7,120Chapter 131:
The Hero's Journey
The world was ending around her yet she still smiled.
Flamera's smile wasn't a malicious one, yet the way her mouth split open into that self assured grin was disturbing in its own way.
The world around us was unwinding at a rapid pace. Two forces were at play, the destruction of space time and the void.
Once small gaps and tears in reality began to cluster together, turning into a wave of solid abyss that swallowed reality. Every shot fired by the two gods seemed to just feed the void and spread it faster.
I questioned whether it was air I felt sweeping over my skin and brushing through my hair or something else entirely. I thought it was the wind at first, but now I had a better view of the world and I could see how the dark had grown, I wondered what I was exactly dealing with.
But Flamera was smiling as if none of it mattered. Well, not exactly, she was looking as if she couldn't be happier with the view and delighted in the chaos brought forth by the two gods.
I said nothing as I finished my ascent up the final step and into the music room.
I noticed how the music room sat in the middle between both the Space and Time tower. Maybe it wasn't just the center of those two towers, but the entire town. If the strange reality we found ourselves in was a perfect sphere then I would be standing in the literal center of the world, something I couldn't help but to feel extremely sure about. I was in the center of the world right now, I felt close to Fate, closer than I ever had before and it excited me to no end.
Fragmented memories of disjointed conversations and moments danced across my mind. Maybe the air up there was thin, maybe the air in the world was disappearing altogether, or maybe something ancient was here and scrambling through my memories, acting like a catalyst and regurgitating my experiences.
Awakening in a forest I had never seen.
Seeing Luna for the first time.
Beating a guy with a stone.
The voice of my dreams.
Chasing the gunslinging criminal through the skies of Jubilife City.
Fay's aura sight.
The way blood and sand turned into a brown muddy landslide.
Underground murder facility.
Midna.
The girl who was blessed twice.
A thousand year festival.
Blood in the bunker.
A long dream.
And finally, the eye looking through the hole in the sky.
I cracked a small smile. The voice I heard in my dreams, I had forgotten them but now, close to the heart of everything, I could recall them perfectly.
A voice had spoken to me, multiple times, each time sounding different, though I was certain it was the same voice.
Luna hefted herself over the final step and dropped the disc for Oracion onto the floor with a loud exasperated sigh. The disc still didn't look any more magical now it lay uselessly on the floor.
Flamera shot it a quick glance but ultimately didn't linger on it.
Luna's arrival was followed by Fay and finally Midna came in deadlast. My team appeared every bit as dead as they should be under these circumstances. Both mentally and physically, this was taking a toll on them yet they kept going, as if pulled by invisible strings of Fate.
Maybe I was the same. I was definitely called to this place and there were things moving and watching from beyond where I could see, things that brought me to this exact moment.
If Alamos Town was a web then Flamera was the spider at the heart of it, pulling the strings. Darkrai targeted her from the start, she knew about the safe room underneath Pokébowls and she kept the Festival games going, despite the various signs something was amiss.
I could have realized earlier something was wrong but I was too distracted, both by her and my own worries.
"Flamera," I said warily. "You're here." I definitely didn't expect her to be here.
Midna growled at Flamera. She didn't even take notice of, or didn't care. Fay looked thoroughly confused at the woman while Luna's eyes surged with power.
{It's her.} She whispered into my ears.
A beam of dark blue coloured space shot past the tower, practically skimming it, before shooting off into the black abyss.
"You're finally here." Flamera grinned in an almost conspiratory way. "I was worried no one would come. But you really are here." Her voice was brimming with excitement, she spoke fast and for a brief second I worried she couldn't see the devastation around us. Maybe she was seeing another version of reality, but that question was answered when she said. "Congratulations Dust, you made it to the end of the world. You overcame every challenge in your path and have proven yourself worthy. You are the new Sinnoh Knight."
That caused me to be silent for a second. I wasn't sure how to react, or if there was anything to react. There were a lot of scenarios I had running through my head, but none of them accounted for such an out of place statement.
Luna's eyes flared with power. {I can't discern her feelings, they're all over the place. Stay cautious.}
As if I wasn't already.
Flamera didn't look dangerous in the slightest. She was dressed in a long purple dress that went all the way down her body but left her legs and shoulders bare. The deep purple silk hugged her body closely but didn't seem to offer much warmth or protection. She belonged on a ball, a ceremony or on stage. Anywhere that wasn't here.
