Weak Might

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

~*~Prologue~*~

Down, down deep… in a watery world few have seen… lay thousands of white eggs, all round and shimmering like a great hoard of pearls. They rested there holding tiny bits of life; a treasure greater than any other thing man has been given. Though, man would find the things inside not worth anything…

As the eggs swelled from water and pressure, the creatures inside of them began to feel the need to escape into the world around them. They did not know why they felt this, but they did, an imaginary voice urging them on. The soft shell revealed that the youngsters were now struggling for freedom, their lives in jeopardy even before their birth. After only a few minutes, however, they were all quickly popping out of their lifelong homes and adjusting to their new terrain in the ocean. The water soon seemed to be stained orange-red with thousands of newborn Magikarp, each one with its own thoughts and feelings, emotions and ideas, but not a one thought to be wirth anything. When there are so many, a single life is nothing.

Their voices high yet gentle, the Magikarp all started crying out their names, as they grew accustomed to speaking for the first time. However, the great noise, movement, and color attracted a large number of hungry Mantine, and the large Pokemon enjoyed a large crunchy snack. Though adult Magikarp are impossible to eat and anything but satisfying, young ones are like potato chips to a desperate carnivore.

Soon the thousands had dwindled to only about twelve, and these dozen baby fish fled for their lives silently and deliberately, a little female leading the way. Their eyes were large and unblinking, with a rather stupid look to them, and they swam with their mouths gaping as open as their eyes. Their little fins moved as fast as possible until they were sure they were a safe distance away, but even then they still didn’t stop. That invisible voice that had commanded them to leave the safety of their homes at the worse possible moment was now driving them towards the shallow waters, where large creatures could not reach them.

The little female that had led the way now held back to catch her breath, then continued on. She and her brothers and sisters were constantly shifting positions, now afraid to lead into what might be danger, now afraid of something attacking from behind. The female did her best to stay in the middle of her school, where she was sure she would be safe, though her siblings wanted that position also. They were very much lucky that their small group passed through the ocean unnoticed, until they made it to the warmer waters in the bay. If she had been in any other group, the female Magikarp, as tired as she had been, most likely would not have made it.

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

*looks around* *sighs*

~*~Chapter 1~*~

The ocean waters were a wonderful thing in the summer, when the warmth filled the water Pokemon’s bodies with life. The Magikarp loved to sit just below the surface, taking in the sunshine as best they could. Their lives meant nothing to them, of course, so they thought nothing of the danger of what they were doing. They lived for the moment, any thought of their own well being all but nonexistent. It’s the way of the Magikarp.

The female Magikarp felt no remorse for her thousands of dead siblings. No… In fact, she had no memory of them. She was much older now, almost fully grown, and looked rather lovely as far as Magikarp go. Her large eyes still stared unblinking at everything about her, but for a Magikarp that can be expected. Her body was almost a golden color, and she had a white mark on her left cheek. It was no particular shape, but to see any kind of mark on a Magikarp is rare.

As she lazily rode the water currents, another Magikarp swam over to her.
“Water nice, yes?” he asked, his voice deeper with his maturity. The female Magikarp recognized him as her brother because of a small rip in his left fin.
“Oh yes. Water warm, slow, and lovely. Very good water.” She responded with a grin, blowing a few bubbles absently as she said this. If he had been another male she didn’t know, most likely she would have ignored him.
“Yes, yes. Good… good…” her brother left it at that, and rested beside his sister, enjoying the warmth greatly.

A couple of Magikarp joined them that the female did not know, and of course, she went out of her way to completely ignore them. Her brother did the same, even when one was snatched out of the water by the talons of a hungry Pidgeot. As long as they weren’t the ones getting eating, they had no problem with one less of the breed. Even the lost Magikarp’s companion didn’t seem to mind, but continued his relaxation.

As the day grew late the female Magikarp went down to feed, and then sleep. She had no dreams, no thoughts, and no cares. Any personality she had been born with was long gone, buried with the lack of action in her life. She simply lived, like every Magikarp, and cared nothing for anything. Love was something she had never heard of… as well as hate. She was as dull as a sphere.

That was her earlier life. When she awoke the next day, however, her instincts had altered over night. She was almost an adult now, and it was time for her to travel to her birthplace deep in the ocean. She instantly forgot her lazy, boring life and without hesitation turned to the ocean, joining others that had already started. She barely thought about it, only swam with the ever-increasing school.

Magikarp are born with feelings, emotions, and thoughts, which fade during their life in shallow waters, because they have no need for them. They may not know it, but their mind shuts off because it’s waiting for the moment of adulthood, when the Magikarp start their life of migrating. Dangers are unavoidable, and their minds must be fresh and sharp.

The female Magikarp found herself wondering about why the water grew colder the deeper her school went. She would miss that warmth during her juvenile years, but that was past. She was now following a voice she could not hear, yet knew it was telling her to go home. Home being her birthplace. Home being her death place. It was that dangerous body of water she had to go to, and her chances of survival were slim.

The Magikarp school swam for the whole day without even seeing other Water Pokemon. They smelled them; felt the ripples of their movement from far away, but never came close to one. That was all the better for the Magikarp anyway, for their senses and minds were still growing and sharpening.

As night fell (though it was getting harder to tell when this happened) all the Magikarp split up and found hiding places to rest. The female Magikarp went with her closest brother, whom she had spent most of her time with in life. The Magikarp seemed redder than before, and this surprised her, though she didn’t mention it to him.

The two Magikarp settled among water plants on the sea floor. Once comfortable, the female Magikarp turned to her companion.
“Have you noticed we’re changing? I’m noticing things I never noticed before!” Her brother nodded.
“Yeah. I think it has something to do with “levels” that all Pokemon get as they grow. The higher level you are, the better you are all ‘round!”
“That’s amazing!” said the female Magikarp in awe.
“Yeah. Isn’t it? I learned that when I was still little. I talked to another Pokemon that looks like a plant!”
“I don’t know what either of those things are…” sighed the female Magikarp.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure you’ll learn by the time we’re done wherever we’re going!”
“Yeah, but—”
“No buts! It’s late, and I don’t feel like talking anymore. We need to sleep. So… good night!”

With that, the female Magikarp’s brother fell asleep; his eyes still very much wide open. The female Magikarp was left to ponder about everything, a very confusing thing to ponder indeed.

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

*grins really, really wide* A reader!!!! YAY!!!!

*throws a party* My first reader! *dances* Thankee so much for reading this!

Longer? *thinks* I could do that! I'll take a bit for the next chapter, though, because of exams, so please be patient!

*puts party stuff away* That was fun... ^-^

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Ooh! Another reader! *dances again* Heh, ya want blood? Well lucky you! This chapter happens to have a little.

(Be warned, peeps, this story starts out very cute, but will grow darker and darker as it prgresses.)

~*~Chapter 2~*~

The Magikarp were all very surprised as many weeks went by, still no predators came. They swam deeper and deeper into the sea, and as they did, they grew larger and larger to fight the increasing cold. The female Magikarp found her brother growing redder and redder, as well as all the other males. She did so with out saying anything, however, because nobody else cared.

Their going was easy with nothing hunting them, and they paused often so the males could practice fighting each other in preparation. The female Magikarp had no idea what they were preparing for, but she felt that it was important that they fought. It was that silent voice that told her, and she trusted it without hesitation.

It was at the beginning of the third week that they paused for good. The school was actually ahead of schedule, and that was bad, so they had to stop and wait for some time to go by. The female Magikarp was actually quite excited by this, though, and took this free time to gain some knowledge about “everything.” Her brother had taught her things all the time, and she absorbed them like a sponge. She loved to learn, an unusual thing for a Magikarp, and would take in every detail. Her brother had finished teaching her everything he knew not too long ago now, and her thirst for knowledge was already driving her into exploring. Her brother said that he had grown smart by talking to Pokemon. So she wanted to find a Pokemon herself.

The Magikarp were hiding on the ocean floor, in a sort of pit. At the bottom of this pit lay a great variety of sea plants, and around the pit were large amounts of coral. Though this made it hard for a predator to see the large school of Magikarp, it also made it hard for the Magikarp to see a predator. Thus, the female Magikarp found herself too frightened to leave her hiding place, and instead explored the pit, looking for any intelligent life she could find. Of course, she found nothing.

The female Magikarp found the abrupt halt in her lessons unnerving. She started begging her brother to at least repeat what he had learned, but he refused to do so.
“You already know it, so why should I waste energy on saying it all again?” he would always ask her, and of course she had no answer. She began to swim frantically around the pit, and two days felt like two years to her with no learning.
“I’m going to fall back into my stupidity,” she almost constantly muttered to herself. She also began eyeing the other Magikarp with anger, as though it were they whispering that mysterious order for her to stay.

Just as the female Magikarp thought that she would go crazy, something finally happened to stir the life in her again.

A scream tore through the water from somewhere out of the pit.
All the Magikarp fled in terror, hiding wherever they could. The female Magikarp, however, sat where she was with a fierce grin on her face. She could now, finally, have something to do!

Slowly the Magikarp swam up out of the pit, making sure to keep hidden among the protective coral. She swam carefully between the cracks, trying to move as slowly as her patience would let her. She went about a foot before she froze. She could now smell blood in the water. It was fresh and strong, so wherever it had come from was very close.

Shutting her mouth to keep from tasting the stuff, the female Magikarp swam a little farther, now going extremely slow as she felt fear for the first time. The scream came again, though it was much weaker. She stopped at this and tried to slow her heart down. The creature, whatever it was, was in great pain, and was probably being eaten alive or something. That meant that a predator was nearby, and she was a prey-type of creature.

Should she go on???

Yes. If she wanted to learn anything, she would have to overcome her fears and witness the killing of a fellow creature. It wasn’t her favorite idea to learn, but it would teach her things… she hoped. Holding her breath, she swam to the edge of the coral, and found herself face to face with a huge monster!

It was gigantic! A sort of long, snake-like creature, with protective plates that went over the top of its neck. It was a light blue, with yellow markings that went down its body. It had a fin on the end of its tail, on its neck plates, and on its cheeks. Underneath its cheek fins were long whiskers similar to hers, though these things she only glanced at. What caught most of her attention was its great gaping mouth, full of long sharp teeth, which it held in a snarl position.

She tried to breath, but the blood was even thicker in the water here, from whatever the monster had attacked. The female Magikarp coughed, and was very thankful that the monster did not notice. It seemed too interested on whatever was underneath it. The female Magikarp had to lift herself slightly out of the coral to see just what that was.

A tiny Pokemon, barley larger than herself, lay on the ocean floor with its eyes half open. A good deal of it had been bitten off, but what was left she took into her memory. It was also a light blue Pokemon, but looked far more harmless than the beast towering above it. It had little spiky ears, large red eyes, a scaled, off-white stomach, and a long snout for blowing out ink. If it had once had any fins, they were bitten off, as well as a good deal of its side. Its chest still moved, though, so it was alive, despite the liquid ribbons of red leaving its body.

The monster looked at it, grinning.
“You Horsea are such a nuisance! Yall ain’t even good ‘nuff ta eat! Fact is, the only thing yall’r good for at all is sport! Yall were meant to be our game! … And it looks like I’ve won this ‘un!” With that, the creature opened it jaws wider and lowered them towards the dying Horsea, who could barley squeak it pleads to be spared.

In panic, the female Magikarp dashed over to the two of them, and placed herself between them. She couldn’t help it! Seeing that poor Horsea suffering so badly was terrible, and from what she had heard, even the predator gained nothing but pleasure from killing it. She flinched as the jaws stopped around her, and the monster lifted itself back up and looked at her curiously.
“Whatcha want, Magikarp?” it asked, a touch of anger in its voice. Shaking badly over the fact that she had almost been eaten, the female Magikarp stammered,
“You have no reason to kill it, so please, mighty predator, leave this poor thing be! It has done you no harm, and you’ve won your game. You beat it. Badly.” The monster stared at her with surprise, then, slowly, it smiled. She felt herself cower slightly at that terrible, toothy grin, but she held her ground. They looked at each other for a while more, then the monster burst out laughing. The poor Magikarp’s heart froze at the sudden outburst of noise, and it was all she could do to keep from bolting.
“OHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! A MAGIKARP’S TRYIN’ TA TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!!! ME!!! A GYARADOS!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!”

The monst… I mean, the Gyarados, sat there laughing for quite a while, while the Magikarp did her best to fight her fears. Even her silent voice urged her to flee to safety, and that was hard to ignore. The smell of blood, strange creatures, and the sight of it all grew so overwhelming she found herself growing light-headed. She was greatly relieved when it stopped.
“You’re a bold critter! Ya may not have the strength ta beat me, but I like your guts! Because of that… and ‘cause I was a wee Magikarp once… I’ll letcha go. But remember!!! I’m bein’ nice, an’ you’re bein’ lucky. Don’t risk you’re life too much, Magikarp.” With that said, the Gyarados turned and swam away, kindly avoiding the two smaller Pokemon.

The female Magikarp watched the Gyarados with wonder, her mouth opened wide. She watched him until he was out of sight, then turned her attention to the half-dead Horsea. She gently nudged it, and it looked at her with clouded eyes.
“Thank… y…y….”
“Shh…” she whispered to it, “You need to rest. I’ll be right back. My brother knows how to heal things. You just take it easy until I’m back.” The Horsea relaxed and shut its eyes. Silently the female Magikarp left it, heading through the coral to the pit for her brother. As she swam, she thought of all that had happened, and found with despair that she had been left with more questions than answers from that event.

The Gyarados had said, “… I was a wee Magikarp once…” What had it meant by that? Had that huge, terrible, cruel creature once been a small stupid fish like her? Or more importantly, was she destined to become one of those monsters? Her head spun as everything raced through it once more, and was relieved when she reached the pit.

[Pokemaster Cody]

Neat-o chapter-os. I like this a lot. The first chapter had a few grammar mistakes. The second one was pretty much clean of mistakes however.

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Lookee at all da readers!!! *gets all the party stuff out again* I better answer all your posts, eh? Here goes!

Zup: Thank you ^-^


Otto=ottO: The female Magikarp's brother, like her, had never left the shallow waters until now. He's never seen deep sea Pokemon like she just saw.

Pokemaster Cody: ^^;; I kinda never looked over the first chapter...

Count von Dark: Yeah, that's a problem of mine. The farther along I get into my story, the more eager I get to see things happen as though I were reading the story myself instead of writing it, and it becomes harder for me to keep the patience for writing good descriptions... *grins awkwardly*

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

MORE readers! *offers everyone party foods*

Dark Shaman: Thankee!

Rosa_Lacrimas: You thought it was gonna be about Mewtwo and Mew?... *gives a sly grin and chuckles*

AquaBabe727: I like Finding Nemo! ^-^ It looks so cute!!! Thankee for the praise!

~*~Chapter 3~*~

The Magikarp were all stupid fish, and even an injured animal filled their pathetic minds with fear. They ate, slept, and communicated while they hid, too scared to come out. The female Magikarp (who had started to mature and change color like her brother) had learned to ignore them. This was, however, fairly difficult, since she saw the orange patches in the green seaweed quite clearly. She also heard their mutterings as they talked about her and her brother, their deep voices full of suspicion.

The female Magikarp would be fully mature in just a few days, however, and had lost most of her childishness in the weeks that had gone by. Her scales had paled until they were almost gold, as did all the other females, and the males were redder than ever. She had more important things to do than to get mad at her own school, like taking care of the fast recovering Horsea she had saved. She also felt an urge to sometimes turn her attention to the darker patches of orange in the plants, the males, and study them with a fascination she did not understand. It was that silent voice that had haunted her all her life telling her to do this, and still she obeyed it without struggle.

The only time she ignored it was when she had to take care of her Horsea. Like the other Magikarp, she was afraid of him, and just wouldn’t show it. He smelled of blood and injury, and the more she spent time with him, the more she smelled like him. It was terrible stressful to her. However, despite his scent, his scars, and the fact that he was missing a fin and an ear, the Horsea himself was very charming.

The Horsea’s name was Keshaa (Kay-Shaw), which represents the sound of the ocean’s underwater currents for Horsea. Keshaa knew a lot about the ocean, and was more than willing to help the female Magikarp learn some about the ways of deep-sea water Pokemon. She learned that the Gyarados she had talked to was especially nice, and she had been luckier than lucky that she wasn’t immediately eaten. She learned about all these Pokemon:
Mantine, about the Corsola, the Tentalcool and Tentacruel, the Kibania and Samehadaa, the Wailmer and Hoeruo, the Dojocchi and Namazun, the Heigani and Shizarigar, Hinbasu and Mirokarosu, Staryu and Starmie, Paaruru, Hanteeru, Sakurabisu, Jiiransu, Corsola, Chinchou and Lanturn, and, of course, the Horsea, Seadra, and Kingdra, and well as the many varieties of Magikarp, as well as many others. If she had seen these Pokemon she would not have recognized them, but if they had said what they were she would understand how to be polite to them and not get eaten.

The female Magikarp was right about Keshaa’s long snout—he blew ink from it to make getaways. Though, when she asked him why he didn’t use that skill to get away from the Gyarados, he would suddenly grow too weary to talk anymore and request to be left alone. Having no important reason to argue against it, she would leave him as he wished.

The female Magikarp’s brother proved to be less brave than she. Even though he was recovering, Keshaa still smelled of blood even after the several weeks had gone by. Since blood easily attracted predators, the Magikarp’s brother would only stay around long enough to add more medicine to the wounds, and then he would leave. Keshaa didn’t mind, but the female Magikarp was bothered by it. She had always looked up to her brother, and had thought he knew everything. Now she found that there was something very important he didn’t: the importance of making friends.

Keshaa taught the female Magikarp all the legends of the Horsea. She learned of the many guardians of the sea, and how they would come to a Pokemon’s aid if he/she deserved rescuing. She learned how it is a dream of all Horsea to become dragons as Kingdra, and the hard work they must do in order to reach that goal. Her favorite, however, was in the last day of her time in the pit.

She awoke bitterly cold. The ocean currents had changed during her slumber, where almost freezing water was now coming from the north. Her now much bigger, golden body trembled, and for a moment she wanted to just go back to sleep. Her large, open eyes stared up into the dark water, and she found herself longing for the warmth of the surface that was so very, very far away now. Her mind drifted to those easy days where she only ate, slept, and sunned in complete bliss. Why had she left that life?

“Magi?” called Keshaa. “I think it’s about time for you to get up!” Grumbling, the female Magikarp buried her head in the sand.
“Tired…” she mumbled.
“Magi!” he persisted, shouting it louder, “Now would be a really good time for you to wake up!!!!” The urgency in his voice was obvious, and the female Magikarp reluctantly rose from the ground and swam through the seaweed to her friend. She found him being threatened by three Magikarp that wanted him gone more than anyone. Angrily she swam over, and placed herself between them as she had done with the Magikarp. Two males and a female glared at her angrily. All three of them were much smaller than her and still orange, but they felt confident and bold together. The male was especially confident, since he was one of those few males who had spikes that were starting to grow on his head, and large ones at that.

The female Magikarp was twice as big as any of them, and with her size and wisdom she had her own confidence, though even if she hadn’t had even that, her anger at their rebellion against her friend would easily make up for it. She glared back t them wit ha fierceness greater than all three of them put together. This made the small Magikarp back away a little. Keshaa peeked out from behind his Magikarp curiously, then grinned at the sight of his attackers becoming scared.
“Leave the Horsea alone,” growled the female Magikarp, opening her gills and spreading her fins to make herself look as large as possible. The three younger Magikarp glanced at each other, then the females looked over and nodded to the male. He nodded back, then turned to the female Magikarp, confidence once again in his eyes.
“Stay out of this you big fish,” he snapped, “That creature’s practically dead as it is, and even if he heals completely, his fins are gone. He can’t swim!”
“I have one fin,” Keshaa put in indignantly, though this little comment was ignored.
“I didn’t risk my life against a Gyarados to have three little Magikarp ruin what I’ve worked so hard to save,” the female Magikarp snapped back, growing angrier every second. The male and female Magikarp glared at one another for a while, then the male Magikarp tossed his head a bit.
“All right. If you want it that way!” With a strange sort of Magikarp battle cry, he lunged at the female Magikarp, his horns pointed towards her for a lethal strike. Surprisingly, he was easily defeated. With skills she never knew she had, the female Magikarp waited until he almost hit her, then knocked him away with her tail. There was a soft thud as she made contact, and he was thrown into a rock from the collision, making a much larger sound. He immediately fainted, and the two females rushed over to him. They looked him over, and found his spikes were chipped off, and a large crack lay in the plate that surrounds all Magikarp’s heads. Blood was soon gushing from that crack about as badly it had come from Keshaa. Disgusted, the two females left him, muttering together. Soon they were hidden, like all the other Magikarp. The male did not move.

The female Magikarp dashed over to the male, looking to see how badly she had hurt him. She was relieved to find the injury bad, but not lethal. He wouldn’t die if she fixed him up… though she still hadn’t learned the art of good healing. She could always ask help from… A light cough made her turn around. It was Keshaa, looking at his fallen foe.
“You’re not… planning on helping him… are you?”
“What would you suggest?” she muttered, digging for mud to stop the bleeding. Keshaa frowned.
“If he lives, he’ll bring everyone against us! How many Magikarp do you think are here??? This pit is large enough to hold eight Gyarados, and the Magikarp fill every bit of it!! You may be able to go against two or three with your skills, or even maybe ten to twenty, but the hundreds and hundreds, possibly THOUSANDS of Magikarp that are here… Helping him will lead to our doom! Those Magikarp are already at the limits of their tolerance of us… He will talk ill of us, and those fish will attack!”
“I just became responsible of him, just as I am responsible of you…” the female Magikarp whispered, spreading the mud over the wound.

