Buizel abruptly stood, Shaun falling to the ground with a yelp. “That’s the Great Disaster!?”
“It- it was sealed away-“ Espeon was breathing too fast. “How- how is it-?”
“What is it?” Meowstic asked, turning to them. His eyes were dilated, something that Buizel had never seen before.
“We called it- we called it Gaping Maw,” Lucario said, not looking away from the thing. “It consumed- everything. The land, the sea, the Pokemon- it stopped at nothing.“
Shaun glanced out at the thing again. “Uh, guys?”
Gaping Maw’s mouth slowly extended two more arm things. They looked like arms with more mouths attached, but they protruded from the thing’s mouth. Buizel felt ill just looking at it.
The thing suddenly began to shovel anything into its mouth. The forest around it began to disappear as it ate and ate and ate, not even stopping to breathe.
Shaun dashed down the ladder. Buizel stared after him. “Hey, where are you going?!” he asked, following him into the antechamber.
Shaun had already called the elevator. “I’m going out to fight that thing,” Shaun said simply.
Buizel shuddered. “Are- are you sure?”
The elevator shuddered to a stop. “Yeah,” Shaun replied. “I know, I know, it’s stupid, but—“
“I’m coming with you.” Lucario’s mention of Pokemon being eaten alive by the thing was too horrific an image for Buizel to bear. “You can’t fight that thing alone, anyway.”
Shaun grinned at him. “Alright, let’s roll.”
They waited for the elevator to stop on the ground floor before dashing out of the house, past the other Pokemon in the room and outside. The sky was still red, moonless, yet it was as bright outside as if it was daylight.
They ran through the streets of the town, which were deserted. Shaun vaguely wondered if they were hiding or just plain asleep as they ran onto the forest path.
Shaun and Buizel were much more athletic than they were a week ago, and ran for a lot longer than they thought they could. Ahead of them, a massive rending sound indicated that they were getting close to the Gaping Maw.
Buizel yelped as he was pulled back, causing Shaun to stop and spin around. Sneasel had caught hold of Buizel’s arm and was looking at them imploringly. “Are you two insane!?” she asked, her voice trembling. “That— thing— won’t even notice that it ate you!”
“Sneasel, please,” Buizel begged, “there’s innocent lives at stake.”
She shook his arm roughly. “Damn it, Buizel! You think I don’t know that?! You-“ she gulped back tears. “Your lives are innocent, too! You and Shaun!”
“If we don’t do something, then everyone dies,” Shaun said, walking up next to Buizel. He looked at the ground. “I- I know I’m still an outsider. But I want to at least try to save the people here. They don’t deserve- this.”
The horrific rending sound grew closer. Sneasel’s eyes flicked from Shaun to Buizel before she reluctantly released Buizel’s arm. “O- okay. I- know how it feels. I…” she trailed off, trying to gather her thoughts. “Look, don’t die, or I’ll kill you myself, okay?” Her voice wavered. “You’re- both really the only friends I have.”
Buizel hugged her. “I’m scared for us too,” he said softly. “I- I can’t promise anything. I’m sorry.”
As Buizel broke away, Sneasel clutched at his paw. “I- I know. Please come back.”
Shaun glanced towards the horrific rending noise, which had not gotten quieter. “We need to go.”
Sneasel slowly let go of Buizel’s paw and watched as they dashed into the woods, Buizel feeling guilty for being unable to promise her.
Buizel and Shaun suddenly stumbled into a large clearing. There were no trees, there was no grass, nothing except for long gouges of earth that exposed the stone underneath.
In the middle of the clearing was the Gaping Maw, eating to satiate its constant hunger. From this close, it was taller than the lighthouse and much, much wider. Nothing in front of it stood a chance.
“Plan?” Buizel asked nervously.
“There is no plan,” Shaun replied in the same tone. “We need to get this thing as far away from the town as possible.”
“That, by definition, is a plan,” Buizel replied.
“Shut up,” Shaun retorted. “Get ready to run.” He focused before charging headlong into the backside of the beast in a Volt Tackle. He bounced off of it and stumbled back, the shock barely registering to the thing.
But it did register.
It slowly turned around as Shaun and Buizel began to run away. It roared, an ethereal, terrifying roar, and it began to give chase.
The thing was horrifyingly agile. Its long arm things continued to shovel trees into its mouth even as it chased them, the constant ripping noises grating to their ears.
Shaun didn’t know how long they ran for, but they eventually stumbled out into the large fields that he remembered from two weeks ago. “Split!” he gasped.
He ran one way and Buizel ran the other as Gaping Maw entered the fields. It continued plowing ahead, seemingly having forgotten about the other two Pokemon entirely.
Shaun spun around and fired a Thunder Shock at it. The move hit easily, as it was almost like attacking a moving wall.
