Chapter Text
The human was wearing an expression colder than the frozen peaks of the Etyth mountains. A somber demeanor with cold silence surrounding us, I might have shivered were I a fleshie. I felt a slight breeze wash over the area with the rustle of my crimson ribbon waving behind me. In front of us was a grave with no headstone, instead some sort of symbol made with sticks. A long one was stuck into the ground, with one other, attached horizontally on the upper half, but not quite the top. A cross of sticks.
Mason had made it… I hadn’t asked why.
I could only assume it was some Human way to pay respect to their dead.
There was much I wanted to say… Questions from yesterday, questions for what he was going to do now, questions such as… if he was going to be okay…
They say my kind have troubles with emotion, that feeling and empathizing often requires much thought from us. That it is rare that such things resonate with our spirit on a level that we grasp it right away. We have a long time to dwell on them after all… but here…
“What did Xerneas do?” The human finally broke the silence, his gaze still down upon the grave.
“Any number of things are possible… but the one I would like to believe… is that your friend was taken by her Ladyship, and that Lady Xerneas has not been dead this whole time.”
All the stories ran through my mind. Of all the legends and where they went off to, supposedly. Each one had a different tale regarding their deaths. Some doubt that they are really gone, while others said that they were killed by Lycoris, some say they are just hiding amongst us… I had no stake in any of these answers, it mattered little to me in the end. There is no dispute that they exist. And that is all that mattered to me.
Mason sighed wearily. “I hope so. But right now… there isn’t much I can do with the body of a friend and nothing to go off of beyond what amounts to hearsay.”
“I am sorry there is not anything else I can do beyond just providing what I know…”
“It’s okay…” his gaze remained on the grave, the tone he had was quiet and soft. Almost like he was afraid of disturbing the rest of someone here. “... I just… she doesn’t deserve this. None of my family and friends do… I can deal with this, maybe, but them… just no… no…”
The end of my ribbon gently rubbed over his slacked hand. “What do you remember her for?”
“She was there with my older brother when he needed it…” the Human did not move his hand, a quick glance of his mental state through the contact of my ribbon told me he was… saddened, certainly. And that he did not seem to mind the contact at the moment.
I staved off further questioning. I could feel the grim nature of this subject already through his tone.
But through that sadness I felt something else. Only hints of it that I dared not look deeper into. Guilt. So much of it that just feeling it made my ribbon tense and hold still against the wind. A question nearly slipped out of me, of what it was that clearly haunted him. It was raw, yet old, something clearly intertwined into the furthest reaches of his mind. I could not fathom having to live with that kind of weight on my mind.
Yet despite him being different in many ways, his emotions, his thoughts and feelings… they all felt the same as any Pokémon. And just like any other Pokémon, he could hide what was below with a calm attitude and a friendly tone. The fact that Humans of all things are just as vulnerable to these pitfalls as Pokémon…
…
“... Scarlet?”
The workings of my mind snapped back into focus. I quietly sighed before responding to him. “Yes, Mason?”
“I know you’re dead serious in helping me until the end of this mess… I just…” his gaze drifted to me before he continued. “... Thank you. This is one hell of a mess to navigate… but it's made much easier mentally knowing I at least got people I can depend on.”
His words were far warmer than anything I had received in a long while. It was an assurement that made me feel more confident with all this. “You are welcome, Mason.” What I saw in his mind briefly came back, I quickly added something to it in hopes of it maybe helping. “I am here if you wish to talk or have any questions.”
“I am too…” Mason said quietly.
…
… The human took a deep breath and began to walk past the grave and towards where Kira and Lloyd said they would wait for us. Some tears he had wiped away stained his clothing. He took a deep breath and seemed to somewhat recover himself.
“I’m gonna give them some thanks too. They deserve more… but right now I don’t know how I could help. Especially with all that’s going on… tomorrow is the big meeting thing, and I just know it's not going to go well. Things like that are never smooth. But after, do you have any clue how we could maybe heal Ronin?”
My mind still dwelt on his words from before, but I answered, even if in a bit of an absentminded way. “The only thing that can now is a revive seed… which are incredibly rare and have only been found in mystery dungeons. They are so powerful that giving one to someone who has just died will bring them back to life with no injuries. There are those that sell them, but it is unknown if there is an effective way of getting them.”
Mason was undeterred. “Would your status get you access to any?”
“Perhaps. I know nobody personally who could supply any. But I know a Chosen would have little difficulty procuring one for their endeavors if they went to the right people, especially one that is royalty.”
“That sounds a bit risky…” Mason finally let go of my ribbon and folded his arms as we went along. “... Before that, we can do runs through mystery dungeons when we can, maybe luck will be on our side.”
