+ REVELATIØN Ø9: SHATTERED +

There was a cold sensation in the back of his neck, like a drop of ice water trickling down his flesh. The coldness dipped down his spine, over his lower back where it split off into five points and spread itself into an almost web-like fashion. It took Mewtwo only a moment to realize that it was His fingertips, and he calmed, letting himself relax back into a light doze. This kind of touch doesn’t bother him anymore; there was no point to be bothered by it, even if a part of himself still detested, still hated the humans. He was, after all, powerless.

The fingertips followed the dip of his spine before slowly rounding onto his side. He could feel the human’s gloved forefinger pressed against the indent of a scar on his ribcage; a large, wide scar that was one of many. Even after all the years had passed, the scar still looked fresh, so dark it contrasted greatly against his pale flesh.

His fingertip traced it slowly. The sensation was almost soothing, deceitfully so; there was a certain perverseness in the whole act, being soothed and stroked by a human… the one who tortured and caught him. At that point, however, Mewtwo wasn’t sure at all if he could care enough to feel disgusted by it, and so instead he relished the caress.

The clone could feel the soft strands of the human’s hair against his skin, tickling him. Instead of shivering or writhing at the tickling, he batted the hair away from his face, growling tiredly in irritation. The human chuckled softly in response, kneeling next to the fallen clone, gloved fingertips still spreading over his body to touch the scars carved into his flesh. Even the human’s touches, as soft as they were, felt inherently arrogant and possessive.

“How did you get this?” he purred quietly, his fingertip sliding along the deep gash along his side.

That question slowly became two, then four, continuing on until every scar on the whole of Mewtwo’s body had been explained. There was a fascination in His eyes that the clone found somewhat disarming; as old as He was, it seemed almost impossible that He would be so fascinated by anything anymore.

He felt the human’s cool breath against his shoulder, a sharp nip that he knew had broken the skin. Mewtwo hardly noticed injuries like that anymore, however, and he didn't even muster the energy to flinch. The human could do what he liked; he wouldn’t ever be able to leave a scar upon his skin anyway. The clone had plenty already, and he hardly needed any more evidence connected to the many memories and people he never wants to remember ever again. Invincibility—if that's truly what it was—proved painful enough without the physical reminders of it. His scars were deep, impossibly deep, and yet he still lived, still breathed.

He felt the cold, slick brush of the human’s medicine against the healing wound. It was not disgusting or slimy; it was more like the sensation like a melting ice cube sliding over flesh. The cold air against the cooling gel elicited a shudder from him; pain does nothing, but somehow the feeling and passion of the human’s touch seemed to go beneath his flesh, caressing his very soul.



Perhaps that sensation alone was more than enough of a scar.






+

You! went Saital, her face twisted into an expression of pure anger. Unfiltered hatred burned in her deep maroon eyes as she glared at Mewtwo, who smirked at the sight of the Pidgeotto.

“I guess we meet again, Saital," said the clone in amusement. “How fares your brother?” It was then that the bird snapped.

You turned him! Don’t pretend you don’t know anything, basta*d! YOU TURNED MY BROTHER! screamed the bird. Lucied was shocked—he had never seen the calm Pidgeotto burst out like this before. Apparently those two had something bad between them…

Mewtwo, on the other hand, didn’t respond, but smirked as he turned towards the stunned Mightyena. “And you must be Lucied, yes?" he asked. "It is a pleasure to meet you… the one who destroyed my little pet here,” he added, gesturing towards the pile of rubble that covered Ho-Oh.

“You mean… you made him like that?” whispered the wolf fearfully. If Mewtwo could make Ho-Oh so vile and corrupt, only who knows what the clone would do to him…

The clone smirked. “Yes,” he replied with a grin that flashed full of fangs. Lucied unconsciously took two steps back, shocked by the evil that now the clone was capable of. Wasn’t Mewtwo supposed to be the twin of Mew, the Holy Mother…?

“Then just… why… why did you do it…?” asked the trembling Mightyena, his mind still stunned by all the sudden revelations and drama. Things were just getting too complicated to comprehend now… just why did all of this happen?

