"
The trade route to Cielvert was once more obstructed by the savages. Dispatch a percentage of our guards to ensure the safety of the merchant's guild."
- Wazir of defence Wei, memorandum to Chief Golem.
The sun was burning bright in the cloudless skies above, which was all too normal on the Sand Continent, though thankfully it was slowly but surely preparing to set, it would take only a few more hours. Even still, the shine was so intense that it made the water seem like it wanted to blind whoever was staring at it, the reflection of the sun rays burning any eye that gazed at its beauty for too long.
The trio of young pokémon, a pichu, jangmo-o and togepi were each basking at the small river, somehow formed around a blanket of sand. A few large trees and even some grass protecting and nourishing the crystal clear water below, as the wind made the plants move and make a peaceful sound.
Lawrence couldn't help but yawn. He was laying his body against Mirari's chest, both of them sitting under one of the trees, enjoying the shadow.
He didn't like to admit it but the white tuft she had, however small, still reminded him of his own pillows. It was addicting to just lay his head there. With the crimson scarf she wore, it felt even more like a strange pillow. Her steady heartbeat was strangely calming too, and after such a hardworking day, he felt that sleep was about to take over.
That is, until he felt gentle nudging on his crest, from the female dragon's beak-snout. "Don't you give up now. Should I throw more water on your face?"
Despite her playful tone, Lawrence knew she was dead serious, "God no… The water is surprisingly cold for a river in the middle of the desert."
The dragon giggled, but before they could continue Pichu had returned from the river, now carrying a cleaner bag, and having only slightly wet fur.
"I really needed that." Smiled the pichu, stretching her little body and feeling a surge of energy returning to her. "Having sand on my fur is really irritating."
"Yeah, I hate that! It's so rough and course!" Mirari shuddered at the memories she had of rashes on her scales thanks to the sand there, "And it gets everywhere too!"
"I'm so proud of you two, for reasons I can't explain." Enigmatically declared the snoozing togepi, tempted to just bury his face on that scaly pillow and sleep forever.
"Well!" The jangmo-o suddenly got up, posing proudly with her head held high to the sun, and with a paw pointing at it, "It's time to move out, team!"
She and Pichu could only sweatdrop when they saw Lawrence with his head buried underneath the sand, unable to leave. Perhaps she should have warned the sleeping fairy about that, she thought. Damn you hindsight!
-Chapter IX: Object of Obsession-
From behind one of the trees, heavy breathing could be heard. Its creepy sounds masked by the leaves and grass on the wind. It was no longer invisible, it wasted too much energy being invisible, and it didn't want to have to leave and recharge again, because then it wouldn't be able to
see.
It could only see red. The mask it wore blocked any other color. Despite that hindrance, it didn't really need its eyes to see, yet for this particular scene, it
desired to use its eyes.
It was as if everything else was pitch black, a meaningless abyss of nothing. It didn't care for the sky, the trees, nor the oasis or the desert. No… Its only sights were on the three young pokémon.
More specifically, one of them.
It was as if the trio was being illuminated by a spotlight from above, the only source of light in the otherwise dark imaginary abyss. Despite being unable to see their colors properly due to the lenses on its mask, in this twisted and warped landscape created by its brain, they all had their natural colors.
Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion too. It examined every second of every movement the children did, studying their bodies. Their movements. Even their auras.
The jangmo-o bit the togepi's shell from behind, while the Pichu pulled the fairy, both of them helping each other to get the other pokémon out of the sand.
The togepi seemed to be screaming something at the jangmo-o, who only stood there with an expression it couldn't identify. Jangmo-o wasn't happy, nor sad… It was a strange something in between.
Pichu had a similarly strange expression, not laughing at the other two, but not angry at them either. It simply could not describe such complex emotions.
It didn't care for what they said. It didn't really care for the sound of their voice or their personality. It cared for something deeper.
It had to break its focus however when it saw the three of them moving away from it. Denying it of what it sought.
It was no bother though. It will just beat them to it… Just as planned.
"There! I think I see it!" Joyfully screamed Mirari, who immediately dashed towards a large hole on the sands.
"W-Wait, Mirari! It's dangerous!" Lawrence ran after her, as fast as his little legs could carry him.
Pichu was about to follow them, but one of her big spiky ears shifted, a small chill ran down her spine. On instinct, she turned around to check behind her back. Seeing nothing but the trees and the Oasis. Though in the corner of her eye, she could swear she saw a tall, dark shape behind one of the trees.
"Don't you d-dare!"
"Aw, c'mon! I'm telling ya it's safe! It's gonna be fun!"
"I would much rather not get pushed into the depths of hell, thank you!"
"...Depths of where?"
The bickering duo distracted the electric type, but she hastily turned to where she thought she saw the figure, only to see a lonely tree being assaulted by the wind. No other pokémon besides them in at least a mile radius.
The pichu felt a little unnerved, but she just shrugged it off. It must've been her mind playing tricks on her. She walked to her friends and regrouped.
The three saw a large hole in the ground, the bottom being impossible to see from there, darkness shrouding it. Small particles of sand quickly disappeared as soon as they fell deep enough.
The howls of the wind and the sounds of the plants were all that they could hear, all of them staring transfixed at the entrance to the dungeon, Pichu with curiosity, Mirari with glee and Lawrence with crippling fear.
Though as the females kept looking at the ominous hole, Lawrence couldn't help but spot something in the distance. A shining figure. It had an otherworldly aura, it reminded him of the moon, producing a beautiful light that made everything around her lose color. He couldn't stop looking at… her.
