Chapter 57: A Monument To All His Sins
Disclaimer: been making bunches of those lately huh? I'm not sure if anything here will be in any way coherent. Just warning everyone.
Shadow lay there, dying. It was an odd feeling. Even with his blood splattered across the ground and his body fading away. He felt almost at peace. Almost. But his mind was tormented. Tears streamed down his face. 'Blade…my Blade. I'm so sorry Blade… I couldn't save you…I'm sorry Blade…I'm sorry…Blade…. I'm sor….'
Everything went black for the Darkrai. To his benefit his enemies had already left. He'd been there for nearly an hour, his body falling apart and fading away.
*Earlier*
Pyre chased after the train with all he had only to watch it turn back the other way. 'Maybe I still have time to help Shadow.' As he prepared to board the train he noticed a piece break off from the rest. And he felt a familiar sensation through his aura. Shadow was there, and if he was going to help him he had to hurry.
As fast as the Charmander's legs carried him, he felt an unnerving sense of dread filling him the closer he got.
It hadn't taken any time for that feeling to overwhelm him. He stopped for a moment looking through Aura to find Shadow. But he could barely see the Darkrai anymore, like he was holding on by a thread. Pyre put on a burst of speed before stopping abruptly and falling to his knees suddenly becoming so overwhelmed by something he had no control of himself and began to vomit extensively. He knew something was wrong. His body wouldn't move and he felt sick, and as his aura reached out it became obvious what it was. Shadow was…gone. No trace of his aura at all as if it had simply been snuffed out. The very idea almost made him vomit again. The overwhelming emotion caused him to burst into flames, a pillar of fire blazing into the sky as he uttered a cry of sorrow.
"Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr!" The grass and trees around him were incinerated in seconds leaving little more than piles of ash in their wake.
Pyre could hardly contain his pain as the overwhelming sorrow brought him to unconsciousness.
*With Shadow*
It was dark, not unusual for Shadow, but something felt off about it. As he looked around he recognized where he was. "The laboratory?" He glanced around, something was wrong. As though he wasn't fully there.
"Well that's right, you aren't really here. It's just your shitty life flashing before your eye." A voice came from behind.
Shadow tuned to see his darling Blade. Whatever joy he could have felt was drowned out by the realization that it wasn't really Blade. "Hmm." Shadow made no response.
"Happy memory huh?" Blade asked as he watched Pyre and Rai encircle Shadow comically splattering berries on the Darkrai.
Shadow let a light smile embrace his features. "Yes."
"But we both know you've had better ones. And worse."
The memory fades only to be replaced by one of Shadow being surrounded by pokemon in a vicious attack formation.
Shadow held up his claws defensively. "Why are you doing this?! I haven't done anything to you!" Despite the fact that it was still Shadow, he looked, softer, as though his edges were more rounded and less jagged. And on top of it all, his eye was a bright blue.
One silhouette of a pokemon stepped forth, his voice distorted from how far back the memory was. "We know you're the one that's been taking our friends in the night. You and all that evil seeping out of you."
"I have done no such thing, I'm innocent, I'd never hurt anyone!" Shadow's voice, while still deep, lacked it's signature menace. He cried out as they piled onto him, clawing and biting him all over. The Darkrai teleported above them, shaking off his attackers before teleporting away.
The false Blade spoke again. "So that's the first little stroke of the brush as it were. How the vile maniac Darkrai started. Such honesty and confusion. You were innocent."
Another memory flashed before his eyes. Shadow was being hunted by humans and Pokemon alike. "I'm sick of these nightmares, that Darkrai needs to die!"
"Darkrai can't control their nightmares like that, I don't think he means to hurt anyone."
Shadow glared at the silhouette of the human in front of him.
"It doesn't matter, he's a menace and he needs to be put down!"
The memory faded.
"I was just a child. I had no control of it. I tried to tell them, I tried to apologize but…" Shadow glanced down at his arm, a faint mark of a burn on it. "That Charizard was brutal."
Another memory appeared. Shadow was once again surrounded. Accused of crimes he didn't commit. Attacked without reason.
And another.
And another.
Countless memories of that sort. Years and years.
Another memory appeared.
Shadow had just gotten his nightmare abilities under control. Nobody was unintentionally being plagued by nightmares because of him. In the memory he was leaning against a tree when a young green haired boy found him.
"Are you okay? You look lonely?"
"I'm fine. Thank you. Normally people flee from the very sight of me."
"Well I don't see why you're cool." The boy sat beside him. "Ya know if you need a friend, I'll be your friend. I don't have many."
Shadow took a moment of sympathy with the boy. "As kind as you are?"