From the other side, Buizel summoned and fired a Water Pulse at it, clobbering it in the side as well.
For the first time, the Gaping Maw paused, looking first one way and then the other. It turned and charged towards Buizel, who had to start running.
Shaun growled and sprinted towards the back of the thing, hitting it in another Volt Tackle. This one was a lot more powerful due to Shaun’s built up charge, and it shuddered to a stop, turning around to face Shaun.
He ran, panting, further into the field, away from the town. His side was beginning to complain greatly that he had run too much, but he couldn’t slow down. He couldn’t afford to slow down.
Buizel turned around, panting. This isn’t sustainable! he thought with panic. He and Shaun were more likely to wear themselves out before actually doing any damage to the thing.
He focused, summoning a Swift around himself, before jerking his head at the Gaping Maw. The stars shot away, soaring higher into the air than he had expected.
They arced and slammed down onto the top of Gaping Maw, where a little crown-looking extrusion sat. It stopped and howled in pain, the howl echoing through the sky, through the ground, through Buizel’s head.
Back at the lighthouse, Meowstic’s eyes widened as he leaned forward and clenched the guard rails. “Who- who are the idiots-?” He glanced around, counting everyone else still in the lantern room. Lucario and Espeon were still sitting against the framing, watching the beast in terror. The other council members were theorizing in low tones about why the beast had suddenly ran away from the village, Tropius lamenting about his fields. “We’ll have to be extra reliant on shipments this year,” he said sadly.
Meowstic did a quick headcount and clenched the railing harder. “Where’s Buizel? Where’s Shaun?”
His question brought silence. Everyone else looked around, slowly growing more worried. “You don’t think…?” Lucario asked, wide-eyed.
Meowstic’s head whipped towards the monster again. “They don’t have any psychic shielding!” he hissed.
Buizel’s bones were buzzing. He hunched down and covered his ears, even as it stopped howling. His brain wanted to shut down entirely, Buizel having to fight to remain aware.
A crashing through the bushes made Buizel jump up and back away, his brain in fight or flight mode. Shaun appeared, gasping for air. “Buizel!” He panted. “Are- are you alright?”
Shaun’s voice calmed Buizel down somewhat. “I- head hurts,” he mumbled. “The- loud. Echoes.” He squatted down again. “The echoes…” he sobbed, covering his ears. The echoes persisted. It was painful. It hurt.
Shaun glanced at the Gaping Maw in worry. It seemed perfectly content to eat its surroundings rather than chase after them again. “Come on,” he said gently, shaking him. “We can’t stay here.”
Buizel let out a wordless sob and fell to the ground, curling into the fetal position. Shaun stared at him in genuine horror. “Are- are you okay?” He walked up to Buizel and shook him again. “Come on, buddy, we can’t-“
Buizel swatted Shaun away, almost instinctively. “Get- get away,” he gasped, tears still running down his face. “The echoes still- they hurt-“ He rolled back and forth on the ground, the echoes screaming, the echoing was in the center of the echoing is dead silent again and it hurts so much
and it feels so wrong and it feels so hurts it hurts and hurts and hurts
and my brain hurts and it’s just weird and that I feel bad
and I’m trying to get away from the pain and the echoing in my head hurts so much
and it hurts my head hurts my brain
and my mind is hurting and hurting it won’t stop hurting—
Shaun walked around him and placed a paw on his forehead. “Lord Arceus,” he said shakily, “If- if you’ll even listen to me, please-“ he inhaled. “Please grant this one rest and protection against afflictions of the mind. Please,” he begged. He couldn’t bear to see Buizel like this.
Nothing seemed to happen, but Buizel slowly relaxed. “They’re- they’re fading,” he mumbled. “The echoes are…”
Shaun shook him again. “Buizel, come on,” he begged him. “We can’t stay here.”
Buizel finally pushed himself upright. “I- okay,” he said weakly. “I don’t want to fight that- thing. Anymore.”
Shaun looked at him worriedly. “What happened?”
“It- it roared,” Buizel replied. He didn’t know what had happened.
As if it was mocking him, the Gaping Maw roared again. Buizel cringed away from it, but the echoing didn’t persist beyond a few seconds.
“We need to get rid of that thing,” Shaun said, facing it gravely. “Buizel, I don’t- I do care about what that thing did to you, and it needs to pay for it.”
“Aim for the crown thing,” Buizel told him. “I think it’s weaker up there.”
Shaun took a deep breath and sprinted across the field, zigzagging to get more charge. He aimed carefully and shot a Thunder Shock at the top of the monster.
The lightning arced upwards and grounded itself through the crown-thing. It howled in pain again, causing Shaun to cringe away from the sound. He dashed back to Buizel as the monster turned and began to plow after him. “Okay time to run!” he panted.
