Calem has to admit, the past week has been, besides finding out about another human being being turned into a Pokémon like himself, to have been rather uneventful. Professor Lucas was nice, certainly, and he knew that there was a time for both action in the field and relaxation at home, but he could never truly find the latter.
Having been reborn an Absol, he didn't really... have a way to communicate with his human colleague, but then again... while he had been an assistant researcher in his old life, he'd been thirteen when he died. So, his social skills weren't exactly top-notch to begin with. Plus, the silence allowed him to focus on his training. Calem was determined to become as powerful as he could, to protect himself and those he cared about, should the need ever arise.
And the need would arise, he could feel it in his horn, in the way the world held its breath in wait for calamity to strike. Professor Lucas had assured him should anything happen, they would be ready for it, but Calem's instincts, supernaturally honed by his Absol nature, whispered otherwise. They told him that darkness was never truly vanquished, only pushed aside to wait for its next opening.
Sometimes, when he closed his eyes, he saw them. Shauna, so carefree and joyous, her Frogadier's croaks echoing as the only sign of the partner who would make sure she kept her head on straight, now would never find that je ne sais quois in a life of research. Trevor, with his infinite curiosity who had once been his rival and always looking to one up him with weird strategy after weird strategy, now nothing more than a memory...Tierno would never dance again, his Gogoat's laughter now a mournful echo in the annals of time. And Tierno himself, reduced to ash and dust.
Serena, who always made sure to light a fire under him, to never let him rest on his laurels his talent as a trainer with her Braixen's fiery gaze. And his mother, who had once held him so tightly, her tears soaking his shirt as she whispered words of encouragement before his first gym battle, who had given up a life of Rhyhorn racing to watch him grow into the champion-to-be he had become.
His friends, his family, they all had moved on to greener pastures... or so he hoped. But Calem remained, trapped in a world that was both familiar and eerily alien. He choked back a sob, his fur bristling with the effort of holding in the tears of mourning he'd been shedding for years. It was a strange feeling, being so close to them yet so far apart. The pain of loss was a constant companion, one that grew more acute with every moment of inaction.
Calem had been the only one who could've stopped AZ's weapon from firing. He could've stopped it, if he was a little bit faster, a little bit stronger. If he'd only seen the signs sooner. But he hadn't managed to. His nightmares bore the face of Yveltal, the Oblivion Wings, its wings of shadow swallowing everything he had ever loved. It was his fault. His burden to bear. And he alone of his team witnessed the end of the world as he knew it.
Light falls from the skies, a spectacle as harrowing as it is beautiful as it burns straight through life itself, plunging down into the Earth like a meteor as it turns everything to ash.
A sob, and a shudder, and a howl of grief that seemed to resonate with the very fabric of the universe. Calem's body trembled as he let the weight of his sorrow wash over him. Deep into the night, in the hills that crested Twinleaf, he was alone with his thoughts and his regrets. The stars above offered no comfort, their twinkling a cruel mockery of the lives snuffed out by the weapon's touch.
His howl was heard by nobody- or so he thought, as the professor's Espeon sauntered up to him, the catty Pokémon bearing an unusually concerned look. It nudged him gently with its nose, and Calem realized that he had been watching this whole time.
"...sometimes I wonder what to think of you, Cal. Quite literally. I can't read your thoughts like everyone else's, so what you tell me is all I have to go on." Espeon said, its voice a distressed mewl. His dark type prevented Espeon's telepathy from reaching him, a fact that was both a comfort and an annoyance at times. "And when I see you out here, skipping dinner and sobbing your heart out, what am I supposed to think?"
Calem sighed, his chest heaving with the effort. "I know, I know. But you can't understand, Espeon. It's just..." He paused, searching for the right words. "It's just... it's all so much."
Espeon laid down in the grass, looking up at him. The moonlight reflected off of its eyes in a sad, lost gaze. "...no, I don't. It doesn't seem like anyone can. Even that other human who became a Riolu, his death was... unimportant." Calem winces at those words- Espeon's bluntness was both a gift and a curse. "Compared to you, who got to see the death of your world, he was... just a footnote. And to be honest, I'm glad I can't peer into your thoughts- I can't imagine what that must feel like."
"...I think this was supposed to be the part where you comforted me, Espeon," Calem murmured, his voice thick with emotion as he tried to bury them beneath a layer of schadenfreude. But the Espeon was right. The pain of losing everyone he knew was a burden he bore alone, even if the weight of it threatened to crush him at times.
