Fandom Pokémon: Rise of Shadows

[Latios]

"What ever the case may be, Arcanus success will make this journey a lot easier. Any enemy on the inside is a threat. While she may not be a shadow she is still a hindrance with these games of hers."


@Assailant

 

[Daisie]

Arcanus had already made his way out into the woods. He really didn't want to keep April waiting. He followed her aura, and scent. He listened closely as well, as he half expected to hear crying in the distance.


@Assailant

 

[Assailant]

Instead, what he heard was yelling. April yelled in anger as she hit a tree over and over again, throwing all sorts of attacks at it in an effort to vent her anger. She huffed as she flew back to the ground before looking over at Arcanus.


"So... you ignored me... and followed me..."


@Daisie

 

[Daisie]

"Actually, I did not." Arcanus simply replied, shrugging. "Your words told me to stay away. But your heart said otherwise, and I simply listened. To attempt to trick a wise man is to treat him as a fool."


@Assailant

 

[Assailant]

"You clearly are if you're this d**n persistent." April walked over to Arcanus and looked at him closely. "Well then... I've tried to push you away... tried to force you to listen... but none of that s**t seems to work." April sighed in exasperation. "Fine. If it's really come to this..." She grit her teeth and glared at him. "Do you REALLY want to know why I act like this?"

 

[Daisie]

"Of course." Arcanus responded, calm, as usual. "If you wish, I will tell no one.". His heart pounded though, as he really wondered what might come next.


@Assailant

 

[Assailant]

April glared more pointedly at Arcanus before sighing. "Fine, but buckle up. This isn't short."


"It all happened... well, I don't remember how many years ago, to be honest. I was young, that much I remember, and things were... different back then. Amber had been out on a berry run for awhile. I remember that I'd gone up to Nathan. I was getting impatient.


'Where's mom?' I asked her. Nathan just looked at me in confusion. 'Where's mom! M-O-M?!' Nathan laughed.


'Oh, you must be looking for Amber, right?' I nodded my head and pouted a little. 'I... don't know where she is, honestly.' Nathan looked at the door to the house and frowned. 'It's been... quite a bit longer than it should have been.' She turned back to me. 'Don't worry though, I'm sure she'll be back soon.' I sighed and walked back to the stairs to head back upstairs, when as I turned the corner the door slammed open. There were... a cacophony of noises that I can't quite describe. There was crying, surprise followed by horrified shock, and general hysteria. Some of the other Pokemon tried to see what was happening, and the quick glimpses we got were not good. Amber was... she looked worse for wear. Messy, sobbing with bloodshot eyes and she was covered in... well... I can't quite say it. Even I have standards, you know. 


We were shooed out, but I remained at the corner and I eavesdropped. They had no clue I was there.


'Amber! Amber, are you okay? Is that...' Amber just sobbed into her hands and raked her hair. She was a complete mess. 'Amber, please, what happened?'


'It... I...' Amber tried desperately to speak through her weeping. 'I... I-I was making the run, a-and... I... there was a Gengar... and he... I... in the alleys, I couldn't... I...' Amber eventually went on to describe what happened just a bit better. I may not have been the oldest or smartest person in the room... but I still knew enough to understand what she was talking about. I... just... just thinking about it... Nathan gave a supportive smile.


'Amber... please, I understand you're in distress, but... I can't understand. I want to help, but you HAVE to use telepathy.' Amber slowly nodded and I could tell she was using telepathy. As the story went on, Nathan's face of horror had grown. Eventually, she just grabbed Amber in a hug and promised to make things better. Nothing could help though.


Amber was horribly traumatized for the next... well, for awhile. I couldn't get through to her, no matter how hard I tried. It hurt. I wanted so much to help her, but there was nothing I could do. As she sunk further and further, so did I. Day after day, the pain grew more and more as I continually failed. One day, I started thinking to myself. 'Amber is so nice and kind!' I thought to myself. 'Why would anyone do something so awful to her?' I kept thinking about it, and then I realized: being nice, only makes you hurt more. Then... I kept thinking, and I came to another conclusion: caring about other people only makes you hurt more. The suffering of one person is the suffering of just as many people who care about them. So, only one conclusion could be reached: I need to stop caring about people or Pokemon... or anything. I couldn't though. I was naturally too d**n empathetic, I NATURALLY cared about people. 'What if,' I thought, 'What if I act horribly to other people. Then they'll hate me and be mean to me, then I'll be able to hate them, and I won't be hurt anymore!'" April laughed dryly as tears resurfaced. "So... I was a d**k to everyone. It didn't worked though... I kept loving everyone, even if they hated me... but no, I was CONVINCED that if I just kept going long enough... that eventually, it would all work out. Time passed, years came and went, and one day I just realized I didn't CARE anymore." April laughed. "I was... finally free!"


@Daisie

 

[Daisie]

Arcanus looked involved. After all of that was done, he really wasn't sure what to say. He was quiet. For a while...


He took a breath. "I see.... I see." He rubbed his hands against the sides of his head.


"I am sorry. You have been through much, and I cannot possibly know what it feels like to be you. Your senses... Betrayed you.". He looked up at her, still gentleness in his voice. "And it felt like there was nothing left. Didn't it?"


