(1900 words)
Chapter 19
Mt. Freeze


Thorn shivers as they walk through Frosty Forest, following the otherworldly presence. Gardevoir better be guiding them where Thorn thinks they're guiding them, or they're going to jump off a cliff just to become a ghost and kick Gardevoir's ass. Actually, forget the cliff, the bounty hunters will take care of that part. Or the apocalypse. Lots of options these days.

Or the cold, god damn! Being a ground-type sucks! Though it'd be a lot colder if they didn't have the cloak they bought for-

ANYWAY! Right! Marching through a snowy forest! Fun! Gotta watch out for ice-type wild pokemon, and for hunters. Actually, forget the hunters; they're days away from Pokemon Square, there's no way any hunters followed them this far-

"Thorn the Cubone!" God DAMN IT! "By the authority of Team Bridge, you are under arrest!"

They turn to face a riolu and a sneasel. Okay, showtime... "Who's Thorn?"

The sneasel tilts their head. "Um... you?"

"No? My name is Map."

"So you're just some random cubone wandering around in the same direction Thorn was spotted going?"

"Well, random is a rude way to put it..."

"Far outside the natural habitat of a cubone?"

Thorn shrugs. "I'm an explorer."

"Wearing a cloak just like Thorn was?"

"... Um." Thorn gestures to the snowy landscape around them.

"Okay, fair enough... Hey Riolu, do they match the wanted poster?"

"Hard to say... I mean, the helmet's different, but that's just a helmet..."

"Okay, so, can I leave now?" Their plan is flawless! They'll never be recognized!

"Wait!" Sneasel says. "Take off your helmet."

Shit! "Seriously? In this weather?"

"This is for the sake of saving the world. We are authorized to use force if you do not comply!"

"Okay okay, fine, sheesh!" Thorn takes off the helmet and puts on their best 'annoyed with cop but totally innocent' face.

The team stares at them for a moment, silent, until Riolu speaks. "So? Is it them?"

"What?" Sneasel says. "I thought you would know!"

"The wanted poster only had the helmet, I've never seen them in person! You're the one who wanted their helmet off!"

"Yeah, well... I didn't think that far ahead."

Thorn clears their throat. "Okay, well, if that's everything, I'll just be going now-"

"Stop! You're still extremely suspicious! You will accompany us back to Compass the Cyndaquil in Pokemon Square to check your identity."

"Pokemon Square? Isn't that, like, multiple days away?"

"This is for the sake of saving the world. We are authorized to use force if-"

Thorn bolts.

"H-hey, wait! Stop right there!"

Why do they always tell Thorn to stop? Do they think Thorn might actually stop if they say it with enough authority? Thorn dashes around a corner, and when Team Bridge catches up, they find... nothing.

"What in the- Where'd they go?" Sneasel says.

"They couldn't have gotten far, they must be hiding behind a tree or something."

Much to Thorn's dismay, the team keeps searching for five minutes before finally leaving. When they finally do, Thorn emerges from the snow, shivering so hard that the vibrations from their body might cause an earthquake. They never learned to dig fast like a proper ground-type, but fortunately, snow is so light that they can burrow into it instantly. Unfortunately, it's also REALLY GOD DAMN COLD.

They wrap themself in their cloak and continue following Gardevoir's presence. Eventually, they make it out of the freezing-cold forest, and find themself... at the foot of a snow-covered mountain. They sigh and start climbing.



Stupid god damn mountain with its stupid god damn snow. Thorn hates this stupid freezing mountain! Call it Mt. Freeze, that'd be a better name for it that whatever it's actually called. That bastard better be up here, or Thorn WILL stab someone.

"Halt, intruder." Oh goody, a volunteer! The snow in front of Thorn shifts and rises, revealing an abomasnow towering above them. "You trespass on my domain. Leave now, or I shall-"

"Look you big white bastard, I've been traveling for DAYS, alone, chased by bounty hunters the whole way. I just finished walking through a god damn ICE FOREST, and I've spent the last half hour walking up MT. FREEZE, just so I can reach the peak and probably die! So if you wanna fight someone who is EXTREMELY PISSED and has literally nothing left to lose, then fine! Take that chance and I'll see how many bruises I can give you before kicking the bucket! Or. You could just let me walk past peacefully. How's that sound?"

The abomasnow, legitimately intimidated by the tiny cubone before them, simply says "Very well. Go, and do not linger."

Thorn stomps past, dragging their feet out of the snow with each step. The mountain only gets colder as they climb higher. They might have frozen to death by now if not for the cloak...

Finally, path up the mountain leads into a cave. Thorn heads inside and... there they are. Sitting at the center of the cave, looking back at Thorn, is Ninetales.

"Who are you?" Ninetales asks. "Why have you climbed this mountain?"

"I'm here to get cursed."

"... Pardon?"

"A long time ago I climbed this mountain with my partner Rose. I touched your tail, and Rose-

"Hold on, we've never met before. You must be mistaken."

