Chibi Pika
Stay positive
Leave it to me to take what was originally an idea for a horror work and turn it into another one of my dime-a-dozen drama one-shots. >> Yeah, dime-a-dozen—this is my twelfth. Go figure. =/
Revolution
The rain was pure, unlike the ground it fell upon.
It fell in sheets, tearing at the barren landscape with unusual ferocity as an icy gale ripped through the mountains. A cold spell was setting in, and the shower had blown in out of nowhere.
The shower was neither a true storm, nor a product of my actions. It would have been all too easy to part the clouds and let the sun shed its rays upon the land, but why trade one beauty for another? Either way, I had to admit that I preferred the rain—it isn’t hard to grow attached to something that you’re supposed to care for.
A smile crossed my face as it occurred to me how tasteful it was to be thinking of rain at a time like this. Usually the sky was in a state of utter chaos, torn by fire and lightning and the clashing of Assault Rays and Legendary blasts. Great airships dominated the heavens while massive fortresses lay dormant below, their deadly cannons ready to strike. Smaller, sleeker craft slashed through the air just above the ground, engaged in an endless pursuit.
It was not an extermination, or even a hunt, per se. A relentless quest to kill an innocent victim of misfortune…the concept was laughable in this situation. This was a war…one that we had brought upon ourselves.
With an imbalance of power, only one can stand superior. For centuries now, human intellect has pushed their race farther anyone could have imagined. Their growing dominion over the planet was unmistakable. Though they alone were insignificant, together, they were a force to be reckoned with.
They had the potential…and in trying to challenge it, we only pushed it farther.
Humans certainly do strike back when threatened.
I turned suddenly upon hearing the low hum of engines in the distance. A surveillance mission, no doubt. I would have to move quickly to make it in time. Spreading an immense pair of snowy white wings, I took off into the sky, soaring high over the ravaged landscape below. Trees, animals, humans, Pokémon…cities and forests—all gone. I suppose the pain that the earth had suffered would have been a source of rage before, but not now. Most of it was our doing anyway. I veered off into the midst of the cloud cover, which hid my draconic form from view.
I soared onward in silence, occasionally dipping beneath the haze to keep track of my location. I knew exactly where I was going, and yet at the same time, I had no idea. I had been there before, but I had only been vaguely told of what I would find this time. Either way, I had to see it for myself.
A ridge of mountains peaked above the clouds in the distance, and I knew that I was near. Throwing my wings back, I swooped downward in a descending spiral, my keen eyes tracing every inch of the jagged rock face. The signs of battle were evident. Large craters scarred the structure, and the entire crag was charred black.
And then my eyes caught the faintest glimpse of ginger amongst the ebony ashes.
It felt as though my breath had been sucked out. My wings flared out as I numbly drifted down to the ground, stirring soot into the air upon my landing. I slowly stepped forward through pools of blood mingled with rainwater, my eyes unable to focus on anything other than what lay before me.
It was the body of an immense phoenix, his feathers singed in some areas and ripped out completely in others. He lay in a crumpled heap with one side ripped open where the wing had been slashed off. The stench of the blood and innards would have been unbearable if it weren’t raining. Both feet hung limply in the air, but what was the most disturbing was that his neck was twisted back so that his great amber eyes stared listlessly into the distance.
And yet somehow, my mind couldn’t fully comprehend what I was seeing. I thought that he could still be alive. It wasn’t an irrational hope—I honestly thought there was a chance. It was ridiculous, almost, the amount of carnage our kind could live though. I almost wanted to focus my healing energy around him, but felt almost unable to move or even think straight.
What had happened? Whose fault had it been? Almost immediately I imagined him as having entered a pointless battle with all odds against him. Being overwhelmed and torn apart…
Stupid Ho-oh… Stupid humans…
It was quite immature, but I wasn’t willing to think of it in any other light. Everything was so pointless—the only ones who died were the careless or the enraged.
I suppose it wasn’t very appropriate to think of his fate in that manner, though. I knew that I would be next—we all would, even the humans. It’s not as if our demise would leave no impact. Countless millennia had not even trained us to wield our responsibility and curse. But in the hands of another, there was no way…
And then I did something that surprised me: I laughed. It seemed to be the only thing I was capable of doing at that point. It was long and hollow sounding—the sound of something I had forgotten how to do. And when it was done, I swept a wing forward and lifted numerous boulders and stones with my mind, piling them upon the bedraggled body of the great sun phoenix. Flicking a single feather, I manipulated the air so that the rain would not touch the burial mound.
I spread my wings and bowed my head ceremoniously, saying, <I, the Legendary Johto Bird of the Sea, stand here before the fallen form of the Bird of the Sky, and solemnly swear to avenge his death.> I instantly stood bolt upright and stretched my neck toward the sky, screaming, <The legacy of the Order shall live!>
My words echoed despite the fact that they were not made with sound. I continued to stare upward, half expecting an answer from the heavens.
But I was met only with my own voice.
I glanced downward to gaze upon the mound that I had created, choking as I muttered, <You old fool…>
I wished that the rain would cease. I wanted to see if the sun was any less bright, or if its life-giving warmth had diminished now that its guardian was dead.
And yet the downpour continued. By that point I had completely forgotten that I could have cleared the sky in an instant. I simply smirked as I gazed out at the endless horizon. A gathering of aircraft was quickly drawing nearer, their sleek, deadly forms glinting with the rainwater.
<Unto your kind, our power has been relinquished,> I whispered.
A single tear slid down my face, immediately obscured by the eternal rain.
Urk...when I first wrote it, I liked it a lot more than I do now. It does have a lot of theme and symbolism, but...I dunno. Maybe I'm just miffed because I discovered that it's absurdly similar to Scrap's first one-shot.