Keshaa, not having the heart to argue with her, watched as the female Magikarp tried as best she could to be neat about her spreading. The mud wouldn’t sit still, but instead kept trying to slip off to the ground, and kept threatening to run into the Magikarp’s gills. After a bit of studying her struggles, the little deep-sea Horsea decided to be useful.
“Magi, if you take me over to him, I could help you out.” The female Magikarp glanced over at him, her fins covered with mud, and nodded her agreement to his proposal. She gently wiped off the mud so it wouldn’t suffocate the Magikarp while she was gone, then swam over to Keshaa. As he led go of the plant he was holding with his tail, and curled it around her, he started chattering excuses for his crippled state.
“I’m sorry I can’t swim… It’s not my fault, y’know… Those blasted Gyarados have always hunted us for sport… Though, if I had been born a shallow water Horsea, I would have one fin in the center of my back, instead of two on the sides… though I suppose it wouldn’t do me much good, eh?… He kinda got me where that fin would be… Oh, I feel so useless!… I’m so sorry I’m such a trouble for you… You’d think that since I still have one fin I’d be able to swim about at least some!… I—”
“That’s all right, Keshaa,” chuckled the female Magikarp. “I don’t mind giving you a lift at all! You’ve proven to be very useful. Now, could you please show me how to dress this Magikarp’s wounds correctly?” Keshaa agreed, and set to work immediately, using his one fin with great skill.

“You know, I learned how to do this from your brother! He’s a fine teacher, and… oh… what’s wrong?” Keshaa looked at the Magikarp, whose face suddenly became full of pain at the mention of her brother. They were slipping so far apart…

Keshaa studied her for a moment, her silence bothering him, and then turned back to his work. A sudden idea popped up in his head as he did this, and his pale blue face brightened with excitement.
“Hey, I know what’ll cheer you up! How about a story?” He glanced back at her, and found she was deliberately keeping herself from looking at him, and instead studied their fallen enemy. Trying to keep an awkward silence from coming, Keshaa decided to tell his story. Having nothing else to do, the female Magikarp listened, as well as watched her Horsea do his work.

“I’m going to tell you the birth of Pokemon. It’s a long, fascinating story told through every species of Pokemon, even some types of Magikarp! That’s proof enough that it’s true… Shall I begin?

“Ahem. Long ago, when God created all the creatures of the earth, he made a thing that had strange powers. It also had wisdom, and was created to protect and watch over the earth. This it did with great care, and all the creatures loved it. Yet… when it tried to help man… they began to worship it. This creature’s name was Mew.

“Mew was not at all happy about the humans worshipping it. They created statues, carved pictures, and one day when Mew hurt itself on something, they took what it left behind and set it in a small container to last forever. Then, after a while, they began to even worship this. That, Magi, was very much the last straw. Mew lost its temper, and attacked them. Its shrine was left in ruins, and the people were left very much angry. So was God.

“As punishment, God took away Mew’s title. He also took away bits of it and made other creatures with strange abilities, making it far less important. Mew became a shadow, a whisper unheard, and it was driven crazy by this. It lost all intelligence, and grew completely child-like, but still helps out where it can. God, as another bit of punishment, made sure it would never flourish as a huge species, so it is very rare. The other Pokemon bred and multiplied, and mankind found that they weren’t masters like Mew had been, but instead were servants. Man took charge, and now we are all owned if we are found by the man.” Keshaa finished fixing up the injury, and turned to the female Magikarp.
“Did you like it?”
She smiled, then frowned in confusion. “So… the first Pokemon was called Mew… and all its species are called Mew?”
“Yup!”
“Is that the case with all Pokemon?”
“Uh-huh!”
“Is that why our language is based on our names? To honor the first of our species?”
“You are one clever girl! Yes, you are exactly right. Each child of Mew was different, yet their children looked like them, and were named after them, and so on and so forth.”

The female Magikarp mused over this story while Keshaa covered his work with a bit of seaweed.
“That’s it!” he said, with a worried grin, “All we can do is wait… And pray that he doesn’t turn on us!”

[Pokemaster Cody]

Great chapter! I liked the excellent detail and description you put into everything. I liked the Mew story, it makes sense. I want to see if the female Magikarp evolves first, or the Horsea. I also want to find out if Horsea regrows its fins when it evolves. Great, keep going.

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

*stares at all the posts* Cool! ^-^ That's the most I've ever had in one day! *notices poeple are actually, finally, eating the refreshments* Double cool!

AshsBabyLapras: Hi again! ^-^ I'm so happy you like my Magikarp! Yes, she has a very caring personality, and as you can tell, that makes her very different. To Pokemon, however, different is more often bad than good, and not easily welcomed...

Crystalmaster Mike: Muahaha! Took ya by surprise, didn't I?! Yeah, I've written about legendaries a very long time... and lately I found I wanted to challenge myself with something nobody wants to write about... Magikarp!!!

Pokemaster Cody: *smiles* Actually, I didn't make that story up completely! I used to write about Mew and Mewtwo a lot, and I studied about them in every way I could. This story is taken from bits and pieces of every legend about Mew I could find.

Rainstone: You're welcome! ^^ You really liked Keshaa's story? Cool! I'll have to tell him!

Dark Shaman: Thankee so much for your praise! Such kind words make my times of writing all the better! *grins*

If you guys don't mind, I'm going to take a break during Christmas and Christmas break... Merry Christmas peoples!

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Aw... Sorry, Pokemaster Cody... Here's a picture to cheer you up, k?

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/draganie/...c=ph%26.view=t

Edit: Sorry... try the new one I put up.

[Rainstone]

The picture's link won't work for me! I feel deprived ...

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

My lil blue thing has similar markings to a NewMew, but a completely different shape. To explain Magi...

The differences in Magikarp:

Magi is a deep sea Magikarp. These Magikarp are small and round at birth; so small that their tiny bodies can only be seen when they're in large numbers. As they grow, they lenghthen and thin out, making them more evasive when their many predators come. Only the males grow rounder, and this is in muscle, for they are the only gender that trains. Magi had the upper hand when she fought that male, because her gender is built for speed, and his for brute strength. It's the male Magikarp that get eaten more often by larger predators. (The males are red and females are golden)

There is a certain Magikarp that lives like a salmon, going both in the ocean and inland. These Magikarp are larger when they're born, and far greater in numbers. As soon as they age a bit, they swim an easy journey to the sea. There, they lengthen and grow slender like a female sea Magikarp, and neither gender is eaten easily. When the time comes for breeding, the Magikarp go back inland. During their long, hard struggle they gain huge muscles, making them easy prey for predators. Fatigue also drops their numbers, the journey is so difficult, and few make it. When those that survive do make it, the males fight fiercly for the females, and with their huge strength, they will often evolve. Sometimes one or two evolve during the journey, and whenever one does, it heads out to sea to find its own kind, and is finally given a name. (The males of this species, and also the females, are a deep crimson)

The shallow water Magikarp are kinda pathetic. These are the Magikarp we all know and love, that we all catch on our fishing poles and later curse. They are short, fat, and stupid, with no organized breeding system, and few words. Because of this, they breed all year round, and there are far more than there needs to be. Predators usually find them too much of a hassle to try and eat, since they're mostly made of fat, and leave them alone. They're a bother to nature, but are far too stupid ot realize it.
(both genders stay orange they're whole lives)

Get it? Magi's a sea Magikarp, and therefore has to be long! *grins* She's long in the book, and her length and slenderness will be pointed out later.

[Rainstone]

At first I thought to myself,"Cool! That Horsea has red stripes, but he looks a little funny" and then I realised that was where he was attacked... Heh *embarrased chuckle*. Yet another excellent piccy. ^_^ Your lil' blue thing is so ... little! ... and blue! I want one. I'll call mine Sam.

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Rainstone: Heh, yeah, Keshaa has no stripes... I would have mentioned them. They're scars all right... Sam? That's a good name for my blue thing! ^^

Ace Blaze: Yeah, you could call Shining Magikarp gold, but I call them yellow. I know what color they are... I just like the color gold! ^^;; Thanks for your praise on the story!

Pokemaster Cody: Yes, Keshaa is very scarred... *evil chuckle* =^-^= Here's that chapter you wanted!

My gosh... I'm already on chapter four!!!


~*~Chapter 4~*~

It’s odd at the bottom of the ocean, never knowing when it’s day, and knowing when it’s night just as much. It makes it difficult to know when to sleep if you aren’t a Pokemon, and even Pokemon that aren’t used to the depths of the ocean have awkward times with this. The Magikarp, however, have an advantage, using their instincts to tell them when it is time for slumber. They all fall asleep at the same time, all across the ocean, their orange, red, and gold bodies lying on the ocean floor, with perhaps one or two bright, yellow, Shining Magikarp among them.

The female Magikarp was one of the billions out there, so small and unimportant, yet she no longer felt this. She was doing something that was starting to draw her out of the crowd, things that no other Magikarp would think of doing. She was becoming as different as a Shining Pokemon, and slowly grew more and more special. Her newest thing weird: staying up “late.” Afraid of all the Magikarp turning on her like Keshaa had said, the female Magikarp stayed up, watching her injured enemy, trying to keep him from hurting himself worse.

Keshaa, loyal to his rescuer, stayed up with her, telling her story after story, growing into the tales as though he were listening himself for the first time. His pleasure in the tellings added to the female Magikarp’s enjoyment, as she herself absorbed every bit of knowledge of the undersea world she could, and even bit of out of sea.

“Do you know what it’s like out of the water?” The female Magikarp turned from the injured Magikarp curiously.
“Do you know what it’s like?” she asked Keshaa. The crippled Horsea grinned.
“One of my friends used to live out of the water and—”
“You can DO that???”
“Oh yeah! All Water Pokemon can live on land!”
The female Magikarp had been practicing keeping her mouth closed all the time, but now let it fall open in shock. Grinning wider, Keshaa began.
“Above the surface, it’s very green on the ground, and very blue above, kinda like down here. Only it’s brighter, though, and there are more extreme temperatures. You think it’s cold now? In some places, you can DIE of cold above the surface! But also, it can be very warm, and some places are comfortably in between.

“Also, you feel heavier, where you can’t lift yourself off the ground, and have to move along it. The creatures up there, they have things called legs, and they use them to move across the ground. They’re naturally stronger because they have to try harder to do everyday things with their added weight, and excelling beyond that is just incredible strength! Because of their strength, though, they’re cruel to sea creatures, and don’t think all too highly of us.”

The female Magikarp, as always, thought about what she had heard as she looked over the hurt Magikarp. He was still in bad shape after being slammed into a sharp rock, and it would be a while before he got better. She was worried about him waking up, even though he was in no condition to be making speeches about how evil she was, but that silent voice persisted its warning in the back of her mind. Actually, it had been yelling at her for quite a bit ever since she had saved Keshaa. She was starting to really hate that voice, of course it didn’t care, but she wanted it to go away forever.

It was an hour later. Keshaa looked at the female Magikarp with worry as she struggled to fight her instincts, backing away from the two of them, then approaching again. Her thoughts seemed to have become an argument that had nothing to do with what he’d been talking about. Her inner turmoil was torturing her, after everything she’d done since all her time in the pit. Plus, with a new injury, there was fresh blood in the water, and the smell of blood seemed to fill Magikarp with fear. Wanting to help her, Keshaa carefully climbed down the rock he was gripping and nudged his friend.
“Hey… It’s all right… Just ignore that stupid voice in your head and do what you know is right! It hasn’t failed you yet...”

The female Magikarp nudged Keshaa back, and then lowered herself into the cold sand. Miserable, she started crying.
“Yes it has…” she sobbed, motioning towards her injured attacker. “I almost killed one of my own species! How is that doing good?! I’m corrupted! Somewhere along the line, was messed up somehow…” Frowning, Keshaa gripped her fin with his blue tail, and stared into her eyes.
“If you talk like that, you will become corrupted… You are something special, Magi. You’re different, and sometimes you’ll be attacked for that difference. You may even be shunned from the world your whole life… but if you keep being yourself and doing what you think is right, no one will forget what you did. Especially not me…”

The female Magikarp pressed close to Keshaa, her way of hugging. Tears still left her eyes and vanished into the water, but they were more like tears of joy now. Keshaa’s words filled her with peace, and that soundless voice left her be.

~*~*~

Keshaa helped up the injured Magikarp, giving him a mixture of support and warning. The Magikarp was welcomed to sit up, but had to remain still and silent, as well as respect his caretakers. The red male glared at his company angrily, but obeyed since he was in no condition to argue. The female Magikarp formed him a sort of bed out of the softer bits of seaweed and other plants, and formed a hollow in the sand where he could lie comfortably. Still silent, the male let himself be put in and made comfortable, glaring at them the whole time.

When they were done, Keshaa let out a loud yawn.
“Well! That was a lot of work! You two should get some rest!” Gripping onto a plant, he shoved at the female Magikarp until she was in the bed next to her patient, looking up at Keshaa like a little child. Keshaa looked at them side-by-side, and chuckled.
“You two aren’t anywhere near going to sleep, are you? You’re far too awake because of everything that’s been happening this day. Well, I know how to fix that! I’m going to tell you a bedtime story!”

And, without giving either member of his audience any chance to protest, he began.
“Once, not too long ago, there was an Eevee. Like all her kind, she came at the age where she wanted to evolve, and such a time for a thing like an Eevee is very special indeed.

“What’s an Eevee? Well, let me tell you! They’re little furry things, and very brown, with large, gentle eyes and long ears. They’re soft and lovable, something you’d want to fall asleep with at night, and have feet, because they live on land. These Pokemon are strange, because when they evolve, which is to suddenly grow bigger and stronger, if you don’t know,” he said this last part for the male Magikarp, who seemed confused about the entire story. Without pausing, Keshaa continued.

“When an Eevee evolves, it’s a very special thing, because they can evolve into more than one creature. If they touch a certain stone, they’ll change into whatever that stone is related to. If the stone came from the flames of the earth, the Eevee would become one with those flames the stone knew so well, and have mastery over them. Its brown coat would have their color, and where it was once fuzzy, great tongues of heat would lick themselves around it. If the stone came from the sky, from the storms and lightning, the creature that came from it would have the fearsome strength of that lightning. It would no longer be cute and fuzzy, but instead would be sleek, spiky, and fast, with the ability to call upon the power of the sky when it needs it. If the stone came from the sea…” at this part the Horsea smiled, “the little land Pokemon would gain the qualities of a sea creature, yet keep its ability to travel fast out of water. It gains the beauty of the ocean, as well as the power, and grace. It is very much an awesome thing to see one of these creatures…

“But that’s not what my story is about. It’s about an Eevee who was not sure what to do. All three stones lay before her, their power radiating from them. She could feel their strength, but they all brought power. She would follow different paths in her life with each stone, and this was why she was debating. They all seemed wonderful to her, and filled her with excitement. The question was… which would she pick?

“It grew dark as the Eevee sat staring, motionless, at those stones. Her clan soon left her, needing their rest, and she was left alone. Still, the Eevee stayed, after every other Eevee had chosen what to become. She was awkwardly different, a very deep thinker, and now she found herself alone, but it did not stop her. She continued to debate over what to become, thinking over the good and bad of each choice, as it became so dark she had trouble seeing the stones she was going to use.

“Then, out of nowhere, there came another Pokemon, a thing called a Houndour. These are black creatures, with long legs, and they like to hunt and eat anything they can, even when they’re not hungry… Kinda like the Gyarados.” Keshaa added bitterly, “The Houndour attacked the Eevee, and with her family so far away, she had to face him herself.

“The two fought fiercely, but the Houndour was obviously stronger, and the Eevee found her energy slipping from her. Then, Just as she collapsed, and the Houndour readied himself for the final blow, as strange thing happened. The Eevee started to glow. She was surrounded by a blinding light, and she started to grow.

“When the light faded, a creature unlike anything anybody had ever seen stood before that Houndour. It was sleek and black, with glowing rings on its head, legs, and around its tail. Its eyes were as red as the blood that ran through its mighty body, and they were filled with more confidence than any other Eevee evolution. It raised its head, and shouted a single word.
‘Umbreon!!”

Keshaa looked at the two Magikarp to find the male sound asleep, and the female starting to slip off. She looked up at him, and yawned.
“So, her name was Umbreon?”
“Yes.”
“And she was the first of a new species.”
“You can figure anything out, can’t you?” chuckled Keshaa. The female Magikarp thought a moment, then asked another question.
“Are you finished with the story?”
“Yes.”
“Then… we don’t get to find out if she won the fight?”
“What do you thing, Magi?”
“I think she won.”

Keshaa smiled and cuddled up close to his friend. He watched as she slowly fell asleep, her eyes still eerily opened wide.
“Yes, Magi. She did. Like I said before, you don’t need all the facts. You can figure anything out without them.” He whispered to her in her sleep, “You’re that special…”

The Horsea lied down, and found himself starting to drift off. Just before he shut his eyes, however, he witnessed every healthy Magikarp in the pit awaken and swim off, abandoning those who could not come. He glanced worriedly over at his pair of Magikarp, and snuggled closer to his friend. Now she would need his help, and he was determined not to let her down.

The pit was soon empty of Magikarp, and they all began to swim away. The only one who looked back was the female Magikarp’s brother. He stopped, turned back, and watched the pit for a while, whispering farewells and good luck to his closest sibling. Then, tears entering the ocean water in a trail after him, he left, following the school he belonged to.

The injured male and exhausted female knew nothing of their being abandoned, and slept soundly, two enemies, side by side. Both of them dreamed of the Eevee in the story, how they thought fire looked, and of the mighty that the innocent could become. They swam with the Water type, defeated the Lightning, and the female Magikarp gazed with wonder at Umbreon, who smiled at her with pride.

Still asleep, the female Magikarp smiled back.

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Ace Blaze: Here's that chapter you wanted ^-^ Though It's kinda fast paced...

Dark Shaman: And continue I shall!

Otto=ottO: Heh, actually, Keshaa thought up Magi's name so he didn't have to say Magikarp all the time!

Rainstone: And write I shall, especially for those desert penguins!

Pokemaster Cody: Well, a good story, I find, should have a little bit of everything in it. Comedy, action, romance, tragedy, mystery... And also have both slow and fast paced chapters.

~*~Chapter 5~*~

When you’ve lived your entire life in the crowds, hidden among thousands, there is nothing more frightening than being completely alone, with no one there to help you. The dark and quiet enshrouds you, absorbs you into itself, the silence consumes you. It is overwhelming, and can drive a Pokemon mad.

The female Magikarp found herself in this position, much to her shock and dismay. She looked about herself, trembling, trying to see into the darkness. She was cold and scared, and because of this attempted to cower into the earth, trying to hide from dangers that she could not see. The darkness… the silence… It was driving her crazy!! Where had everyone gone?!

A gentle rippled in the water made her jump, and she turned to see a red, injured Magikarp with a Horsea holding onto him. They were going along at a slow paced, both rather pathetic, and both still smelling of blood. Their approach brought her relief and misery together, since her instincts still strongly hated their scent.

The female Magikarp made a dash towards them, but then backed away. She had been brave with everyone around her, but her bravery was draining fast. This isolation was unnerving! She pressed against the ground as they approached, trying to stop shaking. If she didn’t watch it, she would have a panic attack, and that wouldn’t help anybody at all. Keshaa’s face filled with worry at the sight of her wretched state, but the male Magikarp wasn’t even paying attention to her. He was busy deep in thought, his wide eyes distant. There was worry on his face, too, but not for her.

“You okay, Magi?” the Horsea asked when they had reached her. Awkwardly he switched over to the female Magikarp, wrapping his tail around her waist. She flinched at his touch, then began to shake again. She made no answer.

The male Magikarp finally looked at her, but didn’t seem to care about her panicking. His mind was still on something else.
“They’re dead.” He said gravely. “The Magikarp killed every sick and injured Magikarp that tried to follow them. We’re the only ones left.” The female Magikarp made small sobbing noise in horror, but did not move or speak. Keshaa just nodded sadly in agreement.

~*~*~

The male Magikarp, who Keshaa had started calling Karp, was very bold and helpful. He may not have been as friendly and loving as the female Magikarp, but he knew how to keep a cool head in times of danger. While the female Magikarp lay on the ground, trying to gather her wits, the male Magikarp was burying the bodies of his kin. Keshaa puts plants where the graves lay, a Horsea burial custom, and said a few solemn words of respect to each of them. He did this by himself, trying his very best to swim, though it was hard on him. He mostly gripped what plants he could.

When they were finished with the bodies, the two males discussed what they should do in their situation.
“We need to get Magi among large crowds again. I’m really worried about her,” muttered Keshaa to the male Magikarp. The red Magikarp frowned and impaled a plant with his horn to calm down.
“Do you not think that’s obvious??? We BOTH need large crowds, but obviously I have more self control than that female you call Magi. We can’t follow our school; we smell like weakness and injury. They’ll kill us. If we went to a strange Magikarp school, they’d kill us even worse. It’s hopeless. We’re on our own, and by the looks of it, the female will die first.” Keshaa frowned, and started nibbling on the plant the Magikarp had killed so that it wouldn’t go to waste.
“I’m not stupid, Karp.”
“Don’t call me that!” the male Magikarp snapped, “It’s not my name! If you know so much, you would know that the Magikarp gave up names a long time ago. None of us have names! You singling a few of us out and trying to name us is just rude. The Magikarp do their best to be one creature. None are different. They kill the different. I never will be different where I can help it! Any respectful Magikarp would say the same.” Keshaa shrugged.
“Magi doesn’t mind…”
“Well, that female with the spotted cheek is just… weird. She tries to be different. That’s why they left her when she was healthy. Now she’s suffering from it, like she deserves. She almost killed me…”
“We’re getting off subject.” Said Keshaa quietly, “Now, I know where we can go. I’m not a Magikarp, and I have kin. My kind doesn’t kill the sick in their school—they help them. When they see Magi saved me, they’ll help you. I’m sure of it.” The male Magikarp frowned, trying to find a fault in the idea, but couldn’t. He didn’t know enough about other sea creatures to do so.

“Where is your school? And how far will we have to go?” he asked sulkily, annoyed that he didn’t think up the plan. Keshaa frowned, sighed, and then shuddered.
“Not far… but we’ll have to go through… Gyarados territory…”

The male Magikarp didn’t notice the Horsea’s fear, and nodded that’s he’d go. Feeling hungry, he turned his back on the poor crippled blue Horsea, who was shaking as badly as the female Magikarp with fear from his own idea. Keshaa hated Gyarados… and they hated him. If he went back there… after being pinpointed as prey and surviving… He shivered again. He was more than likely doomed to die a terrible death. That much was clear. He would never feel the joy of evolution, the power to finally be able to hold his own against the enemy.

