Abolition

I couldn' for the life've me understand why Di'd chosen Tyrantrum Terrace as our first dungeon in a while.

'It's easy,' she'd insisted. 'You'll beat those grass types to a pulp,' she'd argued.

I jus't couldn' believe her 'cause she was arguin' for somethin' in my favor, fer once. She only did that kind of thing before she threw a pie in my face 'n laughed nowadays.

"Glad you survived the trip," she sneered. "I almost thought I'd have to carry you around at some point, like I did in the last dungeon we took on."

See, that was more expected've her. I kept my voice low as I corrected her, tryin' to avoid an argument while standin' my ground. "...you didn' carry me much there at all. But thank you. Fer when you did."

"That's a bit belated, isn't it? Could've done you some good to say thanks in that alleyway," she shot back.

The two of us went silent, neither of us seeing sense in continuing this pointless back-'n-forth. I just wandered off t' some new mural an' took a look while Di insisted on puntin' every mook we saw. Some Rhyhorn ran past me, aimin' fer Di, 'n she just gave it 'nother Power-Up Punch. But the mural was more interestin'.

It depicted some kind'a beautiful... ocean? Sea? Maybe even just a lake. It looked vaguely like the small glimpses ah'd got past the shoreline at the Port, but... cleaner. Instead've a deep, dark blue like that water'd had, this mural had water drawn with the same color as the sky normally was. The sky'n the mural was grey, too, 'n there were some ruins pointin' to specific clouds an'... I suppose they'd've been explainin' them? What kind of place would need t' explain how clouds work? Who would care?

"Apollo, help me out here! There's an orb over there, go grab it and use whatever it's got in it!" Di yelled, pointin' a tentacle over to my left. The orb in question didn't look like a normal orb-- it was stuck in some metal ring 'n painted all over with... well, I couldn't begin t' discern what these were! They had runic labels, fer sure, but they jus' looked like strange squiggly shapes otherwise...

"What's the hold up?! I'm gettin' dogpiled here!" Di cried. I would'a paid more attention if she was tellin' the truth, but one quick glance back confirmed that there was just some dumb Lillipup bitin' on her tentacle.

"This ain't an orb, Di!" I yelled back, movin' the metal-ringed thing so she could see it. "It's some sort'a relic! We should--"

"I don't care! Ugh!" Di lashed a tentacle towards the wall, bringing the Lillipup with it, letting the tiny dog impact the wall before getting it off of her tentacle. "Why won't you just listen to me? I'm not even asking you to do anything hard anymore."

Did she think I was obligated to? I wasn't goin' to entertain that. We had more important stuff t' do. I jus' furrowed my brow 'n continued on through the dungeon.


Tyrantrum Terrace
3F

"Nice haul we've got so far," ah commented. A few decent Orbs, plenty of berries... I'd even snuck along a few relics before Di got to them.

"Sure, whatever," Di replied. She sounded disaffected in a way I hadn't heard from her in a long while now... if ever. "I can't imagine how you could bring yourself to care about that kind of crap instead of the good stuff." She kicked some black brick with holes 'n it across the floor.

"Like this," she continued. She wandered over to the ground, which was covered in a cracked marble tile that floor one hadn't had much of at all, 'n plucked some yellowish-greenish stone out from between the cracks. "It's shiny, it's smooth, it's got a pattern on it. It's probably some kind of evolution stone, and I bet that can sell for boatloads."

"Only crows 'n cats'll care fer those," I reckoned. "Jewels ain't everythin'. Have you found any dungeon apples?"

Di stepped over a fallen metal pole 'n shook her head. "No. There really aren't that many here. More flowers and vines than actual fruits."

"...shame," I mumbled back. She wasn't wrong, but I was... hopeful.

This entire dungeon had been gettin' more 'n more overgrown as we went along. The first floor was mostly ruins, without much plantlife at all. By the second floor, we'd seen roots 'n vines pokin' out've the floors or growin' up the walls.

Now, on floor three... actual murals 'n hieroglyphs of flowers and trees were bein' overtaken by the real things. Most of them looked strikingly similar-- ah had to imagine they'd been here a long time, or the mural was done intentionally t' highlight them. Once more, the question of what kind'a place this was floated t' mind... but I was snapped out've it by Di's own spoken thoughts. Again.

"Apollo, come here! Come look, quick!"

I approached with caution, raisin' my arms 'n keepin' my guard up... only to be dumbfounded.

A giant hole in the floor helped us see three floors down. Its edges were littered with broken guard rails, intricate signage-- and in the middle've it all... a giant skeleton of what looked like... well, a Tyrantrum.

Its jaw was just as enormous. Its eye sockets were almos' in the same place! The trademark tiny arms, the giant killer tail, the enormous teeth...

...I got t' see them all at once, as Di pushed me over the side of the hole.

I fell fer nearly two whole floors before rememberin' what I'd spent so long now honin'. Right before I fell onto the sixth, ah slowed myself 'n the air 'n propped myself upright.

