[Pokémon] The Trial of Juno Saga (PG-13)

[Neo Pikachu]

Have you uploaded rough drafts, somewhere? That would be entertaining.

They're on PokemonElite2000's forum, but I've made a lot of changes since those were done.

 

[Neo Pikachu]

Chapter 3
The New Homecoming​

I felt nothing for a long time. Then, slowly and carefully, I felt myself being lifted up, suddenly light as a feather and able to float freely and effortlessly. I didn't open my eyes, since I still wasn't sure where I was or if I really wanted to get up for that matter. Considering what I had just been through, I wasn't so sure I wanted to stare death back in the face again.

I could sense something bright and powerful behind my closed eyelids, but I didn't open them in fear of not knowing what it actually was. But then, I suddenly could feel my senses coming back. I could hear and feel things now, and only then did I slowly open my eyes. I didn't expect to see what I first saw, but then, very strangely, it had all come back to me, like I had opened a book upon my past life and read and absorbed every fine detail about it.

I could feel a wet and cool sensation under me, and I then lied down in it, thinking the battle was finally over and I could cool myself off in the water to relieve the agony that I had just gone through. But as I did it, I felt different. It was the strangest feeling, suddenly so foreign for one moment, and then in time becoming so familiar with every passing second. After I fell into the shallow stream, I pushed up on my tiny hands, and looked at my reflection in the sparkling water.

And then the memory became real. I looked into my shiny black eyes, and I realized I was Juno the Pikachu, a life that I had left behind years ago to continue on my journey as Jake Kossak. As I had realized, both Juno and Jake Kossak had died, leaving my soul, one that was diverged between two completely different worlds, finally at the end of it all. But how was it decided that I would spend the remainder of eternity as Juno instead of Jake Kossak? Was the life of Juno the one that I was really meant to live?

Regardless, it was all gone now. The machine gun fire was replaced by the tranquil sound of the flowing water, and the dirt and sand of the Orre wasteland was now a long mirror of water that stretched for miles between purple mountains as it traced its way back to the everlasting and brightly colorful sunset. I watched the white waterfall in the distance creating a cloud of mist into the pond the water flowed in, and then turned to look at the soaring Wingull head toward the horizon, and then disappear into the distance. It was a place that could only be possible in dreams…

As I slowly walked through the shallow water, trying to get used to walking as Juno once again, only one thought crossed my mind…

It was finally over. I didn't care whether we had won or lost, just so long as I could rest. I had remembered this place now. This was the place where I had been after I had died as Juno and continued my life as Jake Kossak. But now, both of those lives were over, ironically both of them dying in combat. Regardless, the days of living in those two worlds had passed. Tomorrow I would no longer stand, but instead find my comfort here, in this realm of tranquility and peace, a place where violence and hatred could never pierce its adamant foundations of placidity. Whether I did it as a human or a Pikachu, at this point, I didn't care. Somehow, as I was Juno now, there was a feeling of wholeness that wasn't there before when I had been human. I figured it was fate trying to tell me something…

And then, like the shadow of an angel, I had seen a winged figure emerge from the distance, never needing to beat her wings to stay afloat as she soared through serene wind that lightly blew around. After she drew closer and closer to me, I had been enveloped by a sensation of revelation as I had recognized the face of a genuine friend that I had left behind so many years ago. I looked upon Blazewing, my Latias, a true companion of mine that had died to save me on the hard battlefield long ago. I had seen in her eyes that while she was finally content to see me here, she still seemed surprised that it had occurred so early in time. Unfortunately, that's the way it was with war…

She had landed on the clear water, causing its mirror surface to ripple around her like a pulsing aura. She then turned to me, and looked upon me with her shiny, topaz, innocent eyes.

"You're here earlier than I thought you would be…" Blazewing had told me, looking into my eyes with a sign of dismay. "How could your journey as Jake Kossak be over so soon?"

"For the same reason I never lived a full life as Juno," I told her, feeling a bit melancholy about the whole thing. "War. No matter whether it's fought with firearms, blades, or whatever, it doesn't make a difference where the battle wages, war never changes, and it always ends the same way…"

I didn't want to think about what I had lost. I knew I had lost a lot during those last moments. I lost friendships and memories that were burnt to a crisp as I realized those moments would never be spent that way again. Those times had all met their end, but there would be better things to look forward to. I could feel it now, and I could sense that a new beginning was going to flourish off of that old beginning's end. I didn't need to think about those hard times anymore. Unlike other soldiers that had doubts there was life after death, I knew… I had something to look forward to for once, despite the price there was to get there…

"I'm glad I had another chance to see you again," I told Blazewing, having missed her a lot during those long years. "But we're free now. It's over…"

"It's been long time, Juno…" Blazewing had replied, looking off to the horizon, "But you're home now. I'm sure you'll love it here. They call this place 'Utopia,' the heaven of Pokémon."

It sure seemed like it. The cool breeze was refreshing, and the air was crisp and clear. No doubt that this was the perfect place to wash away all the pains and sorrow of the past lives. The hard burdens that I had gone through would no longer hold me down, for they were gone and could not find me here. What happened now wasn't up to me anymore. My time was done…

"How has Sita been?" I asked Blazewing, knowing it was also a long time since I've seen her.

"She's been wanting to speak with you for the longest time," Blazewing had told me, looking into my eyes. "Come, I'll take you to her."

She then turned around and let me climb upon her back. As soon as I had got on her and made myself comfortable, she then took off into the air, and I was instantly greeted with a pleasant wave of reminiscence as I remembered flying with her long ago. I had only been in this tranquil place for only a few minutes, and already I had been peacefully greeted with more contentment than I could ever experience in a normal lifetime. I couldn't help but smile as we flew between the purple mountains and as I gazed at our reflection on the water while we flew overhead. Truly these would be better times…

It was a shame that was all going to have to change…

We flew for many miles, but it didn't seem that long considering how peaceful the journey was. Truly I would find more comfort here after many years of hard struggles. Where was my family and friends now? Most of them were gone, but the very few I did have, I tried to hold on to for as long as I could. I've come across so many kinds of people, but almost all of them had to be left behind. To say the least, I moved on, and I became someone very different. Someone they might never recognize…

Blazewing had told me that we had crossed into the fields of Utopia after we left the purple mountains and crystal lakes behind to enter a vast landscape of green hills and valleys. I had never seen this area before, but when it was opened up before me, I couldn't help but be captivated by it. For once, the land seemed so untouched and unscathed. It seemed so different from the world before this…

Soon after, Blazewing had descended toward the ground, and I had seen Sita standing upon the grassy field, just waiting for me. Like me, she was also a Pikachu, and I had been very close to her long ago. But for some reason, she seemed different now. I didn't think ten years could bring so much change to someone, but at the moment, she seemed so uneasy. I couldn't imagine how, especially considering how peaceful and relaxing this place seemed to be.

After Blazewing had approached the ground, I hopped off and made my way toward Sita, feeling the gentle brushing of the blades of grass upon my feet as I walked toward her. However, before I even had the chance to say hello, her anxiety seemed to rob her of any passion she had to rejoice over my privilege to see her again. I knew at that moment it had to be pretty severe…

"I take it that you were deprived of a normal life..." Sita had concluded from my early presence. "The dawn has just passed, and yet you are already here."

"Unfortunately, war and combat exist everywhere," I told Sita as a conclusion, trying to explain why was here so early. "They all start for different reasons, but they never change and the result is always the same."

I would have rather met Sita on happier circumstances, but that clearly wasn't the case anymore. Sita, Blazewing, and I all knew that I was here earlier than I should have been, that even if the human life I once had was trivial to the seemingly crucial role of Juno that I had to fulfill, it was still a life that was not fully lived. And I knew we could have lived more peacefully if both of us had the chance at a normal life, which neither of us had considering we both died at the ends of violence. Despite that, I still had questions. I wanted to know why I was here, for I still didn't understand what was really going on…

"I still find it strange to be here," I had told her, looking into her eyes. "Is this really where I belong? And really, who am I in the end? Am I really Juno who destiny seems to guide me towards, or am I really Jake Kossak, the human I was originally born as?"

Sita had turned away a bit, and still seemed very downcast. I could tell it seemed like even while she was here in this realm of peace, she was still unable to rest from the tensions that surrounded her all the time. I could see this had been very hard on her and I only wished there was something I could have done to ease her emotional pain…

"In one world, a beautiful garden is spread out for nine acres in memory of you," Sita had told me, still looking off to the side as she recalled a vision. "It is here where your body lies. There, they commend you for all your acts of bravery, and how you fought in the name of justice, peace, and freedom. Your name and legacy has been etched into solid stone so memory of you would never cease, and for the longest time, many Pokémon had gone there to pay tribute to you and find new inspiration for their morale and loyalty…"

And then, she looked toward me, and suddenly I felt very different and seemingly cold inside…

"In the other world, you are one white cross among fields and fields of other white crosses," Sita continued, looking into my eyes. "The mourning space is only a few feet, and in that world, no one remembers what you went through in your fight for justice. Upon that cross, there is no name or memory of who you were or why you were there. Please tell me, Juno, which legacy would you rather live…?"

It became clear to me then as Sita's revelation was the equivalent of a spiritual slap in the face. I never considered what I had left behind ten years ago and what effect it might have had on the Silver Rebellion. All those memories of fighting and determination to try and pull through to be a part of that brotherhood had suddenly came back again. After that, I knew which destiny I wanted to live from now on. Deep inside, it happened the very moment I was back in Randy's living dreamworld and I decided to become Juno. I stepped into something far deeper than I could ever imagine, but all the signs around me kept telling me time and time again that it was meant to be… as if Jake Kossak's only purpose in life was to become Juno so that he and Blazewing could emerge from a world where only dreams are possible to take on challenges and legacies that went far beyond anything I could have imagined. I shut my eyes for a moment and knew that I needed to continue down this path and not try to go back. But even now, I didn't want to.

To me, Jake Kossak was dead. He died in the trenches of Orre, killed by machine gun fire, and was laid to rest bearing no name or no memory. Everything from that life was gone now, seemingly killed for the purpose of closure and nothing more. I had left so much of it behind, and that too, was buried with the rest of him. I was done with saying goodbye to that past life, more than prepared to cast it away and to never live it again. I knew from that point forward, I told myself I would only live one destiny now, and it was here. In truth, I wanted to live forever as Juno, and I sincerely hoped that soon, if someone mentioned the name Jake Kossak to me, I would laugh and have no idea who or what they were talking about.

Still, I couldn't imagine why Sita was upset. I knew the two of us hadn't lived the way we could have lived and we never truly had the chance to live it together, but from what I could see, we could do it now. I didn't have a war to fight, or threats of enemies charging at the gates to steal and rob of us everything we had worked for. Here, in Utopia, we were safe and there was new life here. In truth, the past was a book I had closed and threw aside to collect the dust of forgotten memories.

"I understand Sita, but it's over now," I told Sita, trying to help her relax some of the tension away. "Please, let's just try to rest in peace. The fighting has gone and passed. You've done all that you can. Blazewing and I are here for you, now. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end, and I promise our new beginning will be a beautiful one."

Still, she looked uneasy, and I didn't even know why. I knew how the past war really brought her down, but it was over. Why was she still so upset?

"Sita, the war is gone," I continued, still trying to convince her while hoping this depression she was fighting wouldn't be eternal. "Shouldn't you be happy now that The Silver Rebellion lives in peace?"

And then, she looked toward me with a glance of dismay, as if I had something completely and utterly wrong. I still didn't know what was wrong with her, and now I could feel it was beginning to rub off on me…

"The Eternal Silver Apex no longer lives in anything close to peace," Sita had informed me, looking very downcast. "Immediately following the war against The Crimson Stars, a nation by the name of Black Onyx, an Imperial kingdom that had taken advantage of the weakened state of our nation, had assaulted our people without mercy. Juno, every one of our cities has become a graveyard. Even the great city of Symarix fell under their control."

I felt sick. If there was anything that I wished could have been a lie, it was that. In fact, I believe I felt even worse than Sita did at that moment as she told me this traumatizing revelation. Was it really too late now? Was everything we fought for suddenly lost? I couldn't imagine that the great city of Symarix was nothing now. It seemed so hard to believe and I wanted to see the situation for myself, but I already saw it in Sita's eyes, and it had a devastating effect on me…

"They mostly live underground now, just hiding and trying to get back on their feet," Sita told me, looking miserable about it. "They only have three underground settlements now, all of which are kept a secret. They used to come to your gravesite to pray until it was burned down to the ground, and all that was left were charred stones. Juno, as much as you did for them, it's hard to see that you were ever really there…"

No. I couldn't imagine what Symarix would look like as a fallen city, especially after remembering how beautiful it was. After I looked down at the grass before my feet, I then felt a sudden urge. For a moment, in a place that should have been a realm of eternal rest, I was as restless as I could have ever been.

"I can't stay here anymore," I told Sita, suddenly not wanting to be in Utopia regardless of how much it tried to relieve my tension. "I can't sleep while they struggle to keep alive. We can't go back to the misery we lived in. We can't disappear after all we have come through. I can't allow that to happen. Not to them…"

"Most of us find it nearly impossible to go back to the life we lived before," Sita told me, trying to find an answer. "We were meant to leave the pressures and burdens of the past life behind. Juno, you of all are the most deserving of the peace and tranquility that comes with this life. I won't deny that I can't help but grieve for their loss, but I need to realize my time there is done…"

"Well mine isn't," I told Sita, making up my mind about it. "I didn't fight hard for them only to have them fall to yet another ruthless enemy. Should I let all their prayers go unanswered? No, that's not fair. Sita, I hope you can forgive me, but I'm going back to Kivistal any way I can. They believe in me, and I believe in them. How can I rest here comfortably when they need my help?"

In my eyes, I had already left this place behind. All I needed now was a way to do it…

 

[Neo Pikachu]

Chapter 4
The Second Departure​

I couldn't rest, not when the ones who I had struggled so hard to save were being lost. Was I really dead? Was everything meant to be lost in the end? I didn't think so. There was a reason why I came to Kivistal in the first place, and it wasn't to have all my efforts lost and to have the citizens of Symarix submerged in hopelessness. With those thoughts in my mind, I had turned to Sita, and looked into her shiny eyes.

"I have to go, Sita," I told her, feeling a bit in dismay at the thought of leaving her behind when we finally managed to reunite after many long years. "I'm afraid of what the people of the Eternal Silver Apex are going through. From what you've told me, I'd hate to see what their lives have become, but I can't stand here and do nothing about it. If I need to be there to bring them back to what they used to have, then I have to return to them. But that means I'll have to say good bye, one last time..."

I knew it was going to be hard on her, but I was hoping that once this last conflict was done and resolved, we could finally rest in comfort, knowing the ones we had done so much for could finally live in eternal peace, untouched by those who would want to destroy it. Even though we had waited so long for it already, I still didn't feel like the time was right.

"I want to be with you, but I can't grab the courage to stop you, Juno," Sita replied, looking down at the grass as she gathered her thoughts. "For even though a part of me begs for you to stay here, the other part beckons for you to continue the destiny that you and you alone were meant to have."

I hated to leave her alone once again, but I knew we could never be happy again if she couldn't spend the rest of eternity in peace and comfort if this was allowed to continue. And after they had done so much for me, how could I leave them behind to perish? There was no way I could do that…

"The prophecy mentions nothing about this," Sita told me, looking down for a moment and then looking back up again, "but I have realized that not all things that are meant to be are written down on paper. There are thoughts and feelings that we have that show we are the ones in control. So please, Juno. Don't worry about me. The very presence of you within their company will be more than enough to bring back their spirits."

There was a part of me that didn't want to leave this place behind, but finally I put that feeling aside, and then grabbed the will and courage that had prepared me to finally depart, and say goodbye once again to the one that had been so close to me.

"Head to the Opal Fields, Juno," Sita instructed me. "There you will find the Well of Harmony sitting in the middle of a vast garden. That well can take you anywhere, as long as you have your mind set on the location. All you need to do is concentrate, and then plunge yourself into the water."

"I will miss you Sita, but I won't forget about you," I told her, preparing to climb upon Blazewing's back. "But please, don't grieve while I am gone. There will be a time when we can finally rest in peace. Look forward to it in the future."

Once I was seated comfortably upon Blazewing, I said a final goodbye to Sita, and then, we had taken off. It felt awful to leave her behind yet again after having only just spent a few minutes with her. Still, as much as the thought burdened me, I couldn't let her stay in this kind of pain, and I wouldn't tolerate the destruction of my old comrades either. To think that they had gone through so much hell only to fall to yet another adversary was unbearable. In my eyes, the war was not over, not when my comrades were still fighting.

The journey to the Opal Fields was a long one, one that I didn't expect to take to last for so many miles. For the first time, I entered deep into what this Utopia was supposed to be. We saw nothing but miles and miles of tranquil fields, tropical forests and peaceful mountain ranges. There was an endless feeling of peace here, and I couldn't help but want to taste it for just a moment. Still, I had to restrain myself and focus at the task at hand. I didn't know how long it would be before I would see this place again, but for now, I was going to have to leave it behind.

Finally, we had arrived at the Opal Fields, which were vast and seemingly endless plains of glittering white grass. Trees were only occasional, but their leaves were also a pure white and they also glittered in the colorful light of the sunset sky. As we flew overhead, we also passed rivers of water that was so clear, the stone channels and the ripples of the water's surface was the only indication that there was actually water there.

Miles and miles passed until we had arrived at a golden well, which I figured must have been the Well of Harmony. It was smaller than I thought it would be, only being twice the size of a normal well. Still, there was just enough room for Blazewing and I to dive into the water together.

"So there it is," Blazewing had told me, even though I pretty much figured it out already. "There is an inscription on it that says 'The Gateway for those who cannot rest.' It's the only real exit from this place."

"Then let's go," I told her, steeling myself to see what Kivistal had become. "All we need to do is concentrate on the place we need to go. Just remember what Kivistal used to be, and with any luck we should be able to reach it."

"Hopefully…" Blazewing replied, a bit skeptical, "Well, hope you're ready, because I am."

I then told her to go for it, and then she charged forward at a very fast and furious speed toward the well. I could feel the wind rushing past me furiously as she picked up the pace. Then, when she had picked up enough speed, she arched downward directly toward the well. I then shut my eyes, and tried to remember the world of Kivistal, and how it used to be. Even though it was still ten years ago, I managed to get a clear picture of what Symarix used to look like, with its giant buildings, busy streets, and all its splendor. And then all of a sudden, I felt the rush of water all around me. Even though I was unable to breathe, I still focused on that picture in my mind.

And then I lost consciousness of everything…

 

[Neo Pikachu]

Chapter 5
Dark Surroundings​

When I had finally awoken, I took a glace around me, and I immediately felt like I landed in Hell itself. It was the most suddenly abrupt transition I had ever felt. The first thing I saw was the sky, and it looked like a river of blood in the air. Words couldn't describe how much of a macabre thing it was to wake up to. Meanwhile, to accompany this grim sight, the only thing I could hear was a faint howling sound that never seemed to cease. However, as bad as it was, it felt far too real to be a twisted nightmare.

When I finally sat up, I saw the ground, charred black from what I guess must have been a long exposure to fire. I could still see the remains of several trees, only now they were twisted, bare, and lifeless, like black, nightmare hands reaching up and yearning to snatch something out of the horrific and dismal sky. Scattered around were several carved stones and pillars, which looked like they could have once been true pieces of art now left in ruins. Once I stood up, I felt the cold air blow past me more closely now, and when I backed up a bit, I bumped into something hard and firm behind me.

