❝I still wonder why things happened the way they did...❞

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For every beginning, there is an end. For every gift, there is a cost.
For every scar, there is a story.

Not every living thing has a happy story, but it is just as wrong to believe that someone was skipped of misfortune. Perhaps it was Jirachi fulfilling a wish or perhaps it was some other mysterious force of nature, but nevertheless fate gave a sad little Charmander a light in the dark.

All lights go out.

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My minuscule cream claws delicately grazed the glossy surface of the Relic Fragment, the chipped ends leaving a high pitched screech in the air. Although it was once my sole reason for exploration, its mysterious and delicate etchings now made me want to retch. Snatching my leathery arm away, I swallowed roughly at the growing lump in my throat. My arm quivered ever so slightly as I reached beneath the moderately worn cover of the leather bag at my side, fumbling blindly for the object I desired.

The bag hung heavily, like the guilt upon my shoulders, and upon retrieving the weathered stone from the practically empty gear, it did not feel any lighter. A lone scarlet flame burned brightly beneath the surface, taunting me even as it was encased in the glittering ore. Despite its taunting inferno, I cradled the evolution stone gently in my small claws before setting it upon the ground I had cleared previously. Behind it a simple marble grave stood, the relic shard having been painstakingly placed into the head of it.

"Lux..." I croaked quietly, my voice scratchy from the disuse over the last moon phase. "I can't do this without you." A sullen laugh escaped my warm amber orange lips before I mustered the words to continue. "I know how much you loved things that shine, and I had the Deluxe Box we found together appraised. Isn't it ironic that it's a Fire Stone? Fire, flames, that's how I lost you."

Forcing a grin for a split second, I let it crumble as quickly as it had been made. Replaced by a somber frown, I stroked the grave gently, wishing I could hold her in my arms. Pulling back, I blinked once, a wave of lightheadedness passing through me. Catching myself as I had been leaning back in my daze, my eyes opened and were met with darkness. The dark abyss was endless in all directions, shrieks and screams echoing through the gloomy shadows.

I blinked rapidly, thinking my eyesight had just disappeared for a moment, as it tended to do since the death of my partner. With every quick blink, the darkness began to merge into a blurred surrounding that sharpened until my vision was restored. However, my surroundings had changed, and I could feel my body moving without my consent. Instead of the rocky cove overlooking the glittering cerulean waves of Sharpedo Bluff, greenery surrounded me, ablaze.

A large amount of heat radiated off something behind me, the warm air licking at my smooth backside. However this seemed quite minor as I stared, dumbfounded, at the small bipedal Pokémon in my arms; one that I thought I'd never see or hold again. Burns and thin red lines decorated the frail reptilian, and I could feel my blood run cold as a wave of déjà vu ran over me. I felt my head tilt upwards, a menacing growl rising in my throat in response to the rumble of the Houndoom before me.

Our treasure bag lay limply on the grass, its contents having been recklessly scattered across the small clearing. As my head darted from side to side I could feel a frigid gust wash over me. Not a single Reviver Seed lay among the thrown objects, meaning the Treeko in my arms needed immediate attention in her unconscious state. I already knew what was happening, re-experiencing the day that haunted me in my dreams. Screams rattled inside me, suppressed only by the fact that I the body I donned was not under my current control.

Internally I urged myself to retreat and escape with Lux while I could, but it seemed I was just there to watch as I reenacted the tragedy. It had been a simple outing to the Apple Woods, with no mission or exploration, just a casual trip in reminiscence of how we had been there so innocently mere months earlier. From the shadows of the undergrowth, the pair of hounds had sprung, looking for easy meal and perhaps some items. Something had been off that day, or it may have been that we were overconfident, but we took on that challenge. We were Team Candela; shining so brightly we couldn't be measured.

The pair of feral Houndoom paced to and fro as they stepped through the flames, the wisps of heat fusing into their onyx fur. My turquoise eyes glared at them as menacingly as possible, the ember at my tail doubling in size despite fatigue eating at my body. Gently placing my partner as far from the flames as possible, I stormed towards the larger Pokémon, tail lashing angrily.

More out of rage than sense, a blinding power began at my hand which I slashed across the smaller but more dominate, Houndoom. A crack resonated through the clearing, one of its shining gray horns flying off and leaving a jagged edge. The quadruped Pokémon howled angrily, shaking in fury as it clawed the ground.

