FSE

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'Run! Move! Fight! Flee!' I heard from somewhere in my subconscious. I didn't know if they were orders for me or my friends but they went unsaid, and unheeded. My heart was pounding, I still don't think I was breathing, my body felt cold. All the symptoms of fear that I've come to associate with Celebi's presence. The damned, blasted hellspawn and magistrate over my pain and suffering. My waking nightmare. My own personal demon.

And she was here in the flesh, I had only ever seen her in my dreams, well night-terrors. There was nothing dreamlike about those experiences. Visions of a terrible future, death, decay. Lands devoid of life, unbreathable air, gray, lifeless. The future if I had failed my quest, if I hadn't stopped Necrazma, the end of the world. I wanted to forget them but each one stayed with me, seared into the flesh of my subconscious. Night after night, she held me hostage in her visions where my only company was her voice as she narrated tragedy, misery, disaster and destruction. The entire time, whispering poison in my ears degrading me, dehumanizing me. Destroying me and punishing me for a failure that hasn't come to pass yet. Night after night, I awoke only once she let me go, not a second before she was certain that I had been sufficiently "motivated" to follow through on my quest. I still wake up screaming sometimes, I still fear falling asleep. I had convinced myself that while I was awake I was safe from her, that she couldn't reach me. But the current circumstances were quickly disintegrating that belief.

"Celebi? Where did you come from? How did you get here?" Boss asked. Other members of the crowd had turned and were starting to be aware of the situation. I roared out to them, but the sound solidified in my throat. 'Run!! Please Run!'

"How rude! You ask my name and neglect to provide yours! Are you as uncivilized as a colony of Mankey?!" Her voice was like small bells ringing in the wind, they sounded soft and petite. It was all a facade though, I prayed that they wouldn't be fooled!

"And you showed up in the middle of a crisis, demanded to see someone, and you look like you've strolled out of a field of flowers. Forgive me for being skeptical." Boss responded curtly. Celebi was silent for a moment. I still couldn't see her. I could only imagine her expression but Boss' back didn't flinch once. When Celebi responded, the words were strained.

"Listen, I have come a very long way. I do not have the patience to answer every question you may have. I'm looking for a Lairon, about this tall, incredibly meek, likely sobbing like a Sobble in a puddle somewhere." There was silence across the clearing. Everyone's eyes were on the altercation, I gulped. They knew she was looking for me. It was only a matter of time. They'd point me out, they'd sell me out, they'd turn me over to that hellspawn!! Silence dragged on, I'm sure that Boss was staring her down. I couldn't stand it. My skin was itchy. I found my will to run, broken sternum or not, I couldn't stay. My lies had caught up to me, I was going to hell to be punished, and Celebi was to be my ferrywoman to Tartarus.

I tried to stand and found my feet rooted to the ground, the pull of small vines had me trapped and they were growing swiftly. I glanced at Olivia, her betrayal, while unsurprising, caught me off guard. A cry stuck in my throat. Our guild's Matron surreptitiously eyed me. She calmly put a limb to her mouth, a silent signal that I was to keep quiet. I complied. Perhaps..

Boss responded as vines grew across my body, little blooms of foliage morphing into existence to obscure my presence.

"I don't know any Lairon matching that description, if that's all you need you should move on." His voice was short and steady, a cool lie. One to protect a wretch like myself. I had once wished that I could lie that smoothly to protect myself, now his lies were doing just that. My coffin of bushes fully enclosed over me, camouflaging me. Seconds of silence ticked by, my breath was shallow. My fate rested on whether Celebi was fooled. I had never tried to fool Celebi. Begged, pleaded, cowered before her, ran from her, nothing else. There was nothing I could do when she was literally in my head every night, never far.

She sighed, long and drawn out, "I don't blame you for trying to lie to me, but you should know my powers grant me great vision. I know the Lairon is here. I know you are lying to me. So listen to me well, Rillaboom." She paused, no one stirred. "Lie to me again, and I will tear asunder this town, nail by nail, until I find the cretin, and I'll punish any foolish Pokemon who stands between me and my prey. It will make the damage of my impact look like nothing more than a pockmark. I will trample you all like Durants before Copperajah. Test my patience further and you shall taste my fury. Now, for the last and final time, where is the Lairon?!" She yelled the last question, dropping the faux mask of innocence and honesty. Her words wiggled into my mind. I shut my eyes. I was scared, scared of her, of what she could do to my friends, of what she was going to do to me, of what she would do to Axe.

