So, just letting you know that this isn't canon or anything.
You see, I like to imagine that if Delga was a Pokemon, that he would be a shiny Delta Charizard.

I say this because this is an AU where Aladar wasn't able to save Delga here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/33620429/ then Delga was eventually brought back looking like this because of his lingering regrets and despair.

Just a bit of a creative writing thing that's been on my mind for a while.

Art is by:  Daikuhiroshiama

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…

Nothing but blackness.

It was strange, normally Delga would be fearful of the dark, but this darkness felt a bit comforting.

After all, it was empty; nothing but him and his thoughts.

And surprisingly, those thoughts were not as intrusive as they had been for a long time.

“...”

The red dragon just stood in place, almost as if he was floating in midair. He wasn’t expecting death to be as comforting as this; he was scared to go along with what he did, but there he was...

However, he did still have his regrets…

“Zangy…”

That was nothing more than a mutter.

Though he’s hated himself for the longest time, the action that haunted him the most was taking his life in front of the person who cared for him the most. Though it was second nature for the dragon to be selfish, that act was the most unforgivable thing he’d even done.

“I’m sorry…”

Yet another mutter to no one but himself.

Delga’s eyes had been closed for a while, not that having them open was much different. He could only see his body; everything else was just blackness as far as the eye could see.

Though he would have preferred to stop existing, he was rather content with this empty state of mind he was in.

But again, he had his regrets…

“I wish… You were here with me…”

Delga already missed the feeling of his Zangoose by his side.

He couldn’t help but hate himself more at the selfish wish.

After all, he felt as if he didn’t deserve anything…

“I miss you. You probably hate me now, but I’m fine with that; you deserved better than me anyway…”

He held his arms over his chest.

If there was anything he could do, it was pretend. Pretend that Aladar was there with him, resting on top of his chest, while he stroked the back of his head. He pretended that they were together, sleeping on their bed, and basking in each other’s warmth.

He wished he had this feeling of emptiness while he was alive, but the pain of his past weighed too heavy on him, and his Zangoose had paid the price.

And yet, the dragon had no tears to shed.

The selfish man wasn’t even sure he wanted to go back to his Zangoose.

Of course he wanted nothing more to be together, but the pain he felt while alive wasn’t something he would want over the nothing he felt here.

“I… I’m sorry…”

He began saying that again and again, his state not letting him think of much more.

He wasn’t asking for forgiveness though, knowing his words would never reach Aladar again.

“Al…”

Closing his eyes once more, memories of the past few months began flashing back to him.


He was taken back to his first encounter with his Zangoose, where he stood sleeping on Aladar’s lap after being pulled out of the hell he once resided in. A smile crept on his face as he watched the smaller male scratch his ears while he slept.

The next vision was the two of them sleeping together for the first time.

Though he couldn’t hear what they were saying, a small blush appeared on his face as he watched the Zangoose snuggle up with him for the first time. The idea of being touched by others was a nightmare to him, but here he learned that Aladar wanted nothing but to love on him. Tears rolled down his past self’s face as he embraced the smaller male for the first time.

“Mmm~”

A chuckled left his lips as the next memory played.

He had woken up alone in Aladar’s bed, forgetting about the previous night of his arrival. Freaking out a bit, he had hidden under the bed when the Zangoose’s footsteps were heard. It was so silly that Aladar laughed a bit as he coaxed him out of his hiding place.

That was the day he had his first proper meal in a long time; that breakfast was truly something, given how he was always just scavenging for scraps back in his old world.

The memories played, and the dragon smiled as the last few months of his life played before him. Even though there were a few outlier memories, such as him killing Minotaur, most were happy and enjoyable.

“If I wasn’t so weak…” He muttered. “Perhaps… I could have lived my whole life like this…”

A regret that would haunt him.

“But… I’m fine with this… I think…”

Even if it meant his Zangoose was suffering because of him now.

“He’s strong, I know he’ll move past me soon enough.”

“You should probably snap out of that.”

Delga’s eyes shot open at the comment that was just made.

He was supposed to be alone here; was there someone else with him?

“I really wouldn’t get too comfortable. This is your personal Hell after all.”

“Where are you?”

Blackness was all the dragon could see.

And what did they mean by his own personal Hell?

“I’m invisible, you moron.”

That was quite worrying to him.

“And again, you should probably stop sitting around and get moving.”

“Moving?”

Though he was now alert, Delga was still on the calm side.

Normally the thought of being around someone else would have sent him into a panic, but he was still drifting about in the comforting darkness.

“Sorry, but I’m not going anywhere. My place is here.”

“If you knew anything about what would happen after a while, you’d turn tail and run right about now.”