@Assailant


 (Sorry for the short post, compared to your big wall of text. O^O I have no idea what else to say. So I'll do a round of applause for the amount of work put into it. *Clap clap clap*)

 

[Assailant]

April wiped some tears away and growled a bit. "Yeah. I... every once in a blue moon, my d**n emotions will show up again. I know I can't give up... any weakness could cause a relapse to... how I was before. Like what happened earlier." She turned back to Arcanus, glaring into his eyes. "That's why... I act how I do. That's why... I can't let people like me. That's why...


that's why I need you to hate me."



@Daisie

 

[Daisie]

Arcanus stared her in the eyes. Quite a few seconds passed by.


.....


.........


"April."


"I cannot."


@Assailant

 

[Assailant]

April clenched her claws as she slowly walked towards him. "So that's how it is... even after all that... you still refuse to hate me, huh? Does that mean..." April paused before smiling. "You know what I need... and you decide to do the exact opposite and intentionally try to harm me... you DO hate me!"


@Daisie

 

[Daisie]

Arcanus shook his head, with a long, long sigh. He put his hand on his forehead, and chuckled. "April. Quite the opposite. I'm only doing what is best for you - which is not what you think."


@Assailant

 

[Assailant]

April laughed. "That's adorable! How could YOU possibly claim to know what's best for me?" So many emotions were swirling inside her: anger, despair, hope, happiness, guilt, fear, and so many others that she couldn't dream of putting a name to. She wanted to be nice and wanted to be awful all at the same time. She had no clue what to do anymore.

 

[Daisie]

Arcanus closed his eyes. He considered his response. Carefully.....


....Suddenly, he held his hand out. Wordlessly.


@Assailant

 

[Assailant]

April paused. She looked between his face and his hand multiple times. "Hehe... w-what are you doing?"



@Daisie

 

[Daisie]

"....Do you trust me?" Arcanus asked her, eyes closed... His hand stood out, still.


@Assailant

 

[Assailant]

April was silent for awhile, deliberating with herself over what to do. She almost said no, until she remembered earlier.


"Sleep. I will watch over you."


He... never left.


Reluctantly, April slowly stretched out her wing and placed it in his hand.

 

[Daisie]

Arcanus paused for a few moments. He opened his red eyes, and looked at her. "......This way.". He began leading April uphill.


@Assailant

 

[Assailant]

April slowly nodded. Her movements were slow and reluctant, but she followed.


@Daisie

 

[Daisie]

They traveled for a bit. All the time, Arcanus not saying a word. They traveled up, uphill. Until finally, they came to a large cliffside.


As Arcanus climbed up to the top, he stopped at the edge. Here, they could see over all the trees. They could see the ocean, they could see the bright blue skies. They could see the shoreline, and every once in a while, they could see the green grass through the thick layers of leaves below.


@Assailant

 

[Assailant]

April stared out over the cliffside. She was silent for a moment or two before she looked over at Arcanus. "Um... it's very pretty and all... but didn't we do this bit before? Why did you bring me out here?"


@Daisie

 

[Daisie]

"It was important to know that you could trust me....." Arcanus said, sitting down on the grass. "You trusted me..... You graciously followed me. You were unsure about the destination, and yet you could find it in yourself to give me a chance. You did something good, April....". He took a breath of fresh air. "So tell me. How do you feel?"


"Has the world punished you for being kind this time?"


@Assailant

 

[Assailant]

April looked out over the ocean. "This is nice and all, but..." She took in a deep breath. "Let's say, for a moment, that I do like you. That we even become friends. We're out on this huge dangerous mission... and you end up dead. What would I do? How would I cope? If I don't like you... if we didn't like each other... I wouldn't have to figure that out."


@Daisie

 

[Daisie]

"There is something that my family and I have always said. For generations. It always comes down to two options. The easy way, and the right way." Arcanus explained, as he looked up at her. "Let us say... That you are correct. Everyone who loves, everyone who spreads joy.... Is punished. Always. Everyone would choose the easy way."


"Nobody would care anymore. Nobody would listen. Nobody would be there. Not for you, not for me, not for anyone else. There would be thieves, robbers, people who would assault one another just for the enjoyment... Happiness would be considered.... A sin, almost."


"But....Happiness is what makes the world go round, April. Of course the world will punish you. It will ridicule you, and criticize you, and torment you, until you feel like there is nothing left......... But there is hope.... Can you feel it?"... He stood up, and placed his hand on her forehead. Telepathically, she received memories. Of everyone's faces. Latios, Max, Nathan, Amber.... Countless people she never knew, too. Haunters, Rattatas, Jynxes....


"Everyone's hearts are beating as one. Happiness is their fuel. Love is their guide. A drum, constantly beating at the same pace. Louder, and louder. Stronger, and stronger. Forward, ever forward. With happiness, with joy, with the pure will of the soul.... It can fight the evil stored beneath this world's surface. It can withstand, until the end of time. And it can show you the truth."


......... Arcanus removed his hand from her forehead, looking at her. Awaiting a response.


@Assailant

 

[Assailant]

April slowly opened her eyes, shaking her head at  The same time. "I… I can't. Happiness may be their fuel… But that means that without it, they are nothing.  Should something happen to whatever makes them happy… They'd fall apart.  I've already felt that once, and… Call me a coward if you will… But I… I don't think I want to feel that again."


@Daisie