Special Episode 11 – Dark Radiance
Every night, as he drew nearer and nearer to evolution, Alex dreamed of the strange blade made from dragon scales and spells. It was the one destined to cut through his neck.
Each time, in that dim haze of a nightmare, his other half would grasp the blade in his mouth, twist his head, and Alex would go tumbling down, down, down.
And then, every night, he woke up first, with a start, as Xander yawned, content and safe, as the head who would win.
<><><>
Summer was Alex and Xander’s favorite season, and it was one of the few things they could agree on. The two heads of the Zweilous—Alex on their left, Xander on their right—naturally opposed one another. They were two halves of the same Deino, split down the middle and destined to recombine when they evolved once more. Xander, naturally, was going to be the one that would win out.
So, Alex once again sighed to himself when he caught the scent of blood on the table. Dinner. And the beautiful humming of his mother, who drifted soundlessly across the room and tap, tap, tapped on the cutting board with her head-hands.
“Want to have another tug to see who gets the bigger half?” Xander taunted, growling into Alex’s ear as usual.
“It goes to the same stomach,” Alex grumbled back, commanding the body to march forward. They took a seat once they were on softer ground, their bed.
“But it’s the
meaning behind it that matters,” Xander replied. “We’re evolving soon, aren’t we? Well.
I’m evolving. You… get to fade away.”
Alex’s chest hurt, but he wondered if Xander felt it the same way. He didn’t want to be cruel like Xander. Callous and brutish. As a Deino, he had wondered if being that way was necessary; he supposed their split was taking on that persona or not. That conflict of being so strong, like his father, or being so gentle, like his mother, was what had led to his split. He was sure of it.
All Zweilous ‘split’ in this way. And according to Father, the stronger one would win, and the weaker one would be a feeble voice in the back of their heads, until eventually it would submit to the stronger one’s way of thinking, and truly become whole.
But Mother had a different attitude. She claimed that only through compromise and mutual understanding would they evolve. It was naïve; Hydreigon came about from strength alone. Their heads would be forced together by then, no matter how it happened.
Xander headbutted him.
Alex yelped. “Excuse me!”
“Stop going quiet and thinking,” Xander demanded. “It’s… annoying. It makes our muscles tense. We don’t need that after all the training today. It’ll ache.”
“Ugh, now I can’t even think? My thoughts are the only thing I’m allowed to have to myself anymore.”
“Generosity is what Mother believes in, isn’t it?” Xander mocked. “Maybe one day I’ll have those, too.”
As Xander chuckled to himself, Alex only shrank away.
“Hey, hey! Don’t do that, either! I don’t want to
feel your terror. Keep it in your head!”
“Now, boys.”
They both tensed and straightened their necks upward.
Mother went on, “What did I tell you about fighting?”
Xander sighed. “That it’s something for the ferals, and we can do better.”
“That we should speak kindly and take care of our mutual body.” Alex nodded. “But I’ve been doing that!”
“
You want to laze about,” Xander countered. “
I am the one striving to actually get stronger.”
“Well, you overeat,” Alex said. “We need moderation, too… We certainly eat more than our bodies use up from training…”
“If only because
you have to get some of it.”
“It goes to the
same—”
“Ah, ah,” Mother went on, gently patting both of them on the head. The Hydreigon continued, “How about we avoid fighting for the rest of the day, hm? Speak gently to each other.”
“Yes, Mother,” Alex said.
“Fine,” Xander relented.
And once again, through Mother’s peace talks, the two heads set up a truce until morning.
<><><>
But they had one last thing to do before allowing their day to end. When they were certain that Mother and Father were asleep, Alex and Xander carefully and silently tiptoed their way outside, following lifelong, known paths through their abode and out the door. The wind blew gently and the leaves rustled, masking their steps perfectly. They knew this path well.
Once they were far enough away, they sniffed the air. It was yet another miniature competition to determine where she was.
This time, Alex won. “My side,” he said, taking control of their legs to march onward.
“I smelled her, too,” Xander protested, wresting control to march the same way and through a few branches. “Hey, psst… You there?”
She giggled in response, and once they broke through the bushes, they entered a clearing and tackled the source. Her skin was soft and her dress was elegantly smooth as ever. A Gardevoir.
“Found me again,” she said, running a hand along both their cheeks.
“Hey, Evelyn,” they both said dreamily, leaning into her hands.
“Want to go to the hill?” Evelyn asked.
“Yeah!”
They happily ran through the clearing and past a few bushes. Evelyn occasionally stumbled over bushes, so they let her ride on their back again.
Once they reached the apex of a hill in an open patch of land, Alex and Xander crouched down and let Evelyn dismount. The air always smelled fresher here, just beyond the forest where everything sounded clear and distant.
Evelyn flattened herself against the grass and rolled next to the Zweilous, who lay belly-down.
“It’s such a beautiful night,” Evelyn said.
“Yeah…” They leaned against her. Xander tried to wrap his head around Evelyn’s shoulders, while Alex nuzzled her cheek. She giggled either way, scratching both of them under their chins.
Xander nudged her. “Not as beautiful as you, though.”
“Oh, stop!” Evelyn giggled.
“It’s the only reason we come out,” Alex added.
Evelyn signed, content, between their two heads.
“So?” Xander asked in a little whisper. “Want to do something else tonight?”
Alex felt their heart fluttering. And Evelyn seemed just as receptive, her touch against their heads a little slower.
“I don’t think there’s anything stopping us,” she whispered back.
For the Zweilous and Gardevoir, the night went on for a while longer.
<><><>
The warmth of morning felt nice against Alex’s scales. He was sure Xander thought the same. Even with that anxious feeling in his stomach, the sun helped to lighten his mood.
The bruises still hurt, though.
“Aaaaah!”
“Quit screaming!” Xander spat. “Bite! Keep biting!”
They nipped at Mother’s shoulders, trying to force her to let go, but they were already ascending. When they let go to get a firmer grip, she abruptly released them, and they were free-falling toward the ground, ocean air drowning out all other sounds and smells.
They were running out of time to steady their descent. Suddenly, though, they were caught by Mother again, and their crash instead became a harsh stop. Then, their paws touched sandy soil, and Alex heaved a sigh of relief.
“Ugh… lost again,” muttered Xander.
“You did very well that time,” Mother said gently. “Come, let’s recuperate over some lunch.”
“We’ve only been training for a few hours, though,” Xander said. “At this rate, we aren’t gonna evolve until we’re, like, thirty…”
“Oh, don’t say that. You’re so close!” Mother giggled, patting them both on the head. “Besides, you shouldn’t be in such a rush to evolve. You two need to reconcile first.”
Alex huffed. “You speak as if it’s so easy…”
“Well… I’m sure it isn’t. That’s true… But all the more reason to spend more time, yes? Compared to being a Deino, you don’t have as much time as a Zweilous to get your heads in order. That much I know.”
They both sighed. “Yes, Mother…”
“Now, let’s get breakfast! I want to check on the egg, anyway.”
“Right…” They started walking back, Mother drifting near them with a little humming tune.
It was still going to be a long walk.
“You seem lost in thought,” Mother said.
“Huh?” they both replied.
“My comment about evolving didn’t bother you, did it?”
“Nah,” Xander said.
“A little,” Alex said.
Alex felt their body shifting as Xander readied to headbutt him, but he’d been stopped by Mother.
“Now, don’t do that,” Mother said. “We can’t have feuding. Not when you’re so close. You don’t want to have a turbulent psyche, do you?”
They’d never really talked much about evolving. Father only said that he should evolve as fast as possible, for some reason, and that it was part of some great tradition… He still didn’t really understand.
“Father didn’t tell us much,” Alex said. “And Hydreigon are pretty rare out there… We’ve never met a single other one… You aren’t even a true one, so… o-oh, I’m sorry. If that’s terrible to say.”
“Just the truth,” Xander replied with a hint of indignation. “But… you know, I still love you, and stuff. You just don’t get what it means to be stuck with
him, though.”
“I’m sure it’s difficult for both of you,” Mother said. “But I think you’ll still do fine in the end. Don’t forget that, okay?”
“I’ll try…” Alex dipped his head down. “I don’t get it, though. I’ve talked to other Pokémon sometimes, and they say that you can’t become a Hydreigon without being a Zweilous first. But you say you’ve always been a Hydreigon?”
“Well…” Mother trailed off. “No. That’s not exactly it. Your father has special abilities that only he does. It’s a power he had acquired from the gods after saving the world from the Dark War.”
More foreign things that Alex only heard tell of and little else. Xander was probably just as stumped, the way he wasn’t saying anything.
“What
was the Dark War?” Alex asked. “Everyone talks about it like it’s ancient history, but…”
“Well, in some ways, it is,” Mother explained. “I don’t really know the details myself. But… your father saved me from it a long, long time ago. His noble acts were what saved the world, so he was given a lot of privilege from the Legends for it. You could say he’s blessed.”
“I’m not a kid anymore, you know,” Xander said. “You don’t need to hit me with those fairy tales.”
“Oh, they’re hardly tales! I know for sure I was there… just in a different body, from a different time. It had to have been centuries by now…”
Alex tilted his head at that, like he was trying to hear her a little better. “Excuse me?” he asked. “Mom, Hydreigon don’t live that long…”
Did they? He didn’t really know.
“Well…” Mother sighed. “Your father told me that it’s about time that you know the truth about things. I’m sure you figured it out already…
“Not really…”
“I had a hunch.” Xander nodded. “Dad’s super strong and basically the leader down in Pyrock, right?”
“That’s exactly right.”
It wasn’t totally registering with Alex what that meant. Maybe only having half a mind was messing with his ability to comprehend it, but he always knew Father was strong. But how strong?
“Why are you telling this now?” Alex asked. “I kind of… find it hard to believe. I thought it was just a story.”
“Well, it’s just a story now,” Mother said. “But it used to be present day. Does that make sense?”
They didn’t reply. Xander was being awfully quiet.
Once at home, Alex and Xander settled on their bed for a little afternoon nap. Mother prepared a simple meal for them, but they could still talk since they were in adjacent, small rooms. It smelled like Mother was cooking some kind of meat dish with a lot of seasonings. It tickled Alex’s nose.
“So how about you?” Xander spoke up. “Did you get turned into a Hydreigon with that same divine power?”
“Yep! That’s exactly right! That’s what we meant by not being a Zweilous before becoming a Hydreigon. I do wish I could have, though, but your father wasn’t very interested… He can be so impatient sometimes.”
“He can just change species of others? How come you became a Hydreigon?”
“I think, well, I think he’s very proud of carrying on the Hydreigon line. It’s a bit rare, so he’s keen on preserving it… And, well, when you’re male, it’s not as often that your family line will carry on as your species. Not nearly as often and I don’t think he wanted to keep trying until I had a Deino.”
“So he wanted to guarantee we’d be a Deino. Huh.” Xander shrugged. “Well, hey, if he was blessed with that power, they clearly don’t mind him using it for that.”