Shaun and Buizel ran away, the Gaping Maw seeming even faster, somehow. Buizel focused and summoned another Swift, which spun away behind them. The monster roared in pain but continued after them, eating everything. Anything.
“Split! Split!” Shaun panted. They broke away again, absolutely no plan to be had.
Meowstic jumped off the elevator before it had even touched the ground. Audino and Floatzel looked up from where they had been tending to Ampharos on the couch. “Something’s happening out there,” Floatzel said.
“Yes,” Meowstic said impatiently. “Your son and Shaun are out there fighting something that’s scaring The Master spitless.”
Ampharos shot upright and was immediately pushed back down by Audino. “Buizel! He’s-“
“In mortal peril, yes,” Meowstic replied. “Ampharos, you seriously can’t expect to go out there without any preparation. That thing would either eat you alive or destroy your sanity.”
“Destroy my-!” Ampharos sat up again, resisting Audino’s attempts to lay him down again. “What is Buizel thinking!? Is he even still-?!”
“Chances are, he’s not anymore,” Meowstic said dryly.
Buizel couldn’t think about what he was doing right now.
He aimed a Water Pulse at the monster, trying in vain to knock it away. It was like trying to wash away a charging brick wall.
Shaun fired another Thunder Shock, but this one missed, only hitting the side of the Gaping Maw.
The monster swerved after Shaun again, Buizel giving chase. But he was beginning to get tired. They were both getting tired. And exhaustion leads to mistakes.
Shaun stumbled while running away from the Gaping Maw. He tumbled forward into the dirt, gasping for air.
One of the Gaping Maw’s arm-things grabbed Shaun by the tail. Buizel watched in horror as a satisfied chuckle seemed to emanate from it as it lifted Shaun high into the air, Shaun flailing desperately to escape.
The Gaping Maw dropped Shaun directly into its open mouth.
“No!” Buizel screamed, running towards the monster. He had to try and stop it, somehow, he couldn’t let-
As Shaun fell into the thing’s mouth, its jaws snapped shut.
Without thinking, Buizel ran up to the side of the Gaping Maw and began pummeling it, tears falling unbidden from his eyes. As he slammed his paws into its side, large crackles of electricity sparked off of the impacts and began traveling up his arms. He kept punching the thing, feeling useless, feeling hopeless, feeling absolutely devastated. Tears continued to roll down his face as he kept punching and punching, the electricity growing stronger and stronger around him.
The Gaping Maw began staggering backward. It turned to face him, likely intending to eat him too. It reached down a long arm from its mouth, which Buizel punched away.
A massive CRACK of lightning jolted up the arm, leaving it falling to the ground, numb or paralyzed. Buizel ran forward and slammed his crackling paw into the lower jaw of the monstrosity.
“How fast can we get out there?”
Ampharos was holding an impromptu meeting in the lantern room. Half the council was still watching the beast chase after seemingly nothing, getting further and further from the village. Floatzel was holding onto Ampharos’ arm, worried.
Meowstic tapped his foot impatiently. “On foot? Even if we ran, we wouldn’t be able to catch up.”
Fearow cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind me buttin’ in, sir. I could get two Pokemon out there in, oh, less than five minutes.”
Ampharos gave him his full attention. “Are you positive?”
Fearow nodded. “Positive is as positive does. But only two. I could not carry the entire council.”
Ampharos glanced at Espeon and Lucario, who shook their heads. “I- I am sorry,” Lucario said, “But me and Espeon- can’t go near it. We would be useless.”
Ampharos turned to Meowstic. “What do you think?”
Meowstic surveyed the crowd critically. “I can go. I am the Enforcer, and that thing is threatening the livelihood of the village and the Pokemon in it.”
A large ball of uncontrolled electricity blossomed around the front of the Gaping Maw before discharging directly into the beast itself, knocking it backwards and stunning it. Ampharos watched this before turning to Fearow and nodded. “Me and Meowstic, then.”
The report of the discharged sounded like a distant bomb going off. Meowstic stared at him. “You’re still injured, Ampharos.”
“My son is out there with no backup, Meowstic.”
As the beast’s spiky mouth fell open, Buizel gasped.
Shaun was still on the thing’s spiked tongue, Buizel having moved faster than it could’ve swallowed. He leapt forward and slung the unconscious Shaun over his shoulder before running for his life, electricity still crackling around him. He ran, ran from the monster which was giving chase, ran from the electricity, ran from his own thoughts.
Shaun groaned. “Owwww…”
Buizel clutched Shaun closer to him. “You’re alright! You’re alright!” He reassured him as much as he was trying to reassure himself. “We’ll make it out of this! I swear!” Tears were still flowing down his face.
