Author's Note: This story is the epilogue of "The Chronicles of The Void". It is highly recommended that you read/re-read the previous stories to get the full impact for this one. Enjoy![]
Falling was a feeling that I had gotten used to in my few short years of the game we call life. Not for lack of trying, mind you. I just always seemed to find myself in situations where I took tumbles into deep chasms or off high places. This fall was much different however. It didn’t feel like I should have been struggling. And so, I didn’t. This plummet felt calm; almost serene in how pleasant it was. Less tumbling into an open ravine and more of a graceful dive. A dive into where, I knew not. All I did know is that I was alone wherever I was. Michael was missing, Maverick’s presence was absent, and there wasn’t even a hint of Horizon lingering around me. It was just me, the abyss, and all the time I had in the world, falling ever deeper into whatever hellhole I found myself in. Soon, I would come to understand the nature of this hellhole much better than I thought I would. In fact, I already knew what it was, but would need more time to adjust to it.
My eyes finally caught a glimpse of something in the distance. Something bright, yet eerie. A platform of some kind. The glass that it was composed of was frosted, almost ice-like in look and as I would soon find out, feeling. Adjusting my position to land on said platform, I had only just noticed what the glass had depicted. It was me. My eyes were closed shut, the expression on my face reminiscent of sleep. In my hands was what seemed to be a Life Orb, as bright as the Sun itself and lightly pulsing. I then noticed that there were three faces inhabiting the circles that hovered around my head. Michael, Maverick, and Horizon. Each one glowed softly, the light they radiated almost begging me to step into them. Any questions that I had were thrown out the window when I heard a voice pierce the back of my mind. It was slightly rasped, but sounded quite similar to my own voice. As I scanned the area for the source of the sound, it spoke.
“You’ve endured much and more to get to this point. You’ve lost everything, you’ve gained it back and more, and have saved more lives than even countable. However, there is one person left who you must save”.
Pondering the voice’s words, my unanswered question didn’t remain so for long as the lights radiating from my friends’ faces flashed with a blinding brightness. Three objects floated above the faces as the voice uttered one last word.
“Yourself”.
Upon hearing this, my limbs finally moved as I stepped forward staring at each of the objects. A drawing of myself, the drive of a Genesect, and a dark-blue Life Orb. Each of these things held major significance to my friends, but also were the cause of a great pain for each of them. Stepping towards and grabbing the drawing, a blinding flash engulfed me as the voice from before explained once more what I was getting into.
“The Gift of Creation. Infinite potential. A powerful magic that never truly dies. A gift granted to you by The Progenitor”.
As the light calmed, I realized that I was somewhere else. I lightly gasped as I realized that somewhere was a place I had not seen in quite some time. Michael’s old room at his parents’ house. Everything looked just as he had left it the day that he moved out with the exception that everything was grayscale. Not a hint of color was seen; not a single spark of life or emotion present in this empty tomb. I couldn’t help as a deep sadness engulfed my very soul. The sadness didn’t last long before it was quickly replaced by curiosity at a noise that I heard ring out from the exterior of the house. Quickly running to the front window, I peered out cautiously and was met with a shock. Michael sat calmly on the porch, seemingly fixated on the lifeless gray sky that passed him by. Opening the door, I found that my brother didn’t even turn or flinch at my presence. He merely continued to watch the clouds drift by as I sat next to him. I didn’t know what to do so I figured that the best thing I could do was keep him company in this emotionless void. His voice shocked me from my inactivity however.
“What do you want out of life?”
His words surprised me, but figuring this was part of whatever was going on, I figured I would at least give the query some honest thought. With how my life was going now, I couldn’t really think of anything more that I would want. I had saved the world, possibly even the universe. I gained three new friends, one of which being the Victini I loved to no end. I had my life, my health, and I couldn’t really ask for more. At least I thought I didn’t before a thought landed in my head. Something I hadn’t thought of at all considering how unique my life was and the situation I was in until recently. Letting the words fall from my mouth, I gave Michael my honest answer.
“I want to leave a legacy behind. Even if it can’t be by blood”.
Even though he wasn’t looking at me, I could tell that my answer had provided my brother with something to chew on for a bit. Eventually, a slight smirk crossed his face and he spoke once more, placing a hand on my head, looking down at me as he did.
“A legacy of your own. That sounds…nice”.
Before I could even blink, cracks suddenly formed on Michael’s hands before I noticed them rapidly climbing up the rest of his body. Then, just as I reached out, he shattered right in front of me, fragments scattered on the porch like a broken window. My wide eyes focused on this sight for what felt like hours before I noticed that the clouds had ceased movement. Another crack, this time in the sky. As before, the crack branched into several more before breaking away in a wave that was heading towards me. I could only watch as my “reality” literally shattered like an overused mirror, leaving me to once again fall into the deep dark pit I found myself in.
