Galar.
Wyndon City.
One Year Ago.
"Cynthia, are you busy right now?"
His voice called out through the darkness, calling her name. Almost immediately, her attention was dragged away from the social media feed that she had been scrolling through. "Pardon?"
Across the table from her directly, Ash sat. His face was in distress.
"Is something wrong, Ash?"
"Yes! Erm,.. well technically, no." Ash leaned back in his chair and exasperated dramatically. He tossed his arms up into the air and groaned. "I have to say, it kind of feels like the end of the world though."
He was wearing a bright white sweatshirt with a small pokeball design near the top left of his chest. In his right hand, he clutched a pencil, and she eyed smudge marks dusting his face and palm. "Ah, I see what your issue is."
Cynthia stood up from her seat. She could already see where this was going.
"Haha... yeah. This is the most awful thing I have ever gone through."
Slowly, the blonde woman made her way around the large table."Ash, homework isn't the end of the world. Nor is it nearly as bad. I figure you of all people would know that."
Ash sighed and dropped his head onto the hardwood. The words that followed came out muffled, "I can't even tell you how many times I've almost seen the world end. And I'm telling you, this is so much worse." His voice was whining, but it didn't particularly annoy her. Nothing he did ever seemed to. Despite the fact until a couple weeks ago, he was literally still a child. She could see that it was coming from a place of not only discontent but playfulness.
She's figured him out over the last couple months. He was too proud to ask for her help directly and was trying to find a way to get her to offer it instead.
Ever since becoming the monarch, Ash had been giving a load of extra responsibilities. Considering he was still legally underadge when he first won the title, the table of champions had collectively decided to split his workload between the seven of them and help the newcomer bare his responsibility properly. Ever since, they have been slowly integrating him into the workflow. Despite this, the boy has found himself drowning in the paper work. Even with the lightened workload he was struggling to keep up.
It also didn't help that his champion responsibilities were not his only responsabilites.
As it it turns out, Ash wasn't nearly as well educated as the rest of the champions. Instead of walking the route of education, he decided to leave home at 10 years old in order to become a champion. The result was him never attending any sort of schooling whatsoever for past eight years. Thus, his reading and writing comprehension was no better than that of a school boy.
In order to compensate for this, he was mandated to enroll in middle and high school summer school courses until he finished a decades worth of schooling in less than 12 months. His programs were in no way intense, but the workload itself was immense, and she could see that he was struggling, despite how hard he was trying.
Due to the nature of transitioning to a new grand monarch, a few of the higher ranking champions have stuck around in wyndon in order to help smooth the process over even further. To be specific, those champions being Lance and her.
Lance, being the champion of not only Kanto, but it's neighboring region of Johto, would have to split his time not only between those regions, but his own champion duties. This of course meant that his hands were beyond full, forcing him to come and go periodically as his schedule would allow.
Somehow, and In someway, Cynthia had ended up living with the boy almost together in the high sky rises of Wyndon.
At first, it was worrying. Leaving Sinnoh to fend for itself. But she realized that she could realistically pass of most of her own responsibilities to her elite four members, whom she was already paying more than a handsome salary out too, only really to fight challengers once every six months or so.
So she decided to take it for what it was. A mini vacation with a little work, a lot of time to herself.
It was a nice escape from her busy reality.
Over the weeks, she's gotten to know Ash better, considering she's spent almost all her time with him. It's gotten to a point where he's become a part of her routine, and as their connection grows, a distant, ugly feeling slowly begins to develop deep within the warm fuzzy happiness that was all consuming.
She eats breakfast with him, they train their pokemon together, he spends the afternoon working on school, they train again, he studies and works on his monarch responsibilities through the evening, and she kinda just sits with him now. She is almost always in his presence.
Despite his struggles, by this point, he's taken on over 80% percent of his responsibilities, and he rarely has questions for her regarding them. There's not much reason for her to be overseeing him like she is... but she just can't seem to admit she's ready to let go.
She tells herself that it's because she also needs the vacation, and that she is needed. But deep down she knows her help is hardly warranted. Any advice regarding his champion duties at this point could very easily be taken care of over call.
Every time she lies to herself about it thee ugly feeling grows and grows. From a seed, to a pit, to a thorny bush inside her garden of good feels.
She's a glorified tutor. She's wasting her time. A champion like herself shouldn't abandon her people in the pursuit of her own self interests.
"Uhm, Cynthia?" Ash interrupted her thoughts. "Are you okay? You seem...out of it."
Snapping back to reality, the woman realized she was now sitting beside Ash at the table in the communal space of their 8 bedroom apartment suite. The entire top building of Galar's biggest building, the battle tower, was actually a penthouse in which only the champions had access. Each one had their own room, and could come and go as they please. The purpose of it was originally for a secure meeting place, but as a favour to Leon, Rose had converted the entire floor from a small battle field to a giant apartment with enough space for eight spoiled champions. Leon practically lived here while he was the Grand monarch, stating that it was 'The only place he could always find while riding on charizard,'.
It was silly, but it had eventually become their collective home away from home, and let the champions have a place where they could just be themselves, with people in similar situations to their own.
"Cynthia?"
"Oh, Ash! Sorry! What were you saying?"
"Uhm... gosh, sorry. Y'know, you don't have to help me." His mood grew heavy, and his eyes darkened. "I don't want to be a nuisance to you."
She fretted. "You're not Ash. I swear, I am more than happy to help you."
Ash tapped the eraser end of his pencil against his open notebook rapidly. "Are you sure...? Because you seem to be spacing out a lot lately. I'm worried."
"Don't worry. I was just lost in thought for a moment." She waved and turned her head down toward his notes. She grabbed another pencil from the mug of writing utensils that placed in the centre of the table. "Y'know how it is. My job keeps me thinking; just a lot on my mind. Now...let's see what you're struggling with here."
"...If you say so," he was hesitant, but he also turned toward his work. "I'm struggling to factor this equation."
He used the graphite end of the pencil to point toward the equation he was talking about. It was a simple difference of squares question, likely from eight or ninth grade level. "Hmm. You were struggling with this yesterday too."
Embarrassed, he nodded. "Yeah, I don't really understand how im supposed to get one number from two. It doesn't make sense. Especially when I'm doing it for negative numbers. How can I take out something from two numbers that are equal to less than nothing? It doesn't make sense."
She paused to think about it for a moment. When the concept is understood, the factoring is obvious. But when the process is still being comprehended, it's natural to struggle with seeing where the steps and process need to stem from. She noticed that he tended to approach any math or science based questions from a practical perspective, rather than a logical one.
