Sinners: Arc 2

A/N: Sorry this was late, but the past week has been utterly horrible for me. Internet outages were only the beginning of my problems, but hopefully the GIGANTIC FUCKING LENGTH of this chapter will help make up for it.



This is, by far, the longest chapter I've ever written for any work in my life. 55 pages, over 31000 words...it's practically a story in itself. If I ever write a chapter over 30k again, I will be shocked.



Anyway, this chapter features:



*Kiako trying to get a bite to eat.

*Someone going KABOOM

*Dark powers.

*Twisted fucks!

*Bad contracts.

*A fight between our two main protagonists. :-(

*BABY BABY BABY LOL

*A CHALLENGER APPEARS

*Random Flygon appearance



Enjoy, dammit. If you don't intend to enjoy, don't read it. You've been warned.



Random note: The phrase "shut up" is used five times in this chapter. Fitting considering that the word count is so high. XD



Word count: ~31000



*****



Chapter 23: Shadow's Marionette





The Man with Demon Eyes, Kiako Sensiari, desired many things. He desired power. Control. Self-discipline. Excitement. Even godhood. But compared to the sight before him now, all of those desires, even deification, seemed dull and meaningless.



For at his feet was a pond filled with fresh, cool water.



He did not kneel, but rather fell to his knees at its bank, ignoring the burst of agony that screamed from his right side as he did so. The pond was stagnant, smelling of algae, but even that musky odor was a blessed scent compared to the sickening salt that had wafted up from the Great Sea. He brought his face down to its still surface and drank deeply, and despite the water's less-than-perfect quality, water had never tasted so good and fresh to him. The ripples of his intrusion broke apart the reflection of the night sky. He moaned in near-bliss as the cool liquid ran down his parched, aching throat.



Once he had enough to slake his immediate thirst, he pulled back, breathing rapidly, water dripping from the locks of ebony hair that had fallen into the pond. Yes, that was what he needed, and already he could feel strength returning to him. His water reserves had been ruined by exposure to the Great Sea's saltwater, and while he was far more durable than a mere human, not even he could sustain himself on tainted drink...especially not when he was mending. Had he not stumbled upon this pond when he had, death from dehydration would have soon followed.



Kiako reached into his pack and pulled out the bottles of water, smelling the saltiness of the dregs at their bottoms. None of the containers were intact enough for reuse. Damn. While this region of Hoenn was prone to rainstorms and was scattered with freshwater lakes and streams, he was never one to trust in luck, particularly after the fantastically bad streak he had just experienced. He had not been so badly injured since his battle with Giovanni several years ago. And never had he been so badly injured so far away from civilization.



As powerful and confident as he typically was, he was just shaken up enough to worry about his situation. He was too injured to fight any Pokemon of significant strength, and that wouldn't change for at least a few days. Gyarados was likewise out of the game, and his recovery would take significantly longer without the aid of a Pokemon Center or equivalent technology. Relicanth was not usable without a body of water nearby, and while this corner of Hoenn was quite wet, the terrain would become progressively more arid as he headed towards the mountains. He would have to hope that his four remaining Pokemon would be able to handle whatever lay between here and the ashlands...and whatever lay waiting there.



Anything powerful enough to worry Rayquaza was something to be concerned about.



Anyway, water, check. That had been his most pressing need. He was hungry, and would need to eat soon if he didn't want his healing factor to slow to intolerable (human) levels, but he could wait a while yet. Next came the gun.



He pulled the revolver from his pack, along with all of his ammunition. As he'd thought, all the boxes of shells had been doused, and it was all but certain that they were useless. Still, it didn't hurt to be sure. He sat down on the ground, legs crossed under his body, and checked each box carefully.



Wet. Wet. Wet. Damn. He put the tainted boxes to the side, growing steadily more depressed as the pile grew. He had hoped that, perhaps, he could defend himself with the gun against the run-of-the-mill wildlife, keeping his Pokemon fresh for true emergencies, but it looked like that would be impossible. This technology was still new to him, but he understood a simple fact: gunpowder doesn't fucking work when wet. These tainted shells would almost certainly never fire, and at this rate they'd be better used as snacks for Aggron than ammunition.



Kiako glared at the sizable pile of boxes at his side. After a moment's consideration, he chose the three boxes that appeared the most intact and put them back in his pack. The other seven boxes he would leave behind, or perhaps indeed feed to Aggron. No use in carrying around the extra weight.



The gun itself would need to be cleaned if it was to ever again be of use, but he did not believe himself skilled enough with its disassembly to attempt breaking it apart at night. He holstered the weapon and replaced it in the bag, cursing the little device as he did so. Giovanni held high hopes for this technology and was eager to reproduce it---hence this little field test that he'd sent Kiako on. The weapon had indeed been impressive at first glance, but there was little call for such a fragile and easily incapacitated weapon in the life of a roving Rocket. Perhaps the technicians back at headquarters would find a way to waterproof the guns and ammunition, improve upon the design. But until then, Kiako did not intend to entrust his life to it.



Alright, that took care of the most immediate concerns. Time to set up camp and start thinking about dinner.



Kiako released all of his Pokemon, including the injured Gyarados, and immediately began directing his burning pain towards the other five. None showed any sign of flinching---his pain had significantly lessened since his agonizing awakening in the sea, and once evenly divided it was easily tolerable to the battle-hardened troupe. He inwardly sighed in relief at the sight of all these powerful, muscled bodies. Despite his strength, he had been a little frightened of spending the night out in the wilds, injured as he was. While it would be incorrect to call any of these Pokemon his friends (save perhaps for Relicanth), they were far more meaningful to him than mere tools.



Aggron and Magmortar knew the routine. The iron Pokemon swung his tail out like lightning, instantly felling a nearby sapling that would provide more than enough wood to last the night. After cutting off some appropriately-sized pieces, the flame user piled the timber a few yards from the pond and let out a blast of heat so intense that the wet, still-living wood burst into a crackling and hissing flame. Kiako's eyes slid half-shut as the liquid gold light washed over him. The sight of fire still had a certain appeal to his heart. It represented something that he understood and craved---it was an entity that could far surpass the power of its creator given enough time. Even the smallest spark made by a careless child...or arrogant scientist...could grow into a mighty inferno. Like his fear, the feelings of inadequacy caused by his earlier nightmare faded as the fire reached out into the night sky.



[What the hell happened to you, Kiako?], Aggron asked, eyes widening as the light exposed the true damage his master had sustained. [You look like you were put through a blender.]



"I had a confrontation with a particularly powerful Pokemon."



[What could possibly be strong enough to do that to you and Gyarados?]



Kiako winced as the memory of the huge cylinder of white light flashed through his mind. While Giovanni had told him to only engage the beast if it got between him and the Sky Pearl, he intended to have a measure of revenge against it. He understood, better than most, that even gods were not immortal.



"The Lord of the Sky. I believe it may be Rayquaza. He certainly matched the descriptions and legends. He struck me and Gyarados and then fled towards Hoenn in a panic...I believe that whatever force is in Fallarbor has done some great harm to Rayquaza, and he intends to stop it. I'm not sure where the Sky Pearl fits in between those forces, but it's almost certain that one way or another, that dragon will stand in the way of our obtaining it. If that is the case, we'll have a chance to pay him back for his attack...in full."



Hariyama frowned at that last remark. [Kiako, if it truly was the Lord of the Sky, there is no way that we would even stand a chance against it. Not even if all of us took it on at once.]



"We have fought and defeated Great Ones before."



[The Great Ones we've faced in the past are nothing like...him. He is one of the three great Lords of the world, a being of power so mighty that it eclipses that of beings like Zapdos. He is perhaps the most powerful of the entities that choose to physically manifest themselves within our world.]



"The fact that he physically manifests himself means that he is not invincible. Anything with a body can be killed...that is an absolute law of existence, one of the few constants. Whatever is happening in Fallarbor isn't just surprising to him...I felt his fear. His outright terror. His life is in danger. If he is still alive when we reach the ashlands, he will almost certainly be...injured. Vulnerable."



[You're suggesting something very dangerous, Kiako. An injured Lord is still more powerful than the strongest lesser Great One.]



"It does not matter. The Sky Pearl is there, and if Rayquaza gets in our way, whether weakened or not, we must use all of our power to kill him should he interfere. Failure is not an option."



Metagross considered. [You didn't lose the Master Ball in the attack, did you? Perhaps killing it isn't the only way that you can get your revenge.]



"No, it's intact. But there is a theoretical limit to its strength, and considering that my scanner couldn't even get a baseline reading...it's doubtful that it would work unless it was very, very badly wounded. Besides, capturing Rayquaza isn't in Giovanni's plans, and as much as I'd like to kick that dragon's ass for what he did to me...our plans are limited to wiping out any opposition and getting the Pearl. If we have a chance to capture him...doubtful, but possible...perhaps we'll make a go at it. However, personally, I would rather kill him. Much easier than having to capture him, break his will, and wipe his mind. And much more satisfying."



The huge beast nodded, its metal hide glimmering under the mostly-full moon. [We trust your judgment, Kiako. We'll do whatever we must in order to get the Pearl.]



"I never had any doubt of that. Rayquaza is indeed immensely powerful, even in a weakened state...and whatever could weaken him is likely no small threat itself...but we'll manage. We always have. Besides, the Pearl...it's our destiny. All of ours. Once we obtain it, we'll be one step closer to getting everything that we desire."



Relicanth, always more likely to voice a dangerous opinion than his packmates, spoke up quietly from the water. [Assuming that Giovanni shares it with us.]



Kiako glared at him, more out of reproach than actual anger for that possibility being brought up. "The power of the King will be more than great enough for all of us to get our share. Just a fraction of it would be enough to fell Rayquaza, and I, as High Commander, would gain far more than a fraction of it. You know that I would share it with all of you."



[Again you evade my point, Kiako. What makes you think Giovanni will share it among his people? What's to stop him from hoarding it all for himself?]



"Your mistrust in Giovanni is unwarranted. He has never betrayed us or any of the Rockets---"



[Except during the Purge.]



"Point taken, but he's never betrayed any loyal Rockets. He may be a dangerous, untrustworthy man to his enemies, but...he is a fair leader. One of the very few people I trust, and the only one to whom I would give my loyalty. I have never sensed any deception in him, nor any plans for betrayal."



The fish's mental voice seemed to darken in Kiako's mind. [The dampeners inhibit your ability to sense his true thoughts and you know it. If anyone is capable of hiding his true intentions from you, it would be him. After all, he's hidden his intentions from far more...powerful entities before.]



"Mewtwo couldn't sense his plans because he was purely Psychic. My abilities allow me a degree of...slipping beyond the dampeners. Besides, unlike Mewtwo, I have never desired to betray Giovanni. I believe in his vision and trust in his intentions to share that vision with those loyal to him. I have nothing in common with that cowardly pieced-together creature that came before me."



Oh how easy to say, how difficult to believe. Every time that dream came to him, it shook his faith more and more. Was he, like Mewtwo, engineered by Giovanni, both in creation and in destiny? He couldn't sense any deception or withholding of information from the dark man, but Relicanth was right---with the dampeners that Giovanni always wore, his own ability to prog his mind was significantly disrupted.



It would also explain much, namely why he was so...different...but if that was the case, why wasn't he raised by Team Rocket? Was it because he was a failure? As much as it hurt to admit it to himself, his power was nothing compared to Mewtwo, and until he obtained the power of the King, it never would be.



But in some ways, Kiako knew that he was superior to Mewtwo. His dark nature gave him abilities that it had lacked---from the ability to prog Dark Pokemon, even control them to a degree, to shielding himself from Dark attacks. Even if he had been abandoned as a failure to his original purpose, didn't these new abilities make him, in a way, greater than his original purpose? Mewtwo may have been the first successful hybrid of man and Pokemon, but wasn't he the first successful hybrid of Psychic and Dark? Wasn't he capable of becoming the perfect mix of Light and Dark? The God of All?



That alone prevented Kiako from being sure about the veracity of his dreams and nightmares. If he was indeed a creation of Giovanni, the dark man would have told him by now and begun experiments to refine his abilities to their ultimate genetic potential. Embryonic experimentation had a high failure rate due to its instability, but now that he had stabilized...somewhat...there was no reason that further power enhancement could not attempted. It wouldn't be as simple as embryonic work, and would be limited in its potential, but any improvement would be beneficial. So why wouldn't Giovanni have come to him and told him about his origin, and offered him a path far more high-reaching than the training he was currently receiving?



(Maybe it's because he's afraid of what you could become if he did), a voice whispered in his mind. He ignored it.



"We have all benefited from the generosity of Team Rocket. We have food, a home, competent allies who we can rely on...everything that we need. I do not want to hear any more questioning of Giovanni's intentions unless you have something to back up your paranoia."



Relicanth nodded. [Of course, Kiako. Forgive me.]



"Fine. Now go clean Gyarados's injuries so I can give him a med-spray later."



Kiako's tone was just ambiguous enough for Relicanth to be unsure if it was meant as punishment or mere busywork. As the fish swam off to Water Gun the blood and algae out of the deep cuts and ragged burns along the dragon's body, Kiako wondered about the flip side to Relicanth's worries---what if he himself were to obtain the power of the King first? If that happened, he could divide the power up as he desired...the vast majority of it going to himself, the rest going to those Pokemon and humans smart enough to kneel to him.



His human and Pokemon hearts were conflicted on this issue. Part of him was horrified that thoughts of betrayal were floating through his mind after all that Giovanni and the Rockets had done for him. He was truly grateful, especially considering how horrible his life had been before then. No more nights sleeping in dirty alleys or under cardboard boxes during torrential rainstorms. No more eating rotten food and garbage. No more cowards chasing him out of town with knives and torches and equally cowardly Pokemon.



Still, another part of him...the far stronger part...reminded him that there was a very real possibility that Giovanni had indeed commissioned his creation, and would therefore be responsible for his being abandoned within the world of man. Those same hardships and horrors that the dark man had rescued him from could very well have been caused by him. Kiako was not sure if he would kill Giovanni even if that turned out to be the truth. As barbaric as those actions would have been, perhaps the leader's current actions had atoned for them. Maybe. Still, even if he did not kill him, why should he follow his orders? After all, once all the technology and Pokemon were stripped away, Giovanni was a mere human.



He honestly did not know. The thought of rebelling against Rocket was not pleasant. Such an act would not be easy, as the organization was incredibly powerful and resourceful. Other than the boss himself, he could manage to best any agent in battle, whether involving Pokemon or direct combat (unless Giovanni did have some more old toys that he was keeping to himself), but two or three Rockets together would be more than enough to stop him, particularly if they had dampeners. The headquarters were virtually impregnable...his psionics wouldn't even work inside, and he was aware of some of the more...twisted experiments that went on in the lower levels. He wouldn't hold it against Giovanni if it turned out that the dark man had some fail-safe monstrosity locked up just in case old Red Eyes turned rogue. After all, that was something he himself would do in such a position.



(Listen to yourself. You sound like as much of a turncoat as Relicanth accused Giovanni of being).



Kiako tried to take his mind off considerations of rebellion, but there was one more thought to consider.



His dreams.



His desires.



His godhood.



Somewhere deep down, below the dual-natured hearts and conflicted loyalties, part of him knew that absolute power would be his someday...if he had the strength and ambition to grab it when it appeared. That was his destiny, to wield the power that even the greatest of the Great Ones would envy, power that would dwarf even the King's. Even if Giovanni wasn't behind his creation...even if he wasn't toying with him...even if, by some miracle, the dark man cared for him (something he knew was impossible; he had learned long ago that no one loved freaks)...what were loyalty and love in the face of such incredible divine power?



Perhaps he could do both. Maybe he could knock Giovanni out at the Tomb, awaken the King, attain godhood, and give the dark man a sizable portion of that strength. Not enough to rival his, of course...not even enough to be close...but enough to satisfy the elder Rocket's own ambitions. Why should Giovanni hold most of the power? After all, the dark man could only control the world...Kiako himself could re-make it as he saw fit.



Maybe even re-make all worlds.



A rustling sound in the dark walls of trees took his mind off of these traitorous (but intriguing) ponderings. Something was out there. From the sound of it, it was as big as a small man...enough to satisfy the hunger of everyone present.



Kiako reached over and pulled out his gun. He flicked open the cylinder, dumped the utterly ruined shells onto the ground, and loaded it with the best of the ammunition he'd decided to keep. He still needed to clean the revolver itself, but that could wait until morning.



"I'm going to bag it. You all stay here and stay quiet."



Aggron gave him a wide-eyed look that showed his opinion of his trainer's sanity. [You're still badly injured, Kiako. Right now you could barely take a Linoone and you know it. Let me go grab our dinner.]



The red-eyed man shook his head, motioning with his gun. "I need to see if this is as damaged as I fear it is. Besides, I need to blow off some steam. If the gun doesn't work, I can still use my psionics."



[You know what happened the last time you used your psionics while badly injured, and you're in far worse condition than you were back then.]



"Why do you think that I want you all to stay here? Don't worry about it. If I can't take down a pitiful little wild Pokemon with my left arm and my gun, go ahead and kill me now, because I'm worthless." He glared out at the night, gently progging the dark for life. "If I don't bag it in ten minutes, I'll come back. Don't come after me until then, unless you want to risk getting blown away."



