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What Lies at the Core	By : Twill Category: Pokemon > General Views: 6203 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. I'm not worth anything so don't sue.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Rel followed Alex through the lightly forested area just off the path. The trees weren't as thick here compared to the mess they walked through to get to Mauville, but vegetation soon cut off view of the road. A clearing appeared before them, and Alex set his pack down against a tree. He withdrew Grovyle into the pokemon's ball.

That scared Rel. Even through everything else he'd done to her, his pokemon were always there to witness. She kept to the fringe of the small clearing, back to the wide, solid trunk of a tree.

Alex walked towards the center of the clearing and motioned her forward. “You don't trust me.”

Rel stepped from the shadowed edges. Not a true clearing, a few small trees dotted the meadow, but Alex's tent could be put together, and she had enough room to train should that be his purpose. She said nothing in response to his statement and stopped a few feet from the human.

Alex walked around her in a slow circle, his footsteps crunching softly in the dead leaves and rough grass. “And I'm not sure how committed you are. It would take a decent trainer at least a year to save for such a powerful TM. If you just left me after, I'd be out quite a sum of money, and a lot of time that I've invested in helping you.” His eyes scrutinized every inch of her, gaze emotionless.

“What do you want me to say, human?”

“I want you to trust me, show that you're willing to do what I ask. Create an illusion, something that will require concentration.”

A test? She created the illusion, the thick billowing monster she had used earlier in the day. He had no pokemon out though, what would- A hand spun her around by the shoulder.

“Do you trust that I will do what's best you? Are you willing to do anything that I ask, even if the request is as silly as creating a giant fictitious monster to scare people?” He looked down at her, her up at him, two sets of cold eyes, but one confident, sure, the others of a scared girl alone in a world that hated her.

“Make your point.”

“Hold on to that illusion.” He smiled and closed the distance between them. Hands went around her, one around the small of her back, pulling her against Alex's chest as the other lay across her back, his hand bringing her shoulder flush to him.

Rel moved to shove him away but her limbs refused, locked to her side by a mixture of fear and shock. “What-”

Alex's voice whispered in her ear. “You fuck me, I'll get you your fire attack.”

A test, just a test. He was just testing her. Breathing became difficult, yet she couldn't move. Her body refused to listen to her screaming mind. Her jaw slacked in a soundless whimper. No.

“Well my furred little pokemon?” His hand sank from her shoulder, trailing a burning line across her back, to her hip. Lower.

Her muscles tensed beneath his touch. She began to shake, still pressed to Alex's chest, the slow beat of his heart at odds with the frantic spasm of her own. A hand cupped her toned flesh and brushed delicate fur.

The soft whisper turned cruel, harsh. “It wouldn't be so bad. I'll be gentle, and you can change yourself to look something more appealing. We both get what we want.”

She fell, the human holding her up suddenly gone. A paw barely stopped her face from hitting the grassy ground. Eyes stared wide and unseeing, her arm threatening to collapse under watery muscles. She choked for breath.

“Get up.”

Rel's voice shook. “No. I won't.”

“I have no interest in fucking a pokemon. Now get up.”

Rel pushed herself up on trembling limbs, her breathing still erratic and forced. “Do you get some sort of pleasure from this?”

Alex's face held little emotion. “You don't even trust me not to hurt you. The illusion? Destroyed in less than a minute. If you're that terrified of me, why should I think you wont vanish one night?”

“And if I lost the next fight because I can't attack my opponent?” Anger surged within her, firming her limbs in preparation to fight.

Alex shrugged. “Then you get knocked around and I have to pay the winning trainer.”

“What is this some kind of twisted game for you?” Her voice rose. “You make some excuse of needing to win these stupid gym challenges to torment me and then brush it off as inconsequential?”

Rel grabbed the front of his shirt, her claws tearing the fabric and drawing thin red lines on his throat. “You think that you're any better than the last human who had me? You're not. You torment me for sport, laugh when I'm not looking.” She threw Alex to the ground.

Anger furrowed his face too. “A game? No. But I'm wasting my time with you. Sure you can almost fight, and you make pretty colors appear, but two words and you're a cowering mess.” He shouted now as well. “You got laid. Life's rough. Get over it.”