Their jaws parted slightly, revealing hints of fleshy tongues and sharpened teeth stained ruby, and they circled around me hungrily. With a graceful leap, the smaller canine leapt over me as its partner rushed at my front, jaws spread widely for my throat. Diving towards the ground, mere seconds was all I needed to create a hole in the earthy ground of the woodland. Following my practiced skill, I veered upwards to barrel into the Houndoom who had been prepared to follow me down the narrow burrow.

Panting, my eyes met the body of the smaller feral, which lay unmoving on the grass located several yards away. The screams of other wild Pokémon rang through the thin air as they unreasonably tried to fight their way to the exit, the crashing of trees to gravity fighting with the crackle of the burning flames.

Turning back to where the canine stood, its hackles bristled as it let out an angered cry despite feral Pokémon being well known for no real thoughts or reason. Its sangre eyes darkened as it charged at me, grunting and snorting through its small black nose. I froze under the circumstances, watching its jaws open to reveal a bloom of fire aimed at me. Even as the scene reenacted, my mind went blank as I could feel myself instinctively try to dodge and the graze of flames upon my shoulder, the leather skin heating up and causing pain to spread down my arm.

Handicapped, I dove into the warm ground once more. My shoulder burned, my instinct kicking in and locking in place. My muscles screamed in pain, and I paused for a split second in the tunnel lit by my tail. Heat radiated behind me, flames following behind it. A shriek escaped my throat as they embedded themselves into my back. With a sharp intake of air, I forced myself to finish what had been started with my one arm.

The ground crumbled easily as I burst through the top layer, a shock of power passed by dragons building up from my throat and hitting the Houndoom square in the skull adorning its chest. With adrenaline rushing through my veins, I watched the Pokémon fall to the ground with a thud that was muffled by the rest of the chaos.

A flame of pride blossomed in my chest before I turned to boast to Lux, only to have reality hit me like a rock slide. Her once jade skin was charred, the thin slashes that hung like webs upon her skin, and her chest barely rose at all. The adrenaline disappeared when I need it most, and I felt sluggish and slow as I desperately picked up unscathed spheres off the ground, looking for the orb that could let us escape quickly. The flames, having trapped us during the battle, hungrily clawed closer and closer. Frustrated tears rose in my eyes as I tossed Wonder Orb after Orb, none of them being an Escape Orb.

"Wildfire, Clearing Nine! Let's get it cleared and keep moving team!"

A trio of blue tadpoles appeared, rushing into the room and one tossing a shining orb at the ground as the other two shot beams of water at the roaring fire. A brilliant cloud of dust flew through the air, petrifying me upon inhalation. The water type Pokémon tightened their scarves around their mouths, dashing in to pick us up and touch us with an Explorer Badge. A prickling sensation spread across my body as I dissipated into nothing.

My eyes stared out into the sky, the sound of the crashing of waves bringing me back. I trembled there, not knowing what to do. Exhaling, I felt my muscles simultaneously release with my dam of feelings.

"So this is one of the 'headaches' you've told me so much about then? Lux..." A muffled sob escaped my being as I broke down, curling into a fetal position against the side of the grave. She had been so close to me, yet so far.

"I don't know if you know, but the team of Poliwag brought us back along with many other Pokémon. They keep saying it's their fault, that they should have assessed our health and seen if we were feral before transporting us, but it's not," I sniffled. "It's mine. I should have escaped with you. I shouldn't have continued the fight, yet I let you lay there dying. I should have been ready, I should have known if we had Reviver Seeds and Escape Orbs. I should have looked for our Explorer Badge. I should have told you that I love you. I wasn't even there when you let out your last breath! Passed out, paralyzed, it shouldn't have mattered because you were always there for me and I should have been there for you. Yet I wasn't," I spoke bitterly.

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I sat upward, as straight as I could. I winced in pain as my back straightened, the burn scar seeming to ignite again and forever there to remind me of what I had caused.

"What will I do without you? What if I go back to being that timid crybaby that couldn't accomplish anything? How will my flame burn without you?"

.....

reverti ad tenebras [latin]: to return to the darkness

Thanks so much for reading!

As always, feedback is welcomed.

Special thanks to VanillaWind for the amazing [original] cover

and obliviux for being my editor! c: