Scattered Lights

[classy_cat18]

*pops open sparkling grape juice* Sorry, I would like to stay sober. I think this chapter marks the next step to a Kingdom Hearts crossover. The story's already sounding like a Final Fantasy game and I never knew!

Chapter Five - Family, Blood and Water

Terri's POV

(Day 2, Late Morning)

"Sorry, Cid. We might've been earlier but we ran into certain complications with the group and we kept misplacing things. But we corrected the problem before it was too late!"

Translation for those not learning Kanna-ese: "Sorry, Cid. We might've been earlier but my damn Raitah wouldn't get into his pokeball and buried half of my things in the sand. But we threatened to drown him in the kiddie pool and he obeyed!"

I sat heavily on a bench before anyone could call to attention my drowsiness combined with my shaky legs. It was my first time riding in a seaplane at daybreak. Cid, a blond guy that looked like he was related to Popeye with his big arms and hands, looked over at me. "Ya don't look like you're much for travel, lady," he commented in a gruff accent that matched his look.

"Not while I'm half-asleep, sir," I yawned.

"What a sissy." I barely caught that insult but wasn't up to trying a comeback.

Kanna sat beside me. "Take all the time you need. Cid isn't one for smooth rides."

I took one more look at Cid while he walked off. "Is that his real name?" I asked her.

She just laughed and stood back up. "Come on, we should get to Mom's place so we can drop off our stuff."

It didn't take me long at all to figure out why Bubbles went nuts over Altomare. It was Venice with Pokemon and a more solid base. I doubted that it was going to sink in the water anytime soon. The buildings were still cramped together, though, with many small alleys between them. So entrances to many places were well hidden.

"Oooh..." I said softly as I stopped for about the tenth time.

I could tell that Kanna was getting a little annoyed but she managed to smile. "That's Mom's favorite clothing store. They're very expensive, so she only has a couple of outfits from there." She pulled my arm until I started walking again.

I walked beside her as soon as I got over the nice dress in the window. "So you talked about your stepmom. What about your dad?"

"Researcher. But he chases after legends. The last time I heard, he was somewhere in Kanto. He's usually in a place my cell phone can't reach."

A canal was on the other side of the sidewalk, making transportation such as cars or even mopeds impossible. It was either walk or take a boat. I watched a gondola pass under a bridge that we were approaching. Kanna stopped me before we crossed it. "Do you hear that?" she asked me.

I did hear it. "It's just a bunch of shouting. So what?" I said. But then the sound got closer, and seconds later, a brown blur went by us. A group of boys followed it. It took a few seconds for my mind to register what my sharpened eyes saw. "Was that...a Buizel? What's a Buizel doing here?"

Kanna clenched her jaws shut. "That was Typhoon," she whispered, and then sighed heavily. "They're in trouble again."

She didn't explain before taking off in the direction of the angry mob with me following closely behind. We swerved around innocent bystanders and down a narrow alley. That was where we found the boys, trapping the Buizel in a dead end. There were four boys, all of them about high school age. A bunch of thugs.

"End of the line, Typhoon," one of the boys sneered at the cornered Buizel.

"CUT IT OUT!" I yelled out angrily to them without thinking.

All four of them turned to us. The leader, a tall guy with a shaved head and goggles around his neck, crossed his arms in an attempt to scare us off. "Got something to say, girlie?" he asked me.

I opened my mouth to talk but Kanna cut me off. "I assume you had nothing better to do so you decide to chase this Pokemon," she told him calmly.

Baldy glared at her. "This is none of your business! This Buizel has been sticking its nose in our turf!"

Kanna didn't seem scared, just bored. I could see why; the guy probably hadn't even graduated yet. "This is Altomare. Where would you find 'turf' in Altomare?" She got closer to him as he rolled up his sleeves. "I happen to know this Buizel, so I'll be taking him off your hands."

I could see the rusty gears turning in Baldy's head. "Oh, you must be Dee Dee Dee's sister! Hey guys, it's the retard's sis!" The other three humans laughed with their leader.

A growl escaped me before I knew it. I may not know Kanna's stepbrother, but I don't care. These guys are so dead! I looked at Kanna who seemed as angry as I've seen her, but neither of us did anything to them yet.

Kanna soon got tired of the staring contest and pushed him aside. "We'll be leaving with Typhoon now," she grumbled.

The four guys tensed, ready for a fight. But Kanna ignored them as the relieved Buizel jumped in her arms. "I said that this was none of your business!" Baldy roared.

Kanna gave him a deadly glare, her glasses reflecting the sunlight and giving her a "devious anime scientist" look. "Three things. One, I am related to the person who owns this Buizel so this is my business. Two, this Buizel hasn't done anything that deserves punishment! Three, this alley is too small to be starting anything in, so..."

The gang laughed loudly at my friend until they were gasping for breath. "Okay, girlie! We'll let you go this time!" He took a few steps back.

Typhoon shivered in Kanna's arms as I followed her out the alley. "They're lying," Typhoon whimpered. Those were the first words he uttered since he'd been cornered.

Kanna just nodded. "I know. We just need more room to retaliate."

As soon as we were out in the open, the thugs ran out with pokeballs in hand. "Did you think that we were going to just let you go?" Baldy crowed.

"Nope," I answered. My eyes widened as I saw Kanna pull out a pokeball of her own. "Don't tell me that's..."

"Prowler, go!" Kanna shouted as she threw it.

The Raitah materialized in front of the gang with a sneer on his face. Everyone but the leader took three steps back. "Oh man, is that what I think it is?" one of Baldy's flunkies asked.

"Is she even allowed to keep it?" another squeaked.

Kanna smiled. It wasn't a nice smile, either. "Prowler, meet your new chew toys."