I quickly spun around in fear, and realized it was another stone, covered with soot and ash. The oily, black ash had deeply layered the stone mount and the small tribute statue itself. I took my paw, wiped away the ash, and for a moment, my breath was stolen from what my eyes had beheld…

I then came to the shocking revelation that the very place where I now stood was in fact my gravesite. Nestled above the stone mount was a stone statue of a valiant Pikachu riding upon a faithful and loyal Latias. Carved into the stone mount itself were the words, "Juno: We believe. We remember."

And I was surrounded by the remnants of it. All the fallen pillars and stones, and all the work that had been put into this place was all for me, a tribute on behalf of the Silver Apex to thank and honor me for all that I had done to save their nation. Only now, it looked like Hell itself. The entire gravesite had been desecrated by the forces of the Black Onyx Imperials. Meanwhile, Blazewing looked at me, feeling seriously uneasy…

"This is…?" She said, quivering from the sight.

"I can't believe it…" I told her, never thinking I would stumble upon such a thing. "They did all this… and now its gone…"

I could only barely manage to look at this place. Never once did I think I would one day look upon the location to see where I was buried, only to see it scorched to the ground and fallen apart. I turned around to look at the stone once more, and suddenly I heard a noise in back of me. Then they started to come from all around, and then we turned around, and were exposed to yet another hideous sight.

It appeared to be a group of soldiers, all Pokémon wearing black uniforms and carrying long silver rifles. The one in the center, an Azumarill, appeared to be the leader of the group, since he was wearing more medals than I could count. Blazewing had taken cover behind the stone to stay out of sight, but I only realized we were being watched when it was too late. However, since they only saw me… they couldn't make the connection as easily…

"Well, well, well," The Azumarill stated in a pompous tone. "What do we have here? A completely naked Pikachu. You must be from the Silver Apex, mustn't you?"

I could smell evil a mile away, and this twisted soldier was absolutely reeking with it. I could already tell these were the same fanatics that had attacked the people of the Silver Apex. I didn't even want to look at them. If these maniacs were really the Black Onyx, the thought of having to deal with their wretched filth was enough of an overburdening tribulation I was hoping I wouldn't have to endure.

"I am the Elite Commander Cythan of the Golden Diadem League," The highly-decorated Azumarill introduced himself out of egotism. "Tell me, ruffian, what is your name?"

I was silent. Instead, I looked away a bit at the other soldiers. Among them was a Magmar, a Vigoroth, a Nuzleaf, and a few others. I also caught sight of three Altaria, which looked like they were used more for transportation with all the ordinate leather riding gear that was wrapped around them.

"Are you going to answer me or not!?" Cythan shouted, looking very impatient and aggressive. "Look at me, you hideous creature!"

I couldn't help but look into his angry eyes. After I looked deep inside them, I could tell he had already slaughtered countless members of the Silver Apex and I could almost hear their unanswered screams and cries. I could almost feel their lost souls screaming from within the hatred in his eyes, yearning for retribution and revenge. Meanwhile, he looked into mine, and then he looked at me differently.

"Well, I'm surprised you even made it this far into our territory," Cythan stated, almost chortling sarcastically. "We've already caught and killed several of your kind at this same site, praying to some lost soldier you call Juno. If you're here for that same purpose, you're about to find out you only just wasted your life coming here."

I then looked up to him, and the stared coldly into his eyes. I almost found it funny that he knew about me, but then again after meeting me face to face, he still didn't realize who I was…

"Why do you ask for my name when you already know what it is?" I asked him, watching him very carefully.

"What are you saying?" Cythan asked, having no clue as to what I just said.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I looked at the other soldiers, who just stood there confused with their guard completely down. I then turned to them, and focused hard on the world around me. Suddenly, they seemed to move like they were wading through thick sludge. I then leapt toward them, flying toward them with excessive speed. I flew toward the first of the soldiers. I slammed my fist into Nuzleaf's face, and suddenly the rifle was released from his grasp completely in shock. I quickly grabbed it, and furiously fired upon the other soldiers. As they tried to fire upon me, it wasn't very hard to dodge the slow moving bullets.

But after some time, I realized there was a lot more than I could handle at the moment. I then headed back for the large headstone, and took cover behind it. I couldn't fight them all off at once, since there were far too many of them. As their bullets struck the stone, I then took a deep breath, emerged from behind the headstone and returned fire upon them, watching the path of every bullet as I aimed for the most vital areas. Within only thirty seconds, I had the entire squad downed, except for Cythan. I then quickly turned around, aimed the rifle at him, and then I released my focus. Time quickly returned to normal, and now I found him at my mercy. All he could do was step back, completely in shock. He dropped his empty rifle, completely unsure of my next move.

"You know who I am." I told Cythan in a firm tone.

"No…I don't…" He replied with uncertainty. "Who the devil are you?"

I had then signaled to Blazewing, and from beyond the stone, she had emerged and swiftly and gracefully flew before me, scattering the fallen ashes as the wind rushed around her. She then looked at Cythan with her angry topaz-colored eyes, and suddenly he knew that the one that had been buried at this very gravesite now stood before him and showed him what he was perfectly capable of…

"It can't be…" He stated coldly. "No… this is impossible! What… what are you, some kind of ghost!?"

But, after some cold moments, his disbelief was slowly fading away. He shook his head, realizing that I was more than some specter out to haunt him. What he saw before him was a soul that would refuse to rest until all calamity had come to a complete end.

"They had clear and evident proof you were killed ten years ago!" He shouted furiously, trying to find ways to doubt what he saw before him. "They found your body burnt to a crisp! Even your own people think you're dead! How the hell is this even possible!?"

"It is true that I gave up my life to protect my people," I told him in a firm and serious tone looking down upon the charred ground of my gravesite. "They had wanted a life of peace for so long. But after hearing news of your reign of terror upon my people in my absence, I could not rest in Utopia any longer. Not while my people suffered, and their prayers went unanswered."

For a moment, the very thought appeared to have stolen his breath away. However, that cold, dark moment was suddenly shattered with his sudden burst of hideous laughter. He then looked at me with disbelief, and couldn't help but smile.

"Even if you are Juno, you're already too damn late!" Cythan cried in amusement. "Your magnificent Silver Apex has fallen to the ground in shame. It was rather easy considering they were so worn out from the war with the Crimson Stars. What were you doing in the meantime, watching the whole spectacle with your betting chips on the table? Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"I'll give you one last chance," I told Cythan seriously. "Tell your leader to leave my people in peace and to give back our country and everything you've pillaged and stolen from us, or you'll have to deal with me. And trust me, I've dealt with more than you could ever imagine…"

But, he refused to listen. I didn't understand why he didn't even want to heed my warning, but it didn't take much to see that avarice had clouded him along with the rest of his army. I could see that countless victories and triumphs had made the Black Onyx Kingdom horrendously arrogant and haughty, and that right now, they believed they were simply capable of anything.

"Juno, the Black Onyx Kingdom is far more powerful than the Crimson Stars ever were," Cythan laughed. "But, I think it would only be fitting for one of our finest soldiers to have the greatest honor of slaying the legendary Gold Rider. After all, no one alive holds that title. You'd make us very happy with that, Juno. It would do a number for our morale. And you would do well to be a good mutt and stay dead this time."

I grew furious from that comment, and then tried firing the rifle, but after a few clicks of nothing, I realized it was completely out of ammunition. In frustration, I threw the rifle down, and turned back toward Cythan with anger in my heart. Then, Cythan turned to one of the awaiting Altarias, paying no attention to me.

"Come, Laglacia," Cythan requested, summoning the Altaria to him.

After the blue dragon bird had spread its cotton swab wings and gently flew to Cythan, he climbed on the Altaria's back, and then looked back to me.

"It's you that should be given the warning, you wretch." Cythan told me as he prepared to leave. "Go back to the place where you came from. Your people are already dead. You can't do anything about it by yourself."

And then, the Altaria spread its wings, and then took flight into the air. I watched hopelessly as the other two Altaria began to follow him. After I saw them disappear, I was filled with uncontrollable anger.

But at the same time, I had never known such misery…

 

[Tuxedo Clank]

I am impressed. I just finished the first book and I really look forward to the next books. There were a few points I noticed, asside from the few grammer and spelling words that missed the check. They were mostly easy to figure out.

Whilst I thought the first section was incredible, it was a stroke of genius and originality, I noticed the second section reached a small cliche. It wasn't too big and was easy to ignore in the face of the storytelling but a prophecy seemed extremely familiar. The third section reached the point where the storytelling only held together by my suspension of belief.

A bloodsummoner just happening to be the most important person he met in that world and then her being killed and him getting that power and then defeating someone who had been practicing with it for thousands of years seems on the edge of unbelievable. Coincidences are the things that I find hardest to believe. If she was a blood summoner then why not fight back against Zander to stop him killing her? That bit seemed a bit weak to me.

Other than that, it was a very good read and I can't wait to start reading the second book.

By the way, if anything I said makes you unhappy or if you think I am wrong then please disagree with me; it happens oh so often.

 

[Neo Pikachu]

I am impressed. I just finished the first book and I really look forward to the next books. There were a few points I noticed, asside from the few grammer and spelling words that missed the check. They were mostly easy to figure out.

Whilst I thought the first section was incredible, it was a stroke of genius and originality, I noticed the second section reached a small cliche. It wasn't too big and was easy to ignore in the face of the storytelling but a prophecy seemed extremely familiar. The third section reached the point where the storytelling only held together by my suspension of belief.

A bloodsummoner just happening to be the most important person he met in that world and then her being killed and him getting that power and then defeating someone who had been practicing with it for thousands of years seems on the edge of unbelievable. Coincidences are the things that I find hardest to believe. If she was a blood summoner then why not fight back against Zander to stop him killing her? That bit seemed a bit weak to me.

Other than that, it was a very good read and I can't wait to start reading the second book.

By the way, if anything I said makes you unhappy or if you think I am wrong then please disagree with me; it happens oh so often.

Truthfully, I can definitely see where you're coming from and the whole reason was for it to be the parting gift that gives Juno a fighting chance, and to show that Zander's cruelty and how his heartless murder of Sita brutally backfired against him. Not to mention it further connects Sita and Juno together.

Looking back, I probably would have changed things and would have let Juno become the Blood Summoner while Zander had some other power. I think letting them have exactly the same thing was the mistake.

Still, learning these things will definitely help when I try to write a full fledged novel I hope to get published. I'll know not to make the same mistake twice and I thank you for pointing it out.

 

[Neo Pikachu]

Chapter 6
Harsh Misery​

For now, he was gone, but I knew that probably wouldn't be the last time I saw him. No doubt I could already feel my new enemy was even stronger than I had imagined. Like Zander and the rest of the Crimson Stars, they were already capable of mass destruction without mercy. All of the once thriving fields that had once belonged to the Silver Apex were covered in black and gray, with a dark red sky above. And here, I was surrounded with the presence of death, even my own as Blazewing and I stood among the ashen remnants of what had once been a memorial.

I slowly walked away from that charred gravesite, feeling the hard crust of the blackened ground below my feet. I knew there was danger everywhere accompanied with a constant pressure of lost hope. All I could think about was my purpose here. Was it even possible to bring up the already fallen Silver Apex up from a position even worse than before to fight an enemy so many times stronger? It seemed so unlikely, since at their current state, they had nothing to fight back with. No weapons, no manufacturing plants, and only a few surviving soldiers. I knew this would not be the same war as the one against the Crimson Stars. As bloody and as brutal as that was, we didn't even have that luxury.

We were alone in that barren land, lost like we were in a great black desert. The air around me changed from warm to cold in only a matter of seconds, while the wind continued to beat us. I knew there was no way I could fly on Blazewing's back like this, especially without riding gear. But as I walked and Blazewing, softly floated by my side, I could see for miles around, only there was nothing to looking at except for a sea of black shale around me, with a blazing sky above me that looked like blood and tar swirled together.

I struggled for another hour of walking, and still I found nothing and I didn't know where I was heading. My vision was blurring, my throat was dry, and I was exhausted, stumbling on my two feet just trying to get around. I few times, I looked to Blazewing, also looking horribly exhausted after trying to go against the fury of the wind that was blowing against us. After my foot had struck the shale awkwardly, I tripped and fell over, finding myself lying on my back, and looking directly up at the sky, immediately feeling sick and dizzy, looking up as if I was being hung upside down and being lowered into the fiery magma of a volcano. I then just shut my eyes, knowing that trying to see with them would only make things worse. I just tried to breathe, regardless of how rancid the air was. After some time, the howling sound had faded, and for a short moment, everything seemed to move so slow. I was too exhausted to move, so I let the silence pass over me as I closed my eyes…

* * *​

When I finally came to my senses, I was looking down at a red carpet, with my arms being held up. I felt so weak and tired, and I could barely move. I just wanted to fall to the ground and rest, but something or somebody was holding me up. Somehow, it didn't feel like I was outside anymore, but more like I had been dragged to some indoor area.

I then grabbed the strength to look up, and I saw I was in a highly decorated throne room, with ordinate furniture made of cherry wood and a floor that was made shiny marble. On the left side were giant windows, with crystal clear glass and an ordinate gold frame. All around the throne room were soldiers, dressed in the familiar Black Onyx military uniform. I looked to my sides and realized the ones holding me up and dragging me along were a Combusken and a Charmeleon, also obviously from the Black Onyx. Then, when I looked in front of me, I came face to face with the very king of the Black Onyx Imperials, an Ampharos dressed in very ordinate silk clothing. Standing around him were the rest of the Elite Guard Commanders of the Golden Diadem, also in uniform. I saw a Medicham, a Raichu, a Sneasel, a Grumpig, and last but not least, Cythan the Azumarill, who I had only met a few hours ago. I couldn't help but look down in dismay. I hadn't even been back for more than an hour, and already I had stumbled my way into a miserable failure.

"Truly pathetic," Cythan remarked in a disgusted pompous tone. "I say we just execute him and get it over with."

"Not yet, don't be so hasty, my dear Cythan," The Ampharos responded with a similar pompous accent, "I want to have some fun with him first. Let's make an example of him."

I really didn't need this. After grabbing the sliver of courage I needed to look up at his face, I stared up at him for the longest time, and I hated the way he was looking at me like I was some lower life-form.

"Welcome to the Black Onyx Kingdom," He told me sarcastically. "My name is King Skepter, and these are my loyal commanders. But you can call me 'your highness' if that would suit your fancy."

He then arose from his throne and walked toward me, not at all afraid or even mindful of whom I was. He bent over and looked at me with a slight look of disgust, as if he was looking at a squashed bug. I had spent only a few minutes with King Skepter and already I despised him…

"Tell me, vagrant," He continued, speaking in a lower tone now that he was closer to me, "You really say you are the legendary Juno, who defeated Zander single-handedly? That's what my compatriot has told me, but I still refuse to believe it."

I was silent. I knew it would probably send them all on a roll of laughter if I told them the truth, and the last thing I wanted was for them to be happy and merry at a miserable time like this. I kept my silence, refusing to even give him the satisfaction of answering his questions.

"Tell me, dammit!" He shouted, growing angrier. "If you do not, I will be forced to kill you either way."

"He is." The Sneasel quickly confirmed, looking at me with crossed arms.

Immediately, all eyes had turned to him, and he was silent for a few moments. Skepter then turned toward the Sneasel, and looked at him with curiosity.

"Really?" Skepter asked, looking quite surprised, "How can you be so sure?"

"Because back when I was part of the Silver Rebellion, I worked with him face to face," The Sneasel had told him. "I saw what he was capable of back then. But now, he looks pretty damn pathetic. He looks the same, but the Juno I knew wouldn't let himself get so easily captured."

I then realized who that Sneasel actually was. I felt a very sick and hard feeling in my throat as I remembered Vice, who had helped me back at Macomb. I couldn't understand what he was doing here though. Why did he betray us…?

"Hmm…" Skepter replied, thinking about it as he turned back to me, "if that's true, how can he still be alive? Those Silver Apex fools were convinced he was dead, enough to build an entire garden for his burial place. Sickens me though. Not even my ancestors were given that much…"

I found it impossible to feel any bit of sympathy for him. At least I had fulfilled their expectations of him rather than sit on a chair all day making ridicule of people while my armies made a grizzly massacre of Kivistal.

"Just why did you come back?" Skepter asked, looking at me curiously. "Truly you saw the fields of Utopia with your own black eyes. Why leave paradise behind, only to come back to this miserable stinking place, only to find your people have been exterminated?"

"Because of you…" I told him, just barely able to speak. "I can't rest… while my people suffer…"

He laughed, and I suddenly became very annoyed at that moment, but there wasn't much I could do about it. For a moment, I almost wished I had kept silent like I did before to avoid giving him further satisfaction. All I could do was stand there, suspended and held upward like I was crucified. And I had no choice, it was either look at him or look at the floor.

"Well, welcome back, Juno," Skepter snickered with delight. "I'm glad you could join us. I'd hate to say it, but we've already won the war. You seem to have arrived a bit too late…"

I didn't want to believe that, but everything around me was telling me otherwise…

The hardest part of trying to tolerate everything about this was being aware of the fact that there was nothing I could have done to change this around, even though they thought I could have. They didn't know I was separated from what was really going on as I lived on as Jake Kossak, but I knew they would never believe me if I told them that and I truly didn't want to. Right now, I couldn't understand why I had returned home as the human I obviously no longer was. If only I had been able to watch from the skies of Utopia before all this had happened, I would have seen this happening before the situation got so helplessly beyond reclamation and I might have been able to do something about it.

"Fine, we're done now," Cythan replied impatiently. "He's a menace to us and he should be executed. He alone killed my command squad and I don't look upon that lightly at all."

"Not yet, my dear friend." Skepter replied to Cythan, looking at him from the corner of his eyes, "That would be too easy. Plus that would only make him look like a martyr again if the Silver Apex ever found what we did to him."

Everyone around him was looking at Skepter oddly, like it would only be normal for me to be executed on the spot. Even I was surprised that he didn't just shoot me there and then. But then, the unexpected happened.

"What do you suppose we do to him?" Vice asked him, looking at him with a strange expression. "We can't let him go free..."

"Get me Cadbury." Skepter requested gently as he returned to his throne. "I need him for a few moments."

"Yes, your highness." Cythan had acknowledged, leaving his position.

I really had no idea who Cadbury was, and I could tell from the look in Cythan's eyes that he had no explanation as to why Skepter even wanted this guy, whoever he was.

It was only then that I was finally let go from the Charmeleon and the Combusken that had been restraining me, and I was able to stand on my own two feet. I didn't feel as weary at the moment, but still, I was a bit dizzy and tired. While Cythan had left the room, I had looked at everything around me in dismay. I looked out the window with a much clearer view, and I was astounded at the size of the city that lay just outside the window. I couldn't believe my eyes, but as soon as I started to comprehend what was going on, I heard an odd uproar.

"Well hello, hello, hello, my highness!" a cheery call had voiced out. "What kind of trick would you want to see today?"

I suddenly turned around to where the voice came from to see a Mr. Mime standing only ten feet away behind me, dressed in a colorful jester's outfit and smiling cheerfully. Every time he moved just a little, the bells on the tips of his jester's cap jingled a bit. He looked at Skepter with a happy expression, ready to entertain his master. Yet, oddly enough, Skepter wasn't smiling…

"I want to see you dance." Skepter replied in a firm tone.

