On Angel's Wings
This is a story I wrote that had been taking up a lot of space in my mind. It's told from Urbain's perspective, and covers the climax of PLZA. It's also gaisei because of course it has to be.
It's here on AO3 if you're like me and you don't like reading fanfics off tumblr posts!
Angels walk among us in this world.
My mother was one. Though my memory of her has faded I can still recall her pink, feathery wings, and the soft glow of her halo.
She came from a long line of angels, a direct descendant of the first group of humans who were blessed by Arceus and instructed to do good in this world. True to her kind, she dedicated her life to helping others and creating a better world. As a psychic-type angel, her intellectual abilities were far greater than those of a normal human. During her time in this world, she researched and developed technology that improved the lives of people worldwide.
People tell me that I look a lot like she did. I have her bright blue eyes. The pink in my hair was the same shade as her wings. We have the same smile.
But that’s the extent of my inheritance. Though I’m technically a half-angel, I wasn’t blessed with the wings, the halo, nor the abilities. My sister Taunie was luckier. She’s smart as a whip, and if you squint, you can see the faint glow of a halo hovering over her head. They say she’s on track to become the youngest Pokemon professor in history. Unlike me, she is worthy of being a half-angel. I’m just a completely average-looking 19-year old guy who’s only good at making Pokemon hurt each other. And I’m not even the best at that.
That’s why I am the one sitting on a rainbow throne, hundreds of feet in the air.
There was no way that I could let Harmony be the one up here. She’s a regular human, she might as well be an angel. I wouldn’t be shocked if Arceus came down to earth and blessed her right here and now. She is endlessly kind, compassionate, self-sacrificing, determined, and just about every other nice word you could think about. On top of all that, she’s an incredible trainer. Her Pokemon and her can practically read each other’s minds. There’s no wonder that I’ve never won a battle against her. She might be nice usually, but on the battlefield, she is vicious. She’s beautiful too. Honestly, it’s gotta be criminal for one person to be this amazing.
She must think I’m an asshole now. Telling her that I have to be the one to go up with Floette and save the city. If I die up here, that’ll be her last impression of me.
Well, that’s why I’m here. If things go to shit, I’ll be the one to die instead of her. I can’t tell her that, though. She’s already berated me before about being too willing to sacrifice my life. But I think it’s fair. I am utterly unremarkable. I might be team leader, but quite frankly, that’s just in title. Lida runs the strategy meetings. Harmony’s the greatest trainer this city’s ever seen. Naveen… does his own stuff. But he came in clutch when Harms had to battle Canari, so that’s something. All I do is run around the city and try to justify my existence by helping randos. Can’t even be with my team that much. I’m pathetic.
So yeah. If someone’s gonna die, it’s gotta be me.
Back to the present. I’m sitting on a throne with Floette at my side. I shift around, trying to get comfortable. As of late, my back has been aching like hell. On my right, I’ve set up my phone to video call the team below. They’re all watching me intently. Harmony’s right in the middle, staring straight at me with those pretty ash-brown eyes. I look away from the screen. I need to stay focused.
“Floette, you ready?”
“Yes!” she chimes. She gives a little twirl of approval. After a year of being around her, I’ve learned generally how she talks.
“Alright. Let’s go.” I press my palm to the control panel. It’s enormous, and clearly built for a much larger person than me. Probably AZ’s. It reacts to me just the same, however, and Floette is engulfed in a glowing translucent sphere. I can see the Mega Power drawing itself out of the tower and into her sphere. She floats up into the very tip of the tower as the pink light finishes concentrating around her. The tower around me returns to its usual dull gray color.
Is… that it? Have we actually done it? I hear Vinnie over the phone confirm that the light engulfing the tower is gone. Holy shit! We might’ve done it! I breathe a sigh of relief and look over to the camera. Harmony looks happy, but cautious still. I don’t blame her. It feels too easy.
Then the room turns pink.
I lift my head upwards. Light is beginning to shine down upon me. Floette? Is her Mega Evolution ending? No, the light is getting stronger. And stronger. Something physical is emerging from the light… holy MOTHER OF ARCEUS WHAT IS THA-
My world turns black.
Am I dead? No. Dead people can’t hear themselves screaming. They can’t feel the pain of vines wrapping around their body, threatening to crush them. My mouth is exposed at least. I can scream. I can kind of breathe. That’s something. I struggle against the vines, managing to snap a couple. But more take their place instantly. And I’m being tossed around. Is the entire top of Prism Tower moving? I’m gonna throw up. My back feels like it’s on fire.