The strange figure was beckoning him, as if begging him to not enter the cave and instead follow her towards… the desert?
Though a certain dragon's nudging soon broke him out of the trance, "Hey! Don't ya go all sleepy on me know, Lawry! You're not even leaning against me, so you got no excuses!"
He simply shook his head, looking back to that same spot and (predictably) seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Still, he felt that wasn't just his imagination. He was still in a fairy pokémon's body, with two other pokémon who were currently talking to him as they waited to enter a cursed hole in the middle of an oasis. So trying to use the 'unbelievable' card was not logical, the more tempting it was to just shrug it off.
"Well! Who's gonna go first? Any volunteers?" Mirari asked with that ever present smile of hers.
"I suppose we could just jump in together, it would be the fair thing to do." Pichu rationalized.
"I don't know… Again, miss Kommo-o said w-we should avoid these places, didn't she?" Gulped Lawrence, remembering both the adult pokémon's warning and the omen he just had.
He would speak of his experience, but Mirari already thought he was a liar due to the human situation, so why even bother? She'll say it's the sun frying his brain, surely.
"Aw, don't be so tense! Everything will be fiiiiine!~"
"I believe we can just leave it to the Elder. Surely he can solve this tomorrow."
"I agree with Pichu. Let's just go back" -Mirari slowly lifted her tail, looking straight at the togepi, pretending she was listening- "and talk to mister crustle about the pendant. I feel like we've done eno-"
Lawrence could only gasp when he felt a light slap on his back, courtesy of a scaly tail that pushed him forward, making him trip and fall down the hole.
"I HATE YOOOO-" was all the togepi could shout before he entered the dungeon, and was sucked from this reality.
"You heard him! Let's gooo-" The dragoness giggled to the pichu and quickly jumped in, soon getting swallowed by the dungeon as well.
Pichu could only sigh at these two, redoing the knot on her blue scarf and following them down with haste.
-Elder Crustle's house-
The insectoid pokémon simply couldn't believe it.
It had to be some perfect forgery, some sort of trick these children were pulling on him. Perhaps those cheating kecleons had outdone themselves with this one.
But yet, no matter how much he tried to deny, the evidence was in his claws, right before his very eyes.
This pendant was crafted with the finest of steels. Just the material for the base would probably be more expensive than an entire city.
This was clearly done by a very skilled mawal smith, the 'city pokémon' as they were more colloquially called. They were the ones that cared about creating such artifacts, and attributing value to things that, inherently, didn't have any.
Even being a proud shimabara, the elder had to admit this was a beauty to behold. The way the little oval pendant was shaped, perfectly in between an egg and a tear, plus the many lines carved into it boosted its undeniable charm.
But it simply couldn't be. The possibilities were all crossing his mind, everything was possible, and everything could be happening here, he just refused to believe that this was real.
All of these facts he considered were only what he remembered from his interactions with stories, legends and rumors, so the veracity of it all was questionable. But he knew one thing for sure: this… item was not supposed to exist.
It is said that these were amulets of protection, used by a worthy owner in their time of need. Something that safeguarded them, and showed their status. It's why one of the non official names for it was
"Arceus' Tear".
This pendant was 'the protector of emperors'. It was supposed to be buried with the last mawal ruler, thousands of years ago at the fall of the sand empire.
How did a child inherit such a prized relic?
He needed to investigate further. He needed to understand just what this was, and what it was doing with that hatchling. Crustle regretted greatly making them do all those chores, without explaining that most of them were to be done on the week, not necessarily today.
Though the elder's biggest regret was not accepting the true nature of this amulet sooner, before he told what he had done to a very concerned mother. Only to watch her dash somewhere, probably after her little ones.
-Aquifer Catacomb-
Weather: ? (!)
"Was this place always so… c-c-c-cold?" Mirari felt her entire body shivering instinctively, her red scarf not helping at all.
The dungeon itself seemed like it was painted in black, with dark mists obscuring the view ahead and the ground below. The hole where they came from was no longer visible, only a wall of darkness greeting those who looked up.
"Serves you right for pushing me.
Again."
"A-Ah… D-Don't be so d-dramatic" -she suddenly sneezed loudly, almost sounding like a roar, scaring the two other pokémon- "Lawrence."
"I could make a stuttering c-comment, but that is below me." Sighed the togepi, looking around and hugging himself a bit. He could see his breath in front of him from the sheer cold around them.
"W-Wasn't this place s-supposed to be… beginner friendly?" Questioned Lawrence, his voice slowly freezing with fear.
"Correct. W-Why?" Pichu was the one to answer, clutching her blue scarf and her old bag in hopes of getting some extra warmth.
"Then what the hell is THAT!"
The two pokémon also froze when they saw what Lawrence was pointing at. A giant eye on the pitch black wall, glued as if that was its body. The thing was twice Mirari's size, and it was slimy and fleshy. It seemed to be staring straight at them, without blinking.
"Okay… They didn't teach about that in dungeon studies…" Gulped Pichu, taking a step back.
"Don't think I've heard about eyes in dungeons either." Mirari added, seeming to be the less phased of the trio.
"A-Are you seriously fine with… That staring at you?" Pichu was shocked at her seemingly indifference to that nightmare.
"Hey, could be worse! At least it's not attacking us, right mister eye?" She playfully spoke to the creepy eye from hell, receiving no reply, "Guess he has no mouth."