Shaun didn’t respond, slumping a little more in his arms. Buizel continued to run from the monster, as fast as his legs could possibly carry him.
He didn’t know how long he could keep up this pace. His legs were already threatening to give out beneath him, and-
Click.
Time around him seemed to stop, the world going grayscale. He continued to run, trying to get as much distance as possible.
Click.
The world flicked into color again, Buizel having gained a massive lead on the monster. It roared in sudden frustration and surged forward, beginning to catch up to-
Click.
Shaun coughed wetly as Buizel continued to run through the grayscale world. “You’re supposed to flank him, Buizel,” he gasped hoarsely.
Buizel immediately turned, running perpendicular to the Gaping Maw. He was beginning to gasp for air, his lungs and legs burning.
Click.
The monster continued to plow ahead before slowing down, realizing that they had disappeared. Buizel’s legs gave out and he fell to the ground, rolling beneath a bush in an attempt to hide the both of them. “Shaun,” he gasped, “are you alright?!”
Shaun coughed again, with great effort. “I’ve- been way better.” He coughed again, spitting something onto the ground.
Buizel realized with horror that it was blood.
He turned Shaun over, finding a deep puncture wound near his chest. He stared at it as blood slowly oozed onto the ground, tainting it a dark red.
Shaun coughed again, spitting up more blood. “Wow, it’s hard to breathe,” he managed.
Buizel was trying not to panic. “Um, well, uh, you’re kind of really injured, and, I, uh, don’t really know what to do…”
Shaun watched him with a wary eye. “…How bad is it?”
“Bad. Really, really, really bad.” Buizel had no idea what to do. He glanced at the bow tied around his arm before being struck by sudden inspiration. He carefully untied the scarf from around Shaun’s neck and wrapped it around his chest the best he could in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Shaun looked rather uncomfortable, but he didn’t say anything. “What now?” he asked instead.
Buizel glanced towards the Gaping Maw, which was still looking for them. “We gotta get outta here.”
He tried to stand, but stumbled to his knees. He was just too exhausted to keep going. In the distance, the monster let out a roar of glee, spotting Buizel’s movement, and charged towards them.
Buizel watched the charging mouth, feeling numb. He couldn’t even think of anything to say. He glance behind himself at Shaun, who was watching their approaching demise with a grim expression.
This was it. They were done for.
Buizel reflected on this thought for a moment with a pang of guilt. He hadn’t even said goodbye to his parents, who were doubtlessly wondering where he was by now. At least he died trying to save other Pokemon, that’s something they would’ve wanted.
Buizel’s eyes wandered to the sky above them. A solitary cloud lingered there, as dark as Buizel’s heart felt. Even if they did somehow survive, Shaun wouldn’t last long enough to-
A bolt of lightning fell from the cloud, directly onto the beast’s crown. Buizel watched blankly as it stopped and screamed in pain, its one good arm-thing failing around wildly. Ampharos came running up to him and pulled him to his shaky feet. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Shaun,” Buizel mumbled faintly. “Shaun’s hurt.”
Ampharos looked down at Shaun, who was still bleeding out despite the bandage.
For the first time in Buizel’s life, he heard his father swear. It was jarring enough that he returned to his senses and stared at Ampharos as he gently picked up Shaun, cradling him. “Dad?” he asked incredulously.
“Not the time,” Ampharos replied. “Let’s get moving.”
They ran, Buizel still stumbling every few steps with exhaustion. He blindly followed Ampharos through the fields as the Gaping Maw regained its awareness, roaring in agony.
Ampharos turned abruptly and jumped into a ravine that Buizel didn’t notice was there. Buizel clumsily turned and fell in, landing roughly on the ground.
It was much darker than the surface, but Buizel still made out the shapes of Fearow and Meowstic. Ampharos was barely glowing, just enough to dimly light their surroundings.
Meowstic hissed through his teeth as he inspected the wound. “He needs medical attention as soon as physically possible. His lung collapsed, and he’s already lost a lot of blood.”
Shaun laughed faintly. “What gave you that idea?” His fur was soaked with sweat, and his eyes weren’t focusing properly.
Buizel sat against the wall, breathing heavily. He was still exhausted, and the short but sudden sprint hadn’t helped.
Meowstic turned to Fearow. “Can you take the two children back to the lighthouse?”
Fearow shook his head sadly. “Can’t, Meowstic. The flight was far more taxing than I had ‘xpected. I’m an old ‘mon, nowadays.”
Ampharos gently put Shaun into Buizel’s arms. “They can’t run anymore, and that thing is hunting them. We can’t take them back even if we could.”
As Buizel sat limply against the wall, feeling Shaun breathing too fast, something began to glow green. Buizel looked down and stared as a green halo and wings slowly faded into existence, the halo ticking clockwise as Shaun breathed.