“Why?" asked the clone, a frown now crossing his sharp features. "Why, you ask, Lucied? It is because I have come to stop this era of tyranny, one started at the dawn of time which has yet to cease. I intend to change that.”

That is complete nonsense! the Pidgeotto screamed back in rage. Have any been treated like they shouldn’t? Has any being—Pokémon and human alike—ever escaped the righteous sword of justice? Has anyone here ever been treated like they shouldn’t?!

“…Yes…”

Saital froze, her face enraptured in an expression of surprise and anger. Lucied could only watch at the side as the event began to unfold before him.

“Oppression does exist at this time, only invisible to all. Unknowingly, you all are under Her control, doing Her bidding. It’s just that you all willingly turn a blind eye towards it. That is what I intend to change.”

Blasphemy! yelled the Pidgeotto. She wouldn’t do that to us, Betrayer! You just want to take over the world!

“If it is, then answer me this: why haven’t I killed you yet? I could have done it yesterday, just now, or even the moment I had betrayed and left. Why would I spare your life otherwise? With the power I now possess, I could easily take over the world with a mere snap of my fingers. If so, then why haven’t I done it? Answer me that, Saital.”

At those words, the bird stopped, silently admitting defeat. Lucied looked at the clone, who now turned to speak to the raven-furred wolf. “And you, Lucied… it must be really unnerving now, isn’t it? Speaking to the fabled betrayer that she has told you… Seras…”

Lucied snapped at that name. “You killed her!” he suddenly realized, shouting the words from his mouth. Mewtwo smirked at those words. “Killed her? No… I merely freed her from her suffering.”

“Bast*rd!” screamed the now-enraged Mightyena. “You killed her for no reason and set Ho-Oh upon us! You did want to kill us, didn’t you?!”

Mewtwo looked at the wolf intently for a moment, his vibrant garnet eyes seeming to study the Mightyena before him for a moment before answering. “At that time, I saw you as a mere nuisance… too weak for me to deal with. But now, you… the power that was once cast aside… has now evolved into the most powerful enemy of all… that I applaud you, young Lucied.”

“Enough with the trash talk!” yelled the Mightyena. “Are you here to kill us or not? If you are, then just do it! There’s no point for us to continue this meaningless conversation.” The clone chucked once again at those words, the tone of it causing Lucied to flinch slightly. That chuckle reminded him so distinctly of that malicious voice… that was beginning to whisper in his mind once more… but Lucied shook it off. He couldn’t let some voice control him!

“On the contrary, Lucied," started the twisted clone, "this conversation is hardly meaningless. In fact, it is of utmost importance, Mightyena. It is time you know the truth of my so-called betrayal."

+

The truth. Mewtwo said he would tell Saital and I the truth. Granted, it would be hard to trust the words that he would later tell us, but yet the emotion and feeling he brought with it seemed almost impossible to be false. But yet… it was hard to trust him. After all, how could one trust the very person who brought your very life down? So, all Saital and I could do was listen to that beast, unaware of the dangers Ifrit and Javas were facing now… as well as their own shocking revelation…

+

“What?” spluttered the stunned Sneasel. “I thought you were like those two pals of yours!”

The great beast of fire closed his maroon eyes for a moment before opening them to respond. “No, I wasn’t with them the day they were ambushed by the Betrayer’s minions. But I do know for a fact that those two are not my fellow brethren.”

Javas arched a slender eyebrow to that strange response. “How would you know? I know your kinship is close and all… but how can you be so sure that they’re not real?”

Before Entei could respond, however, Raikou leaped into the fray and directed a powerful Zap Cannon towards the duo. The two immediately leaped away, but Raikou released a Swift Attack towards them.

“Get back!” yelled Javas as he clapped his hands again and held them in front of him. A small wall of ice appeared in front of the Sneasel, taking the full force of the Swift attack. The glowing stars collided against the ice wall, the great force causing it to shatter as Entei and Javas landed onto the earth.

A grim smile was on Entei’s face as he turned to face the Sneasel and answered his previous question. “It’s because that they’re right back in Gaia… under the earth. They were slain several days ago.”

