Honor Among Thieves

[PsiUmbreon]

Yeah, this is my first (and only) serious fic I have ever written. It takes place in a region I made up in the Pokemon world, with some Pokemon that I made up, and some that are real. The human characters are mostly all made up. But anyway just read and review it. I take criticism well so long as it's constructive.

Honor Among Thieves

Chapter 1: The Remorseless Criminal

The sun had set on the dirty, criminal-riddled slums of Murdock. The streets were mostly quiet, with a couple of cars occasionally flying past the dimly lit roads. Nocturnal Pokemon, such as Virat, could be seen pawing through the dumpsters. An atmosphere of fear settled over the town at night. During the day, the streets are fairly crowded. However, at the first sign of sunset, most people scurried home like rabbits.

This was the perfect time for Vyle, a common thief, to prowl the alleys, looking for his next victim. Vyle was short and skinny, and wore a tattered black robe, with a hood on it that covered his face. He crept along the darkest alleys, his robe making him nearly invisible. Vyle wasn’t a person that even wanted to be seen anyway.

Tonight, Vyle was on the hunt, like a hungry lone wolf. Having lived on the streets since childhood, he was an expert on survival. The only way for him to survive, besides pawing through rotting garbage looking for food, was to steal. And Vyle was built for it. Being fairly small and always cloaked in the color of shadows, and having small, nimble fingers, he was a natural thief.

Vyle was growing impatient at not finding any targets. These days, less people dared set out on foot at night. That’s when suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from a sidewalk nearby. Vyle knew the intricate maze of alleys and streets of Murdock by heart. He silently made his way into an alley near the source of the footsteps. An older woman was walking hastily, her high heels clicking against the sidewalk loudly. And she didn’t even appear to be carrying any Pokemon. A perfect target for Vyle. He crouched down low, and then as the lady passed by, he sprung into action. He leapt from the shadows, yanking the small red purse she was carrying right out of her hands. The force of Vyle snatching the purse right from her had caused her to fall right on her back. She screamed, and looked over to where Vyle had come from. But she could only see a cloaked figure darting away, the robe trailing him like the wind.

For the old lady, this will undoubtedly be a traumatic experience. But for Vyle, this was just another day’s work, and the reward was a purseful of cash, and possibly some IDs that he could pawn off on the black market. He made sure to run until he was several blocks away, then in a nearby, dimly lit alley, he began to dig through the woman’s belongings. He tossed random items from the purse onto the street. “Let’s see… make-up, some papers… aah here we go…” he muttered to himself. He pulls out a brown wallet and immediately looks through it. “What?! Where’s the cash? Credit cards? Anything?!” he thought. The only thing he could find in the wallet was a few small coins, a library card, and a picture of that woman with what seemed to be her family. He pocketed the coins, then cast the rest of the stuff onto the street. The picture fell to the ground like a feather, then landed in a puddle of water, smiling faces peering straight into the sky.

For Vyle, this was a huge disappointment. He waited half the night looking for someone, only to find 67 measly Pokecents. Not even close to enough to buy him his next meal, even. Vyle then proceeded home, his home being a large cardboard box in a small, dark corner between two towering, dingy apartment buildings. He sat in the box, atop a couple of old, dirty sheets, remaining very much alert. Vyle dared not sleep until sunrise, for he knew that there were others like him out there prowling, who would take the first chance to prey on a sleeping target. Hours passed, then at the first sign of the sun’s rays, Vyle closed his eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

As daylight appeared, the city sprung to life. Cars filled the streets, and people filled the sidewalks and outdoor cafes. The city teemed with life, for the most part unaware of the events of last night. But in the narrow space where Vyle slept, there was barely a ray of sunshine. No living creature stirred nearby, except for the occasional curious stray Persian or Virat.

Then, as darkness fell, and most had emptied the streets, like clockwork Vyle sprang up. He knew that if he slept much longer, it would be unsafe. He also wanted to get to the convenience store to spend his “earnings.” Vyle very much doubted he would be able to get anything at all with last night’s slim pickings, but he was hungry.

As he neared the store, he opened his robe and took off his hood to reveal a more normal, innocent look. He had on an old flannel shirt and some tattered jeans. His face was unshaven, and had unevenly cut hair and sparkling blue eyes. He walked into the store, and the few people that were in the store didn’t notice him at all. It was near closing time, so the store was nearly deserted. Even the convenience stores in Murdock were locked tight past a certain hour out of fear of being robbed. Vyle shopped around casually, ironically not stealing anything, since he knew that security cameras were everywhere, watching his every move. He was uncomfortable with that thought, so he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. He grabbed a small bag of chips, then took out his old water bottle from his side pocket of his robe and fills it up with the water fountain in the back of the store. Vyle knew that water was important to survival, and clean water was hard to find on the streets. He pocketed the full water bottle, then proceeded to the front of the store. The convenience store clerk was a tall and muscular man who looked like he meant business. Vyle placed the bag of chips on the counter, then pulled out every bit of spare change he could muster. “That all?” the clerk said in a gruff, unfriendly voice. Vyle simply nodded. He was lucky that he had exactly enough change to at least buy something for the night. He left the store, then covered up with his robe again.

Vyle returned to the dark labyrinth of the city. He was out of money, and knew he needed to hunt again. He didn’t dare hunt in the same area twice in a row, for he knew the town’s police department could catch him. Though the police department of the city was seemingly nonexistent, Vyle had witnessed a few others being captured before. He knew not to underestimate the predators of his kind.

Two hours passed, and Vyle saw no one. Vyle was growing weary and impatient. Suddenly, the silence of the city was shattered by an ear-piercing scream. Out of curiosity and boredom, Vyle ran towards the source. He pressed against a wall with his back, then peered past the corner of the dark alley. He saw three figures, dressed heavily in white robes. The figures appeared to be surrounding someone else.

“Give us the Pokemon NOW!” one of the figures demanded.

“Your Pokemon is evil. It needs to be purged!” announced the second figure.

“NO! Leave my Eevee alone!” shouted a voice that sounded like a little girl’s.

“Do not stand in our way. The will of Team Judgment is beyond your comprehension, little girl.” The third figure declared.

The figures began to advance on the child, despite her pleas for help. Ear shattering screams could be heard.

Vyle had been watching the incident unfold, silently and attentively. He could not believe what he had seen. For the first time ever, Vyle felt something he had never felt before- pity for the small child.

Instinctively Vyle sprang into action. He knew not what he was doing. With silent footsteps he dashed towards the cloaked men from behind. As hard as he could, he rammed one of the figures, knocking him down. He then punched the second figure directly in the face. His knee then met up with the belly of the third white-cloaked figure. He then grabbed the girl and the Pokemon in his arms, then darted into the shadows, his cloak trailing behind him. “What… do… you… think you’re doing?!” one of the figures shouted, obviously in pain. The men staggered to their feet, then give chase. However, Vyle effortlessly shook the pursuers off in the labyrinth of alleyways.

Vyle headed for the nearest building that he knew would still be open-the Pokemon Center. The girl was silent throughout the short trip, but her Pokemon occasionally cried out, “Vee! Eevee!”

As soon as he arrived at the steps of the Pokemon center, he put the girl down and handed her the Eevee. Police sirens blared in the background. The girl said, in an innocent voice, “Thank you for saving me!” but Vyle had already vanished into the shadows.

[darktyranitar]

Hm, a thief that steals without the help of Pokemon, huh? Looking on the ending there, I don't think the future for Vyle looks too good there, especially after messing with this Team Judgement. Hm, Team Judgement... Spanish Inquisition, anyone? ^^ This should be interesting; what Pokemon will be the 'witches', I wonder?

One thing, though. While there weren't any major grammatical errors or typoes, I find that the fic is lacking of... something. Like the transition between Vyle waiting in the backalley and girl's screaming, for example. Maybe try adding some more description, for example?

Oh, and you might want to add some more description of the made up Pokemon and region in the future. But seeing this is the first chapter, I can understand the lack of their descriptions. Just don't neglect it, k?

Good start, anyway; hope to see more of this. Oh, and welcome to TPM! (and fanfiction ) Hope you'll enjoy your stay here - and post more fics here ^^

[Sike Saner]

Ah, I certainly remember this story. ^^

I always did like this chapter. Pretty original and interesting setting for a prologue; this story starts out in a way that I don't think I've ever seen another Pokémon fic start. Plus, it provides a nice introduction to Vyle as a character, as well as a pretty nice introduction for Team Judgment, too.

Other stuff I liked:

The picture fell to the ground like a feather, then landed in a puddle of water, smiling faces peering straight into the sky.

Nice imagery, and nicely worded, too. ^^

Though the police department of the city was seemingly nonexistent, Vyle had witnessed a few others being captured before. He knew not to underestimate the predators of his kind.

I like that choice of words, too. ^^

I look forward to reading through this again, and will be back for the next chapter. ^^

[PsiUmbreon]

As promised... here it is! I'm surprised I had time for this, with school and Emerald coming out and all...

Chapter 2
Shadows of Light

Vyle was standing in what looked like the middle of nowhere: an empty plain stretching to the horizon in all directions. The sky was tinted with the shades of sunset, although no sun was visible. Wind howled, softly but chillingly all around him. Alone in this vast emptiness, Vyle actually felt an eerie tinge of fear. He walked in one direction for a bit, hoping to see something beyond the horizon, to no avail. He stopped, and out of desperation, cried “HELLO!” No response.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, something moved. It appeared to be… a shadow. As soon as Vyle turned, three more shadows appeared on the ground, all shaped human and wearing robes. The shadows began to circle him. Vyle felt helpless as more shadows appeared and begin to enclose him in their deadly circle. When he was completely surrounded, the shadows rose from the ground, and completely engulfed the helpless Vyle in pitch-black darkness.

Vyle opened his eyes wide, and sprang up with the agility of a Jolteon. It was early evening, but a few minutes before Vyle would ordinarily have woken up. Normally his sleep was the way he preferred it- dreamless. But occasionally, horrifying visions appeared in his sleep. He thought nothing of them, and went on with nightly prowling as usual. Tonight was no different. His mind zeroed in automatically on the next thing he needed-a new victim.

Tonight, Vyle did not have to wait long. He spotted a happy young couple, chatting merrily without a care in the world. As usual, Vyle quickly found the best ambush point. He scanned his targets with his mind. The woman, he knew was no problem. The man, however, looked like he could take Vyle out if they were pitted against each other in a one-on-one fight. He also looked like he had a couple of Pokémon on him.

Of course, this was not enough to stop Vyle. He relied on speed, and the element on surprise rather than strength. He already had a plan to get that backpack off the man’s back. Vyle carried a small knife around him for protection, and for times like this. He was fast enough to cut the straps with a clean sweep of his knife. Then, fast as lightning, he would trip both of his targets, giving him enough time to slip back into the shadows unseen.

As the time to strike neared, Vyle got anxious and began to tremble. “This is a standard operation! This should be as easy as pie; why am I so tense?” He thought. He braced himself anyway. When the precise moment to strike came, Vyle froze up and hesitated. The memory of the night before passed through his head. He remembered the sheer ruthlessness of Team Judgment, and the helplessness of the little girl. He was paralyzed by his memories, and as a result the couple simply passed by, unaware of their sinister stalker.

Vyle could not understand what was going on. He had done this hundreds of times before. “What is so hard about this?” He thought. After a few seconds of pondering to himself, he got up and resumed his hunt. But Vyle could not concentrate. He wandered the alleys aimlessly, haunted by his own thoughts. The memories of last night crossed his mind over and over.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something terrifying-a figure, dressed heavily in a white cloak and wearing a hood. This startled Vyle, and he ran full speed down another alley. Vyle stopped a few blocks later, exhausted from running. As soon as he stopped, a spotlight shined on Vyle from above, blinding him. A helicopter could be heard from above. Ropes descended from the chopper as four figures cloaked in white slid down. A voice could be heard, sounding as though it came from a loudspeaker:

“Vyle: for your actions against Team Judgment, and your lifestyle of unholy sin, you shall be purged!”

Vyle made a run for it as soon as he heard this, darting into the safety of darkness. The figures touched ground, their shoes clicking on the ground, and immediately gave chase. The spotlight from the helicopter followed him, keeping his dark figure illuminated. Vyle knew the alleys by heart and immediately thought of a plan to elude his strange pursuers. He headed for the industrial section of Murdock, where there were places the light of the sun never reached. The spotlight followed his every move as he traversed the labyrinth of dark passages.

Vyle reached a crossroads in the alleys. He had a daring plan to shake off that light. He turned down one of the three other branches of the crossroads, then rolled out of the spotlight and continued hastily down another of the paths. It had worked, as the spotlight shined on him no longer. He was shrouded in darkness once again, barely visible, and still dashing.

But Vyle had not escaped the enemy at all. Three white figures descended from above, blocking his path. Vyle turned on a divergent alley and dashed. Random old newspapers fluttered in the wind created by his speed. The spotlight soon found its way back to Vyle, chasing away the darkness that cloaked him. There were now seven of those strange figures tailing him.

Vyle had reached another crossroads. This time, however, white figures descended from above, blocking off each path, leaving Vyle boxed in. But Vyle was not going to give up that easily. He rammed one of the figures, knocking them clear into the brick wall of the building bordering the alley. Vyle continued down that path, darting past discarded boxes, with the spotlight still following his every move.

At this point Vyle’s exhaustion was beginning to show. He had slowed his normally lightning pace considerably. The 10 or so figures on his tail began to gain on him. His vision began to blur, and he had also began to feel light headed and out of breath. He still continued onward despite his fatigue, running on sheer will. He shut out the pain of exhaustion and focused on the path before him.

Vyle reached a wide street lined with factories. He knew he had reached the industrial area. Here, there were many abandoned warehouses to hide in. However, it seemed like Team Judgment were on to him. They seemed to know his every move. A van appeared in his path, careening towards him, its headlights blinding him further. Vyle had no choice but to leap into a nearby alley. Unfortunately for Vyle, a towering fence lined with barbed wire at the top blocked off this alley. The van rolled in front of the alley. The back doors opened, and at least four more figures hopped out. They pulled out flashlights and shined them directly at his face. Light shone on him from several sources. Vyle nearly collapsed, dizzy with fatigue. The figure in front spoke in a deep, booming voice:

“Fool! You cannot escape! The light of Team Judgment shines upon you.”

“Prepare to be judged!” spoke a second, more feminine voice.

The three figures in front reached for something at their waists-their belts, which had two or three Poké Balls attached. Each one grabbed one of their Poké Balls, then commanded in unison, “Sparquartz, use Light Arrow NOW!” They released their Pokémon. Three obelisk-shaped crystalline Pokémon appeared in front, about knee high, with two small eyes near the top. Their quartz bodies glistened in the light. The Pokémon then each began to glow, and began to charge energy. Glowing white spheres appeared in front of them. Vyle knew he was done for.

“Eevee, Quick Attack!” Vyle heard a familiar young voice in his fatigue. A brown blur then streaked in front of the Sparquartz, knocking them over. It then dashed through the legs of each Team Judgment member, causing them to trip up. Vyle was dumbfounded and did not move for a split second. The voice called out to him, “C’mon!” Without thinking, Vyle headed towards the direction of the voice. He hopped over the stumbling figures as they barely were getting back to their feet. “In here!” the voice shouted, coming from a partially opened manhole in the middle of the street. Vyle slithered into the darkness and closed the manhole cover behind him. Voices could be heard from above:

“You will never escape the light of the holy Team Judgment!”

“The light of Team Judgment will forever shine upon you, casting its revealing light upon your life of sin!”

[Sike Saner]

Wow, that was certainly one freaky dream that Vyle had there at the beginning. o.o

Also freaky: The lengths Team Judgment will go to deal with those who live a "life of sin". Those guys are frelling scary. o_o; The scene with their helicopter chasing Vyle was cool, nice and intense. ^^

And yay for the appearance of Sparquartz! Cool Pokémon, that. ^^

[MeLoVeGhOsTs]

I'm getting into it, but I want to read more. It looks promising. Team judgement, the teams are a cliché, but I can live with that, I'm interested in their goals and such. I wonder if the main character will get any pokemon and many more.

Keep writing, and I'll keep reading.

I'm also hoping on somewhat longer chapters ^^

[PsiUmbreon]

You want longer chapters? You got it. Well... this chapter isn't that long but it's longer than the first two. Just wait until you get to the end. The chapters get really long.

Chapter 3
The Underground

Vyle descended into the darkness of the sewer system. He landed on his feet in a puddle of water. The splash echoed throughout the cavernous sewer. He noticed a dank, slightly foul smell in the air. The sewers were an unfamiliar territory to Vyle, but at least he was safe from his mysterious pursuers.

Vyle thought to himself, “Was that…? That voice, could it have been…”

Suddenly, Vyle heard that voice again, shouting festively, “Heya Vyle!” It was the little girl from the night before. She was wearing a pink sweater and what looked like a dark-colored skirt, but Vyle could not tell since it was pretty dark around there. The girl ran up to Vyle and hugged him, her head barely reaching up to Vyle’s waist.

Vyle was stunned. It had been many years since Vyle had been spoken to cheerfully, much less hugged. However, he suddenly became afraid as his childhood memories came flooding back to him. Vyle tensed up and a hateful feeling welled up inside of him. He hissed at the girl, “GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!” He brushed the girl off and darted away into the unknown darkness of the sewers, his footsteps echoing behind him.

But Vyle could not get too far. His vision was blurring, and everything appeared to spin around him. His stamina had already been pushed to its limit. Yet out of fear he continued down the path. Beams of light from streetlamps shone through the manhole covers above. Pipes lined the ceiling, and puddles glistened in the light from above. All of this was spinning around, twirling, until Vyle was not sure which way was forward. Vyle’s eyes slowly closed, until finally his consciousness slipped away. He could run no longer.

Vyle awoke in a bed some time later. He looked around the room he was in. Fluorescent lights shone onto his face from above. He noticed a dresser directly in front of him. A bookshelf filled with various books was to the right of him. More beds were also in different parts of the room. To the left of him was a large umbrella shaped plant. A table was also right next to him. To each side of the room were more potted plants. He noticed that pipes ran across the ceiling, and the walls were made of a dull grey concrete. Pokémon posters were put up to give the room a more homely look. Vyle then noticed that his clothes were different. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt and some much newer black jeans. His only possessions, his knife and his water bottle, were not with him either.

Vyle then heard the door creak open. That same girl from before walked in, this time carrying a tray of sandwiches and a glass filled with a blue liquid. Upon sight of the girl, Vyle tried to get up and run but he was paralyzed with exhaustion. His muscles ached too much as well. So Vyle could only stay and watch as the girl approached with the tray. “Here ya go! Nothing like some nice sandwiches and Oran Berry juice to help ya get better!” She announced cheerfully. She placed the tray on the small wooden table next to his bed.

Vyle did not know what to make of this situation. Ever since he began his life on the streets, he had never been handed free food. He thought to himself, “Oh well, free food’s free food.” He quickly began devouring the sandwiches as soon as the girl walked off. When he finished the sandwiches and juice he went to sleep.

A few hours had passed, and Vyle sprang up instinctively, as he had always done on the streets. He could not see what time of day it was; yet he jumped up. Judging by has reaction he figured that it was sunset. He thought to himself, “Well, thanks for the food, but I’m outta here!” He made his way out of the room slowly.

Outside there was a hallway with a concrete wall at the end nearest the door, and at the other end, a stairway with only darkness at the top. There were several doors in the hallway. Vyle ran silently towards the stairs. His muscles still ached and he could not run at full speed.

Once Vyle painfully climbed the flight of stairs, he saw nothing but pitch-black darkness. There usually was some form of light nearby when Vyle roamed the streets. Vyle was not used to the darkness of the underground. He crept along slowly with his hands in front of him. Occasionally he stepped in a puddle of water, the sound echoing throughout the sewers.

Vyle kept treading forward cautiously through the complete darkness of the underground. But then came a point when he felt a concrete wall in front of him. He felt around him, and discovered more walls. He determined that he was at a dead end, and that he could only go backwards, but that meant he would have to go back with that girl.

Suddenly, he heard a squeak echoing throughout the cavernous sewer. The tunnels seemed to magnify the squeak to an ear-splitting volume. Vyle recognized the screech as belonging to a Virat. He could picture its dark grey rodent-like body with green paws and a green face, about ankle high, with pointed ears and a pointed snout, eyes like small black beads, and hairless pink tail shaped like a worm. He could imagine it nearby somewhere. He tried to kick at it, since he knew that noise might have alerted someone else as his instinct told him. But his efforts were futile and he could only kick at air.

Light shone in Vyle’s face. At the other end of the light was that strange little girl who fed him. “Hey, come back Vyle!” she cried out in a cheerful voice. “Come back and meet everyone!” she exclaimed, her voice echoing in the dark tunnel. “We don’t bite!”
Vyle felt trapped and could see no way out of this. The girl grabbed his arm and tugged at him. Vyle reluctantly followed along. Eventually they reached the stairs and then the hallway. The girl led Vyle to a room across the hall from the room he slept in. she opened the door with her free hand.

The inside of the room looked to be a meeting room of some sort. There was a table in the center, which was made of wood and looked worn. The chairs around it were also worn. Papers were scattered all over the table. The room otherwise looked pretty drab, save a few Pokémon posters on the walls, and tropical plants in the corners.

Three people were seated at the chairs in the room. The first person was a male, large and with a muscular physique. He wore a black t-shirt that stretched tightly over his figure. His hair was short and spiked, and combed slightly backward. The second person was female; she had fiery red hair, slightly curled and about neck-length. She had on a crimson vest, not unlike the type Pokémon trainers wore. Under that vest was also a black t-shirt stretched fairly tight. She also wore a crimson colored short skirt. The third was also female, with long, straight black hair. She had on a purple headband, and for some reason wore black lipstick. She wore a black trench coat, which descended past her knees, and tights underneath the coat. All three seemed to be young adults like Vyle.

As soon as Vyle and the little girl entered the room, the three people turned to face them. The male spoke:

“I see you brought your friend in to meet us, Kyra. Why don’t you introduce him to us?”

“Okay! This is Vyle, the guy who saved me!” Kyra spoke excitedly.

“Call me Spike,” the male announced.

“I’m Blaze,” the female with red hair spoke in a friendly manner.

“Shade,” The other one spoke, although not as friendly seeming as Blaze.

Vyle did not respond for a few seconds, which seemed like forever. He then timidly replied, “Hi.”

“So you’re the one that saved Kyra?” Spike replied. He seemed to be the leader of their little group. Vyle did not respond.

Spike went on to explain, “Ya see, we’re a gang of outlaws. We call ourselves The Underground. We live off the streets, stealing just enough to get what we need, though we usually attack the kind that look like they deserve it. We made this place using the Secret Power attack from our Pokémon.”

“And jacked our decorations and stuff,” Blaze added.

Spike paused for a second, and then continued explaining, “Kyra is our newest member. We found her on the streets before you saved her. We were on a mission that night, and ya see, she kinda got lost. That’s when those strange men found her.”

Blaze added, “They seem to be a lot like that group of petty thugs, Team Magnet, but they must be after something bigger. That, and they seem to like using the Miracle type.”

Vyle had some important questions for them. “Who are they, how did they find this place? Who is Team Magnet? Do they know any more about that odd Team Judgment? Who is more deserving of being robbed?” He thought to himself. He refrained from asking them, as was his instinct from the streets not to get too curious. He decided to figure out his answers on his own. After all, as the saying went, “Curiosity killed the Meowth.” His contemplation was interrupted by a familiar squeak.

“Squee! Squeeeeeeeek!” a Virat cried as it streaked across the room, seemingly from nowhere. Vyle noticed a small hole at the bottom of the room near his feet. The Virat excitedly circled Vyle’s feet.

“Oh, that’s our little friend. We named it Squeak,” Blaze explained.

“It… seems to like you,” Spike said.

“Ya know, you don’t seem to have any Pokémon. They would be good to have for protection. Why don’t you see if you can’t take Squeak with you?” Blaze suggested. Shade nodded and passed an empty Poké Ball across the table to Vyle. He caught the red and white sphere as it rolled toward him and said nothing.

“I think we should leave the room alone with his new friend,” Blaze suggested.

“I agree. If Squeak likes you, and would like to travel with you, it’ll simply go inside that ball,” Spike said. Shade simply nodded. Everyone else then got up and proceeded to leave the room.

From the floor, Squeak looked at Vyle. Vyle gazed back at Squeak. Squeak seemed to be looking into Vyle’s soul. Vyle did not know what to think. He had never considered carrying a Pokémon with him before. That and, he did not know how Pokémon were caught. He had seen them being released from Poké Balls before, however. Vyle looked at Squeak with its beady eyes, as if he were accepting Squeak. Squeak seemed to accept Vyle as well, and they gazed at each other with what seemed to be a mutual understanding. The Virat hopped up onto the table, and nudged the ball. The ball popped open and absorbed the Virat, then closed. A light blinked on and off on the button of the ball as if to signify that something was caught.

Vyle took the ball on the table. He decided that he could keep the Virat, but he still did not trust those people. He had always lived and hunted alone, and wasn’t about to change that, save the Virat of course. Vyle decided to try and sneak away once again. But he could not leave without his cloak, which he needed to conceal himself. Vyle slowly pushed open the door and peered outside. The hallway was empty.

Vyle slipped out the door and pressed his back against the wall. He walked against the wall carefully. His muscles still slightly ached. He decided to himself to check every room. As he crawled along the walls, he put his ear to one of the doors. He could hear voices coming from that room, so he did not dare open it. He went along to the next door, and put his ear to that one. He heard nothing, so he decided it was safe and cracked it open.

The room appeared to be a closet. Several cloaks and trench coats hung from the wall. He recognized his own, although it seemed to be much cleaner. He took his cloak, and on the floor, he saw a bag filled with more Poké Balls. He thought to himself, “Hey, why not take something for the road anyways?” Carefully, he slipped on his cloak, then took the bag of Poké Balls and stuck them in one of his pockets. He stuck the Virat inside another pocket. Silently yet quickly, he then proceeded out of the closet and into the hallway, checking to make sure the coast was clear first. No one in sight.

He dashed down the hallway and up the stairs silently. As he climbed the stairs, he was greeted with the same darkness as before. This time, however, he decided to creep against the walls until he found another passage. He reasoned that there had to be one somewhere, since the path in front was a dead end. He continued along the wall for some time, until he found a gap in the wall. He felt around it, and determined that it was a corner, and that there was a passage ahead. He peered past the corner. Light seemed to pour in from the ceiling, and Vyle could see ahead for a long way. He then broke into a sprint down that path.

But Vyle could not get far. He bumped right into what seemed like a wall. He fell to the floor, the Poké Balls in his pockets spilling out onto the floor. Vyle looked up, and saw the muscular figure of Spike. Blaze and Shade appeared behind Vyle.

“You thought you could get away, huh?” Spike said in an intimidating manner.

“Don’t forget, we’re thieves too!” Said Blaze.
“It was a nice try,” Shade said rather calmly.

All three of them broke into a laugh, which surprised Vyle. “Yep, looks like you got what it takes to be a part of the Underground.” Vyle accepted the compliment to himself, although he still had no intention of sticking with them. But it looked like he was there to stay with them, at least until he could find his way back to the streets.

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Several white-cloaked figures were approaching what seemed to be an altar, with a throne at the top. The altar was covered in an intense light, too bright to be able to make out the features of the person at the top of the throne.

The figure in front of the group spoke. His white cloak seemed more elaborate than the cloaks of the others, as if he was one of their leaders.

“The criminals escaped into the sewers. We could not give chase, my Lord.”

A booming voice echoed back from the throne, “Take 50 additional members with you, and flush those rats out. The dark labyrinth is indeed dangerous, so bring plenty of light. One way or another, Murdock shall be purged and recivilized. And remember, the light of Team Judgment shines even in the darkest depths, revealing the sins of all who live."

The booming voice paused for a moment, then spoke again. "May the light of Team Judgment shine upon you, aiding you in your holy quest.”

“Thank you, my Lord,” The head figure spoke. The figures all bowed to the floor, and then left the room.

[Sike Saner]

Ah, the official introduction to The Underground. I have to say, I liked the fact that Vyle wasn't too trusting of them there in the beginning. It seems more appropriate for his character that way.

And fwee for his getting Squeak! Cute little rodent, that is. ^^

[PsiUmbreon]

I forgot to update this sooner due to Brawl. But uhh, for whoever is still reading this *cricket chirp*, comments are well appreciated. And yes, the chapters are getting longer, and just to warn you, get progressively closer to PG-13 with every chapter.

Chapter 4
Fight or Flight

Several days had passed since Vyle had become a member of the Underground. Vyle had thought about leaving, but he never got a chance. Besides that, he was getting the benefits of free food and a nice place to stay. So, despite his instincts, he decided to stick around.

Vyle spent most of those days training with his new friend Squeak. The other members of the Underground had taught Vyle the basics of battling with Pokémon. They told him how to command a Pokémon during battle, and what types of moves his Pokémon might know. They taught him about the various element types that Pokémon belonged to, and the types that Virat belonged to.

On one particular day, Vyle had just begun to get the hang of Pokémon battling. As usual, he began by walking into the training room. The training room was filled with what would seem like junk to most people. At one end of the room there was a broken mattress with springs sticking out. There also was an old, tattered punching bag hanging from the ceiling. Wooden blocks that had been chipped, gnawed on, worn out, and sometimes sliced in half by Pokémon attacks lined the edges of the room. In one corner, barbells were stacked neatly, suggesting that this was a training room for humans as well. Posters were stuck onto the dull concrete walls, with different facts about Pokémon. In the center of the room, a line was painted across, with two circles intersecting the line at the center, indicating an arena for a Pokémon battle.

Vyle started off the day as usual. He walked into the room, and placed one of the wooden blocks at the center of the room. He then pulled out his Poké Ball and tossed it out onto the floor. “Squeak, use Scratch!” he called out. The Virat emerged from the ball as a glowing white sphere of energy, and then materialized on the floor. It squeaked in response, then dashed towards the wooden block and slashed it repeatedly with its claws. “Good, now Feint Attack!” Squeak then leapt back, then streaked right towards the block. It then changed course and headed at an angle from the block. Then, in the blink of an eye, as if to fool an opponent, Squeak veered into the block, knocking it over.

“Hmm, wonder if it can use Thief…” Vyle thought to himself. Vyle was indifferent toward his new companion before, however, he gradually began to care for it more as the days passed. So Vyle had an idea. “Squeak, can you take this coin from my pocket? Use Thief now!” The Virat squeaked in agreement. Then it charged at Vyle as he slipped the coin into his pocket. It leapt at Vyle, and ripped the pocket with its claws, then grabbed the coin with its teeth. At that exact moment, Spike walked into the room, dressed in his trench coat.

“Teachin’ it Thief, eh? Hmm… to steal from people, you’re gonna need to teach it to be more sneaky.” Vyle just nodded at Spike’s suggestion.
“Anyways, just came in here to come get ya. We’re goin’ to the abandoned warehouse on the East Side. We’re gonna kick some ass in battles, and earn ourselves some money. We’re almost broke.” Spike gestured at Vyle to follow him. Shade, Blaze, and Kyra were outside the door waiting, also dressed in their trench coats. Vyle called Squeak back into the ball.

The five of them headed out of their base and walked through the sewers. Everyone except Vyle seemed to know the way already, despite it being in near total darkness. Vyle just followed them. He wanted to run off, but he knew it would be futile since he would get lost, and they’d find him and drag him back to the group. The four other Underground members talked and shared jokes along the way, while Vyle stayed silent.

Eventually they reached a staircase with some dim light at the top. The stairway, however, seemed crude and improvised, as if people simply blasted their way through with explosives, or perhaps Pokémon. At the top of the staircase was the inside of a large building. Boxes and crates lined the walls. There was one exceptionally huge crate next to the stairway in the corner of the room. Blaze informed Vyle that the organizers of this event pushed that box over the stairs when the warehouse wasn’t in use to help hide the fact that the people were illegally gathering and battling in there.

There were crowds of people inside the abandoned warehouse. The majority of them seemed like they were part of crews such as the one Vyle was now part of, or lived on the streets. Several Pokémon battles were going on in the large warehouse as well. Pokémon were leaping at each other at the commands of their trainers. Most of the people were on the sidelines cheering the trainers on while drinking beers or smoking. A few vendors were lined up on the side of one of the walls, selling thing such as trainer supplies such as potions and antidotes to counterfeit papers and IDs to illegal drugs.

Spike turned to the group upon walking in. “All right, we ain’t really here to have fun. We gotta earn a few bucks, cuz we’re broke. You guys already know what to do. Vyle and Kyra, come with me.” Vyle and Kyra followed Spike through a crowd of people, while Shade and Blaze went their separate ways.

Blaze walked away towards another crowd of people, looking for someone to challenge. She was confronted by a spiky haired individual with a muscle t-shirt and jeans.

“Hey, wanna go out back real quick?” The man held out some money as he spoke.

“What? Do I look like a **** to you, asshole?” Blaze replied harshly, looking ready to fight the man. "I don't do that."

The man looked at her waist, and saw the Poké Balls. “OK, fine. My bad. I’ll take you on in a battle then. How much you got?”

“Two fifty,” Blaze replied.

“That’s it? Well, all right, this’ll be easy, cleanin’ out a chick!”

With that remark, Blaze knew she would win. She was used to those cocky men that underestimate her. The two stepped into a makeshift arena, formed by a crowd of people circling it, where the battle had just ended. Blaze heard someone in the crowd call out, “I got five hundred on the chick!”

The two trainers each drew one of their Poké Balls from their waist.

“Go, Chomp!” The man called out as he tossed his ball out towards the center. The brown, furry body of a Raticate materialized, bearing its fangs and waving its rat-like tail. It stood up on its back paws and slashed at the air with its front ones.

“Go, Hellhound!” Blaze responded and tossed her ball out into the center in the same fashion. Her Houndour also appeared, across from the Raticate. It was black and had two silver bands across its back, and a band around each of its four legs. Its underbelly was red, and it growled at the opponent, baring its sharp fangs. It was not unlike a canine in shape.

“I’ll go easy on you. Ladies first.” Blaze’s opponent sneered confidently.

“Hellhound, use Howl to intimidate your opponent!” Blaze yelled out. Hellhound released an eerie howl, as the Raticate growled and hissed back.

“You think I’m scared of a little pooch howling?” Said the opponent. “Chomp, use Hyper Fang!” The Raticate leapt at Hellhound bearing its extremely large fangs.

“Hellhound, Feint Attack!” Blaze yelled back. Hellhound hopped out of the way of the Hyper Fang attack as Chomp clamped its fangs on air, then leapt back and rammed Chomp. The Raticate then fell to the floor.

“No, get up! Use Quick Attack!” Blaze’s foe snapped.

“Use Feint Attack again!” Blaze called out. But this time, the opponent was too quick. Chomp rammed Hellhound and knocked it to the sidelines.

“Another Hyper Fang!” Blaze’s opponent called out. Instantly Chomp sprang at Hellhound, baring its fangs.

“Hellhound, Bite!” Blaze shouted. Hellhound sprang up and lunged at Chomp, biting it before it could bite back. The Houndour then released Chomp from its teeth.

“Hyper Fang again!” The other trainer shouted, but his Raticate could not move. Chomp had flinched from the effect of the Bite.

“You’re still gonna lose. You’re weak and so is your Pokémon.” The foe sneered at Blaze.

“Oh that’s it, you asked for it. FLAMETHROWER!” Blaze shouted at the top of her lungs. Hellhound let loose a stream of fire from its mouth, singing Chomp’s fur. Chomp collapsed onto the floor in pain, unable to battle any longer. Blaze’s opponent called back his Raticate. Cheers could be heard from the crowd as the battle ended.

“All right, now pay up!” Blaze smirked confidently as she spoke.

“You got lucky. Next time I ain’t goin’ easy on you,” said her opponent as he handed her 250 Poké Dollars.

“Yeah, right,” Blaze thought to herself. Right when Blaze stepped through the crowd and out of the arena, Shade ran up to meet her.

“How’d ya do?” Shade said calmly and smugly.

“I kicked the guy’s ass. Another one of those cocky son of a bitches.”

“Yeah, same here. I’d rather go on a heist myself. Screw this crap,” replied Shade. Blaze nodded in agreement. The two of them went to meet Spike, who seemed to be finishing up his battle as well.

“Pummeler, use Karate Chop!” A man in a leather jacket, who was Spike’s opponent, called out. Spike waved at Blaze and Shade. Kyra was standing right behind Spike in the crowd, cheering him on.

“Punk, Defense Curl!” Spike turned his attention back to the battle and commanded. Spike’s Sandslash curled up into a ball, aiming its downward-pointed spines at the opponent’s Machop, who with it’s short, human-like figure, prepared to chop at Punk. As the attack connected with the spiny ball that was Punk, Pummeler flinched in pain.

“Mega Punch!” Pummeler’s trainer screamed. The Machop obediently made a fist, pulled it back, and the fist began to glow with energy.

“Jump and use Crush Claw!” Spike yelled. Punk uncurled from the ball and leapt into the air. Its claw began to glow. Before the Machop could connect, Punk slammed its claw into Pummeler’s shoulder. Pummeler staggered in pain.

“Pummeler, try a Seismic Toss! Don’t let up!” The Machop got ready to grab Punk.

“Punk, Slash!” The Sandslash quickly slashed at Pummeler’s belly. Pummeler collapsed in pain. The Slash appeared to have been a critical hit.

“All right, all right, I give. Here’s your stinkin’ money,” The man tossed Spike 1,000 Poké Dollars as they both called back their Pokémon.

“That was niiiiiice!” Blaze exclaimed as Spike walked over to her and Shade. Kyra followed.

“Aah, it was nothin’,” said Spike, with a confident tone. “Let’s go check on Vyle now.”

The four of them searched the crowds of outlaws for Vyle. When they finally saw him, he was in a hard battle with another thuggish-looking outlaw in a leather jacket, with a greasy T-shirt and jeans that were heavily stained in what looked like oil on.

“Looks like another one of them bikers,” said Spike.

The opponent had a Mankey out, and Vyle obviously had out his Virat. “Berserker, Fury Swipes now!” His opponent called out. The pig-nosed monkey-like Pokémon that had a body almost like a furry tan ball charged at Squeak and drew its claws.

“Uhh… use Scratch,” said Vyle in a dull voice, almost a mumble.

“That ain’t how you do it!” Spike yelled from the sidelines. “You gotta say it with heart!”

“Don’t give up!” The normally quiet Shade yelled from the sidelines.



Squeak hesitated, and then raised its claw in preparation to attack. However, it was too late. As the Mankey bore down on Squeak, it slashed Squeak several times, each slash hitting its mark. The final slash knocked Squeak to the sidelines with a skid. People in the crowd knocked Squeak back into the arena with their feet. The Virat let out a squeal of pain. It then struggled to get up.

“Oh no, Vyle’s in trouble!” Exclaimed Kyra.

“Now, Scary Face!” Vyle’s opponent yelled. Berserker looked down at Squeak and glared in an intimidating manner. Squeak looked up at the Mankey, then at Vyle, who had no expression on his face whatsoever. The Virat then shuttered in fear, sensing no more confidence in itself than in its trainer. From the sidelines, all four of the other Underground members looked worried.

“All right, finish this loser off with Low Kick!” The biker commanded. Berserker responded with a simple kick, sending Squeak at Vyle’s feet. Vyle looked at Squeak, clueless and afraid. This experience with the other trainer brought out Vyle’s worst fears, and as a result he was almost paralyzed. Squeak struggled to get up, looking at Vyle for encouragement. It found none, however, and immediately collapsed, with no more will to fight.

“All right, you loser, hand over what ya got,” the biker spoke harshly as soon as the battle ended.

Vyle fumbled in his pockets, but could only find a few small coins. After about 30 seconds, the biker got impatient. “What, you a deadbeat? Fine, hand over your measly Pokémon.”

“N…no…” Vyle replied in a voice of complete fear.

“Hey, I asked you if you knew the rules, and you nodded yeah. You ain’t got no money, so you gotta hand over whatever else you got. Don’t be tryin’ to get yer way out of payin’ up,” the Biker replied more menacingly.

Vyle returned the fainted Squeak to its ball and turned around. The crowd began booing, and blocked his way out. It was at that moment that Spike stepped in. “Hey, you mess with him, you mess with me!”

The biker replied, “Hey, this punk kid lost, and he ain’t got nothin’ else to pay up with. You know the rules here, so don’t be trying to cheat me out, man.”

“All right, I get ya. How bout a double or nothin’? If you win, I give you my money, and you get his Pokémon. If you lose, I get all of your money, and your Pokémon,” Spike replied, flashing his latest winnings.

“Hell no, man, ‘fraid that ain’t enough. So make with the rat.” The biker flashed a huge amount of money that dwarfed Spike’s winnings.

“All right, you can have my Pokémon too, if ya win,” Spike then sent out Punk.

“It don’t look half bad,” the biker said with consideration after evaluating Punk.

“So you accept?” Said spike, boldly. The biker nodded.

“You’re… crazy!” Blaze exclaimed.

Don’t do it!” Kyra exclaimed as well.

“Aah, don’t worry, I won’t lose to this freak,” Spike explained confidently.

“Meh, typical of him,” Shade remarked.

The two stepped onto opposite sides of the arena as the crowd turned from booing to cheering. The biker sent out Berserker again, while Punk walked into the center.

“Ahh, go first,” Spike confidently told the opponent.

“All right, I will. You’re making this too easy. Two losers in one day, man what a haul,” the biker replied. “Berserker, Focus Energy!” he commanded. Berserker took a deep breath, closed its eyes, and energy began to gather in the center of its body.

“Punk, use Sand Attack!” Spike ordered his Sandslash in response. Punk blew sand in Berserker’s face in an attempt to blind it and lower its accuracy.

“Playin’ dirty, eh? All right, smash ‘em. Use Karate Chop!” The biker replied.

“Punk, use Defense Curl!” Punk curled up into a ball, its spines pointed at Berserker. Berserker attacked the spiny back of Punk, and immediately an expression of pain appeared on Berserker’s face.

“Low Kick ‘em!” The biker angrily ordered.

“Use Rollout, Punk!” At that moment, the crowd backed up cautiously, and then began cheering louder. Punk rolled right into Berserker before it could kick, sending Berserker into the crowd. Punk continued to roll around the arena, gaining speed and momentum with every passing second.

“Catch that thing and use Seismic Toss!” The biker then commanded in a harsh tone. Berserker held its ground as Punk rolled towards it menacingly. As the Rollout attack hit, Berserker grabbed Punk, but the force of the Rollout sent Berserker flying. Berserker skillfully did a back flip and hurled Punk into the ground, then landing on its feet. The Mankey appeared winded but was still able to battle. Punk, however, bounced into the air upon being slammed into the ground.

“All right, now’s the perfect time. Punk, use Crush Claw!” Spike yelled, undaunted by his opponent’s success in stopping the Rollout. Punk uncurled itself in the air, and then got its claw ready to strike Berserker. The glowing claw coming down at Berserker worried the biker.

“Berserker, Mega Punch!” The Mankey pulled back its fist, ready to strike. Its fist began to glow as well. But Punk was too fast, and its claw connected with Berserker before it could attack. Berserker was knocked to the floor.

“No… you can still fight! Get up!” The biker exclaimed. “C’mon, show ‘em your Mega Punch!”

“You shouldn’t push your Pokémon like that, ya know,” said Spike.

“Shut up. I don’t need no punk ass like you telling me how to battle!” The biker retorted with hostility.

“All right, you asked for it. Punk, Slash ‘em!” Spike yelled. Before Berserker could get ready to attack again, Punk slashed at the struggling Berserker. Berserker instantly collapsed in pain, with a red mark across its face.

“Ok, now you lost. Now cough up your dough!” Demanded Spike.

“No fair. You cheated.” The biker contended. “I ain’t givin’ you shit.”

Spike recalled Punk back to its ball, then walked over to the biker. “Care to explain how I cheated? You accepted the bet. We battled. Your pathetic ass lost.”

“All right man, here.” The biker shoves his stack of bills into his hand

“But… what about his Pokémon?” Kyra asked.

“Aah, I don’t need it. That loser can keep it,” replied Spike.

The biker then spoke up, “What kind of freak brings a little girl in here anyway?”

Spike turned around toward the biker again. “Excuse me? It ain’t my problem that we’re the only family she gots. So shut your face!” Spike’s body towered over that of the biker.

“Sheesh man, I didn’t mean nothin’ by that.” The biker replied with a tinge of fear in his voice. He then turned around and pushed his way through the crowd.

Spike turns and faced the group. “All right, I had enough of these losers. Let’s go,” he said in a grim voice. But Blaze and Shade had wanted to stay. They were used to partying hard afterward, as was Spike, when he wasn’t in such a bad mood.

“I don’t much feel like partyin’ tonight,” said Spike.

“Well… all right. Yeah, let’s go. These freaks scare me sometimes,” replied Blaze. Shade simply followed Blaze. Kyra and Vyle were completely silent. As the five of them fought through an increasing crowd to get back to the passageway, the lights dimmed, and rap music began to blare loudly. The rest of the crowd was only getting more excited, while a somber mood flowed through the five Underground members.

[MeLoVeGhOsTs]

Good chapter. Nice to see some pokemon, some battles and the undergrounds way of living. It's good that Vyle lost, as he should, seeing that this was his first battle. I'm kinda curious on that Virat thingy, what moves, type and if it evolves. Do they all have 1 pokemon, or do they have more? Keep on writing this, it seems interesting and has lots of potential.

++ for longer chapters and PG-13.

[PsiUmbreon]

Good chapter. Nice to see some pokemon, some battles and the undergrounds way of living. It's good that Vyle lost, as he should, seeing that this was his first battle. I'm kinda curious on that Virat thingy, what moves, type and if it evolves. Do they all have 1 pokemon, or do they have more? Keep on writing this, it seems interesting and has lots of potential.

++ for longer chapters and PG-13.

If you're curious I have drawings of some of the Pokemon featured in my fic. They're not too good but they're not too bad either. I'd consider myself an average drawer.

Anyway if you're curious Virat is Dark/Poison and does evolve, and its ability is Pestilence, which adds a chance of poisoning to all of its contact moves. It learns stuff like Poison Fang, Quick Attack, Bite, etc. and I don't have what level it learns stuff exactly but I can make something up, lol.

[Sike Saner]

Hah, it was satisfying to see Blaze kick her opponent's ass--that's what he gets for being a cocky, sexist douchebag. X3

Glad that Spike won that battle that was near the end of the chapter, too, especially since it meant that Vyle didn't have to give Squeak to that biker. ^^

Lol, and speaking of the biker:

“Ok, now you lost. Now cough up your dough!” Demanded Spike.

“No fair. You cheated.” The biker contended. “I ain’t givin’ you shit.”

Spike recalled Punk back to its ball, then walked over to the biker. “Care to explain how I cheated? You accepted the bet. We battled. Your pathetic ass lost.”

It amuses me that the biker actually tried to claim that Spike cheated. XD I love the way Spike calls him on that bullcrap there.

[PsiUmbreon]

Hah, it was satisfying to see Blaze kick her opponent's ass--that's what he gets for being a cocky, sexist douchebag. X3

Glad that Spike won that battle that was near the end of the chapter, too, especially since it meant that Vyle didn't have to give Squeak to that biker. ^^

Lol, and speaking of the biker:



It amuses me that the biker actually tried to claim that Spike cheated. XD I love the way Spike calls him on that bullcrap there.

Well that chapter was basically to show you how they lived, and... yeah, plenty more sexist douchebags where that came from.

[PsiUmbreon]

Time for a new chapter guys! This one's even longer than the previous chapter! Plus it has cool action scenes in it. And, um, I won't tell you what else, so enjoy.

Chapter 5
Chaos in the Sewers

The mood of the Underground members was somber as they returned to their base. The incident involving Vyle has soured Spike’s mood especially. And this, in turn, had dragged down the mood of everyone else. The only words spoken on their trip home were between Blaze and Shade. Still, even they did not speak much.

As Spike opened the door to their sleeping quarters, he turned to Vyle. In a disappointed tone, he said to Vyle, “Vyle, man, what happened? I can’t be around to stand up for you. You gotta learn how to fight sooner or later. More like, sooner. I can’t keep ya on this team if ya can’t pull your own weight.” Spike paused, contemplating what he had just said. His gut told him that Vyle was not too keen on being part of the team anyways. He then added, “No, even if you’re not on this team, ya still gotta learn how to fight.”

The team went straight to bed, and just threw their trench coats on the floor. Everyone except Vyle fell asleep within minutes. Instead, Vyle lay awake, troubled by his thoughts. He used to be able to fend for himself on the streets. There was always somewhere to run. Vyle could hide easily in his former above ground world. Now Vyle had nowhere to run. He stood little chance of escape from the Underground, since he would get lost in the dark corridors of the sewer system. And even if he did escape, he knew he could not return to his former life. He had witnessed a crime, from the perspective of the victim. He now knew what it was like to be the person getting attacked. The experience had unlocked the feeling of empathy in the heart of a hardened denizen of the streets. Vyle was now trapped in a figurative prison. His ability to sustain himself had been taken away, and he was imprisoned, figuratively stuck within the confines being The Underground, and the guards being its members. Vyle was now ruled by the very fear which he had inflicted upon others before.