The ground above them was wrenched away with a horrific rending sound, showering them in dirt. Everyone looked as the Gaping Maw ate the ground they had been hiding under with a deep chuckle.
“Û̵̧̜̤͖̿̃̕’̴̤̪̫̐̀͐ä̷̘i̴͕̳̋͐̾͘͘ ̴͓̪̥̟̟̠͈̱̊̆͌̈̇̚ǘ̵̡̬̥͉́̈́̇̄̀̏̏͌͠o̶̭̙̰͑h̸̻̻̪̜̰͇̠̙̞̃̄ͅ ̸̢̧̛̗̣͉̗͚̜̻͊̊̓̑͆̉͜a̴̠̎̐̍̋̔͐͋̆̕n̴̛͚̱͈̞ų̷̘̪̖̲̝̝͓͙̻̊̈́̍͘h̸̢̺̖͉̗͖̑͂̐́́̈̌ ̸̢̗̻͉̬̤̯̍i̸̺̼̖̜̦͓̗̭͍͑̚a̶̡͈̗͖̤̻̰̞̾͒̄̈́ͅm̸̧͙̘̲̟͚̰̮̏͜,” it rumbled.
Its voice was horrific. Buizel flinched as the other Pokemon’s hands flew to their ears in pain. Meowstic, who seemed to get the worst of it, gasped and frantically waved something away from his head.
Buizel stood up and backed away from the monster as much as the ravine would allow. It noticed and swung a terrifyingly agile arm towards him, the mouth at the end open to grab him and Shaun.
Buizel tried to get away, but the ravine stopped. He watched as the arm drew closer, his fate growing more sealed with every second. Shaun’s breathing was beginning to grow more ragged, his eyes also watching the arm grow closer in terror.
Ampharos leapt in the way and Thunder Punched the arm.
The Gaping Maw recoiled, the electricity traveling into its mouth painfully. “You,” Ampharos growled, “do not lay a hand on my son.”
Something about Ampharos’ voice was off. Buizel couldn’t place why, but he wasn’t himself. “Are- are you okay, dad?” he asked timidly.
Ampharos didn’t acknowledge him nor respond, instead breathing heavily as he stood between the Gaping Maw and Buizel. Buizel scrambled up the ledge the best he could while holding Shaun.
“Something’s wrong with him,” Shaun said in a low tone.
“It spoke,” Buizel replied. “That- it did something really bad.”
Buizel backed away slowly as the beast’s attention was still fixated on Ampharos, praying that he could get a good head start. His legs were still barely working, and Shaun was a constant weight in his arms.
He turned tail and ran for his life into the forest.
He didn’t know if the thing was following him, and he didn’t care. All he knew was that he needed to get out of there. He felt another pang of guilt at leaving Ampharos almost entirely alone, causing him to slow his pace hesitantly. “Do- do you think he’ll-“
Someone yanked Buizel behind a tree.
A massive rushing noise echoed past where Buizel had stood less than a second ago. The beast charged past, continuing to eat everything.
Sneasel was sitting against the tree, gasping in fear. Her eyes were dilated, and she barely seemed to notice that she had pulled them to safety.
Buizel and Shaun exchanged very concerned looks. “Um, Sneasel?” Buizel asked hesitantly. She didn’t respond, only adding to their worry.
“Hold me up to her,” Shaun rasped suddenly.
Buizel obliged without asking questions. Shaun arduously reached out and rested a paw against her forehead, breathing as if this pained him.
After a moment, Sneasel slumped to the ground with her eyes closed. “It’s over,” she murmured, tears running down her face. “It’s- it’s over. Finally…”
“Are you alright?” Buizel asked.
Sneasel looked up and finally registered that he was there. “Oh. Oh my god. Buizel, are you-“ She glanced down at Shaun, who was still breathing laboriously. “Shaun!” she gasped. “What happened to Shaun?!”
“Nearly eaten alive,” Shaun replied. “Impaled on- something. No issues.”
“His lung is collapsed,” Buizel said. “I- I don’t know how to fix that, or-“
Sneasel shook her head. “It’s not something that you just ‘fix’, Buizel. Punctured a lung! Oh my gosh.” She glanced at the vast swath of missing forest. “That- the roars of that— thing—”
Buizel nodded. “They just echo and echo and echo.”
Sneasel looked at him strangely. “How are- how did you calm me down?” she asked. “How are you two calm?”
“Think I’m immune,” Shaun answered. The green halo above his head continued to tick unsteadily in time with his breathing. “Had to- pray over Buizel. Did the same to you.”
“What do we even do?” Buizel asked helplessly. “We tried to divert it away from the village, but-“
“We’re still far away from the village,” Sneasel said, cutting him off. “At least, I hope so. This is the second forest past the fields, so-“ She blinked and looked around. “I don’t even fully remember getting here,” she muttered, hunching her shoulders unhappily.