She's been helping him almost every day. And Every day she does help she learns one more facet about how he thinks. The more he opens up about it, and the more she pieces together how his brain works, the more she finds herself facisanted.
He isn't like a regular person. While he posses an incredible battle iq for pokemon battles and the ability to think on the spot and under immense pressure, he lacks any sort of complex logical brain capacity. It's not that he's incapable, it's just that subcounsly his brain has seemed to almost shut down the idea of thinking in a certain away, as if was useless to him.
"Think about it like this," Cynthia grabbed the page and drew a box beneath the numbers. She attempted to explain it to him in more simple terms, by drawing comparisons to things he understood well, like pokemon battles.
It was simple and childish, but the approach just as effective nonetheless. Despite his struggle with the rather simple algebra, she found his dedicated to learning admirable. Like in everything else in his life, he absolutely refused to give up, no matter how hard it seemed.
Through and through, Ash is the embodiment of perseverance.
After about half an hour of her assisting him on some of his last questions for the night, the boy would yawn and then lean back into his chair. "You know what, I think that's enough for tonight. I think I'll continue this tomorrow."
Ash folded his notebook closed and put his mechanical pencil on top of it. "I think I'll do a little training before hitting the hay." He let out a big yawn as he rose from his seat. But before walking away he gave a big smile to cynthia. "Thank you so much for helping me Cynthia. I really appreciate it."
*THUMP THUMP*
"Uhm-!" Her heart felt like it skipped a beat. She felt like she almost fell out of her seat. "Yeah! It's no problem, Ash! I'm always happy to help."
"I know. You're the only reason I've been able to get as far as I have over these last few months."
*THUMP THUMP*
He scratched under his nose with a single finger before reaching for an apple from a basket at the end of the table. After grabbing it and taking a large bite, he called out for his partner, mouth half-full of partly chewed food. "CMON PIKACHU! TRAINING TIME!"
In the distance, he heard the faint call of a tired 'Pika-pi~"
He giggled and swallowed his food. "Pikachu was probably sleeping."
Before walking off toward the distance, he turned back toward her. "See ya-!"
Right as he began to walk off, Cynthia jumped up from her own seat. "Wait!" She practically yelled. The she flushed red with embarrassment. She was not acting like herself in the slightest.
A look of worry brewed across his face. "Is something wrong?"
She shook her head, "n-no, nothing is wrong." She cleared her throat. "I was just wondering if... if you can make room for one more?"
Ash tilted his head to the side, visibly confused. "Hmm? What do ya mean?"
She pointed toward the belt of pokeballs that was slung around her waist. "Need a training partner?"
Almost instantly, his eyes lit up like a kid seeing the stars for the first time. A giant smile broke across his face, so rich in genuineness that she could feel herself coming onto a sugar rush.
"You mean like we can train together!?" He was practically jumping in place. "I WOULD LOVE TO TRAIN WITH A CHAMPION."
She laughed. "You're also a champion!"
He fell out of his laugh and scratched nervously at the back of his neck. "Oh yeah... I always forget about that part. Haha.."
She gestured toward the elevator. "Well, lets go then. It's already late, don't want to waste too much time."
He burst into a sprint toward the elevator across the the large living room. "Yep! I'll meet you there! I just gotta grab my pokemon from my room!"
Just like that, he vanished from sight. The only thing she could hear was his faint yells toward pikachu, calling for the mouse to get ready to train with a champion.
Cynthia simply smiled to herself before also heading toward the elevator, albeit much slower than he was going. She could already tell that she was going to be up late tonight.
Her smile only doubled in size. Maybe her time could be better spent, but as it currently stood, she wouldn't rather be doing anything else with it.
Alola
Melemele Island
Present Day
"So let me get this straight." Kukui did his best to keep a straight face as he talked. While mind was still putting the pieces together, his feelings were in an internal state of borderline combustion. "You are trying to find and/or get revenge on Ash's killer, correct?"
Both champions nodded in sync from their position across the picnic table in his backyard. The sound of lightly crashing waves filled in the silence. "Revenge is not how I phrased it... but yes, technically, that's correct." Lance finally stated hesitantly after not receiving a response from Kukui.
"...and your plan to do this is what, exactly?"
"Ah, you see, that's the issue." Cynthia let out a nervous laugh. "We don't have a plan yet." She narrowed her gaze. "But do not let that deter you. For now, we are only trying to gather as many close contacts that we know we can trust. We plan to bridge out from there, depending on how it goes. As you would imagine, any real plan of action would have to come after securing people willing to participate.
"Okay." Kukui rubbed his temple vigorously. His gentle headache from before was now pounding intensely. "That doesn't seem... okay, uhm, who have you managed to gather so far?"
"So far," Lance let his words hang for a second, building the tension. Only to have it drop like a brick and smash into a million tiny pieces against the floor. "Zero. You are our first attempt."
Kukui stared at them, eyes void of any emotion. "You have to be kidding."
Cynthia shook her head feverishly. "Professor, I feel inclined to tell you that it's a rather difficult challenge trying to find those who fit our criteria. Naturally, it's going to be a process for us trying to gather enough trustworthy yet powerful trainers."
"I imagine..." He tilted his head to the side and crossed his arms. "What I'm wondering is why you two care so much. I know Ash was acquaintance, but he was essentially a competitor for you. At most, a colleague, no? Not to mention I'm quite skeptical of two long standing, highly respected champions working directly under the league planning a coup against their makers."
Cynthia's eyes widened. "Wait, so you suspect the League as well?"
Lance smiled and crossed his arms as well, matching the body language of the man dressed in nothing but a lab coat and khaki pants. "I knew it. The two of us drawing the same conclusion might have been a natural coincidence, but if all three of us happened to have the same suspican than it must have some sort of merit."
The professor grinded his teeth. "You two seem pretty chipper for people supposedly seeking revenge and justice on a 'fallen comrade' or whatever you called him. You realize this was a living, breathing human who was ripped from our hands, right? Personally, the pain I'm feeling is like nothing I've ever experience before. My ability to even conduct normal behaviour is hanging on by a tiny little thread right now. You must see how sketchy this all this, right?"
Cynthia nodded understandingly. Her sympathy was much more apparent than that of the Kantonian champion. "Professor... these are trying times for us all. Ash's death... took a lot out of me as well. I'm not even sure the reality of the situation has fully sunken in for me yet, either. I am shook-"
"Don't. Even." Kukui cut her off. He seethed under his breath. "Do not speak to me as if you can possibly even relate. Kukui aggressively pointed toward the door of his house with his thumb. "Another word about your pain and you can get your pompous asses OFF of my property."