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

Several white vans all pulled up to the curb of a deserted street in the twilight hours of the morning. The vans all had red circular logos with cross shapes inscribed in the middle. The words “Team Judgment” were wrapped around the cross. On the front and back of the vans, the words “The day of Judgment shall be upon us” appeared in bold, red letters.

The doors of the vans all opened, and several white cloaked people wearing pointed hoods hopped out, relatively in unison. The people all wielded flashlights and had one or two Pokémon on their belts. A few of them had some net launchers, which looked like rifles, only with a net folded up tightly attached to it that was designed to be fired off into a crowd and to ensnare that crowd.

A white car with the same logos then sped down the street and stopped in the middle, where the Judgment members were gathering. Out of the driver’s side door, a figure with a more elaborate robe stepped out. Gold bordered the edges of the robe he wore, and the Team Judgment logo appeared on the hood and on each side of the robe.

The elaborately cloaked figure began to speak. He seemed to be a high ranking official of the team; an administrator. “Crusaders of Light, line up in your ranks!” The Judgment members instantly cooperated. “Battalion A shall lift the manhole cover and proceed first,” the administrator pointed out toward a group of seven men and women as they were lining up. “B, C, and D shall follow A, and proceed to the right. E, F, and G battalions shall follow me to the left. Those rats shall be captured, and the evil shall be purged. We move at sunrise. Everyone clear on the plans?”

“Yes,” the members all spoke in unison.

“Good,” the admin added. “May the light of Team Judgment shine upon us!” The crowd of Judgment members cheered in response.

As the sun came up, the members stood perfectly still, poised and ready for action. As soon as the first ray of sunlight struck the administrator from behind the building, he shouted, “Now MOVE!”

One member turned to the administrator. “But sir, what if…” he was harshly interjected.

“Silence! To question your orders is to go against the will of the Lord! Any more lip out of you and I shall have you sent to the Purgatory!”

The figures all began to mobilize. The manhole cover was lifted off, and one by one the members descended. They lined up according to ranks as best they could. A few muttered complaints about the smell of the sewer, but they dared not speak within earshot of their leader. They switched on their flashlights, and slowly proceeded forward according to their copies of the floor plan of the sewer. Their assigned routes were drawn on the plans, as well as possible places to ambush.

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

It was about an hour after sunrise. This was unknown to Vyle, however, since no windows were present in the sleeping quarters. Vyle had been awake all this time, tormented by fear and guilt. The other Underground members were sound asleep. Vyle tossed and turned in his bed, unable to shake off the dark cloud that had settled over his mind.

But Vyle then suddenly heard a noise echoing from the hall- footsteps. He also heard what sounded like voices coming from a distance. Vyle sat up quickly, ready to run. As he sat up, the mattress creaked loudly. This sudden movement woke Shade up. Spike called out, “Vyle, need anythin’?” However, Shade picked up on the fact that Vyle had heard something, which had caused him to spring up from the bed.

The footsteps began to echo louder, and light began to pour from the underneath the door. Shade’s suspicions had been confirmed. “Everyone, wake up!” Shade whispered harshly. “Someone’s here!” Shade got up, and woke Blaze and Kyra, who were both dreaming contently. Spike then woke up as well.

The words, “I think we’ve found them,” spoken into a communicator could be heard. The team, who had just thrown their trench coats on the floor in laziness, picked them up and slipped them on. Vyle had worn his cloak to bed.

Spike then announced to his team in a hushed voice, “You all know the drill.” Spike got in front of the door, with Blaze and Shade on each side. Kyra and Vyle stood behind Spike.

“We know you’re in there. Come on out with your hands up, and surrender to the divine will of Team Judgment!” could be heard from behind the door.

“Fat chance,” Spike muttered to himself. The door flew open as a Team Judgment member and his Machop stood in front. Spike sprung into action, and rammed both of them. As the Underground members emerged from the door, in the moment that the Judgment member in front was caught off balance, they saw several more members in the hallway, releasing their Pokémon. “Oh ****,” Spike remarked.

“Back up!” Blaze shouted to her teammates. They backed up quickly. “Hellhound, Shadember, Flamethrower!” She released her Houndour, and another, more unfamiliar Pokémon. It looked like a levitating ball of fire. Two small fireballs rotated around it, which served as its arms. As commanded, the two immediately released a stream of fire down the hallway, which singed everyone and their Pokémon in front. Some of them pressed to the wall to avoid the direct impact of the flames, but others fell to the floor, rolling to get the flames off their badly charred clothes in pain and futility. Their Pokémon, which comprised of floating Sharine that were shaped like a four-pointed star, with mystical energy sparkling out of the front, Fairon that looked like floating fairies with wings and a glowing body, along with the familiar Sparquartz and Machop. The Underground then quickly ran by the singed and burning members. As they passed, several voices could be heard.

“We… need… backup… sector… 3…ugh…” “Sparquartz, Cleansing Light… “Sharine, Recover… ugh….” “Heal Magic, Fairon…”

As they ran up the stairs and outside of their secret base, they had a feeling that there would be more of them. They stopped and crouched against the wall, when they saw a flashlight beam coming from a divergent path.

Shade whispered, “I know what to do.” She called out one of her Pokémon. “Spook, sneak behind them and use Night Shade, but watch out for their lights!” Her purple Sableye, with sparkling diamonds for eyes, and a thin, translucent body vanished into the darkness.

“You hear that?” one of the white-cloaked members asked.

“Naah, but we still better be careful.”

At that moment, Spook reappeared behind the Judgment members, grinning evilly and showing its pointed fangs. Beams of dark energy shot out of its hands, incapacitating two of the members. The rest of them turned around, and impulsively released their Sharines, Sparquartzes, and Fairons. “Light Arrow!” they commanded.

With their attention diverted, Spike released his Sandslash. “Rollout, Punk!” he commanded. Punk curled into a ball, then rolled right into the feet of the Judgment members. Their Pokémon were distracted with hitting the highly elusive Spook with Light Arrow attacks. The white robed members fell to the floor, but their Pokémon kept attacking.

Blaze then sprung into action. “Hellhound, use Feint Attack on the Pokémon!” Hellhound leapt at the nearest Pokémon, a Sharine, and knocked it to the floor. Some of the Pokémon’s attention was now diverted to hitting Hellhound and Punk. However, one of the Light Arrows managed to hit Spook, who clutched its belly in pain. A bright spot glowed where it was hit.

“Dammit!” Spike growled. “Finish ‘em off with Crush Claw!”

“Hellhound, let’s take ‘em out! Flamethrower!” shouted Blaze.

“Battalion C requesting backup in Corridor 7,” one of the white-cloaked members yelled through his communicator.

“C’mon Sharine, finish ‘em off! For the light of Team Judgment!”

“Fairon! Use Gust and blow them away!”

But before they could attack, Punk and Hellhound had both fainted every single Pokémon on the opposing side. Spook, despite being highly sensitive to Miracle attacks, being a Dark and Ghost type, managed to stay conscious and use the move Recover instinctively. The Judgment members got up, but as another beam of light could be seen further down the corridor, the five Underground members made a run for it, their Pokémon running, rolling, or floating behind them as appropriate. They hopped over a couple of streams of dirty, greenish water as they ran.

Spike, Blaze, and Shade all seemed to know where they were going. They knew of a nice escape route, since they knew the sewer system pretty well. But on the other hand, Team Judgment also seemed to know the sewer. They planned their attack very carefully, as it seemed. What these people wanted was still unclear to The Underground, but they knew that either way it could not have been good, at least for them anyway.


“They went off towards Sector 7,” a Judgment member spoke into their communicator. I think that’s your area, Smith.”

The Judgment member known as Smith among their ranks, responded back. “I gotcha. Wait, I think I hear some footsteps…” then he cut off his communicator and commanded the rest of the battalion to lie in ambush. The battalion was assembled along two walls of a crossroads in the sewer, behind some large pipes that ran from the ceiling to the floor.

The footsteps got louder as the unsuspecting Underground members approached the point of ambush. Then, right as they passed the intersection, with Spike in the lead, the members were assaulted with barrages of Light Arrows from yet more Fairons, Sparquartzes, and Sharines. Three arrows passed through Spike, and a couple also hit Blaze and Shade. They collapsed onto the floor, clutching their chests in pain, despite there being no physical wounds. Their Pokémon, however, were ready to instinctively attacked, and Vyle and Kyra stopped, just short of being found. They hid behind the wall in fear.

“Sparquartz, Sacred Power!” one of the members of Smith’s battalion commanded. A blinding light emanated from the Sparquartz. Hellhound, Punk, Spook, and Shadember were damaged, and reeled back in pain.

“Now, everyone, fire more Light Arrows!” Smith commanded. Barrages of Light Arrows, like bullets, struck the four Pokémon, who collapsed in pain next to their trainers.

“Fire capture nets!” Smith then yelled.

A voice echoed behind from behind the wall, interrupting them. “Eevee, Quick Attack!” Kyra could not just sit there and watch. Her Eevee might not have been at a high enough experience level to fight them, but she had the element of surprise on her side. Eevee shot out from the ball at its top speed, and knocked the Judgment members with the net launchers onto the floor. They hit their heads and were knocked out.

“Get that Eevee!” several of the battalion members shouted at once. Their Pokémon shot Light Arrows at the swiftly moving Eevee. Eevee escaped by running between the legs of the Judgment members. As a result, a couple of them were hit. They also collapsed on the floor, clutching their chests.

As these members fell to the floor, Smith spoke to them. “You’re not pure enough. The truly pure of hear are not affected by Miracle-based attacks. You’re a disgrace to the almighty Lord. Sharine, show that Eevee a Sacred Power!” Smith’s Sharine, who was stronger, since he was the leader of their battalion, began to glow. A blinding light once again filled the corridor. Kyra’s Eevee clung to the floor with its paws tenaciously, as if trying to hang on under a storm of fierce winds and blinding light. When the light stopped, Sharine was still glowing. The surface of its four-pointed body shimmered like polished steel. Eevee lurched back, and then collapsed. The attack was powerful enough to knock it out with one hit.

“Somebody fire the capture nets, NOW!” Smith demanded. He picked up one of the capture nets launchers from one of the fallen battalion members. Another member on the other side of the path did the same thing. They then fired the nets. One of them wrapped completely around the Eevee and the other fallen Pokémon, and the other ensnared the bodies of Blaze, Shade, and Spike.

Kyra yelled out, “Eevee, NO!” and ran towards the net. She crouched over it, and stared at the Judgment members. “Back away, you bad people! Don’t take my Eevee away!” She futilely tried to protect the Pokémon.

“Step aside, little girl. You’re coming with us!” Smith snapped back. Battalion, grab them, and let’s get them to the temple.”

“What about Kearney and Bullock?” one of the members inquired in an unsure tone.

“…Carry them if you can. They can sit in the Purgatory for a while, to be purified.”

Kyra struggled in vain to free Eevee from the net. The five remaining members in the battalion advanced toward her. One of them took the net with the Pokémon, and two of them took the net with Shade, Blaze, and Spike. They groaned under its weight. A third member took the brunt of the load to assist them. Smith advanced toward Kyra, and grabbed her as she tried to run. He hoisted her over his shoulders as she struggled to get free, flailing her legs wildly.

Smith pulled out his communicator. “Smith here, requesting backup. We’ve captured the-“

“NOOO!!! Quick Attack!” Vyle yelled out, interrupting Smith. Vyle, inspired by Kyra’s bravery, was struck with a heroic feeling, the same feeling as on that night when he first saw her. Instinct took over. Squeak rammed Smith in the back. Smith lost his balance and fell over. The communicator rolled off to the wall. Kyra fell, using her hands to brace her fall.

“Smith, are you OK?” a voice from the communicator sounded.

“Squeak, scratch!!!” Squeak ran quickly beneath the feet of everyone cutting through their clothes and slashing their skin. The Sharines, Fairons, and Sparquartzes all instinctively began trying to hit Squeak with Light Arrows. It was not easy, since Squeak was a small target. Vyle himself then leapt into action, drawing his knife, and slashing one of the members. Blood trickled from the wound in the member’s chest.

The members all tried to tackle Vyle, and the Pokémon were focused on Squeak. But both of them were too fast, and evaded well. Vyle cut open the net containing his new associates with a clean sweep of his knife. Spike, Blaze, and Shade were still unconscious. Kyra was on the floor, trying to get up. The fall had injured her arms, and she groaned in pain.

They could not evade forever. Vyle tried to slice one of the members, but Smith threw a punch, which connected with Vyle’s cheek. Vyle was stunned by the impact and dropped his knife. The four other members surrounded Vyle and started to beat him repeatedly. Vyle had made a heroic stance, and did not fall without injuring several of them. Blood flowed from different places on several of the members, staining their white uniforms with streaks of crimson. They did not heed their wounds, as they were charged with adrenaline.

Meanwhile, Squeak was also getting tired, as dodging seven different Light Arrows was exhausting. Just as one of them was about to hit, Kyra had gotten up and leapt in front of it, intercepting the blow. Kyra reeled in pain, but did not collapse. The situation did not look good for the Underground. Vyle was being kicked and punched by the Judgment members, Squeak was dodging Light Arrows left and right and the rest were either in pain or unconscious.

As this was all going on, Shade managed to regain consciousness. She crawled out of the incision made in the net by Vyle. She then pulled the other Poké Ball out of her belt. As she got to her feet, one of the Judgment members looked over her shoulder and saw Shade.

“Gravecall, NIGHTMARE SEAL!” She called out as she released her other Pokémon. A floating human-like skull with fierce red glowing eyeballs and eight blue will-o-wisps orbiting it came out. It released one of the flames from orbit, which drifted to the center of the room. The other members notice, but before anyone could react, the flaming sphere in the center dissipated, and streaks of blue light shot from where it was. They hit each Judgment member and each of their Pokémon. They all collapsed suddenly, moaning in pain and fear. Blue light shone from their eyes and mouths, which were twisted in an expression of pure horror.

This gave everyone else a chance to recover. Blaze and Spike slowly regained consciousness. Vyle, who was bruised and bloodied, and with his clothes torn up, staggered to his feet. Kyra, who had reeled in pain but had not lost consciousness, ran toward everyone. “Those awful men- they… they tried to take us away! But… Vyle saved us…” She gasped as she spoke. Everyone looked at Vyle, who can barely stand with his wounds that he took-for the team. He could have run away, but instead was heroically driven to fight.

Spike picked up the knife and cut the Pokémon free from the other net. They all called back their fainted Pokémon. Squeak was too tired to run to Vyle, so Vyle just called him back. “We ain't out of the woods yet!" Spike said to the group. “More of ‘em are coming soon, probably. We gotta move!” Everyone then began to run again, but they were weary and in pain. As they ran, the moans of the Judgment members afflicted by the Nightmare Seal echoed through the hallway in a haunting tone, their bodies writhing in agony.

“Since when was that an attack?” Blaze asked Shade as they ran.

“It isn’t really. Gravecall carries eight powerful curses around it, which sustain its life in this realm. I had to use one just now, but I’d rather not have to use them. Now those creeps will be cursed for a long, long time. But, if I use them all, Gravecall will vanish. And it is said that it takes its trainer with it when all of them are used. I also have to wait a while before fighting with Gravecall, since it is destabilized and needs to regain its balance.”

“Ooh, scary,” Blaze commented, huffing and puffing as they ran. “Only you would use a Pokémon like that.”

It wasn’t long before they met with another Team Judgment battalion. This one was coming at them head on. There were no other paths to take, as this was a long and narrow corridor. The Judgment battalion saw them as they got close, and proceeded to release their Pokémon, but the Underground members all got an additional boost of adrenaline, and just rushed them.

“Light Arrow, everyone!” was the command from the fresh battalion of members. They release their Pokémon, which were nothing different from what they have encountered earlier.

Before they could execute their attacks, however, Blaze, Shade, and Spike rammed them. Spike threw a punch which sent one of the white-robed members flying into all of the Pokémon, preventing them from attacking. Shade delivered a roundhouse kick to another member as he instantly collapsed. And Blaze punched a third member, and then kneed him in the groin. The member also collapsed in pain, clutching his groin.

The Pokémon began to charge their attacks again, but Spike sensed this. He picked up another Judgment member, who was flailing wildly in the air, and used him as a shield to block the Light Arrows. The attack went through the hapless victim, and hit Spike in the chest, but they were lessened by the body and simply dissipated on Spike’s chest. He then hurled the now unconscious member into the Pokémon, knocking several of them out. Some were buried under the dead weight of the member’s body.

Two female members advanced on Blaze and Shade. One of them struck Shade with a blow to the face. The other one Kicked at Blaze, but she caught the kick and flipped the white robed member over. The last member, another male, advanced at Spike, but Vyle leapt from behind Spike and slashed with his knife across the member’s side. He collapsed in pain, clutching the wound, which bled and stained his white robe a dark crimson. Vyle then stopped, clutching his chest and panting for breath.

Shade and Blaze were exchanging blows with the two female Judgment members. Spike made sure none of the other members or Pokémon were still conscious, smacking one in the head as he tried to get up. But a couple of Pokémon, a Sparquartz and a Fairon, got up and got ready to attack. Spike called out his second Pokémon, Nightclaw. Nightclaw was a Sneasel, with two, long sharp claws which glistened in the dim light. Its head was decorated with a long red ornament shaped like a feather. Its head was a little large, but it still managed to have speed and power on its side.

“Nightclaw, Slash!” Spike commanded. Nightclaw rushed through the air and hacked at both the opposing Pokémon with its claws. The Pokémon then prepared to counter attack. The Sparquartz charged a Light Arrow, and the Fairon used Gust by flapping its wings. Despite the wings being small, they still were able to kick up a powerful gust of wind, which blew Spike and Nightclaw back a distance. Nightclaw braced itself by digging a claw into the ground. \

“Nightclaw, Beat Up!” Nightclaw rushed at the Sparquartz, and delivered a rapid flurry of blows. Sparquartz began to glow with light, however, and somehow appeared to restore its health. Its beat up surface was restored to a glistening shine. Fairon attacked with Light Arrow, and Nightclaw was hit. It clutched its chest in pain.

“Slash that flyin’ thing!” The Sneasel leapt into the air with a back flip, and slashed Fairon with its right claw. Fairon fell to the floor, its wings lying limply on the ground, and its furry body no longer glowing. However, the Sparquartz was glowing with a bright light, ready to unleash Sacred Power.

“Ice Beam!” Spike yelled. From its mouth, an orb of blue appeared, and it turned into a beam of bluish white energy. The beam hit Sparquartz, instantly freezing it in a block of ice. It also became unable to attack.

As Spike’s battle ended, he looked over at Blaze and Shade. They had been victorious over their female assailants. Shade had a bloody lip, and Blaze had a bruise on her cheek which was swollen and red. Nevertheless, they had triumphed. But they could not celebrate. Soon they ran on, breathing heavily with each step.

The corridor seemed to stretch on forever. The Underground members all slowed down, weary with exhaustion. They passed a branching tunnel. Spike knew something was wrong when he looked and saw light at the end of one of the tunnels, as opposed to the usual darkness. He desperately pushed his team to go faster; he himself panting and gasping for breath.

The corridor eventually led into a large room. The sounds of running water could be heard. As they entered the room, the concrete floor was replaced by metal. They were on a catwalk overlooking a water filtration plant. A stairway led from the catwalk to the floor. Control panels, computer screens, and various LED lights lined the wall. Turbines could be heard nearby, humming as they sucked in dirty sewer water to be purified through the filters. The group hurried down the stairs, their footsteps clanging on metal.

“We’re almost there! This way!” Spike commanded to his group while pointing toward another corridor. But before they could advance down that path, they were struck with a beam of light. They all knew exactly what was waiting for them, and did not want to leap into Team Judgment’s waiting arms.

“Crap! Let’s go this way!” Spike commanded once again, pointing to another corridor on the opposite wall. But no sooner had Spike spoken then did several more Judgment members shine light on them from the darkness. They proceeded to climb back up the staircase, but another battalion descended from the catwalk and landed on the floor. Spike and the others were all boxed in. The battalions advanced into the room, surrounding them in a circle.

“Hands up!” one of the battalion leaders ordered. No one complied. The Judgment members all got ready to draw their Pokémon, and some prepared their net launchers.

“Aah, how appropriate. Just as the filters in this room purify the water, so shall the holy Team Judgment purify you!” A more elaborately cloaked person spoke. He was their administrator, and the one who coordinated the attack. “Yes… the Lord will be most pleased. This band of dangerous criminals shall be purged from the streets…”

The Underground members were in a panic. They desperately looked around them for a possible way out, but there was none. They were surrounded, and ready to surrender. But Spike looked like he had an idea. “Not if I have anything to say about it!” he replied. To the admin boldly. “Punk, Earthquake!” He called out his battle-weary Sandslash. It could barely stand, but its claws began to radiate light. All the Judgment members drew their Poké Balls. Punk then slammed its glowing claws into the floor. At that instant, the ground split open, and the Underground members fell through the cracks. Several Judgment members lost their balance and fell. Net launchers were fired at that moment, but they missed their targets and instead ensnared fellow Judgment members. Spike and the others landed on their feet, in what seemed to be a hole a few feet deep. As the Underground members got a better look, they discovered they were actually in some sort of long, dark tunnel.

“After them!” was yelled from above. But Spike was not about to let them follow in pursuit. He had a daring and risky plan.

“Punk, Rock Slide!” He called out. Punk slammed the floor with glowing claws again, but this time, at a more sideways angle. This caused chunks from the ceiling above to fall. The Underground members adroitly leapt out of the way, despite being exhausted and badly injured. A large piece of the ceiling collapsed, filling the hole which the Earthquake created. After performing two of its strongest attacks, Punk collapsed with exhaustion. But The Underground was sealed away safely from Team Judgment. A long, pitch black tunnel greeted them with uncertainty as they began to press ahead.

[MeLoVeGhOsTs]

Good chapter, the team becomes more attached to eachother and even Vyle is in the game now. It was nice to see some new and different pokemon aswell as a good piece of action. I wonder what the future plans are.

Vyle was now trapped in a figurative prison. His ability to sustain himself had been taken away, and he was imprisoned, figuratively stuck within the confines being The Underground, and the guards being its members. Vyle was now ruled by the very fear which he had inflicted upon others before.

This really stood out for me, nice use of language.

Keep up the chapters, I'm eagerly waiting.

[Sike Saner]

Fwee, fighting--lots of fighting in that chapter. I enjoyed that.

Also cool was the fact that some more Pokémon were introduced in that chapter--including Gravecall. Holy crap, that thing is cool. *_* I liked the explanation of its eight curses--that's a very cool concept, and a creepy one to boot. Very nice. ^^

I also liked the nice view into Vyle's mind and the ways in which his character is developing that was given in that chapter, such as was done here:

Instead, Vyle lay awake, troubled by his thoughts. He used to be able to fend for himself on the streets. There was always somewhere to run. Vyle could hide easily in his former above ground world. Now Vyle had nowhere to run. He stood little chance of escape from the Underground, since he would get lost in the dark corridors of the sewer system. And even if he did escape, he knew he could not return to his former life. He had witnessed a crime, from the perspective of the victim. He now knew what it was like to be the person getting attacked. The experience had unlocked the feeling of empathy in the heart of a hardened denizen of the streets. Vyle was now trapped in a figurative prison. His ability to sustain himself had been taken away, and he was imprisoned, figuratively stuck within the confines being The Underground, and the guards being its members. Vyle was now ruled by the very fear which he had inflicted upon others before.

Other highlights:

“Gravecall, NIGHTMARE SEAL!” She called out as she released her other Pokémon. A floating human-like skull with fierce red glowing eyeballs and eight blue will-o-wisps orbiting it came out. It released one of the flames from orbit, which drifted to the center of the room. The other members notice, but before anyone could react, the flaming sphere in the center dissipated, and streaks of blue light shot from where it was. They hit each Judgment member and each of their Pokémon. They all collapsed suddenly, moaning in pain and fear. Blue light shone from their eyes and mouths, which were twisted in an expression of pure horror.

Did I mention that Gravecall is cool? Well, it is, and so's that technique. And I loved the description of how the Nightmare Seal affected its victims; that was very cool. o.o

Punk then slammed its glowing claws into the floor. At that instant, the ground split open, and the Underground members fell through the cracks. Several Judgment members lost their balance and fell. Net launchers were fired at that moment, but they missed their targets and instead ensnared fellow Judgment members.

*cheers, especially at what happened in that last line*

[PsiUmbreon]

Glad you liked it. Cause if you didn't, Gravecall will use one of its curses on you.

Next chapter will be up sometime next week. Things will start to get interesting, characters will be more developed, and cheese won't stop being good.

[PsiUmbreon]

Gyaah, this chapter is not my strong point, I struggled with it and it took over a month to finish. But it IS important and, um, stuff.

Chapter 6
Light at the End

Spike and the rest of the crew found themselves in a totally new environment. The floor was made with bricks and not concrete, like in the sewers above. Mounted on the wall was an endless row of crystals that lit up suddenly. These crystals seemed to serve the functions of torches, illuminating their path, but only staying lit when they were near. Strange pictographs were carved on the wall. And in the center, pristine water flowed towards them in a channel.

“What is this place?” Kyra curiously asked.

“I dunno, but we’re safe for now.” Spike answered.

“Guess this place was built by an ancient civilization. Why they built this tunnel beats me, though…” Blaze added.

“Did you even know this was here?” Shade asked, “Or where it leads to?”

Spike shrugged, “err… a lucky guess? All I know is we’re safe from those white wearin’ bastards.”

“Maybe if we follow the flowing water, we’ll reach the source, where hopefully there’s some sort of civilization?” Blaze surmised.

The group began to examine their surroundings as they walked. They studied the various pictographs and hieroglyphs on the walls, which were meaningless to them since they had no sort of expertise in ancient civilizations. Because they were exhausted, however, the water interested them much more than the ancient writings. Soon they stopped to take a drink, and wash their faces.

The fresh water seemed to revitalize the group. Within minutes, the weary travelers were back to their talkative selves. Everyone (with the exception of Vyle) was socializing, sharing jokes, and simply chatting with each other as they walked through the seemingly never-ending tunnel. Their laughs echoed throughout the catacombs.

A few minutes had passed, and then Blaze turned to Vyle, and tapped him on the shoulder as they were still walking. “Vyle, is it? Well, it’s nice to meet you,” she offered her hand. Vyle uneasily shook hands. This was not something Vyle was used to. He felt uncomfortable and awkward. Being alone for so long, Vyle was not at all used to socializing.

There was an awkward moment of silence. Vyle was uncomfortable and awkward, and really just wanted her to go away. But Blaze intended to have a conversation. She had a very talkative personality, and always tried to start conversations with anyone new. She always wanted to get to know everyone and just talk—a very unlikely trait for a gang member to have.

Blaze eventually broke the silence. “So, you’ve been on the street your whole life?” she asked, more hoping to start a conversation than anything else.

“Uhh… yeah, pretty much,” Vyle responded timidly.

Blaze could sense his reluctance, but still wanted to get to know Vyle more than anything else. “Lemme guess, you’re afraid to talk about yourself?” She paused for a moment. “I know, maybe I’ll tell you how I became part of this crew.”

“Well, to begin, my parents were basically drunk bastards who couldn’t give a crap less about me,“ Blaze began to narrate. “Yeah, my life sucked. Parents used to drink, fight with each other, and occasionally did drugs. And sometimes, they’d take their anger out on me. I was always goin' to school with all these bruises and scars. My teachers would always ask how I got them, but I would just be like, ‘meh, dunno… fell…” because I was too afraid to rat my bastardly parents out. "

"Eventually, I had taken one beating too many. I decided I had to do something. So I ran away, literally. I didn’t care about school, since it’s just a waste of time anyways, and obviously my parents really couldn’t care less about me. So yeah, I made a run for it, to escape the prison that was my life. Where I was going, I had no idea, but I didn’t care.

Now, life on the streets was a totally new thing to me. I hadn’t the slightest idea where to go or how to get food or anything. More than once, weirdos tried to grab me, though I escaped them somehow… I was starting to have doubts about my life being any better than with my parents. It was then that I saw something that changed my life—I’d say that I was real lucky. A group of other girls, some about my age, but some a lot older, were in the midst of robbing a store. I then knew that my only chance on the streets was to tag along with them. "

"I tried to approach them, to see if I could tag along. The leader of the group responded harshly and with a deep voice, for a lady. She told me that I needed to go through an initiation—to rob someone successfully by myself. I had no idea how this was done. Someone tossed me a case with a knife inside, and told me “good luck!” So, not having the slightest clue on what to do, I used my imagination. Later that evening, I happened to come across an elderly man, perhaps trying to get home."

Blaze paused for a moment. “I still have flashbacks abut what happened next. I still… can barely talk about it… but I’ll go on.”

“Not knowing what to do, I simply pulled out the knife. I… I brandished the knife… at the man. He totally just surrendered, started to toss his wallet over, whatever. But… the gang was watching. They were cheering me on… giving me stabbing gestures. I… I couldn’t decide… whether to stop… to let the man go… or to stab. I was afraid that… the group wouldn’t accept me… but I was also afraid to hurt someone. That moment seemed to last forever. I was just… standing there, me, the knife, and the man. Finally, with the weight of everyone watching me… I… umm… well, you know what I did… I… can’t say it…” Blaze trembled as she spoke.

By then, the rest of the group was listening in on her telling the story to Vyle. Spike and Shade had already heard it, but they were still impressed and wanted to hear it again. After a brief pause, Spike broke the silence. “Go on… it’s okay,” he said calmly.

Blaze took a moment to get herself together again, then she agreed. “All right…”

“Yeah, after… ummm... that, I was in. They accepted me. For years we went on robbing people, attacking stores, and even holding our own against other rival gangs. But it didn’t last forever. Soon, it got harder and harder to find places to rob, and we had to fight a lot more. Some of us were killed… it wasn’t pretty. Then, during a major police crackdown, most of us… were captured. We never saw them again. I was one of the lucky ones who escaped the capture. But for the rest of us, it was too hard to survive. Our numbers dwindled, and we were unable to compete anymore. So, everyone else… well, they resorted to the only other way they could survive… yes that’s right, they became hookers.” Blaze spoke grimly."

“But I wasn’t about to sell myself to pervs. No way. I would rather starve! So, I decided to go for it alone, or hopefully find a new crew. I was grown up, and knew how to survive on my own. I stole whenever I could, and mostly found food in the trash, until after a while, I finally found a new crew I could join—Spike’s. "

Blaze sighed with relief after having finished her story. Despite having heard it more than once, Spike and Shade were still impressed. Kyra was even more impressed. “Wow, you’re tough!” she commented. Vyle was impressed with her story as well, but didn’t show it. His hood obscured his face, and he remained silent.

“Well, since we’re sharin’ life stories, here, how bout I tell ya how I got here?” Spike said next. No one had any objection to Spike telling his story to the newcomers. “Ok, yeah…” he began, “well, I don’t know a damn thing about my parents. For as long as I remember, I was livin’ in an orphanage of some kind. Now, I swear those people didn’t give a crap about us in the orphanage. Pretty much all they did was give us this weird crap they called food, expected us to go to their school, and then they basically left us to fend for ourselves in there. They never watched us, and only stepped in when there was a real big fight goin’ on. It was madness in there. Kids banded together in gangs to defend themselves, and there was betrayal everywhere. And, for one thing, if you were weak, or showed any kind of pity, they all beat you up. Well, you can bet that I sure wasn’t no weakling. I always practiced liftin’ weights, and I didn’t trust no one."

"When I was 15, I just about had enough of that place. One of the people there, who I guess they pay to make them pretend they care, told me about life outside the orphanage. She tried to make it sound all scary, but it just made me want to leave more. I was tired of all their bullshit. So I planned an escape, along with four others that also wanted out. We all took our sheets and made a rope, then we tossed it out of a second-story window so we could climb out."

"Now, those dumbasses at the orphanage never caught us. We became a crew, livin on the streets, and finding some real food, not just the crap they served us. We got more people from the street to join us and for a while there, we were livin’ the high life."

"But we couldn’t live it up forever. Eventually, one night, the police actually caught up to my crew. I was busted for armed robbery, and I also killed some people from other crews. So yeah, they put my ass away for a loooooong time."

"Or so they thought. I didn’t spend more than a couple years in there. I was already plannin’ another escape. One of my buds in there got kitchen duty. It was easy for him to make the place start to burn down. Lastly, when you spend time in the slammer like that, you learn a thing or two ‘bout cripplin’ people. So, on the night me and my buds planned, we got ready. Boom, we got the fire goin in the kitchen, ya know, threw some tables onto it to make it better. We made sure the fire spread to the cafeteria where we were eatin’. As we planned, everyone else started to riot, and that caught the attention of most of the guards. Meanwhile, we all snuck out under their noses in the chaos. But not before we raided some normal people’s clothes from their storage. "

"Heh, I s’pose their records burned down or somethin’, cause they never found us. We started to form a new crew… more badass and hardcore than ever. You don’t spend time in the slammer without learnin’ a thing or two. Who knows how many others got out of there too, ‘cause soon gangs were tearing up the town, and there wasn’t a damn thing the police could do to stop it. It seemed like no one gave a shit."

"Eventually, we found ourselves a nice hideout underground, and with some new Pokémon, fresh off the market, we made ourselves the base. Now, this was about the time that Blaze and Shade over here joined the crew. We began calling ourselves The Underground ever since."

"But yeah, after a while, some fights broke out. Everyone either left or got the shit knocked out of them. I got to keep our place, along with Blaze and Shade, who stayed loyal. So yeah, that’s how we got here.”

“Wow, Spike, you had to do all that… fighting? I uhh… I wish I was home with Mommy and Daddy,” Kyra commented, saddened by the thought of never seeing her parents again. Immediately after, she began to break into tears. Memories of that final night that Kyra saw her parents flooded back to her mind.
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In the middle of the night, some people broke into her house. They were violent and threatened to kill. Their Pokémon glinted in the faint light of the street they lived on. Kyra could only make out their silhouettes, and did not know which Pokémon they were.

“This all you got?” said one of the robbers.

“I know they’ve got more,” the second robber replied. “Rich people always got more.” He made that comment despite the fact the house he was in was small and the furniture definitely wasn’t t the lavish type you’d expect to see in a rich person’s home.

“I… I swear to you… that’s… that’s all I have…” Kyra’s dad replied, gripping his wife tightly.

“Liars! They got more jewelry, more cash, more something!” The second robber spoke to the first.

“We don’t play games. Hand it all over… or die!” the first robber spoke harshly.

“Y… you can search through all my stuff… it’s… not much,” Kyra’s dad pleaded, “You can take it all. Just spare our lives.”

The robbers paused for a second, and then the first one replied in a malicious voice, “I got a better idea… Use Metal Claw, now!” He pointed to his Pokémon.

“Scizor!” The Pokémon obediently answered as its claw began glowing. At that moment, the dad noticed her daughter standing in the doorway of her room, watching in horror.

“Kyra, run! Please… Daddy and Mommy will always watch over you!” her dad cried out in a voice laced with fear. Kyra hesitated, and then heard her parents scream in pain. She turned around and escaped through the back, not knowing what happened to her parents.

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Kyra’s sobbing echoed throughout the underground tunnel. Blaze, Shade, and Spike tried to calm her down. It was not a common thing to see people who were basically criminals trying to comfort a child like that. “Your parents obviously loved you very much,” Blaze commented while embracing her.

Spike then added, “I’m sure your mommy and daddy wouldn’t wanna see you cryin’ like that.” Blaze shot a look to Shade as if to ask her to say something.

“Aww, hell, I’m no good at this…” Shade paused for a moment. “Umm… Kyra, hon, your mommy and daddy are watching over you right now. They want you to be happy.”

It took an indeterminate amount of time to comfort Kyra enough for her to stop crying. The Underground members had found her the exact same way, months ago, sobbing and alone, and offered to take her in and teach her the ways of the streets. It was a very unlikely thing to see gangsters caring for a child like that, but they were no ordinary thugs. Although Vyle didn’t shot it, he actually did have sympathy for her. The sound of Kyra crying sent shock waves through his mind, creating an uneasy storm of discomfort and dissonance.

The group regained their high spirits after a long while. They began to chat amongst themselves once again as they were walking. Eventually Blaze pointed out, “hey, Shade, you never told us your story… ya know… about how you made it here? You’re always so secretive about these things.”

“Fine, fine, if it’ll get ya to shut up already!” Shade replied, giving in to the months of numerous demands to hear about her. “I just… don’t like to talk about it much. Since we’re all into asking about our damn life stories, I’ll tell ya. Sheesh…”

“Ok, it all started with my parents, who were the strictest bunch of assholes you could ever think of. The dictators of parents I had made me go to bed at like 8 every night and wake up at the crack of dawn. Oh yeah, then there were the chores. Like cleaning up the house couldn’t wait until I was awake enough. They also made me pray for like half an hour. It was to… umm… yeah, I forget, something totally stupid. Oh, and let’s not forget school. Yeah, ya see, they so totally wanted me to be an educated doctor like how they were, and so they put me in this really tough school with all these annoyingly strict teachers. Then there’s the fact that I wasn’t allowed to have friends. Apparently they’d distract me from my shitty life too much. Whatever. So yeah, no wonder I wasn’t popular or anything. I was so messed up, everyone, of course, simply made fun of me.

Anyways, when I was about 13, that’s when I finally stopped caring. I ran away from home and hid at the school. I was safe there for a while, but man, you bet my parents were after me. They were determined to drag me back into the shithole of my life. They had police investigations and everything. So there was basically only one thing I could do… run, run as far away from there as I can.
Apparently the police around here really suck or something, because they never found me. Anyways, yeah, I hung around the streets before I joined a crew—different from Spikes, but still pretty powerful. I made it pretty far into the ranks, but after a few years, I decided to leave them. I didn’t like the management. So yeah, that’s when I joined Spike’s crew. There, happy now? I spilled my guts.”

“Really now? Another powerful crew? Which one was it, the Daredevils? 43rd street? Don’t tell me it was them.” Spike immediately rushed in to ask.

“Umm… no, it was neither of them. You’d have never heard of the name,” Shade replied.

“Try me!”

“Well, all right… but like I said, you’ve never heard of them. Have you heard of the… Bloodlust?”

“Whaat? Hell no.”

“Well, they were from the opposite side of town.”

“Really? I coulda swore that the East Bridge Mafia controls that place.”

“Well, it hasn’t always been that way.”

“That’s weird, a crew I never heard of…”

“… I have a question for ya too…” Blaze added immediately after Spike, “How could you forget the name of something you prayed to for all that time?”

“Aww… well, I was half asleep all the time. And, puh-leese, I’d rather NOT remember. Now will you all stop playing 20 questions with me?”

There was a few seconds of awkward silence, after which Blaze spoke up. “Vyle, we haven’t heard from you at all. How’d you get here?” She nudged him gently.

Vyle thought to himself with a sigh, “fine, if it will get her to shut up.” He was not comfortable in even trying to dig up repressed memories.

“I been on the streets as long as I could remember. I don’t remember my parents at all,” Vyle replied, hoping that Blaze would be satisfied.

“…Wow,” Blaze replied, stunned. Vyle’s short response appeared to have done the job.

The group walked for hours through what seemed to be an endless tunnel. They got so weary, even the water ceased to be able to refresh them. Hunger had also begun to take its toll on them. Yet only darkness greeted them when they stared either way down the tunnel. Their only light was from the mysterious crystals that briefly lit up while they passed.

Yet soon, ether was a glimmer of hope ahead. Light was shining ahead of them—but not the kind of light from the sun, or any artificial source they knew of. It was a mysterious, glowing light that had a soothing quality to it. As they ventured closer, they could see that the tunnel got wider, and the carved, stone walls lost their man-made quality and became more natural looking. They could also hear what sounded like a waterfall.

The group reached a huge, cavernous underground chamber, which seemed to be the source of the flowing waters. The room was illuminated by clusters of Pokémon that were familiar to the group.

“Whoa!” Spike exclaimed, backing up cautiously.

“Relax, those are wild Sparquartz,” Shade reassured. “Not like those ones from Team Judgment at all. “

“Oh, right,” Spike replied, slightly embarrassed.

“Hey, maybe we can rest here. The Sparquartz might even heal us,” Blaze suggested. The group unanimously agreed, as they were tired. They found a flat patch on the floor, which was mostly sand, to rest on. It was near big, sparkling pool, which was being fed by a waterfall coming from another cavern above. Each of them fell asleep with ease on the sand, which was not that comfortable, but since the group was so tired, they didn’t care.

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“…We have failed you, my Lord,” The Team Judgment executive spoke solemnly to the illuminated altar above. “Not only that, but we have lost several of your divine soldiers. Clearly we are up against an evil force that is beyond the scope of any mortal man. I offer thee my humblest prayers.”

Silence then filled the temple, with the exception of the executive muttering words in prayer. It was as if the enigmatic leader of Team Judgment was contemplating. Even the highest ranking Judgment members only knew their leader by voice. No one had ever laid eyes upon him. Intense light shone of the head of the altar, obscuring any possible vision of the throne, which sat above a long series of steps. Golden altarpieces with engraved images of legendary Pokémon surrounded the throne on three sides, their reflected light only intensifying the glare from the altar. Lit torches and candles lined the entire room. Was the leader of Team Judgment simply a man, or perhaps a divine being?
The figure atop the altar spoke in a booming voice, “Very well. Angels of light shall be sent upon Techno City. That is where they’ll head next.”

“You truly know all, my Lord Emmanuel.” The executive spoke humbly. He proceeded to bow to the floor, and then walked out of the room, closing the large oak doors behind him.

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After a long and refreshing slumber, the five Underground members awoke. A long, indeterminate journey still awaited them. However, the group was fully refreshed and ready to walk. They did not feel hungry, and their wounds had vanished. The wild Sparquartz had used their healing abilities on them. They had also healed the group’s Pokémon. A similar tunnel stretched ahead of them, with the same channel of water flowing from the pool in that room.

“Ooh, can we take one of those Sparquartz with us?” Kyra asked.

“I don’t think that’s possible… they’re fully attached to the cave. Not to mention that if we wanted to capture them, I’m sure the rest of them would be mad. And I’m not in the mood to be hit with any more Light Arrows,” Blaze answered. They all started to walk down the tunnel behind them, which was built the same way.

[MeLoVeGhOsTs]

Yeah, short chapter. It's good to know the backgrounds of the characters now, although a bit cliché, it's over with now. Hoping for a new chapter ^^

[Sike Saner]

It was good to get those backstories there. They helped to flesh out the characters some more, which is something I always like to see done. ^^

Blaze's story in particular really stood out to me. When she talked about what she did to that old man, I could really tell, especially by the way that she couldn't bring herself to explicitly state that she'd stabbed the guy, just how heavily what she did still weighed on her. That the way it still haunted her came through so clearly was something that especially impressed me.

I liked the way tunnels and that chamber with the Sparquartz were described as looking. They sounded seriously lovely. o.o

And I would so want to have a Sparquartz. They're not only very cool, but very useful to have around, as well. But yeah, I wouldn't try to take one with all its buddies warching, either, even if the Sparquartz in question weren't literally a part of the cave. X3

[PsiUmbreon]

Yeah, short chapter. It's good to know the backgrounds of the characters now, although a bit cliché, it's over with now. Hoping for a new chapter ^^

Yeah, that was difficult but necessary and I'm glad it's over. Now for the cool part.

It was good to get those backstories there. They helped to flesh out the characters some more, which is something I always like to see done. ^^

Blaze's story in particular really stood out to me. When she talked about what she did to that old man, I could really tell, especially by the way that she couldn't bring herself to explicitly state that she'd stabbed the guy, just how heavily what she did still weighed on her. That the way it still haunted her came through so clearly was something that especially impressed me.

I liked the way tunnels and that chamber with the Sparquartz were described as looking. They sounded seriously lovely. o.o

And I would so want to have a Sparquartz. They're not only very cool, but very useful to have around, as well. But yeah, I wouldn't try to take one with all its buddies warching, either, even if the Sparquartz in question weren't literally a part of the cave. X3

Interestingly enough even though the tunnels were miles upon miles of the same thing, it probably was easier than the miles upon miles of desert they would have had to cross to make the same trip from Murdock to the place in the next chapter. And that desert is full of wild Pokemon that would not be opposed to attacking

And if you want one of those Sparquartz you'd better have something that could take about six hundred or so Light Arrow attacks. Meaning another Miracle type.

Well anyway the next place the travelers go to is dripping with coolness and badassery (is that even a word??) This chapter also took a long time to write but was overall a lot more fun to write than the last one.

Chapter 7: Techno City

The same thing-a seemingly endless path-greeted the five weary travelers as they continued down the second tunnel. They had been walking for an indeterminate amount of time, since the sun was not visible from there and no one had any watches. But, after walking for about the same length of time as in the first tunnel, the group came across something alarming: what seemed to be a dead end. A solid metal wall stood in their way, blocking their passage. The water in the center of the path continued to flow through a pipe opening at the bottom of the wall.

“Uhh…” A collective mutter issued from the group.

“Well… what to do now?” Blaze pondered.

“See that pipe? I’ll bet we can go through it.” Spike suggested.

“No way… you’ve got to be crazy!” Blaze immediately protested. “How do we know what’s ahead?! We could be sucked into a pump or worse yet, drown!”

“I don’t wanna drown!” Kyra exclaimed, alarmed.

“Well what do you suppose is a better option? We can’t exactly go back… we’ll all starve to death, just stuck in this tunnel, doomed to never see the light of day again. Years later, someone else finds this tunnel, and of course, our skeletons, all huddled together, telling the tale of how we withered away slowly over the course of a few weeks. Is that what you’d rather have?” Shade cynically pointed out.

“N…no!” Kyra exclaimed again.

“All right, then it’s settled. Which one of us is going first?” Shade asked.

“Meh, I’ll go for it,” Spike crawled into the pipe, which was easily wide enough for a large person to go through. The rest followed, some more reluctant than others.

“Be careful… it’s-“Spike’s voice trailed off. Spike began sliding face first down the pipe in total darkness.

“Wha?” Blaze asked, worried, but before she knew it, she was sliding as well.

“Looks like there’s no other choice,” Shade remarked, guessing that the other two had slid downward rapidly already. She and the remaining members, an indifferent Vyle and a scared Kyra, also began to slide face first down the pipe.

Before Spike knew it, he plunged face first into an icy cold pool of water. He slowly opened his eyes and began swimming towards the edge of the pool. He looked around and saw that he was in a large room. Pipes and the blinking lights of machinery were scattered throughout the room. The humming of the machinery could be heard. Not too far in the distance were what sounded like turbines. Spike climbed out of the pool upon hearing the turbines drawing closer, as did the rest of the group, who slid in a bit after Spike. Spike pulled Kyra in, since she was unable to climb out on her own.

“…Now what?” Blaze asked.

“Hey, look, an elevator!” Kyra exclaimed. There was a door which led into a clear, circular elevator shaft. The tubular shaft looked wide enough for all five to easily fit inside. Soaking wet, the group all trudged in toward the elevator, where there was a glowing green button next to the door. Kyra excitedly pressed it, and the doors instantly slid open. A circular platform awaited them. Immediately after they all got in, the metal doors instantly shut. Before they knew it, they were launched upward rapidly with a whooshing sound.

A few seconds later, the elevator came to a stop so fast that the group lost its balance. They staggered to their feet, still dripping wet as the metal doors slid open. The group walked out and saw they were inside some kind of office. Computer monitors were all over the tables, each showing some kind of status bar, a graph, or the feedback of a surveillance camera. The office was rather small, deserted, and dark; the only light being that emanating from the monitors. Everyone walked toward the door, uninterested in their surroundings. That door also immediately opened and let them out.

Everyone was immediately mesmerized at what they saw as they walked out of the room, with the doors marked “maintenance only” instantly sliding shut behind them. Neon lights were aglow everywhere, from the tallest buildings to the smooth, black streets in front of them. A hovering car of some sort rushed past them, but they didn’t pay much attention, as they were too busy looking up. Behind some of the buildings, a single skyscraper towered above them. It was oddly shaped and pointed directly into the atmosphere, which was tinted reddish due to the lighting of the city reflecting off the cloudy night sky. The smooth, black surface of the skyscraper was covered in various glowing lights, and a train whizzed by directly above them on a neon yellow track that was coiled around the skyscraper above.

The group proceeded down the sidewalk of the smooth, black street. The street headed upwards and in a curved fashion. Businesses lined both sides of the streets. The businesses were closed for the night, but neon lights still lit up, decorating them. The street itself was illuminated with neon lights. The curbs were lined with either a green or blue streak of light, and the lanes were marked with yellow lights built into the surface of the street itself. Above the buildings, on the other side of the skyscraper, was endless sky, and another tower, smaller but still imposing nonetheless. This tower was pointed diagonally at the sky, and there were yellow rails coiled around it as well.

