AbraPunk
Cosmic Guardian
Belated April fools fic :)
A mass of green and black shot across the sky, a splash of color against the gray clouds that blotted out the sun.
The green blob landed on a well-trodden dirt road, the impact kicking up loose pebbles and a cloud of dirt.
A Flygon stood there, taking in his surroundings. This Flygon was very special, oh yes, for he had some great glasses, and a spiked jacket.
He looked at the village ahead: rows of perfectly neat houses, each identical--
"Hey man, what are you up to?"
The Flygon whirled around to see a Muk right behind him. "How did you get behind me."
The Muk shrugged, somehow being able to do that without shoulders. "Dunno, just did."
"...Why are you here?"
"Was just kinda making my way downtown, y'know." He squinted at the cool Flygon. "Hey, you feeling alright, bud? Actin' a little weird…"
"What do you mean by that? You don't know me."
"Sure I do, everyone does! You're Dodec, the swaggiest Flygon 'round here."
Dodec was disturbed by this complete stranger knowing his name, but brushed it off as word-of-mouth. "The hell does 'swaggiest' mean."
"Uh, like… cool, y'know."
"...Whatever." He glanced just over the Muk and feigned surprise, pointing towards the horizon, "H-Hey, what's that?!"
"Whuh…?" The Muk turned to see what Dodec was pointing at, and saw nothing. "There's nothing th--"
The Flygon had brandished a spiked baseball bat, which he swung at the Muk.
It phased through him.
The Muk flinched, and quickly turned back around. "Did you just try to kill me?"
Dodec stared at the bat, still phasing through the Muk, whom didn't seem to care about the bat inside him. "Wh… Why didn't it--"
"Oh, man, don't you know? This is an anti-Abra world."
"What does that mean, there's no Abra allowed here?"
"No, it means there's no violence allowed, nobody gets hurt, ever, and nothing bad happens to anyone."
"…How is that--" Dodec's mind flashed an image: a white portal opening beneath his feet, and him falling through it. He dropped the bat, which fell through the ground, and clutched his head. "I shouldn't be here." Without another word, he catapulted off from the ground, the force of his launch making the land shake.
He soared through the murky sky, the clouds seeming to come ever closer. His wings beat furiously, and the wind rushed past, chilling him to the bone. He risked a cursory glance down, and he nearly froze from what he saw. There was no ground anymore. Everything, in every direction, was only gray clouds. He was the only color in the gray sea.
Heart pounding, he sped off, only to crash into an invisible wall. He ran his hands along the sky, feeling only smooth and cold surfaces which he could not even see.
Trapped. The Flygon was trapped within a box in the sky. It sounded like a fairy tale for obnoxious, disgusting children.
He glanced off to the side, eyes narrowing. Attuning himself with the pulse of the universe, he pinpointed a location, and punched it with all his might. The sky cracked. He punched again, and again, each blow widening the cracks, until he could see through the shattered wall.
There was nothing. Pure blackness. The vast cosmos awaited, the void of space calling, wishing to consume him.
A voice wriggled its way into his mind, erasing his every thought.
Close your eyes. Ease your mind. Let the stars devour you.
Oh, how he so wished to just lean forward, to squeeze through the hole in the sky, to be adrift within the grasp of space.
His survival instincts stopped him, though.
"No! I won't fall victim to this… whatever it is."
A thick silence filled the atmosphere.
Dodec turned away from the cracked portion of the sky, scanning every other direction for any anomalies. He blinked, and only realized something had wrapped around his tail when he was yanked into the hole.
As he tumbled into space, the thing on his tail released him. It slunk back to whence it came.
He eventually managed to right himself, and stared at the stars surrounding him.
"Welcome, interloper."
Dodec twisted, but could not find the source of the voice. It seemed to come from every direction, from above and below… it shook his bones and his soul.
"Who's there? What is this? How am I breathing in space?"
"So many questions… ah, fret not, little Flygon. You are safe here."
He growled. "Answer my damn questions, or else--"
"Threatening me is not necessary. Look up."
Reluctantly, he did as instructed, and craned his neck to find… a massive Garchomp. The gargantuan dragon was several hundred feet tall, its entire body made up of space and stars, outlined with an ethereal blue, eyes glowing pure white.
