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Sinners: Arc 2	By : Stormborn Apostle Category: Pokemon > General Views: 46514 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
A/N: Yes, I am still alive!

Sorry for the delay. Hopefully the length of this installment will at least partially make up for that; this is the second longest chapter I've written thus far. This chapter introduces numerous new characters...some nice, some nasty...and while most of them only receive a basic introduction, they will all become much more important to the story as time goes on.

An important note: from now on I will be responding at all reviews at my Livejournal. The reason for this is that apparently AFF doesn't like an author responding to reviews with reviews, which is something I've been doing since I first started writing here. I haven't gotten warned about it or anything, but I'd like to err on the side of caution. LJ is better than the mailing list since it's more accessible.

Review responses can be found here:

http://slashfirestorm.livejournal.com/25092.html

Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Also, Arc 2 has recently passed 30000 hits! Thanks to all my readers! :-D

Word count: ~43000

*****

Chapter 31: The Demon Stirs

With the exception of the two great and powerful Pokemon gliding through the chilled morning air, the skies over northwest Hoenn were all but empty of life.

Each of the two Pokemon had a human secured to their back. Both riders were red-haired men, tall and well-built. Despite the bitter cold, both men wore their battle-hardened confidence without any visible sign of discomfort. Though more than a decade separated them in age, it did not show. The older man had aged well, appearing to be a healthy thirty-five instead of on the far side of forty. The younger, however, wore his lifetime of harsh battles and sleepless nights like a shroud. They could have easily been mistaken as brothers, perhaps even twins.

Atop the heavily muscled Dragonite was Silver Vizzini, son of Giovanni and the bane of Team Rocket. The other Pokemon was a huge and ancient Gyarados, with fangs as long as human arms and scales as red as blood; riding upon that mythic creature was Lance Blackthorn, whose exploits as the unified League Champion of Kanto and Johto were the stuff of legends. Long ago these two had been enemies, but that rivalry had not lasted long; both had quickly learned that Giovanni was far too formidable an opponent for either of them to defeat on their own. What had started as a mere temporary partnership against Rocket had slowly transformed into a fire-forged friendship, and that friendship was the only reason that they were still alive.

"There's one," Lance called out, pointing down at the broken landscape. "Seviper, I'd guess."

"I got it." Silver's Dragonite swooped down and fired a massive Hyper Beam, annihilating the twisted monster's body and fusing the ash and soil beneath it to glass. They'd quickly learned that it was best to fully obliterate the Nightmares' bodies, as that was the only way to be sure that they would not resurrect. While it seemed that they were resurrecting less often as the strange energy field over the region faded, both trainers were nothing if not thorough.

"It's getting harder to tell what they were. I think we're nearing ground zero." Lance tapped the scanning device over his eye, frowning at the readout. "I'm still not picking up any unknown airborne pathogens, though."

Silver scanned the ground below, looking to see if the sound of the blast was attracting any more of the beasts. "I'm not so sure it's a disease. It's affecting too many species, and diseases rarely cross between Pokemon and humans. And that's not even taking the...zombie thing into account."

"You think it's artificial, then? Maybe Giovanni's work?"

A Nightmare crawled out of the drifts of ash, struggling weakly. This one appeared to have been human at one point, though it was hard to tell with the gaping mouth growing on its back. Organs were visible within the bizarrely-placed maw, sloshing wetly. There wasn't even a throat connected to it, just lips and long, lumpy teeth. Gyarados launched a Fire Blast and put the thing out of its misery. When Silver spoke again, his voice was oddly flat, lacking his usual confidence. "No, no...I've never seen anything like this before, Lance. Never. These things could not have been made by man. Not even the abominations in Giovanni's basements have...mouths growing from their backs, or teeth growing into their skulls."

That was not completely true, but it would have to do. Silver had seen things as bad as this in the Rocket laboratories, but he never spoke of them...not even to Janus, who had seen them as well and was equally hesitant about bringing up the subject. For every success created by Rocket genetic engineering, there were dozens of failures...and though it was rare, some of those failures survived long enough to be born. Some had muscles and minds far too strong for the rest of their bodies, ripping themselves apart the first time they used their powers. Others had cobbled-together anatomies that failed horrifically once they were taken off life support. These creatures rarely lived for more than a few minutes after birth, but their accelerated minds were almost always aware, causing them to die messy, screaming deaths. Silver kept the worst of these memories locked away in his mind, behind doors that were triple-bolted and had no knobs, and only in his nightmares did those doors creak open.

"No," Silver repeated, trying to shake off those memories. "They don't have any of the common traits of Rocket bioengineering...no infrared eyes, no bone bracing, no psychic dampeners. There aren't any Rocket installations in the area...none I'm aware of, anyway. Even if there were, a specimen breach is exceedingly unlikely...after Janus's escape, all test subjects are engineered to be sterile, and all have remote-access kill tech in their brains. They would have been killed as soon as they escaped containment. And as fucked up as they are, Rocket rarely causes destruction without a reason...they would have little to gain from intentionally releasing things like this, and it would attract unwanted attention to them. I...just don't know."

Lance hadn't missed Silver's hesitancy in speaking about Giovanni's experiments, but he knew better than to push the issue. If there was anything important to share, Silver would share it, regardless of how deeply it affected him; Lance knew the man well enough to be sure of that. Better to just change the subject. "Do you think that Janus could give us some answers?".

"Probably. The last time we spoke was more than a month ago, but he told me that he was having strange visions about black clouds and monsters. Looks like his visions weren't far off the mark. I'll have to ask about Chimney, too...the halved eruption was far too convenient to be natural. I suspect it was a Great One, probably Rayquaza, judging from the way the airborne ash disappeared. When we're done here, I'll go meet up with him."

Lance nodded. The Kanto and Johto Leagues still had their doubts about Janus, largely stemming from his previous affiliation with Team Rocket, but over the years he had provided the Leagues with enough critical information to gradually earn their trust. It was a cautious trust, however. Janus was extremely secretive and refused to speak directly with any League officials, always using Silver as an intermediary. The Leagues didn't like this quasi-anonymity, but they weren't willing to risk losing such a valuable contact by refusing his terms. Lance certainly didn't want to lose his trust, as Janus was likely their strongest ally against Team Rocket; he rarely struck Rocket installations, but when he did, the destruction was brutal and absolute.

"There were some sightings of an unknown dragon in Johto last week," Lance said. "It was heading out towards the ocean. It's unconfirmed if those reports are legitimate, but they match previous descriptions of Rayquaza fairly well. Whether it was him or not, we were very fortunate that the eruption happened the way it did. If Chimney had gone off the way everyone was predicting, then Hoenn would have lost a lot more than just Lavaridge. Instead of a few hundred dead, we'd be looking at a death toll in the tens of thousands. We were very lucky."

Silver gazed out at the broken landscape, wondering if that was true. Yes, Mauville had been spared from the brunt of the eruption, and the air was scraped clean of ash (though the ground was still coated in the stuff, and likely would be for a long time)...it was so lucky that it almost had to be providence. But despite that good fortune, something else had changed with the eruption, and not for the better. His own precognition was extremely weak, little more than a way to cheat at cards, but even he thought that he could sense something evil in the air.

(I should have gone with Firestorm to Fallarbor,) he thought to himself bitterly. Instead he had gone south to check out another lead on the Sky Pearl and ended up fighting one of the Black Thirteen. Medicham had been badly injured during the battle, and after their escape his Kaishakunin had claimed to sense some incredibly powerful aura coming from the direction of Chimney. At first Silver thought it was merely the eruption, but when he got back to civilization he'd discovered that the eruption had been over for hours when Medicham felt the strange presence.

It feels like a nightmare, Medicham had said. Like...living nightmares. They're...hungry.

Silver hoped that those proggings were just a delusion caused by Medicham's injuries, or that his Pokemon had only been sensing the monsters below. They were horrific enough; if there was something else here, something worse than these beasts, he did not want to find out.

"We're coming up on Fallarbor," Lance announced, pointing at the high cliffs ahead of them. "Let's see how they fared. I doubt they'll have power, and the communication relays are still down, but at least we can get something to eat before we head back."

A minute later, they were hovering over what little remained of Fallarbor, stunned and speechless.

Over the course of their long war against Team Rocket, Silver and Lance had seen a great deal of destruction. Even under the restrictive conditions of a friendly fight, trainers of their caliber usually left a great deal of damage in their wake. The combat chambers at the Pokemon League were a testament to the power exchanged in such contests; built of the strongest materials and reinforced by mighty psychic barriers, they nevertheless required extensive repairs after each battle. As for when trainers of that level came to blows without any rules or limitations...well, their last major battle with Team Rocket had occurred in Saffron City, and it resulted in the destruction of several dozen blocks and the deaths of over a hundred people who couldn't get out of the crossfire. When the Pokemon involved in a fight were capable of whipping up tornadoes and conjuring earthquakes with the same ease as a human throwing a punch, avoiding collateral damage became an impossibility.

Yet, despite the many broken battlefields they had left behind, neither trainer had never seen anything like this. Fallarbor was nothing more than a broken wasteland of shattered debris atop a churned mix of earth and ash. Hardly any structures were left standing, and the few that did were cracked and listing. Corpses of humans and Pokemon were everywhere, nearly all dismembered and blown apart, many in varying states of corruption at the time of their death. There were dozens of living mutants here as well, but unlike the beasts they observed earlier, these ones weren't scavenging; instead they were traveling towards the center of the former town, moving as though guided by some unseen force. The typical infighting was nearly absent. The horde was either unaware of their presence or disinterested.

"What the hell happened here?" Lance asked, struggling not to vomit at the smell of the shredded bodies. "It looks like the whole town was bombed. It wasn't the pyroclastic flow...the surge died out miles from here."

Silver scanned the broken city's remains. "There's no traces of explosive residue, very little charring, no residual fires...it wasn't a bombing. It would take thousands of tons of explosives to do this, anyway. It looks like everything was just...pushed away by some enormous force. If it wasn't so large, I would think that it was a psychic event, but even Janus would have to struggle to create a blast of this magnitude."

"Psychic, huh?" Lance asked quietly. "I've seen a blast pattern like this before. It was after the Zapdos incident a couple years back When we went back to the scene, there were signs of a large explosion. It was nowhere near this magnitude, but it was still very large, and there was no sign of fire or explosive residue. Sabrina thought it looked like a Psychic attack had caused it, but no normal Pokemon could have caused destruction like that. We estimated the comparative yield at around two kilotons of TNT."

Silver's eyes narrowed. "Giovanni was there. Are you suggesting it was XD001?"

"No, it couldn't have been. Its mind-breaking had relapsed just a couple weeks before, so there was no way it could have been battle-ready during the Zapdos incident. Besides, even if XD001 is capable of causing a blast of this magnitude, it wouldn't explain the monsters or volcanic activity."

"Then just what are you suggesting?"

"I know of somebody who was present at the Zapdos incident...somebody who was also spotted here in Hoenn a short time ago, causing trouble in Slateport. This explosion is at least ten times stronger than that one, but...well, it has been two years, and he has gotten much stronger during that time. Especially regarding his psychic abilities."

"Kiako?"

"Kiako." Lance's expression hardened. "I would have put the destruction of a civilian city beyond even his cruelty, but perhaps there is no limit to his evil...and considering how little information we have, he's our only possible lead. This whole mess stinks of Rocket's work...I'd be shocked if they weren't involved at all. And Kiako's powers could cause this kind of destruction, at least theoretically."

Distressingly, it was possible. Though it had never been confirmed, it was strongly suspected that Kiako was one of Giovanni's test subjects at some point, and the vast majority of their Psychic specimens were highly unstable. Many of the heavily modified Pokemon had significant problems, and the failure rate of enhanced humans was so high that Rocket rarely even attempted it. A common failure of such modifications was psychic runaway---the brain failing to release the proper chemicals to stop a psychic reaction---which resulted in massive releases of power. These events were usually debilitating or fatal, but Kiako was notoriously resilient. If anybody could survive such an event, and survive it more than once, it was him.

Silver's fists clenched as he remembered that Slash Firestorm, along with the Silver Gardevoir, had been headed this direction the last time he saw them. He had presumed that Rocket wouldn't make a move for Psymakio until they were further along with their plans, but what if he'd been wrong? Even if Rocket wasn't responsible for the eruption or monsters, they would have no compunction against using the situation to their advantage. And seizing the Silver Princess when she was away from civilization (and more importantly, away from the Master of Thunder's protection) would definitely have been to their advantage. For now he could only hope that they managed to escape Fallarbor without being killed or captured.

"I'm not picking up any abnormally high traces of psychotropaline," Lance remarked, interrupting his thoughts. "The whole city would be contaminated if Kiako blew himself up. Either it wasn't him or he survived it."

"Considering what he's survived before, it's not impossible that he survived this," Silver said.

"I know. And my gut tells me that Kiako was involved in some capacity. Still, we need evidence, not mere assumptions and guesswork. I think that we should split up. I'll head back to Mauville and contact the Hoenn League...I have a feeling that the mere possibility that Kiako was responsible for this will be enough to get their attention. They'll likely lock down the sea and air routes on the west coast...it's only been a few hours since the airborne toxic gases disappeared, so it might not be too late to catch him, assuming he's alive. We'll also need to call in a bombardment of this region as soon as possible...we can't afford to have these things on the loose."

Silver nodded in agreement. Though the monsters were slowly succumbing to their mutations, it might be weeks before they were all dead, and the thought of the destruction they could cause in that period of time was chilling. Most of the monsters were of little threat to trainers as strong as he and Lance, but the vast majority of trainers in Hoenn wouldn't stand a chance against them. "What do you want me to do in the meantime?"

"We'll need proof of our claims to get the League to order a bombardment. Fly over the city and document the destruction...while you're doing that, keep an eye out for anything that could confirm the presence of Kiako or any other Rockets. I doubt any evidence could have survived the explosion, but maybe we'll get lucky. Regardless of what you find, don't stay here for too long...I'm concerned about the high concentration of monsters here, especially with their strange behavior."

Silver glanced warily at the column of lumbering beasts below. He had no intention to stay here any longer than he had to. There were way too many of these things crawling around, and though most of them were no threat to trainers of their level, there were a few nasty outliers; the weakest of the mutants were only in the thirties, with the majority of them hovering around the three-digit mark, but a few spikes on his readout nearly reached one thousand. He had no desire to fight anything that powerful, especially with Medicham out of commission.

"Alright. It shouldn't take any longer than an hour to make my sweep, especially with most of the city gone. I'll meet up with you at Mauville when I'm done. You be careful too, Lance...if Kiako was involved, then there's a good chance that other members of the Black Thirteen might be in the area."

Lance nodded, and the two went their separate ways...he, back to civilization...and Silver, deeper into the toxic wasteland of Fallarbor. Though the source of infection had been destroyed, the sores on this part of the world still festered and throbbed. The danger was by no means over.

*****

The Lombre attacked with a screech of rage, its flabby flippers slamming against the ground as it charged. This was the first time Kiako had a chance to compare a Pokemon's strength before and after the corruption process, and the results were terrifying---despite its ungainly movement and dismemberment, it was stronger by an order of magnitude. There was little time to contemplate this enormous power boost, however.

While he was not as injured as he initially thought (apparently his 'shadow' had indeed been suppressing his movement during their conversation), he was still far too weak to wield any of his powers without risking another runaway. Not that it mattered; even if he was fresh, his powers could not defeat the creature as it was now. He only had one Pokemon left, and though it was a poor match for this dry and barren place, it was the only option. Kiako snatched up the Pokeball and released Relicanth right into the charging Lombre-thing's path. The two collided in mid-air and crashed into the ground. The thickly-armored Relicanth was unharmed by the impact, despite being caught off-guard. The Lombre was not so lucky; the force of the collision had collapsed its ribcage.

[Kiako, what the hell is going on?]

"It's still alive, watch out!"

The Lombre pulled itself off the ground, leaking blood and some other murky fluid from its eyes, and screeched in outrage. Long vines burst gorily from its back, each tipped with razored suckers, flailing almost too fast for Kiako's eyes to track. They swung at the immobile Relicanth, intending to smash him to pieces and suck up his remains, but Kiako recalled his Pokemon an instant before the vines struck.

(That was too close,) Kiako thought to himself with a frown. Even though Relicanth was far stronger than any of these monsters, the force of the vines and the type disadvantage would likely have killed him in a single blow. Kiako released him again, this time by his side.

[What are you doing?] Relicanth asked, his voice harsh and pained. [Where are the others?]

"The others are still out of commission," Kiako growled. "Gyarados is still unconscious, Hariyama and Magmortar are too injured to fight, Metagross is blinded...and unless we get out of here soon, Aggron might not survive his wounds. I need you to hold these things off until our rescue team arrives."

[And how long will that be?]

"I don't know."

[It had better be soon, because I won't be able to survive long out of water, especially when fighting enemies of this strength.] He glanced at Kiako, amazed that his trainer was still standing with such grievous wounds. If his left arm had been normal instead of morphic, he would have bled to death in short order. [Just what happened to you?]

"I'll explain everything later. For now we have to focus solely on survival. I don't know why some of them are holding back, but we can't let that advantage get away. Cut their numbers before they change their minds."

[Understood.]

The Lombre ran at them again, screeching and wildly swinging its vines as it charged. Now that Relicanth was alert, the monster never stood a chance; a cloud of jagged boulders appeared around its body like a cloak and smashed inwards, crushing it. Rancid blood gushed from between the packed pillar of stones. It never even had time to scream.

[A ready-made cairn. I hope you're grateful for the undeserved honor.] Relicanth eyed the ring of Nightmares growling and twitching around them. [Would anyone else like to try? Being killed by me is the closest to an honorable death that any of you are going to get.]

[PREY!] screeched another beast, this one a serpent-like thing with a scythed tail so large that it needed a dozen buzzing wings to hold it off the ground. Poison dripped from the tip of the blade and onto its back, scorching its flesh, but the creature did not seem to feel pain. Relicanth summoned another Rock Tomb, but the Nightmare slashed through the larger stones before they could close in, and the smaller stones caused only minor damage.

[I see, so you have some capacity to learn. That's alright. I have many lessons to teach. Let's see if you can keep up.]

The sky, still perfectly clear from Rayquaza's Air Lock, began to swirl and shift. From out of nowhere, dust, water, and ice began to form high above the broken city, massing into dark, fat clouds with unnatural speed. Matter out of nothing...the scientists of the world had studied both the universe and Pokemon for centuries, and despite all of their discoveries and triumphs, these powers continued to perplex them. Everything in the universe followed the same basic rules, the same laws of physics...everything, that was, except for the creatures known as Pokemon. Only they seemed to be capable of breaking these laws...creating and destroying matter and energy, defying the laws of mass, speed, and time. Not just the Great Ones, either; every single species of Pokemon ever discovered was capable of violating those seemingly concrete laws to some degree. As Relicanth turned a bright, clear day into a raging thunderstorm in the space of thirty seconds, Kiako couldn't help but envy such power. His own abilities, though strong compared to humans, did not even begin to compare.

The torrential rain quickly dug cloudy rivers and ponds in the loose dirt and ash, each drop giving Relicanth more strength. It would not be enough to fight indefinitely---his body was too bulky and heavy to be viable when not submerged---but at least now he had water moving over his gills, and the energy flowing in the rain was granting him great power. The problem was time---while he could sustain the Rain Dance for hours, on land he would suffocate long before then. He would have to move quickly.

[You are no match for me,] Relicanth said to the snake-thing. It circled him warily, its venomous tail twitching in the rain. [You do not even comprehend that, do you? Pitiful creature. Power is useless without a mind to guide it.]

Water began to gather in front of Relicanth, building higher and higher as the rain continued to pour. It rose into an enormous column, a churning tornado made of water and clogged with ash. The Nightmare scuttered backwards, uncertain.

[Die.]

The pillar of water snaked through the air, crashing into the beast from above before it could even think of evasion. The pressure of the blast shattered the creature's bones, and the jagged ash and soil swirling within the waterspout ripped the flesh from its body. When the attack dissipated, leaving behind a deep pool eroded into the earth, there was no sign of the Nightmare except for a few scattered chunks of meat floating in the red-tinged water.

More came at them now, the smell of blood eroding the last traces of their fading group-mind; even those that considered Kiako 'GOD' were no longer capable of resisting their hunger. Relicanth tore through their ranks, manipulating stone and surf to shred the beasts to ribbons, but it was not enough...more Nightmares were shuffling and crawling in from the rest of the city, drawn by the enormous power being flung about. Kiako tried to keep Relicanth between himself and the horde, but the sheer number of opponents was quickly making that all but impossible.

"We must cut their numbers, now," Kiako growled, trudging through the now foot-high water and climbing on top of Relicanth's stony hide. "Is this enough water to use Crushing Abyss?"

[I believe so. I can briefly intensify the Rain Dance if I must. Don't worry, they stand no chance against me.]

Relicanth dug his powerful fins into the ground as the floodwaters began to rise and rotate...slowly at first, barely noticeable, and then faster, breaking against the bodies of the Nightmares in crashing waves. The whirlpool was centered on the deep pit carved into the ground by the Muddy Water attack used to kill the serpent-thing, and the pit rapidly deepened as the whirlpool dug into it. Within seconds the speed of the maelstrom began to sweep the Nightmares off their feet, dragging them towards the flooded tunnel like an enormous drain. A few of the stronger monsters were able to resist the current, snapping hungrily as they clawed through the waves towards Relicanth and Kiako.

[Your strength is impressive. But not impressive enough.] Relicanth opened his mouth, exposing a ball of crackling golden energy. [Hidden Power.]

Electricity surged through the ash-choked surf, shocking the Nightmares enough to stun them and send them falling back into the waves. The floodwaters began to recede as the whirlpool sucked the dozens of Nightmares into the chasm, packing the panicking monsters into a watery grave. Kiako jumped onto the muddy ground, keeping a wary eye on the horizon; every Nightmare within half a mile had been captured and plunged into the watery depths by the attack, but more were lurking in the distance. Worse still, Kiako could sense something else approaching...an enormous power that was as different from these Nightmares as the Nightmares were from normal Pokemon. They could not hope to fight the source of that power and these lesser monsters at the same time.

Relicanth sliced through the mud and dove into the watery chasm, brutally bashing his way through the crowd of drowning monsters. Once he reached the bottom, several hundred feet below the surface, he closed the top of the pit with a thick slab of stone, trapping them all inside. He could have stopped there, condemning the dozens of beasts to drown in the dark while he watched, but mere drowning might not be sufficient to kill them permanently. Unwilling to risk any of these Nightmares surviving, Relicanth used a touch of Earthquake to squeeze the column, forcing the water into an increasingly smaller space as the stone and soil compressed. The thrashing of the monsters grew more wild as the pressure began to skyrocket.

[My kind live miles beneath the sea,] Relicanth intoned, aware that the Nightmares could not understand him...but enjoying saying it nonetheless. [At such depths, the water pressure alone can crush those who aren't built to survive it. Even the sturdiest submarines risk crumpling like empty soda cans should their integrity fail. Can you imagine what such pressure would do...to creatures like you?]

The chamber continued to constrict, pushing the scrambling monsters into a cramped ball at the bottom. They pounded furiously at Relicanth's body, desperately trying to escape, but he did not so much as flinch at the barrage. Capillaries began to burst, eyes began to pop, and organs began to rupture under the immense pressure.

[Crushing Abyss.]

The sealed pit exploded open as the pressure went critical, spewing water and pulped corpses like some obscene geyser. Kiako stood stoically as it splashed on his battered body, allowing the rain to slowly wash the mess off. Relicanth dug his way out of the chasm a few moments later, his hide cracked in places---from the panicking Nightmares, not the water pressure---but otherwise no worse for wear. Every Nightmare within half a mile had been drawn in, trapped, and utterly destroyed. The monsters beyond the whirlpool's range were now retreating, falling back into the crumbling ruins.

[It appears that I've scared them off,] Relicanth said. [I suppose even brainless beasts have enough instinct to flee from a vastly superior opponent. I doubt that they'll harass us again.]

Kiako wasn't so sure. The Nightmares had never shown fear before...only a few even had the presence of mind to defend themselves while assaulting potential prey. They marked a target and attacked it ceaselessly, regardless of how injured or maimed they were; death itself did not always stop them. Even the presence of Rayquaza had only pushed them into foothills, but that had not been retreat; they had been gathering, waiting for him to weaken, refusing to give up on their prey. If anything, Rayquaza's presence had actually drawn more of the Nightmares out of the hills and towards Fallarbor...that was why he and Relicanth were so outnumbered now. Power attracted the monsters, not repelled them, and even tremendously powerful prey only made them pull back for a short time while they waited for a better opportunity to strike.

He glanced around warily, his sense of self-preservation beginning to tingle. Nothing was approaching on the ground; his psychic explosion had blown away all the buildings within miles, leaving a flat, featureless plain of dirt and ash. Surely they would see something coming long before it reached them. Relicanth would easily detect anything moving underground, as well. The only danger was from the sky, now covered by low-hanging thunderclouds for miles.

