Story Notes:
In death, we are all equal in the sense that nothing matters.
In that respect, only a fool would trade even a day of his life for immortality in legend.
It is not immortality in the true sense of the word...
But what if one's life was not in the true sense of the word, either...?
EXTRA CHAPTER 3 - Kabutops and the Gallade
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Four years have passed since the event known as The Legendary Pikablu shook the very core of the world. Winter was approaching, the color leaving the trees in the large stretch of wood known as Viridian Forest. With barely a week left until snow was expected to start falling, the Pokémon were in haste to prepare themselves for yet another cold season. The Kakuna and Metapod would cling to a branch somewhere and remain largely unaffected, while the Caterpie and Weedle dug burrows underground as the Butterfree and Beedrill left for warmer climates, a select few staying behind to look after their young ones.
The impending change did little to slow down those simply passing through, as two creatures wandered around the outskirts of the forest, oblivious to the hardship surrounding them...
"... What a tragedy" the Gallade said with uncharacteristic sorrow in his voice.
"Yes" Kabutops said bluntly while nodding his head, "Poor Anne."
"Apparently Pikablu's devastated by it too" the Gallade sighed before giving off a short snicker, "... Although I can't quite picture that in my head..."
"Astrid and I... We were worried about the same thing when we first started..." Kabutops said a bit slower than usual, "Seems like we're fine, but they..." Kabutops trailed off, as they both became silent.
"... Hey" the Gallade said after a while, "You don't think it might be because of that legendary-killing technique?"
"Well... He claims that Celebi keeps him patched up..." Kabutops sighed depressingly, "But who knows? It damages the inside of your body..."
"Yeah..." the Gallade sighed as well, but then quickly regained his normal cheerfulness, "And from what I hear, Celebi's not too familiar with that particular part of the body!"
"There is nothing amusing about this" Kabutops said sternly while giving off an angry glare, "When you have children of your own, perhaps you will understand the extent of this tragedy."
"Children? Me? Never!" the Gallade laughed, "I'm not that selfish! It would grace the heart of one fangirl, while breaking thousands of others!"
"At any rate, Pikablu won't be in the mood for any of this" Kabutops continued while ignoring his tall counterpart, "At least pretend that you're mourning once we get there."
"Aw, come on!" the Gallade pleaded, "I'm sad, I really am! Just that there's no use in getting wrapped up in-"
"P-Pikablu!?" a loud, violent voice sounded from somewhere above them, "You said 'Pikablu'! I heard it!"
They looked up and saw a large green Pokémon descending upon them. As it got nearer, it moved back a bit as to not land on them, gracefully setting down on the ground.
The creature had a long neck and tail like that of a snake, but also arms, legs and large wings. Sticking out of its head were two long antlers, reaching behind it like a newly combed backslick. Red bubbles covered its eyes and made them look compound, which would make people confuse it with a Bug-type Pokémon... But they were all too aware that it was in fact a Flygon.
"You!" the Flygon yelled, pointing at them with its short arm, "I'd recognize that face anywhere... You're the Gallade in that famous band!"
"Uhh... It's called the 'Lethal Lily', but whatever..." the Gallade corrected her, looking at her antlers with admiration.
"And that form..." the Flygon continued, "... You must be the Indomitable Kabutops!"
"Yeah, we're them" the Gallade said in a huff, somewhat jealous that he didn't have a cool title like his friend, "We're in bit of a hurry, what do you want?"
"Pikablu!" the Flygon replied quickly, "Show me to him!"
"What do you want with him?" Kabutops asked.
"Isn't it obvious!?" the Flygon bellowed while clenching her fists, "I'm going to kill him!"
"Man, this..." the Gallade said while looking at Kabutops with a smile, "... Brings back memories, doesn't it?"
"Why do you want to kill him?" Kabutops continued asking, completely unfazed by the ordeal.
"You know! Don't pretend you don't know!" the Flygon shouted accusingly, "You were there when Pikablu destroyed my poor cousin!"
"I..." Kabutops started before trailing off, "... You will have to be more specific."
"My sweet cousin! On top of the Bell Tower!" the Flygon kept shouting as they started at her with confusion, "She's a Dragonite!"
"Oooohh... THAT one." the Gallade exclaimed while slapping his arms together, "... Uh, what happened, again?"
