Chapter Text
“Alright, my brothers, listen closely
Tonight, we make this kingdom pay”
His wife and children’s deaths would not be in vain.
He would find the ones responsible. And they would all die
“Ten months of war, they've killed us slowly
But now we'll be the ones who slay”
This war had gone on long enough.
It had to stop.
And if Nikola wouldn’t stop it, or Estrid’s family wouldn’t stop it, then he would.
“Think of your wives and your children
Your families wonder where you've been”
The men in front of him tensed up, eyes darting around. Some to each other, others to the sky.
Some had lost someone, just as he had.
Others still had someone waiting for them.
“They're growing old and yet you're still here
Do what I say, and you'll see them again.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Abraham will lead the charge,
Nathaniel will flank the guards,
Alexander will let our mates
Through the gates to take the whole city at large.
Christopher will shoot any ambush attack,
And Esmond, you will stay back.
Samuel, secure Helen and protect her,
Isaac, avenge your father, kill the brothers of Anthony.”
“Yes, sir!”
Find that inner strength now
Use that well of pride
Fight through every pain now
Ask yourself inside
What do you live for? What do you try for?
What do you wish for? What do you fight for?
(What do you live for? What do you try for?)
(What do you wish for? What do you fight for?)
His men chanted in perfect unison, watching the fires below them.
Alva’s rage only boiled as he stared it down.
Josephine
Adelaide
And Amos
They would not be in vain.
The loss of his family would not be in vain.
The destruction of his home, his life, was not going to be forgiven easily.
I fight for us
I fight for us
Esmond took his position. The others prepared to jump down.
They’d been preparing for this.
Josephine
(What do you try for?) My babies
Adelaide.
Amos.
You didn’t even make it to three.
This shall not stand.
(What do you wish for?) I’ll do this for you
(What do you fight for?) Attack!
The men jumped over the wall, swords and weapons drawn. None below even stood a chance. Swords clashed with some, impaled others, slashed, cut, everything.
Alva watched, and smiled.
This was it.
This was vengeance.
This was fighting for love.
Something explodes above him suddenly.
Alva stumbles, trips, falls to the floor.
He glances up, finds blackness.
It feels familiar to him somehow. He doesn’t know how.
It’s something he hasn’t felt in years.
“Who was that?”
A vision
Of what is to come, cannot be outrun
Alva’s entire body tenses, and when he finally looks up, he meets the eyes of someone.
He doesn’t even know who it is, but their power is radiating off of them so strongly.
Even more authority than the King, even.
Can only be dealt with right here and now
Alva doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about, but something compels him to listen, to want to know more.
“Tell me how.”
The god almost scoffs at his determination, the fire in his eyes.
I don't think you're ready
A mission to kill someone loved
A foe who won't fall
Unlike anything you have faced before
Alva persists.
He watched his family die.
There’s no way things can get worse than that.
“Say no more,
I know that I'm ready.”
(I don't think you're ready)
O Fortuna, velut luna statu variabilis…
O Fortune, like the moon, you are of a changeable state…
nunc obdurat et tunc curat, ludo mentis aciem…
now hardening and then easing, the game of the mind's eye…
potestatis et divitis, liberat et servat…
of power and wealth, it frees and it enslaves…”
Jessie squirmed against the cloaked figure's grip. “Let him GO!”
“Do not interfere with the ritual.”
“I don't care about some stupid ritual, I want my friend back!”
“Your “friend” is going to bring us prosperity!”
“YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HIM!” James shouted, ramming himself into one of the cloaked men and swinging him into the one holding Jessie. “Weezing, Sludge Attack!”
Jessie reached for her own PokéBall. “Lickitung, get everyone away!”
Both their Pokémon sprang into action as she lunged the figures still chanting around her friend.
O Fortuna, velut luna statu variabilis…
O Fortune, like the moon, you are of a changeable state…
nunc obdurat et tunc curat, ludo mentis aciem…
now hardening and then easing, the game of the mind's eye…
potestatis et divitis, liberat et servat…
of power and wealth, it frees and it enslaves…”
The ones in front of her didn't see her coming when she tackled them both.
“Stop her!”
“Give me my friend back!”
Meowth's eyes snap back to normal at her voice. “jess..?”
“I'm here Meowth, I'm right here, I promise!” She isn't even sure if he can hear her.
It's getting louder.
The bright light above them gets brighter.
Jessie grasps her friend's arm, trying to pull him back. “Let go of my friend!”
“You'll kill him!”
Jessie freezes when they say that, just as the light reaches its brightest peak and blinds her.
Her hands drop, meaning she's let go of Meowth.
“No, NO-”
She can't reach him in time before everyone is blasted back.
Alva can’t comprehend what he’s looking at.
This is the threat?
There’s no way…
“It's just a Meowth…
It's just a cat…
What sort of imminent threat does he pose that I cannot avoid?”
More scenes flash in front of him, too fast for him to fully look at and detail.
This is a member of the one and only Team Rocket
Know that he will grow from a delicate to a power
It doesn’t make sense, though.
What can one Meowth do?
One fueled with rage as you're consumed by age
If you don't end him now, you'll have no one left to save
…what?
You can say goodbye to (your family)
Another scene.