All color from Javas’s face was immediately drained when he heard that. “What…?” It was the shadow of the whisper, the specter of a breath.







“That is what it is… my brethren have been slain… now only to serve the Betrayer.”






Meanwhile, Ifrit, as usual, mumbled out his incomprehensible line of swears as he dodged another Ice Beam from Suicune. The Houndoom turned his head and shot a Flamethrower attack, only to be sent flying by the Ice Beast’s Icy Wind, slamming hard against one of the nearby trees. Splinters and dried leaves flew off from the force, and the hound was seen laying there, unmoving, as the dust cleared. Cautiously, Suicune stepped up to inspect the Houndoom, lowering its snout and nudging the hound. Ifrit’s eyelids suddenly shot open, and the Houndoom opened his mouth to release a dazzling, head-on view of Overheat for the legendary. With a howl, Suicune was sent flying as well, landing painfully on the hard ground.

“That’s what you get for messing with me, freeze brain!” taunted the hound as he waved a clenched paw in front of his face. “Don’t think I’ll take you lightly, Granny!” With that, Ifrit leaped into the air, did a flip and let loose the fiery fury that was Flamethrower. The orange pillar of flames plummeted down towards the earth, slamming hard against Suicune’s form. The beast let out another howl of pain before retaliating with another Ice Beam. The Houndoom was unable to dodge it in the air, and received the full brunt of the freezing attack.

Ifrit gave out a shout of pain as the beam connected, sending the Houndoom landing hard onto the earth the same way he had did to Suicune. Entei and Javas spotted the Houndoom and rushed to him just as Raikou and Suicune regrouped too. “You all right, Monsieur?” asked Javas as he helped the two-horned hound up.

“I’m fine…” muttered the by now-visibly-annoyed Houndoom as he got up, only to look in shock at Entei towering before them. “Stand back, Javas! I’ll deal with him!” yelled the overreactive hound as he readied himself.

“Monsieur…”

“I said stand back! He’s one of them!”

“Monsieur…”

“Javas, do you understand English? Maybe speaking too much of that language erased English from your memory. He. Is. An. Enemy.”

“I’m still a genius, Monsieur. What I want to tell you is that Monsieur Entei is not our enemy, and that our real enemies are looking at us right now.”

The Houndoom sweatdropped and gulped as he slowly turned his head back to see Raikou and Suicane starring right back at them. This continued for several awkward moments, until…

“AIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!” yelled the two-horned hound as he leaped away with Javas and Entei just as the other two dogs bounded towards them. The trio ducked under a set of bushes as Suicune and Raikou flew over the overgrowth… and slammed their heads onto a tree. Javas sweatdropped.

“If this is supposed to be a story, I daresay the author has a strange sense of humor…” muttered the Sneasel as he watched the two dogs getting up from their whack on the heads. Grunting, the duo looked around for any sight of them. The three held their breath as Raikou padded towards them. But then nothing was ever perfect, and as the lightning beast’s leg brushed past Ifrit’s nose, the soft fur tickled the fine hairs of the Houndoom’s nose.

“Hah… hah…” started the hound, but Javas quickly clamped a hand onto the Houndoom’s snout.

“Not now, idiot!” hissed the feline, but despite being a genius, poor Javas could not control the forces of nature. With a final gasp, Ifrit sneezed.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHCCCCCCHHHHOOOOOOOO!!!”

The ex-thief grimaced as he wiped mucus-coated hand onto the ground. “Now you’ve done it…” he muttered as the forms of Raikou and Suicune appeared, towering before the trio.

Entei prepared himself for battle. “There is no way out now, Sneasel. We must fight our way out.”

“Gee, ya think?” responded Javas with heavy sarcasm as he wiped his normal arm across the grass once more. With a sigh, he clapped his hands together once again and placed it onto his bionic arm. With a bright flash and crackle, the top part of his arm transmuted into a dagger.

“Well, Monsieurs, are you ready?” asked the feline with a smirk.

Ifrit returned with a grin of his own as he crouched down onto the ground. “Well, if it’s a fight they want…” he started in his trademark line once more, “then it’s a fight they’ll get!”

