RISE UP HIBISIL NATION

=========================================

You see your life from a distance, as if watching it through a screen.

-

You came to know shame most intimately.

Your mama was a Vaporeon. Zephyr would have been able to write a biography of exclusively what she had said to them, but the truth is, you couldn't remember her face. You did, however, remember what she taught you.

She repeated, over and over, that you were going to die.

You were born with fur that sparkled silver, and you were much smaller than your siblings. While they practiced pouncing upon Rattata, you were lucky to not be spotted by even the blind, and even then it would remain half your size. You were taught to despise this, to hate every core of your own being. From the roots of your fur, to the pattern on your tail declaring you as male when you were nothing of the sort.

For a time, you envied your largest and most powerful sibling, Zephyr, for the arcing patterns on their tail denoting them as female. Surely, being female would liberate you from the foul taste being male put in your mouth. However, you learned that being female did not suit you either- even in what had been expected to be such a simple field, you were Other.

One day, you asked your mama if you had a name. Zephyr had one, as did your other siblings. She had been irritated with this question, insisting that corpses needed no name.

"Your only destination in life is the morgue, thankless food thief," she had snarled. You felt pain and wetness on your face.

Yet, you thrived.

What you lacked in strength, you made up for by learning quickly. What you lacked in size, you made up for by slipping into places others could not reach and climbing. What you lacked in intelligence, you watched until you succeeded. You would not accept loss, you told yourself- not now, and not ever.

One day, after mama hit you a few times, Zephyr stepped in. They got in a fight with mama and lost, but it ended with them running away and taking you with them.

From that point on, wandering homeless and parentless in the wilderness with only your sibling by your side, you grew up to be known as Morgue.

-

And you are dead. You are dead, gone, never to draw breath again.

-

You take trips on boats to new lands with Zephyr by your side. You remain smaller than them, but where they go, you follow. They teach you reading, they learn how to use your pelt to your advantage when hunting. It turns out that, due to the brilliantly sparkling fur you don, snowy areas are the ideal hunting grounds for one such as yourself. When you both visit the mountains, the tundras, the poles, you prove yourself an even more effective hunter than Zephyr is within their element. You eat more than ever in these places.

One boat ride, you are watching the waves drift by with Zephyr by your side.

"What do you think we'll evolve into?" they ask you, fluffy ears perked up and waving like little twin trees in the breeze. You did not realize, at the time, how much you would miss those little movements.

"You'd be an Umbreon, obviously." The words come out so easily at the time. It simply feels right- Zephyr, your older sibling, rarely smiles unless they are speaking to you, and even then it isn't a common response. It would become rarer still in the future. They only seemed to hold love for you and for the night, cool air billowing through their thick fur. You can easily imagine them covered in black fur and golden rings. It simply feels right.

"Hmm, okay..." Zephyr does not sound convinced. You look away as their ears twitch back.

"As for me, uh…" You hesitate. It wasn't a thought that had crossed your mind before. You knew of each evolution, but which one fit? You supposed there was only one obvious choice, only one that would make logical sense as your next step in evolution. "Glaceon, I guess?"

"Huh? Really?"

Your mane puffs up in embarrassment. Their voice hints at amusement, an incredulous tone gilding its edges. Who gave them permission to question this decision, much less directly following their asking of it?! "Don't 'huh, really' me," you grumble and huff. You find yourself staring at the waves, even as you turn your head toward them. You do not acknowledge this feeling as embarassment- no, it is simply frustration. Yes, that must be it. "No one would think twice about a Glaceon with silver fur." It was true, after all- and you were an excellent hunter in the snow, no one could deny-

"And they'd only see how short you are?"

You tackle Zephyr. "Alright, that's it- you're DEAD!" you bark, chewing their ears in frustration as they fall back and cackle, protesting against your assault in futility.

You are, of course, sure not to draw blood. You care for them. You must not hurt them.

-

So, then, why did they hurt you, why did they leave you as if you were nothing? Why did they try to dispose of you? Was your admiration one-sided? Did they feel nothing? Were they by your side simply out of necessity? Perhaps they thought you weak, simply a toy to abandon.

-

The doctor is speaking to you. You struggle to hear the words being said. "If you had not been there when you were, they'd have died."