"That's all?" Cadbury asked, seeming a bit surprised, "Well, sure thing, my Excellency!"

And then, he started dancing back and forward merrily while the bells on his cap jingled even more. I watched him for ten seconds, thinking the entire performance was truly idiotic, but I didn't say anything. Why King Skepter had specifically requested this, I really had no idea.

Then, when I least suspected it, Skepter had pulled out a black pistol that was in a small cubby besides his throne and pointed it at him. I then held my breath, just before the handgun had blasted out and spat a bright burst of flame. When I turned to the Mr. Mime, I saw he was struck perfectly between the eyes with ridiculous marksmanship, leaving a large bleeding hole. Only seconds later, Cadbury completely collapsed to the red carpet I was standing on, totally still and lifeless as a growing blood stain gathered around his head. Everyone just stood silently and stared at his dead body…

"Well, that finishes off that miserable excuse for entertainment," Skepter had remarked bitterly, putting the black pistol back where it belonged. "Instead, I want Juno to be our new jester."

"You've got to be kidding me," Vice replied in disbelief. "Why do you still want him to live?"

"Simply enough," Skepter replied, looking off to the side with a small smile on his face as he fantasized, "I want him to entertain me. I want him to share all his wonderful adventures with me, about how he defeated Zander and what happened to him after that. But the main important part is… I want him to look like a complete fool while he does."

Now this was insane. All I could do was look at Cadbury's dead body, and just watch the blood seep out of his head and soak into the red carpet right under him. I couldn't imagine myself doing what he used to do…

"Plus, I think Juno would be a much more appealing jester than that hideously stupid Mr. Mine," Skepter stated as he looked at the dead Cadbury. "I never laughed once with Cadbury, but hearing what Juno has to say should send me falling off my seat screaming hysterically."

To say the least, it was an incredibly sick and horribly deranged thing to do. Rather than kill me, he wanted to send a dark message to the little that was left of the Silver Apex by stabbing my credibly, honor, and pride in the heart. I just looked down and shook my head. Not even Zander would have sunk to this level…

Not very long after, I was taken to a prison cell, and was told to stay there and keep quiet. I was happy at least they decided to feed me, even though it was just table scraps of what everybody else didn't want at the evening feast. To them, I was their dog and they were enjoying every minute of it. Meanwhile, I had no idea what they had done to Blazewing and frankly, I really didn't want to know.

Hours later, they came back with the jester's suit and cap I was supposed to wear. I hated the sight of it, being totally in bright rainbow colors. After they showed it to me, they then forced me out of the cell to go down the long network of hallways into one of the dressing rooms. Once they followed me into the room and handed the suit and cap to me, I really didn't feel like putting it on, but considering they put me at gunpoint, I wasn't about to argue. After I grabbed the courage and put everything on, they then put on the white face paint, and when they were finished I felt like a total idiot.

And then they decided to make it worse. As if doing this to me wasn't bad enough, they wanted to go even further than that…

"Go get his Latias," The Charmeleon demanded from the Combusken, still gripping his rifle.

"What the hell do you need her for?" I asked bitterly, figuring they were do something just as malicious to her as well.

"King Skepter wants to see you fly around the throne room with her." The Charmeleon continued as the Combusken left the room, "We need to put make-up on her as well."

This was totally sick and demented, but as angry as I was, there was nothing I could do about it. Sure I could kill him and his stupid Charmeleon friend, but there was no way I'd ever make it out of here alive, even if I knew the way out. And as far as I knew, I couldn't give up hope for the Silver Apex. I could only hope Blazewing would forgive me…

After waiting for a few moments, the Combusken came back while two of his compatriots, a Blastoise and an Alakazam, assisted him with bringing the Latias to their intended destination. Once they arrived, they threw her on the ground in chains, and only then did they take them off.

"What on earth is going on!?" She demanded, wondering why this was all happening. "Juno! What did they do to you!?"

"You and your friend Juno are prisoners of the Black Onyx Kingdom," The Combusken told her. "But instead of executing you, King Skepter has decided he wants the two of you to entertain him as his new jesters instead."

Without a doubt, she was shocked and disgusted at the same time. She looked at me, and her eyes went down sympathetically. Then she turned to the Combusken and the Charmeleon, and realized she was going to have to through the same thing. I knew she would hate being made a mockery of, but we had no choice if we wanted to buy enough time to find a way out of here. Trying to fight our way out would just be a completely reckless suicide.

"Why are you doing this!?" Blazewing demanded, looking down upon the Combusken. "Is this really necessary?"

"You should consider yourself very lucky," The Combusken corrected her. "Every one of the Elite Commanders of the Golden Diadem thought for sure you and Juno were going to be executed. I myself thought so as well."

For a moment, she was silent. I knew she didn't want to go through this, and neither did I, but at that moment, she looked like she had given up as well. But while this was going on, there was only one thing I could think about…

Was this really better than being executed…?

 

[Neo Pikachu]

Chapter 7
The Flight of Shame​

Only about an hour later, they had completely gutted Blazewing's pride. She looked down in dismal sorrow after she looked into the mirror, seeing herself surrounded with colorful make-up with strings of flowers attached to her. She just looked away, unable to bear the sight of it.

"You had better not look that miserable when you go in front of King Skepter," The Combusken warned. "He's supposed to be laughing when you guys are in there. And if he's not laughing, you'll end up just like the last guy did."

Trying to smile at a time like this was easier said than done. How was I supposed to smile in front of the one who murdered almost everyone in the Silver Apex, made a mockery of my accomplishments, and who didn't believe anything I would ever tell him? Somehow, I was going to have to find a way out of here if there was to be any hope in making a comeback. All I tried to think of at that moment was how I would repay this misery back to him in pain.

Unfortunately, I wasn't given that much time to think about it, and it wasn't long before we were taken to the front door of the throne room, where inside, Skepter was stuffing his face with the evening dessert, just basking in delight of the destruction of my comrades. I didn't like it either and I really didn't feel like making a joke about it, but I needed Blazewing's cooperation for any hope to pull through this. I knew the last thing we wanted to do was entertain this tyrant after what he did, but we weren't left with much choice…

"Just remember," I softly whispered to her, "one of these days, he will be at our mercy, and it will be us who will make him miserable. If there's anything you should be smiling about when you enter into that room, it should be that, picturing his face with a grimace instead of delight."

"I'll try…" Blazewing replied in a soft whisper.

Soon after, the doors were thrown open, and immediately Blazewing took off into the throne room. We flew upward and then around and around the room, right above everyone as they watched us from their seats. We cheered in mirthless glee, throwing away everything we ever believed in and worked hard for just for a chance to survive this humiliation. We tried to do as many tricks as we could think of, from flips, last second turns and barrel rolls. Finally, I told Blazewing that we had probably done enough, and I told her to land before Skepter. Then, she flew down and then stopped when she reached the red carpeted floor, and I stepped off of her, facing Skepter as he was eating a piece of chocolate moose pie. I then noticed an obviously-pampered Flaaffy standing right besides Skepter, and I could only guess who it was…

"This is your new jester, father?" The Flaaffy asked Skepter in a snotty accent and pompous adolescent tone. "He looks like a real idiot."

That immediately caused Skepter to burst into laughter, dropping his fork, causing it to rattle on the plate due to the lack of control. After Skepter managed to calm himself down after laughing hysterically for a few seconds, he then looked to the Flaaffy and smiled.

"Actually Bartholomew," Skepter told his son, "this is Juno, the legendary Gold Rider."

And then even his son started laughing. He looked at me and stepped back, covering his mouth with his hand to hide the giggles.

"Him?" Bartholomew asked in disbelief. "The one who led the destruction of the Crimson Stars and defeated Zander? Father, you can't be serious. Look at him, he looks more stupid than a intoxicated Psyduck."

"Well, we made him look that way," Skepter responded, understanding his son's viewpoint. "We found him nearly parched to death in the middle of the desert after he had slaughtered Cythan's patrol squad. So instead of killing him, I decided he would be much better as an entertainer. You were entertained by his antics, were you not?"

As if having to deal with one of them wasn't bad enough, now I had Skepter and his little bratty son to worry about. And this whole entertaining thing was making me sick. I was supposed to be a warrior, not a clown like this…

"He needs a better finish, father," Bartholomew responded, pulling out his own slice of pie. "It was good, but a little too good. He needs to have a fault somewhere along the line. I'd like to see him… crash into something. Something very gooey and messy. Like a mud pie, same as this one, only much bigger. At least enough for him and his stupid bird to crash into."

"That can be arranged," Skepter responded, smiling at the thought of it. "In fact, you're right, I would fancy seeing that myself. And it should be big. I want to see him crawling out of it with his face dripping and his body smothered with chocolate pudding."

"But he needs get rid of that stupid outfit," Bartholomew continued, tearing another piece of cake away with his fork and putting it in his mouth. "He looks nothing like the real Juno, just more like some random idiot Pikachu. It would be far more amusing to see the real legendary Juno the way he's supposed look be the one to fly around in all his former glory… only to collide with a giant chocolate cake."

And just the thought of that was enough to send them both on a roll of laughter. This was getting ridiculous. Blazewing and I were certainly no little kid's toys, and I hated being forced to do all this nonsense just so some war criminal and his bratty son could find amusement in my misery.

"You can see it tomorrow, son," Skepter said to Bartholomew as he tried to comfort him. "It's late and you should be heading off to bed. Tomorrow is a busy day."

"But father!" Bartholomew whined to Skepter. "Just another hour? Please…"

After many complaints about nothing, Skepter's bratty son Bartholomew was finally sent up to bed and then put to sleep. Shortly after that whole matter was taken care of, Skepter then just turned to me, and smiled as he looked into my eyes.

"You know, I'm quite glad I decided to spare your miserable little life," Skepter told me, giving me a solid stare. "You're a lot more useful than I thought. And far more amusing on your first day than Cadbury ever was. You've made me happy, Juno. I'm sure you can live up to my expectations for many years to come."

I really hated hearing the sound of that. Still, I was silent and managed to keep that dopey smile on my face. After that, we were taken out of the throne room and then thrown into a shower stall where we finally got the chance to take off that annoying suit and wash away that irritating make-up. After we washed up, we were simply taken right back to the prison cell again. I tried to comfort Blazewing as she slept on the floor while I was on the suspended wooden bed, but she was tired and didn't feel like saying much after that. I then just pressed my head against the single pillow I was given, and then drifted off to sleep.

Even in the middle of the night, the two of us were awaken all of a sudden by that same blasted Charmeleon and Combusken, telling the two of us to get up. My eyelids still felt heavy and my vision was blurry, but still, I managed to get up before they did something violent.

"We're moving you to the dressing room," The Combusken told me. "Come with me."

"Exactly what for?" I asked, wondering why he would want us to sleep in there. "And who the hell are you two anyway?"

"The name is Borkan, and this is Mavrik," The Combusken told me, introducing himself and the Charmeleon. "And don't question your authority next time. You should be happy that King Skepter actually likes what you do. He wants you in a closer location to the throne room so he can see you perform more often."

This was a real joke. The two of them pulled us out of the room without any care how we felt. I tried to walk around, but I was awfully tried, and as soon as we reached the dressing room, I didn't care if there wasn't a bed around, I just collapsed to the floor and immediately fell to sleep.

I didn't even consider what hell I would have to go through that next day…

 

[Neo Pikachu]

Chapter 8
A Voice From the Outside​

I had spent that whole miserable morning in front of King Skepter, telling him about the life I lived as Jake Kossak while dressed in that same stupid outfit again. Just watching him giggle while eating a syrup-saturated French toast was one of the many things I truly hated about him.

"So…" Skepter interrupted, swallowing down a mouthful of his breakfast, "Where is Kossak now, Juno?"

"Well, he kicked the bucket after being shot down in the trenches of Orre." I told him in a comical tone while continuing the previous conversation, trying to make it sound as amusing as possible, "Boy, that whole thing was suicide. I knew it from the start."

"Then why did you go in there?" Skepter snickered, plucking away at the toast.

"Stupid I guess?" I asked, trying hard not to really consider what I was saying, "Funny thing about war is, if you croak, you never really find out how everyone else did during that battle."

He started laughing lightly at that, and then he looked at me closely.

"But don't you find out later in Utopia?" Skepter asked, looking at me with interest.

"Heh, by then you've forgotten about it and you couldn't possibly care less," I laughed mirthlessly. "You're too busy playing your golden harp on a fluffy white cloud to care about who's getting blown up to bits down there!"

And again, he started laughing out loud. After he calmed down, he simply looked away for a moment, and then looked back to me.

"Okay, you're dismissed," Skepter told me, letting me go for the morning. "I would like to see you back here in the evening though. Until then, see you later."

And like that, we left, cleaning ourselves off again and spending the rest of the afternoon doing absolutely nothing but waiting in the dressing room. Blazewing kept asking me when we were finally going to get out of here, but I kept telling her that I didn't want to take the risk until we were certain of which direction to go in. Ending up in the desert again like I did last time wasn't going to help us. Not to mention this city was enormous and would be difficult to escape from without help. And I knew they weren't going to give me a second chance if they found me again…

It was very easily discovered my only purpose here was to entertain Skepter, and do nothing else with my time here. When the evening had arrived, I was pulled out of my room again by Borkan and Mavrik and was told to wait by the front door while sitting on Blazewing. Ironically enough, they didn't want me to get dressed in that stupid jester suit this time. I realized that could only mean one thing…

"They're really going through with this!?" Blazewing asked in shock, thinking before it was all a joke.

"Hey!" Boris exclaimed, not liking Blazewing's tone of voice. "Keep it down. You already know what you have to do, but Prince Bartholomew has a special request."

I couldn't imagine what. For a moment, I felt like things couldn't possibly get any worse, but once again the Black Onyx was going to prove me how wrong it was to think that way while in their clutches.

"And what's this?" I asked Borkan, wondering what the Skepter's little brat of a son wanted me to do now.

"He wants to hear you scream 'for freedom!' just before you crash into it," Boris instructed. "He has just as much power over you as the king himself, so you'd better make him happy. And if you don't, you'd better start working on that scream of yours."

The only thing I was happy about was these charades really couldn't get much worse than this. Moments later, the doors were thrown open again, and we immediately took off, flying around the room the same way we did last time, only without wearing the stupid jester outfits.

When I finally caught a glimpse of the chocolate cake we were supposed to crash into, I couldn't believe my eyes. The whole thing must have been at least fifteen feet tall, large enough for even a Latias to get buried in it. Meanwhile, everyone was just watching us closely, just waiting for the inevitable moment…

"This is ridiculous," Blazewing remarked, just before we performed another loop around the marble pillar in the front of the room. "That thing is a monster…"

No, I couldn't deny that either. The whole thing was parked in the center of the room, where everyone could see it while they stood a nice distance away so they wouldn't be struck with the splatter once we rammed right into it. We performed a few more flips, turns, and rolls before I realized we needed to finish this off soon before everyone started to get impatient and suspicious. They still had us on a tight leash and until we found a way to loosen it, trying to bite back was foolish suicide.

"We'd better just get this over with…" I told Blazewing, seeing that performing a few more flips was only going to delay the inevitable. "Any longer and they're going to get annoyed…"

She sighed, and then she flipped around once more, heading right for the chocolate monstrosity.

"For freedom!" I shouted, feeling very idiotic while saying that…

And then, we forcefully slammed into the chocolate monstrosity, right in the middle. The biggest surprise was thinking it was all just chocolate breading, when really the inside of it was filled with chocolate fudge and pudding. I couldn't see anything as the top of the cake simply collapsed upon us, burying the two of us in a mountain of cold and thick chocolate sludge. I had to swim through it just to get my head up so I could breathe again. And when I finally came up, already everyone in the entire room was roaring with laughter. Moments later, Blazewing had emerged, and she looked completely humiliated. Meanwhile, I looked at my hands and body, and realized there wasn't a single inch of me not smothered with chocolate fudge.

"That was priceless!" Bartholomew screamed in laughter. "Ah father, it was truly, truly splendid!"

Skepter would have responded if he could have stopped laughing. When he could finally speak again, he quickly ordered us to sing the Silver Apex's Song of Justice and Freedom, a suddenly unexpected request just to take another stab at my heart for his own amusement. I had no idea where he found out about it, but the only thing I could be thankful for was that it was short. I don't know how I managed to remember it after all these years, but I supposed that was mainly because it was short and had more music behind it than lyrics. It probably would have been even more humiliating to suddenly tell Skepter I had forgotten it.

We then just started quickly, singing the whole thing while still standing in the chocolate pile. Singing this was probably even more humiliating than the "for freedom" request.

"When you see the fading light
And the darkness shadows cast
Stay true to the light, my friend
The blackest night will pass

Fires can only burn the skin
And the knives can only tear
Let nothing bring you fear
As our honor and will are still there

Have courage in your heart, comrade
With the dawn comes another way
Let justice be your friend and ally
We'll earn hope another day"

I sung it a little bit faster than usual to get it over with sooner, because I truly believed I had already done enough damage to my name for one night. We had finished, and the sad irony of the whole situation was the fact it was a song of hope being sung when so much of that had been lost for the Silver Apex. To King Skepter and the rest of his court, it must have seemed like a complete joke.

After I had finished and sent everyone on another roll of laughter, we climbed out of the chocolate mess and were taken to the showers again to wash off the chocolate goop. I couldn't believe how miserable I was…

Nothing changed for an entire week. I found out the hard way that Prince Bartholomew was a play writer, and he wanted me and a few others to act out his stupid and mostly unfinished plays. Every morning we would perform in front of them while they ate breakfast, trying to act out the idiotic and uninspired storylines the prince wrote. And since Prince Bartholomew and King Skepter "absolutely adored" my miserable experience last night, they wanted to see it again, only with a vanilla and strawberry cake instead of the chocolate one. And then the evening after that, Skepter wanted me to sing and dance the Ballet of Springtime Flowers, dressed as a Bellossom while throwing flower petals around. It didn't get any better than that, since every evening he wanted me to do something even dumber than the previous night. And for some stupid reason, each and every evening I was somehow involved with either landing or crashing into the evening dessert. Skepter himself told me that all good sensations should become traditions.

But Price Bartholomew got awfully greedy. To my surprise, he wrote a play about the Silver Rebellion invasion on Jasandax, only we lost this time, "very miserably" as he described it in the script. Ironically, he didn't realize that if we had actually lost that battle, the Black Onyx never would have had the chance to eliminate the Silver Apex themselves, since the Crimson Stars would have completely eliminated us. But, in this scenario, he was trying to get the best of both worlds for him.

He had me as the lead role, but the problem was that he needed other soldiers to play out the other parts. And I was even further surprised upon learning he went as far as ordering the capture of two of the scarce remaining Silver Apex soldiers to fulfill those roles. Both of them were Storm Riders, a Meowth by the name of Echo and a Totodile named Frost.

I didn't expect to see anyone from the Silver Apex here, but as soon as I realized who I was working with, I had decided now would be the time to act…

I had already spent more than enough time here…

 

[Neo Pikachu]

Chapter 9
The Unexpected Act​

As if I thought Bartholomew's actions couldn't get any more careless, we had all met in the same dressing room that morning. Needless to say, Echo and Frost nearly passed out upon seeing me, still alive and being held captive. Still, I couldn't say much with Borkan and Mavrik still around. They watched us with sharp eyes like a paranoid Fearow, so trying to scheme anything wouldn't have worked.

