Writing Nightmare
- Thread starter DNA
- Start date
RE: Nightmare [PG] - Chapter 20 up!
A very decent read overall, DNA. There were a few parts here and there in the dialogue that I felt was a little rushed, but it's nothing to be worrying about. At the conclusion of the chapter, the cliffhanger had set quite a tense mood there. I'm eager to know more about Cepheus' eliminator. Though, there are a few things I would like to state:
Hmm, you say Deus was the Dream-Watcher? Well, the later portion of the sentence gave me a feeling that somehow Deus has a role in getting Cepheus in the unorthodox place.
Okay, for those that have a notorious habit of reading reviews before reading the actual nitty-gritty, I spoilered my thoughts in case.
There are two ways to present it: either in the original format you had in the story or the edited one I now gave you. Unless it's some sort of an error, then ignore it.
Overall, it's a great read. Looking forward to more in the near future.
A very decent read overall, DNA. There were a few parts here and there in the dialogue that I felt was a little rushed, but it's nothing to be worrying about. At the conclusion of the chapter, the cliffhanger had set quite a tense mood there. I'm eager to know more about Cepheus' eliminator. Though, there are a few things I would like to state:
Hmm, you say Deus was the Dream-Watcher? Well, the later portion of the sentence gave me a feeling that somehow Deus has a role in getting Cepheus in the unorthodox place.
Okay, for those that have a notorious habit of reading reviews before reading the actual nitty-gritty, I spoilered my thoughts in case.
Deus affixed a note on the door? How did he manage to get in at the first place? Giratina clearly stated he couldn't. Being the Dream-Watcher also, he could've sent a message through Cepheus in his dreams in contrast to nailing a note on the door. Interesting how he got a punch to the gut instead.
There are two ways to present it: either in the original format you had in the story or the edited one I now gave you. Unless it's some sort of an error, then ignore it.
Overall, it's a great read. Looking forward to more in the near future.
RE: Nightmare [PG] - Chapter 20 up!
Yes, tense indeed. And that was quite the point! Hope it left you on the edge of your seat.
As for Cepheus' eliminator...I know one person who is reading the story has already, correctly, figured it out...as well as what's going to happen next. There are some fun subtle hints you can pick up on.
Yes, tense indeed. And that was quite the point! Hope it left you on the edge of your seat.
As for Cepheus' eliminator...I know one person who is reading the story has already, correctly, figured it out...as well as what's going to happen next. There are some fun subtle hints you can pick up on.
Well, the note is from him, but that doesn't necessarily mean he placed it there. As I did mention, he does not have the ability to enter the Underworld, which means he had the note delivered by someone or something.
Whoops! You're correct; that is indeed an oversight. Thanks for pointing it out!
RE: Nightmare [PG] - Chapter 20 up!
[Back to Top]
The only reason I keep posting this is because Lucky is so very good about nagging me to keep it up. Love you too, Lucky <3
Anyway, back to business. I'm about to post chapter 21, but before I go from chapter 22 to the end (25), I want to proofread it more thoroughly myself, particularly the ending. I'm not usually satisfied with how the ending turns out when I write any story, and Nightmare is no exception. I am not good with endings, and usually when I write them, it ends up utilizing - no pun intended - a deus ex machina. I'm trying to do that LESS often.
I thought that chapter 21 was part of the ending, but after reading it over (and Lucky bugging me), I realized it's actually okay to post it.
And I can finally resolve that really big cliffhanger that I left for you guys in chapter 20. Its impact has sadly dulled by now, but hopefully you'll remember what it was.
In case you forgot, here it is:
Okay, now, to the main event!
Stats for this chapter:
Page Count: 2.6; Word Count: 1365
And now to proofread 22-25. Man, this is short.
Feedback, comments, and constructive criticism are always appreciated. However, as I have previously stated, keep your replies at a minimum of 20 words apiece. This is not a PokéBeach forum rule, but I'll probably ignore you if you don't have much to say.
[Back to Top]
The only reason I keep posting this is because Lucky is so very good about nagging me to keep it up. Love you too, Lucky <3
Anyway, back to business. I'm about to post chapter 21, but before I go from chapter 22 to the end (25), I want to proofread it more thoroughly myself, particularly the ending. I'm not usually satisfied with how the ending turns out when I write any story, and Nightmare is no exception. I am not good with endings, and usually when I write them, it ends up utilizing - no pun intended - a deus ex machina. I'm trying to do that LESS often.
I thought that chapter 21 was part of the ending, but after reading it over (and Lucky bugging me), I realized it's actually okay to post it.
And I can finally resolve that really big cliffhanger that I left for you guys in chapter 20. Its impact has sadly dulled by now, but hopefully you'll remember what it was.
In case you forgot, here it is:
“That Deus is evil! He’s the one who killed me!” (spoken by Felicia)
Okay, now, to the main event!
Stats for this chapter:
Page Count: 2.6; Word Count: 1365
~~~
21 – Wheel
[Thursday, July 22, 12.37 PM]
“Evil!?” Cepheus exclaimed, utterly confounded. “What on earth are you talking about?”
“I mean exactly what I said!” Felicia retorted. “Deus is the one who killed me!”
“That makes no sense! I know Deus personally and I know he’d never do something as heinous as commit murder!”
“Do you think I’d so casually forget the man who ended my life?!”
Cepheus didn’t answer to that – he knew that this would degrade into a shouting match that would have no real ending. Rather, he thought about who exactly this woman was and what would cause her to hate Deus so much, enough to accuse him of murder. Judging by what Deus had told him, this person was most likely...
“Well?” Felicia shouted. “No response?”
“...Were you...Solano’s girlfriend?” Cepheus asked.
Felicia gasped in utter shock and put her hand to her mouth.
Bingo.
“How did you know?” Felicia asked.
“It was an educated guess.”
“How do you know who Solano is?”
“I met him once. About the same height as me, with rocky-red skin, red eyes, and eight spikes jutting from his back?”
“That’s him...When did you meet him?”
“On two separate occasions...One was the day before I died, and the other is the day before that.”
“How is he?”
“He’s...he’s a soulless monster. He’ll kill anyone or anything if he’s given the order. He even once tried to kill me. ...Or, so I was told.”
“A...soulless monster?”
“Deus told me that about him, but to be perfectly honest, I doubt his claim. I think that he does have a soul, but it’s been locked away and hurt because of your death. However, I do not lie when I say that he tried to attack and kill me. Perhaps it was his mind’s self-defense mechanism.”
“So why are you here?”
“Deus asked me to bring you back to the land of the living, but I do not know for what purpose. I want to bring you back too...but not because Deus said so.”
“What is your motive?”
“Solano.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think once Solano sees you again, his heart will be restored to the man he once was. Without you he has nothing to live for, but I’m confident that bringing you back to life will change him.”
“And what about Deus? What if he tries to kill me again?”
“I will stop him if that happens.”
“Even though you know he might kill us both?”
“I will swear to protect you until I bring you back to Solano again with his heart restored...even if it means my own death. I don’t know what kind of plans Deus has, but I want to bring you back myself for my own reasons. So please...come with me.”
“Do you even know the way out of here?”
“I’ve been told.”
“...Very well, Cepheus White. I will come with you, but only because I will be reunited with Solano. It’s been many years since I’ve last seen him, and I miss him immensely.”
“Then...let’s go.”
Cepheus, with Felicia in tow, then led the way out of the Underworld, following a straight path upward and upward, following the connecting platforms and staircases. Within thirty minutes of walking, Cepheus came to a larger platform, 30 feet in diameter, with a crude wooden signpost placed in the middle of it. From this platform there were three staircases – the one from which he’d just came, one that led straight downward with no end in sight, and another that led straight upward with no end in sight. The sign in the middle of the platform read ‘Exit straight up – Wheel on detour to the right’ in black paint.
The Wheel. The place that Giratina had asked Cepheus to visit. Cepheus was so anxious to get Felicia home, yet Giratina had said that visiting the Wheel would tell Cepheus who his murderer was, and he desperately wanted to know.
“Felicia...” Cepheus began, “I wish to take a short detour.”
“Why?” she asked.
“This sign...It leads to a place called the Wheel. I don’t know what it is, but I was told by Giratina that visiting the Wheel would tell me who my murderer was. And...I desperately want to know. I want to bring my own murderer to justice as well, no matter who it may be.”
“...I really want to go back and see Solano again, but since you said this detour is going to be short, I’ll go with you.”
Felicia reluctantly followed Cepheus on the gray staircase that led downward towards this place called the Wheel. Cepheus had no clue what the Wheel actually was, and when he saw it, would it really tell him everything? What would a wheel be able to tell him?
It was only five minutes before the staircase stopped and connected to another circular platform fifty feet in diameter. However, when Cepheus scanned the area around him, looking for anything with resemblance to a wheel, he saw nothing – not a single thing stood before him. Was the sign...false?
“Cepheus, I don’t see anything that looks like a wheel around here,” Felicia said. “You sure you know what you’re doing?”
“I...I know the Wheel exists,” Cepheus responded, looking around frantically. “Giratina told me it was around here somewhere – it’s got to exist!”
“Well, I don’t see it anywh – oh my goodness...”
“Felicia, what’s wrong?”
“Cepheus, the Wheel...It’s right above you!”
Cepheus looked straight up into the air to see this Wheel...and saw the most horrifying thing he had ever seen in his existence up to this point. This Wheel consisted of two circular paths, one situated directly above the other, and intersecting both paths were four large metal poles, with spikes near the top and bottom of each pole, with both spikes and poles set ninety degrees distant from each other. The paths themselves also appeared to be connected at certain points halfway between each pole. The entire Wheel appeared to be floating in midair, but the most shocking thing of all was that both of the circular paths that comprised the main body of the Wheel...were wailing – constantly, without stop, a moan of boundless despair.
“What...is that thing?” Felicia asked.
“This must be the Wheel...”
“What’s that noise? It sounds like screaming...”
“The Wheel...those circular paths...those are people’s souls.”
“What?!”
“Can’t you see them from here? All those faces...twisted, locked in despair, moving around and around, unable to escape... This is no wheel; this is the circle of Hell!”
“Then...why on earth did Giratina send you here? How does this tell you who your murderer is?”
“I don’t know...Why on earth would Gira – ” Then he suddenly became quiet.
“Cepheus?”
Cepheus didn’t answer right away – he was concentrating on the shape of the Wheel. He wasn’t quite sure, but he felt like he’d seen this shape before...but where? It was on the tip of his tongue – where had he seen that shape?
“I’ve got it!” Cepheus yelled suddenly. “I know who killed me...!”
“Who is it?” Felicia asked.
“I’ll tell you later...Come on, let’s get back to the real world!”
Cepheus didn’t wait for Felicia to answer, but instead turned around and bounded up the staircase, two steps at a time, dead-set on getting back to the land of the living. Felicia was struggling to keep up with him – Cepheus was filled with emotion and fervor, as if he suddenly knew the meaning behind everything that had happened...much like Giratina had told him.
At the top of the other staircase was a mystical white portal, which presumably led back to the real world. He stopped in front of it and waited for Felicia to catch up. She was panting heavily by the time she reached Cepheus.
“Is this...the way home?” she asked.
“Most likely.”
“Cepheus...when we get back, will you protect me until I find Solano again?”
“I will, to the best of my ability.”
“All right, Cepheus...I’ll be waiting for you.”
And so the two of them leapt into the portal together, the portal that cut through space and time – the portal that would lead them back into the real world.
What would be waiting for the two of them when they were brought back to life?
21 – Wheel
[Thursday, July 22, 12.37 PM]
“Evil!?” Cepheus exclaimed, utterly confounded. “What on earth are you talking about?”
“I mean exactly what I said!” Felicia retorted. “Deus is the one who killed me!”
“That makes no sense! I know Deus personally and I know he’d never do something as heinous as commit murder!”
“Do you think I’d so casually forget the man who ended my life?!”
Cepheus didn’t answer to that – he knew that this would degrade into a shouting match that would have no real ending. Rather, he thought about who exactly this woman was and what would cause her to hate Deus so much, enough to accuse him of murder. Judging by what Deus had told him, this person was most likely...
“Well?” Felicia shouted. “No response?”
“...Were you...Solano’s girlfriend?” Cepheus asked.
Felicia gasped in utter shock and put her hand to her mouth.
Bingo.
“How did you know?” Felicia asked.
“It was an educated guess.”
“How do you know who Solano is?”
“I met him once. About the same height as me, with rocky-red skin, red eyes, and eight spikes jutting from his back?”
“That’s him...When did you meet him?”
“On two separate occasions...One was the day before I died, and the other is the day before that.”
“How is he?”
“He’s...he’s a soulless monster. He’ll kill anyone or anything if he’s given the order. He even once tried to kill me. ...Or, so I was told.”
“A...soulless monster?”
“Deus told me that about him, but to be perfectly honest, I doubt his claim. I think that he does have a soul, but it’s been locked away and hurt because of your death. However, I do not lie when I say that he tried to attack and kill me. Perhaps it was his mind’s self-defense mechanism.”
“So why are you here?”
“Deus asked me to bring you back to the land of the living, but I do not know for what purpose. I want to bring you back too...but not because Deus said so.”
“What is your motive?”
“Solano.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think once Solano sees you again, his heart will be restored to the man he once was. Without you he has nothing to live for, but I’m confident that bringing you back to life will change him.”
“And what about Deus? What if he tries to kill me again?”
“I will stop him if that happens.”
“Even though you know he might kill us both?”
“I will swear to protect you until I bring you back to Solano again with his heart restored...even if it means my own death. I don’t know what kind of plans Deus has, but I want to bring you back myself for my own reasons. So please...come with me.”
“Do you even know the way out of here?”
“I’ve been told.”
“...Very well, Cepheus White. I will come with you, but only because I will be reunited with Solano. It’s been many years since I’ve last seen him, and I miss him immensely.”
“Then...let’s go.”
Cepheus, with Felicia in tow, then led the way out of the Underworld, following a straight path upward and upward, following the connecting platforms and staircases. Within thirty minutes of walking, Cepheus came to a larger platform, 30 feet in diameter, with a crude wooden signpost placed in the middle of it. From this platform there were three staircases – the one from which he’d just came, one that led straight downward with no end in sight, and another that led straight upward with no end in sight. The sign in the middle of the platform read ‘Exit straight up – Wheel on detour to the right’ in black paint.
The Wheel. The place that Giratina had asked Cepheus to visit. Cepheus was so anxious to get Felicia home, yet Giratina had said that visiting the Wheel would tell Cepheus who his murderer was, and he desperately wanted to know.
“Felicia...” Cepheus began, “I wish to take a short detour.”
“Why?” she asked.
“This sign...It leads to a place called the Wheel. I don’t know what it is, but I was told by Giratina that visiting the Wheel would tell me who my murderer was. And...I desperately want to know. I want to bring my own murderer to justice as well, no matter who it may be.”
“...I really want to go back and see Solano again, but since you said this detour is going to be short, I’ll go with you.”
Felicia reluctantly followed Cepheus on the gray staircase that led downward towards this place called the Wheel. Cepheus had no clue what the Wheel actually was, and when he saw it, would it really tell him everything? What would a wheel be able to tell him?
It was only five minutes before the staircase stopped and connected to another circular platform fifty feet in diameter. However, when Cepheus scanned the area around him, looking for anything with resemblance to a wheel, he saw nothing – not a single thing stood before him. Was the sign...false?
“Cepheus, I don’t see anything that looks like a wheel around here,” Felicia said. “You sure you know what you’re doing?”
“I...I know the Wheel exists,” Cepheus responded, looking around frantically. “Giratina told me it was around here somewhere – it’s got to exist!”
“Well, I don’t see it anywh – oh my goodness...”
“Felicia, what’s wrong?”
“Cepheus, the Wheel...It’s right above you!”
Cepheus looked straight up into the air to see this Wheel...and saw the most horrifying thing he had ever seen in his existence up to this point. This Wheel consisted of two circular paths, one situated directly above the other, and intersecting both paths were four large metal poles, with spikes near the top and bottom of each pole, with both spikes and poles set ninety degrees distant from each other. The paths themselves also appeared to be connected at certain points halfway between each pole. The entire Wheel appeared to be floating in midair, but the most shocking thing of all was that both of the circular paths that comprised the main body of the Wheel...were wailing – constantly, without stop, a moan of boundless despair.
“What...is that thing?” Felicia asked.
“This must be the Wheel...”
“What’s that noise? It sounds like screaming...”
“The Wheel...those circular paths...those are people’s souls.”
“What?!”
“Can’t you see them from here? All those faces...twisted, locked in despair, moving around and around, unable to escape... This is no wheel; this is the circle of Hell!”
“Then...why on earth did Giratina send you here? How does this tell you who your murderer is?”
“I don’t know...Why on earth would Gira – ” Then he suddenly became quiet.
“Cepheus?”
Cepheus didn’t answer right away – he was concentrating on the shape of the Wheel. He wasn’t quite sure, but he felt like he’d seen this shape before...but where? It was on the tip of his tongue – where had he seen that shape?
“I’ve got it!” Cepheus yelled suddenly. “I know who killed me...!”
“Who is it?” Felicia asked.
“I’ll tell you later...Come on, let’s get back to the real world!”
Cepheus didn’t wait for Felicia to answer, but instead turned around and bounded up the staircase, two steps at a time, dead-set on getting back to the land of the living. Felicia was struggling to keep up with him – Cepheus was filled with emotion and fervor, as if he suddenly knew the meaning behind everything that had happened...much like Giratina had told him.
At the top of the other staircase was a mystical white portal, which presumably led back to the real world. He stopped in front of it and waited for Felicia to catch up. She was panting heavily by the time she reached Cepheus.
“Is this...the way home?” she asked.
“Most likely.”
“Cepheus...when we get back, will you protect me until I find Solano again?”
“I will, to the best of my ability.”
“All right, Cepheus...I’ll be waiting for you.”
And so the two of them leapt into the portal together, the portal that cut through space and time – the portal that would lead them back into the real world.
What would be waiting for the two of them when they were brought back to life?
And now to proofread 22-25. Man, this is short.
Feedback, comments, and constructive criticism are always appreciated. However, as I have previously stated, keep your replies at a minimum of 20 words apiece. This is not a PokéBeach forum rule, but I'll probably ignore you if you don't have much to say.
RE: Nightmare [PG] - Chapter 21 up!
Yeah, you're right. It is short. I would have normally clumped it in with the above chapter, but I wanted to generate a nice cliffhanger, so...yeah. There you have it. That's why Chapter 21 is as short as it is.