The Vaporeon, the one who had birthed and hit you, she had found you again. She demanded her child back- not you, of course, but the other one. The one that was worth time. The one that was not a waste. The one that was not dead. Not you, but Zephyr.

You were too timid. You did not make yourself bigger, only shrunk away in fear. You were paralyzed as a blur of brown attacked her with a yowl, terrified when she traded blows with Zephyr, and only snapped out of your inflicted stupor when your larger sibling shoved her down with a splash.

It was the first time you had truly, sincerely seen the Tar.

It was nothing much, of course- only a dark liquid that did not shine in the light so much as display a lighter colour in it. Avoiding it was simple, and you did not hold curiousity for it. It was an odd thing that showed up in some places, not something you noticed. It was beneath your attention- that was, until you saw Zephyr shoving your mother into it.

It didn't take long for her to stop moving. Only half her body touched the liquid, yet her belly, where Zephyr stood with flecks of black dotting their fur, was the only thing that remained blue. Zephyr was still, staring blankly as the Tar slowly crept up their mother like a serpent, little rivers of dark that entered her eyes and mouth. She didn't move or make a sound.

You asked Zephyr to come back. You begged them to come back to land, belly close to the ground and tail lashing. You'd deny it if asked, but you were shaking.

They showed no sign of even hearing until the Tar touched their paws. And then, with a gasp and cry, they lept out of the liquid to stagger onto land.

It didn't take long for them to start acting strange, either. You lead them to the nearest city and dragged them to the nearest hospital.

And now, the doctor was praising you for getting here so quickly, as if Zephyr was not hooked up to life support, their once-alert ears sagging and their paws, even once washed, stained a violent black down to the skin and through every hair follicle.

It did not feel as if you should be getting praised. No- you needed to get stronger, bolder, fiercer. You could not freeze like that again, you could not stand at the sidelines.

You hated the Tar. It took your sibling from you.

-

You hold onto that feeling. In thoughts that are not your own, but are not divergent of what would be expected from yours, you are reminded that the Tar has been spreading and spilling. You are not certain who else is here, or why such thoughts are invading your mind. They have a point, even so…

-

Zephyr's ears are never the same. They bend near the base and sag under their own weight. Sometimes they cannot hear when you speak, and they lack feeling in their paws. Still, they are alive, and that should be enough for you.

It isn't.

You and Zephyr become chasers of the tar, patrolling its side to warn others to flee. You watch as the Tar begins to pool, begins to seep into water sources, and eventually even swallows villages beneath it. Zephyr is the one who is best at speaking; you find yourself disliking the company of others. They protest and resist moving, even as their homes are in danger.

You get to see many resist their way to death as the Tar eats through their skin, then fat, then muscle, and then internal organs. It is a tragedy, but at least it did not happen to Zephyr- they remain strong, though their hearing suffers and their joints sting and their eyes suffer from eternal miosis. Sometimes they stare too long at the ever-expanding ocean, but you are there to pull them back to reality…

You think, anyway. Sometimes you doubt how much of them is left.

-

You were correct to doubt. After what Zephyr has done to you, that cannot be denied. Perhaps you did not deserve to be killed, yes? Perhaps, looking back, they cared not for you.

-

Your claws dig into rain-softened soil, tearing at roots. You could hear the stream from here, as well as a steady dripping from Tar-tainted trees. You did not want to be here, in the centre of a town that would soon be a seabed. You did not wish to speak to anyone, but warning the residents came before your emotions. You did not like others, you never truly had.

You pass a high-tech device- a television, though you'd never been drawn to them yourself. You were, as some said, 'wild'. You were not kin to technology and braved weather of all sorts. You would not be some pampered city-folk, this screen did not interest you. Who knew what electric-types were being exploited to create even a second of recording for this?

The video showed a paw-drawn Meowth giving an explaination of what the Tar was and how to act around it as children huddled around the screen. It was very clearly unrealistic, as the Meowth was drawn holding a bottle of Tar. You knew better, it would simply eat through glass. "It will try to trick you," said the jolly feline, pixels shuddering and dancing around it. "Don't listen! It will try to tempt you to touch it."

Your mind flashed back to Zephyr, a mask around their snout to keep them breathing as dark liquid dripped from their paws.