“What were you before?” Alex asked.
“That was so long ago!” Mother laughed, sighing, like she was trying to recall. “Let’s see… I had legs, I remember that. And a green body. Ah! Sceptile, that was it. It’s been so long; I hardly remember anymore.”
“Well, that’s kinda scary…” Alex shifted his side of the body. “Being someone for so long that you forget what you used to be? What in the world is that like?”
“I guess only I know!” Mother laughed a little, scraping something onto the plates in the other room. “Anyway, come on! Lunch is ready!”
Xander led the body this time, but Alex was happy to be at their usual seat.
“So, how is the egg?” Alex asked.
“Oh, wonderful,” Mother replied. “You’ll be having a baby brother or sister so soon! I’ve always wanted to have another child, but for some reason, it’s the one thing your father seemed to be patient about. So peculiar, wanting to raise you entirely on focus, and only then would he want another child…”
“Maybe he knew it’d be a handful to just have one,” Xander said.
“It’s thoughtful of him,” Alex concluded.
Mother giggled and the smell of freshly cooked meat and spices took over their senses. For once, they shared their meal equally, because Mother was watching. Alex savored every bit.
<><><>
“You’re kidding,” Evelyn whispered in the cold of night. “So, it’s true, the rumors? Hydreigon Alexander is an immortal blessed by the gods?”
“I mean, if Mom didn’t lie or anything… yeah,” Xander said.
“It seems absurd if you ask me,” Alex said. “My father, immortal? My mother, blessed by his powers of transformation? Why had we not learned something like this before?”
“Maybe you did and he made us forget,” Xander said with a spooky groan, nearly headbutting him had they not been in front of Evelyn.
“Oh, don’t talk like that,” Evelyn said. “There’s no way to modify memories that way. Not even the most powerful psychic can do something like that; those are just rumors!”
“I hope you’re right,” Alex said. “But yeah, that’s basically what we were told. But… he might also know that we go out all the time. I don’t think he followed us this time, but… I think we should lay low for a little while, if that’s alright.”
“What?” Evelyn sounded a little hurt and uncertain. “You mean…”
“Yeah, we didn’t tell him. And you
know he’s gonna be mad.” Alex winced.
“But I’ve never gone against the Shadow Clan at all! That’s all Mother’s focus! I even have a proper southern name, it was, you know, to denounce the fragmented nature of things! Does he not care?”
“He doesn’t.” Alex sighed. “Not until your mother officially surrenders.”
“Well, with all due respect, we have quite an advantage,” Evelyn hummed. “Fairy is his total bane. Honestly, I’m not sure how he’d held an advantage for so long to begin with, the way he’d be so weak to us. Almost like it used to be different, the way the stories go with how he’d dominated before…”
“Well,” Xander interjected, “unless we suddenly became weak to Fairies one day, seems more like there was a change in management since
your mom took over. Anyway, I’m bored of talking about this stuff. Wanna just go to the usual spot?”
Evelyn sighed and rubbed them both on the head. “Sure. Oh, but actually, if you have time… Mother wanted to talk to you.”
“Eh?” Xander asked.
“Um, that’s peculiar timing…” Alex didn’t want to imply, but Evelyn
was the daughter of an important figure. There was always that tiny layer of uncertainty with doing anything unexpected with her.
“It’ll be okay,” Evelyn said. “Trust me, like, they wouldn’t dare hurt you if you’re with me, for one. And they know you’re innocent in all this, too. You don’t want to hurt me, right?”
“Duh,” Xander replied.
“We’d never. We want this feud to end…” If there was anything Xander and Alex agreed on, it was that Evelyn didn’t deserve any of this trouble.
“Exactly. Now, come on! Let’s go to her and we can talk it out there. I think it’ll help end the feud once and for all.”
“Also ominous,” Xander muttered.
But Alex drove them forward, walking along for a few minutes through the forest and in the cold night, down unfamiliar routes and past slightly different, unfamiliar scents.
They’d never gone this far down the forest before. And finally, far ahead, they could hear murmuring of unfamiliar voices.
“It’s okay,” Evelyn said, placing a hand on their back. “Just smile and walk, okay?”
So, they continued walking through the forest, and now a small settlement. A colony, probably an extended family, all the way until a deeper voice called out to them.
“Evelyn. You’ve arrived.”
“Mother! Yes! I have! This is him!”
“I see.”
This was an imposing, cold voice that directly contrasted Evelyn’s warm cheer. Yet, they could hear the vocal resemblance, even if the tone was completely foreign. It put Alex and Xander on edge.
“Welcome to our side of the forest, Alex and Xander, is it?”
“Y-yeah.”
“My name is Gardevoir Amia. I am the
proper leader of Pyrock, before it had been taken from us generations ago.”
“Yeah, we know the story,” Xander said. “We were told it a little different but, you know.”
“Wh-wh-what Xander
means,” Alex said, “is that our father told us our side of history, even if it may conflict with… with, um, with yours.”
“I’m not offended. It is only natural that you were told things the way they had been.” Amia still spoke evenly, regal. It was kind of like Father with its coldness, but not nearly as cruel.
“So, Mother,” Evelyn said, “why did you want to bring him here?”
“You are in love, correct? You’ve confessed as much?”
“Yes, I have,” Evelyn declared. “And… that’s just how things happened to be. We’d met by chance, and we’d matched nicely. I do not think it is some kind of ploy.”
“And you’re certain of this?” Amia asked. “Do you have any proof?”
And suddenly, Alex realized this might have been a mistake after all. There was no
proof. How did they prove he
wasn’t a spy?
“Well, um,” Alex interjected, “I don’t know how to prove that.”
“Look, if that’s what this is about, how about we just leave?” Xander said. “We, uh, we’ll… not bother your kid again and stuff, and, uh…”
“That won’t be necessary,” Amia said. “On the contrary, I actually brought you here to save you.”
“Well, you’ll have to beat me f—wait, save?”
Xander had been reeling up for a fight, and yet they’d both been thrown off their game with the reversal.
“Save us,” Alex repeated. “Are you sure? Wait—from what?”
“From your deaths.” Amia paced closer to them. Her steps were elegantly soft against packed soil. “What I’m going to tell you is something you must keep a secret for as long as you can. But you are nearing your evolution, are you not?”
“What’s with everyone obsessing over my evolution?” Xander asked.
“We are,” Alex answered Amia directly. “Why do you ask?”
“I will lay it out to you flatly, and answer your questions afterward. Alexander is going to kill you and use your soul to further strengthen him. He has done this for generations, and we have uncovered the… obvious, in hindsight, pattern.”
“Is part of being Psychic also seeing the future? Because you’re right, I have a LOT of questions!” Xander said before Alex even had the chance to process what Amia said. “Kill us? Use our spirits for—are you insane?! Why? How would that even fly with Mom?”
“Your mother has no knowledge of this. She is just a puppet of your father’s, and has been for a long time. A plaything. A means to produce offspring and little more.”
“Okay, you’re taking that back,” Xander warned. “I’m gonna torch you otherwise. You hear me?”
“W-with all due respect,” Alex said, “this is an incredible thing to tell us. How… how can you prove this?”
“We don’t need to,” Amia said. “Instead, I would like to give you a gift. A protective charm that you must hide from your father until it is necessary to use to save yourself. Is that fair? It won’t activate on its own. You must be the one to use it.”
“Specifically saying it won’t activate is suspicious,” Xander growled.
“Oh, don’t be so worried!” Evelyn said, patting them on the back. “I promise, it’ll be just fine. Mother, is he in danger right now?”
“No. That, I am certain. He only kills his son or daughter when they have evolved into a Hydreigon. Then, he will challenge them to a duel, and of course he will win. That is when your life will be in danger, and then your afterlife as well. You will be cursed into eternal servitude to his phantom army, just like all of the siblings before you that you never knew.”
“I have never once,” Alex said, “seen Father with a… a ‘phantom army.’ But thank you for the protection. I’m sure you care for your daughter and wouldn’t want to hurt me.”
“I’m glad you two share such a bond,” Amia replied. “That is precisely why I am taking action now. In some ways, Evelyn defying my orders to grow a bond with you has become a happy accident. A risky opportunity. I hope you do not think less of me for taking advantage of it.”
Alex and Xander were both quiet in response. Something was tingling in the air and they reflexively flinched away.
“Please accept this into your chest,” Amia said, putting something strange in front of them that stung a little.
“What is it?” Xander asked.
“Think of it like a stored bit of power. Fairy power, specifically, and some… divine trickery of my own. When the time comes, focus on it, and you will be able to expel a breath with the same element. It should be enough to ward away your father.”
“What about Mother?” Alex asked.
A hesitating pause followed. Then, with a regretful tone, Amia said, “She is already lost. I’m sorry.”
Alex shook his head slowly in disbelief, but Xander was more aggressive.
“As if I’m gonna believe that!” Xander shouted. “Mom, already lost? No. Not gonna happen!”
They got silence in reply, and then a gentle hand on their back.
“Will you at least take this power?” Amia asked.
Murmurs surrounded them from many onlookers. A crowd had gathered. If they made a scene, it would only make them look bad—at best.
“Xander, we should accept it and go for now. Clear our heads…”
“Whatever.” Xander stomped his foot. “Fine. Give it here. How’s it work?”
“You need only hold still. I will embed it invisibly within your chest.”
Alex hummed. “That sounds a bit painful. Will it—”
“Yeah, fine.”
“No, wait, do I need to brace for something, or—YGAAAAAH!”
The pain was immense and sudden. Alex passed out.
<><><>
The next thing Alex knew, he was bobbing along as Xander walked one-headed. Evelyn was on their back. “O-oh. Huh? Hm?”
“Finally,” Xander muttered. “It’s all lopsided without you awake. C’mon, help me walk.”
“Where are we?” Alex asked breathlessly.
“Almost to our little clearing, dear,” Evelyn said. “I decided to go with you for a little while until you came to. Now that you’re back… I think I should get going in case we get spotted. It’s already so late…”
“We got in trouble a few days ago for the same thing,” Alex said. “But at least he won’t
kill us like how your mother said.”
“I think that’s fake,” Xander said. “We should just ask.”
“N-no! We certainly shouldn’t!” Alex whispered.
“Remember, it still needs to be a secret,” Evelyn said. “Stay quiet for now, okay? For me?”
That quieted Xander down. He fumbled over his words, but then nodded. “Fine,” he said, bumping his head against Alex. “C’mon. Let’s go home.”
And with another air of unease, they split off.
<><><>
One of the favored places that Alex and Xander preferred was a small cave further north of their usual meeting spot. They were sure that Father knew nothing about it, and it was by a river that helped mask their sounds.
The past few days had been tense with his father and mother. They were surely getting suspicious with their behavior. At some point, they arranged to meet with Evelyn in a more secluded spot to finally make a decision.
They… had to trust Evelyn enough to ask a little more. Maybe some proof. If they just had a little proof…
“Evelyn?” Alex whispered.
“I’m here,” Evelyn replied. “Did you… come to any decisions?”