[Stubborn jackass,] the huge metal beast sighed. [Very well. But be careful. We can't carry you all the way to Fallarbor if a Seviper sticks you.]



"I'll be fine."



Kiako climbed to his feet and quietly walked off into the brush, hoping that he knew what he was doing. The pain-sharing lessened with every step he took from camp, and while he could tolerate a good deal of pain, he did not want to groan or hiss at the wrong moment and scare off his quarry. He was hungry, damn it, and he needed to eat very soon, unless he really did want Aggron to have to lug his useless body across a couple hundred miles of forest and mountains.



Of course, if he got beat up by some lucky Linoone, the effect would be the same, and infinitely more humiliating. Still, he craved blood, and hunting was a constructive means of fulfilling that craving.



He slid through the grass and between tree branches almost silently, letting the occasional puff of wind mask the sounds of his movements. The gun was cold and heavy in his left hand---he was right-handed, but that arm was too injured to be trusted not to shake. He did not truly believe it would fire, not without being cleaned, but he had to be sure. Better to find out now, attempting something more constructive than merely pointing it in the air and potentially wasting a working bullet, than to rely on it later and find it faulty.



The rustle again, only a few yards away. Kiako hunched over and carefully raised his eyes over the top of a bush, slipping his eyes half-closed to hide their pale red light. At first he saw nothing, but then a cloud shifted and the exposed moonlight revealed something relatively large and dark green sipping water from a body of water too large to be called a puddle and too small to be called a pond.



A Lombre. Not as big a quarry as he had hoped (visions of roasted Seviper had been taunting his tongue all night), but big enough to feed his little pack for one night. He left his scanner back at camp, but a careful and covert prog revealed significant strength within the creature. He would have to be cautious.



It was motionless, still drinking, apparently unaware of his presence. He could feel its heartbeat. It was no faster than it should be for this time of night. Good. He raised the revolver over the top of the bush, aiming it for the large bulbous head right under the lilypad-like covering. He waited. The Lombre finished drinking and looked up, and that was when Kiako opened his eyes wide, the crimson glow bloody and ominous in the shadows. The Pokemon froze, hoping to go unnoticed by the predator, and that was when he pulled the trigger.



Click.



The creature immediately began jumping towards the trees as Kiako cursed under his breath. Damn thing was useless. He aimed at the fleeing Lombre and fired so rapidly that he went through the entire cylinder twice in less than a second. Only one shot went off, terribly loud in the calm night air, and the smell of shredded leaves and blood instantly filled the clearing.



The Pokemon was still running, however. Kiako holstered the gun and took off after it, running on legs that felt full of icy needles. He did not care; hunger was winning out over pain. He leapt over a log and dropped into a crouch, keen ears tracking the bumbling sounds of the wounded prey's progress. Left. He ran low to the ground, ignoring the sting of small branches on his arms and face, extending his progging senses to their maximum. He had hit it in the right thigh, but the bullet had missed all the major veins and arteries. It would take perhaps a half hour before the Pokemon bled out enough to kill it. Damn.



The Lombre leapt into another small body of water, but it was nowhere near deep enough for it to hide. Kiako stopped at its banks, infuriated and rapidly losing any control he had, and whipped his left arm into the inky blackness. He reached and probed the water until he felt something slimy and cold near the bottom. He gripped it tight enough to break the skin, pulled his arm back out with amazing speed, and sent the Lombre crashing into a grove of small trees. Small splinters stabbed into the frog's flesh. As the Pokemon climbed to its feet, Kiako sent all of his pain into it. It wasn't enough to break its mind, but it still fell back down in a slick-skinned heap of trickling blood and confusion. Its breathing was labored and bubbly.



The arm came again, long and whiplike, cracking down on its back and drawing up a spray of blood far more gaudy and substantive than the bullet wound. The cries of the Lombre, wailing and panicky, sounded through the night. Aggron and the others heard it from the camp, but remembered their master's warning and stayed where they were. They didn't want to be ripped apart if Red Eyes lost control again.



Kiako struck at the huddled Pokemon again and again, trapped in a haze of bloodlust, glad to be rid of his pain and absolutely delighted to be causing so much more to another creature. He whipped his arm so hard that he lost his footing on the wet grass, falling onto his back and reflexively retracting his slime-coated arm. Lombre turned its head, blood pouring from its mouth and back, and fired a blast of water strong enough to send its assailant tumbling backwards in several ungainly reverse-somersaults. It leapt up and ran at the not-human, intent on killing it. The fact that the Pokemon was now too injured to possibly survive its wounds did not mean a thing to its survival instincts. Kiako reached out at the charging creature with his mind, locking onto its life force.



He felt its heartbeat again, now rapid and jittery. Its blood pressure was dropping.



He felt its muscles, sore and strained, something near its upper leg torn. Another on its back was pulled, apparently from the collision with the trees.



He felt its mind, racing with a strobelight slideshow of terror and rage. When the Lombre realized that he was progging him, though, the rage was completely replaced by a blinding, senseless fear. It knew. It was no psychic Pokemon, but it knew. The black-hearted, red-eyed not-human was about to kill it and there was nothing it could do to stop him.



Kiako's mental fingers wrapped around its intestines, its brain, its heart, anywhere that he could get a grip. He sent out his power like a wave of acid, not caring what it was doing to his mangled body, not thinking about the consequences that a loss of control would entail. There was nothing but himself and the kill, and as the weak little frog Pokemon squirmed and squealed, part of him was laughing, enjoying its suffering and horror. Oh yes, it knew, and knowing that it knew made him laugh in spite of his own pain and injuries.



He squeezed.



There was a muffled series of wet splashes, like water balloons bursting against muddy earth. One of the Lombre's eyes turned into a spiderweb of red as capillaries popped and flooded it with blood. It lost control of its bowels. There was a loud hiss as air and something foul-smelling escaped from its throat, and then the Pokemon was dead on the ground, legs twitching for another several seconds before stopping completely. Kiako squeezed the poor dead creature's vitals for another full minute, squishing the tissues into paste, before finally releasing his mental grasp and letting out a harsh exhalation of relief and bliss that was almost post-coital in nature.



The Dark Heart was satisfied.



Now to feed the ol' neutral-natured stomach.



Kiako stood up on shaky legs, eyes glowing full red with hunger and satisfaction, and was about to call out to his packmates when he realized that the power cycle in his mind wasn't shutting down. The pain had been easy to ignore when most of it was going into the (former) brains of that Lombre, but now there was nowhere to channel it to, and it was preventing him from being able to concentrate on sending the proper neurotransmitters to stop the cycle. Just like Aggron had warned him about.



"No! Not again!" He turned towards the mental signatures of his pack and screamed one word, both telepathically and audibly: "RUN!"



He didn't pay attention to whether they did or not. The pain was increasing along with the cycle. His power was surpassing his physical limits, and fuck, it hurt. His psychic aura, stained the black-blue of the deepest oceans, escaped from his body and raged around him, tearing into the dirt as it tornadoed about. It expanded, gaining density instead of losing it, and began ripping leaves off of the surrounding trees...then branches...then the trees themselves began to uproot. He clamped down hard on all the lines of power that he could reach, but it was just too late---the positive feedback was beyond control.



With a tortured scream, he fell to the ground, formerly healed wounds re-opening, spilling blood and pus into the dusty winds. His collarbone re-fractured and jabbed back through the skin like a large, out-of-place fang. His left arm lost cohesion and collapsed into a limp blob of half-phased flesh. And still the nightmare aura spilled from Kiako's mind in increasingly powerful waves and shredded the world around him.



Were he truly human, the pain alone would have killed him. As it was, the stress of so much power coming out of a mostly-human body was too much to bear. Blood trickled from every orifice above the waist. His eyes glowed so bright that they could be seen even through the storm of debris gyrating around his body, and if someone had been standing just outside of the radius of destruction, it would have looked as though a tornado had been giving life...some terrible sort of red-eyed, black-hearted life. The shredded limbs of Lombre flailing in that whirlwind would not have helped dissuade someone of that assumption.



After what seemed like an eternity, the maximum power of the wave was reached, and the most agonizing part began---the wave exploded outward, blasting everything in its path for hundreds of yards, followed by another instantly-generated wave and another and another. Kiako did not know of Sunderers (although a certain ever-more-distrusted Dark Man may have), but he was causing direct physical damage on par with one of those world-destroying weapons. The ground itself eroded away into a crater, the darker soil and rock making the dusty whirlwind appear to be made of corporeal shadow.



By the time the feedback loop shorted out and the waves stopped, Kiako was half-conscious, on the ground and bleeding far worse than he had immediately after the Rayquaza attack. This was the fourth time in his life that this loss of control had happened, and each time it was more powerful than the last...and more damaging to his body. Not only had all the healing done in the past day been undone, but also countless new injuries now lay stinging and burning in his flesh.



Several minutes after the final shock wave dissipated, Kiako regained enough composure to push himself into a sitting position. He cringed at the sight of his right leg laying bent and twisted at an unnatural angle, clearly shattered in multiple places. The gun, miraculously, was still in the holster at his hip; the psychic waves were weak at close range to his body (not inside of it, however), so the weapon had been spared. He felt no joy at this fact, nor at the fact that it had fired once and thus was still operational.



His eyes glanced over at where Lombre's corpse previously laid. It was gone. There was the smell of blood in the air, but of the corpse itself there was no sign. All of this pain and suffering had been for nothing.



He turned his head toward where the camp had been. The pain and damage was too great for him to sense the location of his pack...too great to even sense if they were still alive...but he knew that they would come back after the explosion died down if they were able.



"Help," he tried to yell, instead coming out as a childish plea in a cracked voice. He hated how weak he sounded. He waited a moment before yelling again, but again his voice was broken and grating, probably from all the screaming during the blasts. Kiako did not dare try to contact them telepathically. Doing so in this state might cause even more brain damage or---far worse and fatal---another loss of control.



When he finally heard heavy footsteps pounding through the broken brush, he allowed himself to slip back down into blessed unconsciousness. No more pain for a while. No more loss of control. He was still hungry, and needed to eat now more than ever, but he was sure that his Pokemon would take care of that.



He slept.



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



The moment that Kiako slipped into sleep, Slash woke up in a nightmarish panic, jumping to his feet before even realizing that he was awake.



The Pokemon in the cave turned to him in confused surprise, but immediately looked back out at the desert as the sandstorm began building once more. No more Cacturne attacked, but...



"What happened? How long was I out?"



No response, and Slash remembered that they couldn't respond to him, not directly. The communication bonds had collapsed. He tried to make his own link with them, but with his lack of strength and experience, it was like trying to throw a thread through a needle's eye from several feet away. Impossible.



He looked down at Gardevoir and nearly screamed in panic. She looked terrible, flushed and sweating, breathing in heavy, labored gasps. Red lines along her upper arm marked the venom's progress---the poison was now dangerously close to her heart. He extended his prog-senses, but there was no trace of Electrike. Not yet. He could, however, feel another dozen Cacturne right outside of the cave, flanking it on both sides.



Slash leaned over and grabbed the knife out of his bag. He didn't reach for the syringe---he could sense that it was far too late for that. If Electrike didn't return in the next hour, Gardevoir was going to die. Might even die anyway.



"I feel them. They're on either side of the entrance." Slash swallowed, nervous, and double-checked. Yes, they were still there, waiting for their leader's signal to attack. He couldn't tell which of the beasts was in charge, but all of them had incredibly powerful signatures...and all were hungry, rapidly approaching the point where they would lose their composure and simply break cover and swarm them. They would suffer great losses if they did so, but if that was their final tactic...there was no way that Slash's pack would survive.



"Guys...they're getting desperate. If we don't do something now, we're not going to make it."



Graveler, Corphish, and Growlithe exchanged looks. Slash winced at the levels of pain he was picking up from them; all three were more battered and bloody than they'd been before his little nap. All of them were, in fact, right on the edge of exhaustion. And despite the reprieve, so was he.



Growlithe barked at him, and while the validity of his suggestion was sound, it still made Slash shiver.



(We must attack first. Catch them off balance.)



A last stand.



Considering how dire Gardevoir's condition was, he supposed that he didn't have a choice; if Electrike did show up in time, he would need time to administer the medication, which he wouldn't have if any of the Cacturne will still out there. Those scavengers were plenty knowledgeable about the medicine humans carried with them, and Slash was growing more and more certain that the disabling blow to his pack earlier had not been an accident. They would not give him time to heal his mate.



"There are twelve left. All very powerful. We don't stand much of a chance."



Corphish reminded him that if they didn't attack now, then they were going to be slaughtered when the damn Cacturne got angry enough to rush them.



"You're right, but that doesn't mean we should just blindly rush them, either. We'll be slaughtered if we do. We need a diversion, something flashy and impressive to stun them long enough for us to get some hits in and thin their numbers without being counterattacked. Any of you got something like that in reserve?"



Slash knew that only one of his Pokemon had a technique with enough power and flare to make a difference. He remembered his promise to Gardevoir though---not to ask any of his Pokemon to do something that he wouldn't ask her to do. He would never ask his mate to risk her life in this manner, and thus he had to make sure that Graveler offered to do it himself.



And sure enough, the large Pokemon did.



"Graveler, if you Self Destruct, you'll be out for the count. It would be bad enough if you were fresh, but...you're barely standing. Maybe you'd get a few of them in the blast, and it'll definitely be enough to shock them for a moment, but...perhaps you could be more useful in direct combat. None of us can deliver a punch like you can."



Slash was offering him a way out, and a way out that wouldn't look fearful or cowardly. He knew that Graveler would do damn near anything to show off to him or Corphish, and wanted to be sure that the rock Pokemon wasn't just offering to blow himself up just to impress his trainer or rival. Graveler nodded again and grumbled.



(That I can barely stand is why I must do this. It's the most I can do to help. I'll be fine. My kind are tougher than they look.)



"You look pretty goddamn tough to me, buddy."



(Exactly.)



Growlithe and Corphish both turned to the larger Pokemon with pleading eyes, but Graveler would not be swayed. Slash reluctantly nodded his approval. "When we're ready to go, I'm going to toss some jerky out of the cave as far as I can. When they break cover for it...and I'm sure that they will, I can feel it...Graveler will roll out to the middle of them and use Self Destruct. The blast should cut a hole in their numbers and disable a good number of them. After that...we charge. I'll use Pokeballs to hold them off, but remember that they'll be breaking free almost as soon as they're in."



Slash glanced at Gardevoir, suddenly losing his confidence. The plan was fine if all the Cacturne broke cover, but he couldn't be totally sure of that...he was only sure that the most hungry of them would. If any were to stay by the entrance of the cave when Graveler attacked and not charge the rest of the pack afterwards, they would be completely free to enter their hideout and kill his mate.



Again the thought of using the Pokeball occurred to him, but the stress that it would cause was too great a risk at this point. He very carefully took a blanket and put it over her, wrapping her body up tightly, and carried her light form to the furthest corner of the small cave. After propping the large backpack by the side of her facing the entrance and piling the rest of his blankets around the other corner, she was fairly well-hidden. He could only pray that the beasts would not sense her barely-functioning mind and attack.



The risk, while grievous, could not be helped.



"Be safe, Gardie," he whispered. His protective instincts screamed at him, shouting that this wasn't anywhere close to safe enough, but there was nothing more he could do. Besides, if the plan worked, he could tend to her without interruption as soon as the last Cacturne was dead.



With his mate as secure as possible, Slash looked out into the desert and glared at the swirling sands. Damn this place for what it'd brought them to. One friend running himself to death for medicine, one lover sick and dying in the corner of a dark cave, three allies---one of whom was about to partially detonate himself---about to risk death fighting walking plants.



Damn this place.



"Graveler, are you ready?"



"Gravel."



"Everyone else?"



"Cor!" "Growl!"



Slash pulled a bag of jerky from his pack and was preparing to toss it when he was startled so badly that he nearly dropped it onto the ground.



How just and moral you are, Slash. Using food to lure a starving creature into turning its back just long enough to blow its brains out...how...sentimental.



The voice from before. He tried to ignore it.



Regardless of your reasons, doesn't this seem a little...sick to you? A little fucked up, as you might say? Maybe even a little evil? Do you think Kiako would have the faintest bit of hesitation in using some meat to honeypot a starving human? Or is it different because you're just murdering a savage beast?



Shut up, thing!



Where are your self-righteous trainer morals now? What happened to the I'm-going-to-be-a-better-trainer bullshit you were spouting off earlier? At least the Pokemon left bleeding on the side of the road have a chance of escape, Slash. What you're about to do is kill creatures who just want something to eat! Boy, oh boy, if you knew what kind of blood you'll be shedding by the time this is over---



I said be quiet!



Slash clamped down hard on his mental presence, and the strange voice did not continue to taunt him. He wasn't sure if that meant that it couldn't or that it just lost interest, but it was enough for him. The young man tried to ignore the doubts that the voice had raised in his heart---that perhaps some things, like his enjoyment over killing the Cacturne earlier, were wrong regardless of the danger or perceived justification. But right now, it did not matter. His mate was in danger, and if protecting her meant that he had to do something wrong...if it meant that he had to become a bastard, possibly even an evil bastard, in order to keep her safe...