Prowler gave his prey a toothy grin. "AT LAST!" he roared. That alone made the gang, as well as three bystanders, run for their lives. Kanna returned him before he could chase anyone.

I was only slightly nervous about Kanna's solution, but that didn't stop me from laughing at their retreating backs. They had a point; Raitah are supposed to be a protected species. Oh well, at least it was morning.

Typhoon had his eyes covered the whole time. When the coast was clear, he looked at me and smiled. "Are you Kanna's friend?" he inquired. When I nodded, he squeaked in surprise. "You can understand me!"

"What were you doing to get into trouble, Typhoon?" Kanna asked him.

The Buizel's two tails drooped. "I...wandered off again and, um, got a little lost."

I couldn't tell if he was embarrassed or just lying, but Kanna accepted his answer. "Well, why didn't you fight back? I know you're capable of defending yourself."

That rendered Typhoon speechless. He frowned and pawed at Kanna's shoulder. Kanna put him on the ground and kneeled to his level. "I'm sorry about that. Those kids are pretty intimidating," she said with a smile.

"Not as intimidating as your new Pokemon," he told her with a small smile.

"I'm guessing that you already know that Kanna can understand Pokemon," I interrupted.

"Of course I know. So does Demyx."

"Demyx?" Kanna and I echoed together.

He nodded and looked at Kanna. "You know that he thinks Demetrios is a stupid name. At first he preferred Dee, but then his classmates started calling him Dee Dee Dee. His best friend recommended his current nickname."

"That one sucks too," I grumbled. "Demyx. Sounds Final Fantasy if you ask me."

He laughed and started walking past us. "He must be worrying about me. Come on, let's go home before Prowler's 'wake-up call' gets us in trouble."

We crossed the bridge where we met Typhoon and went down a section that seemed to be mostly art galleries and stores that sold handmade things. We stopped in front of a three-story building. "Here's the museum," Typhoon announced. "It's still closed so we need to go around to the side entrance."

The side entrance in the nearby alley led to an ordinary kitchen and a small dining area. Through the doorway was a nice sized living room with a plasma screen TV and video games. At first I thought that the stereo in the corner was playing some guitar music, but then I saw that it was turned off.

Besides, the music was coming from upstairs.

"At least Dee is here," Kanna mumbled as she climbed the carpeted stairs up to the second floor. "We got here before he got out for the day."

I started to follow her, but then I heard the unseen guitar play at a faster rhythm and then slow down until the sound was like falling raindrops. Finally it stopped, and someone yelled through one of the closed doors. "Who's there?"

"It's me," Kanna answered.

"Kanna?" The voice was slightly high pitched. The door to our right flew open and Kanna's stepbrother leaned over the railing to see us.

The two could've been blood siblings. The two sets of blue eyes were certainly similar. But Demetrios was a dirty blonde, while Kanna was a brunette. But he looked ordinary. No spiky hairstyle, just a normal cut for his straight hair. One thing that I couldn't understand was his bright expression. How could any guy look that awake at ten in the morning?

Kanna wasted no more time in nagging him. "Dee, what was Typhoon doing wandering outside alone?"

"Dee" clicked his tongue and looked away. "Typhoon can take care of himself," he told his stepsister. His annoyed tone carried an accent that I couldn't recognize.

"He was being chased by a bunch of high school punks," I butted in.

I must've been invisible because he looked at me for the first time. His eyes lit up and his jaw dropped. It took him a while for him to find his voice. "Whoa. Um, Kanna? Since when did you have friends?"

"Excuse me?" I growled.

"Sorry!" he quickly said to me. "She just doesn't mention other people that often."

"She works with me...in a way," Kanna explained. "Terri can understand Pokemon too."

"Terri, huh?" I could've sworn he blushed a little. "What brings you here?" he asked me.

"I wanted to see what my friend's family was like," I said.

That time he definitely blushed. "Really? Well, we're not as annoying as Kanna says we are."

"Oh really? Then I guess you tricked me into coming here for a just cause," Kanna said with a raised eyebrow.

Her stepbrother turned four different shades of red and tried his best to laugh off his embarrassment. "Come on! Me? Trick? It wasn't a trick! Why would I trick you? I remember what happened last time..." He trailed off as he spaced out.

"Trippin'..." I sang softly.

"You are a lousy liar," Kanna commented with a smirk.

Demyx huffed. "Fine, I tricked you. But you wouldn't have come here until I graduated! I wanted you here now!" He gave us a pathetic little-kid pout. "Please, big sis?"

I looked at Kanna with wide eyes. "How old is this boy?" I asked her.

"I just turned seventeen," Demyx told me brightly.

I sighed. He might as well be ten.

"Look, Mom's so busy that she's rarely home before sundown. I have something coming up at school, a sort of family thing. Mom doesn't have Pokemon, so..." He batted his eyelashes at us.

"Is this that Pokemon contest your school has every year for the festival?" Kanna inquired. He nodded.

Kanna had been tricked somehow, but she didn't seem too upset. In fact, seconds later she was smiling. "I don't get it. Are you going to choke him or what?" I asked Kanna.

"I can't believe you used Medli," she said lightly. Demyx smiled and showed us a pokeball. Knowing that I needed further explanation, Kanna did that for me. "Medli is a Chatot. Chatot are well known in Sinnoh for their ability to mimic human speech. But mimicing someone's voice is a real challenge. Medli's perfect for contests."

Her stepbrother threw his pokeball, letting loose a strange looking bird that was slightly larger than a Pidgey. She perched on the back of Demyx's computer chair and stared at me. At first I was staring her in the face, but then her wagging tail caught my attention. It's like a metronome...

