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What's wrong with you guys it's not even that good
In all honesty thanks for this and 1k reads. My life is now complete. :D
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Taking their sweet time to learn the lay of the land, Bidoofy, Manus and Dusk followed Shepherd around the fort as he led their ways. Of course, this was no normal fort, and as it happened to work here, the doors of each and every room led to every other door, and could only distinguish its destination through the mental desires of whoever decided to open it. In accordance, Shepherd desired to show the three to the top of the highest tower in the fort, where a lone Aggron kept watch. The view granted from the vantage point was outstanding, much exceeding what was granted from the subterranean Summerpoint city, but still lacked the kind of professionalism there. From there, Shepherd continued his lectures on the history of the kingdom and told Bidoofy of stories of the former king, all while pretending Bidoofy was still his father. Yes, it was imminent that this would have to end at some time, but Bidoofy sadly refused to pull the trigger.
Aside from a few more meaningless locations, there was nothing particularly notable about the tour. Ampharos had a good time showing the three around and gladly ended the day by leading the three to their rooms: Bidoofy to a king's chamber, gilded in gold and unreasonable extravagant; while Manus' and Dusk's rooms were only moderately ridiculously expensive. Much like as hinted at before, there were many Aggrons to be found about the rooms, all silently keeping their eyes trained on their guests.
What did take Bidoofy astray, unfortunately, was what the Aggron in his room said; For, you see, that Aggron had served the previous, true king. What he said specifically was, "You. You're not the king, are you? I'd know his face anywhere."
Bidoofy, shocked by this, said, "But I AM the king..."
"You are not, and, if you lie to me again, I will have no hesitation when I kill you. Tell me, who are you really?"
"I am... Aw, shucks. I can't do this... I'm sorry... It's just that when he was like, 'Oh, daddy and mr. king sir' and all, I just couldn't help myself."
"You are a terrible man."
"I know... I just want to ride this out a little longer, though. It's not every day people respect me. I mean, I'm just a Bidoof. I don't get a lot of respect."
"That is no excuse."
"I know, I know..." And yet, Bidoofy wasn't even sure of himself when he said he'd give up this charade, knowing that, on the inside, he'd only postpone it indefinitely... The Aggron only replied with a grunt.
The next morning was an early one, as Bidoofy had happily enjoyed his room alone. Well, except that a creepy Aggron was staring at him all night... Because of the guardian's displeasure with the facade, he didn't heed to Bidoofy's request to sleep in, rather dragging him down from his bed, across the floor and into the door, bringing him to the throne room within an instant. There, he found a shaky Ampharos, a tired Duskull, a drunk Manus, and a testy Warturtle. Everybody was posed to watch the duelists, save the fighters themselves, and the room was all but silent, with quiet murmurs on the fight reverberating throughout the chamber. Manus had already drunk once or twice in the morning, as he usually does, but the Aggron was a steady sober. In Manus' hands was a single blade, stretching far beyond his body in reach, dancing upon the air as he sized up his opponent. The Aggron's "dagger", on the other hand, was a foot or two long, covered in the same metal peelings that formed spikes on it. The edge looked to be just as sharp as the tip, giving it the look of a torturer's tool. Accenting both weapons were small sanguine stains, symbolizing those who fell before to them...
After the two finished their drinks, the stood on guard, pointing the weapons at one another. Every scuffle from Manus was the equivalent of a button dropping, with his unease and soft steps making him nearly silent. On the other hand, the Aggron's steps shook the floor every time he moved, making him akin to a giant in this scenario. The two kept at a safe distance from one another, with Manus' weapon and Warturtle's arm and dagger nearly a foot apart. It wasn't until a few moments later that Manus shouted, "Oye, ye hammered yet?"
Warturtle smirked. "Not in the slightest."
"Then wha'say ye ta another five drinks? I'm thirsty."
"Another fi... Alright, human. That can be done." And so the two had another five drinks of alcohol. After these drinks, the movements of the combatants started to fail, as Manus was wobbling as he strafed and the Aggron started to fall forwards and back.
"Aye, we be still a'a stan'still. What say ye t'another three drinks?"
"I... Uh..." The Aggron blinked for a few seconds, letting his guard down as he started to speak. "Uh... Okay... I... Uh... Five?"
"Three. Ye ain' takin it so well, ye lass. Too much?"
Shepherd yelled, "Hey! Don't talk to him like that!"
But the two, none the less, took another three drinks, enchanting their stumbling by tenfold. Now, Manus was wobbling with every step, while Warturtle barely bothered to keep his weapon up nor maintain a proper stance. "Aye, ye shoul' surr'n'dr. Ye can' take a shot withou' keelin ovr..."