Almost as if sensing his thoughts, Espeon's eyes narrowed. "But I'm here, Cal. And I care. And even though I can't know what it's like..." it began, though the fire dimmed as quickly as it had flared. "I'm sorry. I'm not good at this. Just..." it sighed, all the energy seeming to drain out of its body as it walked up to his side, legs looking like they were struggling to walk as though made of lead, and leaned against him. "Lay it on me, Cal. Even just a little bit. And maybe when it's over, we can bawl our eyes out together, and hopefully you'll feel a little less alone." Espeon sighed.
Calem hesitated, then nodded. He began to speak, his voice low and halting. He told Espeon of the battles he'd fought, the friends he'd made, and the ultimate sacrifice they had all made. Of the love and joy that had been snuffed out by AZ's grief, and the burden of being the sole witness to the world's end. He talked about the guilt that ate at him, the anger that simmered in his core, and the fear that he'd never truly find peace in this new existence. Of the friends and family that he had lost, and the hope that somewhere too they had woken up, in another world, confused but alive, even in a different form. Of the countless people and Pokémon whose lives had been erased in an instant.
And then he spoke more, of finding the Lysandre of this world, of the rage that threatened to consume him at the fact that here, he was just a twerp, just a kid with a dream to conquer the Pokémon League. Of the voices in his head telling him that regardless of who he was now, Lysandre deserved to die, to pay for his crimes. That he needed to stop him before he could become that man even if right now he was innocent. Of the doubt that ate away at him, whispering that he could never amount to anything. Of the fear that no matter how much he trained, no matter how much he grew, he would never be able to save anyone.
And when he couldn't speak any more, he wept. Great, heaving sobs that racked his body and echoed in the night. Espeon remained silent, just a warm presence against his side, offering the only comfort it knew how. It was strange, Calem thought, that a Pokémon could offer more comfort than a human ever had. But then again, humans couldn't understand what he was going through. They couldn't possibly know the depth of his pain. The one-way language barrier between humans and Pokémon had never felt so vast until he was on the other side of it.
It was perhaps the intensity of that grief and sorrow that attracted another psychic-type visitor on what was supposed to be yet another lonely night. Ethereal in its appearance, with a small, levitating body, pink on the top of the head with its four long appendages, blue on the bottom with four limbs and two tails, the top of its head and the tips of its tails adorned with red gems, carrying an ancient present beyond its size, the Mesprit floating gracefully into the clearing. The mythical Pokémon had picked up the echoes of Calem's pain, the vibrations of his grief resonating with the very fabric of the world itself.
"It is not often I feel the pain of someone so profound that the earth itself trembles with grief," Mesprit's voice was like a gentle breeze, carrying the weight of millennia. "But you have every reason to, don't you, fallen angel?"
Espeon was silent, the psychic eeveelution feeling the magnitude of the existence before him. Mesprit was a rare sight, even for the professor, and Calem felt a mix of awe and dread at the creature's sudden appearance. He looked up, his eyes red and puffy from his outburst. He knew that the legendary Pokémon lived on Lake Verity- even though Calem had never met it, it was technically a part of the Professor's Pokémon team. "What do you mean, Mesprit?"
The psychic type tilted its head slightly, the glow of its eyes seemingly dimming with empathy. "Your heart, it is heavy with the sorrow of a world lost. You bear the weight of a destiny unfulfilled, a promise broken by fate's cruel hand. As one of the few survivors of such a world, how can I not come pay my respects?"
"...you... you were from there as well? From the world where everything... everything was lost?" Calem's voice was a whisper, hope and fear warring within him. Mesprit nodded solemnly, floating closer to him.
"Many of us were. Those of us that were of superior power, distance, or simply... lucky enough to escape the weapon's wrath," Mesprit replied, its voice a soft symphony of regret. "...and yet, for all our power, we have failed you still. This world is our attempt to right that wrong, to give humans a second chance, to live a life you were denied..." it trailed off, before its tone turned more sorrowful. "...unfortunately, we can only do so to the ones we were able to recover. Your friends, your family... I trust in the Great one, but I will not lie to you and claim to know their fates."
"...I see." Calem's voice was hollow, the weight of Mesprit's words settling heavily upon his shoulders. He had hoped for a glimmer of hope, a thread to cling to in the vast sea of despair that was his existence. But even the legendary Pokémon couldn't offer him that. "What am I supposed to do then, Mesprit? Just... move on?"