'The Creeping Tar', some called it. More like the bane of your existence.

-

Something to destroy. Something that, by Zephyr's paw, had killed you.

-

"But," Zephyr said to you one night, pupils smaller than you had ever seen in the light of your campfire, "what if we could talk to the oil, for real?"

You recoiled in disbelief.

They clearly took this reaction badly, beginning to stutter. "I-I just mean-!" A thick tail hits the ground, kicking up dust. "It must be lonely, to be so hated."

Surely you had seen the signs… hadn't you?

Even so, emotion overrode all logic.

"No," you snarled, your fangs instinctively baring toward even your beloved kin. You were, at least, honest. "It needs to be killed."

-

I could bring you back to life.

=========================================

The daytime was weak. There was never a hope of laying across stones to soak up the sun's warming rays. Sure, it meant the risk of sunburn wasn't so present, but it was irritatingly cold. Even the moon, once bursting with light, was dimmer than the stars.

It did make sense as to why that was, now. And, perhaps ironically, the Solgaleo's skull still made excellent shelter from the elements.

They yawned, stretched their front legs out as far as they could reach, and then leaned forward to stretch each hind leg. They shook sand out of their fur and, despite most of the sand still stubbornly sticking to them, decided they were clean enough for the time being and climbed out of the eye socket.

"Gooooood morning!" The gloved Eevee called out to the ocean of pitch-black that spanned as far as the eye could see. It visibly rippled in response. "Are you ready to try talking again today?"

The surface of the tar shivered. Slowly, little tendrils raised out from its depths, pooling together next to them. It made four spindly, weak legs, a round body, and a circular head. The wobbly ears and much-too-thin tail consisted of the tendrils connecting it to the bigger substance, completing its imitation of an Eevee.

"Ephhhhhh… furrrrrr," came the sound from the Tar, sound escaping and causing little bubbles to form on its surface. "Ready… hello… talkkking…"

Zephyr wiggled with excitement, paws tapping the ground and tail wagging in a little dance. "Yes, that's right! I haven't been as here as I should've been, but I'm ready to put more effort in." They reached out and patted the gooey imposter with a gloved paw. Some of its mass stuck to their glove, but Zephyr completely disregarded it, putting their paw back down as it shivered awkwardly and dripped.

"Yes… that's right," it mimicked, bubbling and dripping on the sand.

Some days, it was worse than others, of course. Zephyr had endless patience for those days, going so far as to neglect their rumbling belly or drooping eyes. Some days, Zephyr was worse than others, even becoming withdrawn and inconsolable, outright refusing to care for themself.

"But," they'd say softly to the being they knew the Tar had to be, "I know it's not your fault, and you can't feel bad about it, okay? You're okay."

Eventually, one day, the Tar responded to this. It was simple, but it helped to snap Zephyr from their terrible state. "You're okay too… Zee-fur."

Zephyr's heart soared. They leapt to their paws, sand kicking up as they did. "Yes- yes, that's right!" They hopped with a sudden joy, their woe melting in the face of the Tar's understanding.

It was a shame that their beloved little sibling had wanted to kill it. It was a shame that Zephyr hadn't known that the Pale had been nearby, ready to snatch them away by growing into their poor, limp body. It was a shame that their sibling wasn't by their side.

Still… at least they still had someone.

Their heart ached for their little sibling as they gave the Tar pieces of the prey they caught, flowers they found, berries they picked. All withered away in its touch, eaten up. It was hungry, after all. Zephyr simply smiled.

Maybe, they thought as they sat on top of the skull, if others just understood, then the Tar and Pokémon didn't have to suffer. They could coexist. Zephyr stared up at the bright stars and dim moon. The Tar had eaten a god, but it hadn't understood at the time. It could learn, it could change! All people had to do was try.

In the morning, Zephyr walked into the nearest town they knew of. At dusk, they limped out of a Tar-flooded wasteland, dragged themself back to the skull, and collapsed.

-

"You… want to, what?"

Muenos tilted his head at you. The Rockruff, you learned, was rather serious, but took what was said quite literally. He walked softly, talked softly, and acted as if you would snap at any moment. This was… a fair assessment, admittedly.

