[BOOK 2 - Female Yandere Lopunny] She Loves Me Not

Part 10 | She Loves Me...?

You're awake in that place again. That realm of abandoned streets and lonely forests, a world left to rot behind your eyes.

You take a look around, calming yourself. No longer are you watching Lopunny and Aubrey fight; you are here now, safe, your face tickled by a warm breeze and an oddly earthy aroma in the air. You crack a small smile, cherishing this feeling of safety, before you remember just why you're here.

"There's not much time left," a voice comes from behind you. You whirl around to find Lopunny, her normal self, walking toward you on the broken asphalt. Her expression is cold and stern, yet somehow still bothered and afraid.

"Not much time?" you say, facing her now. She stands before you, letting out a long sigh.

"I connected with your consciousness temporarily to give you an option." Lopunny grabs your hand firmly, leading you down the street, or at least what you believe to be a street. You step over an abundance of cracks and fissures in the ground, alarmed by the poor state of this fake world.

"You know what's going to happen," she continues without looking back at you as she leads you along. "You know she's going to kill that poor girl. I can't even begin to restrain her anymore. She's so possessive towards you that her entire world revolves around you, and she's gone past her limit."

Lopunny's soft pink eyes glare back at you. "The way she sees it, the only way to show you how much she loves you — is to kill you and everyone you love."

Your mouth drops open. You begin to question the logic behind her killing you because she supposedly loves you, then a different thought comes to your head. "You talk about her like she's not you."

Lopunny takes her eyes off of you, appearing distant as she chooses her next words. "It's complicated. The simplest explanation is the mega-evolution she underwent when she was revived. Think of that form as... a second consciousness. A different Pokémon."

You tilt your head. "So what does that make you?"

She hesitates to answer. "The one that stayed dead." For the remainder of the time she pulls you down the street, you're silent. Not knowing what else to say.

When you finally decide to break the stressful silence, you look firmly at Lopunny. "Why am I here?"

"I told you, I have an option for you regarding how you take her down. That monster is not just going to let you kill her. But, if I were to use a fraction of her power, I could turn back time and—"

You stop her. "Turn back time?" It sounds so silly that you almost release a chuckle. "Did I hear that correctly?"

Lopunny turns a corner, her paw still grasping your hand tight. "You know full well she isn't normal anymore. When Arceus brought her back, he granted her some kind of ability."

Right... you've theorized about that. The fact she's practically playing God.

"I still have enough control to share that ability with her. So you need to choose."

She ends up stopping at what appears to be an altar at the very end of this broken city. Up a set of marble steps you go, walking through tall, chipped pillars toward a sight you never thought you'd see: Lopunny's mega-evolved form tied to a wall by strands of glimmering energy. They make you think of spider webs in a way, trapping her in this dormant state.

Her eyes are shut, her arms crossed over her chest as though she were just a corpse in her coffin. But this is no funeral.

"How... is she here?" you ask, looking at the monster in the flesh. It's really her.

"This is the image of her consciousness," says the real Lopunny. "In a way, this is her heart."

You approach the dormant Lopunny, bringing your hand to her cheek. She's warm, alive. "This is trying to show me something," you say as you eyes hover over the strange glowing ropes tying the Lopunny down.

"You catch on pretty fast," she says. "This version of her is a trapped soul, you see?" Her paw brushes against the ropes. "She's stuck and always struggling for control. I'm sure you wondered why her eyes always switch colors. That's not a normal thing, obviously."

You don't take your eyes off the sleeping Lopunny. "Yeah."

"It's sad, really. In reality, she knows what's she doing is wrong, and yet there's some kind of... demonic urge to continue doing it." Lopunny's hand moves from the shining ropes down to the sleeping Lopunny's cheek, caressing it in her palm. For a brief moment, you think you see a teardrop trickle out of the dormant one's eye.

"There's no way to kill her," Lopunny adds, facing you again. A determination unlike any other burns hot and true in her pink eyes. She takes her hand off of the dormant Lopunny and instead extends it to you. "So, it's time for you to make a choice. You can give into her and watch as she slaughters everyone you know, or I can use some of her abilities to reverse time, and give you a second chance at fixing her."

You look down at the broken pavement below your feet. It's a weird, hard choice. Turning back time? How is that even possible? You thought that was an ability too strong for any creature to have, even if they were a God.

But... if it's true, if that Arceus really did lend Lopunny godlike power, this is your only chance. You can go back to when she was only a sweet, innocent Buneary. You can save her again. But this time, you'll make sure to shape her into a civil being. Not a murderer or a psychotic lover... just a normal Pokémon.

And hey, going back means everyone will still be alive. So it's time for you to seize this strange opportunity! You smile and take Lopunny's hand, a satisfying clap echoing through the air in this realm when you make contact.

She smiles as well, blinking those pretty pink eyes.

"Turn back time. I won't lose you this time. I promise," you tell her confidently. She seems to take great pleasure in this reassurance, her smile growing wider as she yanks your hand. You startle, falling into her arms. Only then do you realize she only wanted to hug you.

To hold you.

To love you as herself, one last time.

"When you're back in the real world, I'll need you to hold Lopunny, okay? The fight between her and Aubrey hasn't started." She doesn't seem to want to let go. "Hug her, hold her back. You need to make contact with her as I reverse time. That is the only way I can use the ability without accidentally harming one or both of you, okay?"

You nod softly as she continues to embrace you tighter now. "Okay."

Lopunny is quiet again. Gradually you begin to feel as if you're fading out, but you recognize this to be the cue that you'll soon wake up in the real world again. You feel Lopunny squeeze you tighter one final time.

"I love you, Master."

Before you can say anything back to her tearful goodbye, the world around you fades to black.