This fall was much shorter however as I found myself back on the stained glass platform from the beginning of this journey. My mind raced for a good hundred laps before finally needing to take a pit stop. What in the hell was going on and why? As the voice that sounded much like my own began once again, I expected to have at least one of these questions answered. Unfortunately, I was only met with even more of them.
“You show great promise, but promise is not a given in life. Continue onward, if you can manage it”.
Deciding that thinking too hard about this would get me nowhere, I continued this odd quest, stepping towards the Genesect Drive and grabbing it. Once more a light flashed as my hand took hold of the device, the voice bombarding my mind yet again.
“The Power of Hatred. Unyielding rage. A flame that refuses to be extinguished. A power granted to you by The Conduit”.
Considering the object that I had grabbed, I was unsurprised when the light calmed and I found myself in a grayscale version of the P2 Laboratory in Unova. Again, everything was still. Not a single noise could be heard and not a single thing looked out of place other than the lack of color. Beautiful desolation; the aftermath of a bomb with no blast. Figuring that I wouldn’t find anything in the labs themselves, I took a slow stroll through them as I made my way out of the hidden area.
Looking closer at some of the things that Team Plasma had done, I was somewhat in awe of what they did. If the organization was run by actual good people, they could have helped so many people and Pokemon. Instead, they were left in charge of a madman who manipulated his own son to try and take over the world. What baffled me was just how many of Plasma’s members had chugged the Poison-type punch and were wholly dedicated to world domination. They were thoughts that I didn’t linger on too long, lest my anger get the best of me and I do something I’d regret.
Finding stairs out of the hidden laboratory, I bolted upward and out of the building only to come into contact with someone I was expecting. Maverick. He lingered near the tree we rested under when we embarked on our mission to destroy The Void, his gaze turned from me and towards the calm, crashing waves of the ocean. Seeing as the Michael I saw didn’t even flinch when I sat next to him, I guessed that this Maverick wouldn’t mind if I used his head as a seat. My hypothesis was correct as I climbed up his cloak and sat on his head, my eyes also drawn to the briny waves. As before, we sat for a few minutes before the Genesect threw a question my way.
“What are you so afraid of?”
This one was a lot simpler and even if I was moving away from being a nervous wreck, I still held some deep rooted anxieties. Going through each of them, I tested to see which one would be the worst if it were to actually happen to me. Eventually, one scenario wormed its way into my mind as a parasite would, making me shudder as I told Maverick my deepest fear.
“I…I don’t want to be alone. I’ve met some really good people who I almost lost and it would destroy me if it were to happen again”.
The Bug-Steel cyborg hummed slightly before he chuckled. Grabbing me off his head he stared into my soul as he spoke.
“You’ll never lose us again. You’re strong enough to not let it happen”.
Looking back out towards the sea, I witnessed the waters fade to the darkest black I had ever seen. The waves picked up in intensity and I was left to watch as they crashed further and further onto the land before Maverick and I were dragged out into the abyss. Worming my way out of his grip, I fought to stay afloat but it was ultimately in vain; the sea of darkness claimed me like it had so many others as my vision went black. Light faded back in as my need to struggle faded and I found myself once more back on the stained glass platform. Deep, long breaths flew into my lungs, slowing my rapid heartbeat and allowing me to focus once more. Getting to my feet, I awaited the return of the voice from earlier but was surprised to find that it seemingly had nothing else to say. Noting this strange lack of commentary, I moved on to the final thing that I needed to grab. The darkened Life Orb that was the root of my and my friends problems. Yet another light claimed my sight as the voice returned to comment on the corrupted sphere.
“The Miracle of Love. Two becoming one. A light that none can truly destroy. A miracle granted to you by The Avatar”.
Of all the places to be landed I was only slightly shocked when I found myself at the steps of the Altar of the Sunne in my native Alola. A lack of color once more greeted me as I made my way up the steps, noticing the lack of The Void’s influence corrupting this sacred place. Reaching the precipice, I wasn’t shocked to find Horizon sitting at the Altar’s pedestal. However, I certainly was not expecting the Victini to once more be enthralled by The Void, his fur gray, his eyes an icy blue and orifices dripping with the power of darkness. My heart began to race as I saw that the one I loved was once more a slave to an eldritch horror, but something kept my anger in check. The absolutely miserable look on his face when I walked up to him suggested that there was a way to save him once more. Kneeling down slightly, the poor Mythical Pokemon stared right through me as he spoke, his voice choked with grief unfathomable.
“What is most important to you?”
My mouth moved faster than my mind ever could as soon as I heard the question.
“You are the most important thing in my life. I’m never going to let you go, no matter how much the darkness tries to pull us apart”.