Ange has gone rogue. Hyperrogue, even.
My phone is still on. I can hear someone else screaming. What the hell is going on down there? I hope they’re okay. On second thought, maybe I should be worrying about myself. The vines don’t seem to be getting any tighter. My mouth still works. I can breathe. I hear my own screaming subside. My throat feels raw.
“URBAIN!” Harmony’s voice is coming from my phone.
“I’m okay, Harms. These vines hurt like hell but it’ll take more than that to finish me. What’s the situation down there?”
“Rogue Megas! Everywhere!” I hear her panting. She’s running. “Hang in there. I’m coming.”
I’m pretty sure I aged ten years in the next half hour. I had never been so scared. Scared for myself, scared for the people below me. Scared for the very existence of my city. I listen intently as Harmony battles her way through Rogue Mega after Rogue Mega. They don’t seem to be as insanely overpowered as the ones we’ve been facing for the last several months, but they’re definitely an issue. I can hear other voices around her: Lida, Naveen, Vinnie… is that Canari?? Corbeau? Philip? Ivor? Jacinthe! Lebanne! Tarragon! Grisham and Griselle! It sounds as if every powerful trainer in Lumiose has shown up to support Harmony. This is a slight comfort.
I can tell when she reaches the bottom of the tower, because Ange seems to have begun redirecting its power towards attacking her. The vines loosen their grip. My arm breaks free, and I tear the vines off my face.
The paneling had been torn off in a couple spots around the tower, giving me a view of the entire city. It is beautiful. It is HORRIBLE. The destruction around the tower is immense. There are ambulances lining the streets, giving aid to the injured. I wonder how many are hurt, how many are dead. Everything is awash in an eerie pink light. I crane my neck and look down from my position. Just barely, I can see Harmony. She’s fighting two enormous flowers. All I can do from up here is yell words of encouragement. There’s a huge, green figure nearby. Is that Zygarde?? Well, the city is in immense danger right now. It’d make sense. The flowers go down, no match for Harmony’s battle prowess.
“URBAIN! TAKE COVER!” she yells. I see why. Zygarde is levitating upwards, clearly preparing to use a move. Though difficult, cover my head and neck with my hands as the blow comes.
A Thousand Arrows pierces straight through the tower, penetrating Ange’s shell. By some stroke of luck (or perhaps Zygarde was being careful), I am spared from the onslaught. The tower gives a mighty roar of pain before resuming its onslaught.
This vicious cycle of attacking back and forth continues for what feels like an eternity. All I can do is watch and pray that Zygarde’s attacks don’t hit me. Ange seems to be growing weaker, which in turn is weakening the vines. With a devastating Core Enforcer (which nearly throws me off the tower), Zygarde finishes off the Hyperrogue tower. The pink light goes away.
“YES! GOOD WORK ZYGARDE!” I can hear them celebrating over the phone.
This time, I don’t allow myself to relax. Not until Floette is safe. Not until I’m on the ground. But the tower is quiet and unmoving, like a good inanimate object.
I take that back.
Ange throws its head back, putting me back in an upright position. The vines wilt away instantly. The entire room is flooded with a blinding white light. It unfurls the top pieces of metal like a flower as Mega Power starts to accumulate in a huge, glowing orb. I hear panicked noises.
“If it uses Light of Ruin like that, the entirety of Lumiose is gonna get wrecked!” yells Naveen.
“What the hell do we do?!” cries Lida. “Wait, Harms, what is that?”
“The pebble that Zygarde gave me…” I hear the sound of rock breaking. “IT’S A MEGA STONE!” There is the sound of running and a leap, and then a tumble.
“HARMS! YOU DROPPED YOUR-oh well. Urbain, you still there?”
“Lida, what the hell is going on??”
“Ange is using the rest of its power to say a final ‘fuck you’ to all of us and destroy Lumiose. I think… HOLY SHIT SHE’S DOING IT! LOOK OUTSIDE!” I get up precariously from the chair and balance my way over to the edge.
Zygarde has a gun. A really, REALLY big gun. That’s one hell of a Mega Evolution. Floating beside it was Harmony. Regardless of my predicament, I gave a big stupid smile. I had never been so relieved to see someone before.
I nearly fall off the tower as Ange releases the rest of its power into the air. The room is no longer blinding me; I can look up. Now headed straight towards us is an enormous death ray of energy. I look towards Zygarde. Its gun is pointed straight at it.