"...I can yet dull your pain. Quell your sorrow, leave you able to sleep without a care, regardless of what befell the past. As the master of emotion, that is the mercy I can grant you." Mesprit offered, its eyes piercing into Calem's soul.
Calem's breath hitched, his claws digging into the dirt and uprooting the grass as he stared at the guardian of Lake Verity. The offer was tempting, so tempting. To not feel the pain anymore, to not have to carry the guilt and grief that threatened to swallow him every waking moment. To not be drowning in sorrow and regret, to not have to face the fact that he was the only one who knew the truth of why the world had ended.
But... that was also the very reason why Calem could not accept. Someone needed to suffer, someone needed to remember the dead. Earlier he was wondering how could only one person mourn an entire world, but if he didn't, then who would? Who would remember the smiles of Shauna, the laughter of Tierno, the curiosity of Trevor, the determination of Serena, the warmth of his mother? Who would remember the promise he had made to stop Lysandre? He looked up at Mesprit, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "No," he said firmly, his voice clear. "No, Mesprit. I can't. I won't. If I forget the pain, I'll forget them. And if I forget them..." he trailed off, his voice thick with emotion. "They'll truly be gone. And I won't let that happen. I can't."
Mesprit nodded, understanding in its gaze. "Very well," it said softly. "But know that the path you walk is a solitary one. And it is a heavy burden you bear. There is nothing more I can offer to ease your mourning... but it will be acknowledged."
With that, Mesprit faded away into the night, leaving Calem and Espeon in the quiet of the moonlit clearing. The silence was palpable, a stark contrast to the tumultuous emotions that had just been laid bare. Calem took a deep breath, feeling the cool air fill his lungs and somehow ease the ache in his chest. He looked over at his psychic companion, who was still lying against him, the fur around its eyes slightly damp.
"...I don't think Mesprit is fully right," Espeon spoke up after a moment of contemplative silence. Calem thought he might add something comforting, something to ease the ache that felt like it would never leave. "You're not truly alone, Cal. You have me, and Professor Lucas. And... well, if that thing is to be believed, we're all you have left."
"...you are... so very bad at cheering people up. But thanks," Calem said with a sad smile, his eyes following the retreating form of Mesprit. He leaned into Espeon's warmth, feeling the comfort seep into his bones. "But you're right. Even if my burden is solitary, that doesn't mean I am alone."
After that, Calem and Espeon did not move an inch anymore, eventually falling into a deep, dreamless sleep, weeping for the end of a world.
The world was a blur of steel and white as Olivia hurried through the hospital corridor, her heart racing with every footfall. She'd been a nurse for six years, but nothing had prepared her for the chaos that had descended upon the city. The air had the metallic scent of fear and the sterile stench of disinfectant.
Not that there was anything that could be done, at this point, to prepare anyone for what was about to happen outside. The military broadcast had informed them of the impending doom, and the hospital had gone into lockdown. But Olivia knew that the concrete and glass barriers of their medical sanctuary were mere illusions of safety.
There was no shelter to be found, not for kilometers. The New Hampshire Medical Center they were in was one of the several locations that had been chosen for ground zero of a missile attack from an unknown assailant. The world had descended into madness, and Olivia was about to bear witness to the ultimate price of humanity's folly.
Her eyes stung with tears she didn't dare shed. She had no idea why, but her brain had decided that she should face the end with dignity, even if her heart was shattering into a million pieces. As she approached the last window, Olivia felt the floor tremble beneath her, a deep, resonating rumble that seemed to emanate from the very core of the Earth. The lights flickered, once, twice, before plunging them into a stark darkness that was only pierced by the red emergency lights.
She looked in the distance, as a mushroom cloud filled the sky in the distance. It seared itself in her retinas, as Manchester disappeared in a flash of unimaginable light. The heat from the explosion hit her like a wall of fire, and she felt the hospital windows shatter around her. Her skin prickled with the onset of first-degree burns. The screams grew louder, mixing with the alarms, forming a cacophony of despair. Olivia's eyes suffered, growing blurry in a way that she wasn't sure could see repair- of course, that was nothing to the feeling of impending doom in her gut as the radiation wave hit. She... was pretty sure her body had just died, and her nervous system had not yet had time to acknowledge it. Was this how people who had been exposed to the demon core felt? She was thankful her final moments would not be for long now.
