Inescapable

“Huh?!” I could hear Aza’s voice echoing from the kitchen. Then I heard the footsteps. The clambering from the hall turned into an encirclement. I froze in place, my feet locked to the floor as I tried to figure out what to do.

“It makes so much more sense now.” Elizabeth stared at me like an angry parent.

“That Flareon has been protecting you, hasn’t he? …I knew him reading everything out loud was weird.” Aza spoke, her voice commanding.

“He figured it out first and took pity on me. He isn’t a human.” I instinctually jumped to spare him. I couldn’t let them do to him what they were going to do to me.

“So you admit it?” Toz entered the room, closing me in. I had never seen any of them this angry before, holding firm stances as their faces conveyed nothing but contempt. It was like they were whole new people. Even Mark looked more determined than I’ve ever seen him.

Aza took a step closer, and I retreated to the door.

“HEY! GET BACK HERE!” Aza called out. He looked around, indicating that he was going to lunge at me. Without thinking, I slammed the door shut in his face, buying me some time as they struggled out of the door. The chase was on.

Everything was gone in an instant: all my friends, my livelihood, and my hope for a fulfilled life, eradicated. A dull pit formed in my stomach as I ran.

I had a large head start, so all I had to do was keep my distance until I could lose them. And then all I could do is just hope that they didn’t care enough to tell anyone.

Weaving in-between each building, I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea. I knew that no matter how far I ran, I was still as good as dead. This was an island, after all. Everyone wants to kill a human, and there’s nowhere to go.

Moving around a new corner and into a busy street, their screaming continued as they kept my pace, alerting everyone. Eyes from all around drew toward me, but nobody dared to act. I swerved around individual Pokemon, nearly sliding on the road as I narrowly missed each one.

“We just want to talk!” I could hear Grey attempting to lure me back, but I knew what they really wanted. They wanted my blood.

To think I would have called them friends 5 minutes ago; it disgusts me. I truly thought that I was fixing my relationship with Aza, and things would be okay. What’s the point of having a friend if they want to kill you for something that isn’t even your fault?

As I looped back around a building and into a narrow alleyway, I thought again about the direness of my situation. I couldn’t fly, I couldn’t hide, so what was left?

The sea. All I had left to my name were four legs and hope. Hope, that somehow, for some reason, the spirits beyond the water wouldn’t blow me up. I shivered at the idea of placing my life on such a gamble, but what other choice did I have?

But then again, the sea wasn’t the only option. I lived in the cupboard of an abandoned house before all this, so who’s to say I can’t do it again? I recalled the letter, and realized that wouldn’t work for long. Still, I would probably last longer in the woods.

I thought about the food bank I used to survive. A sanctuary of care that once was. Now, people would know what I looked like, so I couldn’t show my face in public ever again.

I thought about the Kecleon who lead me out of the dungeon and dropped me off in town.

‘I wish I knew where he was, so I could ask him for help. …But then again, why should I drag him into this, and risk him being brought down with me? He doesn’t deserve this.’

I will never forget what he did for me. I will never forget the first time I saw the town after emerging from the dark and foggy woods. A view from the exact cliff I’m climbing now.

I turned back and I saw that my roommates weren’t there anymore. I must have lost them some time ago while I was caught up in all my thinking. My heart was pounding. My legs were in pain. My brain was surrounded in a fog preventing me from thinking.

Panic overcame me. I looked around, and I knew my worst fears were realized. There really was nowhere to hide. The trees were thin and unclimbable, and there were no bushes to conceal me. In fact, if it weren’t for the fog, I could probably see both the town and the beach from here. Only moss, grass, and thin branches filled the area.

‘I could make a shelter!’ I thought, picking up a fallen branch. I quickly abandoned that thought, lowering it back down when I realized that that too could not be hidden. I tried to climb a tree, but it was in vain. With no hope left in the woods, I sighed and moved toward the beaches; holding a heavy heart knowing what must be done.

Even still, my mind was ticking, thinking of ways to get out of this. Maybe these supposed human spirits would actually recognize me as one of their own, and I could get away. It was all I could bet on at this point.

Climbing down from the edge of the forest, I felt the fine and warm sand touch my paws as I looked toward the horizon.

Even with what should have been this massive drive to swim away, a compulsion from having no other choice, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Even if they did recognize me, I still had a very good reason to be scared.

I couldn’t swim. The idea of water filling my lungs as I hopelessly tried to swim back to shore… I couldn’t get it out of my head.