"... You... You're so far away... Why don't you come over here and say that!?!" The Aggron stepped forwards and tripped, falling face-first into the ground. When he got back up, he stumbled forwards a few more times, blindly swinging his weapon about; And, by some miracle, it was in the general direction of Manus.
Scoffing at this, Manus taunted, "Ye's a shame, ye know that? Yer mother's a shame."
"H-hey... Don't talk about my mother!" The Aggron swung again, this time off by ninety degrees. "She... She wasn't there for me..."
"Wha? Look, lassie, ye shoul-"
"I just wanted you to be proud!" The Aggron dropped its dagger and fell to his knees, masking his shameful face with his hands. "I wanna nother drink!"
"It's alright, lassie."
"I mean, nobody should be forced to eat carrots on their birthday! NOBODY!!!"
"Ye's drunk! Surrender already!"
"I want my mommy!"
Manus proceeded to thrust his rapier at the Aggron, effortlessly piercing the hide and striking right into his heart. "Ye should'a surrendered."
"I-ugh..." Manus used his leg to push the Aggron from his sword, dragging a small bit of entrails with him. "How...?"
Shepherd broke from the crowd and started to run at Warturtle, ignoring Manus as he skidded by. "Warturtle! Warturtle!!!"
"Ooh. My, I really am drunk..." The Aggron refused to give a straight stare back to Shepherd, until his view refocused and he noticed him a few moments later. "You don't happen to have a bandage, do you? I think I just lost my appetite. Get it? Because that's my stomach..."
Then, after a few sniffles, "...Warturtle..."
"Always at your side, my lord." The Aggron gave one of those rare smiles, the kind where the exceptional strain from being a steel-type made it difficult to hold. "Damn, shouldn't have let my pride get the best of me..." The Aggron lost its smile, and not too long before it lost its breath.
Soon, Shepherd was weeping above the fallen steel beast, stroking its head as its soul left the hefty iron carcass. Manus failed to see the direness of the situation and, to himself, thought highly of the success he had just accomplished. Everyone else simply watched silently as Shepherd had a last few moments of mourning, afterward sketching himself a path out of the room and into some other chamber, unseen for the remainder of the day.
And what a celebration Manus was to return to, for as he and Bidoofy eventually found themselves in the same room, the Bidoof started to frown in a way that made a wilting tree seem pleasant, shocking Manus into a state of semi-soberness. "What the hell was's that?!?"
Manus shrunk back. "Aye, me boy, tis' the way a duel func'shins. I had no oth'r choice."
"You could have not challenged him!"
"He could'a surrendered!"
"But he didn't!"
"An was 'at ME fault?!?"
"You could have... Aw, hell, I don't know why I's a talkin' to you. You're more nuts than a jar 'o' chunky peanut butter!"
"Wha's 'at gibberish yer sayin' at me?!?"
"And why do you got to be like this? I mean, I have the opportunity to be king for just a day, and now you have to go and ruin that too!"
"Oh, I'M ruinin' 'at? Get the cotton out o'yer ears, lad! Yer' a NUT! Ain't no WAY you'd be king! It was all a dream! Nut'n would ever come of it! Give it up, lad! Give it up."
"I... I don't want..." But then, just as the light in a bulb will suddenly, but with the slightest delay, go out, did Bidoofy change his expression to something much more morose. "I just wanted to be special for a day, that's all..."
"Well, ye fuk'd up, lad. Ain't no day fer ye." Manus then looked over to Dusk who, through a polite request, stood silent at the side of the room. "An' I wouldn' be outa place ta'say we oversays 'er visit."
"Yeah." Bidoofy looked as shameful as he could, trying to show just how guilty he felt. "I shouldn't have done this in the first place. But still..."
"But still wat?"
"Why did the Ampharos think I was his dad? I mean, I get that he's dead, but why me?"
"'Cause you're a Bidoof?"
"No, no. It has to be something else, it does..." Bidoofy started trotting about the room, staring inquisitively at the floor. "I mean, why would there be a mirror to the real- or, should y'all consider it more accurate, our- world? And what exactly is this place?"
Manus signed. "Look, may-be ye'd a' had the chance a day 'er two ago to fin'out; But ye blew it, and he blew every-thin'. An'-", but then Manus suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence and drew his rapier.
Bidoofy, confused, looked at Manus with a puzzled face. Seeing this to be his combative stance, and noticing Dusk to be uneven as well, Bidoofy used a few more context clues and his special ability, "take the fucking hint", and turned around, finding himself face to face with an impending Darkrai. The creature of incorporeal mass (although, and I draw your attention to this, not a ghost type), a little larger than Manus, started to lurch towards Bidoofy, claw first; However, with the reflexes that came with his years of adventuring, Bidoofy could jump out of the way in the last moment, leading the apostle of nightmares to withdraw his arm, falsely confident that he had him.