"Whatever happened, my cousin has never been the same since that day!" the Flygon began telling her story while clenching her fists tighter, "She went from an energetic and strong woman to a whimpering mess. She won't even leave her den, she's so frightened! She just sits there all day... Frightened of the world... Ruining her children by being an overprotective mother..."
"What, so she still hasn't gotten over it?" the Gallade asked surprised, "And Pikablu was even kind enough to NOT paralyze her for life!"
"He did worse..." the Flygon said bitterly, "He completely broke her. Reduced her to nothing."
"Pikablu asked your cousin a question, and she didn't answer" Kabutops suddenly said, not moved in the slightest by her story, "So she fought... And lost."
"He didn't have the right to do anything!" the Flygon yelled angrily, "My cousin didn't want to fight! She was completely innocent in all of this!"
"Actually, Pikablu did nothing to cause her lasting damage" Kabutops said, "... It seems to me that anything occurring after the battle is something she has only herself to blame for."
"... You're a good father, but holy shit do you suck at psychology" the Gallade mumbled while hitting his forehead as the Flygon fumed in rage, "We get it. Pikablu did bad. Now what?"
"I already told you!" the Flygon bellowed, "He must pay for his crimes! I'll kill him!"
"Listen, I'm certain Pikablu would normally comply with your request" the Gallade said confidently while shrugging his shoulders, "But he will most likely not be in the mood today. His first child just became stillbor-"
"You think I care!?" the Flygon interrupted loudly, "I care as much as he did when he traumatized my poor cousin for life!"
"... Yeeeaaahh..." the Gallade said in a drawn out way while looking at Kabutops, "Well, see, we're kind of his friends, and we care. We're not going to let you bother him today."
"... Then, I'll beat you both up until you tell me where he is!" the Flygon said as she leaned foward while extending her wings in a threatening manner.
"Uh... So..." the Gallade whispered to Kabutops, "You wanna fight her?"
"Not really, no..." Kabutops sighed.
"... Well, one of us is gonna have to!" the Gallade said, looking at the green beast in front of him.
"Then I suggest you do it" Kabutops replied in a stubborn way, "She might have a weakness against that sissy ballet of yours."
"Hell no!" the Gallade exclaimed while throwing his arms into the air, "I just had shows four nights in a row, I'm completely spent!"
"That is nothing. The kids just learned how to dig..." Kabutops mumbled while letting his arms fall in defeat, "... I've been chasing them around so much I think I've turned into a Rock/Ground dual type..."
"You think I'm just going to let you stand there and talk!? Fight me!" the Flygon interrupted them with a violent shout and a flap of her wings.
"Hey, maybe we should lead her to Pikablu?" the Gallade said happily, "He'll fry her good!"
"Some friend you are..." Kabutops said before sighing deeply, "... Fine. I'll do it."
"Yes! Thanks!" the Gallade said cheerfully while making a short leap of joy, "You're the best! And don't worry, I'll back you up if necessary!"
"More like you'll ditch me and go searching for Ho-Oh or something..." Kabutops muttered under his breath as the Gallade ran a few steps away and left him alone with the Flygon.
"I will be your opponent" Kabutops said while staring at the Flygon.
"Well, duh" the Flygon replied, smiling a little.
"Know that I come from a violent period of time. In battle, I am nothing short of a savage beast..." Kabutops warned her, "Give up early, or you will die." Kabutops held out his scythes in the hopes of intimidating her, the moonlight reflecting in them like a crystal and giving his brown shell a pale shine.
"Don't you worry about that!" the Flygon said confidently while moving back a little to avoid close combat, "The moment you tell me what I want to know, I'll be on my way!"
Suddenly Kabutops withdrew his scythes, and keeping them close to his sides he started walking towards the Flygon.
"Too slow!" she shouted, as a large torrent of fire started spewing from her mouth. The flames ignited the area between them before reaching Kabutops, who appeared to be completely unaffected and simply kept on walking.
"Nice defenses... Try this one, then!" the Flygon kept going, emitting a horrible screech from her two horns in the hopes of lowering his guard. Kabutops didn't even flinch at this, but stopped anyway.
"Pathetic" Kabutops sighed while closing his eyes, "Evolution has denied you earlids, it seems. Allow me to demonstrate..."