He threw the bag into the wind before his mind could continue questioning itself. The Cacturne, all of them, were in pursuit before it even hit the ground. Despite the anger Slash had felt coming from their hearts, hunger was apparently winning out. He had expected some infighting to break out, hopefully giving his pack yet another advantage. Strangely, though, when they reached the bag and tore it open, there was no fighting over its contents. He progged them once again and was surprised to find that despite the brutality of their previous attacks, there was no greed in any of the creatures' hearts. In fact, they were handing the food to one of the larger Cacturne, perhaps their leader. The display of cooperation disturbed him. It made them seem less evil. Less deserving of hatred.



Maybe you should have offered them a bite to eat, ever consider that? But then again, they're not as cute and innocent-looking as Sandshrew, so why even give it a try?



Slash didn't respond. He didn't know if he had a rebuttal for that.



Graveler, however, was not hesitating due to any moral quandaries. He began rolling out of the cave, maintaining impressive speed even when moving through the deep sand. As soon as he was in the thick of the group, he began his attack. Energy hissed out of every crack and opening in his thick stone armor, forming an opaque shield just over his skin...and then it detonated.



The blast was huge, shaking the cave and causing dust to sift from its roof. Sand flew in every direction like a fountain, starkly visible even through the raging storm. An arm was flung from the blast, hitting the rock wall just outside of the cave with a terrible thud, and Slash felt relieved that it was a Cacturne's. A moment later that relief made him feel sick.



"Growl!"



Slash looked down to find Growlithe pulling on his leg, reminding him that it wasn't over yet. Even if the Cacturne no longer had a desire to go after the cave, Graveler was still out there, prone and defenseless. The boy picked up Corphish and placed the crab on his shoulder.



"Alright, let's go! Charge!"



With his age-old friend by his heel, the trainer ran out of the cave and into the stinging winds of the desert. Dark green blood splashed the ground in places, already beginning to soak into the sand. Up ahead was a grisly scene; five of the Cacturne were obviously dead, their bodies torn apart, limbs littering the area. Another two were down on the ground and not moving, either dead or down for the count. The other five were only roughed up, and were just beginning to pick themselves up. One of them, the one who had been receiving the food from its packmates, glared at the still body of Graveler with hate and fear.



Corphish and Growlithe were firing their attacks before any of the Pokemon could strike first. Blasts of flame and water rained down upon the shell-shocked survivors, knocking two right back down and drawing pained cries from the others. The leader, surprisingly, was backing off, getting the large form of Graveler between itself and Slash's pack and allowing the others to do the fighting.



A vine whipped at Slash with a sharp crack, striking Corphish off of his shoulder and drawing blood from both of them. He reached to his belt and threw a Pokeball, and this time he did not flinch when he jammed his knife into the unsteady escapee's throat. The heat of battle had left his heart cold and unmoving.



Four.



A badly-wounded Corphish scuttled to Slash's left; Growlithe held position to his right. They advanced through the sand steadily, ignoring the gritty burn of the wind, and fired repeatedly at the three Cacturne still moving toward them. A spray of venomous needles rained down upon them, but out here the wind swept many of them away before they struck. Corphish shot a blob of mud at the attacker's face, causing it to stumble over its own feet as the dirt entered its eyes. Growlithe pounced and ripped out the beast's throat using a mouthful of fangs blazing with fire.



Three.



One of the Cacturne hunched over and lunged at the trio faster than any of them had expected; the Water Guns and Embers did not even appear to slow it down. It landed in the sand at their feet and struck at the crab with a mighty barbed blow; the attack knocked Corphish flying into the sand several yards away. Slash flung a Pokeball at the prone creature, and, surprisingly, it held. Growlithe bit down on the small device hard enough to shatter it. Slash had disabled the emergency release protocols, and the creature died without leaving behind a body.



Two.



The leader who had been backing off suddenly charged them, screeching in rage and fury. Growlithe opened his mouth to torch it, but the other Cacturne had moved upwind of them; this time the flurry of poison stingers did strike home, coating the fire Pokemon and sending him to the ground. Slash, who had only been hit by a few of the barbs, found himself alone with two hungry, pissed-off predators.



Despite his doubts over this course of attack, the trainer found himself full of rage at the huge beast now rushing at him. Why the hell should he feel any doubts over killing these things? They crippled his friends and possibly condemned his mate to death! And they would kill him, someone who wanted nothing more than to save this godforsaken world from those who would plunder its soul! How fucking dare they?



Most of him, however, was now cold with fear. He had failed, and now he and his entire pack, including that lovely sweet blessed girl with the cute green blush and adorable giggles, was going to die. He would never get a chance to call his parents, never get to see Watson again, never get to have another dinner or see another movie with Gardevoir, nothing!



"Please, don't!" Slash screamed, not thinking or giving a damn about how petulant his voice sounded. "Please, I'm sorry! Don't!"



The Cacturne's razored maw opened as it tackled him, and Slash uselessly put his arm in front of his face to defend himself. The mouth closed over the wrist, fangs crackling with dark energy, and crunched down hard.



Slash was screaming before he felt any pressure or pain. He did not dare open his eyes, not wanting to see what gory wound was now ripped into his body.



A second passed.



Then another.



No pain. No growls, no roars of triumph, nothing.



Slash, very hesitantly, opened his eyes.



The Cacturne was still there, mouth around his wrist, clamping down with enough force to crack bone. But no bones were cracked. No skin was torn. His hand was still attached.



The young man looked more closely and found that the tips of those fangs were stopped a mere millimeter over his flesh, as though blocked by some invisible barrier. He could still feel the creature's hot, wet breath on his skin, even felt the rough tongue pressing against him, but the teeth were unable to breach it.



Their eyes met, both full of confusion and fear. Something was not right here, not right at all. The second Cacturne stood motionless yards away, not believing what it was seeing.



Once again that strange, tinny voice sounded in Slash's mind: And all of that arrogance, all of that selfishness, all of that hypocrisy that sleeps within you...it will protect you. Make you strong. Strong enough to do anything you can dream of. All you have to do is reach out, open the door...and grasp what lays beyond.



Slash's blue eyes gleamed as he realized that he could feel the part of his mind making the barrier. One of his doors that had previously been locked was now wide open, and he could see the threads that lay beyond it. This power was his now. It would only work against dark-type attacks, but that was fine. Greater power wasn't too far off, not if he truly desired it. It eased his fear and panic, making him feel stronger than he had ever been. Despite the circumstances, such confidence was...wonderful.



He suddenly felt a burst of pain over the bond's trickle, and that sense of security turned to rage. The darkness that was in his heart began to pulse, fluctuating and flickering and swirling together with the bit of foul air that escaped from under his RAGE door. This bastard would pay for harming his mate. For all that it and its kind had put them through, he would bring them death.



The Cacturne released his arm and stepped back, face full of confusion. It saw the smile on the trainer's face and growled angrily, enraged that this being had slaughtered all of its pack and was smiling about it. It raised an arm to his face, needles extending from its thick hide, and prepared to fire a blast of point-blank poison.



It was only when Slash raised his own arm to the Pokemon's face that it realized just what it was dealing with.



He focused his power around the black heart at the creature's core. Phantom fingers caressed its soul, tested its texture. He squeezed at it lightly, feeling the shadowy essence yield and squish under his touch. It was like a candle, a small flame of power and life force hidden within the body and beyond the physical realm, but he could still touch it...and he could snuff it out. This pleased him.



Two hands opened at the same time. As his physical hand opened and reached out towards the beast, his dark hand grasped that immaterial core and gripped it tightly. It felt like a piece of fruit...soft, delicious, full of life...and easily crushed. He could crush it, squeeze until it burst. After so many years of wishing it to be so, he finally had obtained the power to crush evil with his own two hands.



Now he would change things.



Right before he could crush the beast's heart, he felt it again...a pulse of pain from Gardevoir, stronger this time. Slash winced, but did not release the Pokemon's soul. He would worry about her as soon as these two impudent worms were dead.



No longer hesitating, he squeezed down as tightly as he could. The creature's heart didn't shatter as he suspected it would, but rather compressed down into nothing, utterly disappearing within his mental grip. It was more like...like blanking its soul, deleting it along with the Pokemon's life force. The Cacturne fell down into the sand, mind instantly ceasing its thoughts. Slash's dark-progging no longer functioned upon it, but he could still sense the corpse's fading signature with his natural psychic progging...the picture was just much less clear.



There was a sudden, terrible feeling of agony over the bond, so intense that Slash feared that his mate was finally succumbing to the venom. He glared at the only Cacturne left alive, extending his hand towards it and dispatching it quickly in the same manner...only to find his mate's life signs plummet down to critical levels a moment after.



"Oh, fuck, it's me," Slash gasped, immediately slamming the door in his mind and withdrawing the shadow-hand from the final Cacturne's remains. Gardevoir's failing body slowly began to stabilize, but he realized with a touch of horror that he had brought her much closer to the point of no return. The same power that had granted him the strength to kill his enemies had nearly killed his best friend. It still might if Electrike didn't get back in time.



Aren't you pleased? You seemed so eager to use this power when it first came to you. Could it be that you're too soft to wield it? Too pathetic? Would you rather be dead?



"Shut up," Slash growled, progging the area for any more predators. If something came now, they were as good as dead. His...whatever it was...only worked against Dark-types, and even if more Cacturne were nearby, he would not be able to fight them without killing Gardevoir. Damn it.



He was about to lose hope when he sensed a familiar mental signature racing towards him. Familiar, but still not what he expected. As the creature of blue and gold skidded to a dusty halt by his side, barking frantically at the sight of all the corpses and out-of-commission friends, Slash finally snapped out of his shock, tore the bag of medicine from Manectric's neck, and ran for the cave. He could only hope that it was not too late.



The boy ran into the dark cave, pulled the blanket off of Gardevoir's face, and screamed. Blood was dripping from her mouth in steady torrents, as though some part of her deep inside had ruptured. The bond, despite being inaccessible to his progging, was still raging with pain and fear. And he had been the one to cause it.



Her blood, literally and figuratively, now stained his hands.



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



Several hours later, in an almost nightmarish case of deja vu, Slash sat by Gardevoir's sleeping form, holding her hand and watching her breathe as the medicine worked its way through her body. The other Pokemon had purged the toxin easily enough; all, including the newly-evolved Manectric, were now sleeping. They were too tired to care about any follow-up attacks. Slash had decided that they would spend the next day here recovering, regardless of how much time they would lose. All of his earlier impatience had vanished at the sight of his mate's condition.



The voice was speaking again. Slash had long since stopped hoping that it was merely his conscience.



Well, well. She's not coming out of it as quickly as you hoped, is she? Why might that be?



He didn't respond. Whatever the hell this entity was, it clearly enjoyed taunting his every action. It wouldn't have been so grating if its mocking statements and rhetorical questions didn't ring with truth.



Could it be that your little foray into the darkness pushed her over the edge? How much blood did you have to wipe from her mouth when you came back? And your bond...it's still silent...except for the occasional burst of pain, anyway. Hm. Why don't you answer me, boy? Lost your nerve? Where's that bold, soul-blanking wrath of yours?



Shut up. I'm tired of having strange voices in my head.



Well you'd better get used to it, boy! You knew what you were getting into when you mated with her...a whole new world of sights and sounds and whispers from the night. You knew.



No, I didn't. I thought I did, but...



Don't lie to me. You can't lie to me any more than you could lie to her. You wanted her power, didn't you? You wanted to wield the same strength that she could. You wanted to be able to crush your enemies in your wake.



That's not true! Slash shouted. She told me that I would gain some of her power, but all I was concerned with was our love. I still am. These new powers...whatever they are...they are not the basis of our relationship.



The voice tittered, clearly amused. Obviously not. If they were, she wouldn't still be laying here unconscious, burning with pain and leaking blood from her lips, would she? Good job protecting her, Slash! You may have succeeded in protecting her to death!



There was a long pause, and while no words were spoken during it, there was a transfer of...something. The entity opened the floodgates of its mind and power and let the resulting surge pour over the young man's mind. Slash could see just how incredibly ancient and powerful this creature was; he could not see its true location or its body, but he was aware that it was a very, very great distance from the desert, yet still was able to speak to him. Perhaps even influence him.



Did you unlock those...powers? Did you help me block that Cacturne's bite and blank their souls?



That annoying tittering laugh again. Oh, boy, you are amusing. No, I did not---both the unlocking of those abilities and your use of them fall solely on your shoulders. As do their consequences. Their lives...your mate's life...are both on your hands. You entered this desert a boy and now, less than a day later, you've become...something else. Not quite a man. You touched power today that no mortal is meant to wield, and you liked it, didn't you? You liked it no matter what it might lead towards becoming.



Slash was silent for a moment. He did not know if he liked the power itself or not, but the consequences were too dire for him to ever want to wield it again. Gardevoir didn't give me this power, and...I don't think that it's been with me this whole time. Not all of it. The stuff behind the rage door is mine, but most of this new power came from...somewhere else. And when I used it...it hurt her. Stopped her from healing and even made her...worse. What the hell did I do tonight? Why did that evil power come to me?



If only you knew how similar you are to the other one. You are filled with so much of the same darkness, the same power, the same fury...take away the girl and the two of you are exactly the same--- monsters. I wonder, if the girl dies, what will happen to you? How long will you teeter before you fall completely?



The entity paused, letting the questions linger. Slash didn't need to be able to prog the creature to know to whom it was referring by 'the other one'. Just as he was absorbing the meaning of those damned mocking questions, the voice asked something that left him cold.



What would you say if I told you that Gardevoir will not overcome the poison?



He didn't respond. He couldn't. This entity's identity may have been unknown to him, but the same power that was flooding over the connection made him sure, absolutely sure, that it was incapable of lying to him.



Hm, that thought distresses you, doesn't it? You don't want to accept that despite all you and your friends' best efforts, despite shedding so much blood and selling so much of your soul, Manectric was not fast enough...at least not when you added to her wounds by dipping into that black power of yours.



That's not true! I can feel her mending! The poison is no longer in her system!



Perhaps, but so much damage has already been done...thanks, in part, to you. Now, tell me this, boy...what would you say if I told you that by the time the sun rises, you will be holding your mate's corpse in your arms? That your arrogance and bloodlust has cost you the life of your precious little angel?



NO! That...that can't be. My...my use of that power...it couldn't have hurt her that much!



Really? What you did was based in selfishness and anger and violence, not concern for her. When you tried to shove down your pleasure at killing, your ability to dark-prog diminished. When you let yourself enjoy it, when you focused more on your own rage than Gardevoir's life, the narrowing of your bond magnified her wounds. And when you took life for your own desires, instead of tending to her own rapidly failing body...well, it nearly killed her.



...maybe I did enjoy it, and maybe part of me still craves that strength, I admit it! But I will not use it if it means hurting her! I won't! And I didn't mean to harm her! Besides, what does it matter if I enjoyed it when the result is the same?



Ah, my boy, you still don't understand. When it comes to mastery over the powers of light and darkness, intent is everything! That is what separates the two, not primitive labels of good and evil. Your intent was to kill first, worry about your mate afterwards. Thus, your action was selfish, and carrying it out harmed Gardevoir and brought her here...to the brink of death.



Slash shook his head rapidly, not caring whether or not the entity was aware of it. I couldn't take care of her with them alive! I had to kill them!



Such self-deceit. It's a wonder that she fell in love with you at all. What a bad, selfish child you are. Even now you refuse to accept responsibility for your twisted food-luring games, your murders, your sadistic pleasure derived from it...and your lack of concern for your mate. Ah, well, perhaps her death will teach you a lesson in humility.



No! No. Slash let out a quiet sob that echoed out of the cave and floated over the shredded bodies of the Cacturne pack. His heart was an aching mess of confusion. Without Gardevoir to tether him to the light, he was unable to find his bearings and knew not what was right and where to go. For the first time since he had been exposed to the girl's unfailing sweetness, he was truly on his own, and only his own morals would prevail. I was wrong. I did forget about her, and even if it was only for a moment...oh, fuck, it was a lifetime too long. She can't die. She can't.



Yes, she can. Everything can. That is the nature of existence.



I don't give a damn! She must live. I...I can sense that you have the power to save her. And I know that you cannot lie. I don't know how I do, but...I do. Tell me, creature...do you truly have the power to help her?



The entity considered, humming nonchalantly as it did so. While Slash could sense that this being did not care if Gardevoir lived or died, he could sense that it was...curious about her.



...yes, I could save her life if I chose to. But the question is...will I? Why should I do something so generous for you, a barbaric murderer?



Because...because it's my fault. Not hers. I'd give anything to go back and realize that I was hurting her. Anything.



Slash, tell me...and be honest, because like you I can sense whether or not you tell the truth. Why do you want me to save her...because you love her, or because her death would make you feel guilty?



The answer came without hesitation, clear and calm despite the shame that came with being asked such a seemingly-obvious question. I love her. She does not deserve to die due to my...my arrogance. She deserves to live a long, happy life.