Keshaa turned to Magi, and sighed. No, not all of them were his enemy. He had been saved by a baby Gyarados. Strange, she was completely the opposite of your average Magikarp. A killer in the making. That’s all most Magikarp were. Weak might, power, destruction, just waiting for the moment to let itself loose upon its enemy. He had always had something against Magikarp. When they evolved, almost always, they began to destroy. Magikarp are so dangerous… and most creatures forget that.

Keshaa shook his scarred blue head. He couldn’t daydream like that today. There was too much that had to be done. Too many Magikarp that had to be saved. Too many Gyarados that had to be avoided… With another violent tremble, the Horsea turned his attention on Magi again. He was doing this for her, just as she had faced the Gyarados for him. He shook his head to get rid of his fears, and swam over to the still shaking Magikarp. He gently nuzzled her, then did his very best to calm her down.

~*~*~

It was noon, and the trio of rogue Water Pokemon set off on their dangerous journey. The male Magikarp was in the lead, his spiky crimson body sticking out greatly against the deep navy blue water around them, and the crack on his head leaving a small liquid red ribbon behind him. Holding onto him was Keshaa, a rather sad sight, still missing an ear and a fin, and covered with lots of scars. He whispered warnings and directions to the Magikarp, acting as his guide. The female Magikarp lagged behind, still shaking badly and eyeing the world around her with suspicion.

The three journeyers went about an hour between coral and rocks, a difficult and slow journey, since they were all so afraid of getting caught. The female was a bit troublesome: she bolted at any little thing, and finding her was hard. The voyage was difficult and stressful on all three Pokemon, though the males were too proud to show it.

Keshaa, however, snapped when that hour was up. They were in a crevice between two large stones; it was extremely rocky here. He began to panic when he saw a sort of marking, made from the bones of some unfortunate Pokemon, in the shape of teeth: the symbol for Gyarados territory.
“We’re among the Gyarados… I’m going to die!!! They’ll smell me!! They’ll catch me! Then they’ll kill me… slowly… for escaping them!” Keshaa’s grip on the male Magikarp loosened as he grew light headed, and he let himself sink to the stone beneath them. The male Magikarp looked at him then looked behind them at the female Magikarp. She was doing a little better, but was still very jumpy. Both were in no condition for moving on.
“Pathetic…” he growled. “I have a head injury and I’m still in better condition than you two!” With that said, and no reaction from his colleagues, the red Magikarp did what any “respectable” Magikarp would do. He left them to die.

The female Magikarp silently watched the male leave, too tired from stress to protest. She glanced down at Keshaa, who was frightened to tears, and swam over to him. Gently, she put a fin on his back, and he jumped. The Horsea glanced over his shoulder at her, then looked at the ground.
“Feeling better?” he mumbled. The female Magikarp nodded silently, and wriggled underneath him until he was sitting on her instead of on the ground.
“We are probably going to die,” she said sadly, “but we might as well die trying.” Keshaa nodded glumly, and the two journeyers began their voyage again, warily passing the symbol of bones.

~*~*~

“How long’ve they been in here?” rumbled a deep voice. In the shadows, hidden amongst the huge stones, sat two Gyarados. They watched the slow process of the two basic form Pokemon, one carrying the other, who was a cripple. The Gyarados who had spoken was glaring at his colleague, who kept from making eye contact. The two huge snake-like Pokemon knew the silent one was supposed to do something… and he didn’t want to.
“‘Bout two hours. They’re really tired’n’stuff… They look kinda weak, too…” The Gyarados who had spoken first gave a dark grin.
“D’you wan’em, or can I ‘ave the honors.” He asked. The second Gyarados sighed.
“I know those two… an’ I promised I’d leave ‘em alone. The Magikarp’s a bold’un. If’n ya gotta hurt ‘em, just get the Horsea. Leave the wee girly Magikarp alone. Or I’ll ‘ave your ‘ide for m’self!” The first Gyarados laughed.
“Got an eye on that’un, eh StripFang? Waitin’ for ‘er to become a big ol’ Gyarados herself, eh?”

StripFang blushed slightly, but said nothing, instead lowering his head and scowling a bit. The other Gyarados’s grin broadened, and he tensed for an attack.
“I’m goin’ out there.” Then, he added, with a mocking grin, “Don’t worry, I won’t ‘urt your precious girlfriend!” Before StripFang could get at him, he shot towards his prey, even with his huge size at first unnoticed.

“We’ve been going too slow… We’re not welcome here… They’ve definitely seen us by now… Can’t you go faster???” Keshaa was now worse than the female Magikarp had been, shaking badly and keeping a constant eye out. The female Magikarp was a great deal better, but was going very slowly; she hadn’t traveled in a while, and all that bolting had tired her out. She needed time to rest… but first she had to get Keshaa out of here. Her crippled friend wouldn’t need a Gyarados to kill him if they stayed too long.

She was so tired…
“Let’s take a small break,” she suggested, lowering herself between the stones of a crevice. Keshaa opened his mouth to disagree, then shut it again, deciding instead to keep a look out for the predators definitely close by.
“They’re coming…” he hissed, “I can feel their movement… Fleeing would be futile. We’re safer here.” The female Magikarp got herself comfortable, and listened to the movement of the water. They hadn’t seen a Gyarados yet… Maybe Keshaa was mistaken? Maybe they wouldn’t see any Gyarados…

She hoped too soon.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the huge monster appeared that she could never forget, with those same red eyes and huge, gaping mouth full of long, sharp teeth. It stared at them, threw back its head and roared.
“Don’t run,” warned Keshaa, “I think it’s trying to scare us out.”
“I don’t plan to.” Answered the female Magikarp, glaring up at her evolved form. The Gyarados roared for a very long time, so long that it became almost amusing, then finally stopped and positioned its huge snakelike body in a pose that made it look even larger. It growled deeply, and its breath smelled like thousands of Keshaas long dead. The scent made the two friends nauseous.
“Come out, little critters. Come out’n’play!” it mocked, eyeing his helpless prey murderously. They cowered from it, trembling, but did nothing more.

The Gyarados snorted after about ten minutes of enjoying their terror, and said coldly,
“Fine, you won’t come out yourselves? Then I’ll make ya come out!” And with that, he began beating upon the rocks, breaking them bit-by-bit. They couldn’t run, they couldn’t stay. The two Pokemon, Keshaa and Magi, were trapped.

[Zach Starmourn]

It has been a long time since I've been here. I guess it was just my lucky day when I typed in the URL out of boredom. The last time I had checked this place was gone.

Nothing else has changed though. Everyone is still here, still doing the same things as last time I visited. I've even been writing the whole time.

Oh, oops. I got way off topic. Anyway, great story. I never looked at a Magikarp like that. I guess they could be considered dangerous couldn't they? They do evolve into Gyarados, which kinda make me like them a little more. Well, it is great to be back, and I hope you can keep writing.

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Meh... I never said the Gyarados liked her... you guys thought that up yourselves! o_O... Anyway, it's cool to see my old friend returned! *huggles Zach Starmourn* I like your new name! ^-^ And thankees for the praise, peeps! It makes me very happy!

Eh... this is an action-ish chapter... very fast and short... ^^;; Still hope you enjoy it!

~*~Chapter 6~*~

BOOM! BANG! BASH! The stones fell about the two small Pokemon, who sat there shivering with fear. The massive Gyarados was toying with them, but its games were not innocent. If you lost the game, you died.

The Magikarp stared at her evolved form with complete hatred. She was destined to evolve into a creature like that?! If she made it through this… she would kill for pleasure??? Be huge and ferocious, without any care for any creature but herself??? Obviously, she would have to evolve to get out of this… but was it worth turning into a Gyarados? Would she even be herself anymore???

“Calm down!” hissed Keshaa, her colleague. She turned to him questionably, since she really wasn’t acting all that scared… The scarred Horsea’s eyes were full of fear, and she realized with surprise that he was talking to himself. She watched him cowering under a stone sadly, and then looked back up at the Gyarados. The sight of it thrashing about, breaking chunks of stone, made her tremble. How could they get out of this?

The Gyarados beat upon the stones as hard as it could, very intent on what it was doing. It bit at them, stuck them, crushed them, but there was so much stone! It would take all day to break them away, unless they dashed out. That’s what it was hoping for. If they tried to flee, it could easily get them, and finally have some fun. Yet, for some reason, they weren’t trying to escape. The Gyarados paused and looked at them. The Horsea, of course, couldn’t run, and looked scared stiff, but the Magikarp’s fear had dwindled to almost nothing. She looked more worried, and seemed to be deep in thought. Strange…

“Leave’m alone!!!!” bellowed a second Gyarados, who was called StripFang, as he dashed towards them as fast as he could. When he came close, he banged into the stones instead of stopping, and sent a few more boulders down among the terrified Pokemon. The first Gyarados, the attacker, frowned at his command.
“Why? Ya too scared your girlfriend’s gunna get ‘urt?” It said this in a mocking tone, and StripFang once again blushed.
“Shaddup, Shredded! I promised that I’d leave ‘er alone, not that I’d go’n marry her or somethin’! Me an’ a wee Magikarp??? Blech! Ya must think I’m pretty desperate for somethin’ like ‘er! I ‘spect ‘er, that’s all. An’ SINCE I ‘spect ‘er, I dun’ wan’er ta get ‘urt! She’s gonna grow inta a fine lady Gyarados, ‘specially wi’ all those pretty gold’n scales o’ ‘ers, an’ she’s got spunk I dun’ want destroyed, ya see…” he defended. The two Gyarados glanced over at the Magikarp, who was glaring at them angrily while speaking words of comfort to her crippled friend. Sighing, the first Gyarados, Shredded, turned to his friend.
“Yeah, I see… She’s got no fear’n ‘er. Terr’bly spunky for a Magikarp… but I still wan’ the Horsea!”

It the crevice, Keshaa’s heart froze, his pupils dilated, and he desperately tried to go farther under the rock. The female Magikarp tried to comfort him, but she herself was slightly worried. Her head spun with ideas. She hated them, so she definitely wasn’t going to BECOME one of them. There had to be other things for her to do. They liked her; they found her special. They were still talking about her, oddly taking their attention off their victims. She and Keshaa… No… They were too slow together. She would have to make a run for it, find the Horsea’s home, and get some Seadra together, and maybe some Kingdra if she could find any, and save Keshaa from death. That was her best choice… she just hoped she could slip away unnoticed.

The female Magikarp’s heart pounded as she snuck to the edge of the crevice opposite of the Gyarados. She had gotten directions for where to go from Keshaa, who was starting to look a little hopeful as he watched her preparing to leave. The Gyarados were still chatting away about how they were going to get her out as safely as possible. What was so special about her that they wanted to keep her safe?

The female Magikarp shook her head. Now was not the time to think about it. She had to get away, and as soon as possible. Taking a deep breath, she shot out of the rock, swimming as hard as she could. The rest happened in a blur.

She was swimming faster and faster, her heart racing. The water seemed to be trying to hold her back, but she fought it frantically, as though the Gyarados were on her tail. Her cold body quickly started to heat up as her heart pounded, but she kept going, too terrified to look back. A sudden voice made her dash faster, trying to stop her heart from beating so terribly hard.
“She’s goin’ away! Lookit!” rumbled the voice of the now distant Gyarados, and she could only watch in horror as they uncoiled their huge snake-like bodies and follow her much, much faster than she was going. Desperate, she went faster, everything racing in an adrenaline rush. Still, despite her efforts, they were easily catching up to her.

Soon the two Gyarados were so close she could smell them, and quite frankly, they didn’t look as if they were trying to go fast at all. They looked half amused as they watched her go along, a little Magikarp girl, swimming as fast as she possibly could. Grinding her teeth to hold back her embarrassment and fear, she kept going, taking advantage of their enjoyment. She swam faster and faster, her determination rising higher and higher, until something happened that she did not expect.

The female Magikarp felt a sudden surge of pain, so she dove between some rocks similar to the ones she had been hiding between before just in case she were getting sick or something. She just made it as everything went white, and the pain increased, running through her whole body... She sat there a moment in shock, then realized, horrified, that she was evolving… Desperately, she began to fight it. She trembled as she fought down her adrenaline and the power that kept attempting to surge through her veins and make her a “better” creature. She fought the silent voice in her head that fought with that evil power. She fought against herself.

The Gyarados StripFang peeked between the jagged, crimson stones that the female Magikarp had chosen as her hiding place. His eyes widened with delight as he watched her glowing. He barely noticed when Shredded came up grinning.
“She wen’ pretty fo’ a Magikarp at that speed! She’s prob’ly gonna evolve sooner than we think! Eith’r that, or she’s just one speedy critter fo’ ‘er type!”
“Ssshhh!” snapped StripFang, who had not taken his eyes off the crevice. To surprise, the glowing was starting to fade, then it came back, then it faded again. The female Magikarp looked as though she were being tortured as she fought her own evolution. Why didn’t she want to evolve?

Indeed, she was in a way being tortured. She still couldn’t see, and the pain was becoming unbearable. Also, Magikarp never EVER fought their evolution, and she was slowly slipping away. She didn’t have the strength to do this. If she fainted… she wouldn’t evolve! Yet… then she couldn’t save Keshaa… though it was too late now… it was too late for everything… It was stupid of her, a pathetic Magikarp to try at anything. Her species was weak, and she was very conscious of this now… She might as well give in like any normal Magikarp would do… Though, a decision like that was more like one Karp would do…

The thought of the male Magikarp and how he abandoned them sent a wave of fury through her, making it even harder to fight the evolution… THIS WASN’T RIGHT!!! She had to evolve!!! What she was doing wasn’t natural!! Her anger grew, now at herself, as she wished she had been more ready for this. Though, how could she expect something like this to happen?!? Here she was, stuck between two boulders, far from her family with Gyarados waiting just outside in an area she knew nothing about, TRYING TO FIGHT HER EVOLUTION!!!! At the sudden intense rage, the white became blinding, and the power, rage, and pain overpowered her.

The female Magikarp screamed in agony, trying with all her might to fight the force within her, and as she fought, it felt as though she were ripping herself in two. Everything tore through her like the flames and lightning from Jolteon and Flareon. Her head spun, her heart ached, and she watched with horror as the light grew brighter and brighter. Miserably, she fought the power one last time, screaming louder than before.

Then everything went black.

Outside, the Gyarados backed away, eyeing where Magi lay hidden intently.

~*~*~

Keshaa looked out from his hiding place, to find the coast clear. Well, if Magi didn’t make it, at least she helped him have a chance to escape himself. So, in a way, she succeeded in her mission automatically!

Smiling fearfully, the little crippled Horsea slipped out from between the rocks, and slowly moved along, making his own slow journey towards his home.

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

I'm evil...

(Warning: This chapter is kinda... violent and bloody. It will put bad pictures in your head. You have been warned.)

~*~Chapter 7~*~

The female Magikarp awoke slowly, and at first had no knowledge of where she was. It was darker than she remembered… and colder. The water smelled like thousands of Keshaas… all around her. What had happened?

Magi jumped when she remembered everything that had happened previously, down to her fight to keep herself the way she was. Almost panicking, the female Magikarp glanced at her body. Even in the darkness she could see her glistening, healthy golden scales, her small fins, and bright yellow whiskers. Good. She was still a Magikarp. Yet… where in the world was she?!?

Suddenly, a light appeared in the darkness. It showed that there was a tunnel connected to where she was and this is what it was going down. It bobbed along slowly, and its scent was like nothing Magi had ever smelled before. Frightened, she attempted to get up…
“Hold it!” warned a gruff voice, and a rubbery-ish fin held her down. Still feeling the effects of her previous inner struggle, the Magikarp obeyed without question.

The tunnel was made of solid stone, with a few water plants growing between its cracks, and it was altogether smooth and round where there was no vegetation. The light coming down it was a yellowish color, and was slowly growing brighter. As it approached, the female Magikarp found that she could see, and that she was in a cave with a similar texture to the tunnel… Surrounded by Seadra.

The rather large Pokemon had a menacing look about them, and there was hostility in their scent. They all sat in an organized manner around her, two seemed to be guarding her, and one sat alone—possibly the leader. None of them looked happy to see her… Trying to be friendly, Magi attempted to start a conversation with them.
“Hello there! You must be Keshaa’s kin! I thank you for saving my life and—” A quick blow to the head stopped her from finishing her sentence.

~*~*~

The two Gyarados, Shredded and StripFang, stared at the two stones the female Magikarp had been between in horror. Shredded wasn’t too upset, but StripFang was miserable! He had become rather attached to little Magi, and had started planning how he would toughen her up to be a fine little Gyarados! He had wanted to be a father to her… and now she was gone…
“Those stupid Seadra!!!” he bellowed at the top of his lungs. Enraged, he shot a Hyper Beam at the Smokescreen that had covered the stones and given the Seadra that had caught the Magikarp time to escape. When his Hyper Beam was finished, he could only sit for a minute, recovering from his strong attack. Shredded listened quietly to his colleagues heavy breathing for a moment, then muttered,
“There’s no reas’n to be upset ‘bout it… She gone now, ‘n there’s nothin’ we can do… She’s destined to be their next supp’r.”

StripFang lowered his massive head miserably, and closed his eyes in despair. His breathing was growing lighter now, and he rose to a swimming position.
“What should we do now that she’s gone’n’all?” he asked. Shredded’s deep red eyes shone with a fierce delight.
“We could go’n ‘ave some fun wi’ the Horsea…”

StripFang glanced up and the same cold, bloodthirsty looked filled his eyes. The two huge Gyarados sat there grinning at one another, then almost in unison, turned towards where they had come. StripFang’s mind was full of revenge against the enemy, and since the Magikarp’s friend was the only one he could get at at the moment…

~*~*~

Keshaa stopped to take a breather, exhausted. The little crippled Horsea glanced around himself warily, then let himself sink to the bottom to rest. His long snout sniffed the water as he allowed himself to shut his eyes. His one ear listened carefully, but at the moment all he could hear was the soft “keshaaaa” of the underwater current. His one fin twitched for no real reason, and he let out a deep sigh.

Had Magi made it? He hoped she had. He had never met a Magikarp like her, or any other Pokemon for that matter. Even his own kin was cold to him, mostly because he had been born unable to spit out ink. It was like a natural defect of his, making him join the ranks of the weaklings, and mean nothing to anybody. He had known that he would be eaten by a Gyarados soon, but had never suspected a MAGIKARP to come and save him! Magikarp usually weren’t that conscious of others…

Was it fate that they had met? Obviously she was something important, and it was nice to think about the fact that he was friends with someone like her… That is… if she was even still alive…

Keshaa rose and looked sadly out over the bleak stones and rubble of the Gyarados territory. It was bare of vegetation, but only had stones, mud, and sand to cover its floors, with an occasional bone. Why oh why had he been born near a place as bleak as this???

Sighing, Keshaa once again began his slow traveling, going at a grueling pace by grabbing a rock, then trying hard to reach for the next one without being taken by the current. It was slow, and rough, but it made his movements very suttle and hard to detect, and hard to detect, and with his light blue color, he would be hard to find indeed.

After about fifteen minutes of this traveling, Keshaa had not gone very far at all, but far enough where he was out of view of his old hiding place. This filled him with confidence, and he began to crawl along a little faster.

After THREE hours, Keshaa was much farther along, and was becoming skilled at his new means of travel. Once he had seen the two Gyarados that had attacked his colleague and himself, but they took no notice of him, much to his luck. They were going back to where he had once been hiding, most likely expecting he was still there.

It was mainly uneventful during his journey… or at least at first…

Keshaa suddenly froze at a stir in the water, and ducked into the first hiding place he could find. He listened and felt for whatever approached as it swam at a moderate speed towards him. As it came nearer, he caught a whiff of its scent. It was a Horsea.

Eagerly, Keshaa jumped out of hiding.
“Hey!!!” he called excitedly, waving his fin with great enthusiasm. “It’s me! Keshaa!!! I’m alive!!!!” The advancing Horsea stopped as soon as it heard him, then moved forward a little faster. As it grew nearer, Keshaa recognized him as a very good friend of his. The Horsea’s name was Sethaut (Se-thot), and the two of them had the same disablement of no ink.
“Sethaut! It’s you!” Keshaa shouted joyously, trying his best to move faster to his friend.

Sethaut, a pale, thin Horsea with large, wide eyes and unusually big ears, swam to his close buddy fast as soon as he recognized him.
“Keshaa! It IS you!!!” the little Horsea cried, nuzzling the scarred one. The two of them took each other in, Sethaut with more surprise than Keshaa because of his new scars and missing body parts, and then embraced each other as well as they could.

~*~*~

“What brings you here, Sethaut?” asked Keshaa curiously. The two Horsea were traveling towards their home, with Keshaa gripping Sethaut around the middle and riding on his back. The skinny little Horsea was a runt, and found carrying his friend difficult, but Keshaa was in far worse a condition than he, so he bore the burden without complaint.
“Actually, I was looking for you!” he admitted, glancing back at Keshaa with a grin. “You’re the only friend I have, Keshaa, and I just couldn’t bear the thought of you truly being gone! Even if I died looking, it would be better than not having your friendship all my life!”
“Oh, Sethaut, I couldn’t bear having you eaten by a Gyarados! It hurts when one gets you, and they make you die slowly. Trust me; it’s not fun.” Chuckled Keshaa. Sethaut laughed.
“I’ll take your word on that!”

It was an easy, enjoyable journey… for the moment…

~*~*~

Sethaut and Keshaa paused for a break, to let the little Horsea try and recover what strength he had. They didn’t know what was hiding behind the stones around them. They had no knowledge of a threat that was more horrifying than a Gyarados itself stalked them hungrily. Tiny, bloodthirsty creatures all swimming by the thousands, waiting for a chance to attack…

Keshaa jumped at the roar of a distant Gyarados.
“I think those two Gyarados that attacked me caught our scent…” he said nervously, shrinking towards the ground a little with fear.
“Sethaut… I think we should…” Keshaa stopped suddenly, and slowly turned around.

