Pokémon PMD: Flowerbeds

[SnapDragon]

Chapter 56: Day 19, Part 6 – The Samurai

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Flames rage violently, on all sides, forevermore. The heat is unyielding. The pain is unbearable. It does not stop. It will not stop. It cannot stop.

The Fire Witch is born from the ashes.

She is a ball of destruction through the land. Nothing can stop her, not as long as the pain remains.

The Fire Witch concocts a plan to end the pain: burn and burn until the ashes snuff out the flame.

She gives herself a new name, a new identity.

The Fire Witch earns this name through escapades of conquest and glory.

The Fire Witch is respected and revered.

The Fire Witch is remembered and applauded.

She laughs.

She laughs.

The Fire Witch laughs at their petty foolishness.

She must continue to blaze alight, for the pain never ends.

The Fire Witch takes her first life, innocence fading into the night.

She targets the weak and frail, for they won't be missed by the strong.

The Fire Witch burns down homes of those that slighted her.

She disfigures those that deserve it.

The Fire Witch seduces as she pleases.

The Fire Witch is terrorizing children again.

She ends lives earlier and earlier, easier and easier.

The Fire Witch loses her name.

And yet, the pain remains, for her reign never ends.

She laughs.

She laughs.

The Fire Witch laughs as she burns to death.

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---

Ganlon Mine: 3rd floor

I could still feel my skin searing and my bones melting.

A horrible sensation lingered, and my body spasmed. Cold, hard stone clung to my back, bending it, carving lines like steel wire shaped like a net. It cut into me, chopping up my body into perfectly shaped squares, angular and sharp. Still conscious, still aware. I was segmented, organized, and stacked.

It hurt like hell.

The pain was gone almost immediately after I found myself underneath the jagged, black abyss that was this cave system's inner workings. I doubted that the pain was even there to begin with, if I thought about it for too long.

But my head—ow ow ow my head—it wouldn't let go of the burning and the agony and the persistent, horrible, awful screeching-

"AaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

I remembered how to use my vocal chords right then. The scream I finally released was more bloodcurdling than I thought I was capable of. It cascaded down the tunnel and back to me like a wave.

I laid there, on the ground, head pounding and throat inexorably sore. My breaths came out as ragged and labored, defeated and final.

What the fuck was that?

None of what I saw or…experienced? Lived through? faded from memory like a dream would. It was like witnessing someone else's perspective in one moment, then feeling everything they felt, all at once, right after.

The Fire Witch…her laugh sent a chill down my spine. Whoever she was, that crazy bitch relished every second of her body being engulfed in flames.

The worst part?

I thought I did, too. In the moment, her ecstasy was mine.

Now that I was awake, I had to wonder what about it was so pleasurable. Was this what insanity felt like?

Right then, I decided, without any more internal discussion, to disregard any possibility of further exploration. It didn't happen. My mind was playing tricks on me to get me to crack. I just knew it.

So, with that pushed aside…where was I?

My skin still throbbed with phantom pains, and I really needed to reorient myself. Sitting up, I sucked in air through my teeth, tightly gripping the strap of my shoulder bag. Which…okay, good. I still had that.

Ahead of me was an outcrop in the rock, highlighted by flickering lamps hanging in the dark. A metal bucket rested up against the tunnel wall, overloaded to the brim with stones. A shovel sat nearby.

My wiggly, pink button nose analyzed my surroundings with my next sharp breath. The cave smelled like decay, moldy condensation, and multiple kinds of waste. Far off there was the slightest lick of iron, coated with an even layer of soot and gravel. A smearing of coal along the walls, minecarts inert on their tracks, wooden supports to prevent cave-ins—all of which were further in, somewhere, waiting. Barely able to be seen in the dark ahead of me.

Oh right, we were in a mine, not a cave. Why wasn't that obvious until now?

I turned around and found my back facing a dead end. Had it not been for the lights I would have assumed I had gone in a circle and ended up on the first floor again. Like this dungeon was sending me through a loop, one dip into hell after another.

I was also…alone.

"Fenn?" I croaked out. "Finch?"

A pit fell in my stomach. I looked down at my paws, flexing them.

Shit…we forgot to hold hands, didn't we?

How could we possibly think to do that in the dark while trying not to get crushed? I'd consider myself vindicated if I wasn't, you know, all by myself now.

"Fenn!" I called out again. "Finch!" Still nothing.

I huffed. Great. Me and my bad luck. I almost fell on my back and gave up right then and there.

"Oswald…? What is going on…?"

A small, muffled voice made me jump. "Cosmo!" I blurted out, my paws immediately darting to rip my bag open.

The purple Solosis tentatively floated up and out, his tiny face wilting deep with worry. His voice was small when he asked, "Why are you shouting? Did you get hurt?"

I didn't think twice before pulling him into a hug.

"No, no, no!" I mumbled breathlessly. "No, buddy, I'm okay. Everything's okay."

A wave of relief washed over me. Thank god Cosmo was safe. What were we thinking bringing him along?