Cynthia's eyes widened. Lance's reaction was not as dramatic. Instead, the dragon trainer stuck his two hands out toward the professor, palms facing the mans face. "Please, we mean not offend you. We want nothing more than to be allies. Your aggression is in ill faith."
If it wasn't for the fact that out of the corner of his eye, he had spotted his wife hiding behind the corner, quietly listening in, he might have flipped out in a way unbecoming of a regional professor. Using up whatever small semblance of self-control that remained, he stuffed his hands into the empty pockets of his lab coat and clenched his fits tight. The trimmed nails of his fingers dug deep into his palms. He made no reaction to the pain.
"Okay, I-" He paused, took a long and deep breathe, before speaking again. "Fine. Fine. I... I am... I apologize for my outburst. My grief is... still fresh. These wounds have yet to scar."
A gentle look of sympathy fell upon the face of the blonde across from him. She understood his pain more than he would ever be able to understand. "Do not fret. I understand."
Lance jumped in as well. "We both do. Perhaps we should have found a different way to approach you. But, it is our duty as the champions of the people to not only be pillars of society, but support them in their time of need. You need help, Kukui. We all do. Why can't we help each other?"
Kukui mumbled, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Lance nodded, "indeed."
Another moment of silence passed before anyone said anything. Both Lance and Cynthia felt it would be better if they let the man think. Kukui dug his hands farther into the pockets of his coat before speaking again. "You came here to speak to me in person because our phones are tapped. How do you know?
"Well, both of -"
"How have you been communicating with each other? Why are you so persistent in the procurement of justice, despite the fact that this matter has little to do with you, and why would you choose to help alola over your own regions. That responsibility does not belong to you."
Lance didn't hesitate to respond. "From what I've seen here today, Kukui, I can tell that you that you know exactly why we stand here today. Not only for our own personal justice, but justice for all those affected by this. It is the duty of the strong to remain strong in the face of grief in order to protect those who can't protect themselves. I know you are doing the same. We know of the situation in Alola, and you must feel as you have to carry the burden of salvation on your shoulders despite cripple grief you are experiencing. Man to man, Trainer to Trainer... Father to Father, Kukui, I know what that pressure is like. I am honoured that you have even decided to hear us out this morning. I only hope that in the coming days, we can help you make Alola feel more secure in their loss. I hope that we can help restore order despite their grief. We have people who work under us taking over the our duties at home. For now, both me and Cynthia are dedicated to first helping you work through this situation by providing any sort of aid you or the people of Alola may require. Consider us foreign aid."
Kukui noticed how the woman had fallen quiet. She no longer displayed any sort of emotion, hiding whatever she was feeling behind a veil of stoicism. Perhaps his comments had affected her more than he thought they would.
Lance resumed talking after giving his words a moment to sink in. "We want nothing more than to offer our hand, and in exchange, your help in the procurement of justice, if you ever feel like it is warranted."
"There is nothing I want more than justice, Lance. I want to find whoever took his life and take theirs by my own... but I know it changes nothing. I've been in a situation like this before. Revenge is never at the end of the path of the right. What's the point?"
"You may see it as revenge, but we see it as justice. Ash was a friend, almost family to us both. He was special in ways I would never admit to anyone else. The boy was something special, and I won't be able to rest until i've done everything I possible can in his name."
Another beat of silence, before Kukui gently nodded. "That's... something we share, then."
Lance also nodded in return. He stole a quick glance at his female companion. She was still silent, simply staring at the man. To be honest, Lance had no idea what she was truly thinking. She hid her actual feelings behind so many different layers of lies that it was simply impossible to figure out how she truly felt about the loss.
But he does know that Cynthia was very close to Ash before his death. Out of anyone on the table of champions she was the mostly likely to take it the hardest, secondly only to Iris.
Lance peeled his gaze from her and reached down into the bag that he had been carrying with him. From it he pulled some metallic looking device from it and put it down onto the table. "Now, as for how we communicate..." he slid the odd device across the table's scratched surface. It bounced and rattled and come to a stop just before Kukui. The professor started curiously at it for a moment, drawing his attention away from the feelings still eating away at the back of his brain.
"They fancy little devices encrypt any outgoing binary with some sort of secure private server. They allow us to send small text messages back and forth with anyone sharing the same server. There are only ten in circulation, and the one I gave you is the third one to go out. I commissioned these from a trusted source. I ensure you that they are equipped with military grade encryption technology."
Lance looked over to Cynthia once more, as if he was nudging her along to say her own piece. But the woman refused to say anything at all.
"We are here to help in any capacity you need. It is my sworn promise as the Champion of Kanto and Johto." Lance stuck his hand out. "Let us support you. We have access to resources. We can aid the people of Alola while still recruiting for others to join the cause."
"That's the thing. You don't have access to resources though, do you?." Kukui's voice began to edge toward a more accusatory tone. "The League, the monsters who control you, have resources. You're nothing more than a pawn whose only job is to execute whatever will they impose upon yo-"
"I am no such thing!" It was Lance's turn to interrupt the man. "We are most certainly not what you describe." Lance narrowed his eyes. "Your distrust for us is only natural, but I promise you, that we have the same goal."
"Perhaps you're more naive than I thought." Kukui stood up from his seat. His tone going from accousitroy to aggressive. "Do you think a puppet know when it's on strings?"
Lance stood his ground while continuing to defend the both of them. "We are not, and will never be controlled by anyone! We stand and fight for what we, ourselves, believe is right. I assure you, Professor."
"PLEASE! You are the longest standing champion with the league and have been operating under them essentially since their inception. If anyone is being controlled and manipulated, it's certainly you. Even if you don't realize it."
Lance went to open his mouth, but was interrupted by the woman who had kept her silence for a moment. She shot up from her seat, and stuck her hand out toward his face.
"Lance," her words were quiet and surprisingly calm. "He's mourning, and in pain. Your words won't get us anywhere anymore."
Kukui narrowed his own eyes at her. Something about her mood had shifted, but he couldn't put his finger on what.
"What do you propose we do then?" Lance asked her.
Cynthia turned toward Kukui, "in Alola, it's a custom to communicate your feelings through battle, correct?" Her eyes flared, and the professor felt himself almost jump out of his skin. They burned with a sense of urgency and ferocity that set goosebumps trailing down his limbs. "Battle me, Professor. Let my conviction speak for itself."
"As if that would prove anything." While she was correct about the customs of Alola, he obviously had little interesting in battling at the moment. How could he possibly take the time to battle when his region was falling apart?
"I got to know Ash well over the past year, Professor. I spent upwards of 14 months living with him in the same building."
"Where are you going with this."