"Di!!" I yelled skyward. "What the hell?!"

She was too busy laughin' 'til her eyes rolled inta the back've her skull. "Oh my god, the look on your face!! You totally thought you were going to die!!"

"And, had ah relied on years've muscle mem'ry instead'a this newfangled mutation, ah would've!!" My throat was already hoarse from screamin'. She thought this was the funniest thing'n the world, didn't she? Just the idea of me dyin'?

"So what? I died, and look at me now!" Di gloated, her smile so wide that ah could see it from here. "You're just being a coward, like always."

"A coward?" What was she even on about? Ah forced myself t' keep my cool, even as ah had t' keep shoutin', 'n slowly let myself descend onto the gritty, rocky floor while ah screamed back at her. "Now, what exactly couldjyou mean by that?"

"Oh, I don't know, how about losing to a damned Beldum with a type advantage and leaving me to fend for myself? Running away from the stupid ghosts at the Bygone Market and letting some dipshit Riolu do your job for you while you cried over some dumb song? Leaving me to defend us both while you slept in some stupid alleyway for three days?"

The venom in Di's tone told me... she was serious.
She went on. "You left me to fight some dumb dragon while you ruined my fun and helped out the Guard! You sold me out to that stupid Orbeetle! You abandoned me to suck up to the one organization trying to keep us down! Really, you should be thankful I'm only calling you a coward!"

It took me some time to respond. It... really hadn't seeped into me, yet, how spiteful she seemed t' be of me. How... how completely she discarded anythin' good ah'd ever done fer her.

As my blood began t' boil, my tongue started takin' priority over my brain. "Ah protected you fer an entire year while you were too weak t' kill a Caterpie! Ah took care've you like you were my sister, playin' defense for you even as you screwed everythin' we tried up fer the sake of somethin' funny! Even as you alienated me from the only good people in this damned City, even as you tried takin' advantage've every Joe 'n Mary that crossed our way, I still stood up fer you!"
My voice cracked fer a moment as I went on. "An' your takeaway from all this's that I'm a coward? A traitor?"

Di leaned over the railin' and gave me a glare. "You're worse than that, Apollo. You used to be my friend."

I knew only I could hear the next thing she said, 'cause it didn't echo 'round the dungeon like the rest of her words had. No, this message was... just fer me.

I used to be your friend... and now, you just think I'm a problem.

...if only ah could refute that.

I wanted to, then. As I stared up at Di, for a moment, ah just remembered what we used t' do after we'd just woken up. All the stupid adventures we'd go on just t' mess with people. The stories we'd pretend t' reenact. The roles we'd play t' trick people into givin' us enough t' spin fer more cash.

I remembered all've it... 'n I looked back in disgust.

How many lives had we ruined? How Pokemon had we scammed out've enough t' live off of? How could Di see all of that, and consider it more noble than bringin' hope to those peoples' lives?

"If you think I'm a coward... I'd love t' prove you wrong." I called back, tremblin'. I wasn't ready for battle. Neither of us were.

But Di accepted the challenge.

And, with a flash, she jumped over the railin'... and started speedin' towards me with a Punch.

I dodged t' the side-- she'd given me plenty of time t' see her comin', after all. I retaliated with a Flame Charge, but found myself flyin' through nothin' as she Teleported away.

Next thing ah knew, I'd been thrown t' the floor with a tentacle 'round my neck. Di ground my chest into the ground with a foot 'n tugged harder 'til I choked. Finally, I reached a boilin' point.

I exploded inta flames, burnin' Di badly enough for her t' let me go. She stumbled backwards, her foot singed t' the point of bein' black, 'n gave me enough time t' retaliate with a Night Slash--

--which, again, went into nothin'.

"You've got no right t' call me a coward!!" I shouted. "You're not even lettin' me touch you!"

A Punch hit me right in my back 'n I stumbled forward. "That's the idea, idiot. It's not running if you're just not getting caught in the first place."

I turned 'round on a dime, aimin' with another Night Slash for Di's throat. It was a cheap move, but it was the closest place t' my eye level at the time. Finally, I landed--

--on one of her thick tentacles, missin' her newly thickened neck by an inch. "Oh, come on!!"

Without skippin' a beat, Di wrapped a tentacle 'round my arm 'n Countered me hard enough t' send me flyin' into the giant skeleton.

CRRRK-

The damned thing started falling apart. I panicked, throwin' my head up at the skull 'n seein' it fallin' for me, lookin' to Diana for help like the coward I was--

She was just smilin', watchin' me, not doin' a thing--

CRRRKK-SHH

I threw myself int'a the legs of the skeleton, sendin' the rest of it flyin' forward! The skull of the great monster came crashin' down, right onto Di, splinterin' into giant shards've bone 'n fallin' from the sky for nearly three minutes straight. Bits 'n bones 'n shards of stuff fell everywhere, into every crack 'n every crevasse, litterin' the floor with spikes 'n debris. The noise echoed so loudly that we could hear reverb comin' from the first floor, somehow.