Yeah, you're right. It is short. I would have normally clumped it in with the above chapter, but I wanted to generate a nice cliffhanger, so...yeah. There you have it. That's why Chapter 21 is as short as it is.
RE: Nightmare [PG] - Chapter 21 up!
[Back to Top]
Way, way, way too many people bugged me about this. I think it was at least five, and they bugged me at least twice each. Every time, the conversation went something like this:
"When are you going to post the next chapter of Nightmare?"
"When I proofread/rewrite the ending."
I didn't get around to doing that until last night; I stayed up past midnight tweaking and adjusting the last four chapters so they'd be fit for posting, by my standards. So yes, now you can expect the last four chapters to be appearing on a semi-regular schedule, and if I forget this time, I can just simply post the next chapter and be done with it!
We are now at the start of chapter 22, where our dashing young hero has now escaped the Underworld with a passenger in tow, and now...well, you'll see. At this point, I don't really feel like spoiling too many plot details before the chapter.
Chapter 22 is where the ending of this story really starts, as it's when all the loose ends start getting tied up. And, if you know my style of writing, I am fond of tying up all the loose ends, so by the end of the story, if you do have any more questions...I will be very surprised. I also get quite a bit more dialogue-heavy here, so do keep that in mind. I like to have the dialogue move the plot.
You have heard me talk enough. On to the main attraction!
Stats for this chapter:
Page Count: 3.7; Word Count: 1874
Feedback, comments, and constructive criticism are always appreciated. However, as I have previously stated, keep your replies at a minimum of 20 words apiece. This is not a PokéBeach forum rule, but I'll probably ignore you if you don't have much to say.
[Back to Top]
Way, way, way too many people bugged me about this. I think it was at least five, and they bugged me at least twice each. Every time, the conversation went something like this:
"When are you going to post the next chapter of Nightmare?"
"When I proofread/rewrite the ending."
I didn't get around to doing that until last night; I stayed up past midnight tweaking and adjusting the last four chapters so they'd be fit for posting, by my standards. So yes, now you can expect the last four chapters to be appearing on a semi-regular schedule, and if I forget this time, I can just simply post the next chapter and be done with it!
We are now at the start of chapter 22, where our dashing young hero has now escaped the Underworld with a passenger in tow, and now...well, you'll see. At this point, I don't really feel like spoiling too many plot details before the chapter.
Chapter 22 is where the ending of this story really starts, as it's when all the loose ends start getting tied up. And, if you know my style of writing, I am fond of tying up all the loose ends, so by the end of the story, if you do have any more questions...I will be very surprised. I also get quite a bit more dialogue-heavy here, so do keep that in mind. I like to have the dialogue move the plot.
You have heard me talk enough. On to the main attraction!
Stats for this chapter:
Page Count: 3.7; Word Count: 1874
~~~
22 – Life
[Thursday, July 22, 3.11 PM]
After Cepheus had passed through the gate that transcended space-time, connecting the Underworld and the living world, he sensed himself lying in a bed, eyes closed, feeling fully rested despite the trek through, and eventual exit from, the Underworld. He opened his eyes and found himself back in Esmeralda’s resort house, asleep in the bed he’d first woken up in. As before, all his friends was crowded around the bed; Hector in particular was floating about two inches from Cepheus’ face.
“I thought you’d never wake up!” Hector exclaimed, hugging Cepheus’ head. “I’m so relieved you’re awake and back with us.”
“We were all so worried!” Abigail said. “I thought I wouldn’t get to see your dreamy eyes ever again!”
“...I’m well aware of your crush on me,” Cepheus replied, “and unfortunately for you, I’m not interested right now.”
“...Spoilsport.”
“Cepheus, you’re well rested, right?” Lyon asked.
“That I am.”
“Well, our friend is here, and with your permission, he’d like to talk with you alone.”
“...Ah, good. Send him in.”
Lyon then ushered everyone out of the bedroom – much to Abigail’s dismay – to allow Cepheus to have a private conversation with Deus. Within ten seconds, Deus had entered the bedroom and closed the door behind him. He was tall and imposing and dressed in his brown cloak – as usual. That cloak hid everything and told nothing of his appearance, and Cepheus couldn’t help but wonder...why would Deus go through all this secrecy?
“Lyon’s standing guard outside the door so we aren’t interrupted,” Deus explained. “Before you say anything to me, first I’d like to say...welcome home.”
“I’ve got a few things I want to ask you, what with my return from death.”
“Ask away. I’m sure that last night’s encounter was less than desirable.”
“I think I know why...why you killed me.”
“Did you say that I killed you? Why would you say that?”
“It was to protect me...from Arceus, wasn’t it?”
“... ...You’ve seen the Wheel, haven’t you?”
“I have.”
“It was a detour. Why did you decide to go?”
“Giratina told me of its existence.”
“I asked him to tell you about it – if you didn’t see it, you might have been rather reluctant to trust me again.”
“So you did kill me.”
“I did, yes.”
“And what about Felicia? Did you kill her too?”
“Yes, and for the same reason. That serial killer...wasn’t alone.”
“Deus...tell me the rest of the story.”
“Since it does concern you more now, I shall. See, I wasn’t lying when I said I couldn’t stop the serial killer in time – he got to Felicia only one moment before I did. The truth is, though...that wasn’t actually Arceus you saw in the dream; it was Blackheart. He actually infiltrated your dream disguised as Arceus and tried to kill you. And, when Blackheart kills someone...their soul is sent to the Wheel, forever. They don’t go to the Underworld or the Spirit Plane...they go to that hellish fate, condemned to reside there for as long as time shall flow.”
“And Blackheart...was with that serial killer?”
“Yes. The thing was, the killer was too strong for me to stop, so in a fit of panic...I killed Felicia with my own two hands. I...didn’t want her to be trapped in the Wheel. And I knew if she went to the Underworld, she’d be able to start a whole new life, and possibly even come back to the living world. But my act of panic...it may very well be unforgivable. I only wanted to keep her from the Wheel.”
“And that’s why you asked me to bring her back with me?”
“Yes. Cepheus, you think that Solano can be brought back to sanity again – and your idea does have merit. That’s why, pre-emptively, I found Felicia’s dead body and delivered it to Stefano – she has also awoken.”
“I’ve got to tell Felicia. Deus, where’s that special cell phone you gave me?”
“It’s in that drawer in the bedside table. But before you call, I must tell you something.”
“Anything.”
“Cepheus...I am sorry. I was too weak to stop Blackheart and had to resort to killing you so he wouldn’t have his way. And I’m sorry for putting Felicia and Solano through so much pain. I don’t know if any of you will forgive me, but I am sincerely sorry. And if you don’t want to forgive me – that’s fine. It’s as much as I deserve, anyway.”
“...I forgive you. Now to find out if Felicia will.”
Cepheus took the cell phone out of the drawer and immediately pressed a button, speed-dialing Stefano’s number.
“Stefano speaking,” Stefano’s voice came from the other end.
“This is Cepheus.”
“Ah, nice to hear from you again.”
“Is Felicia awake?”
“She is, yes.”
“I need to speak to her.”
“One moment.”
A brief pause.
“Cepheus, is that you?”
“It is.”
“You’re alive again?”
“Yes I am, and so are you.”
“You wanted to talk to me? Did you figure out your murderer’s name?”
“Yes and yes again. See, Deus actually told me something really interesting.”
“What was it?”
“You know the Wheel that we both saw before we came back?”
“I did...it was so terrible.”
“If Deus hadn’t killed you, you would have ended up in there.”
Silence for five seconds.
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m dead serious. And Deus did the exact same thing for me. He wasn’t trying to kill us because he wanted us dead – he was trying to save us.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“The night before I died, I was attacked in a dream by an evil spirit. That spirit would have killed me if Deus hadn’t killed me first. In the same sense, that serial killer from all those years ago was working for that spirit. But he panicked, and he wanted me to tell you...that he’s sorry for what he did, and if he wasn’t so weak you wouldn’t have had to die at all. Truth be told, he wants you and Solano reunited almost as much as I do. ...It sounds crazy and outlandish, but I believe it. It...does make sense somewhat, all things considered.”
Another five-second silence.
“I...I don’t know what to say...”
“He said that if you didn’t forgive him, it’s all that he deserves.”
“Tell Deus...Tell Deus that I do forgive him.”
“All right.”
“Anything else you wanted to tell me?”
“No, that’s it.”
“Thank you so very much, Cepheus...”
Cepheus then hung up, placing the cell phone back in the drawer.
“She forgave you, Deus.”
“...I see.”
“Anything else you have to tell me?”
“Yes, actually. Tonight, in your dreams, I will be holding a meeting, and I want as many battle-ready Pacters as I can to be in attendance. Cepheus...the war’s end is fast upon us. I want it to end tomorrow, and to that end I’m staging an attack on the Vernexum headquarters – the
building that’s only just down the street.”
“...You going to kill Ura?”
“If I have to, yes. I’m tired of this war, and I want an end to it now. Brace yourself, Cepheus...the final battle is upon us!”
The rest of the day passed by without a single hitch or otherwise displeasing event to come Cepheus’ way. Cepheus was mentally prepared for the coming fight – he didn’t know what was waiting for when the time would come, but he knew that he’d be ready to take anyone or anything on; even if he was physically lacking against his enemy, his resolve was firm, his course was set. Soon this would all be over.
When Cepheus went to sleep, he found himself once again within the peculiar dream realm, lit by the otherworldly light. Before him stood a great round stone table, surrounded by twelve stone chairs spaced at even intervals to one another. Cepheus took a seat at one of them, waiting patiently for Deus to arrive. Before long, various other Pacters, all of which Cepheus had met before, began to appear in the dream, and each one took an empty seat until all but two of the seats were filled. Finally, Deus arrived and took one of the remaining empty seats, sitting to the immediate right of Cepheus, with the seat on his own right empty. He then began to say the names of each Pacter, affirming their presence.
“Cepheus, Lyon, Emma, Esmeralda, Abigail, Pierre, Victoria, Stefano, Ian, Chris,” Deus called off, one by one. “You are all here, yes? Then the meeting can begin.”
“Sir?” Emma asked. “Why am I here?”
“Well, I am not exactly sure how best you can help,” Deus answered, “but at the very least I would like to have your support.”
“Is the chair next to me supposed to have somebody?” Chris asked.
“Yes, but he hasn’t fallen asleep yet,” Deus responded. “Fortunately he’s already aware of the plan for the most part, so even if he doesn’t show up he won’t have missed much.”
“If I may ask,” Lyon interjected, “what actually is our plan?”
“I’ll tell you. Make sure all of you to listen up – it’s crucial you understand what we are to do in this invasion.”
“Invasion?” Victoria questioned.
“Yes...now, pay attention. The Vernexum headquarters building is in Olivine City, so all of you that live distant to Johto, you’ll all need to wake up early to get there fast enough. Pierre, I assume you can take Victoria?”
“I can do that, yes,” Pierre responded.
“And Stefano...you can transport your crew, can’t you?”
“Yep.”
“Right, so here’s the plan. The Vernexum building is eight floors in height, plus there’s the roof. They actually have a few synthetics inside the building that serve as their personal army, so those will most likely have to be taken out. Our main target, however, is a man by the name of General Ura – he’s basically the heart and soul of everything anti-Pacter. As soon as we take him out, the war is over.”
“Easier said than done,” Cepheus remarked.
“Exactly. There’s going to be nine of us storming the Vernexum building, so I think the best thing to do is to form three groups of three. Cepheus, you’re going to be in the lead group with myself and Chris. Ian shall be with Abigail and Pierre in the middle group, and Lyon, you bring up the rear with Stefano and Victoria.”
“That leaves Emma and I,” Esmeralda replied. “What are we doing?”
“You two are going to stay right where you are, at home,” Deus answered. “Emma can’t really fight, and we also need someone to protect her, so you’ll be the ideal person for that. And, just in case the operation fails – which I highly doubt it will – there’ll be someone close by to help us.”
“I understand.”
“Now, I assume you all know your duties in regards to this invasion. Once we get there, you guys will follow my lead. I’m fully confident that once Ura is gone this war will be finally over. Everyone understand what you need to do?”
There was a string of ‘Yes’ replies from around the table.
“Good. This meeting is adjourned. I want the plan to start as early as possible – 8 AM would be best. Now, get some sleep, everyone – we have work to do!”
22 – Life
[Thursday, July 22, 3.11 PM]
After Cepheus had passed through the gate that transcended space-time, connecting the Underworld and the living world, he sensed himself lying in a bed, eyes closed, feeling fully rested despite the trek through, and eventual exit from, the Underworld. He opened his eyes and found himself back in Esmeralda’s resort house, asleep in the bed he’d first woken up in. As before, all his friends was crowded around the bed; Hector in particular was floating about two inches from Cepheus’ face.
“I thought you’d never wake up!” Hector exclaimed, hugging Cepheus’ head. “I’m so relieved you’re awake and back with us.”
“We were all so worried!” Abigail said. “I thought I wouldn’t get to see your dreamy eyes ever again!”
“...I’m well aware of your crush on me,” Cepheus replied, “and unfortunately for you, I’m not interested right now.”
“...Spoilsport.”
“Cepheus, you’re well rested, right?” Lyon asked.
“That I am.”
“Well, our friend is here, and with your permission, he’d like to talk with you alone.”
“...Ah, good. Send him in.”
Lyon then ushered everyone out of the bedroom – much to Abigail’s dismay – to allow Cepheus to have a private conversation with Deus. Within ten seconds, Deus had entered the bedroom and closed the door behind him. He was tall and imposing and dressed in his brown cloak – as usual. That cloak hid everything and told nothing of his appearance, and Cepheus couldn’t help but wonder...why would Deus go through all this secrecy?
“Lyon’s standing guard outside the door so we aren’t interrupted,” Deus explained. “Before you say anything to me, first I’d like to say...welcome home.”
“I’ve got a few things I want to ask you, what with my return from death.”
“Ask away. I’m sure that last night’s encounter was less than desirable.”
“I think I know why...why you killed me.”
“Did you say that I killed you? Why would you say that?”
“It was to protect me...from Arceus, wasn’t it?”
“... ...You’ve seen the Wheel, haven’t you?”
“I have.”
“It was a detour. Why did you decide to go?”
“Giratina told me of its existence.”
“I asked him to tell you about it – if you didn’t see it, you might have been rather reluctant to trust me again.”
“So you did kill me.”
“I did, yes.”
“And what about Felicia? Did you kill her too?”
“Yes, and for the same reason. That serial killer...wasn’t alone.”
“Deus...tell me the rest of the story.”
“Since it does concern you more now, I shall. See, I wasn’t lying when I said I couldn’t stop the serial killer in time – he got to Felicia only one moment before I did. The truth is, though...that wasn’t actually Arceus you saw in the dream; it was Blackheart. He actually infiltrated your dream disguised as Arceus and tried to kill you. And, when Blackheart kills someone...their soul is sent to the Wheel, forever. They don’t go to the Underworld or the Spirit Plane...they go to that hellish fate, condemned to reside there for as long as time shall flow.”
“And Blackheart...was with that serial killer?”
“Yes. The thing was, the killer was too strong for me to stop, so in a fit of panic...I killed Felicia with my own two hands. I...didn’t want her to be trapped in the Wheel. And I knew if she went to the Underworld, she’d be able to start a whole new life, and possibly even come back to the living world. But my act of panic...it may very well be unforgivable. I only wanted to keep her from the Wheel.”
“And that’s why you asked me to bring her back with me?”
“Yes. Cepheus, you think that Solano can be brought back to sanity again – and your idea does have merit. That’s why, pre-emptively, I found Felicia’s dead body and delivered it to Stefano – she has also awoken.”
“I’ve got to tell Felicia. Deus, where’s that special cell phone you gave me?”
“It’s in that drawer in the bedside table. But before you call, I must tell you something.”
“Anything.”
“Cepheus...I am sorry. I was too weak to stop Blackheart and had to resort to killing you so he wouldn’t have his way. And I’m sorry for putting Felicia and Solano through so much pain. I don’t know if any of you will forgive me, but I am sincerely sorry. And if you don’t want to forgive me – that’s fine. It’s as much as I deserve, anyway.”
“...I forgive you. Now to find out if Felicia will.”
Cepheus took the cell phone out of the drawer and immediately pressed a button, speed-dialing Stefano’s number.
“Stefano speaking,” Stefano’s voice came from the other end.
“This is Cepheus.”
“Ah, nice to hear from you again.”
“Is Felicia awake?”
“She is, yes.”
“I need to speak to her.”
“One moment.”
A brief pause.
“Cepheus, is that you?”
“It is.”
“You’re alive again?”
“Yes I am, and so are you.”
“You wanted to talk to me? Did you figure out your murderer’s name?”
“Yes and yes again. See, Deus actually told me something really interesting.”
“What was it?”
“You know the Wheel that we both saw before we came back?”
“I did...it was so terrible.”
“If Deus hadn’t killed you, you would have ended up in there.”
Silence for five seconds.
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m dead serious. And Deus did the exact same thing for me. He wasn’t trying to kill us because he wanted us dead – he was trying to save us.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“The night before I died, I was attacked in a dream by an evil spirit. That spirit would have killed me if Deus hadn’t killed me first. In the same sense, that serial killer from all those years ago was working for that spirit. But he panicked, and he wanted me to tell you...that he’s sorry for what he did, and if he wasn’t so weak you wouldn’t have had to die at all. Truth be told, he wants you and Solano reunited almost as much as I do. ...It sounds crazy and outlandish, but I believe it. It...does make sense somewhat, all things considered.”
Another five-second silence.
“I...I don’t know what to say...”
“He said that if you didn’t forgive him, it’s all that he deserves.”
“Tell Deus...Tell Deus that I do forgive him.”
“All right.”
“Anything else you wanted to tell me?”
“No, that’s it.”
“Thank you so very much, Cepheus...”
Cepheus then hung up, placing the cell phone back in the drawer.
“She forgave you, Deus.”
“...I see.”
“Anything else you have to tell me?”
“Yes, actually. Tonight, in your dreams, I will be holding a meeting, and I want as many battle-ready Pacters as I can to be in attendance. Cepheus...the war’s end is fast upon us. I want it to end tomorrow, and to that end I’m staging an attack on the Vernexum headquarters – the
building that’s only just down the street.”
“...You going to kill Ura?”
“If I have to, yes. I’m tired of this war, and I want an end to it now. Brace yourself, Cepheus...the final battle is upon us!”
The rest of the day passed by without a single hitch or otherwise displeasing event to come Cepheus’ way. Cepheus was mentally prepared for the coming fight – he didn’t know what was waiting for when the time would come, but he knew that he’d be ready to take anyone or anything on; even if he was physically lacking against his enemy, his resolve was firm, his course was set. Soon this would all be over.