Cynthia presented a shiny red pokeball in her left palm. "You of anyone should know the kinds of bonds one can build with someone after spending so much time with them. Especially someone like Ash."
His body froze in place. Completely involuntarily, the memories of his time with his feux son came rushing back. The late nights spent cooking, watching the masked royale, or slowly figuring out new ways of training his new pokemon. He thought of the school days spent exploring a vast array of different topics, watching how his releaships with his friends evolved overtime, and how he became the hero of Alola
He remembers the overwhelming feeling of pride when Ash had managed to topple him in an all out brawl to become the first ever champion of his own pokemon league, or that late eveningb watching in sickening anticipation as he batted with all of his might against Leon on the TV...all of it. How the boy was there at his wedding, how he managed to not only be both his most accomplished student, but someone who had quickly managed to worm his way deep into his heart. It had barely been a blip before the boy had come and gone, yet there would forever be a spot in his family for him.
Kukui felt his heart grew heavy. He realized she was correct.
Subtlety, he wiped away the stray tear that had managed to fall. "Fine then. Show me your conviction."
The professor took a step back. "A battle is... lets just make it fast, alright? If your point is as strong as you say, it shouldn't take very long for me to see what you want me to see."
Cynthia bowed. "Very well. I thank you for this opportunity."
"We can battle... on the beach. Follow me down." Kukui walked off toward the waterfront. His steps were hasty, likely to avoid keeping his bare feet on the hot sand for too long. She didn't hesitate to slip off her shoes and follow him down.
Despite her own thoughts and feelings, she was determined to show him. To convince the man of their mission and will.
Lance followed directly behind her. He whispered something quietly, "are you sure this is the correct course of action? Uhm, I don't either of you are really fit to be battling-"
"It doesn't matter, Lance." She whipped back, her body still moving forward as they continued to follow the man. "We need him. Not only is he a champion level trainer in his own right, he was practically Ash's father. If anyone deserves justice, he does."
Lance went quiet after that. She wasn't sure if it was because he was satisfied with her answer, or because he wanted to take more time to digest it.
After what felt like three minutes of walking, Kukui stopped. His feet were buried in the dark coloured sand just before where the waves of the sparking ocean meet the land.
"This should be plenty. I suspect however that this battle will not last very long. If you're anywhere near as proficient as I've heard over some very long phone calls, then this shouldn't be much of a battle anyway. Cheers to your goodbye." Kukui turned toward her after he finished speaking. She was only about half a regulation sized battle field length away from him.
His words implied this is where the battle would take place. Both she and Lance understood that. The dragonmaster quickly made his way off to her left in order to not be in the way. He found a washed up long near a long wooden staircase that lead to a more public boardwalk, and took his seat there.
Cynthia drew in a deep breath and removed a pokeball from her pocket. "Are you ready, professor?" She asked politely, her voice carried by the sea bound wind.
Kukui focused his gaze. She was the calmest she had been since he discovered them trespassing. It was odd, for how tense the situation felt. "Of course."
He lobbed his pokeball into the air. Incineroar burst out from the bubble energy that was released upon it opening. The dark type wrestler immediately fell into a battle stance.
"Very well then." Cynthia threw her arm out to the side, and her pokeball was sent hurtling forward. It opened in the same flash of energy.
Kukui braced himself for her most formidable pokemon. He had purposefully intended in sending out incineroar, despite knowing that it has a type disadvantage toward her ace. He never had any intention of winning this battle. Cynthia was notorious for her strength, only ever surpassed live by Leon and Ash. He wasn't foolish enough to think he could take her; especially not without extensive training and preparation. She was a different kind of monster.
When Garchomp finally materialized, the loose sand below them blew away from the sheer strength of it's impact with the ground. Kukui stared at her and sighed. It only proved to cement his point further.
She frowned. "Is something the matter?"
"Of course not. Let's just get this over with, please. Use darkness lariat."
The fiery wrestler immediately launched into a spinning attack that hurdled toward the dragon. Cynthia remained completely stoic, merely nodded once. That seemed to be enough for Garchomp to understand what she was trying to say, as the beast jumped into the air in order to avoid the attack.
Kukui noted how she didn't have to say anything in order to give a command. The only other person he ls seen do that is Diantha with her Gardevoir. Cynthia must've picked up the trick from her fellow champion.
"The bond between you and Garchomp is evident. Your connection must run very deep."
Cynthia nodded. "He's been my partner since I was a child. We grew up together, and went through life together. My strongest companion."
Kukui nodded. "That's always nice to see. Reminds me of another pair I know." Kukui began to subsciously pick away at a hangnail."Incinaroar, fire blast."
"Cut through it. Dragon claw." She responded in kind.
From the belt of fire around Incineroar's waste, a large ball or molten began to form. After waiting for a moment, the fire type used it's massive paws to grab the ball of magma and throw it up into the air. He then jumped up and smacked it as if he was serving a volleyball. The flames then split into the shape of a star and started flying toward Garchomp.
The dragon type activated a glowing green claw and prepped itself for a moment before lunging forward to meet the flames head on. Swiping down in one massive blow, he cut the flame in two and emerged from the other side unharmed.
"Can I ask you something, Kukui? Before we continue? Why choose a fire type knowing there was a high probability that I would choose Garchomp? Does the inherent advantage not make you weary?"
Kukui simply shook his head. "It doesn't. Maybe before I would've picked something else that would match up better. But a special I knew taught me that no matter what the disadvantage may be, that it can be overcome with enough effort, strategy, skill and dedication."
Cynthia smiled, ever so slightly. "I do know what you mean."
"Now if we could so please-?"
"Of course."
"Bulk up."
"Earth power!"
Incineroar buffed up his chest and flexed it's muscles. Suddenly, they expanded in size and inflated to a size almost double what they once were.
It wasn't much long after that large shards ground beneath that same Pokémon suddenly shot up into it, causing super effective damage.
Incineroar let out grunt of pain as it was launched back. He slammed into the sand and toon a moment to collect himself. After about a moment of no movement, he shot up from the ground with a burning look of determination on his face.
Kukui however, did not share such a look. Cynthia knew from the stories that Ash had told her that Kukui was a very passionate and very strong trainer. It was evident that in his grief, he of course would be unable to channel his own spirit.
while it was less than ideal, she did not really expect anything else. She would prove her conviction despite it all. Se knew he would listen soon. This battle need only continue for a moment longer.
"Swords dance."
Garchomp used a swords dance that raised its attack dramatically.
"Don't let it get the upper hand, use bulk up again-!"
"Give it no chance. Earthquake."