"Earth to Terri!" Demyx's loud voice snapped me back to reality. "Whoa, Medli had you spacing out!"

"Spacing out! Spacing out!" Medli echoed. In English. Sounding like Demyx.

Almost too weird for me.

Reaper's POV

(Day 2, Noon)

Just about everyone that was present at the midnight gathering was either asleep or just relaxing by the time the sun was back up. Moriko was only awake for a couple more hours before she retired for the night, but she was awake before I was. But then again, I was asleep until almost noon.

"Damn beetle," Ripper grumbled as he stared at a scratch on his armored shoulder. "If I find one dent..."

"There's one right between your eyes," I interrupted with a smirk.

He growled in frustration. "I'm-a kill her!"

I watched him pace back and forth, his eyes burning with the irritation he felt since he woke up. "I don't see why you're so angry. Both the dent and the scratch will be gone before the day is over." His natural steel armor could get rid of any flaws in time.

"That's not it! This stupid thing is proof that she beat me!"

"You still have the spectators to worry about."

He stopped pacing, looked at me thoughtfully, and rested his head against a tree. "You and your rational mind."

"One of us has to be rational."

"Such wise words from the Kai Venom Knight," a gentle voice said from behind the tree.

We both turned our heads as the stranger made himself known. The unknown Pokemon was strange; a Gardevoir but with a different shape. It smelled like a male.

"Great, a Gallade," Ripper grumbled. "Another noble pacifist."

I saw the Gallade flinch at the comment. "If you're trying to provoke me, you'll be the one looking like a fool."

I didn't want to suffer through more of Ripper's wrath so I did my best to avoid it. "I haven't seen a Pokemon like you before," I told the Gallade.

"Pokemon in Sinnoh have found other evolved forms. I have had the fortune of training there under the eye of an Aurora Knight." He extended his hand to me. "My name is Ronin."

"Reaper." He carefully shook my blade. "Who was this Aurora Knight who taught you?"

"Sorry, but they made me promise to give no one that information." He laughed a little, his smile bright. "Not even the Kai Knights."

Ripper "gently" nudged me aside. "Ronin. Any reason for the name?" he questioned.

His eyes darkened instantly. "It's just a name. It doesn't always have to have some meaning."

The sound of feathered wings alerted me of another newcomer. "What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," Feather quoted as she landed on a branch. She had chosen to show up in her Pidgeotto form.

Ronin waved to her. "Is Joi ready for me?" he asked Feather.

"Yeah. I'll catch up after I talk to my friends."

She waited for him to disappear from sight before talking again. "No one knows anything about Ronin. He's been everywhere and he only settled down here recently," she explained quietly.

"That explains where he got the name," Ripper commented.

"Something about him unnerves me. He has this edge around him," I observed.

"I like the guy. Anyone who doesn't back down to me is okay in my book." He stretched casually.

I ignored him. "What is Joi doing here?" I asked.

"Joi visits here weekly to treat the oracle," the bird answered.

Ripper blinked twice. "Oooookay. Oracle."

"You haven't seen him yet because he's kept separated from the rest of the residents here." He looked directly into my eyes. "He's a major psychic. He can actually see into the future, even further than Future Sight allows other Pokemon."

"I can see why they would want this oracle to stay healthy," I said.

Ronin ran back to us at that moment. "Joi is bringing him to us," he informed. He looked surprised.

"Does he want to come out?" Feather asked with as much surprise.

"He practically demanded it!"

We saw Joi off in the distance, walking towards us while holding a Zangoose's paw. The Zangoose was blindfolded with a black scarf as he shuffled carefully next to the nurse.

"That's the oracle? Since when were Zangoose psychics?" Ripper said skeptically.

I found my legs carrying me closer to the wary Zangoose. At first he froze as his nose twitched. Joi stopped and held his paw tighter. He turned toward me and sniffed the air, getting a good whiff of a stranger's scent. Finally he yanked his paw out of Joi's hand. "Joi. Who stands before me?" he demanded in a faint yet harsh voice.

Joi looked at her hand, seemingly shocked that he would take such action. "That's Reaper. He's a friend of mine, so don't worry." She smiled at me. "Reaper, this is Stryker. With a 'y'."

"Reaper," the oracle rasped. "The Grim Reaper. It is a shinigami that stands before me." He took a few more steps towards me. "Blood has soaked your scythes. The blood is sweet, like a loved one's."

I took a step back. Is he just saying nonsense or does he actually know something?

Stryker kept walking to me, stretching his arms out to me. "Bend down, shinigami. You seem familiar to me." My legs moved on their own, kneeling so I was at eye level to him. He held my face still with his paws. "Joi, I cannot see him properly. Remove this thing from my eyes."

Joi obeyed, slowly pulling the scarf from him and holding it. Stryker had his eyes closed as it was removed but then carefully opening them. "Brother," he said to me with a grin. "You are no stranger to me. We both suffered here long ago."

"The lab?" I mouthed.

"Yes, the lab." He felt the contours of my face and stared straight into my eyes, freezing me with their gaze. "How long has it been since you heard that angel scream as you bathed in her blood?"

The screams. I can still hear her! A vision of frightened blue eyes flashed before me as what could only be the cry of an innocent rang through the forest. I closed my eyes to try to clear my head, before I blacked out from the rush of memories.

"Open them, Reaper!" Stryker yelled. I obeyed without thinking. "The past can never be denied! She's gone now!" The screams stopped abruptly. His voice became soft again. "Another is in your heart. You are...bonded...in some way." He smiled. "I can hear her laugh. But what else do I see?"

My eyes grew wider with his. His paws shook before he fell back on his rear. A blue aura surrounded him. "She's in pain, brother. She's running for her life. Demons raise their claws to the sky for the hunt has started!"