With no thought as to my own safety, I wrapped my arms around Horizon, eliciting a sharp gasp from the Avatar as a haunting screech sounded out. My cheeks sparked white and soon, a bolt of pure light struck both me and the Victini. The screech evolved into screams as I purged The Void from Horizon once more, said screams soon quieting down to a low death rattle. With my arms still wrapped around him, I pulled back and saw that Horizon was once more freed from his life of enthrallment. Although no words came out when he looked at me, I didn’t need to hear any to know that he was thankful for me being in his life. As our foreheads met, I felt the world around me fade away and once more, I was alone, falling back onto the platform yet again. With a practiced landing, I was met with the voice yet again.
“You have given thought to the people in your life. You have sworn to never let them go. You wish to leave behind a legacy, even if not by blood. You are ready”.
Suddenly, in front of me spawned something that I thought I would never see again. The chain. The blazing white links that once bound me to The Void floated in front of me once more, as if begging me to put them back on. As I grasped them, images flashed through my mind, unfamiliar yet with an odd similarity. A man buying a copy of Pokemon Sun. The man buying a Pikachu plush. The Pikachu styling its hair with a bang over its right eye and finding a necklace much like my own. The man choking the life from the plush. Lungs filled with liquid. Drowning. Drowning. Drowning. Freedom. A rage that my own paled in comparison to. The man finds the plush once more, stained gray and black. The feelings of guilt. Overwhelming. The man’s legs dangling as he hangs from a ceiling fan. The four words that lead to his death. Four words that I heard right behind me.
“You missed a spot”.
Turning on the spot, I fell backwards screaming at the vile creature before me. It was some kind of twisted inversion of myself. Its fur was ratty and disheveled, drenched in what looked like gray paint. The cheek sacs were pitch black, dark ooze dribbling out in a constant stream. The wicked, fanged grin on its face was complemented by more of the ooze running out from its visible eye. The eye itself shook me to my core. The red X pendant that I kept on my necklace had been jammed into its socket to act as a pupil, with the chain itself strangled around its neck. If this thing was truly me, it was me from a much darker reality. What could have caused this abomination to even become a thing in the first place? I wasn’t given an answer as it spoke once more, the raspy voice I had been hearing now attached to its owner.
“I suggest you start running, you piece of shit”.
And run I did. Or at least I tried, but found that my legs refused to move. Paralyzed with fear, I could only watch as my evil twin shambled over towards me with an intent to kill. This was not how I was going to go out. I couldn’t let this happen! Yet no matter what I tried, my legs wouldn’t take any command I gave them. I may as well have been bolted to the ground. Air soon became a rare commodity as the Inversion clambered onto me, wrapping its hands around my neck and choked with all its might. I fought as hard as I possibly could but this thing’s grip was impossible to loosen from. There was only one option for me now. The gargled, strained voice of the Inversion laughed and laughed before more words dripped out of its mouth.
“What’s wrong? Lost all that fight you had in you? Can’t accept that this is what you should be? Can’t see the funny side of this little joke!? Well then allow me to help you see it. LAUGH! LAUGH, DAMN YOU!!”
And so…I let go.
“Ha…Ha…”
My hand sparking with the purest light, I touched it to The Inversion’s face and let loose. The scream it let out was deafening, filled with pain and an eerie amount of elation. The light blinded me as the entity burst, leaving my vision as white as a foggy morning.
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I jolted upright, screaming slightly before I quickly clamped my mouth closed. A dream. Just a dream. At least that's what I told myself to keep a grip on reality. Shifting my gaze to the right, I spied Maverick perched against the wall, sleeping or “in stasis” as he called it. Looking back, I saw Michael, snoring as usual with the covers pulled up to his neck. I never knew how he could deal with that considering how hot Alola was in the summer. Of course, that meant that at my left was the love of my life, Horizon. His violet goggles hung around his neck as opposed to on his head like they usually were. Either way, he never took them off since I suggested getting him a pair. His eyes were apparently quite sensitive to bright light after his enslavement with The Void. I smiled at the dozing Victini before slipping out of his grip and walking out to the front porch.
Sitting down, I chanced a gaze upward, taking in the brilliance of the stars and blue and purple hues of the galaxy. I sighed, my eyes slipping shut as I thought back on my dream. Clearly, I still had quite a ways to go if I wanted to better myself. From it, I knew that my relations with my friends were rock solid, but my own self-loathing and fear still held me back somewhat. The questions they asked were things I thought about often. My fears of being alone, my bonds being the most sacred thing to me, and even thoughts of leaving a legacy behind. That last one was something I recently began putting quite a lot of time into. Being in the unique situation I was, I had no obvious way to make this happen. It never really bothered me, but I always did wonder what it would be like. What it would feel like to…
“Babe?”
I jumped slightly at the soft voice that called to me. Looking back, I saw Horizon floating over to sit with me, a look of concern on his face. I couldn’t blame him for the feelings. I did kind of slip out unnoticed.