When Cepheus went to sleep, he found himself once again within the peculiar dream realm, lit by the otherworldly light. Before him stood a great round stone table, surrounded by twelve stone chairs spaced at even intervals to one another. Cepheus took a seat at one of them, waiting patiently for Deus to arrive. Before long, various other Pacters, all of which Cepheus had met before, began to appear in the dream, and each one took an empty seat until all but two of the seats were filled. Finally, Deus arrived and took one of the remaining empty seats, sitting to the immediate right of Cepheus, with the seat on his own right empty. He then began to say the names of each Pacter, affirming their presence.
“Cepheus, Lyon, Emma, Esmeralda, Abigail, Pierre, Victoria, Stefano, Ian, Chris,” Deus called off, one by one. “You are all here, yes? Then the meeting can begin.”
“Sir?” Emma asked. “Why am I here?”
“Well, I am not exactly sure how best you can help,” Deus answered, “but at the very least I would like to have your support.”
“Is the chair next to me supposed to have somebody?” Chris asked.
“Yes, but he hasn’t fallen asleep yet,” Deus responded. “Fortunately he’s already aware of the plan for the most part, so even if he doesn’t show up he won’t have missed much.”
“If I may ask,” Lyon interjected, “what actually is our plan?”
“I’ll tell you. Make sure all of you to listen up – it’s crucial you understand what we are to do in this invasion.”
“Invasion?” Victoria questioned.
“Yes...now, pay attention. The Vernexum headquarters building is in Olivine City, so all of you that live distant to Johto, you’ll all need to wake up early to get there fast enough. Pierre, I assume you can take Victoria?”
“I can do that, yes,” Pierre responded.
“And Stefano...you can transport your crew, can’t you?”
“Yep.”
“Right, so here’s the plan. The Vernexum building is eight floors in height, plus there’s the roof. They actually have a few synthetics inside the building that serve as their personal army, so those will most likely have to be taken out. Our main target, however, is a man by the name of General Ura – he’s basically the heart and soul of everything anti-Pacter. As soon as we take him out, the war is over.”
“Easier said than done,” Cepheus remarked.
“Exactly. There’s going to be nine of us storming the Vernexum building, so I think the best thing to do is to form three groups of three. Cepheus, you’re going to be in the lead group with myself and Chris. Ian shall be with Abigail and Pierre in the middle group, and Lyon, you bring up the rear with Stefano and Victoria.”
“That leaves Emma and I,” Esmeralda replied. “What are we doing?”
“You two are going to stay right where you are, at home,” Deus answered. “Emma can’t really fight, and we also need someone to protect her, so you’ll be the ideal person for that. And, just in case the operation fails – which I highly doubt it will – there’ll be someone close by to help us.”
“I understand.”
“Now, I assume you all know your duties in regards to this invasion. Once we get there, you guys will follow my lead. I’m fully confident that once Ura is gone this war will be finally over. Everyone understand what you need to do?”
There was a string of ‘Yes’ replies from around the table.
“Good. This meeting is adjourned. I want the plan to start as early as possible – 8 AM would be best. Now, get some sleep, everyone – we have work to do!”
Feedback, comments, and constructive criticism are always appreciated. However, as I have previously stated, keep your replies at a minimum of 20 words apiece. This is not a PokéBeach forum rule, but I'll probably ignore you if you don't have much to say.
RE: Nightmare [PG] - Chapter 22 up!
@Lucky: I'm a lot better with dialogue scenes than I am with action scenes, although I do see what you mean with the dialogue just dragging on a bit. I'm not as good with action scenes as I'd like, since playing them out in my head is a lot different (and more complicated) than committing the words to paper. There's a fight scene or two at the end, though, so if you are looking forward to one, there's that.
@Lucky: I'm a lot better with dialogue scenes than I am with action scenes, although I do see what you mean with the dialogue just dragging on a bit. I'm not as good with action scenes as I'd like, since playing them out in my head is a lot different (and more complicated) than committing the words to paper. There's a fight scene or two at the end, though, so if you are looking forward to one, there's that.
RE: Nightmare [PG] - Chapter 23 up!
[Back to Top]
And then my finals happened and I'm not in class for the spring semester anymore. Then Dark Void reminded me it's been three months. Before I was consumed with laziness today, I posted this.
I don't really have much to say for it at this point, so I'll let you all just read it and go ahead.
Oh, no wait. I do have one thing to say.
Don't blink, or you'll miss it. It's a very bizarre adventure.
Stats for this chapter:
Page Count: 4.7; Word Count: 2774
I thought of many ways I could have ended this chapter. None of them were really good. I am terrible at endings, I really am. (There's still 2 more chapters left, even.)
Now someone besides Lucky needs to comment. I get a lot of people bugging me but only she responds.
Feedback, comments, and constructive criticism are always appreciated. However, as I have previously stated, keep your replies at a minimum of 20 words apiece. This is not a PokéBeach forum rule, but I'll probably ignore you if you don't have much to say.
[Back to Top]
And then my finals happened and I'm not in class for the spring semester anymore. Then Dark Void reminded me it's been three months. Before I was consumed with laziness today, I posted this.
I don't really have much to say for it at this point, so I'll let you all just read it and go ahead.
Oh, no wait. I do have one thing to say.
Don't blink, or you'll miss it. It's a very bizarre adventure.
Stats for this chapter:
Page Count: 4.7; Word Count: 2774
~~~
23 – Trick
[Friday, July 23, 7.49 AM]
The sun arose early the following morning for Cepheus. He’d been told by Deus in a dream the night before that today was the big day – the day when this war against the Pacters would be finally put to rest, and it would be accomplished by the death of General Ura. Everyone had been informed of what their roles would be in this fight, and now was the time to enact the plan. Cepheus awoke speedily, said goodbye to Esmeralda (Emma was still asleep), and left with Lyon and Abigail to head to the Vernexum building just down the street.
It was only about an eight-minute walk from the house, and all of the Pacters that had been in the dream with Cepheus, save for Stefano’s crew, were already there waiting for him.
“You ready, Cepheus?” Pierre said with a quizzical stare in Cepheus’ direction.
“That I am, Pierre,” Cepheus answered.
“The last time we met, you were just a boy with his head in the clouds – no real purpose to your life. I hope your resolve has strengthened since then.”
“It has, tremendously.”
“Good...I should have expected no less.”
“I suppose we’re all ready, then?” Deus asked.
“Stefano isn’t here just yet,” Cepheus said. “Perhaps we should wait for him.”
“I’d like to, but it’s already eight o’clock. Regardless, he’ll be joining us later anyway. Now, let’s head inside.”
The Vernexum building was surrounded by a large metal wire mesh fence, topped with barbed wire. Unusually enough, there were no security guards outside the building – presumably they were all stationed inside instead. The main gate was shut tight with a lock and chain, but Deus simply walked up to the lock and crushed it with a squeeze of his gargantuan hand.
“Everyone, engage your rider forms, now,” Deus said. “It’s going to be nothing but a fight from here on out.”
All five present besides Deus – Cepheus, Lyon, Pierre, Victoria, and Abigail – did as ordered, summoning their respective Spirits and merging with them. Deus then pushed the gate open towards the building, and a rather terrifying sight awaited them. Off to the side of the path which led into the main entrance, there was a crude metal pole protruding from the ground. There was the body of what looked like a giant Claydol chained to the pole, and on its chest there was something that looked like it was a wound from a small blade, possibly a dagger or even a spear. Wrapped around the same chain that held its body in place were four hands, not appearing to be attached to any arms. Its eight eyes were all closed, almost as if it was sleeping...in a slumber from which it would never awake.
“Oh my goodness,” Cepheus remarked. “That...That’s Jimmy.”
“They killed him...” Lyon stated. “They killed him in his rider form.”
“And if that’s true,” Deus continued, “that means his Spirit is gone as well. If a Pacter dies in rider form, his Spirit dies with him.”
“And you all...shall be next,” a voice replied. The owner of the voice then stepped out from the entrance of the Vernexum building – it was Solano, complete in all his horror.
“...Solano...” Cepheus spoke softly.
“Yes, I was the one who killed your friend there. Pity his sister isn’t here to see him, no? Then again, I doubt she would have any comfort knowing her brother died a monster.”
“You’re the only monster here!” Pierre screamed, snapping his claws. “I’ll kill you!”
“No, wait! Pierre, don’t!” Deus protested.
The protest fell on deaf ears. Pierre, in Gliscor form, had already leapt through the air, his wings outstretched and his claws poised, ready to attack Solano and tear him apart. Solano anticipated this, and he flew through the air and grabbed Jimmy’s corpse from off the pole, tore it free from the chain (subsequently breaking it), and then finally brought Jimmy’s corpse down upon Pierre’s body, crushing him to death – all at a remarkable speed which made the others feel as if time itself had stopped. Solano then leapt atop Jimmy’s corpse, and let loose a primal scream of triumph, its shrill bloodcurdling sound echoing through the air.
“Nobody in the world can hope to stop me!” he yelled. “And the rest of you will follow!”
He drew his dagger as the rest of the Pacters assumed battle stances, but before Solano could attack, there came a small ringing noise. Solano then reached into his pocket, pulling out a cell phone, and answered it.
“What?” he began. “...they’re right here...Are you crazy? We can end this... ...do you seriously... ...Fine.”
He hung up the phone in disgust.
“Apparently I’m supposed to be guarding the generals,” he shouted down to his enemies. “I can’t kill you just yet, but don’t you worry – you will be dead before the day’s over.” Then in the blink of an eye, he vanished completely from sight, teleporting away. At about the exact same time, Stefano came rushing in, accompanied by Ian, Chris, and Felicia. All of them, save Felicia, were in rider form.
“Sorry I’m late,” Stefano said apologetically. “It isn’t easy carrying four – oh dear, what happened here?”
“Jimmy’s dead and Solano killed Pierre by crushing his body with Jimmy’s corpse,” Cepheus responded immediately.
“Oh, ew. What’s our next course of action?”
“Our plans have been altered a bit, as we’ve already lost one person,” Deus said. “We’ve already been discovered, so let’s rush inside before they gain enough momentum to stop us. Let’s move!”
The band of ten then rushed headlong into the building, with Deus leading the way, and the others following close behind. He navigated the hallways and corridors as if he’d already been informed of the building’s layout, seemingly knowing exactly where to go at every new turn, and as he ran towards the stairway to the second floor, there were no interruptions of any kind, not by security or even locked doors.
The team was on a roll, enough to take on anyone or anything – up until they got to a large round room on the second floor. There was someone already waiting for them there – a dangerous-looking individual indeed. He was just as tall as Deus was, if not taller, and his hair was jet-black. He wore a steel mask in the shape of a bird’s head and beak covering the upper half of his face, concealing his eyes and nose completely from sight; despite the mask having two sizable eyeholes, his eyeballs could not be seen behind them. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and trousers which were also jet-black, and he appeared to be wearing an armored vest and a small amount of plate armor on his legs, much like Solano did, except his armor was black instead of gold. He was also holding a small polished black handgun in each hand, both of them pointing straight ahead and ready to be fired at any moment. He also had a very solemn purposeful look affixed on his face, clearly evident even with his mask, and he was standing directly in front of a closed white cylindrical elevator.
“That’s enough,” he said loudly.
The entire crew skidded to a halt when they saw this man, not because they thought this man was stronger, but instinctively out of fear of being shot. They all crowded into the room and were huddled in the center, almost running in to one another, with Deus at the head of the group and Cepheus and Lyon on either side of him. As they entered the room, the remaining passageways and corridors leading out of the room were each blocked by gunmen, a total of fifteen, broken up into five groups of three, each group obscuring a path, including the one the Pacters had just come up from. All fifteen men were armed with a rifle, and all of them had their weapons trained on the Pacters, their laser sights a swarm of small red dots.
They’d been found out. Someone had already known they were coming and had planned accordingly. Did Solano go into the building and inform them that quickly? But even so, how did the gunmen manage to keep themselves totally unseen? And who was this man who dared to oppose them?
“You shall go no further,” he continued. “You are now fully in my power. I could place you all under arrest right now for breaking and entering a government facility – the Vernexum headquarters, no less!”
“So why don’t you?” Cepheus asked.
“I want to find out exactly what you’re doing here. I want your motive for your crime.”
“Do you really think ordinary guns can stop us?”
“These aren’t ordinary guns. They are special Vernexum-manufacture guns especially designed to harm those who are in possession of Spirits...namely, Pacters.”
“I’ve got a hard time believing that.”
The man then, without hesitation, flexed his finger and fired a bullet from his left-hand pistol. It shot past Cepheus’ right leg, and although it didn’t penetrate flesh, the speed at which it whizzed past Cepheus was enough to create a gash. Cepheus yowled in pain as the bullet hit him.
“My mistake,” the man said. “I was aiming for the big one next to you.”
(He’s lying!) Cepheus thought, leaning slightly as he held onto his injured leg. (He was trying to graze my leg on purpose! There’s no way that it was just a fluke!)
“Who are you?” Lyon asked.
“My name is General Exxus Machina. I am one of the eight generals of the Vernexum, and as such one of the eight most powerful authority figures in the world. And right now, your lives are all in my hands.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“Before I do away with you, I will know exactly what your intentions are here, as well as the name of your leader.”
“And what will we do if we don’t tell you?” Chris replied, standing crowded behind Deus and Cepheus.
Machina didn’t respond to Chris’ question with words, but fired another bullet from his left-hand pistol, which flew past Cepheus and Deus, leaving them both unscathed, and grazed past Chris’ leg at great speed. Chris yelled in pain just as loudly as Cepheus had, even though as a Blastoise Pacter he was much more physically robust.
“I’m an expert shot and a short fuse,” Machina responded. “Suffice it to say that any future protests will be met with a bullet – and next time, I won’t have a bullet just graze you.”
“...We don’t have much of a choice,” Deus stated angrily. “Do as he says.”
“Now, who should I have talk?” Machina said, his arms not even budging an inch as both of his pistols were still held out. “You, the talkative arrogant one. The one I shot first.”
“Me?” Cepheus asked.
“Yes, you. What’s your name, boy?”
“It is Cepheus.”
“Cepheus White, I presume? The boy who has encountered all of the Three Terrors?”
“Were you the one who sent them to me?”
“No, that was Ura. I was opposed to the plan, but alas I was outvoted. Yet despite meeting them all, you are still alive. You are quite the lucky one.”
“...No comment.”
“Now, why are you here? And remember, you are not the one with a gun.”
“...Our plan is to kill Ura. Once Ura is dead or otherwise removed from the picture, the threat against Pacters will be gone.”
“You honestly, truly believe that? That idea is laughable.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You are a rational thinker, are you not, Mr. White? Think about it for a minute.”
“I don’t quite follow.”
“If word got out that Pacters killed one of the eight generals, how would the public as a whole react?”
“...Ugh, you’re right. Our image will be tarnished forever. How could I have done this...”
“Not like you haven’t accomplished that already by storming this building. Moving on, who is your leader and what is his name?”
“Our leader is the cloaked one right next to me, but I do not know his name.”
“Lie to me again and I will answer you with another bullet.”
“...It’s Deus.”
“Shhh...!” Deus hissed at Cepheus.
“Deus, eh?” Machina responded. “And he was the one that orchestrated this, you say?”
“That’s correct,” Cepheus answered.
“...Heheheh...To think all this time, the solution to all my problems is standing right in front of me.”
“What are you talking about?”
Machina then shot both of his pistols at once, aiming straight for Deus’ hands, each pistol at a separate hand. The bullets fired each hit their mark, even piercing through the heavy leather gloves, and the immense hurt caused Deus’ knees to buckle. Machina then followed those two shots up with another two to his thighs, causing Deus to kneel down on the ground in utter pain.
“You are nothing more than an imposter!” Machina yelled. “The real Deus would have blocked all those bullets before they ever reached him! You! Cepheus! Remove his cloak, now!”
Cepheus, not wanting another bullet to be shot in his general direction, did so, unveiling the cloak. It revealed the face of an aged man, with gray hair slowly turning white, and combed back until it reached a point behind his head. His facial expression was twisted into one of hatred – hatred for the man who had put four bullets in him.
“Ura...” Machina said. “I should have known you’d pull a cheap trick.”
“Machina...Always the thorn in my side!” the fake Deus yelled. “I should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance!”
“All right, Ura, I want some answers, and you will give me them now. The rest of you, do not move. My men still have their guns trained on you and will not hesitate to open fire.”
The rest of the Pacters looked on in utter shock. This Deus was not really Deus at all, but it was General Ura – the man they had planned to kill! But if that was the case, then did that mean that Ura was the one who had created that dream? If so, what other powers did he have, and where was the real Deus right now?
“What do you want?” Ura spat defiantly.
“First off...The serial killer who was on the news about three years ago...That was you, was it not?”
“I don’t have to answer you!”
Ura’s impudent remark was met with a bullet to the shoulder.
“Argh! Fine, that was me...no one was ever able to tie me to those crimes...no one except you, though, you pesky fool!”
“And after you attempted to kill a certain Felicia Ewing, you shed the identity of serial killer and found Solano, whom you drafted and molded into your own personal assassin?”
“That Solano was another fool! So weak with the loss of his precious mate – he would do anything for me! But now it doesn’t matter...I don’t need Solano to stop you! I’ll be waiting on the floors above, Machina...and it is there that you’ll meet your end!”
Ura then suddenly vanished before them, leaving the cloak behind, the bullet holes still fresh with the smell of gunpowder. To most of the Pacters, what had just transpired was beyond their believing – Ura had disguised himself as Deus and had staged an invasion of the Vernexum building, but they had been caught and fell right into the trap of Machina, who had exposed Ura not only as an infamous serial killer, but also Solano’s manipulator.
“All right, men, put your guns down,” Machina said to the gunmen, putting away his own two pistols in holsters on his belt. The gunmen did exactly as ordered.
“I apologize for the theatrics,” Machina continued, “but I had to expose Ura before you lot got into even bigger trouble.”
“Why would you care about us?” Cepheus asked.
“Because...this is why.”
Machina then revealed his own right hand, spreading his fingers out so that his palm was clearly visible. Cepheus couldn’t believe his eyes – there was a glowing black insignia on his palm, round and with a bird motif. This man was a Pacter! He was on their side!
“The Black Feather Brigade and I have been trying to bring down Ura for ages,” Machina continued, “and now we finally have the opportunity. Although, I didn’t think that Ura would be able to not only infiltrate your dreams but also disguise himself as me.”