Garchomp stomped onto the ground. It began to split open. The fault grew wider and faster as it approached Incineroar, giving it no chance to counter before it was swallowed up.
Kukui's eyes snapped open. He had been preparing to counter another dragon claw. He had not expected a champion like Cynthia to carry two different ground moves. He figured she would've taught a coverage move like poison jab or iron head to counter different pokemon.
Incineroar struggled to recover. The pokemon was on it's last legs, and it struggled to even properly stand.
At that moment he realized it would be pointless to keep going. He had no chance of winning, and pursuing this any further would only bring unnecessary damage to his partner. Kukui brought his ball up to the air, and prepared to surrender.
"The only thing you've managed to prove to me so far is that I was not prepared to deal with you. I do not understand what you thought you could prove, but I have not been able to see it. I forfie-"
The faint glow of his Z-crystal was the one what interrupted him this time. He looked down toward his Z-bracelet in surprise as a dark energy slowly began to escape from it. "But I never activated it-?"
Cynthia smiled from across from him. "Maybe not you, but him." She pointed at his pokemon. A look of killer determination was painted across his face. That burning desire to defeat his opponent had only exploded into a raging inferno. "-but I-"
*RAAAWWWRRRRR*
An earth shattering roar of might escaped from incineroar. It had no desire or willingness to give up. He was ready to fight to the end, even against an opponent that felt like an insurmountable wall.
"He's not ready to give up. So why are you?"
Kukui stared at his own pokemon. For just a brief second he felt every other feeling wash away. Seeing his partner so determined... it reminded him of who he was. Of who he was supposed to be. Of who he used to be.
"I see. I understand you Incineroar. Very well then." The black light slowly started to seep out of his z-crystal as his crossed his arms over his chest. "Incineroar wants to show you everything that we got. I suppose he does deserve to let loose."
Lance watched what unfold with a steady smile. White the situation was far less than ideal, it was going about as well as it could. He understood what her plan was now.
Cynthia stuck her arm out. "Brace yourself, Garchomp."
The black light turned into what seemed to be some sort of viscus energy as it slowly overcame both incineroar and it's trainer. Cynthia noted how this didn't look like a typical black hole eclipse z-move.
"Time to incinerate the ring!" Energy coursed through his veins. Power and excitement filled his soul. "Malicious Moonsault!" For the slightest of moments, the only thing that mattered was this. He managed to escape the noise.
Kukui performed a series of dance moves that was followed by a wrestling ring of fire consuming both pokemon. Both creatures let out a roar before incinerator jumped up onto the ropes and launched itself high into the air. A dark aura consumed the pokemon as it hurdled toward the garchomp at an immense speed.
Kukui and Cynthia braced, while Lance watched in anticipation as the distance between the two pokemon closed. The Dragon tamer expected the aftermath of the collision to be an explosion of intense heat waves and air pressure. He drew his cape and hid behind it, bracing even more than the trainers in the field. He closed his eyes and...
nothing.
He waited.
Five seconds passed.
Nothing
Ten passed.
Even more nothing.
Slowly, the man gained the courage to open his eyes, but when he did, he was greeted by nothing but a soft breeze that wafted through the evening air, and the same smell of ocean that had permeated his senses.
The beach was empty. There was no impact, no pokemon, or people.
It was just him, the shells and the trees.
Sinnoh
Undisclosed Location
Present Day
Spoilers for Pokemon: Legends Arceus. Contains Characters/Plot lines from the game.
"Back when I was a child, my mother foretold of a prophecy."
"A prophecy?"
"Yes. It spoke of a girl who would fall from the sky and would rupture the balance of Hisui forever."
"From the sky? Hisui?"
Their eyes moved back and forth in a dangerous dance. He was still scared, and she was doing everything she can to ease the worry and fear that she had incited.
"Yes. Hisui is... The very land we stand on now, from before. You call it, Sinnoh." She gestured around with her hands. He jumped every time she did. "I've lived here ever since Arceus inflicted my curse upon me. A divine punishment."
"Areus? Who's Arceus?"
The woman clenched her fist. "He was... is the god. The omniscient one who watches over us all. We mortals exist sherely by his will."
"I don't understand... This 'god' you speak of..." Ash tilted his head to the side, clearly confused. "If he is almighty, why not just... kill you? Snap you out of existence, or something. Why gift you with a prolonged life?"
"As I said.." She looked down, an incredible weight made itself known upon her shoulders. "It may seem like a gift, but it's not. The pain and eternal suffrage never quite become easier to bare. Seeing the ones you love die over and over and over until you can no longer bare it and you let the loneliness become your only friend. It's a fate I would never wish upon my worst enemy."
Silence coated the room like a heavy blanket. Only the faint call of kricketot filled the dead nightly air. "I angered him, now I live like this-"
"What do you want from me?" He asked quietly, practically whispering, but still managing to interrupt what she was saying.
"I need you to remember who you were. It may be my only path to salvation. 400 years spent living on this plane has gotten me all but nowhere. I merely desire to move onto the next one."
Digging down to a place deep inside of him, he grabbed what few scattered pieces of courage remained and packed them tightly together. "I am not even sure of who I am. Why would I even help you? What reason do I have to trust you?"
She folded her arms over the table properly. "It's not a matter of trust. Trust me or do not. Fact of the matter is, you are the same as me. Down to your very core." Her body lit up in white once again. "Open your mind for just a moment. See my truth. Perhaps it will help you understand."
He stared at her, eyes determined yet fearful. "How am I supposed to do that?"
"Your Aura." She responded cordially, "Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Try and feel your Aura. Just for a moment. Listen to it, and I'll do the rest."
Hesitantly, he followed her instructions. Closing his eyes and taking a deep inhale of air, he tried to feel that same sensation as the forest. He tried to recall what lead him to using it. The desperation and strong emotion.
"Feel it coursing through your veins," her voice filled the void in his mind. "Be one with you."
It was only for the briefest of seconds, but he felt it. The same sensation as when he was lying dead in the forest. The heat rising in his soul and the sting flowing through every part of his body.
"I got it-" He interrupted himself, as it began to slowly fade again. He could feel the same feeling disappearing just as quickly as it had found its way to him. "I'm slipping-!"
"Very well." He heard her call over the screaming in his mind. "It's enough."
The darkness in his mind then began to fade away.
Many Years Ago
Hisui Region
Green fields and rolling hills stretched for miles over the distance before morphing into a heaven piercing mountain range. Trees filled with berries and pokemon were scattered around randomly placed ponds of water. The sky was a dark blue contrasted by the soft fluffy clouds sat high in the sky.
