CHAPTER 32

Date: February 8th, 112 P.A. / 2116 C.E.

She was led out before dawn, the glow of sun rising casting an ethereal glow over the courtyard grounds. A pedestal led up to the cross…and Arei walked to it without needing to be prodded, eying the statue that was to be where she hung and met her agonizing death. Her first arm was bound with metal wire and rope…so painful and tight she soon could not feel her hand, nor could she move her wrist without rubbing it raw on the rough bindings. She endured the pain as they stretched her arm to the other side…feeling her shoulder on the verge of dislocation. Then came her feet. A small chunk of wood had been tied to the stone crucifix, and they tied her feet to the are above it…as she hung, her feet might find refuge to stand there. To have her arms torn from her sockets was not what was desired, despite if her death was. They wanted her corpse whole. Even stripped of her status, a human being deserved dignity in how they were cremated. In pieces would not do.

Then, the pedestal was drawn away…Arei scrambled to get her bare feet on the wood, her shoulders shrieking protest as they solely bore her weight. She gasped not in pain, but no one heard her. Tears prickled to her eyes, but no one saw them…she repressed them before they pooled and ran down her face.

Soon enough, the people came…they carried bags of stones, bits of glass, spears and arrows. Arei trembled, but only closed her eyes once to not view the fire of hatred in their eyes. They whispered cruel things which reached her with ease. As some young men jeered at her, she felt somewhat glad of her being hung above their reach…only her mate had the right to touch her.

Then, the sun rose high above them on the Priests appeared, and again announced the charges against her. She saw her mate appear behind them…Jonah in his arms. She closed her eyes in silent prayer…and then braced herself for the pain she knew was coming:

"People, she has betrayed you! Enact your justice!"

The signal was made…and the first stone flew.

It hit her knee. It stung and burned like hell, but the throw had been weak. But as though that was the true signal, the stones, the size of fists, were launched into the air at her. Many missed, but others pummeled into her with enough force and sharpness to make her shriek in pain, her blood flowing down her form. A sharp bit of glass burned into her wrist; her lifeblood flung down…down…. The screaming intensified. Cries of murderer, of with, or whore and traitor all mingles, as painful as the crushing stones they threw…. Her toes and fingers broke swiftly. She screamed in pain at the breaks, but did not weep…not now…not now….

A chunk of rock flew towards her head…and struck it with a thunk. Stunned as she was, she continued to pretend she had been knocked unconscious, or killed…the stones hesitated in the hands of the people….

And she waited…waited…her mate would act. He would save her….

But what she could not know was that in the moments that the Priests had withdrawn, another faction had taken their place. The Pantheon surrounded her lover, and in one motion, Jonah was taken from his arms. Mew sneered at his orders to return his child…saying this:

"Jonah will be returned to you on one condition: you do not go to your mate. You allow her to die."

This shocked Mewtwo into stillness…. "What? Why?!"

"It's time you understand the pain you caused to all the creatures of this world. Now choose: who do you save: your whore, or your bastard?"

He shook with rage. "She is my wife, Mew! That child is our son! They deserve to be together—now is not the time for your schemes! Return my son to me—I must help his mother! Now, Mew!"

He made a motion to lunge for his child…but was caught midstride. The other Legendaries had used their abilities to restrain him. He attempted to shake them off, to reach for his son, but the constraints tightened…he was outnumbered vastly. Many of them alone would have given him no difficulty, save for Mew and perhaps Rayquaza. Yet all of them together was enough to hold him, at least for the moment.

He saw Arei give the signal, going limp on the cross, and his heart thudded wildly with panic. "RELEASE ME! I must go to my mate! Please, I need to save her! She does not deserve this end, she—"

"Neither did any of the innocents you killed! Do you still not understand, Mewtwo? You are responsible for the deaths of BILLIONS of spouses and their children…it is time you had a taste of that pain. It is time you lost someone you cherished!"

He fought hard this time, struggling with all he had as he felt Arei's worry and confusion. "Let me go! If you wish for revenge, kill me, but save her! Jonah needs his mother! Please, any of you, save her! Save—"

"Why should we? You gave no mercy to the countless people who pled to you for compassion. Why should we do differently? Let your whore die. It is her own fault that she stayed with you…she had the opportunity to run if she were smart! So, let her pay for her foolishness!"