His bubble squished under my paws, soft yet firm. He was tense, unsure of what to say or do.

"Okay…" Cosmo whispered, then shuffled a bit in my arms. "Where is Fenn and uncle Finch?"

My grip loosened, which was just enough for Cosmo to slip from my grasp and roll onto the floor. He landed with a bounce. It didn't bother him.

I wondered if it was a good idea to tell him the truth for a moment. Cosmo was a kid, sure, but if I kept treating him like a kid then he'd act like one. In a place like this, that probably wasn't ideal.

Of course, I could just stuff him into the bag again. Not like he'd say no. The thought of exploring this dark mine with nothing but my thoughts didn't sit well with me, though.

Reluctantly, I said, "They're…somewhere else. We have to go find them."

Cosmo immediately brightened up, his bubble lighting up with a pink hue.

"Oh! Cosmo will help! He's good at navigating tight spots! Like cubby holes! And crawl spaces!" The Solosis bounced further into the tunnel. "Do not worry! The hero of the jungle gym will keep you safe!"

"Wait, Cosmo, stop!" I snapped, leaping to my feet. Dashing forward, I stumbled just far enough to grab Cosmo and pull him back into my chest.

When I glanced down, breathing hard, I found Cosmo staring up at me affectionately, not a single thought behind those little eyes.

"Okay," he said.

"Just…stay with me," I demanded.

Cosmo stiffened. "Okay."

I sighed, frowning.

There he goes again…

"That's it?"

"That is what?" Cosmo wondered curiously.

"No pushback?" I said. "Not even going to argue?"

His blank look was very apparent behind the dull shimmer of his bubble.

"Why would Cosmo argue? Oswald told him to stay, so Cosmo will stay."

Why I decided to let this bother me now, of all times, was beyond me. I let Cosmo out of my arms, to which he hovered in place.

"Why do you do that?" I prodded.

Cosmo tilted his body mid-air. "Do what?

"You know-" I gestured ambiguously with my hands, motioning to…all of Cosmo, "-stop arguing as soon as I tell you to do something? I swear you didn't always do that."

Because yeah, back when we were at that wild west village, Cosmo didn't want to get in the bag at first. Every time after that he just did it without thinking. Sure, we convinced him that it was best. But Cosmo clearly wanted to do more. Even he had to know that he couldn't sit in the dark all the time.

Cosmo visibly sagged in the air, his eyes avoiding mine.

"Um…Cosmo does not want to do something wrong…"

I could detect the reluctance in that answer; it was painted all across the little guy's face. That sour expression was what I expected when I'd tell him what to do. Maybe it could have been true, and Cosmo was worried about being punished. All kids are like that. But that also sounded too simple. If he just didn't want to upset us—upset me—he'd at least act sad about it at that moment.

Normal kids get sad. They get angry when grown ups tell them what to do, too.

Normal kids also just have the one name and don't change colors out of nowhere…hmm.

I crossed my arms. "You haven't done anything wrong, Cosmo. It's just…I want to be sure. There's nothing you want to tell me? Nothing while we're alone and no one will judge you?"

A moment's consideration—Cosmo briefly looked at me only to avert his gaze immediately after. He shook himself silently.

"...Alright then. Suit yourself."

I'll come back to this later, I thought, looking about myself for a distraction. No use trying to make him answer me here.

Nothing had changed since I stood up, but it was hard to ignore the immense pressure weighing on my back and shoulders. Like a sudden wave of humidity, the fur on the back of my neck prickled, driving all the way past my shoulders and down to my tail. The air was heavy and hot, crowding me even further in these tight tunnels.

I was in a mystery dungeon, so of course it would feel like I was being compressed every second I was away from open air. Dark, scary things awaited me deeper below, just like any other dungeon. It was only just then that I remembered what that was like.

The fact that dungeons could just turn that off at any given moment bothered the hell out of me.

I gripped one of the scalchops on my hip. With Fenn and Finch missing, the only one capable of fighting was me. This pressure gave me very little space for doubt that I'd have to test out that Ice Beam on a living opponent.

What a sobering thought.

"Only way forward…" I said. "Come on, Cosmo. Let's go."

He followed without question.

---

Oo-oO​

"Do you recall what I told you once about mystery dungeons, old friend?" Crane asked in a slithery voice. "Do you? Well, you ought to know that they will speak to you if you treat them kindly enough."

"I fail to understand why this is relevant, old chum," Canary said, more than a little perplexed by the change in topic.

To Larkspur, the perplexity was rightfully earned. Did Crane really think he could distract them from his infidelity with the Oriole that easily?

Well, two could play at this game.

"You've gone completely mad, haven't you?" hissed the Malamar. "What is this falsehood? Where is your intellect? Spouting such nonsense…your shame falls from your greasy fingertips like-" he flicked his tentacle in Crane's direction, "-shaven rocks. You disgust me."

Words so sweetly uttered, hidden for so long amongst a miasma of contempt and indignance. Even Canary looked back with abject horror in his eyes. These were not words meant to be spoken, but felt.