The creature smiled as it felt Slash's dual hearts begin fluctuate in intensity. (You do not understand, do you? Despite what I told you, you still believe that it's as simple as light is good, dark is bad. You think that an action committed by the light makes it inherently righteous. Inherently unselfish. What's more, you're not capable of determining light from dark, not yet. Foolish child. This will be easier than I thought.)



I sense that you tell the truth...or at least what you believe to be true. Very well, Slash...I'll make you a little deal. Should you agree to it, I can guarantee that she will survive this poisoning and become healthy once again. You'll be free to fuck her and lie to her and get her killed later and anything else that you want.



Slash bit his tongue to stop himself from cursing at the entity. Regardless of its tone and mockery, he was sure---without a doubt---that it was not lying about being able to save her...and the amount of pain and heat still radiating from the poor girl left him equally sure that she needed it.



What are the terms of this deal?



To spare her life, an equivalent amount of life force must change hands. I cannot see how long she will live, but however long it is, that is how much you must give me. If she would live to eighty years...I would require seventy-nine and a half from you.



But since we linked our life spans...her appointed time is...



It's the same as yours, yes. Meaning that regardless of how long your mutual natural lifespan is, you would only live another six months---her current age. Would you give up that much for her? Will you give me all but six months of your lifespan?



The entity's grin grew as it saw what Slash could not---the dark heart, not the light, was being used for this decision. Beautiful. It had been wondering if he would end up making the choice with light or dark (although the results could be the same either way, his misuse of the dark was so much funnier). The boy was so confused, so frightened and angry, that he was incapable of determining the light from the dark. Unlike his mate, this brat did not get a lecture on the difference between the two...which is exactly what the creature had been counting on.



You're feeling guilty.



I...when I first realized that I was the one making that shield...I didn't think or care about where it came from. All that mattered to me was that I had power, something that could be used to change things. You were right about it being awakened by my arrogance...and that arrogance made me forget about what I wanted to protect. I should have realized that it was harming Gardie, or at least suspected it, the moment that I felt her pain increase. But instead...I pushed the power as far as I could take it, and by killing two lives...



You did more than kill them, Slash. You erased their dark hearts---their version of a soul---from existence. I would consider that to be far more savage than mere murder.



Slash's mental voice quivered at that...because it was true. What he had done was almost identical to what a young and frightened Kirlia had done to those three punks who had attacked them in the so-long-ago of Mauville...but instead of deleting their neural activity as she had, he had deleted their very essences. He did not know much about the nature of the abilities he had obtained, but he knew that if there was an afterlife, those Cacturne would not be going to it. That was the extent of his killing.



When I used that power...I closed the bond to the point where she was not in my thoughts at all. While I told myself that I was killing them to hurry to her aid...when I actually did it, my intent was...was...



Nothing but delivering death to them. Like I told you, boy, intent is everything. Your intentions before you used the power was irrelevant...when you used it, your intentions had nothing to do with protecting. They were naught but murder.



Then yes, I am guilty of her pain. And if...if she will truly die without my...sacrifice...I will do it. I will give up anything to make her happy.



(oh, you liar. That's not what you're doing at all, is it?)



Very well, then. I will now begin. Slash Firestorm, your wish is for me to guarantee that Psymakio, your mate, will overcome her illness?



Yes.



And you will give me all but half a year of your life force to gain that guarantee?



Yes.



There was a strange feeling in Slash's head, as though phantom fingers were ripping open a hole in his mind. Perhaps they were---a dark rift suddenly opened inside of his void. From out of it dropped an hourglass, far larger and more sinister in appearance than the one which counted his sleeping hours. The sand drifted from top to bottom at a very slow pace.



Once created, this hourglass cannot be destroyed, and the wish can not be undone. When the sand runs out, death will immediately follow. I can now assure you that Gardevoir will survive these injuries...even those that you inflicted upon her. But I warn you, if you use those powers and bring her to the brink of death again...even I will not be able to save her. Soon the strength of the Dark Core---the source of these seemingly-new abilities---will beyond what even I can undo, both in regards to her and to yourself. And, to be blunt, I have no desire to help you again. Your twisted hypocrisy makes me sick.



Then why did you help me? Why did you appear to me? Don't I have enough damn voices in my head to have to deal with another mocking me?



Shouldn't you watch your tone when speaking to the one who just granted you a wish?



Slash's eyes narrowed. You said you can't undo the wish once it's been made, and I know that's the truth. I could curse at you until the end of time and there's nothing you can do to harm me.



The entity laughed again, loud and seemingly uncontrollable. Slash could not see the physical body of the creature, but its eyes...he thought he could see its eyes, glaring at him from across time and space with a foul blue-black glow. Yes, you are correct, I cannot harm you. But you can harm yourself, Slash. And no one can harm you more than you can.



There was a long pause as the entity again let the words sink in. I must go now. I was only allowed this much time with you because of the actions of your mate. She is the one who allowed me passage into your mind, did you know that? No? Perhaps you two will exchange notes when she regains consciousness. Oh, boy, will you two have a lot to talk about. I wonder how she will react when she finds that you'll be dead before her first birthday? She should be more concerned about the King of Clubs being out of the game, but ah, she is as pitiful and short-sighted as you are. Oh, how she'll cry!



Slash froze at those words. He had not considered what Gardevoir would feel about his sacrifice. It hadn't even crossed his mind. Despite telling himself that he was doing the right thing, something noble and honorable that would make up for his earlier embrace of the darkness...her feelings had not been the reason that he made the wish, only her life had been! Did that mean that despite the sacrifice he'd made...the wish was nonetheless one born of the dark?



And now you understand. Stupid child, your foolish attempt at self-sacrifice will cause your mate a hundred times more pain than she could ever have felt from death. And what's more...I have one last question for you, Slash. What you would say if I told you that she was never going to die? What would you say if I told you that despite what the Cacturne did to her, despite what your black-hearted powers did to her, she was going to recover from her injuries by morning?



The trainer's horror at having damned Gardevoir to a life of unhappiness was suddenly mingled with the shock at having been utterly deceived. Was this entity implying that she was never going to...



"No! That can't be possible. You said she was going to die, and I am positive that you're incapable of lying!"



You are correct in that assumption, boy. I cannot lie. But I never outright said that she was going to die, did I? I just asked a few hypothetical questions and planted the seeds of doubt and terror in your mind. Very easy to do, considering all that guilt you were feeling over those...walking plants and your stolen powers. You were the one to feed those doubts and let your panic overwhelm reason. Why, a single prog of her mind would have revealed that she was healing, albeit slowly! Your reliance on what you see, and your lack of faith in your bond, is what damned you so easily. Your lack of love, true love, is why you just killed yourself and condemned your mate to hell.



"You...you tricked me! All of this mockery, all of this go-around bullshit...you needed me to agree to it, didn't you? You can't kill me directly, so you had to get me to do it for you!"



It's such a shame that all of this intelligence and insight comes far too late to save you. Yes, you are correct. I did not have to kill you, brat, because you ran yourself into the Shadow's blade willingly. Thanks to your stupidity, one of the four players is out of the game and no longer a threat before the game has even truly begun! Maybe I'll even get lucky and the bitch will kill herself when she finds out what you've done! Even if all she does is leave you stranded in the desert, that will still be so delightful to watch! You'd die of the heartbreak yourself, wouldn't you? How joyous!



Slash's RAGE shook mightily in its frame, straining against the two remaining hinges. He did not care about what agents this...demon worked for...he only wanted to rip its throat out and send it to whatever hell lay beyond hell. He wondered, purely hypothetically, if he could blank this creature's heart as he had the Cacturne...but despite this entity's despicable actions, its heart was not dark in nature.



I'm sorry, but my time is up. Farewell. May you die as shamefully as you lived...and long before you can truly interfere with Its resurrection.



Damn you, stop! Now! You will undo what you've done to me! Stop!



But the entity didn't stop, and was not intimidated by his threats or rage. Such power may have easily conquered the beasts out here, but they were mere sparks compared to...whatever it was. It vanished into the background of psychic signatures that made up the world, laughing and cackling as it did so. Slash's rage door quieted as his hearts---both of them--- went cold. The light screamed that he had betrayed his mate. The dark screamed that he had betrayed himself.



And Slash feared that both were correct.



Before he could ponder his own foolishness any further, there was a quiet telepathic voice in his mind...one far more sweet and caring than the giggling mean-spiritedness of the entity.



Master?



He looked down into the kind red eyes of his beautiful mate, expecting to see happiness and love shining back at him, but he was dismayed to find her face filled with concern. She was studying him, both body and mind, and he could feel it when her progging gaze fell upon the hourglass in the back of his void, steadily seeping away at his life force. He didn't think that she could truly see what it was, but...he could feel her heart sink a moment afterwards.



She could not know what had happened to him. There was no way that she could possibly be aware of what had transpired with him, this Dark Core, and the entity's treachery. But before she passed out again into deep, true sleep, he feared that he saw something in her eyes...something that seemed to say why, Slash, why did you betray me? Why did you delude yourself into thinking that you were helping me? I loved you! Why do you hurt me so?



As the clock on his Pokenav declared the time to be four in the morning, he shakily settled down by Gardevoir's side, put an arm around her slim body, and closed his eyes. Wasn't that arm filled with love for her? Or was it just possessiveness, selfishness? Or worse, was it not full of caring, but only an instrument of death and destruction?



"No," he whispered into the dark. "I love her. No matter what else I got wrong, no matter how many mistakes I've made, of that I'm sure." He looked down at her sleeping face, innocent and perfect, and kissed her. "I love you, Psymakio. Forever. I swear it."



His last thoughts before joining her in true sleep were that he hoped that everything that followed their coupling had been a bad dream...that he would wake up and see her happy, sunny face beaming down at him, faintly blushing at the thoughts of their night's lovemaking, and she would welcome him into her arms with a radiant smile. No more voices in his head, no more power far too advanced for the likes of him to wield...just him and his mate, healthy and happy.



Fate is, on occasion, merciful towards love...particularly young love....but it is not tolerant of stupidity. It did not spare the pair this time, and it had cost them both dearly. Perhaps it is true that all one needs is love, but true love---something pure and perfect---is not obtained overnight. Until both parties realize the importance of themselves and their lovers, quarrels will continue to emerge, selfishness will continue to spring up, and true happiness will never be obtained.



Until then, fate would not protect them.



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



Slash awoke early the next afternoon.



He panicked when he did not feel Gardevoir pressed against his body and leapt to his feet. The relief that filled him when he saw her near the bright opening of the cave, poking at a sterno fire, was overshadowed by what he was picking up from her over their bond.



She was angry at him.



Since they'd met a month or so ago, he had only felt her angry on a handful of occasions, and never before had it been directed at him; the closest it had ever come to that was when he was pretending to be considering joining the Aquas. Previously her anger had almost been humorous to watch, particularly when she growled in a not-very-intimidating manner. Now, though...with it fully directed at him...he didn't feel much like laughing. She was not growling, but she kept her back turned to him, purposefully avoiding eye contact even though she knew he was awake. It was the first time since her evolution that waking up hadn't been joyful. And it hurt.



The other Pokemon were quietly sitting around the cave, and a quick prog showed that their silence and lack of horseplay was not due to any lingering injuries---all were healing just fine, himself included, and would be more than ready to begin traveling tomorrow. They were silent because they could feel the tension in the air and did not want to get caught in the crossfire if their alphas began to fight.



They were chewing on some sort of dark meat that Slash didn't recognize, surely nothing from his pack. He turned to the Manectric and gave him a questioning glance.



[It's Cacturne meat. From the kills.] Slash nearly choked at that response. Seeing his reaction, the thunder runner nodded towards Gardevoir. [It was her idea.]



"How can you...after all that happened...fuck, they were trying to eat us! How can you just sit there and..."



Who the hell do you think you are, lecturing anyone on right and wrong after what you did?



Slash turned toward his mate's voice, who was still choosing to face away from him and prod at the flame with a knife. Her voice was bitter. The other Pokemon discreetly moved back into the cave and wisely let themselves into their own Pokeballs.



"I...I take it that you somehow know what I did. And what I agreed to."



Not precisely, but...I know enough. Last night, while I was unconscious, the Great Ones sent me a vision...a vision filled with important information about the past, present, and future. And while we'll exchange notes about what I learned after this is done, none of that information interested me as much as finding out that you would have to make a choice, and that choice would either bring us closer together...or put you on the path of deceit, treachery, and murder. I don't know what the choice was, but I can sense that you've already made it, and...I can sense that it was the wrong one.



She turned to him now, ruby eyes filled with mingled sorrow and rage. I can feel you trying to hide the knowledge from me, even though we're mates and are supposed to share everything with each other. I should be able to prog your memories and find out...but I can prog nothing of this choice you had to make. I can sense something misty and vague in the back of your void, but I can't make it out, no matter hard much I try. I suppose that the vision told the truth, as only a corrupted god could have done this, hidden something from our bond. But only you can continue to hide it from me.



"Gardie, please...I...I made a mistake." Slash was surprised to find the tears already building up behind his eyes, and even more surprised to find that he was tearing up before Gardevoir. "I hurt you...and...I don't know what to do. What I've done...can't be undone."



His mate looked away again, but some of the bitterness that had existed in her heart was gone now. I was told that I must not abandon you, master, and I will not. I never would. But...that doesn't mean that I'm not mad at you for hiding it from me, or for making the wrong decision. And it certainly doesn't mean that I'm not hurt by it.



"If you'll let me...I'll tell you what I did. You won't like it...and despite whatever warnings and promises you may have made in this vision of yours, you may indeed abandon me after finding out...but I can't hide this from you. I can't hide anything from you."



The girl nodded, motioning for him to sit beside her. He did so, clearing his throat and trying to decide how to begin while simultaneously trying to think of ways to stall. Despite all their love and trust, he was truly unsure if she would stay with him after finding out what he did. Could he blame her if she decided to leave? She was going to have to spend the next several decades without him anyway, so why hang around and wait a few months for him to die?



"I'm not sure where to start. When you were poisoned and knocked out...I found that out that all of the antidotes we had were destroyed. There was no way for me to heal you. So I sent Electrike...well, now he's Manectric...to Lavaridge for medicine. Perhaps that was my first mistake, sending one of my friends alone across the desert even after what happened to you."



That is not one of your mistakes. Given the situation, that was precisely what you should have done. He knew the risks and he succeeded. That's not what you're trying to hide from me, either.



"You're right. I'm sorry. After that happened, the Cacturne continued to attack. We were getting pretty badly beat up...all of us were poisoned, though none as badly as you were. Things were getting desperate. After a few hours, we were all too exhausted to fight for much longer, and the Cacturne were getting ready to rush the cave, so I decided to attack them first. It went okay at first...Graveler took out quite a few of them by Self Destructing, and the rest of us were holding our own...but one of them knocked out Corphish, and Growlithe finally blacked out from the poison. I was alone with the last two of them. Nothing but me and my knife."



You're leaving something out. Something you don't want to tell me.



Slash winced. He hadn't realized just how many of last night's actions he was ashamed of. "The Cacturne pack was desperate for food. I'm still not sure why. And since our charge relied on us getting a few of them before they could counter-act, I decided to use some food to lure them away. They were starving to death, but instead of trying to broker peace and offering them something to eat, I used that desperation to trick them just long enough for me to be able to kill them." The trainer tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but it was not going away that easily. "I'll tell you something, Gardie...maybe that voice was a corrupted god...it surely was no saint...but it brought up some valid points. Namely that I'm not nearly as good of a person as I thought I was. What kind of monster am I for doing that?"



I'm not sure that I would call that wrong, master. It was a battle of life and death, and they attacked us first.



"That doesn't change the fact that my tactics were despicable. There are supposed to be rules in this trainer life, things that make the battling and capturing more humane. Using food to get starving Pokemon to let their guard down is fucked up. I wouldn't starve out some humans and then lure them towards killing range, not even Aquas or Kiako. Hell, until that...thing brought up just how fucked up my methods were, it didn't even cross my mind. Part of me was even proud of myself and how clever I was. After all my talk of being a different kind of trainer...I've turned out to be the worst kind. Someone who doesn't give a damn about Pokemon."



Now that is not true, master. For all of your mistakes, that is not one of them.



"And why do you say that?"



Gardevoir reached down and took his larger hand in her own, gently clasping it and letting her touch ease some of his pain. That's why. Because you love me. And even after what you just told me...and even after what you're about to tell me, which I know will be a hundred times worse...we will still love each other.



The first tears began to slide down Slash's face, but still none were in his mate's eyes. She wanted to, oh yes, but she was using her powers to suppress them. She needed to be strong for him, because right now he needed her even more than she needed him.



The other Pokemon love you, too, and not just because you're a competent battler. You are different than most trainers, yes, and more kind-hearted, but you're not perfect! I think the problem is that you want to believe that you are...or at least that you're close to becoming perfect. It's okay for you to make some mistakes, master, as long as you admit that you made them and try to avoid making them again in the future. Last night was...a very difficult night for all of us. I should have known that our lovemaking would attract predators, but I let myself get too caught up in my excitement---



"Gardie, I wanted to do it as much as you. You cannot take the blame for that."