The sudden crunching of the underbrush caused them to jump and look around.
Ampharos emerged from a bush, to Buizel’s horror, covered in blood. His movements were calculated and almost robotic, as if he wasn’t entirely aware of what he was doing. He paused, his blank eyes flicking from Sneasel to Buizel and back before he made a beeline for Sneasel, electricity crackling around his paw.
Sneasel’s eyes widened and she backed away nervously. “Um, Buizel?”
Buizel had never seen Ampharos like this. “Dad? Are you okay?”
He didn’t respond, instead walking directly towards Sneasel. As he got close, he raised his bloodstained paw slowly, as if he was going to Thunder Punch her.
Sneasel backed away nervously. Buizel watched, confused. There was no way he would-
Buizel gasped as the attack landed, sending Sneasel flying into a tree. Ampharos continued towards her, raising his paw again.
Buizel scrambled in front of her, nearly dropping Shaun in the process. “Dad!” he gasped, holding out a paw in an attempt to stop him from coming closer. “Don’t! Please! She’s innocent!”
For a horrible, fleeting moment, Buizel thought that Ampharos was going to punch him, instead. He stood there, paw frozen in the air as it continued to spark ominously with electricity. After a moment that felt far too long to be comfortable, he lowered his paw, as if he was fighting to push it down. After his paw rested at his side, the electricity around him fizzled out.
“Let me reach him,” Shaun exhaled.
Buizel held Shaun up to Ampharos’ head, which proved to be slightly more difficult due to his sheer height. Shaun only managed to rest a paw on the tip of Ampharos’ face, his paw slipping a little from the blood. “Please, Lord Arceus…” he murmured faintly. Buizel held his breath.
Ampharos staggered back and leaned against the tree they were hiding behind. “It’s stopped. Arceus, it’s finally stopped.”
“Are you okay, Dad?” Buizel asked.
Ampharos didn’t seem to hear. He looked at his bloody paw, which was shaking. “I… hurt them.”
“What?” Buizel asked.
“The others. The echoes- they-“ he let out a heaving sob. “We lost our minds. All that was left was instinct.”
“You- you didn’t kill them, did you?” he asked, very much disturbed.
A horrific grinding sound echoed behind them. They jumped and looked to see a glowing blue light growing closer, and closer.
“Run,” Ampharos said, somewhat unnecessarily.
Buizel pulled Sneasel to her feet, even as she shook from the electricity in her body. They all began to run back into the ravaged fields. Buizel knew that after this, he would have to rest for a very, very long time.
Ampharos suddenly dodged to the side, Buizel having to pull Sneasel out of the way of the charging Gaping Maw. They continued to run until Buizel began to hear the ocean.
Ampharos stopped at a cliff, gasping for air. Sneasel and Buizel, also gasping, arrived shortly after. “What’s- the big- idea?” Buizel panted.
“Get him to charge- into the ocean,” Ampharos breathed.
The grinding noise that Buizel was growing to despise grew near them again. They turned to see the beast charging towards them, ceaselessly chasing its escaped prey.
Buizel got ready to dodge out of the way, but it stopped and eyed them suspiciously. “Ĭ̶̢̛̯͈̮̻̣̹̼̜̓̈́͘͝a̶̤̬͛͐̑̾̂̄̒͠m̶̨̩̗̗̤̺̜̞̩̿̀́͌̐̃̈̄a̶͔͎̺̬̩̎̅̈̈̈̉̈́͐͛̚k̶̦̠͕͖̰͕̭͚̈͜ͅȁ̷̢̘̥̟̿,̴̛̛͉̩̗̜̘͚͆̌̽́̇̚͜ ̶̛̬͌̿͛̎̍̏̚I̷̛̥̍́́̎å̵̡̭̩̺͇̻̋̀͆̈́͌m̷̧͔̣̘̹̘̽͌̑̒̀̉̌̅ȧ̴͓͓͒͜ķ̸̲̫̟͚͇͈͗̃̂͐̍͆̾͒a̶̰͍̤͕̥̩̮̻̗͊.̴̡͇̽͛̉͝”
To everyone’s horror, the beast ground its arm things and its spiked tail into the ground. With a terrifying crumbling noise, the ground they were standing on crumbled away from the island, crashing into the ocean with them on it.
Buizel stumbled as the chunk of land hit the ocean with a terrific splash. He fell to his knees, dropping Shaun to the ground in the process.
As he and the other two Pokemon stood up, the monster jumped down onto the chunk of separated land. The ground around them cracked, some smaller chunks breaking away into the ocean.
The ocean crashing against the high cliff walls nearly matched the roaring in Buizel’s ears.