Larkspur understood words. They could not kill directly, nor could they really hurt others in his eyes, but they could misdirect, goad, and cause cascading effects that atom bombs envision in feted nightmares.

It had its intended effect; Crane was left completely gobsmacked, his gem eyes sucking in the light of his corner of the room. The imp's claws dug into the chair deep enough to carve black streaks of filth.

That, along with the carpet, would be burned after this meeting.

"Mad…?" Crane uttered in complete disbelief. "Mad? Mad? MAD!?"

Intensity shot into the air with the snap of a Clawitzer's claw, propelling the Zoroark in the opposing chair to his feet, knocking said chair onto its back.

Larkspur did not flinch. Why would he, when the reaction he desired had occurred without error?

Sharp teeth flared in the wavering candle's light, a deadly scowl fit for a warlord. Crane had all of the fury in the world hard set for one singular Malamar. It was the kind of anger fit for ripe kings in their spiky thrones.

And yet…

Crane did not move. He did not even stand up.

Not another word escaped him…until he started giggling.

And laughing.

And chuckling like a fool. Before long, he was howling like an Oranguru, belting his pure elation to the ceiling above. Tiny, sparkling gems fell in droves from the cracks of his eyes and clattered to the floor.

Crane said, "I am mad, yes. So, so mad." His eyes glinted. "But you need that, Lark. You always have. You love the madness. You love me." His smile stretched from ear-to-ear. "Because you know it's true, don't you? I know you do."

He pointed a gangly finger, jabbing it at the open air. "The dungeons…they speak to you, too."

This was, however, not intended.

Larkspur scoffed behind his tightly shut beak. Do not show weakness. Not here. Not now.

"Pray tell, what would they say, Crane?" Larkspur snapped, his beak making a sharp cracking noise on the last word.

Crane receded into his chair giggling like a child who knew they had gotten away with theft, jingling his necklace between his fingers all the while. "Maybe if you were kinder, I would tell you. Tee hee!"

Games. Games, games, games. That was all it was to Crane. There was once a time when these games were fun for everyone involved. But that was years ago. Larkspur had waited decades to arrive at this moment in time, only to be laughed at by some clown pretending to be an archeologist.

Out of pure, unabashed and boiling hatred, Larkspur waltzed right past a cowering Canary and stood in front of the painting on the wall. His dearest Luna.

Luna…

Oh, Luna…

The Delphox was bathed in flame, a look cast about her shoulder that spoke a million salacious, lustful calls. He yearned for them—a simpler time, a simpler life. The tentacles atop his head swayed along with a nonexistent song.

Of course, the Sableye was watching him, licking his slimy lips for leverage, a reason to maim, an avenue for murder.

In a sing-song sort of voice, Crane said, "I've heard her, you know. For years now, she's spoken to me in my dreams." There was a melancholic affect to his tone. A longing, even. "Mystery Dungeons are such wonderful beasts, yes they are. To think, such a beauty could never die."

Larkspur did not falter. Yes, there was once a time when even the strongest of chaste knights quivered at the sight of that Delphox. He knew it to be true, as Crane's comments came at no surprise.

It was that predictability that led the fool straight into a trap.

"No, you have not," Larkspur whispered knowingly.

The following pause and sudden increase in attentiveness of the Sableye told Larkspur the truth: he had succeeded.

Crane stuttered. "W-what? How would you know?"

Such were the words of a failure. A loss in the war of communication.

Larkspur turned, a look of pure bliss upon his face. He spoke in confidence, for he knew it to be true.

"Her voice belongs to me."

---

Oo-oO​

For a mine, there sure was a lot of vegetation down here.

A lantern I had plucked from the wall illuminated the variety of green in these tunnels. The sudden appearance of damp grass softened the sounds of my footsteps as Cosmo and I progressed, one corridor after another. The weeds in the cracks of rocks did little but make the rock walls less boring, and the occasional vine stalk snaking up to the ceiling hardly slowed us down. That wasn't really saying much, though.

I'll admit, I had a lot of stupid questions to ask during my time in this world. But Cosmo more or less confirmed that the one on my mind was worth asking:

"Hey Oswald, Cosmo thought plants needed sunlight to grow…"

It was one thing to break the rules of reality, it was another to manipulate life to this degree. The whole thing set my teeth on edge. Granted, there was no reason why this had to be a surprise after everything before, so maybe that was why I just gave it a second look and moved on. Earlier, there were these strange bulbs with brown and dried leaves sticking out of the ground at points. They didn't seem to hold any sort of purpose, so I ignored them the same way.

Not like it was a dead body or anything.

"That's because they do," I replied to Cosmo, passing by a minecart that had been turned into a flowerpot. "I'm surprised you know something like that. Did you go to school at some point?"

Cosmo was slow to answer, and when he did it was just another question. "…School?"

"Yeah," I said. "You had to have learned that somewhere, right?" I certainly did, at some point in my life. And even if it was just bestowed upon me, Cosmo wasn't the one with memory loss here.

"Cosmo…guesses so," Cosmo muttered.