•


“…so… he is still alive. How delightful. Even until today, the world is still brimming with madness.”


•

“Around seventy-seven years ago, close to three decades after Chaos’s imprisonment… that was when things began to happen. Mew, of course, had taken the helm of the legends. I couldn’t think of a better leader than her. She had a backbone of steel, an indomitable spirit and sharp intellect all into one. A truly beautiful creature within that small, fragile, mortal body of hers.”

Stop with all this rubbish! Just tell us what you want to! shouted the still-enraged Saital. Apparently she still hadn’t gotten over what had happened between her and the twisted clone. Mewtwo merely smirked, pausing for a moment before he continued.

“One night, I was visited by Chaos Havoc himself. In a dream… he greeted me and told me to seek him out I needed. The following day, all of us were summoned to the council at Gaia. It was there where I was accused in the assassination of Ho-Oh.”

Which you clearly did, Betrayer! You killed the Phoenix of Life and brought him to attack Lucied! accused Saital, but the fallen legendary simply shook his head in response.

“No,” replied Mewtwo, “I did not. I did not cause the killing of Ho-Oh. It was caused by Chaos himself.”

All color drained from both the faces of Lucied and the maroon-feathered Pidgeotto. “What…?” whispered the shocked Mightyena. “You mean… Chaos Havoc is here again? He came back from the Shadow Realm?”

A grin formed upon Mewtwo’s face when he heard that. “Yes, but I have destroyed him.”

What? demanded the bird. It’s impossible! He’s immortal!

“You misunderstand, young Saital; there is no such thing as eternity in this world. Not even I live can live that long. We will all die one day, even we are supposedly immortal creatures.”

Blasphemy! You’re lying!

“…what good would come if I were? Tell me, Altomare.”

“Altomare?” questioned Lucied, who was trying to comprehend what was said between those two. “Just who are you addressing—”

Altomare is… no more, said the Pidgeotto, her maroon eyes still blazing with pure hatred. You destroyed my home, Betrayer! Don’t tell me you don’t remember! And my brother… La… Soital… she finished weakly, tears beginning to pour down her eyes. You killed him!

“It had to be done. To fulfill the prophecy of Twilight.”

The Mightyena did a double-take when he heard that. Could it be…?

Celebi’s prophecy… muttered the bird to herself in surprise.

Mewtwo nodded lightly. “Yes.”

Now it was Lucied who was ticked off by the clone. “But you had to kill so many innocents for this stupid prophecy? Don’t you even feel any remorse at all? Answer me, bast*rd! Did you have to kill Salem too?” he screamed at the clone, who seemed to be highly amused by the wolf’s enraged questions.

“I had every right to destroy Seras. She betrayed me, and I hold betrayers to be the worst of anyone, and thus punishment was in order.”

“You BAST*RD!” roared the wolf as he leapt straight towards him, a Shadow Ball appearing between his jaws.

Lucied! yelled Saital. She was too late, however. With a mere flick of the clone’s tail, the Mightyena was sent crashing painfully against the earth by a powerful psychic wave. Lucied gave out a shout of pain, coupled with a mouthful of dark red blood. Mewtwo’s eyes suddenly burned like hellfire, glowing a shocking crimson upon the sight of it, but he clenched his paws together, the glow vanishing just as Lucied and Saital turned to face him.

“If you please, I would like to continue my story,” said Mewtwo. “I was accused, and then imprisoned… all because I did not have an alibi. Three long years, I was barred like a wild being under the World Tree, held in a cage formed by the roots of Yggdrasil. Just as I lost all hope… Rukario came to break me free.”

You mean Reiki was the one? But how… he’s always been loyal to us! How could he have betrayed us!? Saital demanded in rage once again, although her eyes were full of surprise. Lucied couldn’t blame her—Rukario had actually set this… monster free?

“Its because he knew that I was innocent. He believed that and so set me free. He is the only one… I could truly count on.”

Nonsense! You killed Ho-Oh!

“And just what guarantees that, Saital?”

I… trailed off the Pidgeotto, in stunned silence once again.