Kabutops struck a pose where he appeared to hug thin air for a moment, before suddenly grinding his scythes against one another at a high speed, creating an extremely loud and piercing noise. Both the Flygon and the Gallade had to cover their ears, as Kabutops shut out the sound with his earlids and moved towards her at the same pace as before.
"Grr...!" the Flygon growled as she was shaken by the noise and flew back for protection. In an instant, Kabutops slow walk turned into a speedy flight as a stream of water shot out from behind him, propelling him like a rocket. Kicking off from the ground, the Flygon managed to push herself straight up and dodge him in the very last second.
"Aqua Jet!?" she shouted before flying high up into the air, "You're a Water-type!?" Kabutops thrust his scythes down into the ground to stop himself, before turning around and looking at her in silence.
"Whatever!" she yelled in rage, "Water, rock... They all explode the same!" With that, she fired a massive Hyper Beam from her mouth. Kabutops was surprised at how fast the attack came out, and so he had to jump up with all his strength to avoid the beam. The beam struck the ground, creating a great explosion with a shockwave that threw him even further into the air, all while creating a big crater in the ground.
"You're mine!" the Flygon exclaimed cheerfully, "Let's see if you've gotten better at taking Grass-type attack!" She began charging up a Solar Beam, thinking that Kabutops wouldn't be able to move in midair and getting ready to finish him off.
Before she knew it, he was right in front of her. Shooting another stream of water behind him, he had propelled his body through the air. The Flygon was completely defenseless since she was preparing her attack, and so Kabutops slashed her with his scythes, creating two large gashes in the shape of an X across her chest. Blood sprayed from the impact as he collided with her, before falling to the ground and leaving her behind.
The Flygon struggled to keep herself flying as the pain increased with each movement, but the wound was deep and she slowly dwindled down to the ground where Kabutops was awaiting her. Not receiving enough oxygen due to the loss of blood, she collapsed on her stomach as she reached the ground, dirt and grime rubbing into her open wound.
"Whoa, this looks familiar!" the Gallade said loudly before making his voice raspy to try to imitate Pikablu, "Now tell me what I want to hear, or your children gets it!"
"You're not helping..." Kabutops sighed as he approached the shaking body of the Flygon. She looked up and saw him get nearer, hopelessly trying to get away. Unable to move, she closed her eyes in horror as a scythe covered in blood quickly approached her head.
But instead of feeling cold metal cutting through her neck, she felt a gentle pat on her head.
"Revenge is an endless cycle" Kabutops said with a stern voice, "You shall be the one to break it." The Flygon looked up again to see that he had touched her with the flat side of his right scythe.
"Pikablu had his reasons for fighting that Dragonite, and so you have your reasons for fighting him..." Kabutops continued, "I now absolve you of that responsibility. I will tell him of your plight."
"You... Think..." the Flygon said weakly, her voice quickly diminishing.
"Oi, Kabutops!" the Gallade shouted as he ran up to them, "Look at all that blood! We've got to get her some help soon, or she'll really die!"
"Hmm..." Kabutops said slowly as the Flygon couldn't keep her head up any longer and crashed her face down into the reddened ground, "Pikablu needs us too, you know."
"Yeah, but...!" the Gallade said with trace amounts of desperation in his normally cool voice, "We owe her for that Dragonite, and I'm not just letting her die like this! I'll teleport the two of us-"
"Three" Kabutops interrupted, "But I really am worried about Pikablu, so let us be quick."
"R-Right!" the Gallade replied quickly as he placed his arm on the Flygon and held out the other one for Kabutops to hold on to, "Come on, hurry up!" Kabutops tried grabbing on to the Gallade a little too fast, accidentally sticking his scythe into his arm.
"OW! Son of a-" the Gallade exclaimed in pain, as the three of them vanished, leaving behind nothing but a big crater, some blood and a large amount of hidden onlookers, all of them very surprised at this abrupt ending.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -Chapter End Notes:Before life, we are all equal in the sense that nothing matters.
But eventually we come to life, gaining unlimited potential.
The potential to do good deeds, as well as the potential to bring terror.
The new child might save the world or destroy it, or make no impact at all.
So in one sense, bringing death to someone unborn is redundant.