“Disguise himself as...?” Cepheus asked. Then it clicked. “You! So that is what you look like under your cloak!”
“That is correct...I, General Exxus Machina, am in truth Deus the Dream-Watcher.”
23 – Trick
[Friday, July 23, 7.49 AM]
The sun arose early the following morning for Cepheus. He’d been told by Deus in a dream the night before that today was the big day – the day when this war against the Pacters would be finally put to rest, and it would be accomplished by the death of General Ura. Everyone had been informed of what their roles would be in this fight, and now was the time to enact the plan. Cepheus awoke speedily, said goodbye to Esmeralda (Emma was still asleep), and left with Lyon and Abigail to head to the Vernexum building just down the street.
It was only about an eight-minute walk from the house, and all of the Pacters that had been in the dream with Cepheus, save for Stefano’s crew, were already there waiting for him.
“You ready, Cepheus?” Pierre said with a quizzical stare in Cepheus’ direction.
“That I am, Pierre,” Cepheus answered.
“The last time we met, you were just a boy with his head in the clouds – no real purpose to your life. I hope your resolve has strengthened since then.”
“It has, tremendously.”
“Good...I should have expected no less.”
“I suppose we’re all ready, then?” Deus asked.
“Stefano isn’t here just yet,” Cepheus said. “Perhaps we should wait for him.”
“I’d like to, but it’s already eight o’clock. Regardless, he’ll be joining us later anyway. Now, let’s head inside.”
The Vernexum building was surrounded by a large metal wire mesh fence, topped with barbed wire. Unusually enough, there were no security guards outside the building – presumably they were all stationed inside instead. The main gate was shut tight with a lock and chain, but Deus simply walked up to the lock and crushed it with a squeeze of his gargantuan hand.
“Everyone, engage your rider forms, now,” Deus said. “It’s going to be nothing but a fight from here on out.”
All five present besides Deus – Cepheus, Lyon, Pierre, Victoria, and Abigail – did as ordered, summoning their respective Spirits and merging with them. Deus then pushed the gate open towards the building, and a rather terrifying sight awaited them. Off to the side of the path which led into the main entrance, there was a crude metal pole protruding from the ground. There was the body of what looked like a giant Claydol chained to the pole, and on its chest there was something that looked like it was a wound from a small blade, possibly a dagger or even a spear. Wrapped around the same chain that held its body in place were four hands, not appearing to be attached to any arms. Its eight eyes were all closed, almost as if it was sleeping...in a slumber from which it would never awake.
“Oh my goodness,” Cepheus remarked. “That...That’s Jimmy.”
“They killed him...” Lyon stated. “They killed him in his rider form.”
“And if that’s true,” Deus continued, “that means his Spirit is gone as well. If a Pacter dies in rider form, his Spirit dies with him.”
“And you all...shall be next,” a voice replied. The owner of the voice then stepped out from the entrance of the Vernexum building – it was Solano, complete in all his horror.
“...Solano...” Cepheus spoke softly.
“Yes, I was the one who killed your friend there. Pity his sister isn’t here to see him, no? Then again, I doubt she would have any comfort knowing her brother died a monster.”
“You’re the only monster here!” Pierre screamed, snapping his claws. “I’ll kill you!”
“No, wait! Pierre, don’t!” Deus protested.
The protest fell on deaf ears. Pierre, in Gliscor form, had already leapt through the air, his wings outstretched and his claws poised, ready to attack Solano and tear him apart. Solano anticipated this, and he flew through the air and grabbed Jimmy’s corpse from off the pole, tore it free from the chain (subsequently breaking it), and then finally brought Jimmy’s corpse down upon Pierre’s body, crushing him to death – all at a remarkable speed which made the others feel as if time itself had stopped. Solano then leapt atop Jimmy’s corpse, and let loose a primal scream of triumph, its shrill bloodcurdling sound echoing through the air.
“Nobody in the world can hope to stop me!” he yelled. “And the rest of you will follow!”
He drew his dagger as the rest of the Pacters assumed battle stances, but before Solano could attack, there came a small ringing noise. Solano then reached into his pocket, pulling out a cell phone, and answered it.
“What?” he began. “...they’re right here...Are you crazy? We can end this... ...do you seriously... ...Fine.”
He hung up the phone in disgust.
“Apparently I’m supposed to be guarding the generals,” he shouted down to his enemies. “I can’t kill you just yet, but don’t you worry – you will be dead before the day’s over.” Then in the blink of an eye, he vanished completely from sight, teleporting away. At about the exact same time, Stefano came rushing in, accompanied by Ian, Chris, and Felicia. All of them, save Felicia, were in rider form.
“Sorry I’m late,” Stefano said apologetically. “It isn’t easy carrying four – oh dear, what happened here?”
“Jimmy’s dead and Solano killed Pierre by crushing his body with Jimmy’s corpse,” Cepheus responded immediately.
“Oh, ew. What’s our next course of action?”
“Our plans have been altered a bit, as we’ve already lost one person,” Deus said. “We’ve already been discovered, so let’s rush inside before they gain enough momentum to stop us. Let’s move!”
The band of ten then rushed headlong into the building, with Deus leading the way, and the others following close behind. He navigated the hallways and corridors as if he’d already been informed of the building’s layout, seemingly knowing exactly where to go at every new turn, and as he ran towards the stairway to the second floor, there were no interruptions of any kind, not by security or even locked doors.
The team was on a roll, enough to take on anyone or anything – up until they got to a large round room on the second floor. There was someone already waiting for them there – a dangerous-looking individual indeed. He was just as tall as Deus was, if not taller, and his hair was jet-black. He wore a steel mask in the shape of a bird’s head and beak covering the upper half of his face, concealing his eyes and nose completely from sight; despite the mask having two sizable eyeholes, his eyeballs could not be seen behind them. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and trousers which were also jet-black, and he appeared to be wearing an armored vest and a small amount of plate armor on his legs, much like Solano did, except his armor was black instead of gold. He was also holding a small polished black handgun in each hand, both of them pointing straight ahead and ready to be fired at any moment. He also had a very solemn purposeful look affixed on his face, clearly evident even with his mask, and he was standing directly in front of a closed white cylindrical elevator.
“That’s enough,” he said loudly.
The entire crew skidded to a halt when they saw this man, not because they thought this man was stronger, but instinctively out of fear of being shot. They all crowded into the room and were huddled in the center, almost running in to one another, with Deus at the head of the group and Cepheus and Lyon on either side of him. As they entered the room, the remaining passageways and corridors leading out of the room were each blocked by gunmen, a total of fifteen, broken up into five groups of three, each group obscuring a path, including the one the Pacters had just come up from. All fifteen men were armed with a rifle, and all of them had their weapons trained on the Pacters, their laser sights a swarm of small red dots.
They’d been found out. Someone had already known they were coming and had planned accordingly. Did Solano go into the building and inform them that quickly? But even so, how did the gunmen manage to keep themselves totally unseen? And who was this man who dared to oppose them?
“You shall go no further,” he continued. “You are now fully in my power. I could place you all under arrest right now for breaking and entering a government facility – the Vernexum headquarters, no less!”
“So why don’t you?” Cepheus asked.
“I want to find out exactly what you’re doing here. I want your motive for your crime.”
“Do you really think ordinary guns can stop us?”
“These aren’t ordinary guns. They are special Vernexum-manufacture guns especially designed to harm those who are in possession of Spirits...namely, Pacters.”
“I’ve got a hard time believing that.”
The man then, without hesitation, flexed his finger and fired a bullet from his left-hand pistol. It shot past Cepheus’ right leg, and although it didn’t penetrate flesh, the speed at which it whizzed past Cepheus was enough to create a gash. Cepheus yowled in pain as the bullet hit him.
“My mistake,” the man said. “I was aiming for the big one next to you.”
(He’s lying!) Cepheus thought, leaning slightly as he held onto his injured leg. (He was trying to graze my leg on purpose! There’s no way that it was just a fluke!)
“Who are you?” Lyon asked.
“My name is General Exxus Machina. I am one of the eight generals of the Vernexum, and as such one of the eight most powerful authority figures in the world. And right now, your lives are all in my hands.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“Before I do away with you, I will know exactly what your intentions are here, as well as the name of your leader.”
“And what will we do if we don’t tell you?” Chris replied, standing crowded behind Deus and Cepheus.
Machina didn’t respond to Chris’ question with words, but fired another bullet from his left-hand pistol, which flew past Cepheus and Deus, leaving them both unscathed, and grazed past Chris’ leg at great speed. Chris yelled in pain just as loudly as Cepheus had, even though as a Blastoise Pacter he was much more physically robust.
“I’m an expert shot and a short fuse,” Machina responded. “Suffice it to say that any future protests will be met with a bullet – and next time, I won’t have a bullet just graze you.”
“...We don’t have much of a choice,” Deus stated angrily. “Do as he says.”
“Now, who should I have talk?” Machina said, his arms not even budging an inch as both of his pistols were still held out. “You, the talkative arrogant one. The one I shot first.”
“Me?” Cepheus asked.
“Yes, you. What’s your name, boy?”
“It is Cepheus.”
“Cepheus White, I presume? The boy who has encountered all of the Three Terrors?”
“Were you the one who sent them to me?”
“No, that was Ura. I was opposed to the plan, but alas I was outvoted. Yet despite meeting them all, you are still alive. You are quite the lucky one.”
“...No comment.”
“Now, why are you here? And remember, you are not the one with a gun.”
“...Our plan is to kill Ura. Once Ura is dead or otherwise removed from the picture, the threat against Pacters will be gone.”
“You honestly, truly believe that? That idea is laughable.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You are a rational thinker, are you not, Mr. White? Think about it for a minute.”
“I don’t quite follow.”
“If word got out that Pacters killed one of the eight generals, how would the public as a whole react?”
“...Ugh, you’re right. Our image will be tarnished forever. How could I have done this...”
“Not like you haven’t accomplished that already by storming this building. Moving on, who is your leader and what is his name?”
“Our leader is the cloaked one right next to me, but I do not know his name.”
“Lie to me again and I will answer you with another bullet.”
“...It’s Deus.”
“Shhh...!” Deus hissed at Cepheus.
“Deus, eh?” Machina responded. “And he was the one that orchestrated this, you say?”
“That’s correct,” Cepheus answered.
“...Heheheh...To think all this time, the solution to all my problems is standing right in front of me.”
“What are you talking about?”
Machina then shot both of his pistols at once, aiming straight for Deus’ hands, each pistol at a separate hand. The bullets fired each hit their mark, even piercing through the heavy leather gloves, and the immense hurt caused Deus’ knees to buckle. Machina then followed those two shots up with another two to his thighs, causing Deus to kneel down on the ground in utter pain.
“You are nothing more than an imposter!” Machina yelled. “The real Deus would have blocked all those bullets before they ever reached him! You! Cepheus! Remove his cloak, now!”
Cepheus, not wanting another bullet to be shot in his general direction, did so, unveiling the cloak. It revealed the face of an aged man, with gray hair slowly turning white, and combed back until it reached a point behind his head. His facial expression was twisted into one of hatred – hatred for the man who had put four bullets in him.
“Ura...” Machina said. “I should have known you’d pull a cheap trick.”
“Machina...Always the thorn in my side!” the fake Deus yelled. “I should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance!”
“All right, Ura, I want some answers, and you will give me them now. The rest of you, do not move. My men still have their guns trained on you and will not hesitate to open fire.”
The rest of the Pacters looked on in utter shock. This Deus was not really Deus at all, but it was General Ura – the man they had planned to kill! But if that was the case, then did that mean that Ura was the one who had created that dream? If so, what other powers did he have, and where was the real Deus right now?
“What do you want?” Ura spat defiantly.
“First off...The serial killer who was on the news about three years ago...That was you, was it not?”
“I don’t have to answer you!”
Ura’s impudent remark was met with a bullet to the shoulder.
“Argh! Fine, that was me...no one was ever able to tie me to those crimes...no one except you, though, you pesky fool!”
“And after you attempted to kill a certain Felicia Ewing, you shed the identity of serial killer and found Solano, whom you drafted and molded into your own personal assassin?”
“That Solano was another fool! So weak with the loss of his precious mate – he would do anything for me! But now it doesn’t matter...I don’t need Solano to stop you! I’ll be waiting on the floors above, Machina...and it is there that you’ll meet your end!”
Ura then suddenly vanished before them, leaving the cloak behind, the bullet holes still fresh with the smell of gunpowder. To most of the Pacters, what had just transpired was beyond their believing – Ura had disguised himself as Deus and had staged an invasion of the Vernexum building, but they had been caught and fell right into the trap of Machina, who had exposed Ura not only as an infamous serial killer, but also Solano’s manipulator.
“All right, men, put your guns down,” Machina said to the gunmen, putting away his own two pistols in holsters on his belt. The gunmen did exactly as ordered.
“I apologize for the theatrics,” Machina continued, “but I had to expose Ura before you lot got into even bigger trouble.”
“Why would you care about us?” Cepheus asked.
“Because...this is why.”
Machina then revealed his own right hand, spreading his fingers out so that his palm was clearly visible. Cepheus couldn’t believe his eyes – there was a glowing black insignia on his palm, round and with a bird motif. This man was a Pacter! He was on their side!
“The Black Feather Brigade and I have been trying to bring down Ura for ages,” Machina continued, “and now we finally have the opportunity. Although, I didn’t think that Ura would be able to not only infiltrate your dreams but also disguise himself as me.”
“Disguise himself as...?” Cepheus asked. Then it clicked. “You! So that is what you look like under your cloak!”
“That is correct...I, General Exxus Machina, am in truth Deus the Dream-Watcher.”
I thought of many ways I could have ended this chapter. None of them were really good. I am terrible at endings, I really am. (There's still 2 more chapters left, even.)
Now someone besides Lucky needs to comment. I get a lot of people bugging me but only she responds.
Feedback, comments, and constructive criticism are always appreciated. However, as I have previously stated, keep your replies at a minimum of 20 words apiece. This is not a PokéBeach forum rule, but I'll probably ignore you if you don't have much to say.
RE: [PG] Nightmare - Chapter 23 up!
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k.
onoez Dark Void only posted 9 words; I broke my own rule nooooooooooooooooooooo
This one's the climax. The last chapter (#25) is the epilogue that no one cares about.
Stats for this chapter:
Page Count: 9.6; Word Count: 5773
omg that took a while
I'll post the epilogue in like...a week or something. Or when I get reminded.
Every time I look at this climax, it looks weird.
Feedback, comments, and constructive criticism are always appreciated. However, as I have previously stated, keep your replies at a minimum of 20 words apiece. This is not a PokéBeach forum rule, but I'll probably ignore you if you don't have much to say.
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Dark Void said:
k.
onoez Dark Void only posted 9 words; I broke my own rule nooooooooooooooooooooo
This one's the climax. The last chapter (#25) is the epilogue that no one cares about.
Stats for this chapter:
Page Count: 9.6; Word Count: 5773
~~~
24 – Climax
[Friday, July 23, 8.18 AM]
The statement made by General Machina shocked everyone to their core. Machina was actually Deus, their very own leader, and one of the eight Watchers, yet he had been undercover within the highest echelons of the government all this time. He had been speaking to them all through dreams, and yet he had been able to lead them all, undetected by his enemies, on a path towards victory in a war that had raged for decades.
“How?” Cepheus asked. “How did you manage to do all this?”
“Before I answer that,” Deus replied, “I’ve got a few more surprises for you all, and then I’ll explain everything.”
Deus then tapped the ring finger of his right hand to the center of his insignia, as a signal to summon his own Spirit. At his side appeared a rather large Spirit that very much looked like a falcon. Virtually all of its feathers were a deep obsidian black, not reflecting any light. Its face and beak, however, were a dazzling bright gold, and it had a crest of golden feathers that stretched behind its head and reached down to its mid-back. Its eyes were a clear blue, yet its stare had a rather piercing quality to it. It appeared to be a gentle Spirit, but at the same time it exuded a regal aura. Most peculiar of all, unlike other Spirits, it had no visible tether.
When the Spirit appeared, Cepheus and all the rest of the Pacters instantly fell to their knees and knelt to the bird, not by any conscious reaction of their own, but it was as if they recognized what this Spirit was. Yet none of them had ever seen this Spirit before in their lives. Why, then, were they bowing to it?
“I...I can’t move my body,” Cepheus said. “It’s as if...it wants to bow.”
“Arise,” Deus’ falcon Spirit spoke, and instantly all the Pacters stood to their feet again.
“What...what was that? What just happened?”
“It does not surprise me that you do not know. Very well, I shall tell you. I am Infinity, a noble Pidgeot Spirit hailing from the Spirit Plane. And...I am the Spirit King.”
“You? The Spirit King?”
“Does this not answer your question? It was not you who willed to bow to me – it was all of your Spirits. They know who their King is, and they reverence me.”
“That’s why...That explains it. It’s almost as if Hector was bowing...”
“Deus and I...we were the first Pacter team ever to exist. It was his idea, and I saw the merit, so I accepted. Since then I have been working undercover with him. Cepheus, your Spirit Hector and I...have been the only two Spirits in history who have had a weaker will than our human partner, which means that you and Deus...have wills strong enough to change the world, for good or ill.”
“Now, I believe it’s my turn to talk,” Deus said. “We don’t have much time, so I’ll make this quick. As you now know, I’ve been trailing Ura for years. I actually found out he was the serial killer years ago, but I never had any definite proof – there was nothing certain to tie him to the crimes, except for my own testimony, and that alone wouldn’t be enough. When I heard that Ura was rising in the ranks of the Vernex, taking Solano with him, I knew I had to act fast. I was already a high-ranking official in the Vernex, but Ura was going after the position of general – the highest position possible. I persuaded a few of the generals to nominate me as well, and we were both instated at the same time; that’s when the Vernex became the Vernexum.
“Ura was decidedly anti-Pacter, and for that purpose he’d made friends with two other Pacters – namely, Lazaro and Jentus. Solano was already his most trusted servant even before he was elected, but now he could afford to actually reveal his presence. In the meantime, I was trying to stop not only Ura from his crazy warpath, but also to bring Solano back – he was an old friend of mine and I couldn’t stand to see him suffer. Fast-forward to the present day, where I enter the dreams of others and recruit them for the cause to bring Pokémon back to the world, and we get the point where...well, when you were attacked.”
“The point where I would have been sent to Hell,” Cepheus said, “had you not intervened and ‘killed’ me first.”