Sethaut had vanished…

The little crippled Horsea looked around frantically for his friend, but he was indeed gone. What had happened?! He jumped slightly at the roar the Gyarados again, now much closer, and coming quickly.
“Sethaut…?”

Suddenly, Keshaa was blindfolded with a leaf of sea grass, and he screamed in terror as dozens of little mouths, full of sharp teeth, took hold of him, and began to carry him away. He tried to struggle, but there were too many of them, and whenever he got one off, another would grab at him. Each new one bit him harder, and he soon smelled his own blood starting to flow out of him… so he grew still.

After what seemed like forever of being surrounded by teeth and fins, he was suddenly free, and sat on the sand trembling. The re-injured Horsea was far too frightened to make any sudden movements, lest whatever currently held him captive might attack. It the darkness he heard their voices, mutterings and murmurings to one another, felt their movement, smelled their scent through his own. That’s when he realized what they were…

Magikarp.

One of the Magikarp took off the blindfold with his little teeth, and flashed a dark grin to his prey. Keshaa looked about himself at the Magikarp all around him, their bodies blood red and spotted with bits of blue and yellow, with complete and utter fear. These were Magikarp that were born from Gyarados. They were tougher, meaner, and scarier, as well as terribly carnivorous…

Keshaa’s heart froze at a sudden ear-piercing scream. He spun around behind him to find Sethaut there… being eaten. The Magikarp swarmed around him, tearing him apart bit by bit, as he cowered in terror and screamed again in torture. Already he was missing his ears, fins, and large chunks out of his back.
“No…” Keshaa whispered, watching the terrible scene before him. It left him feeling nauseated, horrified, and shocked. He closest friend he had ever had of kind was being eaten alive, and there was nothing he could do…

Keshaa yelped as a stray Magikarp took a nibble of him, attracted to his strong scent of blood. His cry attracted a few more Magikarp, who started to slowly circle him and take a nibble here and there. Their red colors mixed with the red coming out of himself, filling him with an intense fear worse than his facing the Gyarados. These Magikarp were going to eat him live… and slowly…

Sethaut was finally bitten on the throat several times, and with a gurgling whimper, he died. Keshaa was a bit too busy fighting off his own attackers, who were starting to move faster the more injured he became. One of them latched itself onto his head, trying to blind him on the scarred eye. Another began to rip at his one good fin, and still others tore away at his very body. Keshaa screamed miserably for help… any help… just so he could LIVE!

His cry was answered, but not by something that filled him with any hope. He turned, now half blind, and peered through the several dozen or so bodies around him, to see the two Gyarados that had been tracking him all this time. One, most likely “StripFang,” let out a loud roar that made the Magikarp quickly flee. One sank its teeth into the back of Keshaa’s neck and tried to drag him away, whimpering slightly, but the advancing Gyarados made it drop him and catch up to its school.

Keshaa’s limp, finless body lay on the sand, in complete ruin. He could only watch with half opened eyes as the two Gyarados looked at him curiously. One sniffed him, then said, “Looks like we’ve ‘ad our job done fo’ us…” He sounded discouraged as he said this. The other one sat there still looking at Keshaa, and then suddenly curled back its lips in a fierce, toothy grin.
“I know what we can do wi’ it…” he said darkly.

Keshaa fainted before he could hear the rest.

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

That previous chapter was the worst thing I have ever written... *shudders* Though I am happy that those who enjoyed it did so! For those who didn't, I side with you, aginst myself. o_O This new chapter isn't near as bad...

Ultra_Poke2000: Good to have you up to date with us!

~*~Chapter 8~*~

It is not a fun thing to wake up with the jaws of a Gyarados in your face, especially if you know what they feel like. Yet, this was exactly what Keshaa woke up to, and for a moment he panicked and screamed.

“Shaddup, ya dumb Horsea!” growled the Gyarados, opening his mouth wide in a snarl. Keshaa promptly obeyed.

StripFang studied his new prisoner curiously. How in the world the Horsea had lived through being half-eaten was beyond him, but it was all for the better. This Horsea would be useful for his plan, and if all went well, he could get his female Magikarp back soon.

He had healed the Horsea’s injuries, and now it looked more like a worm than a Pokemon. It was missing an ear and a half, almost entirely both its fins, an eye was closed forever, covered in scars, and other than that it was so badly scarred up that it was hard to find what color it really was. But it was alive…

“Now, I’ve gone’n saved ya, Horsea, so ya owe me your life!” he snorted. The Horsea nodded vigorously, obviously doing its very best to stay on his good side. After all… he HAD been the one that attacked it in the first place! This thought made StripFang chuckle.
“Look now, Horsea. I ain’t gonna eat ya! You’re too val’able fo’that! I need your help, see. That wee Magikarp you’ve spent so much time wi’s been captured by some Seadra, an’ now it’s your job ta get’er back!”

The Horsea’s good eye opened wide in horror.
“Magi’s been captured by them?!? Seadra?!? How in the world did she run into them?!? She was supposed to go to the Horsea!”
“Yea, well, she went’n started ta ‘volve, an’ tried ta ‘ide so she could fight it in peace. Then, she got caught. I dun’ want ‘er ta be supper! She’s special! You’re gonna ‘elp ‘er!”

The Horsea nodded in agreement, a determined look filling his face.
“Right. She won’t be eaten, but she’s still in danger…”

Suddenly he noticed that he was very much better and fit as possible. He hadn’t really thought about his state before, but as the horrible memory of how badly he had been injured came back to him, a slight worry grew on his face.
“How long have I been unconscious?”
“Let’s see… ‘Bout four days…”
“Then we have to hurry,” Keshaa said, looking even more worried than before.

~*~*~


Darkness… Cold... Pain…

Pain.

The female Magikarp lied there, here eyes quite open, yet unseeing, breathing painfully. Her body had receiving its first beating ever, and she was just waking up to it. It the darkness she lay, completely at a loss of where she was, though at the moment she didn’t really care.

Pain…Coursing through… me.

Even through her fight to her evolution she hadn’t felt near as much pain as she did right then! Most of the pain during that time was mental, but this was serious injury, possibly something internally wrong. The Seadra obviously weren’t that friendly.

Can’t… think… head… h… hurts…

The female Magikarp winced at a sudden bright light, as a plump sort of fish entered the cave she was in. It was fat, round, and blue, with crosses in its yellow eyes, and two antennae with dewdrop-shaped things on the ends that glowed an eerie yellow color. It was the same glow she had seen before.

“Chinchou!” the Pokemon cried with surprise, seeing her move slightly. The female Magikarp looked at it uncomfortably as she began to get her bearings, and her head cleared.
“What are you…?” she half asked, half whimpered. The Pokemon eyed her suspiciously, then answered.
“Me Chinchou! Servant of Seadra, yes yes! I watch you! You sick, you hurt, I no help. Not allowed. Just watch. I wait, you get better. Take long time, yes yes! Now you awake. Now you better. You go to prison. No fight. I have lightning. It hurts. You hurt ‘nough.”

The female Magikarp made a feeble attempt to move, and winced. It hurt too much to do so. The Chinchou sat there watching her make her attempt, its small slit of a mouth curving downwards in a frown.
“You better. You get up! Up up up up up!!! Lightning hurts. I got lightning! I hit you with it! It hurt you! Get up! Smart choice, yes yes. Smart to listen to Chinchou. You no get hurt if listen to Chinchou. Get up!”

The female Magikarp, frightened by the threat, tried to get up again, and cried out in pain.
“I can’t!!! I’m not better yet! It hurts to try!” Miserable, hurt, cold, and very much frightened, the golden Magikarp began to cry. The Chinchou was very much surprised by this outburst, and its anger softened a little.
“You really no better? No? I hafta take you then, yes yes! I take you myself. You no move. You relax an’ get better. It important that you get better. Yes yes, very important. No get better, no win. Then, you die. Dying is bad, yes yes. Very bad. Hush hush. I take you myself.”

Then, gently, carefully, the Chinchou lifted her with its antennae, its dewdrops caressing her with warmth, and carried her slowly away. For an unevolved Pokemon, she noticed it was strong, and despite the way it talked, it obviously knew what it was doing. She didn’t feel any pain from its carrying her all.

~*~*~

They journeyed through several dark narrow underground tunnels deep below the sea, the only light coming from the Chinchou that lived there. The female Magikarp eventually fell asleep in her warmth and comfort, and she didn’t miss much. There were only tunnels, tunnels, and more tunnels, all interweaving and branching this way and that in impossible ways.

The Chinchou swam through these tunnels, at first going deep into the ground, then rising up again towards the surface. Not a Seadra met them, and for the better: the Chinchou was not allowed to do what it was doing. This made it a little nervous, but it didn’t have that much fear of other water types since it was part electric, so for the most part it remained perfectly at ease.

The journey took less than an hour.

~*~*~

The female Magikarp’s vision slowly came back to her, and she found herself in the darkness once more. Now, however, she was feeling better, and getting used to the darkness, and how to locate things in them.

Listening to the current, and feeling the movement of the water, she found she was now in a hollow cave with bars of some sort at the mouth. The walls, floor, and ceiling were smooth and there was an absence of plants here. There wasn’t much to it…

Another ripple in the water made her freeze.

The female Magikarp was not alone. In the cave with her were, from what she could tell, four other Magikarp, all male. Three of them were smaller than the fourth, which had a long spike of his head… The female Magikarp gasped as she realized who this Magikarp was.

Karp: the Magikarp that had left Keshaa and herself to their fate when they needed him most.

A sudden surge of anger rushed through her at the memory. Karp had hated her, even when she saved his life, and the evil red Magikarp had abandoned his rescuers in a heartbeat.

The female Magikarp rose at the sound of another coming, and from the light, she could tell it was a Chinchou. She watched quietly as the fat little fish swam to the mouth of the cave, stopped, and turned around. Obviously, it was keeping guard, and this was its current post. All the better, Magi thought with a grin, since it had lights that would help the prisoners see.

She now got a good look at her own bruised body, and winced. She was not in very good shape. Karp saw her, too, and also looked surprised at her wretched state.
“What did you do to make them do that???” he asked in shock. Magi sighed.
“I thanked them for saving me…”

~*~*~

Karp had left Magi alone to sleep and recover, which she did for two days. By the time she was done, her injuries had already dwindled to almost nothing, and she was feeling much better. Of course, now that she was feeling better, she had more time to think about what Karp did, and let her anger build.

The other three smaller Magikarp were as red as Karp, but there was something not right about them. They were constantly biting at each other, whispering and eyeing her, and sometimes would strike at Karp as well, only to get impaled with that spike of his.

Karp stayed away form everyone as best he could. Magi noticed there was something different about him… very different. His head injury was gone, but he looked as though he were in constant pain. He studied her a lot, and often suddenly looked like he were suffering from guilt. He wasn’t proud anymore.

Magi, after a view hours of studying her enemy, finally decided to talk to him. Slowly, she swam over, and he backed away, scattering the three smaller Magikarp as he did so. Magi paused at his reaction, confused.

Was Karp AFRAID of her???

Why would he be FRIGHTENED of HER??? The female Magikarp stared at the male, who pressed against the stone wall. It was an odd thing to see, after he had put her down so bad before.

“Karp…?” she whispered, starting to approach him again.
“Don’t call me that! A Magikarp is nothing, just one of billions. We are worthless! We don’t deserve a name!…… Please don’t hurt me, female Magikarp! I’ll call you by your name, Magi, if that’s what you want!”

Magi had tried to approach him again, and he had panicked. How odd…
“That’s not my name; it’s my nickname. Like you, I have no name… Magikarp,” she said softly. “And why would I hurt you?” Karp looked at the ground.
“I left you… When Magikarp stick together. We were both injured in some way… I had no right to do what I did. I wasn’t healthy enough to have right. And… I heard that you almost evolved…” At these words he looked back up at her. “You’re far stronger than I. Above me. I… deserved to be punished.”

Magi blinked in shock at his words.

~*~*~

“This is the Seadra prison. Here, the Seadra take captured Magikarp and divide them into groups of six to battle for their lives. When enough are in a group, they hold the battle, and let the prisoners watch. You have to fight a “Mantine” to the death. It’s never been beaten, though I wouldn’t say I was surprised. These Magikarp here are… wrong. They aren’t like normal Magikarp at all. Instead of trying to fight the Mantine, they try to EAT him! It’s just… wrong.”

Magi and Karp sat together, studying the three other Magikarp with disgust. The little twitchy things bared their teeth at the two of them, but did not dare approach.
“So… why are they killing the Magikarp? When I mentioned Keshaa being my friend, they got angry. I just… don’t get it.”
“The Magikarp eat the Horsea often. There used to be so many Magikarp that they would actually go into the Hosea and Seadra’s territory and attack them. Then the Seadra untied into a sort of band of fighters, and started killing the Magikarp by the thousands. Their numbers in this area were badly dwindled. That’s when the Gyarados got mad.

“These Magikarp are actually directly born from Gyarados, and that’s why they’re so heartless. They feel no affection, care, or anything of the sort because they have no need to until they evolve. The Gyarados are very protective of their children, no matter how vile they are, and seeing their children attacked like that made them have a lust for revenge. Their added attacks, however, have just pretty much turned this into war. Any chance they get, one side kills the other. They probably think we’re just two more filthy children of the Gyarados, and were insulted when you said what you did. They most likely thought you were trying to weasel your way out of a bad situation.”

Magi stared.
“How do you know all this?”

“Told! He was told, yes yes!” laughed a familiar voice. Magi turned to see the Chinchou that had carried her swimming before them, holding some sort of meat. Neatly, it tossed the meat between the bars.
“Yummy munchies, yes yes. Good Gy’dos fishes ‘ave good meal! Yummy meat fo’ young Gy’dos!”

The female Magikarp looked at the meat with horror, the scent of blood and flesh more nauseating than ever. Karp looked just as grossed out. The other Magikarp, however, raced over to the food, gulping it down greedily. The sight made the two larger Magikarp sick.

The Chinchou was unaffected by them, but seemed curious about Magi and Karp. It swam a little closer to the cage, and dipped its still glowing dewdrops near their faces, causing their pupils to dilate noticeably.
“Why you look sick? Good meat, yes yes! Nice and fresh, yes yes! Make you better, gold Gy’dos fishy! Make you strong, yes yes!”

“I… only eat plants,” gulped Magi, still staring at the three Magikarp with shock. How could a Magikarp eat a fellow Pokemon like that?!
“Really?” asked the Chinchou with surprise, its yellow eyes widening. Magi nodded, still unable to draw her eyes away from the scene.
“Then I get some plants, yes yes. Good, green plants for weird fishes. You no Gy’dos kid, no no? Gy’dos eat meat. Gy’dos need meat. You don’t. Maybe we wrong to hurt you, yes yes?”

Magi shook her head.
“I’m not hungry Chinchou… not after this.”
“Neither am I…” Karp managed to say, also staring at the Magikarp before them.
“Oh pshaw!” frowned the Chinchou. “You need food. Food imp’ant! You no eat food, you no be strong. If you not strong, you die. Dying is bad, yes yes! You no eat; you no win tomorrow’s battle. I want you win, yes yes! You two not same as others. You two special. You two NEED ta win! I get food. You eat. You win. Okie-dokie?”

Magi and Karp looked at each other. They were going to battle tomorrow?! One Pokemon short?!?! Magi turned back to the Chinchou, now very frightened, as did Karp.
“Okie-dokie, Rays. We’ll eat, if you fight on our team and give us the number of members we were promised we could fight with. That, “okie-dokie” with you?”

The Chinchou, Rays, pondered this for a moment, scratching its… erm… her chin with a glowing dewdrop.
“Okie-dokie, fishy! I no fear Mantine. I no fear Seadra. I ‘ave lightning! I like you. I fight with you. I ‘elp you. You eat. I go get food now.”

Without any good-byes, Rays turned to leave. She only nodded a farewell to the Chinchou still guarding them, then continued on her way.

Suddenly, Magi snapped back into reality.
“Rays! Wait!” she called, causing the Chinchou female to stop and turn to her. With a deep breath, the female Magikarp built up the nerve to ask her question.
“What… exactly… did those… Magikarp just… eat?” she asked slowly, carefully, almost afraid to do so, because she felt knew the answer already.

The Chinchou looked at her a moment, debating how to approach with answer, before finally saying awkwardly, “Ma-gi-karp. Magikarp fight Mantine. They lose. Next fighters eat the losers. New Magikarp go crazy. Crazy Magikarp can’t fight, no no… They must eat more. They try to eat Mantine. Mantine beats them. Then they are the losers. They are eaten…”

An uncomfortable silence followed, since Magi had lost the ability to speak with her horror, as had Karp. They turned once again to the three Magikarp, who were biting each other viciously now.

Cannibalism…

Silently the Chinchou swam away, leaving them alone.

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Otto=ottO: Ble? *chuckles* Sounds like something I'd name my Grendel! (game called Creatures III ^^;; ) Aw... thank you for your praise! I'm not THAT good... I know better writers than me...

Ace Blaze: Yes, I'll probably write this new chapter faster than usual, since this is one of my favorite parts of the story! ^-^

Crystalmaster Mike: Thanks for the praise, CM! You can call me SM as long as I get to call you CM! Anywho, Karp has been there longer than Magi, and if you notice, Rays has a thing for them. She's very friendly, and probably noticed a difference in Karp right away, and decided to talk to him... That's how he learned all he knows about this place.

Lookee!!! I gotta signature!
(No... I can't draw banners well...)

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Ace Blaze: Yeah, I hand drew it... And yes, the quote is as you say...

Ultra_Poke2000: Thanks!

Zach Starmourn: Yeah, I like how the CHinchou talk a lot, too!

Dark Shaman: Thank you! I'll be sure to chack your fanfic out when I can!

Doomykins: Thankee, and welcome! ^-^ I'm afraid I don't have Year of the Clones anywhere right now... And I'm quite sure that's the fanfic you're looking for, right? Don't worry, I plan on putting it nack on Pokemasters when I'm done with this fic, and I'm gonna revise it!

Count von Dark: Aw... I hope you get well soon...

Meh... As soon as I really want to write chapters fast I can't go on the computer for several days! Sorry peoples!

~*~Chapter 9~*~

The Seadra looked menacingly down at the poor excuse for a Horsea that cowered before him. His huge, spiky body was far more superior to this sniveling creature, which looked as though it wouldn’t survive a month. He had not a scratch on him, but this tiny male Horsea was scarred from head to foot, crippled, and half blind. It was amusing that it was attempting to speak to him when it was so lower.

“Please, sir, I MUST talk to whoever’s in charge! My friend is in there! If I don’t save her, she’ll die!” Keshaa begged, looking miserably up at his superior, as it paid little attention to his words. When he was done, the Seadra chuckled.
“Look, you sniveling little worm! You have no business here, so leave! If you want revenge on whatever made you look like something that passed through a Gyarados, I assure you, we give excellent torture to our prisoners well worth whatever they’ve done to our Basic Form.” As soon as it said this, a creature lowered itself in front of it.

The Seadra’s dark eyes widened at the sight of a huge, terrible set of teeth suddenly before it.
“THAT is why if ya dun’ let us in, YOU’LL be the one passin’ through a Gyarados!!!” warned the furious StripFang, letting loose a mighty roar that tore through the water, shattering the Seadra’s pride immediately.

Keshaa just sat there between the two of them, grinning with amusement.

~*~*~

Rays looked miserably between the bars of her new cage, away from anybody and everybody. The round female Chinchou knew it had been bold to attempt to side with a Magikarp, but she had never known it would lead to her own imprisonment!

Of course, they were just stupid Seadra, and had no idea of the wrong choices they were making, so she had played along without argument. They had agreed to let her fight, thankfully, but she was no longer a member of the guards that watched the underground prisons. Now she was a prisoner.

Why was Rays trying to help out these two Magikarp? Simple. For one, they smelled good. It may sound silly, but a Pokemon relies a lot on scent, to see another Pokemon’s health, moods, gender, and personality, as well as other things. Most Magikarp Rays had smelled were a foul, sickening-sick smell like rotten meat.

These were the first two Magikarp she had ever smelled that were pleasant, and if they could be released, they may be able to make more good-natured Magikarp. If that happened, perhaps this silly rivalry between the Seadra and Gyarados would stop. At least, that was what she was hoping.

Rays is, which has been mentioned often before, fearless of the Seadra and Mantine because of her Electric ability. She serves them only because of the free shelter, entertainment, and food, but like all the other Chinchou, she is very much her own self, and does what she wishes. It is beyond any doubt that if any other Chinchou had been in her place, they would have done the same thing she had. So, even if she hated the cage, it was the only unpleasant thing she had been unhappy about.

Bored, Rays let out a loud yawn, and, still with the miserable look on her face, she swam to the back of her cage and fell asleep.

~*~*~

In the darkness sat two large Magikarp; one a lovely orange-gold color, the other a deep intense crimson. The gold one was slender and long with speed and evasiveness unmatched for her species, while the crimson one was thick with muscles and had a savage spike on the shell of his head that no one dared to mess with. The two Pokemon were an impressive pair considering their age and breed.

Though, at the moment, they were scared stiff.

For before them, three other Magikarp fought. The fish were tiny things, barely over half the size of the two Magikarp. Yet, where there wasn’t size, strength, and speed, the little Gyarados children made up with ferocity.

The three Magikarp had been tricked into eating the meat of another Magikarp, and it was driving them mad! Angrily they had started ripping one another apart, biting and tearing into each other in a crazed manner.

Magi and Karp, the larger two Magikarp of the five, kept opposite of the room, too frightened to rest or relax. They had never seen such a gruesome sight. To see Magikarp trying to eat one another… The sight made them want to weep.

Their fighting partners were ruined, and the two of them were sure that Rays the Chinchou had failed in her attempt to help them. They were all alone…

~*~*~

Magi and Karp jumped at a sudden shriek, and realized that two little Magikarp had cornered one that was slightly smaller than them. It shrieked again as they bit into it, and desperately tried to bite them back.

