Chapter Twenty-Two: Tears of Life
"I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are." - Mewtwo, Mewtwo Strikes Back
(Khan POV)
Blue sky and white clouds. I heard the beating of wings and felt a brush of fur.
I opened my eyes to black clouds. In my peripheral I saw nothing but red. Red trees, red bushes, red grass. All wilting from the heat of the pink-red flames glowing in the distance. Ruby Forest was burning.
Wait. We're in Ruby Forest. It was impossible to teleport into Ruby Forest, how the hell-
I looked up again, searched for any trace of that near-invisible shine. Nothing. The Barrier was gone.
I searched for any trace of life but the Forest was emptier than I'd ever seen it. Even through the roar of flames, I'd expected to hear someone, anyone.
"Hello?!" I called. "Is anyone there?!"
But nobody came.
The heat was extraordinary. The fire was some distance away - for the time being, at least - it seemed we'd been teleported to the safest possible location. Inside the World's biggest Mystery Dungeon. As it burned to the ground.
But how?! How was this possible? Ruby Forest doesn't burn. The sky is blue, the sun shines, and Ruby Forest does not burn.
A tiny laugh escaped my mouth. But none of those things are true anymore, are there?
Flames travelled along a tree trunk. There was something distinctly odd about it; they didn't dance and flail like candle fire, they didn't burst and roar like explosive fire; they moved more like light cutting through clouds, more like the waves of the aurora borealis, more like… dragon energy. Of course; of course, you idiot Garchomp! It was a fusion! This wasn't fire; it was dragonfire.
In the distance, a fading voice cried for help.
Alex and Tobias were still unconscious. Asa's eyes flickered open. Poor guy; Regiroy's power had been too much even for Tobias and I, I couldn't imagine what a grass-type like him had gone through. But still not enough to put him out of commission. What a Pokémon.
I helped him to his feet. I explained the situation as best I could. He shook himself awake, wiped the dirt from his face.
"Then we investigate," he said." We may have moments left, we have no way of knowing how long we were out for." He looked around. "Which region of Ruby Forest are we in, exactly?"
"The Oak Region," I said, "I think we're pretty close to the centre…"
"Yet we can't tell," he swallowed, "we can't tell how far the fire has spread, if even the areas surrounding Ruby Forest are burning—"
"We cross that bridge if and when we come to it. Do you have any idea why the Unown might have sent us here of all places?"
Asa was silent for a moment as his red-and-white eyes moved. Then he sprinted to a gap in the trees further south into the woods. I put Alex over my shoulder and nestled Tobias' shell into the crook of my arm. By the time Asa stopped, we were right outside the clearing that surrounded the Pillar Oak.
I felt like it was staring at me.
"These ripples in the ground…" he said. He bounded towards trees tilted at a strange angle. "There are great big tears all along the trunks… the bushes have bald patches, look!" He held up some tattered red string. "These vines have been shred to pieces. It was no fire that did this; no dragonfire, besides. What—"
The ground shook. Perhaps "shook" is the wrong word, it was more like a sudden and violent jump, as the ground exploded from beneath our feet, solid earth bursting into great clumps soaring high up in the air, uprooted trees flying to meet them. I hooked the edge of Tobias' shell with my claw and clutched him to my chest. One of Asa's vines snapped out to wrap around Alex's waist while the other pulled them both to safety on the branch of a rooted tree. Tobias' eyes opened a crack, then widened as they took in their surroundings.
"Wh- Where- Khan! Where's Alex?! Where's-"
"Wha-ha what the fuck?!" came a voice.
"There he is."
Another vicious tremble hit the ground. I stumbled, righted myself. Had Tobias not been in my arms, I would have toppled over.
"Yveltal," said my student, "I am sick of earthquakes."
Another. Another. Another. A loud banging sound came with every step. They sounded bizarrely like-
"Footsteps," Tobias said.
Another hard shake and a few more trees toppled over. Suddenly I could see it, poking through rows of cracked and bent trees. The Pillar Oak, pink-red flames dancing along its times and cutting through its trunk in absurdly symmetrical lines that resembled the outline of two rows of sharp fangs. Every few moments the tremors were punctuated by a red shockwave that made waves under the grass and sent splinters of branches flying.
The ground beneath the mighty Oak crumbled away, leaving only a platform of soil and grass. With each new footstep more of its roots showed as it rose higher into the air. Soon it was towering twelve feet above us, a veil of roots trailing down to the ground. Then they parted like a veil, and two green shrubs poked through the gap. A Pokémon, buried alive. White hands dug into the ground their owner heaved themselves up.
A twelve-foot frame. Thick black stripes along a snow-white back, legs, and arms. Yellow bands across their wrists, each ending in three thick white fingers. Thick green moss growing from their shoulders and around their feet. Six eyes, in rows of red, blue, grey. Seven black dots along the yellow crest streaking down their face.
"Regigigas," Asa breathed.
Fire danced in the gemstones. Then the spots along their crest glowed red, and they spread their arms and gave a distorted, strangled cry that must have carried across all of Itori. Those were their real eyes, I realised.
"They're looking at me," Alex said.
Two pillar-liked hands reached into the earth and came out gripping onto thick red vines, each twisted like a length of rope thirty inches thick. They tugged them forward, splitting the ground open, bucking the earth beneath us before we had time to react. I reached out but Tobias was spinning through the air far from my reach. Alex held Asa close to him; he hit the ground hard and went rolling across the ground, the Bulbasaur flying from his arms. The human's back was to the Legendary Pokémon.
"Alex, behind you!" I cried.
They were slower than I expected. It gave Alex just enough time to run seconds before the God's fist came down hard on the ground. A chunk of earth went flying up into the air, smacking into the side of Alex's head. The left side, not his bad side. I breathed a sigh of relief, but then Alex didn't move. He just lay there. Regigigas stood right above him, yet he didn't react. A single lump of earth, and he'd fainted.
Regigigas raised their arms and let out a thunderous cry of incomprehensible words. Tobias and I got to our feet and ran. The Legendary made the slightly twitch with their hand and the earth below us went sailing. All I could see was red grass and red-brown soil, before I heard the sound of a heavy arm hitting a hard body. I screamed incoherently as I scrambled above the cliff of earth to see Asa lying unconscious at the base of an oak tree.
"Tobias-" I began, but it was no use. The Squirtle's shell lay still.
I had so little time to protect Alex I couldn't even check if Tobias was still alive.
Seven red eyes were still fixed on the human. I stood up onto the ledge of the cliff. I made myself look at big as possible, knowing full well I could be in Dynamax form and they'd still crush me in one hand. I roared at the top of my voice; not a cry of words, as I knew they would do me no good, but a cry of absolute terror and rage. For a moment, it got their attention. But it wasn't enough. They knew their target, and he was lying unconscious right in front of them. I let out a Fire Blast, the biggest I'd ever summoned, so hot even I winced at the heat. Regigigas dropped one of the vines— the earth lurched— and blocked it with one hand. They grabbed a tree from the top and and flung it at me. I ducked down behind the cliff and it crashed over me. When I raised my head again, Regigigas was reaching down for—
"There they are!"
The treetops above me burst open and out leapt a black-and-purple Luxray, eyes glowing gold. He landed in front of us. Regigigas swung their right arm back. The rope-like vine they'd dropped lifted from the ground and tied tight around their wrist at an awkward ankle, pinning the joint in place. The other arm grabbed at the eggplant-coloured Heracross buzzing about in the sky. White fingers grabbed engulfed her— then fell right through. Another Heracross appeared above them. Then to their left, their right, behind, in front, above again, until a hundred were swarming them shoulder-to-toe.
There was a blur of grey-red wings and talons scraping away at the Legendary's left knee joint until the leg gave way. Then between the Luxray and the Legendary, probably close enough to smell the moss on their shoulders, stood an orange Stantler. The air rippled around their horns as the bells nestled inside gave off a pleasant, calming ring. Regigigas' left arm had swiped away most of the duplicate Pokémon, but now their eyes wouldn't fix in one place. Their arm hovered where it was, uncertain, as its owner turned their headless body as far as it would go in any direction.
The Forest Fires stood in a circle around me. Tears sprang to my eyes.
"How in the name of… How did you find us?!"