Apparently Relicanth realized this as well; the Rain Dance abruptly ended, the darkness instantly replaced by the blinding rays of the morning sun. Kiako threw his hand over his eyes at the sudden brightness. "Damn, did you have to cancel it so suddenly?"

[It wasn't me! It was overridden by a Sunny Day! Get to cover, now!]

As Kiako ran towards the pillar of rock that marked Lombre's grave, a tremendous beam of golden energy rocketed down from the sky, striking the earth and evaporating the lingering water in a great blast of steam. Another Solarbeam followed, striking the cairn and causing it to erupt in a burst of stone shrapnel and a cloud of pink vapor. Kiako stumbled at the sudden tremor and fell to his knees, vomiting as the unbearable stench reached his nostrils. Relicanth threw a dome of tightly-packed rock over his vulnerable master; it would only take a single Solarbeam before shattering, but any protection was better than none. There was no other cover to be had for miles.

[Stay down and cover your head,] Relicanth barked, turning his attention towards the sky, [I will draw its attention away from you. Make no effort to leave the dome until I give the all-clear.]

The monster hovered hugely over the battlefield, squawking atonally. It had been fully corrupted only hours before the veil was dispelled, and the physical mutations were relatively minor. Instead of a barely-viable abomination, it looked almost healthy, and its species was recognizable.

[An Altaria,] Relicanth sent to Kiako. [It seems that the strength of a mutant is determined by its strength prior to infection. Most of the monsters attacking us were made from meager little creatures...Sandshrew, Slugma, humans...enemies we could have crushed effortlessly before they mutated. But this one was older and fully evolved, and it would have possessed significant strength even before the transformation began.]

The Nightmare screamed down at Relicanth, flapping its massive wings and stirring up great clouds of dirt and ash. A typical Altaria was rarely taller than a human, but this specimen would have dwarfed even Aggron's immense size. Its wings measured at least forty feet from tip to tip, and instead of the pure cotton-white clouds that their kind were known for, these wings were made of black, swirling thunderclouds that sparked with lightning.

[I may not be capable of defeating this opponent. My strength is quickly weakening without water, and I cannot overpower its Sunny Day. I will fight it with every ounce of my strength, but if our allies do not arrive soon...prepare yourself for the possibility that we will not leave this place alive.] To the Altaria, Relicanth said simply: [Come at me.]

Kiako huddled in the darkness of the rock dome, unable to still his nervous trembling. He had never been this helpless in his entire life...even at his most catastrophic defeats, he had never been pushed to such a humiliating low. When you stripped away the morphic arm, the deadly firearms, the psychic powers, and the superpowered Pokemon...he was just a normal human trying to hide from his mortality.

A mere human hiding from battle, crouching in a pool of his own vomit, his clothes all but torn to shreds.

A frail and fragile human, ripped to shreds when confronted by true power, barely able to hold his body together with the last dregs of his power.

A useless human, unable to do anything but listen helplessly as his most loyal companion risked his life to defend him from a corrupted dragon.

Despite his grand aspirations, he had a long way to go towards becoming a god. The words of his 'shadow' whispered in his ear, so seemingly real that he progged the dome just to be sure that he was truly alone here in the dark.

So what will you do? Will you betray your alliances and set out, alone, on your quest for that greatness? Or perhaps you will compensate for your lack of patron deities by relying on those alliances for strength and hoping that they never betray you?

"I'm...so useless," Kiako muttered to himself, unheard over the sounds of clashing claw and stone outside. "I failed to find the Sky Pearl...I couldn't defeat Rayquaza...hell, I couldn't even defeat a greenhorn trainer and a novice Gym Leader."

And why was that? It was because the mindless obsession of his past incarnation had been stronger than his own will. Its ancient and foolish desires had clouded his judgment, overridden his wishes, and the results were catastrophic. He had utterly failed in his mission. Worse than that, his inattention and weakness had gotten Sai killed---by his own carelessly discarded weapon, no less! How could he hope to rule the multiverse if he couldn't even rule his own emotions? How could he establish and protect an existence-spanning kingdom if he couldn't even protect one loyal subordinate?

The dome shook as Hyper Beams were exchanged outside. A glancing blow cracked the stone and sent dust drifting down into Kiako's wounds, but he hardly noticed. His thoughts had returned to the Gardevoir who had broken his will so easily. Now that she was no longer in front of him with that maddeningly alluring aura, he could finally think about her with a clear mind.

A single glimpse of her had shaken him to the core.

He had never cared much for the company of women of any species---when he did feel the need for such company, he used them for pleasure and moved on, not interested in chaining himself down with bonds such as love. He had never even felt the desire to do so, even after the most exotic and torrid encounters. Love had always seemed like a vulnerability that he could not afford to have. But that Gardevoir...Psymakio, the boy had called her...something was different about her. Just looking at her had been enough to break his formidable willpower. Just touching her face had knocked his desire for godhood down to the bottom of his priority list. Most people would call that illogical attraction love. Kiako called it dangerous.

If he was serious about ruling this world, then he could not allow his self-control to swept aside by the mere sight of a woman. He was well-versed in history, and he knew just how many leaders and kings had been seduced into foolish decisions, loss of their power...even assassination. He remembered his brief time with a mercenary group in Kanto, and how their normally competent leader had been made into a bumbling fool by drink and women. Watching that man going from seasoned warrior to brainless buffoon was more than he could take. If he could not bear to serve under someone like that, then he couldn't allow himself to become someone like that...no matter how physically enchanting the female in question was.

It must have been the lingering obsession of his 'shadow'. That was the only explanation. Psymakio was beautiful, yes, but Kiako had seen far more attractive females, both human and Pokemon. She was powerful, particularly for her young age, but Kiako knew of far more powerful Gardevoir than her; Harkai's Gardevoir made Psymakio look like a bumbling child in comparison. The only aspect of Psymakio that was unique was her role as the Silver Princess needed to open the final seal of the King. But even that wasn't truly unique---Giovanni's research suggested that even if she were to die, another 'Silver Princess' would be born within a decade. A major setback, but not an insurmountable one. No, she was not irreplaceable...not completely.

"It will be very different next time," Kiako growled. With his 'shadow' condemned back to the void, any lingering traces of its influence had vanished. The strange bond that had connected him to Slash and Psymakio seemed to be gone as well, though it was unclear if that was due to his past-self's disappearance or because Slash and Psymakio were no longer in close proximity.

It was a troubling thought. Even if his own connection to the boy and Gardevoir had broken, it was still possible that they could force their bonds upon him, dragging him back into this recursive little trinity of theirs. Unproggable didn't mean untouchable; Slash's strange attack on his mind proved that much. He could not afford to be put in that situation again, where the sight of a weak little girl was enough to undo years of self-discipline and ambitions for greatness.

He had to guard against that. He had been freed of his own chains, and he refused to let those two use their own chains to drag him down to their level. He had to decide, here and now, what he would do when he met Psymakio again, and swear upon his dreams to never waver. His dreams were the only thing he could swear upon and truly mean it.

The battle had fallen silent. Someone had won, though Kiako was still too drained to determine who. Something slammed hard into the dome, cracking it and letting in narrow rays of sunlight. It rammed into it again, breaking a small hole into the rock, giving him a glimpse of a razored beak. His heart sunk. Relicanth had been defeated, and Altaria was going after new prey. It stabbed its sharp beak into the hole and wriggled, widening the gap.

"Not here," Kiako growled. "Not anywhere. I can't afford to die now. I refuse."

Yes, right here and now, he was only human...filthy, crippled, drained, defenseless. But as the huge monster tore its way into his hiding spot, screeching hungrily as its beak moved closer and closer to his bare flesh, he felt no fear. He couldn't allow himself to, not if he meant what he said about ruling.

"I cannot rule alone," he said to the beast, as though it understood or would care even if it could. "I have only made it this far with the sacrifices of my friends. I will not abandon them. Even the greatest king cannot put himself on the throne, or maintain his rule without loyal subjects."

The hole burst open wider in a shower of jagged stone, allowing Altaria to stick its neck inside. Its beak clattered violently mere inches from Kiako's face.

"A true king is undaunted by fear. And while they must rely on their friends to maintain their power..."

The tip of the beak slashed a bloody scar across his forehead, and the rest of the dome began to crack under the weight of the monster's body.

"...a true king must also be capable of ruling on their own!"

Kiako's remaining hand snapped to his tattered belt, grabbing the Master Ball and throwing it at the Altaria's face. It struck a huge eye with a wet thump, sending the beast recoiling backwards and taking half the dome with it, giving Kiako his first clear glimpse of its body. Despite prevailing over Relicanth, it had not walked away unscathed. Half of its cloud-wing had been frozen solid, the black feathers hanging heavily from its body, and its chest had been crushed by Relicanth's powerful stone body. The creature's ribcage sagged inward sickeningly; Kiako thought that he could see its heart throbbing against the boneless flesh. That the monster was alive at all was remarkable. The Master Ball activated, sucking the Nightmare into it with a blinding flash of red light. The ball bounced and rolled feverishly, its immense power pushed to its limits despite the monster's injuries, but eventually it fell silent and locked with a hollow click. Kiako limped out of the shattered dome and picked the ball up, making sure the lock was fully secured before attaching it to the remains of his belt.

"I will not throw it all away," Kiako said to himself quietly as he wiped the dirt and vomit from his legs as best as he could. "The desires of my predecessor are irrelevant to my own wishes. I will not destroy this universe...I will salvage it. The best of humanity...the best of Pokemon...anyone in any world. I will find those who are worthy and hold them together by whatever power is necessary to rule them. I will salvage the good and destroy the bad, so that the future will be far brighter than...than this. If I have to use...this power to do it..." Kiako glanced down at the Master Ball, which was almost hot to the touch. "...so be it. I will do what I must to bring about a Golden Age."

Relicanth lay motionless in the sun-scorched soil nearby. Blood seeped from between the cracks in his broken armor. Kiako withdrew him, placing the ball beside the one containing Altaria. He thought that he heard Aggron's voice in his mind, echoing words he'd spoken earlier.

[You...idiot. You never could decide on...what you really want.]

"I don't know what I truly want," Kiako admitted to the emptiness, "other than to rule. But I know this much: I don't want anyone to die for my mistakes, least of all the friends who have fought alongside me...protecting me in my far-too-common moments of weakness." He thought of Sai, who had died a sudden, gurgling, undignified death, unworthy of his years of loyalty and service to him and Team Rocket as a whole. He thought of his entire Pokemon team, all battered and unconscious, half now on the verge of death. "Nobody should die due to my carelessness...or my weakness."

And as for that damned girl...

"She is a gamma-level psychic, possessed by a class six...no, at minimum a class seven trainer. To be taken in alive if at all possible, as she is needed for the completion of a critical operation. Nothing more, nothing less. I can neither claim her for my own nor kill her to soothe my fury. Until I bring about the Golden Age, my own desires must come second, no matter how strong those desires may be."

Something told him that it would not be that simple.

"Nice speech," said a voice directly behind Kiako, startling him. "Do you always talk to yourself when you're alone?"

Kiako recognized the voice instantly, the voice of someone he'd fought against countless times. He did not dare make any sudden moves, not when he could feel the hot breath of a Dragonite on his back. "Silver. Surely my luck cannot be this bad."

"After all the times you've survived against immeasurable odds and escaped our grasp, a turn of bad luck should be expected. Turn around. Slowly. And I wouldn't try anything if I were you...he's rather hungry."

Kiako did as he demanded, turning until he was face to face with the huge dragon. Dragonite growled menacingly, making it clear that if Kiako showed any sign of being a threat, he'd be bitten in half before he could blink. He had no doubt that Silver would allow his Pokemon to do so.

"So...you're looking good." Silver's eyes drifted to the stump of Kiako's left arm. "Oh goodness, have you lost weight?" He smiled at the hate evident in Kiako's eyes. "I'm honestly shocked that we took you by surprise. You must be weakened indeed if you couldn't sense our approach. I'm actually insulted."

"Why didn't you kill me?" Kiako asked, honestly curious. "You caught me injured, unarmed, and unaware. The Silver I know would not have let that opportunity pass by. He would have blasted me into ashes before I even knew he was there."

"Normally you'd be right, but in this case...I have quite a few questions about what happened here, and you're probably the only person who can answer them for me. And you will answer them, Kiako, or you will die here. Just because I didn't kill you on arrival doesn't mean that I'm going to play games with you. If you refuse to respond to my queries, or if I have the faintest suspicion that you're lying or omitting anything...I will not torture you, or threaten you, or try to bribe you into loyalty. I'll simply kill you where you stand and obtain my information elsewhere. You may be a valuable resource, but resources can be replaced...especially resources who are murderous monsters." Silver's red eyes flashed menacingly in the morning light, their cold cores in stark contrast with the playful grin he wore even when threatening someone with death. "Do you have any doubts whatsoever about my sincerity?"

Kiako had no doubts. Many people would consider Silver a hero, but few heroes were as ruthless and vicious as Silver could be. Many people would also say that Silver had softened over the years, transforming from a merciless killing machine into someone kind-hearted, even compassionate at times, but those people had never seen this 'compassionate' man in true, unfettered battle. His cold nature had merely been submerged by that newfound kindness, not smothered by it. Normally it slept beneath the waves of his heart, but when he was pushed to his limits, that kindness receded like a falling tide, exposing jagged pillars of hatred that were coated with the slime of age. Outside of battle, Kiako and Silver were as different as night and day...but during battle, few could tell the difference between them.

"I have no doubts," Kiako said finally. He had no intention of being used as an informant on Rocket, but if he could just stall Silver long enough by revealing relatively inconsequential information until his rescuers arrived, that would be enough. He'd been forced to swallow much of his pride these past couple weeks; a few minutes more wouldn't hurt. Survival had to come before pride...after all, dead men ruled nothing...but neither could he betray his people by saying too much. The line he had to walk was thin indeed.

Silver knew that Kiako was thinking of escape, and that he was slippery enough to possibly pull it off even in this situation, but there was nothing that could be done about it at the moment. He had some suspicions about the cause of this immense destruction, and he needed to confirm or disprove those suspicions even more than he needed to eliminate Kiako. Too much was at stake to kill the man without at least trying to pry some answers out of him.

"Well, let's start with a simple question to indulge my curiosity. Who took your arm? Was it Rayquaza? One of those monsters? Or maybe...Psymakio?"

Kiako's eyes widened at Silver's use of her name.

"Yes, I know about her. I met her, you know, in the desert. Her and her trainer. Medicham even sparred with her."

"Then you would know that neither that frail girl nor that idiotic boy could ever hope to best me and my team."

"Really? And yet here you are, mangled, defeated, and at my mercy. They had at least some hand it that, didn't they? Even if they had help, you still had the crap kicked out of you...and judging from the fury I see in your eyes, it looks like they got away with it."

A wicked grin formed on Kiako's lips. "Maybe, maybe not. Rayquaza may have survived, but my team inflicted severe damage on theirs. Especially on the boy."

"Slash Firestorm will live."

"What makes you so certain of that?"

"If he was going to die so soon, I think Janus would have foreseen it."

At the sound of that name, Kiako's grin abruptly vanished. He hated being reminded of Janus. Everything that he aspired to become, Janus already was. Janus never had catastrophic psychic meltdowns. He didn't have to take special injections every month to keep his body from destabilizing. But most infuriating of all was Janus's immense, godlike power, the power that taunted Kiako in his dreams. Janus could crack mountains with his mind...prog the past, present, and future...heal himself of grievous wounds, from minor burns to broken bones to severed limbs. If Kiako possessed even a fraction of that strength, then Silver would be dead and Kiako wouldn't be standing here as a broken and defenseless amputee.

After two weeks of nightly dreams/visions, Kiako was nearly certain that he, like Janus, had been engineered by Team Rocket. Human/Pokemon hybrids were clearly impossible, regardless of what his 'shadow' claimed, and only Rocket had the genetic skill to artificially engineer a hybrid like himself. But if that was the case, then why was he so much weaker and less stable than Janus? Was the process immeasurably difficult, or did they intentionally cripple his potential, perhaps to make him easier to control? After all, in Giovanni's mind, Janus's only flaw was his refusal to obey. Perhaps they had tried to create a simpler tool...one less powerful than Janus, but much more controllable...

But that didn't make sense, either. If Rocket did create him, then why did he grow up among the people of Sootopolis instead of with them? Why didn't they ever come for him? His first encounter with Rocket was purely by chance---he had stumbled onto them, not the other way around, and the offer to join hadn't come until after his battle with Giovanni. Failed Rocket specimens weren't sent to live with humans, in any case; they were euthanized immediately, regardless of viability. It made no sense.

"Looks like I struck a nerve," Silver observed. "How you must hate being so inferior compared to him."

"There is a great deal that Mewtwo cannot see," Kiako growled, refusing to call the creature by the name he chose to call himself. As far as Team Rocket was concerned, Mewtwo was still their property, and nothing more. "He would be wise to remember that. As would you."

"I know that," Silver said, smiling broadly. "That's the only reason you're still alive, you know. If I thought Janus could answer all my questions, I'd have blasted you into dust the moment I spotted you. Perhaps you should thank Janus for his lack of omniscience."

Kiako glared daggers at him.

"So, moving on...if it wasn't the monsters or Psymakio, then I take it that means you're a victim of Rayquaza's...handiwork, if you'll forgive the pun." Silver didn't expect that Kiako would. "Meddling with Rayquaza...I knew you were a fool, Sensiari, but I didn't think that even you were stupid enough to fuck with a Lord."

"Rayquaza was not my primary objective. He interfered with me and my mission, so I attempted to kill him. Obviously I failed, and in the process I lost my arm. Simple as that."

Silver grudgingly believed him. Rocket had enough trouble capturing and maintaining the handful of Great Ones they possessed; it was unlikely that they would make a move for any others in the foreseeable future, let alone a Lord. The stronger the Pokemon, the more difficult and time-consuming the mind-breaking process was, and stronger Pokemon had to be re-broken far more often. Lesser Great Ones, like Lawrence's Articuno, only needed to be re-broken annually. XD001, however, had to be re-broken every two months, severely (and thankfully) limiting its deployment capacity, and Rayquaza would likely have to be broken just as often. Even if they could capture Rayquaza (which was extremely unlikely), Team Rocket simply did not have the staff or facilities to control two Pokemon of such power.

"I suppose you deny blowing up this place, too?" Silver waved a hand at the churned dirt around them. "The blast pattern indicates a massive psychic release, and Rayquaza isn't a Psychic-type."

That was a question Kiako didn't want to answer---while his psychic runaways were far too debilitating to intentionally use as a weapon, it still made for an extreme sort of trump card. Unfortunately he couldn't think of a convincing lie, especially not when he had a Dragonite's fangs mere inches from his throat. "The explosion was my doing. Due to my injuries, I was...unable to control my powers. I had a psychic meltdown." That was partially true, at least; while he triggered the runaway intentionally, he certainly had no way of controlling it once it began. "I was not targeting the city...not that there was much left of the city to target. Fallarbor was gutted long before I got here."

That was unexpected. "The explosion didn't kill the townspeople?"

"You'd love to pin the entire disaster on me, wouldn't you, Silver? No, the depopulation of Fallarbor was not my doing. I have no interest in terrifying civilians in unimportant little shithole towns. There were no townspeople here when I arrived...the place was broken and deserted. I don't know what happened to them, but the only living things I found in this city were those monsters, Rayquaza, and Team Aqua."

Silver scoffed. "You really expect me to believe that Team Aqua could do all of this? They're decades behind Rocket in technology and knowledge, let alone strength."

"All I know is that they were fighting Rayquaza...unsuccessfully I might add...and that the crossfire destroyed a great deal of the city. As for why Rayquaza was here, or why the volcano was acting so strangely, or where the monsters came from...I can't tell you because I don't know. It wasn't my business to know. If you want to learn what happened here, you should ask the Aquas...assuming any of them survived. I believe they suffered massive casualties fighting the monsters and Rayquaza."

"I intend to interrogate them, as well, but right now I'm dealing with you. Why should I believe you, Kiako? You're not exactly a paragon of honesty. Why shouldn't I think that this was just a Rocket experiment that got way out of hand?"

Kiako sighed condescendingly. "If we could control volcanoes and create such monsters, do you really think you'd still be alive?" He tapped the Master Ball at his belt, which still crackled from the power of what was contained within. "You saw Relicanth fighting this creature, didn't you? Even if my entire team had been fresh, we would have had difficulty defeating it. Most of the mutants might not be that strong, but chances are if there's one like this, there are more elsewhere. If Rocket created these things, we would not be survive long, either."

"It wouldn't be the first time Rocket created something beyond their capacity to control," Silver pointed out. "As you well know."

"Whether you believe me or not is irrelevant. These...things...they are not our work. We want to control the world, not destroy it. Besides, what could we possibly gain from such a task? Most people don't even know that Team Rocket still exists, so why would we conduct a huge and violent experiment that we'd have no hope of keeping hidden?"

"Well, if Rocket isn't responsible for this, who is? Nobody else is capable of the genetic modification required to make such monsters. Certainly Team Aqua isn't. And I doubt it's a naturally occurring disaster...it's affecting Pokemon of vastly different biology, along with humans...even the dead, which I can't even begin to explain." Silver stared into the empty wasteland of the city, watching the Nightmares peek out from behind what little rubble remained. They were getting hungry again.

"I told you, I don't know. I'm no more thrilled about the monsters than you are."

"Just what was your primary objective, Sensiari? I would guess that you thought the Sky Pearl was here...some of my own sources were suggesting Fallarbor as its location. I never found anything in my sweeps, though."

There was little harm in confirming what he already suspected. "Yes, the Pearl was my objective. We were incorrect about it being here, however. Instead of the Pearl, we found Aqua at war with the Lord of the Sky, freakishly powerful mutants prowling the region, and a volcano going wild."

"You say 'we'...you had accomplices? Who?"

Kiako did not want to answer that question either, but the throaty growl from Dragonite served as a reminder that Silver would not accept any refusals. "Only one. Sai. He's no longer among the living."

Silver looked into Kiako's eyes, searching for any sign of deceit. Only when the Rocket didn't flinch or look away did he begin to relax. Sai was the sixth-ranked member of the Black Thirteen, known for leaving a very long trail of gruesome deaths in his wake. Silver certainly hoped that the man was dead; while he could have matched Sai in battle on a good day, he would have no hope of victory with Medicham out of commission. His scanner didn't detect any extremely powerful Poison-types, however, so he was inclined to believe Kiako...at least on this.

"So the Demon of Venom is dead, eh? At least some good news comes from this catastrophe. How did he die?"

This was a story Kiako did not want to tell; it was too humiliating. He did not know the specifics of the battle, but Flannery showing up to save Slash's group meant that she had either defeated or evaded Sai's Pokemon, and either was difficult to believe. Rocket considered Flannery to be a minimal threat, likely the weakest of the Hoenn Gym Leaders, but her performance against Sai proved otherwise. For one of the most powerful trainers in all of Team Rocket to be defeated by a novice Gym Leader...it was unacceptable.

But far worse than Flannery's victory was Sai's death. Kiako was supposed to be Sai's commander for the operation, meaning that he was responsible for the safety of him and his Pokemon. It would have been forgivable if Sai had been killed in battle, even against a mere Gym Leader, but that hadn't been the case, had it? Instead of working with Sai to complete their objectives, Kiako had foolishly abandoned a lethal weapon, left a disabled enemy alive, and lusted after another unfinished enemy while Sai could do nothing but wait for his commander's orders.

Kiako had sworn to himself that he would never again allow his focus to waver, but those vows did nothing to undo what had already happened. His own foolish errors had cost Team Rocket one of their strongest trainers, and that was a loss that couldn't be afforded when they were so close to their goals. Despite his hatred of Slash, Kiako knew that it was only because of his own incompetence that Slash had been able to kill the man.

"Flannery defeated him," he said finally. "I don't know why she was here, but it appeared that she and Firestorm were working together. She likely took heavy losses, as she only had a single Pokemon active when I personally encountered her, but...she somehow survived his assault."

Silver didn't think that could be the whole story. Flannery was strong, especially for someone so young...and being trained by her legendary father and grandfather had clearly taught her discipline and wisdom far beyond her years...but even so, there was little chance that she could defeat one of the Black Thirteen in a direct battle. The difference between them was simply too great. "You both underestimated her, didn't you? How uncharacteristically stupid of you, Kiako. Regardless of her age, you should have known better than to treat a member of the Flynn family as a minor threat. I also notice that you didn't answer my question, not really. I asked how Sai died, not how he was defeated. I presume, from your omission, that Flannery herself didn't deliver the killing blow. And you would have told me if Rayquaza had done it, since there's no shame in being killed by a Lord." Silver smiled at the mingled hate and shame on Kiako's face. "So, you underestimated Slash and Psymakio, too, huh?"

Kiako remained bitterly silent.

"As I told you, I met their team. They're young, yes, and inexperienced. Slash reminds me of myself when I was about his age...angry, brash, desperate to prove something to himself. His arrogance and lack of perspective leads him to foolish actions. Psymakio is little better...she clings to him, unable to imagine what she would do without him. Great devotion is a common trait in Gardevoir, but her loyalty is so blindly obsessive that it's more of a weakness than a strength, regardless of the short-term benefits it may give her. She's unable to correct her own flaws, and Slash is too flawed himself to give her the guidance she needs."