"Are you really Juno, the Gold Rider himself?" Echo asked me again for the fifth time.

I had told her already, and this time I just gave her the look. Just about the only prop I was allowed to use this time was a fake plastic gun, which really looked nothing like the actual caliber rifle I had even used on that day. I looked it over, seeing the whole thing was pretty silly looking. Then, I became curious and looked at the rifles Boris and Mavrik were holding. I got a glance at them, and realized there really wasn't all that much difference between the fake gun and their real ones. So the question I had to ask myself was… would anyone ever notice? Considering the distance we would be in the air and the speed we would be flying around the room, the reply was simple.

No they wouldn't…

My next plan was trying to figure out how to kill Borkan and Mavrik without having them fire once. If they fired at any time, forget it, we'd have the entire Black Onyx army in here and we'd be done for. I was still at the dressing bench while they were at the door, and I needed for them both to come over here so I could grab their necks without making too much noise. I pulled out the script again, looking through the pages and trying to look confused as I went through them…

"Are you almost ready?" Boris asked, looking at his watch and realizing we were running out of time, "How much longer is it going to take?"

"I'm just not completely sure what the prince wants us to do while saying these lines in the fourth act," I responded, pretending to read the script in confusion. "Does it say it anywhere? I really want to make sure I get this right."

Meanwhile, Echo and Frost just looked at me, wondering what was going on. Then, Boris came over and looked at the script. He too, was instantly confused having never read the thing before. I tried not to laugh, since Bartholomew's scripts must have seemed more confusing to him than a calculus exam would seem to a third grader.

"I don't know either," Boris admitted as he gave a shrug. "I can't tell Act 4 from any other act in here."

"Let me look at it," Marvik said as he rolled his eyes, thinking he was obviously smarter than Boris, enough to tell us exactly what Bartholomew wanted us to do.

Then he had a go at it, and I realized now was our chance to act, since both of them were right next to us and very distracted. I looked to the table, and found the craft knife that I had left there earlier. I then grabbed it, and before either one of them could notice me, I drove the sharp knife into Marvik's neck when he least suspected it.

"What the hell!?" Boris stepped back in bewilderment.

I then kicked the gargling Marvik aside, and tried to grab Borkan's throat. Once Echo and Frost caught on to what I was doing, they also assisted me, and Boris found three sets of hands around his neck, squeezing the life out of him. While Boris tried to use his own hands to slash at us, Frost and I held down his arms with the two hands we had left, leaving him with no way out.

"You'll… never… win…" Boris gargled, unable to breathe.

"This may be one small victory for the Silver Apex today," I told him before he was about to die, "but it will become our triumph over the Black Onyx tomorrow."

And then, he fell limp in our hands, and we let him go. Already the first part of our escape had been done correctly. But now we needed an actual way out. I imagined that no one would be checking this room for a while, but still, our time was limited.

"What do we do now?" Echo had asked, looking at the two fallen guards.

"We'll use the central window in the throne room," I told her, picking up Boris's rifle. "We perform the first two acts, and right at the part where Bartholomew wants us to pretend we're retreating, we fire at the window and fly through it."

Already, Echo and Frost were pleased that they finally found a way to escape, but I could tell they wanted more.

"But why not kill King Skepter and his son before we escape?" Frost asked, wondering why we couldn't take them out as well.

"Once you fire those guns, you have about three seconds to get out of there before they begin firing upon you." I told the two of them, knowing how fast Black Onyx soldiers are to react, "Trust me, you try to kill them and you'll only get killed yourself. You would be lucky to even hit either of them, never mind kill them both."

They both sighed in disappointment, but I already knew we were running out of time. I quickly handed them the two rifles, leaving myself with nothing. But I knew I didn't need a gun to be able to fight back.

"Come on, we need to get going," I told the two of them, grabbing a fake gun to use for the acting. "If we don't hurry to the throne room, someone is going to think something is up."

Then, we headed to the doors of the throne room. Once we arrived, two handlers, a Scizor and a Typlosion had been standing by with the Pidgeots that belonged to both Echo and Frost. Once the chains were removed, the Scizor and Typlosion left in a hurry, their minds too preoccupied with something else to notice Borkan and Marvik were both missing.

Once we were all set and prepared ourselves, we threw open the doors, and we flew inside. After the doors shut behind us, we then started the acting, performing Act 1 just the way Bartholomew wanted it. I knew that in order to get their guards down, they needed to believe everything was normal.

"The enemy is upon us!" Echo shouted out, acting out her lines.

"We need to keep moving forward!" I shouted to the both of them, acting like I was actually shooting something.

Most of the time during the play we were in the air flying around, pretending we were fighting an invisible enemy. Bartholomew just watched us from below, smiling at the way we were acting. So far, everything was going well, and no one suspected anything of our plan. Despite the fact Bartholomew had written all of us completely out of character, we still managed to make the sloppy play convincing… which was definitely not an easy task.

Then Act 2 came around, which was mostly my part. To no surprise, Bartholomew wanted me to look like we were failing to even get near the walls of the imaginary Jasandax Base, and that we needed to call in more reinforcements. In truth, the way Bartholomew had written this, it seemed like Frost, Echo, and myself were the only ones attacking that day. Either that, or the rest of the Silver Apex army were nothing but invisible lemmings that were completely hopeless at fighting.

"Come on!" I shouted, acting desperate. "We can't fall behind now!"

"But this is suicide!" Frost complained, flying around wildly as if he was being shot at from all directions. "We need to retreat! We can't go on any further!"

That was the end of Act 2, and then I said the one line that wasn't at all in Bartholomew's script. But the funny part was no one knew about it except him and us…

"I guess you're right!" I admitted, as if I was continuing the play. "There's only one way to escape now."

Then, the three of us flew toward the central window. Frost and Echo quickly opened fire, and everyone nearly jumped out of their seats upon seeing and hearing that the guns they were carrying were actually real. Instead of trying to attack us, they were immediately on the defensive, giving us just enough time to make an escape but nothing more. Just seconds after the central window was shattered into pieces, Blazewing and I flew outside, with Echo and Frost close behind. After we flew out of the building and among the rest of the buildings of Monaraca, the Black Onyx capital city, I realized Frost and Echo were flying south, likely where the last remaining forces of the Silver Apex were stationed.

We were out of the cage for the moment, but we still had a long way to go before we were out of enemy territory…

 

[Neo Pikachu]

Chapter 10
Inner City Pursuit​

We flew briskly above the many skyscrapers of Monaraca, trying to fly through the city as fast as we could. I didn't know if the Altarias of the Black Onyx Kingdom were faster than the Pidgeots of the Silver Apex, but I knew it wouldn't be long before I would find out…

As we flew through the massive metropolis, I couldn't believe the sight. Unlike the dark skies of the Silver Apex, the Black Onyx Kingdom still got perfect sunlight, just like the skies I had seen as Jake Kossak back in Orre. Meanwhile, the streets below us were infested with vehicles and traffic, while hundreds of flashing and flickering neon signs and television screens overhung outward from the lines and lines of office and apartment buildings. Every building was huge, most of them being hundreds of stories tall. Still, we didn't pay much attention to anything, just on the path ahead that would lead us out of the city as soon as possible.

We flew a good ten minutes through the massive city before we encountered our first wave of resistance. I was beginning to think no one had been told we escaped until I started hearing gunfire behind us, from two Altaria riders, a Wartortle and a Sandshrew. So much for getting away unseen…

"Infidel!" The Wartortle shouted between firing blasts, "You will not escape!"

I turned to him, and focused my energy. My red cheeks then flared with an intense amount of electricity, and I directed the blast of thunder right at the Altaria he was riding on. However, the blast missed him by only a few feet, just because I didn't compensate for the usual speed. Trying to hit an Altaria was much different than trying to hit a Skarmory. They weren't as fast as the steel birds I had been so used to striking down.

"Aim for the mounts!" I shouted to Echo and Frost as we tried to dodge the incoming fire, "They can't fly without their mounts!"

Immediately, Echo and Frost returned fire, first on the Sandshrew rider's Altaria. The head of his Altaria was struck five times before she threw the Sandshrew forward from the lack of control, only to send him plummeting three thousand feet into the busy traffic below.

"Damn you!" The Wartortle shouted in fury, trying to return fire.

However, his Altaria was shot viciously in the face and sides from the incoming fire, immediately throwing him off his flying mount. I watched him sail through the air, hopelessly waving his arms and legs, screaming loudly just before he slammed into a flashing green and red "Star Saffron" neon sign, and was horrifically electrocuted seconds later as the sign exploded, throwing sparks in all directions.

Still, despite the conflict, we kept moving forward, even though we could still see plenty of buildings ahead of us, even for many miles ahead. We still had a long way to go before we free, and already things were getting hectic. I could only imagine King Skepter back in his throne room, infuriated beyond imagination as he was directing his forces to pursue and eliminate us.

Three more minutes passed of furious flying, and we continued to move quickly through the buildings. And then, seconds later, I had realized they set up a blockade in front of us, with five Altaria riders just waiting for us to arrive. However, the only problem was we were moving too fast to make a quick turn, so our only choice was to head forward.

Immediately Echo and Frost opened fire, and I used my concentration and focus and suddenly I could clearly see all five riders. I then prepared another Thunderbolt, and sent the destructive fork of thunder and lightning at one of the riders, a Drowzee who hadn't even opened fire yet. Instantly both he and his Altaria were blasted with an extreme amount of power, throwing them both in opposite directions and then falling all the way down to the streets below.

Frost managed to wipe out one of the targets he was aiming at, but Echo had only missed by a little. Still, all three of us managed to fly right past them, leaving only three of them behind us. They hadn't prepared for us to be so fast, so it took quite some time before turning around to chase us and grabbing the strength to finally catch up.

When they finally did, both Echo and Frost fired before they even had the chance. The first to go was a Treecko and his Altaria, but then we instantly ran into a very bad problem…

"There's no ammunition left!" Echo shouted, trying to fire her empty firearm with nothing coming out.

And Frost only had a little left before his rifle spat out the last bullet in the magazine. That left us with no rifles, two angry Altaria riders behind us, and miles and miles of Monaraca still ahead of us.

"Head downward!" I shouted to the two of them, already making the descent myself, "It's the only way to fight back!"

The two of them didn't ask questions, and immediately we found ourselves flying up and down, trying to avoid all the suspended poles, traffic lights, and neon signs of the Monaraca streets. We flew only a few feet above the trucks and other vehicles below us, often sending one car banging into another from the confusion as we flew through each intersection. I had looked behind me for a short instant to watch as one of the Altaria riders had forcefully slammed right into a container truck just after it turned through the intersection.

We kept moving through the lower part of the streets, just narrowly avoiding the busy traffic and flashing neon advertisements just over the streets. There must have been at least twenty Altaria riders behind us now, having a hell of a time trying to avoid all the inner city traffic while attempting to shoot us. But then the sight that really got me tense was seeing a massive assault vehicle storming its way through the streets. To me, it looked like a black fire engine with a massive chain gun attached to the top. I knew trying to avoid the incoming fire from a gattling gun like that would be like trying to dance in the rain without touching a single drop of water.

"Move faster!" I shouted to Echo and Frost, who were already quickly descending to avoid a large neon sign.

"We're moving as fast as we can!" Echo complained, already avoiding so many incoming obstructions as once.

Frost looked back for a second, and then he nearly screamed, just before he looked forward again, actually trying this time to move faster than usual.

"Holy crap!" Frost shouted in a panic, "Echo, there's a Mox Assault Engine right behind us!!"

Echo quickly turned back to check, and I heard her swear out loud just before she turned around to continue controlling her Pidgeot. Meanwhile, no matter how fast we tried flying, the Assault Engine just kept drawing closer and closer, often smashing the hell out of every single vehicle that got in its way. We could head upward again, but then the massive amount of Altaria riders behind us would have perfect clear shots at our backs. And we were going much too fast to turn down another street and head in another direction. Slowing down to make any turn would have been far too risky.

Suddenly, I noticed the traffic below us was growing much more congested, and then I realized what was ahead of us. I saw that only half a mile in front of us was the entrance to a tunnel that lead out of the city. The Mox Assault Engine kept ripping through every vehicle that got in its path, sending every of them skidding onto the sidewalks wildly just after it smashed each and every one of them to look like crushed aluminum cans. Still, despite the massive damage that was being done to the front of the engine, it still kept pressing forward, showing no reduction in speed despite the massive amount of vehicles it kept smashing into.

We drew closer and closer toward the entrance to the tunnel, our only possible escape to avoid the wrath of the Mox Assault Engine. However, I knew that once we were inside that tunnel, it was going to be a living nightmare to avoid all the traffic that was moving about through the tunnel. Still, we didn't have a choice…

Just when the engine made it to be only three hundred feet behind us, the turret based on the top suddenly opened fire, roaring and filling the streets with deafening blasts as the gattling gun on the top fired furiously upon us. The gunner didn't even care about ripping his own Altaria-riding comrades to pieces, they only wanted to kill us…

…at whatever the cost…

The amount of incoming fire was insane, but the three of us had made it inside the tunnel just before to became too much to handle. Inside, the tunnel was dimly lit from the florescent lights, just barely illuminating the white tiled walls. Now, the traffic was moving faster, seemingly trying to escape the wrath of the Mox Assault Engine.

Just moments before the Mox Assault Engine had entered the tunnel, the entire turret based on the top of the vehicle had been ripped off from being too high to make the tunnel clearance. The result was an ear-piercing shriek from the ripping of metal as the turret was uprooted from its metal mount. Still, the loss of the engine's main weapon and gunner didn't keep the driver from his insane rage. And the cars and trucks the engine ran into had nowhere to go but be crushed like cardboard boxes against the sides of the massive vehicle. And to make the damage even worse, the twisted metal remains of the turret were running against the ceiling, tearing it apart while unleashing a cascade of bright sparks.

Still, we kept flying furiously, being able to avoid most of the traffic now that there weren't any Altaria riders behind us. Still, the situation was far from comfortable.

"Will nothing stop that thing!?" Echo asked out loud, looking behind her as the engine continued on its insane path.

But it didn't stop there. The Machoke based in the passenger seat had smashed the side window, and had attempted to open fire using his own rifle. Still, the insane speed barely gave him enough slack to even hold the firearm, let alone trying to maintain a good accuracy. However, as bad as that sounded, it was the very least of our problems…

Suddenly, all the lights in the tunnel had flickered on to red, filling the tunnel with an eerie red glow, and suddenly I heard a female voice suddenly blare out. Just when I thought it was impossible, everything had just gotten fifty times worse.

INITIATING SECURITY LOCKDOWN

It then became clear to me they were going to lockdown the exit of the tunnel, the only way we could escape. Still, there was no way in hell we could ever just turn around and head back into Monaraca where there were more Altaria riders or possibly even another one of these hideous Mox Assault Engines just ready to try and hunt us down. If we couldn't get out this way, there was no way we would survive the massive amount of fighting we would have to do to get out of the tunnel. And even if we got that far, there was no certainty that the next exit we attempted to take wouldn't be locked down either.

Regardless, we continued to tear our way through the tunnel, now having an even harder time now that the traffic was completely stopped. Obviously our only way out was cut off with the traffic being totally halted, but that didn't stop us, nor did it stop the Mox Assault Engine from pushing aside every single vehicle in the tunnel aside as it continued rampaging toward us.

Then, my worst fears came true. Suddenly, I caught sight of the end of the tunnel, but instead of seeing light from the exit, the way out was completely shut from two steel doors large enough so that they took up the entire end of the tunnel. We stopped at least three hundred feet away from the tunnel, knowing it was useless to continue moving forward.

"We're trapped…" Echo gasped, looking at the locked doors. "There's no way out…!"

"We don't stand a chance if Skepter gets his hands on us again!" Frost stated, spellbound by the size of the massive doors.

That's if he got his hands on us again. We would have to make it out of this hell alive if even that was going to happen. And considering the way they were after us, they wanted us dead right now, there were no other excuses. I could imagine Skepter and his son Bartholomew didn't want to see us perform dismal plays or smash into giant chocolate cakes anymore. They wanted to hear us scream and cry blood.

I looked at the doors, and then the incoming Mox Assault Engine. It was raging toward us furiously, and closing in very fast. I knew there was only one way to avoid having it slam right into us and crushing the three of us against the metal doors.

"Pull up into the corners!" I shouted to Echo and Frost, "That's the only way we can stop it from crushing us against the wall!"

Immediately, I motioned Blazewing to head toward the lights, situated on the top left and right sides of the tunnel. Just when we were finally in position, I told Blazewing to move as close to the wall as she could.

Then, seconds later, the massive assault engine flew right past us, not even noticing we were hovering right above it. Shortly after, it slammed into a squad of cars located toward the end of the tunnel, stopped due to the fact they couldn't move with the doors shut.

It was then that the back axel of the Mox Assault Engine was destroyed, and the massive vehicle flew right into the doors, unable to stop from the high velocity. Just as the vehicle crushed itself and the cars in front of it against the door, it immediately exploded, filling the back of the tunnel with furious fire and flames. The whole tunnel was lit up, and we shielded ourselves from the pieces of debris that flew in all directions. An entire car went flying past us completely consumed by flames, heading back down toward the end of the tunnel after the explosion pushed it back.

After most of the fire had cleared, I then looked back toward the tunnel, and saw that the explosion had torn a hole in the doors. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing we could finally escape and not risk our lives heading back toward the city.

"Come on," I told the other two. "I see a way out."

Blazewing and I then headed for the opening, flying past several flaming, crumpled cars and metal pieces of debris everywhere. The whole end of the tunnel was nearly pitch black except from the glow of the flames and the small opening that was cut through the tunnel. Just as I approached the opening, I saw the ruins of the assault engine, now divided into two flaming pieces with the cabin crushed inward.

After I had flown through the hole, I saw a road leading out of the city and away from the main urban area. The area around it was covered with lush forests, clean lakes and vast plains. Strangely enough, it didn't even seem like we were still on the same planet after seeing the dark skies of the Silver Apex. Soon after, we began heading west, away from the Black Onyx… for now. We had flown for nearly an hour, hoping no one was following us. When it became clear we had escaped, I breathed a sigh of relief, finally glad we were far, far away from that miserable place.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Echo asked me as we flew through the air next to each other, "And it's just as beautiful as it is unfair. We live in a nightmare compared to this place, one that never sees the light of the sun or has a single a single tree growing throughout all of our country."

"I still can't believe you actually came back…" Frost had said to me, still amazed at what he just saw. "There's nothing in the prophecy that even mentions this. How is it even possible?"

"No one could predict this," I told him as I kept thinking about the whole thing, "I didn't think someone would attack us after the Crimson Stars were vanquished. I should have known, that in more cases than one, greed and lavish desires and drive many to make the most insane choices, even at the cost of life itself."

He was silent after that, and as we flew on, the sky itself slowly turned sick and twisted, as if we were making it more miserable by continuing our journey back home. It wasn't long before we had arrived back at the place that I had once known as my second home, a place I once thought I would never again see or return to. It was then that I finally caught sight of Symarix, the now fallen city that once was the heart of the Silver Apex.

Sadly, instead of bringing back peaceful memories of nostalgia, I was overcome with remorse as I gazed upon the ruins. Buildings had fallen over, large and giant skyscrapers were now just burnt out shells and husks, and the courtyards had become vacant lots filled with debris, rubble, and twisted metal.