"We've been rescuing Pokémon from the Forest since we saw the first flames," Roy said in a raspy voice, and glanced up at the sky, "we saw a light appear here around an hour ago and came to investigate."
I gaped. "How long were we out for?!"
"I'm guessing about an hour," said Eliza.
"If we could veer this conversation towards an escape plan, I'd really appreciate it," said Alana, glowing eyes and paws fixed on the task ahead of them, struggling against Regigigas' surprisingly deft fingers working to untie the knot she'd made. The Meowstic's pink fur was matted with soot and sweat. "As much as I'd like to, I can't keep this up forever."
"We don't need to escape," I said.
Striker flipped his crest back from his face. I'd never seen so much as a feather out of place, and now it was a tangled, disheveled mess. "As much as I admire your courage, buddy, I think you'll find we fucking do."
"They need our help, they're not going to calm down on their own."
"They're frenzied," said Alana, "they'll kill us the moment we get close enough. If we stay here we'll all be killed, including your friend and your students."
Asa was still on his side; Asa, the Bulbasaur said to have power to rival the Gods. Tobias, the student who'd always needed me the most, was tucked inside a shell that threatened to crack wide open. Alex, a Charmander in a human's body, lay prone mere inches from a Legendary Pokémon. If it wasn't for the Forest Fires, he'd already be dead. But Bucky's illusion was only making their frenzy worse; they slammed their fists on the ground, making the earth jump. They crushed two treetops in their bare hands. They uprooted an oak, held it above their heads, and crushed it into splinters.
"We only need to get close enough to talk to them," I reasoned.
"You can't expect them to listen to reason!" Alana retorted. "They're not in a sound mind!"
Bucky's voice cut through the din: "They're grieving."
She frowned. "What?"
"Can't you see it?!" Bucky snapped. I don't think any of us had ever heard him snap before. "Don't you know what it feels like?! They're not just wildly attacking anything in sight! They're confused, they're stumbling, they're clawing at themselves, look!"
The Legendary's thick fingers were digging into their head, tearing at the moss on their shoulders. They turned and looked all around them. They watched Ruby Forest burn. The flames reflected back at us in the gemstones on their face. Whatever Bucky's illusion was showing them, they still saw that.
Cries came from far away; bizarre, distorted voices that sounded oddly like Pokémorse code. Regigigas took a step towards them. Something in the vision caused them to step back, arms raised up as if to shield themselves. They looked down at their hands, balled them into fists.
"They're mourning…" said the Stantler.
And he was right. I knew exactly how they felt. Every step I'd taken this whole time, the boxes I'd placed Atlanta's Persim Band and Paige's X-Ray Specs in had been rattling away in my bag. Or, rather, their replacements.
The dragonfire crept closer. An oak branch crashed to the ground. Nearby, a cluster of Cherubi and Cherrim cried out in terror, holding one another under a bush, as pinkish embers floated ominously close to its dry red leaves.
"There are Pokémon trapped in here!" I cried. "We can't leave them! This is their hour of need! What was the purpose of forming our group if not for something like this?! What was it all for?! We're the Forest Fires for fuck's sake!"
"We can't protect them if we're dead, Dracen!" Alana snapped back. "And we can't handle a threat like that, the six of us alone can't handle a Legendary Pokémon!"
"If we don't try," Bucky croaked, "our lives have been worth nothing."
Alana's knot came away. Regigigas' right arm bulged with muscle. It rose slowly into the air, and I was again shocked at how slow the Legendary Pokémon moved. Then they swung down at lightning speed.
Alana's Psychic yanked Bucky and Alex backwards just in time to dodge the God's Hammer Arm. All six of us were knocked off our feet by the sheer force of the impact, as it split the ground it'd struck into two Butterfree wings.
"What the fuck?!" Striker exclaimed.
"I thought they were slow!" Eliza added.
"We can't depend on that anymore," Roy said, as his glowing eyes pierced through the cloud of dust and fog that'd blinded us, hidden my students and my friend from view. Everything was a haze of red.
"Get down!" Roy cried.
