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The Final Dance - One shot

katiekitten

The Compromise
Yeppers, I'm reposting. I have been editing it for a while, and it would be nice to know whether I ruined it or not. :p XD

Thank you all for visiting, and enjoy! :D




A pear tree, once laden with blossoms. Around it, darkness.

Silence.

A closed bud, sprouting off a shriveled twig, its colours dictating peace and serenity, a soothing blend of soft pink and white. The last to bloom, for all the others are dead and gone. Alone.

Slowly, the petals unfurl, revealing their splendour to the world. A fragment of hope in a world of darkness. The withered tree sways in a prevailing wind, the flower holds on with all its might, to the spark of life swiftly slipping from its grasp.

It fails.

The wind calls it, a melancholic tune that weaves the spell of the final reckoning, the final truth, the final end. With a sigh the flower lets go, allowing itself to be drawn into the heart of the call, the sonorous song, trilling through the ages unto the dawn of time. Away from its home it twirls, born on the wings of the North to fall, its last descent, on the cobbled stones of a courtyard. Silence. Forever silent.

A shadowed figure lies in the heart of the courtyard, tears trickling down her soft face to fall, forgotten, on the dry, weathered stone. Her back is bent in grief, silent shudders running down her body as she sobs quietly into folded arms. She looks up, ruby eyes brimming with tears that trickle out of the corners of her eyes. Her green hair hangs over her face, slightly obscuring her features as she stares forlornly at the periwinkle sky. Why? She asks silently, her small, cherry red lips mouthing the words. Why did it have to end this way? Why did you abandon me?

Her delicate hands are folded neatly in her lap, they shake uncontrollably. She bows her head once more, drawing her legs closer to herself. A small, pink blossom is blown upwards by a small breeze, drifting past her face. She sees it and reaches out, catching it in cupped hands and bringing it close. A sapphire tear runs down her nose and drops onto the flower, lingering on a poised petal as if it were a drop of dew. She gazes down at it, her eyes moist as the flow of tears slows to a halt. I am useless, she realizes, lips quivering as she held back another onslaught of tears. He threw me away as if I was disgusting to him. What did I do? I may not have been the strongest, but I loved him, like I thought he loved me.

Everything we have, no, had been through together, standing side by side, defeating our opponents against every odd. Until that one, last time. I remember the disappointment that shone clear on his face as I fell, the mocking laughter of the Gengar ringing in my ears. His expressionless face as he released me from my ball for the last time, his monotone voice as he delivered my sentence. I had failed him. So I must go. I remember crying out, lunging forward and attempting to access my powers to stop him. But by the time I got near, it was too late. He crushed my beloved ball, my home for five years, under his foot and walked away. He never even looked back.

Another tear forms and slips quietly down her face. She sits in silence, watching as a small cloud drifts over the sun’s glorious face. It is amazing, she thinks, watching its shadow encroach upon the peaceful sunshine of the courtyard, how something so small can make such a difference… She stops herself, shaking her head to clear it, dismayed at her reaction. Her green hair sways a little, brushing against the two red fins that protrude from the back of her head. I must stop this, she thinks fiercely, anger welling up as she brushes the tear away. It won't turn back time, or do anything but prove that he was right, that I am weak. Her expression hardens. Done is done. Sorrow darts fleetingly over her features as she reaches a decision. Carefully closing her hand she gets to her feet, pausing to brush off the worst of the dirt. Standing, she briefly closes her eyes, lips moving in a quick prayer. But soon the moment is gone and she spreads her arms wide, before opening her mouth and beginning to sing.

A slow tune begins, her sweet, soprano voice rising and falling as she begins to sway from side to side, like a tree in the wind. She sang of beginnings, of new life, of hope, twirling into motion as her voice gains in power and lustre. She gradually picks up the beat as she begins to dance. Beneath her feet, grass that pokes up in-between the cracked paving stones begin to glow with a green light, before shooting up beneath her light step. Around the courtyard she spins and whirls, singing all the while. Now buds emerge and burst open in showers of color, sending the sensual smell of their nectar throughout the courtyard. The once dead place was now a spectacle of greenery of all shapes and sizes, from the vines on the walls to the dead tree sprouting new leaves, reinvigorated by the lively beat.

On and on, she spins and leaps, soaring through the air like a bird in flight. Her song changes, it now speaks of beauty and grace, of joy and glee. From the hovel of new leaves the twittering of birds reached her ears, sending shivers of pleasure down her spine. Smiling, she continues, twirling in mid air to land on one foot, as her song reaches its peak. The leaves are thrust aside as a starling flutters into her midst, adding its own melody to hers. The very air seems to sing with her, vibrant with life. She laughs with joy, her skirts floating gracefully around her as she pirouettes, slowly raising her arms.

“DONG!”

A low gong shatters the melody, the deep note rumbling through the ground and air. On she danced, her voice slipping down an octave, speed depleting as she reaches the end of her dance.

“DONG!”