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Somewhere far away, a mother and daughter were talking with each other in a room with white marble walls. The daughter, who looked about 17, had blond hair and blue eyes, and wore a flower barrette. She was sitting on her bed with several books open. The mother, who was similar looking, was kneeling in front of the bed. She was helping her daughter study.

“Lucia, honey, you have to study. Your coming of age is tomorrow.”

“I know, I know, but… it’s just so much to remember. So much scripture, so much text… it’s all overwhelming.”

“Well let’s see what you know. Can you summarize the story within the Scriptures of Judgment?” The mother asked.

“Okay… lemme see… In the beginning, Lord Emmanuel created everything. The heavens, the earth, Pokémon, and lastly, humans. Humanity lived in a perfect paradise, together with Pokémon. But humanity grew selfish and evil as time passed. The malevolent Pokémon, Darkhor, who rebelled against Lord Emmanuel and was banished from paradise, tempted humans to rebel. As a result, humans were banished from paradise and into this world. Darkhor soon began tormenting humanity with horrific visions and dreams.”

“It remained this way for generations. But Emmanuel saw that humanity had suffered enough for its sins, and sent the benevolent Miracorn to stop Darkhor from tormenting humanity. Miracorn was the essence of Lord Emmanuel Himself, brought to this world to save humanity from torture. The two fought, and in the end, Miracorn sacrificed its life so that when humans die, their souls are brought to heaven to be one with Emmanuel. Darkhor was sent into an indefinite slumber. Three days later, however, a most divine miracle occurred. Miracorn was resurrected, and rose into heaven with Lord Emmanuel.”

“But Darkhor continues to rebel in its slumber. It tempts humanity into doing evil, and blackens people’s souls. It does this so that it can claim the souls of humans-an act of ultimate contempt for Emmanuel. However, Miracorn tries to save the souls of humans without interfering with the free will of humans. Miracorn left us a path to follow, and that is the path of Team Judgment. Those that follow the path of Team Judgment-honoring Lord Emmanuel as the creator of all, praying to Emmanuel and Miracorn for forgiveness for their sins, preaching the doctrines of Team Judgment, and doing good deeds-shall be immune to Darkhor’s evil grasp, and shall ascend to heaven. Those that reject Team Judgment shall be consumed by Darkhor, and spend eternity in darkness and suffering.”

“But this war for the souls of humans shall not continue forever. Once the time is right, and the world is not too full of evil, Lord Emmanuel shall send forth Miracorn once again, and all the evil shall be purged from the land. Miracorn shall use its Judgment on this world, so that all those who are evil will be banished to eternal darkness, along with Darkhor. Only those who have been forgiven by Lord Emmanuel will survive, and be rewarded with paradise once again.”

“Exactly right!” Lucia’s mother commented. “Now make me proud tomorrow. Don’t forget to pray tonight.”

“But mom, I have so many questions… How come Lord Emmanuel created Darkhor in the first place? Why do humans have to sin? Couldn’t Lord Emmanuel have made us all good?”

“Now, now, Lucia… only Lord Emmanuel knows the answer to those. You must simply have faith in Him. Once you go to heaven, you’ll know as well.” With that, her mother gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek. She then turned off the main light in the room, leaving only a lamp by Lucia’s bed on. As her mother walked out, she closed the door.

Lucia continued to study her books for a few hours, until she got tired. She then put her books on the nightstand near her bed. Then, she knelt before an icon she had placed on the dresser-one with a picture of the legendary Pokémon, Miracorn. The Miracorn was painted with a bright, sparkling aura around its white, equine body. The horn on its head shimmered with the light from the lamp. Lucia began to recite her nightly prayer:

“O Lord Emmanuel, who art in paradise, protect me from evil, and grant me salvation. I humbly ask Thee to grant me Thy Divine Blessing, and grant me strength to keep my faith in Thee alive. Amen.”

Upon those words Lucia crawled into bed and pulled the sheets over her almost completely. She turned off her lamp. “I hope I can learn the answer to your questions soon, Emmanuel…” she thought to herself.

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Spike’s group had been exploring the city, which they learned was called Techno City, for a while now. They had slowly ascended along the winding street, and had just come across an area of the city that was still active at this time of night. They passed several night clubs which were bustling with people. Those looked like fun, but they were sopping wet and cold, and wanted to find a hotel room to sleep in fast. They had also forgotten about their hunger. Since they had not eaten for several days and were only up due to the strength given to them by the Sparquartz. At the first scent of food, their hunger kicked in and they instantly stopped at a fast food diner that was open. They received a few stares for being drenched with water as they ordered their food, but they didn’t care. They finished their food within a few minutes, and then went out in search of a place to spend the night.

It was not long after they passed some more nightclubs and casinos that they found what they were looking for. They had reached the diagonally-pointed tower, and found that there was a large hotel, among other things, built into it. Spike instantly checked out a room for everyone, and handed the person at the front desk a stack of wet bills. They were shown to their rooms and instantly collapsed onto their beds, staying asleep until the night of the next day.

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Within the Neon Dragon casino, not too far from where Spike’s group was staying, a tall, skinny man was shouting excessively compared to the other gamblers at the blackjack table. He had his hair combed back and slicked with gel. His face was due for a shave, and he reeked of an excessive amount of cologne. He had on a black leather jacket and some tight jeans.

He casually flirted with the attractive female next to him. “Hey, babe, watch me win, and when I do, you and me can hit the town.”

“I’d rather not…” the female retorted as the man checked his hand, which was terrible. But he was prepared for this, having already placed several thousand Poké Dollars on the table. He casually slid his two cards across the table, but as he did so, he switched the bottom card with the one up his sleeve- the ace of spades, which had the legendary Ho-oh intricately painted on it. As expected, the man walked away from that hand several times richer than before.

But security was already on his tail, and soon, he was escorted out by two heavyset men in suits. “Yeah, thought you could be funny and try to pull a fast one, eh?” One of them sneered. “You’re an idiot. There are security cameras everywhere!”

Ticked off, the man pulled out his lighter and a pack of cigarettes and lit one of them up. As he trudged down the street away from the casino, broke, and with a cigarette in his mouth, he thought to himself, “I shoulda never came here. Techno City is too rough for me.”

He continued walking for a while, until he met up with a band of five people- Spike’s crew, The Underground. He was intrigued on how a group of people dressed like that could be walking together in the first place, much less in the sophisticated Techno City. More intriguing yet was the fact that one of them was still a child. As a criminal himself, he could tell instantly that those five were also criminals. He walked up to them and started to talk.

“Hey, what are people like you doin’ here?”

“S’cuse me?” Spike answered.

“Name’s Rad. You people look new around here, lemme show you around… ooh, and who’re the ladies with you?” He looked at Blaze and Shade.

“Who is this creep?” Blaze asked.

“I could tell from the way you look that you guys are… thieves. Rad spoke, but Spike cut him off.

“Not interested.”

“Huh?”

“We don’t need you. Get lost.”

“Fine, suit yourself. Good luck gettin' past the high-tech security, losers,” Rad retorted as he walked off.

“Who was that guy?” Blaze asked a few seconds later. “And why does he assume we’re here to steal?”

“Because we are here to steal,” Shade responded. “How the hell else are we going to live? It’s not like anyone’s gonna hire us for jobs or anything. Lessee… Background: Dropped out of school, joined gang, robbed people… criminal record… wanted in Murdock… yeah.” She added a sarcastic tone to her last remark. “Oh, and let’s not forget those white-robed psychos after us.”

“Okay, you’ve got a point, we’ve got no choice,” Blaze admitted. “But… where do we hit, and where do we go from there?”

Vyle was already ahead of them. He was surveying the area, looking for alleys to hide in. Surely a decadent city such as this had to have a dark underbelly. But in this city of neon lights and solid architecture, a truly dark place was hard to find. Vyle next tried checking the storefronts for a way to break in. But those were all shut with electronic locks. He concluded only one way in-breaking the glass. But that would draw too much attention, and the glass looked especially thick, and not easy to break at all.

The rest of the group took Vyle’s lead and also began to check the area. They could not find an alley or back entrance or anything like that. And they were not about to try to break that glass, since the stores would probably have alarms, and there could easily be a number of witnesses.

“Looks like you need my help after all, eh?” A familiar voice was heard behind them. Everyone turned around and the sight of the cologne-drenched Rad greeted them.

“Pfft. You people don’t know the first thing about this city. If you’re gonna be bold enough to rob stores, at least go through the back entrance…”

“What back entrance?!” Spike spoke up.
“Duh… you people really are lost without me. Follow me… inside the city.”

“In…side?” Blaze asked, not sure what he meant at all.

“Just follow me, I know my way around.”

Spike started following him, and soon they were all following Rad as he sprinted down a side street, which led toward that giant skyscraper they saw earlier. But what Rad knew and what The Underground didn’t is that Techno City was, in reality, one huge tower, built like a mountain, with much smaller buildings across its surface. They were, in reality, traversing the edges of the city, and that “skyscraper” they saw was actually the top half of the tower.

As they began to head forward, Blaze whispered, “What are you doing? Ditch the loser!”

Spike responded in a whisper, “he seems to know where he’s goin’. ‘Sides, I was plannin’ on ditchin’ this guy later on anyway.” The group followed him as the street turned into a tunnel and went inside the tower.

“Hang on, this is gonna be a wild ride,” Rad warned. Inside the tunnel, the sidewalk simply continued, but there were two neon blue railings along the sidewalk, one of them bordering the street, and another one in the middle of the sidewalk. Rad headed in between the railings and waited for the rest of the group to catch up. He then pressed a green button shaped like an arrow pointing forward which was at the beginning of the railing.

The sidewalk and railing suddenly began to push them rapidly forward. They were on some sort of conveyor belt, it seemed. Everyone else, with the exception of Rad, almost lost their balance, as they had not heeded his warning. The group twisted and turned down several streets, getting on and off of different sidewalks. The conveyors were almost deserted, since it was the middle of the night, and everyone was either asleep or in other portions of the town, such as the casino area. They passed some more closed shops, as well as a lot of homes built into the metallic black walls of the city. Neon lights zoomed past them as they headed down those conveyor belt sidewalks at a fairly high speed.

Eventually they reached what seemed to be a back alley section of the city. The whole left side of the block was lined with what seemed to be loading entrances. They had reached the back of those stores. The sidewalk here was not motorized, since the railing would get in the way of trucks loading merchandise into the stores. He stopped next to a door with an electronic keypad on it. The door obviously had to be unlocked with a numeric password. “Now, everyone crowd around in a circle and watch the great Rad do his thang,” Rad announced.

“Well, this guy’s sure full of himself,” Shade muttered as they crowded around Rad. Little did they all know that Rad was purposely having them crowd around, so that they could obscure the vision of the surveillance cameras in the area, and so they wouldn’t capture how he opened the door.

“Volt, do your stuff!” Rad spoke as he pulled a concealed Poké Ball from under his jacket. A Magnemite materialized in front of everyone, hovering. Its silver, metallic sphere of a body began to charge electricity through magnets mounted on its side, and it closed its single eye as it charged. “Word to the wise, might want to hold onto anything metal you guys have…” Rad warned. “Oh, and keep your electronic devices away from this thing.”

The Magnemite emitted several varying magnetic pulses from its body once it charged. The pulses tugged at everyone’s metal objects, but they took his advice and hung onto them tightly. It seemed to release the pulses in a set pattern, in a way that meant that it was probably trained to do so. Eventually they heard a beep, and then a click as the door slid open, revealing a darkened supply room. Boxes of merchandise were piled almost to the ceiling. It seemed they were in a department store. “Oh, hang on a sec, lemme disable the security cameras,” Rad ordered Volt to use another pulse, this one somewhat stronger. “Now, grab what you can, but do it quick, we gotta get the hell outta here,” Rad said.

The department store was loaded with stuff. It was hard to decide what they should take with them. There were clothes of all sorts, and even jewelry there. Of course, the jewelry was under a glass case with yet another electronic lock, but it was quickly disabled and everyone grabbed the merchandise-watches, chains, earrings, pendants, and all sorts of other jewelry-from the shelves in there, with the exception of Kyra. Not only was she afraid to take stuff, she felt guilty for doing so. The question of morality did not occur to the other Underground members at all. Vyle especially did not have an issue here, since this did not hurt anyone directly.

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Meanwhile, in the core of the city, an extensively large server blinked several lights on it as it processed everything that was going on in the city at once. A large red one at the top blinked on and off, meaning that criminal activity was detected. The server immediately sent a message to the nearby police station, which read “WARNING: UNAUTHORIZED POKéMON USAGE DETECTED IN SECTOR 3, 4500 BLOCK, INDUSTRY LANE. SEND STRIKE TEAM IMMEDIATELY.” This message sounded out loud, and monitors inside the station displayed a map of the area where the department store was broken into. Instantly the police in the station hopped on hover cycles and zoomed toward the store. The police in this city were efficient and responsive, unlike in Murdock. It was much harder to lead a life of crime here.

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Inside the store, the group continued to grab as much jewelry as they could. Little did they know that within two minutes, police would show up with hi-tech weapons and incredibly strong Pokémon. Rad looked over at Kyra, who was watching as everyone else grabbed jewelry.

“Hey, what’s with the little one? You guys couldn’t find a babysitter or something?”

Spike glared at him. “She ain’t got nowhere else to go.”

Rad responded, “Well, so?”

“You would abandon a little girl on the streets alone like that?”

Rad changed the subject. “You’ve got two girlfriends? You must be the luckiest guy ever. Chicks dig a guy with kids.”

Embarrassed, Spike replied, “We’re not…”

“Not what? Oh… I see…”

Rad’s thought was interrupted by a loudspeaker. “Freeze! You’re all under arrest!”

“Whoa, who woulda thought the coppers would get here that fast…” Rad commented as he and the rest of them immediately ran towards the front of the store. Suddenly, right as they neared the front window, metal shutters came down over the entire front of the store, sealing them within. The officers began to fire electrical shots from their weapons as everyone in the group leapt behind different obstacles.

“Get those metal doors open or else we’re screwed!” Rad yelled out from behind a rack of clothes. “I’ll buy some time!” With that, Rad called forth his Magnemite again. “Volt, Thunder Wave!” The Magnemite immediately started firing bolts of blue electricity at the officers, stunning several of them. But the officers were quick too. One of them, a more elite officer in the squad, reached for his Poké Ball. Almost faster than humanly possible, a Tyranitar was released from the ball. Upon coming out, the massive, brown, armored creature with spikes running down created a sandstorm. The sandstorm blew at the group, stinging them with grains of sand. The rest of the officers who weren’t hit by Thunder Wave hid behind the Tyranitar, which was easily much larger than any of them.

Meanwhile, Blaze, Shade, and Spike knew what to do. From behind the protection of the customer service desk at the front, Blaze called upon her two Pokémon, Hellhound and Shadember. She ordered them to use Flamethrower on the metal doors and melt through them. The two Pokémon aimed beams of fire at the shutters, beginning to carve a tunnel through the shutters with flame.
The Tyranitar was commanded to aim a Hyper Beam at the rack of clothes that Rad was hiding behind. A bright and powerful beam was unleashed, which caused an explosion ripped the rack asunder. Rad was launched back, but regained his balance as he landed and rolled behind another rack of clothes. With sand uncomfortably stinging his face, he ordered Volt to use its magnetism and attract the officers’ weapons to it. “I need help!” Rad yelled at the rest of the group.

Spike and Shade did not sit idly by. Their hands shielding their faces from the sand, Shade called out Spook and Spike called out Nightclaw. Blaze was about halfway done with their escape tunnel. Shade ordered Spook to use Confuse Ray while Spike ordered an Ice Beam. The Tyranitar shrugged of the Ice Beam as if it was nothing, and as soon as the Confuse Ray hit it, officers had Full Heals ready to apply and cure Tyranitar of confusion.

More officers flooded in through the back of the store. The leader of those forces called forth another juggernaut of a Pokémon, Metagross. This creature walked on four legs, with its body resting close to the ground, not unlike a spider. Its bluish-gray metal surface shimmered in the dim light. Meanwhile, the officers at the front struggled to hang on to their weapons as Volt pulled them towards it with magnetism. It managed to take a few of their weapons away.

“Tyranitar, Hyper Beam! Metagross, Psychic!” Officers ordered their Pokémon. The Tyranitar let loose another glowing beam of energy, striking Volt head on. Volt was launched into the shutters and instantly collapsed. Its metal shell was strong enough to protect it from most physical attacks, and able to block out the damaging sandstorm, but not strong enough to protect it from an attack that powerful. Rad called Volt back immediately. Meanwhile, Metagross focused its mind on its opponents. Spike and Shade were being held in the air by the Psychic attack, unable to move or speak. Officers aimed their guns directly at the helpless Spike and Shade.

Fortunately for them, however, Spook and Nightclaw were Dark types, and easily withstood the mind attack. They were well trained for situations like this, ready to help their masters at a moment’s notice. Struggling to see in the sandstorm, Nightclaw fired Ice Beams at the officers’ hands, freezing them and making them unable to fire their weapons. Spook fired a Confuse Ray at Metagross, making it stagger and lose mental control over the bodies of Spike and Shade.

But the officers’ Pokémon were quick-thinking too. Tyranitar let loose a Thunderbolt, which blasted Spook. The ghostly form of the Sableye collapsed out of the air and fainted. Metagross staggered in confusion, but managed to successfully nail the speedy Nightclaw with its most powerful attack, Meteor Mash. The blow from its metallic foreleg sent Nightclaw straight into the shutters at the front of the store. Both Shade and Spike called back their Pokémon and too cover at the registers in the front.

“We can’t win!” Spike yelled out in frustration as yet more officers showed up.

“Yes… we… can!” Rad grunted as he picked up one of the guns that Volt attracted to it before it got knocked out. He shot at both of the Pokémon, paralyzing them. But officers were ready with Full Heals to cure the paralysis.

Just then, a collective kick from Blaze, Vyle, and Kyra kicked through the weakened shutter. Sparks flew and the glass in the front of the store shattered. The three of them ran outside through a storm of sparks, sand, and glass shards, which stung and cut at their faces. Blaze then yelled out, “C’mon! Let’s blow this joint!” and called back her Pokémon.

Shade, Spike, and Rad were more than eager to dart through the opening. Tyranitar launched yet another Hyper Beam, destroying the registers at the front and barely missing them. Metagross focused for another Psychic, but the group managed to get out.

But what was waiting for them as they escaped the department store was far worse than anything the officers could do. A flock of angelic Pokémon wielding staves with red, spherical gems on them were flying directly overhead. Their glowing white feathers descended like a blizzard, slowing the group down. A collective, “What the…” was uttered by everyone. But they had no time to process what was happening. The angelic Pokémon fired huge blasts of light from their staves, even larger than Light Arrow attacks. Everyone was instantly knocked out. The Pokémon then descended and picked up the fallen group.

The angels of light had descended upon Techno City.

[Sike Saner]

If "badassery" isn't a word, it so should be.

Yes, Techno City kicks ass; I agree with you wholeheartedly there. It's a severely cool-looking place--it would be really awesome to see a place like that in an actual Pokémon game (or heck, pretty much any kind of game), specifically a 3-D Pokémon game. *_*

And oh snap--the (name of the Pokémon withheld to avoid spoiling it) are here, meaning that... yeah. Vyle and company are in deep shit... o_o

[PsiUmbreon]

Sorry for the lateness of my update. I was at my girlfriend's house for much of the past week and her internet went down and is still down so I couldn't update from there.

Anyway, this chapter is worth the wait because it is, at least in my opinion, one of the coolest chapters in this fic. Also it's the longest chapter so far. And yes, badassery should so be a word. So should Jarl. But that's not the point. Anyway...

Chapter 8
Soldiers of Light

The angels dispersed throughout the outer areas of the city, hitting seemingly arbitrary targets. What was unclear to the panicked citizens of the city was that the Litaria were only targeting those that they could sense great evil within. The Litaria had an innate ability to sense good or evil within a person. Panic spread among all the outer areas and railways as people witnessed others being blasted with light and carried off in the talons of the Litaria. The attack was so abrupt, not even the police could respond fast enough, nor did they comprehend what exactly was going on. To them-and everybody else-the targets seemed completely random. Those who lived in the inner sections of Techno City (usually the lower-income families) were safe from the chaos… for now.

The attack ended just as abruptly as it began. Before the police force could organize and actively fight back, the angels retreated, carrying their hapless targets in their talons. Techno City was left in chaos. The Pokémon then flew away from the city, leaving behind trails of falling white feathers that gave the appearance of snow. They then met up with another, smaller group of Litaria. People dressed in white robes were mounted on the backs of these angels.

“Good work, Litarias,” one of the people, a Team Judgment executive, called out to the flock. Together, the several hundred Litaria flew off, with the towering Techno City in the background. From the vantage point of the Litaria retreating from the city, Techno City resembled a twisted black tree trunk with yellow railroad tracks coiled around it like snakes.

The enormous flock headed towards what looked like a giant white castle. This castle was simply immense, to the point at which the topmost part of the castle at times touched the clouds. Like Techno City, this castle seemed to be based around one huge spire, with smaller towers built into its sides. However, this tower was white and entirely comprised of marble, and did not have tracks winding up and down around it.

Once the flock reached the tower, they flew into three different aeries, which were situated near the top, designed as a landing point for the Litaria. The unconscious captives were then dropped from the Litarias’ talons, where Team Judgment members assigned them numbers, then searched them and stripped them of all their possessions, including their Pokémon. Other Litaria then picked up the captives and carried them down long passageways, eventually depositing them in jail cells. Once the cells were filled with captives, the white-robed attendants pressed a switch, which activated light energy bars that closed off the cells.

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Several hours had passed, and Shade, Vyle, and Rad had just begun to regain consciousness. They were together in the same cell. Three beds were placed against each of the marble walls of the cell. There was a small door, which led to a cramped bathroom. Other than that, the cell was barren and dull looking. The light energy bars of the cell hummed softly.

The three prisoners quickly noticed that they still had their same clothes, but their weapons and Pokémon were stripped from them. They also noticed their splitting headaches. Rad sat up on his bed and immediately asked, “So, anyone know what happened?” He rubbed his eyes and blinked twice while taking in his new surroundings.

“Well, from the looks of things, I’d guess those psychos caught up to us,” Shade responded, also trying to take in the surroundings.

“Psychos were after ya? Why didn’t ya say so? I woulda totally left you guys alone!” Rad replied, surprised.

“Hey, I wasn’t the one who decided to show off and act like a pompous know-it-all!” Shade retorted sharply.

“Ooh, this kitten has claws…” Rad commented, his complaints muted by Shade’s response.

“What’s with this guy?” Rad pointed to Vyle, a couple of minutes later. “He’s like, mister never-talks!”

“I dunno,” Shade responded with a shrug. The truth was that Shade really didn’t know what the thing with Vyle was either. His hood always covered his eyes and obscured his face, hiding his internal struggles.

“Well, aren’t you guys the partying bunch… sarcastic drama-queen and ol’ never-speak. Can’t believe that I, the great Rad, am stuck here with such an ‘interesting’ crowd.”

“You can shut the hell up now… your complaining is totally not helping.” Shade responded with a harsh tone.

“Well, neither is your bitching!” Rad retorted.

“You’re the only one here who’s bitching!”

“Well you guys totally got me into this mess!”

“Ugh, not worth it…” Shade muttered, restraining herself from yelling, but just audible enough so that Rad could hear it.

“What are you-“ Rad started to respond, but then realized that Shade had already won their little argument by taking the mature path, and making Rad look like a whiny little kid. His ego deflated, and he sat silently on his bed, occasionally giving Shade a hostile look. Shade ignored him completely, realizing that Rad was insecure and needed someone else to blame.

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Meanwhile, Blaze, Spike, and Kyra had just awakened in another, similar looking cell. “Oww…” Spike muttered, holding his head.

“My head…” Blaze spoke as well.

“What is this place? It’s… scary…” Kyra inquired, fear present in her young voice.

“What do those bastards want with us?” Spike asked.

“Well, it can’t be good if they knocked us out and threw us in here…” Blaze responded.

Just then, three Judgment members, accompanied by three Litaria, approached their cell from the hallway. The one in the front announced, “All right, listen up, filth. You will follow us, one at a time, in an orderly fashion, for your initial evaluation. And don’t try anything funny, unless you want another taste of the Light Spear.” He directed their attention to the Litaria. “All right, now that we’re clear on a few things here, it’s time to move.” He directed with a hand motion for another Judgment member to deactivate the light bars of the cell. The other member proceeded to enter a numerical combination into the keypad next to their cell, careful so that none of the other prisoners could watch him enter it. A mechanical click was heard, and the light bars instantly flashed off.

Blaze, Spike, and Kyra were then led out of the cell. The three Litarias each pointed their staves directly at the prisoners’ backs and occasionally nudged them as they hovered behind the prisoners, flapping their wings gently. They passed other cells with yet more prisoners from Techno City, some still unconscious, some looking at the group passing by with nervousness. The hallways began to curve as they walked, making it apparent that they were in a circular tower.

The three captives were then separated and forced into separate rooms. Spike and Blaze both had brave, determined looks on their faces. They were ready to face whatever awaited them. Kyra, on the other hand, had a look of fear on her face as the Litaria pushed her into a room.

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Inside one of the rooms, Spike was seated at a table. Across from Spike was a Team Judgment member with a notepad and pencil. The room was undecorated, and the polished marble walls reflected the glare from the bright light in the room directly at Spike’s face. Behind Spike were two more Litaria, hovering almost completely motionless, with the exception of the gentle flapping of their wings. Their silvery hair glistened in the bright light of the room, their humanlike faces were grim and emotionless, and their clawed feet and tail dangled, almost touching the marble floors.

“Do you know why you’re here?” The white-robed figure calmly asked Spike.

“Hell no, I don’t know what you crazed bastards want with me,” Spike replied with a tone of insolence.

The Team Judgment member jotted something down on the pad, and then calmly replied, “You are here because you have led a life of sin. We exist to change that, and allow you to atone for your crimes.”

“And what if I don’t wanna atone?” Spike boldly replied, giving the person with the notepad an intimidating look, scary even with the fact that two Litarias were ready in case he tried anything. The Team Judgment member was unfazed and continued to jot down notes.

“If you do not atone, when you die, you will be consumed by eternal darkness. Your soul will spend eternity suffering in complete solitude, surrounded by darkness which torments you endlessly. Lord Emmanuel does not want you or anyone else to suffer this fate. He has offered each and every person a chance for eternal salvation. All you must do is pray to Emmanuel for forgiveness and place your faith in Him, and join Team Judgment in our quest to rid the world of evil, and save as many souls as we can.” He paused for a moment, having given the last part of his description with more enthusiasm.

“Are you with us?”

“Sounds like a load of bullshit to me,” Spike replied.

“Very well. You’ll change your mind about us someday. Hopefully before you’re consumed by eternal darkness,” The Judgment member replied, masking his anger with his calm, indifferent voice. “Take this one back for now,” He directed to the Litaria. Spike was then forced out of the room by the Litarias’ staves. Another Judgment member was waiting outside the door to lead Spike back to his cell.

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Back in the other cell, Shade, Rad, and Vyle were already being led out. “Dude, what’s with the poking?” Rad complained to the Judgment member about the Litaria jabbing him with its staff.

“Silence,” The white-robed man roared back. The Litaria pressed its staff against Rad’s back harder. Shade looked over at him and shook her head. Vyle walked down the hall wearing the expression of someone ready to die. The three of them were separated, as with the others, and led into different rooms.

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Shade sat down in one of the rooms, across from another Judgment member with a pad and a pencil. As with Spike, Shade was being guarded by two Litaria.

“Do you know why you’re here?” The cloaked man calmly asked.

“Because you all want to either exterminate or brainwash those that do not conform to your idealistic standards of goodness?” Shade responded in a mocking tone.

“I do not know what you speak of. Team Judgment is simply trying to save as many souls from eternal darkness as possible, and guide them into the loving arms of Lord Emmanuel. However, we can only save the willing, as Lord Emmanuel gives us each free will, and does not wish to interfere with it,” The member contended, hastily scribbling notes on his pad.

“I’m much better off unsaved, thank you very much,” Shade rebutted.

“Hmm… very well then. Enjoy your eternity in darkness,” The man replied angrily, unable to keep his calm, indifferent tone. He directed the Litaria to escort Shade out of the room as we wrote the word “Unsaveable” in large letters on the pad.

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“Halt!” A Team Judgment executive commanded to the member escorting Vyle into a room. His face looked winded, as if he had been running a long way. He wore a hat not unlike that of a priest, with the Team Judgment logo embroidered into it. His white robe was also lined with gold and had the familiar logo of a cross on the chest. “Is this one prisoner number 616?”

“Indeed he is, sir.” the member replied earnestly.

“I… see. Allow me to take this one with me. I have orders from above,” The executive commanded. He directed for the Litaria to lead Vyle with him with a simple motion of his hand. The executive then led Vyle down a long hallway. Vyle looked out of a small window at the side of the hallway, and saw a menacing, dark gray sky. Windows were few and far between, and the hallways were dark, with the exception of torches mounted on the sides which burned with white flames. The executive then led Vyle up a flight of stairs and into a cylindrical space. The executive closed his eyes and uttered some words in a strange language. The only word Vyle could make out was the word “Emmanuel”. Suddenly, light began to fill the cylindrical space, and Vyle closed his eyes. When he reopened them, his surroundings looked similar, except the stairway led upwards instead of down, and an ornately decorated stained glass window with Litarias designed into it was on the side of the room. A burst of lightning shone through the window, and thunder roared in the background. It appeared that they had teleported into a different part of the castle.

The executive led Vyle up the stairs and eventually into a large room. This room had large power generators all over it, with glowing white crystals next to them, connected to the generators by wires. Immediately noticeable was a large laser cannon pointing directly at a chair with straps on it. The laser cannon crackled with electricity, and was suspended from the ceiling. Two large white crystals were hooked up to it. In the room stood another executive with more ornate clothing. This executive was a female, and had her silvery blonde hair tied back into a bun. Here eyes were a dark blue, and her face was somewhat wrinkled with age.

“Is this that ‘Vyle’ you were looking for, ma’am?”

She bent down slightly and took a close look, holding his chin up and taking off his hood. Vyle did not resist. “Yes, I’m pretty sure of it. Thank you very much.”

“Might I ask what you wish to do with him in the Ex-Pur lab? Surely you don’t mean to test the purification ray on him?” The other executive asked politely, as the female was of a higher rank.

“Yes I do, but first…”

“Forgive me for this interruption, but are you sure this is a good idea? The last time it was used, it consumed so much power that it almost shorted out the main reactor. Not only that, but the last subject’s soul was literally torn to shreds!”

“He absolutely MUST be purified. I do not care what it takes! Do not intrude on my business any further. I am one of the grand cardinals of Team Judgment, and will be treated as such!” She scowled as she replied.

“Forgive me, ma’am. You are right, only Lord Emmanuel knows your intentions, and only he can judge your actions.” The executive turned around and left the room, leaving the grand cardinal of Team Judgment alone with Vyle and the Litaria.

“First, let us have a look into his soul…” She muttered as she led Vyle into another chair. She strapped Vyle into the cold metallic seat of the chair and attached two electrodes into his head. “Crystal Memory, Activate! Peer into his soul!” As she yelled, the glowing monitors and generators nearby sprung to life. A spherical white crystal, about the size of a human head, rose from the floor on a pedestal. The machine then transferred some pulses into Vyle via the electrodes. Vyle screamed in pain before being rendered unconscious from the pulses. The crystal ball began to glow, and immediately began projecting images from Vyle’s memories onto its surface.

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Meanwhile, Shade, Rad, Spike, and Blaze were being led from their cells once again. Like before, Litarias were ready to strike them down in case they tried to escape. The two groups of prisoners converged next to a room with a door that had a small window at the top. Next to this room was a control room that had a two-way mirror looking into that room. The room was empty, save four metal chairs that were already placed in the room especially for them.

“You sinners will repent in this room, and suffer for your crimes. The worse the crimes, the more you will feel in this room. And we decide when you come out. Now, inside!” One of the Judgment members that was leading them commanded. The Litarias jabbed at the prisoners’ backs with their staves, pushing them into the room.

“Ow, what’s your problem?” Rad protested, resulting in a harder jab from the Litaria. Once all four of them were in the room, the door was slammed shut with an iron clang that echoed throughout the cavernous hallway.

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In the control room, the four Judgment members began talking amongst themselves, and a fifth member.

“Now, Lucia, this is your first day, right? For starters, you will be working in this control room. We will train you in using it.”

“Okay… This is exciting, my first day of being able to serve Lord Emmanuel!” Her blue eyes twinkled with excitement as she spoke.

“Very exciting indeed,” The Judgment member training her to use the control room spoke. The rest of the members nodded in agreement as they left.

“This machine is designed to make sinners suffer for their crimes. The worse the crimes, the harsher the suffering. When they are done, often, they will be so filled with remorse that they will be unable to speak. When they recover, that is, if they recover, they should be purified citizens ready to serve Lord Emmanuel.” The Judgment member instructing Lucia in the use of the machine explained.

“What happens when they don’t recover?” Lucia asked.

“You probably don’t want to know.” The instructor replied. Lucia nodded, unsatisfied with his answer but too afraid to ask what happens.

“So, here’s where you bring down the crystal, here’s where you activate it, and this knob is for adjusting the power settings. Now, over here, let’s bring up the sin status,” The Judgment member pointed to a monitor and typed something into the keyboard to activate it as he began explaining the control panel. Lucia walked over to the monitor.

“Now, see here…” He was interrupted by a loud thud. In the empty room, Spike had tried to break through the glass using one of the chairs. Lucia screamed.

“Don’t worry about it. This glass is impervious to impact. I don’t think even a Karate Chop from a Machamp could shatter it.”

Spike repeatedly tried to bash the mirror in with the chair fruitlessly. The rest of the group joined Spike in bashing the mirror with their metal chairs, all to no avail.

“Heh. They’ll be too busy struggling with their consciences in a few minutes to even bother,” The Judgment member spoke, rubbing his grayed beard as he smiled.

“Uhh… excuse me, but I have a question.” Lucia muttered, ignoring the frantic thuds coming from their captives.

“Fire away.”

“Well… don’t they know that this will help them? Why are they trying so hard to get out?”

“Err… well, obviously not. They’re too evil and don’t want to deal with their sins.”

“I… see…”

“Now, then, back to the sin monitor,” The instructor spoke to Lucia.

“Wait. I have another question,” Lucia interrupted. The pounding was louder and more desperate.

“Yes?”

“How come we’re forcing them to atone like this? Shouldn’t they have to want to atone first?”

The instructor’s smile instantly faded. “Because it is the sacred mission of Team Judgment to rid the world of evil. And we can’t sit around for everyone to want to stop being evil, because that will never happen.”

“Forgive me…” Lucia responded with fear in her voice, detecting the gravity in the instructor’s tone.

“Okay. Continuing on, we have our sin monitor. Wow, the evil levels are high on this one. These ones are rotten to the core. Anyways, when you see the bars here, marked anger, contempt, greed, apathy, and complacence go down to below this red line here, look over here at these bars marked guilt and shame. When these bars reach the white line, that is when you shut it off. Be patient, as this could take hours.” The instructor continued to lecture, his mood dampened by Lucia’s questioning.

“Okay,” Lucia timidly responded.

“You understand what needs to be done here, right?”

“Yes.”

“All right then. Flip the lever, press this button, and turn the power all the way to max. Let’s go, c’mon, I haven’t got all day!”

Lucia did as she was told. In the ceiling of the empty room, where Spike and the others had by now given up trying to smash the mirror and were trying to think of something else, the ceiling opened up and a large, diamond shaped crystal poked through. As each of the captives looked up at the crystal, it lit up intensely, and they backed away from it, covering their eyes with their hands. The sound of machinery humming to life could be heard. The mirror was tinted so that the intensity of the light would not affect the operators of the control room.

“Smash that thing!” Spike yelled out inside the room. He picked up a chair and hurled it at the crystal, unable to see. It bounced off the crystal harmlessly and hit Spike in the head.

“Agh!” Spike yelled in pain.

“Holy shit, are you okay?” Rad asked as the rest rushed to him.

“Argh, no… and… I’m starting to feel… weak.”

“Yeah, me too… Blaze responded as all of them were bathed in the crystal’s light.

“I also feel kinda… bad… for all those people we robbed n’ stuff.”

“Ugh…” all of them spoke in unison.

Meanwhile, in the control room, Lucia and her instructor were watching. “It’s starting to take effect. Now, what you do is simply watch,” The instructor said. “Now, I have more important duties to attend to. Use this button here to signal us when it is finished. Now, is there anything you do not understand?”

“No, I got everything,” Lucia replied.
“Good, now I’ll be on my way.” The instructor left the dull-looking control room and slammed the metal door shut.

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“If I join you guys, will I really get to see my mom and dad again?” Kyra excitedly asked.

“Yes, you do, once you are in paradise,” A female Judgment member sitting across from Kyra in a room similar to the ones in which Spike and Shade had their conversations with the other Judgment members.

“Are… you… sure?”

“Yes. Plus you will be safe, and not have to commit sins to live. You won’t have to hurt others! All you must do is pledge your life to Lord Emmanuel.”

“Umm… okay, I’ll do it!” Kyra replied.

“Excellent. Come with me,” The female Judgment member replied. The two of them exited the room and set off down the hallway. She then motioned for the Litaria to not follow them, as it was not needed.

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Meanwhile, in the large laboratory room, images from Vyle’s life were being projected onto the surface of the crystal ball:

A much younger, less threatening, and more cleaned up Vyle was being displayed in a school yard setting. They sky was gray and foreboding, and a slight breeze kicked up some fallen leaves on the ground. Vyle was wearing a white dress shirt and some navy colored slacks. He stood there alone, moping, with the noise of other children playing happily in the background.

A band of threatening looking kids approached him as the vantage point from the crystal shifted to Vyle’s perspective. They were similarly dressed, only they had intimidating sneers on their faces as they approached, and were much taller than Vyle was.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Shorty… hehehe…” one of them chuckled.

“But I thought his new name was crybaby,” another one spoke to the first one, then sneering at Vyle with his fat cheeks puffed out in an obnoxious grin.

“Ohh… that’s right… you said you didn’t wanna be called Shorty anymore… so we decided to give you a new name,” the first kid replied. All four of the kids sniggered.
“So, what’s up, crybaby?! Another of the kids asked rhetorically, his face contorted into a goofy grin.

“I… I’m telling! Teacher said you aren’t allowed to call me names anymore!” Vyle protested.

“Like hell you are. Jeff, tell him what we do to snitches,” The first kid replied again in a threatening tone.

“We make sure they can’t ever squeal again. Heheheh…” the one called Jeff, who was the tallest out of the four, and had short hair trimmed down with a buzz cut, replied.

As the kids approached him menacingly, Vyle turned around and began to run. The bullies chased him as he ran around in circles around the school yard. No one paid any heed to them. The supervisors thought it was an innocent game of tag. Vyle then began to run towards a narrow opening between the school building and the fence enclosing the school yard. There was a locked gate at the end of that corridor. But Vyle did not care. He jumped on the fence and started to climb it, thinking that the supervisors would only give them a ‘warning’ like they have done in the past, and thinking the only escape was from the school completely.

He could not climb the fence fast enough, for soon, the four kids caught up to him. They yanked him from the fence, after which he landed on the ground, with the sound of his head hitting the concrete being audible. Vyle immediately began to sob in pain.

“Thought you could run away, eh?” One of the kids spoke. He proceeded to pull Vyle up by the collar of his shirt. “Beat ‘im up!” He exclaimed to the rest of the kids as he held the struggling Vyle up.

“This is for being a crybaby!” The one named Jeff spoke as he threw a punch, connecting with Vyle’s face.

“And this is for being so short and retarded!” another one chimed in, punching Vyle in the gut. All three of them then proceeded to assault Vyle, throwing punch after punch until Vyle stopped resisting. At that point, they dropped him and fled.

The real Vyle, who was strapped into the chair and still unconscious, shook as the Vyle in the crystal was dropped.

The crystal displaying Vyle’s memory glowed white, and soon the blurred image of the asphalt which Vyle was laying on faded out, and a new image began to display on the crystal’s surface:

Vyle looked up from his bed to see his own mother greeting him. One of his eyes was still covered with a bandage. In the background was Vyle’s room. A dim light illuminated the dull white walls of his room. Behind his mother stood a shelf with various toys and books on it.

“Now, now, time for school, Kyle!” His mom greeted him in a cheery voice, referring to him with a name which he hadn’t been called by in a long time.

“I… I don’t wanna go to school!” Vyle protested. They’ll beat me up again!”

“Don’t be silly. Those kids have been expelled, and you haven’t been to school in a week. It’s not good for you to miss so much school.” His mother retorted.

“But Mom… n… nobody likes me. And the teachers are all mean. Why do I have to go to school?”

“You have to learn stuff; otherwise you’ll grow up and end up on the street. Don’t you want to get out of here and live in a nice mansion?”

“N… no!”

“Then get up and get going!” The mother’s tone began to grow sterner.

Vyle could only obey his mother. He reluctantly pulled the covers off of him, and then crawled out of bed. His left arm was in a cast, and bruises dotted the rest of his arms and legs. He struggled to get up, as his wounds were agitated.

“Most interesting…” the female executive began to jot some notes on a notepad, writing down some numbers that were being displayed on the readout screen. The crystal began to display another memory on its surface:

Vyle was in the schoolyard again, sitting alone on a bench under a tree. The sun was bright that day, and Vyle sat in the shade, trying to avoid the sun’s intense glare. It seemed like there was an aura that repelled other kids from him around him at all times, as everyone seemed to leave a circle of emptiness around him. He sat there, bored, watching the other children play, wishing they’d let him join their games.

As he watched, he witnessed something which disheartened him. Nearby, three boys, who were tall and menacing, were picking on a girl who was one grade lower than Vyle.

“How dare you throw dirt at us?” One of them replied.

“You were being mean to Kyle yesterday.” The girl replied.

“So? Everyone’s mean to Kyle. Who cares?” Another of them replied.

“It’s not right. Leave poor Kyle alone!” The girl screamed.

“Don’t tell us what to do!” The first kid replied, angry.

“Surround her!” The third kid ordered as she began to run away from them, scared. The three boys encircled her as she looked around for someone to help her. But the supervisors were not present, and everyone else was apathetic and continued to play in the yard.

Vyle did not like to watch people being picked on, and turned away. But then, a scream issuing from the girl caught his attention. He could not bear to watch or listen to her cries. So, he summoned all his courage and approached as the boys tore her jacket off and tried to grab her.

“Leave her alone!” Vyle screamed at the top of his lungs.

One of the boys turned around as the rest of them had restrained the girl. “Aww, look, it’s your boyfriend Kyle, here to save you. Isn’t that sweet?”

“He is NOT my boyfriend!” The girl screamed.

“AHAHAHAAH!” The three boys all laughed. Kyle and Larissa, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g! They began to chant.

“SHUT UP NOW!” Vyle replied, interrupting their mean-spirited chant.

“Oh yeah? Well make us!”

Vyle ran at the first boy, ready to punch him in the chest. But the boy effortlessly pushed his head back and caused Vyle to lose his balance. Vyle got up, angrier than ever, and ran at the first boy again.

This distracted the other two boys again and allowed Larissa to escape. She ran off, looking for the supervisors. The three kids converged around Vyle and began to assault him. Blow after blow rained down upon him, and he was powerless to do anything to them. Vyle was much too scrawny and weak to be able to fight off one of them, much less three.

The surface of the crystal swirled and darkened as Vyle lost consciousness. The Vyle sitting in the chair had a proud smirk on his ravaged face, remembering that day fondly. The crystal glowed white again, and the darkness was replaced with a new memory:

“Where’s Larissa?” Vyle asked one of the teachers.

“Larissa? Huh? Oh, her parents took her out of this school. They said something about how horrible the kids here were.” The male teacher replied nonchalantly.

Vyle began to sob uncontrollably in front of the teacher. “It’s not fair! Why do I have to suffer so much! WHY WHY WHY?!”

As the background of the teacher’s office faded in the surface of the crystal, a single tear rolled down Vyle’s cheek and dropped to the floor of the laboratory. The crystal then quickly glowed white and another memory quickly replaced the glow:

Vyle was sitting in a brightened classroom. There were about 30 or so desks, most of them filled with other students. Vyle’s was near the front of the room, isolated from the other students by a barrier of empty desks. The teacher and her assistant were passing out test papers. As the rest of the classroom was filled with lively chatter and the occasional “What’d you get?” Vyle looked down at his desk, which had scribbles and markings all over it. His head hung down in shame. He did not bother to look up as the teacher placed the test on his desk. Vyle merely glanced and saw his test slashed at repeatedly with a red marker. It looked like the marks were done by a Scyther tipped with blood rather than a red pen.

Vyle stopped caring about his grades in school a long time ago. He was much too miserable at school to care about paying attention in class. Everyone seemed to avoid him, even the other kids at the bottom of the schoolyard food chain, who were picked on regularly as well. This social isolation, combined with the apathy of the teachers, took a toll on him, and he could not find the will to study or do his schoolwork.

The crystal flashed as another memory faded back into the oblivion of repression, and was replaced. Before anything was displayed on the crystal, however, the sound of angry, yelling voices could be heard:

“… You good for nothing loser!” His dad’s voice boomed. “And look at me when I talk to you!”

Vyle reluctantly looked up at his dad’s angry face. His dad’s hair was dark brown, similar to Vyle’s. His eyes, also blue, stared at Vyle with the most penetrating gaze a person could possibly have. His unshaven face was contorted into an expression of pure outrage, a look which made Vyle shiver.

“How could you fail all your classes like this?! After all we’ve given you! You ungrateful bastard!” His mom shrieked at him. Her face was also contorted into a similar expression of anger.

“I… I didn’t mean to…” Vyle replied timidly, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“After all we’ve done for you, you can’t even do the only thing we ask of you in return?! His mom yelled again.

“Yeah, that’s right, you’d better be crying, you ingrate!” His dad yelled in a booming voice.

“You will come home and study each and every day until you go to sleep, you understand me!” His mother screeched at him again.

Vyle’s parents’ screaming tore through his soul like a Crush Claw attack would tear through a block of wood. Vyle could not even draw the strength to utter a word in response, and simply nodded.

Even though the real Vyle was unconscious and strapped into a chair, his face was twisted into a look of fear, and tears began streaming down his cheeks. It was as though Vyle was reliving the worst moments of his childhood.

The crystal flashed again momentarily, skipping ahead to his next memory:

Vyle was in his room, lying on his bed, and sobbing into his pillow. His mother’s shrieks were in the background, painful to his ears like a Screech attack.

“Don’t you turn your back on me!” His mom yelled.

Vyle continued to sob into his pillow.

“I’ll teach you to disrespect your parents!” his mother went over to Vyle’s dusty wooden drawer. Vyle heard her mother opening the drawer, pulling something out, and then slamming the drawer shut. Vyle flipped over to face his mother and saw what it was. To his horror, his mom now wielded a belt. She whipped it around in the air, and the snapping sound made Vyle flinch.

Just then, his father burst into the room carrying a sledgehammer that he had taken from the garage. “You ungrateful little bastard! You don’t deserve to have these!” He swung the sledgehammer with all his might, smashing one of the action figures he had on his shelf, shattering the wood beneath it as well. The arms of the action figure flew across the room.

Meanwhile, his mother reached over to Vyle and began pulling his pants off. Vyle struggled and kicked, but could not free himself from his mother’s deadly grasp. His underwear came off too. His mother threw the clothes off into a corner heedlessly. Vyle then tried to run out of the room, but his father blocked the entrance and pushed him back. With the help of his dad, his mom took his shirt off too.

Next came a blinding flash of pain as Vyle was whipped with the belt on the leg. Vyle crawled backwards into a corner of his room. Another flash of pain came as the belt struck him in the face, and Vyle turned around and curled into fetal position with his hands over his head and began wailing.

“Crack!”

The sound of a belt smacking his bare back.

“Crack!”

Another flash of pain as Vyle was struck again.

Meanwhile, his dad resumed smashing his possessions. His sledgehammer struck the toys on his shelf with the full fury of a Zapdos using Thunderbolt. Simultaneously, the belt slapped against Vyle’s back as he cowered in the corner.

The real Vyle jerked in his chair as the belt slapped against his back on the surface of the crystal. His face was twisted in an expression of pain, his eyes tightly closed as hot tears streamed down his cheeks.

“Boom!”

The sound of the sledgehammer demolishing another of his toys.

“Snap!”

The sound of the belt coming in contact with Vyle’s back.

“Boom!”

Another symbol of childhood obliterated.

“Crack!”

Another welt on his back formed.

“Boom!”

“Crack!”