I thought about the way I wanted to die. I could either pray that the stars align, I magically learn how to swim, and I don’t get blown up …or I could just lie here and wait. Let them kill their friend. Die with dignity.

I already knew which one I would pick.

The waves hitting the shore, the wind blowing, and the feel of sand against my back all made for the perfect environment to reign in my death. I wish I could say the sun was setting as well to top it all off, but the universe could only spare so much perfection for me.

For all this, when a voice came from the forest, I barely moved to look at it.

“Long time, no see, human?” Whoever it was spoke with long pauses between each word, like it was relishing the moment.

“Let me get this over with.” I remained apathetic, lying there like a corpse.

“I see, you’ve already resigned yourself to death~. Very well, human. Very well. As long as you do not fight back, I will make this… quick.” They drew out their words as they spoke, taking long and deep breaths.

Taking in a deep breath, I waited for the final blow. A scattered flurry of emotions was running about in my head, anger, betrayal, denial, but it all came down to mix into numbness. This was it, so many years of living across two lives, and nothing of value accomplished.

But it never came. I waited to be knocked out and never wake up again, and instead, they sat down next to me. “Has it really been two hundred years already?” They asked. “So what’s another few minutes? …You know, I’ve been looking for you for a long time. I’ve never paid much attention to the other humans- but you? Your dungeon was right where I killed a few of your kind so long ago. I knew I couldn’t afford to let you live, lest you told everyone the tale of the island’s true past.”

Hearing what they said was the push I needed to get over my apathy and turn to see who they were. Instantly, their face struck fear into my heart. A certain energy filled the air as I stared at it, not letting me take my eyes off him. A fox. The same one that showed up at that dungeon so long ago, looking for a human, looking for me. That same damn fox that tore me apart. The same fox everyone here trusts, and it was here to kill me again.

The Ninetales looked at me, looming over as he spoke. The way he did made me fear running away. My fur stood on end as he took a deep breath.

“This has been a huge relief for me, finding you. All I’m here to do is clean up the mess I’ve made.” He inched closer to me.

“…Why? Why do you keep killing us?” I weakly whispered out a question.

“It’s no matter to me whether you know or not, as you’ll be dead anyway, so I suppose I’ll tell you. I am the only Pokemon here who still remembers the true history, and if Pokemon today found out about it, it would be over for me.”

“What truth?” I asked. I already knew what he was referring to, but I hoped that if he thought I didn’t, he would let me go.

“Isn’t it obvious? Humans were living here first, then we took over the island. That’s why the buildings are crumbling; nobody knows how they were built.” Ninetales looked back to the forest. I paused for a moment, carefully considering how I would respond.

“I realized that a while ago. You are a coward; prioritizing your reputation above the safety of others.” My bluff fell apart, as my apathy began to slowly fade away, being turned into a defence. “I only have one question; why are you going so far to protect this? All of you are Pokemon, you all hate humans, right?”

“That was true when we first came here, but generations passed, and us originals made the foolish mistake to collectively lie to the children. Cracks have begun to show, and those that have no other reason to hate humans would turn against me if they found out.”

“A lie that’s gotten out of control, and you refuse to pay the price?”

“The price is my life, human! There is no other way, no matter how hard you try!” Ninetales became agitated and got ready to strike, bringing a frothing liquid fire to his lips. I braced myself for death.

Funny, isn’t it? Being killed by the same Pokemon that ended my other life so long ago.

“Ninetales! We’ll help you!” A voice came from the forest, unmistakably that of a young child. From the forest, a young Umbreon and some other orange Pokemon emerged. I never learned what the second one was called, but they were small and looked like they were wearing a floatie. Both of them stared at the Ninetales with hope in their eyes.

“Kids, no! Get away!” Ninetales yelled.

“But we came all this way…” the Umbreon whined.

“Concord. Chary. I need you to listen to me.” The Ninetales spoke sternly. “I’ll make sure that if you do not leave right now, you will NEVER become famous, Am I understood? …Go now, and find your own way. I’m sure you’ll come up with something.” The Ninetales’ slow and methodical voice broke apart as he yelled.

The two froze in place, unsure of what to do.

“GO!” the fox roared at the top of his lungs, causing the two to stumble back before running away. He kept his gaze steady, watching them leave. And that’s when I acted; I swung my arm with all my might, striking the bottom of his chin. The gears in my brain had finally turned enough to realize how pathetic I had been. That, and the adrenaline had finally caught up to me.

