachael said. "But… Why?"
"Yes. It was quite a shock that Civilight was involved in this war too, as the Republic of Civilight normally didn't involve themselves in other nations' affair. However, at that time, the reason of Civilight's action was unknown, but what was known was that Civilight had sided with Fireview against Shadowlost and Riverbrine, and the battle had become even as both armies were as strong as each other…"
"Then, what happened next?" Rachael asked.
"Shadowlost and Riverbrine wished to end the war as soon as possible so no one would suffer any more casualties, but with no hope to see the end of the war, they decided to ask for the help of Principality of Leafburg." Richard said.
"They even dragged Leafburg into the war too?!" Rachael said.
"That's not even the worst part…" Richard said. "Fireview and Civilight, on the other hand, wished to end the war with the victory on their side, but with no hope of triumphing over the army of Shadowlost and Riverbrine, they decided to ask for the help of… Dustorm Empire."
"WHAT?!" Rachael said again.
"Yes… Dragging the nation with the most powerful army into the war was a very BAD idea…" Richard said. "However, dragging Dustorm Empire into the Bloodmoon War had caused the most impact on the last nation of Symmetria, the Theocracy of Venturnome."
"Don't tell me that they would involve Venturnome in this war too?!" Rachael asked.
"…With six nations of Symmetria at war, it would be inevitable for Venturnome not to involve itself with this war…" Richard said. "However, the question was, which side would Venturnome side with?"
"Um…" Rachael mumbled.
"Other than Dustorm, Venturnome is another most powerful nation on the continent of Symmetria. So… If Venturnome sided with Shadowlost, Riverbrine and Leafburg, it would result in a clash between two most powerful nations on Symmetria… If you couldn't imagine of what would happen, think of the War over the Windsky Plateau." Richard said. "Plus, the Pontifex of Venturnome is the brother of the Emperor of Dustorm…"
"That would be terrible…" Rachael said.
"It would be worst if Venturnome sided with Fireview, Civilight and Dustorm…" Richard said. "With two most powerful nations on the same side, it would surely result in the total destruction of Shadowlost, Riverbrine and Leafburg. Also, Venturnome and Leafburg are very close to each other…"
"That's true!" Rachael said. "Venturnome and Leafburg have a deep diplomatic relation with each other as both nations shared a very similar culture with each other, making both nations very close to each other."
"See? No matter which side Venturnome chooses, the result of the war would be a total catastrophe." Richard said.
"Then…" Rachael said. "How did the war end?"
"…Would you be surprised if I told you that the Bloodmoon War ended without any reason?" Richard asked.
"What?!" Rachael said. "How could something like that even possible?!"
"But it was true." Richard said. "The Bloodmoon War that had been occurring for 4 years suddenly ended without any reason. Fireview Kingdom cancelled their invasion of Shadowlost, and every other nation returned to their land."
"I don't understand this!" Rachael said. "There must be something behind this!"
"I wish I knew…" Richard said. "However, after the Bloodmoon War, most nations suffered from the flame of war. The nation that suffered most from the Bloodmoon War, surprisingly, was the Republic of Civilight."
"Civilight?!" Rachael said. "Why Civilight?! Shouldn't it be Fireview or Shadowlost?!"
"It was later revealed that, the one who started this war wasn't Fireview, but was Civilight." Richard said. "It was Civilight who manipulated Fireview to invade Shadowlost to find more resource for their nation. You know… Fireview Kingdom is famous for its mining, mineral and ore. However, Civilight planned to take Fireview's abundant resource for their own usage, so they persuaded Fireview to start a war with Shadowlost to expand their territory in order to find more resource. Realizing this at last, all nations of Symmetria, including its former allies such as Fireview Kingdom, boycotted the Republic Civilight. This caused a great impact for Civilight as they didn't only suffer from the war, but they were also boycotted by other nations of Symmetria. This would later lead to the fourth war of Symmetria, the Civilusion War."
"So… That's how the Civilusion War started…" Rachael said.
"And this is the end of today's lesson." Richard said.
"Whew! Bloodmoon War is sure to be the cruelest war of Symmetria…" Rachael commented. "At least it didn't have anything to do with the War over the Windsky Plateau, right?"
"…While there's no record of Bloodmoon War's involvement with the War over the Windsky Plateau, I felt like the Bloodmoon War would have something to do with the fifth war of Symmetria…" Richard said. "But it's just my sentiment. It may be true… or not…"
"I see…" Rachael said. "But I still couldn't believe how the Bloodmoon War ended! It's too unbelievable for me."