The female Magikarp turned to her crimson partner uncomfortably, and he shook his head.
“We are not helping it!” he snapped. “Those baby Magikarp are mentally insane, bloodthirsty killers! If we tried to trust one enough to save it, it would be our death!” Magi sighed.
“I can’t help it. I can’t stand seeing anything suffer, no matter how bad it is. I’m going to go help it…”

Before Karp could stop her, Magi swam towards the attacking two Magikarp and rammed into one as hard as she could. It let out a shriek, and the other turned to face her fearfully, baring its teeth in an attempt to look frightening. Magi simply spun around and hit it critically with her tail. It rammed into the stone wall, and sank to the floor limp, similar to what had happened with her battle with Karp.

Magi stared at the limp body, feeling mixed emotions about what she had done. Another injury, all thanks to her… Though at least she had saved a life…

It was Magi’s turn to shriek as the first Magikarp she had attacked sank its teeth into her back. She spun around, trying to see it, but it was in that one spot where no matter what she did, she could neither see it nor get at it. Desperately the female Magikarp tried to jerk it off, but it only sank its teeth in deeper, making her cry out again.

Karp was there in a heartbeat.

The crimson male Magikarp dove at the attacking Magikarp, thrusting his spike deep into its side. The little Magikarp gave a tiny cry, its grip loosening on Magi’s back. Karp went even deeper, jerking his head from side to side, and slowly the Magikarp let go altogether, sinking to the ground. Magi shot away to the other side of the cage in terror as soon as she was free, while Karp studied the body. The Magikarp was dead.

Magi trembled and pressed against the wall hard, her head spinning. She had almost been eaten! BY ANOTHER MAGIKARP! If that Magikarp had won…

Magi felt like crying. Her instincts had left her alone for some time now, as though shocked by all the unnatural things happening around her, but with her new injury, now it came back to her in a rush. The silent voice urged her to try and escape, or to evolve, or do SOMETHING!

She very much agreed with it.

Yet, how could she get out? The Chinchou may be on her side, but they wouldn’t let her escape, and the Seadra even less so. These Magikarp were mentally insane and dangerous, and Karp’s self-confidence had dwindled since the last time she had seen him. And Keshaa…

The thought of her Horsea friend out alone, amongst Gyarados and flesh eating Magikarp made her heart grow cold. She had forgotten her reason for being here in the first place. Keshaa… her best friend… out alone and unable to swim… She had to escape. For him. She had to save him, and leave this corrupted land altogether. If she had to fight this “Mantine” to have her freedom, so be it.

Suddenly, Magi felt the need to survive and save Keshaa so bad that she was willing even to evolve for him. It calmed her down, and let her rest herself. She needed to heal first.

~*~*~

The rescued little red Magikarp grinned shyly at Karp, who growled a warning and pointed how spike at its face. Its smile faded, and it looked at the ground, which it had been doing for a while now.

The dead Magikarp had been eaten by the Magikarp they had saved, much to the two larger Pokemon’s disgust, but after it was done, it seemed to have calmed down. It was no longer twitching or snapping at every little thing like its still living and now awake partner, but it looked frightened. This was understandable, of course, since its new company was with Pokemon twice its size, and hostile Pokemon at that. It looked pretty pathetic for even a Magikarp, and every once in a while it would glance uncomfortably at its still bloodthirsty ally. Then it would look back at the ground.

After a bit of this, it looked back up with a frightened grin at Karp, who glared at it, then looked at the still injured Magi, who managed to force a smile back.
“Uh… hi,” muttered the red Magikarp nervously. “M’name’s Nip. I’m a girly Mag’karp. I th’nk ya fo’ savin’ me! I… eh… yeah.” Nip pressed against the ground fearfully at the sight of Karp’s spike so close to her face in warning.
“So… uh… What’s yo’ name, fella?” she asked Karp nervously, not daring to take her eyes off that spike of death.

The male Magikarp snorted, but held his spike in position.
“I have no name in my school, but when I’m with this female, I am known as Karp,” he muttered gruffly, motioning to Magi. Nip stared.
“No name? What kinda Gy’dos dun’ name their liddle’uns?” she asked in shock.
“What kind of Magikarp eat their kin?!” Karp shot back, making Nip grow uncomfortable and quiet.

“I din’ know ‘at was Mag’karp they was feedin’ us,” she whispered sadly. “An’ afta’ I gotta taste o’ tha stuff, fo’ some reason, I needed one mo’ eatin’ of it! I’m betta’ now’ve I gotten that one mo’ bite, though.” She added this last part with a slight grin, once again at Magi, who naturally smiled back. Karp thrust his spike even closer.

Nip’s tiny body quivered, and slowly she moved away from Karp.
“Ya friend’s ‘urt. She needs doctorin’.” She muttered nervously. “I c’n ‘elp ‘er. Ya just gotta trust me…” At these words, Karp lunged, and dug his horn into her nose just barely, letting a small ribbon of blood escape. The little red Magikarp’s eyes widened with fear.
“I have NO REASON to trust you after what I’ve seen, you evil Magikarp!” he snapped, glaring at her with rage. “You have eaten your own friend! If you do that to those who are close to you, there’s no telling what you could do to us!” Nip just trembled.

“Oh, let her, Karp…” muttered Magi, who found that her injury was worsening over time instead of healing. At this rate, she could be too weak to even flee from the Mantine when the battle came. “If I don’t get help soon, I’ll die anyway…” she stated, wincing as she said this. Karp backed away from Nip, and looked at Magi uncomfortably.
“It bit you THAT hard???” he questioned worriedly, swimming over to her. Magi nodded weakly.

“I c’n ‘elp!” Nip persisted as Karp studied the wound. “I c’n mak’er better afore ou’ fight lata t’day!”
“Well, then do it!” barked Karp, glaring at the scum before him. Even the still bloodthirsty Magikarp paused and stared at him at the coldness of his voice.

It took a moment for Nip to snap out of the shock, but when she did, she nodded and swam over to the stones.
“Ya may not know it, but these stones aw’ sp’cial. They ‘eal when they’re ground inta powder an’ put on tha wound. Now, I can’t scratch off any o’ this stone…”
“I’m on it!” Karp cut in, swimming over to a wall and hitting it with his spike. He did this over and over again, until a crack formed, and then he started chipping away at the wall bit by bit. While he did this, Nip sat near Magi.

“Ya ‘ave a white spot on ya cheek!” was the first thing she said, and this with great surprise. Magi grinned.
“It’s a birthmark I’ve had all my life,” she said proudly. “It’s natural.” Nip studied the spot for a moment, and then continued trying to have a conversation.
“M’name’s Nip. What’s yours?”
“Magi.”
“So ya ‘ave a real name?”
“No. It’s my nickname, but it works just as well.”
“Why duncha ‘ave a real name?”
“We weren’t born from Gyarados like you. We were born from Magikarp, and have never actually seen our parents. Most of us live without love or care, just relying on our instincts to keep us going. I myself have ignored mine, however, and saved a little Horsea from a Gyarados. That’s how I got here.”
“Ya saved a Hosea?”
“Yes.”
“Why???”
“Why not? They’re living creatures, too!”
“We eat’em. They’re lower than us.”
“Not necessarily.”
“Well, we still eat’em.”
“You don’t HAVE to!”
“Look, Magi, we eat Horsea ‘cause when we get older we’ll ‘volve, an’ then we GOTTA eat meat. We’re training fo’ when we’re Gyarados, which we’ll def’nately be! We can’t think ‘bout what ou’ prey feels, o’ we’d sta’ve ta death! An’, since we’ve done this fo’ so long, we ‘ave these sharp teeth… If ya’ wonderin’.”
Magi fell silent.

“I’m done!” said Karp triumphantly, trying to brush the ground stone towards his friend.
“Here, Magi! This’ll make you feel better! …I think.” As he pushed the powdered stone along, it somehow grew soft from the water, and eventually turned into a paste. This made it easier for him to move it, and soon he was rubbing it on the female Magikarp’s injured back. Almost like magic, it healed the wound, and she felt her strength return.

Little did the three Pokemon know, this stone was the key stuff used to make Max Potions that humans use.

~*~*~

The cave was still dark, and in this darkness were three Magikarp, all cuddled together asleep. They looked very happy despite their situation, and were greatly enjoying each other’s company.

On the other side of the cave, sat a single Magikarp. It was twitching and snarling like a dog, almost as though it had rabies. Its body craved the flesh of its own kin, and it was growing more and more agitated at the fact that it could easily kill one of the Magikarp that were currently sleeping. Just one swift bite behind the head… But then there was that big Magikarp with the spike. That was the one thing that kept it away.

After a while of muttering to itself and pacing back and forth, the Magikarp could not help it anymore. Swiftly, silently, it dove towards the slumbering Magikarp, ready to kill.

A blow in the head stopped it.

All the Magikarp were aroused by a large Seadra, with a single scar on its chest. Its scales had a darker tint than usual, and it looked very strong.
“It’s time for you to fight, weaklings,” it stated coldly, and as it did this, two Chinchou came in. Using their dewdrops like threatening weapons, they herded the four remaining Magikarp out of the prison… Leading them to their doom…

[V.o.t.M]

Story=happy me! Whee! WHAT will HAPPEN to da fishies who go "Karp!" when ya poke 'em with yer pointer finger? WHAT WEEL HAPPEN?! Huh? HUH?! I need food stuffs now!

[Zach Starmourn]

Hmmm. Another Magikarp to help in the fight instead of just try to eat the Mantine. Hope they pull it off. Wouldn't want this to end up in the death of them all, because then there wouldn't be anything else to about them to read.

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Otto=ottO: Yes... So very nice to you! ^^;;

Doomykins: Isn't Nip the cutest name? =^-^=

Snakes N' Legends: LOL! He doen't like her like THAT! He feels more like a father to her... It's a different kind of love.

AquaBabe727: The Gyarados territory was at first inhabited by only two Gyarados. The male had once been own by a trainer... That's where the accent comes from.

Crystalmaster Mike: What exactly is a cliché?

Ace Blaze: OKAY! Here it is!!! Ya happy?! (j/k)

V.o.t.M: HELLO!!! Da fishies who go "Karp!" when ya poke 'em with yer pointer finger??? Lol! ^^ I'm so happy you're reading this!

Zach Starmourn: Tell me about it...

And here it is, chapter ten! The LONGEST chapter yet!!! ^-^

~*~Chapter 10~*~

“Look, I’m telling you, Magi is my FRIEND! She’s not from around here! She’s not a Gyarados-born Magikarp! She doesn’t eat meat, and she saved my life! YOU MUST LET HER GO!” Keshaa screamed angrily.

The little crippled Magikarp had been led to the council as he wished, but the ten Kingdra and two Seadra before him seemed to listen just as well as the guard.

The scarred old Pokemon looked just as bad off as he did… Well, not quite as bad, but they looked almost striped with all the battle scars they held from fights in the past. They looked strong despite their age, and wise, but there was a coldness in their eye that Keshaa didn’t like. All these Pokemon killings seemed to have hardened their hearts…

Keshaa’s grip on a bit of seaweed tightened as he realized he wasn’t getting through to them. They had stopped listening to him, and there was no way at all he could help Magi without the help of StripFang, and the Gyarados couldn’t fit in the tunnels. After all she had done for him… He had blown his chance to return at least on of the favors. Keshaa shut his eye and held back the tears he knew would come.

The Hosea’s evolutions watched him quietly.
“You have obviously been through a lot, little Horsea,” said a Kingdra in the middle, swimming forward near Keshaa. The scarred Horsea looked up at him, still trying to keep from crying, and trembled slightly at the sight of him.

The Kingdra had a Horsea and Seadra’s basic shape, but it wasn’t all the spiky in any way. Instead, its more scaled, with dull horns on it head and around the one fin it had on its back. Its face and the top of its spout was protected with a hard shell… Though overall, it didn’t look all that frightening.

No, the frightening part was its scarred face and body, the its great size, and that it had such a cold look in its eyes. The frightening part was that this was obviously the leader of this whole prison, and had been responsible for many deaths of Magi’s kind to save its own. Those facts were what made Keshaa suddenly want to shrink away as it approached… but of course he couldn’t, and he was stuck on that bit of seaweed as the Kingdra began to question him.

“Tell us why you are really here, little one,” said the Kingdra, without any hint of truly caring in its voice. Keshaa gulped back his fear, and responded.
“I’m come to save a Magikarp, because she saved me…” he said, forcing himself to ignore the muffled laughter from the rest of the council.
“Did she?” questioned the Kingdra patiently, as though he thought Keshaa was crazy. The Horsea lifted his head indignantly, offended at his tone, but answered calmly, still intimidated by the creature. This old Kingdra was most likely the boss of this place for a reason.
“Yes she did. Her name is Magi, and she’s gone out of her way to help me many times. I owe her my life three times at least! She’s not like any Magikarp I’ve ever seen… Something as special as her must be saved!” The Kingdra looked almost sorry for Keshaa as it answered.
“Little one… Are you sure you’re not trying to make us let this Magikarp go because of that Gyarados that came here with you?” Keshaa was appalled.
“What?!” he asked in shock.
“That Gyarados looked very aggressive, and why would it be partners with you? Obviously it has given you a lot of pain. Could it be that you were… forced to plea for this rather large Magikarp’s escape?”
“FORCED to save Magi?! That’s the dumbest—”
“Did the Gyarados attack you, child?”

At this question Keshaa fell silent.

“Well?”

Keshaa looked at the ground, debating on how to answer this question. StripFang HAD been the one to… but… if he answered truthfully, that would get him nowhere…
“N-no…” Keshaa stuttered uncomfortably. “No, the Gyarados saved me as well… from a bunch of predatory Magikarp…”

The Kingdra looked far from believing him.

~*~*~

The four Magikarp huddled together in the darkness, even the vicious one too frightened at the moment to care. The Chinchou were gone, the Seadra were gone… and across the tunnel was a light, where their hunter most certainly waited. This was it… this was the battle between life and death… and there was little chance of a few Magikarp ever winning against a mighty, undefeated Mantine. Whatever THAT was…

Magi smelled fear in them all, but the female Magikarp found herself more frightened than anybody. The vicious Magikarp pressed against her, shaking badly, and murmuring its promises that if they ever got out alive, it would do its best to change its ways. Nip also trembled, but stopped when Karp nudged her reassuringly. Then he started whispering that they would indeed make it, at no matter what the cost. Magi indeed hoped so…

~*~*~

It was the most magnificent place Keshaa had ever seen!

The Horsea had been brought to the battling arena after arguing in vain to get the Kingdra and Seadra to listen. They had decided that this Magikarp Keshaa wanted to save was precious to the Gyarados, and therefore must be very deadly. Poor Magi… even if she did (somehow) win this fight, she would be killed anyway… The thought made Keshaa’s heart rip in two. After all she had done for him… he had just made her situation worse.

The crippled Horsea shook his head and turned his attention to the fighting arena. It was actually a very, very large cave, with a huge, deep dip in the ground where the Pokemon were to battle. This hole was covered in stones, plants and such, where the opponents could use things like the element of surprise in their battles.

Out of the hole the ground went up almost in layers, where a crowd patiently sat. This floor rose gradually where one could sit comfortably, but was steep enough where someone behind another could see above the other’s head.

The ceiling above them was carved with Horsea, Seadra, and Kingdra writing, with pictures of various Water Pokemon among the writing. It was beautifully crafted, a work of art. Yet, it’s writing was of violence, death, and the terrible things the seahorses had been through because of the Magikarp and Gyarados. It made Keshaa’s skin crawl.

He then decided to turn his attention to the rest of the arena, and noticed that near the ceiling, Chinchou and Lanturn were comfortably having conversations with one another, their glowing spheres lighting up the underground cave. The light was dappled, and was one reason this place looked like art.

He himself was on a sort of balcony that jutted out from the wall far above the other spectators. Around him was the council, each one on their own smooth, glistening stone. Keshaa was led to sit beside the Kingdra that had questioned him earlier: the leader of this whole colony.

A sudden cry of some unknown, hidden Pokemon, echoed through the cavern, snapping Keshaa out of his thoughts and silencing everyone in the room. The Kingdra swam off the ground, and went over to the edge of the balcony. Then, he began a speech.
“Welcome Seadra and Kingdra, to the slaughter of the Magikarp!” Here the crowd cheered. The scarred Kingdra waited until they settled down, then continued.
“As you know, the Magikarp and Gyarados came to our territory hundreds of years ago, cutting it in half for their own pleasure. At first, it was only two: a female, and a heavily accented male. They ate us, and we did nothing, figuring this was nature’s way, and there were too many of us anyway. Then, they had children, and the Magikarp were taught to eat flesh instead of plants. They used their numbers to their advantage, and as they grew and evolved, they had children of their own. Soon we were overwhelmed with the death of so many, and our numbers dwindled to nothing. When the Magikarp began to develop sharp teeth, and stopped killing the Pokemon first, then eating it, that was the last straw. Thus, our mighty army was created, to stop the terrible and unnatural ways of these Pokemon, and we will continue until they are gone!!”

The crowd cheered again, and then silenced. The Kingdra continued.
“Today, we have a special guest. Someone who has been attacked by Magikarp, and Gyarados, and lived…”

A Seadra behind Keshaa gave him a nudge, and miserably, the little Horsea struggled to the edge of the balcony, having trouble with no fin and no one helping him. Once the made it, gasps filled the cave, and low murmurs followed. Keshaa was a terrible sight to see.

The little Horsea looked up at the Kingdra, having difficulty not crying. He was being used for display, as an example, and something to enrage the Seadra and Kingdra below him. Suddenly Keshaa felt like a freak, and realized how he would never truly fit in again. When the Kingdra glanced at him, he looked at the floor, trying to hide the flush coming into his face.

“You may come back now,” whispered someone from the council, and Keshaa backed away. His head hung low as he rested on the rock, and he tried not to listen to the rest of the Kingdra’s speech.
“As you can see, these creatures are becoming more and more violent, and much be stopped! They must be DESTROYED!!!” The crowd let out battle cries noisily, hurting Keshaa’s one ear. Without waiting, the Kingdra’s rose above the shouts.
“LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!!!!”

Keshaa’s head jerked back up, and he felt his heart go cold. This was it… this was the fight.

~*~*~

Magi listened to the muffled words of some Pokemon absently, her mind on other things. She would never again see her brother… She would never have children… She would never feel the warmth of the shallow waters; the sun filling her with pleasure and calmness. She would never learn what it was like to talk to a land Pokemon, a dream she had often dreamt ever since her brother told her about it. She would never see her dear friend, Keshaa… Magi’s sadness and fear were overwhelming. They were going to die.

A sudden, deep cry of some great Pokemon entered the Magikarp’s ears, and she froze. It was the Mantine.

All the Magikarp jumped as the bars of their cage somehow lifted, and they were shoved out: by what they did not know.

Magi winced at the bright light, then, when her eyes had adjusted, she glanced over at her team. Karp, Nip, the other Magikarp, and… RAYS?! Magi stared in shock, and would have blinked if she could. Yes, there indeed was their befriended Chinchou, looking rather over confident across the room at something. Magi reluctantly followed her gaze… to see the Mantine.

The creature was HUGE! Each of its fins was as large as its body, though they were more like flippers than fins. It was flattish, but wide, and its small dark eyes held something that filled the golden female Magikarp with dread. Antennae, or something similar, were on either side of its head, and it had a long, flowing, ribbon-like tail. Its main colors were dark blue one top, with white rings on each fin/flipper, and white underneath. Its ribbon of a tail was blue.

The immense sight and ferocity of their opponent distinguished any hope Magi had gotten from a Chinchou on their side. This creature would be unstoppable.

The Mantine stared at them, looking as confident as Rays, then let out another ear-splitting cry. In panic, all the Magikarp scattered, except for the vicious Magikarp. It found there was something attractive in this creature’s scent… It smelled strongly of Magikarp blood. Slowly, as though it were in a trance, the red Magikarp swam over to the Mantine, and sank its little teeth into the creature’s hide. The Mantine watched its efforts with slight amusement, as it tried gnawing on its side, and then, after a while, it got bored, and whacked its flipper/fin down onto the Magikarp, hard. There was a crack, and the now dead Pokemon drifted to the ocean floor, its body bent in an impossible angle. Magi was horrified.

Rays grinned slightly at the Mantine, who had now turned its attention to her, and let a bit of electricity pass from one dewdrop to the other. The Mantine seemed to understand the danger of fighting her, and turned away, looking for another Magikarp to slay. Rays grew slightly annoyed.

Magi’s heart raced as she lay as still as possible amongst some vegetation. She felt isolated, her instincts telling her to get to a school of her species that did not exist. She tensed as the Mantine’s huge form swam over her, but it did not see her, and continued on its way. Relieved, she relaxed a bit, but not too much, still wary. It would be close to her no matter what she did.

There were a few minutes more in which the Mantine kept searching, and the Chinchou started calling challenges. It ignored her.

Then, suddenly, a scream was heard, and Magi saw Nip race over her in panic, the Mantine close behind. There was another cry of surprise from someone else, and Magi carefully lifted her head out of the seaweed to find Karp desperately trying to get the Mantine away from the little red Magikarp. He screamed over and over again, sometimes getting enough bravery to call the Mantine names. It ignored him; it had found its next target already.

Nip shouted her pleas of mercy as she swam as fast as she could, terrified of her chaser. The Mantine seemed deaf; it gave no notice of her words, nor Karp’s or Ray’s. It chased Nip around and around, never tiring, or showing exertion of any sort for that matter.

In the crowds, Kingdra and Seadra shouted different ways they wanted to see the little girl Magikarp killed.

As the Mantine began to tire of its chase, it shot a stream of bubbles into Nip, hard enough to injure her. With a small cry, the Magikarp sank to the ground.

Magi got enough nerve to swim out of her hiding place, and went to see of Nip was still alive. Much to her relief, she was, but very weak. Magi gently nudged her, whispering for her to get into a hiding place. Nip made no answer.

The sudden low cry of the Mantine made Magi spin around quickly. It was only a few feet away, and was looking at her coldly. Magi was too frightened to move.