Her voice loses its power; the Starling lets loose a mournful cry before gliding back to its nest, the color fading from petals as the flower heads begin to droop to the ground.

“DONG!”

Now her song changes, speaking of the wisdom of ages, of time slowly ending...

“Dong!”

The plants around her begin to shrivel and die. Her dance continues to slow until she once more is still, holding a final position. Her voice fades to a mere whisper, speaking of the final sleep. The leaves on the tree brown and slip to the ground, one by one. The grass retreats into the depths of the soil, reduced once more to mere husks, the occasional bright green stalk only a memory of what once was.

“Dong…”

Her voice trails off. She slowly slides down, slipping into darkness. Her breathing slows, a sigh passing through her lips as her head touches the ground. Her hand opens as she gazes at the flower enclosed, vision narrowing. It had been reduced to a shriveled husk, crumbling to dust in her wavering hand. It was now, finally, the end.





I tried to get rid of the tense problems, and tried to make it more obvious that she was a Kirlia, and why she was sad.

Incase I failed, (again), here are the facts so I don't drive you all crazy. XD

She is a Kirlia, this whole one shot is about Perish Song, and she is sad because her trainer abandoned her. I hope I improved! Thanks to everyone who gave me advise last time! *hugs you all*
 
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Hakura May

Xin Nian Dao!
Whoa... That is really good! ^^ No... Awesome! I loved the descriptions; I could picture the scenes unfolding before me. I got a little confused in some parts; I understood the Pokemon was a sad Kirlia, but I didn't understand the Perish Song part until you told us. :p

Overall, really awesome. I loved the descriptions, and everything. ^^
 

katiekitten

The Compromise
Thankies for the review Tavion! *hugs* ^.^

I'm glad you liked the description! I worked hard to get it right. So you got the Kirlia part? Hurray! People couldn't tell before...

It's confusing in places? Oops, sorry about that. ^.^;; I didn't mean it to be... Which parts? I'll try and get rid of the problem.

Yeah, the persih song part is not so obvious. the only real hints are the five gongs at the end of the piece. You know, the five turns? Not so obvious... Ah,nevermind. :)

Thankies again for the review, I really appreciate it. *hugs* :)
 

blackemerald

Well-Known Member
So I've just finished reading the original and then come to this. You have improved on some areas, like making the identity of the Kirlia clearer. The perish song wasn't as clear, though. Just add some more hints here and there. You didn't also explain the reason why she was sad that well, the lines you used could open up to a whole varity of reasons.

The description was lovely, poetic even with a lovely flow. I actually like the length of this. Gives it more impact.

There was one line in here I loved:

Her hand opens as she gazes at the flower enclosed, vision narrowing. It had been reduced to a shrivelled husk, crumbling to dust in her wavering hand. It was now, finally, the end.

Makes the ending more dramatic and powerful. The flower also represents her in a way.

Mistakes:

A closed bud, sprouting off a shriveled twig

how something so small can make a such difference…

You need to reword the words in bold for this sentence to make sence.

Her voice loses its power; the Starling lets loose a mournful cry

It had been reduced to a shriveled husk

Overall, a nice little update with some good inclusions but you still need to make it clearer.

~B.E
 

katiekitten

The Compromise
Thanks Blackemerald!

Doh! *smacks head* I always miss those mistakes... Thanks for pointing them out! *stabs them with a rusty sword*

Still not clear enough? Ok, I'll sort that out. I'm glad you like it though! Yeah, mindripper suggested I add that onto the ending, to make it more powerful. Looks like it worked. ^.^

Thanks again! *runs off to edit*

Edit: Added a new paragraph, I hope it clears up everything. ^.^ But how to make perish song clearer...
 
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Ejunknown

be creative
Quite an improvement, KK! You seem to have cleared up all of those tense errors, which is nice.

Personally, I think you should leave the perish song part as it is. I like it this way.

Keep up the good work!
 

Saffire Persian

Now you see me...
I don't think I re-read the original, but I quite like this one. *blinks* I didn't realize it was Perish Song until the end, though. Can Kirlia even learn that? *checks* Nope. That might be why the one-shot is so unclear, as Kirlia doesn't learn Perish Song, so we don't know what to connect it to.

I dunno, I got from the one-shot, she was singing it as she danced. ^^ It really was pretty, and you've most definitely improved since I read the first few chapters of the old Phoenix

Why did it have to end this way? Why did you abandon me?

Everything we have, no, had been through together, standing side by side, defeating our opponents against every odd. Until that one, last time. I remember the disappointment that shone clear on his face as I fell, the mocking laughter of the Gengar ringing in my ears. His expressionless face as he released me from my ball for the last time, his monotone voice as he delivered my sentence. I had failed him. So I must go. I remember crying out, lunging forward and attempting to access my powers to stop him. But by the time I got near, it was too late. He crushed my beloved ball, my home for five years, under his foot and walked away. He never even looked back.