"You're responsible for the meteor, then." Boss answered just as cooly as before. 'No, don't resist! Just obey, she'll be lenient if you comply!' I thought, not even registering the question. I heard movement. I had to pry open one of my eyes. Between greenery and vines, backlit by the cooking pot's fire, stalwart sentinels moved. The members of our guild stood and stepped forward. An act of defiance against the invader. Caught between my fear and my found family, I shamefully chose fear. I was paralyzed, rooted in place metaphorically and physically. I saw Axe's form step forward.

His back. I had seen it numerous times. When he charged ahead, when he slept in our room, when he led me out of Dim Glade a year ago. His tail was held taut, his spine was tall and straight, his claws honed and gleaming in the firelight. I couldn't see his face, but my heart knew its shape. His eyes would be set, pupils focused, jaw shut, tusks sharp. Ready to fight, ready to protect. 'Axe...'

Their backs lined up before me, brave heroes who've weathered many storms together, who've weathered a great one just this day and still stood up to face another. But I knew, in the bones of my soul, that Celebi wasn't a storm, or some disaster of nature. She was a cruel and vindictive goddess, a deity of destruction and misery. She answered with a giggle, the ones that start slow. She was taking their determination like a joke, a prank. Her laughter surged louder and deeper. I imagined that she was rolling around the ground out of control. It still sounded hauntingly like bells.

"You all, you all- ha ha ha- You can't be serious. Hahahahaha!! You pissants are actually defying me?!"

"You destroyed our home, hurt our friends, laughed at our struggle, and demanded our obedience all while holding hostage everything we hold dear! The only damn one defying anything here is you, you tiny, disrespectful bitch! You came and picked a fight with us, Boomer's Rescue Guild, so we're granting you a personal demonstration on why we are the Strongest Guild in Existence!"

"THE STRONGEST!!" Seven heroes shouted in tandem, all but Boss, Tim, and myself. I could only watch, awed by the speech, the display, the bravery. These Pokemon, they didn't show a lick of fear, not a trace of hesitation, not an iota of despair. I was jealous, envious. I was humbled.

But the feeling didn't last long, "You chatter like Chatots and posture about being strong. Sounds like you all need a reality check, there can only be one strongest. And the strongest one here." She paused. I watched as she floated up into the air. "Is me!"

The first time I was able to behold her. Light refracted around her. Violent neon purple light emitted from her pitiless eyes, wings fluttered in slow, concentrated beats. She flew a dozen feet into the air. From across the way, I still felt the waves of psychic energy. Violent beats that pressed into my thoughts, exciting my cowardice and fear. Yet, I didn't turn away. I didn't cower. I sat transfixed. Eight silhouettes. Eight paladins of protection. They braced the waves, unflinching.

"Olivia, Orlov. Protect the citizens. Lux, Ada, support and debuff. Axe, Pat, Ditz, we're offense. Now bear YOUR MANLY SOULS!"

Axe moved first, always first. 'Finish it in one hit' was his motto. I had forgotten we had just been adventuring hours before. The power and strength in his run, I almost couldn't believe it. I had seen Axe accomplish some amazing feats together, but this, charging down that... thing. This was another level of bravery, another level of cool.

Axe leaped, easily clearing the distance between himself and Celebi. His right claws streaked with vermillion light, the expression of his power. He swiped down at the apex of his arc, his Dragon Claw sharp and direct. He was halted a foot away from making contact with the floating witch. Cracks with the same vibrant color as her eyes propagated from his hand. Her overwhelming psychic power halting his opening attack and leaving him suspended in the air.

"Are you really the strongest?" She mocked him.

"No." He answered calmly, "I'm just the distraction."

I looked at the others. They were already moving. Ditz was moving left, Pat and Boss to the right. The others weren't far behind. Lux was bursting high into the sky, blue streaks trailing her as she rocketed up. Orlov retreated towards the other townsfolk with Olivia, there was a bustle of activity everywhere. I almost got lost in the chaos, but I focused back on what mattered most to me at that moment. Celebi.

She was glancing left and right, warriors encroaching from both sides. Axe winded up a second Dracon Claw with his left hand, his right still embedded within Celebi's psychic defenses. The second swipe caught Celebi off guard. In a shattering like glass, shards of psychic wall fissured outwards. Celebi retreated from the attack, it must have missed by inches. But the effect was clear. Psychic or not, it takes concentration to keep a wall up. Break the concentration, attacks would pass through without impediment. Psychic strategy 101. Axe began falling towards the ground. Snowflakes of light coming with him.