"Then why do you seem to hold them in such high regard?" Kiako asked angrily, legitimately curious. "Beyond the Gardevoir's importance in our plans, they are nothing special! They've progressed quickly, but their speed is by no means record-breaking. The boy's tactical skill is above average, but he's nowhere near the level of trainers such as you and I. Even injured as we were from fighting Rayquaza, we were still able to defeat them...and if we'd been fresh, it wouldn't have even been a contest."

"I don't doubt it, but you're forgetting something. Despite all those weaknesses and faults, they were still able to come this far. There are stronger trainers and Pokemon in the world, some even younger than they are, but few could have accomplished what they have. Crossing the desert, making their way through hordes of these monsters, surviving a battle with the leader of the Rocket Black Thirteen...just imagine what they'll be capable of when they learn to overcome their weaknesses. And they will overcome them, make no mistake about it. Fighting you will have shown them their limitations, and their experience here will purge a great deal of their young foolishness away. The next time you meet them, they'll be totally different...not just in strength, although they will be much stronger...but in heart."

"Heart," Kiako mocked. "I saw Firestorm's heart. He's filled with a power as foul as that of these mutants. I have no idea what happened to him between our two encounters, but he's not some noble knight anymore, if he ever was. Something has infected him. The boy longs for power as much as I do, and he doesn't even know what he'd do with it! He's...tainted."

Silver nodded. "I know. Janus has seen that, as well...Slash is potentially as dangerous to the world as you are. But I'm not worried about him, even if Janus is. Slash has something to balance out his hatred and lust for power...something that you lack. He has somebody to pull him out of the darkness...a reason not to succumb to his own desires. And although she has her own faults, she is more than capable of protecting him from himself."

Kiako's fist trembled in anger. Despite his rational mind having little interest in the Gardevoir, he couldn't help but feel sick at the thought of her being so close to anyone other than himself, especially that...infuriating boy. He didn't think that their relationship was romantic or sexual, but he wouldn't be surprised if it was, not with his knowledge that their predecessors had been mates. It would only be logical that they, too, would be drawn towards each other. Drawing from each other's strengths...easing each other's fears...perhaps laying together in groping embraces...it was nauseating to imagine.

"So yes, Kiako, you were a fool to underestimate them. They may be young and foolish, but they are destined for something of incredible importance, and only an idiot would dare stand in their way. You know as well as I do that something very bad is happening to the world...the Leagues won't be able to keep it under wraps forever. Soon it will be beyond anyone's ability to stop."

"That is why I seek the power behind the seal," Kiako said, deciding to take a chance. "If you want to save this world, Silver, then you're on the wrong side. No human or Pokemon alive today can stop it from happening...not you, not Janus, not the Pokemon Leagues, and certainly not two idiot children, regardless of what 'destiny' says. Only the power behind the seal can save us from what's happening...and that power will be ours."

"Do you really think it's as simple as that? Think about it. Why would the ancient world seal Regigigas away? We know very little of the Second Kingdom, but we know that Regigigas was a guardian, not a threat. There are records of an enormous series of catastrophes that struck in the last years of the Kingdom's history...plagues, famines, human and Pokemon turning on each other, even bizarre stories of space and time starting to fall apart. It's very likely that the King was sealed away as part of some ritual to lock away the source of those catastrophes...meaning that something extremely dangerous may also exist behind the seal. It might even be the source of whatever has been happening to the world today." Silver gestured towards the horizon, where the Nightmares were gathering for another attack. "Perhaps it is even to blame for this catastrophe."

For a brief moment Kiako was silent, considering those words. He knew that the entity known as Darkrai was ultimately nihilistic, or at least so different from existing life that the two could not coexist, but surely it could not be responsible for the mutants or the eruption, regardless of what Slash had claimed. It was sealed away, wasn't it?

"Perhaps the seal is weakening," he muttered to himself, suddenly understanding. Silver's eyes widened at those words, and he urged Dragonite another few inches forward.

"Explain what you mean by that. Speak!"

Kiako did not intend to tell Silver about Darkrai, but even broad generalizations might be enough to satisfy his captor's curiosity...and maybe even make Silver question his own resolve. "I know more than you realize. You're correct in that the King is not the only thing sealed away, but as for the other...force...it's not as nightmarish as you may think. Not...necessarily." Kiako's eyes locked with Silver's. "It's a source of enormous, unmatchable power, but it's only dangerous because it's not being controlled. I believe that there may be a way to harness its power safely."

"You speak as though it's one of your nuclear toys," Silver said, shivering in the cold air.

"Exactly!" Kiako exclaimed. "An excellent comparison. This...other force behind the seal...it is very dangerous. It is not meant to freely operate alongside living beings, or even within our universe. When it does, everything begins to break down. We are a world of order, it is a force of chaos, and the two are incompatible. If it is responsible for these monsters, then I think I understand why and how it happens. Those who are corrupted by its power are brought closer to chaos, and our bodies, our physics...everything that makes us capable of existing as we do...as beings born of order, we can't handle it. I believe that this force of chaos is leaking through the cracks in the seal, like a compromised nuclear reactor."

"If that's the case, then why the fuck would you want to unseal it? If you're right, and things like these mutants are caused by the seal merely having a crack in it, then imagine what could happen if the seal were dissolved altogether!"

"Just because it's dangerous doesn't mean it can't be useful!" Kiako almost shouted. As much as he was trying to convince Silver, he was trying to convince himself even more. "It's pathetic how humans always fear what they don't understand. Exposure to a nuclear reactor is dangerous, but with proper shields and methods of moderating the reaction, you can safely harness nearly inexhaustible power! The Second Kingdom didn't fall merely because this dark power existed...someone was deliberately loosing it upon the land, actively trying to destroy everything. The people never had a reason to believe that it could be controlled for beneficial purposes, but I do. Regigigas was only able to take the power into himself and allow the gods to seal both him and that force away...but with the right vessel...with the right mind...I believe that power could be controlled and used safely."

Silver stared at him, unsure of what to say about all of this. He had been hoping for answers, but this information was...something else. This knowledge did not make him feel more secure about the situation. It made him feel...cold.

"How do you know so much, Kiako?"

"The Great Ones have sent visions to Firestorm and Psymakio, haven't they?"

"I have reason to believe so."

"I've received messages of my own...not from the Great Ones, but directly from the being who handled that chaotic force in the past. It's become clear to me that those kids have only heard one side of the story. I suppose I can't blame them for being afraid of it...the Second Kingdom was utterly shattered by the unfettered and poorly-controlled power of that force, and the horrors we're seeing today certainly can't help matters. But as frightening as these effects may seem, the force behind these catastrophes can be controlled."

"You have no way of knowing that! Do any of these things look like they're in control of themselves? What makes you think you're any stronger than them?"

"The saboteur of the Second Kingdom was much like myself, and he was able to harness its power to a degree. With his knowledge and my superior abilities, I know that I can control it completely. If I take it into myself, I can use my power as the shields and controls necessary to use it safely. You know that we cannot simply leave it like this, Silver. Regardless of what Rocket or anybody else does, the seal will eventually break on its own, and then any hopes of containing it will be lost."

Silver shook his head furiously. "I don't know what your messenger told you, but to risk the world based on the word of a self-admitted omnicidal maniac is insane. If all of this is true, then we must try to repair the seal, or find a way to destroy this force completely!"

"Repairing the seal would only delay the inevitable. The comparison with nuclear power is not entirely correct...while the power of that force's 'core' is weakening as time goes on, its 'aura'...its radiation, so to say...it is actually growing exponentially in strength, as the seal cannot stop it. The current seal is still holding up fairly well after a thousand years, but even if we could fully repair it, the ever-increasing power of its aura might bring the barrier down within a few centuries. Another repair would only hold it for decades, and after that any hope of artificial containment would be lost. As for destroying it...you just don't understand, Silver. It is not something that can be destroyed. It is a force of nature, the..." Kiako searched his memory for the shadow's description of it. "It is the embodiment of the universe's desire to return to chaos. Left on its own, it will succeed, and every living thing in all of existence will die in the process. The only option is for someone to conquer it, and I am the only being in existence capable of such a feat."

"What makes you think that?" Silver asked. This was getting out of hand---the urge to simply kill Kiako was greater than ever, but he had a strong feeling that the man was not simply babbling to evade questioning---it seemed almost like Kiako didn't want to say this, that Kiako knew that he should shut up, but he seemed compelled to keep speaking of this monstrous force of nature irregardless. Silver had to find out if there was any truth to this unbelievable story, because if there was...well, he did not know what could be done if it was true, but he had to learn as much as he could.

"There are countless powers in this world that are greater than you. How arrogant can you be to think you're destined to conquer something so incredibly powerful?"

"On the contrary, destiny has nothing to do with it. Rather, I am the only one not bound to destiny, and thus I'm the only one who can control such a thing. There may be creatures stronger than me in terms of sheer power, but I possess a certain...quality that they lack. I am the only creature in this universe to have been born of chaos instead of order...to explain why would take too long, but believe me, it is the truth."

"Why the fuck should I believe you?" Silver growled, quickly losing his temper. "You're a twisted psychopath with more blood on your hands than anyone in recent history, with the sole exception of the monster I have the misfortune of having as my father...and I can't believe that even he would risk so much on such madness."

"Do you sense any deceit in me?"

Silver gigged Dragonite forward, ready to order Kiako's execution. There was no way of knowing if Kiako was lying or not; the man's mind was completely unproggable, and he could lie so well that he could likely convince himself of any absurdity. Perhaps that was what was happening here...Kiako was gravely injured, left alone in a deserted and dead wasteland, surrounded by monsters and the reminder of his own failures. Had he gone mad? As bloodthirsty as Kiako could be, there had always been a logical reason behind his actions, however twisted and heartless that logic was, but this was something else. There was also the possibility that his psychic runaway had caused brain damage, or that he was in the early stages of this strange mutation...but despite the madness of his words, Kiako still seemed in full control of his faculties.

It was madness. But it was terribly sane madness. And that was far more dangerous than mere insanity.

"I cannot allow you to live," Silver announced finally. "Regardless of what you claim, I will not allow the world's fate to lay in your hands. Better for Firestorm and Psymakio to fail at saving the world than for you to succeed."

"You think that I seek this power solely for my own wishes? My...predecessor, the first one to attempt to wield the power of this force...he was a fool. A fool on a nihilistic holy war, allying with that power in an attempt to bring down all of existence. I have no such delusions or monstrous plans, Silver. That force..."

"If you know what it is, then tell me! Enough games!" Silver shouted, his hands shaking with fury. Kiako looked back at him, radiating unsettling surety and confidence. It was as though he were no longer intimidated by the huge dragon in front of him; now he was immersed in his fantasies of absolute power, and everything else (including fear) was falling by the wayside. A little voice was screaming in the back of his mind---the voice of reason, perhaps---shouting that he needed to shut up, that telling his enemies so much about what lay behind the seal was more than foolish, it was treason against Team Rocket (whether they knew of the Shadow or not)...but he could not resist the urge to speak of it. He did not feel manipulated or forced into speaking, but it never occurred to Kiako that some entities might be so powerful that he wouldn't even be aware of their manipulation.

"As you wish, Silver. The force that I speak of...the being known as Darkrai...it is an entity so great and vast that no being ruled by order and fate can ever hope to touch it. It is not something that can be reasoned or allied with, only mercilessly controlled. I will break the seal and take it into myself, conquering its will and making its power my own, turning it into a mere tool. With that power at my command, I will be able to remake existence as I see fit." Those crimson eyes flashed hungrily. "Imagine this, Silver...imagine an end to hunger and thirst...an end to sickness and death...no homelessness, no discrimination, no hatred. In the world I would create, those who would cause evil or disorder would be thrown upon the cold and merciless sword of true justice, not given the indulgent pity and clemency that this broken society nourishes them with. I cannot promise a paradise, but I can promise a world that, at the very least, is fair, a good place for those who wish to have peaceful, orderly lives, governed by a single worthy ruler. The creation of such a world is far beyond the capability of either humans or Pokemon, but once I consume Darkrai, I will fulfill these promises. I am sure of it."

The Nightmares had drawn close once again, encircling both Kiako and Silver in a ring of gnashing teeth, but something was different. Their hungry gazes were fixed solely on Silver and his Dragonite; whenever they did glance at Kiako, their expressions turned passive, almost...worshipful. As though Kiako were their god.

"You want to save the world as much as I do," Kiako said to Silver, his voice almost sympathetic, devoid of the hate that had always flowed between them. "You cannot hope to succeed on your present course. Look at the world today...do you think the hatred and violence in society is solely due to Darkrai's leaking influence? Don't be naive. Society has had centuries to bring order and justice to the world, but it has failed. The Pokemon Leagues are too corrupt, weakened by their eagerness to please their idiotic constituents. Religious orders like Jirachism preach of peace , yet they bury the souls of the people in ignorance and hatred. Groups like Aqua, formed to resist these failures, fall to their own desires and spread chaos across the land. Even the Great Ones themselves have failed; their lack of interference cannot be justified in a world of such suffering. And as for those children you have so much faith in...they're no better. Firestorm is corrupt; I felt the power of his hatred when he tried to turn it against me. Psymakio is weak, easily seduced by the illusion of legitimate authority. You say she would rescue him from the darkness, but I believe otherwise...she'll follow him into the deepest shadows, but her mindless devotion would simply cause both of them to fall together. That is something I cannot tolerate in a perfect world."

[Let me kill him now!] Dragonite roared, unfurling his wings and rearing up in an attempt to frighten off the approaching Nightmares. [He's insane, you can see that! We need to get out of here before his madness infects us as well!]

"Just wait," Silver said quietly, dropping a hand to the Pokeballs on his belt. Something troubling was happening here...whatever power had infected this part of the world was starting to gather like a thunderstorm, and that storm was centered around Kiako. The Nightmares continued stalking closer, but none lunged at them just yet, not even the most horrifically twisted of their numbers. It was as though they refused to act without Kiako's approval, despite the fact that they'd been attacking him only moments earlier. Dragonite was right, he had to kill Kiako and end this insanity immediately...but at the same time he felt that he had to see this situation through. It did not occur to him that whatever was manipulating Kiako into speaking might also be manipulating him into listening. "Get to the point, Kiako."

"You claim to fight to bring peace to the world, Silver, but the powers of the status quo are responsible for the cycle of misery that binds this planet...from local mayors to the Great Ones themselves, the entire system is a failure. Abandon these feeble excuses for governing and join me in the creation of the golden age."

Silver stared at Kiako, disbelieving. Never before had anyone in Team Rocket attempted to recruit him, least of all Kiako; the hate they shared was far too old and deep to even entertain the possibility. But, incredibly, it seemed that this offer was genuine. "You're...you're joking."

"Not at all. You and Janus have both been alone for so long, with nowhere to call home. Team Rocket is your home. There are some in Rocket who are unworthy of living in the golden age...duplicitous cowards and those who have committed unforgivable crimes...but do not worry about them. They are but small players in this game, and I will eradicate them once I gain Darkrai's power. There are others, however, who are worthy. Your father is one of them. If only you understood his reasons, you might see that truth for yourself. It's time to let go of the past, Silver, and move towards a golden future. Both you and Janus belong on our side. Your strength would be useful, and despite our...differences...your principles are constant and noble, at least in intent. Together we can bring true justice to the world. Join me. Your place is by our side."

Kiako's calm confidence evaporated as quickly as it had formed as Silver burst out laughing. The Nightmares moved in, but Kiako stopped them with a wave of his hand. He was unsure of why he could control them, and he had a feeling that such power was only temporary...a lingering side effect of his shadow, perhaps...but he would use it while he could and ponder over it later. "What's so funny?"

"You," Silver said, still laughing. "I cannot believe what's happened to you! Where is the Kiako I fought at Cinnabar? Where is the hard, brutal realist I've fought so many time these past few years? I've always known that you were arrogant, but this...super-god crap...I thought you were above it."

"I pity you for being unable to grasp the truth," Kiako said, but Silver stopped him before he could start another speech.

"You pity me? I pity you, Kiako. You've become detached from reality. You've spent so much time around powerful people and Pokemon, seeking out divinity that you've only possessed in dreams, that you've finally gone off the deep end. Listen to yourself, speaking of justice and golden ages...it's not funny!" His laughter and smile died abruptly. "No, it's not funny. You speak of the world being corrupted? I'll be the first to admit that the Pokemon Leagues are not perfect, but if you think there's any comparison between their rule and the things you and Team Rocket have done, then you truly are crazy. You condemn them for discrimination and corruption? You speak of unforgivable crimes? You speak of becoming drunk on hate and walking into the darkness? You sicken me, Kiako. How many people has Rocket murdered in its history? No, we don't even need to go that far. How many people has Rocket murdered since you joined?"

"You are mistaking---"

"My best estimates are around thirty thousand people. Thirty thousand in three years. That's more than triple the population of Mauville, Kiako. Nearly two-thirds of them were your own people, Rocket agents who were too weak for your tastes, too hesitant to kill or maim in the name of your little utopia. Of the remaining ten thousand, about half were League agents and local police...people trying to maintain order and safety in a world lacking both, people who were trying to make the world a better place to live in. The others? Civilians. Innocent people who just got in the way of your operations. People in the wrong place at the wrong time, mostly, but some were killed specifically to send a message to whoever you guys were trying to intimidate. Tens of thousands of people with friends and families that will never see them again. Men, women, children, even infants who had not yet taken their first steps. And that's in the past few years alone." Silver's face transformed into a mask of rage. "How dare you speak to me of right and wrong, monster? How fucking dare you speak of justice? Even ignoring your fantasies of using some ancient abomination as a fucking power source, you're still a hypocritical piece of trash who is directly responsible for thousands of deaths and an accomplice in tens of thousands more. So shut your fucking mouth, animal, as you have no right to speak of justice."

Kiako said nothing, looking back at Silver without emotion.

"As for this Darkrai creature, assuming it exists...you are a fool if you think such a thing could ever be controlled. Do you think you're wiser than all the great minds of the Second Kingdom? Do you put yourself above even Regigigas in your fantasies? All the Great Ones in existence argue against the release of whatever truly lays beyond the seal, and you think that you know better than them? Based on what, the word of a long-dead madman who tried to destroy all reality? That's your source for thinking you can control it?" Silver pointed at the ring of monsters who waited, drooling, to consume him. "Look at what surrounds us, Kiako! Look at them! Does this look like something you want to fuck with? Something capable of creating these monsters with its mere aura is not something we can risk messing with!"

"I do not expect you to understand how I can control it. You're a being of destiny and order...of course you'd be frightened of it. What you see before you is simply the results of Darkrai being without control, and an argument for breaking the seal and putting it into confinement. As for my 'hypocrisy'...I would think that you, of all people, would be aware that sacrifices must occasionally be made to secure a better future. And considering the future I will create...such costly sacrifices are something that should be expected. Every death I've caused has had a justifiable reason behind it."

"If you think there's ever a justifiable reason for killing children, then you're too far gone to be reasoned with," Silver growled, gripping his Pokeballs. "I don't care what future you're offering, such crimes are unforgivable."

"Without such sacrifices, many more will die due to this world's failings. It's for the best, in the long run."

"Dragonite, Hyper---"

"Besides, I never said that they'd have to stay dead."

An unnatural silence fell over them as the Nightmares quieted, as though spooked by the taboo being spoken out loud. Ridiculous, of course, but...

"You really are mad," Silver said breathlessly. Kiako shook his head and raised a halting hand at the growling Dragonite, hoping that he could stall for just a few seconds longer.

"Silver, you of all people know that there are forces in this universe capable of crossing the border between life and death as easily as we might cross a line in the sand. Ho-oh is but one of them. Once I attain true omnipotence, I can gather those forces to myself and wield them as I wish. Those sacrifices worthy of forgiveness can be resurrected without any difficulty. Take these Nightmares, for instance...exposure to Darkrai's power brought many of them back from death. They are soulless and monstrous, yes, but that's only because they were revived by Darkrai's uncontrolled, unfettered power. At my hands, the process can be perfected. No longer will the best of humans and Pokemon have to die just because they reach certain ages or contract certain diseases...great individuals can be kept alive as long as I wish, contributing their efforts to the world for however many lifetimes they need. Imagine how much happiness I can bring to those who hope for an end to death...and to those who have already lost loved ones."

"That's your way of justifying all the people you've murdered? All the pain you've caused?" Silver whispered, his voice a harsh gasp. "Even if you wiped their memories, even if you turned back time itself to undo their deaths, you'd still have committed horrible acts against undeserving people! Someone comfortable with that could never be a just ruler! Do you really think any happiness can come from such an uncaring power?"

"Your argument is based on incredulity, a logical flaw. Just because you cannot comprehend it does not mean that it is not possible. Think about it, Silver...wouldn't you like it if a few of your lost loved ones were returned to you?" Kiako smiled widely. "Your mother, perhaps?"

Silver's hands were blurs, releasing a Scizor and Crobat from their Pokeballs as Dragonite's mouth filled with dazzling flame. The three Pokemon attacked simultaneously, Scizor and Crobat lunging from both sides with the intent to remove Kiako's head a split second before Dragonite roasted the remains, but none of the attacks struck their target; powerful hands caught both bladed claw and wing mere inches from Kiako's throat, and a psychic shockwave redirected Dragonite's flame harmlessly into the sky. The Nightmares screeched at both the sudden attack and the new arrivals, charging furiously. Still holding on to Scizor and Crobat, the Pokemon inhaled sharply and coldly whispered a single telepathic word.

Imprison.

The entire horde of Nightmares crashed to the ground as their limbs became numbed and useless and their control over matter and energy vanished. Only Silver and his Pokemon could resist the powerful binding attack, but that mattered little; before they could counterattack, the newcomer simply flung Scizor and Crobat into Dragonite, sending the three of them reeling and causing Silver to fall painfully into the drifts of ash.

The Pokemon then closed her eyes and summoned a hurricane of sharp-edged leaves that flew out in every direction, aiming flawlessly at any exposed parts of the monsters, cutting throats and eyes and wrists and wings with perfect precision. Within seconds the vast majority of the creatures were dead or dying, and those who could not be so easily damaged were rendered temporarily harmless as the smell of blood eroded their will and caused them to collapse into a cannibalistic frenzy. Crobat was able to redirect most of the leaves sent their way with a powerful gust of wind, but several of the blades came perilously close to slashing Silver's neck. With the majority of enemies dead or preoccupied with eating each other, the Pokemon released the Imprisonment and turned her attention to Kiako, who was all but gaping at her.

Surprised to see me?

"You don't know the half of it, Lachesis," Kiako replied warily. In his greatly weakened state, he had briefly mistaken the Gardevoir for Psymakio---despite his refusal to allow that girl to rule his emotions, he could not help but be momentarily stunned at the sight of a Gardevoir suddenly appearing in front of him. It wasn't Psymakio, of course; even a cursory glance was enough to see that. Lachesis was at least ten years older than Psymakio, vastly more mature in both physiology and ability. Though still frail compared to most Pokemon, she was far more muscled than most of her kind, capable of tossing Pokemon as heavy as Scizor without needing to use her psychic powers. Her hair was cut far shorter than Psymakio's, keeping her eyesight unobstructed. The two didn't even dress similarly; while Psymakio wore the normal biologically-generated garb of her kind, Lachesis wore a black form-fitting cassock, interwoven with psychic amplifiers and tailored to allow her as much freedom of movement as possible. It was an ensemble geared for intimidation and combat effectiveness, not beauty, but anyone inclined towards Pokemon would likely find her extremely attractive. Kiako, however, did not. Despite Lachesis being years stronger and more physically mature, he felt nothing of the overwhelming captivation he'd had for Psymakio. He was relieved that he wouldn't have to struggle to control himself every time he encountered a Gardevoir, even if it did confirm that Psymakio was 'special' to him in some way. "Cutting it a little close, don't you think?"

Forgive us for the delay, but it's difficult to locate somebody with an undetectable mind, especially when their communicators have been destroyed, the Gardevoir replied with a touch of bitterness. You're fortunate that I was able to detect the presence of Silver and his Pokemon, or we might never have found you.

Silver climbed back to his feet and fumbled for his psychic dampener, knowing just how vulnerable a human was when facing a Psychic of this caliber. He recognized the Gardevoir instantly---Lachesis, Kaishakunin of Harkai, the second-ranked member of the Black Thirteen---and realized that his chance to kill Kiako had all but vanished. Crobat circled at a distance, aware that a single attack from this enemy could be enough to end his life. He and Dragonite fired a Sludge Bomb and Hyper Beam at the two Rockets, but the Gardevoir threw up a barrier and effortlessly redirected the attacks towards the feasting Nightmares, smiling at the sounds of their agony. Scizor leapt at her with open claws, hoping to use the radiant Hyper Beam to hide himself from view until the last moment, but surprising a Psychic-type of this level was impossible. Lachesis simply sidestepped the blow and caught him in the side of the head with a Fire Punch, sending his body crashing into the dirt. Despite her fragile body, that single blow had been enough to badly burn Scizor and knock him unconscious.