“I do not believe betting on luck is a good idea.”
The slightest bit of an airy chuckle escaped him. “Of course not, which is why it's a good idea for you to come up with some names for us to go to, meanwhile, we do dungeon runs. Maybe we’ll get lucky, you never know for sure.”
“Ah…” my voice quietened a little. “I did not mean any offense. I agree with that course of action.”
Much to my surprise, the human just shrugged, continuing to speak in a calm tone devoid of the stress that surrounded him. “It’s fine.”
The rest of our walk seemed like it was going to be in silence. We were not far from the pathway that led back to the home of the team we had been staying with. I noticed Mason tossing glances behind us and to the grave but never said anything to interrupt him. I had no clue what to say, if there was anything I could say that made sense in my position.
I was not good at making friends, and by Arceus, I was not going to let that squander every level of connection I could have. Especially with one of the only people to seemingly give a damn about me for something more than what I hatched as.
I let my ribbon gently wrap around his right hand like before, a gesture to articulate a comfort I could never effectively give in words. He did not pull away from it, or say a word on it. But with what little I dared sense from him, his mind seemed a little thankful.
“... She was there for him because I never was.”
A low metallic creak came from my blade. “Did you at least learn?”
The human sighed. “Only when it was too late to change the consequences of my actions.”
My ribbon slumped. That raw guilt I saw was beginning to make sense. But… “Have you sought his forgiveness and made amends?”
Surely there is some level of nuance, there had to be…
“He’s been dead for nine years because of this once trainwreck you hold the hand of.”
Another creak came from my blade, a much quieter one. “I see now why the guilt within you is so intense…”
“I may not have directly killed him, but it was the consequences meant for me that did. They had terrible aim, or maybe, in some twisted way, it knew exactly what it wanted. It took away the one person that tried to get me out of the grave I had dug myself into and I was a fool to not step out when I was given opportunities and warnings from all those around me. I could have done anything else, I could have never gotten involved in what I did. All it would have taken is an iota of brainpower to fucking think about what I was doing beyond just the immediate satisfaction it gave.
My purposeful ignorance should have put me six feet under on that day. It should have ripped the psychotic blot of recklessness that I was off the face of the earth. But it didn’t. It instead took the man known for his virtues. For the goodwill he has with all those around him. Someone so selfless he thought it better to try and save me from myself then indulge in the fruits of his work…
I cannot ever hope to be anywhere close to being a hero that he was… but…”
Mason sighed, his mind, despite everything he said, was calm. Even with a few tears in his eyes.
“... For him, I’ll help who I can. I won’t let the good times he brought about die with him.”
“That makes you a better person than most.” I said, assured in the nuance of maturity. I could never imagine the Mason I saw now committing anything even remotely close to that ever again. “Do you not see the results of your growth?”
The human gently wiped away the tears with his free arm before he spoke. “I do. I just wish it never took any of that to get here… But now that I am here… I want to make the most of it for his sake.”
His words struck a certain chord within me. For the briefest moment I felt the cold air of those damned mountains around me, I swear the sight of the throne of my father was before me. All the associated thoughts threatened to clamber to the center of my mind-
“I… certainly know that struggle well.” I only realized now it was like looking into a twisted mirror… one that clearly had a better head on than me. That damned guilt… no wonder it felt so familiar.
Mason said nothing in turn. I do not believe there was anything more either of us could say in our current states. My own thoughts were clouded by the very emotion I felt within the human, these things were not anything I wanted to think about now. Of all the times to be assailed by the past…
Yet… my mind slipped into a calmness. The kind in feeling to what one has on a day with oppressively cold rain coming down overhead. Mason largely felt the same. I could feel he had taken solace in understanding, even if barely.
But I could barely fathom it still… The human- Mason, suffers these distresses like any other person. He feels them like anyone I know. He at least tries to deal with it, right the wrong any way he can. That is more than anything I have ever done…
Still I wonder, if I was any smarter, any braver, could I be anything like that? There was nothing I wanted to do with it all back home. I would much rather leave that mess behind… but…
… There was something else with him… something I couldn’t explain… the dungeon… Luson and Fin… it was right in front of me all along…
…
A few hours had gone by since Scarlet and I tended to Mary’s grave, and I was getting more royally pissed through each one. Couldn’t stop thinking about her. If Xerneas had her, I was going to get her back. I just had to figure out where the fuck Xerneas went. Which if I was to guess, is a lot harder than I want.
Tomorrow is that damned meeting and I was dreading every second ticking by, bringing us closer to it.