You've only just become exposed to the world of psychic power, master, and you know very little about it. I knew that my latent energy would be visible to properly attuned creatures, especially out here, but I didn't care. There's another reason that it happened, but...that will have to wait until after...this.



Slash nodded, not sure if he believed that she was responsible for it but not wanting to argue. Her anger was no longer as harsh as it had been when he first woke up, but it was by no means gone.



As I was saying, I made a mistake, and we paid for it. You and the other Pokemon had to fight and think under enormous stress, and you were bound to lose some of your rationality under such pressure. Master, when you were being attacked outside of Mauville, I killed three men to protect you. I would have merely knocked them out...if that last had not pulled a knife on you. When that happened, any calm and collected thoughts that I had just...vanished.



"Do you...regret what you did? Do you think it was wrong?"



I do not regret protecting you. I do wish that it had gone differently...preferably never happening at all...but yes, I wish that I had been calm enough to control myself and did not have to kill anyone. Do you think ill of me for having done that, master?



"No, but...that may be part of the problem. I can understand why you don't really feel any remorse...after all, your trainer was being attacked, and---"



The object of my affections, as well.



"Yeah. I didn't give a damn about them because...they tried to kill me. They attacked us even though we were minding our own business, and on accusations that should not have been leveled so cruelly. But shouldn't I feel guilty? Isn't all life supposed to be precious?"



Gardevoir squeezed his hand a bit tighter. I wish that it could be so, master, but...while I don't enjoy the whole predator-prey system in the wild, there is something that you can learn from it. Life isn't clean. It's not fair or just or black-and-white...not anymore, anyway. There is nothing wrong with defending ourselves. Not all enemies are rational enough to negotiate with.



"Isn't it wrong to...enjoy it? Even if it's okay to kill those who mean us harm, isn't it just as bad to enjoy their deaths and suffering? Part of me liked fighting them, Psymakio, just like part of me was smiling when I raised the knife over my uncle's sleeping body."



She closed her eyes and shuddered, but she did not release him from her grasp. We...we can work on that, master. That's part of my purpose. The vision told me so. You have darkness within you, and it may consume you if you indulge in it too much...but I can help you resist it. I can help you compensate for all the darkness by giving you light.



"Even though I...hurt you? Nearly killed you?"



How did you hurt me? It's not possible to harm one's mate, you know that.



Slash sighed wearily and shrugged, a bitter grimace on his face. "I don't know, but I did. When I was facing down the Cacturne, just me and the last two, something...happened. Something that I don't understand and I'm not sure that I ever will. You know that I could sense them, right? Even though they're Dark-types?"



I recall you telling me that you felt a twinge just before I was attacked.



"I was progging them. I could sense their presence, their distance, even some of their thoughts. At first I had no clue how I was doing it...I can barely prog rocks, let alone life forms!...but now I understand that what I was doing to them was something completely different from what you taught me to do. Progging probably isn't even the right term, because it extended way past mind-reading or telekinesis. The entity that spoke to me called it the Dark Core, and its power was incredible. I instinctively used a shield over my arm that could actually block one of their dark-enhanced Crunch attacks! Not a psychic shield like you created, but...something different. Something born of the dark. Knowing that I could wield such unique strength was...intoxicating. And the desire to keep using the power after I discovered it was overwhelming."



Gardevoir's eyes flung open at that description. She recalled Quiero's words about the dark power that slept within her mate---The dark, coupled with his own inherent strength and the strength granted to him by your bond, gives him enormous potential power. Once he realizes this power, it will become very difficult to refrain from using it.



"What's more, the power didn't even end there. I could feel their dark hearts...their souls. I could touch them, manipulate them. I could even crush them...blank them. Sort of like what you did to those guys in Mauville, except I did it to their souls instead of their brains. I completely purged their dark hearts, and that killed them instantly. I...I did it twice, even though...even though part of me knew that..."



Tell me, Slash. I can feel enormous guilt over what you did, and it'll feel better if you tell me. In the long run, it'll be better for this to be out in the open. We'll be able to get through it together.



"...I hurt you by doing it."



What do you mean?



"When I was just dark-progging them, there didn't appear to be any negative effects, although I found that I could see them more clearly when I let myself enjoy...what I was doing. Fighting and killing. But when I made that shield, something much more complex and energy-consuming...I felt pain coming from our bond. I was hurting you. I tried to tell myself that it was the poison, but...part of me knew. It knew and tried to keep me from realizing it. My rage door was starting to shake, and that, combined with this strange Dark Core power...it made me blind to the pain I was causing you. Using the power forced me to limit our bond, and that limiting...it ripped you apart."



The one who came to me in my vision told me that using the powers of darkness would force you to narrow our bond. Such a thing would indeed hurt us badly...hurting you by shutting you off from the light our love creates, and hurting me in the same manner.



"Yeah. After I...you know, blanked the first Cacturne...there was another burst of agony in you, and I think I was starting to realize that there was a connection...but the Core stopped me from putting it together, and I killed the last of the Pokemon, and that...it nearly killed you, Gardie. When I got back to the cave, you were coughing up blood and screaming in your sleep."



He was quiet for a moment, tears flowing more quickly now. "I could have killed you. There is nothing on this earth that I love more than you, and I could have killed you. I almost did. In fact...I came so close to it that I was...tricked into believing that I had."



What do you mean by that, master?



"...are you sure you want to know, Psymakio? Enjoying the suffering of those Cacturne was...unseemly. Using their hunger to outsmart them was barbaric. Wielding the Dark Core even when it hurt you was...a sin. But this last is the greatest sin I have ever committed. Once I tell you what I've done...once I've revealed that misty shape in the back of my void...you may hate me. You might think that you won't, but..."



When I was having that vision, master, I told an ancient ghost that I would never, ever stop supporting you. I swore that no matter how difficult it was, and no matter how much heartbreak I suffered, I would help you through the darkness. But more importantly, I swore that oath to you. Remember?



"You said that no matter what I do...no matter where I go...no matter what I...what I become..."



...I will never abandon you.



"I killed myself," he suddenly blurted, wishing he'd phrased it better but that was how it came out. There was no reaction for that; Gardevoir simply stared at her mate's tear-stained face, not comprehending. The tears had stopped for now, but she feared that they would soon return...and that hers would join them.



"Manectric got back right after I blanked the last Cacturne. I rushed in, treated you as best as I could while he watched over the others. After I had given you enough antidote to flush a Muk out of your system, I went to get the other Pokemon. By the time I was back in the cave and had everyone back out of their Pokeballs and medicated themselves, I was hoping that you'd be all better. But you weren't. You had stopped bleeding, and the red lines in your arm had stopped spreading, but...you still hadn't regained consciousness, or even transitioned from unconsciousness to sleep. I could feel nothing over our bond other than the fact that you were in pain. I...I feared that you were dying.



"That damned...entity, corrupted god, demon, whatever it was...it played on my fears. I knew that it couldn't lie...I knew that with the same surety that we felt back in Mauville with Watson...and it knew that I knew. It presented a scenario where you wouldn't survive the night, carefully painting it to all but assure me that it was going to happen. It never said it outright, but...I didn't notice that.



"It kept bringing up my mistakes, how I betrayed myself and betrayed you by using those powers, purposefully making my guilt start to overrule my reason. It simultaneously mocked me and encouraged me to lure me to a place that I had no business being in. I wanted so badly to atone for my actions and save you that I didn't realize the depths of deceit that I was being fed. The creature told me that it had the power to save you...which was true, if you were truly dying. You weren't, were you?"



After the medicine was in me...I was never in any real danger. I was healing slowly due to all the fatigue and stress of the past day, but no, I was not going to die.



"I was told that you could be saved if I was willing to pay a...severe cost. Which was also true, although I was not truly in such a situation. The cost was...Psymakio, I can't ask you to forgive me, but please try to understand that I wanted to save you, no matter what the cost, and I wasn't thinking about how it would affect you, and---"



What was it?, Psymakio asked, starting to panic. For him to still hesitate in telling her after all of her assurances...after the bond's assurances...



"...the vast majority of my lifespan. Nearly all of it. That is what I had to give."



And now, as all of her calm and preparation was washed away in an instant, the vague object in Slash's mind became visible to her, standing like a cold, dead gray finger pointing up at the bright sky of the void. It was an hourglass. The sand was his life. And when all the sand was gone...



NO!



Gardevoir's projected body flared with psychic power, lunging at the hourglass and striking it as hard as she could. Nothing happened. She kicked off of it and focused all of her energy upon the seemingly thin and fragile surface, trying to break it through sheer force...but despite her considerable power, despite the strength to break inner doors and rewire mental connections and wipe the neural activity from a living being like it was dust blown away by the wind, the hourglass did not so much as tremble under her barrage. The sand did not even waver in its path downward.



Despite not wanting to know the answer, she could not help but prog it. The number shocked her. Terrified her. It couldn't be that low. Couldn't be. She had to be misreading it!



"Gardie..."



SHUT UP!



Slash fell silent, feeling little sting at the outburst. It was what he suspected, wasn't it? She might have claimed to love him, might have sworn oaths of loyalty and devotion, but none of that made a damn bit of difference when exposed to the amazing hypocrisy and arrogance that slept within him. He didn't give a damn about where it came from. It didn't matter if it was something he was born with or something he'd been given or (as the entity had claimed) stolen from someone else. It was part of him now, he didn't know if that could ever change, and she would never be able to truly love him because of it.



You...you did this without hesitation! You thought it brave! Noble! You actually believed it to be an action of the light!



"Yes. I did. I---"



You were more concerned over alleviating your guilt than my happiness!



"That's not true! I was mistaken about the entity and its words, but I wanted to save you! I...I thought you were about to...Gardie, I couldn't just sit there and let you die! I love you too much!"



Gardevoir spun around so fast that he actually flinched as though she were swinging at him. Her eyes were awash with shining tears, burning anger, and utmost sorrow. Their bond had been reduced to a static-filled scream. If you really believed that I was dying...and that the only way to save me was to cut your life down to a mere two seasons...you should have let me die! Do you really think that I'd be happy living without you for nearly a century?! Do you really think that's helping me instead of being the worst curse that I can imagine?! If you really loved me, you wouldn't have sold my most precious possession without so much as a second thought!



Slash winced and looked away from her. What could he say? She was right.



Despite all that we've been through...I just met you. And now I find out that I'm already losing you. Every second that we're together will be more painful than the last because I'll know that the final second is closer than before. Didn't you realize this? You're so damned good at predicting the future when it comes to battling, but you couldn't guess that this would hurt me so badly?



She fell silent now, breathing hard and crying. The anger was burned off, but it was replaced by something far worse...a deep, dull, seemingly eternal mistrust of her mate that was far worse than any hatred. Slash could not bear the feel of it coming from a girl who had previously trusted him in every way. He picked up his knife, slid it in its sheath. Stood up and faced the desert. There was no choice.



"I cannot blame you for your decision. Neither do I blame you for not being able to keep to your promises. I don't...I don't want you to live your life thinking of my approaching death. So I'm going to...well, I'm going to go on my own from here. I'll do my best to hunt down Kiako. You and the other Pokemon...are free to do what you will. It's clear...with all these visions and dark powers and all...that I'm destined to go somewhere that may very well transform me into a monster. I won't damn you all to following me there. "



His voice broke at that last, but he remained resolute. Psymakio stared at him with disbelieving eyes, unable to find any of the words that she wanted to say. Despite her promise to Slash and Quiero, and despite her sanity-defying devotion to her mate, there was a part of her just rational enough to understand that, indeed, this might be for the best. She clamped down on that traitorous voice, but that didn't quell the shame at having thought that for even a second.



Slash, wait...



"Maybe you can even find someone out there better able to take care of you. Someone who isn't a twisted psychopath on the inside. Someone you can love without worrying about being hunted down and killed. Maybe even someone you can have a family with. I hope that...that you'll be able to love someone without being hated...and I hope that they'll make you happier than I did."



Slash did, in fact, hope that.



He took a step outside of the cave, into the stinging winds and searing sun. There were no delusions of surviving this desert on his own, but he would not hinder their chances of escape by taking any of their food and water. He would travel as far as he could before falling to the desert's fiery wrath. Maybe he would get lucky and run across Kiako before he did. Probably not. But if fate was stringing him along like this, who knew. He ran a hand over his face and spoke without turning.



"I love you, Psymakio. Whatever I become in the future...whether a corpse or a monster...know that I love you. Forever."



Time stopped. All external stimuli ceased to register. The symmetry was happening again, wasn't it? But instead of death separating them, this time it was the darkness.



("I love you. Never forget that. Until the end of time, I love you.")



SLASH!



He stopped in mid-step as slim arms embraced him from behind. The tiny claws dug into his chest, drawing blood, but the pain was meaningless. Gardevoir clung to him, making horribly pitiful and audible cries of fear and sadness, and it broke his heart. Both of them. Even the self-serving darkness within him seemed to feel a degree of shame. He was committing his greatest sin all over again---leaving her alone.



"Oh fuck, Psymakio, I'm...I'm so sorry..."



I don't want to end up like her! Please, Slash, don't go! Please!



Slash turned in her embrace and looked into her panic-stricken eyes. There was knowledge in there, terrible knowledge that was breaking her heart and scaring her senseless. "What...what are you talking about? End up like who?"



Gardevoir opened their bond to fullness and sent him her memories of the night's vision. In a flash, he saw everything that she had. The town of Pokemon. The castle. The statue of the King. He heard Quiero's ancient, familiar voice and learned of the first time they'd fallen in love, so long ago. He learned of marriages and Kiako and war. He learned of the Shadow and the terrible corruption that it brought.



He realized that what he was undergoing was similar to the initial stages of that corruption, and unless he resisted...the corruption could eventually rot away their bond, even as strong as it was.



Slash heard the entire story, but Psymakio withheld the last horrible revelation; she had to tell him of that herself.



...the Interloper. The lost spirit clinging to you, worming its way into our bond and pretending that I don't exist...it is the spirit of Miyako, the Princess of the Old Kingdom.



He wrapped his arms around her, returning her embrace, feeling her tremble and shiver. He was shaking, as well. Even before learning this, he had known in a way. An entity close enough to Psymakio to briefly fool him. One capable of entering his mind in sleep with minimal effort. Something filled with desire, possession...



When she and Quiero died fighting the Shadow...for some reason, she didn't move on with him. He went on to...other worlds...and she was trapped here. Alone. Unable to face the truth of what happened. She lived without him for ages, blocking his death from her mind, and roamed the world to try and find the love that she had lost a long, long time ago. She searched for him until she went mad.



"Psymakio, I...I didn't know. That's why you're so angry, isn't it? I just damned you to the same fate as hers."



I'm not angry, I'm scared! I don't want to lose you! I don't want to spend eternity apart from you! I don't want us to be separated and alone and looking for each other for a thousand years! I don't want to go crazy trying to find my mate and clinging blindly to anything that resembles you! Master, I---



She broke down into tears, sobbing so hard that she could not speak, and Slash squeezed her tightly to him. The sand whirled around them like a small tornado as psychic energy mingled with the darkness, creating blue-black dervishes of twilight-colored flashes. There was some sort of re-connection here, something concrete that snapped together with an audible click as the lips of boy and girl met, and the dark heart within Slash fell silent. Not just because the light outshone it---the heart dimmed itself as though fearful of the brightness shining in from Psymakio's soul.



I'm so sorry, Psymakio, I'm so fucking sorry. I shouldn't have...done any of this. All my actions...trying to protect you but instead ripping you apart...I did exactly what that Shadow wanted, followed its every lead, letting myself be controlled like a puppet...and now what can we do? How I can ever make up for what I've done?



Gardevoir clung tighter to his arms and deepened the kiss, hoping to warm their cold bond into peace. You can stay with me. Let me help you...and you can help me, as well. We have so much love for each other, Slash, but in the face of this Shadow, what we have isn't nearly enough. We have to grow stronger, not just with our powers but also with our faith in each other. I know why Miyako and Quiero were separated, even if they don't...I could feel it. Quiero used his dark powers in the end. He succumbed to his rage after her death and forgot about her. But instead of damning himself to madness as he had hoped...he damned her to it. That's the horror that can happen with us.



I don't want to lose you!



You won't. I swear, Slash, I'll never let that happen. We'll become so strong that nothing can get between us. The Aquas, Kiako, the Shadow...they may kill us, but they will never, ever separate us.



The kiss was broken, but the bond remained just as strong; once Slash had realized the true nature of his mistakes, and once Psymakio had truly forgiven him and admitted her own fear, the slim threads that connected them had become stronger than ever before. Maybe not unbreakable, not yet...but well on its way to becoming so.



Both children stared into each other's eyes, breathing hard, hearts connected and shimmering. There was still darkness mingling with the light in their raging aura, but somehow this darkness did not feel evil or selfish. It was part of Slash, and while he would perhaps be damned to kneel to it if he were alone, Psymakio's presence meant that he could possibly make it kneel to him. Together, they were incorruptible.



Slash lay his head on her soft shoulder, letting her sweet vanilla scent soothe him. "What are we going to do about...the hourglass? It can't be broken."