Lucied took the chance to speak up towards the clone. His garnet eyes clashed with Mewtwo’s own as the Mightyena spoke. “Mewtwo, just what do you want to imply? Stop beating about the bush!” said the wolf, anger and rage edging themselves into a corner. Once again, Mewtwo smirked and then grinned in amusement.

“I’m not implying anything. I’m just here to tell you that nothing is what it seems. The legends are corrupt to their very core—a fact I intend to change. I would love to continue the tale of deceit and betrayal that my beloved one has woven herself, but my time is unfortunately short here. And so, I shall leave you now. Farewell, Saital… Lucied… we will meet again.” And with that, the clone faded away, his soft chuckles ringing into the now-silent air.

+

In the end, we learnt nothing from the clone. We gained nothing, only more questions that could not be answered. It was there he was already starting to warn us about the end result: the legends are never what they seem to be. At first, we all thought it was yet another of his many treacherous lies, but then… later on… so far into the future, when both Saital and I would have forgotten about this, it would be brought to light again when our path would reach our ultimatum. But for now… we were only left with nothing but more questions.

While we were in conversation with Mewtwo, we were unaware of the racket outside, as Javas and Ifrit teamed up with the great Entei in their fight against Suicune and Raikou for their own lives. It would also be there where they would discover a startling revelation…

+

“Flamethrower!” the Houndoom bellowed as he spewed out a pillar of orange flames just as Suicune released its Ice Beam. The pillars of fiery red and pale blue met together, exploding with a huge boom. Both parties were sent flying onto opposite sides. Ifrit cursed under his breath as he got up. Suicune let out an animalistic howl as Raikou leapt in all of a sudden and unleashed a vicious Thunderbolt. The two-horned hound let out a cry as the sparks fried his nerves and brain. With a groan, the Houndoom fell to the ground.

The two beasts slowly walked up to the fire-type as he lay there, nudging him with their snouts. Apparently satisfied that the hound was out of commission, they turned and left, but then Ifrit leapt up and gave them a taste of his Overheat attack. Both howled in pain as the burning embers scorched them.

“Take that!” exclaimed the Houndoom in triumph as Javas leapt out from the sides and let loose his Hail attack. Using the power of alchemy, the surrounding water vapors were frozen and combined into relatively large hailstones that began raining down hard upon the two foes. The dogs trashed about as the stones pounded on them. Distracted, they did not notice as Entei majestically leaping from the bushes and released his own Overheat attack as well. The pillar of yellow and orange slammed onto the earth, causing loose chunks of earth and ashes to fly into the air as his embers surrounded and engulfed the two beasts. Howls of pain were heard from both Raikou and Suicune.

Entei landed besides Javas who was smirking to himself. “Did we get them?” asked the Sneasel.

The Fire legendary nodded his head. “Apparently.”

“YEAH!” yelled out the triumphant hound, “we got 'em!” Just then, however, the fire-type began to feel dizzy. “What’s happening…” the two-horned hound muttered weakly, feeling as if water had been splashed on him when it didn’t. Something seemed to beat and throb in his brain as he stumbled and fell to the ground. “I feel woozy…”

Javas looked as Entei began to rock left and right. “I don’t feel well…” muttered the Fire legendary. The feline looked, and gasped in surprise when he saw Raikou and Suicune still standing, the fire extinguished. It finally clicked when he saw the horn of Suicune, which was pulsing a royal blue in color.

“Merde!” swore the feline in realization, “Suicune’s using Water Pulse!” Following that, the Sneasel leapt into the sky as he saw Raikou firing an attack at him. With Javas unable to dodge in the air, though, the Thunder legend simply let loose another electric attack, the current short-circuiting the feline’s nerves. Javas grunted in pain as his back slammed against the earth.

“Thunder Wave… Merde…” the mercenary swore again as he watched Suicune and Raikou walking towards the now-severely-weakened Ifrit. The Houndoom looked his heavy eyelids at the figures approaching him. They seemed so familiar… just who were they? Suddenly, a huge silhouette of a bird appeared, crimson eyes blazing upon him…

Ho-Oh… no… it changed… a human like shape with a tail… its eyes were still red… they were a lit… and so… amused… and… mocking…

I can’t let anyone mock me!