Red flames streaked into the sky. A brilliant, ruby red. I knew those flames, they had cooked every meal I have ever had in this world. Ditz's Flamethrower. They struck true, coned right around Celebi's form. The interior gradient went from red to white. The brightness blinded me slightly. I blinked and they were gone. The floaters of them remained in my eyes. I looked for Celebi, I could tell she took the hit square on. Her gritted teeth were a clear indication. She had brought a wing up to take the brunt of the attack. The thin membrane bore holes that looked like embers. The damage was a great deal more than I expected, 'Weak to fire. Grass type?' Somewhere, my analytical mind started turning. Cogs spun, eager to act, to do, it battled my fear.

She quickly countered. Her left palm extended out. Whirlpooling natural energy wormed into a ball, green and vibrant. She stanced up to throw it, taking aim at the Salandit. Her form lurched awkwardly, the Energy Ball went wildly in the wrong direction. We both looked for the cause. White threads, barely visible but numerous, they coated her entire left arm. I traced them down to the bug type. Ada was in the Sakura Tree, using its branches to conceal and protect her. She shot a second String Shot. Celebi was able to psychically block the second attempt but it was all just another distraction, a means to keep Celebi off balance and unprepared. Eight on one, I hoped I never had to fight those odds, these rescuers.

Boss appeared next, Pat on his shoulder. He rose up in her blind spot, distracted. Hands clasped together over his head. The two met eyes, I pondered what was going through Celebi's mind, a second later it was Boss' fists as he hammered her straight down. She spiked into the hillside, I felt a rumble as shockwaves traveled through the earth.

"Pat, now!" The young Patrat, took aim below, his stretchy cheeks were extended. Something was in there, some part of a strategy. His red eyes trained on the ground below the two of them as he squared his face. He slapped his cheeks, three projectiles shot towards the ground. They exploded on impact. Blast seeds, potent ones. "Lux" Boss's voice boomed into the sky. Our resident Lampent darted down, her wispy fire burning bright.

"Fire Spin!!" She shouted. Blast seeds don't persist, their effects are short lived and transient. Explosions tended to have great impact but little staying power, I wished I knew their chemical consistency. What biology created a seed like that, I had often asked myself. But this wasn't the time to ponder. Lux's power shaped the rising heat that was quickly fading out. Her pyrokinesis thwarted the entropy that directed heat to abate. Instead, it concentrated the inferno.

It shaped itself into an orb of fire, compressing further and further around where I imagine Celebi was lying on the ground. I heard Celebi scream as blazing walls collapsed down on her. It didn't sound pleasant, getting hit by multiple fire moves, coordinated strikes from all sides, trapped within a cage of your type disadvantage. If it were me, I would have screamed too. I, I felt something deep within me. Something as I watched my guild fight.

They had moved like a dance, coordinated efforts, a tag team of multiple parts. They all had wonderful rhythm, picking up immediately when one finished, covering each other as one was left exposed. I marveled at the teamwork. How did they do it? No words passed between them, yet they had crystal clear understanding of what each individual needed to do. I didn't have any words either, awe was the only emotion I felt. Gone was the fear that pervaded the darkest recesses of my mind, blown away by the waves of power that my guildmates sent forth. 'How?' I asked. In mere seconds they struck her down to the ground. The fight was assuredly over, almost as soon as it began.

Everyone regrouped around the inferno prison, the great flames washing them with amber light, shadows trailing out behind them like those of giants, of heroes. The entire time, Celebi screamed and cursed them.

"You worms, you cocky, arrogant, putrid pestilences! You vandals of the worst caliber! Your insolence will be paid in blood! I will see you all to your graves, do you hear me?!"

"Lux." Boss said. The intense flames flared momentarily before it convected away. I smelled burnt wood and plants. There was no way that Celebi was standing after that onslaught, there's no way anything was standing after that onslaught, the sole fact that she hadn't fainted was astounding to me. Boss leaned down over Celebi's crater.

"Do you yield?" He asked calmly, it sent shivers down my spine. Boss was not a calm Pokemon. He follows his mantra of bearing his manly soul. This wasn't him being calm, this was him being furious. Angry on the behalf of others. A town's worth of Pokemon that had their lives uprooted while celebrating, a guild that has been struggling to deal with the consequences of her actions, and me, a member of his team that she came to take away. She was silent for a moment.

"You think you've won?" She spat at him. Her voice was missing the lilting sounds of bells. She sounded tired, haggard, defeated. Yet it was still full of spite, hatred, contempt for each and every one of my guildmates for attempting to delay her plans.

"You're burned, injured, broken, and beaten. You failed to injure a single one of us. Admit it, continue further and you'll receive no more leniency. You've lost, Celebi." He returned, it was monotone, but backed up by the brutal beating that Celebi just endured. There wasn't any way that she still had fight left in her.