Vyle jerked in his chair with each sound of the belt hitting his back, and jerked equally hard with the sound of each of his toys being smashed to pieces.

Vyle tried to crawl away like a wounded animal. But the leather belt caught him in the rear, and he collapsed onto the floor.

“Boom!” Vyle could see a piece of plastic bounce onto the floor next to his face. He recognized where the gray piece of plastic came from immediately. His beloved game console had just been demolished.

“Crack!” The belt struck his naked bottom. He winced in pain.

The sound of glass breaking, a crackle of electricity, and the sound of something smoldering could next be heard. His television set, the final thing left to face his father’s wrath, was now trashed.

“Maybe this will teach you to be thankful for what we have given you!” His dad screamed.

“Snap! Crack!” His mother unleashed her full fury on two final whips with the belt.

“Ungrateful bastard…” His dad muttered as both parents left the room and slammed the door shut. They slammed the door so hard that chips of paint from the ceiling rained onto the floor. Vyle was left to lie there, naked and shamed, amidst the ruins of what once were his prized possessions. Blood and pus started to trickle from the wounds left by the belt. One thing was for certain--the storm of his parents’ fury had struck his room, leaving it as though it had been hit by a hurricane. Outside the lab, thunder shook the tower.

“The readings are off the charts!” The executive spoke, jotting down notes excitedly as a flash of lightning lit up the lab from the window, which was large and made of stained glass. Miracorn was the subject of this stained glass window, and its whole body was surrounded by a rainbow aura. Meanwhile, Vyle was grunting through clenched teeth. His eyes were closed tightly. His whole body was tense. Tears trickled onto the floor from his chair. “All right, just need to run it for a bit more… well, probably,” She muttered, as if hopelessly trying to comfort Vyle. He almost seemed conscious as he panted and hyperventilated on the chair through clenched teeth, his whole face wet with sweat.

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Atop a dimly lit altar, on a plaque, stood the Team Judgment emblem of a cross with the words “The day of judgment shall be upon us!” encircling it. The word “Team” was inscribed at the top of the cross, and the word “Judgment” was on the bottom. Torches burning with white flames lining the walls, as well as three candles placed in a triangular formation on a small table with a red tablecloth, which illuminated the gilded emblem.

Two elderly Team Judgment members led Kyra into the altar room. From their gilded robes, it was clear that they were high-ranking. “Now, young Kyra, do you swear to the almighty Lord Emmanuel, the sacred Miracorn, and the spirit of Goodness that embodies us all, to uphold the sacred duties of Team Judgment?” One of the elderly members spoke.

“Yes.” Kyra solemnly answered.

“Do you entrust your soul to the almighty Lord Emmanuel, in exchange for forgiveness for your transgressions and entry into paradise?” The second executive spoke.

“Yes.”

“Then by the will of Lord Emmanuel, I hereby proclaim you a soldier of light, a member of Team Judgment!”

[Sike Saner]

Before the police force could organize and actively fight back, the angels retreated, carrying their hapless targets in their talons. Techno City was left in chaos. The Pokémon then flew away from the city, leaving behind trails of falling white feathers that gave the appearance of snow.

o.o Ooh. I like the image of the falling feathers there. ^^

“Well, aren’t you guys the partying bunch… sarcastic drama-queen and ol’ never-speak. Can’t believe that I, the great Rad, am stuck here with such an ‘interesting’ crowd.”

“You can shut the hell up now… your complaining is totally not helping.” Shade responded with a harsh tone.

“Well, neither is your bitching!” Rad retorted.

“You’re the only one here who’s bitching!”

“Well you guys totally got me into this mess!”

“Ugh, not worth it…” Shade muttered, restraining herself from yelling, but just audible enough so that Rad could hear it.

“What are you-“ Rad started to respond, but then realized that Shade had already won their little argument by taking the mature path, and making Rad look like a whiny little kid.

Ha-ha on Rad. X3

“Boom!”

The sound of the sledgehammer demolishing another of his toys.

“Snap!”

The sound of the belt coming in contact with Vyle’s back.

“Boom!”

Another symbol of childhood obliterated.

“Crack!”

Another welt on his back formed.

“Boom!”

“Crack!”

o.o Damn.


Team Judgment's methods are definitely frelled-up--torturous, really. o_o; What they did to Vyle there in that chapter was especially frelled-up. Forcing someone to relive bad memories = not nice at all, put mildly.

And Vyle's memories were... damn. o.o Some pretty damned intense stuff there, especially when his parents were beating the crap out of him and destroying his possessions. o_o; And I thought it was cool when Vyle helped Larissa get away from the bullies, though damn, he sure did pay for that, the poor guy.

[PsiUmbreon]

Well, here's the next chapter of this adrenaline-filled arc. It's amazingly... uh... amazing? Anyway...

Chapter 9
Prison Break

Lucia had loyally been watching the crystal room, in which Spike and the others were confined. They began to writhe in agony as time passed, the crystal emitting an intense glow which pierced their souls with light energy. It was a sight Lucia could not bear to watch. She turned away and began to stare at the blank wall at the back of the room. “Boy, purging sins sure is a long, painful process…” she muttered. “But… it must be done. For Lord Emmanuel’s sake.”

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Vyle’s memories continued to be shown on the crystal. He was still in an unconscious state of horror. His fists were clenched tightly and he began to have what looked like a seizure. He began to hyperventilate and his scarred face had been contorted into an expression of horror as his muscles began to spasm. This memory had been his worst, by far.

His parents had been yelling at him worse than ever. By then, as was recalled on the crystal, Vyle had learned to drown his parents out. He retreated into his mind, into a world of fantasy, which was the one thing his parents could not strip from him- and the only thing he had left. His possessions had been long destroyed, as well as his dignity. Within his fantasy world, he was flying freely among the clouds, in the midst of some flying Pokémon. These Pokémon were his friends, and listened to him whenever he had something to say about his parents or his life. His fantasies weren’t always in the clouds. Sometimes Vyle went underwater and swam with water Pokémon, or into a deep, dark forest with forest-dwelling Pokémon. But one thing remained constant: his fantasy world was far away from the dirty city of Murdock, and especially far, far away from his parents’ reach.

His mother reached back and slapped him in the face as hard as she could. The blow stung Vyle’s face, but he was used to the pain, and learned to tune that out as well. “You listen to me when I’m talking to you, you disrespectful bastard!” She screeched. Vyle forced his head up, and his eyes on her, but still continued to dream in his fantasy world, with his only friends, the imaginary Pokémon.

At this point, his father walked into the kitchen, where Vyle was sitting at the table, being yelled at. The kitchen was rather dirty, and the smell of stale and rotting food permeated the room. His parents were not rich, and were not present in the house most of the time. As a result, the house was rarely cleaned. When his parents were gone, it was always a slight relief to Vyle. It did not matter to him in the slightest where they went, he only knew that he was safe from them when they were gone.

“The school called. He was found ditching his classes two blocks away by the police. And he even mouthed off to the principal!” His father spoke in a mixed tone of anger and disappointment.

His mother, who had been busy screaming her head off at Vyle already when his father walked in, froze in horror. “WHAT!?” She yelled at the top of her lungs.

“I don’t know what we can do anymore. We’ve punished and punished, but he just keeps spiraling further down the path to darkness.”

“We can’t have a child who is disobedient, disrespectful, and avoids schooling like this! They will be most displeased with us!” His mother yelled, panicking.

His father and mother both paused to contemplate for a moment. When they stopped yelling like that, Vyle knew it was bad news. But, he could not brace himself enough for what was coming. He could not retreat deep enough into fantasy to protect himself.

“Then it’s better if we don’t have a child at all!” His father boomed, staring directly at him. The impact of the words penetrated Vyle’s fantasy world, shattering its sky and causing the Pokémon to vanish. Vyle was brought back into the kitchen with the angry Tyranitars known as his parents.

“That’s it! Get out of here, now, you vile, sorry excuse for a son!” His mother yelled, and slapped him in the back of the head. “You don’t deserve us. You don’t deserve to live here. You don’t deserve our care. Why, you don’t even deserve the very name we gave you!”

“Kyle? No, Vyle is a much more suitable name for you,” his father added.

“Get out of here, NOW!” His mother yelled, slamming Vyle’s head into the kitchen table in anger. Vyle got out of his chair and looked at his mother in shock.

“It’s finally happened...” The younger Vyle thought to himself, the voice in his mind echoing from the crystal. “They’re going to throw me onto the streets to die.” The cold reality of it sunk in. His parents had done it. Finally. They had disowned him. They had shown him their true love.

“Git!” His mother kicked him.

“Maybe this will be a bit more persuasive…” His father opened the kitchen drawer and pulled out a meat cleaver. It glimmered in the dim lighting of the inadequate light fixture of the kitchen. “Get out of our house, NOW!” His father boomed, wielding the meat cleaver. A flash of lightning came from outside the window above the sink, and peals of thunder shook the entire house. Torrents of rain began to lash the window. The weather in Vyle’s memory matched that of the outside of the lab.

“Git! Vyle, git!” His mother kicked him repeatedly, knocking him over. Most of the kicks aggravated other injuries he had already received.

“You heard us! Get out, Vyle! We have no use for a piece of shit like you!” His father held the knife up to his face. Vyle staggered to his feet and began to flee. He ran for the living room and fumbled with the doorknob, trying to open it. As he frantically scrambled to open the door, his father lobbed the meat cleaver directly at his head. The knife grazed his right side, cutting across his ear and slicing into the side of his head before embedding itself into the wooden door. That scar was still present on the Vyle in the chair, and a chunk of his right ear was missing.

Vyle managed to open the door and flee before his mother could come after him with an extension cord. That extension cord was already stained with Vyle’s blood, and would have been about to taste more of it. He slammed the door shut and began to sprint down the street. His clothes were soaked in mere seconds from the downpour, and the blood that trickled down his face was washed away by the rainwater. But Vyle did not notice himself being utterly drenched, nor did he notice the stinging pain coming from the right side of his face. He was running for his life. Worse yet, his parents were still behind him, wielding a meat cleaver and an extension cord. Their fury knew no bounds.

Tears ran heavily down Vyle’s cheeks as he sat in the chair, tense as ever. He was frozen in place, his eyes tightly shut and his teeth clenched.

“Oh dear, we’ll have to clean that chair up,” The executive spoke as she sniffed the air. It appeared that Vyle had lost bowel control. She continued to operate the machine, jotting down the numbers on the screen and taking notes on his memories.

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Meanwhile, Lucia was brooding in the control room. “This is awful. How could anyone stand a job like this watching people suffer like this?” She pondered aloud. Her thoughts were interrupted by a bang on the glass. Shade had pressed herself against the glass with a look of desperation and horror on her face.

Lucia glanced at the meters on the control panel. The measurements of sin were still far above the red line, and the measurements of guilt were far below the white line. She gazed at the room again, and saw everyone in there flailing and moaning, struggling internally with the soul-piercing light of the crystal. The expression of “Get me outta here!” on Shade’s face was too much for Lucia to bear.

“I…. I can’t stand this!” Lucia reached over to the control knob and turned the crystal all the way down. The room darkened. She then switched the power off. The machines hummed down back into inactivity. “I don’t know if this is the right thing to do, but I was taught to follow my heart. Please, forgive me, Lord Emmanuel!”

Lucia then exited the control room, making sure no one else was there. Only the two Litaria that stood guard over the room were present. “Follow me!” She ordered the Litaria. The angelic Pokémon were trained to follow the orders of anyone from Team Judgment unquestionably. She unlocked the heavy metallic door of the chamber that Spike and the others were in using the numeric keypad next to the door. She then struggled and pulled the heavy door open as hard as she could, barely managing to open it.

Inside, everyone crawled to the door as soon as they saw light. Lucia looked like an angel of mercy to them, her blond hair and blue eyes accented by the light behind her, the light which to them seemed like a holy aura. “C’mon, I’ll get you guys outta here,” she whispered.

Spike and the others slowly staggered to their feet, recovering from the effects of the crystal. “You’re… saving us?” Blaze groaned as if just barely waking up from a long sleep.

“Yes, yes, now, c’mon, follow me!” Lucia spoke frantically, afraid she’d be caught by someone else. Everyone climbed to their feet and trudged out of the room, as though they were all waking up from slumber.

“Wha… what happened? I… had this terrible nightmare that… that… I was the people I robbed…” Blaze spoke.

“Yeah… me too…” Spike added, his head still aching.

“Uhhm… I don’t know how to explain it… but we have to get moving!” Lucia nudged them out of the room frantically.

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Several memories on the crystal later, Vyle had relaxed a bit. The expression on his face softened, and he grew less tense.

Vyle was standing alone in an alleyway, facing too tall, menacing looking people. The Vyle in the memory was ready to run for his life; the Vyle in the chair was remembering this day fondly.

The first large person spoke in a completely non-menacing way. “You lost or somethin’?”

Vyle replied. “N…no.”

“What’s the matter? Lost your parents or somethin’?” The second one replied.

“More like my parents decided to lose me,” Vyle replied, his apprehension relieved, and his guard lowered.

“Yeah, our parents were bastards too,” The first one replied.

“My name’s Ike, and this here’s Rob, and we’ll teach ya to fend for yourself,” the second one spoke.

“Y… you will?” Vyle spoke, bewildered.

“Yeah, sure. You deserve a fair chance at life, like everyone else,” Rob spoke.

The Judgment executive gazed into the crystal intently. She was intrigued by this development. Images of the two thugs showing Vyle the ropes of their career played out on the crystal. From the two of them stealing someone's wallet and teaching Vyle in the process, to robbing houses and stores, they taught him everything they knew. Vyle’s face was much more relaxed, as he was reliving one of the few pleasant memories of his life.

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Lucia was walking down the hallway, followed by Spike, Blaze, Rad, and Shade, with two Litaria trailing them acting as though they were escorting prisoners. “Don’t forget to follow my lead if anyone finds us!” Lucia whispered to the group.

“Ok, now, you know where our Pokémon are, right?” Blaze spoke softly, hoping no one would overhear her.

“Um, I think so,” Lucia replied. The group continued to walk down the marble passageway of the castle, which was lit only by torches that burned with a white flame. They passed other crystal rooms and control rooms along the way, until they reached an even larger metal door. Two other Litaria stood guard there as well. Lucia ordered the Litaria to let them in.

Inside this large room were boxes of Poké Balls waiting to be sorted. Some were still attached to belts. There was a conveyor belt which spanned most of the room that had a display monitor on it, but it was currently deactivated. It was used for sorting the Pokémon in a rather cryptic way that only meant something to Team Judgment. After the display monitor, the conveyor belt branched off into two sections, each one leading to a large bin at the back of the room.

“Oh, man, we’ll never find our Pokémon in here,” Spike commented.

“Screw it, let’s just take as many as we can and hope ours are in them,” Rad replied. Lucia gave a disapproving look.

“No, we have to find our Pokémon!” Blaze retorted. “And Vyle’s, and Kyra’s.”

“We have to hurry!” Lucia spoke frantically. They could find us at any moment!”

“Chill out, we can’t panic now!” Spike answered.

“Maybe we can use this machine to find ‘em quicker? Blaze suggested. “Only trouble is, we don’t know how to use it,” Blaze looked at Lucia hopefully.

“Uhm… I haven’t ever seen this machine in my life,” She replied.

“Well, it can’t be too hard…” Shade walked over to the machine and flipped a switch. The conveyor belt whirred to life, and the display screen began to display an array of bars and meters, and a screen for the X-ray of whatever passed behind it.

“Hey, would you look at that…” Rad spoke, holding up a belt with a single Poké Ball attached to it. The belt was black with yellow thunderbolts on it, and was easy to notice. “Oh well, we found my Pokémon at least… now let’s roll!”

Shade smacked Rad. “Can’t you think of anyone besides yourself?”

Spike began to unload the small bins filled with Poké Balls onto the conveyor belt. As the balls passed the scanner, the display quickly flashed each Pokémon’s attributes on the display screen. After they passed the scanner, they were sent into one of the two branches of the conveyor belt, one marked with “acceptable” and the other marked with “not acceptable”. The majority of the Pokémon fell into the “not acceptable” category and rolled into the bin at the end of that belt. The few that were acceptable rolled into the other box at the end of the other belt.

Shade immediately recognized her two Pokémon as they rolled into the “not acceptable” slot. They were kept inside dark grey balls with a skull pattern on them, known as Spirit Balls in the Pokémon world. Spirit Balls were more adept at catching Ghost-types than normal Poké Balls were, and were not commonly seen in Altairon. As a result, Shade found hers easily. She then called out her two Pokémon to make sure that they were hers. Sure enough, her Sableye and Gravecall floated out of their balls, excited to be free. They drifted around the room playfully, curious about their new surroundings. Lucia stood there, horrified at the sight of the ghosts, and the Litarias in the room had their staves ready to fire on them.

“G… get them away from me!” Lucia spoke, panicked, as they drifted near her, grinning.

“They won’t hurt you, don’t worry,” Shade replied, happy to be able to watch her Pokémon chase each other around the room.

“I… I’m sorry, I’m just afraid of Ghost Pokémon,” Lucia ordered the Litarias to lower their staves.
Within minutes, Spike and Blaze found their Pokémon and released them from their balls as well. Lucia was afraid of their Pokémon as well. Kyra’s Eevee was also easy to spot, because it was one of the few that rolled into the acceptable pile. Last, Vyle’s ball came out, which they were fortunate enough to spot as well as it rolled into the “not acceptable” pile. The trainers all released their Pokémon, and watched as they all roamed around the room, curious. Nightclaw leapt up to the highest point it could find in the room, which was the top of the monitor, while Punk sniffed the floor. Hellhound sniffed the boxes curiously, as he had caught the scent of other Pokémon that he suspected as rivals, and Shadember drifted around playfully with the other ghosts. The Eevee looked frightened, and simply curled up next to everyone’s feet, while Squeak darted around the room lightning quick.

“So what do they do with the unacceptable Pokémon?” Blaze asked after pondering for a few seconds.

“Uhm… Lucia winced at the thought of having to explain. “Well… most of them… they euthanize, and as for the rest of them that they can’t exterminate, they… I don’t know… they carry them somewhere far, far away from here. I also heard they keep some of them for experiments, but… I don’t want to know.” Lucia shuddered as she spoke.

“Hey, let’s take some of these… naah, we shouldn’t,” Spike spoke out loud, stopping himself when he realized how much he now didn’t want to steal other people’s Pokémon. The rest of the group seemed to have the same attitude. Somehow they had changed a little, after exposure to that crystal.

“What the hell are we standin’ around for? We got our Pokémon, now let’s go!” Rad yelled out. Everyone nodded in agreement and called back their Pokémon. Lucia cracked the door open to check for human guards, but the only presence outside was that of the seemingly emotionless Litaria. The group began to walk down the hallway once more, acting as prisoners, and concealing their Pokémon.

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“I want my Eevee! I want it now! I want it I want it I want it!” Kyra screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Shhh… you’ll get it back eventually, we just have to sort things out,” a young male Judgment member calmly replied to Kyra’s tantrum.

Kyra only began to scream louder, before a more experienced female Judgment member cut in. “Shush, or you won’t see your parents ever again!”

The words seemed to have an effect on her. Her yells tapered off into crying before she stopped completely. “Promise?” She added on later.

“Yes, dear. I promise.” The female Judgment member whispered, looking at the younger, male one as if to say “now that’s how it’s done.”

“Thank Emmanuel I don’t have kids…” the male one muttered.

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Lucia led the group into another room with a high-tech server in it. Wires were connected to it and led into the wall. It was a bit surreal to see hi-tech electronics in a marble palace with torches lighting the room. “Now, we’ll be able to find your friends. Umm… except, there’s one slight problem. I… I’m afraid I don’t know how to work this thing.”

“You’re kidding…” Rad spoke in disbelief.

“What, it’s only my first day here!” Lucia replied.

“You seem to know a lot for someone who’s been a part of Team Judgment for only a day, though,” Blaze pointed out.

“Ehh… I’ve only been an actual member for only a day, but I’ve known a little of how things work here for a while now. I live in the city below.”

“City?” Spike, Blaze, and Rad chimed in, confused.

“Oh yeah, this is actually a city…” Lucia began to explain before Shade cut her off.

“Hello, they’ve probably discovered us missing by now… now, step aside and let me handle this,” She shrewdly pushed everyone aside as she made her way to the keyboard. She adroitly navigated the menus on the large computer monitor adjacent to the server, until “prisoner search input” came on. She typed Vyle’s name in, and almost instantly a folder with documents came up. Shade found the one which included where he was currently and loaded it onto the screen.

“Says he’s at the Ex-pur lab. Whatever that is.”

“Oh, no…” Lucia replied grimly.

“Guessing that must be bad?”

“They must be doing horrible things to him in there…” Lucia replied.

“What’s Ex-pur?” Blaze asked.

“Stands for Experimental Purification.”

“With a name that good sounding, it must be terrible,” Shade replied. “We’ve got to hurry!” Shade then punched Kyra’s info into the computer. Her jaw dropped when the results of the search were displayed.

“It’ll be impossible to get her now,” Lucia replied grimly. “She probably won’t even want to leave, assuming we can even deal with the Team Judgment members…”

“My turn. Just watch the great Rad do his stuff,” Rad interrupted, calling out his Magnemite. Volt immediately knew what to do, and it sent an electronic pulse into the server. The blinking lights of the server began to go haywire, and glitches filled the screen. “Heh, that oughtta take care of them… now, where’s my applause?”

“Way to go, idiot!” Shade sarcastically applauded. “You’ve just alerted them that something’s wrong, making this escape 10 times harder!”

”Guys, either way, we have to get out of here. We’ve got to move quickly to free your friends. Everyone, MOVE!” Lucia cut in before an argument could break out. The entire group obediently followed Lucia as she sprinted out of the room and towards the lab.

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“Oof!” a voice exclaimed, coming from the surface of the crystal as both of the people who had essentially given Vyle a second chance at life fell to the ground, ensnared by a net. Police officers were heading for them quickly. Vyle was fortunate that they had missed him with their capture devices.

Vyle turned around to look at Rob and Ike. He was hidden safely out of the officers’ view in an alley perpendicular to the street.

“No… run!” You can still escape… but we’re done for!” Rob exclaimed as Vyle futilely began to try to free them.

“Don’t worry… about us… just… run so they don’t get you too! Go on, go on!” Ike yelled. As the cops grew closer, Vyle could see the light from the flashlights growing stronger. A glare filled the crystal’s surface.

“RUN!” Ike’s voice commanded to him. Vyle’s legs obeyed Ike, but his head was still turned around, facing Ike. He then headed into the dark maze of alleys, evading capture but never seeing Ike or Rob again.

Tears trickled down Vyle’s cheeks once again, dripping onto the floor. Vyle had those that cared for him ripped away from him by the unsympathetic arm of the law.

“Oh, cut to the chase already! Where’s the sinning? What’s with all this emotional drama?" The grand cardinal spoke with a tone of frustration as she made the crystal fast-forward through Vyle’s memories.

The next images to appear on the crystal’s illuminated surface, sure enough, were those of horrific crimes that Vyle had committed. Robberies, rapes, murders… they were all there, and different instances of these crimes flashed by rapidly. She did not want to watch these memories, despite the fact that she got her wish. Vyle’s face was cold and emotionless at this point, again as though he were reliving his memories.

“There we go… now we can operate!” She spoke enthusiastically. She scribbled notes from the read outs of the machine. “We’ll aim the purification ray straight into the deepest pit of his soul. That will fix him!” She shut the Crystal Memory machine off and ordered the single Litaria in the room to carry Vyle to the purification ray. The executive unstrapped him from the chair, his head slumped over, his body limp like a rag doll. The Litaria then carried him to the purification ray in its arms. Vyle’s legs dangled helplessly and his head rolled back. Drool rolled out of his mouth, dripping onto the polished marble floor.

The Litaria threw him into the chair carelessly, where the scowling female executive strapped him in. “Time to purify you… and I know that this time, it will work!” She exclaimed. She walked over to the control panel and adjusted the power settings to maximum, then flipped a large lever. The sound of machinery humming to life shook the lab. The two white crystals hooked up to the giant laser lit up, and the laser began to crackle with electricity as it began to charge up power.

Vyle awoke to see a giant laser, about the size of an Onix, crackling and glowing brighter with each passing second, pointed directly at his chest. He forced himself to struggle against the straps than held him down, but it was a futile effort. His pants were wet for some reason as well. As the laser prepared to fire, Vyle’s face grew more and more panicked.

“You cannot escape your past. You cannot escape your sins. And soon, the light of Judgment will fill your soul, scrubbing the darkness from your heart!” The executive spoke with enthusiasm, right before the laser let loose a beam of pure white light, crackling with electricity.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!” Vyle’s screams could be heard even outside the large lab. He had regained consciousness just in time to feel the effects of being blasted with pure light energy. His entire body felt like it was on fire. His chest felt as though a burning fist had struck it. His eyes rolled back into his skull, as the pain was far too great for anyone to bear consciously. The grand cardinal watched with glee as Vyle’s body was hit with the massive beam of light energy, his mouth still wide open, screaming in pain, and only the whites of his eyes visible.

A barrage of dark spheres had interrupted her pleasure, however. Shade stood in the doorway, her two Pokémon floating beside her, launching a flurry of darkness-charged Shadow Balls at the laser and the crystals powering it. Machinery hummed down to standby mode as the light energy powering the laser had been negated by the ghostly Shadow Ball attacks.

The grand cardinal stared at Shade furiously. “Litaria, dispense with this scum!” She commanded, waving her arm in the air, pointing at Shade.

A barrage of Light Spear attacks issued from the Litaria’s staff, only to be cancelled out by an equal number of Shadow Ball attacks issuing from Shade’s two Pokémon. Blaze then somersaulted into the room behind Shade, and her two Pokémon shot Flamethrower attacks directly at the grand cardinal. The grand cardinal dodged the attacks, however, with only slightly singed clothes. The grand cardinal staggered over to the alert button and slammed it.

Spike leapt into action behind Blaze. Nightclaw charged into the deadlock between Shade’s Pokémon and the Litaria, its body emanating an aura of darkness as it delivered a super effective Feint Attack strike to the Litaria. Punk then rolled into a spiny ball towards the chair. Spike called out Vyle’s Pokémon to assist in freeing Vyle. Together, they rushed at the chair in a blur, slicing the bonds that held Vyle in place with their Slash attacks.

Rad then called upon his Magnemite to use Thunder Wave. The blue electricity stunned the executive as she watched with horror. “What… do… you… think… you’re doing!” I… am… one of the… Grand Cardinals… of....Team Judgment! You… will… regret… this!” She struggled to speak, paralyzed from the Thunder Wave attack, as Spike lifted Vyle from the chair with both his arms. He was strong enough to carry Vyle over his shoulder and still be able to run. Volt then delivered a critical blow to the Litaria with a Thunderbolt. The Litaria flew back into the machinery regulating the Crystal Memory and destroyed it. Electricity crackled around the Litaria as it had been dealt another super effective blow by the flying-type killing move, Thunderbolt.

“We have to get out of here!” Lucia called from behind the doorway. “Hurry!”

The group and their Pokémon fled, leaving the lab in disarray. “The… light… of… Judgment… shall be upon you!” The grand cardinal yelled out hopelessly.

Everyone then ran down the stairs and into the teleporter. Luckily Lucia knew the incantation needed to activate it, and they vanished in a glow of light back to the lower floor.

“They’re gonna find us!” Lucia exclaimed, panicked.

“Not if I can help it,” Shade smiled. “Spook, use Cover of Darkness!” The Sableye instantly released waves of darkness from its body, engulfing the hallways in blackness, as though they were walking through a moonless night. Thunder roared outside, and lightning flashed, but the light could not pierce the darkness that engulfed them. The white torches glowed, but no light emanated from them. The glowing ghost Pokémon and the torches were the only things visible in the darkness.

“Ghosts, lead the way!” Shade exclaimed. The group chased after the glowing ghosts that were their only source of light.

“Now, we have to find Kyra!” Spike exclaimed as they ran.

“Question?” Blaze spoke. “How do they… how do we know where to find Kyra?”

“Let’s just say I have a feeling I know where they’re keeping her,” Shade spoke from out in front of Blaze.

“A… feeling?”

“Trust me!” Shade called back.

“Even I don’t know where we’re going,” Lucia embarrassedly admitted.

“What choice do we have? Either we have to trust Shade, or deal with impossible numbers of Team Judgment agents and angels in the light,” Blaze rationalized the situation.

The glowing ghost Pokémon hovered as though they were following Shade. Shade navigated the pitch dark hallways as though she had been there countless times before. The voices of Team Judgment members echoed in the darkness, but they could not see, as their flashlights were rendered useless by the sinister attack.

“Guiding Light!” A voice echoed far behind them. The hallways suddenly lit up, removing the darkness effect that Spook had put up. The torches flickered more intensely, and the white marble walls glared as the light in the hallways became much more intense. The group squinted, as their eyes hurt from the intense light.

“There it is!” Shade pointed ahead, struggling to see.

“The prayer chamber?” Lucia asked. “Oh, that’s right, of course! I’m sorta still getting used to things around here, I guess,” Lucia replied, embarrassed.

“Shhh… we need to burst in, suddenly and quickly. Like how we used to do. Right, Spike?” Shade whispered.

“Right.” All the Pokémon positioned themselves, ready to pounce.

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Kyra watched the large, oak doors nervously as light began to creep in from behind the doors. She was in one of the many rows of wooden benches that filled the large, cavernous chamber. A red carpet stretched from the door to the large, bright altar that was lit with many torches. A large, panoramic picture of Miracorn battling the obsidian, equine form of Darkhor decorated the altarpiece. The inside of the chamber was built like a gothic-style cathedral. The room had huge arches at the top, where pillars at the sides of the room seemed to converge, supporting the massive ceiling. Stained glass windows lined the sides of the chamber, each one decorated with a Litaria. The most striking feature of the room, however, was a magnificent picture of a white-robed, bearded figure hovering above the battle between the titanic legendary Pokémon.

Kyra continued to watch the oak door nervously. As did the 20 or 30 Judgment members that were in the room with her. And an equal number of Litaria.

“Boom!” The oak doors swung open, and light bathed the entire chamber from outside. The group and their Pokémon rushed into the room with the intent of rescuing Kyra. But their plans were halted as they were met with glowing staves surrounding them, pointed directly at them. Lucia crouched in the hallway, trying to remain unnoticed.

“Heheh. We knew you’d come for the little one,” A booming voice spoke. A figure dressed like the other grand cardinal, only this time male, stood atop the altar, glowing with the light coming from outside. “Like rats into a trap. I ordered everyone to let you scurry around until you make it here. I knew you’d be coming for the little girl as soon as you trashed my wife’s lab!” A ring of Judgment members and Litaria surrounded the group and their Pokémon.

“I’m guessing we aren’t gonna leave now?” Rad cut in.

“Where’s Kyra?!” Spike boldly demanded.

“You aren’t in the position to make demands, now are you? She’s in here, but I’m afraid knowing that is not much use to you, as you aren’t going to be walking out with her… or at all, for that matter.”

“You bastard!” Spike cursed at the executive.

“Silence, vermin!” The grand cardinal sneered. “Now, let’s see what little Kyra has to say, shall we?”

Kyra appeared from behind the bench. “That’s right, you big meanies! I will never go back with you! You want to teach me to be evil, but I won’t fall for it! I want salvation! I want Lord Emmanuel to protect me too!”

The words cut into everyone in the group. “Kyra… we have your Eevee!” Blaze called out, holding up its Poké Ball.

“You can keep it! Salvation is much more important to me!” She responded, trying to hold back tears. The group that had taken her into the streets, that had sworn to protect her, was now the enemy to her.

“So you see, she won’t be coming with you. She has accepted Lord Emmanuel into her heart, and has no more desire to do evil with you.” The grand cardinal added in.

Meanwhile, Lucia was struggling with her conscience. She was temporarily invisible to her team, and had the perfect chance to free them. But she shuddered at the thought of them finding out that she betrayed them, and had helped them get this far. She was also afraid of Lord Emmanuel, who in her eyes, had been watching her the whole time. She would be considered a traitor in Lord Emmanuel’s eyes.

“Unless you accept Lord Emmanuel into your heart, you will be doomed to suffer for all eternity. Only by accepting Lord Emmanuel, and Miracorn’s sacrifice for humanity, can you ever hope to be saved,” The executive spoke. “Now, I have no idea how you escaped, but it’s no matter. Take them away!” He ordered to all the Judgment members and Litaria surrounding them.

“How horrible! No one should be forced to accept Lord Emmanuel like that!” Lucia thought to herself. She made up her mind. Now was the time to act. She pulled out a Poké Ball from under her robe, and hoped the group would know what to do next.

“Grace, use Follow Me!” She whispered to her Poké Ball as it released her Pokémon, a Togetic. Grace materialized in the air, hovering on its tiny angel wings. Its body was oval-shaped and had an interesting array of red and blue triangular-shaped patterns on it. An aura began to appear around it as it began to fly over the Litaria and Judgment members. The Litaria were entranced by the Togetic, and immediately took off after it. They began to fire barrages of Light Spear attacks at it. This was the group’s time to act.

“Eat your hearts out, you psychotic bastards!” Shade called out. The Judgment members began to call out their Pokémon and surround them as the group’s Pokémon began to launch attacks at the Judgment members, knocking some of them over. “Gravecall, Pain Seal on all our enemies!”

The Gravecall hovered in the air as the group’s Pokémon engaged Team Judgment’s. The Litarias were still entranced by Lucia’s Togetic, and would not respond to orders given to them by Team Judgment. They continued launching Light Spears at Togetic’s body, but the Miracle type attacks had no effect on it.

The balls of blue fire around Gravecall began to circle it faster as it prepared its sinister curse. The group below barely managed to dodge several Light Arrow attacks aimed at them by Pokémon in the room. Gravecall then released one of its flames. Its eyes were glowing blue in its skull head as it was in a state of trance, preparing its curse. As the flame drifted into the air, the group struggled to hold off Team Judgment. One by one, their Pokémon collapsed, battered with multiple Light Arrows, as they were being outnumbered by almost five to one. The Litarias changed their plans and began to launch Gust attacks at Togetic instead of Light Spears. Streams of feathers flew at Togetic from some of the Litaria, immobilizing it somewhat. Just then, one of the Judgment members, whom Lucia recognized as her instructor, noticed her and spoke to her. “Traitor! You were the one that released them, weren’t you?”

“I… I couldn’t stand to watch anymore…” Lucia tried to defend herself from the psychological assault.

At that moment, everything froze. The will-o-wisp that had been released from orbit around Gravecall burst, and red particles shot from it, hitting every Judgment member and every Pokémon aligned with Team Judgment. Howls of pain echoed throughout the massive chamber as each one afflicted by the curse developed a glowing red spot on their chest which shone through their clothes. Kyra crawled out from behind the bench, scared.

“C’mon, Kyra! We’re here to save you!” Blaze yelled above the groans of pain.

“I’m not going!” She exclaimed.

Blaze then released the Eevee from its ball. “Maybe this will change your mind!” The Eevee immediately darted over to Kyra and huddled in her lap, begging for her to pet him with his eyes.

Kyra then looked around the room, clearly conflicted. The Eevee was a symbol of her parents’ love for her, as they struggled for years to get her the rare Pokémon that she always wanted. “I… missed you… And… those people wouldn’t give you back to me!” She scratched the Eevee behind its ear. The group stood there in suspense, waiting for Kyra’s response as she looked around the room. “But… you… you did this! You all are evil!”

Meanwhile, Lucia’s instructor crawled on his belly, barely able to move with the pain emanating from the glowing red spot on his chest. He glared at Lucia with a look of paralyzed horror. “You… betrayed… us… you… betrayed… Emmanuel… Aagh!”

The reality of what she had just done had sunk in. She betrayed her family and her sacred duties in her act of mercy to these complete strangers. She covered her face with her hands and began to cry.

“Are you ready to get out of here?” Spike asked Kyra in a calm voice. But Kyra’s response was muted by the sound of every single stained glass window in the room shattering at once. The Litaria designs on the windows were replaced by real Litarias, each one ridden by a member of Team Judgment. And a rain of multicolored glass showered the group and their Pokémon as they struggled to keep the glass out of their faces.

“Run!” Spike exclaimed. The group recalled all their Pokémon as they began to flee, Spike still bearing the weight of Vyle on his shoulder. Spike tried to also grab Kyra, but a rain of feathers soon covered her, and a Litaria grabbed her in its talons as she helplessly clutched her Eevee. As they exited the room, they could only see a rain of glowing feathers behind them. Shade took Lucia by the arm, and they ran off down the hallway. Lucia screamed as she was reluctantly dragged along. Grace, who had taken a beating but managed to endure the Litaria, darted behind her trainer with a determined look on its face, ready to support her whether she decided to stay or go with these strangers.

“Stop!” Lucia struggled, freeing herself from Shade’s grip as they continued running. The group stopped.

“Forget her, let’s get outta here!” Rad exclaimed. The rest of the group seemed to agree, based on their urgent expressions.

“Leave me here!” Lucia cried.

“No. If you stay, they’ll torture you like they did with us!” Shade retorted.

“But I have to face what I’ve done!”

“You’ve done the right thing! Trust me!”

“But…”

“You followed your heart. That’s what really matters, right?”

“Uhm…” Lucia paused. “You’re right. I am not helping them torture people anymore! Let’s go!”

“There they are!” Voices echoed from the hallway. The group turned and ran down a circular flight of stairs.

“Quickly! To the city below!” Lucia yelled, the echoing footsteps behind them growing louder as they ran down the stairs. “Keep going!”

“Screw this, I know a faster way!” Shade yelled out, pausing in front of an open window.

“You aren’t…” Rad looked at Shade, astonished. Shade climbed onto the windowsill, ready to leap. Pouring rain lashed at her face.
“Naah, let’s just run down these long stairs, only to find another group of them waiting for us, just when we’re too exhausted to resist,” Shade sarcastically responded.

“Or we can jump out the window to our certain deaths. Good thinking!” Rad remarked back, getting the hang of Shade’s game of witty remarks.

“Trust me,” Shade responded. “You won’t die if you’re careful.” She winked at Rad as she leapt feet first from the window.

“What the? She’s crazy!” Spike yelled.

“Didn’t think she’d actually do it…” Blaze commented as she took a peak out of the window.

What she saw astonished her, and everyone else. Shade was sliding down the rain-slicked marble slope of the outside of the castle, and heading for a flat landing on top of a tower below.

“Wasn’t expectin’ that…” Spike commented, also taking a look out of the window.

“Well, we gotta do somethin’! Blaze shouted as footsteps echoed behind her, growing more urgent. She leapt form the window and slid feet first down the virtual water slide of the castle wall, coming to a stop at the end of the flat tower. The rest reluctantly followed suit. Lucia screamed as she slid, and Spike struggled to climb out with the weight of Vyle on his shoulders. Grace the Togetic flew out of the window with no problems at all, just milliseconds before Team Judgment arrived at the point of the stairs that the group stopped at.

The group struggled to their feet below, surprised that they were still alive. “Now what?” Blaze asked.

“Well… my grandma lives in the city. If we can get inside, we can hide out at her place for a while…” Lucia suggested.

“But… how do we get inside?”

“Let’s bust down that door!” Spike pointed at a wooden door that was situated at the side of the slope they had managed to slide down.

“But how? All our Pokémon that could possibly break the door down have fainted!” Blaze replied.

“Hate to alert you guys, but… we’ve got more trouble coming!” Rad pointed at a flock of tiny Litaria silhouettes flying out from near the top of the tower above them.

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“Emmanuel almighty, they were crazy enough to do it…” A Team Judgment member stared out of the window at the group’s tiny figures at the top of the tower several hundred feet below. “And they even survived.”

“We really don’t know what we’re up against,” Another Judgment member added. But don’t worry, soon, Lord Emmanuel will return with Miracorn, and there will be nothing anyone can do about it!” All the Team Judgment members in the stairway cheered.

[Sike Saner]

Good to learn more of Vyle's background, and also interesting to see little hints as to what inspired Vyle's parents to be so terrible to him beginning to surface. *knows the reasons why they did such to him but promises not to spoil them* And damn, when Vyle's dad brought out that meat cleaver... yeah. Scary guy, indeed. o_o;

Also good to see Lucia's conscience starting to really prevail. ^^ And I definitely feel bad for Kyra--it's shameful, the way Team Judgment is taking advantage of how she misses her parents to push the team's ways on her...

In other shame-on-Team-Judgment news... damn, doing things such as destroying or conducting experiments on any Pokémon they don't consider "acceptable"... yeah, that's pretty frelled-up of them. D:

And again, Gravecall's curses are just effing cool as frell.

Other highlights:

The impact of the words penetrated Vyle’s fantasy world, shattering its sky and causing the Pokémon to vanish.

Liked that choice of words there. ^^

Meanwhile, Lucia was struggling with her conscience. She was temporarily invisible to her team, and had the perfect chance to free them. But she shuddered at the thought of them finding out that she betrayed them, and had helped them get this far. She was also afraid of Lord Emmanuel, who in her eyes, had been watching her the whole time. She would be considered a traitor in Lord Emmanuel’s eyes.

And I liked that look into Lucia's thoughts there. ^^

[PsiUmbreon]

Shame on me! I actually forgot about this place for a while. Uh, I'll be back to posting regular updates now. I hope. ^^;

Chapter 10
Spiropolis, the White Fortress

Cold, chilling winds and torrents of rain hammered the group as they sought entry back inside. Spike tried to ram the door; a futile effort, as his strength was mostly exhausted already, and the door was solidly built. Meanwhile, the Litaria silhouettes above them grew larger as they got closer. Within a matter of seconds, the Litaria would be upon the group.

“Step aside, and leave it to me,” Shade suddenly spoke. The group looked at her skeptically as she pulled out what looked like a hairpin from her dripping hair. “They never bother to check the hair,” She mused.

The hairpin she was using was actually a lock pick, and from the looks of it, it had already been used many times before. Shade stuck the pin into the lock and manipulated the lock skillfully. Within a few seconds, the door creaked open. Shade then tucked the lock pick back into her hair.

“Hey, I was just about to say that!” Blaze complained to the apathetic bunch of people that were just glad to be inside. They all crowded through the door and slammed it shut. And not a moment too soon; Light Spears rained down upon the spot where they had just stood, desperate to get inside.

Another long, marble stairway greeted them as they walked in. “Ya know, I’m getting a bit tired of stairs…” Rad complained. But soon after descending the first flight of stairs, the group discovered another teleporter. The sight of the cylindrical chamber was a relief. With no time to spare, everyone crammed themselves into the teleporter. Lucia closed her eyes and uttered the incantation, “Et galash artum Emmanuel!” The next thing she knew, she and everyone else was surrounded by a bright light.

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Several executives and two grand cardinals had congregated in a cylindrical room with a large, circular table in it. On that table were countless documents, and in the center was a holographic projector that displayed a map of the entire Altairon region on it. The display rotated slowly, occasionally flickering. At the head of the table sat one of the grand cardinals. His attire made him stand out, even among the executives in the room. The rest of the executives sat down at the circular table, with the other, shorter but still elaborately dressed grand cardinal sitting to the left of the one at the head of the table.

“Highest ranking soldiers of light, I have summoned thee to this chamber to deliver grave news,” the grand cardinal at the head of the table spoke, organizing the documents he held in his hand. “Lord Emmanuel hath delivered the sign. The Final Judgment is coming!” he spoke with urgency.

He was met with a room full of awestruck faces. “Grand Cardinal Peter… You cannot be serious!” One of the executives spoke out.

“Indeed I am. Final preparations must be made now. We must spread the word to every city on the globe. All must pray to Emmanuel and Miracorn for forgiveness, or the light of Judgment shall not spare them. Furthermore, as we all know from our scripture, an angel of darkness shall awaken within the Ter’ast region to the south, and lead an army of evil to challenge Emmanuel himself, bearing the powers of Darkhor. We must fulfill our part of the prophecy and prepare for this occurrence.”

“Sir, there’s also the matter of the escaped prisoners,” An executive reminded.

“Grand Cardinal Noah shall address that issue. I must organize our forces of light, which, in the prophecy, stands to oppose the Angel of Darkness.”

“Sir, any word as to the conditions of Grand Cardinals Maria and Michael?” another executive spoke.

Grand Cardinal Noah, who was shorter than Peter, also older, and had a severely receded hairline, began to speak as Peter and six of the lower executives left the room. “Have no worries. Both of them are in our restoration wing, and they are doing fine. The blessed healers are doing their job. As for the prisoners, they cannot get far. I’ve already ordered a complete lockdown of the city. No one can get in or out. And our soldiers of light are down their right now scouring the city as we speak. Those heathens and that traitor won’t be going anywhere for quite a while… well, except to a purification room…” Noah smiled as he spoke.

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Lucia led the way as the group was now navigating the city within the great spire. Inside the spire, the roads and houses were also made of marble. There weren’t any cars on the roads either. The entire indoors portion of the city was lit by glowing white crystals which lined the walls. Lamp posts with white crystals within them lined the roads. Only a few people and Pokémon were out of their homes. Along the walls of the inside of the spire were more homes. Several large passageways built into the wall led outside. More homes and shops were built on the outside of this large spire on cylindrical platforms. Traffic through the passageways was almost nonexistent, as the shops outside were closed, and Litaria patrolled the skies, not allowing anyone to leave the city.

The atmosphere of the city was typically relaxed and old-fashioned, except the relaxed part was negated by the fact that Team Judgment, who was at the top of the theocratic government of the city, was now patrolling the city, and harassing almost anyone who wandered out of their houses. Few pieces of modern technology could be found in the city, as the citizens felt little need for them. Life within Spiropolis had been relatively unchanged for centuries.

Spiropolis was fabled to have been a massive fortress in earlier days, created by the powers of Miracorn. A small army, pursued by masses of both people and Pokémon, had taken shelter within the massive marble fortress. They were widely persecuted for their religious beliefs, and wanted to start their own country within Altairon. A great war, which had spanned for years, was in its closing days. The secessionists were dwindling and had suffered massive casualties. The legends spoke of the army kneeling down and praying to Miracorn, whom they worshipped as a deity. Miracorn granted those that had kept their faith through the trying times with the massive fortress which sprung forth from the ground in front of them. The opposing army sent their entire force at the white fortress, but could not pierce its defenses. After a year of bloody battles and massive casualties on both sides, leaders of the two opposing groups sat down and compromised. They agreed to allow the followers of Miracorn to worship freely within the massive fortress, which had become like a city to them, but still remain part of Altairon.

Groups of Team Judgment members and Litaria were combing the city. They were interrogating townspeople, searching and looking for any clues as to the whereabouts of their escaped prisoners. The city was fairly big, and had multiple levels within the spire. That and the fact that the Litaria couldn’t fly too high inside limited the possibilities of an aerial search while the prisoners were indoors. But the group was still at risk of being spotted. One townsperson who had spotted a party of people who were drenched from being outside and had clothes that differed from those of Spiropolis residents and one Pokémon flying behind them directed a party of Team Judgment members in the direction that he saw them go. The Judgment members nodded and took off in the direction of the group.

“Quickly! We must go outside!” Lucia commanded to the group as they ran through a tunnel built into the spire which led outside. Fortunately, the weather outside hampered visibility and the fierce winds made it so that the Litaria had to exert themselves just to stay in the air, lowering the effectiveness of aerial searches outside as well.

The tunnel led to a small plateau outside with several marble buildings built atop it. Torrents of rain made the roads outside look like small rivers. Along the wall, some tents that contained small shops were violently flapping in the wind. The group ran down the streets outside, just barely vanishing out of the line of sight of a Litaria that was assigned to patrol that area. They had been lucky that the Litaria was looking away when they left the tunnel. Grace clung to Lucia’s clothes to avoid being blown away.

Passing between a few buildings, the group came to the edge of the plateau that the shops and buildings had rested upon. A wall that was similar to the walls at the top of castles and old fortresses lined the edge of the plateau, keeping people from falling to the ground far below. The wall had an opening near the wall, leading to a small stairway that coiled around the edge of the cylindrical plateau until it led to a door on the other side. The stairway was especially precarious as it had no railing on the sides, and was especially slippery in the rain. Everyone hastily but carefully traversed the staircase on the side. But as they did so, a Litaria in the area caught sight of them running down the stairs, and decided to swoop in and investigate.

“Umm… Shade? Could you…” Lucia began to ask as they approached the wooden door at the other side of the cylindrical plateau. Shade, who was right behind her, pulled out her hairpin and began to manipulate the lock of this door.

But the group froze in fear as the Litaria swooped in. They were trapped on the precarious ledge. They could not see the ground below, only the wall of the spire, sloped almost vertically, fading into a grey mist below. They also had no chance against it in battle, seeing as all their Pokémon were fainted. “Litaria! Lit!” It shouted out in Pokémon language when it saw them.

