Arc One: Mystery
Chapter Thirty-Two: No Way But One Way
My body won't move, it couldn't move, I don't want it to move. And, from the looks of my friends and Zygarde, I can only imagine that some of the same things are going through their heads too.
The past 24 hours have been filled with almost nothing other than running. Whether it's to a new temple, a crazy Zoroark, or the Zygardes themselves (which the bad one I'm cleverly calling Zyg-R for now on)! So why don't I feel like running when I see that Pokemon in front of me?
Simple, I fear that a wrong move could put me in a even worse spot. I'm not a Legendary Pokemon, so I have no idea how to talk to somemon who much stronger than me, and who's done nothing but try to kill me.
All my faith is in the blue half of Zygarde to bring some sense to Zyg-R. But I feel like he may have some worries himself.
One thing I know for sure is that Zyg-R wasn't expecting Zygarde to save our skins from him.
"Brother?..." Zyg-R says confused a bit, but soon, his expression shifts to a more serious tone. "Step away from them. That Raboot has caused all that you see around here to happen."
"Never mind that, Zygarde." Zygarde says. "I may not be at full strength, but I can see that your aura is struggling. You need to calm down before you get worse."
Zyg-R is furious. "Get worse?! Look at the core." He says as a vine appears to point to it.
As I look at it again, it beats like a heart, sending a shockwave at all of us. I hold onto the ground, but we all just manage to stay put. It might have been one wave, but it was a hard hitting one. "The longer it goes on like this, the worse it'll get, and it's affect will spread across this planet until our two worlds become one." His focus turns to me. "And now that he's here, the core will break open even faster."
I am then hit on the side before a vine from behind me slams into the ground. I tumble, but get on my knees to look back at Zyg-R.
Zygarde speaks up again. "You can not kill a child, especially not when he has been trying to help you stop this by getting the Flute of Aura."
Zyg-R is still in disbelief. "You're siding with the enemy?!"
"If they were true enemies, I would know that by now. Even after what you did to them, the Raboot decided to heal me when I was getting weak."
"That is nothing but an act of trickery."
"Then what would be an act of kindness?"
"Listening to me and give himself up to save this world."
"But that's the reason he has the flute. To avoid that."
"It...Will not...WORK!"
Another heartbeat happens, and it feels even stronger than the last one. It's a cold feeling blast, but the five of us hang on. Though, now that I look at the Zygardes, it didn't seem like they were being pushed around. Do these blasts not effect them?
"It won't work, Zygarde...Not anymore." Zyg-R says as he begins to twitch. "The land around the core is falling into nothing. Can't you see the alter is gone."
"You're being completely unreasonable." Zygarde yells. "I've been here for weeks, I know I'm the smarter one out of us, but even you should see that this is no way you should act like. You have got to get a hold of yourself."
The two cells say nothing as they stare at each other, which gives me time to think.
Alter...I have to play it at an alter. Could I not play it here and fix everything? How close do I have to be with the flute?
The flute!?
I look at where Eve had been when Zyg-R attacked us. It was in the bag! It was STILL in the bag! I then look at Eve, and she can tell exactly what I'm thinking about, and she doesn't even have to read my mind.
...so she better not be doing that.
Either way, she doesn't seem to have it with her. She was probably caught off guard with how fast the shield around her broke, and now, we have to get it while the two brothers are talking.
I then roll myself towards the crater. I might not be able to walk or run, but no amount of rocks is going to stop me from trying. While the whole world is spinning, I can tell that Eve and Lucas have gotten up and are following me. I don't think they're going to try to help me up, as that would just waste time, and I don't think Zyg-R is just going to simply not notice us. Still, despite everything moving around just as fast as I am, we make it to the crater. Eve uses Psychic to stop me from smashing into some of the rocks sticking out.
As I tried to get onto my knees, Lucas jumps into the center of the pit, and desperately tries to pull the bag out of the dirt. Eve hops down to help him pull it up. I can only watch as they finally get it out of the ground.
"What are we going to do?!" Lucas asks. "We got to do something about the flute being-"
Eve flips the bag upside-down and shakes it. Out comes an Oran Berry that splattered all over and is stuck on the Flute of Aura. "Perfectly fine?" Lucas says stunned.
Eve grabs it and says, "Let's not worry about why, and just be thankful we can still play it." She jumps up next to me and says, "Alright, take it Red, and do whatever you have to do."
Yeah, but I'm frozen by fear because I still don't know what exactly I have to do with it. Xatu only said I had to play the flute, not how to do it!
Still, the flute is floating right in front of me. I take a deep breath. Well, Eve didn't get a vision, so it seems I just have to wing it-
Just when it was the worst time to do so, the ground shakes softly, and then breaks as a vine once again slams into Eve's chest, sending her into the air and the flute falls to the ground.