With it stuck in the block of text, I think it needs to be italicized to make it stand out, and show that she's talking/thinking. The second quote would also be best italicized.

The wind calls it, a melancholic tune that weaves the spell of the final reckoning, the final truth, the final end. With a sigh the flower lets go, allowing itself to be drawn into the heart of the call, the sonorous song, trilling through the ages unto the dawn of time. Away from its home it twirls, born on the wings of the North to fall, its last descent, on the cobbled stones of a courtyard. Silence. Forever silent.

^_^ That was my favorite part. Especially the last bolded part. I quite liked how it all flowed, and I'm quite sure this is definitely an improvement. Your writing style's coming along very nicely.
 

katiekitten

The Compromise
Can Kirlia even learn that? *checks* Nope.

Oops, I never checked whether they could... XD It just seemed to fit better.

Thanks for the review, Saffire!

I'm glad it is an improvement! Yeah, the last chapters of Phoenix were pretty rubbish, in hindsight. I'm glad I'm rewriting it. I'm glad you like that quote as well! The beginning part of this one shot was my favourite, it was fun to write.

Yeah, it would be better italicised. I'll go do it now. ^.^ Thanks for pointing that out!

Thanks again!

Thanks for the review Ej!

I'm glad it has improved, and that I got rid of those blasted tense errors. :)

Thanks again!
 
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Timid Kyogre

Endangered Creature
When I've read it before for the interview, I thought this one shot was really lovely. It improved a lot from last time ^_^ Good job.

I didn't really think it was a Kirlia o_O Maybe you should try to make it clearer in the fic itself etc. etc.

Even though Kirlia doesn't learn Perish Song, the idea is amazing!

I can't really give a good review now since I have to review other fics and its early here. Sorry ^^;;

~Timid Kyogre
 

katiekitten

The Compromise
Thanks for the review Timid! *hugs*

I don't mind at all, any review is a good review. Except for chatspeak, bad gammer... You get the picture. XD

I'm glad it has improved! The kirlia part still isn't clear? Ah well, I'll get to work on it. I'm lad that even though Kirlia can't learn it, it is still good. *is relieved*

Thankies again for the review, Timid! *hugs* I really appreciate it!

*gives out cookies to all reviewers and readers*
 

Bay

YEAHHHHHHH
Hey katiekitten! Very good one shot indeed! Don't worry, I don't see very much tense problems in this one. Like Timid Kyogre said, the idea of Kirlia learning Perish Song is a great idea!

Now I thought this scene is very sad. I almost cried in this one:

Everything we have, no, had been through together, standing side by side, defeating our opponents against every odd. Until that one, last time. I remember the disappointment that shone clear on his face as I fell, the mocking laughter of the Gengar ringing in my ears. His expressionless face as he released me from my ball for the last time, his monotone voice as he delivered my sentence. I had failed him. So I must go. I remember crying out, lunging forward and attempting to access my powers to stop him. But by the time I got near, it was too late. He crushed my beloved ball, my home for five years, under his foot and walked away. He never even looked back.

Hate it when trainers abandon thier Pokemon like that!

Also, I like how you put how the song changes from happy to wisdom to sadness, etc. Shows how the Kirlia was becoming more sad each note she sings. Lastly, I like how you italized the thoughts of the Kirlia. You had written her thoughts out pretty well. Now she know how it feels for a Pokemon to be abodoned by their trainer.

Well, hope you have a good day and good luck in your next fanfiction projects.
 

katiekitten

The Compromise
Thanks Bay! *hugs*

You almost cried? Aww, I'm glad it had an effect on you. ^.^

I hate it to when trainers do that as well. It is just uncaring, unfeeling. Poor wittle Kirlia... XD

Yeah, the changes in the song were going to be a hint to the perish song. Starting with life, wisdom and age, then death. My interpretation. :)

I'm glad you liked it! Thanks again for your review!
 

Brian Random

I WAS FROZEN TODAY!!
I've been meaning to review this for sometime but I've been busy.

*Impressed whistle*

You have made an improvement, Kate. I remember reading the original one and I do remember that there were no dialogue/thoughts from Kirlia. I enjoyed how described the scenery and her emotions after being dumped, her emotions and her movements mostly. No mistakes as well, not that I can find.

Overall score: 5/5
 

katiekitten

The Compromise
Yahey! *cartwheels around the room and hugs bewildered Brian*

Thankies for the review, Brain! It really made my day. =D

One of my favourite things now is going into the thought processes and feelings of my characters. My poor science teacher... She said write a story on the life cycle of a carbondioxide particle. (How it is created, how it is gotten rid of...) I kinda took the story part literally. I have now turned it into a full out court case, with a carbon dioxide on trial, with witnesses and the prosecution and even the CO2 itself giving testemony. I'm going to go into the ins and outs of everything we have learned, but as it is a story, I'm kinda going into the poor guy thoughts as he sits in the jail cell before it. Not exactly what she expected... XD

Thank you so much again! *gives cookie* I is in a really good mood now...
 
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