"Heh... heh, heh, ha ha ha.." her voice laughed out. It was coarse, her vocal folds rasped together. "You fools, I haven't even granted you a drop of my full power. Lost? You fail to realize the depths of my hatred. Soon you'll know true despair. Ha, ha ha, lost, me? Ha, ha, ha, haha, ha. I'm Celebi! I don't lose, never have, never will!"

"She is most certainly delusional, even more so than me after I ate those fermented Pinap berries." Ditz said.

"Listen good, you Frackin' walking fungus, we kicked your ass! Surrender!" Axe demanded.

"Yeah, we told you, you meanie! We're the strongest!" Pat added.

"Heheehehee, and I told you all. There can only be one strongest, and the strongest one here is me!"

The world stopped, I blinked. Falling leaves from the Sakura tree, the few remaining glowing embers from the Fire Spin, Blast seed combo attack, the wind. The leaves on my foliage hiding spot. It all halted, immobilized. My friends too. 'What?' I asked. I wiggled a little in place, the motions took concentrated effort, like I was swimming in mud.. There was no sound, the sudden and unnatural silence caused me to panic. 'What's happening?' I looked out to my guild. They stood stock still. I couldn't tell if they were even breathing. Pat was floating in midair, fist held high in victory. Axe was yelling down at Celebi. Everyone was stockstill like a picture. I opened my mouth to call out to them, but she appeared. She stood up from the ground. Her body still emitted neon light, they zipped up and down her limbs and torso, like veins of vibrant energy. She was moving. 'What is this?' I thought, 'What power is this!?'

She stood and looked at the statues of my friends, vile vengeance on her face. Slowly, Celebi's eyes closed and she breathed out. "Future Sight..." I blinked.

......

Eight silhouettes. Eight paladins of protection sat transfixed.

"Olivia, Orlov. Protect the citizens. Lux, Ada, support and debuff. Axe, Pat, Ditz, we're offense. Now bear YOUR MANLY SOULS!" Boss called out.

'What?' I asked, they weren't where I last saw them. 'They were around Celebi! Why are they spread out?'

The form of Axe leaping into the air caught my attention, his claws red and raging. 'But.. But this happened already, he strikes her barrier.' Except he didn't. Celebi sidestepped in midair, the claws passed undeterred through air, hitting nothing. 'No! That's.. That's not right?'

Celebi grabbed Axe's hand, spinning him around, throwing him into the air. He impacted the rising form of Lux. They sailed above me and I couldn't turn to follow them. 'Wait.'

Red flames burst forth from Ditz, with her barrier intact they never reached her. The fire bent around her barrier. Her expression was dispassionate as she held up a hand towards the Salandit. "Psychic." She said.

The wall shot forward, warding the flames out until it collided with our chef. The hit pushed him down the hill, he would have been fine, but that move was super effective against him. 'Is... is this a joke?'

I preemptively turned towards the Sakura tree. I saw Ada in the branches, watching with intensity. She may have been well hidden, but I knew exactly where she was. 'And if I know... does that mean...?'

Celebi clapped her hands together, the resulting sound wave ripped the few remaining leaves from their branches. I expected them to fall but instead they swirled around Ada. Within the debris, I lost sight of her.

"You can't hide from me, bug!" she yelled. She swiped at air and next I knew the orb of leaves, the branches of the Sakura Tree, even the ground sliced asunder. Branches fell, withered leaves fell, my guildmate Ada fell, a deep gash across her back. 'No...' I cried mentally, "Boss."

He was there, hands clasped over his head. He swung hard. Cracks of neon light shot into view as he impacted her barrier. It caved slightly but remained intact, Boss' hands a foot from reaching his foe.

"Are you the strongest?" she asked, the intonation a direct copy of what she said to Axe just a few seconds... 'Wait, she didn't say that. Did she? I know she did.'

"Just a-"

"Distraction, yes. How pathetic."

"Pat!" Boss shouted. Three Blast seeds shot towards Celebi from the ground. As casually as can be, without even glancing in their direction, she halted them with her psychic powers. Their outlines glowed as her power brought them up to their level. They spun between Boss and her.

"Well, begone, distraction." She said. The seeds smashed, their explosion directed only in Boss' direction. I couldn't believe it. He shot down the hill, away from me, out of sight. My eyes couldn't have been more open. I just watched Celebi destroy almost everyone in the guild, all without taking a single hit. She floated down, a ring of dust and grass rippled out as she set foot on the ground. "And then there was only one." She turned, I followed her gaze. 'No! Wait! Stop! Pat!'

