Crescendo | Pokémon Short Story

Swords Dance

"Leave that damned bird in the cage. Then, we'll let that filth dance under the stars."

"The two more aren't in the meadow... Did you say the alarm was set?"

"Arceus! Colton, they must be here somewhere!" A stomp of a foot, a lift of a dress, a bat of an eyelid, and Nox swivelled her head to look hard at her surroundings.

Maimai, petrified, pecked the wall and the two humans turned toward her direction.

"Now, that explains," Nox said,"all the soft noise of nuisances while I was reading. Colt, we humans are always smarter and superior to Pokémon. They're stupid to reveal their location."

José took a step back. The Absol launched a Dark Pulse at the leather chair and he thought he heard the cries of the dead Taurus intensifying into the night. Two heads snapped at the sound, then a scowl echoed.

"They're extremely stupid while we're on the other extreme of the spectrum." Crimson eyes glinted, craving the blood of an Oricorio. Colton could not only see its blood, but also taste it, gulp it down his oesophagus, and hear it churn in his stomach.

He looked up as if he could see past the walls and into the sky, where the crescent moon curved into a satisfied grin that resonated with him.

A squawk was the only other thing he heard. He smiled, and Nox chuckled. The crescent moon was more dark than light, just like the golden cage and its bird.

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It's strange how the ashes were harvested before the flames were ignited. Maimai had never been closer to the yellow avian and that was the only thought she had. She made another squawk. Then, she closed her eyes.

"I hear fear. The spirits are calling. They're afraid for me." She kept the last few words within. I hear a crescendo of fear.

The Sensu Style Oricorio knew resisting would be futile, so she wished her eyes would never open. Whatever the spirit of Moltres sparked in José, she hoped it would be passion. The spirits wouldn't be wrong.

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The shadows would always be right, as the Absol always knew. He could feel the pain, loss and fear emanating from the Baile Style Oricorio beside him. There was something else which was most intense. The feeling screamed the loudest.

It's natural. Those are his true colours. He saw fire in the avian's eyes. Wings aflame, the bird dashed into the chair and charred the Tauros' dyed skin. The leather was brown again, as if the Tauros was still alive. Only the Absol knew it wasn't alive . The shadows and spirits had a strange similarity.

They belonged to dead Pokémon, and dead Pokémon only.

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The swords were on fire as they sliced through the thick darkness. José felt more passion put into his Swords Dance, now infused in flames. Red and black twisted and exploded into his surroundings.

Burn the cages. His feet moved swiftly, tapping, fireballs circling around them.

Burn the cages. His wings were truly like a dress, an inferno, a flame vortex with him being its eye, its centre.

Burn the cages. His swords clashed and ripped the silence, robbed the human followers of their breaths and plunged into those soulless bodies. He watched as Nox and Colton leapt around to dodge the swords but scars were left.

Burn the- His heart was on fire, passion and adrenaline and vengeance rushing in his veins.

Burn. José was amused. The bars of rage were there for a reason. He thought of something that rhymed, too.

"'Human species,'" he chirped. "Reminds me of 'disease'."

"Stop."

He stopped.

The black Pom-Poms around his neck made him choke.

"Cherry dreary berry," Pachi whispered in his ears. "Let's dance with the stars."

He was about to nod and smile, but this Pachi wasn't the same Pachi. She was black, her eyes dark, and her laughter manic.

"But first, you would need some scars."

Eyes wide open, Jose's beak fell apart. "You're not Pachi."

"One last dance. Dreary weary berry. Once more, and..."

Pachi's voice trailed off. Her wings were broken, bleeding, apart. The swords were nothing to her explosive anger as she screamed a chain of meaningless words. After plucking her feathers with her feet and binding her feet together using a ring made up of her feathers, the Pom-Pom Style Oricorio fell limp into José's arms.

His swords levitated and pierced through the air. The burning corpses were no more. Two humans left.

You'll pay for this.

The nectar was closing in to Lawe. Unlike Pachi, the pink avian broke into pieces on the cold floor. She wasn't ready, wasn't resisting. Her skirt fell off. Her name, which meant the very clothing itself in another language, disappeared.

Die. I hate you.

The crescendo of anguish was mixed with growing loss and deafening fear. Soon, Maimai would be next.

The poppy never entered Maimai's mouth for she struggled in an attempt to break free. But the boy fished out a flute.

The notes were dreadfully familiar to the Absol which passed a glance at José to cover his ears.

It was the Perish Song from before.

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