My soul had never felt so cold…

 

[Neo Pikachu]

Chapter 11
The Gray Hour​

There wasn't very much left now. I had guided Blazewing to head for the ground, and once we had reached the ruined streets, I dismounted, and returned her to her Pokéball. In every direction, there was rubble in the streets, holes torn into the asphalt and ruined buildings with large pieces torn out of them. Only a small few still had all four sides attached, but still, like the others, they were burnt inside out.

It was then that Frost had approached me, looking downcast as well.

"There are only a few who still live here," Frost had informed me, looking toward the ground. "Most of them are underground, but some of them still try to make shelter out of the fallen buildings. However, sometimes the Black Onyx comes by every two or three months and does a search. Anyone that they find, they usually kill…"

I was silent. We had nothing left, and I could see the only way to survive now was to live like a rat, buried underground with the only intention of mere survival. Meanwhile, the Black Onyx basked in their luxuries, hunting us down purely for sport. They knew they had won, but they still persisted just to make a sick pleasure out of shedding blood. As downcast as I was, I felt hopeless, overcome with the feeling that even my presence here could not solve anything. The Black Onyx was an enemy that far surpassed the power of the Crimson Stars, but now we were going to have to find a way to defeat an even stronger foe with a very limited number of forces, much less than what we had used to fight the Crimson Stars. I already knew it would be clearly impossible to do it using conventional means.

"What ever happened to Sinis?" I asked Frost, looking up and gazing into the gray fog of the ruined city.

"He's still alive…" Frost replied, staring into the distance. "He doesn't talk very much anymore. Skepter's been trying to kill him for the longest time in order to disperse us, but we've kept him alive. For what… I don't know though…"

It wasn't long until I had done a search. I had walked down ruined roads, sometimes having to crawl over a mountain of rubble just to continue. And then, for one dark moment, I stood alone. I was at the center of an intersection, a completely open area where I could even still make out the traffic lines on the asphalt. Several ruined vehicles lay over turned and scattered in various places. But nothing felt more painful than being in a place of death, something that was supposed to be overflowing with activity and life was now nothing but a graveyard of the past. Symarix had become just a mere memory, something that could only be relived in my dreams and imagination.

As I stood there, I knew that starting an uprising against the Black Onyx at a time and state like this would only be a disastrous suicide. My only thought would be to gather everyone in the same location, and assemble whatever resources we had left. An overwhelming part of me felt like saying that we should just live the rest of our lives like that, and hide underground in a place that hopefully the Black Onyx would never find. But as I stood in that ruined intersection, surrounded by the ghosts and lost souls of Symarix, I believed there was still something that could be done. But it involved making a choice, and a decision to give up a lot.

"Look, it's not safe to stay here, Juno," Frost had told me, finally catching up. "There's really not much we can do about it."

"Frost…" I replied in a soft voice, "I need to know where Sinis is."

"I'll take you to him…" Frost answered with a solemn voice, "but… please don't be shocked if he doesn't seem to be the way he used to be."

We then abandoned Symarix, and headed west, even thicker into the stormy despair of the Silver Apex. After several miles of flying across a dark, arid and seemingly hopeless desert, we then arrived at a formation of rocks, which I never would have guessed was the entrance to an underground cavern. It wasn't long until Frost and Echo had headed to the formation as I closely followed them.

Once we had arrived and landed on the ground, I had seen Frost make his way toward one of the rocks. After he had moved it out of the way, I had seen that there was hole underneath it with a metal ladder heading downward. Frost was the first to go downward, and I soon followed with Echo behind me. After she had moved the rock back into place after her, I soon found myself in an underground cavern, very dimly lit with a few burning lanterns suspended from the ceiling.

Most of the remaining members of the Silver Apex stayed in the rooms away from the hallways, all of them very silent and very downcast. I was almost surprised to see that even though Blazewing was right next to me, they hadn't even looked up to see her. We had made our way down a long hallway carved out of the dirt, with several open rooms along the sides. I had seen that several pieces of furniture had been saved and had been brought to this underground tunnel, such as chairs, bedding material, carpets, lights, cabinets, and several other items to help make living down here easier, but I knew it could only do so much.

Frost then took me down to the last room down the hallway. After we had stepped inside, I had immediately caught sight of Sinis, lying down on a bed as several soldiers and a Chansey caretaker stood by his side to comfort him. It didn't take very long until I had seen that Sinis was missing a leg and an arm, which I could easily assume was the result of combat. The three of us had stood by the door, and I had looked at him moving and aching as if he was an elderly man on the verge of passing away.

"Come now…" A Mawile had told the three of us, "The last thing he needs is for a crowd to start coming in here."

"I need to talk to Sinis." I told him, trying to justify my purpose in being here. "There's something I need to tell him."

Still, the Mawile wasn't convinced. He gave me an annoyed glace, and put his right hand on his hip.

"Yeah, and just who are you anyway?" He asked, giving me an inferior look.

I was alarmingly surprised for a moment. Blazewing had stood right besides me, and yet he couldn't make the connection. But maybe that was because he simply thought I was dead.

"This is Juno, Kaz." Echo had replied to the Mawile.

And then, Kaz gave me an even more inferior look. He then looked back at Echo and looked at her like she was crazy.

"Don't be an idiot." Kaz told her in a sharp tone of voice, "You obviously don't know anything, do you? Juno died many years ago and we found his body burnt to cinders. I don't know who this is but I highly recommend not wasting my time like this."

"She speaks the truth…" I replied to Kaz, looking at his feet, "I know it may be hard to believe."

"I don't believe a word that any of you are saying," Kaz replied, starting to look aggressive. "We don't have time for your stupid games, Echo."

Blazewing and I just looked at each other, almost shocked that this Mawile and no one else in the room ever made the connection. Did he really think we were someone completely different? As far as I knew, Blazewing was the only Latias to ever live in Symarix and who also had a Pikachu as a rider. Or had things gotten so hopeless that they had been blinded because of it or truly believed I was incapable of coming back?

I had softly approached Sinis's bed, looking at the badly wounded Zangoose. I could still recognize traces of his former self, but so much had happened to make even the familiar look foreign. It was horrible to think that after so much had happened, this was the only reward we had gotten for such a brutally hard struggle.

As I stood by Sinis's bedside, I thought he had suddenly become paralyzed or was completely unable to notice I was even there. Then, he had rolled to his side, and for a moment, he stared back at me with his cloudy eyes. I couldn't tell if he could see me at the moment, but as I continued to look back, he opened his mouth.

"I…" He said very slowly and very weakly, "I… remember… those eyes…"

I was silent. I already knew I didn't need to tell him who I was. Even if no one else here recognized me or believed I was actually Juno, I knew that at least he would remember. So long ago, we had accomplished so much together. Most of that was gone now, but I still felt there was a way to bring it all back.

"I'm… sorry, Juno…" Sinis replied, still very weak. "We… lost… everything…"

Only moments after Sinis himself testified that I was Juno, Kaz had looked at me and the Latias completely spellbound. The older soldiers in the room also were silenced, and could not keep their eyes off of her. Then, Kaz had looked at me, and at first I didn't understand his reaction…

"You… you are really Juno?" Kaz asked, looking at me in question. "Why? Why would you come back? I don't see why any fallen member of the Silver Apex would ever want to return to this miserable place, especially you after seeing the tranquility of Utopia. You must be mad for coming back here under these circumstances."

"The strongest hopes never die, Kaz," I told him, closing my eyes for a moment as I stood besides Sinis's bed. "My strongest hope is for the Silver Apex to live in peace, something I fought hard to achieve. Why should I abandon that when the presence of that hope still exists in all of you?"

My comeback was met by silence. Still, even without a response, I felt that I had been given an answer.

Regardless of my presence, there was little hope to be found in those caverns. There was no spirit left in the Silver Apex, and as I looked around, I became more and more overcome with that thought that most of the inhabitants felt that something like this was supposed to happen, and this was supposed to be the end. Meanwhile, Sinis was barely hanging on.

"I'm… sorry, Juno…" Sinis replied, still very weak, "We… lost… everything…"

"I'm going to help you get it back." I told Sinis, hoping he could hear me, "The Silver Apex is not gone. It never will be…"

He didn't respond, but I knew he was trying to hold in there as much as possible. Still, I knew time was running out…

"Juno…" He told me, trying hard to breathe, "You… command them… now. You be… their leader."

"Sinis…" I said softly, holding his hand.

"Watch… after them…" Sinis continued, looking into my eyes, "The way… a father looks… after his children. Please… do it… for me…"

Then, his hand went limp in my hands. At that moment, the entire destiny and future of The Silver Apex rested totally upon my shoulders, and mine alone. Where would we go, and what would we become? I didn't know the future, but I knew I would do whatever it took to protect the last remainders of the Silver Apex, already knowing of the sacrifice I made to eliminate Zander many years ago.

We were beyond desperate. Only a day later, we had laid Sinis to rest, buried in the dark soil of the land that was once known as the Silver Apex, a place where we had all traced back our roots. Sinis was only given a short funeral, for we knew that if we stayed out of the surface too long, others would soon be coming with him. After that had happened, it was up to me to decide what our next action would be.

"What is it you plan on doing, Juno?" Kaz pressured me, thinking I already had a clear cut answer.

"We need to relocate," I replied, looking directly at him. "The only chance we have to get ourselves out of this mess is to move elsewhere."

"Move!?" Kaz shouted at me in shock. "Are you kidding!? Juno, you yourself should know that this is our homeland. We can't just leave it behind and forget that it even existed."

No, I didn't like the idea of it either, but I knew for a fact that sitting here with the Black Onyx forces still coming around to wipe out everyone wasn't going to give us much slack to even get out of the ground and start living on the surface. And fighting against those patrols was only going to result in even more forces coming down here to tear us to pieces.

"Kaz," I told him honestly, "The Silver Apex is a black and lifeless desert under a consistent amount of merciless fire. If we don't relocate now, then every one of us is going to die a very slow and very miserable death."

Kaz then looked off to the side, looking annoyed and very disappointed. In a way, he was right. We didn't have much anymore, and even if we did relocate, we would have nothing once we got there. I didn't even know where to relocate to…

I immediately looked at a map that had been provided for me, and I tried to find a spot where we could retreat to and hopefully recuperate. We didn't have many allies, but there was one that had caught my attention. They were very small and only partially developed, but I already knew we would be far better off there than here.

"Why do you want to retreat to the Azure Islands?" Kaz had asked me, wondering why I had decided on that location. "We haven't communicated with the Midnight Gemini in over twelve years. They might not even exist anymore…"

"We don't have too many options here, Kaz," I replied to him, knowing he wanted the impossible. "We can't stay here."

"Juno, this is the land of our fathers, the land which you died to protect," Kaz continued, trying to get me to change my mind. "Why do you want to abandon it now, and lose everything we've ever fought for?"

I was truly getting tired of this. Yes, we were abandoning it, but for a very good reason. There was nothing left here. The Black Onyx would never let us rebuild, and I knew that in time, they would find this place and eliminate the little that we had left.

"Kaz, either we move out of here, or we stay here and die like everything else," I told him seriously. "We cannot hope to recover here when we're under constant repression. We need to move to somewhere safer. Maybe then we can hope to recover enough to gain back our territory some day, just like the way it used to be."

After that, it was my decision that finally overruled his. I immediately sent a request for the members of all three camps to head over to the one where we were currently located, to discuss plans to move to the Azure Islands located far to the south. Some others didn't like the plan either, but there were far many more who could understand why it was only suicide to say here.

It wasn't long until the last remaining dispersed members of the Silver Apex had finally gathered. I was very shocked to see the number of remaining citizens and soldiers was narrowed down to only a few thousand, but there was no turning back now. It was true we had suffered, but we weren't dead.

I could only hope the Midnight Gemini would accept us into their nation. It was a sad and depressing thought to leave our homeland behind, but it was a decision that we had to make, regardless of what was going through our minds at that moment…

 

[Neo Pikachu]

Chapter 12
A Solemn Path​

In all the years of my life, leaving behind a nation that had supported me and had done so much to remember every act I did only to decay at the hands of a heartless enemy was quite possibly the most demoralizing decision I've ever had to make. My image set in stone had fallen, once created to remember the past only to be struck down by the hopelessness and tyranny of the present. Still, our homelands were lost, gone in what could possibly last forever. Despite all my conflicting emotions and feelings, I felt I wanted the people of the Silver Apex to be remembered in their roots of who they would become in the hopeful future, not be remembered as the once rising legacy that now lay in the sands of demise only to be forgotten as a lost civilization.

Among the twisted metal and layered rubble, we arose from the wastes of our homeland. The journey had to be on foot, and we took everything we could carry. Everything else, we left buried with the legacy of what was once here. Those who were sick or were injured had to be carried by someone else. And for all that was too heavy to carry, we left it behind for someone else to salvage. Our only intention now was to submit to the Midnight Gemini, regardless of their goals or purposes, hoping they would have mercy and understanding on us where others didn't. Likely, I would lose my leadership position over the Silver Apex, despite the fact I would only have held it for a few short moments.

The caravan continued south, regardless of the desolate windy desert weather that seemed to endlessly blow around us and seemed to carry the whispers of the forgotten dead. Many of our remaining solders stood on guard, prepared to fight if the Black Onyx should attempt to tear us apart yet again. The journey took several days, and never once did we see sunshine. Despite being surrounded by sand, it was never scorching hot. Instead, we were surrounded by the cold winds, the dark sands, and the abysmal remains of the destroyed sky as we treaded slowly across the vast wastelands. Regardless, we continued, and like a small hope suddenly becoming larger and larger, we eventually left our ruined homelands and entered the outside world. Slowly we could see the real sun, unveiled before our eyes.

However, the trip had not gone without its costs. Regrettably so, there were many sick and injured members of the Silver Apex that didn't survive the journey south. Our only choice was to bury them in their homeland, say a brief prayer in their name, and move on shortly after word. Still, I couldn't show regret for my decisions. For every member that had fallen and never got back up, Kaz continued to give me stares of doubt and disbelief like their death was my doing. Still, I tried not to look at him during the silent funerals. They were depressing enough…

Regardless, there were many that had survived the journey out of the Silver Apex homeland, and across the vast and fruitful plains of Conda. Thankfully, we had found enough water and food to continue our journey. While the lands of Conda appeared to be very inhabitable from the outside, I already knew it was the stage of many natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes, far too much to be ever consider settling upon them. It was hard to continue for days through the desert with only little food, but thankfully the region of Conda had plenty of wild fruit that we used to help us survive the journey. Had it not been for that, the death toll would have easily been higher…

Once we had reached the coastline, we then came across one of the first wooden outposts that served as a watch station for the rest of the tropical Azure Islands. I had really no idea if anyone was still there or if it had been abandoned long ago. As I got a closer look at it, I could still see it was well maintained, so there had to be someone still here.

I tried to look through the many palm trees that were scattered in various places to see if I could find anyone near the outpost. I then decided to walk closer, and in the distance, I caught sight of a marina and a tiny harbor docked with many boats of various shapes and sizes. Not surprisingly, some of them were armed with mounted weapons…

At first, I had thought the whole place had been recently abandoned. I thought the only thing we could do now is to take some of the boats out to sea and see if the other islands were just as vacant. But, as soon as all of us had arrived at the wooden outpost just before the marina, I quickly learned this place wasn't at all abandoned like I thought it was…

I couldn't believe how badly ambushed we had become. As we simply stood on the beaten path leading to the marina, nearly two hundred heavily armed soldiers in black clothing emerged from the shrubs and palm trees from the two sides of the path. I quickly turned around to see many members of our groups pulling out their weapons in what thankfully only became a standoff rather than a reckless slaughter.

While we easily outnumbered the entire group, no one opened fire. Still, at any moment's notice, a hideous massacre could have started with almost everyone glaring at each other aggressively even before any sign of conflict had arisen. I was relieved that no one had opened fire, but still, there was a lot of explaining that needed to be done.

"Which one of you is the leader of your group?" I heard a voice in back of me ask.

I quickly spun around, knowing whoever had spoken was definitely looking for me. When I turned around, I saw a Sceptile standing before me, wearing a thick flak jacket at pointing what looked like a massive M60 machine gun right at my face. That… was definitely not a sight I really wanted to see…

"That would be me you're looking for," I replied to the Sceptile, wondering if he was actually the leader of this pack. "I take it you're the leader the Midnight Gemini?"

"They're long gone," He quickly responded, still not looking at all happy about my presence. "Thanks to that senile King Skepter and his abysmal armies. They have ripped everyone around the world to pieces, even once mighty empires I never dreamed would ever fall to the ground."

I definitely knew he was talking about us, but I didn't think there were even more countries that Skepter ruined just for the delight of his own benefit. But still, as I looked into the Sceptile's eyes, I saw deep inside that he was really no different than we were.

Perhaps. Perhaps this could be the unity that both of us needed to survive…

Shortly after all that had happened and we had been finally let in, I told the Sceptile everything that had happened, who I was and why we were here at the Azure Islands. I didn't care if he didn't trust me at the moment, that was the last thing on my mind. All I was asking for was acceptance at any price. I didn't care what he wanted me to do in return, I was willing to do it. I would rather work until utter exhaustion for a stranger rather than humiliate myself to death in front of my enemies for their own pleasure. We had members that could work, and we had surviving soldiers that could help defend the settlement. Hopefully that would be exactly what he was looking for at the same time.

When I had finished, the Sceptile told me his name was Aries, the commander of the Southern Tempest, probably the first step toward gaining that final trust in proving we wanted to help him in return for his support.

"I found it interesting how you knew about the Midnight Gemini," Aries had told me, looking at me with curiosity. "They had held this area for quite some time before they were taken down by the Black Onyx, and this whole place was left to rot with corpses thrown everywhere while the ground was saturated with blood and sinew. Unlike the Silver Apex, they made their death quick, rather than to keep them in a desperate bondage like what they did to you. I suppose that was only because if they completely eliminated all of their enemies, full domination might have become awfully boring."

In some ways, I was glad we really didn't die in the long run, despite how painful the last few years had been. There was no reason why we had to live a legacy of woe and despair. I didn't want these times to always be remembered when we thought our history.

"How many enemies does King Skepter have left before there is no one left to oppose him?" I asked, just wondering exactly how many allies we had in this conflict.

"As far as I know…" Aries replied, looking off to the side a bit, "we're all that stands in his way now. Skepter has ripped every nation and unity he could find to pieces, sparing no one. The reason why the Silver Apex was left to live was to be an example for all other nations, to see a once mighty empire now shrivel within the clenched fist of the Black Onyx."

Power, dominance, and greed. That's all that was left in Skepter's soul in the long run. I found it hard to believe that this small island community was the last remaining force that could fight against him. The chances of us winning any battle would be so minimal, it almost seemed he was completely unstoppable. Their weapons were stronger, they were in better health, but worst of all, their numbers were far more massive than ours. Still, I couldn't give up hope, and neither could Aries. He was my brother… my master…

"I must thank you for accepting us into the Southern Tempest," I told him, expressing my gratitude. "We may be all that is left to fight Skepter, but in time, I believe we will prevail."

Aries looked away for a moment, seemingly in a moment of despair. After a few moments, he looked back up at me, still with the feeling of doubt.

"I'm afraid Skepter has already won the war, Juno," Aries told to me in a hesitant voice. "Look at us. We're nothing compared to the power that he has at his command. He's torn every country, every empire, every adversary he's ever had to pieces. My only hope is that he never finds this place, so we may live the rest of our lives in a small moment of peace after the pain we have embraced."