Worthless insect, you can't even touch me, Lachesis chided. She gripped Scizor with her powers and threw him hundreds of feet into the air, the sudden acceleration nearly breaking his neck. Silver frantically tried to recall his Pokemon, but even with his enhanced eyes it was impossible to aim at such distance.

"Dragonite, grab him!"

Dragonite tore into the air to catch his falling comrade, but the Gardevoir flung a ball of psychic energy that knocked him out of the air before he could reach him. He recovered just before hitting the ground, but Scizor was still falling. Crobat rushed after them to help, realizing his mistake far too late; Lachesis teleported and re-materialized in front of the now-defenseless Silver, slapping the dampener from his face and placing a hand on his forehead.

All too easy, she intoned, charging psychic energy in her palm. You should have fled the moment you saw me, Silver.

"And you shouldn't have left Kiako undefended," Silver replied with a smirk, nodding over the Gardevoir's shoulder. Lachesis turned to find Kiako on his knees with a Weavile's blade at his throat.

What?! Where did he---

"Did you really think I was so careless? Weavile has been hiding in the ash the whole time...originally to keep Kiako from fleeing, but when you showed up, I thought it'd be best to keep an ace in the hole. None of us can touch you through that incredible precogging of yours, but it looks like I was correct about its limitations...you can't see Dark-types through it, or the effects of their actions on the future. It's not much...but it's just enough."

This changes nothing, Lachesis stated coolly, intensifying the energy in her hand. I'm still going to blow your brains out.

"Go ahead and do it, then. We are not capable of stopping you. But the moment I die, Weavile will cut Kiako's throat. I don't think Giovanni would like that, do you?"

Dragonite and Crobat returned to Silver's side with the unconscious and badly burned Scizor. Despite their menacing growls, Lachesis did not remove her hand from the man's forehead, knowing that she could kill him before any of the Pokemon could so much as touch her. Kiako watched the Gardevoir warily, hoping that she would not goad Silver too far. He couldn't afford to die here, not when he had just begun to understand his potential, and he had much that he needed to speak to Giovanni about.

Well then, it seems we have ourselves a little standoff, she said quietly. If I kill you, then Kiako's life is forfeit. If you kill him, then I'll have no reason to hesitate, and all of you will die. Make no mistake about that, Silver...the only reason you and your pitiful little Pokemon are still alive is because my mission is to recover Kiako at all costs. If you kill him, then I will destroy every last one of you. It wouldn't even be a challenge.

"Think that if you want," Silver replied, staring the Gardevoir in the eye without fear.

Some might think you have great courage, purposely risking your life to put Kiako's in jeopardy...but if you truly had any courage, you'd sacrifice your life and kill him anyway. Lance would. Steven would. Why do you hesitate?

Silver said nothing, only glaring at her, but Lachesis could easily prog him now that the dampener was destroyed. I see...so you still hold out hopes of saving her. You should know by now that it's impossible...she belongs to Rocket now, and nobody, not even you, can change that. Once the doors to the heart are shut, there is no reopening them.

"Don't speak to me of hearts. You and your ilk lost yours a long time ago."

The Gardevoir chuckled at his anger. You harbor such foolish delusions of hope. Did she break free of Giovanni's control the last time she saw you? Did she resist his orders? Did she even RECOGNIZE you? Surely you realize how hopeless it is. You must know the truth, that it's irreversible. I think that you're using your vow to free her as a shield to hide your fear of death behind. I don't need to prog you to see it. You're just terrified of dying.

"If that's the case, go ahead and kill me," Silver said dryly. "You may be able to see my emotions, but I don't let those emotions rule me. Of course I'd rather not die here...I have promises to fulfill, and a role far beyond anything you could ever hope to understand...but if I must die here, then at least I'll take that monster with me. There are others who would fight in my place, anyway, to honor my death."

"Don't push him...he means what he says," a wavery voice said from behind Silver, followed by a sharp metallic click. "You can let go of him, Lachesis. I'll take over from here."

Yes, master. The Gardevoir removed her hand from Silver's forehead and stepped away. She looked up at Dragonite and Crobat and smiled. Don't even think about trying anything funny just because I no longer have your trainer's brain in my grip. I can see a dozen futures where you attack me, and you die in every single one of them. The Pokemon glared menacingly at her but made no move to attack. They knew that she was neither lying nor exaggerating about the extent of her power; only a Dark-type or another Psychic had any hope of matching a Pokemon that could see the future so frightfully clearly. Lachesis fearlessly walked between Dragonite and Crobat, smirking at the sight of Scizor's mangled form. One punch, she reminded them, reuniting with her trainer.

The newcomer didn't look particularly threatening, except for the long-barreled revolver in his hand. He was an older man of about sixty, with a long beard of iron-gray and clear, peaceful eyes. That was how he appeared, at least. In fact this man was nearly twice as old as he looked, and he was bizarrely healthy and limber for somebody with an age in the triple digits. Behind that unassuming expression was cold, calculating cruelty that stood out even amongst Team Rocket's monstrous vanguard. This man was Harkai, the second ranked member of the Black Thirteen, a fighter equal to Kiako and a strategist equal to Giovanni.

Silver shivered as he felt the brunt of Harkai's psychic powers edge against his awareness. The old man was almost certainly the strongest human psychic in the world, capable of feats that even some Pokemon couldn't match. Phantom fingers attempted to rifle through Silver's memories, but Janus had put powerful psychic barriers in his mind for just such an invasion, and those barriers thankfully held.

"I see that Mewtwo has grown significantly more powerful in the past year," Harkai said almost wistfully. "Just what has my old friend been up to lately?"

"Thinking of ways to kill you," Silver replied. "And rest assured, the next time you two meet, he'll snuff out your powers like a candle."

Silver clasped his hands over his temples as Harkai's immense psychic pressure crashed over him like an icy wave, nearly bringing him to his knees. Though not as intense as Lachesis's powers, the aura was far more foul, whispering of the countless atrocities that the man had committed with its strength. "Watch your tone when speaking to your betters, boy. I have no time for your nonsense. You must be aware of how utterly outmatched you are now that I have come."

He was aware, all right. Even if his entire team had been fresh, Silver doubted that they could even beat Lachesis in a six on one fight, let alone succeed against Harkai's other Pokemon. On one side of the old man was Clotho, an extremely old but fearsomely muscled Lucario. Dark purple energy flowed around his clenched fists like dark lightning. While all Lucario possessed a touch of the 'Power of Aura', as it was called, Clotho was the only being known to have truly mastered it. Although the aging Pokemon had lost both his hearing and sight many years ago, those losses in no way hampered his fighting ability; through the Power of Aura, he could sense the presences of those around him with greater clarity than most Psychic Pokemon were capable of. While Lachesis was a master of seeing the future, Clotho was a master of body manipulation; a single aura-enhanced strike from the Lucario could sabotage an opponent's body forever, warping nerves and deadening senses by twisting the physical energy flowing through them. Very few Pokemon hit by such a power would go on to recover fully.

The most dangerous of Harkai's team, however, was the huge metal creature hovering behind him. It was known as a Bronzong, an incredibly rare Pokemon that was long considered to be one of a kind. They and their juvenile variants had since been discovered to exist in small numbers in the darkest recesses of the oldest ruins. Nobody knew where they had originally come from, or why they persisted in such places, but they wanted nothing to do with humans now. There was only one exception: Atropos, the massive Bronzong that served as one of Harkai's three Kaishakunin. While Lachesis manipulated the future, and Clotho destroyed an opponent's body, Atropos only dealt in death.

Kiako and Harkai were roughly equal in terms of fighting power, but many who fought against Team Rocket considered the old man to be the more dangerous of the two. Harkai possessed vast amounts of ancient and unholy knowledge, particularly knowledge dealing with mental power and domination, earning him the moniker of Demon of the Mind. He had been involved with the early control efforts of Mewtwo, manipulating the confused creature into doing Rocket's bidding through psychological torture and psychic nudges, and together they developed the mind-breaking process still used by Rocket to this day. When Janus finally rebelled, his first priority upon escape was to attempt to kill Harkai, declaring that the old man was too dangerous to be allowed to live. To so greatly unnerve Janus was not an easy task.

"You're wondering why we haven't killed you yet?" Harkai asked, easily conning Silver's surface thoughts. "A good question. I would love to kill you here...to end your pitiful life, put a stop to your cowardly sabotaging of our efforts...and most of all, to punish Mewtwo for his disobedience. You're in luck, however...my orders are to recover Kiako and Sai at all costs, and Giovanni's orders supersede my own desires."

A pitiless smile formed on Silver's lips. "Why is somebody as smart and strong as you still taking orders from that beast?"

Harkai struck Silver across the face with the revolver faster than he could blink, breaking his nose and sending him falling to the ground in a splash of blood. Dragonite and Crobat leapt to strike, but Harkai pointed the gun back at their trainer's head before they could make their move, his finger squeezing perilously tightly on the trigger.

"You know nothing of your father's work, boy," the old man snarled, his powers again pouring forth like a tidal wave. "You were too weak to join us in your youth and too stupid to join us now. Giovanni's plans are already in motion, and nobody, not you, not Mewtwo, and not the Pokemon Leagues, have any chance of stopping us now. The Power of the King will soon be in our grasp."

Wiping blood from his face, Silver stared up at Harkai and groaned painfully. "Maybe you should ask Kiako about the power you're going to unleash. You might just be surprised at what he's keeping from you."

The old man stared back at him with an oddly knowing smile. "And you, my stupid little friend, might be surprised about what we have kept from him."

Silver's eyes widened at that, but Harkai gave him no chance to respond.

"Commander," the old man shouted. "Where is Sai?"

"Dead," Kiako said, shifting uncomfortably in Weavile's grip as the blade scraped his neck. "You can thank Flannery Flynn for that, along with...another young trainer. I'll explain everything when we get back to headquarters."

"And the Sky Pearl?"

"Our lead was incorrect."

Harkai glanced back at Silver, who was still coughing and sputtering blood. "I can see from your team's relatively good health that it wasn't you who brought Kiako to this mangled state. The only reason you had him at your mercy was due to those monsters and other...extenuating circumstances. It doesn't matter, though. Your role in this has ended. Here is what is going to happen. I am going to allow you to mount your Dragonite and take to the air while Weavile keeps Kiako as prisoner. Once you are a sufficient distance away from Kiako, I will allow your Weavile to follow you and you may recall him into his Pokeball when he is within range. If you or any of your team make any suspicious moves, then I will kill every single one of you. You are in no shape to fight me, Silver, especially on your own. You try, you die."

"Fuck no," Silver answered painfully. "I don't trust you. You'll kill us the moment Kiako no longer has my Pokemon's blade at his throat, and I refuse to give up that leverage. I think we should---"

"This is not a negotiation," Harkai interrupted coldly. "Atropos."

The massive Bronzong briefly glowed with a brilliant blue light, its psychic power erupting around its body like a hurricane as it focused its strength...then the sound of a bell rang out from its hollow body, catastrophically loud in this empty place. The chime echoed across the wasteland, sending Nightmares fleeing in blind panic. Silver and his Pokemon collapsed like bricks as their bodies became completely numb; Weavile and Kiako crashed to the ground together, the Pokemon's blade shallowly nicking the man's flesh as they fell.

"Harkai," Kiako gasped, barely able to speak. He felt as though he'd been punched in the gut. "You...idiot...you should have...warned me!"

"Forgive me, commander," Harkai apologized, "but I did not want to alert our enemies to my plan. Please take the proper precautions now."

He looked down at the gasping and blood-smeared Silver and smiled viciously. "Perish Song," he explained. "Each chime will destroy your bodies more and more until death takes you. The first chime merely deadens your sense of touch and knocks the wind out of you, nothing serious. The second chime paralyzes large muscle groups, though not essential organs like the heart or lungs. The third ends your life by shutting off all neural activity at once. The effects occur if you hear even the slightest decibel of the Song...merely covering your ears is not sufficient to block it. Me and my team are able to temporarily shut off our sense of hearing with our powers...except Lucario, but he's deaf, and thus immune...but the vast majority of Pokemon and all but properly-equipped humans have no defense against this."

Silver's hands dug trenches into the ash as he tried to pull himself off the ground. It felt as though his entire body had fallen asleep; he could barely even feel the ground beneath him, and what little he could feel was...tight and painful. His Pokemon looked little better, gasping and shaking in the dirt like frightened children. The Pokemon Leagues had known that Atropos possessed some exceeding deadly power, but nobody had ever survived it long enough to relay information about it. If what Harkai was telling him was true, then what could he possibly do? How could he possibly fight such power? Kiako's Pokemon might have been stronger in terms of sheer strength, but Harkai's great knowledge and possession of ancient, forbidden techniques made him far more deadly, at least to those who did not know how to counter those abilities.

"Oh, don't worry. The chime's effects and the cumulative countdown will wear off the next time you reach slow-wave sleep...but I'm sorry to say that you're not going to live that long. I gave you a chance to get out of this alive, Silver, but you overestimated your position in this...confrontation."

Once again Atropos exploded with that massive psychic power, and once again the death bell tolled. Silver and his Pokemon, who had only just begun to pull themselves up from the first sounding, were utterly unprepared for the ferocity of the second. They fell back into the dirt as their limbs became dead and useless. Though they could still see, they could not control their eyes, nor could they blink; the cold, dusty wind quickly became agonizing, but they could not even cry out.

(Damn it!) Silver thought to himself, panting shallowly as blood from his broken nose ran down his throat, nearly choking him. (Is this really happening? Defeated so quickly, so utterly? I can't die here...I have to get the information I've found to the League...I have to warn Slash and Psymakio...Janus...)

Harkai knelt down in front of him, moving with unnatural ease for someone so old. Not only did he drop into a squat without the aid of a cane or his psychic powers, but he didn't even wince. Silver thought he could feel his life force being sucked away by the old man's voracious aura.

(So this is the power he wields. Hearing about his abilities...never prepared me for the real thing. It's so...cold...)

"As you can see, my young friend, you have failed. You should have sacrificed your lives to cut Kiako's throat when you had the chance, instead of bargaining as though you had any hope of escaping my wrath. You have been a great pain in Rocket's side for years, but now I am thoroughly bored of it. Time for you to die. Atropos, finish them."

As the Bronzong's power tornadoed around its body, Silver tried to will his hands to his Pokeballs; better for his Pokemon to die a quick death in their balls than to suffer the final knell of this nightmarish technique. But despite his desperate efforts, his hands did not so much as twitch by his side. He couldn't even look at his Pokemon and wish them farewell with his eyes. He had never expected to match Harkai in one-on-one battle, but neither had he been ready for such a complete and sudden loss. It was undignified and humiliating.

"Die."

Atropos's body vibrated as the bell sounded, but the sound of the attack never reached Silver's ears. Instead the air itself seemed to ripple and warp around him and his Pokemon---even around Weavile, who was nearly a hundred feet away---as the waves of deadly sound were scrambled and dispersed throughout the atmosphere, rendering them harmless. A white-purple figure teleported in front of Silver, but his paralyzed eyes couldn't make the shape out clearly. When the newcomer spoke, however, he had no trouble recognizing the voice.

Sorry I'm late, the familiar voice said. Don't worry, I'll get you out of here in a moment. Powerful psychic shields formed over Silver and his Pokemon, and as their warm glow bathed their paralyzed bodies, the effects of the Perish Song slowly began to fade. Feeling started returning to their numbed and useless flesh, and though it was replaced by the same hypersensitivity that followed a limb falling asleep, that was a blessed change from not being able to feel anything at all, and being able to blink again more than made up for any pain.

"Janus," Silver coughed. "Thanks for...showing up."

Stay still. You're badly injured.

"Listen...about Kiako...he's had visions of..."

I know. Once the veil fully collapsed, I was able to see what was happening here...and now that I'm actually here, I've postcogged the rest. I'll fill you in once we're out of here, both for your own knowledge and so you can inform the Leagues. Janus closed his eyes and tried to teleport both Silver's team and himself away, but something was wrong; while he could easily teleport himself in or out of Fallarbor, he could not do the same with them. There was some sort of disruptive effect that had saturated their bodies, and it was preventing him from sending them away, both through teleportation and through doors. He progged the environment and quickly located the source of the anomaly---Harkai's Pokemon. Though none of them could individually hamper Janus's abilities, the combined power of Lachesis, Clotho, and Atropos was able to scramble the signature of Silver's team just enough to cause trouble. He would have to either kill at least one of the Pokemon or find another way to get Silver out of here.

Janus turned his attention to Harkai, his purple eyes narrowing. So, old man, you still live. Impressive...as well as disgusting. How many years have you stolen from those around you with that foul power?

"Well look who showed up," Harkai said sardonically. "Fancy seeing you out here. Still afraid of my abilities, Mewtwo?"

Janus, he corrected. Perhaps, despite your stolen longevity, you are finally going senile. Have you forgotten? I am no longer the easily-deceived clone you once abused. Your powers no longer frighten me...they merely sicken me.

"Is that why you've been hiding from us for so long? Disgust? Or is it fear?" A wicked smile formed on the old man's lips. "You have grown much more powerful over the years, Mewtwo, but so have we...your inability to flee with your little pet is evidence of that. If destroying Rocket was within your power, then you would have done so long ago. We have long since surpassed you." Harkai slipped a psychic dampener onto his ear; while it would prevent him from using his own powers, it would also protect him from Janus's fearsome might, and that was more important right now. His Pokemon could not use dampeners without crippling their fighting capacity, but they could shield themselves well enough with their own abilities.

You know that the dampeners won't be enough to protect Rocket from my wrath, Janus said, unimpressed. They may prevent me from cooking your brains in your skulls or bursting your hearts like water balloons, but I have many, many other ways to kill you. You, of all people, should be aware of that.

"Of course I am. Even with the dampeners, no single trainer, not even we of the Black Thirteen, is capable of matching your power. But I didn't come alone. There were reports that a Great One, perhaps even a Lord, was responsible for this catastrophe...and I brought backup accordingly."

Two lances of blinding blue light fired from Atropos's eyes, the beams converging behind Janus. They seemed to cut a hole into the air itself, ripping opening a massive jet-black distortion at least a hundred feet across and just as tall. From the portal emerged two more dampener-protected humans---the first an elderly woman flanked on either side by a Gengar and a Mismagius; the second, a heavily muscled man riding atop an enormous Onix that dwarfed even the typical huge specimens of its kind. The man leapt off the Onix's head and landed heavily by Agatha's side, the sixty foot fall apparently not harming him whatsoever. They were Agatha and Bruno, the seventh and eighth-ranked members of the Black Thirteen, and their arrival complicated things immensely.

"Now, I have no doubt that you could defeat the three of us, given enough time," Harkai said. "But you don't have much time, do you? Despite your healing efforts, Silver and his Pokemon are in grave condition, and I'm willing to bet that I could get in one last chime of the Perish Song while you're distracted by Agatha and Bruno. Even if you could teleport them to safety...it would not be easy for you to defeat us, Mewtwo. I do not know the scope of your power, but even if you've doubled in strength since we last met, you would still have great difficulty in conquering all three of us at once. You'd be greatly injured by the time you prevailed, and the energy you'd be forced to unleash in such a battle would allow Giovanni and XD001 to easily confirm your location. Are you willing to risk a battle with the entirety of Team Rocket, Mewtwo?"

I will not allow Silver to be killed, Janus growled, even if I have to fight every last one of the Black Thirteen, every Agent in Rocket's employ, and Giovanni himself. You should be asking yourself the same question, monster...are you willing to risk losing virtually all of Team Rocket in a fight with me? I would slaughter a great many of you before I'm taken down.

Agatha stepped forward, her ghosts taking a defensive position as she approached Janus. "It seems that neither of us could defeat the other without taking massive and unacceptable losses. Perhaps we should simply walk away from this like...civilized people."

"Civilized?" Silver laughed painfully. "You beasts are---"

Quiet, Janus chided. He turned his attention back to Agatha. Harkai tried to propose something similar to Silver. That was shortly before he tried to murder him. Why should I trust you any more than him?

"You don't need to!" the old woman cackled. "Neither of us can afford a fight right now. Silver and Kiako are both in critical condition...if they aren't given medical treatment soon, both will die in short order. Neither of us want that, do we? And if we came to blows, we'd both suffer unacceptable damages...at the very least, your battle-level psychic powers would be detected by XD001. As tempting as it is for us to finish Silver...and for you to finish Kiako...it simply isn't worth the risks at this time. Don't you agree?"

Janus considered. He could take Bruno easily enough...his Fighting-types would be equipped with psychic dampeners, of course, but they would still be little threat. The Onix was the real problem, though not an insurmountable one. Agatha herself would be much more difficult to defeat---her ghosts were extremely powerful, particularly the Mismagius; even if Harkai didn't interfere, he would have his hands full fighting her team. But of course, Harkai was here, and fighting Lachesis, Clotho, and Atropos simultaneously would be all but impossible with the other Rockets attacking. Even if he prevailed over all three of the Rockets, XD001 would sense the fight and come soon after; Janus could not hope to defeat her after battling three of the Black Thirteen. While killing Kiako was extremely important, it was not so important that it couldn't wait for a more strategic opportunity.

I agree. It would be best if we settled this another day.

"Good." Agatha turned to Harkai, twiddling her fingers over her cane. "Perhaps you and your Pokemon should make the first move and take Commander Sensiari back to headquarters via the portal. That way he'll be out of harm's way, and with your Pokemon gone, Mewtwo will be able to escape with his friends. Bruno and I will remain here so that he'll have some recourse if we betray the terms of our agreement."

"Are you sure about that?" Harkai asked. "He could kill you two the moment we're gone."

"I'm sure he could, but I'm also sure that he won't simply kill us for spite. Though he could do it easily enough, he'd still have to power up to the point where XD001 could easily detect him...so he has good reason to behave, as well. In any case, I have business to attend to here in Fallarbor before we head back." She turned to Janus, smiling sickeningly. "Are these terms acceptable?"

Good enough, Janus replied. Though he couldn't prog Agatha or Bruno with their dampeners on, he didn't sense any danger from their unshielded Pokemon, and that would have to be enough. He nodded curtly at Harkai and Kiako. Get out of here, old man, and take that trash with you. We'll settle this another day.

Kiako shakily pulled himself off the ground, his body still numb from the Perish Song. The paralyzed Weavile fell from his shoulders with a thump. He resisted the urge to kick the creature with great difficulty; as much as he would enjoy punishing it for threatening his life, Mewtwo did not appear to be in a very forgiving mood. His blood boiled at the sight of the creature. The strong and healthy body, capable of regenerating from nearly any wounds...the powerful mind, with enough psychic potency to shatter mountains...it all should have been his, but instead that perfect creation was staring back at him, fully capable of erasing him from existence if he truly wished it, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Not at the moment, anyway.

"We will meet again," Kiako promised in a strained, guttural voice. "I assure you of that. And when that happens, things will be very, very different."

Indeed it will. Next time you won't escape my wrath.

The two exchanged a look of burning hatred as Harkai and Atropos called up another portal, this one leading directly back to Rocket Headquarters. "Let's go, commander. The sooner we get you into a healing chamber, the sooner you'll be able to show that creature his place."

"Very well." Kiako pulled his eyes away from Mewtwo and turned his attention to Silver, who was still struggling to regain control of his body. "You will regret rejecting my offer, Silver. Those who lack vision have no place in the world we are going to create. At least your mother realized her own worthlessness and ended her life, rather than forcing your father to waste his valuable time putting her in her place. Perhaps you should do the same and spare yourself some suffering."

"You...son of a bitch..." Silver growled, his fists clenching as tightly as he could squeeze them. He would make Kiako pay for that remark if it took him fifty lifetimes. "Your vision is a lie. It's a dream that will never come true. I will make sure of that."

As Kiako limped into the portal, he turned to give his adversary one last look. "We will see, won't we? Farewell, Silver. Until next time."

The portal disappeared behind Kiako and Harkai in a cloud of dust and ash. Agatha breathed a sigh of relief and nodded at Janus. "It's your turn, now. Take your little friends and get out of here. Bruno and I will make no attempt to track you, trust me."

I'd sooner trust a Houndoom to put its fangs at my neck and not bite, crone. If you try to track me, I'll know. And you don't want to know what I would do then. Janus enclosed Silver and his Pokemon with his aura, gathering their limp bodies over to him. Do me a favor and pass a message along to Giovanni. Tell him that I won't be keeping to myself for much longer. My training is nearing completion, and already it has made me far more powerful than you realize. Very soon even the strongest dampeners will be useless against me and your one pitiful advantage will be lost. Prepare yourselves for war...and prepare yourselves for death, because it will be a war that you will not win.

Agatha nodded noncommittally. She didn't doubt his words, but if Mewtwo truly thought that Rocket had no defenses beyond the psychic dampeners, then he was a fool. It wouldn't be long until they finally mastered the power of the ancient human kingdom, and not even Mewtwo could match a power of that magnitude. Not to mention Giovanni's...other project. By the time Mewtwo was strong enough to punch through the massive dampeners that protected Rocket Headquarters from his progging and infiltration, it would be too late. "I will pass it along as you request. Goodbye."