The Houndoom’s eyelids shot open, now revealing a pair of eyes in the truest blue instead of his coal black ones. Ifrit opened his mouth… and a pillar of ghostly pale purple flames spewed out from his mouth. It made contact with both Suicune and Raikou, and they howled like never before as they were sent flying onto the other end, some distance away from Entei, whose eyes were now wide in shock as the Houndoom got up, eyes of the most brilliant sapphire narrowing as he glared at the two enemies. In shock, the fire-type let a name escape from his parted lips in a mere whisper.

“Seras…”

“What was that?” said Lucied as he whipped his head around.

Was what? inquired the Pidgeotto, who was perched onto the wolf’s back. Her eyes still seemed distant, as if she was remembering something long ago…

“I heard a loud explosion somewhere,” informed the wolf. “Maybe its Ifrit and Javas! They could be in trouble now!”

Then we must make haste, said the bird as she ruffled herself and took off from the wolf’s back. They looked at each other and nodded before they sped themselves out from the corridor and rushed to Ifrit’s and Javas’s aid… in whatever they were facing now.

•

Entei immediately leapt to the Houndoom’s side when he managed to get up. “Grrahhh…” muttered the hound, shaking his head to clear the mental haze. “What a drag…”

“It seems that that strange attack of yours caused them quite a bit of harm…” muttered the Fire legend as the two foes got up, followed by Javas at the sidelines as the effects of Raikou’s Thunder Wave wore off.

“Merde…” the Sneasel swore softly under his breath once more.

Entei’s quick mind immediately snapped into action. “Houndoom!” he said sharply to Ifrit as he turned his head towards the said Pokemon, “I shall teach you a technique only passed down to the legends. None have truly mastered it, not even I. But its power alone is good enough to defeat Raikou and Suicune.”

“And just why would ya do that for me?” questioned the hound.

“It may give us a chance to defeat them. Now, how did you let loose that last attack?”

Ifrit thought about it for a moment. “Well…” he started, unsure, “I saw this silhouette…”

“What did that silhouette you saw look like?” questioned the Fire Legend quickly. Javas tried to divert attention by attacking them, but in his weakened state, he was quickly shoved aside by a dose of Thundershock. The Sneasel lay on the grass, paralyzed once again as the two beasts slowly prowled towards the duo.

“It looked like Ho-Oh at first, but then it changed… and it looked like some humanoid with a tail at the back… and its red eyes… were mocking me…”

Entei was silent for a moment. Ifrit thought he had said something wrong, and was about to open his mouth and ask when the fire legend spoke up. “Good. Now, try to imagine that picture again. Remember that figure mocking you.”

The Houndoom did as he was told, and the figure just seemed to suddenly appear in front of him, garnet eyes alit with mockery and amusement. Upon that sight, rage boiled through the hound like never before, his own pride telling him to prove that figure wrong, whoever it was. Ifrit opened his eyes once more and immediately spewed out another pillar of ghostly fire. Raikou and Suicune tried to evade it, but to no avail. Both gave out howls of pain once again as they crashed against one of the ancient oak trees.

Ifrit looked in surprise at the damage he caused. “Just what… was that…?” he asked in awe, looking at the Fire Legendary.

“It is the union of ghost and fire. Like the power of the Ninetails, we have adapted the powers of those who can see the ghosts and converted it into an attacking force. It was first used by Rayquanza, but with serious consequences for him; hence we call this move… the Ryuga no Tsukimono.”

“Ryuga no… Tsukimono…?”

“Yes. Now, finish them off! Let them feel the wrath of the Curse of Dragon!”

And showed them he did. Ifrit summoned that image once again, feeling that power course through him and letting loose the fury of the Curse of Dragon. The pale purple flames burst through the air, hitting the two charging beasts inches before they reached the duo. The Houndoom was sure he heard what seemed to be a stabbing sound to his own ears, but he didn’t feel any pain from himself and so ignored the noise, concentrating fully on his new attack. The flames engulfed and the two howled as they landed onto the grass, never to get back up again.