"EVE!-" Is all that Lucas can yell before the same happens to him, although he gets tied up instead of getting a gut punch. Another set of vines grab Eve and slam her into the ground, and she and Lucas yell at almost the same time.
I realize that I'm next and go to grab the flute before the same happens to MEEEEE!
The vines around me go to tie my arms so I can't reach the flute and I'm lifted into the air. "Nooooo!" I yell before a vine slaps my face and stops me from breathing.
"You weren't going to play that behind my back, destroyer." Zyg-R says. "Now watch your friends die."
Those word strike deep as I forget about the flute for a second and stare at my friends. Tears fill my eyes as I make one last chance to try and reach the flute. But I can't, and what's worse is that Zyg-R is holding me so close, yet I'm so far from it.
"Forget about that piece of wood and say good bye." Zyg-R says before tightening the vine around my mouth. "Oh, forget I said that."
I close my eyes. I. Have. To. TRY!
But more vines outside the other ones appear, but I can't stop until...they help me?
I notice that these vines have appeared around Lucas and Eve, and they're a different color from the purple colored ones around me. They are instead a neon-ZYGARDE!
I see that he has gone from a single cell to his fifty-percent form, and I don't waste another moment. I reach for the flute, and this time, I feel that it's easier to move my arms. At least enough to grab the flute.
Once I do, I summon fire inside of me to get the vine out of my mouth so I can breath. My gut still hurts, but I still have to do this. I feel the fire hit the vine, but it doesn't move, so I try harder. Still nothing. But I'm not taking that for an answer!
I take one deep breath, and finally let it out.
A pillar of fire snaps the vine as, for the first time as a regular Raboot, I use Flamethrower. I feel tempted to take a moment to feel proud, maybe do a little dance, but I have a mission, and I put the flute to my mouth, and blow into it.
It's just one note, and it's loud too. In fact, my ears hurt as I keep blowing it, but I can feel some kind of energy that is coming from me playing it. But then an even more painful screech breaks through me as I have to cover my ears. I never knew that Zyg-R, or any Pokemon could sound so in pain.
The vines all around then drop me to the floor. I look to Lucas and see that he also was dropped to the ground. I see that it's the same with Eve. That's when I look at Zyg-R. And then I see it.
There's too many of his vines to count as they all are grabbing his head as his screech continues, and it's just as powerful as it was when I first heard it. But then I notice something big. His color is the same color as the vines around me, but it somehow never clicked then, because that purple color is coming out of the vines like steam. I then look at the flute that fell down and is just a few inches from me. That flute seemed to do something to Zyg-R, and seeing how it seems like he's being corrupted by something, I have to continue to play it.
A wall of Zygarde's vines then appear before me, and blocks a set of Zyg-R vines.
"Heh, heh, heh, heh, ha, ha, haaa, HAAAAAA!" Zyg-R laugh echoes in my head as it gets harder to think straight. "YOU CAN'T STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING!" Zyg-R yells. "OUR WORLDS WILL BE ONE, BUT I'LL MAKE SURE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS WILL BE GONE!"
I then see souls dancing around him as black marks slide from his body into the ground and start to come towards us. Another beat from the core hits me, as I grunt once more.
"My brother has been lost, Red! He's too far gone!" Zygarde says sadly. "The core's been corrupted by something much darker, and not only has that taken my brother, but I feel it inside me as well. The only way to fix us is to play that flute right at the core. Just do the same thing you just did there, but a song this time. I'll help as much as I can, even if it pains me to harm my own kind."
A tap on my shoulder sends me into a panic as I turn around, but I see Lucas and Eve, hurt, but still standing right behind me.
"And we're all going to make sure you get there." Lucas says as he helps me up. Eve does the same as I experience a familiar feeling from being lifted up from my shoulders. I take another breath.
This is it. It's time to stop this madness once and for all. With the flute in my hand, the three of us take one leap after another as we make our way to the core.
We're getting past Zyg-R. We're getting to the core. And we're going to save the world.
Zyg-R slams his vines to the ground. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" He yells, as the ground starts to shake. The three of us brace for some kind of earthquake, but it never becomes anything more than a shake.
"I'm holding down his vines." Zygarde says as we all look back at him. "Just keep moving and worry about the spirits!"
We nod, and resume our-
"Wait, spirits?!" I ask.
A Gengar then jumps up in front of us and dives right at us. He only gets so close before an Ice Beam breaks him apart.
Lucas gulps. "Well, there's our answer." I look down at my feet to see if there's any Pokemon that's going to try and drag me under again. Doesn't seem like that, so guess that means we should resume running again.
Zyg-R is displeased with us trying to get to the core, so he tries even harder to break his vines out from the ground. There are cracks that appear, and they glow with a dark light, but that's all he can manage to do.
He looks at his brother furious when he is hit with a Dragon Pulse, almost causing him to fall down, but the black smoke slides down his back and forms a stand for him to lean on.