More screams. No, not screams. Growls and roars. Then I could clearly hear Shonta's voice. Angry. Afraid. Confused.

"Reaper?" Ripper asked.

"Reaper!" Joi cried out as darkness filled my vision.

[mr_pikachu]

Hooray, new chapter!

Interesting feel to this one. I liked the contrast between your two scenes; the first was obviously pretty lighthearted (even the battle was won without a major struggle, and it ended pretty comically), while the latter was... rather ominous. Something tells me you wouldn't keep alluding to Reaper's past sins if they weren't going to be of great importance. What's really at work here? Nice manner of introducing the new characters, too. I'm rather curious about 3-Dee, particularly with the overt references to... "blushing." As for Stryker, he seems to be the first real link we have to Reaper. But what power does he actually hold? And just as importantly, what revelations will he provide?

I will admit that some of the action scenes were a little hard to visualize, particularly the alley conflict and the Reaper-Stryker encounter. And there were a few minor spelling and grammar things here and there, but nothing with any real consistency. All in all, this chapter raised ever more questions that serve to further pique my curiosity. I can't wait to start digging into the secrets behind the facades! And on that note, I look forward to the next chapter!

[Sike Saner]

Heh, I liked how that gang was sent running with one good roar from Prowler. That was great.

I also liked the scene from Reaper's perspective. Again, I always enjoy reading Pokémon POV material. ^^

I was quite surprised when the oracle turned out to be a Zangoose. Stryker already seems to be a pretty darned interesting character, I must say--I think he's cool. And I love the way he speaks. ^^ And the scene there at the end of the chapter, involving him and Reaper... that was awesome. o_o Very intense stuff, that.

Ronin seems like an interesting character, too. I wonder if we'll be seeing more of him...

And there was a Chatot in that chapter! I think those are very cute. ^^

Highlights

"Sorry, Cid. We might've been earlier but we ran into certain complications with the group and we kept misplacing things. But we corrected the problem before it was too late!"

Translation for those not learning Kanna-ese: "Sorry, Cid. We might've been earlier but my damn Raitah wouldn't get into his pokeball and buried half of my things in the sand. But we threatened to drown him in the kiddie pool and he obeyed!"

XD

Cid, a blond guy that looked like he was related to Popeye with his big arms and hands, looked over at me.

Heh, I liked that description of Cid. XD

Baldy glared at her. "This is none of your business! This Buizel has been sticking its nose in our turf!"

Kanna didn't seem scared, just bored. I could see why; the guy probably hadn't even graduated yet. "This is Altomare. Where would you find 'turf' in Altomare?"

I love Kanna's response there. XD

One thing that I couldn't understand was his bright expression. How could any guy look that awake at ten in the morning?

Seriously. XD Heck, I'm usually still in bed at ten in the morning. XD

Her stepbrother threw his pokeball, letting loose a strange looking bird that was slightly larger than a Pidgey. She perched on the back of Demyx's computer chair and stared at me. At first I was staring her in the face, but then her wagging tail caught my attention. It's like a metronome...

Again, I think Chatot are adorable. ^^

"Earth to Terri!" Demyx's loud voice snapped me back to reality. "Whoa, Medli had you spacing out!"

"Spacing out! Spacing out!" Medli echoed. In English. Sounding like Demyx.

Almost too weird for me.

Medli's cute, and she weirds people out! Awesome!

"How long has it been since you heard that angel scream as you bathed in her blood?"

That quote is severely cool. o_o


Congratulations on another great chapter! ^^

[classy_cat18]

Okay, consider this a head start for the Golden Pens. Here we go!

Chapter Six - Tooth and Nail

Shonta's POV

(Day 2, Noon)

Dairyuu was handy when he had his own body. But godlike beings should never have adorable forms.

They made it difficult to take anything they say seriously.

"Stop staring at me, child."

"Cool!" a little boy exclaimed. "How did you get it to talk?"

The stuffed Grovyle that was Dairyuu growled as he crawled from one of my shoulders to the other. The boy merely followed him and reached out for him. Dairyuu swiped at him, hoping to scare him away.

"He even moves like a real Grovyle!" the boy said in awe. "Hey lady, where can I get one?"

"My name's not Lady," I groaned.

"Whatever."

I kneeled in front of him. There was no explanation prepared for why there was a lifelike toy crawling on me, but I could make one up. "This is a...prototype...of a robotic toy," I told him slowly. So far, so good. "Yeah, my uncle's some genius scientist and he's letting me test it out."

The boy gawked at Dairyuu, while Dairyuu leered at me. "He's so smart! What can he do?"

"He's a...planner. And a tutor. He can guard your bedroom, help you with chores, tell you when your favorite shows are on..."

"Way cool! He's better than TiVo!" He bounced up and down excitedly. "Can your uncle get me one?"

This was not making him leave. So I got another idea. "Nah, you won't see these things in stores for at least ten more years."

"Why not? This one's working just fine!" He reached for Dairyuu again.

"He tends to say some crazy stuff, kid. Stuff that'll scare you. Sometimes he even scares me." Dairyuu looked at me with confusion. "Crazy stuff."

My companion finally got the idea. He launched himself onto the kid's face and grabbed his hair. "Infidel! You have incurred the wrath of Lord Dairyuu! I will suck out your soul and feed it to the demons of hell!" Dairyuu rasped like he had a sore throat.

That had an amusing reaction. The kid screamed and tried to get the "demonic toy" off of him while it shrieked and crawled over his head and down his spine. After running around like a madman for a short minute, he managed to yank off Dairyuu (who ended up under his shirt) and threw him at me. "Keep your crazy robot away from me!" the kid screamed. He ran away, leaving me to the dozen spectators who were staring at me. Even they seemed to be more interested in the sales around them.