“No,” Xander said flatly. “It just doesn’t add up. Dad just wants me to grow up dominant so I’ll be strong like him.”
“I don’t know,” Alex admitted. “It… it’s hard to believe, but at the same time, I do not know why your mother would lie to us if she values your feelings so much, too. What has your father said about this?”
“He doesn’t say much,” Evelyn admitted. “He’s practically a servant to Mom. Always defers to her. But… I think he also agrees. He’s worried for me… and therefore you. Our kind are pretty tuned to emotions, so it’s hard to fake things with each other.”
“Well… I’m worried, too,” Alex said. “Father can be so cruel. I wouldn’t put it entirely past him, even if it seems completely unreasonable alone. Still… you wouldn’t lie to us. She told us the same thing, Xander.”
“Y-yeah, well…”
Evelyn was awfully quiet, but then someone rumbled behind them.
A familiar rumble. No no no.
“So,” Father said, his voice a great hiss, “this is what it has come to.”
Metal clanged against stone. Father was dragging something with him—the blade. The blade encrusted with dragon scales that could cleave through his neck.
“I was wise to bring this with me,” Father said with venom in his voice. “Alex… how much poison would you be for the proper head’s mind otherwise, I wonder?”
“F-Father, what do you mean?” Alex said. “Is it true? Is that really what we are to you?”
“Just say it isn’t,” Xander said. “It’s obviously some mistake.”
“Who told you this?” Father asked, his voice now closer. “No matter. I’ll just force the evolution now. It’s a waste of energy, but this has gone on long enough. I’ll learn the truth and kill whoever told you!”
The air was charged with an acidic feeling. It became harder to breathe as Father radiated a power he rarely displayed. And then came an intense
heat, and then a spike going into their chest. Power surged through them like electricity, and at the same time, the wind whistled as Father flew closer. The metal blade screeched against the cave walls and then whistled through the air for a swing.
For a moment, Alex resigned himself. He almost felt relief. All the worry about this moment, and it was finally happening, and it was so fast. He had no way to defend against it… Did it matter? Did any of it matter?
At least now he would be strong like Xander.
The swing should have come by now. It hadn’t. At first, Alex wondered if, somehow, Xander had been slain, but surely he would have felt some of the pain.
“Gnkhh—what… what did you… d-do to…” Father was in pain.
Their body moved. Xander was driving the body, and Alex was too stunned to do anything but listen to Father running back. There was a tingling in his chest that lingered, and Xander’s breath stung when he happened to turn his head to look back.
“Gah! Xander, don’t breathe flames on me!”
“WHAT?” Xander cried—but Xander was on the wrong side.
“X-Xander?! When did you get there?! How?!”
“I was gonna ask you the same!” Xander cried. “Did we swap heads?! What?!”
“What—what did you breathe on me?”
“Not flames. I think that’s fairy power. That thing Evelyn’s mom gave us. Ugh! It’s awful! But it stopped him. L-let’s go. We’re out! We’ll figure out the head thing later!”
“What?!” Alex yelped. “But Xander, he’s… y-you were going to evolve, just like you wanted!”
Xander didn’t answer. He kept running. “Evelyn!” Xander cried. “EVELYN!”
“This way!” called her voice. They leapt over boulders and stumbled over roots. This wasn’t a familiar path and Alex felt like a Deino again, helplessly bumbling through in unfamiliar lands, weak and pathetic.
“I’m here, I’m here,” Evelyn whispered, holding both their heads. “Alex, are you okay?”
“Uh, wrong head,” Xander said.
“What?” Evelyn whispered.
“H-hi, Evelyn. Um, something strange happened.”
“Mother must have…” Evelyn pulled them ahead. “Please, come, quickly. He must be trying to find you. Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” they both said.
“I’m going to Teleport again, but with you this time. But you can resist it very easily, so I need you to trust me completely.”
“We do.”
She embraced them, and while disoriented at the positioning, Alex adjusted and leaned his cheek against her back. Gods, this was strange. Evelyn always rested between them, and now the wrong side of his head was feeling it.
They felt weightless for an instant, and then they were somewhere else.
“Moooom!” Evelyn cried. “You were right! You were right, he’s coming, oh, Skies, what do we do?!”
“Calm, calm!” called an unfamiliar voice from someone who smelled like they had fur.
“Whoa, wait, what’s up?” called another wholly unfamiliar voice. “Yo, Rhys, fill me in?”
“Later, Star.”
Their voices were becoming muffled. There was a tightness in their chest. Alex had only felt this once before. He gasped. “Xander—”
“I know,” he replied back, grave. “We’re evolving. R-right now.”
“We… we are…”
He was having trouble speaking. The heat was rushing over and his mind felt fuzzy. It was happening again. Once, it happened when his conflicted mind had split in two. Now, it was time to reunite.
This was it for him.
“Xander… I…”
Xander said nothing, and the dizziness overtook him.
<><><>
Alex felt like nothing. No weight, no sound, no scent. Floating somewhere. At first, he wondered idly if this was what happened if he was the mind that lost. But that would be silly; he would simply awaken as ‘Xander,’ and never be any the wiser of what he used to be. Who he was, his dreams would all become afterthoughts in an instant. Meaningless.
Maybe this was a middle ground, and he would eventually stop thinking altogether, and let Xander replace him. Become Xander. Was that it?
“Hello?”
Alex hadn’t said it. But it sounded like him, aside from the assertive tone. Which meant…
“Xander?” Alex called back.
“Are we dreaming?” Xander asked.
Silence. He wondered if that was true. But he didn’t know how to answer. It felt like they were drifting a little bit closer. Inch by inch. They were only a few feet away from each other, though. So strange to hear him not right up against his ear.
“Maybe this is a vision,” Alex concluded. “The… the last time we’ll ever get to talk to one another. Do you think all Hydreigon went through this?”
“Maybe.” Xander dismissed it, though, like he didn’t care. But it was more halfhearted than usual. “Fine. Not gonna waste time with this. Alex, look… He… he wanted me to be… how I was.”
“What?”
“Father. He wanted me to take over. Because I’d be like him. I’d… be…”
“Xander…”
“It was true, wasn’t it?” Xander asked, laughing. “It really was true…”
Two feet away. It felt like they were already only two feet away, but that was still so much further than as a Zweilous.
“Don’t think like that,” Alex encouraged. Because he knew where this was going and suddenly he couldn’t accept it.
“No, I should! He wanted me to be a monster! Just to kill me, or whatever. He gave himself away. It all would’ve been over if I believed him!”
“Yet you had the power to fight back! I just stood there, accepting my fate. You fought! Xander,
you fought!”
“Who cares! You
knew! You were
right, you… were like Mom, okay? You win.”
“No, I don’t win! It isn’t a competition!” Alex pleaded. “I never wanted it to be a competition between us; why can’t you
get that?!”
“Because that’s all I know!” Xander cried. “That was our difference! That was what
split us, that’s how I
am!”
Alex had never heard him so broken before. It hurt.
Xander continued, “And now, at the last second, I realized it was all because I was…
shaped and favored to be just how he wanted, not how
I wanted, everything was just one big lie! Mom was… Mom might already be…”
“Xander… I need your strength,” Alex whispered. “Please, please don’t give up. Please
persist, I need you, I need your strength! We need… we need to compromise. We need to work
together; I don’t want you to disappear! I never wanted that!”
“Don’t you lie to me,” Xander spat. “That’s not at all how this is. I wanted you gone. It would’ve been so easy. Don’t tell me you wanted me to stay despite that; it’s a lie!”
“I…” Maybe some of that was true. “But only fleetingly. When I truly thought about it, about you, about how I’d feel, no! I wouldn’t want you gone! You… are the one who gets things done. You had the courage to rebel and seek Evelyn at all. You had the strength to keep training as hard as we did. I’m…”
“The only one that’s kind. The one Evelyn
actually likes. I know she wishes you dominated.” His voice cracked. “It’s all for nothing. All of it’s nothing! Just let me go! LET ME GO AWAY!”
They touched. They had no body; they were just wisps in a void. Electricity bubbled through them, but Alex felt empowered. And Xander was fading.
“No! No, please, Xander. I need you, I need… that strength. If Father made you into a monster, then be a monster toward
him! Be a monster that defends against other monsters. Monsters prey on weaklings like me, Xander, please, I need… to know how to be strong. And that’s
you, I shouldn’t be… alone…”
Xander wasn’t saying anything. He was still there. But his whole world had collapsed around him in seconds. All that bluster, all that confidence, gone like dust to a gale. And as their essences dissolved against each other, he could feel some of those thoughts. How thoroughly everything Xander did was just to wall himself off. The very same,
exact fears Alex had felt, Xander had, too.
And he had no idea, all this time. How afraid Xander truly was of every single day.
“I’m not strong,” Xander whispered.
“But you’re defiant,” Alex said. “You
are strong. You have the courage to stand up to that fear… Gods, Xander… you were so strong despite feeling as afraid as me?”
“You were so nice… despite feeling all that fear?” Xander countered.
Alex didn’t have a counter for that. In that stunned silence, Xander shrank even more.
“Heh… at least… Evelyn will be happy…”
“Please,” Alex begged. “Mother wanted compromise. We can still follow her. Please, a deal… Just one little deal.”
“…Fine… what.” He could barely hear Xander now.
“When things are dire… when I truly need strength, when everything else fails… You must emerge.”
Alex couldn’t feel Xander anymore. He’d been totally pulled into his essence.
“Xander?” Alex whispered. “Please… I want to hear you one more time… please…”
But Xander was already gone. Instead, he felt a slight warmth at his very core. A presence. Himself, now. A bubbling little piece of courage was what remained of Xander… and then a strange defiance.
“F-fine,” Alex said. “If you refuse to get out, then… I’ll just
force you when it’s needed. How does
that sound?!” He felt silly, talking in the void. But it had to be said.
Everything was fading again. Time accelerated from its standstill.
And suddenly… he was there again. High above the others. Weightless, still, but now because he was floating with spectral power.
“Alex… Xander?” Evelyn whispered.
And in front of him, in a small room, was Evelyn. She had kind red eyes, a thin frame, a beautiful white dress that made up part of her body, and stunning blue hair.
Alex opened his new mouth for the first time to breathe, and then leaned down to kiss her without a second thought. A bold move he never would have considered in the past, but now it came so easily to him. And Evelyn was stunned, yet leaned into it, closing her eyes.
Instincts filled Alex’s mind with all the new sensory information he was now capable of. The new aspects of his body and power, the way his forelegs had become diminutive heads, his hind legs nothing but drifting things behind him… Floating was as natural as standing. And his
wings…
But most of all… This new sense he’d finally earned, that so many were simply born with, simply handed upon hatching.
But now, that reward was something he could truly savor: sight.
“Evelyn,” Alex whispered. “You’re beautiful.”
