Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ The Origins of the Ninetale's Curse ❯ Judge of Darkness ( Chapter 2 )

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Chapter 2: The Judge of Darkness

 

Your forehead was wet with sweat and you struggled to keep on putting one foot in front of the other. Both you and Gardevoir were breathing hard as you continued further into the cave. Your partner walked in front and was just as weary from all of the random battled you had encountered along the way. A defeated Shuppet vanished into the floor as you passed. The cave itself was dim with green moss and algae lining the rocky walls. The floor was damp, coated in a thin layer of slushy clay. Your partner glanced back to make sure that you were following then hurried ahead and looked back again. You gave a brief nod to acknowledge that you were okay, although you knew that you couldn't continue to carry Gardevoir much farther without a break.

 

It had been ten days since you found her in the woods. You waited a week at the Poké-Center but her trainer never showed up and her condition never improved. Nurse Joy had spent much time calling her family and doing research to learn about new treatments, but with no luck. The only thing she gained was come validity to the myth of the Judge of Darkness. After a week you could no longer stand to see Gardevoir in pain. So, you volunteered to escort her through the cave in hopes that the myth was true and that the curse on her could be lifted. You still had doubts and were wary about letting your hopes get too high.

 

You looked up and saw your partner defeat another Shuppet. Your partner was now breathing as hard as you were and covered in many bruises and cuts, but still stood and pushed on.

 

“Take it easy,” you said between wheezing. “We're almost there.”

 

Your partner looked back at you and gave you a smile bigger than you would have thought possible under the circumstances. You briefly wondered what you had ever done to gain such loyalty. You continued on, your sneakers squishing slightly in the slush. The rocky walls opened to reveal a moderate sized cavern. A dark hole stood dead center in the opposite way. The hairs on the back of your neck rose slightly. That gap gave you a bad feeling and yet you knew the moment that you saw it that it was what you had struggled so far to reach.

 

“Come on,” you said with a swallow. “Let's go.”

 

You started across the cavern and had taken a few stepped passed your partner before you heard to second set of footsteps following you. You were tempted to turn around, but Gardevoir trembled on your shoulders and you realized that you had to continue. The uneasy feeling in your stomach only increased as you drew nearer yet you still fought against hope that everything would be resolved without a hitch.

 

When you passed through the darkened corridor it felt like a light had been cut off. The darkness was so thick that it seemed to have physical weight pressing in around you. It was smothering and you gulped and forced your feet to move forward. You could barely hear your partner's footsteps behind you or Gardevoir's groans on your back.

 

The darkness broke at that moment and you found yourself standing in a small, circular cavern. The ground was now covered in a thin layer of sand the stuck to your mucky shoes. There was nothing remarkable about this chamber at all except a long slate slab beneath the far wall Despite this, your uneasy feeling only increased. You had an intense feeling that you were being watched, but you could see no where for a watcher to hide.

 

You shifted slightly to reassure Gardevoir and yourself and called, “Hello? Is anyone here?”

 

The very air around you rippled in response. You gasped in surprise and clutched Gardevoir even tighter. You and your partner both frantically looked around for the source of the disturbance, but the unknown presence still remained hidden. The urge to flee suddenly overwhelmed you but your feet had taken root. You could only stand there and gape.

 

“Who are you?” a deep voice bellowed, the words echoing across the cavern so that you couldn't tell where it was coming from. “Why have you come here?”

 

You squeaked out your name and took a deep breath to control the waver in your voice before you continued, “I came...Gardevoir...she needs help.” You gulped. You could feel your partner huddle behind your pant leg.

 

“Come here,” the voice stated.

 

You glanced around and decided that “here” meant the slate slab. You started forward, forcing your wobbly knees not to give out on you. When you reached the slab your throat suddenly went dry. Your partner bumped into the back of your heels then stopped and hid behind you.

 

“Set her down,” the voice ordered. It was louder now and you knew that you had come closer, though you still did not see the speaker. Judging from the tone, you highly doubted that the speaker was human, though you didn't know what Pokémon it might be.

 

You removed Gardevoir from your shoulders and gently laid her across the slab. Her face was strained and shimmering with sweat from repressing the pain and trying to hide it from you. You rotated your shoulders, your muscles relieved to be free of the burden. You rubbed the back of your neck and looked at Gardevoir, trying to rally your courage.

 

“C-can you...” you stammered, looking around for the mysterious speaker. “...Help her please?”