"Spar? You know, a fight for practice?" You sighed in mild irritation. His half-lidded eyes narrowed in suspicion- also a fair reaction, though one you took offence to. "Certainly you have those here."

"We do, yes. But you only recently got the okay from doctor Gina to even walk on your own. I'm unsure if that's the wisest plan…"

You groaned, kicked at a rock in frustration, and started to wander away. You couldn't even FIGHT without these shrinking violets whining about it… outside of PaintPrint. When you challenged her, she made a fool of you by simply hopping onto your back and balancing there until you fell over under her weight, and the second time she knocked you out in one attack, causing the doctor to fuss at the both of you for potential overexertion.

Yeah, okay, you learned your lesson not to challenge the stupid guildmaster for now.

You kicked at a leaf on the ground, then kicked it a few more times when it didn't immediately move.

"I can help you train, but I'm not comfortable sparring. I'm unsure if I could properly account for your injuries," Muenos called after you as you stabbed the leaf with a claw for not doing what you wanted it to.

"I'd rather do that on my own." You do have a good location for training in mind. Perhaps that would be more fruitful than trying to get others to fight you, on second thought- you turn and start to walk down the path PaintPrint had shown you.

"Bye, then," you heard Muenos say under his breath as you left. It didn't sound like something you needed to reply to, so you didn't.

The way to the lake was largely unused. The leaves were turning fiery colours now, becoming auroras of red, orange, and yellows overhead that rained down upon every breeze. You wondered how the spiralling ferns would fare in the winter. They looked out of place now, the only green thing in these woods. Would they pop under the dirt like Diglett? Lose their leaves like a tree? Or perhaps they were evergreen?

You stared out at the lake. The overcast sky meant no reflection played upon its surface, but that was alright. The sound of Swablu-song echoing across the water was enough… niceness. And besides, you weren't here for the sights.

You were sure to stretch, especially your back leg that was bound tightly and stiff. You rolled onto your back to stretch again, spreading each toe meticulously. You had to recover, you had to grow strong. That meant doing everything, everything, you could in order to raise your chances.

Once you were satisfied, you began to hop from rock to rock. Moss had begun to grow under them, it seemed. You leapt down to the lake to drink water from it, saw movement, and pounced directly into the lake to catch a lone Barboach. The fish wriggled and writhed as you attempted to bite it, and much to your annoyance, its slimy body proved too slippery to handle. It darted away, and you tried to make chase until your paw landed wrong on the lake floor, sending you tumbling into the water.

Soaking wet and shivering, you pulled yourself out of the lake and started to at least attempt to groom the water and mud out of your pelt. Damn that idiotic water-snake, making a fool of you.

-

Zephyr used their teeth to pull their ill-fitting gloves a little farther up their legs. The fur beneath was growing matted, but something about wearing them was a comfort. With these, they could touch the Tar without worrying about it hurting them. It only ate living things, so they'd be safe. No matter how much their little sibling insisted otherwise, it only ate what was alive.

They missed their sibling.

The Tar churned by their side, so Zephyr stood and kept walking with a smile. The Tar attempted to follow them, though due to its nature as liquid, it had to slow and find its way around each wilting blade of grass and each splattered stone in its path. Plants turned violently purple and withered away, but it wasn't purposeful. It wasn't.

Maybe… maybe this time someone would listen.

Zephyr heard cries of alarm as they approached a tall, wooden wall that marked the exterior of a town. They caught the glimpse of an imposing, beaked figure at the top, eyes glowing in the shade of their hood. The Tar moved to be next to Zephyr, only creeping forward to carve a rotten circle around them.

"Halt," snapped the stranger, staring down at Zephyr. One wing reached toward the other and drew back an arrow of feather. "You are bringing calamity to our doorstep. Turn away, and we won't have to use force."

"That's not true!" Zephyr protested. They stamped their front paw. The grass beneath their green glove became a harshly contrasting purple as it came in contact with the remnants of Tar that stuck to the glove's fabric. "Listen to me, please! We can live in peace with it."

"It's been consuming everything. Our mothers, our daughters, our homes. You have no idea what you're even suggesting." The Decidueye aimed for Zephyr's eye. "Leave."