“Get over it?” Spit flew from her maw, and she advance on the human. “Just get over it? Trust you? You think I care if some human scum calls me a whore? I don't give a damn what you think, human. But every time you touch me I feel that monster's teeth in my flesh, his-” She cut off. Rage gripped her, body shaking. This human wasn't worth it. If she struck him now she'd kill him. She barely restrained herself. The thought of his skin tearing beneath her claws enticed her more than she'd admit. But without him, she was useless. She didn't know how to get food, where they even were in the world.

Rel threw Alex back to the ground. Where he belonged. “You treat me like a plaything. I see how you act around other humans. But any time you find a chance to kick me to the ground you leap on it. You're sick. I should just kill you.”

Alex scoffed. “That's because they are people. You're not the only one whose had a rough life. Other people just get over themselves. And yeah, I'm hard on you, because I thought that maybe, eventually you'd realize that being scared of your own damn shadow isn't going to get you anything.”

Rel spit. Her claws begged to tear the soft throat out of Alex's worthless neck, enjoy as his blood poured over her paw. She stood and walked towards a thick patch of tree.

“Yeah, just run away. How's that been working for you?”

“Fuck you!”

-----------------------------------------------------

Alex watched his pokemon leave and slammed his fist into a nearby tree. He cursed at the pain and stupidity of the action. He couldn't explain why she made him so angry. So much potential, and she spent her time moping about crying victim. And she'd ruined another shirt. He fingered the shredded collar.

He reached into his pack to pull out a new shirt, but his hand instead pulled a metal bottle from the interior. He sat against rough bark and opened the top. The brown, smokey liquid warmed his throat and turned his face. He didn't drink much anymore. He almost brought Grovyle out but decided against it. The pokemon wouldn't enjoy his current mood, and he needed a break anyway. Another swig made him cringe. Not the best stuff he'd had, abrasive.

The warmth of the drink did mellow him some though, head leaning back to rest against the tree between swigs of his lackluster whiskey. He thought being hard on his pokemon would be good for her. What kind of pokemon would survive in the wild being so weak of mind? He didn't get any satisfaction of bringing her to tears, but she needed to realize there's no handouts.

The world started to buzz around him, and shadows began to stretch as the sun sank lower on the horizon. He sighed, smelling the alcohol in his own exhalation. His Zoroark materialized out of those shadows. Without a word he took another drink and offered the metal container to the pokemon. His thoughts were fuzzy.

Zoroark snatched it from him and glared. She took a large drink from the container before her eyes bulged. A small mist accompanied her choking coughs. “What is-” She gasped, still coughing.

Alex laughed and took the container before Zoroark had the chance to spill it. He took another drink himself.

“Alcohol?” Her eyes were red. “Pokemon shouldn't drink alcohol.”

“Neither should humans.” He handed the drink back to Zoroark who took it more hesitantly this time.

The pokemon sniffed the container and wrinkled her nose.

“It's easier if you don't think about it.”

Alex laughed at his pokemon's shuddering coughs. He actually had no idea if a pokemon could even get drunk. The same alcohol clouded his own mind now, a pleasant haze that made the world seem just a little more vibrant, a little more pleasant. He was very aware of the blood coursing through his body. Sweat beaded on his brow from the warm drink he took back from Zoroark. He replaced the cap.

Zoroark sat a short distance from him, also resting against one of the trees that lay across their campsite. She didn't look at him, instead staring into the ground in front of her. Her posture screamed defeat.

His tongue stumbled over the words. “I'm sorry, you know. You don't act like any wild pokemon I've ever come across.”

Anger flared in her eyes but quickly glazed over with despondence once again. She seemed to have trouble forming words. “I'm not a wild pokemon.” Her voice had an empty cast to it.

“You don't know as much as you-” She put a paw to hear head. “What did you do to me?” With a lurch, Zoroark pushed herself off the ground, only to collapse a few feet later. “I- What did you do?”

“Two sips and you can't even stand up?” Alex stood to help her, his own legs trained to the alcohol's effects. The container had felt a lot lighter. “Here, get up.”

Zoroark swiped at his hand but missed, her eyes unfocused. Her words ran together. “What did you do to me?”

With a sigh he bent down and dragged his pokemon back against the fallen tree she'd been sitting against. She was fairly light, and he ignored her slight protest.

He sat down next to her against the log. “You okay? I haven't done anything to you. You're drunk.”

“Drunk? Pokemon shouldn't have alcohol. I can't be drunk.” Again Zoroark pushed herself up, this time maintaining her footing enough to sway in the failing daylight. She turned and stumbled, looking down at him with bleary eyes. Like the ground moved without her, she tipped and fell.