"I used to be a human, but I got turned into a pokemon, just like you predicted. Anyway so I abandoned Rose, everything got screwed up, and now I need to get cursed and die or something to restore the world's balance and-"

"Stop, nothing you say makes sense. Who are you?"

"I'm the human from the Ninetales Legend!"

"Hold on, let me-"

"Just shut up and listen! Long ago, I came here with my partner Rose the Gardevoir. When I touched your tail, Rose... She took the curse in my place. And I just ran away, abandoned her like a selfish coward. Now the world is ending because of me. The whole world wants me dead, even my new partner turned against me for what I've done. I can't stand the guilt. The only thing left for me is to face my justice and set things right. So please, just... do it."

"... Are you done?"

"Yes. Now would you just curse-kill me already, I'm really cold-"

"You're not the human."

"...... What?"

"If you were, I would recognize you, regardless of your appearance. The human from the legend was not you. I have no idea why you think it was."

But... But that's impossible! Thorn knows they used to be a human! And what about Rose? What about that scream? Was that not when Rose took the curse for them? And why are they hearing Gardevoir in their dreams?! Isn't it because she's Rose?! And what about Thorn's connection to the world's balance?! Everything fit together! Everything made sense!!

"And furthermore, getting rid of the human would not restore the world's balance, as the human is in no way connected to the world's balance becoming upset. I merely predicted them at the same time."

What?! So then... it's all been... pointless... All this chasing, all this fighting, all this guilt... over nothing... What kind of sick joke is this!?!

"If there's nothing else, then I must ask you to leave. I don't appreciate strangers barging into my home and shouting at me."

Thorn slogs out of Ninetales' cave, still wrapping their head around everything they knew being... what, a massive coincidence?! And now, the one thing they thought they could do, sacrificing themself to save the world...

Oh god. The world is going to end. It's going to end, and there's nothing they can do to stop it. Nothing anyone can do. They're innocent, and it doesn't even matter, because they're going to die anyway. Everyone is going to die! All this fighting 'for the sake of saving the world' is just a bunch of fools dancing in circles while the world burns around them!

But what else is there to do? When the world is ending, why not just dance and sing and do whatever you want? Nothing matters anymore! At least not for much longer! Thorn giggles, then laughs, laughs so hard they might cause an avalanche! They take off their helmet and toss away their cloak, letting the cold bite into their skin.

Thorn turns and notices the riolu and sneasel from before, staring at them in confusion. Thorn smiles. "Oh, you two followed me all the way up a gosh darn mountain, huh? You just don't know when to quit."

The sneasel steps forward. "Thorn the Cubone, there's nowhere left to run. Surrender. For the sake of saving the world, we must-"

"You think I care about this stupid world? I'll burn this whole planet to the ground, starting with you!" Thorn raises their bone club... and smashes it onto a rock, snapping it in two.

Team Bridge becomes even more confused. "Uh... Why did you do that?"

Thorn admires their handiwork; the blade isn't ideal, and the range is reduced, but it'll do. "Why don't you come and find out? Come on, heroes; arrest me."

Sneasel lunges forward with a claw slash, but Thorn grabs their arm, throwing them over their shoulder and onto the ground. Thorn hears footsteps behind them, and steps aside to avoid a punch from Riolu, countering with an elbow to the gut. They grab Riolu's shoulders, bash them with a headbutt, then send them rolling with a kick.

Thorn steps forward to avoid Sneasel's sneak attack, and turns around with a kick that makes Sneasel stumble away. Sneasel recovers and dashes toward them, claws ready, and Thorn thrusts their weapon forward-

Sharp bone sinks into flesh, and Sneasel freezes, mouth agape, staring down at the blade. It was so easy. Thorn thought there would be hesitation, fear, anything... But it just felt natural.

Thorn pulls the blade out, and blood spills from the wound as Sneasel collapses, screaming in pain. Blood... it's been so long since they've seen it. They'd almost forgotten what it looks like. But now they remember. Oh how much they remember.

"Wha... What have you done?" Riolu gasps, too stunned to get up.

Thorn turns to Riolu with a monstrous grin. They step forward.

Riolu crawls backward. "N-no, stop! Leave me alone!"

"Excuse me? You chase me all the way up a mountain, fully intending to kill me, and now you want ME to leave YOU alone? That's a little backwards, isn't it?"

"I-I'm sorry, please, I surrender!"

"Oh yeah, surrender! That thing you told me to do! Say, what were you going to do to me after I surrendered?"

Riolu tries to crawl backward, but finds a cliff behind them. "Please, Thorn, stop!!"

Thorn pauses. How ironic; they finally follow through on that name's meaning, and yet all this fighting for survival, all this despair and brutality, it makes them finally remember... They step forward, stomping on Riolu's leg and making them cry out. "Didn't I tell you before? My name isn't Thorn."

"Please, no!!"

"It's Alice."

*CRACK*




(this came out so fast because I write one chapter ahead, and this chapter got so long I had to split it. I didn't actually write 1900 words in one morning lol)
If you enjoyed the story, please comment! I love hearing responses to my writing! What was your favorite part?