I didn't say anything else. I didn't want to openly admit that he was right about all that, but from any view, whether it be from his or mine, it just seemed completely impossible to ever be a real threat to Skepter. If he were to discover we were here, it wouldn't be long before everyone was wiped off the face of the planet, leaving Skepter to bask in delight from the merciless actions of his own cruelty. I didn't want to think that any hope of justice now was just a fool's hope.

"Just lay down your weapons and anger, Juno," Aries told me honestly. "There is no reason to fight now. I'd rather drown in my own blood than be forced to be a slave for Skepter."

If he only knew what I had to go through during my time there, he'd probably understand my feelings. Still, even unlike Aries, I had seen just one of the many massive cities that Skepter had at his control. That, as well as his massive weapons and countless Altaria riders ready to unleash at any moment. I was beginning to think that perhaps fighting Skepter directly was not the solution, since it was impossible for any of us to prevail against such an overwhelmingly powerful enemy. And unfortunately, for every idea that I had, a sense of doubt came over me with the feeling that any attempt of such a thing would only result in failure. Maybe… maybe this wasn't worth fighting over. The odds… the hope… and all facets of morale had melted into the oblivion, and nothing was left. The death toll was far too high already, and I didn't want to think of it becoming higher once again.

It pained me to think our only victory now was to simply hope he would never find us here, and let him believe that every enemy of his had been eliminated. Despite my abilities, I could never go up against his massive and unstoppable empire alone. But I didn't want to believe it was all for nothing. That was the real pain that was tugging at my heart this whole time. With all those victories against the Crimson Stars, and all the fighting we had endured, the destiny of the Silver Apex was simply to fall at the feet of Skepter and his Black Onyx empire like a whole-hearted victory was never deserved.

It didn't matter how long it was. Even for weeks after that meeting with Aries, it still kept me awake for so many hours. And there was Sita, up in the sky waiting and wondering why, for the first time ever, I've felt so helpless even after proving my strength time and time again even against the impossible.

Sadly, for the first time… my faith was really falling away…

 

[Neo Pikachu]

Chapter 13
The Bleeding Shadows​

To most of the Silver Apex, time no longer had any meaning. Sure, the Southern Tempest had expected us to do our part in raising the food we needed to survive, but to me, I seemed to be the only one who remembered our roots, and what we really left behind. Still, in a way, I felt like I failed my mission to stop Skepter. Already I had seen the fields of Utopia, and to waste my time away resting here would make my whole second coming for nothing. But still, I didn't have a solution this time. Nothing seemed to be in my reach.

And as the many months went by, I did my share of the work, which was nothing less than brute labor I had never expected to take part in. Still, there was no time for warriors now. The defenses of the Azure Islands were nothing. No one was even on guard anymore. We had truly beaten our swords to plow shares. Sure, we kept a few weapons around, but in all, most of them were completely neglected. Very disturbingly, we knew that any attack upon us would be the last one. We didn't stand a chance, either way. Even if we finished off one patrol, we would only prolong a full scale assault would undeniably be the end. As much pain as it brought me to say, I would rather be killed by a simple Black Onyx solider than have to live long enough to be brought to Skepter himself once again. And I knew this time, my execution cry would only be heard by those that will relish it.

In my spare time, when my share of the work was done, I spent my time in the library, which was a pretty large and usually empty underground circular cellar. There must have been tens of thousands of books in there, but usually I found myself alone in the dim light, reading to myself all this time. The only one who would visit me on rare occasions would be Aries, sometimes wondering why I spent so much time down there. Still, it was very rare for someone else to be in there with me.

But during that time, I had plunged myself into some of the stories I've read there, seeming to escape the thoughts of hopelessness by delving into knowledge and lore. Most of them were fiction and fairy tales that I would read late into the night. I got quicker and quicker at it too. Usually I would go through three books a day, and after several months had passed by, I was convinced I had cleaned off the shelf on the far left, but even then, I still have plenty more to read. Many of these books were so old and sometimes they were in pieces that had just been kept together. Others were slightly charred in some places, almost looking like someone had tried desperately to save them from a fire of some sort. Some were missing a hard cover, but I read them anyway. Still, it was rare to come across one that was in very good condition.

It very easily became an obsession of mine. Realty was constantly being harsh to me, and for even a short moment, it granted me time and effort to escape and see the world through someone else's imagination. And oddly enough, whenever I went out to the field to work in the morning, I had tried to tell others about my time down there and tell them about some of the stories I've read there, but no one seemed interested. And hours later, I quickly hustled back down there, again to be alone for some time.

And during my time there, I had found plenty of interesting stories that had amazed me, but nothing so struck my heart so vividly as one book I had found, completely neglected for a long time. While the cover was scratched and damaged in several places much like all the others, it wasn't what was on the cover that hit me the most. But after opening the cover, there it was, a small pencil-drawn image that took so much of my breath away. The small drawing depicted none other than a Pikachu, standing besides a very loyal and cheerful Latias right in the main streets of Symarix… when it was still standing. Right above the hand drawn image were the words, "The Coming of the Redeemer Juno." Never once did I think a single book upon these shelves would ever have any mention of me. All I had to do was turn the page, and then it began, just like all the other stories in that library did.

I had quickly discovered that yes, indeed this was written by someone who had been in Symarix even before I had arrived. Everything was in vivid detail, such as the description of each location, and what Symarix was like, as if the author was creating it themselves from their own imagination. As I read through the first few chapters, I realized what life was like before my arrival, with Jamac and Achilles in power. It also followed the roots of the Divine Prophecy very closely, and every citizen of Symarix knew its words almost by heart, which wasn't a surprise considering how well Sever had recited its passages the moment I met him. But still, it described that the coming of Juno the Gold Rider was just but a whisper at the moment. There was no time set in stone for his arrival, and so there could be no expectation for it.

And then, the author described in absolute flawless detail what my arrival in the city of Symarix was like. For an odd moment, it didn't even feel like I was even reading a story about myself, and that this was someone else in a made up fairy tale. Again, then came my arrival before Achilles and Jamac, and the massive uproar that it had all caused. And on and on it went, describing every battle, and every hardship and pain I had to endure. It totally shocked me how well the author knew who I was, and knew about even some of the events that only a very few had known about. And the part that had plunged my heart in this story even more was the vivid detail in the battle of Jasandax. I could tell that whoever wrote this had very well been in that battle himself to be able to account for everything that happened. All I had to do was read the words, shut my eyes, and I was there again, fighting along so many loyal comrades at what was our finest moment. In all the disasters I had been, that was probably the one moment where I felt the strongest.

Shortly after came my last sacrifice to destroy Zander, and finally give the Silver Apex the chance of peace it finally deserved, and the giving of Juno's last requiem. Apparently, I had read that even my own funeral had been an awful time of sadness, but to others, it was a time of hope and understanding. And then, just like that, it ended. Never once did it describe how mutilated Symarix had become due to the actions of the Black Onyx, or the bitterness that had happened after word. In my opinion, I wouldn't have ended it any other way. And as I turned to the last page, it all came crashing down, like a massive and majestic skyscraper crumbling because of one horrible mistake.

I had turned to the last page, and for a moment, I had wished I hadn't. Upon that last piece of paper, I had seen who had written the book after all, and who had decided to be the caretaker of my legacy this whole time.

It was Vice, the very same Sneasel who had risked his life to help me back in Macomb, only to leave and scorn everything he ever believed in to follow the reason why the Silver Apex was just a memory bathed in misery. Suddenly, it felt like the book itself was a heavy deadweight on fire. I couldn't even hold it anymore, and I had to just let it leave my tiny hands and crash upon the floor. I had to shut my eyes again, and once more I felt those fiery tears sear along my face. I had felt so cold and sick for a moment. Then, after trying to put that sadness away, I just looked at the fallen book on the floor, looking like it was just a dead animal.

The quiet stillness in the room was like death. For some reason, the room seemed darker than usual. And yet… I was no longer even thinking about the book, even though its presence probably would exist forever in the back of my mind. I quickly stood up out of my usual reading chair, and for a moment, I felt sick and nauseous. I couldn't understand why either, maybe it was just this stale air I had been breathing for so long finally getting to me. I tried to walk toward the metal door, but suddenly, I heard a violent knocking on it. I knew I had never heard that type of knock before. Yes, so people opened the door without it, while Aries always took a calm approach to knocking on the door. But after I heard that violent banging, I realized it was no one from the Azure Islands. In the darkest hour, they had come. All I had to do was shut my eyes, and for a dark moment, I could hear screams even through the steel and rock that surrounded me. Regrettably so, our time of peace and life was truly over…

I quickly found a place to hide behind one of the shelves, and just waited there. Instantly, the door was thrown open, sending it crashing against the wall. I tried to focus on the air around me. I sensed their breaths, and their footsteps down the stairs. My guess was that there were two of them. And they neither asked if there was anyone here. I could tell they were here to kill and silence anyone who was here. I was completely unarmed, and there was no blunt object anywhere for me to use as a weapon…

One took the left side, and the other took the right, coming closer toward me. They were definitely rushing this, thinking the room was pretty much empty from the silence. Slowly, the one of the right crept around the bookcase, and I saw him with my own eyes. Again, my assumptions were correct. It was an armed Charmander in a Black Onyx uniform and carrying one of their rifles. Yes, today had been their day of arrival, and already I could sense this would be their final and ultimate victory, which was going to be nothing less than a massacre. I didn't want to imagine what kind of horror was taking place on the surface, but already the air around me was giving me a woeful impression.

For a moment, he looked at the fallen book, and immediately his attention was cut off. I had to act now, and if I took any longer, it was going to be over and they would find me...

I quickly crept up behind him, and at the right moment, I wrapped my arm around his neck. Instantly, he was in shock, but as I tried to choke him, I sent a lethal amount of electricity searing from my blazing cheeks right into the back of his head, and quickly into his brain, instantly inflicting a lethal blow. My only problem was the glow from the thunderbolt. It was definitely bright enough to be seen by anyone else in the room…

"Who's there?" I heard the other question, not knowing at all what happened.

He was across the room, way too out of the reach. I quickly grabbed the Charmander's rifle, and got in back of the bookcase again. Slowly but swiftly, I tried to get away from the fallen Charmander as possible. Already I could hear him on the other side of the room, slowly moving along the left side toward where he found the glow. He was definitely cautious now. I stopped for a moment, but he kept on moving until he stopped at the Charmander's fallen body. Still, he only stopped for a second, and then he kept moving around the bend, now coming up upon me from behind. I then decided that trying to sneak up behind him wouldn't be a good idea, since he seemed to be more aware than his companion. And meeting him head on would be incredibly risky. So, I tried another tactic. I immediately took the gun's strap, threw it around my neck, and quickly climbed the bookcase itself. There was plenty of space between the inner ring of bookcases, but hitting the ground would leave me trapped in there. Patiently, I waited, just hanging over the edge in back of the bookcase trying to limit my breathing.

Soon enough, I heard him walk right past me, never once being able to catch a glimpse of my tiny, yellow fingers over the top of the bookcase. Patiently, I waited for him to pass another fifteen feet away from me. I could only imagine what he would be thinking, seeing his companion dead, knowing there was someone else in the room, but having no idea what became of them, like it was a ghost who killed him and suddenly just vanished. I heard him stop for a moment, and then continue another five feet. Then, slowly, I pulled myself up on the top of the bookcase, and then grabbed the rifle. I immediately saw who I had been after this whole time. Again, it was another solider of the Black Onyx, a very paranoid and uneasy Furret. Quickly, I took the rifle, aimed for his head, and without another moment passing, I fired a single shot. The rifle spat a blast of fire, and for a split second, the room flared up with light before the bullet struck the Furret in the back of the head, and he was instantly out like a light, falling to the ground as his life suddenly ended instantly.

I quickly jumped off the bookcase, and looked over the Furret's body. Again, I took his rifle as well, held it around my shoulder and made my way upstairs. I then swiftly grabbed the doorknob of the metal door, and opened it slowly. Already, I had seen the lower cellars had been raided and dismantled. All that was left was a single flight of stairs to the surface. I had no idea what was out there, but still, it wasn't the size of the attacking force that was concerning me. It was seeing how much damage had been done while I was away.

Slowly, I made my way up the stone stairs, gripping the rifle in my hands, as well as keeping my sense of hearing and sight extremely sharp. Stair after stair, I had slowly come to the surface. Plenty of black smoke was everywhere from the little of the sky I could see. Three more steps, and I saw the fires where they were coming from. And scattered all over the place was body after body. I didn't see anything living, not even the Black Onyx forces themselves. Most of the buildings and the fields were burning now. As hideous as the sight was, I saw this day coming.

For hours I waited in a palm tree, seeing the occasional Altaria rider fly across the sky to make one last check for life. And then, there was nothing. The fires had consumed all that was in their reach, leaving only dying embers now. Meanwhile, I saw no one living from either the Southern Tempest or the Silver Apex. No one… but myself. To the Black Onyx, this was their final victory. For them, there was nothing left to conquer. Every enemy of theirs had been punished, killed, or had given up all hope to join their ranks out of cowardice. All that was left was a burning field of all that had stood in his way, to be burnt to nothing.

When I was convinced the area was clear of any Black Onyx troops, I quickly checked every island in hopes of finding at least a few survivors who might still be alive after the attack. I had checked the first two islands, only to find nothing but bodies, blood, and destruction. The crops we had spent so much time raising were nothing but fields of black ashes now. Houses had been burnt to the ground, and I saw dead bodies slaughtered in some of the most vicious ways I had ever seen. Victory itself was no longer a thing to be cherished anymore.

I made my way toward the third and fourth islands, the places where most of the remnants of the Silver Apex had been staying. They too, were given no mercy or compassion. Those that had survived the escape out of our fallen empire had lived only to die in this nightmare. I had only hoped that their final days could be peaceful ones, and in a way, I was glad they were, for as little as that time had lasted. Still, through every burning house I checked, and every body that looked like there could be some chance of life still flowing through their veins, I checked for a pulse only to discover for myself that their heart had already stopped beating. But sadly, those chances were far and few between. Most of the bodies were clearly lost and gone from the amount of destruction that had been let loose upon them.

And lastly, I checked the last of the islands, only to discover that I was alone now, a feeling I had grown so used to. I didn't know how I was going to survive in this kind of misery, or if I even wanted to embrace the harshness that was to come through this pain. The legacy of the Silver Apex, as glorious as it once was had truly let out its last breath now. For a moment, I didn't understand why I was supposed to still live in this world, and all the misery that bathed it in the flames and screams of others.

There was only one, last, breathing member of the Silver Apex now, and that was me. I was the one who had died to save his people, only to be the last remaining survivor of them upon his second coming when the time of the end was at hand. Every ally of mine was gone, and those who had once been by my side had turned their sword against me. But to Skepter, I was already dead. For now, I shut my eyes, letting him believe that was burning to nothing alongside my comrades. Let him believe that I was no longer a threat, and no longer capable of bringing any more pain to him. But if I was to suffer, die at the sword of the Black Onyx and be punished like the rest of my people, I would rather explode against his kingdom as a blazing fireball of destruction and sacrifice than to be simply killed like a lamb asking for death.

 

[Roxasabridged]

*Phew* Finally caught up with all the chapters here. This is a great story. The writing is good, the settings are epic...
But, time for some obligatory complaints/nitpicks:

- The battles in 'Randy's World Arc', seemed a bit odd at times. It's already been pointed out, like Earthquake missing because Blissey shrunk, but other than that, they were very well done. Especially when Juno began battling Randy, it's like two god modders trying to upstage each other with those ridiculous attacks XD

- After Juno is taken to Kristival, his Pokemon (Except Latias) seem to disappear the second he rescues them. No mention of them ever again. It's a shame, it would have been awesome to see Raichu fighting with Juno and Randy.

- the overall conflicts. Don't get me wrong, they're written very well, it's just that I can't picture Pokemon shooting at each other with rifles and tanks and so on. It seems odd that they all have their own destructive attacks yet opt for Rifles and stuff (I suppose Hyper Beams are crappy in Krivistal?). I think you mentioned that certain Rifles amplified a Pokemon's elemental attacks, but other than that, it may as well be humans doing the fighting :/

- The Deus Ex Machina-ish final battle with Zander. It would have worked slightly better if it was hinted at what Sita was (Personal gripe - I didn't feel she was developed enough as a love interest, but then again, Juno didn't exactly have a bunch of time to interact properly with her). David also seemed to be... just there, like you suddenly remembered him at the last minute. I'm surprised Zander didn't kill them both, it would've shown how more ruthless and demented he could be.

Well, other than those trivialities, I'm loving this. Your story has me hooked, and I can't wait to see how Juno will get out his current predicament.

 

[Neo Pikachu]

*Phew* Finally caught up with all the chapters here. This is a great story. The writing is good, the settings are epic...
But, time for some obligatory complaints/nitpicks:

- The battles in 'Randy's World Arc', seemed a bit odd at times. It's already been pointed out, like Earthquake missing because Blissey shrunk, but other than that, they were very well done. Especially when Juno began battling Randy, it's like two god modders trying to upstage each other with those ridiculous attacks XD

Yeah, that whole part was supposed to be odd. Originally, that whole part was originally meant to be a stand alone fan fiction until people wanted more. And I wanted to have the ending be a unique kind of conflict at the same time, hence why it is the way it is.

- After Juno is taken to Kristival, his Pokemon (Except Latias) seem to disappear the second he rescues them. No mention of them ever again. It's a shame, it would have been awesome to see Raichu fighting with Juno and Randy.

Yeah, I know what you mean and I've thought over this, but I knew that the issue of Juno having to explain things to his Pokémon would have really slowed things down, not to mention that the whole concept of a Pokémon owning other Pokémon would look really out of place, especially in Kivistal's setting.

Technically, Jake's Pokémon are still with him while he's fighting in Orre, but he loses them as he dies in the trenches.

- the overall conflicts. Don't get me wrong, they're written very well, it's just that I can't picture Pokemon shooting at each other with rifles and tanks and so on. It seems odd that they all have their own destructive attacks yet opt for Rifles and stuff (I suppose Hyper Beams are crappy in Krivistal?). I think you mentioned that certain Rifles amplified a Pokemon's elemental attacks, but other than that, it may as well be humans doing the fighting :/

Yeah, I see what you mean. I tried to have the militaristic weapons be a supplement to Pokémon attacks, but in most cases, the weapons were faster and more powerful than the attacks themselves. Looking back, using more medieval type weapons such as spears, swords, crossbows, and the like probably might have been a better choice, though in most cases, Pokémon wouldn't have much use for them and second, I needed the technology level to be a bit higher.

- The Deus Ex Machina-ish final battle with Zander. It would have worked slightly better if it was hinted at what Sita was (Personal gripe - I didn't feel she was developed enough as a love interest, but then again, Juno didn't exactly have a bunch of time to interact properly with her). David also seemed to be... just there, like you suddenly remembered him at the last minute. I'm surprised Zander didn't kill them both, it would've shown how more ruthless and demented he could be.