With another cry, the Mantine shot towards her, planning on crushing both the weaklings with its body. Then, something happened that the Mantine had not intended…

Magi glanced away at the blinding light. The Mantine screamed in agony. When the light died down, the huge monster looked slightly charred, and confused. It looked wildly about, wondering where the strong attack had come from. Magi looked around, too.

Both Pokemon’s eyes rested on Rays. The little Chinchou, usually friendly and cheerful, had a deadly, enraged look to her, and huge sparks of electricity were coming from her dewdrops. Obviously, she had had enough of being ignored, and was getting her revenge.

The Mantine grew furious!

With a cry louder and more frightening than any it had previously made, the Pokemon shot towards Rays, and rammed its body into hers. The Chinchou was hurled backwards into the stone wall, hitting it so hard she made an indention. This terrible attack was followed by a stream of bubbles, weakening the Water/Electric Pokemon even further. Rays could barely get up.

Preparing for one final blow, again with its body, the Mantine charged. Magi turned away, not wanting to see her friend’s pain, and noticed that Nip was starting to move.

The Mantine cherished the sudden look of fear the Chinchou had as I swam closer and closer. It could not move at the moment, and the Magikarp were too weak to do anything…

Or so it thought.

Out of nowhere, a terrible pain went through the Mantine’s side, and it stopped to see what had caused it. Before it was a male Magikarp, redder than any it had ever seen. A great spike rested on its head plate, and blood was drifting off this into the water. The Mantine looked at the huge gash in its side with great surprise. The Magikarp had somehow caught up with it, driven his spike in, and dragged it all the way down the Mantine’s side.

With another angry cry, but this one a bit weaker, the Mantine swam towards the Magikarp, wincing at its bad wound. The Pokemon stuck out his tongue and swam away, hiding in an especially large amount seaweed. The Mantine moaned. The Magikarp was trying to trick it. If it tried searching for him, he would surprise attack it over and over again with its spike until it died. The Mantine had never seen such a clever Pokemon in its life.

With a slight growl, the Mantine turned its attention back to the two female Magikarp, who were obviously weaker than their partners. Yet… it found that they had vanished!

Magi was impressed by Karp, but even his efforts had failed in destroying the Mantine. The creature was impossibly strong. It would take all their efforts to destroy it. This she said to Nip, who was beside her. The little Magikarp nodded, and together the two of them warily swam out of their hiding place to do their part.

Gulping down her fear Magi, made a sudden dash towards the Mantine, and knocked herself into it as hard as she could. Nip followed, and also rammed into it, in the same place. The Mantine made a sort of grunting noise, and turned around.

For a minute, everyone froze.

Then, letting out her own deep cry, Magi shot towards to Mantine again, risking everything, right into its left eye. Nip attacked as well, but instead of going to its other eye, she sank her teeth into the wound Karp had made, shaking her head to rip it’s muscles.

The Mantine screamed, twisting its body in pain, and hit both Magikarp with its fins. Magi and Nip let out little screams as they were hit, and drifted to the ocean floor. Nip was only grazed across the head, but Magi was hit dead on, and she listened miserably to the snapping of some bone somewhere inside her. She found herself drifting… drifting… The pain at first terrible, then fading into nothingness. She was doomed to die.

Panicking, Karp swam out of his hiding place when the two females attacked, and watched miserably as his friends were struck. He winced at the loud cracking noise that came from one of them, and watched silently as they drifted to the ground. The crowds roared with excitement, but the male Magikarp paid them no heed.

He was too full of anger.

With a loud cry, he swam to the Mantine himself, stabbing his spike into its flesh repeatedly, and dodging its attacks with skill he never knew he had.

The Mantine was very surprised at this battle. It had never fought Pokemon this high of levels and skill as it was fighting now, and it was paying badly for its guard being let down. You’d think that the Kingdra would have given it some sort of warning…?

The Mantine began to swing faster, trying its hardest to hit the male Magikarp. Over and over and over it went… until it was sure this was its last fight…

Then, it finally hit him. Hard.

There was a snap as the male Magikarp was knocked into a wall in a similar way the Chinchou had. Then it fell.

~*~*~

The Mantine nodded to the cheering crowds, its pride brought back tenfold. It was the mightiest of all fighters! It let out a fierce grin, making the cheers louder, but then, all went quiet.

Curiously, the Mantine turned to see what they were staring at, and found itself looking at the male Magikarp, who had somehow survived. The snapping sound had simply been the cracking of its head plate, and this injury it seemed to ignore easily in its adrenaline rush of hate.

Growling, the Mantine swam towards it, and pinned it to the wall.
“Ye shall die for what ye hath done…” it hissed at him, but to its disappointment, not a trace of fear entered his enraged features. Angry, the Mantine pushed the Magikarp into the wall harder, forcing it to gasp in pain. It grinned darkly, squeezing even harder. The male Magikarp could not help but let out a scream.

Then, a sudden, unexpected voice stopped it.

“You bad Pokemon, yes yes! You evil. I good. I kill you. You weak to lightning. I have lightning, yes yes! You hurt friends. You die. Goodbye!”

The Mantine released the Magikarp at the sight of the Chinchou. Rays was back up, still hurt badly, but recovered enough to keep fighting, and ready for the next round. Oh, how the Mantine loathed her. How it wished she were dead!!!

Grinning evilly, Rays let out a HUGE bolt of lightning, hitting the Mantine dead on. The Mantine was too enraged to notice. It screamed, not in pain, but in rage, and, ignoring the lightning coursing through its body, it rammed itself into Rays. She was knocked backwards, and was too weak to get up… With nothing to stop it now, the Mantine hit her again, and again, Rays’s screaming growing weaker and weaker, until she was still and silent. With a final blow, the noble Chinchou was crushed, and left in shreds.

Karp could only watch in horror, his strength gone.

“Rays!” squeaked a female voice, and the crimson Magikarp turned to see Nip up and alive, also staring at Rays in horror.

The Mantine did not notice the little red Magikarp, but had its attention turned back to Karp. He was going to die so terribly… and the Mantine would enjoy every moment of it. Swimming slowly over, the Mantine began to press the male Magikarp against the wall again, slowly crushing him. Karp took it for so long, then finally let out a tortured cry.

~*~*~

Nip stared miserably at her friend, unsure of what to do. Tears welled up in her eyes at the struggling Magikarp, who gritted his teeth for a moment, then let out another cry of pain. He was dying… and there was nothing she could do. She was an even weaker Magikarp than he was! How could a bunch of Magikarp win against this thing, anyway?! They were all dead or going to die… including Karp and herself.

Nip had started becoming attached to the male Magikarp, and she felt that if he died, she wouldn’t know what to do! She couldn’t let him die! She just couldn’t!

The little female Magikarp felt a sudden anger she did not know she had fill her, and adrenaline rush through her body. The world suddenly grew white, and a hidden energy released itself. She felt herself growing large, and though it was painful, it felt right, and wonderful. Excited, Nip let out a cry that deepened as time went on, and then she found the light fading, and that she could see again.

The Mantine looked at Nip with shock, letting Karp go once more. NEVER had THIS happened before! Instead of a tiny Magikarp, she was now a long, blue, snake-like creature, with huge fangs, and a mouth that seemed bigger then its head.

Smirking, Nip the Gyarados let out a mighty, “GYAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” The Mantine just stared in terror.

Slowly, the terrible Gyarados looked down at her opponent, who had started to tremble, and narrowed her eyes with anger…

The attack came so sudden; the Mantine could not have reacted if it wanted to. There was a loud, sickening crunch as Nip bit it in half, and, deciding she was hungry, she began to munch on it. Blood filled the battlegrounds.

~*~*~

Much to the dismay of the Kingdra leader and the Pokemon around him, the male Magikarp also evolved from the experience of the fight, and joined Nip in the feast. Together they let out victory roars and fought over bits of meat here and there.

Then, out of nowhere, the male Gyarados turned to the Pokemon around him.
“I am to be called Fang!” he roared, enjoying the cowering of the Seadra and Kingdra. He also felt the goodness and wonder of now being an individual, and having importance enough to have a name.

Nip nuzzled him, and smiled with satisfaction.
“We’re Gy’dos now, Fang! We won! We did it! ‘N not on’y ‘at, but we’re tha first ta do it!” she whispered. Fang gave a toothy grin. The Kingdra and Seadra would bother them no more…

“Oh, let’s get out of here, Nip! We have a new world to explore!” he suddenly laughed. Nip nodded, and together, the two of them crashed through the actually very thin stone ceiling, laughing at the mess they made for their X-captors to clean up.

They were free, and they’d be free forever.

~*~*~

Keshaa shook all over. He was so very, very horrified, that not even the huge stones falling about him disturbed him. Screams echoed throughout the cave as hundreds of Water Pokemon struggled to escape. He didn’t care. Not after what he had seen…

Magi… was…

Keshaa shut his eyes, feeling the sobbing sounds escaping his throat. The snapping of bone echoed in his ears… the sight of the orange gold Magikarp limply drifting to the ground played over and over in his mind…

“Magi… m… my… my FRIEND!” he suddenly screamed, curling up and weeping. He was alone… all alone… all his friends… gone.

The little Horsea suddenly wanted to die.

[V.o.t.M]

Why do we hurt the ones we love, Magi? WHY?! Poor 'lil Horsea. And Rays! Why?! De annoying talking is gone! WHY?!

[Rainstone]

It's been forever since I've posted here ... and boy, have I missed a lot! Wow. I just ... Woah. Poor Rays! *sniffle* She was neat, I'm gunna miss her. Update, S.M.! NOW!! Um, please?

P.S. - Speaking of Animal Farm ... *shudders* Remember last year, Shadowed Mewtwo, when we had to read that and stuff? I'm doing it AGAIN, in my English class!!!! And we're about to start of Romeo and Juliet. AGAIN!!!!! I weep out of self pity. We've already done all the things last year that the Honors English class is doing THIS year. Why ... ?

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Yes... um... I was sick, in fact, in fact, I was very sick, so I'm afraid you're only getting a small chapter after so long of waiting. However, the chapter should have enough in it to answer some questions and start new ones! ^^;; Sorry I'm not answering your posts either, but I wanna write the new chapter really bad! This next chap is either the last or second last chapter in Part One!!! Then comes the good stuff!!!!!!!! ^-^

~*~Chapter 11~*~

The entire cave was demolished. Thirty Seadra were dead. And, with no one else to blame, the High Council decided to blame a very helpless Horsea for the crimes.

In his current state, Keshaa really didn’t care.

~*~*~

Sitting above ground, in the cold dark water, were all the Seadra and Kingdra left of the army. They talked and bickered among themselves, all in very low spirits, and in no mood to do much of anything.

Off to one side, close to the great hole the two escaped Gyarados had made, was the High Council. A few members of the council were dead, crushed under sand and stone, lost forever in the rubble. The lowered numbers made the council look small, helpless, and pathetic.

Keshaa sat near them, saved by a kind Seadra, who now sat at his side as the lead Kingdra let out its anger on him. As has been said before, Keshaa didn’t really care, since his heart was in a bit too much turmoil for him to grasp the real world well enough.

“You had something to do with this, Horsea… Your desire to save your “friend” makes you stand out as though you were albino! What part do you have to play in this?! What?!?! ANSWER ME!!!!” the Kingdra leader roared. Keshaa sat before it, on a stone, his head hung low, muttering to himself. The Seadra sat trying to comfort his new friend, looking at the Kingdra uncomfortably.

Keshaa felt like he was in a black, empty void of nothingness. All his friends were dead. The two creatures he had ever cared for were completely gone, and he had done nothing for them. He had not even told them how much they meant to him, had he?! He should have been the one dead a long time ago! He should be dead now!!

The crippled Horsea was knocked back into the spiky Seadra near him as the Kingdra hit him hard. The Seadra got back up, glared at the Kingdra, and checked Keshaa. The Horsea was alive, and fully awake, but he lay there limp and distant.

“Kingdra! Kingdra you brat!!!!* Answer me you stupid little thing!!!” snapped the Kingdra. Keshaa still remained silent, however, having not even heard him. The Seadra that had saved him looked at him worriedly, but Keshaa did not see it, for he was too deep in his sorrows.

“After she saved me… She tried to do so much good… and received so much hate…”

~*~*~

StripFang’s deep red eyes filled with anger at the news of the two newly evolved Gyarados. His massive head lifted toward the skies and his great throat filled with terrible sounds of rage and anger.

Nip and Fang looked at each other uncomfortably. They had been stopped by this stranger and asked about the whereabouts of the little golden Magikarp known as Magi, though of course she was dead. They had no idea that the Gyarados would take the death of some stupid Magikarp so hard, but he had, and they were sure their new lives would end as fast as they had begun.

StripFang roared a long time, his voice full of anger… and sorrow. They had failed. Both he and the Horsea, which was going to die now, had lost a loved one. When he was done, he looked at the ground for a bit, ignoring the uncomfortable young Gyarados before him, then looked up at them.

“That does it…” he said, his voice dangerously soft, and oddly void of any accent. “Those pests have gone too far… Pokemon must never cage, trap, and terminate other Pokemon like that!!! It’s a conspiracy that must be stopped!!! Oooooo… What they did…. GYYYYYYAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!”

Fang and Nip jumped at the cry, which was a war cry that would most likely attract every other Gyarados in the area. They looked uncomfortably at each other when he was done, and had started swimming in circles, muttering to himself. Had the Gyarados not known what the Seadra and Kingdra were doing to protect the Horsea? What would they do now? Had the two of them started a war…?

Fang nuzzled Nip, trying to comfort her. True, they had lost care for Magi, but really, Magikarp have difficulty caring for others. Magi was unusual in that sense, loving even those she knew, and this was one reason StripFang cared for her so much. She was special… and now, at least to everyone’s knowledge, she was gone.

Thus let the war begin!!!


~*~*~

The water was thick and murky. It was dark, darker than even the floor of the ocean, for this place was beneath the floor. To be exact, it was the cave where a very special little golden Magikarp had battled, and lost. It had once been an arena, but with all the rocks and sand covering and ruining everything the Kingdra and Seadra had worked so hard to create it was now just a big hole.

It the midnight waters, a single light bobbed around, slowly from stone to stone. It seemed to be searching for something at a painstakingly slow pace. The brightness seemed to add a bit of hope, though its owner felt none.

The light came from a fairly young male Lanturn, who’s face was flushed from its crying and who’s heart was cold with pain. As the large blue fish swam around, holding his orb before him to help him see, he muttered things that could barley be heard, even in the oppressing silence.
“Bad, yes yes. My poor poor Rays… So noble. She something special. Why I loved her, yes yes. She stand up against Masters. She brave. She braver than anybody else! Now she dead… Poor poor Rays… Poor poor wife of mine, yes yes…”

The Lanturn stopped at the ripped and tattered remains of his mate, holding in his breath with shock. His red eyes filled with unseen tears, but he made no sound. A bit of electricity left his orb as he thought of the Mantine that had done this, but of course the Mantine had died a terrible death, and he could get no revenge. Though… there still were the “Masters”…

The Lanturn shook his head and concentrated on what he had come for. With a sad smile, the he buried his nose into the sand near the body of his mate and began to dig a hole. He made it round and large: perfect for his mate’s body to rest in peace. Then, gently, carefully, he nudged what remained of Rays into the freshly dug grave, and buried her, his heart heavy.

Those Seadra and Kingdra would pay…

After a silent prayer, the Lanturn looked about himself and saw the red body of one of Rays’s partners in battle. It was half crushed under a large stone, and looked horribly twisted and ruined. Wincing at the sight, the Lanturn decided to bury it as well to honor it, and covered the body with sand. He said another prayer as he worked, though not as sincere, then decided to politely bury all of Rays’s partners who had helped her in battle. It was the right thing to do.

The Lanturn looked around a long time, and finding the one body left was hard. He eventually found it half buried in some rubble, its bruised and torn face sticking out of the little sharp rocks full of pain.

Rays’s mate was surprised; he had thought both the Magikarp Rays had been fighting for had lived. Yet here was one of the big Magikarp; and this was the palest Magikarp he had ever seen. It had a soft orange gold color, very nice, and it looked like it had been a powerful Magikarp.

The Lanturn gave an honorable bow and words of respect, then scooped up some sand and began to cover it.

~*~*~

Drifting… she was drifting… so far now…

Magi’s unblinking eyes stared about her, in complete shock. She could not move, could not feel… She was nothingness, it seemed. For a long while she drifted in the darkness; forces she could not sense pushing her along.

Then, everything changed.

The darkness she had been in grew a bright blue, and she now saw something coming toward her…

This creature was large, though smaller than a Gyarados. They must have still been in water, for it swam, awkwardly, along, its silver and purple body finless and gill-less. Magi wondered to herself how it was making it in the water like that, with no way to breathe whatsoever.

The creature had what Magi realized were arms and legs, if what she had heard about strange Pokemon was true. Therefore, it was a land Pokemon… The creature’s arms were long and bony, with three knobby fingers on the end of each. Its legs were muscular, with long, two-toed feet. Its head was large, with two necks to support it… Odd… One underneath, and one on the back… Its eyes were purple, as well as its stomach, and a long tail that was thick, muscled, and looked rather deadly.

What was this creature? Why was it here? Why was SHE here?!

The creature stopped when it was close to her, and stared coldly at Magi with its large violet eyes. She felt as though it were angry with her, though why she could not tell…

{It is your entire fault, Foul… Everything that has happened is because of YOU… All the death, all the pain, all thanks to YOU!!! And now you think you can just die and get away with it?! Not while I, the Gold Kami, am living. You shall live long, and meet your punishment with a high head. Just as I did…} It said coldly. Much to Magi’s shock, the voice was not heard through her ears, but directly in her mind, and for a moment she was blinded with glowing blue Psychic energy.

When the light faded, the Pokemon was no longer its silver and purple self, but had somehow turned golden, more golden than her, and its tail was now brown. Its eyes were just as cold, but blue, a deep blue like the bottom of the ocean. Scars covered it, and one eye’s colors were more faded than the other, showing it was blind.

Magi thought silently that this must be the “Gold Kami”, whatever that was…

{Shall you not speak, Foul? Are you still alive?} questioned the Gold Kami snappishly, its small mouth curving into a frown.
“Foul? I’m Magi! A Magikarp! I couldn’t kill anything if I wanted! What are you talking about, Gold Kami, sir?”

The Pokemon did not reply, but instead put its hand on Magi’s head.
{You are becoming delirious. I shall take you to help, then we will try to find a way to soften the anger of those you have hurt…}
“But…” Magi started, then was silenced as the blue energy came around her, oppressing and overwhelming. She had difficulty keeping conscious…
{Don’t worry Foul. I won’t let you die… You’re too special for that.} These last words were spoken with an odd tenderness that had been absent before.

The Gold Kami’s voice was soft yet powerful, like a might that caressed her, protected her, and filled her with strength.

Magi had no idea what was going on, but she found she suddenly liked this Gold Kami, and hoped to see it… him… again soon.

Soon it was dark again.

~*~*~

The Lanturn suddenly stopped burying the body and stared. If he wasn’t mistaken, the Magikarp had just moved…

There it was again! The Magikarp squirmed a little, finding herself stuck, then stopped and rested. After a few moments, she struggled again, this time giving a little cry for help. The sound snapped the Lanturn out of his shock, and he hurriedly started digging the now living Magi out of the sand and rubble.

When Magi was free, she looked herself over in complete surprise. She was perfectly healthy, not a bone broken or bruised. The worst thing she had was a scratch or two. Yet her mind was flooded with the snapping of her own body… the pain… the fading… fading towards that other Pokemon… Wait.

The other Pokemon.

Magi’s heart raced. That must have been a dream… right? Just some weird dream! But then… how was she healed after all that? And, if she had never seen an actual land Pokemon before… how could she think that up? Her imagination could never have thought THAT up! What was a Kami, anyway?!

“You okay? Sorry I bury you, yes yes… I think you dead. All things here dead now. Just you live. You lucky. You got big toughness. Tough fo’ a Gy’dos fishy! You not ev’n hurt bad, no no!” the Lanturn apologized with surprise. He had not expected to see Magi so healthy.

Magi turned to him, not noticing his presence before, and smiled slightly. The Lanturn must have healed her. Yes, that was it! She had just had a weird dream that filled her with emotions, but it was still just a dream. She could forget it now.

“Yes, thank you for saving me, sir. I owe you my life,” she said politely, giving the Lanturn a little bow. He bowed back, grinning, then turned to a tunnel and started swimming away.

Suddenly frightened of being alone in the dark, Magi followed the strange Lanturn closely behind.




(*Pokemon will sometimes curse when very angry. However, when they do this from a Pokemon’s point of view, the cursing will not be translated. Instead, you will only hear the Pokemon say its name where the word was spoken.)

[V.o.t.M]

Gold Kami, eh? Eeee! Time for super fun, shiny style! And for 'dos of you who dun speak Japanese, Kami means God. Now you feel smart!

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

If you all must know, Kami is what you call a high-ranked Mewtwo. (I was going to explain this later, but now's as good a time as any I suppose)

Since Kami pretty much represents a powerful, super natural creature, Mewtwos enjoy giving EXTREMELY powerful Mewtwos the title Kami, with something else in the title to tell them apart. A good example would be Vappy's Ice Kami, whom I learned this from. (The two of us cross our fics a lot... ^^;; )

Indeed, the Ice Kami is interesting to read about. My "Gold Kami" is an old character, who usually goes by a different name, but you'll find out more about him later...


Rainstone: Yay! I'd love to see illustrations of my fic! *feels special now*

Otto=ottO: This Kami is a normal, mortal Pokemon... You aren't leaving this story, are you?! ;_;

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Otto=ottO: O_O;; No, Mewtwo is male and would have children with females...

Crystalmaster Mike: Shush! You're giving too much away!!!!

Ultra_Poke2000: Thankee!!!! ^-^ I love complex plots, don't you?

Zach Starmourn: Heh... you know me all to well... ^^;;

Darien Shields: This story will explain everything, so you'll get to find out lots about the multi-Mewtwo populations, hybrids, and a few new little tid bits that nobody's seen. You'll just find out about it later...