"Nice try, but there's a reason why I'm the stronger half." He says.
The three of us continue moving as he charges up a Dragon Pulse of his own and aims it at his brother. I then look at the core, as we try to make our way there. Eve does use more Ice Beams on anymore souls that are trying to get a jump on us, so that's a big-
"STOP!" I shoot my arms across both Eve and Lucas to stop them in their tracks, as a moment later Zyg-R turns away from Zygarde and fires his beam at us instead.
I close my eyes as I put all that I can into my legs, and through the pain, I push us back just as the beam lands in front of us. My legs feel even worse than before, but it would have been a lot worse if we had been a few steps forward.
Though, the impact of the ground does cause me to drop the flute once I land on my back. I go to get on my-GAH! No, don't stand on your legs, you should know better by now. But getting onto my knees I am in favor of, but when I do, I see dark streaks heading right for it.
Eve uses Ice Beam again, but the soul tosses it to another one before it disappears.
"No!" Lucas yells as he fires a Vacuum Wave at the second being, but it does nothing but go right through him, leaving the being unaffected.
I then feel Eve's paw on my back as the world around me changes from looking at it running away, to seeing it try to stop before it runs into us. I cross my arms and brace for impact, and for being just a soul, I almost was knocked down again.
But I stand still as the flute drops to the floor. I dive after it, which was perfect, because I feel a Dark Pulse grazing my back.
Doesn't matter, because I grab the flute, and then use Flamethrower on the black Pokemon, causing it to match with the smoke of the fire.
Again, Lucas comes over to my side and says, "Come on!" As he picks me up again.
The core beats again, causing Lucas and me to fall over just before we could get back up. When we try to do that, a hundred of soulless eyes stare us down. Eve herself is continuing to use Ice Beam over and over again to keep herself safe, but I don't know how many more times she can use it before getting tired.
"Get them NOW!" I hear Zyg-R says, commanding all the souls to attack us all at once. They listen and all dash at us. In a full panic, I realize that Lucas only has Metal Claw to protect himself with. And I'm just about done with all of this ghost thing. In rage, I let out one big Flamethrower, and slowly move around to finish off even more souls. A good thing they're glass cannons, otherwise Zyg-R would have won by now.
Speaking of which, that said Pokemon decides to fire another Dragon Pulse at us, and I use Flamethrower against, which, as we all know, is a 'great' idea.
But not only does Eve and Lucas use Ice Beam and Vacuum Wave respectively, but OUR Zygarde also fires a Dragon Pulse as well. All five projectiles all clash, and a big explosion causes everything to go white and us to fall back again. As soon as I can though, I get up onto my...knees this time, and find that Zyg-R has positioned himself in the middle of us to the core.
"You're not getting any closer, Raboot!" Zyg-R yells. "You're stopping right here!"
At first, I think he's about to summon vines, but then I remember that Zygarde is keeping them held down, so then I think he's going to have even more souls attack us.
But I turn out to be wrong in both ways. Because he starts charging at us in pure rage. I use Flamethrower on him, but it only seems to make him go faster.
Eve fires, you guessed it, an Ice Beam, but souls around Zyg-R dive in front of it and take the blow. That's when I notice it. Now that he's so close to us, I can see so many souls that are hanging on, floating around, and sticking out of the Aura Break Pokemon, and his Dragon Pulse looks even more like a Dark Pulse now that he's so close.
And then, seemingly out of the blue, Zygarde crashes into his side, causing the attack to fire into the roof of this dungeon. The core then spits out waves of dark energy, and it feels like one long gust of wind before it stops.
Vines then finally appear, but they belong to Zygarde, and he uses them to tried to hold down his brother. I don't need any more information to tell me that he's holding him off so we can get to the core.
Lucas gets my left shoulder, and Eve uses Psychic to raise my right shoulder until she can reach us. The two of them move faster than ever before, as I just have to move my feet with the motions, which gives me time to look back at the twin Zygardes fighting.
The vines holding Zyg-R down don't last, as he breaks through them with a black shockwave.
He then laughs, saying, "You should have kept your distance from me, Zygarde." Vines then appear, and I ready myself with a Flamethrower before I realize that they were summoned to slam Zygarde to the ground in front of Zyg-R.
The vines then tie the Pokemon up, as Zygarde's vines try to free him, but to no avail. Then, small dark beams around Zyg-R hit his brother as he begins to cry out in pain.
"Because now that you're here, we can finally become one, even if I have to force you to join with me."
My pupils shrink. Oh no. If Zyg-R can corrupt Zygarde, then there's no way he won't turn into one-hundred percent form. And that'll be game over the moment that happens.
I get the flute again and play it again, praying to Arceus that it'll stop Zyg-R. I do the same thing I did before and blow one note as hard as I can, but Lucas can't take it and falls to the ground, causing me the fall as well, and the flute is tossed towards the drop off before the core.