"No! I know what I'm-"

The arrow whizzed through the air. Zephyr did not even realise it had been released until it met its mark with a gust of air that ruffled their mane violently. A shadow passed over them, blocking Zephyr's view of the sun and archer, though they could still see the point of the arrow in front of their snout, tipped in black that dripped onto the bridge of their nose.

The Tar roared at the stranger, pulsing and gathering its mass in anger. The arrow drew away from the Eevee's face as it moved, twisted, and pulsed, readying itself.

Zephyr's tail wagged with emotion- fear, anxiety, frustration. Why would no one ever listen to them? Why did everyone insist on attacking? They weren't hurting anybody! They just wanted someone to understand! Their chest hurt, their snout burned, and they heard the town's guard shout.

Their throat stung with bile.

"Maybe…" The word came out as a whisper. They cleared their throat to try again, and the Tar moved to the side so that Zephyr and the Decidueye could see one another again, making itself a formless bubble in the air in pause.

The guard notched another arrow.

"Maybe you all DESERVE what's been happening!" Zephyr yelled, and the Tar responded, lunging for the top of the wall as they turned away.

-

You stared suspiciously at the runes on the ground, at the triangles that curved in on themselves drawn on a circle. You poked it with a paw and leapt back, fur bristled, when it glowed momentarily.

"It's a warp panel," chirped the ever-cheery and annoyingly persistent little Larvesta. "The guild has a really long ramp up, too, but this is the fastest way to get up. I, um, wasn't sure about them at first, either…! And this is more accessible to everyone, so…"

You looked to the side. The so-called warp panel was housed in a large gazebo, while the aforementioned ramp wrapped around a gigantic tree like an Ekans around its prey. You tilted your head up to the canopy, where the guild rested… and then at the normal-sized trees all around, which were about ten times smaller if you were generous.

"Technology is a mistake, but I suppose I will have to take my chances."

Flicker tapped their frontmost legs together and grinned at you. You noted that they had a leaf stuck to the outside of their cloak. Ridiculous little thing… "Yay! Let's go then, and I can show you all around the guild, Morgue!"

You rolled your eyes. It seemed as if you would have to get used to being referred to by name, here. You had been to places where true names could only be used by someone close to you and all strangers referred to you by species, and while you much preferred that culture, you saw no point in distressing the whelp by barring them from it. Besides, at least everyone here did not even consider calling you by 'he' or 'she.' You would take hearing your cursed name over being referred to in a way that made your skin crawl and stomach churn.

Maybe the name of Morgue wasn't so bad. It did sound threatening and intimidating. Now if only you had the damn height to back it up, instead of being eye level with the bug.

You shook the thoughts out of your head and leaned back to prepare, then hopped onto the circle to ensure all four paws would be on it simultaneously. When Flicker, giggling, walked onto the circle next to you as the circle slowly began to glow, you pointedly huffed and turned your head away from them. "I have not seen such electronic monstrosities before. I had to ensure that-"

You were suddenly hit by a heavy feeling of vertigo, something in your ears feeling the change of location while the rest of you- even your eyes- barely even noticed. Nausea tickled your throat and you gasped for air, ears twitching while the glow faded.

"R-right, I should have warned you that-"

"Yes, you should have," you scolded, spinning on Flicker. It felt more like the entire room spun toward them. "Are you truly this dense? Perhaps you should spar with me, it may knock some sense into you."

Flicker blinked in surprise. They opened their mouth to say something, blinked again, glanced away, and shuffled in place. "U-um…! Uh… W-w-well! Well, I…"

Why had you said that? It was too late to take back now, of course, but you didn't mean that… did you? You stared the Larvesta down as you mulled this over. Flicker shrank away, stuttering and playing with their front legs like they were a child that had received a Valentine's from their crush. Maybe you did mean it. You hadn't exactly intended on telling them so, the words just came out without your input on the matter. So, what did you do now? Were you supposed to keep moving on, as if you had said nothing? The thought of an apology crossed your mind for an instant, but was instantly crushed. You could not dare bow your head in such a lowly fashion, you were above that.

"A-an- anyways!!!" Flicker eventually managed to squeak out, and began to scurry off. "Let's, um, give you that tour!"