Half a second later Hyper Beam was roaring above our heads and tearing through the trees behind us. Wild Pokémon screamed and ran, some in the direction of the spreading dragonfire. Regigigas' arms hovered at their sides, and when they saw the destruction their own attack had done, they leaned back clutching the top of their head and let out a bone-chilling cry.
The six gemstones on their faces caught the light from the dragonfire. In each one, I saw one of our faces. Roy and Striker. Alana and Eliza. Bucky and I. The Forest Fires. The only Pokémon left who could possibly face them. But their true eyes had found Alex. The God ran to him, twice as fast as they had been only moments ago. I called his name. Suddenly the air was filled with Heracross blocking the Legendary's path. Regigigas slammed their fist into the ground, bringing up a rain of soil that scattered, piercing through all one hundred of Eliza's copies. But by then she had Alex in her arms and was carrying him away.
Regigigas took lumbering steps as they readied another Hyper Beam in their hands, aiming for the human and the Heracross. The bells on Bucky's horns flashed. A translucent pink bubble patterned like a wax seal surrounded our opponent, and all energy faded from view. They looked down at their empty hands, confused, then slammed them into the tree trunks beside them, demolishing both.
Striker swooped down and picked up Tobias and Asa, carrying them to safety. But the God had no interest in them. They put one leg back and bent their knees as purple-and-yellow energy streamed down from their forehead. Fire Blast, Thunderbolt, Hyper Beam, and Psybeam all struck the back of their weak leg, dropping them to one knee. Alana's Psychic raised another twisted vine into the air, wrapping it tight around their other ankle. With frightening speed for a creature their size Regigigas snatched her off the ground and tightened their grip. They were crushing her.
"Alana!" Eliza cried, skidding to halt in mid-air.
Striker's Brave Bird struck them between in the soft spot under their elbow, right where the joint should be. It wasn't enough to release her, but it was enough distraction for me to scale up their back and onto their forearm. Brick Break struck a weak spot in the joint of their middle finger, and a half-conscious Alana fell. Eliza swooped down to catch her with her horn. I held on to the back of Regigigas' hand by my claws; with a flick of the wrist they tossed me to the floor, before snatching Eliza and Alex out of the air. Crush Grip tightened; Eliza began to yell but the air was robbed from her lungs in half a second. I summoned Dragon Rush and got ready to run, but a mossy foot kicked me into the trees.
Eliza threw her head back. The back of her Mega Horn attack the weak spot I'd made in their middle finger; Roy used Volt Switch again and the electric blast made Regigigas snatch their hand back. I could only hope Alex hadn't been seriously harmed. Roy snatched up the back of his tunic in his mouth as they fell. Naturally, the Luxray landed on his feet. Bucky ran between them and the hand searching for them. Another illusion bought just enough time for Roy to hide Alex, of all places, underneath the Pillar Oak.
Regigigas looked around frantically, then raised their hands to block another barrage of long-range attacks. They let out a frustrated cry, then suddenly Giga Impact was coming towards us faster than we could dodge. Striker and Bucky headed for the trees but they spread their arms so they could catch snatch up all five of us at once. Eliza and I both ran to Alana to protect her. We clasped our arms around each other's backs to form a shield.
It was like being hit my a mountain. My vision was black and my body was flying, I bounced across the ground until I finally slammed ribs-first into a tree trunk. Windless, the world returned to me upside-down. The titanic Pokémon had skidded to a halt, ripping up the ground beneath their feet. They placed one hand on the earth, and paused for a moment, as the dots on their face blinked slowly. Then they ran back the other way.
(Alex POV)
Golden eyes.
"Alex, wake up!"
I jumped to life. I scuttled backwards and bumped against the wall behind me. Dirt rained down on my shoulders. Then I recognised him; it was Roy, one of Khan's Forest friends. I put a hand to my chest and breathed. We were on a platform underground, a ruby glow all around us. There was light coming from up above, but it was faint. The Pillar Oak's roots shielded us from most of it.
"Gods, Roy, you almost scared the life out of me."
"Funny you should mention! Get on your feet, we need to find somewhere to hide!"
"Where are we, what's—"
It came to me in a sudden flash.
"Where's Tobias?!"
"That menace has no interest in him, it's you he's after. We need to advance deeper underground."
