Pokémon Chronicles 零 (ZERO)

Episode 38: The delusional shining warrior PART 2

"Crystal!" Megan roared, sprinting towards me. She tackled me into a hug, keeping us on our feet as she cried into my back. "No... that's not going to happen now... you don't get controlled... You don't... please... please don't start saying things like this... please, just let me believe that you're real..."

Just then, the Response Stage reached its destination and came to a painful halt. Megan didn't let go of me, but broke our hug to observe our new surroundings. The stage had set itself directly in the centre of what appeared to be a gladiator colosseum. The outside air was surprisingly cold, even for the time of the night it was now. The thing that took my attention the most however; every seat in the colosseum was occupied by Pokémon.

"An audience... she got an audience to watch her control Crystal. That's what she means by making this 'fun'," Lucca muttered, spinning around to observe the huge variety of species watching us. Our presence caused them all to start rambling and chatting amongst each other. "An impossible battle we can't win... if Crystal really does get controlled and turn into an enemy now, she'll either kill us, or we'll struggle to find a solution to save her and wind up killing her in the process... the shining warriors will kill themselves in front of all these Pokémon."

"Lucca, what're you talking about?" Brine cried.

"Just do it! Just do it now, before something really does happen!" I begged, holding my wings out.

"Crystal!" Megan snapped.

"Do it Lucca, it'll be fine! I already touched the amulet, it's activated. You'll still be able to summon the sword and restore bestia to the world. You'll just have to do it without me," I ordered, getting pushed over by Megan. I stood my ground however, making sure that I was making eye contact with Lucca so that he knew how serious I was being about this. I was still terrified to the point of trembling, but I kept up a stern look and a confident volume, knowing that this was the best way to go about this.

After all, I really had grabbed the amulet and activated it by making it gleam. Lucca as a Pokémon gave me doubts, but his leadership had taught us a lot and gotten us this far. His hunches had always been correct, and he took responsibility for every action he had done, whether it was right or wrong. I knew he wasn't perfect in my eyes, but I could look up to him as if he was, and that was enough for me to confidently rely on him to lead everyone after I was gone. With those thoughts confirmed in my mind, I blanked out everything else, imagining us both in a realm alone. It was just me and Lucca alone, in silence.

"Go on. It'll be alright. You just have to take care of everyone for a little longer," I stated. I could see him gulp, his bottom jaw hanging open from his thoughts. Surely enough he got the message, and pointed one blade at me.

"Crystal no, stop it! Lucca damn it, don't you dare lay a finger on her!" Megan screamed, making him growl. He didn't reply, he only growled.

"Is this really a decision that has to be made? We've gotten this far on impossible odds before..." Mimia asked, hanging his head.

To my dismay, time was up before I could accept it. The same symptoms as always struck me without remorse, causing me to hug Megan in my own act of desperation. The splitting headache, the awkward discomfort in my chest and stomach, the steady distance from reality that blocked out my senses – it all came like rush of adrenaline, drowning me all at once.

"It's too late! Do it! Kill me, kill me now, please! Just do it, kill me!" I roared, right before falling back into the darkness of my subconscious. Just like that, I felt faded, and no sound but the echoing muffle of Panzer's voice came through.

"Aww, would you look at that? They can't even fathom what is happening, can they? But they know what's at stake," Panzer mocked, pushing me harder than ever before. I couldn't resist, and fell backwards into what felt like deep water. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't hear, I couldn't feel anything besides a current of water that pushed me further and further into the murky depths of darkness. All that remained was my eyesight, which I knew was soon to present me with a nightmare. It was like being smothered by irritation for a length of time I couldn't take, a lonely, silent, awful feeling in my heart and stomach that tormented me to no end.