...her mom. She had tried calling her, but the lines had gone dead. The last words she had heard from her was her mom asking her to buy two sticks of butter and a loaf of bread from the grocery store. The mundane task had been a comforting routine in the face of the escalating tension. But now, it felt like a million years ago.
"Olivia? Where's my butter?" she whirled around, and against the blurry background of the hospital, she saw her in far too much clarity. Brown hair, black glasses, tall and beautiful in a way that her father had always complained about her being out of his league, Rachel stood before her, holding out a hand. Rachel had never called her 'Olivia' without adding 'sweetie'. Not even when she had been a kid. She had been Rachel's entire world, Rachel had been her rock, her protector, her... mom.
"...mom, why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be at the shelter?" Olivia choked out, her voice barely audible over the cacophony of the dying world. Rachel's smile was gentle, a stark contrast to the horror unfolding around them.
"Olivia, we've gotta watch Netflix, come on. Help me put this butter on the bread. We're gonna make salted toast, just hold it against the LIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" her mother's nonsensical words turned into a howl of pain, one that she echoed as light and fire and pain filled her world. Rachel's hand grew distant, the warmth of it fading away as the wall of heat enveloped them. Her mom's eyes grew wide, a silent scream frozen on her face, forever stuck in the moment she realized she was about to die.
Olivia's heart thundered in her ears as she almost shot up, before realizing she was still cuddled around Nasir's body. The world around her was not on fire, nor was it in the throes of nuclear destruction. It was just a cozy, warm room at the Pokécenter where she worked at, lived at. The flashback had been so vivid, so palpable, that for a moment she had forgotten she was in a different world altogether, turned into an Audino by the reincarnation process that had, apparently, hit more than just herself.
She looked down at the peaceful form of Nasir, the guy who had been turned into a Riolu, and took a deep, shuddering breath. The tremor in her hands didn't ease, nor did the horror of the memory. She squeezed him harder, heaving breaths that she knew did not wake him up only because he was under painkillers. But she needed the comfort, the warmth, the... reality of his presence.
...she felt so dumb about having, in essence, suggested Netflix and chill earlier, and even more so as he didn't pick up. He was pretty sure neither of their new bodies was developed enough for reproduction, so he hadn't even realized what she was saying. But Rachel had been her mother, and she had been Rachel's everything. And now Rachel was gone, and all she had was this... this... stranger.
Because Nasir was a stranger. He was a frenchman, she was American, and before the world ended, they had never known each other. They did not share many interests, and even in this new reality, she didn't know what to say to him. But here they were, the last remnants of an apocalypse, clinging to each other for comfort.
...and he didn't know. He didn't know the world had died in his absence- total nuclear annihilation had been a concept that had existed in the abstract for him, a specter of the past, never something that could happen in reality. But here it was, right outside his view, a silent, terrifying monster that had consumed everything they had ever known. Nasir had died what she assumed to be days, if not hours before the attack, in a gas station robbery.
Add that to the abuse he had suffered in this world... and Olivia simply did not have it in her to break the news to him. Not yet. Not when the only thing keeping him from falling apart was the belief that maybe, just maybe, there was somewhere he could go back to. That if he toiled hard enough, fought hard enough, he could see the world that was left behind in his wake.
...someday she would tell him. When he was better, when he had learned to smile and laugh in this new skin. But for now, she would keep the truth locked tightly within her chest, a burden she bore alone. The pain of her loss mingled with the guilt of keeping his hope alive in a lie.
Olivia's breath hitched. She was cuddling him, the smaller Pokèmon practically buried beneath her with his head poking out from under her. He was not really in a position to hug her back.
How terribly ironic. Here she was, a creature of comfort and care, and she could do nothing but lie because neither of them was strong enough for the truth. She had studied for years to ease human suffering, and now she was lying to ease the mind of a creature that didn't even know how much he ought to suffer.
Olivia wept, and she wept alone. Her tears fell onto the soft fur of the Riolu in her arms, and she hoped, for a brief moment, that he would wake up and just know, that she wouldn't have to tell him, and somehow understand that she was grieving for them both. The tremors grew stronger, and she could hear the distant wails of sirens, the cries of the injured, and the alarms of the hospital around them telling her that the world that she loved was gone.
When darkness consumed her, it was a welcome relief from the image imprinted in her mind of the light that burned the sky.
...hey, I said that Nasir wouldn't face the angst, not that there wouldn't be angst period.
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