I looked down and realised we weren't on a platform at all. We were on one giant step in a spiralling staircase made of twisting roots. From deep, deep down, I saw a faint red-and-yellow glow. Something tugged at my memory, somewhere in the back of my mind. The Chariz-Fang felt suddenly warm against my chest.
Footsteps shook the earth above us.
"Run!" Roy roared.
We jumped to the next platform. The Pokémon was ready to jump again, but on my worn-out human legs, I had to stop. I gestured to Roy to please wait just a moment. In that moment a gigantic hand broke through the earth above us. Roy tried to shove me out of the way but three longer fingers snatched up the both of us and dragged us through root and soil into the scorching-hot air above. Then they began to crush us. I felt my arms dig into my ribs and my lungs empty and my hips threaten to break. My shoulders felt like they were about to pop right out of their sockets.
"Let him go!" I tried to scream, but it came out as a gasp. "You can take me, just let—"
Roy threw his head back and roared. It drowned out every other sound, bouncing from the oaks to the elms and birches and rowans, to the junipers and sycamores and kukuis and magnolias. There was a second's silence, before Striker's Fly attack struck Regigigas in the shoulder. Roy's back paws glowed the maroon red of a Superpower attack as he twisted his body around and struck them square in the palm. Regigigas dropped them both, and Striker swooped down to save me, carrying me back up into the air and off to the south.
Regigigas took after us. Eliza's Double Team blinded them. They ran straight through, only to take a flurry of Close Combat-punches, kicks, and horn stabs attack to the face. They swiped the Heracross aside and kept going. Bucky created an illusion with his antlers. They waved their arms and legs frantically until a wild kick finally knocked the Stantler aside. They took another step forward, only to be tripped up by their own vines thanks to Alana's Psychic. They grabbed one and flicked up hard; a length of vine broke through the ground and smacked Alana into the bushes behind her. They stood.
Purple-and-yellow streaked from their forehead. Then I saw a tiny clone running straight at them, tearing at the dust. Khan's Giga Impact struck them in the shin below their weakened knee. Without the stretch to kick him away, they lifted him into the air and tossed him to the ground, where he landed in a cloud of dust.
He lay prone in the charging titan's path, unable to move. I knew Regigigas wouldn't stop, wouldn't swerve, would crush him under their giant mossy foot. That was until I saw the orange glow, and knew Roy was coming to take his place. The next thing I knew Khan was several feet away, and the Legendary had crushed the courageous cat into the dirt.
Striker soared over the treetops, maybe sixty, seventy, eighty feet in the air. I wanted to tell him it was dangerous for a human, that a drop of ten feet could probably kill us, until I felt the dragonfire climbing into the air not far below. We were still in dangerous territory, but far from the Legendary's reach, far enough for me to finally breath a sigh of relief. Until an oak tree came spinning through the air towards us.
The brave bird tilted just in time to take the full brunt of the impact. But the sheer force made it impossible for him to hold onto me. I don't blame him. I don't blame a single one of them, not for a second, because I know they all fought with every single thing they had. Striker's claws tore through my tunic. I was tossed into the air. Then I was falling.
From the moment I heard Regigigas tear those roots out of the ground, I knew I was about to die. I also knew that if I was a Pokémon, I would survive the attack. But I'm not. I never was, was I? Not really. It was all an act. If I'd known who I was when I first woke up in Oran Berry Cave, I never would have gone along with it in the first place. I was born a human. And as a human, I've done terrible things. I probably deserve this, don't I? Of all the ways I've almost died, falling into dragonfire at the heart of Ruby Forest.
Despite it all, even though I wish I could've lived a lot longer, I've decided to die happy. Because I see now what happens when you take the others paths: of denial, of anger, of bargaining, of depression. The only thing you can do about something you can't change is to accept it.
But you know what? I think I'd like to have tried being a Pokémon one more time. Because I'd have liked for others to see it. I'd have liked to see it myself. It's taken a lot of time. It's taken a lot of work. But it has happened. I've changed.