I frowned over my shoulder at the little Solosis, then sighed when I saw how downtrodden he was. "You can tell me anything, Cosmo, I won't bite."

Cosmo's gaze fell. "…School is not very heroic…"

That made me snort, actually. Where did he get that idea from? Er, well, I imagined that most kids believed in something like that. Still, it made me wonder about something that had been on my mind.

"If I asked Astro the same question, what would he tell me?"

Cosmo's eyes darted back up to meet mine, panic bleeding straight out of his bubble.

"Astro is even more secretive than Cosmo- oop!"

As if slamming his own mouth shut, Cosmo cut himself off suddenly.

I pursed my lips. "Point taken," I said.

I think I need Fenn for this. Or maybe Finch…yeah, probably Finch. That would be good.

My lantern swung in my paw as I walked, illuminating each dark corridor, but not enough to satiate any fears I might have had. The shivers from that vision still lingered; every dark corner was an avenue to burn my skin. This place was big—way more so than the past two floors.

Not a whole lot of turns, though. If the other two were here, they definitely weren't behind us.

Ahead, one of the lightbulbs on the ceiling blew out suddenly, tiny electrical sparks falling to the ground, crackling. I stared at the tiny specks of light dying out at my feet, perturbed.

Cosmo quietly whimpered out, "Hey Oswald?"

"What is it?" I said.

"Do these lights mean that there are electric type pokemon here? Cosmo doesn't want to get shocked."

"I don't know, Cosmo."

I could only hope there weren't any.

We kept moving.

"Fenn!" I called out, to no avail. "Finch!" Just how big was this floor?

An answer to my question came in the form of a change I was dreading: a fork in the road.

"Oh great…" I muttered.

Holding the lantern aloft wasn't enough to see far down either of these paths. Both smelled of dusty iron, like fresh blood under the tongue, and echoed every falling water droplet just out of view. The first actual choice I was presented with in this dungeon, and it wasn't an easy one.

"Doduo tunnel…" Cosmo groaned. "Which way?"

I shrugged. "I don't think it matters." That was a lie. Fenn could be down one, Finch could be down the other. There had to be some logic behind this…

Choosing was hard. So, I decided to make Cosmo choose for me.

"Hey, Cosmo, pick a-"

I stopped myself, then started back up again.

"Can you pick a path for me?"

Cosmo made a face as he took the extra effort to peer down each path thoroughly, making a variety of "hmmm" noises all the while. Eventually, he brightened up and hopped in front of the left side path.
"This one!" Cosmo declared. "Left is best!"

Couldn't argue with that. I was going to go right, purely because I assumed the dungeon would put Fenn on the path that I usually decided to take. But then again…yeah, no. It would just be a bunch of mind games and I'd get it wrong in the end anyway. Having Cosmo do it was better.

"Alright," I said, nodding. "Left is best."

Onward. Again. God, this dungeon likes to waste our time.

Naturally, with nothing else to fill my mind, it all came back to Cosmo. Because this tunnel sure as hell wasn't any more interesting than the last one. In short, I just didn't know what to make of any of it; Cosmo was just too unusual. Every explanation I had led nowhere, and I was left feeling like I knew nothing about the kid in the end.

I realized then that I could change that right now. Not like he could say no.

Oh, ew. I physically recoiled at that thought immediately. No, I'm not like that. Cosmo was just a kid, he didn't deserve that. Hell, nobody deserved that.
I knew what it was like to be pushed to do something you didn't want to do.

Treading carefully, I asked instead: "So, I know this might be a weird time to ask—hope you don't mind talking about this—but I wanted to know, Cosmo, what was your life like before we met?"

Before, the Solosis had mostly just been floating along, but after being proposed with that question, he started bouncing back and forth from one side of my head to the other.

"Oh! Cosmo was on the run!" he said.

I raised an eyebrow. Not the answer I was expecting, yet somehow it was more telling than anything else I knew.

"Why?" I wondered. "What happened?"

Cosmo started talking all triumphantly and faking a deep voice. "Some dastardly villains discovered Cosmo's whereabouts! He had no choice but to run and start over!"

"Whereabouts? You mean like…home base?"

"Yes! Where Cosmo, the hero plans his rescues!"
"Where was that?"

Cosmo stopped bouncing. "W-where was what?"

"Your home base," I reiterated, trying to meet him at his level. Attempting anything otherwise never worked. "Where was it?"

His eyes fell. His tone turned timid. "It was…somewhere?"

"Somewhere?"

"Somewhere…it's a secret! Secret base!"

I looked ahead as we walked, peering into the darkness past the faint light of the lantern. There really wasn't much of a choice, I had to march into the unknowable, with no way to predict if any of it could make sense. Were we really that far down, or did it just seem like it?

How far would we have to go? How much of the journey mattered?

Why wouldn't someone take a shortcut to the bottom if there was one?

I hadn't even said anything and I was already regretting it. But it was for his safety, his future. I'd be a bad guardian for not knowing, wouldn't I?

"Cosmo," I spoke firmly but not unkindly, "tell me where 'somewhere' is?"