The group vanished with a flash of light. Even if Agatha wanted to, she doubted that she could track Mewtwo's movement. He could teleport across enormous distances, with far greater range than any of Rocket's Pokemon...but more importantly, he was not limited to the same kind of teleportation that most Psychic-types wielded. Standard teleportation left a trail, even if that trail only visible to those with extremely well-attuned mental perception. Mewtwo's primary method of travel, however, involved creating doors in reality to instantly move between two points. Not only did this method bypass many standard defenses against teleportation, but it was also nigh-untraceable, as the 'hallways' that Mewtwo traveled through existed on a level of reality that nobody, not even other psychics, could perceive. Such travel only left two marks on the observable world, an entrance and an exit. Harkai's portals were only a pale imitation of such power, taking significant energy and hours of preparation to set up regardless of the distance. Mewtwo, however, could summon them freely; that great power was the only reason he had evaded Rocket for so long.

"Well, they're finally gone," Agatha sighed to herself. Despite the cold, her brow was dripping with sweat. She had forgotten what it was like to be in the power shadow of a being such as Mewtwo; even Harkai and Kiako's mighty Pokemon couldn't compare to that immense psychic pressure. "It's a shame that we had to let them go, but there will be other opportunities in the future. Come along, Bruno, we have work to do."

"Yes, mistress."

It was a strange sight: a short, frail, inoffensive-looking old woman being trailed by a tall, hulking man built of muscle and scars as though the two were mother and child. Bruno said nothing as they walked through the broken remains of Fallarbor, only scanning the horizon and keeping an eye on the remaining Nightmares; with Harkai and Mewtwo gone, they were slowly crawling back out of the woodwork. Onix's massive size would intimidate them for the time being, but soon hunger and their continuing mutation would change things for the worse.

"Now, now, it must be somewhere around here...I can hear it singing in the wind..."

Agatha swept a finger over her belt of Pokeballs, and a Drifblim, Dusknoir, and Shedinja joined the Gengar and Mismagius by her side. "Scatter, my children. Find the soul I seek."

*****

"Let me speak to him."

"Commander, you need to get in the rejuvenation chamber. This can wait."

"It cannot wait!" Kiako struggled free of Harkai's restraining hands and wobbled precariously towards the door of the medical lab. "I must ask him about what I've learned! My future with Team Rocket depends on his answers."

Harkai started to reach for him again, but he stopped when he saw the furious crimson glow in the mangled man's eyes. He suspected that touching him right now might cost him an arm of his own. "Listen to me, commander. I can feel your psychic output, and though I cannot prog you, it is clear that you're using your powers to hold that shattered body together. You could not have remained conscious for so long if you were not doing so. But soon your powers will be depleted again, and then all of those psychic splints and bonds will disappear! It is doubtful that you would survive if that happens!"

"I can last a little while longer. I must speak to him. Not just for my sake...I have learned more about the Seal in the past few hours than we have discovered in years! It is essential that I pass my findings on to him!"

Harkai sighed and shook his head. "Commander...there is little you could tell him that he doesn't already know."

"You have no idea what I know."

"Sir...you have no idea what he knows."

The glow in Kiako's eyes intensified at that statement. "What do you mean by that?"

Harkai said nothing, and Kiako suspected that he didn't respond because he couldn't respond. And since there was only one person in Rocket higher-ranking than himself, it was clear who had ordered the old man to remain silent on this issue. He pushed past Harkai and angrily tapped at the intercom on the wall. Giovanni's voice answered.

"Yes?"

"Giovanni, we need to talk. Immediately."

"Kiako, why aren't you rejuvenating? Harkai reported that you've been grievously injured. Tend to your wounds and then we'll talk."

"This can't wait. It's about...what lies beyond the seal. Something other than the King. Does the word Darkrai mean anything to you?"

There was a long pause, and though Kiako couldn't prog through the heavy dampening of Rocket Headquarters, he could still read the response well enough. No gasp of surprise, no angry shock, no fevered inquiries. Giovanni wasn't surprised at this outburst...neither about Darkrai's existence nor Kiako's knowledge of it. How long had he known of this?

"It is...a complicated matter."

"You knew," Kiako accused harshly. "You've known about it for some time now, haven't you? Just what else do you know, Giovanni? I'm supposed to be the second in command of this organization, but now I find that my subordinates possess information that I do not! What else have you been keeping from me?"

Giovanni sighed wearily. "Stay calm, Kiako. We can talk about this after you've healed. I don't know what you've discovered, but I always intended to tell you the truth eventually, just not...at this stage. But if you've found out about it on your own...then I suppose there can be no harm in discussing it with you now. Once you're mended up---"

"There are other things that I want to discuss," Kiako growled, his hand still trembling. "Like just what my origins really are. I have reason to think that I wasn't just some random freak-baby born with psychic powers and a morphic arm."

Another pause, but far more brief than the first. "Very well. I've meant to tell you about that as well, and long before now, but...I was worried about your reaction. To be honest, I still am. I promise that I will tell you anything and everything you want to know once you are healed...about Darkrai, our plans, and your...heritage. I just ask that you get in the rejuvenation chamber immediately...and that, when we do have our discussion, that you hear me out before making a decision regarding your plans. Is that acceptable?"

Was it? Kiako wasn't sure. He didn't want to leave Rocket, that much was for sure---he had powerful allies here, humans and Pokemon with the strength and determination necessary to help make his dreams a reality. In fact, without their support, Kiako knew that he had no chance of even finding the last Pearl, let alone obtaining the power of Regigigas and Darkrai. While he had reason to doubt his allies---or at least Giovanni---he would not abandon them without hearing them out. They had fought and bled for him too many times to not give them that much consideration.

"Yes, it's acceptable. But I want no secrets kept from me, not a one. Either you tell me the whole truth, as much as you know, or I am leaving Rocket forever."

Giovanni breathed an audible sigh of relief at Kiako's acceptance. "I understand. Now go tend to yourself, Kiako...actually, wait just one more moment. We will be deciding on Sai's replacement at the meeting this afternoon. Since we won't be able to talk once you're in the chamber, I want to know now if you have any strong objections or endorsements for anyone."

Kiako was considering his answer when a sudden and violent explosion of pain erupted in his head. It was far more than a mere headache; never in his life had he felt such pain, and that was saying quite a bit. He dropped to his knees on the tile floor with a sharp thump, but that pain was unfelt in the storm of agony. Harkai was right about him using his powers to remain mobile and conscious, and although he wasn't yet fully drained, his exhaustion and failing condition was causing him to lose the precise control needed to hold himself together. Something had ruptured in his brain, and he felt like he was dying. He probably was.

"Damn it, he's down!" Harkai shouted, rushing to his commander's side. "Clotho, open the rejuvenation chamber! Lachesis, Atropos, help me get him in there!"

The Pokemon obeyed as Giovanni listened intently to the ordeal, knowing that his voice would be unheard over Kiako's pained shouting. Only when he heard the large steel door of the rejuvenation chamber slam shut did his heart begin to beat again. "Harkai, what happened?"

"I'm fairly certain that it was a brain hemorrhage, but regardless, he's in the chamber now. I've got him locked in stasis at the moment...I'll need a team of medical technicians down here to treat him, because the healing cycles won't work on something like this."

"Of course, I'll send them right away. I want you to stay there with him until the meeting starts just in case he needs an infusion of psychic energy. Once the technicians start working, I want you to keep me apprised of his condition."

"Yes, sir." Harkai closed the channel and stared bitterly at the chamber door. Even with Kiako in stasis, the echoes of his pain still bounced around the room, and even his own shields could not fully repel it. He hated it, and not just because of the pain. It was a reminder of his mortality, that dreadful constant of life that he'd tried so hard to avoid. No matter how much life force he absorbed from those around him, it wouldn't stop his aging, but merely slow it down. He was still only sixty physically, and his health was strong for that age, but soon the effects of age would be more than his powers could compensate for. And unlike Kiako, his powers were not great enough to hold his body together for more than a few minutes at a time.

For now, at least. Great wonders lay behind the seal...great and powerful wonders indeed.

*****

The ghosts wandered through the wastes, hovering over shattered brick and glass and dirt as they searched for the particular soul that they wanted. There was very little left to see here; even the bodies of the dead had been blasted into unrecognizable chunks by Kiako's psychic runaway. But to those who could see behind the fog of the real...to those who existed within the twilight borders of life and death...to them, this place was a madhouse of activity. So many had died here, and in such horrific and violent ways...blown apart...eaten alive...mutated into sloshing, gruesome lumps of screaming flesh...the souls of the dead cried out in anguish beneath the ash and dirt, many reliving their violent deaths over and over. Even when the final lingering traces of corruption faded and the last of the Nightmares were dead, this place would still be tainted. Anything rebuilt here would almost certainly be haunted. Anyone with psychic sensitivity would be plagued with terrible nightmares. And as for anybody who could see into the spectrum of the dead...they would never find peace.

"What a beautiful place, don't you think, Bruno? Such powerful spiritual turbulence...I haven't felt anything this delicious since the Burning of the Beach. Just imagine the ghosts we could harvest here in a few months when everything begins to fester!"

"Mm-hm," Bruno hummed dully, still watching over the Nightmares on the horizon. He was neither psychically aware nor able to see into the spirit world, so this place seemed dead to him. But if Agatha was excited about it, he would try to be happy for her. Especially since she seemed certain that she could find another Key Soul here. Finding Key Souls made Agatha very happy. That meant he had to be happy, too. He had to try, at least, even if that meant faking it.

"I must ask Kiako about what happened here. It must have been something epic, something that hasn't happened in centuries! Not even the most ancient and blood-soaked battlefields have this much turbulence! And these monsters, this madness...oh, if this could be replicated somehow, we would have no limit to how many ghosts we could harvest! I could finish the Keystone years earlier than I expected! This cataclysm is the best thing to happen in ages!"

"The Pearl," Bruno muttered.

"Hmm?"

"Not here. Commander would have told us if he'd found it. Not good."

Agatha swatted the air in dismissal. "Pah. Let Giovanni and Kiako worry about that. They have their tasks and we have ours."

Bruno stared at her blankly for a long moment.

"Mistress."

"What is it now?"

"Why the Pearl? The King? We could rule the world with the Great Ones we have now. Hard, but we could. Why need more power than that? What more is there?"

Agatha leaned forward on her cane and placed a motherly hand on his forehead. "Oh, Bruno, you just couldn't understand what Giovanni wants to accomplish, not as you are now. You shouldn't worry about it. Just focus on helping me and it'll all go smoothly."

"Please, tell me. I want to know."

The old woman drew back from Bruno and frowned. It was a simple request, a basic plea for more information, but even that small, insignificant level of defiance should not have happened. Something was weakening her control over him, if only slightly. She immediately suspected that it was Mewtwo's work, but that couldn't be the case, as both she and Bruno had their dampeners active during their encounter. Was it this place, then? Perhaps the enormous amount of spiritual turbulence was unbalancing the strong net she'd woven in his mind. Agatha snapped her fingers and called Mismagius back to her. The ghost, sensing the fraying net, placed her small hands on Bruno's temples and started repairing the damage.

"Bruno."

"Mistress, my...head hurts."

"I know, dear. Don't worry, I'll make it all better. Just listen to my voice...ignore everything else. Yes, even the monsters...my Pokemon can keep an eye on them. Just...listen."

Bruno's eyes slipped half-closed as Agatha spoke. Her words were like honey in his mind as Mismagius slipped into his thoughts and did...the sleepy thing. The happy thing. It made the pain go away. It was the only thing that truly made him happy anymore, the only time when he didn't have to fake it.

"There are many different kinds of power, Bruno," Agatha crooned in his ear. "There is power over a single man...love, loyalty, devotion...like the power I have over you. There is power over a group...the power of an ideology, the idea that many people striving for the same goal gives it some value or worthiness...that is what the Jirachians depend on, how the Aquas justify their pitiful existence...and why we of Team Rocket manage to coexist despite our many different goals and dreams. These powers are great, and have served as the backbone of civilization since the dawn of time, but...they are not enough."

"Not...enough?"

"Not enough. For all of human history, people have aspired to rule their world through these flimsy powers. Cults of personality, fear, blind patriotism, the illusion of hope...that power served them well enough. And yet all of those people have something in common, don't they? Every single one of them was swallowed up by the passing of time. Whether by assassination, senility, death, conquest...it matters not. With enough time, a person will either lose those powers or they will be surpassed by someone stronger. It is the story of human civilization."

With every word that Agatha spoke, Bruno's confusion, pain, and willpower faded. It was too much trouble to wonder about the hows and whys of his mistress's dreams. So much easier to just...follow her and listen to her commands. So much simpler. Following orders didn't make his head hurt.

"You're right, my dear...with the handful of Great Ones that Rocket possesses, we could very likely crush the Leagues and claim entire nations for ourselves...but that control would always be precarious. There are simply too many people with too many powerful Pokemon to believe that we could hold the world indefinitely. No, no...to truly rule, and rule forever, you need something greater than mere destructive force...something greater than fear...even the weapons that Giovanni is resurrecting are only means to that end. With the power of Regigigas, Giovanni will have far more than mere destructive power; he will attain the 'divine right to rule', and nothing, not even the most powerful gods or Pokemon, could possibly take that away. Rocket will become more than a mere syndicate of people with similar goals...we'll become the rightful ruling force of this world, with our dreams as our sword and destiny as our shield. It will be true, absolute, just power. A kind of power that the world has not seen in over a thousand years."

Of course, there was something more to that...something behind the seal that lurked and scurried in the shadows...but Bruno could not even begin to comprehend such a thing, so Agatha didn't bother telling him. He was too far gone to grasp much of anything now; the net in his mind had been repaired, and it was unlikely that it would fray again anytime soon. She was more thankful that Onix's mind-net hadn't been damaged; while it would not be difficult to re-break the huge creature's simple mind, the thought of the damage it could cause if the net broke, even momentarily, was not a cheery one to contemplate.

"Do you feel better now?"

Bruno nodded dully. Her words mostly flew over his head, but that was alright; the tone was what mattered, and her tone was soothing. "Yes, mistress."

"Good. Now let's keep looking for that soul."

It didn't take long for her ghosts to track it down; while the spiritual turbulence of Fallarbor was as rough and hard to navigate as a stormy sea, this particular soul was as different from the others as a rogue wave was to mere breakwater. The ghosts led Agatha to the edge of a deep ravine on the outskirts of the city's remains; even her lesser senses could pick up the soul's insane screams echoing up from the darkness.

"I'm going down to get it. Keep an eye out, dear."

Bruno hummed in quiet acquiescence, watching as Agatha gripped her Drifblim's dangling arms and slowly descended into the yawning chasm. Once she was out of sight, he turned to the broken city and the gathering Nightmares, raking his sharp gaze over their ranks and measuring their capacity. Though his mind was dulled in nearly every way, Agatha had never tampered with his instincts and fighting spirit...all of his knowledge and capacity for combat and survival remained intact and as sharp as when he served on the Elite Four. His mind quickly formed complex plans for fighting each and every one of the monsters, both for solo attacks and the countless combinations of group assaults, and he relayed these plans to Onix through the loose mental connection that Agatha had forged between them.

A Nightmare approached, a monstrous thing that might once have been human. Now it crawled along the ground on a dozen stick-like legs that might once have been ribs. It did not appear to have a head, merely a gaping hole of an esophagus that drooled corrosive slime. The monster scurried at Bruno, hoping to get a bite out of him before Onix could intervene, but Bruno simply jumped over its charge and landed heavily on the abomination's back, breaking its spine. He then grabbed its dangling arms, pulling them backwards until the joints dislocated and the bones snapped like dry twigs. When it continued to flail under his feet, he leapt from its back, gripped it by one leg, and swung it towards Onix; the rock Pokemon caught the broken monster and crushed it into paste with his powerful jaws. The Nightmare never stood a chance.

While Bruno and Onix dealt with the few Nightmares that dared to move against them, Agatha calmly floated down into the dark depths of the ravine, surrounded by her ghostly entourage. They reached the bottom after several minutes of slow descent, landing on what appeared to be the wreckage of several fallen buildings of Aqua construction. There were corpses down here, as well; though not numerous compared to the near-carpet of pulverized remains on the surface, there were nonetheless several dozen dead humans and Pokemon, and their souls screamed mindlessly in Agatha's ears. They weren't interesting to her, however; she had heard such lamentations countless times. No, what she was after would do more than just scream: it would sing in its agony and rage. As her Pokemon threw aside mangled bodies while digging through the rubble, a few of the spiderweb-scarred corpses stirred and attacked. They posed little threat; their bodies had been smashed by the long fall into the ravine, and Dusknoir had no trouble crushing a few bloated, throbbing bags of loose guts.

"Such malevolence," Agatha whispered in awe. "Of all the battlefields I've visited, none have been so strongly haunted. For the dead to rise, without a puppet-master guiding them...to assault the living with no reason or mercy...simply amazing. Such hate..." She ran a wrinkled hand over a dented and blood-stained steel table, letting the attached chains slide between her fingers. "Such terror..."

[Mistress!] Gengar shouted. [I found it!]

The ghost had thrown aside a large slab of concrete, revealing a mangled corpse underneath. It was badly damaged by the fall, barely recognizable as human, and what little remained intact was twisted and mutated horribly by corruption. Its skull was crushed, though not by the fall---it appeared that some enormously powerful force had squeezed it inwards until it broke open. Normally Agatha would have been captivated by such a messy, brutal death, but at the moment something even more enticing had caught her eye: the soul hovering above the remains. The mass of spiritual energy spun speedily like a miniature hurricane, its featureless surface only occasionally broken by an eruption of a screaming mouth or furious, hate-filled eyes. Agatha didn't need her ghostly senses to see it at this range; even a mildly talented seer would be unable to ignore such a powerful entity's presence.

Fallarbor was cursed now, there was no doubt of that, and it would likely remain cursed for centuries unless an extremely powerful and concerted effort was made to purify the land and exorcise the thousands of restless spirits that inhabited this place. Anything built atop Fallarbor's ruins would almost certainly be haunted, but those hauntings would be relatively harmless...threatening shapes seen in darkened hallways, patches of biting cold hovering through houses, objects changing location when nobody was looking...even those who were psychically or spiritually aware would merely hear voices and suffer night terrors. But this soul was leagues above those petty ghosts in power and scope, and if left alone, it would eventually gravitate towards living beings and unleash its malice upon them, likely with fatal results.

[Will it suffice?] Gengar asked, basking in the waves of rage coming off of the soul. [It will, won't it? It looks delicious...]

"Oh, yes, it will more than suffice. Rarely have I encountered a soul of such malevolence and magnitude. He must have been a monster long before he died...and his death must have been equally monstrous to create such a vile spirit. Well, well, let's get started, shall we?"

Dusknoir reached into his quasi-corporeal body and produced a small stone. It was covered in the letters of a long-forgotten language that even Quiero and Miyako would not have recognized; it was far older than the Second Kingdom, and forged in faraway lands that they hadn't even known of. Other than the crowded etchings, the only distinguishing mark on the stone was a small jewel set in the center, a stone which had been a brilliant, luminous blue when Agatha first found it. Now it was nearly jet-black, though even that darkness glowed in the dark, the same mostly-ultraviolet glow that ghostly energy produced. Dusknoir handed it to his master and watched quietly as she raised the stone at the soul and closed her eyes. Her physical eyes, at least; her spiritual sight was sharper than ever.

"Poltergeist, I command you to yield."

The spirit ceased its screaming for a moment, turning its attention to the old woman, huge eyes pushing out of the surface of the storm.

"You will yield in the name of Agatha, Seer of the Dead. You will yield to me now."

A huge blast of broken wood and jagged concrete was flung her way, but she neither flinched nor made any attempt to avoid it. She knew that her ghosts would protect her while dealing with the Key Soul.

"Your rage will serve me now. Your hate, your fear, your misery. All of what remains of you will serve me now. You are now my prisoner. I claim your existence and you will serve me until I release you."

The jewel set in the stone began to pulse, drawing in several of the lesser souls and spitting them out as scattered particles of ghostly energy; they were not strong enough to survive the capture process. As the glow brightened and the stone itself began to heat up, the poltergeist was slowly drawn towards it as well, though it fought the pull much more vigorously. The broken remnants of the fallen buildings, the churned dirt, even the bodies of the dead were thrown at Agatha in increasingly desperate attempts to break the stone's power, but not a single pebble struck the old woman as her ghosts shielded her.

"Resistance is pointless. You will succumb to my commands. Your power is great...however..."

Agatha's eyes flew open, glowing with ethereal light. She was to human seers what Harkai was to human psychics---so far beyond even so-called prodigies that few could even grasp the power that she wielded. Strings of her ghostly aura struck out and entangled the struggling Key Soul, reeling it in.

"My power is greater."

The soul let out a thunderous howl that even the spiritually-dead Bruno could hear. Long and spindly arms burst out of the vortex, clawing frantically at the sides of the ravine as it was dragged toward the stone. The form of the spirit stretched out under the force of the stone's pull, but it could not resist forever; once the 'tail' of the soul was absorbed into the stone, the rest quickly followed. It made one desperate swipe at Agatha as the rest of it was sucked in, but the twisted arm simply passed through her as the soul lost corporeality. The stone jumped and burned in Agatha's hand for a moment, the jewel flashing like a strobe light, and then it fell silent.

"There we go, it's locked in good and tight. It's fortunate that we found it while it was still dazed from death...if it put up this much of a fight now, just imagine what it would have been capable of a month from now!" Agatha grinned and tossed the stone back to Dusknoir, who again secreted it within his body. "That makes ninety-eight. Only ten more to go! It's a shame that we only got one out of this catastrophe, but two Key Souls from one incident is a little too much to hope for, even with an incident this violent. Maybe another will appear if we let this place sour for a few months..."

The sound of the battle overhead interrupted her gleeful thoughts. "Well, as lovely as this place is, I suppose we should head back to base. I'm worried about Sensiari's condition...we can't afford to lose him, especially not at this stage. Let's go, my lovelies."

By the time Agatha returned to the surface, Bruno and Onix were surrounded by corpses. Most were smashed into unidentifiable glop to prevent resurrection. Despite the sheer number of Nightmares that had assailed him, Bruno had not needed to use his other Pokemon; he and Onix were more than capable of eradicating the lesser mutants themselves.

"Did you find it?"

"Oh, yes. We found it. A truly beautiful specimen, too." Agatha smiled at the bloody mess pooled at her feet. "You did well, my dear...they could never hope to match someone as strong as you. Now it's time to go home."

"Home," Bruno repeated with a nod. The fierce combat had temporarily reawakened his inner fire, but now that it was over, he was back to his original deep stupor. Even deeper, in fact; the loss of adrenaline took a great deal of his energy with it. "Hurry. Portal will disappear soon."

"Don't worry, we have time."

Though Harkai's portal had closed behind him when he and Kiako passed through it, the torn fabric of space had yet to fully re-weave over the hole it had left behind. A surge of ghostly power from Mismagius was enough to tear through the limited repairs and reactivate the passage back to Rocket Headquarters. The rip in reality closed again after Agatha and Bruno's teams traversed it, and as of that moment, for the first time in millennia, Fallarbor was completely silent. Even the remaining Nightmares had retreated back into the mountains now that the potential prey had departed.

Fallarbor started as a tiny human settlement nearly two thousand years prior, long before Regigigas descended from the sky to bring peace to a quarrelsome world...long before Pokemon or humans had united under their respective flags, even. It had been founded as little more than a rest stop for those who traveled the harsh mountains and winding caves of northern Hoenn, but the deep lakes and fertile volcanic soil gave people a reason to stick around. Though the city was never huge and bustling, not even during the peak of its prominence, it was nonetheless a place of great importance---a retreat for the human royalty, a center of great scientific research (including, unfortunately, the research behind the Sunderers), a shrine for those who worshiped the three great Lords. Most importantly, after the Shadow fell upon Hoenn, Fallarbor was one of the last strongholds against the legions of Nightmares and catastrophes that swept over the world, and it had also served as the birthplace of the new human civilization that came after the Sealing.

Now, though, it was naught but dust and ruin. Despite remaining sealed away, despite all the suffering that went into its imprisonment, the Shadow had won in the end. Another trace of the old world faded into the darkness, and the new world continued to drift ever closer to its annihilation.

*****

Only nine of the Black Thirteen were actually physically present in the conference room of Rocket Headquarters, but not since the Zapdos incident had even this many of them come together. An awkward silence hung over them as they waited for the meeting to begin. Something was wrong and they all knew it; the group didn't converge like this for happy reasons, only for enormous challenges or grave losses. Only Harkai, Agatha, and Bruno knew anything about what had transpired in Fallarbor, and Giovanni had ordered them to remain silent until the conference began...but the two empty chairs told the others a great deal.

Giovanni sat at the head of the table, speaking quietly to the pretty young woman standing beside him. He looked terrible. While discovering that Kiako was still alive had been a tremendous relief, the man's massive injuries and severe debilitation continued to worry Giovanni immensely. Although it appeared that Kiako would survive his injuries, his recovery would be long and difficult. Even more stressful than that, however, was the promise Giovanni made to him before he collapsed, the promise to answer his questions and explain everything.