“Yes, I know this comes as a shock for the rest of you,” Deus continued before the others could respond, “but I had a reason. This...was actually almost a godsend opportunity. I have no jurisdiction in the Underworld, and so was not allowed to enter myself, but I could at the very least pass the message along to you to bring Felicia back with you.”
“Because you believed that would bring Solano back to sanity, and give him once again a purpose for living, instead of blindly following Ura.”
“Yes, that’s correct...and that is why I called him back inside the building before he could attack and kill you all before you came in the front door.”
“Wait, that wasn’t Ura that ordered him back inside?”
“No, it was me. Ura was with you the whole time, remember? See, the night before, Ura had actually infiltrated all your dreams, with the help of Blackheart, and then disguised himself as me – and, considering none of you have seen my face and we both have similar stature – it wasn’t that hard. The one who’d actually informed him about the meeting...was Pierre.”
“Pierre? He was...a traitor?”
“Yes...it’s a bit of a stroke of luck that Solano killed him before you all got inside, plus it would save me the trouble of shooting him later.”
“You would have shot him?”
“Cepheus, I was holding a pistol in each hand and I never miss my target...as you probably noticed from when I shot you. Sorry about that, by the way, but I had to keep up the act no matter what. Moving on, when I found out he had done this, I’d conferred with two of my closest Pacter allies – Stefano, plus one other person you’ve yet to meet – and I said I’d be planning a trap to stop Ura, but for the time being to go along with the plot.”
“Stefano, you knew about this?”
“Yes,” Stefano replied, “but Deus told me after we first had the fake planning meeting.”
“After that,” Deus went on, “I told Solano about the fake plan as well – as Machina, not as Deus. He didn’t believe me at all, but I asked him to go along with the plan and do what I said for the time being.”
“Does Solano know that Machina and Deus are one and the same?” Cepheus asked.
“He didn’t before today, but...he does now.”
Deus then took about two steps to the side, away from the elevator, which then opened, revealing Solano standing in the car. He then took a few steps forward into the hallway where everyone was standing.
(Solano was hiding in the elevator this whole time!?) Cepheus thought.
“Solano, did you hear everything that happened?” Deus asked.
“I heard...everything,” Solano responded.
“I know that I have no excuse for killing your girlfriend and forcing you to go through so many years of heartache. If I could do things over again, I would do it differently. But at least for the time being, I can try to make amends for what I’ve done. And even though she died at my hand...there was no way I’d let her be sent to Hell. And it’s also why I asked Cepheus to bring her back with me.”
“Deus...Where is she?”
“She’s right here, in the back. Felicia, come forward, if you would.”
The girl then stepped over to the side, so she could see ahead of the crowd of Pacters huddled in the middle of the room, and when she saw Solano, her eyes widened, and she bolted forward, running to embrace her long-lost love who she had not seen in years. The two of them closed their eyes, sharing the moment with each other, wishing this bliss would last forever.
“Deus...” Solano said at length, “all I can say is...thank you.”
“Solano,” Deus replied, “I saw your face only a few moments ago. I saw you...smile.”
“I did.”
“I haven’t seen you smile since Felicia died. Solano...it’s good to have you back.”
“Deus...” Solano continued, his smile breaking out into a grin, “it’s good to be back.”
Suddenly, there was a noise that sounded like an explosion that came from down one of the hallways, as if some sort of machine blew up. It was then followed by an eerie cackle of laughter, and then the sound of metal being torn apart.
“What is that!?” Victoria asked, her voice jumping.
“Ah, looks like he’s right on time,” Stefano stated.
Before anyone could ask who Stefano meant, someone rushed into the room, hunched over slightly, with a rather malicious grin on his face. He appeared to be a Pacter fused with the Spirit of a Garchomp, evidenced by his hammerhead helmet, his curved claw-like nails, and the shark’s fin protruding from his back.
“This is Vincent,” Deus introduced. “Don’t worry...even though he looks evil, he’s on our side, through and through.”
“Pleased to meet you all,” Vincent replied, his voice significantly more normal than his earlier eldritch laughter. “I’ve been working undercover with Mach- er, Deus for a while now here. It’s good to know that I’ll finally be able to sink my claws into something.”
“Vincent’s a Spirit Knight and he’s been anxious for this war to be over. He’s got a bit of...well, bloodlust, but don’t worry – it’s directed the right way.”
“I’ll trust you on that one,” Cepheus asked. “One more question before we go fight Ura.”
“What is it?”
“The first time I met you...I couldn’t see or sense any insignia from you, Deus. Why is that? I thought Spirit Knights were able to see the insignia of other Pacters.”
“Remember when I told you that Spirit Knights can keep their insignia secret from other non-Knights?”
“I do.”
“Don’t you think the King can keep his secret from his own Knights? Don’t forget...Infinity outclasses all of you.”
“A fitting Spirit partner for one of the eight Watchers.”
“Well said. Now, I’m pretty sure you all know what’s going on. Here’s the plan: Solano, you take Felicia and Victoria and get them to safety – Esmeralda will be waiting. Ian, you can go with them as well if you want.”
“No way,” Ian answered. “Stefano and Chris are my best buds. I’m not going to just leave them hanging.”
“I see. The rest of us will take this elevator up to the eighth floor – Ura’s going to be waiting for us there and he’ll come at us with all he has. The Black Feather Brigade will scour the building for any rogue synthetics and take them out, as well as secure the lower floors of the building for us. Solano, as soon as you get Felicia and Victoria safely out of harm’s way, get back here as soon as you can, and remember what we discussed earlier today.”
“Understood,” Solano said, hastily leaving the building with the two girls in tow.
“Are you all aware of the plan?”
“Yes!” they all shouted enthusiastically, like a bunch of team players.
“Are we going to make Ura pay?”
“Yes!!”
“Are we going to end this war here and now?”
“Yes!!!”
“Great; now let’s go!”
The eight Pacters – Cepheus, Lyon, Deus, Stefano, Ian, Chris, Abigail, and Vincent – all crowded into the large elevator as Deus pushed the button for floor 8. Ura was going to most likely have prepared some sort of surprise for them all, but at this point, it didn’t matter – it was do-or-die time, and they were going to take Ura out, for good. Once Ura was going, everyone would be at peace once more, and Pacters would no longer have to live in fear.
There was no doubt about it – it was go time!
The elevator door opened up at the eighth floor, which consisted almost entirely of a large square room, fifty feet in length and width, plus a fifteen-foot ceiling. The elevator opened up at the far end, and as the Pacters piled into the room, they saw Ura at the opposite end of the room – his face was the same as they’d seen before, except his body was large, round, and gray, with a face consisting of two small eyes and a jack-o’-lantern-style mouth that looked as if it could open up. His arms were large and bulky, and they terminated with equally large hands of five fingers each. He had no legs, but rather a short genie tail that extended below his body; consequently, he was floating. In short, it was as if Ura’s head was tacked onto the body of a Dusknoir. Ura appeared to be a Pacter as well – a none-too-friendly one.
Separating Ura from the other Pacters, and occupying the middle of the room, were at least sixty synthetics broken up into three separate groups – Tyranitar in the center, Roserade on their right, and Weavile on their left – all of them specially programmed for combat. This was presumably the feared ‘synthetic army’ that the government used to enforce its will.
“I was wondering when you’d show up!” Ura shouted from across the room. “I didn’t imagine, though, that one of the Watchers was right under my nose this whole time!”
“I had to stop you,” Deus responded calmly. “But this I assure you – you will not live to see today’s sunset.”
“Ah, but can you and your friends handle a continued onslaught of synthetics? I highly doubt that, but then again, we’ll have to see, won’t we? And what’s this? Vincent, a traitor?”
“You are the only traitor,” Vincent hissed in response. “You have betrayed our country, our reputation, and our world. You will suffer long.”
“Not as long as you will suffer when you are dead. Blackheart has graciously lent me a piece of his power – should any of you die, you shall be sent to the Wheel, where you shall suffer eternally. Now, come! Let us see how long you will last!”
“He’s pretty confident in himself,” Deus said to his friends behind him. “That kind of power has a cost, however. If Ura dies, his power over the Wheel will be gone, and he’ll be sent to the Wheel himself.”
“What’s the strategy?”
“It’s going to be pretty simple. Chris and I are the largest, so we’ll rebuff the Tyranitar in the room’s center. Ian and Abigail, since you’re both blade-based Pacters, you’ll hold off the Weavile on our right. Vincent and Stefano will work together to take down the Roserade on the left – and Cepheus and Lyon, you two stay in the back row and cover us, since both of you are skilled at projectile combat. We all clear?”
All of them nodded or said “Got it,” to confirm they all understood the battle plan.
“Good,” Deus responded, engaging his own rider form. Unlike the rider forms of the other people, the only difference in his was that two large black imposing wings sprouted from his back – aside from that he looked identical to his human form.
“Now...let’s go!”
The fight started off rather smoothly at first. Deus and Chris were able to plow through their opening line, either by tearing them apart or simply bashing their heads in with brute strength. The synthetics were only machines, no matter how large they were, and for bulky men like Deus and Chris, smashing them would be no problem. They still advanced cautiously however, holding their ground, so that they wouldn’t move too far ahead of their allies and be surrounded on all sides. Ian and Abigail were matching blades with their Weavile adversaries, keeping their guards up and striking hard whenever they found an opening. Stefano and Vincent adopted a blitz strategy on their front, brutally attacking the Roserade one at a time, pooling their efforts together, concentrating on a single target and destroying it before moving on. Cepheus and Lyon, the two best friends, stood in the back, shooting fireballs and icicles forward from their safe positions whenever they saw any of their allies were in a tight spot, and although they had the least taxing job, their effort was crucial to the success of the attack.
“You’re doing well, everyone!” Deus said as he shot lightning bolts from his fingers – apparently a trademark move of his – causing another Tyranitar to malfunction and explode. “Keep this up and the day is ours!”
They kept at it, but Ura chuckled from his position behind the synthetics, and lifted up his arms, stretching them forward. His palms began to glow as he conjured three round portals near to his position, which caused more and more synthetics of the same variety to appear in the room in the back rows, replenishing the numbers they had lost.
“He’s making more!” Chris exclaimed.
“Not exactly...he’s bringing more in,” Deus replied. “They must be being made somewhere right now.” He reached down to his belt and tapped a walkie-talkie, and then shouted “Deus to Black Feather Brigade!”
“Leader, speaking!” a voice came from it.
“There are some machines somewhere in the building that keep producing more synthetics! Find them and disable them now!”
“Roger! Brigade out!”
Deus then turned the walkie-talkie off and returned to the battle, his concentration whole-heartedly focused on the foe ahead.
“We just need to keep holding up,” Deus shouted to his allies. “The Brigade’s going to find the machines and disable them.”
“You’ll be dead before that happens!” Ura exclaimed. “You won’t last forever, and when you wear out, then will be your end!”
Suddenly, the elevator opened at the far end of the room, where Deus and the Pacters had just recently emerged. They weren’t expecting anybody to come from the elevator at all – could this be Ura’s way of saying that their number was up?
Within the elevator cell was a rather large man, covered almost from head to foot in metal armor. He had sharp claws sprouting from his hands and a giant tail. As Cepheus glanced back, he felt as if this man looked somewhat familiar. Then he recognized him – Jentus!
“Not if I have anything to say about it!” Jentus retorted, shooting forth a Metal Burst of energy straight forward towards Deus, Chris, and the Tyranitar synthetics. Deus and Chris stepped aside when the blast came, and as they did so, Jentus’ attack tore through all of the Tyranitar synthetics, disabling and destroying each and every last one of them.
“You came to help!” Cepheus said.
“You were right, kid,” Jentus replied. “You two, Cepheus and Lyon. I’ve just made an opening for you – don’t waste it! Attack Ura and end this now! I’ve got your back!”
“Do as he says!” Deus followed up, as he and Chris split up to help the side teams.
Cepheus and Lyon, both in their respective rider forms and brimming with energy, dashed across the room through the opening that Jentus had created, and rushed straight toward Ura, attacking him mercilessly. Ura crossed his arms in front of his face to withstand damage, but even with his large defense he wasn’t able to mount an effective counterattack himself.
“He’s barely taking any damage!” Lyon said, shooting an Ice Beam towards Ura.
“Maybe so, but he can’t last forever,” Cepheus replied, charging into Ura with a bright blue Flare Blitz attack, which much to Cepheus’ delight knocked Ura into the back wall, impacting right next to another elevator. This worried Cepheus a bit – would Ura have more reinforcements still?
Ura seized the moment and instantly hurled a very large Shadow Ball towards both Cepheus and Lyon. They weren’t able to dodge it due to its massive size, and they both got knocked to the ground, sustaining massive wounds. Even with their combined power, Ura was still stronger than they were, and they wouldn’t be able to get up before Ura killed them both.
“You two shall be my first victims,” Ura said with a malicious laugh. “Goodbye.”
Ura was about to attack them with yet another Shadow Ball, but before he could do so, his face was frozen with an expression of shock and utter horror. Cepheus struggled to his feet, as did Lyon, and wondered what on earth could have happened to Ura. Their question was answered when Ura fell face forward onto the ground, the color drained from his skin. Standing behind him was Solano, who had just recently teleported into the room. Sticking out of the back of Ura’s neck was Solano’s dagger – Solano had killed Ura with a single stab. Ura’s death had also caused the portals which moved the backup synthetics into the room to vanish.
“And that is my revenge,” Solano said, removing the dagger and wiping the blood off onto Ura’s unmoving corpse.
“You...saved us both,” Cepheus stated gratefully.
From behind them, the rest of the Pacter team had just destroyed the last of the synthetic army. The room was littered with machine bodies and parts that would ultimately have to be cleaned up later, but the important thing was that the battle was won.
“Is that it, then?” Chris said.
“Ura’s dead,” Stefano answered, “so that should mean that this war is over.”
“Not exactly,” Deus answered.
“What?!” Ian exclaimed. “What do you mean, not over?”
“Didn’t you hear Ura?” Deus continued. “He said he had Blackheart’s power backing him. That means Blackheart is here.”
“So we have got to fight Blackheart as well?”
“No. All of you...you need to get out of here, now. Cepheus, you are coming with me. I need your help for this. The rest of you...you must leave now.”
“We can’t leave you now,” Chris protested. “Not after all this!”
“Guys, just do as he says,” Vincent asked. “If he doesn’t want you fighting Blackheart, he’s got a reason. Blackheart’s out of all of our leagues, and Deus obviously sees something in Cepheus enough so that he wants Cepheus to tag along.”
“Fine...But Deus, promise me this right now – that you won’t come back dead.”
“I promise,” Deus replied to Chris. “Now, go!”
Deus and Cepheus then entered the elevator that Ura was standing behind as all the other Pacters left to leave the Vernexum building. There were only two of them left now, and the elevator was headed up to the roof, presumably where Blackheart was waiting for them. Cepheus was more than a bit concerned – Deus had asked all the other Pacters to leave except for him. What did Deus possibly see in Cepheus that he wanted him to tag along? Perhaps there was something more that Deus wanted him to learn? Or was there a deeper, more significant purpose to all this? Cepheus couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do with his bronze wristband affixed to his right wrist...
As the elevator opened up and Deus and Cepheus walked out, there was nothing there of note except for a flat empty roof, but there was a large great black storm cloud gathering above the building. It didn’t look like it was part of some odd weather pattern, but that it had been supernaturally created, as if it was heralding the arrival of something terrible.
“Have you figured anything out, Cepheus?” Deus said.
“You were lying,” Cepheus responded softly.
“About what?”
“About Blackheart’s identity.”
“How so?”
“I’ve been trying to figure out the identity of Blackheart for a while now, and based on what I’ve been told I have come to a rather obvious conclusion. At first, I thought that Blackheart was a Spirit by the name of Darkrai.”
“At first? What made you doubt?”
“Darkrai’s just a Spirit – an evil one, but a Spirit nonetheless. You said so yourself that Blackheart had the ability to infringe on your own power over dreams.”
“I did.”
“But you have the power of the Spirit King on your side, not to mention you are a Watcher. A rogue Spirit like Darkrai couldn’t possibly hope to top you.”
“So what have you figured out?”
“Who or what could possibly infringe on the powers of a Spirit-Watcher duo, enough to actually attempt to kill someone in a person’s dream? And why did you, instead of attempting to stop Blackheart, turn and kill me instead? You said that Blackheart disguised himself as Arceus to attack me in my dream – you lied.”
“...I take it you have figured it out.”
“I have, Deus. Blackheart is Arceus!”
“Exactly. Your mind is as sharp as your bracelet.”
At that very moment, a grand lightning bolt pierced forth from the storm cloud above their heads, almost as if it had been waiting for Deus and Cepheus to realize the truth of the matter. The lightning bolt fell from the cloud and struck the roof at a point thirty feet in front of Deus and Cepheus, revealing at its base a rather strange creature, large and dark with a yellow ring about its chest and the aura of something immeasurably evil. It was the Pokémon Arceus, standing before them, except its coat had changed from purest white to deepest black.
“You two...” it spoke in a growl. “Ever the thorn in my side.”
(Ura said the exact same thing about Deus...) Cepheus thought.
“I will not let you have your way anymore,” Deus responded. “You have hurt too many lives with your insanity, and I intend to stop you.”
“You saw humans force Pokémon everywhere off the planet, to a point where they can only exist as Spirits, and you call me the insane one? It’s the humans that have to pay the price.”
“You were working with Ura, a serial killer who specifically targeted Pacters. Don’t give me that crap.”
“They all got what they deserved – even Ura. None of you are fit enough to live, and judging based on what’s going on now, it won’t be long before you all kill yourselves off anyway. And since there is little good in humankind, why not speed up the process?”
“That is a lie, and you know it. You have forgotten your roots. And even if humanity is going on a self-destructive path...no matter how much you think you have the right, judging their fate is not yours to decide.”
“And you think you can do better?”
“I can do a far better job than you’re doing right now.”
“Fine, Deus. We shall settle this, one on one. Whoever is left alive shall be the new Omni-Watcher. But I wonder, will you be able to handle it?”
Deus didn’t answer Blackheart’s question directly, but cracked the knuckles in his hands together and moved into a battle pose.
“Let’s do this,” he replied.
And so the final showdown began. On one side was Deus, the Watcher with the ability to enter people’s dreams and communicate with them, and the de facto leader of every Pacter on the face of the planet, due to the status of his partner Spirit as Spirit King. On the other was Arceus, now Blackheart, the Watcher that possessed authority over all other Watchers and also possessed many of their powers as well. Yet, based on the exchange of blows that was occurring between Deus and Blackheart, they seemed to be equal in power, with no clear advantage.
Cepheus found this incredibly perplexing from his viewpoint as a spectator. Realistically, Blackheart should be much more powerful than Deus, seeing as Blackheart was the head over all of the Watchers, including Deus. And yet the two of them appeared to be an even match for each other. Or maybe it was because Deus was playing his cards wisely, knowing full well that his opponent was stark staring mad and he was using that to his advantage?
After the battle had raged on for five minutes, neither Deus nor Blackheart appeared to be weakening, nor did either one score a decisive blow against the other. Cepheus was very concerned for Deus – he wanted to jump in and fight himself to aid Deus, but the rules were very clear that the fight was to be one-on-one. Suddenly, much to Cepheus’ surprise, Victoria came bursting up from the elevator behind him and ran forward in front of Cepheus, stopping short about two feet in front of him. She was in her rider form, fused with her Lucario Spirit, and as such had an appearance to match – she had blue pointy ears, her hands and feet had turned into black paws with spikes on their backsides, and her hands appeared to be glowing blue.
“Deus! Let me help!” she cried out.
“Victoria!” Deus replied as he turned around. “What are you doing here?”
“No! Look out!”
Blackheart had taken advantage of Deus turning his back on him, and instantaneously conjured and fired a Judgment projectile straight at Deus, enveloping him completely and forcing him down against the roof’s cement surface, wounded. Part of his chest was scarred and burned, his left leg was missing completely, and his right leg only extended as far as his thigh.
“Deus, no!” Cepheus yelled, running forward and kneeling by his friend’s charred body.
Deus looked towards Cepheus, his eyes still invisible and his body in excruciating pain. Victoria was standing at a distance, frozen to the spot, bawling her eyes out.
“Deus, why...” Cepheus said weakly, looking into Deus’ mask. “Why...?”
“I guess I...” Deus managed, “... ...let my guard down, didn’t I?”
His eyes then closed shut and his face grew pale, as if his life departed from him in that very moment. Cepheus could only watch as the man who had given his life so much purpose and reason was now lying dead before him. It was simply too much to believe. Victoria was still crying, as if there would be no end to her tears. Cepheus bent his head down towards his knees and squinted his eyes shut tight, small beads beginning to fall from his closed lids.
“No...” Cepheus whimpered. “No...this can’t be real...”
“Yes!” Blackheart yelled at the top of its voice. “Deus is finally dead! Now with his accursed self out of the way, there’ll be no one left to stop me! I will go unchallenged!”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” someone responded calmly.
Cepheus then looked around to see who the owner of the voice was, wiping his tears away. Blackheart did the same, wondering who could possibly defy him at this point. Then both of them suddenly saw the owner of the voice and looked on in total shock, such as they had never felt before nor ever would feel again. The owner of the voice...was Deus. He was standing up on both feet, strong and healthy, as if he had never been wounded. His wings were spread open wide as well, and he looked perfectly unscathed.
“You...!?” Blackheart screamed in shock. “That’s...that’s impossible!!”
“Isn’t it?” Deus replied with a smirk. “Victoria, Cepheus, you two can stop crying...I’m not dead. Far from it – I’m as alive as I could ever be.”
The two Pacters then dried their eyes and looked straight at Deus. It was just as he had said – Deus was alive and well, as if he had never been wounded. Cepheus examined Deus to wonder exactly how that was possible. His eyes were darting around, trying to figure out how, until he saw something unusual protruding from halfway between Deus’ waist and his shoulders: a set of four tentacles which grew out from his sides and rested directly in front of his chest, tapering to a point. There was one orange tentacle and one blue growing from each side.
“Deus?” Cepheus asked. “What are those things on your sides?”
“Oh, these?” Deus responded, gesturing to his unusual growths. “That’s another part of my rider form. It’s not something I often show, because it looks so strange.”
“I don’t recall seeing any sort of tentacles on you before...or on Infinity.”
“That’s because they aren’t.”
He then held up his left hand, revealing something incredibly unusual – a bright orange insignia with a double helix motif.
“A...A second insignia!?” Cepheus exclaimed. “How is that even possible!?”
“Deus!!” Blackheart screamed. “What is this!? You possess...a second Spirit!?”
“And that’s the reason why I’m feeling just peachy,” Deus replied.
“You think that you being well again will catch you off guard?”
“No...but he will.”
“He who? Cepheus?”
To answer his question, another person materialized on the roof standing about twenty feet away from Arceus, as if the person had been lying in wait invisibly this whole time. Cepheus instantly recognized him...it was Solano.
“No...he me, Solano!” Solano responded.
Not waiting for a response, Solano then caused the eight spikes on his back to glow with a strong light, and then instantly they fired an immense Solarbeam attack, as if Solano had been charging up an immense amount of energy, all to be unleashed in a single moment. The bright laser enveloped Blackheart completely, surrounding it in purest solar light. Solano kept up the beam for twenty full seconds, despite the immense stress it was putting on his body, and when the attack concluded and the light cleared, Blackheart had been completely vaporized – there was not a single trace of him left.
“Thank you, Solano,” Deus said to his friend. “I thought this might have happened...hence why I asked that of you.”
“A wise choice,” Solano responded. “And now...I depart.” The human-Pokémon hybrid creature then vanished as quickly as he had come on the scene.
“That second Spirit,” Cepheus interjected, “it was Deoxys, wasn’t it?”
“It was, yes,” Deus answered. “It was really a stroke of luck that I found Deoxys when I did all those years ago – it was one of the few Pokémon that had chosen not to leave right away for the Spirit Plane, but it was still being hunted. I found it before the humans could harness its power, and...well, it’s still alive. It lends me its power by causing my wounds to heal at remarkable speed...even to the point of regenerating bones and muscles.”
“That explains it.”
“And Cepheus, I believe that you no longer have any more questions for me, do you?”
“I don’t, I really don’t. This war...It’s over. It’s actually finally over.”
24 – Climax
[Friday, July 23, 8.18 AM]
The statement made by General Machina shocked everyone to their core. Machina was actually Deus, their very own leader, and one of the eight Watchers, yet he had been undercover within the highest echelons of the government all this time. He had been speaking to them all through dreams, and yet he had been able to lead them all, undetected by his enemies, on a path towards victory in a war that had raged for decades.
“How?” Cepheus asked. “How did you manage to do all this?”
“Before I answer that,” Deus replied, “I’ve got a few more surprises for you all, and then I’ll explain everything.”
Deus then tapped the ring finger of his right hand to the center of his insignia, as a signal to summon his own Spirit. At his side appeared a rather large Spirit that very much looked like a falcon. Virtually all of its feathers were a deep obsidian black, not reflecting any light. Its face and beak, however, were a dazzling bright gold, and it had a crest of golden feathers that stretched behind its head and reached down to its mid-back. Its eyes were a clear blue, yet its stare had a rather piercing quality to it. It appeared to be a gentle Spirit, but at the same time it exuded a regal aura. Most peculiar of all, unlike other Spirits, it had no visible tether.
When the Spirit appeared, Cepheus and all the rest of the Pacters instantly fell to their knees and knelt to the bird, not by any conscious reaction of their own, but it was as if they recognized what this Spirit was. Yet none of them had ever seen this Spirit before in their lives. Why, then, were they bowing to it?
“I...I can’t move my body,” Cepheus said. “It’s as if...it wants to bow.”
“Arise,” Deus’ falcon Spirit spoke, and instantly all the Pacters stood to their feet again.
“What...what was that? What just happened?”
“It does not surprise me that you do not know. Very well, I shall tell you. I am Infinity, a noble Pidgeot Spirit hailing from the Spirit Plane. And...I am the Spirit King.”
“You? The Spirit King?”
“Does this not answer your question? It was not you who willed to bow to me – it was all of your Spirits. They know who their King is, and they reverence me.”
“That’s why...That explains it. It’s almost as if Hector was bowing...”
“Deus and I...we were the first Pacter team ever to exist. It was his idea, and I saw the merit, so I accepted. Since then I have been working undercover with him. Cepheus, your Spirit Hector and I...have been the only two Spirits in history who have had a weaker will than our human partner, which means that you and Deus...have wills strong enough to change the world, for good or ill.”
“Now, I believe it’s my turn to talk,” Deus said. “We don’t have much time, so I’ll make this quick. As you now know, I’ve been trailing Ura for years. I actually found out he was the serial killer years ago, but I never had any definite proof – there was nothing certain to tie him to the crimes, except for my own testimony, and that alone wouldn’t be enough. When I heard that Ura was rising in the ranks of the Vernex, taking Solano with him, I knew I had to act fast. I was already a high-ranking official in the Vernex, but Ura was going after the position of general – the highest position possible. I persuaded a few of the generals to nominate me as well, and we were both instated at the same time; that’s when the Vernex became the Vernexum.
“Ura was decidedly anti-Pacter, and for that purpose he’d made friends with two other Pacters – namely, Lazaro and Jentus. Solano was already his most trusted servant even before he was elected, but now he could afford to actually reveal his presence. In the meantime, I was trying to stop not only Ura from his crazy warpath, but also to bring Solano back – he was an old friend of mine and I couldn’t stand to see him suffer. Fast-forward to the present day, where I enter the dreams of others and recruit them for the cause to bring Pokémon back to the world, and we get the point where...well, when you were attacked.”
“The point where I would have been sent to Hell,” Cepheus said, “had you not intervened and ‘killed’ me first.”
“Yes, I know this comes as a shock for the rest of you,” Deus continued before the others could respond, “but I had a reason. This...was actually almost a godsend opportunity. I have no jurisdiction in the Underworld, and so was not allowed to enter myself, but I could at the very least pass the message along to you to bring Felicia back with you.”
“Because you believed that would bring Solano back to sanity, and give him once again a purpose for living, instead of blindly following Ura.”
“Yes, that’s correct...and that is why I called him back inside the building before he could attack and kill you all before you came in the front door.”
“Wait, that wasn’t Ura that ordered him back inside?”
“No, it was me. Ura was with you the whole time, remember? See, the night before, Ura had actually infiltrated all your dreams, with the help of Blackheart, and then disguised himself as me – and, considering none of you have seen my face and we both have similar stature – it wasn’t that hard. The one who’d actually informed him about the meeting...was Pierre.”
“Pierre? He was...a traitor?”
“Yes...it’s a bit of a stroke of luck that Solano killed him before you all got inside, plus it would save me the trouble of shooting him later.”
“You would have shot him?”
“Cepheus, I was holding a pistol in each hand and I never miss my target...as you probably noticed from when I shot you. Sorry about that, by the way, but I had to keep up the act no matter what. Moving on, when I found out he had done this, I’d conferred with two of my closest Pacter allies – Stefano, plus one other person you’ve yet to meet – and I said I’d be planning a trap to stop Ura, but for the time being to go along with the plot.”
“Stefano, you knew about this?”
“Yes,” Stefano replied, “but Deus told me after we first had the fake planning meeting.”
“After that,” Deus went on, “I told Solano about the fake plan as well – as Machina, not as Deus. He didn’t believe me at all, but I asked him to go along with the plan and do what I said for the time being.”
“Does Solano know that Machina and Deus are one and the same?” Cepheus asked.
“He didn’t before today, but...he does now.”
Deus then took about two steps to the side, away from the elevator, which then opened, revealing Solano standing in the car. He then took a few steps forward into the hallway where everyone was standing.
(Solano was hiding in the elevator this whole time!?) Cepheus thought.
“Solano, did you hear everything that happened?” Deus asked.
“I heard...everything,” Solano responded.
“I know that I have no excuse for killing your girlfriend and forcing you to go through so many years of heartache. If I could do things over again, I would do it differently. But at least for the time being, I can try to make amends for what I’ve done. And even though she died at my hand...there was no way I’d let her be sent to Hell. And it’s also why I asked Cepheus to bring her back with me.”
“Deus...Where is she?”
“She’s right here, in the back. Felicia, come forward, if you would.”
The girl then stepped over to the side, so she could see ahead of the crowd of Pacters huddled in the middle of the room, and when she saw Solano, her eyes widened, and she bolted forward, running to embrace her long-lost love who she had not seen in years. The two of them closed their eyes, sharing the moment with each other, wishing this bliss would last forever.
“Deus...” Solano said at length, “all I can say is...thank you.”
“Solano,” Deus replied, “I saw your face only a few moments ago. I saw you...smile.”
“I did.”
“I haven’t seen you smile since Felicia died. Solano...it’s good to have you back.”
“Deus...” Solano continued, his smile breaking out into a grin, “it’s good to be back.”
Suddenly, there was a noise that sounded like an explosion that came from down one of the hallways, as if some sort of machine blew up. It was then followed by an eerie cackle of laughter, and then the sound of metal being torn apart.
“What is that!?” Victoria asked, her voice jumping.
“Ah, looks like he’s right on time,” Stefano stated.
Before anyone could ask who Stefano meant, someone rushed into the room, hunched over slightly, with a rather malicious grin on his face. He appeared to be a Pacter fused with the Spirit of a Garchomp, evidenced by his hammerhead helmet, his curved claw-like nails, and the shark’s fin protruding from his back.
“This is Vincent,” Deus introduced. “Don’t worry...even though he looks evil, he’s on our side, through and through.”
“Pleased to meet you all,” Vincent replied, his voice significantly more normal than his earlier eldritch laughter. “I’ve been working undercover with Mach- er, Deus for a while now here. It’s good to know that I’ll finally be able to sink my claws into something.”
“Vincent’s a Spirit Knight and he’s been anxious for this war to be over. He’s got a bit of...well, bloodlust, but don’t worry – it’s directed the right way.”
“I’ll trust you on that one,” Cepheus asked. “One more question before we go fight Ura.”
“What is it?”
“The first time I met you...I couldn’t see or sense any insignia from you, Deus. Why is that? I thought Spirit Knights were able to see the insignia of other Pacters.”
“Remember when I told you that Spirit Knights can keep their insignia secret from other non-Knights?”
“I do.”
“Don’t you think the King can keep his secret from his own Knights? Don’t forget...Infinity outclasses all of you.”
“A fitting Spirit partner for one of the eight Watchers.”
“Well said. Now, I’m pretty sure you all know what’s going on. Here’s the plan: Solano, you take Felicia and Victoria and get them to safety – Esmeralda will be waiting. Ian, you can go with them as well if you want.”
“No way,” Ian answered. “Stefano and Chris are my best buds. I’m not going to just leave them hanging.”
“I see. The rest of us will take this elevator up to the eighth floor – Ura’s going to be waiting for us there and he’ll come at us with all he has. The Black Feather Brigade will scour the building for any rogue synthetics and take them out, as well as secure the lower floors of the building for us. Solano, as soon as you get Felicia and Victoria safely out of harm’s way, get back here as soon as you can, and remember what we discussed earlier today.”
“Understood,” Solano said, hastily leaving the building with the two girls in tow.
“Are you all aware of the plan?”
“Yes!” they all shouted enthusiastically, like a bunch of team players.
“Are we going to make Ura pay?”
“Yes!!”
“Are we going to end this war here and now?”
“Yes!!!”
“Great; now let’s go!”
The eight Pacters – Cepheus, Lyon, Deus, Stefano, Ian, Chris, Abigail, and Vincent – all crowded into the large elevator as Deus pushed the button for floor 8. Ura was going to most likely have prepared some sort of surprise for them all, but at this point, it didn’t matter – it was do-or-die time, and they were going to take Ura out, for good. Once Ura was going, everyone would be at peace once more, and Pacters would no longer have to live in fear.
There was no doubt about it – it was go time!
The elevator door opened up at the eighth floor, which consisted almost entirely of a large square room, fifty feet in length and width, plus a fifteen-foot ceiling. The elevator opened up at the far end, and as the Pacters piled into the room, they saw Ura at the opposite end of the room – his face was the same as they’d seen before, except his body was large, round, and gray, with a face consisting of two small eyes and a jack-o’-lantern-style mouth that looked as if it could open up. His arms were large and bulky, and they terminated with equally large hands of five fingers each. He had no legs, but rather a short genie tail that extended below his body; consequently, he was floating. In short, it was as if Ura’s head was tacked onto the body of a Dusknoir. Ura appeared to be a Pacter as well – a none-too-friendly one.
Separating Ura from the other Pacters, and occupying the middle of the room, were at least sixty synthetics broken up into three separate groups – Tyranitar in the center, Roserade on their right, and Weavile on their left – all of them specially programmed for combat. This was presumably the feared ‘synthetic army’ that the government used to enforce its will.
“I was wondering when you’d show up!” Ura shouted from across the room. “I didn’t imagine, though, that one of the Watchers was right under my nose this whole time!”
“I had to stop you,” Deus responded calmly. “But this I assure you – you will not live to see today’s sunset.”
“Ah, but can you and your friends handle a continued onslaught of synthetics? I highly doubt that, but then again, we’ll have to see, won’t we? And what’s this? Vincent, a traitor?”
“You are the only traitor,” Vincent hissed in response. “You have betrayed our country, our reputation, and our world. You will suffer long.”
“Not as long as you will suffer when you are dead. Blackheart has graciously lent me a piece of his power – should any of you die, you shall be sent to the Wheel, where you shall suffer eternally. Now, come! Let us see how long you will last!”
“He’s pretty confident in himself,” Deus said to his friends behind him. “That kind of power has a cost, however. If Ura dies, his power over the Wheel will be gone, and he’ll be sent to the Wheel himself.”
“What’s the strategy?”
“It’s going to be pretty simple. Chris and I are the largest, so we’ll rebuff the Tyranitar in the room’s center. Ian and Abigail, since you’re both blade-based Pacters, you’ll hold off the Weavile on our right. Vincent and Stefano will work together to take down the Roserade on the left – and Cepheus and Lyon, you two stay in the back row and cover us, since both of you are skilled at projectile combat. We all clear?”
All of them nodded or said “Got it,” to confirm they all understood the battle plan.
“Good,” Deus responded, engaging his own rider form. Unlike the rider forms of the other people, the only difference in his was that two large black imposing wings sprouted from his back – aside from that he looked identical to his human form.
“Now...let’s go!”
The fight started off rather smoothly at first. Deus and Chris were able to plow through their opening line, either by tearing them apart or simply bashing their heads in with brute strength. The synthetics were only machines, no matter how large they were, and for bulky men like Deus and Chris, smashing them would be no problem. They still advanced cautiously however, holding their ground, so that they wouldn’t move too far ahead of their allies and be surrounded on all sides. Ian and Abigail were matching blades with their Weavile adversaries, keeping their guards up and striking hard whenever they found an opening. Stefano and Vincent adopted a blitz strategy on their front, brutally attacking the Roserade one at a time, pooling their efforts together, concentrating on a single target and destroying it before moving on. Cepheus and Lyon, the two best friends, stood in the back, shooting fireballs and icicles forward from their safe positions whenever they saw any of their allies were in a tight spot, and although they had the least taxing job, their effort was crucial to the success of the attack.
“You’re doing well, everyone!” Deus said as he shot lightning bolts from his fingers – apparently a trademark move of his – causing another Tyranitar to malfunction and explode. “Keep this up and the day is ours!”
They kept at it, but Ura chuckled from his position behind the synthetics, and lifted up his arms, stretching them forward. His palms began to glow as he conjured three round portals near to his position, which caused more and more synthetics of the same variety to appear in the room in the back rows, replenishing the numbers they had lost.
“He’s making more!” Chris exclaimed.
“Not exactly...he’s bringing more in,” Deus replied. “They must be being made somewhere right now.” He reached down to his belt and tapped a walkie-talkie, and then shouted “Deus to Black Feather Brigade!”
“Leader, speaking!” a voice came from it.
“There are some machines somewhere in the building that keep producing more synthetics! Find them and disable them now!”
“Roger! Brigade out!”
Deus then turned the walkie-talkie off and returned to the battle, his concentration whole-heartedly focused on the foe ahead.
“We just need to keep holding up,” Deus shouted to his allies. “The Brigade’s going to find the machines and disable them.”
“You’ll be dead before that happens!” Ura exclaimed. “You won’t last forever, and when you wear out, then will be your end!”
Suddenly, the elevator opened at the far end of the room, where Deus and the Pacters had just recently emerged. They weren’t expecting anybody to come from the elevator at all – could this be Ura’s way of saying that their number was up?
Within the elevator cell was a rather large man, covered almost from head to foot in metal armor. He had sharp claws sprouting from his hands and a giant tail. As Cepheus glanced back, he felt as if this man looked somewhat familiar. Then he recognized him – Jentus!
“Not if I have anything to say about it!” Jentus retorted, shooting forth a Metal Burst of energy straight forward towards Deus, Chris, and the Tyranitar synthetics. Deus and Chris stepped aside when the blast came, and as they did so, Jentus’ attack tore through all of the Tyranitar synthetics, disabling and destroying each and every last one of them.
“You came to help!” Cepheus said.
“You were right, kid,” Jentus replied. “You two, Cepheus and Lyon. I’ve just made an opening for you – don’t waste it! Attack Ura and end this now! I’ve got your back!”
“Do as he says!” Deus followed up, as he and Chris split up to help the side teams.
Cepheus and Lyon, both in their respective rider forms and brimming with energy, dashed across the room through the opening that Jentus had created, and rushed straight toward Ura, attacking him mercilessly. Ura crossed his arms in front of his face to withstand damage, but even with his large defense he wasn’t able to mount an effective counterattack himself.
“He’s barely taking any damage!” Lyon said, shooting an Ice Beam towards Ura.
“Maybe so, but he can’t last forever,” Cepheus replied, charging into Ura with a bright blue Flare Blitz attack, which much to Cepheus’ delight knocked Ura into the back wall, impacting right next to another elevator. This worried Cepheus a bit – would Ura have more reinforcements still?
Ura seized the moment and instantly hurled a very large Shadow Ball towards both Cepheus and Lyon. They weren’t able to dodge it due to its massive size, and they both got knocked to the ground, sustaining massive wounds. Even with their combined power, Ura was still stronger than they were, and they wouldn’t be able to get up before Ura killed them both.
“You two shall be my first victims,” Ura said with a malicious laugh. “Goodbye.”
Ura was about to attack them with yet another Shadow Ball, but before he could do so, his face was frozen with an expression of shock and utter horror. Cepheus struggled to his feet, as did Lyon, and wondered what on earth could have happened to Ura. Their question was answered when Ura fell face forward onto the ground, the color drained from his skin. Standing behind him was Solano, who had just recently teleported into the room. Sticking out of the back of Ura’s neck was Solano’s dagger – Solano had killed Ura with a single stab. Ura’s death had also caused the portals which moved the backup synthetics into the room to vanish.
“And that is my revenge,” Solano said, removing the dagger and wiping the blood off onto Ura’s unmoving corpse.
“You...saved us both,” Cepheus stated gratefully.
From behind them, the rest of the Pacter team had just destroyed the last of the synthetic army. The room was littered with machine bodies and parts that would ultimately have to be cleaned up later, but the important thing was that the battle was won.
“Is that it, then?” Chris said.
“Ura’s dead,” Stefano answered, “so that should mean that this war is over.”
“Not exactly,” Deus answered.
“What?!” Ian exclaimed. “What do you mean, not over?”
“Didn’t you hear Ura?” Deus continued. “He said he had Blackheart’s power backing him. That means Blackheart is here.”
“So we have got to fight Blackheart as well?”
“No. All of you...you need to get out of here, now. Cepheus, you are coming with me. I need your help for this. The rest of you...you must leave now.”
“We can’t leave you now,” Chris protested. “Not after all this!”
“Guys, just do as he says,” Vincent asked. “If he doesn’t want you fighting Blackheart, he’s got a reason. Blackheart’s out of all of our leagues, and Deus obviously sees something in Cepheus enough so that he wants Cepheus to tag along.”
“Fine...But Deus, promise me this right now – that you won’t come back dead.”
“I promise,” Deus replied to Chris. “Now, go!”
Deus and Cepheus then entered the elevator that Ura was standing behind as all the other Pacters left to leave the Vernexum building. There were only two of them left now, and the elevator was headed up to the roof, presumably where Blackheart was waiting for them. Cepheus was more than a bit concerned – Deus had asked all the other Pacters to leave except for him. What did Deus possibly see in Cepheus that he wanted him to tag along? Perhaps there was something more that Deus wanted him to learn? Or was there a deeper, more significant purpose to all this? Cepheus couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do with his bronze wristband affixed to his right wrist...
As the elevator opened up and Deus and Cepheus walked out, there was nothing there of note except for a flat empty roof, but there was a large great black storm cloud gathering above the building. It didn’t look like it was part of some odd weather pattern, but that it had been supernaturally created, as if it was heralding the arrival of something terrible.
“Have you figured anything out, Cepheus?” Deus said.
“You were lying,” Cepheus responded softly.
“About what?”
“About Blackheart’s identity.”
“How so?”
“I’ve been trying to figure out the identity of Blackheart for a while now, and based on what I’ve been told I have come to a rather obvious conclusion. At first, I thought that Blackheart was a Spirit by the name of Darkrai.”
“At first? What made you doubt?”
“Darkrai’s just a Spirit – an evil one, but a Spirit nonetheless. You said so yourself that Blackheart had the ability to infringe on your own power over dreams.”
“I did.”
“But you have the power of the Spirit King on your side, not to mention you are a Watcher. A rogue Spirit like Darkrai couldn’t possibly hope to top you.”
“So what have you figured out?”
“Who or what could possibly infringe on the powers of a Spirit-Watcher duo, enough to actually attempt to kill someone in a person’s dream? And why did you, instead of attempting to stop Blackheart, turn and kill me instead? You said that Blackheart disguised himself as Arceus to attack me in my dream – you lied.”
“...I take it you have figured it out.”
“I have, Deus. Blackheart is Arceus!”
“Exactly. Your mind is as sharp as your bracelet.”
At that very moment, a grand lightning bolt pierced forth from the storm cloud above their heads, almost as if it had been waiting for Deus and Cepheus to realize the truth of the matter. The lightning bolt fell from the cloud and struck the roof at a point thirty feet in front of Deus and Cepheus, revealing at its base a rather strange creature, large and dark with a yellow ring about its chest and the aura of something immeasurably evil. It was the Pokémon Arceus, standing before them, except its coat had changed from purest white to deepest black.
“You two...” it spoke in a growl. “Ever the thorn in my side.”
(Ura said the exact same thing about Deus...) Cepheus thought.
“I will not let you have your way anymore,” Deus responded. “You have hurt too many lives with your insanity, and I intend to stop you.”
“You saw humans force Pokémon everywhere off the planet, to a point where they can only exist as Spirits, and you call me the insane one? It’s the humans that have to pay the price.”
“You were working with Ura, a serial killer who specifically targeted Pacters. Don’t give me that crap.”
“They all got what they deserved – even Ura. None of you are fit enough to live, and judging based on what’s going on now, it won’t be long before you all kill yourselves off anyway. And since there is little good in humankind, why not speed up the process?”
“That is a lie, and you know it. You have forgotten your roots. And even if humanity is going on a self-destructive path...no matter how much you think you have the right, judging their fate is not yours to decide.”
“And you think you can do better?”
“I can do a far better job than you’re doing right now.”
“Fine, Deus. We shall settle this, one on one. Whoever is left alive shall be the new Omni-Watcher. But I wonder, will you be able to handle it?”
Deus didn’t answer Blackheart’s question directly, but cracked the knuckles in his hands together and moved into a battle pose.
“Let’s do this,” he replied.
And so the final showdown began. On one side was Deus, the Watcher with the ability to enter people’s dreams and communicate with them, and the de facto leader of every Pacter on the face of the planet, due to the status of his partner Spirit as Spirit King. On the other was Arceus, now Blackheart, the Watcher that possessed authority over all other Watchers and also possessed many of their powers as well. Yet, based on the exchange of blows that was occurring between Deus and Blackheart, they seemed to be equal in power, with no clear advantage.
Cepheus found this incredibly perplexing from his viewpoint as a spectator. Realistically, Blackheart should be much more powerful than Deus, seeing as Blackheart was the head over all of the Watchers, including Deus. And yet the two of them appeared to be an even match for each other. Or maybe it was because Deus was playing his cards wisely, knowing full well that his opponent was stark staring mad and he was using that to his advantage?
After the battle had raged on for five minutes, neither Deus nor Blackheart appeared to be weakening, nor did either one score a decisive blow against the other. Cepheus was very concerned for Deus – he wanted to jump in and fight himself to aid Deus, but the rules were very clear that the fight was to be one-on-one. Suddenly, much to Cepheus’ surprise, Victoria came bursting up from the elevator behind him and ran forward in front of Cepheus, stopping short about two feet in front of him. She was in her rider form, fused with her Lucario Spirit, and as such had an appearance to match – she had blue pointy ears, her hands and feet had turned into black paws with spikes on their backsides, and her hands appeared to be glowing blue.
“Deus! Let me help!” she cried out.
“Victoria!” Deus replied as he turned around. “What are you doing here?”
“No! Look out!”
Blackheart had taken advantage of Deus turning his back on him, and instantaneously conjured and fired a Judgment projectile straight at Deus, enveloping him completely and forcing him down against the roof’s cement surface, wounded. Part of his chest was scarred and burned, his left leg was missing completely, and his right leg only extended as far as his thigh.
“Deus, no!” Cepheus yelled, running forward and kneeling by his friend’s charred body.
Deus looked towards Cepheus, his eyes still invisible and his body in excruciating pain. Victoria was standing at a distance, frozen to the spot, bawling her eyes out.
“Deus, why...” Cepheus said weakly, looking into Deus’ mask. “Why...?”
“I guess I...” Deus managed, “... ...let my guard down, didn’t I?”
His eyes then closed shut and his face grew pale, as if his life departed from him in that very moment. Cepheus could only watch as the man who had given his life so much purpose and reason was now lying dead before him. It was simply too much to believe. Victoria was still crying, as if there would be no end to her tears. Cepheus bent his head down towards his knees and squinted his eyes shut tight, small beads beginning to fall from his closed lids.
“No...” Cepheus whimpered. “No...this can’t be real...”
“Yes!” Blackheart yelled at the top of its voice. “Deus is finally dead! Now with his accursed self out of the way, there’ll be no one left to stop me! I will go unchallenged!”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” someone responded calmly.
Cepheus then looked around to see who the owner of the voice was, wiping his tears away. Blackheart did the same, wondering who could possibly defy him at this point. Then both of them suddenly saw the owner of the voice and looked on in total shock, such as they had never felt before nor ever would feel again. The owner of the voice...was Deus. He was standing up on both feet, strong and healthy, as if he had never been wounded. His wings were spread open wide as well, and he looked perfectly unscathed.
“You...!?” Blackheart screamed in shock. “That’s...that’s impossible!!”
“Isn’t it?” Deus replied with a smirk. “Victoria, Cepheus, you two can stop crying...I’m not dead. Far from it – I’m as alive as I could ever be.”
The two Pacters then dried their eyes and looked straight at Deus. It was just as he had said – Deus was alive and well, as if he had never been wounded. Cepheus examined Deus to wonder exactly how that was possible. His eyes were darting around, trying to figure out how, until he saw something unusual protruding from halfway between Deus’ waist and his shoulders: a set of four tentacles which grew out from his sides and rested directly in front of his chest, tapering to a point. There was one orange tentacle and one blue growing from each side.
“Deus?” Cepheus asked. “What are those things on your sides?”
“Oh, these?” Deus responded, gesturing to his unusual growths. “That’s another part of my rider form. It’s not something I often show, because it looks so strange.”
“I don’t recall seeing any sort of tentacles on you before...or on Infinity.”
“That’s because they aren’t.”
He then held up his left hand, revealing something incredibly unusual – a bright orange insignia with a double helix motif.
“A...A second insignia!?” Cepheus exclaimed. “How is that even possible!?”
“Deus!!” Blackheart screamed. “What is this!? You possess...a second Spirit!?”
“And that’s the reason why I’m feeling just peachy,” Deus replied.
“You think that you being well again will catch you off guard?”
“No...but he will.”
“He who? Cepheus?”
To answer his question, another person materialized on the roof standing about twenty feet away from Arceus, as if the person had been lying in wait invisibly this whole time. Cepheus instantly recognized him...it was Solano.
“No...he me, Solano!” Solano responded.
Not waiting for a response, Solano then caused the eight spikes on his back to glow with a strong light, and then instantly they fired an immense Solarbeam attack, as if Solano had been charging up an immense amount of energy, all to be unleashed in a single moment. The bright laser enveloped Blackheart completely, surrounding it in purest solar light. Solano kept up the beam for twenty full seconds, despite the immense stress it was putting on his body, and when the attack concluded and the light cleared, Blackheart had been completely vaporized – there was not a single trace of him left.
“Thank you, Solano,” Deus said to his friend. “I thought this might have happened...hence why I asked that of you.”
“A wise choice,” Solano responded. “And now...I depart.” The human-Pokémon hybrid creature then vanished as quickly as he had come on the scene.
“That second Spirit,” Cepheus interjected, “it was Deoxys, wasn’t it?”
“It was, yes,” Deus answered. “It was really a stroke of luck that I found Deoxys when I did all those years ago – it was one of the few Pokémon that had chosen not to leave right away for the Spirit Plane, but it was still being hunted. I found it before the humans could harness its power, and...well, it’s still alive. It lends me its power by causing my wounds to heal at remarkable speed...even to the point of regenerating bones and muscles.”
“That explains it.”
“And Cepheus, I believe that you no longer have any more questions for me, do you?”
“I don’t, I really don’t. This war...It’s over. It’s actually finally over.”
omg that took a while
I'll post the epilogue in like...a week or something. Or when I get reminded.
Every time I look at this climax, it looks weird.
Feedback, comments, and constructive criticism are always appreciated. However, as I have previously stated, keep your replies at a minimum of 20 words apiece. This is not a PokéBeach forum rule, but I'll probably ignore you if you don't have much to say.
RE: [PG] Nightmare - Chapter 24 up!
But if you don't, Lucky, nobody will. Besides, I've been waiting for a full one from you anyway, so you might as well.
...But she's right, guys. Get on the ball. >=O
The next chapter is also the last one - it's the epilogue. It's mostly just tying up some loose ends and showing the 'okay, now what?' part of the story.
But if you don't, Lucky, nobody will. Besides, I've been waiting for a full one from you anyway, so you might as well.
...But she's right, guys. Get on the ball. >=O
The next chapter is also the last one - it's the epilogue. It's mostly just tying up some loose ends and showing the 'okay, now what?' part of the story.
You sure? I don't think I can write a good fight scene, honestly. It always feels too rushed to me. Descriptions are fine, yes, but I don't think I take nearly enough time on them as I should.
RE: [PG] Nightmare - Chapter 24 up!
Chapter 23's last line bugs me. I think it should be I am in truth deus the dream-watcher instead of just am in truth.
Chapter 24 has one that bugged me. It is that you call Ho-oh a falcon instead of a pheonix like alot.
Other than that a great story can't wait for the epilogue. Also I predict Blackheart didn't die so the sequel could exist.
Chapter 23's last line bugs me. I think it should be I am in truth deus the dream-watcher instead of just am in truth.
Chapter 24 has one that bugged me. It is that you call Ho-oh a falcon instead of a pheonix like alot.
Other than that a great story can't wait for the epilogue. Also I predict Blackheart didn't die so the sequel could exist.
RE: [PG] Nightmare - Chapter 24 up!
Then re-re-read it. Here, I'll even re-post it for you:
When I proof-read it and when I get enough interest for it.
Then re-re-read it. Here, I'll even re-post it for you:
“That is correct...I, General Exxus Machina, am in truth Deus the Dream-Watcher.”
When I proof-read it and when I get enough interest for it.
RE: [PG] Nightmare - Chapter 24 up!
[Back to Top]
All of you not named zappy or Lucky suck for not saying anything to me ;-;
So, as a feeling of completion, I give to you the 25th and final chapter of Nightmare. When I originally wrote this story, I left room for any possible sequels, but I also wrote it so it could be complete, as is, on its own, without other background information. And indeed, Nightmare is part of a larger series of fanfics I've written (4 parts total, 1 and 2 complete, 3 and 4 in progress), but this where it all really started. The second one, titled Cycle, has a lot of characters from the first book re-appear, and also tries to emphasize a bit more on the characters that were minor/supporting in Nightmare. #3 and 4 barely have anyone familiar returning in them - I believe only Cepheus and Deus actually come back for repeat appearances after Cycle is over. Everyone else kinda drops off the face of existence.
One day I want to finish 3 and 4 and post them somewhere as well. One day.
But for now, enjoy the epilogue. And the tying up of loose ends. And the parallelism.
Stats for this chapter:
Page Count: 3.3; Word Count: 1909
If you have any questions about this story, its plot, potential sequels, or whatever, fire away - because anything is better than nothing. And I expect Lucky to make good on her promise to review this. Yes, I'm staring at you.
Feedback, comments, and constructive criticism are always appreciated. However, as I have previously stated, keep your replies at a minimum of 20 words apiece. This is not a PokéBeach forum rule, but I'll probably ignore you if you don't have much to say.