Alex grunted at the impact, Zoroark's head driving into his chest. He coughed. “You should sit down.” Then he felt the warmth on his chest, dampness spreading into his shredded shirt.

Zoroark quivered against him. “I want to go home.” She slurred against his chest, and hot tears soaked into his shirt. “Nothing happened like it should have. Maybe Seon wouldn't hate me.”

Great. “So then why don't you go back?” He gave her head an awkward pat. If there was anywhere else in the world he could be right now, he'd go. But he couldn't just leave the thing here. Not while she was on top of him.

“He sent me here. I hate him.”

“Who?”

“Mewtwo.” Her claws dug into his skin in a tight hug, her arms wrapping around his chest.

He winced but otherwise held still. One wrong move and he had a sinking feeling that Zoroark would kill him. She had been on edge before, but how would she react with the alcohol's effect? He couldn't keep his hands in the air though, so he placed one on her back in what he hoped was a soothing gesture.

Zoroark continued to cry against his chest. “I just want to go home.”

“How did he send you here?” He knew little of how the Core nations operated, and Mewtwo was an odd name.

“He's the leader, he can do what he wants,” Zoroark mumbled. “Maybe he can even get around a dark type's protections. Probably altered my mind.”

“Like a pokemon?” Alex stroked her back to keep her talking.

“Of course he's a pokemon.”

That made him pause. “And he leads one of the Core nations?”

“They're all rule by pokemon.”

Well, she was drunk. Her soft fur warmed him, and though he'd never admit it, it did feel nice. If she hadn't been such a mess to begin with, this pokemon would have been a blessing. Maybe he'd made the wrong choice in that forest months ago. She could have been truly incredible, but something had ruined her.

“How old are you?” he asked.

“I'll be six in a month or two. I don't know the date anymore.”

Arceus. What the hell was he doing? He held her like a child against his chest. “I'm sorry for being so demanding. You act a lot like a human sometimes.”

“I'm not like you,” but her heart wasn't in it anymore.

“Why are you different from the others?” He didn't get an answer, and before long Zoroark fell asleep in his arms. It wouldn't be comfortable, but the thought of waking his sleeping pokemon frightened him than a sore back in the morning. Of course if she woke from a nightmare he'd probably end up dead anyway, but at least he wouldn't see it coming. Her fur was warm though, soft and pleasant. It was a shame.

-----------------------------------------------------

Rel wanted to die. She didn't open her eyes, the thought of that almost made her empty her stomach. The world lurched as if trying to throw her from its surface. A headache screamed in her skull, and her mouth felt thick. But Arceus, the spinning.

She couldn't remember what had happened, and the last time she felt like this she awoke on a concrete floor in- Her eyes snapped open. Blinding light seared her vision, the pain in her skull intensifying, but she grit her teeth. Alex. And his arms were around her. Anger gave her arm strength, and she threw the human aside. Motion.

She heard his surprised grunt but ignored him, doubling over and vomiting on the forest ground in front of her. “What the fuck did you-” Her stomach clenched. She gasped for breath.

Alex's voice was a weak groan from her side. “Thanks for not doing that on me.”

Everything moved, spun tilted. It didn't stop. Eyes closed, open, it didn't matter. Bile burned her nose and throat, the vile stench adding to the whirling nausea. Compared to this new torment, pain seemed a blessing.

“What.” Rel gasped. “Did you do to me.” Nausea bloomed in her stomach, but she staggered to her feet, swaying with the world around her. Her claw pointed at Alex's chest. “You drugged me, and then – and then you-”

“I didn't do anything. You,” Alex pointed back at her, “fell asleep on top of me.” He dropped his hand after a moment. “I'm sorry about last night. I didn't even think of asking.”

Rel's eyes blazed. “Sorry? You?” She advanced in an uncoordinated step. “You treat me like I'm less than dirt, torture me.” Another step, a stagger. “You don't give a shit. So what did you do to me that would weigh on your twisted conscious, human?”

Alex didn't move, his face calm, eyes bleary. “I offered you a drink. I didn't realize how young you are, and how it would-”

“Why do you think I'm young.” Rel snarled.

“You told me, and about Seon, Mewtwo.”

Everything became less real, dizzying, blurred. Rel moved forward, a light emptiness filling in the gaps between her hatred and sorrow. She watched Alex's face turn panicked. Her eyes glazed. She felt little. Nausea and hatred.