You then began to peer around. Now that your head wasn't spinning and your paws were more firmly on the ground, you could see you were in some manner of an entrance hall. The ramp led here, with the frankly awful warp-whatever to the side. You couldn't even see the little hovels from here, only the tops of the trees. The architecture looked more similar to a chapel than anything else, the floor tiling in the most colourful shade of black you had ever witnessed and the walls covered in artwork, most of which was much too abstract for you to make any sense of. The walls arced as they neared their peak, and the ceiling seemed to be made of some type of glass that you could not see through, but still allowed the shadows of leaves to play across the floor in intricate dances. To the opposite side of the hallway, you saw a corkboard that had many colours painted over it, a Salandit on a ladder attempting to pin papers to it as carefully as possible. Some of the papers had images of other Pokémon, be they photographs or drawn, while others had pictures of items or places- though all seemed rather text-heavy for your taste.

You followed after the Larvesta through the guild nestled in the tree, warily side-eyeing a group of Pokémon that passed by you. The guild seemed overly spacious, covered in so many colours that it made your head spin. It was… unnatural.

"This is our little fireplace for meetings, the library's just through this arch here, and- oh!" Flicker's horns glowed a little brighter, causing you to turn toward them at the sudden influx of warmth. "Usually when people join the guild, they do it by joining a team, maybe you could… ah…"

You tilt your head.

"I'll ask later!" They whirled around so quickly that the leaf that had been stuck to their cloak lost its grip and floated to the floor. "This way's the rooms for guild members, cause you'll be staying here before you know it!"

"Hm. Sure," you responded noncommittally.

You still wanted to leave.

-

"You have to listen!" Zephyr pleaded, wailed, and cried. "You have to listen to me! I know what I'm talking about! I know what I'm saying, I know how to fix things!"

And no one listened.

What had been simple drips of black on their face had spread, seeping into a wound that hadn't quite healed yet due to the their habits of picking and prodding at wounds- especially this one. It was a cut across the bridge of the nose their sibling had accidentally given them as Zephyr put Tar over their eye. It was the last thing that Morgue had given them, they couldn't just let it heal and vanish. They should have been more careful; they knew this, now.

And now, it was turned into a little game of tag.

They had to spread understanding, they had to make others understand. So, gloved paws covered in dark ichor, they snuck into places to bestow the Tar's blessing on others. They had learned from Morgue to be gentler, though sometimes the Tar wouldn't be so merciful to others, not out of malice, but of its own nature. If some died, it would be a shame. But, well…

If they didn't want to die, maybe they should start listening, right?

Zephyr stopped begging to be heard and began to simply act upon the wish they had for the world. Everyone would coexist with it. It was intellegent, capable of thought and speech. It was alive. Others HAD to understand this, had to care for it as they did!

Maybe, they caught themself thinking, some of these strangers SHOULD die, as revenge for Morgue. It was the fault of this awful world forcing them to hate the Tar that made them die, after all. There was a certain emptiness that came with the thought that threatened to swallow them whole and throw them into the depths of despair.

The Tar rose to lap waves at Zephyr's ankles, twisting and twining in a comforting manner, and they bowed their head to it. It was right, they couldn't simply give up now.

Not when they had something to live for.

-

You almost didn't see it. Later on, you would spend sleepless nights wishing you hadn't noticed at all, wishing you had simply forgotten about everything altogether, though you are never sure who you would be if you had missed it. The only thing you are certain of is that you would have grown to be a better person.

But, instead, you froze.

"Oh, that's the mission notice board," Flicker chittered away beside you. "Teams, like the one me and Muenos made, take these papers and do the jobs written on them so that-"

You moved toward the corkboard. The Salandit pinning papers to it had long since left, giving you a full view of every request. Missing individuals, lost items, discovered ruins…

Outlaws.

"Stop. All I want to know is where this mission," you snapped, rearing up and slamming your paw beside a brand-new page, "is located."

Flicker looked at the paper, then to you. They looked back to the paper, and their eyes widened as they began to connect the dots between you and the picture of another Eevee. "But- I shouldn't really-"

"NOW."

Flicker hesitated. Your tail lashed, staring down the image of the bastard that had ruined your life. They very clearly were weighing their options, deciding whether to do as you asked or not, unsure where this would lead. And, when they didn't reply, you took the paper in your teeth and tore it down, then walked to the warp panel.