"Y-You're insane, Mirari." Said Lawrence, hiding behind the brave female, "Completely and utterly insane."
"Thank you! So, wanna continue? Or would you prefer to keep making company for mister eye?"
"No thanks… Let's move. Lead the way, Mirari." Pichu, still a bit unnerved, nodded to the jangmo-o, who nonchalantly began going down the foggy path. Lawrence hugged her tail and refused to let go.
The trio went down the corridor, the mist seeming to walk with them, always remaining in front and never truly covering them. Despite the frigid temperature, the shock of it had gone away, now the trio could at least tolerate it.
"The path seems similar to what I've been told this place was like." Pichu suddenly broke the silence of tense minutes of walking through the dark hallways, "Just a narrow path that leads to the underground lake where we get our water from. Though it looks… Twisted."
"Dunno if our concern should be only a weird taste in water…" Gulped the dragoness.
Lawrence could feel the deeper they went, the more Mirari's worry showed. There was something strange about this place, that much was clear, but there was a more primal feeling. Something the former human simply couldn't explain. A weight on his shoulders and on his heart he was sure all of them were feeling.
Though Mirari was the only one trying to hide it.
He didn't understand why exactly, it seemed to be a trend with the dragoness. She rarely wavered or showed fear. But when she did, she wasn't honest about it. It was comforting at times, he saw her as a safe haven. A brave… dragon, lizard bird pokémon thing that could always push forward fearlessly.
Though other times, it was annoying. Because by not being honest, she only lowered the morale around her. Though of course Lawrence refused to say such things, especially now. He just wanted to leave this hole and get some sleep.
A loud thud could be heard behind the duo. Both Lawrence and Mirari jumped, their hearts racing. "Pichu, look out!" Roared mirari.
Pichu turned around immediately at the warning, only to have to dodge a swipe that would have easily beheaded the yellow and black rodent.
Standing in front of her, there was a sight none of the kids were prepared for. It seemed like a giant ooze, entirely amorphous. It had a distinct purple color, and its semi-liquid body seemed like it would fall apart. Almost like a grimer or Muk, though much, much more corrupted. And somehow, even uglier.
It had distorted, slimy eyes, one giant arm filled with claws and spikes, while the other was a simple tentacle. It produced no sound, other than the heartbeat-like thuds as it moved.
Mirari immediately charged at the creature and slapped her glowing tail on it, which pushed it back but seemed to have any effect on it.
The thing replied by using it's tentacle arm to slap Mirari in the face, stretching it to unnatural proportions, "OW!"
Pichu came running through the walls in a quick dash, jumping off and hitting the creature in one of its eyes. Though the quick attack seemed to have no effect either.
Lawrence was paralyzed in the back, unable to move an inch. Mostly because those hundreds of slimy, creepy eyes… Were staring straight at him.
The thing lifted its huge, spiky arm and easily swiped the two pokémon in front of it, tossing them aside.
Then it began 'running' at an unimaginable speed, despite looking clunky and malformed, it moved so fast it was hard to track, the tapping sound it made emulated a heart beating in fear, each 'thud' was like a stab at the hearer's own heart.
And in the blink of an eye, it stood in front of Lawrence, just looking with its hundred eyes.
The togepi was looking at its main eye, the one where its face was supposed to be. Every cell of his body was screaming at him to run, each beating of his heart felt like a punch on his tiny chest. Yet even still, his body was still as a stone, while he hyperventilated, even breathing was painful now.
It moved it's tentacle hand to touch the togepi's cheek, leaving some strange slimy trail on it's path, feeling up the togepi's face and his green scarf slowly, earning more quiet cries of horror from the fairy. Before he knew, he was tearing up from the sheer fear.
"LET. GO." Growled a very angry dragoness behind the thing, desperately slapping it with her heavy, glowing tail. Despite her best efforts, the creature used its giant, spiky arm to slap her away once more, throwing her back on the ground.
It's eyes never stopped glaring at Lawrence, the tentacle now wrapping around his neck and pulling him up to meet its 'main eye'. It was bloodshot, gaze fixated on him, as if looking at the most prized object in the world.
His heart stopped beating when he saw a small hole forming underneath its eyes, as if it was ripping out its own slimy skin to create it. A mouth. And it was
huge.
It unhinged its own jaw, further ripping its skin. Inside, lots of sharp, broken glass like teeth greeted the togepi, who shrieked as it slowly moved him inside to seal his grizzly fate. All of its eyes were blinking and rolling in some sort of horrific display of joy. "LaW...ReeEenCe…! it whispered, in a cacophony of voices and growls.
Inside that maw he saw a big fire, screams that seemed so familiar to him, and an overwhelming sense of guilt.
"Don't you dare... HURT HIM!" He was freed from the trance by a defiant female voice, followed by a high pitched scream of pain and anger, then by a zap.
Beams of blue lightning were shot at the creature, staggering it and causing some real damage. It didn't seem to be able to feel pain, but that was the closest thing to it it could show.
Lawrence was relieved as it let him go, frying at the potence of the blue electricity.
From behind, he saw Pichu with her arms up, inside an aura of said blue electricity, shooting at the general direction of the thing, though not entirely accurately.
The mighty thundershock came to a halt, leaving both the mouse pokémon and the creature smoking, bruised by the unusual electric bolt.