Dusk, looking appalled, shouted, "Why have you come?!?"
But the Darkrai remained silent. It rose unevenly, like a paper swaying off a desk, and started to form an oval of dark energy within its grasp, uneven but menacing in its current state. Making no hesitation to perform the logical action, Manus bolted out of the room and imagined the door to lead outside the palace, allowing everybody to follow suit and leave the room. The Darkrai, in turn, dissipated its energy and floated towards the window, smashing through and slowly headed down towards the ground.
As Bidoofy and the rest started bolting past crowds of stark Aggrons, some of whom were drawing bows and firing it at the dark creature above. Despite the arrows either smashing into the building or failing to faze the Darkrai, the Aggron continued their assault. It was only after Bidoofy started to retreat the city did he realize that Manus wasn't following him. "Manus?"
Bidoofy turned and found that Manus was looking back at the Darkrai. "What's the plan?", asked the flower-head.
"Plan?"
Manus turned back to him and crossed his arms. "Ye don' expect us to jus' flee, do ye? Yer king, after all."
"You know-", then, in a more hushed voice, "You know I'm not really king..."
"Well, would it kill ye to be a hero, then? We can' jus' leave 'em Aggrons like this."
"But what do you want me to do?"
Dusk replied, "A hero knows pride.
Have faith, and you can succeed.
Do not flee, coward.
"A lone cherry leaf
Flies far in strong winds and air.
But not if made lead.
"What does that even mean?"
"'At means you got to man up fer once." Manus drew his sword and headed back towards the castle. "If ye grow a pair, meet me back at the castle. I ain't lyin' by."
Bidoofy turned to Dusk. "Uh... Humans, right?"
Dusk fell to one of his knees, clenching his amulet firmly. "I know not how I,
A lone apostle of Him,
Can help, Bidoofy.
"However, I can,
And I will, pray for their souls.
I will not stand by.
"You should follow them.
They fight for what they value.
Can you say the same?"
"So I should help them?" But Dusk, after giving a disbelieving stare, said nothing, allowing Bidoofy to come to his own conclusion; And, in response, Bidoofy headed off to the castle, and hopefully for the last time...
As Bidoofy arrived once more, he found that some of the Aggrons were utilizing harpoons and tethered arrows, and with minimal success. The Darkrai seemed to be too preoccupied slashing the steel ropes from his body to fire any of its ghostly projectiles, making the scene look like more of a reverse puppet act than a fight; If this were to go on for too long, however, the tides would change, as there was only so much tether for the Aggron Knights to waste. Seeing this, Bidoofy asked if there was anything he could do to help. All he could do, though, is find the Ampharos and ~ah Arceus damn it he has something to do with it, doesn't he?
Bidoofy tried to visualize Shepherd's room, but only could muster an idea of it, since he had never been there; And yet, that was all it took, for he soon found himself in a room with a light dusting of yellow hairs. He investigated the exquisite beddings and called out for Shepherd, although his investigation only yielded a few clues: Warturtle's dagger was bloodied and surrounded by an all-encompassing puddle of blood, which had nearly consumed the floor. Assuming him to be dead, Bidoofy took a moment to stabilize himself from the shock he had just suffered, having suffered from this kind of "experience" very rarely. Afterwards, finding that this venture was rather short-lived, he returned outside, finding a quite different battle scene enduring.
Thanks to Giratina, but unknown to the rest, a successful casting of Gravity had forced the Darkrai to the ground, with the drawback that none of the Aggrons could approach it without falling into the ground themselves. As a result, they all stared at it in a tense stalemate, waiting for the next move to happen. During this time, Bidoofy had snuck over to Manus, avoiding the attention of the Darkrai entirely. "Manus, how's it going with y'all?"
"Fine." Manus grunted, staring at the Darkrai with an uneven weariness. "Alas, somethin' amiss."
"What are you alasin' about?"
"The Darkrai went in'a frenzy the sec' it saw me. I'm the only one who's can get near w'out flyin' in'a 'a' ground, but I don' trust it not'a play a dirty trick."
"Well, I found Warturtle's dagger and a bunch of blood in Shepherd's room, but no body. Think Warturtle's ghost killed him?"
"May'be. Can' trust 'em Pokemon. Unstable, they are. Maybe Shepherd killed himself. Or maybe Shepherd's dead. It don' matter. What DOES matter is tha' this Darkrai ain't using dark magic. You know, the sleep kin'. I wanna slay it, but I ain' sure this is not some big illusion. Yer a normal type, 'aight? Wouldn' 'magine he'd get you. Is that really 'im?"
