The Path to Where I Stand
Chapter 7: Monster

X poked his elderly guardian. “Feunard? Are monsters real?” he asked.
Feunard looked down at the kit. “Why do you ask?”
“Some other pokemon were saying that across the river in the cave there was a scary monster that would come out and eat me!” X whined.
Feunard stared through the trees, in the direction of the river and the cave. “...No. That is not a monster, that’s the guardian of Pokemon Village. He ensures that pokemon who wish to live a life away from humans can do that for the rest of their days.” He turned his attention back to the shinx kit. “Do not listen to those other hatchlings. They barely listen and think even less. You’re clever, Xenomorphic. You’re not like them. You can see the good in pokemon.”
“...Huh?” X asked, completely lost.
Feunard sighed, sitting down. “Just remember this. Monsters are never born, only made. No pokemon has ever hatched and, seconds later, said ‘I’m going to kill some strangers for mere pleasure!’ No. Monsters are grown from hate, and hate is created from pain. And only someone else can inflict pain.”

~~~

Monsters are never born, only made.
X had never thought that it had ever applied more to any other creature. The hybrid in front of him obviously didn’t want to fight. If it paused for a few moments, the collar it wore lit up, shocking it. It cautiously inched towards X, and paused for a moment before the collar shocked it into action again. It whined apologetically and swiped at X with one of its scyther-like blades. X scurried backwards.
He didn’t want to hurt the hybrid… It didn’t seem to want to hurt him…
Maybe if he broke the collar off somehow it would stop attacking him?
He shifted his weight back onto his haunches, and sent a few small sparks pulsing along his claws. Then he jumped at the hybrid, trying to scratch the collar off.
When his claw connected with the collar, several things happened at once.
The hybrid let out an unearthly shriek, instinctively lashing out at X with a blade, and hitting the young kit’s left eye.
X screamed as his eye went completely dark, throwing his balance off.
Both creatures felt unbearable pain as energy from the collar flowed into the two. X was slammed against the wall, and watched in a dizzy haze as the rest of the event unfolded.
The hybrid looked in horror at the mess it had made of X’s eye. The two made eye contact for a moment, sharing the other’s pain. The hybrid lowered its’ head to the ground. And then, it started to jab at the collar with its blade, fervently attempting to tear it off. It cried out in pain as the collar started sparking again.
A tear dripped out of X’s right eye. Blood dripped from his left. He raised a paw weakly, trying to reach for the hybrid. For a split second he had seen exactly what was going to happen. He didn’t want it to happen.
The hybrid growled in frustration and sorrow, closing its eyes. The air around it began to grow hotter and hotter, until flames appeared and began to lick at the hybrid.
The hybrid opened its eyes one last time, and smiled as it burst into a fireball. X screamed at the sudden rush of heat and dancing red fire, before trying to curl up into a ball.
“Please no. Please no. Please no…”
When the heat faded, he still could not bear to look.

[hr]

When X finally did open his eyes again, he was elsewhere. He was in a small room where the ceiling glowed, and something strange and cold was clamped around one of his hind legs, preventing him from exploring the entire room.
Something was off about it all, though. Until X finally realized it. He slowly touched his left eye with his paw. It was damp, and when he removed the paw it was tinged brownish. Everything on his left side had been rendered invisible, unless he turned his head. A souvenir from the Hybrid.
The Hybrid. It hadn’t wanted to hurt him, X knew. It was just as terrified as he had been. And even so, it had rather sacrificed itself than let X die.
Why?
X buried his head in his paws, trembling. He felt many unfamiliar emotions rising in his chest.
[i]Sorrow.
Loneliness.
Fear.[/i[
And then one, standing out from all the others.
Rage.
Humans did this? Then I’ll make them pay. For the Hybrid, for Feunard, for Goldsong. No one deserves this. So I’ll make sure no one ever gets it again…
I want retribution against these monsters.

[hr]

As weeks passed, Goldsong slowly picked up words from Aurum and Chryssie. Until she became capable of speaking in a simple sentence.
