+ REVELATIØN 12: PERSISTENT DUALITY +


The group dragged themselves out of the dreaded place, Javas having to help Lucied as they came out, battered and bruised. The Mightyena’s crimson eyes were tearing as he helplessly let the Sneasel support him. The other two were beside him, the spirit helping its partner. No words were spoken to the wolf, for they all knew the sorrow and guilt the dark-type faced now. Even the heavens seemed to agree, as their tears rained down upon the team. The ice feline led them to the relative safe shade of an oak tree as he lowered the Mightyena onto the trunk.

“Look, Lucied…” started Javas, “I know we’re all hit pretty hard at what happened just now, but don’t take it so hard. All of us –especially him- know it hurts to see you like this… so, please… we’ll get him back, I know it.”

Lucied didn’t respond, instead his watery eyes rose to gaze at the Zeon Mountains, now behind them, as he remembered the many happenings and discoveries that happed just hours ago…



+++

The silence woke him up.








The Mightyena groaned, eyelids fluttering open weakly as the wolf awoke into reality. There were no lights, only dim darkness that the hound quickly got used to as he shifted, the clanking of bones sounding beneath him. Startled, Lucied leaped to his feet and looked in shock at what he was standing on.

Bones. Lots and lots of them.

Lucied yelped in surprise and leaped to the side, the bones he was previously lying on now clanking nosily as several on the top dropped to the bottom of the pile. The Mightyena looked around to only see the inky darkness of the cavern he found himself him. Padding with great caution, the wolf did still fail to notice what he had stepped on in the next millisecond. A loud cry suddenly pierced the tense silence. The wolf cried out in surprise once again as he made a quick sidestep to his right and trotted back a few steps to see the figure glaring at him, one eyebrow almost turning into an annoyed twitch.

I believe you should be more careful of where you walk, Saital the Pidgeotto remarked dryly.

“Eh heh… sorry ‘bout that, Saital,” Lucied apologized, sweatdropping.

Just be careful where you tread, the bird replied as an acceptance. He then looked around once again, surveying the dim area around him.

“Hey, Saital…” the Mightyena asked after an awkward moment of silence.

Yes, Lucied? the Pidgeotto questioned back in response.

“Where are Javas and Fentagon?” the raven furred wolf inquired his feathered companion, seeing as both felines were missing from the other two unconscious members of the sextet. The Mightyena did fear the worst; they could have been separated from the fall at who-knows-how long ago that actually happened.

The bird kept quiet for a while before answering the Mightyena’s question. Javas went to scout about, he says. And as for the Meowth, I have no idea. He was already gone when I awoke, and I was the first.

Lucied nodded in acknowledgement to the response before turning to see Ifrit slowly gaining consciousness. The Houndoom groaned yet again as the Fire-type came back into reality. The two-horned hound moaned softly as he trudged himself up upon his four limbs. “Ungh… what happened…?” groaned the hound.

“We, uh, fell?” Lucied answered helpfully.

Ifrit rolled his eyes. “Obviously.”

You did just ask, ‘What happened’, Saital remarked, Lucied was just answering your point.

The Houndoom glared at the Pidgeotto in annoyance. “You’re not helping, Saital.”

I never mentioned I was inclined to help anyone.

Ifrit was just about to burst out his anger at the bird when the sound of hurried footsteps and panting came to their senses. All three heads turned to the source of the commotion, which was the entrance to a tunnel not far from here. The sounds came louder and louder, heading towards their direction. It didn’t take long for Lucied and the other two to realize who it was.

“Ennuyer, tout le monde! Very, very big trouble!” Javas exclaimed as he rushed towards the conscious trio, Fentagon running alongside the Sneasel. “It’s a disaster! It’s the end of us!”

“Javas, shut up with your melodrama and tell us what the hell happened!” the irritated Houndoom half-screamed at the Sneasel, the racket he made waking up the unfortunate Umbreon besides the rest. Jacques’ eyes abruptly snapped open as the Eon Pokemon jumped up in shock, immediately assuming his normal fighting stance. Everyone paused to look at their just awakened companion for a while.