'It's incredible...' Ash took a minute to admire the ethereal beauty of the scene infront of him. 'Where am I?' His voice was faded and echoey. It sounded as if it was more of a thought then actual noise.
'Your are nowhere. Your physical body remains infront of me at the table. However, what you're seeing is my home, Hisui.' Cogia's voice was like his own. It was faded and echoing all around. It was as if they were standing right next to each other in a cave.
'How am I able to see this?' He observed the surroundings. Many creatures, both large and small, frolicked in the fields. Some traveled in packs, while others moved along by their lonesome. It was serene, seeing how they all existed in a perfect harmony.
'You are seeing the world from my eyes. Viewing my memories. I linked our Aura channels together and we are now connected in a way that allows us to share them.'
'..Does that mean I could do the same?'
A black, gloved hand reached out into view. It was attached to pale arm that looked as if it was own from his perspective, but he knew it wasn't. It was too short, too thin and too feminine.
'Technically, yes. But I've had many lifetimes to study these abilities. You solely possess the gift, with an innate inability to control it. For now, you should reserve your questions for after. Our link will not last forever, and given how my abilities are rather weak, and yours essentially dormant, I do not want to test our luck.'
'Your abilities are weak?'
He recalled how she not only masked her appearance, but shook the entire house with the shockwaves emitting from her power. Now she's sharing her memories in perfect clarity to the point where he can specatre through her eyes. To him, it was as if she was a god herself with the sheer amount of power she has in her possession.
'Because they are not my own.' She responded, her voice still bouncing around the inside of his brain. 'You will see what I mean, momentarily. For now, try not to do anything but observe. I do not want to severe our link.'
The scene infront of them slowly shifted, morphing into an odd sight. A blond boy, who bore a blue jacket and cap stood In front of him. He had an abrasive look on his face, and he was holding an odd looking pokeball. It appeared to be made of wood.
'The man you are seeing right now is Volo. He is somebody... important to this tale.'
Ash moved his head to look around the environment they were in. A small wooden enclosure with a hexagonal design. A small bed were behind them, and four robust bookshelves brimming with literature lined the empty walls. There was a desk on the last free wall space, with a lit lantern placed upon it.
'I never had any intention of leading him wrong, but Volo had far since strayed off the path of the right by the time he had found me. He fed me lie after lie, and I bought it all. Like a fool. He had come to me with a proposal, one that I struggled to refuse.'
"Cogita." Volo stared into the eyes of past cogita as he spoke. To Ash, it was as if the blonde man was speaking to directly to him. His voice was clear and loud, as if he was really in the room with them. "Does the notion of death scare you?"
"Of course it does. But that's only for now. I'm sure one day I'll make peace with the idea of moving onto the next world." When she spoke, it sounded similar but not the same. Her voice was loud and was booming. It was distinctly different from her voice that communicated with him through the aura. He must be both hearing her thoughts and her speech at the same time. Or something of the sort, he wasn't sure how this worked.
When Volo then proceeded to laugh at her, Ash felt a shiver run down his spine. The laugh seemed innocent enough on the surface, but something about it rubbed him the wrong way. It was too long and too fake. "Really? You see, I personally don't fear death. It's a natural part of life. We are born, we live, we die."
"What do you want, Volo?" Her voice was edging on slight frustration. "Are you just looking to dump your Ideals or is there something else you need?"
"You always have had a keen eye, Cogita. Although I guess I have been fairly obvious tonight."
Volo walked along the inside of the walls. He dragged his finger along the neatly complied spines of books. "I don't fear death, but it's also not like I wish to die just yet. You understand, surely?"
"I do," when her arms crossed over her body, Ash felt a tingly sensation run up him. It was like he could almost feel them touching his own body, like a thin wall numbness was the only thing separating his own feelings and hers.
"... I know you collect ancient knowledge. Knowledge that even those twisted clan leaders would be foaming at the mouth for." He stopped on a thick book lined with black leather. He pulled it out suddenly and Ash caught a glimpse at it's cover. It's title was written in a language he didn't understand, but it had two distinct gold accents on the top and bottom of the cover. "I want to learn more about Giratina."
Cogita walked up to him and tore the book from his hands. "I know not of what you speak."
Ash was sure he had never heard of the name Giratina before, but it caused him to freeze up. It was ominous, and by the way the woman reached, he was correct in thinking so.
Volo rolled his eyes. "Oh please, don't give me that. The devil won't come up to haunt you just because you whisper his name." He clasped his hands together dramatically. "You would know better than anyone that he's been banished to hell for all eternity."
"We don't speak of it. Because there is still much we do not understand. Akin to how you don't play with fire, because it's impossible to control the flame." Ash felt his vision become slightly reduced. She must have narrowed her eyes toward the man. "I think it's time for you leave, Volo."
The distance between them suddenly shrunk. Volo had closed the distance in a fraction of a second. he moved quicker than Ash could have anticipated. "Listen to me, Cogita. Or I'll have you hung for witchcraft. Don't think you're safe from the radicals because a woman is in charge at jubilife village. The people are already skeptical of you, what would they think if they found out about your little hobby here, huh? You'll be burned at the steak. All it would take is a couple clever words and a smidgen of evidence."
Volo ripped the book from her hands. He was stronger than she was and was able to tear it right out of her hands. Ash felt his own heart rate increase. There was something in the soulless grey eyes of the man before him that sent shivers down his spine. He suspected cogita was feeling the same, as the woman was unable to feign stoicism.
"You wouldn't dare. We were like family-"
"Oh but I would." He backed away and tucked the book beneath his arm."Don't make this harder than it has to be."
With that, the man left the small abode. He didn't turn his head back once to check weather or not she would pursue him.
'Volo and I grew up as neighbours in a smaller settlement outside of Jubilife. The two of us use to spent a lot of time together when our parents were out building and scavenging. He became almost like my younger brother, and our relationship was anything but tenuous.'
The scene shifted again, this time showing a quaint village of about only twenty log houses build between two hills on either side. A group of adults dressed in robes and kimonos sat at a picnic table just outside the biggest building in the area. Children ran through the beaten paths that seperated the streets, chasing each other and the small pokemon that lingered around.
'I don't understand... What happened then? Why is he treating you like that?'
'Ah. That was because our parents were suddenly killed one day, when the four of them, along with some others, were out on a expedition. Or that's what we were told. No bodies were ever found of course, but the village people assumed it could have been any of the Alpha Pokemon in the Abester Icelands. But that's besides the point..'