Grace decided to intervene and talk to the Litaria, to convince it that the group was not the one it was supposed to be looking for. “Let me handle this one,” she thought to herself as she flew up to the Litaria. The plateau above them kept them somewhat sheltered from the fierce weather, so Grace was able to fly.

“Don’t mind us… we’re just visiting a friend,” Grace spoke to the Litaria in Pokémon language.

Litaria responded curiously and suspiciously, holding up its staff. “A… friend? What is that?”

Grace did not know how to respond. “An… acquaintance, you know… uhm… someone you know.”

“I… see, but why would humans want to visit out in this weather?”

“Uhh… they were lonely?”

“Lonely? Humans are such funny creatures.” The Litaria responded. “Anyways, can you let me know if you spot… hey, wait a minute! Those humans are the prisoners I’m supposed to look for!” Litaria pointed its staff at the group as they stood there, afraid to move out of fear.

“No they aren’t… uhh… would criminals have one of my kind traveling with them?” Grace replied slyly.

“You have a point. I guess I’m really looking for someone a bit more shady. Carry on,” The Litaria said. “If you see a suspicious group, let me know. My masters ordered me to find a group a bit like this one.” With that, the Litaria flew upward and back to its post.

The group had no idea what just happened, as anyone who had just been listening to a conversation consisting of “Litaria!” and “Tochikku!” would. They were surprised that they were still alive, and that the Litaria had left them alone. Grace was curious about that Litaria, however. Something seemed wrong. Why did it seem so emotionless? It didn’t even know what a friend was. But as Grace hovered there thinking, everyone else had already made their way inside. Grace flew in after them, going through the doorway right before it closed.

A long hallway stretched itself in front of the group as they entered. Many doors along the hallway led to the living quarters of citizens of Spiropolis. But Lucia turned at the first door to her left and knocked.

Inside, an elderly woman dressed in a simple gray robe walked over to the door, using her cane as a support. Hunched over, she stood only slightly higher than the doorknob. She was about to inquire as to who the person was at the door when that question was abruptly answered for her.

“Grandma, are you there? It’s Lucia and… I really need your help.”

“Lucia, is it really you? I thought you joined Team Judgment,” came the answer from the old woman on the other side of the door.

“Long story…” Lucia sighed as she spoke. Her grandmother opened the door eagerly. She was surprised to see Lucia dripping wet. She was even more surprised to see a band of equally wet travelers behind her.

“I see you’ve brought some friends,” Lucia’s grandmother chuckled. “Come on in, don’t be shy.”

“You have to hide me and these people I rescued!” Lucia spoke frantically.

“I… see,” The smile on her grandmother’s face faded. “Madeleine, come quick! Get these folk a change of robes and some clean towels!” Her grandmother called out. A Jynx appeared from a doorway in the apartment. “Jyyyynx!” she replied. The group hadn’t ever seen a real Jynx before, as this species was rarely seen in Altairon. Jynx had a very odd appearance—purplish-black skin, large, gaping eyes, lips that stood out from the face due to being so large, blond hair, and wearing a one-piece red dress that touched the floor. She looked like a really, really strange looking person. Madeleine surveyed the group of six travelers, the biggest traveler carrying one of them, and the Togetic fluttering above them. She then bowed and waked off, obeying the elderly woman’s command.

“Oh dear… the carpet will have to be cleaned…” Lucia’s grandmother remarked as the she stared at the group’s wet footprints.

“I’ll sit down and explain everything!” Lucia frantically spoke.

“Not in those wet clothes you won’t!” Her grandmother replied. “You all must be freezing!” Just then, Madeleine came in with six different colored robes folded in one hand and six white towels in the other. “Everyone, go ahead and change into these clothes and dry yourselves out. If there’s anything else you need, just ask. Madeleine will help with the injured traveler you’ve got there. You can all either change in the kitchen over there, the restroom there, or the bedroom.”

After the group changed into the robes, which were typically worn by residents of Spiropolis, and were centuries behind the times, and Vyle was cleaned up and laid on the bed in the bedroom to rest, still very much unconscious, and the clothes had been placed in the washer to be cleaned, Lucia and the four conscious members of the Underground began to explain what had happened to them.

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“…It was weird. I knew… that I was doing the right thing when I let them out… Even though it was against Team Judgment,” Lucia explained.
“Wow, sounds like you’ve had your share of excitement for the day. Oh dear, that means Team Judgment is looking for you guys… and they’ll leave no stone unturned. You’ll all need to get out of here soon!”

“I’m sorry for causing you this much trouble, grandma,” Lucia apologetically replied.

“It’s all right, dear,” her grandmother replied. “I’m happy to help you. I never did care for that Team Judgment. Lord Emmanuel this, Miracorn that… ugh. They’ve been radicalizing a lot recently. Their beliefs are just a twisted mockery of ancient Pokémon lore!” She spoke with anger and passion.

“Grandma… please! You mustn’t say things like that!”

“I’m sorry, dear. I forgot you believe in Emmanuel too. The entire family has completely excluded me simply because I don’t believe. You’re the only person that talks to me, but ever since you started preparing for your coming of age, you haven’t had time. Madeleine here, and the rest of my Pokémon are my only company,” She lamented. “Why, if they weren’t family, I bet they’d turn me in for non belief!”

“I’m… sorry I haven’t come and visited you. Mommy forbids me from seeing you, so I have to sneak out. She says you’re a bad influence on me. But you’re the one who taught me to follow my heart!” Lucia embraced her grandmother tightly. Looking away from the two of them, Rad made a disgusted sneer, and Shade then stomped on his foot as a gesture of reproach.

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Grace and Madeleine began to have a conversation in Pokémon on the other side of the room.

“What’s up with them Litarias?” Grace asked.

“Them… oh, sister, don’t get me started on them…” Madeleine replied. “Them and that Team Judgment… oh boy. They’re the reason I can’t even flippin’ go outside! Just ‘cuz I’m part Psychic type…”

“What? They hate ya because you’re part Psychic? But… why?”

“Team Judgment has, um, I dunno, sticks up their asses? Anyways, they hate almost every Pokémon that’s not a Miracle type. Something about being evil.”

“What? That is NOT how a Miracle type is supposed to act. How could Team Judgment…”

“It’s all that Lord Emmanuel crap. Using that as an excuse to hate. It ain’t right, I tell ya!”

“But… Litaria are Miracle types too… I don’t understand why they don’t get a sense of moral outrage at this!”

“I’m guessin’ it has to do with their trainers. The attitudes of Pokémon often mirror their trainer’s. I guess Miracle types ain’t an exception.”

“But… do they even know it’s wrong?”

“They don’t seem to. I haven’t been around them too much but when I read their minds, they were like, almost blank!”

“Wow… just… wow.”

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“Lucia, you rescued… a bunch of criminals?” Her grandma replied, astonished at Spike and his group as they explained where they came from.

“Um… I’m sorry if it bothers you.”

“No, you’re right, hon. Regardless of who it is, no one deserves to be subject to Team Judgment’s ‘moral cleansing’. You have a really big heart to be able to do this.”

“Hey, don’t worry ‘bout us. We’re savin’ all our hurtin’ for Team Judgment!” Spike spoke, flexing his muscles.

“Oh, they’re gonna get it!” Shade added.

“Specially after what they did to Vyle and Kyra!” Blaze chimed in.

“Sorry if we worry ya, ma’am,” Spike apologized.

“Oh, it’s all right,” Lucia’s grandmother accepted the apology. “Now, looks like you all need some rest. I’ll turn up the heat, since… brr… it’s getting cold in here,” The wind began to howl outside as the fierce storm continued into the night.

“I’m scared, grandma!” What if they come while we’re asleep?” Lucia asked.

“Ohh… well, don’t worry dear. Madeleine here, as well as my other Pokémon friends will stand guard,” She pointed to four Ultra Balls sitting on the night stand in her bedroom.

“Wow, those must be some strong ass Pokémon in there…” Rad commented on the gleaming black and yellow spheres on the stand.

“Oh, you bet. I haven’t been able to let them out at all recently since those blasted Litaria started patrolling outside. Big, strong Pokémon need their exercise especially. And it’s hard feeding them, especially when I barely get a chance to go to the market these days.”

Each group member found a different place in the apartment to sleep, some more comfortable than others. The group’s Pokémon also got some much needed rest, and Grace used a Wish attack on the whole group, which healed them all overnight. Madeleine stood guard, ready to unleash the powerful forces contained within the four balls. Grace stood with Madeleine for part of the night to keep her company and take over part of her watch. Fortunately for them, the only disturbances that night were the sounds of the fierce weather outside, periodically going from fierce rainstorms to some calmer weather.

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A knock came at the door of Lucia’s former home, the living quarters of her parents. It was roughly mid morning, and her parents had just awoken to another stormy day outside their window.

“Pardon me. I bring you grave news,” a Team Judgment member, male and in about his thirties, spoke after Lucia’s father had opened the door.

“What in Emmanuel’s name could it be?” The father spoke, worried. The mother came to the door after seeing the Judgment member from the corner of her eye.

“I’m afraid this concerns your daughter.”

“Oh, Emmanuel!” The mother exclaimed.

“I’ll pretend I did not hear the Lord’s name being uttered in vain due to the circumstances,” the Judgment member spoke. “Now, yesterday evening, there was an escape from our prisons. Five prisoners have escaped. We have investigated the incident thoroughly, and determined that your daughter has aided them in their escape, and is traveling with them at this moment.”

“Her, aid a bunch of heathens? We did not raise her that way!” Lucia’s dad roared angrily, shocked at the news.

“Are you sure she wasn’t coerced by them?” The mother inquired.

“I’m afraid that isn’t possible. She had no contact with them prior to releasing four of them from a purification chamber. They escaped, together with a fifth prisoner, a subject for a purification experiment. Now, do you have any idea where she might have fled to with them?”

The parents contemplated for a moment. “N… no…” was their reply when they realized what probably had happened.

“We strongly urge your complete cooperation with us. Any less than that and you are as guilty as your daughter.”

“Um… okay, she might be at her grandmother’s,” the mother sighed as she spoke. “She was always a bad influence.”

“Mother was NOT a bad influence,” Lucia’s dad argued. But both of the parents knew the sad truth: if they didn’t give out any information, they would be considered uncooperative and imprisoned as well. And, as such, they needed a scapegoat. And what better scapegoat than their unbelieving relative? It hurt them, particularly the father, to have to rat her out, but it was either her or them.

“Very well. Might I have the address? The Judgment member spoke, holding out a pencil and a pad of paper.

“She lives near that southern spire. Uhh… 666 Southern Spire path, Apartment number 69. It’s the Grand View Apartments, you can’t miss it,” the father spoke.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” The Judgment member spoke, and then walked off towards the end of the block. A whole squadron of Judgment members and Litaria awaited them at the end of the block. The man gave the address to the squadron, and it was announced via a transmitter to the entire Team Judgment task force responsible for apprehending the prisoners.

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The group had awakened after a nice, long sleep. They had all put on their newly cleaned and dried clothes back on, with the exception of Lucia, who didn’t want her Team Judgment robes. Their Pokémon were refreshed as well, and were allowed out for a bit. They were eating a nice, big breakfast, their first decent meal since Techno City. Vyle was still unconscious and lying in the bedroom, his body starting to die. Only an occasional Wish from Grace kept his body healthy. The rest of the group was blissfully unaware that they had been surrounded by Team Judgment. A squadron of Litaria stationed outside confirmed the presence of the prisoners, and another squadron of both humans and Litaria was ready to break into their home and capture them.

Madeleine, who had been busy cleaning the dishes, suddenly had a foreboding premonition. “Jyyyynx!” She nudged her trainer with a frightened look on her face.

“What is it?”
But before the Jynx could attempt to respond, the sound of a door being rammed interrupted them. “Open up, you heathens!”

“Get out of here, everyone, now!” Lucia’s grandmother screamed. The group instantly ran into the bedroom, pushing the table over in panic, dodging a Light Spear launched at them through the window. A balcony was outside the bedroom, which was where she would periodically release her four other Pokémon to fly around. Lucia’s grandmother hobbled over to the bedroom, with a little psychic assistance from Madeleine. “Take these four Pokémon, and use them to escape!” She called out as she opened the porch door. “Tigris, Terra, Seiryu, and Durandal!” Fly these people to the southern swamps! No time to explain, just go!” She released the four Pokémon from their Ultra Balls, and tossed the balls over to Lucia afterwards.

The first one was Tigris, a Salamence. This one differed from a normal Salamence because it had yellow stripes across its back that were similar to a tiger’s. Otherwise, it had the normal features of a Salamence: a large, bluish dragon body and red wings, elongated neck, the head of a dragon. It stood on all fours, stretching its wings and preparing to fly at the command of its trainer.

The second one, Terra, was a Flygon. It had large, insect-like eyes mounted on its green head. Its body was a combination of sandy brown, light green, and pine green. It stood on two legs, flapping its two diamond shaped wings. Its long neck stretched out, it was ready to fly as well.

The third one was Seiryu, a Dragonite. This dragon was docile-looking, although very thickly and muscularly built. Its wings did not look like it could support it, despite the known fact that its species has been known to be able to circle the globe on its wings in a mere 16 hours. Its body was a light orange color, and its wings were a dark green color on the inside. It gave a slight roar as it stretched and prepared to fly, relieved to be out of its ball.

The last, and most remarkable of all, was a rarely seen Pokémon, and almost completely unknown outside of Altairon. Durandal was a Drakoron, a crimson-colored dragon which was larger than even Seiryu. Its wings were black on the inside and its wingspan was much larger than the others’. It was also a sturdy Pokémon, which had muscles bulging on its thick legs. Thick crimson scales covered this dragon’s body. Its head was mostly dragon-like, but it had two large horns protruding from its skull, giving it the appearance of a demon. It snorted, and a slight flame issued from its nostrils as it stood on all fours due to the fact that it was too tall to stand upright underneath the roof, and it was ready to take off as well.

Time seemed to slow down as the group mounted the dragons; Shade hopped onto Tigris, Blaze onto Terra, Lucia onto Seiryu, and Spike hoisted Vyle onto Durandal’s back. Rad climbed onto Durandal as well behind Vyle’s unconscious body. Simultaneously, the door was kicked down, and Team Judgment members flooded in, coupled with Litaria. Grace used one more Wish on Madeleine and Lucia’s grandmother, knowing they would need the healing later. Lucia then called Grace back to her ball.

“Freeze!” They called out. Madeleine stood in the doorway of the bedroom, in front of her trainer as a bodyguard, ready to launch a barrage of Psychic and Ice Beam attacks.

“Grandma, hurry up!” Lucia called out.

“There’s no time! Get out of here!” She exclaimed back as Madeleine took a Light Spear for her trainer and then responded with an Ice Beam.

“But…” Lucia was cut off by the sight of a Light Spear flying past her head.

“Don’t worry about me… as long as you’re safe--“ her words were cut off as she was struck with a Light Spear from her side. She collapsed, her cane landing next to her with a slight thud.

At that point, the dragons suddenly took off, the group desperately trying to hold on. Rad and Spike were making sure Vyle wouldn’t fall off as well. The tore through a barricade of Litaria with Judgment members mounted on them which had just appeared in front of them with a combination of Flamethrower from Durandal, Ice Beam from Tigris, Hyper Beam from Seiryu, and Dragonbreath from Terra. The Litaria that were hit spiraled down below into oblivion, dropping their passengers and their staves as well. The sound of the staves hitting the wall below echoed as the dragons streaked off towards the south like rockets, their passengers squinting in the rain and struggling to hold on. Fortunately, the wind had abated somewhat, but the rain was still coming down.

“To Ter’ast! The last place Team Judgment would dare go!” Lucia shouted resolutely, the sacrifice of her grandmother bringing her to tears. She pointed directly in front of them to a dome of grayish mist some distance away.

A Light Spear attack whizzed by. It appeared that they were still being chased. Sure enough, as they looked behind them, another flock of Litarias with Team Judgment members on their backs were in hot pursuit. Lucia shrieked as another Light Spear flew by her head.

“There’s too many… holy shit!” Spike exclaimed as he looked backwards and saw flock upon flock of tiny Litaria silhouettes descending from near the top of the massive white spire behind them. Light Spear attacks shot by them, all of them fortunately missing. The dragons flew on towards the cloud of dark gray mist to the south, the rain pounding them relentlessly.

Light Spears were lobbed at them with more ferocity than before. Durandal was hit by a couple of them. It grunted but withstood the attack and continued flying, with the Litaria in hot pursuit. A few more barrages of Light Spears from afar, most of them missing due to the distance and the visibility problems. However, a few of them hit the dragons. The dragons were all able to sustain the attacks, but their stamina started to wear thin. The Litaria, who were fast but not able to keep up with dragons normally, started to gain on them. And as they gained on them, their aim became more accurate. The dragons altered their elevations to try to avoid the attacks, since a moving target was harder to hit. But they became more and more exhausted as the Light Spears struck them, wounding them both physically and spiritually.

The grayish mist of Ter’ast in southern Altairon loomed in front of them and below them. They were almost there. Team Judgment would most certainly turn back, as they feared that place. Many a Team Judgment member had been lost forever in that region, presumed dead.

“Wroooooar!” Durandal grunted in pain as it had been hit, the Light Spear heading straight through its body. It could fly no more, and it spiraled out of the air, entering the dark mist below, its passengers desperately clinging onto it. The rest of the dragons soon collapsed as well after being hit. Lucia even withstood one of the Light Spear attacks hit directly on, still wincing in pain as she clung to Seiryu. Soon after, all the dragons were dealt critical blows with Light Spear attacks, and lacked the strength to fly. They fell from the skies, entering the dark mists below.

“Halt!” An executive atop a Litaria shouted through a loudspeaker as he witnessed the fugitives hurtling out of control towards the swamps of Ter’ast. The Litarias slowed down, struggling to keep the Team Judgment members on their backs from flying over them. “Good work, soldiers of light! They’ll be consumed forever by the darkness! Now, we must turn back!” The rain had diminished in intensity by now as the flocks of Litaria all reversed their directions and headed back towards the imposing Spiropolis in the distance, its top covered by clouds.

[Sike Saner]

That the Litaria didn't even know from the concept of a "friend" is definitely a noteworthy detail in this case, I would say, as is the matter of near blankness being found upon reading the minds of the Litaria of Team Judgment--details that do suggest that the Litaria of Team Judgment are to be pitied. And that's all I'll say on that subject for now...

Other highlights:

Lucia led the way as the group was now navigating the city within the great spire. Inside the spire, the roads and houses were also made of marble. There weren’t any cars on the roads either. The entire indoors portion of the city was lit by glowing white crystals which lined the walls. Lamp posts with white crystals within them lined the roads.

Pretty... *_*

Spiropolis was fabled to have been a massive fortress in earlier days, created by the powers of Miracorn. A small army, pursued by masses of both people and Pokémon, had taken shelter within the massive marble fortress. They were widely persecuted for their religious beliefs, and wanted to start their own country within Altairon. A great war, which had spanned for years, was in its closing days. The secessionists were dwindling and had suffered massive casualties. The legends spoke of the army kneeling down and praying to Miracorn, whom they worshipped as a deity. Miracorn granted those that had kept their faith through the trying times with the massive fortress which sprung forth from the ground in front of them. The opposing army sent their entire force at the white fortress, but could not pierce its defenses. After a year of bloody battles and massive casualties on both sides, leaders of the two opposing groups sat down and compromised. They agreed to allow the followers of Miracorn to worship freely within the massive fortress, which had become like a city to them, but still remain part of Altairon.

I found that paragraph quite interesting--I enjoyed reading about a legend of the Altairon region. ^^

Lucia embraced her grandmother tightly. Looking away from the two of them, Rad made a disgusted sneer, and Shade then stomped on his foot as a gesture of reproach.

*cheers at what Shade did there* X3

“What? They hate ya because you’re part Psychic? But… why?”

“Team Judgment has, um, I dunno, sticks up their asses?

XD I love that answer.

[PsiUmbreon]

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiike!

Well, here's yet another new chapter. This is the beginning of a new arc, and this chapter took me a hell of a long time to write and when I looked over it, it sucked, so I rewrote parts of it, thus making it way better. Um anyways, enjoy the cool Pokemon in this chapter.

Chapter 11
Dark Awakenings

Four multicolored shapes descended into the dark grey mist covering Ter’ast, spiraling into the muddy expanse of swamp below. The dragons had each been gravely hit, and could not stay into the air. Their human riders struggled to cling to the hurtling dragons as the swamp materialized below them. The riders braced themselves for a hard landing.

Each dragon skidded to a halt, like an airplane down a muddy runway. Mud was sent flying everywhere. The four dragon Pokémon panted and wheezed, struggling to hold their heads up as their riders dismounted from their backs. Spike again picked up the unconscious Vyle as the entire group struggled to their feet. Their feet sank into the mud. A thick gray fog covered them, making them unable to see anything more than a few meters away from them. All they could see was a few black outlines of trees sticking out of the vast expanse of mud.

“Great, where the hell are we now?” Blaze griped as she wiped off a clump of mud from her face.

“I’m afraid to move… I’ll sink in all the way!” Lucia panicked, looking down at the mud which was up to her calves.

“Well, there go my shoes…” Rad complained, holding his nose at the swampy smell that entered everyone’s nose.

“Stay near the trees, and you should be fine,” Shade informed the group.

“What is it with you knowing everything these days?” Blaze replied.

“I know, seriously. I thought Blaze was the expert here?” Spike added. Shade ignored the comments.

“Oh dear… you guys must all be tired...” Lucia spoke to the dragons that were once her grandmother’s. It did not appear that Lucia would ever see her grandmother again, but Lucia still did not think of the Pokémon as her own. She recalled them all back to their balls.

“Umm… which way now?” Blaze looked at Shade, her hand resting on the stump of a dead tree as she struggled to balance in the mud.

“Why are you looking at me?” Shade replied, “Like I’m supposed to know?”

“Well geez, you seem to know everything, ever since we escaped from the Team Judgment place,” Blaze responded. She was not the only one growing suspicious of Shade’s knowledge. Shade sensed their suspicion, so she tried to play it off. “I dunno, just a feeling I guess,” She responded after a few seconds of silence.

“Suuure…” Blaze replied. She did not buy Shade’s explanation.

“Well, whatever,” Shade conceded, and remained silent afterwards.

The group began to slosh through the mud, staying near the trees growing in the mud. The trees were almost bare, with only a few blood-colored leaves adorning them. A few Murkrow that had perched on the trees flew off as soon as the humans approached; their dark shapes quickly disappearing into the fog. The fog covered them, almost like a blanket, making them unable to see anything beyond a few trees ahead of them. This frustrated the group, as they did not know how much further they needed to go, where they were going, or what awaited them ahead. They stuck nearby the trees, which according to Shade’s “hunch”, would keep them from being swallowed by the mud entirely. The trees grew in such a way that it almost seemed like a path through the swamp. Where this path went, however, no one had any idea, except perhaps Shade.

For hours, the group trudged along, drearily silent, with the exception of a few complaints (mostly from Rad). It was then that they began to see something ahead of them besides trees. Two blue torches stood ahead of them, staring back at them like eyes. Everyone began trudging faster, ignoring their weariness, at the sight of what could be civilization.

As they got closer, a whole city began to materialize in front of them. Wooden platforms, raised several feet above the swamp, served as walkways for its citizens. The buildings were also made of wood and raised above the swamp on sturdy wooden platforms. They were pretty simply constructed and most of them only had one story, and their roofs were covered with what looked like hay or dried grass of some sort, but a few of them had wooden roofs. Blue torches lined the walkways and stood in front of every house, serving as street lamps. The fog also thinned out near the city, perhaps due to the torches.

“You look like you traveled a long way to get here. Welcome to Ter’ast, trainers!” A citizen randomly greeted the group as they climbed a step ladder. He was a middle-aged man dressed in a very unique black and red robe. The robe was red at the arms and near the legs, and black in between. “We don’t get many visitors coming in through the back,” he continued, staring at their muddy feet.

“Hi… we’re not really trainers… but we’re looking for an inn, a hotel, anywhere we can all rest.” Blaze replied to the man.

“I see…” said the citizen. “The inn is one of the largest buildings… straight over there, you can’t miss it.”

Blaze thanked the man as they climbed aboard the wooden walkway from the stepladder. No one had noticed, however, that Shade was not with them. She did not climb the walkway with them, but instead, appeared to have completely vanished into thin air.

They had reached the doors of the inn, which were decorated with strange, unique patterns of brightly colored stripes and with small black triangles arranged side by side in between them. Torches of various colors lined the walkway to the doors. That is when they began to notice that Shade was missing.

“Did the swamp get her or somethin’? Spike asked, grunting with the weight of Vyle on his shoulder, sweating profusely.

“She couldn’t have gotten lost… and she was with us last time I checked, which was right before he entered,” Blaze spoke, thinking out loud.

“We should look for her around here,” Lucia suggested.

“We should check out a room first…” Rad panted.

“Why? Because this place is such a tourist attraction? Sheesh, they’ll still have room.” Blaze responded sarcastically, causing strange looks from everyone else.

“What, someone has to take over in the sarcasm department,” Blaze replied.

“Well, I’m with Rad. I need a place to… sit… down…” Spike replied, panting, obviously weary of carrying Vyle.

“Fiiine. Let’s get a room first.”

“You don’t think Shade could be in danger?” Lucia asked.

“Hmm… naah, she’s done this before. She’ll probably turn up again soon. Besides, I doubt anyone could sneak up on her,” Blaze replied.

The group finally went inside the inn. It was rather dim inside the inn, with only blue torches lighting the place. Blue and orange striped designs decorated the room. The inn had about ten or so rooms, none of which were filled at the moment. As Blaze had pointed out, Ter’ast did not receive a lot of visitors, so this inn was adequate.

The innkeeper was a shrewd old man with a white beard and spectacles. He was dressed in a dark colored robe similar to the attire of the first citizen that had greeted them. When Blaze rang the service bell at the front desk, the man eventually hobbled over to them with his cane.

“Aww, you got mud all over my new carpet!” The innkeeper then cursed under his breath. “What, you’d like a few rooms? Very well, follow me. “The man slowly walked over to the rooms and pointed them out, his hand shaking with arthritis. Spike set Vyle down in one of the beds and then sat on the chair next to the bed. “All right… I need to take a breather. You guys look for ‘er.”

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“I can’t ever be seen again here,” Shade muttered to herself, spying on the group from a distance, perched in a tree at the edge of town. “Not after how I left,” She ordered her two Pokémon to keep watch over the group as she peered into the window at the inn from under the crimson cover of the tree. Her Gravecall and Sableye appeared in front of her, and then drifted off towards the inn. The two ghost Pokémon would not be conspicuous in Ter’ast at all, as it was normal for Ghost types to randomly drift around the city, even during the day.

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“Shade?!” You were traveling with THE Shade?!” A young woman replied to Blaze in disbelief after she had described Shade in detail.

“Yeah, I guess,” Blaze replied cluelessly.

“What, she famous around here or somethin’? Spike asked.

“Famous? Only the best medium in all Ter’ast. That is until… she left. She’s a legend in these parts.” The citizen replied.

“I oughtta have a word with her…” Spike replied, astonished.

“I knew there was something she wasn’t telling us,” Blaze added.

“Well, you seen ‘er?” Spike asked.

“I wish,” the young woman replied, and resumed carrying the basket of produce she had back to her home.

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Meanwhile, Lucia had set off to find medical attention for Vyle. She had been looking after him for hours, and began to grow worried. Vyle looked paler and paler with every passing second. Rad, who was busy with absolutely nothing, decided to follow her. “Man, I’m sick of this place. Aren’t you? It smells like shit,” he complained.

“Umm… yeah,” Lucia scowled at Rad’s choice of words, and the fact that this wasn’t the first time he had complained. She briskly jogged to the door of the doctor’s office in this town, which was appropriately situated next to the Pokémon Center.

“Come quick! I need you to look at this! Someone’s ill at the inn!” Lucia shouted, panicked, when she reached the office of the town’s doctor. The town was small and old-fashioned, so they only had one doctor.

“Yes… you look pretty desperate.” Show me to the injured person,” The doctor replied. He was an elderly man with grayed hair, but he could still walk without a cane. He was dressed in a black robe with red bordering the edges, similar to the attire of all the other citizens of Ter’ast. The two of them rushed off towards the inn, while Rad grew tired of following Lucia, and decided to poke around the doctor’s office. He looked around, first playing with the sign that read “the doctor is in” and then poking around the desks and drawers, swiping a few belongings that looked mildly valuable. As he was about to leave, however, a Duskull appeared in front of Rad and used Astonish, causing some of the things he had shoved under his leather jacket to fall to the floor. The Duskull shifted its single eye, located between the cavities of its skull-like face.

“Outta the way!” exclaimed Rad, annoyed at the Ghost Pokémon that had interfered with his plans.

But the Duskull did not move. Instead, it glared at him disapprovingly.

“Fine, you won’t move. I’ll just pass right through you. Stupid ghost…” Rad spoke, annoyed.

“Dusssssssssssssskull,” The ghost hissed at Rad.

Rad then tried to barge right through the Duskull and out the door, only to be blasted back with a Night Shade attack. A black wave of energy knocked Rad back into the wall with a thud, causing a picture hanging on the wall to fall.

“I’ll teach you to fuck with me…” Rad angrily spoke, drawing his Poké Ball. But the moment he reached for the ball, several other Duskull appeared and surrounded him, glaring at him. Rad was surrounded.

“Ok, I’ll put everything back now…” Rad was embarrassed. The Duskulls made sure he put everything back, and straightened the room out too.

Meanwhile, Lucia and the doctor had reached Vyle’s bed. The doctor examined Vyle with his various instruments. “I honestly can’t figure out what’s wrong with him for the life of me. His vitals are normal, and medically speaking, he’s just sleeping.

“But his face… so pale…” Lucia protested.

“What did you say happened to him again?” The doctor asked. “He looks like he’s been through a lot,” he said, looking at the scars on Vyle’s face.
“He was hit with… some sort of energy. A… purification ray. Pure light energy,” Lucia replied, shuddering of the pronouncement of ‘purification ray’.

“Oh, dear. Well, this is beyond my field of knowledge. I can only deal with physical injuries,” The doctor replied.

“Can’t you don anything? I’m afraid he’s dying. It’s like his life force is dwindling!”

“Well, I know someone who may be able to help. A… different sort of healer.”

“You do?”

“There’s a lady that lives by herself near the abandoned mansion at the edge of town. Some say she’s crazy. But she has the ability to see a person’s soul. She might be able to help.”

“Well, let’s hurry!” Lucia frantically replied.

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Vyle stood up, facing a darker version of his old school yard. Dark clouds shadowed the sky, swirling ominously. A slight breeze blew, causing the swings in the playground to tilt slightly, making a rusty squeak as they swayed in the wind. Instead of a brick red, the school building was a dark purple. Here Vyle stood, trapped within the hallucinations of his mind. The schoolyard grew darker with each passing second. All light, all warmth, all hope, began to fade.

A maniacal cackle broke the silence. His mother’s maniacal cackle. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Prepare to SUFFER!” The voice screamed.

A second, deeper laugh pierced the silence yet again. The sound of his father. “You really are nothing but dirt to us. Time to cleanse you from the surface of our lives!” The voice boomed.

The wind began to pick up. The slight breeze soon became a fierce gale. Brown leaves flew off the trees and collected in the center of the yard, where a ferocious tornado began to form. Vyle’s black cloak flapped wildly in the maelstrom. Vyle felt the urge to turn and run, but his feet were firmly planted in the asphalt. He simply closed his eyes and braced himself for the large, looming tornado in front of him.

Soon the benches were absorbed into the tornado. The swings were ripped from their metal supports. The tetherballs on the tetherball courts were pulled in as well. Yet Vyle could not move. He stood there helpless, about to be thrashed by the wrath of his parents yet again.

Suddenly, everything grew even darker. The pavement itself began to get sucked into the vortex. Everything soon became distorted within the tornado as it got pulled into the center. The pavement Vyle was stuck to drifted closer to the vortex, which now seemed more like a swirling black hole. .

“Yesss. Suffer.” The voices of his parents echoed, their floating heads above him, watching everything become sucked into the black hole.

“Suffer! Suffer!” They chanted. Vyle struggled but could not lift his feet.

“No!” another voice, a different one, echoed, interrupting their demented chant. It was the voice of Kyra. Suddenly, Vyle’s feet came loose, and the asphalt underneath him shattered, revealing a dark abyss below. The whole world in his mind was coming apart, being sucked into the vortex. Chunks of asphalt and dirt broke off, flying into the black hole. Vyle looked forward, and saw Kyra, along with Blaze, Shade, Spike, and Rad. They stood in the distance.

Vyle leapt from one piece of land to another as each chunk was swallowed by the black hole behind him. The schoolhouse itself was swallowed, brick by brick, into the abyss. He hopped between the pieces of asphalt as they got swallowed, gaining seemingly no progress as the pieces broke off as fast as he could leap. The five other members of the Underground hovered above the ground like spirits, somehow unaffected by the pull of the black hole.

“You… will… suffer…”

“For… all… eternity…” The voices of his parents boomed behind him.

“Come on! You can make it!” Blaze yelled out.

“Don’t give up!” Said Spike, beckoning Vyle forward.

“Resistance is… useless!” Vyle’s mother spoke behind him.

“No, keep going!” Shade yelled.

“Suffer… for your sins… for your crimes… for being the speck of dirt on the surface of society…” His father’s voice boomed.

Vyle stumbled, falling over and clinging to a rock as it drifted towards oblivion.

“That’s it… yes… surrender to eternal darkness!” His father spoke.

“No! Vyle, you can make it!” Kyra yelled.

“Why do you resist? You don’t even want to live anymore!” Vyle’s mother spoke.

Vyle climbed back onto the rock, just before it was swallowed. He then continued leaping forward onto the chunks of land as they collapsed and fell into the abyss.

“Interlopers! Begone!” His father yelled at the five other apparitions, those that were cheering Vyle on. A wave of darkness covered them, and they soon began to fade, merely becoming voices.

The darkness of the abyss behind and under him grew closer, sucking in everything at a faster rate. A tree flew past him, fading into darkness soon after. Vyle could not leap fast enough. He felt defeated, and ready to retire into what seemed like his destiny.

It was then that yet another voice, a voice Vyle did not recognize, called out to him. “You mustn’t give up hope!”

Lucia’s hand reached out from above, piercing the dark clouds above him. “Hang on!” Vyle jumped and caught the grip of the unknown arm that was dressed in white, glowing robes.

“Noooooo! He must suffer!” Vyle’s parents both roared.

Vyle was now clinging to the arm, the abyss swirling below, growing wider and darker. The voices of Lucia and the others cheered him on, telling him not to give up. Vyle’s parents beckoned him into the abyss. It was a war of wills, fighting for Vyle’s soul.

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Lucia stood over Vyle as he laid there on the bed, uttering words in prayer. “Lord Emmanuel, please bring him back from purgatory and save him!”

Meanwhile, an old woman was examining Vyle, feeling his forehead. She was dressed in a dark-colored robe, the traditional attire of citizens from Ter’ast. She had gray hair tied back in a bun. She was very short and was hunchbacked, and her crooked teeth gave her a scary smile. She closed her eyes and clasped Vyle’s arm as Spike, Blaze, and Rad also watched. The doctor had watched as well.

“Oh dear,” The old woman spoke.

“What is it?” Blaze replied as the rest eagerly awaited her response.

“This young man’s soul has literally been torn to shreds. He’s fading away fast. Soon he will become an empty shell. Shards of his soul are already drifting away from him.”

“Wow… isn’t there anything you can do?” Said Lucia, desperation obvious in her voice.

“I’m not sure. I’ve never seen anything like this,” The old woman replied, still gazing at Vyle’s soul-or what was left of it. “What force… what could have done such at thing?”

The group explained what had happened to them, and about being on the run from Team Judgment.

“Them? I always knew they were no good, but this? This is… unbelievable,” The woman paused for a second. “I… I don’t know if he can be cured. I’ve never seen anything like this. Do any of you have any Pokémon that can heal?”

Lucia called out Grace. “I tried using her already.”

“Then that means… there is only one possible cure,” The elderly woman concluded, with drama in her voice. “We need to find a Mirlite.”

“A… Mirlite?”

“A rare Ghost Pokémon that has healing abilities. Only a few have ever been seen.”

“Do you know… where we can find a Mirlite?” Lucia spoke.

“I believe one has been seen in the mansion.”

“The mansion? You mean that big scary building?”

“Afraid so.”

“Then we must go in there and catch a Mirlite!” Lucia spoke, determined.

“Are you sure?” The old woman replied. “Trainers who journey to Ter’ast have visited the mansion, and succumbed to madness.”

“We’ll do… whatever it takes,” Lucia replied grimly.

“I ain’t afraid of no ghosts!” Spike added.

“Hell no, I ain’t goin’!” Rad protested.

“Fine. You stay here and help tend to Vyle. We’ll go find the Mirlite.” Blaze was annoyed at Rad, so she replied harshly.

“Good luck. You’ll need it.” The old woman was frank with the group. “Remember that a Mirlite will only appear to those whose intentions are pure, and are in dire need of one. Oh, and take this. It will help you.” The woman handed Lucia a Spirit Ball, like the ones Shade kept her Pokémon in.

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Spike, Blaze, and Lucia arrived at the dilapidated mansion. The old, three story house was in bad need of a paint job. The shutters on the windows were beginning to fall off. And the supports were rotted and looked like they could buckle at any second, causing the whole mansion to crumble into the murky water below. The three of them stepped forward with caution and entered the mansion.

The inside of the mansion looked like it hadn’t been lived in for a long time. A fireplace stood directly in front of them, unlit, with dusty, charred wood in it. Four candles stood on the mantle, looking partially used. A faded portrait of a man dressed in fancy clothes stood above the mantle. The rest of this room looked pretty empty, with imprints on the wooden floor of where furniture used to rest. The outlines of more portraits and paintings lined the walls, with bent nails sticking out of them. Two doorways connected the living room to other parts of the house. One doorway led to a kitchen. Another led to a hallways and a flight of stairs.

The three of them cautiously began to step across the creaking wooden floors of the large living room.

“Well, let’s start lookin’!” Spike loudly blurted out.

“Shhhh…” Blaze tried to quiet Spike down. “We don’t want to attract any ghosts towards us.”

“Well, Mirlite’s a ghost, ain’t it?”

“Yeah… I guess. But it’s probably not going to want to come out with you yelling,” Blaze responded. “I say patience.”

“Okay, but this silence… it’s just too spooky,” Spike whispered in response.

“Y…y…yeah…” Lucia replied, trembling, and making no attempt to hide her fear.

As soon as the three of them took one more step, the door suddenly slammed shut behind them. The candles suddenly lit up, and the fireplace roared to life. All three of them screamed.

Two glowing, red eyes appeared in the fireplace. “Intruderssss…” The fireplace hissed.

“Leave us alone!” Blaze shouted. We’re here for Mirlite!”

“Humannssssssss… leave!” The fireplace hissed again.

“All right, you wanna piece of us?” Spike courageously boomed in response as he reached for his belt.

The flames suddenly roared to life. The entire room suddenly burst aflame. The walls around them began to go up in flames. Fire began to creep towards them across the wooden floor. The portrait curled and then fell apart as it became consumed by flames. Embers shot from the portrait and drifted towards the group. The three of them could feel the intense heat surrounding them like a thick blanket.

“Humanssss… begone!” The flames hissed.

“No! We need to find a Mirlite… for our friend!” Lucia yelled.

“Mirlite’ssssss not here!” The flames roared back.

“I’m not fooled by this. Hellhound, leap through the flames and pounce on the fireplace!” Blaze yelled. The Houndour immediately leapt from the ball on her belt and lunged at the fireplace, the center of all the flames in the room, unfazed by the flames or the extreme heat in the room.

Hellhound suddenly let out a yelp as a flaming fist leapt from the fire and struck it in the face. Hellhound was sent flying back into the flaming wall behind them, where it landed with a thud and slid down the wall and onto the floor. It shook its head then growled violently at the fire.

Spike responded by sending out Nightclaw, and Lucia sent out Grace. The flames burned more fiercely than ever as the group stepped back towards the entrance due to the intense heat.

“Begone… humanssssssssssssss…” The flames hissed demandingly.

“Light Arrow!” Lucia yelled.

“Ice Beam! Cool it off!” Spike yelled.

But before the Pokémon could attack, fire burst from the fireplace, engulfing the two Pokémon. They instantly collapsed, unable to attack. The sheer speed of the flames leaping from the fireplace blew the group’s hair back, and the group backed up further.

“Begone… humansssss…” the flames repeated.

“Battling won’t work, let’s try something else! Shadember, reason with this spirit!” Blaze shouted, releasing the Ghost-type of her own. The ball of flames appeared in front of the three people.

“Ember! Shadember!” It shouted in Pokémon at the fireplace.

“Shaaaaaad!” The flames roared back. Translated, it said, “Go away, slave of the humans!” Shadember became aware that it was talking to one of its own kind, only more evolved.

“They mean no harm! They just want to look around!” Shadember protested. “And I’m no slave!”

“That is of no concern to me. I guard this place, protecting it from intruders. Now, begone!” The Shadage, the evolution of Shadember, responded.

“No!” Shadember responded, hiding its fear.

“Then I’ll just have to make you leave!” Shadage hissed back. It launched a fist at Shadember from the floor beneath it; a sneaky, unavoidable Shadow Punch attack. Shadember responded with a Shadow Ball attack instinctively, which struck the fireplace, revealing for a second the true form of Shadage: A black, hovering orb with two glowing red eyes that looked like they belonged to a tiger.

“Fool! You’re too weak!” Shadage hissed back at Shadember, then its eyes began to glow purple. The three of them, who had been watching them talk in Pokémon this whole time and did not know what was going on, backed up even further. Shadember was entranced by the gaze, and its tiny eyes faded into its body and it fell asleep, a ball of fire hovering in mid-air. The humans were also affected by this gaze, and they soon collapsed on the floor as well, the victims of a sinister Hypnosis attack.

The mansion door flew open, and out came the slumbering bodies of Blaze, Spike, and Lucia. Their Pokémon landed on top of them. Shadember slowly drifted out, still sleeping in the air. Inside, the flames faded, having been an illusion created by Shadage, and the room was restored to the way it was before they had entered. The windows of the mansion, which were glowing a bright orange from the flames inside, had grown dim and faded back to normal. The door shut, seemingly of its own accord.

“Amateurs.” Shade muttered, watching the group get kicked out from behind a nearby building. She was perched precariously on a ledge overlooking a muddy lake below. Part of the city was over a lake, part of it was just suspended over its muddy banks. Shade then made sure no one was nearby, then stepped over the bodies and entered the mansion. She knew of their quest, since she had been invisibly spying on them with the help of her Pokémon. As soon as she entered, the door once again closed behind her, and bright orange light shone through the windows once more.

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“Hypnosis attack. They’re lucky.” The doctor commented, standing over the three sleeping bodies of Spike, Blaze and Lucia. They had been found in front of the mansion and carried to the doctor’s, where they were laid to rest in the infirmary. Their Pokémon were attended to at the town’s Pokémon Center next door, and returned to their trainers, where they waited for a while, then got tired and went to rest inside their balls as nightfall came and passed.

Shade stood in front of a mirror in an empty room at the top floor of the mansion. She glimpsed at her own reflection, slightly dirty and tired looking. “I ask of thee, come forth, Mirlite! I have need of thine healing powers!” Shade closed her eyes and stretched her arms forward, channeling an invisible power into the mirror.

The already dim room grew darker. Dust in the room was kicked up and flew away from Shade. The curtains in the room fluttered, causing the dim light coming from the setting sun outside to dance on the wall. But no Pokémon appeared. Shade tried for a few more minutes, but no Mirlite appeared. She finally lowered her tired arms and stared into her own reflection in the mirror. “Dammit. Why can’t I see Mirlite now?” she sighed to herself.

Almost as if responding to Shade, the mirror cracked. Her reflection vanished, and two fierce, glowing red eyes and a huge, smirking grin appeared in the mirror-the facial features of a Gengar.

“Crap.” Shade mumbled as she drew her Poké Balls once more.

Gengar’s dark purple, slightly translucent body materialized in front of the mirror. It grinned, then stuck out its tongue and laughed. Shade felt a chill as the Gengar appeared. She then back flipped and stood in a ready pose with her hands on her Poké Balls.

But the Gengar stood its ground and did not attack. It merely smiled at Shade, and extended its long pink tongue from its mouth. Shade called out her Gravecall and Sableye but did not order any attacks.

“Gengarrrr…” It uttered. But still, it did not attack, or make any threatening moves. Shade stared it down, and her Pokémon wondered why she didn’t want them to attack. The standoff between Shade and the Gengar continued for a few minutes, until the sun completely set and the only light in the room was from Gravecall’s remaining blue flames.

“What do you want, Gengar?” Shade spoke out, annoyed at the Gengar. It showed no signs of wanting to attack, only an occasional showing of its tongue.

“Garr…” The Gengar responded. Gravecall and Spook looked confused.

“I seek the healing powers of Mirlite,” Shade spoke. “Have you seen a Mirlite?”

“Look no further,” A feminine voice responded to Shade. The Gengar transformed into a strange, human like figure dressed in a white gown. The gown fluttered as though there were a breeze in the room, hovering over the floor, as this figure had no legs. The face looked like that of a young woman, except the eyes were glowing blue. Glowing, silvery hair floated behind the figure, again seemingly blown by a breeze. The entire figure shimmered with a white aura, with multicolored sparkles twinkling around it.

“Because you did not strike a blow against me, young Shade, you are worthy of my aid,” The Mirlite spoke telepathically.

“Thank you,” Shade spoke, flattered.

“When you seek my aid, use this crystal.” A purple jewel, suspended by a sting, appeared in Mirlite’s slender hand. Shade took the crystal from the Mirlite’s hand, after which the Mirlite immediately vanished. The crystal felt nearly weightless in Shade’s hand.

“Oh well, hope this thing works,” Shade mumbled as she departed from the room, her two Pokémon hovering behind her. The mirror shimmered with the reflection of Gravecall's flames, the crack no longer present.

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“We’ll never get Mirlite,” Blaze spoke, disappointed. They were all back in the room at the inn, standing over Vyle. The sun had already set, and torches and candles lit the room brightly. The blue torches outside illuminated the walkways and buildings outside like street lamps. Above them, the moon appeared as a hazy white disk, its light mostly obstructed by the gray fog.

“There must be a way! We can’t give up hope!” Lucia spoke, eager to return to the mansion.

“There’s nothing we can do about that Pokémon guarding the entry! It’s too strong!” Blaze responded.

“Man… we couldn’t do shit to it in battle,” Spike added.

Rad entered the room. “Vyle cured yet?”

“No!” Blaze snapped back, frustrated.

The old woman clasped Vyle’s hand once more. “Unless we get that Mirlite, he won’t make it through the night.” She closed her eyes, and gazed upon his soul once more. It was nothing but a sliver of what everyone else’s was, with shards of it fluttering away like leaves from a tree.

“I wish I could be of more help…” The elderly woman spoke out a few minutes later. A somber mood had filled the room. Lucia began to cry.

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“All right, time to shine,” Shade spoke to herself, holding up the crystal. “Please, revive Vyle, who is lying on that bed in the room,” Shade pointed to the room Vyle was in at the inn.

The crystal vanished from her hands, and Mirlite appeared once more, hovering over to the room, leaving a glittering trail behind it. Mirlite simply fazed through the walls, and appeared above Vyle.

“This cannot be! A Mirlite!” The elderly woman exclaimed in shock.

“The prayers have been answered! Thank Emmanuel!” Lucia also exclaimed, drying the tears from her eyes.

“Wow, she’s hot!” Rad stared at the Mirlite.

“Ogling a Pokémon. A new low for Rad…” Blaze muttered to herself.

“Are you here to heal him? The woman spoke in disbelief.

“Yes.” The Mirlite replied telepathically. Mirlite hovered above Vyle, and extended her right arm. A glowing white energy gathered at Mirlite’s fingertips as she placed it above Vyle’s chest.

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Vyle was still clutching the unknown arm. The swirling black hole below had consumed everything, and a purplish-black abyss swirled all around him. What was only a few seconds in Vyle’s horrifying nightmare, had, in fact, been hours. The voices of everyone that he had met that had a positive influence on him in his life had cheered him on, while his parents, and all the haunting voices of everyone who hated him, beckoned for him to give up and fall into the abyss.

Glowing black tendrils suddenly surfaced from the abyss, ensnaring Vyle’s legs. “You… will… be… brought into suffering… for…your crimes…forever…” His parents’ voices hissed impatiently.

Suddenly, Squeak appeared, climbing down the arm. It squealed loyally at Vyle, then crawled down his body and bit one of the tendrils. The tendril reeled back in pain. The Virat slashed at another of the tendrils, causing that one to recede as well. But as Squeak loosened the tendrils, Vyle’s grip weakened and he slipped and fell. Squeak fell off of Vyle and disappeared into the abyss.