“I wouldn't have.” Spit frothed at her muzzle. Forward, towards the human at her feet. “You did something. How do you know about them.”

The human spoke, but the words never reached her ears. Spinning, everything spinning. Movement, and a grunt. Alex lay sprawled feet from her, her limbs straining to keep herself upright. She was laughing.

“You shouldn't live, human.” Tears matted her fur. Another step and she faltered, falling to her knees, the human groaning just feet from her claws. She had blood on her claws. Not her blood. She could smell it. “You don't deserve it. What you do to others, without remorse. You're sick.”

More words. Human lies. Words that didn't matter. Excuses. Rationalizations maybe. They meant nothing to her. Empty promises. Her stomach burned. Rel fell to her side, the spongy layer of dead leaves cushioning and filling her nose with the smell of earth; the sharp tang of bile still clung to her fur. She couldn't tell if the noises between her ragged breathing were sobs or laughter. Her eyes closed once again. “I hate you.” The motion continued.

-----------------------------------------------------

Everyone tried to use her. That's all she was good for, a tool and nothing more. Darkness met Rel's heavy eyes, the quiet stillness of the forest a soothing backdrop to crackling flames. Her eyes caught the dancing firelight, reflecting it off glistening lenses back into the night. A shadow in the shape of Alex sat beside the flames.

She pushed herself off the ground and moved towards him. Her voice rasped, the smell of bile still clinging to her fur. “There's a river nearby?”

Alex didn't start. He'd obviously heard her wake. He didn't say anything, merely pointed out into the void beyond his small ring of warmth.

Rel walked in the direction indicated. She had better night-vision than any human, yet the thick foliage overhead blocked even the brightest stars, and no more than thirty feet from the fire plunged her into a darkness that clung like tar. It didn't matter. She felt her way through the endless black, feet snagging on trees, her outstretched hands feeling for looming trunks. The river hadn't been far. Her paw touched damp soil.

The next step stung, plunging her left paw into icy cold. A gasp broke the stillness, and the water bit through her fur like Alex's precise malice. She didn't stop though, only continued as the swift waters tried to drag her into a frigid embrace.

The freezing current did not cleanse her. She had tried to scrub the corruption and shame from her fur many times. She knew it would not come out, no amount of time could wash that away. The cold numbed though, blocked her from feeling the full torment that, in a just world, would have taken her will to live. She couldn't die though, not yet. Not anymore.

Rel laughed, the river lapping at her chin, her body encased by the bitter water. She scrubbed at the sick that clung to the edges of her mouth, letting the uncaring rapids carry the last traces away. In return, the river filled her with cold, a cold that would kill quickly if she stayed, the rapid current stealing away her life faster than the flow of time. How nice it would be. She quaked beneath the swirling waters.

Her eyes searched for the pinprick of light that would show her the way back to camp. Her sodden fur dripped against the dead leaves, weighing her down. The darkness hid the curvy body her slate fur normally concealed, the water forcing her to flaunt herself before the consuming darkness.

“Feeling better?” Alex asked.

Rel sat opposite him so the firelight would blind him. She could create an illusion had it mattered to her. Maybe yesterday she would have. “Just make me stronger, human. You don't need to pretend to care.” Her body shook, the fire not enough to return what the water stole.

The night dragged on, the fire eventually returning the warmth to her body and feeling to her limbs. Rel stared into the burning embers, the edges dancing in wavy lines, ever consuming the fuel, no matter how it hastened their demise.

Alex left without a word, returning to his tent to sleep. During the night, Rel rummaged through his pack to find food and water, a small snack to ease the pain in her stomach. Long after the flames died to a shimmering glow and her legs became stiff from sitting, a pale light filtered down through the leaves above. Fatigue had left her, or she no longer noticed it.

It took them two more days to reach Lavaridge. They had trained a few times, yet something about Alex was different, the way he looked at her changed. Had her outburst unnerved him? It didn't matter. He had explained his plan for the next gym. This would be her first true test. This would determine whether she could become the weapon she needed to be or if she was nothing but a toy for others to kick around. Like Alex.

The town was small yet busy place, the gym and a hot-spring attracting outsiders. She and Alex were there only to fight however. They had been able to make it to the city by mid day, and scheduled the last match of the day. Afterward, Rel stayed at their room in the pokemon center while Alex went to replenish supplies.

