(A/N) Trigger warning: This chapter contains a heavy implication that one of the characters is contemplating suicide. They don't go through with it and it is never explicitly stated but be warned regardless
Now that enough time had passed, Alakazam went off in search of his patient. Immediately, he activated his searching abilities. His enhanced psychic abilities allowed him the ability to quickly pursue through hundreds of people to find his target. However, when he found Gardevoir, she looked out of it. Her eyes were disturbingly blank. A sign of possible hypnotism, but he didn't want to make any assumptions. He looked around the area to see a Malamar standing before her, asking her something. Gardevoir had told him about a Malamar mistreating her. Suspicious of the squid, he opted to read his mind. What he saw confirmed his worries.
"Alright, once this bitch tells me where the Eclipse Gem is, my dreams of owning a god will be realized!" thought Malamar, unaware that he had an audience. Alakazam scowled upon hearing this. Evidently, this was quite the egotist. Where did this pride come from? A desire to prove himself, maybe? Perhaps a chance to obtain a position of power from someone who never knew such a thing? Questions for later. Right now, he had to diffuse the situation. He flew towards the park as fast as he could.
As soon as that boom erupted from nowhere, Garchomp immediately rushed towards it. Gardevoir had to be there. If not now, then soon. Fury began to build and build within Garchomp. What if Gardevoir was hurt? That wouldn't stand. Garchomp sprinted towards the source of that noise. Her teeth gritted and her claws dug into her palms. Whoever had done this would pay with their blood.
After sending Sigylyth back to the house, Malamar asked "Now, would you be a doll and tell me where you took the Eclipse Gem?" Unable to resist his commands, Gardevoir told him the critical information. Within seconds, the tool that controls a god would be within the grasp of the cult. Neither Garchomp, nor Alakazam would make it in time. It was over.
"I don't know," said Gardevoir in a monotone voice.
"...The fuck do you mean, you don't know?!" yelled Malamar, "You were the ones who took it!" he breathed. He needed to calm down. Perhaps she had given it to one of her friends. He asked her this and once more, the fate of the world hung in the balance. With just a few short words, Gardevoir would reveal where the Eclipse Gem was.
"No," said Gardevoir.
"Did you give it to the Senshi?" asked Malamar desperately.
You know the punchline.
"THEN WHO DID GIVE IT TO?!" screamed Malamar. This was getting ridiculous. How on earth did she not know anything about where this goddamn crystal was? Was she stupid? Of course, this bitch was making life difficult for him.
"I gave it to Mom and Dad. I told them to hide it somewhere where no one would ever find it."
"..." Malamar was stunned. While he was grateful for the information, he was confused. Why would she put her parents at risk? Then he gave it some thought. She was a deputized Senshi, no one would know about her actions since she wouldn't be reported on the news. Furthermore, anyone who knew that she was deputized would assume that it was with the Senshi in some capacity. Had he not hypnotized her, he probably wouldn't even have the faintest clue where to look. Malamar smirked at her,
"You know, you're much smarter than I thought."
"Thank you, master," said Gardevoir. Malamar wrapped his arm around Gardevoir's waist,
"I think I'll keep you as a trophy," said Malamar in a sinister tone. Gardevoir didn't respond.
"I implore you to let her go," said Alakazam as descended from the increasingly cloudy sky. Malamar recognized him almost immediately. No matter. He was more than capable of fooling the greatest psychic to have ever lived. Putting on a friendly face,
"Oh, hello there. I was just talking to my girlfriend here. Did you need something?" Unfortunately, he made his first mistake.
"I don't believe you," said Alakazam sternly, "Now let her go." With his facade useless, Malamar scowled at Alakazam. He remarked,
"Well, I guess you've caught me, but I won't back down so easily." he began to plan an attack.
"I don't want to fight you," said Alakazam, "All I want is to talk to you."