Rainstone: I'd be scared if you weren't a girl... 'Cause you were the last time I saw you! And also, don't be sad about bumping. I don't mind too much... and you didn't know that bumping was bad!


Meh... Don't you just "love" it when you're sick for a week, then the next week you have so much school work you can't write at all? Evilness!!!!!!!!

Thankfully, I'm on my last, assignment, however, where I have to write a short story. Yayness! Perhaps I'll post it on the boards when I'm done. ^^ Until then, just be patient, k? I'm sorry you've had to wait so long. I'm doing the best I can.

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Please do not hate me... This chapter is not my best. ^^;; It's kinda fast paced at first, and you'd better remember everything that happened in the last chapter to understand the beginning. After that it's okay.

~*~Chapter 12~*~

The water was stained red that night.

Bodies drifted through the water, that of Horsea, Seadra, Kingdra, Magikarp, and even a Gyarados or two. The battles were vicious, terrible things that ended with at least one creature dying every time.

StripFang was in a blind rage over the fact that the little Horsea had betrayed him and let Magi die. He had killed more than anyone else, and no Pokemon could touch him. His jaws open wide in a snarl, and he searched frantically for Keshaa, who long since fled and hid.

~*~*~

Magi listened fearfully deep in the tunnels, pressed close to Ray’s mate for comfort. The earth shook around her, and her ears were filled with the roars and screams of war. The male Lanturn also looked worried, and every once in a while a bit of electricity would leave his orb, meaning he was edgy. Neither dared to move.

A few Gyarados entered the cavern to search for more Pokemon to slaughter. They were enjoying themselves, and couldn’t wait for the feast that would follow this massacre. Three of them swam about the cave, their long, slender bodies curving easily around the stones jutting out of various places. They had a graceful, yet deadly look to them, their massive forms covered in plates, fins, and scales that shone in what little light there was. Their purple eyes reflected the light like a cat’s, and with their long teeth, they looked as destructive as they were.

After searching, one found the tunnels hidden behind a pile of smaller stones, and bellowed his discovery to his partners. The three of them squeezed into the tunnels one by one, finding it difficult to move around. However, they smelled several creatures in the tunnels and felt their warmth, so they went on.

Magi froze as she listened to the churning of the water. It was moving a lot for a Pokemon, so it had to be something large.

Her very heart stopped when a rumble came from a nearby tunnel, and the shadow of a Gyarados appeared on the walls from the light of the Lanturn beside her. Quickly, the Lanturn dimmed his light, and gave a little shudder of fear. Why the Gyarados had suddenly attacked was beyond them, but they were in no mood to die.

Both Pokemon watched as the huge creature passed one by one, not noticing them. A few moments passed, then there were screams of Chinchou, Lanturn, and Magikarp, followed by flashes of light and great roars from the Gyarados. The ground began to move again, and a few stones fell from the ceiling, causing Magi and the male Lanturn to bolt. The listened in fear to the rumbles of the Gyarados, then horrible crunches echoed through the underground path, followed by wisps of red. Magi and the Lanturn looked at each other in the dim light, both terrified out of their mind. At the roar of one of the Gyarados, they both fled out of their hiding place, through the ruined arena and into the open.

~*~*~

Keshaa looked up at the huge Gyarados before him, trembling with terror. He was positively sure StripFang had gone completely mad. The Gyarados had just torn apart another Gyarados to get to him! He’d done it without a second thought!

Keshaa shut his eyes and curled into a little ball. Maybe StripFang would kill him quickly, and he could be with his friends again without suffering too much. Maybe…

The red-eyed Gyarados shouted his hatred to Keshaa, filling his heavily accented sentences with foul language that no living creature should hear. Keshaa winced a bit, but kept his eyes shut. He didn’t dare look into those deep red eyes.

Angry, frustrated, and hurt, StripFang shouted louder, then lunged toward Keshaa, ready to kill…

~*~*~


Magi and the Lanturn fled from stone to stone, terrorized by the thick red water and smells of death. Magi’s instincts screamed at her to leave, and for once, she heartily agreed with them. This place had turned into a war zone all at once, and a battlefield is no place for a Magikarp.

So, when the Lanturn went one way, Magi went another.

Her gold scales looked red-orange with the tint of the water, and she found herself starting to suffocate from the thick blood. She could barely see, but that didn’t stop her from swimming as fast as she could. She swam in panic, not caring where she went, as long as she left this land for good. She never wanted to see this place again. She had to get ou—

A familiar scream stopped the female Magikarp in her place. Keshaa. She spun towards the cry, and started swimming as fast as she could in that direction. Through the red she raced, until she came upon the forms of a Gyarados and a very small, crippled Horsea.

Even then Magi didn’t stop. She swam right past the Gyarados into Keshaa, who automatically wrapped his tail around her waist without a word, and the two left a very surprised StripFang far behind.

They fled through smooth, rocky, and bumpy land, too frightened to think. They raced through the crimson water, as fast as they could. Magi’s heart went faster than she thought possible, and she was full of dread that they would be caught.

Then, the red thinned, and slowly turned blue again. The two small Pokemon slowed down, and found themselves in a patch of seaweed, which they happily traveled through for protection. It was so quiet and still on this side of the Gyarados territory…

Keshaa gave a sudden joyful cry. Only a few yards away, they spotted the bones of some poor Pokemon, marking the end of the Gyarados territory. They were free.

~*~*~

It was funny when Keshaa realized exactly whom he was riding, and the Horsea cried a long time out of joy, babbling on about how worried and miserable he had been. Magi was quiet through this, but she had a happy smile on her face the whole time, and was very close to tears. When he stopped, she remained silent, and he did the same…

“Keshaa, that was crazy,” Magi finally said as they went along. It had been a few hours since that sudden, terrible slaughter they had witnessed, and this was the first thing spoken in a while. They had run into nothing, and the cool, refreshing water was enjoyed by them both. It was great relief no to constantly smell predators and blood.

Keshaa let out a relaxed sigh.
“Crazier than I thought possible. It’s a miracle we’re alive!” he laughed, and rested his head on Magi’s smooth scaly back.
“Thanks for saving me…” he whispered, his crimson eyes shining with joy. “I owe you my life tenfold!” Magi laughed herself, and jerked her body a bit to make Keshaa sit up.
“You don’t owe me anything Keshaa! Your friendship is more than enough payment!” Both of them chuckled together, then fell into a peaceful silence.

~*~*~

After half a day, the two Pokemon came across something incredible.

It was a great wooden object of some sort, made of rotting boards. Holes covered it, and bits of cloth clung to logs sticking up from the top. It was obviously not originally from the ocean.

Keshaa let out a quiet gasp.
“A ship!” he murmured, more to himself than Magi, who had not heard him anyway. She was too amazed by the ancient craft, which was larger than any Gyarados. It was an alien thing to her, made from alien material. She knew nothing about it, but she wanted to learn… a lot.

The large female Magikarp’s old curiosity came back to her, and she eagerly approached the ship. Keshaa made no protest; he was also eager to study the object from the land.

As they approached, the ship’s boards moaned in protest to the ocean water pushing against it, and a loose board fell to the floor. The ship smelled of age and mold, and had a gray, ancient color to its woodwork. Any metal on it was rusted past recovering; it was so green and swollen from possibly hundreds of years in the water.

They first swam up to the dock, which was cluttered with bones, tools, and other fascinating yet worthless tidbits. To the two deep sea Pokemon, they were treasures from unknown worlds, and they were enchanted by them. They studied skeletons, knives, fishing poles and nets, a flute, and even a little piece of jewelry.

When they were done exploring the deck, they entered the lower levels through a hole in the rotting timber. It smelled worse in there, and was very dark and cold. There was also something else Magi sensed that she didn’t like, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. Since the feeling was faint, and Keshaa didn’t seem worried, Magi decided to ignore it.

There were all sorts of containers in the lower levels, but very few loose objects to study. It was pretty plain really, and unnerving with all the skeletons about, but for some reason, Magi and Keshaa continued silently on.

Eventually they came to the edge of a hallway, turned left, right, down some stairs, and found themselves in a large room. At the end of this room was a shiny, glistening, beautiful statue carved to resemble all the legendary Pokemon ever to exist. Their majestic bodies chased each other towards the sky, looking very much spirited and alive even if they were made of gold, and the two un-evolved Pokemon were very impressed. It was an incredible work of art.

Yet, as they approached the ancient statue, Magi began to feel uneasy again. It wasn’t her instincts that were bothering her… just a cold feeling that ran down her spine and made her limbs tingle. It urged her to leave, but didn’t, a sensation that confused her. What was it?

Her answer soon came.

A creature… a Pokemon, appeared suddenly before them out of thin air, making both Magi and Keshaa jump. It was a spiky, purple, gaseous thing, with slanted eyes and a large toothy grin. It had an evil look to it that neither the Horsea nor the Magikarp liked.

“Trespassers, eh? Tryan’ to steal my treasure, eh? Afta’ I’ve guarded it for so long, ya think ya can just come in here and ta’e it like tha’? Bweheheheheaaaiiii!!!” it cackled, letting a long pink tongue slip momentarily from its mouth as it did so. Magi and Keshaa exchanged glances.

“What are you?” asked Magi when it finally fell silent, but this made it laugh again. The female Magikarp found herself hating that laugh.
“I’m a Haunta’, duh!” it snickered. “A Ghost Pokemon, and your worst nightmare!” At this, it made its unconnected, clawed hands dance before them, temporarily hypnotizing them…

~*~*~

Magi and Keshaa struggled in their bonds, while the Haunter laughed its head off at the sight of them.
“Which will suffa’ for this crime? Tha Magika’ or tha Horsea?” The Haunter pressed its face close to Keshaa, letting its foul breath strike his face in large bubbles. Keshaa tried to keep a brave face, and managed to stare at it without emotion.
“Tha Hosea ha’ been through a lot a’ready…” mused the Ghost Pokemon, and then it looked over at Magi, who had started to tremble.
“But tha Magika’ hasn’t a mark on it! You two need to make a pair…”

At this, the Haunter put a clawed hand on Magi’s head, and its eyes went dark. Magi remained still at first, then began to struggle and scream in pain. Keshaa went berserk.
“LEAVE MY MAGIKARP ALONE!!!!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. He shot jets of water at the Haunter, but they were too weak to reach it. So, he began to struggle again.

The Haunter ignored him until it was done with its attack. Then, it let Magi go, removing the bonds. The female Magikarp sank to the ground, twitching in pain and giving little cries of agony. She had been attacked with Curse.

“STOP IT!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MAGI?!?!” Keshaa continued screaming as loudly as he could. The Haunter looked at him, then began to cackle again.
“Bweheheheheaaaiiii!!!! Your ‘Magi’ is doomed, little Horsea! Only the healing of a human ca’ sa’e her now! An’ who’s going to help her an’ take her there? Ya can’t swim, I won’t, an’ who really gives a flip about a Magika’ anyway?”

Keshaa shouted and squirmed, trying to get free, and promising the Haunter it would pay. Still cackling, the Haunter let him go, and watched him desperately try to swim towards it.
“You are so dead… when I figure out how to swim…” Keshaa growled, forgetting for a moment that he had no fins. He looked coldly at the Haunter through his good eye, but for some reason the ghost found this funny, and started laughing even harder.

After a while of doing this, and watching Keshaa struggle to get near it, the Haunter floated over to the Horsea and grabbed it by the throat.
“Nobody enters my ship an’ lives…” it hissed through its jagged teeth, squeezing tight. “Nobody…”

Keshaa gave little gasps as he struggled to breath. His mind raced as he thought of how they had just made it out of one danger straight into another. It was sad, really. It was as if the world didn’t want them to live… A Magikarp must never love, and a Horsea must always be able to squirt ink. They were outcasts, and they would be hated by everyone until the end.

Poor Magi… Keshaa felt so very sorry for the female Magikarp. After everything she had done for him, he could never help her. He was pathetic. And now… she would die a slow, painful death from a curse no Pokemon can heal. An injury made by a spiritual creature… So much pain… When she had done nothing…
“Magi…” Keshaa croaked, tears filling his eyes, and entering the ocean as they left him. He looked over at the still twitching and sobbing fish miserably. She didn’t deserve this. She’d never deserved anything bad. He had to do… something. Anything!
“Magi…” he repeated, his voice even more strained as the Haunter squeezed harder. “I won’t… let… you… die… Magi… I’LL SAVE YOU!!!”

With these final words, the tiny Horsea began to glow. The energy was burning to the touch, and the Haunter had to release Keshaa as his form shifted and grew in the blinding light. It stared uncomfortably as the light faded, and a new seahorse sat before it.

The creature was a Seadra, with large, spiky fins, a spiked head, and a scaly chest. Scars covered him, from head to tail, but it now made him look more ferocious than pathetic. He was missing an ear, but that didn’t matter, since he now stared coldly at the Haunter with not one, but two dark eyes.

Swimming majestically over to the tortured Magikarp, the Seadra gave the Haunter a warning look before wrapping his long tail around her body and gently lifting her up. The Haunter made a move to stop him, but paused at the Seadra’s words.
“Touch her and I’ll kill you. We didn’t come to steal your ‘treasure.’ We came to learn. The pain you’ve caused us for nothing will be punished if you come any closer. Goodbye Haunter.”

With that, Keshaa rushed out the sunken ship and dashed upward with incredible speed.
“Hold on Magi… I’ll save you…” he whispered in a much deeper voice. Magi showed no sign of hearing him, but continued sobbing in pain. This urged Keshaa to go faster.

~*~*~

As luck would have it, a ship happened to be right above the two Pokemon friends, with a middle-aged man fishing. He was a fat, bald, ugly man, with squinted eyes and flushed cheeks. He was in a bad mood; he hadn’t caught any fish at all that day, and it was getting late. He would have to leave any moment…

A loud thud made the man jump. He turned to hear a sort of shuffling sound nearby, and managed to heave his massive bulk out of the chair to see what it was. He was very surprised to find a pair of water Pokemon: a wonderfully large golden Magikarp and an equally large Seadra.

~*~*~

Keshaa didn’t take the time to let himself study what a human looked like. He barley noticed as he took his first breaths of air, felt the ocean wind, and smell the odd scents of tobacco and wood. He was too intent on saving the creature that had saved him many times.

Lowering Magi to the ground and nudging her to the man, Keshaa tried to catch his breath. He was exhausted from his evolution and the dash he had just made.
“Please… help,” he whispered softly, then let himself fall into darkness.

[V.o.t.M]

Why must all the bad crap happen to the Blue thing and the Gold thing? WHY?! WILL the plump fisher man help? OR will he FEAST on FISH RELATED foodstuffs? Huh? HUH?! Hehehe, dis is fun!

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Crystalmaster Mike: You have no idea... ^^;;

AquaBabe727: Yeah, I feel kinda bad leaving StripFang behind... but I'm sure I'll think of something to make it up to him!

Rainstone: Yes, Keshaa shall now kick major butt! Yayness!!

Ultra_Poke2000: Thankees!

Zach Starmourn: Maybe...

Darien Shields: Nah, they CAN'T be ghosts, 'cause they reproduce!

Dark Shaman: *stares at the badge* Ooo... Shiny. Yeah, I enjoyed having Keshaa evolve. He's cool

V.o.t.M: You'll find out...

Powarun: Why hello there! I'm happy you like the fic! *gets out the party stuff* A new reader! Yayness! Let's celebrate!! *offers everyone sugary things like cookies, candy, and ice cream*

Heh heh... Here's a little teaser poster for part II... Which is being posted now!

http://imageevent.com/draganie/pokemonpics

(No saying your guesses about what happens in Part II! I want at least some of you to be surprised with stuff!)

Part II: Might's Wrath

~*~Prologue~*~

“All right, class. Today starts the second semester, and history is now to be switched from human history to Mewtwo history,” said Mr. Perdayne, the school’s social studies teacher. A few of the students moaned, but others cheered, glad to be rid of the boring human lessons. Humans’ ways were just depressing.

Mr. Perdayne smiled at the enthusiastic part of the class.
“Who can tell me a few things about Mewtwos?” he asked after a pause. Several hands shot up.
“Ok… Marty, what can you tell us about Mewtwos?”

Marty, a small skinny boy with jet-black hair and dark eyes lifted his head with a scowl. He had not raised his hand. The boy’s pale face flushed as the whole class looked over at him, but his scowl stayed pasted on his lean nine-year-old face. Barley in a whisper, the boy answer, “Mewtwo are dumb, lower animals called Pokemon that were created by a madman to take over the world.” His scowl intensified at the silence that followed, and he lowered his head again.

Reluctantly, a small, fuzzy, white, three-fingered hand rose to its owner’s shoulder, then stopped.
“All right, what do you know about Mewtwos, Kate?” asked the social studies teacher, relieved someone else had volunteered. The little girl giggled slightly, her deep purple eyes shining with amusement.
“I think I’d know! Anyways, we’re NOT lower animals,” here the little female Mewtwo shot a cold glance at Marty, “but a species that is a mix between Pokemon and human, giving us human rights. The rights were pressed and established twelve years ago by Micah Deathburn.”
“Excellent, Kate! Anyone else?”

Here another hand raised, this one also white and fuzzy, but had five fingers instead of three. As the boy was selected, he scratched an oddly shaped ear; like a Mewtwo’s but not quite, then rubbed a very much human nose. In fact, this odd creature’s entire face looked like a human, but the long purple tail resting around his desk showed he was far from it.

“The ICE KAMI!!!!!!” the boy shouted, a goofy grin on his face. The entire class started laughing.

This boy was named Zac, and he was a Kami fanatic. The powerful Mewtwos were all he thought about, and he had collected every trading card of them there was.

Though he was half human, he felt more Pokemon, mostly thanks to his father.

His mother was a human, his father a Mewtwo, and how he had come from the cross breeding with no casualties was a wonder. Zac had just turned ten, but he’d decided to stay in school instead of becoming a Pokemon trainer. He slightly feared the outside world, and what they would think of something like him.

“What?” Zac asked, the goofy smile still on his face. “The Ice Kami is awesome! How many Ancients do you know that’ve never been beaten?!”
“Which leads to another interesting topic,” Mr. Perdayne cut in, before Zac could start to ramble about the famous Articuno Hybrid. “What exactly is an Ancient? Can anybody tell me?”

Mr. Perdayne waited in silence, looking for someone new to call on. However, not many in this class were that outgoing, and finding a volunteer was difficult. Sometimes he blamed the class for the gray that was starting to appear in his dark brown hair from all the stress of always having to pick people. They found it funny.

A clatter echoed through the silent room, causing everyone to jump. Slowly, a male Mewtwo’s face reddened, and he bent down to pick up his lunch money. He fumbled with the coins, his hands almost completely incapable of grabbing them, and stuffed them into the pockets of his light, red jacket.

The Mewtwo’s name was Acciaio, which is French for steel. He was called this because half his face, chest, and one of his arms were robotic.

It was said that a poacher had gotten at him when he was little and “had some fun,” as the adults put it. Acciaio obviously had had little fun, and sadly lost his parents to the poacher. He now lived with two humans who ran a trade market in the south of town. They were kind to him, but he had gone cold from everything that had happened in his life, and would give them no love back. Nor would he speak to anyone.

“Acciaio, would you please tell us about the Ancients? It’s the least you could do after that,” the teacher said, picking up a large piece of blue chalk. Sighing, Acciaio gave a slight nod, tried to smile, and ended up with a smirk because he could only control half his face.

Lifting his good arm, the cyborg Mewtwo’s one real eye glowed ice blue as he lifted the chalk with his Psychic powers, and used it to write his answer on the board:

Ancients are the first generation of Mewtwos to ever exist. They were created to destroy the world, but are not robots, and would not allow themselves to be used as weapons. No matter how many were created, none would obey, and in fact many escaped. They joined to form the first Mewtwo city, Mewtopia, which still exists today. They made laws and assigned advisors and even made competitions. Their wisdom helped turn the city great, and their experience with man helped them keep safe from the humans.

Giovanni is the main maker of the Ancients, and still creates them today. Currently he has been working on a new breed of Ancients called the Unreal Mewtwos, which are actually living beings turned into a Mewtwo. They can be anything from a Pidgey to a human, and he has actually tested the project’s success on himself.

“Um… Acciaio, could you please give us a simpler answer?” asked Mr. Perdayne, grinning slightly at the neat paragraphs on the board. Obviously the little Mewtwo was going to get an A+ this semester!

Acciaio nodded silently, and wrote under the two paragraphs in small letters:

Ancient: Any man-made, un-naturally born Mewtwo or Mewtwo hybrid.

“Very good, Acciaio!” Mr. Perdayne praised. The Mewtwo lowered his hand and set it over his mechanical one. Then he allowed himself to look at his other classmates, most of whom had fallen asleep. They had stopped paying attention a long time ago. Acciaio snorted in irritation, and lifted his hand again. A Shadow Ball began to form in his palm…

“NO! Stop! Don’t you dare throw that energy ball!” the social studies teacher shouted. Those who were awake cringed in their desks, especially the humans. For a long while there was silence, while teacher and student glared at each other.

Then, a human slowly girl raised her hand.
“May I go to the bathroom, sir?” she asked Mr. Perdayne meekly, and let out a shriek as the Shadow Ball was flung at her, just missing her head.

“ACCIAIO! To the principle’s office, NOW!” roared Mr. Perdayne.

Slowly, silently, the cyborg rose and walked out of the class. Every student was awake now, staring with fear at the hole in the wall from the attack. The girl who had been shot at was crying and trembling with fear.

Marty, who had had his head lowered the whole time, now lifted it and looked at the hole, then at Acciaio’s empty seat.
“Like I said, they were made by a madman… You can’t trust them to be human at all!” he mumbled, then lowered his head again.

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Rainstone: Thankee! I'm a Zac fan myself

Powarun: Why do you think I went "Buahaha"? The Water Pokemon are in the human world now, and thus you are being taught just what's going on right now on land! You wouldn't think I'd make a story with just two main characters, would you? ^^;; I like big, twisty plots too much for that! ('Dun worry, you'll find out what's going on with Magi and Keshaa later!)

[V.o.t.M]

You have no idea how happy this chappy made meee!