Bidoofy looked over at the Darkrai, finding him to be as real as ever. "Yes?"
"Hm. Somethin' fishy. Ah well, nothing a stab won' fix." Manus stepped forwards, letting his blade waver in front of him. "Ye don' think anythin's up, do ye?"
"Just stab it already."
Manus looked back at the Darkrai and started to step forwards. The Aggrons surrounding the Darkrai kept their defensive circle, ready to contain it the moment that Gravity wears off. With full vigilance, Manus stepped into the gravity field and staggered forward for just a moment, slowly shuffling his way over to the Darkrai. As he neared the creature, though, its arm had extended farther than it appeared it could and swiped across Manus, just missing him by a hair. Manus brought his sword up uneasily and pointed it at the creature, keeping it a safe distance from his body.
However, just as Manus was about to lunge forwards, the Darkrai instantly flung a ball of darkness in an arc, like a stone, at Manus. Manus had to skip to the side to avoid it, although his inclination led him to step forwards again. The Darkrai, suspecting of this attack, retracted and swung its arm once more, still trying to stay off the ground. Manus had back-stepped once more, evading this attack and still remaining at a stalemate.
Suddenly, from behind the Darkrai, Bidoofy came rolling forwards in a Rollout attack. Despite having suffered from an increased gravity, the force behind the blow had stayed the same, and the Darkrai was knocked forwards; In turn, Manus lunged forwards and prodded his rapier into Darkrai's chest, giving him a small lesion. Despite the injury, the dark creature rose back up and threw another dark projectile at Manus; And, this time, the bolt landed dead-on, singeing the center of his uniform but failing to knock him unconscious.
Bidoofy, still fighting the momentum of his Rollout, decided to continue rolling out into the Darkrai and landed another successful blow. The Darkrai refused to let Bidoofy draw his attention and charged another orb of darkness- which Manus easily saw and avoided once more. Then, suspecting that another Rollout attack would land on him, the Darkrai spun around and, with an amazing amount of reflex, grabbed the speeding Bidoofy and flung him at Manus. Caring for his friend, Manus decided to catch Bidoofy, finding he tumbled backwards as well as he did so.
The Darkrai, pleased with what he had done, charged another dark orb- which may have been Shadow Ball- but found that the end of a halberd had been shoved into his back, thanks to a Mega-evolved Aggron Captain.
Manus recovered, as well as the Darkrai. Manus shouted to Captain, "Ain' ye too heavy fer this?"
Captain smirked and replied, "Who would I be to let the prince down?"
"Aye." And the tacit understanding and bond was formed between the two, with Bidoofy included as well. With this newfound agreement, Captain swung his mighty halberd once more, this time lopping a gash into the Darkrai's arm. The dark creature turned to Captain, almost harboring a look of betrayal, and attempted to force him into a state of sleep; Yet, before he could finish the casting, he found a sword pierced through his heart, and one that was classified as a rapier. Yet, something was amiss, for there was little of a heart to pierce...
Manus drew his blade out and retracted when he saw the Darkrai rising up once more. Surely, if a blade through the heart wouldn't kill him, what would? He stepped back, uneasy at the pure might of the creature. How could he face the being?
With an absolute fury in his eyes, the Darkrai flexed its claw, causing it to pulsate with a dark energy. Looking to find its final mark, it gathered massive amounts of negative energy in its palm, only to find itself distracted by a voice once more.
"I'm ashamed of you. Why would you do this?!?", shouted Bidoofy. "I know it's you, Shepherd." The Darkrai looked to Bidoofy, holding a cold, uneven glare. "You should be ashamed. This isn't what Warturtle would have wanted." The Darkrai flexed its claws, upset with what it was hearing; But, at the same time, how could he disregard his 'father'? "I can't believe you. I knew Warturtle. And he would have hated you." The Darkrai fell back a little, shocked by this statement.
Contemplating this statement and making a final verdict as to whether or not to even believe Bidoofy, the Darkrai stared at its pulsating palm, absorbed in its own thought. Then it drew the claw across its own chest, drawing forth the entrails and blood from its body.
Then, the field of gravity failed. Nobody felt the weight of the world, and everybody was free to move; That is, save for Shepherd. The Darkrai was consumed in its own malicious desires twice: Once to enter its terrible form, and once more to absolve it. In the center of the crowd, slain as the last prince of his line and the otherwise King of the Land of Fey, lied a mostly flayed Shepherd, who would never rest with a cleansed heart...