 

It was silent for a long moment and you wondered if the strange creature had somehow vanished.

 

“Probably a ghost type,” you mentally noted, remembering all of the Shuppets that you encountered along your journey through the cave.

 

“This is a Ninetale's curse,” the voice echoed, sounding thoughtful. You instantly tensed the moment it boomed out of surprise. Your partner clung to your leg out of the same surprise. “Even I, the Judge of Darkness, cannot break a Ninetale's curse without the key.”

 

“Key?” you echoed, then all of the words fully processed in your mind. “Wait! You have to help her! You can't just let her suffer like this!”

 

The cavern went silent again. You waited and waited for the Judge of Darkness to speak, but not a sound woke the smothering silence. As the seconds slipped by you quickly realized that the voice was not going to speak again and maybe had left. You glanced around frantically but still saw nothing.

 

“Please...” you pleaded to break the stillness. “There has to be something...” You bit your lip out of frustration, causing tears to form in your eyes. Despite your best efforts not yo build up hope, it was still there and it was being shattered. You bent over Gardevoir and slid to your knees, resting your fists on the edge of the slab. “I can't help her...no one can...please, don't leave things like this,” you begged.

 

A puff of wind rippled your hair a moment before the Judge of Darkness spoke again, “There is one thing that I can do to take the pain away from this Gardevoir.” The voice was solemn and spoke in a way that made you realize that this answer came with its own problems.

 

“What is it?” you asked, hope rising regardless. You rubbed Gardevoir's arm gently, trying to reassure yourself as much as her.

 

“Because of your sincerity, I can remove her spirit from her body and separate fer from the agony of the curse,” answered the judge, grimly.

 

“You mean kill her?!” you gasped.

 

“No. Gardevoir would become a wandering spirit and her body would be sealed here with me until the thousand years had passed and the proper key is found. Then, her spirit and body can be reunited allowing her to continue to live free of the curse.”

 

You sat on your knees, totally numb as you processed this information. Gardevoir wouldn't have to suffer...but to be a spirit...would that be any better? You once more searched your brain for another solution, but none surfaced.

 

“What is your decision?” asked the Judge of Darkness.

 

“M-My decision?!” you squeaked.

 

“Will you allow her to become a spirit or will you keep her in this plane?”

 

“I-I have to decide that?!” you stammered. You rubbed your fingers through your hair in frustration. “I can't decide something like that!”

 

The judge did not answer, and you knew that this choice was being left with you regardless of how you felt. The pit had long since fallen out of your stomach and your mind seemed to be wrapped in a fog that made it impossible to think clearly. You couldn't bear the thought of Gardevoir living for a millennia in pain, but if becoming a spirit was the long way—you didn't even fully know what that would mean but it didn't sound good. You rested your head on your finger tips and closed your eyes, but that didn't clear the fog. Gardevoir whimpered and you opened your eyes and looked at her, rubbing her arm again slightly.

 

“What do you want?” you whispered to her. “What is best?”

 

Her eyes fluttered open and met yours. For a brief moment they silently pleaded for help as another spasm of pain tore threw her. You gulped and looked up, now seeing only one possible answer despite all of your many reservations.

 

“Please...take this paint away from her,” you asked the still unseen judge. You lowered your head and croaked in a whisper. “Make her a spirit.”

 

A sudden bright flash of light caused you to throw both of your arms across your face to shield your eyes. The light was powerful enough that it rippled through your hair and clothing. It ended as abruptly as it started. You slowly opened your eyes, seeing speckles of light that swam in your vision. Gardevoir was gone. You looked around, but couldn't even see her shadow. Bile rose on the back of your tongue and your prayed that this was the right choice.

 

You stood on shaky legs. The sense that you were being watched vanished and you knew that the Judge of Darkness was not going to speak again. You were expected to leave, but simply walking out seemed anti-climatical. Your partner was curled up a few feet away, wearing a melodramatic grimace that you were familiar with.

 

“You don't have a stomach ache,” you said. Your partner looked up and gave up a sheepish grin. You walked over and knelt down, rubbing your partner's back. “Sorry...I shouldn't be so harsh.” You picked your partner up, being careful of the largest bruises. “Let's go.”

 

You headed for the entrance carrying your partner. You glanced back once at the slate slab, but saw nothing significant. Gardevoir had vanished as if she had never existed. You pursed your lips together, fighting back the guilt that you had made the wrong choice. Filled with uneasiness, you held your partner close and slowly made your way out, wondering the entire time if this was the end.