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Meh... o_O;; I'm so sorry peeps! What with sickness, projects, and my new Saphire game, I've been kinda buisy! ^^;; I'm learning all sorts of stuff about the new Pokemon, and should be able to put some in my story now! Yayness!!!

Okay... I think I have today free... let's see if I can get a chappy done! *shuffles off to write*

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

FINALLY!!! I wrote it!! Praise me!

~*~Chapter 13~*~

The light shown brightly that day, filling the sky, the world, all with color, creating a beautiful variety in the land. It fell upon vegetation, upon buildings, roadsides, soil, and… some Pokemon.

They sat there, nine Pokemon, all the starters from every region, including the rare Torchic, Treeko, and Mudkip, all impossible to find wild in Kanto. The small group lay on a blanket of soft grass, enjoying the smell of the fresh dew that still lay mixed with greenstuffs. Each lay a little closer to his or her own Type, enjoying each other’s company more than they would with the others.

As they lay there, they watched their current master argue with a Scyther. The huge, frightening, reptilian bug was growing angry, since he was not being permitted to do what he wished.

“Look, Slash, I understand you want to be a Pokemon trainer, but I cannot just give you a license! I have already turned other Pokemon down, and it would be unfair for me to give you special rules. Besides, it is wrong for a Pokemon to train another Pokemon!” said Professor Two unhappily. She sounded tired and strained from this long, fierce argument, and a bit annoyed, since the Scyther wouldn’t give the matter a rest.

“Look, you’re a Mewtwo, and that’s a Pokemon, and I want what you get! It’s not fair! Why can’t I have a license?!” The Scyther’s wings beat hard and fast as he said this, and the small starter Pokemon cowered as he raised his scythes in the air with a cry. Professor Two sighed.

“I am half Mew, half human. We all are. That is why we are treated differently, and will always be treated differently, but there is nothing I can do about it. You are pure Pokemon, and do not even act like a human, so you have no business enslaving creatures the same status as you. You have no right. So just… just go!”

Slash went into a fit.

The mantis hissed and growled, eyeing the Mewtwo professor with hatred. She ignored him, however, and turned to see how her Pokemon were handling this situation. As soon as she did this, the Scyther dove at her, slashing a scythe right across her chest.

The Mewtwo was faster.

With lightning reflexes, she jumped back as soon as she saw his attack from the corner of her eye. Slash’s attack only ripped across the dress she was wearing, cutting a long hole in it exposing her chest plate. Professor Mewtwo quickly covered her chest as her face turned red. She glared at the Scyther angrily, but said nothing, and held her new rage in.
Slash lunged at her, knocking her hands away and exposing her chest again. She stood perfectly still, however, and simply waited for what the Scyther would do next.

He slashed the dress more, until the Professor stood mostly bare. Her face was hot as she shook with rage, finding it more and more difficult to hold her anger.
“YOU’RE A POKEMON!!!” shouted the Scyther, hitting her chest plate with the blunt edge of his scythe. “You look like a Pokemon, smell like a Pokemon, and your kind usually acts like Pokemon! I WILL NOT HAVE A POKEMON ABOVE ME!!!” Slash turned his scythe and bore the sharp blade into the Mewtwo’s body.

That was the last straw.

The Scyther cried out as he was lifted into the air. He felt the Psychic power all around him, burning his very skin. He tried to fight it, but it was useless. In another instant, the Mewtwo closed her outstretched hand into a fist, her eyes still a deadly ice blue, and her prey felt his very bones crack and grind. He gave another desperate cry before he crumpled into goop and bone. It was impossible to tell what he had been.

The Professor used a Recover and then silently went about to cleaning the mess. There was a fire in her eyes her Pokemon were not used to seeing, and the lot of them continued to cower. So much power… Mewtwos were very much deadly things.

When she was finished, however, the fire was gone, and she looked very sad and strained.
“I hate doing that…” she said softly to her Pokemon.

Professor Two carefully lowered herself among the little starters and began to gently pet her Charmander.
“How about we spend one more day together, and put giving you to strange trainer newbies off a little while longer?” All the Pokemon heartily agreed.

~*~*~

“Hey, look!”

Marty lifted his head to see a few people and a young Mewtwo walking up to his group. He sucked in his breath.

It had been a year since Acciaio had attacked a person and been sent away. A year for his school to forget him and go on about their business. Marty was ten now, and today he would get a Pokemon license, more because it was tradition than because he wanted to. So would several of his classmates… The cyborg Mewtwo’s coming this day was not especially good luck.

“Acciaio!” Zac hissed under his breath.

The human/Mewtwo hybrid was truly the closest thing Marty had to a friend, and still they were distant because he was part Mewtwo. (There weren’t many pure people in the city anymore because of what Acciaio did…)

“What do you think he’s back for?” asked a human boy called Stick. The tall, skinny, dark-skinned boy was both an athlete and card collector. It was a strange mix, but allowed him to be in many different groups of people/Mewtwos.

Marty shrugged. He could care less what would happen to the Pokemon, and had better things to do anyway.
“So, are you going to trade your Second Edition Ice Kami card or not???” he persisted, changing the subject to what it had been before. They wouldn’t get their starter Pokemon until the afternoon, so they were playing with their collections.

“What’s you’re offer again?” asked Zac, absently wiping his long purple hair out of his face. Marty quickly shuffled through a black bag.
“Well… I’ve got a Lugia/Mewtwo hybrid… a Zapdos/Mewtwo hybrid…”
“Either of those hybrids Kami?”
“No… But I DO have Sea Lord!” Marty said eagerly, drawing out another Lugia/Mewtwo hybrid, which looked much more impressive than the previous. The attacks underneath were also double in power, and it was holofoil. A rare card indeed.

Zac shrugged.
“I already have three of those…” he said, yawning. He then drew these out to show the boys, the white fur on his hands protecting them from oil in his skin. Marty moaned.
“What? I’m the Mewtwo Card Master Collector!” laughed the hybrid.

“What about one of these?” asked Stick, drawing out five cards. On each one was a different colored Shining Mewtwo. Zac’s eyes widened, and he grabbed them eagerly, studying them one by one.

He studied them a long time, studied every little detail. It was obvious he was a serious card collector: he was obviously seeing both their stats and conditions. However, Marty was not the patient one, and as he got bored, he questioned what they were like. Zac answered by reading the cards for him.

“Alex,” he read aloud for the silver Shining Mewtwo with a sky blue tail and green eyes. He skipped the stats, but instead read the description. “A younger Shining Mewtwo, and though not especially powerful, he makes up for it with his dazzling beauty. This Mewtwo currently lives in Mewtopia.”

The next card had a picture of a Mewtwo with purple eyes that stood out against his green coat. He was in a threatening pose and was forming an energy ball in his hands.
“Might. The youngest of the Shining, he is a deadly fighter and ruthless killer. Some know him as the second Ice Kami, and he will most likely grow to deserve this title when he’s fully grown.”

A second silver Shining Mewtwo was drawn, but this one had a golden tail and eyes that matched.
“Treasure. Powerful enough to be a Kami, this female Shining is widely respected. The only reason she’s never won in a tournament is because she doesn’t like to fight.”

Zac, his face still full of excitement, then drew another silver Mewtwo card out, this one with a black tail and dark blue eyes. She looked very younger, but also bold and very sure of herself.
“Shadow. The only Shining Mewtwo to be born from another Shining. Her outgoing personality and strong beliefs give her a great many allies… and enemies.”

The final card had a frightening picture of a scarred, golden Shining Mewtwo making a charge for the camera. His face was full of rage, and he looked ready to destroy anyone.
“Gold Kami (Golden). The second Mewtwo to ever live, and the first Shining. A powerful, deadly, fierce creature, widely known throughout the Pokemon and human world.”
Zac held this card in the air, gazing at the Mewtwo’s holofoil coat and the first edition symbol underneath the picture.
“How did you get these?” he whispered. Stick shrugged.
“They’ve been passed down through the generations. I have two of each, so I don’t mind trading one. Take your pick!”

Zac quickly handed his Ice Kami card to the boy and carefully placed his new Gold Kami card in his case. He’d never admit it, but he had gotten the better deal. When a Mewtwo dies, its cards stop being printed, unless it was dead before the card company began. The Ice Kami was still alive. The Gold Kami died nearly fifty years ago… as had Shadow, but her card wasn’t first edition and her stats weren’t as good.

~*~*~

“MARTY!!! TIME TO COME HOME!!!” shouted a distant voice. Marty sighed and put his cards away. All he had gotten that day was an Electabuzz hybrid, while Zac had managed to get a brand new Deoxys hybrid from Stick. He was having a bad day… and little did he know, it would only get worse…

The pale, jet-haired boy waved good-bye to his friends, picked up his bag, and set off toward home. He walked slowly, dreading his house for his own private reasons that nobody knew of. He walked down the street, took a left at the Pokemon Center, walked past the market, and across a great field to his neighborhood. His “mom” shouted that loud.

“Marty, what took you?!” scolded his “mom” as soon as he walked in the door.
“I’ve been waiting fifteen minutes!”
“What would you care?” Marty mumbled, not looking at her. Instead, he started toward the stairs.
“Come back here!” hollered his “mom” after him. “I won’t stand for things like that, young man!”
“You aren’t the boss of me!” screamed Marty back, just before he slammed the door.

She wouldn’t come after him. He knew that all too well. She feared him as much as he hated her. She was, after all, lower than he was, and her very instincts told her that. Yet…

Marty looked at his small white box of a room angrily. It had once been full of decorations of Pokemon, something he had once loved with all his heart. Of course… those times were long gone, and he had ripped the pictures and figurines from wherever they lay.

The room was now white. It had white walls, a white ceiling, and white carpet. His furniture was white, including his dresser, toy chest, and bed. The only colored things in the whole room were his clothes, his black bag that held his Mewtwo cards, and himself. He would never let his private life out of the pure whiteness. It protected him on all sides, like the gentle kindness of a real Mew.

Marty dropped his bag by the door, walked over to his bed, and let himself fall limp onto it. His “mother” would tell his father about his smart mouth, and his father would yell at him. They’d argue over hurtful subjects, he’d eventually be beaten with a belt, and his father would leave him sobbing. He never stopped until Marty cried.

Then, later, his “mother” would come in and help take the pain away.

Oh, how he hated her… How he wished she would go away… He cursed her name silently every time she entered his white box, and every time she found a little more about him. It was none of her business.

He wanted to lock himself away from everyone. Zac, his father, his “mother”, his schoolmates, that horrible Acciaio, his past… Marty gave an involuntary shudder. Why did it have to happen to him?! Why not someone else?! Curse them!! Curse them all!!!

A gentle tap on the door made him start. However, he realized who it was, and regained him composure soon.
“Go away!” he shouted at the person at the door.
“May I come in Marty? I need to tell you something…” said a feminine voice softly, as though the owner of it were unsure of herself.
“You can tell me through the door!”

There was a brief pause, then the voice responded.
“Professor Two has postponed giving out trainer licenses. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to become a trainer.”

Marty answered this with a stream of curses, all said in his pillow where his “mom” couldn’t hear. Oh, what a day this was turning out to be.

[V.o.t.M]

Yay! This inspires me! I should write more so I can find out what happens ta my poor tormented Hakujo in..THE FUTURE! Dun dun duuun!

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Darien Shields: Yes, I debated that... but if you look closely, a Scyther also has a reptillian quality to it, and even if it is a Bug type, I believe it is possible that is might have at least some bones. ^^;; Besides, this is fiction! Let's have fun with it!

Mewtwo CAN reproduce, as can Mew from which they were cloned. They simply refuse to have (live) children in a strange person's backyard. It's the same with every legendary. In fact, through research I have concluded that the main reason a breed of Pokemon becomes legendary is because a SINGLE POKEMON among them does not breed and has astounding powers. The One also usually has a long, or perhaps infinite, lifespan.

I do not believe the first Mewtwo (*huggle*) will ever have children. Only the Pokemon cloned from him and some others cloned from Mew.

Now, the idea of there being multiple Mewtwos is very popular, especially among Mewtwo fans. That is one reason I have placed this story so far in the future: to show what will happen if a bio-engeneered legendary becomes a common creature.

(Yes, Mewtwo can be captured, just like any other Pokemon. This very argument will be made by an individual later against them being humans.)

I'm done.

[Shadowed Mewtwo]

Doomykins: Ya get to see them sooner than ya think! ^^

Powarun: Well, you must realize, this IS a Mewtwo it was fighting... ^^;; If you can't follow the Ice Kami well, go read Vappy's story: Listen to the Word of the Ice Kami. It's really a good story! ANd it should clear some things up.

Otto=ottO: Acciaio attacked a little girl... OO;;

Count von Dark: LOL!! It was only a Prologue and chappy without them! ^^;; But, if you insist...

Darien Shields: ^^;; *sits watching the conversation curiously*



Meh... I didn't proof read this chap, so I apologize for any errors.

~*~Chapter 14~*~

Light. So much light… Weight… pressing her down… she couldn’t move. She couldn’t move! SO MUCH WEIGHT!!!

NO WATER!!!! SHE COUDLN’T BREATHE!!! Her gills opened and closed as fast as they could, trying desperately to give her water… air… WHATEVER!!! She just needed to breathe!

Magi lay perfectly still, in a great deal of shock. She had never been on land before, and she had no idea how to live out of water. She just lay there, her gills moving in a useless attempt to gain breath. In her confused panic she barely noticed Keshaa urging her.
“Calm down Magi… Stop using your gills. Open your mouth, and gulp the air! Gulp the air, Magi! Please? For me?”

Keshaa nudged her, then looked worriedly over at the human who now owned them. The man was studying the two of them curiously, absorbing their appearances with his small dark eyes. He had caught them, turning their very bodies into shapeless energy, and brought them to his home by the sea. They were inside it now, in the kitchen, on a smooth, white, plastic floor. As soon as Magi had been let out, she flopped around a bit screaming, then eventually fell to her current state. She had not even had a warning that she would be out of water, and had no idea what was happening.

When the man did nothing, Keshaa shouted out pleads to him for help. The man couldn’t speak Pokemon, however, and had no idea what he was saying. This was awful!

Then, Keshaa got an idea. He gently nudged Magi closer to the man, continuing his pleads for help. Then, he clumsily slipped across the floor to the human, grabbed his pants in his mouth, and started pulling at it. He actually was able to yank the man out of his seat!

Keshaa slipped back over behind Magi (Who’s scales were starting to turn blue on the edges) and hid behind her. The man lay sprawled on the ground for a moment, and then slowly, carefully, lifted his heavy bulk off the ground. Keshaa was afraid he’d made him mad, but when the man got up, he was laughing!

“Okay, okay big fella! I see’er! She won’t last much longer out of the water, will she? Poor thang. A prize winning Magikarp, she is, so I s’pose I should save her and put her in a tank, eh?” The man practically had to waddle over to them with what little leg he had that stuck out freely from all his blubber. It was a funny sight really, despite the worries of the moment.

The human gently lifted the dying Magi, and waddled to an empty fish tank. He held her in where she could inhale. She didn’t move.
“Help her!! Oh Magi, dear Magi! Help her PLEASE, my new master!! I love her more than any other Pokemon alive!” shouted Keshaa in panic. He was at his master’s feet, his tail wrapped around his ankle, as he cried out his alarms.

The man, however, ignored him, his mind concentrated. Slowly, he started moving his new Magikarp forward and back, forward and back, causing water to flow into her still gills. It only took a few of these movements before the gills opened and shut themselves, and Magi jerked loose of his hands. Still not understanding what was going on, she tried to flee, ran into the glass, and then turned and his behind a plastic rock. The man laughed.

“She’s fine, my new Seadra! Don’t worry about her! Such a fine, big, healthy Magikarp! A gem in all this fool’s gold!” He then scooped up his other Water Pokemon and waddled over to his chair.

Keshaa’s whole body was tense and unsure. He was in a strange place, and now he had time to realize he was no longer home, and could never go home again. He belonged to a human. Somehow, deep inside his instincts, he knew this. He would follow this human’s every command to the best of his abilities, just as he was meant to do. He had no other choice.

“Now,” grunted the man as he sat down, the chair creaking under his weight, “Now, Seadra, such a fine feller as you needs a nickname!”
“Vizoo!” chirped his Seadra, with what he assumed to be with eagerness. The man laughed.
“So… what should I call you?… Hmm…”

~*~*~

In a very white room lay a boy, in a troubled sleep. His messy, black hair covered his pillow and frightened pale face. Tearstains ran down his face, from his bare red back. His father had beaten him. Just because he wouldn’t accept what they thought would be a good foster mom for him, he’d been beaten. Well, it didn’t matter. THEY could call her his mom all they wanted, but he wouldn’t ever. EVER! They’d never make him!

The boy moaned in his sleep.

Slowly, the white room’s door opened a crack, then a little more, and a head peeked through. However, this feminine head was not a human’s… but a Mewtwo’s. And this Mewtwo was the very thing the pale boy’s father had married, MARRIED, and that they expected to be the boy’s foster mother. The creature, though she had not ever done anything wrong, but loved him and worried over him, was hated by Marty. Completely hated. It shredded her heart that he did, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. The best she could do was try to ignore his hatred, and do her daily parental tasks anyway.

She entered the room hovering just above the ground, so that she wouldn’t wake him up with footsteps. Marty was an incredibly light sleeper. In her pale, grayish-purple arms she held a bowl full of healing items.

She floated over to her adopted son, and sat down beside the bed. Gently, carefully, she dipped a very soft towel into the medicine, then began to dab the boy’s raw back. She loved Marty so very much, and healed him without her dear husband’s knowledge. These humans were distant now, because of her, and yet there was no way she could fix the problem. This fact tormented her every single day. The only reason she didn’t leave was because she loved them both, and her husband needed her more than anything after the loss of his previous wife. Her foster son… she wasn’t sure about him. He was in an odd, isolated category by himself.

A bit of medicine somehow splashed onto Marty’s face just as his foster mother was finishing up. His eyes snapped open, and he leapt out of bed, quickly yanking the blanket in front of him so she wouldn’t see him without his shirt.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, INARA?!” he shouted angrily.

Inara blinked, then lifted up her bowls.
“You had a bad beating last night… I was helping heal your back…” she said awkwardly. Marty snorted.
“Using your Recover on me I suppose, Pokemon? It’s just like you to rely on your Psychic powers! You Mewtwos are all alike!”

Inara frowned.
“I didn’t use a single bit of my Psychic powers to help you! And don’t call your own mother a Pokemon!”
“Why not? That’s what you are, Pokemon!” Marty fumed. He then pointed at Inara’s feet, where she was still floating just above the carpet.
“Didn’t use you Psychic powers, huh?”

Inara sighed, and landed. Trying to keep her cool, she walked over to Marty’s dresser and started taking out clothes for his journey.
“Now, if you’re going to be a trainer you’ll need to pack plenty of all forms of clothing. Also, it might be cold out, so I’ll add a jacket just in case—”
“GET OUT YOU DUMB MEWTWO!!!”

The two of them stared at each other, Marty’s face full of rage, Inara’s full of pain. Silently, she set his jacket down. Then, as though in slow motion, she turned and walked out of the room, her head held high with hurt pride.

Marty grinned. He had the commanding power of a Pokemon Master, and today he could finally do something with his life! He would be a trainer for the first time!

Excitement surged through Marty’s whole body at the fact hit him. He was finally free. No more school. No more beatings. No more Mewtwos. His grinned broadened at that. Complete freedom, with only a single Pokemon for a companion, which he would train to the maximum. They would travel the world, across mountains and deserts and plains, and see the beauty of it all. Just the two of them.

Marty suddenly couldn’t wait to become a trainer. It was going to be great!

~*~*~

In the warmth of a greenhouse sat three Grass Pokemon hidden in a patch of ferns. They were grooming each other excitedly, chittering about what they planned on doing when they started their own journeys with their humans.

“Do you think we’ll get good humans?” asked a large, bipedal lizard, with wide, golden, slitted eyes. A fan-like tail flowed out behind him, almost like a Vulpix’s, and he had a dark orange stomach: a Treecko.

“I hope so! I would hate to have a meanie!” laughed a little Chikorita, her large head leaf drooping lazily over her face.
“Me too,” agreed the Bulbasaur, who then went back to licking any dirt off his blue-green skin. Then, he paused, and glanced up with a confused look on his face.
“Is our human really a human, or a Pokemon like that Scyther said?”

The other Grass Pokemon looked equally puzzled.
“I’m… not sure,” said the Treecko finally, scratching his head. The Chikorita let out a soft sigh.
“Does it really matter? I know I’d never let that crazy Scyther train ME! Though, if the Scyther had been nice, calm, and a good leader, I’d’ve let it be my master, no doubt! If our master is a Pokemon, well, so be it! I don’t mind.” Her large ruby eyes glittered with emotion. She very much meant what she had said.

The other Pokemon heartily agreed with the Chikorita’s decision, and went to grooming each other again. They didn’t mind who was their master either, as long as they were treated well.

~*~*~

Marty sneered at his father. The brown-haired, dark skinned man looked nothing like him, nor was his personality similar in any way. Marty knew why, but he’d never, ever, say. It was just one of his many secrets.

“APOLOGIZE TO YOUR MOTHER NOW!!!” roared the man, shaking a finger at him. Marty quietly shook his head, pulling the green backpack onto his back. It was heavy with all the necessities of a Pokemon Trainer.

This movement made Marty’s father even angrier.
“Look, Marty, your mother’d give her life for you, and here you are calling her—”
“A Pokemon,” Marty answered simply. “Which is what IT is. Not a human. Not an equal. A bio-engineered POCKET MONSTER!”
“Marty…” whispered Inara, her eyes filling with tears.
“You shut up, Pokemon!” growled Marty. “You have no right to be my mother. NO RIGHT!! I will not be raised by a living weapon! YOU are below ME and I won’t stand for you trying to scold me, tell me what to do, or anything! I HATE YOU MORE THAN EVERY EVIL HUMAN COMBINED!!!”

Marty’s father lunged at him, fuming, but Marty was already going out the door. As fast as he could, he ran. He ran with all his might to leave his horrid world forever. Good riddance. He was starting a new lifestyle now!