I paid special attention to how he reacted to that command, going so far as to look him dead-on when I said it.

Almost immediately, Cosmo's entire bubble sharpened in a way that turned the elastic gel into what looked like pink plastic. His goopy-like eyes that normally seemed so carefree and erratic became serious in a way that made him appear three times older in an instant. He was looking at me, communicating that he was in fact there, but also felt constricted?

Seeing this made me sick to my stomach. Though I couldn't focus on that much when I noticed how distressed he appeared a moment later.

"S-somewhere is," Cosmo whined, "or…orphanage." He made a soft whimpering noise. "No…"

Well, I got my answer, but if that was what it took, then I didn't want it. I stopped in my tracks to gawk at that Solosis, lantern down at my side. I blinked apologetically.

As softly as I could, I held up a paw. "Hey, hey," I said. "You don't have to say any more. Like…it's okay. Okay?"

Cosmo sniffled. "Okay…"

Never doing that again, I promised internally. Never. Again.

I sighed, letting my shoulders relax and my paw collapsed to my side. "Can you tell me why you do that, Cosmo? Why telling you to do something makes you do it, even if you don't want to?"
"Cosmo doesn't wanna…" Cosmo uttered, looking away.

"You don't want to tell me? Why?"

"Hurts…"

"Physically? Does it…make you feel pain?" At this point I just wanted to know if I could stop it in general.

"…No," was his response, and I was pretty thankful for that. Even if it still wasn't good.

I wasn't fit for this. I never was. What the fuck was I thinking, letting this kid come along? I knew it wasn't sunshine and rainbows back then, why would that change now?

Moron. Idiot. Stupid asshole!

Whatever. We needed to keep moving.

Giving Cosmo a sad look, I said, "That's still gotta hurt, huh? I'm sorry, Cosmo. I won't do it again, I promise."

Finally, he looked back at me. His eyes were wet inside that bubble, but the relief was refreshing to see. He muttered, "O-okay. Cosmo is sorry-"

I cut him off. "Buddy, don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong and you shouldn't have to do anything you don't want to."

"Okay…" Cosmo whispered. It sounded like he was responding to being reprimanded, even if he stopped himself from crying. I really hoped he wasn't used to this.

Really hoping his caretakers were nice to him.

The second I find Fenn, I thought, we need to talk about getting this kid some help.

First, though, I needed to make up for this. I had no idea how, seeing that there was no way of knowing what was even causing it. But then I thought back on what brought me from the brink when I was feeling hopeless.
Who knows? Maybe it was just something he had to live with. That didn't mean he had to do it alone. My job was to let him know that.
I lifted my lantern back up and got to walking again.

"Hey, what do you say we go get ice cream after this?" I said with a smile.

Cosmo's eyes lit up like little stars as he followed me. "Ice cream?"

"Yeah, you like ice cream?"

He gasped. "Ice cream! Yeah, yeah, yeah!"

I chuckled, looking back at him with a full-on grin, my whiskers rising up with my cheeks. "What flavors? Any favorites?"

Cosmo's response was immediate: "All of them!"

"All of them?"

"Yeah! U-uh, as long as they're not a pokemon, because that would be weird. One time, Cosmo saw a Vanillite, and- and- and-"

WHACK!

I let out a scream as a sudden burst of pain split up my forearm.

"Ow! God! What!"

Cosmo let out a high pitched squeal, thankfully directly behind my head and out of the way.

"Oswald!" he cried.

Stumbling back, I spared maybe half a second to examine the damage through the wavering light of my lantern, and that was all it took for me to grow queasy. A long, red streak painted my upper arm, bleeding red viscous. I couldn't tell how deep the cut was in the time I had. I just knew it stung like a long bee sting.

The source of the damage wasn't far off.

Protruding from the ground was a pair of vines pointing straight up. They writhed frantically, without common sense or cohesion. One whipped the air in the spot I was just in with movements so fast that I could've blinked and missed it. The low light only made it harder to see where it was at any given moment.

Then the body started moving.

There was one of those bulbs I had noticed earlier. That same brown and decaying leaves swayed as the body belonging to these vines readjusted itself, turned around, and faced me. The thing was, at least at some point, an Ivysaur. I only called it that because the features were unmistakable. Everything else, from its slimy, malignant skin to its dark, sunken eyelids told me that this Ivysaur was far from normal. There was nothing in those eyes.

Fear tangoed with bewilderment within my mind. The shadows of the cave conspired against me to spawn a nightmare.

What the fuck?

I really didn't need to be told outright that this thing wanted me dead, but I'll give credit to the dungeon for finally dropping any pretenses. This wasn't a pokemon anymore—it was a demon.

Black ooze dripped from the Ivysaur's open jaw as it focused hard on me, hollow grin and all. The thing gurgled like a drowned toad, its other vine whipping the air. I could feel the threat in its shockwave.

Clutching my arm, I took another step back. The fur on the back of my neck stood up. My blood was running cold.