As their time approached, Alex told her what he wanted, and they headed to the gym. He wanted to be early to prepare for his grand entrance. This would also reveal her powers to this region. Word would start to spread, and for anyone looking, they'd be able to anticipate where she'd be next. They entered the arena to a scattering of cheers.

Alex stood, back straight in the challenger's box. “Flannery, as I have only the one pokemon, would you mind showing yours first?” The crowd was a dull buzz around them.

Flannery sniffed. “You come here with just one? A shame. I'll grant your request then. Magcargo!”

Alex smiled and raised his hand. “I think the lights are a bit bright.” He snapped his fingers.

Rel dimmed the lighting of the entire arena. Not truly dimmed, but she made the light less effective, removed some of it from the area. What used to be a brightly lit battlefield became filled with long shadows cast by the two trainers and the spectators, a roiling sea of indistinct darkness. A gasp was the last of the tumultuous noise from the crowd before they descended into muttered whispers. A thousand unheard voices swarmed around the still arena.

The shadows obeyed her will, and wisps of the darkness sought Alex's raised hand. The shadows coalesced into a pokeball in the palm of Alex's hand. Not the familiar red and white though. A sphere of perfect darkness that leaked a black fog. Rel watched for Alex's finger to press the activator.

A midnight lance arced from the pokeball and split the arena floor. A thick smoke as if from burning plastic curled into the air and began to form Rel's demonic body. She billowed from the ground, inky smoke wrapping in on itself to form pulsating limbs. Two pits of crimson light formed where a head would be to look down on the now cramped battlefield.

“What- That isn't a pokemon.” Flannery's mouth hung open, body unconsciously poised to bolt. Her pokemon seemed just as prepared to flee the arena.

Rel looked around, standing beside her conjured abomination. No one in the surrounding stands made a noise. Some stood, but whether to get a better look or to run, she couldn't tell.

Alex's voice sounded deafening in the panicked silence. “Shall we begin then?”

Flannery's eyes were still locked on the shadow being. “That thing is a monster.”

Rel made her illusion stretch, its amorphous limbs leaving trails of black vapor that hung in the air like Spinarak webs before dissipating. The crowd bent away from her creations movements.

“Do you forfeit then?” Alex stood with his arms crossed in the challenger's box with a hint of a smile on his lips.

“Of course not.” Flannery straightened her back and glanced at the judge, still clearly rattled. “I'm a member of the pokemon league.”

The judge nodded in response. “Begin!”

Rel struck with the man's words. The only indication her monster had even moved was the trailing back smoke, the large shadowy hand engulfing a frightened Magcargo. Her opponent locked up, and Rel rushed it. She didn't give it time to react. Her claws began to glow with dark energy, and in the shroud her creation provided, she struck.

Magcargo tried to counter with jets of flame, but the pathetic attacks were erratic and predictable, only allowing Rel to score additional strikes with her dark enhanced claws.

Flames never touched her, and she retracted the great shadowy hand. The fight had lasted less than a minute. Less than half that. Her heart pounded. They didn't stand a chance.

A gasp rose from the crowd, and from Flannery. Dark gashes on Magcargo bled Rel's inky smoke.

“What did you do?” Flannery called out.

Rel hadn't killed it. She hadn't even injured it greatly. The pokemon had probably been too frightened. Her trainer only smiled in response to the gym leader's question.

Flannery returned Magcargo, and released a Torkoal. “Overheat!”

There was plenty of time to react to the Torkaol's shuffling advance, it's stubby legs hindering any sort of surprise attack. The fact that it hadn't froze like it's predecessor did surprise Rel though. Rel backed away and struck with her shadow's immaterial hand again. It didn't slow the Torkoal.

Rel underestimated the pokemon. Heat radiated from the swirling depths of her creation before exploding outwards. So much heat from such a small pokemon. Rel threw herself to the ground and blocked out the searing flames from her mind. She needed to just hold onto her illusion. That was all that matted.

The acrid smell of burnt fur accompanied her rise. Pain waited just outside her collected focus, but anger held it at bay. Her fangs bared at where her opponent recovered inside her construct.

Rel tore the pokemon to pieces before it could even move after that first devastating attack. Not even it's tough shelled back could protect it from her claws. She struck Torkoal down, modulating a booming laugh from within the belly of her monster.

Flannery didn't look pleased when Rel had finished with Torkoal and moved her shadows away from its fallen body.