"No! Please, Mew, if you wish to avenge those lost lives, kill me! There is no reason to let her die! She's innocent…she'd never killed—"

"You just don't understand, do you, Mewtwo? I don't give a damn it you die…it will end your suffering. It will be no punishment. But in taking away your wife, leaving you HELPLESS LIKE THE HUMANS to save her, you will know the pain you placed out world into in your selfish quest. You will suffer and be shred in two. And that suits my purposes just fine."

"No…NO, AREI! AREI!"

He had managed to drag himself to the edge of the balcony, straining to look upon the courtyard…she was staring up at him, now terrified at his screams. She knew something was wrong. And where was Jonah?!

"Give me my son. Please, I beg you, give me my child!"

He was returned…but Mewtwo still could not move. He begged more, begged to die rather than see his mate perish…but Mew would not allow it. She wanted him to see the light go out of Arei's eyes—feel her soul enter oblivion. Mewtwo stood, gazing desperately down to her…his love. Jonah's mother. He could not lose her! He'd rather die than lose her! He struggled all the more, but to no use…he was caught, trapped, unable to break free…and even if he did, Jonah might meet his own death despite how Mewtwo attempted to defend him. For if they could bind him, they could certainly reach past his powers and destroy his child.

So, all he could do is stare down at his mate and cry out her name, "Arei…!"

And hearing the desperate plea, the despair, Arei knew…she knew it was over. Mewtwo could not save her…she had at last made the fatal mistake all his priestesses inevitably took. She might have escaped if she had been teleported away…there had been a sliver of a chance. But she had opted for the most secure plan…and was now going to pay with her life. She knew it, and so did her.

As she gazed up at him, at their little one, she did not see the Legendaries or the people. There was just them, and this one force against them. A force they could not run from nor defeat. And then, despair and fear welled up in her with force. She…she did not want to die! No matter that she'd tried to prepare herself for it…soothing her heart to the possibility…she wanted to stay in this world, with him and her little baby. Oh god…Jonah was only five months old! What…what would happen to him…and her mate? Oh, her mate! She did not suppress the tears this time…letting them flow down her face. She did not care that the Rebels in the crowd took note of and regretted the necessary act. She did not care that the stones were becoming less forceful. She did not care that everyone would still view her as a traitor.

Her love…her baby…no! NO!

She thought of their dream…the sweet dream only a mere month away, never to be realized. She would never see that valley again. She would never hold her son or kiss her mate again. She would never again watch them play together, and join them in their comfort and joy. Never again. She was going to die, and there was nothing she could do to stop that from occurring.

And then…then…something shifted inside of her. Acceptance rose. Her heart was still beating, but…let them see her as brave in these moments before death. She gazed up at them, smiling sadly….

"Oh Arei…I'm sorry…I can't…."

"It's okay," she mouthed and thought. "We tried, Mewtwo. We tried."

He looked as though he was breaking into a thousand pieces…the assault on her became on onslaught. She screamed in the pain, then took it in, ending it…she was growing weaker, dying…she knew it…and again, she looked up at him, confessing to him this:

"I love you…both of you, so much."

Her tears of mingled pain and sorrow. It was getting harder to think, to keep her gaze elevated when all her body wanted to do was cringe away. But again, she looked up.

"Take care of each other, please, my loves…please."

"Arei!"

And the spear sailed…and with a force and precision that did not seem possible from a human hand, it buried itself into her heart. She had no breath to choke, and coughed blood, her pupils pinpricks as her body arched in unbearable pain…and as her heart ceased to beat, the world turning cold and black, she gazed up and them and smiled one last time….

"Goodbye…."

They were the last thing she ever saw…and then she slipped into oblivion, never again to hold her beloved ones….

"AREI!"

He howled the moment her body slumped with death, feeling as though half of his soul had been torn away the moments her had departed. He had tried to hold her, press her into him, but despite his embrace she slipped away…just like Ai, gone into the dark. He was screaming, screaming, his son wailing at his father's agony and pain. The intense sorrow and grief that threatened to drown him made him collapse to his knees…the Legendaries had released him and disappeared…their task was complete. They had taken their vengeance by taking away Mewtwo's world, his Arei…and all he had left was his Jonah. Arei's son. His son. Without his mother. Mewtwo howled anew, the skies above filling with the storms of old, of winds of water, the chaos of his soul above them among the heavens….