And it's not stopping.
As much as I want to jump and grab the flute, I've learned that my legs are not ready to be used for action, so rolling it is. But no matter how fast I spin around on the ground, I can tell that I'm not getting closer to it.
That's when I see Lucas dash over to it to try to stop it from going over the ledge.
I stop myself as he gets closer. The flute is much closer to the edge than I had first thought, and Lucas is getting closer to the flute. But that also means he's going fast.
In horror, I see that he's just barely going to make it to the flute, but can he stop in time?!
It's...it's going to be him falling all over again. Eve steps in front of me the moment Lucas dives at the flute and yells, "Got it!" as he tries to stop himself.
I see a pink color surround the Rilo as he tries to stop himself. I crawl closer to him, although I'm not going to reach him if he falls. But-but he won't...H-he's slowing down!..He's stopping!
I hold my breath as he reaches the edge of the cliff and...
...
Stops.
Words cannot express how thankful I am to Arceus that he stopped in time. Didn't like it how it cut it close, but I still like it nevertheless.
Lucas looks towards the core, and I follow suite. Weird, all the glass-like floor has been shattered and left it floating there by itself...expect for one narrow path that has multiple veins around it of a white color.
Maybe that leads to the place where we have to play it, but why not here? Why does it have to be there? Who knows, maybe we have to do a chant before playing this song, or it has the notes which we have to play.
Either way, that seems to be our target. And a black beam to my left seemed to have been targeting me.
I look back and see Zygarde trying to break free of his brother's grasp, but he's not going anywhere as Zyg-R is pulling him inside as purple neon lights start to flicker around the two.
"Go now!" Zygarde yells. "I w-won't last much longer! GAHHHH!"
Zyg-R begins to laugh once more. "You're coming with me, Zygarde. I'm sure I can make you understand me."
Eve tugs on my shoulder and yells, "We have to go right now!" So, I'm once again carried by my friends as we make our way to the thin, glass path leading to the core.
Did I mention the ground is now starting to shake, and I can feel the pulses from the core hitting me already, and they're not even a big one like the ones before...No?..
I don't want to look down, and I really hope a blast doesn't send us off the cliff...
We reach the beginning of the path, and I gulp. I almost want to put my feet down to stop us from going forward to at least take a big breath before going. But I can't even put my legs on the ground. I think Eve is holding them off the ground for me. Which is nice, but that does mean that the only things I can think about is the screaming of Zygarde, the shaking of the ground, the beats of the core, and just me freaking out in the inside.
"Hey." I gasp and look at Lucas. I don't hide anything as he can see that I'm worried sick. "We're going to do this, Red." He says. "We are going to do this...Just keep saying that, ok?"
"...Sure..." I say, still scared. But as Lucas and Eve move me forward, I think about it.
We are going to do this. We are going to do this. We are going to do this.
I still feel scared, but I can't deny it, I am beginning to find a bit empowered. I bet Lucas is saying it in his head too. I wonder if Eve's doing it as-WELL!
The ground shakes a little more than normal. "Kneel!" Eve yells, and soon, the two of them get closer to the ground, trying to get more control.
"GAaaaAAAHHHhhhHH!" Zygarde screams in the back, but it slowly sounds like two people screaming. I can't turn around to see them, but I don't think Zygarde can hold on much longer. And it gets worse, because now I'm looking down, through the floor, and I can see just make out lava bubbling at the bottom. Curse this glass!
Well, at least it seems there's an actual end to this pit. Not that it actually changes anything.
I then hear a growl behind us, and it sounds like something is running at us. I can't look back, but Lucas can.
"EVE! Watch out!" He yells as a ghostly Houndoom pounces at us. I hear the sound of Ice Beam, and the Houndoom yelps as something disappears. Eve then gasps. W-why did she gasp?
"Lucas, you have to take Red to the core." She says, clearly getting tired. "I have to hold these spirits off, I'm the strongest out of us. So..." I can hear Eve's words fade into fear at the end. She is the strongest one out of us (right now at least), but because of that, she's putting herself in huge danger.
The look that Lucas makes is one of shock. I have a similar face too, I just can't look at the Vulpix.
"We are going to do this! And you can hold them off of us!" I say to the Rilo, which snaps him back. He looks at me as I hear another Ice Beam being fired. I then feel him try to pick me up, but he then ends up dragging me, with me finally being able to see Eve.
I wish I didn't, because I'm seeing a bunch of ghostly figures trying to get her or get past her. I close my eyes, and I say out loud. "We are going to do this." I breath in and say it out loud again. "We are going to do this."
"We are going to do this." Lucas then says. And soon, we both chant it at the same time.