“Nooo! Squeak! Vyle shouted, crestfallen, as he, too fell into the abyss.

“Yes… HAHAHA! Your eternity of darkness begins here!” The voices of his parents, not very human-sounding at all anymore, spoke with demonic glee. As Vyle fell, images of his worst memories played out around him.

Suddenly, a glowing, warm light appeared above him. This light pulled at him with an equal and opposing force. The darkness below, containing his worst nightmares, and the warm light above… each one tugged at him, in a spiritual tug-of-war with each other, and Vyle hovered in mid-air.

“What is this?” Nooo!” His parents’ voices hissed. Suddenly, a white light completely engulfed his surroundings. Vyle hovered motionlessly in the complete whiteness.

“You will release Vyle at once!” another voice, unknown to Vyle, commanded. It was the voice of Mirlite. His parents hissed, their voices fading away.

“Young Vyle… you have suffered greatly in life. Your pain and suffering is etched into what remains of your soul. But right now, you must make a choice. I can attempt to bring you back into consciousness… or I can allow you a peaceful fading into nonexistence.” Mirlite spoke in Vyle’s vision.

“Life… horrible… can’t… go on…” Vyle replied, distraught and confused.

“I can only bring you back to life if it is your will as well.”

“I want to… to die!” Vyle exclaimed.

“I am here because certain people… your friends… want you to live.”

Outside of Vyle, Mirlite spoke to everyone in the room telepathically. “Channel your positive thoughts towards Vyle. I cannot revive him without your help.”

“I have no friends. No one cares about me. Please… let me die!” Vyle responded to Mirlite.

“Are you sure? There are people who clearly do not want you to die. You are only still alive because of their efforts.” Images of the group freeing Vyle from the purification ray shortly after he lost consciousness played in his mind. Images of Spike carrying Vyle on his shoulders all throughout the Team Judgment compound then played in his mind. The escape from Spiropolis, where Lucia’s grandmother and her Jynx held Team Judgment at bay and allowed the group to escape, also played in his mind.

But this did not move Vyle. “I still want to die! Tell them to leave me alone!”

“People have need of you. Please reconsider,” Mirlite spoke again. Images of the Litaria snatching away Kyra from the group played in Vyle’s mind.

“Huh? Kyra!” Vyle yelled, panicking. “But… I don’t deserve life. I deserve to suffer eternally. I am evil. I am vile.”

“Everyone deserves to live. Everyone deserves another chance. There is only one life, and everyone deserves to live it.”

“Not me. I am so evil, my parents don’t even want me. I deserve to suffer in eternal darkness.”

“No one deserves this so-called eternal darkness. Everyone, no matter the evil they have committed in the past, deserves another chance for redemption.” Mirlite paused for a second. “Your friends… they are fighting this too. They are redeeming themselves. They desire to fight off evil. They saved your life because they are good people deep down. Now is your chance to redeem yourself. To… live.”

“I don’t want to. I want to die.”

“People put their trust in you. Pokémon, too.” Images of Kyra and Squeak appeared in Vyle’s mind. Then, the time Spike taught Vyle how to train. The time all three, Blaze, Shade, and Spike, helped him and looked after him. Then, images of all of them fighting Team Judgment in the underground tunnels. “Are you sure you want to let them down?”

“…”

“The others need you. Blaze… Shade… Spike… Kyra… Rad… Even Lucia, who doesn’t know you at all. They need you to help them fight Team Judgment!”

“I… don’t know… I don’t deserve the chance to live.”

“But you are a good person deep down as well.” The memory of the night Vyle rescued Kyra from Team Judgment played in his mind. The older memory of Vyle standing up to those bullies who picked on someone else played in his mind after that. “Vyle...there is good within you. There is good within everyone. Strong enough to outshine the evil within anyone.”

“But… Team Judgment… they fight to destroy evil. Evil like me.”

“No one holds the right to pass judgment upon others. Their actions are misguided. Your friends… they fight on because they want to stop Team Judgment.

“I… can’t help them… I’m too… weak.”

“You are not weak. You are strong-willed. You have endured much, and yet you live on. You have a strong, good heart inside, and I can prove it.” The image of the group being surrounded by Team Judgment, and Kyra convinced that Team Judgment were good and they were bad, played in his mind.

“Those bastards! They will pay for what they’ve done!”

“See? You want to live. I can feel your desire to live once more.

But suddenly, the light began to recede. His parents came back. “This one… he will suffer!”

“No!” Mirlite’s voice sounded, struggling to keep Vyle’s soul together.

Outside Vyle’ body, Mirlite’s strength began to waver. “I’m afraid… I lack the power to revive him. The darkness within is just… too strong. My power has but a limited effect on him, as this damage was wrought with light energy."

“No! You have to keep trying!” Lucia exclaimed.

“My powers are drained. I cannot continue…”

A familiar voice interrupted the conversation. “Reanimation Seal!” Shade shouted, directly outside the window, which was suddenly opened. A blue flame drifted into the room and levitated over Vyle.

The black hole was back in Vyle’s mind, and the light began to fade. His parents, together with Team Judgment, began to speak at once. “Sinner! You will suffer! Prepare to embrace Darkhor, and suffer at his hands! Forever!”

Suddenly, a third force appeared. A hole opened up, revealing a long tunnel. This hole pulled at Vyle with even more force than the darkness or the light.

“Go into that tunnel!” Mirlite shouted in his mind, exhausted.

“No!” Black tendrils ensnared Vyle once more, pulling him into the darkness.

“Yes!” Mirlite released one final burst of glowing white energy, vaporizing the tendrils. Vyle’s body was pulled into the new tunnel. Multicolored lights rushed past him. He had the sensation that he was rushing past everything at a high speed. Colors blurred together. Lights rushed past him.

The next thing Vyle saw was the faces of everyone in the room, standing over him. He could not utter a word.

“No… more. Must… rest. Vyle… has a little more… time to live…” Mirlite spoke, and then collapsed from exhaustion, returning to the form of a purple crystal, which landed on the floor but made no noise.

“I’ll take that,” said Shade.

“Shade!” everyone exclaimed at once.


***note: Shadage's name is pronounced like "mirage".***

[Sike Saner]

Cool Pokémon, indeed. ^^ Shadage is awesome, in my opinion. And I loved the way it sounded when it addressed the humans directly, what with its hissing and all. ^^ I think Mirlite's awesome, too, especially since Mirlite has the ability to take on different appearances, which I think is just a really cool ability to have. ^^ Mirlite's abilities in general are pretty darned cool, I'd say. ^^

Speaking of cool things done by Ghost-types, fwee for getting to see another of Gravecall's Seals. ^^

I thought Vyle's scenes with that abyss and his parents tormenting him were cool, too. Quite surreal and creepy, those were.

And I loved it when those Duskull made Rad sorry for trying to steal stuff from the doctor's office. That was funny, I thought. XD

Other highlights:

“We should check out a room first…” Rad panted.

“Why? Because this place is such a tourist attraction? Sheesh, they’ll still have room.” Blaze responded sarcastically, causing strange looks from everyone else.

“What, someone has to take over in the sarcasm department,” Blaze replied.

XD

Vyle stood up, facing a darker version of his old school yard. Dark clouds shadowed the sky, swirling ominously. A slight breeze blew, causing the swings in the playground to tilt slightly, making a rusty squeak as they swayed in the wind. Instead of a brick red, the school building was a dark purple. Here Vyle stood, trapped within the hallucinations of his mind. The schoolyard grew darker with each passing second. All light, all warmth, all hope, began to fade.

There's something I find awesomely creepy about a dark scenario taking place in a location such as a schoolyard.

Rad entered the room. “Vyle cured yet?”

“No!” Blaze snapped back, frustrated.

XD I think Rad could possibly use a nice boot to the head. X3

Vyle’s body was pulled into the new tunnel. Multicolored lights rushed past him. He had the sensation that he was rushing past everything at a high speed. Colors blurred together. Lights rushed past him.

I thought that the visuals there were cool. ^^

[MeLoVeGhOsTs]

Finally got a chance to catch up on this. Great settings you displayed here. Both regions are cool and different. The background story on Altarion is awesome, just waiting on one for the other region too.

New pokemon are pretty neet. Shade is really interesting me right now, so lets hear some more background.

I love the way to flashback between memories and real life.

[PsiUmbreon]

Sike: Thanks for replying, I really appreciate how you reply to every chapter.
MeLoVeGhOsTs: I think you're confused. There is only one region, Altairon, and the 'regions' mentioned are actually cities and towns within Altairon. Other than that, I can only tell you Shade will get a lot more interesting, and there is definitely more where that came from on the flashbacks.

Anyway, update time. This time... I forgot what happens. Even though I wrote it. Imagine that. Well, looks like you'll just have to read it yourself and find out.

Duh, oh yeah, now I remember. But it'll still be more fun to find out yourself, cause there's A LOT that happens.

Chapter 12
The Crusade

The room at the inn was locked in silence, seemingly frozen in time, as Shade grabbed the purple crystal after leaping in through the window with the skill of a ninja. Trying to put together the recent events that seemed to blue together in a nonsensical way, everyone else in the room merely stared at Shade in disbelief. It was especially confusing for Vyle, who was still coming to. He had just been warped from one world to another in an instant.

“Huh? Where… am I?” Vyle muttered, sounding half asleep. This caused everyone in the room to forget about Shade and focus on Vyle.

“You’re up!” exclaimed Lucia.

“Hey there,” said Blaze.

“It’s a miracle!” said the doctor.

“So it worked…” Shade spoke coolly.

“How did you…” The elderly woman was next to speak. But Shade was silent. “But I thought the Reanimation Seal only brought back movement!”

“Without the help of Mirlite, he woulda been only an empty shell,” Shade finally responded.

“Combining the powers of Mirlite and Gravecall? There can be no doubt, you are the legendary Shade.” Shade blushed at that response.

“What… happened… to me?” Vyle asked, still sounding groggy.

“You’ve been out quite a while, kid,” Rad informed.

“You were rescued from Team Judgment and brought here, to Ter’ast. We’re safe from them… for now,” Blaze added.

Vyle rubbed his eyes. He began looking at everyone, particularly staring at the faces he didn’t recognize in the room. New people still made him uncomfortable. “Was that… a dream? Where’s Kyra?” He managed to utter after a few seconds.

“Team Judgment… they still got ‘er,” Spike replied.

“Gotta… save her… Team Judgment must pay…” Vyle replied, almost flatly and emotionlessly.

“You said it, man,” Spike replied.

“Something’s still not right. Let me examine him again.” The elderly woman spoke. She then clasped Vyle’s hand again, and closed her eyes. Vyle pulled his arm back, uncomfortable with the sight of a crooked-toothed old woman standing over him with his eyes closed.

“Oh, no… oh, dear…” The woman was aghast.

“What?!” was the collective response from several people in the room.

“His soul is… still fading. I fear he hasn’t much time. Still, I’ve not known of someone with only half a soul still conscious.”

“Oh…” Lucia replied, disheartened. Everyone in the room mimicked Lucia’s crestfallen look.

“The effects of having an incomplete soul are… well, unpredictable.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Lucia asked.

“I’m afraid not. It’s even a miracle that we brought him more time.”

Vyle’s face remained emotionless. “Team… Judgment… they will pay.”

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Deep inside the spire of Techno City, a large supercomputer responsible for the control of the entire city hummed with activity and life. Data rushed in and out of the server along many electronic cables which extended from the spherical computer in all directions. Some of the data was being displayed on several monitors placed in front of the computer. The computer itself was in a large, cavernous room, and it was attached to support beams from both the ceiling and the floor. Like almost everything else in the city, it shone like polished obsidian glass. Lights on the spherical server flashed on and off, and lines on the server, and all over the room, alternated between glowing green and fading into black. It was similar to the patterns on a Groudon or Kyogre. The server continued to operate, a mindless, soulless drone—unaware of the fact that it would soon be taken over and controlled not by citizens of Techno City, but by a powerful divine organization.

Two men descended from a hatch at the top of the server room, sliding down cables that descended as they did, silently and stealthily. They were dressed in strange uniforms, which were mostly black, but had yellow bands protruding from them on their wrists and ankles. Similar yellow bands stretched across their shoulders. A yellow X covered their chests. They had yellow belts with a few lights blinking on and off. Most odd, however were the helmets. Black, and with a magnet shape protruding from the top, sticking out at an angle facing away from them.

The guards of the server, several Techno City police, were caught by surprise as the uniformed men descended quickly. They had little time to draw their weapons.

“Magneton, Thunder Wave!” one of the men ordered. A Pokémon that looked like three Magnemite joined together in a triangular fashion, pointing its magnets at all the police in the room. The other man also called out his Magneton.

“Team Magnet?! Halt! One of the police exclaimed .They all fired their weapons at the two Team Magnet members. But it was futile, for the second Magneton drew all their electrical shots towards it and they dissipated against its metallic body harmlessly. The other Magneton released blue bolts of electricity, which temporarily changed the glow of the room from greenish to blue. All the officers in the room dropped at once, unable to move. Those Magneton had been well trained and at a high level.

The two Team Magnet members progressed to the server’s control panel, their two Magnetons hovering behind them obediently.

“Boss says to install this program into their server,” One of them spoke, holding up a small floppy disk containing some information.

“Very well. Let’s begin uploading.” The second one replied. The first one slipped the disk into a slot underneath the server’s controls.

“READING…” The server announced in a metallic, robotic voice.

“ERROR: PROGRAM INSTALLATION REQUIRES ADMINISTRATIVE ACCESS. ENTER PASSWORD.” A prompt appeared on one of the monitors in front of the server asking for the password.

“Right. Magneton, override!” The first one shouted. He pulled a wire from his belt and attached one end to the Magneton, and touched the other end to the server. Magneton began emitting electronic pulses through the wire, similar to what the wires already connected to the server were already doing. The lights on the server began blinking more erratically, reacting to the unexpected “data”. Various prompts appeared on all the monitors containing various errors. The server did not know what to do with this new information.

Suddenly, a red light blinked on near the top of the server. “VIRUS DETECTED. INITIALIZING ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM.” The computer began to delete the “data” emitted by the Magneton just as fast as it presented it.

“Crap,” The first one uttered. “Looks like we’ll have to do this the hard way. Wipe the hard drive.” At that instant, both Magnetons began to hover towards the server, attaching their magnets to the front of it. “Hehehe… reformat!” The first one spoke. The Magneton began to emit powerful electromagnetic waves.

“Uh, won’t that totally fry the server? We need to install the program.” The second one asked.

“Yeah, it’ll fry the hard drive, pretty much. But that’s why we have this, in case we can’t install the disk…” The first one withdrew a mini hard drive from a compartment on his belt. “Hehehe… a little replacement hard drive.”

“POWER SURGE DETECTED. INITIATING SURGE PROTECTOR.” The server had a specific security device for this sort of thing, as hackers using Magnetons were common by then.

“Harder, Magnetons!” They both exclaimed.

“MAGNETIC FIELD DETECTED. INITIATING POLAR STABILIZATION.” The server began to emit a counter force designed to nullify the magnetic field created by the Magnetons.

“Well, if it were that easy, Techno City woulda already been ours…” The second Team Magnet member commented.

“Shh, quiet!” The first one retorted. “Reverse polarity!” The Magnetons issued a metallic voice of acknowledgement.

“DEMAGNETIZATION PROGRESS INITIALIZED.” The server’s mechanical voice became shriller, as though it were straining to ward off the intruders and their magnetic forces.

“Keep… trying…” The Magnetons began to strain themselves.

“WARNING. EXCESSIVE MAGNETIC FORCE. HARD DRIVE COMPROMISED.”

“About time… now hurry up before they bring reinforcements!”

“MAGNETIC OVERLOAD. SYSTEM SHUTTING DOWN.” The server’s voice slowed and became lower pitched. The lights on the server slowly dimmed. The room became pitch black, with the exception of the glow of electricity produced by the Magnetons. They were at a high level and were able to overcome the server’s advanced security. All over Techno City, the lights shut off, and everything stopped operating.

“We did it!” The two Team Magnet members exclaimed together in the dark.

The glowing green lines that decorated the server began to light up after a few seconds. A backup generator began to at least supply electricity to the city, but all the monitors were down, as was the rail system for the city. “SYSTEM REBOOTING… INITIALIZING MAGNETIC DEGAUSS.” The server uttered, back to life after it had automatically shut down—a final security system designed to thwart hackers.

“Damn!” The first one swore.

“WARNING: HARD DRIVE CORRUPTED. DATA LOSS DETECTED.” The Team Magnet members looked at each other astonished that they had actually succeeded in deleting the hard drive.

“Well, no problem, now we can give you a specialized replacement, designed to work from this slot here…” The first one uttered as he bent down and inserted the mini drive into the slot. The monitors, which were entirely blank, began to display computer code rapidly. All the electronic systems of Techno City were still down, save the simple ones such as lighting and the automatic conveyor belts. Chaos began to ensue above. The police in that city were mysteriously absent for the most part. Citizens rushed out into the streets on both the inside and the outside, panicked.

“I guess we’re done. Let’s get the hell outta here before the reinforcements arrive.” The first one spoke, to which the second one agreed.

“What was that program, anyways?” The second one inquired.

“Don’t care… mission accomplished, we get paid…” The first one spoke.

“…Now we get us some hookers and then get laid!” They both repeated, completing the sentence. They then ascended the ropes, their Magnetons hovering loyally behind them.

The hallway from which they descended looked chaotic, like a battle had been fought in it. Exposed wiring crackled from various points in the walls. The lights in the room flickered erratically. Some had been destroyed entirely. The bodies of the Techno City PD littered the room, slumped over against the walls, showing no signs of life. A few Team Magnet members and some Pokémon were mixed in as well. Most ominous, however, were a few white feathers randomly strewn about in the hallways. The two members did not stop to look at the bodies, although they did slightly wonder where those feathers came from. As they left into the long, automated stairway out of the center of the city, a single white feather floated gently downward, landing directly in front of them. It looked like Team Magnet had some help…

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All over Techno City, much to the further shock of the panicked citizens, TV monitors flickered to life. A man in an elaborate white and gold uniform appeared, standing against the background of a white wall and a bronze, circular seal-the logo of Team Judgment. The citizens were now transfixed on all the monitors in all parts of the city.

“Greetings. My name is Peter, and I have been allowed some time to speak directly to all citizens of Techno City. I bring grave news,” he paused, giving the astonished citizens time to process.

“Soon, the world as we all know it is about to end. The light of Judgment will descend upon the world, judging each and every person. Those who have sinned will be cast into eternal darkness, and those who are clean will enjoy everlasting life in paradise. The Light of Judgment shall create this paradise, and purge every single last trace of evil,” at that moment, the screen flashed away from Grand Cardinal Peter. Several scientists appeared on the screen, with a bunch of complex machines covered in blinking lights behind them.

“I don’t believe this!” was pretty much the collective thought of almost every citizen of Techno City.

“See, our research confirms this. The elements of light and darkness are present in levels thousands of times stronger than ever before.” The screen switched to a diagram of the world swathed in black and white spots.

“This condensation of light and dark elemental energy, particularly at the poles, makes the entire situation unstable. These forces could crash at any moment. It appears that the prophecies of Team Judgment are indeed coming to pass.”

The screen switched back to Grand Cardinal Peter. “Unfortunately, everyone has sinned, so everyone will be purged when the Light of Judgment comes down. But, there is good news. Humanity can be saved from the darkness. Team Judgment’s holy scriptures foretell of a way to be saved and delivered onto paradise. Skeptical? Well, let me tell you. The holy scriptures of Team Judgment have never been disproved. In fact, the Scripture has correctly predicted several key events before they happened, such as the rise of “dark towers” such as the very city you live in. It has also correctly predicted several major earthquakes, and every single clash between legendary Pokémon. Still don’t believe me? Well, when the Light of Judgment comes, what have you got to lose? You must take a leap of faith—if we are right, then all who follow us are saved. If we’re not, then there is nothing you could have done anyway. Follow Team Judgment and you will be saved!”

“Unfortunately, not one single human is free from sin. As you all stand, the Light will purge you from this world and into an eternal world of nightmares at the hand of the evil Darkhor.” The screen showed visual diagrams of what he was explaining. “But there is hope! It is all revealed in the Scripture!” Peter held up a book with the Team Judgment logo imprinted in gold on the cover.

“Our one true Creator, Lord Emmanuel, has offered each and every one of us sinners a chance for salvation. For as Emmanuel sacrificed a part of Himself to save us all from out sins. This part of Him-the legendary Miracorn-perished in the cataclysmic battle with Darkhor over the souls of humanity. But alas-Miracorn took with Him all the sins of the faithful, and bears this weight even today! He then resurrected and returned to this world in a dormant state. Soon Miracorn will reawaken and purge this world of evil! And all who pray to Emmanuel for forgiveness, and honor His Sacrifice, shall be cleansed of their sins and live in an eternal paradise. I hold in my hand an instruction manual… for salvation!” Peter held up his copy of the Scripture once more.

“Confused? Do not worry. We shall explain it all to you. All you must do is commit yourselves to the service of Team Judgment, and we will instruct you to salvation! Our soldiers of light, stationed all throughout the city, will assist all who wished to be saved.” The screen showed an example of a Team Judgment member in uniform, stationed at a wooden stand with a Team Judgment logo mounted on it. “Simply line up at the kiosks to be saved! Do not worry; there are enough kiosks for everyone to be saved, so please come out in a civil fashion. Our soldiers of light will ensure that everyone who wants to be saved will be.”

“Remember… the Light of Judgment will come, whether you are ready for it or not! What have you got to lose… embrace Lord Emmanuel and His Sacrifice for you, and take the leap of faith!” The monitor began to display different maps of Techno City on a continuous loop, showing all the locations of the kiosks that Team Judgment had set up.

Instantly, some people fled from their buildings, searching for the kiosks within the city. They were unaware of the struggle to install this program into the server, and assumed this message was intended by the mayor. As promised by the message, Judgment members were all over the place, with Litarias and droves of other Miracle types ready to control an unruly crowd. Lines in front of the kiosks formed almost immediately. Each group of kiosks was overseen by an executive, to whom the citizens were led after agreeing to join Team Judgment.

Yet an equal amount of people remained skeptical. Some were downright panicked. Some of the skeptical remained in their homes and barricaded their doors with anything they could find. Others tried to stop the crowd from joining Team Judgment, only to be subdued by the Judgment members all over the place. Still others tried to flee Techno City entirely. But Team Judgment had sealed all the exits, and was guarding them. A few, who were very fortunate, managed to escape the aerial blockade of Litaria on their Flying-type Pokémon. But, of course, many were shot down by a Light Spear and plummeted to their deaths.

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All eyes were transfixed on a very nervous Shade as the doctor and elderly woman explained that they all thought she was dead for all these years.

Shade sighed embarrassedly. “I’m sorry… guess I have some explaining to do as to why I left.”

“Well… as ya now know, I was famous around here a few years ago. It has been a long-standing tradition of Ter’ast… the channeling of spirits. For centuries, people have taken great pride in the ability to commune with spirits. They have used this power to connect with Ghost-type Pokémon-also a form of spirit.” Shade paused nervously.

“And… well, as I said, people here take pride in the ability to channel spirits and Ghost-types. Many here practice this art, passing it down from generation to generation. Now… I was… sorta born with a natural talent for this sorta thing. I was the best, hands down. People practically worshipped me here.”

“So why the hell’d ya leave?” Rad interrupted.

“I was getting to that!” Shade snapped back.

“I… sorta got tired of that after a while. I was treated like… a celebrity of sorts. But I didn’t want to be. I wanted to live normally, not watched, glared at constantly, and imitated in every way imaginable. So… one night, I got fed up and… I decided to flee. And I let no one else know about it.”

“How did you manage to leave without any of the spirits telling?” The old woman inquired.

“I was getting to that too, Tabitha.”

“Heh, my apologies. Surprised you remembered me after all these years…”

“Yeah, anyways… the ghosts and spirits around here were my friends. They didn’t treat me any differently. So, I summoned some of them to conceal me, make me invisible. All the spirits promised me they wouldn’t tell anyone where I went. That’s also how I managed to slip away from all of you until now.”

“I… had no idea. On behalf of all the people of Ter’ast, I would… like to apologize,” said Tabitha.

“Don’t worry about it…” Shade responded, still embarrassed.

“So, what’d you do after you vanished from here?” Blaze asked.

“I’ve explained enough,” Shade replied defensively.

“But… how’d you get all the way to Murdock?”

“Tell ya later,” Shade responded.
“But… you’ll tell us, right?” Spike asked.

“I would like to know as well,” Lucia added.

“Yes, fine, I’ll explain… later.”

“Aren’t you leaving someone out?” The doctor asked.

“Fiiine. Tell you all, too, Dr. Banks,” Shade replied, nervously clutching the purple crystal, which seemed oddly weightless, in the palm of her hand.

“Well, shouldn’t we all be getting’ some rest?” Spike interrupted.

“Yes, let’s rest,” Shade replied, eager to get out of the spotlight.

“Are you all right, Vyle? The spirits will watch over you tonight to make sure you don’t fall ill again,” Tabitha spoke in a reassuring voice.”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Vyle responded.

“Good night, then,” Lucia spoke.

“G’night,” Spike responded. “Big day tomorrow.” Everyone walked out of Vyle’s room and into their own. The lights were put out in Vyle’s room. He just lied there, filled with too many emotions to sleep.

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In a dull white marble room, a lone Eevee stood on the windowsill, gazing directly at the full moon, which illuminated the Eevee’s fur. This room was incredibly dull. The walls, ceiling and floor were all white. The room had two ordinary bunk beds, with clean white sheets atop their mattresses. All of them were empty, save the one Kyra was sitting up in, watching her Eevee stare out the window with fascination. She was fortunate that she could smuggle the Eevee into her sleeping quarters under her shirt. Unfortunately, Spike still had her Poké Ball, and he was nowhere near Spiropolis at this point.

“What are you staring at?” Kyra inquired affectionately as she got up and stood next to him.

Eevee nodded, pointing his nose at the large moon that stood in the sky. “Vee!” he uttered.

“I… think I know what to name you. Since you’re always looking at the moon, I think I’ll call ya… Moonlight.

“Vee! Moonlight shouted, agreeing to the new nickname.”

“Shh… we don’t want those people to find us!” Kyra whispered.

“Vee…” The fox Pokémon apologetically uttered.

“Its okay, Moonlight. I hope this Emmanuel guy lets me keep you, since they say he’s so nice…”

“Eee...” Moonlight uttered in a sad tone.

“Yeah, I know. I miss Mommy and Daddy too. They were so nice. I hope this Emmanuel guy brings them back soon…”

The moon seemed to smile upon them as both of them continued to stare out the window. This was the only thing interesting in the entire room. From their high point in Team Judgment’s base, they could see a lot. Stars twinkled in the night sky. Mountains were visible in the horizon, and above some of the mountains to the north, Techno City was visible. The sinister black spire with its twinkling lights and yellow rails coiled around it was a sight to behold itself. The ground below was mostly flat plains and farmland, dotted with twinkling small cities and houses. Looking below that, the bottom part of Spiropolis visible, the small towers built on the plateaus below illuminated with a bluish tint in the moonlight.

A single shooting star punctuated the view, flying across the moon and over Techno City before disappearing from view.

“See that? Make a wish!” Kyra exclaimed. Moonlight closed his eyes for a second as though he were wishing for something.

“I bet I know what you wished for, too…” Kyra signed. I wanna go home too… with Mommy and Daddy.”

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Staring up at a foggier view of the same moon, Vyle sat on a wooden plank overlooking the lake that bordered the western half of Ter’ast. Some reeds grew in the water, and chirping could be heard. Pokémon, perhaps? The sources of the chirping remained hidden. There, Vyle struggled with his thoughts. The fact that the very group he loathed being stuck with had actually gone through all the trouble to save his life. His horrific nightmare, and how the Mirlite convinced him that he should live on. Tabitha’s diagnosis that he only had a short time longer to live. And the fact that Kyra was in the hands of Team Judgment, and above all, what Team Judgment had done to him. All this was keeping him up, and he stared up at the moon in a restless state. In the distance, some Ghost Pokémon hovered over the lake in circles in a carefree manner. Dark figures of a certain Flying-type that looked like Murkrow, only larger, flew over him.

“Hey, what are you doing out here all alone? Ain’t ya afraid of the ghosts?” Vyle looked up to see who it was talking to him. Shade stood behind him, looking directly down at him.

“Can’t sleep at all,” Vyle spoke in a depressed, subdued tone.

“Why? Scared of the ghosts? Well, probably not, since you’re out here all alone and not cowering in fear. I swear, even Spike’s afraid. And he ain’t afraid of nothin’!” Shade imitated Spike’s voice at the end.

“I feel so… empty. Like a part of me is gone.” Vyle replied in a depressed tone.

“Well, guess that’d be the purification ray thing,” Shade replied. “You still look pretty fucked up.”

“…”

“I can’t sleep neither. Lot on my mind too.”

Vyle simply listened without speaking.

“I can’t believe I’m back here after all these years. I feel kinda… bad for leaving them, even though they annoyed the crap outta me.”

Vyle was confused at why someone would actually talk to him. His initial instinct was to back away, but it seemed like he didn’t even have the will to do that. He just sat there. Deep down, a part of him actually liked the attention he was getting, but he felt too ashamed to admit it.

“Meh, not much of a talker? Well, that’s okay, you’ll listen, right?” Shade spoke. Vyle simply nodded, his face conveying the expression, “I guess.”

“Sure is the weirdest feeling. I never wanted to come back here. But, here I am. When I first found myself here, I was scared. I hid myself pretty well. But then… I saw what happened, and what was happening with you, and all… and I decided. I couldn’t run away from my past anymore. I had to face it. Besides, I do miss showing everyone up with my skills. Well, now… I’m just really embarrassed. I shouldn’t have fled here.” There was an awkward period of silence.

“Thank you… for… ya know, what you did,” Vyle managed to utter nervously.

Shade blushed. “No problem. She stood there for a few minutes, with Vyle staring at the Ghost-types dancing around the lake. After their awkward silence, Shade decided to sit down next to Vyle.

A tiny squeak broke the silence. Shade felt something brush up against her, and was startled and almost fell into the lake.

“Oh… I let Squeak out to play…” Vyle spoke, still sounding depressed.

“I… wasn’t scared! At all!” A small grin appeared on Vyle’s face.

“Are you doubting me?” Shade retorted.

“Oh… sorry,” Vyle apologized.

“No need to be sorry,” Shade replied.

“Oh…” Vyle wasn’t sure how to respond.

“The Virat squeaked and then ran off again, chasing a Shuppet that drifted by. Its immaterial body flapped as it floated away, looking just like a puppet being dangled on a string. Vyle and Shade just sat there awkwardly, staring at the mini light show put on by the floating ghosts above the lake.

“Umm… you want me… to try and sleep?” Vyle uttered nervously.

“Oh, no, it’s fine…”

“But you asked…”

“Gee, you must have had a lot of social interactions…” Shade remarked sarcastically.

“…sorry…”

“No need to be, it’s not your fault, I’m sure.”

“Yeah it is… no one ever liked me before.”

“Why not?”

“I… don’t know.”

“Aww… well screw what everyone else thinks. I like you.”

“There was a brief pause. “R…really? But… why?”

“Because you went through so much… yet you still want to live. Way to not run from your problems.”

“Oh… that.” Vyle blushed nervously.

“Yeah, that.”

“Well, it was the Mirlite that helped… not me. The Mirlite… and you guys.”

“Well, yeah but…” Shade didn’t know how to respond. “Despite it all, you… still want to live. I… can’t explain it.”

“I… guess so.”

They sat there again in awkward silence. Shade wanted to hold Vyle’s hand, but was too nervous. The moon began to sink in the sky, and the more nocturnal ghosts started to vanish. Shade’s Gravecall, still with five of its curses, appeared in front of her.

“Sunrise coming soon?” Shade closed her eyes, sensing what Gravecall was trying to tell her. “Well, I guess we should… try and get some sleep. They’re gonna wonder about us if we aren’t there when they wake up.”

“Yeah…” Vyle muttered nervously. He recalled his Virat, who was busy gnawing on the floorboards. “Umm… good night.”

“Good night… and… nice talking to you.” Shade spoke nervously, blushing.

“Vyle paused for a second. “Nice… talking to you, too…” They both headed back to the inn together. Shade was glad that Gravecall came when it did, as she wanted the moment of awkwardness to end.

“Wow… what am I doing?” Shade thought to herself as she went to sleep.

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Right at the crack of dawn, a loud knock came at the door of Kyra’s room. Moonlight, who was curled up on top of Kyra, perked his long ears up. “Time for school!” came the demanding yell of a Team Judgment member through the door. Moonlight instinctively fled and hid beneath a bunk. Kyra woke up, startled.

“Huh?” She sat up in her bed, her hair askew. She could hear the Team Judgment member’s demanding voice and the loud knock echoing in the hallway as he yelled at the other children in different rooms. “Why… so early?” Kyra grumbled, staring out the window, the horizon still a dark shade of blue.

“Vee…” Moonlight sighed in perfect agreement.

“Hide in here, k?” I’ll try and get you some food. I’m sorry I have to hide you.” Kyra spoke to Moonlight.

Almost immediately, another Team Judgment member burst in. “Hurry up!” he shouted, frightening Kyra. She quickly brushed her hair and threw on the white robe that was given to her to wear, similar to a Team Judgment uniform. Then she rushed out of her room and down the hall, along with several other kids her age.

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The classroom was, as the other rooms on this level of Team Judgment’s base, pretty plain and white. A chalkboard was mounted on the wall at the front of the room. There were about 40 desks in the room, all identical and made of wood. The teacher’s desk stood directly in front of the chalkboard. The walls of the room were pretty dull, with the exception of a couple of windows to the right, and several posters with slogans such as, “Lord Emmanuel—the way, the truth, the life,” and “Know Emmanuel, Know peace, no Emmanuel, no peace.”

About 40 groggy students crowded into the classroom, dressed in the same dull uniform. Kyra was among them. The students sat down, and within moments, some started to talk to each other. The dull room was bathed in the orange light of the morning sun. Kyra looked out the window, despite the glare from the sun. She was tired of the dull marble walls. She missed her Eevee already, and was beginning to doubt that Team Judgment had told her the truth.

“Silence!” A Team Judgment member entered the room and slammed a long ruler on the teacher’s desk. He walked in and stood at the front of the class. “There is to be no talking while class is in session!” He roared. He had a thick, muscular frame and a rough beard. By the structure of his face, one could have wondered if he had the ability to smile.

“Now, I understand that this is your first day here. The other staff members have by now told you what is to be expected of you while in school, so I will be brief,” he began. “First of all, there is to be absolutely NO talking while I am teaching. I don’t know how people teach in other places, but here, we teach the right way. Second, do not question the ways of Lord Emmanuel. You may ask if you don’t understand, but remember that Lord Emmanuel is ALWAYS RIGHT! Do you understand?”

The students all muttered, “Yes.”

“Louder! Do you understand!” he barked.

“Yes!”

“Very well. Another thing. Every class session begins with a prayer to the great, almighty Lord Emmanuel, our loving creator. Now, you will all stand and face the cross.”

The students all immediately stood up and turned their attention towards the wooden Team Judgment emblem mounted in the front, right corner of the room. They mostly did so out of fear, for the Team Judgment members had scared them all into complete obedience.

“Now, you will all repeat this prayer with me. Prayer sheets are in the desk compartment.” The students all pulled out a copy of the payers and held them as they stood up.

“Bless you, Lord Emmanuel, for you have provided us with this beautiful day to live. Each day we thank you for your Sacrifice to save our souls from darkness. We are eternally grateful for your kindness and infinite love.

The students tried to follow along, but some could not pronounce a few of the words on the prayer sheet. Kyra’s attention shifted from the wooden cross to outside, then back to the Team Judgment logo as the teacher glanced at her.

“Almighty Lord Emmanuel, grant us the strength to live today without sin. Grant us your forgiveness, for we are all sinners. Give us the strength to persevere through evil and reach your holy embrace. Amen.”

The students all sat down. That was, perhaps, the one thing they were actually eager to do.

“Pull out your copies of the Scripture. Our first lesson shall begin.” The students grudgingly obeyed. Each student pulled out a dull brown hardcover copy of the text, completely dull with the exception of a gilded Team Judgment logo on the front cover and the word ‘Scripture’ above it and on the spine of the book.

“Before we begin, I will give an overview to help you understand.” The teacher began.

“In the beginning, there was nothing, until our loving creator Lord Emmanuel decided to create the universe and everything in it. He then decided to create humanity. Alongside humanity, he created Pokémon—large and small—to serve under humanity. You will read about how the world was perfect until humanity sinned. Any questions so far?”

One boy daringly raised his hand. There was a slight expression of fear on his face. He replied, “But didn’t Mew create all the Pokémon? And… aren’t we supposed to be equal with Pokémon?”

“No. That is foolish nonsense. The people who conjured those lies will have a special place in eternal darkness. We know from our holy Scripture that the universe was created by Emmanuel.”

“But… how come Mew has the DNA of all Pokémon?” The teacher’s expression soured further as the boy, who appeared to have been well-educated already, asked his question, since his knowledge conflicted with that given to him by the teacher.

“It is clear that you have been tainted by their falsehoods. To the purification room with you!” The teacher roared. The whole class shuddered in fear. The teacher went outside for a moment, and came back with two other Judgment members and two Litaria. “Escort that boy right there to the purification room! Once his heart is pure, he will learn to love Lord Emmanuel!”

Kyra wondered why she didn’t seem to love this Lord Emmanuel. Was she impure too? Or was Team Judgment lying all along? Her gut was currently siding with the latter as she watched the boy be dragged unwillingly, kicking and screaming, by the two Judgment members, with the two Litaria hovering behind them, indifferent to his cries.

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Far to the south of Techno City and Spiropolis, and to the west of Ter’ast, in a golden, obliquely shaped tower which reflected the morning sunlight, part of a sprawling metropolis of similar obliquely shaped towers, an old man sat alone in a room meditating. The room also had golden walls and was decorated in rich, patterned tapestries and pictures of various locations in nature. The floor was a polished black, and a thick, comfortable rug lay exactly in the center of the room. The man was sitting cross-legged on this rug. He had a blue headband on with pink triangles, and was wearing some light, comfortable gray sweat pants and a blue shirt, with a blue jacket lined with those salmon-colored triangles. The man had almost no hair on his head, and his eyes were closed as he meditated, perfectly still and oblivious to the world.

Suddenly, a cold, dark chill rushed through him, and he staggered out of his meditative state, trembling. He had just experienced a particularly dark premonition. He immediately got up and exited the room through automatic doors and into the hallway, where he ran down the corridor to a large room at the end of the hallway. To his surprise, several other humans and a few Pokémon, mostly Alakazam, were already in the room.

The room had a large, donut shaped table in it; around which some of the humans were already seated alongside a few evolved Psychic-type Pokémon. Most of them were Alakazam. Their huge heads were hunched over and facing the table, their two long, brown hairy whiskers touching the table. Their skinny bodies, which did not look like they could support its large skulls, were folded into the chairs compactly as they sat cross-legged. Their arms rested on their laps as they clutched their two silver spoons nervously. A couple of Gardevoir were also present, their faces also filled with sadness. Instead of being seated, they hovered where their chairs were supposed to be, as those Gardevoir preferred to hover psychically. White flaps covered the bottom half of the Gardevoirs, which fluttered like long dresses in a breeze. One Espeon was also present, its catlike purple body seated in a chair, its forked tail waving discontently.

“Elder Zybak, are you here to speak with our leader as well as to why Pokémon all over Telluria City are acting strangely?”

Elder Zybak replied, “No, I understand perfectly why, Elder Steinen. I felt a wave of darkness over me as I was meditating just now. It would seem as though… something cataclysmic is about to occur.”

Another elder, this one an older female, came in reporting the same thing. “We must prepare for disaster!” She exclaimed.

“It would appear as though the Pokémon sensed it first. Their psychic senses are more attuned than those of humans,” Another elder explained to everyone. One Alakazam muttered telepathically to everyone, “We’re doomed.”

Elder Zybak spoke, “For this, we must consult our great leader!” At that moment, the elders in the room and the psychic Pokémon all sat (or hovered) around the table and closed their eyes. A ring of invisible psychic energy formed, connecting all of them. At that moment, another Alakazam teleported into the center of their ring. This one was scrawnier than the others in the room, and somehow looked older. He clasped its two golden spoons in his hands, which were long regarded by the species as a symbol of their element. Two shimmering gold bracelets hung from his arms. The leader of Telluria City hovered in the center of the ring of the various representatives of the city.

“Leader… we gather before you to discuss the current events. All of the Psychic Pokémon in the city and even some of the humans can sense a great evil ahead. Surely you have sensed this evil already, leader,” One of the Alakazam spoke telepathically to their leader. Her telepathic voice was amplified to where everyone in the room could hear it.

“Please guide us, leader. The Pokémon in the Psychic Training Academy here have gone berserk and refuse to listen to anyone. Several students have been hurt,” one of the human representatives, a female, spoke telepathically afterwards.

After a short pause, the leader responded back, also telekinetically, to everyone in the room. “Yes, I have indeed foreseen this evil. But the future is clouded by darkness. I sense that soon, the balance between light and darkness shall be affected.”

“A… dark organization of some sort will be involved… right?” one of the Gardevoir inquired. “The world… covered in darkness?”

“I… cannot tell. All I see is… a great evil, threatening to engulf the entire world.” Their leader replied. “The only thing I know is that the balance of light and darkness will be shifted strongly.”

“To which direction?” Elder Steinen asked, puzzled.

“This matters not. The forces of light and darkness have always existed in perfect harmony. There can be no light without darkness, and there can be no darkness without light,” The leader replied.

“So what are we to do about this, leader?” Elder Zybak asked.

The leader closed his eyes and contemplated for a moment. “It would be wise to… prepare a great battle. Its nature currently eludes me. However, I sense it beginning already, in a black tower to the north. All of Telluria must brace itself and prepare for battle,” The leader spoke. “As for the academy, perhaps it is best if the students are dismissed.”

“But… Telluria has always been peaceful. I fear our citizens will reject this call to arms,” one of the Alakazam protested.

“That may be, but this is far too important. The entire world may be at stake. We must prepare everyone. Channel your psychic energies. We must alert the citizens…” The leader replied. The council of representatives gathered their thoughts together around the leader, and prepared to psychically send a message which would soon shatter the harmony of the morning in Telluria City.

[Sike Saner]

There were a number of scenes in that chapter that I really liked. ^^ The first of those was the scene with the Team Magnet members. I found it interesting to "watch" them do their work.

The second of those scenes was the conversation between Vyle and Shade. I like how those two characters interact. ^^

The third of those scenes was the classroom scene. And brrr... that teacher was kinda scary. o_o;

And the fourth of those scenes was the final one, with the elders of Telluria City. Fwee for psychics, and fwee for the first appearance of *leader of Telluria City's name withheld so as not to spoil it*! ^^ And I llike that the leader of that city is a Pokémon and furthermore an Alakazam--Alakazam has long been one of my favorite Pokémon. ^^

Other highlights:

Deep inside the spire of Techno City, a large supercomputer responsible for the control of the entire city hummed with activity and life. Data rushed in and out of the server along many electronic cables which extended from the spherical computer in all directions. Some of the data was being displayed on several monitors placed in front of the computer. The computer itself was in a large, cavernous room, and it was attached to support beams from both the ceiling and the floor. Like almost everything else in the city, it shone like polished obsidian glass. Lights on the spherical server flashed on and off, and lines on the server, and all over the room, alternated between glowing green and fading into black.

Cool-sounding device. o.o I liked the way you described it; it created a pretty cool image in my mind. ^^

Most ominous, however, were a few white feathers randomly strewn about in the hallways.

Agreed; there is something creepy about them in that context. o_o

As they left into the long, automated stairway out of the center of the city, a single white feather floated gently downward, landing directly in front of them.

Another image that I liked. ^^

Mountains were visible in the horizon, and above some of the mountains to the north, Techno City was visible. The sinister black spire with its twinkling lights and yellow rails coiled around it was a sight to behold itself.

Yeah, I imagine that it would be a pretty darned cool sight, indeed... o.o

The Virat squeaked and then ran off again, chasing a Shuppet that drifted by.

Aww.. That was a cute image, I thought. ^^

The students all sat down. That was, perhaps, the one thing they were actually eager to do.

Heh. X3

[PsiUmbreon]

Let's see. There are 8 more chapters of HaT to go, but I'm already done posting all of my af;lkjglk;uer Chronicles. Yeah, I'm gonna have to break my habit of updating both threads at the same time.

Anyway this chapter sets the stage for one of the most dramatic parts of the story. Hope you enjoy, and hope this chapter was worth the wait. Just so you know, this chapter took me a similar length of time to write. (READ: Forever.)

Chapter 13
Wings of Darkness

Morning had come for Ter’ast, and citizens were out conducting their daily business. The canopy of fog was thickest in the early morning, so the visibility was poor. Meanwhile, everyone in the group was still fast asleep. It had been another long day for all of them.

Several citizens had already gathered at the town hall, including Dr. Banks and Tabitha. The mayor had called everyone to a town meeting, saying he had something urgent to discuss. He wore crimson robes and had a cylindrical cap on his heads which matched his robe. He looked slightly distraught as he adjusted his cap and stepped up to a podium in front of the large room. The citizens filled the wooden benches in the room. Not all the citizens had arrived, but the mayor judged it to be a decent sized crowd.

The mayor cleared his throat as he began. “Citizens of Ter’ast… I called you all here to tell you some important news,” he spoke in a deep voice which echoed throughout the room. “Hmm… where do I begin? Perhaps it is best if I showed you instead,” At that moment, the mayor pulled a cord, causing a projector screen to unfurl in front of the podium. He then flipped a switch, activating a projector in the back of the room. The torches in the room magically dimmed as the projector began displaying a TV news program on the screen.

“This is Altairon Cable News Network, bringing you continuing coverage of the latest events in Altairon. Our top story: Team Judgment, a group dedicated to ridding the world of evil, has begun preaching all over Altairon, claiming the end is near. According to this radical group, the only way to be rid of evil is by strict adherence to their teachings. All over Altairon, city governments have been taken over by this group, who then converts the citizens to the Team Judgment way of life. Strangely enough, it seems as though the cities have allowed this to happen, for the most part. Unconfirmed sources have also told us that several cities, including Techno City, are under complete lockdown. There has been little resistance and few protests as Team Judgment continues to take over town after town, spreading their radical ideologies and frugal way of life.”

A map then popped up onto the screen, showing the parts of Altairon under control of Team Judgment. “Team Judgment has already spread throughout the northern half of Altairon and is currently spreading slowly southward towards Telluria City. They feel it is their sacred duty to prepare everyone for the Day of Judgment, which prompted their spread. Are these white-robed radicals telling the truth? We can’t tell. But one thing is certain: Team Judgment is bent on ‘saving’ the entire region.”

“Coming up later: Expert analysis- is the apocalypse real? We will hear from top researchers, Pokémon scientists, and Team Judgment leaders.”

The mayor switched off the projector. “That’s enough of that,” he spoke, disgruntled, as the screen went up and the torch lights flickered back to normal brightness. “I’ll be damned if I let this city fall under their control.”

Most of the citizens sat there in utter disbelief. They didn’t often get to view television, but they knew that the mayor, who kept track of the outside world by watching the news channels, only showed them something if he considered it vital. However, some citizens were skeptical and didn’t see Team Judgment as a real threat to them.

“We are going to be on the lookout for Team Judgment and we will prepare ourselves to defend against these madmen when they show up!” The mayor bellowed angrily. “I want all the Pokémon to be ready, and our spirits to cooperate and report anything suspicious. Any questions?”

One citizen hesitantly raised his hand. “But what if they’re right and are just trying to warn us?”

“They’re not right. They’re just another evil team bent on world domination. They’ll make up any excuse to get people to follow them,” the mayor replied.

“Well, the Pokémon have been acting strangely. Maybe they feel something coming?” a channeler in the crowd replied.

“They’re probably sensing Team Judgment,” the mayor dismissed.

“Maybe… well, they have also shown me visions of horrifying destruction. Is that just them also?”

“Well… we shouldn’t jump to conclusions. It could be a symbolic vision,” the mayor replied. “We cannot let panic take over. If it does, Team Judgment wins. I just want you all to be prepared. Now, get moving!” The mayor finished, dismissing the meeting. The crowd instantly began talking amongst each other as they got up and left slowly.

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The group did not begin to awaken for a good three hours after the meeting. Lucia was first to rise, followed slowly by Blaze, Spike, and Rad. Shade and Vyle were the last to wake up. After breakfast, they met in Vyle’s room to discuss what they would do next.

“So, guys, what are we gonna do now?” Spike began their meeting. “We got a couple of options. We can kick it here for a while, or we can bust outta here.”

“This town ain’t workin’ for me,” Rad was first to reply. “I say we leave this dump.”