Before Delga could reply, a small light flashed, and a strange-looking dragon appeared before him. This dragon was not one he had ever seen the likes of before, and was around the same size as him. However the dragon was an odd combination of blue, white, beige, and black, and had some spiked, shadow wings.

Again, normally Delga would be freaking out, but his state prevented him from doing so.

“Who are you?” He asked.

“Me?” The odd dragon replied. “I’m just a guy who finds people close to Aladar, and gives them a second chance if they fuck up.”

Delga’s ears perked in interest.

“You know Aladar?”

“Give or take. He and I go back actually, not yours of course, but yeah. After all, he and I are from the same dimension.”

Again, Delga’s ears perked.

“I’m gonna skip the introduction and get to the point, I'm here to bring ya back to life before you’re subjected to eternal torment.”

Unrelated, but Delga had a bit of a hard time taking his new acquaintance seriously given the ridiculous pink and white striped shirt he was wearing. He would have made a comment about it, but the dragon wasn’t in the mood, also this guy seemed to be speaking in a somewhat urgent tone that was hard to ignore.

“However, you’re gonna have to leave this body of yours behind, since half your head is gone.”

Oh yeah, he might only slightly be paying attention.

He kinda got lost after the thought of being brought back to life.

“Are you paying attention?!” The strange dragon almost shouted, making Delga jump. “Ugh, it takes all sorts. Okay, long story short: You’ll look very different once you get back. I’m gonna turn you into a being similar to Aladar and I.”

“What?”

That was the only reply he could muster, and he could tell that the strange dragon was getting frustrated.

“Okay, never mind that! Just choose. Stay here for eternal torment, or fix your fuckup with Aladar! I really can’t stay here too long, and I’d rather not let Aladar down, unlike you.”

That was a tad bit of a low blow in Delga’s direction, but he was starting to think a bit more than he already was. Though he wanted nothing more to return to Aladar’s side, the thought more than scared him. He was afraid that his friend was devastated at the moment, and would possibly be too angry at him for killing himself like he did. There was also the comfort that he was feeling now in this emptiness, but the strange dragon seemed to be very set on the idea that horrible things were going to happen if he stayed.

He thought he was done with all the hard thinking by now…

While Delga stood there, the other dragon aggressively tapped away at the non-existent watch on his arm.

“I… I-”

Delga sighed, gritting his teeth. He already knew the answer, after all, he was already going about the regrets he had from taking his life.

And above all else, he wanted his Zangy.

“Okay, I’ll go back.”

“I hate your hesitation, but at least you made up your mind.”

Before Delga could respond, he felt his body starting to spin in place. A small whirlwind appeared at his feet, and the sensation of being pulled downward commenced. Part of him began to panic, because being pulled downwards usually didn’t mean anything good from what he’s experienced.

The sensation only lasted for a few seconds though, as if by a blink of an eye, he had fallen to the floor.

Ugh…

Looking around, Delga was no longer in the endless dark void, but in a somewhat foggy field. Looking upwards, he saw the moon creeping between clouds and the edges of what looked like a forest.

However, his attention really perked when he realized he was in a graveyard.

Before he could investigate more, he heard voices that were close by.

Luckily for him, there was a large tree beside him, so he could listen without being spotted.

“Come on, Al, we’ve been here long enough.”

Hearing that, Delga peeked from behind the tree, spotting three people; two were standing, while one was sitting in front of a grave. The two standing were a white wolf and a great-horned owl, while the one sitting by the grave was none other than his Zangoose.

He knew Lewis from the day he got to this world, but he assumed the owl with Aladar was his other best friend he always talked about.

“Aladar,” Lewis continued. “You’ve come here every day for a week now. You can’t keep doing this.”

Aladar said nothing, and continued to sit in front of the grave with his arms and legs crossed.

The wolf appeared to be growing frustrated.

“Al-”

“Lewis, that’s enough.” The owl interjected. “I know you’re angry at Delga, but you cannot take it out on Aladar. This is the first time that he’s ever had a loss like this, you cannot blame him for wanting to be here.”

“But-”

The owl sent a warning glance before the wolf could continue, then knelled down next to the Zangoose.

“Stay as long as you need, all I ask is that you get home before it gets too late.” That said, he patted the Zangoose on the head. “You have all the time in the world, but please don’t blame yourself for this, I’m sure you did your best to take care of him.”

That line really sent a wave of guilt though the dragon.

He watched as the wolf and owl walked away from Aladar, leaving the Zangoose alone.

Delga sighed, but he noticed something as he did so.

His tail, there was a flame on it.

“Wait, what?”

Taking that in account, he noticed that his body was a darker shade of red that it should be. His white shirt was glowing, and when he removed it, he was shocked to see that the bottom part of his torso was just an open red flame, which was not only freaky, but when he felt it, he noticed that it felt normal, as if he had skin there. That wasn’t all though, because at the corner of his eye, Delga noticed the bony wings hanging from his back that were flickering in and out of existence.