It's stupid. Saying something like that sounds so dumb, but saying it together with somemon...it's really starting to click for me. We ARE going to do this, and every time we say it, I can feel all my fears slowly fading away. Lucas is even going faster. Sure, my legs are burning, the ground is shaking, Zygarde, any ghosts, and the core could mess us up at any moment.
But it doesn't matter, because we have a mission. And that's to use the flute, which we have in our paws, and play it at the core's...whatever! Which the two of us are very close to! We are going to do this!
The beats from the core are really starting to feel strong. I try to look behind me to see the core, but no surprise, I...can?!
I can't believe it. The core! It's...it's so close! I go to jump towards it. Of course, I really wish that my excitement didn't make me forget that my legs can't be used at all. Still, my short cry Lucas catches.
"It's ok, Red. Just don't move. I'll turn you around, just focus on what you have to play." I cling onto the flute harder.
Yeah, I have to do this now...what is 'this' though?! I doubt I can play a single note like I tried before. That only seemed to work at first, but Zyg-R seems to have gotten over it. I tried to dig deep inside my head. Surely, the song has to be somewhere in my head, or maybe it's in the Lucky Pebble.
"Oh, Xatu." I think as I'm almost facing the core. "If you knew I had to play this flute, then you had to have known what was the song to play."
"AHHHHHH!" My eyes dart to Eve, who is now being overwhelmed, and she seems to be getting dangerously close to the edge. And Lucas wastes no time, and runs after her. Lucas looks at me and shouts, "Play the flute already!" With tears in his eyes.
He disappears from my sight. I want to continue looking back, but it takes all of my will power to look at the core. It's just me and it now. My hand is shaking. I'm shaking. The core up close looks so cracked. The white light that's coming out from it seems to making a shield so that black beams can't get out, no matter how hard they seem to be hitting it. I look down at the flute. I take a deep breath.
"Just focus." I do hear things happening around, but I just need to tune them out. This is the only way I can possibly help Lucas, Eve, the Guild, everymon else on these islands.
They depend on me.
I put the flute on my mouth. And play.
I start with what sounds like...an E note. I want to panic, but I keep it going. I then switch to a C note, but quickly go back to the E note and do a D note.
Ok, that sounded good. Keep going. Go with the flow.
I stop and play a G note, and then I go F,E,D, before doing E and C quickly.
My panic levels seem to disappear as I repeat all the notes again. I can feel it. Something familiar to me.
This...I've done this before. Like I practiced this song. As if I...I...
I'm playing the song. I'm finally getting the hang of playing on a flute. This is actually working. I just have to play the second half, and it should be good. I'll finally have learned the song...
...What was it?!
I stop playing it. "Uhh, what was the last part again?" I ask. "It was just 'G, F, E, D-"
"No." A female voice calls out. "It's B sharp, C, D, and then C, B sharp, and C quickly."
I sigh. "How is this so hard to remember. It looks like it would be a simple song to learn, but I play it, I get goosebumps." I say. I then put the flute to my mouth and play a B note. It's not sharp. GAHHHH! "Ughhh! And I keep messing it up." I yell frustrated.
"You're not going to say that, 'Fate is so cruel to me' are you?" Another younger female voice says, the one from my first dream, though she tried to sound like me during the end a little.
Of course, I'm annoyed, but I get it. I can be predicable. That's why I'm in this mess in the first place. She only said that to try and cheer me up by laughing at myself. I do want to, but...
"Don't feel bad about yourself." The older voice calls. "You're doing great learning to play a new instrument. Heck, you're doing better than me when I first started."
"Yeah, but you don't have...well, I guess you do, just not in the way that-"
She chuckles. "Yeah, I guess that's true, but, you're still doing better than me. That's worth something, right."
"Ha..." I go. I stop...and then chuckle a little longer. I then stop for good. When was the last time I felt like that? When I laugh when someone tried to make me laugh... Feels like forever since then.
"About time your mood lighten up." Marcus says behind me.
"Yeah, I...guess it is lighting up."
Marcus chuckles himself. "Good to hear that. I don't want to ruin that mood, but we do have to get moving soon."
I go to counter, when the older voice stands in. "Agreed. Marcus can help you remember the song if you need help."
I don't say anything, but my female friend does. "So...this is good bye then."
"That's not how I would put it...but it'll be a while, yes." She says. "You three were great to have here, no matter how short our time together was."
I sniff. I can't look at her. I have to go...without her help...and after all that I...
"I'm sorry." I say. "I...wish I could have been better. I..." I increase in volume. "I JUST WISH-"
Something soft wraps around me, and it stops me. "I understand what feeling are going through your head right now." She says. "It's...hard, but I can't blame you. Pressure like that can make you lose focus and can break you apart. But do you know what happens to apple trees when the have branches taken off and live."
I don't answer the question, because it was for herself. "They grow stronger and create more branches with more apples. I KNOW you're stronger. You're still here...and you are going to do it, I know you can."