“Is there something wrong?”, he said with slight worry. I sighed before responding.
“No. I just had a really weird dream. It was…creepy”.
“What was it about?”
I explained everything that I could in as much detail as I could remember. From the glass platform to that damned Inversion to the questions I was asked. Once more, I bore my soul to this Victini and he listened with a focus bordering on perfection. When I finished, his response was kind, yet tinged with a slight sorrow.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that. It must have been gut-wrenching, but I’m glad that you were able to make some progress towards being happier”.
I smiled, gently grasping Horizon’s hand as we looked back out to the stars. Then a thought popped into my brain. It wasn’t guaranteed, but I wanted to see how he would react. With all the subtlety of a Bullet Punch, I asked him the question.
“Horizon…What would you say if I told you that I wanted to have a kid?”
The shock on the Mythical’s face was palpable before it turned into joy mixed with a considerable amount of worry.
“A-are you sure?”, he stammered.
“I mean I w-would love to raise a child with you but…I feel like we won’t be able to provide for them”.
At this, I smirked and held his hands in mine. Turning to look Horizon dead in the eyes, I let my thoughts be known.
“I know we can provide for them. We can help to bring new life into the world, even if it isn’t our own blood. Just giving something the chance to grow and be happy would make me grateful. Plus, you don’t need to worry about constantly watching them. Michael and Maverick would gladly help us with whatever we’d need. You don’t need to say yes immediately, but I want you to at the very least think about it, ok love?”
Tears welled up in Horizon’s eyes as he hugged me close, his response coming faster than I expected.
“Yes…I would love to raise a child with you”.
Pulling away from the hug, our lips met in a brief, emotion-filled kiss. As we stared at each other with the purest love radiating off of us, we both looked back towards the horizon. The sun peered over it, rising to greet us with another beautiful day.
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“Are you two absolutely sure you want to do this?”, Michael said with slight worry.
“Taking care of a kid is a lot of work. I may not have one of my own, but I have you guys and I know that looking after six living beings, let alone one, is quite the challenge”.
Horizon and I looked at each other before we smiled. The words couldn’t come out of my mouth fast enough.
“We’re sure, Mickey. We’ll do everything we can to be the best parents to this Pokemon, whatever they may be”.
At this, Michael’s stern expression loosened into the young trainer smirking as he walked over to the woman who had a Pokemon egg ready to hatch for us. We’d talked about my dream and what it meant to me. Now, I felt that I was ready to work on one of the things I wanted. A legacy of my own to leave behind. I was going to cherish this child with all the love they deserved and more. And I knew my friends would be with me every step of the way down this admittedly frightening path. Looking over at the far end of the fence was Maverick, aloof and cool-headed as usual, but the facade dropped as soon as he saw me wave at him. He walked over just as Michael returned with the egg, setting it down in front of us.
“Alright, you two,” Michael spoke.
“It’s just about time. Both of you, put your hands on it. It just needs a little wake-up call”.
Holding one of Horizon’s hands, we placed our free hands on the striped egg, watching with awe as it began to glow with the energy we supplied. Then, it cracked. Followed by another, and another, before the shell burst open in a flash. When the light receded, everyone lightly gasped at the sight. In my and Horizon’s arms was our child. A newborn Shiny Eevee. I couldn’t hold back my tears and I knew my love couldn’t either. Wrapping the still sleeping babe in our arms, Maverick stepped up and looked them over, scanning to see if there was any health issues we would need to worry about. When it was finished, he smiled.
“Not only is she Shiny, her potential is going to go through the roof. When she gets older, she’ll be incredibly strong and not many Pokemon will be able to stand up to her. Other than that, there’s no complications or anything wrong with her. She’s perfectly healthy. You two are unbelievably lucky”.
I thanked Maverick, looking back over to Michael to find him with stars in his eyes, wondering just how strong the little Eevee would be. I chuckled slightly, leaning over to Horizon and giving him a peck on the cheek. His smile lit up my world, and I knew that our daughter’s would as well. Michael walked over and petted both me and Horizon, congratulating us before he asked a very good question.
“What are you going to name her?”
Horizon and I had already agreed that I should get to name our child, seeing as I was the one who wanted this. I still suggested that he help come up with a name just in case I couldn’t. Fortunately, there was one name that we both had in mind when thinking of this subject. As the name slipped out, I knew that we had made the right choice and that everything would work out just fine.
“Riley. Riley the Eevee”.
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The Chronicles of The Void[]
Part 1: Brothers to the End (2023 Remake)
Part 2: A Crack In Reality (2024 Remake)
Part 3: Below Zero
Part 4: The Oncoming Darkness
Part 5: Dreams of My Deathly Cold Demise
Part 6: The Stillness of Eternity
Epilogue: Of Hearts and Hope (You are here)