Alakazam could crush Malamar. His psychic power was too much for the squid to handle. However, Alakazam hated the idea of fighting. Using his tremendous power to hurt someone is a slippery slope. More importantly, combat was a temporary solution. It was his job, as a psychologist, to leave a more permanent impact, because there will always be someone who wants revenge. Someone has to stop that fight before it begins. To turn both sides into better, more fulfilled men before they repeat the cycle. However, in that philosophy lay his second reason for talking to Malamar. In the worst case scenario and Malamar turned hostile, he needed to stall for time for help to arrive. Someone must've heard that explosion. Best case scenario, he could talk down Malamar.
"Ha!" laughed Malamar, "You should know better, old man. Words mean nothing! Now get out of my way."
"You are only partially right. Words mean nothing if there's no point in between the lines. Now, you seem quite proud of yourself and your abilities. Where did that come from?" he asked. He was reading Malamar's mind the entire time. With someone willing to hypnotize a woman to get information, you cannot be too trusting.
"You're actually doing this?" exclaimed Malamar.
"Of course," said Alakazam, leaning over to look at Gardevoir, "Your hypnotic abilities may even be better than my own."
Malamar smiled brightly. The greatest psychic alive was complimenting him.
"Ohoho! Game recognizes game. I'm honored!" said Malamar cockily.
"Indeed," said Alakazam, "I must commend you for your skill. How long have you been practicing?" Perhaps by delving into his past, Alakazam could figure out what led Malamar to this point. This seemed to work.
"Well, I come from a long line of hypnotists. My powers are the pinnacle of centuries of hard work," said Malamar proudly,
"Then I must ask why you would resort to hypnotizing a random civilian. Your powers would be immensely useful for catching criminals," said Alakazam.
"I'll answer your question with another question. Why not? The world is my oyster! Anyone I want will bow before me with just a few lights! And once I get my hands on…Ohoho! You got me monologuing, didn't you?" said Malamar, realizing what Alakazam was doing, "Sorry, but that's not gonna fly. But, as a symbol of gratitude, I will allow you the pleasure of witnessing my full power.
It was time to humble this squid.
Alakazam allowed Malamar to attempt to hypnotize him. His mental barrier was incredibly powerful. Admittedly, Malamar's hypnosis was quite strong. However, so long as he maintained his concentration, he would never-
"CHRONA!" screamed Garchomp as she ran towards her girlfriend. Alakazam looked back to see the dragon type storming towards him. It was that momentary distraction that gave Malamar all the advantage he needed. He boosted his powers to their limits and unleashed it all upon Alakazam. Garchomp, realizing what Malamar was doing, stomped the ground. She sent several walls of stone at the squid. The walls were destroyed effortlessly. Garchomp watched on in horror. From the smoke emerged a nightmarish sight.
A mind controlled Alakazam.
Ghastleberg was resting about a mile away from a cliff face. It was a sheer drop from a grassy meadow of burning forget-me-not flowers into an unforgiving sea. Waves battered against the cliff as though it were trying to push the continents themselves. The sunset, a gorgeous painting of orange and blue that felt comforting. A final pleasure.
At the very edge of that cliff, Infernape sat. He had been here for hours. Staring down at the foamy white below. Those flowers around him wilted under fire's cruel grasp. The sounds of the waves crashing beneath him were calming, almost inviting. But he had resisted the siren's call. For now.
Lopunny and Aggron arrived and saw the scene before. They both immediately knew that this was not going to be an easy conversation. Lopunny nodded to Aggron, who let her down as gently as he could. Evidently, walking was going to be very difficult, but she was determined to talk to him. She limped toward Infernape, overwhelmed slightly from the flames. Then she yelled,
"LEE!"
Infernape immediately looked back. His face was covered with relief. He looked at though her were about to cry at the sight. His angel was alive. However, what was once joy quickly shifted to dejection. He turned back towards the cliff,
"Are you happy?," he said.
"What do you mean? Lee, what are you talking about?"
"You found me. Congrats. Pat yourself on the back for that win." he scoffed at himself. Lopunny was confused. What was he implying,
"This isn't a game, Lee!" she exclaimed, "Dude, everyone's worried sick about you!"
"What's new there?" asked Lee. The ice type was almost about to leave with how blase he was. Just then, she realized what he was trying to do.