Seeing this opportunity, the quadruped dragon got on her feet and dashed to the creature, jumping in the air, "Remember me?" She growled, charging her dragon tail, "That was for earlier!" She declared whilst spinning in the air, hitting the thing's head with her glowing tail, throwing it to the ground, where she followed up with a heavy headbutt, using her heart shaped scale, "and that was for scaring Lawry!"
That seemed to cut the thing in two. And finally it no longer moved.
"What… was that… ?" Mirari questioned, seeing the thing melt into nothing, much like the shaytan's from the dungeon before.
"A… M-Monster…" Pichu moaned in discomfort, some blue bolts still leaving her cheeks. Her own body dealing as much damage to herself as it did the creature.
Lawrence grabbed Mirari's scarf and started crying on her chest, his tears running down her black scaled belly.
She gasped, not expecting that from him, but quickly returned the hug, laying her head on top of his, "It's okay. Lawrence, it's fine. I'm here. I promise I'll protect you." She whispered, rumbling a bit. When her tone was this calm and gentle, it reminded him a lot of her mother.
He slowly but sure got calmer as he let the tears flow, and the embrace shattered his fear.
"I didn't hurt you with my thunder shock, did I?" Pichu awkwardly approached the duo, with a clear hint of worry in her expression, "I don't know how to control it and I sometimes-"
She was shushed by a hug, also courtesy of the fairy, who buried his face on her furry shoulder, "I-I'm sorry. T-Thank you." He whispered, ashamed of just standing there cowering like a coward, making his friends get hurt for his sake.
Pichu closed her eyes and gently hugged back, with the dragon wrapping her tail gently around them. The togepi almost cried more, though no longer of shame.
They all glowed a faint green light, still focusing on the warmth of the hug. It originated from the togepi and spread to them like a calming, healing fire. Patching up their minor wounds, and giving them back some stamina.
Pichu opened her eyes and stared at herself, seeing she was mostly healed, "I… I feel fine." She could also sense that most of the fatigue from earlier had gone away.
"I somehow totally forgot I-I could d-do that."
"Oh yeah! I feel excellent now, thanks Lawry!" Cheered the jangmo-o, her scales clanging merrily, "though it did feel a bit weaker than last time!'
"Maybe… What's affecting the dungeon also affects healing?" Pondered the child wearing the blue scarf.
"Oh great. Just great… I'm even more useless than normal…"
He was surprised to feel two huge claws touching his shoulders, as well as a giant beak snout muzzle thing inches from his face, "Don't get your hope down! Remember your training! Mama spent more time with you these few weeks than she did my entire life…"
He could feel a hint of bitterness on that last part, but as was normal for the dragoness, she soon was back in her usual high spirits, red eyes staring comfortingly at him, like a coach trying to pep talk a player, "You can do it! I know you can! You saved us from that sableye last time, and you'll do it again now!"
… Damn, he had to admit, she wasn't so bad at this encouragement thing. Even though it made him uncomfortable to receive so much praise, even if it was deserved somewhat, Lawrence still felt his spirit slowly returning to him, "And hey, you can leave the heavy lifting to me and Pichu, it's fine! Just your healing helps a lot! Don't feel like you have to jump in front of a monster and tail smack 'em to help!"
He laughed, wiping the last tear from his eye. Pichu patted his back and nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with each word the dragon said, "Let's go. We have to leave. We'll survive this, together."
Mirari lifted one of her claws, punching the sky energetically, "Yeah! Well said! Let's go team!" Her voice was somehow even more pumped up than usual.
Albeit still feeling ashamed and useless… Lawrence felt happy. He didn't know if he had friends or family back in the human world, but he hoped they made him feel this much joy.
The place surrounding them started to shake and tremble, the dark fog getting more dense, making this harder to see.
"T-Thanks for that… I'm fine now, let's move." Lawrence smiled at the two, who each nodded in acknowledgment. The dragon wearing the red scarf ran in front, with the bird-like pokémon wearing green tagging along and the mouse in blue right behind them, making sure no one was left behind in their frantic running.
They had to stop when they saw two giant eyes at the walls, staring creepily at them. The cave shaking even more, the walls seeming to be closing around them, while the fog made the cave feel even more claustrophobic.
More, loud thuds came from each side of the corridor, signalling the approach of more monsters, "Here they come!" Pichu charged her body with her blue lightning. Mirari got in a battle position, clanging her scales and growling, Lawrence buckled up and tried not to shake too much.
Now, three more of the same formless, slimy monsters came, two on Pichu's side, one on Mirari's. All of them had their own quirks on their bodies, but their shape was overall similar, with their slimy bodies and both a huge spiky arm and a tentacle one.
Yet again their eyes seemed to stare at Lawrence, and no one else. Even those on the way seemed to have some sort of fixation on the small fairy, "Oh, c-come on…"
Thankfully the first to move was pichu, who unleashed a barrage of blue electricity, hitting all the things, and making them staggered again.
"The lightning! It makes t-them weaker!" Lawrence pointed out, noticing the eyes only seemed to close when it hit them.
"But… This isn't a type advantage effect. I'm sure." Pichu said, between heavy breaths. Bruises and electric burns appearing on her fur, from her own attack.
"Who cares! Now's our chance!" Roared Mirari, before charging on her enemy, surprising it by dashing around it, positioning herself behind it, "Lawrence, catch!"
The togepi screamed when he saw the slime abomination flying at him, immediately he put his two hands on his forehead, creating a powerful flash of burning bright magical light, illuminating all around them, and scorching the exposed monster, throwing it to the floor, where Mirari easily squashed its main eye.