While in another, it is the greatest sin one can commit.
In this haze of uncertainty, only one thing is for sure.
That their fate shall forever be unknown, if they are never even born...
Four years have passed since the event known as The Legendary Pikablu shook the very core of the world. Winter was approaching, the color leaving the trees in the large stretch of wood known as Viridian Forest. With barely a week left until snow was expected to start falling, the Pokémon were in haste to prepare themselves for yet another cold season. The Kakuna and Metapod would cling to a branch somewhere and remain largely unaffected, while the Caterpie and Weedle dug burrows underground as the Butterfree and Beedrill left for warmer climates, a select few staying behind to look after their young ones.
The impending change did little to slow down those simply passing through, as two creatures wandered around the outskirts of the forest, oblivious to the hardship surrounding them...
"... What a tragedy" the Gallade said with uncharacteristic sorrow in his voice.
"Yes" Kabutops said bluntly while nodding his head, "Poor Anne."
"Apparently Pikablu's devastated by it too" the Gallade sighed before giving off a short snicker, "... Although I can't quite picture that in my head..."
"Astrid and I... We were worried about the same thing when we first started..." Kabutops said a bit slower than usual, "Seems like we're fine, but they..." Kabutops trailed off, as they both became silent.
"... Hey" the Gallade said after a while, "You don't think it might be because of that legendary-killing technique?"
"Well... He claims that Celebi keeps him patched up..." Kabutops sighed depressingly, "But who knows? It damages the inside of your body..."
"Yeah..." the Gallade sighed as well, but then quickly regained his normal cheerfulness, "And from what I hear, Celebi's not too familiar with that particular part of the body!"
"There is nothing amusing about this" Kabutops said sternly while giving off an angry glare, "When you have children of your own, perhaps you will understand the extent of this tragedy."
"Children? Me? Never!" the Gallade laughed, "I'm not that selfish! It would grace the heart of one fangirl, while breaking thousands of others!"
"At any rate, Pikablu won't be in the mood for any of this" Kabutops continued while ignoring his tall counterpart, "At least pretend that you're mourning once we get there."
"Aw, come on!" the Gallade pleaded, "I'm sad, I really am! Just that there's no use in getting wrapped up in-"
"P-Pikablu!?" a loud, violent voice sounded from somewhere above them, "You said 'Pikablu'! I heard it!"
They looked up and saw a large green Pokémon descending upon them. As it got nearer, it moved back a bit as to not land on them, gracefully setting down on the ground.
The creature had a long neck and tail like that of a snake, but also arms, legs and large wings. Sticking out of its head were two long antlers, reaching behind it like a newly combed backslick. Red bubbles covered its eyes and made them look compound, which would make people confuse it with a Bug-type Pokémon... But they were all too aware that it was in fact a Flygon.
"You!" the Flygon yelled, pointing at them with its short arm, "I'd recognize that face anywhere... You're the Gallade in that famous band!"
"Uhh... It's called the 'Lethal Lily', but whatever..." the Gallade corrected her, looking at her antlers with admiration.
"And that form..." the Flygon continued, "... You must be the Indomitable Kabutops!"
"Yeah, we're them" the Gallade said in a huff, somewhat jealous that he didn't have a cool title like his friend, "We're in bit of a hurry, what do you want?"
"Pikablu!" the Flygon replied quickly, "Show me to him!"
"What do you want with him?" Kabutops asked.
"Isn't it obvious!?" the Flygon bellowed while clenching her fists, "I'm going to kill him!"
"Man, this..." the Gallade said while looking at Kabutops with a smile, "... Brings back memories, doesn't it?"
"Why do you want to kill him?" Kabutops continued asking, completely unfazed by the ordeal.
"You know! Don't pretend you don't know!" the Flygon shouted accusingly, "You were there when Pikablu destroyed my poor cousin!"
"I..." Kabutops started before trailing off, "... You will have to be more specific."
"My sweet cousin! On top of the Bell Tower!" the Flygon kept shouting as they started at her with confusion, "She's a Dragonite!"
"Oooohh... THAT one." the Gallade exclaimed while slapping his arms together, "... Uh, what happened, again?"