He was trying to make her leave.
Lopunny shook her head and told him,
"I'm not falling for it. Lee, come on. You need to come back." Infernape didn't say anything for a few minutes. Right as Lopunny was about to continue, he found the words.
"Why should I?" he asked, his voice wavering, "All I've done is bring misfortune everywhere I go."
"No, you haven't. You know you haven't. How were you supposed to know that Pangoro would come back to life?"
"The same way I always know. The same way I've known since eight years ago," he said venomously, "I should've quit when I had the chance."
"If you did," said Lopunny, "Then you'd be dead." Infernape didn't say anything, which worried Lopunny greatly. Did he…
"Lee, listen to me. You are one of the most important people on this team. You're an amazing person," said Lopunny desperately. Infernape then said quietly,
"Why do you care so much?"
"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, LEE!" yelled Lopunny. Infernape turned around, staring Lopunny in the eyes. His face was full of disbelief. Shaking his head, he stood up and asked,
"Why?" He seriously doubted himself that much? Was it so difficult to believe that someone could care about him?
"You're a superhero. You've fought wanted criminals, but there isn't an ounce of ego in you. You never give up. You've been through the worst the world could throw at you and made it out. You're nice, you're passionate, you're funny. How could I not fall in love with you?" she told him. Infernape shed a few tears, but shook his head. He would not be easily swayed.
"That love is dangerous. I am cursed. My destiny is to have everything I love be taken away from me."
"You still believe that crap?!" exclaimed Lopunny.
"What else am I supposed to think?!" asked Infernape desperately, "You say that I am a hero. How can I be a hero if I know that-"
"Don't you dare start with-"
"What do you know?!" yelled Infernape, "You don't know what I've been through. You may have a synopsis, but you will never truly know!" He may have had a point there, but Lopunny already had a counter.
"Yes, I may not know, but that doesn't mean I cannot try to help. We can go see a psychologist, someone who can understand."
"And have him tell me the same horseshit everyone else tries to tell me! No thank you!" said Infernape.
"Then what the fuck am I supposed to do?" said Lopunny exasperatedly, "I'm not going to abandon you!"
"Well, too bad!" snapped Infernape, "Life's not fair! Get used to it like I had to for eight damn years!" he stomped on the ground, sending a wave of flame through the flower field. Lopunny didn't flinch. The flames parted around her. All that was left behind of the flower field was scorched earth. Lopunny knew it would take more to get through to him.
Back in Hydroton, Garchomp immediately went on the offensive. If she could take out Malamar before he could give out any orders, then his hypnosis was worthless. She punched forward, sending pillars of stone towards Malamar. Alakazam blocked several of them, but one of them punched through his defenses and struck the psychic. Malamar was stunned to see the greatest psychic in the world had been hit. He yelled,
"What are you doing?!"
"I am a pacifist, master-"
"AND DON'T CALL ME THAT!" snapped Malamar. Of course Alakazam didn't know how to fight. Unfortunately, you can't hypnotize someone into being a martial arts master. He had to adapt to this. Malamar ordered Gardevoir,
"Kill her!" Gardevoir nodded and raised her hands to attack. Two psychic beams fired at the dragon type. They hit her into the chest and shoulder but they did little to stop Garchomp. She charged Malamar with murder in her eyes. Consequences be damned, she was going to kill Malamar!
"...Gar…Madame…" a voice said in Garchomp's head. She grasped her head, recognizing this as telepathy.
"Who is this?" thought Garchomp as she punched at Malamar, who blocked the attack with a psychic barrier. Once she was pushed away, the voice continued,
"I'm…freeing…self…slowly. Let…me…help." She figured this must've been Alakazam. He was the only other hypnotized person here. At least as far as she knew. It was good to have an ally. She told him,
"Alright, just keep fighting!" just before she was attacked. Gardevoir's attacks kept coming. Kept barraging the one she loved. That sickened Garchomp. Gardevoir was a good woman. Flawed, sure, but good. To see her turned into a mere weapon for a sadistic man, made Garchomp's blood boil. However, she still needed to fight back. She couldn't just take these hits.