Yeah, that whole part is a mess and if I knew a better way to change it without deviating from what I was trying to accomplish, I would have gone with that. I wanted to keep Sita as a love interest to Juno, but at the same time keep her more mysterious, because there is a lot about her that Juno doesn't know (yet). That, and it would have been better if Juno and Zander didn't have the same kind of power. I'll admit, I sacrificed part of the story integrity to keep the last bout between the two of them exciting, and that wasn't such a good idea. Lastly, I needed David to be that kind of surprise ultimatum, since having any other character there for Juno to choose from wouldn't have made sense as most of the Pokémon he had met were elsewhere. In the meantime, David resembled more of Jake Kossak's side while Sita resembled more of Juno's side. In essence, this part does confirm that Juno/Jake is much closer to the Juno side now.

My only thoughts would be to:

• Give Zander and Juno different powers, but keep the fight balanced. Or have Juno fight as hard as he can without powers. Thinking back, the second option might have been better, though I still would have liked to have Zander's cruel arrogance nip him in the bud in a way.
• Having Zander kill both David AND Sita actually would have had an interesting effect. Don't know why I didn't think of that. My only thoughts were that I kind of wanted it to focus on Sita's death, and show that Juno was closer to her than even he was aware of. If David died as well and Juno focused more on Sita, it would have made him look insensitive to David's death.
• And yeah, develop the relationship between Juno and Sita a bit more prior to those events. One, I probably should have had Juno meet her much earlier in the story, and two, meet her more often and do a few leisurely things with her that were not so focused on the war.

Definite learning experience, though I feel I've learned quite a bit since then.

Well, other than those trivialities, I'm loving this. Your story has me hooked, and I can't wait to see how Juno will get out his current predicament.

Hey, glad you like it, though I'll admit the story isn't perfect. You've definitely highlighted a lot of good points to remember when writing future material, and I appreciate the in-depth review.

 

[Neo Pikachu]

PART II – THE SHADOW THAT WALKS

Chapter 14
The Call of the Night​

I spent the rest of that afternoon just trying to gather and salvage whatever supplies and equipment that was left intact into one area. Sadly enough, one of the many things I found that hadn't even been used were the firearms. Obviously, the Black Onyx hadn't found the forward weapons cache, but it was useless considering we never even got to use it. Still, I wasn't going to need a whole pile of fifty firearms. Three rifles at once was the maximum I could carry. And regrettably so, our rifles weren't nearly as powerful as those of the Black Onyx Kingdom. Still, I took both of the Black Onyx rifles I had found, and a slightly outdated sniper rifle that originated from the Southern Tempest. I had wiped the scope and cleaned out the rest of the rifle, but I still had no plan on how I was going to strike the Black Onyx Kingdom and inflict as much damage as I could. Half of me was so demoralized at the moment that I wasn't sure if I was so up to it at the moment.

I never did find Blazewing's body. As horrific as it sounded, I didn't have the size and strength to make a funeral pyre for the other Pokémon, never mind include her. Not to mention that trying to burn or bury the dead would have made it clear someone had survived.

After looking at a map I had managed to save, apparently, it was no joke that Skepter pretty much ruled the world now. His cities were everywhere, except where the land wasn't fertile enough to support a town. My main focus was to start stripping down as many of his power plants as possible. By now, I wouldn't be surprised if Skepter had already started downsizing his guard patrols if he even had any at all. There was no one left to attack them. As for now, there was no chance of a rebellion forming against Skepter. It could take another few decades before others realized how much of a maniac he really was. I wasn't going to wait that long.

From what I could see, the Black Onyx Kingdom was separated into six parts. It would take me forever to shut down every power plant they had, and even then, after three attacks, they would start catching on to my pattern. Still, I had to make my strikes unexpected. I could tell the first would be relatively easy to make its total destruction look like a freak accident. Maybe even a second one if I could get creative enough with it. But a third strike would alert them that there was still a threat out there. Regardless, I didn't care. I wanted to mow down at many of his weak points as possible, regardless of how hard it was going to be. I knew Skepter's cities couldn't live without power, and rebuilding his Synth power plants was going to be a heck of a task. Every one I struck down, thousands of buildings would be without power. I couldn't think of any better fate than to plunge them all into their own self-created darkness.

Evening had come, and I had selected my first target. In what used to be the remains of the fallen nation of Crescent Moon now lay a whole industrial center that belonged to the Black Onyx Kingdom. In the center of it was their Synth power plant, possibly their most important one. Without it, that whole area might as well have blown up sky high, that's how useless their factories and industrial assembly plants in that area would become with no power to run them. Still, there was no way I could just walk in there and expect to tear the place apart with no resistance whatsoever. Like with Macomb, I needed to pretend I was one of them, and use one of their uniforms. However, the walk would take me months, and I had no real way of knowing if I would be able to find enough to feed myself on the way there.

What separated me from any other Pikachu that belonged to the Black Onyx Kingdom were my abilities to react quickly and almost slow down time itself, as well as my accuracy. And for some unknown reason, my eyes themselves had some means of revealing my true nature from what it seemed to others around me from what Sinis told me, but other than that, all it took was a uniform and Blazewing tightly secured in her Pokéball, and no one would ever suspect that I would be walking among them. To them, I was dead for all they knew. Even if Skepter didn't have a bullet-ridden corpse named Juno in front of him to defile and torment as much as he wanted, he wasn't going to mind believing that I was killed and burned at some point during the slaughter. And I doubt anyone who attacked us kept track of who they killed in that massacre.

I counted up the food I had acquired, and from the looks of it, I had about three days worth before everything else would spoil. Meanwhile, I headed back to the library and had removed the corpses of the Charmander and the Furret that had belonged to the Black Onyx. I saved the Charmander's uniform, since I was going to need it if I was going to have any chance of infiltrating that Synth power plant. It was almost a perfect fit for me, the only problem was the back was a little tight. Still, it would have to do. The Furret's uniform was soaked in blood I knew there was no way I could even get into that thing. I had to minimize my light usage on the surface, so I thought the best idea would be to sleep in the cellar library.

Before I headed down, I made sure I had everything packed and prepared. As I looked around me, I felt so ruined from how badly I missed everyone. There was nothing more I wanted than to just wake up from this nightmare, hoping to find myself in bed and suddenly realize everything was okay. But no, that was not how it was meant to be.

I had heard a sudden rustling noise in the nearby shrubs, and immediately I dropped everything and quickly equipped the sniper rifle. The gathered food, maps, and bedroll fell to the ground around me as I kept on the lookout with the rifle up and ready to shoot at any second, but I couldn't see anything. I moved slowly, trying to make sure I didn't create a whole lot of noise. It was still too dark to see anything, but I knew for sure there was someone else out there.

"Juno?" A sudden familiar voice asked me.

I felt like a breath of hope and life suddenly came back to me.

"Blazewing, you're alive?" I asked the darkness.

And then, suddenly she appeared before me, having used her ability of cloaking to hide. Nearly on the verge of tears, I ran to her and she came to me. I wrapped my arms around her, overjoyed she was still alive. I didn't know how she managed to survive all this, but I was so glad she did.

"Juno, I thought…" She told me, still happy to see me again, "I searched everywhere for you, but I… I thought…"

"We're…" I told her, releasing my grasp around her. "We're all that's left now. But we… we can still do this, you and I."

She gave me a quick and cheerful smile of hope and gratitude, but it didn't last for long. I knew, at a time like this… happiness was not very long lasting at all.

"I spent hours searching," She told me as I realized she witnessed the same atrocities I had. "The only reason I'm still alive was because I headed into the water and cloaked myself. I… I felt like such a coward…"

"There was nothing you could do," I told her, knowing she couldn't have fought the entire Black Onyx army all by herself. "If you fought them, you would have died. You and I both… we knew this day was coming."

As grim as it sounded, she agreed. Aries never had much of a will to fight back, and because of that, the situation always meant time was against us. Regardless, after gathering my things, I showed Blazewing my plans, the whole trip to Crescent Moon to shut off the Black Onyx's power plants and factories. Still, as I was explaining this to her, it felt like I was doing nothing more than simple acts of revenge. I didn't know how I would bring back the Silver Apex while everyone was dead. For a long time, I began to wonder if the Divine Prophecy was stopped simply because it had foreseen this.

After we gathered our things to prepare for tomorrow's trip, the two of us headed to the underground library that I had been using for a long time. It was cold and quiet down here, but thankfully, the Black Onyx had no reason to look here any longer. After laying my bedroll out and climbing in, Blazewing gently lied down to go to sleep. I wasn't sure what tomorrow would bring, but I could only hope it wouldn't be for nothing…

With my head on the ground, I closed my eyes and allowed sleep to carry me away…

* * *​

I had a choice. I held it in my hands, almost a thousand feet above the water. All I had to do was let go, and no one would ever see it again. Likely, it would fall to the bottom of the gulf, and just deteriorate without anyone ever looking at its pages once again. But I thought to myself, maybe it wasn't that bad. He may have written it, but what did it matter? No one would ever know about it. Oh, who was I kidding? Really, who else would ever read it besides someone from the Black Onyx anyway? They would probably find it, strip it and defile it, and ruin my history for all future generations to wince at. They would tell their children that Juno was murderer and a defiler, and one of the worst war villains that had ever lived. I shut my eyes from just the bitter thought of it.

I took my grip off the book, and like that, it disappeared from my hands and fluttered its way down from the metal bridge I was standing on and plummeted into the water with a tiny splash. As I watched the pulsing ripples from the slash site, I knew it was done then. My grave was crumbling, my homeland torched with it's cities turning to dust, and now this, this final link to my legacy written by a traitor, the only part of it all that could ever live on, was cast to the bottom of the gulf like its own burial at sea. For once, being forgotten was worse than even death itself, but it was a price I had to pay. Being forgotten was better than being remembered and hated for endless generations. This was the sacrifice that I had to make.

My past was beautiful, my present was my worst torture, but was what was my future? It was all unanswered for now. I looked down toward the metal supports that held up the bridge to see the Wingull flying. Just from watching them, I could only wish I could fly myself, and join them and forget about everything else for even just a few moments. I didn't even know where I was. And then, the oddest thing happened. One of the Wingull had flown up toward me, and perched itself on the railing next to me. He looked at me with an interested eye, and then something strange happened…

"Jake Kossak is dead, Juno," The Wingull told me, speaking sympathetically. "Miss him. Miss him. Miss him…"

"I saw him die," I heard myself say to him. "I was there. I saw him die and I felt his pain."

"The mourning space is only a few feet, Juno," He spoke again, looking down toward the water. "Only a few feet. Upon that cross, there is no name. No name."

He was right. Yes, just like the other soldiers, he was a forgotten memory. Nothing. But then again, so was Juno, only he wasn't dead yet, but it would only be a matter of time. The prophecy was fulfilled and gone, and now the book of my past was gone. And anything else of it was either dead or gone too. While Jake Kossak couldn't have been remembered if he wanted to, Juno was once known as a savior. But in the end, they followed the same path, and both became forgotten. I guess this is what they meant when ashes turn to ashes, and dust turns to dust.

"I wish I could be remembered," I heard me tell the Wingull, hoping he would understand. "I wish I could fly like you, and just forget about my troubles. You seem to know of them quite well, actually."

"I'm a bird, Juno," The Wingull confessed. "Just a bird. But you are born of dreams. You can chase stars, Juno. You go beyond all birds. All birds. All birds."

"I don't have that kind of power," I heard myself tell him, feeling weaker at that moment. "I never could fly and I never will."

"Chance," The Wingull whispered to me, bending over and trying to speak closer as his demeanor suddenly changed completely. "You have one chance. You can find it around you. Around you. Find it before they burn it to nothing. Nothing."

It didn't make sense to me. What was he talking about? There was nothing around me. Only water and metal pillars. There was nothing for me here but emptiness.

"What?" I heard myself ask him as I detected a sudden impulse of impatience in my voice. "What does it mean? What will be burnt to nothing?"

"You know," The Wingull continued on, relentless. "You feel it. A darkened white like a cloud before a storm. Just beyond your reach. Your reach. You can see it but you cannot touch it unless you climb to catch it. Catch it."

"But… why?" I could sense myself ask him. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I will be gone," He told me, looking at me closely now. "Gone… forever. For unlike you, my time will vanish, and I will be gone. You walk among dreams and survive. Where you find the link to your past, you find the link to your future. Your future…"

And then, he flew away, and left me standing there. And suddenly, I saw fire around me. I didn't understand it for a moment, and then suddenly I felt like I had been struck in the back with a defibrillator.

And then I found myself, lying on the floor of the library…

 

[Neo Pikachu]

Chapter 15
The Search in the Depths​

I didn't understand any of it. Usually I never remember my dreams or they're utter, chaotic nonsense that I simply cast away and forget, but this was different. I tried to think about the location of the dream, and there was nothing that I could find a match with. I already knew it was a place I had never been to, but that didn't rule out the possibility that such a place existed.

As I noticed Blazewing was still sleeping, I had quickly stood up and found some blank pieces of paper on a desk and a pen, and I tried to write down as much of it as I could remember. I felt strange about it at first, thinking this dream was probably nothing, but something in the back of my mind was telling me otherwise. I wrote it all down, everything the Wingull said, and everything that I did in that dream. Even the means that had forced me to wake up I had scribbled onto that piece of paper. But even when I read it all again and was sure I had gotten everything, it still didn't make any sense. Again, it still felt like he was talking about a spirit. And if that was the case, I still couldn't see how that would ever help me. But then again, maybe it wasn't supposed to.

I looked over the first pieces of the conversation. Again, it was just the death of Jake Kossak. I didn't even consider that a part of me anymore. Jake Kossak might as well have been a complete stranger. But then came the part about wanting to fly, and how the Wingull felt I was already "above all birds" and "could chase stars." I still didn't get it. I've never been able to fly my entire life, only Blazewing could ever do that and I had always depended on her for that. Still, I tried not to think of it in such a literal sense, which I figured was throwing me off. All of it… it still felt like a puzzle or a riddle that might not have had an end or an answer, and now I was throwing myself into the maze of it. Still, I tried to have at least a little faith in it. At a time like this, any answer would have been appreciated.

Then it was about "chance." I remembered exactly that he told me I had "one chance" to find it, and warned me about it "being burned to nothing." Again, I tried to think of it in a variety of ways. Still, the more I thought about it, the more I realized he definitely wasn't talking about a spirit. I looked at the paper again, and remembered he described whatever he was talking about as a "darkened white cloud just before a storm" and said "I needed to climb to catch it." Still, I wasn't making any leads with this riddle. And then, I read the last line he said just before the dream ended. He told me "that he would be gone," which I figured was because he was just a part of the dream, again in a literal sense. Then, came his very last line, just before he flew away and the shock I had felt after the fire had appeared.

"Where you find the link to your past, you find the link to your future."

I then threw down the pieces of paper in my hands, and they lay there completely still. I remember what I myself had even called "the link to my past," and then I suddenly realized what he was trying to tell me…

He was talking about another book in this library.

I suddenly felt cold and still as an eerie chill crawled up my spine. I turned back and started looking around. Somewhere in this room was the answer I needed. "Burned to nothing" was the risk of not finding it, and that was true. No doubt the Black Onyx would soon be all over this place, and every last book in these quarters would just become ash. Having read so many of them, the thought of years of work and inspiration being burnt in yet another holocaust was enough to make me sick.

I held the pieces of paper as I looked at each of the shelves. Slowly, my eyes traced along each of the shelves, but still, there was no one book that stood out from the rest. I then looked back down at the pieces of paper in my hands…

"You feel it. A darkened white like a cloud before a storm. Just beyond your reach. Your reach. You can see it but you cannot touch it unless you climb to catch it. Catch it."

Climb to catch it. He was talking about a darkened white book that had to be at least on the third shelf, "just beyond my reach." My eyes quickly traced along most of the shelves, and I had seen that almost none of them were even near white. Still, I kept moving along and checking each of the shelves. I was feeling a rush of anxiety and anticipation as I slowly moved through the library, looking at the third and fourth shelves for a white book. And then, after finally making my way around the bend, I had seen it. There it sat on the third shelf, almost in the middle. It was definitely a very light gray, but I could still tell it used to be pure white but was discolored by age and dirt.

I already knew it was a book I had never read before, being all the way on the right side of the library. I finally put down all the pieces of paper I was carrying, and began to climb the shelf. I then finally reached the third shelf of the bookcase, and managed to pull the light gray book out before jumping down to the floor. As I held the book in my hands, I realized it was fairly old and slightly damaged, but it gave off a strange an almost otherworldly aura. The words on the cover were totally illegible, but I could still make out a few letters and some sort of crest that had been engraved into the cover, like an emblem of sorts. But as of now, this book looked just like all the others. I wasn't about to start having doubts now, however.

As I had prepared to sit down, Blazewing had awoken, seeing me with the book in my hands. She seemed a little curious, wondering what I was doing.

"What is that you have there?" She asked me, wondering how I came across it.

"I… don't know," I told her honestly. "I had this dream that… guided me to it."

Like the book that Vice had written, I sat down, and opened it to the first page. Meanwhile, Blazewing looked over my shoulder, glancing down at the book as well. Upon flipping over the front cover, I immediately saw the pages inside were slightly soiled and dirty, but still, the first page showed to me what was supposed to be on the cover but was worn out with old age. "The Scathing of the Shadow Phoenix" was the book's title, and the emblem was a very disturbing image of a majestic black bird with broken wings, surrounded by fire, and screaming out in pain. I turned back to the cover, and yes, the parts that were still visible looked just like the ones on the first page. Still, I couldn't see what this had to do with me in anyway. Regardless, I turned to the second page, and immediately it began with "The Death Manifest," with a very unsettling pencil drawn image of a large temple being slowly swallowed up in darkness.

"Looks pretty ghastly if you ask me…" Blazewing remarked, looking at the rather macabre images. "Sure you have the right book?"

"'A darkened white cloud before a storm…'" I recited from the dream, beginning to doubt if this was it. "There were… other messages in the dream that guided me to it, but I don't know, maybe I'm wrong."

We still had some time. The Black Onyx thought we were all dead, so in a way, there was no real hurry as long as we didn't spent the next few decades down here. Knowing Skepter and how he would regard what we had as a last stronghold against his army, I knew he wouldn't be expecting much for spoils of war.

After pushing that out of my mind, I turned back to the book and began reading out loud:

Damned and woeful are they who rise up against the one who is forged from stars and dies by fire. The darkness of their life after death is manifest, for they stumble in the shadows of their own ill created darkness. For they are lost forever, doomed to never reach the salvation they have so longed for, only to be locked in the pits of destruction and waste below which they have created for themselves. For it is here where they face their regret, and their woeful contemplation of their lost chance and their stupor of valuing their arrogant lives before their eternal construction. Abandon all hope for them, for their voice can be no louder than a whisper in the wind, and their vision a mere flicker in the night.

"That's rather… unsettling…" Blazewing remarked, looking surprised at how grim and foreboding the book seemed to be.

The whole first twenty pages were just as disturbing. On and on it went about the ceaseless tortures and total destruction. Oddly enough, the whole thing sounded so prophetic, definitely not like the other books in this library. Still though, anyone reading this could have easily mistaken it for just another fictional story. Eventually it all stopped, and began with the "The Waking of the Shadow," and began a whole new chapter. Again, there was another pencil drawn image right under the chapter title, and it was then where I saw the link between me and this book.

It was more than enough to suddenly catch my breath and make Blazewing snap out into attention with a horrified gasp.

It depicted a Pikachu screaming in pain, surrounded by fire in what appeared to look like a brutal holocaust. A death by fire, exactly how Zander predicted it all. That was no ordinary unfortunate Pikachu in that picture. That was me, the moment before I died. I looked at the cover, and very strangely, I could see a very close resemblance between what must have been the "Shadow Phoenix" and myself in the fire. But what did this mean?

