They of the Sun

Chapter Thirty-Three: At Long Last

     I wasn't ready for the looks on their faces. 

     Gladion looked relieved.

    Sen as if he had seen a ghost.

    And Hau's smile was tensely plastered to his face. That one was- surprise surprise- predictable.  

    I didn't have the time to think on it before noticing the lavender Pokemon's presence. The same pressuring aura clung to the area like it had at the Lake of the Moone. It's gaze was stuck on me as it's tail flicked back and forth. 

    Move. 

    The echoing thought became an action as I felt my body be thrown outside of its own accord. I was nothing more than a rag doll. I was the cloth of a Mimikyu's body, possessed by whatever spirit needed a home. Except it was no spirit. The feline beast's eyes moved where it would drag me to next, amused as could be. Bastard.

    What an easy toy... you have no true willpower, do you? 

    I grit my teeth as I was flung sideways into Gladion. Pain making its way around each and every other fresh bruise on my skin. Another fucking thing here to tell me what I was and wasn't. With my body released, I shoved myself off of the boy (as he shoved me off as well) and signaled for Pan to ready itself.

     You have rage to fight with, but you'd never do it on your own. Someone always has to shove you. 

     "Pan!" I hollered, "Hold it down!"

     He garnered ghastly energy into chains to pin the creature where it stood. Except it was gone from where it had been hovering. We turned our heads every which way trying to search everywhere for where it had gone and where the voice had come from. The air became still then, allowing the sounds of the sea to come alive. The caw of a Wingull above us made me realize it- whatever it was- was gone. The scent of roses and salt was overwhelming together. Whoever picked this as their garden was out of their minds. Inhaling the disgusting air, I turned around to face to them at long last. Two out of three.

    I looked down at my feet, kicking the soft dirt path. There wasn't a single thing I had thought to say to them. An apology would never feel like enough. It didn't seem that now was a good time as the ground beneath us shook, alerting panic in Gladion's Silvally. He shook his head, rushing towards the mansion. Hau and Sen followed suit; he seemed to know the way.

     Inside it was the same stark white as all of Aether. It was kind of unsettling to think someone lived here, feeling empty and hollow. Too neat and pristine to be comfortable. My guilty lump of guilt built in my throat at the thought of missing my home. I could only think of Meowth and Mom yanking at my ear when I misbehaved. What did home look like? No answer came to the pointless question as I bumped into Sen's back when they stopped outside of a grandeur door with ornate floral designs around the trim. He cast a glance at me, a question lingering in his deep blue eyes.

     Mumbling 'Sorry', I took a step back. His lips parted to respond but he then turned his head up as the doors opened. Gladion was not stopping for anything. The room was decorated similarly to the rest of the estate; lavish white carpets we tracked dirt onto. A bed with a canopy above it that looked as if it had never been slept in aside from the slippers at the foot of the bed and the various trinkets on the nightstand. Light filtered softly through the sheer curtains. Daylight did not seem fitting here. Ringing started in my ears at the sleepy quietness. 

     "Where the fuck is it?" Gladion grumbled, fumbling near a mirror. His reflection was bothered. Green eyes focused with anger and hurry, his bangs that usually stood on their own were clinging to his forehead. 

     "Access Denied."

     "Are you joking me?!" He laughed in disbelief, his hand flying up to his head. I think he had tears in his eyes, but I didn't bother to look closely. Seeing others cry and how to deal with it was not my forte. I hardly wanted to deal with myself. The sound of shattering glass drew us all back in. Blood dripped from the few pieces of glass that stayed in place, revealing the empty space behind it. The stain of blood grew where Gladion had stood, for he had stepped forward and onto a strange, glowing circle. In the blink of an eye, he warped then was gone. The rest of us looked at one another without certainty. 

     "It can't be too bad," Hau smiled, before taking his turn. Gone. Sen and I looked at one another, the inquiring look lingering. Now was not the time. 

    Shrugging, I carefully took a step onto the warp pad, "My turn!"

    Nothing happened for a second. Fuzzy static took over my fiber of my being, the world became a flash and I wanted to laugh- it tickled- but couldn't. The landing felt as if I had only jumped up and down in one spot. Except for the remaining tingles all over my skin. Sound came before sight. 

      "You can't do this! Please!" Lillie's cry sent me forward.   