'After our parents' passing, both of us grieved in different ways. I buried myself in the books that my mom had gathered over her years. I'd spend all my time researching all I could about what happens after death. I became obsessed with the idea and attempted to discover everything I could. Volo... he took it even harder than me. He left the village on his own, against even my own pleading and begging. But he couldn't stand the sight of his own home anymore. He became a traveling merchant and never came back. Eventually, our village merged with the ever-prospering jubilife, and I decided to build my own home on what land remains closest to where we grew up. I guess neither of us were fully able to let it go...'
'What happened between then and what I just saw? Because I'm pretty sure he just threatened to kill you...'
'Ah, yes. You're correct about that.'
'Why would he want to do that..?'
'Because somehow, and somewhere along his journey Volo had managed to stray far from the path of the right. At first, he became obsessed with bringing our parents back, but then he learned of Arceus, the all powerful one. Realizing his anger and resentment, Volo swore to bring down to god one day, as he believed that it was Arceus' fault for our parents passing. I don't blame him for thinking that, as our forefathers use to preach the omniscients of Arceus. They were institant that everything that happens is dictated by it's will alone, as such, Volo finally found someone to blame.'
'He spent years chasing after this dream. Over a decade spent endlessly chasing his goal. If he had dedicated his life in the same way toward something else, he could have really be something incredible...'
The scene shifted again. Blue skies turned grey and the sun hid away. Despite wanting to look around, his view was trapped to the gaze of Cogita. He could only see directly what she was witnessing... not that it wasn't interesting.
She was crouched behind a boulder, and it's bumpy grey surface covered the floor of his peripheral. But what lay beyond the rock shook him to his very core. White pillars made of a pristine stone that rose high into the sky lay adjacent on both sides to a perfectly laid brick path. Beyond the pathway were clouds rolling beneath their feat, implying that they were high in the sky. Ash presumed that they must've been atop the peak he saw in the scenery before.
Despite the otherworldly sights to behold, his attention was quickly drawn to the two people standing just at the end of the path. There was a man, and a woman. The man he instantly recognized to be Volo. However, his appearance was much different. The blue coat that he was wearing was replaced with bright white drapes and tasteless golden accents. He also wore an oddly shaped golden pendant that was connected to a loosely hanging necklace.
Something about his outfit invoked an odd feeling in Ash. Distant familiarity and uneasiness all shrouded behind a thick veil of haze that clearly shrouded his mind. It was as if his brain wanted to recall something from deep within his memory, but every time he reached for it, it just pulled further away.
It wasn't just the outfit that worried Ash. It was in conjunction with the absolutely feral look embedded into his features. It was obvious that he was deranged and there was no coming back from it.
Pity and remorse began to swell in his heart, tiny embers of sympathy for the boy who lost everything when he was merely a child. He channeled his pain the wrong way, and now somebody else is going to have to suffer because of it.
In this case, the person suffering was the woman across from him.
A short girl, with dark blue hair that spilled out of a white hairband and into a messy ponytail. She was wearing a blue kimono clearly suited for the cold. She was young, much younger than Volo, and while he couldn't make out much of her face, he could tell by its shape and absolute lack of any signs of ageing that she was likely only a teenager.
She was holding an odd device in her hand and was in a clear defensive stance.
The world around them was still, and only the faint sound of the wind could be heard whipping through the quiet air.
Then, he spoke. Only a few words, but it was enough to make Ash's own skin crawl. As Volo swung his hands around wildly, something was shifting in the world. He felt it down to his very core, even through the vessel of her memory.
"Can't you feel it? The chill creeping through your veins—the eldritch presence icing your heart?"
A large shadow slowly began to form beneath the ground of which he stood, and from it emerged a beast beyond anything from his wildest imaginations. It towered over the scene, and drew wings of shadow that covered his view from anything beyond it.
"Giratina! Strike her down!"
The fear of death was stricken into his heart. He could feel the rational part of his brain fighting, knowing that there was no way any harm could fall onto him, considering he was witnessing an event in the distant past. But there was no way off fighting the primal fear that utterly consumed his being just be merely being in the presence of the beast before him.
Despite that, the blue haired woman had failed to even react. She simply stared down the beast with narrow eyes, and quickly matched it with her own beast. A creature of similar stature and size. It too roared when being released into the world, materializing from seemingly nowhere and immediately blocking the attack that the shadowy first pokemon had sent. The creature the girl had sent out was blue with metal accents on its body, giving it an odd look of something that could hardly be from this world.
He was witnessing an historical event.
"GIRATINA! USE SHADOW FORCE!" The scream of Volo ripped through the mountainside, while subsequent screech of the pokemon he commanded shook the earth itself.
"Strike first. Roar of Time."
Girinta began to fade into the nothingness as a veil of inky black energy consumed it. The other creature began to charge up some sort of high energy attack.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then suddenly, Giratina appeared from thin air and attempted to strike the other monster in the back. Ash felt his heart jump at the sudden attack, but he had no reason to fret, as the steel titan seemed prepared. It turned around just in time and launched an attack so powerful, that his vision was blinded in a storm of blue and purple.
Cogita closed her eyes, block his sight. But once they opened again, everything was gone. The sights and sounds, the fear, and the tension. All of it had vanished into the nothingness. Instead, he was met with the same faint white glow of Cogita who was still seated on her same chair across the same table from him.
"Do you understand now?" She asked upon realizing that he had finally come to. "Do you understand why I have received my divine punishment?"
Ash stared at her blankly. "No. Not even a little bit. I would actually say I'm even more confused now."
The woman sighed. "That was all I have to show you. I have no actual memory of ever actually receiving such a punishment." She noted the quizzical look on his face, and decided to expand further.
"I'm immortal. But I am bound to the footprint of this house, and I do not age. Not conventionally at least."
Ash was rigid in his seat. While the logical part of his brain was still trying to digest everything he was seeing and hearing, and wasn't doing it well. Not only was his knowledge of this world completely nil and void, but he was literally being information dumped on by a witch living in a shack deep in unfamiliar woods.
"After Volo used the information that I had gathered to ultimately release Girinita from what was supposed to be it's eternal prison, Arceus was angered. If it had not been for the girl who had fallen from the sky, I suspect that my punishment may have been worse. While Arceus is all powerful, he is anything but merciful."
"But you never gave Volo the information? He took it from you, didn't he?"
"I didn't try to stop him. I wanted too, but some part of me just couldn't. My works were largely incomplete. I had only the pieces and not the key. I had doubt that Volo would've been able to solve it in the first place... but he did. My inaction to really pursue him did not escape Arceus. In response, he placed a curse of enteral suffrage onto me. He forced me into a life of endless solitude and pain. I believe it has something to do with an increase of my raw Aura capacity, allowing me to tap into it and do some basic things, such as manipulate my appearance, or open my mind."