"Yeah, people normally just bully me cause I won't do anything about it."
Shadow frowned internally. "You shouldn't let them push you around. If they bother you just leave. It's what I do."
"Heheh thanks, I think I'll try that. I uh…gotta go though, sorry I can't stay longer."
"It's fine. Thank you for offering to be my friend." Shadow waved slowly to the boy as he walked away.
The memory seems to jump, Shadow sat staring through the window to the boy's home. He was going to try to continue their new friendship when he saw something that made him sick. The young boy hung from the ceiling in his bedroom. A small note on his bed. Shadow, looking upon it saw it's words.
I tried to make a friend earlier…he was amazing, but I can't do this anymore. They beat me, bully me, call me names…I just wish the pain would stop…so, I'll stop it myself.
As Shadow reread the letter he closed his eye and looked away as his past self pulled the boy down and cradled him in his arms.
Without warning two silhouettes entered the room.
"Oh Arceus! That thing, it's killed our boy!"
Past Shadow looked up fear in his eyes vigorously shaking his head. "No I didn't I swear!"
But Shadow knew the truth. No matter how much he had pleaded, they didn't believe him. Chased out of another town. Treated like a monster without being one.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Years upon years of that mental and physical abuse had pushed him to a breaking point.
"They made me what I am today." Shadow said as another memory appeared.
Blood on his claws, his past self cackling like a madman. As he'd just torn a Nidoking in half with his bare claws. "I can't take this anymore! If all anyone will ever see me as is a monster" his voice deepened and became cold. Menace laced his voice. "Then I'll show you just how monstrous I can be." In that moment Shadow's eye began to glow an almost purple hue before being consumed by blood red.
The memory jumped, the Darkrai standing in a field of corpses. Pokemon and humans alike stood along the edge of the field. Stunned in place by the horrific sight. Shadow looked around at them. "Careful now, the first row is a splash zone."
The memory faded.
"Hm, well years of being treated like a monster can make one a monster." Shadow stated to the false Blade beside him. "But that doesn't matter. I've done too much to ever be anything else."
"Well you aren't wrong there." The false Blade said. "Just a monster. Nothing more nothing less. And you thought you deserved my love."
"Silence. You aren't Blade, not really. You're just my dying thoughts."
"And more." The false Blade's body began to distort.
"What does that mea.." Shadow was cut off as he turned around to see himself, as he saw himself. The cruel monster, with the crimson eye, and the extremely jagged edges.
"I? I am a monument to all your sins."
As Shadow looked into his dark reflection he felt something overwhelm him. A sense of hatred.
"Nobody hates you more than you do it seems." It said "Stay here then, enjoy your memories until the last of our wretched life fades away. No one will pity you. You're undeserving of it."
It vanished as Shadow turned back. His memories stopped flowing at one in particular.
Blade laid upon the ground against an oak tree. Cuts adorned his body. His feathers, crooked and damaged, and his body had an almost anorexic look from his lack of nutrition. He coughed weakly and slumped down, resigning to his fate.
"You look pathetic" a voice came. Blade glanced up to see a Darkrai, of an almost lighter black color with a singular red eye, holding three large sitrus berries "Here take these" he said dropping them into the smaller pokemon's lap "Don't expect anything else from me." He watched as Blade tore into the berries like a ravenous beast until all three were gone.
"Um th-thank you" Blade said as the larger stared down at him.
The memory froze.
"Even in the depths of my hatred, you were the only thing I had. My friends held me fromfalling into insanity. But you were the one to pull me free. Even so, such a thing seeps into ones being. Perhaps…if I were a better person…I could have saved you."
*Elsewhere*
Blade thrashed in and attempt to free himself from his cage snarling and screaming.
"Shut up in there! Come on, you heard your orders, load up this Sneasel and get him out of here."
Despite how Blade thrashed in the cage he was in, he had no way of escaping.
"But sir, what if that Darkrai attacks the plane?"
"According to intelligence, we don't have to worry about him he's out of the way."
"How can you be sure sir?"
"Drone footage. That sick freak was cleaved in half, nobody could ever survive that."
Blade didn't, no, couldn't believe it. Shadow couldn't be dead.
"Jeez, if you're so worried here." The man held up a screen on it was the moment the Darkrai had his lower half severed. Followed up shortly after by his abrupt landing on the ground. "See it's fine, now load the little bastard on board."
Blade slumped against the side of the cage. It was true, he couldn't believe it. He'd just seen it with his own eyes. Shadow was…. Dead.
Once his body had settled into it's position his eyes fell to his clawed toes. He stared blankly at them.