I sigh and get up off of my knees and onto my feet. One thing leaves me, but another lands on my shoulder.
"I believe in you too." My small friend says. "And Marcus and I will be with you all the way through."
I turn and look at Marcus. "Well, she's right." He says. "I got no plans on abandoning you anytime soon."
I smile, and begin to make my way out of the tent I'm in. I stop at the mouth of it, however. I turn one more time to the one who taught me the song.
With the flute in my hand, I say, "Thank you for everything."
She smiles. "May Arceus be with you."
Arceus...I smile.
Well, it's done now. My muscle memory returns to me as I finish playing the song.
Wow, it's been forever since I've had a dream like that. Interesting that I was learning the song. Did I...know this was going to happen? That would explain why I have a Lucky Pebble. But did I also have the Flute of Aura?
Now that doesn't make sense. From what I can remember, it just felt like a normal flute, which would be good, because if it really was the flute, then I probably just caused an earthquake back then.
But if I did know about this, and I was preparing for this moment, then I'm glad so glad that came back to me as I finish with the "G, F, E, D, E-
WAIT! That's not it!
All the background noises, all the shaking, and all of the lights are returning to me as I realize what I did. I didn't play the song right, I just played the first half twice. I take a deep breath.
No biggie, just got to start over. I know what the end of the song is thanks to my flashback, so just got to give it another try.
Something then breaks through to me throughout all of the noises.
A crack. A crack of something behind. As if something is falling apart.
Apart.
I turn around and see that the path that lead here has finally been broken, and it falling down with the spirits, Eve, and Lucas still on it. The spirits lose their focus on my friends and try their best to jump to my platform, which isn't falling. I use Flamethrower on them, and even Eve uses an Ice Beam to help me out. And it works, as whatever isn't turned into vapor doesn't make it to me and falls all the way down.
But the pathway slides even lower. I hear Eve yell, "We have to jump!" To Lucas before leaping over to my side.
By now I've turned myself around to watch the Alolan Vulpix's back legs hit the edge, but she quickly makes it up before Lucas jumps. I'm horrified.
Bad memories full my head as time seems to slow down. I would jump at him to grab him if I could, and Eve would have done the same if she got herself ready. And I only feel worse as Lucas didn't have that good of a jump as his chest hits the edge and he...
Stops himself from falling.
Relief kicks in for me. He made the jump. Don't panic. He made it.
Lucas pulls himself up as I bring the flute back up to my mouth and go to restart the song.
Eve then bumps into me. Guess she's trying to help Lucas climb up the-
*BOOOOOM!*
Everything happens. Lights flicker, Eve screams, wind blows, and the ground shakes. Zygarde just used Dragon Pulse at us, but Eve blocked the attack...barely that is. Looking at her shows that she is wiped out. Her legs are shaking as if they could break at any moment. I then look at Lucas.
Who lost his balance because of the attack.
And is about to fall.
I don't scream.
I don't cry out to him.
I don't even hear anything but him calling for help.
My legs tried their best to stop me, and they sure did warn me what would happen if I tried to use them.
But I can't let him fall.
Not again.
Not ever again.
My leap is filled with great pain. I want to stop myself before getting too close to the ledge, but I'd rather grab Lucas and hope Eve stops me then me stopping and hoping that I can grab him.
It's deja vu all over again as I reach out for his paws. We both stretch towards each other. And I grab both of them.
Before feeling the weight pull me down too.
And I can't stop. My legs are done for tonight. I used it all up.
And now I fall.
I then feel my ankles, just as I go over the edge, get pinned on the ground.
It's very painful, but it stops me. The force of Lucas falling almost makes me drop him, but I manage to hang onto him tight. He stops screaming as he looks at me frighten.
No way am I letting go of him.
I hear a grunt from Eve as she struggles to hold me still. She just sounds so tired, but she needs to pull us up.
"Eve." I start. "Pull us up. I got to restart the song. I know what I have to do this time."
"Y-you mean you played it w-wrong?!" Lucas asks.
"No, I just played the first half twice." I answer.
I feel a yank on my leg as I'm lifted up very slowly. Lucas is still panicked, so I try to calm him down. "Don't worry, Lucas. Everything is going to be alright. Just hand on."
Eve then yells in pain as all the progress she made lifting me up is wasted as I fall down again, and my right hand lets go of Lucas' left. I put both of my hands on his right one as I say to Eve.
"Don't give up, Eve. You can do this!" I say hopeful and tired.
...
She doesn't respond to me, and it worries me. She didn't faint, did she? Well, no actually, because she would have let go of me, so what could she be thinking about.
"Red." She finally says, taking a gasp of air. "YOU have to stay strong...I can't b-bring you up...I'll faint...You...have to trust m-me..."