"Uhm," Ash scratched awkwardly at the back of his neck. He shivered gently, before he felt the hair of his skin sudden rise to attention as an intense wave of emotion crashed over his mind. "..But if you've been living by yourself for all of this time, how would you even know that you could share your memories like that? You seemed to familiar with it... how would you-?"
"You're questioning the wrong things, Ash." She did not give him the opportunity to continue down his line of thinking. "What you should be asking is how you can free yourself from your shackles and restore your memories."
"I mean, I just woke up in the middle of nowhere, in the same forest as the one you're supposedly bound too. What kind of a coincidence is that? If it is some sort of curse that I was never supposed to learn about, why would he lead me right to you? I don't understand. It doesn't make any sense."
Silence fell between the two of them. Ash felt a weight begin to grow on his shoulders the more his brain raced with thought. He clenched his hands together nervously and rose from his seat.
"Cogita... I... I don't even know who I am. When you were showing me your memories and we were in that connected state, or whatever, I think I could also feel your emotions. They were faint, and I only felt them for a few seconds before you showed me anything, but I could feel it. I know you're not trying to hurt me, and that you don't plan on using me for anything. That makes me less weary of you, but..."
Ash grabbed his head. It started to pound intensely. "You hope that eventually I can help you, right? But how am I supposed to help you when I can't even fend for myself."
The boy gestured toward the filthy and torn clothes that he was wearing. "I just woke up a few hours ago on the brink of death. You helped me, and I'm thankful for that, but I'm still so lost, and confused. Gods and monsters and creatures with abilities and superpowers.. it's too much. I don't know what to think right now."
Cogita match his move of standing up. However she could see how his breathes quickly began to pick up in pace and his eyes slowly grew larger with a mix of fear, confusion and panic. "It's okay, Ash." She spoke in a tone that was calming and reassuring, almost coaxing in nature. It was in distinct opposition to the seriousness that laced her words moments ago. "Just calm down, Alright?"
The closer she got, the more scared he became. His swirling emotions quickly became overwhelming. He began to take small steps backing away from the table. "Calm down? How can I? This whole situation is utterly crazy!" He grabbed his chest through his disheveled blue jacket. "Nothing about this is right! Nothing at all! Who even am I?! Why can't I remember?! Why can't- WHY-!?"
Gone.
Not a warning, nor a small sign. Midst his oncoming panic, the boy up and vanished. As if he was a figment of her imagination, he was suddenly gone from the world. She stared at the spot in which he stood moments ago and reeled.
She was left in a deathly silent stupor as she stared, her body now overcome by the sudden shock of seeing a person vanish infront of her eyes. In her long history, there was a lot she had seen.
Gone was her one shot of freedom. Gone was her ticket to death.
Maybe she had gotten far too optimistic. The boy wasn't just like her. Perhaps he was even more special, considering Arceus wiped all of his memories, and not just the important ones. Perhaps the reason he practically fell right into her lap was some sort of cruel lesson. Not to test him, or challenge fate again.
She fell into her seat. A tired and defeated sigh escaped from her lips.
He was gifted with incredible power. She could feel it. He was less like her, and more like the girl who fell from the sky. A vessel for Arceus' will.
Lost in his way, no memory of the world or his past, but an innate ability locked deep inside.
The key.
He was the key.
But he was gone.
And she may never get it again.
Once again, trapped in the endless cycle of despair and loneliness. Her only company the pokemon of the forest.
She turned to look out the window and past the dark of the night.
Lucario would be back soon. She wasn't sure where he went tonight, but it was likely he was going to be disappointed to find the boy gone. Perhaps the pup would leave forever in pursuit of his old trainer.
Ash Ketchum. The greatest of them all. He really is just like her. Perhaps even more blessed.
Not only did he seem to possess all of the ability of the girl from the sky, but also, unknowingly, has had her companionship all along.
That girl he saw in his memories. Dawn. She must be important. Maybe she is the reincarnation.
Cogita fell into her seat.
She's reaching now. She knows that. Arceus would never put someone like him in her hands by accident. He was just teasing her. Letting her know that he has yet to forget.
Eternity is longer than it sounds.
"Is this supposed to be funny?" She whispered under her breath before letting out a horrific scream of anger. She jumped up from her seat and swung her arms wildly. The white aura consumed her once again, as the windows of her house exploded out and her furniture went flying into the ceiling. "YOU FRAUD! FALSE GOD! QUIT PRETENDING!"
The table flipped up into the air, smashing against the wood of the ceiling before landing face side down against the tile floor, two of its four legs snapped in half. Her heavy furniture flew onto the floor, plates and pottery smashed against the ground. Her cabinet flew open and the door blew off its hinges. Floorboards ripped up from the ground as her curtains and clothes blew around the home.
"EGOIST! HYPOCRITE! LIAR!"
When she finally quit, the only things left remaining of her home were the four walls and roof.
She fell onto the floor. Her energy plumbing along with her body.
"Goddamnit."
Once again, she had overexerted herself. Now she would have to pay the price. An overwhelming exhaustion began to consume her body, and just before she succumbed to the sudden draw of sleep, all the damage she had done was reversed. The table flipped itself back into place, the legs magically connecting themselves together and binding with god knows what. All of the plates and dishes that had been shattered suddenly materialized back into existence along with the windows which resealed the place. The door came flying back before landing itself perfectly onto it's hinges while her clothes and curtains found their homes once gain, perfect and neat, just like she had let them.
'...But Maybe... maybe things can change, now that I've planted the seed..."
The world was dark. He tried to scream, but his words failed him. The panic from before refused to Everything was dark, and he found himself floating again. The same darkness from before.
Still he clutched his heart, while he cried into the nothingness. It was too much for him to handle.
"Second chances do not come often. I blessed you, my perfect soldier. So let this be a lesson."
It's voice filled in the nothingness. This time however, he knew exactly who, or what, he was speaking with.
"That woman was a heretic who pursued knowledge far beyond what she was supposed to know. Her suffrage lacks meaning. However, you should let it serve as a lesson to what happens to a person when they defy me."
Ash felt his stomach curl, and he felt like vomiting whatever little stomach contents he had remaining.
"While I cannot control your will, I can dictate the path of which you walk. If you choose to go against me, I'll have that freedom you have stripped from you in the most painful of ways."
I never planned on fighting you. What is the point of this pain?
"The pain you feel is in vain, for not does it matter."
You said I was free.
"You are free. Free to make your own choices."
This wasn't a choice. She didn't have a choice.
"Free to make your own choice, but not free of consequence. Do not disappoint me, chosen one."