It's alright, master. We'll be okay. Whether or not we find some way to destroy it, I intend to be with you until...our mutual end. When our time comes, we will go together, and both of us will fall in love again in...other worlds than these.



She gently ran a hand through his dark, sweat-matted hair, sheltering him from the desert wind. There was no way that she could pretend that she wasn't scared of what was to come, but her anger had been released, and the bond was already bringing them closer. Quiero was right...only through trust and unconditional love could the darkness---the unnatural darkness that had no right to exist in this world---be overcome. Her love was indeed unconditional. She had forgot that for a moment, almost let herself betray everything that she cared for, but that mistake would never happen again. Slash was her trainer, her friend, her lover, her everything, and regardless of what mistakes he made and regardless of what tempted him towards the Shadow, she would never betray him. Ever.



Slash was about to suggest moving back into the cave when Psymakio sensed something nearby.



"What is it?"



I...I can feel a life form. Very weak, and fading fast. It's out there, atop that dune. Where...where the bodies are. Can you feel it?



He extended his prog-senses, but everything came back as a cacophony of echoes. There was too much background energy in this place, and Slash had no idea how to see through it. "No, I can't. Let's check it out."



The two ran out into the desert, towards the blood-stained site of the previous night's battle. Corpses and severed limbs still littered the area, the green flesh steadily turning brown as though wilting. Gardevoir pointed at one of the more intact corpses. There, that one! But something's wrong. It's a Dark-type, so I shouldn't be able to sense that creature at all, even if it's dead. What is going on?



Slash suddenly recognized the Cacturne in question. It was the first one that he had 'blanked'---the leader who the others were trying to feed. He glanced at his mate for permission, and after she nodded, he very tentatively sent out a dark-prog, low enough in strength that it wouldn't hurt Gardevoir. He couldn't sense a thing. There was no dark energy left within the creature; it had been utterly scraped clean of it.



"That's one of the two that I blanked. Maybe that's why you can read it. But I thought that I killed it when I did that. The other one that I blanked is...clearly dead."



I don't think this Cacturne is alive either, master. The life signs that I'm picking up are...smaller. Younger. I...oh, my goodness, master, I know what I'm sensing. This creature is...or was...pregnant. The infant is still alive, but it's fading fast. She turned to Slash, face full of panic. What should we do?



A familiar wave of regret and shame filled Slash at the knowledge of what he'd done---whether self-defense or not, the idea of killing a pregnant Pokemon or any other such life form was utterly repugnant. But perhaps this was one mistake that he could fix...or at least attempt to atone for. "If it's still alive, we need to try to save it. Can you clearly sense its location in her body?"



Yes.



Slash pulled out his knife and gulped. "Then I need you to tell me where to cut. We have to get it out of her quick, or it's not going to survive."



Gardevoir winced at what he was proposing, but there was no way to get the dead body to naturally birth the infant---none that she knew of, anyway. She progged carefully at the Cacturne's abdomen, forming as clear a mental picture of the child as possible. Here. I'll trace around the womb. You...cut where I run my finger.



Any lingering hesitation or mistrust between the mates was completely gone. They were working as a team, using their abilities to work together and hopefully save a life that deserved saving. Gardevoir moved her finger over the Cacturne's body, carefully avoiding the still-extended spines. Slash clenched his teeth and stabbed the knife into where his mate had first touched, sinking it in to the haft. Perhaps this time, instead of killing something with such a blow, he could save a life with this blade.



Here, here. Cut it steady. Don't cut the cord yet, it's over here. Just cut around it.



"Alright."



He tensed his muscles and sliced through the creature's thick hide. Sawing through the tough flesh was much harder than stabbing into it, and he had to go slowly if he didn't want to slice wildly and possibly cut the infant. "There's bleeding. Why should there be bleeding? She's been dead for hours!"



Plants take longer to decay after death. That's probably the only reason why the baby is still alive. Her body is like a cocoon, protecting it from the desert.



Slash completed the roughly circular cut. He steeled himself and used the knife to flick open the outer layer of flesh like a jack-o-lantern. The sight was horrible, a mess of internal organs and fluid, but the infant was clearly visible, right behind some sort of half-transparent membrane.



Careful, Slash...it's so close to the baby.



The knife tip ran over the tissue, at first only pulling at it as though it were rubber, then cutting it open. Some hot and watery substance poured out and over the rest of the Cacturne's entrails. "I got it. I'm going to pull it out, okay? As soon as I give it to you, run back to the cave and we'll try to stabilize it."



Yes, master. I'm ready.



He reached into the body and wrapped his fingers around the tiny creature, gently pulling it out of the womb. There were no thorns, retractable or otherwise, on its body. It made sense, as Cacturnes were livebearers and prenatal thorns would make delivery...difficult. "Cut the cord, Gardie."



She reached down and grasped the knife, trying not to vomit at the sight of the blood and fibrous tissue stuck on the blade. With a quick, deft stroke, the cord was cut, and the infant freed. Slash handed it to her after she dropped the knife into the sand. "Go, I'll be right behind you."



Gardevoir clutched the blood and fluid-slimed creature to her chest, using her body and psionics to shield it from the sand, and ran towards the cave. Slash picked up his knife and flicked it clean, sheathed it, and then gave the ripped-open body of the mother a long look. Regret clutched at his heart.



"I'm...I'm sorry for what I did. I don't know who was in the right last night...you were just trying to feed yourself for your baby, I was just trying to protect my friends...but it doesn't matter now. I'm sorry that it ended up like this." He swallowed and looked at the creature's motionless face, as hard as it was. Just last night that face had been staring into his, trying to figure out why it couldn't overcome him in battle, why it couldn't kill him and protect her baby. Now that face was still and lifeless. "I promise that the baby will be safe. I swear it."



He stood silently for a moment before running back to help Gardevoir. Moments later, a particularly hard gust of wind buried the mother's corpse under the sands, and there she disappears out of this story forever.



He's not breathing, master. I...I don't know what to do!



Slash looked at the small infant in her arms and felt the knife's edge of panic start to overwhelm him. He knew nothing about babies, let alone Pokemon ones! All he had to go on were television programs and old wives' tales.



"Try whacking it on the back to clear its lungs."



Gardevoir did so, but while some fluid came out of its mouth, it still was not breathing. Its heartbeat is slowing down. I think the mother was dead for too long, master. I'm not sure if we can do anything to help it.



"Damn it, we can't just give up. I promised her that we wouldn't let her baby die!"



He progged it as best as he could, but the details were still too vague for him to comprehend. "Gardie...I want to try a more intensive dark-prog on it. Maybe it's not a Dark-type yet, but it might still have a dark heart. Do you think you're up for it?"



Just dark-progging didn't seem to affect me before, right? I think it's okay. Give it a try.



Slash focused on it, carefully letting out his power a bit at a time. Despite knowing where it had brought him before, he had to get deep inside of it now. He focused his mind on how guilty he would feel if the creature died, and the prog-sense grew stronger. There was a dark heart deep within the infant, as he'd suspected, but its power was fuzzy and weak. Dim.



Can you do anything to help it?



"I'm not sure. But if I can...that might truly cause you harm. I don't want to risk hurting you again."



Master, I'm mostly mended up now, and we have plenty of medicine in the bag. Whatever you need to do...do it. This is as worthy a cause as any that I can think of, and I'm more than willing to risk myself to save this child.



Hoping that she was right about being able to withstand it, Slash concentrated on the infant's heart and grasped it with his...shadow hand. He could feel the heart struggling to draw strength from his palm, trying to get enough energy to restart itself. The boy gently squeezed, letting his power be drained into the little creature, and after a few seconds it was glowing with purplish-black electricity.



He withdrew from its soul, looked down at the baby, and grinned. Yes, it was breathing, crying out in harsh, desperate gasps. Despite the laboring behind those breaths, Slash wagered that he had never heard such a wonderful sound in his life. Gardevoir laughed and patted the Cacnea on the back, helping it clear the last of the fluid from its airways.



"Are you alright, Gardie? Did I...did I hurt you badly?"



Master, you didn't hurt me at all. I could feel you using your dark power, but the bond stayed wide-open. What did you do? What were you thinking when you restarted its heart?



Slash flushed and looked away, suddenly embarrassed and unsure what Gardevoir would think of it. "I was thinking that maybe our little pack could help raise it. It would certainly die if we just returned it to the wild, and I'm not sure if another Cacturne pack would accept it. When I touched its heart, I was wondering if you'd want to keep it with us...raise it...together. Like...you know, like a family."



Her eyes locked onto his, happy and joyous and glistening with tears. You mean like our own child. You wanted to know if I would...want that.



"Yeah."



Maybe that's why it didn't harm me. You weren't just thinking of yourself, although that was a part of it...you were thinking about sharing your hopes and dreams with me. She smiled at him, wondering if this was a way to negate the collateral damage caused by his more intense powers. That could wait until later, though. But...I thought you didn't want children, master.



"I don't know if I do or not. I don't think that I would make a very good father for a human child, at least. But a Pokemon...well, even if we can't have children of our own, the idea of raising this Cacnea as a child instead of just a trainer's Pokemon...it makes me feel...well, I'm not sure why I feel like this."



The mating instincts that I gave you are hardwired for fatherhood even though we cannot conceive a child ourselves. What you're feeling is perfectly natural.



The two looked down at the small Pokemon, its eyes closed and sleeping soundly. "Look at it. After all of our worrying and panicking, it's sound asleep like nothing happened at all. I have to admit, I find it cuter than a human kid. Our babies are ugly."



Gardevoir playfully smacked him on the shoulder. I'm sure that their parents don't think so. But master...if we are going to keep him...raise him ourselves...we need to decide on it soon. As soon as this child opens its eyes, it's going to start imprinting on whatever it sees. It's probably already taking in our scents and signatures.



"We should stop calling it an...it. Is it a male or a female?"



She checked, blushing faintly as she did so. It's a boy.



"Well, if we are going to raise him, we need to know...what we're doing. I don't think baby Pokemon are supposed to be in Pokeballs at such a young age, so...we're going to have to bring him with us, out and about. I'm sure he'll be fine from the elements since Cacnea are normally raised in the desert, but...how do we feed him? How do we make sure that he doesn't accidentally poison any of us?"



You have a Pokedex, don't you? Can't that help?



"Oh...right. Heh."



Slash went to his bag and pulled out the small device. As he typed in the queries on Cacnea, he mused out loud, "I sure hope it doesn't need milk, because there ain't a damn thing we can do about that right now. Maybe we'll get lucky and they only need sunlight and water."



They may be smaller than a Cacturne, master, but I'm fairly certain that they still need to eat something.



"Ah, here we go. They...hm. Ick."



What?



For once it was Slash's face that was turning a little green. It was something natural, yes, but still..."It says that for the first couple weeks of their lives, they need sunlight, water, and...um...meat."



What's wrong with meat?



"It has to be, uh...chewed for them. Like...almost liquid. Can't just chop it up."



That doesn't sound like much of a problem. If we're going to raise him, I suppose I'll have to do it, since I'll be his...mother.



She smiled at the last word, not noticing Slash's surprise at her taking that feeding concept so easily in stride. Ever since their earlier disappointment over not being able to have children, she had not allowed herself to daydream about dens and youngsters and families. Now, though, she saw a different possible future...one where their children would be adopted Pokemon of countless species. Just as Slash had rescued and more-or-less adopted her, they would take care of orphaned Pokemon and treat them like family. Slash smiled at her as the thoughts flowed through their bond.



"I think that would be lovely, Psymakio. Something to...give back to the world. Maybe even something to atone for the mistakes I've made...and the ones I'll make in the future. Something to hold onto when my rage and darkness beckons to me."



After all of this is over...when Kiako is defeated and the Shadow is stopped, however difficult and far-off those goals may be...you would really like to settle down with me like that?



"I can think of no better way to retire, my angel."



The pair shared a brief kiss, taking comfort from each other's bodies and from their bond. The latter had become a hum of compassion and happiness, as though their earlier fight had never happened. Apparently sensing the pleasant thoughts around him, Cacnea had snuggled into Gardevoir's chest, clinging to her with small, spineless arms.



Does the Pokedex say anything about their spines, master?



"Yeah. Apparently they don't start growing until they're about a month old. I don't think you have to worry about getting stuck for a while."



We should let the others out of the Pokeballs now. He's already imprinting on us, considering us his parents, but we need to get him acclimated to our friends early on or they'll scare the daylights out of him later.



"Good idea."



Slash went to the back of the cave and released his friends. They looked at their alpha female rocking a small Cacnea in her arms, glanced at each other, and then turned back to their alpha male. Growlithe was the first to form words, although they were quiet and cautious, as though he were afraid of what might happen if he spoke out of turn:



[Uh...is everything...okay between you two?]



Everything is fine, Growlithe, I assure you. Gardevoir smiled at Slash and sent him a pulse of affection to let him know that she meant it and was not merely saying that. Me and Slash just had a little disagreement, but we've made up now.



[That's good to hear.] The fire dog glanced again at the infant. [Did we miss something, maybe?]



"That's Cacnea. We rescued him from one of the Cacturne's dead bodies. Apparently their leader was pregnant...that's why they were so desperate to feed her, because she was eating for two. Me and Gardie were just able to rescue him in time."



The Pokemon exchanged a series of guilty looks. They had fought against the Cacturne pack without any hesitation, but knowing the reason behind their enemies' relentless attacks made them all feel a bit guilty. Slash could relate. "So yeah. Me and Psymakio decided that we're going to raise the little guy. We can't just leave him out here, and the Pokedex says that Cacturne don't tend to accept young from other packs. All of us are going to have to work together to protect him, keep him safe and stop him from wandering off---"



He won't wander off, master. Pokemon babies stay close by their parents until they're strong enough to fend for themselves, which is a long way off for this little boy.



[Do you have any idea how long it'll be before we can talk with him telepathically?], Corphish asked.



"I'm not sure. It won't be long before he'll be able to understand us, but it may be a while before he learns to speak verbally or through our communication bonds. He's just a baby, guys."



Graveler quirked his head. [Do you think this kid is the seventh in our circle? The one that you said we'd find before Fallarbor?]



Slash and Gardevoir looked at each other for mutual confirmation before nodding. Yes. It's him. The lost child of the desert...our adopted son...the atonement of the sins our pack will make over the course of our journey...he is the seventh. Our pack is complete. Whatever comes next...we'll face it together.



She knelt to the floor of the cave and put Cacnea on a blanket. The other Pokemon quietly moved in and took in his scent, as well as putting their own scents on him so that any wild Pokemon would know that the infant was protected by a powerful and diverse pack. Gardevoir moved over to Slash's side and the two mates sat down, watching their friends interact with the sleepy baby.



"Gardie?"



Yes, master?



"When that corrupted god or whatever was talking to me, it told me that your actions had allowed it to contact me. While the decision to use the Dark Core was mine, it was that entity who urged me on, using mockery and guilt to manipulate me into doing what I did. Do you think that's what the Great Ones meant as...the price you had to pay for the vision? Or is it the baby?"



I do not know, master. They told me that the cost would affect me most of all, and...I think that we both suffered equally over what happened. Perhaps it's a little of both...maybe receiving the vision allowed the creature to talk to you and set up the choice that you were fated to make. Maybe the Great Ones already knew which choice you would make and the baby, which may very well affect me most of all, is another part of the cost.



"I don't believe that they could have known my choice beforehand. I didn't actually talk to this Quiero, but didn't he give you the impression that the Great Ones, while powerful, were not all-seeing or all-powerful?"



Yes. They have amazing influence on the world, but they are still mortal...or close to it. They can make mistakes and they can have their vision obscured. Maybe something different would have happened if you rejected the Dark Core. Or maybe you still would have killed the mother and we would have noticed the infant another way. Or maybe your choice was fate. I don't know. I don't think it matters anymore.



"One thing is for certain, Psymakio. This desert has changed our lives, and we've still got a long way to go."



She glanced at her mate and shook her head. Would you consider it strange if I told you that I think the worst is behind us? That even though we're still going to face countless battles and physical challenges before we're out of here, it was the vision and the choice that was our biggest obstacle?



"I trust your judgment. Or pre-cogging, whatever. As long as we're careful, I think we'll be fine."



No more lovemaking in the desert, she sighed sadly.



"Yeah. But once we're somewhere nice and safe...oh, Gardie, we're going to have some fun."



She giggled and gazed at him coyly. We'll have to make sure the baby is asleep first, won't we? Slash smirked and put a hand high up on her leg. The other Pokemon didn't notice. After a few increasingly-frantic psychic whispers for him to stop, he removed his hand...after a brief swipe upwards to get her giggling some more. After all that they'd been through, the sound of his mate laughing was something that he had grown to miss.



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



The rest of the day went more or less smoothly. While the weary pack rested and let their bodies heal, Slash and Gardevoir told their friends everything that they had learned from the vision and the corrupted god's words---they left nothing out, not even the fact that Slash's lifespan had been severely cut. The Pokemon had responded to that knowledge with great sorrow, but Slash had assured them that he would fight alongside them as long as he was able...and they would do their best to find some way to reverse the seemingly-unbreakable curse. None, including Gardevoir, believed that such a thing was possible---not if a Great One was truly behind it---but all tried to stay hopeful.



