Heartbreak

Chary sat on Concord’s bed, feeling lost and unsure of what to do. Concord was aware of his actions, leaving only one way for him to get out alive. However, Chary lacked the courage to take it, at least not yet. A glimmer of hope lingered within him, hoping for forgiveness from Concord, yearning to move past this. But deep down, he knew it was futile. So he remained seated, tears streaming down his face. Despite the turmoil, he couldn’t bring himself to leave.

For the first time in his life, he had screwed up, and there was no shoulder to cry on. There would be no forgiveness, and there would be no comfort. He was truly alone with his thoughts and his guilt.

Hiccups and sobs echoed throughout the empty house, holding Chary captive in his head with emotions. He never even heard the footsteps pounding outside, signaling the approaching storm.

Lurantis burst into the room, catching Chary off guard. Before he could even process the situation, she closed in on him with alarming speed. Her fist collided with his jaw, knocking him off balance.

“You killed my son!” she screamed, but left no time for him to respond.

Chary recovered quickly, his face contorted with both surprise and anger. While he was still blinded by the tears in his eyes, The Lurantis lunged at him. Her movements were unstoppable, a mother fueled by thoughts of her children. With what was on the line, backing out was no longer an option for either of them.

Chary rolled out of the way, narrowly dodging her attack. The ground shook as she slammed into where he once was. As soon as she realized she missed, her arm was already on its way to a second attempt. This time, Chary wouldn’t be so lucky.

Holding the Umbreon with one arm, she used her other to slice his chest. Each tooth of her mantis saw-like arms took out a bit more flesh. Chary struggled his way out of her grip, so she forcefully pulled out her arm and splattered blood on the wall. The smell of her Sweet Scent dissipated and was replaced by the metallic smell of blood.

Chary fought back, trying to regain control, but his attempts were met with a relentless onslaught. He could not let himself be grabbed again. Keeping his distance, he clutched his sides as he began to look for a way out.

A clever idea formed in his head, and he sprinted over to the windows to shut them. Before she could react, the room turned nearly pitch black. Her moves became a flurry of unfocused and weak slashes, desperate to find where he was approaching from.

“I will find you!” she proclaimed, but Chary could see in the dark, and he knew she stood no chance in this state.

He had lived a lifetime of caution, being careful to never touch anyone when exhausted. The suffering he endured finally seemed worth it, as he found himself covered from head to toe in poisonous sweat. He latched on, ensuring the transfer of as much as possible before running off. He stopped once he was at a safe distance to watch his abilities take action in real time.

Chary was certain he had won, and it would only be a matter of time before she collapsed. She staggered, grunting in pain as it slowly seeped into her system.

“I… I…” Lurantis struggled to speak, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

With Sunny Day, she cast a blindingly bright light on the entire room, removing his darkness advantage. Then with Leaf Guard, she shook off the sweat like it was nothing.

Chary gasped and ran to the supply closet in a panic. He pushed everything to the side and pulled out a blast seed. Through his blurry vision, the trail of blood on the floor drew a perfect line to his target.

He prepared for all the memories made here to go up in flames, and gave himself a quick countdown before throwing it.

‘Three… two… o-one…’

But he froze up and hesitated a bit too long. He wasn’t ready to let it go.

Lurantis marched up close, knowing that now he would have to blow himself up too if he wanted to use it.

“That trick won’t work twice.”

Lurantis lifted him up by his head, and used her second pincer to saw viciously at his neck, going for a killing blow. He screamed in agony and tried to struggle out of the hold, but she would not let him go. Not this time. Not until he was dead.

Blood sprayed out of his neck, and he was helpless to stop it.

‘After all this time, my actions are finally catching up to me,’ Chary thought. His life flashed before his eyes. He saw the loving face of Concord, the brave posture of Ninetales, the curious look of Adam.

And lastly, he saw the liquified remains of an innocent child.

‘I’m sorry.’

An arrow stopped just short of his chest, and Lurantis’ grip loosened.

She toppled over, taking Chary down with her.

Struggling to move, the Umbreon craned his head upwards to see Adam, clearly shaken up by what he had just seen.

“Chary! Are you okay?!” he yelled.

Lurantis gurgled, trying to warn the Eevee of what he had done, but no words came out.

The two who remained stared at each other in disbelief for a moment.

“What are you just standing there for?” Chary spoke out, “Get me an oran berry, they’re in the supply closet.”