<><><>
Alex had always been told about ‘sight’ before, a way to tell where things were without scent or sound. That it was very precise, and that they could turn their heads in a direction and know where everything was that way, just by ‘looking.’ For a Deino, their lives were without it; for a Zweilous, it was much the same, as far as Alex knew. But they finally gained eyes upon evolving to their final form, after great struggle and constant training.
With it came the instincts to understand what he was seeing. But it was all still overwhelming, even with that. So many people and their ‘visual’ appearances were being instantly paired up with their scent and sound profiles. A whole new dimension was being added to everything and everyone that Alex had known.
He had no idea that so many of the higher voices that came from below him also came from bodies so small. They ‘looked’ small to him, now. A Charmander had the ‘appearance’ of something so small and dainty. The walls were ‘brown,’ as Evelyn had explained to him. Brown and black rocks. He saw the sky and the ocean from high above once on a test flight, and the sensory overload of flying by his own power, combined with the light—he could have died right there and have been satisfied.
And all of it was earned. He’s finally earned his eyes. Six of them, even if the four on his smaller heads were not as good.
He was sad he couldn’t see his mother first, but this would have to do.
There were other very unfamiliar Pokémon in the rocky cavern. He had no idea what any of them were until they spoke up and he recognized their voices. That furry-smelling Pokémon was actually someone called Lucario Rhys. There was also a Charmander named Owen with him, and he smelled like brimstone despite assuring them he’d washed up. Surrounding the Charmander were three other Pokémon of similar sizes. Over the Lucario’s shoulder was a floating, tiny thing with a very long tail.
Apparently, it was this Lucario and those associated with him who had been collaborating with Amia and her clan to uncover information about Father. And after what just happened… maybe it was true after all.
In some ways, Alex already missed being blind.
Then there was Evelyn, the blue-haired Gardevoir, and Amia, a bit taller than Evelyn, but with emerald hair instead. They were all talking about some war, but Alex still felt too dazed to understand what it meant.
Occasionally, Pokémon he didn’t recognize asked him trivial questions like his name, what he remembered, how he felt. They seemed silly, but he answered to be polite.
Eventually, Rhys approached him, and it was startling to see how clearly Alex could now tell that without waiting for the scent or sound to get more intense first.
“Your chosen name is Alex?” Rhys asked. “Is ‘Xander’ there?”
Alex winced. “I… want to hope so,” he said. “But he did not wish to dominate. I was surprised as well, to learn that…”
“As am I,” Rhys admitted. “But your aura is not turbulent. I believe you have found peace in your evolution. You are lucky, considering how you were raised.”
“My mother helped guide me down a proper path.”
“Your mother, right. Her name is… Remi?”
Alex nodded.
“Hmm… It sounds familiar. Unfortunately, I don’t believe she is relevant to any of this beyond…” He spoke carefully. “Beyond her relation to your father.”
“It’s… Is it true? Warlord? A soul eater of some kind, how does—Please, you must explain. I have no intention of returning to his side, but if we can save my mother…”
Rhys closed his eyes, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Alex. Your mother has already been reclaimed. It was the first thing your father did upon returning home. Our scouts confirmed that she is… withdrawn into Alexander. She is not dead, not in the sense you would imagine. But I’m afraid you cannot see her. She seemed to have a blessing of some kind that allowed her to persist beyond Alexander’s typical range, but she was still under his domain.”
None of that made sense. Gone, withdrawn, reclaimed? What does that
mean?
“You seem confused,” Rhys said.
“Of course I seem confused. I have no idea what you mean,” Alex replied breathlessly. “I…”
His levitation faltered, and Rhys swiftly moved in and propped him up. He leaned against the surprisingly strong Lucario for his petite size.
A new voice called into the room. “Apologies for being late.”
Formal, remarkably neutral. It was a voice that wasn’t appealing nor unappealing. In some ways, it felt almost bland in tone. Entering the cavern, lit only by dim orbs embedded into the ceiling, was a strange canine with black scales and green hexagons along his body. Strangely enough, sometimes the green hexagons lit up in a slow rhythm.
“Who are you?” Alex asked.
“You may call me Zygarde Hecto. Overseer.”
“Oh. Overseer of…”
“Kilo, for now.”
The small, pink thing giggled and landed on Hecto’s back. “So formal! He and I are sorta dating, but long story short, he’s basically someone who’s helping out with a little trouble happening in this place. He’s the scout Rhys sent to look around for what’s going on.”
“Oh, you, a scout?” Alex asked. “I suppose you look like you might be a good scout… stealthy…”
“Kilo is in danger due to Alexander’s movements and actions. He intends to resurrect some great power that had been sealed away. Unfortunately, a strange force is causing me to forget what it is.”
“Causing you to forget,” Alex repeated. “What does that mean,
causing you to forget?”
“The fabric of this world that permeates every living creature can be manipulated by powerful entities. Sometimes, the rules to what can and can’t be remembered and perceived can be imposed upon mortals and weaker immortals, like I am right now. Even at my greatest power… I am limited by my domain while within here. Which can lead to frustrating circumstances of remembering while outside of it, yet helpless once within.”
Alex decided to pretend he understood all of that. “Your point is, as this Overseer, you are stepping in to… stop my father?”
“In essence, yes. That is the ideal outcome. If your father can be defeated, and then I may observe the end result for a few centuries, that will save this world from destruction.”
“
World destruction?” Alex laughed in disbelief. “My father raised me to train and become strong. If he plans to destroy the world, why would… I—I mean, why would my younger sibling be incubating, then?”
“His claim over the world will not be the end of all life. Only all free life,” Hecto said. “All will be under his dominion. Conquest. But in the process, the world itself will fall to ruin due to the nature of his power over Shadow. That is why I have stepped in, specifically. His dark powers are a cosmic threat, and therefore beyond the simple domain of mortals, or the local gods.” He gestured to the pink creature.
“Oh, yeah, never introduced myself, huh?” The pink creature held out a paw, but then realized who she was doing it to and patted Alex’s left head instead. “My name is Mew Star.”
“M-Mew Star? Local god? Wait… so not simply a rare creature, but
the Mew?”
“Yeah, that’s the one!” Star replied cheerily. “Don’t worry, though. I’m not here for godly worship or whatever. I just want to make sure the world doesn’t end. I’m an asset to stopping Alex right now. Even got special permission from B—Arceus to descend and help directly.”
Alex lowered himself again, sighing. “This is all… a lot.”
“I imagine so,” Rhys said. “The good thing is, you do not have to take action. Your best choice in the matter is staying
away from the fighting. In fact, I would go so far as to recommend you flee entirely from this battle.”
Alex flinched. What? Flee entirely? After all this time…
“I must, err, respectfully disagree,” Alex said. Then, when he realized how pathetic that sounded, he straightened and said, “I’m fighting. If he wants me, then I’ll be at least a distraction while you take him out. I know my father. I’ll be able to avoid him.”
“You’re just barely getting used to a new
sense,” Rhys countered. “You will be disoriented.”
“I’m not running from him!”
That startled him, yet also didn’t surprise him. His voice was deeper and firmer, resolute. He’d never spoken like that before. But under this stress, there was a warmth in his chest…
Xander. He’d called upon him. Or, he
became him, for just a little. So seamless…
He let the momentum carry him. “If I’m part of a long line of sons and daughters created from him and some twisted relationship with my mother, then let me be the one to also break it. I still have an unhatched sibling that I can fight for, too. I won’t run away from them. Please… You have to accept this.”
Even as Alex spoke, he could see his words having an effect. It was so strange to witness the way they moved, the sounds that corresponded with weight shifting, little grunts, body movements once invisible to him. That must have meant they were agitated.
For some reason, the Charmander was sniffling. “That’s so cool,” he said. “Rhys, we gotta let him fight!”
Rhys rubbed his forehead.
“He’s got you beat there,” Star remarked, shrugging.
“Oh, not you too,” Rhys muttered. “Fine. But it will be anything
but the front lines. If he gets a hold of you, that’s another lost to his cycle. Is that a fair compromise?”
Alex nodded. “I’ll support. I just won’t run.”
“Oh, Alex…” Evelyn strode up to him and embraced his neck. “If that’s how it’s going to be… we need to train up.”
“Train?” Alex asked. “With… Fairies?”
“Hmph. Afraid?” Amia taunted, crossing her arms.
“N-no, I… Alright. Training. Let’s see what we can do!”
He was going to regret this.
<><><>
The following days had become a whirlwind of activity as he was trained, debriefed, and warned about everything Alexander had actually been doing. Each revelation felt more unreal than the last, but most worrying was the fact that everyone he spoke to lacked the full picture, and acknowledged as much.
Rhys worked with Star, one of the Creators. Rhys was part of an organization that was dedicated to the study of life and spirits, but had recently pivoted to fighting Alexander in the middle of something they were calling the ‘Second Dark War.’
The first Dark War was shrouded in mystery, lost to time and perhaps divine intervention. Star suspected that Arceus was responsible for its erasure from history, and also suspected that, after Alexander, perhaps Arceus would be the next on their list of people to question and stop. That alone seemed farfetched, and even Rhys seemed skeptical, but perhaps it was true. Who else would have the power to erase such things from history?
Owen and his three friends were apparently a secret weapon of some kind, though Rhys was cagey about talking in detail about what they were capable of. Only that, if there was a need, he would be able to “unleash” their full power if it meant stalling Alexander for a finishing blow.
But Alex sensed a great conflict in the way Rhys spoke of it, and Evelyn’s keen sense of emotions confirmed it. While they were an “ultimate weapon,” Rhys was also treating it as a “last resort.”
It was probably fine.
And then, one day, Hecto returned from another scouting mission, but this time with some company and terrible injuries.
“Ah! Um, ummm, Evelyn! Amia!”
Alex happened to be the one to see him first, training outside the caves many miles away from his old home, where it was safer. Hecto, the canine Zygarde at the moment, was missing almost his entire lower half, bleeding a green fluid and one of the Cells that comprised his body dangling.
“Hello,” Hecto grunted. “Please relieve me of what I am carrying. That is all that matters.”
“But—but you’re hurt! I’ll get a healer—”
“These wounds are far too grave and settled to heal,” Hecto said. “The egg. Please.”
“Egg—”
Alex gasped. He knew that egg, its speckled blue and black exterior… Hesitantly, he picked it up. “This is… my brother, or sister, isn’t it?”
“Yes. You seemed… to value them greatly. I did what I could. It is safe…” He rested his head on the ground, eyes dimming. “Good. The mission is accomplished.”
And right before Alex’s eyes, the Zygarde degraded into oozing cells, about seven total. The worst was how his head had split into two lopsided blobs…
“H-Hecto…” Alex sniffed. He set the egg down nearby, very gingerly. The shell felt like it was beginning to thin out—a sign that it was hatching time soon. “I’ll… I’ll avenge you, Hecto. Putting your life on the line just to try to get my sibling back… I had no idea you’d go so far. And—”
“I recommend getting the egg somewhere safe first.”
Alex shrieked and spun around, seeing another Hecto standing there, looking up.