"That can't… be a coincidence…" Blazewing remarked, barely able to speak at the sight of it.

"No, it can't," I agreed with her. "What does this mean though?"

Still, I turned back to the text, and began reading it out loud again:

For he gives himself in sacrifice, the blessing of his nation, the walker of his people, the key to the door of hope. Against the knowledge of his death he fights until his time. He sees the future death of himself and his friend, but does not let it cloud his will. For he dies by fire in the final, brutal battle, and vanquishes the foe with his voice and trust. The passing of them both comes, while one falls to the world below, he is risen up and his eyes are opened. Meanwhile, the burnt offering of himself is laid to rest, and his people mourn at his loss but anticipate the joy of a new hope. They anticipate… but remember. He is given the burial above kings, one that is justified.

For those precious moments he sees the splendor of Utopia, but those days are short lived upon his transition into his own world, the threshold of where his essence was created before his soul merged with the creation of the dream walker, Juno, before his struggle for his people. For there is no one else that can achieve what Juno can, born from desperate dreams, given power that can only be dreamt of to become real. Through Kossak's offering, Juno survives the dream to become the one force that Zander could not expect. To fight against one who was created through imagination, and who survived the fragile fabric of the dream instead of fading into the dust of the mind. It is that which makes the Gold Rider prevail and survive what others can't. Juno is made of stars, but dies by fire.

"Who could have written this?" Blazewing asked, looking pretty shocked.

I just nodded, having no idea. It knew everything, and I couldn't understand how or why. It was as if some guardian angel of mine had written the whole thing and knew of every circumstance that I had encountered. Even Kossak. I never would have dreamed that anything in this world would even know that Kossak was in fact my alter-ego at one point. But really, how could have this all been predicted? I quickly looked back to the cover. Was it really age that wore this book down so much…?

Or was it something completely different…?

 

[Neo Pikachu]

Chapter 16
The Path Revealed​

It wasn't making any sense to us. I was dying to know who wrote this and why they wrote it. I was surprised that they knew so much, and were able to get so much down on paper. Still though, this was making me question whether my destiny this entire time was governed by prophecies and whatnot. Regardless, there was only one way to find out. I turned to chapter three, and again, another interesting sight came to me.

"Chapter 3: Kossak's Final Fall" with a pencil drawing of myself as Jake Kossak once again, fighting in the trenches of Orre alongside Captain Davidson and Corporal Harrison. I knew it was them, their faces were unmistakable with the detail. And I swore that whoever wrote this had to be there themselves. Every word I read on those pages made me feel like the person who wrote this was simply breathing behind my back every passing moment. Out of slight paranoia I stopped reading every now and then and looked around for a brief moment around the dark library, thinking someone was really watching me. Either they knew this was all going to happen from a vision, or they were with me every passing moment.

It is he, Juno who lives in the world of men as Kossak, for it is Juno who can walk between worlds unlike others. But upon the fields in this world, war is no different, and Kossak is a mere ordinary soldier unlike his majestic bearing of the title "Gold Rider" in this world of Kivistal as well as the leadership he holds for his people of the Silver Apex. No other man fighting alongside of him knows anything of who Kossak really is, and what really lies beneath the fabric of his skin. Like before, he plunges himself into the heat of battle, being far more familiar with it than others. They fight long and hard, and make decisions they regret, but they draw closer to their goal. However, he and his fellow comrades of men perish in the trenches of this foreign land known only to Juno and no one else. While his comrades lift their souls up to the clouds of heaven, Kossak's name, body, and memory faded into dust as he ascends back to his true form in the sparkling waters of Utopia.

It was chilling to read it all. They knew about Sita, my connection to her, and I knew for a fact they knew what Utopia actually looked like having seen it myself and knowing each line of description was totally exact. It was alarming how they managed to capture every event so flawlessly. The trenches of Orre… how on earth did they know I was there? It was impossible. Everyone I knew along this path didn't know this much about me to be able to write this kind of thing. No one was with me all the way from the beginning to the end. So who could have even written this?

Then it moved to "Chapter 4: Juno's Second Promise," with a picture of me leading the survivors of the fallen Silver Apex out of the ruins of our homeland. What really made me wonder was… did the author actually predict I would be reading his own book? Regardless, I kept reading, watching events that only happened a few months ago begin to unfold. All the while, Blazewing was spellbound by what we were reading, no longer questioning the authenticity of this book.

The selfless Gold Rider returns to the waste of his own grave to encounter the very treacherous pillagers of the Black Onyx who defiled his people, his grave, and consumed the world under their fiery tongues. After destroying them and proving to Cythan who he really is and sends him cowering away, he finds himself, fallen in the desert. The darkness swallows him, and he is taken by his oppressors and they take them to their lord Skepter. They torture his mind, make mockery of his accomplishments, but it is their own hubris that gives Juno the chance to escape to return to his people in their time of desperation. Upon the death of their leader Sinis, it is Juno who commands his people once again, and who leads them out of their homelands through the plains of Conda and to the paradise of the Azure Islands to spend the rest of their days in splendor rather than in sorrow. But those times are short lived as they are soon discovered by the Black Onyx yet a second time, and it is here where the once mighty Silver Apex is burned to cinders, along with the rest of whatever forces could stand against the Black Onyx.

It is a time a great celebration in the Black Onyx Kingdom now. All of their enemies have been put to death, and parades will be held for days. However, there is one who rises from the ashes of his fallen empire like a Phoenix, and who will walk among them like a shadow. To plunge them all in their own darkness, and to stop the heart that keeps their people alive. Let there be riots in the streets, and anarchy to those who are restless.

For I see him now, holding my own written text in his hands as Blazewing stays besides him. While he is lead to believe otherwise, I cannot see the future, my accounts are only from what has been. In the back of his mind, there has always been a solution, otherwise his grieving would overwhelm him to the point of suicide. And there is, but it is a taxing trial, one that would require an almost infinite amount of bravery and fearlessness.

My heart was racing. This was real, there was no way this could ever be a lie to me. There was a way… yes. I was ready to believe there was one, and not just in name only. I had turned the page, and saw both pages were suddenly blank, and didn't have a single word on them. And then, something happened that nearly made me faint.

"Whoa…" Blazewing suddenly gasped at what she was seeing.

Words were suddenly being written on the pages, right before our own eyes. I was right, there was something watching over me. Still, I looked to the words, and read them despite how unusually freshly written they were…

Your intended path leads to the ruins of the Crescent Moon to wipe out their industrial center. To plunge them all in darkness. Indeed, they dwell in shade and confusion. The only way to bring your people to light is to shut out the light for your enemy, and it has become your role. Indeed, by now you have realized that you are in fact the Shadow Phoenix himself, the one who rises again from the darkness as a sword of bright retribution against the night of your enemies.

There is a cathedral there in the fogged presence of their industrial city, forgotten and abandoned by those who once used it. The doors cannot be opened when there is light shining upon the great seal that is engraved on them, yet another reason for you to bring the night to them. It also cannot be destroyed, and all attempts to do so have been met with deadly and lethal failure.

There is a stairway inside that building that leads as far down as you can imagine, into the bowels of the Abyss itself, the method to access it from our world without the requirement of sin and death. You cannot show fear or despair upon your journey through those darkest caverns. They will know you're not supposed to be there. You must travel as long and as hard as you can until you reach the City of Dis, the home of the damned. In its dark and bleeding streets you will find a single, black building housed among the gray graveyard of a city you find there. This is the Temple of the Damned, a building that is solely meant to confine those who have been confined to the City of Dis. However, you must enter, despite the fact that once inside, it will be impossible to see due to the infernal darkness. You must navigate inside using only your other senses, for the windows to your soul must remain shut.

Inside you will find the Stone of Dusk, a smooth gray stone disc bearing no markings. Besides it you will find the Dagger of Despair, a sharp, twisted blade that bleeds black. You will only be able to feel them, for you will be unable to see in those dark and twisted halls. Once you have found the stone, you are to hold it as close to your heart as possible. At that point, you must realize there is only one way to escape the Temple of the Damned, as well as the City of Dis. You must take the Dagger of Despair and drive it through your own heart. My only warning is this: the death will be one of extreme and almost unbearable physical and mental pain. Regardless, you must keep the Stone of Dusk as close to you as possible. Leaving it out of your grasp will only cause you to leave it behind, and will only result in your own failure. There will be no way to get it back again if you leave it out of your hand…

Once the horror of your most violent death is over, you will find yourself in the sanctuary of the heavens, the Ivory Gardens of Utopia with the Stone of Dusk still with you, a sight that even you haven't seen yet. But even in this realm of tranquility, there are threats against your mission. Even after the unbearable pain of the Abyss, you cannot let yourself be tempted to stay in those serene halls despite the comfort and placidity that surround you. You must tell yourself that this will all be for you some other day. You must carry on through the familiar tranquil fields you have seen before to the City of the Horizon, yet another location you have yet to visit. There is a secret garden there that houses the Fountain of Purity, one that flows with pure, untouched water than has never been past anyone's lips. Mounted on the top bowl is the Blade of the Dreamkeeper, a knife that was put there after bringing destruction to countless evil, with edges that are beyond razor sharp. You must then take the Stone of Dusk, and carve three symbols into it in a triangular formation using this very blade. The symbol that is on the bottom left is of yourself, the Gold Rider, the Shadow Phoenix of Juno. The one on the bottom right is that of your people, the Silver Apex and all that is used to represent its glory. Lastly, above them both in the center is the symbol of Utopia itself, and all that represents the peace and harmony that only those who do good in their life will ever find. Once the three symbols are in place, you are to take both the Stone of Dusk and the Blade of the Dreamkeeper, and head back to the Opal Fields to the Well of Harmony. Like before, plunge into its waters and head back to the world you came from.

At the moment you stand alone before your enemy amasses before you, use the Blade of the Dreamkeeper and cut your hand with it. Every drop of your own blood shed by this blade will glow a brilliant white. At that moment, take the Stone of Dusk and draw a circle through the three symbols with your glowing, white blood. The very stone from the abyss itself will become pure, and will shine like a massive flare in the night. Only at that moment will the heavens open, and all will await your call.

My faith lies within you, Juno. Only you will ever go so far.

My path was laid before me. But it spoke nothing of the real challenges I would have to face on this mission. I could see what the three symbols were supposed to be. The one of myself was an outline of a Pikachu with two flames besides it. Meanwhile, the one that represented the Silver Apex was that of a monolith in the above the setting sun. Finally, the last symbol, the one used to represent Utopia itself was a castle in the clouds.

Then, just like that, I had shut the white book, and to my sudden surprise, it was suddenly lit on fire and burned to nothing in my hands before my eyes, never once letting me know who the mysterious stranger who seemed to follow me through every passing moment was. Still, I felt that in time, there would be a moment for me to discover that truth.

"We can do this," Blazewing told me as she tried to give me some encouragement. "I know it sounds rough, but I'll be with you every step of the way."

"Alright," I told her, unable to hold back a smile as I strongly felt I could give hope a fighting chance with this. "Let's do this, then."

I was just about to leave the library until I found the book that Vice had written. As hideous as it was to imagine every book in this library would be burned in a holocaust, I couldn't let that one be destroyed, even if it was written by a traitor. Despite the message of my dream, I had a strong feeling that this book would never end up in the hands of the Black Onyx Kingdom for them to butcher and lie with.

And finally, we had left that library, and had come up from the ground, bound for what was left of Crescent Moon. Weapons strung around my shoulder, hope in our hearts, and our eyes set on the path ahead, we prepared to leave what was left of the Azure Islands and our fallen people in the hope of pursuing the only means to bring them back.

 

[Neo Pikachu]

Chapter 17
Shadows of Memory​

We were alone now, with a still silence around me. Still, for once I felt like the eyes of millions were upon us, but I was overwhelmed by the feeling of being alone. Still, among the smoke around me, I still felt life around me, and hopes in the slight gusts of wind. To me, they all lived, but none of them ever really died. I could still hear their voices every now and then. I didn't know it if was actually real or if I was actually just hallucinating things…

For now, Blazewing was my only source of companionship, and would likely have to be there by my side for every challenge I would have to soon embrace. She was the only one alive who I could really trust now. No one has been through more with me than her, and I was glad she could still be here with me despite these desperate times.

She too, was also born of Randy's long lost created dream world, and had powers similar to mine. She too was born of dreams and "could chase stars" and "fly with me" if she really wanted to as that strange dream had told me. Skepter may have brought down every other living member of the once mighty Silver Apex empire, but to defeat us, it would take more than he could ever imagine. We were walkers among worlds, and have seen and experienced things that Skepter could never dream of. I've come all this way, and I would not rest until my time here was truly done. Without a doubt, I was going to ensure Blazewing and I, despite being his last living enemies, would be far more than he could ever hope to handle.

The Azure Islands were gone now. All I saw around me was smoke, ruins, and death, a sight I was beginning to get used to having seen it so many times. I had seen it before with the war involving the Crimson Stars, and I had seen the fields of death in Kivistal. Even as the late Jake Kossak, I had seen a ruined and ravaged Orre, and by now, the fields of destruction and ruin were common to me. In the meantime, I never did find the bodies of Aries, Echo, or Kaz, but I did find Frost lying in a ditch in one of the fields. It was a shame I really didn't know any of them for that long, not like how I knew Sinis at one point. He died the death of a warrior, but sadly, I didn't want to see the last of our warriors die as farmers, without weapons or any kind of defense. Still, it was time to leave it behind. The road ahead of us was going to be a long one, and now wasn't the time to dwell on it.

"I checked one last time, but it seems they got all of them," Blazewing whispered to me mournfully, "I was hoping there would be at least someone… just one other like us that had survived, but there was nothing…"

"I wish it didn't have to be like this," I told her, looking out to the setting sun. "We're really the only ones left. Still, I have hope, even if the odds are ridiculously against us."

Then, I pulled out my map out of the small gray pack I was wearing. I showed her exactly where we needed to go, right toward the heart of Crescent Moon in the Far East. No doubt, I would have to have her land on the outskirts so I she wouldn't be seen. But thanks to the uniform I was wearing, there shouldn't have been a problem with me getting inside.

"That's a pretty long distance away…" Blazewing told me, showing to where I was pointing to.

"Well, Skepter doesn't even know we're still alive." I told her, looking right at the location on the map, "No one will be after us, but we can't stay here. There were many bodies neither of us could find. With that in mind, Skepter won't know if we were included in this holocaust pyres or not."

"Hopefully he never finds out…" Blazewing replied as she looked out to the road ahead.

Hopefully…

I then climbed upon her back, and only a moment later, we took off, and I quickly realized how long it's been since I've last flown through the skies with her. We flew past the smoking ruins of the Azure Islands, and then over the land of Conda once again. Still, I just couldn't even glace to admire the scenery with all the thoughts in my mind. The very idea of walking through the abyss itself was what was bringing me the most fear, not even what I would have to go through to shut down the Black Onyx Synth power plant.

We passed through miles and miles of sky, and every minute brought the sun down even further. For most of the ride, we flew across the ocean to help us avoid even further detection, but for the first time, even the sky seemed to be colder than usual. The sea was black as oil, the clouds were gray as smoke, and it seemed like the closer and closer we drew toward Crescent Moon, the less life there seemed to be.

And then, as soon as I saw land, time seemed to slow to a crawl. It suddenly opened up before us, and the first thing we saw was the harbor. But even that alone was massive, and that wasn't even the heart of the city. All I could do now was tell Blazewing to head off to the side, away from the massive industrial center so that she could land and I could move through the city on foot. No doubt, most of the workers would be away from their workstations due to the fact it was the beginning of the evening. However, the Synth power plant would probably still have a few workers up and around to make sure everything was running correctly throughout the night. Still, this was nothing like what Macomb was many years ago. But then again, this wouldn't be the true test of my faith either.

Blazewing had landed softly in a large, crevice that held nothing but a lot of dead and sickly-looking vegetation that were losing the fight against the pollution. I looked around us and noticed we were about a mile away from the industrial center. In the distance, it looked like some twisted-looking mountain range with a black clouded sky above it from the continuous pollution of the smoke stacks below. Jagged buildings, smokestacks, and other industrial features gave the industrial city ahead of us a very twisted and macabre appearance.

"I'm going to need to go alone," I told her, knowing she would have to be on standby. "I would ask you to come, but if anyone sees us together, the base will be on high alert and no doubt Skepter would hunt us down forever."

"I understand," Blazewing nodded, assuring me that she would be ready to come get me at any time, "But… are you really sure you want to walk through all that all alone?"

"If this at all intimidates me, then nothing will prepare me for what lies after this," I replied to her as I climbed off her back. "My only problem is trying to figure out how I'm going to stop it all…"

"I know you can do it, Juno." Blazewing replied, giving me a little smile, "Do it like you always have. With courage and determination. You have always found a way."

This wasn't the hard part. In fact, to me, this was almost a break. But what would tomorrow bring? Still, I looked ahead, and knew what I had to do. It wouldn't be long now… not long at all…

"Come." I told Blazewing, looking in her eyes, "The best time to strike is now. Their cover is as down as it will ever be. They'll think we're dead, and they haven't steeled themselves against this."

She simply nodded, and used her ability to become invisible to hide herself. I knew she wouldn't be too far behind, but we absolutely couldn't afford to blow our cover. A lone Pikachu would mean nothing to the Black Onyx as I was sure they had a few of their own in their ranks. However, a Pikachu besides a Latias meant something completely different. Even though there were aspects about me that were far different from other Pikachus, they would never notice them until they looked at me up close… especially in my eyes. And then again, not every one of Skepter's soldiers knew about that or even got the chance to see what I looked like. They would never recognize me alone.

I turned around and headed down toward the industrial complex with my three firearms besides me. The walk to the power plant would be long and far through a mass of dirty, unkempt and rotten buildings, but it would have to be done. With every passing step, I drew closer and closer to it, passing plenty of factories that had shut down for the night. Others looked like they closed up permanently only just recently. All it took was a little peek to see their firearms and assault vehicles nestled inside, no longer needing them. But most of them looked clearly like they were up and running.

I could feel it in the air now, almost a bizarre sense of tranquility. They were fearless. Completely fearless with their victory over the world, and marched on without a trace of oppression. And King Skepter, king of the world, retiring most of his army as the fanfare of his parades carried on through the streets. No longer did he find Silver Apex forces still hiding among the rubble of Symarix and all its former splendor. And there was no trace of the legendary Juno, most likely burning in the same pile as the rest of his comrades. I saw them for a moment. All of Black Onyx, joined together in jubilation and feasting from their successful massacres around the world. Wine drinking, parties, and thanksgivings to King Skepter himself as he bathed and showered in the praises of his nation.

Let them rejoice today, for it will all be over before they could even sweep the streets clean. Let their fallen confetti be burned in the streets, and their wine casks and kegs smashed upon the ground. Let cheers be turned to screams, and fireworks in the sky be turned to flames consuming their homes. For jubilation in the name of death will become anarchy for the Black Onyx kingdom, as they are drenched in violence from their dishonor. Through every step I took, every breath of air I inhaled, and every beat of my heart, Black Onyx will never know true peace throughout the years as long as I carry on. I am the last one who remains, a shadow among them appearing to be like them. Behind them I strike, weapon in my hand, I embrace it.

Shambling through darkness to bring the dawn…