Lucky for him, there was a convenient puddle near him, where he looked at his reflection, and saw the fiery-haired, green-eyed Charizard that stood before him.

Charizard…

Delga had no idea where that word came from, but it had just appeared in his mind from nowhere.

“Charizard… I’m… I’m a Charizard…”

He wasn’t sure what a Charizard was, but it did remind him that the strange dragon he met said something about changing what he looked like.

“Oh yeah… He said I would become something in relation to Aladar…”

Speaking of, his little freakout was interrupted at the sound of the Zangoose crying.

Peeking back over to Aladar, the Zangoose now had his face buried in his chest, and was sobbing. The pain of guilt soon returned as the Charizard eyed the grave the Zangoose stood before; the one that had his name engraved on it.

“I believe that is your cue now.”

Delga jumped at the sound of the voice that came from behind him. Turning around, he was expecting to see that strange dragon, but instead, it was the owl that Aladar was with a bit ago.

“I will admit, I was not expecting to see you here, let alone looking like this.” The owl stated, adjusting his rectangular glasses. “You don’t seem to be dead either, despite your otherworldly appearance. Someone brought you back here, didn’t they, because I know I didn’t.”

Delga couldn’t help but back up a little.

“Wh-who are you?” The dragon asked.

The owl chuckled.

“You have no need to fear me, Delga.” He casually stated, a warm smile on his face. “My name is Rusty, Rusty Bardiche. I’m a librarian, and one of Aladar’s best friends. I’ve heard quite a bit about you; kinda wish we met under different circumstances though.”

The Charizard wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to that.

“Enough of that though, it seems that you’ve come back to make things right, haven’t you?” Rusty asked. “Count yourself lucky, most gods wouldn’t do such a thing for those who take their own life, myself included. However, I guess since you’re here, I’ll offer you a bit of assistance.”

That said, Rusty looked in Aladar’s direction; Delga following his gaze. Holding his arm out, the owl glowed a light-blue, and in response, the gravestone Aladar was sitting by began to vanish, as well as the recently-dug ground around it. Aladar of course noticed, and a surprised look began to mix in with his sobbing as he examined the area that was just altered.

“There.” The avian stated. “Now no one with the exception of you, me, Aladar, and Lewis will know that you ever died. However, this isn’t free.”

Rusty pulled out a card and handed it to Delga.

“Your new job at the library starts in two weeks. Call me within the next few days.”

Delga looked at the card, then back at Aladar.

“I-”

But before he could reply, the owl had vanished.

A sigh left his lips, and he knew it was time; he couldn’t delay any longer.

“Delga… what?”

Aladar, now sad and confused, was beginning to freak out a little, so there was no time left to leave him the dark.

The Charizard silently walked towards the Zangoose.

He gulped, nervous.

“I’m here.”

Aladar froze, his examination coming to a complete halt.


Delga could only watch as the fur on the smaller male’s frozen body gently blew in the wind. He knew that Aladar must be in shock from the sound of his voice.

“Zangy…”

Aladar’s body turned ever so slightly, and when his head finally gazed upon the Charizard, his whole body fell backwards onto the ground. Their eyes met, and Delga knew that the smaller male was fighting back a scream of some sort.

Whether it was from fear or shock, the dragon did not know.

“I… I’m sorry... For doing this to us…” Delga continued regardless. “You deserve a lot better than myself.”

“D-Delga?”

The Zangoose was practically choking on his tears, as his eyes were practically stained with them. His legs twitched in an attempt to stand up, but to no avail. Though he clearly didn’t know what was going on, he knew the man before him was the one he thought he had lost.

He was a little surprised that he could, but Delga managed to give a soft smile as he knelled down in front of Aladar.

“Yeah, I’m here.” He replied, letting out a sad chuckle. “I know, I’m a monster now, I guess it was my price for-”

Suddenly he was tackled down by the Zangoose, who was now sobbing uncontrollably into his chest. He could tell that Aladar wanted to say so much, but his state just wouldn’t let him. Delga wrapped his arms and wings around his friend, and decided to do the talking for the both of them.

“I’m not going to ask for your forgiveness; it’s too early for that… Let’s go home, alright? All I ask is that you give this Charizard another chance. This time I’m here to stay.”

Though he didn’t know if Aladar was nodding or just nuzzling his chest, he would assume that the Zangoose agreed.

If he didn’t, well, that was a problem for tomorrow. Aladar had already worn himself out, most likely from a lack of sleep; Lewis did mention that he spent a lot of time at the graveyard.

That out of the way, Delga stood up,and started the walk home.

“Tomorrow is another day…” He muttered. “Hopefully a better one as well.”