Dairyuu chuckled after he returned to my shoulder. "Children are easy to scare," he mused.

"I hope the poor kid isn't too freaked out," I said. "He might tell his parents about the defective toy that attacked him."

"I can probably scare them just as easily." He curled his tail around my neck.

We were now...still in Slateport. Yeah, it seemed crazy to not heed Hotaru's warning. But Lord Dairyuu, being the more conscious of the two, reasoned that going there could be just as dangerous. When I asked him what we were doing in a crowded mall in the outskirts of Slateport, he told me that Hotaru wouldn't be as reckless as to risk confrontation in public. I would've been more confident about that theory if it wasn't for my drowsy state.

We walked on the first floor of the mall, which was well lit by the skylight that ran the entire length of it. Dairyuu yawned and shook his head. "This is a surprisingly pleasant place. Lots of humans walking around, but none of them seem to care about me. And that sunlight from the skylight makes this place less depressing," he described.

I yawned and nodded as he said something about the white tiles we walked on. "I need food and caffeine, otherwise I'll pass out and let Hotaru's goons drag me away," I mumbled.

"Okay," was all Dairyuu said in response.

"Tell me again why you need to stay in that body when I'm in public."

Dairyuu smirked and listed his reasons. "I can sense other Aurora Crystals better than you, of course. Having two sets of eyes are better than just one. If I use your body, I'll stand out and attract unwanted attention with my different aura. You might need me for questions concerning what we discussed earlier. And...I'm bored."

"Oh. Okay." I arrived at the food court and quickly narrowed my choices for lunch. Twenty minutes and two oversized slices of pizza later, I was idly poking Dairyuu as he looked around from his seat on the table.

"I cannot plan with you poking me," Dairyuu growled.

"How about we see Riku?" I suggested. The idea had been bouncing around my mind for a while. "If Hotaru was the vessel for Lady Kagetsubasa long ago, then she should remember what Hotaru can do."

"Memory modification, for one thing. After the torch was passed, Kagetsubasa was unable to recall almost anything about Hotaru. In fact, Kagetsubasa used to think that she was our sister or something. I know about as much as she does. For Hotaru to be able to do that to us makes her very powerful." He sighed and looked up at the now overcast sky.

If it wasn't for the fact that I was now half asleep, I would've been a nervous wreck. "Okay then. Do you know what she looks like?"

The stuffed Pokemon grinned and opened his mouth like he definitely knew the answer. "Actually, I don't know that either. I'm not sure if she's human, Pokemon or a mix of the two."

"You mean those Daemons you told me about?"

"If she was, she was no ordinary Daemon. The power she emanated was similar to mine and Kagetsubasa's, but...I'm not sure." He rubbed his head like he had a headache. "I can't think clearly."

I didn't look it, but I was very surprised that I haven't heard about this woman's name before. She had lived so long in secret that Dairyuu must've guessed she died. "We both need sleep," I said. "Actually, you need sleep. I just need Starbucks."

Dairyuu perked up and climbed back on my shoulder as I stood up. I walked to the little coffee shop, feeling like I was going to collapse in front of the cashier. My mind was so hazy that I didn't see someone stand up from their chair until they were right beside me. I must've been in terrible shape to not notice his long, black hooded cloak.

"What can I get you today?" the chipper cashier asked me.

"Whatever she orders, make it a double," the male voice under the hood told her. "She and the little lizard look like the living dead."

Dairyuu? I look down at the sleeping plushie. Some guardian you are. How come you're asleep?

I gave the girl my order while trying not to freak out about the gloved hand squeezing my shoulder. I hadn't seen the guy's face yet. What was he hiding?

"Could you hurry it up? Me and my lady friend are on a tight schedule," the cloaked man said loudly.

What he said made me remember the last line on Hotaru's letter. Dairyuu twitched and growled. Some sudden burst of energy raced through me and I shoved the cloaked guy away from me. Sights and sounds became distorted as I burst out of the Starbucks at top speed. When everything cleared, I could see and hear the people around me. They were scared, but of what?

"Look at that girl..."

"Is that a tail?"

My Raitah tail twitched in front of my face. I was in my Daemon form, my true form. The change must've been from the shock that I felt from what the cloaked man said. Dairyuu was now wide awake and grasping my shirt. "I feel a Kai Crystal nearby!" the lizard hissed. He glared at the cloaked man that was still standing at the Starbucks's entrance. "Draaaaco..."

"The Kai Draco Crystal? How..." Now wasn't the time to wonder how he got it. "How come you didn't tell me this when I got in there?"

"Something's fogging my senses. Those clouds might actually be a repressing aura, but it feels different. Feels...familiar." He narrowed his eyes at the stranger. "Be careful with him. He's a dragon type Daemon; they're masters at elemental attacks."

I finally turned my attention back to the people around me...and their Pokemon. It seemed that it didn't take them long to label me as a threat. I know the perfect solution to this. I smirked and pushed out the loudest roar possible. The would-be opponents retreated to their pokeballs and stayed there, even when their trainers tried to get them back out.

The cloaked man uncovered his ears. "Calm down! I'm not the enemy!" he shouted.

Enemy or not, I shouldn't be just standing here! I took off, the bystanders yelling and running out of the way as I passed them. I didn't look back but I still knew that the Kai Knight was following me. I didn't even stop until something wrapped around my right ankle and yanked it back. Oh, that stopped me alright. Dairyuu, however, flew on ahead and skidded to a stop a couple of feet from me. I faceplanted on the cool tiles and stayed there for a moment, too stunned to think clearly.

"Get up!" Lord Dairyuu commanded as he scrambled to get back to me. However, whatever tripped me yanked me away from him then dangled me in the air like a prize winning Magikarp. My view was filled with the upside-down face of a Victreebel.