He made a dumb, strangled noise somewhere between a gasp and a squeak.
The starry Garchomp hummed in amusement. "I take it you were not expecting such a sight."
"Uh, yeah, I…" Dodec tensed as a humongous claw came towards him, only for it to lightly put his tilted glasses back in place. "Um. Th… Thanks?"
"You are most welcome. Ah, pardon my lack of manners. You may call me the Soulweaver."
"Okay… hi. What exactly are you doing here, out in space?"
"I created this world, that is to say, the one whence you came. I do apologize for grabbing you earlier… the Architect compelled me to do so."
"Wait, you made a world? You?"
"Yes. When I am bored, I create new worlds, and fill them with those who have great stories to be told."
"Huh, nice. And you mentioned an Architect? What's that?"
"My creator… sometimes my rival. The Architect creates worlds, much as I do, but those created by them tend to have a certain… shall we say darkness. Little hope for the inhabitants."
Dodec suddenly found himself shuddering, as if he'd been locked inside a snowstorm. "So, they're evil?"
"No. I suppose they simply have a penchant for the grim. I, however, much prefer the opposite. No suffering, no bloodshed. Everyone is happy." The Soulweaver tilted their head as they more closely examined Dodec. "Judging by your attire, you came from a world created by the Architect. I ponder for what purpose they would have you brought into one of my worlds."
He shrugged. "Hell if I know. I just remember fighting off some feral bastards, when a crazy portal spawned under me, and then I fell into… the other world-- your world, I guess."
The Soulweaver chuckled. "Ah, it does certainly sound as though you came from an Architect world. Mm. May I ask, would you wish to return to your original world?"
"I mean… can I? Would I even be… I dunno, accepted back or something?"
"I don't see why not." They suddenly flinched, then held a claw to their head and grunted, squeezing their eyes shut. After a few seconds, they regained their composure, panting slightly. "My apologies. The Architect attempted to… seize control."
"Wh… What does that mean?"
"Everything that happens within my worlds may be of my own volition, but here, in between worlds… you can call it 'free game'. We skirmish every so often to wrest control of the narrative from each other."
"I must sound dumb as hell right now with all these questions, but… narrative?"
"The written record of my will, or of the Architect's. Look for yourself." The Soulweaver gestured to the side, where a massive scrolling wall of text resided.
Dodec floated closer to it, staring in amazement, until he realized-- "Th-This is everything that I've said! And everything you've said! And… all this extra stuff?"
"Quite the amazing thing, isn't it?" They sighed contentedly. "Oh, I nearly forgot. Are you ready to be taken back to the world you know?"
"...Yeah, I'm ready."
"Good." An immense power surged through them, radiating outwards, a brilliant forest green aura. "I wish you the best of luck, Dodec."
There was a flash, and Dodec was falling, falling through the cosmos, stars and planets zooming past him.
Then his feet landed on solid ground. He looked around at the chaos, the burning buildings in the distance, the bloody fighting only a few feet away.
He was back in his world.
"Oi! Where'd you disappear off to, cobber?" A Nidoking, gripping a giant battle axe with one hand, shouted over at Dodec.
"You won't believe it! Save it 'till after the battle, though, yeah?"
"Alright! Then let's get back to it!" The Nidoking snarled as he choke-slammed a screeching Raticate.
Dodec's hands found his twin daggers and grinned. Yes, this was what he knew. Stalling briefly to fix his glasses and jacket, he pondered what he'd just been through… then decided he could forget about it with no consequences.
He leapt into the fray, fighting with dramatic flair, spinning and slashing his way through the horde of feral Pokémon.
Everything was as it should be.
~~
Elsewhere, high above the clouds and the smoke, within the stars…
A gargantuan, starry Abra sat, staring at the wall of text that slowly scrolled by.
They sighed.
"'Everything was as it should be.' What a stupid line to end on." They were silent for several seconds, then shrugged. "Doesn't matter. This is a joke anyways."
They lifted their head, seemingly staring at nothing. "April fools."
They weren't entirely sure why they said that.