“Err… what just happened?” the Umbreon asked after an awkward moment. But before anything else was said…

boom

The entire cavern trembled with the force of that sound. All six wobbled unsteadily in their places as the whole place shook. Loose bits of gravel and earth showered over them, covering their dark fur with dirt. This continued for a while before it stopped as suddenly as it had happened. The entire group quickly gathered back whatever wits they had, but before anything could be done, or even their minds had any time to register what had happened, the loud sound of metal clanked through the area. All six heads spun behind to see steel bars bursting from the ground, sealing off all the exits.

“Oh, crap…” started Lucied, but that was simply the least of their troubles. A low moan sounded through the entire place, followed by a high whizzing noise… and the define sounds of shredding rock. All six Pokemon faces paled at those sounds.

“Cra-” Ifrit started, but before he could continue with what he wanted to swear, another low moan rang through. The entire gang nervously backed off as they heard those sounds. “Ho boy, this is a very… very, troublesome situation,” came an unfamiliar voice that no one really registered, for at that moment a loud explosion made itself known at the left. All once again swiveled their heads to that side, only to pale greatly and slowly back away at the figure looming ahead of them.

It was a Rhydon, but one badly mutilated. Its limbs were thinned like bones, and its main body covered with amour, and its head was missing. But it wasn’t the missing head that shocked them; it was what the blood-splattered, armor-wearing grotesque Rhydon freak was holding in between his hands as the item buzzed maniacally into life.

A chainsaw.

A huge, rust-coated chainsaw with jet-black handle and dark crimson-crusted blade.

“Shitfuck,” Lucied could hear Javas swear under his breath.

+++++

In the silent darkness of the coffin, crimson eyes opened to stare at the lid.

Rukario told himself yet again that he would never get used to this life. Waking up as the dead but yet still walking among the living. But he failed to acknowledge that he has, indeed, already gotten quite used to it. It’s a small shred of denial he stores deep with all those other little details he has still refused to accept at this point in his life.

He’s a demon now, a Nosferatu… a monster. There were a few other choice synonyms that quickly come dashing to his mind, but it was all basically a basic jumble of words that -more or less- inspires an incontrovertible feeling of disgust within the fallen legend. But there was little to do at this point, and the burning fury the legendary supposed he should feel has only turned into a vague, uncomfortable sense of depression.

It is a fate he brought upon himself, after all; he sacrificed his own life for Mewtwo… only to be revived by him once again, to aid him in the destruction of what –both himself and Mewtwo- once believed in. Rukario would, perhaps, never decide to love or hate him for that action. But he still knows that there was at least a shred of decency left within that monster- if it wasn’t for that, Rukario knew he would still be within his stony grave.

The legendary could still see the bite marks on the crook of his neck; the deep gashes that marred the paling flesh of his skin. Curiously enough, he seemed to be the only one who can see these gashes, as if they’re nothing more than a projection of his own mind. Like a tic, he found himself rubbing the scars often, and was so prevalent that Mewtwo had asked him several times what he was doing. And in the end, it usually lead to an uncomfortable, awkward explanation that quickly dwindled into uncomfortable bemused silence.

To make matters even worse, he could see the scars on the other demon's necks as well. He doubted they could see their marks like he can. Vampirism manifests in drastically different ways for each Midian. Rukario sees this evidence of their death and it's painful to see, because it reminded him that they were once humans. Before... it was easier to forget that. The scars themselves look more violent than a simple bite, furthering the notion that they're nothing more than symbolic scars created by the legendary's failing sanity. All vampires he sees – artificial or not – are marred by them.

All, that is, except Mewtwo himself.

Rukario has yet to solve that small mystery, but since the reality of immortality finally sunk in, everything had seemed to slow down. The ravenous desire for knowledge has slowly but surely died away, settling into a far more languorous pace. The Wave user knows that he has all the time in the world to solve the mysteries, and there is no rush. Logically, that shouldn’t be the problem, and perhaps it’s part of it.

It’s a melancholic feeling; Rukario knows he should desire the truth, but his mind, his body just don’t seem motivated. He just couldn’t bring himself to care about truth any longer, not when he feels that he himself is nothing more than a cheap lie.

With strength beyond any he’s ever possessed before, Rukario lifts the heavy lid of the coffin and sits up, bright red eyes gazing upon the stars above- a place Rukario knows he’s been to, a place where only peace reigns, with the memories of their horrible, tattered past forgotten. But yet… the legendary knew he could never be contented in a place like that; now, only the blood-splattered battlefield was his home.