My mind screamed at me as I dangled. Idiot! Just shock the thing! I let out a Thundershock, thinking it was strong enough to at least have the Victreebel drop me. It screamed in pain, but it only got angry. My punishment for attempting escape was a bump on the head when it met the floor.

"Now stay there like a good kitty," another unknown voice said to me. This time it was female. "And do something about that shirt."

I quickly pulled it down...or up, in this case. The Victreebel kept its ugly mug in front of my face so I didn't see who was talking to me. "Could you get this overgrown weed to drop me? The blood's rushing to my head," I sneered.

"Don't think so. The last thing I want is another attempted escape. You're not going anywhere without the lord anyway."

I gasped, almost missing the vine quickly lowering me to the floor but still remaining around the limb. I landed on all fours and glared at Dairyuu's captor. Red eyes glared back, and a fanged mouth grew into a smile. Her hair was blue and black, in a braid that went down her back. She was another Daemon, and a wild looking one at that. Not even her white dress shirt and black slacks took away that fact.

"That's better, isn't it?" she asked me brightly. "Victreebel needs to be more gentle in her methods."

I said nothing, fixated on her facial features, and not just the black circles around her eyes. She's wearing makeup! Foundation, blush, lipstick, the whole shebang! Why would she need makeup for something like this? And since when did stores start selling blue lipstick?

"You're really out of it," the Daemon spoke up. "When I threw up the aura, I had no idea it would make this mission so easy. You're either a newbie...or just plain stupid."

A growl tore itself from my throat. "Who are you and where's Lord Dairyuu?" I demanded.

She smirked and held out both of her hands. One held Dairyuu's temporary body...only it wasn't moving. Probably because she was holding the Light Dragon Key with the other hand. Once again I noticed how she managed to look fashionable; her nails were short but neatly manicured, looking like short claws. They almost looked like they were made of metal. "The subduing aura is a special one, a piece of my boss's aura that I can throw up anywhere I want."

No doubt about it. This has to be Hotaru's goon. She knows about Dairyuu and even how to take him down. "Who are you?" I growled, pointing out that she hadn't answered the first part of her question.

She gave me an innocent look. "I haven't told you? Well, maybe you should be more courteous and tell me your name first."

"You know my name!" I lunged for her, only to have Victreebel roughly jerk me back and hang me upside-down again. "There is no way I'm going to let you take me to her!"

I was somewhat relieved to be facing her this time. She smiled sadly at me as she lightly touched my face. "My name is Kiba. Look, I have orders and I would rather follow them than be punished. Be lucky you were caught by me instead of the other Daemon that she sent."

"You mean the cloaked guy?"

She sighed. "No, he was trying to get you away from us. Hayate always was an ass." She put a finger on my nose. "He's not as cute as you are."

My eyes widened for a second. No, she didn't say that. Stupid hearing must be messed up too. My Raitah ears twitched in response. Her elfin ears twitched in response to an Officer Jenny and Growlithe who got brave enough to approach us. "Is there a problem, Officer?" Kiba asked her sweetly.

"I have no idea what you're doing here, but you're obviously causing a commotion," the cop said sternly.

Kiba giggled. "Are you going to arrest me, Officer?"

Officer Jenny blushed at this -- hopefully out of embarrassment -- and frowned. "This is not a laughing matter!" The Growlithe growled in agreement.

"No, but it is confusing," I muttered lowly so no one could hear.

"Is that what you do to naughty humans?" Kiba inquired, staying in a kneeling position in front of me. Successfully rendering Jenny speechless, she continued. "What about naughty Pokemon? Are there special jail cells for them?"

"I'll give you one more chance to come with me peacefully!" Jenny shouted.

I didn't know much about how the law worked, but I was sure provoking an officer was going to get her in more trouble. Then it hit me. Officer Jenny may have been prepared for a human troublemaker, but a Daemon was going to be a bigger problem. Jenny wasn't taking Kiba anywhere. I didn't know my position in this, but I decided that the best course of action was to stay quiet and hope that everyone got too busy to be concerned with me.

Kiba's laughing got louder and less innocent as Jenny spoke into her walkie-talkie. "This is Officer Jenny. I have..." She didn't get any further as Kiba's hand shot out and grabbed her throat. I jerked in surprise. The woman was fearless, and with a good reason. Growlithe acted on instinct and shot a Flamethrower at his master's attacker. Kiba dropped Jenny and jumped to avoid the attack. As soon as I saw Victreebel's attention diverted, I swiped at her with my claws. Luckily, she released me.

Kiba was still airborne, and the Light Dragon Key was still in her hand. She probably dropped the Grovyle plushie to attack Officer Jenny. Not giving myself time to think, I let my tense body fire a Thunderbolt at Kiba. The electricity enveloped her, but then dispersed and was replaced by a translucent amber orb. My mind quickly processed this information. "My attack was...repelled? How?"

I quickly shot a glance at Officer Jenny. She had wisely backed up to the sidelines with her Growlithe by her side. The poor woman had her eyes bugged out. The amount of time that spanned from the second her throat was grabbed to when I unsuccessfully attacked Kiba was probably around twenty seconds. My opinion couldn't be counted on; it's a known fact that Pokemon have far better reflexes and senses than humans. They practically live in bullet time.

Time finally returned to normal speed for me as Kiba landed unharmed. "You certainly have guts. Power, too. My skin is actually tingling!" She chuckled as her hands seemed to fidget behind her back. "But there's a reason why Lady Hotaru sent me to collect you."

I looked back at Kiba's Victreebel, who was looking like she was staying out of the battle. "I can take you down," I growled. "I haven't given up yet."