He was frozen. In fear or shock, I didn't know. I didn't know what was happening either. My guildmates were crouching over the defeated invader one moment and now everyone was injured or worse! 'This.. this isn't right! We won!' Confusion, turned to panic, 'We won!! What the hell happened?'

Celebi floated towards Pat who didn't move, couldn't move. From where I sat I saw his knees shake, arms quiver, pupils quake. The firewood Ditz started cracked. It backlit Celebi as she passed between me and it, her spring green form bleached black. It was sinister, her short stature still cast a grand shadow. It snapped me out of my confusion, but tossed me back into my sea of fear. I began panicking again. Hyperventilating. She encroached on Pat, hovered just a few feet in front of him. A gust of wind picked up, it rattled through the bare branches of the Sakura Tree. Celebi stared Pat down. He didn't move.

"You will answer me." She commanded, "Where. Is. The. Lairon?" She emphasized each word with a blast of psychic waves. The feeling of fear within me spiked in intensity as they rolled over me. 'Pat..'

He still didn't move, bug eyed, powerless, alone. Celebi tsked. One of her hands reached out and slapped his check. "Terrified little shit! Answer me! Where's the Lairon?!" She screamed at his face. He brought up a hand to touch where he'd been hit, some lucidity returning to his face. He looked around, I imagine for another guild member. But there was none. Everyone was hurt, incapacitated, or gone. He was alone.

He took a breather, it was shaky, the entirety of his form vibrated. But then he let it go, slowly. His mouth moved, but I was too far away to hear if any noise came out. Apparently not since Celebi demanded him to speak up.

"Don't make me repeat myself again, I won't hesitate to do to you what I did to every other scrap of trash here. You will tell me... now." Her voice was barely restrained, pits of emotion that I couldn't even name birthed those words.'Pat.. please. It's okay. Just tell her, please. You'll be fine, you'll be safe. It's fine. Just tell her.' I wanted to tell him, to help him, to save him. But... but I wasn't a rescuer. Celebi's arrival reminded me of what I truly am, I was just a liar.

"I d-d-d-don't kn-kn-know any Lair- ro- ro- ron." He stuttered. I gasped. His voice didn't travel far, he looked so afraid, a demon in the form of a Celebi just single handedly destroyed his entire guild. He was alone, not even capable of protecting himself, there wasn't a defiant bone left in his body, but he lied. He lied to Celebi. He lied for me. 'Pat, why?'

Celebi looked up into the sky and for once, she looked tired, exhausted. It passed quickly. She grabbed Pat by the neck lifting him into the air. "Stupid, trashy, pathetic, little liar!" She screamed into his face, spit flying. Pat grabbed at her hands, obviously in distress as she choked him. I saw the fear cross his eyes. The fear of death. "I know that insect, that piece of filth, that rotten, damn human is here!! Tell me!!" She threw him across the hilltop. He skipped across the ground, dust knocked into the air. Coughs and labored breaths came from him. He curled into a ball and held his legs close, his back to the demon.

He was just a few feet away from me now, just a couple of steps and I'd be with him. I'd hold him, keep him safe, protect him. I lifted a paw, or tried. It remained rooted in place. My cover inconveniently blocking my way.

Celebi ominously levitated towards him, a swirling Energy Ball held at the ready. "There are punishments for defying me. So this is it, no more will I tolerate being lied to. The Lairon is here. If the next words out of your mouth aren't where I can find the bastard, I will kill you." Whispered, like bells in a wind. I almost vomited, my gut wrenched, my vision swam. Pat eyes widened. And then turned eerily calm. He looked at my bush, our eyes connected. He, he did something I never would have expected at this moment. Something that defied all logic and reasoning, all sense of self-preservation, he smiled. He smiled at me. "Please, no!'

"I don't know any-"

Two things happened. Celebi threw the Energy Ball. I ripped free from the vines. My jaw hurt from how hard I needed to grit my teeth. Past fatigue still with me, current fears powered me, and future desires motivated me. I moved. One step. Another. A leap. A prayer...

An impact.

A Blast of nature's energy collided with my armor. It hurt. It should have hurt. But I didn't feel any pain. I wasn't feeling anything. My eyes were shut. My thoughts were still. Sensation creased. Except, I became aware of something. Words, an endless string of them, repeating on and on without end.

"stop it just stop it stop it just stop it stop..."

I couldn't focus on anything besides those words, it wasn't until a second later that I realized I was shouting them.

"STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!"