"And for me too…" Richard said. "Someday, I will discover the truth about this… But for now… Let's give a welcome to our friend here…"
Richard pointed his paw at someone who was approaching them. That Pokemon was none other than the Garchomp named Zetarus.
"Zetarus! Thanks goodness…" Rachael said as Zetarus walked up to them. "Where have you been? We were so worried about you!"
"Well… I was trying to find Diego." Zetarus said. "But I think that he hasn't come back from his trip to Fireview Volcano yet…"
"Then, what should we do next?" Rachael asked.
"…Nah, he would be fine." Zetarus said.
"Are you sure?" Rachael asked.
"Diego is strong. He won't die that easy. And I trust that he would succeed in his trial." Zetarus said.
"Okay…" Rachael said.
"Moreover…" Zetarus said and looked at Rachael and Richard with a serious face. "I am too hungry to do anything else. Rachael, did you spare me dinner?"
"Er… O…Of course!" Rachael said before she started preparing dinner for Zetarus.
"Oh…" Richard facepalmed himself.
-Meanwhile… At a Cabin on Fireview Volcano…
"…" Leonel was sitting alone in his private quarter. Because it's night time, the only sources of light in his room were two candles beside him and a flame on his tail. Not counting the sound of burning flame on both candles, the room was enveloped in a complete silence as Leonel didn't say or do anything. He just sat down on the cushion on the floor silently. It seemed like he was either meditating or praying for the God of Volcano.
Soon, the silence was broken when the door of the room was opened by another Charizard in a red armor suit. He then walked into the room and sat down on the cushion behind Leonel.
"…So, you came…" Leonel slowly opened his eyes and turned back to face Diego. "I was expecting you, Diego Pyrotorch the Charizard."
"What do you want with me?" Diego asked with his arms crossed. "Out with it. I don't have the whole night for you."
"…Before we talked, could you take off your armor?" Leonel asked. "I want to see your face clearly."
"…Fine." Diego said and started removing his armor pieces, one by one, until his body was covered with nothing but his own skin. He then removed the last piece of his armor suit, which was his helmet, and revealed his face to the Volcano Guardian.
"…" Leonel said nothing after he clearly saw Diego's face and body. He then stared at Diego for a few minutes until Diego spoke up.
"W...What are you going to do next?" Diego asked.
"…Next, I will need to ask you a few questions…" Leonel answered. "Could you tell me your origin?"
"…No." Diego gave a short and blunt answer.
"I figured that you would still stand on this answer…" Leonel said. "Then, at least, could you tell me about your family? Who is your father? Mother? Do you have any sibling?"
"I don't have a family." Diego answered. However, he had a strange feeling in his heart about his answer. "I don't have any father, mother and sibling, and I will never have one, no matter what happen…"
"…Very well…" Leonel said and picked something that was beside him up. It was a small jar that contained something inside. The Volcano Guardian then opened the jar, revealing an orange liquid inside the jar. "Let me tell you a story… It's a story about a tragic fate that will never come true…"
As he spoke, Leonel dipped his claw into the orange liquid in the jar and started using it to paint Diego's body!
"H….Hey!" Diego said as Leonel started painting his body using his claws and the orange liquid in the jar. "W…What are you doing?!"
"The story started with a young man and a young woman…" Instead of answering Diego's question, Leonel continued painting Diego's body and started telling his story instead. "They were brought to meet each other by a tide of fate, and they immediately fell in love with each other… They would often find a time for their secret meeting, although short, but full with happiness…"
"S…Stop it…" Diego said as Leonel continued painting his body, but he didn't bother trying to stop Leonel from painting his body by force or action.
"However, no matter how much they loved each other, their love couldn't go on…" Leonel said. "There was something that made their love impossible; something that separated them from each other. It was the great wall of destiny; too tall to climb, too wide to avoid, and too sturdy to break. Despite knowing that their love was forbidden to become true, they still couldn't bear to live their life apart of each other, so they still continued to meet each other in a secret meeting…"
"…" Diego gave up trying to tell Leonel not to paint his body.
"At last, the day that they both prayed that it would never come had arrived…" Leonel said. "Despite knowing the fate just beyond them, they still couldn't tear themselves from each other. The power of love was too strong for them to be broken with their own hands. So, they decided to have their last meeting with each other in the night of Newmoon, and they decided that they would use their last time together by…passing a night together…"
"…" Diego said nothing as Leonel continued painting his body, as well as his face.