She sighed. "You're wrong. You have guts and power, but I have experience. I've known my Daemon side all my life. My family is one of the last surviving purebloods in the world. I'm one of the strongest Daemons you'll ever fight." Her hands returned to her sides, and now a tail was swishing behind her.

"How can your family be pureblooded? The whole species has been hidden for at least a century!"

"Not all of us are ashamed of what we are." Her tone was dark, maybe even angry. Was it directed at me?

"Look, I didn't even know what a Daemon was until today!" I covered my mouth as my voice was starting to sound scared.

"What are you two talking about?" Officer Jenny asked us.

Kiba looked at her haughtily. "I forgot you were still here. Shouldn't you be making sure everyone got out safely? Because I personally don't care if this mall stands or not." She glared at Officer Jenny as the human very slowly got to her feet. "Well? That wasn't a suggestion!"

The officer let out an "eep" and took off with her Growlithe close behind. Kiba laughed again and turned her attention to her Victreebel. Without a word from her trainer, the Pokemon bounced to her side and let herself be returned. Now we were the only ones on that end of the mall. Everyone else seemed to be gone, but why? I ran through the previous events. I bumped into that Hayate guy, thought he was sent by Hotaru, freaked out and transformed, scared the Pokemon back in their pokeballs, ran to this point...

Bingo. There's security at different points here. One officer must've alerted another at this end that I was approaching and then got everyone out of the way. The Officer Jenny was probably sent here to deal with me. Nice job she did. I let out a cynical laugh. I was strangely relaxed, mostly because Kiba was just standing there and studying me.

"I could give you answers," my fellow Daemon spoke up. "No logic in resisting when I could give them willingly as long as you submit. I'll even give you back Lord Dairyuu." She held the Light Dragon Key with an outstretched arm and put it in her right pants pocket. "Or...you can try to fight me. I get my fun, you get worn out, and I drag you back anyway."

I growled threatningly. "Or...I can fight you. I beat you, you get knocked out, and I stay free. Lord Dairyuu will come with me anyway."

She grinned in amusement, although a slight clenching of the fists conveyed another emotion. "Or..." She suddenly broke out in a run towards me, a fist drawn back to punch. So fast! I hardly had time to twist my body to my side before her fist flew past my face. No bullet time that time. She caught me off guard.

I did the first thing I thought of and grabbed her wrist, figuring that she couldn't block electricity delivered by direct contact. My fingers curled around something on that wrist, a bracelet or watch. As soon as I put pressure on that accessory, some kind of powerful energy seemed to burst out of it. It knocked me off my feet and onto my back.

"What did that feel like?" Kiba asked me angrily.

There was no way I was able to answer the question right away; I was too busy recovering from the blast. My chest felt bruised, but there were no broken bones. I stayed on my back while I put together the right description for the sensation. "It felt like I was hit by a bullet train," I rasped.

"Good." She stood over me and rubbed her wrist. "Do you have any idea what that was?"

"No. Please explain while I try to get everything to stop spinning."

"Does the words 'Kai Terra Crystal' mean anything to you?" She rolled up her shirt sleeve and showed me a triangular, amber-colored jewel embedded in her wrist.

"Terra?" I squeaked in surprise. I sat up too quickly and winced at the pain from the bruise. "You're the Kai Terra Knight?"

She nodded and grinned, letting one lengthened fang stick out against her blue lipstick. "Ready to give up?"

I wasn't going to answer her question, not when I felt like I still had a chance. When the pain subsided, I stood and faced her. "Stupid question," I snarled.

"Too stupid for a good answer, I guess. Too bad. I like you but you're being too damn stubborn."

Without another word I lunged for her. She was far from being caught off guard. There was a strange flickering in her eyes the moment before she sidestepped and jumped back. My body reacted in a strange way to that, twitching involuntarily like it anticipated her dodging. I stopped abruptly, spun around and slashed at her torso. She raised her arms so they took the damage instead of her stomach.

She grunted and looked at the bloody marks on her arms. "Good reflexes. That almost looked like Feint," she commented like she was impressed.

I was never an athletic person. I left the sports to Ryan. Now I was cursing myself for not taking up a sport while I panted like I just ran a mile. No rest, bad nerves, still shaken up from that attack from the crystal...

It probably would've been easier on my body if just gave up at the beginning.

"I'm ending it!" Kiba yelled. The hand that the Kai Crystal was worn on was raised in the air and then slammed into the ground. I stupidly stopped as the ground beneath me quaked...

"Shonta!"

Before I knew it, I was flying through the air like a tossed ragdoll. Everything hurt. What had hit me? All I was sure of was that it was big and brown. I was half gone during that seemingly long moment of floating. I could barely feel myself hitting the ground.

Whoever called for me seconds ago called again. A head full of flaming red hair filled my vision as he eased me to a sitting position. Rational thought gave way to irrational instinct, and I let out a weak Thundershock. He grunted but kept his hold on me. "Shonta? Geez, what did she do to you?"

My lower jaw exploded in pain before I could force out a single sound. The man growled. That was when I noticed his angry eyes were slitted. Another Daemon. He must've been battling with someone because he had a bleeding cut on both cheeks. He gently touched my cheek with cool fingers. "The living dead aren't meant to fight," he muttered.

I sucked in a breath. "What? AAH!" Now both my jaw and chest were in pain.

"Your jaw's fractured. Don't talk."

"But AAH!" Like I wasn't feeling stupid enough already. I recognized his voice. Hayate...

"Dammit, Kiba! She wasn't in any condition to battle!" Two rows of pointed teeth were bared at my attacker, who looked only slightly worried. Next to her was a pillar of rock. That was what hit me. "She hasn't been a Daemon that long and you knew it!"