One would think that hearing about the death of your one true love would elicit a response. Sorrow or perhaps anger. But not Blade. The Sneasel didn't feel anything at all. He wasn't sad, or angry. If Blade was honest, he wasn't sure what he felt. Aside from nothingness.
He stared at his feet. No thoughts, no emotion. His body wouldn't move, not that he tried to do so. He was, broken wasn't the right word. He was shattered. Blade's eyes didn't so much as water, locked onto his feet. 'Shadow….gone?'
Blade felt his eyes shut. And when opened once again he felt himself in a familiar place. That theater in his mind.
"Ahahahahha" he heard his nightmare doppelganger laughing. "I told ya! You got him killed, hahaha oh you dumb fuck hahahah." His laughter continued, but stopped when he noticed Blade didn't move. "Hey ya little shit!" He moved in front of Blade. "Say something you little shit."
Blade was silent.
His nightmare mirror looked around. The stage and seats of his mind were…turning to dust.
"What the" his eyes widened as he shook Blade. "Hey you little shit get a hold of yourself! Your mind is crumbling dumbass get it together."
No response.
"Hey! If this place collapses we both go with it! Hey, are you even listening to me?" The doppelganger felt his ears begin to dissolve. He slapped Blade across the face "You worthless shit, I'm not dying in here for you, wake the hell up before we both fade away!"
Blade suddenly felt himself awaken. A facility, made by humans, familiar scents in the air. He heard the humans talking around him. But nothing made sense, the words sounded like gibberish to him.
He felt a rough grip on his body as he was tugged from the cage.
"He he. Pathetic. Your Darkrai bitch is dead. Nobody to protect you now." It was Cleave, Blade could hear him. If anyone could take away this pain. It would be the one that's try to kill him his entire life.
Staring into the Weavile's eyes, wide eyed before he let out a long sigh and mumbled. "Do it, do what you've wanted since I was born Cleave, kill me." He spoke in little more than a whisper and his eyes looked empty. "Kill me, as you so wanted to. Wipe away the worthless runt that should never have been born…"
Cleave put a claw around Blade's neck and raised his other above his head. "You always were a useless runt. Time for you join your dear mother."
Blade continued staring at him. "Go on Cleave. Strangle me, stab me, rape me again if you so want, but make sure I die. And make sure I suffer the entire time…"
A pop was heard a short distance away.
"Piiikkaaa,"
Cleave was smacked with an iron tail under his chin.
"Wea…" Cleave grunted and staggered backwards, releasing Blade. He turned his attention to his attacker. "Why you. Eat metal claw."
Cleave was struck with a powerful thunderbolt. His body convulsed his limbs going rigid. The electricity created and x-ray effect on him. After a sustained burst of electricity Cleave was too stunned to move and before he could bring himself to do so he was returned to a Pokéball.
Blade stared at his savior. At Ashachu. "Ashachu, you…saved me?"
Ashachu didn't reply. He just folded his arms across his chest and gave a single nod, a stony expression on his face. Then he returned himself to his Pokéball, disappearing into a cloud of that same mysterious red energy, that was sucked back to Ash's belt.
"Ashachu wai…" Blade wanted to thank him, seeing the Pikachu again. It brought a sliver of life back into the Sneasel, but his abrupt disappearance left Blade sinking back into depression.
Blade suddenly felt himself grow drowsy, and let out a soft groan, the claw outstretched towards where Ashachu had been standing fell to his side. His eyes shut and he collapsed onto the ground, fast asleep.
*With Pyre*
The Charmander was confused. There were two massive puddles of black goo, what he'd recognized as Shadow's blood on the ground, but the darkrai's body was nowhere in sight. "Shadow…." The Charmander sat down beside one puddle touching the blood and reaching out with his aura. "I'm not going to let anyone desecrate your body. I promise, I'm giving you a proper burial."
"Hey, Pyre" a voice came from behind him. The Charmander turned his head to see a smaller than average Raichu.
"Rai? What are you doing here?"
"Is it true? I feel like part of my very soul was crying out for help."
"I felt that too…I'm not sure, I'm trying to search for anything that's left of his aura. If he is gone. I at least want to give him a proper burial."
"Well, I know I haven't been in the loop with you guys, but. I'm here to help."
Pyre smiled at the Raichu. "Then I guess it's a good thing I'm feeling something. It's faint and kinda fuzzy. Like he's being masked by other auras. There could be a lot of danger." Pyre smiled wider. "Sure ya want in? Last I heard you were trying to make a family."
"That's a story for another time. But yeah, I'm with you." The Raichu smiled back giving a quick nod.
"Then let's go help our bro!" Pyre pumped his fist into the air.