Child of Legends II: Prince of Space

Chapter Thirty

The next day, we held a funeral for Nuclea. 

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the tragic loss of Nuclea Cida, who protected our camp for many years and gave her life so that we may be protected from the harshness of the outside world." Mika said. She was standing on the raised platform used for making announcements, and was wearing a black kimono as opposed to her usual pink and blue ones.  Standing beside her were Vicky and Jeannie, both dressed in black- Vicky in a black suit with a matching brimmed hat, and Jeannie in a long black dress with a lacy shawl.

Mika then stepped down from the raised platform, and one of the Meloetta kids stepped up onto the raised platform and played a sad requiem on her violin. It was very moving, and it brought me and several other people to tears. After that, she stepped down, and Vicky stepped up to give a eulogy.

"When Nuclea attempted to kill herself all those years ago, I was still a kid. Back then, the guy in charge of the camp was Haruto Miyamura, a son of Ho-Oh and the founder of Camp Arceus. Needless to say, when a group of kids came running up from the corridors beneath the camp saying they had found Nuclea dead on the floor, I was shocked. They told Haruto, and Haruto and several of the campers- including myself- went down to see if they were telling the truth. When we arrived and one of the kids who originally discovered it said 'See, she's dead!', we all saw Arceus appear in front of us, reassuring us that she was not dead. He told us that she committed suicide due to how much she was bullied for being Shiny, and when he looked upon her tragic death, he decided to let her live in another way. He revived her, but he put her in a sleep-like state. As long as her chest crystal was intact, she would continue to emit energy that made Camp Arceus invisible to purebloods, but visible to demi-legendaries. That experience resonated with me for the rest of my life. The people who previously bullied her were overcome with guilt, and all of them immediately swore to clean up their act. Haruto enacted anti-bullying measures to ensure all children were treated with respect. And everyone at the camp pitched in to build her a place to sleep. When I became an adult, I became a counselor at Camp Arceus, and I did whatever I could to make Camp Arceus a welcoming place for all. Eventually, when Haruto grew old and decided to retire, he chose me as his successor, as he was proud of how much I had done to improve this camp. Upon assuming leadership, I continued to do all that I could to foster friendships between campers and make this place a welcoming place for all. I knew, in my heart, that it was what Nuclea would have wanted."

After that, I stepped up to the platform. Since I was the one who heard Nuclea speak her last words, I was asked to give a eulogy at her funeral. I stayed up late last night writing it on a piece of notebook paper, and I was holding said piece of paper in my hands. I took a deep breath, cleared my throat, and began to speak.

"I never knew what Nuclea was like when she was alive. The Nuclea Incident occured years before I was born. All of my information about Nuclea came from what Vicky told us. Vicky told us the story of Nuclea very early on in order to discourage us from bullying each other. However, I kind of took Nuclea and the barrier she emitted for granted. Just a few days ago, the barrier broke and Team Rocket arrived and kidnapped me. Let me tell you, those were among the worst days of my life. But I kept going, and eventually returned to Camp Arceus. When I found out Zeke was the one who broke Nuclea's chest crystal, I made sure to make him pay for his actions. After I defeated him, my cousin and I rushed to the room where Nuclea lay dormant, and I finally saw her in person. When she awoke and asked who we were, I told her who we were and why we were there, and she thanked us for what we had done. Her last words were directed to us, and I believe these words are so inspiring that I'm just going to tell her what she said."

"'Never lose hope. Don't let the light in your soul be snuffed out. When the light in my soul was snuffed out and I lost all hope, I killed myself. And though Arceus revived me, I had to spend the rest of my life comatose, and when I awoke, my heart was failing, and I was dying for real. So don't lose hope. Don't lose hope.'"

With that, my eulogy was complete, and I sat back down. 

A daughter of Meloetta began to sing a sad song, and as she sang, Nuclea's corpse was lifted onto a bed made of flowers. Four children of Regigigas lifted the bed, and a funeral procession began as we all followed them towards a funeral pyre. Vicky used her fire powers to light the funeral pyre, and Nuclea's body was burned to ash. 

After the funeral was over, there was a period of silence. "So," Vicky said, finally breaking the silence, "now that we're done mourning Nuclea, let's celebrate Diane saving us all once again!"

Everyone erupted into cheers, crowding around me and giving me their congratulations. The Regigirls hugged me just like last time. 

"Thank you all." I said. "But I couldn't have done this without all my friends, especially my cousin Paul." I gestured toward Paul. 

Paul's face lit up. "Thank you so much, Diane!" he exclaimed. He rushed towards me and hugged me, and I returned the hug. 

In that moment, only one thing was on our minds.

This is the best camp ever.

THE END