Rukario leaped out of the coffin and grudgingly took the packet of blood placed onto his table. Even though he can’t really say it, Rukario does admit the entire experience is an unusual one. Blood still tasted like blood, sharp and metallic, but the bitter tang doesn’t hurt now. It didn’t taste good, but his body reacted as if it did. His mouth salivates, his body aches for the substance as if it were the most decadent delicacy in the world.

It never tasted good to him, but yet… its ecstasy.

In fact, it was quite like a human drug in that respect, and as much as the Wave user loathed that analogy, it’s startlingly accurate. With such an addiction, it’s difficult to miss real food.

After finishing his meal, the dog-like legendary prepared himself for a visit to the demon’s lair. Rukario polished his ivory claws and oiled his weapons before grabbing his cloak and heading towards Mewtwo’s domain.

The legendary could never shake off the strange feeling off his neck as he entered the place, his feet feeling the soft fur of the carpet. Tendrils of shadow surrounded the place; several swooped low, threating to grab any unwanted guests. Several demons walked in and out of the room, their eyes as lifeless as any other demon he could see. The obnoxious –yet appetizing scent- of fresh blood filled the air. As he neared the throne, Rukario could make out the dragon and phoenix legendary standing at either side of Mewtwo, their faces expressionless.

Once, Rayquaza and Ho-Oh were the one of the few greatest beings in this world, their power only surpassed by the Mother. But now… they’re simply pets wanting their ears scratched. Which was what Mewtwo was doing now to the dragon, who was growling low in its throat with pleasure. Rukario personally thought that this had to be the definition of irony.

“My Lord,” he addressed, kneeling. The feline looked towards him, a smirk visible on his face.

+++++



“This really isn’t our day, you know…” muttered Ifrit as the six backed away from the monster before them, wanting to get away from it as far as possible.



+++++

“Rise, my friend,” the clone said, eyelids opening to reveal glowing coals.

+++++



But then about twenty steps later, their backs felt another being behind them. Thud.



+++++

Rukario got up. “You called me, my Lord?”

+++++



The entire gang froze yet again, slowly turning their heads behind to see the other figure that blocked their path.



+++++

“Yes,” the demon replied with a smirk, “I have, as a matter a fact. It concerns about the young Mightyena… the one known as ‘Lucied’… they are currently within the tunnels of Zeon.”

+++++



A Machamp this time, its three arms on each side entwined into a single entity. Its chest and torso was covered with a dark blue colored cloth armor that slung over its broad shoulders, complete with shredded sumo under-attire and yet… another familiar item in both hands as demonic eyes under the hood of the cloth gleamed at them manically.



+++++

Rukario was taken aback by this statement, but quickly covered his surprise and asked, “You wish for me to get rid of them, sir?”

+++++



The twin chainsaws buzzed to life.



+++++

“No, no, my friend,” he replied with a vicious grin, “The Mightyena stays alive; he is unimportant for now. What I want is for you to bring the other to me… its time for a little reunion, don’t you think?”

+++++



The sextet backed away in another direction yet again, the screeching of three chainsaws before them hardly doing any help whatsoever their very dangerous situation. Javas, having scouted the place, knew the way they were walking was a dead end, and they would be minced meat soon if they didn’t do anything.

“Merde,” the Sneasel swore as he always did in any comical situation, though this was hardly the time for such things. This time, their lives were at stake. The feline knew this was indeed a very dangerous gamble; not even a wildcard like himself would dare to bet in this situation.



+++++

Questions immediately exploded in Rukario’s head like fireworks, but the dog immediately dismissed them; they were unimportant at this time. “As you wish,” he replied before he turned and left the room. But before he left, however, Mewtwo asked him an unexpected question.

“Do you regret it?”

+++++



Ifrit began to snarl at the two menacing figures, all the anger and hatred the Houndoom had ever felt clearly heard within that tone. All the rest, except Javas, who was stuck in his own thoughts, looked at the two-horned hound in worry. Even the carefree Fentagon was beginning to have a frown crossing his snowy features, whereas a worried one passed Jacques’ own. Things were definitely looking bad, especially when the pupils of the fire-type’s eyes were suddenly beginning to contract, eyes slowly lightening from coal black to sapphire blue.

“Ifrit…?” started Lucied. “Are you alright?”

But the Houndoom did not respond.