Everything.

He had practical reasons for concealing his knowledge of Darkrai from Kiako, but he had no such excuse for not telling Kiako of his origins long before now. Was it fear that stopped him from doing so? Perhaps. Fear of rejection. They were both cold and vicious people, but Kiako was the closest thing Giovanni had to family now. Would he abandon Rocket once he learned the truth? Possibly. If he did, there was little Giovanni could do to stop him.

The first chair was empty, of course. Kiako, the Demon of Wrath, had been felled after his long and terrible battles. It had taken two rounds with the Lord of the Sky and two psychic runaways to bring him down, but in the end he had fallen. As strong as Kiako was, he was not invincible. Not by a long shot.

Harkai, the Demon of the Mind, sat at the second chair. Lachesis, Clotho, and Atropos were not with him, instead remaining at the rejuvenation chamber to donate their psychic power if the surgeons required it. The old man sat quietly, hands folded, trying to clear his mind of his earlier anger and bitterness. He needed to be level-headed for this meeting.

At the third chair sat a young blonde woman. She was tall, full-bodied, and beautiful...but while her physical appearance may have been comely, there was nothing kind or alluring in her eyes. No...despite their fiery red cores, her eyes were ice cold. Her eyes were not the only part of her that she'd allowed the Rocket scientists to modify; numerous psychic resistance nodes were surgically implanted in her brain, and scars from strength-increasing implants went down both forearms. Whatever it took to achieve power, Grace, the Demon of the Sacred Plane, would gladly do.

Nobody sat at the fourth chair; instead a small holographic emitter was placed upon it. The hologram was that of a young boy of fourteen, though he looked at least three years younger than that. He was a skinny stick of a boy, topped with ruffled and uncombed brown hair. Despite this childish appearance, he was Icarus, the Demon of the Sky, and the only member of the Black Thirteen who Giovanni did not completely trust. Something was wrong with this child...that was why he was always assigned to work with another member of the Black Thirteen. Ostensibly it because his missions were always dangerous, but in truth it was mostly so Giovanni could keep an eye on the boy. While Icarus had never betrayed Rocket, he had wandered off during missions on several occasions (he claimed that those missions 'bored him'), and that was something that could not be tolerated. If Icarus wasn't such a prodigy at aeronautics and Flying-type Pokemon, including the True Zapdos that Rocket possessed, Giovanni would have eliminated the boy long ago.

Icarus's current guardian sat (in hologram form, at least) at the fifth chair. She was a pretty young woman with dark green hair, the green of leaves on old trees. She had only just recently passed the cusp of adulthood, but unlike her charge, her dedication to Rocket was absolute...though Giovanni had doubted her quite a bit at first. His concern was understandable, as the Demon of the Forest was Lila, daughter of the late Celadon Gym Leader Erika. Unlike nearly every other member of Team Rocket, she had come to them, claiming to be sick of the Gym lifestyle and wanting to achieve greatness with them. Suspecting an extremely poor attempt at League espionage, Giovanni put her in numerous situations where she had to take life, often in great numbers, yet she never hesitated in doing so. Kiako's suspicions ran even deeper, so he befriended Lila to see if she would say or do anything suspicious around someone she trusted...but after several months passed, Kiako declared that he had no doubts over her loyalty. She and Kiako had remained close ever since---close in the sense that they were occasional lovers, at least. Giovanni didn't care to know the details as long as Lila remained a powerful force on their side.

The sixth chair was also empty. Sai, the Demon of Venom, had been killed in action during the Fallarbor incident. Giovanni had not yet learned the specifics, and likely would not until Kiako was healed enough to speak. Vengeance for his death would have to come later (though it would come, and it would be great and terrible); for now they had to focus on selecting a worthy replacement for the extremely talented trainer.

Agatha, the Demon of the Dead, sat at the seventh chair. Despite the loss of Sai and the emergency with Kiako, she had a crooked grin plastered on her face. She tried to remain stoic, but she couldn't help smiling; finding another Key Soul for her little project was just too wonderful for anything else to drag her down.

At the eighth chair was Bruno, the Demon of the Unbreaking Fist, a man seemingly built of guts and granite. He, of course, said nothing and did nothing. He simply sat there beside his mistress, blankly staring at the others. Though it did creep them out, they were not offended by his constant stares; they understood very well that having Bruno on their side, even as a dumb puppet, was vastly better than having him as an enemy. Though he was pushing fifty, his body was still hard as rock, and his Pokemon were equally dedicated to the arts of combat. While he could easily be killed in this state, the Rockets knew that it would be foolish to deprive themselves of such a valuable, powerful resource. As long as Agatha kept him on his leash, they had nothing to fear and much to gain.

A stunning and mature silver-haired woman sat at the ninth chair with her Umbreon Kaishakunin laying contentedly on her lap. She wore a pair of flip-up glasses that possessed both normal corrective lenses and special nanotech-laced filters that perceived and amplified Dark-type energy, allowing her to see unseeable energy patterns. Karen, the Demon of Darkness, had no innate abilities like Agatha's, but technology prevailed where biology had failed.

Karen had discovered the truth about Darkrai through her studies while she was still a member of the Kanto/Johto Elite Four. She defected to Team Rocket soon after, bringing the information to Giovanni and helping him confirm his own theories about what lay beyond the Seal. When asked why she defected, she simply claimed that something as large and powerful as Darkrai must be set in motion, and that she wanted to be there to see the results. Like Lila, Giovanni suspected a spy, and he had tested her loyalty and viciousness just as thoroughly. Karen, however, had never faltered.

Sitting at the tenth chair was a sharply-dressed man impatiently rolling a Pokeball on the tabletop as he waited for the meeting to begin. He was the only member of the Black Thirteen who did not appear even mildly concerned about the events in Fallarbor; on the contrary, he looked outright bored at the proceedings. It wasn't that he harbored any ill will towards Kiako or Sai...he simply felt that he had better things that he could be doing, like overseeing the continuing reconstruction of the Grand Cumulus. He cared little for the organization's business or politics; he was Lawrence, the Demon of One Thousand Faces, and he was in Rocket to further his collection, not for dominion. The sooner this meeting was over with, the sooner he could get back to his job.

At the eleventh chair was a balding, scrawny middle-aged man with thick glasses. However, despite his unimpressive appearance, he was perhaps the single most monstrous person at the table, with a list of crimes that was as long as it was filled with death. He was the primary developer of their ocular enhancement implants, a modification process which had a very low success rate---meaning that he had to harvest countless eyes from unwilling donors to output even a single workable pair. The final transplant procedure wasn't always done willingly, either...a fact that Silver could attest to. Stealing and swapping eyes wasn't the only...questionable deed that this man was responsible for, however. He had also been the chief scientist in Project Perfection, which had resulting in hundreds of deaths before success had been reached. If any one person could be considered the creator of Mewtwo, it was he, Charles Tiadrus, the Demon of Steel and Rocket's top genetic scientist.

At the twelfth seat was a young brunette working at a laptop, browsing what little information the media was running regarding the Fallarbor incident. The woman's hair was damp, and she wore a skintight wetsuit that clung to her ocean-hardened body. Even among this group of battle-hardened warriors and tightly controlled emotions, she was aware that several of the male members of the Black Thirteen were glancing at her. She didn't care; the suit was for function, not fashion, and if men wanted to stare like drooling idiots and lower themselves to the level of beasts at the sight of her, then that was their problem, not hers. There were much more pressing matters to be concerned about, such as Kiako's maiming, Sai's death, and new rumors regarding the Sky Pearl's location. Cordelia, the Demon of the Sea, refused to allow herself to get distracted by idiocy or shallow personal pursuits; such trivialities could not be afforded when there was so much at stake. It was beneath her.

The final member of the Black Thirteen sat waiting at the last chair, wearing an armored, full-body survival suit despite being indoors and away from the harsh conditions she normally operated in. With the suit, the large goggles propped on her forehead, and her short, closely-cropped hair, it was hard to tell that Sage, the Demon of the Desert, was actually a wiry girl barely older than Icarus. The survival suit gave her slight stature the illusion of greater height and musculature, and when she wore the breathing filter currently hanging around her neck, hardly any skin would be left exposed. Though she did not actively try to hide her gender, she did enjoy the added intimidation effect that the suit and equipment had on those who did not know her. Despite that fearsome appearance, however, Sage was the only member of the Black Thirteen (and likely Team Rocket in general) that could be considered 'perky'. The others were obsessed with business, battle, or their own goals...but to her, service in Rocket was just a fun game, a chance to enjoy great challenges with very high stakes for victory and defeat. Other than Icarus, Sage was the youngest member of Team Rocket, going from entry-level security guard to the most recent addition to the Black Thirteen in less than a year, and she had earned her position well.

His conversation with Mara finished, Giovanni turned to the assembled Rockets and folded his hands atop the table. "Very well, let's get this started. As most of you already know, there was an unexplained and catastrophic incident in the northwest region of Hoenn recently. Approximately two weeks ago, Mount Chimney began exhibiting an unnaturally rapid return to significant volcanic activity. At the same time, reports of monster attacks began surfacing from Fallarbor Town, and the region's communication network went down shortly after that. We know very little of the details of what happened there, but it seems that Rayquaza was somehow involved, as was Team Aqua. In any event, the volcanic activity ended today; less than twelve hours ago, Chimney was blown in two, with the force of the eruption directed relatively harmlessly into the evacuated city of Lavaridge and the central mountains of Hoenn, causing only minimal casualties. Furthermore, the ash column completely disappeared from the sky, though significant amounts remain on the ground. Both of these fortuitious events are likely Rayquaza's work."

"What about the stories of mutated monsters and zombies?" Charles asked, unable to fully conceal the eagerness in his voice. "Any truth to those?"

"Apparently so, but we shall discuss that later. For now we must discuss Kiako and Sai." Giovanni motioned at the two empty chairs, nodding regretfully. "As you've no doubt heard, Sai was killed in action in Fallarbor during the failed attempt to recover the Sky Pearl, and Kiako was grievously wounded. I have called this meeting to bring all of you up to date on Kiako's condition, and to nominate a replacement for Sai in the Black Thirteen."

Sage smirked at those words. "Not that I don't want a promotion, but it's a little soon, don't you think? He's not even cold yet."

"All members of Team Rocket are expected to give their lives in the line of duty," Harkai responded coolly, "and that goes double for those in the Black Thirteen. If we really care about Sai's death, then we will honor his memory by continuing our plans as efficiently and smoothly as we can, given the circumstances. With the exception of myself and Agatha, everyone here owes their place on the Black Thirteen to the deaths of their predecessors. Grieve in private if you wish, but we cannot afford sentimentality when it comes to our business."

"I didn't say that I cared, just that it's weird. Besides, are we sure that Sai is the only one we're going to have to replace? Even if Kiako does pull through, will he be in any shape to continue serving as commander?"

"Yes," Mara said confidently. "Kiako's natural healing capacity is great, and with our surgeons, Pokemon, and technology, he should eventually make a relatively full recovery. Shall I give them the full report now, sir?"

Giovanni nodded. "Go ahead."

The red-haired woman walked over to the large screen on the conference wall and tapped a button, turning it to a video feed of the rejuvenation chamber. Kiako was barely visible beneath surgical drapes and the crowding surgeons; all that could be clearly discerned was that the doctors were working on his brain.

"As you can see, Kiako is in extremely severe condition...if he was a normal human, he would not be alive right now. He was assaulted two weeks ago by Rayquaza, and the injuries he sustained from that attack resulted in a psychic runaway that nearly killed him. Despite this, he was able to limp to Fallarbor with only self-administered medical treatment. We're not sure what happened when he got there...the wound marks on his severed left arm suggest Rayquaza amputated it, but until he's awake and talking again, we can't be sure of anything. Whatever it was, the loss of his arm, combined with his lingering injuries, triggered a second runaway that put him in critical condition."

Mara tapped at the display again, switching it to a diagnostic scan of Kiako's brain. "The tremendous stress of the runaways caused significant damage to the blood vessels in his brain. He was only able to survive for such a long time by using his psychic powers to strengthen the damaged vessels...but once he started running out of energy, these patchwork repairs failed and he suffered an intracranial hemorrhage. It was extremely fortunate that the hemorrhage occurred here at Headquarters...if we hadn't gotten him into stasis right away, he almost certainly would have died."

Charles stood up and walked to the screen, examining the display closely. "It's remarkable that he's still alive, even with his advanced biology. Look, there appear to be numerous aneurisms in progress all over his brain at the time of scanning...his whole brain was mere minutes from completely falling apart. We're lucky we got to him before any more hemorrhaging occurred, because even our tech couldn't repair the damage caused by herniation." He smiled to himself and ran his fingers over the monitor. "He might have been a failure at his original purpose, but he's still an incredible specimen...heh. Do the surgeons think there will be any permanent damage?"

"Nothing significant. Maybe some minor damage, but it's unlikely to cause any noticeable decrease in his abilities. The main problem we have isn't the risk of neural damage, it's that the blood vessels in his brain are all but torn to shreds. We can stop the current aneurisms and repair the hemorrhage, but there's very little we can do to restore the integrity of the damaged blood vessels. Even bypasses wouldn't work...there's simply too many weakened vessels for self-grafts to be sufficient, and his body rejects any foreign grafts regardless of genetic match."

"That would be my fault," Charles said wistfully, still tracing the image of Kiako's brain on the screen. "I had to perform a neural graft on him while he was in the embryonic stage, and that required crippling his immune system for a time. After the fusion was complete, his immune system became hyper-sensitized to foreign genetic material as some sort of defense mechanism. When we tried to infuse him with other Pokemon DNA sources to continue our modifications, his body went into shock from the stress of rejecting the neural grafts. His failing condition and intractability was why we euthanized---"

"That's enough for now," Giovanni interrupted. "You'll have plenty of time to talk about that to Kiako once he recovers."

"I...what? What are you saying?"

"He knows. Or at least he suspects. And about more than just his creation," Giovanni added, glancing at Harkai and Agatha. "I promised him that I would tell him everything he wanted to know once he's stabilized, and that includes the precise circumstances of his origin. It's a promise that we will keep. We cannot afford to lose his trust...and more importantly, he deserves to finally know the truth. He has earned that right."

"But he'll kill us if we tell him!" Charles exclaimed, losing his normal studious calm and breaking out into a sweat. "You, me, half of the people at this table, and anyone else who was involved!"

"I take it that Kiako was one of your little science projects," Cordelia guessed. "So why are you worrying? Why did you bother keeping it a secret in the first place? He was made by Rocket, he commands Rocket, and he makes regular use of his powers." When Charles didn't answer, her lips twisted into a quirky smile. "Hm, I think I'm beginning to figure it out. If he was created by Rocket, then why wasn't he with us from the beginning? Something must have happened to separate him from the organization, something that he doesn't remember..."

Giovanni cleared his throat. "Suffice to say, it's something that Kiako won't be extremely happy to learn, but none of you should worry too much about it. I know Kiako well...far better than you do, Charles. He'll be angry, but I don't think he'll...pull a Mewtwo on us. His future is too intertwined with Rocket to leave over something that happened nearly two decades ago." He scanned the rest of the group, locking eyes with a certain few. "As for the rest of you...Kiako was created by Rocket, and he currently stands with Rocket of his own free will. If you don't already know any details beyond that, then you don't need to know any details beyond that. Don't ask questions, especially not to him, and don't tell anyone else in this organization unless he or myself gives you explicit permission to do so. Gossip will not be tolerated, especially not with such a delicate matter. Do I make myself clear?"

The Black Thirteen voiced their understanding.

"Very well. Mara, please continue."

"Yes, sir." She changed the display again, this time to a full-body image of Kiako taken before the operations began. "As I mentioned, his left arm was severed in battle, likely by Rayquaza. Again we were fortunate; the cut was several inches below the shoulder and only removed morphogenic cells, not flesh. This prevented him from bleeding to death before we arrived. More importantly, it means that he will be able to replace his morphic arm without any additional physical surgery. It will take at least one month to grow an adequately sized culture to replace it."

"Won't his body just reject that, too?" Lila asked worriedly. She didn't notice Lawrence rolling his eyes at her concern for Kiako's well being; her largely lust-based relationship with the commander was no secret to those in the Black Thirteen. "It might be safer for him to simply use an artificial arm."

"It will be alright," Charles assured her. "We can clone the culture from his remaining morphogenic cells, so there will be no chance of rejection. I considered using the morphic cells to replace the damaged blood vessels in his brain, but the cells respond to emotional control and psychic manipulation...they're far too imprecise for such a delicate task."

"In any case," Karen said, "that means there's a minimum recovery time of one month, assuming his surgeries and recovery go very smoothly. Nobody in Rocket except for Giovanni, Harkai, and Grace are near Kiako's level, so assigning a temporary replacement for him during his recovery is pointless. That reminds me, what about the condition of his Pokemon?"

Mara shuffled through some papers on her clipboard. "Let's see...Hariyama and Magmortar suffered severe but non-life-threatening injuries and should be battle-ready within two weeks. Metagross mostly sustained only minor physical damage, but his eyes were gouged out and the supporting nerve structures was destroyed, meaning that a transplant is not possible. I'm not sure if he'll ever be able to fight again."

Harkai waved dismissively at that. "Clotho is blind and deaf, and he can fight just fine with his Aura sense. Metagross might be able to compensate for his loss of sight by using his psychic progging. I'll be more than willing to help him through that once he's recovered sufficiently."

"Very good. Moving on, Kiako's Gyarados is actually the healthiest of the bunch...he was hit by the Hyper Beam that initially wounded Kiako, but his lack of combat since then has allowed for his wounds to heal somewhat. He should be recovered within a few days. The Pokemon who we should be most worried about are Aggron and Relicanth. Aggron suffered numerous major injuries, including severe armor damage and a slash to the abdomen that nearly cut him in two. Relicanth was...well, honestly we're not sure what happened to him, but his condition is critical."

Mara switched the display to an image of Relicanth's battered body in stasis, awaiting treatment. Parts of his armored body appeared to be crumbling off like dry sand. Lila recognized the damage immediately.

"It's from an extremely powerful Grass-type attack," she remarked. "Likely a Solarbeam. Still, considering the severity of the damage, I can't imagine what actually fired it off."

"We also found a used and password-locked Master Ball on Kiako," Mara said. "We can't scan whatever's inside...the sensors don't even recognize it as a Pokemon. We could probably break the password with the equipment here at HQ, but if Kiako locked it, chances are that there's something very dangerous inside."

"We'll wait until he recovers before attempting to open it," Giovanni said. "He wouldn't waste the Master Ball on any normal Pokemon, and I don't want to release an unknown life form here at Headquarters. Keep it in secure storage and put a containment guard on it."

"Yes, sir. Anything else?"

"Not at the moment. Thank you for your report, Mara. You're dismissed."

He waited for her to leave the room before continuing. "It is time to decide upon Sai's replacement. Though whoever we decide upon will start out as the thirteenth ranked member of the group, I would like for the replacement to at least be roughly equivalent to Sai in terms of power, skill, and viciousness. Sai was exceptional at all three, and I would like to preserve those qualities in the Black Thirteen if we can. The floor is now open to nominations."

Lawrence looked up from the table, showing interest for the first time since the meeting started. "Well, I nominate J. She clearly has the battle prowess, and her technological skill has helped me immensely with repairing the Grand Cumulus."

Most of the others scoffed and voiced their disagreement. "I don't think that's wise," Agatha remarked. "She's in Team Rocket for monetary gain, not because she believes in our goals. While that doesn't stop her from being an excellent fighter or technician in the main ranks, she wouldn't be interested in our...ultimate objectives."

"You just want her on the Black Thirteen so she can get you more Pokemon for your collection," Sage added with a giggle.

"What's wrong with someone being incredibly skilled at capturing and stealing Pokemon? That's just the sort of thing we need! And none of you can deny that we wouldn't have been able to locate Raikou without her help, let alone capture it."

"That doesn't matter," Cordelia explained. "She's more of a mercenary than a visionary."

"You're one to talk about acting like a mercenary!"

"Enough," Giovanni interrupted. "J is a skilled fighter, but she is not suitable for the Black Thirteen. As Agatha said, she lacks a certain...grand desire that the rest of us possess. Let's stop this bickering and move on, shall we? We're wasting time."

The group was silent for a moment as they each pondered over the possibilities.

"What about our spy in the Hoenn Elite Four?" Harkai asked. "We'd certainly fill the power gap Sai left behind. And we'd surprise the hell out of everybody, too."

Giovanni shook his head. "I don't doubt that, but I'd prefer to keep that particular ace in the hole until the time is right. If the Leagues ever start to corner us, I want to have a means of throwing them into chaos and making our escape."

"Icarus, do you have any suggestions?" Lila asked her charge. The boy would likely keep to himself and remain completely silent unless questioned or provoked.

"Nope," he replied simply, turning away from the table and gazing at a far-off corner. His hologram did, at least; though the others couldn't see what he was actually looking at, they didn't need to see him to know he was watching birds flying outside the window of wherever he and Lila were currently holed up. "Zapdos doesn't care, either. Zapdos thinks this whole exercise is a waste of time." His eyes flickered to Lila and he grinned mischievously. "Zapdos doesn't care if Kiako lives or dies, either."

"Get fucked," Lila said conversationally. "Giovanni, did Kiako have any ideas regarding replacements?"

"I didn't get a chance to find out before he went critical. I wish we could have his opinion, but we can't afford to wait for his recovery."

"Paul."

Bruno's quiet suggestion surprised everybody, Agatha most of all. Despite the mental web being firmly in place, the control over Bruno's mind was not absolute. She could feel his inner fire pushing against the bonds...the part of him that craved combat, the only part that even Agatha could not touch. Everybody stared at him, waiting for clarification.

"He gave me a challenge when we sparred. More than strong enough to be in the Black Thirteen. He is...something else."

The others considered it. Paul was relatively new to the organization, having only been with them for four years, but he'd rapidly advanced up the ladder during that short time. He wasn't much for following orders, but he never actively disobeyed, either. And, as Bruno said, he was frightfully skilled. He always had been. The young man had made quite a name for himself in his youth, crushing nearly every opponent that crossed his path, but he had never been satisfied with simply beating tournaments or earning badges. He did both with great success, but he never managed to find whatever it was that he sought...hence why he joined an organization that could show him the true nature of the world.

"Not a bad suggestion," Giovanni mused. "Many strengths, few weaknesses. In terms of sheer battle experience, he's one of the top members of the organization, and his strategic skills are very impressive indeed. His ruthlessness and efficiency speak well of him. Are they any objections?"

"I'm concerned about his time in the Pokemon League," Grace said. "Namely his service in the League's Enforcer division. Having former Gym Leaders and Elite Four members in our ranks is one thing, but the law? That's something else. Can we really trust him?"

"He's been with us for years without any trouble," Harkai pointed out. "Besides, I don't believe that he had any real passion for his law enforcement work...I think that he was just seeking a purpose through the battles such work could provide."

"He fought against Rocket during his employment and killed numerous agents. Pre-Purge agents, but still."

Giovanni chuckled darkly. "If we disqualified those who killed pre-Purge members of the organization, then there would be very few of us in this room. Harkai is right...back then Paul was just a kid looking for a purpose in life, not some dedicated defender of League law. That drive for purpose is something we can use. We already know that he's extremely interested in the King's power. If we told him of Darkrai, and what we can accomplish with it, then he might finally find the purpose that he's been seeking."

"Perhaps," Agatha acknowledged, still sounding unhappy over Bruno's slight flash of independence. "However, it might be best if we don't reveal the full truth of Darkrai until we're completely sure of his loyalty. That boy is insatiable when it comes to strength...I'm not sure that he wouldn't try to betray us once he realizes just how much power we're dealing with."

"We can't not tell him about Darkrai," Karen argued. "Once you're in the Black Thirteen, the missions we're given are interlinked with it. Even if we don't tell him, he'll eventually find out on his own, and how will he react when he learns that we withheld so much? It took massive effort to keep Kiako from finding out, and it looks like he may have learned the truth on his own anyway...not to mention that we still don't know how he will react to the news."

Sage leaned back in her survival suit and shrugged. "I guess I agree with Karen. If you guys hadn't told me about Darkrai when you inducted me, and I found out later that you'd been keeping the ultimate goal of Rocket from my knowledge, I would be pretty pissed off. Might be better to be up-front about it and see what happens. Besides, even if goes crazy with dreams of power, we can handle him."

"A dangerous risk," Grace said. "You're aware of his combat record. He could cause a lot of damage before we could apprehend or kill him."

"We're getting a bit ahead of ourselves, don't you think?" Lawrence asked. "Haven't even chosen him yet and already we're talking about what we'll do if he betrays us. Although, if he's really that unpredictable, perhaps we should choose someone else."

"Unpredictable isn't the right word for it," Charles interjected. "More like ruthless and self-serving. One could say that he's actually very predictable. Ever since he was a kid, all he's sought is greater power. He has a pattern..he chooses a rival who is vastly superior to him, pushing him to his limits to surpass them...and then he chooses a new rival to force himself to continue getting stronger. It worked well enough while he was a random trainer, and it didn't interfere much during his time with the League's Enforcers, but now he's in an organization where betrayal and petty vendettas absolutely cannot be tolerated. I don't think the boy's mature enough to handle the responsibility of creating our new world."