What?! Trust her with what? I want to ask her that, but now I feel out of breath. Holding onto Lucas is taking a lot out of me. I then hear something get picked from the ground. It's then when it clicks.
I don't have the flute with me. Eve has it, and she's going to play the song. She starts playing, and I feel the Earth shaking. Did this happen when I played the flute? She finishes the first part surprisingly well, but that's not what I'm worried about. She doesn't know about the last part. It's not the same, it's just going keep things the way they are.
I then feel a claw dig into my hand, and I see Lucas with tears in his eyes. "Red." He says. "...Don't let go...Don't let me go...I...I can't hold on...please hang on."
He's scared to death. Lucas had already nearly fallen to his end, and that might have not even been a day ago. But I hold onto his hand tighter.
"I...am not...let...ing go...of you...never again..." I barely say to him.
We are a team. We're friends. Best friends. When I think about everything I can remember, there's only one Pokemon I can always trust, and it's the one that needs me the most right now.
My ears then pick up Eve playing the song on the flute, and she just reached the third quarter of the song.
"Arceus." I pray. "Help her."
I close my eyes as she plays the last half.
B sharp, C, D, then C, B sharp, C quickly.
...
...
...
"Huh?"
I blink. There's...nothing here...it's all just white.
I grunt. What...what's going on here?
I can barely remember what lead up to me being in a place that's just white. I put my hand to my head, but when I go to move my legs, the send pain up my body, as if my whole body was stabbed.
Ok, think. Think really hard. Why are you here? Why do you legs hurt so much...
...And who's making that heavy breathing noise.
"Me." I gulp as the figure seemingly just appears in front of me. It's a giant black being with neon and white dots around it's hands, knees, and feet. It's standing on two legs, and has things like wings that are on his shoulder. The wings themselves are also black, but the one on the right is blue, and the one on the right is red. His white eyes stare at me as everything is hitting me again.
It's just me and complete Zygarde. All alone in this white void. He could step on me and that would kill me.
"What are you going to do, Raboot?" He asks. "Are you going to fight me when you can't even walk?"
I pant. I'm out of breath, and any breath I do have comes right out. He's...he's complete. Zyg-R won. He combined with Zygarde, and everyone is gone. My friends, the spirits, even the core is missing. Is this what the full power of Zygarde looks like?
...
...
Well, it doesn't matter to me as I begin to growl.
"I'm never giving up!" I yell. "You can do whatever you want to me, but I will not let you doom this world. I have no memories. I have no idea what I've done, but I've ran into the best group of Pokemon I could have ever ran into, and they have risked their lives for me. I know I probably made mistakes, and maybe this won't be enough to make up for it, but I'll always kept trying till the day...I...die."
We lock eyes. I try to use Flamethrower, but that doesn't work. I just used all of my energy for that speech.
"What a great plan." I think to myself as Zygarde points his now glowing hand at me. "Now you're just a sitting Piplup."
I just end up continuing growling at him. I have to at least try. For everymon. No matter where they are.
Time stops. I'm preparing myself for his shot. I don't know how much I can dodge, but I'm not going down without putting up a fight.
... I breath in and out. Waiting.
...
I then start to think to myself if time really was frozen. Did my will power somehow stop time?!
"No, it didn't." Zygarde says. "I was just seeing what you would try to do, and you were going to fight me to the very end to stop this mess." He pulls his arm away from me.
"And...I was wrong." He says. "Sorry, I as in...well, it doesn't feel right saying it like this." Zygarde them matches with the colors around me, but he's extremely bright. After it dies down, Zygarde and Zyg-R are standing in front of me in their fifty-percent forms.
Then Zyg-R moves forward, with his colors back to normal. He then looks back at his brother, who summons a lone vine to shoo him towards me. I then wonder if Zyg-R is the little brother, and the thought makes me chuckle.
When Zyg-R faces me again, I stop, but I still can't get the idea out of my head.
"I'm...not used to apologizing, especially to mortals like you." He says. "...But...I'm willing to admit that...you...ehhhh...saved me in a way. To say sorry to you while combined with my brother wouldn't had felt right. I was trying to kill you because I thought you were going to destroy the world, but here I am having to thank you for saving it. I bet Arceus got a real kick out of this."
I'm still cautious, yet it does seem that he would do something like this if the world was saved. It...it was saved, right?
"Uhh, thanks Zyg-R...de." I say back. "My head's a little fuzzy from what happened. I can't really remember anything past the point where Eve played the final verse. Everything is fine, right?"
He nods. "Yes, everything is fine for the most part..."
There's then an awkward pause. I do want to ask more questions about what's going on, but I don't know if Zyg-R has anything more to say.
"Look, ever since I first found you, I wasn't lying about your aura. It was off, and with all the chaos that was happening behind the scenes, I wasn't about to let any risks slide under...well, I was going to say, 'my nose' but you're the only one here that has one."