"O-Oswald…" Cosmo whimpered. "What is-"

The Ivysaur lunged. Another blink and my vision was obscured by a blur of black and dark green.

"No!" I screeched reflexively, but I wasn't able to reach my scalchop in time.

The world careened backward as I was toppled to the ground. The Ivysaur was heavy on my chest, further exacerbated by me being far from ready for it. Vines cracked above my head, my torso grew sticky and uncomfortably warm, and my whiskers thrummed with disgust.

And that wasn't even the worst part.

Crash!

The lantern fell from my grip and onto the ground, shattering into tiny glass shards. Everything went dark. I could only detect the vague silhouette of the beast and the afterimage of the light.

My mind was rushing to find meaning in all of this. I flailed my arms, but each time I found purchase I couldn't stop from recoiling. Not knowing what I was touching, all the while being battered by something I couldn't see made me screech my lungs out. Bile tasted like iron which tasted like blood, and no amount of kicking and screaming was halting the darkness from encroaching on the sides of my vision. I wanted to cry. I wanted to throw up.

I wanted to live.

Out of the corner of my eye, a simple pink glow permeated the tunnel. It was brief and slight, but even that was enough to brighten the entire wall, as well as the monster on top of me. Finally, I had more than blurry shapes to work with.

"Get OFF!" I shouted, leveraging my weight between the floor, the creature, and my foot. I kicked up into the Ivysaur's half-melted midsection just as its toothless jaw was about to clasp onto my neck. It tumbled to the floor, black ooze trailing behind it. No more than a second passed before it was on its feet again. And even then, I could barely see it.

I rose to my feet sluggishly, my entire body like some clumsy sack of soggy meat. Ooze stuck to my fur in clumps and my arm ached. All I could do to ignore it and avoid vomiting was to pinpoint my heartbeats and follow their lead.

Fenn wasn't here to help me. I had to do this all on my own. In the dark. With a thrashing headache and my nostrils burning from a stench too strong to smell.

One.

Everything about this situation frightened me. Made me sick.

Two.

Why me? Why was this happening?

Three.

It was staring me down, about to pounce. I had to act.

Four.

My fingers found the ridges of my scalchop. I didn't need light to find it.

Five. Six. Seven.

I was alive.

Eight.

It lunged.

Nine.

I closed my eyes.

A horrible gurgling screech met my ears, driving me out of my stupor. Before I knew it, the beast was rolling on the floor, writhing in pain. A long gash ran from its forehead to its jaw, leaking black ooze. Somehow, it was still alive.

Somehow, I had done that.

Somehow, I could see clearly.

I looked down at my paw.

The scalchop was there, tightly gripped between my fingers. A long, shimmering blade of light jutted out from its edges. Brighter than any lantern, stronger than the sun. It gleamed gold as if to say "ready when you are."

I stared in awe. Not only did it show up when I needed it, it was sticking around to finish the job.

I remembered something right then. A quote from a movie or something?

You may abandon your own body, but you must preserve your honor.

Do not fear death. Your sword shall lead the way, samurai.

Swift had given me some advice before. There I was thinking that I had tuned out most of what he said and just followed his examples. But then this pops in my mind like it was waiting to do so.

"Pokemon don't fight because they have to, or even because they want to. Fighting is just another part of life. It keeps you sharp. It keeps you healthy. It's normal. Stop treating it like it's anything special."

"And stop getting caught on doing it wrong…" I whispered under my breath. It did always seem a little strange that Swift gave me that advice but taught me specific techniques anyway. Even corrected me at points. So, if none of it mattered, why was I doing it?

That question hit me just as I realized that my legs had widened out and my arms had raised the scalchop into a guarded stance without me realizing it.

The Ivysaur cowered in the dark, now in full view. It recognized that it no longer had the upper hand. With that gash, the beast's face took on a worried expression. I also got a view of its lower half—or at least, what there was of it—from the upper angle. Its hind legs tapered off into a couple of miasma-laden stumps that dragged behind it uselessly.

It looked pathetic. Too sick to even move, let alone fight. Its leaves were practically falling off at the same time.

Cutting this thing didn't feel good. I knew it was just an illusion or something like that, but I couldn't help but feel like I was making a mistake. Did it used to be a real pokemon? Why did it look so afraid?

It might have detected my hesitance, because it tried to lunge for me again, despite the apparent danger.

My limbs locked up. Seeing the Ivysaur try to attack me again made the sticky ooze burn on my chest. I had little time to react, and most of it was spent waiting for my brain to catch up.

And yet…

At the last possible moment, I pressed the blade forward. Its tip collided with the Ivysaur, directly in the middle of its chest. With how it opted to attack head-on, the movement was little more than a flick of the wrist.

There was now an Ivysaur skewered on my scalchop. It looked me straight in the eye and I swore I saw a glimmer of recollection winking back at me.

For several strange moments, the limp body laid suspended in the air, then slid off just as the life left its eyes. The body hit the floor with a dull plop.

I couldn't stop looking at it—hobbled mess of goo and dead plants that it was. Everything went on pause until Cosmo's voice met my ears.

