The Tale Of A Hero

Chapter 39: I Love You...

There's a difference between love, and true love. Love is just a strong emotion, which is bound to change, eventually. True love is what it's named after; the everlasting truth.

~Hero

***

~A little while before the ending of last chapter

Down the hill they went, together. Sunburn and Mai had gone far from the group, and now would be met alone. 

Alone was what Sunburn didn't want.

There was a cliff just a few yards behind Sunburn, the ravine so deep, you couldn't see the bottom. He was cornered. Nowhere to run, as Mai had trapped him here. It was do or die. Do, as in survive for as long as he could, before the inevitable happened.

The Growlithe dodged yet another burst of fire from the Ninetales, who at this point was hungry to see his corpse, fury filling her veins. Nothing would stop her from savoring his blood meeting her jaws.

"Mia! Please, stop this!" Sunburn begged. "I know it's you in there! I know you can here me-" Sunburn leaped to the side, as a Shadow Ball whizzed past him.

"You fool!" Mai taunted. "Mia is no more! I have full control of her body now! Mia is nothing but an impure husk with no heart, no soul! She's forsaken! And yet, you wish to see her once again?!"

"S-shut up! It's lies, all lies! It can't be true!" Sunburn wouldn't take it. Mia would never be impure, or a monster, or whatever. It just wasn't her! This was Mia she was talking about.

Suddenly, Mai stopped. She stared at Sunburn, a disturbing silence filling the area, apart from the strange noises coming from the very top of the hill. Then, a small, yet very wicked and unnerving smile crept on the demon's face.

"You wish to know why Mia's a monster? Why she isn't who you think she is? Very well..." Mai closed her eyes.

"Mia had innocent Pokemon selfishly sacrificed, only to fail at attempting to master her transformation."

Killed...innocent...

Those two words pierced Sunburn's feelings. He stopped, rooted in place. From disbelief. From shock. From horror. "No...She wouldn't...She just couldn't..."

That was all the distraction Mai needed.

With a growl, she leaped at the Growlithe, causing him to gasp and stumble back. Mai unleashed a Fire Blast, lighting the grass in front of him on fire. Sunburn quickly backed away, and his hind legs went over the edge of the cliff. He widened his eyes, holding on with his front legs for dear life. 

Fear...

Mai stepped out of the flames. "It's over, foolish Growlithe. You've let your love for her make you weak. How sad. But now, I will enjoy this fresh kill, until the end of time!"

"HE'S MINE!!!"

The most unexpected of 'saviors' showed up just then. Reaper leaped onto Mai's back, surprising her. He bit down hard onto the side of her neck, as Mai squirmed, trying to break loose. Mai still in her grip, the Houndoom charged up his ultimate move, while latched onto her.

Inferno.

A hellfire of burning fury dominated the area, the force of it directly impacting Mai. The Ninetales fell to the ground, fire surrounding her from all sides. She didn't get up. She didn't move. Reaper observed her. He could feel...no sense of pain or fear.

"Good..."

Sunburn could only watch, terrified as he still clung onto the ledge, for dear life. He was unable to pull himself up due to him being so close to falling off. He could only stare at where Mai's body had been, now blocked from view by towering flames.