I put that aside as I settled into a chair in the living room of Lloyd’s house. Kira was there, along with the Greninja in question. Ronin was also here, apparently he was cleared to be fine enough to stay here again… I could barely look in his direction. I knew him and Kira were sitting on the same chair, with Kira cradling him a little with both arms.
Scarlet was floating beside me, having not left my side. She seemed absentminded. Barely talking or asking questions. Didn’t help that her tone was distant whenever she did speak, the conversation we had clearly struck something. Her eye was looking towards the floor, her ribbon perfectly still, half wrapped around her sheath.
Lloyd was sitting back in a chair while reading a book that I couldn’t see the title of. He seemed the most collected out of everyone here. I wanted to say thanks, but the moment was rough. Even our short conversation about Mary and what we were going to do about her felt so tired.
“Lloyd…” I said quietly, trying not to cause anything for Kira and Ronin.
He responded in a bit of a louder tone, seeming to talk normally. “Yeah?”
“Just wanted to say thank you, to all three of you, for the help so far. And everything you’ve said that you’re going to do.”
While the mood wasn’t going to change on a dime at large… The little bit of positivity seemed to lighten it up ever so slightly. Kira and Ronin’s expressions seemed to relax, while Lloyd’s tone grew a little lighter.
“It’s no problem, Mason,” he sighed before putting the book down and stretching out a bit. Night was well upon us by this point. His gaze went to me, and it was surprisingly soft. “Just hoping the recent discovery doesn’t… make things worse… I, uh, know how bad things can get in one’s mind with all that’s been going on… Especially with the weight of tomorrow no doubt on everyone’s shoulders.”
I leaned back in my chair, fatigue and all my mind begging me to go sleep. “I can’t say I’m doing the greatest by any stretch. But, I guess one thing I’ve got is a plan.”
“A plan… yes… what may it be?”
“I will be on the lookout for revive seeds in dungeon runs I’m going to start doing with Scarlet. Meanwhile she’s going to do what she can to find us people who might have some.”
Lloyd squinted a bit, clearly a bit taken aback. “Oh, you’re… well, I can help with those if you want.”
“I wouldn’t mind… still new to it, after all.” I said in a slightly humorous tone. Hoping to lighten the mood more. It wasn’t much, but the genuineness seemed to definitely make things more relaxed.
“Heh, right… right…” he trailed off for a moment. The silence was something I dared not fill, especially while his gaze stayed locked with the floor. A few moments passed before the chair creaked as he rose up from it. “I should head to bed, and so should the rest of you. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
Kira gave a wordless nod as she got up, carrying Ronin in her arms. He seemed quite out of it still even if he was conscious. Definitely needed sleep. The Gardevoir near silently stepped along the wooden floor and up the rotating staircase to the bedroom area.
The Greninja gestured to me with his webbed right hand. Or what I assumed to be one. “You coming?”
“Yeah… just gotta do something first.” My gaze went to Scarlet.
The frog just nodded as he took a deep breath. His footsteps creaked the stairs ever so slightly as he went. All that was left in the dimly lit living room was the shiny Honedge beside me.
“Scarlet?” I said in a quiet tone.
I received no response, no movement, nothing. Not even the slightest wave of her ribbon. But before I could muster any kind of further response to the odd behavior… her eye began to glow a light blue. I assumed she was doing something with her powers.
With a sigh, I left her alone. Slowly getting up and walking up the stairs. My gaze practically glued to the sword that now slightly glowed in the near pitch black. She hadn’t moved at all still. And I was a little worried… but had no idea what it could possibly be.
I retreated to my bed as quietly as I could to not disturb the other three. The moment my head hit the soft pillow, fatigue nearly took me away instantly. I closed my eyes and hoped tomorrow would have mercy on me…
A mercy I probably didn’t deserve…
The night was quiet. While everyone had gone to sleep… the glowing eye of Scarlet remained where it was. She still hadn’t moved, within her was a terrible fight that she was even guilty of remotely feeling at all. It left her with a distraught pit within her.
This was the power she sought. She was sure of it. The legends spoke of it in great detail, there was no way this was anything else. With it she’d be able to finally do something about the past, the guilt, all of it…
But the only way to get it…
…
Just the fact that the thought even entered her mind, no matter for how brief, was enough for the distraught sword to wish to fling herself into the nearest body of water and be left forgotten there. It disgusted her…
Yet… how else could she do it? Maybe… just maybe… there was one other way…
She’d want to wait first. While she may have warmed up to the human, she wanted to be sure that such issues would not make his state any worse. This was the only way in her eye. To be absolutely sure.
Scarlet prayed for some kind of helpful intervention. Words she’d said hundreds of times before in the past. Yet now with a deep worry that punctuated it all.