They had no backup.
They had no plan.
They had no escape.
All that was left was the monster, grinning triumphantly at them with a mouth wide enough to devour cities.
Shaun groaned and pushed himself to his feet. His body really, really didn’t like being dropped to the ground like that. He stared down the massive monstrosity, the halo above his head ticking as a reminder of how long they had left.
Something inside of him was broken. He didn’t know what, but it felt painfully wrong, restricting his breathing painfully. The bandage wrapped around his midsection was stained with dry blood, which made it even more painful to move around.
As he stared at the monster, something ticked inside of him. He glanced down at his chest, expecting to see a Time Gear there, but there was nothing.
Time Gear. Time. If they had more time. The passage of time.
Shaun reared up on his hind legs and slammed both of his paws into the ground. Pain flared through his arms painfully as his other good paw broke, and his still broken paw made itself known.
Time around him stopped. The world was still in color, but almost everything else around him had stopped.
Buizel blinked and looked around. “What?”
The monster took another step towards them, the ground cracking under its weight. Shaun’s idea began to feel pitifully small, but he had already broken his paws. No turning back.
Shaun stared at the Gaping Maw, trying to focus entirely on turning time forward. Forward, as far as it could possibly go.
Above his head, the halo began to tick faster and faster. Everyone, including the monster, watched this halo, almost with a sense of anticipation.
Shaun focused on the Gaping Maw. Turn time forward. Further forward than anyone had ever even thought possible. Forward, forward, forward forward forward forward.
As he watched, the Gaping Maw seemed to grow larger and larger. It began to flail around wildly, confused.
“What are you doing?” Buizel asked.
The Gaping Maw’s black hide began to slowly, slowly turn gray. It began to shrink and wither, aging as rapidly as though it had lived for two trillion years. It screamed hideously, its voice cracking as it continued to wither away.
Shaun’s runic wings swept the ground as he closed his eyes. He was lifted off of the ground as the halo above him buzzed, the ticking no longer a distinct sound. “All things have a lifespan,” he said hoarsely. He looked down and smiled at Buizel, who was watching him with widened eyes. “Old age, my dear Buizel.”
He returned his focus to the monster and brought his broken paws together.
A massive pillar of blue light erupted from the ground, consuming the Gaping Maw. The only ones not to shield their eyes were Shaun and Ampharos, who was watching in awe.
The monster let out one last, horrible scream as it was consumed by the light. Something sounded like it shattered, and Shaun was gently let to the ground as the light vanished and time around them resumed, the ground beneath them cracking. There was no longer a monster, besides a faint trace of dust which was quickly being blown away by the sea breeze.
Buizel picked up Shaun, who had collapsed, and the four Pokemon wordlessly made their way to the base of the cliff. Shaun coughed again, spitting up more blood.
Ampharos got to the edge of the cliff first and looked up as a rope was dangled down. He stared at it for a second before climbing it, reaching the top shortly.
Sneasel also shakily climbed the rope, glancing down at Buizel as she did. “Just- just hold onto the rope, okay? We’ll pull you up.”
Buizel obliged, stumbling as he carried Shaun. His brain was still processing what had just happened as he grabbed onto the rope and was hauled up.
He scrambled over the edge of the cliff, being careful with Shaun. Tropius stood there, along with Ampharos and Sneasel. “Came to check on you when everything went quiet,” Tropius said. “Helped Meowstic and Fearow to the hospital.”
Ampharos let out a shaky sigh of relief. “How were they?”
“Beaten to a pulp, but they’ll survive, Miss Chansey says. Something messed them up real bad. Meowstic still isn’t quite right in the head.”
They began the long, quiet walk back home. Shaun’s green murals faded as they walked, Shaun’s breathing growing more labored. It had grown much, much darker, the red glow in the atmosphere seeming to have faded.
They took the conveniently made paths through the forest, straight lines carved by the Great Maw. Tropius looked around regretfully at the damage, shaking his leafy head. “Take years to repair this damage,” he muttered.
They made it to the town, which was still deathly quiet. Buizel was beginning to stumble more and more with exhaustion as they walked, Sneasel dragging her feet somewhat. The arduous trial had taken its toll on everyone.
As they climbed up the hill to the lighthouse, Shaun began to glow.
Buizel didn’t notice the soft, golden glow at first, but as they reached the top, he finally realized that he was carrying a living lantern. “Shaun?” he asked.
“Hey,” Shaun rasped. “Do you think- do you think we could make a quick stop in that field? The one that overlooks the ocean.”
Buizel obliged, the rest of the group following curiously. He laid Shaun down, his arms exhausted. “Sorry,” he said.
“It’s fine.”
Shaun watched all of their faces. “It’s been a long night, huh.”