I fell into the dragonfire, the human tunic catching on fire, but the Chariz-Fang sitting untouched on my wrist. My last thoughts were of my friend. My partner. Of the Pokémon who saved me life, then helped me build another out of nothing. Who walked with me into hell a dozen times over as I searched for my past. Who accepted me without a moment's hesitation when he saw the person I used to be. Because that, that alone, made it possible to see myself as the person I am now. The person I am thanks to him.
Thanks to my best friend, Tobias.
(Asa POV)
I have no idea how much time as passed. I lay spread-Hawlucha on the floor, my vision seemingly on the verge of clearing, but never quite ridding itself of the fog. My heartbeat is slow. A leaf from my bulb drifts to the ground. I guess I'll see you soon, sis.
A thin layer of dark smog settles in. The sky is dry, but wet lines roll down my cheek. I thought tears came after the cloudy weather.
Regigigas is a blur or purple-and-yellow, and they're swatting the Forest Fires away like flies. I see them as reddish dots in the distance. I try to push myself to my feet, and I can't. But maybe if I can drag myself along, I can do something, anything. I have to try.
I push with my forefeet, and feel something tugging at my back-left ankle. The strap of Alex's item back has snagged on one of my cuffs. Something's rolling around inside.
I reach out a sagging vine and flip it open. A green ball with a yellow centre. It looks like a Wonder Orb. My heart leaps.
The God picks up Khan, and I see them crushing his arms to his side, the muscles in their hand bulging as their prey gasps for air. I take the orb in both vines and hold it up to the sky.
"Regigigas!"
(Khan POV)
A Solar Beam strikes Regigigas in the shoulder. Not enough to make them drop me, but enough to get their attention. Asa is on the ground below us, holding some kind of Wonder Orb in the air. The Legendary stares, seeming almost… paralysed.
The orb from the murals.
Regigigas' eyes flash bloody red. They raised their other arm into the air and I see the muscles bulge and feel them take a step forward and Asa closes his eyes and doesn't move—
"He's giving it back to you!" I cry.
Even though their body doesn't move I can feel them looking at me.
"Can you understand me?" I ask.
…
"I'll take that as a no."
Regigigas picks Asa up in his damaged hand but has no problem crushing him as well. The mage is gladly giving up what they want, but they're still intent on their punishment. The Bulbasaur's leaves are ripping, his Gems are cracking, his mouth opens yet nothing but choking comes out. I need to make them listen, I need to make them understand, what do I say, what the hell do I—
"Yame!"
The hand stops. Seven red eyes turn on me. Asa looks over one of Regigigas' fingers. I shake my head; I have nothing more to give them. White hands twitch.
"Kare wa hanashitai desu," says Asa.
My jaw hangs open but the Bulbasaur's eyes widen and he nods furiously: "Get on with it!"
I look to Regigigas, white skin tinted pink-red from the fire.
"The pain never goes away, does it?" I say.
"Itami wa kesshite kiemasen, ne?" says Asa.
"But you can't let it consume everything like this…"
Flames roared, not far from us now.
"Demo, kono you ni subete o yakitsukusaseru koto wa dame desu yo."
"The pain of death is part of it all, the cycle of nature, it's what makes the world change."
"Shi no itami wa zen no ichibu, seimei no junkan, sekai o kaeru no mono desu."
"It's the gift of life."
"Jinsei no atae desu."
"It's the gift God gave you."
"Kami ga ataeta okurimono desu."
"Take it."
"Tottekudasai."
"Don't waste it."
"Muda ni shinaide onegaishimasu."
The Jewel of Life hangs loose in Asa's vines. Regigigas gets down on one knee and lowers us to the ground, then extends their hand. Asa places it in their palm. They close their fist and straighten, and a holy cry rings across Itori. Across the land, far and wide, come the cries of their brethren. Slowly, Regigigas walks towards them.
Their footsteps shake the ground so hard I stumble. Asa reaches out his vines to catch me but I end up taking him down as well. I feel his body twitching, I scrape at the grass and earth with my claws, but neither of us can move. Raindrops fall, rolling down my cheeks. Fire crackles and hisses around us.
I wish my students were here with me.
(Tobias POV)
It's raining.