The collapse've the skeleton kicked up an enormous dust cloud. Ah was coughin', my eyes were waterin', 'n every little space underneath my feathers was covered in rubble. The cloud lingered for long enough that I lost track've Diana, so I threw my arms up--

--only fer a Normal-lookin' tentacle t' shoot out of the dust 'n grab my right, throwin' me to the ground. Another followed soon after, holdin' on and keepin' my arm stuck to the floor. A pair've glowin' eyes pierced the fog, 'n the rest of Diana followed suite soon after.

"No wonder you like running away so much. You can't fight for shit!" She jeered, throwin' the rest of her tentacles my way. With my free arm, ah managed t' catch 'em-- 'n shocked them with a Parabolic Charge, watchin' as her tentacles spasmed out've control 'n brought a bit of energy back t' me. "Ugh!"

All four retreated back into the dust with the Deoxys that owned 'em, goin' missin' for long enough fer me to get a grip on the situation. One more move'n--

I felt myself bein' pressed into nothin'. Every single inch've me was bein' compressed int'a pain. I keeled over, mercifully released within seconds, already feelin' like I had nothin' left in me. With one more hit, I was surely gone. One more hit...

I saw her eyes again. As the dust cloud finally began t' fade, I could make out a pair of tentacles.

Then another.

Then... a third.

My heart beat out've my chest as I struggled to force myself back onto my knees, wincin', starin' up at Di... 'n her three-pronged Attack forme.

"Are you ready to give up yet? Or do I have to make myself into the kind of problem you seem to think I already am?" Every word was laced with cyanide, drippin' with hatred 'n pure contempt. Her eyes were narrow, her horns were steamin', 'n I barely had the strength to keep lookin' her in the eyes.

"...not... n-not yet..." I coughed. "I'm not... a coward. I'm... trying t'... t' help you. Because, d-damn it, even if we don' like each other anymore... w-we're stuck with each other. We've got t' do what's right f-fer us. I-if... if what we need is a fight 't-til we faint... then that's what I'll d-do."

"Until we faint, huh?" Di threw a tentacle my way. I had just enough juice t' dodge... though, it didn't seem like she was tryin' too hard 'n the first place.

I couldn't dodge the real attack she sent after that. Another tentacle shot out 'n grabbed me 'round my neck, raisin' me to the same height as Di's eyes. "I don't think I'll be satisfied if I just leave you unconscious, Apollo. I'm not sure either of us will be."

I raised 'n arm-- she used another tentacle t' keep it restrained. I felt it goin' numb as she tightened it further. It was gettin'-- gettin' hard t'... t' think, with so little air. I struggled, but couldn't let go. I kicked with both feet-- both ended up restrained.

Di raised her remainin' pair of cyan tentacles high, aimin' fer my eyes while she stared mine down with her own lethal stare. I saw a brief purple glow surroundin' her, like she was preparin' for somethin--

--an' I struck at her torso with my one free arm, coating it in Night as I Slashed her with enough strength t' see the light startin' to leave her eyes.

I'd... I'd won.

Di's eyes rolled into the back've her head, her tentacles went loose... 'n she grinned.

She smiled wider than I'd ever seen her smile before.

"C-coward 'til the end, huh...?" Her voice was hoarse, weak. She was... she was still smilin'.

I started feelin' faint.

"S-stupid, too. I guess I shouldn't've e-expected more from some blockhead who... couldn't even..." She was startin'... she was startin' to pass out.

Why was I....?

"...c-couldn't even get why I wanted him dead."

Somethin' snapped 'n my heart... and we both went down fer the count.





I arose much, much earlier than Apollo.

I was still... hurt, a little. Enough to need an Oran or something. Not enough to keep me sticking around.

I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I wasn't entirely sure why, but I had a theory as to how.

To test that theory, I started taking steps backwards. Slowly, at first-- I was stumbling more than I was walking, since I still needed healing. Then I began walking, normally. Eventually... I ran. And I just kept on running. And running. And running.

Not once did I feel that tugging. That awful, insidious tug to go back. That tug saying that I couldn't go any further, because I had someone weighing me down.

I switched into Speed forme. I started running faster, faster, faster and faster. I felt my own eyes flying into the back of my sockets, felt air flying behind me as I ran. I ran up to the fifth floor, the fourth floor, the third the second--

I ran all the way upstairs, to the very first floor, and jumped high enough to break the glass of the giant dome keeping me stuck in here. Keeping us stuck in this damned dungeon full of nothing but old junk.

I flew through the dome and kept going. I just went further, and further, and further into the sky until the Terrace was practically a blip beneath me.

As I finally stopped myself just beneath the clouds, I twirled in the air and changed formes, hoping my Normal forme would be more recognizable, and allowed an electromagnetic aurora to burst forth from my tentacles.

Finally, I had found freedom.

And nothing in this damned world was going to

take that away from me.

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Pub: 08 Jul 2025 19:45 UTC

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