Garchomp roared as she deflected a psychic beam and fired a dragon's breath directly at Malamar. However, Malamar ordered Gardevoir to take the blow. Gardevoir jumped in front of the squid Pokemon just in time. Horrified, Garchomp tried to stop it but it was too late. The beam landed. Gardevoir was thrown across the park and landed in a fountain. For as horrifying as this was, this gave Garchomp the chance to attack the source of all of her problems. Malamar realized this and set up a barrier to protect himself. A barrier that was ultimately useless. With the slightest little effort, Garchomp punched right through it and punched Malamar across his beaked face. She punched him into the ground.
"Yes!" thought Garchomp.
"I wish it were that easy," said Alakazam. Malamar glared at her and spat up blood as he said,
"Muscle like that would be of great use."
Just then, Garchomp was thrown back via psychic force. She slid across the floor. Confused, she looked around for whoever saved her.
"I've managed to free my mind, but I still need to get control over my body. That will be much harder." said Alakazam, "I can try to free Gardevoir while you deal with Malamar."
"Connect me with Gardevoir as soon as you can! exclaimed Garchomp as she got ready to counter attack.
"I'll do what I can," said Alakazam, "I cannot make any promises. Just try to win."
"You stupid bitch!" yelled Malamar towards Garchomp as he fired several beams at the dragon type. The mind controlled Gardevoir joined him in the barrage. His next command was for her to stop holding back. Gardevoir's blasts became even more powerful, which made defending herself even harder. Unfortunately for Malamar, he had a nasty habit of underestimating women. He had done it with Lopunny. He had done it with Gardevoir, and he was going to be horribly reminded of that.
Stones rose from the ground around Malamar and closed in around him. Gardevoir created a barrier to protect him, but this gave Garchomp the opportunity to charge the squid. Alakazam, this time, summoned a barrier, which was much more effective at stopping Garchomp,
"He was going to hypnotize you. You cannot be so direct." said Alakazam telepathically. Garchomp was flabbergasted,
"What are you doing?" asked Garchomp, "I don't give a damn what he wants to do! Get out of my way."
"I understand that you are furious, and rightfully so, but don't get ahead of yourself. You need to be careful or else you will fall under his spell," insisted Alakazam. Once more, Garchomp was pushed away before Malamar could attempt his hypnotic tricks. While her fury was great, her desire to free Gardevoir was greater. She took a breather, allowing herself a second to relax. If she was going to rescue Gardevoir,
She needed to go through this from a different angle.
Back to the cliff near Ghastleberg, Aggron watched on as Infernape and Lopunny argued back and forth. He wanted to step in. Alas, he couldn't. Not yet anyway. He trusted Lopunny had a much better understanding of the situation, given how Infernape seemed to trust her a lot. That didn't mean he wanted to stand idle. Infernape was in a dangerous place, both figuratively and literally. That ledge scared him more than anything in the world.
"Please don't do anything stupid," said Aggron quietly, hoping his words would somehow save Lee from himself.
"Lee! What are you going to do now? Go back home and stay until you die? Is that what you want?" exclaimed Lopunny.
"It doesn't matter what I want!" said Lee as he turned back around and faced the sea, "That's the way it is. We are all locked into our destinies. You have no free will. No agency. We're all just puppets for some sadistic master to play around with."
"How many times do we have to prove that's not true!" yelled Lopunny, desperately trying to get through to him. She hoped tearing apart his logic would be the necessary change of direction to get through to him.
"Okay, say you're right. Let's just say that your destiny is to be a failure who will never succeed. Why would the universe, or Arceus, or whoever the fuck is in charge, ever give you a win?"
"I don't win," said Infernape.
"Of course, you do. You performed on the biggest stage in the country. People loved you. You fought both and beat the cult."
"That was all.-"
"Let me finish!" said Lopunny, interrupting Lee before he could stop her. "If your destiny is to be a failure, you shouldn't even be given a dollar from the lottery, let alone getting to live out your dream, if even for just a few minutes. To survive a giant fucking explosion. Surely, it would just beat you down and never let you even look at success."