“ZYGARDE!” Harmony screams. She extends her arm out. “NIHIL LIGHT!”
In a devastating beam of vicious energy, Zygarde let loose its final attack. It makes contact with the beam and…
Fireworks. The energy explodes into harmless particles and scatters across the night sky like fireworks. I grin. It’s absolutely beautiful. I wonder what Harmony…
She’s gone. I look over the edge. A hundred small green squishy creatures had appeared. Zygarde cells. That last attack must’ve been enough to dissolve the main body. But where’s Harmony?
She’s falling from the sky. She doesn’t have her phone to catch her.
Without second thought, I seize my phone and jump off the edge of the tower. I tuck into a dive. She hadn’t fallen far. Zygarde must’ve only just deconstructed. I grab her and push my phone into her hands.
“URBAIN!” I see her face. She’s shocked. Only then does she register the phone in her hands. “No, you need this!”
“It’ll be fine, Harms.”
The automated fall breaking system only works for one person.
“DON’T DIE!” she screams in my ear. She tries to shove the phone in my hands.
“I’m sorry.” She knows what I mean. I’ll have to let go at the end, but for now, I hold her tight.
“I can’t live without you.” She presses her face to my shoulder. “Don’t go. Don’t go.”
If I die, it’ll break her heart.
I’m such a fucking idiot.
For years, I’ve lived on the assumption that people didn’t care if I lived or died. They sure acted that way when I was homeless. Since my mom died, there was no one who really cared for me other than Taunie.
Now there is. And I never properly realized it.
I have to live. I NEED to live.
I don’t need to be a martyr to be worth something.
Something clicks within me, as if there is an explosion in my soul. There is an excruciating pain in my back, a pressure that is building and building until something bursts out of my back in an explosion of light and blood, tearing straight through my shirt and my mother’s jacket.
Wings. They hurt like hell. The part where they connect to my back is no doubt bruised and bloody. But never mind that. Holding tight to Harmony, I use them to swoop parallel to the ground just before we hit the ground. I wrap my wings around Harmony to cushion her as we (VERY PAINFULLY) skid to a halt on the pavement. I see then that they’re pink. Like my mother’s.
I let go of her, and she stands up just fine. Good, she’s unharmed. I pass out from pain on the spot.
“Urbain!” A woman’s voice. She sounds like sunshine. I run into her arms. She ruffles my hair as I hug her tightly. I only reach up to her waist.
“Are you proud of me, Maman?”
“I am very, very proud. You’re so brave!” She presses a kiss to my forehead. I giggle and look up at her. Then I remember.
“Maman?”
“Yes, dear?”
“I ripped your jacket.” I’m holding the poor thing in my hands. There are two enormous holes lined with blood and feathers.
“That’s no problem at all, dear.” She strokes my hair. “It’s yours now, afterall.”
“Oh! Thank you, maman!” The jacket disappears. I step up on my tiptoes and reach out for her hand. She takes it. “Maman?”
“Yes, Urbain?”
“Are we going home now?” I can see our house in the distance. A small cottage in Geosenge town. I look up at my mother. I can’t see her face, but I can tell what she’s feeling. “What’s wrong, maman?! Why are you sad?” She kneels down on the ground so that she’s at my level.
“I can’t go with you, Urbain.”
“But why?! I want to go home!”
“You have things to finish first, my dear.”
“But I want to stay here with you!” She has to stand up. I am now taller than her. She pulls me into another hug.
“I’m always with you, Urbain. I’m not going anywhere.” She strokes my hair as I sob. “You have so many good friends. And you’ve done so much good. I am proud of you. Unbelievably proud.” She gets up on her toes and kisses my forehead again. “I love you, Urbain.”
An image appears in my mind. A hospital bed. Wires hooked up to a body. Tall people in white coats. That’s when she said that last.
“Urbain? What’s wrong?” There are tears running down my face.
“I’m so sorry, Maman.” I let go of her. “It’s my fault. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” I push my scrunched up face into my hands. She tries to come in for another hug, but I step aside. Then she grabs my wrists and pulls my hands away from my face.
“Let me see your face, love.” I look at her. Where her face should be is a constantly shifting mirage. “I’m sorry.”
“Stop being sorry. Stop apologizing. None of this was your fault.” She runs her thumb down the side of my cheek, wiping away tears. “You have better things to put your energy towards, no? Like these.” She touches one of my wings. “Take care of your wings, okay?” She smiles, and for a second, her face becomes steady. Then it disappears.
“I love you, Maman.”