Hours later, the crowd dispersed, the event complete, Mewtwo stood in the Room of Solemnity, gazing down at the newly made corpse of his bride. As was tradition, she had been cut down and brought here, as all once-Priestesses were…and now lay on the pedestal before him, made to hold up a body. One body of a hallowed woman.

Mewtwo wanted to lay beside her and die. He wanted to join her…he wanted the pain to end. He wanted her back. He wanted to rewind time, but that was impossible. He sat down beside her corpse, Jonah in his arms. He was sleeping fitfully…crying for his mother.

Mewtwo wanted to die.

She looked peaceful now…as though she were sleeping. But the lack of breathing, the lack of the heartbeat that had for so long beat with his own, testified her death. She was in whole robes…her body had been sewn together and cleansed, made to appear complete for her cremation. Mewtwo despised this, for it seemed to him a child's effort to hide the damage that had been done. Yet anger melted away as it hit him fully…she was not going to wake up…she was not going to smile up at him ever again. She was dead. Gone. And then his agony was displayed physically as the tears welled up and he wept. He drew her bold body into his grasp, crying into her form, murmuring her name with longing, pleading for her to come back to him. In a similar manner, so, so long ago, a pikachu had brought its trainer back from the dead. Pokémon tears held life and energy. Perhaps…perhaps….

Yet no. Like with Ai, his tears could not bring his beloved back to him. His tears held no ancient power…they had no purpose save to express a broken heart and soul. And in that moment, that was enough. He wept, his heart tearing afresh at how Jonah squirmed and reached out his hands, tugging at her hair, her robes, touching her face…crying for her to open her eyes and cradled him to her heart like she always used to when she awoke.

But no more. No more. Jonah would never be held by his mother again. She could never again hum him to sleep and kiss him or play with him. Nevermore. She was gone. And Jonah could not understand this at this age. But he sensed his father's grief, and began to cry. Hours passed…Mewtwo teleported a bottle of milk to the room and tried to make Jonah eat as he needed to. He was past breastfeeding, but as though he knew what it meant if he took that rubber nipple, he fussed and tried not to accept it. But hunger and the taste of milk were too much…he fed, and Mewtwo cradled his son to his heart, no longer having the strength to cry.

But he would take care of Jonah. He would….

He…was all the clone had left of Arei. And Mewtwo wanted and needed him now…he needed his son's love and warmth to try to fill the hole where Arei had been. But it never would be filled. He would never again be truly whole.

The world outside would swiftly be in chaos…and Mew came beforehand to announce such.

Brokenly, Mewtwo asked her. "Have you come to try to take Jonah away, too? Will you deprive me of my little one, of Arei's?"

"Oh no, Mewtwo…never. You see, I'm not like you. I'm willing to give you some mercy. And I would never steal or kill an innocent child, no matter what kind of atrocity it is."

"Atrocity? He is no atrocity, but a miracle!"

"Is that what you think? That he's a miraculous being, forged between two impossible lovers, one of which was not supposed to be able to have children?"

"How do you—?"

"You forget that I am the Goddess of Life. This baby is no miracle. He is my blessing and curse upon you. I gave Arei the vitality to become impregnated…and in your lust for her, you made the abomination in your arms. There is nothing more to it than that."

He clutched Jonah closer, as if to shield him from words he could not understand. "But why? Why would you…?"

She stared into his face, glaring. "…So someday, when he asked you where his mother is, you will have to tell him the truth. That in creating a world where a forbidden affair ended in death, you are responsible for his mother's demise. You are the reason she is dead…for while my acts were in retaliation, you began the fall as soon as you chose her."

"But had I not, then he—"

"Don't be naïve, Mewtwo. If it hadn't been her specifically, it could have been another woman, and the situation would still apply. Besides…do you honestly believe that she would not have existed had you not created this world? No…you would have met her, and her soul would not be so different from the one you knew. And you would have loved her and maybe in a world where she didn't have to sell her body to get by, you would have your son…maybe even children. No, Mewtwo…it IS your fault. Yes, things conspired against you…but inevitably, it all leads back to your choice that night on New Island. It all leads back to you…."

"So…in this timeline…you used her to her to me for what I did? To make me feel remorse and suffer?"

"Suffer, yes. Remorse…I doubt you could feel it for any besides your precious Arei! For they were faces to you. Not people as I knew them to be, who I grieved for as each one died. Yes, I used her…and she played her part well. You fell in love…you had a child. And then you lost your whore—"

"Do not call her that!" he roared, cradling Jonah to his chest.