Once the doom and gloom had been dispensed with, the pack put aside their fears and began to get to know the newest little addition to the team. Slash had to look away the first time that Gardevoir pre-chewed some jerky for Cacnea, but he was able to convince his mind (if not his stomach) that it was necessary. Of course, that was only after she reminded him to be thankful---at least she didn't have to throw it up into the baby's mouth like some species did.



The infant was too young to really 'play' with, but the other Pokemon seemed to get a kick out of bounding about and entertaining the little creature. There were apparently no problematic aftereffects of Cacnea's nearly fatal birth complications, something which pleased Slash greatly. After all the harm that his dark power had caused, it was nice to see something good come out of it.



Cacnea either did not notice or did not care that none of them were Cacturne. He was not frightened by the Pokemon, not even by the huge and intimidating Graveler. After a bit more Pokedex researching and finding out that the small creature would rapidly gain weight as it absorbed moonlight (and would eventually peak at around one hundred pounds), Psymakio guessed that the rock Pokemon would be doing most of the carrying; Cacnea's legs were far too small for him to keep up otherwise, even when he matured.



That was a long way off, though.



[He's crying again, and I can't get him to stop,] Manectric announced. [I don't get it. Why did he suddenly stop liking my sparks? He was laughing at it for ten minutes!]



Graveler snorted and shook his head. [Just because he's a lot more patient than you doesn't mean that he's going to laugh at it forever. Let me try.] He stuck out his tongue and waved his four arms around wildly, but the only laughs he got were from the other Pokemon and their alphas. [Hey, he liked it before. Shut up.]



Gardevoir was grinning like a loon while she walked over to the little creature and picked him up. He just wants mommy. Don't you, honey? Don't you? Huh?



Slash couldn't stop the spread of the same silly smile on his own face as she baby-talked Cacnea into giggles. It was easy to consider babbling, strange-acting parents to be completely insane, but once there was a kid in front of you---and yours, more or less---the temptation to do so was far greater than he had expected. He had swore that he would only speak to the child like an adult, and that was one vow that Psymakio would love to see him break.



He probably would, too.



Let's go see daddy. Look at him, all alone in the dark. Poor guy. Do you like daddy?



Cacnea gurgled out some happy, unintelligible reply. While still a newborn, the mere fact that he could grasp the basics of what they were saying made it impossible for Slash to forget that this was not a human baby, but one that would grow and develop very differently. "And I like him. Sit down next to me, mommy."



Gardevoir blushed and did as he asked. How do you think your parents would react now, master? If you told them all that's happened in the past month?



"Well, let's see. Hi, mom. Yeah, I got beat by Watson, it sucked. I've got a full Pokemon team now. One of my Pokemon is my lover...my mate, in fact, bet you can guess what that involved. At least we did it in a penthouse suite instead of a bathroom stall or something. What else, what else...oh, yeah, I joined Team Aqua...oh, don't cry, mom, I'm planning to turn on them when the moment's right and wipe them out...until then I'll just use them for information and money. I'm also kind of a dad. To a cactus."



He waved his finger in front of Cacnea's face. The little Pokemon lunged at it, gumming it with his thankfully toothless maw. "Yeah, you heard me right. You're a grandmother to a cactus."



You're silly, master.



"Thank you, I try."



Slash pulled his finger free of the Pokemon's mouth with some effort, but that merely caused the infant to start to cry. He tried to soothe him with some slightly less baby-talkish assurances than his mate had used, but to no avail. Gardevoir shook her head and began rocking him gently.



Hush now, little one. It's getting late, and we need to be quiet at night.



Cacnea snuggled up in her arms, oblivious to the fact that his true mother was not the sweet girl holding him. To him, Gardevoir was his mother, and regardless of the difference in appearance, nothing could persuade him otherwise. Until he was old enough to notice the difference between himself and Gardevoir, that was unlikely to change.



"It's been less than a day and you've already turned him into a mama's boy."



Yes. You know, I'm not sure what the cost of my vision was precisely, but I am sure that he's part of it. I'm already sure that...he's affecting me a lot. He's another life for me to protect with my own.



"That sounds like it would be pretty stressful, especially after what we've gone through. But you seem to enjoy it."



She leaned against her mate's shoulder, blushing that pretty green and closing her eyes. That is my purpose, master. I'm a protector. It makes me happy to protect those that I love...you, him, the others...that is what my kind do.



"Do you think that's what the King intended when he created Miyako, or that it came later?"



I don't know. You know, I just realized something...Quiero said that hybrids were possible in the Kingdom, and that their era's Kiako was one of them...but he never told me if he and Miyako had any children. I would think that they did, because they were married for a hundred years, but it's strange that he wouldn't mention that.



Slash gave a noncommittal sound. "I wish I could have experienced it with you instead of just getting it as a memory. There are some questions that I would have wanted to ask, and...I would have wanted to see the castle with my own eyes. Although I might have slugged him when he kissed you."



Gardevoir shook her head against his shoulder. Do not begrudge him that, master. It had been a very long time since he kissed anyone.



"The Interloper. I can feel her in my head tonight. She's a lot closer to manifesting herself than she was last night...maybe Quiero's appearance has something to do with it. I think that she's going to be able to come to my void again soon...in a few days, maybe a week at most." He paused, briefly battling with his pride before continuing. "I'm a little afraid, Psymakio. I can feel how powerful she is...like you would be if you trained for another century. When she comes to me, I won't be able to stop her from doing what she wants."



If she...forces you into doing something...you know, sexual...I will understand, master. Don't resist whatever she does, even if it's something like that. We can't antagonize her before we fully understand what we're dealing with. When she comes, simply play along and try to find out as much as you can.



"You have a plan, don't you? An idea on how to stop her?"



Yes, but...it will take some time. Until I can get a read on her mental signature, I can do nothing. Once I have it, I think I'll be able to slip into your mind while she's there and hide myself. When the time is right...me and you will have to confront her. We'll have to try to tell her about what really happened...what happened to Quiero and her...and try to get her to admit it to herself. Our goal is to help her move on to the next world, not harm her.



"I understand. After...what you said and showed me earlier...I could never wish her any harm. I don't think that I would be any better if I lost you for so long. Hell, I don't think that I would be rational enough to keep my spirit stable."



The couple pressed together closer, letting their shared warmth ease the shivers that were threatening them. The other Pokemon were asleep now, resting up for tomorrow---when they would be heading back out into the blazing desert. Slash looked down at the sleeping Cacnea in his mate's arms, hoping that they would be able to travel with him without much difficulty. "He sure does sleep a lot, doesn't he?"



Babies do that, silly. It may take a few days before he gets on a regular sleeping schedule.



Slash looked out into the desert, which was just starting to settle into dusk. "I don't have much experience with Grass-types, but I know that he's not going to be able to survive on food and water alone. I'll take him out later so he can get some moonlight. I can keep my senses out for trouble. Just doing that doesn't seem to harm you, right?"



No, it doesn't. I'll go with you, though. I may not be good in a fight against those things, but I'm not leaving you alone out there. Besides, he might get scared if he's separated from mommy for that long.



Her playful smile faded as she saw her mate's eyes. What's wrong?



"...it's kind of fucked up, isn't it? The one who he believes to be his father is actually the one who...killed his mother. He's too young to understand now, but some day he's going to ask us where we found him and what the circumstances were. What will I tell him? What can I tell him?"



Maybe you could just tell him the bare minimum...that his mother died, we found her pregnant body out in the desert, and we delivered him. You don't have to mention the rest.



"No, no. I couldn't just dance around it like that. That's too much like what that bastard entity did. When he asks...I'm going to tell him the truth. Hopefully he'll understand. Maybe he'll understand how our...our kind are prone to having trouble with our restraint, being a Dark-type and all when he grows up."



Psymakio's half of the bond suddenly chilled. Yes. He will be someday, won't he?



"You don't have to be frightened. We're raising him, not just as a fellow pack member but as our son. He won't be anything like the Cacturne out there."



I know, master. It's just that...it will still be difficult.



He turned and kissed her forehead. "It's alright, my sweet little Gardie. We'll be fine."



As the sunlight disappeared from view and Gardevoir fell into a light sleep by his side, Slash threw open his dark-progging senses and maintained a silent vigil over his pack. It made him feel a bit better about what he was...and what he was becoming. Perhaps a monster slept inside of him, but if he could use that same power to grant life to others and watch over his friends...well, the allure of protecting others wasn't entirely mysterious to him anymore.



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



Traveling in the desert, even with a newborn infant in tow, was surprisingly easier than it had been their first day. With Corphish and Cacnea riding atop Graveler's broad shoulders and a few psychic shields covering everyone's soft spots, the little pack was making rather good time.



It was typically hard to see an increase in strength when one continually fought and struggled, but after the day-long rest, the difference in everyone's strength was marked and notable. Manectric in particular was vastly stronger than he had been on their first day of travel; his evolution had made his electricity strong enough to handle even the occasional resistant Cacnea that the team ran across (strangely enough, their own little cactus did not seem to recognize his wild brethren as such; to him, Gardevoir was mommy, Slash was daddy, the others were packmates, and everyone else was unfamiliar and frightening).



Slash had decided to continue his policy of 'mercy battles', only fighting strong and willing wild Pokemon, but that did not seem to lessen the amount of battling that his pack was doing. The deeper they went into the desert, the more vicious and irrational the Pokemon became. As the day heated up, they again tried to barter shelter from wild Pokemon, but to no avail; offers of food and protection were met with hostile and brutal repulsion. The pack ended up sheltering under a slim rock outcropping that only provided minimal protection from the sand and sun.



"Why don't they trust us?", Slash had asked his pack bitterly. "After our success with Sandshrew, I was hoping that we could start sowing a bit of compassion throughout the Pokemon world."



[It's too harsh for kindness and altruism out here,] Graveler replied. [The deeper we go, the more difficult the conditions are. Pokemon can't afford to let their guards down or trust others outside their immediate family or packs. Too easy to get killed.]



"It still doesn't make any sense. The vision that Gardie had showed a world where Pokemon lived a life just as civilized as the human world today...in many ways, it was better. What happened to all that advancement? Why did Pokemon go from living in harmony to eating each other?"



Quiero couldn't say, but I think it has something to do with the cost of sealing the Shadow away, Gardevoir said. I don't think it was limited to the mere physical destruction of the Kingdom...if the veil of the Shadow brings unnatural chaos and devastation wherever it falls, perhaps the price for stopping it was something similar...taking away the freedom and compassion of Pokemon and making humans...



She looked guiltily at Slash, but he nodded for her to finish. ...making humans what they've become today. Close-minded, violent, full of prejudice. At the very least it's a possibility.



[And you're sure that this vision wasn't just a dream?] Growlithe asked. [It seems too fantastic to be true. A world where Pokemon lived without killing each other...what did they eat, then? How could any carnivores survive?]



I am completely sure that it was real. There was some kind of food that I saw for sale, neither human nor Pokemon. I didn't think to ask Quiero about it. Who knows what the world was like before the Shadow appeared? Who knows how many species of Pokemon did not survive the cross-over? Perhaps there were certain non-sentient Pokemon that could be used as food...or perhaps there were some other kinds of life forms beyond the two major species groups. I don't know.



Slash rocked the small Cacnea in his arms, using his body to shield it from the wind. "I wonder if it would be possible to reverse all the bad things that have happened. If the Shadow was destroyed, who knows what would happen? I'm sure that humans are plenty capable of their own barbarisms...they certainly were before the Shadow appeared, with those Sunderer things...but I think that the Shadow had much more to do with it than we might readily think. If its influence was erased from the world..."



Corphish chittered by Graveler's side. [What is this Shadow creature supposed to be? Some sort of Pokemon, or...something else? Perhaps it's a Great One, itself.]



"Quiero referred to it as a Demon...Demons are entities of human mythology, supposedly powerful and immortal spirits capable of causing considerable destruction. In Jirachism, the Demons were wished into oblivion by Jirachi in order to protect the first humans from being wiped out."



That sounds quite a bit like the sealing of the Shadow, don't you think? Even if you don't believe in Jirachism, master, isn't it at least possible that some of their beliefs have historical roots? Perhaps Jirachi was even the Pokemon that Quiero referred to as the Greater One, the one that actually sealed the Shadow away!



Slash frowned at the idea of Jirachism having any sort of actual merit. "I really don't know, Psymakio. All of this guessing and conjecturing...it's not productive, I think. Quiero told you that another storyteller would eventually come to us and fill in most of the gaps. We should try to keep our imaginations in check."



Yes, master.



The pack settled back against the stone overhang, trying to get comfortable. A nap was out of the question; too much of the scouring wind was getting into their hiding spot, and Gardevoir couldn't make a shield large enough to cover the entire section exposed to the desert. All they could do was huddle together and rest their bodies as best as they could.



Cacnea wandered about the little circle they were making, stumbling along on stubby little legs. The pack absently played with the child whenever he came near, but for the most part everyone was stuck in their own thoughts about demons and kingdoms and the constant, annoying sting of the sand. That is, until Cacnea suddenly cried out in surprise and fell on his back. Gardevoir jumped up and reached for him, as the little one had trouble getting himself upright after falling.



Oh, honey, are you all right? You need to be careful, even if the sand is soft! You could fall and hit your head on something hard!



"Um...Gardie?"



Yes, master?



"What is that?"



She looked up and followed the direction of Slash's gaze. Out in the desert, about a hundred yards away and partially obscured by the sandstorm, was a large tower of sandstone rising into the drab sky. It had certainly not been there before; she would have sensed it or the others would have seen it. She progged it, her expression becoming unreadable as she got the results.



I don't know what it is, but...someone is inside of it, master. A human and a Pokemon...a Psychic type of considerable strength.



"Why didn't we sense it appearing? Where the fuck did it come from?"



I...I don't know. It feels very old. Very...magical. Whatever it is, it was made by something of incredible power.



Slash climbed to his feet, making sure that his sheathed knife was in easy reach. "Well, in that case, we need to check it out. If there's really a trainer inside, perhaps he needs some help...or perhaps he could even help us. Anyone capable of getting this far in the desert has to be tough."



He motioned for the Pokemon to follow him. The pack crossed the short stretch of open desert, making sure to keep an eye on the rocky cliff that served as their only navigational reference. If they lost sight of it, they would be in deep trouble, regardless of how much stronger they'd become.



As they approached the tower, its details became more clear. The sandstone was etched all over with some sort of unfamiliar markings...an alphabet of some sort, perhaps. Unlike the writing on the relic, neither Slash nor Gardevoir could read them. The carvings were faded, almost eroded away into nothingness. The entrance into the tower was narrow, but sufficiently large for everyone to enter.



"Do you sense anything else, Gardie?"



No, master. I'm still picking up the trainer's presence along with the Pokemon's. I sense no wild creatures inside, and I can sense nothing out of the ordinary beyond the tower itself. What about you?



"I'm not picking up anything Dark-natured. Let's just go in and take a look. Graveler, hang on to Cacnea...I want Gardie's hands free in case there's trouble."



[Got it.]



Slash considered putting Cacnea in a Pokeball, but decided against it. He was too young to understand the concept, and while Slash could turn on mental stasis to keep him from perceiving time while inside, the disorientation and shock at being withdrawn and freed would still likely scare him half to death. The trainer would only pocket Cacnea if there was no other choice.



The pack walked through the door one at a time and found themselves in a quiet, dusty lobby-like area. The beginning of a spiraling set of stairs was visible in the back of the room, but other than that the chamber was completely empty. There were gaps in the dust and depressions in the sand that suggested that more might have been here once, but whatever those items were, they were long gone now.



Master. Over there.



Gardevoir pointed at the wall on either side of the doorway. Long grooves were wildly cut into the sandstone, some streaked with some sort of brownish paint. Or possibly...



"Blood. Those are fingernail marks. Someone was in here and wanted to get out, but couldn't. The marks look human. I don't think they all belong to the same person."



Yes, I sense that, too. Maybe other people have been here long before we were, but I don't know why they couldn't just leave through the door.



"I'm not liking this. Maybe we should get out of here."



Before anyone could reply, the soft sounds of footsteps came echoing from the staircase. The pack took defensive positions; the last time they heard unfamiliar footsteps during a frightening situation, they had seen three men die and Slash electrocuted into unconsciousness. Cacnea fell silent, apparently aware of the tenseness in the chamber. A voice came calling from the stairs, strong and masculine, neutral in tone.



"Whoever is down there, there is no need to be alarmed. We mean you no harm."



"Alright," Slash replied. "Everyone, ease up a bit. I don't want to start a fight with someone in the middle of the desert, especially not someone capable of making it this far into it."



The owner of the voice came down the stairs a moment later, followed by a Pokemon. The man was tall and athletic, perhaps in his thirties, with long red hair and piercing red eyes. Slash tensed at the sight of them; while they lacked the faint glow of Kiako's eyes, it was still apparent that they were not natural. He progged the man, but nothing seemed amiss---as far as he could tell, this guy was pure human.