"Don't d-do that!"
"But I knew you had it! Erm, mostly."
"What do you mean 'm-mostly'!?"
"Guys...?" Pichu pointed at the two aberrations, who were no longer staggered by her powers.
One of them punched her in the stomach with its huge arm, tossing her aside and badly injuring the small yellow pokémon.
Mirari immediately rushed to her aid, headbutting the monster, whilst Lawrence charged his right hand with pure energy, swinging somewhat sloppily the ball that formed out of it, sending it flying towards it, hitting its big arm.
Both hits had no effect.
The first creature pinned Mirari down with its huge arm, slowly piercing her scales with his spikes, drawing blood. The pain was like multiple knives ripping through her scales, earning a loud shriek of agony from the child.
The second one grabbed Lawrence by the throat with its stretchy arm, lifting him up by the neck and choking the life out of him.
"Try… Again!" Pichu forced herself up with pure determination, shooting those colorful blasts of electricity to the monsters, once more covering them with it. Though now her body was badly injured, even smoking, her mind heavy, her body begging her to stop.
Though her last ditch effort paid off, somehow the two teammates weren't affected by the blast, freeing themselves, and replying with a massive combo.
Lawrence unleashed a point blank dazzling gleam on one of the creatures, some of the burning light hitting the other one, as Mirari charged at the first one, her dragon tail removing the giant arm of the creature from its body, and throwing right at the other one. Both becoming puddles of nothing immediately after.
"Wow, Pichu… This shock thing you produce really helps! Pichu? Pichu?"
The two gasped as they saw Pichu laying on the ground, much to their relief whoever, she lifted one of her little arms and waved at them victoriously.
-Oasis village, outskirts-
She had lost count of how many hours she spent doing this. By the quantity of scrolls, papers and notes thrown around, plus the many notes on her giant map there on wall… Thanks to the leftover berries (most of which were known for having energy-boosting or healing properties) that were scattered all around her little 'office' back home, she assumed it was quite a number of hours.
It couldn't be helped. Kommo-o had to think things through perfectly. Every step was a choice between life and death. And life was the only option, for it was the little ones' fates that were at stake.
In her mighty claws, she held a letter. Written, rewritten, scorched in anger and then redone again, this was the process of doing something that seemed so simple, but held such importance for the future that perfection, and only perfection, was acceptable.
And perfection required time, and planning.
She had prepared the perfect plan for their escape. The perfect way to make sure the young pokémon she had under her care would make it to their final destination. To safety.
But of course, circumstances had completely invalidated that plan.
She was once more running to their aid. She had learned from Crustle that they were making their way into a dungeon. And if that stalker was worth his moves, he knew. He was creeping around them, waiting for a chance like this to arrive…
But she wouldn't let that happen, if it cost her life. That beast wouldn't touch her hatchlings.
She would never let that happen. Ever.
She reached the bigger oasis around town, looking around in desperation. Her eyes started to glow, indicating she was using her aura-sense to see if anything was around the area, "Mirari! Pichu! Lawrence!"
The motherly dragon growled when only the howling wind responded to her, running so fast towards the entrance of the dungeon that she almost tore down a tree on the way.
She stopped in front of the hole on the ground, shocked and stunned. It was blocked. Dark, crystal like spikes guarded it completely, denying her entrance. A magenta glow was visible from time to time.
That was bad. That meant she would waste even more time to reach them. But she knew they could handle it.
Mirari was her mother's daughter. Despite her rebellious and emotional streak, Kommo-o loved her to death. The little dragon was everything she once loved in her father, and in her motherly eyes, she was the single most beautiful and kind Pokémon in the world. She was the heart and the spirit of the group, she can make even the most stiff and serious pokémon (like Kommo-o herself) smile and enjoy themselves.
Pichu was a prodigy, bright as the electricity she produced. She was sure Pichu would understand what was going on first. She had the same flaws as the old dragon, she had an obsession with stagnation, a desire to live life without change. A phobia of it, even. Her inner struggle was further boosted by her shameful heritage. if only she could see what a wonderful and gifted little pokémon she was, Kommo-o was sure she'd make a great healer, or even a teacher.
And the human? He had passed every single one of her rigorous tests. He was selfless enough to protect her daughter when by all means he could run, he had an iron will when it mattered, risking himself on a sandstorm to complete a task that would make a (then) random pokémon happy. And, if she had to admit, he was by far the most reliable of the trio. He reminded her of herself, even. She knew that whatever they wanted with him, he had no interest in helping. Least not now.
She smiled as she kept dashing through the desert, her scales clanging in a mad melody.
Kommo-o was proud of them all. What would happen next would break her heart and theirs, but it had to be done.
Everything changes, It's what these last few weeks taught her. And it's what she would have to teach the hatchlings.
She had a final plan.
-Aquifer Catacomb-
Weather: Miasma
"So you mean your lightning's not supposed to be blue?" Asked Mirari, as they run through the enormously large corridor.
"Not really! It's one of the many reasons why I'm bullied, actually." Pichu answered, not really wanting to speak in this stressful situation, especially not about this topic, but not wanting to be rude to Mirari either, "And I'm even worse at controlling it than what's standard for my species."
"I think they look pretty cool! It sure seems to pack a punch against those things!" Lawrence smilled, now mounting on Mirari's back, holding her scales and red scarf, to better allow the group to run without having to wait him out, or risk leaving him behind.