“Wh—but—but you, that’s, sacrifice…”
“…Mm. I realize that I did not explicitly tell you that I have spare bodies. My apologies.” He then looked at the egg. “The sun is harsher in this region. It’s better inside.”
“I… y-yes. Okay.” Every day was a shock. He could feel his lifespan shrinking.
He picked up the egg and dusted off some of the sand, and then drifted toward the small encampment they’d made for themselves. The trees here were a lot thinner and the sun was indeed much warmer. It no longer smelled of the ocean, but the scent still lingered from the south. It was very dry, too. Alex found himself needing water more often, even with his scales. Maybe it was the training, or the fact that he was so much larger, or that he was now conscious of three mouths doing the drinking instead of just one.
“Err, what about those?” Alex asked, gesturing at the remains of the dead Hecto.
“I will harvest him,” Hecto said. “You may go on ahead.”
Alex decided he didn’t need to see that and agreed.
After some navigation through the forest, he made it to a spot where it was dimmer and the thin trees were just a little denser. It was where they’d built an underground base. ‘Not their real one,’ Rhys had said, ‘but a good outpost.’
Underground, packed dirt and reinforced clay formed most of the makeshift base. The walls were thankfully tall enough to allow Alex decent movement even while flying. “Um, excuse me! Hecto gave me an egg?”
“Wow, didn’t know he swung that way,” Star said.
“No! Not what I meant! And um, males can’t have eggs,” Alex said.
“Bah, I’ll find a way.” Star smiled at him and gestured to the right. “Put them in there. I set up an incubation area. Aww, he’s gonna be a boy. Healthy!”
“Y-you can tell, just like that?”
“Sort of my role,” Star pointed out. “Think of it like a sixth sense.” The Mew floated to the top of Alex’s head and sat down. “You know, I just wanted to say to you… you’re really kind, you know that?”
“Oh… um, that’s good… That’s good, right?”
“Yeah. I think I get why Alexander wanted to focus on just one head or something, because trying to get both of you to be like him would’ve taken too long. Weird… You didn’t inherit much of his nature at all. Remi must have had a stronger influence…”
Her paw traced his scales and scratched under his chin. He suppressed a pleasured growl.
“Well,” he said, gently shaking her off. She floated a few inches above him. “We’re both glad. I wanted to be strong, but I didn’t want to be a monster. Mother was right after all. Compromise…”
“It’s probably why Evelyn loves you so much. Anyway, we were about to have a strategy meeting. We want you in it if you’re going to go for the assault. Things are going kind of fast right now, but if we can get this done, we might be able to take Alexander out here and now.”
“Just like that?” Alex asked in a whisper. “I… I don’t know how. He seems so strong…”
“He’s also just one person. Sure, he has a phantom army but he’s still the
core of it all, and that’s his weakness. If we can take
him out, that’ll be it. Take out the lich, and all the minions fall! Just like one of those fantasy books!”
“I see…” Still too surreal for him to fully comprehend. But he was starting to get the gist of what this all meant. “Will this be everyone, then? Do you have an army of your own?”
“They’re all still fighting their own fights. We’re the ones tasked with taking out Alexander directly,” Star explained. “But we do have a little more backup coming. A few old friends of mine, and the leader of the Hearts.”
The way Star said it, the term sounded important, but Alex didn’t know what it meant. He just nodded.
“And what can I do?” Alex asked. “Who will I go with?”
“If you’re going to be the distraction,” Star said, humming, “I want you to go with Rhys’ group.”
The little Charmander straightened his back and puffed out his chest. “When you see me tomorrow, I’m gonna be evolved and way stronger!”
“Mm. All in preparation,” Rhys said. “We’ll be doing intensive training for it. I know a special technique that will help them grow faster.”
“You speak like evolution is something that happens on the regular,” Alex mumbled. “When I first evolved, it was a celebration…”
Star gave him a sad smile. “Well,” she said, “it’s all for the world. Are we ready, everyone?”
Many nodded.
“Then it’s a good night’s rest, and then the final assault!”
<><><>
After a heavy dinner, Alex curled up in bed. It was nice to be able to totally relax himself, completely disabling even his spectral floatation. He allowed gravity to pull him into his nest, nuzzled into the grass and curled around the Gardevoir right next to him.
It was strange. When he closed his eyes, it was a lot like when they’d known each other. But now, with sight, there was a new dimension to basically everything that he did. In some ways it was a little tiring.
It was convenient being able to see and know things from so far away, though. He understood how useful that was for battle against silent foes, or how, perhaps, his father had followed him so easily in the past. With no footfalls, there was only scent that he could rely on, and that wasn’t always reliable depending on the direction of the wind.
“Evelyn,” Alex said. “Your mother. She’s the strongest of your… clan. Correct?”
“It’s hardly a clan anymore, but yes,” she said. “She’s trained for a long time to take a power that your father has. It’s been misused for quite some time. But she has a plan… Perhaps we can save everyone.”
“Ev—even Mother?”
“Yes. You see, Mom, she… inherited a power from someone. She’s also blessed by the gods in her own way. Unlike Alexander, though, she doesn’t kill her children. They all live happy lives and, er, well, move off and die of age. She doesn’t. But she has a power, a very special power…”
“What is it?”
“You’ve seen it already.”
“The Fairy thing?”
“No, that was a little trap she set for you. I meant when your heads switched. She has Manaphy’s blessing.”
“Oh, goodness…” A beat. “I don’t know what that is.”
“You’ve never heard about it?”
“Not really. And it’s not like I know how to read…”
“Don’t they have books for the blind?”
“That’s not why I don’t know how…”
“Oh.”
Another awkward silence. Evelyn gently rubbed his cheek, as if in understanding.
She continued, “Manaphy is the god of, er, changing places. I don’t really remember the exact term. But she can swap the very spirits of two people, have them live in the body of another, just like that. And, in cases like you, she can also swap the minds of the same spirit, if there are multiple.”
“Oh. Well. A bit pointless on me, isn’t it?” Alex asked.
“Maybe for you,” Evelyn said. “But… your father.”
Alex’s mouth opened slightly in disbelief. “Y-you mean… no! Is that possible? Could my father have… once been kind? One of his heads? And…”
“Think of how he spoke about you, or, er, the Alex half.”
“Xander’s still in here, too,” Alex said, only mildly offended.
“Yes, I’m sorry. But imagine if she switched the father you know… for the father that ‘lost’ that battle? He didn’t win by compromise, did he? So, what if…”
“That’s brilliant!” Alex laughed. “It’s no wonder you’re so confident. All you have to do is turn
this Alexander into the dormant one… Oh, I hope that works…”
“We don’t really know what the losing head was like,” Evelyn said, “but considering how he talks about it… we can be confident he wouldn’t want it. And therefore, we
do. Right? Does that make sense?”
“At the
very least,” Alex said, “we can disorient him. You’re right. Oh, now I’m excited!” Alex shook his smaller heads.
Evelyn giggled, nuzzling him. “Alright,” she said, wrapping her hands around the back of his head. “Let’s get some good rest. We’ll get it all done in the morning.”
“Right… rest first.” He sighed, trying to calm down.
The prospect of saving his mother was what kept him awake the most.
<><><>
It was cold that morning. When Alex opened his eyes, he assumed he was blind again. But it was just dark. And… airy. And he felt weighed down, too.
Why did his head hurt?
“Thank God you’re awake,” Star whispered, slapping Alex on the cheek.
“Ow! Excuse me?” Alex grunted, trying to get up, but then he yelped as a twisting shock ran through his body. Only then did he realize that most of the cave had collapsed onto him.
“Hold still. I’ll get you out of there,” Star said. Psychic energy enveloped the stones and rocks, releasing Alex, but he wished he hadn’t been staring when he was released. He couldn’t recognize his lower half.
“Don’t panic, don’t panic!” Star assured him. “I got this. It’s not even that bad, it’s just some crushing. You’ve had worse, right?” She patted him on the shoulder, but Alex had been stunned into silence. Or shock. He wasn’t sure anymore; everything was blurry.
“E-Evelyn,” Alex managed. “Where is—”
“She’s safe. But we have to get out of here. Alexander got the jump on us.”
Warmth spread through parts of Alex’s body that had been totally crushed, followed by a brief agony of tingling and featureless pain. He screamed but a psychic hold wrapped around his muzzle, though it fizzled a second later.
“Ugh! Right, Dark. Just shh!” Star said, physically clamping his jaws tight with her tiny arms. She was surprisingly strong.
“Sorry,” Alex said through a closed mouth. The feeling in his lower half returned; a little crushing never killed anybody, right?
Why did he think that? Had a thought from Star channeled into him with her healing?
“We might get spotted,” Star said before he could test his healed body. “I’m gonna Teleport the both of us out. Don’t resist, alright?”
Alex nodded. Star wrapped her body around his neck and started glowing white.
Something cut his cheek. Cold, a deeper cold than ice, and a burn like acid. When Alex opened his eyes again, he was not in a new location. It was still dark and it was still the collapsed caverns of their old hideout. Star was pinned to the wall with a spear made of a strange, shadowy material rammed through her chest. Her eyes were wide with fear and surprise.
He knew that power, the feeling alone. Instead of turning back, he rushed for Star and grasped at the javelin, pulling it out. Star’s mouth opened with pain, but he grasped her tiny body in one of his smaller jaws and curled her under his chest, flying away as quickly as he could.
That sizzle approached again and he weaved left, dodging it. Then he weaved right and dodged another, just from the sounds in the air.
The cave below him was a blur of ruins. The whole place had been savagely leveled overnight. How did he sleep through it? Or had he been knocked unconscious before he could wake?
“Die.”
Two small jaws grasped Alex by the tail, and then he was
yanked backwards. He saw his father’s crazed eyes, his jaws that seeped with a black fluid. Then they were upon him, and a horrible, tearing pain cracked his snout and forehead—
And then it stopped.
<><><>
He could still hear, he could still think, but only barely from the pain that was suddenly all-encompassing. He wasn’t even sure if he was screaming or not. All he thought to do was flail dumbly, not knowing anything else, until that same warmth from before restored his eyes.
That blindness had been a small comfort, but now he could see again.
Even better, he could see Evelyn, whose eyes were wet with tears. Her delicate blue hands covered her mouth.
“That guy’s beyond help,” Alex heard Star mutter while he was still in a daze. “He ate his own son’s
face! Who does that?!”
“Shh, he might be waking up,” Evelyn said. “Don’t frighten him. Oh, Alex… h-he’ll be fine, right?”
“You’re lucky his son’s resistant to Shadows, or I wouldn’t be able to heal this,” Star said. “But yes. Look, it’s already closing up.”
“I think I’m gonna be sick,” called an unfamiliar voice. Alex eventually tied it to a Fraxure, who looked somehow pale in the face despite his scales.
“Cool,” said a nearby Bayleef, her eyes focused on Alex for some reason.