"There is a difference between a rivalry and betrayal," Karen pointed out. "If he aspires to, say, defeat Giovanni, what's the harm if he continues following orders while building himself up to meet that goal? If anything, that's beneficial, as it drives his determination to get stronger. It's only a problem if he puts that rivalry ahead of business."

Giovanni raised a hand to silence the argument. "Alright, enough. Let's have a vote."

"I'm in favor," Harkai said. "We need someone of significant power to take Sai's place, and Paul fits that role nicely. Furthermore, the man is strong, but he's nowhere near my level yet...if anything goes wrong, I can take care of it without any trouble."

Grace looked down at the table, her red eyes glowing dimly. "I suppose I will vote in favor of him as well. His dedication to the pursuit of power is admirable. Let's just hope he's mature enough to understand that there's a much bigger picture to pay attention to. I'll be keeping an eye on him, though. Icarus, what say you?"

The eyes in the room fell on Icarus's hologram.

"Zapdos doesn't like him," Icarus said slowly, still staring off into the distance. "Zapdos thinks Paul is dangerous. Zapdos thinks we shouldn't have let him into Rocket in the first place."

"Why is that?" Giovanni asked, mildly curious as to what the Great One thought.

"Zapdos says that Paul is only with us because we provide him with trying battles, send him to exotic locations, and expose him to mighty Pokemon. He doesn't care about our principles any more than he cared for the League's. He is not a believer. If Paul decides that the League can better grant his desires, he will turn to them. It's power that matters to him, not politics." Icarus finally turned back to the hologram interface and locked eyes with Giovanni. "If he left us now, there's little he could tell the League that they don't already know. The damage would be minor, since he doesn't have particularly high access to sensitive information. But if he's on the Black Thirteen, he will learn of all the secrets we keep even from the other members of Rocket. He will learn of Darkrai and what we intend to do with it. If he betrays us after learning all our secrets...the League would find out everything."

"That is a valid point," Giovanni replied, "but the same could be said of any of us. I'm well aware of the risks of spies or turncoats, and I am very careful in who I allow into our organization. He's clearly no planted spy, as he's killed numerous people, including civilians, in the course of his duties...furthermore, he didn't ask to join us; we recruited him. As for the risk of him changing his mind and betraying us? Don't worry about that. No one member of the Black Thirteen has enough information to cripple our operations. As for Darkrai...there are some in the League who already suspect that there is more to our goals than the power of Regigigas. It is only a matter of time until they learn the truth. Even if they discovered everything, there is nothing they could do to stop us. Darkrai is far, far beyond their control. From a practical standpoint, very little would change."

Giovanni smiled and glanced over everyone at the table one by one. "We might not be friends, precisely, but we're far more than mere business partners, wouldn't you all agree? All of those in Rocket have a common dream that we want to see fulfilled...the rise of a Third Kingdom, a place where the truly strong will keep the world in line and usher in a new and eternal era of justice. Three years ago, we purged the organization of those too weak or short-sighted to truly appreciate such a plan. Now all who remain in Rocket are those who share that dream."

"Paul doesn't," Charles interrupted. "He just wants to play fighter."

"That is not true. Strength may be his dream, but I do not believe that he seeks it purely for his own sake. He has a reason for wanting it, even if that reason may not be clear to him. We know for a fact that Paul is not a cruel man, just a harsh man...though he is certainly a ruthless trainer, he does not go out of his way to antagonize the weak or indulge in simple sadism. Power isn't what he truly seeks...power alone wouldn't have brought him to Rocket, would it? No, no...it's merely a means to an end for him...what he really wants is control. He wants to be in control of his own life instead of being pushed around by those stronger than him."

Giovanni spread his hands wide and laughed. "Such a dream is not that much different from our own, now is it? He wants to live outside of the insanity that is the world today...and we seek to destroy that insanity entirely. He does not seem enthusiastic because he believes---correctly---that the power of the King is not sufficient to truly and completely tame the world...all it can do is unite it, but it cannot erase the cruelties of life. I believe that when he learns of the scope of Darkrai's power and realizes what we can do with it, his dreams will be the same as our own."

"How can you be sure of any of that?" Icarus asked. "We'll all be in trouble if you're wrong."

"I wasn't wrong about you," Giovanni answered simply. "When you first came here, all you wanted was to play with the birds. Few were interested in having somebody so...easily distracted and undisciplined on the Black Thirteen. But I saw through you the same way I see through Paul...I could read your true desires easily. You wanted freedom...the freedom to fly, the freedom to be yourself in a world that does not allow such an unfettered life. Was I wrong about that?"

Icarus didn't respond. It was true; while Giovanni did have another member of the Black Thirteen assigned to watch over him at all times, it wasn't because he distrusted the boy...he just needed a little guidance, that was all. And as much as business and planning and orders annoyed Icarus, who just wanted to fly and be left in peace, he had to admit that Giovanni had seen through him and given him exactly what he wanted---birds, books on flight, relative freedom...far more freedom than he'd possessed before the Rockets had taken him in, that much was for certain. And eventually Rocket would give him absolute freedom...a world where nobody would try to chain him down or tell him what was 'proper'. Still...

"Zapdos says too much depends on our success to risk so much on your gut feelings."

"It's not just Giovanni's feelings on the matter, Icarus," Lila said. "Paul apprenticed under Kiako fairly early in his career, as have several of us in this room. For Kiako to even accept him as an apprentice speaks a great deal about Paul's abilities and determination, but there's more than that. I remember training under Kiako...it's more than just sparring matches and strategy training, it's something almost...spiritual. You have to lay yourself bare and expose your soul to be earn his approval."

"I'll just bet," Sage chuckled. Lila ignored her.

"My point is that there's no way Paul could have gone through that and kept any dangerous desires or intentions hidden from him. After training under Kiako, he knows you better than you know yourself. I assure you all that if Paul had any inclination towards leaving us, or if he doubted our dreams, Kiako would not have given him final approval. If he's good enough for Kiako, then he's good enough for me. My vote is in favor."

Icarus sighed and shrugged. "Whatever. Yes, fine, in favor, whatever. But Zapdos is not enthusiastic about it. And Zapdos will not remain passive if he betrays us."

Agatha looked at Bruno and contemplated the possibilities. "You know, we could put a mind-web into Paul just to be safe, at least initially. Then we could string him along until...until he's fully indoctrinated into our dreams, whether he would follow them willingly or not."

"I don't think that would work," Harkai replied. "Consider how difficult it was to ensnare Bruno in your web, and he had a very simple and straight-forward mind." Bruno glanced up at the sound of his name, then slowly settled back into his daze. "Paul is a very bright and perceptive individual, and he would likely notice your manipulation as soon as it began. There would be no way to put him into your control without him realizing it, and if the control broke prematurely, then there is no doubt whatsoever that he would rebel. Besides, I don't like the idea of having two members of the Black Thirteen under the control of a third. That's too much power for one person to have, and too great a risk if that control should fail."

"Your distrust saddens me," Agatha said with a trace of a smile. "How could you say such a thing after all these years of working together?"

"It's not a lack of trust, just basic caution. It's hard enough to have so many powerful trainers working together in harmony. We don't need any more complications to hinder that matter further, such as one person essentially holding three seats."

Agatha grumbled and waved a hand at him. "Fair enough, I suppose. In that case, I must say that I will grudgingly support the young man's appointment to the Black Thirteen. Very grudgingly. But I will be watching him...and watching him closely." She motioned at Bruno and smiled widely. "Bruno agrees with my opinion, of course. As he always does."

"Agree," Bruno mumbled. "Want to fight him again."

"Perhaps you may," Giovanni said soothingly. "Karen, what's your opinion?"

She frowned for a moment. "I'll agree, under one condition."

"And what would that be?"

"I want him put under my command for his first thirty days in the Black Thirteen, serving me directly...not as a partner, but as my subordinate. After those thirty days are done, I will decide whether or not he's up to our standards...and if I don't approve, I want another vote held so we can reevaluate his place with us."

"I take it you don't trust him, then?" Giovanni asked.

Sage laughed. "I think she just likes younger men."

"No, that's not it," Karen replied with a trace of a smile. No, what Paul would experience would be as far from sex as one could get. "Neither of those are it. I simply want to test his resolve and show him the limitations of his...training methods. He may have trained under Kiako, but let's see if he can handle training under me for a mere month. If he hasn't cracked by then, I'll be glad to support his permanent seating on the Black Thirteen."

Giovanni thought to himself for a moment. "I suppose that would be acceptable, assuming there are no objections to it. It might ease the doubts that linger in a few of you, and it can serve as the final loyalty test that I was planning on giving him. I'll trust your judgment on his worthiness."

Karen nodded, pleased. She didn't like Paul, not one bit. He treated his Pokemon little better than slaves, and both his selection and training processes were extremely brutal. Any Pokemon that no longer fit his strict qualifications were abandoned, regardless of how long they'd served him. But the main reason she was so insistent over commanding him for a month was a rumor that she overheard passing amongst the standard agents. The rumor went that Paul once captured a dozen or so Croagunk and locked them up without food, waiting for them to starve and kill each other until only one remained so that he could have the strongest specimen in the batch. Whether it was true or not, the fact that this rumor was passing around Headquarters in whispered tones of admiration was not something she could tolerate. His methods were, in a way, even worse than mind-breaking; at least broken Pokemon were mindless and beyond pain. She intended to make an example out of Paul, both for the sake of the organization and the sake of herself---she wouldn't be able to stomach serving alongside such a ruthless monster of a trainer otherwise.

She would see if Paul's cold philosophy could hold up for a month against her wrath.

Giovanni clapped his hands together. "Very well, let's move on, then. Lawrence?"

"Approve," he said. "Such a master at specimen selection could help me quite a bit with strengthening my collection. I'm sure he'd be happy to make some trades with me that would benefit the both of us."

"Way to think about the team," Karen muttered. She didn't like Lawrence much more than Paul. Their philosophies were too similar for comfort---both treated Pokemon like tools to be used or discarded.

"I assure you that I am keeping the needs of Team Rocket in mind by voting in favor, my dear. I could strengthen him, he could strengthen me...there's no downside to that."

(Unless you're a Pokemon,) she thought to herself. "Whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep at night."

"I sleep quite well, but thank you for the concern."

Charles was next. "I'm against it, regardless of how many of you think otherwise. I still have my doubts about whether or not he's capable of appreciating just what we're trying to create. You may be right about his dreams, Giovanni, but until I see evidence of it, I am withholding my judgment. I can't so easily trust somebody who was in the League Enforcers, either. He will have to prove himself to me before I can consider him worthy of my trust."

"Understandable," Giovanni said calmly. "Hopefully Karen's training of the young man will be sufficient to ease those worries of yours."

"Well, I have a good feeling about him," Cordelia said, typing at the laptop in front of her. "I'm looking over his mission history right now...very high success rate, extreme efficiency in terms of equipment and Pokemon, multiple commendations from his commanders. His Pokemon are very powerful for their age, all in the top five percent of their species's combat percentiles. 103 human kills, 516 Pokemon kills...not bad for someone who's only been here four years. Of the missions he's commanded on his own, he's never lost an agent, and only seven Pokemon have ever been lost under his command...and all of those were during the Zapdos incident, so those losses are perfectly understandable. I am definitely in favor of his admission into the Black Thirteen, and I wouldn't mind partnering up with him if the need arose."

"I just bet," Sage said with a smirk. "What was it that you told me, that a woman and a man fighting together become closer than lovers?"

Cordelia glowered at her. "Grow up, little girl. Camaraderie between soldiers is something you clearly aren't old enough to understand. Stop being so immature."

Sage pulled on her goggles and stuck her tongue out at her.

"You're not exactly proving me wrong."

"Don't care," Sage said simply, removing her goggles again and climbing to her feet. She walked to the main display on the wall, her heavy powered armor thumping loudly on the floor with each step, and turned the screen back to the feed of the rejuvenation chamber. The surgeons were still at work, though fewer were operating on his head; now several of them were cleaning the stump of his amputated arm and setting the broken bones in his legs. His psychic powers may have held them together well enough for simple movement, but they would have healed very poorly if the bones remained so crooked and off-center. Sage motioned at the screen and her silliness faded away.

"This is Kiako, the second best trainer in Team Rocket. He has unrivaled tactical skill and Pokemon powerful enough to match lesser Great Ones, along with biological and psychic abilities that make him far more durable than any of us puny little humans. Despite this, in a mere two weeks, he has been physically destroyed and his Pokemon maimed by unknown adversaries."

"Your point?" Lawrence asked. "What does this have to do with Paul?"

"My point is that we all know what Kiako will do once he's recovered. As soon as he's mended, he'll be going right back to the field to continue our missions. No sulking, no whining. He'll deal with his defeat by letting it double his resolve...that's how he handles losses, by getting revenge instead of bitching about it. We know this because Kiako's been defeated before, as has everyone here...hell, nobody in Team Rocket at the time of the Zapdos incident escaped without some severe injuries to themselves and their Pokemon. Being a member of the Black Thirteen means more than being able to crush your enemies...it also means that we can handle losses in a mature manner and respond with practicality." Sage turned back to the table and looked to each member one by one. "We all agree that Paul is a certified bad-ass, that he's strong and smart and blah blah blah. His list of accomplishments is impressive and his victories have been numerous. But how does he handle defeats, do we know? How does he react when everything goes badly, or when he's faced with a vastly superior opponent in a life or death battle? This is something we have to consider before putting him on the Black Thirteen, because if Kiako of all people could be so thoroughly thrashed, then any of us could be, and we have to know that Paul can deal with it as well as the rest of us."

"I agree with that sentiment," Harkai said. "Victory alone does not define a person. Every great warrior must suffer a beating at some point...defeat shows you your own limits and humbles you. Has Paul ever been in such a situation?"

Cordelia continued browsing Paul's records, going back to before he was in Team Rocket. "He's suffered losses before, typically when faced with much stronger opponents, but none of those losses were in life-or-death situations...they were all just normal, casual battles. Even when he was with the Enforcers, he never had a battle where he was utterly defeated."

"Kiako's training of him was extremely brutal," Lila reminded them. "Paul was put through extreme physical and mental strain, as were his Pokemon. Isn't that enough?"

Sage shook her head. "No, because while Kiako can be very vicious, especially to those he considers incompetent, he would never kill someone during training, and Paul knew that. Besides, extreme physical strain isn't the same thing as being broken and defeated. There's a...humiliation factor that has to be addressed."

"Perhaps I can deal with this," Karen intimated. "I was planning on being extremely...demanding during his month of serving under me, but I think we can set something up to see just how well he would react to a defeat. We could devise some sort of fake mission and tell him that success is critically important...and then we simply ensure that he fails it badly. He would have no way of knowing that it's being staged, and thus he would react as he truly would in such a situation."

"We can arrange such a test easily enough," Sage said. "We can observe how maturely he handles a major loss, and we can learn where the line between tactical retreat and absolute determination lies within his beliefs. The more he struggles against the impossible odds, the harder we'll be on him and his Pokemon. And then, when he's completely defeated and physically broken, we can see if he calmly accepts his imminent 'death' or struggles violently against it. How a warrior reacts in such a situation says a great deal about them."

Everyone sounded their agreement.

"It is a wise suggestion, Sage," Giovanni said. Sage flashed a mocking smile at Cordelia, but the older woman ignored her. "Furthermore, to test Paul's ability to follow orders under abject and humiliating circumstances, Karen can order him to retreat when he's sufficiently roughed up. Hopefully he'll be mature enough to accept a superior's judgment rather than indulge in foolish obstinacy...blind determination has no place in Rocket, particularly for members of the Black Thirteen. Regardless of his obedience or lack thereof, we'll still bring him to the edge and see just how maturely he handles being utterly at an opponent's mercy. I presume that this would satisfy you, Sage?"

"Yes it would. I vote in favor of putting Paul on the group and giving him a chance to prove himself. I trust that Karen will bring any problems to our attention in case we need to re-evaluate our decision."

"Very well, then. Of the eleven of you here, ten are in favor of Paul's nomination and only one is against. I will presume Kiako's approval, as he approved of taking Paul on as an apprentice, and I concur, as well. Paul Armstrong is hereby placed on the Black Thirteen, and he will remain with us unless Karen finds fault in his training or his...character tests. He will start out as the thirteen ranked member, meaning that everybody from Agatha on up is getting a promotion. Congratulations."

"For what?" Lawrence asked disinterestedly. "All we did was...not die."

"In this business," Giovanni said with a small smile, "that's quite an accomplishment of its own. Now, perhaps we should decide on what his moniker will be. We already know of his fighting style...Cordelia, what's his primary Pokemon team?"

"He switches them all the time to match certain threats, or when he feels a team member no longer deserves to fight under him. The only Pokemon he's been relatively consistent with are a Torterra, Ursaring, and Electivire. He's had those three since he was just a boy."

Lila shrugged. "Maybe he's not as ruthless as he seems, if he's kept the same three Pokemon for nearly twenty years. That's kind of sentimental."

"Well, those three are also his strongest Pokemon when you look at the numbers," Cordelia pointed out. "I can't speak for how he feels towards them, but at the very least they've earned their place through their ability."

"In that case, we'll postpone deciding on his title for the time being," Giovanni suggested. "We'll wait until his service with Karen is over and then think of a moniker based on his performance. The title isn't exactly critical, anyway."

The dark man stood and looked over his cadre of warriors. It was a great shame to lose Sai...the man was powerful and dependable, if a little egotistical...but he was looking forward to seeing what Paul was capable of. Karen and Sage had their reservations, and Charles outright disapproved, but Giovanni had a good feeling about the man..something told him that Paul would be fighting alongside them for a nice long time.

"So, with that business out of the way, it's time to hand out your next assignments. This next month will be critical, as the League will not give us much breathing room...they will suspect that we were involved with the Fallarbor incident and respond accordingly, so we must be cautious. However, at the same time, our regular business must proceed." He cracked his knuckles and looked over the reports in his hand. "Firstly, I want Harkai tracking down Mewtwo. The meddling creature ruined a chance to eliminate my worthless son. I know that the trail will be virtually untraceable, but if anybody can follow it, you can. Even a vague direction is more than we usually have."

Harkai nodded in understanding. "And if I find him?"

"Unlikely that you will, but if you do, remain hidden and call for backup. Make no move to fight him alone, Harkai...even you cannot defeat him on your own, and we cannot afford to lose another member of the Black Thirteen. Assume the same protocols that we used during the Zapdos incident, understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Agatha and Bruno, XD001 has detected another Key Soul approximately thirty miles east of Fallarbor. I want you two to go obtain it."

"I knew that there would be more," Agatha cackled, "but two in one day is more than I ever dreamed of! Excellent!"

"Both of you must be cautious. The League will be sending their people to investigate Fallarbor, and you will be dangerously close to the city's remains. Do not engage any Enforcers unless absolutely necessary...just get in, find the Key Soul, and get out of there. Let's try to keep this quiet."

Agatha and Bruno nodded, although Bruno only did so in imitation of his mistress. "I understand, sir."

Giovanni glanced down the papers. "Alright...Icarus and Lila, I want the two of you to do me a little favor. Before the Fallarbor incident, Kiako was tracking a candidate for the Silver Princess. I would like you to track her down and keep an eye on her. The target's trainer is named Slash Firestorm, a sixteen year old boy from Oldale Town. He currently possesses the Stone and Knuckle Badges from Hoenn, and he narrowly failed to gain the Dynamo Badge, as well. We had him rated as a class four, but he's likely increased in strength significantly since then...a class six, maybe, seven at the maximum. The target was a Kirlia the last time Kiako crossed paths with them, but she had evolved into a Gardevoir by the time Firestorm fought Watson approximately two weeks ago."

"Sound easy enough," Lila said. "What's the rest of his team?"

"Kiako's reports indicated that, other than the target, Firestorm also had a Growlithe, Corphish, and Geodude. We know from the boy's battle with Watson that he has obtained an Electrike since Kiako last encountered him, but other than that, our data is limited. He's no threat to either of you, I assure you. Just find the boy and keep an eye on him and the Gardevoir...if she is the Silver Princess, then we can't afford to let her out of our sight."

"Understood. Icarus and I will begin looking for them immediately. If Mauville's the last place they were seen, then that's where we'll start looking. We're not too far from there, anyway. We'll report back once we get there." With that, the two holograms winked out of existence.

Giovanni hesitated before continuing with assigning orders. He was worried about Icarus. The boy's obsession with Zapdos was getting out of hand. If it weren't for the fact that Zapdos willingly chose to work with the boy (and only the boy), hence saving a great deal of time and resources on mindbreaking it, Giovanni would have taken the creature away from him immediately. Icarus was too unstable to trust with such an powerful Pokemon. More than that, Giovanni was beginning to suspect that the bird might be doing more than merely talking trash about Rocket behind his back. Zapdos wasn't a psychic, but it was the True Zapdos, the progenitor of the entire species of lesser Great Ones, and it was ancient and intelligent beyond imagination. It was not unthinkable that the creature was manipulating the boy for its own mysterious ends.

It was known that Icarus somehow persuaded the bird into serving him, but nobody knew why such an incredible Great One would choose to obey such an odd-minded boy. Zapdos certainly hadn't joined Rocket willingly; it took the entirety of the Black Thirteen and the majority of their agents to even bring the beast down and capture it. They'd lost dozens of men in that incident, the worst single loss that the new Team Rocket had ever sustained. Even if XD001 had been battle-capable during that incident, they still would have taken major losses---the True Zapdos was as strong compared to the lesser of its kind as those typical Zapdos were compared to normal Pokemon. Giovanni was occasionally tempted to take the Pokemon away from Icarus, mind-break it, and give it to somebody more trustworthy (Grace, perhaps; she was particularly skilled with handling Great Ones), but Icarus always seemed to know when Giovanni considered doing so. The boy's behavior and attentiveness would improve for a time, long enough for Giovanni to forget about wanting to seize Zapdos...and then things would slowly return to the way they were before, and the cycle would repeat. If Icarus thought that Giovanni hadn't long since realized this, then he was sadly mistaken; the only reason that Giovanni hadn't yet confiscated Zapdos was because of the boy's exceedingly successful results.

While Giovanni didn't expect a betrayal from Icarus, he had to prepare for all possible catastrophes, and an immensely powerful god deciding that it was sick of taking orders (or convincing a somewhat slow boy that they would be better off without Rocket) would definitely be catastrophic. Though the entire Black Thirteen had significantly increased in strength since the Zapdos incident, it would still be very difficult recapturing it if it went rogue, at least until the Grand Cumulus was fully operational. All the more reason to hurry things along, then.

"Karen, go down and inform Paul of his nomination to the Black Thirteen...and his service to you. I'll give you three days to test him here at Headquarters before giving you two an official assignment."

"You don't want to tell him yourself?"

"I have other business to attend to after the meeting. Besides, considering the reasoning behind your request, I think it might be best to give Paul a slightly rough introduction to your tutelage. We don't want to be soft on him, after all."

Karen nodded slowly. "If you say so, sir. What about his little character test? When will we do it?"

"We'll wait until his month with you is nearly over...I want to give you two some time to get to know each other....enough time to break him in."

She grinned viciously at that statement. She was looking forward to this, oh yes. Breaking a strong, stubborn person's confidence always excited her...and she had a feeling that breaking Paul would be much more satisfying than usual. He would be humbled or he would be destroyed.

Giovanni smiled at his Karen's eagerness and continued handing out assignments. "Grace, I want you to start planning the final test for Paul. We need something brutal enough to assure him of the mission's authenticity, but not something so brutal that his life would seriously be in jeopardy. Whatever you decide, be sure to privately inform Karen of your plans, and clear them with me before actually taking any action. I leave the details to your...creativity."

"Understood, sir. I assure you that the exercise will be sufficient to push the man to his limits."

"Very good. Next up...Lawrence, continue your team's work on the Grand Cumulus. We will be receiving a shipment of two hundred Electrode next week, which should be enough power for a small-scale test flight. Will the vessel be capable by then?"

"Of flight? Yes, sir, but we're still months away from even understanding the principles behind the weapon systems, let alone making them functional."

Giovanni waved a hand at that. "The immediate priority is making it flight-capable. The weapons systems would be useless when the vessel is grounded, anyway. Just get the thing in the air and we'll worry about the rest later."

Lawrence nodded and left the room, eager to get back to work immediately. Giovanni turned his attention to Charles. "I want you to go down to the rejuvenation chamber and assist the surgeons if necessary. I doubt that they will be able to understand all of Kiako's...biological quirks on their own. Once he is stabilized, set up the morphogenic cell culture and get to work on fixing up his Pokemon. They're as mangled as he is."

"Understood." Charles looked at the display nervously, unable to take his eyes off of his own work being split open and operated upon. He recognized every power channel, every muscle enhancement, every modification that made Kiako the deadly man that he was. The thought of that power turned against him was not something that the scientist wished to think about. "You understand that he's going to be very, very angry when you tell him."