"Thanks… But I do apologize if I can't use them all the time. They hurt
really bad." Pichu shuddered as she remembered the unspeakable pain that is producing each bolt. The compliment meant a lot to her, though.
Which reminded her. She still had something in the bag to deliver… Though not now. Just not the time.
"Team! Up ahead! I think I see a door through the fog!" Mirari's red eyes glowed a bit in the darkness.
"F-Finally. Any more time lost and those walls would turn us into pancakes!" Lawrence sighed, bouncing up and down on the dragoness' back.
"Pancakes! Yummy!" Mirari had to resist not daydreaming about one, she was starving!
"Wait, y-you guys have pancakes in this world?" Gasped Lawrence, "How dare you not say that before?"
"Later!" Pichu interrupted. Finally, they had reached the door, the fog dissipating entirely as they did.
They found themselves in a circular room, much like the cave, it was all rocky, with some random large rocks forming. The room would be completely dark if not for the light that came from a medium sized hole on the ceiling, right in the middle of the place. Underneath it, there was a small lake with clear blue water, also shaped in a circle. Small droplets of water fell from the hole on top, gently refilling the lake underneath it. Around it, two paths of solid rock lead to the other side. The exit.
The trio smiled in joy, taking a step forward, only to be surprised by large, crystal-like dark spikes coming out of the ground behind them. Blocking the way they came, faintly glowing a strange magenta.
That wouldn't be so bad if there weren't the same spikes blocking the door on the other side as well, not allowing them to leave the room either.
Their hope was truly crushed however, when they heard silent footsteps, and heavy breathing.
There, right opposite of where they were, a dark cloaked figure appeared out of thin air. Its eyes were hidden behind a demonic looking mask, faintly glowing red thanks to the red lenses of the mask.
Boss battle: ???, 'the shape'
As soon as it appeared, the illusion of safety around them broke. The calming light that came from above turned blood red, thus making the illumination around them monocolored.
The lake's water looked pitch black, not only thanks to the color of the light. It was as if the liquid there was either blood or pure darkness.
Spikes on the walls appeared as well, though these were more like rocks, instead of like the alien ones that covered the exits.
The only sound in the room was the now creepy drops from the ceiling on the lake, three young pokémon's loud, nervous heartbeats as well as heavy breathing.
No words needed to be spoken. That was the stalker that had tormented them. The figure that hurt Mirari's mother multiple times, and that had tried to hurt them too.
And it had them right where it wanted them.
It stared at them with unwavering fascination. Gazing emotionlessly, eyes examinating them like they were the most precious items in the universe, in display right before it. That was enough to make Mirari shiver, remembering what it had once happened before in the desert.
Lawrence's fear though, was even worse than the two girls'. Just looking at it made him tear up in horror. A memory on the back of his mind was trying to crawl out of his brain, causing an insane amount of pain, like his skull was being split in half.
He saw fire. He felt like all around him was fire. He could smell the smoke. He felt his lungs burning, his eyes burning… He heard two familiar cries. The world around him was crumbling down. It felt… incomplete.
"LAWRENCE!" Mirari growled and threw herself on top of him, barely helping him dodge a blast of darkness that exploded on the wall behind them, creating a large hole.
"Get cover. We'll handle this." Mirari ordered, her face inches from his. He could only nod and wipe the tears off his eyes, running towards one of the random rocks on the floor and hiding behind one.
The figure seemed to not care about the hiding togepi at all. Its stoic stare at the two young pokémon.
Pichu charged her blue electricity, trying to zap the thing much like she did with the enemies from before. He easily dodged her chaotic bolts, levitating and dancing effortlessly on the air, spinning and turning, until it was upside down from her, face inches from the Pichu's.
She yelped, but was silenced by a psychic toss that slammed against the wall so hard it cracked it. Thankfully she barely missed one spike, that would have instantly killed her.
Mirari quickly came by to help her friend, slamming her tail against the creature's back, tossing it forward.
It carefully adjusted Its fall so it would stay on its feet. When it lifted its head, it saw a charging dragoness that quickly headbutted it, so hard it made it get tossed backwards once more.
Though now, it had adapted, and quickly shut down the jangmo-o's charge by tossing a shadow ball her way, connecting and making her hit the rough floor, her body aching all over.
Pichu ran on the walls, in circles around the room to try and get more impulse, skilfully dodging the many spikes there. The figure started shooting small balls of purple energy all over her path. Due to her speed, she avoided them all, eventually jumping on one of the spikes and using that to close the gap between the two, landing a kick that it barely defended with its hands.
It surprised her by grabbing her leg with the hand it defended with, and using the other to pull the balls it had shot before towards them. He then threw her straight towards those psychic balls and blinked out of the way.
Some hit her, cutting and bruising her skin and earning pained screams from the small pokémon, but most were blocked by a well placed protect, Mirari's.
"You okay?" Mirari ran to her side. The yellow rodent was bleeding a bit from her injuries, battered all over.
"Yeah… Thanks for that, I could have…" She already seemed exhausted, but still stood on her feet.
"No worries! Let's beat up this creep!" Mirari smiled, who had a few bruises and broken scales herself. Lawrence could feel the overwhelming fear she tried to suppress. He could only watch behind the rock as the girls prepared their second big charge at it.
"
I know! Maybe if I can heal them!" Lawrence closed his eyes, weaving the positive energy he called upon, turning into a healing wave. As soon as it left his hands though, it quickly dissipated.
"
Wha-... I can't even do that!" He felt his heart slam on his chest, the weight of hopelessness getting too heavy to handle,
"This… Darkness, it's even worse than before! My friends are getting beat up and… And I can only sit back and watch…!"
Blow after blow the two pokémon tried to land, barely hitting the foe, and when they did hit, it just wasn't enough. Even Pichu's electricity seemed to be ineffective, each time they tried to attack again and again, they just ended up taking more damage. Especially the electric type, that needed to greatly injure herself to even use her most powerful attacks.
The Togepi clutched his stumpy hands into fists, shaking like a leaf. Even just thinking about the evil shape was enough to make his head feel like it was going to explode.
The two young girls never gave up on their struggle, even as their bodies bled and their energy depleted, they got back up and tried again, not even once complaying, fighting to protect the fairy and themselves without hesitation, while he just stood behind his rock and contemplated how worthless he was.
Both of the young fighters were panting heavily, barely able to stand, with bruises and blood covering their fur and scales. Still, they were on their feet. The figure seemed to be letting them live this long, but they didn't care. They had to fight, and they had to win.
Pichu began charging another light blue thundershock, screaming in pain as the bolts flew straight towards the still enemy. In a flash, however, it was no longer there, instead appearing behind her and in a swift motion, punched her with a shadow ball point blank, throwing her into the wall, making her hit her head and fall on the floor, half dead. It charged another psyshock, ready to finish off the fallen mouse.
It didn't expect, however, Mirari to boldly jump towards it and slash its back with her dragon claws, cutting through its protective suit, then proceeding to bite on its neck,
hard. So much so that it visibly flinched in pain, breaking its focus. It tried to reach out and grab the jangmo-o on its back, being unable to.
It decided to, instead, begin levitating once more. Ramming its back on the blunt rocks that formed on the wall. Crushing them while using the dragon type's body as a shield, causing massive damage. Eventually, Mirari let go of its neck, falling on the floor, unable to move.
In anger at the sneak attack, it quickly stepped on one of her paws, a loud crack following soon after. Agony shot through every cell of the exhausted jangmo-o's body, as one of her legs was broken so easily by the bigger pokémon.
And that was the final straw for him.
"H-Hey!"
The enemy immediately stopped what it was doing, turning around to gaze at the togepi, still shaking uncontrollably, trying to look like he had an expression of bravery, though only looking more pitiful when he did.
"T-That's enough!" While fear was the most prominent on his voice, there was a clear presence of indignation as well.
The shape looked at him, leaning its head to the side, staring at him almost as if in mockery.
"Y-You… Leave them alone! I'm the human! Come and t-take me!" He shouted and charged another focus blast on his hands, forming a ball of pure energy, and fired it at the figure, who nonchalantly slapped it away, making it uselessly explode mid air.
It slowly started walking towards him, not even caring enough to fly or blink there. Seeing that, he started trading accuracy for quantity, firing as many small focus blasts as he possibly could towards the figure. Many of them missed completely, creating a large puff of dust that covered the enemy.
The togepi kept using every bit of the little power he had to try and hit it. Much to his dismay, a hand left the cloud of dust and grabbed him by the green scarf on his neck, lifting him up to stare into its red masked eyes. It had a powerful, shadowy purple aura that burned like hellfire around it.
Lawrence felt fear creeping back on his spine when he saw those demonic eyes, the devil's eyes, trying to once more freeze his body with the pure horror it reeked. Nightmarish memories tried to come back and stall him more as well. But when he saw his best friend just laying there on the floor behind it, he snapped back. Still afraid, but unwilling to let that stop him.
He put his two arms on his forehead, closing his eyes and focusing all the power he had on that attack, remembering the training with Miss Kommo-o, remembering the times with Mirari and Pichu, remembering how they fought and protected him. How this thing had hurt them.
It had hurt them!
It hurt them!
He charged a large ball of pure rainbow energy in between his hands, the shape barely had time to react, "Take this! FULL POWER DAZZLING GLEAM!" He yelled as his rage made him act without much thought.
The sheer force of the blast was enough to make it step back, as well as sending the togepi flying backwards to the opposite side, his shell somewhat protecting him from the rough fall on the rocky floor. Though the figure only really let go by ripping off the boy's green scarf.
For the first time, it made a sound. A mere grunt of pain, but a sound nonetheless. The light the togepi produced seemed to burn some of its cloak, illuminating it enough to reveal a somewhat purple, grey fur underneath, though so short it could be mistaken for scales or even skin. After the brief rainbow light dissipated, however, the mono red light hid those colors once more.
It clutched its hands into fists, angrily staring at the fairy as it threw away what was left of the green scarf on its hand. The former human tried to react, but before he knew it, he was staring right at the monster, who kicked Lawrence in the face, making the youth fly back once more and fall on his back.
It then reappeared right by his side, charging its fists with the same shadow purple aura it emitted, landing one blow right at the togepi's face, with such strength that he wasn't sure why his head didn't explode. The second punch was somehow even harder than the first, the suffering so intense he felt like his body would just melt away.
The creature then stomped the togepi, causing him to cough blood and stop breathing for a moment, wheezing in pain.
"Let… him go! Stop this!" Mirari screamed, worry, sadness and anger all over her words, "Please! Stop! STOP!" She tried to stand and fell, tried to attack but didn't have the strength. She was trying her best to move, to scream, to do
something to help him!
Lawrence could barely register her cries, his ears ringing, his vision blurred and red. Not only thanks to the light, but due to his own blood.
It didn't pay any attention to the dragon, instead using one hand to slowly lift the baby fairy to the air with its mighty psychic powers, once more reaching eye level.
Though this time around, it was done playing.
It slowly closed its hand, the energy around Lawrence doing the same, slowly closing in around him, squeezing and crushing him like two stones against a tomato.
Loud cracks could be heard. Agony. Bones cracking. The togepi shouted in pure torment, so loud he felt that it almost ripped his vocal chords, the cries of suffering making Mirari's heart sink, and even the barely semi-conscious Pichu had to hold back tears, clutching her thorn bag with her only working paw, desperate to regain some energy too.
Then after that, something even worse happened.
Silence.
No sounds. Just the dripping of blood.
The togepi lowered his head, still under the psychic bindings. His colors faded.
Mirari's eyes widened, tears forming in her eyes.
Pichu's eyes half opened, also wet with tears.
The shape just nonchalantly threw the togepi into the dark waters, like an object that had lost its use, his fate was sealed whilst he sunk deeper and deeper.
Time had stopped for them all.
It seemed like a milenia had come and gone, while in reality it was just a few seconds.
Even as time returned, their friend was nowhere to be seen.
They failed to protect him.
Their hearts sank. Their minds couldn't comprehend what had happened.
Mirari crawled slowly, using her claws to guide her through the rocky floor.
Pichu got up, ignoring the bruises and the protests of her exhausted body.
Mirari painfully made her way to the dark waters, staring down at them. It looked deep. Very deep. No sign of her best friend. No sign of anything.
The Jangmo-o stared at her reflection helplessly. Her tears slowly fell on the lake. She was sobbing. Quite loudly too. She didn't care if it made her feel weak and pathetic. That's what she was anyway. A useless, weak and stupid child that only messed other pokémons' lives. She was the one that always put them in danger. She did this.
Pichu held something in her paw. The thing she had kept in her bag. The item she spent days doing herself after she met Lawrence. She squeezed the neatly wrapped gift. She would never be able to give it to him. To say the things she spent so much time training so she wouldn't have cold feet, to no avail. Such a little thing, but it had so much meaning to her.
And thanks to that monster, she would never be able to do it. She would never be able to admit the things she felt. She would never be able to see him again.
Her first friend was dead. And it was thanks to this creature.
She let out a loud wail of anguish, her paws closing into fists, ripping off the present. Pichu screamed to the heavens, her tears crashed around her like a waterfall.
Suddenly, she was covered in a large, electric aura. It was light blue much like the bolts used. It began shooting everywhere, even creating a gust of wind. A tuft of fur on her forehead also shone blue, much like her also glowing, teary eyes.
"How could you… HOW COULD YOU!?" Pichu shouted, her snarly voice was something one could expect coming from a fully evolved dragon-type.
"You will pay! YOU WILL PAY!" Screamed the pichu, wrath making her ignore the fact that her body was already falling apart due to the release of so much energy.
The shape had to brace itself, else it would have fallen. This amount of energy… It knew! This only had one explanation… She indeed was the-
Before it could think any further, Pichu had tackled it, jumping high in the air to match its size, using so much energy on the attack that the electricity burnt its hand. The blow was supercharged with so much power that it made another gust of wind when it connected to the foe.
Pichu then punched it once more. It blocked with its other hand, but much like the previous blow, this one also paralyzed and burnt its limb.
Pichu then fell back on the floor, and then jumped once more, this time she hit its chest with her head, still with her blue lightning powering her up. It grunted in pain once more, the impact tossing it in the air. Despite the damage she was dealing, Pichu's own body was getting steadily covered in smoke and in bruises that weren't previously there.
Despite the fight behind her, Mirari couldn't be bothered to look. She was too busy staring at the dark lake. Loathing her own weakness. Thinking of Lawrence. Thinking of everything that happened up to this point. The many things she wanted to do with him, the many things she wanted to say to him. Oh, how much she wanted to apologize...
"I'm sorry… I-I'm so sorry…" She sniffed, her tears could fill a lake at this point, "I couldn't protect you… I dragged you into this... I-I'm a terrible friend…"
She wept amore, almost running out of air multiple times, the calm water being moved slightly by her tears.
"I'm so sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" She apologized, probably one of if not the first honest, emotional and pure apology she's done, no hint of pride or mischief. Only honest remorse, "Please come back… P-Please… P-Please don't go… Don't… Don't leave me…" She tried to reach out to the water, still hoping for a miracle. Hoping that he would come back. Hoping this was just a bad dream.
When nothing happened, she just lowered her head, Mirari's aching heart made her unable to stare into the waters any longer. She layed her head on the floor, making a puddle with her tears, punching, clawing and even headbutting the ground.
He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. He could barely think. His body was broken and injured, he had no air. He was falling deeper and deeper into the void. His weary eyes closing slowly.
So this is what dying feels like, huh?
He couldn't help but shed a few tears as well, that were hidden by the water around him. But somehow, for the first time in a long while, he was truly calm. He was in bliss. He was safe. It was over. He would finally get the rest he wanted. The rest he deserved.
He closed his eyes, accepting his fate. Drowning in the depths of darkness.
Silence. Oblivion. Sweet, sweet release.
Nothing to worry, nothing to fear.
Only… Peace…
...
I'm….ry…Pl...Don….me...
...
…
.