"At last, the morning had arrived…" Leonel said. "However, after waking up together, they found that their last night together had yielded them… two Pokemon Eggs…"
"Two… Pokemon Eggs?" Diego said.
"So, as a memento of each other, both of them took each Pokemon Eggs with them as they were parted from each other. The young woman then returned back to her life, while the young man returned to continue his duty. The young man, however, tried his hardest to raise his child, who was born from the Pokemon Egg that was taken as a memento of the woman whom he held dear, in the place of his father and his mother, whom he has never met, and he also raised his child to be the one who will one day succeed his legacy too. However, he still couldn't stop thinking of his beloved woman, as well as his other child…"
Leonel's story ended at the same time Leonel finished painting Diego's face. He then breathed a flame from his mouth to cloak Diego's body. The flame, however, didn't hurt Diego even a bit, and it soon disappeared without any trace. Right now, Diego's body and face were covered with many tattoos that resembled the tribal marks. His tattoos, however, was identical to the tattoos on Leonel and Dinus' body and face.
"…This is what I can do for you…" Leonel said as he put the jar that contained the orange liquid he used for painting Diego's body down. "I am sorry that I haven't done much for you, Diego."
"…" Diego didn't say anything. He just looked at his body, which was now covered with many tattoos. His tattoos also covered the faint mark that was branded on him when he was a gladiator, making it now impossible to see his gladiator mark!
"…And…" Leonel continued speaking. "…Dinus, why don't you come in too?"
"!" The door of Leonel's room opened, and Dinus walked into the room. It seemed like he had been eavesdropping Leonel and Diego for some time.
"Father…" Dinus said as he entered the room. "That story you had just told… Is it…"
"Yes, you are right, Dinus. I am sorry that I haven't told you sooner…" Leonel said and looked at Dinus, and then he shifted his eyes to Diego, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
"?"
"!"
Dinus and Diego looked at each other and were surprised by the other's appearance. Because, without armor suit covered his body as well as with his tattoos, Diego and Dinus looked identical to each other! The only thing that they were different from each other was the color of their tattoos. While Diego's tattoos were orange, Dinus' tattoos were blue instead. Both young Charizard then looked at the matured Charizard, whose body was covered with white tattoos.
"Father…" Dinus turned his attention to Leonel. "Does this mean…"
"…It's getting late, Dinus." Leonel said. "Why don't you go to bed? Do not forget that we have an important ceremony to perform tomorrow."
"Oh, I forgot about this…" Dinus said. "It's the Flame Blessing Ceremony, right?"
"Flame Blessing Ceremony?" Diego asked.
"It's the ceremony that would be performed for the crown prince of Fireview Kingdom five days before the Coronation Day." Leonel explained. "Tomorrow, the members of Fireview Royal Family will come here to receive the bless from the God of Volcano, and I, the Volcano Guardian, shall be the one who would perform this ceremony…"
"!" Diego was shocked after he heard the explanation from Leonel.
"The site of this ceremony is the peak of the sacred volcano of Fireview, which is the place where we will be closest to the heart of the God of Volcano." Leonel continued explaining. "And now, I need to go to the peak of Fireview Volcano to prepare for tomorrow's ceremony."
"Do you want me to go and help you too, father?" Dinus asked.
"Not necessary." Leonel said. "You should take a rest by now. And you, Diego…"
"?" Diego turned his attention to Leonel.
"…If you don't mine, why don't you stay here for a night?" Leonel said.
"…I don't really have much time for this." Diego said.
"Just one night is fine." Leonel said. "And I will let you do as you please after tonight…"
"…Fine." Diego said and started putting his armor pieces on his body until his body was covered in the armor suit once again, but the orange tattoos on his body were still visible.
"Then, Diego, you can stay with Dinus." Leonel said after Diego had already put on his armor suit.
"W…What?!" Dinus said.
"And now, I shall take my leave…" Leonel said as he walked up to the door and exited his private quarter, leaving Dinus and Diego here…
"Geez…" Dinus grumbled and looked at Diego. "Why do I have to share my room with you tonight?"
"Hm! You spoke as if I want to!" Diego said.
"Whatever!" Dinus said. "However, if you want to stay with me tonight, you will have to tell me EVERYTHING about you."
"…Everything?" Diego looked at Dinus.