Alva swears he can recognize his own voice.
“It's the fear machine!” A woman’s voice cut through next. “Don't listen to anything the other two say!”
“It's not like they listen to each other anyways,” Alva's voice-full of so much hate-overlapped with the woman’s. “They all hate each other.”
Something about that comment made Meowth's eyes darken. Unsheathing his claws, he turned back towards Alva. “The hell do you mean by that.”
“Oh, you really thought they would actually love a freak like you?”
What was he on about? He glanced at the God, but the God didn’t look at him.
“Shut up, you two!” Alva shouted. He couldn’t recognize his own voice. Full of hatred he had no idea he had. “Gengar, Mean Look that Meowth!"
Meowth goes numb, but he can still see the look in his eyes. Resilience. He wasn’t going to stop fighting, even if it killed him. "This shouldn't be new to you, Meowth. You never were able to find true family. Even if you really think Jessie and James will stick by you until the end, your fucking delusional."
"Don't talk about my family like that!" Meowth shot back, and the attack strengthened, sending him crashing to the ground.
"Alva, stop!" The woman was shouting now. "You'll kill him!"
"It's not like this is new," Alva's voice, his own voice, was dismissive. "No matter who you are, human or Pokémon , Meowth, your life will forever be the same. A neverending vicious cycle of abandonment and tragedy."
"Strengthen your attacks, Gengar! Show him that the people here will show him more love than those two spineless brats ever could!”
Before Gengar could make even one move, Meowth jumped at him, slashing wildly.
The Gengar, much to his surprise, screamed in pain, and went down instantly. Alva backed up, stunned.
“What the-”
Meowth stared up at him, eyes darkening and claws glowing purple. "Don't talk about my friends like that. I'm done letting you hurt me and my family. We finish this now.”
You can say goodbye to (your family)
Alva knows he has to do something.
He doesn’t want to hurt the Meowth.
And the gentleness that surrounds the small Pokémon tells him that he doesn’t want to hurt anyone either.
I could raise him as my own (he will burn your house and throne)
Or send him far away from home (he'll find you wherever you go)
Make sure his past is never known (the gods will make him know)
The God doesn’t back down, even as Alva screams at him.
I'd rather bleed for ya (he's bringing you)
Down on my knees for ya
The scene starts fading back into the kingdom, the fires around him.
The God starts disappearing.
I'm begging please (oh, this is the will of the gods)
“Please don't make me do this, don't make me do this!”
As he disappears, the words echo in his mind.
And something starts to break in his head.
The blood on your hands is something you won't lose
All you can choose is whose
“Come on, Alva!”
NOPE, you can't make me do it.”
“Please just give her a bath!”
“No.” Alva backed away from his wife, who was holding their small daughter. Dexia giggled, reaching her arms out.
“Da-da!”
“Yea, Dada, give her a bath!”
Alva snarled playfully, before scooping up his daughter. “Okay, fine, I'll give you a bath.”
Dexia clapped her tiny hands together, smiling up at her father.
The goddamned menace that he called his daughter.
Oh, how he loved her.
Bringing the Meowth home was both a brilliant and a terrible idea, at least in Alva's eyes.
Dexia was absolutely in love with him the second she laid eyes on him. And for the record, so was the Meowth.
They truly were a match made in heaven.
Seven years.
Seven glorious years Alva had with his complete, perfect family.
And then it all went wrong.
So. Very. Wrong.
Dexia had been playing outside, Meowth right beside her, when a malfunction had occurred.
One of the elevator pods had suddenly malfunctioned, frozen directly above the street.
To Alva, it didn't seem like a big deal, malfunctions happened all the time, it would get fixed momentarily.
But to Dexia, the world was ending. Meowth had run forward, chasing something(probably a Ratata), and was directly under the heavily swaying pod.
Dexia, being the somewhat stubborn seven year old she was, rushed forward, calling for her cat.
Elma jumped to her feet, eyes widened with panic. “Dexia!”
Alva was up in seconds, darting down the stairs and rushing toward the street.
Dexia scooped up her Meowth, ruffling the fur atop it's head, and looked back towards him.
“I got him, daddy!”
And then the pod fell.
It had been worse than thought.
One of the cars that had been driving in the lane beside his daughter had also been crushed, and the entire thing had caused a massive explosion, something Dexia had been blissfully unaware of until it was too late.
Elma screamed in horror, still frozen on the porch. Alva didn't move, for he too was frozen, staring at the fire that had engulfed half his family.
4 Years Later
He's a chancellor now.
He climbed the ranks, promised stability, and learned way too fast that Prince Raleigh reminded him way too much of his dear dead daughter.
Life just loved to fuck with him.
Levi stared down the red mythical. Volcanion.
He should have expected him to show up.
They all kind of did.
Its blasters were ready.
So was he.
“Glalie!”
The Pokémon shot out in a burst of blue light. Levi tapped his band.
“Mega Wave!”
The Pokémon grunted with pain as its Mega Evolved form emerged. Spikes appeared throughout his body, his jaw widened.
Volcanion raised its blasters, ready to attack.
“Glalie, Freeze Dry!” Levi ordered. Glalie obliged, and the attack hit Volcanion directly.
It then launched the large mythical Pokémon off the ship.