“I love you too, Urbain. Be good now. I’ll see you later.”
“Yes Maman…”
I’m on a hospital bed now. My face is wet with tears. My back is entirely numb. I’m lying on my side, wings spread out behind me. The hospital gown is cold on my skin. I groan.
“URBAIN!” Harmony. She’s sitting at my bedside, holding my hand. She gives it a squeeze. “Hey! How’re you feeling?”
“Feels like I got Zone 17ed.”
“So like shit? I can imagine.” She brushes a hair out of my face. “Have a good sleep? You’ve never slept so long before.”
“How long was I out?”
“A full day.”
“Arceus.” I look over at the clock. It’s already evening. “How’re you, Harms?”
“Me? Worry about yourself! I’m unscathed if you’re wondering.” She squeezes my hand again. “I thought you promised no more hospital trips.”
“I wouldn’t have said that if I’d known there were two enormous wings growing in my back. At least they’re out now.”
“You have been complaining about back pain lately. I thought you were just getting old.”
“I’m your age!” She laughs. I could listen to her laugh all day. I wonder if she knew how captivating she was. “Anyway, you never told us you were an Angel.”
“My mom was. Dad wasn’t. Taunie’s much more of an Angel than I am.”
“Really? You both look like normal humans. Well, now you don’t.”
“She got the intelligence that comes with being a psychic-type Angel. And a bit of a halo. I got nothing until now.”
“Can’t you also talk to Pokemon?” I stare at her.
“Awhat now?”
“I mean, you’re talking with Floette all the time. It’s rare, but I’m pretty sure it’s one of the abilities of psychic-types. Like that Team Plasma guy, with the green hair!”
“When you hang around Floette long enough, you get to know how she talks.”
“Urbain, all I hear from her is ‘Kyururu!’ Same sound every time. You’re the only one who can get meaning out of it.”
“I mean, you talk with your Pokemon all the time too. And you guys are completely in sync on the battlefield.”
“I can only pretend to talk with my Pokemon. And my Pokemon only know what to do because I spend hours drilling them about commands. I never see you do that.” Huh. Well. That’s curious.
“Maybe I am more interesting than I thought.”
“You do have enormous pink wings now.”
“That does help, doesn’t it. Maybe I should get it tested.”
“Do they have tests for that kinda stuff?”
“Yeah, at Angel clinics. Maman took us there sometimes.”
“We can arrange for that once we get back to the hotel. Do you need anything right now, by the way?”
“Could use some water.” My throat still hurts from screaming so much.
“On it!” She gets up from her seat and heads into the hallway.
I’m feeling much better now. One trait of Angels is their advanced healing. For water-types, this is massively accelerated, but it’s good enough for the rest of us. I sit up in bed. My wings are definitely not flyable, but they don’t hurt as bad. I’m pretty sure there’s a way to fold them in so that they fit under clothes, but I don’t know how, so I just let them spread out on either side of me. It feels nice letting the feathers ruffle in the breeze from the open window. I can see the sunset. It’s beautiful.
Harmony returns and sits down with my cup of water in her hand. She looks so pretty right now, the light reflecting in her eyes and dancing in her hair. I down the whole thing and hand the cup back to her. She takes it and places it on the nightstand. Much better.
“Oh! You’ve got a bit of water here…” She uses her thumb to swipe a spot near my lip.
I grab her hand and hold it in place, pressing my face into it. I can smell the floral perfume she always applies to her wrists every morning. There are callouses on her hands from climbing around the city and throwing Poke Balls. I look up. She’s frozen in place, her face red. She gently pulls her hand back.
Well shit. I think I’m gonna throw myself off Prism Tower again.
“Do you like me, Urbain?” I pause, wondering what she’s getting at. Of course I liked her! Did she not just see me do that?
“Ever since I saw you in Gare De Lumiose.”
“Well, I like you too.” She looks embarrassed. Her eyes were looking down at her lap. “But…”
“But what?”
“I need you to promise me something first.”
“What is it?”
“That you’ll never pull something like that again.” Her face is somewhere between immense sadness and anger. “I don’t want to lose you, Urbain. Ever. You mean more to me than anything else.” There are tears now. On both sides.
“I swear to you, Harmony.” I place my hand over hers. “I will never recklessly sacrifice myself again. Never again will I be such an idiot.”
“Thank you.” Hesitantly, she leans in and gently kisses my cheek.
“You don’t need to be so careful. I’m healing fast.” I take my free hand and pull her in for a kiss.