Kiba's face showed frustration, and her voice was uncontrolled. "I messed up, okay? I didn't know it was going to be that strong!"

"Some disciplined fighter you are. Give me the Light Dragon Key now."

She didn't get closer but Hayate didn't move from behind me. I carefully tested my limbs for extra broken bones. Something tells me this guy doesn't have a lot of patience. If I can try to attack Kiba again, he'll help me bring her down. Just need to get up... As soon as I shifted to try to kneel, a cold blade pressed against my neck.

"Submit. Both of you." That wasn't Kiba or Hayate.

"Forget it!" I said stubbornly, wincing from the pain in my jaw. The guy holding the weapon applied pressure to my skin, drawing blood and zapping the rest of my rebellious streak.

"I'm only standing down because you won't hesitate to behead her," Hayate said to the new guy.

The mysterious figure (whom I assumed was also a Daemon) withdrew his blade and stood in front of me, Kiba by his side. My first thought, and the only thought I had for a moment, was that he looked just like Kiba. The two were dressed the same, were the same height, had the same hair and eyes, had the same Daemon features. But the guy wielded a naginata with an ornate pole, red with gold vine patterns.

"Tsume," Hayate hissed. He and I were still sitting on the floor.

"Who's he?" I asked him.

"Kiba's other half. They're fraternal twins, and they're both Kai Terra Knights."

"Wait, how?"

Tsume pushed up his right shirt sleeve and showed a Terra Crystal identical to Kiba's. But his seemed to point to his forearm while Kiba's pointed to her hand. "Two Kai Terra Crystals?"

"No, the same one split in half. Each half is already good by itself, but when they're close together it can get disastrous." He glared at the male twin. "He made sure I couldn't help you. As soon as you bolted, Tsume stepped in to block me and Kiba went after you."

"We had orders to collect her," Tsume explained in an expressionless voice. "She will come with us now or I will resort to more aggressive measures."

I didn't like him. Cocky, uppity pretty boy! "What are you, an android?" I asked angrily.

Tsume showed no reaction to that comment. "I promise you that Shonta's will not be harmed for now. I'm sorry that I hurt her so badly earlier," Kiba apologized. She put on a concerned face.

"You will give her the Light Dragon Key now," Hayate commanded. "And I want to stay with her until it's time for Hotaru to see her."

Kiba nodded twice and slipped the crystal around my neck. I immediately felt Dairyuu's presence, still subdued from the strange aura. I didn't thank her. Instead I pulled out the Pokedex out of my pocket and pointed it at Kiba. "Lucario, the Aura Pokemon. It can sense the auras of living things and read their thoughts and body language. Its tough skin makes it durable against Normal type attacks," it told me.

I saw the extra information on the screen. "Fighting and Steel?" I whispered to myself.

Hayate helped me up. "I'll go back to Ryan as soon as I know you'll be safe," he told me.

My face lit up. He knows Ryan?

"Hotaru's going to kill me if you don't heal quickly," Kiba complained. "Now where's Tsuki? He's supposed to be doing cleanup!"

"If you weren't so careless then we wouldn't need backup," Tsume told his sister. I almost heard a growl from him.

"Hey, it's her fault!" She jerked her thumb at me.

"No, it's his fault!" I shouted, pointing at Hayate.

"How is it my fault?" he asked indignantly. "You transformed in front of all those humans!"

"Excuse me? What were you hiding under that hood?"

"Would you trust someone that looked like part of the Insane Clown Posse?" Kiba grumbled.

"All these years and you're still a bitch," Hayate said to Kiba.

"And you're still a demon! Anyway, there's no need to worry about her and you know that. Even I'm not that evil."

"Hotaru's capable of anything and everything. Look what she did to your brother. Soulless and detached." Tsume narrowed his eyes. Hayate returned the look and helped me up. "I can sense Tsuki coming."

I could sense something too, and it was getting stronger. A black cloud appeared near us and dissolved. The child from earlier, the barefoot child wearing the cloak, was in its place with a Xatu. "Xatu, take us back home," Tsume instructed.

Tsuki turned his head to me. "Mama warned you," was all he said before Xatu teleported us.

[mr_pikachu]

A head start for the Golden Pens? Aww...

Another solid chapter from you! I suppose we had to expect the pace of Shonta's storyline to pick up soon, considering all the anticipation you created. Nice job with Hayate's first appearance in the mall; it made sense that Shonta would react that way under the circumstances. The important parts of the battle scenes were done pretty well, too. Nice work showing the effect of the Kai Terra crystal. Never thought about how immunities would work with the Knights, but you gave a great demonstration. Kiba's personality in general was also... quite memorable. And of course, the first scene with Shonta's pet robot was utterly fantastic. XD

But I did think there were a few things that could've been a little better. For one thing, I didn't realize that either Shonta or Dairyuu was sleepy until well into the chapter... thought Dairyuu's new form was just diluting his abilities, or something. Similarly, Kiba's kneeling wasn't apparent to me until you said she was staying in that position. And there were a couple of odd errors in sentences, particularly in this one: It almost looked like "The subduing aura is a special one, a piece of my boss's aura that I can throw up anywhere I want."

But regardless of those small issues, this was another great chapter that really helped to push the plot along while keeping us constantly entertained. Considering how fearsome the twins were and the damage that Hotaru apparently did to Tsume, I shudder to think about what kind of power the boss could wield. But if Hayate's resisting her wishes, might Riku do the same despite the two being on less-than-pleasant terms with one another? Hmm...

Well, I need to get back to my ancient TiVo. *pokes Pikachu plushie* Until next chapter!

[classy_cat18]

Oh crap. I forgot to finish that sentence! *runs to edit it*