~Chibi~;249;;rukario;
Revolution
The rain was pure, unlike the ground it fell upon.
It fell in sheets, tearing at the barren landscape with unusual ferocity as an icy gale ripped through the mountains. A cold spell was setting in, and the shower had blown in out of nowhere.
The shower was neither a true storm, nor a product of my actions. It would have been all too easy to part the clouds and let the sun shed its rays upon the land, but why trade one beauty for another? Either way, I had to admit that I preferred the rain—it isn’t hard to grow attached to something that you’re supposed to care for.
A smile crossed my face as it occurred to me how tasteful it was to be thinking of rain at a time like this. Usually the sky was in a state of utter chaos, torn by fire and lightning and the clashing of Assault Rays and Legendary blasts. Great airships dominated the heavens while massive fortresses lay dormant below, their deadly cannons ready to strike. Smaller, sleeker craft slashed through the air just above the ground, engaged in an endless pursuit.
It was not an extermination, or even a hunt, per se. A relentless quest to kill an innocent victim of misfortune…the concept was laughable in this situation. This was a war…one that we had brought upon ourselves.
With an imbalance of power, only one can stand superior. For centuries now, human intellect has pushed their race farther anyone could have imagined. Their growing dominion over the planet was unmistakable. Though they alone were insignificant, together, they were a force to be reckoned with.
They had the potential…and in trying to challenge it, we only pushed it farther.
Humans certainly do strike back when threatened.
I turned suddenly upon hearing the low hum of engines in the distance. A surveillance mission, no doubt. I would have to move quickly to make it in time. Spreading an immense pair of snowy white wings, I took off into the sky, soaring high over the ravaged landscape below. Trees, animals, humans, Pokémon…cities and forests—all gone. I suppose the pain that the earth had suffered would have been a source of rage before, but not now. Most of it was our doing anyway. I veered off into the midst of the cloud cover, which hid my draconic form from view.
I soared onward in silence, occasionally dipping beneath the haze to keep track of my location. I knew exactly where I was going, and yet at the same time, I had no idea. I had been there before, but I had only been vaguely told of what I would find this time. Either way, I had to see it for myself.
A ridge of mountains peaked above the clouds in the distance, and I knew that I was near. Throwing my wings back, I swooped downward in a descending spiral, my keen eyes tracing every inch of the jagged rock face. The signs of battle were evident. Large craters scarred the structure, and the entire crag was charred black.
And then my eyes caught the faintest glimpse of ginger amongst the ebony ashes.
It felt as though my breath had been sucked out. My wings flared out as I numbly drifted down to the ground, stirring soot into the air upon my landing. I slowly stepped forward through pools of blood mingled with rainwater, my eyes unable to focus on anything other than what lay before me.
It was the body of an immense phoenix, his feathers singed in some areas and ripped out completely in others. He lay in a crumpled heap with one side ripped open where the wing had been slashed off. The stench of the blood and innards would have been unbearable if it weren’t raining. Both feet hung limply in the air, but what was the most disturbing was that his neck was twisted back so that his great amber eyes stared listlessly into the distance.
And yet somehow, my mind couldn’t fully comprehend what I was seeing. I thought that he could still be alive. It wasn’t an irrational hope—I honestly thought there was a chance. It was ridiculous, almost, the amount of carnage our kind could live though. I almost wanted to focus my healing energy around him, but felt almost unable to move or even think straight.
What had happened? Whose fault had it been? Almost immediately I imagined him as having entered a pointless battle with all odds against him. Being overwhelmed and torn apart…
Stupid Ho-oh… Stupid humans…
It was quite immature, but I wasn’t willing to think of it in any other light. Everything was so pointless—the only ones who died were the careless or the enraged.
I suppose it wasn’t very appropriate to think of his fate in that manner, though. I knew that I would be next—we all would, even the humans. It’s not as if our demise would leave no impact. Countless millennia had not even trained us to wield our responsibility and curse. But in the hands of another, there was no way…
And then I did something that surprised me: I laughed. It seemed to be the only thing I was capable of doing at that point. It was long and hollow sounding—the sound of something I had forgotten how to do. And when it was done, I swept a wing forward and lifted numerous boulders and stones with my mind, piling them upon the bedraggled body of the great sun phoenix. Flicking a single feather, I manipulated the air so that the rain would not touch the burial mound.
I spread my wings and bowed my head ceremoniously, saying, <I, the Legendary Johto Bird of the Sea, stand here before the fallen form of the Bird of the Sky, and solemnly swear to avenge his death.> I instantly stood bolt upright and stretched my neck toward the sky, screaming, <The legacy of the Order shall live!>
My words echoed despite the fact that they were not made with sound. I continued to stare upward, half expecting an answer from the heavens.
But I was met only with my own voice.
I glanced downward to gaze upon the mound that I had created, choking as I muttered, <You old fool…>
I wished that the rain would cease. I wanted to see if the sun was any less bright, or if its life-giving warmth had diminished now that its guardian was dead.
And yet the downpour continued. By that point I had completely forgotten that I could have cleared the sky in an instant. I simply smirked as I gazed out at the endless horizon. A gathering of aircraft was quickly drawing nearer, their sleek, deadly forms glinting with the rainwater.
<Unto your kind, our power has been relinquished,> I whispered.
A single tear slid down my face, immediately obscured by the eternal rain.
Urk...when I first wrote it, I liked it a lot more than I do now. It does have a lot of theme and symbolism, but...I dunno. Maybe I'm just miffed because I discovered that it's absurdly similar to Scrap's first one-shot.
~Chibi~;249;;rukario;
A brilliant job...