Buizel nodded. “Why are you glowing?” he asked.
Shaun looked down at himself, obviously unaware that he was. “Oh. I don’t know. That’s new,” he said, laughing a little. He stopped and coughed, though no more blood came up.
A little globule of light melted off of Shaun and floated up into the sky. Buizel watched this happen with a sick sense of anticipation. “Do you feel alright?” he asked.
“I’ve- lived through worse,” he said with a grin. “Sorry. I should really stop saying that, it doesn’t help.”
Buizel kneeled next to him as another glob of light melted into the sky. “Please don’t tell me you’re dying, Shaun,” he said.
Shaun shook his head. “I’m not dying, Buizel.” His eyes tracked another drop of light falling into the sky. “I think- I think my time here is up, though.”
Buizel suddenly grabbed Shaun’s paw. “What?” His voice trembled dangerously.
“It’s my time to go.” Shaun’s mouth twitched. “I- I really don’t want this, either.”
Buizel clutched Shaun’s paw to his chest. “Please don’t leave,” he begged in a soft voice. “Please don’t leave me, Shaun.”
“I can’t stay here, Buizel.” The simple, harsh truth of the words stung both of them. “I don’t- I don’t want to go back, either.” Shaun’s eyes were beginning to brim with tears. “I wish I could stay. I wish I could.”
“Stop talking like that,” Buizel said, his eyes beginning to burn. More and more light was beginning to melt off of Shaun, dancing into the sky like sparks from a dying fire. “You’re fine. You’re going to be fine. You can stay here forever, if you want to. You don’t- you don’t have to leave.”
Shaun stared sadly up at him. They both knew what was happening, and both of them loathed it. A single tear rolled down Shaun’s face, hurting Buizel’s soul.
Buizel suddenly caught Shaun up in a hug. “I don’t want to say goodbye,” he gasped as his throat tightened. “Please don’t do this to me.” A particularly large drop of light melted into the sky. “Please. I want to stay with you forever.”
Shaun sniffed back tears. “I’m- I’m so sorry, Buizel.” He gently hugged him back, feeling far, far lighter than he should’ve been. “I don’t want to leave, either.” A tear rolled down Buizel’s shoulder, warm and far too real. He squeezed Buizel extra hard for a moment, Shaun trying to cling to Buizel as much as Buizel was to him. “Please put me back down, Buizel.”
Buizel reluctantly rested him on the grass, still holding Shaun’s paw. To Buizel’s surprise, Ampharos, still covered in dried blood, walked up and knelt down next to Shaun.
“Shaun,” he said, deep emotion in his voice. “I am deeply sorry. I never got to apologize for anything that has happened.”
Shaun smiled at Ampharos warmly. “It’s fine. Honestly.”
Buizel clenched Shaun’s paw tighter as more light began to melt off of him. “Shaun, please-”
“Don’t worry about me,” Shaun said, trying his best to keep smiling despite the circumstances. “You wanted to be an explorer, right? Go do that. Don’t focus on me.”
The gray sky promised a sunrise, one last sunrise with his friend. “I don’t know what- what I’d do without- you,” Buizel stammered. His eyes were too hot, beginning to brim with tears.
Shaun was having to try harder and harder to smile. “You have more than just me, now. Don’t cry over me, man. There’s so many other people in the world besides me to cry over.”
Buizel shook his head vehemently. “You’ve been the- the only Pokemon that has ever wanted to talk to me,” he said passionately.
Shaun shook his head. “You need to act first. I- I can’t be around to get you to talk to people anymore.”
The drops of light were melting away from Shaun faster and faster. Buizel saw the grass dimly through him, as if he was made of glass. “Shaun,” he said, his voice cracking.
“Please don’t cry for me, Buizel,” Shaun begged, his smile beginning to fail. “I- I can’t take that.”
Tears threatened to spill over anyway. Buizel tried to gulp them down, mostly failing. “S-Shaun,” he tried again. “Why do you have to go?”
“Buizel,” Shaun replied, infinitely tender. “I’m blessed to have met you.”
Shaun burst into light and disappeared.
A sob escaped from Buizel as he grabbed at the light, trying to hold onto it, trying to save any of it, trying to save his only friend. The light eluded his grasp, floating up and up and up into the sky, impossibly far away from him.
He fell to his knees, unable to rip his eyes away from the last of what had been Shaun mere moments ago. Over the ocean, the sun began to rise, casting long rays of light across the darkened sky. Sneasel walked up next to him and rested a hand on his shoulder, staring into the sky where the sparks of light had faded into the sunrise.
“He’s gone,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “He’s- he’s really gone.”
Ampharos wordlessly stood up and hugged his son.
Buizel, strained, exhausted from the day’s events, and hopelessly lost without the one person he had called a friend, wept into his paws.