Infernape was chillingly silent. Lopunny was growing worried, scared even. She stepped towards him, past the burning flowers. Looking out into the ocean, Lopunny saw an endless sea of possibilities. Lee couldn't see this. She knew that. She knew that Lee could see only what could've been. What would've happened had that crime not happened. Had the people believed the court when they said he was not guilty. He just needed to see what she saw.
"Lee," began Lopunny, "Why are you so afraid of being wrong?" Again, no answer. Taking a breath, she took that lack of response and tried something new. "Look, I get it-"
"SHUT UP!" screamed Infernape, standing up and facing Lopunny with nothing but fury written. Lopunny looked frightfully at the fire type. There was a genuine rage in his eyes that scared her. "ALL OF YOU! EVERY SINGLE FUCKING ONE OF YOU, SHUT UP! YOU DON'T GET IT! NONE OF YOU WILL EVER GET! DO YOU THINK I WANT TO BELIEVE THIS?! DO YOU THINK I WANT TO BE A FAILURE?! I LOST EVERYTHING! MY FRIENDS, MY FAMILY, MY DREAMS, MY PAST, MY PRESENT, MY FUTURE! I HAVE NOTHING, AND I DESERVE NOTHING! EVEN IF YOU'RE RIGHT, I'D RATHER BELIEVE THAT THAN ADMIT THAT IT'S MY FAULT SHIN AND MITSU ARE GONE!" He turned back and sat down.
Lopunny stared at the fire type. She had never seen him like that before. For a moment, she could swear his eyes turned red. At that point, she was lost. He seemed so lost in his own belief. So terrified of what his future may hold. She couldn't change his mind, so what could she do? With little options left, she found herself walking towards Infernape. She wasn't sure what she was doing, but found no reason to stop herself. She sat down next to Lee. He didn't react to her presence. The two just sat there, staring at the sea before them.
Back in Hydroton, Garchomp fired a draconic sphere into the air. That sphere exploded into several meteors that fell towards Malamar. He ordered the hypnotized Gardevoir to protect him. She pulled rocky debris together into a solid barrier that shielded her and Malamar. However, the barrage wouldn't let up. Stones, pillars, rocks, and rubble all rose from the ground. They shot towards the squid pokemon, forcing the hypnotized Gardevoir to create a massive barrier all around her. It was an unrelenting barrage of attacks. There was more to this attack than meets the eyes. Gardevoir had to use a tremendous amount of psychic power to maintain that barrier. A level of power she had never used for an extended period of time. Malamar was making Gardevoir weaker by the minute. Seeing the writing on the wall, Malamar yelled at Alakazam to protect him.
Alakazam followed his orders. He didn't want to blow his cover yet. He still hadn't gained control over his body so he needed to be very careful with this. However, this did allow him to get close to Gardevoir. Using his immense psychic power, he began the process of freeing Gardevoir's mind from his control.
There was a pleasant numbness inside Gardevoir's head as she awakened. Surrounding her was complete darkness. She hadn't the faintest idea where she was or what was happening. There was no feeling. Gardevoir even wondered if she had died. She tried to move but she couldn't. She wasn't paralyzed, no. Rather, it felt like she was just a head, floating in this infinite void. However, then a faint little voice began to reach out to her. At first, she didn't recognize it. It was a deep voice, one she had faint memories of but couldn't put a name to. A drowsiness began to grow within Gardevoir. Perhaps it was alright to just…fall…and sleep.
"CHRONA!" another voice yelled. Gardevoir recognized that voice immediately. She looked around in the darkness. Her words were trapped inside of her, desperate to be free. The voice continued,
"CHRONA! CAN YOU HEAR ME? YOU NEED TO FIGHT!"
"...Gar…chomp?" Gardevoir croaked. Her voice seemed to float around her head. Her lucidity was slowly coming back to her. Once more, Garchomp called out to her,
"Chrona, I know you can hear me! You can fight it!" As much as Gardevoir wanted to, she couldn't. Not now. All she would do was get in the way. Her last decision led to Infernape and Lopunny's death.