"Whatever happened, my cousin has never been the same since that day!" the Flygon began telling her story while clenching her fists tighter, "She went from an energetic and strong woman to a whimpering mess. She won't even leave her den, she's so frightened! She just sits there all day... Frightened of the world... Ruining her children by being an overprotective mother..."
"What, so she still hasn't gotten over it?" the Gallade asked surprised, "And Pikablu was even kind enough to NOT paralyze her for life!"
"He did worse..." the Flygon said bitterly, "He completely broke her. Reduced her to nothing."
"Pikablu asked your cousin a question, and she didn't answer" Kabutops suddenly said, not moved in the slightest by her story, "So she fought... And lost."
"He didn't have the right to do anything!" the Flygon yelled angrily, "My cousin didn't want to fight! She was completely innocent in all of this!"
"Actually, Pikablu did nothing to cause her lasting damage" Kabutops said, "... It seems to me that anything occurring after the battle is something she has only herself to blame for."
"... You're a good father, but holy shit do you suck at psychology" the Gallade mumbled while hitting his forehead as the Flygon fumed in rage, "We get it. Pikablu did bad. Now what?"
"I already told you!" the Flygon bellowed, "He must pay for his crimes! I'll kill him!"
"Listen, I'm certain Pikablu would normally comply with your request" the Gallade said confidently while shrugging his shoulders, "But he will most likely not be in the mood today. His first child just became stillbor-"
"You think I care!?" the Flygon interrupted loudly, "I care as much as he did when he traumatized my poor cousin for life!"
"... Yeeeaaahh..." the Gallade said in a drawn out way while looking at Kabutops, "Well, see, we're kind of his friends, and we care. We're not going to let you bother him today."
"... Then, I'll beat you both up until you tell me where he is!" the Flygon said as she leaned foward while extending her wings in a threatening manner.
"Uh... So..." the Gallade whispered to Kabutops, "You wanna fight her?"
"Not really, no..." Kabutops sighed.
"... Well, one of us is gonna have to!" the Gallade said, looking at the green beast in front of him.
"Then I suggest you do it" Kabutops replied in a stubborn way, "She might have a weakness against that sissy ballet of yours."
"Hell no!" the Gallade exclaimed while throwing his arms into the air, "I just had shows four nights in a row, I'm completely spent!"
"That is nothing. The kids just learned how to dig..." Kabutops mumbled while letting his arms fall in defeat, "... I've been chasing them around so much I think I've turned into a Rock/Ground dual type..."
"You think I'm just going to let you stand there and talk!? Fight me!" the Flygon interrupted them with a violent shout and a flap of her wings.
"Hey, maybe we should lead her to Pikablu?" the Gallade said happily, "He'll fry her good!"
"Some friend you are..." Kabutops said before sighing deeply, "... Fine. I'll do it."
"Yes! Thanks!" the Gallade said cheerfully while making a short leap of joy, "You're the best! And don't worry, I'll back you up if necessary!"
"More like you'll ditch me and go searching for Ho-Oh or something..." Kabutops muttered under his breath as the Gallade ran a few steps away and left him alone with the Flygon.
"I will be your opponent" Kabutops said while staring at the Flygon.
"Well, duh" the Flygon replied, smiling a little.
"Know that I come from a violent period of time. In battle, I am nothing short of a savage beast..." Kabutops warned her, "Give up early, or you will die." Kabutops held out his scythes in the hopes of intimidating her, the moonlight reflecting in them like a crystal and giving his brown shell a pale shine.
"Don't you worry about that!" the Flygon said confidently while moving back a little to avoid close combat, "The moment you tell me what I want to know, I'll be on my way!"
Suddenly Kabutops withdrew his scythes, and keeping them close to his sides he started walking towards the Flygon.
"Too slow!" she shouted, as a large torrent of fire started spewing from her mouth. The flames ignited the area between them before reaching Kabutops, who appeared to be completely unaffected and simply kept on walking.
"Nice defenses... Try this one, then!" the Flygon kept going, emitting a horrible screech from her two horns in the hopes of lowering his guard. Kabutops didn't even flinch at this, but stopped anyway.
"Pathetic" Kabutops sighed while closing his eyes, "Evolution has denied you earlids, it seems. Allow me to demonstrate..."