+++++

The lazy, nonchalant tone of Mewtwo’s voice doesn’t make Rukario feel terribly inclined to answer. However, it is a question that will surely come up again, and any negative answer will have to be met with critical contemplation. Certainly, the empty, numb feeling in his chest isn’t regret, but more of a submission to the trial whatever powers above had given him. He knew there was little he could have done to stop it, and his only fault was forsaking his humanity to become a monster for whatever he chose to have faith in.

“No,” says Rukario quietly without turning back. It’s mostly true; the legendary felt little to no regret over his own actions. He’s beginning to wonder if he had stopped feeling entirely.

+++++



The two monsters were closing in upon them now, chainsaws practically screaming for carnage and blood to happen within the silent tunnels. The nightmares of the mountains looming towards the six unfortunate souls, and Lucied now caring nothing more than trying to get a response from his now unresponsive friend.

“Ifrit? Ifrit? Answer me, Damnit!” the Mightyena shouted to his Houndoom compatriot. Ifrit, however, still made no reply, no response… he simply continued to snarl at the two before him, eyes fully an iridescent blue in color with silted pupils. Small jets of lavender flames began to spew out with every breath the fire (Was it even fire?) type now from his nostrils. The snarl intensified, and the gang could quite suddenly, feel a sense of pure hatred within themselves, the pain threating to consume them all.

It was as if a fire was burning them from inside.



+++++

Mewtwo dosen't speak anymore, and Rukario doesn’t either. It’s a common occurrence, not being able to fill the silence, because neither of them knows exactly how to do so. Rukario knew that while Mewtwo seemed to be completely unaffected by his presence, he feels just as discomfited with the situation as Rukario himself does; in the end, he was the only demon under the Betrayer granted with his free will. Without another word, the Wave legendary left the place, his life unknown. Rukario knows he would have to face this question again sometime; but for now…

He had a mission to accomplish.

+++++

The rest of the gang fell to their knees, the pain within them now totally unbearable. Every hatred, every tear and sorrow all floating and running through their minds. Pain, sorrow, hatred, anger, regret…

Ifrit finally spoke. He let out an unearthly roar as flames of the palest purple began to make themselves visible around his snout, burning and merging with each other until they covered his jaws. The Houndoom’s unnatural blue eyes looked at the menacing figures as his pupils finally contracted to their extremes, until nothing but a single, thin line in each sapphire eye.

“Ryuga no Tsukimono!” the two-horned hound screamed as he let loose his devastating attack. The flames burst out from his mouth, a grand yet ghastly pillar of ghostly lavender flames. It headed towards the two monsters, which roared an unnatural fury as they charged towards it, swishing their buzzing chainsaws. Then everything went haywire from there. The flames took on a form.

An arm, one made from the very flames itself, burst out from the pillar and grabbed the Rhydon by the throat. The horned beast roared its anger aloud as it thrashed, helpless from its grip. The other chainsaw wielding freak charged fearlessly, only to hear its own roars as well as another arm appeared and grabbed it by the neck too. Both roared and struggled to wriggle away from the vice grip of the fiery arms, but failed when a pair of wings burst out from the fire as well. The wings flapped hard, sending a powerful pale upon its surrounding area that got Lucied and the rest swept off their feet. They all flew back and hit the end of the tunnel hard, falling with a loud thud against the earth.

All that is, except Ifrit, who continued to glare menacingly at the helpless chimeras as the final stages of the Ryuga no Tsukimono revealed itself. A head slowly formed, triangular in shape, with flaming ears like Rayquaza and eyes that shone like hellfire and brimstone. A fiery snout opened to reveal fangs of ivory white that still dripped crimson red, tainted with blood of the corruption and spilled from the innocent.

The Curse of Dragon rang its challenge.

And the cavern trembled with its unholy fury.

+

And there it was then. The Curse of Dragon, it is entire entity. When we all first laid our eyes upon the figure, we could immediately feel the negative effects brewing from it. As I would later know, it was a demon created from the hatred and rage of one and many. It was simply a manifestation of one’s dark side. I could not understand then, why would the legendaries then create such a horrible attack that would, in the end, simply destroy the user itself? For at the end, the attack would simply consume the user with hatred and revenge.

I just did not understand. The legendaries, noblest and purest of all us Pokemon, could resort to using and creating such attacks for the greater good, they said. I was young, foolish and most of all, simply naïve at that time. How could I not have seen what would happen next? For it was at that very point where things quickly and also very simply… spiraled downwards into damnation.