Rel beamed, remaining invisible next to her monster. Adrenaline set her paws shaking at her sides, eyes alert, seeking the next foe she would drop. The pain started to bleed through the panic Torkoal's attack had first caused. A small area of fur on her side revealed a shining patch of skin, each breath a stinging reminder of her error. Never again. She would make Flannery regret this fight.

Flannery held a pokeball close to her face and whispered something to the sphere, the gym leader's hesitation replaced by a ferocious stance, as if the human had a hope of winning.

Rel couldn't hear what the gym leader said, or anything for that matter. Her focus maintained the billowing illusion, and her eyes followed each minute shake of the gym leader's hand, waiting to crush her next opponent. And make that girl regret.

A Blaziken flashed into existence at the opposite side of the arena. The bird's eyes the only indication of surprise as it dropped into a fighting stance, ready to attack. This pokemon was much stronger than the others had been.

Rel hissed. Could she even beat the thing? One hit could end it for her, and the Blaziken would be quick, much quicker than the others. Her eyes narrowed, and she prepared a new strategy. Her face contorted into a gleeful snarl.

Flannery spoke. Not loud enough for the crowd to hear, but enough for Rel's heightened senses to pick up the words. “C'mon Blaziken, destroy that thing.” Her pokemon nodded, yellow eyes watching like a bird of prey.

These fights were too easy. The fire in her side fueled her conviction. Rel used the pain. She moved towards the gym leader, and Blaziken attacked. Sparks danced from her opponent's feet, and it charged her creation. Viscous shadows were ready to consume the pokemon.

Rel made her creation laugh before Blaziken strode back towards Flannery. Not the true Blaziken, but an identical copy. She hid the other one from sight, confused in the swirling aphotic mists. A grin screwed up the Blaziken's beak.

Rel's Blaziken stopped halfway back to Flannery, whose eyes grew wide with each calm step her pokemon took. Tiny wisps of black still clung to its feathers.

Flannery took a small step forward, right to the edge of the white line that formed the arena's border. “Blaziken?”

Blaziken just smiled and lifted a trembling hand. Three razor-tipped claws reached for the pokemon's own throat, its eyes locked to its trainer's.

“Blaziken, what are you doing?” Flannery reached out to her pokemon. “Challenger, what have you done?”

Three claws sat against the pokemon's own throat, the gym leader's mouth open. Rel moved closer. Revenge, the terror that shown in those eyes, she reveled in it; she had power. The girl didn't look so sure anymore, wild red hair framed such a terrified face. Child. Rel smiled, and Blaziken tore out its own throat.

A desperate scream. “Perun!” Flannery dashed towards what she thought was her pokemon, Blaziken's blood quickly soaking its chest feathers. It slumped to its knees.

“Back off,” Alex called out.

Rel didn't need his order though. She drank in the pain on the gym leader's face, the arena lines forgotten. Right before the trainer was able to throw her arms around her dying pokemon, Rel made it all disappear. Her monster, the dimmed lights, her fake Blaziken.

Flannery crashed to the ground in an unrequited embrace. She jerked up, confused, tears ready to fall from her eyes. The gym leader's Blaziken stood, just as confused in the middle of the arena. Flannery leapt for the ground and towards her pokemon. This time trainer and pokemon met, Flannery's arms going around the tall pokemon's red-feathered torso, face in its chest.

Rel scowled at them, unseen, and returned to Alex's side. She gave his arm a tap to let him know she was there.

“That was cruel.” He said, eyes still on Flannery.

Rel snorted, receiving a sidelong glance from Alex.

Flannery wiped her eyes and hastily returned Blaziken before approaching Alex. She didn't say anything as she approached, or when she stopped some ten feet away, eyes red. Flannery reached a hand into her pocket and pulled out a small red and yellow piece of metal. She threw the badge at Alex, hitting him and the chest, and turned away. A few feet from the exit, Flannery broke into a run and disappeared through the doors.

Alex watched her the entire way before picking up the glimmering piece of metal. “I want you to get me out of here inconspicuously.” He made for his own exit.

Rel followed. “I need to be able to fight in a straight up fight. Get me a stronger sparring partner.” She winced and touched the burnt skin gingerly at her side.

Alex looked at her but said nothing. The doors gave way to a crowd that never saw them leave the gym.

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A/N: Concrit and reviews are much appreciated. Your honest opinion helps me improve my writing. Feel free to email me or message me at http://151chan.org/canalave/res/2747.html
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What Lies at the Core