"Oswald, you got it!" Cosmo shouted in surprise.

My gaze darted between him, my scalchop—still activated, by the way—and the dead monster.

"I did...Huh," was all I could think to say.

I don't even…

How do I…did I…how…what…?

Cosmo had more to say, in comparison. "That was awesome! Cosmo's never seen anything like it! That creepy thing was like 'graa!' and Oswald was like 'shwing!' and beat it!"

Once again, I looked between Cosmo and the blade, ultimately deciding that yes, I did do that. And dammit, it was awesome.

"Heh, all in a day's work," I said, wearing a confident smirk. I waved the scalchop around like it was a toy and not a deadly laser sword. "But hey, gotta commend you, too, Cosmo. Without you I would've been blind. Since when have you been able to do that?"

Cosmo's cheeks turned a bright red under his pink bubble. "A while," Cosmo said sheepishly. "Cosmo only activated his spotlight mode because the other light broke."

Oh yeah. The lantern still laid shattered on the cave floor. Funny, because I could still see clearly.

"Don't need it," I remarked, brandishing my scalchop like a beacon. "This is easier to hold anyway."

"Whoa…"

Cosmo's amazement was understandable, as long as I assumed he was staring at the light. But he wasn't. I followed his gaze to the floor—where the Ivysaur still was.

Goosebumps prickled along my skin. It wasn't an Ivysaur anymore. Wasn't a dead thing either. Just a puddle of gray sludge.

That gray sludge melted into the earth, disappearing from sight. Even the sludge clinging to my fur dissipated, gone. My fur felt completely dry. I went to touch my chest, only for a sudden jolt of pain to strike my skull.

"Agh!" I grunted, clenching my eyes shut and gripping an ear with my free paw. It took everything in me not to collapse to my knees.

"Oswald?" Cosmo asked. I could barely hear him over the intense ringing all around me.

My head was pounding. For some reason, watching the sludge caused an immediate reaction for me. When I forced my eyes open, the floor was spinning like a whirlpool. The walls were melting.

"Damn..I'm fine…I'm fine," I repeated under my breath, trying to assuage Cosmo's concerns. It seemed to work, seeing as how he went quiet.

After blinking several times and waiting for the ringing to pass, I was eventually able to shake off the wooziness. My head still ached, but it was a dull throb now. I panted heavily, gripping the side of my head tight enough to pull out a few strands of fur.

"Oswald?" Cosmo tried again, softer this time.
I breathed out, "I'm fine," again. This time, I meant it. "Don't worry about it. Just…had a dizzy spell, I guess."

"Okay…" Cosmo pondered aloud, "Where'd it go?"

I didn't answer. I was just as perplexed as he was. The floor was a floor again, at least. No more spinning.

The Solosis drifted closer, trepidation shrinking his bubble around its core. "Um…can Cosmo be near you, Oswald? This is weird…"

"...Sure," I said absentmindedly, turning my wrist over and over again. Just to make sure it worked after all of that. "Stay…stay close to me."

"Okay…huh?"

I jolted to attention, looking up at Cosmo. "What? What is it?"

"Your paw!"

"My wha-"

It made no sense. I was staring at my palm just a second ago. When I turned it over to look at the back of my hand, however, my heart dropped well past my stomach.

A flame flickered atop my fur, burning my paw to cinders.

My tail smacked the floor in sheer panic.

"AH! Shitshitshit!"

Frantically, I batted at it with my other paw, trying to put it out. But no matter what I did, the flame wouldn't be extinguished.

Cosmo tilted back away from me, his bubble doubling in size. "Fire! Fire!"

Again and again and again I smacked my wrist, but it just wouldn't go out. I screamed at the top of my lungs, stomping my feet and flailing my arms. "Stop! Stop!"

Panic fully set in once I noticed that not only was it persisting, it was spreading. My entire hand was engulfed in flames within seconds.

Flashes of the Fire Witch's fate flared inside my mind, pain surging through my limbs. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. IT WASN'T REAL.

I dropped my scalchop, the light from its blade retracting. Only the fire lit up the cavern right then. I had a perfect view of the agony bestowed upon me as my arm, too, was engulfed in bright red fire.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Cosmo chanted just out of my view. But it wasn't his fault. Why was he acting like this was his fault? My fault? Who's fault? What?

Why was he- why was I- why was- why- why- WHY- WHY- WHY-

The flames leapt from my shoulder to my chest and to my neck, not stopping once it reached my head, spreading faster now. Everything burned white. Singing my skin. Searing my fur.

I cried out in pain, only for each whimper to sound more hollow than the last. I was dying, burning alive.

Wasn't that funny?

I wanted to laugh.

What else was there to do when your skin was burning to a crisp? Maybe the witch had a point.

No. That wasn't true. Most people don't laugh when they die. Not unless they're crazy. I wasn't crazy.

Not after everything I had been through. I wasn't crazy!

The flames spread further to the cave itself, running up the walls and raining from the ceiling like red hot glass shards that punctured my skull continuously. In time, all I could see was fire.