The only sign that she wasn't completely helpless were the miniaturized Pokéballs that hung around her waist. 3 separate balls, coloured purple to blend in with the dress in a fashionable way, but still very much out there and easy to pull when needed.
I didn't see any weapons on her person, though she could hide them and the Charizard that stood next to her was more than enough for a weapon.
"You knew I would come?" I asked. She herself shouldn't be here, it didn't make any sense for me to be here either, let alone her. I was only here because I knew this place was important from the movies.
Behind her I saw the music device that would play the Oracion disc. Either consciously or accidentally, she blocked my direct path to it.
"Of course," Flamera nodded. "The Mad Architect Godey foresaw the future and built these towers to withstand any disaster, including this one. This place's build for the Hero's destined encounter."
I looked down. The gaps in reality were creeping slowly towards the towers. Maybe these towers were made to resist anything thrown out by time and space, but I had the feeling that the festering unreality would swallow them as easily as anything else in this world.
Flamera didn't seem to be in a hurry.
I took a step deeper into the room. Flamera didn't seem to mind at all but the Charizard behind her did, and it wordlessly made it very clear not to get any closer. It was watching everyone very closely.
"She planned everything from the start," Fay whispered under her breath. Her voice sounded stilted, like she had trouble formulating her own words. "Her aura, the color is disgusting. Every death, all the innocent lives that were lost today, it's all her fault."
"You orchestrated this?" I asked. My eyes were still on the music player. I couldn't predict what Flamera would or wouldn't do, but I could at least keep her talking. Besides, I was interested in hearing what she had to say. "You brought Palkia and Diagla here on purpose, didn't you?"
Flamera swept out her arms. "It makes for a grandiose finale, don't you say?"
In her eyes danced a manic insanity. If I wasn't on edge before, I was now. "What you're seeing here is the culmination of a decade-long project. I mean, I don't want to gloat but how often do you ever get to say you brought two gods into the world?"
"Why?" It was a simple question, yet I struggled coming up with a rational answer to it. "You took the egg from the Bunker. I know it was you, I saw you leave that place."
Flamera nodded eagerly. "I suspected you were also wrapped up in all of this. Call it a small miscalculation. Darkrai could have dismantled the entire plan, but luckily I managed to retrieve the device, though I did not know there was an egg inside."
"You're not answering my question." I reminded her, "what reason could you possibly have for all of this?"
"Why would someone want to end the world?" Flamera asked in return, she smiled knowingly. Her voice still had that sharp edge to it. She turned her back to me for a second and instead soaked in the view of the broken world. Briefly I considered doing something, but her Charizard was still watching me intently.
"Dust, I told you about the goal of the Sinnoh Knight Festival. I told everyone."
"To find the new Sinnoh Knight," I answered.
"Exactly."
'What does that have to do with ending the world?"
Flamera turned her head back at me. "A thousand years ago the world was threatened by multiple calamities. Each worse than the last and threatening to snuff out the light. Mankind was disconnected from nature and in constant war with itself. That was, until the Sinnoh Knight came around."
"She's speaking the truth," Fay murmured. Not that it was worth much, Flamera believed it to be the truth.
"Now the world is threatened again. Legendary monsters rise again, we're being attacked from both outer space and from within the earth. Not a year goes by without another S-level threat , do you think that's normal? The world is already ending. Slowly, but surely it's crawling towards its end."
I was reminded of the girl I spoke to in the church. This world had a serious problem with world ending disasters and new legendary Pokémon emerging. She said that each new Legendary was like a piece on a board, waiting for the endgame; The Twilight of the Gods.
Flamera gestured at the rampaging Palkia. "But I am not here to end the world, I am here to save it."
{She's insane,} Luna whispered.
"I studied the legends and myths, the ones surrounding this place, Heartbreaker and Tears Creek. The Knight was real, there is too much evidence to call it a mere myth or folktale. So, I lured the strongest trainers of Sinnoh here and recreated the circumstances of back then. What you see is the final step in forging the next Legendary Knight. You are the result."
I stared at her for what felt like a long time.