Kabutops struck a pose where he appeared to hug thin air for a moment, before suddenly grinding his scythes against one another at a high speed, creating an extremely loud and piercing noise. Both the Flygon and the Gallade had to cover their ears, as Kabutops shut out the sound with his earlids and moved towards her at the same pace as before.
"Grr...!" the Flygon growled as she was shaken by the noise and flew back for protection. In an instant, Kabutops slow walk turned into a speedy flight as a stream of water shot out from behind him, propelling him like a rocket. Kicking off from the ground, the Flygon managed to push herself straight up and dodge him in the very last second.
"Aqua Jet!?" she shouted before flying high up into the air, "You're a Water-type!?" Kabutops thrust his scythes down into the ground to stop himself, before turning around and looking at her in silence.
"Whatever!" she yelled in rage, "Water, rock... They all explode the same!" With that, she fired a massive Hyper Beam from her mouth. Kabutops was surprised at how fast the attack came out, and so he had to jump up with all his strength to avoid the beam. The beam struck the ground, creating a great explosion with a shockwave that threw him even further into the air, all while creating a big crater in the ground.
"You're mine!" the Flygon exclaimed cheerfully, "Let's see if you've gotten better at taking Grass-type attack!" She began charging up a Solar Beam, thinking that Kabutops wouldn't be able to move in midair and getting ready to finish him off.
Before she knew it, he was right in front of her. Shooting another stream of water behind him, he had propelled his body through the air. The Flygon was completely defenseless since she was preparing her attack, and so Kabutops slashed her with his scythes, creating two large gashes in the shape of an X across her chest. Blood sprayed from the impact as he collided with her, before falling to the ground and leaving her behind.
The Flygon struggled to keep herself flying as the pain increased with each movement, but the wound was deep and she slowly dwindled down to the ground where Kabutops was awaiting her. Not receiving enough oxygen due to the loss of blood, she collapsed on her stomach as she reached the ground, dirt and grime rubbing into her open wound.
"Whoa, this looks familiar!" the Gallade said loudly before making his voice raspy to try to imitate Pikablu, "Now tell me what I want to hear, or your children gets it!"
"You're not helping..." Kabutops sighed as he approached the shaking body of the Flygon. She looked up and saw him get nearer, hopelessly trying to get away. Unable to move, she closed her eyes in horror as a scythe covered in blood quickly approached her head.
But instead of feeling cold metal cutting through her neck, she felt a gentle pat on her head.
"Revenge is an endless cycle" Kabutops said with a stern voice, "You shall be the one to break it." The Flygon looked up again to see that he had touched her with the flat side of his right scythe.
"Pikablu had his reasons for fighting that Dragonite, and so you have your reasons for fighting him..." Kabutops continued, "I now absolve you of that responsibility. I will tell him of your plight."
"You... Think..." the Flygon said weakly, her voice quickly diminishing.
"Oi, Kabutops!" the Gallade shouted as he ran up to them, "Look at all that blood! We've got to get her some help soon, or she'll really die!"
"Hmm..." Kabutops said slowly as the Flygon couldn't keep her head up any longer and crashed her face down into the reddened ground, "Pikablu needs us too, you know."
"Yeah, but...!" the Gallade said with trace amounts of desperation in his normally cool voice, "We owe her for that Dragonite, and I'm not just letting her die like this! I'll teleport the two of us-"
"Three" Kabutops interrupted, "But I really am worried about Pikablu, so let us be quick."
"R-Right!" the Gallade replied quickly as he placed his arm on the Flygon and held out the other one for Kabutops to hold on to, "Come on, hurry up!" Kabutops tried grabbing on to the Gallade a little too fast, accidentally sticking his scythe into his arm.
"OW! Son of a-" the Gallade exclaimed in pain, as the three of them vanished, leaving behind nothing but a big crater, some blood and a large amount of hidden onlookers, all of them very surprised at this abrupt ending.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -Chapter End Notes:Before life, we are all equal in the sense that nothing matters.
But eventually we come to life, gaining unlimited potential.
The potential to do good deeds, as well as the potential to bring terror.
The new child might save the world or destroy it, or make no impact at all.
So in one sense, bringing death to someone unborn is redundant.
While in another, it is the greatest sin one can commit.
In this haze of uncertainty, only one thing is for sure.
That their fate shall forever be unknown, if they are never even born...