Is it weird that I want to laugh at a joke made by somemon who's been trying to kill me?
"But now I see that it was that difference that's helped you through this journey. Even your Vulpix friend had a similar feeling in her aura. Maybe that's why she was also able to play the flute successfully."
"So, where are they now?" I ask.
"Well, I think I should bring that up now. You're knocked out. The core was fixed thanks to your friend finishing the song. There will be a lot my brother and I will have to do to make things right again. If what they said is true, then you should be at a guild resting. We made sure to tell them that you'll be alright when you wake up, though you're not going to be walking anytime soon. Right now, we're in your head."
I look around as I look for anything aside from us. "Well, guess that explains why nothing's here. You said 'they'. Is Lucas alright?"
"Yes." Zyg-R says. "They're both winded, but also alright." I close my eyes and breathe a sigh of relief.
When I open them I see that Zyg-R is staring at me, making another awkward moment.
"I was wrong about you." He says. "When I had you in my grasp, your Riolu friend, Lucas, tried to talk me out of killing you. I thought the only reason that he wanted you safe was because you made him feel stronger, and for a Pokemon like him, he needs somemon like that in his life. But I see now that there truly was more to you then met my eyes."
"I know I was slowly being corrupted by the core breaking apart, and that caused me not to think straight, but I still listened to those voices, and it only got easier the worse things were getting. With them gone now, I can look back at those moments, and see things I hadn't realized..."
"...I can not prove that you are the reason the Mystery Dungeons are forming. I forced myself to believe that to justify what I planned to do to you, and I myself had played a part in spreading it as well. From what I can see from you personality, you wouldn't cause this to happen on purpose."
"I sure hope not." I add. "I've been really lucky with where I ended up. It's only been about two weeks since I woke up in the ocean, yet I really love it here, and I really didn't like how I could have caused everything to be destroyed."
"Again, I am sorry." Zyg-R says. "You must have been through a lot during these four days, but I'm glad that you pushed through."
"It was a team effort." I say. "I was ready to give myself up at the Ground Temple. In fact, there were a couple more times I really thought about what I was doing. Lucas, Eve, Team Forever, Team Current, and Wigglytuff and Ray all did their best, and I'm forever grateful for that."
I then hear a chuckle from Zygarde in the back. In fact, he starts to slide towards me. "It's because of that attitude that you've made it this far. Willingness to help others, always trying to do your best, that's good traits for a hero such as yourself to have." Zygarde says, "Sorry, but my brother isn't the only one who has to thank you. You were the one who got the flute and brought me along with you after all."
"Yeah." I say. "Never thought I'd be thanked by a Legendary such as yourself...ves."
"Trust me." Zygarde says. "I believe more Pokemon will be thanking you later. You are Arceus' Champion."
I look down at myself. "I wish I knew why though. I really wish I could ask Xatu who I was. Do you think he'll answer it if I go back to him?"
"I do not know." Zyg-R says. "During this time, I felt as if my connection with Arceus was slipping. It may have been because of the core, but I still haven't felt his presence yet."
"I would give it time, Zygarde." Zygarde says. "Just be happy you can think straight again."
The two beasts then look at me. "Thank you, Red, for your help." Zyg-R says. "We truly don't know what would have happened if I managed to stop you. I do know that we have our work cut out for us. There are many places around the globe that'll need our help. I wish you the best on your journey, Red. I have a feeling that this isn't an end for you, but a new start."
I feel the Lucky Pebble shine inside me at that remark. "Good luck with fixing everything then." I say.
The two beings then shine as they get closer to each other. They then merge and transform back into their complete form. "I have no doubt in my mind that we may run into each other again one day." Zygarde says. "Just remember to always stay strong. I pray to Arceus that you and your friends are kept save."
"And I wish you two the best fixing this world." I say. "Say hi to the Legendaries for me if you see any."
He then chuckles. "I'm sure it will make a great story to share with them if I see any. Farewell."
And with a pillar of neon, blue, and red surround him, he leaves me all by myself. I look around again. Don't know why, guess I'm bored.
"I have a feeling that this isn't an end for you, but a new start."
I wonder about that. Is there still more for me to do? Did Arceus have a bigger plan for me?
I sigh. Great, more stuff to do.
...But I'm fine with that. I want to do what I can to fix this. Whether I caused it or not, I can still help out.
A jolt from my legs reminds me that it may take sometime before I can get out there.
I then lie down onto the ground. Zygarde said that I'm fine, so if I fall asleep here, do I just rest?
I yawn. Yeah, I think it's about time I get some rest. It's surprising to me how comfortable I feel right now. Perhaps it's because it's finally over that I'm just happy to rest.
I chuckle. "It's over." I say quietly. "It's all finally over."
I smile forms on my face, as for the first time in what seems like forever, I fall asleep peacefully.