“What about Kyra? We can’t just leave her in the hands of Team Judgment!” Shade replied.

“But what can we do? We barely escaped last time!” Blaze replied.

“And getting’ back there is another problem,” Spike added.

“Still… we need to do something. Better than sitting around waiting for them to come here,” Shade replied.

“Yeah, let’s get captured again!” Blaze countered sarcastically.

“Well, we could ask for help…” Lucia suggested.

“What makes you think they’ll help us?” Blaze replied.

“Umm… I don’t know. But… I have to do what I feel is right. Even if it means facing my old team. Even if it means facing… my parents.” Lucia replied.

“Vyle, what do you say?” Spike asked.

Vyle stared into space coldly. “Team Judgment… I’ll make them pay for what they’ve done,” he replied darkly.

“I take it Vyle wants to go rescue Kyra too,” Blaze spoke.

“Rad, you wanna go too?” Spike asked.

“Hell no. Count me out.” Rad replied.

“So that’s three and three,” Spike counted. “Well, I’m the leader, so I’ll make the choice. Right now we can’t do shit to them. So we ain’t about to go back there and get captured again.”

Shade started to reply. “But…”

“No, we ain’t goin’! Spike cut her off.

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Meanwhile, the four Grand Cardinals of Team Judgment had gathered in the temple dedicated to Lord Emmanuel. They knelt before the blinding light at the top of the long flight of stairs. Even the Grand Cardinals had never seen their leader, whom they worshipped as their god, with their own eyes. The four Grand Cardinals humbly bowed before their leader. Then, led by Peter, they began to pray.

“Almighty Lord Emmanuel, praise thee for cleansing the world. Thank you for creating us, your humble servants. And especially, thank you for your Sacrifice. We ask of thee to protect us from Darkhor’s evil temptations, and may your light shine upon the faithful. Amen.”

The Grand Cardinals ended their prayer and returned to the kneeling position. “My Lord, I bring thee a status report from all of us,” Peter began. “We have been highly successful in spreading the word. The northern portion of Altairon is secure. We have been most successful in Techno City and Murdock. The citizens of Murdock praised us for bringing your Judgment upon their rampant criminals. We are also making progress in other regions of the world, largely unopposed by any of Darkhor’s minions. However, we have been met with resistance in southern portions of Altairon, as well as parts of Kanto. Telluria City largely rejects the word, and Ter’ast is still unapproachable. Cobra Island has largely been uncooperative as well. Lord Emmanuel, guide me, please…”

“If they are uncooperative, then so be it. Let them be purged by the light of Judgment!” boomed the voice from above confidently.

“Very well, then, my Lord. It shall be done.”

“My Lord, our facilities in Spiropolis are packed. Our cells are filled with new people needing to see the light. We need more room. As for our escapees, our intelligence tells us that they have vanished into Ter’ast, presumed dead. I seek your guidance, my Lord,’ Noah spoke next.

“Have the unclean souls detained in their own cities until there is room. The escaped are still alive. This I am displeased about. Seize them at all costs!” came the angry response from above.

“Y-yes, my Lord!”

Grand Cardinal Michael was next to speak. “Thank you for purging that curse from me. All is well in Spiropolis. Its citizens are extremely loyal to you, and are ready to embrace paradise.”

The voice of Lord Emmanuel halted him. “I sense disloyalty… resistance… blasphemy.”

Michael replied. “Very well. I will further tighten the restrictions upon them. All citizens will be made to pray five times a day instead of three. Punishments will be made more severe.”

“My Lord… praise be upon thee for curing me of paralysis!” Maria was last to speak. “Our capture nets have been highly successful. Even more successful have been the Litaria. However, the purification ray test was interrupted, and therefore the ray is not ready yet.”

“Abandon the purification ray. It is of no further use, as the Light of Judgment will come soon.”

“…Yes, my Lord…” Maria replied reluctantly. “I only wished to purify… that prisoner.”

“I can sense your true motives. Do not think for one second that you have me fooled. Abandon the purification ray at once!”

“Yes, my Lord, I apologize,” Maria replied humbly. At that point, all four Grand Cardinals then got up, having finished their status reports. They turned and left, bowing one more time before swinging open the huge wooden doors with Judgment logos engraved on them.

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Somewhere in Murdock, in a run-down room, several members of Team Magnet gathered. The walls were a dull white, and many stains dotted them. A television set was the only piece of technology in the room. The furniture looked run down and the carpeting was torn in places. The windows had a thin film of dirt over them.

“Man, why we gotta move to this dump?” One of the Magnet members asked.

“I already told you, Team Judgment made us,” the boss replied.

“Man, fuck them.”

“They’re the ones payin’ us, dumbass. We have to act like we give a damn about this Emmanuel dude.”

“I say after they pay us, we ditch ‘em and start livin’ the high life,” another Magnet member suggested.

“No shit. That’s the plan,” replied the boss. “Honestly, what are you on, Dan? Team Judgment’s nothin’ but a bunch of stupid mother fuckers.”

“Hehehe,” the Magnet member that infiltrated the server chuckled. “They give us all those Rare Candies and expect us to not bite them back in the ass! Hah!”

“Gotta admit, without them Candies we wouldn’t have been able to infiltrate the server. That was pretty fun, eh, Joe?”

“Damn straight, Matt.”

“Hey, now we can also pay that Gym Leader guy back for turnin’ us down and beatin’ the pants off us in battle,” another member added. “We’ll show him and his ‘Murdock’s gym ain’t for sale to the likes of you’ attitude.”

“Yeah,” several of them chuckled in unison.

At that moment, a female Team Magnet member walked in. “They’re lookin’ for us again. They say we gotta go pray now. Man, I can’t take this anymore.”

“That so, Elektra? All right, we gotta go,” the boss spoke.

“I say we ditch ‘em now, Murph,” Elektra replied.

“It’s ‘Boss’ to you.”

“Murphy, Murph, Boss, whateva.”

“Just because you’re second in command-“Murphy began, but was interrupted.

“-Yeah yeah, I still gotta call you boss,” Elektra finished for him. The members, led by Murphy and Elektra, left the room.

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Shade, having been exasperated by Spike’s decision to not return to the base, had just pulled Vyle and Lucia into an empty room at the inn. “Listen. You guys want to help too? And make those Team Judgment bastards pay?” She was determined.

“Yes, I do,” Lucia spoke, slightly cringing at Shade’s choice of words. Vyle simply nodded in agreement.

“Well, then, listen up. We’re gonna do it without them.” Shade whispered, holding the others in a huddle. “We three will fly in on those dragons of yours. Tonight, after the others are asleep. Then, we will annihilate as many of them as it takes until we get her back, then get out of there on the dragons. Sound good?”

“I don’t know… it’s going to be pretty hard with just the three of us…” Lucia replied. Vyle made no response.

“Yeah, well, it doesn’t look like we’ll be getting any help,’ Shade countered. Vyle, you up for it?

Vyle did nothing for a few seconds, then replied nervously, “s…sure.”

“I’ll go too… I guess the dragons will be strong enough. Grandma did train them well. Plus, I can’t sit by and just let them torture people like this.”

The three of them anxiously waited for the others to fall asleep. Then, when that time finally came, Shade snuck out the others towards the edge of the city, using the spirits she had control over as an effective veil. Then, at the edge of town, overlooking the lake, Lucia released the four dragons from their Ultra Balls, muttering, “I don’t know about this.”

The dragons materialized in front of them, hovering over the lake, stretching their wings. As they did so, some of the fog that was drifting over the lake was blown away, accurately reflecting the power of these Pokémon.

“Take us back to Spiropolis!” Lucia spoke, somewhat nervous. However, the dragons had their own agenda. Durandal snorted in complacence, spouting a small flame from each nostril. The others merely ignored her and looked away.

“Umm… please take us back?” Lucia shakily begged. The dragons completely ignored her.

“Be more confident,” Shade suggested.

“…I don’t know,” Lucia trembled. The dragons began loafing around.

“All right, fine. Durandal, Seiryu, Terra, Tigris… take us to Spiropolis!” Lucia yelled. However, the dragons did not appreciate her confidence. They began to stare at her angrily. “Umm… please?” She added, afraid of them.

Shade spoke, “Let me try.” She took a deep breath, and then began to speak, closing her eyes as she began to attempt to channel them as though they were ghosts. “Mighty dragons, I beg of thee. Carry us to Spiropolis upon your backs!” Tigris let out an angry roar. Durandal glared at them before it flapped its mighty wings, knocking them off their feet. It then unleashed a Flamethrower directly at them.

The next thing they saw was a flash of white. Mirlite appeared in front of them, projecting an aura over them that absorbed the fiery breath. Next, the other three dragons unleashed Hyper Beam attacks. The three of them quickly jumped out of the way as the platform they were standing on became mere splinters. The three of them landed on their sides, and were cowering in front of the dragons, with Mirlite hovering in front of them. Everyone expected the dragons to unleash another volley of powerful attacks, but instead they took off into the canopy of clouds.

“What the hell happened?” Shade asked Mirlite.

“They said they would only obey one who has won their respect, and that they are no beasts of burden.”

“Great. I must have pissed them off,” Shade responded.

“Oh, and they also said to screw off… only in a less… nice way.” Mirlite added.

“Yeah. Dragons are nothing like Ghosts,” Shade mused. “What was I thinking?”

“I’ll need to rest now. That Flamethrower took a lot out of me,” Mirlite told Shade, then reverted to crystal form around Shade’s neck.

“That was a… Shield attack, wasn’t it?" Lucia asked as they stumbled to their feet, still in shock.

“I dunno, I guess,” Shade responded. The three of them got up and snuck back to the inn, defeated. “Well, so much for that plan” Shade spoke as they arrived back at the inn.

“What should we do now?” Lucia asked.

“I don’t know. Now we have no easy way of getting in there.”

“Maybe we can ask the people here for help?” Lucia asked.

Shade hesitated. She wanted to keep as low a profile as possible, but she knew that asking the citizens of Ter’ast for help was their only option at this point. Maybe, just maybe, they had some decent Flying type Pokémon. The three of them retired to their rooms quietly, heading back to sleep.

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Spike was still up, however. He held the Poké Ball that once contained Kyra’s Eevee in his massive palms. The ball glinted in the light coming from the blue torch right outside the window. He could not fall asleep, because horrifying visions of what Kyra might have been going through had entered his mind. He also did not know what became of that Eevee. He stared at the ball, silently contemplating. Finally, he decided to himself, “screw it, I’m bustin’ her outta there.”

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Shade stood in front of the mayor’s desk the next morning, anxious. She waited all morning before summoning the courage to go. Lucia and Vyle stood by her side.

The mayor spoke. “Why, Shade… what brings you here?”

Shade was embarrassed, but replied, “Well, I need some help and this is not going to be easy.” She then told the mayor about the situation.

“Well, I’d be happy to do whatever I can for you, Shade,” the mayor replied. Shade didn’t know whether to be relieved, flattered, or annoyed at the mayor’s reaction to her news. “We could pull together some Bogcrow, possibly, though it could take a couple of days. I apologize for the wait.”

“It’s no problem,” Shade replied. But in reality, the prospect of having to spend two more days in Ter’ast annoyed her.

“Great. I will send someone to let you know when we’re ready,” The mayor enthusiastically replied.

The three of them walked back to the inn. Vyle said nothing as usual. Lucia asked, “Why don’t you like being here that badly?”

“It’s annoying, okay?” Shade snapped back. “You don’t know what it’s like, being stalked, glared at, worshipped constantly, not like a normal human being. I just want to be treated… normally for once.” The people that were within earshot of her hid from her view guiltily, but Shade knew they were there anyway.

“Oh… I’m sorry. Is it that bad?” Lucia apologized.

“Yes.”

No one said a word until they got back to the inn. As soon as they entered, Spike appeared in front of them. “Where were you? I have something I needed to tell you guys!” Spike looked at the crowd of people that were here just to see Shade, and stopped himself before explaining. Quietly they left the lobby and went into one of their rooms.

“Guys. I should tell ya somethin’ important. I’ve been reconsiderin’ and… I think it’s time we pay Team Judgment a visit.”

Blaze paused for a moment. “I guess… I’m with you too.”

“Ah, hell no!” Rad protested.

“C’mon, you coward. You’re not… scared are you?” Blaze replied.

“…Nu-uh!” Rad replied defensively. “The great Rad has no fears!”

“Uh-huh,” Shade replied, catching on to what Blaze was doing. “C’mon, now, none of us ladies are scared of going.”

“Fiiiine. I’m comin’! I ain’t afraid of no geeks in white!” Rad replied.”

“Excellent,” Blaze replied. “The only thing is… how will we get there?”

“I have that covered,” Shade replied coolly.

“We’re gonna ride in on those dragons?” Spike replied.

“Umm… no,” Shade responded, embarrassed. Lucia mimicked Shade’s embarrassment. “We’ll be riding some Bogcrows.”

“Why not dragons?”

“Well… turns out… umm… yeah, they only obey her grandma.”

“Okay…” Spike replied skeptically. “Since we can’t use the dragons, where are we gonna get us some Bogcrow?”

“The mayor can provide that for us. It’ll probably take us a couple of days though.”

“Two days? Man, we can’t afford to wait like that. How do you know it’ll take two days?”

Shade couldn’t think of a response. After a few awkward seconds Lucia spoke up. “Umm… we just came from there.”

“Wait, why… you been plannin’ this all along?” Spike replied, astonished.

“Yeah. We wanted to rescue Kyra no matter what,” Shade replied. “Sorry…”

“…Whatever. It’s cool,” Spike answered after a few seconds. Shade and Lucia were relieved. Vyle was too, although he did not show it. “We move out as soon as we get them Bogcrows.”

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The next two days passed slightly quicker for the group. They passed the time training their Pokémon. Shade avoided the townspeople as much as she could, but could not get out of giving at least a few autographs, even though she only came out at night and could channel the power of the spirits to make herself invisible. Rad tried to steal from the Poké Mart but was thwarted by another Duskull and spent the time detained.

On the night before the mayor told them he’d be ready, Vyle had perched himself on the roof of the inn, staring into the lake and the fog beyond. The ghosts were floating everywhere, but Vyle paid them no heed. He was in a gloomy mood as usual.

Meanwhile, Shade sat in her room at the inn, awake. She was staring out the window. “Wonder where Vyle is…” she wondered. She then stopped. “Aah, what’s wrong with me? Why do I care?” she nervously played with the crystal around her neck, causing Mirlite to materialize in front of her.

“You called?” Mirlite communicated telepathically to Shade.

“N…no…sorry…” Shade replied.

“Well, then stop that. How am I supposed to get some sleep?”

“Wait. Can’t you just go somewhere else if you don’t want to be bothered?”

“Good point.” Mirlite conceded. After a few seconds, Mirlite spoke again. “Wait… you seem very troubled. What’s wrong?”

“N…nothing.”

“It’s Vyle, isn’t it?”

“I can’t hide anything from you, can I?”

“I can sense people’s emotions, you know. I am part Miracle type.”

“Wait… then how’d you know who…”

“Lucky guess.”

“Guess I’m that transparent after all.”

“Something about Vyle doesn’t feel right. I just feel this… darkness when I’m near him,” Mirlite informed Shade. “A great… unquenchable anguish… or something. Much more powerful than I’ve ever sensed in a human.”

“Really?” Shade was curious.

“Definitely. I’m just warning you. Vyle might not be... around much longer. That darkness around him is just something no human soul can withstand for very long.”

“Oh…” Shade sounded distressed.

Mirlite closed her eyes and sensed Shade’s emotions. “I see.”

“See what?”

“Go see Vyle. He’s sitting on the roof here. Company might just keep him around longer. Don’t worry, I’ll leave you alone.” Mirlite reverted back to crystal form and appeared on Shade’s pillow.
Shade leapt out of the window and onto a tree branch. She then leapt onto the roof of the inn from there, landing gracefully and making little noise. Sure enough, Vyle was sitting on the sloped roof, facing the lake.

Vyle could still tell she was there. He turned around to look at Shade, and then looked back at the lake.

“Damn… you’re good.” Shade noted, surprised that Vyle could pick up on her presence. Vyle made no response.

“What’s wrong?” Shade asked. The despair around Vyle was almost tangible.

There was silence for a few moments, and then Vyle replied, “I don’t know. I just feel so… empty.”

“Must be that whole darkness thing,” Shade responded, unable to think of anything witty.

“Yeah…”

“Probably why you want to get Team Judgment back.”

“…Yeah.”

“Aren’t you glad that we’re going to get them tomorrow night?”

Vyle paused, not knowing what to say. “I don’t know.”

“Why not?”

“I guess I should be feeling happy. But… I’m not.”

“Why… oh, it’s because of the whole soul thing.

“…”

“Oh, sorry,” Shade spoke, seeing Vyle’s reaction of looking downward.

There was a long pause, during which the only noise was Squeak chewing on the roof tiles. Shade then heard the telepathic voice of Mirlite, communicating through crystal form. “Comfort him.”

Shade gulped, then thought to herself. “You’re still here? Creepy.” She then summoned all her courage, and hesitantly placed her hand on Vyle’s back. Vyle did not visibly react, but smiled from under his hood.

Vyle then spoke, after a few awkward moments. “Why do you talk to me? I’m just… not worth it.”

“Shade did not know what to respond with. “Sure you are,” she replied nervously.

“R…really? Naah.”

“Of course you are. You’re just really, really miserable right now, that’s all.” Shade proceeded to hug him.

Vyle was taken by surprise. He also felt a certain pleasure, different from all other times a female had touched him. Those other times were simply bought with money, but this one was special in a way-not because it was free-but for another reason, inexplicable to Vyle. It seemed like forever until Shade let go.

“Thank you,” Was all Vyle could think to say.

It was then that they began to talk, and Vyle began to open up-at least to Shade. They shared stories of their earlier days on the streets, and interesting things that happened to them. They talked until the end of the night, when the first colors of sunrise began to appear through the veil of fog.

“We’d better get some sleep,” Shade said.

“Yeah,” Vyle responded. The two of them leapt from the roof, careful to avoid being seen, but not before Shade proceeded to kiss Vyle-just a short time, on the cheek, to which Vyle could only blush. The two of them of them went to sleep quietly without anyone seeing them head back to their rooms-or so they thought. Some people saw them on the roof-and rumors and gossip spread throughout the town.

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Fortunately, Shade’s group kept anyone from bothering her while she slept. The day passed and the evening came. As promised, six Bogcrows were amassed for everyone in the group. The large, black birds had a wingspan of at least 12 feet, and while they did not look like they could support the weight of a human on their back, they were easily strong enough, and had been taught the Pokémon skill for transporting people on their backs. The birds had long, black tail feathers, and three long black feathers sticking out at the top of their heads. Their eyes were a fierce, glowing red, standing out against its black body.

“Be careful with them. They’ll peck your eyes out if given a chance to,” the mayor warned.

Carefully, each person approached one of the raptor-like Pokémon. One of them glared at Lucia, stopping her dead in her tracks.

“You just have to not be afraid, and hop on,” the mayor advised.

The group all took his advice, with the exception of Lucia, who was horrified of Dark-types. Spike was the bravest, and he climbed onto the back of the largest Bogcrow there. Shade and Blaze were next. The Bogcrows gave minor shrieks in an attempt to intimidate them, but they were undaunted. Rad had a little more trouble than that. The Bogcrow pecked him and scratched him with his talons before the mayor held it down, allowing Rad to get on. The mayor also helped Lucia the same way, since she was positively terrified. Vyle had no trouble at all climbing onto his Bogcrow, which also had a red scar across the right side of its face across its eye. The bird seemed to derive a sense of pure ecstasy from being in Vyle’s company, as though it were enjoying the darkness within him.


“They sense fear, so as long as you’re not afraid they won’t hurt you,” the mayor advised.

The crows were about to take off, with everyone secured on their backs, when they were interrupted by an elderly voice. “Halt!”

In front of them stood Tabitha, beside her own Bogcrow. “I would like to go too…” she spoke. Everyone looked at her as though she had gone mad.

“Are… you sure?” the mayor asked, dumbfounded.

“Of course… but only if it’s okay with you, Shade.”

Shade gave the ‘why me?’ look as she responded. “Sure… I guess. Could use the help.”

“I’d like to go too!” came the voice of a young boy.

“No, Talon, it’s too dangerous!” came the reply from his mom.

“But…”

“No. Now stay here or I’ll take your Pokémon away for a week!”

The group looked behind them for a second to see Talon being restrained by his mother, then without warning, they took off. Seven streaks of black pierced through the dome of fog over Ter’ast, illuminated by the moonlight. The Bogcrow increased altitude at a 45 degree angle, targeting some higher black clouds which surrounded the fortress of Spiropolis. The view from atop their avian mounts was incredible; valleys and plains and mountains were bathed in silver moonlight which shone through a gap in the clouds. The sinister looking Techno City stood out in the background.

Soon, they pierced the high clouds overhead. It was as though they were gliding across a black, swirling ocean of clouds. The very tip of Spiropolis became visible though the canopy of clouds as the Bogcrow drew closer. The birds began to descend as they drew near their destination.

Trailing those seven streaks of black was another streak, another Bogcrow, narrowing the gap between itself and its human rider and the others with avid determination.

[Sike Saner]

More Shade and Vyle goodness in that chapter, which I liked. ^^ Their scene together was really nice, I thought. For that matter, I also really liked the conversation between Shade and Mirlite that preceded the scene with Shade and Vyle. ^^

Another favorite part: the scene with the dragons. That was great. XD Loved the humor there. ^^

And Bogcrow are effing cool. I especially like their glowing red eyes.

Other highlights:

“What the hell happened?” Shade asked Mirlite.

“They said they would only obey one who has won their respect, and that they are no beasts of burden.”

“Great. I must have pissed them off,” Shade responded.

“Oh, and they also said to screw off… only in a less… nice way.” Mirlite added.

XD

“Ah, hell no!” Rad protested.

“C’mon, you coward. You’re not… scared are you?” Blaze replied.

“…Nu-uh!” Rad replied defensively. “The great Rad has no fears!”

“Uh-huh,” Shade replied, catching on to what Blaze was doing. “C’mon, now, none of us ladies are scared of going.”

“Fiiiine. I’m comin’! I ain’t afraid of no geeks in white!” Rad replied.”

XD Rad cracks me up.

There was a long pause, during which the only noise was Squeak chewing on the roof tiles.

Cute! ^^

The group looked behind them for a second to see Talon being restrained by his mother, then without warning, they took off. Seven streaks of black pierced through the dome of fog over Ter’ast, illuminated by the moonlight. The Bogcrow increased altitude at a 45 degree angle, targeting some higher black clouds which surrounded the fortress of Spiropolis. The view from atop their avian mounts was incredible; valleys and plains and mountains were bathed in silver moonlight which shone through a gap in the clouds. The sinister looking Techno City stood out in the background.

Soon, they pierced the high clouds overhead. It was as though they were gliding across a black, swirling ocean of clouds. The very tip of Spiropolis became visible though the canopy of clouds as the Bogcrow drew closer. The birds began to descend as they drew near their destination.

Cool visuals there. ^^

[PsiUmbreon]

A ray of light pierces through the clouds from the heavens, shining upon the grave of this particular instance of this fanfiction. There is a rumbling noise, and cracks begin to appear in the earth. A half naked angel descends from the heavens, pointing a beam of iridescent energy at the cracks in the earth. Chunks of soil and fanfics begin to float upwards, revealing the ornate black wooden coffin containing approximately half of this fanfiction. The coffin slowly opens revealing a forum topic in bold letters, letting potential readers know that this thread contains a new post.

If you actually somehow remember me or for some reason wonder where I've been... uh. I have issues. And I also have World of Warcraft. No further explanation is needed.

So um. Exciting plot twist. I took a while making this chapter too but if I did my job as a writer, it's a stunner.

And for the other thread I made here, http://www.pokemasters.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=16816, I don't really have anything new to add as of now. Apologies to all my fans/former fans that require therapy because they've missed my work for so long that it has traumatized them.

Chapter 14
A Deadly Shade

The sinister Bogcrows descended upon the tower like comets. Streaks of dark vapor trailed them, leaving behind a trail of dark clouds illuminated by the silvery moonlight. Upon landing at a point near the top of Spiropolis, the group hopped off the Bogcrow and landed on a slightly sloped roof. A large window was about three or four feet up a wall that extended upward from where they were. As soon as they disembarked, the Bogcrow ascended back into the dark clouds to await them, all with the exception of Vyle’s. It stubbornly decided to stay with him, its eyes glowing a dangerous red.

“Quick, before the Litaria spot us!” Blaze whispered as they all climbed into the window with Spike helping Lucia and Tabitha up just before a Litaria came into view. The Litaria stopped to investigate the trail of dark clouds left by the Bogcrow.

The group had made it into a curved hallway, dimly lit by the white torches. They were inside a spire that was near the top. The seven of them began to sneak around, huddled close together.

“Shade, can’t ya use that invisibility thing?” Spike whispered.

Shade sighed. “Can’t. No spirits to channel here.”

“Damn. This is gonna be tough. They’re probably ready for us this time around,” Spike replied.

The group advanced forward slowly, with their hands on their Poké Balls, ready to use. Vyle’s Bogcrow remained perched on his shoulder as they walked, giving a cold stare to Lucia.

“Where do ya think they’re keepin’ Kyra?” Spike whispered to Lucia.

“Umm… probably in their s-school…” Lucia trembled as she responded. Vyle’s Bogcrow was still giving a cold stare to her.

“School?” Spike gave a weirded out look. “So where is this place?”

“Oh… umm… from here… I’m… n-not sure,” Lucia nervously responded.

“This way!” Shade confidently pointed down a hallway.

“Uh… you sure?” Blaze seemed to speak for everyone as she replied, dumbfounded.

“Just… trust me, okay? We don’t have much time.”
“What’ve we got to lose?” Blaze pointed out. Shade then grabbed Vyle’s hand and began to sprint down the hallway. Vyle was at first bewildered, then caught on and they both began to run at the same pace. The Bogcrow slipped off Vyle’s shoulder and began to fly after them. The color in its eyes began to revert to normal. Behind the Bogcrow, the rest of the group jogged along, confused, with Tabitha lagging behind.

“You would think the guards would be more present,” Lucia pointed out.

“Yeah. This seems odd…” Blaze added as they struggled to keep up with Shade and Vyle.

“Hey… wait for me…” Tabitha panted. Everyone else slowed down, but she was still lagging.

“You know what’s odd?” Spike asked Blaze.

“Shade, huh?” Blaze answered.

“Seems like she’s been keepin’ somethin’ from us still,” Spike nodded. “I mean, how the fuck does she know where to go?”

“Maybe she has more power than we know…” Blaze answered.

“Maybe she’s been here before?” Lucia inquired.

“Can’t be… well… can it?” Blaze asked.

Ahead of them, Shade and Vyle looked at each other as they ran. The fiendish look in Vyle’s eyes seemed to disappear as he ran next to Shade. For a moment, they had forgotten why they were running, until they reached a teleport chamber at the bottom of some stares, guarded by two Litaria.

The Litaria drew their staves and pointed them at Vyle and Shade. But Vyle’s Bogcrow responded quickly with an Icy Wind attack, blowing the Litarias back. Shade brought her Sableye out, and a double battle began.

“Give ‘em Shadow Ball!” Shade commanded. Spook’s face lit up in a mischievous grin as it hurled a dark ball crackling with energy at one of the Litaria.

Vyle didn’t know any of Bogcrow’s attacks; however, it seemed like Bogcrow knew what to do on its own. It enveloped itself in a shadowy aura.

“Dark… Streak…” Vyle uttered. It was as though Bogcrow had somehow communicated its abilities to Vyle. That, or Vyle seemed to know them naturally. The raven-like Pokémon rushed at the second Litaria.

But the Litaria knew what they were doing as well. One of them countered with Light Spear, canceling out the Shadow Ball completely and creating a small explosion that sent Spook backward. The second one’s wings lit up and it flapped its wings, releasing glowing feathers which seemed to almost stop Bogcrow in its tracks completely.

Vyle’s eyes began to glow. As did Bogcrow’s. A voice deep within him uttered, “Chaos… Shot…”

“Chaos Shot!” Vyle responded to the voice. Bogcrow stretched its wings back, and immediately, a blast of dark energy was released. The shot knocked Litaria into the wall. It was out cold.

Meanwhile, Shade was having trouble against the other Litaria. IT had used Reflect, which hampered Spook’s Shadow ball attack. Vyle looked over at Shade, and something else inside him stirred. “Chaos Shot!” he yelled again, determined. Bogcrow then unleashed a second blast of dark energy at the other Litaria, knocking it out as well. Vyle was proud and happy after helping Shade, making the glowing red in his eyes disappear completely.

The rest of them had just gotten down the stairs. “Whoa, what just happened?!” Spike exclaimed. “You guys fought them off without us?”

“It was that Bogcrow. Really strong,” Shade spoke. Vyle gave a look as though to say, “It was nothing.” Bogcrow’s expression matched Vyle’s.

“What are we waitin’ for?” Rad exclaimed. “Let’s get the hell outta here.”

They all stepped into the teleport chamber, stepping over the fainted Litaria. They knew that the Litaria wouldn’t be fainted for long. Lucia uttered the incantation, “Et galash artum Emmanuel!” and they immediately vanished in a field of white.

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Another black streak descended upon the white fortress. A small boy, probably not much older than Kyra, hopped off his own Bogcrow mount. He had wildly spiked brown hair, and eyes that matched his hair. He had a tattoo on his face surrounding his right eye. His clothes gave him the unmistakable appearance of a Pokémon trainer, with a maroon colored T-shirt and some baggy, dark pants, and a Pokénav strapped to his belt next to the Poké Balls. Around his neck was a necklace with two bird talons suspended from it.

The young boy recalled his Bogcrow back into its ball, then crept along the sloped roof, trying to balance. “They went in here, I’m sure of it,” he muttered to himself.

He began to creep along the sloped roof, heading towards the window. However, something stopped him dead in his tracks. A Litaria had spotted him. It was drawing closer quickly. The boy tried to climb the window but he couldn’t in time. He braced himself for what was to come.

“Good job, Talon, you just had to follow them,” he spoke to himself. Luckily for him, however, he spotted a ventilation duct not too far from where he was. He immediately leapt toward it, dodging a Light Spear, which shattered a few of the roof tiles with its force.

“Bogcrow, blast this thing open!” Talon cried out in desperation. The dark bird released a Chaos Shot at the cover of the ventilation shaft, blowing it apart completely. Talon immediately leapt inside, recalling the Bogcrow and hitting his head on the top of the shaft. Another Light spear was launched at Talon, but it missed, blowing apart more roof tiles near the entry. Talon had no time to feel the pain of hitting his head at the top of the slick, white marble ventilation shaft of the ancient, but modernly renovated tower as he slid downward rapidly with complete darkness in front of him. He let out a scream.

The shaft flattened out and Talon decelerated. He caught quick glimpses of the hallways through the vents as he skidded to a halt. “Ow,” he muttered to himself, feeling the knock on his head as well as some of the friction from sliding down the shaft.

“Wonder if I can catch up to everyone else?” he thought to himself as he began crawling through the shaft. Light pouring in from the vents at the side of it illuminated his path.

Outside, about three Litaria were investigating the shaft where Talon had made his escape. They seemed to be talking amongst themselves. One of them shrieked as it flew off to alert the humans of what had just occurred.

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The group was now in a much brighter hallway. They proceeded with caution, with Shade and Vyle leading the way, and Tabitha panting behind everyone else. “Why did I come?” She muttered.

After a few minutes of walking, Lucia recognized where they were. “This place should be crawling with them…” she uttered. But the hallways were ominously empty.

“Ya don’t think they already know we’re here?” Spike whispered.

“Well… it is night time… maybe they’re all asleep or something,” Shade responded in a whisper.

A few footsteps could be heard echoing from an adjoining hallway. Everyone looked at each other with slight fear. “I’ll distract them,” Shade uttered.

“What? You’re mad!” Spike replied harshly.

“There’s no time to argue. You guys go ahead,” Shade retorted.

“But you’ll get captured! Stay together!”

Shade ignored Spike’s order. She went over to Vyle. “Please… hang in there,” She whispered. She then quickly kissed him on the lips and ran off down another corridor. Spike tried to reach for her but she was too fast.

“Well… we’d better not stick around,” Rad spoke and began to continue down the hallway.

“For once, he’s right,” said Blaze, and they all ran off. Spike was still bewildered, but nowhere near as much as Vyle. Her comment was totally confusing; her sudden kiss even more so.

This time, Lucia led the way. They went through another teleportation chamber, one of several lined up next to each other. They materialized on the floor with the student’s dormitories. Vyle’s Bogcrow quickly dispatched the Litaria guarding the teleportation chamber.

They were in a large circular entryway with several hallways leading out from it in various directions. Doors lined each of them. Some hallways had classrooms by them; some had dormitories where the students were virtually confined to from sunset to sunrise.

“Which one’s Kyra in?” Spike asked.

“Looks like we can’t worry about that yet. We got company,” Blaze pointed out. Team Judgment members and Litaria poured out from the opposite ends of the hallways as though they had been waiting in ambush.

“Holy crap! Ambush!” Rad yelled out.

“Each person take a hallway!” Spike shouted. There was one hallway for each member of the group that remained, for a total of six. Vyle’s eyes began to glow fiendishly red, matching the Bogcrow’s as they both got ready to fight. He also called Squeak out, who also had a matching glow in its eyes. Rad called out Volt and stood in front of one of the corridors with a confident pose, ordering the Magnemite to use Zap Cannon, its strongest, yet most inaccurate move. Blaze took another corridor, sending out her two dual Fire types and scorching the hallway with Flamethrower attacks. To the left of Vyle, Spike was ready for battle with his two Pokémon, Punk and Nightclaw. Next to Spike was Tabitha, followed by Lucia at the far left, guarding the hallway with her only Pokémon, Grace.

“Can you fight?” Spike yelled over to Tabitha.

“Rest assured, I can take care of myself,” She responded confidently, sending out a Banette. “Envy, use Shadow Ball!” She called out, and the Banette hurled a large ball of crackling dark energy down the hallway. Several Pokémon were instantly hit and fell unconscious as the sphere hit them and exploded.

However, it wouldn’t be that easy to get rid of them. A Sparquartz used Protect to block the Zap Cannon; however, it still managed to hit a few people as the Zap Cannon blast exploded upon hitting the greenish Protect barrier. The people and Pokémon who were hit stumbled and fell over, paralyzed. On Blaze’s end several Light Screens were put up by various Pokémon, minimizing the impact of the streams of fire. Spike’s Pokémon were dodging Light Arrow and Light Spear attacks with amazing agility as Spike himself began to charge in there. However, a Sparquartz in front unleashed a bright light, a Sacred Power attack, as ordered by the Team Judgment member commanding it. Spike was knocked back, while Punk and Nightclaw managed to hold their ground. Lucia was having trouble, as Grace did not know too many offensive techniques, but Grace’s Miracle type kept her from taking damage from most of Team Judgment’s offensive assaults.

But Vyle had no trouble at all. Seemingly possessed by a dark power, he rushed in there, drawing his knife. Squeak and Bogcrow rushed in there as well. Bogcrow flew past them at blinding speeds, striking everything it passed with a Dark Streak, and Squeak used Quick Attack and caught the Pokémon off guard. Vyle then sliced through the Judgment members and Pokémon with his knife. The Judgment members could do nothing as Vyle cut them down, one by one, with his eyes now glowing fiercely red. Blood spattered on the walls of that hallway. Vyle’s two Pokémon stood beside him at the end of the hallway with all the fallen Judgment members and Pokémon, all three pairs of eyes aglow in crimson fury.

“I don’t… want to do this…” Lucia struggled to say as she was hit by a Light Arrow attack square in the chest. Grace blocked an even stronger Light Spear attack from a Litaria.

“Give up, now!” One of the Judgment members yelled out.

“…no… must… fight… them off…” Lucia managed to grunt. “Grace… use Metronome!”

The Togetic’s small arms lit up as it began to use the rhythm-inducing Metronome skill-one which could unleash any Pokémon skill at random. What Lucia needed was for it to unleash a real miracle.

“She’s open! Now’s our chance!” The Team Judgment members yelled. Several attacks were headed in her direction that Grace was unable to block due to using Metronome.

Suddenly, a glowing, white barrier appeared in front of Lucia. Grace was still using Metronome. “But… how?” Lucia wondered. Right beside her shone a familiar, iridescent figure-that of Mirlite.

Before anyone could do anything else, the Togetic unleashed that real miracle-in the form of a concentrated blast of wind-none other than an Aeroblast. This legendary, almost unheard of attack struck out every Pokémon and almost every Judgment member. About three of them stood up, not giving up.

Mirlite stood in front of Lucia. She closed her eyes, and uttered a few words to the Judgment members telepathically. “Your hearts are not pure. I can sense it. Now cease.” She held out one hand, and a Light Spear attack of her very own issued forth, piercing all three Judgment members, who instantly fell over, groaning.

“I’m sorry, guys…” Lucia mournfully uttered.

“Do not fear. You did what needed to be done. They are not dead,” Mirlite reassured.

“But…”

“I do not like fighting either. However, there are some times when, sadly to say, it is necessary for the greater good.”

Reinforcements appeared through the teleportation chamber. However, they were dealt with by a quick Chaos Shot from Vyle’s unoccupied Bogcrow. Spike, Blaze, Rad, and Tabitha were still in trouble, however. They backed up into the center room as Judgment members all rushed in, protected by Light Screens, Reflects, and Safeguards.

“Dammit, where’s Shade when you need her?!” Spike complained.

Grace had used Wish in the hopes that it would heal everyone in her party quick enough, and Mirlite cast a Light Screen of her own around the party.

“Nothin’ we can do but stall them out!” Spike yelled as the group huddled together under Mirlite’s Light Screen. But Vyle had other plans. As did Squeak and the Bogcrow. They launched themselves at the enemy’s barriers. Vyle pierced the barriers with his knife, while Bogcrow used Dark Streak right through them. The damaged to Team Judgment from those attacks may have been halved, but they still did considerable damage.

“Freeze!” The Team Judgment executive at the back of the crowd shouted.

“No, you freeze!” Vyle spoke, his voice sounding deeper than normal. Bogcrow unleashed Icy Wind upon all of the Team Judgment members, dealing slight damage, but more importantly, slowing them down as they struggled against the icy chill. Squeak managed a Feint Attack from behind all of them, actually knocking the executive in the back over.

The group took this time to launch surprise attacks- Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, Ice Beam, and Shadow Ball, all at once against Team Judgment. This caused quite a bit more damage, and would have caused more if it weren’t for the tapering effects of the Light Screen and Reflect barriers protecting them.

Then, extremely quickly, Vyle finished them all off, going down each hallway and cutting down entire lines of Team Judgment members with a flurry of slashes from his knife, which was now covered in blood. Mirlite shook her head, and Lucia cringed with disgust at the sight of blood. The Pokémon were finished off too by a couple of Chaos Shots from Bogcrow. Squeak tore into some of the Miracle types as well, breaking a Fairon’s wing and infecting a couple of Litaria with its deadly venom thanks to its dual poison type. Vyle, Squeak, and the Bogcrow seemed to be affected by the same condition… their eyes were glowing and filled with a desire for carnage… revenge… payback… death.

“I’m not liking this one bit,” Lucia uttered. “Vyle, do you have to… look like that?” Vyle simply nodded, remorseless. The entire group was stunned at what seemed to be happening to Vyle.

“We have to keep movin’! C’mon!” The Wish finally came into effect, healing the party a little. They ran down one of the hallways in the center with a renewed resolve. Lucia did not like this carnage one bit; however, she still led the way, stepping over white-robed bodies stained red with blood.

“I know where we can find out which cell Kyra is in…” Lucia spoke, leading them straight ahead.

Inside the dorms, most of the children had awakened in response to the violent struggle outside. Some were trying to view the battle through the doors or underneath the cracks at the bottom of those doors. All of them were very much afraid to open their doors. Inside one of the dorms, a frightened Kyra thought, “Is that them? Here to rescue me?”

“Can’t we just rescue all of them?” Lucia asked, at this point feeling all the remorse that Vyle did not feel.

“How? We barely have time to rescue Kyra, much less get the hell outta here. Still, I want to save them all too…” Blaze spoke as they reached the end of that hallway, where a door greeted them.

“In here,” Lucia suggested as she listened to the door for signs of activity.

“No one in there,” Mirlite reassured them all telepathically. They opened the unlocked door…

…Darkness. The room was completely dark. However, white torches automatically lit, giving the room a strange lighting. Inside this room were various file cabinets, labeled with different titles such as, “classwork-year 1”, “sacred text study guides”, “and the more ominous, “purification reports” file cabinet. There was also a computer in there, built into the wall. However, what they were looking for was posted on the wall- “dormitory assignments”.

“Lessee… Kyra… Kyra… aah, here we go…hall F, room 7. Aah, great, which one’s F?” Blaze muttered.

“Here, let’s just take this along,” Spike tore off a map of the dormitories from the wall.

Quickly, the group fled back along the corridor strewn with corpses and into the circular entry room.

“Going somewhere?” came an ominous, yet vaguely familiar voice as several Team Judgment members warped into the room from the teleporter in front of them. Behind them several more came from the hallways to encircle the six remaining party members. Litaria pointed their staves at them. Everyone in the group was once again ready to fight.

“Immobilizer Seal!” came that same voice. A blue flash followed, and suddenly the group was completely unable to move, their bodies surrounded by blue auras. The Pokémon were also affected. Mirlite changed form into the purple crystal at the last moment.

“Do not resist, and you will feel less… pain,” the voice issued again, a downright eerie voice that was yet vaguely familiar to the group. At that point the Team Judgment members moved to the side to clear out a pathway, leaving the group to see the source of that voice at the end of the aisle they made. Directly in front of them stood Shade, dressed in a white Team Judgment uniform. Her Gravecall, now with only four flames orbiting it, hovered over her right shoulder loyally. Once former companions, the dark haired female trainer and her Pokémon stood there as traitors.

“What… the…” Spike grunted through clenched teeth, struggling against the paralyzing aura. He was unable to finish, for it took too much strength to even speak.

“Lord Emmanuel will be pleased,” Shade spoke in that eerie tone that the group had never heard before. “Now, take them,” she commanded the Team Judgment members with a motion of her hand. They began to move towards the victims of Gravecall’s curse.

But before the Team Judgment agents could grab them, Tabitha burst free of the immobilizing curse. “What is the meaning of this? Shade!” She exclaimed.
“Halt. I will take care of this personally,” Shade ordered the white-robed minions of Team Judgment that were strangely enough, hers to command. It seemed like everyone in the room except Shade was surprised to see Tabitha break free of the curse.

“I don’t know… what you’re planning… but you won’t… get away with this!” Tabitha hobbled over closer to Shade, panting. Her energy had clearly been exhausted.

“I must do this. You don’t understand,” Shade replied. “Gravecall, Hypnosis!”

At that moment her Pokémon had also broken free of the curse. The Banette drifted in front of Tabitha and blocked the hypnotic waves issuing from Gravecall. Its natural born ability prevented it from succumbing to the effects of the Hypnosis.

“Please do not resist… I do not want to fight you,” Shade spoke in that same cold, creepy voice.

“You’re going to get it now!” Tabitha looked around and saw all the immobilized people and Pokémon, and denied Shade her request. “Envy, use Shadow Ball!”

“You misunderstand…” Shade replied. “Gravecall, Shadow Ball right back!” The two dark spheres of ghostly energy collided in midair, canceling each other out with a shadowy explosion that knocked everyone back except for the immobilized group. When the smoke cleared, Shade and her Pokémon were staring down Tabitha and her Pokémon.

“Please… stop this nonsense. I taught you from when you were very young… and I would sooner die than see you betray me…” Tabitha sounded extremely winded.

“I will do what I must…” Shade replied coldly. “Gravecall, use Dementia!” Waves of darkness emanated forward from Gravecall’s eyes, and small, burning spheres of dark and red energy shot forward towards Envy. As the horrifying ghostly attack made contact with the Banette, its grinning expression changed from a grinning one to that of horror. It began to flail in midair wildly, feeling as though it had been hit with several status conditions at once. Its vision became blurred and all the figures in the room were replaced by horrifying hallucinations. But a natural instinct kicked in and it instantly grabbed an item that its trainer had equipped it with and popped it into its now unzipped mouth. All the effects of Dementia were instantly cured. The puppet-like Ghost Pokémon stared down its opponent intently.

“Hmph. Agast Berry…” Shade muttered. “Very well, use Dementia again.”

“I don’t think so. Use Spite, Envy!” The ghostly puppet’s eyes glowed blue and it pointed its hand forward at Gravecall. It seemed like nothing had happened, but when Gravecall tried Dementia again, the attack simply fizzled in midair. The Spite attack had targeted the opponent’s energy, tiring it in such a way that it was unable to use Dementia anymore.

“Use Feint Attack!” Tabitha called out. The Banette vanished and then reappeared in front of Gravecall.

“Destiny Bond,” Shade replied calmly. Gravecall began to glow a purple color just before the Banette struck it. The Dark-type attack from Banette was powerful enough to knock out Gravecall in one hit. Unfortunately, however, the Destiny Bond skill caused Envy to faint as well. Both Pokémon collapsed onto the floor silently and in unison, and their trainers called them back to their balls.

“Take them,” Shade then commanded. The Team Judgment members advanced on the immobilized party in the center and Tabitha, who was on her knees.

“Tabitha… please don’t resist…” Shade pleaded in that eerie tone. But as the Team Judgment members grabbed her, she was able to summon enough strength to get on her feet and kick one of them in the crotch. As soon as the member went down, a Litaria blasted Tabitha with a Light Spear attack. The attack hit Tabitha directly in the chest. She collapsed, clutching her chest, uttering her final words, “Goodbye… Shade… my time has come…” She landed on the cold floor; her age-worn body sprawled out motionlessly.

“You weren’t supposed to harm her!” Shade hissed. She led the Team Judgment battalion down the hall and through the teleporter. The members were able to grab the immobilized party members and carry them like statues. All the while, the group was fully conscious and knew exactly what was going on, yet unable to act.

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From the ducts overhead, a frightened, bewildered Talon had watched the events unfold before his eyes. He was too afraid to move out of fear of being spotted or heard. He stayed in that same spot several minutes after the last Judgment member had existed the room carrying an immobilized Sandslash-Spike’s.

At that moment Talon heard a door open. One of the doors leading to a dormitory had been cracked open, and a curious Kyra took a peek outside the door. She saw bodies of unconscious and possibly dead Team Judgment members lying in the hallway. She then let out a horrified scream which rang unpleasantly in Talon’s ears.

“Kyra, get back inside NOW!” bellowed another voice. A Team Judgment member had arrived to keep the kids inside after the battle that had raged on.

“Kyra… that’s the name of the person they were trying to rescue…” Talon thought to himself. Images of him returning to Ter’ast, being glorified as a hero played through his mind. “If I rescue her, I’ll be a real hero, just like my father,” Talon thought.

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“Hey, lookit this!” A Team Judgment member was holding up a string necklace with a purple crystal around it. Around that necklace, a blue, immobilizing aura shone. “Those thugs were carrying this… looks valuable.”

His commanding officer scoffed. “Hmph. We have no use for jewelry. The end times are at hand. Throw it away.”

The member of Team Judgment instead slipped the necklace into his pocket. “You kidding? A valuable piece like that?” He thought to himself, not noticing the contradiction with his ideology.

The entire battalion of Team Judgment soldiers walked down the hallway of prison cells, passing by the ones that contained the immobilized bodies of the group. Their Pokémon had been separated from them already. The man who had pocketed the jewel felt around in his pocket, but could not find it. He turned around and looked, halting the disciplined, uniformed march of the soldiers.

“What is it?” his commanding officer scowled.

The man felt around in his pocket, looking like he had lost something. But he could not reply honestly. “N… nothing,” he lied.

“It’s that jewel, isn’t it?”

“N…no, I threw it to the side…”

“Tempted by worldly pleasures, hm? Well, a bit of time in the purification room will do you some good.”

The man knew it was coming, but nothing could brace him for the reality of it all. He simply swallowed air and moved on, not sure whether to be mad at himself for losing the jewel or for stopping.

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About two hours had passed, and the immobilization curse had begun to wear off. As a result, the four imprisoned group members all shattered their binding auras one by one. Each of them was isolated in adjoining cells that were barely large enough to fit a bed. Beams of light energy served as the bars of the jail cells.

“Would someone like to tell me what the hell just happened?” Rad was the first one to speak.

“Augh… everyone else all right?” Spike asked.

“I’m okay… there’s Lucia… and Rad… what happened to Vyle? And Tabitha?” Blaze answered.

“Tabitha… she must be… oh no!” Lucia started before being cut off by a frightening realization.

“And Vyle… guess they took him again,” Spike added.

“I knew something was fishy about Shade… but I never would’ve thought,” Blaze thought aloud. “…of course… she must have really been with... no it can’t be!”