The Pokemon following him was a Medicham, physically impressive and filled with potent psychic power. While it may have been his Kaishakunin, it was clearly not his only Pokemon; a belt full of Pokeballs rested on the trainer's hips.



The pair stopped at the foot of the stairs, standing casually. Slash relaxed his guard a bit; Psymakio didn't feel any ill intentions coming from the man, and neither did he.



"Sorry if we startled you. We came into this tower looking for something, but...it phases in and out of existence. We were trapped inside during one of its shifts. It appears that it's coherent again, excellent." The red-haired man looked over Slash a bit more carefully. "Black hair...a Gardevoir...I wonder if you could be...hm."



Slash's eyes widened slightly. "Who are you? And who do you think I am?"



The man gazed at him for a few moments longer before responding. "My name is Silver. This is my Kaishakunin, Medicham. Would I be correct in believing that you are the one Kiako Sensiari is interested in?"



Gardevoir took a step closer to her mate, letting her psychic energy swirl visibly around her body. Medicham did not flinch, but neither did he power up in reply. He either did not consider her a threat or did not intend to fight. Slash kept an eye on the Pokemon nonetheless, ready to order his team to action at a moment's notice.



"I may be. I crossed paths with that bastard in Slateport. He nearly killed me."



Silver nodded. "So you are him. Firestorm. Judging from your presence in the desert, you must be chasing after him...or racing him to something...or both. Which is it?"



"I do not know who you are. Why should I trust someone who knows about me before we've ever met?"



"Good point. Forgive me. I learned of your name when I was...how shall I say it...borrowing some information from the Rocket computer mainframe. Your name came up on their potential enemy list, along with the information that you have a particularly gifted Pokemon." Silver looked the team over. "Funny, they had you ranked as a class four trainer, but you must be class six, at the least. They don't make mistakes, so for you to have gotten so much stronger since they came across you...perhaps your Gardevoir is indeed the one that the Rockets are looking for."



Slash looked at the man's eyes, trying to determine if he was deceiving him or not. There was no deception in his expression. "The Rockets? You can't mean Team Rocket. They were wiped out before I was born. And even at their peak, they never expanded into Hoenn."



Silver smiled humorlessly. "You heard wrong, then. Team Rocket was indeed nearly destroyed twenty years ago...I am the one who nearly destroyed them."



"You would have had to be a teenager then. Not much older than myself, if not a little younger."



"I was only thirteen when I attacked them. The fact that I was so young and inexperienced is why I failed to fully annihilate the organization. Not to mention that I had certain...special advantages that allowed me to breach their ranks before being discovered."



"What kind of special advantages?"



"I am the son of Giovanni, leader of the Rockets."



Slash breathed an expression of surprise while Gardevoir and the other Pokemon looked at him curiously. They did not know anything of Team Rocket's history, or its reputation---a reputation that made Aqua and Magma seem paltry in comparison (Giovanni's reputation was particularly frightening). Slash turned to them and tried to explain. "Team Rocket was a huge crime syndicate that was based in Kanto about twenty years ago. They had nearly conquered all of Kanto at one point, and expanded so deeply into Johto that the police force was practically helpless against them."



"Thousands of people died over the years trying to fight them," Silver added. "Thousands of innocent bystanders, as well. Their crimes were vast and diverse, ranging from low-key to catastrophic...drug smuggling, illegal export of rare and endangered Pokemon, even barbaric and twisted experiments on both humans and Pokemon that left a trail of mangled and mutilated monstrosities in their wake. My father was behind it all."



"Why did you turn on them?" Slash asked. "There's almost no information on their collapse other than that it was an internal affair."



"Giovanni was not a very good father, as you might imagine. He cared far more about his work than his family. Eventually he got caught up in some major project, something that occupied his thoughts constantly...he neglected my mother to the point that she committed suicide. My father barely noticed and did not care at all. I ran away shortly after, gathering a team of Pokemon and training in solitude until I became powerful enough to truly oppose the Rockets."



"And what happened?"



"When I returned, I learned what had transpired over the three years that I was away. My father's obsessive creation had rebelled against him and fled. Despite their best efforts, Rocket could not locate and re-capture it. So Giovanni had begun the experiments again, hoping to make something of similar strength to replace it. I could not stand by and allow him to commit his vile crimes and create more monsters. I used my knowledge of their inner workings to infiltrate their operations and wipe them out one group at a time. At the end, me and my father fought in a battle that completely destroyed their former headquarters. Despite being the victor of our fight, my father was forced to flee afterwards and the organization was, at least apparently, destroyed."



Slash frowned. "But they somehow rebuilt?"



"They weren't ever really crippled, just...beat up. Their operations actually did stretch into Hoenn, and still do, although those bases and laboratories were low-key to start with, and became completely shadowed after my assault. The scattered remnants that survived went underground, continuing their vile work while Giovanni gathered his forces and began re-weaving Rocket. However, their actual forces were...weak. Their best agents and strongest Pokemon had been lost during the crash, and all that were left were the lower-class trainers. Bumbling fools, for the most part. Thus, while Rocket had gone so far underground that they were nearly impossible to track, I was able to keep my eyes open and keep their forces in check whenever they made a mistake and surfaced. Compared to the old days, the organization was not much of a threat. But...all of that changed three years ago, when Kiako Sensiari joined Giovanni."



"Do you have any idea where Kiako came from?"



"No, but I have reason to suspect that he may have been born of one of the Rocket laboratories that I missed. He certainly exhibits traits that are common in many of their failed experiments...and many of their successful ones. In any case, he and Giovanni began what is referred to as the Rocket Purge, where all of the weaker agents were hunted down and killed, leaving an organization that was infinitely more efficient, despite being much, much smaller. And that organization is after you, Slash."



Gardevoir whimpered and gripped her trainer's arm. Slash himself felt little surprise. Kiako had shown a strange interest in his mate, and it only made sense that he would come after her eventually. Still, he had to be sure. "And why precisely do they want me, Silver?"



"It would be more correct to say that they want her," the red-haired man replied, pointing at Gardevoir. "You know that Kiako is hunting for the final Pearl, I assume?"



"Yes."



"Part of the same prophesy that they are working to fulfill requires a...special Gardevoir to be present when they locate the King's Tomb. What they need her for, I am not sure, but she is as important to them as the Pearls are."



Slash's blood ran cold. "Then why has Kiako and the other Rockets left me alone? My previous encounters with Kiako were purely chance."



"They're not sure if she's the one they're looking for, but considering how quickly she and the rest of your team has grown in power...it is very likely that she is. In any case, she wouldn't be needed for a while...they still need to find the Sky Pearl, locate the Princes, and find the Tomb. I believe that she would be needed to unlock whatever power lies sleeping there. Thus, you have been protected only due to the fact that they're not sure of their assumptions and that they're quite far from that point in their plans."



Master...



I won't let anyone take you from me, Psymakio. Especially not Kiako, and especially not after what you told me about his previous incarnation's obsession. Never.



"Silver, you sure seem to be trusting me with a lot of information, considering that we just met."



The red-haired man smiled. "Well, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, as it goes. I've been fighting against Rocket alone for so long that I could use some allies, even if they've got a lot of training to do before they're anywhere near my caliber."



Slash couldn't restrain a glare at that. "I may be young, but so were you when you crashed Team Rocket."



"That was a long time ago, Slash, and I failed to destroy them, as I told you. There are less than one hundred agents currently active in the organization, but even the weakest of them would be more than capable of obliterating your entire team with ease. As I said before, I believe you to be what they would consider a class six trainer...a very capable trainer, to be sure, but...well, for comparison, Archie, the leader of Team Aqua, is rated as class seven. Your friend Watson is rated as class eight; the current Pokemon League Champion is rated as class fourteen. I, myself, am also rated class fourteen. Now, the average Rocket agent is class fourteen as well, but Kiako Sensiari is rated as class seventeen; only Giovanni is considered to be a more powerful trainer than he. Quite frankly, they're out of your league."



The dark heart inside Slash seemed to briefly glow with black light. "Are you calling me weak, Silver?"



"I am merely stating the fact that you stand no chance against any of their agents, let alone the man that you seem to have set your sights on. You have already grown much stronger through your travels in the desert, and you will be even more so by the time you're out, but...Slash, you are nowhere near ready to fight Kiako or his allies. You may stand a chance against the Aquas, but not the Rockets, not by a long shot."



Silver looked towards his Kaishakunin and nodded. "Watch and learn."



Medicham suddenly switched from a casual stance to full-on battle pose, muscles bulging and psychic energy roaring around him. Gardevoir! Defend yourself!



He lunged at her before she could reply, striking so fast that she could not track the blows. The first punch struck her in the upper arm, instantly fracturing it. Medicham dropped and swung a kick that swept her off her feet, sending her ass-first to the hard stone floor of the tower lobby. She tried to roll out of the way, but the Pokemon dropped a foot down to the middle of her chest, nearly stopping her heart with the force applied to her sternum. Slash pulled his knife and began to advance on Silver, but the red-haired man raised a hand and motioned for him to stay where he was.



"She'll be okay, Slash, I promise. But you need to see this."



Gardevoir managed to swing her good arm up at her attacker, blasting at the tougher Pokemon with a flurry of Thunderbolt that was too close-range for Manectric's abilities to influence. Medicham simply blocked it with one psychic-coated arm, deflecting the potent electricity towards the thunder runner, and punched the overwhelmed girl with a fiery fist, burning a hole in her clothing and sending her crashing into the coarse wall of the chamber. She lay motionless, passed out and bleeding from a dozen shallow cuts. The 'fight' had only lasted a few seconds.



Slash ran at Silver with knife raised, but Medicham stopped the enraged trainer with his psychokinesis. Cacnea wailed in fear at seeing his mother beaten down, crying tears onto a barely-restrained Graveler. The other Pokemon growled menacingly at Silver, but he was unimpressed.



"Let me go! I'll kill you, you bastard!"



"I told you that she would be fine. Just wait." He shook his head disapprovingly. "You must learn patience, Slash, if you ever want to stand against Rocket."



Silver pulled a hypo from his pack and filled it from a small vial of some red-tinted and evil-looking liquid. He began to walk towards Gardevoir's slumped form. "It's the good stuff," he explained as he knelt by her side and injected the syringe into her arm. "The stuff most trainers couldn't afford a single vial of with a whole month's winnings. You won't find this stuff outside of the best hospitals in Kanto."



Slash watched in awe as the bleeding gashes on Gardevoir's pale skin instantly closed up. Her broken arm pulled back together and re-knitted itself like a magic trick. His rage dissipated as his mate's eyes fluttered open, confused and disoriented. Cacnea stopped crying and quietly watched his mother come back to consciousness.



Master? What...what just happened?



Medicham released the trainer so he could run to his Kaishakunin's side. He helped her to her feet and resisted the urge to cover her face in kisses. "You...kinda got thrashed, Gardevoir. That Pokemon took you down effortlessly."



...I think I remember. He was like a blur of red and white...I couldn't sense his movements or overcome his progging.



Silver nodded, almost as though he could hear Gardevoir's telepathy. "My Medicham has faced Kiako's Aggron before and lost, despite the type advantage. Now do you see, Slash? You are nowhere near Kiako's caliber. To confront him would be to commit suicide."



"I...I do understand. That demonstration made it clear. But we have no choice. I cannot let him take my friend...and we cannot let him obtain the final Pearl or the power that it will lead to."



"What do you know about what they're after?"



Slash and Gardevoir shared a conspiratory glance. "We're not totally sure, but...we have an idea. All I can tell you is that he must be stopped at all costs. If there's any chance of defeating Kiako, or any chance of obtaining the Pearl before he does and destroying it somehow---"



"The Pearls are indestructible."



"To the best of our knowledge they are, but there may still be a way. He and the Rockets cannot be allowed to obtain their goal. They must be stopped at all costs."



Silver sighed and nodded in acknowledgment. "On that we can agree, and I understand that you do not trust me enough to tell me all that you know. After that little...demonstration...I cannot say that I blame you. I hope that your mistrust will fade in time, though...the more information that I have, the better able I am to disrupt their plans."



The tower suddenly pulsed around them, sand and dust sifting from the roof in showers. "We must go now. It's about to phase again, and I'm not sure that it phases regularly. It could be a few minutes or a few years before it shifts again. You see the finger marks?"



"Yeah. Let's go, guys."



The two groups briskly walked through the door and back out into the desert's baking heat. A few moments later, the tower began to shimmer as though it were a mirage...and then it disappeared into thin air, leaving nothing but a footprint of disturbed sand behind.



"What were you looking for in there, Silver?" Slash asked.



"The Sky Pearl. I had reason to believe that it was in there, but...apparently my lead was incorrect. All that was up there was a few scraps of cloth and some empty chests of treasure, all very old. Maybe even as old as the Pearls themselves."



Do you think the tower was something left behind by the Kingdom, master?



I don't know, but it's very powerful stuff. The background energy of this place is ancient and full of magic...I can't read any of it.



Maybe it has something to do with the voice I heard earlier. It called out for Miyako when it heard me.



Slash shook his head. Perhaps, but we can't go back now. If there's something to find here, we'll be drawn back to it eventually. At least...I hope that we will.



Silver reached for a Pokeball and released a large Dragonite. Slash and his pack stepped back in awe at the huge creature. The red-haired man was clearly in another class than they were, and his possession of such a rare and powerful Pokemon only reinforced that knowledge. He turned to the pack, long hair fluttering in the wind.



"I have to go now, Slash. I have other leads that I need to investigate. I will leave it to you to investigate the disturbance in the north...we'll be heading south and checking out some other...mystical locations. We'll cross paths again, I'm sure...as long as you don't do anything stupid and get yourselves killed."



Slash did not feel the need to inform him that it was too late for that.



Silver extended his hand towards Slash. Despite the screams of his dark heart, the black-haired boy took it. "We won't get killed. There's still a lot of work that needs to be done, and besides...my pack has a little one to look after now."



The older man nodded in understanding. Medicham looked to Gardevoir with tightly-restrained fierceness, speaking in a tone that lacked the sting that his punches possessed. We shall battle again, child. Perhaps next time you'll be able to keep up.



She didn't reply as the Pokemon gripped his trainer's arm and teleported themselves atop the dragon. "Until next time, Slash."



Dragonite flapped its wings, stirring the sand and dust around the pack in a mini-tornado, and took to the skies. As Slash and the others exchanged a few words and began heading north once again, Medicham sighed and looked to his master.



They were mates. I could feel the bond as clear as day. She's the one, all right.



"I thought as much."



You don't have a problem with their...unique relationship?



Silver grinned as his mount broke through the top of the sandstorm and into the blue skies. The looming, poison-spewing volcano was finally falling behind them. "Why should I? Those two are going to need all the closeness they can get if they want to stand a chance against Rocket. Besides, what they're doing is a hell of a lot more natural than the abominable forced-hybrids that Giovanni tries to pump out."



Indeed.



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



Slash's pack found shelter before nightfall, and though it was smaller than the cave they'd spent their first two nights in, it was adequate. A small group of a half-dozen Cacturne attacked around midnight, but this time the pack was able to repel them with relative ease. Slash had no need to use any of his dark abilities to stop them.



But the Dark Core beckoned to him nonetheless.



They picked up their journey the next morning, well-rested and feeling a bit more confident about their chances of making it out of the sandy hell they were stuck in. The rest of the day, and the next two days that followed, passed without major incident.



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



On their seventh day in the desert, Gardevoir detected something unusual in the winds around noon, right around the time that the pack typically sheltered against the worst of the heat and sunlight.



Master, do you hear that? That...buzzing sound. It's audible and telepathic.



Slash extended his senses and listened. Sure enough, a moment later he heard something that sounded like a hum, almost like..."Music. It sounds like music. What the hell is it, though?"



[Look!]



Everyone looked in the direction of Graveler's arm. In the distance, just far enough to be difficult to see, was a winged, sand-veiled shape that hovered in the heated air.



[What is it?]



Gardevoir progged it a bit more carefully. She didn't reply to Graveler, but instead picked Cacnea off of his rocky head and into her arms. Master, come on! It's the end! The end of the desert!



She began running off in the direction of the creature, her and Cacnea laughing as they did so. Slash immediately followed, more out of concern for his mate than understanding just what the hell she was talking about. After a moment's hesitation, the rest of the pack followed suit.



The hum grew louder, but as the pack neared the shape, it moved forward, always staying just outside of clear viewing range. After a minute or so of running, the pack noticed something large and solid up ahead, and both human and Pokemon broke into cheers when they figured out what it was.



It was the northern wall of the desert basin. It ran perpendicular to the cliffside that they'd followed throughout the desert, eventually coming together in a long, narrow rift that connected the basin with the outside world.



The exit.



The shape suddenly flew upwards, far faster than it had been before. As it disappeared from view, Slash and Gardevoir turned to each other, turned off their protective shields, and shared a loving kiss while they still could, away from the prying eyes of civilization. Despite the physical trials, the distressing visions, the addictive and destructive allures of darkness, and the increasingly-powerful presence of the Interloper, they had made it through the desert. It had only taken a week, but all of them felt much, much older.



They were finally out.



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



To be continued.