"Why not? She was not a pokémon, and so was not a true mate. And you are not human, so you could not be her husband. And as she never loved you, then you were not lovers—"

"She loved me."

Mew's eyes narrowed. "She did not. She loved her son, not you. She was loyal to you, nothing more."

"You're wrong. She spoke those words to me of her own free will. I felt it. She loved me, no matter if it was not part of your plan, no matter if you deny it. She…loved me. And…our son will know that. He shall know everything about her, when the day arrives…."

"You're deluded, Mewtwo."

He closed his eyes. "I am not more insane than you. Now please…you have exacted your vengeance. Leave me and my son alone…leave us alone."

And so, she did…and once she had left, Mewtwo thought on her words. Whatever strength had come from the truth of Arei's love faded with her…for Mew, for the most part, had been right. And gazing at Arei, seeing her ring, the same piece on the chain around his neck, he grieved afresh for his loss. His Arei…his Arei…Jonah watched quietly, and Mewtwo kissed him, shushed him, and wept with him.

"Arei…what shall we do without you? What shall we do?"

Eventually, Attendant Byron came…he saw the creature in his God's arms and asked, "My lord, why are you holding that child? You need not care for him any longer. There are others who would be willing—"

"No. Arei entrusted Jonah with me, and I shall care for him myself."

How dare he? How dare he speak so callously about the treatment of Arei's little one? How dare he…?!

And Byron was somewhat confused. With the traitor dead, Abaddon should feel no sense of obligation towards the witch. No more spells should control him. "My Lord, at least for the time being, you must entrust care of that child to someone else. The capitol is in chaos…can't you hear everyone screaming? The Rebels have returned, and we need political stability! We need you to appoint a new Priestess immediate—!"

Mewtwo stood and turned towards the boy, glancing at him with azure eyes that flashed of power. His powers clutched the boy, his emotions of grief and pain all imploding into the anger he now felt as he shouted, "How DARE you! A new Priestess? A NEW PRIESTESS?! There will be no new Priestess to replace Arei! I shall not have it, and if this damnable empire falls because of that, I DO NOT CARE! You have taken away my wife, the mother of my son…I will do NOTHING for any of you anymore.

"I could stand the restriction of freedom…but stand there and tell me to obey you when you've taken my love away from me?! Suggest it again and you shall die!"

"But—my lord—we need you, you must—!" Byron only now realized the truth. Arei had clearly been innocent, or the God would not have cared. And they had ignored him…and even worse, the rings…the rings had been wedding rings! They had killed Abaddon's mate…and that child was their heir! But he could not blather for forgiveness…he was not that type of God, nor would he forgive. He made that clear as he said:

"I need not do anything for you. I am not some God, I am a pokémon. A pokémon who had been deprived of his mate. You take power, Byron. I step down as of this moment…I shall take my son and Arei's body and disappear for good. If you cannot handle the Rebels, perhaps that is for the best. After all, I never said they were liars."

And with that, Mewtwo clutched his dead mate and his live child, and left behind the world he had made, all too willing to let it collapse for the damage it had done to him. There was nothing to go back for. All Arei had possessed for her own was upon her finger and about her neck…and he had his son and ring as well. But as he appeared in the chimera's forest, he felt no fury…only emptiness and grief that his lover did not stir in his grasp. Jonah squeaked as Kaliesha appeared from the caves, and Mewtwo handed him to her:

"I shall be back in two days, Kaliesha. Please, take care of my son, Jonah, for me while I am gone."

"Wait—Mewtwo, what happened? We've been hearing rumors and…what's wrong with Arei? Is she—?"

"Yes…the world I made has murdered her. So, care for Jonah until I return. I must…lay his mother to rest…."

And so, he did…he created a funeral pyre for her in their valley in the mountains. He watched the fire consume her and turn her to ash…he collected these in a funeral urn, and spread them around the place she had longed to call home. And so, she would stay here and become a part of it…a part of its winds, its waters, its flowers and trees. Then, all he had left was the urn…he buried it where she had wished to have her house…added her ring beside his own…and kept the amulet for his son to wear when he had grown enough to bear its weight….

And then he returned to Kaliesha, and asked for sanctuary for him and the tiny being that was all he had left to live for. And she agreed, and led him into the chimeras' realm, where Jonah, unlike his father, would never be alone….