“So you’re sayin’ she was with them all along? But that don’t make sense!” Spike replied. “Wouldn’t they have recognized her as one of their own?”

“Hmm… okay I don’t know… unless it was some sort of secret kept from the rest of them… like maybe a secret agent of some sort… Lucia, you know of any positions like that?”

“Huh? Err… no I don’t.”

“Okay… man I’m stumped.”

“She still had some good in her…” came a telepathic voice-that of Mirlite. “I sensed… conflict. It seemed like her intentions might have been… good.”

“Huh?” Lucia realized that there was something around her neck that wasn’t there before. She grabbed the purple crystal that now hung around a string from under her robe. It suddenly changed into the human form of Mirlite.

“Well thank Emmanuel we have at least one Pokémon still with us now…” Lucia commented.

“Shhh!” Spike whispered to her.

“Oh...right… umm… I mean, oh shoot, we don’t have any Pokémon with us!”

Spike, Blaze, and Rad gave her resigned looks.

“I should warn you… there isn’t much time left for Vyle. And I’m afraid these recent events have accelerated his soul’s degeneration,” Mirlite spoke in a grave tone.

“That creepy red glare he had… was that part of… his condition?” Blaze asked the Mirlite.

“I… I fear so. Dark types must be drawn to… no, strengthened even, by the emptiness and darkness within him, ever growing stronger. I can sense a dark power growing inside him, growing stronger with each passing moment.”

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“Now, how do I get out of here?” Talon thought to himself. “If I could only find a way to rescue Kyra… then I’ve got to get out of here too, don’t I? Hmm…” Talon then resumed crawling through the ducts, taking a peek at where he was each time he passed a vent. He took a peek in Kyra’s dorm and happened to see her shivering in fear in the corner, clutching her Eevee.

“Hey… psst…” Talon whispered to Kyra. She at first didn’t hear.

“Psst…” he repeated, louder. Kyra looked around but could not find the source of the voice.

“Up here…” Talon replied. “Everything’s gonna be fine. I’ll save you… umm… somehow.”

“Who are you?” Kyra asked, still not very sure where the voice was coming from.

“Name’s Talon,” he replied. At that moment, he began to hear footsteps coming down the hall. “Talk later.”

“Okay,” Kyra nodded.

“All right, let’s get these bodies outta here,” one Judgment member announced out loudly.

“They’re more than just bodies… they gave their lives for Lord Emmanuel. Show some respect, man,” another one replied. Kyra and Talon both shuddered. At that moment several Litaria swooped in to collect the bodies. They emotionlessly scooped them up in their talons and levitated away into the teleporter.

“Lord Emmanuel, please save their souls from eternal darkness, and grant them the paradise promised to the faithful…” The second Judgment member began to pray, and the first one followed along. Talon wondered who this Emmanuel person was. “Is he really all bad, promising them paradise or something?” he thought.

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On a higher floor of the Team Judgment base hovered Vyle, contained in a cylindrical chamber, bounded by light energy. His eyes were closed, and his clothes levitated with him as he floated in that chamber, as though they were flapping in a slight upward breeze. His body showed no signs of consciousness.

“I brought you Vyle. Now where’s my end of the deal?” Shade spoke coldly.

“Oh no, I’m afraid you don’t get your end of the deal until Vyle is purified,” replied Grand Cardinal Michael.

“But…”

“See, you have some extra debt to work off. That curse of yours was just uncalled for.”

“And that Thunder Wave…” Grand Cardinal Maria added.

“But how else was I supposed to stay undercover?” Shade protested. “And your goons struck down… my…” Shade protested, changing from creepy to upset, but was interrupted by Maria.

“I’m sorry, you don’t get to call the shots here, I do.”

“But that should make us MORE than even.” Shade was noticeably upset. “I should warn you, I’m pissed, and I have Ghost types with me.”

“We’re not afraid of you. Hmph.” Michael pointed to the flock of Litaria at the side of the room.

“Fine,” Shade resigned. “But if you don’t give me what I want soon…”

“Don’t worry. I know how to purify Vyle now. It shouldn’t take long. Soon enough…” Maria looked at Michael.

“Yes, soon enough… we shall have… our son back,” Michael finished.

[Gavin Luper]

I feel bad not being a proper reader, but I just wanted to post to say welcome back to the forums and stuff! Hope you're back for good?

I've looked over the latest chapter and it looks like your plot is very intricate and your characters are rather well fleshed-out. There's something quite fluid about your writing style which makes it a pleasure to read, so, well done in that regard.

Cheers and see you around the place!

[PsiUmbreon]

Thanks for the post Gavin, I certainly appreciate posts from someone who appears to be reputable here. Hopefully I can actually post the rest on somewhat of a schedule.

Chapter 15
Unlikely Allies

“Let go of me!” A deep voice echoed throughout the cell block.

“Hey, what’s the deal?” Another male voice, but not as deep, resounded down the hallway.

“You’re pinching me!” A female voice sounded, followed by some struggling.

“We had a deal! Lying scum!” Another captive shouted out.

“Hmph. You are of no more use to Team Judgment, criminal scum,” came the response to the prisoners. “Well… you may be of use to us again once you’re purified,” the Team Judgment executive continued.

The four imprisoned members of the Underground had been waiting quietly this whole time for their purification, which they knew was inevitable. The sound of the new prisoners being hauled in made them look up out of curiosity. Several people in strange yellow and black uniforms were led past them, escorted by a battalion of Team Judgment members and Litaria. As they were herded past, a couple of them shot strange looks at Rad. They were placed in adjoining empty cells next to where the group was.

“What the hell?” “Let me outta this cell, I’ll kick your ass!” “You scumbags so ain’t gettin’ away with this!” Several complaints and threats were issued by the Team Magnet members. But they were largely unheeded.

The Team Judgment members and Litarias all left. After a couple of awkward minutes, one of the Team Magnet members began to talk. He whistled to Spike’s cell, “Hey, what’cha in for?”

“For beatin’ them freaks up,” Spike responded, trying to sound tough.

Elektra, who was next to that Team Magnet member’s cell, was next to speak. “Yeah, us too… sorta. They hired us to do a job, we did it, now they wanna throw us in here.”

“We were so gonna backstab them first!” the other Team Magnet member added, after which several others made “shhh…” gestures.

“Yeah, so we in jail while them righteous freaks-“ Elektra began, before she suddenly paused. “-Hey, is that Rad over there?”

“What the fuck? Rad? Don’t tell me that bitch is here too!” Team Magnet boss Murphy chimed in.
Rad gazed at Spike and Blaze, who were across from him, with an expression that silently pleaded for them to lie.

“Yeah, his name’s Rad. You know him or somethin’? Spike ignored his unspoken plead.

“Know him? Oh yeah, ‘course. That bastard ditched us and took off with our money!” came the response from Elektra.

“No wonder he looked familiar when we passed by. That lyin’ sack of crap!”

“If they let us out, I say we jump him!”

“Yeah!” came the collective response from all the Team Magnet members in there.

“Umm… what did Rad do?” Lucia asked, frowning on Team Magnet’s resolution.

“You heard us!” That fool ditched us and took all our loot!” one of the Magnet members responded.

“Now, now… I'm sure Rad could just apologize?” Lucia responded.

“The hell? You with them freaks or somethin’?” Another one asked. Lucia froze up, unsure how to answer that.

“She was. She’s in here now for goin’ traitor on them,” Spike answered for her.

“That so? What’s a cute little lady like you doin’ with the likes of them?”

Lucia could only blush. “Err… well… it’s a long story.” She responded timidly.

“Well, we got a long time, so why not tell?”

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Determined to find a way out of the system of ducts he had gotten himself stuck into, Talon continued to crawl through the ducts. He had found a vertical duct, and after the difficult climb, managed to get himself to the top of that duct, where everything became horizontal again. After continuing his journey horizontally for a bit, he was overlooking the Ex-pur lab, where Vyle was being kept in stasis, and Grand Cardinal Maria was adjusting some switches. Grand Cardinal Michael was there too, talking with Shade. Talon could overhear the snatches of conversation from the duct up above.

“…You gonna give me what I want yet?” demanded Shade.

“Not yet,” Grand Cardinal Michael replied with a sneer. I have one more job for you… oh yes, and you will love it.”

“You won’t be able to keep this up forever. Keep pushin’, and you’ll be sorry!” Shade snapped.

“Ooh, I’m so scared,” Michael pointed to about seven Litaria who were stationed in the room.

“Whatever. What do you want me to do?”

“See this?” Michael pointed to a computer monitor with lots of information on it. Talon could not make out what was on it from that height and angle.

“This is… what?”

“A timetable for who is scheduled for purification room appointments.”

“I see… so you want me to purify them or something?”

“Well, not just anyone. I had a certain few people in mind…” the somewhat aged Grand Cardinal spoke with a sneer as he pointed to the names of Shade’s long time companions, Spike and Blaze. Below them were Lucia and Rad. All of them were set for the purification room in a matter of hours.

“N… no. I won’t. You can’t make me,” Shade responded emotionally.

“Yes you will. Or your friend over here gets it.” Michael pointed to the cylindrical chamber containing Vyle.

“You wouldn’t DARE!” Shade responded.

“We can make him suffer a lot more, though. Maybe another test of the purification ray we just fixed?” Michael sneered, and winked at Maria. She was worried, but went along with it.

“N… no… he can’t suffer any more… I’ll… do it…” Shade resigned.

“Excellent choice. I know you would,” Michael responded enthusiastically as he walked over to Maria. Talon crawled a couple feet over to watch the Grand Cardinals and possibly overhear them.

“How’s the program coming, my love?” Michael asked.

“Ohh, I’m almost done creating the program that will extricate our son from the darkness. What will remain is a being of pure light, a perfect son, one we can love…”

“How long must we hide our love? I grow tired of the lies.” Michael complained.

“You know that we are not allowed our love, for we have given it all up to serve Lord Emmanuel. It is simply unthinkable for any executive, much less Grand Cardinal, to…” Maria was cut off.

“I know, but… I am tired of the lies. Our love is a sin against Lord Emmanuel… I fear we must confess, or spend eternity in darkness.”

“You are right, my dear… I am just so… ashamed. Lord Emmanuel already knows… but I fear we may be expelled.”

“We most likely will be… especially once they find out about Vyle… It would be much less severe if we had an immaculate child, one worthy of Emmanuel’s grace…”

“Yes… I think once we finish purifying our son, we shall come clean… Then perhaps we may live in the new paradise Emmanuel will create for us… with our son.”

“I love you…” The two Grand Cardinals met each other with a forbidden embrace, then an even more sacrilegious kiss. Talon cringed. As did Shade.

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“Lemme get this straight. You guys came BACK here to rescue someone after all that? That seriously takes some balls.” Murphy responded after hearing that part of the story from Spike.

“No one messes with the Underground and gets away with it,” Spike replied. “When we get outta here, we’ll-“

“Inpatients number 1173, A through D, exit your cells in a calm and orderly fashion. Your first purification appointments are up.” The energy bars of Spike’s cell suddenly disappeared. As did Blaze’s, Rad’s, and Lucia’s. Their expressions changed to fear as they slowly stepped out of their cells, with the Litaria persuading them along with their staves.

“Oh, excuse me. There’s been a mistake.” Those words cut through the tension in the room like a Slash attack from a Scyther. “These guys are set for tomorrow. Put them back in their cells.” The four of them were happy to feel the jabs of the Litaria staves pushing them back into their cells, followed by the light energy bars reappearing and beginning to hum. The procession of Judgment members and Litaria left the hallway, and just about everyone in there breathed a sigh of relief.

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Shade sat down in a chair in the Ex-pur lab, being guarded by about five Litaria. “It’s time…”

“Are you sure?” Shade sounded nervous. “Why don’t you check again?”

Grand Cardinal Michael glanced at the screen again. “Oh, you’re right. Theirs is tomorrow. I could’ve sworn… aah, no matter. Gives us more time to perfect our program.” He then walked off, not realizing he had been duped by Shade’s slight adjustment to the schedule she had made earlier while they were talking.

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Meanwhile, back in Kyra’s dormitory, she had been thinking of a way to escape. She already knew what became of everyone that had been sent to rescue her, having heard the incident with Shade. But her hopes of freedom had been renewed by the young, plucky Talon, who had made his way into the ventilation system. Perhaps Kyra could find a way in there as well?

Her Eevee was perched at the windowsill, his fur illuminated in a silver glow by the light of the full moon. Kyra gazed out the window as well. It was now night once again, and thoughts of leaping out the window began to seem tempting. But Kyra already knew this was a bad idea, having been able to see what was down there during the day. She’d be lucky to be impaled on one of the spires if she leapt from that window.

“That duct… if only I could reach…” Kyra said to herself.

But suddenly, her silence was broken as a Team Judgment member opened the door. It was too sudden for Moonlight to hide under the bed.

“Just checking on… hey, what is that? A Pokémon? Give it here!” the Team Judgment member ordered.

“…No!” Kyra yelled, “He’s mine!” She held the Eevee tightly in her arms.

“You will give the Pokémon here, or there will be strict consequences.”

“No, no, NO!” She screamed. The scream was audible throughout the hallway.

“NOW! Give it NOW!” the Team Judgment member barked back. He advanced on Kyra and the Eevee.

“NOOOOO!” Kyra began to cry as she screamed. The white-robed man proceeded to snatch the Eevee from her arms. She resisted, but the man was far stronger. The Eevee let out a yelp as he was being pulled. But as the man walked out, Moonlight bit him on the arm. The man released Moonlight as he flinched in pain. Kyra then ran out the door after her Eevee, with the man following.

The Eevee darted into the mess hall. Kyra followed. However the Team Judgment member instead called for reinforcements. Several more members and Litaria flooded into the mess hall within a few seconds.

“Remain still, or suffer!” The man ordered. A red spot began to appear on the member’s otherwise immaculate uniform, at precisely the spot where Moonlight had bitten him.

Kyra froze in place, crying. But Moonlight was not one to give up. He was determined to avoid being separated from Kyra. So, he dashed under the legs of the humans in the room, knocking them over with a Quick Attack. The Litarias blasted Light Spear attacks at Moonlight, only to miss.

“Attack that Eevee, now!” the Judgment member ordered the Litarias in the room. But Moonlight was much too fast. The Litarias fired other Light Spear volleys and missed each time.

“Perhaps they need some help? A couple of Team Judgment members sent out Sparquartzes to aid the Litaria in capturing that fast little fox Pokémon.

But soon, that little fox would become much more of a threat. The moon was out in full force- and Moonlight was ready to take full advantage of that. The small fox Pokémon leapt up onto the windowsill. Almost instantly, a silvery-white glow had completely engulfed it, illuminating the entire room. The Eevee was changing form, changing into something more fearsome. A blinding light filled the room temporarily, and the next thing anyone saw was the full form of Eevee’s Dark-type evolution, Umbreon. Its vaguely canine body was almost completely black, except for its eyes, which glowed a fierce red, and several glowing yellow rings around and ears and tail. A yellow ring glowed on its forehead and on each of its thighs. The newly evolved Dark-type gave a howl which made everyone in the room shudder in fear except for Kyra, who was overjoyed.

“A Dark-type? Such blasphemy! Destroy it at once!” One of the Judgment members yelled out.

“Get ‘em, Moonlight!” Kyra screamed as she took cover under a table. The four Litaria in the room fired Light Spears at the Umbreon, but he simply leapt onto one of the tables, avoiding the clump of attacks, which most likely would have done him in. The two Sparquartz in the room launched smaller Light Arrow attacks at Moonlight, but he pointed his ears forward, and a dark blast came forth to counter the Miracle type attacks. Moonlight himself didn’t even know he had the ability to use Chaos Shot.

The four Judgment members in the room took the opportunity to seize Kyra from under the table, but Moonlight didn’t allow that either. His eyes glowed an evil shade of lavender, and a Confuse Ray issued forth from between his ears, confusing all four of the humans. They staggered around in a daze, crashing into each other and even knocking over a few tables. But that gave one of the Litaria time to connect a Light Spear attack to the Umbreon. Moonlight staggered from the super effective hit, but being a Pokémon who was defensive by nature, he was able to withstand the attack.

Moonlight leapt onto the ledge again, his fur illuminated by the moon. He was then able to tap into the power of this moonlight and recover some badly needed hit points. The Litarias shot another volley of Light Spear attacks but Moonlight dodged them with ease. Moonlight next tried a Confuse Ray on the Litaria, but unfortunately it was blocked by a Safeguard attack from Sparquartz, which blocked all the Litaria from receiving any negative status condition.

Another Light Spear struck Moonlight, knocking him into the wall. Moonlight still managed to get up, but some energy was taken out of him from the blow. Beads of sweat poured down his face. The Dark-type Pokémon was in serious trouble.

But suddenly, the moment was interrupted by the sound of metal being hit, followed by the loud clang of metal hitting the marble floors. Out of the ventilation duct emerged Talon, kicking one of the Litaria in the back. Talon then released three Pokémon: One of them being his Bogcrow, the other two being two other ferocious birds of prey- a Pidgeot and a Swellow. They were magnificent creatures, bred for maximum battle potential from Pokémon belonging to Talon’s father, a renowned trainer and breeder of Flying-type Pokémon.

Upon exiting the ball, the Pidgeot engaged in a Quick Attack. A blur of burnt sienna and a little yellow streaked across the room, knocking several Pokémon off balance. The Swellow executed a blindingly fast Aerial Ace. A blue blur began to fly across the room along with the brown one, striking all in their way. The two avian Pokémon were moving fast enough to give them the illusion that they were vanishing in midair and then reappearing. Those Pokémon were also skilled at flying and thus were able to execute the speedy assaults without crashing into anything. The Bogcrow, while not as fast, was also using its flying techniques. A black streak joined the two others in causing chaos.

“Run, Kyra!” Talon screamed. Kyra looked at her tired Umbreon and then at Talon. She then ran under the legs of a Team Judgment member in the room and towards the exit.

“Aren’t you coming too?” Kyra yelled out among the chaos.

“In a bit! Use Gust, Stealth!”

The Pidgeot kicked up a fierce gale by flapping its wings. Everyone still in the room was struggling to cling to something to keep from being blown into a wall, or worse yet, out the window.

“Now, Aether, use Icy Wind!” The Bogcrow then held its wings out and began to flap. An icy chill emanated from its pitch-black wings and combined with the Gust attack from Stealth. The combined attack had all but halted the opposing Pokémon in the room.

But the Litaria fought back. They flapped their large, angelic wings right back, creating a counter wind current. Talon’s Pokémon were soon overwhelmed, simply by the number of Litaria. Some also released glowing white feathers into the air, slowing their opponents down. At that point Talon knew he was beat, so he darted for the door, withdrawing his three Pokémon back into their balls. “Aether, Skyfire, Stealth… you did good,” he thought to himself.

But the Litaria had other plans. Talon had made it to the doorway, when one of the Litaria struck Talon with its staff. Simultaneously, another Litaria used Light Spear. Down Talon went, clutching his chest- not from any physical pain, but from a spiritual sort of blow. Kyra looked behind her, only to see Talon collapsing in the doorway as the Light Spear came out the front of his chest. “Run… don’t worry about me…” Talon groaned as he was being dragged inside.

“Thought you could get away, eh wise guy?” One of the Team Judgment members spoke as he grabbed the fallen Talon and proceeded to carry him to a prison cell. His fainted Pokémon were also being carried off, but to a different location.

Meanwhile, Kyra was at the teleportation chamber. “Uhh, what was it again? Et… something something Emmanuel!”

The teleportation chamber made no response whatsoever.

“Et… Et kleash… no… et… oh, what was it?”

Meanwhile, she could hear a large group of Team Judgment members heading for her. “Grab the girl!” came a shout, which echoed through the hallway.

“Umm… Et artum galash Emmanuel!” No response from the chamber.

“She can’t have gone far!”

“Et galash artum Emmanuel!” She screamed, finally remembering the words used to activate the warp. Kyra and the Umbreon were engulfed by a white light, vanishing and then reappearing in another place Kyra didn’t recognize. She then ran down the hallway in front of her alongside Moonlight.

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“Man, we have another one of those unsaved heathens roaming around the halls,” one Judgment member spoke as he escorted the unwilling Talon to the cell blocks.

“I guess they’re more active because they know deep down, the end is near, and they will not make it to experience paradise,” another one replied.

“This one’s a bit small.” Talon resented that remark made by the Judgment agent dragging him along to the cell, but did not try to resist, for a Litaria’s staff was pointed directly at him from behind.

“What’re the Grand Cardinals thinking? Most of us are all out somewhere, but now who’s guarding the base?”

A third, female Judgment member butted in. “Saving people is far more important than guarding this place. Besides, we seem to have it under control here.”

“I guess you’re right…”

“Well, we only have room in one more cell block, so we gotta put the kid there,” a fourth one explained in his communicator.

They entered a room with a long line of cells meant for one person, but with the recent influx of prisoners they’ve had in the past day, they were crammed two or sometimes three to a cell. As Talon was dragged past the cells, he noticed Spike and three others he recognized among the cells. “Well, at least I’ve caught up with them,” he thought to himself as he was being led past the Team Magnet members and other random captives that were newly imprisoned. Team Judgment came to a halt, and Talon was thrown into a cell with only one captive in it-a scrawny old man.

“Ow!” Talon whined as he was forced into the cell. He crashed straight into the back wall after being pushed. Team Judgment had also taken away his Pokénav and his Poké Balls. In fact, they had taken everything from him but the clothes on his back.

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Meanwhile, Kyra had gotten lost in the cavernous passageways of Team Judgment’s base. Worse yet, she heard footsteps echoing down both of the hallways around her. She was cornered and at a loss as to what to do. She peered out the window- a straight drop and possible impalement on a spire. Frantic, she looked around- nothing but wall all along the corridor. But one thing caught her eye- a ventilation cover. She recalled Talon being inside there, so she knew it was possible for her to fit inside. A slight problem, however, was that the duct was several feet up and covered.

The sound of footsteps grew closer, their echoes growing louder. Kyra jumped up at the ventilation duct in vain.

“You hear that?” a voice echoed.

“Might be her! Let’s go!” some faint voices could be heard.

‘Umbreon!” Moonlight barked. It seems that an idea had occurred to him. He arched his back and pointed his ears up at the vent. A black beam issued forward, blowing off the cover of the vent.

“Hey… can you help me get up there?” Kyra asked hopefully.

“Breon!” Moonlight complied. The wily Dark type backed up, then launched himself at Kyra- a Tackle attack. Kyra was launched several feet in the air. She was able to grab a hold of the ventilation duct. However she was still flailing, struggling to pull herself up.

“Freeze!” came a voice in the distance. A sudden surge of adrenaline kicked in, and Kyra was able to get partway into the duct.

A Light Spear whizzed past the Umbreon. Moonlight retaliated with Chaos Shot. In the meantime, Kyra had gotten one knee up and was almost in. Moonlight ducked under another Light Spear and fired Chaos Shot back. A Light Spear then struck him from behind. Moonlight yelped in pain.

Kyra had managed to climb into the ventilation shaft. She frantically crawled through the shaft, the sounds of several Light Spear attacks being shot echoing through the shaft from the hallway. Moonlight then leapt into the shaft as well, barely making it as two Light Spears from opposite directions collided at exactly the spot Moonlight was standing in before he jumped.

“They went in the shaft!” came a voice from outside.

“I want all shaft openings guarded. Someone tell me where the shafts lead to so we can get her and that blasted Dark-type!” screamed another voice into his communicator.

Kyra and the Umbreon kept going .The shaft was just high enough for Moonlight to stand in, but Kyra had to crawl through. It was fortunate she was small, since the shafts would not fit a full grown adult.

“Hear that? She’s crawling that way towards the stairs!”

Several Litaria gathered in front of the wall Kyra was crawling through. A couple of them tried Light Spear at the shaft. In front of Kyra, a small white light flashed by. It appeared that the Miracle-type attack could phase through some walls at partial strength.

But Kyra could do nothing more than crawl forward. Streaks of light flashed by in front of her and behind her. One of them struck her, and she was stung by the attack. She was still able to keep moving however. Moonlight was also being targeted. The Litaria kept trying, at the order of the Team Judgment members.

“Hey, there’s another opening over there, near the flight of stairs!”

As Kyra passed that vent opening, she felt a really sharp pain. A Litaria had shot through that opening. Several more shots hit her, each one striking the center of her soul. She closed her eyes, about to lose consciousness.

The next thing she knew, she was sliding down an endless dark tunnel. Just sliding, down, down, down… she passed a few small lights along the way. The ventilation shaft had been following that hallway, and it followed it down a long, curved flight of stairs. Kyra was still feeling light headed, and everything just seemed to swirl in front of her. The experience of sliding down the shaft like that felt almost otherworldly. Moonlight was sliding behind her with his yellow bands aglow.

The shaft slid quite a way down, following that flight of stairs, then sliding down at a steeper angle. At one point Kyra felt as though she were falling. The shaft seemed to curve almost randomly. But shortly, it began to flatten out a bit. Kyra slowed down, and Moonlight ran into her down the shaft. She kept sliding slowly, pushed forward by Moonlight’s additional momentum. She slid until her head met with a wall.

The shaft split into two divergent paths at that point. Both of them looked equally dark and uninviting. Kyra chose the one going right, with Moonlight close behind. Soon, they were once again sliding, face first into an abyss of uncertainty.

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Somewhere deep within Spiropolis, several of the townspeople had gathered. They were deep into conversation with one another, in a place hidden from Team Judgment agents randomly patrolling the city. It was between their required prayer times, and the townspeople were whispering.

“… You got the exploding Pokémon?”

“Yep. Two Voltorb and an Electrode.”

“You got the map to the power core?”

“Check.”

“And you… got the password to the crystal room yet?”

“Yep. Tonight’s the night we get outta here. I’ve had all I can take of these tyrants.”

“Excellent. We leave for the crystal room in five minutes. Sam, you got the diversion ready?”

“Yeah, oh, trust me, by the time they figure out what’s going on, the light barriers surrounding the city will be down and we’ll be free!”

“This one’s for Lisabella!” They all shouted at once.

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At long last, Kyra had quit sliding and resumed crawling along the shafts. The vents gave a window into what was once the bustling center of Spiropolis but now was virtually silent as Team Judgment agents and Litaria randomly patrolled the streets. The Litaria simply hovered a few feet above the ground, casting emotionless stares at any human that passed by.

Kyra reached an open vent She decided that she had enough sliding, and so crawled out one end of the vent slowly, feet first. She landed on the ground at the end of an alley. She turned around…

“Hey, little girl, did you just crawl out of that vent?”

Kyra was startled. “Umm… she began to back up from the stranger. He had on a cream colored robe, but it was not a Team Judgment uniform. Instead it was one of the robes that citizens of Spiropolis had pretty much been limited to wearing. Under his robe, some blue jeans were visible. He was slightly pudgy and had short hair that was a light blonde color.

“Sam, what’re you doing? Get over here! C’mon!”

“But this little girl just crawled out of a vent!”

Someone else looked into the alley. He had long hair that was brown and a face that was a little skinnier than Sam’s, and he was tougher looking. “We have no time for this, Sam!” he then paused as he saw the Umbreon leap out of the vent and join Kyra, his coloring sharply contrasting the dull white of the city.

“Whoa… is that Pokémon yours, little girl?”

“Yeah…” Kyra replied nervously.

“Well, maybe you could help us. You probably escaped from somewhere up there from the looks of things.

“How would you know that, Yuri?” Sam shot a skeptical look at him.

“Why the hell else would she be crawling out of a duct? And there’s no way she’d be allowed a Dark-type like that…”

“I see,” Sam responded. “You have a good instinct.”

“Hurry up, little girl! Come help us, and we’ll help get you free!” Yuri called her forward.

Bewildered, Kyra decided to come forward with them. Moonlight followed. They caught up to the rest of the group of townspeople.

“Yeah, we don’t look suspicious at all with that Umbreon following us… wait a second, where the hell did that come from?” one of the other people with them, a young female, commented. She had brown hair and a slender physique that wasn’t that visible through the standard-issue cream colored robe.

“Shh, quiet, Janine! We’ve picked up a hitchhiker,” Yuri pointed at Kyra.

“I see… well, I suggest hiding that creature.”

“Can’t… I sorta… lost the ball…”

“Well isn’t that great? If we’re spotted, that’s the end of us,’ Janine commented.

“Yah well, we won’t get spotted,” Sam replied.

“Aren’t you the optimist?"

“I guess you could say that,”

“We’re almost there,” came the voice of another townsperson from the front.

“Not so loud, Scout,” Yuri whispered.

“Stop calling me that!” the one referred to as Scout answered back. He was really short and somewhat bulky. The robe he had on dragged to the floor.

“Both of you, shut up. I think it’s time we split into groups already. Sam, Lloyd, go distract the Litaria,” another person who seemed to be the leader of the group, spoke up. He was tall, though not as tall as Yuri, and he had a muscular figure that showed under that robe of his. He had a penetrating gaze with his deep, brown eyes, and his hair was about shoulder length and was a vibrant red.

“Okay…” Sam nervously replied, a knot forming in his stomach. He knew this would be no easy task. Lloyd remained silent, keeping a somber expression. He was not one to talk much.

“All right, Illusion, let’s go!” Do what I taught you,” Sam whispered.

“Use Taunt, Monkeyfist.” Lloyd simply muttered. He was the strong, silent type. Tall and athletic looking, he towered above the figure of Sam. He kept a somber expression on his face, as he knew this would be no easy task.

Two Litaria were standing guard in front of a metal chain link fence with a keypad on it. The rest of the rebellious townspeople were waiting behind an adjacent building for the opportunity to infiltrate. Suddenly, the silence was broken as a single Kecleon and Mankey appeared on the roof of the building in front of the Litaria. The Litaria instantly fired Light Spear attacks at the two Pokémon in a ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ manner. But each one suddenly seemed to clone itself… there were two, then six, then twelve… then too many to count. The Litarias had stricken illusory images of the Pokémon, who were taught Double Team and were now using the evasive skill. The multitudes of Mankey clones then sneered and gave an expression of contempt, then insulted the Litaria in Pokémon language. The Kecleons also changed from green to white, making only their red zigzag patterns on their body visible against the white backdrop of the city. The Litaria were confused and enraged, and the effect of Taunt made it so they could not use their defensive techniques.

Behind the distracted Litaria, the short and pudgy figure of Scout was fiddling nervously with the keypad. It eventually gave a click and swung open. The five rebels and Kyra then ran inside, with Moonlight right behind. Sam and Lloyd then ran past the bewildered Litaria, as did the Mankey and Kecleon. The illusory copies, which encircled the Litaria, also seemed to follow everyone else inside. The Litaria looked behind them and noticed the rogue group of townspeople behind the fence.

“We haven’t got much time! Hurry guys!” Sam yelled.

The Litaria fired Light Spear shots at the people, fortunately missing them. A third Litaria noticed the commotion. Then a fourth. Soon all the Litaria on that level of Spiropolis were alerted, and the Team Judgment members weren’t far behind.

Led by Scout, the rebels walked into a teleport chamber just like the ones used above. “Et galash artum Emmanuel!” Scout yelled, and everyone was bathed in a white light and transported into another room- the main crystal room- at the inner core of Spiropolis. Before them, a huge white crystal shone iridescently. Gold pillars at the top and bottom of the diamond-shaped crystal connected it to the ceiling and the floor.

“Halt!” a Team Judgment member shouted. “How’d you get in here?”

“We don't have time to negotiate!” Recharge, use Thunderpunch!” Janine yelled, sending out an Ampharos. The Electric type with a glowing orb on its tail quickly pulled back its arm and then punched the Judgment member in the stomach with a crackling fist. The Judgment member buckled onto the floor. But this got the attention of every Judgment member and Litaria in the room.

“Oh, no, we can’t fight them all!” Scout exclaimed.

“It’s worth a shot. Monk, use Fury Cutter!” The strong, confident leader of the rogue band of townspeople, Arion, yelled out. The green, insectile figure of a Scyther, with two razor sharp blades for arms appeared forth. In the blink of an eye, the Scyther was across the room and several Judgment members were down, clutching their stomachs. The Scyther then slashed again, cutting at some Litaria with the discipline and speed of a ninja.

“Eva, get to the crystal and plant the exploders. Lloyd, Yuri, and Janine, guard her!” The rest of us will deal with the others coming out from here!” Arion ordered.

The room erupted into a furious battle. Attacks were issued from all around, blasting walls and occasionally hitting Pokémon and people. A young, dashing blonde, Eva, slowly headed towards the crystal while the three assigned to guard her surrounded her, deflecting Team Judgment’s attacks with a Light Screen from the Ampharos while striking back with their own Pokémon attacks.

“Darblade, unleash Samurai Strike!” Yuri called out. A navy blue Pokémon with four slightly curved horns on its head came forth. It stood up on two legs and its arms were perfectly suited for sword fighting. One of its arms had a long katana growing out of it, and the other had a large, armored growth on the side of it that could easily act as a shield. Long, sharp spikes grew out from the top of the shield growth, which looked like its claws. However, behind that shield growth was its true other arm, which it used to grip its katana arm for a two-handed sword fighting style. The Darblade flew at its enemies at incredible speed and slashed through several lines of Litaria.

Meanwhile, on the other front, Arion’s Scyther was doing the same thing with reinforcement Litaria. The other members’ Pokémon were doing their part as well. Kyra had Moonlight do Confuse Ray on a group of the enemy reinforcements just before they were surrounded.

Eva had made it to the crystal, and was currently strapping her Voltorbs to the bottom of the crystal with some duct tape, ignoring all the shouting and fighting in the background. The perfectly spherical Pokémon with the same red and white coloration as a Poké Ball were none too happy. They began to crackle with electricity. Now was the tricky part. Yuri and Lloyd quickly gave Eva a boost, launching her into the air. She executed a flip and landed at the top, clinging to the gilded support at the top. A defense-lowering Screech from Lloyd’s Mankey did nothing to distract her as she strapped on the Electrode to the top with duct tape and held it against her chest. The similarly colored evolved form of Voltorb was also none too happy about this.

Just as she had finished strapping the Electrode on, a Light Spear attack was launched at her, nailing her directly in the back. She fell off the crystal, with Lloyd there to catch her.

“Don’t worry! Recharge, use Healing Light!” Janine commanded. The Ampharos’ tail glowed white for a second as the Electric-type held the glowing tail close to Eva, restoring some of her energy.

“Thanks… that breeding came in handy…” Eva gratefully replied.

“It’s gonna BLOW!” Yuri shouted. Everyone then ran past the crystal at the other direction, as was planned by Arion.

“Buddies… it’s time…” Eva solemnly called out to the Voltorbs and Electrode. The three spherical Pokémon got ready to use their Explosion skill, releasing large amounts of energy from their bodies. The energy released always at the very least made the Pokémon using the attack faint. The group quickly stepped in the teleport chamber on the other side of the room and vanished, leaving the Voltorbs and Electrode behind.

“Blast the Voltorbs!” a Team Judgment member yelled.

But it was too late. The three Pokémon exploded all at once, the impact of the blast not only causing the gigantic crystal to be loosened from its foundations, but causing damage to the ceiling and floor as well. The crystal, which now had several cracks in it, began to tip over as Team Judgment members ran from it. But it was too late for some; the crystal crushed them alive, and then shattered once it hit the floor. Pieces of the ceiling crumbled and fell, crushing more Judgment members.

As the group of dissidents and Kyra stepped out of the teleportation chamber, they knew their plan had taken effect. The lights began to dim, and everything began to shut down. The chamber behind them was no longer active, preventing them from going back even if they wanted to. Soon the only light in the city was coming from the moon outside. The rebels ran with whatever strength they had left towards the exit outside.

Once there, they were met with a cliff, with a steep drop below. The ground, however, was not too far down compared to the rest of Spiropolis.

‘You got the rope?” Yuri asked.

“Sure do,” Arion responded, tying one end of the rope around the battlement of the castle wall and throwing the other end down. The group began rappelling down the wall towards the ground.

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“All right, Shade… are you ready to purify your former companions?” Grand Cardinal Michael sheered. Shade was at the control room for one of the purification rooms. She cringed, but still knew what needed to be done, and so nodded reluctantly.

“Boss! The power’s….” a Team Judgment member barged in, stopping as all the lights in the room and on the control panel had slowly shut off.

“The power’s out! How can this be?” Michael bellowed. Quick, get the prisons secure! Activate emergency power!”

But it was too late for them. As the bars of energy disappeared, just about every prisoner in the entire prison made a run for it. The Litaria simply could not take them all out. Spike and the three others had been able to escape in that time and were making their way through the flocks of prisoners. The Litarias were taking them down left and right, but Spike’s group was protected. As were the Team Magnet members that followed them. Mirlite blocked the Light Spear attacks with her Protective Screen skill. She also blocked as many other random prisoners as she could while hovering behind Spike’s group. The Litaria were too swamped with prisoners escaping to be able to do anything about them.

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Meanwhile, in the Ex-pur lab, Maria had been gazing at the imprisoned form of Vyle when the lights began to dim. The light in the containment unit disappeared, and Vyle began to awaken. Soon his glowing red eyes were the only things visible in the room. However, Maria had fitted the lab with an emergency power source, so the lab’s power was back on. Vyle was once again imprisoned by the light within the cylindrical containment unit at the center of the room, and he began to go back to his state of unconsciousness.

“Hmm… must have been a power surge or something. Aah, well, soon… we shall begin the program… wipe all the darkness from you… erase all your pain… make you into our perfect son… yes…” Maria then resumed typing into a computer, programming the machine, which was set to erase Vyle’s memories completely.

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“This way! Our Pokémon should be here now!” Lucia shouted as they all ran down a dark hallway. The crowd had thinned, and it was only the group and Team Magnet left.

The group entered a large, dim room. In it, a bunch of Pokémon belonging to the prisoners were running around. The power outage had not only caused the room to be almost completely dark, with only a few Pokémon lighting it, but it had also caused the light energy bars from their cells to be released.

“Aww, man… our Pokémon were locked up in those?” Spike complained.

“I'm afraid those were set for… termination…” Lucia spoke with a distinctive cringe of disgust around the word ‘terminate’.

Well, at least we can get our Pokémon quickly this time. They proceeded to call the names of their Pokémon, who almost instantly were able to join their trainers.

“Listen up, the rest of you!” Mirlite communicated telepathically to all the Pokémon in the room. “You guys follow us, and we will reunite you with your trainers if we can. Help us out!”

The group left the room with their Pokémon with them. Not only theirs, but a stampeding horde of various Pokémon belonging to all the prisoners. The horde traveled the hallways, joining up with a few lucky prisoners as well. Soon, emergency power was restored to the upper portion of the Team Judgment base. But it was already too late. The Litaria were outnumbered and overrun by the horde of stampeding Pokémon.

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Meanwhile, a state of anarchy had ensued within the center of Spiropolis. People saw this as their opportunity to escape when word got out about the brave townspeople and their mutiny. With the power still out for much of the city below, and the prisoners escaping up above, the few Team Judgment members and Litaria still stationed at the base found themselves spread very thin.

The people responsible for the chaos in Spiropolis had already touched ground, and their Ampharos, Recharge, was tending to everyone’s wounds. Several people had been hit with at least one Light Spear or other Miracle attack, and the only thing that kept them going through the battle was the adrenaline. However, their troubles were not over yet. Soon, a flock of Litaria descended upon them from above, catching them off guard and soon surrounding them.

“Oh, crap! Crap crap crap crap crap!” Sam yelled out.

“Well, that was fun…” Yuri sighed.

The Litarias’ staves all began to glow as they prepared a joint Light Spear attack. The gems lit up, soon to be blindingly white…

“BAM!” A crimson blur rushed by in front of them, taking out the Litaria in its path. Another, orange blur took out the Litaria behind them. Two more blurs- one brown, and the other blue- took out the Litaria on their sides. A group of four rogue dragons, led by a Drakoron, came to their rescue.

“It can’t be…”

“No way…”

“Hey, those are Lisabella’s!” The rebels had recognized the Pokémon. They were none other than the four dragons that belonged to Lucia’s grandmother- Durandal, Seiryu, Tigris, and Terra.

Durandal gave an acknowledging snort. At that moment, all the dragons allowed the townspeople to climb aboard their backs.

“So where the hell are they taking us?” Janine asked.

“Beats me. Looks like we’re going… south.” Sam pointed in front of them to the field of clouds in front of them known as Ter’ast.

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The group had separated from Team Magnet at this point. Spike and the others were determined to look for Kyra. Team Magnet, however, opted out and tried to find their own way out instead. They made it back into the dreaded hallway where Shade had betrayed them. There, they began opening the doors and telling all the children to run because it was their chance now. However, Kyra was not found. They asked some of the children in there, and some had told them they heard Kyra running, and others said she’d been captured. Kyra’s whereabouts were unknown to them.

“We should go, before Team Judgment regroups…” Blaze suggested, disappointed.

“No… we have to find Kyra!” Spike yelled. He was determined.

“I’m with Blaze, let’s get the hell out of here…” Rad began to turn around, but Spike grabbed him.

“I don’t know where Kyra could be now…” Lucia spoke. “We could be wandering around for a long time.”

“I sense that Kyra is safe…” Mirlite communicated to them. “I also sense Team Judgment. They are close.”

“Damn, we failed to rescue her again!” Spike roared.

“Let’s go!”

The four soon made it back to the pitched roof at the top of the tower. The Bogcrow were nowhere to be seen, until Spike blew a whistle. The Bogcrow were alerted by the whistle and soon swooped down from the clouds, wearing expressions that seemed to say, “what took so long?” But this time, only four of them were occupied. The corvine Pokémon took off, headed back to their homeland of Ter’ast amidst silvery clouds and moonlight.

[Sike Saner]

Sike you owe me 5 dollars for using the intro space of my post to promote your thread.

And you owe me ten dollars for making me go all the way to your thread to finish responding to your review. ;o

Blue isn't a real color, hm.

Of course not. Huidblue, on the other hand...

BAD TOUCH! PEDO ALARM! ALERT THE NEAREST AUTHORITY! STAY AWAY FROM THE NAUGHTY BITS! BAD TOUCH! BAD TOUCH!

And THAT'S NO GOOD!

I take it these kids have never been exposed to Harry Potter either. You clearly haven't been exposed to it, either.

Exposed to it? So then... Harry Potter doesn't have a gender? ...Does he have a grender?

---------------------------------------------------
THAT IS HOW YOU DO A DIVIDER. NOT THREE ASTERISKS. A BUNCH OF DASHES. TAKE NOTE OF THIS.

Actually, I think the correct way to do a divider might be to use three rapidash smilies.

WHAT IS THIS VIOLATION OF CANON? THE af;lkjglk;uer CHRONICLES IS VERY SERIOUS AND STICKS CLOSELY TO ITS CANON AND ANY FAN CHRONICLE MUST ALSO BE VERY VERY SERIOUS NOT ONE OUNCE OF HUMOR OR SARCASM OR RANDOMNESS... ESPECIALLY NOT RANDOMNESS. But that's besides the point. GIRL DOES NOT HAVE FRIENDS... OR A PERSONALITY... OR ANY SORT OF CHARACTER WHATSOEVER. GIRL ONLY DOES ONE THING AND ONE THING ONLY. HE GRABS CHEESE. EATS IT. AND IT FUCKING TASTES GOOD. YOU GOT THAT?

LALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU LALALA...

...Wait, that doesn't work for text that's seen rather than heard. Damn.

*sigh* You're right, though... The af;lkjglk;uer Chronicles is serious business. Dead serious. It should keep me up at night.

The fourth wall called. Said he will see you in court. You're being sued for damages.

My attorney is a pile of orange M&Ms. The fourth wall is fucked.

ababandon (v.) - to cease activities in progress and answer someone who happens to be complaining about your status in a work of fiction.

Nice--I see you have the latest edition of the Spam and Typo Dictionary.

Nothing like a button on the cellphone placed near where you hold it that toggles your ability to output on and off. Mute buttons ftl.

Agreed.

I am now enamored with the word protecções.

Sooner or later, everyone is.

On a related note, when I clicked those search links, I saw the phrase "PALÁCIO DA TUBA"--only 12% of people are destined to become enamored with that.

THIS IS THE LEVEL OF THE VERSION!

If a t-shirt were made with that phrase on it, I would so wear it.

So would I. If only one shirt in the entire universe could ever be made with that phrase on it, I would have to fight you for it.

...I would totally lose. :(

Wow, you babelfished this so hard that the translator is even drawing blanks.

"You Babelfished this so hard" sounds kinda dirty... X3

* * *

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

Bitch still didn’t pop.

This should also be a t-shirt.

Heh, agreed again. X3

Maybe the dragon should, you know, give into his fictional primal urges. Maybe he should barbecue a few humans. Maybe then he wouldn't be so boring. Maybe... just maybe.

It would certainly result in an interesting smell.

Are you sure about that? What if Poppity Pop-Pop IS a real-world brand?

Well, then I'll just have to go and hang myself.

“Uh-uh. No. Screw this random crap,” she said, leaving the recommended popcorn where it sat and getting the hell out of that store. It’s too bad that she didn’t buy it. That shit really does pop reliably, very reliably—seriously, you hardly ever see any dud kernels in there, let alone like a third of a freaking bag of ’em.

I was just about to point out how you wouldn't know because said brand does not exist... or so we think.

…Okay, the real reason you don’t see any unpopped kernels in there is because you don’t see any kernels due to the fact that that brand doesn’t actually exist.

But then you had to ruin it by actually pointing it out. Thus putting me out of work. DAMN YOU!

>:3

Bad Sike. Bad unnecessary Harry Potter character reference.

(I'd have referenced Albus Dumbledore here)

Albus Dumbledore wouldn't have referenced you. ;(

A good af;lkjglk;uer author can't be fucked to provide details. Because they're just that good.

...Oh God, is af;lkjglk;uer a genre now? XD

Now all I can think about is hot lava ass. I can't think of anything sarcastic or random to mention here.

Such is the power of hot lava ass. That and burning things.

Good call. Personally I would have turned the popcorn kernel into cheese. Or perhaps the grocery store. Perhaps also the dragon. Perhaps the bridle.

OH MY GOD I HAD NEVER SEEN THAT PHRASE USED ANYWHERE PRIOR TO SEEING IT USED THERE.

I would have gone that route.

That route wouldn't have gone you. ;(

This story sucks. I'd rather suck horse cock while playing with raccoon feces.

Yeah, I was going for this level of quality. I failed. :(

I'd rather fondle hot lava ass... mmm... hot lava ass... I can't stop saying this phrase. In short, this story sucks hot lava ass. Which may actually mean a good thing coming from me.

Or it could mean that they're going to give pinsir an evo in the next generation and that it's going to be part textile-type.


Well, anyway, thanks for reading and for replying! ^^

...God, it feels weird saying that in someone else's thread. X3;

[Sike Saner]

Ah, I remember this part of the story. ^^ Some added insight into Michael and Maria as characters, plus the whole matter of Shade's actions in those chapters... very interesting stuff. Oh, and there was also the "fwee" moment that was Moonlight's evolution. ^^

And I still think "Monkeyfist" = an awesome name. Similarly, I still think Darblade = an awesome pokémon.

Other highlights:

“Well thank Emmanuel we have at least one Pokémon still with us now…” Lucia commented.

“Shhh!” Spike whispered to her.

“Oh...right… umm… I mean, oh shoot, we don’t have any Pokémon with us!”

Spike, Blaze, and Rad gave her resigned looks.

Yeah, real smooth, Lucia. XP

“We can make him suffer a lot more, though. Maybe another test of the purification ray we just fixed?” Michael sneered, and winked at Maria. She was worried, but went along with it.

I liked seeing that little hint of internal conflict from Maria there.

“Yes… I think once we finish purifying our son, we shall come clean… Then perhaps we may live in the new paradise Emmanuel will create for us… with our son.”

Considering what that quote seems to be implying, I find it creepy as frell. o__o;

Soon, they were once again sliding, face first into an abyss of uncertainty.

Cool phrase.

The light in the containment unit disappeared, and Vyle began to awaken. Soon his glowing red eyes were the only things visible in the room.

And there's a cool image.

“Oh, crap! Crap crap crap crap crap!” Sam yelled out.

XD

AND NOW FOR SOME SILLINESS! 8D

Meanwhile, Kyra was at the teleportation chamber. “Uhh, what was it again? Et… something something Emmanuel!”

The teleportation chamber made no response whatsoever.

“Et… Et kleash… no… et… oh, what was it?”

It's "Et sum shet, Emmanuel!" :B

And here are a couple for the "my brain does weird things to words when I've been spending a while reading" file:

“They’re more than just bodies… they gave their lives for Lord Emmanuel. Show some respect, man,” another one replied. Kyra and Talon both shuddered.

I initially read that (or rather initially re-read that, if that makes any sense) as "snickered", which is... yeah. XD

“Hey… can you help me get up there?” Kyra asked hopefully.

“Breon!” Moonlight complied.

And I initially re-read Moonlight's utterance there as "Bacon!" X3