¨What are you thinking about, Goldsong?¨ as voice asked behind her.
Goldsong turned her head to see Aurum. ¨Oh. Hi.” Goldsong sighed, flopping down on a nearby cushion. ¨Dunno. I’m, I guess, having a good time. But…” Her head drooped slightly.
“...Would you like to talk about it?” Aurum asked.
Goldsong didn’t respond.
Aurum laid down next to the shinx. “If you don’t want to talk, that’s okay. But you’re depressed. You still need to do something… And I think I know just the thing.”
Goldsong’s ears perked up. “What’s that?”
Aurum smiled slightly. “Sing. You have a beautiful voice. It may make you feel better.”
“...Teach me?” Goldsong asked.
Aurum closed her eyes, and let out a deep breath before beginning.
“Once there was a Cantor whom the Being of Knowledge name Novo
She was gifted as many Cantor were, Pokemon heard her and heeded her
But her voice was one fueled by black magics, and not the gifts of Legends
She called the to Ancient Ones, and the Ancient ones heard her and heeded her
They rose from their graves to obey Novo as their new mistress
The mighty Awakened Ancient himself bore her to the sacred region of the Original One
He saw this and sent the Borealis Guardian and Zephyros Guardian to halt Novo’s march
They created a barrier across the sacred region, but with their power drained they fell unconscious upon a nearby isle
Two elderly humans healed the Guardians and took them in
But Novo, when she discovered her way had been blocked, rained fire down upon the elder’s home
The Zephyros Guardian saved them and flew them away, but the village the elders had lived in was destroyed
The Borealis Guardian cried so long and hard that his soul transformed into water, and buried Novo in the silt of rivers formed from his tears
The villagers built a new village from the bones of the ancient creatures, and named it in honor of the water which saved them
The Zephyros Guardian discovered that her twin’s soul had dissolved into water, and his body was left void of life
With powerful magics she sealed his soul into an orb of water, and enshrined it in the city
She swore to protect the city that her brother had died for
However she had awoken more than her brother’s soul
A shadow arose from the waters of the city
It spoke “I have watched the humans of our day and age
Cantors were a gift, created to bridge the gap between human and creature
But the gift has made the humans lazy and the creatures slaves
I shall take this gift for myself, and make use of it when the time comes”
And never again was a Cantor born.”
Aurum stopped singing.
“What was that? It was pretty…” Goldsong murmured.
“A group of Legendary Pokemon is called a Cycle,” Aurum explained. “Each Cycle has a myth about them, told in song. That was the Cycle of Light. It was about Latias and Latios, how the city Alto Mare was founded, and why humans can’t speak to pokemon anymore. It was said that they could in the past, but not anymore.”
“Why can’t they, then?” Goldsong prompted.
Aurum frowned. “The song supposedly explains it, but it’s still rather unclear. I, personally, believe that Novo, the evil Cantor mentioned in the song, accidentally awoke the Legendary who first gave humans the ability to speak pokemon, and they retracted their gift after seeing what she had done, and how Novo had ended.”
“Were all Cantors like Novo?” Goldsong asked.
“I don’t know. There are several mentioned in the Cycle Songs… But their roles vary between good and evil. They don’t seem to be only on one side. The gift seemed entirely random.”
“So Cantors are just like pokemon? They’re both good and evil?” Goldsong asked.
Aurum sighed. “Sure. If you want to see it that way. I just see it that most humans are ignorant. Pokemon can understand all the other species of them. But humans sometimes assume that just because something doesn’t speak their language exactly, it must be stupid.”
“...I’m gonna learn human someday,” Goldsong said. “I want to hear what they have to say and tell them what I have to say!”
Aurum seemed to smile slightly. “...Well. When you do accomplish that, tell them to make pokemon food out of actual meat, and not processed fruit. They should realize that some of us are carnivores. Now, repeat after me. Once there was a Cantor whom the Being of Knowledge named Novo…”
“Once there was a Cantor who the Being of Knowledge names Novo?”
“...Close. Practice makes perfect, Goldsong. Try again.”