+

All five starred in shock in their places at the monster created from Ifrit himself. The Houndoom was still simply standing there, his pants echoing throughout the place. The beast roared as tendrils of flame shot out from its blazing form and wrapped itself around the two chimeras, both monsters screaming as no one had heard before… as the demonic fires burned them from within.

And the ashes began to fall.

They fell, bits and pieces of wispy, fragile black fragments that floated delicately to the rough ground underneath. The two chimeras screamed a final time as the flames burned them hold and the two bodies exploded with a loud bang, the force sending the sextet flying through the air once again. All six were unmercifully slammed against the rock-hard end of the tunnel, landing upon one another into a mess of paws, fur and talons.

“Gah… whoever is on top, get off me!” yelled and annoyed, yet familiar voice. It only took a moment for the dark-type to figure out whom it was. “Ifrit!” Lucied cried out in sheer relief, scrambling down the pile to see his Houndoom compatriot stuck at the bottom, under the rest of the gang.

“Yes, its me! Now get everyone off me!” he yelled in sheer irritation. The Mightyena laughed a bit before prying the rest off the unfortunate Houndoom, which the wolf eventually managed to after a while.

“Now that we’re all alright again…” muttered the fire-type after a moment’s reprive. His coal black eyes glared at a snickering Javas, who still thought the entire situation hilarious. “Idiot! You’re supposed to be the genius!”

“And which I still am, so pipe down, Monsieur,” the Sneasel assured, finally managing to stop himself from chuckling. “Anyway, we need to plan our next course of action. Those two just now-” he jabbed a thumb to the two piles of ashes behind. “-are definitely not here for no reason. My guess is that these tunnels hide something.”

“Hide something?” Jacques questioned, while Fentagon continued to lick its paws. Glancing at the Meowth, Lucied wondered mentally if the cat was simply retarded or vain. With all that was happening now, no one would even bother to look at their paws, much less lick them from day until dawn. The world really had gone mad now.

“Yes,” replied the self-proclaimed genius, “something here that’s been hidden within these tunnels. Besides that, I hardly see the reason of why there are… well, were those two.”

I see your point, Saital finally spoke up, But then, what do we do? The path does split up from here… as she said, her right wing gestured towards the T-road crossing just in front of them.

Everyone there knew the Pidgeotto had a point, and very good one at that. Javas kept silent, closing his eyes as his mind decided on the next course of action. An eerie silence passed through the group before the feline opened his eyes once more. “We’ll split up, then,” the Sneasel concluded. “Me, Lucied and Fentagon will take the left, while-” it was at this point where the next unexpected event occurred.

The cavern trembled yet again, more chunks of rock and earth raining upon the gang. The event had barely registered when a huge boulder came towards them from the sky. The group only had enough time to sidestep the boulder as it crashed upon the ground, the impact causing more boulders to come and cave up the tunnel they were in. Dust engulfed them, making Lucied and company to cough and wheeze out loud before everything settled after a minute or two.

“Monsieur! Are you alright?” called a voice from the other side, of which the wolf recognized as Javas.

“I am!” the Mightyena shouted back. “What about you?”

The Sneasel paused for a moment before answering. “I’m fine. Ifrit and Madame Saital are on my side too, but I can’t find Jacques and Fentagon. Are they with you?”

“What?” the wolf replied in shock, never realizing that two of his other teammates were separated as well. Turning behind, Lucied found Jacques lying unconscious upon the ground, Fentagon looking protectively over the Umbreon. “Yeah, they’re here!”

“That’s good,” Javas returned, “But these boulders are too dangerous to remove, the roof would collapse if I transmuted them. We’d better find an alternative route out. Meet you outside, alright Monsieur?”

“Okay! Meet you later!” the Mightyena shouted back before he heard the footsteps of Javas and the other two leaving, fading away. Looking at the weakened Eon Pokemon beside him, the wolf decided to first explore the tunnels, but he really couldn’t leave his friend behind. Sighing, Lucied picked him up with his jaws and placed him on his back before gesturing with his head to Fentagon. The Meowth, picking up the unspoken signal, merely purred once again before padding off in the only direction available in this situation, Lucied trailing behind grudgingly.

The unsettling feeling he had was only getting worse.

+

I wanted to create my own world. A world full of color where everyone could play. One big party that never ends.
- Michael Alig, Party Monster (2003)

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