I'm running through Ruby Forest. Running, running, running. I won't let myself cry, because Alex is fine. He'll be fine. It was only an eighty foot drop, not enough to be fatal to a—
To a human…
I'm running through hanging vines, squinting my eyes against burning debris, side-stepping to dodge patches of dragonfire, almost slipping over charred grass. Everything is a blur or pink and red and black. A mist is settling in.
I call Alex's name. I stop to ask a passing Liepard for help.
"Have you seen a…"
The Ruby Pokémon stared at me, confused.
I keep running. I clamber over a fallen tree trunk, swim across a stream, charge through a thorny bush. I see a shape.
"Alex!"
He's lying flat on his back, eyes closed. His tunic has been ripped open, revealing the brown skin underneath. I skid to my knees beside him. My hands hover, afraid to touch him.
"No…"
I place my hands on his bare chest. I try to speak to him. I shake him. I yell. I shoot water in his face. I grab his tunic, so hard it tears in another place. I grab him by the shoulders, try forcing him into a sitting position. I'm not strong enough to lift him.
"Alex…" I choke, as my eyes begin to burn, "you can't…" It's not fair. It's not his fault.
"You're my best friend. I can't live without you. I've built my life with you. I was so close to giving up… I thought it was my destiny to fail, that every single person I trusted would turn on me, that it wasn't possible for someone to love me anymore. Even to Khan I thought I was just some idiotic nuisance he couldn't turn away. But you've opened my eyes. I know what love means now, and it's you."
Alex is not moving.
"Alex… Alex…"
Tears fall from my face and patter against his body. They're sparkling. I think they're catching the light from the fading dragonfire, but the more I shed, the brighter they become. They're being drawn into Alex's body, and suddenly I can see tendrils running through him, like his nervous system is lighting up. Then a wave of red comes shining through the trees.
Tiny buds of light rise from Alex's body, yellow and white. I cling on tighter, not knowing what's happening. They rise in front of my face. I try to catch one in my hand. It goes right through me. It feels warm. I look down at Alex again. The orbs are getting bigger, the size of his human fists. Tears fall again, make tiny dark dots on the back of his hand.
His body turns white, and a pillar of light rises into the air. He's fading. The light is lifting him into the air. There orbs are even larger now, so big I can barely see him. Then he has no shape. There's nothing left but a sphere of gold.
(Alex POV)
Tobias.
Tobias is staring up at me from the floor of Ruby Forest. I try to look down at myself, but I can't. I have no form.
I'm rising higher and higher into the sky. I know what's happening. I'm dying at last. Well, I suppose it was a long time coming, wasn't it?
No. No it wasn't. I had so much left to do, so much left to see, and to be. I want to live.
I'm being asked a question. I don't hear it. It's more like I feel it. I can't quite express it in words, but if I had to try, it would sound something like this:
"Do you want to change?"
What is it asking, exactly? If I had another chance at life, would I go back? Be a Charmander again? Wouldn't that be a lie? I was born a human. This is who I was meant to be, wouldn't anything else be a…
No.
I don't believe that. I don't believe I was "meant" to be anything. There's no grand scheme where I have to be what I'm expected to be. I've changed before, and every single time, it was for the better. There's nothing on earth stopping me from changing right now, expect myself. The only person who gets to decide who I am… is me.
Everything goes white.
Purple eyes.
Tobias' mouth hangs open. I feel the cold teardrops falling from his face, followed by a swell of energy through my body, up into my brain, my hands, my feet, my flame.
"Alex!"
He hugs me tight. His arms wrap all the way around me. He lifts me up like I weigh nothing. I feel my tail perk up behind my back. I don't even have to look to know its fire is burning brightly. I've made the right choice.
"Tobias…" I say, hugging him back. My voice is my own again.
"What…" he looks me up and down. "What happened?"
I think for a moment. Then I take a step back, turn, and let out a roaring Flamethrower. It meets a sky pouring with rain, but it feels like a ray of summer sun. And then, a moment later, it finally does shine through the clouds. Beside us, Cherubi laugh and dance, and Cherrim blossom in the golden light.
I look at Tobias and smile. "I changed."
My soul decided its own fate. My human past will always be a part of me, but my Pokémon life my my own. I never needed to choose one or the other. I only needed to understand.
I am Alex Albion. Human, and Pokémon both.