[Back to Top]
All of you not named zappy or Lucky suck for not saying anything to me ;-;
So, as a feeling of completion, I give to you the 25th and final chapter of Nightmare. When I originally wrote this story, I left room for any possible sequels, but I also wrote it so it could be complete, as is, on its own, without other background information. And indeed, Nightmare is part of a larger series of fanfics I've written (4 parts total, 1 and 2 complete, 3 and 4 in progress), but this where it all really started. The second one, titled Cycle, has a lot of characters from the first book re-appear, and also tries to emphasize a bit more on the characters that were minor/supporting in Nightmare. #3 and 4 barely have anyone familiar returning in them - I believe only Cepheus and Deus actually come back for repeat appearances after Cycle is over. Everyone else kinda drops off the face of existence.
One day I want to finish 3 and 4 and post them somewhere as well. One day.
But for now, enjoy the epilogue. And the tying up of loose ends. And the parallelism.
Stats for this chapter:
Page Count: 3.3; Word Count: 1909
~~~
25 – Dream
The nightmare has finally come to an end.
The world, once thoroughly trapped within the blight of technology and bound with the curse of fake, constructed self-sufficiency, has now awoken from its decades-long slumber and has transposed itself into a whole new dream – a whole new planet. Only a few more events had to transpire after the defeat of Blackheart before the world finally returned to this state of homeostasis, and those events were all accomplished within the space of a mere fortnight.
At the very moment that Blackheart died, the Wheel in the Underworld essentially broke apart. When Blackheart was alive, the Wheel had consisted of two separate rings – the first ring consisted of heinous criminals and other evil men who had lived lives hurting others and had deserved an eternal punishment after death; the second right consisted of those who had been sent there by Blackheart’s hand. At Blackheart’s death, the second of the two rings dissipated completely, freeing the trapped souls and allowing them to reside in peace in the Underworld.
After Ura’s demise, the Vernex was in a state of upheaval and confusion – they were desperate to find Ura’s killer and bring him to justice. The tumult would have gone on for an eternity had Machina, aka Deus, not called for an emergency meeting of the generals. He announced his true identity as one of the Watchers, and that he had planted himself within the Vernex for the sole purpose of bringing down Ura, who was in truth a heinous serial killer who had ruined the lives of many people. The other six generals asked what he had to gain by doing this, and he revealed that it was for the purpose of restoring the world to a state where humans and Pokémon could live in harmony again. A few were still adverse to this idea, but many of them saw the merits of an age of peace and prosperity. Deus then announced to them that, as things were right now, he could not continue to hold the position of general, and so he resigned from his post, restoring the general count to six once more, as it had been for decades, but that he would continue to bring about his goal of reuniting human and Pokémon again as best he could. The remaining six generals wished Deus the best of luck and vowed to help bring about this golden age as well, and with that, Deus left the position of general for good.
The news about the Pacters breaking into the Vernex building was, for the most part, silenced and covered up, but rather it was stated that both Ura and Machina had to resign and leave the Vernex for personal reasons (no word was leaked regarding Ura’s death or Machina’s god-like status). All the people who worked for the Vernex, including Vincent and the Jenkins family, continued to hold their jobs as they had before with very little if any trouble. Currently, the Vernex is still trying to decide when and how they should release information regarding the Pacters and how they, although different, have no malicious intentions. Before Deus had left, he said he’d be willing to help with the endeavor, and the generals asked how they would be able to contact him after he’d vanished, to which Deus calmly responded ‘all you will need is a pillow’.
Cepheus returned to work at the Hearthome Synthetics Plant, moving back to his old place of residence after his leave from work. He continued to keep in touch with his friend Lyon, who worked up at Snowpoint Synthetics, as well as several other Pacters.
Stefano, upon Deus’ request, brought Anna Waters out of the old abandoned city which was his residence and brought her back home again to her brother in Snowpoint City. Since her return, she and Cepheus White, both childhood friends, regularly saw one another and enjoyed each other’s company immensely.
Emma was able to get over her brother’s death relatively quickly, due to the constant presence and comfort of her Spirit partner Louise. Although she never fully got over the fact that Jimmy was being used as a puppet, Louise’s soothing words helped to ease her soul’s wound.
The Pacters in Fortree City decided to leave their base and move to Hearthome City, living just down the street from Cepheus, as they no longer had any need to hide from the government any more. Abigail continued to (not-so-subtly) hit on Cepheus, to which Cepheus has responded (several times) that he is just not that interested in her. This constant rebuffing has, undoubtedly, caused her no end of displeasure.
As for Stefano’s crew, they didn’t follow suit – although they no longer needed to stay out in the middle of nowhere, it was the only life they really knew, and the only life they wanted to live, with a freedom that could never be found by living in or near civilization. Deus respected their wishes, and continued to supply them with necessities to keep living, as he had done time and time again. (Yes, if you were wondering how they could live like that out there, that’s how.)
Two weeks had passed since the fateful day when the Pacters squared off against Ura and Blackheart. On a certain night, Cepheus visited Deus once again in a dream, to ask of him some very pressing questions.
“Deus...nice to see you again.”
“It’s been, what, two weeks since we’ve talked? I’ve missed your company.”
“Heh, it’s sorta weird to see you like this without your cloak. I’m not used to seeing your face at all.”
“I guess that makes sense, even though this mask still conceals half of it. Now, how can I help you?”
“I’ve noticed a few unusual weather patterns going on, almost as if the sky is being torn up...it looks like a thunderstorm upon first glance, but...”
“But what?”
“You’re having trouble, aren’t you?”
“Trouble with what?”
“Handling the universe.”
“...I didn’t even mention that to you and you’ve already caught on.”
“Well, Blackheart used to be the Omni-Watcher, right? That means he controlled the whole universe. And since he’s dead that means there needs to be a replacement. And I naturally thought it was you, since I can’t think of anyone else who would take the job.”
“...It is. And...you’re right. It’s...incredibly taxing on my mind. Every moment, every place, every thought, every person... they’re all moving constantly through my head. I know I should be used to this given my jurisdiction over the realm of dreams, but I never thought that all these new thoughts would be so extensive. It’s exhausting.”
“I can do it.”
“...What?!”
“I know there has to be a reason I have this band around my wrist. I don’t know whether or not Arceus was insane or not when he gave me this bronze band, but it doesn’t matter. There has to be a reason I have this. And I think...that this might very well be the reason.”
“Are you sure about this, Cepheus?”
“I am.”
“But, your body is going to disappear from this earth, and the bond you have with Hector may be severed. You’ll be fine, but Hector is really going to miss you.”
“I will not be alone, and neither will he. We can always see each other in our hearts.”
“...Cepheus, there’s something I must tell you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Blackheart...He went insane ten years ago. I’ve been spending the last ten years just keeping his unstable mind in check.”
“Wait a minute...then that means...that Blackheart didn’t give me this wristband?”
“No, he didn’t. I did, disguised as Arceus.”
“What? Why?”
“As I said five years ago, I honestly believed that you would be the one to lead the world into a new golden age. So, I took a piece of Arceus’ power and crafted it into that wristband you now have permanently affixed to your wrist. It isn’t a useless piece of metal, Cepheus – it’s a piece of dormant power.”
“...I finally see.”
“See what?”
“You’ve been orchestrating my life the past five years...all to prepare me for the point when I would ask you to take over as the position of Omni-Watcher.”
“You’ve called me out. But I had to make sure you were ready for the job. I didn’t want to just hand it to you, so I wanted to see if you would be worthy enough to do it. That, and Blackheart had to die first, so I had to draw him out until it would reach a point where he could be killed. Every trial and situation I have put you through...was all for this moment.”
“Makes sense.”
“So, Cepheus, I need to ask you this again – If you accept this position, you will no longer be able to really visit any of your friends or acquaintances on Earth, in the Spirit Plane, or in the Underworld. You’ll be able to move between all those places, yes, but due to the immense power your body will hold, it may not be a wise idea to move around freely – that’s why Watchers live on a separate plane of existence, you see. I can be a liaison for you, relaying messages to your friends, but all the same, your bond with Hector may be broken and you may never see him again. Are you sure you want to go about this?”
“It will not be broken. It will never be broken.”
“Even if you became Omni-Watcher? Do you really believe that?”
“You have bonds to two completely different Spirits. I’d say you are living proof.”
“Well, Hector is still bound to your wrist. Why not consult with him right now?”
“Very well.” Cepheus then summoned his friend to his side. “Hector?”
“Yes?”
“You heard everything that was said?”
“I did. And personally, I can’t believe you’re actually this selfless. You would give up your whole life, with all the friends you have, just to keep the universe from collapsing.”
“It’s worth it just so I can see their smiling faces in a world where everything is the way that it should be. And we all must have some universe to live in. I am willing to put a mortal life aside to sustain this world for everyone living down there...plus all those yet to be born.”
“...You’ve grown, Cepheus. You’ve grown tremendously.”
“And what about you, Hector? I may very well be bound to the Watcher’s Plane for the rest of my existence. I don’t want to keep you there if you don’t want to be. Why not just go home and live there?”
“I don’t want to, Cepheus. I want to stay with you.”
“You mean this truly?”
“Come what may, I will not leave you. So yes, I’m coming with you, and I’m not afraid to leave everything behind.”
“Thank you, Hector. And now, Deus...?”
“Yes?”
“I wish to take this position, but I want your guidance as I do so. This is all new to me and I don’t want to do something I’ll end up regretting, and I wish to have the benefit of your experience on my side. So do whatever you have to do to bestow these powers on me or whatever you need to do.”
“... ...I will do so, but before I do, I must tell you one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“... ...Thank you, Cepheus White. Thank you... ...for everything.”
~~END~~
25 – Dream
The nightmare has finally come to an end.
The world, once thoroughly trapped within the blight of technology and bound with the curse of fake, constructed self-sufficiency, has now awoken from its decades-long slumber and has transposed itself into a whole new dream – a whole new planet. Only a few more events had to transpire after the defeat of Blackheart before the world finally returned to this state of homeostasis, and those events were all accomplished within the space of a mere fortnight.
At the very moment that Blackheart died, the Wheel in the Underworld essentially broke apart. When Blackheart was alive, the Wheel had consisted of two separate rings – the first ring consisted of heinous criminals and other evil men who had lived lives hurting others and had deserved an eternal punishment after death; the second right consisted of those who had been sent there by Blackheart’s hand. At Blackheart’s death, the second of the two rings dissipated completely, freeing the trapped souls and allowing them to reside in peace in the Underworld.
After Ura’s demise, the Vernex was in a state of upheaval and confusion – they were desperate to find Ura’s killer and bring him to justice. The tumult would have gone on for an eternity had Machina, aka Deus, not called for an emergency meeting of the generals. He announced his true identity as one of the Watchers, and that he had planted himself within the Vernex for the sole purpose of bringing down Ura, who was in truth a heinous serial killer who had ruined the lives of many people. The other six generals asked what he had to gain by doing this, and he revealed that it was for the purpose of restoring the world to a state where humans and Pokémon could live in harmony again. A few were still adverse to this idea, but many of them saw the merits of an age of peace and prosperity. Deus then announced to them that, as things were right now, he could not continue to hold the position of general, and so he resigned from his post, restoring the general count to six once more, as it had been for decades, but that he would continue to bring about his goal of reuniting human and Pokémon again as best he could. The remaining six generals wished Deus the best of luck and vowed to help bring about this golden age as well, and with that, Deus left the position of general for good.
The news about the Pacters breaking into the Vernex building was, for the most part, silenced and covered up, but rather it was stated that both Ura and Machina had to resign and leave the Vernex for personal reasons (no word was leaked regarding Ura’s death or Machina’s god-like status). All the people who worked for the Vernex, including Vincent and the Jenkins family, continued to hold their jobs as they had before with very little if any trouble. Currently, the Vernex is still trying to decide when and how they should release information regarding the Pacters and how they, although different, have no malicious intentions. Before Deus had left, he said he’d be willing to help with the endeavor, and the generals asked how they would be able to contact him after he’d vanished, to which Deus calmly responded ‘all you will need is a pillow’.
Cepheus returned to work at the Hearthome Synthetics Plant, moving back to his old place of residence after his leave from work. He continued to keep in touch with his friend Lyon, who worked up at Snowpoint Synthetics, as well as several other Pacters.
Stefano, upon Deus’ request, brought Anna Waters out of the old abandoned city which was his residence and brought her back home again to her brother in Snowpoint City. Since her return, she and Cepheus White, both childhood friends, regularly saw one another and enjoyed each other’s company immensely.
Emma was able to get over her brother’s death relatively quickly, due to the constant presence and comfort of her Spirit partner Louise. Although she never fully got over the fact that Jimmy was being used as a puppet, Louise’s soothing words helped to ease her soul’s wound.
The Pacters in Fortree City decided to leave their base and move to Hearthome City, living just down the street from Cepheus, as they no longer had any need to hide from the government any more. Abigail continued to (not-so-subtly) hit on Cepheus, to which Cepheus has responded (several times) that he is just not that interested in her. This constant rebuffing has, undoubtedly, caused her no end of displeasure.
As for Stefano’s crew, they didn’t follow suit – although they no longer needed to stay out in the middle of nowhere, it was the only life they really knew, and the only life they wanted to live, with a freedom that could never be found by living in or near civilization. Deus respected their wishes, and continued to supply them with necessities to keep living, as he had done time and time again. (Yes, if you were wondering how they could live like that out there, that’s how.)
Two weeks had passed since the fateful day when the Pacters squared off against Ura and Blackheart. On a certain night, Cepheus visited Deus once again in a dream, to ask of him some very pressing questions.
“Deus...nice to see you again.”
“It’s been, what, two weeks since we’ve talked? I’ve missed your company.”
“Heh, it’s sorta weird to see you like this without your cloak. I’m not used to seeing your face at all.”
“I guess that makes sense, even though this mask still conceals half of it. Now, how can I help you?”
“I’ve noticed a few unusual weather patterns going on, almost as if the sky is being torn up...it looks like a thunderstorm upon first glance, but...”
“But what?”
“You’re having trouble, aren’t you?”
“Trouble with what?”
“Handling the universe.”
“...I didn’t even mention that to you and you’ve already caught on.”
“Well, Blackheart used to be the Omni-Watcher, right? That means he controlled the whole universe. And since he’s dead that means there needs to be a replacement. And I naturally thought it was you, since I can’t think of anyone else who would take the job.”
“...It is. And...you’re right. It’s...incredibly taxing on my mind. Every moment, every place, every thought, every person... they’re all moving constantly through my head. I know I should be used to this given my jurisdiction over the realm of dreams, but I never thought that all these new thoughts would be so extensive. It’s exhausting.”
“I can do it.”
“...What?!”
“I know there has to be a reason I have this band around my wrist. I don’t know whether or not Arceus was insane or not when he gave me this bronze band, but it doesn’t matter. There has to be a reason I have this. And I think...that this might very well be the reason.”
“Are you sure about this, Cepheus?”
“I am.”
“But, your body is going to disappear from this earth, and the bond you have with Hector may be severed. You’ll be fine, but Hector is really going to miss you.”
“I will not be alone, and neither will he. We can always see each other in our hearts.”
“...Cepheus, there’s something I must tell you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Blackheart...He went insane ten years ago. I’ve been spending the last ten years just keeping his unstable mind in check.”
“Wait a minute...then that means...that Blackheart didn’t give me this wristband?”
“No, he didn’t. I did, disguised as Arceus.”
“What? Why?”
“As I said five years ago, I honestly believed that you would be the one to lead the world into a new golden age. So, I took a piece of Arceus’ power and crafted it into that wristband you now have permanently affixed to your wrist. It isn’t a useless piece of metal, Cepheus – it’s a piece of dormant power.”
“...I finally see.”
“See what?”
“You’ve been orchestrating my life the past five years...all to prepare me for the point when I would ask you to take over as the position of Omni-Watcher.”
“You’ve called me out. But I had to make sure you were ready for the job. I didn’t want to just hand it to you, so I wanted to see if you would be worthy enough to do it. That, and Blackheart had to die first, so I had to draw him out until it would reach a point where he could be killed. Every trial and situation I have put you through...was all for this moment.”
“Makes sense.”
“So, Cepheus, I need to ask you this again – If you accept this position, you will no longer be able to really visit any of your friends or acquaintances on Earth, in the Spirit Plane, or in the Underworld. You’ll be able to move between all those places, yes, but due to the immense power your body will hold, it may not be a wise idea to move around freely – that’s why Watchers live on a separate plane of existence, you see. I can be a liaison for you, relaying messages to your friends, but all the same, your bond with Hector may be broken and you may never see him again. Are you sure you want to go about this?”
“It will not be broken. It will never be broken.”
“Even if you became Omni-Watcher? Do you really believe that?”
“You have bonds to two completely different Spirits. I’d say you are living proof.”
“Well, Hector is still bound to your wrist. Why not consult with him right now?”
“Very well.” Cepheus then summoned his friend to his side. “Hector?”
“Yes?”
“You heard everything that was said?”
“I did. And personally, I can’t believe you’re actually this selfless. You would give up your whole life, with all the friends you have, just to keep the universe from collapsing.”
“It’s worth it just so I can see their smiling faces in a world where everything is the way that it should be. And we all must have some universe to live in. I am willing to put a mortal life aside to sustain this world for everyone living down there...plus all those yet to be born.”
“...You’ve grown, Cepheus. You’ve grown tremendously.”
“And what about you, Hector? I may very well be bound to the Watcher’s Plane for the rest of my existence. I don’t want to keep you there if you don’t want to be. Why not just go home and live there?”
“I don’t want to, Cepheus. I want to stay with you.”
“You mean this truly?”
“Come what may, I will not leave you. So yes, I’m coming with you, and I’m not afraid to leave everything behind.”
“Thank you, Hector. And now, Deus...?”
“Yes?”
“I wish to take this position, but I want your guidance as I do so. This is all new to me and I don’t want to do something I’ll end up regretting, and I wish to have the benefit of your experience on my side. So do whatever you have to do to bestow these powers on me or whatever you need to do.”
“... ...I will do so, but before I do, I must tell you one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“... ...Thank you, Cepheus White. Thank you... ...for everything.”
~~END~~
If you have any questions about this story, its plot, potential sequels, or whatever, fire away - because anything is better than nothing. And I expect Lucky to make good on her promise to review this. Yes, I'm staring at you.
Feedback, comments, and constructive criticism are always appreciated. However, as I have previously stated, keep your replies at a minimum of 20 words apiece. This is not a PokéBeach forum rule, but I'll probably ignore you if you don't have much to say.