"I told you, it will be fine. I promise that he will not kill you, Charles. Even if he wants to after learning the truth, I will not allow him to do so, so please, relax. Besides, saving his life and the lives of his Pokemon will give him reason to be forgiving of you, won't it?"

"Yes, sir," Charles replied, although he did not sound too enthusiastic. He did not doubt Giovanni's ability to keep Kiako in line...not while they were at Headquarters, anyway...but the stories of Kiako's wrath were nightmarish enough to keep him sweating. What would the Man with Demon Eyes do when he learned that he was forged on a laboratory table, dismissed as a powerless failure, and thrown out like trash?

And what would Kiako do when he discovered that Charles's signature was on the orders for disposal?

Giovanni, who was no less worried than Charles but far more confident in his ability to handle it, continued on as though there was no problem at all.

"Cordelia and Sage. I'm putting you together on an assignment." The two girls began to balk, but Giovanni did not give them a chance to begin arguing. "Now, now, hear me out. Sage, Cordelia is correct about you needing to learn about camaraderie between soldiers. And Cordelia, Sage is far more intuitive and mature than you give her credit for. A mission together might help both of you get over your mutual animosity."

"You're kidding me," Sage said, disbelieving. "I'm geared for desert operations, and she's trained for aquatic activity. What kind of mission could we possibly collaborate on?"

"Not to mention that we don't exactly get along well," Cordelia added with a scowl. "Surely there are better partnerships available for whatever assignment you're thinking of."

Giovanni smiled widely. "Trust me, my dears, I know what I'm doing. Many partnerships are formed from initial distrust, and overcoming that distrust can bring great strength. Why, you two should have seen how little Harkai and Agatha wanted to work together at first! Their former enmity makes you girls look like squabbling sisters in comparison. I intend to breed some trust between the two of you...whether you like it or not."

Cordelia sighed in exasperation. "Alright, fine. What's the mission?"

"My meddlesome son was sighted near the desert in Hoenn less than a week ago. I believe he was following a lead on the Sky Pearl's location. While there's no reason to think that he found it, or that his lead was in any way correct, I still want both of you to go there and sweep the desert for anything unusual...there's almost always some truth behind even the most seemingly absurd legends. Cordelia, you will have to rely on Sage's knowledge of the desert if you're to survive out there."

"Yes she will," Sage taunted. "I don't think she could take the heat on her own. Surviving in the heart of a desert isn't like treading water."

"Watch your tone when speaking to your superiors," Giovanni said flatly, silencing the younger girl in mid-jeer. "You will be in command in the desert, yes, but Cordelia still outranks you, and you will respect her opinions even when you do have a situational advantage. Afterward, once you've done a thorough scan of the desert, I want you two to travel to the southern seas near Pacifidlog...our probes have discovered the submerged remains of a massive temple dating back to the era of the Second Kingdom. Evidence suggests that the temple was dedicated to worshiping Rayquaza, who has also been spotted numerous times in that region. While there's no specific reason to think that the Sky Pearl is there, it is nevertheless the best lead we currently have. Obviously you, Sage, will have to rely on Cordelia's mastery of the sea if you wish to last in her typical conditions."

"You'll have to step out of the powered armor for a change," Cordelia said, though surely she was too mature to be mocking the girl back. "Obviously you can't swim in that thing. Are you as competent out of that suit as you are in it?"

"You will watch your tone as well, Cordelia. Sage is only one rank beneath you, and we do not demean our fellow Rockets in my organization. Such petty infighting is more appropriate for those worthless terrorists in Hoenn rather than the group that is going to transform the world."

Cordelia nodded slowly, stifling the urge to buck against the orders. She didn't want to be partnered up with Sage...the girl was nowhere near mature enough to be compatible with her own strict sense of doing things. Still, orders were orders, and as much as she disliked admitting it, Sage was by no means incompetent at what she did. In fact, when it came to hostile conditions (on land, at least), the girl was one of the best. "Forgive me, sir. I will do my best to work well with her."

"Then all is well. You may go and prepare for your mission now. The rest of you should get moving, as well...it is not wise to have so many of the Black Thirteen in the same place."

The lingering agents left the conference room, leaving Giovanni to himself. He stared at the main display for several minutes, watching the doctors feverishly try to save Kiako's life. While Charles had been terrified at the sight of the man splayed open like this, Giovanni could only feel a surprisingly sharp sadness. Seeing the normally vigorous Kiako laying motionless and broken atop a surgical table...well, not since Mewtwo's betrayal had Giovanni felt so helpless. He ran a hand over the screen, trailing over the image of the man's open chest and skull as if to soothe him.

"Whoever or whatever brought you to this will pay dearly," he said quietly. "Whether human, Pokemon, or god...I will see them dead."

With that Giovanni strode out of the room, eager to continue preparing for his war.

*****

Surge glanced around the lecture hall, looking for any signs of inattention. There were none, of course; even the technicians and support staff within Rocket were as well-disciplined as the agents themselves, and all knew better than to slack off when Surge was speaking to them.

"On that note, you will always assume that a gun can go off at any time, no matter how carefully you handle it or how well-maintained the weapon is. Do not point it at anything you are not prepared to see get shot. If I see anybody pointing a gun at a teammate as a prank, or waving it instead of holding it properly, I promise that the idiot in question will never be able to hold a gun again."

"Even if it's not loaded?" a technician asked. Surge smacked the man on the back of the head, growling angrily.

"I already made this clear...a gun is always loaded. Especially when it's not." He raked his eyes over the other students, daring anyone else to ask a stupid question. "These are not toys. They have only one purpose, and that purpose is to kill. Anytime you hold one, you are holding death in your hands, and anyone not mature enough to handle that responsibility has no place wielding such a weapon. In fact, anyone that immature has no place in Team Rocket at all. That includes you non-agents, as well...just because you don't regularly deal in death does not mean that you have a pass."

Karen stood outside the door to the lecture hall, observing Paul through the small window. He had listened to the lecture intently, rapidly transcribing Surge's words onto the notebook in front of him. Despite her concerns about the man's viciousness, she had to admit that she was pleased at his initiative in attending these classes. Like many others in Rocket, Paul had been intrigued by the news of the strange weapons that they'd been finding in their digs, especially with the more recent discovery of rapid-fire and extremely long-range models. While the devices were weak compared to most Pokemon (especially Pokemon of Rocket caliber), they were still deadly, and they gave otherwise helpless humans a means of both self-defense and attack. She didn't expect anything less from a trainer such as he...pursuing power meant embracing any means to strengthen oneself. Unfortunately, some seekers of power went too far..hence why she was looking forward to teaching Paul some lessons of her own.

"Tomorrow we'll be dealing with firearm maintenance. Guns can malfunction rather easily if you don't care for them properly. The best case scenario is that the gun merely jams. The worst case scenario involves somebody getting maimed or killed. You can't be trusted to wield a weapon until you know how to care for it, so all of you had better master what I teach you tomorrow or you'll never so much as touch a loaded weapon, let alone be issued one. You're dismissed."

The Rockets began streaming out of the classroom, but Paul remained for several more minutes, asking Surge some follow-up questions now that the lecture was over. Again Karen was impressed at his dedication, but she still had a bad feeling about what that dedication could do when applied to his Pokemon. The rumors about Paul were too disturbing to ignore. When he finally gathered his things and stepped outside, Karen caught him by the arm and quickly led him away from the lingering students.

"Miss Karen?" Paul asked, making no move to pull away. There were rumors about the Black Thirteen, as well, and they were whispered amongst the agents and staff like horror stories. Though not all of those rumors were true, enough were confirmed by after-action reports and personal sightings to chill most of those in the lower ranks and give them a healthy fear of their superiors. While Karen didn't have the same ominous and blood-drenched reputation as Harkai or Agatha, nobody in the Black Thirteen could really be considered fun people to be around.

Karen stopped pulling him along once they were out of hearing range of the other students. She pulled out a computer pad and began reading it unemotionally. "Paul Armstrong. Age twenty-six, hails from Veilstone City, Sinnoh region. Thirty-two badges from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. Made it to the quarterfinals in the Kanto-Johto unified tournament and the finals in the Sinnoh tournament. Successfully won the Hoenn League tournament ten years ago and defeated three members of the Elite Four before being defeated by Drake. Spent a year as a bounty hunter before being recruited by the Sinnoh League for its own Enforcer program. During your employment with the Enforcers, you apprehended such well-known criminals as Jupiter and Mars of Team Galactic, Pokemon abuser Ash Ketchum, and the notorious sex offender Colton Chapel. You also captured over thirty members of Team Rocket and killed more than fifty others."

Paul was quickly getting nervous. "Miss Karen, I don't know what this is about, but I assure you that my loyalties are with Team Rocket...and only with Team Rocket. Being an Enforcer...that part of my life is behind me now. It has been for some time."

"I know," Karen responded, slipping the computer pad back in her pocket. "I wasn't accusing you of anything. On the contrary, your history is quite impressive, regardless of which side you were on. No, I came here to talk to you about something else." She made doubly sure that nobody else could overhear them now; while it would not remain a secret for long, she was unsure as to what Giovanni wanted to be said about the Fallarbor incident to those outside of the Black Thirteen. "Have you heard of what happened to Kiako and Sai?"

"I've heard some...disquieting rumors. What happened?"

"An overwhelming defeat. Kiako is currently in critical condition."

"And Sai?"

"He's even worse than that."

Paul's eyes widened in disbelief. "He's been killed? Who could possibly...are you certain?"

"Yes. We're unsure of the details, and we will remain in the dark until Kiako regains consciousness, but some sort of major cataclysm occurred in Fallarbor. Natural, artificial, we don't know. All we know so far is that Rayquaza was involved, Mount Chimney exploded...and that there are reports of strange monsters roaming the northwest of Hoenn. Whatever happened, one member of the Black Thirteen is dead, and another is out of commission for at least a month. Our situation is precarious."

"Why are you telling me this?" Paul asked curiously. "Why isn't something like this a general announcement?"

"It will be, in time...but our immediate concern is filling the void left in our ranks by Sai's death. His power was considerable, and his loss has weakened the Black Thirteen substantially. That's why we're going to replace him before making a full disclosure to the others...we don't want to start a panic."

"I see."

Karen looked the young man in the eye, watching as his remaining bravado faded at the eye contact. Strong or not, eager for power or not, he knew his place in the grand scheme of things. He was intimidated by her. That was a good start to their relationship.

"As of this moment, you are on the Black Thirteen."

Paul didn't seem to know how to react to that. He stared back at her, expecting her to laugh and tell him that she was joking. When several seconds passed without so much as a smile, he realized that she was deadly serious. "Me? You want me on the Black Thirteen? I...don't know what to say. Surely there are others better qualified---"

"This is not a request," Karen interrupted curtly. "It has already been discussed, voted upon, and approved. Whether or not you think that you're ready is irrelevant, as we have made our decision."

"I didn't say that I'm not ready," Paul said quickly. "Being chosen for the Black Thirteen is a great honor. But why me? There are stronger agents than myself, agents who have been with Team Rocket far longer than I. Why not somebody like Surge, or J?"

"Rocket is better served with Surge in a teaching role for new recruits. As for J, or any other agents, it is none of your concern why we chose you over them. We are certain that you are the best choice at this time. Your track record is exceedingly successful, your tactical prowess is remarkable, and your overall strength is in the top ten percentile of the organization. There may be stronger trainers outside of the Black Thirteen, but I assure you that after a few of the missions that we regularly deal with, your strength will increase very rapidly. It will have to, or else you won't last long. But I think you'll make it. In fact, I'll be personally making sure of that."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You will serve directly under me for your first month on the Black Thirteen. You will train under me daily, you will go on missions with me, and you will follow my instructions thoroughly."

"You wish to test me." It was not a question. "I take it that the vote wasn't unanimous. Some of you have doubts, despite your talk of being sure of your decision."

Karen shook her head. "We are sure of our decision, Paul. You are the best choice to replace Sai on the Black Thirteen. But being the best choice does not necessarily mean that it will work out, does it? Certain questions were indeed raised at our discussion...questions as to your capacity for understanding the purpose of the organization, along with your loyalty and dedication to our cause. Your power is not in question, nor your intelligence, but...we must be sure of your resolve before we make this appointment permanent. Surely you understand the importance of our caution."

"Yes, ma'am." He paused for a moment, dropping his gaze from Karen's and down to the Umbreon sitting patiently at her heels. It stared back at him, its expression cold. Neither she nor her Pokemon seemed to like him very much. "Might I ask why you are the one to administer my...test? Were you one of those to doubt me?"

"I suggested the test in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I voted in your favor. I don't doubt your abilities or your dedication, unlike some of the others. However, there are certain...questions that I have regarding your way of doing things. Questions that cannot be answered unless I see you pushed to your limits. Only then, when you're completely exposed as a warrior and as a man, can I see the truth about you. I understand that you were once Kiako's apprentice...he had a similar method, did he not?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Before you can truly become one of us, there are certain weaknesses that must be purged from you. I will be the one to purge them and you will allow me to do so. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am, perfectly clear." Paul suddenly had a very bad feeling about what Karen meant by this 'testing phase'. He could not imagine what she meant by weaknesses...he had spent his entire life ridding himself of every weakness that he discovered. But every member of the Black Thirteen was extremely perceptive, and if anybody could know more about him than he knew about himself, it was them. He was dreading whatever nasty 'training' Karen was planning for him, but if it would truly make him stronger, then it would be worth any potential pain. Kiako's training had been brutal, but in the end it had strengthened him greatly; he could only hope that Karen's testing would have the same result. Paul had a dream, but that dream could not be fulfilled at his current level. Not by a long shot.

"Good. Meet me at combat chamber gamma in three hours. Bring whatever Pokemon you consider to be your best." Karen shot him a wicked smile. "I should warn you that I will not be merciful. You had better be prepared to fight for your life, Paul. Kiako's Pokemon may be tougher than mine, but I assure you that I will push you and your Pokemon to your absolute limits. Don't let me down."

Paul nodded as Karen turned and walked away, her Umbreon following closely behind. Kiako's training had been hellish, but Paul had expected nothing less when he asked to apprentice under him. Karen, though...she was considered to be one of the less vicious members of the Black Thirteen, but there was a cold streak in her that chilled even him. There was a particular rumor about her that concerned him as much as his own reputation worried her. Supposedly she had once encountered a large Jirachian congregation while on a mission to Hoenn, and they had seen her Dark-type arsenal and heckled her about it. As the stories went, Karen proceeded to kill each and every single member of the congregation, from the priests to the attendants to the bystanders, not sparing a single human or Pokemon from her wrath. While all Rockets had some civilian deaths on their records, the majority of those were accidental---those who were unfortunate enough to get caught in the crossfire. But if the story about Karen was true, then she had killed over two hundred people solely because they demeaned her Pokemon.

(Is that what this is about, how I raise my Pokemon?) Paul wondered to himself. He was brutally methodical in obtaining Pokemon, and his standards were incredibly high, but surely there was nothing wrong with his methods---after all, nearly half of Team Rocket used mind-broken Pokemon, including members of the Black Thirteen, and Karen had never shown any hostility towards them. And surely mind-breaking was much worse than what he did. At least his Pokemon still had free will.

In any case, he could not allow himself to be intimidated by her. He was a member of the Black Thirteen now---hard to believe, but he certainly wasn't going to complain about the promotion. He would start out at the bottom, of course, but he had no intention of remaining there. To fulfill his dream, he would need to climb to the absolute pinnacle of the organization, and that meant rising above anybody that stood in his way, including Karen herself.

He would obey her orders. He would learn whatever she had to teach him. But he refused to submit to her.

Determined to prove his worth to his new colleagues, Paul headed back to his quarters to prepare, intent on showing Karen just how worthy he was.

*****

Rayquaza hovered high above Mauville, conjuring up enough clouds to conceal himself from the view of the people below. He saw the city with his mind more than his eyes (or rather, eye; it would be some time before the damaged organ regenerated). Though his actions had prevented an enormous loss of life, there were still many injuries caused by the eruption; Mauville General Hospital had to contend with casualties from the residents of Mauville, the refugees from the lost city of Lavaridge, and a few serious cases that Verdanturf couldn't handle. The Pokemon Centers in both Mauville and Verdanturf were completely packed as well. Though vastly preferable to what could have happened, the eruption of Chimney was still a major disaster, and the effects would be felt across Hoenn for a very long time.

[Thank you for helping out,] Rayquaza said to the creature on his back. [You saved me a great deal of trouble.]

Think nothing of it, Janus replied. He had arrived in Mauville shortly before Rayquaza, with Silver and his Pokemon in tow. It was easy enough to quickly teleport them into the hospital lobby and escape without being seen. Rayquaza, however, was obviously not so stealthy, so Janus did the same for the Lord's battered and exhausted passengers. There was no need to alarm the already-frightened people by having a massive dragon god swoop down from the sky.

[This is a dangerous situation. Firestorm, Psymakio, Silver, and Flannery are all under the same roof and unable to defend themselves. The hospital will be a tempting target to those who wish to thwart us.]

I'll watch over them. I can lurk around a city undetected far more easily than you. Silver's injuries aren't too serious...he'll be able to sleep off the effects of the Perish Song easily enough, and his team should be up and active after a few days at the Pokemon Center. What of Flannery?

[Her injuries are mostly superficial. It is her mate that worries me...his arms were pulverized by Sai's Pokemon. I wouldn't be surprised if he lost one or both of them. Flannery lost one of her team in Fallarbor, as well.]

I know, I felt his passing. Strange for me to feel a non-divine Pokemon's death so strongly, but he was ancient and very powerful...the forces of chaos were certainly strengthened by his loss. What about the royalty?

[The prince will likely live, but he was badly damaged. He may never recover fully. The princess's condition was little better, but her faster healing and Pokemon Center technology should result in her recovering better than her mate. As for the rest of their team...I cannot be sure.] Rayquaza twisted his head back and looked Janus in the eye. [I know that I'm already in your debt, but I have one more request to ask of you.]

I'll look after Katarina as well.

The dragon breathed a sigh of relief. [Thank you. After what has happened to her, I will feel much better knowing that you are protecting her.]

Janus shrugged. It's no trouble. I doubt she'll be a target. I doubt any of them will be targeted, actually, as few people are stupid enough to attack a city crowded with powerful trainers, two Gym Leaders, and Silver...but I'll look out for her anyway, just in case I'm wrong. Have you considered taking her with you to the Sky Pillar? She would be safer there.

[Right now she needs treatment that I cannot provide.] Rayquaza looked back to the sky, unable to face Janus as he continued. [Despite all of my power, I failed to protect her. I cannot even mend her body or mind. I am useless to her now. She is better off with her own people, at least for the time being.]

It was her own people that did this to her, you know, Janus said softly.

[I know. Believe me, I know. We're both aware of how much cruelty exists in the world, but there is...no alternative. If there was...] Rayquaza trailed off, lamenting his own lack of power. [We will have to have faith that there is enough kindness in the world of humans to outshine the evil, even in these dark days. If there isn't...then we're doomed already.] When he spoke again, his voice contained barely-constrained rage. [I also fear that Kiako may seek vengeance on Katarina for defying him. I do not want that monster anywhere near her ever again. If it weren't for their damn mind-broken Great Ones, I would erase Rocket Headquarters from the face of the earth just to be sure of his death. If you'd heard the things he said to her...]

I post-cogged everything when I went to rescue Silver. I know what he said to her. However...

['However' what?]

Well, I don't wish to sound like I'm defending Kiako...very few hate him as much as I...but I'd like to think that even he would not target a ten year old girl over a few words of defiance. I'd also like to think that if he'd known what she went through, then he wouldn't have frightened her any further. I'd like to think those things, but...there may be no limit to his ruthlessness and cruelty, and I doubt learning of Darkrai made him any better in that regard. Janus looked in the direction of Fallarbor and scowled. I also sensed something else...a monstrous presence unlike anything I've ever experienced. Some entity came from...outside of this world...and it communed with Kiako.

[I felt it, as well...and I recognized it. It was his previous incarnation, the one who brought the Second Kingdom to ruin with Darkrai's power. Who knows what that monster said to Kiako? We will have to be very cautious.]

Do you feel the...other presences? Coming out of Mount Chimney?

[Oh yes,] Rayquaza growled. [I could not have missed it. Numerous demons have been loosed from the bowels of the earth. No being in this world is capable of destroying them completely...their malevolent power is beyond even my scope. To be honest, I do not know what we can do about them. They will prowl over Hoenn, seeking territory, and any human or Pokemon that gets near them will suffer...unspeakable, unknowable horrors.]

Janus frowned and looked to the north, where the putrid aura of the demons continued to emanate. They were unlike anything he had ever progged in his life. They were beings of living chaos, beings so alien in nature that reality itself would destabilize wherever they set their territory. Though the veil covering Fallarbor had been dispelled, these roaming demons would be like a dozen smaller and mobile veils; despite the efforts of Rayquaza and the heroes in the hospital below, things were still going to get worse.

The demons could not simply be killed, either. Janus and Rayquaza surpassed them in terms of raw power, but raw power was insignificant compared to the demons' reality-warping nature. Just getting close to the beings might be impossible, and there was no way to eradicate the demons even if they succeeded in reaching them. There were things beyond the border of their world, things that were huge and lumbering and eternal; the physical forms of the demons were but mere appendages of those unthinkable entities. Cutting off an appendage would only allow another to take its place, and the 'bodies' wielding those appendages were untouchable in the chaotic void.

The demons escaped once before, did they not?

[Yes. When my brothers fought and tore open the planet, numerous demons escaped from their prison.]

How were they destroyed back then?

[They weren't. Destroying them is impossible for beings such as us, beings who are born of order. When I realized that fighting them was futile, I called to the Greatest One for help. He descended from the sky and re-sealed the demons into the planet's core, but truly destroying them is beyond even his capabilities.]

Can you not call to him again? Perhaps he could re-seal them once more.

[I have already tried,] Rayquaza said, frustration in his voice. [He does not respond. I have not spoken to him since we made our pact regarding my Heart, and that was a thousand years ago.]

Janus frowned at that statement. Why would he not respond?

[I have come to suspect that with the Shadow's strength continuing to grow even in its prison, the Greatest One may be...afraid to return to our level of reality. Coming to the same reality as the Shadow risks him contracting corruption, and the consequences of such an event would be beyond our reckoning.]

Even he is not immune? Janus asked breathlessly. You're saying that even he...

[This is merely my assumption. I have no proof. But, as far as I am aware, anything born of order is vulnerable to corruption...even great gods of order such as he. It is even possible that he has already written off our universe as being beyond saving and has fled to escape its collapse. I do not believe that there is anywhere in all of existence that one could hide from the Shadow as its power grows, but...who knows what possibilities exist for the Greatest One.]

So then, it seems that we're on our own. What can we do?

Rayquaza sighed and looked down at the city below, where his saviors and children were only just beginning to mend from their savage wounds. They were so fragile...and yet, if the Greatest One's last words to him were true, they were the only hope they had left.

[We will put our trust in them.]

I worry about trusting them. For all their strength, they are still so terribly weak. The prince is deeply unstable, and his heart is as tainted with darkness as Kiako's. The princess blinds herself to the very real danger that he poses...and what's more, she is overly dependent on him, unable to realize her own importance in what we're hoping to accomplish. They were barely able to survive an attack by Miyako's wraith...the boy was utterly unable to resist her influence, and the girl was unable to intervene until the very last moment. That loss and domination nearly resulted in both their deaths. If a mere ghost could do that to them, how can they possibly hope to withstand the horrors that await them if they choose to fight Darkrai? I don't think they can handle it.

[That is why we must lend them our aid, Janus. Our strength can sustain them until they are strong enough to rely upon themselves. I just hope that they find their strength quickly...I will not be able to help them for much longer.]

Janus looked at him oddly, trying to understand what the dragon meant. He tried to prog him, but even his fearsome powers could not breach Rayquaza's mind.

Something is wrong. What has happened to you?

[It is...not your concern at the moment. Worry not for me. Focus on protecting those far frailer than myself.]

Are you...

[I will tell you later. Or perhaps you will find out on your own. Trust me on this, little one. Even if I told you, there is nothing you could do to help.] Rayquaza paused. [I must go now. I cannot remain over Mauville indefinitely. I must return to my roost to sleep and recover from my wounds. I am putting my trust in you, Janus...you mustn't allow them to come to harm. If you can kill an attacker without powering enough for XD001 to notice, do so. And if you can't...grab them all and flee.]

I will. I promise. Now go and get some sleep.

The two parted ways: Rayquaza to recover his strength, and Janus to keep a silent watch over the weary survivors of the cataclysm. Whatever victory that had been achieved would be a fleeting thing; despite saving countless lives, the forces of chaos lived on, merely drawing back to lick their wounds before exploding outwards once again. Though no one in Hoenn had yet realized it, the age of peace that had held for centuries was now at an end, its final moment marked by the eruption of Mount Chimney. Now began the age of darkness, the age of terror and fury and death. The age of chaos.

After countless millennia of slumber, the demons were finally stirring.

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

End of Arc 2!

To be continued in Sinners: The Show Must Go On

https://anime.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600056833
https://archiveofourown.org/works/52340989
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Sinners: Arc 2