"...Garchomp…I'm sorry…I'm sorry for being me."
"What are you talking about?" exclaimed Garchomp, "Gardevoir, you don't need to run. No one is mad at you. We just want you to be safe."
"I can't go back,"
"Why not?"
"Because I'm me!" yelled Gardevoir, "I'm a failure! A screw-up! I've tried to be a hero and all I've done is fall back into the same habits! I failed Lee." There was silence for a few moments. That darkness around her felt like a prison. Perhaps this was what she deserved.
"We all fail," said Garchomp, "We all screw up. We all hurt the ones we care about. We all have done things we regret. Maybe you did fail Lee, but that doesn't matter anymore. It happened. That doesn't mean you are a failure. You can always bounce back. You can always grow, and you can become better, and, of course, you'll make mistakes along the way. That's perfectly fine. All that matters is that you learn!"
"But…I…" Gardevoir tried to protest, but Garchomp wouldn't let her.
Back in the physical world, Garchomp's non-stop barrage continued. Malamar was getting furious. He ordered Alakazam,
"STOP FUCKING AROUND! DESTROY THIS WHOLE PARK! I DON'T CARE!" That was when he noticed Alakazam was hesitating. He was resisting. No matter. All he needed to do was hit him again with hypnotic lights and he'd be brought back in. Before Alakazam could do anything, Malamar assaulted him with another wave of hypnosis. Alakazam, having his attention divided between freeing Gardevoir, and connecting her mind with Garchomp, was unable to defend himself.
The ground itself began to shake. Rocks began to float up into the air, followed by trash cans, playground equipment, people, and the ground itself. Alakazam ascended into the air as the park around him broke under his command. Garchomp would've been airborne had she not planted her feet into one of the flying boulders. Malamar laughed. He didn't even need the cult at this point. He was unstoppable.
The connection between Gardevoir and Garchomp's mind was growing shaky. Garchomp knew she needed to get through to Gardevoir before they were separated. So she told her seven words. Seven words to reassure her of everything. Unbeknownst to her, those seven words would be repeated elsewhere at the same time.
Back on the ledge near Ghastleberg, Lopunny sat next to Infernape. He probably didn't have the energy to tell her to leave. She used that time to think. Obviously, she couldn't just leave him here. This was far too dangerous for him to be here, but what could she even do at this point. He was so convinced of this belief. How do you change someone's mind when they are like this? So beaten that any desire to break free has been shattered. All that's left of them is a shambling corpse.
He needed to understand, but no one could convince him to change his mind. Not her. Not Aggron. Certainly not Gardevoir. The only person who could change his mind…
…Was himself.
Lopunny silently apologized to Infernape before asking him.
"If I fell off this cliff, would you save me?" Infernape answered without hesitation,
"Of course, I would." Lopunny looked him in the eyes. Her eyes told him that she wanted to believe him, but couldn't,
"Even if I was destined to die today?" she asked. Tragically, Infernape opened his mouth but fell silent. It wasn't a yes or a no. That wouldn't do. He had to answer the question.
"Let's put that to the test," said Lopunny before sliding herself off the ledge.
"JESSIE!" screamed Infernape as he leaped off the cliff and fell after her. The rabbit's eyes were shut, not even facing the waves crashing beneath her. Fire exploded from Infernape's feet, rocketing him forward. He grabbed Lopunny and pulled her close. He flipped so that he'd be propelled up and the two just barely missed the waves.
"What the hell was that?" exclaimed Infernape, justifiably upset. Lopunny looked up at him and asked him,
"Don't you get it?"
"Get what?"
"You didn't know if I was supposed to die. Today could've very well been the day I die, falling off a cliff like an idiot, but you still saved me. You threw caution into the wind and took your destiny into your own hands!" said Lopunny. Infernape shook his head.
"What are you trying to say?" he asked. It was then that Lopunny uttered seven words. Seven words that would unknowingly be repeated simultaneously by Garchomp,
"YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE!"