Ninetales didn’t flinch, cry, or growl. He didn’t even react. He just turned his head toward me and laughed it off. I had put everything I had into this, and he laughed it off.

“Guess you don’t want a quick or painless death then.”

“I’d rather die standing.” I spat back, shaky but determined.

“I’ve had two hundred years to prepare for this! What makes you think that you can win? I gave you a chance at an easy death, and you spat in my face! I’ll kill you where you stand!” Raising his paw high off the ground again, he gave me a brief window to dodge out of the way. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, he still hit my hind leg with his enormous paws.

I struck the ground with a painful thud, my legs giving out under me. I pushed myself up, but to my horror, I couldn’t move at all. This was it. I fought back, but my pathetic attempt lost the battle before it even began.

I felt a strange sense of calm wash over me, not too dissimilar to the one I felt lying on the beach. Time slowed to a crawl and I was allowed to look over my fondest memories, one last time. Every single person in them, from my father to my best friend was dead. And I would be next to join them.

My vision faded, and a bright light appeared in front of me.

But nothing happened. I waited for an afterlife or even oblivion, but something refused to take me.

No, that’s not it.

Someone refused to let go.

A voice ran through the back of my head.

“That’s the bitch that tore me to bits! Kill him!”

And then that one voice was joined by many. All of them spoke with hope, pushing me to continue.

“Show that bastard what’s coming to him!”

“Don’t let me down son. Show that beast some karma!’

I recognized every single one of their voices. My neighbor. My brother. My father. Each of them had been killed with me, and somehow, I knew their souls went to power the dungeon I woke up in, and by extension- powered me. A surge of strength ran through my veins, my muscles, my bones. I stood back up with remarkable ease, and a feeling like I could take on the world.

I knew I had to end this.

Dodging the first attack was easy. I rolled out of the way and delivered a fist directly to his face.

He laughed. Then I punched him again, harder. For every hit I landed, I grew more tired and lost more hope, but he just kept laughing them off, with no effect.

“You may be stronger than I expected, but how exactly do you plan to kill me?” He taunted. He was right. There’s no way I can kill him.

“Sometimes you just gotta tank a few hits, if it means staying up in the end.” One final voice rang through my head, but it wasn’t someone I knew as a human. It was Aza’s voice, reminding me how to survive.

For the first time, I stood completely still, allowing the Ninetales to have a direct shot at me.

“Giving up?” He asked, raising his paw one last time.

“Go for it.” The beast looked at me, confused.

“So you’ve realized you cannot win. It’s only natural for a human like you to fight back against the odds. I should know, I saw it happen the first time. I will let you off easy.”

I smiled at him as he raised up his enormous paw, and I let it fall on top of me.

The instant he made contact, I latched on and didn’t let go. Being struck hurt like hell, but it was nothing compared to what he was about to feel. Aza could wash dishes by summoning forth water, what if I could do something similar?

Focusing within, I finally let all the electricity I had built up over months, completely unused until now. I barely had to try with it, as all the electricity forced its way out as soon as I gave it the chance.

Ninetales collapsed onto the ground, either unconscious or dead.

“You killed Ninetales!” I heard a voice behind me yell. I had no energy left for a fight, but when I turned and saw Mark quivering with fear, I knew how I could get out of it. “You monster!”

“Yes, I did,” I replied, forcing a smile, “And I’ll kill you too, if you try like he did.” Quick as a bullet, he ran away. Do I feel bad for taking advantage of his cowardice? Maybe. I needed to take advantage of everything I got.

But what’s more important right now is the fact that if Mark showed up, that means the rest of my roommates surely wouldn’t be far behind. As soon as I began to move, it felt like I had just taken off a heavy backpack, putting in more effort than was needed to carry electricity that was no longer there. I ran further down the beach, trying to make space. Once I felt like I had enough, I sprinted back into the woods in attempt to escape them. I had no idea what to do, nowhere to run, I was out of energy, and people were still chasing me.

‘No. This can’t be it! I overcame my past and defeated Ninetales, I can’t stop now! I refuse to lie down and die again! I will take a stand!’ I cheered myself on, pushing through the woods and toward the town.

‘Wait… is that a staircase?’

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AN: The next chapter is going to be the last. But it won’t come for a long time, as this fic’s sister, PMD: The Team Aide needs to catch up first. If you want to leave comments, now is the time to do so. Speaking of PMD: The Team Aide, read it! The two fics are in the same universe and it is HIGHLY recommended that you read it before clicking on the next chapter. 

Thank you for supporting this fic all the way to its one-year anniversary of existing!