“Are they… finished?” asked Javas as he finally managed to get back up. No response came. “Hey, Monsieurs! I asked if-” the Sneasel stopped when he saw just what exactly was happening. “Monsieur Entei!” yelled the feline as he rushed towards the fire legendary, where Ifrit was looking in disbelief at the stab directly on the beast’s heart. Crimson liquid dribbled from Entei’s chin and slowly oozed from the mortal wound. Both could already see the legendary’s eyes beginning to zone out.

“Entei! Hang in there!” yelled the Houndoom, but Entei shook his head.

“No… I am at my end now… it was fated to be…”

“It's NOT fated! Just hang in there, Entei!”

“Just try to hang on… rester en vie bien, le Monsieur?” muttered the Sneasel, even though he knew mentally what the true outcome was. No one was able to live from a wound like that, especially one through the heart.

“It can’t be helped… but you are searching for Gaia, yes?” asked the legendary.

Javas’s eyes widened in surprise. “How’d you know…?” he asked.

Entei’s eyes seemed to light up in amusement when he heard that. “There are many things we would know, Sneasel. You of all people should know that, with your proclaimed fame within the many towns. Promise me that you will stop this,” he said to Javas, who nodded.

“I promise, Monsieur Entei.”

The legendary then turned to Ifrit. “And you…” he started, “grab my paw.” Ifrit complied to this request and held one of the beast’s great paws with his two front ones. The legendary closed his eyes, and a brilliant red aura started to form and surround the beast of fire. Suddenly, the aura concentrated onto his arm and then traveled to Ifrit’s, spreading once again to surround the Houndoom. Ifrit looked in surprise at this, while Javas was in pure shock.







“You look so much like your mother…”







Ifrit was shocked once more at what the legendary had muttered. “You know my mother?” he asked, but Entei didn’t respond; he was already slowly slipping hold of life itself.

“I give you my power… use it well… Ifrit…”

With that, the paw slipped from the Houndoom’s grasp, and landed onto the ground. The Houndoom instantly knew that Entei had passed. Now, even the three beasts of legend were gone… just like the birds…

“But why… how did he know your name?” questioned Javas, knowing very well he hadn’t called Ifrit by his name even once. Just then, Lucied and Saital emerged, both of them taken by surprise at the sight before them.

“Ifrit! Javas!” yelled the Mightyena as he raced towards the two, with Saital flying alongside the wolf. The Houndoom and Sneasel looked and smiled in relief when they saw that the two were all right.

“What happened here?” questioned Lucied as he looked around eyes widening when he saw the corpses of the three dogs. “Did they…”

“No, Luci…” muttered the two-horned hound in response, “It was only Raikou and Suicune. Entei was helping us… but he got killed too by them.”

“I see…” replied Lucied, nodding his head before continuing on. “Anyway, Saital and I… we met Mewtwo.”

“What?” exclaimed Javas in shock. “You mean the Betrayer of the legends?”

The one and the same, Saital responded with mild disgust.

“Yeah, we had a run-in with that guy,” added the wolf, “so what happened?”

“We were searching for both of you, when Raikou and Suicune came out from nowhere and started to attack us. Monseiur Entei then came and helped us, and then Ifrit learned a new technique from him before he… died. But… he gave his power to Ifrit…”

You mean to say… Entei performed the Flux?

Javas nodded, but Lucied was confused. “Flux?” he echoed.

The Flux is a technique whereby a legendary transfers everything into the chosen Pokémon, from abilities, powers and even memories. Which means…

“Yeah… I know where Gaia is now…” muttered Ifrit as he raised his head. His eyes were no longer coal black—now they were dark brown, like the brown of Entei’s own eyes. “And I guess we should move on, too…”

We should, agreed Saital, and quickly too.

Lucied nodded in agreement, and all four set back towards the village. Still, thinking back upon the entire incident, the Mightyena couldn’t help but look towards the sky, inwardly believing that this incident was more than what meets the eye…

+

All held the finite and infinite as unrelated. None could forsee that the history of the two would become one.
- Annoymous

+