      The room was no longer a bedroom. Instead, there was now a lab of sorts in front of me. Various Pokemon were suspended glass cases; their eyes eerily void and mouths open forever in the middle of a cry. Was it of fear or pain? I didn't want to put a whole lot of thought behind it. For once, I was wary of where I tread as I followed the few splatters left behind from Gladion. 

     A gasp left Sen as he rushed past me, my eyes locking on to him just as a purple aura surrounded him. He was stopped in his tracks and it took a minute for me to realize the same had happened to me. Not far ahead of us stood several figures... The beast from earlier stood, cold eyes focused. Lillie was closest to them near a neatly organized desk, from here I could tell there were tears in her eyes and she was trembling. Noticing her bag nowhere on her person, my heart sank. Ahead of her was Lusamine holding a metal box up as if it were the latest trendiest purse, an elegant smirk on her lips as she stared down at us all. The smallest of 'pew's was heard from within the contraption. 

     "My! What a crowd to see me succeed in this glorious moment."

     "See us all succeed, mia signora," a deeper voice corrected from beside Lusamine, in a crisp, black suit. A rainbow 'R' -matching the one on the one on the unknown grunts' uniforms- embellished on his breast pocket. With his slicked back hair and put together appearance: he and Lusamine made quite the pair to not trample with.

     "Ah! You are right, Giovanni. How selfish of me. This moment of conquest is for us."

     With a smile his arm gestured at the other well dressed people lined up beside them. Each with different symbols on their suits and uniforms. One with a flame symbol and the looks of a ferocious Pyroar, one that looked like a pirate clad in blue with skin that had seen many days out at sea, and-

     My legs became wobbly even in their suspended state, my heart wanting to give out. I was seeing a ghost right? 

     Eyes trained on the man with blue hair and sunken in blue eyes. While my mother's genes had taken precedence, I still had his tired eyes and the way our mouths sat on our faces were the same- giving way for a glare of irritation in any given situation. There are many things I had looked at in me to remind myself of the man I had once called a father. It's been so long... It was becoming to seem as if those memories were nothing more than dreams. 

     And still, anywhere, I could recognize the Team Galactic Boss in his futuristic space suit. While it looked silly on the Galactic grunts, he made it more than serious. His blue hue stayed forward, bored and uncaring. He only awaited his next order. Cyrus taking orders was almost as hilarious of a thought as me not being a bitch. I didn't exist in his field of vision. Deep down there was the ingrained sting of rejection. 

   "At long last!" Lusamine cried out, raising Nebby's cage above her head before turning away to aim it at an empty space. 

   "Please! Nebby can't handle it!" 

    Lillie's cries were ignored.

    "Cosmog! Show us the way!" 

    A light brighter than the sun illuminated the room. Lillie's cries becoming more distraught at the thought of what would happen to her partner. Lusamine's laughs of glee were what truly made the atmosphere gruesome; beyond what anyone could handle. When the light faded, there were several glowing portals with a grid-like pattern within. Even from a distance and pinned in place by the odd Legendary's power, I could feel their pull. 

     "Executives!" the man- Giovanni- barked, "Prendi i tuoi posti! An ideal world, one that lives to each of our truths, is close! Mewtwo, don't release until we are through." 

    Mewtwo only glanced at Giovanni, neither agreeing or disagreeing to the order. Each of the executives stepped into portals wearing a mixture of excited sneers or serious expressions. My line of vision stayed on the Team Galactic Boss, watching him disappear into the depths of the unknown for a second time in my life. Except this time I wasn't a little girl crying. I felt bitter. If I wasn't fucking stuck like this...

     Lusamine smiled and spoke before stepping through, tossing the box towards us. It clattered to the ground and broke apart. A concentration of stars and galaxies with gold rings about it drifted out. Her words had been nothing more than a warbled mess of noise. It had become distorted and out of touch with this reality. The elation in her eyes was haunting. 

     The last thing we saw as the portal closed was Mewtwo releasing us all from its psyche's clutches with a flicker of his tail. Each of us fell to the ground, but Lillie was the first to move even as she sobbed and sniffled. She stumbled towards what I could only assume was Nebby, unmoving much like the rest of us. I preferred to stay as a pile of flesh, blood, and bones on the cool ground. Only being able to wonder what in the Distortion World had just happened. 

     Gladion was the first to voice the thought out loud with a solid, "What the fuck."