Alex gasped to indicate his presence. “I—I’m okay,” he said. “I’m okay…”
“Oh, thank the skies… Alex! I—I thought the first onslaught had taken you…” Evelyn rushed to his side, embracing his main head and neck. Alex wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. She was trembling and there was blood—
his blood—on her shoulder.
“What happened?” Alex asked. “Please, tell me. Where are we?”
It was another cave. He could still smell the ocean, so it hadn’t been very far. Father could be upon them at any moment…
“Alexander grew wise to our plans and made a preemptive strike. Most of our initial plans have been completely overturned,” Amia said, stepping closer and out from a deeper part of the caverns. “But this also simplifies matters. Alexander is coming after you, Alex. So, we will defend you with our lives so he may not become stronger. We will end his cycle here, permanently. No matter the cost.”
Alex took a shaky breath. Just one exchange with his father, when he was truly fierce, truly ferocious… He didn’t want to face him anymore. He did not have the fighting spirit to do so. Even Xander would have been completely overwhelmed by this. Even that half of him saw sense to flee. And the overwhelming
shame that burned into his stomach was enough to make him sink and sniffle.
Evelyn embracing him was the only true comfort he had. His mother was dead. His father had killed her. And now he was next. His little world, blind to everything else, overturned in a matter of days. He was falling and tumbling and all he had were a bunch of strangers to defend him… and Evelyn.
Alex ran everything through his head again and then suddenly looked at Star. “Y-you were impaled!”
“Yeah, that one… still hurts. But I’m sort of divine, so it’s pretty easy to heal that. But I’m not doing too well, actually.”
And when Alex took a closer look at her chest, he could indeed still see some darkness swirling over her fur where the spear had pierced.
“Look, don’t worry! We still have to take him down, right?” Her eyes were desperate again.
But he couldn’t do the fighting.
Deeper in the cave, an Alakazam emerged. He seemed composed, in the same way someone was trying to stay calm after a great outburst. Everyone had gone quiet when he emerged.
“…Hello,” he replied with false cheer.
“Hey, Nev. Is Rhys…?”
“He will recover,” Alakazam replied tersely, eyes closed. “I will be taking the four, now.”
“Wait, you’re what?” Star asked, rising, but then winced and clutched her chest.
“Yes. Alexander is far too great a threat. It is time to employ our desperation tactics.”
“Hold,” Amia said. The Gardevoir with emerald hair stared coldly toward Nevren. “We still have other measures. We do not need to endanger them with… whatever those drawbacks were that you’d warned us about.”
The quartet of Pokémon looked confusedly between them. Alex had the sneaking suspicion they didn’t know what they were talking about. Frankly, neither did he. What were those four middle-evolution Pokémon supposed to accomplish? Father rivaled the gods themselves.
“I’m going,” Nevren said with another grave nod. “Owen. Demitri, Mispy. Gahi. Come, now. It’s time to fight.”
“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” a Vibrava replied, flitting over Alakazam’s head. The other three ran after him, and soon they were leaving.
Heavy, wet footfalls echoed from deeper in the cave, and then a Goodra covered in blood ran past them, calling ‘Nevren’ as the five left. The blood didn’t smell like it was from a dragon. The strange Mew went next, floating shakily after them before hitching a ride on the Goodra’s shoulder.
Soon, only three remained. Alex, Amia, and Evelyn. He was lost in a war so far out of his vision that now that he could see its ramifications, he felt blind all over again.
And then, Amia marched out.
“Mother,” Evelyn said desperately. “What are you doing?”
“If Nevren intends to use his trump card,” Amia said, “I shall use mine. It’s time we end this once and for all and put an end to the Shadows’ cycle.”
“Then let—”
“You,” Amia said, “will guard Rhys and Alex. Rhys in particular is extremely vulnerable, and if Alexander claims
his soul, we will be just as vulnerable regardless. Every soul he claims adds to his power. It does not need to simply be of his lineage; that is only what allows him the greatest growth… had he not been facing gods and those blessed by them alike in our gamble.”
As she spoke, she walked further out of the cave.
“I do not know how many of our clan he has already claimed or killed. Your father is still out there, fighting. I must join him.” She glanced back at Evelyn out of the corner of her eye, nodding. “Be strong for me here. I will return.”
In a flash of light, she was gone.
At first, perhaps Alex would have listened. But he took one glance at Evelyn, and he knew even with his limited knowledge on sight that she was in anguish. She knew something he didn’t, or maybe it was just a feeling.
Were they all going to die? If they didn’t go, right now, would they never see any of them again?
A warmth bubbled in his chest. He didn’t feel very much like ‘Alex’ anymore.
“Let’s go,” the Hydreigon said.
“H-huh?”
He lunged for her and pulled her onto his back; she followed out of pure surprise. He flew, despite his pain, but just as he did, another green canine appeared.
“Good, you’re here,” Alex said, or maybe right now he was Xander. He didn’t know and didn’t care. “Rhys needs to be guarded. We’re coming along.”
“Is that what was ordered?” Hecto asked.
“Yes. Guard Rhys.” The lie came easier than usual. Once Hecto was out of earshot, he asked, “Evelyn, can you get a sense for where your mother went?”
“The Teleport is still fresh,” she said. “I… I can tell. I know the direction.”
With a firm nod, Alex held Evelyn’s shoulders and waited for that disorienting flash to take him away. A moment later, the smell of the ocean was stronger, but the darkness of early morning allowed more detail.
“Where is everyone?” Alex asked.
“I can’t Teleport as far as Mom,” Evelyn admitted. “Give me a second…”
Alex worriedly scanned the horizon, rising higher after getting Evelyn on his back. Maybe he could fly while she focused on her next Teleportation. That would be a fast mode of transport, right? The chilly air helped him be more alert as they raced over fallen trees.
A shame he was still trying to get used to more advanced flying maneuvers. Evelyn, too, was struggling with it, based on how tightly she was holding onto his shoulders.
But they didn’t need to fly very far. In the dawn’s long shadows, the smallest pulses of energy stood out against the dark. Therefore, the clash between god and usurper bathed that darkness in light as if by a second sun.
Flames of orange and indigo tore a whole section of the forest away in an instant. A beam of concentrated sunlight carved another fissure into the earth, leaving glowing spots of melted rubble in its half-cylinder mark. Then came a retaliatory meteor of darkness, the skies themselves raining with a strange, deep purple water. Crackles of blackened lightning came from those clouds, smiting what remained of the ruined battleground, which had become a wasteland in a matter of seconds. And all of those attacks were dwarfed by the sheer
crater beneath them that would have taken a good part of the morning to fly around. It radiated a horrible malice.
From the explosions, a tiny figure trailed out in a ragdoll’s arc. Friend or foe? Alex couldn’t see yet, so he flew closer. Then came another figure, one he’d easily recognize as his father. He smashed into the arcing comet, jaws locking onto his prey.
Alex now could see who it was. “Star!”
In a flash of light, the Mew disappeared, yet there still seemed to be something in Father’s mouth, like some part of Mew couldn’t escape. Evelyn pointed to the ground. “She went there!” she whispered, and Alex started to fly that way, evading Father’s notice.
The dust and debris still falling from the last explosion battered him, sometimes pieces of wood the size of whole fruits slamming onto his back. He coughed through the smoke and flew over four figures. Three of them were down, so he descended and whispered, “Can you heal them?”
“I—I’ll try.”
Alex had
no idea what they were supposed to be. He couldn’t even comprehend what he was seeing. Was it horrifying, confusing? All he saw were four vague shapes that looked like they were meant to be fitted together into a single, whole, but parts were torn away.
And then, to his horror, he realized that he recognized those four—but for their lower forms. It only clicked when he saw one of those misshapen… things emit a flame on one of its appendages.
“What happened to them?” Evelyn whispered, voice trembling.
“Heal them,” Alex urged.
“I’m t-trying,” Evelyn said, but her hands were trembling. She pointed at them, managing to get the melted Charizard. It didn’t seem to do anything, but he did glance at Alex and Evelyn.
And all Alex could see in those eyes was bloodlust. Empty-headed bloodlust, even lower than the most mindless feral.
He knew in that moment he had to get away. He ascended, thankful that Charizard’s wings hadn’t properly reformed yet, and followed the destruction in time to see Father chasing down someone else. “There!” Alex said, suddenly wondering what he was even thinking to do. Were they losing? Did he come here just to feed his soul to his father?
A small part of him was tempted to go back. The rest of him, and Evelyn, urged him forward.
“Mom!” Evelyn whispered loudly to Alex, pointing.
An emerald-haired Gardevoir was standing against a boulder, hiding. Meanwhile, Father was pinning Star to the ground with one paw over her chest, squeezing it.
“No…” Alex went forward on autopilot, but still had no idea what to do. “He’s got Mew. He’s got the Creator in his jaws, how, what—”
“We have to save her. S-somehow!”
Star was seconds away from being killed and possibly even claimed. A divine being, claimed by the monster he’d called a father only days earlier. As the morning sun rose higher into the sky, the long shadows getting cut by new light, Alex mustered the last of his courage for one final cry.
“Father!”
And suddenly, the Hydreigon of Shadow turned all three heads his way.
“There you are,” Father said with a great smile. There was a chilling echo to every word.
“Giving yourself up?”
Star wasn’t moving. Was she already…
“I-if I do… will you end this war?”
“War… This isn’t a war,” Father shrugged.
“I’m only taking back what was meant for me in the first place. My natural, divine right, as the proper savior of this world.”
“And yet you’re killing the very Creator Herself!” Alex countered.
“A Creator would not descend to a state where She could be killed,” Father countered.
“Really, I’m doing this world a favor by taking Her place. I will at least honor that much of her responsibilities…” He leaned closer.
“Are you ready to die, Creator? Lend me your power. I will make it… painless.”
“I-if you take her, then… you’ll never have me,” Alex said. “I’ll run. A-and you’ll never find me. I’ll…”
Father tilted his head again, that grin morphing from a challenging smirk to an entertained smile.
“Oh,” he said,
“that is… adorable. You think you matter.”
Why wasn’t Star Teleporting? Was that disabled somehow? She couldn’t be dead. Couldn’t be. Not yet. The way Father was sparing a few extra glances suggested he was still watching. She was still alive. It wasn’t too late!
“Do you know how many souls I control?” Father asked, drifting toward Alex. As he did, Star was dragged by a near-invisible thread of darkness that had been tied around her chest.
“How many are already part of my personal army? You are nothing to what I already have. I do not want you for power. I want you for pride. To keep my own blood with me forever. My empire, by my own essence, growing to rule over everything else.
“Why? Because I can. I clawed my way to this power and I will use it. Every ounce of this power, I earned. This forsaken world, corrupted by darkness, must be tamed by that very same darkness. And I have conquered it long ago, dear blood. This is just the ending act.
“Now is the time for me to take the final step into ascension. Every spirit inside of me, working in-step to usurp the very Creators that granted me life. Like one thousand little hearts all beating as one. As my heart. The gods’ own pride, their own folly, led them to this perfect, vulnerable moment.”
He raised his smaller left head, and Star followed, dangling limply. Blood pooled beneath her. She was so pale.
There went Alex’s last idea, using himself as a gambling chip. Maybe it was a bluff. Maybe Father really did still need him. But right then, at that moment, Alex wondered if the best option was to just give up. He was so… tired. It was all too much. And staring at the ruins around them, it felt like there was nothing left to be saved.
The crater seemed so horribly large. It would take most of the day for the average person to walk around its perimeter. And they were just at its center, where Father’s most recent blast had started. He could
feel the Shadowy energy radiating from it, and perhaps even more, the way it had clashed with Star. The little shelter that had survived faded into rotten ash. Evelyn, on her back, felt like she was struggling to breathe. Alex felt fine. Almost invigorated, despite everything.
Amia was visible again. Her body looked a little darkened, but not terribly. And she was trying to aim at Father’s head with something, from a blind spot behind him. Alex tried to ignore it, a flicker of hope in his heart again.
How long had they been at a tense stare down?
“Do you feel it?” Father asked.
“This place… it’s mixing the energies together. Radiance and Shadow, together. It’s… intoxicating. I could bask in it forever. And maybe soon, I will… I’ll give you one more chance, blood.”
He held his free head forward.
“Join voluntarily with all of your kin.”
Over his shoulder, featureless phantoms, all of them Hydreigon, floated like a miasma, glowing eyes staring at him. He could only guess that his mother was the one that was so much brighter than the rest. It stood out like the sun in the sky.
She really had been claimed.
Like so, so many others.
“Or be dragged in, pathetic to your last breath.”
Evelyn’s grip was getting weak. The atmosphere was killing her. He had to run. He couldn’t fight. But then, Star…
And then, Amia fired.
And by some miracle, Father didn’t notice when it struck him clean on the head. There were no wounds, no changes, not even a noise. It was just a flash of light, and suddenly Father seemed completely stunned. His eyes were wide and his jaw was agape.
“Now!” Evelyn slammed on Alex’s shoulders, and he rushed into action. He flew under Father and grabbed Star—cold and limp, but she responded with a whimper—and felt the acidic thread that connected her to the tyrant Hydreigon. On instinct, he clamped his main jaws onto the thread and pulled. There was feedback into his teeth that felt like ice, cutting into his gums, but the thread snapped, and he started to fly away, spinning only to see if anything had changed.
Amia’s power would have allowed Father’s mind to swap with the other Zweilous head. That was the theory, right? Perhaps they should have tested it on him first. ‘Xander’ would be present for a little while. That was fine. Maybe having some of that bravery would have been
nice. He could feel his own frustration bubbling at that, but then he refocused on Father, whose flying had slowed.
“Did we do it?” Alex held his breath. “Is… is the other mind active?”
“Yes! It must be!” Evelyn said. “Yes! Mom did it! It’s over! I can feel his emotional waves… It’s different. There was horror, and then, hang on, I almost have a feel for it…”
Alex slumped over, relieved. It was finally over. He didn’t like the way they had to do it. In some ways, he pitied the Father he knew, because now he would likely be in that same dark oblivion he’d tossed aside his other self to become. A mere afterthought of what he had once been like.
But… he would never truly be gone. They were still the same ‘Alexander.’ So, they would still need to be careful, in case temptation brought about that old self.
It was going to be okay.
Evelyn fell off of Alex’s back.
“Eve—” Alex choked.
Evelyn’s eyes were wide with shock, a javelin of shadows piercing her chest. It had been so fast. Dark tendrils were pulsing from the impact site, dissolving her skin and flesh like fire on cotton.
Alex turned his head to face Father again. He only caught a glimpse of the emptiest, most savage, soulless grin he’d seen. An image he knew would burn into his mind forever, for what little time he had left to think.
Three spears pierced through Alex’s chest, and one each pierced through the heads of his arms. It was so cold he couldn’t even register the pain. He only tasted the acidic metal in his mouth, blood tinged with darkness.
He fell for at least two seconds, getting faster the whole time, until he slammed on boulders and stopped next to Evelyn, who was already barely conscious. Weakly, she tried to reach out to him, but then he realized she was pointing at something.
Agonizingly, he turned his head. First, he saw Star’s body, crumpled and torn and motionless. She’d fallen with them. And… while she had been alive before, she was alive no longer. He couldn’t feel that gentle aura of power coming from her. The god had been slain, completely. It was just a husk of dead flesh now.
Then, he saw that Father hadn’t properly gotten to him afterward. The residuals of a stinging blast of Fairy energy had stalled him. This Hydreigon wasn’t fighting with nearly as much grace, but he made up for it in total ferocity. Amia would have gone down next, had it not been for the final interloper Alex could see. It seemed to be the Charizard from earlier, fighting with blind fury. Flames shrouded his slender body and Father couldn’t properly land a blow on him. Strange golden barriers precisely blocked every hit.
The ground was shaking. Everything was getting so much darker. Was that because his vision was finally failing him? It had been a lovely few days of sight. It was a shame he couldn’t enjoy it for longer.
But he felt oddly peaceful about returning to that comfortable darkness. Things were less complicated back then. When he was blind to the world. When his only worry was not getting caught by his strict father and doting mother. When he could enjoy the quiet nights. He could hear the water now, rumbling the rocks.
Evelyn… was she also going to die? They’d die together. So morbid. There was a small, stray thought that wondered if one should live, and if it should be her. He focused as much as he could, willing himself to see one last time. See her one last time.
Some time had passed and Alex didn’t even realize it. There was a Charizard on the ground near him, crumpled with limbs in wrong directions, struggling backwards. And… it was boiling. The sky had erupted in flames.
He agonizingly turned his head again, and was certain he’d seen a true demon. His Father had become shrouded in nothing but flames. The spectral wings had burst into fire; his scales rippled with the colors of magma. Flames poured from his mouth, mixing with dark clouds like a whole forest’s life burned at once within him. It smelled of brimstone.
The Charizard screamed a mindless scream, no longer fierce but afraid, as the demon fell upon him. Alex couldn’t see anymore, but he could hear, and he felt another psychic wave that his body resisted. He recognized it as Amia’s strange swapping powers.
Father grunted.
“What… what was that?” he said.
“That trickery… what did you make me do?!”
“Then even at your core, you were a monster,” Amia screamed, her voice shaking.
Silence for a moment, and then he chuckled.
“So that is your trick… I see. Yes… my other self. Pathetic, primal, monstrous. He sees a single goal and takes the straightforward, naïve path. A fool. He was a slave to his urges. I was the calculating one. But we both agreed on what we wanted, in the end. All Hydreigon are like this. We always agree… we only differ on the methods to get to what we want. Of course, the superior head always wins… But now I see why my most recent blood had been such a failure. You must have swapped him around, too.”
Alex tried to speak. The swap had nothing to do with it. And he knew, in his heart of hearts, this was the truth. But why did he even care to prove himself to such a monster anymore?
No words came.
“But you brought to me a wonderful gift,” Father went on.
“Owen… what sick joke it is that you’ve come to get in my way again. But that doesn’t matter, does it?”
The Charizard whimpered helplessly. There was a dragging noise and the whimpering got louder.
“Reduced to a mindless weapon. Even your body has been corrupted. You’re barely worth my effort. But that soul of Radiance and Shadow… that is the prize, even if I need to break you down to get to it. Maybe I’ll do it slow. Show you how helpless you truly are to me…”
More mindless cries and whimpers were his only reply. Alex heard sizzling. The Charizard was doomed.
The ground rumbled even more. Father didn’t notice, floating in the air. But then it was audible enough that rocks started to rumble.
At the same time, a gentle warmth coursed through him. He could see again. Barely. Just barely.
Gods, it was
much darker. A miasma of shadows thickened the air.
“What?” Father turned toward something Alex couldn’t see, behind him.
“Away…”
The party of demons had grown from one to two. A new voice. It was many voices, speaking in unison.
“Stay away from him…”
“You…” Father floated backwards.
“I killed you!” He lunged for Charizard anyway, but that set off an ear-splitting roar. Suddenly, Father was blown into the sky by a tendril of darkness. Five more sprouted from it, enveloping him, clawing at him. Alex struggled to keep watching as Father tried to fly higher and higher, only to be dragged down, down, down…
He was persistent. He flew as hard as he could, but in Alex’s blurry vision, he saw…
pieces of Father getting pulled in. The more Father flew, the more of him was torn down, passing into a dark portal. By the time he was halfway disassembled, he abruptly spun around and roared, flying directly into the portal.
There were more tendrils reaching toward Evelyn and Alex. But Evelyn was reaching toward Charizard, sending a him pulse of energy—a familiar one, the same one that had tried to heal Alex.
And the dark tendrils stopped. They retreated back to the portal…
Father fell completely into it, but something had fallen out of his decaying body just before entering. It looked like an orange, glowing orb.
It bounced on the ground, emitting an ethereal ring. All fell into silence.
His dark wounds reopened. His vision was fading again.
He heard steps.
Someone sobbed. Sounded like Evelyn, but deeper. Amia.
Evelyn tried to move. She was reaching for someone.
“I’m so sorry,” Amia said. She was right next to him.
“M… Mom…” Evelyn was barely audible. Only from the silence of the crater could Alex hear.
But that was all Alex could muster. Amid this family and not a single one of blood to call his own, Alex finally drifted away. The last thing he heard was Amia’s voice.
“I won’t let you die.”
And he felt her psychic swap’s pulse one last time.
<><><>
He remembered… floating. A weightlessness that was even more ethereal. Something warm had drawn him in, and, mindlessly, he had followed it.
Some unknown amount of time passed. To Alex, it felt like a second, yet he had a suspicion it could have been days.
He emerged from a sphere of light and thought nothing of it, too dazed to process what had happened. Had that all been a dream? Or was
this the dream? What was… anything, anymore?
The cavern around him flowed with veins of lava, and it glowed with unnatural brightness. It was comfortably lit and warm, but he was suspicious that it should have been much hotter. Most alarming were his arms, which were now coated with fire. He didn’t know why that terrified him so much. He screamed without realizing it and fell against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut.
No, no! Not a monster, I’m not, I’m—I’m—
“Alex?!”
Alex gasped, jolting up. That was—Amia? But her tone was so upward. That didn’t match her at all.
He dashed out the cave in time to see a blue-haired Gardevoir running to him. Behind her, there was a typical-looking Dusknoir, a slumbering Charmander in one arm, and a strange, diminished blob of darkness in another.
“Evelyn! You’ve… grown up… quickly!”
Evelyn winced, looking away. “Please,” she said, “you must… call me Amia for now.”
“I’m sorry? Is that not…” He trailed off. “Is that not your mother’s name?”
“It is,” she said. “She… I must honor it. If I keep anything of hers, it must be her name… for a little while.”
Alex thought back to those hazy final moments. That pulse…
Cold horror snaked down his spine. “She swapped with—”
“She sacrificed everything to save me,” she said. “I… I don’t know why. It’s all so meaningless! And to make matters worse… she won’t even come here. She’s searching for Father…”
“I don’t follow. What do you—”
Dusknoir drifted closer, nodding respectfully, and Alex stopped his questions.
“If I may take over.”
Alex recognized that voice. It was deeper and hollow, but the way he spoke…
“Hecto?”
Dusknoir bobbed again. “This is my form in the spirit world when guiding those across the aura sea. Or, in this case, in an outpost near the coast of the living. I would like to explain a few matters to you. Do not be alarmed. You are dead.”
“D-dead?!” Alex chirped, alarmed.
“Yes.”
“But that can’t—but I’m
here, I’m speaking, I’m—”
“A dead spirit. I am sorry if this is inconvenient for you. But your soul now rests within part of the source of power once held by a great evil. It is, thankfully, in proper hands now, in your mate, Evelyn, now Amia.”
“That’s… going to take some getting used to,” Alex admitted, though he wasn’t sure if it was the name swap or the part where
he was no longer alive.
“Your bodies were unsalvageable. Thankfully, I was able to get to the scene and show the sole survivor how to harvest spirits from the dying using the Orb’s power. The only one who could not be saved was Star. She is recovering in the aether. As a god, she will be greatly inconvenienced, but may still run things from outposts such as these if she must.”
Alex nodded dumbly. “P-point is, I’m… dead? This is… beyond?”
“This is a place between. If you would like to leave for the afterlife proper, you may. However, I am afraid that your mate is bound to the Fire Orb and may not leave until she is slain. Even a visit to the afterlife will be fleeting, and will require ferrying by me.”
“Then I will stay,” Alex replied.
“I understand.” Hecto bobbed again. “Thank you for taking this so well. We will—”
A horrible scream came from the Charmander. He clawed up Hecto’s shoulder and was stilled by his massive hand. But he tried to run anyway, taking fleeting glances back at Alex.
Alex realized why quickly. It was, surely, the same reason he was terrified of his own appearance. His eyes darted around the field of lava for a place to hide, but the fields were too open.
“Calm. Calm,” Hecto said, patting Charmander on the shoulder, but he kicked away and ran down the lava.
“Wait!” Alex cried, but Hecto held him on the shoulder. His hand burned and yet he didn’t seem to react.
“This realm is completely safe to him. Let him flee. We can sort out your appearance later.”
“Of… of course.” What did
that mean?
“M… mmggh…”
Alex blinked. In the world of familiar voices, this was the one that he would never truly be able to forget. “Mother!”
“Ah… who is there? Such a deep voice, but it can’t be…”
It was the blob in Hecto’s arms.
“It’s me! A-Alex. And Xander. Your son, not—er, not…”
“Where am I? It’s… very warm. I’m… was I…”
“You were claimed by a great evil a long time ago. I’m afraid I do not know the circumstances of your current condition.”
“Oh… don’t worry about that. I think I can see you now… but I’m fading fast.”
“What?” Alex whispered. “Mother, what happened to you?”
“Can’t I do anything?” Evelyn—no, Amia—asked. “Please, there must be!”
Hecto’s one red eye dimmed. “No. There is nothing that can be done. This is a dying soul… I can already feel her presence fading away. And I cannot sense where it is going. That typically means it is evaporating into nothing.”
“Don’t worry! This is okay! I made a deal with someone a long time ago… I know where I’m going. Chances are, you won’t remember me. I need to…” She trailed off, and her body was losing its shape even more.
“Is Owen here?”
“Owen?” Alex asked.
“He is here. I’m afraid he perished and died in this realm.”
“I figured. Thank you. Please, watch over him. Repeat that! Say it out loud!”
“What?”
“Say it now! Take care of Owen!”
“T-take care of Owen. I need to take care of Owen?” Alex looked confusedly at Amia and Hecto.
“I’ll take care of Owen,” Amia agreed. “But why?”
“He’s going to be needed for the world later. The person I’m trying to stop… I know he’ll try to return. And Owen’s the only one left who can do it.”
“Who is this evil person?” Hecto asked.
“Sorry… I don’t know anymore. He was sealed away, and memories of him disappeared when that happened. Just like me. Ah… sorry… I…”
Perhaps she wanted to say more, but she was just a haze in Hecto’s arms now. She murmured something. She sounded happy when she did. Alex leaned closer to hear a little more.
“Mother…” Alex said. “Mother, don’t go! Where are you going?!”
“So… proud of you…”
Gone.
And then, Alex looked at Hecto, rubbing his eyes. He had a serious case of the sniffles. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I think I’m… overwhelmed with being dead.”
“Mm.” Hecto bobbed. “My apologies.” His red eye looked down at his arm, which had been positioned as if he’d been holding something, but nothing was there. He lowered it without a thought.
Amia seemed contemplative. “I feel like someone just exited this domain,” she said.
“You would naturally be very aware of such things,” Hecto said. “Who left?”
“I don’t know. It’s like I had miscounted this whole time…”
Hecto looked at his arm again, and then noticed that there seemed to be markings in his hands. “Hm. There’s a message on my hand.”
“Oh, goodness! Are you injured?”
“It is not a bother. It says, ‘Remi.’”
Alex’s heart fluttered. “Remi… Is that a name?” He held his chest. “Why do I… feel…”
“…Mm. I understand what happened,” Hecto replied. “Someone… must have had their soul destroyed in front of us. They were too injured from the previous battle. Unfortunate.”
“De… destroyed…” Alex shuddered. “That can’t be. How could something…”
“Do not worry. I will dedicate resources into finding them. I will try to deliver the news to you when they are found.”
“I’m sorry?” Amia asked, taking a seat. “You said they were… destroyed. How can you find them?”
“Apologies. The terminology must be confusing to you. I come from… a place beyond here. Do not speak openly about this with others, but you have little incentive to do so anyway. It is irrelevant to your reality. But it is likely this person is now in the Overworld.”
Alex tilted his head. “I’m not familiar with that at all. A world that’s over us?”
“In a sense,” Hecto agreed. “When a soul is destroyed in one reality, they are ejected completely and utterly from it, and float in the Overworld. Then it is part of my job to recover them. However, they will never be able to return here. The reality itself… no longer acknowledges their existence. They are utterly gone from this world. Sometimes, realities are so prudent of this that those still dwelling within it lose their ability to acknowledge that person as well. Sometimes in the form of forgetting them; other times, in making as if they are completely invisible. Though, not all realities are this way… but it appears this one is. Strange. I do not recall Star mentioning this detail to me.”
“W-well, could there be another reason? What if… what if we were attacked by a Psychic?” Alex asked. “Er, I may be Dark, but there are techniques to go past that, surely…”
“That is a much less likely reason,” Hecto dismissed. “But the chances are not zero. If that is the case, then you may recover memories of them when the seal is undone, somehow. But if it is, it is above my power. I do not detect anything of the sort.”
His red eye flashed a shade of green.
“And I am quite powerful.”
That probably ruled it out, then… He couldn’t remember who it was, though.
“Protect… Owen,” Amia whispered.
“Hm?”
“Do messages from them remain?” Amia asked.
“I do not know for this world.”
“Well, I remember saying that, as if repeating it. Maybe this person knew what was about to happen. But whatever it was, I remember urgently saying to protect Owen.” She looked down the lava road, where a small crowd of Pokémon had stared down the path to the screaming Charmander.
“Hm. Perhaps it would be wise to follow that. His spirit has special properties that may be useful in the future. I’m afraid whoever created this power also had their soul destroyed, but their remnant power remains within him and others. That power, from what I have analyzed, will allow you to materialize him in the living world again, Amia. Not only that… but I believe he will be able to sustain himself no matter his distance from you, too.”
“I… I see. I’m still getting used to that power,” Amia admitted. “But thank you for letting me know. Still, I don’t understand why he’s here at all. Owen said that if he ever died, he would… be recalled somewhere. Why here, then?”
“That is a question for Rhys to answer. It seems he wanted his spirit to be tied elsewhere. It is no longer my place to intervene on this matter.”
Hecto bobbed one last time and drifted backwards. “That will be all. It seems that whatever evil we had to battle, it has been vanquished. While frustrating that we cannot recall specifics, its erasure from our minds suggests it will no longer be a problem. I will conduct research into what it was to prevent any resurgences, and inquire with Star about the properties of erasure in this world. I will be very busy while tracking them down in the Overworld. If you’ll excuse me.”
“Oh, er, of course…” Amia waved, and then Hecto disappeared in a mist.
It was just the two of them, now.
“…Well!” Amia said with a nervous smile. “I’m… sorry about this. But this is your home, now, if you’ll have me…”
Alex smiled nervously, nodding. “I didn’t quite expect this sort of arrangement,” he said, “but… it will be okay. No, it… would be wonderful, actually. I want to get away from home. I have nothing but bad feelings about being alone in that house.” He sighed. “Then… if I’m dead, who are all these people?” He gestured out.
“Those are… all the people that had been claimed by that evil force. When I took its power, I also took everyone they claimed. All Hydreigon like you, actually. But over a few days, they’ve decided they all looked a little too similar, so they picked new forms.”
“New… forms.”
“It terrified Owen anyway. We felt bad.”
“A-ah. Right. Well. I suppose I’ll think about that.” Alex hesitated, feeling like he was forgetting something. Alone in that house… He grew up alone? Surely he had parents. And—
“THE EGG!” Alex screamed, gasping, but then he recalled Hecto had… Yes, Hecto had taken it somewhere. Perhaps… Yes, he could ask—
“The egg is fine, Alex!” Amia assured him, grasping his shoulders. “Hecto delivered it to Pyrock. It will be well taken care of. I… can’t go there, but I’m sure they will hatch and grow up to be happy and healthy. Okay?”
Alex deflated. “But I was going to have a sibling… wasn’t I? Or…” Even that felt hazy. Was that egg in some kind of peril?
It was all so confusing… Maybe he should stop thinking about it. Maybe he’d simply found the egg.
Alex recalled the strange, defeated sadness he’d felt only moments ago, before Hecto had left.
“Were my parents… destroyed?” he wondered.
“Hm? Did you say something?” Amia looked back. She was already walking down the path to find Owen.
“Er… nothing. You go on and find Owen. I’m going to decide on a form that won’t frighten him.”
“Of course.” Amia smiled, and then walked further along.
Only a handful of days had passed, and Alex had gone from Zweilous to deceased Hydreigon. What a sad, lonely life he’d lived. Maybe… abandoning this form would have been better after all. Symbolic of trying to find for himself a new start.
As Alex’s eyes followed a magma river, he happened to see a Magmortar sitting by the rocks, before shifting to the form of a fiery Machamp, like he was testing out bodies.
“…That would do,” Alex finally decided.
With some concentration, he shed his scales for a body of flame and fire powder. And with it, he shed the past he no longer wanted to keep, feeling at one with Amia, the only constant left in his mind.
Funnily enough, in some cultures, being called "auntie" is used to refer to a woman who is considered older--otherwise, they're referred to as "big sister."
