Reminiscence [ PWA 2016 3rd place winner ]

Reverti Ad Tenebras

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

° ° ° °

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.

<< Pokémon Mystery Dungeon >>

>> Pokémon Watty Awards 2016 3rd place winner <<

° ° ° °

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.