"Ha!" Midna laughed suddenly, disrupting the silence. "Him?! Hahaha, a hero? Hahaha. Ha, Sorry lady, but this plan is crazy," the black fox wheezed. Flamera looked at her displeased. Between her salvos of uncontrollable laughter, Midna continued. "You are absolutely insane. I don't know what you're thinking but Dust isn't a knight in shining armor my dear. You know, I thought Dust was insane when he was talking about destiny, but now I am starting to think that he wasn't that far gone."
Ouch.
"Well… there-" Fay began but was interrupted.
"I am not insane," Flamera glared. She sounded like she genuinely was appalled by the mere thought of it. "I thought about it but I can't help but look ahead into the future and see mankind's inevitable demise. Time is moving in a circle, back then a hero appeared during a time of war and turmoil. Not from noble blood or blessed, just out of nowhere. Do you see where I am going?"
She stabbed her finger in my direction. "You are not a…conventional choice but I am convinced. There's no way someone who wasn't would have made it so far. You are clearly marked by Fate. I'm not wrong about this," she bit her lip. "I can't be wrong."
She sounded absolutely insane but at the same time, I couldn't help but wonder if she was right after all.
My dreams, something called me to this world. I didn't know what it was but it kept throwing me into the maws of danger.
I had thought about it before. I survived far more than I should've been able to. Heck, even being able to just ignore the time freeze wasn't supposed to happen.
Though there was one mistake Flamera made in her reasoning.
"What do you want me to do?" My Pokémon subtly braced themselves upon hearing the edge in my voice.
"Use the sword and end these two gods. Save the world." Flamera calmly instructed..
"That's all?" I asked.
"Heartbreaker is powerful enough to repel Darkrai, keep him at bay. Now, imagine if the person who's destined to hold it uses the blade."
"Okay, well lady. I like your plan," I took a step closer. "But you forgot one thing. I don't have the sword."
Flamera looked at me, her jaw hanging open but no words coming out of it. Finally, she did manage to utter a short reply.
"What?!" If looks could kill, oh I would have been so dead.
"I don't have it." I said with an apologetic smile.
"No, you're supposed to have the sword!" Flamera's eye bore into me. As if I had hidden the sword inside my body. "
"Nope, don't have it. No clue where it is." I responded in full honesty, seeing the panic rise in her eyes did cause a small smile to play on my lips.
"No, that's impossible." Flamera stubbornly shook her head. "You're lying. You couldn't have come here without the sword."
The city shook as yet another part of it was destroyed.
I grinned at her. "You're mistaken. The only reason I got here is because I cheated and my own rotten luck. That's how we pull through."
Flamera's expression changed from stubborn determination to barely contained fury.
"Besides, do you realize how absurd your plan is? What if everyone died, what if I wasn't lucky? You tried to end the world just for the off chance that someone would be strong enough to…to do what exactly? Kill the legendaries?" I felt a sick feeling in my stomach.
Luna sent me a strange stare.
"You are evil." I finally finished. I felt there was a better word, but I couldn't find it.
"You're just like them," Midna spat out. "The people in A2 also claimed to be saving the world and happily slaughtered Pokémon and people. You're absolutely disgusting. You're a monster. But you also selected Dust to be your legendary Hero which also makes you a moron."
Midna smirked. "I don't know which of these two is worse."
Flamera sneered. "Shut up. SHUT UP!" She took a step closer, her eyes were now almost burning from the rage contained within. "This can't all have been for nothing.." her eyes snapped to me.
"I thought you were working for Galactic, or maybe trying to do something incredibly large scale I couldn't imagine," I said out loud, pushing Flamera ever so close to that edge. "But it turns out you're not just a visionair, you are batshit insane."
Flamera glared, her voice had turned to ice. "You speak too much."
That was my invitation to keep speaking.
"We're done here. I am ending this all in my own way." I declared.
"I won't let you," Flame spread out her arms to block the machine. "Charizard-"
I squeezed the trigger.
The bullet passed through Flamera's chest before she finished the sentence.
A/N was down for a while so I couldn't exactly update the story. That and I also struggled to find the right words for a while, but I am quite happy with how this turned out.
On the flip note, not sure if any of you noticed but there's also now an Omake chapter. It was written by my friend and you can find it in the separate fic, "Insane World of Omakes," which is also on my profile.
Until then, see you next chapter.
-CaptainMoonShine-