The caves glowed a blinding white, graciously lifting me from the depths just to send me into the sun. I did the only thing I could think of: I closed my eyes, curled up into a ball, and waited for it all to end. The pain was just too much to bear—every mistake in my life played out on repeat. My lies to Fenn, my trusting of Anemone, my impulsive cutting of Crocus' hand.
It's true what they say, your life really does flash before your eyes when you die. It's like a final mercy meant to soothe you into nonexistence. I guess my brain didn't get the memo, though, because if that were the case then I'd be yearning for Fenn above all else. Instead, I begged for it to end.

Still, if I was going to burn to death, I'd rather it be by him than whatever the hell this was.

Where are you, Fenn…

Through the agony, one solitary voice shouted out for me over the deafening sound of the flames crackling. It sounded like him.

"Oswald!"

Oswald…

Oswald…

'Oswald.'

The crackling stopped.

It was dark. I couldn't see in front of me. The abyss was cold, decrepit, and ear-ringingly silent.

Numbness wracked me on all sides. A dry itchiness infected my throat, and I coughed.

I coughed…

Wait…I still had a body. I could feel it. I could move. Wasn't I dead?

Through some sheer force of will I flexed my fingers. They curled against the ground like stunted pincers, gathering dirt at my fingertips. If I procured enough, I could bury myself, and hide away from the world.

I was almost certain the afterlife was bereft of dirt, that useless thing. No, I had to get up.

My hand reached out for something. Anything.

I froze. A fingernail grazed the edged surface of something hard.

Something familiar.

I grasped it. Instinctually, my fingers locked into the grooves, each loving caress a chiding reminder to never leave me again.

It's okay, I told my scalchop. I could never abandon another part of me.

The walls of the cave lit up with a flash of light. Not red hellflames, but the calming warmth of a summer's sword, rejuvenating life into the world.

I caught my bearings, quickly finding that I was still in the cave. It was just…different.

The walls were charred a deep black, every inch scorched and chipped. Jagged stones hung from the ceiling, and every bit of grass was simply ash.

The air stank of acrid smoke and burnt meat, but my focus was more on how sluggish I was. There was something above me, beyond the filthy walls, just out of sight. More than eyes, more than weight heavier than anything imaginable.

I was somewhere else. Somewhere darker. No one with a living body should have been here, I decided.

I stood up straight. It was slow…I was slow, but I managed.

A sudden thought hit me. "Cosmo?" I wondered aloud, flinching suddenly at a dark shape at the corner of my vision.

It was my own paw. And arm. And everything else. Looking down, I found that my entire body was covered in a dusty layer of soot. It was like I just crawled out of a dirty oven.

Gross.

Just then, a purple shape rose from behind a stalagmite. Cosmo was unharmed, whole. He peered at me sheepishly.

"Cosmo i-is here…"

"Oh thank god." I nearly tripped on myself walking over to him. "Are you okay?"

He rose further into view, his sagging bubble all the more apparent.

"Cosmo…is," he said. "He wasn't…hurt."

But what about…oh, who gives a shit? The fire didn't affect him, that was all that mattered.

"Good…good," I breathed. I took a brief moment to take in my surroundings. There were two paths, forward and back. Just as before. Now just to figure out which is which…

Cosmo spoke up and asked, "Um, Oswald?"
"What is it?" I replied, searching and finding the shattered lantern on the ground. Were we closer or further from the exit? I couldn't remember.

"You were…on fire. Cosmo saw it. And now you…"

I stopped. Looked back at him. Smiled.

Thanks for the reminder.

"Need a bath? Yeah, I know. Come on, buddy."

Although he hesitated, he followed me just as asked.

We didn't make it far.

Distant sounds of chittering and claws on stone tap-tap-taping, getting closer and closer.

I threw up my scalchop, positioning it in front of me. I was more than certain that my stance was way off. Not like it mattered—if I could hit them, whatever they are, I could win.

Cosmo sidled up behind me, faintly glowing. His whimpering voice was barely audible over the noise.

"That sounds like a lot of villains…" Cosmo whispered.

I frowned.

"I know, Cosmo," I said. "I know."

---

Author's Note - 9/16/2025

Sorry for the long wait on this one. Long summer. We're getting into some weeds now in terms of my plans for this arc so this chapter ended up careening into a completely different direction, as well.

Fun fact about my writing process: a lot of my scenes have moments that are based on the music I listen to at the time. This also dictates the general tone of the story at that moment. To give an example, I was listening to a lot of Sade and Tatsuro Yamashita up to and around chapter 50. In the case of this chapter, I've been listening to a lot of Silent Hill music again. Does it show?

This chapter was very nearly titled "Reverse Will" because I couldn't think of anything for a while. Then I settled on "Reverse Consciousness" before finally going with "The Samurai" after some introspection and some feedback.

Speaking of feedback, thanks again to my wonderful beta readers: Bonehead, Dust_Scout, LukerUpgrades, Nikel/Skullrider, and Timelocke. And thank you for reading.

See you next time.