"I just really want to know more about you, Diego." Dinus said. "After all, despite everything, we barely know about each other, so I want to take this opportunity to learn more about you."
"…Fine." Diego said. "But you will have to tell me about you too, okay?"
"I doubt I would have much to tell you compare to what you have to tell me…" Dinus said. "But we'll see…"
-Meanwhile…
"…I knew that I would find you here, the Volcano Guardian…"
"Oh… It's you. I haven't seen you for the longest time… When was the last time we met each other?"
"I didn't come here for a reminiscent. I come here because I need to talk to you about…her."
"Her? Did you mean—"
"Yes, the forlorn princess of Riverbrine."
"Now that I think about it…. She is your daughter, right?"
"…"
"And Chronos… It was you who brought him here 17 years ago and asked me to take care of him…"
"I did this to keep him safe from the tyrant queen of Riverbrine who was corrupted by the lust of power. If I didn't do it, she wouldn't hesitate to slay him without any regard that he is her son, as well as Misvale's twin brother."
"So… You still haven't forgiven her, have you?"
"No, I already forgave her… After she atoned for her sin with her death…"
"I see… So it was you…"
"Without her, Chronos and Misvale would only have each other…"
"What about you? Aren't you their father?"
"I don't have any right to meet them. I will just let them go without knowing anything about me…"
"…Are you going to let them know that they share the same blood with each other?"
"It's not necessary. Both of them have already known this."
"Are you sure?"
"It's a feeling of bond, Leonel. Haven't you felt it too? A feeling that knows that someone whom you have just met for the first time in your life is actually someone who carries your blood in their veins…"
"…Well spoken, my scalie friend… But then, what brought you here to me today?"
"I come here because it's the time for me to cease my role as the Hero of Rock type. I come here to pass my power to Chronos."
"…I see… This would mean that I will have to lose one more friend whom I shared my joy and pain with 20 years ago…"
"You know nothing, Leonel. Right now, you are among the last of us. Joshua, Ellisk, Magnus, Nyxier, Kamui and Sharon are already dead, as well as the White Bard…"
"…Other than Nyxier, are you the one behind others' death?"
"…Let's just say that it wasn't only Nyxier whom I had killed…"
"…"
"Anyway, it's the time… Allow me a moment…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…Done… And now, I am free from the Blood of legend that bound my life…"
"And yet you passed on the burden to your own son…"
"Also, Leonel, I need you to give this to Chronos…"
"Hm? Isn't this…"
"Yes… It's the personal weapon of the Hero of Rock type…"
"But I remembered that your weapon as the Hero of Rock type wasn't this…"
"Don't forget that the Sacred Weapon of the Hero/ine of Legend will change their shape to match the current Hero/ine of Legend's nature. Because the power of the Hero of Rock type right now belays with Chronos, not me, so this weapon changes their shape into the Citrine Hammer…"
"I see… Very well… I will make sure to give it to Chronos… However, I will just place it beside him after he fell asleep and let him take it when he wakes up, so I will not have to answer his question of how did I get this."
"And now… It's time for me to go…"
"Where are you going? Don't tell me that you are going to kill more of us?"
"…14 Hero/ine of Legend who saved Symmetria from the Fallen Crisis… It was already 30 years… However… Right now, most of them are corrupted by the twisted energy of the chaos… And they will start plaguing the realm with their corruption… So… In order to clean the realm for our corruption, someone must take care of this job, no matter how painful it is…"
"…"
"And now… Among us, the remaining are Rucas, Zira, Fenrir, Garland, Iris, you… And I… I will need to continue my work of killing them all… And this also includes you, Leonel… One day, it will be your turn for the atonement…"
"Fate is surely cruel, isn't it? I know that no one could escape the atonement, not even I. However, I'd prefer to let someone else make the atonement for me… And that someone isn't you, of course…"
"…"
"Don't worry about it. The time for my atonement is just right before me. It won't be long before it's time for this old flame to be purged from his sin…"
"…Very well…"
"What about you? When will the time for your atonement come?"
"…It won't come after the time of everyone else's atonement…"
"I see…"
"Farewell, Leonel. I don't think we would have another chance for a talk like this in our life…"
"The thought is also mine, my friend. Farewell, Tyrus. May the God of Volcano guide your path."
To Be Continued…
Dragon of Vale: I think this is my favorite chapter of the fifth tail, as it has some of the most memorable scenes in this story. (At least, for me…) Also, the content of this chapter is VERY important… Not just for the fifth tail, but for the whole story…